“Urghein un gugoonch lie... ierrung jerll key... Jay...”
“Jay... such a sweet little thing...”
“...too weak to move...”
“He should be fine...”
“Rest... be safe....”
Jay couldn’t tell if he had been dreaming or if he had been fading in and out of consciousness. Whichever the case, he was now beginning to wake up and he thought he could hear the others talking nearby.
The air was warm and humid and he could feel a gentle breeze play with the ends of his hair while birds chirped overhead. Yes, he was safe now, after... after the temple... the storm and the Skulkens and the Nunchucks and the lightning!
His eyes were open at once and he looked around. Another forest stood above him and the sun made it clear that it was afternoon, but he remembered all that had happened—that he had discovered his powers—and he was far too excited to remain asleep. He propped himself up and slowly felt his muscles scream out in defiance. It was then that he really saw how much he had grown. His legs definitely looked longer and when he sat up he felt taller, but he was also more toned. He wouldn’t say “muscular” but his arms did seem a tad more defined now than they had been before. He moved to flex one of his arms, a wide grin spreading across his face, but then his muscles cramped sharply and made him freeze.
“Aaaaaaaaah!” he cried from the pain. “Charlie Horse!”
“Jay’s awake!” Keaton said gleefully.
“Don’t move,” said Wu coming over. He squatted beside him and helped to relief some of the pain by massaging his arm a little, then handed him a canteen full of cold rain water. “Drink,” he said firmly.
The water felt good on his dry throat and it tasted, for whatever reason, exceptionally good. Before long the remaining dizziness he felt subsided. Looking up, he saw all of his teammates walking over to him and felt dread instantly seize him. Some of what happened at the temple was still a blur, but he definitely remembered the fact that he had run away.
“Good morning, Sleep Beauty,” said Cole who sat down next to him with a playful grin. “How’re you feeling? That was quite the light show you pulled back there.”
“Yeah,” Kai piped up. “Since when did you become ‘master blaster’?”
Wow, this wasn’t the welcome he had been expecting at all! It gave him the confidence to slap on a smile and saw, “Since I grew ten inches cooler!” while admiring himself for a second time.
“Unfortunately you didn’t grow ten inches smarter,” said Ann who was standing stiffly off to the side. Ugh. Her. She’d get to the heart of things quickly if he didn’t cut her off.
“That’s what we’ve got you for,” Jay said sarcastically, flashing a fake grin in her direction. “I’m the fun one, you’re the stick-in-the-mud. I complete you.” He held his grin for as long as he could, but Ann’s withering glare was bringing on a fit of giggles, most notably from Keaton.
Wu gave a subtle cough. “That’s enough bickering, you two.”
“Like an old married couple,” Kai whispered to no one in particular.
Zane started coughing up a storm, hiding his obvious grin behind his hand and visibly trying to remain serious. Ann turned sharply and stomped away, looking for a place to be alone.
“That’s enough! Might I remind you that Ann is my top pupil,” said Wu scrupulously. “And you would be wise to heed her words, young Jay.” Jay shrunk back a bit as his Sensei continued. “Now perhaps you wouldn’t mind telling me what you were doing at the Sky Temple last night?” Wu’s stare was perhaps the most terrifying stare he had ever been subjugated to.
His mind instantly went back to the other night, recalling all the misfortune he had endured with Butterscotch and then his mysterious ally, but then it went further. To the glacier, and his argument with Cole and not to mention the reason why he had run off in the first place. But how could he tell this story in front of everyone without insulting them, even a little? He wasn’t entirely comfortable opening up about his feelings, either.
Wu must have noticed Jay’s troubled expression and he told everyone to leave them for a moment. Slowly, they all moved toward the open fire and sat down to talk amongst themselves. Jay breathed in heavy breaths of shame before he began.
“I… I thought that you had... made a mistake, Sensei… about me.” The words felt awkward, clumsy, not to mention stupid, and his stomach felt all knotted up as he spoke. He wished he was anywhere else right now, but once he started, he found that he couldn’t stop. “It just seemed… like… like I was too different... and I hadn’t used my powers before, but Cole, Kai, and Zane had, so I assumed… I guess I was afraid of what would happen if I really wasn’t the Master of Lightning.” Wu listened intently and stroked his beard, deep in thought. “So... I decided to run away before anything else could happen, and then Butterscotch started running and running and it was too dark—and then I got lost—an then—“ He was going way too fast now. He wasn’t crying, he had slightly more dignity than that, but he did feel that if he didn’t stop soon, the sobbing just might start. However, just as he felt his eyes start to grow wet, Wu stopped him instead.
“I’m sorry,” he said, raising a hand in silence. “I should have been more vigilant with you.” Wu closed his eyes and turned away slightly as he spoke. “I’m sure that must have been a difficult night.” Jay looked up at his sensei , not knowing what to think. They hadn’t had a personal moment like this since the day they met. “But I hope the events of yesterday cleared away many of your concerns?” Jay nodded slightly. He supposed that was true... at least a little... but he had already blabbed too much. Perhaps he’d better just keep nodding and have the conversation over and done with. Then Wu frowned. “And you happened to find yourself at the Sky Temple the next morning, did you?”
