Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jay was beginning to regret a lot of his life choices now.

Laid on his side with a stupid fake ray gun in his hand, like a BANG! gun- but with ZAP! instead- furiously frowning at the orange djinn in front of him; smirking. FSM, how he hated this guy. He scowls at him, standing up and chucking the gun aside as the floating man rotates around him.

"Adorable," the silky voiced seducer chuckles, seeing the powerless kid angrily scowl at him.

"What did you do? Change the past?" Jay's hand wring together, meeting in the middle of his chest as he averts his gaze; pretty scared.

"Hmm. I wish. I merely revealed a truth about your life that you were unaware of," Nadakhan said, hand connecting with his chin in a movement the blue ninja found very interesting; almost like the statement 'I wish' was connected to something else.

"Then I don't wanna make another wish," folding his arms, Jay turns away.

The djinn gives a sigh, smirk persisting as he continues moving around the kid. "Everyone wants a second wish. A second chance to make things right."

"No."

" Don't resist me. Tell me what you want. More power? More prestige?" Nadakhan chuckles pitifully. "Maybe a ray gun that works?" Jay thinks, probably for a lot longer than he should've. Maybe he did actually want something that Nadakhan could give him. "You know, I have been watching you and your team. They definitely do not seem to truly value your contributions,"

"Shut up! I know that's not true," Jay kinda lied to himself there. He was very insecure, about a lot of things. Including what he thought everyone else thought of him. Hell, Nya didn't even want to date him. His fault for being clingy, he guessed. Nya's words to him before let him know that even when he thinks he's being subtle with his feelings, he's not. Not nearly as good as he thinks he is. At anything. Wow, crazy how one sentence from a djinn can completely crush him.

"You don't seem so sure," Nadakhan mused, new thoughts and plans racing through his mind seeing Jay seem so defeated. "perhaps you'd rather you be somewhere else? Somewhere you're more welcomed. More accepted. More...valued."

Jay shut his eyes tightly, trying his best to drown out the words of the djinn, but finding it impossible. He's not stupid, he can figure out what he's implying. His tense shoulders slack as he lets out a defeated sigh; his eyes glaze, wetness growing at the corners of his eyes. "Fine. I wish- I wish I was somewhere I was valued!" Golden sparks erupted around Jay, an orange swirl spinning around him as only the whooshing of air and chuckling of the djinn were audible.

And he was gone.

A ring at the doorbell of Cliff Gordon's house, and a feminine voice speaking out "Jay? You here?" Nya's voice was laced with worry, she bites her lip before opening the door and looking around. Her eyes narrow without a response from Jay, turning a corner to search more, and finding herself scared by the enormous statue of Fritz Donegan stood there. "Jay? Did you have a-- mansion this whole time that you never told anyone about?" She gives a chuckle, mostly to stifle her fear as she gives glance around the room; definitely not missing the open gateway into a formerly hidden room. "What is this place?" she asks to no-one in particular, entering the room and finding herself very surprised by the memorabilia dotted around. Old costumes on mannequins, old props-- and a very specific outfit at the very end of the room. "That's- That's Jay's old outfit!" she rushes over to it examining it closely and looking at all the pictures dotted around it. There were many, all of Jay. There was even one they took on one of their dates, one she'd gotten very used to seeing; her kissing the ginger's cheek. She takes it off, sighing dreamily as she examines it closer. Why'd she insist that she had no feelings for him? Well. She knew why. Her insistence on not being defined by anything other than her ninja ability got in the way of her desire for a relationship with the boy she loved.

As she went to put the picture back, a rather wide book on a pedestal in the centre of the suit caught her eye. She blew the dust off of it, and frowned as she read the title: 'Cliff Gordon's Guide to Wooing Women'. A small huff was released as she put it back, now deciding to step out of the room and back into living room.

"Really, Jay? I didn't think you were that desperate," she muttered as she exited, turning to look for a switch and tilting the golden statue back into place. She goes to sit on the couch, picking up a remote and- curiosity getting the better of her- switching the TV on. Seems it was left on the News-- and suddenly she finds her mouth falling agape.

BREAKING NEWS: Movie star known for 'STARFARER' films Cliff Gordon dies aged 41.

"Cliff- Cliff Gordon?" she peers back over to where the secret door was... then back to the statue of Fritz Donegan... and her eyes widened. "Jay's Dad is... Cliff Gordon?!"

"what?!" a yell came from her wrist communicator, sounding suspiciously like Lloyd. "Cliff Gordon is Jay's Dad?!" Multiple more voices came through the communicator, one asking who he was, and two more freaking out as Zane gives some sort of Wikipedia explanation defining who Cliff Gordon is.

"Guys!" she yells, finally silencing the boys' chatter. "Have any of you seen Jay? He left to clean himself up and he never came back." Kai could not help himself:

"Clean himself up, huh?"

"Kai!" all four of the communicating people yell back. This was not the time for inappropriate jokes. He just laughs.

"I'm sure he's fine, sis," he replies, rather relaxedly.

"Kai." Nya replies sternly, though a hint of worry lacing her tone. "We know Nadakhan preys on people being alone. I never should've let him go alone, if he's captured it's all my fault!"

"Hey, it'll be okay," Lloyd chimes in. "I'm sure he's fine, and if he did get him, we'll get him back together. We've met up, I'll send you my location, Nya." She doesn't respond, simply muting her communicator as she leans back on the sofa. Jay is gone, probably kidnapped by Nadakhan, and it's all her fault. She leans forward again, putting her head in her hands as she lets a few tears escape her wettened eyes. She doesn't think she'll ever be able to forgive herself if Jay's actually been captured; so many things left unsaid. She stays like that for a few extra moments, before standing and exiting the house to go meet up with the other Ninja.

---

Jay appears on the deck of a ship; a flying ship. He's still in his casual clothes, so he quickly does a bit of spinjitzu to change into his airjitzu gi.

"What is this?" he asks, looking around.

"This is the Misfortune's Keep." Nadakhan spins around him slowly. "My airship." He speaks, presenting the ship to him.

"Airship?" Jay raises an eyebrow. "I thought you were pirates?"

"Sky pirates, dear boy," Nadakhan speaks, finally facing him. "I have a plan I have not told any of my crew, but-"

The captain is interrupted by Flintlocke's gun pointing at Jay's head, an exclamation from him as he sees the ninja on the deck of the ship.

"Cap'n!" he yells, gun aimed directly at the blue ninja.

"Flintlocke!" Nadakhan teleports between the two. "He is not an enemy."

"What's goin' on then? He gettin' the tour?" Flintlocke spits, eyes narrowing at Jay.

"Yes," the orange djinn replies. "we are seeing about him... joining the crew,"

Simply hearing that brings a pang of guilt to Jay, visibly wincing. Betraying his friends for some sky pirates? This is ridiculous. He shouldn't be here. Every fibre of his being tells him that, but still he stays because his insecurities push him to. Push him to stay. because he'll actually make some sort of difference here. For better or for worse.

"Cap'n," Flintlocke speaks, frowning. "you can't be serious! We can't trust him, he's one of them!"

Nadakhan encroaches in on the moustachioed man, growling at him which causes him to take a step back. "You do not question me! I am your Captain!"

Flintlocke looks down to the side for a moment, giving a sigh as he shrugs. "Fine. But I got my eye on him," He then proceeds to walk away, allowing Nadakhan to release a sigh as he turns back to Jay.

"Jay," he speaks, swiftly floating over to him with a fluid motion. "What is wrong?"

"I'm betraying my friends," Jay spoke bluntly, earning a hearty laugh from the djinn.

"You will get used to it," he responds, circling him once again; Jay was beginning to realise how common this was. "and besides, were they really your friends? You already mentioned how you feel they don't appreciate you? Wouldn't true friends respect you?"

Jay thinks, sighing. Nadakhan was right. He was right. Right? Yeah. Of course. They don't care about him. They don't respect him. He tries his best for the team, and all they do is laugh and criticise him. He's fed up with not being taken seriously. He'll make them take him seriously.

"Yeah, you're right," he says, still rather softly despite trying to hype himself up for this. "they don't care. Will- Will I be- uh- valued here?"

"Of course," Nadakhan leans in to talk more secretively. "you may even become first mate if Flintlocke continues this dissent." That sort of shocked him, but at the same time made him feel a lot better about all this. If he can rise through the ranks, then he will definitely feel like he's a valued member of the crew. "So, Jay, what shall we do next?" A smirk over his djinn features.

"Uh- woah, you're actually making me make decisions, uh..." he thinks for a few moments, sweat dripping down his brow feeling the larger being's eyes searing into him. "Well...what are you trying to do?"

