This is the longest chapter in the story. It is also the last. Yes, 'Revealing The Pain' has finally come to an end. Don't worry, it's a happy ending. But I will say this, I was thinking of breaking this chapter in two but it just didn't want to be split in half.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the emotional rollercoaster that was 'Revealing The Pain' and I hope to see you all in the next piece of work I manage to pull out of my head. It's either going to be something to do with a birthday or finding a new elemental friend/ally.

Chapter 15

Jay sat on the steps leading to the lighthouse looking over the Endless Sea and occasionally up at the clouds that passed by, his mind even more clouded than the sky with thoughts. It was just after lunch time and he had had enough of failing at chess against Zane… and cards against Lloyd. If there was one thing he was sure about, though, it was that Lloyd had one heck of a poker face on him. He wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but it probably had something to do with Darkley's.

But his mind had been drifting through various subjects for quite some time now, even through the games (which was probably why he was losing so easily), and he knew the others could tell. That led to another problem.

The other ninja were all acting cautiously around him like he was some kind of delicate piece of china or something, clearly trying not to upset him any further. And, of course, he blamed himself for that. They wouldn't be acting the way they were if he hadn't had scared them with his outburst that morning. Things would be different if he hadn't been so scared.

To be honest, Jay wasn't quite sure if he managed to sneak away from his teammates on his own or if they had let him sneak away. Because his mind was lost so deeply in thought, he honestly hadn't taken much notice of what was going on around him. He didn't even know how he made it down the stairs in one piece. While he was in his daze, he had narrowly escaped tripping over Tai-D as the robot was going past dirty lunch dishes.

And then there were the voices of his friends echoing around in his head in between those thoughts; their words clearly saying that they were all there to help him.

How could he do it, though? The pain was deep… and Jay wasn't talking about the physical pain which he knew would hinder his movements at times during battle. How did one ease away painful thoughts and memories? How could you stop the smooth, accented voice of the enemy whispering darkness in your ear?

" It's all an act." Nadakhan's voice returned as if to prove his point. " Deep down, you're scared. You know you're weak. You make jokes to mask that you're afraid."

Okay, so he was afraid. Jay was afraid that Nadakhan would return. He was afraid that Nya was going to die in his arms again. He was afraid that he was going to lose his brothers and be alone again. And he didn't want to be alone. Being raised in a junkyard meant he had no friends his own age, meant that he was alone… and he didn't want to go back to that.

Or back to when he had thought that Zane was lost forever thanks to him sacrificing himself to defeat the Overlord.

Jay didn't want to lose Kai or Lloyd or Nya again like he had when he split away from ninja life. He didn't want to lose his best friend again like he had when the two of them were fighting. Thinking back, that was painful to go through. The useless anger and the loneliness despite being around others… he didn't want to have to feel that again because he refused to let Cole feel the pain he was currently in.

But you're hurting him right now. The little voice in the back of his head argued. You're hurting all of them by keeping this pain bottled up inside you. You're hurting yourself.

It was a weird conundrum that his mind kept coming to as it drifted through sea and sky. He didn't want the others to feel burdened by his pain, but he knew that each one of the other ninja were worrying over him because of that very pain. And, whenever he did break and reveal parts of what had happened, they pined for him anyway. They acted as if they were the ones who were hurt and not their blue ninja. So he'd try and protect them by keeping the pain locked away and the vicious cycle would continue.

Yet Zane had offered to help sort things out. All of them had. Jay just had to finish the story. In fact, that was all they were waiting on. Nya had told everyone at lunch time what had happened to her after she threw Jay into the portal. And despite being furious that some creep had essentially married his sister, Kai was also questioning who was on this team that Jay had formed in their absence.

So, did he tell them about the final battle? Did he tell them what had happened to make him say his last wish?

" You will know when the time is right to tell the others of this story." Master Wu's words echoed around Jay's confused skull, somehow drowning out the cacophony that was already making its home in there.

That's when Jay found himself closing his eyes to the world and blocking out everything. That is, everything except the crashing of waves against the shore. He found himself focussing on that one sound, lulling him into his meditative state. He focussed on his breathing, slowing it down until it was so deep he barely moved at all because of it.

" Clear your mind. Rest your soul. Only then will you find the answer that you seek, Jay Walker." An earlier memory of meditation with Master Wu entered the peace.

