The next day Cole and Jay were standing out front of the arena, and within five minutes before class started Jay was beginning to worry about the other two, Zane and Plundar. Even Cole was looking around, more frustrated than usual. Jay looked around hesitantly, before sighing. If Zane was late he could be kicked out of Dragon Training.

"I'm... I'm gonna go get Zane." He said but Cole simply rolled his eyes and mumbled something.

As Jay walked off he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. Now it was payback time. He broke into a sprint, turning down Zane's street. He slowed to catch his breath, walking down a small garden path towards a small cottage. Right when he was about to knock, a tall man walked out. Jay recognized him as Dr. Juilen, Zane's father, and Ninjago's newest doctor. Dr. Julien was must older than any of the other parents in Jay and Zane's training class.

To the unknown, that might have mistaken him for Zane's grandfather.

He had bushy snowy white hair, an aged face, and hazel eyes behind a pair of thick glasses. He wore a white lab coat jacket with smart black pants and shoes.

"Hello, can I help you?" He asked when he saw Jay standing on their doorstep.

"Um... I'm Zane's friend, I just came to make sure he was ready for class." He replied and the man sighed, before looking at his watch and his eyes widened.

"Oh no, I'm going to be late for work!" He cried as he ran past the teen, before turning back to the freckled teen, "Zane's bedroom is down the hallway and to the left, goodbye!" The older man yelled as he kept running off and Jay hesitated for a second, before deciding that probably meant he could go on inside. After all, he didn't shut the door behind him. Following the man's instructions, Jay quietly walked down the hallway before coming to the said door.

The sound of faint snoring came from inside and Jay couldn't help but grin.

He opened the door a crack, before walking inside. Zane was lying on top of all the blankets, and the fact he was in the same clothes as yesterday told me he'd probably been up all night studying the captured dragonbloods again. The grin on his face widened, and he quickly looked around for a clock or something. A small digital clock flashed at him, the alarm had already gone off. Jay fiddled around with it for a second, but it appeared the alarm was broken or something.

He sighed, deciding to go to plan B.

He shook Zane gently because even though the thought of getting even was a nice one he still didn't want either of them to be late.

"Zane, wake up."

"Five more minutes." The paler teen groaned, before hitting Jay's hands away and rolling over. He laughed, shaking Zane again.

"Earth to Zane, come in Zane." He called out quietly as the blonde-haired teen's eyes opened, and he looked at his friend for a second.

"Jay, what are you doing here?" He asked and Jay grinned at him before it hit Zane and he jumped up. "I didn't!" He exclaimed and Jay's grin widened as he lifted up the alarm clock. Zane saw the time and swore, jumping up and running to grab his shurikens. Jay started to laugh before Zane started dragging him out of the room.

"Jay, come on, we're gonna be late!" He exclaimed as they both raced down the hallway and out the door, Jay still laughing like mad. By the time they both got to the arena, Ed and Edna were just walking through the door. Ed saw them running towards the arena and sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Whose fault was it this time?" Edna asked. Zane and Jay looked at each other, before laughing, realizing this was starting to become a routine. Ed rolled his eyes, trying to become all official and businesslike.

"Well... Welcome to the final three." He sighed as Cole looked around, smirking.

"Plundar got kicked out?"

"No, he approached me after yesterday's class and said he was going to drop out, decided it was too hard for him," Edna explained and Jay thought about it for a second, thinking about how badly shaken he must have been if he had actually quit.

"Poor Plundar."

"He was probably going today anyway, so this is how the final days are going to work." He started and the three remaining students all stood straighter, these next few days would probably be the most important days of their lives.

"Today is the final group duel, and whoever performs worst will be leaving, tomorrow, the final two will be battling each other, and the winner of that duel will get the honor of killing the Shadow Dragonblood," Edna explained and Jay couldn't help but shudder at the mention of the dragonblood. One of the cage doors suddenly swung open and the Wind Dragonblood jumped out at them, roaring and hissing. Instantly, they all dove for the shields and weapons, only for the dragonblood to whip Jay and Zane away and into the wall.

Cole managed to jump and avoid the tail.

As Jay got back to his feet, he saw Cole swinging his large hammer at the dragonblood. Zane was also attempting to get a few hits in but wasn't as successful. Seizing the moment, Jay shot towards the beast, narrowly avoiding the swishing tail and snapping jaws. He reached under the creature's chin and started scratching. Seconds later, the Wind Dragonblood fell to the ground, unconscious. Everyone couldn't stop staring at him until Ed and Edna walked over to them.

