A/N: I LIVE!

sorry about going MIA yet again. summer is finally here, which means i will have way more time to write. super excited about that! college is no joke, y'all. also, yes. i am a college student willingly creating headcanon subplots for a lego cartoon. and what about it? school is temporary but legos are forever.

anyway, here's this! revisiting some canon stuff again (my take on the "secrets of the blacksmith" mini movie, if any of you remember that). plus some bonus jaya! hope everyone is doing well!

oOo

Nya's been doing a lot of thinking. Normally she wouldn't have time for it because—well, between keeping an eye on Kai, taking care of a kitten, and helping around the shop, Nya's schedule used to be pretty booked. Now, though, the free time is rather extensive.

Too extensive.

The guys are great, honestly. Sensei's not half bad either, now that he's offered to work with her one-on-one. But besides fumbling around the training course and helping Zane cook dinner every now and then . . . Nya is hopelessly bored.

It's the kind of brain-numbing, hazy-eyed boredom that used to come with rainy days at the shop. Long hours spent in bed, exhausted sighs and endless hours of silence. Nya's gonna go crazy at this rate, but it's not like she can leave. Plus, her typical boredom cure—the samurai mech—is back at home. She'd try teleportation, but Nya's not that smart. She's gotta get back there somehow.

That's where the thinking comes in. Nya needs to get home, but she can't go on her own. It's too far to walk, and someone would surely notice her absence eventually. The conclusion? Nya needs a ride. And she knows just the guy for the job.

She's spent enough time here to weigh her options. Kai was ruled out immediately; he'd ask too many questions and it would probably end in an argument—which Nya's been trying to avoid lately. Cole is far too responsible to keep anything quiet. He'd see right through her and go straight to Kai. She'd briefly lingered on the idea of Zane, but he's just so robotic. That's not to say he can't be fun, 'cause Zane's certainly had his moments. But it would be too awkward.

In short, Nya needs someone who won't ask questions, won't tell anyone, and will let Nya have a little fun in the process. Jay is the perfect contender.

Nya waits until everyone clears the dining room, leaving Jay behind because it's his turn to do dishes. She stalls in the doorway, recalling her script, then spins around to face him.

"Want some help?" she asks, grinning.

Jay starts, dropping a spoon into the sink so aggressively that the rest of the dishes rattle. He turns his gaze to Nya. His eyes are wide with surprise.

"Wh—you wanna—did you—"

"I asked if you wanted help." She steps over and snatches the dish rag from him. "Whaddya say? You wash, I dry?"

Jay blinks owlishly. "Yeah, I—okay!"

Nya wonders why he always looks so frightened. It's not like she's scary, for FSM's sake. Besides, the two of them have been getting along great! Despite what Kai seems to think, Jay is a perfectly acceptable friend and has proven to be exceptionally helpful. His training schedule and "guy time" with the other ninja tend to keep him occupied most days, but Jay seems to make an effort to hang out with Nya anyways. He's usually conveniently close by.

Nya happens to like Jay a lot. It's complicated, though. She wonders if the other guys have some sort of inside joke between them, because whenever she's spotted with Jay, whispers are exchanged. Not in a rude way, but like—in a way that has certain implications. Like everyone expects her to feel a particular way about the bubbly blue ninja. Like she should reciprocate Jay's crush.

It's been hinted at by not only Kai, but also Cole. Kai, nosey older sibling that he is, has asked some rather obvious questions. Nya always brushes them off, of course. But one time, while she'd been observing the boys' sparring lesson, Jay landed a wildly impressive backflip. Out of support, Nya applauded him, as she assumes good friends do (not that she'd know, but she's trying her best). Jay had gone all red in the face and then Cole grinned super big, lightly punching Jay's shoulder. After that, Jay had a real hard time staying focused, so Nya went back to her room, afraid she might be a distraction.

Does that mean anything? The shoulder punching. Maybe it's just a boy thing, but Nya thinks it might be part of some secret code. Again, her feelings for Jay are built on friendly intentions alone. He's a good person. Can't they just be buddies? Why make it more complex than that?

Anyway. All theories aside, Nya has to be careful with how she goes about this. A ride is all she needs. FSM permitting, Jay won't blow it out of proportion. This is not a date.

