between these walls | ninjago au

Chapter 1

18 YEARS LATER

Jay sulked in the backseat of Libber's car, silently glaring at his mother. She calmly kept her eyes on the road, "Did you have breakfast?"

"How long?" Jay asked sharply, "How long have you known that I would one day possess the ability to shoot freaking lightning bolts out of my hands?!"

Ali: Ah yes, wasn't it a mere 18 years ago when Libber made a vow for Jay to never find out about his powers? Let me tell you, a lot has happened. Earlier on in the week, Jay had thrown his hands up in excitement, causing him to shoot out a streak of lightning from his palm, causing a blackout in the house...and part of the roof to collapse, but we don't talk about that. Eventually, Libber had given in, and decided to take him to the only place able to help him: Darkley's Elemental Academy. 

"I knew you would become a Master of Lightning before you were born." she murmured, making a turn to the left.

"So, now what, you gonna take me to some mental hospital that's not even on the map?"

"It's not on the map for a reason!" Libber snapped, "And no, it's not a hospital, it's a boarding school."

"Why couldn't I have just stayed at Ninjago High? Everything was going perfectly well for me!"

This was true. He was a lacrosse star at the school, and one of the best engineers, and was beyond pissed when he found out he'd be leaving all that behind.

"Ninjago High doesn't have the correct facilities to deal with elemental powers. And you won't be alone, I know for a fact that there will be other people around your age there. Trust me."

"How can I trust you when you've kept a secret this big away from me for 18 years? Does Dad know about all of this?"

"Yes. It's for your own good, Jay-Bear. Please, give it a shot."

The rest of the drive was silent, and Jay must have nodded off, as he found himself being shaken awake by his mother, "We're here."

Getting out of the car, he followed his mother to a large building, and they entered, and the minute they did, Jay felt something rush through him. Something overwhelming. It then disappeared as something clicked around his wrist. The guy with neck-length brown hair and a red hat shrugged, "Sorry. It'll come off later."

An elder woman, with grey hair in a braid was at the front desk. Looking up, she smiled warmly at the woman, "Well, it's nice to see a familiar face. Libber, how have you been?"

"I've been better." she leaned in, "Listen, Misako, I know it's really late, but I wasn't planning on telling Jay about his powers and..." she trailed off.

Misako nodded, "We've been expecting you for a while. Wu sensed that you had passed down your powers, but never admitted your son in. When we got your call, we set everything up for him. Where is he?"

Libber gently nudged Jay, and he waved awkwardly, "Hi."

"Hello. You must be Jay. I need you to sign this form and your roommate should be..." she looked around, before sighing and pressing a button on the intercom, "Can Nicholas Brookstone get his butt away from the kitchen and down to the lobby please? Thank you!"

Minutes later, a tall, muscular teen with black hair trudged towards the desk, hands in his pockets, "Misako, you said 2:55! It's 2:54!"

Jay couldn't resist a grin at that. Misako massaged the bridge of her nose, "You know what to do, just show him to his room and give him a tour. Not too hard, right?"

"You got it. Come on, newbie!" Jay yelped as he pulled him along, "I'm Nicholas. Everyone calls me Cole. I'm the Master of Earth. You must be Jay-"

"Cole? You forgot the room key for Jay!"

"Got it!" He ran back, and took the metal piece out of Misako's hands, handing them to Jay, "Where was I? Oh, right, you're the master of-"

"Lightning? I also dabble in poetry, pottery, baking, building, engineering, lacrosse, art-"

He laughed, "Got it." They jogged up several flights of stairs and down a corridor, before stopping at one of the many doors. Using a key, he unlocked and pushed open the door, "Welcome to your room!"

One side was plain, and the other side was cosy, with walls filled with posters, music albums and sketches. Jay set his bags down, before tracing the metal around his wrist before facepalming, "Forgot to get the vengestone key. Dammit!"

"Vengestone?"

Cole nodded, "It stops your powers from acting up. Anyone who enters this building for the first time, and harbours an element will feel nausea, dizziness. The bracelet stops it. I have the antidote right here, but first..." he rummaged through a drawer, bringing out a bobby pin. He started picking at it, but the bobby pin snapped and he cursed quietly, "Okay, don't freak out, just keep your hand still."

Jay nodded, and watched in awe as Cole's hand turned orange and started glowing. Slipping on a glove, he wrapped his hand around the bracelet, tightening the grip, before it broke in half. "Vengestone normally stops our powers, but I just use the glove as a barrier. Neat, right?"

"Y-Yeah!"

The nausea came rushing back to Jay, and Cole pricked his arm with something, "It helps with the effects," he explained, throwing the syringe in the bin. Picking up the vengestone, he went outside the room, throwing it down what looked to be a dumbwaiter.

"Come on, I'll give you a tour!"