***Just so you know, there will be a cover change for this book very soon! I decided it needed a better one LOL ***

***(Jay's POV; song for this chapter: "Fix You" by Coldplay)***

I'm a nervous wreck. Nya told us to trust her on this, but it's super sketchy. I mean, we've got a lot of what-if's here.

She sidles up. "Hey, Jay, I talked to your mom. She said we only arrived a few hours ago – you first, then me."

"Okay. At least that means we have time to save the others. I was terrified we'd been here for days. That would mean – "

She puts a hand on my arm. "Calm down, Jay. It'll be all right."

Through the dimness, I gaze into her blue eyes. "If we die tonight..."

"Don't even."

I press on anyway. "I love you, and I hope you realize how wonderful you are."

She rolls her eyes. "You're wrong about me being wonderful, but thanks."

Just as she turns to go, I stop her with a hand on her shoulder. "Aren't you going to say anything to me?"

"We're going to be fine, Jay."

"Just in case?" I beg. I need to know where she stands on our relationship.

She sighs. "Just in case we don't make it out of this, I wish I were someone else so we could still be together." She squirms out of my hold and stalks away.

Determination fills me. We have to get out of this alive so I can show Nya that she's not just some toxic brat. I mean, she can be a brat, but she's not toxic.

Then the door creaks. Nya, my mom, and I all get down on the floor. It's time.

The door fully opens, and my anxiety returns all over again.

In walks Ultraviolet. "Master of lightning, where are you? It's time for you to come see the Quiet One."

Oh, no. Nya never told me anything about that. She was taken before Camille when she was questioned. They probably plan to kill me. This is bad. This is very –

I stop that thought as I see Nya creeping out the cracked door. Her plan will work. It has to.

I just hope she and mom can get past the guards.

"There you are, ninja. You really think you can hide from me?" Ultraviolet cackles.

I stall. "Well, um, I was wondering if, before you take me to my doom, there was possibly a restroom I could use."

"You really think we have restrooms for the prisoners?" she laughs. "Come with me."

Rather than giving me a chance to obey her orders, she grabs me by the shirt collar and drags me out the door.

Given that Nya and mom are nowhere in sight, I take it they managed to subdue the guards and steal their uniforms. Can you even call biker gang garb a uniform?

"The Quiet One is most anxious to see you," grins Ultraviolet.

"Are you going to...um...kill me?" Might as well get that out in the open.

She laughs. "Are you kidding me? If we were going to kill you, we would've killed the other elemental masters, too. No, we have different plans for each of you. Someone, in particular, has requested to deal with you."

I gulp. "The Quiet One?"

She chuckles. "Okay, I see your friend wasn't lying when she said you knew nothing about us. You'll just have to wait and see how this goes."

But...what if I don't want to?

We stop abruptly before a wooden door. Ultraviolet knocks three times. "We have a prisoner ready for transport!" she yells.

The door whines as it opens. As fading sunlight illuminates my face, I shield my eyes.

Nya never said anything about being transported anywhere! This must have to do with their evil plans for me!

I'm loaded into what looks like a noodle truck. The two guards who flanked us earlier enter behind me. I really hope Nya's plan is working.

A familiar face appears from the back of the truck.

"Hey, kid!"

"R-Ronin?" I exclaim.

"Yep, it's me."

"Wait. Are you working for the Sons of Garmadon?"

"With them, if you please. They pay a good fee, and I personally don't want to be on their bad side when their plan is over."

"But – we trusted you!"

"Your mistake," he shrugs. "My allegiance lies with the money."

Now I'm angry. "But Nya trusted you! You took her under your wing! How could you go behind her back like that?"

Ronin says nothing.

Ultraviolet laughs. "I'll let you two get going. Have fun!" She waves and slams the back of the noodle truck closed.

"So you must be the one who asked specifically to decide my fate," I reason.

"Um, no. I couldn't care less what they do with you."

"But you know Nya and I are in love." I mean, it's complicated, but we're still in love. "If something really horrible happens to me, won't you have to go through her?"

