The rest of the ride was dreadfully quiet. The only sound anywhere around the remaining four was the slosh of the water as their oars dug into the water and lifted out, tugging the boat along.

Nya was quietly and utterly distressed. She hugged herself as she looked down into the smooth-surfaced ocean below the small boat, and at her reflection. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, and her lip visibly quivered slightly.

Her back was to her peers, trying to force herself to not look at them, to not speak to them.

It's not like they'd want to either.

Jay's eyes were angry slits. Like Nya, his back was to her, refusing to even glance at her. He couldn't. Because, he had meant what he said. Everything was her fault. She was the reason…for everything.

Kai denied everything in his mind. His sister…she didn't do it. She couldn't have. She herself couldn't have been responsible for everything that's happened. She is not the reason why one of his best friends is dead. She didn't do it.

Cole was the only one who did dare to look at Nya. In fact, he couldn't help but stare at her. He didn't feel betrayed or angry, like how he thought he should feel. What Cole felt was...pity. Pity that Nya had to endure the secret for so long. He pitied her that the entire boat, sans him, hated her for keeping this secret. And Cole pitied her for holding the entire blame on her own shoulders.

Because the thing is, Jay didn't have to go back for the gem. Jay didn't have to get hurt. He didn't have to keep Kai and Nya from the boats, and forced Cole to look for them.

Really, it was nobody's fault. It was something that had happened. It was a problem, yes, but it's gone now. They were on their way to their families. They were away from that horrid island that was filled with the monstrosities that forced Zane to die.

Their blaming was irrational and it lacked judgement.

Cole just wished they all could see that.

"Watch the sails! Get the oars! NOW!"

Kai frantically yelled from the front of the boat as the four scrambled to keep the boat afloat.

A storm had come from nowhere, escalating quickly from a few raindrops to a tempest of heavy wind and rain. The waves climbed to a monstrous height. They loomed over the boat before crashing down on them, soaking them.

The sails on the small boat swayed and bent with the howling winds, and Jay and Cole struggled to hold it down. Kai and Nya frantically tried to hold on to the oars as they tried hard to steer the boat to safety. But the clouds made it too dark to see and the rain was blinding. The Moon was no longer there to help them.

"Nya!" Kai called to his sister. "Nya, use the sapphire!"

"What?" she asked. "How's it going to help us?"

"Remember?" Kai replied. "Remember what Wu said? The sapphires of Ninjago are enchanted! It'll help us get out!"

Nya, suddenly recalling this, reached into her pocket and rubbed the gem with her thumb. It was wet from the heavy rain, but it gleamed, though there was no Moon.

And she knew it would work.

Nya held it up to the stormy sky, and suddenly, the gem gleamed like a beacon, it's beam of light pointing straight ahead.

"That way!" Nya called above the winds. "We've got to go that way!"

"Everybody hold on!" Jay cried and took Cole under his arm, and he pulled the sail's ropes. The sails caught the wind, and it propelled the boat faster, following the beam of light.

But something was happening.

Something with the tide.

It was pulling away from under the boat, and gathering itself in front of them.

Nya and the others looked up in terror as the tide pulling away formed the biggest wave they've ever seen. It loomed above them, it's dark and terrible waters lighting up quickly as the lightning cast itself across the black sky.

The wave grew and grew as more water pulled away from under the boat. The four stared at it, agape, and with fear.

Then suddenly the wave stopped growing, and pointed itself downward as it broke.

It crashed into the boat, and hammered onto the four kids, rushing them all with heavy sea water.

And then everything went black.

Nya cracked her eyes open, and immediately, she coughed. Her nose felt like it was on fire, and her hair and entire body was soaked to the bone. She was lying down on wood, in a small space. It felt as though it was moving.

What was she doing there?

Nya sat up, but her head and back protested against it. She looked around.

She was in a boat, surrounded by three other bodies, two boys and one small child.

It took Nya a moment to remember who the bodies were, and what happened.

Being left behind. Being captured. Climbing the impossible climb, up the side of a cliff, with Jay. And finding Zane when he had died, his blood on his clothes, and with no pulse.

Nya's heart shrunk and she choked at the painful memory. She remembered it all.

She remembered the gem, and how it tore her relationships apart. She still had no idea how they would ever forgive her.

Nya forced her head to stop spinning, and her stomach not to empty it's contents. Whatever had had knocked her out had really taken a toll on her. It had almost killed her and she was lucky to be alive.

Once she could see clearer, Nya looked at her surroundings.

Jay was passed out next to her, with his arm over his brother Cole. Kai was leaning his head against the edge of the boat, snoring away. Jay's gash that he had gotten on the island was open, and the puss had been washed away. They all looked as soaked as she did.

Then Nya realized where they were.

Behind the boat was nothing but ocean. Empty ocean, with nothing in sight.

But what was in front of them made Nya's heart jump.

There was an island, covered with sand, trees, and grass, along with several hundred tents and kiosks. There were tables of items and merchandise on racks, and with a bustle of people in the market. The island was filled with people, talking and laughing.

Then they turned and they noticed the boat.

Nya stared at the crowd that soon gathered around the beach when the damaged boat with a broken sail was discovered. She grabbed at the oars and paddled the boat toward the shore, where there was a commotion.

And then a woman emerged from the crowd with tears in her eyes and her arms outstretched. She seemed to be yelling and screaming, but of joy.

It was Timbue, Nya and Kai's mother, who hadn't seen her children for almost three months.

The boat couldn't have gotten to the shore fast enough. As soon as the boat was close enough, Timbue ran into the water and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Nya shook Jay, Cole, and Kai up, and immediately, they knew that they had made it.

They were on the Dark Island, with their families.

Timbue helped the four out of the boat and led them to the shore. Many hugged Timbue in congratulations, and others expressed how relieving it was to see they were alright.

And then others asked where Zane was.

And when the four had to tell them the news, the crowd parted, making way for Zane's mother to come through.

She didn't say anything. She only looked at Nya with tears in her eyes, which Nya shared. Without exchanging words, the two hugged, wrapped in each other's arms in grief.

There was a proper funeral for Zane in the center of town. Most of the men from the Dark Island visited to attend, including Zane's father and his other friends.

A tombstone was made in honor of him, with a big picture his mother had provided by the stone.

Nya cried. Her shoulders shook with despair, and with guilt. Because it was her fault. It was her responsibility that so many people that day were guilty and miserable. If she hadn't thought of herself….

An arm wrapped around her. Nya looked up and saw that it was her brother Kai, who looked down at his sister with sympathy. They said nothing as they embraced, yet it communicated so much.

Timbue and Michael, her parents, hugged their son and daughter after the funeral. They didn't seem at all bothered at Kai's appearance. It seemed as though…they knew the whole time. At least a part of them.

"Are you ready?" Timbue asked Nya. "We still haven't been able to show you around."

Nya forced a smile. "No thanks, Mom…maybe another time. I really just want to be alone."

Both Michael and Timbue nodded in understanding, and Nya entered the small hut, and shut the door.

The island had taken a toll on her life, and the other three. They will never, ever be the same, and will forever remain in their minds.

They gained so much, and lost more.

Their innocence.

Their relationships.

Their childhood.

And Zane.

Their best friend.

The experience will never fade away. It won't be easy to forget it.

But perhaps they will survive it. Perhaps they will move past it and live their lives.

Perhaps.

HI, KaitheHotHead1 HERE. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS STORY! IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE THIS STORY CONTINUED, HERE IS THE LINK BELOW:

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SEE YOU THERE!

-KTH1