Is it hard to believe that we're almost at the middle of the story? I planned this whole fiction to only be about twenty-six or twenty-five chapters….. And we're nowhere close to where I want to be. (I can't seem to move things along, can't I?) I know it's early, but I want to start thinking about the next fanfiction I'm going to write. It's more than likely it'll be another Ninjago one. So at the end of some chapters I'll make a list of two or three (or more) ideas that you, as the reader, can comment which one you would like to read. And just comment anything nice in general; I really enjoy reading your guys' words. It motivates me to write more often!
-DaStonekeeper
Word of the chapter: "Hysterical"- (Adjective) Deriving from or affected by uncontrolled extreme emotion.
Chapter Twelve
Jay stared wide-eyed at the wreckage. A good portion of the roof of the temple had collapsed in on itself. Trees dotting the area were uprooted and were laying a distance from their original places. The ground was cracked as if an earthquake had struck.
Master Wu stroked his beard with a worried look in his eyes. Jay stared wide-eyed at the unconscious ninja.
Kai was the first to come to.
"You know, we could've used the help a certain lightning ninja in this attack!" Kai growled. The gentle whirring of machinery announced to the group that Zane's systems were waking up again.
"Strange. It seems that I was disabled by an electromagnetic pulse…." Zane trailed off when noticing the disaster that surrounded him. "Oh dear…."
"Kai, Zane, what happened here?" Wu asked, surveying the area.
Kai stood up with great effort. A purple bruise was swelling on the side of his forehead. "We were assaulted. It was so sudden, no one was ready. Good thing Misako was gone during the strike. We probably wouldn't have been able to protect her."
"I have great confidence that Misako would've been able to protect herself." Wu stated. "Zane, you said something about being disabled?"
"Yes, Sensei. An EMP knocked me out before I could even get a glance at the attacker. But my calculations suggest that it was the Purple Ninja." The ice ninja explained.
"Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't know. But the others would. If Nya were here she would be able to tell us if it was the Purple Ninja or not. Last I saw before my systems shut down, Nya was right in front of the attacker, hoping to knock them out before they knocked us out." Zane said. Kai and Jay quickly turned to Zane.
"If she was here?" Kai exclaimed.
"She's not here now?" Jay questioned, panicked. But it was true. After a quick look around the floating island, Jay realized Nya was gone. And it seemed she was the only one missing.
Kai, ignoring the pain in his body, scrambled into what was left of the temple, calling out in vain for a sister that simply was not there.
Kai refused to believe that Nya was dead. "There's no body!" He said, once everyone was awake and being tend to. "If the Purple Ninja killed her, then we would've seen a body!"
"Kai, I can't bear the thought of Nya being gone either. But it's the only thing that makes sense. Sensei said it himself. Nya is probably dead." Lloyd said gravely, securing the bandages on his bleeding leg.
Kai picked up the ice pack he was supposed to be putting on his bruise and threw it at a collapsed wall. Zane left to go retrieve it.
"But if the Purple Ninja wanted Lloyd's powers, why did he kill Nya?" Cole pointed out.
"HE DIDN'T KILL NYA!" Kai screamed. He turned to look at Jay with watery eyes. "You loved her too, didn't you? Say it! Say that she's not dead!"
Jay looked away. He was too in shock to really say anything. He too didn't want to believe Nya had been killed. But between you and me, Jay is a bit smarter than Kai and was far more willing to face the facts. Still, a tiny speck of hope lived on that thought Nya wasn't dead. But what else could have happened to her?
Why is it that my only living descendent is a complete idiot?
Jay inwardly gasped. It was the voice again!
If you deny Nya is dead, she probably isn't. So go use that so-called brain of yours and think about it.
What? Nya wasn't dead? Jay remembered what Zane had said. "It appears that the Purple Ninja is attempting to lure Lloyd out as opposed to finding him himself."
Nya was being used as bait to lure the Ninja out of the safety of the temple. Maybe.
Nice to know you do have a brain in there.
Shut up, Jay thought. Jay returned to reality, having completely tuned it out to think. Kai was yelling again, tears now openly running down his face. Cole was trying to comfort him and Lloyd was doing his best to handle the scene as Zane was returning with a dust-covered ice pack.
"I don't think Nya is dead." Jay said confidently.
"Oh Jay, not you too?" Cole said desperately.
"You don't honestly think-" Lloyd began.
"The Purple Ninja could have taken her hostage."
Everyone suddenly became silent.
"That's not….. An impossible outcome." Zane said slowly.
"Very wise, Jay. The Purple Ninja might be using Nya to lead us away from the temple; the one place he can't take Lloyd's powers." Sensei Wu added.
"Why can't he take my powers here?" Lloyd asked.
"The Temple of Airjitzu formerly belonged to Sensei Yang, who didn't approve of unnatural transferring of elements. So he placed a powerful 'spell' over the grounds that would prevent it. As far as I know, this temple is the only place in Ninjago that has this kind of protection." Wu explained.
"Huh. How convenient." Cole said.
Kai bolted upright. "Then let's go save my sister!"
"Kai, it isn't as simple as that. We don't know where she is being kept. We don't even know if she's being kept!" Lloyd responded.
"N-No. She's alive." Jay stuttered.
"You don't sound too sure about that." Cole stated.
"I am."
"How do you know this?" Zane asked suspiciously.
Jay thought about the voice. Yeah, he could just say "A person inside my head told me so." But he didn't know how well the ninja would take that response.
"I just know, okay? You have to trust me."
Voices. Voices. If any of the others knew about this, they would certainly think that Jay was hysterical. So he didn't tell any of the others; not even Sensei Wu. But it was too late to say anything now. Jay was leading an expedition to find and rescue Nya that might be an expedition in vain. The lightning ninja had no idea why he was putting so much trust into this voice. It wasn't even his own! Yet, it was eerily familiar. Like, Jay knew it was the voice of someone he knew… but couldn't remember who.
"Jay, you have to be absolutely serious about this because there is no turning back." Lloyd said.
"I am."
"If this is a joke, then it's not cool anymore, dude." Cole added.
"This isn't a joke."
"Are you sure you're not just being delusional? All though you've shown no signs of hysteria, this whole mission could be driven by the denial stage of loss." Said Zane gently.
"Guys, I get it, okay? But I'm sure about this." Jay lied. He was listening to a voice inside his head. Maybe he was mentally ill?
Kai stepped really close to Jay. He leaned forward so much their noses were nearly touching. "I'm putting all my trust and faith in you to save my sister. You break my heart, I break you." The fire ninja threatened in a low voice that would strike fear into the heart of Lord Garmadon himself.
Jay gulped and nodded. This was it.
"So where do we begin, Master Jay?" Lloyd asked mockingly.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, Jay's mouth formed a sincere grin. Master Jay. He could get used to that title, even if was just to tease him.
