Skylor's POV

"Excuse me, but why are we here in this deadbeat little town with 3 new recruits? I know the boss doesn't exactly communicate their plans clearly, but this sure has to take the cake. This seems to be important, yet she sent a whole squad of newbies to slow us down. We were able to take down the elemental army. We could definitely take care of these table scraps without any help" Briar, the master of size, turns to Tobias, complaining. Their green eyes are filled with annoyance, the subtle rage leaking out of their small frame.

Tobias, the master of magnetism and the leader of our team, turns back to Briar. He's about 6 inches taller than Briar, his dark complexion, eyes, and hair the ultimate contrast of his short counterpart's. "Last time I checked, none of the elemental masters we took down were one of the big 5. We'll need everything we need to take out the master of fire, and we'll need to stop him quickly because he's in kahoots with the master of water."

"So? I was able to handle her one on one. She's no threat."

"Last time I checked, I had to poison her in order to keep her from defeating you," Tox, the master of poison whose entire look surrounds the color green, quips.

"Shut up about that! I totally had her! I just needed like...one more minute!"

"Hey, I take it as a win that our team grew. Nova's powers of illusion are going to be great at deception, Thea's power of corruption is just wow, and Skylor's powers, when she discovers them, are going to be just as helpful," Finn, the master of luck with a wavy, black head of hair and blue eyes, flashes me a smile as he says my name.

"God, you'll flirt with anyone in sight. They're way out of your league anyways," Amara, the master of teleportation, slightly glares at him with her brown eyes. "Hey, maybe if you were the master of flirting, you'd actually pick someone up every once in a while."

"You love my flirting, Amara. I'm gonna get through to you one day."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Okay, but really, why are we here? No way the self proclaimed 'Master of Hotness' is staying in a little beaten town like this. His ego definitely couldn't handle it," the master of form, Chamille, chimes in, referring back to Briar's comment. Looking at the small rundown town, every piece of wood splintering and threatening to attack the next person who touches it, I understand her point.

From what I've heard about him, the master of fire was an absolute egomaniac. His flirtatious nature was even more than Finn's. Not only would he seduce any girl that he deemed "hot", but he would also go around hooking up with said girls without knowing them. He allegedly stopped doing all of that stuff once he "took interest in me", but that was all to play up the act. There's no way a guy who thinks so highly of himself that he behaves like that would ever come to a town like this.

"The masters of water and fire crossed through this village not too long ago while looking for the next elemental master of creation. The hope is that they left some clue about where they were going. Then, we'll catch up to them and capture at least one of them. If we come back empty handed, the boss will be furious. All we need is one, preferably one of the big 5," Neuro explains.

"Well, we better get going then. Time is scarce," Finn flips down from the tree, landing on his feet and immediately looking back up at Amara. "You see that?"

"I saw your powers kick in at the last second. You were pretty much gonna land on your head before your body suddenly jolted upwards. You're like a cat. I swear. It's impossible for you to not land on your feet," she shakes her head, normally jumping down next to him.

"Well if I'm a cat, you're my purrfect match," he winks at her, and I see a slight falter in her expression, the corners of her lips momentarily rising.

"That was awful."

"You loved it," he winks at her as the rest of us drop out of the tree.

"So, what's the plan? We don't want to make a big scene, so should some of us stay back?" Talon, the master of healing, looks up at Tobias, his brown eyes contrasting with his sandy blonde hair.

"Neuro, Nova, and I will go in and gather intel. Everyone else stays here until..."

"I should actually stay back. Talon can take my place. The boss wants me to stay with Skylor until she finds out what her powers are in order to protect her from the master of fire. Who knows what he would do if he saw her?" Neuro interrupts him, glancing back at me before shifting his attention back to Tobias.

"Alright, Talon, come with us. You know what? Finn, you should come, too. We need a little bit of luck on our side for this one."

---

Jay's POV

"My Nya is back. My Nya is back. My Nya is baaaaack," I horribly sing as I pull my strawberry pastries out of the oven. I shake my hips as I place the tray on top of the stove. Then, with a black, plastic spatula, I carefully move them onto a platter before drizzling the icing on top.

While Nya went to get her brother (who I still don't want in my house, but Nya insisted), I decided to pop my pastries in the oven. It was a good thing I had them prepped even if I didn't know that people were coming over.

