Chapter 25-Strings Unwound

". . .Jay!"

Cole was jolted awake by the sound of his own voice. The sudden movement caused him to flip out of his hammock and into the hardwood floor. He was coated in sweat, making his clothes stick tightly against his body.

It took him a moment to regain his bearings, as he shook away the nightmare. Images flashed in his mind, memories muddled with the substance of dreams. Jay's fears. Cole himself, stepping forward to will strength into his friend. The wish, bringing Cole back to life while snatching Jay away.

The memories became more vivid. Cole's arm swinging forward, holding a stray sword, severing the lower half of his friend's arm. Then blood. So much blood. Jay's body crumpling into itself. He had looked so small, lingering in the thin line between life and death. Cole could still feel the heightened feelings of panic, as he had no way of knowing if he'd stopped the poison in time. No way to know if Jay was going to open his eyes again.

With a shudder, Cole brought himself back to the present moment. There wasn't much use in sitting around, letting the memories overwhelm him. He rubbed his eyes, riding himself of the last bit of the nightmare.

He stood slowly, working to regain his balance. His body ached, both from sleeping in an awkward position and falling hard against the ground. Instead of grimacing, however, Cole couldn't help but smile a bit. Pain was simply another reminder that yes, he was alive. He took a deep, slow breath, enjoying the feeling of his chest expanding and contracting as he did so.

Cole headed up onto the deck, the swaying of the ship beneath him soothing and familiar.

"Well, you're up fairly early." A voice behind him said, in a slightly amused tone. "Excited?"

He turned, watching as Garmadon walked towards him. Cole smiled at his captain. "Well, actually, someone's sailing dumped me out of my hammock."

Garmadon shrugged. "The sea is rough. I have no control over that."

"Not going to lie though." Cole said, turning towards the ocean. In the distance, he could see a dark smudge against the horizon. "I'm definitely curious to see how Ninjago is holding up."

"They've probably fixed everything I destroyed." Garmadon frowned. "I might not care for my brother, but I admit he's good at what he does. He would have gotten everything back on its feet in less than a month, I'm sure."

"You give yourself too much credit Captain." Cole said. "It wasn't only you."

"A fair amount of it was my fault." Garmadon responded, his eyes lowering for a brief second before rising back up. "But well, what's done is done. And things turned out fairly well, thanks to that friend of yours."

Cole gave a small nod, but remained silent.

"Well, we should be there right on time for my son's birthday." Garmadon said. "Try to be as well rested as you can. You know Lloyd's going to question us about everything we've done since we left."

"Ha, yeah."

"And Cole?"

"Yes?"

Garmadon placed a hand against Cole's shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. "Maybe you should think about talking to your father. Just a suggestion."

"Right. . .I'll think about it."

Lloyd could barely contain his excitement.

"Do you think, maybe, Kai and Nya will come too?" He said, as his mom struggled to fix the clothes on his overly energized body.

"Maybe," Misako responded.

"I hope so. . . I can't believe they've been gone for so long. All of them. I mean I understand but. . . I wish I could have gone."

Although it had been months now, since they had gotten rid of the Djinn, the memories of everything still clung to his mind very vividly. The battle, Jay's struggle, and the Djinn's ultimate demise were things he thought about often, along with the other parts of his adventure. Lloyd was definitely glad it was all over, but part of him couldn't help but miss. . . everything.

The excitement. The adventure. The feeling that he was part of something.

And of course, the friendships he'd made along the way.

After things had been settled, Wu had aided Kai and Nya into acquiring a ship of their own. Together, they'd set off to find a way to destroy the teapot for good. They hadn't been back since, but Lloyd wasn't worried. He had no doubt that the only reason they had stayed away was because they'd found adventures of their own.

But Kai had known about Lloyd's birthday before leaving. Lloyd was sure he would remember.

"Well, hopefully you will see everyone again, tonight." Misako said, stepping back to get a good look at her son.

"Think uncle will come too?"

"I don't know. . ." Misako shrugged.

"But he and dad aren't fighting anymore, are they?" Lloyd said. "Uncle let dad leave."

Misako searched for an answer that would be satisfying enough for Lloyd's inquisitive mind. Wu had in fact, allowed Garmadon to leave Ninjago, after making the infamous captain promise to stay away from causing trouble. But this didn't really mean that their relationship had been mended. The tension between the two had grown more and more tangled for years, and things couldn't exactly be fixed overnight.

"It's complicated." She finally said, in a huff of frustration.

