Here I am, struggling to find the time to update my other stories and yet starting another one… but I have a good reason (a couple of reasons, actually):
I have a stupid cold and thus had to take the bus instead of my bike, giving me some extra time for writing :). But I only took my tablet with me, so I didn't have my notes/drafts for the other stories that are on the laptop.
This is basically an alternative version of 'The Way Back'. Before episode 64 happened, probably a lot of fans had their own ideas about what Jay's 'Wish from the Heart' was going to be. So did I. And I've been thinking about turning it into a story for quite a while, so I just went for it… also this one is obviously 'Skybound'-based, so it probably makes sense to post at least parts of it before DotD (UK are also getting it this Saturday!).
Instead of rewriting the whole episode, I've decided to keep most of the original plot and just make a few changes (one of them being the ending). The whole story is not very long (I'm not going to write the parts that remain the same so there are some time skips!). It was written as a one-shot, but will be posted as three short chapters.
Warning: This is NOT one of my usual 'cute and fluffy' stories. Rated T for good reasons!
And I still don't own Ninjago!
The first chapter is kind of a 'missing scene' quite at the beginning of the episode.
Chapter 1: One goal, one mission
"Who wants to crash a wedding?"
Those words he had said just a few minutes ago were still on Jay's mind, when he led his teammates to the island of the Airjitzu Temple. Unlike the first time when he and the Ninja Replacements had gone this way, they didn't bother about the warriors' way of travelling in shadows. No, they were just running in plain sight. After the little incident at the shed, they didn't have to worry about being spotted. The only pirates left on the islands were Nadakhan's inner crew who were with him inside the temple.
"Who wants to crash a wedding?"
Jay had briefly updated his brothers on what had happened since they had been trapped inside the Sword of Souls and they were all keen to get back into action.
Kai was particularly restless. Of course, the Red Ninja had been imprisoned the longest, he could hardly pace himself not to run ahead without knowing the way. And Jay could see the wounded pride in his eyes, when Kai realised that he had been the first one to be tricked by the evil Djinn. And on top of it, his sister had been taken again.
"Who wants to crash a wedding?"
For some reason, they had all silently agreed to follow his lead. Sure, Jay was more familiar with the whole situation and the location, but that still didn't change anything about the fact that he was not great at this job. No, honestly, he really sucked at it. But suddenly, everyone seemed to have forgotten his disaster a while back in Stixx.
Jay just wanted Cole to take over, both the heavy sword and the responsibility. Only the Black Ninja didn't.
Jay knew that this was Cole's way of apologising to him. During their brief encounter on board the Misfortune's Keep, there had been no opportunity. Before Nadakhan had captured Jay on Tiger Widow Island, they had argued, even though they had promised each other never to fight again. Simply put, Jay had been an idiot and Cole had been a jerk. And now Cole wanted to prove to his best friend how much he trusted and respected him. But Jay was just so tired.
"Who wants to crash a wedding?"
He had tried to sound optimistic. After all, he had to convince his friends that they would be able to stop Nadakhan from marrying Nya and obtaining infinite wishes, although deep inside he had serious doubts about it himself.
His signature 'positive thinking' had helped him get through the events of the past few days, but was slowly crumbling now. Jay had always thought that as long as he was with his friends – his family, then everything was alright.
But… it wasn't. First of all, one of them was still missing. And second, all of them had made mistakes; even the Green Ninja had gotten himself captured. Sure, Jay had baldly screwed up as well, probably even worse than the others, but he hadn't given up. He: the carefree Blue Ninja, always the first one to lose it, and the first one who had been approached by Nadakhan. Even the Djinn must have considered him the easiest target. But he had proven him wrong.
"Who wants to crash a wedding?"
They were getting closer to the temple, closer to Nya, and closer to hopefully 'crashing' the wedding. But at the same time, Lloyd was lagging further and further behind the rest of his team. He hadn't been able to get used to his aged body yet and was struggling to keep up with the pace of his brothers.
Not that long ago, he had been the little brat in the black hoodie, who did nothing but annoy them. When all they wanted was for Lloyd to grow up. And now all that was left of the young child was his still youthful voice, which would serve as a constant reminder of his lost childhood. No, this wasn't fair.
