Author's Note: Hello. First I would like to give a shout-out to all the kind people who have read, reviewed, faved, followed, and just hit my little story. I feel as light as feather right now from seeing the statistics for Unexpected and reading all of your wonderful reviews. Also, please note that I have posted a new fic, so please check it out at your leisure. It has absolutely nothing to do with Unexpected, mind you. It's just something I'm putting together for fun.

Unexpected

By: Mad Betrayal

"A true friend freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably…"—William Penn

Chapter 14 ~ Embarking on the Right Path

Surprisingly, it wasn't long before Lloyd called for Jay and the others back to congregate in his room. As it turned out, Brad had much to say and wasn't shy about telling Lloyd and the rest of his clan what he had endured over the past eleven months as Chen's alleged "Secret Weapon".

Jay sat beside Lloyd on his bed, meticulously caring for the bite wound on his forearm from which Brad had inflicted prior. Though the bleeding had long-since stopped, the grievance still needed immediate attention. And thus, Jay thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the wound before wrapping Lloyd's forearm with gauze.

"Thankfully you don't need stitches…" Jay muttered, casting a wary glance to the one sitting opposite of Lloyd. Brad hung his head, his long, raven tresses obscuring his face from disapproving sapphires.

"Thanks Jay, and don't worry. I'm fine, it didn't even hurt." The blue ninja chose not to comment further at Lloyd's beseeching look and nodded his affirmation to his charge's silent plea.

"Well, Clouse hasn't been seen or heard from since the final battle with Chen—which would be over a month ago now," Kai informed the distraught raven-haired man. "And yeah, while it does suck that he got away, we have no way of tracking him down and bringing him to justice."

"But can this endeavor really be called "justice"?" Sharp, silver eyes fixed on Brad's shadowed face. "Or is this merely vengeance?"

"So what if it is?!" Brad erupted, snapping his head upright. Furious aquamarines clashed with calm silvers. "That bastard murdered my parents as well as helped Chen torture me! Are you saying I should just forgive and forget, while that damned heathen's out there enjoying his miserable life?! Free of consequence!?"

"Brad…" Lloyd braced a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, watching with concern as the raven breathed heavily after his outburst. But Garmadon stood unfazed and quite possibly…unmoved.

"Your vengeance stems from hatred, and that hatred will give birth to destruction. Do you really want to walk down that path, Brad?"

Brad was just about to fire back a rebuttal when Zane stepped forward. "Just a moment, Sensei Garmadon." Like the two clan heads, the ice ninja had his own share of wisdom. And it wasn't unheard of for either Garmadon or Wu to heed his espoused advice. "I do not believe this is right. While your words are wise, the timing is erroneous. From what we have learned from Brad's captivity and how he became imprisoned in the first place, his strong dislike for Clouse is justified."

"What exactly are you saying, Zane?" Garmadon's tone was wary and grave. "That vengeance bred from hate is justified?"

However, despite his teacher's harsh accusation, Zane smiled assuredly. "Not at all, Sensei. I am only stating that Brad has only just awakened and that there is much for him to discover: About this new world that he had been deprived from for almost a year, and most importantly…about himself."

"I agree," Jay voiced. "As of right now, it's not about right or wrong. It's about self-discovery. No offense, Sensei G, but how would you like it if upon waking up from something beyond hellish, someone who can't even imagine what you've gone through starts jumping down your throat about morals?"

Garmadon furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Hmm…I suppose the two of you do have a point… Then what do you propose we do then, Jay?"

The blue ninja shrugged. "We give our support," he said simply and turned to face the bewildered newcomer. "Brad, there's a lot you don't know or otherwise have forgotten. But please understand that none of us are making light about what happened to you. We're not here to tell you what to do, only advise you that runnin' head-first into vengeance and taking on a foe as powerful as Clouse without a plan isn't the best idea. The final decision, though, is up to you."

"Yeah, you're gonna need something much better than your bite to take out Clouse," Kai muttered sardonically. Lloyd frowned and shot the fire ninja a dirty look, but otherwise refrained from speaking.

Brad said nothing and fisted his hands on top of his knees. "Then…what am I supposed to do?" He whispered desperately. "Where am I supposed to go from here?"

Jay's heart couldn't help but go out to Brad—forcefully taken from his home and family, transformed into an older version of himself prematurely by painful experiments meant to turn him into weapon. There was no wonder he was feeling so lost and confuse.

