I am hammering these chapters out, apparently xD. Hello again, and only ten days after the last update!

Watcher321: Thanks! :D I'm excited for Cole too.

RandomDragon: Yep, Jay's back where he belongs!

FullMetalPon-3: Ninjago, in general, is Lloyd suffering, so...

NaninaDaPanda: Hey, thanks! We're not over yet, so hang in there ;)

Summerstorm108: Haha, yep! And actually, when we hit chapter 41, I'll be switching over to a new artist! So enjoy it while it lasts, I guess xD

Side note, if anyone actually reads these, but Skyward is almost at 100 followers. I might do something to celebrate when we hit it, so does anyone have any suggestions?

Previously on Skyward:

Lloyd took a deep breath. "Tell me the Green Ninja prophecy," he demanded. "All of it."

"The prophecy stated: 'One ninja shall rise above the rest and become the green ninja, who shall possess the power to defeat the dark lord.'"

"And you think the dark lord is my dad."

"The prophecy was unclear on a time frame," Zane said. "It's entirely possible you won't come across him for years."

Jay's eyes widened. 'Zane? What- what are you doing here?'

"We're a team, Jay," Kai said. "That means we stick together no matter what."

"Get back!" Zane shouted. "It's his true potential!"

"How is he?"

Kai's voice came from the doorway. Nya, stationed in the corner, didn't answer him immediately. She studied the sleeping blue ninja through the red lens of her visor.

"I think he's gonna be okay," she said finally. "The doctors said the amputations went smoothly. They didn't question the Fangpyre story."

"Good." Kai sounded haggard. He lowered himself into the chair beside the bed. "That's one less thing to worry about."

Nya nodded. Jay was currently laying in a hospital bed, the stumps of his wings wrapped and bandaged and an IV drip connected to his arm. They'd planned on treating him on the Bounty, but Nya had taken one look at his wounds and realized none of them had the necessary medical knowledge or experience for treating them. Thus, she'd suited up and brought Jay to the city hospital claiming she'd found him after a serpentine attack.

"Kai," she started, lowering her voice, "what happened to him? If I didn't know better, I'd think this was the result of a Fangpyre bite."

Kai breathed out slowly. "I don't know, sis. You saw the, uh, wings- but he had a tail too, and horns."

"So this isn't one of your weird dragon things."

"No. This never happened to me or Zane. Fire said our dragon powers could take over, but she always described it as one of us changing into a dragon one day and never changing back."

Nya frowned. "Fire... the dragon. Like Earth."

"Yep."

Dragons don't have very unique names, Nya thought privately. "So should I be worried that this will happen to Cole?"

"No. Yes?" Kai huffed. "Ugh, I don't know."

They drifted off into silence. Nya took off her helmet but kept the domino mask on- it wouldn't do to have her identity outed right now, especially with Jay vulnerable. She downed half of the water bottle she'd swiped from the vending machine earlier. Drops of water ran down the sides of the plastic.

"Hey, Kai?"

"Yeah?" Kai shifted so he faced her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Nya said, rolling her eyes. "How do you control your powers?"

"My powers?" Kai blinked. "Where'd that come from?"

Nya shrugged. "I'm curious. Indulge me."

"Uh?" Kai scratched the back of his neck. "I just kinda do it?"

Nya gave him a dry look. "Very helpful," she said, drawing out the 'very'.

"Okay, okay." Kai bit his lip. "Uh, it's like I have this ball of fire inside me."

"Ball of fire?"

"Well, when you say it like that it just sounds stupid."

"Believe me, Kai, I don't have to do anything to make you sound stupid."

Kai shoved her shoulder. "Shut up, idiot. How else do you want me to explain it? It's like there's this fire inside me and I just, I dunno, tap into it when I use my powers. Satisfied?"

"Hmm, yeah."

"Good. No, but seriously. Why do you wanna know?"

Nya hesitated. She should tell Kai. They'd always made it a policy, to be honest with each other. But Kai had run off to the edge of the world without telling her. And it was a nice feeling, to know something he didn't...

"I knew something was wrong!"

Nya startled violently. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You're upset," Kai said. "And mad now, too."

Wait a minute. Is he-

"Well, of course I'm mad now!" Nya said, scowling. "Stop invading my thoughts, you jerk! Don't you have basic human decency?"

