Hey guys! I'm SO SORRY this took so long to come out! I started a new job two weeks ago and things have been hectic as I've also been trying to move into a new place all in the midst of it. This chapter is shorter than the previous ones, but hopefully it will wet your appetite more. I can't say how long it will take me to write the rest, but hopefully, you'll be happy for what ever else comes because I've got more where that came from.

Thanks again!

-NightwingNinja17

Once again...Hours later...

It was like time had stopped for the Ninja. Everything, including the bustle of the hospital, seemed to be going by in slow motion as they processed everything that had just happened.

They had all made it to the emergency room safely and were now awaiting results. Cole had woken up but was extremely out of it. The doctors concluded that he most likely had a concussion due to the way Cole was acting. There were butterfly bandages and stitches lining a cut that stretched from across Cole's right eyebrow and extended down to the cheek bone.

Kai and Nya had been patched up with minor cuts and bruises. Nya even sported a black eye. Nothing needed stiches to which they were both grateful. Nya had been asked by the surgeon to come help him patch Zane back up, so she wasn't in the room.

Which just left Jay. He had no other injuries except some slight burns on his skin where the electricity entered and exited his body.

"Whaaat time is it?" Cole's voice slurred as he spoke. How he had been banged up was a mystery to everyone. But they were hopeful that once Cole grew better, they might gain some insight as to what happened.

"It's 10:30pm! Go to sleep!" Jay sat down on a chair next to Cole's bed and rested his forehead on the edge of the bed and sat there for what seemed like a while, before he realized that he had dozed off just a bit.

"I wonder how Nya is doing?" Kai spoke from his resting place in another chair on the opposite side of the bed. Unlike Jay, Kai had leaned back and stretched out, letting his long legs in front of him as if nothing had phased him.

That is until Nya walked into the room.

"Nya!" The others in the room all said simultaneously.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Kai placed his hands on his sister's shoulders.

"I'm alright, it's Zane I'm worried about." Nya looked up into her big brother's eyes and began to cry.

"What happened to him?" Jay appeared next to Kai on his right side.

"When you two were unconscious, Icas tried to drive a three-pronged spear into Lloyd. Zane jumped in and took the hit instead. What we didn't know at the time was that the spear is made to siphon our elemental powers out of us. Although it didn't take it all, Zane may never be able to use his elemental powers again," Nya buried her face in her brother's chest, "Also during the same instant, Zander came and ripped part of Zane's Nindroid spinal cord out of his back. We weren't able to fix it because we discovered that it also injured part of his human back as well. So.."

"He may never be able to walk again either," Cole's eyes turned from Nya to the his lap, closing his eyes in a mix of sorrow and pain.

"He's just in such a bad shape from his encounter with Zander the last time, that I don't know if he'll be able to pull through it this time!" Nya cried hard into Kai's chest, letting her older brother embrace her in a hug and rest his chin on top of her head. Kai ran his right hand up and down his sister's back letting her rest there until she calmed down.

"Zane's tough," Kai was hopeful that the Nindroid- human hybrid would be able to pull through, "He'll make it through this."

They stood like that for a few minutes as Nya calmed down. She then smiled up at Kai.

"But the good news is, Mr. Borg was able to fix Pixal. She's as good as new, and she's going to be coming over in a few hours once Borg finishes all the details."

Everyone was excited at that news, but it quickly dissipated.

"If only he could fix Zane, too" Jay's eyes also turned to the ground.

the silence was deafening.

"Are we allowed to go see him?" Kai's gaze turned to his sister's.

"He's still in the recovery room right now. As soon as I get word of where he's going, I'll let you know."

And Nya then left the room, leaving the three-other ninja standing there looking like they had just lost their best friend.

Twenty Minutes Later...

They were now all in the ICU wing of the hospital, hovering in the doorway. None of them really wanted to go in and see their friend in the condition that he was in. But at the same time, everyone wanted to see their friend.

"Boys don't be shy you can come on it," Misako was sitting to the right side of the bed. She smiled as she saw the three of them standing there. Nya was also there keeping a careful eye on their friend.

Zane was still very much out of it when everyone entered the room. Wires and monitors of all kinds were attached to various parts of his body. Other than the incessant beeping of the monitors and machines, everything was quiet.

What machine that really seemed to get people, was the machine that was keeping Zane breathing. It was a long tube protruding from Zane's mouth and into his chest. The steady rise and fall of his chest in rhythm with the sound of the machine pumping oxygen into his system was the one of the only things indicating to the brothers that Zane was indeed still alive.

"Has he improved any?" Kai walked over to his sister and squeezed her shoulder.

"The doctor expects him to wake up soon. How soon, we don't have a clue," Nya placed her hand over her brother's, "But we won't know if he's improved here till he wakes up."

"Well one things for sure. He won't be up and walking anytime soon," Jay had to be the debbie-downer.

Everyone remained silent after that. The only sounds that echoed in the room, were from the many machines hooked into Zane.

And that's how they sat for the remainder of the night. The only talking came from the couple of times the doctors came into check on Zane and make sure he was okay.

And soon it was time for the sun to rise in the air.

"Guys, I think I'm going to head home," Kai rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"Y…..Yeah me too." Jay yawned in the middle of his sentence.

"You go on ahead, I'm going to stay a bit longer," Cole rubbed his sore head letting his fingers glide over the stitches on his forehead.

"They requested I stay here in case something goes wrong," Nya settled into a cot that the doctors had brought in. She seemed at home there, nestled in the mounds of blankets the others placed on top of her.

"Alright see you in the morning!" And they left leaving the room silent once more.

"Hey Nya, are you alright?" Cole glanced over and noticed Nya's blank stare.

"Y…Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" Nya shook her head then looked at Cole, letting a small smile grace her face for the first time since the day began.

Cole walked over to the cot and sat down next to her. He placed an arm over her shoulders and she leaned into him.

"Don't tell Jay I did this," Cole rested his chin on the top of her head and then he embraced her. Nya laughed a bit.

"You know, Cole. Even though you aren't technically my brother, I often times find myself wishing you were," Nya snuggled closer.

"I like to think that we're all one big happy family," Cole glanced over to Zane's still form lying so still on the bed.

They settled into each other and the cot before they both drifted off into an endless oblivion of sleep.

The two of them were so deep in sleep that they didn't even hear the sound of two new metal feet and the whirring of machinery that entered the room shortly after.