First of all I just want to thank every one who reviewed my first story 'Just How Much Can Memories Hurt?' I honestly can't believe y'all liked it so much. Anyway this story is going to be a darker than my last one so it's rated T for safety. This story will have mild language and some mature themes but nothing explicit so just be warned. There will be possible trigger warnings but I will give you a head's up at the beginning of a chapter if there is one. There will be Jaya and PLATONIC Bruiseshipping. So if you're looking for romantic JayxCole, this isn't the place for you.
I hope you enjoy it. If you do please review, it really gives me motivation to keep writing. This story takes place after Hunted.
I don't own Ninjago
"It was amazing. We hadn't been on a date in so long."
Jay was going on and on about he and Nya's date following their return from the first realm while he and Cole we're walking through Ninjago City. They just finished cleaning the Royal Palace a couple days ago and they were all exhausted. Sensei Wu had given them a few days to themselves while he went off on a personal journey to meditate for a while.
After all, being constantly chased by deranged dragon hunters while trying to get home from a different realm and evading a psychopathic version of Lloyd's dad, was a little tiring.
So Cole had asked Jay if he wanted to go walk around the city with him and check out all the new reconstruction and just relax a bit.
The city had done really well in rebuilding, and the ninja had helped out any way they could. From helping families settle in again, to cleaning up the palace, helping shop owners stock up, and even building houses themselves with Jay and Nya's design talents. It had been about three weeks and almost half the city had been rebuilt. Cole had been impressed with the people of Ninjago's determination to help others. It was really cool in a way. Fortunately, not all of Ninjago was in ruins. The Sea of Sand had been untouched along with the Birch Wood Forest, but Jamanakai Village hadn't been so fortunate.
After the battle was over, Jay had raced off to his parents' junkyard with the others following suit. Once they all got there Jay practically burst open the door. Crying, sobbing, and screams of disbelief yet joy followed soon after. The others stood back and let the reunited family have their space but it didn't take long for them all to be reeled into a Walker family hug. Jay spent the night at his parents' that night but the others didn't mind. They knew that not only Ed and Edna needed it, but Jay too.
A visit to Ray and Maya, along with Lou followed the next day. Their reactions to Kai and Cole being alive was similar.
It had been beyond difficult for Lloyd and Nya to tell Ed and Edna, Ray and Maya, and Lou about what happened. For the Walkers to think that their only child—adopted child, Nya coldy remembered—was dead, Kai and Nya's parents to lose a child right after getting them back a little over a year ago, and Lou, for him to lose his wife and then his son almost 6 years later. Seeing a similar reaction three times did not make it any easier.
The ninja spent all of yesterday debriefing what had happened on both sides of the spectrum. Hearing the good and the bad, it was still nice for them to just sit and talk after not seeing each other for so long.
Cole was lost in memories of all that happened in the past few months until Jay's voice brought him back to the present.
"After then after we left the Temple I took Nya to her favorite restaurant on 5th street and we ate dinner and then we went for ice cream and she got strawberry and I got mint chocolate chip, did I ever tell you it was my favorite? Maybe I didn't. Oh well, it's my favorite. And I really missed eating ice cream and pretty much everything while we were in the first realm, and wasn't it crazy when I went pretty much insane. Anyway, then we went to the park as the sun was setting and then we kissed while we were—" Cole interrupted him by putting his hand over his mouth.
"Hey Jay, as much as I love listening to you talk, do you think I could have some peace quiet for a while?" Cole said sarcastically, removing his hand.
Jay rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever. I'll shut up."
"Wanna grab a quick bite to eat before we head back? It's Kai's night to cook but I was thinking we could grab something to tie us over until then. I'm starving and I don't think I can wait two hours." Cole asked, checking his phone for the time.
"Yeah sure. Let me just call Nya and tell her what we're doing."
"Ok. Where do you want to go?"
"Uh it doesn't real-"
"Doesn't really what?" Cole turned around, seeing Jay's phone on the ground, but no Jay. "Jay? Jay, where did you go?"
But he was no where to be seen.
Jay found himself being dragged into an alleyway away from Cole and was thrown forcefully into a wall. He fell to the ground winded and a knife was held at his neck.
"Who are you? What the heck are you doing!" There were several other guys standing there, blocking the exit of the alley.
"You'll find out in due time. Now I suggest you quiet down before we make you quiet!"
"COLE! HEY! OVER HE-!" A cloth was held over his mouth and nose. Jay knew what they were doing and tried not to inhale, but as soon as he breathed in he couldn't fight the unconsciousness overtaking him.
Once Jay went limp, the leader yelled, "Get in the van boys."
