Okay, now we're at a few days after the Overlord's defeat by Zane. As many of you know, Zane "dies". (I saw the episodes in really bad quality on Youtube). But yeah. Spoilers for that. The Ninja don't yet know that he's alive in the computers of Borg Tower.
So, enjoy! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorite-d, and followed this thing. It's really appreciated. I think I'll do some individual responses to reviews in the next chapter :D
Weeks later, Kai sat in the central park of Ninjago city, hanging his head. He was alone on the bench in front of the Titanium Ninja statue. As usual, the falcon was perched on it's shoulder, looking into the distance.
Probably at the rebuilding. After the destruction of New Ninjago City, Cyrus Borg was leading the construction process to recreate the city, combing technology with the ways of the past. The first and hardest challenge was getting the buildings in place; the Overlord had used many to create his fortress. Cole and Jay were there with Nya, helping out, while Sensei Wu and Lloyd went to check out the villages outside of the city; they would have been affected by the attack of the Golden Master. Garmadon had gone back to monastery with Misako.
Kai sighed; everything was different without Zane. The white ninja should have been there, helping out with recreating the city. But he was gone, and they couldn't do anything about it. Nothing. He felt like a horrible friend, a horrible brother, for not doing what he could to bring the white ninja back.
But Zane was gone. Nothing could be done.
Jay let out a sigh of frustration as his Thunder Raider tank – the one he had hacked on the night of the Overlord's return – got stuck in a pothole. Again.
"You alright, Jay?" Nya asked over the comlinks. She was above him, in her Samurai X suit.
"Yeah. Pothole," he told her, scratching the back of his head. A grunt from Cole interrupted Nya as she began to reply.
"Hey, at least we're nearly finished with this building! Then we can take a break and go around the city."
Who's 'we', dirtbag? Jay thought, gritting his teeth. Ever since his night with Nya he had been very, very fed up with Cole trying to take his girlfriend. He was especially annoyed with the fact that when the Golden Master had been defeated and they had found what was left of Zane, half of his face, she had run into his leader's arms. When he had been standing there. That had only added to his grief: first, he lost his brother. Then, his girlfriend went to another guy – his other brother – for comfort. She didn't seem at all interested in Cole now, though; they had spent a little time talking and he had even started to consider asking her out on a date.
But he was still unsure of it; on that night she had stayed with him, she seemed like she was choosing him; but he couldn't be certain. At all. And why had she been so hesitant when they asked who she was choosing after they saw the movie?
Don't think about it. I'll just ask her once we're done. If she accepts, then maybe we're together again. Otherwise...
"Yeah, but there's still so much work to do," Nya sighed. Jay revved his vehicle's engines again and reversed. The cable attached from the top of the Raider to the skyscraper they were trying to drag back in to place after the Overlord had shifted it's position to make the fortress wall strained with a loud groaning.
"Hey? Mind if anyone helps me get out of this hole?" he asked when the treads wouldn't budge. They just kicked up mud and gravel into the air and onto the roads.
"Yeah, sure buddy," Cole replied cheerfully as he detached his mech from the building and hopped over to him.
"Hey, don't be too - " Jay was cut off by a shout of surprise as Cole bent down and lifted the tank up into the air, took a few steps back and out of the hole, then set it down with a THUMP. The Lightning ninja inside was bounced up, banging his head against the cockpit. Nya giggled over the comlink, and Jay rubbed his auburn head, glaring at Cole.
"You could have been at least a little gentle," he said scathingly.
"Sorry," Cole said, without much of a "sorry" tone. "That's just the way the cookie crumbles."
"Funny, that's just what you said when you said to leave Nya on the Dark Island with the Overlord," Jay hissed. Static crackled.
"What?" Nya asked, sounding more accusing than curious. He hoped she didn't see the little triumphant smirk that danced across his face as his words sank in.
"Er, nothing," Cole responded quickly. "Lets just, uh, get on to fixing this building."
There was little chatter after Jay said that. He could sense the questioning radiating from his girlfriend as they worked.
Well, it was true. He did say that. And I did nearly kill him, Jay reasoned as the skyscraper – an office tower by the looks of it – rumbled across the ground.
"Almost... done..." Nya muttered.
