This chapter was not in the original story plan and is not really necessary for the plot, I've only added it for some Walker family and Jaya fluff...

Chapter 22: Scrap N Junk

"Wake up, sweetheart. We're almost there." Her boyfriend's voice as well as a gentle (and a little bit scratchy) kiss to her cheek woke up the red Samurai.

Her eyes still refusing to open, the raven-haired girl yawned and stretched her arms, only for her hands to hit against a hard, cold surface. She finally managed to blink and realised that she was sitting below some kind of transparent canopy... and her memories started to slowly come back to her.

Nya eventually remembered that she was inside Jay's Storm Fighter – and apparently, she fallen asleep sitting in his lap, her boyfriend's arms tightly wrapped around her and his stubbly chin resting on her shoulder.

As she looked outside, she saw some flashing, colourful lights spelling out 'Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk'. This didn't look like only almost there.

She turned around in his embrace, well, at least as far as she could inside the small cockpit. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" She asked accusingly. I'm not ready to meet your parents...

He smiled. "Because you were so cute." He said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm not cute." Nya complained.

"Yes, you are." He insisted, placing a quick kiss on her scrunched nose. "Now, c'mon, my mum and dad are waiting for us."

While most of the Ninja and Samurai had decided to return to the city right away, Jay and Nya as well as Jay's teammate Cole had taken a detour via Jay's parents junkyard, to take care of Nya's badly damaged mech. Jay had called them right after the Storm Fighter had taken off from Orobourus, to inform them of their visit.

The blue Ninja opened the hatch and waved at the elderly woman, who had just come running out of the trailer. "Mum."

Jay had to wait for Nya to stand up on her still slightly wobbly legs, before he could skilfully jump out the plane, as he had done many times before. He offered a hand to his girlfriend before he turned to hug his mother.

"Jay." Mrs Walker exclaimed. "What a nice surprise. But what are you doi-" She stopped when her gaze fell on Nya. "Nya, my dear, it's so nice to finally meet you." She affectionately smiled at the girl. "We've heard so much about you. And look at you, you're so cute." She gushed.

Jay leaned towards his girlfriend, smirking. "Told ya." He whispered into her blushing ear, and Nya didn't feel like objecting in front of his mother who was still rambling. "You're even prettier than on those photos. But you look so tired, and..."

She stopped mid-rant and narrowed her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "Jason Edward Walker. Not that I am not happy to see you, but what are you doing here on a weekday, looking like you haven't slept in days – and in a fighter jet? Don't tell me you have quit college, have you?"

"Of course not, mum." Jay smiled at his mother. Nya knew that his parents had made quite a few sacrifices to pay for his tuition fees, and it would be quite a huge disappointment to them if he did not finish his degree. "But this was kinda an emergency, and-"

"What could be so important that you two miss your classes to come visit us here today?" Edna demanded. "Nya isn't pregnant, right?"

"No, she isn't." Jay was quick to reassure his mother, before he turned to his girlfriend, paling. "You're not, right? I mean you've just fallen from the sky twice, and-"

"Don't worry, I'm not." Nya said, giggling at her boyfriend's scared expression. But at the same time, she found it incredibly sweet that his main concern was actually for the wellbeing of their non-existent unborn child. One day, he'd make a great father. But not right now - or even in the near future.

"Phew." Jay let out a sigh of relief. "But there are a few things that we have kept from you and dad." He took the Golden Nunchucks from his back and gave them a little flip, a few sparks emitting as the Storm Fighter disappeared into this air.

"Mum." He put his arm around Nya's shoulder. "I'm the blue Ninja." He proudly announced. "And Nya is the red Samurai."

"Awww, my baby is a Ninja." Edna squealed. "I'm so proud of you, honey. But-" She gave the couple a confused look. "I-I thought the Ninja and Samurai don't work together. In the news, they are always depicted as rivals that hate each other."

"And we used to be. But not anymore... well, I guess we aren't." Jay replied. "It's... uhm... a long story."

"Well, we have time to talk over some food." Edna ushered them towards the trailer. "Please come inside, your father is making his famous blueberry pancakes. When you called, you said you still needed to have breakfast, right?"

Nya's stomach growled in agreement. It was almost noon, and neither of them had eaten since last night. And, while she hadn't tried Ed's famous blueberry pancakes yet, his son had made them for her a couple of times already, using the same Walker family recipe.

"That sounds great." Jay smiled. "But we are still waiting for one more person." He briefly explained the situation to his mother and father, who was just appearing from the kitchen, balancing a plate with a huge pile of delicious smelling pancakes.

"Oh, that's no problem." Ed stated, setting down the plate onto the dining table before he pulled first Nya and then his son into a firm hug. "We should have more than enough pancakes for your friend as well."

"They don't know Cole..." Jay muttered almost inaudibly.

"But you kids should just start eating before they get cold." Edna insisted, and Nya and Jay happily obliged. They had just finished their second pancake each, when the black Tread Assault turned into the junkyard.

They dropped their knives and forks and headed outside to greet their friend.

"Do I smell cake?" Cole asked as he climbed out of the vehicle.

"Pancakes." Jay informed the black Ninja. "We've already started, but there are still some left for you. Let's go inside, we can take care of the mech later."

While Cole was devouring his breakfast, Jay and Nya finally got to tell their story to Jay's amazed parents.

"We're very proud of you, s-son." Ed stated, and Edna added. "Of all of you. You are so brave, protecting Ninjago from those nasty snakes."

"Thanks, Mr and Mrs Walker." Cole said, wiping his mouth with a tissue. "Also for the wonderful breakfast."

