Chapter 18- Awkwardly Heroic
Cole drove fast. Uncomfortably fast.
Yet, the drive to the school still took terribly long. Every stoplight seemed to instantly flicker red as soon as Cole approached it. Not to mention late night traffic. It found them everywhere.
By the time they arrived at school, every muscle in Jay's body was stressfully stiff. He exited the truck with a struggle.
His eyes scanned the school, shooting toward every suggestion of movement, searching for Nya and Lloyd.
Nothing. Jay waited for Cole. They walked forward together, moving around to the back of the school. Everything was empty. As they neared the football field, they began to fear for the worst.
"There you are."
Jay frowned at the darkness. The bushes seemed to have spoken. He turned to look at Cole, but before he could, a sudden, unexpected tug pulled him down. He tumbled and landed hard between his friends. "Ow. That was so totally unne-"
Cole kneeled by them, pressing a warm hand against Jay's mouth. "You're too loud."
Jay mumbled something in response. Cole waited for him to finish before pulling away.
"The Djinn was here. Is here. Somewhere." Nya whispered. Jay turned over, peeking through the bushes. He could see nothing.
"One of my classmates texted me." Lloyd explained. "We need to get him to show himself."
"So that's the plan." Nya said. "One of us needs to lure him out. Then wish him still."
"Yes. But we need to find the teapot." Lloyd's mouth moved on its own. He was hardly surprised. He'd grown acceptant of the invasive effects of his wish. "It should be hidden in the school."
"Jay, go lure him out." Cole said. "You did start this."
Jay opened his mouth to protest. He quickly found that arguing against Cole's grey eyes was impossible. So he shut it.
Nya nodded in agreement. Her eyes shifted to the building, thoughtful. "School's locked though. How would we-"
Lloyd raised a hand. Within it, lay a ring of keys. "Dad's. I'll find it."
Before anyone could protest, Lloyd ran off. Nya frowned at him. "He didn't tell us how to get my brother back."
"So let's wait." Jay fidgeted.
"We can't wait." Nya hissed. "We need to get this over with."
Jay groaned. "It's not like he'll come if I shout his name. He won't-"
Again, Cole pressed his hand against Jay's mouth. Jay gave him an annoyed glance. "Shh. Shh. I'm getting an idea. Just. . ."
Jay shoved Cole's hand away. "That was rude."
"Shh."
Jay rolled his eyes.
"Okay. . . Okay. . . How about me and Jay go out there? We pretend to argue. As far as the Djinn knows, things between us are still bad."
"Wait, yeah." Nya shook her head. "What did happen?"
Cole ignored her. "So we argue. Go our separate ways. He's bound to try and get one of us. Then, whoever he goes for wishes him still. Ta-da!"
"I guess that could work. Except, it probably won't." Jay hissed. "We have your bad luck. We can't know what that will cause. Also, won't he think it's a little odd that we're at school in the middle of the night? Won't he assume it's a trap? I- I don't know. He's smart. He's good. What if I end up wishing for the wrong thing all over again? "
"We have to give it a shot. It's all we have." Nya tried to look understanding, but all Jay saw in her eyes was impatience. And he couldn't blame her, could he? The only thing standing between her and her brother was his hesitation.
Jay looked down. Then back up. "Okay. . ."
Cole emerged first. Jay waited a few moments before following him into the football field. Fake argument, he thought, How hard can it be?
Knowing he wasn't a terribly good actor, he opted for keeping it simple. "Cole. Hey. Thanks for showing up?"
"Just say what you have to say." Cole spat at him. It made Jay jolt. He risked a glance up at Cole, seeing genuine annoyance in his eyes. And then, a small, quick wink.
"I'm sorry about the wish and all. Please just. . . give me another chance. I'm sure we can-"
"No. If that's all you came to say then I'm out of here." Cole shook his head. "What you did was awful, and maybe now you'll think once or twice before opening that mouth of yours."
"Seriously?" Jay scoffed. "Fine. Spending time with you was a waste of time anyway! Er- You think you're all that, but in all honesty, you're just- just plain boring. Yeah!"
"And you're insanely frustrating! I have no idea how I was able to deal with you for so long."
"Well, at least my hair doesn't look like a wet mop!"
"At least I don't look like an anxious squirrel."
"Fine. Whatever. I'm not- I don't- I won't waste time trying to apologize."
Cole threw his hands up in a dramatic I-don't-care gesture, before shoving them back into his pockets. He stomped off. He wondered who the Djinn would choose.
With a flash of smoke, he knew the answer.
Cole stumbled back, making a very good act of looking startled. To keep victory from his face, he tightened his features into anger. "You. What do you want?"
"I merely wanted to offer some assistance. To level the playing field, if I may." The Djinn smiled at Cole. Cole continued to frown. "His wishes ruined your life. Wouldn't it feel good to return the favor?"
Cole turned back, giving Jay a quick glance as he moved away. It was difficult not to smile. "You want me to wish?"
The Djinn moved to block his view. "One wish wouldn't hurt would it?"
"Well . . . I guess one wouldn't." Cole nodded. "I wish for. . ."
