CHAPTER SIXTEEN- CLOSED CIRCLE
NOW
"We're back."
Cole glanced around himself. The lab was empty. Things were still strewn about the room, the after effect of their fight with the twins. He wouldn't be surprised if mere seconds had ticked since they'd been gone.
The time machine behind them spun hypnotically.
"You know what I have to do, don't you?" Jay squeezed Cole's hand gently, before letting go. Wisps of lightning danced over his freckled skin. All ready to destroy the machine.
"Yeah. Yeah, I know." It wasn't until Cole said the words that the familiarity of the situation struck him. He'd been here before. Years, and years ago. At the beginning of everything.
Now, at the end of everything.
Cole's body shook. He was sure that if Jay succeeded in destroying the machine, their connection would be broken. That string of fate that had pulled him out of darkness not once, but twice. That string that had always given him the power of certainty- despite everything, him and Jay had been bound together.
What would happen without it? Cole's hands balled into fists. It took a lot of willpower not to make the same mistake twice.
He would let Jay do what needed to be done. What came after, well, they could figure that all out together.
With one last look at Cole, Jay struck the machine with lightning. The swirling lights trembled against his power. The machine was no match for the destruction Jay could cause.
"They're going to break it!"
The panicked shout was barely registered by Cole's ears. The one after was a little clearer. "Jay, don't!"
A child came into view. Jay's younger self. Jay gaped, aged blue eyes connecting with their innocent counterparts. "Whoa. Dude, it's-"
Jay's next words didn't make it out of his mouth. Cole's younger self came tumbling into view. His small hands were reaching, eyebrows scrunched up with worry. Cole knew what came next.
Young Cole slammed against young Jay's body. They both toppled forward, into the arms of the swirling machine.
"Was . . . Was that-?" The lightning in Jay's arms died out. The damage, however, had already been done. The machine was smoking now, with crackling sparks breaking echoing in the room as it broke down further. The light within was shifting colors quickly. It was painful to look at.
"Yes," Cole and Jay stood rooted to the spot.
Someone had saved them. Someone would come. Right? Cole glanced out into the hall. It was empty. There was no sign of Garmadon or Dr. Gordon. Or anyone else, for that matter.
No one was coming. Then-
"We, we need to get us out of there." Cole stepped forward. They had to save themselves. It was sort of poetic. In a way.
"Uh, what?"
Cole didn't repeat his statement. He pushed Jay aside, closing the distance between himself and the machine.
He remembered being inside very clearly- too clearly. The fear, the confusion, the stubborn pulls on his body as time sought to tear him apart. But he also remembered holding tight onto Jay's small hand. Knowing he wasn't alone.
"Don't let me fall in," Cole ordered, reaching out his left hand toward Jay, before pushing his other into the swirling lights. Smoke tickled against his throat.
"Wait, what? Whoa. Whoa, Cole wai-" Jay's voice was cut off abruptly as Cole pushed himself into the machine. He felt Jay's hand close against his own in a tight grip. The wound on his shoulder split again. Cole did his best to ignore the growing ache.
He couldn't see. The machine was a flow of twitching images that burned against his eyes, blinding him to whatever might be ahead.
Had he hesitated too long? Cole stepped further in. One foot. The other. Jay's grip on his hand became desperate.
Cole's arm reached blindly. It couldn't be too late. It- there! A brush of skin against his fingers. Cole leaned closer, mildly aware that at this point, he was probably pulling Jay in with him. His outstretched fingers finally came into contact with a small hand.
Cole held it tight.
Something within him seemed to snap.
Jay closed his eyes.
The swirling lights of the machine were too bright and too close. The weight of Cole's body was threatening to tip him forward.
Jay gripped the edge of the machine. It burned against his skin, Around his hand, Cole's hand tightened, giving Jay's arm a tug.
Was that supposed to mean something? Flustered, Jay began to pull Cole back, hoping he wasn't making a mistake. It was slow going. Time's grip was strong, and Jay was tired. It took all of his strength to simply keep himself balanced.
When Cole's body slowly returned to view, things became easier. With one final rough tug, they all fell back. Jay landed on his back. Cole's weight soon followed, along with the weight of their younger selves.
Jay couldn't even groan in protest. Cole shifted, elbow digging against his side, and a whimper finally made it past his lips.
