Hope you all had a safe and happy Christmas and I wish you all a safe and happy New Year as well. As mentioned in the author's note in the last chapter, this chapter has more of Jay's story… the hardest part of it, to be honest.

Also, careening the hull is what you call it when you take a ship out of the water to scrape the hull clean of all the nasties that cling to it and damage it, like barnacles and such.

Again, graphic warnings apply to this chapter thanks to the wounds I believe Jay had inflicted upon him while he was with the sky pirates.

One more thing, updates may be a little slower than usual as we have reached the end of the pre-typed chapters.

Chapter 13

Jay froze.

There was no other explanation for the sudden cold chill he felt when Lloyd's question reached his ears. His breath had started coming in pants and his heart was starting to race, but he couldn't move. Not even as the walls surrounding the monastery threatened to grow around him could he manage to even bend his pinkie finger.

A shadow materialised by his side and gently urged his body to sit on the ground, guiding his joints to bend so as to accommodate the new position. Someone moved closer to his side, taking his injured arm in to their lap and lacing their fingers with his. In the haze, he managed to catch the soothing sounds of words being spoken, but not the words themselves. What made him jump, though, was when someone gently placed their hand on his back.

With the frame of mind he was currently in, he wasn't surprised that he was so sensitive to touch. But he was still trying to settle himself from his flashback as well as come to terms with the fact that his friends had pretty much guessed that the sky pirates had tortured him. He honestly didn't mean to send a warning bolt of electricity into those that were merely trying to help.

But he had.

And he knew that everyone had stepped away from him because of it.

" Sorry, sorry." He rushed, realising what had happened and coming to his senses.

" No, no, Jay. No. There's nothing for you to apologise for." Nya's voice soothed, almost instantly taking his hand back in hers despite the shock she was given. " We were the ones who overstepped our boundaries. We're the ones who should be sorry."

" I shouldn't have shocked you."

" Don't worry about it, Jay." Cole's voice sounded from his other side, slightly pained but otherwise determined to help Jay through whatever was happening. " It was an accident. And those things happen."

Jay looked up at the now empty training ring he had not long escaped from. He honestly thought he would be safe from the pain the pirates had inflicted when he was training. It had never happened before, after all. So, he didn't think that the return of a simple circle would reignite those memories and force him to react so violently.

What he didn't know was that the others could see just how dark his eyes had become as the memories seemed to press onto his mind once more. Sapphire blue turned almost midnight… and it scared all of them. Master Wu took one look at his students, returning his worried gaze to the lightning master, before lowering his hat over his eyes.

" I believe afternoon training will be postponed. We will try this same exercise again tomorrow." He said before turning away.

Before anyone could object, the old master was gone. And for some reason, that annoyed Jay. Just because his mind was rebelling against his body didn't mean the others had to sit out because of him. That just wasn't fair.

The next thing any of the other ninja knew, Jay had gotten up and was dragging the nearest ninja with him back into the ring. That ninja just so happened to be Cole. And the look on Cole's face was clearly questioning what had gotten into his friend as well as why he was being dragged back to the place he had, minutes ago, walked out of.

" Okay, so… what did we have to do again?" Jay asked once the two of them were back in the ring.

" Jay, you were literally just having a major PTSD attack." Lloyd said, standing up and making his way into the ring himself. " Are you sure you want to fight this soon after it?"

" Just because my mind is messed up a lot more than it usually is doesn't mean I'm going to let it get in the way of you guys training. And I'm going to have to get over everything anyway, so I might as well tackle this head on now. Before any more pirates decide to kidnap me and drag me off into yet another round of Scrap 'n' Tap. Have to make sure I'm quick enough to get out early if I don't want another beating… or any more wounds from crazy robot monkeys."

" What is Scrap 'n' Tap?" Cole asked, refusing to get into a fighting position. "You were muttering about it earlier."

Jay fell silent, realising what he had said a little too late. Now he had that question buzzing around in his head along with Lloyd's earlier question. And by the looks of it, or so he noticed out of the corner of his eye, Zane and Lloyd were both starting to realise that the two questions were connected in some way. But before he was even able to form words in his head to try and explain everything, Kai had practically leapt into the ring with a protective look in his eyes.

" Those pirates didn't rough you up too badly, did they? Because if this is the reason why you're not acting like your happy-go-lucky self, the reason why you have PTSD, then I will personally smash every single one of those pirates that are in Kryptarium Prison right now into the ground in the worst Slither Pit they've ever been in!" The red ninja practically roared, his eyes glowing red for a second as he spoke. " And I'll personally go to the Serpentine to make sure it happens."