"And... finished!" Cole announced, having gotten over his skittishness over the topic of leaving Nya behind. The tall structure slid into the original place in the city with a resounding boom.
"Whew," Jay said, pressing button on the control panel of the Thunder Raider to open the cockpit. He hopped out. "Glad that's done." Nya landed in her towering red-and-gold mech with a whirring of engines, and she leaped out and onto the ground.
"Yeah," she murmured. Taking off her helmet. Sweat was glistening on her brow, and she moved her hand to wipe it off. "Well, now I have to find Kai and then..."
Now or never, Jay. You can do this.
"Hey, Nya," He began, walking up to her with his hands clasped behind his back nervously. "So, I was wondering, if, um, you wanted to go walk around town later this evening!" he blurted out, not thinking of his words. "And then maybe we could go get some dinner somewhere..." Kai's sister blushed at the invitation.
Come on, come on, accept! He was desperate for her to say yes. If she refused, he'd be crushed, and might be a sign she preferred Cole to him.
"Sure! I mean – where? Here?" she asked, her cheeks getting redder. Jay laughed nervously.
"Maybe Jamanakai village! It never got attacked, and I know you love it there!" She had told him that on one of the moments they had shared together on the Bounty. But none were as great as...
"Oh, yeah!" she said brightly. "Six o'clock tonight? I'm free..."
"Yeah!" Jay almost yelped with excitement. "See you then!"
Nya walked over to him, gave him a very brief hug, then turned and headed towards the park to find her brother. As soon as she was out of earshot. He began doing his victory dance, smiling hugely as he danced across the rocky ground.
"Oh, yeah, you did it, oh yeah, you asked her," he sang, flashing his gaze towards Cole. The Earth ninja was still in the mech, staring up at the building he had just moved. He didn't seem to have noticed Jay's invitation to Nya.
Well, Cole, all you love is cake. I love Nya. Ha ha.
A few hours later, the Jay was in front of the mirror in their quarters on the Destiny's Bounty, brushing his hair as he leaned against the dresser, humming. "Lookin' good, Jay," he said quietly to himself, grinning. He patted down his orange-ish hair, then rubbed some lotion on his face; the days were hot and dry, and so was his skin most of the time from working on rebuilding.
"Gotta look good," he told himself. "Gotta make a good impression."
The door swung open behind them, and Jay jumped around, startled; he bet it would be Cole; but it wasn't. Lloyd walked in, grinning.
"Just got a call from my dad," he said, a hint of pride in his voice. "He said the girls at his monastery are really wanting to see me." He looked the older ninja up and down. "What are you getting all dressed up for?"
"A date with Nya, and I'm not getting 'all dressed up'," Jay told the green ninja, adjusting the sleeves on his jacket; he was wearing a simple blue jacket with a white T-shirt and jeans for this one; they were walking around Jamanakai village, not some fancy restaurant or a dancing date, like they'd done before. He wanted to be casual.
"Oh, you got that whole thing with Cole resolved?" Lloyd said pushing Jay out of the way to brush his hair. "That's cool. By the way, you might see Sensei there. He said he would stay in Jamanakai for a while longer after we finished checking out the villages."
"Er, yeah, I did, and great!" he lied about the matter with Cole, scowling. "Well, see you later! I have to pick up Nya!" He threw the last words over his shoulder as he stepped away from the dresser and out of the room. As he walked down the hall towards Nya's room, he muttered to himself. "It's okay, you can do this, you've taken her to a lot fancier things than a walk, Jay!" He had been dating Nya for almost two years now and he had embarrassed himself a lot of times on those dates. Mostly because of etiquette or personal fears. But this was a casual walk-with-my-girlfriend-in-her-favorite-place kind of thing. It couldn't be hard at all.
But this was very, very nerve-wracking for him, because Jay felt it was the day their relationship would rekindle or...
Rekindle. Think positive! She most likely likes you! Not Cole! Heh, heh...
Sweat was making Jay's hands clammy as he forced himself to walk forward towards Nya's door. Shakily, he clenched his fingers into a fist and knocked irregularly on the wooden door.
"H-hey, Nya!" he called after he knocked. "It's Jay, uh, yeah, we're going to Jamanakai village, and er, I'm here..."
