Author's Note: Yeah, I just have a quick question… Are some of you guy's lives revolving around my fanfic? I mean seriously! While I do appreciate you guys liking my story, I do NOT appreciate the constant badgering. In case you guys haven't noticed, that isn't an effective tactic to get an author to update quicker. It only delays updates due to aggravation. Y'all need to know something, and I'm only gonna say this once. I AM AN ADULT, NOT A CHILD OR A TEENAGER! I am also a mother with a very taxing schedule. I am writing this fic and any other work that I'm doing in my spare time. That's it. is NOT the number one priority in my life. I'm sorry, but it's not. So if you guys can't show me the civility and maturity that someone with common sense would and should have, then I'd rather you not leave any kind of review/comment at all. You got me? Everyone else, thank you very much for your loving support and most of all thank you for your maturity and kindness. Please continue to leave me your sweet thoughts regarding the chapter's content and constructive criticism.

Unexpected

By: Mad Betrayal

"False friendship, like the ivy, decays and ruins the walls it embraces; but true friendship gives new life and animation to the object it supports…"—Richard Burton

Chapter 17 ~ A Prophecy Come True

Cole had figured it out. As soon as he, Kai, and Zane got down to Jay's lab, and he saw the massive cluster of glowing green meteors slowing being pulled in by Ninjago's orbit, the gaping holes within last night's dream became filled. Brad's prophecy would bring forth a new beginning. Not just for him and Jay, and not just for everyone residing on the Destiny's Bounty, but for Ninjago as a whole.

Destruction… Power… New life…

The Master of Earth stared at the orbital monitor intently, a pensive frown darkening his features. But last night's dream clearly took place in the future…the part between me and Jay anyway... And Jay mentioned Brad's prophecy in the dream, so this had to have happened… So then…does this mean all my other dreams are going to come true too…? But the one about Jay's…suicide… I wasn't able to stop it… Are my dreams telling me that there is a different route in our futures…? One where Jay survives and we're happy together…? I've had no dreams without Jay in them… So then…I have to believe that there's a way to keep him alive…so that all my other dreams might come to fruition… I want a future with Jay…not without him…

"Fuck, just look at those things," Kai whispered harshly from beside him. "They don't look like any meteors I've ever seen… Not that I've seen many, but still…"

Sensei Wu and Sensei Garmadon had returned to the Bounty shortly after Cole made the call to warn his clan about the impending doom. However, Jay, Lloyd, Brad, and Nya have yet to come back, though Jay said they were on their way. Sensei Garmadon turned to Zane tersely. "What did our meteorologists and astrophysicists have to say about this?"

The white ninja shook his head. "I have checked all the local news and weather channels, but none speak of the meteors. All that has been reported is a sever snowstorm due south of Paramount City."

"I do not understand. How could they not see this?" Sensei Wu asked, gesturing at the orbital monitor. He looked to Zane. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you and Jay hack into the North Ninjago Space Association's network? If we can see this, why not them?"

Zane pondered this for a moment, his face etched into hard concentration as he looked at the screen display. "Perhaps it has something to do with the technology we're using," he mused thoughtfully. "While it is true that Jay and I hacked into the XZA satellite, we only tapped into the outpost's energy components and data signatures." Zane then gestured to the monitors and surrounding equipment. "The real power, however, stems from Jay's paraphernalia, and we were able to increase the overall range of our surveillance with the combined support of the XZA. So in theory, I do believe Ninjago's meteorologists and astrophysicists will discover the meteors, only…I'm afraid they'll discover them…too late…"

"Then we have to warn them ourselves."

Everyone turned to the entrance of the lab where Jay's voice had hailed from, to see him descend the stairs and enter with Nya, Brad, and Lloyd in tow. Cole could feel his heart give a yearning tug in his best friend's direction, and his mind happily supplied another sweep of rapturous emotion by displaying a quick fragment of one of Cole's more heated dreams about the lightning ninja. He hurriedly fought down a blush. Now was not the time to get flustered.

"New Ninjago City is without a doubt the best location to send out a world-wide broadcast about the incoming meteors, but Cole…" Jay stopped in front of him and looked into his eyes, his deep blues calm but questioning, "…are they really gonna strike there?"

Getting himself under control, the black ninja nodded with certainty. "I know it sounds weird, but I…I have a strong hunch that New Ninjago City will be a primary target. However, there's also a possibility of them hitting other cities or even other continents." He turned back to the monitor and Jay positioned himself by his side. "I mean, just look at how many there are."

