Crystalized Infection

by Edme7

Summary:

Theres an odd illness spreading around Ninjago, one thats making people sprout crystals from their bodies. The ninja will have to make deals with old friends and enemies if they want to have a chance to survive.

Chapter 1: Jay's Descent

It was a few weeks after their battle with the overlord, and just a few days after the monastery had been finished. Almost the exact moment the final brick was placed, Harumi had been arrested and carted off to jail, the police seeming to have waited until the last moment. Everyone had expected Lloyd to freak out or get sad, but he seemed almost completely indifferent to it, even happier in a way.

Life in the monastery had been continuing as normal, training, playing games, petty fights, and the ninja finally getting to relax. The only thing out of the ordinary was that Jay had been consistently complaining about his left eye being irritated. After a quick trip to the doctor, he was prescribed eye drops, though it didn't stop his discomfort. Nya was still struggling to readjust to being out of the water, but she was happy to finally get to spend time with her brothers and her yang.

The day had been just like any other, the ninja spent their morning training, and the afternoon playing games together. That night, they all piled together on the couch and put on a movie. If you asked any of them however, they wouldn’t be able to tell you what it was.

Kai, Cole, and Lloyd spent the entire time either wrestling or arguing about nonsensical topics. Zane and Pixal were busy planning blueprints for a new ship, quietly whispering and exchanging files between each other. Jay and Nya tried to pay attention, but their rowdy friends were far too distracting so they opted to just cuddle on the couch and bet on their friends' fights. After what had been at least a few hours, they finally noticed that the movie was long over.

The ninja all got up and made their way to their bedrooms, saying goodnight to each other before all going into their separate rooms. It had been a long day, so they all quickly drifted off to bed. All except one.

 

Jay rolled back and forth in his bed, unable to get comfortable because of the nagging pain in his eye. After an hour of failing to sleep, he threw his blankets off and sat up. He slid out of bed and made his way out of his bedroom toward the bathroom, resisting the urge to rub his eye the whole way. The door had already been slightly ajar, so he pushed it open and flicked on the light, leaning on the counter towards the mirror.

Jay stared at his reflection in the mirror. One blue eye and one irritated yellow eye stared back at him. He poked at his irritated eye, trying to find what the problem was. Nya had said to just put some eyedrops in and let it rest until morning, but the poking sensation was unbearable. It felt like someone had been jabbing the back of his eye with a saw blade for weeks. Against Nyas better judgment, Jay started rubbing his eye, trying to scratch the unbearable itch in his head.

 

Nya woke with a start, any drowsiness she might have felt stripped away as a terrified scream tore through the monastery. Instantly recognizing the voice as Jays, she threw her sheets off and jumped out of bed. She tore out of her room and sprinted down the hall, quickly locating the source of the sound. She skidded to a halt outside of the bathroom, where the screaming had been replaced with stilted gasps. She cautiously pushed the door open, revealing Jay curled into a ball on the floor.

“Jay?” she asked, entering the room and crouching down next to him.

She gently placed her hand on his shoulder and he unfurled his head. He looked up at her with one red rimmed, teary blue eye, and one empty socket filled with jagged crystals. Nya recoiled in shock, her hands shooting up to cover her mouth. Jay cringed back in shame and turned away from her. Nya reached forward to comfort him again when the door was slammed open again.

“What's going on in here?” Kai asked, clearly irritated from being woken up.

The rest of the ninja had also crowded around the door, all in various states of wakefulness.

“There's something wrong with Jay,” Nya said, looking up at her brother.

Kais irritation immediately faded, replaced with worry for his brother in law. He crouched down next to Nya and leaned forward, trying to see what was wrong with Jay.

“He looks fine to me,” Kai stated, leaning back.

“Oh really? This looks fine to you?” Jay snapped, whipping his head around to glare at Kai.

Kai's face immediately dropped, and all the ninja let out matching gasps of shock.

“Oh yeah, gasp it up guys, that's really helpful,” Jay said angrily, sitting up to glare at everyone.

