Jay, Kai, Lloyd and Cole are responding to a police call about an armed robbery at a bank. They arrive on foot and meet up with the police chief to get the rundown on the situation. While the building is surrounded by police vehicles, no one is moving.
"There's hostages." Says the chief glumly. "We're waiting on the negotiator."
The ninja exchange worried looks. "How many hostages?" Asks Lloyd.
"At least a dozen people that we can see through the windows."
"And how many crooks?" Asks Cole.
"One."
"Is that all?" Says Cole cheerily, stretching his arms out as if he was cracking his knuckles.
"That we can see." Clarifies the chief. "There may have already been help inside when it started, but we suspect it is just one desperate individual."
"I'll take care of it." Says Cole as he vanishes.
"Cole wait!" yells Lloyd with a hushed voice, "There's hostages! You can't be running in without a plan!"
"Good thing I have a plan!" echoes Cole's voice as it drifts further away.
Lloyd groans in frustration, running a hand down his face. Why does no one listen to me on missions?
"That cocky bastard..." mutters Kai.
Jay snorts, "Kinda reminds me of someone!" He teases.
Kai growls, but has learnt not to try and argue with such obvious bait.
Jay looks around the police car, trying to see what is going on inside the building. "It could be the safest way to resolve this." he adds more seriously. "They won't see him coming, he can just phase through the walls."
"And then what?" asks Kai. "He startles the guy and the shot goes right through him and into a hostage?"
"Have a little faith, he has a plan." says Jay.
Kai opens his mouth to continue arguing when Lloyd interrupts. "I hope you're right. We need to be ready, just in case things go south."
They all pull out their weapons, finding positions where they can better see the entrance.
There is the muffled sound of someone yelling behind the door. "I'm ready to surrender! Don't shoot!"
"Hold your fire!" yells the chief to the other officers. "Come on out slowly with your hands up!"
The door swings open slowly, revealing a man holding one hand above his head already, and once the door is open, he lifts the other hand to join it.
"Where's Cole?" mutters Kai with confusion.
Lloyd looks like he might be sick, all colour suddenly drained from his face. Jay frowns then looks back at the man seeing a tiny tinge of green floating around the guy.
Jay stands up from behind his shelter, "Cole is that you?" he yells across the square.
"Sure is! Told you I had a plan. Now can someone cuff me already, I've never done this before and don't know exactly how long I can hold him." The voice is strangely familiar, sounding like Cole, but not quite right. His mannerisms coming through a different voice.
Kai wastes no time running over to the man and pushing him harshly into the ground, grabbing his wrists and pulling them behind his back. "What were you thinking!" he snarls.
Jay runs after him, worried about Kai using unnecessary force. "Kai, no need to be so rough, he surrendered!"
"Ow." mutters the guy, face still in contact with the pavement. He then lets out a small chuckle. "I actually felt that."
"I'd be more than happy to give you something else to feel!" yells Kai.
"Easy big fella!" soothes Jay as he secures the guy in cuffs, trying to position himself between the two.
"That was so easy!" says the man as Jay helps him sit up. "I should do this every time, it's so much easier than trying not to drop my weapon."
Anger flares in Kai's eyes. "Absolutely not." He clenches his fist, debating whether he should slug Cole while he is still able to feel it.
"Maybe you should go and check on the hostages?" asks Jay. "With Lloyd?"
They all look back to where Lloyd had been positioned, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Shit." says Kai, anger melting from his voice before running off yelling "Lloyd! Did anyone see where Lloyd went?"
Hostages were starting to come out of the building, with police running around checking they were ok. The standstill square was now a bustling hub of activity.
"Where'd you think Lloyd went?" asks the man with a frown..
Jay sighs. "He probably ran off. He looked pretty freaked out when he realised what you'd done."
The man turns to look at him. "Why? This was clever right? No one got hurt."
"You know, I don't appreciate you encroaching on my territory as the guy who says stuff without thinking it through."
The guy sighs. "Morro."
