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"Cole, Jay! You go right! Zane, go left!" Lloyd directed as they approached a three-way fork in the concrete halls. "Kai, come with me!"
"Right!" Kai replied.
As instructed, Cole took the right hallway with Jay by his side.
The woman they were after could have been anywhere in this huge complex she'd refurbished into her base. Whatever this aged monstrosity used to be, Cole couldn't tell— now, it was an empty husk, a maze of old concrete and rust.
"Be careful, guys. It looks like this place goes down a few floors underground, and I don't know if the building is stable enough that you won't fall," Nya spoke through their earpieces.
"It definitely looks a little sketchy," Jay remarked.
They came across an absolutely massive room, somewhere around the size of a small warehouse. It seemed to contain nothing but support pillars and air. Fluorescent lights bathed every surface in a nauseating white.
"I'm not sure why, but this is unsettling." Cole stopped running to scan the area.
"We've gotta keep looking. She could be anywhere in this stupid place!"
Jay continued forward, looking around the room in a similar way to Cole.
"What's this room even for, anyway?" Cole wondered.
A small glint between two pillars caught his eye.
"Jay, watch out for the—"
"Huh?" Jay tripped, stumbling over a taut string.
"—tripwire! Dammit, Jay!"
The lights melted into a threatening red as previously unseen doors blocked the exits.
"What?! I couldn't see it!"
A panel of concrete shifted, sinking back into the wall before being replaced with a turret.
"Oh, shit..." Jay scrambled to his feet.
Squares of the floor began opening downwards in patternless intervals. The turret came to life and locked onto them.
"Are you kidding me?!" Cole jumped to the side as the square of concrete under him parted. "'Unstable building' my ass!"
"Why'd this have to happen to us?!"
"Watch your step better next time!"
"This isn't my fault, Cole, I couldn't see it!"
"I know, just—"
The turret began to hum and spark, obviously charging something up. Cole followed its aim—
—it was pointed right at Jay.
"Watch out!" Cole cried, lunging at the blue ninja.
They collided and fell just before a bright red laser fired into the pillar that had once been behind Jay. They fell to the ground, and... kept falling?
Shit. He'd pushed Jay right over a trapdoor.
The master of lightning screamed, clawing at Cole's gi as they were siphoned into some kind of chute. Tumbling, they crashed into a few corners before being spit out into a small, empty, metal room, where they fell gracelessly to the floor, grunting.
This room was even weirder. The only light came from a few tiny, dim LEDs set into the floor. As Cole began to stand, the chute they'd fallen out of was sealed with a grate.
"Are you kidding me?!" He grabbed the slotted door and tugged with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. "Nya? Can you hear me? Lloyd? Anyone?!"
He was answered with dead silence.
"Nice going, Cole!" Jay shouted. "Now we're stuck in some kind of minimalist dungeon cell, and it's all your fault!"
"My fault? How is this my fault?!"
"I dunno, maybe because you SHOVED US IN HERE!"
"If I hadn't pushed you, that turret would've killed you! I saved your life!"
"And now we're gonna starve in a metal closet! Thank you SO MUCH!" Jay barked.
"What the hell is your problem?!"
"I think that's pretty fucking clear!"
"You—"
A dull buzzing resounded through the room, seemingly pouring out of the sealed chute. Both of them were stunned into silence. But it stopped shortly, and nothing more happened.
"What was that?" Cole gulped.
"How should I know?"
Suddenly, the walls themselves clunked to life. The floor rose gradually and the ceiling descended as each wall closed in on them.
"Are you fucking serious?!" Jay screeched.
Cole was forced to stop standing as they were pushed closer and closer together. He sat, back against one wall as he pushed against the other with his feet. Jay remained crunched, pushing up on the ceiling.
"Come on! It won't stop!" Cole grunted as he strained with effort.
Jay turned his gaze to Cole and glared. "If you hadn't pushed me, none of this would've happened!"
"Shut up, Jay!"
The walls were too close for Cole's legs to remain extended. He bent them so he was sitting crisscrossed and put his hands to the ceiling, hoping to delay their crushing.
Jay was pushed by the wall behind him and stumbled. He planted one foot directly on Cole's chest and continued to push, using him as leverage.
Cole wheezed. "J-Jay! I can't breathe!"
He ignored him.
As soon as the wall began to push up on Cole's toes, they stopped closing in. Jay's foot let up as he stopped exerting force.
"...Huh?" Cole pushed against the ceiling again, but it still wouldn't budge. Hopelessly, he allowed his arms to fall.
