New chapters might take a bit longer for now, I am currently working on two one shots and trying to (finally) finish one other book. Updates will hopefully be more frequent again from around mid-February 🤞.

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Chapter 19 (Nya)

Seven years ago, Mega Monster Amusement Park (you'll recognise the scene 😉)

"Because, I like you best when you're you."

I flash him a shy smile, before I place a chaste kiss on his green cheek. Admittedly, is does feel a bit strange as my lips touch the hard, cold scales, but at the same time, it feels... right. After all, this is still Jay.

Surprised (and maybe also a little bit embarrassed) about my own straightforwardness, I turn away, blushing. Jay doesn't say anything, but when I eventually find the courage to look back at him, I notice that he isn't a snake anymore.

"You're face." I gasp. "You're returning back to normal."

Jay sheepishly rubs his neck. "It's just like you said." He smiles at me. "You must have raised my heart rate."

And this statement certainly raises mine, too. As we look into each other eyes, it is as if time has stopped around us - but unfortunately, the rollercoaster we're trapped on, hasn't.

On the contrary, the train has picked up speed and is steadily approaching the damaged, burning section of the tracks. With the other three Ninja still missing, I can't see any way to get out of this, but I refuse to show my fear.

Instead, I smile at Jay and, struggling to steady my voice, I tell him. "Whatever happens next, just remember, you are the best you."

With unusual confidence, Jay stands up from his seat, and I watch in awe as his element start to coil around his body which is turning translucent.

"What's happening?" I wonder.

"My True Potential." Jay proclaims, and the next moment he has teleported out of our car. Flying mid-air in front of the train, he manages to stop it, just before the ring of fire.

"Phew." Exhausted from this heroic action, he collapsed onto the car, gasping for air.

"You did it." I cheer. And, fuelled by his example, I gather all my strength to finally break the chains. I climb onto the car and hold out my hand to pull him back into his seat.

Jay removes his mask and wipes his sweat-covered forehead, he takes a moment to collect his breath before he speaks.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you." He finally tells me, locking his eyes with mine. "We make a pretty good team, huh?"

"We do." I agree. "But speaking of team... why aren't the other Ninja here?"

"They should be around somewhere." Jay states. "Either Cole has found the cake stand or something serious has happened. But either way, we'd better go looking for them."

That's easier said than done. We may be safe for now, but we're still stuck high above the ground. "How are we gonna get down?" I question.

"We can use the Storm Fighter." Jay suggests, tightening the grip on his nuchucks.

"Wait." I place my hand on his forearm before he can summon his Elemental Vehicle.

Jay gives me a worried look. "Is everything alright?"

"Well..." I blush. "It's a bit embarrassing but..." I cup his face with my hands, running my thumb over the soft, warm skin. "I've had my first kiss with a snake, and..." I swallow as Jay brushes his fingers through my short black hair.

"I guess that's something we have in common." He says softly as he leans closer. "Either having your first kiss with a snake, or as one."

I have to say that our second kiss feels a lot nicer than the first one, but at the same time, it feels just as right.

Present Day, the Sea of Sands

"Whoohoo." I yell as we zoom across the desert. After his slightly immature – and admittedly funny – little stunt earlier, Jay has given me back full control over our hybrid dragon, and I fully enjoy the experience of flying it.

As it turned out, Lloyd has, of course, made the right choice in assigning me as his teacher, for I can feel and connect to both elements within; my hands are tingling from the small electric current which is running through the reigns. But... in a nice way.

Just like my Water Dragon, this one gently sways up and down as it zooms through the air, just as if it was swimming across the waves of an ocean. And I haven't failed to notice that it is a lot faster and more agile, so I wonder what the pure elemental Lightning Dragon will be like.

But this will have to wait, we will continue either in the afternoon or on another day.

Right now, we have to head back to the junkyard. Lunch is supposed to be ready at 1 sharp, and all Walkers are known to be very punctual – except for Abby, that's one thing she's got from me.

But during the short time that we've been away, we have actually achieved a lot more than I thought we would.

