Set the day before Hunted (Season 9) begins. This is gonna be fun. 

Nya desperately hoped it was stress and grief tricking her mind and body. Yep, just stress and grief. That's all it was. Definitely.

So why was she sneaking out after everyone fell asleep in a city crawling with SoG who would recognize her in an instant just to go to the store?

Because all the signs were there. Her body kept doing weird things ever since the team got back together. First, it was feeling more tired than she usually was. Chasing some SoG around should not make her want to fall asleep by 8 pm. Next, it was the insanely light period she had... about two weeks after the Palace of Secrets blew up. Then it was her breasts getting sore like her period was about to come. Only it never came. That was probably the biggest tipoff.

Plus, there was this feeling that she couldn't explain- maybe intuition or instinct- but something was off. And it wouldn't go away until she knew for sure.

Finally, Nya found what she was looking for: Carrie's Convenience Store. Granted, she wasn't looking for that specific store- just one that was open- and it did look a little run down, but it should have what she needed.

Adjusting the hood on her cloak, she stepped inside the store and was hit by the smell of smoke. God, she wanted to throw up.

"If you weren't standing in the middle of the doorway, I'd say you look like you're about to rob the place." Nya jumped at the voice. Great. Nerves. Just what she needed.

The voice belonged to the woman standing behind the cash register. She looked to be in her forties with strawberry-blonde hair in a braid that went just past her shoulder. Nya realized she should probably say something before her staring got creepy.

"Um, I just don't want to be recognized." She started to scan the aisles. No one else was in the store, and Nya wasn't sure which was better. She could feel the cashier's eyes burning into the back of her head, watching her every step.

"Yeah? Sons of Garmadon after ya?" Someone was following her earlier.

"Something like that." Her voice was barely above a whisper. Deep breaths. That's what she needed. Breathe in. Breathe out. Yeah, she could do that. Find what she's looking for. Nya could do that.

Only when she found herself staring at the few brands of pregnancy tests sitting on the shelves she realized how crazy she was being. Since when did her life come to the point where she was buying pregnancy tests in the middle of the night? She wanted to laugh-cry. It was all stress and grief. All stress and grief until she remembered her and her now-dead boyfriend had sex 4 weeks ago. Yeah, she needed to take one of those stupidly pink boxes.

Somehow walking up to the counter to buy the test was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of her life. It was almost worse than trying to avoid the Great Devourer. At least the cashier didn't seem to care.

"You've got guts coming in here with the Sons of Garmadon after you." Nya didn't know if her voice was working so she nodded. "Name's Carrie, by the way."

"That's a nice name," she choked out.

"Mhm. Say," Carrie leaned towards Nya as if to take a better look at her, "You remind me of someone."

Nya tried not to panic. "People say that a lot."

"8.50." Right, money. She fished out a 10 dollar bill. She should really be saving it for food, but this was important too, right? "Feel free to use the bathroom on your right." Carrie handed Nya back her change and she took the bag. As much as she wanted to sprint out of the store, she'd rather have an actual bathroom to take the test in.

The silence after Nya closed the door was deafening. Her breathing picked up as tears pricked her eyes. Reality was slipping away. Since when did everything in her life fall out of her control?

Nya needed to breathe, she needed to breathe. But she couldn't get enough air, the ground was spinning, nothing felt real.

She can't do this, she can't, she can't!

Suddenly a bell chimed and reality came crashing back. Since when was she sitting on the floor? Whatever. Someone else was inside the store. She could focus on the ongoing conversation while taking the test.

"But aren't they after you? Really dangerous out there. Especially for you."

"Well, I was looking for a friend. You haven't seen her, have you?" Was it just her or did that voice sound familiar?

"No..." Nya took a minute to read the instructions before grabbing the actual test.

"Red, green, back to red?" the cashier was saying. "They ever gonna pick a color?"

"I'm hoping they'll turn green again. How much are the Twizzlers?"