"Hmm." the djinn hums. "Good eye. This is my Sword of Souls." He takes it from his back, showing Jay. "It absorbs the souls of those I make wish it all away. I could strike them with it too, but it enhances my strength more if I use their wishes," Jay gives a nod, humming to himself.

"And you want the other Ninja?" Nadakhan nods in response. "Then to Ninjago City. They won't see it coming, and when they eventually come to the city's defence we can get them... or one of them. At least."

"Good plan, Jay," he claps a hand to the ninja's back.

"Uh... one more thing?" Nadakhan raises a brow as he lets Jay continue. "Could I get an eyepatch?"

---

Nya entered Yang's Tavern, still slightly shaken from her... well, crying. Lloyd waves her over to the table they were in and she slides in next to him, giving a defeated sigh as she sits.

"I can't reach Jay over the comms," she mutters, looking down at her hands anxiously fiddling with each other. "Nadakhan probably got to him." Lloyd lays a hand on her back, smiling hopefully at her.

"Jay is fine," he tells her. "he's strong, he can get through whatever they put him through. I know it." Nya gives a slight smile at the green ninja, and Lloyd turns to the other members of the team. Kai pipes up.

"I'm so tired of all this sneaking around!" he yells, frustrated. Clearly he was feeling very impatient. Kai's constant need for something to happen getting the best of him again. "We need to show ourselves to him! Sneaking around shows we're scared."

"Easy, Kai. We're all itching to get back into action. But so far three of our own have gone missing, and none of us have yet to lay an eye on him!" Lloyd explains, causing Kai to fall into silence. Something was certainly off about him, since Jay had disappeared. Nya could not quite put her finger on it, though. Something about his whole demeanour was familiar, yet slightly different. She zones back in, shaking her head; Kai being weird is far from the most important thing right now.

"If only we knew someone who had faced him and could tell us what to expect." Zane speaks, an odd silence falling over them. As if someone should've said something after that...

"Hey, look at the TV!" Cole points, and everyone looks. What is on the TV is news footage of an airship flying through downtown Ninjago City. "That's gotta be them, right?"

"How do we know? They're pirates, right? Why are they flying?" Kai snapped, very irritable.

"We have a flying ship," Nya chips in, shrugging afterward. "I'm just saying, maybe they're catching up with the times."

"Either way, we're stopping them. They're putting people in danger!" Lloyd says, standing up from the desk, followed by Zane and Cole. Kai stays seated for another second, wistfully looking to the side.

"Hey, Kai? You okay?" Nya lays a hand on top of his, squeezing it which takes him back to reality.

"Hm? Uh- yeah, I'm good," he stands, following the other three to which Nya does as well. She continues the conversation as they walk to the door.

"You know you can talk to me if something is on your mind, right?" her hand drifts to his shoulder, giving that a squeeze as well. Kai simply shrugs her hand off. Very irritable.

"Yeah, I know," he snaps. "nothing is on my mind." And there he goes, speed walking forward to catch up with the others. Nya sighs, before copying his movements and following.

As the Ninja reach the airship, they stop on a building to plan, with Lloyd obviously helming the effort. "Okay, Cole will go and get the map from the ship. Kai, go with him, he'll need backup. That just leaves us three," Lloyd gestures to him, Nya and Zane. "we'll be dealing with any members of the crew that decide to show their faces." All five of them nod, leaping from the building to their designated positions.

Kai and Cole leap to another building, with Kai distracting the people firing the canons whilst Cole got onto the boat itself; slinging down a chain for the red ninja to catch, which he does. He clambers up onto the ship, fighting off enemies as Cole stays invisible to search the comms room, it seems; they're split up. Probably not a great idea, but they're trying their best.

Cole's search begins by being shot in the back by Flintlocke-- or, he would've been had he not made himself incorporeal at just the right time, sending the rounded bullet bouncing about the room until it shattered a glass ball; revealing the lantern with the map. Flintlocke glared at him, eye trained on him until a hand reached out from the side, pointing him to the deck with Kai. Cole found his eyes widening as the shadowed figure revealed itself, that blue gi unmistakable.

"Jay?" he looked puzzled, as if he didn't fully believe it. "No, you're not Jay! He wouldn't join you!" The ghost lunges forward, with the blue ninja in absolute silence as he dodges the lunge. He unsheathes a pair of cutlasses from his back armour, clashing with the ghostly swords Cole equipped to attack him with. "What have you done with him?" Silence still, frustrating Cole. Very much not used to a blue gi being associated with complete silence. Jay deflects and blocks his attacks, the pair basically evenly matched until they come to a stand-off. "You can get tired, I can't!" Cole yells, very much implying that the blue one should give up. He simply chuckles, however, sheathing his cutlasses again before blasting a beam of electricity at the black ninja; and his plan worked. He went incorporeal, letting the electricity phase through him and blow up behind him.

Jay witnessed an orange shift in the shadows behind Cole and, buying a few extra seconds, whips down his hood.

"Jay...?" Cole looks speechless, and that's visible through a full face hood-- before he flipped his hood down. His shock doesn't last long, though, Nadakhan floating up behind him.

"Look... your best friend has joined me," the silky voiced seducer purrs. "it is hopeless to fight." Cole looks on the verge of a breakdown, entirely rocked. His hands grip his head, staring back at the blue ninja.

"Why?!" he yells, stepping forward.

"Because you never valued me!" Jay finally snaps, that loud, high-pitched voice now having an air of intimidation about it. "You never cared about me! None of you did!"

"Jay, that's not true," Cole responds, though is blocked by Nadakhan.

"It feels true," Jay whispers, turning back; regretfully, though Cole doesn't see it that way.

"Look at him, turned against you," Nadakhan takes advantage of the vulnerable state of Cole, swirling around him as Jay eyes the lantern; eyes narrowing as he squeezes them tight and opens them again. He takes a peak at the distracted Nadakhan and kicks it down, out of the open scaffolds of the ship. He peers down, witnessing Zane use airjitzu to catch it. Good reflexes on that nindroid. "Nothing makes sense anymore. It's too much. You need it to go away. You can wish for it to go away."

Cole's eyes follow Jay's previous movement; squeezing shut before opening them again with a loud groan. "I-I-I-" he stutters. "I w-w-wish for it all to go away!"

"Your wish is yours to keep," Nadakhan sighs in satisfaction, watching the pale green orb be sucked into the sword. Jay looks away; he's angry at his friends, sure, but it's still hard to watch as they scream as they're absorbed into the sword. "One down, four to go." Jay simply nods at the statement.

The pair saunter up the stairs, and Kai's eyes widen as he sees the unmasked blue ninja.

"J-Jay?" he stammers, eyes quivering slightly. Despite Cole and Jay being much closer, the fire ninja's reaction seems much more emotional. Kai eyes the djinn, shaking his head as he slips away from Doubloon's attack and leaps off the ship.

"Do not follow him," Nadakhan warns. "we have what we came for." He turns to his crew atop the ship, presenting the screaming Cole within the sword. They cheer, whilst Jay turns wistfully away for a moment. He fights down his emotions, turning back to cheer alongside his new family.

Kai lands atop a building, whipping his hood off and staring at the ship as it departs, tears threatening to burst from his eyes. The other three ninja make their way up, with Zane holding the lantern; they immediately know something is up.

"Cole," Kai says, taking a deep breath. "he was alone for- for just a few minutes! I was trying to get to him! And- And when they came out, he was stuck in this- this weird sword, I think."

"They?" Nya points out, worry building.

Kai is silent for a few seconds, still processing the information. "J-Jay. Jay was with him."

Chapter Text

Jay wanders around the deck of The Misfortune's Keep, getting used to the ship as he inspects the crew, trying to copy their pirate mannerisms. He wanders into the control centre, spying a conversation between his captain and the first mate. Flintlocke seems agitated, still angry at the blue ninja's presence.

"You have prepared our crew well. Hmm. They are much improved." Nadakhan speaks, hands behind his back as Flintlocke takes a mean glare over to Jay. The ninja starts to travel down the stairs, and Clancee wanders up the stairs with a large box and gear in his hands.

"And look at me, cap'n. I'm no longer airsick," the serpentine stops, dropping the gear as he covers his mouth. "oops. Spoke too soon." He rushes off to throw up off the edge of the ship, giving Jay a bit of a chuckle as he saunters down the stairs. Flintlocke seems to be holding something back, causing Jay to soon speak up.

"You got something to say, Flintlocke?"

