"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE PLAYED FITZ DONEGAN?!"

"I mean-"

"JAY. JAY HE PLAYED F*CKING FITZ DONEGAN, AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?! YOU'RE BASICALLY FITZ DONEGAN'S DAMN SON JAY!"

Cole put his hands on Lloyd's shoulders have gave him a light shake.

"Lloooooyd, calm down. There's a time and place for fanboying."

Lloyd took a few deep breaths, but couldn't keep the joy out of his eyes.

"... so... do you... do you own part of the franchise now? Do you have any shares in the company?"

"I might, but I don't know all the details."

"... w-woah..."

The Bounty quickly pulled down towards the ground, and the brief feeling of happiness soon left Jay's heart. He'd done this all before, the exact same conversation with his parents... he knew exactly what was going to happen. So... why was he so afraid?

Nya turned to him, smiling, sadly.

"Alright. We've landed."

They all knew, but the atmosphere was so quiet now that Lloyd had managed to calm down. Nobody complained that she had stated the obvious.

"... Jay?" Cole whispered, nudging him. He jerked his head up, rubbing his eyes.

"I just... sorry... I just zoned out."

"... do you need more time?"

"No... No I'll be fine."

He stood up, and made his way off the ship.

"... would you like us to come with you?" Zane called after him.

Jay considered it, but then shook his head, and disappeared from sight.

———

Jay trudged across the coarse sand, towards the Junkyard that he had called home for many many years. It was so familiar. The walls were all the same, he could even pinpoint specific piles of junk that hadn't moved since his childhood.

Then, there were also differences. Different layouts, some things were gone, some things were completely changed.

It was very odd, and it managed to take Jay's hyperactive mind away from the compromising task at hand, at least till he reached the entrance.

He could see his mum wandering around with her arms piled with screws and scraps of corrugated iron.

"... hey, Ma." He called out.

Edna turned straight away, then gasped in joy, dropping her load insteantly and practically running over to him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Jay! Oooah, I didn't expect you to be coming today! I must get your father!"

She pulled him by the hand towards one of their many caravans.

"Ma! Wait! At least let me help you tidy up those scraps..."

"Hmm? Oh but why! This is a junkyard, there's junk everywhere! Maybe it'll become a new pile!"

She ignored all his requests to help after that and took him straight to Ed, who had pretty much the same reaction.

A tight hug, happiness at such a lovely surprise.

"Can I get ya anything? Tea? Coffee? I was just about to cook, shall I make enough for three?" Edna asked, cooing over him as if he were twelve all over again.

"Thank you, but it's fine. I'm not very hungry right now, to be honest."

"Awww, only if you're sure Jay."

His parents were far too caught up in their own thoughts and glee, that they hadn't noticed Jay's solemnness and contempt.

He had to say something.

"... Ma? Pa? We uhm... we need to talk."

Instantly, the jovial attitudes of the two dropped.

"... what's wrong son?" Ed asked, putting an arm around Edna's shoulders.

"... can we sit down first?"

Ed pulled a few camping chairs out of a cupboard, and they all sat down. Jay took a deep breath, then pulled the envelope out of his back pocket. He'd had to fold it in half to fit it in, but that hardly mattered.

"... I got this today."

"... Wh... What is it Jay?"

Instead of having to explain his way through such a difficult topic, he instead passed the letter over to them, and watched them open it with shaky fingers.

Jay waited until he was certain they had read the whole letter before saying anything.

"... my... you... you aren't my real parents... are you..."

He already knew the answer, and the truth, but, explaining the whole time reset to his parents would have put unnecessary stress on the situation. It was better to just play dumb, for now at least.

"... Jay... how did you-"

"This letter, it says my father has died and left me all his wealth... but... you're right here."

He looked over at Ed, who had a painfully guilty and ashamed look on his face.

"... Son... we... we wanted to keep it a secret as long as we could... we thought it was best for you..."

Jay shook his head.

"... I'm not upset. Well I- ... I was when I first found out, but not because of what you think. I was just... I was scared that I'd lost you."

"... you... you mean..."

He looked up, and managed to muster up an authentic smile. A real, genuine one.

"Ma... Pa... you guys are my real parents. Nothing's ever gonna change that. You're the ones who raised me... and..."

He started to well up, and rubbed his eyes on the back of his sleeve.

"I-I'd like to say you did a pretty good job!"

Edna couldn't take it anymore. She practically jumped out of her chair, trapping him in a motherly embrace.

"Awwwww Jay! Don't cry sweetheart!" She said, already crying herself.

"Shucks... you two are gonna get me started up..." Ed laughed, standing up and pulling them both in, "... My oh my... we're a bit of a messy family aren't we."

"Hah, I wouldn't have it any other way." Jay chuckled.

"We were going to tell you one day, we just didn't know when..."

"It's alright. You don't need to explain anything. I understand."

The three Walkers settled into silence, comfortable in each other's presence. Jay started thinking about asking if he could stay the night. Even if there were no hard feelings over the situation, he and his parents still had a few things to talk about.

He was sure the others would understand.

Though... all of his plans collapsed in an instant, when he heard Cole yell his name from outside.

Reluctantly, Jay pulled away from his parents, and rushed to the door of the caravan. Cole reached it at just about the same time as he did.

"Jay! We need you!"

"Wh... what? Cole, what happened?"

Cole had to take a few deep breaths, during which he tried very hard to get the words out, but just couldn't.

"Hey, calm down, you're gonna start hyperventilating at this rate!"

It was a slightly hypocritical statement. Jay could already feel the rising panic, and how it crushed his lungs with a force he couldn't describe.

"Cole? Is everything ok?" Edna asked, and Jay looked back to her.

"... Ma... I-"

"D-Dei Noctis!" Cole coughed, cutting Jay off before he could finish his sentence.

"T-They attacked the police station in Ninjago City! We need to go!"

"I..."

He looked back into the caravan, where his parents stood, arm in arm, looking extremely worried.

"... I... I'll be ok..."

Ed nodded.

"Come back safe, alright?"

With that, he and Cole turned and left, and began the erratic sprint back to the Bounty.