Nya's POV

"Nya, is it really you?" his voice is soft, a jumble of emotions emphasized through his tone. My shoulder screams as his misty eyes stare into mine. My chest is closing in on itself, my throat tightening by the second, just seeing him.

Part of me wanted to believe it wasn't him and that there was somehow a mistake. If the master of lightning was someone else, it would mean he didn't leave me. Seeing him, it's like I'm being lifted up and beat down at the same time. It's proof that he is still alive, but it's also proof that he abandoned me.

"H-how could you?" I supersede his question with my own. Rage flares up inside of me. He was living here in such comfort while I was out in the world, struggling, "You left me to fend for myself. You convinced me you died. You forged your own death letter! Who the hell does that?" I lash out.

"Nya..." he takes a step forward as a tear falls down his cheek, but I just take a step back.

"I suffered for years thinking I failed you, thinking that if I did something different, you wouldn't have died! But I guess you didn't," I bitterly laugh, shaking my head as tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. "Why did you do it? Was it just a game to you, making me fall for you just to drop out at the last minute? You could have just broken my heart by telling me instead of making me grieve for centuries! I know that you're one of the most powerful people to ever exist, but that doesn't give you the excuse to be a fucking dick!" my rage radiates from me. I let out the thoughts that have been tearing up at me ever since I learned the truth. It blinds me.

My chest heaves, and once I start to come down from my cathartic release, I take in the look on his face. Tears are pouring out of his eyes, his face red and creased. A hand is over his mouth to muffle his shaky sobs, his shoulders shaking as he cries.

Any relief I got from lashing out is replaced with guilt that I can't help. He's my soulmate. I'm programmed to hate seeing him hurt. Watching him in pain because of what I said naturally places weight on my shoulders.

"N-Nya," he stammers, trying to recollect himself. He lifts his arm, using the sleeve of his lush robe to wipe off the tears from under his eyes. "I'm so, so, so s-sorry...so sorry for what happened," he sniffles. His eyes have the same look they did when I was struck by lightning all of those years ago, concern, guilt, and pain overtaking them. "I...I never meant to hurt you. Please come here. I'll explain everything," he pleads.

I scan over him, his slumped shoulders and strained face, before I spot a glimmer that catches my eye. The wedding ring that Jay and I picked out, the silver band with a blue "J" and a blue "N" engraved on the outside, wraps around his left ring finger just where I always wanted it to go.

Seeing it breaks my angry front. I put it up to block the joy I felt seeing him despite the emotional turmoil I had been going through the last several days. I was upset that I was happy to see the man that broke my heart, but the sincerity on his face and the ring on his finger suggests that there was more than just abandonment.

Taking a couple of quick strides to close the gap between us, I wrap my arms around him and start to sob, gripping onto the fabric of his robe. He gently shifts the hair out of my face, his fingers dusting my skin and taking away the sharpness in my shoulder, before pulling me even tighter into him. Both of our bodies shake in sync as we cry and hold onto each other.

I let myself bask in his embrace, in the electrical tingle that makes so much more sense now. I let myself enjoy his familiar scent, his strong hold on me. I let myself savor that he's actually here in front of me. It's not a dream.

I stand there in his arms for who knows how long. His embrace is unlike anything else that I've felt. It's natural sedation. I forgot just how sweet it was. I'm lulled even more when he reaches his hand up and runs his fingers through my hair.

Letting my mind wander, I think back to my brother who is probably awkwardly sitting on a bench, twiddling his thumbs while waiting for me to come back. While it definitely wouldn't be helpful to get Kai at this exact moment, I can't just stand here in my ex's embrace. We have people to save.

Shade, we have Shade to save. Suddenly, I'm filled with guilt. I pull away from Jay, "Can we go inside? It's a bit cold out here."

"Yeah, of course of course," he awkwardly laughs before moving out of the way for me to walk through the doorway. I shoot him a small smile before walking into the house.

