Chapter 14 - New Perspectives

"Still awake, Kai? Rest is important you know."

Kai whirled around, fast enough to make his head spin. There, just a couple of feet behind him, stood the Admiral. His skin was pale and he seemed smaller than he had before. As if the weight of everything had caused him to shrink into himself, but Kai could care less. The man was alive. That's all that really mattered.

"Admiral!" He exclaimed, stumbling to stand. "You're alright!"

"Well, of course." The Admiral nodded his head with a sly smile. "Why, it'll take much more than that to get rid of me."

"We were all worried that. . ." Kai shook his head. "But it doesn't matter. We really need your help now. Garmadon and Lloyd are gone and there's just no way off of the island. We got the spider venom that you mentioned, but there's not really a point to having it if we're stuck here. Who knows how bad things are in Ninjago now. We don't know what to do."

"Hmm," Wu said. "That does seem like we're in quite a bit of trouble."

"Yes," Kai said, a slight tone of irritation in his voice. "We're very much in trouble. We need to get back. How can we do that?"

"Well, I don't know." The Admiral gave a small shrug. "We are marooned on the island. There is not much we can do, other than wait."

Kai felt a strong wave of disappointment ripple through him. It had been childish to believe that the Admiral could hold all the answers, but Kai had believed it anyway. But the Admiral had absolutely nothing to offer. They were as stuck as before.

"We can't wait," Kai pressed, trying to push away the weight of all the negative and unwanted thoughts buzzing in and out of his mind. "Lloyd could be in trouble."

"You seem really worried about my nephew." Wu's voice was far too calm for Kai's liking. He didn't know if the man was simply downplaying his emotions, or if he truly was so unconcerned. "Why is that?"

"Why are you not?" Kai shook his head. "Anything could have happened. And you aren't worried?"

"Lloyd. . . Well he is very resilient."

"Maybe, but he's just a kid. He shouldn't. . . This shouldn't be one of his problems. He should be enjoying as much as he can of his childhood."

"Some of us must grow faster than others." Wu turned away from the ocean, looking straight into Kai's stressed eyes. "You know that very well, don't you?"

Kai didn't nod, but he knew that the Admiral could see the truth in his eyes. "He shouldn't have to."

"No. None of us should be ushered out of our childhood, but life is not something we can always control."

"I just hope he really is alright," Kai sighed. "I hope Ninjago hasn't fallen apart."

Zane watched the dark ocean before them, fascinated by the way it seemed to carry on forever. It would be so easy to wind up lost at sea, if one didn't know how to use the world around them in order to chart the correct course.

Life was much the same way, Zane figured. One could sail on forever, not knowing where to go, never arriving at a place to call home. Or even sailing to the wrong place altogether, where you could remain stuck for far longer than you mean to, and all because there is fear keeping you from sailing once again.

Zane had thought he was more than happy where he had been. He had a place where he belonged, and he had a purpose. There wasn't much else anyone could ask for, so Zane was always content with what he had, or at least, that's what he told himself, over and over. He had to be grateful. Had to serve the man who had taken him in when he had been lost, without any memory of himself.

But being with Lloyd had made Zane wonder. Perhaps there was more to life than serving others, and protecting others. These things would, of course, always be part of who he was. The thing was, these things didn't have to be all that he was. He could be there for others, but he should also be there for himself.

Listen to his own thoughts and desires in order to figure out who he truly was.

He looked over at the child, who had wound up sleeping out on the deck. At first, his sleep had been fitful, but for now, he seemed to be at peace. Zane hoped the child would have pleasant dreams. He deserved that much, at the very least.

Zane turned back towards the ocean, willing the island to grow against the horizon, although he knew it was much too soon to have arrived. They would perhaps reach the island in a day or so, but Zane was anxious for the trip to end.

Ninjago was in dire peril now that it was at the hands of the Djinn. And although Zane was still unsure of who was, or who he wanted to be, there was one thing he knew for sure.

He needed to keep Ninjago and its people safe at all costs.

Kai could almost swear that time had deliberately decided to move slower that day.

