The Call to Rise

Breaking the Ice Part 7: Recovery

Here we are, people! The epic conclusion of the Breaking the Ice arc! I know that you guys wanna read, so Imma shut my mouth and let you. :)

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The next few hours were hectic.

Once Sensei had managed to fly the ship high enough to put it on autopilot, he had rushed to his students and ushered them all to an infirmary room that none of them had known had existed before this. Once there, he showed Cole where all of the medical supplies before helping the black ninja tend to his wounded teammates. The cut on Jay's arm was shallow and just needed to be cleaned and bandaged. The slash on Kai's leg, however, was deeper and required stitches. The red ninja cursed up a storm while Sensei stitched up the wound, which earned him a head-slap from a passing Cole.

Zane was by far the worst one off. The icy teen was dehydrated and running a fever. Worse, when Cole unwrapped the bandages and checked on the brand mark, some of the blisters caused by the burn had burst, leaking an ugly yellow-colored pus all over the wound.

Sensei helped Cole the best that he could, expertly inserting an I.V. into Zane's left arm and helping Cole clean the brand mark. Jay helped by passing along anything that the two needed. Kai, unfortunately, was banned from walking for the next few hours, but he did his best to offer silent encouragement.

After a while, Sensei shook his head and said that he and Cole had done all they could for Zane. The icy teen would survive, but the brand mark would leave a permanent scar. Everyone's mood dipped when they heard the announcement, though it helped to know that their friend would be alright in the long run.

After cleaning up all of the medical equipment, Sensei directed Jay and Cole to two more empty beds in the room, instructing them to wait while he got them some tea and something to eat.

Kai, Jay, and Cole all drank the tea, but hardly ate. Jay pushed his noodles around the bowl while Cole would only take a bite every ten or so minutes. Kai set his bowl aside and didn't touch it again. They all just sat there quietly, listening to the monitor attached to Zane beep. Finally, exhaustion and a small dose of a sleeping drug slipped into their tea made them fall into a deep, if uneasy, sleep.

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The next morning dawned bright and beautiful, but nobody could enjoy it. Cole had been jerked awake when he heard Zane screaming. The icy teen's eyes were still closed, but he was thrashing and screaming as he slept. Calling out for Sensei, Cole quickly rose from his bed and rushed to his friend's side, trying to wake him up. Zane did not calm down until Sensei rushed in and intravenously gave him painkillers. Only then did the icy teen's screams die down and he fell back into unconsciousness.

By then Jay and Kai were awake. Jay looked like he wanted to hug Zane but hesitated since he didn't want to hurt him more. Kai, on the other hand, looked furious and ready to punch the nearest thing. He started to stand up, demanding that Cole spar with him. Cole pushed the red ninja onto the bed, scolding him and telling him that he would rip out his stitches if he moved his leg too much too soon. Frustrated, Kai almost set the bottom of Cole's pants on fire, but Cole managed to grab his wrist before he sent out the fireball. Sensing that Kai felt useless in their current situation, Cole moved the red ninja's bed so that it was right next to Zane's and instructed Kai to talk to Zane. When the red ninja protested, saying that Zane couldn't hear him while unconscious, Cole urged him to at least try. Scowling, Kai nonetheless slowly starting talking to the unconscious icy teen, apologizing over and over for not getting to him sooner. Cole left and returned with a book, hopping onto the bed that he had slept on the night before and skimming through the story. Jay, after a lot of internal debate and despite Cole telling him not to, crawled onto Zane's bed, lying on the bed near the icy teen's left side. The blue ninja curled up next to Zane and added his own voice to Kai's, babbling to the icy teen about everything and anything. After trying to convince Jay to come down, Cole gave up and just warned the blue ninja to be careful before he returned to his book.