Another Way Back [Complete]

Part 5 - Aftermath

Jay stood at the edge of the temple grounds, looking down towards Ninjago. Although he had already spent a lot of – way too much – time on the floating islands, he had not been able earlier to appreciate the marvellous view over his homeland from up here. He could see areas that had been severely damaged by the falling rocks and, of course, the multitude of large and small craters, where pieces of the land were missing. But still...

"It's beautiful, isn't it? I am glad that there is still a good bit left of Ninjago." Jay turned to see his best friend standing next to him. Cole placed a hand on Jay's shoulder. "You did really well. And not just today..." He finally got to say it.

Jay sighed. "Thanks. It's just strange... despite all that has happened, I feel kinda sorry for Nadakhan. He truly loved Delara and all he really wanted was to have her back... And then, when she left him, he just... gave up."

Cole grinned. "I guess people – and apparently Djinns as well – do a lot of stupid things for love, heh?"

The two friends walked over to Zane and Lloyd who were sitting on an overturned pillar on one side of the courtyard. The sword of the Djinn King was lying on the ground between them.

"My mum is on her way to pick us up." Lloyd told his teammates. "We thought that you would prefer to take the Bounty down rather than your dragon."

"Thanks. I've really missed our ship." Jay nodded, yawning. And I need my bed. "Where are the others?"

"Nya wanted to see if she could find her Ninja gi. And Kai didn't want to let her go alone." The Green Ninja answered. "Flintlocke and Dogshank left with the raid zeppelin. They didn't say where they were going, but they've promised to keep in touch."

Jay smiled. I bet they are heading towards the coast, they've always preferred the seas to the skys.

"PIXAL and I have completed a full analysis of Djinnjago." Zane explained. "The Sword of Souls holds enough power now to keep all the islands stable in the sky. We might be able to convince the people who have lost their lands to move up here."

"We have to keep the sword safe, of course." Lloyd added.

"Yeah, because we did such a great job with the Realm Crystal..." Kai commented. He and his sister had just returned from the ruins of the Temple of Sensei Yang.

"Ah, this feels much better." Nya presented her Airjitzu suit to her teammates.

"And is suits you very well, maybe should wear this for your next wedding then." Cole told her, giving a wink at Jay.

Jay blushed. "Uhm... so... what shall we do until Misako arrives with the Bounty?" He asked, eager to change the topic.

"I think I'm going to head down to Ninjago on my elemental dragon now, I could do with some exercise after being stuck in that stupid sword for so long." Kai replied. "And they could probably use some help down there."

"Are you going to find out how much exactly we owe to Skylor?" Cole asked with a smirk. "Don't think she was talking about money..."

"Maybe..."

Jay was sure that there was also a third reason why Kai had wanted to leave straight away. It must be painful for the Red Ninja to see his sister in her new outfit. The Airjitzu suit kind of stood for everything that had happened during the time that Kai was gone. Everything that he had missed.

When they had lost their parents, Kai had sworn to protect Nya. And he had always done so. He had only joined the team in the first place to rescue Nya from Lord Garmadon. And Jay knew that Kai used to be very proud of the fact that he had witnessed every important event and milestone in his sister's life: her first words, her first steps, the first time she did Spinjitzu (although that had been a rather unpleasant experience back on the Dark Island). But he had not seen her do Airjitzu for the first time. Cole and Lloyd had. And Kai had not been around to protect her from the Djinn. Jay had.

"With your permission, I would like to join you on the journey, Kai. I also want to give my support to the people on the ground. And there is another... new friend... down there who we need to thank."

"Alright, let's go."

Kai gave his sister a firm hug, before he and Zane headed off on their dragons.

The four remaining Ninja sat down again.

"I am so glad that in the end Nadakhan has revoked all the wishes, his and ours." Lloyd said, a smile on his - now again youthful - face. "I thought growing up fast was hard, but turning old was worse."

"Yes, maybe he had genuine regrets about what he has done to us and Ninjago." Nya suggested.

"But why did he not release his crew as well?" The Green Ninja wondered.

"He was deeply hurt when they joined us, maybe he still wanted to punish them." Nya speculated.

"Or maybe, because he just couldn't." Cole suggested. "Remember, Nadakhan never wished for them to appear. He used the Realm Crystal to summon them, just as he used the Sword of Souls to create Djinnjago."

"I guess we'll never know..." Jay stated. "And without the Realm Crystal, there is no way of sending them back to where they were. Which means they are stuck here all on their own."

"They should still know their way around Ninjago. I am sure they'll be fine."
Cole was actually doing a pretty good job at delivering the power of positive thinking to the team.

But it was time for Jay to take back that role. "And so will we." He said in a determined voice.

At that moment, he felt Nya take his hand into hers and give it a little sqeeze. Jay looked at his love. And when he saw her smile at him, he finally was able to believe in these words again himself.

Yes, with time - maybe rather more than less - and with a little help from old and new friends, they would somehow recover from the recent events.

But before that would happen, Jay really needed to sleep.