The guys blocking the street moved out of the way and hopped into a black van. The leader picked Jay up and threw him in the back. Once he made sure no one saw, he jumped in as well.
—
"What do you mean you lost Jay!?" Lloyd yelled who was on the phone with Cole.
"I mean he just disappeared. One minute we're walking down Main, the next he's gone! I've already walked around six blocks looking for him. Nothing."
"People don't just disappear, Cole!" Kai yelled grabbing the phone from Lloyd.
"Just come back and we'll figure this out." Lloyd grabbed his phone back from Kai.
"Alright. Be there in 10." Cole summoned his dragon and flew back to the temple. He honestly had no clue what happened. He knew Jay was fast but he didn't see a reason for him to run away and even without telling him. He really hoped Jay was just playing some sick joke and he'd be back at the Temple laughing when Cole got there. But there was fear growing in the pit of Cole's stomach that he really wanted to ignore. What if something really bad happened? If that was the case it was his fault. He was suppose to not only have his team mate's back but his best friend's. Cole would never forgive himself if he just let something bad happen without even knowing.
True to his word, Cole got back to the Temple in 10 minutes. He dismounted off his dragon and ran inside to find his team meeting in the common room. But no Jay.
Crap.
Lloyd was the first to notice his presence. "Cole, great your here. We have a way we can find Jay."
"Really how?"
"Well, since you said that Jay dropped his phone, which has a tracking device, I tried to locate the tracker in his ear com. The com was strangely deactivated a while a ago but the tracker was able to pick up where he went." Nya explained.
"Yes. Although his tracker just recently shut off moments before you got here, we know the general place Jay could be. Just outside of Ninjago City." Zane added.
"That's weird. I'd been looking for about half an hour. He must've gone fast because it takes an hour to get outside the city."
"It is possible that wherever Jay went, it was in a vehicle, not going the speed limit I might add." Zane suggested.
"Great. So let's leave right away." Kai said pointing to the door.
"Now hold on, Kai. I want to find Jay just as badly as you do, but we need a plan. We don't know who or what we're up against or what even happened for that matter." Lloyd responded.
"Lloyd's right, Kai. It would be unwise to run off without any sort of idea of what's going on." Zane added.
"Alright then, what's the plan?" Cole asked.
"We'll head to Jay's last location and go from there."
"Okay so that will take around half an hour with our dragons but we should probably take the Ultra Sonic Raider. It's less conspicuous than our dragons. But taking it instead of our dragons means it would be an hour before we get here." Nya suggested.
"Okay lets do that then. We leave tomorrow. The suns already setting and looking in the dark without knowing what's going on isn't a smart move."
"Really Lloyd! We don't even know what happened. Are you sure it's smart to wait?" Kai questioned.
"I'd rather us be aware of our surroundings when we go. We're already exhausted. We leave at dawn."
—
As they reached their hideout Jay, still unconscious, was hoisted over one of the men's shoulder and carried into the building and in the basement where he was thrown to the floor.
"Leave him here until he wakes up. And lock the door."
—
It wasn't until several hours later when Jay started to stir. He sat up and rubbed his aching head. He was definitely not in his bed at the Temple. Looking around, he decided that wherever he was, it had to be some basement.
"Well I definitely didn't walk here, at least I don't think." He stood up but got a little light-headed, he balanced himself on the wall before he could fall on his face, and headed for the door. It was locked.
"What the heck happened anyway?"
And it came back. He remembered walking through town with Cole, then someone grabbed him. Then everything went black.
Suddenly, Jay heard the door open and a very very tall man came in, taller than Cole—who was past 6 feet. The guy was dressed in all black, along with two men behind him who were a bit shorter but nevertheless, way bigger than Jay was.
"Well well. Look who's up."
Jay didn't know who this guy was but the fact that he was just now opening the locked door, made him think he was the one responsible for this.
"Who are you?!" Jay questioned as he took a fighting stance, prepared to attack if needed.
"Hm, how cute. My name is Bates, and I'm about to be your worst nightmare." The guy named Bates apparently, snapped his fingers and one of the guys behind him started walking toward Jay with something that resembled a dog collar but made out of metal, a thick metal by the looks of it.
"Woah woah woah. Excuse me Mr. Beet but if that's what I think it is, there is no way your putting it on me. I'm not an animal."
"It's Bates. And you don't have much of a choice."
Jay tried to back away but the two other guys tackled him and put the collar around his neck. They latched it on so tight it made him choke. They let him go and Jay pulled on the collar with all his strength but it wouldn't budge.
"What's this a fashion statement." Jay joked, trying to hide the on-growing fear in the pit of his stomach.
