A Second Chance

Chapter 24: Only Hope

Harumi woke up due to chattering. She wasn't fully awake yet but she could hear her friends' voices as they talked about something she couldn't really process.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?" The hothead voiced his concern.

"I do not know. But I fear that if he does not wake up soon, he may not wake up at all. While he has coughed out most of the water, some still remain in his lungs. If he does not wake up to cough the rest of the liquids out, his condition will only worsen." Zane's worried explanation sounded. She heard him sigh.

She could hear Jay shudder, "Ugh, I know how he feels. My vision was all blurry, I could barely breathe..." He quivered, "It was a terrible experience. If it wasn't for Nya, I probably would've suffered through it until I was in the Departed Realm." Jay paused before continuing, "But for Nya? I'd rather go through it again and again if it meant her not having to sacrifice herself for my life and Ninjago."

"We have to do something before Lloyd's condition worsens. We can't afford to lose another friend right now. He doesn't deserve any of this." Cole's steady voice came in.

Footsteps could be heard moving towards the voices, "His heart rate and vitals are stable. But Zane is correct, if the seawater remains in his lungs for too long, he will not make it. I had already estimated the amount of time Lloyd has left before his condition becomes fatal." PIXAL's voice stopped.

"Well? Spill!" Jay exclaimed in distress.

Kai added, "Tell us. How much longer does he have before it becomes fatal?" He asked. His tone was filled with uneasiness.

PIXAL was quiet for a while so Harumi thought that she was hesitant about telling the others. She then decided to speak after a minute of silence, "He only has a few-"

Everything else was a blur. Harumi wasn't able to hear what PIXAL said. Either it was because she didn't want to know and she forced herself to block it out or it was because she just didn't hear it. She didn't even know the answer herself, and these were her own ears working against her.

She heard them gasp, which was never a good sign, then Kai shushed them, "Don't tell Harumi. It'll kill her if she knew."

She heard someone shaking their head before Vania's voice could be heard, "No. That isn't right though. We can't just keep this from her." She complained.

"Harumi and Lloyd have a complicated relationship, Vany. They're doing so well so far. She can't know about this." Cole's footsteps approached where Vania's voice came from.

She heard someone swiftly turn, "And if she doesn't know about his condition and found it that we do, how do you think she will react? You guys just made amends and now you want to break her trust by keeping something this important from her?" Vania groaned, "Just because those two have a complicated relationship doesn't mean she shouldn't know about what might happen to him." She defended.

"Vania's right. Lloyd and Harumi are both slowly working to be on good terms with each other again. If she doesn't hear about this..." Skylor's voice trailed off, trying to find the right word, "Complicated news and she finds out that we're keeping this from her, I don't think she'll forgive you if something bad happens to Lloyd. I don't just think but know that she'll blame herself for probably being able to save him even if she couldn't. It will break her if you don't tell her." She stopped for a moment to let the boys process it.

After Skylor said 'I don't just think but know that she'll blame herself about probably being able to save him even if she couldn't', Harumi thought to herself. "She's right. I will blame myself because I do know a way to save him." She shook her head quietly so that no one would notice that she was actually awake.