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“I owe it to Ras to win this tournament.” Nya had found Jay, after several years apart, she was finally looking him in the eyes, she could finally say his name with a person to direct it to, no longer talking about a man that was missing. However, it couldn’t have been in the worst circumstance, he was her opponent in the current battle in the tournament of the sources, and she’d already struggled against him; and with the Gong of Shattering in Ras’ hands, she knew things were only going to get harder.
“Whatever it takes.” Jay pronounced, confident, like he knew he was going to win, the powers of her’s already in his possession, one step closer to fulfilling Ras’ plan. He pulled out a scarily familiar wolf mask from his back, she saw his hands, the ones that used to feel so soft cupped around her face now gripping the mask. Now, the small scars on his hands were harsh, they were brutal, and they reminded her of a ruthless warrior, not a saviour, not a ninja.
How she wanted to believe that the man in front of her, who had knocked her to the ground, was her Yin. There was still a part of her that believed it was a dream, a hallucination, or she was back in the cave facing the test of fears; because it couldn’t be real, she knew the love of her life would never forget her. “No, Jay! Don’t do that!” she begged, pulling herself to her feet while her body felt rough, her arms aching from his punches: but they weren’t from training, none of it was a friendly duel because she could hardly bring herself to punch back.
But her shouts didn’t work, there was nothing deep down inside of him questioning it what he was right now was really him. When she first started fighting Jay on that ring, she knew she’d be able to get inside of him, there was nothing that could strip him of his very self so easily. Yet, somehow, something had and the wolf mask was going to make it so much further away, buried deeper…as if it was buried in there in the first place.
Because when the Gong of Shattering rung through the atmosphere, her heart stopping for a moment before looking up at his mask fluttering off and Jay being surrounded by the disturbingly familiar red and black, she believed Jay was not in there at all. Her yang wasn’t buried in there, it was somewhere else, his soul replaced, dissipated into the air where it would be a jumbled mess forever, wanting to come home but his soul being occupied by that new person. This person was stronger, this Jay was worse, brutal, unforgiving, he didn’t hesitate to send her flying from his raging shatterspin, no reaction except from anger on his face as she struggled against his attacks.
There was no rest between his attacks, the only moment she got was a stare into his eyes that glowed red. She wanted to feel the real Jay shining through them, a softness that showed her that he was in there, fighting; maybe trying to break free from a possession, corrupted by a staff that she’d just have to get off his hands, an evil that was only temporary. Nya wanted for the evil to be something outside that she, as a trained ninja, could deal with and free him, but there wasn’t.
This evil was deep, this evil was a part of Jay, the redness of his eyes not a mask on top but the new colour of his soul instead. His body acted on his own, it wasn’t fighting against anything, because this was all Jay, so she had to do something about it. Once again, she dragged herself up, trying to ready herself to fight, because if there was a villain, she had to do something about it. However, at the same time, she could plead with him, because if she learned something as a ninja, it was that they never quit.
So, she wasn’t going to quit on Jay: even if his memories were gone, his goodness shattered and the lies of Ras his new life, she had to believe something would bring him back. Even if his soul was not the same, even if the old him had been shattered and the fragments of himself floating around the world, she would fight. If she had to gather the pieces of him, whether they were trying to come home or trying to escape, she knew she wouldn’t give up. For him, she would travel the merged lands to get him back and she’d beat him in this tournament for the world.
“I’m not giving up on you, Jay.” She wiped blood from her nose, now, Jay had stopped performing shatterspin but had then threw Nya around like she was nothing. Even if just for defence, whenever Nya tried to fight back, he would overpower her, throwing her into the tower, pain radiating up her spine. “I’m gonna get you back, Jay, but I have to beat you.” She pulled up her mask while trying to catch her breath, her heart a jumble of irregular beats from the tiredness, pain and fear.
She couldn’t pinpoint what she was scared of in any particular moment, but she knew the look on his face scared her the most. It was never the way he overpowered her, not frequently his lost memories, nor was it often she was scared that she would lose the tournament and disappoint the team. Instead, it was the complete empty feeling she got when she looked at him, although she was saying she would get him back, it looked like he was no longer there. There wasn’t a spark of his old self as the anger grew on his face.
“You never knew me! You’re not going to get me back, I was never a ninja, I don’t believe anything you’re saying!” he roared, screaming through punches, clawing at her skin with the fresh claws on his hands. She didn’t know if they were a part of him or a weapon, all she knew is that they hurt, and as she tried to pull away from it, she couldn’t. His grip was tight and when she felt the burning, she could no longer fight him, all she could do was try to pull away, but Jay wasn’t letting her.
