Brace yourself guys, this is a LONG one. I'm not in the habit of having more than 5000 words per chapter, but it's supposed to be like a 'bottle' episode so cutting it in half made no sense.
Depending on how well this goes, I might do the bottle chapter format again, but probably as a one shot because this arc has several more chapters to go!
Enjoy!
On returning to the temple, it became obvious that the egg was getting ready to hatch; Pixal was waiting by the door for Magpie, clutching it in her arms as it repeatedly shook and then stopped. Magpie theorised that it would hatch in the next few hours, based on the time between shaking fits, and advised Pixal that when it got to 20 seconds between shakes, then the hatching was imminent.
In the meantime, everyone went about their business as normally as possible; Jay and Kai put the shopping in the kitchen, leaving Lloyd and Cole to put it away properly; Zane encouraged Pixal to let him take over watching the egg for a little while, which she relented to because he was so enthusiastic to hold it that she couldn't say no; and Kiku and Nya offered Magpie their emotional support as she nervously decided to call Aruna and let her know what was going on.
"You can do this Magz," Nya said supportively. "Jay's right, she needs to know."
"If Fireball gives you any trouble later, we'll be there to defend you!" Kiku vowed.
Magpie sat on Nya's bed, with Nya and Kiku sitting either side of her and took a deep breath. She dialled Aruna's number, then waited for her to answer.
"Hello Magpie, what a nice surprise to hear from you!" Aruna purred.
"Hey Aruna," Magpie anxiously replied. "this probably feels like it's coming out of nowhere, but I need to tell you something important."
"What's wrong? You sound deeply troubled... Is Phoenix okay?"
"Before I answer that, I need to know how much you understand about his powers." Magpie insisted.
"I know about his healing element, and that sometimes he needs to take time away to reinvigorate himself," Aruna confirmed, much to Magpie's relief. "is that what's happening now?"
"Yes, but I feel like he's only told you half of the story," Magpie hesitated. "when Phoenix 'reinvigorates' himself, he goes through a regeneration cycle like an actual phoenix."
Silence.
"Wait... does that mean there's fire involved?" Aruna wondered with concern in her voice. "Please tell me he doesn't actually set on fire and is reborn of the ashes..."
More silence.
"Oh gods," Aruna squeaked as Magpie's lack of response confirmed her fears. "my poor darling... May I please come see him? Please?"
"Well, it's kind of complicated," Magpie sheepishly mentioned. "he didn't really regenerate straight away – he's uh, currently an egg."
Even more silence.
"Aruna?"
"Forgive me, I'm trying to process this... Just to confirm; my darling Phoenix was so sick that he burned himself to death in the manner of his namesake," Aruna surmised. "and has devolved into an egg in order to heal properly... is that correct?"
"Uh, yes?"
"Well... may I come see him when he's healthy enough?" Aruna calmly asked.
"Of course, I can contact you as soon as he's ready for visitors," Magpie agreed. "I'll even send you updates so you know how he's getting on."
"Thank you, I would be extremely grateful for that," Aruna sighed, placated by this offer. "please give him a hug for me, once he revives."
"I will Aruna; take care in the interim, won't you?"
"I shall, thank you Magpie." Aruna sweetly stated before she hung up.
Magpie was so relieved that the call went well, she heaved a weighty sigh and smiled.
"That went great!" Kiku beamed. "Who knew she'd be so cool and collected about it."
"I'm ecstatic; that wasn't just better than expected, that was better than I ever could've imagined – I can't tell you what a relief it is!" Magpie grinned.
"Maybe she knows more about his powers than she let on," Nya suggested. "I wouldn'thave been anywhere near as calm if something like that happened to Jay."
"I'm inclined to agree, although she was a little freaked out, it could've been much worse," Magpie concurred. "now, if you wouldn't mind, I need some help with reattaching the pearls to my outfit."
"I'd love to!" Nya responded excitedly. "I can't wait to see it!"
"It's my favourite one, but the last time I wore it I had a mishap and some of the gems came off." Magpie blushed.
She stood up and rifled through her backpack for a few moments, then pulled out a small garment bag. On opening the bag, Magpie suddenly came over all bashful as Nya and Kiku leaned over to have a look. She retreated, moving the bag out of their direct line of sight.
"Would you mind not looking while I change into this?" Magpie sheepishly requested.
Nya and Kiku enthusiastically agreed, covering their eyes and turning to face the wall. Even though they couldn't see, they could hear the rustle of fabric, the jingle of zippers and jewellery, and the fluff of feathers, as well as a mumbled 'dammit' that escaped Magpie's lips as she dropped something. After a little more rustling around, she cleared her throat nervously.
"Okay, you can look now."
Kiku already knew what this outfit looked like, and nodded approvingly as they turned to face Magpie, but Nya was absolutely stunned, and she faintly blushed at the sheer amount of skin Magpie was showing.
To call it a bikini would be wildly inaccurate; the top consisted of little more than a decorative spray of iridescent feathers that barely covered Magpie's bouncing chest. From the gold choker around her neck, dangled a string of pearls and a mounted emerald which sat directly in the centre of the feathers. There was a second, smaller emerald embedded in her belly button, and she also still wore her black knee length boots, creating a sultry gothic look. The glittery black G-string briefs clearly displayed much of her curvy rear end, and while one side strap of the G-string was laced with pearls and curled over her hip, and the other was snapped in the middle, to the point that Magpie had to hold it to stop it from falling off her body.
