Sorry that this chapter took a while; FanFiction wouldn't let me upload it so I had to use my limited tech abilities to make it work.
Word of the chapter: "Viridescent" - (Adjective) Greenish or becoming green.
Chapter Fourteen
The ground slipped away as the emerald wind became fiercer. The element erupted from Jay's hands and scattered all surrounding rubbish away as his eyes altered from electric blue to solid, ghostly green – as dark and dull as the belt tied around his waist. His irises and whites matched this color, but his pupils glowed bright white. Jay hasn't felt this exhilarated since he achieved his true potential for lightning – The same lighting that electrocuted his veins, demanding that he stop the wind.
The Blue Ninja felt a sharp, buzzing pain throughout his body, and the wind faltered. The blue ninja forced the electricity to shut itself off, which was something he never thought he would ever need to do. But the lightning was relentless; If Jay couldn't stop it, his true potential would meet a premature end. Jay instead focused and relaxed his entire body. After a profuse effort, his mind became as still as a light summer's breeze. He steadied and slowed his breathing and the gale followed suit. Yes, yes! Jay swept his hand to the side, and the air obeyed without hesitation.
He now had complete control over two elements.
Go get her.
Jay walked back on the breeze as if he were a divine being, and he certainly felt the part as villagers gasped as he went by. His skin was glaucous, and had a sort of transparency to it like a ghost. Jay stepped proud and tall onto the battlefield. Cole's skin had stopped boiling, but was adorned with bloody red marks. It was hard to tell if he was unconscious or dead, the wounds were so severe.
Kai noticed the unnatural gusts of air blowing around his body and recognized it as the element of the Master of Wind, Morro. But Morro was dead and in the Departed Realm, right? He couldn't be back! Not now! Not when they were fighting a villain far more deadly!
Lloyd also felt the gale and whipped around. At that moment, he saw a sight he dreaded most ever since Morro left his body. One of his friends with the ghostly, translucent green skin. The blue ninja's hair was nearly black, and a familiar emerald streak emitted from his roots and into his formerly auburn hair. Lloyd's dream was turning into a reality; but now, it seemed more like a nightmare.
"MORRO!" Lloyd shouted.
Zane snapped his head to the side and could not look away even when his exposed wires sparked wildly and dangerously. While the others saw a possessed Jay, Zane saw a Jay that was unlocking his true potential – for the second time.
The Purple Ninja's mouth fell open. How was this possible? The master of two natural elements? Or perhaps the spirit of that temperamental green-haired boy was possessing the lightning ninja? Either way, the villain tried to shake his surprise off and keep his composure; He wasn't focused on the blue one, he reminded himself. It was Lloyd he was after.
The Purple Ninja took this opportunity and clenched his fists, holding them up in front of his face. Lloyd's hands went to his own throat and he gagged, gasping for air as the misty breath in front of his mouth vanished, an invisible force strangling him. The Green Ninja's mind raced as the tightness around his throat suffocated him. He fell backwards, twisting his head around in a feeble attempt to throw off the invisible attacker. Soon, his vision began to blur…
Zane looked into Jay's eyes, who gazed back. Their staring contest was broken when they heard Lloyd's struggles. Zane first ran to Lloyd, but turned his head back at the Purple Ninja, whose right fist was white and clenched; the Master of Reality was staring intently at Lloyd with an unbroken glare.
Zane put two and two together: The Purple Ninja was using his powers to remotely choke Lloyd to death. Zane balled his fist and from each side a silvery white javelin of ice grew. Zane threw it at the Purple Ninja with all his might, nearly falling over himself.
The villain averted his eyes to notice the frozen weapon flying towards his head, and caught it just in time. As the forbidden master did this, Lloyd managed to suck in a deep yet hoarse breath. The Purple Ninja hurled the javelin to the ground and it shattered like glass. He turned around and tightened his fist again and Lloyd went back to grabbing his throat.
Jay scanned the clearing. Should he attack or help? Lloyd was dying as he thought, and Cole looked as if he had already died. All the while bitter, ghostly wind swirled yet, waiting for Jay's next command.
His eyes turned to Kai. The red ninja attempted to blast a cone of fire at the master of reality, but was drastically weakened by the polar temperature of the village. Jay wanted to help, but didn't know how to. Wind wasn't exactly the easiest element to work with in battle. He watched as Kai's sweat froze to his face, and his breathing become shaky. Jay knew the fire ninja couldn't last much longer in this weather.
