***You know when you're sitting in front of a document, and you format the chapter number and POV for the chapter so nicely, and then you just sit there and...stare at the document?

Yup, that was my vibe yesterday LOL I'll try to double update today - I just need to look at my outline and see if I have inspiration for the next chapter...

This book will probably be finished within the next two weeks. School wants to throw a ten-page paper and two tests at me, all at the same time. I really shouldn't be dreading the paper - I can write ten pages no biggie in two evenings - but I still am sweating it LOL

Also, fun fact: These lyrics are also in Spanish in the video XD***

***(Jay's POV)***

Zane drives us back to the monastery tonight. I think we're all semi-concerned about Nya driving, but also...she's just been so quiet tonight, I don't know that she would have wanted to drive, anyway.

I elbow her from the seat next to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She shakes her head. "Just pensive. It's something I need to spend some time alone thinking about."

"I find it helpful to talk about my problems," I suggest.

"I don't."

I smile softly. "Yeah, I know. Just thought I'd offer that if you want to talk, I'm here."

"I know. Thanks." She looks out the window. "Did Kai respond to your message? Or Cole?"

I look down at my phone. "Cole, yes. Your brother? No. He's probably distracted or something."

"I don't want to know with what." She takes off her seatbelt. "We're here."

The vehicle slows to a stop, and I rise and follow her out of the SUV at a distance. I know she wants space right now, it's just...I'm kind of concerned as to why she's so quiet. She said she was thinking, but about what? Did she see something bad? Does one of us die?!

I run to catch up with her. "Nya – wait."

She stops in her tracks, turning to give me a solemn look over her shoulder.

I gulp. "You...you didn't see something really awful, right? The team stays alive and well?"

"As far as I could see, yes. But whom I'm really worried about" – she runs a hand through her hair – "is you."

My eyes bug. "Me?! What happens to me?! Oh my gosh, I'm not ready to die yet! I'm not even nineteen. I thought my best years were ahead of me. Oh – "

She shakes her head, smiling slightly. "No, Jay, you don't die yet." Her expression grows serious. "Um, I don't think. And we're going to do everything in our power...to not let that happen." She rubs my arm. "Come inside, okay?"

I swallow hard. "O-okay?"

"You're going to be just fine," she says resolutely. "Trust me on that. Now let's go talk, and I'll help put your concerns to rest." She opens the door to the monastery and heads in.

I fall into step with her. "I'm still really worried."

"You have right to be." She doesn't look at me.

"That doesn't make me feel any better!" I cry.

"I can't paint over the truth," she sighs. "Jay...it's going to take a lot out of you to defeat Pythor, as far as I can tell."

"What do you mean, a lot?!"

She heads into the TV room, where Cole is already sitting on the sofa. He has his phone out and is talking with Seliel – again.

Nya plops down on the other end of the couch, and I seat myself between her and Cole.

"Nya, you're freaking the heck out of me!" I exclaim.

"It's okay." She gives me a loose side hug. "You're going to be fine." She raises her voice. "Can you guys get in here already?!"

Lloyd pops his head in. "Sorry, I was downstairs with my mom."

PIXAL and Zane follow him inside, and Nya scowls at Cole.

"Look, I know you and Seliel are all over each other, but this is kind of important," she huffs. She scoots a little closer to me, probably out of protectiveness.

Honestly, I'm glad to know she has my back. I'm sure if she hadn't always made sure I was accompanied by someone, I would have been visited by Nadakhan by now. The only time I'm alone these days is when I'm in the bathroom. I guess even evil Djinns have a sense of privacy.

Oh, great. Now I'm scared to use the restroom, and I'm pretty sure the team would have too much fun with it if I invested in some adult diapers.

Cole sighs, putting Seliel on speaker and setting his phone to the side. "Okay. What's up?"

"Jay might die."

"What?!" I shriek. "I thought you said that wasn't going to happen!" Oh gosh, I could really use one of those diapers right now. I think I just peed my pants.

The rest of the team seems...dumbfounded? Speechless? Except for Cole, who just looks confused.

"Mind repeating that?" he asks.

Nya rolls her eyes. "Pythor has plans to redirect all electrical power in the city to an invention he's stolen plans and parts for. That gives him unlimited electrical force and leaves us all without power – except for Jay, of course."

"Oh, gosh!" I fret. "And he and Nadakhan want me out of the way. They have to get rid of me so they can...do what, exactly?"