"Well. . .okay." Lloyd shrugged, determined to have the best birthday. After all, he would be turning eleven. The number felt like an important threshold was being crossed. "Let's get going then!"

Garmadon watched as his crew anchored the ship before Ninjago. They had arrived in the opposite side of the island, where an old lighthouse stood. Just as Lloyd had suggested they do.

He wondered if Wu would show his face. Garmadon didn't quite know how he felt about it one way or the other. On the one hand, part of him still wanted to swing a good blow onto his brother's face. On the other, after everything that had occurred, he wanted to have a good talk, and finally lay all the animosity that had grown between them to rest.

Garmadon looked back at Cole, who was staring at the island with a strained expression, no doubt remembering all the things that had gone on before. Garmadon knew about all that had happened since the moment his soul had freed the Djinn, and he knew Cole's experience had not been an easy one.

He approached the young man. "Ready? I'm sure they've all missed you."

"Huh?" Cole jolted, as he pulled himself back to reality. "Oh. Right. Yeah. . ."

"Then c'mon."

They hopped down onto the beach, and it wasn't long before a familiar voice greeted them.

"Cole,"

Cole looked up, his heart nearly jolting out of his chest. Jay stood before him. His skin was more tanned than it had been before, as if he'd spent far more time beneath the sun. More freckles had grown throughout his face, framing themselves around his bright blue eyes. And of course, there was a only an awkward stump where his arm had once been.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Cole finally said the only thing he could "Jay."

Garmadon looked from Cole to Jay, then with a small shrug, began to head off. "Well I'll go look for Lloyd."

"Lloyd said you might be here." Jay said, once Garmadon had gone.

"Well. . . here I am, yeah."

"Glad to see you're okay."

"Same to you."

Once the tense, awkward silence continued, Jay huffed with frustration. "You know, I had this whole little speech planned, for when I saw you again. But I'm drawing a blank. So I'll just. . . Why did you leave? You know, I had no idea if you were okay. One moment, I'm fighting the Djinn, I'm happy that yes I did save you, and I think I'm about to die. Which I was totally fine with, at that moment. Then the next moment, I wake up, armless mind you, and find out you've been gone for days."

"I just. . ." Cole tried to search for an answer, but he didn't really have an excuse. "I don't know. Garmadon was leaving. You were alright. So I figured. . .there was no more need for me to be here."

"Wu told me he was willing to let you stay in the island, let you start over." Jay said, his one hand fidgeting against the cloth of his shirt. "You could have stayed."

"Stayed?" Cole shook his head. "No. I don't. . . I don't really belong in Ninjago anymore. Maybe I miss it now and again but I don't-"

Jay raised his hand, stopping Cole's words. "Excuse me. I meant you could have waited. Do you know what it was like? I. . . I'm not going to lie. It took a lot to get rid of that stupid Djinn. And then. . . then after it's all said and done, I wake up to realize that everyone is gone. Do you know how awful that was?"

"Everyone?"

"You left with Garmadon. Kai and Nya went off on adventures of their own. Zane moved to this side of the island, to be with some old man we found while you were dead. Lloyd. . . well he's been here. But he's always caught up with something or other. But I'll give the kid some credit, at least he was here."

Cole blinked. "I didn't think. . . I'm sorry Jay. I just. . . figured that you'd want things to get back to normal. And I really didn't think you'd be alone."

"I really wish I could cross my arms right now." Jay shook his head. "But I'll be honest. I don't want to be mad at you. I've missed you a lot. I've missed everything, really. I'm not much of a fan at having death jump at me from every corner but. . . For a moment there, we were all part of something, together. We were a team and. . . I've missed that."

"Well. . . I'm sure Garmadon wouldn't mind a new addition to his crew." Cole suggested.

"Me? A pirate?"

"We're leaning more towards explorers now." Cole said. "What with the Captain promising to stay out of trouble and what not. Which we do. For the most part at least."

Jay looked at the ship, which towered above him, rocking back and forth in the waves. Then he looked back at his friend.

"What's more fun than seeing the world with your best friend?" Cole pointed out, holding out his hand.

"Best friend, huh?" Jay pouted. "Since when do best friends abandon each other?"

"I promise, that was only a bit of temporary idiocy. Besides, we did save each other's lives. I'm pretty sure that automatically made us best friends."

Although Jay tried to keep the stubborn pout on his lips for a couple of moments longer, he couldn't help but smile. He took Cole's hand. "It's a deal then."

"Dad!" Lloyd ran through the beach, jumping onto his father's arms.

"Whoa, you've grown quite a bit haven't you?" Garmadon said, struggling to keep Lloyd in his arms. "You've gotten heavier. Or maybe I'm just getting old."