Then another voice entered his mind, one he remembered hearing from a movie he once watched a long time ago. " Named must your fear be before banish it you can."

But if his fear was Nadakhan, why couldn't he banish it already? Maybe the others could help him figure out what he needed to do to banish the fear. Of course, they'd need to know the rest of the story. With the deepest breath he could muster, Jay opened his eyes and gave himself an encouraging nod.

It was time to finish the story.

He just never realised he had received company while he was meditating until he went to get up and head back inside.

" Welcome back." Cole's voice was quick to bring his friend back to the present.

" Gah!" was the reply the black ninja got seconds before Jay began trying to settle his now racing heart.

" Woah, whoops, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

" Cole! You should know better than to go scaring people while they're in meditation."

" Sorry."

Cole couldn't help but wince through his apologies. He hadn't meant to scare Jay. He had just been worried about him and was trying to keep him company. He honestly hadn't realised his best friend had been meditating until after he had sat down next to him. And by that time he couldn't just get back up again in case he did accidentally disturb the meditation.

Thankfully he hadn't have had to wait long before Jay woke himself up.

" Okay, so… why are you here?" Jay asked after taking yet another deep breath.

" You looked lonely." Cole admitted. Jay continued to look at him as if waiting for more information. " And I lost to Lloyd. I now owe him three bags of candy when we get back to Ninjago. And not the cheap kind either."

" Ouch. That's gotta hurt."

" Do you even remember that you also owe him three bags of candy?"

" I do?"

" You do. We know you've been… thinking hard, so he let you off easy. He was planning on getting some Fritz Donnegan stuff off you."

Jay shook his head, a small smile creeping onto his face as he did so. Of course Lloyd would try and claim Starfarer merchandise off of him… especially now that the boy knew his friend was actually the son of the guy who played Fritz Donnegan. And of course said friend's mind would be too clouded to remember it. But Jay was glad the stakes had been changed because there was no way he was going to give any on his inheritance to the boy.

" So, we have to get some of the really good candy for the green ninja." The lightning ninja confirmed. " How much does Kai owe him?"

Cole shook his head. " As far as I know, nothing. When I came downstairs, Kai was still trying to best Zane in chess… and failing epically."

The laughter that reached Cole's ears at that made his heart soar. Just that morning he had wondered if he was ever going to hear that laughter again, if he was ever going to see Jay smile again after everything he had been through. But now, he was seeing a sliver of the old Jay back again, holding his hand out to him. And he loved it. The black ninja welcomed his friend back with a bright smile as he took the proffered hand and was helped to his feet.

" Let's go see how mad Kai is now." Jay suggested once Cole was on his feet. " And maybe we can get some more story time in."

Cole blinked, hesitating for a second. " Are you sure?"

" Yeah. I think I'm ready. Besides, I think we're worrying Echo because he can't keep an eye on us and an eye on the others at the same time."

As if to prove his point, Jay glanced at the nearest window just in time to see a blur of rusted copper colours dash out of sight. Cole looked at his friend with a confused expression firmly planted on his face before following his gaze in an attempt to catch a glimpse of this elusive new friend that Jay and Nya were talking about. But Echo Zane had already disappeared into the depths of the lighthouse and was probably hiding behind a stack of boxes or something once more.

Still, the smile never faltered from Jay's face. He knew that they would find Echo soon. They weren't leaving the lighthouse without him… or Tai-D, because they were definitely not going to break up that friendship. Heck, Echo Zane might even help them a little like he had when it was just him and Nya at the lighthouse. But, he knew that he would prefer to finish telling the story of the alternate timeline before he went in search of the rusty android.

Cole followed behind silently, looking around the ground floor for any signs of Echo Zane. He didn't find anything except for maybe a new spot of rust by one of the stacks of boxes, though. But he did notice how some of the stones on the far wall didn't seem to match up as easily as first thought to the rest of the wall. And the fact that there was some sort of lever nearby that seemed to match in colour to the wall itself was also a big clue.

It was almost like there was a hidden room in the lighthouse, possibly leading to a basement or workroom that hadn't been noticeable the first time they had visited. And it was most likely that Echo was hiding there. But when Jay didn't mention anything about a hidden room, he knew he couldn't say anything on the matter himself. And, if he remembered correctly, Nya hadn't mentioned anything about a secret room either.