"Without electrical power, we lose many of our communication abilities, our emergency forces are greatly limited in their ability to protect and revive, and we're essentially forced to leave the city. Think about it: hospitals will have to be evacuated, vehicular transportation will come to a standstill, and government operations in Ninjago's biggest city will be halted." Nya runs her hands through her dark locks.

Lloyd finally finds words. "That's...not good. You said Pythor had an invention that could somehow absorb all the power in the city?"

"That's what he was stealing plans for from the Ninjago City power plant. We need to talk to that engineer he stole from and learn if he was the inventor of the design for Pythor's conductor. And maybe he went to that factory in Nom for materials to build his conductor?" She shakes her head. "What's more important is that in my vision, we didn't have the best plan for defeating Pythor. I can't tell if my visions were a form of time travel or just glimpses of the future – it all felt so real. But maybe there's a way to change the future by stopping Pythor while he's still building his conductor?"

"I'm so lost," Cole puts in. "What exactly did you see, Nya?"

"Our future plan is to essentially attack Pythor before he can use his completed generator. We get him away from the generator, then guard it while Jay shuts it down. He would be the only one able to touch it at that point, since it would be in the process of absorbing power throughout the city."

"But that's dangerous!" I yell. "I may be the master of lightning, but I'm not invincible!"

"No, Jay, you aren't," Nya concedes. "Which is exactly why we have to stop Pythor before he can build that generator."

"Okay," Lloyd says calmly, trying to defuse the situation. "Cole, put in a call to the police commissioner. Nya, did Pythor intend to take power from any other cities?"

"Not as far as I could see in my vision, but it would only be a matter of time before he conquered them as well. If he created an invention that could absorb and control all the power in the biggest city in Ninjago, he could create more for all the smaller cities and essentially enslave the world. He just needs enough henchmen."

"Who would help a maniac like that?!" I exclaim.

"I'm only one call away,

I'll be there to save the day.

Superman got nothin' on me,

I'm only one call away."

Nya squeezes my fingers. "Power-hungry people. But maybe there's a way to stop the future I saw, Jay. I'm just now piecing everything together from my visions."

"I don't like this," I swallow.

"I know. Do you...have a minute to talk?" She studies me.

"I can't take any more bad news, Nya!"

"I know. I...don't think it's bad." She looks to Lloyd. "Do you have things covered in here?"

"I think so. I'll talk to Mystake about ways to maybe avoid the vision you saw, Cole will debrief the commissioner, and Zane and PIXAL can get in contact with the engineer for Pythor's original design. Then, we can study different factories with recent break-ins that could indicate Pythor was stealing parts. We might also check with local businesses to see if...well, I'm getting ahead of myself." He shakes his head. "Go do what you need to, but be back soon. We need all the help we can get with this. We're not losing Jay or our city or anything else."

Nya clutches my palm in hers, tugging me off the couch and out of the TV room. She guides me down the hall and into her bedroom, where she turns on her phone flashlight, shuts off the overhead lights, and promptly takes a seat in her closet.

"Call me, baby, if you need a friend,

I just wanna give you love.

Come on, come on, come on,

Reachin' out to you, so take a chance."

I join her in the small space. "Um...you typically only sit in your closet when I'm having nightmares, Nya. Please don't tell me things are worse than what you revealed to the team."

She sighs. "I don't know, Jay. But...I think you will make it out of this okay." She swallows hard in the dim beam of her flashlight. "I saw you...older, Jay. I think I did, at least."

"How much older?" I ask frantically.

"I don't know...maybe a few years?" she shrugs. "And if that's true, then you'll be okay. It's just...I'm not sure, Jay. What if I was just seeing things? You looked exhausted in my vision, so what if I'm interpreting that as a sign of age? And there's always the possibility that we do change the future, but we don't change it right." She pulls me into a tight hug. "But I promise, promise, promise that I'll die before I let anything happen to you."

"Don't say that," I swallow. "I'm – I'm just going to believe that what you saw was true, Nya. That I don't die." I hug her back, needing so badly to cling to some ray of hope in my life right now. "Tell me all about your vision, Nya. Make me happy and tell me what you saw when I was older."

"No matter where you go,

You know you're not alone.

I'm only one call away,

I'll be there to save the day.

Superman got nothin' on me,

I'm only one call away."

"Yeah..." she trails off. "About that. Um, well, let's focus on the bright side: We were together."

"That's always good," I smile. "I like being with you."

"I know." She huffs out a breath. "But that vision bothers me, Jay."

