It proved easier to find Kai's party than Jay had thought; maybe more than he had hoped. Turns out Kai was good at attracting attention (who would have thought?) and Jay overheard not one, but several conversations of people exchanging rumors of the fire ninja's whereabouts. Apparently it was becoming THE event of the week to attend one of Kai's parties, and now that there had been a few days for the hype to settle in amongst the citizens of Ninjago, it was hard to go without hearing something about him.
Evidently, businesses had taken note of this fact, as well, as it sounded like Kai had secured the largest rollerskating rink/fun house in the city for the evening. Jay doubted Kai would have been able to do so on such short notice without favor from the place's owner, so most likely the owner had reached out to Kai in hopes of gaining good business.
Jay mentally battled with himself even as he arrived on the steps of the roller rink, standing clear of the droves of people flocking inside.
What if Kai knew about Pixal? What if it was a trap? What if Kai had left to help the other ninjas prepare for the imminent storm?
Jay supposed he could survey the situation closer before he decided whether or not to talk to the fire ninja, if Kai was even there. If Jay could slip inside without drawing attention to himself, maybe he could take stock of Kai's location and get a good idea of how high or low his spirits were. That would help him make a more informed decision. But how to avoid Kai's attention? He stood out like a sore thumb in his bright blue gi.
But he'd hidden half of his gi under his dubiously-gained hoodie, he reminded himself, and the other half of the once bright blue cloth was now more a stained, muddied grey. Resting in alleyways for the entire week hadn't exactly been sanitary.
He noted that he'd been hovering in front of the place's crowded entrance for a few minutes now, and not one person had taken much notice of him, despite supposedly being there to meet him.
No wonder, he realized. The mental image the public associated with him was nothing close to how he appeared now. Public-Relations-Jay held his head up high and greeted everyone with a relaxed wave and shimmering smile, sporting clothes that were always perfectly washed and ironed, compliments of Zane. Real Jay had his face half-hidden in a ragged hood and hands shoved unceremoniously into his pockets, keeping his head low and practically shrinking in on himself.
Maybe it wouldn't be such a chore to blend in. He had plenty of practice fading into the background.
With that in mind, he joined the queue for the door, making sure to keep his face and hands out of sight so as to not show the blue aura shimmering around his skin.
It took a few minutes before he stood in front of the cashier at the door.
"One adult admission costs ten," she said through a gap in the booth's glass.
Jay froze with an intelligent reply of, "Uh."
Right. Money. Normal citizens needed money to buy tickets. Money that he didn't have.
Jay considered booking it for the door inside, but he was going all this way to not draw attention to himself. He supposed he could pretend he'd forgotten his wallet and just leave, but where was that got him nowhere, and he didn't really have the energy to ninja his way in through a window.
So instead, heart pounding, he shot a glance behind him to make sure no one was paying much attention, and leaned in towards the booth.
The cashier raised a brow at him.
"Hey, uh, don't draw any attention, but it's me." He peeled his hood back a little to let her see his face and sparked a tiny bit of electricity from his hand.
Her eyes went wide and she turned a little red. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first. Go on in."
"Not a problem. And thanks!" He hurriedly drew the hood closed again and shoved his hand back in his pocket before shuffling inside.
The sheer energy of the place almost drove him back out. The second he stepped inside, his surroundings went from a gentle patter to complete sensory overload.
The place was dim, but with rave lights of every color strobing across a neon bowling-alley-type floor. A tight-knit crowd jumped in time to party music that must have been cranked to max volume to be able to be heard over their chatter. Smells of sweat and pizza and grease and new carpet and something unidentifiable lingered in the air.
Jay squinted over the crowd on the carpet to see the rollerskating rink half of the building and briefly wondered how that many people were skating at once without all tripping over each other.
It took all of one second in the building for Jay's number one problem to switch from, what if Kai sees me to how the heck am I even going to find Kai?
He started weaving in between people with many muttered "S'cuse me"s and "Coming through"s, glancing to and fro. He could hardly make out anyone's faces between flickered rays of colored light, and suddenly that awful buzzing in his mind charged to the forefront again, though not brought on entirely by his own energy this time. There was just so much energy everywhere, and half of it was coming from outside. It was so much. It was too much. How was he supposed to find anyone when the world was fading in and out with the strobe lights and how was he even supposed to listen to a word Kai was saying or get a good grasp on how he was feeling when it was too loud to—
"—ay!"
