Ninjago: The Flash in the Rain

Chapter Eleven

Bird's POV

"The funeral is in three days." I blinked my eyes twice, letting them adjust to the light. Funeral?

I looked around the room. Objects slowly faded into focus, although nothing looked quite right. There was something about this room that felt wrong.

Sitting up, I saw that there was nobody in the room with me. Who had been speaking about a funeral? And who died?

I slowly walked towards the door. Pressing one ear against it, I listened for movement. Hearing nothing, I cracked the door open, and slipped through.

The hall was silent. I realized that I was back in the temple, and I was completely alone. Hadn't the temple been destroyed?

The sound of footsteps pounding on the floorboards scared me. I spun around, and saw a woman with black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. "My baby," she cried. "You're okay!"

Hadn't I been alone a minute ago? "Who- Who are you?" I asked, looking up at her. She wasn't that tall, I was simply short.

"Birdie, I'm your mother. Don't you recognize me?"

"Two things; if you have to call me by a nickname please call me Bee. Second, my mother died when I was born."

"I've been living as someone else for a long time. Don't worry, little Birdie. Everything's going to be alright now. I was so worried, I didn't think you'd survive."

I cringed at the name. Survive? Survive what?

"Come on, Birdie. I've got something to show you."

She grabbed my hand, pulling me through the musty, dark halls of the temple that had once been my home. I almost fell down the stairs as she dragged me into the living area. I almost threw up at what I saw.

"I tried to save them, I really did. You've got a gift, Birdie. Together, we'll be more powerful than anyone before us!"

"You... You killed them!" I threw her hand off my wrist, sprinting towards my friends' bodies. Collapsing on the floor, I cautiously touched Rissy's hand. It was pale and cold. I pulled my hand back instantly. "What have you done?"

"I think the question is, Birdie, what have you done? I told you already sweetheart, I tried to save them. You're very, very powerful."

I climbed to my feet. Everyone was here. Everyone I had ever known or loved. Tears sprung to my eyes, burning my cheeks. "No," I whispered, looking around the room. I fell to the ground, landing beside Jay's body. It was covered in burns.

"How could I do this? I cannot control fire the same way Riss can."

"Can you? I'm sure you have more to learn about yourself than you think."

"No. No, this isn't real. They aren't dead. Nobody has died. They're all safe on the Bounty."

"Don't you remember, Birdie? Your rash actions sent the Bounty to space. Your beloved Riss died trying to hold up the shield, and Annie died in the crash. You were lucky you didn't!"

"You just told me I killed everyone!"

"You did. You pushed the button, and after they died you killed everyone out of sadness."

"NO I DIDN'T!" I shouted, clamping my eyes shut, trying to wake up from this nightmare. "YOU'RE LYING! I COULD NEVER DO THIS!"

"Do what, Bird? Bee, please wake up. You're scaring us."

"NO! I didn't kill anyone!"

"You didn't kill anyone, please just wake up!" That wasn't Nya's voice anymore. I opened one eye, and then the other. I wasn't in the temple anymore. Nobody was dead. Annie was standing right in front of me, along with Jay and Zane.

"He's waking up. Please move," Zane's robotic voice said, and Annie moved back.

"What the-"

"You've been asleep since the Bounty crashed back to Ninjago. Please try to relax, you've been through a lot," Zane told me.

"Where's Riss?" I demanded.

"She's fine," Annie said. "You received the worst injuries from the crash."

"But she wasn't breathing. She wasn't alive!"

"I'm not entirely sure what happened. I tried to heal her, but there was nothing to heal. She was exhausted, but she was very much alive."

"When was the crash?"

"Three months ago." What?! Hey, that means I'm 15 now.

"Bird? Oh thank goodness, you're okay. We were so worried." Rissy ran into the room, squeezing me in an incredibly tight hug.

"Aryssi, Bird sustained several broken ribs. He does not need them broken again."

Rissy grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Just glad to see you're okay."

"I need to talk to Skylor, as soon as I can," I said, suddenly remembering my dream.

"I'll send her in," Jay said, backing out of the room.

"Also, where are we?" I asked.

"A safe house. Let's just say that our favorite brown ninja is better at accommodating us than being a ninja. He offered to take your place on the team several times while you were asleep," Annie laughed.

Skylor appeared at the doorway. "I heard you wanted to talk?"

I nodded. "Alone, if possible."

***

"So she said you killed all of us, because you were very powerful?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Also I found burns on, um, someone. I can't control fire, that's Rissy's thing. Also she apparently had died before I went on rampage."

"We have to remember that everything we see in our dreams isn't necessarily true. Although, I believe that may not have been a dream. It could have been the Blekkspruts giving you a vision, of sorts. Maybe trying to plant seeds that would grow into trees of fear and worry."

"Maybe..."

"Also, lightning can give pretty bad burns. It's entirely possible that you can get Jay's element."

"Wouldn't I have had some sort of sign by now? They sometimes skip a generation."

"Think things over for a while. Maybe something will come clear with time."

Skylor got up and left the room, leaving me with my thoughts. How much of my vision was true?