Yet, Jay kept glancing in the direction of the false wall with a knowing smile on his face… and that pretty much cemented the fact that there was a secret room in the lighthouse. Even so, the black ninja respected Jay's wishes to keep silent on the matter, knowing that his friend would explain things when he felt the time was right. The remaining climb to the main room was instead filled with a comfortable silence until the two got close enough to the trap door.

" Perhaps it would be wise to call it a day and pack away the chess board?" Zane's voice reached their ears just as Jay was about to open the door.

" But I haven't beaten you yet." Kai argued.

" Kai, you have not been able to beat me for years. Though, I admit you have been getting better. It's just, everyone needs a break every now and then. Even me."

Judging by Zane's choice of words and the slightly crazed look in Kai's eyes as he glared at the chess board, Kai had not won a single match against the master of ice. And that meant that the rest of the team had to watch what they said around the fire master if they wanted their lives spared… or at least wanted to remain in one piece. It also made Jay wonder if he should continue with his story now or wait a little bit longer to tell it.

" Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today." And, just like that, Master Wu's favourite saying had entered the blue ninja's mind, almost as if the old master was with them and brandishing his bamboo stick.

Nya was the first to notice the new arrivals and raised her hand in greeting as she made her way over to Jay and Cole.

" Jay, you alright?" She asked once she was by her boyfriend's side.

" Yeah." Jay replied with a nod of his head. " Just needed to get some air. And apparently get spooked by Cole."

Cole gave a huff at that response. " Hey, I said I was sorry."

" I know."

" What did you do this time, Cole?" Kai asked, his anger managing to die down a little already.

" Nothing, I swear." The black ninja replied.

Jay, still smiling, could only clasp his hand over his friend's shoulder. " He tells the truth. Technically, it was my fault. I didn't realise he was there until he said 'hi'. But I got a lot of thinking done before hand."

" Quick question; should we be worried?" Lloyd asked from where he sat shuffling the deck of cards in his hand.

" To be honest, I'm not quite sure. As usual, my head is messed up. I mean, it's so clouded in there I can't even figure out what components I'd need to make a new alarm system. But somehow I managed to figure out what I needed to do."

" And that would be?" Kai asked, voicing what was on everyone's minds.

" I need to finish the story."

The silence that filled the room was deafening. Each one of the ninja all looked at Jay with unanswered questions dancing around in their eyes. Even Tai-D stopped what it was doing and looked up at Jay, a white rook piece in its grasp as it packed up the chess board for Zane and Kai. Not one of them knew what to say. But amongst the confusion and apprehension they all felt, there was a hint of curiosity and pride at the fact that Jay was willing to explain things again.

Jay just turned around and made his way to the window that he had previously occupied that morning. To be honest, he had no idea how he was going to start. He remembered Nya telling the others where they ended up after being locked in a room at the Police Station and that he practically exploded at Kai afterwards. And he knew Nya had told her side of what happened after she threw him into the portal. But how did he continue from that?

" Where to start…" he said, mostly to himself. " Well, you guys know that we came here after Nya and I figured out where we would go to hide. And you know that we ended up being found and that Nadakhan captured Nya and forced her to marry him, the creep. I promise you, Nya, you will not have to wear any ballgowns ever again while I'm around. That is, if you don't want to.

" Anyway, after I was thrown into the portal, I landed back in the junkyard. I was a mess. Me being a mess now probably rivals me being a mess then. But my dad talked some sense into me and I managed to 'scrap together a few friends to help me out in a jam'. And you will not believe who those friends were."

In saying that, Jay turned around to reveal shining eyes and a dangerous smirk that made the others wonder what he had planned. And that look scared all of them. Especially in that moment.

" Please don't say Darreth. Please don't say Darreth. Please don't say Darreth." Kai pleaded under his breath.

" Funny you should say that, Kai." Jay's smirk seemed to gleam.

" Oh no."

" You recruited Darreth, didn't you?" Cole asked, already dreading the answer.

" He was the first recruit to the Ninja Replacements." The lightning master admitted.

Kai couldn't help his hand making its way to his forehead at the news. " Please tell me how we managed to win."

" And why you called them the Ninja Replacements." Cole added.

