Behold my attempts to integrate Nya fully into the team and keep up my running joke of merging Ninjago with our own pop culture (there's a reference to an author later in the chapter). Keeps things interesting!

It's just fluff, ok. Like a lot. It's literally just Nya bonding with Kai's teammates and working on her samurai mech. Hopefully not too boring, but I hear the fluff market is booming these days. Maybe 'cause the rest of the world is in shambles.

oOo

As soon as Jay and Nya return from their top secret expedition to Ignacia, they reluctantly part ways. Jay has training to do, and as much as Nya would like to stick around and observe, she has a more pressing matter at hand.

Namely, her samurai mech.

Truth be told, Nya may know her way around a toolbox, but she's still an amateur. She's not afraid to admit that. There's still so much Nya doesn't know about mechanics and building things. Books can only teach her so much. An accomplice may be necessary.

Months ago, she added a fun little feature to her mech designs. Nya doesn't know what to call it yet, but the point is this: she can summon her samurai suit with the push of a button.

Within a certain range, the mech will unfold and find her, using GPS technology to pinpoint her exact location. In other words, a signal will activate the mech. Still needs some tweaking of course…but the idea is there!

So, the mission? Complete the feature.

It's simple, really. First, Nya will alter her bracelet. There's already a GPS system installed in the mech (not very professionally, but it should work fine). She just needs to connect the two systems. Probably basic science. Hopefully. But if not, that's when she hopes to utilize the next most competent individual on the team.

Jay Walker.

He's shown some interest in mechanics; the other guys are always begging Jay to fix and/or update the training course.

With Jay's help, she'll have the tracking device built in no time.

He'll have to be kept in the metaphorical dark, of course. With some luck, Nya might conjure up a decent cover story. Maybe a handful of conveniently "hypothetical" questions to ask.

Next, she'll need to make another trip to Four Weapons. Her ride is unclear at the moment.

Jay would be more than willing to fly her there again, but is that, like—exploitative? Something like that? Nya doesn't want to use him. Jay's good for plenty of things besides transportation service. It would probably be smarter to find a different ninja for the job.

Once she's at the shop, Nya plans to quickly test the feature and be done with it. She'll be working against the clock, especially with someone else present. But FSM permitting, it won't be too much of a hassle.

The mech is too conspicuous, so she'll have to leave it at the shop. Maybe in the backyard…?

Summoning it will be the tricky part. No one can be around when she does it, otherwise the whole "grand, awe-inspiring reveal" will be down the drain.

So yeah, maybe there are a few kinks in the plan's structural integrity. But it's her best bet. And thus begins Nya's most chaotic week in the monastery.

Step one: bracelet.

Bright and early the next day, Nya flies out of bed and skids into the kitchen before anyone else. Without sunrise exercise, the boys won't wake up until 9 at the very earliest. That gives her plenty of time.

She digs around for some cereal and scarfs it down. Next stop is the pantry—but not for food.

After the ninja cleared out the storage room for Nya, they'd tossed all the extra clutter in various nooks and crannies. One of those nooks happens to be the kitchen pantry.

Inside, she finds boxes of lightbulbs, wire, a cheap set of watercolors (who's the resident artist?), and various other objects of minimal interest. The wire might be of use if it weren't so obviously the kind used for arts and crafts.

Frustrated, Nya paws through the cabinets some more, only finding dishes and a wide variety of snack foods. Nothing useful. The guys must be keeping the tools elsewhere. Probably somewhere obnoxiously out of reach.

Nya's mid-turn, about to ransack the monastery, when someone else materializes in the kitchen door.

She freezes.

"Whoa—Kai?"

FSM, he's a mess.

His hair is always treacherous, but today it's downright frazzled, like he spent the night rolling through velcro. The bottom button of his pajama shirt is undone, his pants are crooked, and one sock is missing. But that wouldn't even be too concerning if it weren't for his face.

"What've I told you about sleeping in the dragon stable?" Nya teases.

Kai only blinks at her, silent. There's something urgent and wild in his expression, something anxious. Nya sobers.

"What happened?"

Dazed, Kai leans on the inside of the doorframe. His eyes roam the room carefully, then rest on her again. He runs a hand through his hair.