Jay scrutinized the screen and gave his own analysis. "Hmm, yeah, but it looks like not all of them will be pulled into Ninjago's orbit…" He went forth and pointed at the meteors' visualization. "Check out their trajectory. Some of them are already veering off course and heading towards the HES-88 direction—out of harm's way. What we really need to worry about are these suckers here," Jay said, moving his finger towards the front of the cluster of asteroids. "These are the bunch that is destined to become meteorites."

"But do you believe we can really get the proper authorities to listen to us?" Zane asked skeptically. "And more than that, can we get them to issue out an evacuation of New Ninjago City based on a hunch?"

"We have little choice but to try, Zane. And truth be told, New Ninjago City seems to be the happening place for misfortune and tragedy if its history is anything to go by," Kai chimed in, easily making Cole recall the city's atrocious past circumstances: The Great Devourer, the Stone Army Invasion, and the Overlord's—not once but twice—sieges on the city. Throw in a few rounds of betrayals and needless gambits and ulterior motives and you got yourself Gotham City's equivalent.

The red ninja placed a hand on his opposite's shoulder. "But they won't be issuing an evacuation. New Ninjago City is the biggest metropolis on the island. So even if we got there and they listened to us right away, an evacuation of a city that size would take at least a week." He turned his sharp golden-amber eyes to the rest of his clan. "The fallout shelters are our best bet for protecting the people as well as ourselves, and if we have to force our way in and broadcast to the people to get their asses to safety on our own then so be it."

"But Kai, if we did that then no doubt we would send the populace into pandemonium," Zane argued, and Kai frowned. "They must be kept calm and ensured their survival by people they can trust, and let us face facts. Ninja are not known to be trustworthy; we may come off as terrorists to them."

"We'll get them to listen to us—peacefully," Jay said, breaking the rising tension with his trademark optimism. "I'll gather the data from here and show it to the higher-ups, and then maybe they can rationalize the pertinence of the people's safety regardless of the odds—"

"Kaasan! It's Brad, he's—"

But the remainder of Lloyd's shout was obscured by the familiar, elongated drone of the Bounty's power going out, and the Nomad Clan was, once again, thrust into complete darkness. Cole immediately felt a smaller hand slip into his, and thinking it to be Jay, he tightened his hold on it.

"I'm right here, Lloyd…"

Cole then realized that Jay's voice sounded more far away than it should…and felt that the hand in his was a bit too small and delicate to be Jay's…

"Hold on guys, I'll give us some light." As soon as the words left Kai's mouth, he created a ball of fire in his palm and illuminated the room with his power. Cole's heart hammered against his ribcage in anxiety when he looked down beside him to see Nya in Jay's place. She smiled arduously up at him, but he kept his face stonewalled and released her hand. A bewildered frown disfigured her face at his action, and he discouraged her further by stepping away. Unfortunately though, she held on to his hand.

Cole grimaced. He knew this wasn't the time to confront Nya about her decision. That would have to wait for after their current crisis to pass. Thus, he did his best to ignore her persistence. He then gave his attention to Lloyd, and found Jay kneeling down beside him…and an unconscious Brad.

"Oh man, I hope this doesn't become a regular thing for him," Kai said, eyeing the fallen raven sympathetically.

"Wait…aren't we aloft this time?" Zane suddenly asked. "Why are we not plummeting to the ground…?"

Good question…and it would not be long before it was answered. For at that moment, Brad's eyes snapped open, glowing with the intertwined colors of green and blue as they did ten days ago.

"Brad…?" Lloyd whispered urgently to his friend, and to everyone's surprise, the raven actually responded, though his voice was choked and pained as he lay in the blonde's arms.

"L-Lloyd…I—I don't want…to see…these things…I…" Brad's face broke-out into a sweat, his eyes shut tight and his teeth clenched. It became obvious then that Brad was doing all he could to fight against his precognition—against the unnatural change Chen had cursed him with. "…The ship…can't let it…fall…"

The Bounty gave a sudden jerk and tilted, causing everyone to lose their footing and stumble. Cole caught Nya as she bumped into him, but turned desperate emeralds to the trio on the floor. "Brad! Hang on, I'm right here!" Lloyd shouted and took hold of his ailing friend's hand. He looked to Jay frantically. "Kaasan! What do we do?"

