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“Jay- no!” Kai reached for him, but Jay had already taken two steps away, two steps closer to the edge of the roof.
Ninjago City was lying in ruins around them, buildings on fire releasing smoke into the air, destroyed cars crumpled to pieces below them. Across the city Lloyd and Zane were fighting for their lives, Cole below trying to help civilians get to relative safety. It was the same story they had lived through again and again, only the sacrifices were getting steeper and steeper.
“Don’t do this, Jay. There has to be another way.” Kai protested again, watching bright green light flash against the sky, getting closer. “We can…”
But Kai didn’t know another way, they had exhausted all of their options; there was no other way to save Ninjago and they both knew it.
“It’s okay, Kai.”
Kai hated that voice, the calm and collected tone that was everything Jay usually wasn’t. Kai would have preferred sarcasm or panic, screaming and frustration. Jay was supposed to panic, and Kai would tell him to shut up and Zane or Lloyd would come up with a plan and they would fight and win. That was how the story was supposed to go.
The sky rumbled above them, gray clouds flashing. From up here, Kai could see the sea roiling, waves choppy and dark. If Nya had been here, she would have come up with a plan, she wouldn’t have come to this- she was the smart one. Kai was supposed to throw himself head first into danger and fight with everything he had.
She would know what to say, but she wasn't here, and soon Jay wouldn’t be either.
“Look,” Jay said, taking another step closer to the edge. He pointed out to the horizon, where the sky and sea met. “Nya and I will be together again. We’ll be right there at the horizon.”
The lightning flashing came faster, the thunder roaring louder, and Jay took a step off the edge of the roof.
“No!”
Kai lunged for him, but everything became too bright, thunder too loud pounding in his ears. He stepped back, covering his ears but managing to open his eyes.
Jay floated in mid-air, form flickering as lightning struck him. His back arched and arcs of electricity jumped off of him. Kai couldn’t hear anything, could barely think as Jay rose high and higher, before disappearing in another flash of light.
For just a moment, everything was still, then the bottom fell out.
Rain fell from the sky hard, drenching him in seconds, Kai’s hair falling into his face and his bones chilling. He could barely see anything in front of him, and the wind was starting to pick up, pushing against him. He needed to get off of this roof, but that thought was gone as bolts of lightning struck all at once, reaching from the sky down to the ground. Kai could barely hear thunder over the pounding rain.
He stumbled but made it to the door to the roof, struggling but closing it. The sound of the rain was just as loud, and despite the fight that was ensuing below, Kai just leaned against the door, sinking to the floor.
Eventually he would have to go back down, he would have to tell the others what happened to Jay. But he needed a minute, just a minute, before he went out there to face everything again.
*
The deepest, darkest part of the ocean felt him.
Him, him who? Who was it that she knew- she? Nyad swirled and spun in the water, pondering the question before she knew.
She was Nya, and he was Jay. And suddenly where nothing had been missing before, a gaping hole opened up in her chest, and she swam to the surface, pushing harder and harder until she broke free.
He was already waiting for her. Jay’s form was changing, swirling like clouds and flickering with lightning. But his eyes were the same, still the color of the sky on a sunny day. And when he smiled at her, she smiled back, their hands briefly brushing before she sank back into the sea.
They would always be able to touch at the horizon.