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Chapter Text

Jay stood on the edge of the Bounty. He knew what would happen if his creation didn’t work- they were so far up that he would fall, break all his bones hitting the earth, and then die painfully. Yet he took the step and jumped.

Cole looked at his friend and smiled when he saw the blue wings spread. He was glad Jay had started this again. He seemed happier and less on edge. Jay closed his eyes for just a moment from being slightly nervous, but heard the click and woosh of the wings expanding. He opened his eyes to see the world coming at him significantly slower than before.

“Woo-hoo!” Jay cheered. His wings had worked. The wings gently glided through the air. He tilted them this way and that, feeling like a paper airplane. Cole had steered the chip so high up that Jay had plenty of time before he needed to worry about landing. He thought back to when he had done this in front of Nya to impress her when she first came to the monastery. She had rolled her eyes, and less than a week later, she made her own set of red wings.

The two had played with them for quite a while before Jay’s broke, and Nya’s got worn enough she didn’t feel safe using them anymore. After that, the two tried to make a double one so they could both fly. That one lasted slightly longer since they’d put their skills together, but it got discarded after a while.

Jay smiled, remembering how fun that had been. He wondered if Nya would make another with him. Probably not. She had bigger and better things to do with life than fly around with him. Then Jay’s thoughts flashed all the way back to when he first met Sensei Wu- he had been in a glider only a bit different than this one. Wow. Some things never change.

He was nearing the earth now. Jay gently landed the glider and took it off. He was ready to return to the Destiny’s Bounty and his Ninja duties. This had been a great few moments and a nice break from the stale air of the cabins. Perhaps he would challenge himself to make an electric glider with proper flying wings for one or two people...

Chapter Text

After that initial flight, Nya worked with Jay to make a special device. A few weeks later, they stood before their creation: an electric version of their two-person glider from a while ago. They decided to test it out together by jumping off the Monastery, like they had previously done. Cole once again offered to watch, but Kai insisted on being present as well.

“Kai, we’ll be fine. We did this a while ago, remember? We’re even older and wiser!” Nya said jokingly. She was irritated her brother didn’t trust her and Jay’s abilities, but she knew he was just being a protective big brother, like when he had forced her to put on the old airjitzu suit. They all knew full well that airjitzu used dark magic, so they shouldn’t use it, but Kai made her wear the old gi because it had extra padding while still being light.

“Yeah, sure you are, but you haven’t made this type of thing before.” Kai crossed his arms. He stood against the gate in the wall.

Cole spoke up. “Would you feel better if you supervise this once, and then you’ll know they can handle it?” Kai nodded. He wasn’t scared or anything, just cautious.

“But then we can do this in peace, right?” Nya asked.

“If it goes well.”

“Of course it will!” Jay exclaimed. He just wanted to test it. It would work like any of their previous versions, but it could go up, not just down, thanks to Nya’s engineering and Jay’s elemental power. It was incredibly light for using electricity and holding two people. He and Nya stepped to the edge of the mountain and checked each other’s straps and buckles. The drop was definitely far. After a moment of deep breathing and a quick prayer, Jay looked at Nya and smiled.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Whenever you are.” She nodded and gently squeezed his hand. Then they got into position.

“Three… two… one… Jump!” Jay stepped off the sharp ledge, and for a second, he could see Nya’s face tense and knuckles go white. When the air caught under its wings, she loosened her grip slightly and smiled. Jay could feel his electricity buzzing, trying to connect with the craft, and he let it. Immediately, he let out a cheer- the glider was going up! He let it climb higher and higher.

“Jay, I think we’re high enough!” Nya said. Jay agreed. They were above the clouds. He decided that was probably unsafe, what with oxygen levels and all. So he stopped sending a current through the system. The creation gently glided through the clouds and slowly descended. Nya looked so happy. She loved riding dragons, and this had a similar feeling. Not the same, but fairly close. “Do you even know where we are?” She asked.

“I have no idea!” Jay laughed. They landed softly in a field full of flowers. A dozen colors and types were sprinkled around. With the setting sun at their backs, it felt like they were in a movie.

“That was great!” Nya exclaimed. Jay began to undo the buckles and straps from his friend, and then did his own. He picked the glider up.

