They didn't tell Aki where they hid the Megaweapon- which, to be fair, Aki didn't want to know anyway- but it wasn't like he was going to steal it. One near-death experience with that thing was enough for him.
He stared over the edge of the ship at the moon's reflection, broken by the waves in the shimmering water far below him. The sounds of the ocean crashing against the rocks filled the silence, a constant quiet ambience to the darkness of the night.
But it wasn't the only sound.
Aki stepped away from the wooden parapet, turning his attention to the muffled sounds of quiet sobs. His eyes illuminated the way just enough for him to see as he cautiously made his way to the room at the end of the hallway.
...Nya's room?
He stepped closer to the door, listening intently.
"It's just- I-" he heard Nya break off into sobs again- it was his fault she was crying, he realised. His fault Kai was dead.
...who was she talking to?
"I know."
Jay. She was talking to Jay.
There was a moment's silence as Aki stood outside the door, eavesdropping as Nya's sobs grew quieter.
"It's just... every time I see him, and his stupid-" Nya took a loud, shaky breath, "I think- for a second I think he's Kai."
Oh.
Aki stepped back from the door.
He tried to ignore the guilt.
(It didn't work.)
Was he really so similar to the real Kai? He was a clone, sure, but he- for some reason he thought he was...
He thought he could be someone, maybe. Someone different from his original.
Whatever. It didn't matter.
Aki turned silently away from the room, tracing the smooth, wooden walls of the ship with trembling hands. The glint of moonlight on the edge of a mirror caught his attention from the sliver of an opening of a door that was not quite closed. He winced at the sound of wood creaking as he pried it open the rest of the way, stepping into the empty bathroom.
Cool air blew against his face from an open window to his left- the source of the light on the mirror. Aki stood in front of it, staring at his reflection in the darkness. The dim glow of his fiery red eyes in the shadows created the illusion of blood, staining his face and his hair and his hands with crimson. He really did look evil like this- the mirror image of a dead hero.
Was that who he wanted to be?
Garmadon created him for evil- but Garmadon betrayed him.
He stared at his reflection for a moment longer. The last time he was face to face with himself like this was the day Garmadon created him- the day Kai died. The day he killed Kai, he reminded himself.
This wasn't who Aki wanted to be.
He stepped back from the mirror. His hand collided with an empty tube of hair gel, knocking it off the edge of the sink before he caught it smoothly in his other hand.
Kai used a ton of hair gel, Aki knew- he was guilty of doing just the same. He raised a hand to his hair, sticking up in neat, artificial spikes.
That was something he could change, at least.
-X-
Cole rubbed his eyes and stepped into the sunlight with a yawn. The deck of the Bounty creaked comfortingly under his feet as he stepped out onto the deck of the Destiny's Bounty. He opened his eyes, studying the subtle details in the light on the wood planks and- wait, was that Aki?
"Woah!" Normally Cole would glare at the evil clone but the sheer shock rendered him unable to speak. Aki turned towards him with a scowl, his once stiff, spiky hair falling into his eyes and hanging loosely around his face, still sharp and temperamental but in an entirely different way.
Cole could only stare.
"What? Stop staring at me," Aki scowled, storming up the stairs to the bridge. Cole followed behind him, still in disbelief.
"Well, are we almost there?" Aki asked just as Cole rounded the corner to the bridge. Sensei Wu nodded, still grieving, not even looking at the clone. He left almost immediately. Aki didn't seem bothered by that.
Cole watched the clone lean against the wall, watching the map intently as the little icon of the Destiny's Bounty slowly made its way across the screen. He kept messing with his hair. Cole wondered if he knew he was doing that.
"And then I said shocked to meet you!" Jay entered with a laughing Nya, their hands intertwined. It was good to see Nya smiling, at least a little- not that it lasted long. Both of their faces fell the second they saw Aki.
Aki sighed. "Are you two seriously going to glare at me again? I didn't even... I didn't even do anything."
"Your hair is different," Nya said after a moment, her eyes narrowed both in suspicion and confusion.