"Fine, don't tell me," says Nya. She doesn't have all day to wait for Kai to come back to life. There's a mission to be carried out!

On her way past Kai, he abruptly straightens and reaches for her arm.

"Hey—wait," he says.

Surprised, Nya shuffles back to him. "Yeah?"

Kai looks up, sighing, then gestures vaguely with one hand. He nods to himself. Sighs again.

"Listen, you—you're gonna think this is ridiculous, but—I had this dream and—"

"About what?" Nya raises a brow.

This question seems to shut him down again, because Kai is silent for a long while. Nya tries to be patient. Clearly something is wrong, but she has a rather lengthy to-do list. If Kai's having weird dreams, shouldn't he consult Sensei Wu? Ask for some, like, magical tea…?

Kai is still quiet. Nya prods one last time.

"Do you…wanna talk about it?"

It's an awkward question, coming out of her mouth. Nya's never been the best at—well, feelings. Kai always seemed to have more of them, somehow, and even he struggles with communicating them.

Feelings are dangerous things. She's not very good at navigating them. Or discerning them.

Kai asks, "Do you…feel weird here? Like, in the monastery? Sometimes there's just this vibe…"

Well, this is new.

Nya waits, searching his expression. She doesn't have time for elaborate analysis.

At last, she says, "I mean…I feel fine. It was a little 'weird' at first, but—"

"Have you had any nightmares?"

Nya dims slightly. "I always have nightmares. But I don't think it has anything to do with where we are."

Kai is taken aback. "What do you dream about?"

The Underworld. Darkness. Being dragged backwards into a black abyss. Skeleton fingers. Falling. Always falling.

"Just…dumb stuff." She catches the look on Kai's face and backtracks. "But! You can tell me about yours, I won't judge. Promise."

Nya holds out her pinky—it's been their solemn oath since childhood. Kai eyes it, then hooks his finger with hers.

"I, uh…it was weird. There was this, like, serial killer on the loose, and you ran away, and there were these—bloody handprints all over your room, and—"

He cuts off, and Nya recognizes the spark of retreat in his eyes. His moment of vulnerability has burnt out.

"Whatever," concludes Kai. "It was stupid."

Nya stays unmoving, observing her brother as he stares in the opposite direction.

She feels…sorta bad for him. The massive to-do list circles back through her brain, reminding her of all the things. All the components to her plan. Then the list is abruptly shredded in half by her built-in sibling code of conduct.

Nya's forced to shift her focus.

She sighs in gentle resignation, taking Kai by the elbow and dragging him to the dining room table. Just as Kai had once done, Nya pushes him down into a chair.

"What's this?" he asks.

Nya hops onto the table, her legs dangling over the edge. "I think we're loooooong overdue for a chat."

She'd actually been hoping to delay this particular conversation for another few days, at least, but something unsteady has been brewing since her outburst in the hall. After she dropped the "I'm not as happy as you thought" bomb, Kai was different. More contemplative, somehow. Sure, they resolved the basic miscommunication of the original argument (Nya misinterpreted, so that's on her), but…

Kai never outright stated that her comment affected him, but there are certain things Nya just knows.

She's been avoiding a confrontation 'cause…well. It was bound to be unpleasant in multiple ways.

Neither of them are too fond of heavy stuff like this.

That said, Nya figures she'll go first.

"I'm…sorry for what I said," she sighs, not quite meeting Kai's eyes. "You're not ruining my life, I just—I was upset. I was being dumb."

Kai shakes his head. "But you weren't. You made a good point. I mean—I jumped headfirst into this and just kinda…figured you were behind me."

"I'm always behind you," Nya assures.

"But you shouldn't have to be." Kai winces at himself. "I think—I guess I just feel bad. Or guilty, or whatever."

"Why?" Nya knows why, but she wants him to have a chance to say it.

"I dunno." Kai is staring a hole through the tabletop. "Because I dragged you into this. Uprooted everything. We were just getting used to running the shop and then—"

"It's not your fault," Nya interjects. She frowns at the floor. "I was the one who screwed everything up, remember?"

Kai looks at her, one eyebrow raised quizzically. "Say what?"