"Oh, please. Call me Edna, and this is Ed." Jay's mother insisted. "And the same goes for you, Nya. We're practically family..." She winked at the blushing girl.

"Speaking of family, I really should get going." Cole remarked. "My dad's probably worried that I didn't come home last night. I told him that me and my quartet had a gig, but I guess he deserves to hear the truth as well now..."

While Edna stayed inside to clear up the table, her husband accompanied the two Ninja and one Samurai outside. Together, they lifted the heavy red suit off the TA and carried it into a little shed in the far corner of the junkyard.

Jay and Nya then walked their friend back to his vehicle.

"Thank you, Cole." Nya gave the black Ninja a quick hug. "I know you're tired and just want to get home, so I really appreciate your help."

"Ah, it's no biggie." He shrugged it off. "I'll just sleep on the way home, the TA is surprisingly comfy, and it has an autopilot. And it wasn't that much of a detour anyway. Also, Ed's pancakes were delicious, I'd really do almost anything for those."

"I'll keep that in mind, next time I need a favour from you." Jay laughed, hugging his friend. "We might still take a while here - and knowing my parents, they'll probably insist on us staying for dinner - so I'll give you a call when I'm back in Ninjago City."

"Maybe send me a message, I need to catch up on some sleep." Cole replied. "Was nice to see you, Nya."

As he drove off into the desert, the couple returned to the workshop.

"My poor mech. It doesn't look like there's much to fix here." Nya noted, inspecting the damaged mech. "The rocket boosters are gone, the metal armour is completely dented, and let's not forget the jammed eject button which has almost cost us our lives..."

"But the exo-suit has probably saved your live earlier." Jay remarked, quite impressed. The engineering student had never seen one of these armours this close up, and he was certainly keen on finding out more about them now. "It's really impressive craftsmanship. Did you build it yourself?"

"Parts of it." Nya explained. "The basic design was already there, but we – mainly PIX and I – have come up a few extra features."

"Oh yes, when I was talking to her in the cell, PIXAL mentioned the solar panels." Jay remembered.

"Those are still in development. And, as we've just seen, they still need some improvement." Nya explained. "But these suits are so big and clunky, they use up way too much energy."

"I have the solution for that." Jay grinned at her. "We'll just have to fight together from now on so that I can recharge your mech..."

"I honestly don't think that this suit will ever fly again." Nya sighed. "Sure, it was still good to bring it here. I really didn't want to let it fall into the Serpentine's hands, and we can probably salvage a few bits and pieces. But then... if your parents don't mind, the rest might as well stay here."

"Look around you." Jay chuckled. "This is a junkyard, they'll be delighted to take it. As long as you don't charge them too much for the metal..."

"I take payment in pancakes." Nya grinned. "And in kisses. But I'm afraid that you'll have to cover those fees."

"It will be my pleasure." Jay places his hands on her slim hips and pulled her towards him, locking their lips in a deep kiss. "And if you want." He said when they finally broke apart. "I can help you rebuild your mech."

"Oh, I'd love that. And I'd have so many ideas on how to improve the frame. Like using Metalonia alloy and carbon frame to make it both durable and allow much greater flight maneuverability." She said excitedly. "And then we could add third generation nitro boosters, shoulder-mounted cannons, and-" She looked down and sighed. "Why am I making plans anyway? I don't even know if I'm actually gonna need a suit anymore."

Jay placed his finger under her chin and tilted her face upwards.

"Will you tell me now what happened with your boss?" He requested, his blue eyes displaying concern.

"Misako found out that I knew about you and the others." Nya explained. "Needless to say she wasn't too impressed, and she probably would have fired me on the spot if we hadn't realised that we were all looking for the same Lloyd. And saving him was of course our first priority."

"And we got him, so I'm sure she'll give you a second chance." Jay pulled her into a hug.

"I hope so. After all, we wouldn't have found Lloyd, had it not been for your message. But that's the other thing, even if Misako can forgive me... her main reason for setting up the team in the first place was to find her son, so there's the possibility that the Samurai might get disbanded anyway."

"That would be a shame." Jay stated. "We've worked really well together. And with us, I mean not only our two teams but also you and I. When did you find out I was a Ninja, by the way?"

"After Mega Monster Amusement Park." She replied, softly stroking his split eyebrow. "When PIX and I were watching the video, I noticed your scar. And then, it kinda all came together. What about you?"

"Same." He said. "Your injuries when you came to see me that evening matched the ones the red Samurai had acquired. So I had Zane compare the genetic profile from your blood on my suit to Kai's in our database."

"I see." Nya stated. "So, you've also dragged Zane into this..."

"Yeah, but once he met PIXAL, he didn't seem to mind." He grinned. "He really likes her."

"And PIXAL likes him as well. Which means our secret keeping has definitely led to something good."

Even if I'm gonna lose my job...

"But I found it really difficult." Jay told her. "I mean, it is hard enough keeping my Ninja identity a secret from everyone, but..." He sighed. "Having to lie to you about yet another thing was just becoming too much at some point."

"Are you still going to quit?" Nya enquired.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I mean, I love being a Ninja, and now that we've all revealed our identities to each other... but I probably need to come clean to Sensei Wu and tell him that I've known about you for a while, so chances are we're both gonna need a new job rather sooner than later."

Nya took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Well, as you've said earlier - if we go down, we'll go down together."

"No." Jay shook his head. "No matter what happens next, as long as we do it together, things can only get better from here."

I apologise for the incredibly cheesy ending... only one more chapter left now!

Btw, Nya's talking about redoing the suit was from the Legacy 'Samurai X-treme' clip.