It's as if I'm hit with deja vu, but I'm not at the same time. The structure of the house is the exact same, with the same fireplace, spatial arrangement, and furniture, but there are also some of Jay's inventions all over the place. Another one of those picture walls sits on a table. A fan and light fixture hang from the ceiling, and AC vents are worked throughout the house. I can't even imagine everything else he's come up with.

After he shuts the door behind us, he asks, "Do you want anything to eat or drink? I have water, and lemonade, and pink lemonade, and iced tea, and regular tea, and..."

His rambling warms my insides, "I'm fine, but thank you. What I do want though, is an explanation, and it better be a damn good one."

"Of course. Let's sit down," he starts walking to the couch that sits in the living room, so I follow him and take the seat beside him. I conscientiously leave some space between us. "Sorry if the house is a bit weird for you. I tried other styles, but nothing else ever felt like home."

"It's alright," I reassure him even if it is weird for me to be in here.

He runs a hand through his hair, sighing, "I never wanted to leave you. I just want you to know that before I start. Every emotion I showed towards you was completely, fully, absolutely genuine," he prefaces.

"But if you felt as strongly as I thought you did, you wouldn't have left," I counter, my walls already popping back up. I fight to push back down.

He frowns, "It's because I felt so strongly that I left," he explains, not providing much context before adding, "How much of the rest of my life did Kai tell you about? I'm assuming you came here with him since it would be way too big of a coincidence for you too to show up on the same day. Plus, I'm assuming you're his sister since her name was also Nya, and she's the master of water, and you would need to be an elemental master to stay alive this long, and..."

"I'm Kai's sister; you're right. I already know you have powers (which in hindsight makes so much sense), that you didn't kill PIXAL, and that you had horrible taste in girls. You apparently let some girl convince you that she was your soulmate?" I tease, making him groan.

"Ugh, he brought up Aria. In my defense, I just really wanted to find my soulmate, so I was easy to convince," he tries to defend himself.

"Mmmhmm sure," I want to demand answers out of him in a faster way, but this banter between us is so natural, so light. I can't get myself to break it.

"Did he also bring up Sophia who got eaten by a dragon? That ordeal was a mess."

"Yep, he also brought up that you may or may not be married," I inform him. He lets out an even larger groan than before.

"He told the Murtessa story?"

"It was funny. Hey, maybe she would have been able to convince you she was your soulmate too," I poke fun at him.

"Ha ha, ha ha," he says sarcastically. "Anyways, I had been on the run for obvious reasons before I settled down in that town. Using my powers, I was able to make inventions and sell them for loads of money which let me eventually move into the bigger house on the outside of town.

I was secluded in order to prevent being caught, but it was so, so lonely. I missed my friends so much, and I kept everyone else at a distance. It sucked so much. It felt like the joy was sucked out of living.

Then I met you, and wow, I was the happiest I had ever been. I really wanted to tell you about everything, about my powers and my past, but I was terrified. It was dumb, but I just couldn't risk losing you in case you got scared and left," he explains before quickly adding, "I was going to tell you before we got married, for the record, if that makes things any better."

"I...I can't blame you for not telling me. I didn't tell you about mine either," I reassure him that that isn't what I'm upset about.

"When Zane, who I'm guessing Kai told you is the master of ice, came, he wanted me to help him get to the Sea of Sands. He was miserable, exiled after his soulmate was brutally murdered and split from the only family he ever knew, and just wanted it all to stop. However, he's a robot- which is insane that he exists cause he's older than me, and I'm like... 681 years old, and the technology at the time he was created was nowhere near how it would have needed to be for me to create a robot. His creator was able to build Zane, but he just didn't have a power source. When the master of ice was ready to pass on, he gave his powers to Zane to hold until they found someone worthy. Little did they know that the powers would essentially make Zane alive, giving him a tattoo and everything. Everything he needed to live was already in him. His powers just activated it all. Dr. Julien was absolutely groundbreaking. I'm so upset that I didn't get to meet him because...shoot, I'm sorry. I went off on a tangent.