The Djinn leaned closer. Cole could imagine his eyes glowing with anticipation.
". . . you to stay still." Cole's eyes snapped up. Smirked in mocking triumph.
The Djinn growled. He willed himself to move away, but his own magic kept him from doing so. He was rooted to the spot.
"I don't what you're thinking. But you do not want me as an enemy." The Djinn tried to sound more intimidating than frustrated, but didn't quite succeed.
"Bit late for that, I think."
"Fine." Nadakhan shut his eyes. Cole took a step back. He had no idea what else the Djinn could do. He did not want to find out, either. "You want me to remain still? I'll remain still."
Cole frowned. The ground beneath him began to tremble.
Lloyd could confidently say he knew Ninjago High School better than anyone.
He shoved the key into the lock, snapping one of the side doors open with sharp movements. Lloyd then trotted forward, a clear goal in mind. The teapot had been waiting in his locker before. Lloyd had no doubt the Djinn would try to use that trick more than once.
Only problem was, he wasn't completely sure he would find it in time.
Lloyd slowed. A hall of lockers stood before him. With his father's master key, he unlocked them one by one.
Each time, finding nothing.
He wondered if the others had lured the Djinn out. If everyone was waiting for his return.
He also wondered what would happen if someone else showed up, and asked him what, exactly, he was doing inside the school. Opening lockers, no less.
"Worry about that when it happens, Lloyd." He chided himself.
He was opening and shutting the lockers a bit too quickly now, his feet nearly buzzing with unspent energy. With a frown and a blink, Lloyd stumbled to a stop, returning to the locker he'd just shut. Had he seen. . .?
"Yes!" Lloyd shouted, chuckling with glee. He took the teapot, turning around to run back to the entrance.
The floor beneath him shook, tossing Lloyd's body forward. The teapot flew out of his grip. He struggled to regain his footing, but everything continued to shake, and he could do nothing, nothing more than watch the unexpected turn of events.
With a deafening sound, the floor split apart.
"I don't know what games you are trying to play."
The Djinn's voice was more of a growl than anything. Cole fell back, as the ground continued to tremble.
"But I have enough power to crush you. Crush you, and all those you might have lured here with the intent to stop me."
Cole wasn't listening. It was hard to pay attention to a maniacal speech when the earth beneath you was steadily rising into the air. He dug his fingers into the dirt, terrified of slipping over the side.
Smaller pieces of the ground rose quicker, moving up, up, up and out of sight. How high would they go? Surely the Djinn didn't intend to shoot everything around him into space. He wouldn't gain anything from killing them, would he?
The higher they moved, the stronger the wind. It stung his cheeks, and made his hair flutter wildly. Cole shut his eyes and screamed.
Then, all at once, everything stopped.
The sudden stillness made his head snap back against the grass. Cole opened his eyes. Pieces of the field and the school hovered around him, making a bizarrely broken world within the clouds.
He stood quickly, searching for Jay. He was crumpled at the edge of their piece of floating earth. Dazed. Probably terrified. But safe. Cole relaxed.
"You are happy about something?" The Djinn tilted his head to the side. Cole quickly looked away. "Look, boy, you seem reasonable. Wish me free of these bonds, and I assure you, I will leave you alone. Your friends even, if you so desire."
Cole shook his head. Eyes shifted to Jay again.
He was standing now. Yes, definitely terrified. Cole tried to look reassuring.
"Ah. Wait. I see. It is Jay, is it not? He is safe?" The Djinn laughed softly. "Well, Cole. You have truly put me in a bad position here. So why don't I return the favor?"
Jay knew something had gone very wrong.
Mainly because the grass he stood on was now hovering hundreds of feet in the air.
He stumbled back as a rush of vertigo made his knees week.
Yeah. This had not been part of the plan.
Jay forced himself to stand, eyes moving to Cole. Their eyes connected, mirroring each other in worry and fear. Nadakhan stood with his back to him.
Cole's eyes clicked back to Nadakhan. Fear flooded them. Cole shouted something, but Jay was unable to make it out, as a sudden forceful wind bit into him. Jay was shot back, heels dipping onto empty air.
Gravity poked his shoulder. He tilted back-
"Jay!"
Jay was going to fall. Cole knew it. He would never reach him in time.
But he ran, anyway. Maybe- just, maybe- he could get there. Grasp him. Pull him close, hold him tight, so tight, and never, ever let go.
Yet, Cole was not exceptionally fast. And he was quite the opposite of lucky.
He reached the edge seconds too late. His hands grasped nothing but air.
Jay fell.
His first thought was, Gravity works much faster than I imagined.
Second, This is going to hurt. A lot.
The third thought was more jumbled than coherent, etched out with panicked feelings rather than words.
Jay shut his eyes.
A pain that was somehow dull and sharp at the same time traveled up from his shoulder, sending panicked signals to his already panicked brain. No offense brain. But forget the shoulder. I think we've got worse things to worry about. Like, oh I don't know, falling from hundreds of feet?
Except. . . He wasn't falling. Not anymore.
He snapped his eyes open, tilting up to look at his savior.
Lloyd smiled down at him. A strained, struggling smile.
