Long time no see, eh readers? Yeah, I'm sorry. Driver's Ed and taking a college class - while still in high school, mind you - have both taken over my life, giving me exactly two days every week where I'm free. I should be doing homework right now, but not writing physically hurts and I haven't done any creative writing since the Friday. I've also been trying to write a fanfic for a different fandom, but I'm having a lot of trouble with it. Maybe I should just stick to Ninjago...

Seriously though. Comment on what you guys think we should do to celebrate reaching 200 comments. We're also approaching 40 chapters here in a bit (I know, right?!).

In other news, I probably should do a disclaimer. For starters, I don't own Ninjago. And the Hydroscales/Sakura both are the property of LegoTerraWarrior, as I've said before. They have a more accurate interpretation, so if you're interested in the concept then go check out some of their work. And as requested by LTW, this chapter includes the song How Far I'll Go from the movie "Moana". So yeah. All I own is the plot. One day though...

Comment Reviews:
Ebony umbreon - One of your predictions is spot on, but I won't tell you which! Haha

TheAmberShadow - Yeah, I've discovered I have to wait 24 hours between chapters for it to show up as updated. Hopefully I can avoid this from happening in the future. You theory involving the FSM may be proven right, as it's come to light that Season 8 will involve FSM origins and stuff. Neat-o, right? Dareth would be placed in the Constrictai, because he likes brown and brown is another colour within the Constrictai colour scheme. I'm not sure about Echo/Zane, though. I'll figure that out later.

And...enjoy!

The wind blew, the salty breaths of the ocean blowing through her.

"I've been standing at the edge of the water

Long as I can remember, never really knowing why

I wish I could be the perfect daughter

But I come back to the water, no matter how hard I try"

A smile tugged at her Hydroscale mouth, eyes shut and face tilted to the glittering rays of the sky. She was alone, finally, to sing and dance and shout and scream as she pleased.

"Every turn I take, every trail I track

Every path I make, every road leads back

To the place I know where I cannot go

Where I long to be..."

She dramatically leaped onto a jagged rock, perched atop it as its queen. The queen of this whole beach, she'd even wager, as long as no one came to interrupt her or her song.

"See the line where the sky meets the see? It calls me...

And no one kno-ows, how far it go-oes

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays be-hind me...

One day I'll kno-ow

If I go there's just no telling how far I'll go"

But she did know. She had been there, she had seen the mainland, and now she was back. She knew full well her own capability as an explorer and adventurer now.

"I know everybody on this island

Seems so happy on this island

Everything is by design

I know everybody on this island

As a role on this island

So maybe I can roll with mine"

Her face sunk a bit at the thought of her own prestigious but unfavourable position amongst her people (unfavourable to her, at least), but didn't let that halt her joyous skipping.

"I can lead with pride, I can make us strong

I'll be satisfied if I play along

But the voice inside sings a different song

What is wrong with me?"

As scary as it was to be kidnapped and taken to an unknown location, mutated, and be forced to escape from an unfamiliar world...it was the most pleasant experience of her life. She knew it was wrong for her to want to endure that hardship again - it was hardship, after all - but she so badly wanted -

"Absolutely nothing," blurted a voice.

She froze in place, stopping her dancing and singing in surprise and fear. Who said that?

Two weathered eyes stared at her, either void of emotion or possessing an impressive poker face. Hands shriveled with age stroked the tattered locks of their white beard, which trailed far past their face.

His old - and ill-fitting - Serpentine garb had been replaced with a white robe, given to him by her people as a gift. He was one of their human allies, and he was playing a major role in the planning phase of Operation: Coral Dagger. For that, the Hydroscales were very grateful.

Once she saw him, she relaxed. "Oh. It's just you, Wu. You startled me there! How are you doing today, sir?"

Wu's heart twinged with grief at the word 'sir'. Though it was nice of her to be so polite, being called 'sir' made him feel worlds older than he actually was...technically, not physically. But she didn't know that, so he allowed it to slide. One must pick their battles wisely. "I'm doing well. Thank you, Sakura. But I am not here for idle chat. You are -"

"I'm needed in the War Room," Sakura said with a sigh and a slouch. "Yes, I know." She shuddered at the thought of that small shack of a place, and the impromptu rush to construct it in the presence of new invaders. Since returning from her adventures, it had been refurbished from the poor excuse for a 'room' that it once was. In her absence it had been adorned with chairs, maps, figurines, and the sort of things one needs for creating complex battle strategies. The Hydroscales were pretty isolated out there in the middle of the ocean, to the extent that 'war' hardly even had a presence in their language. But with the coming of these so-called Serpentines, they had quickly familiarized themselves with things like battles and bloodshed.