The door swung open to reveal Nya in her Samurai X suit, her hair messy from the helmet.
"Oh, hey Jay!" she said, redness creeping into her face. Jay grinned nervously. "Sorry, just got back from a report of some rogue nindroids outside of the city. Turned out to be some birds with black and red feathers."
"Sounds fun," Jay said with sarcasm hinting in his voice. She laughed.
"Yeah, I just wasted and hour and a half for that!" she told him as she removed her armor, which revealed the dress she usually wore. Jay didn't care; she looked amazing.
"You look..."
"Come on, Jay," she giggled, taking his hand. "What are we taking there?"
"Heh heh... I mean, uh, Kai told me that he was taking us down there in his jet," Jay replied nervously. She rolled her eyes.
"Kai is so protective," she muttered.
"He can be an annoying jerk sometimes," Jay sighed.
"Yeah."
There was an awkward pause as they headed out on the deck together. As they passed one of the rooms, P.I.X.A.L poked her silver head out, watched them for a few seconds, then retreated inside once more. Beside him, Nya sighed.
"Poor P.I.X.A.L," his girlfriend murmured and pressed a little closer to Jay. "She's lost Zane, and seeing us probably reminds her of him."
"Mmm Hmm," Jay said, having flashbacks of his dead brother. He was glad Zane had found happiness at last, but it had been so close to the end...
"Jay, are you alright? I hope you aren't turning into a snake again..." Nya said, gently poking him in the arm as they walked up the short set of stairs and onto the open deck. The breeze blew their hair to one side; Jay scowled. He had worked for a while to get the hair he wanted for tonight.
"No, I'm fine, really," he assured her. "I'm just thinking about Zane."
"I miss him too," she said softly. "But come on, Kai's over there!" Her voice regained it's cheerfulness from earlier, although it was dampened.
Jay's eyes brightened as they walked hand-in-hand to Kai's flaming red jet, with the red ninja leaning up against the cockpit.
"Okay, rules. Mr. Walker, you get to take my sister out into town. That's it. You can go have dinner and stuff but don't do anything else. Number Two - "
"Kai!" Nya snapped. "You gave us this talk before!" When Jay had taken Nya out on to a dance in the city, Kai had given them a very long lecture on something like "COME HOME STRAIGHT AFTER THE DANCE AND IF I DON'T SEE NYA IN HER BED BY 11:00 PM THIS TEAM IS WITHOUGHT LIGHTNING!" It had been pounded into his head very well.
"Fine. But you know the rules. "IF I DON'T SEE NYA - "
"Calm down, Kai!" Jay sighed. "I know. 11:00 PM sharp. We'll be here by then, I promise!" He hopped into the back of the cockpit that Kai had modified to fit two passengers and one pilot. Nya flipped over the edge and was seated in front of him. Jay slid his hands through a gap between the seat and the fighter and hand her hands. She squeezed his and turned her head to give him a little smile.
"And don't do anything out of line!" Kai told him loudly from the pilot's seat. "Or I kill you."
"Alright, alright!" Jay sighed and gave Nya a kiss on the cheek, just to annoy the Fire Ninja.
"THAT IS OUT OF LINE - "
"Kai, shut up!" Nya slapped her brother upside the head and turned around to give Jay a big kiss on the lips. Jay raised a challenging eyebrow at the Fire ninja as he responded. Kai's face got redder and redder. When the two of them finally pulled away, smoke was literally coming from his ears.
But he didn't say anything, thankfully, and the jet lifted off into the air. Jay made sure his belt was buckled before letting out a whoop as they did a sudden dive into the clouds. Nya laughed and turned around to kiss him once more. When she was finished, he leaned forward and kissed her.
"Stop that!" Kai shouted. "Stop kissing my sister, Jay!"
The reaction from Jay was to simply kiss Nya again.
Yeah, he is protective...
After fifteen minutes of antagonizing Kai with their displays of affection, they landed outside of Jamanakai village. The cockpit popped open with a hiss, and Jay flipped out. He reached out his arm to help Nya out, and she took it. When she got out of the jet, she gave the blue ninja a big hug. Kai gritted his teeth.
