Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding - Outside

Fire's out, what do you want to be? 

 Now I'm holding on 

Myself was never enough for me 

Gotta be so strong 

There's a power in what you do

                   ---              

Eyes clenched shut, the wind whistled through your ears, the darkness shrouding your vision even when your eyes were open. Weightless, almost, but heading towards the earth below, unable to grasp anything as it all shot past.

This was undoubtedly the end.

Or so, you had thought.

CRACK.

Pain raced up your legs like wildfire as you crumpled onto the stone floor, your head laying on the cold surface before the gloom took back its claim on your vision.

Falling, darkness, abyss.

Agony.

---

When your eyes fluttered open, a figure stood slightly leaning over you, somewhat blurred before you narrowed your eyes, dizzied from the recent ''experience''. Focusing a bit, the lines cleared.

Above stood a boy with earthy-brown skin and shaggy-coal hair along with cedar brown eyes, looking down at your injured form. His mouth twisted into a frown, briefly looking away from you.

You scrunched up your nose, as the strong scent of tea hit your senses.

''You know, Sensei, you wanted me to become a ninja, but I'm sure this isn't part of my training.'' The boy looked back at you, as another but lighter-skinned and older man with a long white beard and conical straw hat came closer to you. He was the one who stunk of tea, weirdly enough.

''What happened?" Was the first question to exit your lips. You hadn't expected it but hey, your curiosity needed to be taken care of. As well as of course, your bleeding leg-

Oh, yeah that. Attempting to sit up to inspect it, the older man pushed you back down. ''You fell, and broke both of your legs.'' How could the man be so straightforward? ''Cole, would you be so kind to help? Since I am an old man, it would be wise to respect your elders.''

A slight humourous look in the old man's eye was directed to the dark-skinned boy, who looked between you and the ''Sensei'', seemingly suppressing a groan before coming forward, pulling you up into his arms, where you winced. He didn't seem to notice as he began walking out, with the old man in tow.

---

The three of you ended up at a place that looked to be a monastery at the top of a mountain, with white outer walls with black tiles situated on the tops, red accentuating the parts below the tiles and a large gate that promptly opened as your group approached.

Two people already were inside, wearing black ninja gi, who turned to face 'Wu', the old man as he walked in.

''Sensei Wu!'' Spoke one of the two, pulling off his mask. He had short, straight, reddish-brown hair with freckles sprinkled here and there on his face, along with a notch on his right eyebrow and light skin. His electric-blue eyes seemed to sparkle when he looked at you and the other boy who was yet to reveal his name.

''Who are they, Sensei Wu?" The other questioned, his voice a noticeably lower pitch than the first's. He also pulled off his mask, showing his platinum blond hair, alongside his straight expression and icy blue eyes.

''Zane, Jay, meet Cole and...'' The old man looked your way when he started as if asking for your name. He probably was. You cough to clear your throat, suddenly finding it hard to meet everyone else's gazes.

''(L/n). (Y/n) (L/n).'' You reply as you lowered your gaze, your arms bunching up from the pressure of more than one gaze on you. 'Cole' was still holding onto you but not for much longer as he placed you down on a chair facing the courtyard, then walked inside.

''I need all of you to look after the monastery while I'm gone.'' Wu stroked his beard, looking to you and the other two that remained outside. Jay didn't appear to like this, opening his mouth to speak before abruptly closing it.

He then opened it again to speak. ''You're leaving us, again? And so soon?!" Jay nearly yelled, realising his volume mid-speech.

''Yes. Be good.'' Wu nodded, turning and leaving as quickly as he had entered, closing the gates behind himself. You tried moving from your spot, only to find the pain shoot up your legs, leaving you hissing under your breath as you leaned back in the seat.

''Are you okay?" Jay's head turned in your direction, his curious eyes scanning over you. He then bit his lip, kneeling. ''Geez, your legs didn't get spared...''

''Yeah, 'cause I fell.'' You dryly retorted to distract yourself. ''From a cliff. By accident.'' You had to bite back a gasp as the freckle-faced boy's hand brushed against one of your wounds, Jay himself quickly apologising and retracting his hand in embarrassment.

