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Chapter Text

A barrel of dynamite thundered down onto the street. The second it had made contact with the asphalt Jay had turned back to run while Kai had leapt over it. Neither strategy worked, however, as they were both blasted off their feet, dust and debris scattering in all directions.

"I'm going after that lantern!"

Jay hadn't even begun to work on blinking the dust out of his eyes when Kai had begun surging forward again. From Kai's perspective he was simply telling Jay he was going to keep going, mapping out a path to reach the pirate's ship for Jay to follow behind once he'd recovered. He couldn't stop when they were so close. Jay would be a few meters behind him and catch up in a matter of seconds anyway, it barely counted as separation.

To Jay it was the worst thing he could've said. Feeling the clammy hands of dread all over him, because only he fully understood the severity of something as seemingly harmless as momentary separation. 

Kai had just put his life in danger.

"Wait! We're supposed to stay together!" He scrambled to his feet, panic spreading further along his body. 

Much to his own horror, he was able to predict the next few moments. Clancee landed in front of him almost the second he'd jumped to his feet, no weapons or conceivable way of incapacitating him, sent by the pirates with the sole intention of delaying him, preventing a chance of him closing the gap between him and his partner while another pirate informed the captain.

Kai was too busy mapping a path onto the deck, too focused on finding a way to protect the city from its new assailants, to notice his sudden lack of safety. There was no time, Jay had to close the gap because Kai had clearly been selected as the next target. Without thinking he electrocuted Clancee and bolted forward, unsteady and almost tripping over a piece of debris.

Kai had been so efficient in scaling the building he was currently running on that Jay couldn't even see the route he'd used and was now out of earshot. The panic was really setting in now as he noticed Monkey Wrench swing and jump onto the Port side cannons, hooting with joy as he began to take aim at the fire ninja.

Kai had definitely noticed him. It was clear (to Jay, at least) that the monkey had no real intention of harming him (unless he was that much of a lousy shot), as he began aiming past Kai by well over a meter, hoping to keep him stationary for at least a second for Nadakhan to close in.

Jay practically smacked into the building's external stairs, before scaling them at speed.

Kai leapt onto the next roof, effortlessly sprinting along its edge.

Misfortune's Keep made their first mistake.

Too busy focusing on Kai, the ship had quickly deterred off its initial course and was now flying too close alongside another building, and began to scrape against it.

The entire ship jolted, only a millisecond before Monkey Wrench would have fired, and the cannon swung on its axis, Monkey Wrench almost collided with another and shrieked. Unable to really see what had happened from his distance, Kai slowed down, watching the cannon continue to swing maniacally around. What sort of strategy is that? He'll be lucky to fire in his direction, much less hit him.

Mistake or not, it shouldn't have mattered as the pirates had achieved what they were trying to do anyway, Kai was busy occupied watching the Monkey to hear the faint poof of Nadakhan materialising behind him. It did matter, however, as Monkey Wrench also hadn't spotted him, scared of being punished for his mistake, he swung the cannon around and took aim in a frenzied panic, lighting the fuse-

"Not me, you fool!"

Nadakhan's voice bellowed out. Kai spun around, startled, flames rushing to his fingers as he launched a fireball on instinct.

He hadn’t even seen the Djinn before firing but Nadakhan had been practically breathing down his neck, leaving no room to dodge as the flames seared the Djinn's chest. He shrieked in pain, stumbling back.

"Get off of me!" Kai yelled, both hands lighting up as he practically scrambled away.

"Leave him alone!" Jay's voice piped up from behind the Djinn.

It was all too fast, too much confusion and panic. With Nadakhan's back blocking Kai from his vision, Jay assumed by Kai's cry that the Djinn was holding him and about to poof away. He sent a large volt of electricity at Nadakhan, who was already in the process of distancing himself from the fire ninja, and thus evaded the attack.

Kai, who in turn hadn't been able to see exactly where Jay was standing, was less fortunate. The volt slammed his shoulder and spread across his body instantly. Jay could only watch in horror, his eyes widening. Stunned and with his surroundings suddenly blurred, Kai was unable to dodge the cannonball now soaring in his direction.

"KAI!" Jay screamed.

The shot was unintentionally precise, thankfully from a still unstable cannon fired by a frenzied monkey, and thus still missing him, instead lodging into the concrete at his feet, but the blast threw him violently off his feet. With so much dust and debris, Jay lost sight of his partner and began to hyperventilate.

"KAI! ANSWER ME BUDDY!"

Jay sprinted over, forgetting Nadakhan who was now poofing away from the scene but he couldn't care less, Kai could've just died because of his mistake. It should be noted that hyperventilating is a hard thing to do with so much disturbed dust, and Jay quickly began to choke, tears pricking his eyes from the constant irritation, he couldn't see anything. His mask was dropping more dust on his face, he pulled it off, turning it inside out and holding over his mouth. He could hardly breathe.

Nadakhan appeared back on Misfortune's Keep, aggressively shoving Monkey Wrench off the cannon.

"You imbecile! You were supposed to slow his down, not kill him! And why did you fire when I was there, huh?!"

He grabbed the monkey by the tail and continued to shake him, oblivious to what was happening below.

Kai pushed himself up with his hands, coughing from all the dust.

"Here… Here, I'm alright Jay…"

There was so much dust everywhere, Kai couldn't seem to avoid getting it in his mouth despite his own mask. He coughed again.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you! Are you sure you're okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" Jay babbled, distraught.

"It's alright Jay, I'm okay." Kai assured him. It wasn't true, he hurt all over, but with all the sudden adrenaline he couldn't feel anything other than-

"Just a few bruises, probably." He chuckled weakly.

"Are you positive? Let me check-"

"Jay! I promise I'm fine, calm down." Kai could sense that Jay was almost over the edge, ignoring the aching in his shoulders to reassure him.

He was right. Jay almost burst into tears right there, from the guilt of almost killing his friend to the sheer relief of seeing him okay and narrowly avoiding Nadakhan.

As irritating as it was, the dust had been serving as a wall around them and was now beginning to lower, they wouldn't be able to stay much longer.

"O-Okay then, let's go, can you run?"

"Of course I can run," Kai scoffed, oblivious of how awful he looked. They ran to the edge of the building and jumped onto the next. "what, did you seriously think that I'd let those guys take me out like that?"

Jay let out a little chuckle as Kai smirked, and they continued along the rooftops. Kai then grunted, landing on the next building hurt more than it should have, but if he was actually bruised then it made sense. He didn't say anything, Jay was close to a breakdown and he knew there was nothing they could do about it anyway, they needed to distance themselves from the ship to think about their next course of action, he just had to suck it up and keep going.

"That's not the point!" Jay suddenly retorted, and the two quickly began to bicker.

Back on Misfortune's Keep, Monkey Wrench was back on the cannons, this time firing at Cole and Lloyd. Lloyd dodged, watching the ball of metal soar centimetres past his waist. Cole blinked onto the ship and behind the metallic nuisance before hurling it overboard.

Cole looked pleased with himself, pretending to dust off his hands.

"Now, where is the lantern?" He asked himself, leaving to explore the ship. He was too caught up in his search to remember what was really at stake and who was in danger.

He'd left Lloyd alone.

Nadakhan poofed next to the cannons, clearly furious about the days recent events and curious as to all the racket from a moment ago.

Lloyd had already began climbing down the buildings, unable to keep up with the ship and instead trying to lose himself amongst the alleys. He looked down and hopped onto a lower roof.

It was too late, Nadakhan had already seen him.

"You'll do." he grinned, before poofing away once again.

Chapter Text

This is a speel not a chapter so feel free to skip.

Kai's always been my favourite, so to be fair this had been my least favourite season of the originals when I was a kid because his ass got kidnapped in episode 4 and we didn't see him again until the end of ep 9, but I still think about this scene a lot and this will never stop bothering me.
(Also the whole "the girls are crazy for you" second wish was awful and I'd like to pretend that it never happened because what was THAT.)

Kai is clearly painted as both more reckless than he really was and the only one at fault in this scene, but that's not the case if you take a moment to analyse this episode.

It's clear that the pirates had targeted Kai from the beginning, perhaps because Nadakhan wanted to hurt Jay by taking whoever he was partnered with first, but that doesn't appear to be the case.
Separated by the dynamite, Jay turns back while Kai continues forward, both blasted off their feet regardless but Kai recovers quicker. Obviously he should've waited for Jay but then again if he recovered so quickly he would've known that Jay was only stunned, so he yells that he's going after the lantern and continues. Jay begins following, 3 meters behind at best except, unbeknownst to Kai, Clancee arrives to slow Jay down, so he thinks Jay's still catching up behind him.
It's also important to remember the ninja (minus Jay, who hadn't said anything!) knew little to nothing about who they were facing and thus didn't understand the true nature of the threat they were facing, and thus didn't take it as seriously as they should have. So in Kai's mind they're fine, he's still in Jay's field of vision and he'll have caught up with him in a matter of seconds, they're not separated.
I also think that's why Kai's capture was such a big deal, serving as the seasons' reminder that no-one, even the ninja, are safe from Nadakhan. If none of them had been taken they'd likely have continued with their recklessness and perhaps even abandon the idea of travelling in pairs.
We can tell that this would be the case as Nadakhan wasn't seen as as much of a threat by the rest of the ninja because Cole literally abandons Lloyd a moment later.
After taking out the monkey, Cole doesn't wait for him, doesn't tell him which way he's going, and I don't think Lloyd could even see Cole from his position.
Now let's say that Kai hadn't been targeted, guess who would've been? The leader of the ninja, who had the idea to travel in pairs, currently abandoned by his teammate and running along the rooftops alone wouldn't have stood a chance against Nadakhan.
But he's fine, because Nadakhan's busy emotionally torturing Kai with his supposedly dead father (how did he know who his dad was, let alone that showing him would hurt Kai that much? Because he's done his research and decided that Kai was his first target), but neither he nor Cole didn't know that, so Cole's actions altogether was arguably worse than Kai's.
This is NOT hate against Cole, I love him and the rest of the ninja, this is hate against the writers because it feels like a loose end.
In Cole's defence he probably thought Lloyd was going to airjitzu up, but if so he still didn't wait for him or anything, and I'm assuming Lloyd didn't follow so the writers could include the scene with Lloyd and the chief but they should've thought about it a little harder.
Cole and Lloyd's separation has likely gone unnoticed for so long because Cole is seen as quite rational while Kai has a habit of charging in without considering his own safety because he's a hothead so Cole got away with his decision due to a little bias while I'm sure Kai got a lot of heat for his solely because he faced the consequences, but once again what Kai did was not as bad as Cole.
But considering that Kai was targeted, the pirates were actively working to split them up, meaning that even if he had waited for Jay they would have just found another way to separate them, so they probably didn't stand much of a chance anyway.

Chapter Text

It was after a few minutes that Jay and Kai had airjitzued onto the ships wing just as Cole ran past, lantern in hand with Flintlocke firing at him from the control room.

"I got it, let's get out of here!" Cole yelled, the others quickly following behind.

Jay flinched as a shot suddenly rocketed past his head.

"What?!" Kai yelled, ignoring the headache it gave him, "Run away? We need to take these guys down now before they destroy Ninjago any further than they already have!"

"No, Kai," Zane's voice piped up through their earpieces, "there's too many, we have to retreat and think of a new plan of attack."

Kai let out a small grumbling noise, clearly opposed to the idea but agreeing anyway as he continued running alongside Cole, Jay blasting electricity behind them to ward off their current assailant.

"Someone's a little more hot-headed than usual!" Cole teased, darting forward to jump across to the next rooftop, spotting Nya and Zane standing by a little further down.

"We've got the lantern!" Cole repeated, holding it up proudly, "Kai a little-! Wait, where's Lloyd?"

The others stopped to look around the circle, there were only five of them, Lloyd was missing.

You mean you don't know where he is?" Nya asked, confused, "Wasn't he with you?"

"Well yeah, but I thought he was just behind me!" Cole kept turning around, as if expecting Lloyd to suddenly appear by the fire escape.

Jay suddenly realised what had happened and went pale.

Out of nowhere the ground shook, knocking them all off of their feet.

"What was that?" Zane yelled, but he went ignored.

"Lloyd! Are you there?!" Cole yelled into his com.

"If he's not here Cole, then I, I think… Nadakhan must've taken him." Jay said, staring at the floor. He and Kai had narrowly avoided Kai being taken just minutes ago only for Lloyd to get taken in his place. The thought made him sick.

Kai was clearly thinking the same, his expression different to the others, eyes unfocused rather than on Cole.

"No, he can't be!" Nya gasped, Cole just stood there, stunned.

"When did you last see him?" Zane said.

"I- we were getting shot at by that monkey, so I appeared on the deck and threw him overboard. Then I went to find the lantern-"

"And you just left him there?!" Kai yelled.

"Woah woah woah! You did the same thing ten minutes ago!" Jay defended.

"At least I told you where I was going-!"

"Stop it! This isn't helpful." Nya yelled back. All the ninja fell silent. Cole was shaking.

"I-I thought he was right behind me… that he'd be fine…" he mumbled, Kai looked away sheepishly, guilt surging in his chest. Jay was right, he'd done a similar thing moments ago, and if Jay had been captured because of him-

"It's all my fault." Cole almost whispered, putting his hands up over his eyes as if he were about to cry, only to be harshly reminded by the sight of his translucent hands that he can't even cry to feel better. Kai put a tentative hand on his back.

"Hey, hey, no it's not, I'm sorry I shouldn't've yelled at you." he said, Cole continued to bury his face in his hands but leaned into Kai. There was a moment of sombre silence before Zane spoke up.

"We can't stay here much longer, we're too exposed. We need somewhere to hide."

"The Bounty's gone, where are we supposed to even go?" Nya said helplessly, and everyone went silent again. Jay's eyes flicked a little wider in realisation.

"I know somewhere, follow me!" He exclaimed as he began to run off.

"Welcome to my humble abode." He said shyly, pushing open the double doors of his new mansion and gesturing around the large entry hall. The ninja exclaimed in awe, the place was huge! With high ceilings and a double staircase, it was the definition of luxury and located in the most expensive area of Ninjago city, how did Jay manage to score a place like this?

Despite the sight the ninja quickly piled into the living room, now that the adrenaline from the last battle was wearing off they were all beginning to feel exhausted, scouting the room for couches and seats. Kai seemed to be enjoying himself the least, the house felt stifling hot! These fancy houses have that air conditioning thing, right?

"Hey, Jay, can you turn on a fan or something? It's boiling in here." He whined, the bright lights of the lounge making him woozy, he felt like he was in a hospital waiting room, the white walls gleaming at him.

The ninja all stopped to look at him, he raised an eyebrow.

"Kai," Nya said, looking at him in concern, "it's not hot."

But that wasn't the only thing weird about what Kai said, more the fact that Kai was the one who said it. After discovering his elemental powers, Kai could barely notice temperatures anymore, often leaving the Bounty in shorts during the middle of winter. He was the fire ninja and naturally ran a little warmer than a normal person, so heat especially had never bothered him since.

So why was he complaining about heat in 15 degree weather?

Kai looked at her confused, what was she going on about? The mansion was so stuffy.

"What, no it isn't - nghh-" he reached his hand out to hold his head as he closed his eyes. The headache from the hot room was getting worse, he squinted. The room was getting fuzzy.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head before by that cannon?" Jay asked, clearly concerned. This made the ninja turn their attention over to him.

"What cannon-?!" Nya began.

"Let me scan you, Kai." Zane said, gently pushing past the others and walking towards him, but Kai only stumbled back, concerning everyone even more.

"Jay, ugh, I told you, I'm f-"

Kai never finished his sentence, Zane rushing forward to catch him as Kai's eyes suddenly glazed over and he pitched forwards, straight into Zane's arms.

"Kai!" Jay and Nya yelled in unison.

"Take his mask off." Zane instructed, trying to get a better grip on Kai. Shifting his arms to support Kai's waist. Zane felt something warm and noticed the left sleeve of his snowy white gi was turning red.

Cole tentatively pulled off his cowl and they all gasped in horror. There was a large gash on the left side of Kai's head, dripping blood all over his face.

"Help me lay him down on the couch!" Zane immediately ordered, Kai's head lolling back as Cole helped by lifting his legs onto the furniture beside them. Nya began to cry.

"What happened to him?" She choked.

"Jay, are there any medical supplies here?" Zane looked at him emotionlessly, he must've turned off his emotions in order to keep a clear head.

"Uh…" Jay couldn't seem to focus, staring at the couch which now began mimicking Zane's stained gi. A trickle of blood began running down Kai's arm and onto the floor.

"First Spinjitzu Master it's all my fault." He whispered.

"Jay!" Zane yelled, urgency evident in his voice.

"I, um, I-I don’t know!" He cried, distraught, putting his hands in his hair.

"Where's the nearest bathroom, then? Is there anything in there?" Zane asked again, quickly removing the top of his gi, turning it inside out and pressing it against the gash on Kai's head, Kai twitched.

"I… I'm sorry I don't know!" Jay panicked.

"What do you mean, you 'don't know'?!" Cole shot back, "It's your house!"

Nya practically launched off her feet as she sprinted desperately across the room to a nearby door, sliding it open. A hallway, she bolted to the next one.

"Here!" Nya exclaimed, practically ripping the door off its hinges to reveal a pristine white bathroom. Jay vaulted over the chair behind him to reach it as Nya began frantically pulling out the vanity drawers, spotting gauze and rubbing alcohol in the second one as it clattered to the ground and onto the tiles.

"Here!" She threw them at Jay, who fumbled with them for a moment before bringing them over to Zane.

"Is there any needle and thread? Gloves? Painkillers? Ointment?" Zane called over to Nya as he began ripping open the packaging, "Cole, elevate his head a little."

"N-No, what type of ointment?" She stammered, pulling out the different bottles underneath the cabinet and examining them with shaky fingers.

"Antibiotic or bruise ointment, Cole, lift his shirt."

Cole had only just put a pillow under Kai's head, Zane had managed to acquire disposable gloves but there only seemed to be one pair. Kai's blood was on his hands and running underneath his nails. He gulped but did what Zane asked him to.

"Is his chest alright? There should be a moderate wound somewhere…" Zane trailed off, focusing on bandaging Kai's head.

"There's a few gashes, but they're not too deep, and…"

"And?" Zane looked up at him.

"There's-there's bruises everywhere." He stammered, he could feel his eyes watering.

"I thought so, is there any sort of ointment, Nya? Call the names out to me."

"No… there's nothing here, other than- wait!" She scrabbled at the last tube at the back of the shelf.

"I've got some h-! Oh, there's nothing here, Zane." Her voice dropped awkwardly, placing the haemorrhoid cream onto the tiled floor.

Jay cleared his throat before launching it at the bin, missing it entirely as it bounced off the wall and smacked him in the face, he let out a shriek as though it were poisoned.

"Forget this!" Nya said, standing up, "We need to get him to a hospital!"

"We can't," Cole sighed, "we're wanted, the second we walk through those doors we'd just get arrested again."

"But if he's gonna di-" Jay began, but Zane firmly cut him off.

"He will not die, as long as I can give him a blood transfusion and some stitches he'll be fine."

"But we don't have either of those." Cole pointed out.

"We'll steal them from the hospital tonight, then." Nya replied.

"Hospitals are running 24/7!" Jay squeaked, "We'll be spotted!"

"Then it's a good thing we're ninja, Jay, we'll be fine."

Chapter Text

They waited as long as possible in the hopes of using the dark for extra obscurity, however by 9 Zane had stated that Kai would be in significant danger if they waited much longer.

During that time Jay had found (his father's) makeup room amongst a variety of wigs and costumes.

"The person who sold the place to me was an actor?" Jay responded weakly, as the others stared between him and the room.
Nya and Zane stayed behind while Cole and Jay left for the hospital. With Lloyd now gone, they would never leave someone alone again. The pair were able to locate an open window to sneak through on the second floor, Cole almost ripping the hem of his doctor pants on the broken lock.

"Now don't get us caught if someone spots us, Jay." Cole whispered, using his hand to smooth back the hair of his wig, it made him look like he was already in his forties.

They had run into a small problem over who would be going. Initially it was going to be Jay and Nya until she had a small breakdown over the thought of having to leave her brother and the others had decided against it instantly. The siblings didn't seem to cope well when the other was injured, meaning that Nya was at risk of becoming a liability if she left with Jay, and they couldn't afford the mission to fail if Kai was going to make it through the night.

As a result, Cole was stuck in gloves, a wig and a large beard to hide his lack of a body. The hair shadowed his face, making it difficult to tell if you weren't staring too hard.

It was also risky, as it meant that Cole needed to maintain his focus on staying corporeal the whole time, so they'd have to be quick.

Jay, who was still lining up the straps on his straightjacket, let out an offended noise in response.

"Me?! Your ass was practically hanging out that window a moment ago. And I took acting classes, so if there's anyone who's going to blow our cover, it'll be you, Mr drama-school-dropout!" he hissed, Cole blushing at the remark.

"That wasn't-!"

The main four had been dating for a few weeks now but Cole and Jay had retained their best friend dynamics, most notably their constant squabbling.

In fact, little had really changed between the four, except that they now kissed each other goodnight and had begun to fight over Kai and Zane cuddle privileges during summer and winter.

The group's relationship hadn't been made public just yet, something Jay was extremely grateful for, as he was sure that each of them would be ripped apart by the other's fans. He'd once spotted a girl scale a lamp post in heels in minus 5 degree weather to watch Kai airjitzu past and was sure that if they were all like that he simply wouldn't survive.

Cole's father was also highly old-fashioned, and already disproved of most of them despite having worked alongside several drag shows. His policy seemed to be that anyone was allowed to be gay or even vaguely fruity but his son, and it annoyed them all to no end because no-one deserved that type of treatment, least of all Cole.

"Never mind all that," Cole interrupted, his face looking a little more serious, "why didn't you know where the bathroom was before? There was stuff in that house, so clearly you'd already moved in and therefore had to know even the basic layout of the house."
Jay went quiet, an unusual feat in itself, but Cole had noticed him acting unusual for well over a day now.

"And you 'saved up' for the place?" he continued, "Baloney. Whatever money goes your way you spend on video games, inventions, and any claw machine you find at the end of our dates, you're never going to get that hot chilli plushie, by the way, so you might as well stop wasting your coins on that."
"But it'd be really funny if I got it for Kai-"
"What's really going on, and don't lie to me, I know you too well." Cole finished, Jay looked away from his gaze, looking a little angry at the floor as if it were somehow at fault.
"Well that's obvious." He muttered. Jay looked at the floor for a little longer, but unable to take Cole's staring, he gave in.
"Fine! I made a wish with Nadakhan!"
"You've seen Nadakhan and haven't told us?!" Cole flipped, throwing his hands up in the air, "When did this happen?"
"At about lunchtime this morning. He came to me when I was alone." Jay sighed.

"Let me take care of that, a boyfr- I mean, a superior always pays." Jay chuckled awkwardly, fishing through his pockets for his wallet. He couldn't feel anything other than some serious pocket lint and a marble. Had he not grabbed his wallet this morning?

"Uh, wr-wrong pants." He replied, searching a little more frantically.

Kai just rolled his eyes and pulled out some spare coins.

"Here, this should cover the both of us." He said, placing them on the vendor's counter before grabbing the tray and heading to the nearest benches.

"He must've been following both of you from the station."

"Yeah, don't remind me." Jay shuddered.

"Uh ha ha, if I had a dime for every time I was broke," Jay said awkwardly, trying to break the silence as Kai removed his moustache, it had been itching his nose all morning.

"I'd, uh, be less broke, I guess?"

Kai snorted, but it was clear that he was mind was on other things.

"What is it? Is it something I said?" Jay asked nervously, he could tell something was wrong. Kai sighed a little.

"I guess, I just feel like you've been trying too hard since we all got together. For a guy that's broke, you're always trying to spend money on the three of us, trying to pay for dates and buying gifts until your card's empty."

"That's what you all do!" Jay said defensively, "Can't I get lunch for my boyfriend?"

"Of course you can! But you don't always have to fight to be the first in line when your card declines first. We don't expect you to pay for us, Jay, that's not why we're dating you. We're with you because we like you, and if you're struggling financially, you can just tell us, it's nothing to be embarrassed about, or whatever it is that's bothering you."

Jay blinked a little, he'd always seen money as a way of showing someone you care, and it always hurt that he never seemed to have enough.

At school he never bought food from the cafeteria, all of his clothes were second hand, repeatedly 'repaired' with the help of the sewing kit in the cookie tin by his parent's bed until they were threadbare. He could still visualise those who had giggled at his pink pony shirt at school, which had been in a free bin outside a second hand shop. He loves his parents, but his constant lack of money had really started to bother him once he'd begun dating the other three. He never seemed to be able to pay for dinner and when he tried to get other things to make up for it his card was all too quick to decline, leaving the others to buy it for him, and it burned.

"You're right, I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry about anything, Jay, everything's fine."

Jay let out a nervous mix of a laugh and a sigh.

"Right, high five then?"

Kai raised his eyebrow a little, albeit more playfully than anything, before raising his hand to meet Jays. The burger Jay was only partially holding fell from his grip and back onto the tray, making sure to smack into his sweater and leave a large dollop of tomato sauce on his front.

"Oh!"

"Um."

"Ah hah, would you look at that, I guess lunch really is 'on me'. Excuse me while I go find a place to clean this off."

Jay jumped up and out of his seat before Kai could say anything, Jay could already feel embarrassment flushing his face. He almost wanted to cry. They all must think I'm some sort of simpleton, he thought, why wouldn't they have noticed his repeated antics by now?

"God, you're such a dork, Jay!" he muttered to himself, "You finally get into a loving relationship and proceed to ruin it by constantly weirding them out and embarrassing them! I wish I could go back and have had my stupid wallet on me!"

Jay practically flipped his shit when Nadakhan appeared in front of him, hat and moustache leaping straight off of him.

"You want the boy? I can make this happen." He'd said in a far too evil tone to trust.

"N-Nadakhan! Oh no, we weren't supposed to be alone!"

He looked back over to Kai, who was absent-mindedly playing with a chip, waiting for Jay to get back. What should he do? He can't draw attention to himself or he'll blow his cover!

He hid his face, as if the action would make the Djinn leave him alone, who in turn only smiled in response, before circling around him like a coiling snake.

"Why? When I can offer you're heart's desire?"

"Because people disappear when you're around!" Jay retorted, "Kai's right over there, I can scream, you know?!"

"Well I guess he'll never be yours…" Nadakhan trailed off, floating away lazily.

"What? Uh, I thought one of the rules was that I can't wish for love? Not that I need to! They love me anyway!"

THAT sounded bad, as though he didn’t believe it himself, not exactly the best thing to say to convince his current opponent of his dating life.

"They?" Nadakhan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The four of us, we're- " Jay began, before switching back to his accusatory tone, "you know what, that doesn't concern you! But yeah, if you thought I'd wish for love, you're sorely mistaken!"

"True, you can't wish for love, I wasn't going to ask about that anyway."

"Oh." Jay replied awkwardly.

"But there are other ways of getting what you want…"

That had caught Jay's attention, and it didn't go unnoticed by the Djinn, who slowly began to lead him away from Kai.

"But then again, I guess a poor boy from a junkyard, wouldn't understand…"

He'd got him.

"Well… I guess one little wish wouldn't hurt-"

He snapped around to face Nadakhan.

"But no-one else would find out, right?"

"I don't know what he said to you, Jay, or what you could've wished for, but you shouldn't've-"

"What? Made a wish?" Jay snapped, Cole flinched at the tone. "You think I don't know that?! Why do you think I didn't tell anyone, because I thought you'd all react almost exactly as what you're doing right now!"

"Alright! I'm sorry, that was a stupid thing to say," he put a hand on Jay's back, who grabbed it but didn't look at him, "but this guy's a master manipulator, we wouldn't have judged you for what you wished for."

Jay looked at him dead in the eyes.

"Are you sure about that?"

He'd cried the whole way to the junkyard, if he'd seriously just wished his father to death then he'd never forgive himself.
But then it turned out that he was adopted (his parents had seemed a little too old anyway). He'd arrived at Cliff's house and had a snoop around out of interest before the Djinn had appeared once again. Now he'd realised the consequences of a wish, had he seriously just wished his parents to not be his real parents? On top of that, he'd left Kai alone for the past forty minutes or so, giving Nadakhan plenty of time to trick him as well.

"Are you ready for your second wish?" Nadakhan drawled, Jay only snatched the ray gun on the stand next to him, ducking down as he pulled the trigger.

An anti-climatic flag with the word 'ZAP!' on it popped out of the nozzle, Jay let out a panicked noise of confusion.

"Adorable." Nadakhan deadpanned.

"What did you do? Did you change the past?"

"I wish," Nadakhan snorted. "I merely revealed the truth about your life you were… unaware of."

"Then I don't wanna make another wish." Jay didn't trust himself anymore, anything he said would just be used against him, he sees that now, but why didn't he just listen to Zane before when he'd warned them all about making wishes with a Djinn?

He wished he'd listened… he cannot BELIEVE he just used that phrasing!

"Everyone wants a second wish!" Nadakhan interrupted, he didn't want to give Jay time to think, or he'd risk losing the upper hand. He had to convince Jay that there was no sense in leaving without making his next one. "A second chance! To make things rightttt."

"No." Jay replied stubbornly, turning around on his heels and crossing his arms.

"Don't ignore me," The Djinn had growled angrily, before beginning to circle around him once again. "tell me what you want. More power? More prestige? A ray gun that works?"

You could hear the smugness in his voice, but Jay had hardly been listening.

"No," Jay replied firmly, "I don't want anything, I just wish I wasn't alone with you!"

Nadakhan seemed displeased by that, and it was no wonder, as the doorbell suddenly rang.

"Dang it! I did it again!" Jay yelled, smacking his forehead with his hands.

"Jay?" Kai's voice appeared from the door, "Are you in there?"

"Don't forget, you have a third wish…" Nadakhan whispered again before poofing away, causing Jay to flinch, bolting towards the direction of Kai's voice.

Now that he'd thought about it, Nadakhan clearly had to have done some serious digging on them, because even if Nadakhan had been stalking him and Kai since the food truck, it still didn't make sense as to why he knew that he was from a junkyard because neither of them had mentioned it during their conversation on the benches.

Just how much did he know? Suddenly he thought about Kai and Nya, he knew that their parents had disappeared when they were young kids, and he had a horrible suspicion that Nadakhan would somehow find out about that.

Then there was Cole's issues with his own dad, Zane's dad had only passed away a year ago, and don't get Jay started on Lloyd's issues with his dad! Jay would've been the only one of them all without daddy issues if it weren't for his recent 'adopted' situation. Then again, Lloyd seemed to have come over a lot of his own fatherly issues over the previous months, thanks to Kai, but the kid still needed a therapist.

A sudden thought sent a chill ran down Jay's spine, just what did Nadakhan say to Lloyd before he-?

Don't think about it, Jay told himself, there's no point, it'll only upset you further.

