8Eyes shut tight in concentration, Jay executed a hard dive to the left and rolled smoothly to a stop in front of the sparring bot. A small dagger whizzed past his ear, hissing in disappointment, having missed its target.
The dagger clattered loudly onto the smooth stone steps of the temple, scuffing its pristine shine.
A figure emerged from the entrance to the temple, and stopped abruptly in front of the fallen weapon. With a sigh, he stooped down to snatch it up, passing it between his hands with an air of nonchalance.
Unheeding of the new presence in the temple yard, Jay leapt forward towards his robotic foe, spring boarding off its metal chest plate and bringing it to the ground. It sputtered and fizzed a few electric sparks, causing the blue ninja to grin triumphantly. In his remaining moments of adrenaline-fueled success, Jay started performing a victory dance.
The figure on the temple steps cleared his throat.
Jay's dance screeched to a halt, and the blue ninja felt his face heating up with embarrassment.
"Nice moves," the figure remarked sardonically, a brief chuckle following his words.
"Good morning to you too, Cole," Jay shot back defensively.
Cole held up his hands in surrender, the blade of the dagger glinting in the early morning light. "No need to get excited, motor-mouth," he assured, moving to stand directly in front of his brother. "What exactly are you doing up so early?"
Jay shrugged his shoulders, casting his gaze to the mangled training bot. "Just trying to wrap my head around a few things," he admitted, rocking back and forth on his heels. "But it looks like I have to fix this bot, now," he added with a groan of apprehension.
Cole snorted, lightly tossing the dagger towards Jay. The blue ninja's reflexes saved him as he snagged it from the air, tucking it into the obi that ran across his waist.
"You really ought to be more careful with these," Cole admonished, gesturing to the fallen training bot. "I'd hate to have settle for using you as a punching bag if all the training bots need repairs." The teasing glint in his eye almost went unnoticed by Jay, who gulped and nodded.
"Relax," the black ninja chided, shoving Jay's shoulder with the force of a freight train. The blue ninja stumbled sideways, glaring at his brother.
"You're one to talk," Jay retorted. "You nearly destroyed the entire temple with yet another one of your failed attempts at the so-called earth punch."
Cole glowered at Jay, folding his arms across his chest. They glowed with a burning gold light in response to Jay's remark. "Careful," he warned, flexing his gloved hands, "or I'll have to try it again."
Jay rolled his eyes, settling for a basic reply. "I'm not sure Kai would be happy with you waking him up at this ungodly hour with an earthquake," he teased, shooting Cole a grin.
"And he'll most certainly be upset with you for destroying one of the bots after you laid into him last night about breaking them," the black ninja returned, a smirk gracing his features.
Jay rolled his eyes, casting a brief glance to the damaged training bot. "I made them, I get to break them!"
"I don't quite follow your logic there, zap-trap," Cole sighed, shaking his head.
"What are you doing up?" Jay demanded, switching the subject quickly.
Cole gave Jay an amused glance. "I asked you the same thing," he reminded his brother. "You answer first."
Grumbling something under his breath about forgetful ninjas, Jay raised his eyes to meet Cole's. They flashed a vibrant, pale blue in the morning sun. "I told you already," he insisted. "I'm just mulling some things over."
"'Mulling', huh?" Cole inquired, mildly surprised. "Anyway, I was just coming out here to practice conjuring my dragon."
Jay nodded his head once in a sharp gesture. "Good idea," he praised, eyes shining at the thought. "You haven't tried calling on yours since..." The blue ninja trailed off, hesitantly observing Cole's expression.
"Before I was turned into a ghost," Cole supplied, his blunt tone startling Jay. "Well, now that I'm human again, I want to try to form my dragon."
"Can I join you?" Jay asked meekly, feeling his heart give a pang as memories of his friend's recent struggles as a ghost assaulted his mind.
"Of course," Cole answered, softening his tone as he noticed the faraway look on his brother's face.
Jay instantly brightened, shoving his remaining guilt and sadness deep down into the recesses of his soul. Once again, his trademark grin flew into place, plastering itself onto his face.
Cole noted the rapid change with no small amount of concern, but shrugged it off and sauntered over to the edge of the temple yard. Untempered sky stretched before him. Hues of pink and orange danced about in the fading sunrise, tendrils of blue striking through their brilliance. The bright yellow sun warmed Cole's face, and he relished the feeling. Being able to feel again was one of the most amazing parts about being human again.
Jay joined his brother quickly, stepping into place at Cole's side.
"Ready?" he asked, determination coloring his tone.
Cole felt his heart pound loudly in his chest, and his nerves tingled with excitement. Surges of fear forced each ragged breath into his lungs, creating a pattern of hyperventilation.
"You can do this," he told himself, muttering lowly under his breath. "This is just like all the other times you've done this. There's nothing to be afraid of."
Repeating the phrase "nothing to be afraid of" like a mantra, Cole took a step closer to the edge.
"Don't look down," Jay advised, moving so that he was once again next to his brother.
