Nicki's Story

1

Nobody knew what to say to Nya. At first, she had taken the news much like the rest of them had…shock, denial, and an overall sense of numbness. But as the time went on, she never cried or mourned; instead she became hard, and very angry.

Garmadon had won, and there were few places that the remaining Ninja could hide. With the help of Dareth, they had located a place in a network of caves out by the endless sea. It seemed that he had come up with multiple plans for countless scenarios, waiting for a day when the Ninja would need him again. At the moment, those who had survived needed all the help they could get.

Nya's war cries and sparring grunts echoed down the halls of the cave. Ever since they had relocated here she hadn't stopped training. She hardly ate and barely slept, choosing to spend all her time and energy in a death dance with her own unseen demons.

P.I.X.A.L did all she could to make herself useful, but it was clear that she was running at a lower efficiency level than usual. She wanted to help Nya out of her prison of anger, but she herself was lost. Like the other survivors, she was suffering from keen survivor's guilt. She had spent so long separated from her friends in her Samurai mask, pretending to be someone else. It had seemed like the logical choice, the most rational way of protecting those she cared about. But though logical, P.I.X.A.L couldn't help wondering if it was worth it. After all her effort to protect them…to protect Zane…she had lost him anyways. She could calculate the irony in the situation—Zane had worried about her safety ever since their reunion. But it seemed she should have worried more about his. She did not regret going to save Nya and Misako from the apartment complex…but she found herself running useless scenarios that involved her continuing her battle with Garmadon's Colossi. She would have been there when it grabbed Destiny's Bounty. She could have…

No. Such calculations were futile. There was no use in running scenarios for something that could not be changed. But knowing this did not stop the aching she felt inside. She had never understood how a program like herself could be capable of such human emotion…but just because something wasn't logical didn't mean it wasn't real. She had not felt despair of this magnitude since the first time she had lost Zane. But this time, he would not be coming back.

Misako was trying desperately to keep the small team together. But her words of motherly advice seemed to only make Nya angrier, and didn't seem to reach Lloyd at all. Only P.I.X.A.L would respond, but Misako knew she was only pretending to save her feelings. Deep down, Misako was mourning in her own way. Ever since she could remember, she had always had either Garmadon or Wu at her side. That was, until Wu had been swept into a time stream. But even then there had been hope; a chance of finding him and bringing him back. But…now? Her former husband had almost killed their son and her as well. And Wu was gone…really gone this time. She would forever be grateful to still have Lloyd, but he was suffering from devastating wounds of the heart and she wasn't sure if he would ever recover.

Misako had asked Lloyd to talk to Nya; sure that she would listen to him. But Lloyd couldn't bring himself to do it. Nya was mourning her brother…her boyfriend…her family. He knew what she was feeling; they had been his family too. But how could he ever even face Nya again, let alone comfort her? When it was his fault that they were gone?

No one had said it out loud, but he was sure that it had crossed everyone else's minds as well. Garmadon had won. He had won because he had reached his true potential…and he had achieved that because he had defeated Lloyd. And that was a situation that wouldn't have ever occurred if Lloyd hadn't chosen to take on his father alone. If he had only known that by locking his friends in his room that day, he was sealing their fate. That one choice had ripped away the family who had been there since the beginning.

All choices have consequences.

Wu's voice echoed in his mind, and he grabbed his head to will it away. Loss and grief combined with bitter guilt inside, like a tidal wave threatening to drown him. To make matters worse, he had no powers. He had told Harumi that without power and friends, he would stop her. As bad as things got, he would never allow himself to become like that monster. But while he had the confidence to say it then…now he had no idea how to achieve it. Who was he now? When he was young, he was Lord Garmadon's son. It affected how everyone treated him; the boys at his boarding school, the townspeople, even his own mother. And then he became the Green Ninja, a role he had never asked for but tried to fill. Every villain they had fought had seen him under that label, as did every person in Ninjago; the all-powerful Green Ninja. But none of them had ever seen him as Lloyd. None of their enemies had ever attacked Lloyd…they had attacked the "Green Ninja." Until Harumi.

Why did her name still cause that stab of pain? Why couldn't he be free of her poisonous snare? She was the first villain who had ever targeted the REAL him; her goal had always been to destroy Lloyd himself. She nearly had.

