Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

God, my head...Kai thought. He clambered out of his vehicle and looked around.

His vehicle was picked up off the ground and thrown on top of-

"Cole!" Kai shouted, running over to where the two vehicles sat, crashed into the side of a building.

Kai prayed, for possibly the first time in his life, that Cole was okay. He pried open the windshield covering the cockpit. Cole wasn't moving.

Kai held his breath as he reached to unbuckle Cole, when the latter opened his eyes weakly.

"What happened? Did we win?" Cole slurred. Kai jumped slightly, and tried to help Cole out of the vehicle. Cole fell out of the cockpit, likely trying to get out himself, on top of Kai.

"Not exactly..." Kai said. He froze as he heard a voice in the distance.

"You six, go that way. The rest of you, that way! Find the Ninja! The Crystal King demands it!" Pythor demanded.

Kai quickly pulled Cole behind a dumpster. He tried summoning his fire powers, but he couldn't. Something was very, very wrong. Cole mumbled something into Kai's shoulder, breaking his concentration.

"Huh? What'd you say?" Kai asked, leaning Cole up against the dumpster. It wasn't the best spot to be having a conversation, but it was better than in plain view of Pythor and the Vengestone army.

"You're handsome, didja know that?" Cole said, a bit more clearly. Kai's cheeks brightened, and he kinda chuckled. That came out of nowhere.

"Jackpot," Pythor said. He sounded closer than he had previously.

"Crap," Kai muttered.

"Oh Ninja, where are you?" Pythor taunted in a sing-song voice.

"Over here!" Cole called out, waving his arm above the dumpster.

"Wh- are you nuts?!" Kai shouted, covering his mouth. But it was too late.

"Come out and play!" Pythor shouted. Kai dived out from behind the dumpster, dragging Cole with him. The sounds of crashing followed as Pythor sent a bolt of power at the dumpster.

Kai didn't know what to do. He was unarmed, powerless somehow, his and Cole's vehicles were both out of commission, speaking of which Cole wasn't even in the right headspace-

"Hm, if only your friend were awake. You might've stood a chance!" Pythor taunted once again.

Kai held Cole tighter. They weren't getting out of this alive, were they?

"Love you!" Cole announced, hugging Kai. Kai immediately hugged him back

"I love you too," Kai replied. He glanced over Cole's shoulder to see Pythor staring at the two with a surprised expression on his face.

"What's wrong, can't handle two guys saying they love each other?" Kai teased. Hey, if he was going to die, he'd die throwing shade over saying nothing any day.

"Not at all, just you two? Didn't expect that," Pythor mumbled.

"Oh. Well thanks I guess?" Kai replied. He was expecting Pythor to get a bit more defensive for some reason.

"Anyways, I do feel a bit bad beating two defenseless individuals, so how about you come with us peacefully?" Pythor offered.

"Thank you for the offer, but they won't be needing it." Kai turned around to see Skylor. She pointed upwards, and a few crates filled with various food from Master Chen's Noodle House fell to the ground, breaking atop Pythor and his army. Pythor shouted in anger and Skylor grabbed Kai and Cole, running in the direction she came from.

"Where are we going?!" Kai asked, constantly switching between watching Skylor, Cole, and the path behind them for any of the Crystal Kings minions.

"Anywhere that isn't here!" Skylor replied, running in seemingly random directions, taking a different turn every five seconds.

Eventually, Skylor entered a building through a side door that Kai didn't recognize. The lights were off and it seemed to be lined with bookshelves. The books inside were various states. Some being perfectly clean, other so covered in dust that you couldn't even tell what the original colour was meant to be.

There were tables and armchairs dotted around, and a small kitchenette was tucked into one corner. There was a counter with a cash register and what looked like bakery shelves around it.

"What is this place?" Kai asked, bringing Cole over to a longer couch in front of a fireplace. Skylor brought over some matches and gasoline.

"An old library. Well, I say old. It was still running before the owner got crystalized," Skylor replied. She doused the wood inside the fireplace in gasoline and struck a match. The wood seemed to be slightly charred, but that was about it. Well, until Skylor threw the match on it and it went up in flames.