“Okay maybe everyone should leave,” Nya suggested, gently putting her arm on Jay's chest to hold him back.

 

The other ninja were all shooed out of the bathroom, so they gathered in the living room to discuss the situation at hand.

“This HAS to have something to do with the Overlord right? Those look like the same crystals that he used,” Lloyd said, pacing around the room.

“But how would he have gotten.. Infected from them?” Cole asked from his place slumped over the couch.

“It could be from when he was nearly corrupted by the altered nunchucks of lightning during our final battle with the Crystal King,” Zane stated, “but that wouldn't explain why it is only him and none of us.”

“Maybe… the council tampered with them? They are totally evil enough to do that.” Lloyd suggested halfheartedly.

“Yeah but are they smart enough to do that?” Kai asked, leaning back against the wall.

“Well, there is someone we could ask,” Cole stated awkwardly.

Lloyd let out a long groan, “Don’t tell me you mean Harumi.”

“We could ask any one of the council members, but she is the one who helped the Crystal King the most significantly, and the most likely to work with us,” Zane said.

Lloyd sighed, failing to find a suitable argument against Kai, “Ok fine, let's head to Kryptarium Prison.”

They passed by the bathroom to collect Jay and Nya before boarding onto the Destiny’s Bounty. Jay and Nya went up to the bridge while everyone else stayed out on the deck. Nya started the ship and they flew out of the monastery's hangar toward the prison.

As the Destiny's Bounty sailed over Ninjago city, the ninja looked out over the rails, surveying how the rebuilding was going. There were still obvious signs of the battle, chunks of vengestone scattered the streets, buildings and roads had large craters, and piles of burned rubble. The streets were mostly empty as the majority of people were still asleep in the early morning.

“Are you guys seeing this? There’s vengestone everywhere, now every criminal in the city is going to have some,” Kai complained, throwing his hands in the air.

“I believe that any of the vengestone we destroyed in our dragon forms was deactivated, so it should not be a problem,” Zane stated, leaning against the railing.

“Ok Mr. Smartypants,” Kai responded, lightheartedly rolling his eyes.

Eventually they passed the city and sailed out over the desert, looking out over unending dunes of sand and dry, yellow plants.

“This place is terrible,” Cole stated, “having to trek through it when we escaped prison sucked.”

“Well, at least it was an experience we could learn and grow from,” Zane said.

“Yeah, says you metal man, you werent the one who was dehydrating while some idiot poured out water in front of you,” Cole chuckled, lightly elbowing Zane.

After another 20 minutes of flying, the prison finally started fading into view in the distance. Nya gently brought the ship down at the foot of the hill, and exited the bridge with Jay, joining the others on the deck. The ninja jumped out of the Bounty and started their trek up the hill toward Kryptarium Prison. Lloyd and Kai led the charge while Jay and Nya lagged behind. Zane looked back at them before turning to Cole.

“Do you think he would appreciate some comforting words?” Zane asked.

“Ehh, it wouldn’t hurt I guess,” Cole said, glancing back at his best friend, “but I'd be careful, he seems touchy right now.”

Zane nodded and slowed his walking speed letting Jay and Nya catch up to him.

“You know Jay, I am very impressed with how calmly you are reacting to losing your eye,” Zane said, looking back at Jay and Nya.

“Yeah well it's not like it’s the first time,” Jay replied bitterly, turning his head away from the nindroid.

Zane felt a chill of awkwardness run through him and he turned away, walking faster to catch up with the others. He fell into step with Cole, who gave him a sympathetic look, “That was the worst attempt I've ever heard, but it's ok, you’re trying your best.”

The group reached the gate and buzzed the intercom. Several minutes of waiting later, there was still no response.

“That's weird, normally they answer within a minute,” Lloyd said, reaching up to buzz the intercom again.

Right before his finger touched the button, the speaker shrieked to life, causing Lloyd to jump back.

A rushed male voice said, “we aren’t accepting visitors today,” before the speaker shut off.

