*two days later*

Jay's POV

"Thank you," I smile at Zane who hands me a fresh bowl of chicken noodle soup.

"Are you sure she'll be able to keep it down?" Zane asks, looking at the bowl I asked him to make, skeptically.

"She kept down the toast I gave her earlier, so I think she can," I admit before letting out a sigh. "I hate it when she's sick. I just want to fix it and make her feel better, but I can't."

Several days ago, Nya started feeling uneasy. We all thought she was just stressed about Kai being away, but once she threw up, we realized that she was actually sick. I took her temperature, and she had a fever. Since then, I've been taking care of her, mildly to her annoyance since she wants to feel capable.

"It appears that she has passed the worst of it. She will get better soon," he gives me a compassionate smile, taking off his pink apron.

"I know. It just sucks though. This is the type of stuff we got in elementary school and built an immunity for. I just wish that she could have had a normal childhood. It's clear it's all taken a toll on her," I look over my shoulder in the direction of her door.

"Yes, but if she was here her whole life, perhaps she would be different, or things in general would be different. What if that influenced Kai to not become a ninja?" Zane brings up, and I can't help but think about the possibility.

"You're right," I tell him. "You always are. Well, I'm going to bring this to her," I tell him, making him nod. I maneuver through the partially absent Bounty, missing Kai, Cole, and Lloyd. Misako, Garmadon, and Wu have also been especially quiet lately, so it's as if they're not here also. Once I reach Nya's door, I quietly open it. She's standing up across the room from the couch she's been sleeping on, writing something on a piece of paper.

"Nya, why aren't you lying down?" I sigh. Even when she was throwing up, she kept standing up to try to prove she's well enough to work on the machine to get into PIXAL's system that we've been working on. We want to contact her remotely, a much safer option, and send her the videos of the kidnappings. We believe that if she sees them, she'll show them to the others and they'll switch over.

"I'm fine, Jay," she says, but her voice sounds tired and her face is pale. I sigh.

"I brought you soup, courtesy of Zane," I try to say softly, holding up the bowl of soup.

"I'm not hungry," she tells me, her eyes still focused on her work.

"Nya, all you've been able to keep down for days is a single piece of toast. I think it'd be good to eat some more," I suggest. When she doesn't answer, I put the bowl down in the table. "I'll make you a deal. If you come here and eat, we can snuggle and work on the machine."

"As tempting as that sounds, won't that get you sick?" she asks as if I haven't given her countless kisses and hugs these past several days.

"Zane checked my blood, and I have the antibodies for what you have. Even if I contract it, I won't get sick," I tell her. Quietly, she walks over, taking the seat next to me on the couch.

"You're my weakness, Jay Walker," she admits, shaking her head, before taking the soup. "I'm fine, by the way."

"That's what you said after you threw up for the first time, and the second time, and the third time..." I say, making her shake her head.

She cautiously takes a bite. "Well, I'm serious this time," she says, but I can tell she's still feeling off. Her skin is pale, and her eyes look in pain.

"Alright," I let her have this one, knowing that she's stubborn and will cooperate better if I let her believe I think she feels better. "We can start on it once you finish eating."

"Thank you, but there's also something else," she sighs, taking yet another bite. "I'm worried about Kai."

"He's going to be fine. We laced a tracker in his bag, and we have allies set up along the route they're taking, remember? Tonight, they're going to stay at a motel that we rented out for that sole purpose. If Dareth sees any red flags, we can step in," I try to reassure her, wrapping my arm around her. "This is also Skylor we're talking about. You said that she wouldn't hurt him."

"She won't, but that's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about if he gets to Mara. She's horrible, Jay, the definition of darkness. If you thought Ciara was bad, just wait until you see her sister," she opens up, shivering part way through. I wrap a blanket around her, putting my arm around her after.

"You said that Skylor seemed like she liked him, right?" I clarify. She nods. "Then, we don't have a problem. Kai has...how should I say it... a special skill set that none of the rest of us have. He's practically an expert flirter. He knows when to say what, what looks to give, all of that type of stuff. If she liked him beforehand, she doesn't stand a chance."

"And then we'll have Skylor," she finishes. "Then, at that point, hopefully we'll have the machine for PIXAL done, and Cole will have gotten to Seliel."

"Exactly," I pull her closer. "And then they can bring us into Mara's secret lair, and we can all ambush her."

"I really, really hope this works," she says, lifting another spoonful of soup to her lips.

"So do I, Nya, so do I."

---

Kai's POV

"How are there so many different climates in Ninjago that just sit next to each other? Yesterday, we were driving in the middle of a desert, and now, we're in a frozen forest," Skylor asks as we drive on yet another empty road. Several minutes ago, we drove into the forest, and now, it's snowing on us, the snowflakes falling from the sky.

"I have no idea. I dropped out of school when I became a ninja, and I haven't even tried to stay caught up on any facts like that," I admit. "Some things are more fun as a mystery anyways. Have you ever seen snow before?"

Skylor shakes her head. "We never left the monastery. I'm guessing you've seen snow, since one of your teammates is the master of ice."