Jay used the wind to propel himself up and forward, arcing through the air. A mini tornado formed in the palm of his hand and quickly grew as he fell right on top of his target.
The Purple Ninja saw the shadow fall over him and he looked up to be eye to creepy eye with the new master of wind. Suddenly, the force of the body smashing against his knocked him off his feet. Jay thrust his left hand forward, and the tiny twister enveloped the Purple Ninja's face, literally sucking the air from his lungs as breath returned to the unconscious Lloyd's.
Jay's fingers etched into the Purple Ninja's face, covering the suffocating man's mouth and nose. Violet beams shot out from each of the Purple Ninja's fingers, obliterating whatever was unfortunate enough to get in their way.
He latched his grip on Jay's wrist, trying to pry him off. The blue ninja felt his hand burn as the purple essence sunk into his flesh, but the pain was overpowered by his adrenaline just as Lloyd finally came to and coughed violently. Zane held out his only hand to help the green ninja to his feet. The Green Ninja took it and stood up unsteadily, his eyes tracing the carnage back to its source. He and Zane were both taken back at the sight of the Purple Ninja and the seemingly-possessed Jay duking it out a few meters away from them, and dodged out of the way whenever one of their elements went rogue.
"I… I d-don't understand!" Lloyd exclaimed hoarsely. "How d-did M-morro p-possess Jay? And w-why i-is he h-helping us?"
"He's not." Zane replied.
Lloyd looked at the titanium ninja with eyes like saucers. "H-he's n-not helping us?"
"No, he's not possessing Jay."
The Purple Ninja thrusted his free fist at Jay, nailing him in the nose. Jay drew back and the twister ceased, allowing the Purple Ninja to breathe. He rolled to his side and Jay leaped off.
Jay used the wind to retrieve Zane's amputated arm all the way from the fountain. The metal limb was stiff from the ice in its joints and had dents in many places. But instead of returning it to its owner, Jay propelled the arm at the Purple Ninja, who just managed to get to his feet.
The master of reality created a translucent violet dome around his body in an attempt to protect himself from the repeated thrusts of the arm, led by Jay. Each time it struck the shield, the element of reality would falter and weaken as the forcefield visibly cracked, dealing a great amount of pain to its creator.
Jay swung his arms left and right, which shifted the wind and swung Zane's arm left and right. Each time it hit its target the shield of violet light fractured more until – with one last slam of the palm to the barrier – it shattered into thousands of glassy shards.
Each fragment spun through the air like glass being shattered underwater. Every wake being watched with wonder; the sight was magnificent. They gazed as if it were a work of art – or perhaps it was their hatred towards the Purple Ninja that made them appreciate his defeat so much.
The villain shrieked in pain as the shards suddenly obeyed the laws of physics, quickly scattering on the ground before evaporating into embers of purple light.
Kai took a few steps back, dodging the sharp fragments. "I-It h-hurt him!"
Just as the Purple Ninja managed to stand to his full height, a laser of green energy struck his neck and he stumbled to the ground again, groaning.
"How d-does that f-feel?" Lloyd chattered excitedly. Next to him, Zane blasted ice at the Purple Ninja's hands and feet, pinning him to the ground.
The Master of Reality tensed, violet light breaking through the ice. He panted and groaned, drawing in one last, deep breath. "You should be dead, not chatty." He hissed. He longingly looked into Lloyd's eyes for a moment, then turned to gaze at the other green one; the one creating the fierce wind. "I fear for you, Morro. Your heir's emotions are too strong." He said under his breath. The Purple Ninja exhaled slowly and vanished in a flash of light, just as another one appeared behind Kai, dropping something.
"Heir?" Zane wondered verbally.
"Morro?" Lloyd said breathlessly. "I kn-knew it!"
"G-Guys! Look!" Kai shouted, rushing to the unconscious body dropped behind him. He knelt down and put his arms around the person.
It was Nya. The real Nya, hopefully. Her eyes were shut and purple particles buzzed around her, but Kai ignored them.
Zane approached the two, examining the body closely. "She's alive, but I can not say if this is an illusion. Perhaps I should attempt kissing her again to be sure?"
"How about you d-don't, P-Prince Charming," Kai said bitterly.
"And w-we still have one m-more enemy to deal with!" Lloyd cut in, whipping around and preparing his element. "G-Get out of J-Jay's body, ghost!" He hurled a beam of energy at the blue ninja, who was distracted by the return of Nya.
