CHAPTER 17- One More Time

NOW

Clancee felt very anxious.

Which, in and of itself, wasn't very unusual. He was used to feeling this way- unless he had a task at hand to keep him busy. But this time, the anxiety making him wring his hands together was a little different. This time, it was coupled with a sense of anticipation.

He had done something. He'd let Cole go. He'd let Jay go. Not just that, but he had allowed them both to use the time machine.

Every action came with consequences. That was one of the first things Clancee had ever learned. And with each second, Clancee came closer to facing the results of everything. His gut was so wound up, he was surprised he hadn't yet folded into himself.

"Oh, Clancee, you should not have messed with things." Clancee told himself. He began to pace back and forth through the length of the room. "Now look at the mess you're in! And for no good reason at all!"

Clancee's hand sought the metal bracelet around his wrist. He did not want to imagine the punishment Krux would come up with. But part of him was beginning to picture a few worst case scenarios. Like 'be-wiped-from-existence' type scenarios.

Behind him, the time machine shifted colors. Clancee stumbled away. His eyes widened. Panic soared inside him. Had he somehow managed to break the machine, too? For the first time ever, Clancee seriously considered simply running away.

Then, two shapes formed against the lights. Soon enough, they'd hopped out of the machine, and into the room with him.

Clancee blinked, hope and joy blurring away the panic from seconds before. "Y-you're back!"

"Yes, finally." Cole smiled, breathing a small sigh of relief. Clancee noticed a bandage half hidden under the short black sleeve of Cole's shirt. He also noticed that their clothes were completely different.

"Y-you didn't miss much. You'd only- you'd only just left." Clancee offered, blinking hard. He was glad they were back. He had not wanted to face Krux alone. "What happened? Are y-you okay?"

"Everything happened. But we're fine." Jay answered. "I mean, neither of us died. So . . . that's a plus?"

"A plus." Cole agreed. "Now. Clancee. We're . . . going to need a little more of your help."

"M-more?" Clancee felt his scales grow cold. Or well. Cold-er.

"Those crystal cages outside," Jay said. He moved up to the section of the room that was filled with monitors. He pointed at the camera currently displaying what he was referring to. "Can you get them open?"

"Well, yes, of course, but th-that's a bad idea." Clancee said. "Th-they don't really listen. They're dangerous."

"They're just like you. They don't belong here. We're sending them back." Jay said. Clancee had no argument to that. But he did have a few questions.

"Sending them b-back?" He asked. "Could you . . . send me back as well?"

There wasn't anything wrong with this time in particular. Clancee didn't harbor any negative feelings toward it- and surprisingly, he didn't harbor any negative feelings toward Krux, either. But he didn't belong here, and he would be happy to return home. To the sea, to his crew- to life as he'd always known it.

"Of course," Cole said. He guided them all outside the room. Jay rushed past him, his eyes taking in the sight of everything. He had been too preoccupied the first time he had passed through the room, but now, now he could feed every bit of curiosity. "This is the last favor we'll ask."

"Alright," Clancee said. He approached the cage closest to him, but his fingers froze above the keypad, as a voice boomed through the room.

"Glad to see you're back from your little time trip," It was Krux, standing by the open door on the opposite side of the room. Acronix stood beside him.

"How did you . . .?" Jay froze on the spot.

"How did I know? Come on. I thought you were supposed to be smart." Krux shook his head. "I lived it. Or don't you remember? Well. I'm sure Cole does. How's the shoulder?"

Cole frowned. "Jay get back here."

"I suppose now you'll try to send my little army back where it belongs? Be my guest. I'll even give you all a little help."

A loud beeping sound rushed through every corner of the room. A rush of clicks followed. Clancee recognized the sound instantly.

The locked cages were opening. One by one.

"Jay get back," Cole said, a bit more desperate now. He stepped forward, shielding Clancee from what was to come. "Any way we can reason our way out of this, Clancee? You're pleasant enough to talk to, despite the different times."

"I'm- I'm not sure. Most of them have been here a long time. Th-they'll be angry."

"But not with us,"

Clancee shrugged. With a small wave, Acronix and Krux stepped back out of the room, locking the door behind them.

"Great," Cole said. "Well. I guess doing this the easy way was too much to hope for."

Garmadon shifted in his seat. "Can we go any faster?"

"No." Said his driver, Turner, clearly offended. "I'm breaking every law here, Garm. There is no way to go faster than this."

Garmadon knew the words rang true. But he tapped his fingers against his leg in a sign of impatience anyway.

Years before, Cole had asked him for a favor. A very bizarre favor- to show up at OverCorp at a very specific time, on a very specific day. With enough of his agents to stage a possible rescue.

