Author's Note: Hi there! If you're familiar with the tumblr blog ninjagoquotes, that's me! You might maybe remember that a few months ago I was joking about how my roommates and I shared some character traits with the four ninja. This got me thinking about how the story of Ninjago would unfold in a modern day university setting with rule 63 characters. The product of that is this AU fanfic. Enjoy!

Nicole balanced on her toe. Just a little higher, she thought, straining her arm to reach the next handhold. Her sweaty palm slipped at first, but eventually she got a good grip, and pulled herself up. She found the next foothold, and let go with one hand to ring the bell.

"Wow! A new record!" Jenny, Nicole's friend called out, looking at her stopwatch.

"And on the hardest side, too!" the gym worker on belay said, as Nicole lowered down.

Nicole started to smile a little bit, but said "Well, I've still got some work to do." She unclipped her harness and thanked her friends.

The rock wall spanned the entire side of the atrium lobby of the gym, the Student Athletic Center of the State University. Anyone entering the gym could see the climbers. Sometimes a crowd would gather to watch, especially if someone was attempting the most difficult section, like Nicole had been, but this time there hadn't been anyone, just the desk attendant, two guys playing ping pong, and an older woman sitting in the corner. Nicole had felt eyes on her as she climbed, and she hadn't liked it. It wasn't as if someone was encouraging her, it had been as if they were testing her.

She shook off the feeling, and headed to the track to run some laps. Nicole felt the need to be active and put herself to the test. The rock wall at the gym wasn't a challenge anymore. She held the time record on it, and had beaten her own record over a dozen times. She was looking into climbing at some nearby cliffs, but she doubted she could put together the money for equipment. A thought briefly crossed her mind Ask your mom for the money. Tell her it's for ballet shoes. But Nicole immediately felt guilty. She wasn't a liar. Well, she was. But she wasn't!

Nicole started running faster. Her short, wavy black bob of hair bounced up and down. She kept a steady count of her number of times around the track. She wore a dark gray sweat suit and a pair of beat up sneakers that squeaked occasionally as she ran. And every time she passed the window to the lobby, she thought she saw the old woman staring at her.

Jayne Walker jogged down the sidewalk, holding an enormous cardboard box with a strange object sticking up out of it. "Oh, excuse me! Pardon me! Watch out!" Jayne said as she dodged around other students, making her way from the engineering wing of the science department to the theater. She had promised to help out with the props for the upcoming production, and had just finished a pair of remote control wings she thought would really add a cool effect to the fairies of A Midsummer Night's Dream. She wanted to get them to flap on their own, so that it would look like they were really flying, and she had just finished a working pair… but she was late for rehearsal.

Unluckily for Jayne, a huge gust of wind came her way, and caught the lightweight plastic of the wings like a kite. They flew out of the box and up into the air. "No!" Jayne cried, "Wait!" She chased after the wings for a while, but it was too late. They rose higher and higher out of reach. Jayne stopped and reached into her purse, pulling out a small remote. She pressed a button, and the wings started gently flapping as they blew farther and farther away. Jayne sighed. "Well, at least that works," she muttered, and turned to walk on to the theater, feeling downcast.

She saw one of her professors, Dr. Wu, watching the wings as they flew into the distance, then the professor turned to look at Jayne, an odd expression on her face. Probably thinking what an idiot I am, Jayne thought, turning away, and walking to the theater with her head down, the wind blowing her auburn ponytail like a kite.

Zena had been studying all day. Her classes had begun at eight o'clock in the morning, she had a break for lunch at 11, and after that she had been studying. When she discovered her 3:00 class had been canceled, Zena had made the decision to do something enjoyable rather than studying. It had been a while since she'd gone swimming, she hadn't had the time, so she was excited when she entered the empty pool at the Student Athletic Center, wearing her streamlined black and white swimsuit. After all, she told herself, it is important to exercise the body as well as the mind.

Zena took a deep breath in through her nose, then her mouth, and dove into the water. She swam one length, then did a flip turn and came back, and kept going. She swam three lengths before she felt the need to come up for air. Zena surfaced and grabbed the edge of the pool. She pulled off her goggles and looked up to see about twelve students staring at her.

"So you're okay!" A blonde girl at the front of the group said. "We were getting worried!" She laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Zena said. "Did you have the pool reserved? I was unaware."

"Yeah, we did," said a boy with brown hair, "But that's okay, we just changed our practice time. But you were incredible! How far can you go without breathing?"

Zena shrugged, "I've gone farther than I did today. I'm a bit out of practice."

"Have you ever thought of joining the swim club?" the blonde girl asked, "You'd be great on the team! We practice every day."

"No," said Zena, "Sorry, I don't think I have the time, with school and everything."

"Oh, okay," the girl said, "But even if you can't come regularly, feel free to drop by for a practice whenever you can!"

"Maybe," said Zena with a small smile as she climbed out of the pool. "I'll see. But, for now, I need to get going. Enjoy your practice!" She grabbed her towel and hurried out of the pool area.

In the locker room, Zena dried her platinum blonde hair, cut into a sharp bob with straight bangs, and looked into the mirror. She had a duty, and what mattered to that duty right now was excelling in her studies. She couldn't remember much about her past, but one thing had stuck with her, "Zena, you must protect those who cannot protect themselves." Someone had given her a mission, someone who had likely been close to her, had cared about her. And Zena fully intended on accomplishing this mission by becoming a doctor, someone who could save people's lives.

