He should've seen it coming.

Stupid! Idiot, you never catch on until it's too late!

Always too late…

"Cole?" Screaming his brother's name through the wind and the rain was pointless, Jay knew. And yet, he couldn't help it. "Cole!"

He needed Cole. Needed him to wake up!

Instead, the mighty Master of Earth lay limp in Jay's arms. It was perhaps the stillest he'd ever seen his friend.

"Come on, don't do this to me, okay? I can't—" Salty tears mixed with the rain trailing down his cheeks. "I'm not—"

Pull yourself together! What would Cole do?

Cole would carry him. Right… It would be as easy as 1-2-3 for Cole to scoop him up and carry him to the nearest place of shelter had their roles been reversed.

Because Cole possessed an enviable amount of strength that Jay could only dream of having himself.

Lightning lit up the sky. Usually, it was beautiful, a gorgeous display of Jay's element. Usually, he could never get enough of it.

Usually, he didn't curse its very existence.

As the rolling thunder threatened to burst his eardrums, Jay cursed the lightning with all his might.

It's never good for anything, anyway.

It's not strong enough to do anything but mess things up. It doesn't do anything but destroy.

"All right, uh…" Wetting his lips—overkill, because the rain had already done that, idiot—Jay slipped his arms around his friend and pulled. "Come on, Cole! Why do you have to be so heavy?"

Why do you have to be so weak?

A few moments of struggling did more harm than good, sinking Jay down even further than before, until he could practically feel the mud begin to coat his knees.

"Thirty miles," he muttered. "Didn't you say something about the village being about thirty miles away? Right, Cole? Cole?"

He felt insane, talking to someone who couldn't even hear him anymore, but he just couldn't stop. The silence was killing him. He needed to say something, to do something.

Something that would help Cole before—

Before what?

Jay didn't want to think about it. Not yet. Not when Cole had begun to shiver.

Out of the rain. Right, uh… He needed to get Cole out of the rain and—

And... what?

"I don't know, I—" Jay sucked in a breath, glancing around as if he thought someone might be there to help him. "The village. We've been walking for most of the day, right? So, we should be close... Right, Cole?"

Nothing.

But Jay didn't know what else he'd been expecting.

"All right. All right, uh..." The breath Jay took was the kind that could only be summoned from the very depths of one's being. "All right. Don't worry, Cole. I'm going to get you some help, or at least somewhere dry. I promise."

Mustering every ounce of strength he possessed, Jay slung Cole across his back and struggled to his feet.

One step at a time. You can do this.

You can...

It shouldn't have been this hard, but maybe the last leg of their journey had a hand in his weakness.

We've already been walking for a long time.

And in the wind and rain, too. Either way, you could do with some more strength training…

Yeah… Yeah.

Jay adjusted Cole. His friend felt sturdy against his back, despite the way his brain seemed to want to playing tricks on him. Making him think Cole was slipping off…

Or maybe... you're just weak.

Right.

Well... He couldn't be weak. Not tonight.

Not when Cole needed him. As he struggled through the forest, taking things one step at a time, Jay marveled at how much strength one could find in moments of desperation.

The rain continued to pummel him, smacking his face in little bullets of cold, wet misery.

If he told himself that he could do it enough times, then maybe he really would.

You can do it.

You can make it.

Just one more step.

Just one more—

Something flew out of nowhere and struck his foot, sending him flying to the ground. The wet, muddy, cold ground.

Logically, he knew that certain something must have been a rock, but Jay felt purposely attacked nonetheless. Whatever it was had ruined his pattern; had snapped his string of stamina. Now, he was lying face-first in the dirt with Cole crushing his shoulders… and he didn't even care.

Maybe he could just stay like that forever.

Maybe... Just until I get my strength back.

Or we could, you know, just die here together. That wouldn't be so bad.

Maybe he could just close his eyes and never wake up…

It was a tempting thought. So tempting, in fact, that soon he found himself losing track of how long he had been trapped there.

… But no.

No… Cole needs you. You promised.