"Jay?" Cole said, Jay turned to look at him.

"Look, I don't know what happened, but I'm not mad at you or anything, and he's clearly gotten into your head because you've been jittery ever since. Remember that we love you and we're here for you."

He wrapped his arms around Jay, who went to do the same before remembering that he was still in the straightjacket. They both laughed for a moment. 

Jay felt a little better now, but then again, Cole was always going to take his side, would the others really forgive him just like that?

Jay was still lost in thought when a pair of nurses opened a door just ahead of them, leaving Cole and Jay exposed in the hallway and unable to avoid conversation. All four of them froze, staring at each other. Cole smiled politely.

'We're fine,' Cole reassured himself in his head, grabbing the back of Jay's straightjacket, 'this is a huge hospital, they won't know everyone who works here. We're fine we're fine-'

One of the nurses spoke up.

"Excuse me, Doctor? Do you need a hand-?"

"No!" Cole blurted a little too loudly, pulling at the back of Jay's straightjacket, "I need everyone out of the way, now!"

His oversized white coat flapping as he pushed Jay forward, who in turn began twitching his head around erratically.

"Argh! Bequeath, bequeath!" Jay shrieked, continuing to wave his head around, arms struggling around in the jacket.

His arms weren't really trapped, held in position with Velcro concealed by fake straps and buckles, if he moved his arms too much the Velcro would come loose. The sleeves were also just too short, if the nurses looked hard enough they would be able to spot Jay's index fingers sticking out the ends, which weren't sewn shut as opposed to a real straightjacket.

"Let me help you-" the head nurse began stepping forward, causing Jay and Cole to panic further.

"Absolutely not!" Cole replied, "He only listens to me, you need to stay back!"

"I eat toes!" Jay wailed, before snapping his teeth together like a crocodile.

One of his arms came loose, Cole slapped the velcro back together with his chest, the nurses didn't notice.

"Oh my god!" The other woman yelled, pulling her co-worker back. In an instant Cole marched past them, half pushing Jay forward who continued snarling as they rounded the corner of the hall. Once it was clear that they were finally out of earshot they let out a collective sigh of relief. Cole resting his head against the hallway wall.

"Thank the First Spinjitzu Master that worked." Jay said.

"What the hell were you supposed to be? Some kind of goblin?!"

"Hey! I pulled out whole piece together!-"

They continued to bicker until they reached the end of the hall, which, according to Zane's floorplan scans (and the sign on the door), was a medical supply room. Hesitantly, Cole opened it, Jay opening his mouth, ready to start snapping again, only to be met with relief at the sight of the empty room.

"Yes!" Cole said triumphantly, "Now, Zane said to get O Negative, what else is on the list?"

Chapter Text

After nearly taking out a senior citizen with the transfusion drip, almost dropping the supply bag in the gutter, twice, and Jay's jumpscare when a large cockroach crawled over his hand in the last alleyway, the pair finally returned at 9:59.

"What took you guys so long?" Nya huffed, opening the door.

Zane quickly set to hooking Kai up to the drip before opening one of the various jars of ointment and rubbing it on Kai's now large and angry bruises across his chest and beneath his right eye. How is he still pretty when he's so beat up like this? Jay thought to himself, staring at his unconscious boyfriend's eyelashes.

After a quick change into some civilian clothes Jay found in one of the mansions bedrooms (not liking the idea that they were worn by his supposedly dead father), Cole and Jay left again to find food, Chen's Noodle House being the only establishment with an owner that wouldn't snitch on them.

They ordered at one of the self-order machines, and once Skylor had seen through their poor disguises, added an extra noodle container and a note to Kai in the bottom of their takeaway bag. They weren't in a position to do so anyway, but neither had the heart to tell Skylor, aka Kai's best friend, about his current condition. Only able to offer weak smiles upon exiting through the colourful front doors. Once they'd gotten back, Kai's wounds had been stitched and Zane was grabbing his gi out of the dryer, now back to its pristine white.

Cole could still feel the tiniest specks of blood beneath his nails and shuddered, but he couldn't exactly wash his hands. Nya grabbed one of the noodle boxes out of the paper bags and began breaking the wooden chopsticks apart.

"He will be fine," Zane said, and even though he'd reassured them of this before, the others still let out a sigh of relief. "but I don't know when he'll wake up."

"Then what's our next move?" Jay asked. "We're down a third of our team and Nadakhan will have only gotten stronger!"

"Since the Bounty's still impounded, we'll need to find a ship that will take us to Tiger Widow Island first thing tomorrow morning." Nya replied.

"Woah, woah, hold on, what part of 'your brother lying half dead on my couch' did you not understand?" Jay retorted, they couldn't just leave now! Nya glared at him.

"You didn't say that."

"We'll just have to take him with us, we can't stay here but we also can't afford to split up." Zane sighed. "At first light we'll head to the docks, he'll be alright to move for a short period of time." he explained.

Cole looked over to Kai, who was currently bleeding through one of his bandages. He raised an eyebrow.

"Surely we have to wait for him to come around first, and last I checked, boats aren't exactly known for staying still." Jay pointed out.

"We don't have a choice, Jay," Zane replied, "there's no way of knowing when he'll regain consciousness, we leave first thing tomorrow morning."

They all sighed again, it was going to be another brutal day tomorrow.

. . .

The next day was a little muggy, with lightning storms predicted along the coast. It made it impossible to find a boat to take them out to sea until Jay spotted a white yacht with Cliff Gordon's name sprawled in obnoxious fancy cursive on the front. Jay had a hard time hiding that, standing in front of the boat to obscure it while he quickly explained that it came along with the house. They didn't ask questions, already exhausted. Most of them only able to fall asleep for a few hours the night before, Kai's condition keeping them in a constant state of anxiety despite Zane's constant words of assurance.

They followed Jay's lead as they made their way on board, Cole carrying the still very unconscious fire ninja on his back, a stark contrast of Kai carrying him as they escaped through the sewer pipes out of Kryptarium just days beforehand.

"I'll go below and look after him, you'll need three pairs of hands on deck at least." Zane said. Cole looked uncomfortable.

"But I'm a ghost! One splash of water and I'm done for!"

"Do you know how to take care of a patient?"

"Well, no-"

"It shouldn't be too choppy, Cole, there's hardly any waves. You'll be fine." Nya reassured him.

Cut to several hours later, surrounded by dark thunderstorms and Jays shrieking as he clung desperately to the crows nest, repeatedly zapped by lighting as the ships new lightning rod, Nya was regretting her words. With waves aggressively lashing onto the deck, Cole was able to do little other than dodge, leaving the masts stuck facing forward. With Nya now the only one able to control the ship, she wasn't able to protect him from the water while busy steering, a near difficult feat with stationary masts.

"I need to go below deck!" Cole yelled over the raging wind, "Or I'll get wet!"

"I can't steer the ship alone!" She yelled back.

It was true, they needed to have turned left almost twenty minutes ago, and with no way of seeing what lay ahead, they could risk crashing into the large jagged rocks surrounding the island.

At the same time, Zane was trying to mend his earpiece, which had fallen out three billion waves ago and half shattered on the navy carpet.

Kai had come round just over an hour ago but Zane had no way of informing the rest of the team without leaving him alone.

"Do you have mine?" Kai asked, checking his pockets.

"I'm afraid we left yours behind." Zane stated simply. "Can you stand?"

"Should do." Kai grunted, slowly swinging his feet over the side of the bed.

"We'll have to go onto the deck together, then I'll switch with Cole, he'll look after you." Zane replied, helping Kai slowly to his feet.

"I'm fine, now, Zane-" Kai started.

"No you're not!" Zane snapped, surprising Kai, who jumped at the sudden change in tone. Zane sighed.

"Yes, you'll be alright, but why didn't you tell us before that you had been injured so badly?" He continued.

He wasn't exactly mad, more just worried about his overly reckless partner's consistent lack of self-preservation.

"I didn't realise." Kai replied, looking away from him. Zane and Jay seemed to share an annoying ability of having the saddest-looking eyes that stared into your soul when they were worried or upset. It was like looking at the sun, stare too long and you'll start crying.

"Then why didn't you stop and let Jay have a look at you earlier, or let me? You backed away when I asked."

Those eyes would be in full effect now, Kai was sure of it. Zane gently put a hand on Kai's unbruised cheek and turned his head to face him. Kai tentatively looked at him, his own eyes filled with regret.

"We didn't have time, I could feel that something was wrong but Jay was already close to losing it and I didn't want him to feel any worse than he already did."

Zane gave him a loving but exasperated look.

"What are we going to do with you," he let out a teasing huff as Kai scratched his neck sheepishly. "You don't have to be strong all the time, Kai, sometimes you just need to tell us if you need help."

"S-Sorry."

Zane softened.

"Besides," he smiled, as Kai looked up at him, "with the current weather I'm worried that Cole will get himself wet, so we'd need another person down here to stay with him anyway. You two can keep each other company while I take his place on deck, no-one is allowed to be alone until that Djinn has been dealt with."

"Even if they go to the bathroom?" Kai smirked, Zane gave him a look.

Back on deck, Cole was scrambling up the Crows Nest pole, desperate to avoid the waves now lapping onto the deck. His eyes widened at a sudden realisation.

"Isn't Zane alone down there?" Cole yelled at towards the others.

"No, Kai's with him!"

"Kai's unconscious!" he retorted, and the others realised their mistake, Nya scrabbling at her com.

"Zane! Zane! Can you hear me?" Cole yelled through his com, but there was only static.

"Nadakhan could have him!" He dashed over the boats roof and towards the cabin door and pulled it open, the others watching desperately until another surge of lightning struck Jay.

Having to contort himself to flip through the door without toughing the deck with his feet was incredibly awkward, resulting in Cole instantly falling down the short flight of stairs towards the lower cabins where Kai and Zane were. He sat up and groaned.

"I wish we'd realised before, now which room was-?"

"Your wish," A voice drawled from the long shadows of the hallway. Cole paled instantly, his stomach dropping.

He was alone in the hallway,

"Is yours to keep."

"If your partner had to relieve themselves then the other would simply just follow them to the restroom and stand guard with the door ajar- it works!" Zane said triumphantly as his com lit up, he quickly stuck it into his ear.

"Hello everyone, Kai's awake now, so I can switch with Cole."

"What? Kai's awake?" Nya's excited voice crackled through.

"That's great, Zane!" Jay replied, then, confused, asked: "Why weren't you responding to us before?"

"My earpiece was broken, I've just mended it now. Cole, you can come below now." Zane said cheerfully.

"But he should already be with you, we thought Kai wasn't awake so therefore you'd be alone, he went down just a moment ag-"

Zane's eyes widened as he rushed to open the cabin door. The dark hallway empty.

Cole's com rolling around at the bottom of the stairs.

Chapter Text

Before Kai or Zane could even exchange looks of horror, Jays voice piped up from above as he began screaming.

"NYA! THE ROCKS!"

Zane scrambled above just in time to watch the ship sailing straight towards a large cluster of jagged rock formations. He grabbed at one of the mast ropes and began to pull, Jay close behind. Kai scrabbled at Cole's com, quickly jamming it in his own ear before making his way above. He stumbled over to the others but even with his and Zane's extra help it was useless, the rocks seemed to sprout up in every direction as they only sailed closer.

"Abandon ship!" Jay screamed, Zane grabbing Kai and summoning his elemental dragon while Jay did the same with Nya. Not even a few seconds later the ship slammed into the jagged formations, crushing itself almost instantly.

It was mid-afternoon by that point, as they all collapsed onto the seemingly innocent sands of the island that had just tried to kill them. The storm was quickly beginning to subside in the time it had taken them to get from the crash site to the actual island. The rain had stopped and the wind was already slowing down to more of a breeze. It was cruel, in its own way, as if to say that they needn't have crashed when it had just decided to slow down.

They had no energy, crawling and dragging themselves further up the beach and between a few bent palm trees, forming a vague circle around them while acting as a weak barrier between them and the sky. The three of them grabbed the nearest and dryest broken branches and palm fronds, throwing them into a tragic pile that Kai had to spend a long time to light. Zane didn't need to explain why Cole wasn't there, they already knew. Jay looked like he was about to cry. They all did, actually.

With no food and no beds, the team collapsed around the fire, proceeding to fall asleep almost instantly.

Nya was the first to wake up the next morning, hair tangled with knots and with a bad case of drymouth. After summoning a large sphere of water to drink, Zane and Jay had begun to stir.

"Ugh," Jay groaned, "I almost forgot we weren't here."

He began to pour the sand out of his shoes as Zane quietly checked his internal clock, 8:37.

A crab suddenly latched onto one of Jay's toes and he shrieked.

"We need to find something to eat." Nya said, as she and Zane dusted the sand off their gis.

"Where are we gonna find food? We're on a deserted island! I don't think there's a Chen's Noodle House nearby!" Jay began to monologue, kicking stones and waving his arms around exasperatedly as he continued to babble, the others ignored him.

"Should we wake Kai up?" Nya asked, turning to look over at her brother, who had started to bleed through his new gauze.

"Unfortunately, yes. I'm worried about that his condition may worsen if he doesn't eat something soon. He hasn't eaten in over 24 hours and is continuing to lose blood, albeit a little."

Another crab appeared underneath one of Jay's upturned stones and he jumped.

To their surprise, Kai was already beginning to wake up on his own, completely unfazed by the bleeding side of his forehead.

"Right, what's for breakfast?" He joked, Zane stared at him.

"Hey, coconuts!" Jay exclaimed from behind them, sprinting over to the nearest tree.

"That'll do." Kai answered before moving to get up, but began to stumble. Zane rushed over to him.

"M'fine." He mumbled. Zane gave him a look.

"What did we talk about?" He said gently.

"… I feel like shit, could you… please help me, Zane."

"Of course, you are my beloved partner, after all." Zane replied happily, Nya let out a snort that went straight over his head as Kai flushed the same colour as his gi.

After a solid hour of smashing coconuts against the rocks (Kai searing one with his flames to see what would happen upon Jay's request, both seemingly surprised when all they received was a burnt coconut husk), the ninja prepared to search the island for the Tiger Widow.

"Did we even figure out just what this 'Tiger Widow' even is?" Kai said, "It could be anything on this forsaken island!"

"It sounded like a creature as opposed to a bug, and was the last of its kind." Zane replied, "There are many types of venomous creatures, most notably fish, frogs and snakes, however, there are also several unique mammals that produce venom, such as the male platypus."

"I'm not fighting a platypus." Kai stated simply.

"We shouldn't need to fight the Tiger Widow, just find a way to extract its venom without killing it, as it is the last of its species and may be critical to the life cycle of the island." Zane responded, Jay didn't look happy.

"Did you say that it could be a fish? How on earth would we be able to extract venom from a fish?! It could be miles below the water!"

"I doubt that it would be a fish, Jay." Zane said.

"Ugh, my feet are killing me," Jay moaned, spotting a hammock up ahead and jumping into it. "there's a hammock here, let's stop and take a break before we find this thing."

"Uh… Jay," Zane said, looking up. "I do not believe that is a hammock."

Jay and the others followed his gaze to spot a skeleton loosely hanging off a large spiderweb above him, a spiderweb that Jay was now stuck to. He shrieked and clambered off and onto the ground. The webs, now attached to his back, fell with him, along with the skeleton, only causing Jay to struggle further as the others rushed over to pull it off him.

"Get it off me!" Jay wailed.

"We're trying, stop struggling!" Nya shot back, hands tearing through the webs.

"You try staying still when you're covered in webs with a skeleton on top of you!"

After a short moment of chaos Jay was able to wriggle free, pulling the remaining silk off his face and promptly proceeding to faceplant on the ground.

"Owww…" He groaned, Nya hoisted him up by his armpits and onto his feet, he steadied himself for a moment before groaning again.

"Haven't I suffered enough?" He whined.

"No." Kai snorted jokingly.

The group looked back at the skeleton and shivered, Zane had been wrong, they were clearly about to face a large spider, Jay whimpered.

"Why did it have to be a spider?" He moaned, the others silently agreeing.

Reaching the nest entrance, the ninja took out their canteens. Altogether they had three, as Kai never received one.

"We'll use one of the canteens to harvest the venom, while the rest of us will try to distract it." Zane instructed, unscrewing the lid of his canteen and passing it around, letting the others drink it until it was empty and available to use.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Jay argued.

Before anyone could respond, they heard a heavy skuttling noise from behind them, already having ventured into the den. Why hadn't they discussed this before?! They'd been so tired they'd barely even noticed that they'd stepped over the threshold of the nest entrance, so they all clearly weren't thinking too well.

There was another skuttling sound, and this time everyone shrieked as a spider the size of an elephant appeared in front of them.

"Fuck!" Kai yelled.

"A AAAH, IT'S SO BI-IG!" Jay screamed. The spider bared its fangs before launching at them as they ducked behind a large rock, Nya practically pulling Kai along.

"What do we do?! We can't protect Kai and fight that thing!" Nya yelled.

The Tiger Widow appeared from behind them, attempting to bite again, Zane quickly covered them in an ice dome to shield everyone.

"You don't need to protect me, sis-" Kai began, Nya just rolled her eyes.

"Not this again-" She started.

"No, seriously!" He replied. "Me and Jay can distract it while Zane freezes it, then you can grab the venom!"

"That might work!" Zane exclaimed. The Tiger Widow slammed into Zane's ice, shattering the protective dome around them. They all screamed again, before Kai shot a ball of flame at its head, hitting the Widow right in the face. It shrieked and began to flail as Kai dropped his arms, suddenly exhausted. Jay began to zap it in an attempt to get it to stay still.

Meanwhile, Zane's Falcon had been captured by the Sky Pirates and taken apart until they'd reached its memory bank. Nadakhan now knew their plan and had ordered a team to go with him to the island, now only minutes away.

Flintlocke didn't like this, it didn't seem like Nadakhan had any intention of trying to trap another Ninja in his blade, and if he was right, he wasn't happy because that'd mean he also knew why.

"I've been bitin' my tongue, captain, but when we attacked the city, I saw the water Ninja, she looked like Delara." He said carefully.

"Striking resemblance." Nadakhan nodded, clearly uninterested, staring at his compass. Delara's old picture stared back at him. He hated that photograph, she didn't even look happy in it but had so annoyingly insisted that he use that picture over all the others.

He supposed that it served no purpose anymore, removing the glass protector and peeling out the photo, it was only there to hide the photo behind it.

"I then heard that the red one you were trying to get at the time was her brother-"

"Whatever you're trying to say, I suggest you spit it out right now." Nadakhan interrupted warningly.

"You seemed pretty darn insistent that we had to target him first, do you think he's him or something?" Flintlocke yelled back. Nadakhan turned to face him so quickly that, if it wasn't Flintlocke, he would've shrivelled beneath the Djinn's stare.

"Just what are you accusing me of, my trusted first mate?" Nadakhan replied.

"Trust is a wind that blows both ways," Flintlocke argued, "we'll always follow you, Cap'n, but we need you to start telling us your plans or we won't be able to trust you anymore."

"Don't forget who's really in charge here, Flintlocke." Nadakhan began.

"Of course not." Flintlocke replied, crossing his arms.

"Alright, then, I suppose you're right, I have been a little secretive. We're heading to Tiger Widow Island, where the Ninja currently are."

"They're trying to-!" Flintlocke began, but Nadakhan only interrupted him again, this time a little more calmly.

"Exactly, I thought we should pay them a visit, make sure they leave a little more empty-handed than they'd like." He laughed darkly, veering the ship to the side as the island came into view.

He laid the compass on the control panel as it spun round at the turn, Delara's face now removed, the once hidden photo behind it taking pride of place inside the compass.

A photo with brown spiked hair and amber eyes.

Back to the Ninja, Jay had sent another zap at the spider.

"Ha ha ha! You don't like that, do you?" Jay yelled, triumphant.

Zane appeared from behind the Widow, freezing it up to its neck. Now unable to move, the Widow began baring its fangs in defence, to which Nya responded by holding the flask underneath, catching some of the dripping venom.

"Careful it doesn't touch you." Zane reminded her, as she sealed the canteen shut.

"Get back!" Kai yelled, and Nya jumped back, handing the flask to Jay as Zane quickly froze the spiders head.

"Let's go, before it breaks free." He said.

"There's no way-" Jay began, but a crack appeared almost instantly in the ice. They all jumped before bolting to the entrance, Jay dropping his canteen in a panic, turning around to reach for it before stopping.

"Oh, it’s the-"

Kai scooped it up, sprinting past him, the bandage around his head slipping off onto the cave floor.

"Go, go go!" He yelled, as another crack appeared, crossing the threshold once again, they could hear the spider screeching.

Scrambling up the ravine (Kai having to resort to airjitzu, now feeling incredibly woozy) when they saw the Tiger Widow scuttle out of its nest, screeching at the sight of them. Terrified, the ninja bolted down the dirt path, the spider thundering behind them.

Kai was the last to reach the bridge, his vision now getting blurry, pure adrenaline being the only thing keeping him awake and moving. Zane cried out as he suddenly tripped on the last plank, the spider's weight only continuing to weigh the bridge down, he grabbed the wooden pole already straining at the weight to support himself.

"Everyone hold on!" He yelled, the bridge beginning to snap as Nya grabbed his foot with one hand and the back of Jay's gi with the other, who was scrambling to get to Kai. He only just managed to grab at the flask in his hand as the bridge finally snapped in two. That didn't stop the Widow, however, as it climbed up the planks and began to bite at Kai in vain, just out of reach.

The whole world was beginning to ring now, as Kai's grip on the canteen slipped a little, still desperately trying to get away from the spider. Jay noticed Kai struggling and began to panic.

"Don't close your eyes, Kai! You have to stay awake!"

"What do you think… I'm… trying to do?" Kai gritted through his teeth, his head throbbing as Jay's voice only continued to dull in his ears.

"Ngh…"

Nadakhan appeared beside Jay, cup of tea in hand. Jay flinched.

"You are certainly in a, precious position." He said, clearly entertained, the others gasped, Kai vaguely acknowledging his voice.

"Time is running out, your… friend won't be able to last much longer, what to do? Ah! But you still have one wish left!" Nadakhan floated beside him lazily. Jay glared at him.

"Last, ugh, wish?" Nya mumbled, struggling to support herself and both of the others weight.

"You can wish it all away~"

"Blah blah blah, You seriously think I'd fall for that trick?" Jay yelled back. "Don't listen to him, Kai!"

Kai only grunted in response.

"Have it your way, then." Nadakhan sneered, his cup suddenly disappearing from his hand in a poof of red smoke, a large dagger replacing it, before proceeding to smack the canteen out of Jay's hand. Kai's eyes shot open and he screamed as he began to plummet to his death, the others only able to watch in horror as he began to disappear down the ravine.

But then Nadakhan grabbed Kai's arm, plucking the canteen from his weak grip and laughing as they all watched him tip it upside down. With the last of his strength, Kai began to light another fireball, breathing heavily.

"Feisty, aren't you?" Nadakhan murmured, grinning. "How cute."

He grabbed the wrist of Kai's lit hand and painfully wrenched it away, Kai yelped as the flame shot at the falling spider, setting it alight, screaming and screeching as it fell into the fog.

"But I think it's time you had a little sleep, no?"

Kai tried to struggle, but he could barely see anything now.

"Nighty night," The Djinn grinned, leaning forward to whisper in Kai's ear.

"Karim."

"Wha-" Kai's head lolled to the side, strength and adrenaline drained, eyes closing.

Zane and Nya had just clambered over the edge of the ravine, pulling Jay up by his arms just in time to watch Nadakhan carry the red ninja in his arms and onto the Pirate-riddled sky ship above them. They all cackled at the sight of the helpless ninja below, Jay watched Kai's golden shoulder plate clink against Nadakhan's hooked hand.

"Don't worry, I'll be back for the rest of you!" Nadakhan gloated, the ninja unable to do anything but watch in defeat, no strength and too afraid to summon their dragons.

"And since you don't have a way to escape the island, I know exactly where to find you!"

The Pirates all laughed again as they veered away, taking Kai with them.

"Nadakhan's got Kai now, and just got rid of the only thing that could possibly stop him." Zane said hopelessly, he looked ready to cry.

"No he didn't," Jay let out a small smile, pulling another canteen from his back pocket, "he emptied the wrong canteen. We still have the only thing that can stop him."

"And better yet," Nya added, "they don't know about it."

And with that, they all collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, faces washed with relief. The moment was short lived, however, as Nya suddenly stood up, looking unhappy.

"Jay, what did Nadakhan mean by your final wish?"

Chapter Text

The next few hours had proved to be some of the worst for Jay, as, after poorly explaining himself, neither Zane nor Nya were talking to him, busying themselves with devising possible escape plans.

"We could take turns carrying each other on our elemental dragons?" Jay had suggested, but Zane only snapped at him.

"Did you think we hadn't already thought of that?"

He'd made it sound as though it was a stupid plan, only for Jay to discover that it was in fact their plan except that they were going to leave in a few hours after he and Nya had found something to eat and taken a short nap in order to build more energy. That was a good point, Jay had thought, he already felt as though he was running on reserves and the others clearly must've felt the same.

Kai groaned, his head was seriously killing him. What was going on? He almost went back to sleep before the memories of the morning came flooding back to him.

Nadakhan had taken him, where was he?!

He sat bolt upright, instantly regretting the move as his head continued to throb.

"Fuck." He groaned, touching his bandaged forehead with his fingertips and closing his eyes.

Wait, bandaged?

"Careful, my love, you'll only make your condition worse."

Kai's eyes shot open as he scanned the room, yelping as he spotted Nadakhan half leaning over him in a chair, clearly having been watching him sleep for however long he'd just been there.

"Get away from me!" Kai yelled, grabbing the nearest object and hurling it at the Djinn's head, distraught to see the now identified 'throw pillow' bounce straight off. They both stopped to watch it flop pathetically onto the floor as Kai clenched his jaw, cheeks slightly pink before Nadakhan looked back over to him with an amused expression.

"It is good to see that you still have that fire I once lost, my love, but don't move so much, you're still healing." He went to touch Kai's cheek but Kai slapped it away before he could touch him, launching out of the bed and standing in a defensive position in a corner of the room.

"Fuck off," He spat, "I'm not your love, where am I?!"

"My quarters, don't you recognise it?" Kai looked at him, confused.

"I used to invite you in here whenever I had the chance…" The Djinn replied wistfully, flattening out the sheets with one of his hands.

"What are you prattling on about? I've never met you before!" Kai retorted.

"Ah, but we have. I assume that by now you must have all learnt about my past, perhaps in the Ninjago library?"

…

"This is what I'd found out at the library," Zane had began as the others crowded around the nindroid in their cell at Kryptarium, Kai only paying half attention as another prisoner began death glaring him from  another cell on the other side of the floor. "Nadakhan was once the feared Djinn pirate of the ship 'Misfortune's Keep', and had been recently engaged to a woman named 'Delara' shortly before he was captured in the teapot of Tyran by Soto. Now, this bit I think may be the most important to note- Kai, stop making enemies with the other prisoners and pay attention."

Kai had been glaring straight back at the inmate, suddenly recognising him as a petty jewellery thief he'd detained a few weeks ago, and was about to pull the finger at him when Nya dragged him closer to the others by the back of his shirt.

"Ow ow ow, alright!" He conceded. "What's so important about this Dil-hara lady?"

"Delara," Zane corrected, "she's important because she looked exactly like Nya."

That definitely caught Kai's attention, along with the others.

"What?"

"I scanned the photo from the book, she's older but the resemblance is near identical."

Zane's eyes flashed blue as a projection of the page appeared on the back wall, the ninja crowding around it so the other inmates couldn't see.

He was right, it was like looking at an older Nya, they even had the same haircut. Nya shifted uncomfortably.

"Hang on, read that last line." Jay pointed at one of the paragraphs below. Zane went silent for a moment as he rendered the image.

"That says that she had a twin brother, do you reckon he looked like you too, Kai?"

"I guess." Kai said.

He'd been more focused on the fact that Nadakhan may target his sister that he had later forgotten about the twin.

"Yes, I did see that," Zane nodded, "the book mentioned him but only briefly. His name was Karim, apparently the both of them were on Nadakhan's crew. According to one of the later chapters he died the same night they attacked Soto and the Bounty, he was shot in the chest while protecting Delara. There's no photos of him."

The others went a little quiet at that, 'sounds like something Kai would do', they thought grimly.

"Who cares about him," Kai interrupted, "we need to make sure this crazy Djinn doesn't see Nya's face."

"It'll probably be too late for that," Nya replied, a little dejected at the thought of a love-struck Djinn ogling suddenly after her, "we're currently the most famous people in Ninjago right now."

"He's not going to get anywhere near you, Nya," Kai said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "none of us will let him."

The others nodded in agreement. Nya smiled at them but didn't look so sure.

Maybe he should've cared about listening to Zane a little more when he'd mentioned the guy, but there hadn't seemed to be any reason to.

Although that wasn't necessarily true, Soto had given them a hint later that evening.

"By word, you're a spitting image of them!" Soto had laughed not shortly after they'd exited the sewer pipes, looking at Kai and Nya. "Wouldn't want to be you right now, girlie."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Nya exclaimed, frustrated at his cryptic remark.

"No, actually, I wouldn't want to be you." He'd muttered under his breath, eyes looking over Kai.

"Answer the question, Soto, what are you talking about?" Kai had replied.

But the pirate didn't say anything more, turning on his heel and walking away, the sound of his fake leg honking in the distance.

"Yeah I remember now," Kai began, "you liked this Delara lady that just so happens to look like my sister. If you even try to go anywhere near her-"

"I have no interest," Nadakhan interrupted, Kai blinked, a little surprised, "did you find anything else?"

"Uhh…" Kai paused, "she had a twin brother… uhh…"

"Karim." Nadakhan finished.

"Yeah, and considering Nya's my little sister I'm going to hazard a guess and say that he looked like me?"

"He was exactly like you," Nadakhan replied a little manically, causing Kai to flinch at the sudden change in tone, "and you're almost right, but you should know that I never loved Delara, due to the laws of my homeland, Djinjago, I could not pursue my real love-"

Kai wanted to yawn, he really didn’t care about the Djinn who had recently kidnapped him and two of his teammates love life. He looked over at the door, trying to figure out a way to get past the Djinn and off Misfortune's Keep without getting caught.

"-I only agreed to marry her so I could pursue him."

"Who? What are you on about?"

"I think you can, put the dots together, as they say, Karim." Nadakhan smiled, his teeth flashing in an all too creepy way.

"I'm not-" Kai's stomach dropped as he realised what Nadakhan meant.

The Djinn suddenly began advancing towards him, Kai took a frantic few steps back until he painfully smacked his head against the wall. He noticed that one of his head stitches had burst at the action, blood beginning to trickle down the side of his face once again.

The cuts on his stomach must've also opened when he had been trying to kick back the Tiger Widow on that bridge, as the side of his waist felt warm and a little wet. It was a sensation he was getting well-acquainted with during all this time as a ninja.

