Guess who finished her PSATs and is finally free????? ITSA ME, A MAR–

~~~~~

Charlie sat with the other Ninja in Dareth's studio, listening as he warned them of the plan. They had the Tiger Widow venom and the note from Jay. All the needed to do was find him.

"I wish I could tell you the mission is gonna be simple. It's not," the brown ninja warned, taking the sunglasses off his face dramatically.

"Uh, yeah, it is," Cole corrected. "In case no one told you, we got what we need to stop Nadakhan on the island. After we go up there to save Jay, we take care of business. Simple."

Dareth raised a brow. "And when you fly your fancy Elemental Dragons up there, just how long do you think the three of you are gonna last against an entire crew of Sky Pirates?"

Charlie frowned. Dareth had a point. With Kai and Zane gone, they were down more than they could afford.

"Then we get all help we need and hit them with brute force," said Nya. "The Commissioner said we'd have his department at our disposal."

"You have my department at your disposal," said the commissioner as he walked in. "Just say the word."

"Then the word is "Goodbye,"" Dareth said dramatically. "As in, we say goodbye to Jay when they see us all coming. No, this mission is not simple, but it's not impossible. Not without the help of a little magic–" he threw his shades back on"–Movie magic. Kevin, Dan, the floor is yours."

Two men walked in front of the Ninja with a chalkboard ready. Both had brown hair, though one's was shaggier and he had a beard, and glasses.

"Who are they?" Charlie asked.

"Retrieval experts?" Lloyd guess.

"Better. Screenwriters," Dareth grinned.

Charlie bit back a cringe.

"So," Kevin started, holding the bottle that contain Jay's message. "we got the message in the bottle from Jay that reads 'Don't worry about me, worry about stopping Nadakhan'."

"That's nice and straightforward," said Dan (who had the beard). "but very unhelpful. What's more interesting is the message behind the message."

"Uh, you've lost me," Cole said with a furrowed brow.

Kevin took the note out of the bottle. "Well, he wrote the message on the blueprints of one of their vehicles, a Raid Zeppelin," he attached the paper to the chalkboard, showing the blueprints.

Charlie hummed in thought. Jay had done some foolish things, but he certainly wasn't stupid.

"So we suggest we use a little movie magic to recreate one of their ships so you can blend into their fleet," Dan said excitedly.

"Then, after our costumer disguises you as Sky Pirates and an acting coach teaches you their dialect to pass undetected—" Kevin was interrupted by a horrible noise.

"Arr, ye mat-ey!" Lloyd forced out. "We be becoming pi-rates!"​​​​​​

Charlie pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Okay, um, thinking on the fly. The green one can't do dialects," Kevin hummed.

"The mute Sky Pirate," Dan suggested.

Kevin nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's it! after we get you close enough..."

"Cole, the ghost ninja, sneaks aboard the Misfortune's Keep, to poison Nadakhan with the Tiger Widow venom and trap him," Dan said.

"Wait a minute," Nya spoke. "I thought the venom could only slow him down. How do we trap him?"

The Hageman brothers frowned, glancing at each other.

"Uh, okay, uh, just spit-balling here. Maybe it's an incantation. Something ancient," Kevin suggested.

"With a lot of hard consonants," Dan added.

"Yeah! Like, uh..." Kevin proceeded to speak in gibberish.

"Great idea!" Dan grinned. "Then, when Nadakhan gets trapped in the Djinn Blade, their friends are finally freed."

"Great idea," Kevin complimented.

"Terrific, this is the plan?" A gruff voice asked. Ronin pushed off the wall he was leaning on and walked over to them. His hazel eyes were hard with reality. "You're sending them up there without any real idea of what they may find or what they are up against, and your only answer is movie magic?"

"So maybe we haven't figured everything out," Dareth shrugged. "We're all under deadlines, you know. I know it's a stretch, but this is by far the best bad idea we have. For every hour we waste, another piece of Ninjago goes missing. If we wait any longer, I don't know how much more of a home we'll have left to save. This is the plan, people. Unless any of you have any better ideas, I suggest we get working."

Not a word of dissent was spoken.

Dareth grinned. "All right, let's make some magic, people!"