Kai jerked back like she'd slapped him. Their banter had taken a steep dive into serious territory, and both of them felt it. "I'm not invading your thoughts, I'm feeling your emotions!" He scowled back. "And it's not like I can help it. You're only projecting them for all of Ninjago to feel."

"Well, have you ever tried not to?" Nya said. "Or do you always casually disregard the privacy of everyone around you?"

"Don't tell me what to do," Kai said. "You're not my mom."

The only way to make that statement more childish would be for him to stick his tongue out, thought Nya mutinously.

They sat in tense silence for several minutes. "Where are the others?" Nya eventually asked. "I haven't seen them for a while."

"They went to get Lloyd snacks from the cafeteria," Kai said. "Did you want something? It's not I would know, since, you know, I don't read minds."

"Nachos would be great," Jay rasped.

Nya whirled around. "Jay! You're awake!" She rushed over to the bedside, Kai right beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"'m tired," Jay said. He blinked slowly at the ceiling. "What happened?"

Nya shared a look with Kai. In a quick unspoken agreement, they dropped their argument for later. "How much do you remember?" asked Kai.

"Uh..."

"You got your power boost," Nya said, when it seemed he wasn't going to continue.

"Yay," Jay said. "And I had dragon wings n' stuff?"

"Yeah."

A nurse came into the room then, checking his monitors and asking him questions. Kai and Nya faded into the background.

"He doesn't seem to remember much," Kai said worriedly.

"That's probably the anesthesia talking," Nya said. "He'll be more alert once it wears off."

"I'm not sure I want it to wear off," Kai said. "That's gonna hurt like hell." He stiffened. Behind Nya, Jay went silent mid-sentence too. Nya glanced between them, dread pooling in her stomach. "Kai, what's going on?"

"Garm'don?" Jay whispered. "What?"

"Garmadon?" Nya repeated. No. It can't be. "What about him? He's not…"

"Oh, yes he is," Kai snarled. He looked around the cramped space of the waiting area, eyes wild. "We're defenseless. I can't use my powers here, or change."

"Hey, don't count me out," snapped Nya. She jerked on her helmet and spun to glare at him. "I don't need powers to fight that no good son of a-"

"Kai!" Lloyd bolted into the room. He pulled the curtain closed and fell back against the nearby stand. "We have to get out of here right now!"

"Where is he, Lloyd?" demanded Kai.

"What's going on?" asked the nurse.

Nya glanced around the room. They couldn't leave, not without Jay. And there was no way to move him fast enough, not while he was still connected to so many monitors. "You need to go," Nya told him. "Trust me. You don't want to be here when he gets here."

"He was in the big waiting room," Lloyd said, practically tripping over his words. "Me and Cole were on our way up and- and-"

"Where's Cole now?" asked Nya. She moved to the foot of the bed to stand protectively before Jay.

"He said he was gonna warn people. So did Zane, but he was somewhere else when my dad showed up."

Kai shuddered. His eyes darted to each of them, panic clear in them. "He's coming. I can feel him- and yeah, Nya, I'm sensing his feelings in case you've still got a problem with that."

"Shut up," Nya said. "How far away is he?"

"Close." Kai twitched violently. "And he's really strong."

"Well, if isn't the heroes of Ninjago."

The curtains parted. Lord Garmadon stood in their place, dark against the sterile background. His eyes gleamed. His teeth sparkled. His... four hands? held the curtains open? Nya stared. What even is my life.

"Garmadon," Kai spat. "What are you doing back here? Ready to get your butt handed to you again?"

"Don't tempt me," Garmadon snarled. "I'm here for my- Lloyd?" The dark lord's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Dad." Lloyd's hand jerked forward like he wasn't sure if he should stay where he was or run to his father. "Uh, Jay's in the hospital so I'm here visiting him?"

"No. Why are you in the city? I've been looking for you." Garmadon took a step towards him. Nya stepped forward automatically, Kai at her side, and he paused. "Wu told me that you had been taken by serpentine."

Lloyd stared at him, eyebrows rising into his hairline. "You came back just for me?"

"Sensei Wu sent you?" asked Kai at the same time. He shared a look with Nya. Yeah, this is shady, she agreed.

"I find that hard to believe," she said, shifting her weight to one leg. "Sensei Wu said he was leaving to find someone to help us. You're honestly telling me he went to find you?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I did."

The curtains parted again. Sensei Wu stepped through. His hat looked a bit worse for wear, as did his clothes, but his expression was firm as he looked over the group.

