NYA

A/N This chapter marks the halfway point!

 Imma be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the middle of this story. Do you ever read through your writing and think 'Did I really write that? Yikes!' That's how I feel right now. Lowkey, not very happy with my story. 

But I do love the ending of his story. And I love my Kai moments (is that narcissistic? To love the character moments I wrote?) This chapter especially is a big turning point for his character (although it is subtle...) Jay is my favourite character but he's such a downer in this story that it's a slog to write about him.

 I'll keep uploading, though. For Kai and the ending of the story. 

Anyways, I'm super tired from a busy day and a little discouraged by my story. Sorry if that reflects in the edit. I'll do better next time, I promise!

Thank you for reading! 

"That doesn't make any sense," Nya said.

P.I.X.A.L.'s completed analysis must be wrong. According to P.I.X.A.L.'s diagnosis, electricity was being outputted from an unknown source. It was radiating through the Bounty's wiring. Then being released into the air, flowing towards Okuura. She claimed that the excess power was from Elemental Power. Which was impossible.

"But Jay's not here," Kai said, "That's the whole thing right now." He was leaning against the control panel on the bridge. Nya paced the length of the control panel trying to come up with any practical solution for P.I.X.A.L.'s claim.

"He must be, according to my analysis," P.I.X.A.L. said firmly.

"Except he's not!" Nya repeated, "Could the surge be some other electrical output?"

"No. Jay's lightning has a specific electromagnetic reading that differs from any other I've encountered. Jay must be outputting the electricity that is causing my glitches. He must've gotten on the Bounty while we were stopped over Hiroshi's Labyrinth. Why he's choosing to overload the system is beyond me."

"And he's what? Hiding? Waiting for us to find him?" Nya threw her hands up in the air.

"If he decided to prank us now, while we're all going insane worrying and trying to find him, I might throw him overboard," Kai said.

Nya pressed her hand to her earpiece.

"Cole, can you keep a lookout for a mischievous little brat? We have reason to think he might've stowed away on board," Nya said, beginning to believe that Jay was really on board. He wouldn't intentionally hide. But he might've gotten hurt and not been able to get anywhere. Or his inner turmoil got the better of him.

"Are you talking about Timmy?" Cole responded.

"P.I.X.A.L. thinks Jay stowed away while we were at Hiroshi's Labyrinth," Kai said.

"He knows he doesn't have to stow away, right?" Cole said.

"Impossible," Lloyd chimed in, "I saw Jay in Okuura. I talked to him. I had to go find Zane during the communication troubles, and when I came back, Jay was gone. That's when Zane told me that he heard where they were taking Jay. It'd be impossible for Jay to be on the Bounty."

"Then what is causing Jay's Lightning to surge through the Bounty? I've had to be clever with rerouting power so as to not overload my system," P.I.X.A.L. said.

"Can you trace what's causing the output?" Nya asked.

"The sheer amount of electricity is too overwhelming to distinguish on origin. I'd need an outside perspective, someone to look over the wiring manually," P.I.X.A.L. said.

Kai looked to Nya.

"I guess that's me," Nya said.

"If you are as overwhelmed as you say," Zane said, "Getting in proximity to the wiring of the Bounty could prove too dangerous. If you had Jay, he could withstand that amount of shock. Alas, you are without."

"I'm getting tired of not having Jay when we need him," Kai mumbled.

"So, what do we do then?" Nya said, picking up the speed of her pacing.

"Hope that I can continue to manage the circuits," P.I.X.A.L. said, "Perhaps the Bounty isn't the safest place to be while we're having these electrical issues."

"Uh, guys," Cole said, "I found the output."

Kai and Nya exchanged a glance.

"We're on our way!" Nya said, rushing towards the ladder.

"No, no. I'll bring the mischievous little brat to you," Cole said.

Cole came onto the deck, Timmy following him. Nya leaned on the railing.

"Well?" she said.

Cole glanced down at Timmy and gestured to him.

"Last I checked, that wasn't the Master of Lightning," Kai said, meandering up from behind Nya.

Timmy sheepishly raised his hand. He closed his eyes and turned away from his raised arm. A small jolt of electricity sparked in his hands. Nya's eyes widened.

"What does that mean?" Kai said, "Nya, what does this mean?"

"But Jay's the Master of Lightning," Nya said to herself.

"I'm sorry," Timmy said, lowering his hand.

"Pix? Help, what does this mean?" Kai said. Cole and Timmy came onto the bridge.

"This is most peculiar," she mused, "Perhaps Timmy acquired Jay's power during their time in Hiroshi's Labyrinth."