Jay grabbed his shoulder to support himself. "If we get out of here, I am going to fucking KILL YOU!" he snarled.
Cole glared and crossed his arms. "You can't blame all this on me!"
"I can and I will!" He pressed down on his chest with his foot again.
He coughed. "This is just as much your fault as it was mine, and you know it! You're the idiot who triggered the traps in the first place!"
"We could've gotten out of that if you hadn't gotten us stuck in a fucking box! Classic Cole, fucking it up for both of us— I hate you!"
Until now, Jay's words had just riled him up, but that stung in a way that genuinely hurt. "...I thought we were past this."
"Past what, you being an asshole and an idiot?!"
"Past us fighting like a couple of petty kids, Jay! What the fuck is your deal?!"
"I already told you—"
"That's not it! You're obviously just pissed at me! You've been such a shithead to me lately— don't think I hadn't noticed! What the hell did I do to you?!"
"You ruined my life!" He growled.
Cole paused. "Is— is this still about Nya?!"
"What?! I don't care about that, you— you—"
"Then what?! How did I ruin your life?! I'm dying to know!"
Jay blinked a few times, his expression softening slightly. His eyes drifted as he let up on Cole's chest.
"You don't even know, do you?"
"Shut up! Just shut up!" He stepped down with even more force than before.
"Fuck, Jay, I don't get it! I don't understand you! I thought we were supposed to be best friends!"
"Well, maybe we can't be best friends anymore!"
The words echoed in the box.
Cole's eyes widened for a moment before he closed them tight. "...Fine, then."
Jay let up on his foot once more. He took in a sharp breath— almost a gasp, if Cole didn't know better. He looked up at him.
It was hard to tell in the incredibly dim light, but he looked... surprised. Like he'd been almost entirely shaken from his rage to the point of nearly being vulnerable. "Wha..."
"If you hate me so much, I'll stay away from you, and you can stay the fuck away from me."
"...How can you...?! What is wrong with you?!"
Cole groaned. "What the hell do you want from me then?!"
"I don't know!" He screamed.
They stared into each other's eyes as they both panted. It was like looking into a mirror; Jay was just as confused, angry, and frightened as Cole.
"...You don't know," Cole repeated.
...And Jay bursted, beginning to cry.
"Woah— Jay?!"
"Shut up!" His voice wavered. "I don't know, okay?! You were right! Are you happy?! I don't know why!"
"...Dude..." A teardrop hit his gi.
"You piss me off so much! But I don't know why! It— it hurts just being around you!" His leg that wasn't pinning Cole down was starting to quiver with exhaustion. "You make me so angry! But there's no reason for it! I don't get it, and that just pisses me off more! So I don't know what I want from you! You've got me all figured out, huh? Congratulations!"
"Dude, I'm not trying to 'get' you! I feel like I don't know a damn thing about you right now! How is that good for me?"
Jay frowned. "I guess it's not."
They were both quiet for a moment. Cole wasn't really sure what to say. Honestly, he was even totally sure what he was feeling himself. He was angry at Jay for being unreasonable, of course, but there was something else that was eating at him, nameless and amorphous. Is this what Jay had been feeling? Something like it, anyway?
"I don't really hate you," Jay muttered.
"...You don't?"
"You piss me off, but I don't actually hate you. I hate the overlord. I hate people like Chen and Pythor, people that are selfish and uncaring and that hurt everyone to get what they want. I hate when I die on the last level before a save point. But I don't hate you."
"I don't hate you, either. I don't think I ever could, honestly."
"...Somehow, that pisses me off, too."
"There's no winning, is there?"
Jay sighed. His legs trembled.
"You look tired. You don't need to keep holding yourself up, y'know."
"If I don't hold myself up, I'll basically be laying on you."
"I don't care."
Jay glared.
"Don't tell me that pisses you off, too."
"Yeah."
"What, does me being nice to you make you angry, then?"
Jay actually considered that. "...Maybe."
"Well, how does that make any sense?"
"I. Don't. Know," he hissed. "I'm not like you, mister emotional genius!"
"Emotional— who do you think I am?! I lied to my dad about going to college because I didn't know how to tell him I was a ninja! I don't know what's going on with me right now, either!"
"Oh, you're mad too, then?!"
"Obviously! But— I... I don't know! Something else. I don't get it. I'm NOT an emotional genius."
Jay pouted. "Whatever." His grip on Cole's shoulder became shaky.
