LAST CHAPTER!

Chapter 4: The end of the day

Ms. Take was a wiry old woman with a feisty attitude. When the old woman heard Jay's pleading and begging for her help, she grunted and rushed off with him to save Kai, only when Jay revealed that Kai had saved Dessie's life. She had a soft spot in her heart for Dessie, and she was willing to save Kai on the young woman's account more than his own.

Kai was still laying on the ground, head gently bandaged with strips of Zane's gi. Ms. Take instructed the big ninja of earth to carry him gently inside the Bounty to a bed. "And hurry up!" she barked. But Zane saw the compassion and fear in her eyes, and knew that bringing Kai back might be challenging even for this renowned healer.

Cole, Jay, Zane, and Nya watched as she worked. They didn't understand half of what she was doing, but in spite of all of it, Kai just seemed to slowly fade. Soon he was barely breathing at all, and Zane watched tearfully as he scanned and assessed that Kai's respiratory organs were slowly shutting down.

Human life, he observed. So precious, but so fragile, and unable to replace or duplicate.

Finally, Ms. Take took a step back. "Where is Dessie?" she asked.

"Resting," said Cole. "She was pretty shaken, and we didn't tell her about Kai."

"She'd know anyway," snorted Ms. Take, hands on her hips. "Bring her here - you said they were in love?"

"Madly," said Jay tearfully, and Cole pinched him.

"Then get her down here," said the snappy old woman. "She needs to hold his hand and try to bring him back."

"What do you mean?" asked Nya. "Is he…is he…"

"I've done all I can," she said. "The rest is up to him."

"What the heck does that mean?!" Demanded Jay.

"Medically speaking," Zane interjected, "there is nothing left to do. But emotionally, Kai might be able to mentally pull himself through. But often times patients like this respond only to people they know extremely well. Dessie would be the best one to draw him out of his coma by default. Nya is his sister," he added when he saw Jay open his mouth to protest. "But Kai has a different connection to Dessie than to his sister."

"All of you need to try to speak to him," said Ms. Take. "But she has a better chance at reaching him."

"I'll go get her," said Cole softly.

"Pray for a miracle," said Ms. Take to the others as Cole left. "Kai might not walk away from this."

()

The world was so colorful. It was so easy to breathe. Kai smiled in pleasure as he slowly sat up. "Wow," he breathed. "Are you guys seeing this?"

They didn't respond. And…they weren't looking at him. They were staring at the pillow behind him. Jay, Nya, Zane, Cole, and Ms. Take - wait, what was she doing here? - and Dessie, were staring at the pillow that had been under his head just seconds ago.

"Guys?" He asked.

"Dessie, talk to him," said Cole gently. Kai started - the richness of Cole's voice was gone. And he looked…grey. All of them did.

Dessie sat beside him and took his hand. Kai's breath caught in his lungs; he couldn't feel it. Her hand passed through his.

"WHAT?!" he screamed. "Dessie, why can't I feel you?! WHAT THE HECK - "

"Kai."

Kai stopped, staring at Dessie. She wasn't looking at his face, but rather at something behind him. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and turned to see -

"OH MY GOSH!" he screamed, leaping off of the bed.

He was lying there. His body, with his face, and his hair. Beat up, looking awful.

"Kai, please don't leave," Dessie whispered. "Please. You saved me, and I…I don't want to live without you."

Ms. Take slowly bowed her head. Zane sat down heavily, trembling with soundless tears, and Nya cried into Jay's chest, sobbing as if there was no tomorrow. Jay sniffed loudly and cried with her. Cole gently came and laid a hand on Dessie's shoulder.

"He…he's gone, Dess." Cole's voice cracked with emotion, and Kai realized suddenly how much his friend had cared, in spite of what had happened earlier. "I didn't even get to say sorry."

"No," she moaned, shaking her head. "No, he's still here! He has to be! This isn't how this ends!"

"Dessie," whispered Ms. Take, "I'm so sorry."

"No!" cried Dessie. "He's still here! He still loves me! He's coming back!" Large tears began rolling down her cheeks. "He's not leaving me," she whispered, burying her face in Kai's motionless hand. "I'm not letting him."

"I'm not dead!" cried Kai. "Why can't you guys hear me?!" He tried to hold Dessie, but his hands passed through her. "Why can't I feel?!" he shouted. "What is happening?!"

"My son," came a whisper. It blew past his ear like a laugh on the breeze, or like a passing kiss. "My son, why are you here so early?"

Slowly, barely daring to believe what his ears told him, he turned.

