Hello and thanks for reading :) This chapter and the next are going to be original story, so if things are a little confusing I'll do my best to clear things up. Don't hesitate to leave a review and I am always open to new ideas!

- Fell_and_Fallen -

When I open my eyes I expect to find myself in the dark throne room that has been the home to my training sessions for the past few months. Instead, I sit before a small, still pool surrounded by open grass and a ring of trees. A cold breeze brushes against my exposed neck, sending a shiver down my spine and welcoming me to this new, beautiful place. But besides it and the pool, I'm alone. I stand up, bright green grass flattening softly beneath my feet, and look around. But all I see is swaying grass and tall trees.

"Hello?" I call out, looking for any sign of movement in the trees. "Stella? Are you there?"

A gasp of wind like heavy breathing answers me, echoing through the clearing as a grim cloud covers the sun overhead and throws the clearing into gray darkness. My heart picks up a little, but I force myself to stay calm and focus. I take a deep breath and light one of my hands, holding it out and casting a protective, warm halo around me.

"Who's there?" I call out again. "Show yourself!"

Something gurgles to life behind me, and I barely turn before I'm crushed beneath a wall of water. I crash to the ground, spluttering as water streams from my mouth and eyes, but my fire's still alive. Weaker, but alive. Spitfire swirls on my wrist and stares up at me with questioning eyes, but I can't give him any answers. I look up, back toward the woods, when another wave slams into me. I push back in an explosion of fire, engulfing the world in the screaming hiss of blistering steam that shrouds the air in deeper darkness. The fire quickly evaporates the water from my body as I scramble to my feet.

"Is that all you got?" I shout into the gray fog. "You're going to need more than that to extinguish me-"

An ear-splitting roar sends me staggering, and I whirl around just as a column of water emerges from the tiny pool. It looms menacingly over my head, growing taller and taller as I watch its crest mold into what looks like a serpent's head- no- more like a-

"Dragon," my breath strangles in my throat as it blasts another tremulous roar. Its liquid scales rattle with force from its cry, and I finally find my footing. I take off toward the trees, my feet slipping and twisting as I struggle to escape across the soggy earth.

The dragon screams one more time before it drops toward me, it wings unfurling to reveal an enormous wave of a body. I let out a scream as it overtakes me in a fountain of water.

I just manage to take a quick breath of air before my world turns blue and I'm sent tumbling head over heels. My lungs are screaming by the time my body finally hits the earth and my head emerges from the water in a pop of sound and color. I cough up a torrent of water that scorches my nose and throat, but I'm alive. Spitfire twirls on my arm, looking dazed but alright.

I sit up on my knees and watch as the excess water streams away from me and back toward the now empty pool. It fills the gaping hole all the way to the top, and in a few seconds the clearing is back the way it was when I got here. Minus my dripping clothes and exhaustion.

"What the hell-"

Spitfire's grip tightens on my wrist as I carefully approach the now-still pool. I lean forward and look into the water, halfway expecting to see the dragon's face glaring up at me again, but instead I meet my own reflection. I look soggy and exhausted with my hair matted and clumped all over my head, but as I start to pull the grass and mud from my hair I notice another reflection in the water. This one definitely isn't me.

I scramble back as my eyes find a man who towers over me, a phantom that blinked out of nowhere. I stagger to my feet and raise a flaming hand.

"Who are you?" I ask, my chest still heaving from the attack.

The man just stares back at me, his watery blue eyes curious, but unyielding. The wind stirs a few strands of blond hair into his young face, but he doesn't move to brush them away. He's wearing dark blue robes like some movie wizard, though he looks more like a college student.

"Did you hear me?" I clear my throat and speak with more force. "Who are you?"

A smile quirks his lips, but he still doesn't answer. Instead, he begins to raise an arm, making me stiffen, but instead of attacking he gestures to the pool.

I swallow my fear, taking a deep breath as I let my gaze slip to the pool. I stagger back with a stifled scream as I'm faced with an entirely different reflection.

My face stares back at me, but the eyes are too red- the hair longer, flared, and wild as a flame. My reflection wears blazing red clothes clenched beneath obsidian armor that gleams like black ice, but swells smoothly with each inhale. I'm captivated by the me that isn't me, and as I reach out a hand toward it, I notice the other reflection has changed too.

The man in the water is wearing a similar outfit except in shades of blue and silver, and the high collar tousles his lighter hair in delicate waves. My eyes widen as the water stirs and the dragon reappears, this time coiled around the man's wrist. Realization dawns and my gaze flashes to the man above me.

"You're Whim," I breathe, and he nods with a smile. "You're the-"

"King of Water," he finally greets me in a strong, yet quiet, voice. "And you are the Queen of Fire. It is an honor to finally meet you."

"That dragon that attacked me… it's yours?" I ask, glancing at his serpent's glowing sapphire eyes. Spitfire whirs in his own low purr.

"Yes," Whim nods again. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I had to do a simple test. Stella has told me much about you, and I wanted to see how much of it was true."

"Oh," I grimace, remembering my earlier terrified sprint for cover.

He smiles warmly. "Don't fret, I didn't expect you to face Sylia without fear, at least not before you'd been taught. We still have much work to do if you are ever going to achieve your final form."

"My final form?" I glance back at my strange reflection in the pond. "Is… that what this is?"

