Chapter 21-Blind Steps
Jay remained awake for a long, long time.
His thoughts raced continuously, and despite the fatigue of his eyes and body, his mind could simply not relax. It was infuriating, to say the least.
Jay thought about the wish they should make, in order to bring everything back into order. As Zane had said, wishing that this hadn't happened at all would be a mistake. Memories were important things, and Jay was fairly sure he wanted to keep all of his intact. Kai's idea would work well. Removing the effect of the wishes would hopefully allow everything to return to its rightful place.
But there were some things that bugged Jay.
Kai and Nya's father. The murderous pirate, Soto. Their wishes had been made long ago. What effect would removing them have? He couldn't remember the wishes they had made word for word, but he knew for a fact that one of the wishes from Nya's father had been the reason their mother had wound up dying as well.
So if that wish was taken away. . . what would become of their mother?
The possibilities were endless, and none too pretty. She would have, of course, been buried. And who would want to suddenly be brought back to life, only to find themselves 6 feet underground? Jay shuddered.
The Djinn could bring Kai and Nya's mother back in a nice, peaceful way, but Jay doubted this would be the case. In the brink of being defeated, Nadakhan would most likely try to cause as much damage as possible.
So they had to draw the line somewhere. Lift only certain wishes.
Only the wishes made after Garmadon had found the lamp?
Jay turned, forcing his eyes shut, tired of thinking in circles about the words they should use. Regardless of what they said, consequences were sure to follow. They would just have to work with whatever happened. Know when to stop, as Julien had suggested.
And yet. . . Part of Jay didn't want to stop. He didn't want to give up the small chance of getting in a wish of his own, when the Djinn was finally held down. Because regardless of whatever they came up with, there was still something that wouldn't be fixed.
Cole.
Jay had started out this journey solely focused on Nya. His plans, his worries, his thoughts, everything had circled around the girl, and nothing more. But now, it was his newfound friend he couldn't stop thinking about. Cole had been a strong, steady presence, someone Jay could lean on, someone Jay could trust. He hadn't known the pirate for too long, but Jay would do anything to get him back. Anything at all.
Beneath closed eyelids, Jay finally began to doze off, as impossible plans twirled around in his mind, subtle daydreams slipping out of his control as sleep set in.
As usual, Zane couldn't really sleep.
He watched his companions slip off one by one. Lloyd was the first, his body quickly relaxing, finding sleep the way only a child can. Kai tossed and turned, the thin blanket that had served as a makeshift bed crinkling beneath him. Eventually, however, he too drifted off into a dream of his own.
That only left Jay. Although he was still, Zane could tell he remained awake. Part of Zane was curious, wanting to ask what Jay was thinking about. But another part of him knew the man most likely wanted to be left alone, so Zane remained respectfully silent.
An hour passed, before Jay finally managed to find enough peace to sleep. Now Zane was alone with the night.
No, not quite. The man. Julien. He was still awake. Zane could hear him, rummaging about downstairs.
For a moment, Zane remained still, his eyes uselessly shut, even though he knew sleep itself wouldn't come. It never did. He could lay still and pretend, had done so for as long as he could remember. But he had never succeeded in getting swept up on a dream of his own. Yes, Zane had always been quite different, although he'd always done his best to fit into whatever the norm seemed to be around him.
In a flash decision, Zane stood, then began to head down the spiral stairs of the lighthouse.
When he reached the bottom, Julien looked up from his work. There were stains on both his hands and his clothes, and a light sweat coated his forehead. He offered Zane a warm smile. "Oh, hello Zane."
"Hello," Zane replied, feeling awkward. He didn't know how to begin the conversation, how to ask the questions that were burning in his mind.
"How can I help you?" Zane noticed Julien wasn't the least bit surprised that Zane was awake. Another piece of evidence to the fact that Julien knew a lot more about Zane than what he knew about himself.
"I. . ." Zane walked closer, then finally decided to simply ask every question outright. Being subtle had never been his strength. "What do you know about me? You seemed to know me, but I can not remember you at all."
Zane could see Julien deciding on his answer. His eyes shifted, as he weighted whatever options he had. "I don't know. . . how much you really wish to know Zane. When I. . . For you, my only wish was for you to find a place in the world, make something of yourself. And you have! But. . . I don't know if the truth is the best thing for you to hear. Most of all in this moment, when everything hangs in a very delicate balance."
"I must know the truth." Zane took another step forward, his eyes flashing with determination. "You know, then, where I came from? I have been unable to remember anything of my life before I arrived in Ninjago. I learned to live without a past, but the missing knowledge has never really ceased to bother me. If you know who I am, please, tell me."
"That's easy." Julien offered another one of his kind smiles, setting his tools down. "You are a soldier. A leader, even? A friend, most definitely."
"That is not. . ." Zane shook his head. "That is not what I meant."
"Who you were has no effect on who you are, Zane." Julien said, playing a hand upon Zane's shoulder. "But if the truth is what you wish to hear. . . I just wonder if you are ready."
"Ready?" The more the old man said, the worse Zane's nerves became. But he wanted the truth. "I am. Tell me what you know."
"Well, Zane. . . I'm sure you've noticed you are very different from those around you?"
Zane nodded.
"That's because . . . you aren't human, per say." Julien said. "You know, how I wished to travel throughout dimensions, in order to gain greater knowledge of things? You are one of the things I learned about, Zane. And through what I learned, I built you. I created you, because I knew this world was in desperate need of someone like you."
Zane tried to understand, but the words the man spoke. . . they weren't making any sense. "Built. . . me?"