"Out of all the candy in this store and you want the most flavorless one I have?"

"Hey! They're not completely flavorless. And it's good thinking candy." Nya almost laughed. It sounded like something Lloyd would say.

"4.75."

"Thanks, Carrie."

"No need to thank me. Just be careful looking for that friend of yours. Don't stay out for too long."

"I'm gonna stay out until I find her. She's like a big sister to me. I don't want to lose her too." The door chimed again and the store was quiet once more. Nya hoped whoever that was stayed safe. And that their friend is okay.

But right now she had to leave the store. Keeping a grip on the test covered by her sleeve- because she didn't even want a glimpse at it- she trashed the box and left the store. Now all she had to do was wait five minutes and- wait. Was someone following her? Again? Maybe she was being paranoid. But... just to be on the safe side...

Which is how she found herself sitting on a rooftop a few blocks away from where they were staying. It's been over five minutes and Nya still hadn't looked at the test. She didn't want to know.

Because... what if she was right? What if there was actually another life growing inside her? Which was extremely creepy yet absolutely terrifying to think about. Her life was not something she wanted to subject a child to. Not with Emperor Garmadon ruling Ninjago and the father... god, she wanted to be wrong.

And what if she was wrong? She'd probably be relieved and never think about this again. Nya would have put herself through all this emotional turmoil for nothing. Maybe she should just get it over with. Or throw this stupid stick over the roof so she never had to see it again. She didn't want to know.

Nya closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Even if she didn't want to know, she had a responsibility to. There could be something depending on her. She owed it to the potential life to know it's there, right? Slowly, she opened her eyes, and-

"I know you're there." Nya's voice seemed to echo into the night as she stood up. As the shadow grew closer she put her fists in front of her. Adrenaline started to pump through her, then the person stepped out of the shadows.

"Lloyd?" What. The.

"I can explain!" He looked nervous. Honestly, he should be.

Nya crossed her arms. "Were you following me?"

"Kind of?" Nya didn't even have time to care that he was the one following her all night. She was more worried about Lloyd than anything.

You shouldn't be out here."

Lloyd was looking at the ground. "I know, but I was worried about you."

"I can take care of myself."

"And I don't doubt that. I just..." Lloyd sighed and held up his hand. "You wanna eat these Twizzlers?" Didn't the person at the store buy Twizzlers?

"Sure." Nya sat back down and Lloyd sat beside her. He ripped open the Twizzlers and put the candy between them. "Where'd you get those?"

Lloyd was already nibbling on the strawberry flavored rope. "Carrie's Convenience Store. I went there after I lost you the first time. I've known the owner since I was little." So Lloyd was the person in the store? Wow, he was closer to finding her than he thought.

"What's in your hand?" Lloyd asked. "A weird looking thermometer?"

Oh. Nya almost forgot about that. The results were covered by her palm, waiting to be seen. Nya ignored them for now. "That's not what this is."

"Then what is it?"

Instead of answering, Nya grabbed a Twizzler and bit into it. She was supposed to be protecting Lloyd; he didn't need to worry about her. He obviously didn't know what a pregnancy test look liked so she could lie to him. Nya quickly dismissed the thought. She'd feel bad about lying to him, and Lloyd needed to know there were people he could trust in his life. Besides, maybe she could find out why he was here instead of sleeping.

"If you tell me the real reason you're out here I'll tell you what I'm holding." Lloyd hesitated a second before nodding.

"You've been acting weird for the past few days. Just wanted to make sure you didn't do anything stupid." He shrugged as if it didn't bother him, but Nya could tell by the way he avoided her gaze it did.

"I'm... sorry," Nya choked out. "I didn't mean to make you worry. And I would never... do something like that." He didn't seem to believe her. Nya sighed. "That night, when the others.... I promised myself that I would protect you. I'll say it as many times as I have to until you believe me. You're my little brother Lloyd. I'm not losing you either."

