Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

'You had all the power! Now it's my turn!'

"What am I saying?"

'Nothing I don't already feel!'

"I can't- I can't control it!"

'I don't want to control it! I should've been the Green Ninja!'

The corruption was right about one thing; he wasn't saying anything he didn't already feel. The power felt amazing, every single element coursing through his veins, reinvigorating his very being with its potent energy. He releases another yell, charging up a blast of green energy and blasting back Skylor and Lloyd, separating the two. The corruption fades for another moment, a shocked Kai with eyes wide staring at the Amber and Green ninja; their surprised and terrified expressions looking back at him did something. Seeing them so scared of him, their friend, made all of the goodness remaining in him scurry away like a mouse from a cat, the corruption of the Staff of Elements fully taking over. Chen cheers him on from behind, encouraging him to kill the two; so Kai fights back against the irritating despot, turning and blasting the powerless man with a torrent of rocks, sending him flying backwards.

Kai's attention diverts back to Skylor and Lloyd, charging up the staff again as a laugh of evil claws it's way from his mouth; not like his one in front of Lloyd just minutes prior, but a loud and menacing cackle of pure chaos. He takes a deep breath, energy bursting from the seems of the staff as he prepares to take the shot-- and the snake head statue in front of him his blown over separating him and his victims. A giant jet emerges from the gap, blasting the crowds with lasers and rockets as Kai uses the power of Earth to move the pillar; finding the pair of them disappeared. No matter. He should probably take his leave anyway.

Regaining himself, Kai scurries to the exit and up the subsequent stairs; staff in hand and deep breaths being taken. Voices in his head speaking and screeching at him at a thousand miles per hour, a migraine starts to grow as he holds his head, a groan escaping his lips as the commotion begins to get more and more muffled, vision blurring as his breathing increases in speed; he's hyperventilating. What feels like a few minutes of pain in his head and chest passes, leaving just Kai and the Staff of Elements in the hallway.

'Why am I running?! I can kill them all! Finally get them out of my way!'

"No! No, I don't want that! They're my friends!"

'No they aren't! They're not my friends, they hate me!'

"No! They don't! Stop- Stop getting in my head!"

'No... no, I know it's true! They hate me. They've always hated me. They deserve this. They deserve what's coming to them.'

Kai's head suddenly feels clear, like a fog that was ever present was lifted. His motivation is clear: destroy the ninja. His 'friends'. He'll have to escape for now; he's weak, he'll have to regain his strength. Chen's never mentioned how tiring it is using even a few of the elements connected to the staff. He had to admit, he was finding a newfound respect for the master of the island; mad and insufferable as he was, he was intelligent and wilful enough to resist the power of the staff in a way impossible for Kai to. It was a testament to how truly villainous Chen was.

Kai stumbles, using the staff to catch himself as his legs weaken. His eyes squeeze shut, hand clutching the staff tightly as he tries to walk away, making his way through the winding corridors of the temple, trying his best to find an exit; or another secret passageway that Chen had probably installed in some random location. He could feel sweat drip down from his forehead, a wheeze exiting his lips as his vision once again blurred. As he looked up, he could hear faint whispers-- coming from the staff. Whispers telling him to use an element just one.

It was then, then that he understood. He had to use the elements to keep control over the staff; control over his health. He couldn't let it go. He couldn't not use one for a while. Or else it wouldn't be his. Frantically, he gripped the staff and shot a ball of fire towards a wall; and it worked, all ill-health disappearing from his body as his vision cleared in a blink.

Funnily enough, shooting the fireball had evaporated a bit of the paper covering the wall to show a secret passage, seemingly covered by the paper. Guess he didn't want to use this one anymore. Kai looks back and forth, seeing no-one, before entering the dark hallway, using Earth to close the passage behind him.

Drips of cave water come from the ceiling as he gets deeper into the cave, shivering slightly before generating a small ball of flame that rests upon the top of the Staff of Elements. He keeps walking down the corridor, a strangely straightforward one for Chen's complex style of hallways. Makes him wonder the reason why this place was covered up.