As she exited the locker room, Zena noticed a large window on the second floor of the gym, which allowed spectators to look out over the swimming pool. Someone was sitting there, an older woman with white hair. Zena noticed that the woman wasn't watching the swim club practice, but was staring down specifically at her. Zena turned and moved quickly to the door, exiting before any of the swim club members could notice her.

Kaya slipped through the door, careful to shut it quietly. She slunk along the back of the lecture hall, then down the aisle to take a seat beside her friend Jayne. "Wow, look who made it," Jayne whispered sarcastically. Kaya rolled her eyes and swung her desk arm up, then cringed as it made a horrible squeaking sound. The professor paused a moment in the middle of her sentence to give Kaya a death glare, then continued her lecture. Kaya felt her face grow red.

Kaya had never liked Professor Wu, she thought she was too strict and pushy, and, although Jayne shrugged it off when Kaya complained about it, she swore that the professor had it in for her, always grading her assignments more harshly and calling her out when she messed up. But then again, maybe it was just the subject material. Mythology definitely hadn't been Kaya's first choice for a History credit, but it was all that was left after she had procrastinated selecting her classes last semester, and she guessed that the old professor could sense how much she didn't care.

"So, why were you late?" Jayne whispered, not taking her eyes off the front of the classroom.

"Algebra professor kept us late again," Kaya responded. "I promise I ran all the way here."

"She's gonna kill you," said Jayne. "That's the third time you've been late this week."

"Not if this stupid class kills me first," said Kaya.

Jayne blew air out her nose, trying not to laugh in class. Kaya smiled. She was glad to have a friend like Jayne, even if they didn't really hang out outside of class. The two girls had had a Fine Arts Theatre class together last semester and at first had not liked each other at all. Kaya had thought Jayne was an annoyingly talkative overachiever and a bit of a ditz, and she could see how Jayne might have seen her as "too arrogant and cynical," but over the course of the semester a sense of humor had brought the two together. Whenever Kaya made a sarcastic comment in class, Jayne would laugh out loud, and although Jayne's jokes and puns often made Kaya groan, she still appreciated them. When they had found out they had Mythology 101 together this semester, the two had teamed up to talk all through class, much to the annoyance of those seated around them. Kaya had ended up being a bit of a loner in college, and she was considering asking Jayne if she wanted to be roommates next semester, although, Kaya thought, She probably already has plans with other friends.

The raised voice of Professor Wu broke Kaya out of her thoughts. "Now, I hope SOME of you are paying full attention," said the professor, looking directly at Kaya. "Because it's time to change gears a little bit and talk about my area of specialty, local myths and legends. We will start with a story few of you are likely familiar with, but one whose origins lie in this very area. Long ago, there were many people gifted with powers over certain elements, known as elemental masters. These powers were passed down through the generations, and the elemental masters protected the land and its people. In order to aid in this mission, one elemental master, more powerful than the others, developed a style of martial art which incorporated the elemental powers into fighting. She became known as the first spinjitsu master, and she taught her technique to four of her closest allies, the masters of earth, lightning, ice, and fire, as well as her two young daughters. The spinjitsu master also created four golden weapons, one for each of the four elemental spinjitsu masters, which greatly amplified their powers. The weapons were so powerful no one could handle the power from all four at once, and the masters heralded a time of great peace and justice through the land."

"However, darkness can corrupt even the closest of friends, and a large amount of infighting started between the elemental masters of that time. Many lost their powers, faded into obscurity, or even died. The spinjitsu master reclaimed her golden weapons, knowing the damage that could be done with them by her former friends. Not long after, the first spinjitsu master, too, passed away, leaving the four golden weapons to her daughters to protect."

"Unfortunately, the elder daughter was consumed by darkness, and wished to possess the weapons to achieve her own dark ends. A battle broke out between the sisters, and eventually the younger sister won, banishing her older sister to the shadowy underworld. Peace was restored in the land, but the younger sister knew that her sister would one day escape her prison and return for the golden weapons, so she hid them, and placed a guardian to protect each one. And, if one day the weapons were needed again, she left a map with their locations in the care of an honest friend. None of them have been seen since, but they say that the powers of darkness have been growing, and the older sister may soon be free." Wu let her ominous sentence hang in the air before saying, "Please read pages 394 through 412 for next time. Class dismissed."

Students began gathering up their supplies. "Wow, what a weird story," Kaya said. "It sounds like the set up for a lame video game."

"You mean an awesome video game?" Jayne asked. "I thought it was a pretty cool story. Imagine having elemental powers! It'd be like Avatar!"

"Eh," Kaya shrugged. Suddenly she noticed someone standing in the aisle beside her. She looked up to see Professor Wu. How did she sneak up on me so quietly? Kaya wondered.

"Miss Smith, would you come and see me during my office hours tomorrow afternoon, please?" Wu asked.

"Sure thing," Kaya sighed. Probably going to give me a lecture on the merits of punctuality, she thought. She finished packing up her things and headed to her next class.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! I'll try to update regularly, I really will (It's almost summer so here's hoping). This was really fun to write, so please let me know your thoughts in a review!