"W-wow, you actually wear this when you're onstage?" Nya exclaimed.
"Only when I perform on Saturdays, and I usually wear a corset and a sheer black kimono with it," Magpie corrected. "the past few weeks I've had to wear something else obviously."
"This is new," Kiku asserted, poking the emerald in Magpie's navel. "when did you get this piercing?"
"Last summer, when the bar closed for a month to have a revamp," Magpie giggled. "I wanted to give it time to heal."
"So, you need help fixing the pearls back on?" Nya asked, as Magpie nodded.
"Yes please; anything else I'd repair on my dress form at home, but the pearls have to sit a certain way to look right, and my hips are-."
"Thick with three c's?" Kiku smirked.
"Uh, yeah, kinda."
"Well, I'm not normally into sewing, but I can make an exception if you let me post a before and after photo on my Instabook – it's where I post all my handiwork."
"Of course, that's fine." Magpie smiled.
"Great, let's get started then!"
Nya pulled out her phone and took a picture of Magpie's hip, and the hand holding the broken side strap of her G-string, then put it to one side while she looked for her sewing kit.
"Did you bring some matching pearl beads?" Kiku wondered.
"Naturally." Magpie reached into the side pocket of her bag and pulled out a velvet pouch.
"Okay, I'm ready," Nya said as she knelt by Magpie's side. "can you tilt your hip this way?"
Magpie did as she was told and leaned her body towards Nya, then opened the velvet pouch and held it for her. Nya began rethreading the pearls onto one part of the broken strap, making sure to look at the strap on her other hip to maintain symmetry of the bead positioning. She placed a fabric clip over the end to stop the pearls from coming off and moved onto the other broken half, repeating the threading procedure.
While this was going on, Kiku pulled out her own phone and took a sneaky snapshot of Magpie watching Nya as she set about fixing the garment. It was a rather cute photo, and neither of the girls had noticed her take the picture, but she would show them once the repairs were complete.
Nya removed the fabric clip and began to neatly stitch the two half straps together, pushing the pearls to either side of where she was stitching. With the strap now repaired, Nya let go of the pearls, and they seamlessly came together to hide the running chain stitch. Magpie stepped back and shimmied her hips a little, gyrating and watching the pearls as they glinted in the light.
"Thank you so much!" Magpie praised, leaning down to give Nya a hug. "It's perfect! You'd never know it was broken!"
"I'm glad you like it," Nya beamed as she stood up and grabbed her phone, pulling up the camera function. "now, strike a pose and smile for my followers!"
Magpie began to do one of her signature posing routines as Nya snapped away, hoping that if she took multiple shots, she would get the perfect picture. She then invited Magpie and Kiku over to look at the photos she got, and one in particular stood out; it was a view from the back, wherein Magpie was standing with her hands on her hips and her head turned to the side as she looked over her shoulder. Her black shimmering hair was draped down her back, and the mended pearl detailing was sparkling with the glittered fabric of her G-string.
"Oh, I look so pretty!" Magpie gasped. "Nya, you're a whiz with a camera!"
"I would love to have hips like yours," Nya swooned. "I'd wear this outfit everyday if I did…"
"Are you kidding? Jay would spontaneously combust if he saw you in this!" Kiku joked.
"So, it's okay for me to post this one? With a close-up of the repaired part?" Nya baited.
"Yes, of course," Magpie nodded enthusiastically. "don't worry about tagging my account though, my Insta is private, so it won't show up if you try to tag me."
"Awesome, thanks!"
Nya began typing on her phone, setting up the post to go on her social media page, while Kiku and Magpie chatted a little about the kinds of new costumes she wanted to get. Kiku admired the one Magpie was currently wearing, declaring it to be Magpie's 'aesthetic', and further suggested she get more feather-based outfits to match her name.
Having put the groceries away, Lloyd and Cole were free to do their own thing, which meant time for strength training in the weights room. Well, Cole was doing strength training, Lloyd was still messing around on his smartphone. He leaned against the wall and aimlessly scrolled through Instabook as he often did, and Cole was just about to chew him out for loitering, when Lloyd's eyes widened. His cheeks burned bright red, and he stumbled backwards before falling flat on his butt. Intrigued, Cole put down the dumbbell he was lifting and looked at the stunned blonde.
"You okay?" Cole wondered as he stood up and walked over.
"Um, I think so..." Lloyd squeaked.
"Well, something's obviously freaked you out and- Woah!" Cole soon saw exactly what Lloyd had reacted to; the picture of Magpie that Nya had posted. "Look at those thighs! She could crush a guy's skull with those!"
"This is what she wears at the bar, apparently." Lloyd exhaled, trying to compose himself.
"No way! On second thoughts, she did say that she was a part time cabaret, so she probably does wear stuff like that…" Cole theorised as he sat down next to Lloyd and nudged him in the ribs. "You're onto a winner there, dude; wow."
Lloyd just sat there stunned, his whole face on fire as he examined the photo. Magpie's skin was pale and silky, and there was so much of it on show that Lloyd didn't know where to look, especially when he realised that he could see the curved side of her chest. With her arm positioned the way it was, it would be easy to think she had nothing covering her torso, and his temperature rose as he thought about it. From the angle the photo was taken, only her left eye was on show, and her satin hair shimmered as it hid the top part of her back.