He keeps walking, curiosity increasing as he continues down until he witnesses a room; wide and open, containing a pedestal in the centre, and not much else to decorate the room. Kai is smart, he can deduce what probably happened here: Chen intended on building his underground chamber here- one used for ceremonies akin to the one he just exited- but the structure was too unstable and progress wasn't made. Luckily for him, he has the power of Earth now. He extinguishes the fire connected to the staff, and uses the Earth element to reshape the room, eliminating all structural issues and small braziers, using fire to light them and give both warmth and light to the room.

'Good. Good! Now I've set up here, I can build more tunnels... lure the ninja here. But part of me wants to explore as well... hmm...'

"Stop! I need to stop! I need to- to put the staff down!" He does, releasing the staff and watching as it clatters to the ground. There it was again; the sweating, the headache, the nausea. Kai screams in anguish as he falls to his knees, blurred vision catching the staff as he succumbs to the promise of no pain again; grasping it. And he's totally fine; no ailments.

'I should- I should never do that again.'

"No! No, I can't keep doing this... I'll hurt my friends."

'They aren't my friends! They're my enemies! They think I'm just a stuck-up, arrogant asshole! I'll show them! I'll show them all!'

Kai gives an exhausted sigh, panting in place for a few moments before he takes a seat on a quickly formed earthen chair. He thinks for a few moments, on everything that'd happened; it'd all occurred so quickly, he'd barely had any time to keep up with it. Finally, after years of feeling inferior to the rest of the ninja, hiding his true feelings behind a façade of arrogance, he had the power he'd always truly craved. His true destiny as the green ninja, finally achieved. Using the powers of earth, ice and lightning was nothing compared to the pure rush that he had when he used the energy powers of the green ninja, if only for a very short time. He hoped to use them more often, to destroy the Ninja. And hopefully, eventually; Lloyd. He didn't have to worry about Chen; he thrived in an environment where he had the power to manipulate which he did not with Kai right now. The Ninja, on the other hand; he could easily turn them against each other and sow dissent within their ranks. So he wouldn't be dealing with the disgraced master. Thoughts bubble throughout Kai's mind; evil thoughts. Were they previously present and only brought out by the corruption of the staff? Or did Kai really think them? Did Kai still think he should've been the Green ninja? Or was it just the corruption talking with Kai's voice?

---

Without their elemental powers, the Ninja and the elemental masters...they aren't exactly completely screwed, but they don't stand the best chance of facing the army of Chen's minions without them. Still, the powerful Roto Jet Cole and the people in the factory had been working on worked like a charm, quickly dispatching of the threats and allowing a moment of respite for the good guys.

Lloyd plopped himself onto the floor, both looking and feeling defeated, remembering their friend that got away. Kai...how could he say those things to him? He must've meant them. There's no way the staff implanted thoughts in his head. Deep down, it must've been what he truly felt about the Green Ninja. And that really did hurt Lloyd; made him feel inadequate. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Skylor walking up and taking a seat beside him, followed by the three remaining Ninja.

"You okay, Lloyd?" She inquires, a hand resting on his shoulder as the other three look on sadly.

"Not really," he sighs, looking up at her sheepishly. His cheek rested in his hand, which was then resting on his knee. "we stopped Chen, but now Kai is on the loose. He's corrupted by the staff, and he's not gonna rest until... Until I'm dead. And he'll hurt all of you to get to me. I have to find him!" Lloyd stands, determined.

"Woah, woah, woah," Jay speaks, ushering him back down. "Easy, tiger. We've got no idea where he might be."

"Yeah. Plus, what could you even do to him? No offense, but you're pretty powerless," Cole adds, taking out Lloyd's burst of energy.

"We all are." Zane finishes, a hand resting on his brother's other shoulder. "Logic would dictate Kai must also rest, despite what you say. There is no evidence that the Staff of Elements removes the body's need to sleep." Lloyd nods in response, just as defeated as before.