“Well, yes and no.” He was more collected now and began to explain more thoroughly. “You see, something scared Butterscotch and she went nuts. We were lost and running through the woods crazy fast, and then I got hit by something and I fell, and the next thing I remember was waking up near the base of the mountain.”
Wu’s brow furrowed even deeper with concern. “Was there someone else there?” he asked.
Jay strained to remember. “Y-yes,” he said slowly. “At least I think so. When I woke up there was a bandage on my nose and I was in a completely different place.” His head began to feel tight with pain and he reached up to grab his throbbing temples.
“What’s wrong?” Wu asked as he reached for Jay’s head as well.
“A headache,” Jay replied. “Just a headache.”
“Perhaps you should lay down.”
A sound suddenly floated through Jay’s brain, as if it had come from a dream.
“O… o ckheger… ogg… toolihee?” Jay whispered.
“What?” said Wu, suddenly sounding very alarmed. “What did you say?”
Jay looked up. “I’m not sure… I think… I think I heard someone say it… or maybe it was just a dream? It sounds like gibberish.”
Wu regained his composure quickly and looked very stoic as he sat in silence for a moment or two. “Perhaps it was just a dream. Nothing to be concerned over. Rest now.”
Jay watched his teacher get up and walk over to a small grove of trees where he began to, Jay assumed, meditate. The interaction left a queazy feeling in his stomach though, and he would not soon forget it.
Evening came faster than expected and Jay remained on his mat all throughout dinner. He hadn’t felt up to standing since he woke up—not that Wu would let him anyway—but he found it very nice to not help with setting up camp for once. They talked about the mission and where they were going next, but mostly they talked about Jay and the strange events up on the mountain. No one could make sense of it, not even Wu. He seemed very quiet during the discussion and stared often into the fire.
After their supper, to commemorate the securing of three of the weapons, Wu revealed that he had brought pudding with him for the journey. He said that the next leg of the journey would be the most difficult, so to keep their spirits high, he had planned this little treat. Ann and Kai said they didn’t want any, but everyone else had a fantastic time eating their dessert and chatting. But by now, Jay wasn’t really listening to the conversation. There was a part of him that was still extremely anxious to see what his new body and powers could do, and before long an idea began to float around his head.
Eventually everyone rolled up in their blankets and went to sleep; everyone but Jay who was lying on his mat, impatiently wiggling his leg while his heart thrummed. He wasn’t going to try running away again, but he did want some privacy, so he only moved when he was sure that no one else was conscious.
Getting up on longer legs was much more difficult than Jay had imagined and he fell over almost instantly. His muscles also felt very sore and very tight. They would shake so badly that he was forced to lean on any nearby tree he could as he slowly made his way into the woods, tripping over stones and branches as he went, trying not to make a sound. Soon he found a small glade where moonlight poured down and covered every blade of grass in a thin veil of pale mist. Jay turned around and thought he could just make out the fire’s glow through the trees. He wasn’t too far away, and he wouldn’t be gone long.
Barefoot and shaky, he stepped out into the open expanse with childlike enthusiasm. The space seemed big enough for what he had in mind, and from the middle of the field, it looked even bigger. He decided to hold up his hands to chest-level, standing tall. His powers were the first thing he wanted to try out, so he sent out a silent call and waited. He listened for a sound, for a rumble of thunder overhead, or maybe just a spark, but to his dismay, nothing happened. He thought hard for a moment then realised that he had been holding the nunchucks before, so perhaps he needed to work twice as much to make this work on his own. He closed his eyes and tried to feel the electrons and protons around him and did his best to visualise in his mind what he wanted them to do.
After a few embarrassingly awkward moments of this he began to mutter, “Come on!” over and over again. “Come on!” Still nothing. “COME ON! WORK, YOU STUPID—AH!”
POP!
There was a flash of light and Jay had definitely felt a surge of energy, but it disappeared before he could really see it, and the shock sent him reeling backwards, his arms flailing in the air like some kind of deranged chicken, and nearly knocked him over. However, he wasn’t going to let this deter him. He found his balance, closed his eyes and tried again, promising that he would focus even more this time. Again, he tried to feel the electrons and protons, attempting to unbalance them, picturing a lightning bolt shooting from his hands, and—
POP!
“Woah!”
This time he had fallen over and as he was lying on the grass, feeling his back grow cold and damp, he stared angrily up at the sky. He still wasn’t going to give up. He could do this—he knew he could. He just needed to get up again and—
“You’re over thinking it.”
“Ah!” Jay squealed as he fell over a second time, surprised by the sound of Cole’s voice. He came over to him and offered Jay his hand. “Cole! How did you know—I mean, uh, I’m not doing anything! Definitely not trying to use my powers! Hee hee...” Jay’s nervous laugh petered out quickly as Cole pulled him up from the dirty ground.