Something grabbed a hold of the sleeve below his injured shoulder, then let go, then switched to his other arm.
"—y can you hear—"
Jay turned around to find none other than Kai holding onto his hoodie, staring him intently in the eye.
His heart pounded in his chest. He gaped at Kai openly.
How had Kai found him? How had Kai found him so quickly! Jay looked nothing like his normal self. No one else had even paid him any mind, and here was Kai, recognizing him out of nowhere within minutes of Jay walking in.
Had Kai been looking for him the entire time? Was he mad? Did he know what had happened with Pixal?
Jay tried to read him but the strobes distorted his expression; tried to listen to him but everything was too loud and cut off half the words he said.
Then Jay caught a glimpse of light flashing on Kai's very annoyed face, and Kai was pulling on his arm, leading him somewhere.
Oh no. Kai was mad. He knew. Kai knew and he was mad at Jay and he was taking him somewhere and Jay was weak there was no way he'd be able to defend himself.
After a minute of Kai practically dragging him through the crowd, Jay struggled to make out the lettering on a door that read VIP LOUNGE.
Kai was taking him away from the citizens so he could fight him without anyone else getting hurt. He was going to end Jay where no one else would have to witness. And all Jay could do was stumble along at the whim of someone who was now clearly so much stronger than him.
Kai threw the door to the unlit room open, and Jay tried to slip out of the sweatshirt Kai held onto in a last-ditch effort to escape, but it was too late by the time it occurred to him and then Kai was closing the door behind them and the sounds of the party became distant and muffled.
The lights came on, and Jay finished shimmying out of the sweatshirt and chucked it aside, stumbling back against the wall as Kai turned around to face him again.
"Woah, too bright too fast?" the fire ninja asked, taking note of what Jay knew was probably deer-in-the-headlights posture.
Jay blinked. "Huh?"
"Sorry I had to drag you over here; it's a bit too loud to talk properly out there," Kai said, jabbing a thumb back at the door. "I kinda see why you don't like to stay at events like this for too long. It's fun for the first few hours, but after a long time, man. It's a lot to take in, even for me." He closed his eyes with a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Jay took the pause to take stock of the situation.
Kai… didn't seem mad. He looked a little tired, but his tone was casual, and Jay didn't detect any trace of hidden aggression in what he'd said.
He kept his eyes on Kai as the fire ninja then took stock of him in turn, glancing over him from tangled hair to dirtied shoes. "Man, buddy, you look rough." His eyes settled on Jay's hands, and he looked as though he'd been kicked.
Jay flinched when Kai rushed towards him, ducking and guarding his head behind his hands.
"Jay, what happened?"
Jay blinked again, processing the gentle tone that soothed his ears, a far cry from what he'd expected. He chanced looking up, expecting it to be a trick, expecting Kai to be angry again, but the softness reached the fire ninja's face.
Kai observed him with nothing short of blatant concern, gently cupping one of Jay's hands in one of his own and rotating it to get a better look.
Jay bluescreened for a full three seconds before realizing Kai had asked him a question.
"I… I got burned."
"Is it still warm?" Kai asked.
"A little."
"Come on." Kai directed Jay towards a corner of the small room, and Jay took it upon himself to observe his surroundings now that Kai seemed peaceable, at least for the moment.
The lounge felt small but not cramped, halfway between homely and sterile with periwinkle walls separating a white floor and ceiling. A single fluorescent light clearly lit the entire place, revealing a modest couch and armchair bordering a coffee table in the middle. On one side, a door sat half-open to reveal a small private bathroom, and in the opposite corner, a couple of cabinets lined the walls, one adorned with a sink, and another with a clutter of items Jay hadn't noticed before.
A first aid kit and a roll of bandages sat beside a pizza box and a platter of fruits and veggies, along with some of Jay's favorite snack foods— ugh, and he'd just managed to forget how hungry he was. Beside the food sat a hairbrush, a toothbrush and some toothpaste, and underneath them, a neatly folded and perfectly clean set of bright blue gi.
Jay started, listening to Kai run water in the sink. "You were waiting for me."
"Yeah, and I'm really glad you showed. I was just about to leave." Kai pulled out his phone, and Jay watched carefully for any sign that he was about to call or text someone else. Instead, he just read something, hummed, and put his phone away. "Water's nice and cold for ya. It should help with the burn."