"I mean, how hard could this be?" Jay chuckles. "All we need to do is get that staff away from him." Cole shoots him a glare, while Zane stares back with his signature monotone expression.

"That is simple in saying, but not in practice. Kai is extrem-" the nindroid is cut off by an elbow shove by the master of Earth.

"What are you guys talking about?" a curious voice asks from behind the blue ninja, Nya wandering up beside Jay which causes him to jump though collect himself quickly, embarrassed. The antics do earn a giggle from the raven haired girl, causing Jay to blush even harder. An awkward silence takes over the group, with her face falling. "Wait... where's Kai?"

"He- He grabbed Chen's staff. He was corrupted by it." Lloyd says, another large sigh exiting his lips. Nya's eyes widen before a scowl enters her features, aggressively pulling her helmet over her head as she starts to turn away.

"Nya? Where are you going?" Lloyd queries, standing to meet his teammates. She stops her walk, turning back.

"If anyone can knock some sense into him, it'll be me," she speaks, earning a gasp from Jay as he frantically steps forward; curiously, seemingly ready to go into another one of his loud rants but pauses, changing his tune.

"Nya, we need to stick together," he speaks, uncharacteristically softly as he reaches for her hand. "and you can't take him on alone, he has the Staff of Elements." She looks at him for a few moments, before tearing her hand from his touch.

"I have to go. He's my brother!" she yells, turning back and towards the exit. Jay goes to chase her, but Zane stops him.

"She can handle herself, Jay," the robot says. A sudden fury flashes across Jay's eyes, narrowing as he throws his arms down.

"How are we all so calm about this?! Our friend is being mind controlled by a magic staff with all of our elemental powers inside it, and Nya is going after him alone! And you're letting her!" he shrieks, echoing across the room and bringing an awkward silence to it. It lingers for a while, with nobody speaking up, until one Sensei Garmadon steps forward.

"She is right, Jay; if anyone can talk some sense into that boy, it is her." He assures, hand resting on his shoulder only to be shrugged off by the blue ninja.

"Ugh! You all might be fine with letting her get herself hurt, but I'm not!" he goes to sprint after her, but Cole yells after him.

"Jay, you need to put your feelings for her aside!" he argues, stepping toward him as the blue ninja halts. "This is bigger than that, and as you said, we need to stick together."

"This isn't about--!" he can't even finish the lie. Scowl still ever present on his face, his gaze drops to the stone floor; considering giving it up and heading back down. But then his mind drifts back to Nya and he can't help but be worried for her. He looks back up, wordlessly shaking his head at his best friend before sprinting to the exit, after his crush. Cole doesn't even try to follow, simply hanging his head in disappointment.

"One's feelings can very easily cloud their better judgement. I should know," Sensei Garmadon speaks. "We can only hope that they are sensible with what they do next."

Chapter Text

"Nya! Nya, wait!" Jay called out, rushing after the raven-haired girl as she carefully travelled around the temple. She turns, angry frown on her face as she grabs him and pushes him against a wall, hand over his mouth. Jay found himself blushing, thankfully hidden by Nya's own hand as she directed her ear towards the corridor. Soon enough, she released him.

"What do you want, Jay?" she snaps, arms folded as she leans on her back leg. FSM, everything she did was so intoxicating. Now his reddened face was definitely visible, to which Nya rolls her eyes and turns away.

"I'm- It's just very dangerous, you-" the blue ninja is interrupted.

"I know! I can handle it!" she groans, pointing at his chest. "You always thought I was some- some delicate flower! It's why I broke up with you." Ow. That hurt Jay quite a bit. Still, he takes a deep breath; keeping himself from breaking out into a full blown panic attack.

"That- I don't think that was why-" again. Interrupted.

"No, it wasn't," Nya begins, finger aggressively pointing him again. "I broke up with you because you started a stupid fight with Cole, over something that didn't even matter! You and- and your stupid insecurities," she mumbled that last part, but Jay heard it nonetheless.

