Ninjago Pilots

Pilot #5: Beyond the Sea

Another of those 'old' book ideas - this is from the time when the first rumours of Skybound being a 'pirate season' were around (and after seeing Jay's future reflection - I am still upset that they never made that one into a minifig 😉).
Takes place after season 3, kinda an alternative version of season 4 where the Ninja never met at Chen's Noodle House - with pirates 😄. But still with Master Chen as the main villain.
Written in Nya's POV.

Prologue - Here we stand

It's been two years.

Two years since the defeat of the Golden Master, two years since Zane's sacrifice, two years since the remaining members of the team have gone their separate ways.

And yes, it's also been two years since I have screwed up big time.

Following that stupid Love Triangle disaster, Jay and Cole outright refused to talk to each other - and they also refused to talk to me. After Zane's memorial, they both just left without another word.

Jay became the presenter of a pretty successful TV show. I have to admit that I didn't miss a single episode, even then he was still the only person who could make me laugh.
Cole, on the other hand, hid away from the spotlight. He still kept in touch with Lloyd, which is why I knew that he was doing more or less alright and working as a lumberjack.

Neither of the two turned up when Lloyd asked his 'brothers' to meet him at a local noodle house.

And that was the point that things things really started to go downhill.

A few weeks later, from one day to another, Jay disappeared without leaving a trace. One morning, he just didn't turn up to the rehearsals for the show and nobody knew where he went. Of course, the mysterious disappearance of a TV celebrity was heavily featured in the news. The paparazzi even went after his parents. But still, nobody could find any sign of him.

Well, that's not entirely correct, somebody knew something about his whereabouts. The Green Ninja told me not to worry, that my ex-boyfriend was fine. But that was a lot easier said than done. Especially as Elemental Masters - some of which I had never heard of - from all over Ninjago kept disappearing.

Unfortunately, I couldn't worry too much about those or even about Jay, for I was busy enough worrying about my brother. After the team split up, Kai became a fighter in the underground Slither Pits. And a rather successful one that is. Using his Ninja skills, the Red Shogun easily defeated pretty much every opponent. Unfortunately, that soon caused some issues, for nobody wanted to fight or bet against him anymore. And one day, the manager gave him an ultimatum: to lose the next fight - or to lose his job.

Of course, throwing a fight caused a huge blow to my brother's pride and his honour. That night was the first time he got drunk, but it wouldn't be the last. Plus, he realised that the pain of getting beaten up by his opponent somehow numbed the pain and the feeling of guilt over the loss of our Nindroid friend. So, he continued.

For a while, Lloyd and I watched his self-destructive behaviour, trying to talk him out of it, but to no avail. So one morning, when Kai was still sleeping off his hangover, we snuck into his small, messy apartment, grabbed him and a few of his things, and checked him into rehab. Of course, he was furious and at first would refuse to admit that he had a problem. But after a while, he finally accepted the help.

When he got out, Kai and I moved back to Ignacia. My brother had always been there for me, now it was my turn to take care of him. And I felt that it would be best for both of us to get away from the city and too many bad memories.

So, here we are now, running our parents' old blacksmith shop again. Life is rather boring compared to our days as Ninja and Samurai. But luckily, our skills and patience - especially in Kai's case - have improved, so at least business is going fairly well.

Just a few days ago, we received a large order of swords that we need to send to Stiix, a city at the edge of the Endless Ocean - and a rather popular haven for criminals, in particular pirates.

My brother and I have decided to deliver the items ourselves. After a couple of (too) eventless months, we would be ready for a little bit of adventure again.

And Stiix sounds like just the right place for it.