Nya realizes they're veering a bit off topic here, but it's too late. Kai expressed his guilt, and now she's expressing hers. Because as always, Nya secretly believes the situation is all because of her.

If Kai's unhappy, is she the cause? If Kai is stressed, is she being too much? If someone, anyone is annoyed, did she say something to annoy them?

She needs to…work on that.

But the memories are flooding back, piling atop each other as Nya struggles to sort through them. That fateful autumn day, it had all been such a blur…

"You told me to stay inside, I didn't listen. I couldn't stay focused, I didn't have enough practice, and I—I stopped paying attention for one second and—"

Nya remembers the huge claw mechanism, the gripping dread, her stomach dropping as her feet lost purchase and—

"If you're gonna blame someone, blame me," she says. "Nothing would've changed if I'd noticed—"

"Your fault?" Kai tilts his head in disbelief, chuckling grimly. "Wow. And here I thought you were mad at me."

"I wasn't, not really. I think I—maybe I was just mad at myself. And it sorta…turned into something else. I mean, why would I be mad at you? I'm the one that got captured like a total baby, and then I put everyone in danger at the Fire Temple and then—"

"Whoa, whoa. Easy." Kai gestures with his hands. "Hold on. That wasn't your fault. You had no idea what was going on, none of us did."

If only that were true, Nya thinks. The clock is ticking, she's losing precious time for her plan, but hey. Kai comes first.

"I did know, though," Nya says, hanging her head. "He told me. Garmadon." She remembers the swell of dread and nausea when she found out Kai would be walking into a trap. She remembers the helplessness. Loathes it.

"Still. It's not like you had a way to warn us."

Nya can feel Kai's intent gaze on the side of her face, but she prattles on with wavering courage.

"He was a total jerk about it, too. Gloating and everything. And when I found out he sent the Skulkin to Walter's house, I just—"

FSM, she should probably keep that to herself. Nya recalls flying at Garmadon in a flurry of rage. She remembers hitting him in the face.

Kai urges her on, interested. "You what?"

Slowly, as though she doesn't quite believe it, Nya whispers, "I slapped him."

A deafening pause.

"What?"

Nya locks eyes with Kai, feeling a tired grin curve up one side of her mouth. "I slapped him. Hard."

Kai watches her, expressions passing over his face in rapid succession. Shock. Concern. Joy. And finally, best of all, pride.

"You slapped Garmadon. Holy—in the face?"

"Yeah."

"No way…" Kai tapers off, laughing. He drags a hand down his face and then Nya's laughing, too. If only because she doesn't know what else to do.

After sobering slightly, Nya catches her brother's eye again. They're way off topic now and she'd like to circle back to his dream.

"I'm fine, though. Not gonna run away or anything. Pinky swear."

"Oh." Kai waves a hand. "Don't worry about that. Just a dumb dream."

"Really? 'Cause earlier you didn't look convinced."

Kai shakes his head, smiling sheepishly. "Look, I just—I don't want you to hate it here. I get that it's new and weird and everything…I'm kinda freaked out, too. But I think—it's gonna work out."

It's such a rare flash of vulnerability from her brother—I'm kinda freaked out, too—that Nya feels some of her anxiety dissipate.

"It's working out." She gives him a reassuring grin.

"Yeah?"

So hopeful, so eager. Kai's happy here, that's for sure. He's not very good at concealing the obvious fondness he has for this team already. It may not have started out as a willing partnership, but it's evolving.

"Yeah," says Nya. "Don't sweat it. We're good."

Seemingly subdued, Kai nods. Before the mood can shift awkwardly, Nya makes a reconnaissance comment.

"Were you looking for me?"

Kai eyes her. "When? Just before?"

"Yeah."

He frowns, starting to protest, but Nya can see the pink tinting his cheeks. She gapes, laughing.

"You totally were. You were checking on me—"

"No! No, I wasn't. I didn't—"

"You were checking on me 'cause you care."

Kai sputters indignantly, previous sentiments already forgotten. "I was not, I was—I wanted some water, that's it—"

His efforts are useless against Nya's charade, now that her younger sibling instincts have kicked in. She latches onto his arm, feigning affection.