Garmadon hadn't taken the promise too seriously at first. But he'd never forgotten it either. As his whole life continuously revolved around Jay- finding him, keeping him safe, keeping him sane, the promise had begun to fill out with a bit more weight.

And now, here he was, rushing toward something that had been building up for years.

His phone began to vibrate against his leg. A call. Now of all times, Garmadon didn't want to pick up. His brain was full enough, thank you. Unfortunately, he didn't have the luxury to ignore trouble when it came.

He slid his phone into his hand to answer, eyes sweeping over the called ID. Skylor. Garmadon tried not to sigh. "Talk to me."

You on your way to OverCorp?

"I am,"

You might want to watch your head, Skylor said. There's a really, really bad storm brewing up right above it.

Jay. Had to be. "Weird how?"

Well. Skylor paused. It's- it's converging above OverCorp, but it looks like its coming from four different directions. Four different parts of the city.

"What do you mean?"

One is blowing in from a bit of rain by the hospital on third street. Then there's one coming in from the city's south- another near center park. And lastly, one at the very edge of the city. I can't really get an exact location. Skylor said. Wish you could see my computer screen right now.

"Okay. Well. Thank you for the warning, Skylor."

Sure thing.

Garmaodn hung up. He bit back the urge to tell Turner to hurry once again. He thought of the locations Skylor had mentioned. A pattern instantly formed in his mind.

Jay's first lightning induced breakdown- the one where Garmadon had finally pinpointed his location with. It had been near the park.

South side of the city . . . Dareth's dojo. Once again, a place where Jay had used his abilities.

The hospital.

And an unknown point outside of the city.

Garmadon took a slow breath. Then, he resigned to making a decision for the good of the city. Putting aside his own judgments and well being, he picked up the phone and dialed another number.

The phone beeped, seeking to connect. Hello?

"Hey, Wu."

"Remind me again, why we trusted the little runt?"

Kai hopped onto their van, fumbling angrily with the seatbelt. It kept slipping out of his hands, which refused to stop shaking. He couldn't know who he was mad at the most- Jay, for running off, or himself, for having failed so quickly at taking care of him.

"We'll get him back," Nya said, as she strapped in without a problem. Show off. "And then we'll give him a piece of our minds. What was thinking?"

"Most likely worried about Cole," Zane pointed out. He slid the backdoor of the van shut. "Understandable, but most unwise."

"Couldn't agree more, Zane. Now the real problem is, how do we get into OverCorp?" Kai, finally conquering the seatbelt, sped off into the street. "It's not like any of us can just blend in."

"We'll worry when we get there." Nya said.

Silence followed. Kai tried to ease his nerves. They'd gotten Jay out of the Police Department. Cole had, quite literally, come back from the dead. Even when the odds were against them, things ultimately turned out for the best. Even if it did take countless twists and turns to arrive.

Kai clutched the steering wheel. Yeah. Yeah, things would be okay.

A storm was brewing. Wu did not like the sight.

He also didn't like the fact that his brother had called him. Not because he had something against Garmadon, but because he knew his brother would never ask for help, unless the situation was almost beyond hope.

Neither of them had spoken much after Gordon's death. Garmadon had blamed Wu, and although Wu had wanted to trust that his brother would never have a hand in a thing like that- he would be lying if he didn't believe he held a few seeds of suspicion.

The fact that they would come together now, after all those years, in the very place everything had started . . .

Wu's car slid into OverCorp's parking lot, followed with as much back up as the chief of police had allowed him. Which wasn't nearly as much as he'd hoped to have. A few other vehicles parked nearby. He recognized one of them as Garmadon's.

He stepped out of the car, ready to give his brother a quick greeting, when someone else stepped into his field of view, exiting the large white van that had skidded inside. "Kai?"

"Oh. Hey, Chief." Kai blinked. "You're-um. You're here."

"Yes. As are you."

"I'm assuming we're both here to help Jay. So, maybe we can talk about the consequences of me breaking him out of the police department after everything's said and done."

Wu blinked in disbelief. "That was you?"

"Oh." Kai frowned. "No?"

"That's not really our problem right now. You can yell at your rebellious employees later. Like me." Garmadon stepped in between them both. He glanced at a man standing by Kai's side. "Quite a surprise to see you here, Zane. Haven't seen you in a while. Not since you and Cole decided to go missing."

Zane smiled apologetically. "We had . . . some things to take care of."

"Oh, I'm sure." Garmadon said. "But like I said, there'll be time for all of that later."

Jay bounced with energy.

He could take every threat down and out, no problem. He wasn't sure why, but he felt strong. Stronger than usual. Not only that, but there was a strange tug ordering him forward. He wanted to follow Krux and Acronix.