"You don't have to—ya know, I'm sure you have better things to do," Jay comments, guiltily handing her a dripping wet plate.

She takes it, dries it off. "Nah, not really. Not much to do around here when you don't have elemental powers."

She'd meant it as a joke, but Jay lowers his head.

"Yeah, sorry. It's probably annoying, watching us show off all the time when—well, when you can't do all that stuff."

Suddenly defensive, Nya says, "I can do plenty of other stuff."

"I know!" Jay amends. "I know you can. You're actually really good at, like, gymnastics and—a ton of other things, and you're really cool—err, it's really cool!"

Nya accepts another dish, pondering this. "How do you know?"

Now Jay looks downright sheepish, cheeks darkening as he avoids her eyes. "Well—I might've seen you on the training course. A couple times." He reanimates. "Not, like, in a creepy stalker way! I was just passing by, and I noticed you were out there with Sensei, and—you're really good! Like, super good. For real."

Nya is horrified to find her own cheeks growing warm. She keeps drying the dishes. Keeps her tone neutral. "Thanks. Sensei's kinda been coaching me, I guess. I'm trying to beat my personal record."

"What's your record?"

"A minute and thirty-two seconds."

"Whoa." Jay raises his eyebrows appreciatively. "That's not bad."

"It's totally bad. I always get stuck on those stupid axes."

"Oh yeah, those suck. It took me, like, weeks to get the timing right, but I bet you're gonna get the hang of it way faster."

The support is encouraging, Nya thinks. "I hope so. If I get knocked off by those things one more time, I'm gonna lose my mind."

Jay chuckles, then goes silent for a long moment, thoughtfully scrubbing the inside of a bowl before handing it off to Nya. A few times, it looks like he might say something, but he doesn't. The two of them fly through washing dishes, and they're nearly done before Jay finally musters up the courage to give conversation another try.

"I could—I dunno, maybe show you? Sometime? Like I know you already train with Sensei, which is totally awesome, but would you wanna—maybe—together—"

Nya tilts her head, trying to read between the lines. "You mean, like . . . practice with you?"

"Yeah!" A beat. "I mean, if you want to. If you don't, that's fine, just an idea—"

"No, I think it'd be fun!" Nya grins. It would be nice to have a training buddy, of sorts. Sensei is nice to her and gives great advice, but Jay might be able to offer a different perspective. Besides, Jay already has the training course mastered. He doesn't seem like the judgmental type, and—oh! This is the perfect opportunity!

"Speaking of doing things together," Nya starts, placing the last dish on the drying rack. "D'you think you could do me a favor?"

Jay is frozen, as though Zane has just doused him in ice. "I—sure! Yeah, what's up?"

"So, hear me out. I may or may not've accidentally left some stuff back at home, and I know it's super inconvenient, but Kai is busy and I don't know the other guys very well and—"

"Yes."

Nya blinks. "What?"

"You need a ride, right? That's what you're asking?"

"Oh, yeah, I—"

"Yes."

Well. If she'd known it was that easy, Nya wouldn't have spent all that time working on a dang script.

oOo

The next morning, Nya rolls out of bed feeling inexplicably excited. Maybe it's 'cause she really misses her samurai mech. It's been way too long since she's put in some proper work on that thing, and now she has a room to herself again. Goodbye boredom, hello secret project. No more days spent idly wandering the monastery, searching for entertainment. She'd actually considered joining the guys in their gaming. Yeah. Talk about crazy.

Jay is waiting for her outside, already outfitted in his ninja suit.

"Hey, Nya!" he greets from the back of his dragon—Wisp, Nya recalls. She finds it insufferably endearing that all the boys have given names to their elemental dragons. None of those ninja are half as tough as they make themselves out to be. Maybe physically, but emotionally? It's obvious they're still young. And that thought is oddly validating.

Nya offers a cheery wave, sliding her backpack off and tossing it up for Jay to grab. He offers her a hand, which she nearly rejects, but she's not quite tall enough to climb up on her own. At least, not without a lot of awkward scrambling. So she laces her fingers with Jay's and lets him help, and then they're off.