"Sensei?" said Kai.

Nya looked away from him, mind racing furiously. Sensei Wu did go to get him? But- why? Why am I not good enough, but he is? She clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.

"No. No, how could you?" She whirled on him, glaring. "You told me you were going to find someone to help. Not to bring back Ninjago's current enemy! We have enough trouble as it is without him interfering."

"Yeah, Sensei, the whole reason we've been training is to keep him from coming back." Kai pulled Lloyd closer to him, a motion that did not escape Garmadon's notice.

"Step away from my son."

"Or what? You'll kill me?" Kai snorted. "Good luck, buddy."

Garmadon raised an eyebrow. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Kai spread his arms. "Do you honestly think you could take me on? You have no idea what I can do now."

Nya almost facepalmed. She settled for flaring her nose instead. Why is he like this?

Garmadon seemed just as confused. "Fascinating," he said. "You really have no survival instinct."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Kai!" Cole came skidding into the already cramped room, Zane at his heels. The poor nurse looked like he was going to pass out. "Don't let him get to your head. Focus, bud."

"Both of you, stop antagonizing each other!" snapped Zane. He stepped into the center of the group, separating Sensei Wu and Garmadon from the rest of the ninja. "Can we calm down and discuss this rationally?"

"Excuse me!"

Conversation froze. Nya turned her head towards the bed, where the nurse was suddenly looking much less confident. He swallowed and forced himself to his full height. "I'm not entirely sure who all of you are, but this patient needs rest, so if you'd kindly move your meeting outside?"

Five minutes later, they were all standing in an awkward circle in the small sitting area.

"So," said Zane.

"You have four arms," Nya said, just to get that off her chest.

Garmadon grinned at her. It wasn't as flashy as his previous ones, Nya thought. "Good to see you're capable of counting."

"Sensei," Cole started, "why is he here?"

"Simple, Cole. I brought him here to deal with the serpentine threat, and as I hear it now, the dragon one too."

"There is no dragon threat," Kai said immediately.

10/10 Kai, Nya thought. She mentally slow-clapped.

Sensei Wu gave him a disappointed look. "Hmm? Perhaps you have allowed yourselves to slack off in my absence. A dragon was seen several days ago, attacking a village in Eastern Ninjago." He sighed, leaning heavily on his staff. "I was wrong, in my youth, to trust them as the guardians of my father's Golden Weapons. I was foolish and thought I could control them. It's apparent to me now that beasts will always be beasts. And for the good of the people, they must be contained."

Kai had a headache that came and went. Right now it was six feet tall, all black, and had four arms all crossed across a really long chest.

"How do you plan on containing a dragon, Sensei?" Zane asked. The taste of grass jellybeans assaulted his tongue- yes, Kai had had one before, and no, it had not been a good experience, thanks a lot, Jay- and he winced, which only made more pain shoot off in his head.

Okay, so maybe Garmadon wasn't the only cause of his headache. Kai huffed. The ordeal with Jay that morning had taken more out of him than he'd care to admit. The last time he'd overstrained his powers like this had been at the amusement park, and he was not enjoying the repeat performance.

"That is something I will continue to look into. But that is in the future. We must focus on the present for now. Cole." Sensei Wu turned towards the earth ninja. "What have you learned about the serpentine?"

A burst of outrage came from Nya's side of the room. It settled into a simmering hurt after a second had passed, but Kai still narrowed his eyes. Nya had been the only protector of Ninjago during most of the serpentine raids, why didn't Sensei ask her?

"Sensei Wu-" he began, but Cole cut him off.

"Most of what I know comes from being an idiot and getting myself captured." He shrugged. "You should really be asking Nya. She's been fighting off the snakes as Samurai X for the past couple months, and she probably knows more about them now than most historians."

"Thanks, Cole, for dropping my secret identity like that," Nya said, but her mood was happy and a bit surprised. Kai licked his lips. Mmm. Cinnamon.

He gave Cole a grateful look. Cole felt surprised to receive it.

"But he's right," Nya continued. "I've picked up a thing or two from the Serpentine while I was at it." She launched into a summarizing speech.

"That's impressive, Nya," said Wu, truly feeling that way. "I see I should have asked you first." He looked back to Cole again, mood souring. "So if you were not off gathering information on the Serpentine, Cole, then what were you doing?"

