Chapter Text
Everything around him was a haze, vision gradually coming back to him as the little black dots around his vision faded.
A shiver racked Jay’s body as he opened his eyes, his gaze caught a broken widow, or rather, multiple broken windows. All scattered among dingy metal walls with rust caking to its surface, similar to the windows, broken glass was arranged on the dirt floor.
Where in FSM’s name was he?
Racking his mind, the last thing the lightning ninja remembered was falling, from where though was unclear. However just before that was the tornado of creation, using it once more with his team to defeat their enemy.
Oh no, his team.
Where were there? Are they also here? Wherever “here” may be.
Surveying the area around him one more time, another daunting thought accrued to Jay. With a pull from his wrists and nothing but a loud clanking noise in response, he was tied up. Tied to, a chair??
However with yet another pull, Jay could’ve sworn he felt a spark course through his finger tips, that and the feeling of him actually feeling whole… the chains weren’t vengestone.
Great. Alone, in a warehouse, and tied to a chair with a chain, but at least he still had his powers.
Another thing Jay deduced was he still had his mask on, he guessed it would make sense however, since everyone in Ninjago already knew who he was.
Abruptly. Something, or rather someone, caught his eye in the corner. Stiffening in his chair, now at the mercy of this hooded green figure.
“You’re awake.”
A different voice from the green silhouette caught his attention this time. Turning, he saw yet another figure except this one red. And that voice. It sounded, familiar? Foggy, but almost a reflection of something he once knew.
Jay needed to get his shit together, and he needed to get it together quick.
Flashing a cocky grin on his face, he turned to the red one.
“For how long?” Though the words seemed to get caught in his throat, with the realization of just how scratchy his voice was. Ah. Right.
He was screaming earlier from the fall.
The red figure stepping out of the shadows and now into the light in front of Jay, he could finally make out his appearance and face.
Or rather, the lack of it. A thick red mask was obstructing the view of his face, and a dark red gi to match was loosely draped over his body. Which was quite short Jay may add, maybe around the height of a late teenager.
But his eyes. Jay knew those eyes.
Kai.
However he didn’t seem to have that gash on his left eye, and you could almost detect a hint of hazel in his gaze, the Kai that he knew only had auburn eyes.
“We’re asking the questions here.”
His voice felt rehearsed, like trying to lace it with something that wasn’t there. He was trying to act tough, and intimidating, Jay only scoffed at that.
“Something funny?” There it was again, that fake toughness.
“No, no, not at all.” Jay shot back condescendingly.
If he could keep control of the situation, then he could escape potentially easier.
Escape from who though? Kai?
Panic arose in his chest. Why would kai tie him up?
All though the person standing in front of him sounded and looked almost exactly like his brother, Jay couldn’t detect any hit of recognition in his eyes. Like Kai was staring at a stranger.
Another teenager stepped out of the shadows, this one a bit taller than Kai and in a black gi. Cole.
He was the one to break the silence however.
“Who are you and what are you doing in Ninjago city?”
Huh. That was about the last thing Jay expected to come out of his mouth, Cole, his best friend, was questioning who he was?
And Ninjago City? That made no sense. He, along his team, who supposedly were standing right in front of him, protected that place.
Almost everyone there knew his name, or rather The Blue Ninja.
Jay’s confusion must have leaked onto his face, because the next second Kai spoke again.
“Hello? We asked you a question”
Jay quickly replaced his expression with a grin.
“Uh, actually you asked me two questions. Not one.”
Angry was quickly apparent on the others face.
“Fine.”
What was that supposed to mean?
With that, both Cole and Kai returned to the shadows of the creepy warehouse, and were greeted with 3 other ninja that Jay just now noticed.
They started whispering amongst themselves, seemingly trying to make a plan. The girl with the cyan gi kept stealing glances at him, and Jay froze.
Nya. Or… a Nya? It definitely didn’t look like the Nya he knew. But just like Kai, she almsot had the same eyes as his yang.
Jay pushed that thought away, there were bigger problems here, like escaping.
He had been kidnapped before. Tied up? That was practically what happened to him every Tuesday.
Except now he had his powers.
Just like before however, Jay felt a singe of electricity course through him. Man, these kidnapers were amateurs.
“You guys ever heard of vengestone?” His voice carried through the empty room and each one of the ninja’s heads snapped back to look at him. Kai was the first one to answer.
“No..? Why?” The tough tone in his voice was gone, replaced with something along the lines of confusion and worry.
A smirk was now plastered on Jay’s face.
“Eh, it was more of a rhetorical question, I already knew the answer.”
The ninja tried to approach him but it was too late, blue light erupted in the now lit warehouse as the sounds of chains could be heard breaking. The chair Jay had once been sitting on lay in pieces on the ground below him.
Jay rose to his full height, a spark of lightning still in his eyes. He wasn’t by all means tall for his age, but in contrast to the teens in front of him, FSM did he look intimidating.
“How.. how did you just do that..?”
A new voice caught his attention, quiet but unmistakably scared. Jay turned to face the small crowd in front of him, each and every person in it had wide eyes and looked uncharacteristically terrified.