"I'm definitely heavier." Lloyd smiled. "I've grown a lot. I'm going to be taller than you! Mom says so."

"Does she now?" Garmadon set his son back down on the sand.

"Yup," Lloyd nodded. "So! Where have you gone? What have you been doing? You've been staying out of trouble right? I mean I haven't really heard much of anything but, you really have been doing good right?"

"One question at a time, Lloyd" Garmadon chuckled.

Lloyd frowned, trying to settle on a question. "Well. . . You should probably tell us everything once we're all together, that way everyone gets to hear. Oh! And my friend Zane agreed to cook for us. He's a really good cook."

"Zane. . . Isn't he one of Wu's guards?"

"Was," Lloyd nodded. "He quit. Now he just lives at the lighthouse, with Julien."

"There are definitely a lot of things we need to catch up on." Garmadon said.

"Indeed there are."

Lloyd and Garmadon both turned to see Wu approaching them. The man walked with a slight limp now, due to wounds that hadn't quite healed properly. Although his body seemed to be slightly weaker, there was now a bright light in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

Garmadon felt his shoulders tense, as he watched his brother come closer. "Wu."

Wu gave a small nod. "Garmadon. It's been quite a bit."

"Lloyd. . . Why don't you go on ahead? I'll be back with you in a second."

Lloyd gave a small nod, stepping away from his dad. Wu watched him leave, before turning back to his brother. "I'm glad to see you came."

"Well I promised Lloyd I would." Garmadon said. "But I won't stay long. If word got out to the town that the pirate who destroyed their lives was back, I don't think they would take it all that well."

Wu nodded sadly. "I do wish I could show everyone that you truly aren't as bad as they make you out to be."

Garmadon shrugged. "You put too much faith in me, Wu. And after I tried to kill you too."

"Well I'll be honest. I wasn't acting much better."

Garmadon tugged at his sleeves, avoiding eye contact with his brother as he spoke his next words. "Thank you for letting me and my crew leave Ninjago."

"You didn't really think I was going to let you rot in a dungeon, did you?"

"To be fair, I would have done that to you. If I'd had the chance before." Garmadon said. "But really. I just wanted to say thank you for it. I know you risked a lot. If anyone ever found out, you'd be as much of an outlaw as I am."

Wu waved his hand nonchalantly. "I owed you that much, at least. I didn't get a chance to apologize properly before but. . . I'm sorry. About everything. You deserved to have your family."

"It's taken years but. . .I think I'm ready to forgive you. We all made our own choices, and we've dealt with the consequences. There really isn't any more need for us to keep fighting each other."

Wu smiled. "Good to have you back then, Brother."

As the day wore on, it became harder for Lloyd to try and mask his disappointment.

Not that he hadn't been having a good time. His dad and Cole both spun amazing stories, that made then yearning for adventure within him stronger with every word. The food Zane had cooked up had been excellent, easily the best food Lloyd had ever eaten. The atmosphere overall was warm and comfortable, as even his dad and his uncle began to joke with each other, even teasing as Lloyd had always imagined siblings did.

But . . . Lloyd couldn't help but stare out into the ocean every so often, hoping to see Kai's ship approaching in the distance. He had been so sure Kai would remember. But now, he couldn't help but begin to lose hope.

"You should rest soon," Misako pulled her son towards her. Lloyd had been listening to more of his father's stories, but his eyelids had begun to drop lower and lower. "It's getting late."

"No I'm fine," Lloyd said stubbornly, forcing his eyes open. "I'm still awake."

"I'm sure Kai and Nya didn't forget about your birthday. Maybe they'll show up tomorrow. You know you can't really time trips perfectly, something might have held them up."

"I guess so. . ." Lloyd tried to stifle a yawn. He looked back out onto the ocean with a tired look, not really expecting anything. Which was why the growing shape in the water made his heart jolt his mind back into wakefulness. "No! Look!"

Misako looked up, watching as the familiar ship began to approach. She smiled, running her fingers through her son's hair. "Well, I'll go tell the others. Why don't you stay here and welcome them?"

"Yeah!" Lloyd jumped up, running towards the water, waving his arms excitedly.

Once the ship docked, Kai was the first to hop onto the beach, splashing water up around him. Lloyd ran to him, giving him a tight hug, which Kai returned. "Hey there Lloyd. You didn't think I'd forget about your birthday, did you?"

"I knew you would come!" Lloyd said. "Well. I was starting to doubt. A little."

