Who is interested in writing a well written and developed ninjago post s11 au fanfic where lloyd decides to stay in the never realm with akita to learn how to become a formling to turn into a three tailed arctic fox with green tail tips resulting in them somehow permanently turning into their animal forms to eventually become mates/parents to several fox-wolf hybrid cubs or pups?

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Name: Ponyi

Element: dunno

Color: lilac

Sensei: Wu and Nya

Soon more updates

Who is interested in writing a well written and developed ninjago post s11 au fanfic where lloyd decides to stay in the never realm with akita to learn how to become a formling to turn into a three tailed arctic fox with green tail tips resulting in them somehow permanently turning into their animal forms to eventually become mates/parents to several fox-wolf hybrid cubs or pups?

I keep remembering almost starting roleplays and then vanishing for a year..? Why do I keep doing that.

Who is interested in writing a well written and developed ninjago post s11 au fanfic where lloyd decides to stay in the never realm with akita to learn how to become a formling to turn into a three tailed arctic fox with green tail tips resulting in them somehow permanently turning into their animal forms to eventually become mates/parents to several fox-wolf hybrid cubs or pups?

WHOA! EIGHT CHAPTERS! YAAAAAAAH! Switching back to Cole's perspective here, we meet a new Elemental Master and see a new Elemental Power in action. Suspense and angst and total epicness and CAKE! (Yes, you read that right--this chapter involves CAKE!) But Cole's about to find himself going from the frying pan to the fire (no pun intended)...Better get comfortable and find a good long chunk of time to read this (it's a little longer than some of the previous chapters)!

Heads-up for those interested--this chapter was heavily inspired by The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so all you Narnia fans out there (thinking of you, @SilverSeawing17) might be able to guess what's going to happen after this one...but plz, no spoilers!

Also keep an eye out for references to the upcoming Dragons Rising Season 2! (there are also some allusions to my crossover "Dragon Riders: The Search for Lloyd--HTTYD fans, you might be able to spot the first one)

Chapter 8

The darkness of slumber slowly faded away once again as Cole’s eyelids tiredly fluttered open. His gaze darted around the small cottage he now found himself in as his sleep-blurred vision slowly cleared. He was laying in a small bed with soft sheets underneath him and warm blankets piled on top of his frail form. And for some strange reason, his chest no longer ached. When he drew a cautious breath in, he neither wheezed nor burst into a harsh coughing fit as he had before. His breath was clear and pure.

His ankle didn’t hurt either, although he’d been quite sure that he’d indeed broken it in that tumble he’d taken. When he slowly slid a hand down to feel it, he found that, shockingly, it wasn’t swollen or painful to the touch. It was as if he had never been injured at all.

How could this be? He decided not to bother with ferreting answers out right now. Closing his eyes again in contentment, he smiled. For the first time in waking from sleep or unconsciousness, he felt calm—hopeful—full of peace.

Opening his eyes again, he suddenly noticed that a small candle, alight with a radiant flame, had been placed beside him to give him light. Candlelight—the soft, luminescent glow that meant tranquility, hope, safety.

He was safe. At long last, he was safe.

Or was he?

His eyes shot open in a surge of panic as the question flew into his mind unbidden. Am I really safe? Or is this a trap?

His senses switched to high alert when he suddenly heard footsteps rapidly approaching the cottage. He pulled the blankets up to his nose, fearfully peeking over the top blanket’s edge as he gazed at the door in sheer trepidation. His breathing became incredibly shallow, and a faint shudder washed over him as his nerves tensed more and more with every suspenseful second. He could feel a scream building up inside of him, threatening to burst out of him.

And then, it did. As the door creaked open, a frightened shriek exploded out of little Cole like the howl of a train whistle, and a strange blond-haired figure let out a startled yelp as the little earth-wielder, in a flurry of panic, dove underneath the covers, cowering in fear. A few seconds later, Cole grasped the edge of the blankets and peeked the top of his head over his covers once again to find that the figure was hovering just behind the slightly-ajar door, clearly undecided about whether it was wise for him to come in.

As Cole slowly and cautiously released his grip on the blankets—to the point where, when they fell away, his whole face could be seen—he heard the mysterious figure take a few deep breaths, as if to calm himself, and painstakingly crack the door open—before quietly slipping inside. He then shut the door tightly against the strong wind that had suddenly come up and leaned against the door, breathing heavily. Then he turned around and saw Cole gazing at him in confusion and just a smidge of fear—as if he was still unsure about trusting this person who, apparently, had brought him here while he was asleep. Which he was—a little, at least.

The figure stammered, “Uh-uh-I-I-uh-I-uh-I’m so—” His voice suddenly faded from him, as Cole cautiously slipped out from under the covers completely and slowly let his feet drop to the floor—before quietly padding over to where the figure stood trembling like a leaf, eyelashes frantically blinking as he searched for the right words. “I’m-I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean—I mean, I was…I was trying not to scare you.” he finally explained with a slight smile on his face.

Cole blinked in surprise. For a moment there, he’d been sure that he might’ve fallen smack into a trap. Could he have been wrong? Only one way to find out, he supposed. He took a slightly shuddery breath and asked, “How’d you find me?”

“I…” the figure hesitated for a moment, then continued with, “I was in the valley when I…I saw you approaching the ridge. I couldn’t…tell for sure, but…it looked to me like you were…”

“Sleepwalking?” Cole guessed, not understanding why this figure seemed so cagey about answering a simple question. His companion nodded silently before replying, “I…I saw you fall. You’re an Elemental Master, aren’t you?”

Cole was stunned—positively stunned. “How—” he stammered, “how did you know that?”

“No ordinary kid could have survived a tumble like that.”

The Earth Ninja nodded silently. That did make sense—kind of. But his companion wasn’t finished yet. “I tried to get to you—to help you get out. I…I know a way out of the valley.”

“You do?” Cole asked, excitement creeping into his voice. Maybe, just maybe, he could get back home! Home to Wu and Garmadon and Misako and Mystaké and all the other Elemental Masters!

But his heart sank when he saw the hesitation written all over his companion’s face—before he continued with, “The mist rolled in, though, before I could get to you, and it took me an hour before I found you again. You…you were so cold—cold as ice. I think that…I may have gotten to you just in time.” His voice suddenly became strangely strained and breathy as he finished, “You were…you were just barely clinging to life when I came across you.”

Cole’s heart throbbed, and he let out a small shudder of terror. He’d almost died?! Hot tears of sorrow suddenly poured down his cheeks uncontrollably, and he buried his head in his companion’s legs as sobs shook his body mercilessly. I…I almost died out there! If my new friend hadn’t found me, I’d be…

“There, there.” the figure murmured, kneeling down to Cole’s level and pulling him into his arms. The little traumatized earth-wielder suddenly felt his rescuer gently stroking his back in repetitive circular motions so relaxing Cole thought he might fall asleep standing up.

“It’s all right—you’re safe now, here…with me.”

There was a slight tremor in his voice as he spoke, but Cole did not notice. He was too grieved by what had nearly been to notice anything other than the fact that he could not stop crying.

Safe…

Am I really safe? I almost died! How could I be safe?

And then, a twinge of curiosity led Cole to ask, “What—what’s your name?”

“Leif,” his rescuer replied, “Master of Music. And you?”

Cole just barely managed to hide his confusion. Music? He’d never known of a Master of Music. But he was able to choke out a reply of, “Cole. My name is Cole.” He didn’t bother to tell his last name, as he was still on edge about whether he was truly safe in the midst of all that had happened to him.

A few moments later, Cole’s sobs subsided, and Leif gently pulled away before standing up and saying, “So, Cole, would you perhaps care for a small snack? I’ve got, um, some tea I could brew, and I recently made a cake—”

Cole cut him off with a delighted, “DID YOU SAY CAKE?! I LOVE CAKE!” He bounced up and down in sheer giddiness, his fear fading away as he thought to himself, Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!

“Okay, okay, some tea and cake coming right up!” Leif exclaimed with a laugh, throwing his hands up in playful surrender before bustling towards a small pantry. A few moments afterward, he and Cole were sitting in cozy chairs across from each other, a small fireplace beside them all a-flicker with a warm log fire, as they thoroughly enjoyed the promised tea and cake. The little earth-wielder hadn’t tasted cake in so long that he had forgotten how good it was. Best of all, it was his favorite—rich, creamy chocolate ganache cake. He polished off two full slices before Leif stopped him with a firm yet kind, “Okay, Cole. Be done. You’re going to make yourself sick if you eat any more.”

“Aww!” Cole gave a little whine, but he consented without another complaint, knowing that Leif had a point. Picking up his almost overflowing teacup, full of hot black tea sweetened with just a little sugar, he took a small sip (careful to avoid burning his tongue) as Leif asked him, “So—how’s the leg feel?”

With a start, Cole realized that Leif was referring to his injury when he had fallen. He lowered the cup and stretched his right leg out in front of him, answering, “Stronger. And it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“That’s good. That means that the cordial I gave you before worked.”

“Cordial?” Cole questioned. In answer, Leif pointed to a small aqua-blue phial on a nearby table. “That phial contains the nectar of a fire-flower—very rare, very powerful. One drop will cure any injury or illness.”

Cole nodded, thinking to himself, So that’s why I’m not sick or weak anymore. I wonder if it did anything to my scar. When Leif looked away for a second at the mist rapidly rolling in outside, the Earth Ninja reached one hand up—only to sigh in disappointment as he felt the thin, jagged mark underneath his fingertips. Still there. I guess fire-flowers don’t work on supernatural injuries, he mused—before taking another sip of his tea. As he set the cup down again, he started to feel strangely warm…and fuzzy. Like the tea wasn’t…ordinary tea. Could it be like one of Master Wu’s teas?

Master Wu…the name seemed so…distant all of a sudden. Like it had come from…a forgotten dream. He shook away the strange worry that gnawed at his stomach as Leif turned back to him. “So,” he asked, “You really are an Elemental Master—like me?”

Cole’s face scrunched in confusion. “I just told you that.”

“Yes, but what I’m wondering is…what element? There are so many, it’s…” Leif sighed for a moment before finishing, “It’s hard to keep track of them all.”

“You’re telling me!” Cole let out with a giggle. “But, to answer your question, I’m an…” He suddenly hesitated at the look on Leif’s face. It was troubled and curious at the same time. Suspicious. He finally managed to mutter, “An Earth Elemental.”

And then when Leif drew in a sharp breath, Cole suddenly felt a slight twinge of fear deep within him, and his muscles tensed involuntarily. But with another sip of the tea, he could feel his nerves calming again, and his body gradually relaxed to the point where he felt almost…drowsy. A small worry that Leif was secretly sedating him crept into his mind—but he shook it away instantly. Leif had rescued him—hadn’t he? Why would he betray Cole’s trust now?

All the same, Cole suddenly wasn’t thirsty anymore, and he set the cup down with trembling hands. Leif didn’t seem to notice, as he was staring blankly out the window again.

Why did he seem so distant all of a sudden? It was as if his body was here, but his mind was…elsewhere. As if he sensed Cole’s distress, Leif suddenly turned his face back towards the little earth-wielder, still sitting in his chair with his legs dangling just a few feet from the floor. Suddenly feeling awkward, Cole stared down at his shoes for several seconds before raising his head to meet Leif’s gaze.

It was then that Leif stammered, “You…I can’t believe you have an Elemental Power of Creation. I mean, you’re…you’re just a kid.”

Oh, Leif, if only you knew the half of it, Cole thought to himself. He let out a contented sigh, then a yawn escaped him, and his eyelids drooped. Did Leif actually put something in my tea? he wondered to himself. But his doubts were suddenly interrupted when the shutters on one window burst open, and an icy wind ripped through the little cottage. “Cold! COLD! COLD!” he shrieked, too cold to say anything else as a sharp chill surged through his veins. His senses suddenly went into overdrive, and a strange numbness swept over him, paralyzing him as he collapsed to the floor in sheer pain and cold.

“I’ve got it!” he could faintly hear Leif cry out. Then the howling of the wind was cut off as Leif dashed over and closed the shutters, barring them so they wouldn’t fly open again. The little earth-wielder weakly pried open his eyes, once again too cold to move. His whole frame shook with frantic shivering against the numbing chill that seemed to slowly trickle its way through every fiber of his being. For a few seconds, Leif just stood there, breathing heavily as he visibly struggled to bring his rapid heartrate down. But Cole was in the worst condition. For the chill that held him tightly in its grasp made him feel as if he had taken a plunge into an icy river after being caught in a raging forest fire.

The little earth-wielder’s vision was so blurry, he couldn’t even make out mere details. His head pounded with pain almost as severe as when his scar was burning. His foggy hearing could just barely detect the sound of Leif walking over to him, and he could faintly sense Leif pulling him into a tight embrace, trying to bring his body temperature back to normal.

