Jay was in bad shape and he had no doubt that such would be the case for a while to come, and that was being hopeful. Too many horrible situations had taught him never to question whether things could get worse. No matter how far he thought he'd fallen, fate would always find a way to pull him deeper down.
He noted that two things had changed since his fight with Pixal yesterday, one for the better, and one for the worse.
The good news was that he felt marginally better after regaining control of his breathing and stopping to rest for a while. He suspected that the meal Kai had supplied him with yesterday helped, too; he felt a little more like his energy was his own today, though that awful neverending buzzing still jarred his nerves. He knew he was overstimulated to the Celestial Realm and back, but that feeling was starting to become normal to him. Like he was starting to forget what it felt like to be normal. At any rate, although he had a far from a clear head, he was beginning to be able to think a little more coherently over the endless chatter of energy crawling through his being.
The bad news was that that same coherence of thought decided to point out the rising winds, and the ever-threatening blanket of dark clouds inching towards the city.
Oh, and the fact that Pixal's contraption still clung tightly over his hand.
Normally, Jay would have been able to inspect the device with a mechanic's perception, but as much as the brain fog had faded into the back of his mind, he remained a far cry from being able to do any mental gymnastics. He couldn't tell how it worked or how to safely disassemble it— Pixal, knowing of his mechanical skills, probably would have accounted for that anyway— all he knew was that it cramped his powers and made the buzz in his head worse and he wanted it off.
He examined it now (in a back alley, of course, because that seemed like his permanent residence nowadays), taking note of how the skeletal hand-shaped contraption moved with his hand, straining when he bent his fingers at the joints but not restricting the movement completely. If it wasn't tight enough to be fixed in place on its own, the melted and re-moulded plastic that encapsulated Jay's hand was enough to glue it in place. He tried hard not to think about whether the plastic was bound to his skin underneath it all.
Hmm. Jay furrowed his brow at the thing. Maybe he could use the plastic.
If he could get the plastic out from underneath the contraption, maybe it would be loose enough to slide off his hand.
But he could only think of two ways to get the plastic off— either cut it up or melt it down.
It would be easy to obtain a sharp object; a metal can lid dug out would do, or maybe he could find a glass bottle to shatter. But then would come the task of cutting the plastic away from his skin, and the plastic was so thin and wrapped close to so many major veins and arteries in his wrist, and Jay did not have to be sound of mind to realize that that was a bad idea.
He shuddered, pushing mental images of that plan gone wrong aside, and redirected his attention at his second idea.
Melting the plastic would be far from painless, given he couldn't summon heat from the hand that needed melting. Without elemental energy flowing through that arm to offer any tolerance, he'd be effectively burning himself again with his other hand. But his choices were that, or content himself with waltzing along with Pixal's device leeched onto him, and what if the device started acting up, or what if she could use it to track him, or—
Oh, heck with it. His hand probably had so much nerve damage he'd hardly even feel it.
Or at least, that was what he told himself as he allowed his opposite palm to crackle with electricity.
Jay hissed and steadied himself, taking a few large lungfuls of fresh air before it went rancid. He tapped his foot with the rhythm of his breaths, hoping it would subconsciously remind him to keep breathing at the same rate even when his mind went elsewhere.
With that, he sent a gentle stream of electricity over the plastic.
The lightning started to melt the plastic within a second, but kept its distance from the device.
No matter. The heat was enough to melt the plastic under the contraption regardless.
And burn Jay's skin.
Jay hissed, blinking tears out of his eyes lest they impair his sight at such a crucial moment. His hands wavered, and he fought to keep them still.
Jay wasn't sure whether he was glad his nerves were still working— a little subdued, sure, but still. On one hand (figuratively speaking), that meant it was within hope for him to fully heal. On the other—
It hurt.
A pained cry forced its way onto his tongue, and he only half caught it in his teeth.
Little drops of molten material fell onto the concrete like rancid rain. Gravity peeled the plastic away from the top of his hand first and let it ooze in little streams down to his fingertips, where it collected in swirling drops until they shuddered and fell. It would have been fascinating to watch it peel away, like watching an artist slowly paint a blank canvas a solid color, if not for Jay trying to keep himself still and conscious.
He drew in breaths through clenched teeth and exhaled the same way. Something about the air pressure proved cathartic.
The device began to slide, swept away in the stream of molten plastic.
Jay tried to focus on that instead of how red the now-exposed skin was. Instead of the sense that a million tiny ants were biting his hand. Instead of the putrid smell in the air making it hard to breathe.