“Well, Nya, where do we go from here?” He asked.

Nya shrugged. “No clue. I’ll just ask Kai and Cole to use the locator on the glider and pick us up.” Seemed like a good plan, so Jay used his comms to call them. The two said they were on the way, but it would take a little while.

“They’ll be here soon.” Jay said.

“Sit.” Nya patted the ground next to where she sat, criss-cross-applesauce. Jay placed the glider next to him and sat next to her. Nya closed her eyes and grinned, enjoying the warmth from the sun, the slight breeze, the smell of flowers, the rush from the ride, and just being next to her friend. Jay could tell it was not the time for talking.

He looked at Nya. Her hair blew around her face just a bit, which glowed in the setting sun, and the airjitzu gi she wore was dark, standing out against the light green grass and colorful flowers. Jay couldn’t help but blush and smile a bit. They had gone through a lot a year ago, but Nya had decided not to put the boys and their missions before her own life anymore, since she realized death was not as far off as they once thought it was. She had begun to do little things for her own enjoyment with each of the boys. Shopping with Lloyd. Ice sculpting with Zane. Going to a concert with Cole. Snuggling with Kai (though it often turned into wrestling). Gliding with Jay. He had noticed this, even if the others might not have. She was constantly with someone and doing something. Determined not to let anyone steal this second chance at life.

Nya opened her eyes as the sound of a flying ship drew near. Jay turned away quickly, blushing again. Nya rolled her eyes and grinned. The boy was terrible at hiding his feelings. But it didn’t bother her. Jay had sincere intentions and truly loved her now, in a positive, healthy way. They stood up as the anchor dropped, and got on. It pulled them up slowly. Right before they got to the top, Nya leaned over and gave Jay the smallest of kisses on the cheek. Wowzers, it had been such a good day! Jay decided he would have to take her out gliding again.

Chapter Text

“How was it?” Kai asked, looking his sister up and down to check for issues. He didn’t see anything.

“Spectacular!” Nya said cheerily. Jay smiled.

“It was awesome.” He agreed. Kai looked at him intensly and smirked. On no! Was his face still red?

“Your freckles are showing with all this time in the sun, bud.” Kai said. He thought freckles made Jay look less ninja-y, but his sister thought they were cute. Jay grinned.

“Hey guys, how did it go?” Cole asked, hopping down to them.

“I’ll tell you about it on the way back.” Jay said. Away from Kai and Nya. Thankfully, the siblings began bickering about who-knows-what.

Cole led Jay up to the steering wheel, where he prepared to hear a long tale about how incredible it was and how amazing Nya was. Kai shrieked about something, probably a clever insult from his sister, and a loud slam could be heard.

“Ha!” Nya shouted. Her brother groaned, clearly regretting his life choices. She locked the door.

Kai had tried to stuff her in the closet with the external lock, but Nya had swung around and now he was inside it, and she was outside, laughing smugly.

Jay and Cole chatted on the way home (really, Jay chatted and Cole listened) while Kai tried to negotiate his freedom. Nya didn’t let him out until they anchored to the Monastery.

When they all got off, Jay and Nya set up a time next week they would do this again. And they did! So they all lived happily ever after… Right?

Well, several months later, Jay had a bad feeling about their (almost) weekly flight. They had been using the device for long enough that he thought it was time for it to get cleaned, oiled, have some parts replaced, etc.

Nya said she’d help, but after their flight. She said there was a storm coming in, so they should go out before that. Jay reluctantly agreed. One more flight would be fine.

“Wait, Jay. Cole isn’t here. Who will pick us up?” Nya tugged on her friend.

“We can call somebody, or if we are close to the city, get public transportation. Or fly it back.” He said. It might take a lot of energy, but if nobody could get them from wherever they landed, Jay could propel the invention back.

So they flew it up as far as they felt comfortable, and enjoyed the extra time and height it gave them. Starting from higher meant the glider went farther. They landed, both smiling ear-to-ear.

“This is the best!” Jay cheered. He went to call on his comm, but realized the earpiece was missing. “I think my earpiece fell out…”

“It’s fine. You said you can fly us back, and there was no wind. Plus, I remember the direction.” Said Nya.