~~~~~

Construction was started on the Raid Zeppelin as the Ninja prepared for their roles. Nya and Cole were being consulted by an acting coach while the Garmadon siblings were being fitted for costumes by Kevin.

"What be a pirate's favorite letter?" Lloyd asked.

"Uh j-j-just don't," Kevin said. "Mute pirates don't speak."

The Green Ninja frowned, but Charlie got an idea.

"Hey, Lloyd," she said with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "Why does it take so long for a pirate to learn the alphabet?"

Lloyd suppressed a grin, but his eyes laughed. "W-why?"

Charlie snickered. "Because they keep getting lost at 'C'."

Lloyd's shoulders shook as he laughed, making Kevin groan in frustration.

"You're both mute now," he decided. But Charlie was too busy laughing at her own stupid joke to care.

~~~~~

"Alright, we're getting close," Lloyd said with a furrowed brow. Their Raid Zeppelin flew softly through the sky, approaching Nadakhan's ship. "You have the venom, Cole. I mean, Black Blood."

The Master of Earth smirked and held up the vial of Tiger Widow venom. Instead of his normal gi, he wore a standard skull and crossbones shirt and hat for his disguise.

"I sure do, but aren't you supposed to keep quiet, Mutt the Mute?" Asked Cole.

Charlie chuckled and elbowed her brother. Her movements jingled the various pieces of jewelry adorned across her body. She wore a green jacket with the sky pirate logo on the sleeve and black pants tucked into her boots. A red bandana that matched Lloyd's hat held her hair back.

Lloyd rolled his eyes at his sister's actions. "You can't talk either, Selene the Silent."

"Don't waste an ounce of that stuff," Nya ordered with a sharp look at Cole. Her hair was hidden under a turban and her face disguised by a bushy mustache. With her and Delara being identical, it was imperative that the Master of Water huge her face. "We may only have one shot here."

As Nya piloted their vehicle closer, Charlie became increasingly aware of the climbing anxiety within her friend.

"Oh, I don't like this. I don't like this at all," the Master of Water fretted.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked. "I've never seen you so afraid."

"I just hope Jay's all right," the ebony haired girl admitted. "It's been so long, we don't even know if he's—"

"Don't say it," Cole placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "He'll be okay. We've already lost too many. We're not gonna lose him."

"We've worked to hard and too long to give up on him now," the Master of Darkness asserted.

"Alright," Nya breathed as they closed the distance between the Misfortune's Keep above them. "It's showtime. I'll bring her in close."

Cole gripped the vial tightly in his hand and clambered up to the top of the Raid Zeppelin.

"Go!" Lloyd cried as the Master of Earth jumped onto the ship.

Charlie watched until the ship disappeared behind a cluster of sky islands. The countdown had begun.

~~~~~

"What's taking them so long?" Asked Nya.

"Don't ask us," Charlie murmured. "We're not supposed to talk."

"That's where the other Zeppelin is?" A new voice asked.

The three Ninja stiffened as they watched a green Serpentine climb down one of the sky islands and stomp aboard. One of his legs was replaced by a rough plank of wood.

"Oh, hiding away so the new b-blood could steal a break, eh? Don't worry, I won't tell. What be your names?" He asked in a friendly manner. It was very clear that he was low in rank.

"Uh, the name's...uh–" Nya cleared her throat and dropped her voice to a gruff and masculine tone. "The name's Scallywag. And this here is Mutt the Mute and Selene the Silent."

"Well, listen here, Mutt, Selene, and Scallywag, 'cause I'm only gonna tell you once how things g-g-g-go around here," the Serpentine stammered. "At the top of the ladder, you got Nadakhan. After him, it's Flintlocke. Then Doubloon. Oh, no, no, wait. It's, uh, D-D-Dogshank. Then Doubloon, Monkey Wretch, me, and way down at the bottom of the ladder is you threes," he pointed a clawed finger at them. "So if you ever want to rise up that ladder, you got to first step on me. Oh, no, wait a minute, that does not sound right..."

Charlie lost focus on the pirate as she noticed Nya's mustache begin to slip down her face. The Master of Darkness waved her hands wildly to try and get her friend's attention.

Lloyd joined in as well, grunting as the Serpentine droned on.

" ... careful using the word "wish" around the captain. It's tempting, but w-w-wishes aren't free. I never used mine. But why would I? A pirate's life is great!"