"I actually hadn't seen any until I was 16. I had stayed in my home town my entire life, so then when we had to travel to the Frozen Wasteland to get the Shurikens of Ice, I was out of my element, both figuratively and literally," I lean back in my seat, resting my feet on the dashboard and placing my hands behind my head. Skylor looks over at me quickly, shaking her head, but I can see the amused smile on her lips.

"Comfy?"

"Oh, very," I say, taking a sip of the water next to me. "But neither of us will be if we crash, and the snowfall is getting dangerously heavy."

"What should I do?" she asks, not prepared for this situation.

"We need to stop at the next rest stop or hotel and wait the storm out," I advise, knowing that in a mile, there's the motel we're supposed to stop at. I protested the check ins, but the rest of the ninja insisted that we should do it for precautionary reasons. I eventually caved in, so now we need to stop at a hotel. Granted, I'll definitely be happy that I don't need to sleep in a car for another night.

"How long will that take?" she asks, skeptically. I shrug.

"I have no clue," I admit. While I was going to come up with some other excuse to need to stop, the storm really is getting dangerously intense.

The two of us drive the rest of the mile before reaching the worn down motel that we're going to be staying in. While it doesn't look like anything I would ever stay in, it's all we could get. Thinking about how grimy and nasty the room is going to be nauseates me.

"Let me do the talking. If people see you, they might be hostile," I advise, grabbing my bag from near my feet.

"But won't they know you?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"If they recognize me, I can bribe them to not spill," I say, which is true, but I'm convinced whichever one of my allies is in there won't need that. She caves in, grabbing some things for the night, before closing the door. I get out, and the two of us walk towards the entrance. From the only other car in the parking lot, a worn down, brown Volvo, I know exactly who is going to be inside.

When Skylor and I walk inside the door, we're met with a grimy lobby, everything either a murky grey or brown. There's dust lining the mantle above the small, unlit fireplace. At the counter, Dareth, with a large fur hat and a fake beard, is leaning against his hand, taking a nap.

I sigh, walking up and ringing the bell. As the shrill sound fills the air, he jerks up, looking around and taking in his surroundings. When he sees me, he realizes what he's supposed to be doing,"Travelers, it is I, Judo, and welcome to Judo's motel!" he says elaborately in a horribly faked accent. I internally face palm. "What brings you to my magnificent establishment?"

"Magnificent is one word for it," I hear Skylor murmur under her breath, making me snicker.

"We need a room to wait out the storm," I tell him.

"Judo sees. Lucky for you, there is a room open," he turns around, grabbing a set of keys from underneath the desk. "And the cost is..."

"Just take my card," I say, handing the card over, knowing well that he's not going to take anything off of it. He pretends to swipe it before handing it back. "The room has a shower right?"

"Yes, and a bath tub, and a bed, and a couch, and a television, and..." he starts to list off the components of the room.

"Thank you, Judo. I assume we can come to you if there is anything wrong with the room?" I say, and he nods. "Great, now I'm going to shower. It's been far too long," I run a hand through my greasy hair and cringe.

Skylor and I head into the room that the key belongs to. The door is worn down, the grey paint on the door peeling off, the handle itself speckled with rust. It squeaks as it opens, and the room itself isn't any better. Everything looks well used, all of the doors having the same appearance, all surfaces in the room looking either cracked or lumpy.

"Gosh, it's so cold," Skylor shivers, placing her bag down my the door. She looks around for the heater.

"Is it?" I ask, not really noticing.

"I swear it's well below twenty degrees. I swear, this place has no insulation," she rubs her hands together, clearly not prepared for the cold. "How are you not freezing?"

"Well, I guess my body just heats up the air around me so much that I don't notice it as much I guess," I shrug, my sweatshirt serving me fine.

"Does this room really not have a heater?" she asks, searching the room fervently. While she's doing that, I realize the absence of a second bed.

"Guess I'm sleeping on the couch," I mumble, walking over and placing my bag down on the beaten up couch. I can nearly see the springs sticking out of it. I take everything I'll need to shower, my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and overnight hair product and comb for after the shower along with my blow dryer. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Alright, I'll keep looking for a heater," she says before glancing over at me. A small smile spreads across her slips as she shivers. "And I thought Seliel and Chamille were particular about their hair.

"Hey, it takes work to get hair this perfect," I tease. "Can't you just use my fire powers to heat yourself up?" I suggest, seeing her state. Her lips look like they're turning blue.

"I tried, but they didn't work," she admits, visibly shaking. She rubs her hands up and down her arms.

"Oh shoot, I forgot that happens sometimes when it's too cold," I admit. "Um, you could wrap up in the blankets, or ask Da...Judo for more blankets," I slip up, and while I can tell she notices, she's too cold to say anything.

"Good idea."

---

Although the water only became lukewarm, the shower was still refreshing. Running my hands through my hair, feeling the product against my roots, it's calming. Then, afterwards, brushing and styling my hair, even to sleep, is key to get it just right.

It's when I look around to put on my clothes that I realize I forgot them in my bag. I was too concerned with my hair stuff, rightfully, to even worry about clothes. "Oh well," I shrug, making sure my towel won't fall down before entering the main room to get my clothes. I shiver at the change in air temperature, but it's not too bad.