"In there it is all hands on deck," Wu added. "And yours are the only ones missing right now."

"So you've come to collect me." She broke her normally peppy attitude to sit in the sand and mope over her options. "Great."

Wu supported himself on his stick-turned-cane as he got down on his knees. The two of them sat there and watched the crashing of the waves. The push, the pull, the swirling of tides against the azure horizon. "You are troubled."

Sakura let out a breath as salty as the air. "Yeah."

"Would you like to get it off your chest?"

"As if you'd understand," she said.

"Do I need to?"

"No offense, Wu, but you need to understand my problems to give me good advice. That's kinda how it works."

His eyebrows arched. "Who said I wanted to give you advice? I merely want to sit and listen to your problems."

Sakura was taken aback. No one had every just wanted to listen and NOT give their two cents. Though skeptical, she wasn't going to let such a rare opportunity pass.

She prolonged her next exhale, perhaps putting off the time she had to start her explanation. "I know I'm the heir, the princess, whatever you want to call it."

Wu remained silent, his eyes telling nothing of his thoughts. This troubled her. She took pride in her ability to read people, but he remained unreadable. Perhaps he did it on purpose. She'd have to entertain that idea later.

"I'm not going to back down from my duties and responsibilities because they're mine," Sakura said. "But I...oh man, I must sound like a huge cliche don't I?"

Wu said nothing, made a gesture telling her to continue.

Okay. "When I was kidnapped and taken and...tortured, to some level...I was actually filled with a strange feeling. I didn't know what it was, until I finally stepped foot back on Melody Island and realized what it was. It was love. Love for adventure, for the thrill of the unknown, for trudging waist-deep in a mysterious world ripe for the exploring."

Wu stifled his breaths and really movement altogether, to the point that she half-thought he'd died then and there. But his chest expanded ever-so-slightly, and that was the assurance she needed to know she didn't have a funeral to plan.

Sakura shifted her weight, and didn't take her eyes off the sparkling waters beyond. "I loved it. Can you imagine? I actually loved all I went through. And now I want to go back. But my people need me. I love my home and my people and this beautiful island but..."

"You love adventure just as much," Wu finally stated, voice hollow and tone flat.

"Y-yeah..." The two of them sat there, not sharing a word between them. The sand was hot beneath them, and the air was cool above them. Wu and Sakura melted between these two extremes, like how the sea and sky merged into a calm horizon.

"Well, that's what's going on with me!" She rose into an upright position with a smile brighter than the afternoon sun, offering to help him up with an outstretched hand.

Wu smirked knowingly, but got up on his own. "I see. Thank you for sharing." He dusted himself off, and she did too, and they both wordlessly headed off to the War Room.

They would have gotten there, if not for the strange brown dot now growing closer and closer.

A boat?

It was a small one, not at all at the intimidating caliber of the Serpentine ships. It had a vibrant variety of people within - a Fairy, a Golem, and four humans.

One human in particular was especially familiar, and her eyes sparked with glee at the sight of him. "He's here!" she chirped.

"Who's here, Sakura?"

"He lives in a lighthouse not far from here," she hurried, jumping with uncontainable joy over the boat's arrival. "He comes by every so often to get food and basic supplies for his solitary life, and in exchange he builds us little machines and devices. And tells us stories! He's actually a good friend of mine, I think you'll like him too!"

The boat came closer, with Sakura racing back to the village to inform the others that (arguably) everyone's favourite human was here once again.

Wu strained his old eyes to see who the others were. His heart grew heavy - a happy heavy - at the realization.

Nya fluttered above with her mismatch wings. Cole rowed with his big buff Golem arms. He knew not the identities of the humans, but the fact that two of his nephew's friends were there -and safe, no less - put him at ease.

Though he didn't know where the rest of the Creatures from his sanctuary were, to see just a few of them was better than none.