Taking Control. (a Ninjago fanfic)

Chapter 71- Aftermath

L L O Y D

Hospitals always smell the same.

Sterile. Cold. Like bleach and plastic and the absence of life, even when it's full of people trying to hold onto it.

Jay was still asleep.

Monitors beeped in a slow, steady rhythm beside him. Zane had explained what they all meant about four times already, but Cole still glanced up at them every ten seconds like he was waiting for the noise to change.

Nya sat at Jay's side, one hand wrapped around his, thumb brushing over his knuckles in a pattern, over and over again.

I sat at the foot of the bed, pretending to read some old magazine I found on the bedside table, even though I hadn't turned the page in 10 minutes. My eyes kept drifting back to him.

He looked... bad.

There was no way around it.

His arms were wrapped in gauze, with angry lightning-burn patterns trailing all the way up to his shoulders. His chest was bandaged tight, thick bruises peeking out from the sides, turning his skin into a mix of purple, red, and gold. I could still see faint lines of that mirror-magic etched into his skin — golden veins that shimmered in certain light.

Zane said it would fade eventually.

Said it was a good thing. A side effect of surviving something no one else ever had.

I wasn't sure if Jay would agree.

At least his eyes had all but healed now. Thankfully the damage done wasn't permanent.

"Any movement?" Cole asked, standing now, pacing again. He was bandaged up as well— we all were.

"His breathing's steadier," Nya murmured. "That's something."

Zane nodded. "His vitals are consistent. The mirror's residual magic has stabilized. He may wake up today."

"You've said that the last three days," Cole muttered. "Not that I'm blaming you. You're doing great. You're very smart and capable and basically always right and—yeah I'm spiraling."

"You're valid," I offered, trying not to sound dead inside. "We're all spiraling."

"I'm not spiraling," Zane said helpfully.

"Zane, you don't spiral, you turn your emotion switch off," Nya said dryly. "You don't even count."

I snorted. Couldn't help it.

Then—

Jay twitched.

We all froze, glancing at eachother to see if we'd all seen the same thing.

His fingers flexed.

His brow creased.

Then he groaned — low and scratchy, like it hurt to even make noise.

"Jay?" Nya leaned in, her hand tightening on his. "Jay, hey. It's us."

"Morning, Zaptrap," Cole breathed, voice cracking.

Jay blinked slowly, one eye more swollen than the other. "...Am I dead?"

"Nope," I said, exhaling so fast I nearly passed out. "You're just in a hospital and look like you have more wounds than skin at this point."

Jay winced. "...Did I lose?"

"You won," Zane said softly. "We all did."

Jay looked at each of us. Slowly. His gaze was bleary but real.