"I-- don't think I was the only one with insecurities," Jay mutters, earning a glare from Nya. "I mean-- you were the one who was worried about that stupid perfect match machine..." He was right. They both were. Jay shakes his head, a frown coming over his face. "What are we talking about? This is not the time. Look, I'm not trying to- to baby you. Kai's got every single element, and we don't even know what he actually wants. Judging by what he said to Lloyd, it's probably something to do with ending him..." he sighs, eyes widening as his hand comes to cover his face, back leaning against the wall and sliding down until he's sat. Nya turns, looking over at him with sympathy for a few moments before sitting beside him.

"I'm-- sorry for yelling at you," she speaks, very quietly. Jay gives a small smile from the corner of his lips, shrugging. He opens his mouth, but she stops him by speaking first. "Jay." The two were dating for long enough for Jay to realise what that tone meant: do not try to stop me from apologising. "I kinda just...dumped a bunch of stuff on you. That wasn't fair."

"Despite it being true," Jay speaks, small chuckle escaping him, gaze still fixated on the carpet. Nya rolls her eyes again, head tilting to face the boy. "we both let our insecurities get in the way of being reasonable." Nya simply nods, small smile creeping over her lips as well, visible behind her helmet which she soon pulls back over her head, plopping it on the floor beside her. There he went again, falling for her.

Everything about her drove Jay crazy; fiery and yet kind-hearted personality, bobbed hair, red lips and slightly toughened features; though still soft in their own way.

Same could be said for Nya, except she fell harder and much more secretively. Perhaps she didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was in love with him. Him and his goofiness, his ginger hair, his dumb little eyebrow slit; Nya always hated romance movies, but Jay made her love them.

"I just want to find my brother," she whispers, making Jay immediately stop himself from crying and wrap an arm around her. "if he's still even in there."

"Hey... Hey, Nya," a hand gently cups her cheek, softly tilting her head to face him. "We're gonna get him back. Or, you will. I'll be here if you need help."

"Thanks, Jay," Nya smiles, leaning her head against his shoulder for a moment before picking up her helmet and standing. "Right. Let's- Let's go find Kai,"

"Yes, let's," Jay smirks, standing beside her confidently.

---

The former noodle master found himself in a very humiliating position, tied up to a pillar of stone, left in the corner of the room. It was like the alliance just forgot he was there! It was almost like they were busy with other things. Chen's mind drifted back to seeing Kai try to kill his daughter and Lloyd. Something about that made him proud, made him... sorta wish that Kai was his son instead of Skylor as his daughter.

A strange sound of slicing broke the man out of his trance, looking to his side to see his loyal servant Clouse; probably made a break for it in the commotion, he'd returned to free his master.

"Clouse!" or not. Garmadon tackled the moustachioed man to the floor, pinning his hands behind his back swiftly and covering his mouth. Lloyd swiftly swooped in to restrain Chen's free hand as well, watching as his Father restrained his rival. Clouse managed to wriggle himself out of the hold of Garmadon, but surprisingly didn't ready a spell of dark purple magic.

"Why don't we make a deal, Garmadon?" he speaks in that odd voice of his. "Kai has Chen's staff; you want Kai, we want the staff."

"What are you proposing?" the older sensei scowls.

"I'm suggesting a temporary truce," the sorcerer snaps back. "we both want to find Kai. So until we do, we can... team up." Garmadon looks to his son, who nods.

"Release him," Garmadon speaks, and Lloyd quickly follows by untying Chen's binds. Garmadon keeps his deep scowl locked on Clouse; the only immediate threat from the pair of them. He points at him, deep voice slightly intimidating even Lloyd. "If you even step a foot out of line, you're out."

"Of course, Sensei Garmadon," Clouse smirks, the name almost mocking the old master.

Meanwhile, Skylor was sat on the opposite side of the room with a sombre expression on her face. After much deliberation, Cole walked up beside her and struck up a conversation.