Standing before him, wide, disbelieving brown eyes riveted on him, was his mother, Sophia Tefuto. He'd forgotten how beautiful she was. With long dark hair and skin white and soft, her nose and mouth shared by Nya, and her deep, warm brown eyes passed down to Kai.

"My son," she whispered. "What tragedy has happened, that you are here? How have you died?!"

"M…Mom," he said, staring. "I…I'm dead?"

"Kai," came Dessie's voice. He turned again to her, and saw that she was still crying and holding his hand. "Kai, please!"

"I…I'm dead," he whispered. "I'm dead!"

"Kai," his mother said softly. "Why do you look that way? There is nothing but green fields there, yet you seem to see something."

"My Dessie," he said. "And my friends. And Nya. And my bed. I still see them." He turned back to his mother, eyebrows furrowed. "And I'm not seeing any grass."

"Ah," said his mother with a relieved smile. "You are not gone yet. You can still go back."

He looked away. He wasn't sure about that. He looked back at himself in the bed. That looks pretty painful, he thought to himself.

"Kai, please!" Dessie's cry barely made it to his ears before it faded. "Come back!"

"Darling," said his mother gently, "I see it on your face. Dessie is calling you."

"Do you like her?" Kai asked, looking for a reaction on his mother's face.

"I love her," said Sophia. "She is deeply in love with you. Her mother likes you too."

Kai raised his eyebrows, then looked down. His mother saw his surprise and said, "We watch you from here. We watch in pride, seeing what you do for the good of Ninjago."

"Kai!" Came Dessie's voice again.

"Kai," breathed his mother, seeing the turmoil in her son. "Go back. You have many things that need doing yet. You have a child, waiting for you in the future. You have a life to live with Dessie. You know," she whispered, laying a hand on his shoulder, "not many people get this second chance that you are getting. I know that returning will be hard, and very very painful. But lean down, and look at her face."

Kai looked at his mother, then obeyed. He sat awkwardly inside the bed, positioned so he could look directly into Dessie's face.

Even in the greyed, weird color that mortal people seemed to have, she looked beautiful. Her tears were streaked down her cheeks, and she was holding his hand tightly in her own two, beautiful hands. Her eyes were pleading as she yelled in anguish, "Kai! Don't leave me!"

Kai couldn't move. That look of desperation on Dessie's face broke his heart.

His mother sighed. "Oh my little boy," she said softly, then added, "You need to hurry. Make your decision quickly, or you will lose your chance."

Everything else was fading. Kai couldn't see Zane anymore, and Ms. Take had vanished earlier. Jay and Nya were fading, and Dessie was really all he could see. That and the grass his mother had mentioned earlier.

He stood. "I love you," he said, tears in his eyes. "But my future wife needs me."

She beamed at him and tenderly kissed him on the forehead. "I love you," she smiled. "But you have a life to live." She hugged him tightly, and Kai lost himself in his mother's embrace. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered in his ear. "Go with my blessing, with the knowledge that you have nothing to fear in death."

He squeezed her tearfully, then turned to face his body. "Okay. I'm ready." There was an awkward pause, and then he said, "Um, how do I go back?"

"Just try," said his mom. "Find your reason in your heart, and lay on the bed. You'll find your way back."

Again, awkwardly, Kai lay himself down on top of himself on the bed. "Here we go," he thought, and took a deep breath of perfect air. Dessie was beside him, but starting to fade away. "Kai!" she begged, holding his hand up to her face. "Please." She closed her eyes, and pressed his hand against her tear-stained cheek. "I love you."

"I love you," he said back, then winced. Pain shot up his leg.

"Don't leave me," she whispered through her tears.

"I'm not leaving you!" he shouted, and he saw stars as his head was engulfed in the biggest migraine he'd ever had. Is my head broken?

"Please," she sobbed. "I want to be your wife."

"I really really want to be your husband!" he yelled, despite his growing headache. Everything was starting to go black.

"I want to have children with you," she moaned, weeping into his limp hand.

"OH YAAAASSS!" Kai shouted, and felt a sudden weight on his chest that knocked the air out of him. He was fighting to breathe, and suddenly he couldn't hear anything but the sound of blood in his ears and his heart struggling to beat in his chest. He couldn't see anything, and suddenly he felt heavy and numb. He was fighting to live now.

I love you. I'm not leaving you. Oh yeeeeesssssss…

His words echoed in his mind as his heart began to slow. He suddenly had a pang of fear - was he going to make it out into the other side? Suddenly his reasons slipped his tired, wounded mind, and he felt himself sliding backwards.

I came here for something greater…

Sensei's voice reached Kai's ears. Kai opened his mouth whisper his teacher's name, but his throat was suddenly parched, and his tongue felt as thick as a mattress.