We have to help him… Jay was about to open his mouth to suggest something when Cole—surprisingly—beat him to the punch. "You could go outside," his best friend suggested, eying the raven with sympathetic friendliness. And Brad lifted his aqua eyes to meet Cole's emeralds with shock. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?" He pressed. "Go out there and feel the sun on your face, the wind in your hair. I have no doubt that it would do you some good."

Jay smiled. Cole…

"Though you may not receive much warmth," Zane cut in with a small chuckle. Winter has just begun after all."

Nya grinned at Brad as well. "And you can't go anywhere dressed like that. We'll have to get you some new clothes."

"And—take your measurements," Jay put forth, smirking at Brad's baggy state of dress. "Gotta make sure your new duds fit."

The raven blinked and looked down at himself, only now noticing the clothes covering his body. The green pajama pants he wore were loose around his slim waist, even while sitting down it was noticeable. And the short-sleeved white T-shirt adorning his top was also a size too big, and exposed a hefty portion of his chest as it hung off from his left shoulder.

Lloyd had been trying not to stare at his friend's bare golden skin, and the way his inky tresses touched his neck and shoulders like a waterfall… Trying but obviously not succeeding from Jay's perspective.

Noticing how disheveled he looked, Brad adjusted the shirt as best he could and pulled on the drawstring of his borrowed pants. Red colored his golden cheeks as he tucked a stray raven lock behind his ear. "Um, thank you, but uh…whose clothes am I wearing?"

At Brad's inquiry, Jay's smirk broadened and he playfully nudged Lloyd when the blonde's face turned scarlet. The green ninja scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah…mine," he confessed after a spell. "But it's no big deal…"

Brad looked at his former classmate beside him. It was so easy for Jay to read the signs. He knew that his charge liked Brad in that special way, even if Lloyd didn't realize it himself. He was certain that the foundation for Lloyd's caring was based mainly on deep-rooted friendship. However, that foundation had the potential to expand and develop into something immortal…true love. Jay could feel it.

Heh…they grow up so fast…

Now, he wasn't going to play matchmaker here considering how shy Lloyd was, but he was going to inform Brad about what Lloyd did for him. He has to know…

"It was Lloyd who saved you, Brad," Jay began seriously, meeting both Lloyd and Brad's startled gazes. "It was him who found and gave you a second chance at life."

"Kaasan!" Lloyd's blush reached the tip of his ears now, but despite his embarrassment he turned back to Brad and shook his head frantically. "You don't owe me anything, Brad!" He got out in a rush. "I only did what was natural. Anyone with a heart would've done the same thing."

Kai shrugged. "Maybe, but I don't think anyone would've gone through the extremes you did regardless if their hearts were in the right place or not, especially alone." Sharp golden-amber gems locked with clueless aquamarines. "Do you have any idea how long you were out?"

Slightly intimidated by the narrowed hard-cut stones, Brad stuttered out a response. "My-My sense of time was slightly impaired, but Chen kind of made it his priority to tell me the date every time he came down to the lab for some reason." A grimace suddenly twisted his full butter cream lips. "My last memory before I blacked-out was of Chen ordering Clouse to feed me."

At the mere mention of food, Brad's stomach made its presence known and emitted a loud grumble of complaint. The raven placed his hands over his empty abdomen and immediately blushed.

"Uh…what exactly did you eat?" Lloyd asked and Brad shied away, his long hair obscuring his profile from view.

"Not sure…" he murmured. "My world stayed in green. They pumped some stuff through the tubes that were connected to me, but I have no clue what it was. I never felt hungry though…"

There was a lapse of pensive silence before Kai spoke up again. "Well, when you entered our custody you were still out, of course, and Lloyd took care of you for an entire month."

Kai then proceeded to inform Brad all of what Lloyd did for him, and the more Brad learned, the wider his eyes got. Lloyd fidgeted with embarrassment.

"You…did all that…for me?" Brad looked to Lloyd dumbfounded. And although his cheeks were still doused in fire, the blonde met his eyes unflinchingly.

"You're my best friend, Brad," he said softly. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Lloyd…" It wasn't long before Brad's cheeks were a fine crimson too…and not because of his rumbling stomach.

They're so CUTE! Jay mentally squealed, but managed to keep his outward demeanor calm enough.

Kai braced his hands on his hips and nodded. "Yep, yep—he even let you have his bed while he roughed it on the floor." He smirked and winked roguishly. "Now if that's not true friendship, I don't know what is."