“Poor little tyke.” Leif murmured, as he held the freezing Cole closely to him. Cole tried to speak, to say something, anything. But it seemed his lips would not obey him, and all he could get out was a barely audible moan of, “’mmmm a’rrrrrrright.”

“Let’s…let’s get you warmed up.” Leif replied, picking up the shivering boy and placing him back in the chair he’d been sitting in close to the fire. Cole struggled to protest, still hovering between trust and distrust. But while his mind protested vehemently, his body was in too critical of condition for him to make any sort of move—even a single hand twitch. He felt numb, paralyzed, helpless. And as Leif scurried about, stoking the fire, piling blankets onto little Cole, the Earth Ninja felt as if, once again, all his strength had been drained from him. He closed his eyes quietly, waiting patiently for his body temperature to return to normal.

It seemed like ages before Cole was warm enough to open his eyes again, to move, to speak. And when he did speak, it was not what he had wanted to say. He wanted to question why his tea had made him drowsy, but what came out of his mouth instead was, “Music, huh? I never thought that that could be an Elemental Power.”

“Well,” Leif exclaimed, “music can be very powerful—more powerful than most people think. It can affect emotions, direct thoughts, even trigger bursts of energy. I’ve found that my power can even…influence nature itself.”

“H-“ Cole stammered, “how?”

“Well, I can coax flower buds to open, bring a wild bird to land on my wrist, calm frightened forest creatures, that sort of thing.”

“That’s…quite a list.” Cole couldn’t help commenting. Any misgivings he’d had before were beginning to fade away—as was the chill that had slashed through him just moments previous.

“Would…” Leif hesitated, “would you like me to show you? To…play something on my pipe?”

“I’d—Ah-CHOO!” Cole let out a loud sniffle and rubbed his itchy nose with the back of his hand as Leif exclaimed, “Bless you.”

“Thanks.” Cole murmured. “I’d…I’d love to hear you play.”

“Right then.” Leif replied before reaching into a small knapsack and extracting a small wooden pipe. “Now,” he began, “do you know any Ninjagoan lullabies?”

“Not…too many.” Cole answered, curious to see where Leif was going with this.

“Well, that’s good.” Leif let out a small sigh before adding, “Because this probably won’t sound anything like one.” Taking a deep breath, he raised the pipe to his lips and began to play a beautiful, yet strangely haunting and melancholy tune. As Cole listened intently, rapt with attention to every note, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a strange shape forming in the flames of the flickering fire next to him. It was in the semblance of a dragon taking flight. He let out a small gasp of surprise, but Leif simply kept on playing, giving a small nod as if to say, Happens all the time. Comforted, Cole turned his attention to gazing at the flames, wondering what strange visions would come next.

As he stared deeply into the flickering flames, slowly but surely the outside world began to fade away, until all he could see was the firelight, and all he could hear was the crackling of the fire and the melody emanating from Leif’s pipe. Strange phantasms formed within the flames, appearing one by one, and one by one vanishing without a trace.

A strange metal disk that transformed into a mighty battle mech…

A golden gong with the emblem of a wolf’s face…

Two dragons, one sleek and young, the other old and weathered…

An odd figure who, to Cole, resembled a walking paintbrush…

A blood-red tornado…

A strange paw-shaped marking…

A huge black dragon, almost like a cat with bat-like wings and a tail…

A pup with draconic wings taking on the form of a mighty dragon…

A shockwave of pure elemental power…

And as Cole watched, it seemed to him that he was seeing pieces of a mysterious puzzle. But the question was, how did they go together?

How were they connected?

What exactly linked them?

But before any of his questions could be answered, a strange sleepiness began creeping through his veins as the influence of the Master of Music’s power over him steadily became stronger. His eyelids began to droop…the shadows of peaceful slumber gently enveloped him in their strong yet tender embrace…his breathing slowly deepened and he felt his alertness trickling away like the waters of a tranquil stream…

And then, as Leif’s pipe hit a strong, piercing note, the little Earth Elemental slipped off his chair, slumping unconscious to the floor, his blankets all but shrouding his tiny form.

And then it happened. A dragon’s roar tore through the room, and the candles’ flames were suddenly snuffed out. A sharp chill swept through the cottage, and Leif’s song broke off as grief unbidden pierced his very heart.

The pipe slipped from Leif’s hands, landing with a sickening thud on the wooden floor as he realized what he had nearly just done.

What he’d been willing to do.

A lump formed in his throat, and he trembled uncontrollably, hot tears springing to his eyes as shame and guilt flooded his soul.

“Oh, Cole,” he whispered to himself, gazing at the sleep-bound child laying almost unmoving at his feet. “I should never have deceived you.” And then he collapsed to his knees, burying his face in his hands, a heartbroken cry springing from his heart and surging out from between his lips as he thought to himself, What have I done?!

Who is interested in writing a ninjago post s11 au fanfic where lloyd decides to stay in the never realm with akita to learn how to become a formling to turn into a three tailed arctic fox with green tail tips resulting in them somehow permanently turning into their animal forms to eventually become mates/parents to several fox-wolf hybrid cubs or pups?

Seven chapters! WHOO! This fanfic sure has come a long way! Most of it is told from Garmadon's perspective--though we do get a glimpse of what happens to Cole after he has fallen asleep underneath the cherry tree. But he may be heading for more trouble than he's prepared for...

Look for a user cameo in the chapter!

Shoutout to Middle-Earth fans! Look for references within the story! Also, there's a subtle reference to The Wingfeather Saga (North! Or Be Eaten) closer to the end of the chapter.

Chapter 7

Gone?!

Garmadon paled at the mere thought of it. Gone?

He couldn’t believe it. He just couldn't believe it.

But there was no escaping the truth.

Cole had mysteriously disappeared. And now he was nowhere to be found.

“Are…” Garmadon stammered, his voice shaking with fear. “Are you sure? Are you positive he’s…”

“Yes.” Wu answered sorrowfully. “He…he wasn’t in his room, and…when I came here, I found the door ajar.”

“You don’t think he could have been kidnapped, do you?” Maya whispered, her eyes welling with tears.

“I…I don’t think so. There weren’t signs of any sort of struggle, and I don’t think he would’ve willingly gone with anyone suspicious.”

“So, if he wasn’t kidnapped,” Misako mused aloud, “then…wait, you don’t think he could’ve been sleepwalking, could you?”

“He’d have to be in a pretty deep sleep to get down that path without tripping and falling flat on his face.” Garmadon commented, his voice trembling a little even as he tried to lighten the situation.

“Doesn’t matter.” Wu exclaimed, his voice hardening with determination. “We’re going to find him—no matter what it takes.”

“We’ll come with you!” two younger voices cried out in unison, as Krux and Acronix came bolting towards the door. Garmadon barely managed to stifle a groan. “Spying again?” Mystaké asked, not bothering to hide the frustration in her voice.

“Puh-lease let us come?!” Krux begged. “We’ll be good, I promise!”

“Yeah!” Acronix added. “You’re going to need only the best Elemental Masters on this…” He paused, his eyelashes fluttering and his face scrunching in intense concentration as he fished for a way to express his thought. He finally finished, “Mission…quest…thing!”

“Well, that rules you out, Acronix.” Krux muttered under his breath, elbowing his twin in the ribs playfully before Acronix added, “Oh, puh-LEASE?”

Then the two proceeded to give Garmadon, Wu, Misako, and Mystaké all the biggest puppy-eyed-looks they could muster up in such short notice. With a sigh, Garmadon caved. “Fine. But don’t you dare get us into trouble!”

Ignoring the warning tones in Garmadon’s voice, both Time Twins shouted, “YIPPEE!”, Krux pulling a yank-on-the-chain and Acronix bouncing up and down a bit in excitement. Then another voice spoke as two other Elemental Masters stepped into view. “Don’t forget about us.” Nori, the Master of Shadow, exclaimed, with Libber (Master of Lightning) right on her heels.

“Yeah,” Libber replied, “as Krux and Acronix pointed out, you’re going to need all the help you can get. And Nori and I are so up for the task!”

“It’s going to be dangerous.” Wu cautioned.

“Danger? Ha! Danger’s my middle name!” Libber added, her face shining with excitement. Wu still looked a bit unsure, but then Nori added, “Look at it this way. You’ll have three teams—three Masters apiece. That should be more than enough to track down one little Elemental, right?”

Wu let out a small gulp before commenting, “Well, yeah, but I…I just am really, really worried for him. He’s still very sick and he’s probably lost and all alone and scared out of his mind—if he’s even awake!”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” Libber replied, her voice suddenly taking on a frightened tone. A slight shudder escaped her as she added in a tremoring voice, “And I’m not really used to that.” A sudden silence washed over the group, as one by one, the distress on each of the teens’ faces mirrored that written all over Libber’s. Even the Time Twins were solemn, as the gravity of the situation fell heavily on them.

It was Garmadon that spoke first. “Okay, so…three teams. Now, how should we—”

“Me—Nori—Mystaké.” Libber interjected.

“Oh, yeah!” Nori added enthusiastically. “GIRL TEAM!”

“Okay, then.” Garmadon replied. “Wu, what about the other two teams?”

Wu pondered Garmadon’s question for a moment before answering, “How ‘bout I go with Garmadon and Misako, and Maya—you can team up with the Time Twins.”

“But—” Maya stammered, “but I wanted to team up with Misako.” She grabbed Misako’s right arm protectively, her lip quivering and tears welling up in her eyes once again.

Garmadon stared down at the floor for a few minutes, hesitation building up within him. He knew how Maya hadn’t really had anyone to care for her after her parents’ ship had wrecked, leaving her as the only survivor. She had been fortunate that Misako had taken her under her wing the very day Maya stumbled upon the orphanage. It was no small wonder that they were such close friends.

But he also knew that Wu was incredibly stubborn. Why else would he have stuck to his promise to teach Aspheera the secrets of Spinjitzu—an endeavor that had ended in disaster! And why else would he have refused, point-blank, to climb over the wall the day that—Garmadon’s stomach suddenly tightened painfully from the mere memory of that day, and he shook the thought away in desperation. Not the time to be thinking of that. Cole could be in trouble, for all we know, and we all need to stay focused.

Finally, Garmadon blurted out, “I’ll go with Misako and Maya. Wu, you can take the Time Twins.”

Wu’s face flushed in disappointment and shock, and Garmadon cringed, fully expecting Wu to completely lose it. But, to his surprise, his brother managed to maintain his composure and simply stated, “Okay. I’ll go with the Time Twins.”

“YAHOO!” both Krux and Acronix shrieked in delight. “We’re going to have so much fun!” Acronix added.

“You said it!” his twin replied.

Wu’s face, however, showed clearly that his thoughts were anything but delightful, and Garmadon guessed immediately what he was thinking. This is going to be a long night.

With all the teams decided, everyone quickly went their separate ways to prepare for the search ahead. Wu and Garmadon were the last to leave. Garmadon tried to explain why he’d stuck Wu with the Time Twins, but he didn’t even get so far as to say, “Look, I just wanted to—” before Wu gave him a look of utter betrayal and stated, in the chilliest tone he’d ever used, “Don’t…say…anything, Garmadon. I don’t want to hear it.”

And then Wu turned away, walking as quickly as he dared away from his brother—but not before giving him the coldest glare Garmadon had ever witnessed. The elder Spinjitzu heir could feel hot tears springing to his eyes as he just stood there, numbed by what he had just seen.

What have I done?

----------------------------------------------------------------

Several moments later, Garmadon’s mind continued to race in confusion and dismay, as he stared aimlessly at the ground in front of him as he walked. Why would his brother look at him that way? The anger written on his face, the chill in his tone, the bitterness in his eyes—it felt even worse than Wu’s reaction the day that Garmadon had called him out on trusting Aspheera when he knew—he just knew—that that slimy snake couldn’t be trusted. And every time he thought about it, he’d feel tears forming once again in his eyes.

At least, Misako and Maya hadn’t noticed how quiet he’d been all night. They were too busy talking with each other about…girly stuff, stuff that Garmadon definitely had no interest in whatsoever. But thinking back on it, he felt like he was repeatedly being consumed by guilt over the whole matter. He knew that the Time Twins could be a handful at times. They just had so much energy, and they often put it to good use by pulling mischievous, almost fiendish stunts on the other Elemental Masters.

But I did this for Maya. I wanted her to feel secure. That was the right decision, right? It had to be. So why don’t I feel very good?

Suddenly, a strange sense of danger flooded his mind, and as he raised his gaze, he barely stifled a scream. There, right in front of him and the two girls, was a vast, dark forest, shrouded in shadows intertwined with ghostly white mist. “Wait, stop!” he cried out. Misako and Maya immediately whirled around in surprise at his outburst. As they gazed at him in confusion, he could feel a frightened chill come over him, like he was caught in that freezing flash flood again. A lump of terror seemed to settle in the pit of his stomach, and his knees knocked together sharply. His voice was small and tight as he stammered, “Do…do we have to go in…there?”