"Bye," he growled as he closed the cockpit. "11:00 PM! Or..." His words were drowned out by the sound of the jet rising, then shooting off, back towards the Bounty. Jay turned to Nya, and took her hand in his. She smiled at him – a real smile, not just one to annoy her brother – and they walked into the small mountain village.
As usual, snow was covering the tops of all of the shops and homes, and a chilling northern air blew through the street. Nya shivered beside him. Almost instinctively Jay slipped off his blue jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Thanks," Nya said, shuddering from the cold. "I should have worn a sweater or something."
"It's f-fine," Jay replied, shivering, as he rubbed his arms to warm them up. All he was wearing was a white T-shirt. Nya rolled her eyes and came closer to him.
"No, it's not. I don't want you freezing to death," she said sternly. Jay grinned at her tone.
"It's not that b-bad..."
"Then why are yous shivering every moment?" Nya turned on her heels, standing to front of him. She put her hands firmly on his shoulders. "We need to find some dinner somewhere. With warm food. But for now..." Nya leaned forward and pressed a kiss onto his cheek. He blinked a couple times as her lips came in contact with his cold skin. It felt good. He smiled almost stupidly as she pulled away, her chocolate brown eyes filled with concern. "There? Does that warm you up?"
"Yeah..." Jay sighed, staring at her dreamily. Once again, this affection wasn't to annoy someone; it was for real, and that changed everything. It felt different. She smiled and took his hand once more. They continued to walk along, looking at all of the low roofed buildings for any restaurants. So far, all there was were some family-owned shops and houses. Nothing to eat, yet.
"So, Nya," Jay began. "Do you want to do something after this? Like, uh..." His mind went blank for a moment, trying to the think of something to do.
"Maybe we could just talk," she murmured. "When we get back, I mean, because I want to tell you something..."
"Can't you tell me now?" Jay asked. But before she could reply, he saw a big sign painted above a large home in the village circle. "Ooh, look! Food!" He pointed to the shop with excitement. Nya's eyes brightened.
"Awesome!" Nya exclaimed. "I'm starving!" They let go of each others hands' to jog towards the restaurant. Jay got there first, and held the door for Nya, who reach it a second later. She smiled and stepped inside. Jay followed, glad to get out of the cold.
The restaurant was a small place with few patrons, so Jay and Nya took a seat on one of the booths right up on the wall. They sat across from each other for a while before someone, a woman in a white Chinese-style dress came to their table with a pad of paper.
"Hello, and welcome! What can I get for you today?" She sounded pleasant enough, with a slight accent.
"Uh... Nya? What do you want to get?" he asked, turning to his girlfriend. She glanced at the menus that had been set on the tables. They were written on simple sheets of parchment, nothing too fancy.
"I'll take... the medium rice and teryaki chicken combo with a salad on the side," she decided after a moment.
"I'll have the same," Jay told the waitress after she had written the order. She nodded and walked away to get their order. They say for a while before Jay began talking.
"So, what do you want to tell me?" he asked, reaching his hand over the table. She took it, frowning slightly.
"Well... You know the whole thing with the Perfect Match machine and Cole being that match..." she didn't meet his eyes for a second.
"Yeah," Jay replied, not sure where this was going. Is she... telling me who she'll pick? "What about it?"
"Well... I've decided who I'm picking," she finally admitted, her chocolate eyes meeting his sapphire blue ones. "It's... You, Jay. I know I like Cole, he's strong and all, but you... I want you by my side for the rest of my life." Her voice was very quiet as she spoke, and her cheeks were very, very red. Jay stared at her for a moment before leaning forward to kiss her. She leaned forward and they met, eyes closed.
They had barely made contact when the waitress came back. They pulled away abruptly. Jay frowned slightly at the woman with their food, but she didn't seem to take any notice. "Here you go!" she said cheerfully. "Enjoy your meal!" Jay pulled out some money to pay, and gave it to her. Once she had left, they tucked into their meals.
"This is good chicken," Jay noted after eating nearly half of the serving. "I wonder if I could get some to go." Nya giggled.
"I personally like the salad," she told him. "It reminds me of cherry blossom trees."
"Hey, there's a park that my mom used to take me to when I was little," he said, lifting some rice to his mouth with chopsticks. "It's full of those trees. Maybe we could go there when we're done here."