Not another syllable was spoken between the blonde and raven, but their awkward body language spoke volumes. Jay could only imagine what was coursing through each of their minds, and was more than content to watch.

"Okay, okay, I think we embarrassed these two long enough," Cole cut in, taking charge of the situation. "Our new friend is hungry, so why don't we do something about that first." Jay was a little surprised to see Cole's eyes stray to him. "Jay and I can whip up something to sate his appetite I'm sure."

The blue ninja was just about to agree when he spotted the crestfallen look on Nya's face. She was obviously upset that Cole had not included her. Jay's heart pounded as he thought quickly.

"A-Actually Cole, I thought Zane and I could scope out the lab," he said in one breath. "We may not be meteorologists, but we understand the basic principles. We need to look out for those meteors. So…" he swallowed the lump in his throat, "…why don't you and Nya cook something for Brad? I bet it'll be just as good."

The grateful beam his ex sent his way made his heart clench, but he smiled at the pair nonetheless. And while Cole didn't outwardly refute his notion, Jay saw the lights in his eyes dim.

Don't do this, Cole… he pleaded internally. It has to be this way… So please…keep your word…

"Yes, excellent idea, Jay," Sensei Wu said, speaking up for the first time since the group reassembled in Lloyd's room. "We mustn't forget about the ominous words spoken by Brad earlier…"

Everyone looked at the still blushing raven. And when Brad noticed the multiple stares, he peered around himself bemusedly. "What…?"

"Brad, before you awoke you spoke to us… Do you remember?" Sensei Wu asked, but Brad shook his head.

"No…" His expression turned wary. "…What did I say…?"

"What you said...and did..." Sensei Wu then reiterated the strange happening from before: The strange glowing green tendrils that wreathed around Lloyd's injured hand and healed him, as well as the assumed prediction of catastrophic meteors plummeting towards Ninjago.

"Eleven days from now is what you said," Sensei Wu finished. "On the twelfth of December."

Pure confusion riddled Brad's face. "I…don't remember—I'm…I'm sorry." He then turned to Lloyd. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. I can't believe I hurt you twice, when you've done so much for me."

"Water under the bridge," Lloyd smiled.

Sensei Wu's wide-brimmed hat obscured his features as he bowed his head in thought. "Hmm… Brother? Suggestions?"

Garmadon frowned pensively. "We can't ignore this, forewarned is forearmed…" He turned swiftly to Zane and Jay. "Proceed with your notion, Jay and let us know what you two find."

"Hai, Sensei Garmadon," Jay and Zane replied in unison and Garmadon inclined his head before focusing on Brad.

"We shall accommodate you as best we can, Brad. Though we don't have much to offer, we can make you feel at home."

Brad blinked and once again peered at all the friendly faces around him. Then, to everyone's shock, he rocketed to his feet and bowed deeply at the waist. "Thank you! Thank you all so much!"

"Whoa!" Jay gave a slight start as Lloyd abruptly stood and caught the tethering raven before he could fall, the latter panting heavily.

"Lloyd—ugh!"

"Don't worry, I gotcha," Lloyd soothed and guided Brad back to his bed with Jay's help.

"He still needs rest obviously," Jay observed, and then turned to Cole and Nya. "Better get some food in him to help restore his energy."

Nya nodded and took hold of Cole's hand. "Yeah, let's go, Cole!" She said happily.

"Uh…yeah—okay…"

Jay turned briskly away as the pair left hand-in-hand. He fought hard to keep his expression neutral, even as his heart ached in his chest. This…is going to be difficult… But I have to do this…for Nya…

He barely registered Garmadon's next words. "I will allow Brad to stay in your room for now Lloyd, but I believe it may be for the best if he be moved to a spare later. Do you understand?"

Lloyd looked like he wanted to argue, but noticeably clenched his jaw and nodded obediently. "Yes, Dad."

It wasn't long before Garmadon and Wu made their exit as well. Kai and Zane still lingered, talking quietly amongst themselves, but Jay's focus remained fastened on Lloyd and Brad. He smiled brightly. "He said later, bud. So don't worry about it too much, okay?"

Lloyd only frowned, but jumped slightly with surprise when he felt Brad take hold of his hand. "But…I want to stay with you, Lloyd," the raven said, looking at his friend with hope. "I don't want my own room. We shared one at Darkley's…so why can't we share one now? Plus…" A tinge of pink touched his cheeks as his aqua eyes became hooded. "I need you. I want to spend as much time with you as possible. I want you to tell me about all of what you've been doing up to this point. I want to learn how you got the way you are…" A soft, playful grin flitted across his lips. "…And why you're so much bigger than me. You were so short, but now you're a muscular redwood."

