***I've been planning this for so long. One chapter after this and the epilogue -

You have no idea how sad it makes me to be here. This has definitely been my favorite book to write, and I feel like it's a great stepping stone for the series. I think it also shows a lot of improvement I've made as an author since I first wrote INK in June <3

And of course I had to play the sad song from the movie Up for this book. You all remember that movie? The Disney film about the little kid and the old guy and - *weeps miserably*

I'm not going to hold you guys up LOL Hope ya like!

And fun fact: Though Beep has the final chapter and epilogue prepared, she just realized she has a quiz tomorrow morning and needs sleep. RIP-***

***(Nya's POV)***

I finger the pale blue tulle at my waist as Seliel tries desperately to finish my hair in the back of our car. PIXAL is driving us to the courthouse today.

Yep. It took two days for the court to approve the marriage license Jay and I requested, and once we were notified that we were approved yesterday, we decided to get married this morning. I'm freaking out.

I'll be seventeen in a few days, sure. But marriage? Without the approval of my parents? Without the approval of my older brother, whom Skylor picked up to take to the wedding today? He doesn't even know what's going on!

"That face says you're getting cold feet," Seliel accuses me. "Stop fidgeting so much, or I'll never get your hair fixed. Why'd you have to get it cut so short a few months ago? It's weirdly layered now." She huffs in frustration.

"Seliel," I snap, "let me know when you get married to a guy after dating him for one week, and I'll try to care about how my hair looks."

"Hey, you should care. You're missing out on most of the big wedding traditions most girls want. You should at least look good for the photos PIXAL takes with her dad's snazzy camera." She jabs me in the scalp with a bobby pin, and I wince.

"I've never wanted a big wedding," I complain. "I don't care that I'm eloping, Sel. I care that Jay and I have been dating for a week! I care that I'm not even seventeen yet!" I force myself to take deep breaths and not to pee my pantihose.

"Well, relax. You and Jay are good for each other."

I moan. "What's Kai going to do when he wakes up? He's going to kill Jay and me!"

"We'll deal with that when we come to it." Seliel hums to herself as she finally finishes up my 'do, then spritzes it with some hair spray.

"Whatever," I snap. "Gosh, why didn't I ride with Skylor? You're being a pain in the butt, Seliel."

"One of my many great qualities. Turn your face toward me, would you?"

I sigh, swiveling my head around. "No, I have not messed up the makeup you've plastered all over my face. Happy?"

She snatches some lipstick from her makeup bag. "Stop licking this stuff off."

"It tastes weird."

"It looks good." We stop at a traffic light, and Seliel quickly applies some to the corners of my mouth.

She then draws something else out of her bag – a small envelope. "These are gift cards."

"For what?" I ask. "Kitchen appliances? I am not just becoming a housewife." I may be seventeen and getting married to a guy I've barely dated, but even I have boundaries.

"No. They're for Victoria's Secret. I knew you wouldn't want me picking out your sexy little numbers for you, so I tried to show some consideration. By the way, by 'sexy little numbers', I do not mean a strapless set of PJs. Please at least try to have a little more class than that."

I release a strangled noise. "Seliel, Jay and I haven't even talked about a wedding night yet, okay?" Though we've danced around it more than once. "Neither of us have ever done the thing before. We'll probably just hang out and watch movies or something." My cheeks heat.

"You say that now, but you should always be prepared," she shrugs. "Did you buy any birth control? Seeing as though you're horribly underprepared for things."

I blush bright red and raise my voice. "PIXAL, please turn up the radio."

The rest of the ride is – thankfully – much more comfortable. Seliel shuts up about wedding nights and instead decides to ramble on about all the problems I'm probably going to face in the next few years. I entirely ignore her.

When we arrive, I'm already out of the car and running. I see Skylor waiting for me on the sidewalk, and I run to her in an attack hug.

"I'm going to die," I whisper against her shoulder.

"No. You're tough." She sniffles. "I didn't think I'd see you get married before me."

"I know." I hold her tighter. "I'm sorry, Skylor."

She takes a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions. "It's okay. I love you, sis, and I really trust your decision here. I mean, it looks crazy, and Kai will kill me for letting you do this, but you're smart."

"Thanks." I hug her tighter. "But I feel really stupid right now."

She pulls back from our hug, trying to hide the tears in her green eyes. "Maybe we are stupid."

Kai beams when he sees me pull back from my embrace with Skylor. "Nya! It's been so long!"