A smile hasn't been wiped off of my face since Nya and I finished talking about the situation that tore us apart. I was convinced that she had been dead for centuries, so seeing her standing there at my door was a lot, but even if she was mad at me, I couldn't help but be immediately filled with warmth. Just being able to look at her again sparked a feeling deep down inside that I forgot I could feel.

She's still so amazing. I don't know how the last several centuries have treated her, but she's still the same Nya. Of course there are some differences, but her smile, the way she talks, her determination, it's all still there. She talks with so much confidence and moves with such purpose. It's inspiring and beyond attractive. I still can't believe someone like her is my soulmate.

After setting the pastries at the center of the table, I place my hands on my hips to appreciate my handiwork. I dug out a tablecloth from who knows where (I was frantically trying to find one) and somehow remembered where the placemats were kept on the third shelf of the second closet in the hall. After setting the table for three, I got everyone a glass of water before topping it all off with the pastries in the center of the table. Considering I haven't had guests pretty much ever, this setup amazes me.

When the slight squeak of the door's hinges fills my ears, my heart skips a beat. I just can't help it. "Jay...where did you go?" Nya asks, and hearing her say my name again makes my stomach go wild.

"I'm in the kitchen," I reply, and within seconds, she and her brother are standing in the doorway where she casually leans against the doorframe.

Nya smiles when she sees the table, "Dang, you got this all set up quick. I'm impressed," she scans it all before her smile grows even more and her posture gets straighter. "Are those the strawberry pastries you always used to bake for me?" she asks, her voice soft and sentimental.

"I was lucky enough to have a batch ready to go in the oven right before you showed up, so I decided to pop them in once you left, so they would be ready for when you came back," I take a seat at the table. Nya takes that as a signal to walk over and join me. Her brother sits down last. I avoid looking at him, my eyes fixated on Nya. "We didn't really get to talk about your life earlier. What have you been up to for the past several centuries? Any new hobbies? Oooo, did you ever learn how to do a backflip?"

"Depends," she takes a sip of her water, and I internally high five myself for putting it out there for her,"did you?"

"Does a torx screwdriver fasten star screws?" my comment makes Nya laugh lightly.

"Well, that makes two of us cause I can too. Speaking of torx screwdrivers, the first time I tried to get anyone out there to help me invent was such a mess. I completely forgot that not everyone has an extensive knowledge of screws and tools," she admits, shaking her head. "I couldn't ask for anything since I was always being handed the wrong thing."

"Hey, remember the time you gave me the robertson instead of the pozidriv?" I tease, remembering the moment so vividly. I asked for the pozidriv, and when I told her that she gave me the wrong one, her face was as red as an apple. She would usually get frustrated, not flustered, so it was a moment to remember, an adorable one at that. "They don't even look alike."

She lets out an exasperated sigh, "I was only 160 years old. Cut me some slack. Besides, that was one of the first times I helped the original master of inventing," she jokingly jabs at me, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Oh, I'm the original master now? Who's the new master then?"

"Me, obviously. I learned how to generate and harness electricity with no zappy hands. That deserves some credit."

"Oh my gosh, that was you! I heard someone was able to do it, and I reeaaaaallly wanted to meet them to see how they did it without powers," I say in amazement. "How did you do it? I'd do anything to know. If you'll tell me if I bake you more pastries, I definitely will..."

"Hmm, what was it you always used to say to me about Mr. Blake? Oh yeah, you just said it was 'magic'," Nya gives me a taste of my own medicine.

"Well...I wasn't lying. I'd consider elemental powers magic..."

"You told Mr. Blake about your powers and not me?" she fakes outrage, placing a hand over her heart. "You know how I said I'd forgive you if you agreed to join us? Yeah, I'm revoking that now..." she jokes.

"Hey, hey, in my defense, he had no idea what my powers were. I didn't shock him or anything. However, there is a possibility that I might have stimulated his occipital lobe and auditory cortex a little extra to give him quite the treat. Oh, and I gave his sensory cortex a little buzz, too. To this day, I have no idea what he actually experienced, but I know that it was enough to stop him from perving out on you," I explain, and from my quick glance at Nya's brother, he looks beyond confused as he stares at the table. "Back to inventing, did you just invent the past several hundred years? If so, we basically lived the same life."