“Well, this is where those footprints we found lead.” Misako answered. Then her face took on a look of concern. “Why…why do you ask?”

With a gulp, Garmadon whispered hoarsely, “I…I just…I don’t like this place. It feels…sick. Like there’s a…darkness within it—a disease that is slowly corrupting it from…from the inside out.”

Maya shuddered, clinging to Misako’s arm again. And even cool, calm Misako looked extremely perturbed by what Garmadon was suggesting. “Misako, you…” Maya exclaimed, “you don’t really think Cole could’ve gone in there, do you?”

“If he was sleepwalking, it is”—gulp—“possible.”

Then the younger girl gave another shudder as she replied, “Let’s just find him—quickly.”

It was then that Misako noticed that Garmadon had his eyes tightly closed, and his breath had become very shallow, like he was on the verge of a full-out panic attack. Gently shaking Maya’s grip away, she ran over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Calm down.” she softly admonished. “Focus and stay calm. Tell me, Garmadon—what do Elemental Masters never do?”

He opened his eyes and stammered, “They…” He hesitated before pulling in a shaky breath and finishing, “They never quit. Ever.” Then he turned to Misako and squeezed her free hand hard, as if trying to reassure himself. “J-j-just…just pro-pro-promise me we’ll do this together.”

“I promise.” she immediately affirmed. And then the three walked into the spooky, nightmarish forest together.

The chill of the mist instantly surrounded the three forlorn figures, and Maya let out a soft whimper before clutching Misako’s arm again. Garmadon himself struggled to keep his frightened cries from bursting out of him, his panic spiking more with each and every minute as the tiny band trod over roots and rocks, clambering over fallen trees and rushing creeks. And with every moment, Garmadon began to fear even more fiercely that the shadows of the woods would swallow them up, and they would be trapped for all of time in the forest’s cruel grasp.

He wrapped his arms tightly around himself, wondering what the “girl team,” as Nori had called it, was doing right at that very moment. Probably jabbering each other’s ears off. Libber had always been quite the chatterbox. And Nori was pretty talkative as well. As for Mystaké, while she wasn’t really one for small talk, she could be pretty expressive sometimes.

And then his thoughts turned once again to his brother. Why did Wu look at me like that?! Why?! WHY?! Despair crept back into his heart, as he swallowed back hot tears. How could he even begin to describe how he felt? Shock? Grief? Anger? The bitter brew of all his emotions at that moment seemed to burn him with its sting, and he had to resist the urge to take his frustration out on the trees surrounding him.

His thoughts were interrupted when Maya moaned, “Oh, I hope we don’t get lost in here. This mist is so confusing, and all these trees look the same!”

“We’ll just have to trust that we can find Cole quickly and—AHHHH!” A scream tore out of Garmadon’s throat as a burst of excruciating, almost crippling pain shot through his right hand, and he suddenly crumpled to the ground in sheer agony, gripping his hand tightly. His eyes swarmed with tears even hotter than before, and his vision was suddenly clouded by flashes of angry red. But even worse was the strange, dizzying shadow that seemed to press on his mind, as he seemed to hear someone—or something—whispering sly, sinister words in his ear, saying, Come, dark child. Let yourself fall into my depths. Let me strengthen you—let me give you power beyond what you can imagine. Sing the song of darkness, and darkness shall rise within you. Give in to my embrace, and let me be your guide.

“NO!” he suddenly cried in terror. And then—it all stopped. The strange fit that had taken him vanished away as quickly as it had appeared. His vision cleared—the pain dissipated—even the tears dissolved.

Almost as if…it had all been a mere nightmare.

But it wasn’t. Somehow, he knew it wasn’t.

Somehow, he knew it had been real.

But why?

There was no time to ponder the answer to that question, for it was then that he heard Misako saying worriedly, “Garmadon! Are you okay?” When he didn’t answer, she repeated, “Are you okay?”—her voice even more frightened than before as she clapped a hand on Garmadon’s shoulder, staring down at him in fright.

Sing the song of darkness…

“I’m…I’m okay.” he lied—knowing that she wouldn’t buy it for a second. She was much too intuitive for that. But, to his surprise, she said nothing. Simply took his hand and hauled him back onto his feet. He whispered a hoarse “thank you” before saying, “Come on—let’s keep moving. We’ve got to find Cole—pronto.”

The three set out again, but though Garmadon’s face was frightfully calm, a storm still raged within his heart. What was that strange darkness that had eclipsed him? And what did that strange phrase mean?

Darkness shall rise within you.

He felt a sinking feeling within him, as he thought to himself, Oh, Cole, where could you be?!

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In the midst of a cold, icy fog, a lone figure approached the still form of a small child laying asleep underneath a cherry tree. The figure’s hands shook involuntarily as he took in the sight of his find. The boy was so still, he thought for sure that he was dead. And then he saw a tiny puff of breath emanate from the child’s lips.

His whole body shook as he knelt down and felt for the boy’s pulse. There was a slight throb underneath his fingers, but it was so weak he could barely feel it at all. The child’s face was a ghastly white from the icy chill and biting wind, his skin cold as ice. His chest moved up and down slowly, almost too slowly.

So he was still alive. But he wouldn’t be for much longer—not in this cold. And not this close to—the figure shuddered—the forest.

His stomach twisted within him as he was reminded anew of the orders she had given him. If he had found anyone else—anyone at all—he would have immediately obeyed without question.

But he never thought that his unwilling servitude would lead him to…this.

Putting an innocent child in harm’s way.

But she would expect that her orders be carried out to the full. And if he dared even question her command, she would show him no mercy. He would be destroyed if he did not follow through.

Still, the mere thought of befriending this child—comforting him—caring for him—gaining his trust—only to betray him and turn him over to her, to let her do whatever her stone-cold heart desired to him, positively sickened him.

But it had to be so.

For no one dared question Liara’s rule.

With a heavy heart, he picked the boy—this precious, innocent, helpless boy—off of the ground and slowly carried him away—away to where he would surely meet his doom.

Does anyone write them here?

Who is interested in writing a ninjago s11 au fanfic where lloyd decides to stay in the never realm with akita to learn how to become a formling to turn into a three tailed arctic fox with green tail tips resulting in them somehow permanently turning into their animal forms to eventually become mates/parents to several fox-wolf hybrid cubs or pups?

Nevermind, i know now

Does anyone write them here?

Hello, you might remember me, I'm almost done with Horrorjago. I just finished the fanfiction and am in my next phase of Grammer checking. I've written 36,743 words. I release is coming in the near-future.

So, this chapter switches perspective back to Cole--but something's about to change, and he will be shocked to find out what...

Heads-up: There are some spoilers for DRS2 and (potentially) the Shatterspin comic. Also, pay attention to the italics--they're important for understanding what is happening.

Anyjays, here we go with Chapter 6!

Chapter 6

“Cole.”

The voice came without warning to the young Earth Elemental as he stood amidst the knee-deep grass of the meadow he’d found himself in just moments before. He recognized its source instantly. “Master Wu?” he breathed in confusion and wonder.

Cole’s hands twitched underneath the covers, and his brow furrowed in confusion as he slept. The vague feeling of Kirby tucked underneath his arm began to fade away as he was pulled deeper into the dream.

Yet it was not just a dream.

It was a message—a call.

“Follow me.” the voice rich and deep with love and power commanded.

“Follow you?” Cole questioned, still confused. Why could he hear Master Wu’s voice but not see him anywhere in sight?

But there was no answer except for the voice repeating, “Follow me.” Cole shielded his eyes at the sudden burst of light that exploded in front of him. When he dared to crack open his eyes again, he suddenly spotted the orb of golden light that he’d lost track of just before getting zapped into the past. It hovered just a few feet from him, giving off a soft humming noise, before slowly drifting away from him.

And then, as if in a trance, Cole began to slowly trail after it.

Tiny feet slid over the side of the bed before softly padding on the floor, and a small, dream-bound figure extended one hand out in front of him as he softly creeped to the other side of the room.

There was a small click and a creak of old hinges as a door slowly eased open and the figure slipped through.

“Do not fear.” Master Wu’s voice called in reassuring tones. “The dark will not harm you.”

The little earth-wielder let out a soft giggle of wonder and excitement, his face lighting up with joy as he continued to trail after the orb, clambering quietly over rocks, roots, and fallen trees. How could he be afraid when his sensei was with him, in spirit if not in presence?

How did no one notice the small figure padding softly past each of their rooms, making no more noise than a cat? Yet not one person woke—not one soul stirred—as a very young earth-wielder sleepwalked straight out the door.

Very soon, the strange orb led Cole to a misty forest clearing—with a circle of mysterious monoliths within the heart of it. He halted shortly afterward, standing silently in its center, his eyes darting all around him as he gazed at each monolith in turn. All had strange symbols carved into their tops. There were seven monoliths in all.

Seven. That seemed important somehow. But Cole couldn’t quite pinpoint why. Then Master Wu’s voice gave him another command.

“Complete the circle, Cole. Complete the circle.” An involuntary shudder rippled through his body, as he suddenly recalled the last time someone had given him that very command.

That instruction—and his inadvertent fulfillment of it—had, to put it lightly, just about ended in disaster.

Definitely one path he never wanted to venture down again.

But he still trusted the voice. His sensei had never steered him wrong before—why would he do so now?

But how could he “complete the circle”? What did he have to do?

As if someone—or something—heard his thoughts, there came a soft hum from behind him. The same hum as the golden lightning bolts that had sent him into the past in the first place. And then he slowly turned around to see one particular monolith that had an unknown-yet-strangely-familiar symbol carved into it.

It only took a few seconds for Cole to realize that it was the symbol for his element.

The element of Earth.

Looking over to his right, he spotted another symbol carved into a different monolith. This time it was the symbol of Fire. The third symbol he spotted—found even farther to his right—he recognized right away as the symbol of Ice. Picking up on the pattern, he shifted his gaze back to the first pillar and slowly turned around in a full circle, counting the symbols as he went. Earth, Fire, Ice, Lightning, Water, Energy, and one other that he was unfamiliar with but for some strange reason was able to identify as Motion.

And then it clicked in his mind what he was supposed to do. Rushing over to the Earth monolith, he called on his Earth Powers. When he touched both hands to its base, his whole body suddenly lit up with a brilliant golden aura, as streams of brilliant sunshine yellow light surged through the rocky natural pillar, making it glow as brightly as the stars above. Carrying the light with him, he raced over to the next pillar. And when he touched its base, once again streams of powerful light washed over it—this time fiery-red in its hue. As he continued to touch monolith after monolith, leaving a wake of light in his path, more colorful streams of light appeared, each one a different color.

Ice, brilliant white.

Lightning, an electric blue.

Water, a gentle sea-blue, slightly lighter in tone than the previous.

Energy, a radiant green.

And Motion, a combined stream of silver and gold.

And then, when Cole came back around to the Earth pillar, that’s when it happened.

The ground suddenly began shaking violently underneath him, and he flailed his arms around, struggling to keep his balance. A brilliantly bright flash of golden light exploded all around him, and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut to avoid being blinded by its glare.

There was a strange swirling sensation all around his form, almost like he was being pulled into another world, and even with his eyes closed tightly, an overwhelming sense of dizziness came over him.

And then his senses faded away from him as he collapsed, unconscious, to the ground…

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How much time passed after that, he did not know. And as he slowly pried his eyes open, he wondered where exactly he was. He had so many questions flashing through his mind.

But all of them suddenly vanished as he bolted to his feet, gasping in horror at what he saw.

He was standing in the midst of a vast, barren field, scorched, laid waste by battle. All around him, pressing in on him in a smothering haze, was a blood-red light so blindingly brilliant that his eyes watered with hot, stinging tears. When he looked up to seek out the source of the light, his face paled as he suddenly spotted a blood-red moon, swelling with sickly fullness.

He then heard the sound of stamping feet behind him, and he turned around to see five dark figures closing in on him. The light of the blood moon was too bright for him to make out details, but one thing was for sure—they meant no good towards him. Desperately, he tried to escape the nightmare, to wake up from this horrible dream.

It had to be a dream. It just had to.

But if it was a dream, why couldn’t he just wake up?

Then the worst part of all came to meet him in terror and power. A sixth figure materialized in front of him, and his heart quelled as he recognized him instantly.

The sixth one was none other than Garmadon, dressed in strange blue armor, his auburn hair streaked with strange wisps of aqua-blue, a dark-blue wolf mask in his hands. He put the mask on with an evil smirk—before giving a strange hand-signal.

A loud GONG pierced Cole’s thoughts, and he went three shades of pale as he spotted the wolf mask suddenly shift into armor. Garmadon’s eyes flashed red, and he swept one foot back behind him in a stance Cole recognized well.

He’s going to use Spinjitzu! Cole thought to himself. But when Garmadon leaped into the air, it wasn’t Spinjitzu that Cole witnessed.

It was something else—something far more powerful, more dangerous.