Lloyd gave a short cry of laughter, but it was plain to see that Brad's words had affected him greatly. Jay looked on fondly and swiftly dipped his head, coming to a resolution. "When the time comes, I'll talk to Sensei Garmadon, Lloyd. Maybe I can convince him that you two staying together would be the most therapeutic for Brad's development."

Both Lloyd and Brad looked at Jay hopefully. "You think you can, kaasan?" Lloyd asked, and Jay puffed his chest and jutted a thumb at himself boastfully.

"Just leave it to your kaasan! After all, I can be pretty persuasive when I want to be."

Lloyd was the first to react and stood up to hug Jay around the waist. "Thanks, kaasan," he said softly and Brad seconded it.

"Yes, thank you, Jay-Seonbae."

Releasing Lloyd, Jay cocked an eyebrow at Brad. "Huh? San—bay…?"

Unexpectedly, however, it was Lloyd who clarified the meaning of the foreign word. "Yeah, Brad's half Korean and "Seonbae"is an honorific. It's basically a term of respect for older colleagues or mentor-figures."

"Ohhh…" Jay grinned, understanding fully and reached down to touch Brad's hand. "I'm honored you feel comfortable enough to call me that, but once you get to know the others I'm sure you'll be Seonbae-ing all over the place."

Brad stole a quick glance at Zane and Kai. "I…think so too." Cool aquamarines then found Lloyd's gaze. "Hey, do you think you could take me outside later?" Brad asked, suddenly excited. "I want to do what Cole said."

"Sure!" Lloyd sat back down beside his bed-ridden friend and the two easily segued into playful banter and camaraderie. Not minding being ignored for the time being, Jay slipped into a moment of silent contemplation. And the topic? The aforementioned Cole, of course. Despite just coming back from two days of being alone with him, Jay had wanted to spend even more time with his best friend. But when the chance had presented itself—when Cole had opened his arms…he had shot him down. He knew it had to be done, he couldn't hog Nya's new boyfriend all to himself…no matter how much he wanted to.

A heavy and dark shadow started to creep unto Jay's face, but he desperately optimized his thoughts. No, I said that being Cole's best friend would be enough…and it is… It has to be… He then rubbed at his face tiredly. With time, Jay… With time…

He was suddenly pulled from his musings by the feeling of a gloved-hand firmly grasping his. "Huh? Zane?"

Jay's nindroid brother smiled at him. "Come, let us go to your laboratory, Jay."

A little lost, the blue ninja blinked and peered over Zane's shoulder to the doorway looking for Kai…but the red ninja was nowhere to be found.

*~XxX~*

Down in the laboratory, Zane and Jay worked diligently in finding out if Brad's ill-omened prediction had any merit or not. The miniature T.V. in the corner of the room droned in the background, the weatherman on-screen gesturing vaguely at a frost-ridden backdrop. Temperatures were due to drop to below zero tonight, and the first snowfall was expected the following day and last throughout the week.

No mentions of an incoming meteor shower though…

"We are now connected to the XZA satellite." Zane's nimble fingers flashed expertly across the keyboard, his eyes focused on the monitor before him. The computer gave one last distorted buzz before clearing up completely and displaying the endless void that was space.

The grin that threatened to split Jay's face in half was nothing short of fox-like, and he cracked his fingers with barely contained readiness. "Right-o, Zane! I'm sure the NNSA (North Ninjago Space Association) will forgive us for hacking into their network, but if not…WHO CARES! It's for the good of the planet, baby!"

Manning his own workspace, Jay typed in varies codes to break through the network's security encryption. "Okay, first we'll run a thorough analysis around Ninjago's orbit, and then we'll branch out bit by bit to see if we find any activity around the moon. Zane, I need you to affix the signal of the XZA and make it bounce off of Sigma in 5…4…3…2…1…NOW!"

"Affixing signal!" Within seconds both monitors changed their displays and a wider range of sight was granted. The perfect blue and green sphere of Ninjago was now visible, and Jay immediately started to initialize the first round of orbital analysis.

"Cool, now all we have to do is wait… How riveting does that sound?" Jay remarked sarcastically and leaned back in his revolving chair. He folded his arms behind his head and yawned loudly, fixing his gaze to the ceiling.

"You know something Zane, Cole and I haven't even been here for a day yet and already so much has happened." He laughed lightly. "Wild, huh?"

