*several days later*

Jay's POV

"So it just...broke?" Nya asks, her eyebrows raised. The Ultrasonic Radar sits on the edge of the road on the main road heading out of the city. Luckily for us, no one has driven past, or else the paparazzi would be here in minutes.

"That's what Kai and Lloyd said at least. This's what we get for trusting them with getting the groceries," I say, looking at the flying ship hovering over us where our teammates now are.

"I'm going to check the engine," she tells me, walking to the front of the vehicle.

"I'll check the back engine," I say, jogging to the backside of the radar. When I press the button next to it, the hood pops open. I examine the engine. Everything seems in working condition.

"How did they manage to do this?" I hear Nya sigh from the front. When I go over to see what's wrong, I'm met with a cloud of smoke that wasn't there before the hood was popped. I waft it out of my face.

"They did not," I sigh. I walk through the smoke and look in the compartment that holds the engine. When I see exactly what I think I'm going to see, I groan. Reaching in cautiously, I pull out a loaf of bread, the plastic wrapping around it melted both onto the bread and onto the ventilation. "How many times do I have to tell them this isn't storage?"

"They've done this before?" she asks, a hand on her hip. The sight temporarily pulls me out of the situation we're in, my focus only on her. I quickly try to snap out of it.

"No, but they almost have multiple times, and every time I tell them that, but I guess this time they forgot again," I sigh, swatting my hand above the engine in an attempt to clear some of the smoke.

"They completely destroyed the ventilation," Nya observes, looking at the now sealed off vents. "We really have our work cut out for us."

"Hey, at least it means we can have some alone time without the rest of the guys," I bring up, putting a little smirk on her face.

"Does it now?" before I can process her words, Nya grabs the collar of my shirt, pulling me closer, so our lips collide. Her hands trail up until they reach the back of my head, running her fingers through my hair. My hands find their way to her waist, pulling her closer to me.

"Get a room!" a voice above us yells, causing us to break apart. "Actually, now that I think about it, don't do that."

I turn my head, looking up at the Bounty. Kai is sitting on the edge of the deck in a chair. In his hand, he has some sort of water bottle while his phone rests in the other.

"What are you doing, Kai?" Nya says loudly up to him, exasperated as her hands rest on my shoulders, her touch making my heart flutter.

"Well, someone has to make sure there aren't any mini Jay's walking around any time soon," he crosses his arms. Nya rolls her eyes.

"Jay and I have been dating for all of five days," she defends us.

"Hey, I don't know how fast things are progressing. You're clearly already a bit handsy and touchy."

"If you care so much about what's happening down here, you can come down and fix it yourself, considering you were the one that caused it in the first place," Nya suggests sassily. At her suggestion, Kai stands up.

"I...um...Lloyd needs help putting away groceries," he quickly scurries off, taking his phone with him. Nya shakes her head.

"He really is something else," she says, more to herself, before peering back into the compartment. The smoke has died down a bit, so it's easier to see. "We need a completely new ventilation system and some more coolant to go in the engine."

"The store I get my parts at is just at the edge of town. We can walk there and pick some up," I suggest, knowing the walk is around 15 minutes.

"Won't people recognize you?" Nya asks skeptically. "Your face is plastered everywhere, not that I mind, but it makes it a bit hard for people not to recognize you."

"That's what disguises are for. We all have our outfits for when we're trying to not draw attention to ourselves. We can make you one."

---

Nya and I walk down the outskirts of Ninjago City, hand in hand. As we walk past notable buildings, I point them out. This part of the city is more low key, filled with small shops and some residential buildings as opposed to the towering skyscrapers.

Next to me, Nya is wearing a pair of black leggings and a fitted, maroon short sleeved shirt. Her hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, looped through the back of the sky blue baseball cap she's wearing. Over her eyes, she has on a pair of sunglasses.

"So you're telling me that people don't recognize you because you put on a beanie and sunglasses?" Nya raises an eyebrow at me from underneath her sunglasses. I'm wearing my typical outfit for when I'm trying to not be seen in public; a blue beanie that rests an inch or two from my hairline, my blue jacket with a white stripe across it, a white t shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a pair of sunglasses.

"Well, they do but they don't," I start, trying to find the right way to phrase it. "For the people that only see us on the news and stuff, they won't recognize me, but even with the disguise, the super fans will recognize me, or any of the rest of us, in a heartbeat."

"Well, if you're really trying to get people not to recognize you, why do you just not wear blue? Everyone associates you with it," she suggests, bringing up a good point.

"It's all I own pretty much. Even before I became the blue ninja, I always wore blue. My parents always dressed me in it when I was little 'cause it made my eyes pop', and it just stuck and became my favorite color," I explain.