"Ah, Jay," Nadakhan greets, turning his head to spot him. "you entered silently, like a true ninja." He gives a sarcastic laugh, before turning to his first mate with a quizzical look. He sighs, stepping forward.

"I've been biting my tongue, Captain. But when we attacked the city, I saw the girl ninja. She looked like Dilara," Flintlocke pauses, waiting for the djinn to speak on it. Jay leans against the wall, examining how the two interact; and how Flintlocke seems to be doubting his captain.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Nadakhan responds, scoffing as he turns away. The southern man seems to get a tad more frustrated, putting himself into his field of vision.

"I'll believe that when I believe a pirate born to tell the truth. You should've told me." an eerie silence fills the room, a scowling Flintlocke squaring up, almost. "First you don't tell me your plan, now you keep this. We've sacrificed a lot to follow you, but trust is a wind that blows both ways."

Nadakhan pauses for a few moments, looking between the first mate and Jay, seeing an opportunity.

"Which is why I am showing you this." the djinn spoke, pulling the ship up and accelerating to show them the floating islands he was creating. Jay's eyes widened seeing them, mouth falling agape slightly as he looked upon them. Amongst the flying pieces of land collected from Ninjago was a slightly chained up Destiny's Bounty.

"That's--" Jay pointed towards it.

"Your ship," Nadakhan finished his sentence, smirking deviously.

Jay was unsure of how to feel. On the one hand, this was a win for his side, the sky pirates. They'd captured the ninja's beloved ship, greatly hindering the rest of the ninja's ability to fight back against the sky pirates: without their own airship, it was much more difficult.

On the other hand, he had a deep connection with that ship. Him and the others. Seeing it chained up was hard, and coupled with the fact that he wasn't completely loyal just yet... it made him more hesitant when it came to Nadakhan's cause. Hell, he's still terrified of Nadakhan finding out about the lantern. The fact that it still disappeared even after they sucked Cole into the sword, would obviously indicate that it was Jay's doing; and the fact that- right now- they're in the exact room it was in made Jay all the more scared.

Nadakhan continues his spiel. "I know it doesn't look like much now, but this place will soon become Djinjago. With each ninja my Djinn Blade  consumes, the more power I'm beholden to resurrect my home world. This is what you sacrificed for. Not some girl. For a home. I cannot do this alone. I need you. I need our crew. Together, we can make this place ours." Flintlocke pauses, looking behind himself to see more members of the crew enter the room. He looked like he was going to say something else, but stopped himself, raising a fist.

"To Nadakhan!" he yells, empowering the crew and causing them to cheer the same thing. The captain turns to the ninja, beckoning for him to follow him out of the room and gesturing for Flintlocke to stay and control the ship. Flintlocke turns back to the view, eyes narrowing as he hears the ninja and the djinn exiting the room. He doesn't trust Jay. Hell, come to think of it, he doesn't even trust Nadakhan. What's his goal here? What's the endgame of building his homeland out of Ninjago? They were pirates. Not super villains. They pillaged riches, not land. Something wasn't adding up. And what was with that girl? He's not a dumbass, he can tell when someone is avoiding something; and that was exactly what Nadakhan did. He didn't explain what Djinnjago was for, simply that he was making it. He knew Nadakhan too well to not think he had another angle here. Just what was it?

As the pair exit the room, Jay looks up to the floating man with a curious expression. "What did you want, Nadakhan?" The djinn narrowed his eyes. "Captain."

"I know you allowed the ninja to get a hold of the map, Jay," he speaks, though not as angrily as the lightning ninja was expecting. "This... allows us to get the ninja into one place, for an easier attack." A pause. "But I know that is not what you were thinking when you kicked it down, was it?"

Jay turns his head wistfully. "N-No. I'm sorry, I--" He is interrupted.

"Why, I understand, Jay," he circles around him, a tactic Jay is alto familiar with. "I will not remove you from my crew, but you must understand that actions have consequences, no? To be accepted, you must prove your worth. Giving them what they need is doing the opposite."

"Yes," Jay whispers, almost immediately after Nadakhan finishes.

"We have a game here," he speaks, hand behind Jay's back. "called Scrap 'n' Tap!" Jay looks puzzled, and Nadakhan gives a laugh; somehow making him even more terrified of what this 'Scrap 'n' Tap' is. "Scrap 'n' Tap is simple, Jay. You fight a member of the crew. And you tap out." Oh. That's not that bad . "Though, your elemental powers may prove to be an unfair advantage over your opponents. But we can fix that."

Time passes, and the pirates a makeshift arena for Scrap 'n' Tap. When the djinn said they can fix the element problem, Jay thought maybe some vengestone cuffs that go around his wrists, or perhaps even an ankle bracelet. He definitely did not think he would have a vengestone ball and chain locked around his ankle, as he faces down a metallic monkey.

"May the scrap... begin!" yells the djinn, and the monkey immediately leapt onto Jay's face, scratching at it and spinning around on it. Though stunned, Jay grabs the monkey and throws him off to the side, but- being mechanical- he quickly recovers and leaps for his head... again. Jay grunts and dodges, letting the monkey fall to the ground but is taken off guard as he grips his leg. He goes to shake him off, but the monkey's hold is tight and he clambers up, scratching at his face again before being tore off again; and the monkey taps out. Jay looks confusedly at Nadakhan, who simply laughs. 

"I forgot to mention," he chuckles. "only the winner can tap out!" Jay's eyes widen as a crew member hands doubloon a bamboo staff, spinning it around as his face switches from a smile to a focussed monotone.

"C'mon," Jay whines, wiping his face with his sleeve. "we're friends, right?" Doubloon leaps forward, slamming the staff on the ground. "Right?" He narrowly dodges another attack, but is jabbed in the chest and smacked across the face, bringing him down. He grunts, picking himself back up only to have the staff brought down to the back of his head. He rubs it, finally standing back up only to have Doubloon disappear back into the crowd-- and have thundering steps replace his silent ones. Dogshank.

The large woman is silent as she grabs Jay and hurls him across the deck, slamming him into a wall. Pain wrings out throughout his entire body as his back hits the hard wooden wall. He slides to the ground, groaning in pain as she bounds over to him, lifting him up and slamming him back on the ground, which is even more painful than being hit against the wall. He goes to speak, to beg for mercy but can't as he's raised into the air and thrown across the room again, smacking his face against the wooden wall again. He falls to the ground, touching his face and feeling the blood pouring from his nose like water from a waterfall. He throws his hands up to surrender, but Dogshank simply grabs his wrists, holding them together as she lifts him into the air and slams him back down, making him let out a scream of pain; he's pretty sure he broke a rib. Or two. Maybe even three. He wheezes, Dogshank finally tapping out, causing the ball to slam back down onto his chest; probably worsening his broken rib. Or ribs.

After more rounds of being straight up tortured by the crew, Nadakhan finally takes Jay out from the game and advises everyone sleep. Not a word was shared between them as Nadakhan makes Jay sleep on the same deck he was only just tortured on, without medical attention. As he lies with his thin blanket draped over him, wheezes exiting his mouth, he tugs his eyepatch out of his gi and examines it. Though he asked for it, he hasn't been wearing it. Maybe he thinks he isn't pirate enough yet, or maybe he doesn't want to because it'd feel like he'd be truly abandoning the path of the ninja. Either way, he wasn't going to wear it just yet. It'd feel wrong. But he's also not going to be betraying Nadakhan anytime soon either. He shoves it back into the inside pocket of his gi, sighing- though it comes out as more of a heavy and loud wheeze- before he shuts his eyes and tries to allow sleep to take him, despite the pain of... well, breathing.

---

The four remaining ninja made their way to the docks of Ninjago City in silence. Finding out Jay had betrayed them for Nadakhan had really screwed them up, especially with the knowledge that it is definitely him. Perhaps if he wasn't literally stood beside his captain when Kai saw him, they could've theorised that the djinn was shapeshifting to screw with the ninja, make them think he'd turned against them when in reality he was simply trapped in the sword like Cole was.

With the revelation, the team was obviously saddened. Nya noted that Kai seemed to take it the hardest out of the other two remaining team members, which she found odd. Probably not the thing she should be focussing on, was what she told herself, but there was still an odd feeling that something was different with Kai. Familiar to her in his demeanour, but she had no idea how to put her finger on what it was. It irked her very much, being in the dark about something that she felt so very close to identifying. Though, she'd learnt to hide her frustration about certain things.

The squad arrived at the docks, seeing what looked to be a captain sat out on a small boat tied to the pier. He was rather old, a grey beard and squinted eye. He also looked drunk out of his mind.

"We'd like to charter a ship." Lloyd spoke, approaching the captain.