“It's us, the ninja. We need to talk with the members of the counsel,” Lloyd said, standing on his toes and leaning toward the camera overhead.

The speaker turned back on, hissing lightly as the man behind it hesitated.

“Ok come in,” he said.

The speaker shut off and a siren sounded as the gate cracked open. The ninja entered the prison, slowly walking down the hall as the security traps were deactivated around them and reactivated behind them. When they reached the main security office, the door quickly swung open and the ninja were swiftly ushered inside. As soon as Nya got through the door it was slammed behind her and locked with heavy deadbolts.

“Wow Warden Noble you've really ah.. Stepped up your security here,” Cole said, looking around at all the new technology in the room.

“It's because there's something strange happening with the prisoners. It started with the council members you’re looking for but its spread to nearly the whole prison now,” the warden said, nervously checking all the security cameras

“Something strange how?” Kai asked, eying a few of the monitors.

“At first it was just a few crystals sprouting on people here or there, but now they’re covered head to toe in them and..” he trailed off as his eyes latched on Jay, “THERE'S BEEN A BREACH,” he yelled, ducking and hiding under his desk.

“What? Jay came in here with us, he’s why we needed to speak with the council, to see if they knew how it happened or how to fix it,” Lloyd said, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the warden.

“It’s a lost cause.. a lost cause. You should kill him now, put him out of his misery,” the warden said nervously, hiding farther under the desk.

“I'm thinking we aren't going to get the help we want from this guy,” Jay said uneasily.

“Looks like we’ll just have to go talk to the council ourselves,” Lloyd stated, turning to leave the room.

“NO you can't!” the warden shouted, leaping out from under his desk, “Somethings changed about them. If you think they were violent and ruthless before, it’s increased tenfold. They don't eat or sleep, they just scream their terrible screams and try to escape their cell. Three of my men have died at their hands. Three innocent men.. We had no time to mourn, we had to bury too quickly, their bodies started sprouting those terrible crystals,” the warden rambled, his eyes developing a distant stare.

“Maybe not,” Kai said to Lloyd, joining him in heading toward the exit.

“There's not a single member we can talk to? Please, it's of utmost importance,” Nya begged, her eyes searching the wardens.

“Well there is one who hasn't turned yet, she came in after it had all started, we got her quarantined,” he said hesitantly, looking away from Nya guiltily.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Lloyd said, throwing his head back.

 

The warden guided them through the back halls of Kryptarium Prison, very intentionally avoiding the main area. They reached the hall for solitary confinement, and were led to the very end, stopping in front of the final door. The warden slid open the slot in the top of the door and peeked into the cell.

“You’ve got visitors Harumi,” he said to the figure sitting in the dark.

“Let me guess,” she started, not moving from her seat, “The ninja are here because they need information from me about the crystal infection.”

“Wow, good guess,” Kai said dully, crossing his arms.

“I have nothing to tell you six,” she said, turning away from the door and lazily waving her hand.

“Or, you soon to be five,” she said, glancing back, eyes gleaming viciously in the dark.

A chill ran through the group as Lloyd stepped up to the door, “Look, Harumi,” he started awkwardly, “I know you’re mad at me for letting the police take you to prison.”

“And not visiting,” Harumi interjected.

“I’m visiting now aren’t I?” he snapped back.

“You’re only here because you need something from me. If the dumb one hadn’t gotten infected I bet none of you would be in this place right now.”

Lloyd turned from the door, throwing his hands in the air before burying his head in them.

“I absolutely cannot with her,” he hissed under his breath.

Nya patted him on the shoulder and stepped up the door, hoping to be able to talk to Harumi girl to girl. Harumi barely even spared her a glance before speaking again.

“Oh please, spare me the sob story about how sad you’ll be if your idiot boyfriend dies,” She said mockingly, exaggeratedly pouting her lip.

“Nope, Lloyd was right, I can’t with her either,” Nya said, instantly turning away from the door.