It seemed like no one had really noticed what was happening, Roby still hyping the fight up, then moving onto telling them to start fighting for the dagger, not just…stand uncomfortably close to each other. It didn’t look like anything was happening to anyone else, all they noticed was Jay talking to her, but Nya’s emotions half covered by the mask were unrecognisable.
Inches apart, his eyes glaring at her forearm and the blood trickling down it, she was pulled in close, she couldn’t escape. Warm blood circled his fingers, but he didn’t care, he was unphased by the way she begged for him to let go, but she was mortified at how the shade of his eyes were blending into the blood on her arm. His eyes were brighter than her blood, but it was no different to her, the rage in his eyes pierced at the wound as he continued scratching, felt like they were digging to her bones.
The blood, at least, felt more alive than him, the blood reminded her that he was still fighting her, digging into her, but his eyes felt lifeless, the digging was barely him. His body and mind completely different, it had Jay’s body, but she wanted to believe that the eyes that looked into his soul weren’t his.
No blood that signalled a human, and if there was, there would be no reaction to it if she managed to do anything back to him, an empty shell that wouldn’t care what she did to him. If he wasn’t dead, she would continue hurting her. It was the violent ending to the scratching that made her realise that this was the effect of shattering your goodness. This was what Ras was willing to do to get what he wants, he was willing to reduce a ninja to a monster that didn’t have morals, that didn’t care for the rules of the game, basic morals.
As he finally let her go, she fell limp to the ground, giving up use of her legs to grip the wound on her arm with all her strength. When she did, that’s when Roby noticed, floating down to the two of them, putting his arms out in defence, “Woah, woah! Continue with this level of violence and I’ll have to end the game and have you disqualified!”
Finally, the ninja noticed, when Jay had her close, his back was against them, they wondered what was going on, but didn’t want to distract Nya if she had it under control. But when she fell to the ground, blood falling down to the ground, the skin of her forearm hanging open in five clear streaks, most of their bodies froze. The young ninja, Sora, Arin, Wyldfyre and Riyu were silent, their shoulders stiff and tight, unable to move, but Lloyd called out.
“Nya! Nya, are you okay?” he shouted, a shake in his voice as he pondered whether to break the rules and fight along with Nya, or trust her…because Nya could handle it, right? She was tough, she’d continue fighting if her leg was ripped clean off, he believed. But when she didn’t move as he waited for a few seconds, he stepped forward, only to be stopped by Nya’s whimpering, quiet voice.
It was small and begging, holding a distant hope that she could continue fighting. “Jay…Jay, I’m-“ she coughed, squeezing her arm tighter when more pain shot up, travelling up to her shoulder and around her neck even though he only scratched her on the arm. “I’m not giving up yet, not on this fight, or on you.” Although her determination to speak as she was down one arm, trying to remain her senses through the pain was hope to the ninja watching, to Jay, it didn’t look like that.
All that he saw was someone weak, someone he overpowered: her coughs and harsh breaths between words were a sign he had reduced her down to something weak, disposable. But, as much as Jay thought she was over and done with, already climbing up the tower to the dagger, she was getting up. Her limbs may be shaking, eyesight running out as darkness took over and her ears ringing, she was getting up. Even through that, she shot a high-pressure water stream to his direction, knocking him off the first platform.
“Stop, stop it!” he growled, immediately rushing back to his feet, but looking down to Nya for a few seconds, his teeth gritting against each other, showing slight fangs that were never there before this. She was hunched over, but on her feet, able to fight, so Roby let it continue, floating back up to narrate. “I am sick of people lying to me, first it’s the administration, telling me I worked there my whole life, and now, it’s you! I will not let you lie to me so I can do your work!” he pressed his fist to his chest, hunching down slightly to Nya’s level.
Even though she felt herself needing to flinch, she forced herself to supress it, she didn’t want to be scared of him, she didn’t want to let her body take over and do something she would only ever do at a full-blooded villain. She would let her mind still work over her body, as long as she was living, she would fight for Jay. Forming a fist covered in water, she looked Jay in the eye, trying to match that powerful look, trying to make him believe she would be just as ruthless and determined to win as him.