With all his labels, there were few people that Lloyd felt like knew the real him—the person he was besides being the son of the mighty Lord Garmadon and before he became the Green Ninja. The ones who had known him the best had been Wu and the other Ninja, who had taken him in and given him the first real home that he could ever remember having. He knew that his parents had genuine reasons for leaving him behind as a kid, but that didn't mean that he didn't long for a real family. He had finally found that with the Ninja; he had an Uncle and brothers. Later he had found his mother and saved his father; he had his family. A few weeks ago he even thought he had found a girlfriend, someone else who saw beyond labels and saw the real him. And in a way she had…but not because she had ever cared. Now all those people that knew him…the real him…nearly all of them were gone. Lloyd was left wondering who he even was now, and knowing that everything that had happened would never, ever not be his fault.

2

Nya focused a pressurized stream of water at the pile of boulders in front of her; a makeshift training partner. Its explosion did little to satisfy her…instead she felt frustration build once again. She hadn't been able to control her power as well ever since…well. Ever since they had come here. The more she tried to force it, the more unruly it became. She tested it against the walls of the cave and nearly screamed in anger as her power once again seemed to betray her.

"You seem tense."

Nya didn't have to turn to know who was talking to her, but she did anyway to give a bitter reply.

"I don't feel like talking Ronin."

"So I've heard."

Nya fired another blast of water at a boulder stack.

"How did you even get in here anyways? Dareth said no one would find us here."

"You forget that it's kind of my job to find things."

Something in his tone tripped a warning wire in Nya's mind. She whirled to face him, fists swirling with water.

"Are you here to capture us again? Did Garmadon hire you? How much is he paying you for the last of the rebel ninja?!" She yelled the last sentence, lobbing water balls at his head. Ronin held both hands up as he dodged her mis-aimed attack.

"EASY Nya. I'm not here to turn anybody in. I may be a sucker for gold, but even I have standards; I would never hand you over to that monster. Wait…what do you mean again?"

Nya stopped firing, but she didn't stand down. Ronin cleared his throat.

"Seems like you're having trouble with your power there. Now doesn't that bring back memories?"

"If you came all this way to patronize me, then I'm afraid you've wasted a trip. I don't have the time." She turned her back to him and resumed her attack on the cave stones. "I have to keep training. I don't know if you heard, but I'm the only Ninja left with any powers…and if we are ever going to hold our own against Garmadon" she blasted a large stone clear down the cave "or any of his biking brutes" another stack was blown to bits, "than I have to be prepared!" Her last attack misfired as Ronin grabbed her arm.

"You're never gonna get stronger carrying on like this, Nya."

She jerked out of his hold. "What makes you such an expert?" she asked bitterly.

"I was there when you were trained, Nya. You have to be like your element to control it, remember? Water is fluid, flexible. If you try to control it by being hard and rigid, you are going to run into problems."

Nya shot another stream, as if to prove him wrong. But infuriatingly, the stream once again went awry.

"Alright Sensei Ronin" her voice dripped with sarcasm. "How do you expect me to do that?"

Ronin didn't say anything for a moment. When he did, his voice was softer than usual and had lost his normal brash tone.

"Anger is a normal part of grieving, Nya. But it isn't the only part. If you hold on to your anger and hold back your grief…than you are going to become something you never wanted to be."

Nya knew he was trying to help and she shouldn't be angry at him. But she was, just the same. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her training.

"You've got to let it out Nya! You've got to stop bottling it up inside." His voice was getting louder now, and he once again grabbed her arm. In return she kicked him back. In moments they were engaged in a full on sparring battle.

"Never thought I'd hear all this lovey dovy 'feeling stuff' coming from you Ronin." Nya panted, before using spinjitzu to get behind him. "You have never cared about anyone but yourself!"

Ronin blocked her attack but lost his footing, allowing Nya to blast him across the cave onto his back. He groaned as he sat up.

"Now that's hardly true. Why do you think I came all this way?"

Nya shot water at him again, but he rolled away in the nick of time. "I don't know, to get in my head? I can't see you doing anything without getting a paycheck."

Ronin launched an attack from the side, but Nya was able to block it.

"Wrong."

In a maneuver quicker than Nya thought he should be capable of, he flipped her into the air. She tried to use her water streams to steady herself, but once again misfired and instead shot herself into the side of the cave. As she slumped to the ground, she suddenly felt the fire leave her blood and all at once she felt very, very alone. Ronin seemed to sense the change and approached slowly until he was crouched in front of her.

"I came because I was worried, Nya. Garmadon has control of Ninjago. The ninja are gone, and nobody knows what happened to the rest of you. There is little hope left in the hearts of those in Ninjago City."

He reached out a hand and Nya surprised herself by taking it. He helped her to her feet.

"After I heard about what happened to your friends, I was worried how you might take it. I actually figured it would lead you to this. So I tracked down Dareth and convinced him to tell me where to find all of you…because" here he cleared his throat, "because I do care about you guys Nya. I do care about you…and I'm worried about you."

