This took a while to actually put onto the computer. But I got there. And I have a feeling that we are getting closer to the end of this story. I think there's only a few more chapters left. In the meantime, have the ninja heading to a supposed to be abandoned lighthouse.

Hope you enjoy. And remember, I own nothing you recognise as being part of Ninjago.

Chapter 14

Master Wu had not been happy when Lloyd had told him of what had transpired in the training grounds once he had left. Of course, the ninja didn't show they cared that they had upset their teacher despite feeling a little bad about it. They had all set their minds on a task and they were going to complete it. So, despite Wu's warnings, they all left for Cliff Gordon's yacht and were on the open ocean by the time night fell.

It just wasn't one of Jay's greatest ideas.

" Did we really have to take the yacht?" Kai complained, staring at the vast ocean that surrounded said yacht from the doorway with a tight expression on his face.

" I have a better question, could this not have waited until morning?" Lloyd huffed from behind Kai.

" The quicker we get to the lighthouse, the quicker we can get to safety." Jay growled back from where he was steering the yacht.

Cole gently placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. " We're already safe, Jay. We don't need to hurry."

" Well, I'm not going to risk anything. No storms. No evil djinn pirates. And no ship eating monsters."

They all knew what kind of monsters Jay was talking about. The seemingly innocent looking ones with massive teeth that could eat through anything. The kind that nearly managed to destroy the Destiny's Bounty once before. Starteeth. A collective shudder seemed to run though the entire yacht at the memory of the starteeth.

Jay turned his eyes to the dark sky above. There was no sign of storm clouds blotting out the shine of the glistening stars. Not even on the horizon. The sky was just an endless blanket of stars that seemed to guide the way to their destination. And the ocean was pretty calm itself. No massive waves in miles to dump evil 'water vampires' onto unsuspecting ships.

Still… maybe he should get Zane to check the underside of the yacht just in case those laughing sneaks were having a field day on the hull. He may be confused about how his biological father had acted when he was a baby, but this was his yacht now and there was no way that he was going to let anything destroy it a second time if he could help it.

Then again, maybe both Lloyd and Kai were right. The starteeth seemed to show up at night as well as in the storm. And the Destiny's Bounty could fly, unlike the yacht that Jay was currently steering. Starteeth, much like the yacht, couldn't fly. If they had taken the Destiny's Bounty then they would have been able to fly to the lighthouse, possibly getting there faster than the speed they were doing now.

It was at that point that Jay realised his stupidity and let loose the groan that had been building.

" Are you sure everything's okay, Jay?" Cole asked.

" I hate to admit it, but Kai and Lloyd are right." The blue ninja groaned in reply. " We should have taken the Destiny's Bounty, that way we could have been able to fly. Because starteeth seem to love storms and darkness. So if we had waited 'til morning and taken the Bounty, we'd be able to be at the lighthouse faster and safer than if we were in the yacht or even a small row boat. You know, I still don't understand how the starteeth never showed themselves while I was rowing to the lighthouse that time that Nya and I had to hide from that creep Nadakhan."

Kai finally turned his gaze away from the dark abyss to look at his friend in slight awe. " Let me get this straight. You rowed all the way to the lighthouse from Ninjago in a dinghy?"

" Well, not all the way. We were almost there when Nya decided that she had to use her powers to propel us through the water."

" You wouldn't let her row, would you?" Cole smirked.

The sheepish look on Jay's face was enough of an answer for Cole to start laughing and Kai to manage a smile. They both knew that, despite his flighty tendencies, Jay was the chivalrous type. True, it was probably thanks to the humble way he was brought up, but they honestly wouldn't have him any other way.

But it was also clear that it was getting quite late and that Jay was clearly getting tired thanks to the lack of focus his eyes were starting to do now. To be honest, they all were tired. Nya had already found a bed below deck and had claimed that almost as soon as the sun had set. Lloyd, despite his wariness of travelling so late at night like they were, had also given up the fight not long ago and had returned to the depths of the yacht to find his own place to crash. Cole and Kai could feel that they themselves weren't too far behind, leaving only Zane to be fully functioning.

