Chapter 2: Goodbye For Today
"This is it. You're leaving," Kai said, sighing a little bit. "After all we've been through."
"You're talking like I'm going to die, or something!" Jay replied. Even though it was sad to admit that Kai was right. He forced himself to stand tall and grab his stuff.
"I guess... we're off then..." Suzanne said beside him with a not even half-hearted chuckle. "Ugh, this tea even smells horrible... Well... down the hatch!" All three of them drank the small glass in a short amount of time, then everyone shouted their farewells, last second hugs between the three girls present were exchanged. Jay couldn't help but notice a small tear at the corner of Suzanne's eye, and he gave her a small nudge to the arm.
"Be strong, we'll see them in a little... argh! This tea... ble-!" And like that, they were gone in a bright flash of color.
"-gh!" Jay finished as they all fell to the ground, their belongings tumbling around them. He opened his eyes to nothing but a brilliant purple sky. There weren't any stars, so he could only assume that it was daytime. Weird, but he was accustomed to the weird.
"I guess that's the canyon over there," he heard Zane say. He lifted his body off the dusty earth and looked in the direction he was facing. An immense chasm was in front of them. He could see the beginnings of a series of switchbacks that led down the cliff face. He and Suzanne simultaneously picked up their stuff and headed after Zane down to the canyon trail.
Soon enough they found a small deck with some surprisingly comfortable-looking chairs on it. There was a door, and it was unlocked, even more surprisingly because Garmadon wouldn't normally do that, he was a very careful person after all.
"I'll get to work on a set of keys," Zane said to them as he opened the door. Jay was once again shocked to see a beautifully decorated home built into the side of this purple and orange canyon. And was that... potpourri he smelled? Jeebus, Garmadon!
Suzanne instantly set her bags down and ran through the seemingly infinite hallway.
"Wow! We can all have our own rooms!" she said. "This one is even yellow!" Jay set his items down next to hers, then joined her in the opened doorway.
"Do you think that there are more rooms like this? I mean, Garmadon is not exactly a "yellow" guy..." He crossed the hall and found the kitchen, and next to that room was the living room, and they were all in an open setting. Suzanne had found that there were two more rooms on the same wall as hers. Apart from the yellow one, there was a blue themed one, and a white room. Three bedrooms that were the same as their elemental colors... That was certainly odd. Especially considering no-one had been there in a really long time.
"Well, I guess that settles it," Zane remarked. "We have our rooms. To be honest, with a violet sky... I wouldn't really be surprised if our rooms were already made. Maybe Garmadon enchanted the place?"
The other two just shrugged it off. Oh well. Jay threw his items into his new room then sprinted outside with Suzanne, and back up the short switchbacks into the open air. The sky was growing rapidly darker, and the wind picked up just a bit. Her hair whirled around, and the greenish sun shone against her. It was a beautiful... night? He couldn't tell.
"Woah!" Suzanne suddenly shouted, pointing to the horizon. Jay hurried up next to her, and followed her wide-eyed gaze. Woah was right. There was a herd of... something. Horse-like creatures, except they were green with turquoise manes.
Suzanne giggled and jumped.
"Do you think we could eventually ride one of those? We already know how to ride our dragons!" she said, pulling on his arm.
"Maybe. Who knows what we could do out here, but what if there are already dragons here?" Jay replied, still watching the creatures. "Here... This is not home, but... we could find someplace to get quick transportation."
"Could our dragons make it here at one point? I mean, they can go to the Underworld easily, can't they?" Suzanne laughed again. For practically no reason. Then again, that's what she did. It was so childish it was adorable.
Wait.
He squeezed his eyes shut. This wasn't the time.
"Hey, you okay? You've been silent," she asked, giving him a small shoulder nudge.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine, let's just go back to the... base? Should we call it that?" Jay said hurriedly. Suzanne laughed again. Geez.
"Sure! Let's go!" she said. They headed back the way they came. He couldn't help but notice that she hadn't let go of him the whole way.
They stepped back in, and found that Zane was in the kitchen.
"Amazing," the Master of Ice breathed. "Guys, come look at this!" They stepped over, and Suzanne released his arm. He couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"These appliances... All you have to do is exert a little elemental magic and anything you want appears. Well, only ingredients. I'll still have to cook."
"I can still make muffins, though, right?!" Suzanne said, leaning towards the oven.
"Probably," Zane replied, patting her on the back. "But in the mean time, why don't we unpack?" Jay nodded, and he shuffled into his new room. His bags were still there, thrown haphazardly onto the bed. There were two bedside tables, a vanity across from the bed, and a closet on the far wall. There was a skylight over the bed as well, which gave a nice aesthetic feel to the room.
It didn't take very long to unpack, but it felt satisfactory to know that this was going to be his room alone. Back home they all slept in bunks. It was nice, but a room of his own was a great change.
