Kai's POV

"How much further is this temple again? My feet are killing me," I groan, shaking out my feet as I walk.

"Approximately 2.6 miles. We have already completed a dense portion of our journey," Zane answers. Lloyd and I both groan.

"And we're positive Jay isn't waiting for us at the meet up spot?" Cole checks. Zane nods.

"My falcon is waiting for them there. Neither Jay nor Nya has even came close to it. It seems they failed to get a gemstone," Zane explains to us.

"That's what we get for giving Jay the important job," I grumble, crossing my arms. Cole elbows me in the side, hard. "Ouch!"

"We're a team. Whether or not it was Jay's fault doesn't matter. It just means we're going to plan b, which we were prepared for," Cole scolds me.

"Okay, but theoretically, if we were to not do Jay's plan, the battle would be five versus five. Now, its five versus four," I say realistically.

"Actually, if we were to encounter the girls, it would actually be four versus six, considering Jay and Nya are on our team," Zane corrects me.

"We still don't know if Nya is with us. We can't just assume that she is, or else it might end in disaster," Lloyd warns. "Remember that time we trusted my dad, and he stole the golden weapons?"

"Yeah, but what did we really expect? He was Lord Garmadon after all," Cole counters.

"All I'm saying is we can't trust her, even if Jay believes she's with us," Lloyd sticks his hands out in front of him.

"And why is that?" I cross my arms, ready to defend my sister.

"You couldn't tell by the way he was talking about her?" Cole asks, amused. Even Zane seems to understand.

"I don't get it."

"Kai, Jay obviously likes Nya. Like, he like likes her," Lloyd tells me. I shake my head.

"Nah, he just pretends to to screw with me," I brush it off, continuing to walk.

"Maybe he used to, but not anymore," Cole says matter of factly.

"And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Well, when I got him for our little meeting at the banquet, he was with Nya. He was holding her hand, and they were giving each other this look. He hasn't looked at anyone anywhere near that way since the whole Miriam thing," Cole explains.

"And you let him go back in after that?" Lloyd asks him. "Like I kind of suspected it, but you pretty much knew it."

"I only let him because I think she likes him too, and I think he'll be able to exploit that, whether he realizes it or not," Cole says with confidence. I choke on air.

"No way, my sister does not have a crush on Jay," I deny it.

"You didn't see the way she was looking at him. She was so captivated. It made me really confused at first, since I thought she was just trying to play a trick on him at first since he's gullible. I didn't know how someone could fake that intense of a look though. However, when Jay said he thought he could convince her to join us, it all clicked," he explains. "Besides, you can't blame him when you're attracted to Skylor."

"Am not," I deny it, crossing my arms.

"How else would she have distracted you with her 'amber eyes', 'long eyelashes', and 'pink lips'?"

"I never said that!"

"You indeed did. It is in my database," Zane backs Cole up.

"See, you can't blame Jay cause you totally have the hots for one of them."

"Says the guy who is totally into Seliel. I saw you two dancing together," I counter.

"I was at first, but then she hit me in the back of my head with a plate. Besides, I was only doing that cause she made a deal to be humane to any of us if we became prisoners," he defends himself. I go to find something else to say, but I'm speechless.

"Come on guys. We don't have time for this. We need to get to the temple before them."

---

We walk up the steps of the temple, cautious. Although we've been to many temples before, each one has its own tricks. Zane scans every step before we step on it to prevent any traps from hurting us.

"It appears the girls have not arrived here yet," Zane observes. "There are no footprints on the steps."

"They also have someone who can teleport. She could have easily teleported over the steps," Lloyd reasons.

"Well, we should probably hurry up to capitalize on the lead if we have it," I urge, tired of this snail pace.

"The odds of there being a trap..." Zane starts.

"...won't matter when they catch us," I finish. Impulsively, I run up the large flight of stairs. Nothing happens. "We need to go, now."

"There was a 74% chance that at least one of those stairs had a trap," Zane tells me. I shrug.

"Guess I lucked out. Now, come on," the rest of the guys run up the stairs using the same path I did. After we throw open the doors, we're met with an empty room.

"Dang it," Cole sighs. "They got to it first. We lost."

"No. I sense a strong surge of energy coming from beneath the floor," Zane tells us, looking at the center of the room.

"A lever! We need to find a lever!"

---

Nya's POV

"...so then we stole Kai's hair gel to get back at him. It was hilarious. He freaked out for a solid ten minutes before he found it in Lloyd's pillow case. When he did..." Jay tells another story as we near the end of our long walk.

"Stop talking, oh my gosh. You've been talking for hours straight! I can't even hear my own thoughts," Chamille grabs the sides of her head.

"Well then maybe you should make your thoughts louder," Jay reasons. I have to fight to stifle my laugh.