When he was back on his feet Cole said, “Yeah right,” and smiled at him like a big brother to his goofy younger sibling. “Trying to think about our powers scientifically doesn’t always work. There’s a lot more to it than that.” He widened his stance and closed his eyes. “I remember when I first tried to use my powers... I thought that it must have had something to do with tectonic plates or the earth’s core, or something like that—it was a long time ago. But eventually I figured it out. There’s a connection you have to make. You can’t just tell it what to do, you have to listen to it.” He raised his arms and a large boulder erupted from the soil. Cole broke it up into half a dozen smaller rocks and sent each one flying across the field until it hit the ground again; about twenty yards away.
Jay looked on and felt his chest tighten. Cole was already so good at using his powers—so much stronger and faster and braver... even with his powers unlocked, he still had a long way to go. How long would it take for them to be evenly matched? He shoved the thought aside angrily. No, no, this time would be different. He was going to work extra hard and catch up.
He closed his eyes and put his hands out, palm side up, trying his best to listen. Whatever he was listening for, it wasn’t very loud, but he remembered how it had sounded at the temple, and he tried his best to wait for it to come to him. Then an idea hit him: the air of the storm that night was extremely “talkative” for lack of a better word. Every aspect of the storm had been saying something, so then maybe his powers had more to do with the basic idea of weather than protons and electrons. Jay shifted his attention to the air around him, to the atmosphere, the wisps of cloud overhead, the waves of heat and cold colliding in and outside of his body.
ZZzzzzzzzaaaAAAAAPPP!!!
Jay opened his eyes quickly and saw bright blue tendrils of light wriggling all over his hands, some of which exploded into what looked like mini lightning bolts shooting away from him and creating a semi loud cracking sound. But the warmth and tingling sensation he felt was the best part of all. There was no way he could explain it except to say that it felt “right.”
“Woah,” Cole breathed as he stood and gaped at Jay’s glowing hands.
They both smiled and Jay looked up at a tree a short way away. He whipped out his right hand, attempting to shoot the tree with lighting, but the moment he did the electricity sputtered out, leaving only faint sparks sailing to the ground and disappearing.
“Aw, come on!” Jay whined.
“Ninjago City wasn’t built in a day, you know,” said Cole casually.
“Yeah, but they were laying bricks every hour,” Jay replied, still staring at the tree. He sighed. He knew what he had to ask, but it sure didn’t taste good coming out of his mouth. “I know our powers are different, but do you think there’s anything else you could show me?” Cole gave a half smile. All the friction between them over the past couple of days seemed to disappear now, under the moonlight. Jay thought about apologising for his previous behaviour, but then he thought better of it.
“Maybe tomorrow,” he said to himself. Tonight was going well, and he didn’t want to spoil it by bringing up that old sore subject. He didn’t want to think about it any more than he had to.
The two of them continued to train for at least an hour under the cover of darkness and Cole did his best to teach Jay everything he knew about his powers. Progress was slow, as one might expect, but by the end of it Jay was able to summon and maintain the electricity around his hands for a decent amount of time, not to mention all of the discoveries they made about his new body. Before, Jay would have been lucky to lift maybe seventy pounds, but out in the glade he found that moving a large log, easily over a hundred pounds, was on par with picking up a grocery bag. Unfortunately he shouldn’t have tried to use his new muscles so soon and woke up the next morning in quite a lot of pain.
“You shouldn’t have overworked yourself,” said Ann in her usual flat voice. She was looking down at Jay disapprovingly as she packed his things for him.
Jay sputtered and coughed a few times before saying, “What are you talking about? I was asleep last night!” She looked dubiously at him. “In my bed! All night!” She didn’t seem to buy it. Jay sighed and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll rest and be fighting fit in no time.”
“Yes, but in the meantime you’re dead weight. Remember how easily you and Kai got captured in the Frozen Wastelands? If you had any real training you would have been able to take care of yourselves.” She looked up at Sensei Wu, who was standing with the horses far off, as she spoke that last part. “This isn’t a game. I assumed that your fearful behaviour over the last few days showed that you had some sense in that thick skull of yours, but your new powers seem to have made you cocky.”
“I know that this isn’t a game,” Jay said indignantly. Little did she know how much her words stung.
“Then prove it,” Ann replied. “Rest.”
She slung Jay’s things over her shoulder and left to strap them onto her own horse—the horse they’d be sharing now that Butterscotch was missing.
Jay’s attention was suddenly drawn to the sound of angry muttering next to him. Kai was wrestling to get his mat rolled up and did not look to be in a good mood. He noticed Jay staring just then and his frown deepened.
“What?” he asked in almost a growl.
“Nothing,” said Jay quietly and he turned away quickly. Some morning this turned out to be. But despite it all, Jay felt very optimistic about the future. He had his powers, he had his friends, and he had a mission. Nothing had gone too wrong so far, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Right?
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