Yeah… Okay. Sure…

"Cole," he whispered, his voice lost in the roar of the squall, "you're crushing me. Get off..."

Nothing.

But Jay hadn't been expecting a reply. He'd just needed to say something. Because maybe if he kept talking, Cole would hear him and wake up. That's how it always happened in the movies, wasn't it?

Yeah…

Then everything would be fine.

No, he'd still be sick, you idiot.

Oh. Right. Heh.

Being sick didn't sound so bad… Passing out right then and there sounded downright blessed with the way Jay's muscles had been screaming at him for the past… however long it had been.

But he'd made a promise.

Yeah...

"I promise…" he mumbled, finding it draining just to move his lips now. "... Promise, I'll get… get someone to help you, Cole… Promise..."

With a groan, Jay pulled his legs under himself, secured his grip again on his brother, then pushed himself to his feet. In the darkness, someone cried out.

Someone who sounded an awful lot like him.

Don't think about that. Don't think about that. Not now. You have a mission to accomplish.

And Ninja never quit, remember?

A small part of his mind wondered what would've happened if he and Cole really had gone their separate ways like the others. He shivered at the thought. Cole would've been all alone right now. They both would have been all alone.

And Jay was pretty sure he couldn't have handled that.

Which is why you have to be okay, Cole. Do you hear me?

"You have to be okay… You're gonna be okay and—"

There it was. A soft, small glow shining in the distance like a beacon.

A beacon guiding his worn ship to a safe harbor.

"Cole! Cole! Do you see that?" Sucking in a deep breath, Jay found he couldn't even be bothered by the nothing that followed yet again.

They had found the village.

In his haste and excitement to move forward, Jay was careful not to stumble. If he fell again, he was certain he'd never be able to get back up. It was slow going, but in his mind, they were almost there. For the next ten or fifteen minutes—Jay had completely lost count—they were almost there.

Until the soft, disembodied light morphed into a candle in the window. In the window.

That meant a house. That meant safety. That meant a dry place to collapse and rest and—

And take care of Cole. That came before anything.

"I told you." Jay pushed the words out on a heavy sigh. "Didn't I tell you, Cole? Cole, I told you… I promised. We made it."

When he made it to the door, he knocked so hard that it was a wonder his knuckles didn't burst. Instead, it was the door that cracked open, letting a glorious stream of light and warmth trickle into the storm. A young woman's face peered out at them, her features pinched in concern and confusion.

"What—?" she began, but Jay's mouth was already moving and there was no way he could've stopped it—even if he'd wanted to.

"Something's wrong with my friend," he explained in a rush. "He's sick and I need your help. If nothing else, he just needs a place to dry off before the rain makes everything worse."

It's probably too late for that, if we're being honest.

Shut up.

The woman hesitated longer than Jay would have thought or hoped, but he supposed not everyone's first instinct was to help the helpless.

We're not helpless.

We just need shelter...

Hesitation still dancing across her dark eyes, she nodded at long last. "Come in."

"Thank you." The sheer relief in his voice must have melted some of her hesitation because the corners of her eyes softened.

"I'll get you both something to dry off. You can sit over there by the fireplace."

"Thank you." The words floated out on a heavy sigh.

A tiny prick of guilt assaulted the back of his mind as he became aware of all the water he was dripping on her wood floor.

But Cole needed help. Cole was top priority. He could mop her floor later.

In another timeline, he was pretty good at that…

"You're gonna be okay," he whispered as the woman returned with a couple towels and a single blanket.

It was then that Jay took a moment to survey the cottage. It was a small room, barely large enough to hold the fireplace, a kitchen area, a couch, and a table for two. Against the far wall, a thin staircase led the way to what was most likely an even smaller bedroom.

Taking the towels and the blanket, Jay made absolutely certain that every ounce of his gratitude reflected in his eyes when he said, "Thank you."

On and off over the years, Jay had found himself envying Kai's fire. It was a handy element; a heck of a lot more useful than lightning. Now, as he dried Cole off, ignoring his own shivering, he wanted so desperately to be able to conjure a flame with his bare hands.

Might've made things easier.

