ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: Skrux - Believe Me ft. Complexion

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This house is haunted

I hear sounds

They only happen when you're not around

The pressure

When you're gone

They don't believe me

---

The ninja arrived at the haunted temple, on a tour.

''Welcome to Yang's Haunted Temple, the historical landmark and former home of Sensei Yang, the notorious sensei without a pupil, infamous for creating the lost martial art of Airjitzu.'' Patty informed them.

''Unfortunately, we can't take our tour groups inside, for rumours say anyone trapped inside its walls at sunrise, will be turned into a Ghost permanently. But, if you listen closely, maybe we'll be able to hear the Ghost of Sensei Yang himself looking for his lost pupils.''

''I hope it's not a rumour, for it's our only hope!'' Zane yelled. (Y/n) covered her ears, which looked a little fluffy. She then pulled her mask on, hoping no one would notice.

''Ah, sorry about my loud friend. He's a little hard of hearing.'' Cole told the woman.

''Known for his un-'' Patty cleared her throat ''-usual teaching methods.''

''I thought you said you fixed him?'' Kai asked Jay.

''At least he's no longer talking backwards. I guess my tinkering got his volume level stuck, hehe.'' Jay replied.

''At least you can understand me now!'' Zane shouted in Cole's face, and (Y/n) winced from the volume.

''Dating back, ahem, to the Edo Period...'' Patty continued.

''Well, from now on, only speak if you have something really important to say.'' The Earth Ninja told him.

''Who put you in charge?'' The Fire Ninja asked.

''I did. After you guys mucked it up, it's my turn to be in charge. And, like me, I like my plans simple. We sneak in, learn Airjitzu from the Ghost of Sensei Yang, then get out before sunup.'' Cole replied.

''Since Morro already knows Airjitzu, we just have to hope he hasn't figured out the next clue,'' Kai told them.

''Well, the sun is setting, which means we should head back to the bus. Wouldn't want anyone to turn into a Ghost.'' Patty announced, leading the tour group back to the bus.

Day turned to night, and in the depths of the night, an owl hooted. The ninja walked in, with Cole and Jay trying to get in through the boarded-up windows.

---

The ninja opened the door to a room, it closing behind them. They took off their masks, save for (Y/n).

Seeing a Spykor in front of him, his eyes widened. ''Argh!'' Cole shouted.

''Relax. If this place is truly haunted, we just need to wait until he shows himself.'' Kai reassured him, leading him away from the spider.

''Uh, he should've been here by now. You heard the tour guide, if we're not out by sunup, we'll be Ghosts.'' Cole replied.

''You didn't buy into that malarky, did you?'' The Hair Gelled Ninja asked.

''Hey, I don't wanna be a Ghost. Who wants to be a Ghost? Why didn't anyone warn us this place would get so creepy after dark?'' The Earth Ninja questioned.

''Uh, remind me again why we agreed to put the guy afraid of Ghosts in charge?'' Jay asked the others, and (Y/n) shrugged.

The Ice Ninja showed Jay a book. ''Listen to this!'' He yelled.

'Argh! Allow me.'' Jay replied, taking the book. ''Ahem. Whoa. It says here though many believed Sensei Yang's unusually strict teachings drove his pupils away, others admit to never seeing any of them leave the temple grounds, suggesting a more sinister plot. Hah! How awesome is that?'' He asked the others.

''Not awesome. Not even a little.'' The Earth Ninja answered.

''Don't believe everything you read.'' The Fire Ninja told Jay.

"Yang was hard on his pupils for a reason, for in his words 'As iron sharpens iron, Sensei sharpens student.'" Jay quoted.

''Hmm. I wonder what he means by that.'' Kai wondered. The grandfather clock started groaning, making the ninja turn to it.

Cole gasped. ''It's him. He's in the clock!''

''You're the leader. Check it out.'' Jay told him.

Cole opened the door, only to find the falcon fly out. ''Aah!'' Zane then played the groaning noise on his falcon, making the others but (Y/n) laugh. ''A prank? Really?''

''Heh, we were just trying to help you relax.'' The Fire Ninja told him.