It was a blood-red tornado, much stronger than even Forbidden Spinjitzu. And it was heading straight towards Cole!

In that moment, the Earth Elemental could watch no more. With a startled shriek, he dashed away from the tornado as quickly as his legs could carry him. But the strange, terrible whirlwind was swiftly gaining on him, growing closer and closer by the second. The voice that had brought him here suddenly sounded again—Beware the Flame of Liara.

But then, a new message was given. Beware the Shatterspin.

Mind reeling in confusion, he risked a look behind him—big mistake! For then he found himself stepping out over the edge of a steep ridge!

His eyes shot open as he tumbled forward, his outstretched foot meeting nothing but air. He let out a shriek of fright as he careened uncontrollably down the rocky ridge, and there was a small cloud of dust as he crashed in a heap at the bottom.

For several minutes, he just lay there, unmoving, groaning in agony from the not-quite-the-best landing. Then, with a small grunt of exertion, he pushed himself to his feet, standing on shaky legs as he struggled to get his bearings. He appeared to be in the midst of a valley, and as he stood there, trembling with fright, he quickly realized that there was no way he was going to make it back up to the top of the ridge on his own.

He was stuck.

Fighting back tears, he staggered forward—only to let out a yelp as a sharp pain shot through his right ankle. He must have sprained or twisted it in the fall. Or perhaps broken it. But he had no time to worry about that right now. He was lost, and he needed to get back home.

But where was home? More to the point—where was he? As if things couldn’t get any worse, he suddenly found that the air was filled with a sharp chill, and when he blew on his quickly-numbing hands, he could see his breath coming out in small, frigid clouds of mist. A wheezy cough sent him doubling over in pain as he clutched at his aching chest once again. And when he weakly got up again, his whole body shook with uncontrollable chills.

Suddenly, he found that he was growing incredibly sleepy as he stumbled forward, dragging his injured leg behind him. His eyelids drooped uncontrollably multiple times before he came across a beautiful sight.

A large cherry tree, pink with myriads of blossoms, swayed softly in the gentle breeze, and the night sky twinkled with hundreds of tiny stars. As little Cole crumpled to the ground underneath the tree’s flower-covered boughs, he gingerly rolled onto his side, gazing upward at the stars above him. He tried to pick out familiar constellations, but his vision began to blur as he felt even more drowsy than before. A sudden yawn escaped him, and a moment later, he fell asleep with a faint smile on his face. Apparently, there were still some things that didn’t change.

He was not alert long enough to notice a cold, white mist closing in on his small, frail form—and a dark figure slowly slipping past his position.

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Wu lay fast asleep on a small cot within the chamber that all the flood victims had been placed in. He and Garmadon had already obtained permission from their father to stay and look after those who had been caught in the flash flood. The First Spinjitzu Master had believed it would be good for the two boys to gain some experience in serving the people—an experience that would become important when they took over for their father as Masters of Spinjitzu.

Suddenly, Wu’s peaceful slumber was shattered by a strange cry echoing in his mind. Like someone was in grave danger.

Then the Spinjitzu heir’s eyes shot open, and he let out a sharp gasp as his mind grasped who was crying out. He staggered out of the cot and made a dash for Cole’s room.

But when he got there, he was horrified to find that the blankets were laying in a tangle on the bed, a dragon plushie lay forgotten on the floor, and little Cole was nowhere to be found. There weren’t signs of any sort of struggle, but Wu’s mind reeled in panic, nonetheless.

Where could Cole be?

A horrible possibility arose in Wu’s mind, and he barely managed to bite back a scream as he made a beeline for the only door that led outside.

It was ajar.

The horrible truth sunk in a second later, and a startled scream burst out of Wu before he could stop it. An instant later, four sets of feet came dashing towards him from behind, four voices calling his name in panic. He turned around to see Garmadon, Misako, Mystaké, and Maya all crowding around him, frantically talking at the same time. Then the room fell silent, as they suddenly noticed the distress plainly written on Wu’s face.

It was then that Garmadon asked what everyone was thinking. “Wu…where’s Cole?”

And then the air was pierced by Wu’s frightened cry of, “HE’S GONE!”

So, switching perspectives again--this time to Misako and Garmadon.

Suspense, drama, and lots of Cole-and-Misako SWEETNESS! Plus a voice actor reference/cameo and the origin behind a very special nickname! Hope you enjoy this newest chapter of "Flame of Liara"!

A/N: The song Misako sings is inspired by "Candle on the Water", an award-winning song from the live-action/animation Disney movie "Pete's Dragon" (1977).

Linking previous chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Anyjays, here's Chapter 5!

Chapter 5

Misako’s hand twitched slightly as she smiled in her sleep. She’d tried to stay awake and watch over little Cole, but as the hours had gone by and daytime slowly turned into night, she had found herself growing incredibly drowsy. After struggling for hours to keep her eyes open, she had finally succumbed to the pull of slumber and now lay fast asleep, her head resting on her arms as she knelt beside Cole’s bed. Suddenly, her peaceful sleep was shattered by a soft, weak cry. Prying her eyes open, she let out a disappointed sigh. Her dreams had been just so beautiful, and now—

And then she suddenly realized who was crying. Lifting her head groggily as she blinked the sleepy haze out of her eyes, she noticed that little Cole was whimpering softly, his eyes tightly closed and his hands balled into fists as he desperately clutched at the blankets covering him. His face was pale, dotted with droplets of cold sweat, and he shook with intense cold even though he had not just one, but four blankets piled on top of his feverish form. Whether he was crying out of pain or nightmares or both, Misako did not know. Yet, at the mere sight of precious little Cole suffering such as this, Misako’s heart immediately melted into a little puddle of sorrow.

She all but leaped to her feet and clambered onto the bed—before pulling Cole, blankets and all, into her arms. The semidarkness of the room seemed to press in on the two like a smothering fog, almost. But it took a second for her to realize why Cole had been crying like that.

As she snuggled him close to her breast, she suddenly drew in a sharp breath as she thought she could see a faint greenish glow peeking through his sweaty wisps of thin jet-black hair, on the left side of his face. And was it just a trick of the moonlight, or was Cole’s body starting to look transparent?

More to the point—why did he feel lighter all of a sudden?

As her eyes frantically darted all around the room, her mind fearfully racing with questions as to why this could be happening, she was startled by Cole’s soft, almost inaudible moan of, “Too…dark…need…light.” His brows suddenly furrowed closely together as he weakly pulled his arms closer in around himself and let out a small grunt—as if he was concentrating hard on…what? His body became fully opaque again—then slowly regained transparency as Cole grunted even louder and his trembling grew more intense. “Need…light!” he repeated, even more loudly and firmly than before.

The panic in his voice was so intense that Misako moved abruptly without thinking, and the little earth-wielder tumbled clean over the side of the bed, taking his blankets with him. “Cole!” Misako whisper-yelled before peeking over the bed’s side at the small lump that was little Cole, curled up in a little ball on the hard wooden floor, half-buried by throws and quilts.

And then she let out a startled gasp as she realized that the covers seemed to slowly be melting into him. No, not into him—through him. Her lip quivered with panic, as her mind reeled with the question, What do I do? Oh, what do I do?

And then she recalled his frantic words. Need light. He needs light! Quickly, she slid off of the bed herself, tiptoed around Cole still laying on the floor, snagged a small candle and a matchbox out of the drawer of a nearby desk, and set to work lighting the candle. How she ever managed to light the match with her hands trembling convulsively, yet not succeeding to burn her fingers in the process, she would never know. A few seconds later, a small, flickering flame cast long shadows on the wall, its soft, gentle glow illuminating the whole room.

But her job wasn’t done yet. Without a second to waste, she flopped down in front of Cole and pulled the blankets partially off of him so that the candlelight shined directly on his now-nearly invisible frame. A few seconds later, the power of the light finally kicked in, and Cole’s small, frail body became completely solid again. The sickly green glow that Misako had seen faded away, and the little earth-wielder’s trembling slowly began to subside. He still shivered profusely with cold, but the danger that he had faced in the dark had abated.

But for how long? If Misako let the candle go out, would Cole transform again? What would happen if he did? Would he fade away entirely? That was definitely one question that Misako did not want to find out the answer to.

She knelt down and gently scooped up the little earth-wielder, blankets and all once again—whoa, Maya had been right about Cole being so small—and clambered onto the bed with him, tenderly holding him close to her breast. As she gazed downward at him, trembling slightly at the scare he had given her, he slowly pried open his eyes and gazed back with an exhausted look on his face. His pupils were still dilated and his breathing a bit shaky from fright and illness combined. He let out a soft wheeze before taking a shuddery breath—only to be cut off by a small choking noise. She said nothing as he just buried his head in her arm, coughing violently for several minutes, trembling with immense cold and fear.

And then she realized how much heat was radiating off of him. Oh, dear—he was definitely feverish. His skin against her kimono felt like it was on fire, and his clothes were literally glued to his body with sweat. Her heart melted even more than before, as she realized just how weak and helpless he was, and her grip around him tightened slightly, though not enough to hurt him. Her arm suddenly brushed against a small lump amidst his blankets, and she stuck one hand underneath the covers—before drawing out a small, fuzzy, well-loved black dragon plushie. He must have been cuddling it as he slept. She let her cheek rest on it for a second, feeling its comforting touch, before offering it to him. He slowly took it from her before clutching it close to his chest, rubbing his cheek against its fluffy form.

“You like him?” she whispered.

“Mm-hmm.” he murmured, his voice slightly hoarse from coughing so much. “He…he’s so soft.” Then he turned his head to meet her gaze—before quietly asking, “What…what’s his name?”

Misako pondered that for a moment before answering, “Wellllllll, I called him Blackie when I was little, buuuuuutttttt looking back, the name doesn’t…really…seem to fit.” She paused for a second, thinking of the right words to say. Then she added, “What would you name him?”

Cole’s eyelashes blinked rapidly, his face scrunched in concentration. He looked down at the plushie, then at Misako, then at the plushie again. Finally, he pursed his lips and exclaimed, “Kirby.”

“Kirby.” Misako mused over the name for a second. “I like the sound of that.”

“Well—” Cole started—before another coughing-wheezing fit took him by surprise. He buried his head in Misako’s arm again, hacking profusely for several minutes before the fit finally died away. “I hate being sick.” he mumbled, his voice muffled by the fabric of Misako’s sleeve.

“I highly doubt anyone likes being sick.” she commented. Then, guessing what Cole was trying to say before he’d started coughing, she added, “I have to admit—he does kind of look like a Kirby.”

“That’s what I was trying to—” Another coughing fit ensued, and Misako found herself patting Cole’s back, telling him softly, “There, there. It’s okay. Let it out—let it get out.” Then Cole gave a weak smile—before smushing his face into the top of poor Kirby’s head. Misako couldn’t help but smile herself. He just looked so cute with his jet-black hair drooping over his face like that.

But then her panic suddenly spiked as she noticed the candle was swiftly burning down to its base. How could the wax have melted so quickly? Quickly yet cautiously slipping off of the bed, she rushed over, pulled another candle out of the drawer, and lit it in a matter of moments. Thankfully, little Cole did not seem to notice—until she breathed a sigh of relief and clambered back onto the bed a third time. Looking up at her worry-lined face, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” she stammered. “Just panicked a moment there.”

She held her breath, fully expecting him to ask why. But to her relief, he didn’t ask anything of the sort. Unexpectedly, she could feel a strange sense of curiosity gnawing at her, and a question rose in her mind. She wondered if it was wise to ask—but she had to know. “Cole, why were you…crying that…it was too dark and…you needed light?”

At the pained expression on Cole’s face then, she drew a sharp gasp, wondering if she had said something wrong. But to her amazement, he did not scream or cry. Just looked at her with sorrow written all over his face. There was a quick shuddering breath, and then he softly spoke, “I was…fading.”

“Fading?” Misako questioned. “What do you mean, fading?”

His answer was little more than a strained murmur as he said, “There was an eclipse. A Rift of Return. I got through just in time. But a scar still remains. You can’t see it anymore, but it always reacts when it’s too dark or I get too wet. Usually, it just stings, but this time…” His voice faded away, and that’s when it clicked for Misako.

Cole was one of the Returned—a mortal transformed into a ghost by some unnatural means, yet restored to mortality later on as the result of some strange supernatural occurrence. But if he had only barely made it through—

No wonder he was so sick. The flash flood—all that water surrounding him, engulfing him in its depths—it made so much sense now. And the fact that his scar had reacted to both water and the dark—

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of poor little Cole sobbing softly as he suddenly clung to Misako with all the strength he could muster in his feverish state, Kirby slowly falling away from his grasp. Tears sprang to her own eyes, as she wrapped her arms tightly around his little frame, trying to offer whatever comfort she could. Before she could stop herself, she had asked, “Has this—what happened tonight—ever happened be…before now?”

Taking a shuddery breath, Cole whispered, “No, but…I knew something was wrong when…when I couldn’t feel my arms and…and legs.”