Jay had a sad smile on his face, when he remembered how he and Lloyd used to argue endlessly about the famous line from the Starfarer comics. He couldn't convince the stubborn younger boy that 'Fear' was the correct word to use. Lloyd just kept saying 'Fair. Fair isn't a word where I come from.' And unfortunately, this had now become his own motto.
Jay refused to think about the person who had originally used this phrase. Regardless of any biological relationship, Cliff Gordon was not his father. Jay Walker would never again be ashamed of being a poor junkyard kid with embarrassing parents.
"Who wants to crash a wedding?"
But it was something else that crashed first. They were just approaching the bridge to the temple island, when suddenly cracks of all sizes appeared in the ground all over Djinnjago, further splitting the individual land fragments. Pieces of rock came off the edges of the floating islands and plunged down towards Ninjago.
"Is everyone alright?" Cole asked, watching the bridge collapse. "What is happening? It looks like Djinnjago is starting to break apart. But why?"
"I have analysed different options. The most logical explanation is that Nadakhan himself was never strong enough to keep Djinnjago in the sky." Zane explained.
"To create a flying archipelago of this size, Nadakhan used the Sword of Souls. He used… our powers. And now that our souls have escaped from the Sword, it has lost some of its strength and Djinnjago is falling apart."
No, it wasn't just Djinnjago that was falling apart. Jay's entire world continued to crumble.
Sensei Wu had erred. The wise man with the long white beard. Had. Been. Wrong.
"According to ou... my calculations the sword is still powerful enough to keep the main land mass of Djinnjago afloat for now." Zane continued. "But it is very unstable, so we need to warn our friends on the ground that they to get the people of Ninjago to safety as fast as they can."
My calculations. Not ours. Not Pixal's. Jay could tell that Zane was suffering from the loss of his female companion. Maybe they would be able to recover her code from Zane's latest backup. Jay was sure that he had saved the one from when they had updated his language database. But would Zane actually want to replace her with a copy?
Speaking of which, the White Ninja had not said much in relation to the surprising discovery of his 'brother'. Jay had known Dr Julien only for a brief period of time, but he remembered the inventor as a very kind and devoted man. So it was just incomprehensible how he could have left the younger nindroid behind at the lighthouse, when the Ninja had rescued him during their journey to the Dark Island…
"Lloyd, do you still have the comms device to contact the Bounty? They were going to find our ship to get back down to Ninjago." Jay was grateful that Cole had finally taken over command.
"Already on it." The Green Ninja confirmed.
"On the plus side, they don't have to worry about any more parts of Ninjago going up." The Master of Earth added. "And this new development is also good news for us, because it means that Nadakhan is not all powerful yet, so we still have time to stop the wedding."
"Then, let's go and save my sister." Kai used his Airjitzu to get across to the chasm between the islands. Lloyd and Zane followed promptly.
But the other two Ninja stayed behind. Jay gave his best friend a questioning look. "When did you become such an optimist?"
"When I realised that you were starting to lose hope. This team seriously needs some positive thinking." The ghost grinned. "And I had a really great teacher. Now c'mon, let's go and crash that wedding."
(Time Skip)
Nadakhan was furious. Not only has those pesky Ninja managed to escape from him and his multiple copies, they had also got his last two crewmates to join their side.
The Djinn was completely on his own now.
No, he wasn't. Nadakhan's hard face softened, when he approached Nya's sleeping body. He took in her features. She was just as beautiful as Delara. And with a bit more time, he would manage to fully turn her into his true love.
"Wake up." He commanded. Nya's eyes snapped open, revealing her stunning brown orbs. But… they were not green. Maybe he could wish to change that right now…
"You! What have you done to my friends? I-I…"
Nya angrily attacked him, but she was still weakened after she had just woken up from the Djinn's spell, so Nadakhan easily fended her off.
What a very passionate woman she was! Yes, she surely was going to make a wonderful wife. But first, he needed to break her strong will.
"Ah, my dear. I would not recommend that. You are mine now and we want to get on well with each other, don't we?" Nadakhan grinned evilly. "I wish… for you to obey me."
The girl glared at him, her eyes filled with hatred for the Djinn. He could see the struggle inside her between her own mind fighting his command. But in the end, the wish was stronger.
Nya lowered her head in defeat. Nadakhan could see how ashamed she was of herself.
"Yes… master." She replied.