This time, Jay's expression turned to one of slight embarrassment. " To be honest, it was the first thing that came to mind. You guys were all out of commission and I am a ninja despite everything, not to mention a ninja doesn't work alone. It just came out. As for winning, I used my last wish, didn't I. it's why you can't remember anything.

" But you'll be glad to know that Darreth wasn't the only member of the Ninja Replacements. Oh man, you're going to love who I went to next."

" Dare I ask?" Kai sighed.

" It was Soto."

" What!?" A number of voices called out in shock, scaring away the seagulls that had tried to roost for the night.

" But Soto's the enemy." Lloyd was struggling to comprehend what Jay was saying.

It was Zane who spoke next, though. " Am I right in assuming Soto was chosen due to his knowledge of Djinns?"

" Well, yeah." Jay nodded.

It still took a minute for it all to sink in. Not only had Jay recruited Darreth, who was hopeless at pretty much everything he did, but he'd also recruited a previous enemy in Soto. Not to mention no one had any idea if the old pirate would be a repeat offender if he was released from prison. The other ninja could think of so many other, better people to recruit. People like the other elemental masters.

Jay seemed to realise what they were all thinking, though, because he just shook his head. He had spent a good few hours looking around Ninjago City and its surrounding areas (he hadn't had time to go much further out) for any elemental masters that could help his cause. Sadly, all he found was that most of them had been captured by the sky pirates. There had only been one elemental master that he had been successful in finding.

" I know what you're thinking." He said, raising his hands to placate his friends. " Why not go to the elemental masters? I'll tell you why. Almost all the elemental masters in Ninjago City were captured by Nadakhan. The only one who hadn't been captured, besides myself, was Skylor. And she was more than ready to close up shop for a little while and come help save Ninjago and crash a wedding once she knew what was going on."

" Okay, so why didn't you go to Skylor first?" Kai asked, still clearly irked by Darreth and Soto being on the team.

" Because Darreth and Soto were closer. The furthest I had to go was back here to the lighthouse to get Echo Zane. Not to mention he was more than willing to protect Ninjago and help save Nya. The final members of the team were Ronin and the Police Commissioner. They kind of came as a package deal."

" In other words, Ronin was getting arrested by the Commissioner." Lloyd guessed.

" Yeah."

" Why not?" Kai sighed, making his way over to the nearest seat. " Jay, you really need to pick better members next time. I mean, Skylor, I can understand. Echo Zane… well, I'd have to meet him first. I'm not so sure on the Commissioner being part of the team. He has his own job after all. But Soto and Ronin? And Darreth? I'm sorry, but I really don't want to be replaced by Darreth."

" It was all I could do on such short notice, okay!" The lightning ninja grumbled. " Ninjago was literally falling apart and, aside from Nya, you were all stuck in a demon sword."

" Okay, I'll give you that."

Jay couldn't help the thin line his mouth created or the hard look in his eyes at Kai's antics. He had worked himself to the point where he thought he would never be able to move again – and that was including when he was getting beaten to near death by those stupid pirates. And because pirates took whatever they pleased, well…

" I think I did a pretty good job leading them, actually. We came up with a plan to ride the next piece of land that was sent up to Djinjago because that was the only way to get up there what with the pirates having claimed the Destiny's Bounty. And we managed to catch one of the pirates who were trying to spy on us as well. Although I did nearly miss the landmass chasing the other guy, but I got there. The Commissioner ended up staying behind to take the guy we did catch over to the prison cell.

" When we got up there, I managed to all the guards, because every man and his dog was guarding Nya, just so I could end up with the sword even though I was aiming for rescuing Nya. Granted I am grateful that you managed to get that creep to part with that stupid sword, Nya. Anyway, the Ninja Replacements and I, we gathered around the sword, talking about how to get you all out of there, when Soto came up with the solution… strike me down with it."

Jay then turned to face Zane with a dead serious look on his face. Though he did notice the shine of bronze eyes against copper metal peeking through the trap door at them as he did so. Obviously, Echo Zane had gotten courageous again and was now trying to make out who these 'intruders' were once more. But the blue ninja ignored the hiding android in favour of continuing with his story before he got cold feet again.