The only problem was that no one had seen Zane since sunset.

" You two don't need to stay up with me." Jay said, trying to hide a yawn that had crept upon him.

" You need rest, too, Jay." Cole countered. " Why don't you drop the anchor and we can all get some sleep?"

" Because I don't want to wake up to starteeth destroying our only way to and from the lighthouse. Master Wu would not be happy if we have to send a distress signal to him on top of having disobeyed him."

No one could argue with that. Master Wu would be furious with his ninja and would most likely punish them in some way that no evil mastermind would even dream of. They would be worked to the bone from dawn until dusk for over a month and with no chance of a break. As it was, they could all expect some form of severe punishment from their clan leader for going against his word. And they all feared what that would be.

It was while Kai, Cole and Jay were imaging the possible punishments that they were no doubt going to receive that Zane emerged from the upper deck of the yacht. He looked like he was about to head in for bed himself, but the sight of the three younger ninja still awake stopped him in his tracks.

" Brothers? What are you still doing awake?" he asked innocently but with an air of confusion attached to his words.

" Currently trying to get Jay to realise he needs sleep, too." Kai replied, still not moving from the doorway.

" While thinking about the danger that we'll be putting ourselves in when we arrive back at the temple." Cole added with an unamused frown.

" Danger? Has something happened to the temple in the short time that spans between now and the time we left?" Zane asked. " Must we turn back to help Master Wu and Pixal with defending our home?"

" No, Zane. Cole just means we'll be in trouble with Master Wu because we took off on our own on Cliff Gordon's yacht when we weren't supposed to." Jay yawned.

" I see. We'll I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think it will be."

" Haven't you learnt yet, Zane? Never say stuff like that. Something bad will always happen."

" Be that as it may, a ninja must be prepared for anything. An unbeaten boss in one of your video games, a tough training routine that must be mastered, or even an electric chicken."

As he mentioned the electric chicken from the previous night, Zane couldn't help but smirk in Kai's direction. Not to mention the mischievous spark in his eye was clearly noticeable to the fire and earth ninja as well. Kai even smirked himself.

But Jay… he could only groan as he tilted his head back to look up at the stars.

" Not you too, Zane." He grumbled.

" I'm merely stating that we should be prepared for anything." The ice ninja replied. " But, I believe that, right now, we should all prepare ourselves for sleep. If we drop anchor now, we should be able to avoid any starteeth. Or, if you are really worried about them, I could always take over while you slept, and we would still make it in time for sunrise at the lighthouse."

" But you would be alone, then."

" I would be safe. We are not in any danger, Jay. Rest assured."

Jay still looked uncertain about leaving the wheel. But, despite how tired he looked, the others could understand where his fears were coming from. No one wanted their ship to be wrecked by storm or by starteeth. Both had happened in the past, after all.

Still, Zane was persistent in making sure his brothers got some sleep. And he eventually won when Jay finally agreed to relinquish the wheel to him once he had promised to alert them of any danger should there be any. Though, Kai and Cole did still have to lead the blue ninja away from the wheel and below deck so that he could try and get some well-deserved rest that he obviously needed.

By the time someone bothered to wake Jay (that night's sleep had been one of the better nights and no one had wanted to disturb him), Zane had just eased the yacht onto the shore of the lighthouse prison. The others had even decided to have breakfast in the lighthouse while he slept, so when the blue ninja stumbled towards the galley, he got a surprise to find that no one was making anything to eat.

" Um… who's turn is it to make breakfast?" he called out sleepily.

" That would be me." Lloyd piped up from where he was entering the yacht.

" Then why are you outside and not in the kitchen?"

" Oh, we've decided to eat in the lighthouse. There should be something in that massive cooler we all packed yesterday to make an okay breakfast out of."

