For a second after he awoke, Jay couldn't put his finger on why he was so sore. He nestled his head into the pillow- but no, it wasn't a pillow. Cold, rough brick scratched his cheek. He shivered, wondering if he'd kicked his blankets away again. He reached for them, only for his fingertips to be met with the gritty texture of pavement.

He blinked his eyes open, and reoriented himself with his surroundings.

Jay sat in an alleyway, slumped against a brick building. He lifted his head from where it had been lolling over his knees, and rubbed his aching neck.

Why was he here, again?

He groaned with a wide stretch, then gasped, holding an arm over a spot in his shoulder that shot hot pain through his entire arm and torso. Spotting the bandages swaddling his arm and chest, he gaped dumbly, mind rebooting like an old computer.

Right. There had been a fight between the ninja and the Serpenteels, and then…

Jay jumped to his feet, remembering everything else that the night had spurred, one memory triggering the next like dominoes.

The team had abandoned him, then planned to sacrifice him.

At least… that was what Jay thought he'd seen.

He blinked vacantly, now questioning his own perception.

That was what it had seemed like to him, but the team casting him aside seemed… unrealistic.

Time and sleep blurred the details of his memory, just enough to make him wonder if he'd overreacted.

Jay shook the thought away and steeled himself.

No. He'd denied that idea yesterday, and yet, his team had only proved again that they no longer valued him. The only thing trying to deny it again would do, was get him even more hurt, and for what? The flimsy wish that they still cared for him?

They didn't care for him anymore. They'd made that perfectly clear. The best Jay could do now, is move on and figure out what he was going to do with himself.

Jay shivered again and hugged himself. How was the weather looking?

With a glance towards the sky, Jay wondered how long he'd been asleep.

The sun shone at the center of the sky, signaling midday.

He wondered if it was actually warmer than he thought it was, with the sun shining so bright. He grimaced, realizing he was both shivering, and he'd slept in. Was he getting sick?

With an injury such as his, it was likely.

Jay analyzed his surroundings as much as he could while still consciously keeping the remnants of sleep clouding his mind— anything he could do to cushion the landing when his brain finally caught up with him and hit him with the full force of everything that had happened yesterday.

Even though he'd cried a lot of what had built up in his chest last night— cried himself to sleep, apparently— the emotional payload of the events would no doubt be draining to process, and he needed as much energy as he could gather to determine and carry out his next moves.

Clouds crawled over the sun, and a thunderclap rang out.

With a jolt, Jay wondered if the Storm of Ruins was already upon them.

No, he remembered, Nya had said it was still a few days away. They still had time.

Jay chuckled humorlessly to himself. Time for the others to find a power source other than him.

Storm of Ruins or not, the droplets that started to prick Jay's skin shocked him like ice. He shuddered and took a step forward, mentally charting his way to where the umbrellas were kept.

Except he wasn't at the monastery. He wasn't on the Bounty. He couldn't just waltz over to a shelf and pluck an umbrella off of it as he pleased. He was in the middle of Ninjago city with no supplies, no food, and no money.

It was just Jay in an alleyway with nothing but the clothes on his back, left to fend for himself.

The droplets of rain quickly turned into pelting, and he shielded his head with his good arm.

What he wouldn't give for the warmth of the monastery right now, or the Bounty, or-

Or home.

The junkyard would be warm and dry, and there were two friendly faces that always wanted him back.

When there was adventure to be had and good times with friends to cherish, Jay found the junkyard and trailer… underwhelming. His adoptive mother and father could be a little much, but they were kind. Loving.

Jay felt a pang, realizing how much he'd taken for granted.

It would be awkward, visiting the old trailer and the two people who called his parents who he now knew had taken him in. He would have to bite his tongue so as to not let slip that he now knew his birth parents had left him.

But he would be wanted there.

Years' worth of memories of his mother cherishing every moment of having him around and going wild over his every little achievement, memories he usually considered embarrassing, now melted into a more welcoming light.

Even if his friends had turned on him, there would always be two people cheering him on.

Right now, that was what he needed more than anything.

Mind made up, Jay started his long trek to the junkyard.

Nya checked the clock for what might have been the hundredth time that day. "He's still not back. Are you sure he can find us here?"

"This is where we usually park the Bounty in the city," Zane said. "He would have made his way here if he wanted to."

Nya paced around the bridge, monitors and lights blinking at her. "But he's injured! What if something happened to him?"

Cole swivelled around in a chair next to one of the monitors. "Jay needs his own space sometimes. Trust me on that. I've gotten into a few fights with him. He always comes back."

Nya stopped pacing to send him a pointed look. "How long did he stay away from you?"

"A couple hours."

"It's been almost a day! The sun will be setting again soon! We're wasting precious daylight not looking for him!"