" Zane. How do I put this without being nasty?" He said. " Your brother is very… simple. You tell him to do something and he will do it to the tee. He also tends to use his own body parts to fix something without regards to his own safety. On that note, he does fall apart easily. But his loyalty is just as powerful as yours, my friend. And he does okay intellectually, you're just… more knowledgeable, being older and all. It's just, when I gave him the sword and gave him the signal, he kind of misunderstood my use of the word when I used it a little later on. I was trying to explain something at the time, and he struck me down mid-sentence."

" What did you use? The word 'now'?" Kai asked.

" Actually, the word was 'go'."

" Serves you right for using such a commonly used word."

" Don't you talk! You were the first one to get sucked into the sword!"

Cole decided he had to do something before things escalated any further. He took a step to the side, easily placing himself between his two brothers, before putting his hands up in surrender.

" Okay, okay. Let's just settle down here." He said, watching the fire and lightning ninja for any more hostilities between them.

Both Kai and Jay forced themselves to take a deep breath. There was no use getting worked up over the use of a single word. What had happened with said word was now just a part of a – rather horrific – story, after all. A story that sent Jay turning back to face the reddening sky beyond the lighthouse after taking a second, deep breath.

The lightning ninja hadn't realised how close to night-time it was. It honestly felt like it was still mid-afternoon when he had started this part of the story. Heck, it felt like it was mid-afternoon now. But the sky told another story. And it almost seemed fitting to end the story as darkness fell. Almost because he knew the nightmares would plague his mind as he slept once he did finish.

" Being in the sword itself was surprisingly distracting." Jay forced himself to continue. " It was working against you, trying to make you succumb to its magic, making you sleepy and trying to grow these weird crystals on you which make you even more sleepy. I think, the longer you were in there, the more crystals drained your powers or something. Anyway, I found you first, Kai, shook you awake and knocked the crystals off you, then we found Zane and Cole, followed by Lloyd, Misako and Wu. To make things worse, we had a time limit of, like, a few minutes or else we'd be trapped in there forever. I had to get in, find you all, and get out before that time limit was up. And, of course, Clouse was trapped in there and wanted out as well, trying to take advantage of that time limit, and caught a hold of my foot. That's why I was out a little later than the rest of you. I almost didn't make it out because that idiot was trying to drag me back into the sword. You'll be pleased to know he got a foot to the chest. Two, actually. I… kind of used him as a springboard to get back up to the portal in time to get out of the demon sword. We were welcomed back by the Ninja Replacements amongst the ruins of a tool shed up in Djinjago.

" After a quick catch up, I returned focus to crashing the wedding, because, you know, that was kind of important. So we split up. Us ninja went to go crash the wedding while Wu and Misako took the Ninja Replacements back to the city to evacuate it, or at least keep people safe, because once Nadakhan lost his power, Djinjago would crash into Ninjago. Thank you Lloyd for pointing that out in your old wisdom."

" Old?" Lloyd balked.

" Yeah. One of your wishes was to be wise like your uncle. Somehow Nadakhan twisted it to make you grow old. And I mean old man with white hair and everything. You were surprisingly fit in your old age, though, managing to keep up with us younger ninja as we rushed to the temple of airjitsu and crash that wedding that that stupid Djinn succeeded in making us miss."

" You really hate this Djinn, don't you." Cole pointed out as Lloyd continued to try and understand why everyone wanted him to age so rapidly.

" With a passion."

The darkness in Jay's eyes as he turned around and spoke those words sent chills down the spines of the other ninja. It reminded them all of the darkness in the eyes of every single enemy they had fought… and it scared them. Not to mention the destruction their friend had caused to the training grounds not long ago flashed in the minds of Cole, Kai and Lloyd at both the words and the sight before them. But, somehow, they all knew that the worse was yet to come.

" So Nadakhan got his infinite wishes. I failed at making my last wish just as the creep spelled Nya into some sort of deep sleep. He then made one heck of a lot of clones of his ugly mug, oh and banished his own crew once they realised what was going on, and sent the clones to chase us away. But Clancee, a Serpentine member of the crew managed to tell me where the poison dart was before he was banished, and the two remaining crew members, Dogshanke and Flintlocke, they defected and joined our side.

" It was with their help that we managed to get rid of the clones. You see, there were sky mines between us and the Misfortune's Keep where the poison was being kept. Live sky mines. We airjitsued our way up to the ship and once we were all safely aboard, Dogshanke blew up the mines. Would it be wrong to say I enjoyed watching all those Nadakhan clones blow up?"