"Lloyd, no!" Zane cried, reaching his hand out.
"Huh?" Kai turned his head around.
Zane tried intercept the attack, but it was too late. It nailed its target in a shockwave of wind. Jay's skin and eyes returned to normal, as the true potential was over. He was already extremely weak and tired, and when Lloyd's element suddenly smacked into his face, all of his senses turned off.
Jay awoke in a much different room. It wasn't Jamanakai Village, and it certainly wasn't the temple. His whole body ached and he was extremely light-headed. He turned on his cot to see Misako and Nya standing near him, talking. They were not aware that he had awoken.
"Are you sure he's not possessed?" Nya asked anxiously.
"Yes, I am positive!" Misako responded. "I already used the aeroblades to see if he was and nothing happened."
"Then what's with his hair?"
"That is beyond me. Perhaps he dyed it?"
"He couldn't have dyed it in the middle of a battle!"
"Then I don't know anything about it!" Misako sighed. "We should meet with the others, they're waiting for us." She told as she and Nya both left the room.
I can't believe it! The voice said.
Jay sighed and closed his eyes. "What… happened?" He muttered.
You did it! You unlocked your true potential!
Jay frowned as he thought about his ninja brothers. Kai was the first to come to mind. "But at what cost?"
Jay crawled off the cot and took in his surroundings. He was in some sort of medical room in Borg Tower. His shirt was missing, revealing the bandages tied around his back and wrist, protecting some sort of salve. One question still alluded him: Why were Nya and Misako talking about his hair?
Jay felt his head. His hair didn't feel any different, maybe a bit messy. He looked at his hand and discovered no colorful residue.
Jay found his gi folded neatly at the foot of the cot and changed into it, only to notice a burnt hole in the back where the purple essence had struck him. It hurt just to remember when that happened, but if it weren't for the Master of Reality, Jay wouldn't have unlocked his true potential for wind. Jay twirled his finger, and the air swirled around it as he had wished.
He still had control.
Jay left the room to find himself in a dimly lit corridor with elevators at both ends. Between the machines were a few doors, one made of glass that apparently led to some sort of IT room. The other Jay could not see through, but he heard familiar voices on the other side. Jay crept nearer and pressed his ear against the door to recognized the voices of his friends – even Cole. They all seemed to be having a heated debate over something while Misako was trying to calm them down.
"I can't believe this! Both of them!" Kai argued loudly.
"They had their reasons, Kai." Zane said.
"So they told you but not me– I mean, us?" Kai snapped back.
"It was an accident and they wished for me to not tell any of you." Zane replied innocently.
"But it doesn't make sense." Lloyd cut in. "I know it's unfair that neither Sensei nor Jay told us about any of this before now, but how did Jay get wind powers in the first place?"
"He had the blood of the Master of Wind flowing through his veins." Wu finally said.
"Yeah but, how? He's the master of lightning! He's not Morro!" Lloyd snapped back, his voice becoming emotional.
"At least we saved Nya…" Cole mumbled weakly.
"Alright, everyone! I know this is all extremely overwhelming, but we need to calm down and assess the situation in a level-headed fashion." Misako scolded. "Wu, perhaps we should wait until Jay is awake so he can help clear things up?"
"That would be greatly appreciated, yes."
Jay heard footsteps drawing near the door and his heart raced. He thought about spinjitzu-ing away, but that'd be too loud and noticeable. Before he knew it, the door was open and Misako was staring right at him.
"Oh!" She exclaimed.
"Hi there..!" said Jay awkwardly, feeling extremely vulnerable and exposed. He looked over Misako's shoulder into the office-like room. Two couches put across each other facing a center table, with an empty desk at the far end. Zane finally had an unmatching replacement arm and no one was in their winter gear anymore. His friends were sitting and standing on and around the couches, all eyes on him – But Jay soon noticed that it wasn't his face they were staring at, it was his hair. He suddenly felt even more self-conscious. He ran his fingers through his hair then flattened it in an attempt to look a little more presentable.
His eyes met Lloyd's, and the green ninja quickly glanced away, now taking a sudden interest in the floor in front of his feet. But Kai didn't break his gaze with the master of lightning. When Jay saw Kai, his stomach twisted with fear. Kai had the rage of a thousand suns written all over his face, and his narrowed eyes told Jay that if he made the wrong move, then one of them will burn.
But Kai's unsaid threats didn't even come close to the sinking feeling Jay received when he saw that even Nya didn't seem to pleased to see him.
