So, here I am with another story. I hope I nail the characters - it's my first Ninjago fanfic and I'm a bit nervous. I've been sitting on this idea for a while and thought I should finally finish it. I do have a bit more Ninjago stories in my head, though, so if you like this let me know.

Btw, this takes place after season 7 but before season 8.

I guess you can say there's greenflame in it? Idk, they just have a conversation at the end and I picked Kai 'cause he has a lot in common.

Annnnd, the end was a bit rushed, and it was originally going to end extremely different. Any-who, I hope you like it. Maybe you'll guess what the nightmare is about? There are hints in the story but it could play out in a lot of ways.

So, without further a do, here is the story!

And I hate doing [asking for them] this, but reviews are nice!

[update, the guest review that asked for a Nya and Kai sibling story, I'm working on it!]


Black.

The air was black. It was thick, like you could poke your hand out and get lost inside it. It felt off to him, even though it was all just dense air. Black was all he really saw, and silence was all he heard.

Black, black, black.

If he looked above it was just as dark as looking below. The floor was like a shadow, spread across the world as far as his vision would take him. Almost like a blanket, the darkness covered all and everything.

He shivered, but the cold was the last thing he felt.

He looked to the left and then the right. All directions seemed the same: black, darkness, silence. He squinted forward, straining his eyes, as if trying to imagine light breaking through the darkness, saving him.

Although it wasn't light. It was a deep purple glow. Like a lilac, lavender color. But darker, scarier. He reached his hand out to touch it. The purple clung to his skin, burning him like a fire was brewing. He coughed as if smoke filled his lungs, screamed in fear for the purple hatred.

And he dropped to the ground, letting the darkness eat him alive with open arms.

Ringing filled his ears as he snapped his eyes closed in an attempt to shut out the dark, purple mist from his vision. He clamped his hands around his ears, but the screaming still sounded. It tore through his body; it echoed through the world's mass, empty space.

That was when he realized the noise was him, screaming in fear.

He tried to yell for help, but no words escaped. He tried to stand up, but no limbs listened. He tried to think something - anything - through, but his thoughts were like cars on a highway. He waited in a curled up ball.

Waited, and waited, until the tips of his fingers felt a silky string and crumbling dirt. He tensed up as if it was all a trick on his brain but eventually gave into the curiosity. His left eye popped open, then the right. Grass was beneath him. It was a growing green color, as if nature was at its peek. Trees full of bright green leaves were visible in the distance. A wind blew at his blonde hair, swaying the tall flowers and bright green grass below him.

It was such an odd feeling. He felt some weird tingle in his bones. The world went from utter darkness, to flourishing green plants in seconds. He believed everything was okay, but deep down his gut said run.

And he did because of the foggy darkness behind him. The blackness had returned and it was coming for him. It was eating up the glowing, green land, and the hope that burned inside of him slipped away once more.

There was a voice in the distance. A deep, daring laugher. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't point it to one specific person he knew. And so on and on he ran, the voice laughing at him, mocking him, and the darkness gaining speed.

He was confused and alone. And he also shouldn't have looked back.

The darkness ate up the space between them in seconds. He watched, wide-eyed, as a shadow-like hand emerged from the black mist. It twisted around his ankles and brought him to the ground instantly, then pulling him back into the dark. He kicked out in an attempt to hit something, anything. His fist punched the black air doing no harm nor good. He choked on the tears that dripped from his closed eyes.

He didn't even realize it, but his mouth screamed, begged, for help again. The only problem was no one came.

And once again he was surrounded by darkness, only this time he heard someone speaking. His name, over and over again, like a broken record.

Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd...

"...Lloyd? Lloyd. Lloyd!"

His body was being shaken and before he knew it, a freezing cold liquid was thrown at his face.

He shot up into a sitting position, watching the shadows around him form into people that backed up in shock. He blinked the remaining bits of sleep from his eyes away, wiping the cold water from his face. His hands then gripped the rusty metal of the bed frame below him, kicking his feet around so they were flat on the floor. His mouth stumbled with words before any actually formed.

"What?" he murmured, his quickened breath slowing down.

The recollection of what he was doing before he fell asleep hit him like a brick wall; him and his five ninja friends were talking about where their lost Master could have gone. He mentally shrugged, guessing the conversation could have got too boring for him to handle. Or...maybe he fell asleep because he could never get any before; being stressed with Master Wu lost in time. The duties of being Master fell to his shoulders being the Green Ninja, and it was a lot of pressure for one boy.

"I told you we shouldn't have thrown water on him just yet," Kai, the hot-headed Fire Ninja whispered loud enough for Lloyd to overhear.

Cole's mouth opened in shock. "You were the one turning his brain into eggs!" the Earth Ninja replied.

"That...was Jay's idea," Kai answered, flicking his finger up to point the blame in the direction of the fast-talking Lightning ninja.