Since he's a robot, he can literally be turned off. His powers just take a break and can be resparked easily. It made it very simple for him to make things stop for a while.

He wanted to be buried in the Sea of Sands near PIXAL's grave, and he only trusted one of his former teammates to help him. He took so much time finding me, and he was in so much pain. I felt like I couldn't say no, so I went with him.

On our way there, we were caught because our appearances were still well enough known. When some of the king's guards started openly shooting at us, we had no choice but to stun them and flee. No matter where we ran, they kept coming back over and over again. Both of us knew we'd be back on the run for a long time until we would truly lose them. The king had deployed all troops in an attempt to catch us. There was no quick escape.

You know the promise I made you make me? About moving on? I did that in case I felt I couldn't go home. I knew I wouldn't die, but it was for a situation for what happened.

I thought you were a regular human with a regular human lifetime. You...you deserve so much from life. The king's men were ruthless and would use anything to get an edge. Going near you would have put you on their radar and in danger, and I couldn't have them ruining what I thought would be your entire life.

I wanted you to live a nice, full life with a fancy house and a family you could call your own. Of course, I wanted it to be with me, but I realized that wasn't an option anymore. We'd just be on the run. I didn't want to sentence you to the life that I had become a prisoner to yet again.

So I faked my own death. I thought that you would be forced to move on and start a new life without me in the picture. I thought that you'd be able to be happy again after about a year, and you would just forget about me. I just wanted what I thought would be best for you.

I hated it. I hated it all. I finally shook the guards off after several decades, but I knew it would be too late to go back (which clearly wasn't true). At that point, I was mentally and physically broken, so I just wanted a place to go. When I found out where Kai was hiding out, I was so relieved. That was what I needed more than anything, support. I still felt empty inside, and I knew he would understand that feeling.

But he kicked me to the curb and refused to help me. He literally locked me out of his castle and forced his magic fire dog to escort me out. I was still hoping he'd have a change of heart, so I left a map there to a nice open field I found while running. I was going to start a society there, and I was hoping he'd come to me once he realized he had been a jerk.

The rest is pretty boring. I got people to come, blah, blah, blah, built it up, blah, blah, blah, and here I am today. I never forgot about you, though. How could I? You're one of a kind. I haven't been able to look at anyone like I looked at you," his small smile at the end melts my insides. His charm effortlessly infiltrates my heart and mind.

"You know that wasn't fair right, what you did?" I bring up to him in a standard tone. "I know that it was out of care, but you had no place making that choice for me. I preferred the life with you over the life you described. I would've rather ran with you than think I was living in a world without you."

"I know it wasn't my place, but I knew you'd go with me if I gave you the choice. I...I just didn't want you to realize a couple of years in that that wasn't what you wanted and feel stuck. Instead, I trapped you in a different life," he sighs, putting his head in his hands before looking at me. "I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry, Nya. I will do anything to make it up to you." He leaves a perfect opening for me to slide in.

"I was actually looking for the elemental masters of creation to help me with something. I just happened to find out that one of them was you," I admit. He instantly perks up, a bit confused. "Do you know about the unnatural elemental masters that keep popping up around Ninjago?"

"Yeah, they're such a nuisance, and they're not even real elemental masters. They're so annoying. They keep sweeping every inch of land so vigorously it isn't even funny. I keep thinking they're going to run into my invisibility cloak, and it's beyond stressful," he expresses his displeasure, animatedly explaining why he dislikes them.

"Well, the elemental army that was keeping them at bay fell, and I'm trying to put together a team that can take the unnatural elementals down. So far, there's only a team of two, but your help would be invaluable. Besides, if you were to join our team, I'd forgive you," I reach out and sandwich his hands in mine, the gentle buzz that floods my body twisting up my insides.

"Of course I'll join your team. I'll do anything for you, Nya."

A/N: Jaya was reunited! Finally. Now, let's just see where this leads us.

Merry Christmas! I need to be up in like 6 hours for Christmas morning, so I'm gonna make this short.

Thoughts on how things are gonna go from here?

Thank you all so much!