He touched the side of his head before remembering where he was, realising that Nadakhan was now directly in front of him. Kai twitched, desperately trying to think of a way out, anything to buy even a few more seconds for him to attempt an escape.

"You call me your old 'love' but you don't even patch me up properly?" Kai scoffed, showing the Djinn his now red hand, forgetting that Nadakhan could fully see the gash it came from, currently dripping down his face like a tap.

The new bandage that had been on it just moments ago hadn't been attached properly at all, and had fallen off the second Kai had bolted off the bed.

"Oh don't worry, I gave that miserable monkey a good scolding." Kai rolled his eyes, as if that had been the point of what he'd been trying to make. The movement gave him another headache and he winced.

"And besides…" Nadakhan continued.

"What?" Kai shot back, the Djinn's grin only continuing to widen.

"When you're in this state you're powerless to resist me~"

"You monster!"

Kai lit his hands on fire, causing Nadakhan's eyes to widen and his grin to drop, he'd forgotten that Karim could now do that.

Kai shot a fireball at him, which Nadakhan easily dodged. The flame was small and weak, mirroring the fire elemental's current lack of strength, flickering and blowing itself out before it made contact with the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Thinking quickly, Nadakhan grabbed one of the golden jugs on the table beside him and splashed its water at Kai.

Kai had just been about to take another breath as the water got into his mouth. He choked for a moment as he tried to compose himself, but it was all the time Nadakhan needed. He grabbed Kai's wrists in a tight hold before slamming the fire ninja back into the wall behind him, and forcefully kissed him.

Kai, who had still been trying to get air into his lungs, began to panic as Nadakhan's lower set of arms held his torso in place. He desperately tried to breath through his nose while simultaneously trying to throw the Djinn off of him. Nadakhan had anticipated both actions, and in an instant removed his upper right hand from Kai's left wrist to cover his nose, suffocating him.

Kai was really panicking now, his now freed hand grabbing at Nadakhan's wrist. He could hardly think, his grip too weak, but he had to get this disgusting thing off of him before he killed him!

He began heating up his hand but that move made Kai lose instantly. Using his powers took used more energy than he currently had, and with no strength left in his body, Kai slumped forward into Nadakhan's embrace.

"Don't worry my pet, I don't want to kill you, I don't think I ever could,"

The Djinn smiled as he tilted Kai's head up at him, watching as Kai's eyes slowly began to glaze over, his body twitching feebly.

"I just love watching you sleep. Besides, you'll need your strength for tonight."

He picked Kai up, arms under his back and knees as though he were about to put a child to bed. Kai was still conscious, eyes vaguely open, but he could barely do anything other than breath weakly.

The cabin door was suddenly flung open as Flintlocke and Dogshank appeared on the other side.

"We heard a commotion, cap'n," Flintlocke began, one hand on the doorknob, the other outstretched with his pistol, "everything alright-"

He stopped at the sight of Kai half panting in the captains arms.

"Yes, everything is fine now, Flintlocke, I was just putting Karim back to bed."

Kai barely registered the two at the door, his vision too faded.

"He really does look like-" Flintlocke began.

"He is, Flintlocke, now if you don't mind,"

Kai's head fell softly into Nadakhan's chest.

"he needs some rest."

Ninja or not, Flintlocke felt a twang of sympathy for the poor kid.

"And get some new bandages for his wounds, I don't want his pretty little head to scar."

"I-…. Aye aye, cap'in…"

Chapter Text

Back on the island, the ninja were actually nowhere near. Zane had been carrying them all over the now seemingly endless blue ocean for hours now atop his elemental dragon. He was feeling seriously exhausted, the pace of his dragon gradually slowing down, until he was all but hovering over the water, checking his internal compass to make sure they were still going in the right direction. There was still no sign of land ahead, it was expected but highly disheartening.

"Zane," Pixal appeared in his top right vision, looking a little concerned, "you've carried everyone a good portion of the distance, I suggest that you switch with Jay now."

As if on cue, Jay tapped his boyfriends shoulder with his finger. "Zane? Wanna switch?"

Zane noticed that he was a little out of breath. "Yes… please…"

Jay nodded as he began to generate large bolts of lightning to the side of Zane's dragon. The electricity let out a large crack, Jay's elemental dragon appearing a moment later as he leapt on. Nya slid a strong arm beneath Zane's as she helped him jump across. The moment they'd leapt off, Zane's dragon dissipated into a small shower of snowflakes, dusting the flat waters below.

After two nights of stress-induced and uneasy sleep, paired with three straight days of adrenaline, tears and anxiety, Zane, Nya and Jay hadn't made to leave the island until midday, much to Jay's initial dismay.

…

"There's no time, they've got our boyfriend, Zane! We have to go after them now!" Jay had argued.

"We don't have the strength, Jay, we'd never make it," Zane had countered, a little too quickly for Jay's liking.

"the only reason you and Nya are still standing is because your bodies are still full of adrenaline from our encounter with the Tiger Widow."

"But you can't possibly expect us to just lay down and go to sleep after what just happened?! The more time we waste here, the worse the outcome may be!"

Nya had looked conflicted, once her brother had woken up on Misfortune's Keep he would be all but gone if they stayed. Zane was right, though. She could feel the utter exhaustion of the last few days begin to kick in, and all but flopped onto the sand.

"He might even be-"

"Nadakhan isn't going to kill him, Jay." Zane cut him off, a tinge of comfort in his voice as he lay a hand on his partner's shoulder, Jay was clearly panic-stricken. The sentiment was not noticed nor returned, however, as Jay swiped the hand off, frenzied.

"And how do you know that for sure?!" Jay retorted, and at that, Zane snapped.

"Because haven't you been paying attention? He's been taking us one by one to make himself stronger!" Zane yelled, "But I suppose you could just ask him next time he pops by to see you!"

It was a low blow but Zane didn't care, if Jay had told them about his encounter with Nadakhan then at the very least Lloyd might not have been taken so quickly.

Jay was a little taken aback by Zane's words, hurt that Zane would even insinuate such a thing, and that he'd clearly upset him.

"Zane, I'm-"

"And considering that Nya has only just learnt how to summon her own dragon, the only reason we need to stay here is so you can rest! So if anyone should be complaining right now, it should be Nya and I!"

Jay had tried opening his mouth at that, but only a hiccup-like sound had emerged from his throat. He looked over to Nya, who wasn't making eye contact but was also clearly a little annoyed with him. Jay's heart sank.

"I don't want to waste any time myself, Jay," Nya had piped up, "he may be your boyfriend, but he's my big brother and the only real family I have left…"

She turned to look out at the sea, hugging her knees to her chest, too tired to stand up.

"But Nadakhan would've already trapped him in that stupid sword by now, unless he hasn't woken up…"

Nya began to trail off, trying to hide the sudden rise of her voice. Jay went to bend down and reach out to her but Zane squatted down to hug her.

"Hey, he'll be okay, he should only have over-exerted himself," He reassured. Nya lazily rested her head on Zane's shoulder, still looking away from the both of them, "I promise you he's not going to die."

"Then Nadakhan's already trapped him!" Nya cried, emotions running high from all the stress, Jay too, his eyes beginning to water.

"Nya-" Jay began.

"Jay, I think you've done enough." Zane cut him off and Jay stopped. With tears now pooling in his eyes, he turned and walked away.

Nya wanted to call out to him, mad or not, she wouldn't have minded the extra comfort. It would've been nice, actually, reminding her that there were still three of them left, the world felt smaller with only Zane hugging her.

Zane also regretted his sentence, he could feel his anger clouding his rationality, telling him to say something meaner, but he also knew that Jay was not at fault for anything that had happened since. If anything, if Jay hadn't encountered Nadakhan, he might not have tried to go after Kai so quickly when they were separated chasing Misfortune's Keep, maybe they would've lost Kai first?

He supposed that didn't matter anyway, Kai had been taken now, in another universe he was sure that they'd still be down to three members, their team now halved.

Jay had returned about a quarter of an hour later with puffy eyes and a few strings of dates for him and Nya to eat. Neither had eaten anything other than the coconuts from that morning over the last day and a half. They'd been stupid enough to assume that there would be food on the ship or at least on their way to port, as Cliff's pantry had been almost empty, only to be given the same results.

Jay gently dropped most of them at her side before stumbling over to the other side of the unlit campfire from last night, it reminded him that Kai had been there with them and lit it the night before and it made him feel worse, collapsing onto the sand as he munched on the soft dates.

"See if either of you can take a short nap," Zane had said after a long stretch of silence, "we'll leave the second you wake up."

…

And that was exactly what they'd done. Now above the shimmering ocean only eight hours later, Zane was far less angry with him, currently leaning against his back as he went to sleep.

It felt like they'd been running on reserve energy forever now, reaching a new level of exhaustion, the word no longer able to fit their condition. Nya had felt tired the entire trip. Zane had woken up first back on the island, but it had taken him a significant amount of time to wake the others. Both had felt like crying at the prospect of even having to move, yet now she couldn't seem to close her eyes.

Just how in Ninjago would the three of them be able to take on the entire Sky Pirate army in their condition?

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Jay's voice choked out a few minutes later.

"He cornered me when I was alone. I don’t know how, but he knew that I was from a junkyard and was insecure about it, I guess? The guys always paying for everything, meanwhile I can't even afford dessert. So, without thinking I made a wish that I'd never been born in the junkyard and was no longer poor anymore."

"that explains why you didn't know where anything was in that mansion, is that how you got it?" Nya asked gently, watching as Jay's shoulders had begun to tremble.

"Yeah!" Jay sobbed, as he began to break down. "I suddenly got given this letter, saying that my dad had died?! But it wasn't really my dad, it was my birth dad. Apparently my parents aren't even my real parents, they're my adopted parents, and Cliff Gordon-Frintz Donnigan, is my real dad? But is that actually true or did I wish it into happening? Did my wish then cause Frintz to die a few days beforehand? And were my parents my real parents and now they're not anymore?? I never wanted any of this to happen!"

His dragon flickered for a moment and he panicked, hiccupping a little as he steadied himself.

"And before I was even allowed to process any of this he showed up again! He wouldn't stop talking and I was so freaked out that all I could think of was to wish for Kai to be with me, because I'd just left him alone on that stupid bench after he'd just been trying to comfort me- giving Nadakhan all the time he needed to trick him too!"

Nya was silent, there didn't seem to be anything she could think of to say.

"I don't know what I would've done if he'd taken Kai that day, and I never knew how to tell any of you what happened, there hasn't been a good time to tell you anyway- so yeah, I've made two wishes already, but I wish I never had, and- argh! I said it again! And- I'm the worst boyfriend-!"

"Jay!" Nya's voice made him choke for a second.

"Jay, all of that is awful. I… I'm sorry that you've been going through all of that on your own. We should've listened to your side rather than jumping to conclusions back on the island." she said, reaching her hand out and touching his shoulder. Jay grabbed it weakly and sniffed.

"I am also sorry for what I said to you before, Jay," Zane piped up, he'd opened his eyes and had removed himself from Jay's back the second he'd begun speaking, "you were vulnerable and as both your teammate and partner, I didn't listen when you needed us most and it will not happen again."

Jay hiccupped again, the sudden breakdown not taken well by his diaphragm. Zane tentatively began to wrap his arms around Jay's waist, loosely enough that Jay could push them off. But he didn't, of course he didn't, Zane knew that he needed physical affection most whenever he was upset, it reminded his partner that there were people around him who loved him. Jay let go of his dragon's reigns and grasped his boyfriends hand, telling him that he wanted the hug, desperately.

The reigns of their elemental dragons were a little optional, considering the dragon followed whatever their minds were thinking, it was more of an extra thing to hold on to, if anything. The dragon continued forward, unfazed.

"I guess we'd just wished that you'd told us before, regardless of timing or not."

"I-I'm so-sorry!" Jay blubbered, Nya leant forward closer to his back to hug him, Zane a little squished but continuing to keep his arms wrapped around his boyfriend's waist. After a moment Jay was finally able to calm himself and they separated.

"You made a mistake, Jay, but you weren't given much choice," Zane spoke up, "we're not mad now that we understand."

Zane smiled at him and Jay sniffed again, nodding. At the beginning of the conversation he'd felt awful, but now that he'd finally come clean he felt so much better, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Unfortunately, while Jay's breakdown had been important, it had exerted himself too much, and he was only able to continue for another hour until he could barely maintain his dragon. He was emotionally wiped, forcing Nya to take over, who took three tries before she was able to fully form her dragon. She hadn't had the time to practice with it, only learning a week ago.

It was going at half the speed Zane and Jay's had been able to manage beforehand, there was still no land in sight.

"I don't know if we'll be able to make it all the way back at this point." Zane said dejectedly, watching as the sun disappeared behind a cloud.

Chapter Text

Kai had managed to regain consciousness only a few hours after Nadakhan's visit, unable to do much other than kick at the locked door and aggressively pace around the room.

Nadakhan had attached a vengestone cuff around his ankle while he'd been sleeping, a ball and chain clearly having once been attached before being badly sawn off, as there was a c-shaped lump still jutting out the side of the cuff.

Unbeknownst to him, Kai was faring better than the others, currently comforting a highly distraught lightning ninja over the endless ocean with no plan of rescue being formed. That made sense, though, as they didn't know that he was still around, let alone that he was the Djinn's real love interest, apparently. He didn't really like thinking about it, the whole situation just felt too weird. As he sat back down on the bed, Kai almost wondered if he'd rather be trapped in the sword with Lloyd and Cole. But if he was going to be so close around Nadakhan then he should use the opportunity to find a way to help the others, no matter how creepy the situation may become.

He put a hand up to his face, feeling the new bandage running across his forehead, at least it had been secured in place this time. He lightly poked at the area of the wound before hearing the click of a key being pushed into the door. Kai staggered off the bed as Flintlocke and his glorious moustache appeared in the doorframe.

"The captain has asked that you join him for dinner." The pirate stated. Kai let out a dry huff of air through his nostrils.

"Oh really?" He said, folding his arms and tilting his head. Flintlocke was a little bewildered at the reaction, had this kid lost so much blood that he couldn't understand a simple statement?

"Uh, yes-" Flintlocke began.

"Well you can tell that fuckwit that I ain't joining him!"

Flintlocke's eyes widened at the word as Kai strode over to the door and grabbed the handle, about to slam the door in the moustachioed pirate's face before stopping mid-slam, the sudden movement causing him to wince and grab at his side. Flintlocke didn't waste time, using the ninja's distraction to ram his boot in the doorframe.

"Well it wasn' exactly a request, more like an' order." He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Kai's forehead, then flicked his head towards the hallway as a signal to follow him. Kai glanced at the weapon before giving him a deadpan expression.

"If your looney-ass captain-" Flintlocke glanced nervously down the hall, hoping the man in question couldn't hear the current conversation, "wants me to join him for dinner, then you don't seriously think that I'd believe that you'd shoot me, do you?"

Flintlocke grinned, this kid had some serious guts.

"I suppose you're right," he let out a low chuckle, his pistol flicked up before disappearing back into the backside of his belt.

"but considering yer current state-" He flicked Kai's forehead and Kai yelped. "I could easily just overpower you and drag you down to the captain myself. So, let's save you the embarrassment and me the trouble an' you just follow me, alright?"

Kai gritted his teeth, scowling at the sudden change in tone before letting out a huff as he begrudgingly opened the door. He moved to exit the room but Flintlocke stuck out an arm to stop him.

"Ah, now, before I forget again. The cap'n has also 'requested' that you wear your, usual attire."

Kai raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his dirty and bloodstained red gi, before giving Flintlocke another deadpan look. Flintlocke rolled his eyes impatiently.

"I mean Karim's usual attire, Nadakhan put it on the end of his bed."

Kai didn't even bother to turn his head.

"Yeah, I'm not getting out of this, nor am I wearing some random dead guy's clothes."

Flintlocke had expected the reaction and grinned.

"Oh Blossom!" He called out, as the absolute unit of a woman rounded the corner of the hallway.

"Alright, alright!"

...

"You really are exactly like my lovely Karim." Nadakhan said, sweeping over Kai with his eyes as he watched him enter the room.

It was a fairly simple pirate outfit, although the ruffled shirt was cut a little too low down the chest for Kai's liking. He was incredibly uncomfortable, and hyper-aware that the clothes he was currently wearing belonged to a dead man. A dead man clearly older than him, once treasured by a Djinn even older than him.

Kai didn't respond as he sat down in the chair that had already been pulled out from underneath the long wooden table, adorned in fancy dishes. Pays to be a pirate captain.

Flintlocke silently turned on his heels to leave, closing the double doors behind him. They were alone, and that was worse than being locked in Nadakhan's room.

Kai stared at the different plates of food, recognising some spring rolls and kebabs sitting closer to his golden plate. Was it seriously made of solid gold?

"Please, please, eat something, you must be famished." The Djinn continued, helping himself to a bread roll. He pointed his hooked hand at the large cut of red meat already on Kai's plate. "Please start with that, though. Your body needs help making more blood."

Kai eyes darted between Nadakhan and the steak, studying them carefully. Was the meat drugged? Nadakhan knew that he hadn't had the chance to eat since the island that morning. And now that Kai thought back, he hadn't had anything in almost three days other than those grossly warm coconuts that had clearly been baking in the sun back on that beach.

As much as it pained him, Kai didn't touch anything. Nadakhan looked at him.

"What’s wrong? You need to stay healthy. I don't want you… fainting, again." He added, smirking a little to himself.

"Well that wasn't from a lack of food, now, was it?" Kai crossed his arms. As pissed as he was, he was starting to feel too awful to function normally. And, due to their last encounter, Kai now felt incredibly nervous and anxious around the Djinn, a feeling he wasn't used to.

"Are you worried that it is poisoned?" Nadakhan actually sounded a little hurt at the notion.

"Something like that."

"I swear on my father that it isn't," Nadakhan replied seriously. "I'll have some if you need it proven to you, I'm just worried about your health, that's all."

Kai was a little surprised at the honesty, and decided that he really wasn't trying to pull anything. He grabbed at the steak knife and one of the many forks next to him as he shaved off a small piece.

"Don't eat too quickly!" Nadakhan suddenly interjected.

Kai stopped, what the hell did that mean?!

"If you haven't had much and are healing you need to eat slowly or you'll risk throwing up."

Oh.

"Yeah, I know," Kai replied. Not rudely, just still surprised at the Djinn's behaviour. "this isn't the first time I've been like this before."

He'd been hurt a good few times by now, especially when they'd first started out fighting the serpentine. With less experience he and the others had often received several cuts and blows, especially for Kai, who still had a knack for putting himself in danger in order to protect the others. He'd received four concussions over the last year alone.

"That's no good, you should be more careful." Nadakhan said, frowning.

"Eh, comes with the job, I guess." Kai shrugged, "And I didn't exactly end up in this state by 'not being careful', now did I?"

"You ran off on your own." Nadakhan replied blankly.

"Jay would've been right behind me if that serpentine guy hadn't gotten in his way! And it's not exactly easy to avoid a cannon-blast when Jay shocks you, either-!"

"Alright, alright," Nadakhan chuckled, jokingly putting his hands up in acceptance. Kai stopped himself and gave Nadakhan another small stare before going back to eating.

"You really haven't changed, you know." Nadakhan spoke up after a long moment of silence.

Well that put Kai off of dinner again.

"You know I'm not… him, right?" He said carefully, hoping the Djinn wouldn't have the same reaction as before.

"I suppose," The Djinn replied, pausing to take a drink at some of the wine next to him, "my Karim died that night."

Kai waited, he could feel that Nadakhan wasn't finished.

"But then he returned to me. In you. You are him."

That was definitely not what he wanted to hear. Nadakhan was staring at him again and he went back to his uncomfortable shifting. It was a little difficult to change the subject, and there was clearly no point in pointing out the Djinn's delusions.

"Uh, right. How old was he, when he died?"

"Karim! KARIM! SAY SOMETHING!"

Nadakhan looked up from the corpse of the pirate he had just been fighting in time to watch Karim fall to the deck, now cradled in his twins arms.

He shoved past the others, amidst at the chaos of both crews, all he could focus on was the red liquid gushing from the bullet wound in Karim's chest, down Delara's knees he was resting on, and mixing itself with the puddles on the deck from the pouring rain.

Nadakhan almost killed one of his own members in an attempt to get over to the twins fast enough, he had to-

Karim's arm flopped down from his sisters face and onto the chipped wood below him.

He was too late, Karim's eyes instantly glazed over. Delara shook with grief as she slowly closed them with her fingers.

He looked almost peaceful, as though he were sleeping. Nadakhan floated a little higher, the wisps of his bottom half touching the blood on the deck, Karim's blood.

Nadakhan bristled at the mention of his love's death being brought up again so quickly, flicking his eyes over Kai's outfit once again. Bloodless and dry. He ignored the small red patch in Kai's head bandage.

You will not lose this one like you did last time, and you will finish what you both were never able to do.

"Twenty eight," Nadakhan replied casually, "It was his birthday only two months prior."

"Okay…" Kai answered slowly, hoping to further convince the Djinn that he wasn't this man, "and you're aware that I'm… nineteen, right?"

Kai's stomach dropped instantly when Nadakhan only grinned at the low number, any dregs of confidence draining out of him at the reaction.

"A little age gap never hurt anyone-"

"Never hurt-?!" Kai interrupted, "How old are you?!"

"Three hundred and six, but I believe that is about forty seven in your years."

"And how old were you when he died, then?!"

"Forty-"

"You creep! Did he even like you?!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT KARIM!" Nadakhan bellowed, launching from his seat in an instant and towering over Kai's chair, who flinched at the reaction, Nadakhan's hands now gripping the armrests so tightly Kai could feel the wood creaking beneath him. Regardless, Kai held his composure, glaring back without breaking eye contact.

They continued the face off until Nadakhan's face softened, letting go of the armrest to stroke Kai's cheek with his fingers.

"I'm sorry, Karim, I shouldn't have yelled like that, but you know that I can be easy to temper."

Kai would've slapped his hand away like last time and proceeded to shout at the violent pirate captain looming over him, that his toxic masculinity was showing and it was disgusting, but his headache had returned. He was having another wave of delirium washing over him and he could hardly think. Nadakhan's touch was horrible and he desperately wanted to have any sort of distance between them. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled his head away, pushing it further into the chair.

The headache reached its peak, pain striking the injuries on his body and Kai's face scrunched up as he tried to stop himself from whimpering.

His mind flashed back to the boat, then on the island. Zane had given him painkillers, anxious about Kai's state and the level of pain he could be in without a proper environment to rest in.

They would've worn of hours ago, his body felt like it was on fire and not in a good way. But that wasn't it, at least not the entire cause of what he was feeling.

It was worse, Vengestone Sickness.

His body had already managed to develop it, and it was now hitting him at full force.

Wu had taught them that being around vengestone for short periods of time was fine, especially in top condition, but being severed from your element hurt after a while as it began screwing with both your mind and body.

He and the other three had felt a similar effect while Lloyd was under Morro's control. Random pains and headaches popped up on their second full day without powers, as Wu had predicted. Their bodies knew that something was horribly wrong, that their powers were no longer there. Even worse, due to their now incredibly strong connections to their elements, all of them but Zane (who couldn't anyway) had thrown up several times as the days went by.

Kai wanted to plead for Nadakhan to take the cuff off of his leg, but he knew he wouldn't, he just had to soldier through.

Nadakhan noticed the change in Kai's posture, just a moment ago he looked disgusted and ready to yell at him, but now he was sweating and twitching, clearly in a lot more pain than before.

"I'm concerned that he may use those abilities of his to try attack me again once he wakes up," Nadakhan had told Flintlocke shortly after he'd put Kai back in his bed, "is there anything that can stop it?"

"Not that I know of, I'd never seen anyone shoot flames or lightning or whatever from their hands until we attacked the city." Flintlocke had replied.

"Hmm…"

Nadakhan had gone back to that talking computer with the face he'd encountered several days ago. It had revealed that all the ninja had these strange powers, that they were each 'elemental masters', and that there were others out there with different abilities.

It was then discovered that 'vengestone' blocked the ability, for reasons still unknown. The computer didn't tell him where to find any nor how to identify it, causing him to sneak into the Ninjago library.

There was one book, nearly a hundred years old and behind a small glass wall. The lady at the front counter said that it wasn't for public access, but changed her mind when he'd pointed a gun at another staff member.

The book in question was still in the control room. It was a complete almanac of Ninjago's elements, minerals and substances. A seemingly harmless thing until the ninja had showed up.

The book contained facts on every mineral, meaning it talked about vengestone in detail, and was now a dangerous source of knowledge to villains wanting to take out Ninjago's protectors.

'Elemental wielders who experience prolonged contact with vengestone may experience symptoms akin to the phantom pains of an amputee along with various forms of discomfort, including migraines, nausea and weakness in the limbs, depending on the level of connection to their element. Elemental wielders who have truly mastered their element are at higher risks of developing these symptoms even after as little as a day.'

His Karim had only been wearing it for a few hours, and only a little cuff around his ankle, but perhaps due to his current injuries his body couldn't handle it as well as it should.

'Despite the word 'stone' in its name, Vengestone is a metal, and can be identified by-'

Nadakhan had gone through the old ball and chains in the cell room of Misfortune's Keep. They were exactly like the book described. The balls were massive, though, Karim wouldn't be able to move his leg with it on, given his state.

"Cut the cuff off and bring it to me when you're done." He'd ordered a crewmember.

Nadakhan felt a little bad but didn't want to risk taking it off of him, not when Kai had attacked him so quickly the last time. He sat back down in his own chair silently, watching Kai try to compose himself.

Kai's face was covered in sweat, eyes lidded and eyebrows still scrunched together. Along with the pain from his injuries it was a miracle he hadn't passed out again, but his brain was forcing him to stay conscious, pumping any form of energy around to keep him awake. You can't sleep, you're unsafe, he's there, you're unsafe, he's there, he's right there, that thing is over there, you're unsafe.

"You could wish the pain away." Nadakhan suggested, studying him. Watching Kai's pained expressions made him uncomfortable, a negative feeling he didn't recognise forming in his gut. "Wish yourself to be better, my love."

He watched Kai as he began to twitch, the wave clearly reaching its peak. Darling, just let me help you, please.

"…F-Fuck you…" Kai panted, before letting out another noise of pain, tears pricking at his eyes. He wasn't able to think, let alone talk long enough to get the words of his wish out anyway.

He'd be dead before he wouldn't be able to insult the man, though.

"Have it your way." Nadakhan sighed, as Kai continued to twitch.

Chapter Text

The sun had disappeared hours before the ninja finally saw the mainland beginning to emerge up ahead of them, with the bright lights of Ninjago city and the beacon that was Borg Tower gleaming like angels in the far distance.

Nya had been forced to switch with Zane after a short while, who had then only managed to cover another short while before swapping with Jay once again. His, now less bright and sparkling, electric dragon was flying at a runner's speed at best and Jay had felt several waves of nausea over the last ten minutes, a highly distracting sensation that had almost caused his dragon to dissipate once again.

It only continued to slow down as the night continued, now equivalent to that of a jogger's speed.

"I don't know how much more I can take," Jay panted, some form of a headache beginning to emerge around his temples. Zane had all but passed out by now, Nya using her remaining strength to keep him seated and not slip off the dragon's back. It was severely less roomy with two passengers.

"Do you think you could switch again, Nya?" Jay asked, "Even just another ten minutes so I can catch my breath."

The mainland was below them now, but Ninjago city just had to be towards the very top. Regardless, they could only be less than forty minutes away by now at most. Nya nodded, summoning spheres of water around her shaking fists.

"Do we stop at the Samurai X cave first?" She suggested. There weren't any beds there for them to sleep on, but there may be a little canned food in some of the cabinets, Jay only shook his head.

"The police closed it off days ago, we wouldn't have a way to get in."

As temping as the idea of a break sounded, Jay didn't think he'd be able to muster the strength to leave afterward.

Nya just nodded again silently, her dragon flickering momentarily.

Zane woke up as they had finally landed just outside of the mansion, his internal clock reading 10:32.

Jay cringed when he opened the door only to realise that he'd forgotten to lock it. Sweeping the entrance room with his eyes it was obvious that no-one had stolen anything, the mansion had remained completely untouched since their last visit.

"Where's the bedrooms- oh, right." Nya chuckled a little awkwardly as she kicked her shoes off, Zane having to practically haul himself through the doorframe. He looked up at the large staircases in front of him and let out a defeated sigh.

Nya had managed to find a charger for her phone, placing a large order to be delivered from Chen's Noodles. She had blinked a little at the website. Skylor had clearly been busy, the franchise now relabelled to 'Skylor's Noodle House'. Puffy pot stickers had been labelled the signature dish, giving Nya the feeling that someone in a tight, homemade brown ninja costume must've given her a hand.

"Order whatever you want Jay, I don't care." She sighed, passing the phone over to him.

"What's the code again?" He asked after a moment, finger hovering over the 'place order' button.

Since the whole fiasco of Chen's Island, Skylor had given Kai an unlimited code to use at the Noodle House as her way of saying thanks.

And now that she and Nya were dating, she'd managed to score the same code as a sort of 'free girlfriend' pass.

They'd flopped in the hallway, too wiped to face walking into the living room. Their order arrived surprisingly quickly, but Skylor never seemed to disappoint.

There were two notes in the bag this time, one for Kai and one for Nya. Jay still had the previous one for Kai in his pocket, he'd forgotten to give it to him, before he'd…

Nya picked them both up to read, neither Skylor or Kai would've minded anyway. They were short but a little concerned, asking if they were still doing okay, despite being wanted by the police. She also explained that she hadn't bothered sending any texts, figuring that the police might've had them tracked or something.

That was smart, the police had initially been tracking their phones, but had given up after the whole 'sewer rat' incident. Nya frowned at that, quickly sending a short message back on her phone that she was okay and they'd been busy with the whole Sky Pirate thing. Skylor quickly flicked one back with a lot of xes, telling her to tell her brother not to be reckless.

Nya was only able to send a thumbs up and a heart emoji back, how would she even try to explain their situation? She felt like Kai now, keeping secrets so no-one would worry. Skylor wouldn't be able to help them, she'd rather tell her in person when it was all over anyway, but it still felt like lying.

"We should probably share a room, right?" Jay suggested. "In case Nadakhan shows up again, we shouldn't be alone."

"Hang on," Zane replied, "if this house is a direct result of your first wish, Nadakhan will likely go looking for us here the second he realises that we've left the island."

"Yeah, but there's no-where else for us to go, the police will just arrest us." Nya pointed out, switching her phone back off and poking at the bottom of her noodle box with her chopsticks. She'd give anything to be back in her room on the Bounty right about now.

"That is true, I suppose we really do have no other options. Then we stay here tonight but leave early tomorrow morning, before the sun has risen."

Jay and Nya groaned at that. Nya grabbed the takeaway boxes and stuck them in the bin before glancing at the second floor.

"I'll go upstairs to find a big room then." She sighed, moving towards the stairs as Zane tiredly trailed behind. Jay went to follow before suddenly remembering the blanket that he'd seen in the living room and switched directions.