He almost felt bad scaring a group of people he supposedly knew.
Almost.
Jay took a step forward, in turn this caused the green one–Lloyd–to draw his sword and take hold at the front of the group.
“Don’t- don’t come any closer.”
Jay was a little taken aback by this, but nonetheless recovered.
The lightning ninja surrendered his hands up and showed his now slightly chard palms to the other ninja.
“Woah, relax, if I wanted to hurt any of you I would’ve already done so” Jay said in that same condescending tone.
This didn’t get the reaction he wanted out of the ninja, Lloyd’s sword still hanging in the air dangerously close to Jay’s face. Okay, maybe not the best way he could’ve worded that.
He sighed, “Okay that came out wrong, would you just put the sword down for First Master’s sake?”
Seeing as Lloyd still didn’t back down, Jay took this time to look around the room more, and I mean actually look.
Just behind Lloyd were the two previous ninja he had talked to, seemingly Kai and Coles doppelgängers.
Now again looking into the crowd, that similar chill Jay had once felt first waking up here could be found again in the eyes of a different hooded ninja. A slightly blue hue of artificial bioluminescence now making itself clear as Jay’s vision locked with the cause, Zanes eyes were cold. Just like the very element his Zane possessed.
The same thing could be said for his stance, lean but sleek, mechanically appearing intimidating to the untrained eye.
If he looked hard enough though, Jay could see he too was just as shocked and scared as his ninja counterparts.
Right by his side however was a very familiar sight to the lightning ninja, maybe a couple more inches shorter to his yang, but nonetheless still the same person.
Potentially out of everyone in the room, apart from Jay, she looked the most composed and ready to strike. As if what just happened didn’t scare her, but fuelled her to fight.
Now, Jay was pretty good at math. Maybe failing a couple tests here and there, but never the ones that actually mattered. And it wouldn’t take a genius to deduct that the last figure there, was, well… himself.
Contrasting oh so much to Nya, this Jay was practically petrified. Shrinking in on himself to the point where he looked to be the shortest one there. Or maybe he was just short?
His stance was shaky and unbalanced, like a gust of wind too strong could topple him over at any moment. What really didn’t help his case was the wet cat look in his eyes, face laced with the exact same freckles that ordained Jay’s face.
If you really looked too close though, Jay could have sworn he saw strains of light brown hair peeking through the slit in his mask, as if he wanted to try and hide behind his shaggy bangs.
It was like looking in a mirror.
Well, if your reflection was younger, shorter, and more timid.
Snapping his attention back to the present, Jay had two options here.
One, try and escape from wherever here was and find some way back home. (wherever there may be)
And two, attempt to de-escalate the situation more and talk it out.
Okay maybe there was a fallback third option of revealing his identity if things went south, but surely it wouldn’t come to that.
“Look Lloyd, just put the sword down and we can talk like-“
Jay’s sentence was cut short when the sword Lloyd was holding only sliced further into the air where he was a few seconds ago, if Jay hadn’t stepped back, he would’ve been toast.
As this happened, gasps could be heard escaping every mouth in the room. Even the other Jay who the lightning ninja hadn’t really expected to talk.
Yet again, this caused the exact opposite reaction Jay was hoping for.
How was he screwing this up so badly??
“How do you know my name?”
Lloyd’s voice was laced with emotions Jay hasn’t heard the green ninja mutter in a long time. Well–not counting the Cole incident a couple days prior to now–He was panicked, yet confused and worried all at once. As if just simply saying his name was enough for him to frantically attack in a manic show of emotions.
Now not even trying to mask his fear Lloyd yelled yet again.
“Answer me god damn it!”
Jay’s palms were still in the air, raising them higher this time to try and convey just how much he had no interest in hurting them.
“Kid, just try and calm down. Like I previously stated, I don’t want to hurt any of you. If you just stop pulling a weapon on me I can explain everything.”
This time Kai stepped forward.
“That still doesn’t answer his question! Who are you and how do you know Lloyd’s name?”
Even in this universe it seemed Kai still possessed the gift of knowing just how to get under Jay’s skin.
It literally did answer his question??
I mean which part of “I’ll explain everything” didn’t go through his thick skull?
Shooting the master of fire a quick look, Jay spoke.
“Kai stay out of this. And for the last time just drop the sword!”
This seemed to shut Kai up real quick however, and along with his team apparently.
If they weren’t before, every eye was now solely locked onto Jay and Jay alone.
Apparently the realization of this stranger knowing their (secret?) identity fully now just dawned on them, as silence soaked the air.
And for the love of the FSM that sword was still in Lloyd’s hand!
I mean come on, how many times had Jay asked nicely?
Jay sighed.
“Fine.”
Now turning his full attention to the boy in front of him. Taking advantage of the disoriented state of the ninja, in the blink of an eye the master of lightning abruptly stepped to the side and sent a blow directly onto Lloyd’s katana wielding hand.
Sending the green ninja slightly back and swiftly grabbing the sword from his now open hands, keeping his word of not hurting them, Jay drew it close to his chest then tossed it to the side.
Unteachable from both his, and the ninja’s grasps.