Chapter 7: Something Really, Really Bad

"You wanna see it?" Jay asked tauntingly, smirking at his three brothers. Nya had claimed she wasn't interested and stormed off somewhere, but Lloyd, Kai, and Zane nodded eagerly.

After another marathon night of sleeping (with a short reprieve), they had done another drastically shortened training session, and now Jay had gotten it in his head that this was a good idea.

"You really want to see it?"

"Yes, Jay," Kai replied with an exasperated eye roll. "We really want to see it, so show us already!"

Jay smirked and hopped onto the railing of the airborne Destiny's Bounty.

And then jumped off.

An elemental dragon rose like none they had ever seen before. Instead of the expected dark blue creature with lightning crackling through its veins, the ninja was mounted on an amalgamation of rocks held together by strands of sparking lightning. Its wings were made of a thin blanket of pebbles sewn together with lightning, and its blue bright blue eyes exuded a mysterious power. Just as Lloyd's dragon had been corrupted by Morro's possession, Jay's dragon was now a hybrid of his and Cole's.

After a sufficient amount of "oohs" and "aahs," Jay released his dragon and landed on the deck.

"Okay, I have to admit, that was pretty awesome," Kai said upon the blue ninja's return.

"Really? I thought all that rock screwed up the majesty of my lightning." Jay remarked. The others laughed, but really he had only said it to get a rise out of Cole. The black ninja had been downright sulky since last night and hadn't emerged from the passive position in Jay's body all day. He didn't appear now.

But, Jay did feel a sudden rush of vertigo, even though they were back on the ground (relatively). His head spun, his stomach dropped, and he knew he had to get out of there before he ended up being sick in front of his brothers.

"I'm feeling kind of tired now, though," he said, hoping his voice came out level enough and not fully sure he succeeded. "I think I'll go lay down for a bit."

"But, you only got up a few hours ago…," Lloyd pointed out, concern bleeding into his tone- the exact opposite of what Jay wanted. But, he couldn't stand here a moment longer or he really would pass out.

"Talk to Zane about slumber and calorie intake," he threw over his shoulder, already walking away. The others scratched their heads in confusion but didn't follow for which Jay was grateful.

That is, until Nya confronted him in the hallway.

"Cole is not a magic trick, Jay," she chastised, arms crossed in a clear sign of disapproval. "You guys shouldn't be expending your energy on stupid things like showing off. We need to be finding a solution."

Ok, yeah, maybe the dragon had been too much, but could anybody blame Jay for wanting to act like everything was normal, for wanting to joke around with his brothers like he hadn't ever murdered Cole and hadn't caused him to be half of his real self that couldn't live, couldn't really live, even momentarily outside his body because of what he did-

Jay started coughing into his hand.

Nya dropped her displeased expression and took up one of worry. "Jay, are you okay?"

Jay finished his coughing and forced himself to take two deep breaths before replying. "Yeah, Nya, don't worry. We're-"

Blood.

Blood.

There was blood on his hand. He was coughing up blood. That was bad, right? Blood- blood- was bad-

Cole wrenched control away from Jay. "Nya, we-"

Jay stole it back and shut his own mouth.

The water ninja was staring at them in bewilderment now. "Jay? Cole? What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Jay shouted, making sure to keep his hand fisted so she wouldn't see the blood- blood- there. "Just- gotta go!" He rushed past her into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door.

Nya bit her lip, staring after two of the most important guys in her life, before hurrying to find the others and hopefully convince them that they had a bigger problem than they thought.

In the bathroom, Jay scrubbed frantically at the blood burning his with a towel, as if wiping it away now would erase its existence in the first place.

"Jay, enough!" Cole shouted at the mirror, throwing the towel away in disgust once enough blood was gone to keep it from burning their skin. "This has gone on too long. We have to admit what we've both been thinking."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" The blue ninja challenged, searching for the towel.

But, Cole turned back toward the mirror, slamming both hands on the counter. "It's me, okay? I'm making you sick."

Jay rolled his eyes. "That's-"

"Stupid? Ridiculous? It's not. It's true." Cole narrowed his eyes at his reflection, as if it really was Jay there in the mirror, looking back at him. "You didn't feel like this until I possessed you. It's me, and you know it."

"Fine. It's you." Jay crossed his arms. "There, I said it. It doesn't change anything."

"We have to tell them, Jay!"

"No." The blue ninja shook his head. "What if they make you leave?"

"They should." Cole ground out. "I'll tell them. I will."

"No, you won't." Jay said calmly. "You can't. You know you're not strong enough to take control of my body unless I let you."

Cole tried to take over then, but like Jay said, he was powerless. Fine. Keep me trapped in here like a prisoner. I'll just leave on my own. I'll step out of you right now.

"Yeah, well, good luck remembering why you left. All you'll end up doing is repossessing me because you can't remember not to."

Jay felt Cole's shock at his logic, and he felt a little bad for forcing his best friend into such an impossible position; but he wasn't going to back down and Cole knew it.

Jay, I am begging you. You can't do this to yourself. You can't make me do this to you. I don't want to be responsible for your death.