"Hey, Kai." I wrap my arms around him, enjoying his familiar warmth.

At the same time, this doesn't seem like my Kai. Usually, my brother smells like too much conditioner and dresses to impress. Today, he smells like generic body wash and is dressed quite casually for a wedding. He's not himself.

Skylor tugs me out of my moment with Kai. "Come on. Jay's already filling out paperwork inside, and now it's your turn. His mom wants pictures of you two before the wedding."

"I'm not so sure about this," I swallow, taking wobbly steps toward the courthouse.

Cole falls into step beside me, linking arms with mine. "I figured that since Kai's out of commission right now and Skylor has to be right next to him to keep him calm, I'm the next logical choice to walk you in."

I smile, swallowing hard. "Thanks. You know I don't need anyone to walk me in, right? This is really informal."

"Regardless of the fact that you're eloping, you deserve to have someone care about you enough to give you away, Nya. I'm sorry I'm not your brother, and I'm sorry I'm not Skye, but I make a good third place spot, right?"

"Did you wear deodorant?"

"Yes."

"Then you're third."

He shoots me his usual friendly smile, and I feel a little more confident walking into the courthouse.

We ascend a flight of stairs and navigate a hallway. I hear Edna before I see her.

"Nya, sweetie!" she coos from ahead of me.

I look up, raising my fingers in a nervous wave. "Hey."

She walks over to me and pulls me into another hug for the day. "You look adorable!"

"Thank you," I smile, trying to dissipate the fear inside.

"Jay's just finishing up his paperwork, but he's so excited to see you. I promise he's a good boy, and even though you two are marrying due to bad circumstances, I know you two will do wonderfully together."

Oh my gosh, why does everyone have so much faith in everyone else?! I'm about to be married, and even I don't have that much faith in myself!

"Let her go," Jay says from behind his mom, sounding exasperated. "It's my turn."

"Oh, give me a moment, would you?" Edna says. There isn't much heat in her words.

"Don't you want to take pictures?" Jay asks. "And remember that Nya still has to fill out her paperwork."

"Oh, the pictures!" Edna cries, running over to Ed and shaking his shoulder. "Hun, where'd you put the camera?"

I try not to turn my gaze from their blissful moment. I know for a fact Jay is staring at me intently, and I don't want him to look into my eyes and see my doubt.

"Hi," he says softly.

"Hey." I glance up and stare at a spot somewhere on his forehead.

"You look amazing," he smiles. "I love how you repurposed the bridesmaid's dress Skylor bought for you."

"It's not like I could've worn her wedding gown. She's got a few inches on me, and we didn't have enough time for her dress to be hemmed." I rock back and forth on my heels.

"What, you aren't going to say anything about how I look?" he teases.

I smile halfheartedly at his humor, quickly scanning his black suit and colorful bowtie. His button-up is blue underneath his jacket, creating an overall very-Jay style. And his usually messy hair is somewhat tamed on top of his head, but a few loose curls can't help but escape at random angles.

"I wouldn't want you to change a thing," I whisper for only his ears to hear.

"Thanks." He brushes his hands down my shoulders. "Are you nervous?"

"No."

"Uh-huh." I can hear his skepticism. "Well, I'm nervous, but only because I'm afraid I'm going to mess things up during the ceremony. I'll have the timing all off, you know? The officiant will be asking for 'I do's', and I'll go ahead and kiss the bride."

I chuckle in my throat. "We'll figure it out as we go."

"Good." He steps out of my way. "Uh, you wanna fill out your paperwork?"

"Yeah. That's...probably a good plan."

As I complete the papers, the guys gently rib Jay, and it calms my nerves.

"Motormouth will say his vows too quickly for Nya to understand," Cole teases.

"And he probably forgot to brush his teeth after breakfast," Zane laughs. "Their first kiss as a married couple will taste like biscuits and gravy!"

Jay moans. "Who turned on Zane's humor switch?"

"I did," Cole puts in, quite amused. "No regrets."

They continue to poke fun of each other as I shakily scrawl down what I need to for the paperwork.

I feel someone sit down beside me – someone familiar.

"Congratulations," Lloyd says lamely.

"Thanks." I shake my head, holding back tears. I don't know whether I want to cry because I'm sad or happy or stressed or just...here.

