Return of an Old Foe

Switching Sides

Disclaimer: I don't own Ninjago, just the story.

Flintlocke couldn't believe that Nadakhan lied to him.  He had always blindly trusted that djinn since they met.  To think that he was being deceived this whole time...Flintlocke didn't know what to do.  All he knows is that he can't stay on the Misfortune's Keep.  He made a major mistake trusting Nadakhan for so long.  Two choices entered his mind.  One: he could flee and never look back, possibly start a new life.  Two: he could fix his mistake.  He thought about what the green ninja told him before they left Tiger Widow Island.  "Come find us once you realize the truth."  Well, that was an option.

He waited until night time and all of the pirates were sleeping before he decided to go find the ninja.  He figured that it would probably be the best time.  He slipped out of his quarters and started to make his way to one of the smaller flying ships.  As he was walking, he stopped by the cell that Jay was being kept in.  He felt really bad for the young blue ninja now that he knew the truth about Nadakhan.  He wanted to step in while they were torturing the blue ninja earlier in the day, but if he wanted a chance to get them both out of there, he couldn't.  He couldn't take on the whole pirate crew alone.  He knew that the blue ninja couldn't take much more and Nadakhan would probably end up just killing him soon.  "Just hold on a little longer, kid.  I'll work with your friends to get you out of here."

He stood up and continued walking, but got stopped by Dogshank.  "What are you doing up this late?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Flintlocke replied.

"I asked you first.  I saw you talking to the prisoner."

"Look, there is something going on here, Dogshank, and I need you to just trust me for now.  I'll explain everything later, but I need you to cover for me in case Nadakhan finds out I'm gone."

"How long will you be gone?"

"I should be back by dawn."

"Ok, but you better explain it to me once you get back."

"Thanks."

Dogshank allowed Flintlocke to leave.  She might not understand what Flintlocke was doing right now, but she knows that he wouldn't be doing whatever it is without a good reason.  She just wanted to know what his reason was.

Flintlocke managed to get to one of the smaller flying ships and took it to where he saw the flying ship that the ninja owned was.  The ninja had it parked in the middle of the Sea of Sand.  He figured that it would be a safe bet that the ninja would be there.

He parked the ship he was flying close to where the ninja's ship was.  He knew that there was a good chance the ninja were sleeping since he decided to go late at night and he kind of realized that he didn't really think through that part.  What he wasn't expecting was the ninja waiting out on the deck.

The ninja haven't been able to get a lot of sleep since Jay got captured.  It's been constant worrying and planning to try to come up with the best plan to take down Nadakhan and get Jay back.  It's been about a week now and they didn't know how much longer Nadakhan would keep Jay alive.  Zane had suggested about an hour ago that they try to go to sleep, but Lloyd had turned it down.  1) He knew once again that they wouldn't really be able to sleep.  2) Everyone could see that it looked like he was waiting for something.  No one knew exactly what he was waiting for, but he was definitely waiting for something.

They were all on the deck of the Destiny's Bounty waiting for whatever it was Lloyd was expecting.  They all perked up when they saw a smaller flying ship.  The ninja, except Lloyd, took defensive stances.  Nya noticed that Lloyd's stance was more relaxed and she decided to relax her stance too.  She was still cautious, but this was obviously what Lloyd was waiting for.  Maybe it was pirates waiting to attack or maybe it was allies who stole one of the ships.  Whatever it was, Lloyd didn't seem worried and she trusted him and if it is dangerous she'll throw Lloyd to the pirates for seeming so calm.

When they all saw Flintlocke walk off of the small flying ship and start walking their way, Nya noticed that Lloyd's stance hadn't changed and she started to have an idea why Lloyd wasn't worried.  "You told him the truth, didn't you?" she asked quietly so the others couldn't hear their conversation.

"I did," Lloyd responded.

"Do you really think he switched sides?  It was hard to convince him last time."

"I don't know for sure, but you said that he switched sides in the alternate timeline, so I had to try.  He also came alone.  I would think that he would come with other pirates if he was looking for a fight."

"You better be right about this."

"I hope I am."

Flintlocke got over to the Destiny's Bounty and looked up at the deck of the ship where the ninja were.  He noticed that they were all staring at them with most of them in defensive stances.  "I was hoping we could talk," he said.

"Why should we talk to you?!" Cole demanded.

"Because I can help you get your friend back."

"Let him on the Bounty," Lloyd told the others.

"What?!" Cole asked surprised.

"We can't trust him!" Kai exclaimed.

"If we want to get Jay back, we need to," Lloyd said.  "Nya told all of us that he helped us in the alternate timeline.  I think he can help us now."

"Are you sure, Lloyd?" Zane asked.

"Not completely."

"We shouldn't let him on the Bounty unless we know we can trust him!" Kai said.

"You ninja know I can hear you, right?" Flintlocke said and all the ninja stopped arguing and looked down at the pirate.

"Let him on Bounty," Nya broke the silence.  None of them decided to question Nya because she knows what happened in the alternate timeline the best.  If Nya was willing to trust him, then the rest could as well.  "He could help us."

A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long.  I had some writer's block on this chapter.  I hope you enjoyed!