Randy's POV:

"She's going to be fine, Ran. Be patient," Blue said. I sighed and turned to her.
"But how long can we stand being here?" I asked. This place we had been sent to was giving me terrible vibes. No walls. No ceilings. No buildings. Just a wide, open plain that held trees that were dark and impenetrable to us. We couldn't leave. No one had their masks.
We were basically helpless... That is until we heard the last part of the prophecy. "The White Bird will save the dead, raise their hearts once more, breathe life into their still and cold lungs. Coming to find them with a Star of the Osprey hawk, will she make it. But it is only the White Bird that can save them."
Blue sighed and crossed her arms. "We've made it a year and fourteen days, haven't we? We need to send her another message... Another dream...," she said, deep in thought.
I nodded and glanced up at the sunny sky. Clouds dotted it, as if the blue sky was a river and the clouds were white pebbles in its wake. Helpless..., I thought. "Fine, but what can we say?" Blue shook her head and stared into my eyes.
"Let's talk to the group. They may have some ideas...," she said, taking my hand and pulling me along.

Y/N's POV:

"Good night, guys," I said, waving to my parents and walking to my bedroom. I shut the door behind me and walked to my bed. I rolled onto it and and stared at the ceiling. Before I knew it I was asleep. There was darkness as I fell into the dream. I wasn't at a beach, this time. I was in a grassy plain, filled with colorful flowers. I walked along a path that snaked through the tall, cool grass.
"Y/N!" My name echoed around me like I was in a concrete room. I heard the grass brush against itself as someone ran to me. I turned slowly, seeing Randy's purple hair bounce against his forehead as he bounded after me.
I smiled and waved him to me. "Finally, I caught up to you!" He huffed, bending down and planting his hands on his knees as he gasped for breath. I tilted my head slightly, but cocked it back into place when he looked up. "Come on, let's keep walking. I need to talk to you."
We held hands as we walked forward, the green grass brushing against our legs. "How have you been? I know you've been missing me," he smirked. I giggled and nodded.
"Yeah, I've been missing all of you guys... It's like I'm not-"
"Not whole?" I nodded and stared at a blood red flower in front of me.
"Yeah."
"Listen, Y/N," Randy sighed, stopping and pulling me in front of him. Now he was serious. Done  with the fluff talk. I swallowed hard and stared at his deep blue eyes. "You know I can't keep the big elephant out of the room anymore. We need your help."
"M-my help!?" I stuttered. "What can I do?"
Randy blinked away from my gaze and into the grass before mending our broken stare again.
"Find the Star and the Osprey hawk. The prophecy isn't over," he continued. "Blue and I haven't found Reaper here... Where ever this place is. He could still be out there."
"That's impossible! I saw him burst into flowers like the rest of you," I explained.
"Well, he isn't here. Check the bouquet again...," he sighed. I nodded and looked around.
"Is this where you're trapped?" I changed the subject quietly.
"Yeah. The group is near the trees." Randy pointed away to a shadow on the distance.
"Why can't you seek shelter in the trees?" I asked in curiosity.
"Can't go through," Randy shook his head. "It's too mangled and thorns grow from everything in there. Thank God we have Sakira here to heal our wounds." I nodded and we started walking toward he shadow of the forests. 
"Sorry that I missed your birthday," Randy said softly. I winced at the comment. "You really showed Therisa who's boss around your home." I nodded and smiled at him before looking away. 
"Y-y-yeah."

.:FLASHBACK:.

