The dagger felt like the weight of the world in his hand. His mind screamed at him to drop it, drop it! but Kai's fingers only clenched tighter around the hilt.

Streams of blood trickled down his knuckles and around his wrist. Jay's blood.

To his panicked mind, it had all seemed so logical. Pull it out. Pull it out before it hurts Jay even more.

Before it kills him.

Kai had shivered, inching his fingers closer to the blade. Then, he'd felt Jay's shaky hand clamp down on his own.

"D-Don't."

He'd glanced back up at Jay then, at his pale face and pinched features. "Don't you want it out? You know, before it does any more damage?"

"Do… you think that's really a good idea?"

"What if it's poisoned or something?" Kai hadn't thought Jay's face could get any whiter, but it had, making him immediately regret the morbid suggestion.

"I-Is it?"

"I don't know! I don't know, just—Look, just let me get it out of there and—" He'd broken off with a choked gasp when Jay pulled his hand to rest atop the intricate hilt.

"Just get it over with, okay…?" Kai had found himself nodding dumbly at Jay's whispered request. "And do it as… as f-fast as you c-can, okay…?"

Another nod, while his mind continued to scream at him. Get it out! Get it out!

It was only when he heard Jay's strangled cry that he broke free of the spell—the spell of panic.

Of desperate insanity.

His mind had changed its tune and began screaming at him to leave it in, leave it in! And to put it back; to stop the blood flow that now seemed to geyser out of Jay's wound.

It was Cole who gave voice to the thought Kai couldn't force past his constricted throat.

"What did you do?"

Kai swallowed, nearly choking on his own bile as Jay's blood continued to trickle off the dagger and down his arm.

What have I done…?

"I…" Now, Kai fumbled for a response. "I didn't… I mean, I… I thought… I didn't—"

"That's right, you didn't think! If you had, Jay wouldn't be bleeding out right now!" Kai watched miserably as Cole turned to Jay next. "And you just let him do this?"

It was Jay's labored breathing that effectively erased Cole's anger, turning it into a worry that rivaled Kai's.

"We need to stop the blood flow," Cole instructed, already ripping off sections of his gi for a makeshift bandage.

Right. Following suit, Kai worked furiously beside Cole as they tried to staunch the bleeding. Come on. Come on…

This is all your fault.

Kai pursed his lips and worked his fingers faster. Hey, I'm not the one who stabbed him, okay?

Yeah? What you did was far worse. He'd have been better off if you'd just left it in.

If you didn't always try to fix things on your own.

Knock it off!

Have it your way, like you always do.

Gritting his teeth, Kai sat back on his heels as Cole finished up. In all honesty, Cole had probably just shoved him out of the way. I've already done enough damage, anyway.

"There," Cole said at last, but he sounded far from confident. "Let's hope that holds."

Jay simply nodded before sagging forward.

"Zane and the others'll be here soon," Cole continued.

"How soon?" And Kai would by lying to himself if he said the glare Cole shot him then didn't hurt a little. You deserve it.

"Soon enough."

"Cole, how soon?"

"Fine, fine!" The way Cole blew out a sigh sent Kai's skin crawling. Whatever he was about to say wasn't going to be good. Why can't there just be some good news for once? Why can't it ever be easy? "We're looking at a fifteen minute wait."

"Fifteen minutes!" Kai heard Jay's shocked cry underline his own, which only added to his rising stress levels. "We don't have that kind of time!"

"Well, we did until you decided you wanted to try your hand at playing doctor!" Cole shot back.

"Okay, okay! I get it. I know I messed up. I'd give anything to redo it all, but I can't, so just give me a chance to make up for it!"

A long beat of silence passed, the only ambiance a mix of Kai's heavy breathing and Jay's muted gasps.

Finally, Cole sighed again. "Help me lean him against the tree over there."

Nodding eagerly, Kai whispered a quick apology to Jay for what they were about to do, then sucked in a deep breath, vowing not to let it out until Jay was resting safely against the oak.