"Dude, seriously, just stop. You can sit on me. I don't care."
"Well, maybe I care! Maybe I don't wanna touch you more than I have to!"
"Ugh, you're so..." Cole took a deep breath. "It'll be fine. The others will come get us. At least we can breathe in here."
Jay used his shoulder to activate his earpiece. "Nya? Lloyd?"
"Already tried that. It's not working for some reason."
Jay became more serious and focused. "It's probably this box. I'm not sure what kind of alloy this is, but whatever it is, it's jamming the intercoms completely. We're just gonna have to hope they come find us."
"Should we scream?"
"We fell so far... I don't know if they'd be able to hear. They're all busy right now, anyway. Once they catch her, that's when they'll come looking."
Dread rose in Cole's stomach. He'd been so busy being mad at Jay that the reality of their situation hadn't sunk in yet. A single glance at Jay's face confirmed that he was in the exact same situation.
"If those trapdoors are closed again, how are they gonna find us?" Jay said. "We really could starve down here!"
"They'll find us."
"You don't know that!"
"I know them! They won't stop looking until they find us! No ninja left behind!"
"That doesn't mean they'll make it in time!"
"Have some faith in our team! You know how smart Zane and Lloyd are! And Nya! And Kai... uh... Kai's there too!"
Jay snorted. "If Kai's the one who finds us, I'll quit video games for a month."
They laughed.
"We'll be fine," Cole said. "Just trust them."
"It's not so easy for me to do that. I can't just brush my worries off like you guys."
"Hey, it's probably a good thing you're such an anxious guy. The rest of us get overconfident and stupid."
"I don't need your pity."
"It's not pity!"
"I don't believe you."
"Agh, would you just— just— listen to me?! I'm not a liar!"
"Yeah, yeah, you're so down-to-earth!"
"...Was that an earth joke?"
Jay gasped. "N— no! I didn't mean that! Stop laughing!"
But Cole kept laughing. "That wasn't on purpose?!"
"No! Shut up!"
"Oh, man, that is priceless!"
"Stop—"
Jay's leg finally gave way. He stumbled as his knee bent, making him lean forward and step harder on Cole's chest. They bonked heads, each grunting from the shock and pain.
"Just sit down already!" Cole insisted.
"I refuse to sit in your lap!"
"Come on! Why not? You'd fit just fine!"
"It's demeaning!" He shrieked.
"...What?! How?"
"It just is! How come I have to be the one sitting in your lap, huh?! Just because I'm small?! You... you... mister big... man!"
"Because you're already on top! Would you rather somehow switch positions and have me lay on top of you?!"
"I... no..."
"And you're not small, Jay, for fuck's sake! Where'd you get that idea?!"
"I'm shorter than everybody in the group! I'm shorter than Nya, even!"
"You're taller than Sensei Wu."
"He's a thousand years old! Of course I'm taller than him!"
"But being shorter than us doesn't mean you're weaker or anything!"
"Aren't I?"
Cole stared at him. "What?"
"Everybody's got their roles. You're the strong one, Zane's the smart nindroid, Kai's the ambitious one, Lloyd is the leader, Nya is the cool kick-butt samurai, and I'm the clumsy clown. Everybody thinks so."
"Dude, nobody feels that way about you. At the very least, I know I don't."
Jay didn't respond. He just frowned.
"I mean, yeah, you're kind of a dork, but I like that about you. I think we all do."
He sighed. "You don't get it."
"You think I'm not insecure about anything?"
"What would you have to be insecure about?"
"I'm not perfect."
"...So what do you think of me as, then?" Jay asked quietly.
"You're the creative one. You're inventive. And you're my best friend." He sighed. "At least, I thought you were, but now, I don't know what to feel." Cole tried to suppress the sad look he knew was on his face, but he struggled. "Honestly, Jay, I was so happy when we finally made up at the tournament of elements. I thought you were, too. Did I... just not mean that much to you?"
"Of course you do... I just... I don't know what's wrong with me."
"At least we're actually talking, now, and not just yelling at each other."
"Yeah..." He tried to shift his weight, but he struggled.
"Really, just stop holding yourself up like that, Sparky. And get your foot off me."
"...My back does hurt..."
"You really can just lay on me. It's okay."
Jay took a long moment to think about it. Eventually, he relented and slid his foot off Cole's chest. He carefully repositioned his legs so he was straddling him with his knees on the ground and leaned against Cole, putting his head on his shoulder. The arm holding his opposite shoulder remained.