"Yo!" Cole clicked his fingers in front of Lloyd's face. "Wake up, Blondie!"
He shook his head and gave a dazed, deer-in-the-headlights expression.
"Never seen a half-naked girl before?" Cole teased.
"It's not that, I just, uh," Lloyd paused, unsure of what he was trying to say. "I guess I didn't expect to see so much of her so soon."
"Yeah, if I'd seen Jasper wearing something like that before we got together, I would've felt the same," Cole tried to reassure him. "that said, I also would've felt another way about it, and it would be much harder to hide."
Cole lewdly chuckled and Lloyd suddenly became conscious of his body, shifting his position so he felt less exposed.
"There's no way she'd go for me," Lloyd sighed. "with a body like that, she could get anyone she wanted."
"Yeah, but she's still single – Phoenix would've told me if she had someone – doesn't that tell you she's waiting for the right person?" Cole posited. "Also, don't take this the wrong way, but you're pretty cut for someone who doesn't use the weight room properly."
Lloyd couldn't help but laugh at that. He was definitely guilty of not putting in enough effort sometimes, even if Cole's comment earlier in the year about 'not being able to compete' had lit a fire under him as far as training was concerned.
"You know, Nya told me you were on the verge of kissing Magpie earlier; the fact that she didn't try to push you away says a lot."
"I guess…" Lloyd conceded. "I just don't have much experience with girls…"
"They're really not that complicated," Cole assured him. "there's a bit of guess work at the start, while you figure out their personality and their interests, but women are also human, and you gotta treat them that way."
"So, how did you ask Jasper out?" Lloyd asked directly.
"Do you remember when we went bar hopping after Zane and Pix got married?" Cole baited.
"Yeah, just about," Lloyd sheepishly responded. "I got pretty drunk at the party, so that whole night was kind of a blur."
"When we all got back to the hotel at like 4am, I couldn't sleep; all I could think about was her," Cole admitted. "I tossed and turned for a while, but it was pointless, so I sent her a text – basically asking if she was awake and would she mind if I called."
"Are you serious?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow at him. "You called her at 4am?"
"It was 5am actually, and she got back to me within two minutes of texting her – she must've been half awake anyway," Cole insisted. "so, I called her and invited her to spend the day with me; I told her it's because I wanted to see the city before we went home, but really I just wanted to be around her for a bit longer."
"So, you lied to her?"
"I never said that!" Cole sighed in exasperation. "I did want to see the city, but I wanted to go to her favourite places, so she would be less nervous, and I could get to know her better."
"I can't text Magpie at the crack of dawn, she's sharing Nya's room." Lloyd countered.
Cole slapped his hand to his forehead and sighed dramatically.
"The point is that I asked for her company, and then let her take the lead; I went wherever she wanted to go," He explained. "she was more comfortable, and more relaxed, and it was less high-stakes than a normal date."
"You make it sound so easy, weren't you nervous?"
"Are you kidding? I was sweating bullets just texting her! How I kept it together long enough to call her, I'll never know," Cole laughed. "but you miss all the shots you don't take, and I wanted a shot with her more than anything, so the best advice I can give you is just: go for it."
"I've never asked anyone out before; I wouldn't know where to start." Lloyd lamented.
"But you'll move in for a kiss no problem? Man, your priorities are way off!" Cole shook his head and laughed. "Just keep it simple, okay – ask if she's free to hang out one afternoon."
"I wonder what she likes to do, or what places she likes to go to," Lloyd thought out loud. "I can't take her to Feathers and Fire, she works there, and I don't know what she's into."
"Magpie seems like a really laidback girl, I think she'd be happy just to have some chillout time," Cole posited. "especially since this has gotta be the first regeneration where she has lots of help – she'll be able to relax a little."
"So, I just go up to her and ask?" Lloyd wondered. "Just… like that?"
"Yeah, like I know it's nerve wracking, but if you can just switch off your brain and get on with it, you'll be fine." Cole nodded.
"There's a big difference between asking over the phone and asking in person." Lloyd insisted.
"I guess…" Cole conceded. "You could practice in a mirror, or use the selfie function on your phone's camera, honestly it's not that hard."
"It's alright for you, you're in a relationship, you don't get how hard this is!"
"Except I do, because Jasper is my first girlfriend." Cole remarked with a half-smile.
Lloyd was briefly stunned into silence by this. He'd never known Cole to have a girlfriend in the time they'd been teammates, but he figured that the earth ninja must've had been in a relationship beforehand. Cole was easily the fittest and most muscular of all the ninja, and his love of sweets made him popular with the vast majority of women; he definitely seemed to have more fangirls than anyone.
"Are you joking?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow at him.
"Why would I joke about that?" Cole bantered. "It's a deeply personal thing, and I'm trying to level with you; trying to get you to see that I'm not much more experienced than you."
"Oh… I'm sorry."
"I know you have more to deal with, because you aged up a bit faster than the rest of us, but it's easier than you think," Cole assured. "just go to Nya's room and ask to speak to Magpie privately."
"Now?"
"Yes now!" Cole declared, standing up and pulling Lloyd up onto his feet, shoving him towards the door. "Things are gonna get hectic when Phoenix hatches – gotta strike while the iron's hot dude!"
Lloyd stumbled out the weight room door, and briefly looked over his shoulder at Cole, who was giving a double thumbs up back at him.