''Yeah, heh. You should have heard yourself scream!'' Jay exclaimed, and the Ice Ninja played a recording of the Earth Ninja's screaming, making the others except (Y/n) laugh.

''I ain't afraid of no ghosts!'' (Y/n) mumbled under her breath. There was a thud, and Cole gasped.

''Ah. Another prank? Real funny. Didn't anyone teach you to quit while you're ahead?'' The soon to be ghost ninja asked, opening the door and leaving the room.

''Uh, was that you?'' Kai asked Jay.

''Not me.'' The Lightning Ninja answered.

''Me either!'' Zane and (Y/n) added.

''Cole, wait!'' The others shouted out after him.

''Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very scary.'' The Earth Ninja waved off the spookiness that was happening. He approached a door with its handles moving. ''As if I believe in Ghosts.''

''I swear, Cole,'' Kai said as the others ran towards him.

''Let's go back! We didn't do that!'' Jay added.

''It wasn't us!'' Zane told him.

''Okay, I have to admit, this is pretty good. How'd you get the handles to move all by itself? Is Nya behind there?'' Cole asked.

''Don't open that door!'' The Lightning Ninja shouted.

The Earth Ninja opened it. But nothing happened...

''Well, that was anticlimactic. Sensei Yang's dojo. This is where he must've trained his pupils.'' Kai told the others as they walked into the room, seeing burning incense and a photo of Sensei Yang.

''Or got rid of them,'' Jay replied.

''Knock it off, guys. If that wasn't you behind the rattling door, who was it?'' Cole asked.

''The Ghost of Sensei Yang!'' The others replied.

''As iron sharpens iron, Sensei sharpens students,'' Yang spoke, his voice echoing.

''It's the Ghost of Sensei Yang!'' The boys shouted.

''Uh, guys, what does he mean by "sharpen?" Jay asked, looking at the swords on the wall that started moving.

''Let's not hang around to find out!'' Cole shouted.

''Let's get out of here!'' Kai told the others as they ran away.

''Does this mean he doesn't want to teach us Airjitzu?'' The Lightning Ninja questioned.

''Forget Airjitzu, where's the window?'' Kai asked the others.

''This way!'' (Y/n) exclaimed, and they tried to open it, but it was boarded up.

''Gah, we're caged in like animals!'' Jay replied, and Yang laughed.

''Argh! Let's try the front door!'' Cole told the others.

''But that's downstairs, and in case you haven't paid any attention, there's flying weapons trying to slice and dice us!'' Kai replied.

''There's a dumbwaiter!'' Zane exclaimed, pointing behind Jay.

''Hey, watch who you're calling—oh, a dumbwaiter!'' Jay said as he turned to see it. ''That can take us down.'' The ninja went in the dumbwaiter. ''You said there'd be enough room for all five of us in here.''

''My calculations are always correct!'' Zane yelled.

''What's that tickling my cheek?'' Kai asked, feeling something fluffy touch him. (Y/n) put her hands on her head, feeling the fluffy appendages.

''Ow, my ear. Well, turn on a light or something, because I can't see a thing.'' Cole told the others, and the Ice Ninja illuminated the dumbwaiter to see Sensei Yang.

''As iron sharpens iron...'' Yang spoke, and the ninja quickly got out of the dumbwaiter and ran away. ''As iron sharpens iron, Sensei sharpens student!''

Opening the front door, the ninja almost fell into the Ethereal Divide.

''What is it? What's down there?'' Jay asked. ''Oh, wait, don't tell me! I don't want to know!''

''We appear to be trapped within some kind of inter-dimensional ethereal realm!'' Zane replied.

''Oh, I told you not to tell me, Zane! Knowing that just makes things worse!'' The Lightning Ninja shouted.

The ninja were pulled back inside by Cole. The ninja laid there on the floor, groaning. ''I never want to do that again...''

Jay sat up, looking over at (Y/n) who looked like she had... fox ears? The girl's gaze was turned away from the others, staring at the wall.

They then noticed she had seven foxtails. ''..How long have you been hiding this?'' Zane asked, yelling.

She winced, her ears flattening. ''Please don't. Ever since the start, I've hidden this, because no kitsune has been known to walk among humans or nindroids for that matter.''