Lloyd stepped back up to the door, “Look Harumi, people are dying, innocent families are being ruined because of this, and you could help stop it.”

“Just because my parents died doesn’t mean I suddenly care about all families or whatever,” Harumi said, though her words lacked the malice of her previous statements.

It was clear that Lloyds argument had actually started to persuade her, as she turned away from the door.

“Get me out and I’ll help. Otherwise you can forget it,” Harumi stated, hardening her composure before laying down facing the wall.

 

The warden closed the slot in her cell and turned back to the ninja.

“You better not be thinking of breaking her out like you did Aspheera,” he said, frowning at them.

The ninja all paused, exchanging an awkward look.

“That was… a last resort when going through legal channels didn’t work,” Lloyd started slowly, “Hopefully it won’t have to come to that this time.”

The warden sighed, “Just, if you do, please be careful ok? The city can't afford to lose our protectors to this place again, especially not now.”

The ninja nodded solemnly, “We promise,” Lloyd stated.

The warden nodded, and silently turned to lead them out of the prison. He opened the door into the security room and turned back to the ninja, “good luck,” he said before the door slammed behind him, lock clicking solidly into place.

The ninja slowly made their way out of the prison, watching the security traps deactivate and activate again. The mood was notably more somber, the knowledge of Jay’s potential fate weighing heavily on them. As they exited the prison they noticed that the sun had started to rise, bathing the desert in red light.

“That bodes well,” Jay said dully as they approached the Destiny's Bounty.

“I wouldn’t think about it too hard,” Cole replied, patting him on the back.

 

After the ninja returned to the monastery and recounted their findings to Wu and Pixal, Pixal began setting up a quarantine zone for Jay in their living room. As she built, the ninja started stocking it with anything they could think of, making sure nobody would need to enter it for a long time. Jay was made to wait outside in order to reduce any risk of spreading the crystals.

After a few hours of constant work, and a significant amount of help from her mini-pixs, the quarantine room was set up and according to Pixal, would even be able to hold up against a mino attack. They ushered Jay inside and sealed the door after him, fully separating him from the ninja.

“So how long do I have to be in here?” Jay asked, his voice muffled through the glass.

“Until we can find a cure I suppose, so…” Lloyd trailed off.

“Or until he becomes a mindless monster and breaks out,” Kai interjected.

“Why would you say that?” Nya said angrily, smacking Kai on the back of the head.

“Aren't you supposed to be cleaning the bathroom?” Lloyd asked, shoving Kai out of the room.

After minimal protesting, Kai finally left and headed towards the closet to grab a rag and some soap. He slung the rag over his shoulder and made his way to the bathroom, grumbling about the lack of respect he was given as a ninja. Pushing open the door, he grimaced at the splashes of blood on the mirror, countertop, and floor.

Quickly dousing everything in soap, he began scrubbing the mirror, watching the blood slowly disappear. After the mirror he worked on the countertop and then the floor, which proved to be the most difficult. While he was furiously scrubbing, he felt a sharp poke in his finger, like he had gotten a splinter. He yanked his hand up to examine it, but couldn’t see anything. He shrugged it off and continued scrubbing

Eventually Kai sat up, proud of the sparking clean bathroom. Right as he was standing up, Lloyd poked his head in.

“Hey good job Kai! Looks great,” Lloyd said, pushing the door open for Kai.

“There were no problems right?” he asked, following Kai out.

“What? You seriously think I would have trouble cleaning a bathroom? I'm not that useless,” Kai joked, elbowing Lloyd.

“Haha yeah” Lloyd said, lightly chuckling, “I’m serious though, we don't know how this spreads so if there was anything out of the ordinary..” He gestured for Kai to speak.

“Everything was fine Lloyd don't worry,” Kai said, throwing his arm over Lloyds shoulders, “Now, let's go plan to get your crazy ex-girlfriend out of jail.”

Chapter 2: Jailbreak

Summary:

The ninja go break Harumi out of jail so they can finally get some answers about Jays condition.