"No, I...I actually joined the elemental army, too," she says a bit quietly as if she's trying to conceal it out of embarrassment.

"Ooo, I was a part of that too, a long time ago," I try to show her there's nothing for her to be embarrassed about. "It was really fun, getting to hang out with all of the other elementals like a little club, and the four of us (Lloyd was still too small) were like the club presidents."

"A club? Like the weapon?" she asks, her eyebrows drawn together.

"No, no. Sorry, it's a little thing that people do here. They get into groups of people with a similar interest, and they do stuff in those groups. One group is a book club, so they all read the same book and talk about it together. It's fun. I pop into their meetings sometimes," I clarify. "You're the leader of the elemental army, yeah?"

"No, I'm not, actually," she answers, and my eyes widen.

"You learned how to harness electricity without being shockproof! I can't think of another elemental master that could be a part of that army right now that could possibly be more qualified than you. Who is it? Is it Gravis? I know he's even older than Cole, but age shouldn't determine who is in charge. If anything, it just shows how bad he is at pulling girls. Ooo, or is it Ash? He always..."

"It's the master of shadow," Nya tells me as I go to take a bite of a pastry. The sharp inhale I take sucks the pastry bits in my mouth down into my lungs. After a coughing fit that makes Nya look like she's on the verge of freaking out, I'm able to relieve my lungs of the bits.

"It's Shade? As in Shade, the little emo boy that worshiped the elemental masters of creation? How did he get in charge?" The fact that Shade is somehow running the army over someone like Nya is crazy. Shade was always so tame, so reserved and subservient. I can't imagine him running an army of some of the most powerful people in existence.

"His hatred for you all after the incident pushed him to become the greatest fighter he could be, so he could eventually take you all down (or at least he thought he could). Unluckily for him, you guys are going to be saving his butt soon, so his entire purpose has been thrown off."

"Since we're on the topic of saving them, what's the game plan? Are we going to try to rescue the elemental army first, or are we gonna pick up another one of us to try to boost our odds? If we're going to get someone, who are we going to get next?" I take a long sip of water once I finish talking. The discomfort of the pastry bits still lingers.

Nya glances at her brother who just shrugs. "Well, about that...we don't have any other leads. I found Kai through a map that I was given in this small town, and Kai gave me a map that led to you. I was really hoping that you would somehow have something that would lead to someone else."

"Well lucky for you," I pull a golden key out of my pocket, setting it on the table, "I know exactly where we need to go. I was just seeing if you had another plan before I broke mine out.

After we were done running, Zane and I were eventually able to reach where we were trying to get to the whole time. There, in the Sea of Sand, I buried Zane in a casket, and this is the only key in all of Ninjago that can open said casket. That means that I know exactly where he is since he couldn't have moved."

"That's great news," Nya smiles, grabbing a pastry and taking a bite out of it. "Do you know anything about the others?"

"Lloyd is completely off the grid. If he doesn't come to us, I doubt we're gonna find him unless it accidentally happens. Imagine if that happened, if we accidentally ran into him. Even though he'd surely look older, I bet we'd still be able to pick him out in a second. Plus, he's probably found a way to keep Rumi alive, so the two of them could easily be picked out of a crowd.

Cole, on the other hand, I've heard some rumors about over the past decade or so. Apparently, he saved the princess of Ninjago's life like 15 years ago. It was in the eastern mountain ranges near Shintaro, and the princess went missing. Then, after a series of earthquakes, the princess came back claiming a man that talked to the Earth saved her life from some scary dogs. I don't know how much we can trust the words of a three year old, but it could be worth looking at if we have nothing else," I put everything I know about their whereabouts out on the table.

"We should go to Zane first. Then, we should check out the lead on Cole. Kai, can you get the carriage restocked, so we can..."

"You were traveling by carriage?" I ask Nya, wide eyed.

Her head slightly tilts, "Yeah, why? Is there a recall on carriages or something?"

"No, no, it's not unsafe by any means. It's just...really, really slow," imagining the sheer amount of time it would take to travel to the Sea of Sand in that thing makes me shudder.