"Eesh, kid, calm down. Of course, I intend to stay on Nya's good side. I'm not about to double-cross Harumi, though."

"Because she's paying you too much?"

"Exactly."
I moan and settle down for the ride there.

"Where are we going?" I inquire.

"Stop asking so many questions."

"Why?"

"Kid, you are ten seconds from getting whacked over the head."

"Okay, okay. Lighten up." It's difficult, but I remain silent for the duration of our trip.

At some point, we stop. I hear the gentle rolling of water and the call of a gull.

We're at the dock.

Light floods the truck as the back doors open. I squint against the change.

Then my vision focuses, and my stomach drops.

"Nadakhan?" I cry.

"Yes, your favorite Spanish tutor." He chuckles evilly.

If I had any hope of getting out of this situation unscathed, it's dead now.

"I should've known the likes of you would side with the Sons of Garmadon!" I growl.

"Yes, well, I desire power. They have that." He smiles. "Plus, they fear me. And I get the joy of taking revenge on an old acquaintance." He draws a long blade from behind him.

"Not yet," says a familiar female voice.

"Quiet One?" asks Nadakhan. "What are you doing here?"

Harumi is the Quiet One? Why does she need a nickname? Everyone knows she's evil.

"Before you have your fun with the master of lightning," she smiles, "I need to question him for myself."

"But...why? Why didn't you have one of the underlings do that job? I mean, his friend was questioned by Camille."

"Because I knew we wouldn't get much out of her, anyway. This one, though?" Harumi's eyes, masked in red, meet mine. "I'm sure there are plenty of ways to get him talking."

I swallow. "Um...I'm not interested."

"Then you'll tell us everything you know," Harumi grins.

Ronin shoves me out of the back of the truck, and I land on the ground with a thud. My face scrapes against the pavement, and I bite against the pain.

"What do you want me to talk about?" I groan.

"What all does your team know about the Sons of Garmadon?"

She said...my team! That means not all of us have been captured yet!

"The Sons of Garmadon?" I laugh nervously. "Who are they?"

"You forget your leader disclosed a lot of information last night. Poor Lloyd. He just wants someone to be there for him. Well, it was me, and now you'll pay." A wicked gleam lights her eyes.

"Okay," I sigh, trying to calm her down. "Um, the team knew they were a biker gang."

"Tell me more."

"We knew they all had really bad fashion sense, and that – "

"Silence!" She exchanges a look with Nadakhan.

He approaches behind me, then pulls a dagger and positions it in front of my throat.

"You will tell us more," he threatens, "or I will make sure you never say a word again."

My eyes are huge. "W-well, um, we had suspected that maybe you were involved, Harumi."

"I already know this. Get on with it."

"Th-there's not much more to say. Um, we know Camille's involved, obviously. You two just mentioned her."

Nadakhan's knife presses closer. "That cannot be all you know, funny man."

Out of nowhere, someone slams Harumi in the head. She shrieks and falls to the ground.

Nya pulls off her biker helmet. "I know you two are about to be arrested," she declares. She holds up Rumi's cell phone.

I guess she must've snagged it while Miss Evil was trying to get answers.

Nadakhan suddenly appears next to Nya.

"We meet again, Dilara," he greets. "But this time, it is not on very good terms."

Harumi rubs her head and sits up. "We have to get out of here. If the police are arriving soon, they can't find any evidence of us."

I take a leap for her, knocking her back to the ground. "We'll make sure they find plenty of evidence."

"I found a stowaway," Ronin announces, heading out of the back of the truck. He has my mom in his clutches.

I gulp.

"Ronin," fumes Harumi, "why weren't you out here ages ago?"

"Wow, way to thank me. I was subduing this prisoner."

My mom struggles in his arms.

"Wait," Harumi says. "Nadakhan, get the staff."

Nya pipes up. "Don't even think about – "

He poofs from beside her, then returns moments later, staff in hand.

Nya runs to where I am with Harumi, helping me hold her down.