''Err, hey Zane! Mind giving me some help?" Jay turned his head in the direction of the platinum blond, who blinked once at the request before nodding in response.

—

''A bit more, c'mon Zane!'' The brown-haired boy called to the other ninja, who held your shoulders, carrying you along with Jay assisting. Both of them were at least struggling a bit, with Jay noticeably struggling more than Zane.

At last, they finally lowered you onto a bed, some of the pain in your legs receding. Jay wiped some sweat off his forehead, taking a moment to have a breather. However, Zane didn't seem to be exhausted at all, awkwardly standing in place.

''Uh, we gotta go train, so– cyaaaa,'' Jay told you, turning and walking out with Zane following. The floorboards creaked, and you looked up as Cole entered the room, pausing as he saw you on the bed.

He looked like he had been crying. The boy then muttered something under his breath, striding over to where he towered over you. Scooping you up, you loudly hissed from the pain as he carried you out.

Cole then dumped you onto another bed, it creaking under the sudden weight. You almost expected it to break in half from the force, but thankfully enough it didn't. He then left again, presumably back to his bed.

Your eyes began to heat up as tears gathered. Trying to stop the flow didn't work, tears started to fall onto the sheets which you clutched tightly. With nothing else you could do, your mind drifted off, with the rest of you following into slumber.

—

Throat dry, you stared up at the skies. Hardly any clouds were present, but the sun glared down onto the stony ground. The wind whipped at your clothes, nipping at any bit of exposed (s/c) skin, you had to lodge the stick you held in between two rocks, holding on tightly to avoid falling.

But you only delayed it.

Your eyelids felt heavier than stone, but you kept going despite the issue. Everything had to be perfectly fine, even when it wasn't. Eventually, you had to take a break, kneeling to take a swig from the bottle of water you carried and filled to the brim.

In the corner of your eye, something metallic glinted. Your break was all but forgotten as you scooted closer to the source. It was a small infinity symbol, carved into the rock. One side was a deep purple, and the other, a metallic silver, the two colours merging in the middle.

The ground shifted underneath your feet. Yelping, you attempted fighting gravity to scramble off the crumbling ledge, eyes widening as gravity won, getting its hold on you and suddenly, there was nothing underneath, you tried to scream but nothing came out.

And then, you fell.

Falling, darkness, abyss.

Agony.

—

Hurried footsteps roused you from sleep. Some dust drifted down from the rafters, causing you to sneeze and quickly fan the rest of the dust away with your hand so it wouldn't get in your eyes.

You nearly jumped out of bed as something crashed onto the ground, who was Zane, laying on the floor stunned whilst wearing his black gi, briefly giving you a blank stare. Laughter came from above, and you stared up at the rafters, spotting a boy with a porcupine-styled haircut grinning down at you two.

Thankfully his laughter was cut short as another in black gi hit him full force. Zane turned to you fully, glancing down. Tone flat, he said: ''I thought it would be good to help.'' Frowning, you pulled back the blanket, a splint now on each leg. Now that you thought of it, you didn't remember falling asleep on your back.

Before you could question him, the platinum-blond boy disappeared from the room, leaving you to suppress a growl. Slipping out of bed, you kept stopping any noise of pain, being the moment where you wondered if curiosity would kill the cat.

All that (not so painless) crawling brought you outside. This most likely wasn't good for your injury, but screw all logic right now.

''Wait a moment, they're your students too?'' Porcupine questioned as you slowly approached, the spiky-haired boy gesturing to the others in black gi. You were in the shadows, watching the group.

Wu was the only one to notice but made no fuss about it, instead he nodded to Kai as the boy continued. ''This was my final test-''

''Woah, woah, woah woah.'' Jay began, pointing at the Sensei. ''You never said anything about a fourth, let alone a fifth. It's always three, three blind mice, three musketeers, three-''

The spiky-haired boy furrowed his eyebrows, glancing around, it was then he finally spotted you lurking in the shadows, on the ground and looking up to him with narrowed eyes. His own eyes widened as Cole interrupted Jay.