The captain cleared his throat and hiccupped before replying. "One eye may be glass, but me other eye sees clear as a bell, a wicked storm's a-brewing, and there ain't no ships to chart."

Silence took over the air as a confused Cole stepped forward. "Uh, oh, you're talking to me? Uh, well, then, let's find another dock."

The captain leaned forward with a scowl, huffing slightly. "Hmm. All the others will be saying the same. Unless you own one of these beauts, the only way you're sailing out is on a wish and a prayer."

The ninja seem pretty pooped, looking around for a nice looking boat to charter. Nya approaches one on the dock, and small writing etched into the side of the boat catches her eye. "Property of Cliff Gordon?" She walks back over to the sailor, pointing towards the sleek ship. "That wouldn't happen to be Cliff Gordon's boat, would it?"

The sailor looks between her and the boat, pausing to give a puzzled look for a few moments. "Why, yes. Yes, it is. Why do you ask?" The rest of the team join Nya, standing behind as the sailor looks between them.

"What if we told you we know his son?" Cole pipes up.

"Well, I'd say ye be a complete addle!" he yells in response, as Zane steps forward.

"I can provide evidence. Our friend recently inherited his house." Zane reveals, taking out the key from the inside of his gi; don't ask how he was storing it. The old sailor leans forward and examines the key closely, giving a nod to show he believed in its authenticity.

"If he ain't here with ye, where'd ye get the key?" he asks, raising a brow and hiccupping as he finishes his sentence

"He left it on the table," Nya says. "I was his-- girlfriend. And I took it. To keep it safe." She's red as a lobster. She didn't have to say that. Now the sailor is laughing at her, and her teammates seem to be stifling theirs as well.

"Well, ye can take the boat," he shrugs, taking another swig from his decanter. The ninja take a collective sigh as they get on the boat, and Zane, Lloyd and Cole all release a hearty laugh; much to Nya's humiliation.

"Don't worry, Dilara," Lloyd taunts, readying the sails. "we know you're not his girlfriend." Nya was glaring before, but she found herself seeing red and lunging at the green ninja, having to be stopped by Zane. Lloyd's face falls, immediately expressing sorrow. "Oh-- I'm sorry, Nya. I was just-- trying to have a laugh."

She simply grunts in response.

The sailor wasn't lying about the storm, the one they'd eventually sailed into is a hefty one, and without a lightning ninja to act as a lightning rod, the boat is in larger danger of being struck; and Zane was continuing to attract the electricity, which doesn't help matters either. Of course it occurred to the ninja not to leave him alone, but they needed as many hands on deck as they could, and they thought that Zane was smart enough to not try to make a wish, so they were happy to take a chance on him.

They should not have.

Zane enters the lower deck of the ship, scanning the vicinity as he wanders forward, knocking a table with a chess board on it. A piece falls off, and he twists to catch it placing it back on the board; and a white piece moves on its own. 

"Nadakhan," the titanium ninja speaks, sitting on his side of the board as the evil djinn appears on the other.

"Your move," he says, gesturing for the other to follow up.

"My move?" he narrows his glowing blue eyes.

"Yes. Surprised to see me?" the djinn muses. Very overconfident in himself.

"On the contrary." Zane makes a move, Nadakhan combats it. "The sudden realisation that Cliff Gordon happens to be Jay's biological father signals that Jay already made at least one wish.  The fact he has joined your crew implies that he may have made a second wish. Or, alternatively, you have seized on opportunity to play mind games with him."

"So you are the smart one. Then I take it you do not want to make a wish?" Nadakhan smirks, moving piece after piece as Zane does.

"Zane," Pixal pipes up from within the nindroid's head. "your emotions are rising to dangerous levels. You must not allow them to control you! It is foolish to believe you can outsmart him!"

"Not now Pixal! I do want my three wishes. But on my third wish, it will not be I who will disappear, but you." Zane frowns, and Nadakhan gives a chuckle.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Make your first wish." the djinn seems too relaxed. Too chill with the situation at hand. Zane scowls at him.

"For my first wish, I wish that you'll not twist my words, nor find a loophole, but understand the true intentions of the words that I speak, and carry out your will as I've thoroughly instructed." Zane orders, very specifically.

"Very well, I understand you perfectly and shall take you at your word. Your second wish?" Nadakhan did not seem phased at all.

"I wish for whatever has clouded Jay's judgement, to subside and for him to see within his right mind," he scowls, earning a shocked gasp for Pixal.

"Zane!" she exclaims. "I told you not to-" The ninja gasps, yelling out.

"Pixal!"

"I apologise, you must understand it is rude for a third party to have influence over what you decide your wishes to be," the silky voiced seducer rants. "your wish is yours to keep." A pause, the golden sparkles erupting from around Zane. "Unfortunately, Jay is not under any influence other than his own. You must understand, Jay sees with his right mind. He is not under- ah- mind control. The boy makes his own choices." A pause, Zane's mouth agape as Nadakhan knocks a piece over. "Hm. Checkmate."

Zane's head falls into his hands; Pixal was right. He never should have entertained Nadakhan's games of wishing. "That's impossible! Jay is our brother, he would never betray us!"

Nadakhan reclines in the chair, examining a piece of the chess board in his hand. "If you believe that, then you are lying to yourself," he pauses, gaze shifting from the pawn to the robot. "you still have one more wish. You can-" he poofs, appearing again beside the metallic ninja. "-wish it all away!"

Zane does not know what to do, he's incredibly overwhelmed. With no Pixal, finding out Jay had truly betrayed them... it did make him feel hopeless.

"I- I wish it all away!" he speaks, but before he can register what he just said, he's a white orb being sucked into the sword.

The storm passes, and the sun begins to rise. The Ninja are incredibly lucky, narrowly avoiding a hurricane as the float through the open waters (hopefully) towards their destination. Nya finds herself sitting on the edge of the boat, silently controlling the water as her feet dangle into the sea below. Good thing about being the water ninja was that she could manipulate how the water affects her; she feels the water around her ankles, however her gi doesn't get anymore wet.

Kai doesn't have the same advantages, hence why he crosses his legs as he sits beside her, looking into the distance. The siblings sit in silence for a while, taking awkward occasional glances at each other until Nya pipes up.

"Kai," she begins, and he turns to her like a deer in headlights, "you've been acting weird since Jay went missing, and really heightened since you saw him with Nadakhan. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing." he replies, oddly quickly-- to which Nya gives him a look with which he is alto familiar: it means, 'don't bullshit me, I'm your sister, I can see through you like glass,'. The red ninja gives a shaky sigh. "Well, he's our-- friend. Of course I was- uh- taken aback when he appeared with the djinn we've been fighting." Again, Nya gave him that look. "What!?"

"Kai, you're my brother." she simply says, immediately causing him to rethink things. "If- If you don't want to talk, just say. But, please, I'd like you to." Kai sighs, his brown eyes darting back down to the ocean at their feet. He thinks back to Jay, and how he switched sides. Maybe because of Nadakhan's wishes? He doesn't know. He can't figure it out. Why would he betray them, for some slippery djinn they just met. He squeezes his eyes shut, thinking about it all. Time to deflect.

"Why don't you? You're clearly hiding something!" he argues, leaning back to point a hand at her. She simply rolls her eyes.

"This isn't about me," she responds, and her brother is surprised by the fact that she maintains her cool and does not freak out at her. "my feelings forJay are... complicated." She pauses, going to say something else but stopping herself.

"What were you going to say?" Kai replies almost immediately. "You were gonna say something!"

She gives a sigh. "You're not fooling me, Kai." The boy freezes, mouth slightly ajar. "You're in love with him, aren't you?" He goes to protest, but thinks better of it and simply curls himself into a ball. She lays a hand on his back, leaning her head on his shoulder affectionately. "It's okay, brother."

"No, it's-" he starts, but- again- stops himself. "It's stupid. He's clearly smitten by you. No room for me." His sister doesn't quite know what to say, simply leaning into him to provide comfort.

"When- When did you start to have feelings?" she asks, slightly curious.

"I don't know... past month or so." Nya seems slightly surprised. "What? Guess I didn't realise how hot he was until we did modelling." He receives a nudge from her. "Ow!"

"Looks aren't everything, Kai."

"I know that! It was a joke! I find his-- personality hot too!"

The two giggle for a few moments, looking towards the sunset.

"Don't you think it's a bit weird that we both kinda love Jay?" Kai questions, to which Nya shrugs.

"It's only weird if we make it weird, Kai," she answers, receiving a nod from him as silence falls over them once again.