Jay blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he tried to focus on what his leader was saying. But one thing seemed to stick to his mind. " The lighthouse? We can't be eating at the lighthouse. We're not even-"

Kai cut the confused ninja short as he stepped below deck after Lloyd. " Uh, yeah we are. Zane just landed the yacht, like not that long before we called you to get up. The others are waiting outside for you with all our things."

" We're there already?"

" Yeah. And we're waiting for you. Now come on; Cole's guarding the cooler."

That was incentive enough to get moving. Jay hurried to grab his own bag that he had brought with him before he followed Lloyd and Kai out onto the deck. Sure enough, as he entered the outside world, he noted that Cole was indeed standing next to the food cooler. But his back was turned away from the cabin door as, like Nya and Zane beside him, he stared up at the lighthouse prison before them.

Slowly, the other three ninja made their way over to where their fellow clan members stood, taking in the solemn air that seemed to surround them. It was clear that they were all thinking about the last time they had been there, the state in which they had found Dr Julien living in. Nya and Jay also thinking about how they had first found Echo… and the last time they had seen him.

" I never expected to see myself return to such a dark place." Zane eventually spoke up a good five minutes later. " I believed all the dark memories that stained my father's memory and had kept him trapped here would be forgotten once he was free. Or at least never have to be reawakened. I never expected there to be another those dark memories could infect, another hidden within these walls." A soft sigh left the nindroid as he finally broke whatever spell the lighthouse had managed to trap him in. " Now that I know there was another… is another, I find I am disappointed in myself for not coming sooner to broaden the life my little brother has had within these walls."

" We all would have, Zane." Cole replied, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Jay had to swallow down the lump that had started forming in his throat before he could say anything. " I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner about all this."

" Please, Jay, do not worry. While I may not truly comprehend why you felt the need to keep this from me for so long, I am happy that you have found the courage to tell me about it now." The master of ice smiled soft, but still managing a certain air of calm that could only be associated with him.

" I just hope we're not too late." Kai mumbled under his breath, but with how quite everything was, there was a possibility that he was heard.

No one said anything about it, though. Instead, they all turned to disembark the yacht before starting the long journey up the stairs to the front door. And none of them could help the sense that they were being watched. But even though they were all silent as they made their way up the stairs, Jay's mind, at least, was wandering from the unsettling feeling that seemed to surround them.

" Is it just me, or do really mystic and really creepy places always have a lot of steps leading to the front door? Like, a lot of stairs." Of course, Jay's mind was unable to stop his mouth from spurting out the question about halfway through the climb.

" It's probably done that way to freak people out. Big, scary staircase leading up to ominous looking places. It's enough to strike fear into the hearts of anyone stupid enough to actually climb them." Kai smirked.

" So does that mean you're stupid for climbing up one such staircase leading to an ominous looking building?" Nya asked with a smirk of her own.

Instantly, Kai's smirk disappeared from his face. It was not long replaced with the stuttered attempts at trying to regain his composure. And to follow it up, everyone broke into laughter, successfully breaking the tension that had been surrounding them.

But things got serious again once they reached the door to the lighthouse.

" Guys wait." Nya called, effectively stopping Zane from knocking on the door. " There's something we forgot to tell you about Echo."

Zane turned back to face the water ninja. " What is it, Nya?"

" Echo is quite shy around new people. So, take it easy and let him come to us."

" Or at least wait until we get some sort of sign that tells us he wants to find out more about us. Whichever comes first." Jay added, starting to feel nervous about the upcoming meeting again.

" Of course." The master of ice nodded.

With that, Zane turned back to the door and knocked. The ninja waited in silence for any movement beyond the wooden door, but no sound could be heard from within. No shuffling of feet or clanging of metal. Nothing. Half the team were starting to get a little worried that no one would be able to get to the door let alone be courageous enough to actually open said door.