"Awww, Kai, you do love me."

"Get off."

"You're a big, loving, caring, squishy-hearted—"

"Nya." Kai's almost as red as his ninja gi when he finally stands up, shaking her off his arm. "Cut it out."

"What're you embarrassed for? I think it's sweet." She's still flashing a megawatt smile, clearly teasing.

"Sweet?" Kai backs up, playing along. "Whoa, sis, keep that kinda talk to yourself. I'm not—"

"You're a total marshmallow."

He gasps dramatically, clutching his heart. "Ohhh, now you've gone too far."

"How does teddy bear sound?"

"Stop. Stop, it hurts—" He stumbles into the doorframe.

Nya snorts, stepping over to shove his shoulder. This must be how she learned her own dramatic tendencies.

"Okay, okay. You dork."

"Dork—! Mercy, your honor. I beg you."

Nya herds him out of the kitchen, glaring good-naturedly. "Okay. Don't you have training to be doing? Sparring? Something…?"

"Yeah, I better shape up since you're throwing all these punches."

"Ha, ha, hilarious. Scram, Stupid."

"Stupid! My heart! My soul." With another exaggerated groan, Kai staggers down the hall and out of sight.

Nya smiles to herself, head shaking at her brother's expense. But there's a little tingle of satisfaction in the back of her mind, too. She hopes she took his mind off the dream. And any related concerns.

When she and Kai are out of sorts with each other, the universe is all scrambled. She's happy to dissolve the tension. At least for now.

Anyway! Back to the original task at hand.

After rather copious amounts of searching, Nya winds up with a screwdriver. The tool is a little clumsy in her hands—she's a bit out of practice—but Nya sets to work.

The next twenty minutes or so are spent on her bedroom floor, where she carefully wedges the screwdriver under her bracelet's stone. The tool is too thick, she thinks. Something thinner would work better, something sharper…maybe pliers?

Nya drags a toolbox from under the bed. She'd packed it among her other things when Kai was moving their stuff to the monastery. Would've been nice to have it twenty minutes ago, but Nya only just remembered it was here.

She digs through it. No pliers.

"Come on," she mutters, frustrated.

Soon the floor is littered with tools, scattered around her in a circle of dejection. She's currently jamming a scissors blade under the stone. It's too big, though, and in one sloppy slip of the hand, Nya pushes too hard and the scissors jerk sideways.

"Ah—" she hisses, dropping them. Blood drips from a new cut. It runs parallel to her thumb on her left hand. Nothing serious, but definitely painful.

Another setback. Great.

Nya can't be bothered to get up and track down a Band-Aid. It—it doesn't hurt that much. She pinches it, wincing. She'll deal with it later.

The stone is not budging and Nya has tried everything. Screwdrivers are useless and chunky, scissors are clearly a lost cause, hammers are too big, wire cutters can't get a good grip, and a wrench is out of the question.

Nya turns to rummage for another solution and accidentally scrapes her hand against the toolbox's sharp edge. The cut opens again, bleeding.

Probably time to take care of that.

Grumbling to herself, Nya shoves out into the hall. There must be a first-aid kit around here somewhere, it's a house full of rowdy teenage boys. Injuries are probably expected and frequent, considering all the ninja shenanigans going on in the courtyard.

Nya's just rounding the corner to the kitchen when she bumps face-first into something rather solid.

"Whoops, sorry Nya!" says the person, steadying her guiltily.

She blinks up, realizing it's the earth ninja. Cole.

"You're good," she says. "Didn't see you. Totally fine, though. You know, you're like—" she knocks on his torso, "—made of rock or something. Which—I guess that'd make sense. 'Cause, ya know. The ninja of earth…"

Nya trails off, contemplating her mortifying existence.

Cole just chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. "Sorry, heh."

Nya ducks her head, unwilling to risk another response, and steps around him to get in the kitchen. She reaches up for a cabinet handle, unaware that Cole is still watching her.

"Whoa, what happened to your hand?" he asks, suddenly in responsible team leader mode.

Nya pauses where she's standing on her tiptoes. "Oh, uh—nothing. I was just tinkering. Hand slipped."