''Then why'd you hide it?'' Cole questioned.

''I didn't want anyone to find out and make fun of it. I'm just not sure if anyone would still like the whole, 'I'm a Kitsune' thing, I'm sort of ashamed of it.''

The boys glanced at each other, seeing concerned looks on each other's faces. Kai was the first to walk over to her, putting a reassuring hand on her back, then the others followed.

''We're here for you,'' Kai told her with a warm smile, and Zane nodded in agreement. Hearing this, the girl's ears perked, and a smile found its way onto her face.

Jay put a hand on (Y/n)'s fluffy ears, stroking them. The girl let out a sigh, closing her eyes in bliss. Cole did the same to her other ear, but before they could continue Kai pulled them away from the girl, making her turn around and look at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

''Let's get a move on!'' Zane yelled, making the girl's ears flatten once more.

---

The ninja had finally managed to avoid Yang's tricks.

''Ah. All right, so there's no way out of the Haunted Temple, but at least all the commotion's died down.'' Jay told the others.

''Yeah, we just gotta get through the night together. Show Yang we're not scared. Huh?'' Kai said as he saw the picture of Yang move. He then turned to look at it and didn't see him moving.

The clock rang, making them scream.

''It's just a clock. We're not afraid of time, but we are afraid of not getting outta here in time. Oh my gosh, why did we spend the night in a haunted temple?'' The Earth Ninja questioned the others.

''Everyone, get ahold of yourselves! Even if my volume wasn't stuck, I'd still be yelling at this decibel!'' Zane yelled.

''Zane's right. What are we doing? We need to toughen up. We're Ninja! We already missed out on the Airjitzu the first time, we can't let this opportunity pass.'' Cole told the others.

''Uh, guys?'' Kai said, walking up to a moving picture of a ship in a sea. ''Are paintings supposed to move?'' Jay then tapped the picture, and water started to flood the room.

''Why did you touch the scary picture, Jay?'' the Earth Ninja asked.

''I didn't know it would do that, Cole!'' Jay replied.

Kai tried to open the doors but was unable to. ''Unh! It's locked! Ugh!''

''As iron sharpens iron, Sensei sharpens student!'' Yang said.

''Oh, great, back for round two,'' Jay replied.

Kai was hyperventilating. ''Water. I'm afraid of ...water. We're all gonna drown!'' He tugged on the door's handles, trying to open it.

Jay grabbed onto a plank. ''It's all in your head, Kai. He's trying to scare us out so we don't get Airjitzu.'' The Lightning Ninja told him.

''I don't know, tastes pretty real to me,'' Cole replied.

''Where's Kai!?'' Zane asked. (Y/n) floated on the surface of the water like a starfish, facing the ceiling.

Kai finally opened the doors and the water was drained from the room. ''Well, that wasn't refreshing.''

''First the haunting, then water. What's next?'' Cole asked.

''That's it. He is testing us. Don't you see, Cole's afraid of Ghosts, and Kai's afraid of water.'' Jay replied.

''As iron sharpens iron, Sensei sharpens student. He's making us face our fears.'' Kai told the others.

''Which means whatever he throws at us next, we have to face together. And this time, no running away.'' The Earth Ninja replied.

''Or swimming away.'' The Lightning Ninja added.

''Fine, but time's running out and if we don't figure out a way of staying in this together, none of us are gonna get out alive.''

---

The Ninja had managed to tie themselves with a rope.

''All right, no matter what happens, no one can run away. We're in this together.'' The Earth Ninja told the others.

''Haha! Ain't no thang but a Sensei Yang. Let's find him and get that Airjitzu.'' Jay replied, confident.

''Just so we're not surprised, Zane, Jay, (Y/n) what sort of things are you afraid of?'' The Fire Ninja asked the others.

''Ah! I think I know what I'm afraid of!'' Zane said, turning his head. While the boys saw Morro, (Y/n) saw an empty space. ''It's Morro!'' He shouted, and the boys screamed.

''Of all the times to have to fight him again.'' Cole added.

''Ugh, and he already knows Airjitzu. We don't stand a chance!'' Jay told the others.

