Kai wasn't aware that he had passed out.
In one moment, the sky was a myriad of chaos, openings in the pink and purple sky revealing horrifying creatures desperately trying to share the space with Ninjago and in the next, he was flat on his back on the deck of The Bounty; if it wasn't for the throbbing from the back of his head and the ache in his back, he'd think it was just a nightmare.
But when he blinked a few times to focus his vision and saw two moons in the night sky, he knew that it was all too real.
So, despite the ache in his joints, he managed to push himself to his feet; the trees surrounding him were lush and full of leaves and the late-night breeze was cool and sharp against the cuts on his cheeks.
"Nya?! Master Wu?!" He called out as he made his way below deck, only letting his hand become alight once he was out of the wind that could easily pull the embers onto the wooden deck, "Lloyd?! Is anyone here?!"
But all he was met with was the darkness of night and the quiet that meant no one was there.
Well, except for himself.
'We just got separated in that nasty storm,' he assured himself as he came back up to the cold wind and climbed down to the ground, not surprised to see a good chunk of the hull was damaged, 'Jay was in his mech, and this thing breaks if you look at it wrong.'
"Don't worry, I'll get this patched up in no time," he said aloud, only to realize just how insane it sounded for him to be speaking to himself in the late hours of the night and rubbed his eyes, "but first, I'm gonna get some sleep."
It had been a long time since he had slept on The Bounty, but as he brushed his teeth, he allowed himself to sink into the familiarity of home, only to look up after he spit out the toothpaste to see the beginnings of stubble on his chin and the abundances of small scratches and bruising on his face.
He wasn't that young, naive ninja anymore, the one who let his fire go before he could think things through; he was a grown man, and as much as it made his stomach sink to think about the very real possibility, he was also the only hope Ninjago had right now.
So as he pulled the blanket over his body and allowed himself to drift off into sleep, he began to form his plan in his head. It wasn't a plan with steps, but the end goal in his mind was very clear.
'Get back home and find out what happened to the others.'
…
When the sun shone through the trees, Kai was relieved to see that the damage to the hull was much more superficial than what he had seen the night before.
Not only did it assure him that the bag of Nya's tools and the spare wood would be enough to patch it even with his rudimentary knowledge on repairs, but it also allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief that he'd be able to start making his way back to the monastery sooner rather than later.
That being said, it still took a good chunk of the day to repair the non-superficial damage to the hull as well as reviving the generator and by the time the sun started to set, Kai was nothing but exhausted and hungry.
On one hand, he wanted nothing more than to start flying home, to see if any of the others had made their way there but on the other hand, he had to be responsible and he knew that piloting the newly repaired Bounty meant nothing but trouble.
So he reluctantly made his way down to the kitchen with a sigh and opened the cabinets, thankful that Cole had developed an interest in canning food after the defeat of the Crystal King as he pulled out a jar that was tightly sealed full of Zane's beef stew.
After opening the jar, heating up his portion and setting the jar into the now working fridge, he let the taste of familiarity and home melt on his tongue as he ate his dinner in silence.
'They have to be okay. We've gone through too much, I can't lose them because of a stupid storm.'
He rubbed his face on his sleeve to wipe away any of the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes before washing the now empty dishes and making his way back to the bedroom.
But as he laid there in the dark and the silence with exhaustion filling his bones, he couldn't lure himself to sleep, not when something horrible could be happening to the others and he was stranded.
Kai sat up and reached up to the shelf above his bed, pulling down the worn moleskin journal and opening it; the first entries were mostly lists, "how to get the fang blades" and "reasons why I am naturally the Green Ninja".
He couldn't help but cringe at his naivety. It wasn't until he reached an early December that he had found a real entry, one that made his heart sink with remembrance.
It should have been me.
He moved on quickly through the years, until he finally found a full page.
Mom and dad helped Krux and Acronix. I always wanted to be just like dad and as long as I can remember, they were my heroes. Now I don't know what to think except that the others are counting on me.
Nya doesn't remember like I do and that's for the better now that we know that they were traitors. Not to mention Lloyd has already lost so much, and no one wants to tell him, but Sensei is dying. Acronix hit him with a time blade and now he's aging rapidly. Misako doesn't think he has much time left.