"He-- is a very pretty boy, though." Kai speaks. She turns and smirks at him, making him turn away awkwardly. He turns back, seeming more saddened. "Why- Why would he betray us?" Nya's face falls as well, an almost defeated shrug.

"I don't know, Kai," Nya speaks, shoulders falling. "maybe he's just... infiltrating them? Working undercover?"

"No, I don't think so," Kai speaks, not even looking at Nya. "you didn't see him, Nya. He looked angry. I've never seen him like that before. It was-" Kai stopped, turning away as he looked for the words. He looks back to her, eyes quivering and voice shaking. "It was terrifying," Nya pulled back slightly, mouth agape in slight shock. She stood up, abruptly turning and returning to her quarters. Well done Kai, you've officially scared the shit out of your sister.

"Oh no," he hears, standing up and following her to see what she found so disturbing: a tipped over table of chess. She examines it, picking up a few pieces.

"What?" Kai questions, standing next to her.

"Zane's gone," she simply speaks, and Kai realises how scarily right she is. No-one's seen the nindroid since the storm. Damnit, someone not joining him down here was a mistake.

The three remaining ninja make it to Tiger Widow Island in silence, barely saying much to each other until they reach the shore. It didn't seem too initially exciting, simply a beach and jungle.

"What's the plan?" Kai asks, hints of exhaustion in his voice still.

"Well, we've got to go in and find that Tiger Widow," Lloyd says, rather matter-of-factly. "I-- I'd love to stay and rest, Kai. Nya. But, Nadakhan got to Zane, so we need to do this as quick as possible," The other two nod in understanding as they stand up from where they were resting, following their green leader into the jungle.

Not much in there is dangerous, per say, with annoying bugs more than anything that could pose an actual danger to the trio. Soon enough, they come across a ravine and have to decide how to approach this. Lloyd ducks behind a rock and encourages the others to do the same, looking down and waiting for some sort of movement; there is none.

"Aright," he begins. "I think all three of us should head down," He pulls from his back pocket a canteen. "and collect the venom in this. Then, we can figure it out from there. Is that okay?" The siblings look between each other and nod, earning a smile from the sensei in training as he vaults over the rock and slides down the slope into the valley blow, closely followed by his teammates. "Be ready for anything," he warns, and the two roll their eyes.

"We're ninja," Nya speaks. "we're always ready for anything." Lloyd gives a chuckle, throwing on his hood, the other two following his movements.

They continue into the cave searching around as they stay as close to the shadows as they can; they are Ninja, after all. A loud squeal can be heard from the opposite side of the cave, as an enormous spider stalks around; its obviously sensed something off here. Good thing the ninja can stick to the shadows. Lloyd gives a nod to Kai, handing him the canteen and watching as he uses airjitzu to traverse to another large rock in the cave, landing atop it in a three-point pose. He examines the spider, ducking behind the rock as it turns and waiting for it to get at just the right angle--

--and he leans down, one hand keeping hold of the rock as the other holds the canteen as close to the fang of the spider... no venom... no venom. He glances over at Lloyd and gives a gesture of the head, and the green ninja turns and shoots a ball of energy out of the cave exit, startling the spider. It shuffles around to the other side of the rock, looking around for whatever the source of the sound was. Kai leans down in the exact same position as before and just manages to harvest a decent amount of the venom from the spider, shooting a fireball at the wall behind before he quickly uses airjitzu to get to his friends, breathing a sigh of relief as they manage to exit.

They quickly run back off across the ravine and back into the jungle, put stop in alarm as they hear rumbling. Rumbling of airships and chains dangling fills the sky as hordes of sky pirates surround the team. And there he is, the one the three were dreading seeing; a blue streak rushes down from a chain, curling around the links and landing on the grassy ground with two cutlasses in his hands. His hood is pulled over his head and face, and a frown is deep set on his face, visible through the slit in his hood. He says not a word, simply facing them and sort of presenting his pirate allies with their curved swords and guns.

"We're not scared of you!" Kai yells, trying to lunge forward, but is stopped by Lloyd.

"Jay, whatever he's done to you, you can fight this!" the green ninja exclaims.

"No." he says; dark, deep and cold. The complete opposite of what Jay normally is. "You don't seem to get it. Nadakhan hasn't done anything to me. He hasn't changed me. This was my decision. It's your fault I'm here. In fact, I didn't think you'd care."

"Of course we care!" Kai screams, his voice breaking midway through, which in turn broke Nya's heart. "We care more about you than you can possibly know!" Jay simply stares. Unfazed.

"Sure." he says, shrugging. "You have funny ways of showing it sometimes."

"Why did you come down here?" Nya interjects, taking a few steps towards him; closer than Kai or Lloyd were. The only reason Jay wasn't attacking was because it was her. "Just to gloat about how you're a traitor?"

"...I wanted to face you myself," Jay whispers, rather huskily, and Nya would be lying if she said it didn't send a shiver down her spine. She whips her hood off, determined scowl aimed directly for Jay as the two stare down. She leans in close, their hot breaths painting each other's faces; which would usually sound and be unpleasant, if the two weren't in deeply love with each other. Somehow the pair resist the urge to kiss for a good minute and a half, before Nya retracts slightly, and Jay releases a breath he didn't know he was holding; Nya smiles smugly at his reaction, satisfied with the knowledge she can still fluster him, before throwing her hood back up and joining her friends.

"If you want us, you'll have to take us!" Lloyd yells. He throws out a giant ball of green energy, and the three immediately spread out, silently knowing when its best to split. Kai dips into the forest, largely ignored by the pirates as they're more focussed on the ironically fiery water ninja and the powerful green ninja; especially the green ninja. Nya looks up, seeing Jay speed up the chain back up to the Misfortune's Keep. She narrows her eyes, tempted to follow but resisting the urge and instead trying to lose her pursuers through the brush.

Lloyd speeds from the jungle, and reaches a dead end at a cliff edge. The pirates yell about how they 'have him surrounded', and he accidentally kicks a couple of rocks off of the edge. He looks down, and back at his enemies-- and falls. Obviously, he makes his dragon as he does, flying up and over the pirates and honing in on the big one; he doesn't know what he plans to do, but he something is nagging at him, telling him that he needs to go there. His instinct tells him that this isn't his fight; it's Jay's, and Nya's, and Kai's. He glides up above the Misfortune's Keep, dispelling his dragon and landing on the deck with a thud, in front of Nadakhan and Jay.

"Ah, the fabled green ninja," the djinn speaks. "let's see if you are as talented as they say. Jay?"

"Yes, Nadakhan," he replies sternly, walking forward with a purposefully imposing air to him, sheathing his blades and entering hand-to-hand combat with the sensei in training. They throw punch after punch and kick after kick, but are relatively evenly matched until powers get involved. Lloyd's energy powers can stun Jay, knocking him back so he can get a few hits in whereas Jay's lightning really hurt Lloyd, electrifying him and not only holding him in place and stunning him but hurting him quite a bit.

"Tell me why, Jay!" Lloyd yells as he fights back, dodging blasts of electricity and periodically firing energy blasts at him. "Why join Nadakhan? Why betray us? Your friends!" Jay finally seems to lose his cool, shooting a powerful blast of electricity at him which explodes at his feet, pushing him back.

"None of you care about me! Not really!" he lunges, static dancing between his digits as he grabs Lloyd by the gi, shooting an electric current through him; leaving the green ninja writhing in pain in his hands. "I do so much for this team! And you laugh at me, and you make fun of me, and you humiliate me! I don't have friends! I haven't in a while, because some friends you are!" The current stops, and Lloyd takes the opportunity to shove him off and kick off the ship, falling down as he tries to summon his dragon. Jay backs up to get a run up, planning on following the other ninja's actions before he sees the Djinn Blade in Nadakhan's hands; he sees red, starting his run up and swiftly seizing it from the captain's hands, jumping off the ship but not summoning his dragon-- he twirls down the chain, leading to the large anchor lodged within the earth below. He stops, looking around for Lloyd and his dragon. Jay frantically looks around and is almost caught off guard by the dragon coming towards him, but just manages to spin around and tackle Lloyd; firing them booth through the sky and through the rough branches of the trees, smacking against the ground with a CRACK!