Then, she splashed the water against his face, knocking him off balance for a second before he immediately rushed towards her, his prance was sudden, his body hanging forward to gain as much speed as he could. At the same time, he formed lightning, it bounced from his feet as he ran and crawled up his arms. It was different from his lightning before the merge, this one felt more sharp, more fuelled by anger and fighting, not made for protecting.
She was successful in hitting him with her water a few times as he shot towards her, but it would barely affect him, only hitting him, getting him wet, as the time went on, she couldn’t really blast her water. The force of her powers was reduced to just a splash, a nuisance that he could just wipe off, shrug aside.
It became clear to her, for once in her life, that she couldn’t win; Jay was right in front of her. Usually, an opponent would have a cocky grin when they thought they had the upper hand, but as his hands wrapped around her neck, pulling her up, she was eye level to him for just a second. There, she managed to see how there was no grin, not an idealistic thought that he could overpower a ninja even though no villain had ever won in the end: he knew he was more powerful.
Indecipherable; she didn’t know what thoughts ran through his mind, whether he was proud, grateful, relived, or planning his next step of Ras’ plan…or maybe, he was only thinking on rage, the act of killing a part of his nature. Claws dug into her neck as she was lifted higher into the air, her mouth hanging open, hoping to let some air in, but all that followed was a feeling of further suffocation. His hands dug deeper, but even though blood fell from her neck, that wasn’t the worst of her problems.
The worst being was that she couldn’t breathe, and the world around her was dulling. She was just up on her feet, though weak, she could put up a bit of a fight, but now, her grip on reality was loosening. For a moment, she could feel it, feel every claw that dug into her neck, getting deeper, growing hotter, making her face sweat and the different fluids mix. But that only lasted a moment, even though her neck was being dug into as she tried to hold on, she went back to focus on his hand gripping her.
Air leaving her body, spilling out through her mouth that hung open but somehow, it not being able to slip anything in. She had to get him off, had to get away, at this point, even though she never thought she’d think of it, she didn’t want to win, she just wanted to get out. The dagger on the top of the tower was still in Jay’s reach, but she knew, even if she got out of his deadly grip, she wouldn’t be able to get it, because she had failed.
Facing death, she thought she would fight a little harder, but she didn’t realise how gruesome it was, how you are so full of life and determination one second, but the next, your life hangs in the hand of another person. Someone that is lifting you up, squeezing the life force out of you, then, getting the other hand laced with claws and pressing into your chest.
He held her, and for the first time in years too, he was all hers, their bodies intertwined, but not a comforting hug, not the warmth of their body temperature. It was a burn as warm blood fell to the ground, fell from her mouth, stained her lips, his hand a perfect size to wrap around her neck, perfectly sized to dig in the deadliest way. Every part of him was designed for sucking the life out of her, her legs swayed, her arms tried reaching for his hands to drag them off, but they couldn’t.
For once in her life, she was helpless, and all she wanted to do was survive. She was a pretty good ninja, a brave one, but she was scared. It looked like the others were too as they stepped forward, reaching out their hands, about to step onto the arena until Jay zapped lightning right in their direction. Like her, they were a mild inconvenience that had to be stopped so he could return to clawing at her chest, digging, her guts churning, her lungs pumping, her heart blasting, but nothing helped her get away from the position.
Nya thought getting strangled to death would be pretty slow, but looking up at the air, she didn’t realise just how slow it would seem, despite her sputtering, fighting for life feeling like a few minutes, Roby had only just noticed and was rushing down. Security bots were on their way, but Nya didn’t notice. She didn’t notice the ninjas’ screams, their cries, their begging towards Jay, just like her, they tried to reach inside of him and get him to stop.
Security bots stopped them from entering the arena, they couldn’t have anyone close to Jay, not anywhere near that unrecognisable person. Nya wished she could turn her head and see them, whether it be begging for them to help or just to see their faces again. She didn’t get the chance to, but, as her hands weakened, every push of strength only feeling like a bug on his hand, she let them fall to her side.
As she turned her head, the claws moved in the opposite direction, making things worse, but he would have done it anyway. The other hand continued at her chest, but at this point, it was only the feeling of it being touched, somehow, the pain was gone, she could barely feel her chest to begin with, but now, it felt like everything on the outside was reduced to nothing, becoming useless.
“Nya! Nya, Roby, stop him!” Cole cried, pushing security bots, trying to break through them and save Nya, but they weren’t moving. No one could even get them to budge through the wall they had formed, arms crossed to their chests, not letting more harm come to other contestants, like Nya was already a lost cause, already gone. “We can help!” Arin begged. “Please! Let us through, we can stop him!” Sora reached through the space between two of their heads, her hand stretching as if she’d be able to reach her, a futile effort.
