Back to the Beginning - A Ninjago Lavashipping Fanfiction [COMPLETED]

Chapter 10

Jay

The ninja were back on the road again. They continued west, slowly but surely getting to the beginning of their journey. Wu confirmed that the leaves were found at an oasis in the middle of the jungle, protected by the many deadly animals and plants. The river ran from the north to the east, back out to the Endless Sea.
Cole had explained his encounter with the 'voice' but he choked on his words. It must've been really scary, because Cole is usually never scared.
Jay glanced over at Nya. He could tell she was tired of stupid bugs and random plants she'll accidentally stumble on. Luckily, he was there to catch her in the nick of time, but she was still agitated. She had many bug bites on the surface of her uncovered skin, and the injuries didn't make the journey any better.
"Jay?" Nya called to her fiancé as she looked right. Jay hummed in response. "can you, carry me?" he looked surprised since she kept pushing his suggestions away the day before.
"Y-Yeah sure." the lightning ninja stopped to the side so that Nya could climb on his back. Cole volunteered to carry the crutches but Jay yanked them away while giving him the death stare. He didn't care if Cole wanted to help. If only he held that sail tighter, Nya wouldn't be suffering right about now. It was his fault and his fault alone for inflicting pain on his fiancée, and Jay didn't like that. The stubborn lightning ninja continued to walk forward, Nya looking back to say 'talk to him later' without saying it out loud. He paused for a second, trying to decipher what she said, then nodding after he understood.
They trekked miles and miles, until they finally reached the entrance to the Maze of Unknown. Jay stared up at the tall trees, it's branches and vines wildy growing in all sorts of different directions. The dark green overgrowth blocked the path they were walking on, probably some sort of poisonous plant that gives ones' skin burns or something crazy. Strange sounds echoed through the tightly packed trees: chirps, growls, and small critters that disturbed the dead leaves. He gulped. He hates the unknown. It makes him feel like there's always something watching him; every move, every step, every breath, it made him feel uncomfortable. Nya clutched his neck tighter as Lloyd stepped in front to swat the plants with his sword.
The ground instantly changed from the dry, orange and yellow fallen leaves to moist, damp, and fertile soil. Giant palm leaves covered the ground, hiding the small creatures that crawled on the jungle floor. Many vines swooped from tree to tree, and the canopy of leaves above them only letting small specks of light hit the floor, allowing small shrubs of green to grow. The jungle was overgrown with lush green plants, moss covering the trees' dark chocolate bark.
Jay took a breath in. The air tasted moist, the scent of fresh vegetation and wild fruits.