"Don't tell me I lived through everything just to be smothered to death by my boyfriend. And not even in a good way." Jay coughed, struggling to push Cole off. Wide eyed, Cole rolled himself and the kids off of Jay. "Thank you."
Before them, the time machine gave one final flash of light before powering down completely in a burst of shaky flames. Jay coughed again. "We were almost in that."
"Yeah," Cole said. His eyes seemed . . . different. Jay couldn't pinpoint why.
"You okay?"
"Better question. Are we okay?" Cole looked down at their younger selves. He coughed against the smoke. "We should probably get out of here."
Feeling very weird, Jay picked himself up. It was a dizzying sensation, seeing his own body, without it being a reflection. Even if he was considerably younger, it was still undeniably him. His mind was having a little bit of trouble with processing everything.
They stepped out of the room, smoke trailing into the hall behind them. It triggered the fire alarm, leaving the soaked in cold water in an instant. The blaring sounds of alarm did nothing for Jay's growing headache.
He exchanged a glance with Cole, before simply sliding down against the hall and plopping onto the hall. He let the water continue to drench his clothes, his hair- he had no energy left to do anything about anything.
The sound of quick heels reached their ears. Then there was a curse, and the heels were replaced by the slap of bare feet against wet ground. Dr. Gordon ran into view. "You're okay! All of you! Oh, guys."
"Barely okay," Jay said. Dr. Gordon stepped closer, pulling her unconscious child into her arms. Jay couldn't help but notice that she was shaking.
"Well, at least I know you get through this just fine, huh?"
"True," Jay said, still somewhat mesmerized by his childhood self.
"Yes, we'll both be just fine." Cole said, in a tone that Jay thought to be a bit harsh. "But what happened with Krux?"
BEFORE
Dr. Gordon didn't want to think about Krux.
She also didn't want to make any more decisions.
But Wu, it seemed, was ready to make some choices happened. He'd intercepted her and Garmadon as they'd stopped by her office. And now, they were trapped.
She really just wanted to send Jay and Cole back home.
"Krux says he only followed his brother's misguided advice." Wu said. He sat on one side of the desk, while Garmadon sat on the other. Dr. Gordon sat on the desk itself, of course. "Cyrus is inclined to believe him. And crazy as it may seem . . . I feel like it's important that we give him a second chance."
Dr. Gordon shifted. Letting Krux off the hook would only end badly.
"Crazy. You're right about that part." Garmadon scoffed. "You didn't see them, Wu. They're both insane. We can't- we can't just let Krux get away with what he did."
"He won't be getting away with it. He will be demoted. We can't throw every person that upsets you into Kyrptarium, Garmadon."
"Ninjago would be safer if we did."
"I'll keep an eye on him." Wu continued, ignoring the harsh glare from his brother's eyes. "It's the best thing to do."
"You know what? I don't want to be a part of this, then. I quit. And when OverCorp burns to the ground, don't expect me to sweep your body out of the ashes."
"Well, you've never been very good at sweeping any way." Wu shrugged.
"Are you seriously going to-"
Dr. Gordon cleared her throat. Loudly. She tugged at the sleeves of her labcoat. "I want Jay's name erased from the research files. Krux, no Krux, whatever the case ends up being- I don't want my son to keep being a part of it."
"I agree." Garmadon said. "You son- I saw what he's going to be capable of doing. He will be dangerous. To himself, to others, anyone who might seek to manipulate him could easily turn him into a weapon. We need to hide him. To keep everyone safe."
"What?" Wu shook his head. "With his abilities, he could grow up to be Ninjago City's protector. With him, we would not have to worry about anyone who might harm the city."
"Protector? Are you out of your mind?" Garmadon shook his head. "I assume you've forgotten about your other 'protector'. Morro, was it? How did that end up, Wu?"
"Jay has a good heart. If we raise him to-"
Dr. Gordon slammed her fists against the desk. "Stop it! Both of you. Jay is a child. What he needs is to be able to lead a normal life! He does not need to be locked away and he will not be raised to be at anyone's service."
Garmadon and Wu were startled into silence. It was Wu who broke it. "We can discuss this at a later date. Once we've all had a moment to think. We should focus on getting the- getting the boys back to their time for now."
"There isn't anything to think about! I-" Dr. Gordon's words ended in a growl of frustration. She drummed the palms of her hands against her knees. "Fine. Okay. Fine. Sure. We get them home."