Although he hasn't been with the team for six years, Jay's control over his element is remarkable. And it was great to just spend some time talking to each other. Sure, we've spoken a lot to each other over the last week, it's usually been about our daughter, so this was a lot different. Although... there is still one important subject that we have carefully avoided so far...

And I don't want to think about it right now, especially as this feels so right.

Jay's graceful fingers are loosely holding onto my waist and, even though he is sitting behind me, a hint of his familiar, comforting scent reaches my nose. I smile inwardly. Even after all these years, he hasn't changed his shower gel.

I involuntarily lean backwards, tilting my head back just a little bit, as I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

And Jay doesn't move away. On the contrary, I feel him tighten his grip as he leans forward and rests his face in the crook of my neck.

I've missed him so much.

We remain like this, the dragon carrying us back by itself, until the typical 'junkyard noise' as well as the voice of our daughter reach our ears.

"Oooh, this is sooo coooool."

My eyes snap open and I immediately straighten up, blushing deeply. I don't turn around, but I am certain that Jay's face is a similar shade as mine. Has she seen us?

But luckily, this is not the case. As we get closer, we see that Ed and Abby's attention is entirely focused on a pile of scrap metal they seem to be searching for small parts, while Edna is nowhere to be seen. She must be inside, preparing lunch.

I let out a little sigh of relief, before I call out to them.

Hearing my voice, Abby looks up, and her eyes widen when she sees us – or rather the unfamiliar dragon.

"Mummy. Daddy." She bounces up and down as she waves at us. "What is that?" She gasps.

I fly lower so that Jay and I can safely hop off, before it vanishes into thin air.

"That-" I say as I hug my little girl. "Is the end of your excuses when it comes to taking a bath."

"Ugh, bath." She scrunches her face. "Why that?"

"Because water and electricity do mix." I state. "Daddy and I were able to fuse our dragons."

From the corner of my eye, I see Jay flashing me a grateful smile for keeping details of the circumstances from our daughter. And Abby surely is impressed.

"Wow." She says. "Just like you an' uncle Kai."

She then turns to Jay. "Daddy, can you show me your dragon?"

Jay's blush deepens. "Uhm..."

"Maybe later, sweetheart." I jump in. "Daddy and I have worked so hard, we need to have some lunch first. And you must be hungry as well." Unless she's had more chocolate...

"No, I'm not hungry." She claims.

"But grandma Edna has cooked some yummy lunch especially for you." I tell her. "And you don't want to disappoint her, do you?"

"O-kay." She gives in. "But after lunch then?"

"If you eat your veggies." I promise. "Now, go wash your hands and see if you can help grandma?"

As she skips inside, I take Jay's hand and give it a little squeeze. "Don't worry, you've already mastered the hardest part." I wink at him. "You'll be flying through the rest."

"Thanks, Nya." He smiles. "For everything."

As we go inside, I notice the half-finished bag of chocolates on the table.

"Did you eat all of these?" I ask Abby who is just coming out of the small bathroom, wiping her wet (and still dirty) hands on her shirt.

"Oops..." She gives me her best puppy eyes.

I sigh quietly. But I'm not gonna let that ruin this day, so I'll simply let her have less sweets next week.

"Nya. Jay." Edna exits the kitchen, wiping her hands on the apron. "Did you have a good time?"

"We did." I smile. And it's so true that it almost hurts. "And I believe, so did Abby. Thanks for watching Abby."

"Oh, the pleasure was all ours." The elderly woman beams at me. "Thank you so much for letting us spend time with her. But it's good you're back now, lunch is almost ready."

"Jay's made sure we'd be back on time." I nudge him as I speak to his mother. "Can we help you with anything?"

"Ah, you really don't have to." She replies. "Just sit down and relax."

"But I want to." I insist.

"I don't." Abby mutters, almost inaudibly, next to me.

"If you don't mind, you can set the table." Edna suggests.

"Sure, will do." I answer. "Everything is still in the same place?" I enquire.

After washing our hands, Jay and I bring the plates, glasses and cutlery to the table, where Abby reluctantly helps to arrange them. She knows how to do it, with our big family at home, everyone has their job. Even the twins do, they are responsible for the napkins.

