Am I the only one who thought Jay got off too easy when he walked away from that explosion without a scratch in the season four episode "Spellbound?" Enjoy!
"Primary power obstructed. Automatic self-detonation in five, four…"
"Oh…" Though Jay could feel a smile stretch his lips, he felt anything but cheerful. "That's unfortunate…"
He couldn't move, couldn't think. Not fast enough… He could never seem to be fast enough!
"Three…"
Time slowed, though not slow enough to save him. The beating of his heart matched the trembling of the broken machine.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
All he'd wanted to do was find Nya. Find her and make sure she was okay—make sure she knew it was okay. He wouldn't pressure her anymore. Because sometimes loving someone meant you had to take a step back when they needed space.
Tick.
Loving someone meant letting them make their own decisions—even if they didn't pick you in the end.
As a cruel smile twisted Clouse's lips, Jay's brows furrowed. They wouldn't get away with this. Somehow, the others would find a way to stop Chen.
Tick.
Somehow, they would win.
Tick.
"Two…"
Even if Jay was out of the picture.
Tick—
A brief moment of silence choked the air—barely enough time for Jay to take a breath.
—BOOM!
For a split second, pain was his entire world. Then, he was weightless, flying off to some unknown land. Some part of his brain told him to brace for impact, but he didn't know what that meant. The only thing he could understand was pain.
The impact, when it finally came, felt like a second explosion. Another burst of pain filled his chest.
And then, nothing.
Nya would be disappointed, and probably really ticked off—angry, even.
You left without saying goodbye.
Right. Sorry.
Left… where, exactly…?
Cole would be livid.
You left without saying goodbye, bluebell!
Some friend you are.
Right… Sorry…
Left… where…?
As the first traces of coherent thought came trickling back to his mind, Jay fought to open his eyes. They were just too heavy…
That's when the pain slammed into him like a runaway noodle truck.
Lloyd would be devastated.
How could you break up the team like that?
Sorry…
It's just like you to go and die and leave your team hanging.
Is it?
"Back away! Give him space!"
Only… that didn't sound like someone talking to a dead man…
Then, am I…?
Kai wouldn't be surprised.
It's like you have nine lives or something.
I guess so…
Zane would…
Zane. He'd been gone for so long. Too long.
And now he's probably dead again, just like me.
Because you left him in a pit and—
"I said back away!" He couldn't help but flinch as a foreign hand cupped his shoulder.
You're not dead, you idiot.
Oh.
Zane. Zane would've calculated his chance of survival and wouldn't have been surprised to find him alive.
With a gasp, Jay opened his eyes.
An unfamiliar face hovered above him as dark orbs bleeding with concern scanned his body for injuries.
You don't have to look very far, pal.
Every inch of him hurt, his head especially.
"Easy," the blurry face soothed when Jay make a vain attempt to sit up. "Just take it easy."
Clearing his vision was slow going, but a few slow blinks finally brought the world back into view.
"… Neuro? What—?" A cough cut him off, sending spasms of pain through his joints. "Where're the others?"
The facade of calm couldn't hide the underlying current of anxiety in the Mind Master's voice. "We're all here. It seems Chen has won."
Won. What…?
But, he can't—
Memories of his battle against Clouse shoved their way through the fog in his mind. Despite the pain, he forced himself into a sitting position.
"Kai? Lloyd?" A quick scan of their makeshift prison showed no sign of his friends. He glanced back at Neuro, who seemed to be doing his best to get Jay to lay back down. "Did they find Nya?"
Neuro shook his head, seemingly hesitant to answer. It was Shade who spoke instead, drawing Jay's attention to the rest of the Elemental Masters. Mr. Pale, Griffin Turner, Shade, they were all there. All except—
"We haven't seen any of them since the start of this stupid round."
"So…" Jay ran a hand over his side, instinctively feeling for any broken ribs. "They haven't been caught yet." He couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled in his throat. "Chen hasn't…" So there's still hope. "They'll come for us, then!"
"Right," Shade said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. "And when they do, they'll get captured, too. Face it, we lost."
"You don't know Lloyd. He'll come for us, I'm sure of it."
He has to.
No one else appeared to share this hope. In fact, most of the Elemental Masters looked very downtrodden and… defeated.
But they hadn't lost yet. There's still hope—
Bolts of pain shot through his chest as he took another breath. Apparently, even something as simple as breathing was hard now. As if this whole mission hasn't been hard enough already! Holding back a wince was futile, but Jay tried to make his pain as inconspicuous as possible.