Bates just smiled. He pulled out a little remote and pressed a button.
Jay immediately screamed in agony as his hands reached for the collar to yank it off. It was like thousands of hot knives were stabbing him at once. The collar had no give whatsoever and Jay's hands only burned as he pulled on said collar. He fell to his knees screaming.
It finally stopped and Jay fell over on his side gasping for air.
"It has a more functional purpose. You see, anytime you mis-behave, step out of line, or try and escape, you get shocked."
He pressed the button and Jay screamed again, unable to hold it in.
"H-how are you s-s-shoc-cking m-me." He breathed out weakly, still feeling the aftershocks.
Jay's element was lightning. Lightning couldn't hurt him, the worst it could do to would be a static shock. And that was definitely not a static shock.
"A little thing called Vengestone. I know elemental masters aren't immune to their element when near it, and making that collar out of Vengestone was such a great idea, don't you think?" He grabbed Jay's chin, forcing him to look at him.
"W-what do y-you w-w-want with m-me?"
"You are gonna help me send a little message to your friends. I'm willing to negotiate a trade with them."
"W-what kind of t-trade?" Jay started to get his breath back.
"There is something I desire and something they desire. You, for the Realm Crystal." Jay's eyes widened.
"No. You c-can't do that. T-they can't trade me for the c-crystal. It's t-too important! Why do you w-want it anyway?"
"He who has the power is in control. I'm going to unleash all kinds of havoc on this world, and rule Ninjago for myself. And I know I'll succeed, because I have a bargaining chip." He laughed.
"Y-you won't win. We will s-stop you."
"We?" He laughed. "I think your a little busy at the moment."
He turned his back toward Jay.
"I know your putting on this brave face. You pretend the part of a ninja but your just a child. Think about it? Would a real ninja allow himself to be caught and overpowered so easily? Hm?"
Jay inhaled sharply.
"T-there not gonna do it. The c-crystal is too important."
"More important than you? Let me ask you something. Do you think your friends will come and save you? Find a way to trick me into thinking I have the crystal and get you outta here? Or are they rejoicing right now because they don't have anymore dead weight on the team? Do you really think they're coming for you? Well let's send a message and find out."
Jay stayed quiet. He didn't want to believe what Bates said. It was true though. No way Cole, Kai, Lloyd, or the others would get captured so easily. Bates snapped his fingers again and one of the guys grabbed Jay's arms in a crushing grip and yanked them behind his back.
"Ugh get off me. Let me go!" His struggling did nothing but tire him out. A blindfold was then placed over his eyes.
"We can't have you seeing where you're going, Blue-bell."
He was forced to walk and started squirming more but couldn't get loose. The guy's grip was too strong. A few moments later he heard a door open and could tell they had walked through it. Jay was pushed into a chair-like thing and the blindfold was ripped off.
As Jay's eyes adjusted to the light he could see he was in fact in a chair in a different room. Before he could get up and run his arms were grabbed and wrenched rather painfully behind the chair and tied very tightly, he could feel the circulation being cut off. Bates wrapped a rope around Jay's chest, tying him to the chair. After he was done he walked in front of Jay and pressed the button again. Jay screamed not expecting it. He squirmed and struggled and kicked his legs as much as he could, trying to ground himself through the shocks. Jay could barely breathe and his body wracked with pain by the time it was over.
"That's for being difficult. Now be a good little boy and let them finish."
Jay didn't listen despite the warning and tried to break free. He got shocked again. His screams echoed through the building.
"Tsk tsk tsk. I was hoping we weren't gonna have any problems but I guess I stan-corrected." Jay could barely hear what he was saying over his ringing ears.
"Take care of his legs."
Jay saw one of the goons come and grab his legs but he didn't have enough strength to fight back after that. They tied his feet just as tight as his arms. Jay was on the verge of passing out when he felt a sharp prick in his arm and he suddenly woke right up.
"Adrenaline shot. You won't be getting much sleep here. Besides I need you awake for the message." Jay tried squirming again but the rope was so tight he could barely move.
"Trust me Blue-bell. You won't be getting out of here anytime soon." Bates laughed.
Jay hated that he was calling him that. Cole would call him Blue-Bell when they would joke around and this guy had no right to use that nickname. Besides, how did he even know about it?
Jay zoned out for a bit and he jumped when Bates grabbed his chin. He smiled creepily.
"Smile for the camera." He moved out of the way and Jay saw the worried faces of the guys.
"Jay!?"
I will try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Maybe even today if I get a chance. I will try to update at least once a week but I have two weeks until Christmas break and Finals are gonna kick my butt. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Fear and Guilt.