“I guess.” Jay shrugged. He felt energized, so he’d probably be able to make it back. But there was that storm… Nah, it’d probably be fine. So Nya tightened his straps, he did hers, and then he sent them up.

It would be harder to get as high since they weren’t already at the Monastery height, but as long as they got close, they could walk. As predicted though, it did not go to plan. Wow, who would've guessed?

“The view is amazing from up here.” Nya remarked half an hour into their journey back. Jay thought it would take forty-five minutes, so they were over halfway there. But as if on cue, thunder rumbled across the sky.

Jay was starting to get tired, so he used a burst or energy to send them higher, but then he just steered it as a glider for a bit. Thunder continued. No lightning. A few minutes later, the tall mountain could be seen.

“Almost there!” Jay gasped. He was ready to be done. Naturally, he started hearing and feeling raindrops.

“Oh no. It’s only a bit farther… We’ll be fine.” Nya said, but her voice trembled just a bit.

“Of course!” Jay chuckled nervously. But at that moment, a lightning bolt came out of nowhere, too close for comfort. Nya instinctively clapped her hands over her ears, but without her hand steering with him, Jay lost control of their invention. He tried to get it in the right direction, but it was hard.

More lightning crackled around them. Jay had been used as a lightning rod before- he knew it would be attracted to him. So, flying aimlessly through the storm, he yanked on the emergency cord to release Nya’s straps.

Time slowed down. Nya was still covering her ears. Jay grabbed her tight, trying not to look at her terrified expression. He knew full well Airjitzu used dark magic, but summoned some around her and pushed. She caught on and continued, but Jay lost all balance without the second person, and could not steer the craft any more.

It spiraled through the crackling, thundering skies, and Jay could feel it- and him- being hit with bolts of electricity.

Eventually, the device had enough, and (though Jay didn’t know where), it exploded at the bottom of the long staircase. Jay was launched upwards, hit again by a bolt of lightning. He landed painfully and fell into darkness.

Nya, at the same time, had definitely freaked out in the storm. But when she felt the strange sensation of Airjitzu and realized her straps had been released, she figured out what was happening and continued it.

Nya let out a shriek as she saw Jay lose control of the glider thing and fly away from her. The rain obscured her vision though, and she spun through the air, hoping it was in the right direction.

After what felt like hours to Nya, she saw the stony mountain. Exhausted and worried for Jay, she collapsed just before she could reach the ledge.

Chapter Text

Kai was sick with anxiety. He couldn’t stop pacing, back and forth, back and forth, in the living room. Eventually Cole had heard enough of the creaky floorboards.

“Hey, I know you’re worried, we all are, but you need to calm down. Nya’s the master of water, for FSM’s sake. Between her and Lightning Rod, they could practically control a storm.”

Kai stopped pacing in front of the boy and narrowed his eyes, thinking about the words Cole had said. His face turned to shock: “You don’t think Jay’s attracting the lightning, do you? Nya’s basically tied to him! She’d get electrocuted!”

Cole sighed. He shouldn’t have said that, since it obviously didn’t help the situation. “Kai, I’m sure they’re fine. Once the storm clears up even a little bit, we can go outside. But you’re going to get soaked. Maybe Lloyd saw something.” Lloyd had been in his room, looking out his window in the direction Nya and Jay had left. Zane was sitting with him.

“I can’t just sit here and wait! Nya’s my sister, and I’m going to find her!” Kai said, returning to pacing for a moment before putting on a thick, hooded raincoat. He didn’t know where to start. Thankfully, before Kai could actually leave (or do something stupid), Lloyd ran in with Zane in his wake.

“Wait! Kai!” Zane called. The teen shut the door and raised an eyebrow. “The emergency release switch has been triggered on Nya’s side. She is not in the glider anymore. I will accompany you in the search.”

Kai’s eyes went wide. “She fell?”

“Possibly, or Jay pushed her out. Fortunately, it was not too far from the Monastery. We should take the Bounty.” Zane said. “Wait, oh no!”

“What?” Kai demanded. Lloyd stayed silent, just staring at Zane. Cole remained quiet as well.

