JAY

Who could've predicted it: Jay's day got even worse! After being dragged out of the forest, he was thrown in the back of a van. He lost track of time as the van drove. Jay didn't know where he was when the van rolled to a stop. Then the back opened, flooding his surroundings with sunlight.

A young man with a serious expression jumped in the van. He took out a pocket knife and cut the ropes around Jay's feet.

"Can you get these ones too," Jay said, wiggling his bound hands. The man shook his head.

"Not yet, friend. Are you well? Are you hurt?" he said.

Jay narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. Very unwell. Very hurt," Jay said. The man forced Jay to his feet and out of the van.

They were inside a bunker of some sort. The top was open air, but they were a couple of feet under the ground. In one of the walls, there was an opening to a tunnel. Which, incidentally, was where the man forced Jay to go. Wires wrapped from the outside of the bunker and ran into the tunnel. The electrical work looked shoddy. There were so many exposed wires that it made Jay nervous to pass by the line. And he was the Master of Lightning.

The man didn't glance at the wires. As they went deeper into the tunnel, the darker it became. The man kept his hand at Jay's back, continuing to push him forward. Jay couldn't see anything. At any moment, anyone could step on the wire.

As Jay's eye adjusted to the darkness, he realized that the wire ran along the roof of the tunnel. That made him feel a little better...

Jay passed a few prison cells. All were pitch black inside. He couldn't tell if any of the cells had prisoners in them. Considering how eerily quiet the tunnel was, he bet not.

"Where are we going?" Jay said.

"To meet Doctor Kirk," the man said.

"Right... So that doesn't answer my question," Jay said. The man suddenly grabbed Jay's shoulder. Jay flinched thinking his joke caused the man to get angry.

"Turn here," the man said. He had such a kind and gentle tone that didn't match the circumstance.

Jay looked to where the man had gestured. There was a fork in the tunnel that Jay didn't notice. He continued down the path until he reached a staircase.

At the top of the staircase, the man opened the secret door. Jay's eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden sunlight. He stepped out of the tunnel.

Once he was able to see, he realized that he was back in Okuura. He was staring at the wall he climbed earlier that day.

The man tugged Jay away. They went inside the compound. Jay expected his final destination to be the Experimental Room he infiltrated earlier. But the man took Jay to a part of the compound he'd never been to before.

Upon finally arriving at Jay's certain demise, he was surprised to see... it was a conference room?

One person was in the room. An older gentleman. He was balding and had a permanent look of anxiety on his face. He had a pen tucked behind his ear.

There was a machine on the conference table. He tinkered with the boxy gadget. Cords ran out from the machine.

The man forced Jay into a spinny chair beside the older gentleman. The younger man untied Jay's hands, only to immediately re-tie him to the chair. Jay unconsciously began to swing back and forth on the chair. The older gentleman gave him an unimpressed look. He glanced up at the younger man.

"This is the Master of Lightning?" he said.

"Yes," the man said.

"My mom says I'm special," Jay said, twirling around in a full circle. The younger man put his hand on the back of Jay's chair to stop its spinning.

"I'm Doctor Kirk," the older man said, "And you are?"

"Not having a good day," Jay said.

"I'm sorry about that. If my research is correct, your name is Jay," Doctor Kirk said.

"How'd you know that!?" Jay said, "That's freaky."

"Isn't that common knowledge in Ninjago?" Doctor Kirk said, "You are the famous Blue Ninja, Master of Lightning."

"Fair enough," Jay said.

"My compatriot here," Doctor Kirk said gesturing to the man standing behind Jay (still holding onto the chair to keep Jay from swivelling). "Is named Soren. You have a lot of cuts and bruises. Should we patch those up for you?"

Soren finally let Jay's chair go. He crossed the room to where there was a first aid kit on the wall. Soren started to nurse Jay's wounds. Jay's confusion grew.

"Okay, I've been captured by a few villains in my day, usually they aren't this polite," Jay said.

"We're not villains," Doctor Kirk said.

"You tied me to a chair," Jay said.

"A means to an end," Soren mumbled.