"Or, you could just shut up."

"You know Chamille, you're my least favorite," he tells her.

"And you're mine."

We take a turn, and the temple is in our view. It's massive. Constructed of stone, it towers taller than the dense forest around it. At the top of a giant staircase, we see blurs of red, green, black, and white rush inside.

"They're already in there!"

"If we were to run there, we would get there in approximately 5.7 minutes," PIXAL informs us.

"We don't have time for that," Skylor sighs grumpily.

"I can smoke us closer," Seliel suggests, pulling the hair tie off of her wrist. She quickly throws her hair up in a high ponytail.

"Getting us that close would fatigue you so much that you wouldn't be able to fight in battle," Skylor tells her, her eyes wide.

"If I don't, there is no battle to fight," she rolls her neck.

"Let me help you," Skylor grabs Seliel's hand. Seliel jerks it back.

"No. If you do, we'll both only be mediocre. It's better for you to be at full strength," Seliel tells her sternly. Quickly, we all grasp each other's hands, with the exception of Jay who only holds my hand.

"Oh no, you're not wasting your energy to bring Jay with us. We don't need him anymore. He's just going to get in the way," Chamille says, obviously annoyed.

"Chamille is correct. Not only would leaving Jay limit the amount of energy Seliel expends, but it also means we don't have to watch him while in battle," PIXAL agrees. I let go of Jay's hand, sticking my hand in my pocket.

"Then let's go," I say. Drawing my hand out of my pocket, I grab the key that is locking Jay's cuffs. When the rest of my sisters close their eyes before Seliel teleports us, I place the key in Jay's hand.

Nearly immediately after, I'm surrounded by a cloud of smoke. It prevents me from seeing anything around me. When it fades a second later, we're at the bottom of the stairs. Seliel looks exhausted, her breaths heavy.

"I'm sorry girls. I can't go any further. 5 people is far too much for my powers to handle for that long of a distance," she pants. "You all can run up there. I'll work my way up."

Without a moment of hesitation, the rest of my sisters take off in a sprint up the steep stairs. After I few steps, I look backwards by turning my head. In the distance, I see a blue blob getting closer, nothing restraining his hands now.

With a newfound smile on my face, I chase after my sisters, exhausted by the time I catch up with them. The four of us finish making it up the steps within two minutes. When we reach the doors to the temple, they are wide open. Inside, the four remaining ninja frantically search the empty room. While Zane and Cole run their fingers over the wall, Kai and Lloyd are jumping on different floor tiles.

We take several seconds to catch our breaths once we see they don't have the Lapis in their possession, the ninja not even noticing our presence. We regain our energy while they search. Finally, it's Zane who notices us.

"It appears we have company," Zane announces to the other three. Lloyd, Cole, and Kai all look in our direction.

Seeing Kai this close makes me want to drop everything and walk over to him. I want to get to know him, my only living relative. I want to get to know how he survived all this time without any parental figure, or how he was able to deal with not only having his sister taken from him by Ciara but also both of our parents.

It's as if he can tell him looking at him. He turns his head to face me, and our eyes meet. It's comforting, but not in the same way being around Jay is. When I give him a small, subtle smile, he mirrors it.

"Where are Jay and Seliel?" Cole asks, almost automatically noticing their absence.

"Somewhere else," Skylor answers, purposely leaving out that their teammate is within viewing distance of the temple.

"Give us Jay back," Lloyd says, stepping forward. He shoots me a quick, decrying glare.

"Then give us the gemstone," Skylor bargains, easily falling into the role she's been groomed for her whole life.

"No, we're not falling into one of your traps again," Kai answers for all of them, sending Skylor a harsh glare. She seems taken aback. "Jay would prefer for us to fight our asses off than give up to save him."

"Well, then we'll tell Seliel to go ahead with the rest of our plan," Skylor says, crossing her arms. The boys look confused, and I have to hide my confusion.

"What plan?" Lloyd asks.

"Well, we had Seliel take Jay to a secret location in case you said no," she lies, purposely leaving the end open for interpretation. Ciara would always pull her aside during training and give her special lessons, but I didn't think it would go this far. What she's doing now is just wrong, manipulating them with the prospect of one of their teammates' lives.

"What's she going to do?" Cole glares at Skylor.

"Wouldn't you all like to know?"

At this, Kai looks over at me. Subtly, I shake my head, letting him know it's all a bluff. He seems to pick up on it, because he turns back to Skylor. "You're lying."

"Excuse me?"

The rest of the ninja look at Kai, confused. "You're lying, Skylor." He tells her. Because I know Skylor has a weak spot for Kai, I can see the hesitation in her words.

"I'm not, Kai."