The Ninja were sitting in a circle on the floor, various blueprints and papers scattered around the floor. They had been appealing to the mayor for a week and a half, but just like with Aspheera, he wouldn’t budge. Five days ago he had stopped responding entirely. They were once again left with the last resort of a prison break, one that would prove especially tricky due to the internal state of the prison.

Kryptarium had been officially locked down for six days; absolutely nothing was allowed in or out, including food and waste. From what little they knew, it was bad, and there was no guarantee that Harumi was still able to be saved. Even so, the five ninja forged ahead, motivated by Jay's rapidly worsening condition.

The crystals had continued spreading from his eye socket, covering all but his right eye and continuing down his body. The growth seemed to be very irregular, leaving patches of exposed clothing around his right shoulder and left arm. Zane calculated that at the rate it was growing, they would only have three or four days before the crystals reached Jay’s feet and covered him completely.

Jay had initially been helping with the plan, offering ideas for appeals and suggestions for weak spots in the prison's defense. Recently, he had become more secluded from the others; violent mood swings and constant irritability grew along with the crystals. Eventually, he had started attacking the glass separating him from the ninja, the claws on his hands leaving prominent scratches on its surface. Despite this, Pixel assured it was near impossible for him to gain enough strength to break the glass.

 

“I just don't get it,” Lloyd groaned, throwing his head back. “Why would Mayor Trustable deny all our requests? Didn't he learn his lesson from last time??”

“Clearly he isn't the sharpest shuriken in the armory,” Kai said, nibbling on his finger.

“Would you get your finger out of your mouth? It's gross,” Lloyd said, shooting him a glare.

“But it's itchy, and that's the only way to get it,” Kai replied, gnawing harder.

“Okay, Kai’s parentless behavior aside,” Cole started, grabbing a blueprint.

“Heyy,” Kai said.

Cole continued unfazed, "Harumi's cell is against the back wall, so we could tunnel into it without breaching the rest of the prison. We get her out, I block the wall back up, and no guards chase us since they aren't allowed to leave the prison.”

Nya nodded. “I think it's our best bet, and we can do it as soon as possible.”

She leaned back to look into the living room at Jay. He was pacing in a tight circle, feet kicking through the debris at his feet. He saw her looking at him and managed a quick wave before his limbs locked up and he lunged at the glass, his screams echoing through the monastery despite the dampening from the barrier.

Nya leaned back forward, tears involuntarily welling in her eyes. On either side of her, Lloyd and Kai reached out and gave her a hug, while Cole leaned across the circle and patted her on the knee.

“If it is any consolation, he is still in there, and we can return him to normal,” Zane offered awkwardly; he had never been good at comforting.

“I know that it's just that; that's exactly the problem. I can't stand to see him slowly become captive in his own body,” Nya said, swiping at her eyes.

Zane nodded and rested his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get him back.”

 

Several hours later, just after sunset, the Ninja were suiting up, once again donning their all-black attire. They knew nobody would fall for the trick again, and since nobody was allowed around the prison, it wasn't even necessary, but dressing up in bright colors simply felt wrong. Nya slipped her gi on, careful to tuck her yang necklace into the collar. She briefly wondered if Jay was still wearing his under everything, or if it had broken, or if he had just forgotten it in his room.

She slipped out into the hallway, making a brief detour to the living room on her way to the Destiny's Bounty. Despite having crept in silently in the dark, Jay instantly noticed her presence and turned from where he was sitting, facing the wall. He stood, slowly walking over to Nya, his feet catching on all the debris as he dragged them on the carpet like a zombie.

“Where… going?” Jay asked, every syllable sounding like it had to be violently forced out.

“We’re going to break Harumi out of prison so she can fix you,” Nya replied, placing her hand on the glass.

Jay slowly and jerkily mirrored the movement. “I c—” Jay seemed to hiss as he forced the words out, “Come help?”

“I wis— want you to, trust me, but you’re just too dangerous,” she said, leaning her head forward.