The Master of Lightning also had to speak for himself. "In my defense, when do we ever listen to me? Why would you listen to me!"

Nya, Master of Water, threw her hands up and stepped forward. "Would you three stop talking; he's right there!" she interrupted. She motioned to Lloyd with a slight tilt of her head but he noticed it. Of course he noticed it; he's a ninja.

"I mean, we're just curious to why he was screaming in terror," Kai added, lifting up his hands and letting them flop back down at his side for dramatic effect.

"I sense it was a nightmare?" the Ice Ninja, Zane, suggested as his robotic voice filled the air.

The ninja glanced back at Zane with a questionable look before more words started to blurr out. Lloyd just sat in silence, waiting for the rush of his friend's spew of words to be over. He glanced outside to the window. The stars twinkled in the night sky. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes once more.

"Was it about Master Wu?" Jay asked. "Your father?"

"Woah, we don't even know if he actually had a nightmare," said Cole with his hands up in defense.

Jay rolled his eyes and snorted a laugh. "He was screaming in his sleep - he woke all us up! - and you can't argue with a Nindroid, Cole," he said a-matter-of-factually.

Lloyd watched the eased Earth Ninja open his mouth with a reply and a sarcastic nickname but cut him off. "I don't know what it was," interrupted the new Master. "C-can I have a cup of water? I need to relax, t-to think."

"We just threw one at your face, though," Jay said, gathering looks from the rest of the ninja. He giggled a nervous laugh and took a weak step backwards. "Too soon? I'll be back." And with that he slipped through the door to retrieve a cup of water. His footsteps slowly went out of reach and the constant slur of words from him talking to himself disappeared as well.

Silence fell upon the five friends left. Lloyd was overwhelmed by the sudden burst of commotion, but this quick silence made him gather his thoughts. He was screaming not only in the nightmare, but in real life, too. Was it that bad?

"Do you want to, uh, want to talk about it?" ventured Cole in a soft tone. It was as if he was talking to a baby, or a injured animal. It was as if Lloyd was some piece of fractured glass that needed to be handled extremely carefully.

Lloyd didn't nessesarly want to dwell on the dream, though. But he saw the look in his friends' eyes: the look of pain, curiously. They wanted to know, wanted to make him feel better and to have the blanket of safety return to them all. Of course each and every one of them was all shaken up in their own way - it was obvious. The ninja didn't exactly know how to handle the loss of Master Wu.

And so he took in a large breath, filling his lungs. Lloyd pushed himself back and leaned against the wall, still under the bunk-bed. His eyes slowly blinked. Then his mouth opened. "It was dark." He stopped abruptly as he tried to take in his fellow ninja's expressions.

They hadn't changed; they were deep into the story even with the three word-start. Plus, Cole and Kai had even sat down and got comfortable on the floor.

So Lloyd continued.

"I couldn't see anything, feel anything, hear anything-"

The door bursted open. All five of the ninja looked to the door. Jay appeared in the doorway with a cup in his hand. Lloyd watched the water hastily swoosh back and forth in the cup, drips going over the edge. Jay must have rushed, but he slowly handed the cup to the Green Ninja and sat down on the floor in front of Cole.

Lloyd ended up getting through the dream with only a few answer-less questions. Such as, What was the mist? Who was laughing? Where were you?

They were silent for a good couple of minutes after the nightmare deemed to be over. Nya yawned, which made the rest of the ninja pop up.

"So, not that this isn't fun-" Jay started. He fell into a yawn as well. "-but I think I'm gonna get the most sleep I can in the few hours we have left 'till sunrise." He stood up, stretched, and looked at Lloyd. "I'll figure it out in the morning."

Then he left Lloyd's room and walked down the hall into his own. You could hear the plop when he landed on his bed.

Cole stood up, too, and gave Lloyd a pat on the back. "We'll get through this, Lloyd. Together."

Eventually, Kai was the only one left. He sat next to Lloyd on the bed and took in a deep breath. "I know how it feels," he started, "to loose people, love them, hate them, but want them back so badly. I know you miss your family, but we all miss people." He put his hands up like he was weighing something.

"Jay hasn't met his real parents, Cole misses his mom, don't even get me started on Zane. And Nya and I...well, we're a mess." Kai paused. "But, like Cole said, we're gonna get through it together. You'll see your family again, Lloyd."

"How do you know that?" he asked, looking down. "How do you know I won't just be haunted by my dad or think I mess up without Uncle Wu here?"

"Because we always get through it," Kai stated. "And not because your some legendary Green Ninja, but because you're our leader. And we trust you."

Lloyd sniffled. He looked up. "Thanks, Kai."

"Anytime," Kai answered, standing up slowly. He turned off the light and softly shut the bedroom door.

And as he walked back to his own room, too, he hoped he said the right thing. He also hoped everything turned out good in the end.