The sobs of both figures suddenly started coming faster than before, and for several seconds, the two simply held each other close, crying, crying, crying, until their tears were all but spent. But it was Misako’s heart that ached the most when the tears finally stopped.

For there was no doubt in her mind that precious little Cole had been deeply, deeply scarred—in more ways than one.

A sudden surge of sorrow welled within Misako’s being, and she found herself longing for a way to show him her care and concern—nay, her love—for him…her love for him as not just a friend, but—dare she think it?—a sister. But…what? What way was there for her to show her sisterly love for him?

And it was then that, though her heart swelled with grief and pain—though her voice trembled with trepidation and anguish—she softly began to sing a beautiful melody that had been with her since childhood.

I’ll be your candle on the water—

A ray of hope against the dark.

I’ll be your sunshine ‘midst the storm clouds,

Like a radiant, fiery spark.

I’ll be your starlight in the midnight,

As I hold you safe and warm.

I’ll be your candle on the water—

My love will lead you home.

As her voice gently faded away, there was a soft, drowsy, contented yawn, and her hearing suddenly caught the breathtaking sound of Cole quietly murmuring, “Thanks…Ko…ko.”—before his eyelids gently drooped shut, and he once again drifted off to sleep.

Koko. Misako’s eyes slowly began to well with tears. He had called her Koko. How long had it been since someone had called her by that all-but-forgotten nickname? A lump formed in her throat as she quietly slipped off of the bed one last time, tucked little Cole in (with Kirby tucked under his arm), and lit one more candle for good measure—before tiptoeing out of the room, as quietly as a tiny mouse.

And when she silently shut the door behind her, that’s when the emotion struck. A sob escaped her lips as she sank to the floor against the wall, trembling as tears of wonder and grief poured down her cheeks uncontrollably, and the name spoken in great love and gratefulness continued to echo in her mind.

Koko.

Koko.

Koko.

A sudden pattering of footsteps startled her, and she looked up to see a dark-haired figure standing just a few feet from her. Then a voice laced with concern asked, “Misako?”

She recognized the voice’s source right away. “Garmadon.” she exclaimed in surprise. “You—you startled me.” As her eyes slowly adjusted to the semidarkness of the hallway, the teenager addressed slowly approached her, before plopping down beside her and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Why are you crying?” he asked. Misako tried to answer, but her voice would not obey her, and for several seconds, she just sat there, tiny little gasps emanating from her lips as the trembling increased in intensity. “Tell me—why are you crying?” Garmadon asked, his voice tight with genuine worry.

“He…” Misako stammered—before the tears started to flow once again. “He called me ‘Koko’!”

“Who?” Garmadon replied in confusion. “Cole?”

She nodded, her voice all but choked up with sobs. “He called me ‘Koko’, Garmadon! He called me ‘Koko’! No one’s called me ‘Koko’—not since my…” Her voice trailed off, as she dissolved into a complete mess of tears. But Garmadon did not need to hear the rest. He already knew what she was thinking.

No one had called her Koko since her mother died.

And with that thought, Garmadon’s heart shattered.

“Come here.” he breathed, pulling her tenderly into his arms as hot, sorrowful tears sprang to his own eyes. Though he would have laughed in the face of anyone who dared to say that he had a crush on Misako, he was starting to feel as if she was not just a friend, but family.

The sister that he and Wu never had.

And in that moment, the whole world seemed to fade away, as Garmadon just sat there, crying with Misako as he held her tenderly and lovingly in his arms.

So, this chapter switches gears a little, focusing on Wu's and Mystaké’s perspectives over the course of it. Better get comfortable and hang on to your hats--'cause this chapter has a lot of love and SO MUCH TRAUMA! Plus we get Mystaké’s backstory, see the Time Twins, and so much more! Hope you enjoy!

Shoutout to fans of The Hobbit! Look for an allusion to the second Hobbit movie (The Desolation of Smaug)!

Linking previous chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Wu’s stomach felt tied up in knots, and his throat was tight with dread and anxiety as he hovered near the door to the room little Cole lay sleeping in. His head pounded with worry, and every few minutes his hands would shake convulsively as he just stood there, waiting, waiting, waiting for any movement, any sound, any sign that Cole was conscious.

But already a whole day had passed—24 long, nerve-wracking hours.

And still, the little earth-wielder had not wakened.

Involuntarily, Wu bit down on his lower lip—before letting out a stifled yelp as he tasted blood. An uncontrollable shuddering shook his whole body, and his right hand trembled as he slowly turned the doorknob.

He couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to see for himself. Slowly cracking open the door, he peeked inside at the small figure laying almost unmoving on the bed beside the window. He tiptoed precariously into the room, shutting the door silently behind him. Then he creeped over to the bed—and immediately paled at what he saw.

Cole’s face flushed crimson with fever, and his chest heaved uncontrollably as he struggled for every breath. A soft wheezing sound suddenly pierced the air, and the little Earth Ninja’s frail frame was suddenly racked by a harsh coughing fit.

In a surge of panic, Wu dived to his knees and pulled the Earth Elemental into his arms, begging silently, Oh, Cole, please be all right. Please be all right. How long had Cole been fighting for breath like this? What if the tea wasn’t working? What if—No! He would not let that happen! He could not! Not to his little brother!

The poor Spinjitzu heir hadn’t felt this panicked since that horrible, fateful day when Garmadon had been bitten by that terrible serpent. Hot tears suddenly sprang to his eyes as bitter memories of that day suddenly came flooding back unwillingly.

The growing feeling of anxiety in his heart as he waited for hours for his brother to return with the lost katana…

The nerve-wracking moments that trickled away as he paced in nervous impatience outside his brother’s bedroom door, his nerves tensing more and more every second in suspense over Garmadon’s condition…

And then the paralyzing shock when Garmadon—his own brother—had screamed angrily that he hated his father and that it was all Wu’s fault…

The overwhelming fear that had entered his heart as he bolted away from the door…

The jumpiness of countless days afterward…

The heartache…the fear…

The horrific recurring nightmares…

Uncontrollable sobs rattled Wu’s body as he struggled to focus his power, to relieve Cole’s suffering. He wouldn’t let what happened to Garmadon happen to Cole.

He would protect his new brother. He had to protect him.

It was his purpose. It was his call.

It was his quest.

He was already slowly losing his biological brother, and he would not—he could not—lose his new brother-by-choice.

A soft golden stream of light surged into the trembling body of Cole, and the little earth-wielder’s breathing evened out as the wheezing died away and he fell back asleep. A breath Wu hadn’t known he’d been holding suddenly whooshed out of him as he gently laid Cole back on the bed. He was just about to get up and tiptoe back out of the room when the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. With a silent groan, he realized that he was not alone in here.

For when he slowly turned around, cheeks flushing warm in embarrassment, he saw that Mystaké was standing right in the doorway. To add insult to injury, he could see Misako standing just slightly to Mystaké’s right. With an even hotter flush, he realized that he was unavoidably busted.

There was a loud sigh as Mystaké facepalmed, shaking her head in disbelief. “Wu, Wu, Wu.” the teenage healer scolded. “How many times do I have to tell you—brooding like a mother hen over Cole’s condition and barging in on him when he’s supposed to be resting is not going to help him recover any faster! Now leave that poor little shortstack alone and let the tea do its work!”

Wu winced. Mystaké may have been compassionate and never shrank from helping others in need, but she could be painfully blunt sometimes. Not to mention stubborn as a tiger when it came to her duties. He gave a pained nod and reluctantly stepped away from Cole’s bedside, tears welling in his eyes as he was reminded anew of what had happened with Garmadon.

He was startled by a sudden gentle hand on his shoulder, and he looked over to see that Misako had silently slipped into the room and was standing quietly beside him. The look on her face told him clearly that she knew how closely this whole thing hit home for him. Embarrassed, he tried to rub the tears out of his eyes. But the only thing she said to him then was a kind whisper of, “Don’t worry. I’ll watch over him for you.”

The butterfly-light touch of her hand gently resting on his shoulder sent a delightful crinkly feeling up his spine, and he couldn’t help but give her a slight dreamy smile before whispering in a tight, raspy voice, “Thank you.” His peripheral vision caught a slight eyeroll of disbelief coming from Mystaké, but he shrugged it off. The eyerolls and blank stares from both her and Garmadon at his apparent crush on Misako had already lost their effect on him months before. With a last starstruck look at Misako, he slowly pulled away from her and sidestepped as quietly as a cat out of the room. The door’s hinges creaked slightly, and then she was gone from his sight.

And in that moment, all his fear and anxiety flooded back to him. In a sudden bout of overwhelming humiliation at being caught in places he wasn’t supposed to be, he tried to quietly slip away from Mystaké. But she would have none of that. She stuck her arms out on either side of her and barred his way. “Let me through!” he begged, trying to push past her—but she wouldn’t budge.

“Not so fast, Wu. Not until I get some answers. You’ve been distant and apathetic ever since Cole got sick, and I need to know why.”

With a disappointed sigh, Wu begrudgingly resigned himself to staying put. Mystaké then folded her arms and exclaimed, “Okay, spill, Spinner. What’s going on in that terrified mind of yours?”

Another wince escaped Wu as he caught the subtly reprimanding undertones lacing Mystaké’s words as she addressed him by the nickname she’d given him when he was young—well, younger. She certainly has a strange way of showing compassion, he thought to himself (not for the first time, though he never would have admitted it). His voice seemed to catch in his throat, and hot tears began springing to his eyes uncontrollably as he fished for an answer. And then the dam of emotions within his heart suddenly burst.

“HE ALMOST DROWNED, MYSTAKÉ!” Wu blurted. “I lost my grip on him in the flood, and he ALMOST DROWNED!” Mind reeling with grief, Wu grasped both of Mystaké’s shoulders so hard his knuckles began turning white, and she let out a soft hiss of pain at the tightness of his grip. Before Wu could stop it, everything—his fear, his anxiety, his dread, his utter guilt—came pouring out of his lips in a surge of sorrow and pain. “And now he’s just so sick, and I’m afraid he’s going to die, and it will be all my fault! And I just feel so weak and helpless, and I feel like I should be doing something—ANYTHING—and I CAN’T! All I can do is stand and watch him get sicker and sicker, and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!” A sob tore from his throat, and he let out a loud sniffle before reaching one hand up to brush the tears out of his eyes. Mystaké said nothing—only gave him a look saying, Go on.

Wu was only glad to oblige. “Ever since Garmadon was…bitten…by that horrible snake, I made a promise to myself that I would never let another friend come into harm’s way. But I couldn’t---even—protect—an eight-year-old—KID!” His grip tightened even more as he suddenly sobbed, “He’s like family to me, Mystaké! Just like all the other Elemental Masters! He’s like the little brother I never had, and I LET HIM DOWN! I failed him!” In that moment, Wu found that he could not go on, and he suddenly threw his arms around Mystaké as he dissolved into a complete basket case of tears. A second later, he flinched in surprise when his childhood friend returned the embrace, and he could feel tears from her own eyes softly splashing onto his neck. He had never really known her to be the emotional type—but here she was, crying with him as he struggled to process all the guilt and trauma that had been haunting him for hours, nay, weeks now.

“Oh, Wu! Oh, Wu!” she stammered. “I…I’m so sorry. I’m just so sorry. I mean, I…I’ve always known that you had a big heart, but I…I just never realized—all the same, I shouldn’t have been so blunt…I’m just so sorry, Spinner!” The Spinjitzu heir was shocked, to say the least. How long had it been since she had used that nickname in an endearing way—and not simply to scold him for some little fault of his? But she wasn’t finished. “Can you ever…will you ever…forgive me, Wu?”

Wu tried to reply, but his voice was so choked up by sobs that he could only manage a vigorous nod as hot, burning tears continued to pour down his cheeks. As his sobs slowly began to subside into soft, hiccupping coughs, Mystaké tenderly pulled away from him and placed one gentle hand on his chin so that his eyes met her tear-blurred gaze. She took a shaky breath and started, “First things first—” Her voice broke off as she spotted two young black-haired boys peeking at the duo from around a corner of the hallway. “Excuse me.” she apologized before letting go of Wu and walking calmly yet purposefully towards the two little culprits. A few seconds later, Wu’s hearing was filled with their cries of protest as she took them both by the ears, and he suddenly realized who’d been spying on him and Mystaké.

Krux and Acronix Chronos. While they were good friends and even better allies, those two were always up to some mischief. A slight smirk spread over Wu’s features as he listened to the Time Twins (as they were duly nicknamed) howling that Mystaké was gripping their ears too hard as she forcibly escorted them to the door.

(The two had been so stunned at being caught red-handed that they hadn’t thought to use their Time powers.)