Cole held out his hands. "Woah, woah, woah! Wasting is a strong word! Everyone else has been working to plan out how to build, power, and protect this machine thingy all day!"

"And they can keep working it out while the Bounty's in the air, looking for Jay!"

Zane and Cole exchanged glances.

"I suppose she does have a point," Zane said. "It has been quite a while since Jay left. He should have had time to cool off by now. The three of us can remain on deck to look for Jay while the others continue their meeting."

"What if Jay comes looking for us?" Cole asked. "Ninjago City's huge; it'll take forever to search the streets. It'll be hours before the Bounty returns to its usual spot; what if we miss him?"

Nya shook her hands in front of her. "But he would have been here by now!"

Zane hummed to himself. "Perhaps we could stop at only places Jay might have gone, to shorten the duration of our trip. Figuring out where he went would mean figuring out why he left, though." Zane turned to Nya. "Are you sure you don't know why he was upset?"

Nya shrugged. "No idea."

"You said you and Pixal were talking up here when he freaked out," Cole said. "Can you remember exactly what you said?"

"Not word for word," Nya replied, "But I remember generally what was said."

Cole nodded for her to continue.

"Pixal and I were talking about a new blueprint that she came up with that could use more modern power sources to fuel a machine that accomplished the same thing as the old mechanism. We were discussing power sources strong enough to work, and I suggested your and her heart, and she said it could, but it would be overwhelming and destroy you both."

"And is that about where he freaked out?" Cole asked.

Nya nodded.

"No wonder!" Cole shot Zane a grin. "He thought it might come down to you and Pixal as sacrifices to stop the Storm of Ruins!" His grin slipped, and he looked at Nya. "It's not going to come down to that, right?"

"No, of course not! I wouldn't settle on that as a solution. We have another plan now."

"But did he know that?" Zane asked.

Nya started. "I… I don't know. Maybe he didn't hear us go on to the next solution."

Cole slugged Zane's arm. "Aww, he's just worried about you and Pix! That softie, I should have known."

Zane furrowed his brow. "Where would he go, though, if he was worried about something?"

"Probably the arcade," Cole suggested. "Blow off some steam."

Zane turned to one of the monitors and conducted an internet search for arcades in Ninjago City. "It is a labor holiday today. The arcades are closed."

Nya poked her tongue in her cheek. "What about his parents?"

"He doesn't really visit them often," Cole reminded her. "They kinda annoy him."

"Maybe they do, but he still relies on them. A random social visit is one thing, but if he's stressed, he might look to them for comfort. It's not like they have a bad relationship."

Cole shrugged. "We can try."

Nya was already dialing the Walkers' number. "I'll call them." She put the phone on speaker and let it ring.

After a few rings, the clicking of an old phone lifting off the line sounded.

"Hello?" Asked a sweet, crackly voice.

"Yes, this is Mrs. Walker?"

"Ah, Nya! Please, dearie, you can call me Edna."

"Sure thing, Mrs.-" Nya squeezed her eyes shut, "Or, uh, Edna."

"To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Nya looked to Zane and Cole for reassurance, who both waved at her to continue. "Actually I was, uh, wondering if Jay was with you."

The line was silent.

In the distance, Ed echoed, "Jay?", his voice taking on a shaky quality.

Then Edna spoke, "No, honey, I thought he was with you."

"He was," Nya said, "But he got really upset by something last night. He ran off and hasn't come back; we're starting to get worried."

"He does tend to take some time to himself when he's upset. Last night, though? Hmm. That is pretty long, even for him."

"Maybe he left for his parents' house, but has not arrived yet," Zane suggested. "After all, he was injured and had no supplies with him. He would have had to have gone on foot, and that is quite a journey."

Edna gasped. "My baby boy is hurt?"

"Jay's hurt?" Ed asked, audibly closer to the phone.

Zane saw the speaker icon on Nya's phone and clapped a hand over his mouth.

Cole elbowed him. "Nice going."

"We're doing everything we can to find him," Nya said.

Zane peeled his hand away from his mouth. "I will calculate the most likely path he would have taken to start. We can follow that and keep an eye out for him. He started on the opposite side of the city and would likely have stopped to rest, so chances are, he's around the north side of the city now."

"Keep us updated," Edna said. "I'm gonna start driving to Ninjago from home; if he's along the way, I'll be sure to see him."

"I'll take the truck and take the alternate route in case he's there," Ed said in the background.

Nya nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Sorry to trouble you, Mrs. and Mr… or, uh, Ed and Edna."

"Not at all, honey! You know we'd do anything for our little lightning ninja!"

Nya smiled. "Now I can see where he gets his caring nature."

Edna chuckled. "Oh, you're too sweet. I have to go now. The less time that boy spends out in the weather, the better! He could catch a cold! Oh, that reminds me, I'll have to tell you about that one time he came down with the flu sometime! But later. Talk to you soon, sweetie."