Whim nods in response. "As Stella has told you, you hold a power wielded only by the first Spinjitsu Master. It is a grave responsibility capable of changing the course of this world. Just as I have before you and Ria and Oberon before me, you must be ready to transform yourself not only in body, but in mind to face the evil that threatens Ninjago."

I grimace. "Am I really the best person to handle all of this? I mean, I know it's what I was born to do, but-"

"You are afraid, and rightfully so," Whim says, his eyes softening on mine. "We have all gone through our share of struggles, and for you to face what you have at so young an age- we are all impressed. But to quell your doubts, you will not be alone through this journey. You have your family and your friends to see you to the end."

He chuckles softly. "If it helps, none of us ever thought we were ready either. You should have seen me when Oberon tried to convince me of my destiny," he shakes his head. "In the end I managed to scrap myself together and help seal Garmadon away."

I blink. "You helped Sensei trap Garmadon in the Underworld?"

He nods. "I understand why he would not tell you. The experience was… traumatic, to say the least."

"So that was your mission- to stop Garmadon from taking over the world?"

"Yes," he nods. "It seems we dragons tend to have a talent in opening passages to the Underworld."

I shake my head at the memory of opening the portal that swallowed Desmond, and nearly me, into the land of darkness. "What about the others you mentioned? Oberon and Ria?"

"Oberon buried the snakes beneath the sands to prevent full-scale war. Ria, well. She is certainly the enigma."

"Enigma?"

"She lived during an era of peace, gave birth to her child, and passed from this world without ever achieving her complete form," he answers. "For being the child of the Phoenix Queen, her journey was uneventful, to say the least. She continues to help oversee and train our younger generations, but why she was born a dragon without need… It's a question we have tried to answer for centuries."

"So she didn't do… whatever I'm going to do."

Whim shakes his head. "She never had need to. However, I'm afraid that is not an option for you. As the last dragon of the cycle, whatever purpose you have been born for must be greater than even ours."

"That sounds…"

"Terrifying?" he sighs. "Yes, I understand. But we have time. Time for you to prepare for when you travel to the home of our ancestors and receive the ultimate power of the dragon. Before that, however, you must learn to accept your power."

"Accept it?" I echo. "But I already have. I mean, I'm not afraid of it anymore."

"You might not fear yourself as you did before, but you still hesitate to trust your familiar," Whim's watery blue eyes narrow on mine. "You could have unleashed your power and defeated me easily, and yet you ran."

"I've always been… nervous of water."

"Why?"

"Because…" I take a deep breath. "I can't swim?"

"You are afraid because you still believe you can be extinguished," he answers for me. "You fear for your familiar and for your power because you believe it will be taken from you."

"I never really… thought of it that way."

Whim smiles kindly. "Then consider this the beginning of your training. Can anyone extinguish you, as a person?"

"Well, no. I guess not," I shake my head. "But-"

"But nothing," he says. "You and your familiar are one and the same. He will not falter if you do not. Teach yourself to believe that, realize that you are your own greatest strength. This will be our first exercise together. Whenever you come here, you can expect to be attacked the same way you were today until you can defeat me."

"Defeat you? But you're already a dragon-" I stop when he gives me a pointed look. "But that's the point, isn't it?"

He nods. "I may seem an unconquerable enemy, but weren't you the one who fought Desmond and banished him to the Underworld?" he raises an eyebrow. "You have the ability, Ash. You just have to believe in it."

I blink. "You don't call me Iris?" I ask. "I thought all of you called me by my old name. At least, my dad and Stella do."

"You may have been born Iris, daughter of Lindell, but you chose to change it," he answers. "Your name reflects who you are as a person, and you are no longer just Lindell's daughter. You are Ash, raised by Desmond. You have a different past, and a different future. You are a different person, and I will address you as such."

I blink again, and he laughs.

"You chose your name for a reason," he smiles. "I choose to acknowledge it. Unless you'd rather me call you Iris?"

I shake my head. "No, Ash is fine. I was just… surprised is all. I mean, I thought you were going to be…"

"Old-fashioned?" he raises an eyebrow. "I tend not to linger on the past unless I can learn from it.

"Now, I believe this is enough of a lesson for today," he says. "Return to your home and rest for our next meeting."

"Alright," I nod. "When do you want me to come back?"

"Tomorrow morning, after you've had something to eat," he answers. "I would hate to see a dragon defeated so easily by something as simple as hunger pains."

I laugh. "Eat breakfast. Got it."

"Yes," he smiles back. "And remember what I said. Unless you can learn from your past, close your eyes to it. You've been through more than most, Ash, and it would be rather unfortunate if you let its darkness consume you. As I said, you are your own greatest strength. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you will realize how great your power really is."

"Right," I nod. "I'll try."

"Take care of yourself, Ash. Oh, and do not be so hard on the boy."

"What?"

He gives me a knowing look. "Your journey is parallel to that of the next Spinjitsu Master. As he grows, so shall you. The two of you are connected, and as such the two of you must learn to conquer challenges together. As allies."

"You mean Lloyd?"

"Surprises greater than the one you've just experienced will face you in the future. Do not let something so small cloud your judgment."

"My judgment-" I shake my head. "Whim, he's a kid- not some pawn to a stupid fate-"

"He has accepted his path, as you must. Just as you were born to guide Ninjago, he was born to save it."

My jaw sets, and he lets out a breath. "I understand this is difficult to accept, but please. Think on my words."

My consciousness starts to slip as Whim gives me one last smile, but all I can feel is a smoldering coal in my stomach.