Whoo! Skyward just hit fifty favorites, you guys! It's on the third page when you sort by favorites, and that makes me super hyped. Thank you so much for your loyal reading and reviews! Skyward wouldn't be where it is today without all of you.

RandomDragon2.0- Dragon history will probably be spread out in bits and chinks throughout the story. I don't wanna bore you guys with pure history chapters, and I also want to put it in the story in a way that seems natural.

ChaosDragonPrincess- That's gonna be the showdown of the century! *hands out popcorn to readers*

Studiodia29- Thank you! I hope your holidays were great too! And bad puns are my weakness, so keep making them ,':)

ElementalKeys- I haven't watched SU, so that's pretty funny!

FullMetalPon-3- woah, penname switch! I like it! Dragon instincts are still around and kicking, unfortunately, for Zane, Cole, and Jay.

Crazyredmanelion- That is kinda sad, isn't it? And no, Lloyd doesn't have a golden weapon, but he's connected to his dragon another way. It'll be explained in a later chapter, I'm sure.

Guest- Your wish is yours to keep!

If anyone's interested in more in-depth history that probably won't make it into this fic, you can check out my tumblr (fabrowrites) where I'll be posting some stuff like that every so often. Right now, I think I have a creation story there. Anyways, onto the chapter!

Previously, on Skyward:

"What do you mean by saying that dragons are extinct?"

Ice flicked her tail. 'We are spirits. The weapons hold some of our power, and so we're still tied to this world.'

"So if these powers are normal for dragons, then why did Kai get so sick?"

'Without bonding to your weapons, as Fire's chosen has, the power you use will eventually destroy you. Your human body isn't equipped to handle the stress of changing back and forth. Your human side and dragon side are fighting against each other for control, and without uniting them, the dragon will win.'

Nya smirked behind her mask. If the ninja couldn't be there to help, it was up to the Samurai to save the day.

The Bounty shuddered.

"Oh, come on, come on," Nya mumbled, tapping her wrench against the control box. The engine gave one last shake and went still. She cursed, tossing her wrench to the ground. "Ugh!"

She stayed like that for a moment, glaring at the machine with tense shoulders, before dropping her arms with a sigh. "Hey, uh, Sensei Wu?" she called, moving to the door. "Sensei Wu?" Silence greeted her. "Where has he gone now," she mumbled, heading out to check the boosters herself.

When Nya had found the ancient ship in the middle of the desert, it had seemed like the perfect new ninja base. Several days later, and after a crapton of hard physical labor, it was starting to shape up into what she'd envisioned it to be. Rocket boosters were only one of the things she had planned for the ship. But even those were proving difficult to integrate into the system.

Her footsteps echoed in the silence. The ship felt empty without her brother and the rest of the ninja. It was an odd thought, considering that they'd never been aboard. Some emotion tugged at her lips. Jay would have gone nuts over the flying components she'd installed.

She turned down the last corridor and was outside. Nya climbed over the railing and first inspected the left booster, fixing the wiring and machinery when she needed to. Repeat on the other side and she was set for Test 13.

She headed back to the bridge. Sidestepping the sectioned tools and materials, Nya wove her way through the minefield of metal over to the camera interface. They'd been installed first thing, even before the boosters, and now she flicked through the channels to find the one viewing the boosters. Something on one of them made her backtrack and look again. Wait a minute, what was that? She tapped at the screen like it would make the static go away. Then she gasped. Sensei?

It was the sensei. Onscreen, Wu was coming up the hallway. In one hand he carried a suitcase and in the other, a teapot. Nya followed his progress, switching between cameras. He's going towards the deck. Towards the gangplank. Something horrible dawned in her mind. She glanced out the window. They were pointed towards the city.

Nya dashed out into the hallway. Her feet slipped across the wooden floor and she skidded to a stop in front of the sensei. "You're leaving?"

Wu sighed but said nothing. That gave Nya all the confirmation she needed.

"How could you?" she demanded. "What are you thinking? Ninjago needs us more than ever right now, Sensei!"

Sensei Wu shifted his case to his other hand. "I know," he said. "It's... complicated, Nya. And too long of a story to tell. Let's just say that to help Ninjago, I must go and find someone to help us."

"You mean Kai?" Even as the words left her mouth, Nya knew she was wrong.

"No. I fear for your brother and the others. My visions of them are clouded still." Wu paused before continuing. "We can't count on them to help us in this fight. And that's why it's all the more imperative that I leave now."

He didn't offer anything more. He moved past her and down the gangplank. His answer didn't satisfy her in the slightest, but there was nothing she could do to stop him from leaving. Nya watched him go, frustration and anger welling up inside her. She hissed through her teeth. Hot, angry tears threatened to spill over. She turned away from his retreating figure, wiping furiously at her eyes.

Oh my gosh, Nya, stop being so pathetic! She clenched her hands, feeling strangely reassured by the sound of her knuckles cracking, and forced herself to take several deep breaths. It's okay. You can do this. All you've gotta do is hold down the fort until Kai gets back. See? Simple.