Bundling it in his arms, he paused at the sight of the couch adjacent to him.

It was no longer fully white, covered in dried bloodstains.

Kai's blood.

Kai, who had just been taken by Nadakhan! With him gone, they were only down to half a team now. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"I promise I'll save you all." Jay whispered to himself.

Looking back again at the couch, Jay draped the blanket over it. There'd be more upstairs anyway.

The fabric had barely hit the couch before Jay recognised the sound of a car door slamming outside. His eyes widened at the sight of the Commissioner, along with Ronin and two other officers making their way up the cobblestoned path through the large windows.

In an instant Jay ducked down, sending a zap at the lights to turn them off, creeping towards the entryway.

How did they know they were here? The police couldn't have known the house was even a hideout of theirs. Jay had only received the key three days ago or done any of the actual paperwork.

He was a meter away from the left staircase when it hit him.

Someone must've seen Nya's elemental dragon and reported them, it didn't light up like his, Kai's or Lloyd's, but it wasn't exactly inconspicuous either. They had all been so tired that none of them had even considered landing further away.

He heard the commissioner rap on the door as he bolted up the stairs, Nya and Zane popping their heads from around the corner of the hallway, confused.

"There's someone at the-?" Nya began, but stopped the second she recognised Jay's frantic hand gesture for 'police'. They both gasped as Jay began searching for another exit.

There was no time to look downstairs for a back door, the front door now opened, the Commissioner stepping over the threshold.

Jay mentally slapped his forehead at the sound, had he seriously forgotten to lock the door again?!

"Ninja!" The Commissioner announced loudly, "Are you still here?"

Nya grabbed both of the boys hands as she sprinted towards the bedroom she had been in the midst of preparing, its door wide open. There was a sliding glass door at the very end wall which lead to a private balcony. Nya had chosen the room in case they needed to make a quick escape but hadn't actually expected to be needing it. Zane flicked the lock up and slid it open as Nya began summoning her elemental dragon.

Jay looked back at the lavish room they had been so close to finally getting a good nights sleep in, only for it to now be so cruelly ripped away by the authorities. He eyed the door at the sound of shoes on carpet, before quickly airjitzuing off the balcony and onto the water dragon, escaping into the night.

"There's nowhere for us to even go now…" He said, the three now utterly dejected. That moment felt worse than all those hours flying over the ocean without food, because the promise of a good sleep awaited at the other side. It was the last straw for everyone, Jay wanted to cry at this point, what do they even do?

It was a long moment of devastated silence before Nya's dragon suddenly veered to the right.

"I think I can get us to Ignacia, it’s not too far away." She piped up, then began muttering to herself, "The keys should still be behind the front poster."

"What's in Ignacia?" Jay asked, but quickly remembered the answer.

"The Four Weapons, the old Blacksmith shop where Kai and I grew up." She replied.

…

They'd landed further away this time, on the outskirts of the village. Jay and Nya were half hauling Zane by the time they had reached the front door. Nya felt along the back of the front poster until her fingers brushed against the key and let the others in.

It was clear there hadn't been any occupants for awhile now, with dust covering the entryway, up the hinoki wood stairs leading up to the actual house, and in the all but empty living room.

Nya directed the boys to Kai's old room, which had been half-emptied a long time ago. It was a little sad because it didn't look like a child's room at all, the only hint of it being so was a wooden toy boat sitting on the chest of drawers and a collection of paper cranes along the window ledge.

Kai had always had a knack for origami, often caught folding his napkins at restaurants into samurai hats, cranes and the occasional frog. There were a few badly misshapen cranes mixed with the others, clearly a creation of his little sister, but treasured nevertheless.

Nya found an old futon in the linen closet, along with a blanket and a pillow taken from the couch.

She passed right by what seemed to be another room, its door closed shut. The two didn't need to ask who had once occupied it.

"Toilet's downstairs at the back of the shop. It's compostable, since there's no running water in the house. If you need a drink there's a pump out the back."

There wasn't electricity either, Jay noted as he spotted a number of candles strewn about the house, old drips of wax running along the floorboards.

It didn't matter, nothing did anymore. Nya went into her room and the trio were asleep within minutes.

They had woken up the next morning not feeling the slightest bit refreshed.

Zane, who had slept on the futon, had been unimpressed to find his blue boyfriend half atop him, legs jutting out and arms above his head. He'd practically thrown him back onto Kai's bed, Jay let out a yelp but fell asleep immediately.

And that had been it, other than the odd trip to get water or use the bathroom, the ninja stayed in bed. They were absolutely zonked to say the least, with no thoughts on ninja-like activities such as rescue-planning running through anyone's mind. Any energy had been extinguished the second they'd stepped over the threshold.

It was close to 12 by the time they were collectively beginning to stir. Nya had taken a quick trip to the market and they spent the remainder of the morning cooking a large breakfast, or late lunch, depending on one's view.

It was a nice domestic activity they hadn't done for weeks now, but the lack of other team members didn't go unnoticed.

Sent to collect water for the dishes, Jay had barely made it over to the pump before he was confronted once again by the Commissioner.

Jay dropped the metal bucket in a panic, still clanging on the concrete when Jay powered up his electricity, coursing along his arms like neon veins.

"Wait, wait, stop! We're not here to arrest you!" The Commissioner yelled, putting his arms up to shield his face. The same detectives were behind him, also moving to cower.

"Oh really?" Jay began, highly annoyed and preparing for another one of his spiels, "Last time I checked you were-"

"I know." The Commissioner put a hand up to stop him, looking a little guilty, "We were wrong to distrust you ninja, after Ninjago was attacked by those Sky Pirates we finally realised what side you were fighting on. That's on us."

Jay lowered his arms.

"Now you believe we're innocent? Hah! Took you guys long enough. I mean, we've been saving Ninjago for years now. You'd think you guys would've figured out that we were innocent ages ago!"

The Commissioner and detectives Simon and Tommy had quickly been invited inside to talk, now Jay was able to start his complaining.

"I, yes, well I must admit we were a little hasty to arrest you-" The Commissioner began.

"You sent us to Kryptarium without a trial!" Jay retorted. Zane and Nya also didn't seem impressed by their uninvited guests, just glad that they were no longer being hunted.

They were all seated around the living room table minus Jay, walking back and forth behind Zane and Nya as he continued to rant.

"No witnesses, no judge, just a 'hey we're shipping you off to the place where we hold all your biggest enemies!' Talk about poor judge of character! How did that even-"

Tommy lent a little too hard on the wood with his crossed arms, and a small chunk off the corner snapped off underneath his elbow. It went unnoticed due to Jay's continued ranting and Tommy hastily moved to shove the piece back into the table, arms now removed from the wood entirely.

"What about how you all showed up back at the mansion last night?" Nya interrupted, Jay wouldn't stop talking otherwise. The blue ninja sat down in the last remaining chair, still huffing.

"We didn't mean to alarm you, we were trying to let you know that the charges had been dropped."

"How did you know that we were even there?" Jay piped up, arms still firmly crossed and leaning on the table. He was sitting next to detective Tommy and thus leaning close to the broken edge. Tommy was looking firmly at the wall ahead of him, sitting on crossed fingers.

"Well, the dropped charges were announced on the news last night, but clearly not everyone had seen it as we received a report of an elemental dragon several hours later landing outside the mansion."

Nya's mind flashed back to Skylor, clearly she also hadn't been tuned in to the little tv sitting in the noodle shop.

"And," The Commissioner continued a little awkwardly, "you ordered takeaways from Skylor's Noodle House… under your full name."

"…right." Jay said, now quite content in his seat and avoiding Nya's stare piercing him from across the table.

Thinking back, both the lights on the police cars and their sirens hadn't been turned on that night, he was feeling a little embarrassed now. They could've just stayed the night there anyway!

"You ordered under your name?!" She exclaimed.

Skylor had actually received Nya's last text a short moment before the Commissioner and the others had entered the establishment. She was quickly informed that the ninja have been cleared of all charges before being promptly asked if she knew where they may be to inform them of such (after hearing from Skylor that they clearly had not been made aware of their sudden freedom) and if they needed any assistance in case they were in any sort of trouble.

Skylor had given them their receipt with the mansion address written below and they'd quickly headed over and up the hill to the large house.

Skylor had then tried to call Nya to prepare them for their upcoming guests, hoping that Nya's phone was still switched on, but to no avail.

Walking up the path the Commissioner hadn't missed the lights being switched off, however the front door had miraculously remained unlocked. He'd tried to assure them that they were not under arrest but it was clear that the ninja hadn't heard them after a short inspection of the house had proven that it had been promptly deserted.

"We didn't know where you went after that but we didn't want to startle you so soon," he continued, the ninja listening intently. "we continued the search the next morning, a security camera caught you on your way to the village of Ignacia. We asked around and the locals told us that we may find you here. I was not aware that this establishment was under the ownership of you ninja."

"Of course you didn't it's under the ownership of Ray and Maya Smith, my parents." Nya replied. The lie was on instinct, years of practice becoming muscle memory. Jay and Zane eyed her but didn't say anything.

"I see." The Commissioner stated simply.

Jay put a hand on the corner of the table to stand up only for a previously upset chunk of wood to come loose from the table and send him hurtling forward.

…

Early the next morning, Nya, Zane and Jay had found themselves sitting in movie actor chairs listening to Dareth talk about their new plan to infiltrate the Sky Pirates and stop Nadakhan. Dareth had whipped his glasses off for the fourth time for dramatic effect as the Commissioner had arrived.

"We intercepted one of the ships those Sky Pirates use several days ago, it's currently impounded back at the station."

Dareth put his glasses back on and grinned. A plan was then formed that the three ninja would disguise themselves as Sky Pirates and sneak up to the floating fortress above, slip the Tiger Widow venom into Nadakhan's drink and wish the others free.

Dareth pulled his glasses off once again.

"Then let's make some magic, people!"

Chapter Text

"We're getting close."

Jay pointed at the floating pieces of land up ahead, absolutely infested with Sky Pirates. How were there so many all of a sudden?

"Keep your guards up everyone." He said stiffly. With a plan like theirs, they couldn't afford to fail.

"Sailing straight into enemy territory with one vial of poison, half a team and no backup. I don't know how we got ourselves into this one." Nya muttered to herself as she gently veered their airship in the direction of Misfortune's Keep.

The fake moustache she was currently sporting was super itchy and her turban kept managing to single out her hair strands, reminding Nya of its presence on her head as it painfully tugged on the strands with even the smallest movements. She'd clearly put it on wrong but they had been in too much of a hurry at the time.

They'd only had the remainder of the previous day to come up with their shabby half-baked plan, memorise basic nautical terms in order to blend in, and for Nya to learn how to operate the small and highly exposed airship, meaning the three had once again been up until the latest hours switched to the earliest. Moreover, the tailors, who'd crafted all three costumes overnight, had only managed to produce rough and unfinished clothes that hardly fitted, clearly the commissioner hadn't paid them enough for the rush.

"Don't look at me, I'm not supposed to talk." Zane replied, albeit a little bitterly. It had been decided that because of the faint metallic echo of his vocal chords, he had been quickly switched to a mute pirate as his voice could give them away. The makeup hiding the titanium on his face felt strange and his shirt didn't fit properly, the brass button closest to his neck loose to avoid strangulation.

"I know buddy but we can't take any risks, we're sailing straight into the lion's den and can't afford any loose threads." Nya said.

"Speaking of loose threads," Jay piped up, grabbing at his pirate jacket, "one of my buttons came off."

"Then stop touching them!" Nya snapped nervously, a little less loud than she normally would've, as Misfortune's Keep loomed above them. Jay and Zane only noticed as the sun on their faces were suddenly replaced by the hull's long shadow.

"Now would be a great time to have Cole here." Jay fiddled with his fingers nervously, he knew what came next, the sheer enormity of the task he'd been delegated once again reminding him just how difficult it would be. Cole could slip straight on board, now able to make himself invisible, he'd be in Nadakhan's room in a matter of seconds.

"I know, Jay, but we have to make do," Nya placed the vial in his hands, a small crystal decanter half full of sickly brown venom. The liquid clung to the inside walls of the decanter strangely, too thick to pass as any form of alcohol. Jay would need to pour it into a jug in Nadakhan's room.

And that would be after he somehow manages to sneak himself aboard the largest pirate sky ship without being seen. He gulped as a new wave of anxiety washed over him, grabbing at the Keep's large anchor hanging above him.

Turns out it wasn't too difficult, that same metallic monkey that had been aiming at Kai mere days ago was the only one on deck. With the number of barrels surrounding the pair, Jay had slipped past the metal menace with little effort.

No, the only problem had been when he'd reached Nadakhan's quarters, grabbed the door handle and come to the horrible realisation that it had been locked. He quickly began to panic, Nadakhan must be inside!

But as he pressed an ear to the door, he couldn't hear anything. The Djinn must keep the door locked as a precaution, not wanting anyone slipping in.

Jay looked back down at the lock and frowned, the key was hanging on the door, what the heck?

Grabbing at the key and tentatively unlocking the door, Jay's nerves couldn't handle what came next.

Upon opening, Jay was greeted with an ornate side table being swung at his head. He screeched, barely having enough time to duck and avoid the wood colliding into his skull. The sudden jolt made Jay stumble, causing him to fall backwards onto the wooden hall floor, panting.

"I thought I already told you to fuck off!"

That wasn't Nadakhan's voice, there was no way, was there?

The figure wrenched the door open, readying themselves with the table yet again.

"Jay?" It was Kai, table still held aloft menacingly in his hands, mid-escape. Jay blinked rapidly before scrambling to his feet as Kai dropped the table.

"Kai!" Jay almost blubbered, launching into his arms.

"Jay wait-!"

The two toppled over into the room as Kai couldn't support his boyfriend's sudden weight.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I forgot you were-" Jay leapt off of him and grabbed under Kai's armpits, pulling him to his shaky feet.

"It's alright," Kai chuckled, evidently still surprised. "you just caught me off guard. What are you doing here? Are the others with you?"

"We disguised ourselves as pirates and used a stolen airship to get up here, that's where Zane and Nya are currently waiting for me, us. We're here to stop Nadakhan!"

Kai's face lit up at the mention of the others being close by.

"We didn't realise Nadakhan hadn't trapped you in his sword yet, or we would've come sooner."

They couldn't really have come any quicker, but at the very least Jay would've been more keen to sneak on board if he knew his beloved boyfriend was waiting for him at the end, like a prize at the end of a video game level

"Yeah, well, I couldn't exactly contact you," Kai pointed at Cole's earpiece, "I was too far out of range."

"What are you doing locked in Nadakhan's room, anyway? Why hasn't he trapped you yet?"

"Um…"

"You really are exactly like my lovely Karim."

"Did you like that kiss?"

"Don't try anything, I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"I love you, Karim."

Yeah, breakfast that morning had been anything but pleasant.

"Th-That doesn't matter."

Jay was incredibly concerned by the nervous reaction, worry painting lines along his brow as he moved closer.

Kai had just stuttered, something he never does, a sudden unease taking over him. Was he scared?

Kai's eye's flicked back to his partner. Oh no, Jay was worried about him. He needed to think of some sort of lie before Jay would start prodding, he'll tell them all once they're off the ship, but not while he's still in the creep's room.

"I… He was waiting for me to heal more. Nadakhan can't trap someone when they're really injured, I guess. So I haven't used any wishes and have been trying to escape."

Kai had become a sort of expert at hiding his worries and more negative feelings, because raising Nya on his own had given him too much practice. Once the siblings had officially joined the team and left their old lives behind, he found himself breaking out of it the closer he got to them. Well, sometimes… not really, it was a habit he barely noticed himself doing, to the point where the other five noticed it more than him, recognising his tell-tale masking and 'everything's fine' voice.

Jay could tell that he was hiding something, there was no doubt in his mind about it.

Kai was just thankful that he'd been able to find his gi in Nadakhan's closet and stuck it back on, because if he were in that getup from before, Jay really wouldn't have believed him.

"You're not telling me something," Jay replied. Shit. "but we'll have to discuss it later. For now let's focus on getting you out of here."

Kai's face only dropped more. As much as it pained him, he had to be vulnerable.

"Jay, I don't think I'll be able to make it over to the others, I already got Vengestone Sickness yesterday."

"What?!"

Jay was even more worried as Kai pointed at the cuff around his ankle. Now that Jay was really looking at him, he could see the bags under Kai's eyes, the laboured breathing he tried to hide, and a general slump in posture. He looked beyond awful even without his injuries.

"Oh, oh fuck!" Jay didn't swear too often, only when he was really stressed, "Are you okay? How are we going to-"

They both paled at the sound of Nadakhan talking to Flintlocke from further down the hallway, a faint sound of boots rapping the wooden floorboards. Jay was quick to help Kai hide beneath the bed as he bolted over to the closet, closing its door behind him and praying to the First Spinjitzu Master that Nadakhan wouldn't come looking for a coat.

It didn't matter in the end as neither pirate entered the room. The door was both unlocked and ajar with a bedside table discarded beside it. Nadakhan was furious.

"HE'S ESCAPED! SEARCH THE SHIP!" The Djinn bellowed, as the pair took off down the hall. Kai crawled out from beneath the bed and Jay opened the closet door, tentatively stepping out.

"Second time you've done that." Kai chuckled at him. Jay raised an eyebrow before getting the joke, huffing as he grabbed his idiot boyfriend's arm and hauling them out the room.

They would need to be quick, the ship would be on high lookout in less than a minute and near-impossible to escape from if they were still aboard. Kai stumbled behind the blue ninja, he'd been right about his condition. Fever-ridden from Vengestone Sickness and already weak from his injuries, Kai looped an arm around Jay's shoulders as they exited the hallway and hid behind some barrels.

"Shit, I forgot to pour the venom!" Jay whispered, suddenly noticing the crystal decanter still strapped to the belt on his hips, the liquid sloshing around from the sudden movement. After Jay had found Kai, he'd forgotten the whole reason why he'd even snuck on board in the first place.

"Well we can't go back now." Kai said as they crawled towards another barrel. He still didn't look good, but Jay didn't have the power to break the cuff off him.

"And we can't go on without poisoning him!" Jay replied, a little distraught. Even by the time he'd dropped Kai off on their airship it would be impossible to sneak back aboard. Would they be able to come back another time? The longer they waited, the stronger Nadakhan would be.

Kai let out a grunt of pain, Jay paused mid-step.

"I'm okay," He reassured, then paused to correct himself. "I mean, I'm not but I can do one small burst once we're out in the open."

"Okay." Jay nodded. That was pretty truthful of Kai, and Jay probably wouldn't be able to sprint if he had to carry him once they passed the last barrel. That two-faced pirate Jay recognised from the attack on the city days ago had just called that scouting Monkey a little further away from them, clearly about to warn them about the red escapee. It was the opening they needed.

"Go, go, go!" Jay whispered.

He pushed Kai forward and they sprinted to the edge of the deck, Jay spotting the ninja's airship just below and leaping onto its orange balloon. Jay kept a strong hand on Kai as they slid down and onto its deck, only to be greeted with a handful of armed and leering Sky Pirates.

"I think we may have gotten on the wrong ship." Jay squeaked, turning back to look at Misfortune's Keep and spotting Zane and Nya being detained by Dogshank and Clancee.

So, turns out they hadn't gotten on the wrong ship, but that Zane and Nya had been captured only a moment before they had arrived.

The three were rounded up and chained in Vengestone, meanwhile Kai was separated by another pair of pirates and angrily struggled in their grip.

"I thought you might show up." Nadakhan appeared, sneering at his captives with a hideous smile. Jay yelped as his arms were wrenched a little too far behind his back by the crew as another finally managed to cuff his kicking leg.

The three of them were both angry and terrified. If they were really Ninjago's last hope, what was going to happen now? Being killed or trapped within the Djinn's blade were equally bad options if they could never come back out again.

Led into a hole-like cell, the three had no option but to wait for whatever would be coming next. Defeat and a strong sense of glumness loomed over them in the enclosed space like uncomfortable humidity, it was stifling and kept them restless.

After a moment of silence Jay shifted on the cell floor. He had been fighting the pirates detaining him the most as he had stuffed the vial of poison down his pant leg to avoid having it confiscated. He'd been paranoid that one of them would break it in the scuffle, but they'd been more preoccupied with holding down his flailing arms. On top of that, his pirate pants were so baggy that there hadn't even been a lump.

There was no point in keeping their disguises on now, anyway, so the three ninja began removing their disguises and revealing their gi's previously hidden beneath. Jay kept his pirate belt, wrapping it around his lower left leg beneath his gi to keep the poison secured. The others noticed but didn't say anything, even if Jay had managed to poison Nadakhan there was nothing they could currently do about it, it was almost better that he hadn't at all.

"I don't like Kai being alone with that silky voiced seducer." Jay angrily piped up a moment later. "If he lays one finger on him-"

"Don't worry! We won't let that happen." Zane tried to calm him, but his words weren't all that reassuring. How do they prevent anything from happening when they're stuck in this hole?

And prevent what, anyway? They were all still confused as to why Kai had been separated from them in the first place. When they'd been caught, Zane and Jay had tensed when Nadakhan had floated past Nya, concerned that her likeness to Delara may put her in harm's way. And yet... Nadakhan had barely bothered to look at her, much less do anything.

Jay was still carrying guilt with him as he hadn't apologised to Kai yet, feeling as though Kai's capture was somehow still his fault, only worsened by the fact that Kai was separated from them once again.

"I'm more worried about Nya, I did some more research and, according to old Djinn law, a Djinn becomes Djinn king upon marriage, and gains infinite wishes." Zane replied.

"Infinite wishes?" Nya panicked, "He'll be unstoppable!"

"But then his crew will be expendable." Zane continued. "Maybe we can convince them to-"

"Have you met his crew?" Jay said hopelessly, "There's no way they'll listen."

"And I never even managed to spike Nadakhan's drink or save Kai, we just gave him false hope. We never should've came."

They all leaned back against the wall in defeat, looking incredibly upset. After a moment Zane spoke up again.

"Hey, we may not have our elemental powers, but we're not without hope. Between the three of us and Kai, we have ten wishes that-"

"Wishes?" Jay practically shrieked at him, back flying off the wall as he got closer to Zane's face, "You wanna think that through? Making wishes is why we're up here!"

"Yeah! And when he turns them around on you, you'll beg for him to wish it away. And that only makes him more powerful." Nya said, also doubtful.

"No wishes, Zane. Things may be bad, but they can still get worse." Jay responded with finality. He'd never use a wish again if he could help it.

"Okay, okay. No wishes." Zane put hands up defensively. "Only as a last resort."

They all leaned back against the wall and let out a collective sigh.

"I just hope Kai's faring better than we are." Jay moaned.

"He'll be fine, Jay. This is my brother we're talking about." Nya replied confidently.

"I know, but you didn't see him when I found him."

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

"I…" Jay didn’t really know to put it, "He seemed afraid, he was locked in Nadakhan's quarters and uncomfortable. He also said that he's had Vengestone Sickness since yesterday but he clearly hasn't been given any help for it, and yet Nadakhan was supposedly waiting for him to get better before trying to get him to use his wishes. But that would take weeks, and wouldn't he be in a cell like this or something instead? Why Nadakhan's room? He's hiding something, I just can't figure what exactly it is."

Speaking of which, the fire ninja in question had decided that he'd had quite enough, of the ship and its inhabitants.

Kai was now sporting an array of wounds across his entire body, severe bruising on his torso, mild concussion and a very strong case of Vengestone Sickness, yet he'd managed to make an absolute menace of himself from the moment he and Jay had been separated.

He was led by three Sky Pirates down the hall, kicking and shouting the entire way. Kai had only just managed to free his left arm for a moment, but had immediately lashed out with it. Kai aggressively pinched one of the pirate's necks behind her ear, his fingers having located the pressure point perfectly. The woman crumpled instantly, her eyes rolling back into her skull as she deflating like a balloon to the floor.

The remaining pirates still holding him were a little horrified, not understanding what Kai had just managed to do. They quickly made to grab Kai's arm and hold it back down as he continued to struggle.

"We need help over here!" One yelled, fighting with Kai's arms and no longer able to push the ninja forward.

"Get the FUCK off of me!" Kai yelled, as another pair of pirates appeared at the end of the hall and rushed over to help.

It was as though seeing the other ninja had given Kai strength, reminding him that he wasn't alone and that he didn't need to put up with any of these fucking pirates anymore.

These pirates in question were most certainly not enjoying their new task, practically dragging the angry fire ninja down the hall. Kai could barely do anything in his condition, he's pretty sure that he just bled a little on the one standing behind him, but managed to kick another one in the nuts by the time all five of them had entered the dining room.

The pirate keeled over, the others shoving Kai forward towards the captain in a panic and sprinting out the door, the nut-suckered pirate panicking and getting back up to hobble after them. Nadakhan rolled his eyes.

"I have a proposition for you." He said once the door had shut.

"Oh I can't wait, sweetums." Kai spat back, aggressively pulling a chair out from under the table and flopping into it.

He'd clearly just been hit with another wave of delirium because he'd never call the Djinn that in a right state of mind, but the insult landed anyway so Kai didn't care. Nadakhan raised an eyebrow.

"It took four of my crew to bring you to me and yet you couldn't seem to hold a teaspoon this morning."

Vengestone Sickness came in waves, they both knew that, and most of Kai's injuries had begun to seal themselves over a little, meaning he was now a little more mobile than before. A little.

Since last night's dinner, Kai had been pretending to be delirious and tired in order to get himself back in Nadakhan's room. He'd spent the rest of that night in a guest's quarters, after threatening anything and everything if Nadakhan even so much as suggested that they share a bed.

As much as he didn't want to step foot in that overly perfumed room again, he'd done so in order to help him develop some sort of escape plan. Hearing footsteps at the door, he'd readied himself beside the frame in order to sock the living daylights out of the poor fool who'd be serving him lunch, all thanks to having convinced Nadakhan that he wouldn't be able to make it back to the dining room again after pulling his 'weak and helpless' stunt at the breakfast table the same morning.

It hadn't really been much of a stunt though. Sure it had begun like one, but then he'd almost had a seizure when a strong and more painful wave of sickness had washed over him and really had been struggling to hold that stupid little teaspoon to crack his hard-boiled egg open.

He'd also spilled his entire glass of water onto himself a mere moment later, but Nadakhan had at least had the decency not to bring that up again.

"I have nothing to say to you." Kai replied simply, choosing to ignore the Djinn's comment. "Take me where the ninja are. I'd rather be in chains in some scummy cell with them than in any room with you."

Nadakhan had decided that his new Karim had simply lost his memories from when he was a pirate and therefore just needed some time to get to know him again for them to all come back. What he'd just said did still sting though, what was so great about those ninja compared to him?! He'd almost taken everything from them at this point, their master, their friends, their fame, why couldn't his love see that he was so much better than them all?

Karim would just need some time, is all. Nadakhan let out a little huff through his nose.

"Only if you listen to what I have to say. Consider it and I'll take you straight to them."

"Fine." Kai said, sinking a little further into his chair, arms still crossed tightly over his chest.

"You better keep your word, asshole." He muttered to himself.

"Of course he's lying, because none of what you said makes sense, Jay." Zane whispered back, "We know that Nadakhan wanted to marry Delara, therefore Nya should have been the one to be separated. He must want Kai for something else."

Nya nodded, but the thought of looking like that Djinn's lost love now that they were on his turf had created a lump of unease in her stomach. She felt sick.

"But what could he possibly want him for?" Zane continued, the question aimed at no-one in particular as he furrowed his brows. "And at the very least why not take Nya as well?"

"He's probably manipulating him, trying to get him to use his wishes or something. He's been here on his own for two days now, Nadakhan probably thinks he can break him or something."

Zane and Nya had looked horrified at Jay's words, who had now made himself so depressed overthinking the whole situation he could no longer hide how he felt anymore.

Like their whole world was ending and he'd started it.

"I don't want much, Karim, there's only one thing I want most in this world, in all of the realms." Nadakhan continued, slowly taking a seat of his own on the other side of the table.

Kai shifted uncomfortably, his large seat made him feel even smaller compared to the seven-foot Djinn.

"And what's that?"

"Your hand, in marriage."

It was that same terror Kai had felt as the first time he'd found himself in Nadakhan's room, the sense of powerlessness and being uncomfortable in your own body as the Djinn leered at you. Nadakhan didn't react, moving to trace Kai's toned collarbones with his eyes.

Kai slammed his palms onto the table, slowly pushing himself up off the chair. He was half trembling, but this time from rage. He was so angry now that he hadn't felt himself shaking at all as he stared at the empty plate in front of him.

"You kidnap my family, frame us and have us arrested, kidnap me and lock me in your room pretending I'm your dead sweetheart, and now you have the nerve to tell me, not ask me, to marry you."

A cloudiness had appeared in Kai's amber eyes.

Rage.

It was pure rage.

Kai was gripping the table so hard now that Nadakhan was concerned that he'd somehow snap it in two, the fire ninja absolutely seething with hate and disgust and ignoring the bleeding from the torn stitches in his side.

"All while my boyfriends and sister are currently being held in that scummy hole on the deck of your ship. So you tell me, what do you think my answer to your statement might be?"

The room was silent, the pair unmoving as Kai continued to stare at the plate. There was no expression on his face but those deep waves of anger absolutely emanating off of him would've been terrifying if Nadakhan held any less power over him, he'd almost flinched.

"I will never marry you."

Kai looked up at him, Nadakhan staring straight into his eyes.

"You don't get it, do you? The world doesn't work like your wishes, you don't just get to have everything you want! Because what about me? I don't want this!"

Nadakhan straightened his back, closing his eyes as he took a deep inhale. He got up from his seat and crossed a pair of arms behind his back, slowly making his way around the table.

"You will find that it was more of an offer than a question or request, because I did not think that you'd say yes."

Kai stood up from his chair as Nadakhan made his way past the table's edge, refusing to break eye contact as he backed away from him.

"But know this." Nadakhan continued. "Once a Djinn becomes Djinn king, a feat achieved through marriage, they gain infinite wishes. Once that happens I will not need your friends, and can set them free. Will that convince you?"

Nadakhan outstretched his hand towards Kai. It was difficult to tell what the Djinn was really thinking as he was now the one bearing an expressionless face. Kai eyed the hand in front of him but didn't move.

"You won't, though," Kai replied, continuing to move backward. "because if you really get infinite wishes you won't need to do anything anymore, you'll just do what you want."

"Maybe," The Djinn began thoughtfully, a small smile appearing on his face.

Kai's back hits the door, eyes twitching momentarily. It was happening again.

"but when have I ever been untrustworthy?"

It was the same position as the first day, Kai unable to run while Nadakhan loomed over him, except now he knew just how far the Djinn would go to gain the upper hand and he had no fire to defend himself this time.

It had also been a trick question, as if to say 'you don't have a choice but to trust me', but Kai would never accept that. If he had no other choice he'd simply make his own.

"You never loved anyone, only what they could give you." Kai spoke up.