Nya wasn't sure what to say. If this had been another time, under other circumstances, she probably wouldn't have thought he was serious. Everyone knew Ronin was a hardened thief who didn't care about anyone, let alone a water ninja lost in a sea of bitterness. But something in his tone, the way his eyes seemed filled with fatherly love, finally broke down Nya's walls. She started to cry.

Ronin instantly became uncomfortable. The truth was, he really was new to all of this feeling stuff. He had made a living about caring about nobody but himself, but then he had gotten mixed up with these Ninja. Somehow or another, they had earned his respect…especially the girl in front of him. But now he had triggered a whole new set of waterworks from her and had no idea what to do. He had never seen her cry. After a few moments he hesitantly reached out his arms, and was shocked when she fell into him sobbing.

"
They're…gone…Ronin" she said in between sobs. "I…couldn't….I…couldn't…"

"Hey…it's alright." he said, trying to sound comforting. He looked around, trying to see if anyone was coming to save him. Angry Nya he could handle. But this? He was way out of his league.

They stood like that for what felt like a long time, with Nya sobbing and Ronin trying to decide between using more comforting clichés and awkwardly patting her head. But despite his discomfort at this new role, Nya did seem to be benefiting from it. The emotion she had been bottling up finally was allowed to come rushing out.

Her heart had broken when Lloyd had told her the news, but she had whisked away her grief as if it had been water, burying it deep inside. She told herself that she didn't have time to cry; she had to get stronger. With everything they had lost, she couldn't let them lose anything more. Lloyd was without power. P.I.X.A.L and Misako were busy grieving themselves. It was up to her to be the strong one, to use her powers to save them…

What she hadn't realized was that grief truly can take many forms. Anger replaced sadness and it had burned up within her. She became bitter and rigid, snapping at her friends and refusing to do anything but blow rocks to dust. Her powers had stopped listening, which had only added to the vicious anger cycle. But now she allowed herself to think about what had happened all those days ago.

Gone. All of them…gone forever…all at once. Her brother had been there for her ever since she was born. Sure, there were times when they had been separated, but even in those times she knew that things would always work out and they would be together again. He had been there when they had lost their parents. She figured that's why he had always been so bossy…but she didn't mind it. She never doubted that he loved her and even if he got overprotective at times, he would always be someone she could turn to. They had always made a great team as well. Occasionally it had bothered her that sometimes he seemed to only see her as his "little sister," but she had long since learned the truth: nobody knew her better or believed in her more than Kai did. And now… she squeezed her eyes closed as more sobs left her body.

Her thoughts turned to Jay. The first time she had ever seen him, she was on the back of a dragon and he couldn't say a word. Talk about a misleading first impression…she soon learned that all he ever did was talk. But that first time when their eyes met…she had felt something. A little whisper of fate told her that this funny, freckled kid would be her destiny someday. He had tried so hard to impress her at first, which had been both flattering and annoying. When would he get it through his head that she liked him for who he was? Not someone he was trying to be. She never could decide how someone could be so annoying and so perfectly adorable at the same time. Their first date…how crazy that had been. But she secretly always felt a glimmer of triumph that she herself was the reason he had ever found his true potential. But what had happened to that spark?

The fact was that she had always been fiercely independent. Despite the fact she had been clear to Jay that he didn't have to prove himself to anyone, she had set out to prove herself to everyone. Jay could get so clingy… and he was so sure that they were meant for each other. But despite that initial whisper of fate she couldn't help feeling that she was getting trapped in something she wasn't totally sure about yet. She was afraid who she was would forever be determined by those she was connected to, rather than who she wanted to be. The day she had seen that perfect match program...she realized now that it wasn't that she had ever been in love with Cole, though he was a great friend. It was just that suddenly she realized that there were options! She didn't have to just listen to the first person who said they were meant for each other and go with it. But somehow everything had become so complicated… friendships were ruined, the spark had died. She felt horrible about it all and finally swore off any relationship within the team. Secretly…she swore off any relationship at all. All she seemed capable of doing was hurting people, and she didn't want to hurt anyone else. But try as she might to give up on love, she kept finding herself drawn to Jay. The more her heart pulled the more she fought back. It didn't help that he clearly still had feelings for her. But when Nadakhan kidnapped him…she suddenly found herself more afraid than she had ever been before. What if something happened to him? It was then she realized how deep her feelings really were. Despite everything…she really did love him. And she knew that he loved her too.

Everything had finally fallen into place…after years of wondering who she really was and what she really wanted…she finally knew! She was confident as the water Ninja, though she had never wanted that role. She was finally ok with relinquishing her role as Samarai X, allowing P.I.X.A.L to take her place. And she knew that more than anything, she actually did want that future that Jay had talked so much about.