"That would be nice," Nya said, finishing off the leaves of her salad. She began moving on to the chicken.
"Yeah, it's around the Forest of Tranquility, pretty small, but it's really nice. There are these rare birds - "
Suddenly, the door to the restaurant flew open, off of it's hinges and onto one of the tables. Almost immediately, Jay was on his feet, a katana poised in defensive position. Behind him, Nya was brandishing her fan blade, glinting red in the lighting. The rest of the people inside began cowering behind tables and chairs.
A huge, hulking figure stepped inside. It was dressed in bulky black-gray armor on his torso and arms. Two gauntlets protected his arms, gleaming silver. On his legs a kind of metal skirt went around the back of his legs and down all the way to his knees. He was wearing back leather boots. The figure's head, though, was the strangest part. It had the head of a dragon, with strangely human eyes, a long snout with fangs bristling from it, and a ridge of spikes going from between it's pointed ears and down his back. It was holding two black katanas. It's purple eyes scanned the restaurant before setting it's evil gaze on Jay and Nya.
"You are one of the ninja that the prophecy speaks of!" he roared, pointing his blades at Jay. His voice was raspy but deep, and menacing. "Stand down or I will kill you!"
"Not happening, lizard face!" Jay snapped back. "Ninja-GO!" He whirled into action, using Spinjitzu to knock the enemy outside the door. He was instantly transformed, from a young man in a white T-shirt and jeans to a ninja, his lightning-patterned robes and mask gleaming. The dragon warrior was on the ground, growling.
Jay took a quick look around, and his heart nearly stopped with what he saw: the dragon people were all around Jamanakai village, bringing the people out of buildings and lining them up. Jay turned back to his own fight.
"Who are you, and what are you doing in Ninjago?" he hissed. The dragon laughed.
"You'll learn once I destroy you!" he snarled, then leaped to his feet with a katana in one hand and a long serrated blade clenched in his other fist. With a roar, the warrior launched himself at Jay. The blue ninja barely had time to raise his own sword to defend himself, but he quickly recovered as the dragon's jagged end got stuck on Jay's weapon. He quickly pulled the silver blade back and bright the sharp edge onto the enemy's head. It fell, hissing.
"Jay!"
A familiar voice called from across the circle. Sensei Wu was battling more dragon warriors with his staff, knocking them down at every turn.
Of course! Lloyd said that Sensei would be here, and he was glad that his old teacher was here; he would need help fighting these foes. "Are you here alone?" Wu asked, beating back a dragon bearing a scythe.
"Nya's here with me!" Jay responded, flipping over one of them who ran at him. He cut the black-armored thing down onto the ground.
"Where?"
"Here!" Nya jumped out of the shop, her fan in one hand. "We need reinforcements to fight – who are these guys?"
"Ancient dragon people," Sensei said, dodging attacks left and right to reach his pupils. "When the First Spinjitzu Master created the Serpentine, he also made a race of dragon warriors. They were made to protect the remote edges of Ninjago. As you can see, they have strayed from that path." Jay sighed.
"Just as we defeat the most powerful enemy in all of Ninjago, we get another one who's even worse!" he exclaimed, scowling. "Did the First Spinjitzu Master have to create these guys?"
"Do not lose heart, Jay. You will remain here with me to fight. Nya, go to the ship and get Cole, Lloyd, and Kai. Zane - " He broke off when he remembered. "P.I.X.A.L can manage the Bounty until our return."
"Got it," Nya nodded an affirmative, then turned and gave Jay a kiss on the cheek. "Keep fighting," she murmured, then raced off. She pressed a button on her bracelet: a remote that piloted her mech to the position she was at.
"Now," Sensei said, turning to face the dragons. Jay took a breath and followed suit "We fight."
Alright, a longer chapter! Tell me if you like the Ninja's new foe and stuff. More is revealed about them later, and their whole "prophecy" thing.
My idea with the Dragon Warriors is that we've seen Ninja fighting an army of ninja (the Nindroids), so why not Samurai warriors? That's my idea, anyway...
I personally like writing Kai's annoyance at Jay and Nya as much as Nya likes that salad.
I hoped you like it!