''What he's trying to say Sensei, is that the three of us have trained together, we're solid,'' Cole spoke, stepping closer to the Sensei.

''Didn't look so solid to me.'' Porcupine crossed his arms, tearing his gaze away from you.

Zane then curiously asked: ''Master, what is the meaning of this?"

''Each of you have been chosen, each entombed with elemental properties,'' Wu responded, looking to the group.

You felt a pair of eyes on you but when you looked in the direction you thought they came from, the Sensei's back was turned to you. ''But first, Ninja Go!'' Wu then cried out, turning into a golden spinning tornado and going past the ninja, turning all of their gis to different colours. Except for Cole's, that is.

After that happened you heard what the ninja were saying, however, you weren't really listening, stuck in your thoughts. Those were interrupted when a shadow fell over you, and you lifted your gaze.

''I see you've dragged yourself out of bed,'' Wu said, holding onto a steaming cup of tea. ''I wouldn't have advised you to do so, but I was too late.''

''Yeah, yeah, I know.'' You grumbled, hating the fact you were on the ground. But laying in a bed all the time didn't make you feel any better. The old man knelt, putting forward the hand with the cup of tea.

''Drink this, it won't heal you, but at least it will take away some of the pain.'' Wu offered. You warily eyed the steaming cup before waving your hand over the steam to cool it down a bit. Sighing, you took the cup, attempting to scull it in one go.

Big mistake. You coughed and spluttered as the boiling liquid slid down your throat, putting a hand up to let Wu know he had to wait a moment until the situation improved.

When it did, you rubbed your neck, throat now feeling raw. Never again did you want to make that mistake.

Wu took you back inside, but into a room with mats, directing you to sit on one. Once you did, he pulled out an envelope and handed it to you. The seal on the back was round like most; however, a curled fox tail surrounding a clock face lay within the circle.

Eagerly you ripped it open, disregarding the seal. The letter you pulled out was crumpled at the edges, the letters on it a messy scrawl across the paper.

As I'm writing this, I have just heard the news from Wu.

I hope you're safe at the monastery.

I haven't been there in years and it's been hard for me to grasp the fact you've come so far, (Y/n).

The memory of you being so young feels like yesterday, I'm glad to say your father and I are very proud of you.

If there are any problems at the monastery, do anything you can to contact us or if you just want to get out of there.

From, your mother,

Tess (L/n).

P.s Wu is still a tea-obsessed old fart

Giggling, you slipped the paper back into the envelope, pocketing it for later.

''Your mother also suggested paying the bill for the doctor, but I refused since it was no one's fault you are in this situation,'' Wu informed you. ''The doctor will come in time, unfortunately not soon enough, though there is something you can do until then.''

''And what would that be?'' You asked. The old man smiled.

''We will take the horse carriage.''

—

The ''horse carriage'' was in reality not a horse carriage in the idea it was pulled by horses, but instead, the ninja were pulling it along as you and Wu sat on the carriage. You would rate it a three on luxury if that were the focus, but at least you didn't have to be dragging yourself around this time.

''...'' Sign me up''...'' Jay mocked Kai, huffing whilst running. ''Way to go, sparkplug.''

''I sense this is some weird form of team-building,'' Zane informed the other ninja.

''Just keep pulling. We have a long way to go.'' Cole replied, glancing back at the others.

''So, where did Sensei find you three?'' Kai inquired. Cole turned his face to him while running as he replied:

''Let's just say if it wasn't for Sensei Wu, I don't think we'd ever been seen together. I was testing my limits.'' The Earth Ninja explained.

''I was testing my invention,'' Jay told the group.

''And I was testing myself,'' Zane affirmed.

''You're right, if it weren't for Sensei, none of us would—'' Kai started but was interrupted.

''Shh... Stop!'' The Sensei commanded and the ninja stopped pulling the carriage. You turned to look ahead, spotting a medium-sized hill, dotted with entrances into caves here and there.

By Wu's command, the ninja moved the carriage a bit closer, enough for you to see what was going on without getting too close so you wouldn't be spotted. But you appreciated it nonetheless.