There was nothing to do. Nothing. They all pretended to busy themselves with meaningless tasks, but in the end, nothing of importance was done. Cole and Jay searched around for edible fruit. Nya stepped out in order to collect unnecessary firewood. Kai didn't even try to create an excuse. He simply stepped outside to walk, to move before the cave manage to suffocate whatever scraps of sanity he had left.

And worst of all, was the Admiral himself. At this point, Kai had very, very conflicting feelings about the man. Since he was a child, Kai had found himself looking up at the Admiral with awe. The stories of the battles he'd fought and the distances he'd sailed were nothing short of inspiring.

Then, there had been the trip to rescue Nya. Although The Admiral had managed to get on Kai's nerves, he had to admit that the older man before him lived to every one of his expectations. He was an excellent teacher, and most of all, an excellent leader.

But after Garmadon had triumphed, everything had gone downhill faster than Kai could keep up with. And now, the man he'd admired for so many years was doing absolutely nothing. He didn't have wisdom to impart. Didn't have a plan. Didn't try to band the people before him together. He did nothing.

It was infuriating, to say the least. But mostly, it was disappointing.

With a sigh, Kai began to turn back, away from his pointless march around the jungle. Before his back could face the sea, he managed to catch a glimpse of something against the horizon. It took a moment to register, but once it did, Kai whirled back around, his eyes wide, searching.

For a second, he feared he'd only imagined it. But no, there it was, a small smudge against the clear sky. A ship.

Lloyd? Garmadon? Perhaps someone else entirely. It didn't matter. It was a ship. A way out of the island. It was something.

He ran to the cave, his heart pumping with anticipation. His loud footsteps echoed as he skidded inside, causing everyone to look up. "There's a ship."

"A ship?" Cole sprang to his feet, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Yeah." Kai nodded. "It's still far but it's definitely heading this way."

Cole trotted towards the cave's exit, yearning to catch a glimpse of the ship himself. Kai turned to look at the others. "It has to be either Lloyd, or Garmadon doesn't it? No one else knows about the island."

"It doesn't matter who it is," Jay said, a smile tugging at his lips. "It's a ship. A ship! We're finally getting out of here!"

"You act like we've been stranded for months." Nya rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile as well. "Well, to be fair, it has felt like months."

"We should go down to the beach and-" Kai stopped, a warning emerging from the back of his mind. The beach. The creatures. True, the first time they'd set foot on the island, they hadn't emerged. But he couldn't be sure such a thing would occur twice. "We need to get as many coconuts as we can. Or anything heavy really. Before the ship gets here."

"Uh. . . Are we going to. . . attack whoever is on the ship?" Jay raised his scarred eyebrow in a questioning manner. "Or did being stuck on an island finally drive you to insanity?"

"Shut up." Kai hissed, and Jay raised his arms in surrender. "But remember how I said we should keep off of the beach? There's. . . Well. . . I don't know exactly what it is, but there's definitely some kind of creature. It tried to eat me. More than once."

"Riiight." Jay muttered.

"You know, maybe I'll just throw you onto the beach, and you'll believe me once you're a monster's snack."

"I'm just saying it sounds a bit. . . crazy."

"You just fought a giant spider and you want to talk about crazy?"

"Okay, okay fair enough."

Cole stepped back into the cave, his eyes shinning with a hope he couldn't hide. "The ship will probably be here just before sundown."

"Well," the Admiral stood, speaking up for the first time. "Do you have a plan to make the beach safe enough to cross, Kai?"

"Yes! That's the island!" Lloyd pumped the air excitedly. "We did it!"

Zane nodded. If he was honest with himself, he could hardly believe it. He had never gone this far on his own. Crossing the ocean with only his mind and a child to aid him was not something he had ever thought he would do. And yet, here he was. They had, indeed, done it.

"Do you think they're all okay?" Lloyd's eyes were glued upon the island, almost fearing it would slip away if he allowed it to move away from his sight.

"I would like to believe so."

"Me too. . ."

Lloyd willed the ship to move faster, his stomach queasy, the tense suspense of whatever the island held keeping his mind on edge.

