Silent Dreams: Lessons For A Master- Harsh Goodbyes

Shout-outs to skylor chan, JBomb217, and Watcher321 (as always) for reviewing! And for favoriting/following. Thank you so much!

Replies to reviews:

skylor chan: Hey, I just visited Universal Studios recently. It was loads of fun! I hope you enjoy this last chapter.

JBomb217: Nya's a ninja, isn't she? :) Unfortunately, I won't be able to reply to any review that you may place for this chapter since I can't PM you, but definitely send me a PM when you get an account. I can't wait until then! Thank you once again for all the support! Hopefully I'll hear from you in September!

Watcher321: That is for certain.

Sorry for the delay (I've never had to milk the fangs of a giant spider before! :D). You know senior life: VERY busy. I might have sort of also not wanted to update my final chapter, because that means it would be the end. Also, hope you all had an awesome Easter weekend.

My answer to the question: True Potentials are rather debatable. I really liked Kai's because he embraced who he was supposed to be, not what he wanted to be, but Nya's was really good because she chose not to be afraid, and drowning the Preeminent was pretty awesome! :) My sister's favorite is probably Zane's because of his accepting who he was, but she also loved how cool Kai's was.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Ninjago.

The sun beats down on the desert sand, baking their skin in the high noon hours. She would struggle further against the chains if she wasn't so drained of energy. She hardly notices as an ominous shadow passes over their sorry forms. "I hope that's your Falcon, Zane," Kai slurs from the other pole.

"My receptors pick up that that is an avian scavenger, a harbinger of our approaching demise," the robot ninja replies.

"It's a bone-picker," she informs them as she squints up at the bird. Her stomach churns at the possibility of the bone-picker's reason for coming. "And Zane is right."

"Why does Zane always have to be right? Can't it just be enough that we're tied to giant poles in the middle of the desert, and don't forget Wu is being held hostage, forced to steal Iron Baron the Dragon Armor so that he can become invincible? Can't that be enough?" She sighs. Why did she have to be the one to be stuck with that boy?

"Look," Kai alerts his comrades, his voice dull from exhaustion. "Something's going on." The fire ninja jerks his head towards the conundrum going on among the Dragon Hunters. They are too far to hear their words distinctly, however.

"Probably arguing about which one of us to eat first," Jay assumes.

"Dragon Hunters do not eat people," she retorts. Sure, the blue ninja can be and often is dramatic, but to stoop so low as to accuse her people of being cannibals is more than a little ridiculous.

"That's good to know, Faith. So it isn't all bad," Jay replies. She can't tell if he's being sarcastic or not, though.

"This is our chance." She hardly registers what Kai says. "While they're distracted, let's see if we can get these poles… rocking by… rocking our bodies from side… to side." As he says this, he begins to sway from side to side. She can't really keep herself together when watching these rather ridiculous moves execute.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that," Cole supports her inner thoughts. "That won't be helpful."

"Guys, come on. Teamwork." With an incredibly loud sigh, the colorful ninja begin to rock their poles. "If we all do it together…"

Are they really doing this right now? "I hope the son of the Spinjitzu Master figures something out, because this is ridiculous."

"Hey, it's better than nothing," she hears Jay defend his team. He is doing it as well. With a groan of exhausted frustration, she joins in the charade.

SILENTDREAMS

It is a long while before they can get the poles walking. But the notion that Kai's idea would work in the first place is what is really causing her anticipation to rise in enormity. "Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork!" the ninja chant cheerfully.

"I can't believe this is working," she audibly vents to them. The First Spinjitzu Master must be looking out for them indeed. "We do have a little faith," Jay cleverly plays.

"Teamwork, teamwork, teamw-"

Her body freezes when she sees Jet Jack, who did not accompany the Baron in his way to the nest, has floated in front of the lightning ninja. "What do you think you're doing?" her accented voice edged with threat.

"Uh, nothing." Jay lies rather poorly. She holds her breath as the winged woman brandishes her blade. "They are gonna eat us!" Jay screams.

Instead, within a second, their chains have been cut, and she lies on the hard ground, the breath knocked out of her. She takes a moment to gather her strength, then she pushes herself to her feet and brushes the dust off her clothes. "I don't know if I should thank you, Jet Jack, or prepare to fight," she wonders aloud as she raises the only weapons she possesses: her fists. She is dehydrated, starved, and drained, but she will fight to her last if she must.

The outsiders then begin to babble about who to eat and who not to eat. She would laugh at the atrocious thoughts if the situation wasn't so dire.

"We got to talking, and this Dragon Armor business has gone too far." What is Jet Jack telling her? Have they actually been discussing what she told them the night before? She can hardly even remember what she said. It seems like an eternity ago.

"Iron Baron speaks of serving his people, but he only serves himself."

"Yeah, he's kind ov a… jerk," Chew Toy adds. She couldn't have said it better.

"We fear with Firstbourne by his side, he will become... well, unforgiving."

"Wait, wait," Kai interrupts. "You're telling me all this time, while they're getting closer to the nest, you guys were arguing about whether or not to release us?"

"He's shown his true colors, and they are colors no one likes." Jet Jack steps towards her, placing a gloved hand on her shoulder. It is an unfamiliar weight. The weight of a trusting ally. Has she ever had one of those before? "I can put aside our differences, if you think you five can make a difference."