''Wait a minute. If we're all afraid of Morro, this must be the next test. And how are we supposed to save Lloyd if we don't even have the courage to face him?'' Kai asked the others.

''He's right. Let's get him!'' Cole said, and everyone ran after him but were slowed down as they were tied to each other. ''We weren't fast enough.''

''There he is!'' Kai exclaimed.

''All right. Let's step together. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.'' Cole instructed, and they ran in sync until Kai stopped at a set of stairs.

''Ow!'' Jay said as he bumped into Zane.

''He went up to the attic.'' The Fire Ninja told the others.

''Uh, attics. Definitely near the top of the list of things I'm afraid of.'' Jay said, and they climbed up to see Morro. ''He's just standing there. What do we do?'' He asked the others.

''I don't know. But go face him, Jay.'' Kai answered.

''Ugh, you face him!'' Jay replied.

''We'll all face him,'' Cole told the others.

As they approached him, Morro disappeared. Suddenly, the boys disappeared, and (Y/n) looked down, to see the rope no longer attached to her waist.

''Hey? Boys?'' (Y/n) called out, climbing down from the attic. Her ears twitched, and she could hear the howling of something.

Then, there was the clashing of swords, a clattering of knives and something that went bump in the night. She turned in the direction of the sounds, her eyes widening as a shadow appeared, with something big but small enough for the hallways about to turn around the corner.

She turned and ran, calling out the boy's names, but there was no answer. She slammed facefirst into something and saw her reflection in a mirror. She got up, shaking in fright at what would approach her.

Hearing a distant yell behind her, she saw only the glass, but if she looked harder she could see a fist pounding against the other side of the mirror.

Deciding she didn't want to see what was chasing her, she began to pound on the glass, making cracks appear on its surface, the fist on the other side doing the same.

Suddenly, the glass broke, and the hand on the other side grabbed her, pulling her through. Zane looked down at her, along with the others. ''Are you okay?'' He asked.

(Y/n) looked through the shattered glass, seeing the thing chasing her now gone. ''I'm okay.'' She answered. Cole helped her up, and suddenly Yang appeared.

''As iron sharpens iron, Sensei sharpens student. You have passed the test.'' The Ancient Master told the ninja.

''Huh? Then you'll teach how to do Airjitzu?'' Kai asked.

Yang showed them a scroll. ''Only those who see things through will reap the benefit of the reward.'' He said, giving Cole the scroll.

''That's not the only thing we see-through. Why is it I can see through my hand!?'' Jay asked the others, holding it up.

Yang laughed. ''Now you will join my students.''

''He's not just their mentor, he's their captor,'' Cole replied as they backed away.

''The new dawn's upon us. Get out of here before the clock's last chime, if you can.'' Yang told them.

Everyone screamed as they ran.

''Why did we tie ourselves together!?'' Zane asked.

''There's no time to complain, we just have to move. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.'' The Earth Ninja instructed.

''The door! Hurry!'' Kai shouted.

Cole dropped the scroll. '''Uh-oh! Aah! The Scroll!'' He said, untying himself. The other boys got out in time.

''Ah. My hand. I can see my hand! We made it!'' Kai exclaimed.

Jay held up Cole's and (Y/n)'s end of the rope. ''Ugh, but where's Cole and (Y/n)?''

''Don't worry, I got the Scroll!'' Cole said, appearing, and everyone gasped. ''Why are you all looking at me like that?''

(Y/n) appeared, looking at the others confused. ''What did I miss?'' The other's jaw's dropped at the sight of her.

''You didn't make it out in time,'' Jay replied.

''Yeah, (Y/n), Cole, you're...'' Kai tried to explain.

''...We're ghosts...'' (Y/n) and Cole said at the same time.

Remo appeared, having waited for (Y/n) as he was too scared to go in the temple. He looked up at her, and his eyes widened. The Master of Illusion tried to reassure him by patting his head, but her hand went right through him.

Cole fell to his knees in despair while (Y/n) stared at the ground, and from the temple, Yang's laugh could be heard, mocking their situation.

Well uh

Happy early Halloween?

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WriterAgreste, over & out!