The frantic beeping of her bracelet told her it would be anything but that.

Kai opened his eyes. He gazed straight up, eyes lazily tracing patterns into the cave's ceiling. The shadows blended together in a pallet of deep browns and greens. Somewhere off to his left, water dripped rhythmically into a puddle.

The cave was nice enough, he guessed, for a cave. It had high ceilings and a large floor. Besides the main entrance, a second tunnel led out to the beach and allowed a cool breeze to blow through. They'd sectioned off parts of the floor for each person- Kai ending up with the one closest to the main exit.

It hadn't been a week since they'd arrived at the coves, and yet it felt like much longer. Fire woke them early in the morning -even earlier than Sensei Wu did, and that was saying something- and took them out catch breakfast. After eating, they'd go to individual training with their dragons. So far, Fire had Kai practicing flaming things as a human and controlling his fire. Later, they'd join back up. Earth and Energy took over, running them through exercises to strengthen their flight muscles and drilling them in flight patterns and formations. By the end of the day, Kai was exhausted and super sore. A night of sleep that felt way too short, and then get up and repeat it all over again.

But none of that really mattered right now. What had woken him? Kai pushed himself into a sitting position, glancing around the cave again. Then he felt it. A mental prod, like someone was poking at him.

'Hey. Hey, Flame. You awake yet?'

'Huh?'

'Oh, good. Hey, meet me down on the beach, okay? I've got something important to tell you.'

'What? Fire?' Kai reached for the bond but he couldn't find it. "Is she for real?" he mumbled, rolling out of his bag with a groan and stiff muscles.

Kai shrugged on his shirt over his pajama bottoms and slipped from the cave. He went along the second tunnel that led to the beach, coming out into the moonlit night. Fire was waiting for him along the shore.

'I figured now was a good time as any to start your empath training,' she said by way of greeting.

Kai stared at her for a long second. "Seriously?" he said, incredulous. "You woke me up in the middle of the night, just to tell me that?"

'Yep. You'll be practicing with just me for a while until you get the hang of it. Later on, you can practice with the others too.'

"What if I don't want to do this?"

'Oh, come off it. You do know I can read you, right? And I know for a fact that you're interested, so you can uncross your arms.'

"It's cold," Kai said, keeping his arms crossed stubbornly.

'Whatever. Change into a dragon if you're so cold. On second thought, change anyway. It might be easier. I don't know.'

Kai was too tired to protest and so obliged her. If Fire already knew he wanted to learn, what was the point in arguing? He stretched out his wings and flapped a few times, feeling dwarfed next to her. He'd never been the largest dragon among the ninja group and Fire was easily double or triple his size- at least twenty feet long.

"So what do I do?"

'Well, learning to tell emotions apart is super important. If you can recognize your own feelings, it should be easier to recognize others'. So what are you feeling right now?'

"I feel tired."

Fire cuffed him with her tail, a blow that sent him staggering for a moment. 'Knock it off.'

Kai closed his eyes and tried to focus. He was feeling... well, it was hard to tell because he was focusing so hard on being focused. "I don't think this is gonna work."

'Hmm. Let's do this: I'll broadcast an emotion, and you tell me what it is. Got it?'

"Yeah. Go for it."

The first emotion to creep along the bond was easy to name. "Fear," said Kai, shuddering. He'd felt enough of that to last him a lifetime. "Give me something harder!"

Fire snorted. 'Hold your breath, hothead.'

The next emotion was also one he was familiar with. "Love," said Kai. It was a warm fuzzy feeling that thrilled through his body. Fire hummed approvingly.

The third emotion made him tense up and grit his teeth. It wasn't painful, not exactly, but he felt crushed underneath it. He flexed the claws on his wings. "Uh, anger? Upset feelings?"

'It's stress,' said Fire.

"Upset feelings count," said Kai.

'Fine. I'll give it to you.' Fire paused, seemingly studying him. 'You're starting to look like oldkill, Flame. Do you want to go back to the cave?'

Kai shook his head. "No, I can do one more."

'Okay then.'

The last emotion was also one he recognized. Cole felt it a lot, especially around him and especially after the amusement park. "Worry, right?"

'You got it.'

"Yay." Kai yawned. "Huh. I guess I am pretty tired." He stretched out his wings, then let them fall to his sides. "I should hit the hay. Lloyd's gonna want to take me exploring tomorrow, so I've gotta have my beauty rest."

Fire looked at him searchingly. 'You really do care for him, don't you.'

"Lloyd?" Kai asked. "Well yeah, of course I do. I mean sure, he was a brat when I first met him but he's just a kid, y'know? And he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders, so if I'm able to help him feel more like a kid in any way at all I'm gonna do it.'

She was silent for a long moment. 'I- yes. I see.' She met his gaze. 'You should go to bed, Kai. I'll wake you for breakfast tomorrow.'

Kai nodded, the tension in the air dissipating. He changed back and made his way to the cave, feeling Fire's eyes follow him until he stepped through the wall.