"Then prove it," he says, leaving his spot next to the rest of the ninja. Confidently, he walks up until he's mere inches from Skylor. Chamille and PIXAL get into fighting stances. Skylor sticks her hand up, and they ease up. "Look me in my eyes and tell me that Jay really is off with Seliel, and that she has orders to do something to him if we don't hand over the gemstone."

"Jay really is..."

"You're looking at my eyebrows."

The two of them stay in a standstill for over a minute. Neither waver from their stares. The rest of us all stay still, afraid that moving will mess up the balance. Subtly, I keep glancing back at the door, waiting for the master of lightning to run through the doorway. Unless Seliel was able to regain energy to use her powers against him, he should reach the top of the stairs soon.

I watch as Kai's eyes start to scan over Skylor's face. He pauses at all of her prominent features: her eyes, her nose, and her lips. "You don't need to do this, Skylor," he tells her softly, replacing his aggressive tone from earlier.

"We need to free our mother and save Ninjago from the dictatorship it's under. If you value justice, you'll see that you're the ones who don't need to do this."

"Ninjago doesn't need to be saved. Did you see how happy everyone was at that banquet? All the smiles, laughter, the friendship there, do you think your mother would enjoy that? Do you really think she wants to see people happy?" he asks her, reaching out and softly touching her face, causing her to close her eyes. A soft gasp escapes her lips as his powers run though her. She opens her eyes, meeting his.

"I'm not sure," she answers.

"Skylor, he's in your head!" Chamille tells her, causing Skylor to step back. She squints her eyes.

"Get out of my head, Kai," she tells him, seeming frustrated.

"I'm not in your head," he responds, crossing his arms.

"Get out, or else," she warns. The rage seems to bubble up inside of her.

"I'm not doing anything," he gets defensive

"Yes you are. You're inside my head, and you're manipulating me. You got in that day at the Explorer's Club, and you've been tormenting me ever since. You won't let me have a break from constantly thinking about you or feeling bad about my choices for absolutely no reason," she accuses him. At her words, a look of understanding mixed with something deeper spreads across his face.

"And when I touch you? What does that do?"

"You already know. Get out of my head, Kai," her tone gets more aggressive. Slowly, she starts to form a fire ball in her hand. When Kai notices, he sticks his hand out and swipes his pointer finger downwards, causing it to extinguish.

"You don't want to hurt me, just like I don't want to hurt you," he tells her.

"I'm going to complete my mission. If you get in the way, I won't hesitate," she informs him sternly.

"You wo...," mid sentence, she hurls a fireball at him. It hits his face and diminishes, not leaving a mark.

"Now, where is the gemstone?" she asks, both hands armed with fireballs. When he doesn't answer, she throws a fire ball towards Lloyd. Using his quick reflexes, Lloyd dodges it, dropping low to the floor. Kai stares at Lloyd and where he was almost hit. The expression on his face transforms.

"I can't believe I even tried giving you a second chance. You're just like Ciara, evil," his entire body seems to be filled with an overwhelming rage, just like how I get.

"Wow, thanks for waiting for me to start the battle guys. That was so sweet of you," at the sound of his voice, I turn around. Jay is standing in the doorway, chains off, with his signature smile on his face. He seems a bit winded, but the sight of him is a relief.

"How the hell did you escape?" Chamille asks, obviously annoyed to see him.

"Oh come on, I was able to steal the lighter last night. You really think I can't sneak a key?" he covers for me still. "By the way, Seliel was not happy to see me pass her on the stairs. She looked absolutely pooped."

"Oh, you don't know how long I've been waiting to give you another black eye," Chamille cracks her knuckles before charging him, starting the battle. The rest of the girls charge the other four boys, leaving me awkwardly in the middle. Knowing what I need to do, I rush over to Jay and Chamille. He blocks all of her attacks, landing some blows of his own. He alternates in some lightning shocks to deter her.

"Nya!" she says when she sees me. Jay gets distracted, looking over in my direction. Chamille uses this as an opening. She lands a hard kick to his gut, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Let me take him," I tell her. She looks at me skeptically while still approaching him.

"Shouldn't you help neutralize Kai?" she asks.

"I've been waiting days to be able to finally shut him up for good," I fake, throwing in a false glare.

"The floor is yours," she breaks off to go with PIXAL and Skylor. I hop in, pretending to give genuine effort. In actuality, I purposely attack in ways that are easy to block.

"Where is the gemstone?" he asks me, looking around the room.

"No idea. When we got up here, they were looking for some type of trigger to find it," I answer, gently splashing Jay with water. In my peripheral vision, I see Seliel reach the top of the stairs.