The crack isn't just the twigs; the adrenaline pumping through Jay's system calms down slightly, and the immense pain from falling from a flying airship with the only thing to break his fall being trees starts to set in. He takes the Djinn Blade that was dropped at his side, dusting himself off. Feeling himself, he locates a sharp stick lodged in his lower calve, and a gash across his eye- though his eye itself remains fine- and, worst of all, as he looks down to see a rather large, wet, red patch seeping through the left side of his gi, he realises it is around the left hypochondriac region of his torso; where, logically his ribs would be. His mind is slow, recovering from that fall, and it takes a moment to register the bone sticking out from his side; but when he does, he most definitely screams. That broken rib from Scrap 'n' Tap, paired with its lack of medical attention, has come to bite him in the ass; that is definitely a rib sticking out from his chest. He groans loudly, eyes widening as he spots it. He limps forward, hand clutching his side as he spots Lloyd splayed out on the ground up ahead.

Seeing the green ninja on the floor almost made Jay completely reconsider his stance with the pirates. He was alive, thankfully, but had a clearly broken leg and was very obviously littered with tiny tigs that had lodged themselves into his body. Despite his sympathy for the boy, he knows what he has to do. For the Captain. For the crew. He raises the Djinn Blade above his head, and brings it down onto Lloyd; his body implodes into a small green ball, floating around the sword for a few moments before being sucked into it. Immediately, Jay felt a sudden surge of power, like he had golden power again like he did in the Digiverse that one time. What was strange was that whilst he held the sword, he felt like he was on top of the world; so, all the perks of golden power. But he didn't actually have any extra power. Again, it was like he had the golden power, but he didn't actually have the golden power. It was an odd feeling. He looks to the side, meeting eyes with one Nya Smith, before making a gesture to show that she should leave. He drags the sword behind him as he makes his way up the chain, and as he stands on the desk he expects a chewing out from Nadakhan but is instead rewarded.

"Well done for the initiative, Jay!" he yells, hand clapping his back as the crew cheers for the, quite frankly, shit-looking ninja.

" 's nothing," Jay mumbles. "I was just being a good pirate. Doing what my Captain needs me to." He mumbles, clutching his side, walking to the side of the ship and pointing down at the boat. "That boat. Canon- Canon it." And... he's out. He's finished. He falls unconscious, luckily for him falling backwards; even if Nadakhan did want to manipulate him into using his last wish, he couldn't. The crew oblige to Jay's request, canons raining down fire upon the unsuspecting boat. If he knew who's boat that was, Jay would probably not have chosen to destroy it. A connection to his biological father that he'll never get back.

Kai finds himself fighting through branches and sticks as he runs in the direction he thinks the boat is, smacking them out of his face as he collapses from exhaustion on the beach. Nya soon follows, having seemed to have got in more fights with the pirates than Kai did, judging by the injuries her gi has sustained. The two haul themselves across the beach... and look in horror at the wreckage of their only way out.

Nya collapses on the ground alongside Kai, initially looking depressed but her anger taking over as she begins to ruthlessly beat on the sand at her feet.

Kai, on the other hand, stares forward. He takes a wooden blank from the wreckage, charred and smoking at its sides.

A Wish and a Prayer.

Chapter Text

Kai threw the board down in anger, looking to his sister as she attacked the sand and laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Nya-" he speaks, trying to steady his voice as much as he can, however she ignores him and continues smacking the beach. "Nya!" She stops, her bobbed hair falling over her features as she scowls at Kai.

"He took Lloyd, Kai," she huffs, fist slamming against the sand for another time. "right in front of me. He-- He told me to leave. He took Lloyd. But he saved me." Kai, frowns, bringing his sister in for a warm hug.

"Seems like he has a soft spot for you, huh?" he smirks, but Nya's expression remains unchanged.

"Sorry," Kai whispers, and Nya stands up, staring determined into the distance. She kicks the sand, letting out a growl as she turns back to her sibling.

"Kai," she speaks firmly, literally terrifying him. He's never seen her this angry before. "I'm going to kill him. He's- He's betrayed us. He captured Lloyd for that damn djinn. He- He has to pay." Kai stands, gripping her hands in his gently as he looks at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Nya, we can't-"

"We?" she scoffs, tearing her hands from his and trying to generate her water dragon, failing; lack of focus. Too angry. "I don't care if you're with me or not. I'm going to do this." Kai steps back, shaking his head and waving his hands.

"That's- Not a talk for now." he sighs, looking to the horizon as he thinks of what to do. "We need to build a raft. Get off of this damn island. Then, we can talk about... killing Jay." He swallows, throat getting drier even as he says it.

"R-Right. Getting out of here." she sighs, looking around. "I reckon there's enough rubble from trees around to pull together a raft. That's-- all I can think of." Kai nods, moving towards the jungle to collect woods and resources as Nya follows behind shortly. The two are silent as they gather materials, air tense between them.

Nya's feelings about Jay couldn't be more conflicted at the moment. On one hand, she couldn't help herself from loving him despite anything he does, but on the other hand she hated him for betraying them. She hated him for toying with them when he could've acted. She hated him for taking Lloyd. She hated him for everything he'd done. And she hated him for looking hot as he did it. Why, if she got him alone; she'd probably kiss him before driving a knife through his stomach.

Kai, on the other hand, was holding out hope. He never pegged himself as an optimistic person, but he could feel that Jay wasn't completely committed to the pirates. His hesitation to catch Nya was proof enough that he still had lines he couldn't bring himself to cross, but Nya didn't seem to interpret it that way. Kai knew his feelings would affect his opinion, but he could not shake the thought that Jay definitely had good left inside him, or maybe even he was deep undercover and planned on betraying Nadakhan for them. A false hope.

Soon, the two siblings had gathered heaps of materials and finally decided to share words again, with Nya speaking.

"Ready to start building?" she asks, tying a palm tie around a short stick to connect to a rock.

"Readier than I'll ever be," Kai smiles, flaming up his hand; it might be useful, he doesn't know.

---

Jay is incredibly lucky that Clancee was forced to use one of his three wishes to heal his wounds, because he both wanted to save his third wish and also did not want to go through whatever weird pirate treatments the crew had in store for him. As much as he was becoming colder and colder along with the crew, he did thank Clancee profusely and even offered to swob the deck instead of him, but the serpentine declined the offer; apparently he just really enjoys mopping. Jay wasn't complaining, this meant he could sleep for the rest of the day. Or, that was his plan before Flintlocke so rudely interrupted him.

"Psst," he calls, beckoning him over as Jay lays to rest in his spot on the deck.

"What?" he answers groggily, shuffling over with his hands on his hips as he faces the moustachioed fellow.

"With every soul the sword absorbs, Nadakhan gets stronger," he starts, pacing back and forth. "strong enough to rebuild his home world here."

"...Yeah?" 

"He ain't gonna need us when he's at full strength." he says bluntly, causing Jay to stand up and size up Flintlocke. The pirate doesn't flinch. "You ever wonder if he's just usin' us?"

"Of course he's using us," Jay rolls his eyes, relaxing his shoulders with a sigh. "but what choice do we have? Do you have? Do I have? Nadakhan is going to be one of the most powerful people in Ninjago by the time he's absorbed Kai. We're useful to him when he's remaking Djinjago. When he finishes, he'll cast us aside."

"And you're okay with that?" Flintlocke seems agitated. "Just bein' done away with? I been his first mate since the beginnin' of this crew. He's not savin' a spot for me?"

"I'm not okay with it," Jay speaks, leaning against the wall. "but I've come to terms with it. We're a means to an end. I don't care. I just want to hurt the ninja." Flintlocke raises an eyebrow.

"I'm just sayin', maybe we deserve better," he sighs, turning to leave. 

"That better not be an implication of a mutiny, Flintlocke," Jay taunts from behind. "you're his first mate, after all." Flintlocke scoffs and continues walking, clearly annoyed by the interaction.

Flintlocke was definitely planning to mutiny. The combination of Jay's favour with Nadakhan, the revelation that they'd be cast aside as soon as Djinjago is complete, and Nadakhan not explaining his plan was frustrating him, and was the reason for his secret plans. He'd discreetly gather as many people as he can and mutiny, before setting things right and returning the crew back to what actual pirates are.

Jay wanted the spot of First Mate for himself, being as close to Nadakhan as possible. The older man was clearly beginning to doubt the captain, and Jay could take advantage of the rift and enhance the doubt. By sifting the flames of a mutiny, Jay can climb the ranks quicker. Then, when Djinjago is built, will be when he strikes against Nadakhan. Steal that sword and trap him within it too. Then it'll just be him.

Jay turns back to go to sleep, but proceeds to be tackled by a large force; Dogshank. He screams in pain as she releases him, pushing himself up off the floor and leaning back on the wall.

"What- What the Hell?!" he yells, scowling up at her.

"Scrap 'n' Tap time, ninja!" she yells excitedly, literally jumping up and down as Jay groans. Picking himself back up, he looks around to see the crowd encroaching in.