"You know," he tells me, "if Jay ever does anything to hurt you, call me up, and I – "

I have to laugh a little at that. "Jay's not just going to hurt me, Lloyd. I trust him." I'm trying to, at least.

"I know. He has me beat, in that regard." He leans over and gives me a brotherly shoulder hug. "A year ago, things were so different, you know?"

I smile. "This was about the time Kai and Skylor finally met. I realized I had elemental powers. You and I used to complain about training and compete at videogames and laugh over stupid shared jokes." Life was a lot simpler back then.

"Yeah. And I want you to know that...I'm still here for you, Nya. If you ever need anything, I'll be right there."

***Music Cue***

"Thanks." I shuffle my paperwork together, looking up at the others. "I'm ready."

"They're ready for you, too," Skylor informs me, taking my papers.

"Great." I wipe my sweaty palms over the tulle of my skirt a few times, then walk toward the room where I'll last be single.

Jay grabs my hand as I pass him. "We're a package deal, remember? You don't have to walk in there alone."

I nod, releasing a breathy chuckle. "Okay."

And we walk together into the courtroom. It's simple, with cream-colored walls and two wooden benches in the back. A black-gowned officiant stands in front, a tome spread open over his hands. He smiles at us, then pales to see how young we are.

He recovers his genial expression quickly. "How are you two this morning?" he asks.

"Nervous," Jay laughs, my fingers still entwined with his. "But excited, too."

I nod dumbly. Yep, I am a bundle of nerves. My stomach is tying itself in knots, and my heartrate has sped to an unhealthy rate. I feel my mouth go dry and my head begin to throb.

The officiant explains something to us, but I'm not even listening. I can't hear him over the sound of my own heart. I feel sticky and nasty and unready for this.

"Got it?" the officiant suddenly asks.

Jay gives him a thumbs-up with his free hand, and I release a strangled, "Yes".

"Great," the officiant smiles warmly. "Then we'll begin."

Jay and I look awkwardly at each other.

The officiant chuckles. "This is the part where you face each other and hold hands, if you didn't know."

"O-oh," Jay blushes, taking my other hand in his. "Oops."

I try to giggle at our mistake, but it comes out as a hysterical laugh. Jay laughs with me, though, so I guess it's okay.

"All right, let's start." He looks between us. "We're gathered today to witness the union of Jay Tyler Walker and Nya Sylvia Smith."

"You never told me you had a grandma's middle name," Jay giggles.

I smile and look to the side, my cheeks flushed. "You're interrupting the ceremony, Jay."

"Sorry," he grins. "Continue."

The officiant clears his throat. "When two people come together in the union of marriage, it is a sacred and precious act intended to last a lifetime. Do you understand this?"

"More than you know," I mutter. Jay snickers and squeezes my fingers.

"I understand, too," he swallows.

"When two people come together in marriage," the officiant goes on, "their vows are sealed and true and constitute the pledge of a life together – in sickness and in health, for better or for worse. Do you understand this?"

"Oh my gosh, yes," Jay exclaims. "You don't know how often Nya gets herself into trouble."

I pinch his palm. "You're interrupting," I hiss, laughing through my teeth.

"I'm just trying to take the edge off," he says cheekily, and his smile just melts my heart.

"I understand," I tell the officiant. My voice is a little calmer than before. I guess Jay really does help to dissipate nerves with his humor.

The man turns to Jay. "Jay, do you take Nya as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?"

"Yes," he says quickly.

I cough. "You're supposed to say 'I do'."

"Oh my gosh," he guffaws. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I do, Nya. I do promise all those things the officiant – what's your name?" He turns to the man.

"Uh...James," the officiant replies.

Jay looks back down at me, trying to make a comedy of his blunder. "I promise all those things James just said, Nya. A million times a million times a million times a – "

James clears his throat. "That was an 'I do', right?"

"Right," Jay agrees, nodding emphatically.

I snort, feeling my cheeks flush and my uncertainty dissolve a little more.

The officiant clears his throat. "All right. And Nya, do you take Jay as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, until death do you part?"

"Oh, Ed!" Edna cries from the audience. "Get a picture of this!"

I breathe deeply, focusing on Jay and closing myself off against fear. After a few moments, open my eyes to look at him and manage a loud, clear, "I do."

"The yin-yang pendant symbolizes devotion to a partner for as long as they live," James continues. In response, Jay fishes around in his back pocket, trying desperately to find ours.

"The pendant is a sacred promise and tradition in Ninjago," James goes on. "It signifies a couple becoming one."