"That's where you're wrong, my love," Nadakhan said, reaching a hand out to him, "I have never loved anyone so deeply but you, and I will not lose you to those… ninja, not if I am still breathing."

The same hand found its way on Kai's collarbone, Kai grabbed it in a vice-like grip, absolutely seething.

"Then you're a liar and a bastard, and I'd rather die with them than spend another second with you!"

And with that, Kai grabbed the door handle and wrenched it down.

It wasn't locked, and opened for him immediately. He couldn't believe his luck, he just needed to go left, that's where he and Jay had-

His chest collided straight into an outstretched arm, a watchman.

There were two strong pirates acting as watchmen outside the room, why hadn't he even considered that? He slammed down to the floor, only having time to let out a pained groan as they hauled him to his feet. They were twice as strong as the ones who had taken him down here just minutes ago, gripping his arms behind his back and giving him no window to escape.

Nadakhan floated out, grinning in mild amusement.

"Like I said, I won't ever let you go, but if you really must see those ninja of yours, then let's pay them a nice little visit. Do you remember what the plank is, Karim?"

Kai only struggled in the pirates grip. Nadakhan just continued to smile as he outstretched his hand once again.

"You really do have lovely collarbones, my love."

Nadakhan did keep his word, Kai had listened and now he was taking him to the remaining ninja, but it had become common-knowledge by now that Nadakhan's words, as well as your own, could mean anything if he could help it.

"Take them out of the hole, prepare the plank!" Nadakhan ordered.

Jay, Zane and Nya were hauled out of their cell, dragging large ball and chains by their right ankles. A plank was being set up at the end of the deck and Kai began to struggle again.

Another set of stitches had definitely popped, the fragile skin over Kai's multiple wounds had also being constantly jostled from the last twenty minutes of events. Kai would honestly be surprised if any of Zane's stitches were fully unbroken by this point. And then- yep, there it was, the sensation of hot and sticky blood running down his side. He really should listen to his boyfriend about making sudden movements when he's in such a state, but what else could he have done? The circumstances he'd found himself in since the accident hadn't been fit for rest or relaxation.

So his struggling could barely even be called such at this point, a duck could probably beat him. The pirate holding him on his right side noticed the blood seeping through Kai's gi but didn't say anything.

Kai wanted to go ballistic again.

"You put any of your slimy fucking fingers on them and you can forget about any kind of deal!" Kai shouted.

"Then say yes to my offer, and I will let them go." Nadakhan looked over at him lazily.

The ninja turned back towards Kai, who looked both disgusted and horribly conflicted, what deal? And just what had Nadakhan said to him?

"Don't listen to him, Kai! He's bluffing!" Jay yelled.

Both Nadakhan and Kai looked at him, Nadakhan looking amused.

"Am I?" He asked slyly.

"You need to marry Delara to gain infinite wishes, so at the very least you can't lose Nya!"

Jay didn't want to stick Nya in the spotlight of Nadakhan's attention, but they were running out of time. He felt the tip of a cutlass against his back as he was beckoned further towards the ominous plank of wood.

Upon closer inspection the plank had an old brown stain, having baked in the sun many times. It would've been red once. Jay shuddered.

But what he didn't understand was why Kai had only appeared more terrified by his words rather than angry, and why Nadakhan's grin had now become almost maniacal.

"Oh really?" He tilted his head, poofing in front of Jay in an instant, who let out a yelp. "And who says I want to marry her?"

"Because, you…" The assuredness in Jay's voice began to fade. "you were engaged… didn't you love her or something?"

"Jay, stop." Kai interrupted, Jay turned his head, why was Kai so scared? What was going on?

"Do you want to tell them?" Nadakhan asked Kai, who gulped.

"Tell us what?" Jay said, now very unsure of himself.

"Or something is more like it," Nadakhan continued, "Ever heard of a 'marriage of convenience'? You'll find that many engagements are only created so we can get closer to those who we really desire."

Kai tried struggling against his captors once again in vain.

"Like the fiancé's brother, for example."

Not every marriage is legal in all sixteen realms.

The ninja's eyes widened, faces paling and fear increasing. It all made sense now. Kai had been targeted from day one for a reason, had been taken from them back on the island for a reason.

Jay had found him locked in Nadakhan's quarters, alone and clearly scared of whoever was going to walk through the door. The blue ninja wanted to scream.

Nadakhan poofed back to Kai, grinning.

"Don't touch him!" Jay yelled.

The three began to thrash as they were shoved further towards the plank.

"I hereby call off our wedding, Delara. Now, ladies first." Nadakhan laughed, Kai now struggling so hard a pirate had grabbed his hair to hold him more still.

Nya's legs were shaking, the jagged tip of a cutlass poking at her back made it impossible to go anywhere but forward. The wood of the plank had worn thinner from years of use and bent a little too much under her weight.

"I will ask you again, give me your hand and they live." Nadakhan slowly floated back to Kai. "May I remind you that there's nothing but ocean below us, and that those ball and chains look quite heavy to swim in?"

Nya's Vengestone ball was lifted up by Flintlocke and Clancee and thrown in front of her. The end of the plank sagged further down, creaking unpleasantly as though it would snap in two. She was starting to slip now, hands jutting out in front of her and pulling the chain back towards herself as the ball continued to roll closer to the edge.

"Kai, you can't!" Zane yelled over to him. If Kai agreed to marry Nadakhan then it would be all over, Ninjago would fall to the Djinn's mercy. The pain in Kai's face said it all, he couldn't say yes but he would never let his baby sister drown.

"Quiet!" Nadakhan hissed at the white ninja before looking back up at the plank, impatient. "Push her over."

Nya straightened a little as Flintlocke advanced towards her. It was either this or death.

"Wait! Don't I get any last words?" She yelped.

Nadakhan wanted to roll his eyes, but there was nothing she could really do at this point. There was nothing any of the ninja could do, she could only be trying to stall her death and he had all the time in the world.

"Humour me." Nadakhan drawled, crossing his arms and leaning his chin on his silver hook.

"I wish…" Nya began.

"Nya! Don't do it!" Jay yelled, but what was she supposed to do? They were all going to die anyway!

"You wish?" Nadakhan raised his eyebrows, his posture loosening as he focused on the water ninja.

"I wish…" Nya continued. "Vengestone didn't stop our powers, but made them stronger!"

Nadakhan tilted his head to the side, expressionless.

A small gold spark appeared around each of their cuffs, Nya whooped with joy.

"Ha ha! I can't believe that worked!" She yelled triumphantly.

"If he's within earshot, he has to grant the wish!" Zane said in realisation, Jay beginning to charge up a large volt of electricity in his hands.

"Ow!"

In an instant, Kai had raised his external temperature, burning the pirates still holding him. They shrieked and let go as he bolted towards the ninja, breathing heavily.

"Get them!" Nadakhan yelled angrily, Jay sending out a large volt and shocking a group of pirates advancing on his left.

Nya sent a blast of water at Flintlocke as she leapt off the plank and over to the three boys.

"Alright, careful not to waste wishes! That's one down with nine left!" She replied, summoning more water around her fists.

"Remember the rules, you can't wish for love, death, or more wishes." Zane replied.

Before Jay could argue, a large blast of electricity shot out of his hands without warning. He looked at the twitching pirate in front of him that had been sent flying back from the attack, absolutely bewhildered. He hadn't even been aiming!

"Nya's wish has made our powers too strong!" He yelled in realisation, watching as the others attacks only grew in size. Kai had already looked like he was going to throw up before the sudden power boost, though his flames were significantly smaller than the others elements.

"I can't control it!"

Jay was beginning to float at this point, lightning surging out of his fingers and frying the pirates in front of him. They may have the upper hand but they'd quickly lose it if they really did lose control of their elements.

"Argh! I knew this was a bad idea but nobody listens!" Jay shouted.

They had all begun to float now, Kai having no ball to keep him tethered to the ship.

"I wish we were all free from the Vengestone!" Zane said quickly, and they all landed back on the deck.

Well, they had landed. Kai slammed back onto the deck with his whole body, no longer able to support himself. The wooziness and delirium worsened immediately as the air was ripped from his lungs. Another headache began to form from the harsh impact and he was clearly on the verge of passing out again. The others looked over at him with concern. Just how were they going to get all four of themselves out of here?

"If that's the plan," Kai grunted, "then I wish I was back to normal again!"

The rush of energy and sudden lack of pain made him feel giddy. Kai's eyes turned red momentarily as his flames licked happily at his fingertips. Even his gi was fixed, blood-free and freshly cleaned. His golden katana had also appeared on his back but he didn't want them, having a far more personal weapon he'd been itching to use again.

"That's more like it," Kai grinned, excitement forming behind his eyes, "now who wants some?!"

He sent a large fireball at some pirates in front of him, who screamed as they rushed to get out of the way. Kai felt insanely good, all this energy coming back to him and he knew exactly where it needed to go.

"Get back here!" Kai yelled, chasing the poor pirates and continuing to blast at them as the four ninja separated.

He really did have too much energy. There is no such thing as 'normal' so Nadakhan had used Kai's loose wording to his advantage, overloading his body with energy and adrenaline in an attempt to make him manic, too manic, in the hopes that Kai would be unable to think straight and trip himself up or something. Instead he'd just made Kai barrel through his crew without flinching, watching as Kai grabbed a pirate by the arm and threw him forward like a bowling ball at another pirate, Nadakhan cringed.

Flintlocke suddenly swung his pistol around, level with Nya's head.

"I ain't afraid to shot you were you stand." He drawled

"I wish you were a lousy shot!" Kai blurted out almost instantly.

"I never miss!" Flintlocke bellowed, firing.

They all flinched as they heard the bang, Nya closed her eyes, only to realise nothing happened, she opened them again.

The bullet rolled around uselessly on the deck, they all stared at it.

"I said I never miss!" Flintlocke angrily retorted, turning to face Nadakhan accusingly, who only shrugged.

Agitated, Flintlocke continued to fire erratically, the bullets ricocheting along the metal walls, one firing straight past another pirates head and into the balloon of a smaller sky ship, sending it straight down.

"Stop firing!" Nadakhan yelled, "Or else you'll put a hole in all of us!"

"And would everyone stop wishing!" Jay replied exasperatedly.

They continued to fight, momentarily gaining the upper hand as they broke into spinjitzu until Nadakhan wedged his sword into the ground. Ice spread across the floor in an instant, everyone but Zane slipping over as their spinjitzu struggled across the smooth surface.

"What the-?" Zane began, as he froze a pirate skidding on the icy deck.

"He's using the other's powers against us!" Kai realised, "Lloyd can also control the elements of creation!"

He was not impressed when Nadakhan proceeded to shoot a fireball at him, which Kai decided to take face-on out of spite. The flames enveloped his body like a hug before dissipating. Kai was obviously unscathed, along with his fire-resistant gi, Nadakhan and the other pirates blinked.

"And just what were you hoping that was going to do?" Kai growled, before hurling a far more impressive shot back. Nadakhan dodged, but the several less fortunate pirates behind him were blasted off their feet. He skidded again and slipped over face-first onto the deck.

"I got it! I wish he didn't have that sword!" Kai yelled triumphantly. The sword in question began to pull itself out of the Djinn's grip, only to float over to Flintlocke, who just passed it straight back.

"Here you are, cap'n."

Kai's smile dropped instantly.

"Well you got what you wished for!" Jay shot back and Kai scowled at him.

"And that's all of your wishes!" Nya replied, Kai blinked, had he seriously just used all three so quickly?

At least Nadakhan couldn't make him wish it all away, but he wouldn’t've anyway so it didn't really matter. But that had also meant that Kai's last wish was the safest to use and he'd just spent it.

"Words matter! We can't just be firing wishes from the hip like this!" Jay added angrily.

"That's five left, we must be wiser for what we wish for." Zane piped up, Kai melting the ice underneath them as they all continued to skid.

"No! Not wiser!" Jay interjected, "Quieter! No. More. Wishes!"

They continued to fend off the pirates. Kai was going apeshit by this point, thrilled to be able to use his powers after so long and no longer injured.

The pirates only watched in horror as Kai continued to barrel his way through them with the other ninja. Due to the way he'd been holding himself ever since he'd arrived on Misfortune's Keep they'd almost forgotten that he was even hurt at all, save for the bandage wrapped around his head. He'd been a nuisance but nothing more, he wasn't a real threat.

But now, seeing the red ninja pick up a crew member from behind and throw him over his shoulder and onto the ground, then breaking into some sort of flaming tornado of death, they had now come to the horrific realisation that they had been wrong. He was actually scary as fuck.

"Perhaps we are over thinking this," Zane said, having seemingly ignored Jay's pointed advice, "I wish that I was as wise as Wu!"

He grabbed a sword and used the blade to redirect one of Flintlocke's shots towards Nadakhan, knocking the blade out of his hand once again.

"Yeah, why hasn't anyone just said 'I wish us all out of here'!" Nya replied triumphantly, Nadakhan paled.

"You fool!" He yelled. An alarming creak sounded throughout the deck as Misfortune's Keep began to tilt forwards. Pirates and ninja alike began to fall over and bump into each other.

"We really need to start listening to me!" Jay howled, reaching a still frozen piece of deck and sliding down it, squirming on his back like a cockroach.

"Make it stop!" Flintlocke yelled, already dangling over the edge of the ship.

"I can't," Nadakhan replied helplessly, "she's wished us all out of here!"

A skidding box almost hit Jay, now grasping onto the deck meters away from Flintlocke. He felt the venom tied to his leg beginning to loosen and began to panic.

"Hold on!" Zane yelled. It felt like the Titanic, with the ship now on a perfect 90-degree angle hanging in the air. Any remaining cargo thundered past them. One of the ball and chains barrelled towards Zane's hand, which was currently clinging onto the edge of the ship.

In a panic to avoid it, Zane let go, shrieking as he began to fall. Kai swung back, sticking his legs out for Zane to grab on to, but neither would be able to hold on for much longer. Another pirate fell past them, screaming.

At that moment another strange creak sounded out, but this time from Zane. His left arm dangled on a strange angle before falling off, covered in rust and cutting through the bright white clouds below.

"I'm not just wise like Wu," Zane paled, spotting the titanium designs on his body change to another metal, darkening with rust, "I'm as old as him."

Kai panicked, looking down as he heard one of Zane's legs make a similar sort of creaking noise, his entire body was covered in rust patches, he clearly wasn't made of titanium anymore.

"I wish you had all your limbs!" Nya shouted, frazzled.

"No, Nya!" Zane replied.

His arm returned, only to detach a second later. Nya's eyes widened

"He wants you to wish it away," Jay yelled from below them, "you can't!"

"Well, someone better wish for something quick, and don’t look at me, I don't have any left!" Kai yelled, scrabbling to stay on the plank as Zane seemed to become heavier underneath him.

They were all too scared to summon their elemental dragons, and would have no cover from the surrounding sky ships. They needed to do something, and fast.

Kai was holding onto the plank by nothing other than his fingertips now, only able to support the both of them momentarily as he was then forced to let go.

They all fell at the same time, flailing and screaming.

"I wish those clouds would stop us!" Nya shrieked.

And not a moment too soon, smacking into the clouds below and bouncing on them like spring-riddled mattresses. Kai and Zane looked at each other, bewildered at the strange landing as the others bounced down beside them. Jay stuck his arms up in triumphant relief.

"Hah, would you look at that!" He replied.

He'd landed next to Flintlocke, who was clearly less thrilled with the situation. He growled, bouncing on the spot before launching at him. The fighting broke out again, Nya and Kai trying to get closer to each other while Zane used the springy clouds to his advantage, double-bouncing his assailants with his remaining arm.

He groaned, his gears felt wrong, everything about his body did, like a robot equivalent of full-body arthritis. The others bounced over to him worriedly.

"Zane! What's happening to you?" Nya said, moving closer.

"Don't worry about me, Jay and I have one wish left, and I'm not going to use it to save myself."

Zane was still on his back, clearly struggling to push himself up, his thumb had locked into place. Jay jumped closer towards him as Kai fended off another pair of pirates with another fireball. They kept their distance, scared of being burnt.

"But you'll continue to fall apart! And you've already lost your arm!" Jay was scared, Zane looked as though he'd shut down at any given moment, "let me use my last wish to save you!"

"Jay!" Zane yelled at him, snapping the ninja out of an upcoming spiral. "The wise thing to do is save it. I see beyond the now, you'll need it."

"For when?!" Jay cried hopelessly.

"For when it's said from the heart." Zane replied simply.

"When it's said from the heart?! Hearts don't talk!" Jay threw him arms up, distraught.

"You think you can use your wishes to stop me?!" Nadakhan said angrily, flying closer towards them. Zane looked up from his position and scowled.

"I wish for my shuriken!" He cried. Nadakhan pulled his head back a little in surprise as a pair of old silver training shuriken appeared before the ninja. One in his remaining hand and the other laying on his chest.

"No Nadakhan, I know our wishes will stop you." Zane said, eyes steely and eyebrows scrunched.

"Just not today."

And with that, he threw the shuriken at Kai and Jay's feet, the clouds deflating below them. The pair cried out as they slipped off and down towards the shimmering ocean waves below.

"Kai! Jay!" Nya yelled.

"Don't worry, together, those two will save us all!" Zane replied, turning back to face a furious Nadakhan.

"We have to summon our dragons!" Kai yelled to Jay desperately.

"I'm too scared!" Jay screamed, arms flailing as strands of his hair whipped at his face.

"Then we'll do it together, hold onto me!"

Kai used his fire to propel himself further towards him, grabbing his partner's hands and looking straight into his tear-ridden eyes. Jay still looked horrified, clearly unable to fully comprehend what had even just happened. Kai was also scared but smiled at him. After a moment Jay began to focus and smiled back, the two summoning their elemental dragons simultaneously.

A large ball of light appeared below them as they continued to free-fall, dropping straight through the top as a dragon appeared inside, unfurling its large wings.

With the pair landing on its back, the dragon let out a roar as it surged forwards.

It looked spectacular, its large body tightly wrapped in flames, with bolts of lightning making its features, shooting down its tail and sparking with power.

"It's two dragons in one!" Jay yelled excitedly, the pair smiling at each other as he grabbed the reigns.

Zane and Nya watched as the pair began to distance themselves from the now deflating clouds, Zane looking thoughtful as Nya began to spiral.

"Why would you do that?" She asked, no longer able to back away from the surrounding pirates.

"You wasted a wish!"

"No," Zane shook his head. "I saved the last one, Jay's wish."

He turned to face the pirates.

"We've made our wishes, Nadakhan. You can't control us!"

"You're right," Nadakhan sneered, "I can't make you wish it all away,"

He whipped his head over to his trembling crewmate, covering his face with his hands.

"but I can make him."

Chapter Text

I haven't forgotten this fic, uni is currently super busy and stressful though so I don't have time to work on it. Once the trimester is over (approximately 4 weeks) I want to finish this fic, so just hang on for a few more weeks! Once again thank you all for reading this story and being so patient, I really appreciate all your nice comments too :)
Hope to get back to you all soon!

Chapter Text

In Jay's opinion, Zane's decision to sacrifice both Nya and himself in order to for him and Kai to have a chance to escape hadn't even been the worst part of the day. It had been the aftermath.

The initial excitement that had come with discovering the new ability to merge elemental dragons had been altogether brief. It had simply never been done before and was thus an exciting accomplishment. But now, seated upon their dragon's glowing back and Jay watching the familiar sight of an endless blue sea shimmering in the sunlight stretch out before them he and the others had been forced to endure a mere two days ago, he and Kai were immediately reminded of their circumstances, what had caused them to attempt their new achievement in the first place. The reality of what Zane had just done was starting to crash down on the pair like an icy wave.

Typical for the ninja of ice to cause such a cold sensation, but Jay would rather be frozen in a block of his partners ice than be in this situation. Because they'd just lost everything.

Each passing second Jay spent holding the reigns in his hands flying further away from Djinjago was a particular agony that could only be described as gut-wrenching. It was a betrayal of all their principles and what the ninja had stood so strongly by. "Ninja never quit.", "Ninja never leave another ninja behind.".

Well, forced to or not, they had just quit, leaving half of their already shrunken team in the hands of the enemy in the process.

The knowledge of Zane's decision only further settled within Jay's mind. There really were only two of them now, and that being a fact felt horrible and wrong, gnawing at his soul and hollowing him from the inside out.

Only a third of the ninja remained, two freshly traumatised teens stood as the last line of defence for the entirety of Ninjago, and against an enemy by the likes of which they'd never seen and continuously lost to. They couldn't show themselves to the public with their numbers or the people would lose hope.

Jay had initially been surprised when he'd found himself seated at the front of their dragon, fully expecting Kai to have been automatically placed in his position. Kai enjoyed any form of driving, to be in control, and elemental dragon riding fell under that category.

Jay didn't want to be in control of their getaway, and yet he'd been seated behind him. It felt wrong, unusual to feel Kai clinging to his back and not vice-versa.

The weight of their new losses were crushing him like a train, already Jay's hands had begun to tremble so badly that he could now hear the chains attached to the reigns rattling over the wind pressure. He also noticed that Kai was more hugging his back than just holding him, head resting heavily between his shoulder blades.

Oh.

Now he understood why he'd been given the reigns. Just like him, Kai felt utterly defeated. It wasn't something Jay had grown accustomed to experiencing, but he knew that Kai was about to cry, and that the seemingly unstoppable ninja of fire would soon be shaking and clutching to the back of his boyfriend's gi with white-knuckles.

Kai had been through enough, and Jay knew that it was now his turn to be the strong and supportive one. There wasn't anyone else anyway.

He didn't even get a chance to turn his head before a small missile suddenly whizzed past them. He felt the air being forcibly cut around the projectile as it had brushed the underside of their dragon's left wing. That was the thing with elemental dragons, in being an extension of their elemental master's mind and soul. If they felt anything, then so did you.

Kai therefore had also felt it, his moment of grief interrupted. Kai pulled his head up, straining his body around to understand what had just happened. Jay could now feel the small wet patches on his gi as they all but froze to his back from the air whipping around them, but they needed to go faster if they wanted to escape their current assailant.

It was Flintlocke, commandeering a smaller type of roto-jet and sending more missiles now soaring in their direction.

"Port side!" Kai yelled back to him.

Jay veered to the right, half of bullet-like projectiles skimming their dragon's wings yet again with another three missing them entirely. Kai's second wish was clearly still in effect, as each further shot was random and frenzied, Flintlocke now firing in all directions but the actual body of the dragon.

Perhaps it being a merged dragon had been the reason that it hadn't dissipated, because if it were a regular dragon the shock of the first missile would've scared them enough that their dragon would've disappeared. This one had yet to flicker. Clearly it went by different rules.

Kai turned around in his seat, knees bent as he rested his weight on his hands and feet, his crouched limbs resembling that of a spider. Kai steadied himself before lifting one of his hands and lighting it. With the distance between them and the roto jet, along with the wind pressure, he'd need to make his fireballs larger and hotter so they'd be able to cover the distance without them burning up or blowing out.

Flintlocke noticed a flicker of orange appear at the end of the dragon, identifying it as a flame about to be hurled in his direction and prepared himself for the upcoming assault.

"I'm ready, you human firecracker." He sneered, tightening the googles on his face.

Neither party needed to worry about the other much longer, however. The mainland of Ninjago was now visible in front of them, along with the Commissioner and a squadron of police who been itching to show off their anti-aircraft tanks to any pirate who was unfortunate enough to get anywhere near. It only took one set of shots for Flintlocke to make the decision to turn back in a panic, Kai lowering his hand as he watched their moustachioed assailant retreat towards a small set of clouds in the distance.

It took a moment for Jay to position their dragon to land as police quickly swarmed the ground below them, clapping and cheering. Jay didn't understand their enthusiasm, it was clear that the mission was a total failure other than rescuing Kai, who they hadn't even known was up there in the first place.

The police eventually scattered to allow the ninja a place to land and suddenly Jay felt incredibly shy. He didn't want to talk to anyone and being surrounded by dozens of strangers eager to hear what happened was quickly overwhelming him.

The two leapt off their dragon and spotted the Commissioner shouldering his way past the other officers towards them. The officers in question were now beginning to notice the lower number of ninja and had quickly stopped their celebrations.

"Ninja!" He exclaimed, his voice gruff and yet more weary than usual, "What happened up there?"

Kai noticed Jay's sudden change in behaviour, how his team mate didn't seem to have a voice anymore and in an instant took charge.

"We'll discuss it later, Comish," Kai began, quickly gripping Jay's hand and steering them away from the crowd, "for now we need to get somewhere secure and out of view of their scouting ships."

The Commissioner nodded, barking at the other police to pack up and head back as he half trotted beside Kai in order to keep up with the teen's fast pace.

Kai could feel several pairs of eyes on him but made no move to acknowledge them. Jay, Zane and Nya had been working to get up to Misfortune's Keep with the aid of the police force, who would have also assumed Kai to be already lost to the Djinn Captain's blade and be therefore thoroughly confused as to his sudden return with Jay and neither of the others.

Jay just watched as Kai explained their current situation to the Commissioner. He'd promised himself mere minutes ago to look after Kai and now he was trailing behind him, unable to talk to anyone without risking bursting into tears.

"What about the others?"

"Nadakhan has them."

It was a vague answer but the Commissioner could guess the details, nodding glumly. Some of the closer surrounding officers had overheard but it was pretty clear what must've happened anyway, there were only two ninja now, after all.

Ninjago only had a third of its security when they desperately needed all six.

Jay couldn't hear a breath of emotion in Kai's voice after that, in fact he hadn't heard any from the moment they'd landed. Kai was using what Nya had once described as his 'big brother voice', wiping all emotions from his voice in order to further persuade those around him that everything is fine.

The Commissioner was a little taken aback at Kai's professionalism. He was carrying himself with confidence as he explained their next steps. It wasn't until he noticed Jay gripping Kai's gi from behind to stop himself from just dropping in misery did he understand that Kai's behaviour was merely a façade and the situation had become more dire.

"We'll form a convoy and escort the two of you back to police headquarters. From there we'll help you come up with a plan on what to do next."

"Thanks comish." Kai replied.

After a few short orders from Commissioner Gordon the officers were quick to disperse, piling into cars and packing up equipment.

Gordon walked over to his car, opening the passenger door and beckoning Kai and Jay to hop in. Kai paused in his step, unsure.

"We can just take our dragons, it's probably safer than being in an enclosed space-"

"Kai, no."

Kai blinked at the sound of Jay's firm voice beside him. Scrunching his brow a little in confusion, Kai began to open his mouth to speak but Jay just signalled to the Commissioner that they'd be a minute. He tugged Kai by his sleeve, steering him until they were a little further away from the police, next to some boulders which provided some privacy.

"Jay what's going on-"

"Drop the act, Kai."

"What?"

"We've just lost two of our team members," Jay sighed, he barely even sounded alive, "one of our partners and your sister."

Kai's chest hitched a little at the mention of his sister.

"I don't even think I could summon my dragon if I tried right now and I'm sure you need a proper rest. It's just me and the Commissioner. You don't need to pretend that everything's okay for either of us, or act strong and try to call your own dragon out. I…"

Kai only looked at Jay as he drew a large, defeated breath.

"I haven't had almost any time to grieve about what's happened and who we've lost the last few days and it's killing me. And if that's how it is for me right now, then it has to be worse for you because you haven't been… you've been on your own for almost three days. I think you're allowed to stop being a ninja for the next hour and have a moment to breathe."

Jay looked at Kai with loving yet dulled look in his eyes, Kai continued to stare blankly back for a few seconds.

Continuing to stare, silently, until Jay noticed a faint shaking of Kai's wrists as he bit his lip, eyes glassing over as Jay moved towards him with outstretched arms, hugging him as Kai put a hand up to hide his face.

Jay gently removed it as Kai broke down.

It wasn't just a break down, it was a break down. Kai clutched Jay's shoulders with violently shaking fingers, knuckles white as he sobbed.

Jay's back had dried before they'd landed but his gi collar would definitely be needing more time. He continued to rub small circles on his boyfriend's back, resting his head on Kai's shaking shoulders, listening to his shuddering breath in silent understanding.

It took a few minutes before Kai had managed to calm himself down again, gaining some sort of frail composure as he slowly looked back up at Jay and spotting the boy's own teary eyes and realising that Jay had held him the entire time, quietly crying with him.

Jay gave him a tired smile as Kai gave him his own hug, eventually signalling that he was okay and they could start heading over to the Commissioner and his car.

There was simply no way Gordon hadn't heard what had just happened, reopening the car door for the pair but thankfully staying silent as Kai slid into the backseat, eyelids red and with a dry and sore throat. Jay nodded a small thanks to the man as he got in, Kai quietly scootching over and staring soullessly out the window.

It was a fairly quiet ride back, Jay and the Commissioner exchanging a couple sentences on what they should do next. Jay had suggested that he and Kai stay overnight at the station for extra security, then evacuate to a more disclosed location. Kai only sat in the seat next to him, the fire Jay had seen behind his eyes less than an hour ago reduced to solemn embers.

Jay had been sleeping next to Zane that very morning, Nya opening their door to get them up and ready for their latest mission. And now all of a sudden he and Kai were alone, as though all they now had left were each other, and Jay knew that even that was in jeopardy if Nadakhan wanted to gain infinite wishes.

Kai only continued to stare out the window, eyes unfocused. He and Jay handled their emotions very differently, Jay being more expressive while Kai tended to bottle everything up until he couldn't take any more.

He had been getting steadily better the closer the team got with each other, but it was a difficult habit to drop, hence Jay having to all but force him to release everything he'd been keeping to himself since this whole ordeal had begun.

Jay was feeling overall white overwhelmed and therefore pretty sensitive to everything around him. He leant over to cuddle his partner, who in turn recognised Jay's need for physical assurance and moved to hold him but otherwise didn't react. Kai hadn't been able to form a sentence since before his breakdown.

It took a generous half hour to reach Ninjago city and another ten minutes until they saw the familiar concrete pillars of the station's front entrance, several police cars also parked outside with officers waiting for the Commissioners next orders.

Jay unwillingly detached himself from his warm boyfriend, scrabbling at the car door and preparing himself for what would be coming next. Due to their lack of team members it was Jay's turn to take on the leader role. Jay didn't really have the current strength for it but, although Kai hadn't had the chance to tell him about his time in captivity with the Sky Pirates, Jay knew that it could hardly have been pleasant, and would thus only be in a worser state than him.

The rest of the afternoon passed by in a blur. With the help of Commissioner Gordon, Jay was able to handle everything going on and the large number of people surrounding him very well, delegating tasks and plotting all the pieces of land Ninjago had lost, trying to discover possible patterns to the attacks.

Kai's demeanour had also changed now that so many people were around them. Though a little milder, he was back to his old self, talking with the officers and carrying himself with confidence as he mapped out their complicated escape route a few tables down.

Regardless, the two kept finding themselves have to watch the level of pda they were displaying. Gordon had been made aware some time ago, the fours relationship wasn't to go public until Cole had come clean about his sexuality to his clearly very closeted father.