This wasn't so bad. It was kind of nice, actually. "See? It's fine," he said aloud.
Jay's shoulders started shaking.
"Jay? What's wrong?"
He was crying again. "I don't know. This hurts even more."
"...Man, am I disgusting or something?"
"No! No, that's not..." he brought his other hand up and gripped Cole's side with it. "I'm not grossed out..."
"Then why are you crying?" He asked as gently as possible.
"I don't know...!"
What was he supposed to do? Was there any way he could make him feel better about all this without somehow offending him? He just put his arms around Jay and squeezed.
He flinched at first, but quickly melted into the embrace, body relaxing completely. Cole felt relief wash over him.
"We're gonna be fine," Cole said softly.
——
"I'm sorry," Jay said once he'd stopped crying.
"For what?"
"For yelling at you. And blaming you for all this. If it's anyone's fault we're down here, it's mostly mine. You even tried to warn me about the tripwire."
"It's alright."
"You're not mad?"
"Yeah, I was, but I'm over it. Not much use in staying mad. Thanks for apologizing, though. It means a lot."
"I thought you were gonna hate me after this."
"Nah, I like you, Jay. Probably a lot more than you think."
He lifted his head slightly. "That didn't hurt."
"Huh?"
"Every time you've said something nice to me lately, it's hurt. But that didn't."
"Well, what does that mean?"
"I don't know. Maybe I've been worried deep down that you didn't like me enough or something. But why..." He leaned away from Cole, enough to see his face. "Aw, no!"
"What?"
"Fuck, that's what it is... I... like you!"
"Uh... I mean, I kinda thought we both knew that—"
"No, you idiot!" He grabbed the fabric of his gi tighter. "I LIKE you!"
"Oh... Oh!"
Jay's mouth tightened into a line. "Uh... sorry, I— I can back off you if you—"
"Don't."
"...Really?"
"Yeah, I... I think I might like you, too."
"You 'might?'"
"I mean, I didn't really think I did before all this, but when you said that— I dunno, it's starting to click for me now. I think maybe I've liked you for a while."
"And you didn't notice?!"
"You didn't either!"
"What the fuck?!"
"Is that— are we— I mean, is that it? People always make such a big deal about how hard it is to say it."
"I take personal offense to that!"
"You're the one who just blurted out that you like me!"
"Well, I don't know why I did that!"
"This is stupid."
"You're stupid."
"Dumbass."
They stared each other down, eyes switching between each other's left and right.
"Whatever." Cole tightened his grip around Jay and tilted his head back.
"Ack! Too tight!"
He let up slightly. "Sorry."
"Are you trying to kill me?"
"Says the guy who's had his foot on my chest for most of the time we've been down here. But really, sorry about that. I just wanted to squeeze you."
Jay squeezed as hard as he could, but with one hand on Cole's shoulder and the other on his side, it wasn't very effective. "Huh. I get it."
"You're..." He almost said 'cute,' but stopped himself. Jay would probably hate that.
"What?"
"Uh... you're Jay."
He snickered, nuzzling Cole's neck in the process. "You're Cole."
"So, uh... are we gonna kiss or something at some point?"
"...Do you want to?"
"Well—"
"Heeeeey!" Kai's voice resonated down the chute. "You guys down here?!"
"Yeah! The walls closed in on us! Get us out of here!" Jay shouted back up.
"Holy shit, Kai found us! You have to give up video games for a month!" Cole whispered.
"Shut up!" He hissed. "When we get out of here, I'm gonna kill you!"
Cole giggled. He'd probably forgotten that he'd already threatened that.
"Okay, hang on. Zane's got access to the main computer or whatever. I'll tell him to try to... un-squish you."
"Just don't squish us further!" Cole shouted.
——
"Lloyd? You okay?"
He turned around. "Oh, Kai. Yeah, I'm just... kind of worried."
"About what?" Kai began walking alongside him.
Lloyd sighed. "Cole and Jay really haven't been getting along that well lately. I thought they made up, but..."
"Ah, yeah, I've noticed that too. It's really weird. They definitely were getting along better after the tournament, but it's like they're back to before."
"I just hope it doesn't get in the way like it did last time... Wanna help me sweep up?" Lloyd stopped in front of the broom closet and opened it.
Cole and Jay were inside, limbs tangled together and hair tousled. They stared at Lloyd and Kai with wide eyes.
"...What's up?" Cole asked casually with a forced smile.
Lloyd closed the door and kept walking.
Kai smirked. "Yeah, I think they're gonna be fine, actually."