"I'm exhausted, Dogshank, I-" he is promptly punched across the room, slamming into the far wall. Nadakhan floats around the corner, eating what looks like a kebab.

"We have changed the rules, Jay," he speaks, mouth full of the meat. "do not use your powers. If you use them, well, then the ball goes back on." He laughs, the evil seeping out of it as Jay scowls, unable to hide his hatred for a few seconds.

Dogshank charges, and Jay flips over her, letting her run into the wall. He dodges more attacks, leaping onto her hand and kicking her in the face; using the momentum he gathered from pushing off of her face to kick back onto the wall and leap off, rocketing towards her and knocking her to the ground. He stands atop her hulking frame, hands in the air in celebration; but she stands, knocking him off of her and to the ground. He catches himself, skidding backwards as he looks between her legs and sprints for them, sliding between them before she can react and leaping up, landing an uppercut to her jaw. As he comes back down to the floor, he lands a kick to her face, before landing and swiftly sweeping her legs out from underneath her. She doesn't seem to want to get up, so he taps out, as the winner. Jay exits the ring, sweat dripping from his brow profusely and so grabbing a towel, dabbing it to his forehead. He looks over to his right, and sees Cyren giving him a look. Does he really look good drenched in sweat? Guess he'd be glistening. He gives simply a courteous nod in response, and as she goes to walk over to him-- their captain glides in between them, an arm falling to Jay's back as he guides him away. Though, the ninja turns back to the pirate and gives a wink.

"Jay," the djinn begins. "for winning Scrap 'n' Tap, do you want a dinner in my cabin?" Jay raises an eyebrow sarcastically.

"You give this to every winner?" he jokes, to which Nadakhan gives a painfully forced laugh.

"No, no," he speaks, trailing off as he guides the ginger to his cabin, taking a seat at the table packed with delicious looking meats and vegetables, offering another to the other. "Please, sit."

Jay does, giving a cautious look to his captain as he hesitantly takes a chicken thigh and begins munching on it. "So, why did you bring me here?" He asks after finishing his first mouthful.

"I brought you here," Nadakhan puts down a kebab he was feasting on and stares into Jay's electric blue eyes. "to tell you my plan." Jay's mouth falls agape for a moment, not expecting him to tell him what he was planning; especially since he hadn't even told Flintlocke.

"Uh-huh,"

"Hm. I am rebuilding Djinjago, you all know that." he speaks, floating out of his seat and looking out of the window to his quarters. "But you don't know why."

"I though it was because it was your home world? Y'know, revenge on the ninja?" Jay continues snacking on his drumstick.

"Partly." Nadakhan muses. "All my life, I've been blessed with the ability to grant wishes for others, but cursed to have none of my own. Though born unto a king, everything that is mine I've had to work for. This food, this ship, this crew-"

"That accent?" Jay receives a glare from the captain for that, but he turns back and continues his monologue.

"Truth be told, I don't care about a new world nor winning Nya's heart." he sighs, one of his hands meeting his chin in thought."

"Why are you doing all of this then?" Jay questions, taking another bite.

"I don't need her heart. I only need her hand...in marriage. Because when a prince becomes king on djinn land, he is bestowed the greatest gift of all..." Nadakhan trails off, and Jay swallows down his huge bite.

"Love?" he gives another small joke, receiving what seems like a genuine laugh from his captain. 

"No. Infinite wishes." Nadakhan reveals; receiving a gasp from the blue ninja.

"That's why you're rebuilding Djinjago, using the sword." Jay realises, eyes drifting away. "So you can marry her and get infinite wishes!"

"Well done, Jay," Nadakhan chuckles, semi-sarcastically as he continues gliding around the lightning ninja. Silence falls over the two for a few moments, and Jay narrows his eyes. He bites his lip, and Nadakhan peers over his shoulder; he can sense something is wrong. "What is wrong, Jay?"

"So you're gonna marry Nya?" he asks smally, putting his food down and wiping his hands on a napkin.

"I will," Nadakhan says, a hand on Jay's back. "but obviously the marriage will only be to facilitate my infinite wishes. She is all yours afterwards, you have my word." The word of a djinn should never be trusted, Jay knew this. But he couldn't help it; he did believe him.

Jay gives an awkward laugh. "She's too good for me. And she makes up her own mind; especially after I betrayed her for you guys. She probably wants me dead right now." He gives another laugh; masking fear behind a joke. And Nadakhan seems to believe it too.

"We will see, Jay," he muses, turning back to his window. "the right amount of power, and wealth and anyone will want to marry you. Anyone." Jay stays silent for a few moments, not really paying much mind to what he was saying.

"Uh-" Jay stammers, standing. "I- uh- kinda lost my appetite." Nadakhan turns.

"Hm? Alright then. You may leave."

Jay does exactly that, shuffling from his chair to exit the door. He thinks for a moment, pondering on his plan. Perhaps he won't be betraying Nadakhan. He heads down to the deck where he slept the previous nights, however when he went to tuck himself in he was beckoned by a voice he only just recognised; for Nadakhan's favoured crew members, they got their own quarters located not just on the Misfortune's Keep but on the network of ships that he'd set up. One of those people was Cyren, and she was currently calling him over to her quarters on the ship.

He joined her.

---

Kai and Nay were absolutely exhausted having worked on their raft for a good few hours straight, and it still wasn't even finished. The siblings were simply working off of- well, a wish and a prayer, and it did not seem as if it was paying off. As night fell, they built a fire and Kai lit it, cuddling next to it; not only was the fire warm, but Kai was naturally warmer too.

It reminded them of when they were kids, snuggling on the couch and watching movies or something like that. Only now they were stranded on an island with little to no hope of getting home, with their friends gone and the boy they both loved working for the opposite side. Kai gave an awkward chuckle, giving Nya a playful nudge as he tries to lighten the mood.

"Hey," he starts, giving a smirk. "remember when we used to snuggle like this at home? When we were kids?" Nya gives a solemn nod. "Whenever I had to get up to get some more snacks, or to go to the bathroom, you'd always cry like a big baby until I got back." Nya gives a frown, turning towards him.

"No way!" she responds, smile tugging at her lips as she continues to fight against it.

"Yes way!" Kai says, immediately lighting up more seeing a flicker of happiness alight inside her. "It was so annoying! Even when you were asleep, it was like you had this sixth sense., you'd always immediately start crying as soon as I left! It was crazy!"

"No way..." she trails off, looking into the fire again as her face falls. Kai's follows, wrapping an arm close around her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asks, hand squeezing hers.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about..." she pauses, biting her lip. "Jay." Kai hums, nodding.

"Yeah? What about him?" Kai inquires further, softly and trying to seem as non-pressuring as possible.

"We- We had a date night. Every week. Where we'd watch a sappy romantic movie. I mean, we did it before we started dating, so I guess it just kept going. Except we'd cuddle." she gives a small chuckle, and Kai listens close; she finds it enjoyable, so now he's hooked. "Every time I'd get up to go to the bathroom, or get snacks, he'd get all puppy-dog eyed. He'd pause the movie and sink into his chair until I got back, it was the cutest thing."

"That is cute," Kai comments, somewhat absent-mindedly which receives a sly smirk from her sister.

"Apparently, one time he left to go to the bathroom when I was asleep and when he came back I was talking and whining in my sleep about missing him," she gives a laugh, and Kai also laughs in return. "so I guess you might not be too far off." She laughs again, smile fading back to its previous sombre look.

"Hey, Nya?" Kai looks over to her, using his had to divert her gaze to his. "We're gonna get him back. Whether that's- that's by making him see sense or getting rid of whatever control Nadakhan has over him or- or I don't know, beating him up until he joins us again." Now that earns a hearty laugh from his sister.

"I'd like to do that last one," she chuckles, stopping and becoming lost in thought for a few moments.

"Nya?" Kai says her name, for what is probably the millionth time that night. He worried a lot.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," she frowns. "did you ever come really close to telling him how you felt? In the past few months?" Kai sighs, giving a small shrug.

"I dunno," he thinks, eyes looking up as he ponders the question. "he was pretty busy obviously pining for you. I didn't want to- I dunno, undermine him? I feel like telling him would've been insensitive." Nya nods, sighing.

"I don't even know what changed since we stopped Morro." Nya speaks, looking at her brother. "He was fine before then. It was like he understood what had happened, and he'd finally come to terms with it. Given me space. But then after we stopped the Preeminent, he completely changed. He was awkward, he was shy, he was treating me... weird." Kai shrugs. He's got no idea why.

