Promises (Ninjago's Kai x Reader)

Episode 2 - The Myth, The Legend, The Reality

"Tasha?"

His voice is so far away. Why is it so far away? Kai . . .

"Tasha!"

Lloyd's voice is even quieter. Like he's calling me from underwater.

I need to open my eyes. I need to see them. I need to be able to hear.

Surrender.

God damn it. Shut up. Open your eyes.

"Tash."

Coles voice. The quietest of the three. I need to reach for it. I need it to pull me out. Keep talking, please.

Someone touches my cheek. Rough fingers, warm. Kai's fingers. Kai's touch. I'd know it anywhere. "Tasha, please. Wake up."

My lids flutter. The world is bright. But my eyes are open. Kai, Lloyd, and Cole are hovering over me. Jay, Nya, Zane, and Dr Saunders are standing a little farther back. They all look concerned; They all look afraid. Did I say something?

"What happened?"

"You passed out," says Lloyd, helping guide me to sit up. Dr Saunders hands me a glass of water with the instructions to drink.

"Yeah, but what happened?"

"You don't remember?" Kai asks. His eyebrows are furrowed and his eyes are glassy. I shake my head. "Well, you were kissing me--"

"I remember that," I say, staring intently at his face, hoping to offer him some reassurance. "My tongue was in your mouth, and then--" I cut myself off because I don't know how to continue. I don't know what happened.

Kai's face is bright red, and Lloyd's hand on my back is suddenly stiffer. Oops. I overshared.

"You, um. You went limp against me. I barely had time to wrap my hands around you before you were falling to the floor. You wouldn't wake, no matter how much I said your name. And you looked troubled, too. Your eyebrows were furrowed, frowning. You kept mumbling, 'I'm alright. I'm alright.'"

If Lloyd hadn't been signing what he was saying, I probably wouldn't have gotten any of it. His voice is so faint, and I know he's not even talking that quiet.

"How long was I out?"

"About twenty minutes," says Lloyd.

My heart sinks. Why? Why are they getting so bad. No matter what I do, they get louder and more insistent.

Cole catches my gaze. I stare at him, willing him to understand. He does.

"Um, why don't we get back to work," he says, turning to the quartet standing off to the side. "We've still got a lot to do before we're done for today."

They were hesitant, but eventually Cole is able to usher them away.

"I need to tell you guys something?"

Kai scoots a little closer, grabbing my hand and squeezing. "What is it?"

I take a deep breath. Am I really about to do this? "I-I've been hearing voices."

"Voices?" Lloyd is rubbing circles up and down my back. It makes me want to cry.

"Yeah. They're the reason I can't hear so well. And they've been calling me . . . Calling for me to rejoin the side of evil."

Silence. My heart is hammering in my chest. Just say something already. Please. But they stay silent for a long moment, absorbing what I just said. I dig my nails into my palm. Is the room getting smaller?

"That's not gonna happen." Kai's voice is loud and clear. Demanding. I can breathe again. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"We're gonna help you get through this, Tash," says Lloyd, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and hugging me. "We'll defeat this evil."