ninjago imagines

decisions, decisions | jay w.

TW: Gun, threatens of death, slight injuries. 

Jay gets held at gunpoint for his teammates to surrender, in exchange for his life. 

• • •

Jay doesn't get scared often. 

Or easily. Cole complains about this in his mission to scare the lighting ninja, jumping out behind doors or setting airhorns everywhere without much success. 

Sure, he hates spiders. He hates the fear of drowning, heights, all the normal things. Well, he doesn't quite have the fear of height anymore after he fights across land, hovering hazardously thousands of feet over Ninjago City. 

But he isn't really afraid, because Jay knows there'll always be worst things. Nya dying in his arms, but he's already gone through that. His family disappearing around him, but he's seen it. Being unable to protect the ones he loved, but he's failed that task once before. 

 But he fixed it. He fixed it. And it's been erased from the sands of time, so no one else except Nya will remember. And no one else knows why he's unafraid of so many, trivial things. 

So, why is he so scared now? Jay doesn't even know how it happened. One second, they were on a normal mission. Elemental powers lighting up the walls with all colors of the rainbow, swords and guns clashing against each other. 

Normal. That's how he likes it. Although Jay isn't sure about his definition of normal, now. It could be sitting in the living room with his brothers, sipping apple juice and playing video games. And any second it changes to a brutal battlefield, enemies they can't possible ever seem to defeat standing over them. 

Yet, they do. They've beat lords and overlords, with insane amounts of power and evil coursing through their veins.  He's outwitted pirate genies with the ability to grant any wish, and won. They've fought dragons, they've fought every possible of species in the seven realms he knows. 

And yet, when he's suddenly dragged back, losing his grip on his only weapon in surprise, he's afraid. Jay doesn't know why, yet. 

And when a cold, stiff muzzle is jerked against his head harshly, knocking against the bruises already there, he's deathly scared. More terrified than he's ever been, in his whole life. A hand grips around his face, muffling his shouts of panic. 

Jay knows, theoretically, this situation isn't the worst they've been in. It doesn't even make the top five, or ten. It's just another crazy, life threatening circumstance that they will beat again. They have too, right?

And when his teammates slam down the last opponent and turn towards him with relieved faces, ready to head home after a long day of fighting, he can feel himself shaking with the dread.

In a blink of an eye, his family stands around him and the last foe, blades drawn and energy firing up their fingers. 

"Let him go." Lloyd snaps at the person holding him, and Jay feels him shake his head, the revolver pressing so hard that it forces his head to a side.

 "No. Drop your weapons." The man growls, and Jay shakes his head as subtly as he can towards them. He can't let them do that for him, and throws in the peril of one of them getting hurt instead. 

"We're not-"

"Drop it or he dies."Jay's heart drops to his stomach at that sentence, but it's not because of the imminent threat of death. It's because he knows his teammates are stupid enough to surrender, to risk their lives just because of him. Lloyd falters in his stance, and he sees their swords lower visibly, but not fall to the ground yet, and breaths a small sigh of relief. 

He sees Nya's desperate hazel eyes watching their every move from a few feet away, raven hair peeking out of her mask, and he wishes she wouldn't have to be here to see this. His heart thuds against his chest madly, and he tries to steady his breaths, still smothered by the arm across his lower face. 

Jay's hands clench into fists, nails digging into his palm, and he wishes he could do something, anything. The frigid barrel readjusts itself on his curls painfully, and Lloyd's gaze flickers down to his his eyes, frightened expression mirroring his own. Jay can guess his thoughts exactly, and he's caught in a decision. A terrible, dreadful, decision. 

Lloyd's caught between the dilemma of giving up the rest of his team for a completely unpredictable and dangerous outcome and still risk the lighting ninja dying if the man goes against his words, or watch his brother die in front of his eyes knowing he could've stopped it.

Jay's almost glad he doesn't have to pick that choice. A cold shiver runs down his spine, in no way helping his trembling limbs. A thought crashes across his mind, and his eyes widen at the idea.

Jay... isn't devoid of choices, exactly.  He knows he could either struggle against the kidnapper, forcing him to—well, murder him in cold blood, or just wait.  He doesn't have to let Lloyd make the choice and be haunted with it for the rest of his life, because he can.

He glances up towards Nya. Nya. The love of his life. The spark in the darkness of his life. His heart tugs painfully, worse than any other ache his abductor can force on him. Her coffee colored eyes shine with tears, and in that second, Jay throughly knows she's about to do something idiotic. 

Not that he's about to let that happen.

I love you, he thinks, and I'm sorry. 

Jay bits his inner lip, and throws himself back as hard as he can, without a second. 

A loud crack echoes through the room, and the man cries out in pain, hold around him loosening. 

For a second, Jay thinks he's safe. Maybe he's made it. Maybe life's finally given him a easy way out. 

But no, the dark barrel of the revolver is down in his face in the blink of an eye, and the world seems to tilt on its axis.  Is this really how it ends? Not a end of the world occasion, not making it to city-threatening level. Just a trigger-happy ruffian that happened to stumble across a lucky chance.  Black creeps across the edges of his vision, and the man presses off on the trigger--

--the gun clicks off quietly.

Jay collapses onto his knees, a shaking sob finally escaping his throat, and watched the enemy go down on the ground in the matter of milliseconds, metallic cuffs circling his wrists.

Nya is at his side in a flash, and she tears off her dark blue mask, dropping down to his level and cupping his face in her hands. Her eyes are streaked with tears, searching his face frantically. For what, he doesn't know. 

"Are you okay?" she whispers, stroking his hair softly, slender fingers curling into his curls. Jay melts into the touch, blinking blankly at her face. He's still frozen with shock, the sound of the empty click echoing in his ears. 

"Yeah.' He murmurs, letting out a small sigh of relief. He reaches up to drag her into a tight hug, during his face into her shoulder. "I'm sorry." 

She tightens her hold around his back, and shakes his head. "Don't. Do't apologize. I'm just—" Nya pulls away, hands still on his shoulders. "Just glad you're okay. Don't you ever dare do that to me again, Jay Walker. I will murder you on the spot."

Jay smiles weakly, and sees her eyes light up at that. "Yeah. No, I don't plan on it. Although, doesn't that kind of kill the purpose?" He answers, and Nya sends a mock glare at him, but he can tell from her expression she's more relieved than anything. 

"I love you." He says, and she softens, leaning her head against his. "I love you too, Jay."

He isn't afraid anymore.