Charlie and Lloyd coughed to try and get their message.

"Scallywag," the older coughed.

"Mustache," croaked the younger.

The Serpentine stopped and turned to them. "Hey! Y-Y-You talked. I thought you were mute."

Realizing their mistake, the Garmadon siblings cleared their throats.

"Aye. It be a miracle. Arr!" Lloyd growled rather intensely.

"It's too good to be true!" Declared Charlie in a falsetto voice.

"They say you were born with no tongues," Nya added, "but look at that. There they be."

Suddenly, a voice radioed in across the sky archipelago.

"All hands, keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The prisoner has escaped."

"Hey..." The Serpentine narrowed his yellow eyes at the three. Charlie bit her lip for fear of being caught. "what are you waiting for? You heard your orders. Be on the lookout,"

The Master of Darkness felt as if she could breathe again as the pirate moved to get off their Zeppelin. He turned back suddenly. "And we'll be needing a new name for you, Mutt the Mute and Selene the Silent. How about, uh, Mutt the Miracle a-and Selene the Splendid?"

"Uh, sounds great," Lloyd nodded.

"Love the idea," Charlie chirped.

As soon as the pirate left, Charlie's shoulders slumped.

"That was close," Nya breathed. "We have to be ready when they get here.""Tell me about it," Charlie huffed. The prisoner the voice on the P.A. system mentioned was without a doubt Jay.

~~~~~

The brig. If Zane were with them, he would have commented on the history of cells in ships. But at the moment, Charlie, Lloyd, Jay, and Cole were stuck there waiting. Nya had been taken by Nadakhan.

Jay's face was bruised and his left eye was concealed by an eye patch. Charlie shuddered to think what was done to him in order to gain that.

Cole grunted as he struggled to break the ball and chain attached to his ankle, but his efforts were futile. All of them were chained there, and the only way out was the grate above them.

"It's Vengestone, remember?" Jay reminded him. "You can't ghost through it, and your super-duper strength won't work anymore."

"Cole, you said you left the venom in his quarters?" Lloyd asked.

The Master of Earth nodded. "Yeah. Well, hopefully Nya can get to it."

"How?" The blue Ninja asked hopelessly. "She doesn't even know it's there. Oh, I don't like her being alone with the silky-voiced seducer. If he lays one hand on her, I—"

"Don't worry," Charlie interjected, "we won't let that happen."

Jay slumped against the wall. "We better not, because if he takes her hand in marriage, he'll reach his TruePotential, and we'll all be hooped when he has infinite wishes."

Cole snapped his head up. "Infinite wishes? He'll be unstoppable!"

"But then his crew will be expendable," Lloyd mused. "Maybe we can convince them to—"

"Already tried. They wouldn't believe me," Jay let out a sigh. "Thanks for trying to save me, but maybe it would've been better if you never came."

"Hey," Charlie nudged her friend lightly. He looked up at her, his one blue eye meeting hers. "We may not have our Elemental Powers, but we're not without hope."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. Between the four of us and Nya, we have 13 wishes that—"

"Wishes?" The Master of Lighting snapped. "You wanna think that through? Making wishes is why we're up here."

"Yeah. And when he turns them around on you, you'll beg for him to wish it away. And that only makes him more powerful," Cole added.

​​​​Jay set his jaw. "No wishes, Lloyd. Things may be bad, but they can still get worse."

"Okay, okay, no wishes. Only as a last resort," the Green Ninja conceded. He sighed softly as his leafy eyes looked at the grate. "I just hope Nya's faring better than we are."

Before anyone could say anything, a heavy accented voice shouted, "Take them out of the hole. Prepare the plank!"

The grate was opened and the Serpentine and the Kabuki masked pirates pulled them out and held them at sword point. Nadakhan floated around the deck as his crew readied a plank.

Charlie whipped her head around and found Nya running for them. But a large, broad, and masked woman grabbed her.

"You wouldn't dare!" The Master of Water seethed.

"I make the orders around here," Nadakhan declared. "The sooner you learn that, the smoother it will go."

"You hurt them and you can forget about any deal," she growled.

"Then agree to marry me right now and it'll all be over," the Djinn proposed.