Ahhh, Nya forgot how much she likes flying. The morning air is still crisp with the chill of dawn, though there's hardly any breeze. Soon, autumn leaves will be exchanged for powdery snowdrifts. There's already some patches of snow scattered around the monastery, but Nya guesses it's probably always like that. It would make sense, considering the altitude. Such a magnificent height is terrifying sometimes, but it does have its advantages. For example, stargazing. The courtyard has the most gorgeous view of outer space. There's hardly any weather interference (again: high altitude), allowing for a spectacular observation deck. She would know. Too bad she can't make courtyard camping a regular thing; Kai would probably combust.

Jay's flying low today, right below the layer of clouds. From her place behind him, Nya tentatively lifts a hand up, but she can't reach. So she pushes to her feet. With one hand gripping the back of Jay's seat, Nya gleefully sticks her other hand into the clouds, feeling cool mist touch her fingertips. She'd known, of course, that clouds don't feel like cotton (which is kind of a bummer). But that's okay. She prefers this anyways—the smooth water vapor and ice crystals evaporating upon contact with her skin. It's majestic in its own way.

"Whoa, careful back there," Jay cautions, turning to glance behind him. And Nya doesn't know it (she's too occupied with the clouds), but his eyes fix on her, drinking in the smile on her face. And Jay's expression goes soft. And then pink. And then red, so he turns back around. Nya redirects her attention just as Jay looks away.

"For sure. Super careful." Truthfully, though, Nya almost wants to ask if she can jump off. Not with malicious intent, but because—how would it feel to freefall? The wind whipping against her face, the air rushing through her lungs, gravity experienced without restraint. Nya has fallen from an alarming height before, but . . . well, she doesn't count that time. Because that time was in the Fire Temple, and she doesn't like to think about it.

But no. She can't jump off. As tempting as it is to ask Jay to just catch her after a few seconds, Nya has to be responsible. Or whatever. As responsible as she can be, considering she already broke Kai's first rule: don't leave the monastery without telling me, or you're dead meat, do you understand?

Wisp is speedy, that's for sure. They've already cleared Jamanakai Village, which is now slowly shrinking behind them. Pastures pass below, more rolling hills and the farmland Nya grew up so accustomed to. The familiar surroundings are comforting.

"Getting close," says Nya. "We should only be a couple miles from Ignacia."

"Roger that!"

Nya's still standing, not bothered enough to sit down again. It's way more fun to ride like this. How did she ever walk anywhere when dragon riding is so exciting? Maybe, if she's lucky, Sensei will let her get a dragon someday. It shouldn't matter that she doesn't have powers. She's not old enough to drive, so why can't she—

Drive.

Nya sobers, catching sight of the little road winding down below. She used to drive Walter's pickup truck along that road. He'd be in the passenger seat, gently instructing how to use the turn signal and where to put her hands on the wheel. Sometimes Kai would come along, too. He would always sit in the truck bed, dramatically rolling around when Nya stopped or went around corners. Out in the countryside, normal driving rules did not apply. That's what Walter said, anyway. Nya took it to heart, and that's when she discovered just how fast that old truck could go. She'd always wanted to speed up so quickly that the tires made a cloud of smoke. Ya know, like on TV.

Turns out, tires should not do that. Good thing Walter had a surplus of spares. Kai will never let her live that one down.

"Hey Nya, check this out!"

The memory evaporates quicker than the water vapor above them as Jay pulls on the reins and tips them into a downward dive. With the sudden increased speed, Nya nearly loses her grip. Jay, however, is ecstatic. He whoops exuberantly and Nya clutches the back of his seat, stomach dropping. They swoop lower into a field of farmers, who all shriek and topple over when Wisp's huge wingspan comes too close. Just when they're a handful of feet from the ground, Jay yanks them back up and Nya teeters for balance yet again.

She glances down at the farmers. They're soaked, having fallen into the marsh water, and Nya knows she shouldn't laugh. But it's—admittedly kind of hilarious. Jay is cackling merrily, clearly pleased with himself, but Nya just shakes her head in amusement.

"Jay, grow up," she says, though the undertones are fond against her will. Just moments ago, she'd been considering an immature freefalling fantasy, so. Touché.