"How?" Kai said, "Elemental powers are genetic! This kid isn't related to Jay. Is he?"

"Maybe he's Jay's long-lost brother," Nya said. Jay was adopted, it was possible. Albeit, unlikely.

"I don't know how this happened," Timmy said.

"Unlocking Elemental Powers is a big accomplishment. Maybe Timmy here unlocked his true potential," Cole said, placing a hand on Timmy's shoulder. Timmy's downcasted expression melted.

"You mean Jay's true potential," Kai corrected, "Because he is still the Master of Lightning." Timmy's slumped his shoulders again.

"There could be two Master's of Lightning, right?" Cole said.

"Historically speaking, there has never been two Master of Lightning existing at the same time," P.I.X.A.L. added.

"Okay, okay, okay," Kai said, "So this means what? No one's answered that question yet."

"The Elemental Power has been passed on," Nya said. Which meant Jay must be... No, Nya would not allow herself to think that. There had to be another explanation. Cole lowered his head.

"No, I veto that. Next suggestion," Kai said.

"Can I share my theory?" Timmy said. Everyone nodded. "Mister Blue Ninja told me that I was transformed into a dragon. And Cole told me that dragon transformation is done via Elemental Powers. Therefore, my transformation was done by Mister Blue Ninja. He put his lightning inside of me, to make the dragon. This isn't my power. It's still his. It's just trapped inside of me. Before he was captured, Mister Blue Ninja said that his power wasn't working. I think that's because I have it. You said that the output of lightning is constant, yet I am not outputting anything intentionally. This power is being drained from inside of me and being returned to him."

As soon as Timmy said it, the explanation seemed obvious.

"The electricity is flowing toward Okuura," Nya said, "Back to Jay." Nya decided to believe Timmy's theory. For her own sake, she'd hold onto hope. She wasn't ready to lose Jay. No, she planned to have him in her life for a long time.

"Does that mean Jay doesn't have all his power available to him?" Cole said.

"I think that's why he was captured so easily," Timmy said, "If my theory is correct then, I should be dropped off somewhere so as to not interfere with your operating systems."

"Or you could learn something from P.I.X.A.L. and be smart about how you direct your lightning," Cole offered. Timmy gasped and palmed his forehead.

"I should've thought of that," he said. He faced the open air and thrust his hand into the sky. A line of lightning appeared in his fingers. It was small, not nearly as powerful as Jay's Lightning.

Nya turned back to the computer screen.

"Feeling less overwhelmed?" Nya asked.

"It is slightly better," P.I.X.A.L. said, "Now that we've got that issue solved, I've detected Zane and Lloyd approaching. I will set course to the Power Plant."

The power plant was in the foothills, meaning that the Dragon Clan could easily see the Bounty approaching. Since Lloyd figured stealth was their best option, they ran into a problem. How would they approach without being seen?

P.I.X.A.L released Zane's falcon for reconnaissance. The team watched the footage Zane's falcon sent to the Bounty.

The Dragon Clan seemed to be building a machine of some sort outside the power plant buildings. Parked around the power plant were seven trucks. They looked like repurposed moving trucks. Nya admired the Clan's resourcefulness. For not having much modern technology, they were capable of amazing feats.

It appeared that the entire village was standing guard. There were so many people. Most of them were loitering. They weren't doing much...

The ninja got the Bounty as close as possible to the power plant without giving away their presence. Then everyone got off. Timmy stayed with P.I.X.A.L.. He still had to release his newfound power from the deck for P.I.X.A.L. to better manage the electrical overflow on the Bounty. They needed P.I.X.A.L. to be semi-available during the mission.

Nya's mind raced as she snuck closer. She was going to see Jay again! Soon they saw the power plant building.

"Remember, no Elemental Powers," Lloyd said, "They'll know we're coming."

"The falcon has spotted Jay," P.I.X.A.L. said over the headset, "He was taken out of one of the trucks. They must be wanting to start soon."

Nya peeked up, trying to catch a glimpse of Jay. But she was too far away and had a bad angle.

"But we're not close yet," Kai said, "Can't we create a diversion to slow them down?"

"Perhaps our Elemental Dragons could pick up our pace," Zane said.

"And give away our location. I thought this was a stealth mission," Cole said.

"It's a rescue mission," Nya said, "If Jay gets hooked up to their machine... we don't know what it'll do to him." They didn't even know what the machine was supposed to do.

Everyone turned to Lloyd. He had the final decision in the end.

"Alright, we'll take dragons," he said. Nya attempted to summon hers but it didn't work. Zane's flickered to life, barely being able to appear. Kai's appeared. He didn't struggle at all. How did he do that?

