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Cole’s barely gotten them a half a mile down the mountain trail when Lloyd suddenly staggers to a halt, eyes blown wide and a hand to his chest. He stutters for a moment, then breathes out a string of words Kai would probably smack him for saying.
“What?” Cole insists, echoing the worries of the others. It’s not often one of them gets sick, and even rarer for an old injury to act up, but it’s not impossible. Then there’s the fact that it’s Lloyd, and they know almost nothing about his heritage, and on top of that he’s the Green Ninja… yeah, Cole doesn’t think even Zane’s logic sensors could guess what’s going on.
Lloyd looks up, and there’s a sickening fear in his eyes that sends Cole shooting to attention, balance pole forgotten.
“Where’s Kai.” Lloyd breathes, and then again: “We need to get to Kai. Now. I— his fire, I can’t feel it anymore—“
Before he even finishes they’re all running, Jay picking up Cole and Nya’s scattered equipment so they can pound on ahead. The villagers give them some strange looks as they pass. One of the mothers drags her child out of the way. Nya takes a hard tumble, slipping on a hidden patch of ice, and Cole heaves her up, half-carrying her until she can find her footing again. By the time they reach the village center, the mad dash has left Cole heaving ragged breaths of biting, thin air into his lungs— still, he redoubles his efforts with their goal in sight, pulling ahead of Lloyd and slamming the door open.
The sight they’re greeted with is awful.
“Kai,” Nya whispers, sliding across the dirt to his side. He’s bent, one hand on the bench the elders sit on when they’re in session, curled in towards his chest. His breath is coming in ragged pants, and as Cole listens, he hears it cut off, stop, and start again with a whine.
“Nee,” Kai manages. It takes him a few tries to get the words out, but he manages a: “How’s— how’s it goin’?”
“You’re an idiot,” Nya decides, checking him over. “What happened?”
He shakes his head. Cole can see the fear mingled with the pain in his eyes— in this light, they look almost black. It’s terrifying. “Just… happened. I don’t—“
Jay slips in the back door just as Lloyd kneels next to Kai, dropping their stuff and coming to complete the little half-circle they’ve created. “What’s happening?” He whispers.
“No idea.” Nya whispers back. Lloyd tentatively reached out, drawing back once, and then twice, before placing his hand on Kai’s arm. Kai lets out a broken groan. Cole shudders.
“You’re so cold…” Lloyd shakes himself out of this horror-induced reverie, tucking himself close to Kai with a whine. Kai hisses, going rigid, and Cole sees Nya’s hands reach out to stop him. He takes them in hers, finally drawing close enough to sit. She lets out a little, sharp sigh.
(It’s hard to sit and watch the life drain out of the ones you love. Cole knows that.)
Then he’s distracted, because there’s a strange buzzing happening under his veins, and Lloyd’s… glowing? Not really? It’s more like his powers are floating out of him, tinging the air green and filling the room with some sort of wonderful, powerful tension, like a dissonant chord right before it resolves. The buzzing in his veins, Cole realizes, is him, or his powers, a vibration just barely audible to his ears that’s adding its own note to the harmony. Jay, on the other side of the circle, is practically vibrating, fingers drumming faster than Cole can keep up with. Nya goes unaware, simply leaning further towards her brother.
It’s wrong. Cole can feel that it’s wrong. There’s notes missing, and they can’t—
It’s hurting Lloyd. It’s been hurting Lloyd this whole time, the imbalance, since Zane was lost, and they didn’t even notice. It’s been hurting Kai, and they only notice now when he’s dying, and it might not be enough. The realization makes Cole sick. With a jolt he leans forward, gripping Kai’s shoulder hard, ignoring his pained yelp. “Kai, you idiot, you better not die right now. Here? Really? Some random frozen wasteland in the middle of nowhere?”
Kai’s eyes screw tighter, his free hand clenches into a fist. Cole thinks he’s heard him.
“Y-yeah.” Jay forces out, tone mixed. “You always say you’re gonna die a cooler death than me, and this is where you’re gonna conk it? That’s just sad! At least pick, like, a cursed tomb or something.”
Nya looks pissed. Cole makes a mental note to apologize to her later, but for now he lays it on extra thick, encouraged by the growth of the energy in the room. “Yeah, come on, man! You’re gonna let Jay beat you at something?”
Kai slackens up a little, leaning into Lloyd for support. Cole realizes with a jolt that’s not a good thing.
“ ‘m trying…” Kai whispers. He’s not struggling to breathe anymore, but that doesn’t comfort Cole for some reason. It’s almost as if he’s stopped fighting, and now—
Kai slumps. Lloyd curses. Ice blisters through the room, sending a chill—
Oh.
The song there is beautiful, moreso than anything Cole’s heard yet. It’s haunting, and wild, and it begs to wander— it’s his brother, his heart sings. It’s Zane. That song rips through the air along with the sudden added cold, and Cole’s note rises to meet it, colliding with Jay’s and Lloyd’s and, as his eyes glow and Lloyd’s power turns hot and desperate…
Kai joins the mix.
Their powers intertwine, singing, growing in power and force until Kai lets out a pained yell and the energy collapses back into Lloyd. All at once, it’s like the chord’s resolved, and silence rings out.
All is at rest.
Kai takes one deep breath, then two, and then he’s got a hand pressed to his mouth and a sob is ripping through his throat—
“What?! What what what—“ Nya’s scrambling forward, worried something’s gone wrong again, fully aware something’s happened but unsure as to what.
Kai just looks up at her, red-rimmed, brown eyes glinting with unshed tears even as his chest heaves. “Zane’s alive. He’s alive. ”
“We felt him.” Jay whispers, almost in awe. “I haven’t felt that since…”
“Since the Temple of Light.” Cole finishes, looking to Lloyd, who looks a few shades away from complete collapse. “That was pretty cool, kiddo.”
“Don’ mention it.” Lloyd slurs, dipping his head like he’s dizzy. Jay grabs him and Nya grabs Kai, and Cole squeezes somewhere in the middle. “S’rsly, don’t. I’ve no idea wha’ I did.”
Jay huffs a laugh, simultaneously hollow and full of relief. “Isn’t that how it always goes?”
Zane’s out there. Cole would cry, too, if he wasn’t already about to lose it in general. He’s out there, and we’re going to find him.
So long as we don’t lose any other people in the process.