Everyone was too stunned to answer at first, with Lloyd and Jay both taking a step away from the fury of the fire user. Cole, however, took a step toward Kai in an attempt to try and placate his friend. It wouldn't do to have him worked up like he was now. But no one expected laughter to erupt from Jay after he spent a few minutes regaining himself enough to think.

" Those pirates would be at home in a Slither Pit, Kai. Even more so if the pit referee allows weapons." The blue ninja said, already starting to take off his gi top.

" What do you mean?" Kai's anger started to dissipate as the words left his mouth.

" The Slither Pit is a fighting ring where two people usually fight each other, right? There are no rules, and you can fight with weapons if you're allowed. And the winner can choose to stay in the ring or leave while the loser gets escorted out, am I right?" Jay waited for Kai's confirmation before continuing. " Well, Scarp 'n' Tap is a lot like a slither pit. No rules. One on one fighting. Certain weapons allowed. Pirates don't play fair, though. The loser doesn't get escorted out of the ring until after they can barely stand or stay awake. The winner is the only one who is allowed to 'tap out'… and that's only until after they deem the loser down long enough. And it can go on all day if it has to. Not to mention, in my experience, I had a vengestone ball and chain clamped around my foot. I don't even know how many times that thing got in my way. But I swear I can still feel the bruises even though it's been over a year."

Finally, Jay's gi top fell to the ground, showing off the athlete's build that was now marred with scars. Just like with his left arm, his right bore scars from wounds no one remembered him receiving. Thankfully, none were as gruesome as the bite from Monkey Wretch. And his front was mercifully bare of any serious looking scars that had not been there before.

But things changed when Jay turned around to show his back.

Scars from hooked hands that had once ripped open his gi ran across his shoulders and sides. Animal scratch marks also made their home across his shoulders and down his back, possibly more memories of what Monkey Wretch had done. But the worst sight were the deep scars across his back that looked to have been made by a whip of some sort.

" When the constant swabbing of the deck or the careening of the hull wasn't enough, they'd use me as Scrap 'n' Tap bait. That's where all these scars came from. And they did it to try and get me to make my final wish. But I didn't give in. I wouldn't. There was too much at stake. Nadakhan wanted Nya so that he could marry her and gain unlimited wishes for himself. And First Spinjitzu Master, I was not going to let that happen."

Carefully, Jay bent down and pick up his gi top. He even made a point not to look at anyone while he was putting it back on, slowly hiding the scars from view once more. And he quietly revelled in the fact that he was no longer pressured to show them despite questioning why he showed them in the first place. But he knew that seeing the remains of his pain was causing his friends' hearts to break. And that knowledge seemed to weigh heavily on his heart.

" Cole saved me though." He sighed, a deflated tone laced heavily through his voice. " He found me in the captain's quarters and tried to sneak me out of there. But we got captured along with Nya and Lloyd. And then all three of them decided to waste all their wishes, with Lloyd growing old and Cole throwing us all, pirates included, off the ship. The whole botched escape was cringe worthy. And no one listened to me. In the end, Cole and Lloyd got sucked into the sword leaving Nya and me to create a fusion dragon with our combined powers because being worked and beaten until you dropped while wearing vengestone the entire time drains your energy and powers something fierce. But that hydroelectric dragon had to be one of the most beautiful things I saw at that moment. Right after seeing Nya safely away from Nadakhan."

It was the continued silence that made Jay turn around once he had stopped with his story. That was when he noticed the horrified expressions on their faces. Well, they weren't worried now, so that was a bonus… sort of. Though there was a high possibility that that worry had morphed into the horror that now captured them all.

Both Kai's and Cole's jaws were set, with Kai's hands balled into shaking fists and smoke clearly visible as it swirled around them. Cole's eyes, however, were dark and distant. It was almost like he was remembering something or else blaming himself for what had happened to his best friend. Lloyd also shared that look of self-blame, but he looked like he was thinking it through and trying to learn from everything that Jay had said.

It was hard to figure out what Zane thought about everything he had learned. Like Lloyd he seemed to be taking everything he had learned and was trying to find ways to help his brother through it. But there was also a darkness in his eyes that was akin to that in both Kai's and Cole's eyes. He was obviously blaming himself for not being able to protect the ones he loved, protect his brother.

