Chapter Text
I didn't even have time to scream.
One second I was... I don't even remember what I was doing that one second, only that in the next I was falling. I barely had the chance to register that before I landed hard on something soft that reeked like hell. I yelped, limbs flailing as I threw myself to the side and away from the smell. Plastic creaked. As I crashed to the ground in a disoriented panic, the dumpster began to tip over. I barely had the time to look up. With reflexes I definitely didn't have two minutes ago, I rolled out of the way as the dumpster fell with a deafening crash. I grimaced as trash bags sloshed over where I'd just been. Slowly, I stood up, pressing myself against a wall as I tried to get my bearings. This was... bad, sensory-wise. And it would have been that way even if some of the trash bags hadn't split.
It was LOUD. Bright, too. It was nighttime, and I was in some kind of alley, half-hidden by the shadows, but the neon signs and the sound of traffic were still just a bit too much. I was in a city for sure. And I definitely hadn't been in one before I fell into the trash. A bit self-consciously, I edged towards the light. Squinting out at the city didn't help at all. I couldn't see anything that helped pin down where exactly I was; in fact, I couldn't even read the signs around me, which wasn't a good sign. Hell, I didn't even recognize this alphabet. That was definitely a bad sign. ...But even if I didn't recognize it, it still seemed vaguely familiar. I frowned. Was that...? No. No fucking way. That couldn't actually be Ninjargon-
I heard shouting. I whirled around towards the source of the noise as a door opened, crying out at a sharp pain in my head as something smacked into the wall. I staggered away, clutching at... at the base of a horn? What the fuck? I looked towards the person standing stunned in their doorway, shouting gone quiet as they stared at me. For a fraction of a second, I considered asking some questions. I had quite a lot. A fraction of a section later, I decided that fuck that, I was out of here. I bolted. Away from the light, away from other people, I didn't know where as long as it was private and quiet enough to just completely freak out. I ran past an ajar manhole cover, skidding as I backpedaled and kicked it aside. Heart pounding, I scrambled down the ladder, pulling it back into place over my head.
I just hung halfway down there for a minute as I caught my breath, bathed in fluorescent light. (Not what I'd expect from sewers, but... if I was where I thought I might be, then it made sense that it would be well-lit.) My claws gripped the ladder tightly. Claws that I didn't have before. I let out a slow breath as I looked over my hands, turned pitch black and topped with razor sharp claws. I brought one up to my head, touching a curved horn and pulling a lock of pure white hair in front of my eyes. ...I needed a mirror. I also needed to wake up, because this dream had been a real stressful one for the two minutes I'd been having it. I dropped down the ladder, resolutely ignoring how real the slightly rusted metal beneath my hands and the cold concrete under my bare feet felt. Usually it was easy enough to force myself awake if I knew that I was dreaming. It wasn't working too well this time; maybe the old cliche was around for a reason?
I pinched myself. "..." Nothing. I pinched myself harder. It hurt a bit more this time, the pain lingering for a few seconds, but I still seemed to be fast asleep. I brought the claws into it. I yelped in pain, eyes squeezing shut. When I opened them... I was still there. In the sewers. In Ninjago. Two drops of purple blood beading up where I'd pinched myself. Distinctly not dreaming.
"...Well, shit."