Jay finally retrieves the pendant from his pocket and cries, "A-ha!"

"Jay," I laugh. "Shut up already! It's not your time to talk!"

"It's not yours, either," he grins. "Okay. James, buddy, let's get this show on the road."

The official takes a deep breath. "All right, Mr. Walker, repeat after me. With this yang..."

"With this yang..." Jay says eagerly.

"...I do thee wed..."

"...I do thee wed..." He giggles at the way the words roll off his tongue.

James eyes him. "...as a token of my affection..."

"...as a token of my affection..." His tone is jubilant, but his eyes are dead serious.

"...that I do give to thee forever."

"...that I do give to thee forever." His lips part softly, and he strokes my hands.

James coughs. "You can place your half of the pendant around her neck now."

"Oh." Jay's face is as red as a tomato as he hangs the pendant around my neck.

The officiant turns to me. "With this yin..."

"With this yin..." My fumbling fingers remove it from Jay's hands.

"...I do thee wed..."

"...I do thee wed..."

"...as a token of my affection..."

"...as a token of my affection..." I swallow hard.

"...that I do give to thee forever."

"...that I do give to thee forever." I lift the yin pendant over his head, and I watch as he blinks against tears.

After we rejoin hands, James announces, "And now, by the power vested in me by the First Spinjitzu Master and the people of Ninjago City, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Jay beams. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh! Oh my – "

"You may now kiss the bride," James says over Jay's freak-out.

And apparently, Jay hears – he wastes no times in stepping toward me and angling his head against mine, our hands still clasped. His lips hit their target, I feel the gentle moistness of his mouth, and I find it tastes like...biscuits and gravy, amusingly enough.

I giggle against his lips and sweetly return his affection, then pull away before things get awkward in front of the guys.

Cole wolf-whistles from the back, Kai says something about gummi worms, and everyone else claps politely.

Jay gazes down at me affectionately. "I love you so much."

I blush. "I love you, too."

"This is the new best day of my life," he sniffs.

I nod, the timidness inside me dispelling if only for a moment. "So...what now?"

"I go show you off?" he asks excitedly, rubbing at his eyes. "And then we go have food or something? And...I show you everything that's beautiful in this world, and you enjoy every bit of it?"

"Cheesy much?" I giggle.

"Yes, and I don't care." He holds our still-twined fingers up for the world to see, and then we run for the door, run for forever.

Because forever is how long we're going to last...I hope. We're going to try our best, anyway.

Lloyd suddenly appears beside us. "I hate to interrupt, but we got a call from the commissioner during the service. I had my phone on silent, so I didn't realize until now."

"What's it about?" Jay asks, frowning.

Lloyd draws in a breath, closing his eyes. "Pythor escaped jail. We also have news of blackouts around the city – starting on the outskirts and traveling inwards as we speak. The epicenter? Borg Power Corps."

***(Jay's POV)***

Changed into my gi and decked out in rubber, I stand in front of the police station. The rest of the team is right beside me – all except Nya, who stands in front.

"I don't like this," she swallows, "but this is the only way I know of to stop Pythor. This is what I saw in my vision."

"We trust you," Lloyd says reassuringly.

She nods at him. "Lloyd and I are on the ground – Lloyd on a bike, and I on foot. Jay, you're taking our jet – the storm fighter. Cole, Skylor, and Zane, I need you to evacuate anyone in a potentially hazardous situation. That means no one can go near the local power plant right now. The commissioner already broadcasted to everyone to turn off all electrical appliances."

Cole nods curtly. "On it. Do you want us to leave now?"

"Hear me out on the rest of this," she instructs, her voice smothered in nerves. "I'm on foot to distract Pythor from getting to his machine. It's not fully powered up yet, and whichever insider he had installing the machine at Borg Power Corps has evacuated, so Pythor will have to finish powering up the machine himself. If I distract him, we buy ourselves time.

"Lloyd, you're my back-up. Pythor will have a getaway vehicle flying in soon after I approach him. You have to make sure he doesn't get on that jet, or he might make it to Borg Power Corps and complete his plan."

"Got it," he replies.

"Good. Jay, we're buying time with Pythor for you to destroy as much as you can of his machine. As soon as I call in Lloyd, though, I need you to follow my beacon and come get me. If you don't, then we'll technically change the future, and I'll never learn how to stop Pythor in this timeline. In my vision, you had to tell me the plan after you picked me up. I'm going to try to stop you from following through, but you can't listen to me when I attempt to dissuade you. This plan is dangerous, but it'll work." She swallows hard.

