Story Description: In the aftermath of Garmageddon, Lloyd, Nya, and PIXAL, aka 'the ones that got away', have to come to terms with the loss of their friends and family (unknowing that Wu and the other four Ninja are still alive) and, with the help of some old friends, prepare to free Ninjago from its new Emperor.

The Ones that Got Away

"I'll be with you in a second." Skylor called from the kitchen when she heard the little bell over the door ring. She put down the knife she had been using to cut some vegetables. As she washed her hand, the red-haired woman checked her appearance in the small mirror over the sink.

Her reflection certainly confirmed how she felt, that she was exhausted to - and even beyond - her limits.

In the aftermath of Garmadon's attack of Ninjago City, all of her employees had quit, making Skylor the manager, chef, and waitress in one. In these dark times, people wanted to be with their loved ones - many of them had fled the capital - but the Master of Amber also suspected that most of them wouldn't want to be associated with her, not just the daughter of the Emperor's former tutor and arch enemy but also a member of the New Elemental Alliance.

Skylor had heard the rumours about associates of the Ninja, Master Wu and the former Sensei Garmadon - like Mystake, Dareth, even Ronin - currently being hunted down by the Sons of Garmadon. It was probably just a matter of time until they would get here as well.

Which was probably the main reason why business had been very slow these days. Master Chen's Noodle House was offering shelter and free food to those who had lost their homes to the events of Garmageddon, but not many had availed of it.

Skylor retightened her ponytail and put a fake smile on her tired face, before she walked through the swinging door leading into the restaurant area.

"Welcome to Master Chen's Noodle House and thank you for your patience." She greeted the four guests who had just entered her business. "How can I h..." Her face fell when she acted looked at her clients, recognising them as Nya, Lloyd, Lloyd's mother Misako, and the female Nindroid that used to live in Zane's head. "...help you?"

Yes, they could definitely need some help. All four of them were battered and bruised - or dented in the Nindroid's case.

And this was confirmed further when, in response to Skylor's question, Nya fell around her neck, sobbing violently.

The redhead gently rubbed her boyfriend's sister's back. To say she was confused was an understatement. Nya never cried. She never showed any kind of weakness. So... what in Ninjago had happened (other than the obvious that is)? And, where were the other Ninja?

"You don't need to talk right now." Skylor told them. "Why don't you sit down and I'll get you some water? Maybe some noodles?"

She smiled inwardly, remembering that one time when Kai had come to the restaurant for her advice and they had shared a meal and a deep conversation. This had definitely been a turning point in their relationship. The orange Ninja sure hoped that he was going to join them here today.

"Table for eight?" Skylor instantly regretted this suggestion, when she felt Nya start to shive. Skylor tightly gripped her arms, preventing the raven-haired girl from hitting the floor as she fainted.

With Lloyd's help, she led the Water Ninja to private booth in the far corner. After they had managed to sit her down on the bench, the restaurant owner rushed to the bar and took a bottle of water as well as four - not eight - glasses.

"Will you please join us, Skylor?" Misako politely requested when she returned to the table.

"Sure." Skylor replied. After filling the glasses and handing them to her guests, she took a chair opposite her boyfriend's sister. Nya gave her a weak smile.

"Uhm..." Skylor didn't know how to start the conversation.

"My father is back." Lloyd blurted out.

"He is not your father." Misako told her son. "This... monster is not my husband."

It sounded like they had been telling this themselves and each other ever since the Dark Lord's resurrection.

"Anyway, it was all my fault." Lloyd continued undeterred. "Harumi has played me, I fell for her pretty face, her silky hair, her sparkling eyes, the way she pretended to care for the poor,..."

It was painfully obvious that the Green Ninja was still very much in love with the evil Jade Princess.

Nya placed a hand onto his. "Stop blaming yourself." She told him.

"Nya is right, it is very easy to trick someone who cares for you." Skylor confirmed, ashamed of how she herself used to play the red Ninja.

"You were different." Lloyd told her, correctly guessing the other's thoughts. "Harumi made her own choice."

"But you are not the only person in Ninjago who has ever been blinded by their affections. We've all done stupid things for love..." Nya stated, tears pooling in her chocolate brown eyes again as she thought of her brother and boyfriend. "Just remember how Jay and Cole were figh..."

"Jay and Cole are gone." Lloyd cried. "All of them are gone. And I got away."

"Gone?" Skylor asked in a shaking voice.

"Gone." Nya it was more the look on the Water Ninja's face than the word she spoke that made Skylor realise what this meant.

Everything suddenly blurred before her eyes, and the Master of Amber struggled to fight down the bile she could feel rise up her throat. And had she accidentally put on the heating in the restaurant?

"Drink." A robotic yet gentle voice instructed her as something hard and cold was carefully placed into her hands. Skylor raised the item to her lips. As the cool water touched her lips and ran down her throat, she could feel herself calm down a bit.

"Thank you." She smiled at the Nindroid who had handed her her own glass of water.

"You are welcome." PIXAL replied. "I do not need hydration. But you do."

"You are PIXAL, right?"

"This is correct." The android in the Samurai armour said. "How do you know?"

"Kai called me like two days ago. He told me what had happened, and he invited me to a party at Dareth's karaoke bar. But at the very short notice, I couldn't find anyone to take over my shift for me here." She sighed. "I really have to stop putting noodles before my life." Well, whatever is left of it now...

"Kai has always admired your sense of responsibility." The girl that Skylor had hoped to become her sister-in-law one day spoke in a quiet voice. "My brother loved you a lot. You know that, right?"

"I do. And I love him as well." Skylor just couldn't use the past tense for him yet. "Please, what happened to them?" She needed to know, no matter how painful it was for all of them.

"It was my fa- I mean Emperor Garmadon's colossus [colossi is wrong grammar], he just crunched the Bounty as if he was crumbling a sheet of paper. And they were all on it - Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, and Wu."

"Wu?" Skylor wondered. "You found him?" That must have been the surprise Kai had mentioned on the phone.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter now. He was with them. I even threw him to Cole, to keep him safe from Harumi's grasp."

"And this is what he wanted." His mother stated. "Wu would rather die with his students than become a pawn in his bro- the Emperor's game."

"Then, why did we get away?" Lloyd wondered. "Maybe I should have been with them as well..."

"Because Ninjago still needs you." Nya told him. "Remember, they-we were all willing to give up our powers to heal you. You are still our biggest hope."

"What are you going to do now?" Skylor wanted to know.

"We need to lay low for a while, maybe get a few more people on board." Nya said. "But after that... I honestly don't know what we're gonna do. I just know that we have to do something."

"You could hide at my father's island." Skylor suggested.

"Thanks, but we are not leaving the city. We can't abandon the people." Lloyd said firmly. "Not this time."

"And we don't want to drag you into this." Nya added. "We just wanted to tell you ourselves. It wouldn't have been fair to let you find out about... you know... from the news."

"Oh, the telly isn't working anyway." Skylor pointed at the corner, where the broken TV set was laying on the floor, having been expertly shot down by a crossbow arrow. "The program has gotten a bit too... dark recently."

TV and radio stations as well as the newspapers had all been taken over by the Emperor's henchmen.

"But I want to get involved." She added. "Garmadon wouldn't be like this if it hadn't been for my father. And even if it's too late to put my own life before noodles, it's not too late for Ninjago." She jumped up, pulling down her orange hood. "No matter how few are left of us,

Ninja never quit."

Skylor's minifigure appears in one of the S9 sets, so I guess the 'ones that got away' (i.e. the Ninja and Samurai that were left in Ninjago) will recruit her to help fight Garmadon and Harumi in the new season.