He was fine. So, he got caught in a little explosion. No big deal. He was fine.
Just fin—
The hiss escaped his lips milliseconds before he could clamp them shut.
Stupid explosion.
"I'm fine," he felt compelled to say when Neuro raised a skeptical brow.
"Tell me, what hurts?"
"Well, my ankle still stings a bit," Jay conceded as he tried to flex the joint. "Probably shouldn't have walked on it so much—or at all, I guess. I can't tell if it's sprained or just twisted. I'm pretty sure it's not broken, but other than that I'm perfectly…" He trailed off because Neuro was giving him that look. The one Cole always wore when he knew Jay was lying. "All right, fine. A lot of things hurt. Happy now?"
Neuro was the epitome of patience, and honestly, it was driving Jay a bit batty. This wasn't important right now. He didn't need to catalog his injuries, he needed answers. What had happened while he was out? Where were Nya and the others? And why was everyone staring at him like he would shatter into a million pieces any minute?
"What hurts the most, then?"
This gave Jay pause. What did hurt the most? He was pretty sure "all of it" wouldn't satisfy the older master, so he went for second best. "I guess my ankle's worse than before, and I think I wrenched my arm or something… My head aches a lot."
Before he could go on, Neuro was examining his eyes.
"Hey! What—?" Jay tried to shove his prying fingers away but to no avail. "Cut it out!"
"I'm making sure you do not have a concussion," came the calm reply.
Jay forced a laugh, a weak effort to distract himself from the possible implications of Neuro's statement. "I think I'd know if I had a concussion."
"Most people don't."
Oh. Right. Well, that made sense. It was a scary thought, though, and now Jay found himself second-guessing everything. What if he did have a concussion? What would that mean for the mission? For the team?
For me…?
No, that was selfish. He'd be fine.
Just a little rest and recovery and I'll be good as new.
As soon as they finished this mission and stopped Chen.
Right.
The expression on Neuro's face when he finally sat back sent Jay's heart racing—as if it wasn't going fast enough already.
"Well, Doc?" He forced another chuckle, rubbing at his throbbing chest just to give his hands something to do. "Am I cured?"
"Your pupils are a bit dilated, but that's not a reliable sign of a concussion…"
"Great! I told you I didn't have a—"
"Do you feel any dizziness?" Jay chose that moment to ignore the nausea twisting his insides. "Any ringing in your ears?"
"A machine just exploded in my ears! What do you expect?"
"Hmm." Neuro looked anything but convinced. "And you're having no trouble remembering what happened?"
"Believe me," Jay said with a sigh that hurt more than he'd ever let on, "if I could forget, I would."
"Still, it might be best to keep a watch out for signs of a concus—"
Shouts echoed from outside the truck.
"Let go of me!"
He knew that voice.
"I have rights, you know! As a citizen of Ninjago, I—Hey! You'll pay for that!"
Kai.
Despite the dizziness, Jay tried to stand, only to fail miserably. Stars clouded his vision, along with a few annoying black spots that just wouldn't go away. It was Neuro and Shade who helped him over to the small bench against the wall.
As Jays snaked an arm around his ribs, bracing himself against the waves of pain they were sending through his chest, Shade shook his head. "You ninja have the worst self-preservation skills I've ever seen."
Before Jay could reply, the door to their cell opened and Kai was unceremoniously dumped on the floor, mumbling something about how much he hates Chen, or betrayal—or something cliche like that.
Jay schooled his expression. Any lines of pain had to disappear before Kai glanced up. Oh, who am I kidding? These scrapes and cuts didn't just come from nowhere!
Still, it was worth a try.
"Don't worry," he said with every bit of confidence in his friend. "Lloyd will come for us."
Even as he said it, Jay fought to keep from squirming under Kai's stare. The emotions flying across his brother's face were too much to unpack. And besides, his head hurt enough already…
"Oh, I'm planning on it!" Chen taunted, slamming the cell door with more force than necessary. His laugh rang in Jay's ears even after he had disappeared into the front of their mobile prison.
Kai was at his side in seconds. "What the heck happened to you?"
"Heh heh, well… It's sort of a long story—"
"He got caught in an explosion."
Glaring daggers at Shade did nothing to stop the inevitable rise of Kai's infamous rage, so Jay braced himself.
"You what?"
If you enjoyed it, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Next up: Kai's POV.