This time, it didn't occur to Jay to search him for any sign of a trick. He walked beside Kai and dipped his fingers into the stream of water.
It stung a little, flowing onto his hands with a bit too much force for his liking, but it was cool and soothing and peeled residual heat away from under his skin in layers. He watched it ripple in the oddly calming patterns that water dances in, and swallowed and wet his lips, uncomfortably aware of how dry his mouth was.
Kai must have caught onto that, because he offered Jay a plastic cup, and Jay paused rinsing for a moment to gather some water and drink his fill.
Then he went back to cooling his burns and Kai fetched the hairbrush, sitting on the counter beside the sink and leaning over Jay to start taming the mess on Jay's head.
Oddly, Jay only found it strange for only a split second before he leaned into the feeling of being cared for. He supposed this had probably been a common occurrence for Kai's and Nya's daily routine when Nya was younger. Kai never seemed to grasp personal space as well as Lloyd or Cole or Zane, maybe because of how closely he cared for Nya growing up, but something about that made the moment so… ordinary. Kai would often be the one to fix Jay's tie or tuck a tag into his shirt for him, often without Jay asking. It was equal parts endearing and annoying, and something about that mixture made Jay feel as though he could be back at the temple at that very moment. Just him and Kai, getting ready for the day or getting ready to go out, as if everything was normal. As if the entire team would be just outside the door, playing video games or training or cooking or exchanging banter like they always did.
Besides, having something to focus on kept Kai quiet, so Jay decided to let him fuss with his hair for as long as he liked. It went unspoken that things were going to get messy the second one of them opened their mouths to start talking for real.
Once the water had sapped the residual heat from his burns, Jay gently dried his hands. Kai paused his task for a moment to supply Jay with the toothbrush and toothpaste, which the lightning ninja took with gratitude.
Jay started brushing the built-up grime off his teeth, and winced when the motion jostled his shoulder. He settled for brushing with flicks of his wrist instead of with his whole arm, hoping Kai hadn't noticed the change.
"Hey, how's your shoulder doing?"
Jay bit back a groan. He chewed the brush and gave a nonsense answer of "Ahs ih woaaam sho mah." He hadn't even chosen actual words to say, just hoped that him brushing his teeth would stall Kai talking to him at least until after he was done.
Which worked, but even with the amount of cleaning his mouth needed, he could only believably keep up brushing his teeth for a few extra minutes. Kai pounced on him the second he was done.
"Can I see your shoulder? You mentioned it could be infected, and it was a really bad injury to begin with. I'm not as good at this as Nya or Zane, I know, but I brought some essential supplies."
Jay studied him for a moment. To let Kai brush his hair was one thing, but to let him poke and prod at a fresh wound? He trusted Kai a little. He wanted to trust Kai a lot, to be able to trust him with his life, like nothing had ever happened.
But… something had happened.
And as much as Kai had been gentle with him and seemingly sincere, Jay's mind supplied him with the mental image of his wound being too easily reopened, with him bleeding out on the floor and Kai laughing and leaving him alone in this room where no one would find him until it was too late.
Logically, he knew Kai wouldn't. Kai had been cautious of his injuries, even making sure to drag him in here by the sleeve that housed his uninjured arm. Everything Kai had brought here was to help Jay heal, from the food to the first aid kit and bandages. It didn't make sense that Kai would help him clean himself up if he thought Jay would be going to his doom in just a few hours.
Jay knew that the mental image of him bleeding out on the floor came from the primal part of his brain, the part that took everything at surface level and would do anything to protect him. It was the same part of his mind that told him to be afraid at the doctor's office because it only registered that a near-stranger was poking and prodding him and sticking needles into his arms, and didn't realize that he was healthier in the long run because of the trust he chose to place in this stranger. He knew that the underlying mistrust he held with Kai right now was misguided, but that didn't stop him from being anxious. It didn't stop him from wanting to run.
But he needed to place that trust in Kai. He needed Kai to help him.
So he slipped off the top half of his gi and turned around before he did the same with the bandages, making Kai examine the half of the wound on his back before he examined the other half by his chest, because Jay didn't know if he could stop that part of his brain from taking over and fighting the fire ninja on the spot if he had to watch Kai get that close to his wound.
He screwed his eyes shut when he heard Kai take a step closer, as if bracing for impact.