That dive had been impressive, she has to admit. Maybe she can go riding with Jay more often. Just—as friends. For fun. That could be nice, right? Kai never lets her go on joyrides. Jay's sense of humor may fall on the childish end of the spectrum, but it's sort of refreshing. Now that Kai's a ninja and whatnot, he never wants to have any fun.

Jay starts a descent again, this one much steadier, and Nya realizes they've arrived. There it is. Four Weapons. Home.

She has to stop herself from hopping off before they've landed, but as soon as Wisp touches the ground, Nya is moving to grab her backpack.

"Thanks for helping out, blue boy," she says, carefully tiptoeing down the dragon's enormous wing. "I just need to get a few things."

Jay stands eagerly. "Okay, cool. Need a hand?"

Quickly, Nya shakes her head. "No, just wait here."

Jay says something else, but Nya is already a good ways down the path, footsteps hurried as she relishes in the disappearance of homesickness. The shop is exactly as they left it. She figured it would be, but you never know. The forge is depressingly dark and dusty, looking lonely. Nya averts her eyes. She's here on borrowed time, gotta stay focused. It's best not to get too reattached. A few minutes from now, she'll be leaving again.

Nya heads in the front entrance, allowing herself a few selfish moments to look around. Merchandise still hangs on the walls, a testament of the hard work she and Kai had put forth for years. The blue landline telephone is mounted next to a stack of helmets. Kai always called them samurai helmets, but Nya's gonna show him what a real samurai looks like.

Well—she's not gonna show him, 'cause it's a secret. But she's gonna make a point anyhow.

Kai's anvil is right where it always was, and Nya smiles to herself as she steps over to it. Twist it juuuust right, and—

A section of the wall grinds and trembles, slowly rotating around to reveal one of Nya's most prized accomplishments: a secret compartment. FSM, she's a genius, this hidden panel is awesome. And Kai never found out, either. Nya tries not to feel too smug about it, but it's nice to have this one thing to herself. Something to prove she's smart after all.

All her favorite weapons are stashed inside, personally handcrafted, of course. It's a surprise that Kai hadn't asked questions about where her projects disappeared to, but she's not complaining. Nya grabs her coolest sword—the first one she ever made—and some other random bits and pieces, tossing them into her bag rather haphazardly. She knows the guys will never willingly let her use their weapons—Kai says they're not "toys" but Nya's not a kid.

Not a little kid, anyway.

Either way, it'll be handy to have her own possessions in case of an emergency. Like, what if all the ninja get captured and she's the only one left? Or what if Garmadon decides he wants revenge and tries to kidnap her again? Or maybe Kai will get his hair caught in the toaster again and Nya will have to—

A thought occurs to her, then. Feeling suddenly self-aware, Nya glances down at her arm and notices the right wrist is alarmingly bare. Where's her bracelet? Her mom's bracelet—it's gone! She must've left it here on accident, must've forgotten to pack it, or—maybe it's in her old room. Immediately, Nya darts down the hall and skids through her bedroom doorway. She attacks the bedside table, rummaging through the drawer until her fingers graze cool metal. Gasping in relief, Nya pulls the bracelet out. How had she forgotten it? Maybe in the haze of moving it had slipped her mind, or maybe—

Thud.

Nya straightens. Are her ears playing tricks on her, or did she just hear a noise? It could be paranoia. Yeah. It's totally paranoia. She's just spent too many days around energetic teen boys.

Thud.

Okay . . . she definitely didn't imagine that one. Bracelet still clutched in one hand, Nya rises and creeps out the bedroom door. A glance down the hall confirms she's alone—for now. Something like deja vu is tingling at the base of her neck. Why is she always hearing strange noises in empty houses? It's getting old.

Back in the forge, Nya notices a bamboo rod has been knocked over, now lying parallel to the counter. That explains the noise, then. Must've been the wind. She's always questioned the idea of an open storefront, anyway. Her hair was always blowing into her face while she was working, though Kai never seemed to have that problem. His porcupine style isn't subject to the weather, apparently.

Convinced, Nya slides her bracelet on, taking a mental inventory of what she still—

"Well hello, little girl."

Nya's heart nearly rockets out of her throat as she jumps and sees way too many freaking skeletons crowding around her. Her first thought is more of a question, because where did they even come from, she literally just got here. Her second thought is incoherent screaming sounds and a very prominent shit!