There was a slight grunt, a sudden slam, the soft click of a lock, and then Mystaké came back into the hallway, a look of cool victory on her face as she slapped her hands together to say, Done and done—problem solved. Then her expression changed to one of calm sympathy as she quietly spoke, “First things first, you may be trying to be everything for everyone else all the time, but the hard-and-fast truth is, you can’t—so stop trying. If you don’t, you’ll wind up only hurting yourself even worse than if you did.”

Wu was incredulous about that piece of advice, but he still nodded in understanding (however slight). But Mystaké was not finished. “Secondly,” she added, “You and I both know that neither one of us is fully human—and I’m not human period—but we’re both still imperfect beings. We’re both going to fail from time to time. It’s in our nature. It shouldn’t be, but it is. But your failure does not have to be final, Wu! Throughout your life, you’re going to mess up. You’re going to stumble. You’re going to fall. You’re going to make mistakes. But your mistakes don’t have to define who you are—your failures don’t have to hold you back from becoming who you were meant to be. In fact, you’ll only hurt yourself even worse if you let them.”

Taking a shuddery breath, she finished, “You. Are. Not. A failure. You never have been, and you never will be—not unless you choose to be. And I believe with all of my heart that you won’t.”

Once again, tears sprang to Wu’s eyes as Mystaké’s words sunk into him. But this time, they were tears of joy. “Th-thanks, Mysti.” he whispered, his voice soft as he called her by the endearing nickname he’d given her years before.

“Come here.” she replied, walking over to him and pulling him into her arms in a tender and comforting embrace. She rubbed his back in repetitive circular motions as he returned the hug, sobbing from sorrow and joy combined for several seemingly eternal minutes. But the moment couldn’t last forever, and eventually Mystaké did pull away from Wu. But she did not abandon him—not yet. “Now,” she exclaimed softly, “I think a nice, hot cup of tea is in order?”

“Thanks.” Wu replied, still sniffling a little from crying so much. “That would be really nice.” As he turned to head for the kitchen, he paused as he realized that Mystaké hadn’t moved from where she stood. “Um, you coming?” he inquired, looking over his shoulder back at her.

“In…in a minute.” she stammered, her eyelids fluttering a little. She still felt a bit overwhelmed with emotion, and it clearly showed. Wu smiled in understanding before turning and leaving her by herself in the hallway. As his quiet footfalls faded from Mystaké’s hearing, she closed her eyes and turned her face upward, focusing on her breathing. In, hold, out, hold. In, hold, out, hold. Soon her heart stopped fluttering uncontrollably, and her breathing evened out. When she opened her eyes, she felt a sense of calmness and tranquility. A smile slowly spread over her features, as she thought to herself, I made the right decision when I chose to stay.

It seemed like just yesterday that she had found herself at a crossroads. Her father, the Omega, had specifically commanded her to find the First Spinjitzu Master and bring him back to the First Realm, bound and unharmed, so that he could join in their ongoing battle against the Dragons. And even after a storm had left her stranded and separated from the rest of her group, her daughterly loyalty to her father kept her from giving up on her quest for many, many years—though she was truly just a teenager, at least in terms of Oni years.

(A thousand years was but a blink in the life of a full-blooded Oni, and she knew it well.)

But when she found the one she’d been looking for, she had already started to question whether she should follow through with the command. Besides the fact that she had no clue how to return to the Realm of Oni and Dragon on her own, she also had seen things that had shocked her, to say the least. How could she have ever anticipated that the young realm she’d been sent to could be such a place of beauty and wonder? Having known only the power of destruction, the power of life that she had witnessed fascinated her.

But the most startling discovery she had made was that during her long search, the First Spinjitzu Master had grown up and now had children of his own. Though she had no clue what had happened to their mother, she felt drawn to the Spinjitzu brothers, nonetheless. Why? Because of their love for each other—their pure, enduring, brotherly love that knew no bounds.

Life and love—both new experiences for her, a young Oni teenager lost in the unknown, with no one to turn to for comfort or help in a time of need. She hadn’t even realized how much she’d yearned for unconditional, persevering love until she experienced it firsthand through the kindness and compassion of Wu and his brother Garmadon. And yet she had doubted whether to reject her father’s long-unfulfilled command. For days, she had wrestled over whether to stay or to go—whether to be an ally or an enemy. In the end, though, the love she had seen drew her to stay.

And now she could clearly see that her decision was, in fact, the right choice. For love had called her onto the path of light—a path she did not desire to abandon for all the power in the world.

And it was this final thought that brought her great comfort as she took one last shaky breath—before quietly trailing after Wu. No matter what might come next, she was ready to share the very same love that Wu had shown her.

A love that saw past a person’s faults.

A love that overcame the blackest darkness.

A love that persevered through the greatest trials.

A love that endured.

So, I've been trying not to post two fanfic posts on the same day, but I'm kind of bored right now, so I'm just going to go ahead and post Chapter 3 of "Flame of Liara".

Linking last chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Possible TW: detailed description of pneumonia

Chapter 3

A hand grasping the back of Cole’s gi…

A vague sense of being hauled up out of the flood and half-pulled, half-dragged over the rough side of a wooden rowboat…

A faintly warm tingling at his back as he was firmly pushed against the boat’s side…

A gentle yet unwavering hand holding him still…

His lungs burning with piercing cold as he just knelt there, coughing, coughing, coughing, as water gushed out of his open mouth…

Weakness coursing through his veins as his coughs subsided and the flood of water ceased…

Slumping backwards into the lap of his unknown rescuer…

Voices fading in and out as he lay there, eyes shut tightly, too frail and cold to move, to speak…

“He’s so small, Misako. So small…and helpless.”

“I know, Maya. And that’s why we gotta get him to the orphanage as quickly as possible.”

“But why the orph—the orphan—the orphanage?”

“’Cause it’s the only high ground around here. I don’t like it either, but it’s our only chance.”

His face…so frigidly numb…

His lips…so cold they felt glued together…

His forehead…burning with excruciating pain…

His eyelids…strangely heavy…

His whole body…shaking uncontrollably with chills…

“Look at him. He’s so cold. See?—he can’t stop shivering.”

“I noticed it too, Maya.”

“It makes me want to cry.”

“Me too, Maya. Me too.”

A dim sensation of one of the girls wrapping her arms around him, holding him tightly in her tender embrace…

His alertness slowly ebbing away as his trembling frame went limp in her arms…

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The stifling darkness of his cold-induced slumber was suddenly pierced by two girlish voices screaming at the top of their lungs, “MYSTAKÉ! MYSTAKÉ, HELP!” He groggily pried his heavy eyelids open, and his blurry vision caught a glimpse of a boat dock at the base of a steep hill. A sandy path snaked its way up the hill and led to a castle-like wood-and-stone mansion, both beautiful and slightly creepy at the same time.

He let out a soft, almost inaudible moan as a jolt of pain from his scar seemed to suddenly penetrate his skull. There was a strange, warm wetness on his cheeks, as if he had been crying even as he slept. He struggled to push one hand up to wipe his tears away, but his limbs would not obey him. Both his arms and legs felt strangely limp and weighted, as if there was no strength or feeling left in them.

Despite his struggle to remain conscious, he felt his eyelids drooping shut again, and his murky hearing caught the wind-dulled sound of a frantic pitter-patter of footsteps as a lone figure rushed down to where the boat was beached—before kneeling down beside it.

Against his will, his senses gradually faded away again, and he began to drift away from the waking world as he faintly felt his rescuer pulling away from him, strong yet gentle arms wrapping around his waist, and his feet dangling weightlessly as someone silently lifted him out of the boat…

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As the paralyzing grip of unconsciousness slowly relaxed its hold on little Cole, his eyelids weakly fluttered open, and he gazed silently upward at a high wooden ceiling, a strange chill coursing through his veins, as he struggled to understand what had happened to him. He was laying on a small cot on the floor of a vast, dark chamber. All around him were many figures, some laying bound fast by slumber, others awake and moving around, and still others alert but unable to move from where they were because of injury. His fatigued mind weakly managed to grasp that he and the Spinjitzu brothers, apparently, weren’t the only victims of the flash flood. But where were Wu and Garmadon? His vision, blurry though it was, couldn’t pick them up anywhere in the chamber.

He wondered if they were okay, if…they were even alive. Stop it, Cole! he scolded himself. Stop thinking the worst! This is the past, remember? They can’t have drowned in that flood. They had to have survived!

But what if his presence had caused that to change?

Change anything, change everything.

What if things have changed for the worst?

But that wasn’t the worst of his worries. For as he lay there, he suddenly became aware that he had not escaped the flood unscathed.

Something was terribly wrong with him.

He felt so…weary, so…drained, so…listless. Like all his strength had been leached away from him. To make matters worse, his throat burned like a raging fire, and his chest felt so painfully tight that nearly every time he drew in even a single breath, he couldn’t keep from letting out a hoarse, ragged cough. Beads of cold sweat dotted his forehead, and his head pounded in his ears with agonizing pain. Waves of unnatural cold rippled through his veins uncontrollably, causing his weak frame to shudder from its chill. And for some strange reason, his ears flushed fiery-warm and his mop of wispy black hair was slicked down with sweat, even though his whole body shook and his teeth chattered.

He struggled to pull the thin blanket that all but shrouded his frail form closer around him, desperate to relieve the inexplicable chill that held him paralyzed in its cruel embrace. But as he slowly, weakly extended one arm out in front of him, he let out a wheezy gasp of horror as he saw that his fingertips were blue. His hand thudded heavily to the ground, and a million questions flashed through his mind at this terrifying discovery.

Why does my chest hurt so much?

Why is it so hard for me to breathe?

And why are my fingers blue? That can’t be normal, can it?

What is wrong with me?!

In a surge of panic, he staggered to his feet before he swayed and almost fell. His arms pinwheeled for several seconds before he managed to regain his balance. He tried to put one trembling foot in front of him but nearly fell a second time as he teetered on wobbly legs. His throat suddenly tightened, and he wheezed even louder, clutching at his aching chest as hot tears sprang uncontrollably to his eyes. A coughing fit rattled his entire body, and he trembled as he struggled to stay upright.

His vision gradually started to blur, just before his muffled hearing caught the sound of voices crying out his name over and over again amidst frantic footfalls coming from behind him. Shakily, he turned around to see the Spinjitzu brothers racing towards him as fast as their legs could carry them.

“Wu!” he cried in a raspy, strangled voice, stretching one hand out weakly. “Garmad—” Suddenly, he stumbled, his legs buckling underneath him as a wave of overwhelming weakness surged through his veins and he collapsed face-first to the floor. As his alertness began to slip out of his frail grasp again, he could faintly hear four different voices crying out in shock as four sets of feet bolted towards him.

His sight began to flicker in and out, in and out…

He felt himself being drawn into a comforting embrace as he laid his weary head on someone’s breast…

His eyelids blinked rapidly as he thought he heard Wu cry out, “I’ll find Mystaké!”

And then all went silent as a smothering darkness swallowed him once again…

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“Someone’s going to have to hold him upright.”

Cole struggled to reply, to tell the voice what had happened, but the weakness was too much, and he could only manage an inaudible sigh. A soft, delicate voice exclaimed, “I’ll do it.” Gentle hands pulled him away from the lap his head had fallen on and held him in a slightly upright position. He could faintly feel a hand tenderly stroking his sweaty wisps of jet-black hair, and he could hear, as if through a fog, the same soft, gentle voice humming a comforting yet somehow haunting lullaby. Behind his eyelashes, hot tears stung his eyes as a memory flickered in the back of his mind.

The memory of his mother, Lilly, singing him to sleep when he was no more than four years old.

Soft whimpers escaped his lips as his grief over his mother’s death suddenly came flooding back. His weak arms wrapped tightly around his comforter’s right arm as the longing that had been buried deep within for years flowed anew.

His yearning for the comfort of his mother’s touch.

Suddenly, his chest tightened again, and his whimpers were cut off by more wheezing. “Hurry!” someone begged. “He’s burning up!”

“Be patient!” the calm yet strained-with-annoyance voice of a teenage girl called. “Try as you might, you cannot rush tea.”

There was a soft patter of footsteps and a slight vibration as a third person knelt on the floor beside the semiconscious Cole. A hand kindly yet firmly grasped his chin and slowly turned his head forward before the little Earth Ninja felt a clink of a teacup against his teeth. Instinctively, he opened his lips—and gagged as a bitter taste filled his mouth. He struggled to pull away, but his weakened state prevented him from doing so.

“I know it tastes terrible, but you must drink it all.” the girl insisted. “Healing tea may not be very well known for its taste, but its effects are too renowned to be ignored.”

Cryptic, Cole thought to himself. Another memory flashed into his mind—this time of a feverish, delirious Lloyd lying unconscious on the small wooden table in the middle of Steep Wisdom, so badly injured that every breath was a battle and every movement a struggle of agony. The very thought of those suspense-ridden moments, when the Green Ninja’s life hung by a thin thread, made Cole shudder with fear. Who could have imagined that he would be in the same position?

