Taking Control. (a Ninjago fanfic)

Chapter 41- Patience

Z A N E

When I woke up, the world was unnervingly quiet. The lights of the hospital flickered faintly overhead, humming softly, almost comforting.

It took me a moment to register where we were, why I was here, and why my systems felt so sluggish.

My gaze shifted around the waiting room. Ah, yes. I remembered now. We'd taken Cole to the hospital, and decided to stick around for the night.

I glanced around the room, my eyes settling on the clock. 11:45am. Everyone was certainly exhausted, and I wasn't surprised. After the week we'd had, no one had actually had the opportunity to get a good amount of sleep.

Rue was curled up on one of the uncomfortable chairs, her head resting against Kai's shoulder. Her plaits were messy and unkempt, sprawled all over the place, mostly on Kai's lap.

He was slumped over, arms crossed, his chin tucked to his chest, his usual fiery energy burnt down from exhaustion.

On the other side, Nya and Lloyd sat side by side, leaning into each other for support, both fast asleep but visibly restless even in unconsciousness.

Pixal was sitting closest to me, her posture stiff and upright, though her head was bowed and her eyes were closed.

Exhaustion clung to all of them, like shadows they couldn't escape. Their clothes were still streaked with blood and dirt from the fight, their faces pale and drawn. The silence here was almost... surreal— a stark contrast after the chaos we had left behind.

I looked back at the others, all of us worn down to the bone. For the first time in a while, none of us were moving, planning, or yelling. We were just... waiting. Resting. It was almost unnatural now.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Rue shift, rubbing her eyes as she woke up. Her head lifted from Kai's shoulder, and she blinked at her surroundings, like she was trying to remember where she was. I smiled warmly and she waved blearily in my direction.

Kai stirred too, sitting up with a sharp inhale, running a hand through his messy hair. He glanced at Rue, then at me, before settling back in his chair with a quiet groan.

"Any updates?" he mumbled, his voice scratchy.

"No," I replied, my voice soft as to not wake the others. "It's been quiet."

Kai let out a frustrated sigh, crossing his arms again. He was clearly trying not to look as worried as he was.

Rue sat up straighter, her hands fidgeting in her lap. She kept glancing toward the hallway, like if she stared hard enough, someone would come out with good news.

Kai noticed. "You okay?" he asked, cocking his head gently.

She hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. I mean... I don't know." She frowned. "Just—he's been in there for hours. Shouldn't we have heard something by now? I don't know how it works here."

Kai leaned back, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's Cole. He's got a habit of making things harder than they need to be, but he'll pull through. Always does. I'm sure he's fine."

Rue didn't look convinced. "Ok.. but that injury was pretty nasty."

Kai gave her a crooked grin, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "If I managed to pull through, then I'm certain he can. He's too stubborn to stop fighting."

She gave him a confused look, gathering her hair off of his lap and throwing it over her shoulder.The fire ninja lifted up his shirt to reveal a mess of bandages, stained red with blood.

Her eyes widened. "Was that-"

"Jay. The Overlord, yep. Tried to kill me too, just like he did for Cole. Hasn't succeeded yet, though." He chucked softly. "Don't worry, I'm fine now. It's basically healed."

"..well..." I whispered uncertainly, and he brushed me away jokingly.

She let out a small laugh. "Damn, being a ninja looks like it sucks."

He nodded, and smirked.

But that conversation didn't distract anyone, all of us still waiting for news. I mean, come on- it had been 4 hours.
Kai's leg started bouncing, and Rue brushed her fingers along the rim of the mirror of shadows that was propped up next to her.

I understood how they felt. We all wanted to burst through those doors, to see Cole sitting up in bed, cracking some dumb joke about how we were worrying over nothing.

But for now, all we could do was wait.

The funny thing was, Kai didn't even know much about Rue— just that she'd been there when Cole needed help. But they seemed to be getting along quite well.

After a moment, he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "You, uh... you handled yourself pretty well out there."

Rue tilted her head, confused. "What do you mean?"

"With Cole. Getting him out, dragging him halfway across the city." Kai's voice was steady, but there was a trace of admiration beneath the surface. "That's not easy, especially for someone who's... well..."

"Not a ninja?" Rue finished for him, a small smile tugging at her lips.

Kai smirked faintly. "I was gonna say not trained, but yeah. That too."

Rue shrugged, her gaze dropping to her hands. "I just did what I could. He needed help, and I was there. I didn't really think about it."

"Still," Kai said, his tone softer now, "it was brave."

Rue looked at him, her expression unreadable for a moment. Then she smiled, shy but genuine. "Thanks."

Kai shifted in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn't great at this kind of thing—small talk, connecting with people he didn't know.

But Rue didn't seem to mind his awkwardness, and for some reason, that put him at ease.

They sat in silence for a while, the quiet hum of the hospital filling the space between them. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it wasn't unpleasant either.

After a while, Pixal and Nya were up too. We all tried our best not to wake up Lloyd, speaking in soft whispers.

Nya went to get food and came back with some disgusting porridge which looked more like mush, which the others reluctantly ate.

It was better, better than being up alone- having people to talk to, people who could help me get my mind of the situation. Even if it was only for a little while.