"Sorry!" Cole said when Jay hissed in pain. "Sorry, sorry, but you'll feel better if you don't have to keep holding yourself up like that, okay?"

Jay just nodded.

After accomplishing their mini mission, Kai pulled Cole aside. "Look, I know I messed up and made this way worse than it had to be."

"You can say that again."

"But I don't think those bandages are gonna hold, do you?" When Cole said nothing, Kai pressed on. "We need to do something, fast. That's a lot of blood. At this rate, I don't think he has fifteen minutes."

"You know…" Kai whirled around in surprise when it was Jay's voice instead Cole's that sounded in reply. "I s-saw an idea on a movie once…"

Cole slid back down in front of Jay. "Yes? What is it?"

For his part, Kai worked to pull himself from the numbness that was clawing its way into his mind. Because Jay had heard him. He'd heard Kai say that he was going to bleed out in less than fifteen minutes.

And he seemed okay with that.

Why? How can he be okay with all this?

"Well…" Jay continued, and it was clear to Kai that speaking was growing more difficult with every word. "The hero was… Well, you know… and his s-sidekick heated up one of… of their weapons a-and used it to close the—"

"No," Kai blurted, catching on quickly. "No, we're not doing that to you. I mean, we can't, we…"

"Kai," Cole said, his tone too heavy, too thoughtful, "it might be our only option…"

"No! There has to be another way! Right…?"

He found his gaze drifting over to Jay, who simply shrugged.

How can he be so calm about this? It was maddening, but more than that, it was petrifying.

Despite his words, Cole didn't seem too hip to the idea. "Let me check the bandages before we do anything rash—" A sharp hiss escaped Cole's lips before he could clamp them shut.

"What? What is it?" Kai inched closer, placing a cautious hand on Jay's knee.

He needed to feel, to know. To know that Jay was still there, that he was still breathing.

But for how much longer?

No! Don't think like that! Don't—

"These are completely soaked through!" Cole pressed his hands against Jay's side as if he alone could save the young Master of Lightning. "We have to stop it! We have to… to…"

Kai felt a shiver wrack his frame when Cole squeezed his eyes shut. "No… I know what you're thinking, but—"

"What else do you want me to do, Kai? A decision needs to be made and it needs to be made now!"

"Okay, okay!" Kai threw his hands into the air with a growl. "Ugh! Okay, just—"

"Just," Jay gasped, adjusting himself against the tree, "do it. Okay…?"

Kai was nodding before he could stop himself. "Okay. Okay… Just…"

"We need something sturdy." Kai nodded again, deciding to ignore the slight tremble in Cole's voice for now. "Something hard. Jay, what, uh, did they use in the movie? Oh, their weapons. Right. Uh…"

A quick scan of the area had Cole's gaze resting on Kai's sword.

"No. No way." Waving his hands did nothing to shake Cole's stare. "What if we accidentally cut him or something, huh? What then?"

"I don't think we can do any more damage than you already did."

"Hey, I said I was sorry!"

"No, you didn't. But words don't matter right now. If you want to help Jay, you have to suck it up and take action. Got it?" Cole was close now, close enough for Kai to feel the stress waves practically radiating off of skin.

He nodded as Cole snatched up the sword and thrust it outward. Fix your mistake, it seemed to say.

Fix it, fix it, fix it!

Come on, Kai. Fix it!

Before his fingers could tighten fully around the familiar weapon, Cole was pulling it back.

"No," he said, his voice low. "Don't take it. Heat it. Come on, Master of Fire," Cole pressed when Kai remained stock still, "heat it."

Kai felt his gaze drift toward Jay, who nodded. Once. Slowly, painfully.

Okay. Okay…

This isn't about you, this is about Jay. He's the one who's… Who's… He swallowed. Jay was not dying. He's not… He's…

Hot flames licked at his fingers, consuming his hand with intense heat. For Jay.

So, you're gonna burn your friend to save him?

Shut up.

Cole held the blade steady while Kai pressed the flames forward, his stomach twisting and churning for every second of it.