"Your eyes already pop even without wearing blue. I swear, you have the bluest eyes ever. The first time I saw you without your mask on, I'd never seen anyone else with blue eyes, but I still knew that you had insanely blue eyes," she tells me, squeezing my hand extra.

"I still can't believe that the first words you said to me were, and I quote,'If you say a single word, I will not hesitate to make it so you can't say a single word for the rest of your life.'" When the words escape my lips, Nya playfully shoves me.

"Don't remind me of that, and actually, that wasn't the first thing I said to you. At the Explorer's Club, I asked how you knew my name," she corrects me. I link our hands together again, making both of our smiles grow.

"Still, you can't say that the second thing you said to me was the most reassuring thing."

"Trust me, if I knew what current me knows back then, I never would have been that harsh," she reassures me. "How did you even end up with the gemstone? If any of the other guys grabbed it, things might be very different right now. Did you guys just randomly decide who was going to take it?"

"We used the most ancient form of decision making ever...rock, paper, clamp," I tell her.

"You guys decided who was going to take something that could prevent a psychopath with destructive powers from entering Ninjago by playing a game?" she asks, disbelievingly.

"Yeah, I lost, and I had to take it, which made getting chased through Stiix even more stressful. I still don't forgive you for knocking me off of a roof with a jet of water, by the way," I joke at the end. She gently laughs, the corners of her lips turning slightly more upwards. The sound makes my heart flutter.

"So what I'm hearing is that if, hypothetically, I were to kiss you, you wouldn't enjoy it since you're mad at me?" she says, a hint of mischievousness in her tone. Her words make my breath hitch in my throat.

"I...I...," the words refuse to come out. Nya stops walking, standing on her tip toes to press her lips against mine. Her touch makes me melt inside.

"You look really good in a beanie, by the way."

---

The two of us walk into the small shop. Immediately, I'm mixed with the familiar smell of metal with a hint of grease. It's welcoming, like coming home after a long vacation.

"Is that my favorite customer?" Mitchy, the store owner, asks from behind the counter. He has the same short, grey goatee as the last time I saw him, and the same kind eyes. I take my sunglasses off, considering no one else is in the store, and Nya does the same.

"Don't flatter me, you know you like my dad more than me," I give him a smile, hanging my sunglasses on my shirt collar. "How has business been?"

"Contradictory to what you see right now, business has been booming. Ever since you announced in that interview a few months ago that you buy your parts here, people have been flooding the store. I partially think that it's just so they have a chance to possibly see you, but hey, business is business," he shrugs before looking at Nya. "Who is this?"

"This is my teammate, fellow inventor/engineer, and girlfriend, Nya," I introduce her. She gives him a smile, sticking out her hand. He shakes it, impressed.

"Teammate? Does she have powers too?" Mitchy asks, slightly tilting his head.

"Yeah I do," Nya answers, purposely leaving out what her element is.

"What is it?" he asks curious.

"Water," Nya answers quickly.

"The one who kidnapped you?" he asks, his eyes wide.

Nya sighs. It was clear that she was trying to avoid this conversation again. Everyone who I've introduced her to has asked what her element was, and once they figure it out, they immediately have the same reaction.

"No, that was the master of smoke. I also wasn't the one who gave him the black eye, which was the master of form, or the put him in a sling, which was the psychopath on the ship. I was the one who took care of him and made sure he didn't get hurt even worse and/or starve," she defends herself, but not aggressively, more tired than anything.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," Mitchy quickly apologizes when he sees her deflated mood. "You also soaked Miriam, right? That video went absolutely viral."

When he brings it up, a small smile gets on her face,"Yeah, that was me. She deserved it."

"I agree. Now, what brings you two here?" he asks, leaning against the counter.

"Is there any way we could get a large thing of coolant for the Ultrasonic Radar and parts to build a completely new ventilation system?"

"Woa, what happened?"

"Kai and Lloyd, that's what happened."

"Of course it was them. I have some coolant, but I need to order the rest of the parts from my distributer, which takes 3-5 business days," he tells us while looking at the list of his inventory.

"Are you sure you can't get some any faster? We don't know if we'll have 3-5 days before we need it up and running."

"I'm sorry, Jay, but parts like that are only shipped in on an on demand basis," he apologizes genuinely.

"I understand. Can you put the order in for us still? You can text me when it's coming in," I ask. He nods.

"Of course. Also, if you don't mind, can I take a picture of you in the shop to post on the store's Instabrick? Business always booms after people know you were in here."

"Sure, anything to help out," I say. When Mitchy goes to take the picture, Nya steps out of the frame.

"Why'd you step out of the picture?" he asks, curious.

"I just kind of assumed you didn't want me in the picture. People usually don't want me in them," she admits, making my heart sink.