"That's because your little friend here went and got us lost." Nya said, as she hopped down beside her brother. " He said he knew a faster way of getting to Ninjago. Yeah right."

Lloyd chuckled, and Kai frowned. "Well, we got here, didn't we?"

"Did you guys get rid of the teapot? Where did you guys hide it? Where did you guys go?"

"We hid it pretty well," Nya smiled. "And there would be no point in telling you, would there? It's supposed to be a secret."

"And to answer where we've gone well. . . It's a pretty long story." Kai smiled. "But let me tell you, it's one worth hearing."

"Well come on then." Lloyd tugged on Kai's hand. "Everyone is here. I'm sure they'll all want to hear everything."

After a lot of pushing and pulling, Jay finally managed to convince Cole to talk to his father.

They'd decided to wait until the next morning, since it had been too far into the night to do much once they had finally settled on it. Now, as the sun began to rise, Jay stood outside the lighthouse, watching the waves crash against the sand while waiting for Cole to finally wake up and join him.

He felt a nudge on his shoulder and he turned, expecting to see his friend, but reeling back slightly when he spotted Nya instead. He felt a warm blush spread throughout his cheeks befor he could do anything to stop it.

"Nya!" He said. "Hi."

"Hey," Nya smiled. "We didn't really get to talk last night, so I figured I'd come talk now."

"Right," Jay nodded, trying to return the smile. "So. . . How's. . . Well I already know all about your trip. . . So then. . . Well how do you feel?"

"Feels better than being stuck at the blacksmith shop," Nya said. "I really enjoyed it. Just. . . being free, you know? It's so exhilarating."

"Yeah. . ."

"I also wanted to thank you properly, for getting rid of the Djinn. And sorry about punching your eye."

Jay shrugged. "It got better. Plus you weren't really. . . well you so I can't blame you."

"So how about you? How's everything been? You didn't say much last night."

"That's because nothing's really happened." Jay tried to keep the bitterness from his voice as much as he could, but some of it still sneaked through. "It was just me. Stuck here. Not doing much of anything. Getting used to having one arm, mainly."

"I'm sorry about leaving. We had to get rid of the stupid teapot before anything else happened."

"Don't be sorry."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I was pretty upset, but. . . Don't be sorry." Jay shrugged. "You seemed really happy last night, talking about everything. You made a good decision. It really suits you. . . just. . . being free, as you said."

"Well. . . thanks," Nya said, and Jay's eyes widened a bit when a bit of blush traveled up her cheeks. "I was actually wanting to ask if you wanted to join my brother and I. We don't have much of a plan, really. We've been trading mainly, in order to keep the crew paid and the ship running. But it would be fun."

"Actually," Jay said, his eyes flickering to behind Nya. Cole had finally emerged from the lighthouse, and he gave Jay a small wave when he spotted him. "Cole already offered me the same thing."

Nya tried to laugh, to mask a bit of disappointment. "You? A pirate? I never would have guessed."

"Cole says they're more explorers than anything at this point. Garmadon is trying not to cause as much trouble."

"Maybe we'll cross paths again then,"

"Maybe." Jay nodded. Then after a second of hesitation, stepped forward to give Nya a somewhat awkward, one armed hug.

"You better not stop inventing things." Nya said, as she hugged him back. "I'll look forward to hearing about all the things you've made."

"And I'll look forward to hearing about all the things you'll do."

They stepped away from each other, and with one last smile, Nya walked away.

"You know what, I think I changed my mind." Cole stood before his father's door. He took a step back, shaking his head. "No yeah. This is a horrible idea."

"Cole," Jay rolled his eyes. "It's just your dad."

"Yeah easy for you to say." Cole tried to breathe in. "But you don't understand."

"Okay, that's fair, I probably don't." Jay said, before placing his hand upon Cole's shoulder. "What I do understand, is that if you don't do this, it'll eat up at you every day of your life. It's not like we're going to stay in the island. All you have to do is talk to him. We'll be sailing out into the scary unknown before you know it."

Cole turned to look at Jay, drawing strength from the reassuring look in his friend's eyes.

"And whatever happens, I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere, Cole."

"Right," Cole nodded. Fueled by Jay's support, he stepped forward again, standing before the door.

He hesitated, his stomach twisting upon itself as it began to fill with nerves. But Jay was right. Cole needed this. And he wasn't alone. With a slow breath, Cole tried to calm himself. Whatever happened, he would have Jay to fall back on. Cole felt the tight strings of his past choices and mistakes slowly begin to unwind, leaving him with a pleasant sense of freedom.

He raised his arm, and knocked