But now she would never have it, and acknowledging that fact was the hardest thing for her to come to terms with. She had found herself just to get lost all over again. She had to start over.

Nya's sobs finally subsided to shuddery breaths. They were sitting on the ground now, and Nya opened her eyes to look up at Ronin. Were his eyes misty? Or was that just an effect of her own tear-blurred vision? He pulled away with an "uhhh" and hastily wiped a glove across his eyes. She laughed a bit, realizing that answered her question.

They sat for a minute or so in silence.

"Do you…feel better?" Ronin asked awkwardly. Nya's face contorted and he was afraid she was going to start crying again. But she got the better of it and finally met his eyes.

"It hurts…it hurts so much. Way more than when I lost my parents…because these were my closest friends and I have known them for so long." her voice broke, but she didn't start crying again. "But…you helped me realize that ignoring it or pretending it didn't happen isn't going to help. I…I need to grieve them."

Ronin nodded, pensive. He had been in the city and knew that there were many more people mourning the ninja. Many were the townspeople themselves, who had all known the ninja or about the ninja to some extent. But there were also those like himself who knew the ninja on a deeper personal level. He couldn't even bring himself to steal from Ed and Edna's junkyard because he didn't want to have to face their sure grief.

Nya wasn't the only one who had learned something in this cave, he decided. He was realizing how much easier it was to come to terms with loss when you have others to mourn with you. Not that it was ever easy… but easier. Maybe that's what everyone needed a bit more of. He turned to Nya.

"The Ninja and Wu are being mourned by a lot of people right now, Nya. They were heroes and deserve to be recognized as such, and I can think of at least a half-a-dozen people who are going to need some better closure. How about we get working on a little project?"

Nya caught on to what he was implying. The idea of a funeral hit her hard…a funeral meant that they were really gone. She knew that they were, but to have a funeral meant that she really had to accept it. But at the same time, she knew that that acceptance…that closure…really was what everyone needed. For the first time in days she smiled.

"Gosh, look at you Ronin. Helping people all over the place."

"Well don't get used to it; this is just a one-time offer. Then I go back to not doing anything without a paycheck."

3

Wu was enjoying his little stick far too much. It seemed that nothing made him happier than a few unmerciful whacks on the unsuspecting body parts of his fellow ninja.

"OW…ok, master or not, you're gonna get it this time!" Jay said, chasing after the giggling toddler who had just given him a welt across the back of his shin. Despite his tiny size, Wu was quicker than one would think and Jay had trouble keeping up with him as he scurried over the rocky terrain. Wu bumped into Cole, who then turned around and lifted him onto his shoulders.

"Cut it out, Jay. We've got to find a place to sleep before sundown. Who knows what we'd find out here after nightfall."

"Or what would find us…" Kai muttered nearby, shuddering at the thought.

The ninja had been walking for hours. At first, they considered making some kind of shelter from the remains of Destiny's Bounty. But Zane pointed out that the creatures indigenous to the realm they were now trapped in may come to inspect something that so obviously didn't belong. His suggestion was to find shelter that better blended with the overall terrain, and thus draw less attention to themselves.

From his heightened position, Wu turned and blew a raspberry at Jay, who turned to Zane in disbelief.

"Hey…you…he…did you see that?! He's mocking me now!" He narrowed his eyes at the toddler version of his old sensei. "Oh, good move! Buttering Cole up for protection! But just you wait until your hulking nanny isn't around to save you, tea-breath! Then you're gonna be hooped!"

Zane chuckled nearby. His smile fell as he calculated the rate of the setting sun. It was hard to make credible predictions about this world, as he had little to no data about it except for what Jay had told them about Mistake's story. But he could now tell with more certain estimates that they had less than an hour of light left.

"We may all be in trouble, Jay, if we don't find somewhere…"

"I get it, I get it. Sheesh. Find somewhere safe, or we're all gonna be hooped. But how does anything in this situation even make sense?! I mean the sun is BLACK. How exactly does that give light? And how did we even get here anyways? And DON'T say traveler's tea, Zane." he added as his nindroid friend had opened his mouth to answer his question. "Cuz I know. But what I mean is don't you have to picture where you're going to use travelers tea? That's how I used it when it took me to my parents…"

"When did you use traveler's tea to get to your parents, Jay?" Zane asked curiously. That did not compute with any information he had stored.

Jay turned a shade of red and threw his hands in the air. "Ah...you know what?! Just forget it. Forget I said anything." He stomped off ahead.