Kai sat at the edge of the couch by Cole's legs, and stared into the fire.

"Did he hit his head?" Skylor asked.

"I dunno, probably?" Kai guessed. Truly he had no idea what had happened to Cole.

"Hm. What symptoms was he exhibiting?" Skylor replied, walking over and feeling Cole's forehead with the back of her hand.

Kai had to think for a moment but he listed off the out of ordinary things he noticed from Cole. Skylor nodded the whole time and sighed.

"He probably has a severe concussion. We need to stay with him and make sure he gets plenty of rest," Skylor explained. Kai's heart skipped a beat.

"Wait, severe? Are you sure?" Kai asked. He knew concussions on their own were bad, but typically healed, but couldn't they cause brain damage? Would Cole be okay?

"I'm sure. Don't worry, as long as he rests, he'll be okay. I can run out and find some medication to help him. He'll have one heck of a headache when he wakes up," Skylor explained.

"Sure, uh, how long until he wakes up?" Kai asked.

"Not sure. Usually not too long," Skylor shrugged, "never really seen many people with concussions, believe it or not."

"Yeah. See ya," Kai said, waving. Skylor waved back, threw on a black hoodie and cape, and left.

The door clicked shut behind her, leaving the only sounds Kai could hear the fire cackling, and his and Cole's breathing.

Kai looked at Cole and sighed. He gently took Cole's hand and fell asleep next to him.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Kai woke up to a completely different room. He was facing towards a wall with a window, an eerie magenta glow slipping through the blinds. The wall was plaster, with cracks on some of the edges. There was also a bedside table with Kai's hood set on it alongside a lamp and an alarm clock, both without power, of course. Much like himself.

He was in a bed, he thought. The mattress wasn't very comfortable, but the blankets? Kai wished he knew where the old owner of this shop got them.

Kai turned over, and saw Cole next to him.

He gasped and sat up, then got off the bed careful not to wake Cole. Kai got a better view of the room now. The bed had two blankets on it, one a comforter you would get at any mattress store, and the one on top an embroidered blanket with the colours of the lesbian flag.

Kai smiled at that. It was always nice to see people expressing themselves, even if it's just in their decor. There were some pictures of presumably the owner of the library covering the walls. There were pictures with just them, in groups, with one other person, and one with their saint bernard.

There was a wardrobe next to the door, and a desk beside the right bedside table, with was identical to the left, just with no alarm clock and Cole's hood currently on it instead of Kai's. The desk had various sewing supplies, fabrics, cardboards, piles of paper folded in half and put in stacks of four, for some reason, and other various craft supplies.

Kai slipped the door open quietly and walked down the stairs. Skylor was there sitting in front of the fire, fiddling with a radio. In front of her was what looked like some rations and a few bottles of different medications.

"Hey, how did you sleep?" Skylor asked, not turning to face Kai.

"Pretty well, actually. How long was I out for?" he asked, deciding not to bring up where he woke up, for now, at least.

"I got back about an hour ago now, so at least an hour," Skylor offered.

"What'd you find?" Kai sat down next to Skylor and got a better look at the medication she'd brought home. Most of it was stuff Kai recognized; Allergy meds, pain killers, stuff for heartburn, and antibiotics. There were a few names he didn't recognize but he trusted Skylor would tell him about them if they were important.

Among the rations were dry and canned foods, stuff with no expiry date typically. And the radio Skylor was tinkering with now was a pretty basic one that you'd find at any generic tech store.

"How's Cole doing?" Skylor asked, ignoring Kai's earlier question.

"Fine, I think. He still hasn't woken up yet, though," he replied.

"That's a bit concerning. Here, you get the meds and rations sorted out, I'll go check up on him," Skylor instructed, placing the radio back on the table. The fire had been put out rather recently, judging by the dying coals and smell of burning wood still fresh in the air. Kai watched as she ran up the stairs and listened as the door to the room he and Cole shared was thrown open.

Kai knew Skylor was trying to make it seem like Cole still being asleep wasn't a big deal, but Kai knew otherwise. He knew that this was bad. Really. Bad. And all Kai could do was sit there and wait.