It had actually started to drive a bit of a hole between the four over the last week, Kai and Jay itching to stop hiding themselves but Cole simply wasn't ready yet.

The whole situation had begun to escalate when an interviewer had asked Nya what her parents had thought about her new relationship with Skylor. Despite her and Kai's best efforts, their reactions had caused a sudden interest within the fans to find out about their parents, eventually managing to track down the Four Weapons and cause a small ruckus outside the shop until the siblings had arrived to chase them off the property.

Then, days later, when the ninja were trying to reach Clouse at Stix, Kai's phone was suddenly hacked by a crazed fan. Within seconds fans had begun to swarm the building and they'd been forced to try and evacuate from the roof.

That seemed like a lifetime ago, Jay thought to himself, but it still hurts that all I want to do right now is cuddle my boyfriend but can't because of all these officers.

In the end they weren't really able to keep to themselves, trying to stay close in more subtle ways. They sat next to each other for hours, knees gently bumping together. Kai would always put a hand on Jay's shoulder whenever he passed him and Jay had grabbed his hand twice during their discussions with the Commissioner.

They had also held hands down the hallway, though this was more because it had been engrained in Jay by now not to go anywhere unaccompanied anymore and asking Kai to follow him to the bathroom.

Regardless, they were both still fairly quiet compared to how they usually were. By the time the sun had set Kai was barely opening up to anyone other than Jay, who had started to talks for him if he was asked any questions.

Jay had also finally managed to tell Kai about his first encounter with Nadakhan, and was a little taken aback that Kai wasn't even vaguely mad at him despite not having said anything before.

It was close to 9pm by the time the pair had realised that they should probably stop to go find some dinner.

"I'll send someone to get you something if you'd like." Gordon offered.

"It's alright, we'll go." Jay replied.

"You're sure? Don’t you need to lay low right now?"

"Yeah, but I think we could both do with a little break." Jay grabbed Kai's hand again, most of the officers had gone home by now. "Just to be safe though, do you have some disguises?"

It had started to get a little cold outside so Jay needed the extra layers, and Kai didn't seem to have the mental energy to even try to regulate his temperature either. Gordon was eventually able to uncover two pairs of unbranded police jackets for both of them to wear. Kai was also handed a pair of sunglasses to hide his scar while Jay was given a small stick-on moustache and a pair of Gordon's old reading glasses he'd found in the bottom drawer of his desk.

Walking down the streets of Ninjago, the pair were surprised at how few things were still open. Jay had suggested Skylor's but Kai just shook his head. He felt a little bad because she was his best friend but he couldn't fathom the idea of talking to anyone other than Jay right now. He never handled things well without his sister.

They eventually stumbled upon a small yet brightly lit kebab cart. Kai fished through his pockets for his wallet, now realising that they must've been emptied when he'd first arrived aboard Misfortune's Keep while he had been unconscious, as he literally had nothing on him. He didn't even have Cole's com anymore, it had fallen out of his ear when they had been attacked by Flintlocke.

Jay pulled his own wallet out, fingers scratching at the largest banknote sticking out of one of the pockets.

"A superior always pays." He let out a weak chuckle, Kai letting out a small puff of air from his nose in amusement, cracking his first smile since when Jay had found him aboard Misfortune's Keep.

There was only one other customer so they wouldn't need to wait long, Jay tugging on Kai's sleeve to point at a nearby park bench to sit on.

They sat for a moment in silence. The relief that had come from their little excursion had given Kai a little more mental strength as he began to raise his body temperature. Once Jay noticed he all but latched onto him and Kai let out another amused puff, his eyes flicking a little wider as he saw his breath, visible in the cold air.

"Sorry." He chuckled. As their powers had developed Kai's sense of temperatures had begun to dull, leading to being yelled at by the others when he'd exited the Bounty two weeks ago in shorts and a tank top, utterly oblivious to the 8 degree weather.

For a moment the world seemed so peaceful, sitting on that park bench and contently watching the strangers of the city pass by. A girl walking her fluffy white Spitz, a mother and son with a toy plane. An elderly couple hobbling along, sharing an ice-cream.

Not a minute later a young lesbian couple passed by, hand in hand and also eating ice-creams. Jay and Kai looked at each other and let out little puffs of amusement at the coincidence.

"We should get ice-creams after this, then we'll complete the set." Jay said.

Kai let out another little chuckle, resting his head on Jay's shoulder. The padding of the jacket making it the perfect cushion.

Jay smiled as he looked down at his boyfriend. It felt like so much had happened since he'd last seen him and yet it had only been two and a half days. He'd missed moments like this.

Now getting a better look at his partner, Jay noticed that the collar of Kai's gi was a little more open than it should've been. Kai probably hadn't tied his gi tight enough after using the bathroom before they'd left the station.

"Kai, your gi's come a little loose." Jay pointed at his collar.

"Oh." Kai said simply, looking down to spot the loose fabric.

"I can see your collarbone-"

Jay had begun to reach out a hand to help him tie the gi back up until he saw Kai's pupils now fully dilated. In an instant Kai had pulled away from him, sitting up and hurriedly fixing his gi before Jay could even fathom what was wrong.

It had been a nice moment only a few seconds ago, Jay was bewildered by the reaction. Did I say something wrong? All I said was that his gi was loose, didn't I? Kai was staring at him in a sort of panic and yet he didn't appear to be registering him at all.

"Kai, what-"

"Two chicken kebabs, one no red cabbage!"

Kai snapped his head away from him, surging towards the cart before Jay could finish his sentence. Kai didn't stop to hand Jay his order either, immediately turning on his heel and making his way back to the station.

Jay didn't want to call out to him, it was essential that they stay undercover and calling out 'Kai' in the middle of a busy street was definitely going to turn every head in view.

And yet Jay also knew that Kai wouldn't stop to look back at him anyway, because whatever was going on it had to be serious for Kai to have that reaction. So Jay followed behind, doing everything in his power not to sprint.

Whatever had happened before had really freaked him out, causing him to leave Jay alone without any explanation. But what had even happened, exactly? Jay still couldn't figure out what was wrong.

The chase continued, Jay a few meters behind, the gap only furthering as Kai sped up and Jay kept finding himself trapped between clusters of pedestrians.

Jay suddenly realised that it wasn't accidental, Kai was weaving through the crowds in a particular way, exactly how the ninja had recently been taught to escape potential stalkers. Kai was directing Jay into the most crowded areas of the pavement, hoping that he'd get stuck, slow down, or perhaps lose him altogether.

Well you're not losing me, you've got my dinner. Jay thought to himself, almost a little annoyed.

It was hard to be mad though. Clearly something was going on and it was bad enough that Kai didn't want to stop to explain. If it were any other day Jay would have eventually made the decision to leave Kai alone to allow him to escape and calm down. But he couldn't leave him alone, not today, not with their current situation. They needed to stick together.

Jay had just crossed another street, recognising it as the same one that he'd been cornered in by Nadakhan only a week or so ago.

"Kai's right over there, I can scream, you know!"

But if he had screamed then he'd have attracted too much unwanted attention from the public, he'd only have put himself and Kai in danger and Nadakhan had known that.

"I'm going after that lantern!"

"Wait! We're supposed to stay together!"

It's happening again, Jay always seems to be finding himself in this position. Kai just ahead of him, close enough to see, but just far enough away that he can't get to him. He can still hear the shot of that cannon, and they're only a few meters away from those benches.

What if Nadakhan appeared right now? Jay can see it happening.

Too far away to help, but just close enough to witness. Nadakhan would shoot him that hideous smile of his as he'd scoop Kai off the ground, not giving either of them enough time to scream before he hauls his red partner off into the night.

Jay was beginning to make himself seriously panic now. Kai I'm sorry but you need to come back!

"What lovely collarbones-"

A cold metal hook grazing his bare skin.

"You really do have pleasing features-"

He can't do anything, held down by faceless henchmen as that hook pushes away the fabric of his collar, the last inkling of safety he had from that man.

"-such lovely skin-"

Is he going to remove more? There's blood trickling down his side, Kai can't focus, there's nothing other than that sharp hook.

Get off me!

Kai could only speed up, as though the quickened pace would somehow help him outrun his nightmares. He knows that Jay's not far behind him, probably worried out of his mind, but Kai's almost having a panic attack and he needs to make any sort of space for himself if he's to ever have a chance to calm down.

Breathe, he's not here, you escaped, remember? He tells himself. You're never going to end up in his hands again.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Collarbones.

For the first time that year, Kai felt cold.

Chapter Text

"Your gi's come loose."

"I can see your collarbone."

That's all I said, right?

Jay was so soaked up in his thoughts that Kai eventually managed to make it back to the station a full minute ahead of him. Thankfully he was a little calmer by that point, otherwise he'd have jump scared an already anxious Commissioner with a panic attack.

"Where's Jay?" Gordon asked him in concern.

"He, we were racing… to see who'd, get back first… loser pays for dinner." Kai panted.

The Commissioner raised his eyebrows, Kai seemed completely out of breath and yet when he'd spotted him outside he hadn't been running.

He decided to take Kai's word for it though, simply nodding and looking back at the bright computer on his desk.

By the time Jay had arrived, Kai was ploughing through his kebab and deep in conversation with the Commissioner.

Jay's kebab was sitting innocently on the table he and Kai had been using to come up with an exit strategy all day. The 'No RC' written in sharpie on the kebab paper wrapping had been smudged by Kai's panicked fingers, Jay could see similar black marks on Kai's right thumb.

Kai was clearly still trying to avoid him, all too happy to answer any of Gordon's questions, and eventually Jay became distracted and was forced to move past it.

Now that there were less police around Jay was able to describe what had happened in the last battle to the Commissioner a little more privately, and why Kai was the only one who hadn't been caught in the Djinn's blade.

"Apparently once a Djinn becomes Djinn king by marriage he gains infinite wishes."

"Infinite wishes?!" Gordon replied with his gruff voice, eyebrows raising.

"Yeah, and he's convinced that he needs to marry Kai in order for that to happen, which is why we need to make sure that wherever we go next, it's somewhere Nadakhan can't find him."

Kai didn't react to Jay's words, simply going silent again with that same distant look in his eyes. Gordon noticed and didn't ask anything else.

"I see. Hm, yes. We'll do everything we can to help you ninja, but how are we going to defeat him?"

"Well a Djinn isn't impervious to everything, you see, at the bottom of Ninjago, there's an island-"

The overnight officers slowly started to mill into the room, having been in the offices adjacent. Kai and Jay soon found themselves going out again after Kai suggested the idea of finding Wu's tea seller for some Travellers Tea.

Turns out it is super expensive. Jay fully upturned his wallet onto the front counter and the woman behind it had only scoffed. Seemingly oblivious to their uniforms, the only reason the boys had eventually been able to convince the shop-keep to give it to them the tea at all was after repeating that they were students of Sensei Wu.

Her eyebrows raised a little at the name, then she grumbled, turning on her heel and disappearing through some old beaded curtains. She slammed a familiar designed blue and white kettle on the counter and the pair hastily grabbed it, all too happy to exit the shop.

* * *

As night had further settled in, Kai and Jay had turned the station's breakroom into a makeshift bedroom, piling the two couches in scratchy grey woollen blankets that looked older than the Serpentine Wars and flopping onto them.

It wasn't anywhere near comfortable but Kai didn't care. Anything was infinitely better than Misfortune's Keep.

Jay, on the other hand, couldn't seem to find a comfortable position. He was constantly shifting, rotating on the spot like the meat on the kebab machine in that food cart. The scratchy blankets reminded him of the ones his parent's would pull out for him during those really cold winter nights while shoulder and hip bones seemed to always find the hard and uncomfortable buttons sewn into the couch with the precision of a military sniper.

He also couldn't seem to relax enough to close his eyes, not for long enough anyway. He found himself constantly lifting his head to check on his partner. In fact, ever since they'd got back, Jay had been trailing after Kai like a lost puppy, reminded of that day in the park and filled with paranoia that Kai would magically disappear.

He must've eventually drifted off though, because all of a sudden he could feel Kai frantically shaking him awake.

"Jay, up! Now! We need to go!"

There was the faint sound of yelling outside and Jay sat bolt upright, grabbing his tabi shoes as Kai wrenched the door open, eyes scanning the hallway.

There were bursts of orange and yellow lights stabbing through the blinds of one of the offices the two ran past, explosions, the yelling now becoming louder. Jay had still been half asleep until now, suddenly realising the urgency. The pirates had found them and were currently attacking the station.

Kai and Jay had been instructed to reach the small concrete room at the back of the building in case of an attack, but Jay hadn't expected the pirates to be ready for an attack so soon.

They passed another office, this one with a clock, its luminescent face reading 3:08 am.

Jay let out a small shudder, it was freezing.

The Commissioner skidded into view behind them, clearly having been about to warn them to go. He saw the pair ahead of him and ran towards them. The three piled into the little room as he pulled the door closed. Kai spotted their getaway bag stuffed in the corner and heaved it over his shoulder.

There were no lights, the room now pitch dark with the door closed. Kai lit his hand up, the small flames appearing to tickle his fingers.

"Right, your safe house, do you know how you're getting there?" Gordon grunted, heaving the large iron bar and sliding it into a pair of metal slots. It was an old fashioned way of locking a door seen in barns, more accurately described as borderline barricading, but it would take Nadakhan's crew some time to open it.

"Yes," Jay began. "we'll-"

"No, no, no, don't tell me!" The Commissioner interrupted, waving his hands to stop him. "No-one can know but you."

Kai had just spotted the trap door in the floor as Gordon wrenched it open. It looked like a soulless black pit, he could make out the cobbled sides of the entrance and it didn't look inviting at all.

Being able to create light in an instant had meant that Kai had never really had a problem with the dark. His blue partner, however, who ironically could do similar, had a fear of both attics and basements because of how dark and mysterious they were. The night in Yang's temple hadn't helped, either.

Before either of them could say anything, however, something heavy slammed into the door. It sounded like a person, Jay winced at the noise and Gordon hurried them down the trapdoor. Jay fidgeted, immediately catching Kai's attention.

He jumped in first, lighting his hand to brighten up the space and ease Jay's nerves. Jay was less hesitant to enter than he might've been usually, due to the urgency of their situation, but he was still visibly unkeen.

The trapdoor turned out to hide a long one-way underground tunnel. They couldn't see the end of it and judging by the stretching darkness ahead of them it wasn't anywhere near. Jay seized up a little at the sight, it looked like something out of a horror movie but they couldn't afford to stop.

Kai shrugged the duffle-bag further up his shoulder, grabbing Jay's hand with his own, non-lit hand and striding forwards.

"Anything down here has to go through me first." Kai grumbled, as though he were trying to pick a fight with the darkness itself for scaring his boyfriend, and as though Jay was not one of the most powerful fighters in Ninjago.

It was one of Kai's most notable ways of showing affection though and it made Jay smile, visibly relaxing as he followed his boyfriends lead.

After a short while there were faint sounds coming from behind them, causing Kai and Jay to speed up. The pirates must've managed to break the door down and had found the trap door.

Nadakhan probably just poofed straight through the door, Jay thought bitterly. He just hoped that the Commissioner was alright.

The tunnel eventually stopped with a ladder leading up to a fake manhole which opened out to the edge of the city.

Jay checked his phone, which read 4:15, that had been a massive tunnel and the two of them had been running down it for close to an hour. Thankfully they were currently in good shape, taking the whole Morro incident as a warning to stay prepared for anything, but the adrenaline surging through them had certainly helped.

Kai handed Jay the duffle bag and Jay gave him a confused look.

The fire ninja bent down to the manhole cover, heating up his hands as high as they would go, then pushed them into the edges of the metal cover.

It was definitely a gamble, Kai had no idea what metals the cover was made of and if he couldn't melt it fast enough then he'd be wasting precious seconds they could be using to escape.

"Kai it's cast iron there's no way you're gonna be able to melt it in time-"

Jay's eyebrows hit his hairline when he saw Kai's hands beginning to sink into the metal. That cover had to be as thick as Jay's palm yet Kai had melted it in seconds, fusing it into the pavement and buying them a little more time.

Kai turned on his spot, sending Jay the cockiest grin he'd ever seen.

It was moments like these when the four of them would seemingly forget that they were partners, reverting back to the old days when they were close knit friends scrapping over who got to use the Bounty shower first.

Jay was impressed, shocked even, that Kai had just managed to do that, but looking at Kai's smug face Jay thought he'd rather face Nadakhan than tell him that. Because that would mean admitting that he had been wrong and that Kai was right, and that would just feed Kai's ego which was already currently inflating in front of his very eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Jay huffed, dragging him by his cowl like a misbehaving cat. "let's just go."

Kai was still smirking as they reached the Ninjago docks. Their ride wouldn't be leaving for hours but it didn't matter if Nadakhan and the others didn't know where they were.

The pair slipped onto one of the largest boat Jay had ever seen moored at the edge of one of the docks. It was a type of small military freighter that was scheduled to set out at 9am for a training exercise. To keep their escape route secret only one officer back at the station had been trusted to know about this part of the plan, asking enquiries about water transportation Kai had asked vaguely about police boats.

A few of the crew had been notified but had been instructed not to tell the rest of the crew, meaning Kai and Jay still needed to find a hiding spot for the next several hours.

They ended up in an extra cabin and boarded the windows with the bed sheets.

"Okay, apparently when you hear four consecutive blows on the ship's horn then we're supposed to get off. It's North East from there we'll just need to keep an eye on the compass." Kai instructed.

"Okay. They managed to get what we asked, right?" Jay asked anxiously.

"I'm sure they got it." Kai assured him.

Thankfully there was a bathroom in their cabin, because they ended up being cramped up inside it for close to nine hours.

Jay had been a little taken aback at how Kai's energy had seemingly done a full 180 since yesterday. Perhaps it was the adrenaline of the morning pulling him out of it, giving him something else to focus all of his energy on. He'd been taking charge since the station, exiting the cabin to ask about their supplies with a passing officer, and counted through their bag to double-check supplies and the venom. He was doing well and thinking about every possible factor. At some point he even brewed the Traveller's Tea to keep in the teapot so it would be ready to use straight away. Jay hadn't even thought of using Travellers Tea in the first place until Kai had suggested it yesterday.

* * *

"Fuck me why'd they give us such a shitty boat." Kai groaned, heaving the pair of oars back towards him.

They'd been supplied with a small wooden row boat hidden at the back of the ship beneath a yellow tarpaulin. Due to its weight and size it had been fairly easy to cast off the boat and sneak away.

It was only now that they'd been taking turns rowing for hours that the boat's lack of engine meant it was quite difficult to get anywhere fast.

"Ugh, low profile, I wanna use my dragon so baddd…" Kai whined as he continued to row.

"Switch?" Jay offered, Kai nodded, handing him the oars and dramatically collapsing in the seat behind him. There was a little fog which made it difficult to see how far away they were from their destination. Apparently they were only supposed to be an hour's row away but it had felt like at least two.

At least the waters had been dead calm, despite their distance from the mainland it was incredibly smooth.

"If Nya was here then she'd probably be able to use her powers to propel us…" Kai began, cutting himself off as an idea suddenly formed in his head.

"Jay."

"Yeah?"

"I've got an idea. Y'know how back on Chen's Island, during that roller-skating tournament thing, I used my powers to propel myself forward on the tracks like a pair of engines?"

"Yeah?"

"Boats have engines!" Kai said excitedly, as though it were a groundbreaking discovery.

"Yes, they do." Jay replied, not understanding. Kai could obviously see that their dingy little row boat didn't have an engine.

"I can stick my hands under the boat like a makeshift engine and propel us forward! We'll reach the lighthouse even faster!"

Jay stopped rowing to stare at him, Kai looking back with a proud look in his eyes.

After a short moment, Jay replied gently:

"Kai, baby, what's the under a boat?"

"Uh, water?" Kai scoffed. "What sort of a question is that?"

"Right." Jay continued slowly, "And what happens when you put fire in water?"

Kai went to speak, stopping mid-breath as he realised what he'd been saying the whole time. He sat back in his seat, face red. Jay snorted, quickly reaching hysterics.

"I'm tired, alright?" Kai said in embarrassment as Jay almost fell out of the boat laughing.

* * *

Jay had been the one to suggest the old Lighthouse where Julien had been held prisoner for so many years, to hide away and think of a proper strategy for a few days. The freighter would be doing the same trip the same time for the next week, once Kai and Jay had thought of a strategy they'd row out to the coordinates they'd been supplied with and return back to the station. From there they'd inform the police of their plan and the Commissioner and attack the Sky Pirates with full force.

They arrive at the Lighthouse and make their way up the wooden stairs, unloading their stuff onto the table and being pleasantly surprised at the sight of Julien's old table setting robot activating and scooping all their stuff back into the bag.

"Y'know, if this place hadn't been designed to keep Zane's father captive for years and got spruced up a bit I reckon it would be quite romantic." Jay said, scanning the main room with his eyes.

Kai looked past him, nodding his head at the collection of old seagull droppings on one of the window sills before looking back at Jay with a deadpan expression and crossing his arms.

"A lot of sprucing up, then." Jay defended, putting his hands up. Kai snorted.

"Is this your way of trying to be romantic?" He asked, cocking his head a little and smiling.

"Uh… I don't know, I really missed you, you moron!" Jay lifted his arms up again in defeat. "Now will you stop being such a prick and just cuddle with me on that seat by that window that isn't caked in bird shit?"

Kai let out another chuckle.

"Well only since you asked so nicely."

It was a nice moment, Jay leaning against the window with his legs across the seat and with Kai draped on him cuddling into his waist. It was nice and domestic, something none of them had done in ages even before the whole Sky Pirate thing.

Kai leaned his head against Jay's tummy, relaxing as Jay fiddled with his strands of hair. He'd been stroking it up until the last few minutes, suddenly determined to try and braid some of the spikes.

Kai had never used hairgel, growing up poor meant he'd never had access to it, his hair was just naturally spiky and wild and Jay loved it.

Jay sighed, thinking back on the last few days. The attack on the city, the cannon, Kai's injuries, the island, it had been awful when he and the others had lost Kai to the pirates, and he was never going to let that happen again.

Jay bent forward a little to hug his partner.

"You wouldn't believe how much I missed you, Kai. I thought that I was going to crumble when we'd lost Cole. And when he took you, I thought I was going to die or something. And then you were there, it was like my heart had just made my third wish or something."

Kai gave him a beautiful smile and Jay leaned over him to kiss him.

"I love you, Kai."

"I love you, Karim."

Kai slapped him, suddenly trembling as he leapt out of his seat.

"Get away from me!"

Not to say that bros can't hug bros, because we really gotta normalise that.
But it was the snUGGLING, Kai nuzzling his head into Cole's chest on live tv, no wonder they eventually were dubbed 'fruit coloured ninja' because I ain't seen nothing fruitier than that, and I recorded a gay cabaret performance.

Chapter Text

Jay looked shocked, slowly sitting up and completely speechless. What had just happened?

Kai looked at him in horror, eyes widening as he looked back at his hand, realising what he'd just done.

"FSM! Jay, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

He looked like he was on the verge of tears, absolutely devastated that he'd just struck his own boyfriend. Jay's hand was still touching the spot where he'd been hit, still reeling.

"I swear I didn't mean to!-I don't know what I-, are you-?"

"Nadakhan forced himself onto you, didn't he?"

Now there really were tears threatening to spill from Kai's eyes as he was cut off from his rambling. There was that same scared and vulnerable look in his eyes from yesterday and Jay had finally put the dots together.

"That's why you flinched yesterday, wasn't it? Kai, what did he do to you?"

"Nothing!" Kai said defensively, suddenly angry with himself, "He didn't do anything! I was just being stupid-"

"It wasn't stupid, Kai!-"

Jay knew that he wouldn't be able to get Kai to talk like this, he could already see his emotional walls going up again.

Please Kai, Jay thought to himself, your feelings and boundaries matter! Don't you understand how much it hurts to see you like this?

Jay took a deep breath.

"I was terrified when he'd cornered me that day, Kai, terrified. And I was in top condition, with my entire team free and roaming the city, I had my powers and I'd never stepped foot on his ship. You had none of that and were alone on his ship for almost three days, I don't even know how you were able to handle that. And to top it all off, he's deranged and has this toxic obsession with you. That was too much for you to have to bear alone, yet you did. I'd been ready to cry from sheer joy when I'd found you, and then when you'd looked so… scared and unsure of yourself, I wanted to lash out at everything around me. I'd take him and his entire army on myself if it meant you'd be safe, if you were all going to be safe. I'd use my last wish to go back to that stupid cannon, and take that shot instead of you. I love you so much you could never comprehend it but I think I might just die if you don't open up to me right now, why you won't let me touch you anymore, because I know you love it and seeing you scared of it hurts more than anything I'll ever experience."

Kai was in tears by this point as he listened to his partner pour his heart and soul out to him, and looking away in shame. Jay sighed, gently grabbing his face to turn his head back to face him.

Kai sat back down beside him and told him everything, slowly and assuredly so to not start crying again. Jay nodded along silently, holding his hand, sometimes interjecting to piece together what happened next when Kai would start to slow down.

"When I first came to, I was in his bed and he'd been watching me sleep. When I'd tried to run away and defend myself, he'd…"

"It's okay…"

"He'd… He slammed me against the wall and kissed me. It was to trap me, though, because he put one of his hands over my nose and continued to hold me still until I passed out. I don't really remember what happened after that, but he was carrying me back to his bed, and I couldn't do anything. I passed out in his arms and I'm pretty sure he was… stroking my face or something."

"Oh FSM, Kai, come here."

After each piece of information, Jay will stop to cuddle him, sometimes it's more that Jay is looking for a cuddle, that the story has seemingly traumatised him more than Kai. Kai is so strong it's insane, but he'd never allowed himself to be so open before, nor allowing himself to be coddled and pitied so much.

He knows it's not pity, though, it's his boyfriend loving him and it feels amazing to be able to tell him each thing and know that he's safe and with someone he actually loves again.

"He kept mentioning my collarbones, he wouldn't stop staring at them. He seemed to be more interested after I'd… after I'd told him how much younger I was than him or the, the other guy. Before I was taken over to watch you walk the plank. His goons held me still and he, he touched them. He ran his hook down my left one, and I can still feel it."

Nadakhan wouldn't have been able to feel anything with that hand, Jay and Kai knew that he'd picked that hand just to taunt him.

Each thing Kai tells Jay is like a weight off his shoulders, as though the memories will never bother him again, or at least not as well.

"And then during one breakfast, I had another wave of pain, and I was so delirious that I had forgotten where I was and called out to all of you. When I finally got back with it and opened my eyes… I was grabbing him, his shoulders. He was 'comforting' me and I hadn't realised. But he wasn't comforting me, he was…"

He was touching him, borderline groping. Tracing the muscle lines on his back with lecherous fingers.

At the time Kai had been in so much agony he could barely see, groaning as he slowly registered a hand moving along his back. Was someone soothing him? Where even was he?

His memories were jumbling around in his head, he didn't even remember the year anymore.

He was at the Four Weapons, right? Had his little sister found him after hurting himself while blacksmithing again?

"Ngh… Nnya…?"

"No, that annoying little pest is not here, she cannot keep us apart anymore… it's just you and me… my love."

Kai's eyes had snapped open. He was still there, it wasn't just some nightmare, it was reality. The others don’t know where he was, he had no powers and no-one was coming to save him.

Kai had never wanted to cry more in his life.

"You don't need to say anymore, I think know what happened."

Kai just rests his head on Jay's chest tiredly. After a moment of silence Jay goes to touch Kai's back, to rub circles to sooth him, but Kai tightens his grip on Jay's legs at the touch. He was right, Nadakhan would've been stroking him the same way. But his touch would've lacked true love and any form of real comfort, he'd have been touching him, trapping him to feel the curves of his back muscles like a possession.

"You really are quite a pretty thing, aren't you, Karim?"

"And so youn-"

"It's Jay, you're here with me in the Lighthouse."

Kai almost hiccups at how easily he'd gone back. Reverted. Back onto that ship.

He can't go back. Not again.

"Show me those beautiful tears of yours-"

"Remember when Cole ate an entire packet of cheese just after New Years?" Jay's palm is flat against his back, fingertips raised off of him. It's a weird position, but it doesn't feel like the Djinn anymore.

"Karim."

"-Karim."

"Karim, I-"

"After three servings of Zane's trifle, too! Do you remember that?"

Kai doesn't really move, recognising that Jay's using a distraction tactic to prevent him from hyperventilating. He concentrates on Jay's voice, along with his steady breathing.

"He spent almost an hour in the bathroom before falling asleep on the couch and you, me and Lloyd wrote 'The Cheese Man' on his forehead. You and Lloyd then drew a bunch of mice on his left cheek and what did I do?"

Kai took a big breath, shaking a little.

"You drew a capybara, on the other cheek… with like three oranges on its head or something… and I still don’t know why exactly you did a capybara of all things." He chuckled wetly.

"Yeah, neither do I."

They both giggled a little, but after a short while the memory only reminded them of how depressing their situation had become. Their friends, master, sister, and partners, all gone, Jay and Kai were all that was left of the ninja team now.

"We're gonna get them back, Kai. There's no doubt in my mind. We've faced plenty of villains now and I know we're gonna beat Nadakhan just like the others. We just don't know how yet."

They continued to cuddle, eventually switching to cuddle from the side and share a packet of chips.
The pair of them didn't do much all afternoon, poking around at the bag they'd brought to decide on what to snack on next and just cuddling in contempt silence. After a while they eventually were able to bring up Zane's last words about Jay's wish and speculate what Jay should wish for.

"What if you brought the Devourer back to life and stuck it on him? Or threatened to unless he yielded or something like that?" Kai suggested, reaching for another chip. They were onto their second packet, the apples laying at the bottom of the duffle bag, unloved.

"Can't wish to cause him harm, babe." Jay said through a mouthful of chips. He was now leaning against the window, sitting in the nook with Kai half-draped across his lap again.

"That counts?"

"M-Yeah."

"Damn."

They both loved each second of the contact, and now didn't want to separate even though Jay-

"Dammit, I need to pee." Jay shuffled from underneath him but Kai grabbed at his waist.

"Noooo, comfy boyfriend…" He whined, mashing his face into Jay's thigh. Jay smirked.

"I've never seen you so cute before," Jay said, ruffling his hair as Kai whipped his head up, cheeks flushed. "you're free to follow, you know~"

"I'm not-!" Kai began, but paused, "Are you seriously trying to turn me on by suggesting that I watch you take a piss?"

Kai tilted his head in amusement. Dammit he's so pretty even when he's making fun of me, Jay thought. Now his cheeks were red.

"Yeah I didn't really think that through. But I am pretty close to wetting myself now, so I really need to get up."

"Alright," Kai unfurled around him as he got up, "I am actually going to follow you though, because I should probably go too."

Jay smiled as they began down the Lighthouse steps.

"Ugh, there better be a shower here too, I'm all sweaty from sitting in front of that window now." Kai complained, Jay only smirked again.