Cole winced. "Do we have to have this conversation in front of him?" he asked, jerking his thumb towards Garmadon.

"Oh, please do," simpered Garmadon. "I would love to hear the reason why I was recalled from my shadow realm."

"Don't try to pull that crap," Kai snapped. "You already said you came back for Lloyd." He jerked the kid towards him. "What I wanna know is why. So you can indoctrinate him to your twisted ways?"

"It seems you have already done that, little ninja," sneered Garmadon, but his mood didn't match his tone.

"Well if you wanted to protect him so badly, then why did you ever leave him at that Bad Boy's school?"

"Kai!" warned Sensei, and Garmadon snarled. But it was Lloyd's voice that cut Kai's legs out from under him.

"Kai, stop!" Distress radiated off the little ninja, bitter on Kai's taste buds, and anger. "Don't fight with my dad right now. Please?"

Kai looked away, shame mixing with anger in his chest. "Sorry, Lloyd. Sorry, Sensei."

"Apologies accepted. Now, Cole."

Cole's temper flared. So did Kai's headache, startling a cry from him. "We weren't slacking off if that's what you're accusing me of. Our elemental powers were acting up, and we just wanted to know what was going on with them. They're fixed now, so you don't have to worry."

You go, Cole, thought Kai, even as he braced himself for an outburst from Sensei Wu.

"Have you found your true potentials?"

Kai started. Excitement swallowed up the teacher's mood, throwing his head for a loop. "True potentials?" he asked.

'He must mean our power boosts,' Zane realized.

Sensei Wu inclined his head. "Elemental masters, once they have come to terms with some turbulent thing in their lives, should experience a full unlocking of their powers."

'Oh look, you're right, Zane. Good job.'

"That sounds like what we went through," said Cole. His mood had leveled out and now tasted like only slightly-burnt chili. Oh, thank the First Spinjitzu Master. The dual-sense thing must finally be wearing off. "It must have been."

"So all of you have unlocked your true potentials?" Sensei smiled. "This is good news. The more in-tune with yourself you are, the better chance we have against the Serpentine and their Devourer."

"Er, Sensei," Cole said. "I- haven't unlocked my true potential yet."

Sensei Wu paused, and something in his mood softened. "Don't worry, Cole. You will get there in your own time."

"His own time needs to be soon," Garmadon said. "If you plan to destroy the devourer, you need all the advantages you can press."

"Yeah, funnily enough, I already got that." Cole bit out, but he wouldn't make eye contact. Kai wondered if he was thinking of Jay again and his own shrinking time limit.

"You'll get it, Cole," Lloyd said. "I know you will!"

"Thanks, Lloyd."

Sensei Wu cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea what might be keeping you back?"

Cole's mood immediately plummeted. "I don't," he said. "Actually, I don't want to talk about this right now. Is there any new info on the Fangblades, Nya?"

Nya grimaced. "The Serpentine have two confirmed Fangblades."

Kai frowned too. He counted on his fingers- one and… huh, okay, that's it. "Wait, which one now?"

"The one we thought would be out East. Remember how they were raiding villages? Like the one that uh, Jay was at?"

"Why is Jay in the hospital?" Sensei Wu asked. "This I am still unclear on."

"He was bit by a Fangpyre," Cole said steadily. "We got him here fast enough to stop the curse from spreading, and his power boost- uh, true potential- should be working to reverse the damage."

'It can do that?' Kai asked, impressed.

'Judging by the way it reversed it in the cave? Yeah, I'd guess so. Hey, maybe that's the power he picked up on.'

"So they were out there because of the Fangblade," Zane realized. "In that case, it is even more imperative we get the one Cole found on his trip."

"Wait a minute," said Garmadon. "You found a Fangblade, and you didn't think to retrieve it?"

"In my defense, it wasn't the ideal situation."

Garmadon raised an eyebrow. "And the one we are in now is?"

Cole's mood twisted. "Fine. I'll go get the Fangblade in the morning. Does that work for everyone?"

"Cole, never put off until tomorrow what can be done today," Sensei Wu chided.

"I think in this case we can make an exception," said Zane. "It is late already. By the time Cole would arrive at the town, the Hall would be closing."

"So?" said Kai. "We're ninja. We sneak around. It's literally in our job description."

"No," said Cole. "I'm getting this blade, but I'm doing it legally."

"I hope you're right about this," Nya said. "Okay. If this works, we need to start talking about ways to destroy it."