Well, that's it. This chapter concludes this story I started about 13 months ago. And while the ending could lead into a sequel, I don't think that's gonna happen, at least not anytime soon.

Anyway, thanks everyone for reading/voting/commenting and of course for your patience 😘.

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Chapter 23: The End - or a new Beginning?

Although Steep Wisdom was a rather successful small business, Jay couldn't recall having ever seen the tea shop this busy.

And the auburn haired young man was rather glad that it was not paying customers that he and his coworkers/teammates would have to take care of on this Saturday afternoon. Right now, the shop was closed to the public, for the Ninja and Samurai had gathered here for a little celebration.

But while most of them were off duty today, Seliel and Skylor had volunteered to serve the fingerfood that Zane and PIXAL had prepared this morning – and, despite his current nervousness, Jay hadn't failed to notice that they were a lot better at this job than himself.

The blue Ninja hadn't gotten around to try any of the delicious looking snacks though, as he was anxiously waiting for his girlfriend.

He hadn't seen – and had hardly spoken to – Nya since he'd dropped her off at her home almost two days go, on their return from his parents' junkyard.

After they had salvaged a few parts from her mech and safely packed them away – his mum and dad had promised to ship them to the city the next time the mailman would come by their place – the couple had flown back to Ninjago City in the Storm Fighter.

Although they had rather reluctantly parted, Nya had insisted on going home; she was tired, and she and her brother still had a lot to talk about.

And, of course, all of them had a day of college work to catch up on.

The lovebirds had initially planned to meet for breakfast this morning, but the black haired Samurai had had to cancel at short notice as she been called into work by her boss Misako Garmadon.

Strangely enough, Mrs Garmadon had already turned up at the party a while ago and was happily chatting with her brother-in-law and her son, whereas Nya was still nowhere to be seen...

And Jay was getting more and more anxious by the minute. It wouldn't be fair if she had lost her job as mechanic and Samurai for keeping his secret!

Especially as Jay himself had done pretty much the same, without suffering any serious consequences.

After Nya's call, the blue Ninja had used his time to also talk to his Master his morning. The wise Sensei had listened to Jay's apology and explanation – and then vehemently refused to accept his offer to resign. But what if Nya hadn't been as lucky?

Jay was just about to call her, when the raven haired girl came bursting through the door. "Sorry, I'm late." She panted. "I was working on some blueprints for my new mech and completely forgot the time." She apologised.

Jay walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "As long as you're here now." He greeted her with a kiss, ignoring the daggers Kai was shooting at his back. "And I take it your meeting with Misako went alright then."

"It did." Nya beamed at him. "Sure, she gave me a bit of a lecture, but then let me off with a warning – I think PIXAL had already explained the situation to her yesterday. And she actually thanked me for my help in saving Lloyd and gave me permission to rebuild my mech."

"That means the Samurai will stay in action?" Jay assumed.

"We will." Nya nodded. "Wu and Misako are gonna make an announcement soon. She's gonna talk to you herself after that, but she's asked me to give this to you now." Nya handed him an envelope.

When Jay peeked inside, he found a couple of notes inside. He raised an eyebrow, giving his girlfriend a quizzical look. "Money?"

"200." Nya confirmed. "PIXAL told her that you had to bribe the shopkeeper for some information on Lloyd's disguise." Being a man of his word, Jay had already returned to the costume shop on the previous day and paid off his debt to Ronin.

The Samurai winked at him. "And while she was touched you care so much about Lloyd that you'd even use your own savings to find him, Misako would of course never support bribery. So the official version is that she had offered a reward for any information regarding Lloyd's whereabouts - which she had - and in the end, it was your text message that led us to him."

"I understand." Jay nodded. "And I guess it's pure coincidence that it's the same amount I've spent."

"Of course." Nya smirked. "What else?"

Before Jay could formulate his reply, their conversation was interrupted when the white haired Sensei tapped a little silver spoon against his teacup.

"May I have your attention, please?" He requested, and everyone fell silent. "Now, that everyone is finally here-" Nya blushed when all eyes turned to her. "Misako and I would like to inform you that we have decided that from now on the Ninja and Samurai will be working together."

"Our rivalry has only caused more harm than good." Misako added. "And now that all our identities have been revealed, and some... ahem, misunderstandings have been resolved, we see no point fighting against each other anymore. Especially as the Serpentine tribes seem to have been united, making them stronger as well. But of course, this needs an unanimous decision, so everyone in favour, please raise your hands."

