Ninjago Stories

Zane's Sacrifice

Jay clutched Kai's arm as if for dear life. He wanted to scream. Tears began streaming down his face.

This couldn't be happening.

Finally, the wind stopped outside and they lifted the lid of the manhole and crawled out. Everything was covered in ice. The city was destroyed. There were thousands killed, and thousands more without homes.

It was freezing out. He shivered and continued to cry. Through vision blurred with tears, he watched as the rest of his family came out to the surface. They were all crying, too.

Jay looked at Nya, who was collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. He wanted to hold her. But he knew she would never let him.

He realized he was still holding onto Kai's wrist.

Kai looked like death. His face was pale and hopeless. Jay grabbed onto him and leaned into the fire ninja's warm chest.

Kai noticed Nya and pulled away from Jay's hug, then ran to his sister. The blue ninja watched as he engulfed her in a hug.

He saw Cole, stunned, his jaw dropped, quivering; his face frozen except for the tears that trickled down it. He made eye contact with Cole, who opened and closed his mouth as if he was trying to speak.

Lloyd was also violently sobbing, clinging to his father, who had his arms wrapped around him and was rubbing his back and whispering softly to him.

Jay turned back to Cole. Their whole fight over Nya seemed so silly now. It had always been silly; stupid.

He missed Cole, that is, having him as a friend. Now he needed him more than ever.

He found himself running to his brother. Cole met him and they squeezed each other like they'd never let go. They slid to the ground and Cole was almost holding Jay, who leaned into his big, soft embrace.

"I'm so sorry," Jay sobbed.

"No, no, I am," Cole asserted, rocking Jay back and forth like a baby. 

They stayed like this for several moments, before Jay whimpered, "I don't want him to be gone."

They both broke down.

Here's a little bonus part bc I don't really know where I was going with it but I don't want to delete it:

Broken.

Each of them lost, looking for something more.

Something to fill the huge hole inside them.

Kai left the "team" first, not even telling anyone where he was going. But he knew.

Rage boiled inside of him, and anger burned in his soul. He knew right where he could let it out: the Slither Pit - the downtown fighting club. Yes, it was illegal, but everyone knew about it, and nobody cared to do anything to stop it since it was basically just serpentine and skeletons down there.

Why was he mad?

Zane was gone.

He was mad at the world for letting it happen. Mad at the Overlord. Mad at the nindroids, Pythor, and anyone else involved in the plot. He was even mad at the First Spinjitzu Master for letting something this terrible happen to him. 

At the fighting club, there was obviously a bar. Kai "didn't have to pay" since he won every single fight, and he bet money on them. He drank what money he won, and that was a lot. It helped him forget the pain.