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"Live within our hearts and souls forever and always, dancing on our stage of memories..."
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A week passed. We had no clue where Jay was.

I mulled over the map of ninjago with various places circled then crossed out as we looked in places and found them empty. A sigh, and my shoulders slumped, feeling defeated. My hair fell into my face and I slammed my fist on the table letting my frustration show. A shake of my head and I called everyone in with the coms.

A few minutes later, once everyone shuffled in, I laid down my last resort.

"We lay a trap." I started, arms crossed over my chest and chin high, defiant of the protests bound to come any second. "He wants to kill me, so I say we let him think he did. You guys take him and Jay."

Kai huffed in a laugh and Cole leveled the look at me. Lloyd glanced around and Zane scratched the back of his head.

"You're saying we use you as bait?" Nya asked, eyes narrowed.

I turned to my friend and nodded. "Yeah. I don't have any powers, so it would be easy for him to defeat me but then you guys come in and kick his butt." She met my gaze before nodding, opting to trust me.

"You're in on this?" Cole asked, baffled. "You could just as easily get killed. No way."

"Noted. Any one else?"

Kai, Lloyd and Zane stayed quiet as I leveled them with a glare. "Good." I looked back at Cole and smiled.

Grabbing Coles hand, I pulled him out of the room, into the hallway. I kicked the door closed behind us and met his eyes.

"You know that even if you don't agree with it, I'm still doing this, right?" I questioned with the tilt of my head.

A sigh and he squeezed my hand. "I know. I just don't want to loose you or you get hurt horribly or something crazy."

"I'll be fine. We have no way to find Jay otherwise and I can't give up on him. He needs me." I willed him to understand and trust me. "Please, Cole."

I watched as his eyes closed and jaw set. He let out a breath and nodded before holding me close. "No dying, okay?"

A chuckle, and I nodded.

He kissed the top of my head before resting his chin atop my head. "Not allowed."

I walked down the street and to the first restaurant where Jay had gone under cover and Jax had alerted us to. My hands shook with a cocktail of fear and anger. Jay was still gone and I was risking everything to get him back.

Yesterday, we spent the day spreading rumors that I would be going to offer myself to Jax without my team knowing. Unable resist, Jax took the bait and called telling me a place to meet.

Everything was coming full circle.

A tiny, unnoticeable ear piece sat in my ear where the boys and Nya kept in touch with me.

"Hey.. Y/n?" Lloyd asked and I nodded my head for him to go on, which he could see from his hiding place. "If something goes wrong, I just want to say that I've always been amazed at how brave you are and it means everything to have you as a teammate."

I smile spread across my lips at the green ninjas words.

"Yeah, you're seriously a beast, Lux." Kai.

"And a better ninja than these dumb boys." Nya. "And a pretty sweet best friend."

"Are we all sharing sentiments now? I always admired your selflessness and wisdom whenever you lead our team." Zane.

The line went silent as everyone else waited for Cole to say something. I heard him sigh and could practically hear him smile. "Thanks for giving me a second chance. I would be lost without you. I really do love you. So much."

"I know. I love you, too, Cole." I whispered and took a breath in as I pushed the door open to the small restaurant.

"Evening, cupcake." Jax sat at a table in the corner, his feet propped up on the back of a chair, his leaning back on two legs. My breaths caught in my throat as I heard a pitiful whimper from under the table and my eyes recognized the bruised form of my brother.

"Come on out, little blue jay." Jax took Jay by the collar and slung him towards me.

I scrambled towards him and held him, tears coming to my eyes. "It's okay, I've got you, Jay." I held him close to me as he coughed and gave me the weakest smile.

"You came for me." He whispered, his voice harsh.

"I wouldn't never leave you, big brother."

"Oh boo hoo. Come on now, get pitiful out of here and we can get down to business." Jax chimed, standing.

I quickly dragged Jay to a corner near the door and whispered in his ear: "trust me. I love you, Jay. You're the best brother I could have asked for.I gave him one last gentle hug before turning to Jax.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. "Let's dance."

He ran for me, knife drawn in his hand. Madness and animal like hunger danced in his eyes as he slashed at me, aiming to make purchase with the blade in my skin. I slid to the side, aiming to knock him down with a swift kick. He fell, but before he hit the floor, his hand found purchase with my hair, yanking me down with him.

Everything went blurry,

as he sliced his blade across my throat.