After the cake and presents, I dismissed everyone and went to my room. I was starting to spend a lot of time there. I went in, shut my door, and laid on my stomach. I grabbed a book and started reading it, not paying any attention to the words. I just needed a small distraction. After about 30 minutes, a knock echoed from my door. 
"Come in," I said, sitting up. I was expecting my mom or dad to walk in. But who walked in was someone I had forgotten about. Orange hair, chestnut brown eyes, and a blue shirt. "Hey, Y/N." 
"Howard?" I felt the tears rush to my eyes when he came in and shut the door behind him. We talked for hours and hours about what had happened. I told him who I was, and what had happened when we were gone. 
"I figured Randy would get into something like this sooner or later... But not now," he said after the story. I nodded and bent my head, my face hurting from crying. Even though there was pain, it felt soothing to let it all out. 
"What are we going to do now?" I asked, my breath shuttering. 
"Well," Howard sighed, "all we can do is have hope that they're still out there. That they're still alive in some way or another."
To me, Howard had been the light in the storm, something for me to relate and confine in for comfort. Besides Randy, he was the only one in the real world that understood what I was going through. Howard was, after all, Randy's best friend. The next day, Howard and I went to Randy's house and talked to his parents. 
"Where did he go, Y/N!?" His mother cried. "Please, tell me!" I stared into her eyes. They were full of hurt, panic, distress, every bitter and sad emotion you could ever think to see from someone who had just lost their child. I swallowed hard, trying not to break loose myself.
"I'm not sure, Mrs. Cunningham...," I whispered. "But... can we go up to his room? One last time?" She nodded and wailed in pain and agony of her loss. My heart hurt like it was being stabbed slowly and painfully when she cried his name. Howard climbed the stairs, me following close behind.  
His door had been closed. But when we opened it, everything was dark and colorless. It was as if we were walking into a black and white movie. It was cold, too. Be brave... Be strong! I thought. We walked in farther, searching over the items he had left behind. A strong emotion moved the room, moved my feet to walk forward, farther into my dead friend's room. Papers were stacked on a book shelf next to his window. When I came that night, I don't remember seeing them there. 
I walked over and picked up the stack. Dark gray and black words were written on every line of the paper. Drawings were scribbled on some in corners with bubble letters that were erased later or faded from the constant light. Quietly, I read the pages and pages of writing.

Y/N... If you're reading this, I think that there had been an accident or your over for the night... It's been a while since we've talked. I've missed you, even though you don't know that I'm closer to you than you think. By now, you probably know that I am the Ninja. And I've known for a while that you are Snowbird. If I have died or... something... I want you to know that you were my best friend besides Howard. I could always find in you something that no one else had. 
And I want you to be strong, I want you to be brave. For now, the battle is hardly won. 

The other pages I had fell delicately to the floor and my hands shook the paper vigorously. I drew the paper away and looked to my right, trying to forget what I had just read. 

.:FLASHBACK END:.

As we drew closer to the forest, I spotted other colors than just the flowers. There were people here. I glanced at Randy before he smiled at me and nodded. "Yeah, they're here. You can go see them if you want. I'll catch up later," he said. I turned and ran to the small cluster of people in the wide meadow. "She's back!" Blue's familiar voice called. Her electric blue hair was pulled back in a braid and it whipped around wildly as she ran to me. 
We tackled each other in a hug before I saw the others. Carissa, Esmerelda, Sakira, Myst, Flare, they were all here. And then my eyes landed on a boy with dark hair, faded green eyes. "K-K-Kai?" I choked out. He smiled at me and walked forward. 
"Yeah, I'm here, Snowy," he said, pulling me into a hug. I pressed my ear to his chest, hearing his heartbeat. I wish this was real... Seconds later, we pulled apart and stood with the group. I glanced around, searching for Reaper. But he wasn't here. Randy was right..., I thought, a sinking feeling collapsing over my heart. 
"So... What now?" I asked, glancing at Blue. She blinked at the grass and thought quietly. 
"You know the prophecy is only half over, right?" she questioned. 
"Sorta. White Demon only told me that we were all going to die. And that was it," I admitted. 
"Ok. Well, we found the second half of the prophecy here. And we found out who White Demon is with." Her voice was cold and her eyes seemed to burn with blue fire. 
"Who?" I ventured. 
"The Shadow Council. We're not sure who's leading them, but we are sure that they want us out of the equation for good. They've been trying to take over Norrisvile for a long time, but we've stood in their way. They've managed to kill everyone that was part of the Ninja... All but four."
"Four? I thought you were going to say-"
"One? No, Snowy, you aren't the complete last one. There are three others out there that need you to lead them," Blue said sharply. I nodded and felt a little dizzy. 
"You're starting to wake up," Kai said, glancing at me. "Remember these names: Lavender, Osprey and Star Dust." I reached for his hand as I started falling backwards, but it was too far for me to grasp. I screamed out as I tumbled out of my dream and into the real world.
"Lavender, Osprey, and Star Dust...," I repeated as I sat up. Then I remembered. I jumped out of bed and ran to where the bouquet sat in a clear glass vase. Randy was right... There was no gray rose in there anymore. It had disappeared.  
"Reaper, please be alive."

(A/n: Wow... That was really cheesy. *FACE PALMS* Sorry. ^^; I just wanted this chapter to be a little more on the touching side of what's going on. Uhm. Hope you guys are liking this last book. If anything is a little too cliché, let me know and I can fix it.)