"Here goes nothing…" He mumbled to himself as he traversed upstairs towards Nya's bedroom.
He could hear the girls giggling and chatting as he approached the door (and subconsciously noted the apparent argument going on in Kai's room). After a few moments of hesitation, he knocked on the door. The rumble of feminine voices came to a blunt stop, followed by footsteps and Nya opening the door to him.
"Oh, hey Lloyd!" Nya smiled a little too widely. "I was wondering if you'd come and see us."
"Hey Nya," Lloyd mumbled. "um, is Magpie free to talk? I wanted to ask her about something… Um, confidentially…"
"Sure," Nya giggled. "hey Magz, Lloyd wants a private word with you."
He heard the click-click of her heels before he saw her in all her scantily clad glory. She smiled at him sweetly as his face flooded with red once again.
"Hi Lloyd, what can I help you with?" Magpie asked. "Did you have more questions about the regeneration?"
"Uh, no; this is about something different," Lloyd stammered, trying desperately hard to look her in the eyes and nowhere else. "something I mentioned a few hours ago..."
"Well, let's go discuss it elsewhere, shall we?" She smiled anxiously. "I'll be back soon, Nya."
"Take your time..." Nya giggled some more as she shut the door behind Magpie.
Lloyd and Magpie stood in the hallway, each of them looking nervous and mildly uncomfortable.
"So, what did you want to ask me?" She nearly tucked her arms behind her back, worried that he was going to pry into her history again.
"I'd rather not talk about it here; did you want to come to my room so it's a bit more private?" He offered.
"Y-yes of course," She mumbled. "I mean, as long as you don't mind me being in your personal space."
Lloyd smiled and nodded, then led Magpie to his room. He politely opened the door and waited for her to enter, then followed her in and closed the door over a little – although he wanted the seclusion to be able to speak openly, he also didn't want her to feel like a rabbit in a foxhole. He gestured for her to sit down, and she promptly sat on his bed, crossing one leg over the other and draping her hands on her knee. She beamed at him softly and he eventually sat next to her; his temperature rising yet again.
"I uh, wanted to thank you for singing for me," He timidly began. "I slept so well both times; I haven't had a decent sleep like that in ages."
"You're very welcome," She grinned. "and the offer still stands to call me when you need to – you know, if you can't sleep and need some lyrical soothing."
"I'll definitely consider it, I felt really relaxed when you sang, my whole body seemed to unwind," He continued. "listen, Magpie, you're talented and pretty and sweet, and I was wondering if... Um..."
Magpie glanced at him curiously.
"It would be really cool if you would, uh… I mean, you don't have to, but it could be fun if..." Lloyd flustered, trying to order his thoughts into a cohesive sentence. "I just figured I'd ask if you wanted to..."
Magpie tilted her head, wondering why he was having trouble being direct now when he was fine being direct when they were on his dragon. The poor guy was looking at the floor and fumbling his words and just seemed so unlike the confident person who she had sung to the previous nights. Suddenly, she realised that Lloyd was most likely nervous because of her burlesque attire; she was so comfortable in these kinds of outfits that it was easy to forget how revealing they truly were, and she placed her hand over his.
The abrupt contact caused him to look straight into her eyes and his mind swiftly cleared. Lloyd paused to admire her eyes as they sparkled at him, and he smiled; it was like her calming touch immediately soothed the storm in his head.
"Did you want to hang out with me sometime?" He asked. "Like, on a date?"
"I'd love to!" She declared with flushed cheeks.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I was hoping you would ask me to spend time with you while I'm here."
"I figured since we're all gonna help with Phoenix, you'll have a bit more free time than usual," He elaborated. "and we can go anywhere you want; Mori and I can take you wherever you feel like going."
"That's very kind of you," She nodded. "I know a wonderful place where we could go, it's the most beautiful at sunrise so it would mean an early start, but it's very meaningful to me."
"Of course, just say the word and we'll go, I promise." He excitedly scooped up her hands in his.
"You're so sweet," She squeaked, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. "thank you, Lloyd."
"A-anytime…" He stammered as he became increasingly aware of her soft chest pressing against him and his heartbeat reached speeds he'd never known before.
After a few moments of their wholesome embrace, Lloyd could sense a very unwholesome reaction happening, and he cleared his throat.
"You should… probably get back to Nya's room; I'd love for you to stay longer, but we don't want any rumours spreading." He politely insisted with a smile.
"Of course," Magpie reluctantly agreed. "I'll see you later."
She stood up and walked away, and Lloyd's face somehow got even redder when he got an up close and personal view of Magpie's G-string and everything it left on show. Embarrassed, he quickly put his hands in his lap, hoping to the hide the swelling that was rapidly building. She turned to look at him before she left, and with a little wave, drifted out the door and back to Nya's bedroom.
"Cole's right – she really could break someone's skull with those thighs," He mumbled to himself. "I dread to think what she could do with her hips…"
"MAGPIE!"
Lloyd instantly recognised Pixal's frantic yelling, and he quickly left his room to go see what was happening…
"I think that's the first time I've ever enjoyed going grocery shopping!" Kai chuckled.
"Yeah, it's too bad Magpie can't come with us all the time." Jay agreed.
"She's here for a couple of weeks at least, maybe she'll go with us again." Kai added.
"That would be cool..."