"Yes, Morro!" Jay playfully bumps him in the back of the head, not enough to actually hurt. "Look, it was pretty clever, this time, but it needs to be a last resort ok? And you should probably get out of that guy before Kai comes back."
The guy sighs. "Yeah, the situation is contained. I should leave him."
Jay stands back, waiting, but nothing happens. "Cole? You can leave him right?"
"Yeah, yeah, just give me a minute. First time, remember?"
Jay waits impatiently tapping his foot.
Cole feels the breeze tugging at the man's hair. He feels his heart beating in his chest. The warm sun as it falls on his back. Even the cool cuffs as they dig into his wrists, the stinging of his cheek where he hit the pavement. He could feel, he hadn't felt in months, and he wasn't ready to leave. A tear trickles down his cheek and splats onto the pavement.
Jay's foot stops tapping. "Cole? Are you ok?"
"I can feel the wind." says the man quietly, voice cracking. "Just, give me a minute, please?"
Jay sighs. It's not like he could force Cole out if he wanted to. He was just glad Lloyd wasn't here to see this. None of them knew how hard this was for Cole, but he also didn't want Cole to get hooked on possessing people against their will. "One minute." says Jay, and pulls out his phone to start a timer.
A couple more tears fall to the ground, and then after about 50 seconds Cole emerges from the guy, visible once more in his ghost form. Jay puts his phone away, giving Cole what he hopes is an encouraging smile.
The guy takes a gasping breath stumbling backwards before saying "Damn, I thought I had issues! You people are nuts!"
"Yeah, yeah." says Jay before helping him up and handing him off to the nearest officer. He then comes back to Cole who hasn't moved.
"You ok?" he asks gently.
"Yeah." says Cole blandly. "Thanks. For waiting."
Cole lets out a sigh before starting to walk back the way they had come, heading towards where the bounty was docked. Everything felt fuzzy, numb. He had gotten used to it, started to forget what things were like before, but the contrast from the brief possession sent his mind spiralling.
It was like the first day, back in the woods, forcing his legs to move as he waded through fuzzy nothingness. The sounds of the square melt together into a static hum, he directs what little remains of his focus into moving. Getting away from here before he completely breaks down.
A blue clad hand bursts through his torso, the pressure pulling him slightly from his trance. He stops walking, turning to face Jay with a frown, unimpressed by his way of grabbing his attention. Jay's lips were moving. He needed to listen, he redirects his focus. "What?"
"I've been calling your name for the last two blocks!" whines Jay. "Are you ok? I haven't seen you this spacey since… well, it's been a while."
Cole blinks, thinking how to respond. "I think, I'm just readjusting." He passes his hand through a nearby signpost. Feeling the pressure. It wasn't the same. It wasn't enough.
Jay frowns at him. "Adjusting to what?"
"The nothingness." says Cole blandly before sighing. "Talking's hard, can we just walk?"
Jay nods, still frowning, and they start again, heading back home, not saying a word.
A silent Jay. He must really look pitiful right now.
When they get back Cole goes straight to his room to lie down, Dissociating to the never realm and back. Jay watches him go, then heads to the galley where he finds Kai fixing himself a cup of coffee. "You find Lloyd?" He asks as he collapses into a chair.
"Yeah. He's in his room." grunts Kai.
"Cole too." mopes Jay, swinging his legs.
Kai frowns. "Why? Cole wasn't upset when I left."
Jay sighs. "It was hard on him."
"Possessing someone was hard on him?"
Jay fiddles with his hands, trying to find the right words. "He hasn't felt anything in weeks, then suddenly he could, and now he can't again. I think it gave him whiplash or something."
Kai pauses mid stir. "He didn't want to come out?"
"I dunno, maybe?"
Kai's frown intensifies. "That's a problem."
"Yeah, I know. Well, it could be. Let's just wait and see. Not like we can do much about it anyway."
Kai continues making his drink. "Don't tell Lloyd."
"Wasn't planning on it."