The other ninja didn't know what to say to that. They honestly never realised Jay had such a sadistic side to him. Not to mention they weren't sure if his Post Traumatic Stress was playing a part in it. They preferred to see their friend happy and smiling over some really bad sounding jokes. What they were seeing now was really starting to scare them. Especially seeing that Jay was now starting to get a glazed look in his eyes.

" But through all this," Jay continued, " I learned something. Wishing for something won't make it come true. If you really want something, you have to make it happen. We held all the power. Nadakhan just tried to mask that and use that power against us. I felt the dart with Flintlocke so he could make the shot. Then I rammed Nadakhan's ship into the temple… and I think I enjoyed that a little, too. Like I said before, it was the temple of airjitsu. And I destroyed it. It was ghost free, but I liked destroying it as well as that accursed ship. That temple turned my best friend into a ghost… and the love of my life was unwillingly married to a way older than you think creep from a dead world.

" That's when the final battle began. We tried to dodge every attack the creep threw at us and we sent attacks of our own with Lloyd even managing to hit him. But we were annoying him as we tried to separate Nadakhan from the possessed body of Nya because that creep had gone and wished his old love's spirit, the spirit of Dilara, into Nya while we were busy running from his clones and stealing his ship. The creep turned you all to gold statues and left me alone again. When Flintlocke finally took the shot, I thought I was going to die. But it wasn't me. I didn't die."

The second Jay closed his eyes, his mind flooded with the memory of seeing that green spot on that accursed wedding dress that Nya had worn. His mind flooded with seeing Nya's mind return just in time for her to… Jay's back hit the wall and he slid down it until he was able to curl himself into a ball. He didn't want to say what happened next. He didn't want to remember.

But somehow, he pushed through. Even though he could feel the tears forming in his eyes and the world closing in on him again, he knew he had to push through and finish. The others had a right to know what had happened, after all. Especially Kai.

" Nadakhan was hit… but so was Nya. She called my name, and everything stopped. She was falling, but I managed to catch her and held her in my arms. And tiger widow venom is fatal to humans. 'Only one wish'. Wish Nadakhan mortal, Nya dies. Wish Nya well, Nadakhan wins. I was the only one who could stop him. I had to make the wish. My last wish. But I didn't want to lose Nya. Her last words… I remember them so clearly. They haunt my dreams. ' Guess it's true. The greatest love stories do always end in tragedy'. Then she was gone. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. My mouth formed words, but I didn't realise what they were until later. My last wish. The one that saved us all. The one that turned back time. The one that erased your memories. I wish you had taken my hand, and no one ever found that teapot in the first place.

" Then we were back on the hospital rooftop. And Nya was alive and she remembered everything and I remembered everything and everyone else had no clue about what had happened. And the only reason why Nya remembered what had happened was because she had died before I made my last wish. I wasn't… I remembered because it was my wish. I realise that now. But by the First Spinjitsu Master, I wish… no, I pray I had been able to forget. Forget the pain. Forget the loss and loneliness. Forget the death. But I can't forget. I just can't!"

And that's when Jay broke down, everything bottled up inside since then emerging as wails and tears. He had finally hit rock bottom and there was nothing he could do to stop himself. Nya eased herself down beside her boyfriend and gently pulled him into a warm embrace, letting him cry into her chest while also letting him know that she was there for him. The other boys, not knowing what to do now that they were seeing Jay's most vulnerable state, stepped away to give their friend the space he needed… and to comprehend what it was they had just been told.

Cole looked over the two lovers, noticing that Nya now had silent tears streaming down her own face as she whispered comforting words into Jay's ear, before turning away to head over to the cooler. Perhaps there was something there for Jay to eat… if he wanted it. Lloyd just mulled things over in his head where he sat once more at the table. Zane tried to meld with the shadows, keeping an eye on his fellow ninja as well as their surroundings for any unwanted threats. They all wished they could do something but at the same time they all knew they could do nothing.

But Kai seemed to take it the hardest aside from Jay and Nya. He had come so close to losing his little sister, to failing at protecting her, and he owed it all to Jay for making sure that didn't happen. Not to mention he had pretty much failed at protecting Jay himself. It was clear to the others that Kai was blaming himself for what had happened. After all, if he had just stayed with Jay instead of rushing off like he had been told he'd done, perhaps Jay wouldn't be the way he was now.