Cole snapped his head up and turned it so that he was looking at Jay. The blue ninja offered him a grin of encouragement, taking his hand and squeezing it for added reassurance.
Cole nodded to him, drawing in a deep breath. He drowned out his surroundings, instead focusing on the hand that now tightly gripped his own.
"Jay believes in you," his inner voice reminded him gently.
Cole nodded again, gritting his teeth. His heartbeat steadily began to slow, falling into a rhythm of calm, strong beats. With his fear under control, although still struggling against his tranquil state, Cole reached deep into his soul. Finding the piece of him that defined his earthen element, he reached out to it and took a firm hold. Raw power surged into his veins, roaring like a pride of lions. Untamed and vicious, it arced through his body like streams of liquid euphoria. Cole welcomed the familiar feeling, and threw his head back. In seconds, he had gathered himself enough to demand for his dragon to form. The order was more of a question than a command, and his elemental dragon responded eagerly.
Swirls of dust and rock appeared around Cole's empowered form. Jay gave his brother's hand one final squeeze, and attempted to move away, to allow the black ninja to finish creating his dragon. Cole had other plans, and interlaced his fingers with Jay's, effectively keeping him by his side.
While mildly startled, Jay allowed a fond smile to creep up his face. His features contorted into a stern expression as he called upon his own dragon. Lightning crackled around his person, and he hastily checked it back as it attempted to crawl up the arm that was connected to Cole's.
In moments, the once peaceful atmosphere exploded into shrieks and roars of strength, emanating from the fully-formed lightning and earth dragons. The two mythical creatures were standing snugly next to the other as Jay refused to let his grip on Cole falter.
He was rewarded with a quick smile of thanks before Cole gently dropped his hand and launched himself skyward. Grinning widely, Jay let out a whoop of excitement and shot into the clouds after his friend.
Exhilaration coursed through every fiber of Cole's being. He had forgotten how positively amazing it felt to conjure the very symbol of his element, and to control the beast that had once scared him senseless.
Jay pulled up next to him after executing a rather complicated series of swoops and dives, the wind having tossed his auburn locks into waves of uncontrolled color.
"Show-off," Cole called to him over the beating of his earth dragon's massive wings.
"Race ya!" Jay challenged. Without waiting for an answer, he urged his dragon forward. In a streak of crackling blue energy, it roared through the sky like greased lightning.
"Cheater!" Cole bellowed after his brother's disappearing backside. In seconds, he was fighting to keep up with the blue ninja, struggling to fly alongside Jay.
"Too slow!" Jay taunted, performing a casual loop-de-loop.
Growling, Cole mustered up every ounce of his strength and hurled his dragon forward, speeding through the lightening sky.
Jay's eyes glittered, heart bursting with joy as he watched his brother push himself to new limits. The unstoppable earth dragon tore across the sky as if it owned the place, turning tightly back towards the temple.
Determined to not get left behind, Jay edged into place beside Cole, flashing him a teasing grin.
Cole returned it with genuine happiness showing through his expression.
As Yang's temple came into view, Jay began to slow down, out of caution. Cole, however, continued to race toward his final destination, his narrowed eyes never wavering.
"Cole!" Jay called out, worry finding its way into his voice. "Slow down!"
Either the master of earth hadn't heard him, or didn't care, as Cole kept aiming straight for the temple, speed never faltering.
Jay couldn't tear his eyes away as the earth dragon abruptly vanished. The blue ninja's heart was in his throat as he observed his brother tumble from the sky. He landed directly in the temple courtyard, where he promptly staggered and collapsed.
"Cole!" Jay cried out desperately, making it to the temple in record time and disintegrating his own elemental dragon. He jogged over to his fallen friend and got down on his knees beside him. "Cole?" he whispered, running a hand through his friend's shaggy black hair.
In an instant, Cole was laughing, a full, hearty laugh. He sat up with no difficulty, grinning at his brother's miffed expression. "I won!" He announced, tossing his growing bangs out of his eyes.
Jay glowered at Cole. "Dirt-clod," he spat, with no real venom in his words.
Cole offered Jay a brief glance of gratitude, smiling contentedly at the knowledge of his friend's worry.
Jay shook his head exasperatedly. "At least we know you can form your elemental dragon still," he tossed out, pride glimmering underneath his words.
Cole pulled Jay into a firm embrace, resting his head on the blue ninja's shoulder. "Couldn't have done it without you," he confessed, whispering his words into Jay's ear.
The two stayed like that for what was likely one of the most blissful moments of either's lives.
The feeling was abruptly shattered as a certain spiky-haired ninja kicked open the front door of the temple, shouting something about not getting any peace and quiet. He was followed out by a calm-faced nindroid, who was gently reminding the angered ninja that he was the one yelling loud enough to wake up the entire temple.
Jay and Cole pulled back hastily, scrambling to their feet. Jay adjusted his wind-swept hair with a flick of his wrist, and Cole straightened the robes of his ninja gi.
Before joining their brothers, the two ninja shared a knowing, understanding smile.