"Have you unpacked yet?" Suzanne's voice suddenly erupted from behind him, making him jump where he sat on his bed.
"Woah! Sorry! I just finished, and Zane's done with dinner, so... Geez, I didn't think I scared you that badly!" she laughed out loud. He probably had the most pale face right now. She really was a ninja, er... kunoichi. He slowed his breathing and stood up with a weak smile, only to have the air squeezed out of him with a hug.
"Gha! I'm fine!"
"Sorry!" she kept laughing, letting go.
"You're really silent, you know that?" Jay wheezed.
"It's kind've my job description, Jay!" He rolled his eyes at this, then walked out the door and into the kitchen.
"You know what, I think I'm gonna go for a walk up on the canyon top," Suzanne declared after helping clean up.
"Wait, we don't know the area quite yet," Zane replied.
"I won't go far, and if something happens I'll come running back! Bye!" she yelled, walking out the door.
Jay sighed, setting the towel down. It was actually pretty soft, especially for Garmadon's old tastes.
"Don't be out too late. I don't want you getting hurt by whatever is lurking out there," he said, watching her nod and close the door behind her. She wrinkled her nose and smiled when she did this, and a few stray curls fell over her freckled cheeks.
Adorable.
"It's happening again," Zane sighed, turning away from him.
"What is?" he asked.
"You're a hopeless romantic. Indefinitely."
"I am not!"
"So, you actually think you have a shot with Suzanne?"
"Pfft."
"Don't lie. I know it'll eat you from the inside."
"Shut up."
"What is it that you like about her, exactly?"
Jay let all the air out of his lungs in one long breath. Maybe it would be good to get it off his chest. He'd known for a long time, but never really thought too much about it.
"She's just... So... Nice is too kind of a word. She knows everyone by their smile. She doesn't even need to try, and she's like this with everyone. Plus, we've always been best friends. And... there is an actual chance because we both have basically everything in common. Besides, I wouldn't want what happened with Nya to happen again. That was... beyond embarrassing."
"Suzanne is still cute though, right?"
"Oh my god, the most cute thing in the world! Or... however you would put that..." Jay realized that he sounded ridiculous, like a little seventh grader. "Anyway, you get my point."
Zane nodded, seemingly contemplating something with a smirk. Jay hoped and prayed that he wouldn't say anything. But who really knew? He was a mysterious guy after all, and a freaking robot. And they didn't even know about that until a little while back. What else could he be hiding up there? Maybe he would tell everyone back home while he slept. Zane didn't really need sleep anyway. He suddenly felt insecure.
"Hey, uh, you aren't going to tell anybody about this, right?" Jay said, a slight tremor in his voice. Zane threw back his head and laughed.
"What do you take me for? Lord, I've known you for so long know, and you still think I can't keep a secret?! Too funny," he told him.
Jay folded his arms and pouted. Of course. Zane had his ways about making him feel like an idiot. Oh well, at least he was true to his word.
Suddenly, Suzanne burst into the room, flinging the door open like it wasn't even there.
"Guys come look right now! Now!" she exclaimed, already running in and out, pulling the two men in tow.
"What is it?! Are you hurt?!" Jay asked her worriedly. Only the first day here and there was already a...
...threat...
There was no danger, just the sky. As soon as they burst over the top of the canyon, the night exploded in color above them. It looked like some twisted version of the Borealis, but that only happened in the north and south poles of the world. They were in the middle of the freaking desert, or something of that caliber.
Suzanne nudged them both with her elbows. Even Zane was awestruck by the starlit wonder.
"Isn't it beautiful?" she said.
They both nodded silently, mouths hanging open in a surprised grin.
The background of deep violet opened up the stage for the vast array of black, white, orange, and green streaks of light. These streaks were chaotic. Some of them were striped, some polka-dotted, and some were just little flecks that burst everywhere. That was just like this place. But yes, it was beautiful.
"But that's not the best part!" Suzanne went on. She raised a hand to the stars, and her hand emanated a yellow glow. She was using her elemental powers to bend the sky's image.
Zane just lost it.
"Wha- how?! I just-"
"Try it!" she yelled out, hitting him in the face with stardust, or at least that was what Jay could call it. The nindroid wiped a little off of his cheek, rubbing it between his index finger and thumb.
"It feels like... satin. Or fine sand. What is this stuff?" he murmured. Jay smiled, and raised his own hand to the sky. It felt like putting your hand into a pool of syrup, but you could move really easily. Once he saw his palm glow with electricity, he moved it around, watching the lights flicker and snap in a circular motion. He could compare it to looking into a fun-house mirror. Warping the image a little bit.
Before he could do anything else, Suzanne hit him in the side of his head with her own patch of night. He laughed heartily and threw one back at her, missing her by an inch. At this point, even Zane was in on it, hurling his projectiles at the two.
This was going to be great.