Kai gasped. "When's the last time you looked at this?"
"I… haven't."
The fire ninja made a strangled sound. "You know I'm no doctor, but. Jay. It's bad. I think you ripped most of the stitches, and that needs to be cleaned, pronto. Oh, no, Nya was going to pick up antibiotics for you before you left but of course you never got them… Jay. You need to go to the hospital."
"I don't think I can manage that right now. Metal tools and electricity overflow don't exactly mix. Not to mention that would mean taking up space in a hospital, and if the team doesn't figure out how to get the shield up over the city, there are going to be people who need treatment more than me."
"Wh- taking up space? Jay, you deserve to be taken care of as much as everyone else, if not more so! You're seriously hurt!"
"I'm not going to the hospital."
Kai let out a long huff of air. "We can talk about this again later. At least let me disinfect it. Then, if nothing else, there's a chance it won't get any worse."
Jay gritted his teeth. "Fine." He wondered why Kai had given up so easily; Jay had been preparing to stand his ground. Usually Kai was a lot more stubborn about his opinions, especially when they concerned any of the younger ninja. Kai really went into "big brother" mode when it involved Nya or Lloyd, and often, Jay found himself being lumped alongside them.
Kai probably had a bigger goal on his agenda, Jay realized. He supposed it probably had to do with the elephant in the room that Kai had yet to get him to talk about, but just in case, Jay resolved to be on the lookout for any hints of an ulterior motive.
He heard Kai rustling through the medkit behind him and tried not to tense up, with little success.
"Here's the disinfectant," Kai warned. "It might be cold."
Jay flinched when Kai dabbed at his partially-reopened wound. Tears slipped through his eyelids, and he steadied himself against the counter.
The smell of alcohol hung heavily in the air, and it stung all the way through his shoulder like he'd been stabbed all over again. It caught him off-guard, his mind telling him Kai had stabbed him, that he needed to run, but he knew that wasn't the case. Kai was dabbing the alcohol-soaked cloth so gently against him, careful not to press with any more force than necessary.
"Back's all done," Kai reported after an eternity. "Lemme see the front."
Jay kept his eyes studiously shut. He guessed he must have wobbled a little as he turned around, because he felt Kai's steadying hand on his ribs for a moment before he stilled.
Then it was rinse and repeat, and Kai disposed of the cloth. "I'd offer you a superhero band-aid," he said, "But I don't think that would quite cut it."
Jay actually laughed at that.
Kai took care to bandage him up so that the wound was sealed tightly but not restrictively. Then it was finally over, and he handed Jay the clean gi and excused him for a minute to change in the bathroom.
When Jay re-entered, Kai was sitting on the couch, opening the containers of food and settling them over the coffee table.
The fire ninja reclined and patted the seat next to him on the couch, which Jay took, if not a little stiffly.
That stiffness faded over the few minutes of quiet they shared. Jay found himself sinking into the couch, laden down with a heaviness that had only just managed to catch up with him as they sat, contentedly munching on snacks. Despite himself, he was beginning to relax.
But of course, Kai had stayed quiet for too long of their time together, and they both knew that wasn't going to last.
"So why did you leave?"
Despite the seriousness of the question, Jay was tempted to smile. So Kai had gotten tired of beating around the bush. He should have known there'd be no easing into the conversation with the act-now-think-later ninja. It was just so… Kai.
Jay chewed on the inside of his cheek. He knew how much rode on how Kai reacted to this conversation. Kai was the only one who seemed to want to actually talk things out with Jay, so if Jay wanted answers and any kind of closure, he should make this go smoothly. Jay was so tempted to measure his words and dress them up so that Kai didn't have anything to use against him, but he was tired. Kai obviously tired of not getting answers, too, so Jay decided to be direct in return. Maybe then Kai would keep up the pattern, and Jay could learn everything he wanted to.
"I'm not ready to die," he answered simply.
Kai started, then took a moment to mull over his response, a puzzled look on his face. "What makes you think you'd die if you stayed with us?"
Sighing, Jay stared at the ground, trying hard not to think about Nya and Cole running past him on that rooftop, ignoring his pleas for someone to save him as the Serpenteel soldier slithered closer with a knife. "The rest of the team doesn't look out for me the way they look out for each other anymore." He shivered and hugged himself, drawing his knees up to his chest. "I've made too many mistakes to make up for the good I can do. And yeah, maybe that means I need more practice or I'm not fit for the team, but I never thought they'd hate me because of it."