"Well, personally I think you look quite pretty. Red, sweaty face I was looking down on, begging and whining, kinda reminds me of something…"

Jay had never really had the guts to do much flirting, out of the four of them it was definitely Kai's thing, but now it was as though they'd switched personalities.

It was always like that in the bedroom though, out of the four main ninja, Ninjago's strongest line of defence, dodging bullets and fighting back horrors with ease to keep the people safe, there was only one bottom.

The public would never have been able to guess who though, not with his cocky and overly confident demeanour.

But he's not exactly cocky then, though.

Kai, on the other hand, couldn't take much flirting as he was far too used to dishing it, and flushed completely at Jay's suggestiveness.

"Sh-Shut up!"

* * *

"We’ve never fought a villain like this with only two of us before."

Kai seemed to have lost his confidence again by the time they were making their way back up the staircase.

"Well," Jay began, "we went to Chen's Island without Zane and before Nya became a ninja-"

"But that was different, we didn't even know what we were running in to. We do now, and in that final battle we had all six of us."

Jay paused, unsure of what to say.

"What if that was your final wish, Jay?" Kai's eyes lit up a little.

"What?"

"To get the others out of the sword, we'd have the whole team again!"

Jay paused again, considering.

"No, I'm sure that if we can get that sword off of him then we can free the others, and he might even figure out a way to trap them again, we need something more permanent to wish for."

"…Yeah you're right."

By that evening Jay had managed to make a mental note of all the little things Kai didn't seem comfortable with. As long as he could see Jay or at least had some sort of warning before they made contact he was fine. He also seemed to be avoiding corners, giving himself plenty of space between himself and the walls surrounding him.

It was mostly the leaning in towards his face or from behind that Kai didn't like, Jay had found out the hard way as he later had accidentally leaned over his shoulder to grab something on the table in front of him and Kai had practically launched him straight over his shoulder.

Neither of them could figure out the ancient rusted oven in the kitchen, it looked as though it would blow up the whole Lighthouse if they so much as breathed on it, resulting in Kai cooking their heat n eat meals in his hands.

That was actually a very delicate trick Kai was well acquainted with by now. It was Jay's fault really. It had begun with the ninja receiving a large quantity of homegrown grapes from Cole's dad.

It hadn't seemed like a large quantity, though. Six built ninja to get through them, along with Wu, Misako and Skylor frequently visiting, and yet they'd still had grapes almost a week later.

Cole had then visited his father shortly before they were close to running out, met with looks of horror upon his return as he weakly explained why he couldn't say no to his dad, and now had another two whole bags of grapes.

Jay had been sent home to his parents the next day with a large amount, Skylor and Misako had taken some home, but there were still an ungodly amount remaining. Cole and Jay were seated on the couch, sweltering in the sun and munching through one of the many grape bowls around the room.

"What happens if you heat up a grape?" Jay had piped up, twirling a grape between his fingers.

"It'll explode, probably." Cole replied, looking over to see Jay's toy grape fully skinned.

"Probably?"

Jay looked over as Kai appeared in the doorway looking for his phone.

"Babe, come over here for a sec."

They really can't be trusted, the three of them alone. Zane had rushed in at the sound of strange popping noises to find his boyfriends covered in exploded grape flesh. The trio were unmoving as they made eye contact with the white ninja, Kai's hand still outstretched over a now disintegrated pile of smoking grapes.

"You're right, Cole, they do explode." Jay said weakly as Zane put his hands on his hips.

It didn't really end there, though. As Kai was becoming able to heat things other than himself without setting fire to them, they now had a new form of entertainment aboard.

It was usually just the others using him as a leftover warmer when the microwave was already being used. Jay was delighted, now able to play his new 'what will happen if Kai heats this' game, and his fiery boyfriend being equally thick and going along with everything he asked.

"Kai, can you pop this microwave popcorn?"

"Hey Kai, what'll happen if you heat up this watermelon?"

"IT EXPLODES."

"Kai, try warming up the shower head, see what'll happen."

"HOT! HOT!"

"FUCK!"

"Can you cook an egg in its shell?"

"IT EXPLODES-"

"Hey Kai-"

"Oh absolutely not!"

Cole and Zane had soon had to act as the parents for their braindead boyfriends after they'd had to intervene and stop Kai from exploding a large pumpkin.

In the end, though, it hadn't been a complete waste of time. Kai was now incredibly good at regulating the temperature of almost anything and it only took him half as much energy and concentration than it had with those grapes. If they were situated in the bush for any sort of ninja stuff, they wouldn't need to bring their old clunky portable camping oven, nor any matches for fires, but they hadn't needed to do that for a while.

Kai and Jay had been banned from their new game, but had already found another.

"Kai, this cantaloupe, how hot would it need to be to explode?"

"Uhhhh… probably about 150 degrees?"

Jay looked past the kitchen and around the empty living room for a moment before continuing.

"Probably?"

"…"

Cole had nearly shat himself in his room when a large BANG had gone off from the kitchen while he was brushing Zane's hair. The two had shot up and bolted down the hall only to find Jay and Kai, along with the entire kitchen, covered in exploded cantaloupe.

"Yeah you're right, 150 degrees." Jay smiled weakly.

He and Kai had practically been chased out of the kitchen, and spent the rest of the afternoon scrubbing cantaloupe flesh off the tiles.

* * *

That particular week had felt like a month, with so much happening in such a short amount of time.

They'd been swamped with fighting Garmadon and the serpentine, with various encounters each day the ninja hadn't had much rest. On top of that, they'd almost lost Lloyd to Scales and working full-time on top of ninja training was exhausting.

That evening had felt like a relief to the four, LLoyd was safe and they'd all quit their jobs to move into the smaller apartment the real-esate agent had shown them last month. Lloyd felt a little sick that evening and had been sent to bed early despite his protests. The others hadn't been far behind, though, all but sensei Wu (who had taken a moment to meditate with his seeing smoke first) retiring early to bed due to exhaustion.

Kai had fallen asleep almost immediately, he hadn't even prepared himself properly for bed. He'd forgotten to fully change into his pyjamas, the buttoned top on but the pants of his gi still on.

At eleven years old poor Lloyd was destined to fight his father, burdened with responsibility and an unwanted fate. With the fight between light and darkness upcoming, all of a sudden he had become the most important of them all, leaving little time for him to be a kid anymore. Living with teenagers and his ancient uncle on a (slightly isolating) flying ship had also meant that even he would sometimes forget his own age, more often feeling the need to act older to fit in with the rest of them. Now temporarily living on the flat, not much had changed

He was the green ninja now, so that meant that he needed to grow up right away, right? He wasn't allowed to feel scared of kid things, like the big shadows on the walls anymore.

Right?

Kai had groggily come to when he'd felt something shaking his arm.

"Nnya?" He had said sleepily, eyes still closed, "D'you have 'nother nightm're?"

He had been completely out of it, it had been a long day and he couldn't even tell what hour it was.

"It's Lloyd, uh…" a tiny voice popped up sheepishly from behind him, "I'm… can I, sleep with you tonight? Please?"

"Lloyd…" Kai had repeated slowly, noticing the faint glow of Lloyd's dinosaur nightlight coming from the floor. He could feel the kid shifting behind him nervously.

Kai had slowly turned round, spotting Lloyd eying the darkness of the hallway through the cracked open door, he hadn't noticed Kai and was clearly scared.

He had almost jumped when Kai had wrapped an arm around him sleepily.

"C'mere kiddo." Kai had mumbled.

The arm was warm and cozy, making the little ninja feel safe as it warded off the shadows.

* * *

"Can't sleep?"

Lloyd had almost jumped at the voice, unaware that Kai had entered the living room.

It had been only two days since his final face off against Morro, and while he'd been too high on adrenaline to notice at the time, everything was making him jumpy.

Things would move out of the corner of his eye, complete silence made him feel unsafe, and he had been all but trailing everyone around the day before. It almost felt like being eleven again, but worse, the shadows on the Bounty walls unnerved him, he'd kept the light on in his room the entire night before and had refused to leave to go to the bathroom until the sun had risen again.

He hadn't told any of his team though, too embarrassed. He was the green ninja for FSM's sake! He'd defeated the Overlord with a sprained ankle and had even become the Golden ninja for a short while. To be scared of his own reflection was beneath him.

"It's Morro, isn't it?" Kai had said immediately.

Lloyd hadn't really been all that surprised, quietly nodding in defeat.

Perhaps it was because he was a big brother, but Kai had seemed to be the only one who Lloyd could never seem to hide his feelings from (Zane had always been highly perceptive, but often didn't understand what the things he was noticing meant). So of course Kai could figure it out, his cocky demeanour fading in an instant as he moved closer to him.

"What is it?" Kai could also tell there was something more, something else eating at the corner of Lloyd's confidence.

Lloyd initially hadn't wanted to answer. Kai hadn't said anything about it when they'd first rescued him, but from what Lloyd could tell, Kai hadn't exactly handled the last two weeks as well as the others as he'd been carrying all that unnecessary guilt of not being able to protect Lloyd from Morro.

Lloyd knew that he would have to come clean anyway, though, because Kai would only keep pestering him about it anyway.

"It's just, I'm supposed to be the green ninja and yet I'm afraid of my own stupid shadow! I shouldn't be afraid of anything-!"

"Hey, hey, don't talk to yourself like that," Kai wrapped him in a hug, as though shielding an already crying Lloyd from the rest of the world. "that dude was scary as hell, and I think the Green Ninja is allowed to be as human as the rest of us and feel afraid of things sometimes, including the dark."

Lloyd sniffed, already feeling safer and a little more back to normal. After a short while he had looked back up at Kai with watery eyes.

"Are you implying that even the great fire ninja gets scared sometimes?" He said cockily.

"Oi, you-"

Lloyd went to sleep that night with severely ruffled blonde hair, safe and protected from the world in his big brothers bed, the shadows haunting him less.

* * *

Kai had never been a light sleeper, but he didn't sleep like a log either (unlike Cole and Zane, who Jay and Kai had had the joy of trying to wake last month during an earthquake). So Kai had felt someone sliding into the bed from behind him.

"Lloyd?" He said sleepily, "Nightmare? C'mere."

"Kai… It's Jay, Lloyd's… not here."

Kai opened his eyes, the white washed walls of the Lighthouse greeting his eyes, turning to spot Jay's slightly melancholic expression.

He'd been dreaming.

That's right Lloyd and the others were gone and all of a sudden he had never felt so alone. Jay's touch wasn't enough, if he and Jay didn't rescue the others soon he'd simply go insane.

"Kai? Are you okay?"

Kai blinked a little, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he scooted further along the bed so Jay could fully get in.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

They cuddled each other until they fell asleep, yet the room felt incredibly empty.

* * *

Back aboard Misfortune's Keep, Nadakhan was back in his seat in the dining room, a golden wine goblet being absentmindedly shaken in one of his hands as he thought back on what his new Karim had said, on how he didn't want to marry him.

"You don't get it, do you? The world doesn't work like your wishes, you don't just get to have everything you want! Because what about me? I don't want this!"

No, he hadn't said that, his old love had, but he'd been reminded of it, why?

He eventually finished what was left in his goblet, and slowly drifted back to his quarters, still deep in thought.

It had never been much of a secret that Nadakhan had fancied Karim. Nadakhan had been quick to notice him, even from the day he'd first stepped on board, taking a keen interest in everything the young man did as his feelings had rapidly developed into possessiveness.

He was always looking for excuses for the two of them to be working together, upping Karim's rank despite his inexperience, and painting an unwanted target on the young man's back.

After only a year aboard, Nadakhan's had reached a point of toxic obsession with his young crewmate that even Karim had struggled to not notice. He had been rejected by Karim months ago, an answer Nadakhan had seemingly respected.

He'd moved on (albeit quite quickly) onto his twin sister, Delara, who was seemingly head over heels for the djinn. A sudden engagement had lured Karim into a false sense of security he'd quickly snapped out of once he'd noticed how one-sided his sisters relationship was. Nadakhan was still acting the same towards him and it had become all too much, it was clear that the djinn was using his sisters feelings like a mere tool for an end currently unknown to him but it brought Karim unfathomable dread and he couldn't stand it.

It had been too late by then. Too caught up in her own fantasy world, Delara had snapped at her brother when he'd expressed his concerns of the hasty engagement, labelling him as angry and jealous for being the single twin.

Karim had still been just as confused and hurt by his sisters words a week later when Nadakhan had cornered Karim in his captains quarters.

It was then that Nadakhan had revealed his intentions. Marriage to another man wasn't possible in their homeland, even in another realm. But the twins held a strong bond (though now strongly tested) and would follow one another to the ends of the earth, meaning if Nadakhan chose Delara he could still chase his prize.

"And that prize is you, Karim. This engagement with your sister need only be temporary. Once I gain infinite wishes by Djinn Law, I will control everything! Do anything! I could divorce your sister and change the laws! We can finally be together."

Karim had stood there, that old dread in his stomach returning and eating out his insides.

"You have no real interest in my sister or her feelings," he'd said in hollow realisation as he had backed away from the Djinn. "only what she can give you."

Karim had flinched horribly when the Djinn had all but pounced on him in return.

"Come now, dearest, you must see that you are my other half, as I am yours. These feelings inside me burn too strongly for you to be merely one-sided, so stop with this denial and think clearly. Once I am all powerful I could give you everything you've ever wanted."

Whatever came after delusion, Nadakhan had reached it, Karim could see that now, he just wished that he'd seen it sooner.

"You don't get it, do you?" Karim had cried back, "The world doesn't work like your wishes, you don't just get to have everything you want! Because what about me? I don't want this!"

Nadakhan paused in his pacing. Those were the words he'd been reminded of those few days ago. Just what had his beloved meant by them?

He eyed his empty cup.

* * *

Flintlocke hesitated on knocking the door in front of him.

He'd been avoiding it all afternoon, because that door led to the captain's quarters, the very same captain he had been currently avoiding. Because that captain had threatened his rank, his place, stripping it clean from him if he were to fail in capturing the last two ninja, which he had just done.

Straightening his back, Flintlocke had eventually managed to open the door to see the room in disarray. Chairs had been smashed against the walls, the wardrobe slanted on broken legs, with clothes strewn across all corners of the wooden floor. The pirate only paled further when he noticed the old compass by a snapped chair leg, recognising the clothes as those who had once belonged to a young man now deceased.

Nadakhan floated in the centre of the room, back to his crewmate, shoulders heaving as he breathed heavily. Flintlocke had clearly picked the worst possible time, and wasn't sure of what to do. He had forgotten to knock in the end, right? Does he try to exit or has the captain heard him?

"Flintlocke." Nadakhan growls, back still turned, and for the first time ever Flintlocke felt a strong tinge of fear towards the man.

"Yea, Yes cap'n?" He says a little too quickly, straightening his back into a stiff rod.

"Prepare the crew for a manhunt, we have some ninja to find."

Chapter Text

Kai and Jay were awoken early that morning to the sound of scuttling, as though something else was in the lighthouse. It was too heavy to be Julien's little cleaning robot or a random seagull and Kai comes to the horrible conclusion that it’s a person.

He grabbed his katanas lying against the wall in the corner of the room, still careful to muffle the sounds of his movements like sensei had taught him and the others. He unsheathed one of the swords, standing still as he slowly grabbed the doorhandle and twisted it.

Jay had been a little slower, but was out of the bed with his own weapon by the time Kai had opened the door.

Kai's heart dropped into his stomach when he saw the silhouette of a person disappear down the stairs. It felt like some sort of phycological horror movie, where if he and Jay were to walk towards the danger they'd immediately get murdered.

The two turned to each other for a moment, unsure of what to do. Kai grabbed his second katana, Jay making a small whining noise as Kai slunk through the door. Scared or not, they needed to know if their location had been compromised.

Kai silently cursed himself as they descended the stairs, he'd left the Travellers Tea in the living room.

Reaching the ground floor they heard a metallic clang , but the room appeared empty.

"Look," Jay pointed at the crates stacked against the front door. "The door's barricaded, you're sure you saw something?"

Kai went to shoot him a look until the same little robot from upstairs lightly clanged down the steps behind them, landing on the ground as it started to pick up some of the bronze gears strewn across the floor.

Kai followed it with his eyes until he noticed it drive past-

"I know that I'm seeing a hidden basement!" He quietly exclaimed, pulling down on a newly discovered lever camouflaged against the cobbled wall.

Part of the wall slid back, revealing a hidden room filled with old gears and blueprints.

"Looks like a bunch of stuff from Zane's father's old lab." Kai said unimpressed.

Julien had spent his time here being monitored by the kraken, right? So what was he trying to build in a secret room?

A box was suddenly knocked over and Jay all but leapt into Kai's arms, terrified. There was definitely someone hiding behind the shelves in front of them.

"You're right, we're not alone!" He squeaked out, cowering behind Kai's back.

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to be protecting me!" Kai said indignantly.

"I thought you didn't want me to do that!" Jay shot back.

Back at the police station Jay had made a comment to Commissioner Gordon that he'd protect Kai 'with his life', to which he'd received a smack to the back of his head from his not-so-distressed red damsel.

Kai turned back to the shelf, standing in a fighting stance.

"Whoever you are," He announced loudly, "come out!"

For a moment the figure remained still, then hesitantly stood out from behind the bookshelf. It was a robot, brown and rusted. It wasn't just any robot though.

"I am Zane," the robot said innocently, "built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

The two boys stared at him, completely stunned.

"Zane?" Jay repeated softly, a look of wonder in his eyes. It was him, right? Last they'd seen him, his wish had begun to cripple him, rust flowering across his body and eating away at his precious gears like a virus.

But it was when the two examined him again that they could tell that this wasn't their boyfriend. His eyes were the wrong colour, more flat and metallic than before. His unique heart was replaced by what appeared to be a bronze dial from an old steam train.

"Oh," Jay put it together. "when Zane's father was trapped here, he must've built a replacement Zane."

It was a welcome surprise all the same, but Kai seemed less sure.

"Another knight in rusted armour." He trailed off, disappointed that this Zane was not their own. The very sight of him was giving him that same sense of homesickness from last night.

And grief, their Zane had sacrificed himself and Nya to protect the two of them.

"Rusted, maybe," Jay put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, "but can he still protect?"

Judging by the way this 'Echo' Zane tripped himself up a second later, not very well.

"Built to protect what?" Kai snorted, unamused, "Itself?"

* * *

Clancee stood washing the windows on Misfortune’s Keep, thinking to himself.

”Clancee! Clancee!” Karim had hissed from behind a barrel.

"K-K-K-Karim?" The Serpentine had stuttered out, his speech impediment had been worse back then. "What're you d-d-doin' over there?"

"You've got to get to my sister, Nadakhan's gonna-!"

The captain in question appeared on the other side of the deck, Karim immediately darting behind the barrel to hide himself. Clancee looked between the two frantically until the djinn rounded the corner of the deck and out of sight.

"He-He's, uh, n-n-n-not there, Karim."

Karim popped his head back out from his hiding spot.

"You have to get my sister away from him, he's going to do something to her tomorrow after the wedding and we need to stop him. Tell her to meet me here at ten tonight. You can't tell Nadakhan a thing about this or he'll stop her, understand?"

It was that night that Nadakhan had confessed his plan with Delara and the whole wedding to Karim. Horrified and unable to get through to the djinn, Karim had fled the cabin and had been hiding all across the ship since.

They were out on the open ocean and thus he hadn't been able to escape, Nadakhan ordering any pirate who found him to capture him and report back to Nadakhan immediately.

The wedding was tomorrow, and as much as it would hurt her, Karim knew that he couldn't let Delara marry that man. Once they would make port tomorrow he'd take her and run.

She'd be hurt and upset, maybe she'd never believe him and spite him for the rest of her life, but he would rather that than whatever Nadakhan was planning to do to her tomorrow.

"Clancee, you have to help me." Karim had said desperately, looking straight into the nervous pirate's eyes.

"Will you?"

Clancee had always been a nervous man, and both disobedience and dishonesty terrified him. He respected everyone aboard and had never so much as breathed differently to whatever Nadakhan had ordered him to do.

He fidgeted but nodded, Karim beaming at him before slinking away to hide.

Clancee sighed as he dipped his sponge back in the bucket, squeezed it out and continued. He would never forget that look Karim had given him that night.

Sitting there cramped behind those barrels, Karim had plenty of time to think about how Nadakhan had treated him these last few months.

Ever since he had rejected him, Nadakhan had only ever made any sort of move on him, comment on his looks and make him uncomfortable, when they were alone.

It was only now that he realised that it was intentional, so he wouldn't be able to speak up about it to the others, who wouldn't have witnessed it and be less inclined to believe him.

That felt like a bucket of cold water thrown over him. Nadakhan had been trying to isolate him, to ensure that he'd be too hesitant to speak up.

He puffed his chest out in a little rage, he wouldn't let himself be treated like that anymore. Perhaps if he were to successfully convince his sister of his plan then they could speak up to the rest of the crew.

Karim could already see that he could do it, he convinced Clancee, the scardiest pirate of them all to help him!

He had grinned before hearing a set of footsteps quietly approaching, straightening his back with the first dregs of confidence he'd had in months and stepping out of his hiding spot.

"Delara you need to listen to me-" he began.

His voice had immediately caught in his throat, his face paling when he saw who was really in front of him.

"There you are, Karim. Thank you Clancee, for your help." Nadakhan floated there, Clancee at his side and not making eye contact with Karim.

Karim was in a state of shellshock. He'd been wrong, he hadn't managed to convince anyone. In the end Clancee had been too scared to disobey their captain and had gone straight to Nadakhan instead.

Karim stares at the serpentine, head still turned away in shame.

"Karim has hit his head, and it's made him very confused. I've been so worried about you ever since you ran off yesterday, Karim, come now."

Karim didn't even react when Nadakhan placed that sickening hook on his shoulder, soulless eyes finally meeting Clancee's as he was slowly steered back to Nadakhan's cabin.

Clancee would never forget that look Karim had given him that night.

Clancee had been too ashamed to look at Karim that night, too scared to disobey the captain. It wasn't that simple, especially not if he valued his own life.

He'd seen what had happened to those who had disobeyed him before, Nadakhan had this nasty habit of not listening to excuses, failures, the word 'no'.

That old bloodstain on the plank hadn't been from an enemy pirate.

Even Flintlocke, who had been at their captain's side for over fifteen years, had been all but thrown aside once his gift had been taken away, once he was no longer useful.

If Clancee had helped Karim that night then he would've suffered a worse fate, because he didn't have a position below him to be thrown down to.

It had been weird though, Karim had supposedly taken some sort of head trauma, hence his sudden change in attitude, and yet Clancee didn't remember seeing any sort of wound.

He'd simply chosen to forget the night entirely, pushing it into the back of his memory, but now that it had resurfaced, the more Clancee thought about it the stranger the whole thing had been.

Had Karim been in some sort of trouble with the captain?

Had he-

"Clancee my dear boy." Nadakhan appeared from above, half scaring the green pirate to death.

"Y-yes, cap'n?" Clancee stuttered.

"It just occurred to me that you still have two wishes left." Nadakhan mused.

"But," Clancee replied slowly, looking innocent and smiling. "Clancee doesn't need wishes, Clancee is just happy how he is-!"

"Tell me where he is." Nadakhan interrupted, voice low and irritated. "Wish it, or you'll wish you had."

Clancee gulped. He was right.

You can't disobey Nadakhan.

* * *

The two boys had been laughing watching Echo Zane sprint around the room, until he suddenly lost his balance while running on the ceiling and falling atop of them.

"oOf-!" Jay heaved, the air knocked directly from his lungs.

Echo wasn't paying attention to him, seemingly panicked as he stared at something behind them.

"Who's that?!" Echo wailed, distressed.

Jay's whole body went cold as he spotted Nadakan's reflection in the mirror leaning on a crate behind them.

"Break the mirror!" he cried frantically, as he watched Kai's face lose all its colour. "Before they know where we are!"

In a frenzy Echo threw a shuriken, the glass shattering and the picture disappearing. Not quickly enough, however, for Jay to miss Nadakhan squinting at the window past Jay's shoulder, which Jay could now see had a very unique looking tendril of kelp pushing against it.

* * *

"Don't even think about it," Kai piped up, grabbing Jay by his elbow as he made his way over to the blue teapot. "the Travellers Tea should only be used as a last resort."

"But we know they're coming-!" Jay began.

"No we don't. You said he only saw the kelp on the window, right? He's not going to just magically know where we are."

"I've never seen kelp like that, Kai," Jay said seriously, "I don't think it just grows anywhere. It could lead him straight here!"

"But we can't just keep running either!" Kai retorted. "We have to face them eventually."

"I can't protect you from him on my own, Kai." Jay said sadly, arms dropping a little in defeat. Kai lowered his shoulders and sighed.

"Gah! Why did we have to be fighting a Djinn?!" Kai suddenly grabbed his hair in frustration. Jay didn't respond for a moment.

"What if we didn't?"

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"Are you suggesting we just… leave??"

"What? No-!" Jay scrambled to get the words out. "I'm saying what if I wished that he wasn't a Djinn! That he was just like us!"

Kai's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Then he wouldn't be able to get his wishes!"

"Better yet," Jay added, "he won't be able to use his magic to get away."

"We could trap him and his army here!"

A plan quickly formed from there. They'd use the time it would take the pirates to assemble and arrive to reinforce the lighthouse, turning it into a defendable fortress. In such an enclosed space Nadakhan would have a hard time escaping them, hopefully meaning that he'd be forced to listen to Jay's wish, especially considering that they also only had one shot with the dart. From there the two would steal one of the sky ships and sink the others, effectively stranding the djinn and his army there.

"If we're ever going to have a chance at saving the others then we'll need to find a way to get that sword off of him." Kai pointed out a little later as they modified the living room table.

"But we don't even know if we can get the others out of it." Jay responded, now unsure of their entire plan. It was something Jay did when he was nervous, second-guess everything and quickly spiral down his tunnel of anxiety. "Maybe you're right, that I should use my last wish to-"

"I was wrong," Kai cut him off immediately, "because if that really was the case then Zane would've wished everyone free right then and there. There will be another way, I'm sure of it."

If he was being honest, Kai is itching to start fighting again. They needed a win more than ever and this seemed like he only way to do it (he'd never been one for running and hiding, anyway).

It was ironic in a way, disliking stealth as a ninja. It wasn't as though he was bad at it, in fact when they'd first started out Kai was one of the best at becoming invisible out of the four despite having the most difficult suit colours to hide in (the boys had always been a little envious of Cole for that), but now with almost four years of experience and training under his belt, Kai would never opt to hide first in any situation that didn't immediately call for it, and now favoured fighting first.

Jay was almost the opposite, preferring to analyse a scenario first before acting, but was still more prone to jumping straight in than the rest of the team.

(But out of the four boys, with Zane not around, Cole, Jay and Kai had a knack for getting into trouble.)

He truly was the groups only impulse control. Lloyd had once walked in on Cole and Jay trying to coerce Kai into crawling into the Bounty's large oven for an experiment (who in turn needed the least coercion). He'd surged forward, dragging Kai out by his ankles, only for the baking rack to slide out from underneath him, quickly causing the whole oven to tip over with the red moron still half inside. Cole had quickly managed to swoop down and lift the appliance off the floor, his boyfriend falling out of it like a misbehaving dog just as Wu had entered.

The three boys had been effectively banned from the kitchen for the rest of the day, Kai having to take a long shower to get all the oven grime out of his hair.

"Here they come, Jay."

Jay had been snapped out of his daydreaming to spot one of the sky ships appear out of the dark clouds, pirates already beginning to swarm the beach below as more appeared, sliding down from the ropes above. Kai pulled his cowl over his face, pulling the tea kettle strap over one of his shoulders as the two readied themselves for the upcoming fight.

"Fuck I'm gonna enjoy this." Kai muttered under his breath, cracking his knuckles and neck as Jay grabbed at the lever, eyeing the pirates storming the stairs to the front door.

"Get the boy!" Nadakhan boomed from one of the ships below.

"You heard the cap'n-" Flintlocke began.

"You heard the c-c-cap'n," Clancee interrupted, "take the boy!"

Flintlocke turned his head over to the serpentine in mild annoyance. Nadakhan hadn't forgotten Flintlocke's failure after the battle on Misfortune's Keep, nor his attempted betrayal a mere day later. As punishment, both as a second chance and to keep him in line, Flintlocke was to lead the raid on the Lighthouse with Clancee at his side like a sort of chaperone.

He was already beginning to hate it, he could see from the way Clancee had just tried to copy his order to give it out first that he was going to be a nightmare to work with. Already drunk on power, Clancee had second-guessed every one of Flintlocke's orders and the pirate was starting to worry that the snake could fumble the mission.

He'd been hesitant of attacking the front door and stayed aboard one of the ships to assess. Then, watching Clancee ignore his order and lead a large group of pirates up the concrete steps, only to be blown off their feet seconds later by the rigged door, Flintlocke let out a small grin before turning back to the ships controls.

The two kids seemed to have come up with a few makeshift ways of defending themselves, it would seem. Throwing crates of metal parts out the windows onto the pirates trying to scale the lighthouse from the outside with a ladder.

"Well that's not going to work." Flintlocke rolled his eyes, watching a handful of pirates reach the windows only to be immediately blinded by the lighthouse's light and for Kai to set fire to the ladder.

"Ready?" Kai went to unsheathe his katanas the same moment a barrel of dynamite was thrown through one of the windows, rolling toward them.

"Run!" Was all Jay managed to yell as he pushed Kai out the window on the opposite side of the room. Kai had barely managed to grab the window ledge, Jay hugging his waist from behind as the barrel went off, sending bits of broken floorboards at Kai's head as he tried to duck.

They could hear jeering behind them, both turning to see a second, smaller air ship with several pirates aboard, a pair lighting another barrel of dynamite.

If their plan was to work then they'd need to sink all but one of the ships. Kai grabbed the back of Jay's gi and flung him up towards the roof which was already beginning to smoulder and crumble from the last dynamite attack.

Jay charged up his hands, blasting a massive electrical surge towards the front of the ship. All the pirates aboard were momentarily stunned, panicking as the ship began to beep frantically, its dials and buttons cracking and spinning.

"Ha ha, spot on Jay!" Kai yelled triumphantly, the pair watching as the ship began to plummet. How many ships were left now? Jay had only counted two more, but there was sure to be more than that.

"rrrRAAGH!" Blossom bellowed, swung and thrown into the side of the lighthouse like a human cannonball, Flintlocke grinning at the wheel as Jay watched from above.

"Where's Nadakhan?" He turned to Kai worriedly, unsheathing his swords. "The plan won't work if he isn't here!"

"Jay, behind you!" Kai yelled, blades already in hand.

"That's not Nadakhan!" Jay yelled back stupidly, watching the pirate leap off the top of a third sky ship and onto the creaking beams of the burning lighthouse roof, wooden bo staff in one hand.

He immediately went to charge Jay, practically jumping the ninja. Jay struggled to push the guy off him until Kai sent a blast of flame at the pirate, who leapt back over a hole in the roof as Kai moved forward to charge him.