She nods. She understands now. These Hunters were just as blind as she was. It just took them a little longer to defy their ways. It would take longer in any normal situation, if she's thinking straight. Perhaps she was just more eager to throw off her old self than they were.

"We'll follow their tracks. Let's go and stop them, before it's too late."

SILENTDREAMS

Nothing she can say can express the amount of disappointment she contains inside her mere being right now. She was supposed to help him. She was supposed to be there for him. He is not meant to be alone in this.

But the bridge is gone, the remains lying at the bottom of the cliff separating her and him.

She can't just wait for him to return. He won't return if she does nothing. The Baron will surely kill him.

The worst action is the inability to act on anything at all. She cannot control this. No one can. And that's what terrifies her. "It's too late."

What is she supposed to do now?

SILENTDREAMS

It is dawn when the chaos begins. A horde of flying reptiles spew from the mountain ahead of the fallen bridge, directly behind where she and the ninja had returned from. She almost thinks she's fighting the mother dragon again, back when Iron Baron lost his limbs. "Look!" "Firstbourne!" "Run for yer lives!" They all push her aside. Each attempt to escape with their lives, not caring if they endanger other lives in the process of getting away.

"No! Wait! Look!"

She opens her eyes- were they really closed just now?- to the wind whipping her disheveled hair and blowing dirt around her.

Somehow, there is something oddly familiar and strangely satisfying about this portrait painted in front of her. Wu, the boy she once knew, the unconfident adolescent who could hardly lift a chain gun, now stands proud atop the large beast, dressed in the finest golden armor that she can imagine. It's almost like a dream. Her dream.

"He's riding without chains? How is that possible?" Jet Jack asks.

The words of her wise oldest sister come back to her, and she smiles fondly at them as she remembers. "The Dragon Master doesn't need them," she repeats as her eyes follow the dragon across the sky.

It's just how she imagined it, all those years ago.

"You did it! You actually did it!" the ninja call out to the landing man.

"What about Iron Baron?"

"Iron Baron's days are over. He showed his true colors, and Firstbourne was not impressed," the Dragon Master answers.

There is nothing but cryptic whispers. "He's gone?" Wu simply nods.

Even amid the cheering and joyous celebration, she doesn't understand something. For some strange reason, she can't breathe. Why does it have to be like this? If he's gone, he can't hurt her anymore. If anything, the weight of guilt should be gone. Is he really, truly gone?

"You did well, Master." She smiles as the ninja bow respectfully to their born leader.

Suddenly, a thought strikes her. A leader. Where is her leader? The gleeful grin transforms into a troubled expression as she ponders.

She notices that Wu has fixed his eyes on her, his gaze softening her being. "Faith," he starts. "We promised to bring you with us." He holds his hand out to her, his face a little too aglow with happiness. "You can ride with me."

The person in the back of her mind still nags at her. A leader... What are the other Hunters going to do without a leader to replace the Baron?

"You kept your word, and that means the world to me…" she says. But then, she looks back.

Their faces. All so needy and asking for things that she can give them. "But I am needed here."

"I thought you hated this place."

"I did." Do the selfless thing for once, Faith. She has to stay here, for their sakes.

Perhaps something good came out of her being the Baron's right-hand-"man" after all. They look to her for stability. They admire her. Certainly an admiration that was not paid due to the Baron. It is not what she would have preferred, but it really is the only way. Without her, this realm would fall to pieces. Or worse, a leader even more terrible than the Baron could rise.

"But you taught me that with courage, things can change. And I would rather stay and fight for change in my home than run. But I cannot do it alone."

They need her. She was so wrapped up in her own problems that she didn't bother to listen to those around her. She is not the only one who has lost a loved one to the Baron's cruelty. They have to go through this together, or they will never get through it at all.

It is not in vain, however. Her efforts to explain her change of mind hit home. "Faith, if you ever need help, you know you have friends in Ninjago," Kai says with a reassuring smile.

"And you have friends here in the First Realm," she continues.

"Master Wu, get us home." The Dragon Master calls the creatures to him, and each elemental climbs the winged reptiles.

In a flurry of light, they take to the skies and disappear. "Where did they go?"

"Ninjago," she answers, her face as one in awe. She doesn't even realize that she finally said their home's name correctly.

SILENTDREAMS

Well, it happened. He came. She met him. He's gone now. But why does she feel unsatisfied?

He really did do everything she thought he would do. He fulfilled her own prophecy. He flew with her. He guided her through the sky to show her all the things that could be, if only she were the one to take the action to change it.

Although he was the one that physically matured, she grew the most. He showed her how to lead, though they both didn't know it at the time.

She's sure she'll see him again. One day he might return. But until then, she will do her best to make her home the best it can be.

Well, there you have it. Silent Dreams has reached its end.

This is a bit of a weird question, but I really would like to know:

DID YOU ALL LIKE THIS STORY? HOW WELL DO YOU THINK I DID WRITING THIS STORY'S PLOT, CHARACTERS, ETC. WHAT WERE SOME THINGS YOU THINK I COULD HAVE DONE BETTER?

Answering this will certainly benefit me and help me improve my writing.

This is goodbye for now, sadly. Until next time,

~Ardhoniel

#God'sNotDead