A day late! But here it is! I was way too excited to share this to wait another week! Hope you guys enjoy, thank you for reading as always!

Chapter Seven- A Bolt From the Blue

BEFORE

"-you should've let me do this from the start. I'm good at what I do. Unlike your time-twisted lackeys."

Jay was somewhere he did not want to be. He gathered this much in the brief, muddled seconds when his consciousness rekindled. He was laying back against a cold surface. His head throbbed. And there was a painful prickling spreading steadily throughout his body.

"You know exactly why I was hesitant to trust you, Ronin."

"And you know I work for the highest bidder. Don't take the past personally."

"How noble of you." Jay tried to shift his body as the conversation continued. The voices sounded both too far and too close.

"Hey, a guy's got to make a living." Jay recognized this voice as belonging to his attacker. The voice that had sounded familiar. He tried to open his eyes, but was instantly his by a wave of nausea.

The prickling sensation continued to get worse. Now, Jay felt as if he were being probed by hundreds of needles. Most of them centering around his head.

"You've gotten your payment." The unfamiliar voice said. "Any reason you're still here?"

"Cold," The other voice laughed. "See you around then, Krux. Don't forget who really gets the job done next time you need something. I'm not one to destroy buildings as I work, either. Mostly."

Steps glided right past Jay. He wanted to call out, but they were gone before he could manage much more than a whimper. Now, he was alone with whoever had been trying to trap him in the first place.

The person standing no more than a few feet away had sent the snake warriors. The Grundle. And . . . Could they be responsible for Cole's death, too?

When Jay opened his eyes, it took a minute for the world around him to come into focus. His head still throbbed, and if he'd eaten anything lately, he had a feeling it would have come right up.

"Awake, are you?" A man step forward. A man that . . . Jay recognized. He'd seen him on TV, on billboards, on the website where he'd applied for an internship at OverCorp. Krux, the vice-president of the largest company in Ninjago. "Unfortunate for you. It'll only make things more painful."

"Where am I?" Jay sat up, and the question became more pressing as he took in more of his surroundings. He was locked in a small glass box, which was barely big enough for him to move in. Behind Krux, was a vast array of monitors. And working away at multiple sets of keyboards, was a bright green two-legged snake.

-a bright green two-legged snake.

Serpentine. As in, the race of snakes that should not exist.

"I'm sure you can discern where you are, Jay. I've heard you're very smart. Or at least, very lucky." The man stepped forward. "Care to guess?"

"Well. I'd say I'm inside OverCorp. Somehow. But that doesn't make this thing make any sort of sense. "Stepped up to the glass. His legs wavered, and he had to press himself against it to stay on his feet. "What's the deal here? What do you want with me? I'm pretty sure I've never even talked to you. Unless, maybe, it was on an email. When I applied? Did I say something that upset you, or something?"

"Not at all. I'm not interested in you, specifically speaking." Krux shrugged. "I'm more interested in the secrets your dear dead mother planted inside your brain, before she died. That's what this machine is for. To extract everything that makes you . . .you."

"What?" Jay didn't know what to focus on. The machine. Or the fact that this man thought his mother was dead. Which she wasn't. Right?

"I know. I suppose technology can be useful at times. Except without it, I wouldn't have a problem in the first place."

"I-" Jay shook his head. The pain was increasing. Was the machine going to kill him? It sure felt like it. "What do you mean dead mother? My mom's fine. She doesn't even live in Ninjago. And how would she- how would she have put anything inside my brain? She's a mechanic. Not a- a whatever the heck it takes to do something like that."

Behind Krux, the monitors flickered to life. The serpentine hopped excitedly. "I g-got it, sir!"

"Perfect timing for once, Clancee." Krux smiled at Jay, but not in a manner that made him feel any better. "You ready to meet your birth mother, Jay? She was kind enough to leave a good-bye message. And Cole was somehow smart enough to find it. Though it didn't do him much good, did it?"

All at once, the monitors began to play a video. The background of it showed a lab. Filling up most of the screen though, was a young woman. Her blonde hair fell in waves around her face. She had an array of wild freckles and wide, curious blue eyes.

"Okay. So you found my notes. Whoever you are, I hope you're trustworthy. The things I'm putting on this drive are heavy stuff. It's also incomplete. But with the proper counterpart, my secrets are all yours. " The woman's voice made Jay's heart lurch. He could see himself reflected upon her features. "I know it's a mistake to keep my research alive. But as a scientist . . . getting rid of these discoveries simply doesn't work.

"Ninjago just . . . wasn't ready yet. But we could be! Humans with abilities beyond what we can imagine. Defying death. Time travel! Wielded properly, all of these things could keep Ninjago in prosperity." The woman paused here, looking behind her. When she looked back at the camera, she looked afraid. "So, obviously, I don't have much time. Can you feel the ticking clock on my chest?'