"I believe you," I say encouragingly. In reality, though, I'm freaking out.

"Good. So when you pick me up, we're heading right back to Borg Power Corps. We're just going to hope that you've sabotaged the machine enough by then that Pythor has trouble getting it to work. When we get back to Borg Power Corps, you have to run full speed ahead for Pythor's invention and figure out how to stop it for good. I'm going after Pythor himself. If I can stop him and you can stop the machine, nothing bad happens."

"Okay," I say slowly. "Um...do you know what this machine is like?"

"No. I didn't see it in my vision, but the police chief told me it's enormous. It's nothing like the one on the Dark Island – that one must've been a smaller version intended for one of the towns in Ninjago." She takes a deep breath. "If things go south – if Pythor somehow turns on this machine, Jay – he might try to absorb your power into it. I don't know what happens in that case, but either the machine wins and you lose your element in one fell swoop, or..." She shakes her head. "Or you win and suck all electricity out of the machine."

I blanch. "That much power at once could..."

"Kill you, I know. That's why we're stopping Pythor before that happens. And if things do get bad, Jay, you need to run."

"What about you?!" I exclaim. "You're the one stopping Pythor when we get there. Shouldn't you be concerned about – "

"I'll have him out of there if things go wrong," she promises. "You know Pythor won't risk his own hide in an electrical explosion."

I nod solemnly. "Okay. Anything else I need to know?"

She sighs miserably. "Not that I saw in my vision."

Oh, gosh, I don't like this. I don't think any of us do.

So I decide to make things a little lighter.

I step forward, holding out my palm face-up. "Let's do a cheer, guys."

"A cheer?" Lloyd asks skeptically.

I nod, smiling even though I don't want to. "On three, we're all going to raise our hands and shout 'Ninja-go!'"

"You've got to be kidding me," Cole groans.

"Nope," I grin. "Everybody put a hand in." I look like a fool, but then, isn't that my job on the team?

Nya gingerly places her palm on mine, and everyone else follows suit.

"On three," Lloyd says. "One...two...three!"

"Ninja-go!" We all shriek, sounding like idiots.

And then we run off to our designated positions.

I head for my storm fighter, setting a course for Borg Power Corps and flying there at a speed faster than I'm comfortable with. I have to sabotage this machine as quickly as possible. I am not dying today – the best day of my life, as I call it. We're all going to be fine, and after the team has a big victory meal at Laffy's, I'll go home with Nya – yes, to our home, also known as the monastery – and curl up with her on the couch. We'll sit down and talk about all the times we were scared to death today – all the times we thought we would die – and laugh about them as one. That's what we are now, after all – one.

I reach Borg Power Corps before I know it, and I hover my jet onto the landing pad on top. Thank the First Spinjitzu Master there's even a landing pad up there. Don't ask me how that's not a safety hazard.

I exit my ship at a run, using a somewhat sturdy metal ladder to climb down into the top of the building. I hear a strange buzzing sound from the floor below me.

Is that the machine?

I descend the stairs and see a glowing blue peeking out from under a door. Curious, I touch the door handle gingerly.

It doesn't shock me.

I wrap my finger around the handle and tug, and that's when I know I've found it.

It's huge – a glowing blue light source encompassing the entire floor. How did Borg's employees not notice this before?! Unless...unless everyone who worked here was also in league with Pythor?

Interesting.

I race over to the machine, spotting a nearby control panel. I summon my element and zap it, and it sparks before the whole panel lights up and flares to life.

Huh. Who would've thought that electrical shock would activate the control panel for Pythor's giant electricity-stealing machine?

I spot a knob labeled as 'p' and assume it stands for 'power'. In response, I twist the dial down to 0.

The machine whines, it's glow diminishing.

"Now that's what I like to see," I mutter. "What else does this thing do, Pythor?"

I feel around on the panel until I find a rubber insert and, steeling myself for a shock, I pop it off. In response, electricity crackles into my hand, causing slight discomfort to ripple through my veins.

For anyone else on the team, though, it'd be bad.

I bend down, examining the inside of the panel. I notice several wires protruding.

"Interesting," I muse. "And I am now faced with the popular movie scenario in which I am given two wires and must only cut one." Dude, I sound like a narrator.