"Yeah, I know what that feels like," he snapped, crossing his arms over his chest like he was cold. "That's why I don't care what happens to me. I'm going to do whatever I have to to save you, Cole."

Jay let Cole have control then, mostly in a gesture of peace, but he wasn't prepared for Cole to yell at the mirror, "But, you're not doing it for me, Jay! You're doing it for you!"

Jay physically recoiled. "What?"

"You want me to possess you because you think of it as a punishment," Tears pushed at Jay's eyes then, and the blue ninja wondered at how he could have hurt Cole so deeply without even knowing it. "You think letting me live in your body is justice for what you did. I don't want to 'make you pay' for pushing me that day. I never did."

There was silence for a moment before Jay nodded. "I know, Cole. But, that's the thing. You're always trying to protect everyone else. You gave up Nya to save our friendship. You eliminated yourself from the tournament so I wouldn't have to lose my powers. You and Zane escaped, and you still went back for the other elemental masters. You risked your life for the airjitzu scroll and lost. You won't even blame me for doing this to you. For once, please, let me be the one to protect you."

Cole blinked at their reflection before slowly shaking his head. "No."

Jay took over control and kept it, heading to their bedroom to sleep. "And, that's why I'm not giving you a choice."

"Any day now, Jay," Kai prompted, tapping his foot impatiently. Jay was going to take a shower again, but the ninja had decided that really only one person was needed to watch Cole and make sure he didn't disappear into the long sleep. That person being the only one he could possess in the event of an emergency (Zane was a nindroid, and they weren't sure how that would work out and weren't keen to test it; Lloyd was eternally exempt because of Morro; and Cole possessing Nya would just be awkward for everyone.)

"I'm working on it!" The blue ninja argued, staring straight ahead of him with an expression of consternation. Kai imagined he and Cole were mentally speaking to one another.

Finally, with a gasp and cut off shriek of pain, Cole stepped out of Jay. The two ninja glared at each other for a long time without saying a word, and Kai thought maybe they still had some sort of telepathic connection. Whatever it was, he was completely lost.

Jay, satisfied with whatever he saw, turned and swept out of the room shutting the door behind him with more force than necessary. Cole stayed frozen, glaring at the door with clenched fists.

"Cole?" Kai asked, touching his shoulder gingerly and very grateful his hand didn't phase right through him. "You okay, bro?"

Cole shut his eyes. Ghosts couldn't cry, but Cole seemed to be as close to it as he could get, and Kai's protective instincts were immediately on full alert.

"I wanted to tell you something really important," Cole stated, trembling with anger, frustration, and- and misery. "But, I can't remember what it was."

"Don't get all worked up. I'll try to help you remember," Kai said, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulders. Why couldn't it have been Nya or- well, anybody else for that matter comforting Cole? This was certainly not Kai's area of expertise. "You want to sit? Let's sit."

Cole allowed himself to be led to the bed, and the two sat side by side on the edge of the mattress.

"Okay, do you have any idea what it was about?" Kai began uncertainly, his arm still on Cole's shoulder.. "Any clue at all?"

"It was something bad, something really, really bad," Cole explained, shuddering with dry sobs, and Kai squeezed him tighter. "Why can't I remember? I need to remember-"

"Alright, alright, stay calm. We'll figure this out," Kai reassured, though it felt hollow in his mouth. Considering how jumpy and fearful this spirit that was his brother's shadow usually was, Kai wouldn't have been surprised if this "really, really bad" thing turned out to be nothing, but he had to make Cole feel better any way he could. "Can I ask Jay when he gets back? Jay would know, right?"

Cole shook his head. "He won't tell you."

Okay, that was... suspicious. "Why not?"

Cole thought hard for a moment but ultimately shrugged and whispered, "I don't know."

They sat in silence- until Kai brightened with an idea. "I know! If you possessed me, I would know whatever you know, so-"

s

"No!" Cole yelled, catapulting himself away from Kai to skitter to the secure corner of the room. He shut his eyes, covered his ears, and shook his head frantically back and forth. "No, no, no, no! I won't possess you, I won't. You can't make me. I won't. I won't-" Books flew off the shelves and the lightbulb exploded.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Kai scrambled to make up for whatever he did and calm Cole down before further harm could come to the room. Crawling forward on all fours, he shook Cole's shoulder. "Cole, I'm sorry! I would never make you do anything you didn't want to do!"

The ghost uncovered his ears and stared at Kai distrustfully.

"It's okay," Kai held up both hands to prove it. "But… can I ask you why that freaks you out so much? You always possess Jay, so what's the problem with possessing me?"

Cole's face scrunched up in unobstructed misery flush with tears that were impossible to shed. "I don't know."

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Kai said, waving his hands like he was willing away Cole's distress. "I'm not mad or anything. Promise. I just…," he sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't used to feeling so… useless. "I just want to help you, Cole. It's hard to see you like this."

Cole scrutinized Kai. Then, he moved to lean against him. In response, Kai put his arm around his shoulders once again.

Okay, so Kai supposed he wasn't horrible at the whole comforting thing…

That is, until Jay burst back into the room, startling both of them.