She snarls at our prisoner. "You won't dare do a thing, or else – "

"You'll what? Get all the answers wrong on your next test so I can't cheat off them?"

Nya stuffs a hand over the Quiet One's mouth. Actually, that's kind of funny. The Quiet One shouldn't need any help keeping the noise level down.

She grabs a dagger from Harumi's side.

"No one move," Nya yells, "or you'll be short a fearless leader."

That's when Nadakhan apparates and takes the knife out of her hand.

"I do not think so," he laughs.

However, he dropped the staff when he moved. Seeing my chance, I make a flying leap for it.

Now free, Harumi sits straight up. "Don't let him get that staff!"

***(Nya's POV)***

An anguished cry fills my ears moments after Jay takes the jump. I'm so tempted to see if he's all right, but I'm trying to hold Harumi down now that Nadakhan has vanished.

"You should've known better than to try that," the man in question scolds.

Jay whimpers. "You – you stabbed me!"

I gasp, and Harumi throws me off.

"Give me an element from the staff!" she commands Nadakhan.

He aims the staff at her, and a blast of energy surges through the air. Rumi falls to the ground.

I run for her again, but she gets right back up, laughing. She runs to me and pins my arms behind my back.

Speed. She must've taken on the power of speed.

For lack of anything better to do, I buy us time. "I know all about what you did," I try.
"Hmm, interesting. I don't really have time for this."

"I know it was Nadakhan who broke into Ronin's shop," I continue. "Only, he didn't break in. Ronin was actually in the middle of talking business with him. To throw us off your trail, though, Nadakhan pretended to be a thief."

"Clever girl. How'd you figure that out?" Harumi queries.

"Well, I knew Ronin was involved as soon as I realized Camille had given me Reali-tea. I gave some to Ronin back when we first traded."

"Interesting. Now, everyone, to the truck."

"And I knew Nadakhan was in on it because he moved so much faster than I when I was chasing him out of Ronin's. It occurred to me to look at his feet, but they never touched the ground. That was an obvious indicator someone other than human had broken in."

Nadakhan speaks up. "But how did you know it was your Spanish tutor?"

"Remember trying to dance with me, jerk-face? You're really light on your toes."

Ronin grunts, and suddenly, Libby is racing toward us.

That's when Jay makes a move. He shoots lightning at Nadkhan.

The villain poofs to avoid the blast. "But – your power was stolen!" he thunders.

Harumi zooms away just as Jay's mom reaches our old spot.

"Nadakhan, give this menace back her power!" the leader orders. "Only one master of lightning can remain, and since it seems Jay has tricked us, his poor mommy will have to suffer the consequences." She puffs out her bottom lip in a mock pout.

"Oh, no you don't!" Jay hollers, zapping a lightning bolt at Harumi. Her speed, however, gives her an advantage

"No!" I beg. "Please, don't hurt Libby. We promise – " But it's too late. Power explodes from the staff, engulfing Jay's mom. She cries out.

And then, she gets up.

"Wait – what?" asks a confused Harumi.

I wrestle out of her hands while she's distracted, then make a run for Jay.

That's when I hear laughter.

"You gave me the wrong power," Libby says.

"Nadakhan!" scolds an enraged Harumi.

Suddenly, Rumi is down on the ground, holding her head. "You gave her the power of mind!" she bellows.

"And that means I know exactly what you're thinking," Libby says smugly.

"Ahh, my...head!" groans Nadakhan.

I finally reach Jay. "Are you all right?" I exclaim.

He nods, wincing. "Yeah. He stabbed me in the arm."

"The police should be here soon. We'll get you taken care of."

I pull off his sweatshirt that I'd donned earlier, then proceed to wrap it around his arm.

He mewls as I pull it tight.

"Sorry," I whisper, almost in tears for Jay's plight. "This'll help stop the bleeding, though."

"Let's just say I'm glad it's you doing it. If it were one of the guys, they would've been shocked across the room by now."

Libby gasps. "Watch out, you two! He – "

Still holding his head, Nadakhan disappears.