"Yeah, so? We just ran out of hair gel. It's not that big of a deal." Aki pushed himself off of the wall as Nya and Jay shared a glance between themselves.
Not that big of a deal? Kai would flip if he ran out of hair gel. Why was Aki being so calm about this?
"Yeah? Well I'm not Kai," Aki hissed, giving Cole a glare that could probably set something on fire.
...did Cole say that out loud?
For some reason, Aki seemed genuinely upset to be compared to Kai. The clone narrowed his eyes, shoulders tense, ready to fight.
And then Zane reached out and ruffled his hair.
Aki flinched, his eyes widening in surprise as Zane stepped closer to him, casually messing up his dark brown hair. The clone stared open-mouthed at the other ninja in shock, completely speechless. He said nothing until Zane stepped away.
"Hey! I- you-" he stammered, raising a hand to his hair, which was now sticking up in all directions like a cactus. "What did-?"
"When did you get here?" Nya asked, something almost like amusement in her eyes.
"Just now," Lloyd responded from the doorway. He stepped into the room, standing next to Zane. "How long until we get to the Golden Peaks?"
"Four hours." Nya had left Jay and gone over to the computer.
"Wait- the Golden Peaks? Why are we going there?" Aki looked up, finally able to manage a coherent sentence.
"We have to destroy the mega weapon." Cole narrowed his eyes at the evil clone, his hands tightening into fists. "We can't let Garmadon get his hands on it again."
"Then..." What will happen to me? went unsaid, but Cole knew what Aki was thinking- he was thinking the same thing. If they destroyed the mega weapon, would Aki be destroyed as well? The clone looked almost sick, thinking of what might happen.
Was Aki really scared of dying?
"I do not think anything will happen to you, Aki," Zane said comfortingly. "The Megaweapon is extremely powerful. It is likely nothing will happen to you once we destroy it."
The clone flinched at the mention of the Megaweapon. Why would-?
Garmadon threatened him with it, back at the museum. First Spinjitzu Master, Aki was scared.
Why?
...wait.
Aki was a creation of the Megaweapon- not human, though he could pass for one if his eyes weren't so bright. There was no way of knowing what would happen to him if he died.
Of course he would be scared, then- Cole would be too.
He studied the clone for a moment.
He'd only been created to destroy, hadn't he? Garmadon made him specifically to kill Kai and the other ninja.
Maybe it wasn't entirely Aki's fault that Kai was dead.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Cole found himself saying. Aki glanced up at him, confusion shining through his crimson eyes.
"I wasn't worried," he huffed eventually, folding his arms and glaring at the floor. "Don't talk to me."
He really was similar to Kai. The Megaweapon was powerful...
"Wait. If the Mega Weapon could make an evil clone of Kai, couldn't it bring him back?" Everyone turned to look at Cole, their eyes wide in sudden realisation.
Everyone except Aki.
"But no one can use the Mega Weapon besides my dad." Lloyd looked down, disappointed. The sudden hope faded from the room as Cole's heart sank in his chest.
"There has to be a way!" Nya looked up from the control panel, her eyes filled with sudden determination. Cole could see Aki tense out of the corner of his eyes as Nya spoke.
Jay stepped forwards suddenly, his eyes darting around the room in excitement. "Wait, wait, wait. Do you really think it could bring him back?"
"Based on the Megaweapon's previously demonstrated capabilities, such as reviving the Grundle, it should be possible," Zane declared with a small smile.
"Maybe I could convince my dad?" Lloyd suggested, but Cole knew it wouldn't work. If there was even a chance, though...
He was desperate.
All of them were.
"Well, it's worth a shot," he said eventually. "You think he'll be at the Golden Peaks by the time we get there?"
"Of course he will," Jay yelled, immediately regretting it and clamping a hand firmly over his mouth.
"Jay is right. It is highly unlikely Garmadon has not already guessed our destination."
"Then we'll be ready." Cole raises his scythe into the air. The ninja did the same with their weapons.
They were going to get their friend back.