Jay and Nya as well as the two Nindroids and Lloyd were the first ones to raise their hands, but much to their delight, eventually all their teammates voted in favour of the suggestion.

"Thank you." Missko smiled at the younger crowd. "Now, this means we will not only combine our forces but also our knowledge and resources. We will merge our databases, and the Ninja will grant us access to the Falcon. PIXAL, Zane, if you agree, we would like the two of you to work on this task."

"We will." PIXAL smiled at her boss, holding Zane's hand in hers. The other Nindroid nodded in agreement.

"Great. Likewise, Wu and I would like to propose an 'employee exchange program', so that all of you will become familiar with both our headquarters and technology, and of course you will need to train together. I have been told that there is a rather skilled mechanic among the Ninja, whereas one of my girls has experience in the gastronomy business. Jay and Skylor, would you like to be our first candidates?"

"Really?" Jay hugged his girlfriend, lifting the shorter girl off the ground. "I get to work with you?"

"I may have mentioned that you've offered to help me rebuild my mech." Nya grinned at him. "But PIX has put a good word for you as well. If you want to spend more time with me, that is."

"Oh, if I could, I'd spend every single minute with you." He replied.

"That's good." She took a deep breath. "Because when I was talking to Kai, I've told him that I want to accept your offer to move in with you."

"This must be my lucky day." Jay laughed. "My girlfriend is moving in with me, and I even get to work together with the love of my life."

"As long as you're talking about the same person." A voice sarcastically remarked from behind him. Jay spun around to find himself face to face with Nya's brother.

"Uhm... I... of course I w-was." Jay spluttered.

"Relax." Kai smirked. "I actually wanted to apologise for giving you such a hard time. Both about being with Nya and about your suspiciously close friendship with the red Samurai."

"It's fine." Jay relaxed. "You couldn't know..."

"And you were just watching out for your little sister." Nya leaned against him.

"Of course." Kai wrapped his arm around her. "And keeping all these secrets from her was stressing me out."

"Tell me about it." Jay laughed.

"I guess last few days have taken a toll on all of us." Nya agreed. "Also, let's not forget you hadn't slept all night."

"Yeah, something my sis and I have in common, we're unbearable when we're tired, so you might want to reconsider your letting her move in with you..."

"Kaiii." Nya jabbed him in the ribs. "You've promised not to interfere with my relationship anymore."

"And I'm not." The red Ninja retorted. "Right now, I'm just watching out for my friend..."

"Thanks, bro." The Samurai playfully rolled her eyes. "Now, can we just-"

"No way!" Jay's conversation with the siblings was suddenly interrupted by some loud shouting. Apparently, Wu and Misako had continued explaining the new team structure, which had led to an argument between Cole and Harumi, the two leaders of the Ninja and Samurai, respectively.

"Yes way!" Harumi had her hands on her hips. "Our new teamname is gonna be Samurai and Ninja. Or have you forgotten your manners?" She smirked. "Ladies first."

"Ah, I didn't see any ladies around when you hit us with with the smoke grenades the other day. And our team was here long before you, so it's gotta be Ninja and Samurai."

"But we're more." Skylor came to her friend's help. "It's five against four."

"We must not forget about Lloyd." Zane reminded them. "He is the prophesied Green Ninja and will become part of our team once he turns sixteen."

"That's still a few months away." Seliel claimed. "Also, he is Misako's son, so he counts towards both fractions."

"Great." Cole sighed. "We've just been together for five minutes, and we're already fighting."

"I didn't know we were together." Seliel winked at him. "But I might be willing to give it a try. Are you free tonight?"

"Says the one who was always against me having a boyfriend..." Nya mumbled but smiled at her friend.

"Well, great for you two, but how are we gonna resolve our issue with the name?" Skylor pushed between the black Ninja and grey Samurai who were exchanging numbers.

"There's only one fair solution." Kai stated, searching his pockets. "Uhm, I could swear I had..."

"You looking for this?" Lloyd smirked, holding up a little coin.

"How did you..."

"Oh." The blond boy shrugged. "Just some stuff I picked up at school."

"I hope you're still talking about Darkley's..." Kai muttered as he took the coin from his younger brother.

He then looked back at the two team leaders.

"Head or tails?" He asked.