''The Caves of Despair. Samukai must be close to unearthing the Scythe of Quakes. Remember, do not use the weapon. For its power— '' Wu began however he was cut off.

''Yeah, yeah, yeah! It's too much for us mortals. Alright, guys. Let's chop-socky this lemonade stand! Cole, you got the plan?'' Jay questioned, looking at the boy.

''Sure do. First, we lower ourselves down the ledge. And then-'' Cole looked to his left, seeing the Fire Ninja no longer there. ''Where's Kai?''

Zane, Jay and Wu immediately looked ahead, scanning the area for the Fire Ninja. There he was, sneaking past the boneheaded skeletons who looked over at the wrong moments, where Kai formally was.

Jay sighed.

''Let's go.'' He muttered, and the rest of the ninja followed as he went after Kai. Watching the ninja was at the very least entertaining as they snuck into the den of skeletons they couldn't take the whole army on however there were few the ninja couldn't avoid taking down.

A bit of time passed after they entered a cave, and then-

''That is so COOL-'' The sound reverberated throughout, the boneheads turning their faces to the source of the noise.

''That cannot be good.'' You whispered to yourself as they began to head towards one of the tunnels, biting your lip. Hearing a creak, you looked over at Wu holding onto the handlebars where the ninja once pulled the carriage.

He was surprisingly quick for someone appearing so old. Within a few minutes, Wu had pulled the carriage near the top of the hill. The ground trembled underneath, causing you to hold in a breath as you waited for it to cave in under you.

You then released your breath out of relief, though suddenly the ground split open not that far from you and Wu. A roar followed as the split widened. More roars and out shot four spinning tornadoes, each with a different element, dispersing to reveal the boys, with Kai holding onto a shiny golden scythe.

Jay and Zane flopped down onto the ground soon to get up, as the other two cheered standing up.

''That was so awesome!'' Cole exclaimed to the others.

''Yes! We are unbelievable!'' Kai agreed.

''We are the best!'' Zane added. Your eyes darted over to the Sensei, as he tilted his head down slightly, glaring at the ninja.

''Did you see that?! I was like "pow"! And you were like "bam"!'' Jay gushed to the others.

''ENOUGH.'' Wu shouted. You flinched from the sudden sound. The ninja stopped chatting, turning to face the Sensei. ''I told you not to use the Scythe!''

Jay and Cole immediately pointed at Kai. ''He did it,'' Jay told the Sensei, taking a step away from the Fire Ninja.

Kai's eyebrows went up. ''What?'' He glanced to the others.

''I warned him, Sensei,'' Cole informed.

''Using it was my only option.'' The Fire ninja insisted, stepping forward.

''And what makes you think you're more important than the team?! Huh?! Huh?!'' Wu interrogated, his voice rising as he went.

The Fire Ninja visibly narrowed his eyes. ''They took my sister, remember?!''

''There are still three Weapons left. Maybe next time you can do it right.'' Wu replied, turning and heading back to the carriage as all ninja but Kai followed, hanging back for a moment before he went after them.

Sighing, you looked over at the Porcupine, who ignored you as he grabbed onto his handlebar, with Wu hopping back onto the carriage.

And off the group went.

Hello, hello, welcome back to Dreams! It's been some time, I guess I had been dissatisfied with the first chapter of the original. Don't worry, though, I won't delete the original (willingly), however, I thought it'd be a nice change from the usual to make this. I must admit I still have a draft of the OG's next chapter.

Plus, I don't really identify with She/Her pronouns as much as I used to since I actually identify as Nonbinary! Despite what's in my bio (my parents watch my account and once my family made fun of the pronouns in my bio) I use They/Them pronouns.

Any people misgendering me on purpose will not be tolerated, the same goes for anyone identifying as a gender different to the one they had at birth. You're valid, so in turn, this place must be full of respect, as pronouns are a right, not a privilege.

I suppose I've covered all I need to tell you all right now, so without further ado,

See ya, Bookworms.

WriterAgreste, over & out!