“Well…” Zane said slowly, “I believe the tracker on the glider has stopped transmitting signals. Right at the base of the long staircase.” Cole stood up.

“Lloyd, come with me. Let’s check it out.” He said, pulling on the Green Ninja’s sleeve.

“Kai and I shall take The Destiny’s Bounty and try to locate Nya.” announced Zane, a tinge of worry coating his voice. Cole grabbed a rain jacket for his youngest brother, one for himself, and one for Jay, along with the large umbrella. The pair left and began down the long staircase.

“What’s wrong?” Cole asked after a moment. The younger ninja looked up at him. Cole didn’t expect Lloyd to respond with much, but he was about to get a surprise.

“I’m tired. We thought it would be safe to enjoy hobbies between fights, but it’s not. I just… I don’t know what to do. I’m sick of everyone being in danger. It’s like we spend every minute of every day trying to stay alive, you all spend all your time trying to protect me, and this stuff can still happen. Even the weather is trying to kill us.” Lloyd sighed. Cole stopped walking, shocked that Lloyd said so much. He caught up to his brother and proposed a question.

“Would you like to go on vacation somewhere? Farther away, where none of this stuff could get in the way?” Cole sure did, and had been thinking about it for a while now. He would love to get out of Ninjago, maybe vacation in an entirely different realm that didn’t need him and his friends to save it every other week.

“Hmm. Maybe. That sounds really nice.” A tired voice said blandly. They were nearing the end of the stairs, at least. The rain had started to let up, and was now just a drizzle. The sky was gray. Miserable. Just like how Lloyd sounded.

“You know, Lloyd… ” Cole started.

“What?” The Green Ninja asked. Then both pairs of eyes fell on a blue gi. More than that, it was Jay! Cole ran over, Lloyd right on his tail.

“Jay! Jay, can you hear me? Are you alright?”

Lloyd glanced over his friend, making sure he didn’t see anything broken. He didn’t see any wonky angles, but he couldn’t tell. “Cole, I think we should call Zane. I’m scared to move him.”

Cole looked up from his position kneeling next to Jay. “Good idea. Can you do that?” Lloyd nodded, and held the umbrella over the three of them, dialing his friend.

“Come on Jay, wake up!” Cole whispered into Jay’s ear. He didn’t move. Cole thought that, if Jay was in a lot of pain, it might be better for him to stay asleep. Nothing was bleeding much, just a couple scratches. But there were definitely lightning burns. They looked like frost on glass- delicate. While Cole couldn’t remember, Jay remembered the time he saw those on himself previously- when on the mast of a boat, acting as a lightning rod for his friends below.

Chapter Text

On the Bounty: “Zane! If Nya isn’t with Jay, we need to keep looking!”

“Yes, Kai, but I need to pay immediate attention to Jay. You should accompany us, but once we get Jay back home, you and Lloyd can fly out again.” Zane stated calmly.

Kai paced, absolutely panicked at this point. The guy wasn’t the best at emotion management, especially when related to his sister. “Nya is out who-knows-where with no communication and nobody nearby to help her! And it’s still raining!”

“Yes, it is.” Zane decided the best route to take was to be blunt and let Kai work it out of his system (hopefully without burning anything).

“And she’s probably scared!”

“I’m sure she is. We can make sure she comes home without worries related to Jay’s whereabouts, though.”

“I guess…” Kai trailed off, finally sitting down. He sat in silence until they landed near Jay, Cole, and Lloyd.

Zane frowned, seeing a limp blue form next to a crouched black one. Lloyd came over quickly.

“We found him like this. I don’t see anything too bad, though. But he won’t wake up.”

“Nothing appears to be broken. However, he has burns and we must clean out the scratches on his arm.”

Cole helped Zane get Jay into the Destiny's Bounty. Kai suddenly ran off with no explanation. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why, though.

“Do you want me to…” Lloyd started, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the red ninja.

Zane nodded. “That would be wise. Unlike Kai, at the moment.”

Lloyd gave a tired sigh but ran after his older brother.

“Nya! Nya, where are you!” Kai yelled, over and over as the two ran around the base of the mountain.