"Hey," he spoke, friendly smile on his face, swishing his wavy hair out of his face.

"Hi." she speaks, rather coldly causing Cole to retract slightly. She sighs, looking over at him. "Sorry, sorry, I-"

"You're tense," Cole speaks, giving a knowing nod. "because you can't trust your Dad and Kai got corrupted by the staff." A nod from her. "It'll be okay,"

"Okay?" she scoffs, turning away. "Everyone around me either wants to use me for their own gain or they disappear. Maybe I'm cursed."

"Cursed?" Cole scoffs at the suggestion. "No way. Unlucky? Sure. But it's turning around, Skylor, I just know it is." He gives a positive smile, hand slapping onto her shoulder. "You've got us! Me, Lloyd, Zane... Hell, even Jay. And Nya too! FSM knows she could probably use a gal friend," Skylor gives a chuckle at Cole's comment, a sigh exiting her lips.

"Thanks, Cole. I needed that."

"No problem, anytime." Swiftly, Cole heaves himself up. "Should probably see what all that commotion is all about over there." He points towards Chen. "Wanna come?" Skylor glances over, rolling her eyes and silently shaking her head. The black ninja nods in understanding, wandering over to the corner.

Skylor gives a heavy sigh as he leaves, hugging her legs close as she sees her Dad from across the room. Eyes narrow at him, tempted to go up to him and give him a piece of her mind about this whole mess. She didn't even know if it was a good idea, going up to her dad just to chew him out for things he didn't even regret.

--

With Nya sprinting from corridor to corridor, it was no wonder Jay was struggling to keep up. He wanted his friend back too, but damn, she was speeding! Eventually, he had to stop; he felt exhausted. Fit to burst.

"Nya~" his voice trails off into a wheeze, only just catching her attention as he tumbles to his knees. She sprints back over to him, not even a hint of tiredness in her voice. "I'm- I- I-"

"Need a break?" she sighed, plopping down opposite him; he furiously nodded. "Okay," Jay gave a groan, clutching his chest. The Samurai raised an eyebrow, before another sigh, a hand laying on her ex-boyfriend's back. "Jay."

"Nya?" he replies cluelessly, tears welling up in his eyes. The two stare at each other for a few seconds, with Nya giving encouraging nods to him. Finally, he got the point and straightened his back. "Ah...that's- that's much better."

"Jay," she speaks, rather firmly. Not her usual, crazed angry tone when she was irritated. This was more of a telling-you-off tone. "You only brought one binder, didn't you?"

"Whaaat? Nooo..." Jay's eyes dart around, sweat dripping from his brow

"Jay."

"...I brought two! Both of them were- were the most flexible ones I could find."

"How long have you been wearing it?" Nya's arms folded, firm looking still present.

"I dunno...like, a week..."

"Jay!"

"What?! I've bound for way longer before."

"Yeah, and you didn't want to get out of bed for another week after,"

"Well...what do you want me to do?" Jay shrugged, cheeky smirk on his face; believing he'd checkmated her.

Nya gives a very heavy sigh, shuffling to lean her back against the wall. "You need to take a break for a bit. I'll... wait here."

"Really?" Jay is in genuine disbelief. This was between his wellbeing and her brother, who she held more dearly than anyone else. Sort of surprised that she'd pause her determined chase just for him.

"Yes, really." she snaps. "Now...uh...get it off. Before I change my mind. I'll look away," Jay gives an odd side-eye, before peeling off the top half of his gi and removing the binder from his chest. Needless to say, a large breath was taken after its removal. Nya's foot involuntarily tapped against the floor as her head was tilted away, very anxious for her brother; but Jay's health was also important; don't want more danger to him than...well, her brother and his elements.

Though, Nya did find her neck very slowly turning to take just a tiny peak at her ex; almost immediately catching his eye and causing the both of them to quickly shift their heads back to not face each other at all.

The pair barely spoke for another fifteen minutes.