At that moment, Jay seemed to lose the fight against the crystals, and he let out a scream as he turned and slashed at the couch. His claws barely made a difference; the couch was already in tatters. He turned and lunged at the glass, and Nya caught a glimpse of his eye staring out from behind the crystals before she turned away. His pupil was a tiny dot in the sea of blue, and it was bloodshot, as if he had been crying.

She shuddered as she made her way over to the Bounty. It was almost possible to think of the thing in the cage as separate from Jay, completely replacing him, but his eye forced her out of the fantasy. She could see his recognition, the fear as his body acted on its own, and the sadness when she flinched away or turned to leave the room. She absentmindedly climbed the stairs and took her place at the wheel.

“Alright, we’re all set,” Lloyd called up.

Nya signaled that she had heard him and started up the Bounty, engines roaring to life. The sound reminded her of the Bounty’s first flight; Jay had been so proud of his work to make it fly. She shook her head violently and started steering the ship up. Dwelling on past memories wouldn’t help Jay in the present, and they only served to make her feel worse, which could cause her to get sloppy.

 

Kai looked out over the city, absentmindedly nibbling on his finger. The streets were still covered in rubble, though the work to clear it seemed to have slowed. In fact, Kai couldn't see anybody illuminated in the streetlights, just debris, vengestone, and crystals. There was something strange about the crystals that Kai couldn't put his finger on.

“Is it just me, or are there chunks of crystal moving around down there?” Cole asked from where he was leaning against the railing.

Kai looked down again. That was what he had thought was strange; it was hard to see from the height they were at and in the dark, but the crystals looked to be wandering around the streets. Kai and Cole exchanged a worried look; this didn't bode well for their mission or the fate of the city as a whole.

“I guess we know why Trustable stopped answering our appeals," Kai said apprehensively.

Lloyd crossed from where he was standing across the ship and laid a hand up on Cole's shoulder.

“I know it seems bad, but we just need to stay on mission. If we can find a way to save Jay, who's to say we can't use it to save everyone down there?” He said, looking sadly down at the city.

“Given the information we have, I calculate our mission will be a success,” Zane said, joining the group.

“You guys are right, we’ve totally got this. Full speed ahead,” he exclaimed, pointing towards the bow.

“You know we’re already going full speed, and Nya can't hear you, right?” Lloyd asked, raising his eyebrow at Kai.

“Uh, obviously, it was a figure of speech for dramatic effect,” he replied, rolling his eyes.

“Sure, whatever, I’m going to go check on Nya,” Lloyd said, spinning around and heading for the stairs.

Kai went back to staring at the city, continuing to gnaw on his fingertip. Cole looked down at him and made a strange face.

“Dude, Lloyd is right; stop chewing on your finger, it's nasty.”

“But it’s itchyyyyy.”

 

Nya carefully navigated the Bounty down, landing it farther than normal and behind the prison rather than in front. She pulled her mask over her face and exited the control room with Lloyd, rejoining the other ninja. They all exchanged brief nods and leapt over the Bounty's railings, landing lightly on the sand below.

They all started walking toward the prison, keeping an eye out for any extra security that might have been hired. Surprisingly, they reached the base of the cliff the building was perched on with no issue. The ninja all exchanged a slightly nervous look before they grabbed onto the rocks and started climbing. No reason to cancel the mission because they weren't caught.

Cole was the first to reach the top, so he helped haul the rest over the edge. Lloyd was the last one over, and as he brushed off his gi, he made a confused face and pointed behind the others. They turned and saw he was pointing at a newly erected fence, one that was covered in warning signs.

‘DANGER 10,000 VOLTS’

‘Turn around if you value your life’

‘There is nothing worth saving beyond this fence’

‘You will be killed on sight’

There were many more of a similar nature, and the ninja all felt a chill run through them. They knew the prison was on lockdown, but they never imagined that whatever it was could be this bad. They all looked to Lloyd, who took a deep breath, screwed his eyes shut, and grabbed the fence.