Zane knocked again, pushing down the fear and concern that was starting to build within him… or at least trying to. Just like before, though, no sound could be heard except for the cawing of seagulls and the crashing of the waves against the shore and the yacht. And the silence was starting to get even more concerning. Finally, before Zane could knock for a third time, Kai took matters into his own hands and opened the door with some good old fashioned lockpicking skills.

The space beyond was still stacked with boxes as if it hadn't been touched during the years it had apparently been abandoned. But there were tell tale signs that someone was still living within the prison walls. The place was clean, for starters. Well… mostly clean. All the boxes were free of dust and the floor and stairs were swept to the best of one's ability despite the odd rusty patch that appeared to be marked into the floorboards.

Subconsciously, Nya and Jay turned to look at the lone switch on the far wall they knew led to the hidden basement. Not only was that they way to where Echo Zane most likely was at that very moment, but it was also where they gave their last stand. It was where Nya threw Jay into that portal to save his last wish not long before she, herself, was taken, fighting, to the worst days of her life. But they didn't have time to reminisce as the others began to make their way up the stairs to the main room of the lighthouse.

Just like the entranceway, the main room of the lighthouse looked like nothing had been changed since Dr Julien had been there, save for the cleanliness of the place. But it was also a sad looking place. The table was bare and a lot of blueprints that the good doctor had deemed worthy enough for anyone to witness were now missing. Even the lone metal flower by the doctor's bed seemed to have aged and rusted in the absence of proper care.

Of course, some of the things that were missing, like the laundry, had been packed away and taken with them when they had rescued Dr Julien. And despite the various cogs and wheels that lined the walls, it felt extremely empty because of it. But there were scorch marks on the roof and walls and in the centre of the room that were impossible to miss.

Kai knelt down by the burn on the ground, tracing lightly over part of the edge as if to ascertain what had happened and when just from that motion. Around him, the others started to settle in, also examining smaller burn marks or starting to prepare breakfast in Lloyd's case. Even Dr Julien's Tai-D Bot had emerged to help 'clean' the 'mess' that Lloyd was making, scaring Cole who had nearly stepped on him as well as proving that he had survived the trip through time and the battle with the pirates.

" What happened here?" the master of fire asked.

Jay turned away, refusing to say anything more about what had happened. He knew they were coming to the end of the story. He knew they were getting to the part where the love of his life, Kai's little sister, had died in his arms. And he dreaded telling that part of the story just as much as he dreaded telling the others about what had happened to him on the pirate ship.

Nya took one look at her boyfriend and knew right there and then that she would have to continue with the story herself.

" Remember how Jay said that he and I were locked in a room together with a map?" She started.

" Yeah."

" Well, while we were in that room, we figured out where we were going to hide. In this very lighthouse… where we thought no one could find us. While we were hiding, we met Echo. But it was during that time that Nadakhan somehow discovered where we were. It wasn't long after that that the pirates showed up and they threw exploding barrels at us. That's where the scorch marks came from. Apparently, the renewed timeline didn't fix everything."

" Wait a minute. They threw exploding barrels at my sister?!" Kai roared, going back into protective brother mode.

" And friend!" Jay corrected. " They threw exploding barrels at your friend! Twice! The first time being to separate said friend from you which got you captured because you were alone with that stupid djinn like you weren't supposed to be because I was stupid enough to actually keep my big mouth shut at the worst possible time because if I had just opened my stupid mouth, none of this would have happened. No! If I had just listened to Zane, then I wouldn't have tried to make any wishes which means this entire mess wouldn't have happened in the first place. No, even better, we never should have gone to the hospital. We should have just gone straight after Clouse. Then no one would have been able to unlock that stupid teapot and none of this would have ever happened and we all would have been safe from the get go and no one would have had to die!"

Jay heaved a sigh and turned to look out the window he had positioned himself beside. He didn't want the others to see the tears forming in his eyes at the thought. In fact, he didn't want to tell or even hear any more of the story. He wanted to forget it. The only problem was, his mind wasn't letting him forget.