Why are you always so useless, anyway?

The woman cleared her throat, still hovering over them. Still wearing that hesitant, almost wary look on her young face.

"Who are you?"

Jay didn't know how to answer that. His back ached, his skin felt like ice, and his muscles hadn't stopped screaming at him since he'd picked Cole up however many miles back.

The calming edge around his voice was a mere facade as his insides still raged with anxiety for Cole. "We're just passing through. We're not here to cause any trouble, I swear. Just... Well, I have no idea what's wrong with him and I needed to get him out of the rain. He just collapsed on my out of nowhere and—"

Too much information. Too much information. You barely know her, part of him scolded, while another part whispered an old, familiar taunt.

Weak. Weak.

He was showing too much weakness to a total stranger who might even just be tricking him so she could—

Jay shut down that train of thought before it could get any more steam.

What?

What could she even do?

Taking a long, steadying breath, he rolled up one of the towels and tucked it under Cole's head as a makeshift pillow. After covering him up with the blanket, Jay pried himself off the floor.

"Jay Walker," he said, holding out his hand for her to take. Proper introductions seemed to be in order.

Only… She didn't take it. If anything, she recoiled. The mix of emotions dancing across her face set the hair on the back of Jay's neck on edge. As she crossed her arms with a shaky huff, a shiver trailed down his spine. Something told him that it wasn't a product of the cold and rain.

"You…" Another unsteady breath had her taking a single step backward. "You're dressed the same as him… I knew it, I never should've let you in! My brother is going to… When he gets home, he'll… And then—"

"Whoa, okay, hold on a second!" Jay held up his hands in surrender, hoping to ease her rising panic. "Who are you talking about? Look, when I promised that we don't want to hurt you, I meant it! So, just take a few seconds and breathe, okay?"

It was the kind of advice Cole had given him countless times. If he could somehow help this lady calm down, then maybe all those panic attacks Cole had to talk him down from hadn't been for nothing.

"Listen to me," Jay pressed on, "you don't have to be afraid of us."

Very reassuring, Jay. Yes, great advice.

Shut up!

"I'm not." She sucked in a deep breath, finally, and her chest stopped its stuttering panic for a moment or two. "I'm afraid of what my brother will do to you when he comes home."

Okay... That was certainly unexpected and it left Jay more than a little confused.

"You can't stay here," came her sudden decision, her once flighty expression now solid with resolve. "You have to leave. Now."

"I can't take him back out there!" Jay argued, risking a glance back at Cole. "And even if I could, I wouldn't leave without getting some sort of explanation. What's the deal with your brother and why—?"

A wet, spluttering cough echoed off the walls and Jay was at Cole's side in seconds.

The mere sound of it hurt Jay's chest and throat. Whatever bug Cole was fighting, it had grabbed him by the lungs with a vice-like grip—and it had no intention of letting him go.

"You're gonna be okay," Jay whispered as the coughing started to subside, leaving him locked in the prison of unconsciousness. "I promise. I promise, I—"

A shadow fell over them as Jay moved to cradle Cole's head in his lap. Their mysterious host stood there once more, the hesitance creeping back into her face. This time, it was accompanied by a touch of compassion and was that a slight hint of guilt…?

"Wait there. And I mean don't move from that spot," she ordered before disappearing up the staircase.

For a long moment, Jay sat there, his weary mind racing to come up with some sort of game plan. He could take Cole and run right now. Leave this weird lady and her creepy premonitions behind.

He shot that idea down fast, tightening his grip on his brother. Cole was fading and Jay didn't know why, or from what, or how to help him, but he knew he had to do something. And if that meant sticking it out in a strange woman and her brother's cabin…

So be it.

What's the worst that could happen?

Cole would've done the same for him—and more.

"Though," Jay said, forcing a huff of a laugh as he adjusted the blanket on Cole, "I'm gonna say this right now: if her brother comes back and he's some sort of heavy-weight wrestling champion, we're out of here, got it?"

Cole made no reply. Of course, he didn't, idiot.