Cole smiles wryly. "Tinkering, huh? Alright." He hesitates, debating. Then, "Need some help with that?"

"Oh, no, don't worry, I got it. It's a—personal project, not anything—"

"I meant with your hand." His face is passive but there's an amused twinkle behind his eyes.

Nya deliberates, embarrassed for the second time today. "Oh. Sure."

"Cool. Follow me, first-aid kit's in the bathroom."

Cole nods toward the hall and heads off, Nya trailing behind him. She's not nervous, just—well, she hasn't spoken to Cole very much yet. Jay's made the most effort to include her, with Kai occasionally checking in to keep her occupied. Zane and Cole…not so much.

They're certainly friendly, they just tend to keep to themselves. Minus team meals, of course. Or training.

So this is a little awkward, yeah. Especially after she'd not-so-subtly commented on the solidity of Cole's ab muscles. That one's gonna haunt her.

"Here we go," Cole says, pulling the white case from under the bathroom sink. "Wanna take it from here, or…?"

Nya nods.

"Sounds good. There's rubbing alcohol down there too, if you wanna—"

"That's a myth," says Nya, offhandedly. She's already digging through the first-aid kid.

From the doorway, Cole blinks. "Huh?"

Nya looks up at him, remembering herself. Apparently she's going to keep saying stupid things today.

"The—the rubbing alcohol. Using it or, uh, hydrogen peroxide can actually delay the healing process and damage your skin."

Cole's looking at her oddly. "Oh. So what do you recommend?" There might be a note of humor in his tone.

"Mild soap and warm water. Unless it's a deep cut. Then saline solution is good. And tape is better than Band-Aids if you don't want a scar."

Nya runs her hand under the faucet water, expecting Cole to shrug and resume his normal daily activities. But when she sneaks a glance at him, he's still standing there, leaning on the wall and staring very determinedly into space.

"You, uh…got a lot of experience with stuff like this?" he says finally.

"I guess." Nya dabs a washcloth over the cut. "Back home, Kai used to get hurt a lot from—y'know. Working with metal and stuff."

"Didn't your parents keep an eye on that kinda thing?"

Nya stills, her stomach twisting. She chews her tongue for a moment, wondering how to respond without sounding traumatized or defensive.

In the meantime, Cole, who's beginning to get the feeling he crossed a line, shifts from foot to foot.

Eventually Nya looks at him, but loses nerve halfway through the action. Her eyes rest on the sink basin again.

"They, uh…they died when I was really little."

She sees Cole move from the corner of her eye. "Oh. Shoot, I—I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"Didn't Kai tell you guys?"

Nya perches on the edge of the bathtub, sensing the change in atmosphere.

"No, he's never mentioned your family. I'm sorry. That was—really stupid of me to assume. Geez. Sorry."

He's apologized three times now. Bemused, Nya shakes her head.

"Not a big deal, it's okay. It's been so long I hardly even…"

The sentence tapers off into nothing. An ache is growing in her chest. It really has been a while since her thoughts have strayed toward her parents and Nya feels suddenly ashamed.

What would they say if they knew?

Cole steps into view, green eyes brimming with sympathy. "I get it," he says. "It's been almost two years since I lost my mom. I can't imagine how it was for you guys, losing both like that."

Nya didn't miss the way his voice skipped right before the mention of his mother. The ache dissolves into something softer, joining hands with Cole's pain.

She hadn't known he lost someone too. In fact, she hardly knows anything about any of Kai's teammates.

Abruptly, Nya's the one feeling guilty.

"Sorry about your mom," she says gently. One hand half-heartedly pushes through the contents of the first-aid kit.

"Ah, 's okay. What's that quote…'Life is never fair, and perhaps it's a good thing for most of us that it's not.'"

"Oscar Wilde."

"What?"

"He's an author. That's his quote."

"Oh. Do you read a lot?"

"Used to."

"Me too. Why'd you stop?"

Nya grins humorlessly. "Life just—got in the way."

Cole dips his head knowingly.

Nya finally finds a Band-Aid and absently smoothes it over the ridge of her hand. The bleeding has mostly stopped by now anyway.

Cole shifts in the door frame again. "So—I know this is off-topic, but…how're you liking it here?"