“Jay! Stop it!” Zane screamed, sobs scratching his throat. The group begged, tried to get past while security bots tried removing Jay’s grip on Nya, but he wasn’t budging. They were both deathly silent, Nya now unmoving. Really, she looked dead.
With one final claw into her throat, blood spewing onto Jay’s face, his head fell, then looked up at the tower, eyeing the dagger at the top. It was then that his grip loosened, his claws manoeuvring out of Nya’s neck and chest before he could fully let go. When he did, she fell straight to the ground, no moving around to catch herself; going from straight up in his hands, on her knees, then toppling straight onto her stomach.
As soon as she was on the ground and he got a moment to look at her, he made his way up the tower calmly, he knew Nya wouldn’t follow, nor Roby, who couldn’t help but back away when he got closer. The most terrifying, unsettling thing about him, though, was his unmoving expression, constantly surveying the still state of Nya, being tended by medical bots. His expression didn’t change when one tried to grab him, since while having his grip on Nya, he just blasted them away.
Roby, flying above, tried calling for more bots, his hands shaking and the livestream turned off. Below, Cole, not caring for any rules, used an earth punch to get through the security bots, Roby, however, instructed them not to attack as the silence of the arena was blasting the screams and begs of the ninja below.
The most notable silences of the entire area, though, were Jay, whose red eyes made it clear what he was staring at, and Nya, who laid limp on the ground. “Nya!” Lloyd cried, a child-like screech to his voice as he fell to the ground, pulling Nya’s head closer to him. She was completely still, her hair sticking to her sweaty and blood-filled face and neck, blood still actively pooling out, he hoped that when he grabbed her, she’d jolt awake, maybe cry a weep of pain.
But she didn’t, since when he moved her hair from her face, kneeling over her, letting her blood stain his clothes, he saw how his eyes remained open.
Her mouth hung, blood staining the edges, falling down to her chin.
A few tears travelled down her face, they must have been new, since they still moved, one falling from her cheek, like she shed them just moments before she fell.
And last, her chest, it didn’t raise, didn’t move, didn’t let in any air.
Shaking, trying to force himself to breathe when the others sat right next to him, he adjusted her position so he could try to feel for a pulse. Though, to anyone else, it might have seemed stupid, her chest laid hung open by the skin, blood sitting on the wounds, her neck punctured, her eyes wide open.
The security bots already knew she was dead, the crowd knew she had been killed.
Jay did too, still looking down, his face unchanged.
Although the remainder of Nya’s life was left begging for Jay to change, see a glimpse of his old self, none of the ninja looked at him. They couldn’t look up and see that face, the one with glimpses of Nya’s blood, a fang hanging out of his mouth, eyes red and the dagger he just won hanging to his side, the blood from his claws circling around its shape.
Jay knew he killed her, then, when Lloyd silently looked up at the other ninja, they knew too. Nya was dead.
There was no hope, with Nya’s lifeless body in Lloyd’s grasp, they realised there was no miracle that would bring her back, because their friend was murdered. It was gruesome, violent, desperate: she didn’t die noble, she was killed, for the success of his mission, a mission that was a lie, but Jay didn’t know that.
With her eyes still open, looking directly at Lloyd but without a soul at all, he realised that this is what being a ninja was giving him. He was a master, now, and this was what came with it. He hadn’t protected her enough, didn’t give enough guidance. Even if Jay was violent, completely gone, an unpredictable circumstance that led to Nya being killed, he realised the consequences of being a ninja.
They were elemental masters, defied the odds at every turn and came out alive after unimaginable horrors. But somehow, one of their own had been reduced to nothing in just a minute, ready to fight, ready to win, just a few minutes earlier. She was killed at this tournament that no one expected to have such a lasting result.
Because in the end, they were human. Nya wasn’t killed by something huge, she hadn’t merged with the sea, there was no amount of research or magical artefacts that would bring her back.
Nothing could bring her back to life when she is dead in Lloyd’s arms, not breathing, brutally killed. Not noble, not a huge battle, not a hard fight, she was gone. “What…” he shook, his body not letting him blink since he just had to keep staring at Nya, even if he was talking to Jay, being hauled away by security bots. “What have you done, Jay?”
But when all that came of the question was more silence, he realised that wasn’t Jay, and he never would be.