Chapter Text

Nelson and Antonia had been cycling through the alleyways for about half an hour at that point. They were travelling their usual route before the apocalypse, just a lot more cautiously. Making sure there were no crystal zombies or Vengestone warriors of Crystal Council members. Throwing the paper at the doorsteps from as far back as they could, the booking it to the next address.

Antonia was in front of Nelson, armed with a baseball bat. Nelson only had his slingshot and rocks he picked up from the ground. He lost all his proper ammo quite a bit ago.

Antonia gasped as they neared the canal and started pedaling faster. Nelson followed her as quickly as he could, but he arrived a few seconds after her.

"Master Wu just fell into the canal! I fished the last one out, it's your turn!" Antonia instructed. Nelson wasted no time jumping off his bike, dropping his backpack, and diving into the canal.

The cold of the water hit him fast, but he didn't have time to focus on that. Nelson swam as quick as he could and put his arm around Wu. He swam back towards the surface and grabbed onto the ledge of the canal.

Antonia reached down and pulled Wu up, while Nelson hauled himself out. He tore his mask off and took a breath. In hindsight, he probably should've done that before jumping into the canal.

"Guard the armour, don't let anyone take it," Antonia called out to Nelson. She had taken it off of Wu and was performing CPR. Nelson did as she instructed.

It took what felt like hours, but Wu started coughing violently and sat up.

"Here's your armour, now we gotta get out of here! Nelson, grab our bikes!" Antonia instructed. Nelson nodded and grabbed both their bikes by their handles. Antonia had thrown his backpack over her left shoulder, and was carrying hers over her right.

They went as fast as they could with Antonia helping a still wounded Master Wu and Nelson dragging two bikes along with him. But eventually, they reached the newspaper warehouse.

"When does the news sleep?" Sammy asked from behind the warehouse door.

"Never!" Antonia replied. The door opened, and Sammy watched with a mix of confusion and awe as the three walked in.

"Don't just stand there, help us!" Antonia's words were all the other paperboys needed to be woken up. Sammy ran to get a chair, while Leeroy went to grab something from their rations by the looks of it.

Wu sat in the chair Sammy brought over, and Leeroy returned with a bottle of water.

Wu drank half the bottle in one go, then turned to Antonia.

"What happened? Where am I?" he asked.

"You were caught by one of those dragonide things, and then broke free and fell into the canal. We got you out. You're in the newspaper warehouse," Antonia explained. She nodded at Nelson when mentioning what happened at the canal.

"Thank you, both," Master Wu said.

"No problem, Master Wu! And now, we can start planning!" Nelson exclaimed.

"Planning what?" Wu asked.

"The counter-attack!" Nelson shouted excitedly.

"There will be no counter-attack. We are not yet ready to fight the Overlord again. We can train and save people off the streets, but we are not attacking him again," Wu said sternly.

"But I thought ninja never quit?" Nelson asked. He glanced around. Everyone either had disappointed looks on their faces or were neutral. Used to disappointments during the apocalypse.

"We're not quitting. We're preparing," Wu corrected. Nelson nodded sadly.

"Okay. What's the next part of our plan, then?" Nelson asked.

"You have to go around and save people. And- wait, where are the Ninja?" Wu asked.

"Scattered across the city, probably. The Bounty crashed," Antonia explained.

"Crashed? Are the Ninja okay?" Wu asked, now more alarmed than he had been up until that point.

"No one knows," Antonia replied sadly. Wu looked at the ground and sighed.

"Okay, I let's start preparing."

---------------

Pixal crouched behind a car, and looked towards the two vengestone warriors she was sneaking past. If she were to try and fight them, who knows who might hear? So she stuck to the shadows and eventually saw a familiar vehicle up ahead.

"Zane!" she gasped. She ran towards the crashed jet, opening the cockpit to find Clutch Powers.

Pixal looked at the man, confused, before he shifted into Akita, then Benthomaar.

"Of course, your cloaking device was damaged..." Pixal mumbled. She reached to unbuckle Zane's seatbelt, when he fell apart.

Pixal nearly screamed as his head and arms hit the ground with a clatter. She picked his head up and looked into his eyes, whispering his name. No response. He was unresponsive.