"Bye, Mom," Nya said. She blushed. "Oh, wait, no! I meant-!"

She stared vacantly at the phone, then spammed the END CALL key while Cole cackled behind her.

"Shut up," she growled.

Cole wiped mirthful tears from his eyes. "Ah, don't worry, Nya. I've done the same to her. She's just very motherly."

Nya marched to the steering wheel. "Zane, help me with the course."

Jay's stomach growled, angry at him for not having eaten since yesterday at lunch.

He soothed his dry mouth by catching raindrops on his tongue, but it wasn't a substantial amount of water. He would have to stop somewhere on his way out of the city and find a water fountain before he left. Maybe dry off a little bit.

Jay shuddered, hoping the streams of rain pouring over him wouldn't upset his bandages too much.

Steady drops of water pattered off of his hair and clothes. He idly wondered how much of a bucket he could fill were he to wring them out.

Well, if one good thing was to come of the rain, it would be that it would be hard for the team to find him if they tried. He sighed and hugged himself. That wasn't a thought he would have seen himself having yesterday morning.

As if to spite him, a spotlight started scanning behind him on the street.

Jay turned to face it and looked up towards its source.

The Bounty inched through the air over the road, the engine humming distantly even over the crashing of rain.

Jay looked left and right, squinting through the downpour for any shops' canopies or bus stops he could hide under, but before he could make a move, the spotlight swept over him.

Jay watched the spotlight continue, and hoped they'd missed him through the rain.

Then the light backtracked and fixated on him, and the Bounty stopped, hovering in one place.

"Crap."

Muffled, overlapping shouts mixed in with the rain high above.

Ropes descended from over the Bounty's either side, then figures shimmied down those ropes.

Jay started running.

"Jay!" Nya called.

Jay stopped. Why had he stopped? He had to keep going.

But Nya sounded so distressed. His instincts battled against him. Hearing her call out for him told everything within him to run towards her and help.

It wasn't like that anymore, he reminded himself. He needed to go.

That would be a difficult task, now that his hesitance had given the entire team time to run up to him, joining the spotlight where they could all now clearly see each other.

Either the ninja had been out on the deck looking for him for quite some time, or the rain had drenched them as quickly as it had Jay. The team was soaked, hair pressed untidily against their faces. Even Kai's spikes were drooping. He looked uncharacteristically pathetic without them.

"Jay!" Cole cried.

Nya breathed a sigh. "We were so worried about you."

Jay's heart pounded. He could hear it behind his ears. "Funny thing for you to say."

Nya started. "What? What do you-" Her eyes grew wide. "Oh. You overheard the plan with Zane and Pixal."

"Yeah, that's right! I know what you're gonna do!"

Nya stepped forward, holding out a hand to him.

Jay stepped back.

"Jay," Nya said, her voice soft, "We wouldn't do that to Zane and Pixal. We have a better plan now."

Jay's hands curled into fists. "I know. You need me."

Nya looked confused, but she nodded in confirmation.

Something in Jay snapped.

It had been one thing to suspect it and have a loose confirmation once, but to have it confirmed twice… Jay couldn't deny it to himself any longer.

His breathing grew quick and heavy. Jay took a mental note of all of his surroundings, making sure to take in the reality of the moment. He needed to internalize this. He needed to remember every little detail of this moment so that when looking back on it, he wouldn't be able to brush it off again as a faulty memory. He made a note of everything— the rain, the cold, his heels becoming raw against the dampened insides of his shoes, the dull pain pulsing through his arm, the words that had been said, Nya's confirmation.

It was real. It was all real. He couldn't deny it any more. He couldn't brush it aside and pretend none of it had happened. He needed to stop seeing them as his team, as his friends, as people who cared about him and loved him and wanted him around.

He was to face reality, and everything reality told him now was that they wanted to sacrifice him. To kill him. In their eyes, he was nothing more than a walking outlet; a source of power they could exploit.

"Fine," Jay growled through clenched teeth. "You want my power? I'll give it to you."

Nya closed her eyes and tipped her head forward, a soft smile gracing her lips. "So you understand." She opened her eyes. "Thank you." Her smile faltered when she saw the bolts of electricity dancing through Jay's hands, and she met his gaze. "What are you doing?"

Jay wasn't going to go with them that easily. He needed to escape.

He summoned energy to his fingertips and punched his hand out into the air, sending an electric strike straight for Nya.

Nya yelped and dodged the strike,

Kai and Lloyd jumped to either side behind her to do the same.

"What are you doing?" Cole yelled.

"What?" Jay readied another strike, lighting dancing between his hands. "Is this not what you wanted?"

"The heck makes you think we would want you to attack us?"