Cole and Kai had reached a ridge looking out on yet another expanse of rocks…and more rocks. The Rock formations were tall and pointed, reminding Kai of teeth from some otherworldly being. He shuddered again.

"This is hopeless. Why even keep walking? All we are going to find is more of the same." He kicked the ground in frustration.

Cole frowned and tried to think of a solution. Suddenly, a small hand tugged at his hair to get his attention.

"We haf ta make a hows!" Wu said, beaming down at him.

"And how exactly does he expect us to do that?" Kai asked, annoyed. There wasn't any building material as far as he could see. But Cole didn't answer; he was too busy looking down at his hands, thinking.

Despite the fact that most of the city…and the country…were mourning the ninja's loss, Garmadon in power meant that the funeral service had to be as discreet as possible. That meant only a limited amount of people could be invited.

It had been hard to narrow down who would make the list. Obviously there were people that they wanted to come, but would be a little too high profile-Cyrus Borg, for instance, or the police commissioner. Others had dealings with the ninja for a long time, like the mailman, but did they really need to invite him? They had settled on Jay's parents, Cole's father, Skylor, and Dareth. Ronin hadn't been too keen on the Dareth idea.

"Look…I know Dareth is harmless...but he's also not even remotely 'stealthy.' You're lucky that I'm the only one he's told about this place so far. I don't think he's gonna be a good option to trust to pull off…"

"Dareth has been helping us out since we started training Lloyd as the green ninja. I know he's a little…unique…but his heart is in the right place. I've never had a reason not to trust him." Nya said the last line with a meaningful look at the thief, as if to imply that she had had many reasons not to trust him.

"Fine. The brown idiot can come."

It was decided that Nya and Ronin would spread the word. It would be too difficult to disguise P.I.X.A.L and Lloyd was still not in good enough shape to go sneaking around the city. So the two set off at dawn, heading towards Ninjago city on stealth bikes that Nya had been working on (when she hadn't been beating the life out of rocks.)

"I don't like that you're coming with. Those biker goons have been scouring the city for you and your friends for days."

Nya felt a small twist of fear. She had never really worried about going against bad guys before…but these ones had left her scarred. She pushed away her doubts.

"There's no way that we will ever defeat them if I don't even have the guts to go to the city." she retorted. Ronin pulled his bike up short, causing Nya to do the same. She pulled off her helmet, confused.

"Defeat? Nya, you guys don't stand a chance against these guys. Face it. They won…and after this service the best option would be for the group of you to disappear and start new lives."

Nya didn't say anything. That would never be an option for them, and she knew that deep down Ronin knew that. But she figured this wouldn't be the last time he tried to talk them into it just the same.

"C'mon. The sooner we get there the sooner we can get out." She started her bike again.

P.I.X.A.L folded another complex paper flower. Ronin had stashed Rex with lots of different supplies, assuming that the run-aways wouldn't have much. It was good that the thief had shown up, P.I.X.A.L mused. By her calculations they would have run out of food soon. He had been able to snap Nya out of her anger, but Misako had seemed on edge ever since he had shown up.

"That's looking great, P.I.X.A.L." Misako had come up from behind her. P.I.X.A.L looked up.

"I thought that perhaps it would make the scene more…appropriate if we had a few decorations." She finished off another flower. "It's lucky that Ronin showed up when he did."

Misako went quiet.

"You do not trust him." P.I.X.A.L said. It was more of a statement than a question. Misako shook herself from her thoughts.

"Oh…I don't know. It's not that I think he came all this way to do any harm… but I would be lying if I didn't question his overall character. He's betrayed us before."

"You think he would turn us in?"

"No. Not to Garmadon. But I also can't see his interests really matching ours. He's no honor fighter."

P.I.X.A.L was quiet as she went over to REX.

"Should we have warned Nya?"

Here Misako smiled. "She can handle herself, P.I.X.A.L."

Her words threw P.I.X.A.L back to a week or so before, when Nya had said the same thing about her to Zane. She had always admired Nya…so confident and independent. But she felt that she had never gotten a chance to really get to know her. Perhaps now they would finally have that chance.

"What are you looking for?" Misako asked, as P.I.X.A.L had been rummaging in REX for the past minute.

"Candles."

4

Cole went to close off the entrance to cave. For lack of any better options, he had spent the better part of their last hour of sunlight blasting a cavity into the side of one of the rock formations. It wasn't pretty, but it would hopefully keep them safe for the night.

"Don't close it off, boulder brain! How the heck are we supposed to breath?" Jay complained, stopping his friend.

"Like this" It was Kai who answered him, using his fire to blast a smaller hole near the top of the cave and out into the night air.