"Nya don't do it!" Cole warned. "It'll make him all powerful and—!"

"The black one goes first!"

Cole was shoved onto the plank. The ocean stretched out below them, and Cole's chain was dragging him down.

Charlie lunged forward, but a sword to the throat stopped her from moving further. Her eyes narrowed at the Kabuki masked pirate, who simply switched his face to a cheery expression.

"I won't ask you again, Nya," Nadakhan drifted over to her. "Give me your hand, and they live. I remind you, below us is nothing but ocean. And just what does water do?"

Cole whimpered nervously.

"Nya, you can't," Lloyd said with wide eyes.

"I don't get it," a mustached pirate with a high class revolver in a holster addressed. He was the gunman from before. "We should be pushing her over. You said that all that matters is Djinjago, not her."

"Quiet, you hairy-lipped fool," Nadakhan glared daggers at him. "Or should there be one more walking that plank? Push him over."

A pirate took her sword and held it to Cole's back.

"Wait!" The Black Ninja cried. "Don't I get any last words?"

Nadakhan tilted his head. "Humor me."

The Master of Earth bit his lip. "I wish..."

"Cole! Don't do it!" Jay warned.

"I wish Vengestone didn't stop our powers, but made them stronger."

Nadakhan's eyes went wide and surge of strength rushed through Charlie. She held up her hand and summoned her Darkness and sure enough, despite the Vengestone around her ankle, the cold flames danced in her hand.

"I can't believe it worked!" She grinned.

"If he's within earshot, he has to grant the wish," Lloyd realized as his own Energy chimed in his palms.

"Get them!" Nadakhan shouted.

"I wish I had my sais!" Charlie demanded. Instantly, her weapons appeared in her hands, ready to use as she attacked the pirates.

"I wish someone told me we were gonna use wishes!" Nya griped as she threw Dogshank over her shoulder.

"Your wish is yours to keep," Nadakhan breathed.

"Careful not to waste wishes," Lloyd warned. "That's three down, with 10 left."

"Remember the rules: you can't wish for love, death, or more wishes," Cole reminded them as they stood back to back.

The chain around Charlie's ankle thrummed excitedly. Her hands shook as the dark smoke enveloped them. It was too much.

"Cole's wish has made our powers too strong," Jay yelped as a burst of Lighting shot from his palms. "I can't control it. No, I knew this was a bad idea but nobody listens!"

Charlie whimpered as an onslaught of emotions crashed over her. Anger, fear, excitement all thrummed under her skin. She grit her teeth and shouted, "I wish the Vengestone chains would break off!"

The chains around their ankles broke off as yet another wish was wasted. Charlie panted as she regained control over her powers. But as she collected herself, she was unaware of the gunman aiming for her.

"I ain't afraid to shoot you where you stand," he said as his revolver clicked.

"I wish you were a lousy shot!" Lloyd burst out just as Flintlocke pulled the trigger.

A shot was fired. Charlie closed her eyes. Something tapped her foot. She opened her eyes and looked to see a lead ball rolling away from her.

The pirates looked at their sharpshooter second in command in shock. He never missed.

"I never miss!" The gunman shouted. He pulled the trigger again to prove his point, but the bullet bounced everywhere but his target. It flew through a Raid Zeppelin, sending it to the ground.

"Stop firing, or else you're going to put a hole in all of us!" Nadakhan snapped.

"And would everyone STOP WISHING!?" Jay snapped. "Nothing good is going to come of this!"

Charlie spun into Spinjitzu and attacked ferociously.

A smirk crossed Nadakhan's face. He flipped his blade around his hands and stabbed it into the floor. Ice spread out onto the deck. Zane's Ice.

"That's not fair," Cole groaned as he fell onto the slick deck. "He's fighting us with our friend's power."

Charlie yelped as she lost her footing and landed smack on her back. "This isn't right!"

"I got it!" Cole said suddenly. "I wish he didn't have that sword."

The Djinn Blade jerked from Nadakhan's hand and flew through the ship. It landed in Flintlocke's hand, who handed it back to it's owner.

"Your blade, Captain," he said.

"Well, you got what you wished for, boulder brain," Jay snarked. "Words matter. We can't just fire off wishes from the hip like this."