Lloyd’s eyes snapped open; the fence wasn't electrified. He had expected it since he couldn’t hear a current running through the metal, but it had still been nerve-wracking to touch anyway. He sighed, letting all the air he was holding out, and began climbing the fence. The others followed his lead, trying to ignore the building sense of dread.

They jumped down from the top of the fence and cautiously started making their way towards the prison. The night was quiet, and they could hear nothing but the shifting sand. Completely unimpeded, they reached the prison's walls, and Cole crouched down into stance, ready to carve out a doorway for them. Lloyd grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

“Just make an eyehole first,” he whispered, “to make sure we won't let anything out.”

Cole nodded and stood, swiping his hand over the stone of the wall. Where it passed, the rock disappeared, leaving a hole for them to look into. They all pressed their faces against the wall, looking inside for any danger. It was hard to see anything in the dark, and the building wasn't lit due to the apparent power outage. Their eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, and the state of the prison started to become visible to them. The courtyard looked like it had been ransacked; all the equipment was in pieces scattered across the ground. Despite this, it was completely empty.

They all stepped back, and Lloyd signaled Cole to take the wall down. Cole once again crouched down into his stance, raising his arms up and throwing them down. As he did, a section of the wall cleanly slid into the earth, leaving them a rectangular doorway. He stepped through, cautiously scanning his surroundings before signaling for the rest of the ninja to follow him through.

The ninja all stepped through the wall and hesitated. They exchanged silent looks; they had all forgotten which way Harumi's cell was, but none wanted to admit it. Nya and Zane both sighed and pointed to the left, giving the others disappointed stares. The group quickly made their way around the building to the side with Harumi’s cell. They passed a large hole that led into the prison interior and paused. They exchanged uneasy looks, and Cole quickly covered the hole, despite the fact it was probably useless.

They quickly moved on, hurrying to reach Harumi. Cole was in the lead as they rounded the corner of the building. He suddenly stopped, causing the rest of the ninja to bump into him. Lloyd opened his mouth to question him, but before he could, Cole simply pointed toward the forward.

In the wall directly across from Harumi's cell, a large section had collapsed, matching the wall of the prison building. It was clear whatever the prison had been locked down to protect had escaped, leaving a sickening feeling hovering in the air.

Lloyd shook his head and kept walking; they couldn't afford to think about things like this when the answer could be so close. He reached Harumi's cell and signaled for Cole to boost him up to the barred window. Cole threaded his fingers together and held his hands out. Lloyd used them as a foothold and hoisted himself up to the window, using the bars to steady himself. He looked inside, but it was too dark to make anything out.

“Harumi?” He called softly, listening for any movement or response.

He heard the shifting of blankets to the left side of the room, and he could faintly see a figure rise from the bed and walk to the center of the room. Harumi looked up at Lloyd, crossing her arms.

“Look who finally showed up. I thought you were just going to leave me to die here,” she said coldly.

“We said we’d get you out, and we are,” Lloyd replied, trying to ignore her hostility.

“Took you an awful long time. You didn't spend half as long to get Aspheera out,” she said, checking her nails in the pale moonlight.

“This is totally different; we had an incredibly short window of time for her,” Lloyd argued back.

“And what? Your window of time for the dumb one is longer because you care about him less?” Harumi asked, smirking.

“I’m not arguing this with you, Harumi. Is our deal still on or not?” Lloyd asked.

“Of course it is; I never said it wasn’t,” Harumi said smugly.

Lloyd let out a loud groan and signaled Cole to let him down.

“Go ahead and bust it down; try not to let Harumi get crushed in rubble again,” Lloyd said, patting Cole on the back.

“I HEARD THAT,” Harumi called from inside her cell.

Cole punched the wall, and the rock crumbled, falling in hundreds of chunks onto the ground. Harumi stepped out; a thin layer of dirt covered her. She brushed off her prison uniform, which hung loosely on her, and walked straight past the ninja.

“Uh, where are you going?” Lloyd asked.