"Congratulations boys, that was brilliant, the teamwork you displayed was excellent; it's almost a shame that one of you will have to leave today," Ed said and Jay felt the old man's eyes fall on him. "I'm truly sorry, but I'm afraid-"

"I choose to quit." Zane suddenly said and Jay turned to him in amazement, as did everyone else. Ed raised an eyebrow at the pale teen.

"Are you sure about this?"

"It's my choice, and I've decided that I don't need to be here anymore." He explained. "Besides, Jay and Cole are much more capable fighters than me." He added and Jay swore he heard Cole hold back a laugh, but Ed sighed, sounding disappointed.

"If you insist, I can't force you to participate; I guess that means Cole and Jay are the final two."

"What?" Jay and Cole exclaimed in shock, but Zane was just grinning.

"What? Ed, this is insanity!" Cole protested while Jay stood in shock, his eyes widened to the point of popping

"You're joking right?"

"This is no joke and not something that should be taken lightly." The older man said as he and his wife walked towards the exit, but the three teens simply stood there.

"I don't believe it."

"Neither do I, but understand this Jay." Cole snarled as he glared at him with eyes as cold as ice. "I will fight you in two days' time, and I will win."...

****************

Jay was grinning all the while he ran into the small bowl-like valley. He took a quick glance around and saw Kai was sunbathing on his usual boulder. The brunette had his eyes closed and arms crossed under his head. Jay walked over to the large boulder calmly, but the grin was still plastered on his face.

"Well you seem to be radiating with happiness, might I ask why?" Kai suddenly asked and Jay jumped at his voice.

"Aww, how'd you know it was me?" He groaned. He couldn't see the brunette's face, but Jay knew he was probably smirking.

"A master thief, you are not."

"I guess you're right..." He sighed

"But had it been me on the other hand, you'd be-"

"Don't push your luck." Jay scowled as Kai stretched his sore muscles, before rolling off the boulder. Panicking, Jay almost ran over to try and catch him, but the dragonblood landed neatly on his feet with the grace of an acrobat. "Are you half cat or something?"

"Nope, just 100% monster." He replied, causing Jay to frown and Kai rolled his eyes, hitting the back of the human's head what he would have been what he considered lightly. "Don't take everything so seriously, now, why were you so happy again?" He asked and Jay thought for a second, before remembering why he had been so excited to get down to the valley.

"Oh yeah! Guess who's in the semi-finals of duel training?"

"Hmm...anyone but you?" He guessed and Jay elbowed him unsatisfied, but Kai laughed. "Congrats, now it's fly time." He quickly said as he turned to walk off and Jay couldn't hold back a chuckle.

"Can you at least pretend to be happy for me?" He asked. Kai looked over his shoulder face completely serious, which is probably what gave him away.

"I don't feel happiness."

"Sure you don't," Jay smirked as Kai transformed into his red dragon form. Jay double-checked the saddle and clipped his harness to it before climbing on him for a flight. As he settled into his seat, Jay could tell how anxious his friend was about the new harness and saddle. "Just relax, it won't hurt you." He soothed as he gently rubbed the side of his warm neck. After he had calmed down a little bit, Kai opened his wings and shot into the cloudy blue sky.

Now with the saddle helping, Jay found it was much easy to stay on the creature and to help him to fly more stably.

As Jay was focused on the saddle and the prosthetic tailfin, Kai started to fly faster, circling around the valley. All of a sudden he started circling violently in the air, causing Jay's stomach to drop. If the beast could smile, Jay was certain he would be grinning ear to ear.

"Put me down! Put me down! Put me down! PUT ME DOWN!" Jay screamed over and over again as loud as he could as Kai started doing even more dangerous stunts in the air. The dragonblood made a chuckling sound at Jay's screams, thinking it was all funny. "KAI PUT ME DOWN NOW!" He cried when Kai suddenly shot up high into the sky. The ground looked further and further away, the massive trees that stood proud looking like insignificant little green ants.

"Okay..." The sound of Kai's voice echoed in Jay's mind when Kai suddenly did a loopy-loop and Jay's harness detached from the saddle.

The ginger-haired teen plummeted through the air. He screamed as the ground zoomed up and Jay was certain he was going to die. At the last possible second, however, something dove down and Jay landed on it instead of the ground. Kai glided to the ground and Jay slowly climbed off his back and curled up on the ground, trembling. Once he had finally calmed down, he saw Kai was still in his dragon form, waiting for Jay to climb back onto his back so they could go for a proper flight.