Kai sat on his throne, staff in hand, bored. He needed to bide his time, wait for someone to come after him first. Problem was, he's impatient and wanted his ex-friends heads on spikes as soon as humanly possible. His neck twitches slightly, eyes blinking between their regular chocolate brown and the staff's bright red glow.

'Why am I waiting?! I need to kill them all now!'

He doesn't even bother to argue with himself, standing and pacing around the room as ideas formed in his mind. And then something hit him; he had all the power. Neuro's mind powers gave him telepathy, so perhaps he could send a message to Lloyd? No, he's in charge, he won't fall for it. Cole? No, he's too smart and not nearly impulsive enough to immediately go after him like this. Maybe his sister? Wait...yes, his sister. She was smart but sort of gullible sometimes and probably easy to manipulate into coming after him; desperation to get him back and all.

He taps the staff against the ground and small waves go from the object to his brain, beginning the message that'd tell Nya where he was.

"Nya! Help, it's the staff! I need- I need help! I think- I think I can send you an image of where I am!"

Obviously, he portrays it like he's in trouble. It'd probably make it easier to get them in to-- do whatever he was gonna do to them.

"Jay!" Nya suddenly stops during he rush, holding her head hard as she listens to the message that was sent to her by her brother. "I know where he is! Come on!" She'd decided that this is what they had to do, go after Kai right now. This might be one of their only chance to get him, so she'd decided to take it.

She sprinted ahead, eager to get him once and for all; and Jay followed close behind, also very eager but more cautious than energetic. He stopped her outside as they approached the secret door, pulling Nya aside to have a short conversation.

"Nya, we need to be ready for whatever when it comes to Kai, okay?" he nods, and she nods back...

And the door slides open, rock shifting with Kai floating up the stairs with a weird smirk in his face and the staff fuelled up with white gravity energy. Yeah, this was going to be harder than they thought.

Chapter Text

Nya's eyes widen as she looks up at her floating brother, exiting a hole that seemingly just appeared in the wall with a smirk on his face and the staff charged with a weird white energy; given the fact he was floating just above the ground, she could guess it was gravity energy.

"Kai..." she speaks softly, ripping her helmet off and chucking it to the floor, much to Jay's confusion and dismay. "Kai, it's me, your sister." Her words cause Kai to tilt his head, a piercing laugh from his lips .

"You think I don't know that?" he flies forward, white energy dissipating and being replaced with a blue ball of unstable energy; one very recognisable to Jay, a bolt of lightning shooting at him as he only just dodges. "You think I don't know what I'm doing?!" He yells at them, switching to ice as a blast was released from the top of the staff, though he is promptly tackled to the ground by Nya.

"I know this isn't you, brother!" she shouts at him, pinning his wrist down as she tries to take the staff, but his grip is like iron. "My brother wouldn't want to hurt me!" Soon enough, Kai's grip becomes literally iron as he uses metal, coating his entire body with steel before he effortlessly shoves her off of him. She lands a ways away, crawling back before standing.

"Maybe you don't know your brother as well as you thought!" Kai yells back, an evil laugh from his mouth as several balls of green energy shoot at her from the staff. Jay recovers, copying Nya's previous move and tackling Kai, though from behind... and he successfully disarms Kai, grabbing the staff. His red eyes flicker for a few moments, as Kai lies on all fours on the ground. Jay stares into the crystal of the staff, his own eyes flickering red as Kai stares at the carpet.

"Jay, you have to resist it!" Nya calls, prompting Jay to look over at her, red eyes ablaze. Suddenly, Kai is wresting for the staff with Jay; the blue ninja catches a glimpse of him as they're wresting, the spikey haired boy looking- for lack of a better phrase- like shit; he was sweating profusely, he had heavy bags under his eyes and desperate whimpers escaped his mouth. Despite him looking awful, his drive was clearly more than Jay's as he soon tore the staff of elements from the grip of the blue Ninja and sent him flying backwards with a ball of green energy. "Kai... please!" Nya wasn't quite sure of what to say. Going into this she was certain that This was totally not of Kai's volition, and this staff was controlling him somehow. Now she wasn't so sure-- though she supposes she can take some solace in the fact that, either way, he is clearly not in his right mind. Kai takes steps closer to her, staff raised above his head with a ball of fire burning at its top.