Nya stifles a snort of amusement. Seems to be the question of the week.

"Y'know…it's better than it could be. I think it's gonna work out okay."

Cole looks genuinely relieved. "Hey, that's good to hear. I was worried when Kai told us you two were moving in, 'cause—well, I know what it's like when things change all at once." He chuckles ruefully. "I felt bad."

"Don't feel bad," Nya chides lightly. "It's a lot different from Ignacia, but I get it. Kai really likes it here. Being a ninja, hanging out with you all. I'm not gonna get in the way." A moment of silence. "Besides, it's good for him to have guy friends."

Cole nods, smiling carefully. "I've never had siblings. Not many friends either. Then Sensei Wu found me, gave me this opportunity. And now…" He laughs silently to himself. "Suddenly I have three new brothers—" he looks at her, "—and a sister."

Nya's heart performs inhuman maneuvers. She blinks, feeling the corners of her mouth turn up.

"You sure you want a sister?" she teases. "I've heard they can be a pain."

"I have high hopes," Cole grins. "If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask, 'kay?"

"Noted." Then just as Cole is leaving, Nya remembers what she was doing before all this. She leaps to her feet. "Hey, wait, there is something, actually!"

Cole stops, eyebrows raised. "What's up?"

"You wouldn't happen to have some pliers lying around, would you?"

oOo

By the end of the afternoon, Nya has finally succeeded in removing the ruby stone from its golden base. She's even halfway finished with wiring the homing device, thanks to her spare parts box. There's just one final piece.

A GPS chip.

Probably one of the most difficult items to locate in an ancient monastery…on the top of a mountain.

Nya's options are severely limited. She winds up in the hallway again, pacing as she brainstorms. The technology works exactly like GPS trackers; the bracelet sends a signal to the mech, the mech responds and finds her. Easy.

There are already a few installations she cobbled together months ago, but this is different. She needs…

"Jay!"

He's just rounded a corner, eyes widening at the sight of her. He perks up.

"Hey, Nya!"

She rushes toward him, wasting no time. "So I had this little—tinkering idea? And I was just wondering if you'd wanna help me out."

It's hardly a surprise when Jay nods. "Sure! Love to."

"You're into mechanics, right?"

Jay blushes, choosing his words. "I, uh…yeah, I dabble. What'd you have in mind?"

"A tracking device."

Jay's eyebrows shoot up. "Tracking device?"

"Yeah."

"Can I ask what you're tracking…?"

Nya falters. She hadn't realized it would sound so creepy out loud.

"Nothing except my own progress, don't worry. Just trying to branch out."

For a moment, Jay seems mildly suspicious. But evidently he's far too eager to pass up the opportunity.

He hitches up one shoulder gamely. "Good enough for me."

Their first order of business is locating a GPS chip. Turns out, Jay has his own collection of spare parts. Trinkets, found objects, scrap metal, you name it. It's actually sort of impressive.

Nya joins him, rummaging through the plastic bin, shoulders bumping lightly as they evaluate potential contenders.

"GPS, huh?" Jay mutters. He pulls out an extension cord, tosses it aside. "Should be something in here."

"Thanks again," says Nya. "I appreciate the help."

"Anything for—err, the sake of progress. Happy to assist a fellow tinkerer."

They loosely discuss GPS technology, satellite signals, and topics in similar veins. Jay's curiosity seems genuine rather than prying, so Nya happily explains her interest.

She never mentions the mech, of course. Some comments are largely hypothetical, especially when she brings up wanting to possibly extend the GPS tracker to a toy helicopter or something—just to see if it'd work.

Jay nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, that'd be neat. Like car remotes. You press a button and it starts the engine."

"Exactly." Nya digs out what appears to be a faded license plate. "Remote start. And the GPS tracking is a bonus. Imagine the car just—coming to you."

Jay's about to respond when he yelps in victory. Nya sees it at the same time and together, they pull out the slightly battered GPS screen. An exuberant glance passes between them.

"Think this'll do?" Jay jokes.

"It's perfect."

They gather a few more useful items and trek back to the kitchen. Zane is there, dutifully knocking some vegetables around in a pan.

"Hey, buddy," Jay greets on their way in. Nya offers a smile.