"Well, seeing as Kiku's hanging out with Nya, I'm gonna go chill in our room for a bit." Kai mentioned as he turned to walk away.
"Wait!" Jay grabbed Kai's arm. "Mind if I come with? I wanna talk to you about something important."
"Uh, sure..."
Kai was mildly distrustful about Jay's sudden urge to speak with him privately. As the two of them ventured upstairs, he hoped that things between Jay and Nya had not taken a bad turn; partly because he did not want to get caught in the crossfire of their drama, but also because – as much as he didn't want to admit it – Magpie was right, they were a brilliantly matched pair, and he would hate to see either of them get hurt.
Jay and Nya were not behaving any differently than usual, although Jay had become bolder in showing his affection, and at first, Kai thought it was just an attempt to irritate him, but now he wasn't so sure. Was Jay laying on the sugar to try and soften the blow for a potential breakup with Nya? No, that made no sense. Kai shut the door behind them, and stood with his arms crossed, looking at Jay expectantly.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Kai loftily asked.
"Straight to the point, huh?" Jay nervously chuckled, before clearing his throat. "Look, I know that me being in a relationship with Nya bothers you, and I can't imagine what that's like because I don't have any siblings, but you gotta be honest with me; how do you ACTUALLY feel about me and Nya?"
Kai glanced at Jay sternly, before sighing and draping his arms down.
"I have nothing against you dating my sister," He admitted. "I never did, not really, but I'm her older brother and I'm protective – she's all I have as far as family goes."
"It's just that you get so annoyed at me all the time, like when I'm affectionate with her," Jay argued. "and I'm not doing it to bug you, I'm doing it because I love her and want to show it; that's just how I am."
Kai sighed again as he started feeling bad for how he reacted sometimes.
"I know I can be a jerk about it, and I know she can hold her own; she doesn't need me to watch her anymore, but that instinct is still there, and it probably always will be." Kai mentioned.
"You can give up that protectiveness to me, you know," Jay offered. "I love her, I want to be with her forever, and I'd give up my life for hers if I could."
For a moment, Kai went quiet, as he processed Jay's intensely sentimental statement and tried to figure out why he would be saying this to him instead of Nya.
"…What exactly do you mean by that?" Kai asked with suspicion on his face.
Jay faltered. This was it; now or never. He took a deep breath, looked Kai straight in the eyes and declared:
"I want to marry Nya." He stated, his cheeks burning red.
Kai's jaw dropped.
"Say that again?" He stammered.
"I'm going to propose to Nya," Jay repeated with determination. "but I wanted to run it by you first – not because I need your permission, but because I want your blessing."
Kai was just floored by this sudden announcement.
He really shouldn't have been so surprised, the two of them were getting pretty serious, but he also never expected Jay to seek any kind of approval. Although, it made sense why Jay came to him; they'd all still have to function as a team, and the more he thought about it, the more Kai realised how angry he would've been if Jay hadn't come to see him first. That said, this was something he had secretly been dreading, not because he disapproved, but because Jay sometimes acted like a total simp, and it bothered the hell out of him.
"Okay, back up a minute," Kai insisted. "how long have you been planning this?"
"I've been thinking about it since Zane and Pixal got married…"
"Well, at least I know this isn't a random, impulsive thing." Kai conceded.
"Of course not! I've got an engagement ring and I know I wanna ask her soon, I just don't know when," Jay replied. "and even if you don't give your approval, I'm still gonna ask her, I just wanted to be considerate about it."
"I gotta admit, I'm impressed," Kai nodded. "I respect that your decision to marry Nya isn't dependent on my blessing, but that you wanted to get it anyway."
"Thanks," Jay smiled. "so… do I have it?"
"You want an answer right now?"
"No, no, you obviously need to think about it," Jay backpedalled. "I'm gonna ask her at some point though, so maybe don't take too long to think things over."
"You've got some nerve talking to me like that," Kai growled. "you think Nya will be happy knowing you came to me for permission to marry her? Like she's my property because I'm her only male relative?"
"I didn't come to you for 'permission', I came here to be respectful because I knew you'd have a tantrum if I didn't give you a heads up!" Jay snapped. "Nya won't believe you over me, Kai, she trusts me with everything – her dreams, her wishes, her secrets... her body..."
Kai was enraged. So enraged that his eyes all but changed colour and wispy smoke started flowing from his ears. And in that moment of absolute fury, he punched Jay in the face. Jay hit the ground and Kai loomed over him like a furious nightmare.
"How dare you?!" Kai hissed viciously.
"What's wrong Sonny?" Jay scoffed, using Phoenix's nickname for him to annoy him on purpose. "Can't handle the fact that Nya isn't a little girl anymore? That she has the same kind of urges as other women?"
"If you ever speak about my baby sister that way in front of me again," Kai warned, pointing accusingly at him. "I will do so much worse than just hit you…"
Jay frowned and stood up, getting right in Kai's personal space and staring him down.
"You need to get over this Kai; Nya's not just your sister," Jay declared. "she's a person – a wonderful, beautiful, kind, strong, talented woman – and she's an individual who can make her own decisions about who she wants to be with."
"And for some reason she chose you…" Kai sighed disappointedly and shook his head. "You're a simp, Jay, you do everything she says and go along with whatever she wants to do, and you never put your foot down – how can I trust you to protect her when you can't even stand up for yourself?"