It was these kinds of thoughts rushing through the fire ninja's brain that forced a growl to erupt from his throat. Instantly, all attention was on him. But he couldn't force himself to vocalise his internal feelings. He hated the fact that he couldn't do anything to protect his family. He hated not knowing what to do to help Jay now. And, right now, he hated himself for not being able to vocalise that hatred.

Finally, after taking a deep breath to calm himself, Kai managed to look over to Jay and Nya with pleading eyes. " What can we do to help you, Jay? What can I do?"

" J-j-just… Just be you, Kai." Jay stuttered, somehow managing to calm himself after a few minutes. " And make dinner. I like your spaghetti bolognaise."

" Do we even have all the ingredients?"

Cole checked the cooler. " Apparently, we do. Including the spices."

" Then spaghetti it is. Hey, Gizmo, know where the pots are?" When the Tai-D bot didn't respond, Kai went searching for it. " Little Gizmo?"

He found the robot by the trap door, looking down at a pair of bronze eyes and holding something out. It looked like a can of oil. But that wasn't what stopped Kai in his tracks. It was the pair of eyes which looked really worried and scared. And, as the fire ninja went to take a step towards the door, the eyes darted to him for a split second before dashing out of sight, quickly followed by the Tai-D bot still with the can in its grasp.

" What the? Hey, wait!" Kai called, alerting the other ninja.

" Is everything alright, Kai?" Zane asked, sounding worried.

" I think I just saw your mysterious brother, Zane. And the gizmo went after him."

Jay wiped his face clean and got to his feet before giving a shaky smile. " Then let's go meet him. And remember, he is shy."

" Are you sure?" Nya asked as gently as she could, also drying her face and getting up.

" No time like the present. Besides, we can introduce him to food."

With that all clear, the ninja made their way down the stairs in a rather calm fashion… even if it did confuse most of them. Both Kai and Cole wanted to rush down the stairs to stop the mysterious android with Zane still feeling a little unsure about the upcoming meeting and so opting to stay at the back of the group with Lloyd. But with Jay and Nya leading them down, they were all forced to keep the same pace.

Things got even more confusing once they reached the bottom of the steps. No one had gone outside since Jay and Cole had earlier that day as the lock on the door hadn't been moved since then. And from what they could see as they were coming down the stairs, no one was hiding behind the boxes. So, where had Zane's brother gone? And why was the Tai-D bot staring at the wall, holding the oil can like it was some sort of futuristic ray gun that could blast the wall to pieces?

" There's a hidden room, isn't there?" Cole asked, looking between the expectant robot by the fake wall he had noticed earlier and the promised couple beside him.

For a reply, Nya gave the black ninja a knowing smile and pulled the camouflaged lever, revealing Cole's theories to be true.

There was indeed a room behind the wall. A reasonably sized room filled with tools, gears and rolled up blueprints as well as unfinished projects lying about. Not to mention the room was home to even more boxes with similar contents to those in the main lobby area. But, just like the rest of the lighthouse, the room was practically spotless, with the only light coming from the porthole in the far wall, resting at sea level.

Then there was the Tai-D bot which wheeled itself into the room and over to the large bookshelf that made the room its home, practically shoving the oil can at the thing… or rather whatever was behind the bookshelf.

" Um… why would Zane's brother be hiding from us?" Kai asked.

" Maybe he's terrified of your hairstyle." Cole Quipped.

" More like he's terrified of yours."

" You do remember us saying he's shy, right?" Nya butted in before anything serious could happen between the two boys.

Clearly, they had forgotten, because both boys looked away with identical sheepish expressions on their faces. This left Nya to heave a sigh as if she should have known that would be the case. But before the water ninja could turn her attention to the hidden boy behind the bookshelf, Zane stepped forward.

" Hello? You can come out. It's safe. We are friends." He said a little cautiously.

Slowly, cautiously, a copper form emerged from behind the bookshelf. He was similar to Zane in looks, clearly built by the same genius doctor, although his copper shell was rusted something fierce from the lack of care and the constant sea-spray hanging in the air. Unlike Zane, he had no access panel covering his internal workings, easily showing his windup, steam powered power source. He also seemed to be a little bit shorter in height than Zane was.