But he had to focus on the plan. He wasn't supposed to hurt anyone- just send them home.

It should have been an easy task, but thanks to the twins, the room had quickly become an all out brawl. They were all too enraged from being locked up for so long- they were ready to attack anyone. Anything. Skeletons, Ghosts, Snakes . . . even creatures Jay could not name.

"Watch yourself, Jay." Cole pulled Jay back by the collar of his shirt, as one of the skeletons swung forward in his direction. Jay yelped, pointing the remote toward the skeleton, and pressing down on the button.

A portal opened behind the skeleton momentarily, sucking him inside before the portal disappeared into himself.

"It works!" Jay said, excitedly.

"Yeah. But there's too many." Cole took Jay's arm, forcing him to aim at another creature who had been rushing forward, ready to attack. Jay pressed the button, repeating the process from before.

"S-Someone is coming." Clancee called from behind them. He was cowering near the window, doing his best to keep from getting attack. With a few more well aimed presses of the remote's button, Cole and Jay joined him.

"It's Garmadon!" Cole smiled. "It's got to be. I told him. To come help us. In the past."

"Clever," Jay nodded with appreciation. "That's great! He can help you guys. I'm going after Krux."

"What?"

Jay pressed the remote against Cole's hand, before turning around and heading for the door. He cleared the way with a small attack- one that he hoped would leave Krux's little army more dazed than hurt.

The pull forward felt even stronger now. He needed to end this. And he needed to end it now.

"Jay I'm serious!" Cole's shout somehow reached him through the chaos. Jay burst the door's lock, forcing it to swing open. "Come back!"

Jay stumbled out into the hall. He didn't know if it was the adrenaline, or the electricity, or a dangerous combination of both, but as he rushed up the stairs, he moved fast enough for his surroundings to blur.

Jay burst through the roof door, a rush of relief filling him as he broke into the stormy night. It was beginning to drizzle, droplets of water cooling his heated skin.

He caught sigh of Krux and Acronix. Neither of them were doing much of anything. They were just . . . standing. Jay stumbled to a stop.

"Give it up," Jay said, because it felt like the right thing to say. The wind rushed through his hair. He could feel static growing around him- but he couldn't tell if he was the source of it or not. It all made him feel a little stronger. "Whatevr you were planning . . . it's over. We're fixing everything. And you two can finish your nice little reunion in Kryptarium."

"I don't think so," Krux said. Acronix glanced up, toward the sky.

"Man. The years were not kind to you, were they?" Jay shook his head, taking another step forward. "You look even older when you're up beside your brother."

Krux narrowed his eyes. "Funny."

"I try,"

"You really do remind me of your mother, you know." Krux said. "Dr. Gordon never did know when to be serious."

"Being serious is a bummer. Everything's a little more fun when there's smiles."

"Maybe. But smiles weren't enough to keep her alive, were they?" Krux's look of annoyance morphed into one of amusement. Jay did not like it at all. "Did you ever figure out what happened to her?"

Jay didn't answer. He'd stopped trying to get closer. He was at a loss. Neither of the twins were trying to run away. Neither of them were doing anything. So what other option was there, but to stand and listen?

"What's your play here, Krux?" Jay asked.

"Ah. We're just completing a very important circuit. So don't change the subject." Krux said. "It was easy to make everyone but me look suspicious. Garmadon and Wu were so wrapped up in their sibling rivalry they didn't notice anything. And Cyrus was so ready to believe the best of everyone.

"In the heat of everything, Wu and Garmadon blamed each other. Cyrus looked away. And I got away with it all." Krux smiled. "It does feel good to finally take credit for your mother's death, though."

"What?" Jay felt cold and hot and dizzy and wrong. Memories of his mother flashed in and out of focus in his mind. His body began to shake. Anger.

"You?" Acronix seemed to be just as shocked as Jay. "You killed Gordon?"

"She was in the way. Plus, it turned out to be a very useful thing to do, in the end. Do you want the city or not?"

"But she-" Acronix shook his head. He did not continue the argument.

Not that Jay could focus on it, anyway. His mind was beginning to burst at the seams, anger shaping itself into uncontrollable energy. The pull from before returned, stronger this time, and from four different direction at once.

It only added to his frustration.

Jay had only felt this way once before. When he'd thought Cole had died. His thoughts stopped being clear then, and they stop now, too. All he really feels is the strong and irreversible need to destroy.

So . . . he does.

With a growl filled with everything that's happened in the past few days, Jay splits the sky.

"Where's Jay?"

Cole's eyes snapped to the door, just in time to see Garmadon rush into the chaos.