“Kai, we’ve been looking for a solid half hour. I’m hungry. Why couldn’t we wait five minutes to use a flying ship that has technology we could use to scan for heat?” And has snacks, he thought silently.

Kai growled in response. Tech was never quite his thing, and he had wanted to start looking immediately. In a particularly rocky patch, Lloyd spotted a figure in black. “I see her!” Lloyd shouted, recognizing the Airjitzu gi a ‘mile’ away. (More like a quarter mile, but still.)

Spotting his sister as well, Kai vaulted over a boulder to get to her, but resisted the urge to embrace her. Lloyd ran over. Kai crouched down next to Nya, gently rubbing her back.

“Nya? Wake up Nya, we’re here.” He said softly. Lloyd heard a quiet groan, followed by a gasp as Nya shot up into a sitting position. “Easy there!” Kai smiled. “Are you hurt?”

Nya looked at him, shook her head, and blinked a couple times. “Uh, no? I don’t think so. What’s going on?”

“You and Jay ran into a storm while gliding back.” Lloyd stated.

“Speaking of which, where is Jay?” Nya asked, apparently thinking clearly again.

Kai helped her stand up. “At the Monastery. What happened? From your perspective.”

“We kept getting hit by lightning. The glider, not me.” She added after noticing the panic in her brother’s eyes. “Jay pushed me out, but I did Airjitzu. I really thought I landed ON the mountain, not at the bottom.”

“You fell HOW far?!” Kai squeaked.

Nya pointed to the top of the cliff in response. Kai went pale.

“And you aren’t even HURT?”

Nya shook her head. “Guess I got lucky.” While nobody could have known, Nya had unconsciously gathered the rain around her into a cushion to break the fall.

Kai stepped closer and smothered his sister in a warm hug. Nya noticed Lloyd over her shoulder. Was that rain dripping from his damp hair, or had he started crying?

Chapter Text

Nya whispered, “Hold up, why’s Lloyd crying?” Her brother shrugged.

“I have no idea, he’s been really quiet all day.”

Louder as she broke free from the hug, Nya asked, “Lloyd, are you okay?”

The green ninja blinked away the tears as best as he could. Then, in a flat voice and using finger quotes (an odd combo), he said,

“Nothing’s ‘okay.’ Jay’s not, you’re not. Ninjago’s not. Cole needs to leave, my uncle’s in another time somewhere, and Zane had a vision. And the fact that Kai’s currently the most ‘okay’ is not ‘okay.’”

Wow. There was a lot there that could be unpacked. Kai didn’t like the last part very much; he was proud that he was managing himself well and didn't appreciate Lloyd's insult.

“Why’s that not ‘okay’?” He asked, mimicking Lloyd’s finger quotes.

Nya ignored him, directing her question towards Lloyd. “Where do you fit into that?”

Lloyd shook his head and frowned. “I don’t know. I want to find my uncle, but we’re falling apart and nothing we try to do is safe anymore.”

Briefly, Nya remembered how Jay had coaxed her into working on the glider.

~~~~~
“Maybe we’ll see Sensi, or something else cool! We can go farther and look more if we work together!” Jay had said excitedly.
Nya doubted they would see Sensi Wu in a random field, but sure, why not try?
~~~~~

And it hadn't turned out to be a safe or effective hobby- in fact, the most interesting thing Nya had seen was two skeletons walking with a human girl. Definitely not Sensi Wu.

Their adventuring ended up with Jay crashing into the status and her falling off a cliff. But she was fine and hardly hurt. “Wait, why don't you think I'm okay?”

Lloyd turned to her and logged her in the eyes. In a serious tone, stated his reason, and chilled the Smith siblings to their bones.

“Because you're dying.”

Chapter Text

How does one respond to such an accusation? One doesn't, and hopes someone else breaks the silence.

“What do you mean? Nya's older brother demanded. She noticed, despite being frozen in her place, that he had tensed up. Kai’s eyes clicked from Lloyd to Nya and back to Lloyd.

Not looking away from his sister's eyes, Lloyd answered. “You're constantly spending time with someone. Only times you're ever alone are at night or in the bathroom. You've been learning new skills and trying new hobbies.”