Zane nodded and turned to his friend. "Yes, much has transpired in the short amount of time since you and Cole returned from visiting your parents in the Sea of Sand."

Jay kept a lazy eye on the percentage rate of the analysis, but it was going way too slow for his taste. And since complete silence wasn't exactly his thing… Remembering something, he sat up straighter and whirled his chair around to face Zane, his deep blue eyes bright and excited. "So hey, have you gotten a chance to speak with Kai yet?"

Zane, however, just tilted his head curiously. "Yes, I have spoken with Kai a number of times today."

Jay resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Zane—buddy, try a little harder on not being so oblivious, will ya?" Too bad there's not a switch for that… "I'm talking about him and you going to the Christmas parade together."

Now, everyone knows Zane is incapable of blushing. Hell, there were times that Jay thought his nindroid brother was absolutely shameless! But at that moment…something happened. A hitch in his speech, a shy glance downward… Although quick, Jay saw the tell-tale signs of smitten embarrassment.

"I… Yes, I—I have spoken to Kai about the matter and from our conversation I was able to find out quite a number of things…"

"Such as…?" Jay prompted, and Zane actually fidgeted. Although brief and probably unperceivable to the untrained eye…Jay saw it.

"As… As it turns out, Kai and Lloyd are not together…"

Jay smirked. "Well after seeing what happened between Lloyd and Brad earlier, I'd definitely say so," he ribbed, but Zane carried on calmly.

"…And Kai will be escorting me to the Christmas parade. It is…a legitimate date."

Genuinely happy for his older brother, Jay cheered. "Awesome! I'm really happy for you two, Zane!" He peeked over at his monitor. Lloyd and Brad, Cole and Nya… I'm happy for all of them… The display read 76%.

"Jay?" The blue ninja turned back to Zane to find him staring at him most seriously.

"Yeah?"

"Would like to accompany me and Kai to the Christmas parade?"

If Jay hadn't been shocked into stillness, he would've face-palmed. Instead, however, after of moment of 'WTH', he sighed exasperatedly. He eyed the ice ninja with a lopsided grin. "Why Zane, are you actually inviting me to be the third-wheel on you and Kai's date?" He asked sardonically, clasping his hands together in the most dramatic fashion. "Is that your Christmas gift to little ol' me, big bwother?"

But of course Jay should've of known that any form of sarcasm or irony for that matter sails right over the nindroid's head. A blank look. "Third…wheel? I am not familiar with that terminology."

This time, Jay did manage to perform a face-palm. "Of course not! You've never been on a date before!" He lowered his hand. "Have you?"

He was promptly rewarded with the same blank expression. "What?"

"Never mind…" He graced the other with a sincere, appreciative smile. "Look Zane, if this is about Cole then thanks, but no thanks, okay. I'm a big boy and can take care of myself. Besides, it's not like I'll be alone that evening."

"Then, what will you do?" Zane asked, not bothering to hide his concern. But Jay waved him off.

"Oh I'm sure I'll think of something when the time comes." Sapphires found themselves straying back to the monitor—97%. Jay swiveled his chair around to face the computer properly. "And in any event, you and Kai need this time together. If you want to be in a relationship, it's best to spend as much time as possible together."

I can't hog him…

"That one-on-one time is especially important. It gives you the chance to really connect."

I can't be in the way…again…

As the percentage rose to 100%, Jay's vision suddenly blurred. He huffed and tapped the monitor with a finger. "C'mon, what's wrong with this thing?" He tried hard to ignore the tears running down his face. "Stupid computer…" His voice was barely above a whisper. "Dammit… Dammit it all to hell…"

Arms encircled him from behind and Jay's head fell forward hopelessly. "God, I miss him… I miss him so much, Zane…" he choked raggedly. "I haven't been out of his company for more than a couple of fuckin'-hours and I miss him terribly! How can I let him go when he said, he loved me? *Sniff* How can I…"

The word that Jay had swallowed this morning had refused to be buried and subdued, and stirred violently within him. He had said so himself that love wasn't something a person could turn 'on' and 'off' like a switch. So he should've expected the terrible pain he would be inflicted with, for until Jay could let go of Cole romantically—to sever the bond that had just been so beautifully forged—he would have to endure this insufferable pain. All because he wanted Nya to be happy.

Jay soft sobs filled the laboratory and both ninja briefly forgot about the findings on their monitors.

Author's Note: Please leave your thoughts!