The wires are simple – one red and one green.

Green usually means 'good', right?

But then, Pythor's the kind of villain to make the red wire 'good' and the green wire 'bad', just to make his opponents sweat.

Yet perhaps he knew someone of my discernment would be dealing with these wires. Maybe he assumed I wouldn't just cut the green wire, thinking it was correct, and instead would notice his deceit and cut the red wire. Wouldn't it make sense for him to make the green wire the 'good' wire if he thought I would pull the red one?

Why am I getting vibes from The Princess Bride?

I tap a button on my headset. "Guys, I'm in a kind of predicament," I frown.

Someone else's headset buzzes on, but I don't get a response to my statement. "It's over, Pythor!" Nya yells.

He says something in response, and Nya cries, "When you blow up the city, won't you be blown up, too?"

Pythor's garbled accent speaks.

Her voice sounds again. "And will it withstand the force of the explosion?"

Explosion?! Is that a thing?

Oh, boy. I need to get out of here! I don't have time to wait around. I'm just going to have to hope that turning down the machine's juice is a good temporary solution.

I bolt up the stairs toward my jet. "Nya," I breathlessly ask over the intercom, "are you ready for our plan?"

"I hope so!" she replies.

I burst out into the fresh air and sprint for my jet, sliding into the seat and looking for Nya's beacon on the screen. I should be there to pick her up within two minutes.

"Okay," I tell her. "I'll swoop down in my jet in just a moment, and then we'll fly to Borg Power Corps together."

"I don't think we have much time," she warns as I fly toward her signal. Grunts sound from her side of the intercom, and she calls, "Lloyd, do you need help subduing Pythor?"

More grunts resound before Lloyd shouts, "I can keep him distracted!"

I soar toward her beacon as fast as I can, then slow my pace and lower my altitude so I can fly the streets. "I'm approaching now, Nya."

"I see you!"

"Good." I slow my jet as best as possible, then lower the hatch so Nya can use her elemental power to get inside. An emergency flashing light on the dash informs me that the trunk is open.

"Well, good thinking, genius," I snap. To Nya, I shout, "Get in!"

A moment later, she replies, "I'm here!"

"I'm waiting for you in the pilot's deck," I sigh with relief. "And don't worry, I remember what you said. I'll explain the plan to you again when you get up here, just so your past self is able to know what the plan is for this timeline."

"Roger."

As we swoop back around to the tower, I hear her fumbling around seats in the back of the jet. I'm not flying my best right now, so unfortunately, Nya really needs to be seated and secured in.

Half a minute to the power corps, Nya plops down beside me. "Tell me the plan."

"Okay," I sigh. Every last word I'd ever want to say to her pours out of my mouth. "First of all, I'm so glad you're all right, and I love you, and – "

"Thank you, but not right now!" she exclaims, her voice almost hysterical. "I don't know how much longer we have before I fade out of this vision. Er, before the past 'me' fades out of this vision."

"All right, here goes." I explain everything to her, from the moment she met Pythor to the last stage of our mission – the one where she and I take down Pythor and stop his machine. I land the jet as I speak.

Her expression becomes more and more distressed as I go on.

I eye her sympathetically. "Nya, I know you aren't a big fan of this plan, but it's the only way. You know that it's the only way."

"Jay...this is really risky," she chokes out, clenching her eyes shut.

Oh my gosh, she's scaring me right now. However, I try to be the mission-minded one for once. "So is life and love and...well, everything worthwhile." I swallow hard. "We're here."

"Jay, please," she begs me. "There has to be a way to go back in time and find another solution!"

I unbuckle myself. "You said you'd doubt the plan at this moment, so here's what I'm going to do to stop that negativity." I grab her form and shove her against my chest, framing her cheek with one hand and smashing my mouth to hers desperately.

If I don't make it out of this...I want her to know that she mattered to me.

I pull back before she hardly has a chance to kiss me in return. "I love you, Nya," I struggle to say through tears, shaking my head and running off the jet. I scramble down the ladder again and run to the floor on which Pythor's machine is located.

I see him hunched over the control pad, fiddling around with things, and I make a run for him. "No!"

He freezes when he hears my voice, then works more quickly, pressing buttons and turning dials at an expertly fast rate.

My palms grasp his shoulders, and I yank him backward, taking his place at the control panel. I desperately try to figure out what he's done.

