Whew! Alright, it's been quite a while since I've updated this story. I left it untouched for a while due to lack of review, but I'm gonna kick this old goat back up again.

ABOUT OCS;;

I need quite a few OC's in this story, mind, and they can pretty much be anything, as long as they're submitted by YOU. They can be paired up with the ninja, or have elemental powers—and yes, you can submit multiple OC's. Just PM me! Leaving a review's also fine.

The girl's figure is just silhouetted against the dying sunset, and her hair blows in the light breeze that carries around the place Kai stands at. His feet crunch through rubble as he walks cautiously towards her, through a broken city with shattered walls and buried sins. Clouds whip across the sky above his head, carried by the wind that is slowly picking up, ripping at his scarlet clothing. He draws back a hand, intending to jerk up his crimson hood over his spiky hair, but the sheer force of the wind and his harsh tugs produce a ripping sound, and he pulls his hand away with a scrap of red fabric.

Red like blood, he thinks, finally pulling up his hood over his spiky hair. Red like fire.

The red ninja's vision flickers for the briefest moment, and Kai sees her from a different place. He stands on empty space in front of her, seeing her lips part slightly and her distant eyes look at him for the briefest moment before she looks away, as if he was invisible (as if he didn't exist). He looks over the girl's shoulder, to see a city with high walls built in the hills and in that moment, he watches a plume of fire explode from the hills. He watches the walls crumble, shattering, falling down around the city. Long fingers of fire wave at him from above, and great clouds of smoke and fire form above, filling the air with hazy ash that burns his lungs with each inhalation he painfully draws, and he coughs once, twice, trying to rid himself of the discomfort.

The girl turns around, and he sees the side of her face as she watches the city - for some reason, Kai knows it's her city, and he watches her as she watches her city burn and fall and he watches her scream, mouth wide-open and tears slowly rolling down her face and he just stands there and watches her scream as she watches her life crumble into ash and fire and scorched flesh, burned bones and soot and wisps of smoke that fall and rise, slowly drifting away.

And it rains.

It rains red, and the last thing Kai thinks is 'red. Red like fire."

He wakes with a start, a gasp escaping from his lips. He looks up towards the window to see it's still night, the stars glimmering coldly in the misty night sky. He sits up, breathing heavily, raking a hand through his tousled hair and listening to the pounding sounds of his own heart, his gasps of breath, the creaking of the wooden bedframe beneath him.

"Kai, are you okay?" He jumps a little, before he looks up to see Cole gazing down at him from the top bunk. Cole's originally silvery-grey eyes reflect the night in a shade of velvet indigo so dark it could be black, but they are as soft and considering as a summery evening. He pauses. His dream isn't important. Kai sighs as he flops back onto his pillows, pulling his covers over his scarlet nightshirt again—he'd kicked them off at some point.

"Thanks, Cole. I'm okay." He rolls over, and as he pulls the blankets over his head he hears Cole one last time before he, too rolls over to sleep more. He probably wasn't planning to wake up before daybreak (just like Kai.)

"Nothing else in this world, Kai." The earth ninja's voice whispers into the night.

Morning comes too soon for Kai. He stumbles up out of bed when the ancient alarm clock rings, grumbling and moaning; night was not kind to the fire ninja. Kai's dreams were plagued by screams and dark shapes of rushing people, but every time when he thinks he's escaped Kai sees the girl again, her lips slightly parted as her eyes stare in the distance. Sometimes her lips move, but Kai is always too far away to hear her. Every time, he runs towards her. She holds the answers, but fate dangles them temptingly in front of Kai's face and he can't reach them. When he is just feet away, separated by only screens of smoke and dust, she turns to look at him. Her irises are pure black, just like her pupils and as he comes closer to look he realizes there's no white of her eyes; it's all just black and pupil unlike his fiery amber eyes or Lloyd's green or Cole's ever-changing silvery-grey. It's not like Zane's crystalline blue or Jay's sapphire orbs, not like Nya's warm brown or Sensei's liquid golden like light itself.

Her eyes are completely black, and as he realizes the sky comes falling down on them and it starts all over.

A hand on his shoulder startles him and he turns to see Zane looking at him in concern. "Brother, are you okay?" He asks quietly. They sit next to each other at the dining table, Zane surveying Kai with worried eyes. Kai pauses. He knows that Zane would be the most likely to understand, so he tells Zane. He tells Zane everything about his dream - everything that he can remember, at least - he tells him about the strange girl and the crumbling city, the blood and the screams and the people, and Zane listens. He tells him everything he knows except for the girl's strange eyes and her eerie gaze that dances in the recesses of his mind even then. Zane listens to it all, and as Kai finishes Zane opens his mouth to speak.

He never gets the chance, though.

The entire table has fallen deathly silent and they all look at Kai like he's a ghost, and that's when Kai realizes he has talked louder than he meant to. Everyone just stares at Kai as if they're waiting for him to talk again. It is silent until one of them bursts out with speech and they all start talking, an explosion of babble and talk all directed at him. They all asks him what it means or who she is like he knows. The red ninja's temper threatens to well to the surface, and it does when he slams his palms onto the table and yells "QUIET!" so loudly that his voice drowns out all the others and they look at him expectantly.

All Kai does is bury his face in his hands and mumble "I need to think," before rising and exiting he room. After a brief pause, Sensei gets up and follows him, quiet footsteps a stark comparison to Kai's loud, angry, ones, Wu's gentle and limber as a feline waiting in the night.

A door slams somewhere on the Bounty and they know it is Kai, and they hear Sensei open that same door just moments later. They hear yelling before it quiets down, and for a long time there is silence in the dining room until Jay clears his throat. "Uh, guys," He says quietly, (which is very different from his regular way of talking) fidgeting with the sleeves of his blue gi. "I hate to break it, but we can't sit around the table all day. We still have to train Lloyd, and ... Nya and I have something to do together." Everyone looks at him; it's usually Cole or Sensei who reminds them of their responsibilities.

Lucky for Jay, Nya's brother (namely Kai) wasn't in the room as Nya nods, lacing her fingers with Jay's and giving him a brief peck on the cheek. "Yes," she concurs, "We do have something planned today, so most likely we'll be out."

After another long moment of silence Cole clears his throat. "Okay," He tells Jay. "You go ahead. Zane and I will train Lloyd today."

Jay nods and Nya smiles hesitantly. "Jay," She asks, turning to her boyfriend. "I want to check on Kai before we leave." The blue ninja nods, giving her a light smile. Nya nods back, leaving the room for somewhere she knew her brother would be.

Her footsteps lead her through the wooden hallways of the Bounty, across the deck, and under to the other side of the ship.

"Nya," He says when she pushes the door open to the training room, where he is pummeling a punching bag. But instead of answering, she gasps and her hand flies up to her forehead, and Nya slides to the ground in a haze of pain and vision. Inches before the floor Kai catches his sister. "Nya, can you hear me?"

She tries to respond, but her lips refuse to part and her eyes refuse to stay open as she is plunged into another world of blood and fire.

Please read, review, and favorite/follow if you want me to continue.