Lloyd paused momentarily before continuing. “You compliment more and argue less. You don't go anywhere alone and are so clingy to Jay. Look at yourself: you're so thin and have such dark circles under your eyes.

Not to mention the nights you spend in Jay's room, or even Kai's. I hear you cry out in the dark. Cole's worried sick about it.

Oh, and if you still don’t see where I’m coming from,” Lloyd finally turned to Kai, “Zane had a vision of one of us dying. It was either Nya or Jay. But I know who it was.”

He turned back to Nya. “But you're protecting us. Stop keeping secrets and… JUST TELL US!” Lloyd’s voice cracked at the end, rising to a yell.

Nya felt her legs go numb. Lloyd just kept staring into her soul. She hadn't realized it was so obvious that something was wrong. She wasn’t dying, not anymore, yet he wasn’t far off.

“Wait, I-” she started. “No-” but the world was turning dark around her and everything felt disconnected. As if underwater, Nya heard Kai shout something. The accusations Lloyd had listed swam in circles around her mind. Everything was spinning…

“Nya? Lloyd- grab her!” Kai shouted, lunging forward and catching his wavering sister. He pulled her to the ground. “Nya, what's wrong?”

Her eyes stared past him, flicking around but not settling. Kai thought she looked creepy with her mouth half-open and unfocused eyes, so he looked up at Lloyd.

“We are going to talk later, but for now to get Zane.” He waved his hand up to emphasize the urgency. Kai felt Nya go limp in his arms and looked down. Her brows were furrowed over her tightly shut eyes.

“Shoot, sis, don't do that. Wake up. Zane is on the way. It's all gonna be fine.” Kai whispered. But honestly, Lloyd had scared him. Guess all he could do now was wait.

Chapter Text

Months ago, I had a vision. A vision so terrifying I hadn't told anybody for a month. Lloyd had questions that connected to it, so he is the only one who knows.

*The vision*

There had been an orange haze in the air. I must not have been in my body, as none of my scanning or other electronic overlays were present. I could feel shallow breathing in my chest and something that both froze and burned flowing through my veins. So I was in a body, just not my own.

For some reason, the eyes I was looking through couldn't seem to focus when someone's head moved in front of them. There were voices, Jay and Nya's, but they were indecipherable and I could not tell who was speaking with the mouth I felt moving. Everything faded to black, filled only with pain.

The vision had ended, and I stood up to move on with life.

Jay is groaning now, bringing me back from the thoughts to the room we're currently in. Though it is a storage room, I would consider it adequately equipped as a medbay. Should I call it that within hearing (or eavesdropping) range of the others, they would argue, saying "We don't need a medbay. It's not like we get *that* hurt or sick. And we know how to take care of ourselves."

They do, in fact, get rather hurt and ill, but their feelings of pride would never let them admit it. Other than Cole, perhaps, but he has an aversion to any medical setting. So the storage room it is.

"Hey, Zane?" Jay gets my attention. "Wait, where am I?" He shakes his head.

"The storage room." I respond. We have been here less than a half-hour, so all I've really done is sift through memories and wait for him to wake up.

"Can you say that again? I didn't hear you."

"We are currently located in the storage room." I repeat, slightly louder this time. Humans can not hear as well as nindriods, so I don't mind repeating myself occasionally.

Jay looks around. "Oh, the storage room. Why?"

"You were repeatedly struck by lightning, and then fell a somewhat considerable distance, Jay."

"Why?" He asks again. I double-check that I haven't muted or something silly like that. Nothing turns up strange.

"Do I need to be louder?"

"I can't hear you, Zane." Jay frowns. I frown as well, but step closer.

"You got hit by lightning and fell out of the sky." I summarize.

"Zane, why can't I hear you?" Jay sounds confused now, and the rise in his voice reveals anxiety as well.

"I do not know. May I scan you?" Though I know the answer is always a yes, especially from Jay, I still believe it is far more polite to ask first. Unless of course, someone can't answer and we are in a highly dangerous or time-sensitive situation.

"I can't hear you, Zane! You're talking but I can't hear you!"

What do you say to a friend who can't hear you? Nothing. He won't be able to hear you anyway.