" Hello there. My name is Zane," the ice ninja introduced himself before he did those behind him, " and this is Kai, Cole, Nya, Jay and Lloyd."

Of course, this confused the copper android. " But, I am Zane. Built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

Zane could only smile. " I, too, was built to protect others. We were built by the same man, an inventor by the name of Doctor Julien. Our father."

" Father?"

" Yes. We are brothers."

" Brothers?"

" Yes."

For a few seconds, it seemed like Zane was fighting a losing battle trying to get through to this obviously younger version of himself. But then bronze eyes shone as the meaning behind the words was recognised within the younger's processors. Not long after that, the copper android's features seemed to ease away some of his confusion. True, he may have been a little naïve, but he honestly felt like he could trust these people, this nindroid, before him. And he liked the idea of having a brother.

" Brothers." He said again, trying out the word. " But if you, brother, are Zane, and I am Zane…"

" Do not fear. I believe I… no, we have a solution for that. We could give you a new name. Do you like the sound of the name Echo Zane?" The titanium ninja asked.

Again, the copper Zane tested out the words being given to him. " Echo Zane. I think… I think I can get used to it. But I also like the sound of Echo."

" If you want, we could call you Echo sometimes as well." Nya suggested with a smile and a slight wink towards Jay.

It was a clear sign to the lightning master that the gradual change in names was a much gentler way to differentiate the two nindroids than when they had first discovered Echo Zane. After all, back in the alternate timeline, they had essentially discussed the boy's existence right in front of him. Granted, he didn't seem to care at the time, but thinking back on it, it felt wrong to have done something like that.

" I'd like that." Echo's smile seemed to widen at the suggestion. But, still, he turned to face Zane with confusion in his eyes. " But what did you mean by 'we'?"

Zane didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't thought that would need clarification. He had merely been trying to include the other ninja as it, essentially, had been their idea. Jay and Nya if he was being specific. Thankfully, Jay noticed his slight stumble and was there to help him out. The blue ninja stepped forward with a saddened expression on his face.

" Sadly, your father died," he started, knowing full well that what he said next would be a lie, " but he told us about you. Or rather, he told Zane and Zane told us when he was still trying to understand everything that had happened. So, because you both have the same name, we threw out… I mean we talked about some name ideas to differentiate between the two of you when we were talking about the two of you. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get here until now because of our… um… our job."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jay could feel the confusion in the room as if it was a thick layer of dust settling all around him. And he knew it was stemming mostly from his fellow ninja as they tried to understand where this lie had suddenly come from. Even worse, he knew he was going to be lectured about lying as soon as the others got a chance to talk to him away from Echo's curious ears.

But he didn't want to have to explain the alternate timeline again anytime soon. The pain was still too raw within him. He barely managed to get through it the first time. And he was still recovering from telling the story. Maybe when he felt a little better, he could retell the story for Echo Zane to understand. If Echo went with them to the monastery… and if he questioned the lie.

Nya seemed to understand, though, as his eyes met hers when he turned around slightly, because the confusion in her eyes quickly melted into an understanding smile. The others were completely lost, however. Judging from the story they had just heard, they were pretty sure that Dr Julien had not mentioned anything about Echo Zane.

But all attention was lost on the matter when Jay's words finally sunk into the copper android's CPU.

" Father is dead?" Echo asked softly.

" Yes." Zane replied with a sad nod. " But he went peacefully, so no harm came to him. And he wanted you to be free of this place. He wanted you to experience the world beyond the lighthouse."

" Go out there? Where Father said not to go?"

" There is no need to worry. I will be with you, brother. We all will. And we will make sure that no harm comes to you."

" But I am built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

" Then we can protect each other."

Echo Zane fell silent for a few minutes. In thought, he looked around the hidden basement, taking in every little detail in his attempts to figure out what he should do. Then his eyes landed on the Tai-D bot still holding the oil can out to him.

" What about Tai-D?" He asked, turning back to his brother.

Zane's smile only widened. " We can bring him with us if that is what you wish."

" Outside… beyond the lighthouse. I think… I think I'd like to join you, brother." Echo smiled, holding his hand out.

The smile spread to all around, with Zane even embracing his newfound brother in an ecstatic hug. It was a happy moment to see the two brothers together. And the ninja couldn't wait to meet their new friend more in depth now that he would be joining them.