Before he knew it, though, the last drops of the tea had dissolved on his tongue, and a strange drowsiness began to creep back over him, as a warm, fuzzy tingling began coursing through his veins. The pain in his chest gradually faded to nothing more than a dull ache, and his breathing slowly, steadily deepened as his sleepiness returned. But this time—this time—he was sure that it would be different. This time, sleep would be welcome, for it would be one of healing and not of danger.

He managed to mouth a soft “thank you” before someone—was it Wu?—placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and murmured, “You’ll be okay, I promise. You will not die. You will…not…die.”

Was it just Cole, or did Wu’s voice throb a bit on that last sentence? There was a shaky breath before Wu (he was quite sure it was Wu) finished, “Just…just go back to sleep.”—followed by the sensation of someone bundling him up in a warm, fleecy wool blanket.

And then, everything around Cole faded away again as slumber gently drew him away from the waking world. But for the first time since coming here, he gladly welcomed its embrace.

I don't have a whole lot of time right now, but here's Chapter 2 of "Flame of Liara." Hope you enjoy it!

Linking last part:

Flame of Liara--Chapter 1 | Fandom

Chapter 2

The hazy darkness that held Cole tightly in its strong embrace was suddenly pierced by a faraway voice asking, “Cole? Cole, are you okay? Wake up, Cole!” The young Earth Ninja’s eyelids felt shockingly heavy as he groggily pried his eyes open. His eyes slowly darted around until his bleary gaze landed on Wu’s face, drawn with concern as he gazed downward at the previously unconscious Cole. Blinking his eyelids rapidly, the young Earth Elemental managed to slur weakly, “What happened? Where am I?” Then he gasped sharply as everything suddenly came flooding back. A wave of cold and dizziness suddenly washed over him, and then he gripped Wu’s arm tightly as he realized that he wasn’t breathing properly. It was like his asthma was coming back even stronger than before as his mind reeled in panic at his discovery. It felt like he'd never be able to stop shaking uncontrollably as he desperately gulped for air like a fish out of water.

“Cole, look at me!” Wu commanded. “You have to calm down! Calm down!” Squeezing his eyes shut and leaning heavily on Wu’s arm, Cole struggled to do as Wu had said. But his asthma was not cooperating. His panic rose even more as his vision blurred and his breaths suddenly became dangerously strangled. And then, he found relief when Garmadon placed one hand on the back of his head and with the other pressed a small phial to his lips. A warm liquid with the freshness of a mountain spring poured down his throat, and his asthmatic attack instantly ceased.

“How do you feel?” Wu asked softly.

“Cold, dizzy, and my arms and legs feel kind of numb.” Cole replied in a faint whisper.

“Yeah, that sometimes happens with Tranquili-tea.” Garmadon exclaimed. “It should wear off soon, though.”

“Wait a second,” Wu suddenly added, “did you just give him the rest of our Tranquili-tea?”

“Every last drop, I’m afraid.” Garmadon replied, turning over the phial to prove his point. Wu’s response was to groan in annoyance, gritting his teeth and slapping his forehead with both hands. “GARMADON!” he replied, “We needed that! You know that tea’s the only thing keeping you from going nuts every time you get upset!”

With a scoff, Garmadon shot back, “For the last time, Wu, I don’t need some stupid tea to keep me calm! There’s nothing wrong with me! I got over that snake venom months ago!” His eyes flashed red for a second before reverting to their normal aqua-blue.

Snake venom? Cole thought to himself. So apparently, I’m in a time when Garmadon has already been poisoned by the Great Devourer, but the venom hasn’t taken full effect yet. Which means he hasn’t become the Dark Lord yet. All the same, I’m starting to feel panicky again. What if he loses control and hurts Wu—or me? Then he silently gasped as the squabbling of Wu and Garmadon over whether the latter truly needed Tranquili-tea to keep his anger in check was suddenly drowned out by the same voice from before saying yet again, Beware the Flame of Liara. In a bout of fear, he suddenly shouted, “Guys! Stop!”

Both Wu and Garmadon stopped. Then the two looked oddly at the young Earth Elemental, trying to figure out how to process his outburst. Realizing their confusion, Cole took a few deep breaths to steady his thoughts before saying, “All I’m trying to say is that bickering doesn’t help situations like this one bit. Take it from someone who knows.”

The two Spinjitzu brothers looked at each other uneasily for a few seconds. Then Garmadon flushed crimson with embarrassment as he stammered, “I’m—I’m sorry, Wu. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, too.” Wu replied. “And I’m sorry about being so overbearing on the matter of the tea.” As Cole watched (slowly regaining feeling in his arms and legs), Wu wrapped his arms around his older brother, and tears suddenly sprang to Wu’s eyes as he stammered, “I…I…I just don’t want to lose my brother like we lost Mom.” Cole opened his mouth to ask about this, but then clamped it shut as he thought better of it. No sense in letting them know he was from the future—not yet, anyway.

Garmadon then returned the embrace as he softly and tearfully replied, “I don’t want to lose you either, Wu. I see that now.” For the next few minutes, the two just stood there, hugging it out, with Cole looking on with tears in his own eyes. He’d known that Wu and Garmadon had been very close at one time—hadn’t Master Wu himself said that he and his brother had been best friends?—but Cole guessed that he’d never truly realized just how close.

“Hey,” Garmadon finally spoke up, “you know what we should do today?”

“Wha-wha-what?” Wu sniffled, rubbing his eyes.

“Two words—Templegate Tigers.”

“I like the way you’re thinking, Garmadon!” Wu exclaimed, pulling away from his brother before turning to Cole. “Hey, Cole, wanna play Templegate Tigers with us?”

“Wait, what?” Cole stammered. “But-but I don’t know how to play.”

“That’s okay.” Garmadon spoke up. “We can teach you. Templegate Tigers is easy once you get the hang of it.”

Something gnawed at the back of Cole’s mind, and he had to fish for a reply for a few seconds before answering, “But isn’t it a team sport? I’d need to stand in for one of the players, and I’d hate for someone to miss out on playing. It sounds like a fun game.”

“Yeah, about that, one of our Strikers broke his leg recently.” Wu explained. “And judging from how you really packed a punch with that apple, I think you have the makings of a great Striker.”

“Um, Wu, he’s not going to know what that means.” Garmadon spoke.

“Yeah, I’ll explain it to you later.” Wu replied before grasping Cole’s arm and helping him up. The Earth Elemental gave a soft hiss at the pins-and-needles-feeling in his legs, which were still somewhat numb from the Tranquili-tea. But he still gave a slight smile before saying, “Thanks, Wu.”

“No problem.” Wu replied. Then the three set off, Wu supporting Cole until the numbness finally wore off and the little Earth Elemental could walk on his own. Along the way, Wu and Garmadon bombarded Cole with explanations of the rules and strategies of Templegate Tigers, as well as some stories of past games they had played in. Once Wu had knocked the ball into a skunk’s den, and just a few seconds later, every player on both teams ran away from the field screaming and holding their noses. After all the teammates received thorough soakings in tomato juice, the team captains immediately started searching for a new playing field. Cole couldn’t help but snicker at the thought of Wu and Garmadon being skunked like that.

But he was still on edge over this whole thing. His mind was racing with a bazillion questions as he and the Spinjitzu brothers continued their trek across the field, steadily making their way towards a nearby village. What am I going to do? I can’t tell them I’m from the future. Change anything, change everything. And what is the Flame of Liara? More importantly, what does it have to do with Wu and Garmadon?

A sudden rumble interrupted Cole’s thoughts, and he stopped in his tracks. He risked a look up at the sky, and his face paled as he saw big black storm clouds rolling in. “Um, Wu? Garmadon?” he called to the two, who hadn’t yet noticed that he’d stopped walking. Wu turned around and asked, “What is it, Cole? Why’d you stop?”

The Earth Ninja’s answer was to frantically point up at the dark clouds overhead. Both Wu and Garmadon followed Cole’s gaze and then gasped as they saw what he was trying to alert them to.

“Ooooookaaaaaayyyyy, looks like that game might have to wait.” Garmadon commented, trying to keep the situation lighthearted. But neither Cole nor Wu were in the mood for jokes. A crash of thunder sounded, and all three screamed as they ran for their lives across the field. Having no shelter, they were completely exposed to the wind and rain—not to mention the lightning strikes. Poor Cole nearly keeled over three times as the burning of his scar grew more and more intense by the second. The sting was so overwhelming that as the threesome neared the village streets, hot tears were pouring unbidden down Cole’s cheeks, and his head was pounding with excruciating pain.

Just when he was thinking the situation couldn’t get any worse, from behind them suddenly came the roaring sound of a—

“FLASH FLOOD!” the three cried simultaneously—before quickening their pace. But not one of them was quick enough to find high ground before the current caught up with them.

Wu struggled to keep a tight grip on poor, helpless Cole, who was being battered by the floodwaters like a leaf in a hurricane. It had been so long since Cole’s transformation into a ghost and back again that he had completely forgotten how to swim. He flailed his arms about, struggling to keep his head out of the water. The water was cold—almost colder than little Cole could bear. His scar burned even more than it had ever burned before, and dizziness swarmed his vision as he struggled against the stormy current of the flood. Then it happened. A particularly strong surge of water suddenly tore little Cole out of Wu’s grasp, and panic gripped the young Earth Ninja’s mind as he realized he was now at the mercy of the flood.

His vision suddenly bleared even more as he went under, too quickly for him to hold his breath. Water surged uncontrollably down his throat, its chill slashing through his lungs as he thrashed and wrestled against the pull of the current, fighting with all his might to get to the surface before he drowned. He managed to break through, coughing and sputtering weakly, just seconds before being jerked down again. The second time he went under, he found that the pain and the cold were too overwhelming for him to bear, and his eyelids flickered shut a second time as he gave in to the flood’s cruel grasp, the waters closing in all around him.

The last thought that entered his mind before he lost consciousness once again was the frightened thought of, I wonder if I’ll ever open my eyes again…

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DON'T WORRY--OUR LITTLE EARTH-WIELDER WILL NOT DIE!!!!!

Someone will rescue him, I promise!

But you'll have to read the next chapter to find out who...

Let me know what you think of it!

So, for those who may not know already, I have been working on a fanfic called "Blade of Light"; however, I am currently stuck on how to write Chapter 11, so that fanfic's going on the back burner for now. Don't worry--I will get back to it in the future. For now, though, I have another fanfic in the works called "Flame of Liara." It takes place shortly after DRS1 and centers around Cole, who is just beginning his quest following the events of "We Are All Dragons". Little does he realize that his mission is going to take an interesting turn of events...

Anyjays, I've got Chapter 1 all written up and am posting it here. (Ch. 2 is currently in the works.)

Heads-up--this is partially inspired by The Wingfeather Saga (TV series) for those interested.

Chapter 1

On a rocky path in the middle of a forest, the young Earth Elemental yelped as a brilliant flash of lightning seemed to split the stormy sky in two. A roll of thunder heard the lightning’s cry and answered with its own earthshattering roar, piercing the sense-dulling drone of the torrents barreling down all around Cole as he struggled through the squall that had taken him by surprise in the middle of his quest. It hadn’t been more than a day since he’d gone chasing after the strange glowing orb of light that had found him in the Land of Lost Things, calling his name in a voice he had once forgotten—the voice of Master Wu. Believing that his former sensei was calling to him from some unknown world, he had followed the orb—only to find himself lost in the middle of a forest, wandering around for hours on end before he was suddenly greeted by the worst thunderstorm he had ever remembered seeing.

Cole wrapped his arms tightly around his body, shivering from the biting wind and pouring rain. His gi stuck to his skin like glue, and the scar on his forehead—the one that had faded from sight years before—burned like wildfire. He’d never done well with storms after his transformation—though, to be fair, he was thankful he could now go out in the rain without having to worry about being disintegrated. Still, why did he have to be the one caught in the storm in the first place? Not even Kai was as terrified by storms as he was. Especially thunderstorms. To be fair, though, he was all too glad that his feet were still on solid ground.

Being an Earth Elemental, he always felt safer knowing that there was solid earth underneath his feet. Sure, he wouldn’t hesitate to climb a mountain every now and then, or to ride on the back of a dragon. But he always felt more grounded when he could feel nice, hard-packed soil underneath his feet as he trod over rocks and roots in his path.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as another flash of lightning boomed overhead. It sounded even closer this time. Then there came another, and it was definitely closer. He could feel his panic rising more by the minute. By the time a fourth crash had ensued, there was only one thought in his mind now.

Run!

Biting back a scream, he bolted through the forest, leaping over fallen trees and clumps of ferns and brush in a desperate attempt to get to shelter. So fearful was he that he did not realize he was heading straight for an open meadow. And by the time that he skidded to a stop at the forest’s edge, it was too late for him to turn back. A stray lightning bolt struck a tree behind him, and he whirled around to see it fall in a cloud of flame. The fire quickly spread, as he slowly backed away from the flames, trembling in fear. In a matter of moments, his escape was completely cut off. Only then did he realize that he was completely unsheltered from both the gale-force winds and the deadly lightning strikes that tore through the sky above. To make matters worse, he looked up to see that right above him was the very epicenter of the storm. Another lightning strike sounded, but this time it was different. This time, the Earth Ninja heard words in that bolt of lightning.

