Chapter 7- Closed Loop

Jay had failed. Again.

The world reset around him, rolling back, back, back until the start of it all. The sensation was sickeningly familiar. He stood still, watching time move through all his mistakes, all the missed chances, all the feeble attempts to put a halt to the closed loop of actions he had found himself chained to.

No matter what he did, everything let to this.

He had really, really believed this time things would be different. He'd never tried ushering Nya and Cole to the gas station before. A lot of good that did. Whoever they'd called hadn't come in time.

Jay struggled to shake away the negative thoughts, pacing back and forth as he waited for everything to begin again.

There had to be a way to end it. There had to be a possibility he was missing, a choice, something.

But he had tried most things. And they hadn't worked.

If he stuck closer to Cole, Nya wound up falling prey to the house in a flash. Then Cole was quick at putting two and two together, figuring out Jay was a ghost sooner rather than later.

Then the trust was lost. Cole wished for Nya back.

And loop.

If he ignored them both, and let them go their own way, Nya would insist on finding a way in. Cole would stay behind. Nya winds up trapped. Cole rushes in to rescue her. . .

Loop.

Jay had also tried being honest. Telling them both everything, if only to make them more cautious. That, however, only served to lose their trust.

Then loop, loop, loop.

Jay could still remember the first time he'd found the house. How everything had seemed perfect, yet wrong at the same time. He'd caught on. Not fast enough, unfortunately. Once his mind had clicked, the only way out was a rather unconventional one.

Perhaps, if he'd known how to land on his feet. . .

The sound of Cole's truck approaching snapped Jay out of his pity party. He shook his head, and massaged his cheeks, trying to find the perfect smile. But it was difficult. Jay was tired.

Nothing ever made a difference. They all always wound up separated.

This time it had been Cole. But Nya had gotten herself lost plenty of times.

He should put them both on a leash. That would probably work.

The image made him chuckle, but the sound was so sad and tired, which served only to weigh on his mood.

Jay had tried chasing them away, once. But Nya. She was stubborn. She'd somehow snuck inside, and before Jay knew it, the world was once again resetting around him.

"Let's go. The owner's probably waiting for us."

Jay mouthed the words along with Nya, before it was his turn to speak.

"They're not home, actually!"

When the whole thing had first begun, Jay had been deeply frustrated at Cole and Nya both. After all, everyone else had latched onto the house without causing any turmoil. Why couldn't they?

The Garmadon family, eternally trapped in a shallow circle of peace.

The old teacher, Wu, forever captured as a reflection to watch over all.

"Hello! You must be the ones that called yesterday. I'm Jay. I take care of the place. Ish. Not much one person can do against this mess." Jay chuckled, gesturing to the tall grass and invasive vines. "But I do try."

Then there was also Pixal and Zane, in a perpetual search for one another, always one step away from their happy ending. Stumbling into them was rare. Jay always enjoyed it.

"I'm Nya."

"And I'm wondering what you meant when you said the owner isn't home?" Cole asked.

"That's a long name." Jay laughed again. The sound prickled against his throat. Laughing was the last thing he wanted to do. "In all seriousness though, something came up. You could wait. Or you could go home. Come back some other time. He probably wouldn't mind."

Why had Cole and Nya been different?

The first couple of times, Jay had hated them with everything he had. But now? If he was honest with himself, he cared for them both. They felt like old friends, even if neither of them remembered anything, each time the world reset.

If Jay was to find a way out of the loop. . . He would lose them.

Sure, Cole and Nya would go off and continue their lives, with no knowledge of what they had escaped.

But Jay. . .

He would end up alone, with nothing more than the house's shifting walls and suffocating vegetation for company.

Was it really so bad then, to keep things how they were?

As Cole and Nya argued amongst themselves over whether or not to go inside the mansion, Jay studied them.

He didn't want to lose them. Not really. And he didn't have to.

What was the point of fighting against the loop?

They reached their decision. And Jay reached his. With a smile that was just a little brighter, he waved them forward. "Follow me, then!"

Follow me, and stay.

Forever.