Doctor Kirk put his hand on the machine.

"Jay, this is an invention of mine." He ran his hands down the cords coming out of the machine and held up a velcro strap. The velcro loop had a bump inside the fabric.

"I'm going to wrap some sensors around your head and arms," Doctor Kirk continued, "They will measure your electrical output."

"Well, thanks for the warning," Jay said sarcastically. While Soren used gauze to clean the scrapes on Jay's arm, Doctor Kirk ripped the velcro open. He wrapped it around Jay's head so the bump was on his forehead. Then he produced two more straps. Those went on Jay's arms.

"When I turn the sensor on, you'll feel a little buzz. It will send small amounts of electromagnetic pulses through your body. As the Master of Lightning, I'm sure such pulses won't be painful at all," Doctor Kirk explained.

"What if it does hurt?" Jay said.

"Hmm," Doctor Kirk thought to himself, "Then I supposed it's good that we've tied you to the chair."

Before Jay could protest, Doctor Kirk flipped a switch. The machine made a loud humming noise. Jay's body began to tingle. He giggled as the pulses surged through him. It tickled. Jay kicked his feet. Whenever anyone attempted to tickle Jay, it ended with him lashing at them. He hated the sensation. Anger grew in Jay as he laughed.

"Interesting," Doctor Kirk mused. He gazed at the machine. There were tons of dials placed haphazardly on the instrument. Doctor Kirk took the pen from his ear and wrote numbers onto his hand. Couldn't he use a notepad?

As time passed, the tickling sensation stopped bothering Jay and his laughter died down. Jay got really bored, really fast.

However, that didn't last long. Someone opened the door to the conference room.

"Doctor Kirk," they said, "It's time." Doctor Kirk sighed. He shut off his machine. The sudden stop of pulses made Jay's insides twist.

"We'll continue this scientific discovery another day," he said, taking off Jay's sensors.

"You know that Elemental Powers have already been discovered, right?" Jay said, "Pretty widely known, all in all."

"Yes, yes," Doctor Kirk said, although it was obvious he wasn't listening, "Soren, meet me back here as soon as Jay's settled. We have details to work through."

Soren untied Jay, this time, not bothering to bound his hands again (He did imply he would eventually take off Jay's bonds when they met). He made Jay get to his feet.

"Goodbye Jay," Doctor Kirk said, "We'll reconvene soon enough."

They retraced their steps and went down into the tunnel again. Sore took him to a prison cell. Weirdly enough, a specific prison cell. They passed a lot of other cells to get to that one.

Soren pushed Jay inside the cell. Jay fell to the ground, feeling the cold stone scrape against his hand as he stopped his fall. The cell was solid rock on all sides, except for the barred wall leading to the tunnel. No window or sunlight.

Soren locked the door and tapped on the bars. The tinging of Soren's percussion echoed through the tunnels.

"I'll save you some time. Can't use your power to escape. The prison's made of vengestone," he said.

"Why does every villain have vengestone? Where do you get it? Where's the vengestone black market?"

"We harvested it from nearby mines," Soren said.

"That was rhetorical," Jay sighed.

"I'll be back shortly. Do you want any water or food?"

"Why are you so nice?"

"Nothing then?"

"Both please," Jay pleaded.

"Noted. It was a pleasure to meet you," Soren said. He left. Leaving Jay alone in complete darkness.

"Okay, escaping time, let's see, let's see." Jay felt around at his surroundings. There was nothing in his cell. He felt all the rough rock walls. There was nothing to work with.

"Okay... So I have no elemental powers, and no airjitzu, and no possible way out of prison. Not to mention the annoying child I abandoned in Hiroshi's Labyrinth. Obviously, the plan is... wait for my friends to save me. If they bother..."

Jay sat down on the ground. He was so tired. He couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed; it was too dark. He wanted to fall asleep. Maybe he'd wake up and find out this entire fiasco was a dream.

"What a day, huh?! I thought being forgotten by my friends was rock bottom. Turns out it was a false bottom that gave way to failure and loneliness. But at least Soren and Doctor Kirk are nice. Yeah, at least the villains experimenting on me introduced themselves. Yah!" Jay laughed bitterly.