"I still. . . think. . . you're. . . crazy." Jay's words were more effort than they were worth. His arms were holding tightly a vine, which held up a crudely formed net, above the beach. Within it, lay rocks, coconuts, and other objects Kai had deemed heavy enough to do the job.

"Don't waste your breath. You're struggling as it is." Cole pointed out, as he held the opposite end of the net, without effort.

Jay pouted, but stayed silence, at least for the moment. Kai held onto a net himself, one he was holding up alongside his sister. It was filled with the same materials, things that would hopefully confused the strange creatures roaming beneath the sand.

"You'll see soon enough. Try not to freak out too much when you do though. We are gonna need to move fairly fast."

"I thought you said the ship was almost here." Nya hissed through gritted teeth. "My arms are getting tired."

Tell me about it, Jay thought, although he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Not much longer now." The Admiral replied. He stood almost at the edge of the sand. "Soon the ship will be close enough to swim to."

"Perfect," Kai muttered, and edge of sarcasm in his voice. He was beyond ready to leave the island, but he was not ready to set foot in the war. With his lack of swimming skills, he would have no choice but to cling onto his sister for dear life. Something he knew she would never allow him to forget.

"Be ready," the Admiral stated, raising his arm in preparation to give the signal.

Seconds ticked forward, irritably slow.

The Admiral dropped his arm. "Now!"

In an instant, everyone released the nets, allowing the mismatched objects to tumble onto the sand. Almost instantly, the ground began to shudder. Jay's eyes widened, and Kai couldn't help but smirk.

"Okay we need to go." Kai half shouted, running down the beach as the first of the creatures emerged. Nya kept pace with him, and the both hit the water in unison. The others weren't far behind.

"You were not lying." Jay swam past Kai and Nya, determined to get out of the island as fast as he could. "Wow!"

"You're welcome." Kai responded, struggling to keep afloat, even with Nya's aid.

From the ship, a small excited face peered over the side. Lloyd waved, tossing down a rope over the side of the ship. "Hello!"

"Lloyd!" Jay smiled, reaching for the rope. "Should've known it was you. I've gotta say, I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd be able to sail a ship all the way back to the island."

"Well I had help," Lloyd stated, and Zane stepped into view.

"Zane?" The Admiral reached for the rope, climbing just behind Cole. "How exactly did you manage to reach the island? What is going in Ninjago? Is it only you two on the ship?"

"Yes, it's only us. And we sailed to the island, obviously." Lloyd responded. "And. . . lots of things are going on in Ninjago."

Jay climbed over the side and onto the deck, water dripping endlessly from his clothes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Lloyd said, shifting his eyes away from everyone. "I mean that, well the Djinn is basically in charge now."

"Ah," Cole said, the implications of Lloyd's words causing a dull ache in his chest. "So Garmadon is. . ."

"Yup." Lloyd shrugged, forcing himself to act nonchalant. "But it's fine. There's got to be a way to bring him back, right? I mean. . . I, I still have the teapot. Maybe we can somehow trap him back inside, bring everything back to normal."

"Perhaps," Wu agreed. "I'm sure Misako would know of a way."

"Why don't we just wish for him to fix things?" Jay said, pointing at the small container filled with venom that was strapped to his side. "We hit him with this, he's weakened, we wish. End of story."

"Yeah I'm pretty sure the point of all this is that we shouldn't wish." Kai said, rolling his eyes as he finally reached the deck. "Nothing's gone right for anyone who's done so."

"Okay then what do you suggest?"

Kai remained quiet.

"Thought so."

"No, no." Wu shook his head. "Kai is right. We should stay away from wishing."

"So how do we get my dad back, then?" Lloyd crossed his arms, eyes locked with those of his uncle. "I say Jay is right. The only way to really fix this is to use a wish."

"It would be unwise to-"

"Look," Nya stepped forward, trying to wring the water out of her hair. "We'll figure it out. We've got more than enough time to come up with ideas on the trip back. But I think for now we all deserve some food and rest. We'll think better if we're not exhausted."

"I like that idea," Jay nodded, rubbing his stomach. "It's not like we got much to eat on the stupid island. Plus I could most definitely use some rest."

"It's settled then." Nya nodded. "No more Djinn talk until we're all refreshed."