"So, I'm a relaxed person, what's the big deal?" Jay demanded.
"A few minutes ago, you said you'd give your life for hers; but if you're so chill that you won't even give her like, an opposing thought or idea, then I highly doubt you'd do anything that serious." Kai sneered.
"Are you questioning my commitment to the woman I love?" Jay snarled, getting visibly aggravated. "Do you really think so little of me that you don't think I can protect her?"
"Protect her? Ha!" Kai threw his head back and made an exaggerated laugh. "You couldn't even protect a slice of cheesecake!"
Kai continued laughing with veracity and depth; the more he laughed, the stronger his laughter became. He got to the point where he was laughing so much, that he struggled to take a deep enough breath to carry on, and tears started falling. Jay, meanwhile, was getting angrier and angrier with every passing second of Kai's raucous chuckling.
"Face it, Jay; you're soft, you're feeble and you're the weakest link on the whole team – and you expect me to give my blessing to you marrying my sister? You must be out of your mind!"
Jay finally snapped.
He punched Kai so hard that the fire ninja not only hit the floor, but briefly slid backwards. Kai glanced up at Jay with a look of total shock on his face.
"I don't care what you think about me! I only told you about this because I was trying to show respect, but you obviously don't know the meaning of the word!" Jay yelled. "I love Nya! I love her so much that I want to be with her for the rest of my natural life! I don't care that you're her brother, you're not getting in my way!"
Kai opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by Jay before he could say a word.
"No Kai! You've done nothing but talk crap about me; now you're gonna shut up and listen!" Jay angrily asserted. "I'm not here for acceptance, I'm not here for permission, I'm here to TELL you; Nya is my world, my everything, and I won't let you decide what our relationship should be based on your dumb standards!"
Jay glared at Kai fiercely, fully prepared to duke it out with him, until he noticed a smile form on Kai's face.
"Took you long enough!" Kai smirked. "I was waiting for you to hit me; thought it would've happened a bit sooner, but you got there in the end."
Jay's expression of fury dissolved into utter confusion.
"...did I miss something?"
"Listen, I'm happy for you and Nya, I really am, but I had to test you first." Kai confessed as he stood up.
"Huh?"
"I know you can protect her from bad guys – you're not weak, not in the slightest – but I also had to know that you'd be willing to stand up to a familiar face."
"So, you purposely riled me into attacking you to prove some point about me being worthy or something?" Jay raised an eyebrow.
"Pretty much," Kai beamed proudly. "congratulations! You passed!"
"I should've known you'd try to test me," Jay chuckled. "didn't expect it to happen on the spot though."
Kai put his arm around Jay's shoulder.
"You did good, that's all that matters," Kai grinned. "so, are we done here or is there something else you wanna talk about?"
"Nah, that was it." Jay grinned back.
"Cool; now beat it, I'm gonna enjoy some chill time." Kai smirked.
"Well, I'll catch you later." Jay nodded as he headed towards the door.
He opened it and was just about to close it behind him, when Kai piped up one more time.
"You have it by the way," Kai sincerely smiled. "my blessing, I mean."
"Thanks Kai!" Jay beamed ecstatically, doing a victory fist pump on his way out until:
"MAGPIE!"
Kai and Jay looked at each other and realised that the high-pitched shrieking could mean only one thing; the egg was on the verge of hatching.
"Come on, let's go."
"I'm most curious to know how he will break out of the egg," Zane stated as he sat with it in his lap. "this is not the way humans are born."
"My most recent scan has revealed what appears to be a pair of horns on his head – he has developed his own version of an 'egg tooth'," Pixal mentioned. "such calcareous extremities are only temporary and will likely fall off when he emerges."
"I wonder if they will be enough to crack this shell, it's not a typical eggshell after all; I'm aware that fire opal is not the hardest gemstone on the Mohs scale, but still I wonder."
"Magpie said she'd seen this form before, so the horns must be sufficient." Pixal nodded.
Suddenly, the egg shook again and Pixal's eyes lit up.
"How long was that?" She asked excitedly.
"Approximately 40 seconds." He replied, chuckling at how enthusiastic she was.
"Oh my goodness, it's getting so much closer now," She breathed. "he'll be here soon; I just know it."
"I never did find out why you became so fascinated with this, I assumed it was because it's so different to a traditional human birth, but now I'm wondering if there's something more poignant going on beneath the surface…" He paused then put his open hand on her cheek. "Pixal… do you wish to have a child?"
"No, not at all," She denied. "I believe it is just my intense curiosity; new elements are always going to be fascinating to me, but this one is so different and manifests in such a distinctive way."
"You said to Magpie that you wished to protect him, and I wonder if perhaps this has something to do with your anxiety about your father…" He baited.
Pixal went quiet.
"I feel for my father, not only is he getting older and more tired, but he will never have biological grandchildren because I am not his biological daughter," She conceded. "continuing the species is important to many humans, though not all of them, and I worry that my father may regret not having a natural child… or that he may resent me for not being able to perpetuate his bloodline."
Pixal looked at the egg and then at the floor, as her eyes began to well up with tears. Hard as she tried to stop them from falling, she couldn't, and the fluid streamed from her eyes like a river. Zane put his arm around her and pulled her close.
"Darling, please don't cry; deep down you know Mr Borg would never feel that way about you," Zane said in a hushed, calming tone. "he loves you as his daughter, and that love is not conditional on your ability to procreate."