"I was... stuck with you, for a decade." Kai spits, red eyes glinting in the light. Nya's hands cover her mouth in shock, tears brimming in her eyes as she looks away. "I had to raise you! You stole my childhood!" Nya ducks, hands shifting from her mouth to her head before Jay gives Kai a shove from behind, taking Nya gently by the arm and helping her stand. "And you!" He points the staff at the ginger. "Obsessing over my sister as if she actually cares about you! No wonder she broke up with you! No wonder she hates you!" Jay turns his head momentarily, slightly hurt by the statement though still trying to stay aware of the effect the staff has on Kai.

"Kai, this isn't you!" he yells, shielding a shutting down Nya behind him.

"I disagree!" the red ninja yells, shooting lightning at them, but Jay dodges. "I should've been the Green Ninja! I tried my hardest! I trained all I could to be the best for you! For the others! For Sensei! But what do I get? Made fun of! You mocked me for trying to be better than I was!" Jay remains silent; he isn't lying. He just never realised how it affected him. Never thought it hurt him this much. "You know what we call you Jay? The Annoying Ninja. Because that's all you are. An annoying stain on our team!" Now it was Jay's turn to nearly break down, turning away, brain working fast trying to think of a way out of this. He swiftly grabs a knife from his suit, throwing it at Kai; it hits, slicing his abdomen giving the pair the opportunity to run, which they do.

Nya looks back to see Kai holding the area he was sliced, not bothering to chase. He knows he's hurt them. He probably just wants to see the consequences.

As he watches them leave, Kai lets out a scream as he goes to slam the staff onto the ground but can't; not mentally strong enough.

"All- All those things I said! I didn't mean them! I love my sister! I love Jay, he's my brother!"

'They were all true! What I really felt. FSM, this Staff is amazing. It's like I can finally cut loose, say what I need to say!'

"Stop! I need to- I need to destroy this. I can't do this anymore. I hurt them. I- I- I- I didn't mean any of that..."

'Ugh, who cares! The power is amazing!'

In truth, he'd be lying if he said he'd never at least thought of what the corruption of the Staff had made him say. But, in passing. In short bursts. He never really thought of Nya as a burden on him, or Jay as the 'Annoying Ninja'. He gives a growl to himself, before shifting the Earth again to enter his hideout.

---

"Can you tell me why we're trusting Chen and Clouse, again?" Cole inquires to Garmadon, glaring from across the room at the two as they talk.

"We aren't," the older man says, turning to the black Ninja. "our interests just happen to align for now; he wants the Staff, we want Kai. He will undoubtedly try to sew mistrust within the alliance, but we need all the help we can get. Believe me, I have my eye on them more than anyone." He definitely does; after his first sentence, he turns to face them and his gaze does not drift even for a second.

Cole continues to stare at the older master for a few moments, before shrugging and turning away. He whistles as he mills about, checking up on the elemental masters before coming over to Skylor and Lloyd, who seem to be planning something. He saunters over, loud whistling as he peers over their shoulders seeming to get under Skylor's skin.

"Do you mind?" she snaps, causing Cole to abruptly stop and hold his hands up defensively. She fully turns to him, finger poking his chest, which then catches Lloyd's attention. "How are you so...happy? Nya and Jay went to get themselves killed, and-"

Almost right on cue, Jay bursts through the doors to the underground temple with Nya close behind; their hands clasped together. They both seem very out of breath, especially Nya; but in a way dissimilar from Jay. She seemed more panicked than out of breath, eyes wide in horror; clinging to Jay as his arms wrap around her. Despite her hysteric state, Cole couldn't help but chuckle at the lovebirds.