…you. A fire burns bright in you. Harness it…

Suddenly Kai understood. His passion and fire were out.

He clung to the image of Dessie's face in his mind, swearing to come through for her.

His life was too good to leave so early. He had a lot to do yet.

With a deep, painful breath and a cry of defiance, he pulled through to the other side.

"Oh my gosh!"

"He - he pulled through! He's breathing!"

"More like out of it! He was so dead!"

"Is he…is he fine?"

"Can he hear us?"

"HIS EYES ARE OPEN!"

"Jay, shut up! His ears will be hurting if you keep that up!"

"SILENCE!"

"Sorry Ms. Take."

"Kai?"

Kai slowly opened his eyes. His mind felt so muddy, and his chest stung as he gulped in large mouthfuls of air. No wait…that was everything. Everything hurt so badly that his eyes were watering.

Speaking of everything, all he could see were blurry shapes and colors. He could make out someone beside him, and he felt someone holding his hand, but everything else was just blurriness. His eyes tried to focus, but then they stung for some reason. Why did everything hurt?

"Kai, can you hear me?"

Dessie. Dessie was nearby. He breathed sharply and tried to move his head to see, but felt a stinging pain in his neck and quickly stopped. The people around him gasped and began talking excitedly, saying things like "He's okay!" and "He tried to turn to her!"

"Can you see me?" asked Dessie. "If you can, then squeeze my hand. I'm temporarily blind."

He squinted. They chuckled, and Ms. Take told them sharply that if they couldn't take things seriously then they could all leave. The person holding his hand moved, and gently touched his cheek. Kai closed his eyes and sighed as emotions swept over him. He recognized Dessie's touch, and slowly everything came back to him. He remembered.

"He's crying," came Jay's sad murmur. "Kai, what's wrong?"

Kai moved his hand clumsily and concentrated hard on her blurry shape. Slowly, he reached out and ran his hand along her cheek. She gently took it and kissed it. He opened his mouth, and in a cracked, raspy voice, he whispered hoarsely, "I…I heard you the…whole time. You…said…you loved…me."

She kissed his fingers again , then gently felt his face and wiped the warm tears from his eyes. "I meant it," she said.

"Kai," stepped in Cole, humbly taking his injured brother's hand. "I'm so sorry. I should never have believed that video. I should never have treated you that way." The Master of Earth unashamedly wept into Kai's hand bitterly, regret gripping his heart. "We nearly lost you twice in one day. Please forgive me."

Kai smiled weakly, and squeezed Cole's hand. The apology helped. Cole had been fooled, just like the rest of them. They put up with my failures, he thought, and with my ego. Cole was doing what he thought he had to. "I…for…give…," he murmured weakly, then gave up. There were other things he wanted to say, and Cole understood what he meant. Cole's tears quieted with relief, and Kai felt their bond again.

"…Zane," He rasped. "Get it."

The white figure left the room, and Jay asked indignantly, "Wait, what? Get what? Hey, is there a new secret code going around that Zane knows and I don't?!

"Jay, be quiet," snorted Cole. "But Kai, what is he getting?"

"You shut up!" said Jay. "You didn't know either? You have no right to speak!"

"GUYS," said Nya, and they quieted.

Dessie scooted closer to Kai and laid her head next to him on the bed. Kai felt warm and fuzzy feelings as Zane trotted back into the room.

"I've returned," he said to Kai. Kai held out a trembling hand, and Zane placed a small, black bag in it.

Nya gasped. "Kai, are you…?"

"Is he what?!" demanded Jay. "Is he WHAT?!"

"No way," laughed Cole.

"NO WAY WHAT?!" cried Jay.

Kai tapped Dessie on the shoulder, and she sat up. His eyes were focusing more, and he could see that her eyes were red from all the tears she had cried. She was smiling, and he knew that she was just thankful he was alive.

He opened the drawstring bag with trembling, weakened fingers, and lifted out a gold ring with a diamond and turquoise flower on the top. Gently, he laid it in Dessie's hand. Her fingers closed around it, and she grew still. "Kai, what is this?" she breathed, but her wide eyes revealed that she was really asking if he was seriously asking.

He grinned, then winced in pain. "I…really really…want to be your husband," he croaked. "Marry me?"

There was a shocked silence as everyone stared at the two. Dessie's eyes grew even wider, and Kai was lost again in the loveliness of them. "Kai Tefuto," she whispered. "Yes."

Everyone clapped in glee and exclaimed over them in excitement. Kai slipped the ring onto Dessie's finger, and she gently hugged him. He felt her tears of happiness running down his neck, but he didn't care.