Yet, at the same time, something inside of him wanted to hear the story out. It was telling him that his friends were trying to help him, trying to make him understand that the best way they could help was by understanding where the pain was coming from. And because of that small part of his brain, he couldn't say anything or do anything to stop the story from ending early. They'd gotten this far into it after all.

" I'm sorry." He sighed after a few minutes of stunned silence.

" No." Nya soothed. " I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed. This is my fault."

" Nya, if my brain wasn't as messed-up as it is, things would be so much easier. And yes, I accept the fact that I have a messed-up brain, okay. No one else needs to say anything on the matter."

" No one else?" Kai questioned quietly.

" Jay, your brain is not messed up." Cole tried to steer his best friend from his negative thoughts.

" Isn't is, Cole? What about all the times I panic and fret over absolutely nothing? What about when my mouth decides it's just going to splurt all my inner most feelings out to complete strangers? What about all the whacked-out things it wants my hands to create. What about all the times I freak over a simple word or name and freeze so badly my body goes on autopilot while my mind is in another timeline entirely, having nightmares about what I had witnessed and the torture I had gone through? Does none of that prove that my mind's messed up?" Jay all but growled before lowering his voice to almost a whisper. " Does that not prove that I'm weak?"

Of course, Nya had to be standing right next to her boyfriend when he had said that and so had managed to hear his whispered words. And once she did, she had no qualms about hitting him on the shoulder for even thinking such things. The sudden act of violence made the blue ninja turn to face her with a look of shock on his face and a silver tear caught in the act of streaming down his cheek.

" Don't you ever say that you're weak again, do you hear me?" the water ninja growled herself.

" Butt…"

" No butts! You are not weak, you got that! You know yourself that your lightning can reach up to 1.21 gigawatts of power. We tested it, remember. And your technological prowess is one of the best there is. Your speed is amazing and that includes your reaction time when fighting, not to mention you're an amazing fighter both in games and, more importantly, in real life. You defeated Nadakhan. You endured everything he threw at you and survived it, going back latter with your own team under your command to defeat him. You are not weak. And don't you let anybody tell you otherwise."

" There may be times where we either ignore you or worry about you when you panic a lot, even as we attempt to calm you down, but there are times when we actually like it when you talk so avidly about something. Especially when we see the joy on your face when you talk about what you love." Zane added, also in a soothing tone.

" Even if we don't understand what you're saying half the time." Kai smirked. " I mean, I don't understand Cole and his cake tangents or his art stuff. And you know I almost have heart attacks when it comes to looking out for Lloyd and Nya regardless of what they think about it."

" That's fine with me, because I have absolutely no idea how you can do that blacksmithing stuff that you do." Cole admitted, unknowingly taking focus off of Jay a little.

" Or how you can use so much hair gel in one sitting." Lloyd added as he managed to save the milk from being chucked back into the cooler curtesy of Tai-D.

Kai glared at both of them in response, though it was mainly directed at the green ninja who merely returned his smirk. Though, Tai-D was also glaring at Lloyd for interfering with its clean up duties… that is, once it realised that the milk was once more in Lloyd's grasp.

Zane merely nodded along with what was being said before continuing with what he had been saying. " And need I remind you about how you could not understand how I did things when we were all starting out as ninja? Or even how I could not understand you and how jokes and sarcasm worked?"

" Jay, none of us are perfect. We all have our quirks." Nya admitted, her voice now a more soothing tone. " But we love your inventions and the way you can make them out of pretty much anything you can get your hands on. Your mind is perfect for you. We just want to help you find yourself amongst the pain that Nadakhan caused."

Still, Jay refused to look at his family. " It's that pain which is messing up my mind."

" Then help us help you, brother." Zane pleaded, making his way to Jay's other side. " Tell us of the pain so that we can help you accept what had happened and help clear your mind of the stress it believes it is still in. Help us help you to realise there is no more danger to come from the events that have previously occurred."