《Brother of Wind {book 6: Skybound}》chapter 17
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"WAAAAAHH!" Jay fell from the sky, his fall being softened by the spare parts of his home, where he grew up.
"What is that racket?" Ed walked out at the loud clanging.
"Our son!" Ed exclaimed.
"Oh, you mean our adopted son, Ed. Remember?" Edna said.
"Of course I remember, Edna." Ed said. Jay was still on the ground.
"But this is the second time he's landed on our doorstep, and if you think I'm not going to help him, well, you don't know the man you married." Ed said.
"Of course I know. That's why I married you. Oh, I hope he's all right." Edna said.
"Now, how does someone just fall from the sky?" Ed looked up. Jay woke up.
"Mom? Dad?"
. . .
"There you two are. Nadakhan has a mission for you." Dogshank walked up to Sqiffy and Bucko.
"Back so soon?" Bucko asked.
"Did you give our respects to the Tiger Widow?" Sqiffy asked.
"Haha, very funny. Now get out of here!" Dogshank commanded.
She opened up the door to Nya who was fighting her right to not wear a dress. Dogshank picked Nya up.
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Miss No-Fun?" Nya said, swinging her arms.
"Most girls would be lucky to marry a man who can give them whatever they want." Dogshank said, forcibly putting the dress on.
"Well, we're not most girls, are we?" Nya said.
"Besides, what I want is to not marry him. But I don't suppose you'd help me with that." She sighed.
"Oh, d-d-don't she look pretty in white?" Clancee said, looking at Nya in the dress. With four arms. Huh.
"Pretty? I look hideous! And what's with these four arms?" Nya asked the obvious.
"It was his mother's. We'll make alterations." Dogshank said.
"Ugh! I hate dresses." Nya exclaimed. A small dart dropped to the ground.
"A blowpipe?" Clancee asked as Doubloon picked it up.
"And a dart filled with Tiger Widow poison. Real nasty stuff. I should know. Careful, one drop of it is deadly." Dogshank said.
"But to a Djinn, it'd slow him down long enough to do something stupid." Clancee added.
"Please, you can't tell him. You have a choice. You don't have to do this." Nya pleaded.
"He'd blame us for even letting it get this close." Clancee said.
"Clancee, get rid of it. Now hurry up. The ceremony run-through is in few minutes." Dogshank waved him off
. . .
Jay was wrapped in a blanket, with food and explaining what just happened to him.
"And then when I tried to save Nya with the Traveler's Tea, she said since I had the most important wish, I was the one who needed to be saved." Jay sighed.
"Then she pushed me through the portal. I had no idea where I was going. I guess with my parents on my mind, it sent me where I needed to be." He looked to his parents and smiled.
"Oh. Hear that? He called us his parents." Edna smiled.
"So that's why Ninjago is falling apart." Ed placed a hand on his chin.
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"If I could take back the wishes, I would." Jay said.
"But I can't. It cost me my friends, the love of my life, and most importantly, the two people who care for me the most. And now it's up to me, and me alone, to stop the wedding and save the world. Just one guy against a Djinn and his entire army." Jay stood up, folding the blanket and placing it down.
"Now you stop it. Stop making excuses." Ed said.
"Uh, excuse me?" Jay turned back."
"Every time you're over your head, you make a joke and you try to laugh it off. Right now is not a time to be a man of words, but a man of action." Ed swung his arm.
"Ed, don't be so hard on him." Edna held him back.
"N-Now, he needs to hear this, darling. The world is falling apart, and he's eating soup." Ed pointed.
"But I told you, it's just me." Jay said.
"Hush, puppy! You're liked by everyone who meets you." Ed chided.
"You're telling me a boy from a junkyard can't scrap together a few friends to help him out in a jam?"
Jay looked up in hopes.
"Good luck infiltrating the wedding, son." Ed said as Jay prepared to leave.
"Thanks, Mom and Dad. I'll let you know how things go." Jay waved
"And after you save Nya, bring her over for a bite. We'd love to see her again." Edna called. Jay smiled before it quickly faded. He shocked his dragon into existence and flew off.
"I still think you were hard on him, Ed." Edna said.
"And that's why I married you, sweetheart." Ed replied.
. . .
"Now look, I know stars when I see them, and this mutt here is as talented as they come." Dareth showed off a bulldog for a talent show. (?????)
"No, Puddles, not here. No! Oh!" The dog started to pee on stage. Okay.
"You wouldn't know talent if it smacked you in the face. Now get out of here!" The audition judge shouted. Dareth left, sighing.
"But I would know a ninja when I saw him."
Dareth turned around.
"A Brown Ninja. Still have the suit? I'm looking for some help." Jay asked.
"I've been waiting for this day." Dareth spun into his outfit.
"Who else did you have in mind?" Dareth asked.
. . .
After bribing a museum stealing pirate, Jay watched a girl punt out someone from her shop.
"Let me guess, you're not here for the noodles." Skylor asked as the guy she kicked out ran away.
. . .
Echo finished fixing Tai-D and Jay kidnapped the copper droid out the window. Not really. He's another recruit.
. . .
'Well, back to your old ways, huh, Ronin?" The Commissioner asked as he arrested the thief. Jay whistled.
"Mmm-hmm." Ronin nodded.
"Okay." The Commissioner sighed and the two followed Jay.
. . .
The B team assembled and now it's time for planning. With a thief, a 200 year old pirate, the daughter of a crime lord, a rusty-loyal-droid, a man in this 40s and the police Commissioner. Let's goooooo.