In Jay's eyes, it looked absolutely angelic.
With much effort, Jay was pulled to the somewhat solid ground. Lloyd stepped away. "Sorry about your arm."
Jay looked at his shoulder. It looked wrong. And felt wrong. Still, a thousand times better than it could have been.
"Don't worry about it. Oh! Oh!" Jay's eyes brightened. "You found the teapot! High five!"
Instinctively, Jay tried to raise his right arm. A flash of pain rattled through him. "Or not. High five postponed. Yeah. That's- Ow."
"Jay. You're okay. Oh thank you, Lloyd. You're my hero. I could kiss you right now." Cole shouted down at them.
Lloyd gave him a sheepish smile."You need to wish for his power to fade."
"Fade?" Cole shook his head. "Won't we fall?"
"It's the only way." Lloyd shook his head. "Now catch!"
Catch? Catch? Cole shook his head. This was by far the worst idea Lloyd had ever had.
"I can't catch." Cole shouted down. "Bad luck! Remember?"
"I don't miss." Lloyd said.
"That's not- I don't- I'm-"
Lloyd didn't listen to Cole's complaints. He threw the teapot up toward him.
Cole fumbled to catch it. It landed on his head, before almost skittering over the edge.
"Ow." The teapot felt much heavier than it looked. Cole rubbed his head. He looked back down at Lloyd.
"You shouldn't have-"
"Go."
"But what if-"
"Go!"
Cole stood. Reluctantly returned to the Djinn.
"You look distraught. Did your little friend get hurt? I do apologize. It must have been quite the fall." The Djinn said. His eyes flickered toward the teapot. "Where did you-"
Wishing for the Djinn's power to fade? It was the wrong move. It had to be. Surely there was another way, a way to put the school back the way it was, where no one would be harmed. Or maybe, once the Djinn's power was gone, Cole would be able to think of something. Something to lessen the consequences that-
The consequences.
All of the Djinn's wishes worked to break someone down, sending them spiraling from a bad situation to one worse, because it was hard to accept the consequences of the twisted wishes.
The only way out of this, was accepting whatever came next.
"I wish. . ." But what if Jay wound up worse? How would they explain the suddenly wrecked school? Why shouldn't he find a different wish, a better wish, a- Cole shut his eyes. Readied himself to regret every one of his words. ". . . for your power to fade."
Instead of lashing out in anger, The Djinn began to laugh.
"Your wish, is yours to keep."
With a poof of smoke, the Djinn disappeared.
Everything began to plummet back to the earth.
All too soon, Jay was falling again.
To be fair, at the very least, everything was falling. So he wasn't alone.
The landing was rough. Not as rough as he'd previously pictured, but rough enough to cause darkness to momentarily overwhelm him.
When his consciousness returned, Jay jolted upward with a gasp. A wave of nausea hit him, and he cringed, waiting for it to fade. His eyes were unfocused, things blurring and twisting. But through it all, one thing stood clear.
The teapot.
It seemed to be glowing, and every so often, something resembling a firefly would shoot out, spinning wildly into the world. Souls?
If the Djinn's power had faded, then maybe his grip on the souls had been lost. Which meant Kai would be back. And every other person who'd had the misfortune of finding the teapot.
It also meant the Djinn was not standing still any longer.
Jay had to twist the teapot. End the terrible madness he'd started what felt like a lifetime ago.
It was close. But in his current state, it felt very far. He didn't think he could stand. And with his arm useless, he couldn't exactly crawl, either.
Jay scooted forward bit by bit, flinching as the rubble rubbed against him.
Smoke.
Jay gave a huff of exasperation. He kept moving. Soon enough, Nadakhan's voice came.
"Don't forget Jay. You've still got one last wish."
"Oh. Trust me, I know." The teapot was almost within arm's reach. And Jay had all the time in the world. Without the souls, the Djinn wouldn't be powerful enough to do much.
"Maybe you should consider using it?"
Don't listen. Just move.
"Don't think so."
"Look around, Jay."
Jay did.
"The school is in shambles. Your friends? Can you see them?"
Jay could not.
"There is no way to know if they are alright. And if they are. . . well, someone will have to be the scapegoat for all this destruction, don't you think?"
Jay did think that. He forced himself to move again, but his thoughts were beginning to jumble.
The teapot was around his fingers. Just one twist.
"Lloyd, maybe? Ah. He would step up and take the blame. And his life would only go downhill from there. Forever branded as a bad seed."
One. Twist.
"Or that other friend of yours. She lost her brother. It would be easy for people to say that she snapped."
Jay pulled the teapot onto his lap.
"What about Cole?"
Jay's eyes snapped up. "What about Cole?"
Nadakhan smiled. "After all he did for you, you would be at peace if he were to be blamed for all of this?"
"No. . ." Jay took a slow breath. "No. Of course not. But. . . we'll figure it out. Whatever happens, we'll figure it out."
"You and I both know that's a lie," Nadakhan growled.
"Maybe." Jay shook his head. "Honestly there's only one thing I wish right now."
"And that is?"
"I wish you'd shut up."
Jay twisted the teapot.