Still, Jay's chest constricted a little more each time his conversation was met with that same unnerving silence. It wasn't supposed to be like that. He was so used to Cole not only listening to his ramblings, but responding. Acknowledging them in ways only his best friend had ever been able to do. Not even Zane or Nya could listen as good as Cole.

Jay could count on less than five fingers how many times he'd seen Cole get sick. That hangover that one time doesn't count… At one point, Jay had even been jealous of the guy's stamina.

Makes sense that the strongest ninja gets to have the strongest immune system, I guess.

Only a handful of minutes later, the woman returned with a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"Put these on," she said before Jay could get a word out.

Though he took the offered clothes, Jay shook his head. "Nope, not until you tell me what the heck is going on here."

She pursed her lips in that stubborn way Nya always did when she was right about to cave.

Come on… Come on…

"I'm not looking for your entire life's story. We don't really have time for that," he prodded, "and I definitely don't have the patience right now. But… Come on, you've got to give me something. If the tables were turned, I'm sure you wouldn't want to be kept in the dark like this."

That had always been one of his least favorite things. The not knowing. He couldn't even suffer through a horror movie with Cole because he didn't like not knowing what was about to come next. Not knowing what was about to jump out at him when he least expected it…

This whole trip had already been a little too drama-esque for Jay. He didn't need it turning into a horror flick, too.

Eventually, a slow, drawn out sigh escaped the woman's mouth and he watched her shoulders slump, feeling his own relax a little.

"If my brother walks in and you're stil dressed like that, he'll see to it that you're locked away just like the other one."

A prickle trailed down Jay's spine, that earlier sense of unease returning full-force. Though he really didn't like where she was going with this, he wished she would just spit it out already.

"You're here to rescue him, aren't you?"

Jay felt like grabbing a handful of his hair and tearing it out. "Rescue who?"

The woman stole a glance behind her, shoulders tensing as if she expected someone to materialize and whack her upside the head.

Lowering her voice, she finally replied, "The Fire Witch."

His fingers tightened around the clothes, needing something to squeeze, to steady him, to ground him. Acting confused would only be delaying the inevitable, so he fought to keep his expression neutral. Easier said than done because only one person matched that description in Jay's mind and he hoped to the First Spinjitzu Master that he was wrong.

Please, please, let me be wrong.

"He said some of the same things you did, when he first arrived," she continued, her voice almost too soft to hear now. "He said he came in peace. Said he was looking for someone. When they saw the fire in his hands—his makeshift torch in the night—they all panicked. He wanted to explain things… but the village got to him first."

"What? Where is he? What did they do to him?" It took everything in him not to grab her by the shoulders and shake all the information out of her, his neutral expression be damned.

"Then you do know him."

"No! Yes. Well, maybe. I don't know." Flustered, Jay sucked in a sharp breath. "Did he have spiky brown hair?"

Please say no. Please say—

But the recognition in her eyes told him all he needed to know.

Just when he'd thought this day couldn't get any worse.

"Get into those clothes and give me your old ones," she said, changing the subject with all the tact of Lloyd when he was trying to tell a lie. "We'll talk later. When it's safe."

Breathe. Breathe, you idiot.

She was walking to the kitchen area now—putting on some tea, by the sound of it. Though Jay couldn't hear much over the growing buzz in his ears.

Stop it! Just breathe and—

First, Cole wasn't waking up, and now this crazy, superstitious village had their hands on Kai.

And he didn't know how to even start trying to fix it all.

Swallowing back the lump of emotion that threatened his throat, Jay forced himself to breathe. It's what Cole would have told him to do, right?

Only once before had he felt so very helpless—so very alone. In another timeline, in a faraway world… He hadn't done so well then, but this time, he would do everything in his power to keep his friends safe.

Or die trying.

It was the least he could do after all they had ever done for him.

Clenching a fist, Jay ran a hand through his sopping hair. A vain effort to steady himself.

I promise, Cole, I'll help you get better.

And I swear to you, Kai…

… I'll get you out of whatever dungeon they have you in.

Another deep breath, another pulse of determination flushing through his veins.

I promise.