"I know, but the anxiety remains," She wept. "and my reaction to Phoenix regenerating this far back is so selfish, that there is guilt building on top of my original emotions."
"Selfish?" He raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Care to explain?"
"I thought that this could be a chance to give Mr Borg the experience of a grandchild, if only temporarily, but children should not be born with a job," She confessed. "I am so conflicted that I cannot help but feel Phoenix would be better off in someone else's hands..."
Before she even finished speaking, the egg began to shake, violently and for much longer than usual. Fearing something was wrong with Phoenix, Pixal placed her hands on it, and discovered that the baby's heart rate was increasing.
"He's becoming stressed!" She panicked. "Please be still, little ho-oh, relax; you're safe here."
"I don't understand, he was fine a moment ago," Zane also put his hands on the egg. "I cannot detect any medical reasons for his sudden anguish..."
"Everything is okay, Phoenix, please calm down," Pixal wrapped her arms around the egg, holding it close to her chest. "I'm sorry if I frightened you."
"We won't let go of you, we promise," Zane added, curling his arms around both of them and holding tight. "we will look after you no matter what."
Whether it was because of their impassioned words, or the comforting pulsation of their respective power sources, baby Phoenix was soon placated, and the shaking stopped. Pixal was utterly relieved when her scanners picked up on his heartbeat, returning to its previously stable rate.
"I think that could be Phoenix's way of saying that he wants to be with us." He stated confidently.
"I think so too." She sighed happily.
Zane smiled at Pixal and gave her a gentle kiss, before nuzzling into her hair. As they sat in contented silence, Pixal leaned into Zane's chest and sighed. She purred and snuggled into him more, only for her heart to skip when a deep rumble left his throat. She was so happy in this moment; each of them still had one hand on the shining eggshell, and he gently started stroking her pinkie with his index finger.
"I believe it would be a good idea to visit your father when Phoenix hatches…" Zane declared.
Pixal looked up at him curiously.
"Like you, he will be fascinated by this element, and if Phoenix is as cute as a regular baby, no doubt Cyrus will be enthralled to see him."
"Perhaps it would be worth sending him a message, just to keep him informed of the circumstances," Pixal added. "he doesn't even know about Phoenix or his regeneration, let alone that we will be looking after him while he ages up – if we abruptly video call him with a baby in our arms he will be incredibly confused."
"I agree, we should draft an email for him while Phoenix is still deciding when he wants to come out." He nodded.
Zane retracted the cable from the back of his neck and plugged it into the port on Pixal's nape so they could share a screen. Once their systems had synchronised, Pixal opened a new email and entered Cyrus' email address. She paused as she reached the subject line.
"What should we write here?" She asked.
"Hmm… Calling this instance a 'familial opportunity' sounds too clinical…" He paused to think, as the egg continued its routine shaking. "How about: 'time sensitive, please read asap'?"
"Yes, that sounds more suitable," She agreed, moving into the body of the email. "…Dear father… We hope this message finds you well, as we have some interesting news to impart to you… Oh dear, how do we explain this without going too much into detail? We don't want to overwhelm him with information."
"Hmm… While the ninja were under the tutelage of Cole's friend Phoenix, in preparation for a charity-related activity, it was discovered that Phoenix had regeneration powers…" Zane offered.
"Would it not be easier to tell him about Phoenix's elemental master status?" Pixal asked.
"Perhaps, but only a handful of people knew about that before we found out, and Phoenix seemed to go to great lengths to keep it that way…" He rebutted.
"Of course, we should respect his autonomy and just mention his restoration abilities," She nodded in agreement. "…Due to an unseen illness, Phoenix went into a regeneration cycle and has returned to such a young age that he requires a rebirth; he is currently an egg… We feel it is important to tell you that Zane and I have offered to raise him once he hatches, as he has an accelerated growth rate that will give us vital information about his powers…"
"…Essentially, we are going to be acting as Phoenix's parents for the next two weeks while he regrows into his former adult self…" He continued. "…and as such, you are technically going to be a grandfather – albeit briefly… We realise this may come as a shock to you, but you do need to know that this is happening, because the egg is indicating that it will hatch soon…"
"This entire situation developed just this morning, so we are still trying to comprehend it ourselves; no doubt you will have many questions of your own..." She hesitated as she tried to think of a way to close off the email. "...and we will endeavour to answer them to the best of our abilities... Yours sincerely, with love, Pixal and Zane..."
"That sounds ideal," He nodded. "it gives the basic facts and encourages him to contact us."
"I hope this doesn't startle him too much," She fretted as she pressed send. "it's extraordinarily sudden to tell him he will be a grandfather in the next few hours."
"I know, but perhaps we could arrange a more long-term solution once Phoenix is fully grown."
It took a few moments, but once Pixal processed this statement, she tilted her head at him.
"Zane… do you wish to have a child?" She tentatively asked.
He paused and dotingly smiled at her.
"Not necessarily, but it would be nice to have someone to pass my element onto," He clarified. "and if we move to New Ninjago, it's something we could look into."
Pixal removed the cable from her neck and guided it back to the slot on Zane's. Once the cable was neatly tucked away, she left a sweet, drawn-out kiss on his cheek. He turned to face her and returned the affection with an equally tender kiss, placed directly on her lips. Pixal giggled and indulged him in a sentimental embrace, placing one hand on his cheek and running the other through his light silver hair as they remained deliciously locked at the mouth. Zane happily responded to this with dominant force, pressing his lips to hers more ferociously and lightly growling while he stroked her hips.
