Cole's POV

I yawn, leaning against the counter. The coffee machine pours out the dark liquid, but not nearly fast enough. It feels as if I'm going to fall asleep again at any moment. Lloyd sits at the table, just as exhausted as I am.

"Can you pour me a cup too?" he asks, rubbing his eyes.

"Aren't you like...seven? You definitely shouldn't have some; it'll stunt your growth," I muster up the energy to tease him.

He rolls his eyes,"I'm sixteen, Cole, maybe not chronically but physically."

"I know, I know," once the pot finishes brewing, I pour it into both the black and green mugs. I bring him his, resting it in front of him. "I was just teasing you, Greenie."

He takes a sip of it before spitting it out. "What's wrong with this coffee?"

"It's black, no creamer or sweetener," I answer, taking a long sip.

"That's gross," he stands up, walking over to the cupboard where we keep the sugar. He takes four tablespoons and dumps them in, never even pausing to taste between tablespoons.

"No, that's gross," I correct him, shaking my head.

"What is gross is that you two drink your coffee at that heat. Iced coffee is superior," Zane walks in with Kai, fresh out of morning training. Kai is dripping sweat, a towel wrapped behind his neck and over his shoulders. He has on a white, ribbed tank top with red basketball shorts.

"Pfft, iced coffee is for chumps. If my coffee isn't over 200 degrees, I don't want it," Kai declares. He walks over to the fridge and pulls out a water bottle. He twists open the cap before taking a long drink.

"Not all of us have burn proof tongues, Kai," I grumble, my lack of energy apparent. The noise just makes me want to go back to bed.

"That's not my fault. You guys just aren't evolved," he shrugs.

"My bad, I'll just become an elemental master of fire. Why didn't I think of that?" I take another sip of my coffee.

"Oooo, we're switching elemental powers now? I want to be Cole," Jay walks into the room, a smile on his face. He's already dressed for the day, his blue jacket layered over a white t shirt. In his hands, he has one plate of pancakes and one plate of toast, ranging from the nearly burnt pieces that Kai likes to the pieces that are only slightly browned. My stomach grumbles at the sight. "I made food!" he sets the plates down on the table.

"You do not typically prepare breakfast for us. Is there a special occurrence today?" Zane asks, taking a seat at the table.

"Today is a great day, my nindroid friend," he says, touching Zane's shoulders as he walks past to reach the counter. "The birds are chirping; Ninjago is safe. Everything is at peace."

"Except it isn't. Mara and Ciara could show up at literally any time," Kai says, raising an eyebrow at Jay. He shrugs.

"All I'm saying is that technically, there is no threat actually in Ninjago at the moment, and we should enjoy that," he walks to the cupboard, grabbing a cup before filling it up with water. Once it's filled, he takes a sip, "Ah, refreshing."

"Is everything alright, Jay?" Lloyd asks, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Everything is more than alright. Everything is perfect," he says, placing his glass on the counter. "Oh, and Nya and I aren't going to be here today. We're going to see my parents."

"Why is Nya going with you to see your parents?" Kai asks before taking a bite of toast. Everything clicks in my mind.

"You did it," I realize.

"I didn't, but she did," Jay walks by, grabbing a piece of toast for the road. "We'll be back by 6." He leaves the room.

"I still don't understand," Kai grumbles grumpily, aggressively taking another bite of his toast.

"Kai...I think Nya and Jay are together now," Lloyd says cautiously. Kai spits out his toast.

"I hate that so much," he wipes the toast off his tongue. "I refuse to eat the celebration breakfast of my little sister and Jay getting together.

"Your loss. That just means more for me."

---

"How many more?" I ask Zane who is keeping track of the number of reps I'm doing. I've been doing weighted push-ups for the past several minutes. Before that, I alternated between other arm intensive exercises.

"Fifty seven...fifty six...fifty five," he stays precise, decreasing the number with each rep I do.

"And what set is this?"

"Your last one. You have already completed five," he informs me. I nod, continuing my motions. As I near zero, my arms start to shake, the fatigue setting in. Once I finish, my arms are exhausted. I stand up, shaking out my arms, before starting my cool down motions and stretches.

"Where are Lloyd and Kai?" I ask, glancing around the deck. Neither of them are anywhere in sight.

"I am unsure of Lloyd's location, but Kai is currently taking a shower."

"Still? Didn't he get in there like...thirty minutes ago?" I lift my arms above my head, intertwining my fingers and turning my palms upwards towards the sky. The stretching sensations fill my upper back, shoulders, and triceps.

"Yes, but this is Kai, so he is going to take an estimated 40 minutes more, considering it's one of his 'sulking showers'," Zane announces, making me snicker to myself.

"Imagine if Mara and Ciara showed up while he was in the shower. Do you think he'd get out early?" I ask, a slight smirk on my face.

"Most likely not. In fact, he'd probably complete his shower before spending an extra hour in the bathroom to prepare himself."

"Okay, but actually, in case Mara and Ciara show up, someone should probably be with Lloyd. He does pass out every time they enter the realm afterall," I reason, pulling my right arm across my chest. I alternate and do the same with my other arm.

