Kai was sitting in his room after his last Jaywatch. Cole and he had a joke about taking their shifts in taking care of their beaten-up friend. They knew how important it was to keep their humor, and Jay wouldn't want them to be sad all the time. Cole had come up with the term "Jay Watcher" for the current caretaker, and it had stuck. Kai smiled a bit, thinking about what Jay would have to say about that.

The red ninja rubbed his eyes and sighed. He had just come back from hugging Cole, and he realized for the first time how emotionally exhausted he was. Funny what a simple hug can do to you, he thought, blinking. He didn't want to do anything but sleep.

He had cleaned up his room since his last rampage because he didn't want Cole to unexpectedly visit and see the horror he had unleashed. He could simply fall down on his bed and slumber away. But for some reason, something was holding him back. Suddenly he remembered that he needed to change the bandage on his cheek. He hadn't paid much attention to the deep cut the glass shard had given him. He was too worried about his friend. 

Kai walked over to the new mirror on his wall, which replaced the one he had broken. He slowly undid the bandage, not sure what he would find. He examined the cut, snorting as he noticed how fast it had healed over three days. It was already almost gone. 

"Weird," he muttered, starting to put a new bandage on. As he sloppily stuck the dressings on his face, he looked behind himself at the small table beside his bed. Cole had brought in lunch yesterday, but Kai had never eaten it. Maybe he should get something in his stomach before turning in. 

He stomped over to the bed and sat down, halfheartedly gnawing on a sandwich. His stomach gurgled, and he frowned as pain rumbled through his gut. Clenching his stomach, he groaned, wondering what was happening. He choked as another strike of pain hit and he fell on the floor gasping. 

His eyes flickered in pain until they turned red. He growled deep in his throat as the pain stopped. He got to his feet and stood up straight, staring at the door.

"I'm back," he breathed in a raw, hollow voice.

~~~~~~~~~~

Spinning colors surrounded the blue warrior, and he grinned in surprise. He loved the feeling he got when the wind swept past his shaggy auburn hair. The ninja laughed as he started to run through the grass, holding his arms out like he did when he was little. He remembered when he would run into his father's arms and laugh until it was time for bed. Where had those days gone? 

The master of lightning sighed as he laid down on the grass and stared up into the cloudless sky. He hadn't felt so good in a long time. But he felt like something was missing. 

Maybe it was... He looked up as he saw a silhouette of a slim feminine body sauntering towards him. He took in his breath and shook his head vigorously as he stared at it. No... it couldn't be...

"N-Nya?" he stammered, his heart pumping like nuts. 

The figure held open its arms in welcome and he hurriedly got to his feet and ran towards the shadow. He knew it had to be her. Who else could it be?

"JAY," a voice boomed out of nowhere, shattering his dream. The blue ninja sighed and rolled over in his bed. He groaned and looked up to see... 

Jay's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "ZANE??" he screeched, gaping at the shiny nindroid. "What? Why?"

Zane held up his hand. "Calm down, Jay. This is no cause for excitement." 

"Heh, yeah. We're just visiting you in a DREAM," snickered Lloyd, who had appeared beside him. "That's totally normal."

Jay studied their surroundings for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the two... no three... figures.

"Skylor? What are you doing here? And why are we in a prison? WHAT IS GOING ON?!" About on the verge of panic, Jay tried breathing in and out slowly... and ultimately failed. 

"Zane, he's hyperventilating again," the green ninja sighed. "Maybe we should have waited a few more days before contacting him."

"We had to contact Jay as soon as we could. It is imperative that we get him out of here," Zane replied, looking slightly annoyed. "Calm down, Jay!"

"Let me handle this, boys," Skylor sighed. She walked over to the freaked out ninja and kicked him in the shin. Everyone stared at her in shock. Everyone except for Jay, that is, who was jumping around whining about his leg being broken. 

"Owwwww, why'd ya have to do that, Skylor? And seriously, what's happening?" Jay grimaced at the orange female and turned his attention back to Zane. 

Zane frowned at Skylor once more before starting his explanation. "Long story short, Skylor found out about Master Chen using Kai's 'dark side', as he put it, to injure you and kick all of you out of the tournament. She was repelled by her father's maniac spirit and helped Lloyd and I to break out. We are currently situated in an abandoned room in the prison area. The reason we can contact you through dreams is because Skylor stole the jade blade that injured you. Its poison is slowly entering your body, letting us use the poison to contact your brain. I know it sounds confusing, but we should be able to clear all of this up soon. We have to limit this dream to a few minutes so that we can warn you if something happens to us, or to you. We do not have a big supply of poison down here. Just know that we are trying to find a way to get you out, and we will get there soon. Tell Cole and Kai if you can, but do not use your energy trying to tell them if you feel too weak. Your energy is running low, and you cannot live long on a low battery...."

The dream was cut to an end, and Jay gasped as he was thrown back into reality. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Garmadon stormed into the room, startling Cole as he slammed the door closed. The older man looked disgruntled as he gasped for breath. It looked like he had run a long way. 

Cole studied him with question in his eyes, but he waited for the sensei to catch his breath before asking questions. He turned back to Jay, who's hand had now turned pitch black. He was worried about that. But apparently Garmadon was back. Perhaps he could answer his questions.

Sensei Garmadon had finally caught his breath, and he moved to the chair on the other side of Jay's bed. Cole stared at him questioningly and he sighed before beginning.

"I saw what happened. I am sorry that I hadn't come sooner, but Clouse and Chen had other ideas. They have been holding me captive. They did not want me to heal Jay before he could start the transformation."

Cole gaped at the older man. "WHAT transformation? Does this have something to do with Jay's hand turning black?"

"Sadly yes," Garmadon sighed again. "Our friend is beginning his slow descent into the underworld. Once his entire body turns black as that hole itself, he will be... gone. Forever."

The black ninja stared at his injured best friend. "Y-you mean... Once he turns black.... He'll... He won't come back?"

The sensei nodded solemnly. "There's nothing we can do now. Only watch and wait."

Realizing that Cole might need some time to process this, he silently got up and left the room. Cole barely noticed that he had left. 

"Jay.... You can't leave us... If there was any way I could help..." The master of earth swiped his black hair out of his eyes and touched the blue ninja's arm, as if he was afraid he might leave at any second. "Things are happening too fast... And if Kai knew about this... I can't tell him. It would break him.

"Come on, Bud... You gotta tell me what to do. Being a leader ain't easy, you know..." Cole attempted to smile, but it didn't work very well. "You always have great ideas. Ideas we probably take for granted. Although, maybe that incident with the anchor wasn't the best plan in the world." He smiled at the thought. Smashing through Darkley's Boarding School at full speed hadn't been good for his stomach.  

Cole sighed again, relaxing his grip a bit on Jay's arm. He buried his head in his free hand. No, he wouldn't cry. That was not the way to help Jay. Instead he was just content to sit there with his friend.

"Ah!" Cole jumped as a volt of shock zoomed through his arm. He stared at Jay in amazement. He had just... used his electricity. But that was impossible... Jay had barely been breathing since he woke up that one time. He couldn't use his powers with so little energy. 

But Cole was wrong. The blue ninja opened his eyes and blinked at him. He managed a lopsided grin, which made Cole choke up. 

"Cole," he whispered. "I found Zane."