"Oh, great," Jay yells. "He's on the run again!"

Strong arms wrap around me, and I'm suddenly suspended above the lapping waves.

"Release your power on us, mind witch," Nadakhan commands. "Otherwise, she goes in the water. And I do not think you will want that, since her power is gone."

My life flashes before my eyes.

"When you try your best, but you don't succeed,

When you get what you want, but not what you need,

When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep,

Stuck in reverse."

"You'll kill her!" Jay wails.

"All right!" Libby yields, letting her captives go. "I'll stop."

"When the tears come streaming down your face,

'Cause you lose something you can't replace,

When you love someone, but it goes to waste,

Could be worse?"

Harumi gets up off the ground and appears behind Jay's mom.

"Ronin, you don't happen to have any vengestone cuffs on you, right?"

"I'm always prepared." He draws a pair from behind him and hands it to Rumi.

As the wicked girl cuffs Libby, I can't help but boil over. "I trusted you, Ronin!"

He stares at me meaningfully. "I think you knew whose side I was on."

"Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones,

And I will try to fix you."

"All right. In the van, everyone," Harumi squawks.

Jay and Libby submissively head for the vehicle.

Harumi walks to the edge of the dock and drops her phone in. "Can't have the police tracking us," she smiles.

Her conniving eyes land on me.

I don't like the coldness I see there.

"Nadakhan," she beams, "how would you feel about leaving the girl here, too?"

"In the water?" he asks, flabbergasted. "Wouldn't that mean a loose end?"

"Sure, but so was her call to the police. I don't think we can risk having her around any longer. Besides, we'll be long gone by the time they finish up here."

"And high up above or down below,

When you're too in love to let it go,

But if you never try, you'll never know

Just what you're worth."

I swallow and look up. Jay's face is frozen in fear.

"Please," he begs, "don't do this. I'll find a way to give you my power. Anything. Take me instead. Just – please, don't drop her."

"Such a shame," Nadakhan tsks. "And to think, such beauty lost. But I will feel no remorse."

His hold on me loosens until I'm falling. My eyes close. My heart stops beating.

"Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones,

And I will try to fix you."

And then I collide with my former element.

I sink down, down, down.

I want to cry, but this is the fate I deserve. People with the innocence of a Precious Moments doll, like Jay, should have happy endings. They should find love, hope, a family.

But not murderers.

"Tears stream down your face

When you lose something you cannot replace.

Tears stream down your face, and I –

Tears stream down your face.

I promise you I will learn from my mistakes.

Tears stream down your face, and I –"

The water swirls around me. It's dark, it's cold, it's...

Doing literally nothing to my body.

But – I should be having power withdrawals. I had them earlier when Jay and I were imprisoned. Why would they suddenly stop? Have I become used to lacking my element? If that's the case, why are all the other masters suffering?

I feel myself begin to rise back up.

There's no way I'm not dying. Maybe I'm in the in-between life and death. The part where you know you're dying, but you don't feel it.

My head bobs above the water, and coughing overtakes me.

I'm...not dead?

And then, it clicks: Ronin's real part in the story.

I still have my power.

As my body is racked with coughs, I see Libby jerk to the side, her cuffs apparently not fully latched. As they fall to the ground, Harumi, who was guiding her toward the truck, topples over.

Jay is being handcuffed by Nadakhan. That ends when the villain sees what Libby's up to.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" he rumbles, appearing beside her. "Perhaps it's time to return your actual power."

Everything happens in slow motion.

"What do I think I'm doing?" Libby says bravely. "I'm giving my son and the love of his life the chance to run back."

The staff, looming over Jay's mom, suddenly goes flying.

It twirls through the air like a ballerina.

Nadakhan poofs around, trying to determine its landing place.

He's too late.

It lands.

Shatters.

But Libby...she has the power of mind!

She's going to die trying to save me, even though I didn't need it.

I've slaughtered an innocent soul, yet again.

"Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones,

And I will try to fix you."