Hours passed. Only the sound of footsteps on the moist ground and chirps of birds and other creatures were heard. Lloyd took a break from cutting plants, Cole now taking his place.
A few rustles were heard from underneath the undergrowth, but the ninja didn't pay much attention to it, shrugging and assuming it was a rat. They continued to trek on, slowly turning west to head to the center of the jungle. The sun's rays got weaker and weaker, enough to see ten trees ahead. Jay had been carrying Nya for half the day now, and he wanted to stop, but they had to keep going. And he couldn't make her walk now, she was lightly dozing off, the warmth from her breath hitting his neck.
He kept walking until he noticed he was the only one. He looked behind him, confused. The ninja stopped dead, eyeing the trees intensely, weapons drawn. Jay walked back, questioning Lloyd who was back to back with Kai.
"What's happening? Why'd we stop?" Jay asked.
Lloyd shushed him before he whispered. "We heard something."
Jay was starting to get irritated now. "Why would we stop for this? We hear things all the time. What's the difference in this one?"
"Jay, stop talking."
"I know I get it. You think I'm annoying but-"
"No, actually, stop talking."
He listened harder. His senses kicked in instantly. He watched every plant leaf rustle, every sound in the trees, every scent that drifted to his nose. It wasn't long when he heard the faint noise of thumping to the right of him. His brothers and sisters turned, also aware of the sound. A soft growl shivered the bushes in front of the group. Jay's heart pounded faster. Small beads of sweat formed on his freckled cheeks. They sat there in silence, waiting for something to burst from the bushes.
Nothing happened. It was silent. A deafening silence. Only the sound of heavied breaths and buzzing mosquito wings. The chirps stopped. The rustling in the bushes stopped. It seemed as if time stopped.
CRASH!
The group whipped around surprised, expecting the attack to come from the front. A tree had fallen only millimeters away from Pixal, the leaves brushing her titanium skin. An immense creature stood high above the ground, its sharp, long teeth bared, slimy saliva strings connecting the top and bottom rows. The eyes seemed to glow red in the dimly lit jungle, its pupils a line of black. It looked like a tarantula, except bigger and deadlier. Eight hairy legs protruded from its sides, the bottom ending in a sharp needle filled with green, poisonous sap.
The creature roared and lunged towards the group. Jay didn't know what to do. He had his injured fiancée on his back with no empty arms to hold a weapon. All he could do was run.
"Jay! Get Nya to safety! Run!" Lloyd shouted while blasting the creature with his green energy.
"How will you find me?" Jay's heart pounded faster and faster at the moment, afraid for his family.
"Just make a smoke signal when you find a good spot far away to camp." Lloyd responded, dive rolling out of the path from trancula's deadly needle-legs.
Jay nodded. He ran and ran for which seemed like miles. He was scared. Scared for his teammates, his family. It was starting to get dark, to the point where he could only see five trees ahead. Once he felt like he had a good distance, he set Nya down to lean on a tree, surprised she had slept through all that action. He gently shook her awake.
"Nya, Nya wake up." the lightning ninja whispered softly. Her eyes stirred open. She looked around confused on why the rest of the team wasn't there.
"Wha- what happened?"
Jay took a seat next to her, leaning his tired head against the rough bark.
"We got attacked by some spider monster. Lloyd told me to run far away and get you to safety."
"Oh. Are the others gonna' come back?"
Jay looked ahead hopefully. "I sure hope so."
They sat in silence for a while until Jay remembered he had to start setting camp.
"I should start a fire. How's your leg?" Jay asked, picking Nya up bridal style.
"Uh, its good. Just annoying. The stitches on my side give me cramps every once and a while but nothing too painful."
Jay smiled. He set her down in the middle of a clearing.
"I'm gonna gather some firewood. I won't go far but start getting the sleeping bags out and find some food we can eat."
Nya nodded and started searching through both their bags. Jay found some random logs at the edges of the clearing and brought them back to the center. He set them up in a tepee and used his lightning to create a fire. The pair proceeded to roll out their sleeping bags and cook meat over the fire. Once they were done, Jay took his blanket to create a smoke signal, adding his blue element so it could be easily seen atop the dense trees. Nya sat quietly on the side, writing something in a book. Jay looked ahead at the tall stocks of wood, nervously waiting for his teammates return.
Then a shadow flashed. Jay concentrated harder. It flashed again, running from tree to tree. He started to run towards Nya, surprising her from behind. She flinched when he roughly grabbed her shoulders.
"Jay! What the heck-"
"Sorry, I saw a shadow. Be quiet."
They looked around frantically, Jay's left arm wrapped protectively around Nya's shoulders while his right holding nunchucks. Electricity danced on the metal chains, emitting a blue glow.
Suddenly, he felt a cold presence rip Nya from his grasp. Jay whipped around, face to face with a shadowy figure, black smoke dripping from its ghost-like body. Pools of black ink dripped from the sockets of its eyes and a cave of sharp teeth glistened against the orange fire. It was choking Nya from behind, a smokey, black tendril dangerously cutting the air from reaching her lungs. With a swift movement, Jay came from behind the creature and wrapped his nunchucks to its neck, energy zapping through the center and exploding the head off. He ripped the weapon through its neck and the remains floated to the trees, an eerie screech echoing through the jungle. The lightning ninja dropped his weapon to catch Nya from hitting the ground. She coughed and gasped for air, putting a hand to her chest.
"Oh my gosh Nya! Are you okay?" Jay asked, turning her around. She stopped coughing slowly, closing her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, just..." she started to cry. Jay hated seeing her like this. It broke his heart. He hugged her tightly, slowly sinking to the floor.
"Shhh, it's okay. I'll never let anything happen to you." Jay gently rubbed her back.
"Jay... I'm scared."
"I know, I know. I am, too. But I love you and I'll do anything to protect you." He smiled and pulled away, wiping her salty tears with his thumbs. The tips of her rosy lips turned slightly as Jay rested his head against her forehead.
"Don't ever forget that..." he whispered before gently placing his lips on Nya's. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck. They pulled away and stared into each other's eyes before resting in each other's embrace once again.

Jay is a good boyfriend hehe. So adorable :3