Jay looked at the hole and then back at Cole, who shrugged and closed off the opening. Soon they were huddled together in the cramped, dark space. The only light was weak and blue, emanating from Zane.

"Oh…I wish we had a fire or something. I hate cramped spaces…" Jay complained, wrapping his arms around his knees. Kai lit up his hand in reply.

"But I can't do this all night. Too bad there aren't more plants around or we could have a real fire."

"Oh…I can think of a few things to burn…" Jay replied, eyeing Wu and his little stick of pain. Wu caught his glare and hid behind Cole, poking his head out and waving his stick.

"Bad Jay…bad bad Jay!"

"Would you guys cut it out?" Cole asked, exasperated. He was exhausted after the last hour and didn't feel like listening to fighting all night. He pulled Wu into his lap, trying to calm him down.

"Sorry…Mom." Jay muttered. Cole rolled his eyes. Silence ensued for a few more moments. As usual, Jay broke it.

"Wait…do you think our parents know what happened to us? Or Lloyd…or Nya?"

The other Ninja looked up. Zane frowned in concentration.

"It's hard to say whether anyone witnessed the Colossi destroy our ship, or if anyone witnessed us escaping off of it. With no witnesses our friends may have just uncovered the destroyed bounty. But perhaps they will think that we escaped."

"No chance." Cole cut in. "Garmadon and Harumi will tell everyone we're dead. It's the best way to ensure fear in the populace. And we aren't exactly around to prove them wrong."

"Great. So now everyone thinks we died." Kai punched the wall in frustration. "We don't even know if everyone else made it out ok. Last we saw Lloyd was stuck on that tram with Harumi."

"Oh my gosh! What if Lloyd saw us? Maybe he saw us use the traveler's tea…" Jay cut in.

"By my calculations, the angle that Lloyd would be watching from would more likely give off the impression that we were crushed by the colossi."

"Uhhhgh, then everyone really does think we're dead." Jay leaned back on the wall, and then sat back up. "My parents! This is going to kill them!"

Kai groaned and put his head in his hands. "I'm such an idiot. The last thing I said to my sister was that Ninja don't last forever. I just hope that she can pull through this. She's never lost anyone when I'm not around to help her…"

"Nya! This is gonna kill her too!" Jay agreed, seeming to get more panicked by the minute. Then after a moment: "Who do you think she will miss more?"

Zane smacked him across the back of the head.

"OooOW! OKAY…maybe not the most sensitive question…"

But Zane wasn't listening, already lost in his own thoughts.

"P.I.X.A.L and I were just reunited…and now we have been separated all over again. I wonder what she will think of all of this."

Jay patted his back. "I'm sure your robot girlfriend will be fine." Zane just shook his head.

"I am afraid she will blame herself. She wasn't fighting the Collosi anymore when we were taken or she would have been there to help. She must have gone to assist Lloyd or the others."

"Speaking of just being reunited…we just found our parents. At the moment they're off in who knows where. I wonder when they will even know I'm missing…" Kai added.

"I wonder if Cliff Gordon misses me." Jay said wistfully.

"Who?" Kai asked, confused.

"They guy who plays Fritz Donnagon!"

"And why would that guy miss you Jay?"

Once again, Jay went a shade of red. "Because…because I'm his biggest fan, of course." he finished lamely. Kai shook his head.

"I doubt he even knows you were ever born Jay, let alone that that you're dead."

"You'd be surprised…" Jay muttered to himself.

Only Cole wasn't joining in on the conversation. He just seemed to be staring off into space, inadvertently pulling Wu closer to him. The toddler had fallen asleep and was snoring softly.

"Cole? Are you alright?" Zane asked, pulling his friend from his thoughts.

"Huh? Me? Yeah, I'm fine" Cole said, trying to pull off a lighthearted laugh.

"It's ok if you're worried about your father, Cole." Zane said kindly. Cole's fists seemed to clench on their own.

"Nah…no need to worry about him. As long as Garmadon hasn't shut down his performing group I'm sure he will be just fine." he said. He shifted Wu's position in his arms.

"I'm sure that…"

"I said I'm fine." Cole said again, in a tone that let Zane know that he was done talking about it. The other ninja made eye contact, eyebrows raised. It appeared they had encroached on a sensitive topic. The truth was, Cole wasn't even sure his father was mourning his loss. He figured he should feel better knowing that his father wouldn't be sad or angry or distraught…but somehow the thought of him continuing on with his life just as he always had made Cole feel very alone. He had seen it before, when his mother had died. Wu had said that singing and dancing was just Lou's way of dealing with grief, but to Cole it felt like it was his father's way of dealing with everything.