His eyes shimmered with tears. "You mean that?"

"Of course I mean it." She pulled him into a hug. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't."

"Thanks, Nya." They broke the hug. Both of them ate another Twizzler before Lloyd asked "So... what's in your hand?" Nya bit her lip. She really didn't want to tell him, but a deal was a deal.

"A... pregnancy test," she barely whispered.

"Could you say that a little louder?"

"Pregnancy test."

Lloyd's eyes widened. "You're pregnant?"

Nya shrugged. "I haven't looked at the results yet."

"Don't you wanna know?"

"I should."

A few seconds pass. "How is the anticipation not killing you?"

"Oh, it is."

"...I shouldn't be here."

"Yeah, you should really be back at the storage unit. But you're here anyway."

"No... I mean... Jay should. He should be here with you. Not me." Hearing his name hurt. It felt like her heart was being stabbed over and over. Nothing could stop it.

"Yeah... well..." Nya tried blinking back her tears. Only a few escaped. "J-he's not here. You are."

He slammed his fist onto the roof. "It's not fair!"

"Life's never fair."

"Yeah," Lloyd looked in the direction of his father's tower. "I know that better than anyone."

Nya took a deep breath. "Here," she closed her eyes and held out the test, "you can look. Apparently these things have a time limit."

"How do you know?"

"How many lines do you see? One or two?"

He was quiet for a few seconds. "Two? Yeah, definitely two."

"What?" She mumbled. "No. Nonononononono." Because that can't be right. She snatched the test out of Lloyd's hand. Maybe he was having a vision problem. But Lloyd's vision was perfectly fine because as much as she didn't want to believe it, there was clearly a second line taunting her.

Then she started crying. Full-on sobbing. She can't do this right now. Not when almost all the people she cared about were dead. Not when Jay was dead. Remembering that felt like a punch to her stomach and it only made her cry harder. She was going to have to raise their baby without him, wasn't she? She was alone in this.

Well, there was Lloyd, but she was supposed to protecting him, not crying her eyes out in front of him! Currently, he was rubbing her back, probably telling her things will be okay, even though that was a complete lie and both of them knew it. Couldn't she go one week without something life-changing happening?

Once she had no more tears left to cry, she took in her surroundings again. The once sparkling city was turned dark and desolate. Light was scarce, mostly belonging to street lamps. And when did it get so humid out?

"Feeling better?" Lloyd asked.

Nya felt embarrassed for crying in front of him. "A little. Sorry."

"It's fine. Are you okay though?"

"I think you know the answer to that."

He chuckled. "Not in the slightest?"

"Exactly."

"Well, we should probably get back before someone finds out we're gone. Speaking of Pixal, Mom, and Dareth, what are you going to tell them?"

A wave of panic washed through her. "No!" She shouted before fully knowing why. "This stays between us.

"You know you don't have to do this alone. Right?" Nya crossed her arms and looked at the ground. "Nya-"

"They can't know."

"Why... not?"

"Our first priority is to protect you. I'm not drawing attention away from that. Not until Emperor Garmadon is defeated."

"If... if you're sure."

"I am." She stood up with Lloyd following close behind. "Let's get back. I'm exhausted."

"Gee, I can't imagine why." Nya rolled her eyes.

"You better get some sleep too. We're training tomorrow."

"Fair. Wait, are you even allowed to do that?"

"Yes, Lloyd. I'm pregnant, not recovering from a broken leg." At least, she's pretty sure she's allowed to train.

"It's so weird hearing you say that out loud."

"It's even weirder saying it. Hold on," Nya walked a bit closer to the side of the roof, then threw the test over the edge. It landed on the ground with a satisfying clunk. That thing caused way too many emotions.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go." And walking back, quietly talking and joking with Lloyd, it felt like things were okay. Even if there were so many certainties about the future, right now felt manageable. Nya can do this.

She will.