"Clancee. Come on. They can keep you safe. I need to go after Jay." Cole said, taking hold of Clancee's hand. The moment Cole was close to Garmadon, he pressed the remote into his hand. "Here. You know what this is. I need to-"

"Where's Jay?" Garmadon repeated.

"I don't know! He ran up, I think and then- I'm going after him now."

"Well hurry. His powers are causing a storm. And . . . not the average kind. I don't know what the twins are trying to do, but he's at the middle of it."

Cole doesn't stay to hear more. He can't run fast enough.

If they want Jay to affect the weather, then they'll be where the sky can be reached- the roof.

Jay. Jay. Jay. Jay. His mind repeated the name in frantic circles as Cole ran up.

He should not have let Jay run off in the first place! Cole can't believe he let him out of his sight.

But what do the twins get out of making a super storm? And why use Jay?

The moment Cole rushed past the door and onto the roof, the answer falls right onto his lap.

Clouds swirled above the building. Rain poured against his skin. And the center of it all looked uncomfortably familiar.

It looked just like the time machine. Except this one is considerably larger.

Cole looked away from the clouds long enough to spot Jay and the time twins. Jay was hovering a few feet above the ground, odd chains of lightning connecting him to the sky. Cole could see his eyes were glowing a very, very bright blue.

"Jay!" The word escaped his mouth before he could stop it, taking with it the element of surprise. Both twins turned his way, the stepped forward, blocking the path to Jay.

Cole frowned against the rain. It was very difficult to see.

"Hello!" Acronix smiled, then showed off the gauntlet strapped to his arm. A quick glance let Cole know that Krux was wearing his, too. Cole's shoulder stung. The memory of the blade against his skin was still very, very fresh. "You ready for round two?"

I guess at least these gauntlets can't control time. Cole thought.

"There's no point to round to." Cole shouted back. " Garmadon is here. It's over. We're sending your army back, Krux. You're both done for."

"I don't think so. Not yet. Not if we can force the whole city back . . . and do it all over again." Krux smiled. "But for that, we need a powerful energy source. Good thing your little friend is so easily coaxed."

Cole looked at Jay, then back at the time twins. "Why not just use the time machine you already have?"

"So one of you can follow us, and ruin everything again?" Krux shook his head.

"We set everything back but ourselves," Acronix said. "We get the advantage. We beat you, when we couldn't before. "

"Well, too bad. Because I'm here too. And I'm not letting any of that happen."

"Guess we'll just have to get rid of you, then." Krux said.

Both twins lunged at him, together. Cole almost forgot to dodge. He was so used to being able to blank out of existence, he forgot that was a luxury he no longer had. In the end, he managed to drop low. But not after receiving two sharp cuts to his sides.

His feet slipped against the wet ground, slamming him down in a rough manner. Darkness flashed in his vision. Cole forced himself to stand.

For a moment, there was nothing between himself and Jay. Cole's eyes flashed with hope as he hurried to stand. But before he could take a step, he was pulled back by both of his arms, then flung aside. He skidded against the rain, coming to a stop by the edge of the roof.

"Bad idea, friend." Acronix said. "Aside from it ruining our plans, if you go ahead and try to touch your little friend, you'll fry right up."

Cole glanced at Jay. He wondered about the truth in Acronix's words.

"I'll take my chances." Cole said, and stood again. He could take the twins down. Wounded or not, he knew he could. He'd learned a thing or two, in his years with Garmadon.

They came at him again. But this time, Cole was ready. He avoided Krux's lunge, then took hold of his arm, flinging him against his twin. Acronix almost fell- but he managed to stand his ground by shoving his brother to the side.

Acronix shot a kick against Cole's side. But Cole was ready. He avoided the kick with easy, ignoring the sharp waves of pain rattling from his cuts. He then delivered a kick of his own. It landed squarely against Acronix's chest. A raspy cough was forced out of the man's chest as he was shot backward.

With the twins momentarily dazed, there was nothing keeping him from Jay. Cole refused to think about Acronix's warning. He also refused to think about the increasing pressure of electricity that prickled at his skin as he got closer. And he definitely ignored the pain pulsing at the back of his skull as he moved to reach for Jay's arm.

The pain hit him in an instant. A memory of the car crash flashed through his mind, but this pain- this pain was worse. It's increasingly powerful, burning every inch of him to the point that he can taste smoke against his tongue.

Cole gritted his teeth, pulling Jay down with all the strength he had left. One by one, the electric vines snapped, freeing Jay into Cole's arms.

Cole stayed conscious just long enough to see recognition spark up in Jay's eyes. Then, the darkness took over. The last thing Cole was able to hear, was Jay's concerned voice, shouting out his name.