"What?" Kai tilted his head. "No one on the team hates you."
Jay snapped towards Kai, tears brimming in his eyes. "They left me to die!"
Through the tears, Jay couldn't really make out Kai's expression, but he could only assume the fire ninja was shocked through his silence.
Jay could have stopped talking there, but the dam had burst and more words flew from his lips before he could stop and think about them. "Cole was my best friend and Nya— I thought she loved me! I thought they loved me more than anyone else did, and they left me to die! I called for them! I called them and they didn't come back! They just left to— to do something more important, I guess." He lost momentum and broke the last word in two with a frankly embarrassing voice crack.
Then there were careful hands on his arms to steady him, and without a second thought, Jay crashed into their owner, injuries be screwed.
It only took a moment for Kai to cradle Jay's sobbing form in his arms. He buried his face in the freckled ninja's freshly-combed hair, placing one hand on the back of his head and draping the other across Jay's back.
Jay twisted his fingers into Kai's gi and held on like a lifeline, ignoring the pain in his digits and weeping openly into Kai's chest.
Kai let him cry, drawing circles over his back and muttering soothing nonsense.
The lightning ninja sobbed and hiccupped and drew in ragged breaths and sobbed some more. Kai stayed there to support him the entire time.
When Jay's crying subsided enough that he trusted himself to talk again, he said, "I really thought they loved me. Or at least cared about me. If they don't then— then what?"
"Cole and Nya care about you more than almost anything else," Kai said. "I'm not really sure what happened between you, but maybe— maybe… you misinterpreted what was happening? I know I probably wasn't there for this, from how you're talking about it, but I know how they talk about you. I've noticed how they think about you, how they look at you, how— how they haven't given up on you."
Jay leaned back to look at him at this.
"And I know what you're doing, you'd never do without substantial reason to believe otherwise," Kai continued, "But doesn't something about it just… not make sense? Like you're missing a piece of the puzzle?"
Jay blinked. "Yeah. How… how did you know?"
Kai gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "Believe me, I feel like I'm missing quite a few pieces, myself. But there are a few things that I know. I know how happy the others were to be around you before all this craziness ever happened. Nya, Cole, Lloyd, Zane, Pixal, all of them. I could list examples in just the week before everything happened, if you really wanted me to— of them mentioning wanting to hang out with you, pointing out something they thought you'd like, saying they wanted to get your opinion on something. Those kinds of things don't just change overnight."
Jay thought about how everyone's demeanor towards him seemed to flip like a switch after he'd accidentally given the one Serpenteel enough electricity to shock Zane. "Even after what I did to Zane?"
Kai ruffled his hair. "Even after what you did to Zane." He shrugged. "Look, this has been really tough on everyone, but it seems like we both have misconceptions, and I think we have a better chance of piecing everything together if we get the entire team in one place and work out all the misunderstandings. They're reasonable people, and so are you. I'm sure we'll feel a little better if we can put everything out in the open."
Jay went to refuse, but the words caught in his throat.
By all means, he should shoot the idea down right there and then. Since he'd left the team, the ninjas had done hardly anything but prove his idea that they no longer cared for him. It would be so much safer for him to stay off their radar and keep himself in one piece.
But Kai was right. Jay couldn't help but feel like he was missing something, something big, and it unsettled him that he could be doing the wrong thing. Was he really content to just keep going down this drastically different path, knowing there was something he didn't know? That his actions could be based on a lie he believed?
So, in spite of his own sense of self-preservation screaming at him to run the other way and never look back, Jay said, "Okay. Okay, let's meet up with them."
"Thank you," Kai said with a relieved sigh. "I'm proud of you, buddy."
Jay beamed at him, feeling much lighter than he had in a while.
"Nya texted me a little while ago and told me to meet her atop a certain tower not too far away. The storm's coming soon."
The muted sound of party music and lively chatter outside the VIP door turned to piercing screams, startling both of them to their feet. They exchanged a glance before rushing out into the main room.
Strong winds blew at them though a gaping opening in the wall. Dust clouded the air, and fragments of bricks lay strewn about the floor.
The crowd of partygoers raced towards the doors, some still in rollerskates, all trying to flee from the army of Serpenteel soldiers that slithered in through the building's newly-added entrance.