Jay walked past Misako and into the office, trying to find a friendly face. The only person who wore one was Sensei, who had a proud twinkle in his clear, grey eyes. "Did you rest well, Master of Wind?"
Jay's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He opened his mouth, but his words got caught in his throat. The ninja knew about his new element, and now Jay has just mastered it. The events of the battle at Jamanakai Village started flooding back to him like air filling a balloon.
Cole smiled at Jay with strained happiness. Small bandages covered the black ninja's arms, face, and legs. Where there weren't bandages, Jay could see shiny blackish-red sores that made it difficult to recognize his closest friend. Cole moved off the couch, standing up unsteadily. He secured the blanket wrapped around him and approached Jay.
It made the blue ninja's heart hurt seeing Cole in this much pain and suffering. But he was alive – and so was Nya – and that's all Jay cared about.
"Congratulations," Cole said, his voice hoarse. "You deserve it."
From the back of the room Kai scowled and the closer to the front Lloyd slumped in his seat. Zane smiled warmly at Cole and Jay while Nya sighed, her expression softening.
"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Jay responded.
Misako, feeling satisfied with Cole's actions, was about to say something until Kai interrupted her.
"And what about his hair? I'm not living with someone who looks like a dead crystal thief!" Kai growled furiously.
"What?" Jay said. Why did they keep mentioning his hair?
"I have to admit that I was not aware the wind element could alter the master's genes as much as that." Wu stated.
"I wasn't aware elements could alter genes at all!" Lloyd added.
"What are you guys talking about?" Jay questioned nervously.
Nya shook her head and twirled her hand. A hovering globe of water appeared in front of Jay.
He was shocked, and almost appalled at his reflection.
His hair had become significantly darker, with an emerald green streak mixing in with the curly strands. It emitted from his roots, so Jay knew it was natural and there to stay.
"What the…? How?" Jay exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair and tugging at the viridescent stripe. "Why is this here?"
Twinsies! The voice sang elvishly.
Green hair? Twinsies?
Jay gasped. "Morro, you poltergeist!"
The rest of the group were taken back at this seemingly random statement.
"Morro? What about him? Is he here?" Lloyd asked anxiously.
"Is Jay possessed?" Kai said, pulling his ninja mask over his face.
Nya threw her hand forward and the watery mirror splashed Jay in the face.
"Agh!" Jay spat the water out, drying his face with his sleeves.
"He's not possessed!" Nya said while Misako rolled her eyes. Jay blinked and rubbed his eyes then put his hands in front of him in surrender.
"Wait, stop! I-"
Don't tell them!
What? You have been living inside my head for months! I need their help so you can get out!
No, don't kick me out!
"If he's not possessed then he's gone insane!" Kai retorted.
"He's not insane, Kai!" Cole said.
"Yes he is and has been for long time!"
Everyone fell silent.
"You heard me!" Kai continued, his face burning red. "Insane! Mental! Jay is unstable and dangerous!"
"No I'm not!" Jay said.
"Don't deny it! From the moment your workshop burned down I knew you'd lost it! But no one paid any attention to you because no one wants to admit it!"
Zane stepped forward. "That's a rather extreme accusation, Kai. I am sure Jay has has no mental illness that can be diagnosed as insanity."
Suddenly, in a fury, Kai hurled a fireball at the ice ninja and everyone cried out in surprise.
"What are you doing?!" Nya demanded.
"SHUT UP, JUST SHUT UP!" Kai screamed.
Zane hit his gi repeatedly attempting to put out the flames before spraying it with a mist of ice. "Kai! This isn't like yourself!"
"Control yourself, Red Ninja. You are allowing your emotions to overpower your common sense!" Wu said.
"I don't care! None of you guys listen to me anyway!" Kai yelled.
"Because everything that comes out of your mouth is either complaining or about yourself!" Jay snapped back while Cole stepped away.
Misako stepped between Jay and Kai. "That is enough, you two!" She turned her head to Kai. "Why in the world would you attack Zane?" She asked sharply.
Kai glared, his breathing heavy and unstable. If Jay looked at Kai's face closely enough – which repulsed him – he could see that the red ninja had tears in his eyes. This whole ordeal – Jay getting new powers, the Purple Ninja kidnapping Nya, Cole nearly dying – had brought Kai to the brink of emotional collapse.
And that made Jay wonder a little bit – just a little bit – what it was like from his point of view.