At first, Jay didn't give an answer nor did he look at Lloyd. His focus was solely on the agonized young man on floor. Despite the possible calamity and direness of the situation, Jay exuded tranquility. His lips even lifted into a hopeful grin. "You're going to be okay, Brad…" Jay's fingertips brushed aside sodden strands of the raven's hair. "You don't have to talk about what you're seeing, only know that impeding your power's path will further pain you. Let it flow through you naturally. This is your element, which means you control it. Don't let it control you. You can do it. We're all rooting for you here."

Jay had spoken with firm certainty and encouragement. And little by little, Brad's features smoothed and evened out as he calmed. "M…Mother…?"

The Bounty gradually leveled itself, and the lights flickered back on as power returned to the flying vessel. "Damn, that was a close one," Kai breathed with relief as he righted himself as well as Zane. "Good job, Jay."

The aforementioned ninja placed his hand on Brad's head and looked to Lloyd. "You'd better take him back to your room and let him rest there," Jay advised, and the blonde—while still looking fretful—nodded.

"Okay." With great care, Lloyd lifted his friend into his arms and carried him out of the lab and up the stairs.

Nya was being unusually clingy for some reason and Cole didn't like it. He gently but forcefully unwound her arms from around his waist and approached Jay as he got back up to his feet. "Looks like you stopped another oracle from happening," he said, eyeing the other man happily. But the brunette didn't return his smile or his gaze, his stunning sapphires affixed towards the exit where the younger men had made their leave.

"Yeah, seems that way…" he replied quietly. "…But I wonder if it was for the best. After all, like Sensei G said, forewarned is forearmed. We may have missed out on something vital."

Cole readily tried to ease Jay's troubled heart. "Maybe, but Brad was in pain and you helped him through it, Jay. I think that's what matters."

The azure ninja turned to him then and smiled. And Cole wanted to do nothing more but close the small gap between them and feel Jay's full, baby pink lips pressed against his. To relish in his tongue's delicious taste of sweet berries. But unfortunately he couldn't fulfill this aching desire…not yet anyway. Right now, he would have to settle for holding his hand. And when he took it, the lightning ninja's fair cheeks reddened with a blush…but thankfully, he didn't pull away. Instead, he gave Cole's hand a grateful squeeze.

Yes, this was the hand the Master of Earth wanted to hold…

By the time I woke up this morning, he and the others were already gone… I didn't get a chance to tell him how great he looks all decked-out in his winter clothes… I believe he once said that his mother made him that scarf he's wearing…

And while Cole reveled in his small moment with Jay, Kai voiced his opinion. "B'sides, life is much more exciting when it's full of surprises."

Zane chuckled lightly from beside his opposite. "Yes, I agree. Expecting the unexpected is much more thrilling. But what is also most noteworthy is that now both of our youngest members see you as their mother-figure, Jay." Hazel optics gazed at the blushing brunette with swelling admiration. "Your words and touch must've really soothed his heart and gave peace to his mind."

"Wha…?" Jay said, catching on to his brother's words. He shook his head roughly, the entirety of his face matching Kai's tunic. "No, no! Brad's totally different from Lloyd. He had a mom, while Lloyd didn't! I-I'm sure it was just a memory or something surfacing—an honest mistake! I must've triggered something! He most likely just misses her!"

Cole smiled. Jay obviously had a remarkable gift, one that separated him from the rest. Hell, it separated him from most men in general. But instead of accepting the praise, he becomes quickly flustered and modest. The black ninja briefly wondered what this could mean, given that his other half usually relished any praises given his way.

"Ah… A-Anyway, Brad's power not only kept us in the sky, but it also seemed to make us go faster… Look." Getting back to business, Jay pointed at a different monitor that displayed the geographical features of the surrounding territory. And everyone was shocked to see the familiar skyscrapers of New Ninjago City within sight.

"Well thank you, Brad…" Holding fast to Jay's hand, Cole turned to regard his clan members excitedly. "Alright! The meteors aren't due to hit until tomorrow and it's only half past three now. Zane, Kai, Jay, and I will go down to Wolf Network Broadcasting Station to talk to whoever's in charge…but not as ninja. We'll go as uh…concerned citizens instead."

"What about me?" Nya asked, looking most baffled and frustrated. She gave a quick, withering glare at Jay and Cole's joined hands then eyed the black ninja with a frown. "I can help out too. Let me come with you all."

Cole frowned, shifting into "leader mode". "No, it's best if you stay here, Nya. You know how to pilot the Bounty better than anyone else. Once you get her to a safe location away from New Ninjago City, you guys can fly back via dragons and we'll regroup, okay?"

