Do you remember? (A Ninjago Jaya fan fiction)

Chapter 20 - Don't give up (part 1)

"So ! How did he take it?" Kai eagerly leaned forward to scan Cole's face as soon as the latter opened the car door. Not that the black-haired man didn't expect such eagerness for a full report on their conversation, he snorted at the impatience in his friend's voice nonetheless.

When Jay had bolted out of the monastery, both Cole and Kai contemplated for a millisecond the possibility of letting him unwind on his own, but an instantaneous knowing gaze sufficed to decide not to. Not that they didn't want the young man to have his own way of dealing with pain and vexation but they both concluded that he needed them with him, or at least he needed Cole more than ever. Kai's presence was still a gamble. A bold one. There was a mixed feeling of empathy and guilt in their behaviour. Now that Jay had come back, they couldn't imagine him leaving again, or leaving him to deal with the demons that had chased all of them in turn. Although Kai's way of welcoming a brother hadn't been quite irreprochable nor conventional, he had known he had been doing Jay wrong and had to make up for it.

So both friends just followed him down to Ninjago city. Just to check on him. Just to be sure everything was alright-ish and he wouldn't take any harsh decision tonight. Such as quitting or other stupid things that people do when they're upset.

"You know him, always so over dramatic but it went down well considering." Cole sat down behind the steering wheel and reversed the car. "He's done a lot of growing up lately. And so have you." he added with a convincing smile and a wink that tickled his fiery friend the wrong way. "I'm quite proud of you you know. You went from being a sadistic prick to an average friend. That was quite a long way to go. I guess."

"Yeah. Whatever. If you say so."

Kai kept in his core an everlasting abhorrence preventing him to concede that Jay was a good guy. Yes, the truth was - and he had known it all the while - the curly haired lad had always been a good guy and himself knew he had acted as a repugnant bully towards him for years. What did this friendly though clumsy little chap ever do to make Kai doubt his good character and morale? Nothing.

Except liking his only dear sister. It wasn't a crime - but it was close enough in Kai's overprotective mindset - though Jay had always respected her - and his - boundaries in public. He was never a show off anyway or one to display disgusting signs of affection for everyone to see. He was subtle, caring. Maybe he was too perfect. Too good to be true. That had scared him too. He couldn't find much fault in him, except his modest background. Ed and and Edna were adorable people and had brought their adopted son up with strong moral values. And love. There was maybe some kind of inappropriate jealousy from this fact.

Jay had never suffered from being an orphan - in fact he was never aware of it until recently and navigated his childhood and teenage life into a very happy unit around him.

Kai's hostility was stupid, but what else should a brother do? Nya was his only family then, and he was hers. If he had lost her, what was he left with?

Jay was a good person and a good friend. He could see how concerned he was, how the situation had eaten his soul up, how much he had changed in the course of a few months. He went away when things started to get rough but you'd only have to see the state of him - physically and mentally - to understand that he couldn't have survived otherwise. He had always carried the most persistant sparks of joy even in the darkest moments of their adventures. But now they were extinguished, crushed to nothingness. There was a palpable sadness, anguish on Jay's face that could never be seen before.

Kai was only feigning his prejudiced persona now, he hardly knew how to operate the change in attitude under the public gaze. He hardly knew how he could act on his feelings, how he could show him how much he esteemed him. How much he liked him. He didn't want to look weak, awkward or disgustingly sweet. He wanted to show he cared and trusted him - mostly - but that he was still keeping an eye on him, so Jay would watch his steps.

The shades Kai wore concealed his embarassment. He turned to the driver who had his eyes bound on the road. Finally twitching on his seat, he broke the silence:

"Do you think it's gonna work though? Do you think we'll be able to use the amulets? Jay may not be able to handle them. We don't really know that much." His voice betrayed doubt and annoyance at the fact that they were all in the dark.
"Well it doesn't hurt trying." The Jeep turned left out of the parking lot and followed the road along the coast. It was a pleasant and warm evening and the setting sun provided a pleasurable backdrop for their ride home. Cole sure would have preferred sharing it with someone else, and no doubt Kai felt the same.

"You know, we all had a go and none of us could control the amulets, not one of them, let alone two. They did not respond at all. There's bound to be a way to activate their power now that they've been repaired. Wu believes it. Who else but Jay? I'm sure our little guy has a lot of hidden talents."

Kai rolled his eyes. Shut up Cole, there are things I'd rather not know about Jay and his hidden talents...

"There's quite a bit we need to talk to him about though. He's in for a few more shocking news... Hope he'll hold on."

"Yup, we're all in for them I guess. Wu's always in for a treat, isn't he? By the way, Jay told me about something, a presence he could feel in the monastery, we couldn't make out what it was, but... Maybe he's lost the plot... I don't know."

Kai slumped back on his seat. The expression of his face betrayed his scepticism and he couldn't help but press his lips hard together, which Cole noticed from the corner of his right eye from underneath his sunglasses. The air coming in from the window was refreshing and played with his untamed locks of brown hair as he was processing the idea.

"Are the amulets still in at the monastery though?"
"No, Wu split them up."

"Who's got them then?"

"I guess he doesn't really trust anyone with this potentially lethal power around. My bet would be that he's keeping one with him at all time though. The other one must be in a safe place, maybe already with Jay's mother."

Although he wouldn't admit it, Kai was incredibly curious about Jay's mother, Lizzie. How she could stay away for so long, leaving an infant with strangers to roam the world or the underworld was beyond his understanding. She supposedly acted in order to keep her family safe from harm but this notion extremely repulsed him. There was a misplaced resentment about the idea that she could have been there for her son all those years but chose not to while he and Nya suffered the absence of their parents who didn't have any choice.

Cole went on: "Your mum is the last Master of Water, I'm sure she may be of some help with that, don't you think? She might be able to find a way to unleash the potential of the Amulet. She may even teach us all a few new tricks, who knows..."

Looking out in the distance, Kai's mind was getting lost in the realm of ifs and whys...
"Mmm... what?"

"Did you hear my question? Kai?"

"Yeah, sure. Well, I don't think so. Mum has passed on all her powers to Nya now, it is very unlikely she may be of any use for this."

There was too much to process and too little information on the way the Amulets worked, how to activate or use them, who could do it, how? How these old artefacts would be of any help with Nya. Those convoluted questions started to bother Kai to no end. It all seemed like an unsolvable puzzle, from which many pieces were missing or purposely hidden to lead them nowhere. They were wasting time.

WIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
A powerful blue wave came from the back of the car way above their heads with a piercing vibration and lit the sky with an eerie hue. It was not lightning but something wholly unnatural and hazardous which left them momentarily disoriented. The two men were startled, and although they were confused, their senses were on alert.
In an attempt to keep control of the car, Cole firmly gripped the wheel but that only made the car swerve violently to the right of the road, sending both himself and his passenger bumping from left to right, then rocking like dummies as the vehicle came to a sudden stop.
"Holy sh*t, what was that?" Kai let out. He turned around in his seat, looking for the source of light behind them in the distance."Bad news."
The driver answered while reversing the jeep as swiftly as he could, throwing his shades on the back seat.
"Jay's still back there, there's something wrong, look !"
"No kidding! The sky's cracking with blue streaks of light. What the hell is that? Do you think Jay did that? Why?"
"I dunno but it doesn't look good."