The plastic dripped off of both his hands, and he fought the urge to wipe the sweat off his brow. His mouth was so dry and his head pounded with the telltale pulse of a dehydration headache.
Little by little the device slid down, and little by little his hands cleared of the awful plastic coat, until the horrid contraption hit the ground with a clunk, and Jay shook his hands free of the remaining drops of plastic, feeling cleansed as though he'd just washed them.
At once, the blue aura surrounding him extended to his now fully unrestrained hand, a proportional amount of his electric energy decluttering the rest of his being to go flooding back into it.
Jay tipped his head back, leaning into the blissfully cool winds that swirled around him, soothing the sweat on his head and the redness of his hands.
Then he punted the stupid contraption to who-even-knows-where and hoped he'd never have to see it again.
He allowed himself to revel a minute more in the satisfaction of not just one, but two problems successfully solved, before pondering his next move.
The wind picked up again, and he directed his attention toward the sky once more.
Wow, the storm really was getting close, wasn't it? He wondered if Kai would really be making an appearance tonight like he'd said he would, or if he would have his hands tied helping the other ninja.
Jay supposed that depended on the ninjas' plan, assuming they even had one.
A frown tugged on his lips.
Enemies or not, the ninja were still Ninjago's main hope, and for that sake, Jay found himself hoping they had a good plan.
No other reason, of course. They were protecting Ninjago's citizens, which right now, included him. There was no other reason he should be feeling for them or wishing for their safety and success.
… Still, it wouldn't hurt to check up on Kai and ask him about the matter, right? Besides, he needed Kai. He was so tired and hurt and hungry and weak and Kai would take Jay under his wing and offer him support and a warm smile just like he had yesterday.
Just like he always had.
Assuming he hadn't found out about what happened to Pixal, that was.
Jay groaned. So many what-ifs.
What if Jay couldn't find Kai? What if Jay found him but he decided he hated Jay now, too? What if Jay had been lying to himself and Kai really had a bigger, more malicious plan for him the entire time?
Jay didn't have a better idea, though, so he decided to keep a lookout for any signs of Kai's party as he strolled along. If he ended up finding it, he could make a decision then, but there was no point in deciding right away when he didn't even know what his options were limited to.
With that in mind he strolled along, keeping to himself.
Before long, he found an abandoned hoodie lazily draped along the edge of the sidewalk.
Without much thought, he picked it up and examined it.
It was plain grey, with one of the drawstrings in threads, and embroidered with the logo of a mainstream clothing brand Jay couldn't quite put a name to through his cluttered mind.
If he'd been a little sounder of mind, he probably would have hesitated about taking a random article of clothing off the street, but it was cleaner than his gi and would draw less attention to him, so he slipped it on and pulled the hood over his face and the drawstrings half-closed.
With that, he wandered out of the back alley and onto the main street. It would be easier to look for Kai this way.
Nya removed her welding mask and mopped her brow. She ditched the heavy gloves she'd been wearing, as well as the tool belt around her waist. It already proved hot enough under her gi, which she wore in preparation for the possible imminent battle; no doubt the Serpenteels would be out looking to make sure the ninjas didn't foil their plans.
She stepped back to admire the now-completed mechanism, wary not to back up to the edge of the roof she was perched upon.
It gnawed at her nerves to build the new mechanism atop another rooftop after the Serpenteels had found a way to destroy the old one just across town. It felt like asking history to repeat itself, but the machine needed to be exposed to the open air and high enough to form a shield over the entire city, so, rooftop it was. At least through the commissioner speaking with the mayor, she and Pixal had been granted complete control over the rooftop of a high-security building, one that stood completely alone. The only ways to get to the machine now were either to scale the building from the inside or out, or to attack from the air.
Still, the machine was complete and would be the Serpenteels' sole mission to destroy it the instant they discovered it. Nya didn't like being the only present one to look out for it now that it practically had a target painted over it. Especially not with the entire city's fate resting upon its success.
As if on cue, the stairwell door opened, and Cole and Lloyd walked onto the roof, both in their gi, as well, they had yet to equip their masks.
"Nya," Lloyd said by way of greeting, strolling to her side. "How's progress?"
"It's all done," she reported, proudly nodding at the giant machine. "I put in some extra protective measures, just in case."
"Good work," Lloyd said.
"And just in time, too." Cole gazed towards the horizon, lips drawn in a grim line. "That sky is not looking friendly."
Nya followed his gaze.