A sound of abrasive footsteps came from the video's background. Then, unintelligible shouts. "The second part of my research, I've hidden in the safest place I could think of. I'll attach note on how to recover it safely. Please, don't hurt my baby. It was a mistake to involve him, but what's done is done, right?

"Jay. Jay. If it's you watching this, I'm sorry. Sorry for what I did, sorry for being reckless and sorry for not being there. They'll take good care of you, Ed and Edna. They always took good care of me." The woman laughed softly, tears streaming down her face. "I-"

Krux stopped the video with a scoff. "A waste of time to watch. I already knew where the research had wound up."

"B-but wouldn't you like to see- to see how to get it, without- without hurting him?" The serpentine looked at Jay. His eyes showed more compassion than the old man's. "It- It's all right here, Cap'n, if you-"

"Of course I don't care about his safety. I care about efficiency. I've waited too long . . ."

Jay fell back. Both out of confusion and pain. Birth mother? So he was . . . but no. His parents would have told him. They would have-. . . The prickling sensation morphed into burning pain. The room was doing something to him.

"Besides. We already started." Krux chuckled. "Would be a shame to stop, only for the sake of keeping him alive."

The door beside Clancee burst open. Another snake. "Krux! Sir, there's been a breach in-"

Before the snake could continue, everything around them was plunged into darkness. Blackout.

"Watch the door! Im not losing-" There was a loud thud, and Krux's voice was silenced. Jay heard the small green snake give a squeal of surprise, before it was silenced too. Suddenly, someone was lifting him off his feet.

"Hang on. We're getting out of here." The stranger's voice was soft. Jay obeyed. He didn't have much strength for anything else.

They rushed forward through the halls. The stranger had no problem navigating the dark. Jay shut his eyes. His heart was beating fast, too fast. There was something familiar, something impossibly familiar, but no, no it couldn't be. The room had done something to him and it couldn't be.

Fresh air slapped Jay's attention into sharp focus. He opened his eyes just in time to see the stranger rushing to the edge of the roof. Jay clung tighter, his voice turning into a squeal. "Hey, hey, hey, don't jump, please, I-"

The stranger leapt. Jay screamed, watching as the stranger shot upwards with a grappling hook. It hooked onto something Jay couldn't see, and they swung through the air, before finally landing on a different roof.

Perfect landing. Somehow, the stranger had stayed on his feet. He set Jay down gently, nudging toward a set of metal stairs that ran down the side of the building.

"Someone's waiting for you on the first floor. They'll keep you safe." The stranger spoke in gruff tones, tones that were forcefully deepened. Fake.

Jay didn't move. A flickering light revealed that the stranger was wearing a mask.

"You're okay, right?" The stranger's voice was muffled. The mask hid most of his features. But not his eyes.

"No! I am not." Jay hissed the words out. Then, he did the only thing left to do.

He reached forward, pulling off the stranger's mask in one fluid motion.

His suspicions confirmed, all Jay wanted to do was scream.

It was Cole.

THE EDGE OF AFTER

Jay had never felt like this before.

He didn't know who he was. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know if it mattered.

All he knew, was that something was wrong. Something was missing. He could no longer remember what it was, but it was tearing at his chest, making it impossible to breathe.

The sound of thunder shook him, after blinding lights snapped across Jay's vision. Lightning. Somehow, Jay had a feeling it had come from him. That he was breaking apart, and the sky was breaking with him.

Another flash of light. Another. Another.

When the lightning flashed for a fifth time, Jay's mind returned to him.

Cole's gone, He heard Cole's father say. I'm really sorry.

Gone?

Gone.

Jay pressed his hands against his eyes, feeling tears that were both fresh and dry. He was supposed to go to the hospital. He didn't want to.

When Jay lowered his hands, he realized he was covered in snapping whips of electricity. He began to shake, afraid and confused, and still hurt. So hurt. The electricity only worsened.

There was another flash, with thunder so loud it burst through Jay's eardrums like a gunshot. Jay stumbled back (gunshot wound to the chest, I'm really sorry, Cole's gone) tripping over the sidewalk and falling onto it.

Cole was gone, and the world was ending. Cole was gone, and something within Jay had broken forever.

All through the street, the streetlights burst. All together, in a quick, painful snap. Jay folded his knees into himself, holding them tight, pressing his face against them to block out reality.

Cole was gone. And nothing mattered anymore.

AFTER

"Cole."

Jay's voice cracked as he half-whispered, half-shouted the name. Everything around him seemed to shift out of place. He was adopted. His birth mother had used him for some bizarre experiment. And Cole was alive?

Was anything real? Had anything ever been real? Jay had only felt this spinning panic once before. It had ended with him destroying half a block of Ninjago city. He'd only gotten away without being identified, thanks to Nya's perfect timing.

"You're dead," Jay said the words automatically. The sky above them both rumbled. ' You're dead."