Pixal looked in the distance at a very familiar building to her. It would take some time to get to, and maybe it wasn't even safe anymore, but it was the only chance she had.

It took a long time, but eventually, Pixal got to the highway. She crouched behind a car that had been abandoned sometime during the apocalypse, and looked at the group of Vengestone soldiers idling in the road.

There was nowhere she could go to sneak around them. She had to go through them. Just as she was preparing to face them, a bus crashed into the soldiers, sending the majority of them to the road below.

The doors opened and Pixal rushed on without a second thought.

"Ronin? But you're supposed to be locked up in Kryptarium prison?" Pixal asked. Ronin looked at her with a grin.

"Lucky for you, we got out. Something screwed up the power grid and we got out. Decided not to just sit on our butts while our city got destroyed," Ronin explained, "where you headed?"

"Borg tower," Pixal responded.

Pixal sat down and put her bag with Zane in it next to her. Killow, Ultra-Violet, and Fugi-Dove were also there. Killow and Ultra-Violet began talking excitedly about being back in the city, with Fugi-Dove trying to join in their conversation but being ignored.

Before she knew it, they were at Borg Tower. Ronin opened the door to the bus and they all ran inside, Pixal hoping the elevator was still working so that if they had been followed, they could get Borg out safely. It seemed as though the building was on emergency power, so the elevators were running, thankfully.

The elevator doors opened and Pixal ran out into Borgs workspace.

"Dr. Borg!" Pixal shouted, giving her creator a hug. Thank the Master he was okay.

"Pixal! And... friends? Uh, Pixal, why are there... wanted criminals here?" Borg asked. Pixal turned to the others. Fugi-Dove waved.

"We require your assistance," Pixal said, ignoring the question for the time being.

"With what?" Pixal took the controls for the blinds and opened them, showing Borg the disaster that had befallen the city. Borg jumped at the sight.

"I guess I need to take more frequent breaks..." Borg muttered.

"The Overlord has taken over the city," Pixal explained.

"The Overlord?! No, no, what could I possibly do to fight against the Overlord?!" Borg cried.

"Repairwork," Pixal said, placing Zane onto the table infront of Borg. He looked at the destroyed Nindroid and thought for a moment.

"Repairs this extensive would take time..." Borg explained.

"I'm afraid time is something we are running out of very rapidly," Pixal replied.

"I'll see what I can do," Borg said, and began his work. Pixal closed the blinds again to avoid them getting spotted.

"New mechs?" Ronin asked.

"Oh, yes, yes, I've been working on a new line of mechs in my spare time. Three of you can use them, if you'd like," Borg said, not looking up from Zane.

"Oh heck yeah!" Ultra-Violet cheered, climbing into one of the mechs. Fugi-Dove and Killow followed suit, the latter having issues getting his to stay upright. Pixal stepped in to make adjustments. This was going to be a long night.

----------------

"I think he should be waking up now!" Borg cried. Pixal ran over to him as Zane powered on, sitting up slowly.

"Pixal? Dr. Borg? What happened?" Zane asked. Pixal cheered and jumped into Zane's arms embracing him. Zane was confused for a second before hugging her back.

"You crashed. Oh, Zane, I was so worried about you! I love you, so much," Pixal mumbled into Zane's shoulder.

"I love you, too," Zane replied, closing his eyes. They stayed like that for a few seconds, until Ronin spoke up.

"Hey that's cute and all, but we've got company."

Chapter Text

Nya opened her eyes slowly to a crushing pain in her legs. She tried to sit up, but she found she couldn't move an inch.

She took a minute to look at her surroundings. She was in the middle of an intersection, in an area of the city she didn't recognize. The remains of the Destiny's Bounty surrounded her, crushed from the dragonides assault.

Finally, Nya saw that the mast of the Bounty had fallen on top of her. She gasped and tried to get it off of her, but to no avail. All she got from the attempt was multiple cuts and scrapes along the palms of her hands.

"Nya!" a familiar voice cried out. Jay ran up to her, and started prying the mast away from her.

Nya helped him in lifting the mast, and Jay shoved it to the side with a thunk.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" Jay cried, holding Nya in his arms. Nya nodded and stood up, offering to help Jay up as well.