For a moment, there was only silence. It was thick with mistrust. Unspoken gears began to twist in each of their minds, forming a plan to control Jay's life.
"I sent them up to my office with a change of dry clothes." Garmadon stood. "Let's go, Gordon. I'm sure Wu has plenty to do, now that I've quit."
"You were being serious?" Wu asked.
"Of course I was. You think I'm dumb enough to stay here, and become a pawn in whatever Krux is planning? No. You can have all the fun. I'll pass."
Garmadon stepped out of the room. Dr. Gordon gave Wu a quick shrug before following.
As they walked down the hall, Dr. Gordon slid her phone into her hand. She glanced at Garmadon's back. No way was she going to let him, or Wu, have any say in Jay's life. He'd grow up safe. He'd grow up happy. He'd grow up with good parents- far, far away from the reach of any oversized corporations.
Ed and Edna would be good. They'd been good to her, after all. She couldn't think of a better candidate to raise little Jay. Now it was just a matter of getting Jay away, without Wu or Garmadon's knowledge.
Luckily, she knew a guy.
Hey Ronin. I'm going to need a favor.
NOW
Jay had fallen asleep.
Garmadon had left them in his office, after having Cole's arm properly bandaged (which did wonders for the pain) and giving them each a set of clean, dry clothes. Black shirts, black sweats, both with the OverCorp logo printed neatly in white font. Good thing big corporations never tired of advertising themselves. Otherwise, he and Jay might have been left to air dry.
"Just wait here. We have to take care of some things." Garmadon had said, before stepping out. That had been at least an hour ago.
In Cole's mind, 'taking care of some things' had mainly involved getting the time machine's so called remote control booted up and ready to go. Apparently though, taking care of things involved every little thing that wasn't getting them back home.
Cole shifted in the small couch they sat on, making sure to keep himself from waking Jay. He didn't mind the weight of him against his arm, but it was beginning to get a little uncomfortable.
Although small sets of yawns began to pester Cole on and off, his mind was infinitely too active to allow him to doze off. His present situation was far too overwhelming to shut down.
When the time machine had broken- something had broken inside him too. Cole had felt it. Could still feel it. A certain emptiness. It made him feel ungrounded and unfocused. And he knew exactly what it meant, although he still refused to accept it.
It was all over. He could no longer phase in between being a ghost and a human. His abilities were gone. That tether- that connection he'd held with Jay- it was gone. He'd been granted a second chance to live, yes, but from now on each of his choices were final once again.
Cole's stomach churned. He felt like he was going to be sick.
Voices approached down the hall, mercifully pulling him out of his worries. The door to the office swung open. Jay jolted up with rapid blinks, wiping away any traces of drool, fighting to pretend he'd been awake all along.
"Hey." Dr. Gordon waved sheepishly at them both. Garmadon followed close behind. "Okay. So . . . we've got to get you guys home."
"Yes," Cole said.
"No sweat though," Jay smiled. "After all, this is time traveling we're talking about. Not like you can be late if you get to choose the when."
"That's a great point." Dr. Gordon replied, sharing a quick smile with her son.
"All the same, I think I'd rather get back as soon as we can. We've caused enough trouble." Cole said, taking hold of Jay's hand.
"Right. Yeah. Of course. Yeah." Dr. Gordon nodded. She gave a quick glance in Garmadon's direction, then half stepped out of the room before backing right back in. "Actually Jay, would you mind helping me? To . . . you know, uh, calibrate the remote with your- your time and stuff."
"Um." Jay glanced at Cole, who shrugged, then back at Dr. Gordon. "Sure, okay."
Jay let go of Cole's hand. He and Dr. Gordon stepped out of the room together. Cole felt his absence instantly. His fingers dug against the small couch, leather crackling under his nails. Garmadon glanced at him with mild disinterest, before starting to toss things into an empty box.
"I'd tell you not to destroy that but, seeing as to how it's OverCrop property and I'm no longer an employee . . . go nuts, kid." Garmadon said. He frowned at a framed picture sitting on his desk. He then shrugged and tossed it into the trash.
"Sorry," Cole said, relaxing his grip.
"Like I said, I don't care."
It was weird, seeing Garmadon and knowing he did not yet know Cole as well as Cole knew him. There was a certain comfortable familiarity Cole felt around the man, and he had to keep reminding himself that their connection hadn't been established.