"Jay I- Jay we can't stay here, and you need to calm down, okay?" Cole glanced up at the sky with a worried look. He held both hands out, reaching for Jay. "There's- there's someone waiting and-"

"Calm down? Like it's- like it's easy? Like my life hasn't turned out to be one big lie? Oh, but you've always been so level-headed haven't you? Of course it's easy for you to say calm down." Jay stepped back, away from Cole's reach.

"Jay, you're a little too powerful to be throwing a tantrum."

"A tantrum?" Jay laughed. Lightning snapped from the sky, onto the roof. The building shook beneath them. "Cole, you left me. You- You died. But you're clearly not dead, not to mention, you'd apparently died before!"

"It's-. . . Complicated, Jay."

"It doesn't have to be!" Jay growled the words out. He couldn't believe Cole was seriously trying to talk him down. Like he was a child. Like he hadn't lived through hell in the past day. "It doesn't have to be, if you'd just talk to me!"

Jay's words were accompanied by an involuntary whip of lightning. It soared forward, aimed straight at Cole's body. Realization coursed through him, the world slowing just enough for Jay to watch the inevitable. He hadn't wanted to hurt Cole, not really, not ever, but-

For one bizarre instant, Cole's body seemed to fade. Jay was able to just . . . see right through it. The arc of lightning wooshed past, and Cole's body solidified again.

Seconds ticked. Jay stared at Cole, and Cole stared right back, neither knowing how to continue. Darkness descended again, as Jay's powers faded back into his body.

"Just talk to me. Please, just talk to me." Jay shook his head. He felt like crying, but no more tears would come.

"Okay, Jay." Cole held his hand out. Jay noticed it was shaking. "Let's talk."

Jay didn't take it. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you here, Cole? How? And home come, in the hospital, it- it said you'd already died. Two years ago. But that's when we met. It doesn't make sense. Nothing makes sense and I am seconds away from losing my mind."

"You promise to believe me? Even if it sounds crazy?"

"After the things I've seen today? Yeah. Yeah I'll believe you."

"Okay." Cole bit his lip. "I did die two years ago."

"What?"

"You said you'd believe me, don't forget." Cole said. Slowly, his body faded, just like before. Curiosity beating out any sense of anger, Jay reached out, slipping his hand right through Cole's body. Cole raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?"

"Hey, I have to make sure this isn't some sort of clever trick." Jay moved his hand back. "Apparently, you're very good at those."

Cole looked away, as his body returned to normal. "I died. But I didn't. Someone found me just in time to offer me another chance. At a price, of course."

"Garmadon."

"Garmadon." Cole nodded. "He said he liked my potential. That, with the added bonus of being dead and alive, I would be a very valuable asset."

"You could've done anything. So why protect me?"

"You looked very endearing on your file." Cole teased, but Jay had a feeling there was far more to it than that. "And I never regretted my decision."

"Was dating part of the protection plan? So I trusted you more?"

"Dating . . . was not part of the plan. Garmadon wasn't happy about it." Cole shrugged. "I couldn't help it. There was nothing I wanted more than to be with you."

For a moment, Jay almost broke. He almost ran into Cole's arms, almost let himself be held, almost let himself kiss the lips he'd missed so very badly. But then, another question occurred to him. "Then why did you leave me?"

"I was trying to keep you safe."

"How? It wasn't until you left that my powers showed up. It wasn't until you left that things started falling apart."

"They'd already found you before I faked my death. And there were other things . . . I knew we couldn't trust anyone anymore. I needed to everyone to think I was off the map for good, so I could pull the right strings." Cole shook his head. "And it would have worked, if you'd been better at minding your own business."

"I needed to find out what happened to you!"

"Why?"

"You think I was just going to- . . . to move on? Move back in with my parents? Not question anything ever again?"

"Yes!" Cole said. "I would have protected you then. Forever."

"I would have never forgotten you, Cole." Jay scoffed. "You're an idiot."

"Sure. An idiot." Cole's eyes hardened for a second. Jay's stomach twisted. There seemed to be more secrets still hiding beneath. "I just wanted you alive, Jay."

"Well, I am."

"Not for long. Not if we stay here. I talked to you, and I listened. Can you listen to me now?"

"Right. Someone's waiting for me. To 'keep me safe'." Jay trotted over to the stairs that led to the ground. Cole rushed forward, eager to stay close. "I suppose we might as well. But this whole thing? It's not over. And if I didn't really need some sleep, I wouldn't go anywhere with you. I hope you know that."

"Noted."

Jay allowed his steps to echo loudly, each pounding heavier than the last. He thrived on the looked of frustration Cole kept flashing at him. Good. Be mad.

When they reached the bottom, there was someone waiting. Jay hardly had the energy to feel surprised.

"Oh, hi." Jay laughed. "Few hours no see, Kai."