"We've been expecting you," one says, and Nya steps back, brain turning cartwheels as it searches for exits and conveniently placed objects. There's no way they've been expecting her, it's not like she operates on a strict schedule, how'd they know she would even come back? Nya's calling their bluff right now, what a cheap comment. Pathetic excuses for villains.

Nya digs for something to stall with, words tumbling out. "May I remind you that this is private property and that trespassing is against Ninjago law, paragraph thirteen, section two?"

It's true, Nya's read Ninjago's laws from front to back, which Kai always laughed about. Well, who's laughing now, Kai? (Not her, but that's irrelevant.)

The biggest Skulkin looks confused. "Oh, I thought paragraph thirteen was—"

But Nya doesn't let him finish. FSM, she's dealt with these freaks enough times already, this is downright annoying. And in her own house? With a friend perched outside? The audacity. Nya lunges and punches the skeleton warrior square in the face, sending him teetering like a bowling pin. Next, her eyes catch the anvil and Nya twists it. An unfortunate Skulkin is caught inside the compartment and ends up spinning along with it, his head bouncing off into another skeleton's lap.

Nya barks a laugh. Take that. She remembers that the Skulkin are just bones, therefore they're easily disassembled. She has the upper hand here. And Nya's no longer a stranger to combat. That training course is finally coming in handy. She's been practicing.

"Don't lose your head, now!" she jokes. Ha. If Kai were here, he'd totally high-five her for that one. She's making fighting puns. Does this mean she classifies as a ninja? Probably. Their jokes are way lamer than that.

Nya grabs a nearby sword and sticks it into the ground, swinging around it in a neat circle. Her whirling feet make heavy contact with the Skulkin, who clatter to the floor. That's when Nya realizes she's actually having fun. These boneheads might've snuck up on her, but they're not winning. She's winning. How is she winning? Maybe it's experience, since she's practically memorized the mannerisms and mobility of the creatures. Three weeks in the Underworld allowed for plenty of observation.

One skeleton swings a sword of his own, the blade coming dangerously close to Nya's head. She dodges furiously, grabbing a shuriken from the worktable and launching it across the room. Her aim is impeccable—if she does say so herself. The shuriken lodges in a shelf, right next to a Skulkin's shoulder.

"Ha, missed me!" cries the skeleton, but Nya only grins, yanking the shuriken's rope. The whole shelf comes crashing down, helmets and all, and the Skulkin is buried underneath. Nya has a total of two seconds to appreciate this victory before three spears are thrown in succession. It's some kind of miracle that she's not impaled on the spot, but somehow Nya manages to maneuver out of harm's way.

"Get her!" a warrior hollers. Nya could laugh at how cliché it sounds, but these Skulkin mean business today. Heart hammering, palms sweating, chest heaving, Nya snatches one of their discarded spears and pulls it from the wall. A samurai helmet comes with it, having been stuck straight through. With a groan of effort, Nya lifts it up and lets it swing right down on one of the warriors, who is immediately crushed flat.

"Retreat!" he yells, the sound echoing inside the helmet. Now Nya does laugh. They're just too comical, all bony limbs and crazy eyes. How was she ever afraid of these things? Heck, now she's taking them on singlehandedly! Just wait until she tells Kai about this—well, scratch that, Kai can never know. Like literally never.

That's when a helmet hits Nya right in the middle of her stomach. The air whooshes out of her lungs in one stunned breath and the spear is knocked from her hands. Nya gapes, offended. Another helmet comes soaring her direction and she ducks sideways, letting it sail past. Her hesitation has given the Skulkin time to regroup. They advance together, weapons raised, and Nya races to evaluate her options. There are . . . not many options, okay. It looks like she's winging it.

She needs to get on the other side of the room, right now she's backed into a corner. Nya is out of safe alternatives, but a particular move comes to mind—one she's seen Kai and Cole practicing in the courtyard. But could she pull it off? She's never tried it before, doesn't even know the correct footing, but—

Well, here goes nothing.