A
ll that would come of my loss will be a new hit single.
Cole thought bitterly. As the silence after Cole's snap stretched longer, it seemed like a good time for the Ninja to try to get some sleep.

Ronin stared up at the sign in front of the junkyard. Usually it was lit up with blinking neon…but the sign had been dark for the last couple of days. He sighed and willed himself to approach the little trailer in the junkyard's center. He really hadn't wanted to take this one, but Nya seemed more adamant against doing it than he did. Something about a dinner date that she and Jay had never got to have with them, or something. And now they never would.

After he knocked, he could hear a little scuffling inside.

"Oh, Ed…do you suppose that's him? Maybe he escaped after all and has come home."

"Now, Edna…I told you not to get your hopes up." But the hope in his own voice betrayed Ed's true feelings. The door swung open, and Ronin tried not to cringe at the crushing disappointment in the eyes of the junkyard owners.

"Ah… Mr. Ronin…what an unexpected…er..surprise…" Ed said, trying his best to still be polite.

"Look, I didn't mean to intrude on your afternoon…but I needed to share some information with you. Can I come in?" He winced inwardly as the hope seemed to light back in their eyes. He had expected to find the couple mourning the loss of their only son. Instead, he found them clinging onto a hope that he was still out there…and he decided that the latter was harder to watch.

"You're in luck, Mr. Ronin. I just finished up another one of my famous crumb cakes." Edna said as he took a seat on their couch.

"Ah…thanks Mrs. Walker. But I don't mean to…"

"Is our son alright Mr. Ronin? That's why you came…right? Because it's too gosh darn dangerous for him to make his way to the junkyard on his own. That would be too obvious…"

How the heck am I supposed to do this? Ronin thought. I signed up to tell them about a funeral, not break it to them that Jay really is dead. Better to just rip it off…like a bandage.

"Actually, Mr. Walker, I came to invite you to the funeral."

The home fell into immediate silence, which was broken by the crashing sound of a plate of crumb cake hitting the ground.

Ok…maybe that wasn't the best course of action after all.

"What I mean is…we wanted to do something to commemorate the loss of the Ninja…you know…"

"But Mr. Ronin, our Jay is not lost" Edna cut in, her voice chillier than normal. "Just because no one has seen him and because Lord Garmadon says he is dead….well, gee willikers, that don't mean nothing to us."

"Now…Edna…" Ed's voice was suddenly heavier. He actually was getting on in years, Ronin realized. He was always so perky and cheerful that it was hard to remember. But in moments like this it was easy to see the years weighing down on him.

"It's tonight. I know it's not much notice, but we don't really have the luxury of drawn out party plans." He said, standing. He had to get out of here…Edna had come behind her husband and they were holding hands. No doubt that tears were en route, and Ronin and seen enough of those recently to last him a lifetime.

"The place to meet." He finished, handing them a card. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you…we need you to be as discreet as possible." And with that, the thief hurried from the Walker's home.

5

"Of course I'll come, Nya. I just wish there's more I could help with." Dareth said in his characteristic drawl. She had delivered the news to him and was now leaving his apartment. She was glad that he was home…what if he had been working at the bar? It was once again overrun by SoG goons and she never would have been able to talk to him. She gave one last nod at the brown ninja before heading down the hall. Suddenly, she stopped, and called out to Dareth before he closed the door.

"Dareth…um…make sure that you use stealth, ok? No one can see you goi…"

"Nya, Nya, Nya." He shook his head, as if disappointed in her lack of faith. "Stealth is my middle name! I shall use the camouflage of the chameleon!" Nya turned and jumped out the window as Dareth pulled another one of his eccentric animal moves. She couldn't help shaking her head and smiling at her friend's antics. It was true what she had said to Ronin. Dareth was a good friend. But he also certainly was unique.

One last stop to make, then. Ronin hadn't minded going to see Skylor at the center of town. They agreed that it wouldn't be the smartest move for Nya to show up in the busy restaurant that was undoubtedly full of SoG. But he hadn't wanted to go see the Walkers. In the end he finally relented because Nya just knew that was one thing she couldn't do right now. It wasn't so much seeing the Walkers…though it would be tough to see them at the funeral tonight. But the thought of going to the junkyard, where the team had had more than one outing together and where she had seen Jay at his happiest…her eyes smarted with tears again. It was just too soon.

The last stop was on the outskirts of Ninjago city. She began breathing a little easier, knowing that there would surely be fewer SoG out here. She finally reached the address and rang the bell.

Wel-come! Nya winced at the cheery song. Though she knew it was ridiculous, sudden noises like that had set her on edge all day. She waited a few minutes and then began knocking. Where on earth could Lou be? Perhaps he was too distraught to get out of bed, let alone answer the door. She knocked again, a bit more urgently.