"Do you have an alternative? A quicker form of transportation would be helpful in getting people saved sooner," Nya asks, and after seeing the look on my face, she realizes, "You built something, didn't you?"

I shrug. "I didn't build all of it. I just added on some parts and cleaned some stuff up. It took a decade or so, but it was all worth it. I also renovated the inside recently because I was told that, 'The current condition of these cabins is dire,' which was totally correct, so don't worry about having to stay in something ugly cause we put in so much effort to make these cabins gorgeous."

"We?" Nya asks, and I immediately facepalm.

"I'm so dumb. How could that slip my mind? Come on. There's someone I want you to meet," I stand up from my seat, quickly snatching a pastry to go.

When Nya stands up, taking a sip of her water instead of grabbing a pastry, she turns to her brother who is still sitting down and informs him that,"You can come, too."

"If he just wants you to meet someone, I'm fine staying..." he starts, clearly reading the room correctly by maintaining his distance/

When I finally direct a statement towards him, "No, you should come," he's speechless, not like he was talking anyways. I'm facing away from him, but I can sense that his mouth is slightly agape.

"Who is this person we're meeting?" Nya tries to cut the tension, walking over to my side, signaling me to start walking. I slowly start to weave through the hallways as an attempt to get to the backyard.

"Well, there was always something missing in my life here. No matter where I was, I never felt at home or like I really had anyone to go to. Everyone looked up to me as some kind of idol, so I never ever had any friends, just worshippers, not that that isn't great, but I just wanted some sense of normalcy, ya know?" I run a hand through my hair taking a turn down another hallway. Finally, I open the backdoor, revealing an empty grass field.

The grass field looks empty, but with a few taps on my watch, the ground starts to slide open, revealing the giant, flying ship I've titled Destiny's Bounty with its red accents and large, sprawling deck. There's a ladder to climb down to the deck, so as I walk over to it, I gesture with my head for Nya and her brother to follow.

"This is the Destiny's Bounty, and it will be our mode of transportation from now on. That's not nearly as important, though..."

"Jay, this is absolutely amazing. You did this all by yourself?" Nya's eyes are wide in amazement, her hands covering her mouth. I smile at her pure excitement. She's precious.

"Well, I wouldn't say all by myself..."

"Jay, have you received visitors? Shall I climb the ladder to greet them?" her voice carries from the deck up to us. Both Nya and her brother's attention immediately perk up for what I assume are two completely different reasons.

"Yeah, that would be great," I call down to her.

"You keep a girl locked up on your flying ship?" Nya asks accusingly, crossing her arms.

"No, no, she closed it herself. She likes the lid being shut because it keeps out noise. I would never, ever..." I start defending myself, but as soon as she reaches where we're standing, I'm interrupted.

"Holy fucking shit," Nya's brother stares, his eyes stuck on the girl in front of him.

"I wanted to be near someone who made me feel like home, and Zane gave me a copy of his blueprints when I buried him. Then, when I stopped by the fire kingdom, Theodore gifted me a little bit of his energy. Mixing the general structure with mine and Lloyd's powers, I was able to mimic the same phenomena that brought Zane to life and bring back someone who felt like home, the girl who was like a little sister to me who I spent such a long time wishing I could see again."

"Jay utilized his powers to grant me my previous memories after referring back to my brain structure that he mapped out in the months before my demise, recreating the web of neurons in the form of wires and coding instead. He essentially was able to bring me back to life six months ago, just in a unique form," she explains before making eye contact with Nya's brother. "It is good to see you again, Kai," she gives him a warm smile before turning to Nya. "However, I have no recollection of you."

"That's Nya, the girl I told you all of those stories about from before I was able to bring you back," I place a hand on her metallic shoulder.

"You are Jay's soulmate? He has informed me of so many wonderful things about you. I believe you have met my soulmate, Zane. I'm PIXAL, and I'm elated to meet you."

A/N: Dunnn, dunnnn, duuuunnnn... PIX is here! I know some of you all saw it coming because of the Skylor reveal, but I bet you didn't expect THAT. 

Our team of three is now a team of 4, but with the unnatural elementals on their trail... yikes

any predictions? or things you noticed? I had a fun time throwing random crap into this chapter for my own amusement 😂

Thank you all so much!