When I walk in, I see Skylor bundled in several blankets on the bed. She still looks freezing, just less. Her lips are less blue, and her shivering is less visible. However, there's a noticeable difference in the look on her face now versus earlier. Her eyes are fixated on me, and even though she's covered in blankets, I can see her breathing slightly increase.

"Like what you see?" I smirk, reaching my bag. I dig in there for my red, stripped pajamas and a pair of boxers.

"You know, back at our monastery, we usually got dressed after our showers and didn't walk around in a towel," Skylor dodges my question.

"I forgot my clothes," I admit, turning to face her again. There's a clear look of conflict on her face. "You should shower after I'm done changing. It could warm you up some."

"Judo let me use one of the showers in the room adjacent to us since he insisted that it would be too late when you finished," she tells me, and I just now notice her damp hair.

"Well, at least use the hair dryer. That hair can't be comfortable right now," I insist. Her eyes flicked up from my chest and up to my eyes, a grateful expression in hers.

"Thank you," she tells me, gratefully.

"I'll go get dressed, and then I'll bring it out here," I tell her before walking out. Quickly, I slip on my clothes, grabbing the hair dryer with me. When I walk back out, Skylor is struggling to get out of her blanket bundle.

"Master at combat, but struggles to get out of blankets," I jokingly shake my head, walking over to her.

"Oh, be quiet," she says, making me laugh. I pick her up, moving her to the side slightly, before plugging in the hair dryer. I take the spot next to her, grabbing the brush on the nightstand as I do so. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to blow dry your hair. You're clearly not going to get out of there anytime soon," I say, starting to brush her hair. It's soft and shiny like it's auburn silk.

"I can do it myself," she argues, but from her tone, I can tell that she doesn't want me to stop. I continue, thoroughly brushing through her hair, its' fruit scent alluring, and drying it. Once I'm done, I let her hair fall back against her neck. "Thank you," she says, and I notice she's shaking less.

"It's nothing," I say, standing up, and starting to walk away.

"Wait," she tells me. I spin around, raising an eyebrow. "You're really, really warm. Can you come back please?"

"Of course," I say, quickly taking my seat next to her again. Just to check, I take my hand and press it against her forehead. It's as if my hand is pressed against ice.

"Holy shit, you're freezing," my eyes widen. I try to brainstorm ways to heat her up. There's no way that this is healthy.

"I know," she laughs, shivering as she does so.

"Let me into your blanket bundle," I tell her. She raises an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"It'll be easier for me to give you more heat with less barriers between us," I tell her. She opens her mouth to protest, but she clearly sees my point. I help her make a gap in her blanket bundle before slipping in. Immediately, I feel her freezing body against mine, and I wrap my arms around her, in an attempt to warm her up and the fact that this is one of the few times she's let me this close to her without putting up some type of wall.

She's tense at first, but I can feel her loosen up. Her arms eventually wrap around me, her hands on my back, and she places one of her ice cold cheeks against mine. I close my eyes, enjoying our closeness.

"Is this better?" I ask her softly, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice. She nods. The two of us lie here in silence, neither of us talking. Her skin slowly warms up to the point where it no longer worries me. Her shaking stops, but she still holds onto me. Neither of us move, as if moving will disrupt whatever is happening right now.

I wish all of this could have been under different circumstances. I wish that I could be with her how I am right now, but with nothing hanging over our heads. She wouldn't have to worry about Mara or Ciara, or even myself, and I wouldn't have to worry about the state Ninjago is in right now. If she was simply a girl from a different realm, I could show her around, introduce her to all of the new things, see the look on her face when she discovers something new. It would be perfect.

"Let me show you Ninjago," I tell her, one of my hands running through her hair.

"What?" She pulls her face away from mine, so she can look at me.

"Let me show you the good parts of Ninjago, not the chaotic cities or the worn down motels, but the parts that really make Ninjago the best realm out there. I want you to see the good before all you see is bad," I look into her eyes, which are filled with hesitation.

"But if my mother and..." she starts.

"They won't find out, and if they do, you can come up with an excuse," I reassure her before bringing my lips up to her ear, "please." I feel goosebumps arise on the skin under my hands.

"How long would it take?"

"Well, there's not enough time in a lifetime to explore everything Ninjago has to offer, but if I took you to only a couple places that are close, maybe two or three extra days," I inform her, back to looking in her eyes. My eyes look down at her lips, and although every bit of my body is pulling me towards her, I restrain myself for one of the few times in my life.

"I don't know, Kai...," she drifts off, but I can tell she wants to. She looks away from me, but with one of my hands, I redirect her face so she's looking at me. We keep eye contact for who knows how long. She gently presses her cheek against my hand, closing her eyes. "Three days can't hurt, but only three days."

"Perfect. I already know where to go."

A/N I didnt proofread so whoops sorry if there's typo. Also, sorry for the lat update whoops. Life has been busy

I have to go now so also short a/n

Thoughts on the chapter?

Thank you guys so much