Chapter Text

Jay’s heartbeat quickened. He couldn’t hear his brother. In fact, all he could hear was what he first thought was the fan or electricity. Actually it was crackling. In his head. Just loud enough to notice. Just loud enough to sound like lightning but cover up other sounds.

Zane was obviously talking. Jay figured there was probably other obvious, important information he could find as well. Okay, he was in the storage room. And unfortunately, based on the fact he was on the spare bed rather than the ripped comfy chair, he must have been put there because of an injury or something.

What had he been doing that got him hurt? Oh, he was gliding… with Nya… NYA!

“ZANE!” He shouted.

The startled nindroid stopped his scan and looked at Jay expectantly.

“Where’s Nya? I pushed her!”

Zane shrugged. That was not the kind of question he could really answer. Just then, Lloyd burst in, hopefully with Nya. Nope, she wasn’t with him. Nor was Kai.

“Nya- she-” Lloyd started, panting from the speed of his run/climb up the mountain.

“Lloyd, take a few seconds to calm yourself down.” Zane said gently. Jay looks at Lloyd in alarm.

“Lloyd, what’s wrong?” He asks.

Lloyd took a breath and tried again. “Nya was at the bottom of the mountain, but the three of us kinda just had a fight sorta, and then she kinda just...” He moved his hands around while he talked, trying to get the point across that Nya had passed out without actually saying it.

“She fainted?” Jay exclaimed loudly. He jumped out of bed, but clutched his head and sat down again.

Lloyd nodded. Zane looked from Jay to Lloyd. “I shall accompany Lloyd down the mountain. Lloyd, get Cole and tell him to stay with Jay.”

Lloyd nodded and rushed out of the room. Zane sighed and pulled up a hologram above his arm that turned his voice into text for Jay to read. “Jay, just sit tight. I’m not sure what the best course of action is right now, but it doesn’t include you getting in our way. How about you and Cole push some boxes and cushions together?” He knew Jay wanted to help, especially with Nya involved, but seemed to be in no shape to do so. Zane would need a place for Nya to sit or lay, so it seemed like a harmless task for Jay to do.

“Great. I’ll just wait for Cole.” Jay nodded and laid back down. Zane stepped out as Cole stepped in, and Lloyd led his friend into the Bounty and down the mountain.

“Lloyd, do you mind telling me what exactly happened?” Zane asked, using as neutral a tone as possible. Lloyd shook his head. When he could see his siblings, he landed, pointing Zane in the right direction. He jumped back into the ship and took off. By the time Zane realized Lloyd was running away, it was too late to call to him.

Chapter Text

Kai sat at the bottom of the mountain on the somewhat muddy ground, stroking his sister's hair. They frequently found themselves in the position: Kai sitting on the floor or a bed with Nya's head on his leg, lying down. The two sat in silence. Occasionally Kai let out a shaky breath or a tear rolled down Nya's cheek. Kai saw the Bounty fly away, which was odd because wasn't Zane supposed to use it to get to them?

Finally, after what Kai thought was forever, Zane made his way down to them. "Hello, you two. You seem to be doing better than what Lloyd implied." He said, looking at Nya.

"I'm just really tired at the moment." She gave a smile. Her body felt exhausted, drained of almost all energy. Kai rubbed her shoulder.

"Zane, why did the Bounty leave that way?" He asked while pointing.

The nindroid frowned. "Unfortunately it would appear that he has taken a voyage without us. I believe he is attempting to escape or hide from us. Or perhaps he is simply searching for his uncle. I do not know."

“What? Ug, come on. I bet that you and Nya and Jay will figure out how to track him.”

“Where is Jay, anyway?” Nya raised an eyebrow as she pushed herself up.

Zane pointed up towards the Monastery.

“Speaking of which, let’s get back. I want to see Jay.” Nya said. Her brother nodded. She sighed. “Oh, but Lloyd’s run off with our way up.”

“That little green bean! I’m going to have some choice words for him when he gets back.” Kai clenched his fists as he looked in the direction the Bounty had flown.