"Maybe he thought he had a chance," he hum, lying back on the sand as he genuinely considers why Jay's behaviour towards his sister changed so abruptly. And then he lights up. "Maybe- We saw- In the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master, there were these reflections that made us see our future. I was old, Zane was basically the same, and Cole didn't have a reflection. Jay said he had an eyepatch, but there was something else that he didn't tell us about. Maybe you were with him? The timing works." Kai sits back up, and Nya seems to be considering it.

"I guess that's possible," she shrugs, another sigh being released as the two snuggled together again.

Suddenly, there was a loud and consistent thrumming sound filling the air; it was... Ronin? The two ninja stood up, pulling their hoods over their head as the R.E.X. approaches them.

"Ninja!" a deep voice calls, from the flying vehicle. The commissioner is there as well. "We found you! Hop on!"

"Commissioner? You came all this way to arrest us?" Kai calls out.

"No, no!" Ronin yells back. "He realised the error of his ways, now get on!" The two ninja hop on, with Nya clinging to Kai as he used airjitzu to get up.

"How'd you find us?" Nya asks.

"We followed your steps," the Commissioner explains. "found Cliff Gordon's house, found the lantern you clumsy ninja left there and followed it until we found this island."

"How'd you know-" Kai is interrupted.

"A letter was admitted into police evidence by a bystander, addressed to a 'Jay Walker', talking about inheriting his Father's wealth. Same day Cliff Gordon died. Not hard to put the clues together." Ronin scoffs, steering the R.E.X. back over the ocean.

"Jay..." Nya looks off, saddened at the mention of his name.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back," the Commissioner says, giving a nod at the two.

"No," Kai speaks, hugging his sister. "you don't get it. Jay isn't captured. He joined them." The two allies are- needless to say- shocked.

---

Flintlocke is not a stupid man by any means. In fact, he's pretty smart. And perceptive; having amazing aim also comes with the added bonus of being perceptive to his surroundings, and he definitely saw Jay get brought away from the Scrap 'n' Tap group by Nadakhan, confirming his suspicions that they were conferring together whilst he was left mostly in the dark. Then the die is cast; Flintlocke is mutinying against his captain for the first time. Ever.

Now, the djinn has an incredible amount of trust in his crew, and vice versa too. The moustachioed man was sure nobody would be wiling to mutiny alongside him. Jay had certainly proven he wasn't going to betray him any time soon. Calncee was pretty unreasonably loyal to the djinn, considering he hadn't even made any wishes to him. Dogshank wasn't terribly loyal, at least not to a fault, and it helped that the two knew each other best and were the closest out of anyone in the crew really. She was less likely to tell the djinn if Flintlocke went to her. Doubloon was out of the question; if anything, he's more worried he'll tell Nadakhan what he's planning.

So- after her defeat at the hands of Jay the previous night- he approaches her. She is pretty intimidating. Very intimidating.

"You okay, princess?" he says, hopping up onto a box.

"Fine," she murmurs, rubbing her jaw a bit. "only thing injured is my pride." Flintlocke gives a chuckle, stepping a bit closer to have a more discreet conversation.

"Dogshank?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I wouldn't be talkin' to you so discreetly if it wasn't important," he speaks, and the larger woman examines his face closely. As much as she's a brute, she isn't exactly stupid. And considering how well she knows Flintlocke, she can pretty easily pick up what he's putting down, metaphorically.

"You're gonna try and mutiny." she whispers, quiet as she can. Flintlocke simply nods. "I don't know. He's done a lot for us."

"Course he has," Flintlocke's arms flail about for a moment. "but why?" Dogshank thinks hard for a few moments. "Why's he done all this for us? Back in the old times, well that was because we were a crew. Family. But now- now I ain't so sure. He has a plan he ain't tellin' us, and Jay knows what it is. He's pushin' us away for the new kid. We gotta do somethin' about it."

Dogshank thinks for a few moments, before looking over at him; just by her eyes, he can predict her response.

"I believe you, Flintlocke," she starts. "but what can we do? What can you do? What can I do? Nadakhan's gettin' more and more powerful. And that ninja on his side is going to make it harder for us too..." Flintlocke places a hand on her arm affectionately.

"I understand, bluebell," he nods. "I'm doin' this alone. But they ain't findin' out about this conversation." He gives a sly wink before walking away.

He can't help but notice her choice of words. What can he do? He can mutiny. They're acting like they can't do anything about this, but they can. Even if this mutiny fails, he'll have showed the crew that even the first mate is doubting his captain. 

Even just thinking about this makes Flintlocke's mind clearer. This whole time, Nadakhan made them think they owed him because of the wishes they made, and then gave them the illusion of choice when joining the crew. Now it's just clearer to him because of the building of Djinjago. He'll be honest, he did feel a little stupid for only noticing now. Too little too late, he worries. There has to be something else he can do, he thinks. And then; an idea.

Jay gets up bright and early the next morning, mostly because he's pretty ashamed of his... antics the previous night. He knew he was in love with Nya, whether he was on her side or not. Even though they weren't a couple, he still felt a bit of shame. He made his way out of Cyren's quarters, giving a sigh of relief as he leaned on the railing.

Flintlocke approaches him, leaning on the rail beside him with a bottle in hand. Some alcohol probably, Jay thinks.

"What do you want?" the ginger snaps. 

"Someone's edgy." Flintlocke chuckles, taking a swig. "Tense?" He offers him a drink. Jay eyes it awkwardly. "C'mon. You've been here, what, a week and you haven't drank yet?"

"Of course I've drank," Jay scoffs, rolling his eyes. "just not in the mood."

"You haven't drank." Flintlocke sighs, keeping the bottle in place for a few moments and taking a swig, almost finishing it. "More for me then."

"What do you really want?" Jay speaks, turning around to face him. "I know you're planning something. What do you want?" Flintlocke gives him a dirty look before chugging down the last of his alcohol before his hand swings down to his side. Jay narrows his eyes but returns to his original position, looking out over the edge. Flintlocke's arm raises from his side, throwing the bottle off of the edge. Jay doesn't pay him much mind, eventually pushing off of the rail before travelling to the top deck where Nadakhan floated.

"Something on your mind, Captain?" he asks, standing beside him.

"Hmm. Thinking about the plan." he mutters, looking down at Jay. "We will need to find Nya and capture her soon. Djinjago is almost complete. Well, if I have the crew working double time." Flintlocke steps up the ladder behind them, standing a few metres behind the pair. Jay and Nadakhan halt their conversation, causing him to take a few steps forward.

"How goes the construction of Djinjago?" he asks, peering over Jay's shoulder.

"Good," Nadakhan replies, turning back after a few seconds. "what do you want, Flintlocke?"

He thinks for a moment, thinking hard. "I'm gonna put all my cards on the table, Cap'n. You ain't told us your real plan. There's somethin' else goin' on here that you won't tell us, and I know it. Trust is wind that blows both ways, and you both seem to really trust each other." A pause. "Forget I'm your first mate?"

"What are you accusing me of?" Nadakhan floats forward, taking the djinn blade, pointing it at Flintlocke.

"I guess what I'm getting around to is...consider this a mutiny!" Flintlocke pulls out his guns, aiming them at the djinn and the ninja; soon to be just the ninja, as Jay steps in front of the captain.

"You're not gonna pull that trigger," Jay scowls, hand grazing his cutlasses.

"You got a lotta confidence in someone you hate," Flintlocke scoffs, aiming down the sight.

"You wouldn't shoot." Jay says defiantly; very much relying on the relationship between first mate and captain to save him. He peers beside Flntlocke and sees more and more crew members coming up the ladder.

"I would," Flintlocke chuckles-- pulling the trigger on one of his guns.

Everything happens so fast it's a blur; a bullet rockets through the air, going straight for Jay, and it hits its target, barely.

The bullet rockets right past and slightly through Jay's left eye socket, completely eviscerating the eyeball though missing his head itself..

The ninja falls to his knees, clutching his eye desperately as he screams in pain. Nadakhan, on the final hand, seems completely calm. He looks down at Jay, and back at Flintlocke, who shoots another bullet but is easily avoided by the djinn's ability to teleport. The captain grabs Flintlocke by the arms, causing him to drop the guns.

"I will remember your betrayal, Flintlocke," Nadakhan spits, before shoving the traitor towards his crew. "Throw him in the brig!"

Ironically, in Flintlocke's attempt to rebel against the captain, he just strengthened Jay's loyalty towards him.

Jay kneels on the floor, blood dripping from his eye pooling on the metal floor he is on. He removes his hand, looking at his reflection. This is who he is now. A full blown pirate.