"That's seven left. We have to be wiser what we wish for!" Lloyd said.

"No, not wiser! Quieter!" The Blue Ninja argued. "No. More. Wishes!!!"

"How about this: I wish I was wise like Wu," the Green Ninja smirked as an idea formed in his head. He hopped into a flip and landed with his feet in two buckets. He used them to skate around the deck and fight.

"Oh, clever boy," the Djinn breathed.

Charlie grinned at her brother's genius. "Good thinking, Lloyd!"

"Yeah," Cole nodded, "maybe we're overthinking this. Why hasn't anyone just said, 'I wish us all out of here?'"

"Oh, you fool," Nadakhan groaned.

The flying ship titled, sending everyone sliding down the deck.

"We really need to start listening to me!" Jay screamed.

"Make it stop!" Flintlocke demanded as he gripped onto a loose plank.

"I can't. He's wished us all out of here," the captain explained.

Charlie grunted as she held onto the stern. Her legs dangled over the open sky dangerously. "I really wish you hadn't said that, love."

She kicked herself as soon as the words left her mouth.

"I heard that!" Nadakhan cried. "It's yours to keep."

"And there's another one wasted," the Blue Ninja rolled his azure eyes. "You really aren't very good at this."

"Hold on!" Lloyd strained. He paused when he saw his reflection. He was sixteen, yet he looked sixty. "I'm not just getting wiser. I'm getting older."

"He wants you to wish it away. You can't!" Jay warned.

"Well, unless someone wishes something quick, we're all gonna fall," Cole reminded them. "And don't look at me, I don't have any left."

Charlie's grip faltered. "AHHH!" She fell into the sky with Cole and Nya behind her.

"Then I wish those clouds would stop us!" The Master of Water screamed.

As the Purple Ninja made contact with the clouds, she bounced like a ball. She sat up with a look of confusion across her expression.

"Would you look at that," Jay chuckled.

And, without another moment, the brawl continued.

The familiar chime of a wish being granted sounded, and Nya held a spear in her hand. That was her last wish.

The sound of a struggle reached Charlie's ears. She looked over her shoulder to see Lloyd fighting a pirate, but he looked old. He was slammed into the clouds and didn't get back up.

"Lloyd!" Charlie ran to her brother, the other Ninja on her heels. "Lloyd, what's happening to you?"

"Don't worry about me," his voice was cracked and dry. "Jay and I have one wish left, and I'm not gonna use it to save myself."

"But you'll continue to get decrepit," the Blue Ninja fretted. "And you already sound like an old person. Let me use my last wish to save you."

Lloyd's emerald eyes were growing dimmer by the second. "Jay, the wise thing to do is to save it. I see beyond the now. You'll need it."

"For when?" The Master of Lighting asked.

"For when it's said from the heart."

"Said from the heart?" Jay scoffed. "Hearts don't talk!"

Nadakhan appeared suddenly in a dramatic whoosh, brandishing his blade angrily. "You think you can use your wishes to stop me?"

"I wish for a sword!" Lloyd cried with the last of his strength. A blade appeared in his hand as he jumped up. "No, Nadakhan. I know our wishes will stop you. Just not today!" He stabbed a cloud Jay and Nya were standing on. The air inside burst out, sending them flying.

"Nya! Jay!" Charlie and Cole cried.

"Don't worry. Together, those two will save us all!" Lloyd said.

Charlie watched anxiously as her friends fell from the sky. Moments later, a white and teal dragon appeared and flew away. "They're safe."

"Why would you do that?" Cole reeled on Lloyd. "You wasted a wish."

"No, I saved the last one: Jay's wish." The Green Ninja turned to face the pirates. "We've made our three wishes, Nadakhan. You can't control us!"

"You're right. I can't make you wish it all away," Nadakhan hummed. "But I can make him!" He glared at the stuttering Serpentine. "You never made your wishes, Clancee. Wish these two away for me. Do it!"

"Oh, I don't know, C-cap—"

"Do it! Or I will cast you away."

Clancee's teeth chattered anxiously. "Oh! I w-w-w-wish–"

"Do. It. Now!" Nadakhan ordered.

"I-I wish them away!"

Charlie furrowed her brow when she felt herself become lifted into the air. "W-What's happening?"

"What is supposed to happen," her brother answered.

The last thing that was heard was the screams of Cole and Charlie as they were sucked into the Sword of Souls.