"Hello," says Zane. "Dinner is nearly ready. The others should be here soon."

"Sounds good."

Jay and Nya plop down at the kitchen table, scattering tools over the surface. Nya snatches the GPS and yanks the battery compartment open. For a while, the two of them quietly exchange advice, carefully pulling out the GPS system's innards.

Not twenty minutes later, they've fashioned together a rather appalling contraption, which Nya thinks might be the best thing she's ever laid eyes on.

To most people, it's not much to look at. Just a little circular device, wires poking out here and there. This will be the feature that gets installed in the bracelet. Maybe, if Nya can figure it out, it will even summon her mech.

By then, Zane is reaching for dishes in the cabinets. Nya notices and moves to help.

"Thank you," says Zane when Nya starts setting the table.

"Sure! You all take turns cooking, I figured it's fair that I do something."

Nya doesn't see it, but Jay cracks a fond grin from his seat. She's warming up to things, it seems.

Cole wanders in, then Kai, then Sensei Wu. They're eager to try Zane's food; allegedly, he's the best chef among them, and Nya can find no reason to disagree. She rarely keeps track of whose turn it is to cook, but Zane knows what he's doing.

(Cole not so much, though she wouldn't dare say it out loud.)

When they're all situated around the table, Kai nods at the piece of tech. "What's that?"

Jay starts to say "a tracking device," but Nya elbows him.

"Just tinkering," she amends.

From across the table, Cole gives them a significant, knowing look. "Tinkering? Together? Romantic."

Nya gives him a flat look as Jay chokes on his zucchini. Everyone else laughs, except for Zane, who frowns quizzically.

"Who said anything about romance?" Jay challenges, scowling.

"I did," says Cole innocently. "Like five seconds ago."

Jay glares.

Kai points his fork at Nya. "Sixteen," he says. "Three years to go."

Laughter explodes across the table again, but Nya's more focused on the heat spreading up her neck. Jay suffers a similar fate when even Sensei lets out a chuckle.

"Fine, three years. I'll still be dating before you," Nya fires in Kai's direction. His mouth falls open in indignation.

"Ohhh, she got you, my friend," Cole grins, clapping Kai on the back.

"Betrayed. By my own sister."

"Hey, you started it."

Kai shrugs sarcastically. "You're right, you win the romance category. Tinkering together? How can I top that?"

Zane frowns at the chaos slowly unraveling. "I do not understand. I fail to see the romantic merit in—"

"Not now, Zane," Jay interrupts, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"Yeah, not now, Zane," Cole repeats. "Don't ruin their moment."

Now Nya glares. "There was never a moment to ruin in the first place."

Laughing, Cole raises his hands in surrender. "Sorry, Tinkerbell."

"Tinkerbell?"

Kai looks concerned for Cole's wellbeing. "Uh-oh. Better run, man."

And so it goes.

Nya doesn't even realize until later that it's the best team dinner she's experienced so far. Usually she manages to isolate herself in the corner, on the outskirts of inside jokes and boyish behavior. She must be adjusting.

Cole deserves brownie points for helping her out earlier, and for being so open about his mom. It made her feel connected to someone besides her brother. It fosters a sense of companionship. Something that wasn't there before.

Zane's stir fry ends up being phenomenal; Jay makes him promise to cook it again soon, and Zane is pleasantly flattered by the request. Kai is in much higher spirits for the rest of the night, his unsettling dream seemingly forgotten.

Nya brings the tracking device back to her room, where she inserts it into the bracelet. With some heavy duty glue and a bit of reshaping, the stone is soon a functioning remote summons.

With a single press, the stone weighs on the button Jay fashioned into the GPS system. The signal will be enough to start the mech from a distance.

It's kind of the coolest thing ever.

But Nya's to-do list isn't completed yet. She still has to get back to Ignacia to try the feature directly.

Little does she know, the trip is about to be much more than just a test-drive.

oOo

I literally know nothing (repeat: NOTHING) about GPS or tracking devices. Or mechanics, for that matter. But ya know who does? Google. Thank the stars for that.

Next chapter we'll see the Samurai X cave in its early days! Nya had to discover it somehow, right?