His tail snakes around my feet right as Nya yells, "Get away from him!" I feel water splash into my back, and I know she just directly hit Pythor.

He growls, his tail releasing me. He instead focuses his attentions on Nya, who wrestles against him. Meanwhile, I wrest back open the control panel and examine the wires.

Oh my gosh. One's red, one's green. How hard can this be?!

Pythor's not a simpleton. He'd choose red to shut off the machine, right? But what if he knew I'd think that? But what if he knew I'd know he thought that?

"Pythor, red or green?!" I yell.

"Like I'd ever tell!" he snaps.

I swear. "Nya, red or green?"

"This is not the time," she groans, taking a hit from Pythor.

I wince. "Just pick one! I can't decide!"

"Fine! Go with red!" she yells.

Biting my lip, I pull out my wire cutters and snap it.

Pythor squeals from nearby. "No, not the red wire, you imbecile! Gosh, I knew I shouldn't have had Clancee choose the colors for the wires! He always picks the simplest combinations!"

"What's going to happen now?!" I shout.

"In two minutes, that machine is going to release such a large energy blast that anything within a half-mile radius will be violently shocked, including me!" His voice escalates on a wail.

Nya immediately releases him, running to me and grabbing my arm. "We have to get out of here!"

"I'm coming, too!" Pythor yells, slithering out the door toward our jet.

I gape. "Don't – don't let him take the jet, Nya! Come on!" I break into a sprint, and her legs move at a pace equal to mine as we scramble out the door and up the stairs.

When we reach the top, however, Pythor is already piloting my storm fighter away.

I blanch. "How – "

She points down below. "It's not a far drop to the bottom of the power corps," she says. "It's a three-story fall. We can survive that no problems if we use our elements to soften our falls."

"You're right," I reply, my heart wrenching. "On the count of three, we jump, and then we run as fast as we can away from here." I swallow back tears.

She squeezes my fingers. "On it. Three...two..."

And I shove her off the top of the power corps, hoping she'll break her fall with her element.

She manages to just barely slow her fall by blasting against the ground with water, and then she topples on the ground in a heap. An angry heap.

"Jay!" she yells. "What the – "

"I'm sorry, Nya," I choke out. "Nobody's going to make it if I don't stay and absorb some of that energy explosion!"

Her eyes widen, and her mouth gapes. "Jay – "

"Run, Nya," I bid her, stumbling back down the ladder. "And I really love you!" I feel tears escape as I force the words to leave my mouth.

I rush back down to the entrance to the machine's room, and with one quick prayer to the First Spinjitzu Master, I take a running leap for the glowing blue vault of electricity.

Violent, searing pain engulfs my body as I become a conductor for electricity, but I do my best to absorb it, holding every iota of power inside. It buzzes through me, almost as strong as love and hatred and passion.

I feel so alive with electricity, so at home with my element, so at peace. It's incredible, connecting with my element – indescribable and oh-so right.

At the same time, turmoil floods my soul. All memories, thoughts, and normal feelings escape my mind. I register pain vaguely, and I know I can't take much more of this. Where I was incredibly alive just moments ago, now I'm dying.

And then suddenly, there's no blue light except that which emanates from me, beaming down and powering the entire building with radiant light. It gleams, sparks, and finally goes dark. I collapse on the ground below, breathing heavily, torn between whimpering in fear and sighing in relief.

Pythor's machine – it's caput.

I feel something incredibly painful and urgent on my arm, and I look over.

Fire.

I roll over, trying to put out the flame licking up the sleeve of my gi. However, the shock I just experienced seems to paralyze me. I cry out for the strength to sloppily tug off my top, then pat at whatever flames may have caught onto my hair.

I release a strangled cry when I see the singed flesh of my arm, mewling and trying not to sob. I don't feel pain at this moment, but I know I will, and I know I'll never look the same again.

Nya. For some reason, it's important to me at this moment that I won't look right to her anymore. Will she care? Will she see my wound and think it's as ugly as I do? Why does that even matter right now?

I shake my head. I'm in shock.

I drag myself out of the power source's cell, then pull myself up onto the balcony with my good arm. It's incredibly painful, but I know if I can just get there, someone can find me. Someone can help me. Someone can somehow make this horrendous pain leave.

And when I finally splay my body across the overhang, I cry.

***Oh gosh, I'm sorry for the cliffhanger again. I promise I won't leave you there, okay? But BEEP NEEDS SCHOOL - AND SLEEP -***