Lloyd and Nya went with Zane. And Cole went with Kai.

As they approached, Nya spotted a blue gi. Jay was bound and had a bag over his head.

As soon as the Clan saw the ninja approach, they turned Jay around. Nya gritted her teeth watching Jay forced into the back of the truck. It didn't drive away but had the engine running idle. Nya thought it was a strange decision. Before she could try to rationalize that strangeness, Lloyd began relaying instructions.

"See that truck," Lloyd yelled, "That's our objective. Nya, Zane, and I will act as distractions. Kai and Cole will rush them as soon as there's an opening. We get Jay, we get out. Once we have our friend, we can regroup and make a plan to take down the Dragon Clan for good. Ready?"

"Maybe we should do a roll call?" Nya teased. No one responded. Nya's heart ached as she thought of Jay snickering at the comment. She missed his laugh. But she'll hear it soon enough.

Zane touched down his dragon and it disappeared. Immediately there were villagers surrounding them.

"Ninja go!" Lloyd shouted as he use spinjitzu to clear away the sheer amount of enemies. Nya followed suit, but Zane did not.

Nya and Lloyd started to clear a path to the truck. But Zane seemed apathetic. He wasn't in top form.

"If you're worried about Jay," Nya shouted to Zane, "I promise we can save him together."

Zane stared blankly at Nya.

"I remember our friendship fondly," Zane said, "And that makes my mission difficult."

"Fight, Zane! We can save him," Lloyd said.

Kai's dragon soared overhead, swooping towards the trucks. Kai was about to touch down on the truck when it suddenly sped away. With the six other trucks following.

Kai's dragon tried to pull up but it flickered in the air. Then in a moment, Kai and Cole fell to the ground.

"No!" Kai growled, trying to summon his dragon again. Cole got to his feet as the villagers began to close in on them.

"Zane, can you use your dragon to catch up to them?" Lloyd said.

"I am unable to summon my dragon at this time," he said.

"We have to catch that truck!" Cole said as he rolled out of the way of an attack. Kai was still on his knees, desperately trying to summon his dragon. He pounded his fist into the dirt, trying to get his Elemental Powers working again.

"Nya! The vehicles!" Lloyd shouted.

"They aren't done yet," she said.

"But do they work?" Lloyd asked. Nya took a deep breath. Would Jay be happy if she used their project without him? But it was to save him.

"P.I.X.A.L., drop project Avion," Nya said.

"Affirmative," P.I.X.A.L. said. The Bounty appeared on the horizon. Its bay doors opened. Six vehicles fell from the Bounty. Each member identified their vehicle and jumped into the seat of their bike.

Nya explained to Zane his bike's ariel functions.

Everyone sped off, except for Nya. As she sat on her new bike, she looked over at the empty blue bike. She had to remember to pick it up again after the mission. Jay worked hard on it. He deserved a chance to ride it.

She revved her motorbike and raced after the truck. She was going to save Jay. Nothing would stop her.

"Problem," Kai said over the headset, "The trucks are splitting off. They're taking different paths."

"Follow the one that has Jay," Lloyd said.

"I don't know which one that is," Kai said.

"Zane, any bird-eye view that can help us," Lloyd said.

"I noticed the truck that has Jay in it had a dent in its front bumper. But I am unable to discern which of these trucks is the proper one."

"Everyone, take a different truck. Only follow it until you see the bumper. If it's not Jay's truck, retreat and locate another. If it is, alert everyone to your location. Got it?"

Everyone affirmed.

"Pix, locate me to the nearest truck," Nya said. A blinking light appeared on her dash radar. She sped after the truck. Overhead she saw Zane's bike from the sky.

"Zane, I got this. Go take a different one," Nya said.

"I'm sorry," P.I.X.A.L. said, "I've temporarily lost contact with Zane. Must be the excess lightning in my system."

Nya spotted the car ahead of her. She zoomed around to get a good look at the bumper. Not dented. She turned her bike hard, drifting to turn completely around. As she drifted, a spike came up suddenly in her way. Her bike hit the spike and spun out of control. Nya jumped from her vehicle. She rolled onto the dirt.

She looked up to see the truck racing towards her. Nya scrambled out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.

Nya paused, trying to catch her breath. She checked herself over for any major injuries. The usual scrapes and bruises, but nothing needed immediate medical attention.

"P.I.X.A.L?" she said to her earpiece. No response. The headset broke in the crash.

Nya was sure she was safe to turn around. Where had the obstacle come from? She ran over to where she lost control. The spike glistened in the sun, water dripping slowly off of the solid structure. It was ice.

Zane did it. Zane sabotaged her.