In the distance, indistinguishable commands could faintly be heard. Nya grabbed Jay's hand and ran.

They ran for a long time, before finally ducking into a shop at the edge of the city.

The two collapsed to the floor. Nya noticed now that her left sleeve had been torn off sometime during the crash. She held her palms out and looked at them. They were badly bruised and littered with cuts and scrapes.

Jay took her hands in his and kissed her. The kiss was brief, but very welcome. He examined Nya's palms and carefully plucked splinters out of them. When he was done, he brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. Jay then put a hand on her cheek and whispered, "I'm so glad you're okay. I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Nya replied, cupping his cheek back.

Jay's face lit up as he grabbed his right sleeve and tore it off. Wordlessly, he tore it in half again and wrapped one half on each of Nya's hands.

"There," he said softly, "and now we match!"

Nya smiled warmly at her Yin and kissed him once again.

"Now, where are we?" Nya looked around and noticed several t-shirts, hoodies, pants, and hats around them. Further into the store was more general supplies, all saying "Ninjago City" on them. The city had become a tourist attraction, being the home of the ninja and the site of many, many battles.

They must have found themselves in one of the shops cashing in on the city's popularity. In the corner, there was a door labelled "staff only" slightly ajar. Nya opened the door fully to find a couch with a pullout bed pulled out. The bedsheets were all bundled and one of the three pillows had been thrown to the floor. The room itself was decorated with a corkboard displaying the schedule, and various drawings, pictures and sticky notes presumably left there by the employees. The walls had LED light strings all around the room, that had since powered off.

There was an end table beside the couch with a lava lamp, and in front of the end table was a bean bag chair. The garbage was overflowing with various snack packages and long discarded sticky notes, the top one saying "H+A" inside a heart. Nya's own heart ached for the two lovers, probably lost to this crystal hellscape.

"Oh, this is perfect! We can camp out here while we wait to find the others!" Jay exclaimed. Nya thought for a moment.

"That's not a bad idea. But what about food?" she asked finally.

"Simple: Cole told me there's a grocery store just down the street from this place! We can go through the alleyways and enter the back entrance," Jay explained. Nya nodded, satisfied with the plan.

"Okay. But right now, I need to rest," Nya's legs started throbbing. She didn't think they were broken, but then again, adrenaline was one heck of a drug.

She walked over to the bed and collapsed. Jay cuddled up next to her and put his arm around her waist. Nya held him close to her, and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep for the first time in what felt like ages.

--------------

Lloyd and Garmadon had found themselves at the west most edge of the city. The two silently walked through the sewers, hoping to seek the help of the Serpentine.

"Lloyd," Garmadon said, breaking the silence the two had found themselves in for the past few hours. Lloyd chose to ignore him.

It wasn't that Lloyd didn't think Garmadon could have compassion, Mystake was proof that Oni's could be good, but he couldn't just trust he changed suddenly. What if it was a trick? What if he was just helping the ninja defeat the Overlord to take over Ninjago himself?

Their footsteps echoed through the concrete walls of the sewers, until Garmadon spoke again.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Lloyd was taken aback. He stopped and turned to his father, eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, for everything I've done. For hurting you, the other ninja, your mother. Hurting so many people. The Great Devourer's venom corrupted me, and I only left you and Misako so I wouldn't hurt you or corrupt you too," Garmadon explained. Lloyd was stunned for a minute.

"But what about the letter?" he asked finally.

"Chen pressured me to steal it, to lie to your mother, but I understand that's no excuse. I was still in control at the time, and simply felt I was doing the right thing."

"But you weren't." Lloyd turned back around and kept walking. That was also it. The only reason he was still this mad at his father wasn't just because he left Lloyd and Misako, but also because he lied to his own wife. The woman he loved.

"I'm trying to change. I really am. I don't need or even deserve your forgiveness, but if we could put this behind us until the Overlord is defeated-"

"I can't just forget that you lied to my mother! That you abandoned me! You hurt me, dad. You hurt me bad," Lloyd interrupted, his voice cracking.