I know how much Lloyd wants to follow in Wu and Garmadon's footsteps, but I can't let him do that right now, not while he's still a kid. I feel awful for treating him the way I am, but he's being a major prick. Maybe it's just me being selfish, but I have this small hope that if we continue to undermine him, he'll back off till he's eighteen at least.
This probably makes me a horrible person, especially the one who promised to watch out for him after we lost Garmadon, but in a way, maybe this is watching out for him and keeping him from growing up any faster than he already has.
I just know that I can't lose him too, especially not like how we'll lose Sensei any day now.
Kai turned the page, unable to stop himself from letting out a chuckle at the next two entries and the complete turnaround from the last one.
HARUMI IS A LYING ASS BITCH!
HARUMI IS A BITCH ASS LIAR!
"What is this, a burn book?" He couldn't stop himself from asking aloud before turning to a blank page and starting to write until his eyes finally fluttered shut.
…
Date: 3(?) days post storm.
I've flown over some really cool realms. When I stopped for food at the edge of the forest, I was told by a Merlopian that all 16 realms merged together in that storm. They're calling it "The Merge" now which really sounds like some edgy shit Jay would have loved.
I'm getting closer to Ninjago, or where Ninjago used to be at least, now that I've gotten a map from a Serpentine. The monastery is still there, at least.
I just have this gut feeling that the others are alive. I've lost them before but this…this feels different.
…
Date: 1 week post Merge.
THAT SERPENTINE GAVE ME A FAKE MAP!
I ended up in this weird desert after days of flying and after everything with the First Realm and that massive bug that ate Zane, I never want to be in a desert full of mirages EVER again!
I'm turning around now, but it's going to take me even longer to get back to get back since none of my maps are reliable. I'm gonna try and figure out how to update the Bounty's GPS system tonight but there's a good chance that it explodes in my face.
Nya and Jay were always better at this than I was.
…
Date; 2 weeks post Merge.
The GPS finally updated and I'm getting to some kind of familiar places, Shintaro being one of them. No one has seen any of Cole's friends since The Merge though, except Vania, obviously. She and her dragon are still there, but the rest of them are missing.
It's just more people we WILL find.
Apparently everyone got scrambled during The Merge, not just us. Parents, kids, friends, all missing. The current theory is displacement and I really hope that's true.
After all, it's better than everyone you have ever loved being departed.
…
Date: 3 weeks post Merge.
The Crossroads are so, so cool. It's like every single species from Ninjago, or otherwise, have ended up here and have combined the best parts of themselves.
I stopped to grab a few more supplies before I get to the Monastery tonight, and the amount of people who have come up to me and thanked me for everything we've done is huge.
I just wish the others were here to see this.
…
It was dark by the time Kai finally anchored The Bounty to the side of the mountain.
And yet, despite the anchor settling into its familiar groove, Kai found himself stalling at the small door as his gut twinged with the well known instinct that he wasn't alone.
On one hand, he knew someone had to be there. Someone had to have pruned Zane's cherry blossom tree and rearranged the pile of stones that Cole often used for training.
But on the other hand, it could have easily been a tribute from Ninjago to commemorate the loss-
'You didn't come all this way to quit, Kai,' he told himself as his fingernails dug harshly against his palms, 'even if they aren't there, you have to find out.'
So he managed to push himself forward out the door and towards the deck so he could lower himself down the secured anchor, trying to block out any and all thoughts as he did despite the twinge in his gut.
That was probably why he didn't hear anything before he was swept up in a green tornado.
'Green!'
Despite his excitement and his realization when he saw the green tornado, he still screamed before curling up into a ball when he saw the green ball of energy getting ready to make contact with his body.
However, it never did and as soon as Kai realized that he was in the clear, he flipped his hood over his head and shouted, "what the heck, Lloyd?!"
"Kai, sorry," Lloyd apologized while holding out his hand so Kai could pull himself to his feet, his spirits only dampening the tiniest bit as Lloyd added, "I haven't seen anyone in weeks."