"Ohhh," said Jay suddenly. "Ok. I get it now."

"Get what?" asked Nya.

"Why Kai wanted Zane to know where he hid the ring," said Jay. "He didn't want Cole to…uh…meddle," he said carefully, eyeing Cole's large biceps, "and he didn't want me to blab by accident."

"But why tell Zane?" asked Nya. "Kai didn't even tell me."

"His exact words to me where: 'watch over my wedding ring, Zane. I don't know what the future looks like, and if I would ever have to go down in a fight, I want Dessie to have this,'" said Zane. He looked directly at Nya. "He also explained to me that he wanted to surprise you as well with this happy news."

Cole smiled. Kai looked like he had fallen asleep in Dessie's embrace, and she was stroking his crazy hair tenderly, tears drying on her face. She began humming softly, and Ms. Take ushered everyone but Cole outside.

"He is the elder brother," she said when they all protested. "These two need some quiet, and he'll make sure that everything is fine. You can all take turns perhaps, but remember that rest is the best medicine for those two."

The door shut behind them, and their soft voices faded as they left the room and walked down the hall. Cole smiled as Kai began snoring softly, peacefully resting in his true love's arms. Dessie giggled and with Cole's help lay down beside him, still cradling his head in her arms and stroking his hair.

"Cole," she said softly. "I thought that everything would be fine after we came home. You know, after the Tournament of Elements."

"I know," murmured Cole, pulling his chair closer. "And I'm sorry. You've had a really awful day."

"This day was exactly what I needed," she whispered. "I mean, I never wanted anyone to get hurt, but if you think about it, this day has become a win for all of us. Remember that time Mom talked to us about love? When she said that you needed to let it grow, until one day you wake up and can't imagine life without it?"

Cole nodded, already knowing where she was going with this.

"I woke up in my room ten minutes ago," she said softly. "And I immediately knew that I couldn't live without Kai's love. I couldn't live without loving him. And when you brought me in here, I knew right away that I had to save him, because I would die inside if I didn't."

She sighed, stroking Kai's peaceful face. "I just wanted to hear him breathing again."

Cole grinned. "I have no idea what that feeling feels like, but I believe you when you say that you can't live without him. I've noticed the changes in both of you. Kai seems more…I don't know…mature? And you are braver now than when you first came back."

She yawned and snuggled against Kai. "I know," she said softly. "And I think that once we are married, things will be even more beautiful in our relationship. Just think - no matter what happens, our love remains. It did today. So it will tomorrow."

Cole smiled. It was moving, seeing the two of them together. It made him feel like things were restored now; as if this was how things were supposed to be. The three of them rested in the peacefulness of the room - Kai with bandages wrapped around his head and a cast on his left leg, and Dessie with her arms around him, and Cole beside them, vigilantly watching and making sure nothing interrupted Kai's pleasant dreams.

()

"I see that Shadow failed." The harsh voice held no regret or sorrow.

Form's voice trembled. "We…we didn't realize they were that strong." As she knelt before her mistress, she felt a pang of regret. Shadow hadn't been the nicest person to her, but she'd enjoyed helping him by using her powers to look and sound like the red ninja. She'd fooled the black one pretty good, but they'd won anyway.

"His mistake was hitting too close to the red one," said the first voice. "Taking everything from a person makes them dangerous and vengeful. The red ninja is already that way by nature. I don't know what Shadow was thinking."

"The red one had more to lose," whispered Form, not daring to look at the hard woman above her.

"Thus giving him more reasons to show no mercy as well," snorted the woman.

"…should I tell Soro to make his move? He could target a different one."

"No. Let him get jealous. I've seen how he looks at the blue ninja - his jealousy will come in handy. If anything, tell him we don't need him anymore. Let him think that he is his own master. But take custody of everything he leaves behind when he is bested."

"Bested?"

"You saw how well the red ninja did," replied the woman. "Imagine how well the others would do. You said it yourself…he was the more vulnerable one."

"Yes, Preeminent," whispered Form. She dared to glance at the hard woman, completely terrified of her. Even Shadow had begun to fear her when he was finishing the job - and now that Form had to obey her alone only made her even more afraid of this hardened woman.

"I will go tell Soro at once," said Form, and quickly left the woman's presence. This evil woman had big plans for Ninjago, and this was just the start. Form hadn't even been allowed to know what she had planned for it's guardians, the ninja. She felt almost sick to her stomach as she left to go do what The Preeminent had ordered.

Let the ninja enjoy their victory for now, she thought. There were darker days to come.

THE END