The worst sight was Nya. Despite her usually tough exterior, just seeing what her boyfriend had had to endure while he was imprisoned by pirates had sent silent tears rolling down her cheeks. And that was the sight that had a clamp squeezing at Jay's own heart. That was also why he never told anyone what had actually happened before then.

" We were able to hide in the Police Station for a short period of time once we got back to Ninjago. It was maximum one night, though." Jay tried to reassure everyone. " And I convinced the Commissioner to let us back on the Bounty in order to get a quick change of clothes under guard before we split up – still under guard – to gather supplies. I admit, I hung back a little to at least cover the wounds before heading off myself."

" And we did quiz each other once we got back together again just to be on the safe side." Nya added, the tightness of tears in her voice clear to all despite her trying to hide it. " I never realised you were that desperate to hide the wounds from me. I could have helped you clean them up."

" I had to keep you safe. And explaining what had happened to me while I was imprisoned by Nadakhan was not part of that job description. I didn't want you to worry about me, so I hid what I could." Jay explained before turning back to the others. " Once we had what we could gather quickly, including a pot of travellers tea, the Commissioner locked us in a room together with a map."

Upon hearing this, though, the smoke around Kai's fists seemed to darken. It was surprising given the fact that he had known that Jay and Nya had been together for well over a year. And he knew that Jay would never do anything bad to his sister unless it was under her consent. Then again, no one was sure if it was because his protective brotherly instincts were kicking in or because he was getting angry with himself for not being able to protect anyone.

" Please tell me you…" The fire ninja started slowly

" Okay, I think story time has gotten to Kai." Cole said, effectively stopping whatever thoughts had entered Kai's head. He didn't want another event similar to the love triangle shenanigans occurring, after all. Even if there was no actual triangle this time around.

" What?"

" Think about it, Kai. Jay and Nya had just gotten free from this Nadakhan creep. For their own safety, they've been locked in a room probably to try and figure out their next plan of action. I doubt anything else would have happened."

" Cole's right. The only thing that happened in that room was Jay and I working out where we were going to hide. And we managed to get out of there just in time, too. So, everything turned out fine for that moment." Nya reassured everyone.

Zane, however, was watching the blood drain from Jay's face and it was worrying him fierce. " Jay, brother, are you sure you are all right?"

" Echo." Was all Jay managed to whisper, the look on his own face morphing into its own form of horror.

" What?" It seemed to be the only word that Kai was capable of at that moment.

" I forgot Echo. Nya, how could I have forgotten Echo?"

Nya's face contorted itself back into its horrified features, but this time, there was an element of sadness hidden within as well. She knew that Jay's mind was making him forget things that had once happened during the now alternate timeline that the sky pirates had caused. It was his body's way of coping with everything, after all. She just never imagined that he would forget about someone as sweet and naïve as Echo.

Now she was faced with another hurdle, and this time Jay was facing it with her. How were the two of them going to explain to Zane that he actually had a little brother locked away in a lonely lighthouse with only a cleaning robot and a flock of seagulls to keep him company? How would Zane react to this knowledge? It didn't help that neither of them knew the answers themselves.

But it seemed Zane was going to try and help them along.

" Jay, who is Echo?" The titanium ninja asked.

Jay scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. " Well, Zane. Please don't get mad at me for forgetting. I do remember, at one point before the whole Time Twins thing, I did try to get back to the lighthouse. But with everything all happening at once, there was barely enough time to go anywhere without worrying people or without something happening. And then my mind started doing weird things, and it probably sounds like I'm just making excuses and I guess you could say that I am… but the truth is, you're not the only nindroid created by Doctor Julien. And I'm not talking about that weird protector robot that we found in Birchwood Forest or your Falcon. Zane, you have a little brother. Granted, he's all rusted because of being on his own and because of the sea spray landing on him, but he's a lot like you appearance wise and we kind of had to shorten his name from Echo Zane to Echo because no one would ever be able to replace you as Zane."

This time it was Zane's turn to feel like he was going to shut down. And that kind of feeling, he knew, was not a pleasant feeling.

He had a brother. Not a brother in arms or an adopted brother like how he saw the other ninja, but an actual brother created by the same father. A blood brother, if you will, unlike that of the bond he shared with his teammates. A brother he didn't know about until after his father had passed, until after thoughts of that lighthouse were practically erased from his memories; forgotten as time went on.