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"Okay, listen up. Nya's about to wed someone I despise. And I'm not going to mince words: after he does, big surprise, he'll become all-powerful." Jay exclaimed. Everyone gasped.
"Normally, I'd rely on the help of the ninja. But let's assume Lloyd, Cole and Morro are trapped inside a magical sword. Go figure." Jay continued.
"So I've come to you to help me get close enough to wish Nadakhan isn't a Djinn, so we can stop the ceremony and save Ninjago." Jay finished his really brief explanation.
"I know this is a lot to ask, and it's all right to say no."
"A chance to fight Nadakhan again? Count me in." Soto swung his arm.
"I'm in too. There's no greater mission than that of love." Dareth raised his hand.
"Not to mention the whole 'saving Ninjago' thing." Skylor added.
"And saving my hide. Let's do this." Ronin said.
"But resources are low. It is one thing to use the Destiny's Bounty to mount an assault. But they've already taken that." Echo exclaimed.
"Along with nearly half the land in Ninjago. And every hour, another chunk goes missing." The Commissioner said.
"Which is why we're going to use the next piece of land stolen as our ride up." Jay raised his hand to the sky.
"Excuse me, can you say that again?" Ronin asked, clearly onto the idea that this will get them killed.
"Right now the Pirates control the skies. The first sign of us approaching, it'd be like waking up a hornet's nest." Jay rolled out a map on the window.
"But if we locate the next portion of land that will be pulled up into Djinjago, we'll sneak up onto it as fast as we can, and use it to slip through their defenses." Jay used a pointer stick to show.
"I call it: Operation Land Ho."
Haha. That's the episode name.
"But we don't know where or when the next piece of land will be stolen. It could be clear across Ninjago." Soto said.
"That's why I said as fast as we can." Jay said, taking his map back.
Sqiffy and Bucko spied on them from afar.
"Nadakhan's right, they are planning to attack. Don't worry, I can read lips." Sqiffy said.
"Bagel, diorama. Clown riots. Sandy pockets for me."
"Come on. That's not what he's saying. Give that to me." Bucko snatched the spy glass.
"I can read lips way better than you."
"Hamster pillow. Crying. Love magic." Jay shouted.
"Shall I go on?" He whispered to Echo.
"Please. I have yet to pick up the source. I know they're somewhere out there." Echo said. Jay sighed and said the first word that came to mind.
"Bequeath."
"Bequeath." Bucko said.
"Mamajama."
"Mamajama."
"Ninja chips."
"Ninja chips. Ugh. Whatever they're saying, we need to warn the captain." Bucko said.
"Target acquired." Echo spotted.
"Two Sky Pirate spies on the rooftop." He informed the team.
"Good. Now let's give them something to really look at." Ronin clasped his hands.
"Uh, we be spotted. Run!" Bucko exclaimed in fear. They retreated to their planes.
"We can't let them warn the others!" Jay shouted, jumping off the building and creating his dragon. Skylor started roof-hopping because she's too cool for a dragon and I don't blame her. Ronin pulled out some wings that looked like Jay's design and Dareth...
"Right behind you." He jumped off the building.
"Where are you, brown dragon?" He shouted. Ronin dived down to catch him.
"You know, before you learn to fly, you might wanna learn to walk." Dareth said.
"Forget walking. I like to run." Skylor exclaimed. And she was the one just behind them. Skylor managed to jump onto one of the sky pirates' wings. But immediately had to flip off. Jay got the feeling he picked a good team.
"I've lost sight of them." The Commissioner exclaimed from his car.
"My sensors tell me they have split up." Echo said.
"One is heading east on Wilstrup. The other, west on Sparre." He pointed.
Ronin dropped Dareth off on the ground.
"Soto, he's coming your way." Ronin said.
"I spy a spy." Soto said. He jumped on Sqiffy's vehicle.
"Your vessel be mine!" Soto kicked him out.
"Only one to go." Ronin said, making sure the guy doesn't die from fall damage like this is Minecraft.
Jay was just on the second's tail.
"Don't worry. I've got him." Jay exclaimed. Skylor was tailing them when the ground shook.
"What's happening?" Skylor shouted.
"This entire block's about to go up. Hero team, now's our chance. Get on!" Dareth exclaimed. After a plane crash and a swift landing, Soto and Ronin made it.
"There you go, ma'am. Watch your step." Dareth helped an elderly woman off the rising plain. Echo made it.
"Where's Jay? If this is our only ticket up, he needs to be here. He has the wish." Ronin exclaimed.
"Jay, there's no time. You need to come back. It's now or never." Echo exclaimed.
"Ah! But I have to stop him!" Jay said.
"What's more important, stopping him, or stopping the wedding?" Echo asked. Jay sighed and pulled away. The Commissioner watched as the ground rose up. Jay flew past at a fast pace, dating towards his group. Jay just made it on.
"Let's stay on our toes, people. They know we're coming." Jay sighed.
. . .
"After the music, chosen by yours truly." Clancee said as they rehearsed inside the Yang's Temple.
"Nadakhan and his b-b-bride-to-be will make their sacred D-D-Djinn vows. She will obviously object, b-b-but it won't matter, because when the ceremony is complete, all wishes will be yours, Captain." Clancee said.
"Good, Clancee. Tonight, I don't want any interruptions." Nadakhan said.
"Captain! Captain!" Bucko ran in shouting and waving his arms.
"What is it!?" Nadakhan shouted.
"You were right. The last ninja, he's coming." Bucko warned.
Gather the entire crew. I want this place locked down with three to every post." Nadakhan commanded.
"Tonight, nothing will get in the way of me becoming king! Nothing!"
. . .
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