"Well, if you don't want to you don't have to, but it'd be nice if you got in. The more ninja the merrier," Mitchy gives her a warm smile. She walks back over, grabbing both of us a t shirt of the store's logo to hold up. I give her a quick kiss on the cheek before we both pose for the pictures. Once he's done, he gives us a thumbs up. "I'll try to get your parts in early, but I can't make you any promises. Do you want the coolant now or later?"

"We'll get it when we pick it up later," I tell him, "We'll see you in several days!" Nya and I walk out of the store. 

We walk several blocks, hand in hand, in silence, before it becomes too much for me. The silence is tense, as if neither of us can find what to say. I finally pull her over into an alleyway, so people can't see us.

"I'm sorry about back there. Mitchy didn't mean to..."

"I'm not upset about that, Jay. Mitchy was really nice and understanding," she sighs, rubbing her temples.

"What are you upset about?" I ask her softly. Her gaze is stuck on the ground.

"I...I...," she drifts off, unsure of what to say. "Everyone thinks I'm evil, Jay. They all think I'm a horrible person. It's... it's draining."

"Why do you think that?" I ask her, gently rubbing my hands up and down her arms.

"The first thing anyone ever brings up when they find out I'm the master of water is the kidnapping. They associate me with the black eye you had and the sling. Every single time you've introduced me to anyone and brought up my powers, they've given me absolutely disgusted looks, if even only for a second," she tells me, discouraged. The look on her face makes my heart ache.

"They don't understand how wonderful you are. All they know is that you were in the team that kidnapped me, not that you were the one who was kind to me," I comfort her, looking into her deep, brown eyes.

"And the people online, they're...they're..." she starts, not able to come up with the words.

"You've been paying attention to them?" I rest my hands on her shoulders, making sure my words come out softly.

"It's kind of hard not to," she says, aggression creeping up in her voice. "They all hate me. All of them call me horrible things, or accuse me of lying, or tell me I'm not good enough to be around any of you. Hell, even before we were dating, people said I wasn't good enough to be your girlfriend."

"You don't believe that, do you?" I clarify. Her mouth opens, but no words come out. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her in tightly. Her face rests against my chest as my hands rub calming circles on her back. I can feel the tension leave her body. "Nya Smith, you are the smartest, funniest, prettiest, most wonderful human I've ever met. You're everything I could ever want, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

I feel Nya's grip around me tighten, her fingers wrapping around the fabric of my jacket. "Thank you Jay, for everything."

"I'd do anything for you," I tell her sincerely. I lean down slightly and give her a kiss on her forehead. "We should go on a date tomorrow. We can walk around the city, and then we can go to a restaurant for lunch."

Nya's closeness and the content smile on her face sends a wave of adoration through me. All I can see is her. "I like that idea."

---

Skylor's POV

My sisters and I stand out in the courtyard. We're side by side, looking at Mother and Auntie standing before us. Auntie seems content, her hands folded in front of her. Mother looks down at the emerald dangling around her neck, finally complete.

"We did it, my daughter's. It's almost time," she says, taking a break to look up at us. "We will depart to Ninjago tomorrow, but for today, we will celebrate and discus our game plan," she starts to slowly walk back and forth in front of us, making eye contact along the way. "In order to take over, we need an army. Luckily for me, my powers allow for me to create an army of my own. I used to create them for my father, but now it's time to do it for my own benefit. They're called Stone Warriors. However, in order to control them, I must have the Helmet of Shadows. Currently, it's being held in the museum in Ninjago City."

"You girls need to steal it. It shouldn't be that hard of a task, considering the guardians won't be there to stop you. After you obtain the helmet, bring it back to us. Then, as a unified front, we will attack the palace of the royal family. We have to remove the dictators and take their spot," Auntie instructs us. "Afterwards, we will have access to all of their supplies and weaponry. Everything will fall into place."

"If you don't mind me bringing this up," I interject myself into the conversation,"last time you said the guardians weren't going to be there, they were. Shouldn't we be prepared for anything?"

"Last time, they had a timeframe and a location we'd go to. Now, they have nothing. They are the last of our worries in phase one of our plan," Mother dismisses my concern.

"When we overthrow their dictatorship, there will most likely be backlash because the people of Ninjago are so brainwashed, specifically the guardians. After we take the throne, we'll send you girls off to broadcast a message we wrote. After that, we need to squish any opposition against us, specifically from elemental masters, but we have a plan for that," Auntie tells us. Mother looks down again at the bright green emerald, holding it in her hand.

"We're about to fix Ninjago, girls."

A/N Did I write instead of doing school work? You bet I did

The girls are coming to Ninjago soon. I wonder how that is going to turn out.

Also, for those who saw my message board thing about the playlist, I'm probably going to make a playlist for this book AFTER it's finished as to not accidentally spoil things

Any predictions for when the girls go back to Ninjago?

Thank you guys for the support. This book is almost at 1 k reads already that's insane!