“Nya, are you injured?” Zane asked. It didn’t look like Nya was avoiding putting pressure anywhere or favoring one foot over the other, but he wanted to check. Just in case. He also was careful not to scan her. He knew some members of the team wouldn’t mind, but Nya had been refusing the last few months. Zane respected that.

“No, I don’t think so. I just feel really, really tired. And weak. Probably from falling out of the sky, if I’m being honest.”

“Well, I believe we should start to head back. Come on, I will be in front. Kai, will you bring up the lead?” Zane looked at him expectantly. Kai nodded.

“Sure.”

So the three headed up the mountain. It was slow. At one point, Nya felt so nauseous she had to sit down. While the climb took less than forty minutes, it felt like forever to her. Normally, she was much faster when climbing. Almost back, she grabbed Zane’s sleeve.

“Zane, hold up. I feel really sick. Like, ill. Not just tired.”
Zane looked back at her. She was paler than she had been, even recently. Kai turned her to face him.

“I got you. Piggyback?”

“Kai, I’m not a child!” Nya exclaimed. “Yeah, piggyback would be great.” So for the next fifteen minutes, she napped on Kai’s back.

Eventually, they made it back to the Monastery and Kai laid his sister on the bed as Jay looked at her with worry.

Chapter Text

Technically a bit prior to the end of the last chapter:

"JAAAAAY WHERE'S THAT ONE COMIC BOOK?" Cole yelled at his friend. As they were setting up the boxes with blankets for Jay to sit on, they had discovered that Jay could hear when Cole yelled at full volume. But Jay could only barely hear him, even yelling. The lightning sounds and visual flashes were making it hard to focus or understand Cole.

Thankfully, ‘comic’ was a word he would recognize anywhere. So he went and grabbed the book from his bed and gave it to Cole before sitting down again. The two sat in silence as they waited for the others to return.

Finally, Kai and Zane brought Nya back. Cole slipped out of the room to allow everyone the space they needed to work and rest. He heard Zane and Kai mention that Lloyd flew off with the Bounty.

Cole decided that it would be best to leave his family alone and chase after his littlest brother. But where to start? And would he really want to go alone?

He knew that it was time to call upon Chiara.

Chiara was, unsurprisingly, right where she’d been the last time he saw her. The girl had fallen in love with the Serpentine tribes and their tunnel network under Ninjago. Plus, it made it easier for her to see if everything was in the dark. He walked around a few turns before a serpentine boy noticed him.

“Stop! Who are you?” He asked Cole.

“I am Cole, Chiara’s friend. I’m a ninja.” He responded calmly.

The young serpentine narrowed his red eyes. “Alright. But I am going to escort you, okay?” Cole shrugged as he began to follow.

Eventually they made it to the ‘throne room.’ It was a room with a proper door, and a throne. Actually, that was a generous description. It had a slightly fancy chair in the middle, made of bones. Sitting atop it was the equally white teen girl that Cole had been looking for.

She lit up when he came in. “Cole?! It’s been a while!”

He smiled. “Yeah. I wish this was a normal visit, but… I need your help.”

“That’s what I do! Help! So, Cole, how can I help you today?”

Cole gulped. “Lloyd ran off. In the Bounty. So he’s flying away. I thought maybe your friends could stop him? I think he is heading Randy’s way.”

Chiara was silent for a second before replying. “I would love to make a trip out to see them. But we couldn’t expect to be faster than a flying ship, and if you are, then why not go after him yourself?”

“Well…” Cole took a breath before continuing, “We won’t beat him. But you have so many friends, and maybe there’s strength in numbers.”

“Sure, but one last question: where’s your team?” Chiara waited silently as Cole worked on how to respond.

“They are currently occupied with the aftermath of an accident we had earlier.”

“Oh. I’ll grab my friend and we’ll head out. Dragons, I assume?” Cole nodded. Chiara grinned. “Just don’t do that once we’re outside.” She whispered to him.

“Huh?” Cole furrowed his brow. “Oh, right.” Chiara couldn’t see in the light. Of course nodding wouldn’t be effective communication out there.

“Bells, care to come on a voyage?” The teen asked a Serpentine who was standing nearby. She looked delighted.

“I would be mossst honored!” Bells replied. Chiara smiled, and the trio began to find their way out of the tunnels.