At first, Jay wanted to go back home as a form of punishment since Kai had been foolish enough to risk both their lives with that little stunt.

That is until he saw the silent desperation in his amber eyes. Jay sighed in frustration before he stood up and climbed onto his back, triple checking that his harness was properly attached this time. The clips were a little bent, but as long as Kai didn't do anything like that again, they should be fine. The dragonblood started to fly again, and Jay held onto the saddle tightly to stop himself from sliding off. After they had reached an altitude Kai was happy with, he stopped flapping his wings and they hovered.

Jay caught his breath, and he heard a dull chuckle in the back of his mind.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad."

"I hate you."

"You know you don't." Kai chuckled and Jay sighed, before realizing something.

"Why can I hear you in the back of my mind?"

"It's called a soul bond, they're rare, but not unheard of between dragonbloods." He explained. "Basically, it lets you project your thoughts into the other's mind."

"Really?"

"That's what I heard." He replied and Jay contemplated the idea, before trying it out.

"Kai's a pain in the-"

"I heard that, and I'm gonna make you pay for that!" He snapped and Jay laughed but regretted it when he saw the glint in Kai's eyes. "See that cliff?" Kai asked as Jay looked a little to his left, seeing where the ground seemed to end in a sheer drop.

"Yeah, I see."

"We're going over it."

"What?" He gulped as Kai started to fly faster, heading towards the cliff with hawk-like accuracy. Jay held back a scream while holding on for dear life. The cliff got closer, and at the speed, Kai was flying Jay knew he wasn't bluffing and they went over. "KAI I HATE YOU!" He screamed was struggling not to fall forward as they flew vertically down. The ocean's waves broke over viciously pointed rocks that looked more like horrid black razor-sharp teeth.

The water was a murky dark blue with white foam, and for the umpteenth time that day, Jay thought he was going to die.

He held onto Kai's saddle tighter, and at the last possible second the dragonblood pulled up. Jay was hit by a wall of sea spray as the waves came up, lightly soaking his clothes.

"Still alive up there?"

"Barely." He whimpered and he could almost sense Kai mentally smirk, as they rose back into the sky. They flew straight at an even pace and Jay tried to find a more comfortable position to sit in. Once he did, he actually looked around and tried to enjoy the scenery rushing past them. Once he was past the rocks, the water was a deep greenish-blue color. Clouds were scattered everywhere and Jay grinned as they flew through the white fluff once or twice.

Massive rock formations stood up from the water near the cliffs, and Jay swallowed when he saw they were heading right towards them.

"Uh Jay, do you mind?" Kai mentally asked, slightly turning his head to the left. Jay looked to where Kai was hoping to go and nodded to himself as he adjusted the tailfin. Kai's wings closing tighter to his body, they dived like a hawk under a naturally made stone bridge. Jay looked up and saw a flock of white sea birds flying overhead. He was starting to getting the hang of this. Jay adjusted the tailfin back into its original position but forgot to shift his weight as Kai tried to turn.

They brushed against a rock pillar and he winced.

"Sorry!" He cried as Kai rolled his eyes and turned away, but they ended up crashing into another rock. "Yeah... that was my fault." He blushed as Kai flicked his head up and basically slapped the human. "Yeah, yeah, I'm on it!" He glared as Kai started to fly up until they were almost vertical and Jay held back a laugh. "This is amazing!" He happily exclaimed into the wind. Suddenly his grip on the saddle and the damaged clips on his harness broke off and he fell off.

Without Jay to adjust the prosthetic tailfin, Kai felt his control slip and he was falling through the sky with him.

While Jay was flipping around in all directions, Kai was screeching like a banshee. Even though he was terrified, Kai managed to stay in dragon form. He needed to get upright so he could try and catch Jay so they could attempt to glide to safety. Jay tried to extend his arm to the creature, but he was still too far away.

"Just a little further..." He mumbled and by luck or fate, the wind changed, blowing him over just enough for him to grab the saddle. As quickly as possible Jay reseated himself and started frantically trying to adjust the tailfin so Kai could fly right and get them to safety. Forced to go with the wind, they skinned the top of trees that seemed to grow horizontally out of the cliff. While trying to pull up, Kai let out another harsh shrill cry of fear that almost made Jay's ears bleed.

Jay tried to look through the fog and barely made out the maze of rock archers facing them.

Holding back a scream, he racked his brain for a solution before tightening his grip on the saddle. Kai realized what he was thinking and tensed. The first pillar was a meter away from them, and there was no turning back now...