But why hadn't he been told earlier? Why had his father kept his younger brother a secret from him? Had there been a side effect from the Resurrectea or had his old age caused his memory to lapse? His father had seemed quite stable when he had been rescued and even in the months following. All the way up until his death, to be precise. But, perhaps, he may never know the true reason as to why his father did what he did.

There was really only one thing left to do now that he knew he had a brother. He had to get to that lighthouse and open his brother's eyes to a much larger world beyond that of a dreary old lighthouse prison. But in doing that, Zane knew, he was be taking this Echo from the only place he knew of… the only home he ever had. And that brought forth the question, would Echo even want to leave the lighthouse?

Zane's head was so full of questions and the strange concoction of confusion and numbness that he failed to register when Jay had rushed back into the temple muttering about how the ninja were going to get to the lighthouse. His mind was too far away to register what Cole, Kai, Lloyd and Nya were saying amongst themselves about the ordeal. It wasn't until he felt the presence of Cole, Kai and Nya by his side that he finally managed to regain himself.

" You alright there, buddy?" Kai asked, placing a hand on Zane's shoulder.

Zane looked at each of the three ninja beside him, his eyes lingering on Nya before returning his gaze to his feet. " Why was I not told I had a brother? Why was he left at the lighthouse?"

" I'm not sure why he was left there, Zane. But to add to what Jay said, neither of us could figure out how to tell you. Just like we couldn't figure out how to explain the sky pirates. I'm sorry." Nya sighed, knowing full well that she and Jay were in the wrong for keeping this a secret for so long.

There were no words to say to that. Zane knew it wasn't alright that his friends had kept this a secret from him, but he also couldn't stay mad at them. They had been through quite a lot, judging by what he and the others had been told, and memories can lapse over time. Even so, he was glad that he had finally been told about Echo and knew he would not forgive himself in anything bad happened to his little brother.

With a soft smile, he placed a hand on Nya's shoulder. That gesture alone let the water ninja know that she – at least – was forgiven. Jay probably was too, but one could never be too sure. But before anyone could say anything else on the matter, Lloyd came running over to them looking a little panicked.

" Lloyd?" Cole called, having been the first to notice the look on his leader's face and so alerted the others of his presence.

" It's Jay. He's packing again." The green ninja panted, worry in his eyes.

" Packing?"

" He's not running away again, is he?" Kai asked.

" I don't know. He was heading into the kitchen when I ran out here."

" Why the kitchen?"

That alone made Nya start to think. Jay had remembered Echo Zane moments before he had charged back into the temple, all while muttering something about yachts and the Destiny's Bounty. Now that Lloyd had come rushing out of the temple saying that her boyfriend was packing and had gone into the kitchen to do so, she had a pretty good idea on what was going on.

Still, she had to ask, " What did Jay say he was packing?"

Lloyd had to stop and think for a few minutes before he was able to reply, " Um… he said something about a change of clothes and a boardgame or two. And he kept telling himself off whenever he mentioned something about poison or Traveller's Tea, and that was like, every few minutes I was watching him. When he rushed into the kitchen, he actually told me that he was getting enough…"

" …Enough food for a week." All eyes turned to Nya as she finished, with a small laugh, what her leader was going to say. " Of course. He's running through what we took to the lighthouse. Jay's getting ready to go get Echo. Zane? What do you want to do? Do you want to go get your brother with us?"

Zane's face broke into a smile as he took the hand that Nya had extended towards him as she spoke. " To be able to show my brother the world beyond the lighthouse if he is so willing? To be there when he takes his first steps into a new life? I think I would like that a lot."

At that point, Kai got to his feet and started making his way into the temple. " Well, I guess we better start packing."

" I wonder if Jay's planning on packing any cake as well." Cole thought aloud as he followed the fire ninja into the temple.

" Cole, we're going to a supposed-to-be abandoned lighthouse. We don't need to take any cake with us."

" Says you. Cake can be a very effective way of making friends."

" Unless you eat it all."

" Hey!"

Zane and Nya followed the arguing boys in silence as they, too, made their way inside to pack. Though it wasn't hard to tell that the nindroid was a little excited to meet his long-lost brother. This left Lloyd standing in the training grounds alone, watching as his team got themselves ready for what would be a long boat ride to the lighthouse.

" I guess I'll be the one to tell Uncle Wu what's going on." He sighed, eventually making his own way back into the temple to do the deed.