But Kai couldn't stop himself from throwing his arms around Lloyd, lifting him in the air a little as he finally allowed himself to breathe, "so good to see you, buddy."
"You too." Lloyd agreed before burrowing his head against Kai's collarbone, "do you know where you ended up?"
"No idea, but I went through a lot of realms on the way here, so maybe it was one I had never seen before," he explained, despite the twinge in his gut still sitting there and leaving him in discomfort, "have you been okay?"
"Have any of us?"
"Well, no, but Lloyd, you're just…" Kai swallowed as it hit him that the twinge was that instinct that he had felt after Nya had been taken by Garmadon, after he had saved Lloyd in that volcano and the many, many times after when he had gotten either of them back.
And with the way he had been able to lift Lloyd so effortlessly on the deck despite the fact that he had jumped forward and slumped against his hold didn't do anything to ease the worries building inside of him
"I'm just paranoid, that's all," he brushed off his concern and pulled Lloyd closer with an arm around his shoulder, "why don't you show me around the monastery?"
"It's a mess, and you live here-"
"Did you do all this landscaping? Besides, I shared a room with Jay, I don't care about the mess."
The reluctance in Lloyd beckoning him to follow didn't ease his worries and the state of the monastery only amplified them; he wasn't lying about the mess with the laundry, ripped papers and trash on the floor.
But it looked that aside from the movement of existing, no one had lived there since the merge; he was aware of all of the various struggles that the others had been through, including Lloyd's depression that would take over for weeks or even months at a time.
When Kai finally dragged Lloyd to a psych evaluation after the mess with Harumi and it came back with a diagnosis of dysthymia, a referral to a therapist and a prescription for Prozac, he would be lying if he said that he was surprised.
"She said it probably stemmed from "abandonment issues" and "having to take care of myself as a kid" but that she wasn't a therapist. The serpentine treated me like a king! They even built me a treehouse!"
"And you remember what happened right after?"
Lloyd stayed quiet for a couple of beats before pointing a finger at Kai, "you, shush."
"So, if you don't mind me asking," Kai tried to speak as casually as possible as he started picking up torn scroll pieces off of the floor of what was once Master Wu's study, "when was the last time you took your Prozac?"
Despite the casual tone as Lloyd asked, "what makes you ask that?" He could clearly see the way that his spine tensed as soon as the question was asked even as he added, "because this mess is just from the merge and the monastery being huge and even if I could go get my meds, the entirety of Ninjago has been fucked over because of this-"
"Lloyd, take a breath, you're rambling," Kai insisted as he pressed the pieces of the scroll into his clammy palm, "I just want you to be as okay as possible, that's all. Call it a big brother instinct or something like that."
"It's so fucked up."
Kai pulled him into as tight of a hug as possible as he tried his best to try not to let himself collapse into the ever growing pit of despair and settled on saying, "I've got you, Greenie. I'm staying right here this time."
Just as Kai's luck would have it, that would be when the sky rebelled once again and started to split the seams of the fabric of reality.
…
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Kai raised an eyebrow as Lloyd finished throwing the backpack aboard the deck of The Bounty.
"We need help stopping those Mergequakes and someone has to have answers. Uncle Wu entrusted me with the monastery, I need to get it back into shape before he gets back and one of us needs to keep Ninjago safe. What's left of it, at least."
"Okay," Kai agreed before pulling Lloyd into a tight hug, unable to stop himself from wondering when the next time would be, "but you take care of yourself too. Take your meds, actually leave the house instead of using DeliveryDragon, please eat more than straight ramen-"
"First Master, stop babying me. I'll be fine, Kai."
"I'm holding you to that," Kai insisted as he finally let go and climbed aboard the deck, "I'll write, I promise."
It didn't matter how much he waved as The Bounty creaked while it lifted off of the ground, he still had to fight back his worry even before Lloyd turned into a small green dot before disappearing behind the clouds filling the sky.
With nothing better to do, Kai found himself making his way to the dining room and pulling a fresh, empty roll of parchment in order to make the map of the new, fascinating land he now found himself living in.