"Hey!" Kai called, wasting no time jumping into action. He threw an ongoing blast of fire until the carpet caught flame straight down the middle, separating the fleeing civilians from the Serpenteel army.
Jay ran to his side, summoning a powerful burst of lightning to his hands.
"Wait this one out," Kai said, focused on strengthening his wall of fire. "They're electric, too, remember? You don't want to charge them up. Save your energy."
"Right."
"Nnnninjaasssssss," singsonged an oily voice. "Come and play! Ssssso niccce of you to tell ussss exactly where to find you. You won't be able to sssstop usss now!"
Jay furrowed his brow and turned to Kai. "How did they know you'd be here?"
"I have no idea!"
Jay looked him over. His eyes grew wide. "The broadcast!"
"What?"
"The TV broadcast, saying you'd be hosting parties all over town this week. They have to have seen it and followed it; with your parties being this popular, there's no way they… wouldn't… have known." Jay's jaw went slack, and he stepped back, away from Kai's side. "You… you led them right to us," he said, barely above a whisper. "Right to where you and I were supposed to be."
"Oh." Kai paled. "I really should have thought about that."
Jay scoffed. "You did think about it, didn't you?"
Kai met his gaze with a raised brow. "Jay?"
"That was your plan the entire time, wasn't it?" Jay shook his head. "You— you wanted me to agree to go to the rest of the team so that they could use me as their power source, and if I didn't, you made sure I had a target on my back so I got roped into this entire thing anyway! You thought I'd agree to be your sacrifice if I thought I was a goner no matter what, didn't you? That way, the Serpenteel would attack me and if I was going to die, I might as well try to save all of you in the process, and you could pretend using me as a power source was my idea in the first place! That's the missing piece! Oh, I can't believe I almost went with you!"
"Jay, what are you talking about?"
"Save your energy? That's not really so that I won't charge the Serpeteels up, is it? You just want to make sure I'm enough fuel to power your machine!" Jay's energy burned brightly off his being now, sparks mingling in his blue aura. "Tell me the truth! The only time anyone wants me around is when I'm useful, isn't it? Any other time, you call me whatever you want, call me expendable, but the second you want me as a tool in your belt, then you take the time to bandage me up and make sure I'm still functioning. And that's all I am, isn't it? Just a tool!"
Kai threw more fire at the floor as the Serpenteels began to extinguish it with various cloths and tools. "Jay now's not really the time—" He glanced at the door. Most of the partygoers had fled by now.
"NO!" Electricity burst off of Jay's being with the resonating word. "Now is exactly the time! I am not letting you use me for one more second!"
Jay rushed out the door, Kai hot on his heels.
The sky was completely dark now, blanketed in pitch-black clouds. Artificial lights shone brightly in comparison to any ordinary night, uncombatted by the luminescence of the stars or moon.
Jay rushed for the street corner, trying hard not to let the heavy gusts of wind unbalance him.
A few pedestrians audibly cried out as a mighty gale threatened to sweep them all away. Patio chairs and tables from a cafe next to the sidewalk tumbled out into the street, and Jay skillfully leapt over them as they tumbled about.
The umbrella from an upset table got caught in the gust and sailed dangerously high into the air.
The wind smacked it into a telephone line, bringing one end of it down onto the sidewalk.
Jay skidded to a stop in front of the live wire and stared at it.
Kai stopped behind him, a cautious distance from both him and the wire. He held his hands out placatingly. "Jay…"
Jay looked from Kai to the wire and back again. Suddenly there was something so appealing about the unmistakable fear written across Kai's face.
Jay picked up the telephone wire.
"Jay, look at yourself! You already have more power than your body can handle!"
Jay met Kai's eyes.
And grinned.
"Do you want to see how much more I'm capable of?"
He put his hand over the live end and let the electricity course through him.
"Jay, no! They're connected! The entire remainder of the city's power is connected!"
Kai's warning came too late.
So much power flowed through him. Every cell felt so alive. Every cell felt so dead. The buzzing flooded back, worse than ever before. It was in his head, it was in his hands, it was everywhere, making him want to run and never stop, making him dizzy. He was faintly aware that the blue glow around him was becoming brighter and brighter. There was so much energy.
It was too much.
Section by section, the artificial lights died.
Ninjago City succumbed to darkness.