Chapter 12! A quick note regarding my updates of this story, Stuck in the Past, and The Wrong Team. I understand that The Wrong Team is a bit more popular, but I'm so close to finishing this one that I will update Stuck in the Past until it is finished, then focus on The Wrong Team. This will be a bit easier for me, as I will eventually have less on my plate. Once this story is done, The Wrong Team will be updated with priority, with some updates with my Ninjago One-shots. I hope that this is okay, I'm just trying to make this a bit easier for me.

HyperbolB: That time travel logic makes PERFECT sense, thank you, I feel smarter already! There are so many different views on time travel...but this one fits perfectly with my story. Thanks again!

And, as always, I'm so thankful for the continued support of this story, thanks to all of you!

The Master of Lightning took his bike, knowing that it would be the fastest mode of transportation they would have. He was ahead of the group when he saw the crater that formed in the earth ahead of him. His grip on his bike tightened, willing it to go faster. Maya was holding onto him from behind, and he could feel that she had tensed up too. He could see a flying pirate ship elevate out of the hole in the ground, and Jay activated his communicator.

"Guys, they're getting away on their ship!"

"I believe that our wisest course of action is to take down the ships from the air using our Elemental Dragons, and then attack it when it is down." Zane responded, and Jay stopped his bike, startling Maya.

"You stay on the ground, I'm going to get the ship!" He said, sparking his dragon.

"Wait, Dad, you can't do it alone!" Maya cried, but Jay didn't hear her, and flew up to meet the ships.

Maya stood on the ground, concentrating her energy, willing herself to form her own dragon. It never came. Before she could try again, she saw the rest of the Ninja come up behind her.

"Maya, Akita, and Mo, I want you guys on the ground, " Nya said, hopping out of the vehicle she shared with Akita. " Zane and Pixal will search the tunnels, in case this is a distraction, and the rest of us will take down the ships. Hopefully Kai and Keith will get here soon."

"Well, Ninja Go, I guess." Akita said, and she turned into a wolf. Lloyd and Nya summoned their dragons, and joined Jay, who had already begun to shoot the ships with lightning.

Maya watched them fly up, and shivered. She was terribly nervous, and could feel the lighting inside of her swell.

As Nya flew to meet her fiance, she noticed how pale he had gotten, and came to his side.

"Jay, are you okay?" She shouted, moving her dragon out of the way of a cannonball. Jay cast her a quick glance, and shook his head no.

But, nonetheless, he shot another bolt of lighting, hitting Dogshank, who was the one firing the canon. She jolted, but withstood the attack well, firing another cannonball.

"We have to get inside!" Jay shouted, and Lloyd dropped down onto the ship, Jay following suit. Nya stayed outside, shooting water at the thrusters, hoping that it would take the ship down.

On the ship, Lloyd and Jay ran separate directions looking for Cole, and attacking any pirates that stood in their way. Jay noticed, with worry, that Nadakhan wasn't on the Misfortune's Keep. That meant he was either on the ground, or in the tunnels.

Jay ran to the cell where he had spent countless hours in, looking for his friend. He peered down into the whole, and saw nothing.

Where would Nadakhan keep him? Jay asked himself, but then remembered. His own quarters! With that in mind, Jay burst through every door, hoping he found Cole soon. Finally, after the last door opened, Jay found the familiar room, the room where he was tricked, and stuffed in a corner with a vengstone chain around his ankle. Nadakhan's quarters.

Don't think about that, Jay, don't think about it.

He drew his sword, awaiting an attack, but it never came. He frantically searched for his friend in the room, but didn't find him. He was panicking.

"Cole! Cole, are you in here?" He yelled, opening the closet. Without warning, a heavy object fell on him, and Jay stumbled to the ground. He was about the shock whatever had fallen on him, until he saw the familiar black hair that was now in his face.

"Cole!" Jay said, getting out from underneath him and picking him up. Cole's eyes were closed, but he stirred in his grip.

"Come on, buddy, wake up." Jay said, shaking him gently. Cole's eyes didn't open, and, before Jay could try again, he heard what sounded like hundreds of people coming down the corridor. He quickly made his way to the window, which was unbarred, and broke it open. He cleaned the edges of glass, and climbed out.

"Ninja, halt!" Flintlock said from behind him. Jay didn't reply, all he did was jump, Cole still in his arms.

As he fell through the air, he focused on the lightning, making his elemental dragon form. Once it did, Jay held a firm grip on the reins with one hand, and held Cole in the other. In a swift motion, he flew toward Nya.

"Nya, I got Cole, tell Lloyd to get off of the ship and we'll all take this thing down." He shouted, and Nya nodded. Jay watched as Lloyd exited the ship, summoning his own dragon, and breathed a sigh of relief.

When Jay flew his dragon to Lloyd, it, without warning, sputtered out of existence, the lighting fading, and Jay felt empty. Before the Master of Lightning could realize what was happening, the two were falling.

"Jay!" Nya shouted, and she dived to get him, Lloyd flew down beside her.

"You get Jay, I'll get Cole!" He shouted, and the two grabbed their friends.

"Thanks," Jay panted, climbing up behind her, and Nya smiled, but the smile faded as soon as it came. Nya felt empty. And they were falling.

" LLOYD!" They screamed, and the ground came closer and closer. Jay reached for Nya, remembering how they created the Hydroelectric Dragon previously, and she reached for him. They held onto each other, concentrating, but no dragon came.

"Jay, what's going on?" Nya screamed, and Jay felt tears burn his eyes, from fear or the fall, he wasn't sure.

