Chapter Text
It had been quite a few years since Ninjago had faced a serious threat. In the time, there had been a decline in crime rates, and many folk began to reminisce of former times before the villages had been terrorised with ghosts, snakes or even skeletons. Back when people would live in peace.
In that time, the ninjas had settled down in their personal lives, soon retracting from the public eye and relegating themselves to patrols.
This had begun shortly after the lovebirds in the team, Nya and Jay Walker, tied the knot. They requested a quiet wedding (to the disappointment of many fans), and had the ceremony at the monastery attended by their close family and friends. Cole, Kai, Zane and Lloyd were the groomsmen while Cole’s fiance, Vidia, Kai’s girlfriend, Skylor, and two of Nya’s friends were the bridesmaids. The day was bright and beautiful, which was surprising given that it was nearing the end of winter.
A few days later, Kai came home to an emotional Skylor. She was hiding something behind her back.
“Are you okay?” he asked, putting his case down. She put the object in his hands, which had two lines to indicate…
“Honey,” she replied, “I’m pregnant.”
Kai was shocked, but very excited nonetheless.
When Jay and Nya came back from their honeymoon a month later, the couple organised a dinner and invited the group, hoping to tell them then.
They weren’t the only ones, though.
“Guys, we have something to announce.” Cole stood up, holding Vidia close to him.
“We found out this morning that I’m pregnant!” Vidia exclaimed excitedly. Everyone cheered excitedly, with the couple beaming happily.
“Oh, we were going to announce Skylor was pregnant as well,” Kai mumbled.
“Congrats to you too!” Nya smiled. Another round of cheers was heard.
“I guess our kids will be good buddies,” Skylor replied.
…
It had been one year since Jay and Nya’s wedding.
In the one year that passed since that wintry day, things had changed.
Kai and Skylor were playing with their 4 month old son, Skai, and watching 3-month-old Cole Jr. (He seemed to respond to Cole rather than his other name Onyx, but that’s a story for another time). The two babies were sitting on opposite ends of the mat, not interested in establishing any sort of relationship.
The older Cole was outside on the porch. He had awoken that day to find Vidia had quietly abandoned their family and returned the engagement ring, and was quite bereft as a result. He was still processing it all, wondering what would have caused her to leave.
We didn’t have any arguments; in fact, she seemed in a good mood yesterday. She also mentioned that work wasn’t too bad, even though she went back so soon after Cole Jr’s birth. So why?
Jay and Nya were setting up the table inside.
“Should we wait for a better time?” Nya asked.
Jay put down the plates he was carrying. “What do you mean? We’ve already told our parents. And they are going to find out soon.”
“But,” Nya replied, fidgeting with the napkins, “I feel like it can wait. Already Cole is pretty upset since Vidia left. Zane is also not here since he is busy repairing PIXAL’s codes, and Lloyd is doing patrols…”
“Are you nervous?” Jay asked, holding her hands still. “It’s okay if you are. But we have faced greater threats. Oni, dragons - heck, we even took down a djinn together. This shouldn’t be as scary.” He hugged her tightly.
As the group settled around the table for dinner, Jay stood up.
“Nya and I have some exciting news,” he stated. “We are-”
A loud knocking was heard. Lloyd had just returned from patrols. After he came in, Jay continued.
“As I was saying, we are-”
Skai threw up a bit of food on Cole Jr’s face, upsetting the latter. Both babies began to wail a bit. Skylor took Skai out while Cole took his son to the bathroom to get cleaned up.
“We can tell them after dinner.” Nya patted Jay’s shoulder.
After the babies were calmed and put to rest, the group ate their meal. As Nya placed the dessert cake on the table, Kai turned to Jay.
“You were saying something, dear brother-in-law?” Kai asked. Now it was Jay’s turn to quietly panic.
“It can wait,” Jay squeaked.
“Why don’t we have some cake while we wait, then?” Cole replied. As he cut out a slice and removed it, little candies fell out of the cake, all baby themed.
“Ohhh?” Kai turned to face Jay. “This is what you had to say I assume?”
“Uhh, surprise?”
A round of congratulations were passed on to Nya.
“Dude, it’s okay,” Kai was trying to coax Jay, who had just shocked himself in nervousness.
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Jay said while swinging back and forth. He was definitely okay.
…
By the time Nano Julian, adopted son of Zane, had turned 2 years old, three tragedies had befallen the ninja.
The first happened shortly after Nya’s daughter Jayde was born.