He never actually had feelings for Nya, his fighting with Jay was only really in reaction to Jay's sudden antagonising. If he could go back and do or say things differently, he would-- and he's pretty confident in saying the other two people involved would as well. They were just dumb teenagers. Late teenagers, but teenagers nonetheless. Reckless, and still kinda dumb. Very dumb.

He gave a smile, walking up to them with a positive aura emanating from the him; Jay was having none of it, shooing him off. Cole's hands raised in defence again, shuffling backwards; though he does give an understanding nod. He watches from afar, jumping as one master of metal sneaks up behind him.

"What is happening? Is Samurai woman not angry at blue man?" Karlof muses, scratching his head with his big gloved hand. Cole shakes his head, giving him a slight nudge.

"Their relationship is pretty complicated," Cole sighs. "best not to question it. C'mon, let's do some repairs on the Roto Jet." The black ninja guides Karlof over to their jet, grasping hammers and parts to begin their repairs on the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Skylor is walking up to the recently returned pair with concern painting everything she did; actions, words body language. Jay was about to shoo Skylor off as well, before Nya emerges from his grip, wiping her eyes.

"Kai, he-" she stops herself; conflicted and still not even sure if she believes that he ever said those things. She doesn't want to, at the very least. Her brother, the person she's been closest to for her whole life... there's no way he actually meant those things, right?

"He said some pretty awful things," Jay speaks softly, a tone that surprised Skylor as she had never heard it from the zap-trap before. He must really care about her if he's resisting the urge to make incessant jokes like he normally does. Though, she is slightly surprised by how close they seem. She'd heard they weren't exactly on the best of terms.

"He said- He said I stole his childhood. That he was stuck with me," she sobs out, prompting Jay to hold her close, pressing a light kiss to her forehead.

Skylor gave a concerned look to Lloyd, who simply put his head in his hands and walked away from the conversation. Poor kid, she thought, all this responsibility put on him simply from the colour of his gi.

"You okay?" she asks, following him as he trudges away.

"This is...crazy," he speaks, eyes glazed as he looks up at the red haired girl. "It's like- It's like the staff is twisting his thoughts. Weaponizing them to get our morale down, or something. First that he should've been the green ninja, now that Nya is some kinda burden. He can't possibly mean that, right? I mean- I know he thought he should be the green ninja before I was, but I thought he'd be over that by now. And- And there's no way he actually means all those things he said to Nya!"

Skylor is very uncertain of what to say simply laying a comforting hand on Lloyd's back, rubbing it lightly. This was turning out to be much worse than she thought it would, and he can't shake the feeling that this was her fault. If she'd never joined her Dad, the Ninja probably wouldn't have been captured, and Kai wouldn't have gotten a hold of the staff.

---

As Kai trudged back down into his little cave, the thoughts flooding his mind were almost uncontrollable. He couldn't focus, simply berated by dark thoughts- put there by the staff- and his own; thoughts of regret, self-loathing, and concern for Nya and Jay.

He became tempted to throw the staff down, finally destroying the crystal inside and freeing him from the corruption that was plaguing him. But he couldn't. The corruption that'd seeped into his soul, his very being did not allow him to free himself of it. It trapped him there, like a caged animal. No way out of his own volition. He had to trust his friends to get him out. But, then, there was the issue that he couldn't; not only was the staff constantly telling him that his friends were untrustworthy, but he was worried that his words towards them whilst under the influence of the staff would drive them away. Especially Nya.

FSM, the image of Nya shutting down behind a teary eyed Jay was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't get it out, which was probably a good thing. He said she stole his childhood, that he was stuck with her. She probably thinks he hates her, that he wishes she was never born. It couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, her being there was the best thing to happen to her. Despite the fact that she was so much younger than him when their parents disappeared, he can't say that he raised her. They raised each other. They were there for each other when they needed it, never let the other feel alone. Man, he wishes he could tell her that right now.

But he can't. This damned staff is going to end up ruining his life at this rate. And he is going to leet it, it seems.