"I love you, Nya!" He shouted, and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, someone caught them. Jay opened his eyes, expecting to see Lloyd, but instead saw Kai, his Fire Dragon burning bright below them.

Nya sighed, and gripped its body with one hand, and Jay in the other.

"It looks like I got here right on time." Kai said, and Jay nodded. Dropping them on the ground, Jay saw that an all out Pirate-versus-Ninja battle was going on. He saw Mo and Akita attacking the pirates in their wolf form, and Keith blasting them with his fire. Lloyd landed his dragon, and held a now conscious Cole, who struggled to stay on his feet.

Kai ran to join the fray, and Lloyd sat Cole on the ground.

"The ship's on a collision course. Cole needs to rest."

"Mmm fine…" Cole mumbled, and Nya ran to his side, giving him a quick medical examination.

"Where's Zane and Pixal? Are they still in the tunnels?" Nya asked, but Lloyd shrugged, running to join the fight. Jay felt fear grip his stomach, and his throat tightened. Wasn't there something they were forgetting?

Maya. Where was Maya?

After a quick search of the battlefield, a search that proved unfruitful, Jay ran up the tunnels and jumped down, landing in the dust. He looked up, and saw Maya holding Pixal, electricity flowing around her uncontrollably. She was shaking, and tears streamed down her face. Her hair, previously auburn, was streaked with light blue strips.

Lightning shot down from the sky, hitting the ground where she knelt, and Jay was filled with fear.

He had no clue what was going on. All he knew was that he had to calm her down.

"Maya…" He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinched away, but her eyes met his, and they were a shocking blue.

"Maya, calm down for me, okay? You have to calm down."

"He….he hurt Pixal." She said, softly. Thunder cracked in the distance, and brilliant strokes of lightning could be seen above them.

Jay gripped both of her shoulders, and kept a firm grip on her, even when she tried to turn away.

"Look at me, Maya, look at me." Jay said sternly, and she faced him. "We can fix Pixal. It's going to be okay."

"Jay, what's going on? There's tons of lightning up here!" Lloyd said through the coms, but Jay silenced it, focusing on his daughter. From the cries of fear above, he could tell that the lightning was becoming uncontrollable.

"Get away from me!" She shouted, and Jay's eyes widened as a bolt of lightning shot out of her chest and onto his. He flew back, stunned, and hit the tunnel wall hard. Jay gasped for breath, his lungs searching for air. He tasted copper in his mouth, but got up, even though he knew that he should stay down.

"Maya, please, calm down!" He said, trying to ignore the way everything stung.

"Jay! You must get away from her!" Someone said, and Jay looked further down the tunnel, where Zane ran his direction.

"What's going on with her, Zane?" Jay said, frantic. The lighting was getting worse, and it lit up the sky with elegant fear.

"Her stress levels reached an unstable high, and her elemental level skyrocketed with it! She has become overpowered, the lighting is overwhelming her, she cannot think clearly!" Zane said, dragging Jay away from her. " I believe that she has taken part of your element by accident, and that's why she's so powerful."

"But, Nya couldn't make her dragon, either! Why is there only lightning?"

"I don't know! All I know is that if we can't control her soon, we will all likely die, including the pirates!"

"We need to get Nya!" Jay said, watching as more of Maya's hair turned blue, more lighting streaking through the sky with it, hitting the ground.

"What will Nya do? She may be her mother, but I don't think she knows how to fix this! I don't even know how!"

"I'm scared." Jay said, softly, and he plunged into a memory.

It was his seventh birthday. They had planned on going to the beach, to teach Jay how to swim. Jay was excited, he had never been to a beach before, let alone an ocean. He didn't want to wait for his parents before going into the water. So, he didn't.

The water lapped at his body, and he continued to walk until he couldn't. And that's when the panic set in.

He remembered the taste of salt entering his mouth as the water enveloped him, a cold, suffocating hug. Like chains wrapped around his throat, and he thrashed, moving his body away from the water, the water that would never leave his side.

He was scared.

Then, strong arms grabbed him, and he didn't have the strength to resist. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was in the hot sun, the sand on his back, and his father held him, concern written on every feature of his face. Jay began to cry, thinking that the arms around him was the water, only there to hurt him, He wretched out of his father's grip, and fought as his parents tried to comfort him.

"Stay away from me!" He cried, and he fought harder against their love, the love that he thought was death.

Until, his mother held on and never let go. She let him hit her, let him struggle, but held onto him like he was a lifeline. She eventually became his lifeline, and it had calmed Jay down.

Jay knew that they would never hurt him, never let him go.

As the memory faded, Jay knew what he had to do now. He had to hold on.

Ignoring Zane's worried words, he ran to Maya once again, prying Pixal out of her grip. He knelt down in front of her, and wrapped her in a hug, trying to ignore the way the electricity danced over his skin, through his bones, the way she punched him and thrashed in his arms. It hurt, so, so bad, but he had to take it. Not only did Maya depend on it, but his friends that continuously fought above him did, too.

As he held on, he could feel his skin burn, the smell permeating the static-filled air, but he sensed that Maya fought against his love less and less, soon calming down in his arms.

The lightning ceased, and Maya slumped into his chest, wailing into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry…" She cried, and Jay rubbed her back.

"It's okay….just relax...it's okay…"

"Oh, how cute. A father-daughter moment. Too bad I'm interrupting the party." A sly voice said, and Jay looked up.

"Nadakhan."

Ohh, a cliffhanger! I do a lot of these. This chapter was so long and eventful that it looks like the next chapter or two might be the last. Anyways, I'll try to get the next chapter out by next week, but we'll see. Stay tuned and review!

#God'sNotDead