"You're Master of Lightning?" a voice said. It echoed through the tunnels. Jay jumped up. He searched his surroundings even though he knew it would be of no help.

"Hello?" Jay said.

"You're Master of Lightning, are you not?" the haunted voice repeated.

"Yes. Where are you?"

"Left, past the wall. I am your neighbour," they said. Jay moved to lean on the left wall. He pressed his hand on the cavern. It felt good to not be alone.

"I didn't realize I had a neighbour," Jay chuckled nervously, "You heard all that?"

"It is how I know you are Master of Lightning," they said, "Don't know if blabbering is part of the Elemental Power or genetic. We will see soon enough I suppose."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jay said.

"Never met a Master of Lightning who didn't talk constantly. My least favourite Master; hated working with them."

"Oh? You meet a lot of Elemental Masters?"

"I was once Master of Shadow. Not anymore though. My name is Eyre," she said.

"I'm Jay. Have you been here long?"

"Too long to keep track of. There were once other Elemental Masters. The Dragon Clan imprisoned many of us. My brethren have all passed."

Jay swallowed, trying not to picture the remains of a previous Elemental Master in his cell. There were a lot of prison cells...

"Well, my friends are coming. They'll free you," Jay offered.

"Are they coming? It sounds like they don't care about you," Eyre said.

"Yeah, but I didn't mean what I said," Jay said.

"You mean more of what you say alone than you do now," Eyre said, "Putting on a brave face when you know I listen. But I see. I heard."

"Alright, I'm just going to change the subject," Jay said, "Uh, what do you do for fun around here?"

"No fun," Eyre said, "Are you still current Master? Or have you given up power?"

"I don't know what that means..."

"The code! The code! Master of Lightning, do you not know the code?"

"No, I do not."

"You're parents never told you?"

If it had to do with Elemental Powers, they did not. His parents weren't Elemental Masters. Jay inherited his abilities from his biological parents. Both of which, he'd never met.

"They were preoccupied," Jay said. Preoccupied with having their own life... without Jay.

"When the Dragon Clan knows of your existence, it is imperative that you pass on your Elemental Power. Their ignorance has caused their downfall all these years."

"Can you give a full explanation instead of random bits of information?" Jay said.

"Only if you will not talk during my explanation. I imagine that will be difficult for you," Eyre said.

"I'm a great listener," Jay said.

"When I was Master of Shadow, I lived during an era where Elemental Masters were being hunted by the Dragon Clan. They believed the Elemental Powers were the key to turning a human into a dragon. So, they sought us out. For many generations, we lived in fear of The Dragon Clan. It was a dangerous time to be an Elemental Master. We all went into hiding, only reforming as an alliance when necessary.

"The alliance made a code to be passed down from generation to generation. If the Dragon Clan found out our identity, we'd forgo our power. That way, if ever you were captured, they couldn't harvest our Power. We all knew it was imperative to find suitors to pass our Power down to. For many years, Elemental Powers passed quickly, moving from person to person. The Dragon Clan could never know who held Elemental Powers.

"If you were lucky, you were never found. Many Elemental Masters were able to disappear. Many were never found. I was not so lucky. It was shortly after I had my beautiful daughter, Ebony. She was my beloved. But I heard that the Dragon Clan knew who I was. Thus, I left. I left her behind. When the Dragon Clan found me, they didn't know that my Beloved Ebony already inherited my abilities.

"The Dragon Clan does not understand our powers or how they work. They don't understand how we pass down our power. They thought I was still the Master of Shadow. They took me, the power carried on, without them knowing of Beloved Ebony's existence."

"You didn't want to leave her?" Jay said. 

"I wanted to protect her, as well as the power I gave her," Eyre said, "Eventually the Dragon Clan came to believe that the Elemental Masters weren't the key to dragon transformation. They gave up hunting us. You live in peace, because of many Masters' sacrifices."

Jay wondered why Wu never told the ninja about that history. He had no idea there was a time when it wasn't safe to be an Elemental Master. No wonder he didn't meet any other Elemental Masters until Chen's Tournament of Elements.