Nya runs at the back wall, breath quickening, heart leaping, and at the last second, she makes a faithful jump. She's sure it's going to end in disaster, but Nya kicks off at just the right moment. Suddenly she's in the air and suddenly Nya's feet are on the wall and—FSM, this is terrifying. But she doesn't dwell on it. Nya's momentum is enough to push her onward, and somehow she doesn't fall to the ground. What did her brother call this? Something about defying gravity, but it's more like running on the wall. And it's awesome. Moments later, when she feels the momentum dying, Nya drops. The Skulkin are shocked where they stand, now facing an empty corner where she used to be.

Nya's thoughts are piling up, full of pride and also a bit of awe. She did that. She just did that! Shoot, someone sign her up for ninja tryouts, she's crushing this.

There's a tense second, then they all realize what she'd just done. They charge at her again and Nya glances desperately for a weapon, an aid, something to wrap this up because gosh it's taking forever. Her eyes land on a gong, the golden one that she always hoped they'd never sell (it's far too pretty to be merchandise). Good thing it's still here. Nya rips it from the display and tosses it forward, calling, "Hold this!"

It lands in a startled Skulkin's arms, just as another one swings with his hammer. Nya leans back, just barely avoiding impact—and the hammer smashes into the gong instead. A grand clang! rings out, shaking the walls, and Nya's eyes go wide because—

Jay.

She'd forgotten about Jay, how had she forgotten about Jay—

Nya knows the clock is ticking. She only has a few precious moments before Jay comes barreling in here, alerted and alarmed by the noise. Time to finish this.

The Skulkin are thrown off by the clanging, all clutching their ears—or, where their ears would be. Nya snags the gong again and hurls it frisbee-style, effectively decapitating three of the skeletons. They fall to pieces. The one wearing a hat—the leader, she assumes—is so affronted by his teammates' defeat that Nya has enough time to surprise him from behind, nailing him with the butt of a sword handle. He staggers, off balance, and trips directly into a barrel.

Nya seizes her chance and quickly finds her backpack, taking one deep breath before strolling away, as calmly as possible. She must look like a mess. Her hair is probably sticking up in all directions, clothes smudged with dirt. But there's no time to look in a mirror. She meets Jay just outside, golden nunchucks poised defensively and moments away from bursting into the forge. He looks startled to see her.

"Nya! You're alright!" A confused beat. "What was that sound?"

She keeps walking, hoping to convey casual indifference. "Oh, nothing. Just—knocked over some samurai helmets and stuff."

It is, by all means, not a lie. Several helmets are probably strewn all over the forge, among other things, but it can be dealt with at a later date. Right now, her priority is getting back to the monastery before her and Jay's absence is noticed. With some luck, the other ninja will still be sleeping.

Jay, to his credit, doesn't pry any further. He helps her into the saddle again and Nya offers her thanks. Soon enough, they're in the air, blissfully cruising over stretches of farmland and marsh terrain. Nya's heart has yet to return to its normal rate. She's exhausted, that's for sure. Those freaking Skulkin—can't she catch a break? Three weeks away from home were enough, thanks. It's bad enough that she's still getting nightmares from that particular excursion. Geez. Can't go anywhere these days without huge hell-monsters chasing you down. Thank FSM that Nya's pain tolerance is higher than their IQs.

"Got everything you need?" asks Jay.

Nya refocuses, blinking. "Yep! Everything's here."

And then the realization hits her.

She forgot her friggin' samurai mech!

That was the whole point of coming back, it even shrinks to a compact size. She was supposed to get it from her closet! She was literally in her room, DANG IT—

Ugh. She had one job. If those stupid skeletons hadn't distracted her, she wouldn't have left without the only thing Nya really cared to retrieve. Maybe Jay will be down for another trip soon. He does seem to enjoy flying her around, though his motives are unclear at the moment. She could be honest and just admit to leaving something behind . . . but it's not like she can go back now. The Skulkin may be disarmed, but they're still there. She'll have to wait a while. Or . . .

Nya looks down at her wrist, now adorned with her mom's old bracelet. The smooth, red stone gleams in the morning sunlight, rays catching in its surface. And Nya gets an idea. Maybe she won't have to find her samurai mech.

Maybe it can come to her.

oOo

A/N: and thus the samurai is born. hoping to have more chapters up soon! also side note: who's seen the latest season of ninjago? because to say i am devastated is a vast understatement. i am on my way to find fix-it fics!