"What would you like to drink?" Ed asks. "We have wine, beer, juice, tea,..."

"Can I have a fwuit juice, pwease?" Abby requests.

"You can, but with water." I agree. "And just a glass of water for me, please." I say. "I still have to drive home."

"Me too." Jay says as he appears from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of boiled potatoes – a lot more than what I have managed to peel earlier.

"You're not staying over night, son?" Ed questions.

"Sorry, dad." Jay puts his hand onto his father's wrinkly hand. "I'll need to correct a couple of tests tomorrow and prepare my classes for Monday. And I think we'll all be tired tonight."

It's still strange seeing Jay act as a responsible adult who takes his job seriously. But then, he's just told me earlier that he really enjoys being a teacher, which of course means he isn't gonna come back, and...

"Even more reason for you to sleep here." Edna states as she puts a tray of mixed vegetables on the table. "Now, who would like some broccoli? Abigail?"

"Muuum." Jay whines, but he knows that there's no point discussing this any further. As far as I know, he's never won an argument with his mother.

"I don't like b'occoli." Abby says, holding up her plate. "But I like cawwots."

After a delicious meal, we head back outside. I can tell that Jay is slightly nervous as we walk down the few wobbly stairs leading down from the trailer.

Abby is already zooming across the junkyard, her arms spread out. "Imma Lightnin' Dwagon." She shouts excitedly. "An' I'm flying."

I open my arms and catch her as she runs towards me. "Not so fast, my little lightning bolt." I tickle her stomach. "You've just had three chicken legs and half a field of carrots, I don't want you to get sick."

"Dwagons don't get sick." She claims. "Uncle Cole says his first dwagon was always hungry."

"I remember that one." Jay laughs. "But Rocky's favourite food was liver and toad, and you wouldn't want to eat that, would you?"

"Ugh, no." Abby scrunches her nose as I put her down. "That's dis-gus-ting." She claps her hands. "But Lightnin' Dwagons are mmuuuch better. Please, I wanna see your dwagon, daddy."

"Easy, sweetheart." I ruffle her hair. "Daddy's still learning. Can you give us some space, please."

I turn to Jay who is standing next to me. "You've already unlocked your dragon, so to summon it, just copy me."

I close my eyes as I hold out my hands and focus on my element.

Go with the flow. Be the water. I repeat in my mind, until I feel my powers take up a physical form and a loud roar snaps me out of my trance.

Actually, it's two roars.

And when I open my eyes, I see two dragons standing in front of us – and Abby excitedly dancing around them.

I smile at Jay before I take a closer look at the lightning dragon. It is blue – of course, what else? – and actually not too dissimilar to the fusion dragon that we've crated earlier. While the wings are a darker shade of blue, with bolts of lightning zig-zagging across the shimmering webbing, its body has almost the same colour and pattern as the hydroelectric hybrid, just a little bit slimmer.

And when the dragon turns its head to look back at me, I find myself staring into a pair of beautiful deep blue orbs, exactly the same shade of sapphire as Jay and Abby's.

"Wow." I gasp. "It's beautiful."

"It's bootiful." Abby repeats. "Can I ride it?"

Although I couldn't be any happier or prouder of Jay's achievement, Abby's request still gives a small pang of jealousy. She never wants to ride with me.

"Easy, kiddo." Jay smiles at her. "Let me get up first."

He climbs onto his dragon and holds out a hand to pull her up. I watch as they take off and, slowly at first, fly over the junkyard.

I've never had to share my daughter before but, although they've only known each other for a short time, Abby and Jay will always have a special connection through their shared element.

I remember mum telling me she went through the same with Kai. But eventually, she had me.

Abigail is all I could have ever wished for, but sometimes I wonder whether I will have another child to inherit my element...

A tap on my shoulder snaps me out of my thoughts. I lower my gaze to find my Water Dragon is standing right in front of me, more or less gently nudging my side.

I pat her snout.

"You wanna join them?" I ask and she nods, snorting excitedly.

"Then, let's go." I hop onto my dragon and we chase after my ex-boyfriend and daughter.