"Are Elemental Powers the key to transformation?" Jay said. Although he already figured out the answer.

"Yes. Although we cannot let them know as such," Eyre said.

"So, is Okuura the same as the Dragon Clan?"

"Yes. And now it is your time. You must cast out your power."

"Right. I'm sort of banking on my friends saving me," Jay said.

"You cannot. Before they realize you can make dragons, while they are gone. I'll teach you how." Eyre's voice was urgent. She gave up raising her daughter so that the Dragon Clan wouldn't get their hands on a dragon. But Jay already gave them a dragon. All of her sacrifices was in vain...

"I sort of, maybe, already, accidentally made a dragon," Jay said. On a bright note, he now understood why they wanted him and not Timmy.

"I see. Then it is even more imperative that you give up your power. They must think you weren't a factor. That it was an accident. Before they start hunting once again," Eyre said.

"Or I could let them use me until my friends come to save us?" Jay said.

"It's hard to let power go. I know very much so. But right now they think you are special. It won't be long until they realize you are not. And when they do, it will endanger all Elemental Masters.  They will be hunted, like all my brethren."

That argument was convincing. If Jay didn't make that sacrifice, the Dragon Clan would hurt his friends. They'd hurt Nya! The suffering of all Elemental Masters would begin again. And there would be another generation of descendants that grew up without parents. More Elemental Masters just like Jay and Ebony. Abandoned. With no explanation.

"Okay, how do I do this?" Jay said.

Before Eyre could explain anything, she gasped.

"Footsteps. Too late," she whispered.

Jay paused. He heard the footsteps as well. They were approaching the cell. Soren was back...

"Just teach me. I'll do it while-"

"No, Master of Lightning! They cannot know such ritual exists. It has to be done in private."

Jay failed again. He should've kept his mouth shut and did whatever Eyre told him. Why did he have to talk so much? It wasted time.

"I'm sorry," Jay sighed.

"You are not guilty," Eyre said, "Perhaps all will work out anyways. Perhaps your friends will save you." Eyre's tone didn't indicate that she believed her words.

Jay wasn't holding his breath. His friends probably didn't notice he was gone. Would Nya forget him? She has in the past.

It was difficult to grapple with: Jay always had Nya on his mind. And he assumed that she thought of him constantly too; they were dating after all. It must all be in Jay's head. Nya would dump him the moment another suitor came along, just like she did before. As soon as Cole became an option, she left him. He thought their relationship changed with the Nadakhan situation. Then again, that never actually happened.

Jay's pity party halted when a pair of green eyes popped in front of his cell.

"Lloyd!" Jay said. (Apparently, Jay could've held his breath.)

"Jay! You're alright!" Lloyd said.

"Quick, they're coming back for me soon. They can't do their experiments on me," Jay said.

"Zane and I will have you out in no time," Lloyd tugged on the bars (as if that ever worked.)

"Zane's here?" Jay said.

"Yeah, he..." Lloyd trailed off. He looked around, expecting Zane to be beside him. Lloyd touched his earpiece.

"Zane?"

Silence.

"P.I.X.A.L.?"

More silence.

"Anyone?"

"This is sort of time-sensitive. Can we hurry this along?" Jay said.

"I've lost communication with everyone," Lloyd said thoughtfully. He attempted to summon his power. His hands didn't glow green.

"Too much vengestone," Jay said, "You can't use your powers."

"It'd be handy to have a nindroid right now," Lloyd said, "Jay, I'm going to find Zane or a way to get you out of here. I'll be right back."

"Hurry Lloyd!" Jay said. Lloyd ran off.

"Shall I teach you?" Eyre said.

"But Lloyd and Zane are going to save me," Jay said.

"Are they now?" Jay jumped at the sound of Soren's voice. Soren stepped into Jay's view.

"How long have you been there?" Jay said nervously.

"I've been following the Master of Energy for some time now. Are you ready, Jay?"

"Five more minutes?"

"Afraid not. Chief Moses is anxious to meet you."