A few minutes into this romantic sojourn, Zane suddenly pulled away.
"20 seconds…" He looked at Pixal with wide eyes.
She immediately knew what he was referring to, and they both looked at the egg. It shook in a frenzy and then stopped. Zane and Pixal silently counted the seconds before the next shaking fit started.
"20 seconds!" They gasped in unison.
"MAGPIE!" Pixal yelled at the top of her lungs.
She sat next to Zane and watched with bated breath as the gap between shakes reduced to 15 seconds.
Not even a minute later, Magpie appeared at their open door, with a towel in her hand and the entire team behind her. She'd just gotten back to Nya's room when she heard Pixal's shouting and didn't have time to change out of her burlesque wear, so she'd quickly thrown on a black hoodie for modesty before bolting to the droid's bedroom.
"Is it down to 20 seconds already?" Magpie asked as she approached them.
"10 seconds now…" Zane corrected.
"OMG it's gonna hatch soon!" Kiku squeaked.
A weighty silence descended on the veritable crowd of people, and they witnessed the egg as it now shook almost constantly in Zane's lap. There was a universal gasp as small cracks appeared in the top of the shell; Nya and Pixal seemed the most fascinated and the two of them lingered closer to the shimmering object than anyone else. The cracks slowly got a little bigger, and Magpie observed the entire team with a humorous smile on her face – this was not new to her, but for all the weirdness the ninja had been through, this seemed to take the top spot over even the regeneration itself.
Everyone flinched as a single horn suddenly broke clean through the weakened part of the shell, and the air of excitement was now mixed with confusion.
"Uh, since when does Phoenix have horns?" Jay asked Magpie.
"They're only temporary; just so he can get out of the egg like regular birds do," Magpie responded calmly. "you'll see the other one in a moment."
She was right. The horn retracted briefly, then two horns appeared as they smashed through the fire opal like scissors through cardboard.
A sideways crack appeared in the shell as the horns jostled around. The crack slowly crept along the circumference, getting longer and longer until it had completed its journey to meet the place where it had started. The horns stopped thrusting around. There was an intense silence as everyone seemed to be holding their breath. The severed part of the shell suddenly started rising, and a stream of sparkling silver liquid began to flow out. The inhabitant of the egg gave a slight gasp and draped over the edge of the shell, coughing squeakily.
And there, with droplets of silver still on his tiny body, was baby Phoenix.
"Awww!" Nya cooed. "He's so teeny!"
Phoenix tried to lift his head and look around, but the piece of shell stuck to his horns was too heavy. A couple more silver drops fell from the edge of the shell piece, and he gave an itty-bitty sneeze… which jolted his little wings free from the viscous liquid still on his back.
"Look at those miniature feathers!" Kiku squealed, grabbing Kai's arm excitedly. "Isn't he adorable?"
"Here, use this to pick him up – that fluid gets everywhere." Magpie handed Pixal the towel.
Gently, she wrapped the towel around his fragile form and lifted him out of the eggshell, beaming widely as she lightly cradled him. With baby Phoenix safely in her arms, Pixal removed the large shell piece that his horns had pierced through, then just about choked on her own breath when she saw his face for the first time.
"Zane…" She exhaled. "He… He looks exactly like you, before you sacrificed yourself…"
Pixal held him up a little, so everyone could see the similarity for themselves; Phoenix's eyes were now both blue, and the exact same shade of icy blue as Zane's. His mass of hair – slightly spiked by the upward removal of the shell – was light silver, just like Zane's. Even with the scar over his right eye, he was the spitting image of Zane, back when he had a synthetic skin that made him appear human.
"Wow, he truly does resemble me!" Zane admired as he deftly stroked Phoenix's cheek.
"Anyone would think he's your natural son." Kai agreed.
"Thank you," Zane grinned. "I know it's biologically impossible but it's flattering nonetheless."
"My little ho-oh," Pixal wept, cuddling him close to her. "he's so gorgeous!"
"Oh my gods, he's just the cutest little thing!" Nya swooned. "I wanna hold him next!"
"Who knew you could be so innocent looking, huh Fireball?" Kiku purred.
"Even as a baby, my brother is a girl magnet," Magpie laughed. "well, raise your hand if you've ever seen something like that before."
"It's almost unreal…" Lloyd said, stunned.
"Hey buddy," Cole grinned at Phoenix, giving a gentle wave. "remember me?"
Phoenix flicked his little wings and yawned, snuggling up to Pixal.
"Guess not," Jay teased. "that's a good question though; when will he start to get his memories back?"
"One- or two-days' time, but for now, we should get him something to eat before he starts crying; I'll be back in a minute!" Magpie stated as she left the room.
"It's a shame he couldn't hatch a bit earlier, we're gonna miss all his 'firsts' because he grows so fast." Nya lamented, looking at the time on her phone and noting that it was gone 7pm.
"I mean, we could have an all-nighter, like a stake-out," Kai suggested, glancing at Lloyd. "what do you think?"
"I'm sure Sensei wouldn't mind if we took a few days off from training, it's his uncle after all." Lloyd said as he tried to hold back a chuckle at the absurdity.