The guy had some serious skill, able to hold his own against both of them, but it was obvious that he couldn’t fight both ninja at once and win.

"Did you really think you could take the both of us on at the same time?" Kai yelled, slashing forwards with both of his katana and sending the pirate hurtling back to a corner of the roof.

The pirate, however, only smiled as him as he lowered his staff, Kai raising an eyebrow in confusion.

All of a sudden he felt a large hand grab his foot, caught completely off guard and only having time to let out a screech as he was suddenly dragged through the hole in the roof and into the burning living room below.

"Kai!" Jay tried to get to his partner only to be held back by the staffed pirate. Now he understood, this man had no intention of fighting the both of them, he was only sent to fend Jay off.

A distraction, so Blossom could grab Kai from below and make off with him. It was the same tactic they'd used on the pair of them before Kai had been hit by that cannon ball and it filled Jay with rage, yelling as he launched his entire body at the pirate in front of him, who's porcelain head spun round to change its facial expression from confidence to fear.

Meanwhile in the living room below, Blossom hadn't managed to hold onto Kai for long, having been immediately burned by the elemental as he'd then leapt out of her arms and into the flames now beginning to surround them.

They were blinding, red hot and obscuring both him and his red gi.

Maybe this colour is good for hiding after all, Kai thought to himself as he gripped his remaining sword, the scuffle may have been brief but it had caused him to drop one of his beautiful golden katanas on the floor.

There were more pirates at the windows, leering as they searched the room with their eyes like unshaven parasites.

"There he is!" One yelled, pointing directly at him. Kai almost screeched again when Blossom's head immediately snapped in his direction like the fucking terminator.

He raised his body temperature further, grinning wildly as he set himself on fire. It was a great party trick he often didn't have a chance to do as he would immediately set fire to everything surrounding him. But now, for the first time in seemingly forever Kai didn't need to hold back his powers in fear of setting things alight because that was now the goal. His eyes flicked back to the other pirates as he stalked towards them, sword raised.

One of the pirates screamed, having completely forgotten the ninja's elemental abilities and frantically shrieking "demon!" as he pointed a wild finger in Kai's direction, who's sword was already beginning to glow from the heat.

In all fairness though, he did currently look exactly like a demon, eyes glowing and seemingly unkillable as he walked straight through searing hot flames to throw the nearest fool out the window. He didn't even need to, the man launching himself out the window of his own volition and clinging to the outer walls in terror.

Kai wouldn't be able to keep this form up for long though, he was over 800 degrees and feeding the rest of the flames in the room with his own elemental energy at the same time, in an attempt to stay hidden from the She-hulk circling behind him, and the hotter he went, the quicker he burnt out.

"aK-!" All of a sudden a jet of water was spraying his face, momentarily stunning him. Turns out that Blossom and Flintlocke weren't as thick as he'd hoped, and that Blossom had come prepared to face him and carried a hose with her as she'd smashed into the lighthouse. It attached directly to a massive silo of water on the air ship Flintlocke was currently piloting, Blossom only having the chance to use it now that she'd recovered from Kai's initial assault.

Kai could see that she was also wearing what appeared to be 'fireproof' gloves that he'd seared several holes through when he'd squirmed out of her grip. He growled, crouching low and raising the rooms temperature even higher.

"Ha! You don't like that, do you?!" Blossom yelled manically, the hose continuing to blast out water at full force.

"Kai!" Jay yelled from above in a panic, spotting the water silo but unable to help as the two-faced pirate continued to brawl with him, seemingly unable to tire, and with Flintlocke flicking his pistol out of its holster and shooting wild streams of bullets in his direction.

Blossom's victory seemed short lived, though, as the fire ninja had made the remaining fire in the room so hot the water stream couldn't keep up. The water was almost evaporating before it hit the flames, but this was agonising. There was nothing flammable in the room anymore, the furniture and floorboards reduced to ash (the beams below made of stone), meaning that Kai was fuelling the massive flames with his energy alone. He was already beginning to pant as he was forced to raise the flames to lick at the roof to further shield himself, how was he going to protect himself after this?

"Ow!" Jay yelled again, Kai was making the flames too hot and he came to the horrid realisation that he was risking burning his partner above.

But that shout was all the distraction Blossom needed, Pulling the hose further along and surging towards him.

Kai had barely spotted the glint of metal in her hand before she'd wrestled him to the ground, suffocating the flames around him with her body size and attempting to jam the vengestone cuff on his nearest ligament.

That pull on the hose had also pulled in Flintlocke's air ship, which Jay immediately moved to blast with another surge of electricity, having finally knocked the pirate he'd been brawling with for so long off the roof and into the water below.

The flames were still too hot for Jay to enter, making him resort to airjitzuing straight down through the hole in the living room floor where the table used to be. Landing on the stairs, he spotted a frantic Kai trying to weasel himself out of the woman's grip. Jay also noticed the cuff snapped around Kai's bicep and panicked, rushing to help him.

Blossom screeched as Kai leapt out of her grip once again, a handful of purple hair clenched in his fist.

"You pulled my hair?!" Blossom yelled offendedly, "What kind of warrior pulls hair?!"

"You're taller than a fucking truck what else was I supposed to do?!" Kai shot back, leaping to the stairs below.

"You need help?" Jay yelled a little sarcastically. Despite the size difference and no powers, Kai seemed to be holding his own.

"I think I've got this under control!" Kai responded loudly.

Jay looked him over before panicking again.

"Where's the tea?"

Kai avoiding the anchor Blossom threw at him and looked down. Jay was right, it wasn't on him. His gi might've been made to be flame resistant but the leather strap attaching attached to the teapot wasn't. He must've burned it clean off him, meaning it had to still be upstairs!

Jay seemed to have also figured it out, scrabbling back up the stairs and into the smouldering living room. He choked, there was little airflow or visibility but at least the room was no longer burning.

Jay spotted the kettle sitting on one of the stone beams, but in his panic to grab it Jay slipped on some of the ash, knocking the teapot off the beam and down the middle of the stairs.

"KAI! TEA!" Jay bellowed at the top of his lungs. Kai had seen the falling kettle as he leapt off the stairs, his back brushing the tips of Blossom's outstretched fingers as he airjitzued towards it.

He would've missed it if he had instinctively made a grab for the pot's handle, which had been made of wicker and was thus #nolongerthere, grabbing it with both hands from beneath it and landing on the next staircase.

Kai hissed, with his powers blocked the underbelly of the kettle (which was currently boiling from the heat upstairs) burnt his hands. It was a sensation Kai wasn't accustomed to as he'd only been burnt two or three times in his life, each time being without his powers.

Jay shot back down to protect him, shocking Blossom to pull her attention away from his partner and onto himself.

Kai, on the other hand, having no feasible way of transporting the teapot without his hands, sheathed his remaining sword back on his back and untied one of the belts around his leg. He tied it around the pot, strapping the lid to the kettle and ramming the whole thing against his chest under his gi and tying his waistbelt tightly over it. It was then that he noticed that the kettle was significantly lighter than before.

"Jay! The tea!"

He ran back up to his partner, who looked down to spot the massive portal on the lighthouse floor below. Clearly the tea had spilt when Jay had tipped it over. Kai leapt onto Blossom's left arm and smacked the butt of his katana against her helmet.

"Anybody home?" He said rudely.

"You-!" She seethed, shaking Jay off of her as she swung her free arm in Kai's direction.

He was faster, backflipping over her head as Jay took advantage of her balance and kicked her off the stairs. Blossom shrieked as she fell, straight into the portal below and disappearing. As the smoke dissipated, Kai spotted the djinn below.

"Nadakhan's down there! Quick! Make your wish!" He shouted, Nadakhan poofing up towards them.

"I wish-!" Jay began, only for the djinn to poof away once more. When he reappeared Jay tried again, only with the same result.

"You think I don't know what you're up to?" Nadakhan leered, grinning, Kai eyeing the sword in his hands hungrily.

"He's too fast!" Jay replied hopelessly. "I wish you weren't a-!" Nadakhan only poofing away again.

"The dart!" Kai pointed at the container on Jay's back.

Jay had barely got the dart in his hands when the same two-faced pirate he'd been brawling with before leapt from the stairs above and landed on him. Clearly he'd fallen off the roof but not into the water like Jay had hoped, he'd been in too much of a rush to get Flintlocke off him and down to help Kai to check.

The movement caused Kai to lose his footing, crying out as he fell off the staircase. Jay shot his arm out to grab him, and was immediately swarmed by pirates charging up the stairs.

Even once Echo had managed to come to their rescue they were still in a precarious position. Echo was quick to fall apart again, limbs detaching as Nadakhan poofed a little below Kai's dangling legs.

"Come to me, my dear." Nadakhan said, both pairs of arms outstretched menacingly. Kai only gripped Jay's hand tighter.

"Shoot him now!" He yelled desperately, pulling his legs up toward him.

"If I do that, you'll fall right into his arms! And I can't fully see him, I could miss!" Jay cried out, arm already straining from holding Kai for too long.

"Then you'd better be quick!"

"No wait!-" Jay countered, gripping onto Kai tighter, now only by his fingertips. "Hold on!"

"Hold on?-!" Kai panicked, screaming as Jay whiplashed the both of them through the hole in the wall Blossom had made when she'd rammed into the lighthouse.

Kai clutched the teapot to his chest, holding his breath as they landed into the ocean below. Popping his head back up through the water Kai clamped a hand over the spout of the teapot. He shivered, the ocean was freezing and he couldn't regulate his body temperature.

Not being able to feel the cold had its perks, but it also meant that whenever Kai lost his powers he was far more susceptible to it, meaning if he stayed in the cold water much longer he'd be in serious danger.

Only one free hand it made it difficult to swim back ashore, Jay grabbing the back of his gi collar to help swim them both back.

Unsure of where to go, Jay spotted the window of the basement and smashed it, the two landing on the stone floor.

"Okay, the tea-" Jay began, only to hear the sounds of several people shouting as they spotted the basement door wide open. The pair sprinted towards it, ramming their backs against it. Neither could move to grab at the door's lock but they hadn't even been able to shut the door properly. Three pirate arms had made it through the gap and were currently trapped between the door and the wall, swinging their cutlasses wildly.

They'd failed yet again, three sky ships remained afloat, Nadakhan was still a djinn and neither of them had even managed to make a grab for his sword.

"Guess you could say this truly is a last resort, huh?" Jay laughed sadly, "You were right, this place isn't romantic at all."

He managed to lean over and pull the teapot out of Kai's gi, pouring it on the ground.

About three drops leaked out, making a small portal on the floor in front of them.

"That's it?" Kai paled, stomach dropping. "That's all that's left?!"

The pirates continued to bang against the door more erratically, making it more difficult to keep shut.

"That isn't big enough for both of us!"

Jay looked over at him sadly.

"But it's big enough for you." He said insistently. "Not only did I promise I'd protect you, but…"

Jay dropped his head in defeat.

But also because I've failed to protect you before. You've already been forced to be alone with that sleaze once, but never again, not if I can protect y-

"Jay you have to take it, before the flame dies out."

Jay's head snapped back up, eyes widening as he turned to face Kai, who was looking at him with a stony expression.

"What?!" He replied frantically, "Absolutely not! I won't let you be alone with him again!"

"There's no other way, Jay," Kai said, his voice flat and emotionless, "you're more important."

He grabbed at Jay's shoulder.

"You have the last wish."

Jay would've seen Kai shaking more if they weren't pressed up against a door with half a dozen pirates slamming against it. Thank the First Spinjitzu Master that hulk of a woman wasn't there to bash the door open, or neither of them would've been able to escape.

"But I promised to protect you, I can't just leave you with him!" Jay said pleadingly. "Please Kai! Take the exit!"

He was crying now, tears also forming in Kai's eyes as he smiled softly, his bottom lip shaking.

"T-There's gonna be a stupid wedding, and you'd better do something about it or I'll just have to save everyone myself!"

He laughed, tears starting to stream down his cheeks. Jay only stared back, eyes and brain desperately searching for another way, another option. He had never seen his partner like this before, none of them had. It was wrong and he wanted to stop it, do anything to console him but there was nothing to be done.

Someone had to stay behind.

Jay let out a sob, distraught. Just why did it have to be his precious partner?

Kai's hand was shaking on Jay's shoulder.

"You better rescue my damsel ass, Jay Walker!"

With his entire body shuddering from hopeless sobs Jay leaned over to kiss him, at the very least have one final moment together to wipe the tears he saw before him that were causing him such despair, but he never got the chance.

There were only seconds left on the flames of that tea, Kai could feel it.

With shaking hands, he pushed Jay towards it, the boy crying out in horror as he fell back first through the portal.

It was like the world was going in slow motion again, where all Jay could focus on was Kai. His reckless boyfriend, the only person he had left, who'd just sacrificed himself to save him.

Jay's hand instinctively reached out in one last, desperate effort to make any sort of contact, to stay close to Kai, who only smiled sadly as he unsheathed his remaining sword.

The tip of Jay's last quivering outstretched finger barely made it through as the portal closed, Kai took a shuddering breath and held his hands for a moment to get them to stop shaking. He knew what came next.

"Let's get on with it, then."

He jumped away from the door.

Almost twenty Sky Pirates lunged at him.

* * *

Ninja or not it didn't take long until Kai found himself completely overwhelmed. There were so many pirates flooding into the small room, and, as Kai was manhandled out of the basement, he was disappointed to find that he'd only been able to actually hurt about three.

"There you are."

Kai's heart immediately dropped into his stomach at the sound of the drawling voice. Breathing heavily, he wrenched one of his arms out of the pirates grips in an attempt to try and stabilise himself.

The pirates weren't having it, hands scrabbling back at the arm and further crowding around him until he couldn't move an inch, his arms now being painfully strained behind him as Kai bit back a whimper of pain.

Nadakhan turned to face him, grinning evilly as made his way towards him.

"I've never seen a more beautiful bride." He leered.

Kai shuddered, back straightening as he listened to the pirates surrounding him laugh and jeer.

Jay will coming for you, he reminded himself, you're not going to be like this for long.

You're all alone again, you can't move. Jay's gone and he's here.

Nadakhan came closer, Kai doing everything in his power to try not to struggle. He couldn't show how scared he was but he quickly found that he couldn't fight the urge. Nadakhan came closer, Kai flinching and trying desperately to strain away in the pirate's grips, but they were vice-like, causing him to let out a pained yelp as his arm was twisted too far back behind him.

"The other one got away." Clancee appeared from behind the other pirates, making his way up the steps and carrying the empty teapot as proof.

"Travellers tea, Cap'n. They had s-s-some left."

Nadakhan frowned, eyeing the teapot.

Get it together, Kai scolded himself, you didn't lose entirely.

"Jay's gone," He spoke up in a sort of giddy defiance, still panting from the fight, "and when he comes back, he's going to kill you."

The pirates went a little silent at Kai's words, looking back to their captain with a slight fear.

Nadakhan raised his hooked hand, gently tapping it against Kai's golden shoulder plate, watching the two metals emotionlessly and listening to the faint sound of their clinking.

Kai continued to stare up at him, smiling in reckless victory. He and Jay hadn't fully lost, and he really wanted to rub that in. He couldn't look scared or defeated, not now, or he'd lose his ground.

"No matter," Nadakhan replied to the scaled crewmate, eyes slowly turning back to the boy still struggling in front of him and suddenly looming so close to his face he could feel the boy's breath.

Kai couldn't keep his composure, turning his head away in disgust.

Nadakhan's hand shot out and forcibly grabbed his jaw, craning Kai's face back to him.

"-we got what we came for, now didn't we,"

He gripped Kai's jaw tighter, his grin now maniacal.

"-pet?"

Kai was wrong, he was at that devil's mercy once again with another panic attack brewing and Jay even further behind him than ever before.

Kai couldn't even cry out before he was gagged by another pirate.

Chapter Text

Now we all know that Lloyd's got #daddyissues, my boy practically invented it, and in episode four of season six we saw in Kai's capture that they were starting to introduce Kai's relationship (or lack thereof) with his own father (and then later his mother).

(How the fuck did Nadakhan know that, though? That Kai had parental issues?? He'd literally just met him??? Anyway-) So while it may seem a little unoriginal to base Lloyd's capture off of Kai's, I believe it would go down quite similarly based on that logic. Definitely not the same, because I barely even see that whole "the girls are crazy for you" scene as cannon (Way to dehumanize women for being 'fangirls' and having interests, how very 2010s of you, Ninjago writers).

Lloyd is more rational-thinking than Kai most of the time (don't forget that Lloyd was the one to suggest while trapped aboard Misfortune's Keep that they use their wishes after Kai and Zane had already been taken), but this scene was a massive stress to Kai because he knew the others were busy fighting and all he wanted to do was #goback, so he didn't think his first wish through (or at all) and gave very loose wording.

Seeing his father would've been an actual form of emotional torture, but we know that Kai is very strong-willed and determined/ driven from season 4 and 5 and hence didn't fall for Nadakhan's 'temptation', focusing on what needed to be done and making a second, more specified wish.

I think a lot of people saw Kai as an idiot in this scene, but he wasn't, he was just in an awful situation and was unlucky enough to be targeted first.

In fact, Kai even had the idea to try and go even further back, like Jay's last wish, in an attempt to stop Nadakhan from even being released. People really gotta cut our red boi some slack, honestly, because he's smarter than people give him credit for.

Nadakhan magically knew about Kai's parental issues so I'm gonna say that he therefore gets to know Lloyd's as well.

* * *

Lloyd was taken in chapter one, vanishing from the story so quickly and quietly it was almost as though he'd never existed. It is only towards the later half of the plot does he begin to reappear, haunting the narrative and Kai through his stress-riddled dreams of old memories. Of a time so recent and yet so long ago it appears like a cruel fantasy.

But what happened to him in those final moments before he was taken? When he vanished from Cole's side and found himself trapped in the djinn pirate's blade?

Well, as the green ninja, leader of Ninjago's strongest protectors and spoken of in fables since the beginning of time, such a being would not cry or scream or plead as they were taken. Doesn't that sound right?

You would be wrong, then.

As they got closer to the airship, Cole and Lloyd found themselves getting further and further away from each other.

It was that annoying monkey, leaping between cannons and hooting with joy as it fired shot after shot at the pair.

It was clearly the things plan, to slowly separate the two and make it too difficult to get any closer to the ship.

Cole knew that he couldn't be properly injured by them, being a ghost had many perks. It didn't mean he could fully avoid them either. Now that he was trying to be corporal at all times it meant that sometimes it was more difficult to phase through things without concentrating, and this was one of those times.

If he were to be hit by one of the searing hot balls of lead slamming into the rooftops around him he'd be sent flying back with it and wasting valuable time.

He was finally close enough now, Lloyd flipping onto the next rooftop to spot Cole vanish, appearing almost instantly behind the four-handed menace, ripping it off the cannon by its tail and hurling it over the guard rails like a sack of potatoes.

Lloyd chuckled as the monkey soared past him, but he hadn't been able to get as close to the ship as Cole had.

Cole hadn't noticed, too caught up in his victory as he turned back towards the deck and disappeared from Lloyd's line of sight.

Shit, Cole wait- Lloyd reached out to his com to get him to pull back-

His hand had barely had the chance to twitch when he heard a poofing noise behind him, craning around to spot the djinn himself, four arms outstretched towards him as he was lifted straight off the rooftop.

Lloyd could feel that they were spinning, eventually managing to wrench himself out of the prate's grip(s) and landing back down on the-

Sand?

Lloyd whipped his head around, he was standing on some remote-looking island, with nothing surrounding them other than strange rock formations and the endless ocean.

Lloyd ripped his cowl off.

"Where are we? What did you do?!" He demanded.

The djinn only smiled, utterly unbothered as opposed to Lloyd's franticness.

"Mm, I thought a little privacy was in order." Nadakhan replied

Lloyd put a hand up to shield his face from the blinding sun, still scowling.

"You were in such a rush, and for what?" the djinn continued lazily, circling behind Lloyd, the boy turning around to face him, his anger and urgency beginning to mix with a sudden sense of anxiety, just what was the djinn playing at?

"Let me help you, you could wish for it~"

Lloyd could tell that Nadakhan was trying to trick him. I'm not an idiot, Lloyd huffed to himself, pulling his hand away from his face to point a threatening finger at the djinn.

"The only thing I wish, is for you to take us back to the fight!" He said sternly.

He usually wasn't the aggressive type, that was his red-clad brother's thing, but this man had recently kidnapped his mother and uncle and got him and the others wrongfully arrested.

Lloyd couldn't have known that it was exactly what Nadakhan had wanted him to do. He'd been too stressed, already beginning to swelter on that beach and painfully aware that the others were still fighting the pirates back in the city. There was no time to waste, Cole had no cover and had already found his way on board the ship.

Nadakhan backed away from him, his smile giving everything away.

"Your wish," he began, "is yours to keep."

In a flash of light they had left the beach, Lloyd blinking from the moment of blindness to take in his surroundings.

And not a moment too soon, otherwise he'd have stepped straight off the tiny rock ledge he suddenly found himself precariously perched on and toppled straight down into what he could see was a large pool of lava.

Lloyd panicked, jerking back and gripping the rock wall with both hands, was he in a volcano? Where even was he?!

There was the sound of metal clanging from the other side volcano, the sounds of a fight, and that's what gave it away.

The Fire Temple, he was inside the volcano of the Fire Temple, more specifically back when he'd been held prisoner by the serpentine when they were looking for the third fangblade.

He was too far away for anyone to see him, and judging by the crumbling rocks and rising lava below, he had to have arrived just as everyone was starting to evacuate. His younger self would soon stand on an unstable rock ledge, falling into the lava below and later be rescued by Kai as he unlocked his true potential, but why had he been sent back here?!

Nadakhan poofed beside him, floating with an amused expression as Lloyd composed himself.

"What is this?!" he shot at the djinn angrily, "I thought I told you to take me back to the fight!"

"Ah," Nadakhan drawled, clearly enjoying himself, "but how far back? And which fight? You didn't say when or where, but, by your tone, I assumed you meant one that was important to you."

"Dad!"

Lloyd's anger diminished instantly at the sound of his younger self from the other side of the volcano. He could only stare as he was rescued from a lava-riddled cage and scooped up-

"Son!"

Into his father's arms. All four of them, holding him close as though he were the most precious thing in the whole world.

Lloyd hadn't been able to see at the time, his little head buried into his father's shoulder, but the man's face had split into one of the kindest, most gentle smiles Lloyd had ever seen, even after he'd cured him of the Devourer's venom.

Because his father was holding him.

And now he was gone.

"This isn't my wish." Lloyd said hollowly.

"How could you say that?" Nadakhan cut in, circling around him again and leaning in a little too close for comfort.
Don't you want to see your father again? He's gone now, isn't he?"

Lloyd was breathing heavily now, closing his eyes in an attempt to compose himself.

"Why not wish for him to be back, then?"

Lloyd wasn't being given time to think, to stop and weigh his options, but what options did he even have? He'd need to make a wish to get out of here anyway. Lloyd knew it was a bad idea, he'd seen now that Nadakhan was only going to twist his words, but he couldn't think. The same insecurities and self-doubt welling up inside him.

Lloyd had always had a bad habit of not trusting his own thoughts and orders, even as the leader of the ninja, without someone affirming them as the right decision.

And the one whose words and guidance affirmed him the most was standing only a rock toss away, carrying his younger self up the volcano's crumbling stairs to safety, and who had needed to be physically dragged out by two people when Lloyd had stood on that unstable edge and fallen into the lava pool.

He could see Kai throwing his sword towards Pythor, the beautiful golden blade slamming into the wall behind him, lodging the fangblade into the rock with it.

Think, breathe, think.

He didn't have time to think, he needed to go, now. The past Kai would soon be able to see him as he continued to hurl himself up the steps.

"Take me to the battle you and I were in a few minutes ago, and resurrect him" Lloyd pointed clearly at his father, "into our timeline with me, alive."

It had felt wrong the second the words had left his mouth, as though he should've wished for something else, anything else, but Lloyd was sure that what he'd just wished for couldn't be twisted.

Nadakhan crossed his lower pair of arms and leaned his chin on his hook for a second before they poofed again.

Lloyd blinked, a wave of relief washing over him when he saw that he was standing on the rooftops of Ninjago city and spotted Misfortune's Keep up ahead of him, a bolt of electricity lighting up on the deck as Lloyd could faintly make out the gi colours of Cole, Kai and Jay running on the deck. He was quite far away, but if he used his dragon he'd-

Lloyd noticed a presence beside him, expecting to see Nadakhan and moving to face him.

He hadn't even managed to turn around when a hand shot out for his neck, forcibly choking him.

Scrambling to grab at the hand, Lloyd was instantly lifted and thrown off the rooftop, his katana sent flying out of their holster.

It had been so quick and completely unexpected that his defensive instincts had really only managed to kick in as he found himself half airborne. Lloyd tucked his body in on itself, landing on the next roof and rolling down it before quickly leaping back up into a fighting stance and finally seeing whoever had just attacked him.

Skin so black it absorbed the any sunlight, crooked and hooked, gleaming teeth, long, unhealthy, jagged broken nails and four-

Four arms.

Lloyd's heart completely sunk straight out of his body.

"Your father, as you wished for." Nadakhan appeared a little further away.

Lloyd was still processing the sight of the man in front of him. Was it even a man? His father had never looked like this, not even when he was young.

His aura was completely off, like a wild, deranged animal about to charge him.

His eyes were also the wrong colour, solid smoky grey with a disgusting purplish tinge that seemed to bore a sort of rageful hole straight through him. They weren't human.

Lloyd decided in an instant that this wasn't his father.

"This, this isn't what I…" He trailed off, still breathless from the last attack and distraught by the horrid sight in front of him.

"No, Kai," He could hear Zane's voice in his ear, his brain haphazardly recognising it as his earpiece. "-to-o- many, -have to retreat… -plan…"

Lloyd was too far away from the others and it was starting to cut out. From this distance his com wouldn't be able to send out a signal, making Lloyd feel even more detached from the fight just blocks away as he could only stare at the monster in front of him readying itself to attack him yet again.

Monster, you just called your own father a monster.

That is not my father.

"Well, I understood when and where you wanted me to take you," Nadakhan's voice popping up again, Lloyd not having the luxury of turning to try and spot him, "but I was a little confused as to what you meant when you pointed at that monster just before."

"My dad is not a-!" Lloyd scrambled, already beside himself as the thing suddenly leapt at him, swiping with its broken claws in a clear attempt to kill him.

"He isn't?" Nadakhan said, taking his time and clearly enjoying the scene unfolding in front of him as Lloyd continued to spiral, reeling back and his feet skidding on broken roof tiles.

So he was in the same spot Nadakhan had initially grabbed him from, noticing the debris of the surrounding roofs. It had only felt like a second ago, how long had he been gone?

Lloyd grasped at his back for his swords, panicking again when he remembered that they'd fallen out moments before. The move costed him dearly as the monster had shot at him again, this time more successful as it sliced at Lloyd's arm. Lloyd screeched in pain, leaping further back in an attempt to retreat.

"Well, when you pointed at the… man," Nadakhan was grinning evilly, any form of humanity leaving his eyes as he watched Lloyd's own begin to water at the prospect of having to fight the thing in front of him.

Whatever this thing was, Lloyd needed the others to take it down. Father or not, Lloyd didn't have the heart to fight it.

"I thought he was a demon of sorts, so that is what I brought here with us."

Lloyd was still panting from the last attack as he jumped onto the next rooftop, Garmadon immediately breaking the corner of the last roof with his weight and claws as he leapt over, relentless and driven like a psychotic bloodthirsty boar.

How could I have been so stupid?! Lloyd panicked, darting around the roofs. Why did I only point? Why didn't I be more specific?!

He had thought that he had been more specific, that if he had simply only said his father that Nadakhan would've brought back a pile of bones, stating that was all that was left of his father in this time since he went down with the Preemanent and he just wouldn't be able to handle that.

The demon in front of him wasn't his dad, clawing and swiping at him, and yet Lloyd couldn't muster the strength to even try to attack him.

"-got… lantern!" Cole's voice crackled in Lloyd's ear, but Lloyd could barely hear him.

"…where's Ll-yd?"

Lloyd couldn't control his breathing. He had barely even had the chance to properly grieve his father's death long-term after Morro. Or even beforehand, Morro had used Lloyd's memories of Garmadon to taunt him and thus the subject of his father had made Lloyd feel incredibly fragile ever since.

He needed to focus, Cole was asking where he was, but then he didn't have the time to say anything as the demon leapt onto him, Lloyd unable to fight back as they toppled off the rooftop.

His com must've fallen out of his ear, otherwise he should've heard the ninja panicking over him in his ear as he fell back to the ground, screaming helplessly as all knowledge of how to even defend himself left his brain.

He felt like a kid again.

"Wu made someone like you the Green Ninja? " Morro had seethed at him. "Only a year ago you were scared of the dark, and now I'm supposed to accept you as the most powerful ninja of all?! I WON'T!"

If Lloyd hadn't managed to flip over, push the creature off him midair and airjitzu the last few meters or so down, he would already be dead now.

They'd been over ten stories up, Lloyd's eyes widening as he heard a sickening crack as something heavy landed behind him.

He'd thrown his father, that thing off of him.

Did he just kill him?

…

Did he just kill his own dad?

Lloyd was in a filthy concrete side alley between two buildings, sunlight unable to reach the whole way down and casting heavy shadows across the ground. The monster had fallen into the dumpster a few meters in front of him and must've taken a significant amount of damage.

Lloyd hadn't landed all that gracefully either, forgetting how to land properly when he'd heard the sound of the monster's impact.

Lloyd's knees collided into the concrete, the ties around his knees acting as knee pads and narrowly preventing them from scraping. But Lloyd couldn't stand anyway, frozen in horror as he stared at the broken dumpster ahead.

He couldn't help it, he knew it wasn't him, but the name just came so naturally to him.

"D-Dad?" Lloyd called out weakly.

What if he was dying and he'd caused it?

He was wrong. At the sound of his voice the monster leapt out of the bin, letting out a horrific screeching noise as it barrelled towards him. Lloyd was immediately pinned to the ground, forced to use all his strength to push the monster away from him as it scratched at his arms, trying to sink its teeth into Lloyd's face.

Lloyd shrieked at the sudden attack, tears now staining his cheeks as he scrabbled desperately, but he wasn't strong enough to push it off of him.

"D-Dad… please…" Lloyd begged, but the monster didn't stop, screeching and clawing.

There was the faint sound of poofing behind his head, just back enough that Lloyd couldn't see him.

The monster took no interest, eyes boring into Lloyd's soul as it continued to scrabble at him.

"You poor thing," Nadakhan mused.

Lloyd's face was completely wet now, eyes blurry with tears and body wracking from sobs he couldn't control.

He was going to die. His father was going to kill him.

"I can make this go away you know."

Nadakhan smiled once again, placing his hands behind his back as he leant down to Lloyd's ear, the poor boy still struggling as the demon clawed at his abdomen.

"All you need to do is wish it all away."