“To your ship, obviously. I'm not looking to hang around the glorified graveyard anymore.” Harumi said dismissively over her shoulder.

Everyone gave Lloyd a sympathetic look as he dragged his hands down his face before following after her.

“You don't even know where we parked!”

Lloyd chased after Harumi, following her past the doorway Cole had made. The moment the two of them stepped out, they were greeted by a crystal zombie lunging towards them, claws up and mouth open wide. Lloyd instinctively shot out a pulse of green energy, throwing the creature back and inadvertently knocking down Harumi. As the zombie writhed on the floor, Lloyd recognized it as Aspheera, the patchy covering over her body eerily similar to Jay's.

Aspheera’s claws caught on the ground, and she started to pull herself up. Lloyd stepped back, pulling Harumi up as he did. He readied a more concentrated blast of elemental power in his hands, ready to shoot it at Aspheera, when he heard a slight noise from behind him. He whipped around and shot as soon as he saw a glimpse of pink behind him. The zombie he hit had a large chunk of crystal blasted off of their chest, revealing the prison uniform beneath it. This one he recognized as The Mechanic, his non-covered prosthetic arm being a dead giveaway.

The crystals on The Mechanic were strange, almost giving him a wolf-like appearance. Sprouts at the top of his head looked like ears; the growths on his hands and feet looked like paws. Lloyd didn’t get much time to think it over as he heard Aspheera lunge forward behind him. He ducked, pulling Harumi down with him as Apheera passed over them, landing with a crash against The Mechanic.

Lloyd sprang up as the other ninja raced past him, intent on reaching the fence before the zombies could recuperate. He turned to help up Harumi, but she was long gone, having left him to fend for himself. He resisted the urge to let out another groan as he sprinted for the fence, listening for the zombies behind him. Right before he reached the fence, the ninja on the other side started screaming for him to look out, and he barely dodged as a third zombie lunged from the side. Lloyd jumped up on the fence, scrambling over the top.

As he landed, the others turned to run back to the Bounty, but he paused. Looking back at the zombie who had just attacked him, he noticed it was different from the rest. The covering of crystals was uniform and complete, covering their whole body with no patches like the others. More worryingly, the zombie, who seemed to have just been a random inmate, had a large hole in their stomach, one Lloyd could see clean through.

He shuddered and turned, racing to catch up with the others. There was definitely something going on with the differences in the zombies. Maybe two strains of the same virus? Three, perhaps, considering the Mechanic's animalistic appearance. Or it could just be two, and the presentation was less obvious on Apheera. That would mean even once he's fully covered, Jay would still be in a juvenile stage of the virus. The hole in the zombie's stomach was the biggest concern; an injury that severe would have certainly been fatal. Were the crystal zombies actual zombies, brought back from the dead? Lloyd shook his head; it was all far too confusing. He decided he would start a journal once they were back home with his observations to keep his thoughts straight.

 

After what felt like the longest flight ever, in which Lloyd spent a majority of it hiding in the control room with Nya, the ninja finally made it back to the monastery. The second they landed, Nya leaped off and ran inside to check on Jay. She entered the room and stopped, her hands involuntarily leaping to her mouth.

In the few hours they had been gone, the crystal had grown from his knee all the way down his left leg, though it stopped at his calf on his right leg. The already tattered furniture was completely ruined, and the glass had deep gouges in it. Jay was intently working on breaking through the glass, scratching, clawing, and throwing his body at it. Unlike previously, when he would have a brief window of lucidity, there was no recognition this time. It seemed that his mind had finally completely gone.

Notes:

i had such a blast writing this. i was originally finished with it, but i thought the prison was missing some zest, so i added the zombie chase to give it some excitement. aspheera is there for all you aspheera lovers so enjoy her while she lasts. sorry jay fans your goat is cooked 3

anyway, kudos and comments are very much appreciated, and thanks for reading!!!!

Notes:

i kept forgetting to post this but my friend is literally sitting next to me going POST IT POST IT so now im posting it