The girl pursed her cherry lips angrily at Cole, before shifting her gaze to the one beside him. Her features then softened as she lifted her eyebrows expectedly at Jay, and Cole's brow puckered in confusion.

"A-Actually Cole, Nya could take my place in the operation. She can explain the data about the meteors just as well as I can—or even better!" There was a slight tremor in Jay's voice as he uttered his next words. "I…I can stay here… It's fine."

Nya's eyes glittered prettily in triumph, and she grinned with the utmost satisfaction at her ex's submissive tone. But Cole was not amused, and he felt anger rise in his chest like fire. He whirled on Jay belligerently. "Don't. Ever. Say that. Again." Cole's voice was low and serious as he stared into astonished sapphires. "No one can replace you, Jay. No one."

Cole's words were two-fold—not on the team…and not in his heart.

"Everyone will go where they are needed, and I need you by my side…" The earth ninja stepped closer to Jay and placed his lips near the latter's blushing ear. "…You promised…remember…?" Cole smiled charmingly as he heard that soft intake of breath, and with half-mast eyes, turned his head into the mass of silken, chestnut locks and inhaled Jay's delightful scent of apples and cinnamon.

It felt like ages since they were this close—close enough to breathe in each other's scents, close enough to feel the beat of each other's hearts. Cole knew better than to cause a scene, so the moment was very brief, but momentous all the same. For when he pulled back, Jay's smile made it worth it. It was a real smile, one from the bottom of his heart.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" He said with a slight emotional quiver in his breath. "And I can't break a promise…especially not to you…"

Cole's heart did a little happy dance in his chest. It was the first time since he and Jay got back from the Sea of Sand that he felt truly happy and at peace with the circumstances of his life. And the only person who could make this feeling last forever was the blue-eyed man in front of him.

Please wait for me, Jay… I'll make this right… Once this is all over, I'll have a talk with Nya and hopefully you won't feel so guilty about the idea of us being together anymore… So please…keep that beautiful smile on your face…

Filled with resolve and determination, Cole turned to address his extended family once more, ignoring Nya's flabbergasted expression as she gawked at him incredulously. "Okay! Let's make this thing happen! Kai and I have to change obviously, but after that we're square!"

Cole then lifted both his and Jay's hands up into the air and Kai and Zane mimicked the action, joining hands as well. "Ninja-GO!" The elemental Masters chorused in unison, but before Cole could turn and leave with Jay in tow, the lightning ninja tugged back to stay him.

"I can't leave just yet. I still have to gather the data here for transport and…I need to talk to Nya…"

Cole frowned as the vibrant smile left Jay's face and he worriedly looked back at his ex-girlfriend. Ignoring the urge to roll his eyes, Cole glanced back at Nya as well to see the girl looking clearly upset and cross-armed, refusing to look at anyone or anything. In short, she resembled a pouting child on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum. Was what he said really that unreasonable to her? It didn't make any sense to Cole, so he didn't comment on the subject.

"Alright, I'll meet you out on the deck then."

Jay nodded once and flashed him a grateful grin before approaching his ex. "Hey Nya, would you like to help me—"

"No. I have other business I need to attend to on the bridge," she cut her eyes viciously to Jay as if he betrayed her in the most grotesque way. "So if you'll excuse me…" And with that final, biting remark, she fled from the room and up the stairs.

Cole watched with narrowed eyes as Jay's shoulders slumped dejectedly. Did Nya not realize how much power she had over Jay? She couldn't be that short-sighted, could she?

Kai sighed and rubbed at his temples. "That girl… I don't know what her problem is, but I'll go talk to her, Jay, so don't worry." The fire ninja flashed a quick, smirk to Zane before releasing his hand and exiting the room himself, going after his younger sister. Zane placed a comforting hand on Jay's shoulder, his expression sympathetic as he passed to exit as well.

Sensei Wu and Sensei Garmadon, who had been the quiet observers, shared an unknown look with each other before proceeding with their exodus too. Cole looked at Jay's back, as it was just the two of them left in the lab. Jay's rhythmic tapping of the keyboard was the only sound for a moment as the ninja leader thought of what to say.

"…Jay—"

"I'm alright," the other ninja cut in quickly, his tone solemn and quiet. "I'll meet you on the deck, Cole."

Cole closed his mouth and shook his head. Another lie…and Cole hated it. Now was not the time to argue, however, for a very urgent mission was at hand. And thus, silently, he turned and headed out of Jay's lab…now more determined than ever.

Author's Note: My, my, my…what will happen next? Please look forward to the next chapter! And please leave your thoughts!