Lloyd sat against the wall, the cold concrete sending shivers down his spine. His sobs echoed off the walls. He could feel Garmadon watching him, judging him.

A reassuring hand fell on his shoulder and pulled him into a hug.

"I know, I know. I messed up. I don't expect you to forget, just... let me help you. I can help defeat the Overlord if you just let me."

Somehow, Garmadon's words caught Lloyd off-guard. Maybe it was the desperation in Garmadon's voice. He really wanted to help.

Lloyd returned his father's hug, and the elder of the two began shaking as well.

Chapter Text

Kai and Skylor sat in front of the fire, Skylor looking over supplies and Kai staring into the flames. They comforted him, reminded him of his powers and his father. Of growing up in the blacksmiths, watching his parents work.

"Hello..?" Kai stood up and turned to face the source of the voice: Cole.

"Cole!" he cried, running around the couch and quickly wrapping Cole in a hug.

"Woah, woah, what did I miss??" Cole asked. Regardless, he returned Kai's embrace. They stayed like that for a minute before Skylor cleared her throat.

"Good to see you're up, Cole. How're you feeling?" she asked. Cole shrugged and made his way to the couch. Kai followed him and sat next to him.

"Could be better, but also could be worse I guess," he replied. Skylor nodded.

"I have to go on another supply run. Will you two be okay if I leave you here?" Skylor asked. Kai and Cole nodded, and Skylor quickly left.

"I'm glad you're okay, Cole," Kai said after a beat. Cole smiled.

"Kai, about what I said. When Pythor attacked us," Cole mumbled. Kai was confused for a moment before remembering what he had said.

"Oh, I get it, you were out of it and-"

"I meant it," Cole interrupted. Kai stared at him, wide-eyed.

"You... I did, too." Kai rested his head on Cole's shoulder and held his hand. Cole rested his head against Kai's, and the two drifted to sleep.

----------------

"Guys! We need help!" Skylor shouted as she kicked the door open. Kai and Cole both jumped up, and went over to help her. With her were Tox and Neuro, two faces neither Kai nor Cole had seen in a long time.

Tox was unconscious and Neuro was limping. By the way his shoulder hung limply at his side, he had dislocated it.

Kai wordlessly helped Skylor bring Tox to the couch, and Cole sat Neuro down on one of the many chairs around their new base.

"What happened?" Kai asked. Skylor had started tending to Tox's wounds, and Cole was nervously glancing at Skylor, as if asking for directions.

"I found these two, they had been ambushed by the crystal army but had managed to get out without getting infected. Cole, will you be able to help Neuro?" Skylor asked, not looking up from where she was now stichting shut a cut along Tox's right arm.

"Uh... y-you mean, like, relocating his shoulder..?" Cole asked. Kai could see that the colour had drained from his face, and he was shaking.

"Yeah, I do." Kai looked over to Cole, who now looked slightly sick.

"I'd offer to do it for you, but I already tried that and I fainted," Neuro chimed in, sounding apologetic.

"I can do it," Kai offered. Cole nodded and stepped aside.

"Maybe move him to the floor, just in case he passes out again," Skylor said, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

Kai and Cole moved Neuro to the floor, and Kai got started on helping him. The only slight issue Kai had was Neuro throwing up, which he, again, was very apologetic about.

Kai moved on to helping with Neuro's ankle, which he had sprained. That was a much easier and less nauseating fix.

Skylor had finished patching up Tox, and turned to the others.

"Okay, how about I get us some dinner?"

----------------

Tox woke up partway through dinner. Skylor excused herself to get some dinner for her. After they had finished dinner, they went their separate ways. Cole and Kai went to their room to get Cole caught up on what he missed, Neuro and Tox stayed down with Skylor.

Later on, Neuro was able to find a mattress in the alleyway behind the base and had brought it in, with some scolding from Skylor. He offered to sleep on the couch and let Tox use the mattress, which she didn't argue with.

The nights were... oddly peaceful. Cole could forget everything that was happening, and just focus on the positives. Him and Kai were together, and they had friends just downstairs with them. Cole silently cuddled up against Kai, who gave him a kiss on the forehead.

The two drifted off to sleep together.