Ninjago: Ripped World 2

All Change

Edna, put the receiver back on the phone.

'Who did you speak to dear?' Ed whispered.

'Nya' she replied, her voice heavy with the implications of involving the love of Jay's life.

Jay was asleep on his childhood bunk above the kitchenette, a precarious perch and the not so glamorous cause of the scar in his eyebrow. It was not a bed you wanted to fall out of at any age, but the 4 year old Jay having demanded a proper bed, not the bench seating, had finally gotten his way and promptly fell the 4ft drop as soon as he fell asleep, crashing his head on the laminate counter as he went.

Ed and Edna were both remembering this incident as they watched him sleep.

'Oh why didn't we put something over the counter, Ed?'

'He didn't give me a chance! It was instantaneous. It didn't stop him sleeping there though. He's always been headstrong, our boy... So what did Nya say?'

'Well, she sounded relieved to know where he was. She's a lovely girl, such a shame...'

'Yes Edna, but what's going to happen?'

'Oh yes, well. She's going to have a team meeting to discuss the events and then send the most appropriate envoy, if you like'.

'Should we be involving them? Especially after Jay took the trouble to leave and make a clean break.'

'They are as much his family as we are Ed. These events are just too extraordinary not to ask for help and by golly, they are the ones who will know what to do'.

___________

"I have no idea what to do!' Nya sobbed into Cole's chest. 'It's all my fault.'

'Its not, Nya, it's not your fault. Whether we broke Jays heart now or later, I think we would have ended up together anyway' he said hopefully, trying to assuage her worry. And Sensei Wu is looking into the description Edna gave of this box. Lloyd and Zane have gone to be with him and will be 100% more useful than either of us, so you shouldn't feel like you have to do something'.

'But, what Edna said. How he appeared on their doorstep today and when he was a baby. I always thought it was a question of him being left, not appeared like from the heavens. No wonder Edna always referred to his appearance a 'gift from God''.

'I agree its all beyond reason, but there's nothing we can do'.

'Yes we can. We can go out there'.

'How is that going to help?'

Nya had a look of grave determination on her face. 'Whether he likes it or not, we are family and I will not abandon him through some misplaced sense of guilt'.

Kai had appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. 'You should go' he said.

'See?' Nya exclaimed, Kai having provided just enough confirmation for Nya to question Cole's reasoning.

'No I don't see Nya, it's not a good idea, please don't...' Nya headed up the stairs, to change and get her things before leaving.

Cole held in his frustration and gave a stony look to Kai who was still stood in the doorway looking smug. 'Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do.' He shot at Kai who shrugged his shoulders innocently. 'Do you think that you might at some point stop interfering in Nya's life?'

'...And yours?'

'Well that would be a welcome result' Cole said as he left, knocking into Kai as he passed through the door.

Kai stayed standing in the same position. 'What is wrong with me?' he said under his breath and looked at his feet, a hot flush rose up into his face, an early warning signal. He stood straighter and took some deep breaths. He found his mind turn to Skylor and her image calmed him. He knew in his gut and heart, that he needed to see her. He hadn't yet apologised for his piggish behaviour when she visited last, though he wanted to. He was no coward but the past two weeks he had been anything but brave. He desperately wanted to see her, to apologise, but was stuck. Stuck in this limbo of hopeless negativity that wasn't him. He was never like this before. He had to get back to being himself for everyone's sake and especially Skylors. He wanted her, needed her. He closed his eyes and centred his thoughts. When he opened them, he turned to the hallway, grabbed his jacket and left.

He decided to walk and so exited the floating Island by way of the gravity decent. Several jetties were built out from the side of the mooring escarpment, with complex support structures holding them level. At the very end of each jetty a pod hung attached to strengthened metal cable, which lead to a winch and in turn wound onto a large spooling wheel under the jetty. Jay had come up with this simple marvel. The further away an object was from the Island the less it was affected by Nadakan's anti gravity spell. Depending on the distance and the weight, an object could descend gently to the ground. There were quite a few trials with a few craters made in the earth below, but the final result was one of Jay's best inventions. The pods had ballast and each individual entering the pod was weighed and greeted with an instruction of how much ballast to remove. All you had to do was pull a lever. Kai threw out three ballast packs into the external store and pulled the lever. The pod released and slowly floated down. It picked up speed, the antigravity shifting slightly with the wind the further it descended from the Island. But Jay had sorted that out too. The winch had an automatic breaking system, registering the rate of fall and would adjust to keep the speed consistent. It was up to the passenger to control the lever again as a hand break. Only inhabitants of the Island were allowed to travel in them alone as there was the very real possibility of someone not using it correctly. Which just made it more fun in Jay's eyes. Kai chuckled at this, remembering when Jay unveiled the first prototype.

'I miss him' thought Kai.

He pulled the lever again, slowing the pod to a stop inches from the ground. He stepped out and inserted a key into a stand post, turned it and the pod rose up again. He set off on the long walk to Skylor's restaurant and hopefully forgiveness.