"Okay, ready, Cole," he said, holding his hand out.

Kai felt Cole shrink against him.

"Jay," the red ninja began, giving the addressee an appraising look. "Cole said there's something bad that you don't want to tell me. Is that true?"

"No." Jay said a little too quickly then swallowed. "Cole? You coming or what?"

Cole folded in on himself even more, and Kai was afraid he'd phase right through the wall. "I don't want to."

"We don't have time for this!" Jay exclaimed, clearly unnerved. "You don't want to go back into the long sleep, do you?"

Cole thought about it. "No…,"

"Then you have to possess me."

Kai stepped in, "Jay, if he doesn't want to-"

He turned his glare on Kai. "You'd rather he disappear for months? And have no memory of who he is? And the only way we know he's there is if he gets emotional and breaks something?"

"You know I don't," Kai argued, aiming a glare of his own at the blue ninja. "But, what is it that you're not telling us?"

"I don't have any idea what Cole's talking about!"

"Liar," the shellshocked ghost whispered, but even as Kai watched, his image flickered. Jay was right about one thing: they didn't have much time.

"Cole, I know you're scared," Kai said softly, his tone much gentler than when he was talking to Jay. "But, you need to possess someone so you don't disappear again. If you won't go with me, then you have to possess Jay."

Cole looked back at him as Jay fidgeted nervously.

Kai grabbed both his shoulders. "I'll figure out what the really, really bad thing is. I promise."

The black ninja nodded at that, and only then did he approach Jay and possess him once again.

Kai came to stand beside him as Jay took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "That's better…," he mumbled before staggering. Kai was just able to catch him.

Basically holding his brother upright, he demanded, "Jay. What is it? What is Cole so afraid of?"

Jay stared blearily up at Kai but eventually had to drop his gaze. "Don't know."

Kai shook him a little more roughly than he probably meant to, but he couldn't help it. They were freaking him out. "Jay, that's a lie. You have to know. What-"

Jay's head slumped forward like a puppet with its strings cut. Fainted.

Kai peered at the pale face. What are you hiding…?

Then, noticing the heat emanating from the body clutched against his own, he touched the back of his hand to Jay's forehead. A fever?

He quickly deposited Jay's body on the bed before leaving to admit for the trillionth time in his life that Nya was right. They had a bigger problem than they thought.

Jay shivered as he laid on the bathroom floor, too weak to get up. The vomit this time was a foamy pink- tinted with blood.

"C'mon, Cole," he begged, wrapping his arms around himself. "Talk to me."

Cole knew the one thing Jay couldn't stand was silence. Jay was aware of what Cole was trying to do- but that was the thing. It was working.

"Please, Cole," he whimpered, coughing. Blood appeared on the tile, but Jay only stared at it in disinterest. "Say something. Crack a joke about how pathetic I am. Tell me about the next recipe you want to try. Say something…,"

Cole was silent.

The next morning- afternoon- Jay was impressed he even managed to roll out of his bed. His body felt like an oven, and even though he'd fallen into a death-like sleep after cleaning up what he could of the bathroom, he was exhausted.

Dressing himself slowly, he hesitantly reached out to Cole again- but the ghost would have nothing to do with him.

"I'm doing this for you, Cole," Jay said aloud. "The least you could do is talk to me."

The silent treatment persisted. Jay was privy to his feelings- anger, despair, depression, fear- and he only hoped that Cole could similarly feel the love Jay was pushing back at him.

Jay stumbled into the kitchen- had the hallway gotten longer? Or had his legs gotten shorter?- to find the other four ninja apparently in a heated debate, though they were speaking in whispers so he couldn't make out what they were saying.

He got a pretty good idea of what the topic of conversation was when they all stopped speaking abruptly and smiled awkwardly at him in the doorway.

"Jay!" Nya stood up out of her chair and came to hover beside him. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he replied. He glanced at the food-laden table and almost threw up again. He was starving, but the thought of food coming anywhere near his aching stomach was more sickening than anything else he could possibly imagine.

"No, you're not," Kai challenged. His chair legs scraped against the floorboards as he stood up. "There's something bad going on, something you don't want to tell us about."

Did Kai always have to be so loud? There was a jackhammer going off somewhere in his head, and the earth needed to stop spinning…

"Jay, this is a very delicate situation," Zane explained gently. "You are putting both yourself and Cole at risk by keeping secrets."

The voices were blending together into one irritating, very loud buzz in his ears, and his stomach lurched. He had to- He had to-

"I gotta go lie down," Jay mumbled, turning to leave.

Lloyd grabbed his shoulder and whipped him back around to face the group. "That excuse isn't going to work this-"

Jay vomited on Lloyd's shoes.

The others shouted in surprise, and Jay was going to take the opportunity to escape- then suddenly he was falling, falling…

It didn't hurt when he hit the ground. He half-opened his eyes to see smears of bright colors passing in and out of his vision. Someone was holding him but he couldn't tell who and quietly, as if coming from a very great distance, he heard,

I'm sorry, Jay. I'm so so sorry…