For Jay.

Only when the sword began to tremble did Kai let up.

"Cole…?" The way Cole stiffened as his eyes glazed over scared Kai more than he'd ever care to admit.

"You do it."

"What?"

"I mean," Cole tried again, clearing his throat, "could you… Could you do it? Would you? Please? I…"

Kai found himself nodding despite it all. Despite his misgivings. Despite his terror.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure."

The relief on Cole's face was very short-lived, vanishing into nothing as Kai knelt back down in front of Jay.

"Now remember," he began, willing his voice not to quiver, "this was your idea."

Though Jay nodded, Kai didn't miss the way he backed further against the tree. An unconscious move, most likely, but the message was clear.

And it didn't make Kai's job any easier.

"Ready?" He asked once Cole had finished unwrapping the bloody scraps of clothing.

Jay shrugged, then winced. "I guess…?"

His voice was weak, his breathing labored, and it drove Kai into action.

This ends now. Don't worry, Jay, it's all gonna be over soon…

But would it? Kai couldn't shake the sinking feeling that their amateur medical procedure was about to do the exact opposite of what they wanted.

If Jay dies, I swear…

Kai sucked in a breath.

I'll never forgive myself.

"All right," he said, keeping his voice as sturdy and soothing as he could, "countdown?"

"Do we have t-to?"

Kai shrugged. "I guess not. All right, then." He licked his dry lips. "Here goes nothing."

The sword didn't get within five inches of Jay's skin before he cried out and shoved Kai's hands away.

"Actually, a c-countdown would be g-good."

"Okay." Sucking in another breath, Kai steeled himself for the task ahead. "A countdown it is, then. 50, 49, 48, 47…"

"Oh, come on!" Cole groaned. "We don't have time for this! Jay doesn't have time for this! Just do it, okay?"

In response, Kai lit his hand with another fireball and held it against the sword. "All right! Just hold on. I'm only gonna do this once, so I want to make sure I do it right."

Jay nodded as Cole set his jaw and slipped his hand into Jay's. "It'll be over before you know it, okay?"

"If you s-say so…"

"It will," Cole whispered. "I promise."

Another nod, weaker this time. Uncertain.

Kai blew out the breath he'd been holding and repositioned the sword. "All right. Here we go again. At the count of three. One… Two… Thr—"

"You know what?" Jay blurted at the last second. "I d-don't think this is… a good idea. Just let me b-bleed out, okay… Heh…"

"No." Cole's voice was firm. "I'm not letting you die. Do you hear me? You are not gonna die. Do it, Kai."

Right.

When Cole spoke again, his voice had lost its hard edge, fading into a small whisper. "It's gonna all right, Jay. I promise…"

"I'm sorry, Jay," Kai said, adding his own whisper to the wind. I'm so sorry. "One…"

If he dies…

"Two…"

It will be all your fault.

"Three—"

Then what will you tell Nya…?

As the image of his heartbroken sister flashed across his mind, Kai felt the sword slip from his fingers.

No… No, I…

"I… I can't. Cole, I can't do it, I—" I can't hurt him any more than…

Than you already have.

Cole sucked in a shaky breath that matched the shaking of Kai's hands before snatching up the sword.

"I promise you," he ground out, "I will not let you die."

And in the space of a single heartbeat, Cole had the flat edge of Kai's sword pressed against Jay's gaping wound.

A guttural, bloodcurdling scream pierced the air, battering against Kai's eardrums before he could even wrap his head around its source.

The source… Who—?

Jay.

Wave upon wave of nausea washed over him as Cole worked to seal the wound.

It's almost over became his mantra, looping again and again in his mind like one of Cole's broken records. Even when he had to pin down Jay's arms to keep him from pushing Cole away.

It's almost over. It's almost over.

Even after Cole pulled the sword away, flinging it into the dark forest beyond.

It's almost over. It's almost over.

Even after Jay's eyelids fell shut and didn't open again.

It's almost over. It's almost over.

It's almost…