Beware the Flame of Liara.

The Flame of Liara? he wondered to himself. But he had no time to contemplate the words or their meaning before another lightning bolt struck. Any courage he had left was instantly shattered, and he made a break for it. All around him more and more lightning bolts struck. But these were somehow different. Amidst their normal crash was a strange hum, and when one struck the ground almost right in front of him, he suddenly saw that it was golden in color. Wait, golden lightning?!

And then it happened. His vision suddenly was consumed by a golden light, and a sudden stream of electricity surged through his veins as a lightning bolt struck him directly. A sudden dizziness greeted him, and a strange sense of drowsiness overwhelmed him as he suddenly crumpled to the ground.

The last thing he heard before losing consciousness were the words he had heard before.

Beware the Flame of Liara.

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The Earth Ninja let out a soft groan as his vision slowly came back into focus. He was laying on his side in the middle of a field of swaying golden-tan grass stalks. His clothes were surprisingly nice and dry, and a warm breeze blew over the field, caressing him in a gentle embrace. For a few moments, he just lay there with his eyes closed, a contented smile on his face. He wished this moment could go on forever…but at the same time, he knew it couldn’t last. Slowly and reluctantly, he sat up with a small grunt. As he gazed upward at the sky above, he smiled as he spotted a silver-and-white kestrel soaring through the air. Then his expression changed as he wondered what exactly had happened to him. His scar no longer hurt him, but he felt…different somehow. Like that golden bolt of lightning had somehow changed him.

It took him several moments for him to realize just how, though.

The first thing he noticed was that his hands were a lot…smaller than they used to be. His legs, too—they looked like they were half the size. Then he gasped as he realized that they actually were half the size they were before. Then he gasped again, as he realized that his vocal pitch was now at least one octave higher than before.

“I’m…I’m a KID!” he suddenly shrieked. His breathing grew shallow, and he clapped his hands to his head in shock, his mind reeling in panic as he realized the gravity of his situation. If he had been turned into a kid, how would he be able to change back? There wasn’t any Tomorrow’s Tea to help him this time—and even if there had been, that stuff was definitely more trouble than it was worth.

Okay, okay, Cole, he told himself. You’ve gotta calm down. Remember your training. Remember your Virtue. Focus—stay calm. Focus—stay calm. Within minutes, he had successfully calmed down to the point where he could look at the situation in tranquility—and not panic.

“Okay.” he thought aloud. “Let’s think this through. I’m stranded in the middle of a field, and for some reason, I’ve been de-aged into an…um…” He quickly took a look at himself and guessed, “An eight-year-old. But maybe, if I can get to a village, I can figure out how I got here in the first place and how to get back.” Satisfied with his plan, he stood up and stretched before he started walking towards the edge of a nearby forest.

(At least he hadn’t been dumped in the Underworld or smack in the middle of the Never-Realm, he mused.)

But when he got to the forest, his fear spiked again as he seemed to hear low growls and bone-chilling shrieks coming from within it. He gulped before nervously tiptoeing into it. The trees seemed like monsters to him, just waiting to grab him and swallow him whole. He shuddered at every little wind that rattled the branches above him and jumped at every little scratch and skitter his ears could pick up. The only thing that kept him from turning tail, screaming his head off all the way, was the hope that he could find a stream or creek or something in the middle of these woods. Running water always led to civilization in his experience. He was so consumed with trying to keep his panic under control that he didn’t even see the branch right in front of him until it smacked him right across the face.

“Dumb place to plant a tree!” he yelled, much louder than he should have. For it was in that moment that he heard a low growl behind him. He slowly turned to see that right behind him was an angry Grizzlewolf. And while most wolves wouldn’t attack humans, this one was definitely desperate enough. To the wolf, who was so thin Cole could count each and every rib the beast had, the little Earth Ninja was nice, plump, and ripe for the taking. One snarl was all Cole needed for first his mind and then his legs to respond.

“W’uh-oh!” he exclaimed—before bolting away with a shrill shriek. He scurried through the trees as quickly as he could, but Grizzlewolves were swift and could run for hours. To make matters worse, Cole’s little legs weren’t cooperating with him—he could only run half as fast as when he was his normal age. As the Grizzlewolf got so close Cole could feel its hot, steamy breath on the back of his neck, he clawed at his head in frustration, shouting, “I HATE BEING SMALL!”

He burst out of the forest, not stopping even to catch his breath, with the Grizzlewolf in hot pursuit. Any hope that the wolf would stay in the forest vanished in the blink of an eye, as the starved yet burly creature quickened its pace. Cole’s constant running finally caught up with him, and he struggled with an overwhelming sense of dizziness as his breaths grew incredibly short and strangled. He really should have thought to pack his inhaler, but he kept forgetting to do so since as an Earth Ninja, he didn’t need it all that much. However, this was just one of the days where his asthma simply acted up more than usual. His vision suddenly grew blurry, and his hearing dulled right before he tripped over a rock. “WAH! I’m lunch!” he breathily shrieked as the wolf gained on him. He covered his face with his hands, sure that this was the end.

Suddenly, a golden Spinjitzu tornado zipped in front of little Cole and conked the wolf smack in the snout. It flew a few feet away from him and lay still, dead to the world. Then a hand clamped down on Cole’s wrist, and instantly he felt a warm, cozy tingling coursing through his veins as oxygen finally reached his lungs. His blurry vision cleared, and he gazed up to see a blond-haired boy standing beside him, his eyes closed and his brows furrowed together in sheer concentration. When the older boy opened his eyes, panting a bit from using so much of his power, he exclaimed, “You okay, kid?”

“Ye-ye-yeah.” Cole stammered, his heart continuing to pound with fear even though breath was coming more easily. The boy pulled Cole to his feet, just as a low, angry growl greeted their ears, and the Grizzlewolf raised its head lethargically.

“Run?” Cole asked.

“Run.” the boy replied—before the two of them took off like lightning. Cole’s legs burned as he rushed to get away from the now very angry Grizzlewolf that was, quite frankly, hot on his and his companion’s heels. His breathing quickened again, and he trembled as he struggled to keep his asthma under control. Fortunately, the energy that had coursed through his veins just seconds ago was gradually making it easier for him to run without suffocating. But he was quickly falling behind, as his rescuer’s strides easily made up two of his own.

Then—oh, joy!—he looked up to see a great big apple tree not more than ten feet away from him. There was another dark-auburn-haired boy perched on one of the lower branches. Throwing common sense to the wind, the Earth Ninja shouted, “Help! Grizzlewolf!” His panting grew even worse by the minute, and he risked a glance behind him to see that the wolf was gaining on him and his companion. “Gri—Grizzlewolf!” he shouted again.

“Guys! Up here!” the boy in the tree shouted, waving one arm frantically. His voice sounded familiar, somehow, but Cole shook his curiosity away as he stampeded towards the tree. His rescuer clambered up the tree first, with Cole hot on his heels. In that moment, the little Earth Elemental could almost hear Lloyd saying, “You’re the Master of Earth, Cole. You don’t belong in trees. Your feet should be on the ground.”

Not this time, Lloyd, Cole thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut before jumping with all his might. His eyes flew open as the blond-haired boy caught one arm and the dark-haired boy caught the other. Then they both yanked Cole up onto the limb, just as the Grizzlewolf leaped and snapped at his heels.

Dizziness clouded Cole’s vision again, and the blond transferred some of his energy to him a second time—a smaller amount this time, but enough that Cole’s breathing grew less frantic and his heart rate dropped back to normal. His vision cleared a second later, and he gazed at the two boys gratefully as the Grizzlewolf clawed and scratched at the bark of the tree in a futile attempt to get at the three.

“Tha-tha-thanks.” he stammered. “If you two hadn’t helped me when you did, I would have been that wolf’s LUNCH!”

“Well, we’re not out of the woods yet.” the blond spoke. “Grizzlewolves may not climb trees, but they are notorious for staying alert much longer than humans can. And this one’s plan is probably to keep us up here until we fall asleep and—”

“And drop right into its mouth?” Cole guessed, shivering with fear.

“Pretty much.” the boy replied. Then the auburn-haired boy spoke. “You know, I think that Grizzlewolf likes you.”

“WHAT?!” Cole shrieked, his eyes wide with horror.

“Well, likes the taste of you anyway.” Cole simply shuddered, not liking the joke at all. “Yikes!” he whisper-yelled. “We could be stuck up here for the rest of our lives!”

“What we need,” the blond spoke again, “is a way to get that wolf far away from the tree so we can climb down.”

“Leave that to me. Nothing a little taste of my power blasts can’t fix.” the auburn replied. Was it just Cole, or did his eyes suddenly glow red for a few seconds? His hands lit up with a purplish-black light, and he was just about to blast the wolf with his own powers when the blond reached across Cole, grabbed the auburn’s arm, and yanked it back. The glow of both his eyes and hands faded instantly as the blond said, “Whoa, hold up! Do you know how much trouble we’ll be in if we’re spotted?”

“More trouble than being trapped in a tree by a Grizzlewolf?!”

“Hate to break it to you,” Cole added, “but he raises a good point.”

“Maybe we should try something else.” the blond suggested. “Maybe we can lure it away with one of these apples?”

“I thought Grizzlewolves didn’t eat apples.” the auburn replied.

“It’s worth a try.” the blond answered before reaching up and twisting an apple off of its branch. He then flung the apple as hard as he could away from the tree—and was disappointed to find that it only landed a few feet away. The Grizzlewolf, to the three’s surprise, gobbled up the apple almost immediately before turning back to the tree.

“Let me try.” the auburn exclaimed. He twisted another apple off of a nearby branch and threw it as hard as he could. The second attempt was just as futile as the first. The wolf gobbled it up and then turned back to the tree. Then Cole got an idea of his own. He turned to the auburn-haired boy and said, “Hey, give me a boost!”

“What for?”

“Just do it!” Cole answered, before plucking his own apple. He clambered onto the auburn’s shoulder and tossed the apple straight up in the air as far as he could. Realizing what Cole was up to, the auburn boosted him up into the air before Cole used his Earth Punch to shoot the apple far, far away. The Grizzlewolf, hungry as it was, immediately went chasing after it. Cole came back down and grabbed an upper limb of the tree before dropping back down to where the other two were.

“Whoa, how did you do that?” the blond asked.

“I’ll explain later.” Cole exclaimed, before saying, “Come on. Let’s get down from here.”

“And…now!” the auburn spoke before all three of them jumped down simultaneously from the tree and immediately broke into a run. It was clear that none of them ever wanted to see that Grizzlewolf again. After running for several minutes, the blond-haired boy suddenly exclaimed, amidst exhausted gasps, “I think…we may…be far enough away…from that…Grizzlewolf…to stop…for a rest.”

Cole crumpled to the ground gratefully, panting with exhaustion and clutching his side. All that running had given him a severely painful stitch, and his feet were so sore they felt like they were going to fall off. After catching his breath, he turned his face towards the two boys and exclaimed, “Thanks again for rescuing me.”

“No problem.” the auburn replied, before the blond followed him up with, “That’s what we do best.”

Panting gratefully, Cole nodded before scrunching up his face and asking, “So how did you find me, anyway?”

At that, the auburn winced, while the blond scratched the back of his neck self-consciously and stated nervously, “Um, that’s kind of a long story. First things first, though—what’s your name?”

“Cole. Cole Brookstone.” the young Earth Ninja replied. At that very moment, a sudden feeling of uneasy curiosity gnawed at him, as if he recognized both of his companions from somewhere but couldn’t exactly pinpoint where. A question flew into his mind, a question that, in all his fright over the Grizzlewolf, he had completely forgotten about. He wondered if he dared to ask it now…but he had to know. Struggling to keep his voice steady, he asked, “What about you two? What are your names?”

The blond cleared his throat before answering, “Oh, um, I’m Wu, and this is my brother, Garmadon.”

Wu? Garmadon? What? That—that can’t be right! It’s impossible! Cole could suddenly feel a strange fluttering inside his stomach, and he was beginning to feel strangely lightheaded. His vision started to blur as he thought he could faintly hear the voice of the auburn—Garmadon—saying, “Um, Wu, is Cole okay? He’s looking a little woozy.”

And then even that was suddenly drowned out as Cole’s eyelids flickered shut, the embrace of drowsy darkness gently pulling him under as he felt himself falling backwards onto the grass…

For any mods out there, I have a quick question. I've recently completed a crossover fanfic between Ninjago and Paw Patrol. I wanted to check if it's okay if I post it (and any other Ninjago crossover fanfics I write) on this wiki's Discuss page. Please reply as soon as possible. Thank you for your help!