It was no secret that Lloyd was single. After the fall of Harumi, he promised not to compromise his feelings while on the field, closing himself off from the prospects of love.
He felt out of place now amongst the group. While he wasn’t the only single person there, he was the only one without a family or child. He never expressed his emotions, but there was a feeling of sadness when watching his friends enjoying themselves.
So, it came as a surprise when the ninja found out that Lloyd had disappeared.
They knew where he was - he mentioned it in his letter to the group - but he made it clear that he didn’t want to be followed.
Give me some time alone, and I will contact you when I am ready .
The second took place one year later.
“Nya, are you sure you don’t want to sit out the patrol? You haven’t done one in quite a while,” Jay asked as he cradled a sleepy Jayde.
“It’s alright,” Nya replied, adjusting her gi. “Besides, I need to get back out there, even if it is in simple things like patrols for petty crime. Besides, both you and Kai will be out there, so if I need a break, you can cover for me.” She pecked him on the cheek. “Now, get the things ready. Skylor will be here soon, along with Skai, and we need this one to be asleep.”
As they left the building and swung onto the roofs, Nya felt liberated. It was nice to be able to jump on the roofs and run intensely like she had before having Jayde. Not like that was a bad thing though , she thought to herself, reminiscing over the memories.
“Nya,” Kai called, “You good?” Focus, Nya.
“Yeah, I am,” she called back.
“Guys, you might wanna check this out,” Jay urged them to come over.
They all peered over the edge. A group of street thugs surrounding a young woman. Easy stuff.
As they jumped down, the leader cricked his neck.
“Looks like we got a challenge ‘ere, eh?” he cajoled to his mates. The woman slinked away, relieved but also less panicked.
“You picked the wrong day to mess with us!” Kai challenged. “NINJAGO!”
“Get them!” the leader cried angrily.
Kai took on one of the goons, while Jay and Nya fought off the ones blocking the exit.
“Jay! On your left!” Nya called, just as one of the goons swung his fist. Jay fought back with his nunchucks, the lightning zapping the foe.
“You’re not as bad after a year’s break, eh?” Jay responded.
“Believe me, watching Jayde keeps you on your toes,” Nya called, pitching her spear to pin one of the goons. “She is deceptively swift, unlike what you think.”
“I know,” Jay grunted, trying to throw off one of the hunkier goons. “Remember when she out-crawled Skai?”
“Guys, focus!” Kai called out from where he was.
As they finished cleaning up the scene, the leader sneered at the ninja.
“You think this is over? Just you wait,” he swore angrily.
“Yeah, you can wait for the police to take you in,” Jay called back.
“I feel uneasy about this though,” Nya told. “It seems too easy.”
“No need doubt your abilities, sis,” Kai replied. “It’s just-”
They were interrupted with the sound of explosions. Smoke filled the air.
“What’s happening?” Jay called, confused. The smoke began to burn their nostrils. As they coughed, Nya yelped.
“Nya!” the ninja exclaimed in concern.
“HELP!” she called.
“Where are you?” Jay shouted.
There was much panic as they tried to find each other. They grappled through, hoping to catch something - anything. A shred of cloth, or a tug of the shoulder.
But alas, when the smoke cleared, there was no Nya in sight.
After many weeks of the group searching and interrogating, they found all explanations led to dead ends. Nya had disappeared without a trace. Presumed dead.
Their group was now down to 4.
After the funeral, as the 4 families gathered, an argument broke out about their future.
“I don’t know guys,” Cole said, looking at the others. “We should lay low.”
“But who will look after the city?” Skylor fired back. “We can’t jeopardise their safety.”
“But we can’t jeopardise our family’s safety either!” Jay shot. “First it was Nya. Who next? One of our kids?”
“Don’t be irrational, Jay,” Zane stated. “After one attack, you’re going to fold? What about the people out there? Do you think it’s fair for them to suffer because of your cowardice?”
“Cowardice?!” Jay thundered. “I’ll show you cowar-”
“ENOUGH!”
Everyone turned to face Kai.
“You have the deciding vote, Kai,” Cole explained. Kai took a deep breath in.
“While Skylor and Zane are right about our role in this city,” he sighed, “Cole and Jay are right. Just because we now patrol, doesn’t mean there is no defences. And what if this was a targeted attack? It is easier to regret our lack of action then it is to weep for another.” They all paused, remembering why they were there.
So it was decided. The ninja would go into hiding. They took on new jobs. And while they kept in contact, they swore not to tell their children of their activities as Ninjago’s former protectors.