"Why does it bother you?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She shakes her head against my shoulder. "Enough about that."

"What's so wrong with it?" I demand. "I thought you said we were together, and that if that vision comes to fruition, it means I don't die because of Pythor. Nya, what else did you see?!"

"Well...all my visions bother me, to some extent." She looks away.

"Because...? Nya, you're scaring me. Please just explain things to me."

"Fine," she whispers. "Uh...it's because in all but one of my visions, Jay, it seemed like...like you and I were together, together. Like, an item. A couple. Dating."

"O-oh." I blink, excitement filling me in place of terror. "Wait, really?!"

"Yes, Jay. And I don't know that it's best for us to go back to dating...within the timeframe the tea gave me. Like, we might be back together within the next two weeks. I'm not ready yet."

"You've mentioned that." I take a deep breath. "Nya?"

"What?"

"Um, if I really could die from this...I'd rather not leave things so unsettled between us. At the same time, I wouldn't want to basically widow you as my girlfriend if..." If I don't make it.

I choke on fear, and I'm unable to finish my sentence.

"I get it." She softly and cautiously presses her lips to my cheek. "I'll keep that in mind, okay? I don't want to leave you hanging. Just give it a little more time. I'm not about to ruin the progress you've made as a person."

"Okay." I run my fingers through her hair. "Thanks for talking to me, Nya."

"Any time."

"Come along with me and don't be scared,

I just wanna set you free.

Come on, come on, come on,

You and me can make it anywhere.

But for now, we can stay here for a while,

'Cause you know, I just wanna see you smile.

No matter where you go,

You know you're not alone.

I'm only one call away,

I'll be there to save the day.

Superman got nothin' on me,

I'm only one call away."

***(Lloyd's POV)***

I shove my hands in my pockets, gently knocking on the blacksmith shop's door.

About half an hour ago, Kai texted me back about the meeting he missed this evening, but by then, we'd already called up the police and the engineer. Kai is becoming less and less a member of our team as his relationship with Skylor progresses.

I wonder if he'll end up leaving entirely after he and Skylor tie the knot?

Kai pokes his head out his shop's door. "Hey, Lloyd. You came to debrief me, huh?"

"Yes." And...to finally confess a few things to him. Our team is the strongest it's been since February right now, and I don't want any secrets standing between us.

It's time to tell him about Harumi and the nudes, and it's time to confess what I did back in February.

He leads me inside, and I flop down on the couch, the sole piece of luxury furniture Kai and Nya have outside their bedroom.

"Um, so..." I start off. "Pythor plans to kill Jay."

Kai raises his eyebrows. "Huh?"

"He plans to kill Jay. Pythor's apparently building this electricity conducting machine that will absorb all electricity in Ninjago City so he can take over."

"Oh. That's...not good. Any plans on how to stop him?"

"We find his invention, destroy it, and bring him and his cronies to justice before they can dominate the city. We've already talked to the commissioner, and when last I checked, PIXAL and Zane were working on contacting the engineer who most likely created the designs for Pythor's conductor."

"Okay. Good plan." He runs a hand through his hair. "I'll close down the blacksmith's shop a week early."

"Wait – close down? Like, officially close down your business? I thought you had customers who depended on this place!"

"Eh, a few," he shrugs. "I don't really care."

"But you should."

"Why? I've never liked this job, anyway. And I'd rather be helping my team save the city and protect my brother than sitting around here being a sub-par blacksmith."

I blink. "Did you just admit that you're bad at your job? Who are you, and what have you done with the real Kai Smith?!"

"Nothing. I assure you, he's right here in the flesh."

He laughs, and I laugh along with him. It's good to see him letting go of some of his pride. It means that –

Kai's laugh turns into a full-on cackle, and suddenly, he poofs into...

Nadakhan.

"I can't manage to get the blue one alone," he chuckles, all pretense gone. "However, if I have you alone, perhaps you will see a better way, eh?"

I fumble for words. "What have...have you done with Kai?!"

He puffs out a breath. "Nothing. He has been with his red-headed girlfriend all night, so I couldn't get him alone. I'll be after him when he comes back in a few hours. You, on the other hand?"

I whip out my phone, but it suddenly disappears from my hand.

Oh, gosh.

I make a run for the door. "Help! Help! Somebody – "

He reappears in front of me, gleaming blade in hand. "Tell me, green one, is there anything in this world you'd wish for?"

***Ha! Another Cliff Gordon-hanger 😈 We'll see about that double update now...***