"He isn't in, deary."

Nya squealed and nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned and was only barely able to stop her karate-chop to the face of the old woman behind her. The lady looked unimpressed.

"Oh…so sorry mam. You just startled me. Do you happen to know when he will be back?"

"Hmmm hard to say. He's pretty famous, you know. Part of that Royal Blacksmith group." Here the old lady sighed, almost infatuatedly. Nya resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "He's been out practicing with them for days. They have a lot of concerts coming up." She pointed at a poster on a nearby tree before hobbling off. Nya went to look at the poster.

Royal Blacksmiths, like you've never seen them before! Full week concert!

A concert?! Garmadon was in control and Cole was dead and his Lou was off practicing for some Concert? She could hardly believe it. She had heard that in the past Cole and his father had had a rocky relationship, but supposedly they had worked through all that. But this? This was ridiculous. She felt herself getting angry all over again and tore the poster off the tree, wadding it up in a little ball. Then she calmed down a bit.

She looked back at Lou's house. Maybe the lady was wrong…maybe his neighbors didn't know that Cole was his son and assumed Lou was off practicing when he was really off mourning. But either way, he wasn't home. Now she was at a loss for what to do. Did she leave a note and put it through the door? But what if he never found it anyways? Or what if he did and went to the address days later, only to find that the funeral had long since passed and someone had just tricked him into wasting his time? What if the note somehow fell into the wrong hands? She knew the last scenario was silly, but she still didn't feel all that comfortable leaving a top secret note like this anywhere but in the actual hands of the person themselves.

She wouldn't leave the note. But it felt wrong to give up so easily. She caught up with the old lady again.

"Excuse me, mam? Do you happen to know where he would be practicing?"

"Well, we survived our first night at least." Kai said, stretching out. The ninja were up and out of their cave, trying to get their limbs working again. They weren't used to sleeping on cold rock in cramped places, and they had woken to find themselves quite stiff.

"I knew we should have stayed with the bounty." Jay complained. "Even sleeping on wood would be better than that."

"Quit your whining, would ya? We're in for another long day today and I don't feel like listening to you complain the whole time." Cole said. He was busy eating the breakfast that Zane had made. The Nindroid had been the first to wake up that morning and had surprised the rest of the ninja with breakfast made of mysterious lumps on sticks. Nobody knew what it was…and nobody wanted to ask.

"Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the rock formation…" Jay grumbled, eyeing his own mystery skewer with distrust. Suddenly, a little hand shot out and grabbed it.

"Hey! That's MINE!" Jay yelled at Wu, seeming to forget his wariness towards his breakfast. A chase soon ensued that involved running circles around Cole. Jay suddenly tripped, knocking Cole's own breakfast into the dirt.

"Are you kidding me?!" He scooped up Wu, who giggled and gummed Jay's stick. Cole turned to glare at Jay.

"You always take his side!" Jay whined, and then stuck his tongue out at Wu.

"Because he's like…what….3? And you should be acting like an adult by now. But obviously that's too much to expect from you."

"3?! This is Wu! He's like hundreds…maybe even thousands of years old! Not that that has ever made any sense but if we are going off of AGE then…"

"Just shut up and get another stick, Jay. I'm not in the mood to deal with you today"

A few yards away, Kai and Zane shared a look. "Here they go…" Kai murmured. They held back as their friends' argument grew more heated.

"Well who died and left you in charge, Cole?! I don't remember taking a vote…"

"Well if I'm the only one acting like and adult around here…"

"All you're acting like is a jerk!..."

"Would you just SHUT UP JAY…Shut up and GROW UP…"

"I get it, ok?! You're upset because no one at home even cares that you're gone! But you don't have to take your bad mood out on US!"

Cole flashed with a sudden rage, and Jay flinched at the sight of color in his friend's arms. He had regretted saying it almost immediately, but pride kept him from apologizing too quickly.

Zane and Kai looked on with a mix of disbelief and wariness. They were used to Jay and Cole's fights, but everyone in the group sensed that this time Jay had gone too far.

The color left Cole's arms as he seemed to catch himself. Without making eye contact with anyone, he set Wu on the ground.

"I'm going for a walk." He turned and began to move briskly away from the group.

"Cole…" Kai started

"Alone."

Everyone else looked at Jay, but for once the blue ninja was silent as he stared at the ground.

"You really did it this time, Jay." Kai said, arms crossed. Zane's face was a picture of parental disappointment. Even Wu was shaking his head as he muttered quietly.

"Bad Jay…bad bad Jay."

21