Jay roared, indignant. What would make them think that he wanted them to sacrifice him? He replied to Cole by throwing a bolt of lightning at him next.

Cole jumped aside and rolled on the ground before landing on his feet and standing again.

Jay summoned more energy to his fingertips, flexing them to relieve some of the trembling that a wave of adrenaline had brought. Now it was Kai who was closest to him, and the next person he needed to push back. He readied his attack.

At the same time he shot at Kai, Nya swept a giant orb of water from the rain around her and threw it at Jay.

The water and lightning connected, then the electric water continued on its path and splashed over Jay.

Jay cried out, the jolt of lightning sent back at him unexpected. It coursed through him for only a moment, then he assumed a fighting stance, fists crackling with light.

Cole summoned chunks of cement and pavement from around them and made them fly at Jay.

Jay split each one with a controlled blast, and dust and pebbles showered him.

"Calm down, Jay!" Lloyd called. "We don't want to fight you!"

Jay turned to him to reply, but his words caught in his mouth when he saw that despite Lloyd's words, he was gathering green energy between his hands.

Of course. He should be expecting this by now.

Jay punched lightning at him, and Lloyd tumbled and shot green energy back.

The energy caught Jay right on his chest, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying backwards into a lightpost.

Jay's cry of pain was muted by the resounding metal clang when his back and head hit the pole.

"Careful, Lloyd!" Pixal called. "He is already injured!"

Right, Jay thought, they couldn't afford to kill him before they wanted to.

"He's not listening," Nya said as if he weren't just in front of her. "How do we stop him without hurting him?"

"Zane," Lloyd commanded, "Cool him off!"

Zane nodded and charged Jay, hands misting with the cold gathered in them.

Jay stumbled back. If Zane froze him, he couldn't escape.

Jay let his hands spark, and when Zane got close, reached out and sent a dull pulse through the nindroid.

Just a little bit of electricity was enough to mess with Zane's entire system.

His eyes flickered and his head jolted on its joint. More importantly, though, the ice gathered in his hands died.

Holding Zane at arm's length, Jay found himself conflicted.

On one hand, he had Zane disoriented enough that if he just pushed him away, the nindroid would surely fall backward, and it would be enough to escape him for a few seconds.

On the other, if he gave Zane a powerful zap, it would mess up his systems, maybe for good. Zane wouldn't be following him for hours, which would give him more time to escape from everyone else. It would give Jay a better chance.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to risk permanently hurting someone he'd considered a friend for so long.

If Jay wasn't there to sacrifice to power the machine, then how long would it take for the team to offer up Zane and Pixal?

It didn't seem like something they would do, and yet, Jay hadn't thought that they would go as far as to sacrifice him, either.

Zane and Pixal were useful. They would be missed if they left.

Yet, it was them or Ninjago City. And the team was intent on saving Ninjago City.

Jay gazed upon the glitching nindroid in front of him with a renewed sense of comradery.

"It's power they want," he said simply to Zane, although he knew Zane couldn't reply.

With that, he strengthened his voltage, not to direct at Zane, but to push more blinding electric bolts into the air around them, shielding them from view.

Out of the sight of the rest of the team, he reached forward with his injured arm, trying his best to ignore the pain as he did so, and opened Zane's chest compartment.

The wires and gadgets inside crackled with a mix of Zane's power and Jay's, most of the energy flickering from around Zane's heart— the source of his power.

Jay grabbed Zane's power source and yanked it out.

Zane's eyes went dark and blank.

Hurriedly, Jay pocketed the power source in his belt where it could not be seen, closed Zane's chest, and ceased the flow of electricity.

Zane fell onto the ground with a loud, metallic thud, eyebrows raised and mouth agape like a statue, his eyes cold and dead.

The team responded with a series of gasps, cries, and silent, gaping faces.

Pixal ran forward and slid on her knees beside Zane. She held him in her arms, looking him over, before glaring at Jay, a fire behind her eyes unlike anything Jay had ever seen.

"What," Pixal roared, "Did you do?"

Nya rushed to examine Zane, and the others gathered around him, dumbfounded.

Jay returned Pixal's glare, then turned and ran.

A single set of footfalls followed him, heavy and metallic.

Jay looked over his shoulder to find that the others were still hovering over Zane. The only one who still chased after him was Pixal, and she was quickly gaining on him.

Jay sent an electric shock back at her, and it caught her, making her cry out as she fell to her hands and knees, gasping.

Jay ducked into a side street and weaved between buildings and alleys.

When he was satisfied he'd not been followed, he stopped to catch his breath.

He pulled Zane's heart from his belt and looked it over, making sure it was still fully intact.

"Sorry, Zane," he said. "But now you and Pixal are safe." He rested against the brick wall behind him, head tipped towards the sky. "Let's just hope the others find another solution before the real storm comes."