"I'm conscious, don't worry," Lloyd walks across the deck towards us, running a hand in his light hair to move it out of his face. "We need to talk."

"Uh oh. That's never a good thing to hear," I say, proceeding with my stretches but turning towards him.

"Shall we wait until Kai gets out of the shower?" Zane suggests. Lloyd awkwardly looks down.

"Actually, I've been waiting for a chance to just talk to the two of you," he says before taking a deep breath. "I don't think we can trust Nya."

"Lloyd..."

"Hear me out," he tells us before continuing,"We all remember what happened when we trusted my dad when he was evil, right? He stole the golden weapons from right under our noses. What's to say Nya won't do the same exact thing? She already has Jay and Kai wrapped around her fingers. We have to stay on high alert."

"We don't have anything for her to steal. Besides, isn't your dad on our team now?" I bring up.

"Yeah, but that's after he literally got a beam of light shot at him. Nya...she just talked to Jay, and she was taught by Ciara and Mara her whole life," Lloyd argues.

"Lloyd, you are actually a lot more like Nya than you are different," Zane informs him. Lloyd looks appalled.

"Zane has a point. Both of you have had evil pasts, but both have overcome it. Neither of you were raised by your parents. You two are the same age, and both of you look at Kai like an older brother, just to name a few," I piggyback on Zane's point.

"How would you have felt if we automatically assumed that you kept your evil intentions?" Zane adds.

"Okay, but she actually had a solid evil plan! I just wanted to steal candy. I think there's a bit of a difference," he brings up.

"It still applies."

After about thirty seconds of silence and our eyes on him, he sighs. "You're right. I'll try to assume the best, but I'm still going to be careful." He turns to walk away.

"Lloyd!" I call for him when he's several steps away.

"Yeah?" he turns back around.

"Don't worry, she's not going to replace you. All four of us, Zane, Kai, Jay, and I, all promised to protect you, and we always will, no matter the threat."

---

Skylor's POV

I sit on my bed, staring at the picture on my nightstand. It's of my sisters and I from before we ever went to Ninjago, from when we were all kids. We decided to try to stack ourselves on top of each other. PIXAL and Chamille form the bottom layer, holding up Seliel and I with bent legs. Seliel and I bridge near the center, each of us holding one of Nya's feet.

I stare at my little sister in the center of the picture. Her hair is in a short bob, but her smile is giant. She's laughing, just like the rest of us, her brown eyes sparkling with joy. The reminder of her amplifies the pain of her being gone.

I can't help but wonder where she is now. Is she with the ninja? With Jay? Is she happier there than she was here? How often does the think of us? All of the questions rattle through my mind.

"I miss her too," at the sound of another voice in my room, I slightly jump. I turn my head, and Seliel is standing there, leaning against the wall. "Sorry...I just...forget that people don't expect me to randomly poof into their room."

"It's fine," I say before letting out a sigh. "Do you think she's happy?" I wonder out loud.

"I...I'm not sure," she drifts off. She teleports over to me, instantly sitting next to me on my bed. Her hair is half up half down, with the top tied up. She has on some clothes from Ninjago, grey leggings with a loose teal crop top. "I'm sure she misses us, or at least I think I am. She never showed any hatred towards us."

"I still can't believe that happened, that we let that happen," I rub my temples. "How did we not see it sooner? I knew Jay was in her head, and that she had a soft spot for him, but not that big of a soft spot."

"We couldn't have predicted it. She put on a show; I know she did. I noticed that Jay was off put by things we said, but never anything that she said, even when it was malicious. He tried to act, but it was fake. I just never understood," she stares at the wall. "What if she's over there knowing that she made a mistake? What if she wants us to come back and get her?"

"You know as well as I do that we can't take her back in, Mother would never allow it," I admit. My room is flooded with silence.

"Do you think that Mother and Auntie are evil, like Nya said?" Seliel asks, staring in front of her.

"No, no I don't. They just want what's best for Ninjago. Jay corrupted her mind and fed her lies," I tell the truth, looking over at her.

"They want to have a meeting to discuss our game plan. The gemstones are almost merged," my sister informs me.

"Is it bad that I'm excited to go back? Yeah, I'm not excited to fight against Nya, but I'm excited nonetheless," I ask honestly.

"I am too. Ninjago, it's a special place. We're just going to make it even more special when we push the current dictators out of power."

A small smile comes across my face as Seliel wraps her arms around me. "Yes we will."

A/N Sorry, life has been busy, but here's another update (I don't know if I'll be able to post it now cause wattpad is being dumb yet again (I couldn't but oh well trying again))

This chapter was pretty much just a fun chapter, but oh well. It helped show where the girls are now and ninja interactions are also good

I have an idea for an AU after this (which is far away since I'm just starting this) which takes place post season 5 (for the sole purpose of angsty broken up Jaya cause I've been craving that lately) so if I still like the idea then you guys will be in for a treat 😉 

Thank you so much for your patience while I take care of things in my life and adapt to online school you truly are the best