"Your name was Cole?" Garmadon asked. Cole nodded. "I've gotta say, I like you. You really stood your ground back then. You get into a lot of trouble, in the future? Present? Whatever?"
"Some." Cole said. "But I'm good at figuring it out. We-"
Cole stopped. Frowned. There was an idea blossoming in the back of his mind.
When they returned to their own time, there would be Krux and Acronix to deal with. With his abilities gone, the chances of things going wrong had risen rather dramatically. Cole realized he would need help. They would need help. And even if Kai, Nya and Zane showed up . . . He wasn't sure they'd be enough.
"You alright?"
"Actually . . ." Cole said, looking up at Garmadon. "I think I might need your help."
"Er. Mine? Listen, kid, I'm not exactly-"
"No, not now." Cole's eyes glinted against the sun. "In the future."
"I thought- I thought the remote thing was supposed to automatically send anyone to their own time?" Jay asked, trying to keep up with Dr. Gordon's quick strides. The woman wasn't much shorter than he was, but she was fast. "I sort of had an idea but, if it has to be calibrated every time then-"
"It doesn't need to be calibrated. I lied." Dr. Gordons said, matter-of-factly, as she trotted up the stairs.
Jay continued to follow. "Um. Okay. Then what . . ."
"I just- I just thought, I meant, I guess this is the only time I'll get to see you you, you know? And I don't know. I know I can't really get to know you in a few minutes, but I sort of wanted to try." Dr. Gordon shrugged. She moved out of the stairs and back out into a new hall.
There were no labs on this floor. It was filled with a few offices, and an oversized break and lunch area, lit up by an awe-inspiring set of floor to ceiling windows. Jay gaped at the landscape offered by Ninjago City. His steps slowed as they walked past.
"It's weird to think everything started here for me," Jay said. "I don't even remember anything about this building at all."
"I'm happy you forgot. I don't- I never should've made you part of this." Dr. Gordon said. She stopped before one of the doors. As she began to unlock it, Jay finally moved again.
He had no reply for her statement. He wasn't sure how he felt about having no memory of this section of his life. Part of him wished he could remember Dr. Gordon as a mother. He felt sort of guilty, not feeling anything in particular towards her. She was fun. She was nice. But . . . she wasn't mom.
Jay followed her into the open office. It was very plain. There wasn't much, aside from a large black safe and a desk with a grey pencil holder. Dr. Gordon knelt before the safe. She twisted the knob left, right, left again. The door swung open. "Should be in here somewhere. Wu's super organized so it shouldn't- Ah, yeah. Here it is."
The device that Dr. Gordon pulled from the safe was smaller than Jay had imagined. It was a thin, black rectangle. It had only one grey button, perfectly centered. Jay's first thought was that it looked very easy to lose.
"Thanks," Jay said, reaching out for the remote. He slipped it into his back pocket. "And thanks for- for helping Cole wake me up and all that."
"Well, that was all my fault to begin with so . . ." Dr. Gordon shrugged. There was a long, very awkward, silence. Jay wanted to wave goodbye and rush back to Garmadon's office. But in the end, Jay found that he was too polite (or cowardly) to end the moment.
"They were good to you, right? Edna? Ed?" Dr. Gordon was still kneeling before the safe.
"Of course," Jay nodded. "They're the best. I love them more than anything."
"Yeah," Dr. Gordon finally looked up with a smile. Jay pretended not to see the tears she was quick to wipe. "Me too."
"I, um, I really like inventing stuff too. I think I wouldn't mind working here, with Cyrus. Once we finally put this whole twin thing to rest." Jay said. "I have a lot of ideas, you know? It's like my brain doesn't know how to shut up. Blessing and a curse, really."
Dr. Gordon's eyes lit up. "I totally understand! Can't even get through one idea without starting another one."
"Well, to be fair, if we could focus and finish every little thing- we'd be too powerful." Jay said, Dr. Gordon stood. "It's really in everyone's best interests that we remain scatterbrained."
"Agreed." Dr. Gordon nodded. They stepped out of the room together. "Thanks, Jay. For talking with me, I mean. I'm sorry about everything and I wish it could've really just been me and you against the world."
"It's okay. And there's probably an alternate universe where that does happen."
"Yeah. But I think I'm done messing around where I don't belong." Dr. Gordon locked the door. "Let's just get you two back home."