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dysfunctional-lego-ninja · 4 years

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Into the Sword Again

Prime Empire Jaya oneshot - alternate ending to Episode 12: Stop, Drop, and Sidescroll (1464 words)

Nya and Jay didn’t leave the fighting arena right away. While Jay had taken the Yellow Key-Tana, he didn’t move for the end of the level. “I . . . I need a minute.”

He moved away from her, back to the doors to the level leading into the level. Finding the doors still operable, albeit leading to nothingness, he sat down in the open doorway, letting his legs dangle over the edge and into the cyber void. Concerned, Nya followed him.

“Jay?” She sat down next to her husband. “You okay?”

Jay sighed, absently running his fingers across the Key-Tana blade. “Not really,” he admitted quietly.

Nya wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head into his shoulder. “It’s about Nadakhan, isn’t it?”

The young man put the blade back into his inventory. He nodded. “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I wish I’d learned that before getting tangled up in this stupid video game.”

He slumped forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and his chin in his hands. “I just . . . I ran right into another dumb decision. And people all over Ninjago are getting hurt―including our team―because of my mistake. Even if no one but me and you remember it, I still feel guilty for the damage Nadakhan caused. And now . . . it’s happening all over again.”

Nya gently stroked Jay’s hair, holding him close. “You didn’t know that Prime Empire would turn into this, babe,” she said quietly. “While you could have been more cautious, you didn’t know what the game would do―none of us did. Any one of us could have made the same mistake.”

“But anyone didn’t―it was me―again.” There was a tremor in Jay’s voice. “This is the second time I let an unstoppable force loose onto Ninjago―the second time I had to watch the team get picked off one by one―and the second time I could do nothing to stop it.” A tear slid down his cheek. “Sometimes . . . I just . . . I just want to . . . I just want to wish it all away.”

“James Imperial Walker. Look at me.” Nya firmly turned Jay’s head toward her, clasping his cheeks in both hands. Her gray eyes smoldered in a way that anyone would have found terrifying―including Jay had he been in a different frame of mind. “Don’t you dare say that―don’t you ever say that you want to wish it all away―”

The Water Ninja’s anger extinguished itself just as quickly as it had flared up. Tears sprung unbidden to her eyes, now racked with pain. “Babe, please . . . don’t say that. I know it’s hard, but you’re better than that. You resisted Nadakhan under torture, even when you didn’t know whether you’d be rescued. Even with everything we’ve experienced, none of us have gone through the kind of physical and mental trauma he put you through, and yet here you are―still bearing the burden of those memories and managing to carry on with a smile on your face.”

More tears trickled silently down Jay’s face. “I can’t keep faking it. . .”

“Your smile isn’t always fake.” Nya thumbed away his tears. “I know you well enough to know when you’re truly happy. Which is a lot more often than you might realize.” She gently ran a hand through his curls. “I can hear it in your laugh―and I can see it in your smile.” A soft, sad smile of her own lifted the corners of her mouth. “Your sweet, innocent smile that I love so much. How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Jay quietly slid his hand over hers, resting his cheek in her palm.

“How can you be so childlike and so mature at the same time?” Nya gazed tenderly into his blue eyes. “You act so silly and kiddish, but you can be as confident, brave, and wise a leader as Lloyd or Cole.”

“I don’t know. . .” Jay murmured, looking down at his knees. “It’s not something I do on purpose.”

Nya’s slender fingers entwined themselves in his auburn curls. Her other hand gently tilted his chin up, her eyes meeting his again. “You’re so strong, Jay,” she said softly, admiring his face with a tender gaze. “Stronger than you’re willing to let on or believe yourself.”

“I don’t feel strong.” Jay couldn’t look at his wife. “Strong men don’t . . . you know. . .”

“It’s the strongest men that do cry, sweetheart.” Nya leaned forward and gently kissed his tearstained cheek. “It takes a lot of courage to express these kinds of feelings openly. There can be a lot of strength in being vulnerable.” As she spoke, she felt the urge to look away herself. “I wish I could do that as easily as you.”

Jay was quiet for a moment. Then, with a deep breath, he lifted his hand to Nya’s cheek. “You’re strong in your own ways, my love. While I might have been able to persevere through Nadakhan’s manipulation, you died because of him. But you faced that end with so much courage. And it’s fueled you. You’ve said so yourself before that you fight even harder to keep us―and yourself―from suffering that fate.”

“Well I haven’t really been doing a good job at that recently, haven’t I?” Nya forced a rueful smile, trying to ignore the tears pricking her eyes.

“Oh, Nya. . .” Jay gathered Nya into his arms and gently lifted her onto his lap.

In spite of herself, she felt herself shaking with hiccuping sobs. Wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck, she buried her face in his chest. Jay tenderly kissed her forehead, holding her close to him and rocking her gently in his embrace. “It’s okay, it’s okay. . . You don’t need to hold it in, baby girl, you don’t need to hold it in. . .”

Nya didn’t try to control the salty water flowing down her cheeks. She cried hard into Jay, her chest heaving with each harsh breath she took. Through her sobs, she could hear Jay murmuring to her. “You don’t have to carry this weight alone, Nya. You have me. Please let me share the load with you.”

She couldn’t answer him for a while, but his words were comforting. Finally, when she could speak again, she looked up at him, gray eyes shining silver with the film of her lingering tears. “Only if you don’t try to carry your own burden alone. I’m always here for you, Jay. Even when you can’t take it anymore, I’ll still be there.”

“What if Unagami takes you away too?” Jay’s voice was quiet again.

“If he tries, I’m not going down without a fight―just like the others. And just like you.” Nya’s face was serious. “If that happens, you’re gonna have to be strong for the team one more time. Wu, Zane, and P.I.X.A.L. are still counting on us. But for now, you don’t have to be strong alone.” Her gaze remained steady and strong on him. “If I get cubed, it’ll be fighting side by side with you to bring down this digital son of an Oni.”

For the first time during the exchange, Jay managed a weak smile. “Thank you, Nya. You mean so much to me.” He gently kissed her hand. “I love you so, so much, my warrior queen.”

Nya returned his smile. “I love you more, my lightning strike.”

“I love you even more than that, my Yin. . .” Jay leaned down, tenderly touching his lips to hers.

“My love is beyond even that, my Yang.” Nya returned his kiss passionately.

“My beautiful, courageous wife. . .”

“My sweet, strong husband. . .”

“My dearest Nya. . .”

“My darling Jay. . .”

They remained locked in this embrace for what felt like hours, murmuring words of affection and love in between kisses. Even in the tender moment, the salty sting of fresh tears intermingled with the sweet taste of their lips.

Jay’s tears had dried on his face as they pulled away. Hoisting his legs up onto solid ground once again, he took her hand. “What do we do now?” she asked softly.

Jay lifted her to her feet, a new resolve in his eyes. His expression had darkened into a determined, fierce scowl. “Whatever it takes.” He drew the Yellow Key-Tana from his inventory again. “We get our friends back.” He startled her by pulling her into another, harder kiss. When he drew back again, he looked her right in the eye. “And we stop Unagami.”

Nya nodded, a little stunned. They walked across the arena up to the doors exiting the level. Jay breathed deeply. “Into the sword again.”

“But this time, you’re not alone.” Nya squeezed his hand tightly. “You’ll come in with one - and you’ll leave with everyone.”

Jay gripped the hilt of the Key-Tana tighter. “Game on, Unagami.”

Then they stepped into the light.

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