"Well, it is a bit hard to explain, since this world isn't quite as advanced as others," Julien stated. "But you're a robot, Zane. Artificial life. Your body? It never tires, does it? You've never experienced a wound. Never been sick. Because, as I said, you aren't human."
Zane stumbled back, as the bits of information he could understand clung to his mind. Julien support him, helping him to remain standing. Yes, Zane had known he was different. But. . . he hadn't known how much difference there was between him and everyone else.
"I don't think anyone else would understand, my dear boy." Julien continued. "But I needed to give you a chance to be part of this world. So I gave you a clean mind, in order for you to build your own memories from the ground up. To choose your own path, without anyone treating you any different."
"So. . . there is nothing?" Zane said. " I do not. . . have a family. . . a past? A purpose?"
"Well, I suppose I could be your family. At least, I have always thought of you as a son. You can't believe how incredibly proud I was, to see what you had become." Julien's eyes shone with tears for a brief moment, before he continued. "And you don't need a past, Zane, not as long as you have the future."
"But my purpose then?" Zane asked, his voice rising slightly. "Who I am I supposed to be?"
"Zane," Julien shook his head. "That is all up to you. You are whoever you want to be."
Morning seemed to come sooner than anyone would have liked.
The only one who was anywhere near well-rested was Lloyd, but he wasn't quite as enthusiastic as usual. His stomach was jumbled up with nerves, and he could almost feel the pressure of whatever conclusion they were heading towards.
"So. . . we head to the town then." Kai finally spoke up, after it became clear that no one else was going to. Jay gave an absent-minded nod, dark shadows painted heavily beneath his eyes. Zane didn't give any sort of response, his mind clearly occupied with other thoughts. "What's the plan after that?"
"I mean. . ." Lloyd turned away from the window, his fingers fidgeting as he spoke. "We need to figure out where the Djinn and Nya are. And then. . . we confront him?"
"That's not much of a plan." Kai sighed. "But I guess we can't really come up with much, can we? Anything could happen."
"Yeah," Jay's face seemed to pale. "Anything."
"Which is why. . ." Kai cleared his throat, before turning towards Lloyd. "I think you should stay here."
"What!?" Lloyd scowled, crossing his arms. "No."
"Yes." Kai pressed. "We don't know what we're going into. And you're. . . You're still a kid Lloyd. I don't want you to get hurt."
Lloyd rolled his eyes. "As if I have to listen to you. What are you going to do, glue me to the floor? Ninjago is my home too. I'm going to help."
"Lloyd. . ."
"It'll turn out alright," Julien smiled. "You've gotten this far! I'm sure defeating the Djinn will be nothing compared to what you have already been through."
"I guess that's true. . ." Kai responded, although his face didn't change. He looked at Lloyd with worried eyes, and the child's scowl only deepened.
"Besides," Jay gave a small smile. "The best shot we have at keeping the kid safe is to keep our eyes on him. He's insane. If we tried to leave him behind, I wouldn't be surprised if he ran all the way to town and tried to fix everything himself."
Lloyd smiled.
"Okay, Okay." Kai shook his head, hoping he wouldn't regret his decision, but knowing Jay was right. He could try to order Lloyd around, but the kid had never been the best at listening. "Forget I said anything then. We go to town together."
"Now C'mon. Eat up." Julien said. "Then you can head to the town, and bring this whole thing to an end."
They obediently followed Julien's orders, digging into what the fruit and oatmeal bowl the man had placed in front of them. Lloyd and Jay stirred the food around at first, until finally reluctantly bringing it to their mouths. Kai ate without thinking, focused only on what was to come.
After the homemade breakfast, Julien allowed each of them to clean up. Soon enough, they were ready, and Julien handed Kai a small satchel filled with fruit, along with a canteen of water. Jay carried the poison and the teapot, both of them strapped to his belt.
"Thank you for all this," Kai nodded. "I wasn't really sure how much we could trust you. . . But you're not so bad."
"You're always welcome here." Julien nodded. "Once everything turns out alright, don't forget to visit every once in a while, yes?"
Julien's eyes swept throughout everyone, until finally stopping against Zane.
"Yes. . . We will." Zane responded.
Together, they headed off into the jungle.
When Cole returned to himself, the sun had begun to set.
He struggled to stand, an action that he found increasingly difficult as he rapidly sunk further into the floor of the lighthouse. When he finally regained his footing, he looked around frantically, hoping that maybe, it was still the same sunset as the day before. Maybe, maybe he'd just been gone for minutes, instead of hours.
But of course, it was all wishful thinking.
Everyone had gone. They were off to stop the cursed Djinn.
Off to eliminate Cole's wish. Off to pull Jay back into danger.
Cole had to stop them. Somehow. There simply had to be a way. At this point, he could care less if he was pulled into wishing for something else. He allowed his body to sink down the stairs, willing himself to stop once he had reached the bottom.
He stepped through the door, and into the coming night. The jungle spread before him, a large obstacle standing between him and the others. Cole began to walk forward, hoping he could follow the traces of his friends, hoping he could make it in time to make a difference.
And if he didn't?
If he couldn't stop the wishes from being made. . . If he couldn't find a way to get through to Jay. . .
Then what?
If his wish was repelled. . . there had to be a way to prevent the poison from taking Jay's life. But even if there was an anti-venom, what would be the chances that Cole would be able to find it in a fast and convenient manner?
Next to zero, if anything.
A cure was out of the question then. So then, what could he do?
If he had been alive, Cole's stomach would have twisted tightly at the new, unexpected thought that flared into his mind.
If worse came to worse . . . There was one way he could prevent the poison from taking his friend's life. . .
It all came down to timing. That, and how much Cole was truly willing to do to save Jay.