Zane was gone.

First Master, Kai could still see his face.

He looked so at peace, so ready to accept his death, like there was no other purpose which he was created for. Kai had watched the pain etched on his face slowly melt away as his heart rate on the monitor reached critical mass.

And then just one solid ringing pitch echoed off the buildings.

Kai had never felt so cold.

"Hey buddy," a sharp finger snap pulled Kai out of his stupor, and Cole's waving hand came into his vision. The ringing in his ears melted into some background music and scattered conversations. When he looked around the bar he saw a group of tough-looking guys playing pool and different colored bottles pyramided against the wall in front of him. Everything felt muddled and disjointed, and he grimaced as he ran a hand through his hair to clear his eyes.

He realized Cole was still next to him and looking at him with concern. "I said, how many of those have you had?"

Kai squinted. Why was everything so loud? He looked down blankly at the empty glass in front of him. "... I dunno."

Dark eyebrows knit together, Cole clicked his tongue as Kai rested his forehead on the rim of the empty cup.

"Cole, I'm not drunk," Kai mumbled, shrugging the earth master's hand off his shoulder without looking up. "I'm just tired." He ignored the snort coming from the person next to him. After a beat of silence he added, "What are you even doing here? I thought you got a… job or something." He tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Cole had stayed with him in the beginning; they had parked themselves in this crummy joint almost every night and stayed there until they could barely see straight and the owner had to kick them out. Kai suspected he was just doing it to keep an eye on him at first, but then Cole actually seemed to want to go and forget about… well, everything for a while. He knew he was a piece of trash for thinking it, but he actually found comfort in that.

And then one night as they were about to leave, Cole had mentioned he got a job felling trees with a lumber company a couple miles up north, and wouldn't be able to come by as often.

He was happy for Cole. Really.

"Man, I'm…I'm sorry it's been so rough for you lately. Really I am. But you gotta go home. Nya's worried sick about you and so is Lloyd. You're really scaring us."

For a minute Kai's stomach sunk with guilt. He was right, he was so selfish for being here, not thinking of anyone else's grief. Of course he wasn't the only one mourning. Of course his brothers were taking Zane's death just as hard as he was.

And yet, something whispered in his addled mind that it was worse for him. Kai had the extra burden of regret on his chest. He should've done more. He should've been kinder to Zane, more patient, more… like a brother. Then he began recalling every time he had an opportunity to make the right choice and do the right thing with his brothers, and he refused.

It scared him.

He deserved this.

"M'fine," Kai said again more insistently, ignoring the lump building up in his throat at the mention of his sibling(s). "I already told you, you guys are worrying too much."

"Nooo, I think we're worrying just the right amount," Cole countered. Kai couldn't detect any anger in his arguments, which somehow only stoked Kai's. He didn't deserve Cole's concern. He should be focused on helping his other brothers. "C'mon man, you're not even old enough to be drinking this stuff. You're gonna seriously hurt yourself."

"You're one to talk," Kai couldn't help but throw back, keeping his balled fists hidden beneath his crossed arms. Man, his head was way too clear right now. His fingers twitched, anticipating another drink.

"I know. I know I messed up. But this isn't right. We're ninja, and–"

"Please don't say 'ninja never quit," Kai ground out tiredly, eyes starting to sting. "Just… don't." Any other time Kai would have loved not being alone, but right now he was really hoping Cole would go home.

"I was going to say ninja support each other," Cole sighed sadly, seeming to read his mind as he hopped off the bar stool, shrugging, "I'm not going to tell you what to do, but… will you call me the next time you're going out? I'd feel a lot better knowing where you are."

Kai practically glared at the stained bar granules to keep his stupid tears from falling and gave a two-fingered salute, hearing his brother's footsteps walk away after a couple of minutes.

Slowly, Kai let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in and swiped at his eyes, frustrated with how often he's had to do that motion. He didn't deserve to cry.

It was at that wonderful moment that Kai's head decided to murder him.

The dim lights became way too bright and the pulse behind his eyes pounded, spreading to his entire head. He whined and buried his face in his arms, reevaluating exactly how many drinks he's had. The fact that he honestly couldn't remember was probably a red flag. First Master his stomach was turning.

The announcements that the fights were starting definitely weren't helping anything.

Kai twisted his neck around to see two fighters enter the ring, throw a flurry of unceremonious punches, and land with one as the winner. Several others came and went in the same manner. He scoffed and started to get up to leave. Maybe a walk in the cold would help his head.

Someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Before Kai could yank it back the scaly hand let go and the serpentine grinned placatingly, showing his fangs. "Hey fire ninja, my buddy over there wants to see what you've got. You'll get paid if you win. Waddya say?"

Normally Kai would never say no to a fight, but seeing the snake's "buddy" in his present condition made him back away. He felt nauseous and light-headed. He needed to get out of here. "Not tonight."

He didn't even get a chance to respond when the snake turned him around back towards the arena. "Aw c'mon, Kai, have some fun. It'll do you good."

Part of him was seriously unnerved that the serpentine knew his name, though it was pretty common knowledge, but his ninja senses were seriously going off.

Before he knew it he was shoved into the fight ring with a guy that made Cole look like Jay in comparison.

Kai looked around and tried to shoulder his way past the crowd that had gathered, but his uncoordinated movements paired with the insistent crowd made it impossible to escape.

It was only when the guy wrenched his shoulder back and forced him to face him did Kai realize he was going to have to fight to get out of this.

His heart quickened as he caught the beefcake's punch, then used it more for support as his body weight lurched backward.

Kai laughed nervously to hide the fact that he was seriously going to barf.

The biker guy gave an insultingly unimpressed look as he used the fist to pull Kai back towards him and, consequently, rammed into his other fist.

The crowd's cheers and boos melted together as Kai's vision went out for a minute in one eye, sending him to the ground.

He had just enough time to roll out of the way of a flying kick that just missed colliding with his ribs.

He did not, however, have time to notice the biker grabbing his ankle and dragging him closer again, using his hoodie strings to sit him up. Before he knew it, Kai was struggling to breathe in a corroded chokehold.

The ninja gasped and instantly regretted it, gagging on the cut-off air in his throat. He felt the huge bicep against his neck squeeze his racing pulse.

He clawed mindlessly at the arm, oxygen-deprived mind getting desperate for air. He could already feel his chest tightening with panic. Somewhere in his useless brain he heard Wu's disapproving lecture that it only takes ten seconds for you to go unconscious from a good chokehold.

Great.

He didn't know why he did it, but he opened his eyes and spotted the same snake from before staring at him with disappointment. There was no way he should've been able to hear him, but the snake turned to the person next to him and distinctly muttered, "Bummer, thought the kid would put up more of a fight."

And somehow, through spotty vision and gritted teeth, that got to him.

He may not deserve to be part of the team anymore, but he was still the elemental master of fire, and he would never, never go down without a fight.

And if fighting was the only thing he was good for now, then he was going to fight like hell itself had just given him a personal stash of its arsenal.

Using his foot to find and trip his opponent, he thrust his open hand into the guy's face and dug his fingers into his eyes, nose, and ears, startling him into letting Kai go.

As they both fell backward, Kai twisted and grabbed the thick leather sleeves of the guy's jacket, holding on tight. He braced the biker's elbow against his knee and pulled down. Hard.

His opponent's cry of pain was somewhat drowned out by the near-unanimous cheers of the crowd.

"Alright, alright! I tap out I–argh!"

Breathing hard, Kai took one look at the snake, glared, and wrenched the arm down with a sickening snap .