"I'm here if you need my powers, Skylor," she announces, leaning against the wall to regain strength. When she leans against the wall, a loud click is heard. We all pause when there is a rumbling underneath our feet. Suddenly, the center of the floor opens, revealing the Lapis of Lightning on a pedestal. All eyes are on it.

Chamille is the first to go for it, but Cole shakes the ground underneath her, making her face plant. Everyone else commences fighting, except Jay and I who stand there looking at it. No one else seems to notice that we stopped fighting.

"Nya, you're the only one who will be able to get it," Jay tells me quietly.

"What?"

"Well, if I try, your sisters won't hesitate to stop me. If you go on the other hand, neither side will fire at you," he explains. "It needs to be you."

"I don't..."

"Nya, please," he looks me in the eyes. "I know you can do it. I believe in you." He gently reaches for my hand, sending sparks throughout my whole body. It makes my heart race while also giving me drive.

I shake out my hands before starting my sprint towards the lapis. My sisters are too engrossed in their battles to notice. Skylor is taking on Zane and Kai, sending fireballs at both of them that they can combat. PIXAL is challenging Lloyd, dodging all of his orbs of energy. Chamille is furious that Cole made her face plant, bombarding him with a series of attacks.

I jump over sheets of ice and cracks in the ground. When I reach the center, I'm able to pluck the gemstone off from the pedestal. As soon as I do so, everyone seems to notice. All eyes are on me. Seliel even stands up, regaining the energy to move in between Skylor and PIXAL.

I walk down the same way I came and find myself standing right where I started, next to Jay. We stand by the door.

"Nya, what's going on?" Seliel asks, her eyes wide.

"I can't bring this gemstone back to Mara. We can't. She doesn't want to save Ninjago, but take it for herself. Her and Ciara are murderers. They killed all of our moms and took us for themselves to raise and train for this job specifically. If we bring this back to the prison realm, Mara is free to roam this world. She'll destroy it. I can't let that happen," I tell them. Next to me, Jay reaches out and intertwines his fingers with mine. Relief floods my body at his touch.

"What did you do to my sister?" Skylor asks Jay, disbelief in her tone. She holds Seliel's hand for support.

"He introduced me to the truth, Skylor. We don't need to go back there, to that prison we were held in our entire childhood. We can stay here and find a way to prevent them from taking it over. The ten of us here can team up and defeat them," I try to convince her, drive in my voice.

"He's too far into her head," I hear Chamille say, shaking her head.

"Why won't you listen to me? Auntie and Mother are evil, and they always will be!" I say to them, tears welling up in my eyes. "They took advantage of our powers! They always have! They don't care about us."

"Mother gave you your powers when she gave birth to the four of you," PIXAL attempts to explain to me.

"Except she didn't! You read it to me PIXAL! You were the one that told me elemental powers got passed down from a master of that same element!"

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke appears in front of me. When it fades, Skylor is standing there, tears in her eyes,"Nya, you've always been my best friend, and my little sister. I know you better than anyone else, and I know you don't want this. Jay, he's doing something to you, but we can fix it. We can get him out."

"Jay has no mental hold on me. That's just another lie that we've been told."

She looks between Jay and me. "I'm so, so sorry Nya, but he's too far in your head. We...we can't help you."

Quickly, she grabs the top of the lapis that is sticking out of my hand. Where she stands is quickly turned into a cloud of smoke. She reappears near the rest of my sisters. They all grab each other's hands while the rest of the boys charge them. By the time they reach there, my sisters are all gone.

"No, no, no!" Kai tugs at his hair. Zane stares at the ground. Cole looks down at his hands. Lloyd watches the rest of his teammates. Next to me, Jay starts pacing back and forth, murmuring something under his breath. I stare forward, unable to move.

My sisters left me. They left me here, and I know well they're going to leave to go back to Mara without me. I thought they would never leave me, that when one of us stayed, all of us did. I guess that was a lie, just like everything else I was told in the first sixteen years of my life.

When Jay notices my distress, he stops his pacing,"Nya?"

"They left me," I verbalize it. At the sound of my voice, Kai's head shoots up. He quickly rushes over to me, engulfing me in a hug. His touch is warm and safe. I hug him back, my hold on him tight.

"It's really you," he tells me, sniffling, one of his hands wrapping around to hold the back of my head. "You're finally back home. It's been a long time, and things have changed, but you're finally back."

A/N FINALLY AM I RIGHT? Sorry, getting back into the school swing is rough, but hopefully I'll be able to get back into more of a stable writing grind

Soooo... the girls have all 4 gemstones, but no Nya. What do you guys think about that?

Kai and Nya finally reunited...yaaaay

The book only has one more chapter before the sequel. I might wait to post it until I also finish chapter 1 for the sequel too. Also, the second letter of the sequel title is a....N

Any hopes for the sequel or for this next chapter?

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!