A few dozen miles outside the city, the sky changed abruptly from crystal blue to pitch black, and she could see white-hot lightning licking over the threatening clouds.
A cool wind sifted through her hair. "That will be here by nightfall." She turned back to her companions. "Any luck with the power source?"
Cole's shoulders drooped, and he shook his head. "Nada. We might have been able to do with one section of the city's power gone, but with two?" He huffed. "We're grasping at straws here. We need to figure something out, pronto."
Lloyd hummed, staring at his feet with shimmering eyes.
With a sympathetic sigh, Nya put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Lloyd, it's not your fault. Villains have a tendency to put us in impossible situations; it's okay if you don't have a solution for every one. We'll just have to do what we can."
"I— no, I do have a solution; it's just—" He gently peeled Nya's hand off his shoulder. "If the city's power isn't enough, we'll have to supplement. I have an energy-based power."
"It's a sweet gesture," Nya said, mentally putting a pin in the way Lloyd winced when she said so, "But your power isn't as strong with machines. We initially planned to split the load between Zane, Jay, and Pix because they all have mechanical-friendly abilities, but your energy is wilder. There would be a difference in input and output power because your energy would have to spend some of itself trying to convert itself into purely mechanical energy. Before you met the quota of power this thing needs, you'd exhaust yourself… or worse."
"You think that's a risk I'm not willing to take?"
Both Nya and Cole started, staring at Lloyd with wide eyes.
Cole took a step towards him, reaching a hand out with an injured murmur of "Lloyd…"
Lloyd ground his teeth. "Would you two stop handling me like I'm a little kid! I know what I'm doing, okay? The city is at risk, and I am not about to have some innocent citizen get crushed or drowned in this storm because I didn't do my job! I'm not losing anyone else! I am not letting anyone get lost under my watch because of my carelessness like Harumi's parents did, and I am not losing another one of you!"
"Lloyd, we know you aren't a little kid, and we aren't saying no to this plan because of your role!" Nya exclaimed. "I know you don't want to lose anyone else, but we don't want to lose you either. And being our leader doesn't mean you get to be the one to fling yourself into danger the second it seems like there isn't another option."
"Why not?" Lloyd cried. "It's either me or someone else!"
Nya gestured to herself and Cole. "Would you let one of us put our lives at stake like this?"
"No! I'm your leader, I should—"
"It doesn't matter who's the leader! Think about us as your friends." Nya closed in on Lloyd. "Cole. Kai. Pixal. Zane. Me… Jay. Would you let one of us risk our lives like you're suggesting?"
"No!"
"Why not?"
"Why would you give up on yourselves like that?"
Nya jabbed a finger in his face. "Exactly! We can never decide to give up! Ninja never quit! So why are you rushing to put your life on the line? We have a few hours before the storm arrives and options to consider; we've scraped by in worse situations with less than that."
"Wha— ugh! This is different!"
"How is it different?"
Cole stepped between them, keeping them at arm's length. "How about we pick a better time to go at each other's throats? There might not even be a reason for this conversation."
Nya's brows raised. "What do you mean?"
Cole dropped his arms. "What if we had both Pixal and Lloyd supplement power for the machine? Between both of them and the half of the city's power that we have, do you think they could do it safely?"
Nya hummed. "Safely is a bit of a stretch, but at least neither of them would be waltzing to the guillotine." She punctuated that last bit with a glare at the green ninja.
Lloyd broke his hold of Nya's glare to look around. "Where is Pix? I thought she was working with you."
"She was," Nya confirmed, "Until yesterday evening. She left after we finished transporting and assembling all the main components of the machine, then I stayed to work out some loose ends and weld in some extra protection."
Lloyd quirked a brow. "Then who's been guarding this thing since yesterday evening?"
"I have."
Cole put his hands on his hips. "Did you sleep at all?"
Nya just hummed and shrugged.
Lloyd let out a wry chuckle. "Oh, the irony. And suddenly you're lecturing me about safety and—"
"Why are you two at each other's throats today?" Cole left no room for argument, promptly plucking the Green Ninja off the ground and walking back to the staircase with him before setting him down and shoving him towards it.
Lloyd sent Cole a glare and smoothed out his gi before saying, "We're going to go find Pixal. If we can't find her within the hour, we're gonna have to start evacuating. Text Kai and tell him to join you here; it'll be better for you both to guard the machine if you haven't slept in forever."
Nya shook her head but pulled out her phone anyway, sending a quick text to her brother.