Chapter 1: The Prototype
Chapter Text
Cole knew the moment that Jay got down on one knee in front of Nya that he had lost him.
The light reflected off the metal as he held it out to her, glistening in her eyes. To Nya, that light brought about the happiest moment in her life.
To Cole, though? It was simply a reminder. It was like it was mocking him, reminding him of what he’d never have.
That was fine, though. It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t . As long as Jay was happy, then it was fine. He just hoped that Nya knew how lucky she was and that she’d cherish him and their love. That’s all he could ever ask of her, not that he’d ever say that out loud to her.
He would take his love for Jay to the grave if he had to. If it ever got out, he’d be ruined. He was never meant to be Jay’s lover. He was simply Cole: Jay’s best friend . And that’s all he ever would be, and seeing Jay ask Nya to be his Yang while they were being surrounded by Oni was just a big slap in the face, a reminder of what could never be.
Cole liked to think, though, that maybe in another life, in another universe, he and Jay were meant to be together. Maybe in another timeline, Cole had gathered up the courage to ask Jay out after the tournament of elements, where his crush had blossomed into love. Maybe he and Jay would go on a date; maybe they wouldn’t have worked out, or their love would have grown. Or just maybe Jay would’ve rejected him the moment he asked.
None of it matters, though, because Cole didn’t live in any of those universes. He lived in the one where he stayed quiet, where he didn’t even let the walls in his room know about his true feelings. He kept them locked away in his heart and threw away the key. A part of him wished he had kept the key, just in case, but seeing Nya and Jay kiss each other before putting the emblems on their gi, Cole was glad that he did.
No one could ever know.
-
“Cole?” Kai poked him on the side of his head. “You there, bud?”
Cole blinked rapidly and sat up as he returned to reality. He had been sitting on the edge of the monastery’s training grounds by some sliding doors, his head in his hand. He had been watching Jay and Lloyd train together while he took a breather from training against Zane, but his eyes kept drifting to that damn medallion on his chest.
Jay hardly ever stopped wearing it since he asked Nya to be his Yang. He would, of course, take it off for missions and usually didn’t wear it if he was wearing lounge clothes, but if they were just training, it was usually clipped to his top. When Jay and Zane had started sparring together, Cole had sat back and watched, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the Yin medallion. He didn’t know why, though. It had been months since Jay had asked her, and yet Cole kept fixating on it.
He was well aware of the fact that Jay wouldn’t ever return his feelings, and yet he couldn’t stop staring at the medallion. It was just a constant reminder of what he could never have. Maybe if Jay didn’t wear it around all the time, Cole would have had an easier time coming to terms with it, but Jay was always wearing it. Even Nya had stopped wearing it around after a little bit, but for some reason, Jay just kept it on his gi.
He sighed, glancing over at Kai as he sat down next to him. “Yeah. Just thinking.”
“You were staring daggers at Jay.” Kai leaned back, bracing himself on his hands. “Everything alright between you two?”
“Y-Yeah, yeah, we’re fine.” Cole nodded. “I was just…” Cole’s eyes drifted back to the medallion.
Kai followed his gaze, staring for a moment before his eyes lit up. “Oooh! You’re jealous 'cause he has a Yang now, right?”
Cole stared at him, unsure of how to respond. He figured that going along with that was better than trying to rationalize why he was staring daggers at Jay’s medallion. “Yeah… sort of. I guess seeing Jay wear it around all the time kind of got me thinking about that kind of stuff.”
That wasn’t too far off from the truth.
“Ooh, been hoping to have a Yang of your own one day?” Kai snickered. “I wasn’t expecting that. You never seemed too into, well, finding a partner.”
“I-I want to find someone eventually,” Cole replied. “With us being ninjas, it’s not like we have all the time in the world to find a long-term partner. After all, it’s not like you and Skylor ever ended up working out.”
Kai sighed. “Yeah.” He glanced over at Jay. “I think the only reason Jay and Nya were able to work out is that they’re both a part of the team. Had Nya not got mixed into all of this, I doubt they would’ve stayed together.”
Cole nodded in agreement. It would’ve probably been the same for any of the ninja’s past partners. Zane and Pixal’s relationship has been rather quiet until Pixal had become Samurai X and moved into the monastery, and Skylor and Kai didn’t really develop further since they didn’t see each other often. Hell, in a reality where Cole wasn’t gay and had an interest in Vania, he doubt they would have worked out since she was busy ruling Shintaro. Jay and Nya were able to keep their relationship alive because they quite literally lived together and worked together.
“Jeez, you looked like a kicked poppy.” Kai winced. “Don’t worry about it, dude, I know one day, once things calm down, you’ll find someone who will love the holy shit out of you.”
Cole chuckled. Kai always had a funny way of reassuring people. He doubted that it would come true, though. He’d been trying for years to try and get over Jay, but despite getting constantly slapped in the face by Jay and Nya’s relationship, the feelings just never went away. Even Jay asking Nya to be his Yang didn’t make them go away. Maybe now that lost any possible chance of being with him, the feelings may slowly start to go away, but very, very slowly.
He sighed, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. “Wanna train with me?” He needed something to get his mind off of everything.
Kai grinned. “You're on, Rocky.”
As Kai and Cole made their way into the courtyard, Cole jumped slightly when the Monastery’s alarms began blaring. Everyone grew on edge right away, dropping what they were doing and rushing to the living room to get to the hangar bay. It’s been a while since any kind of serious threat has hit Ninjago. So far, the worst of their threats were minor robberies. This would be the first time in a while that a more serious threat has come up. Would it be as serious as their past adventures? Cole couldn’t say, but it was a good excuse to distract him.
As the elevator doors opened and they rushed in, Wu and Misako were already there, with Pixal rapidly tapping away at the big monitor, with what looked to be security footage and police reports scattered across the screen.
“Ninja!” Wu looked relieved at the sight of them. “Multiple robberies are taking place all across Ninjago! We need all hands on deck.”
“Multiple?” Lloyd replied.
“Yes.” Misako turned to the screen. “We believe it may have been a planned attack. They’re robbing various labs and tech stores across Ninjago, including Borg Tower.
“Why labs and tech stores of all places? “Nya frowned. “Just what are they planning?”
“That’s what I’m hoping you can find out,” Wu replied with a firm look. “They’re attacking Borg tower, one of the Borg stores, and a Lab on the outskirts of Ninjago City. Split into groups of two. Capture anyone you can and send them to the police for questioning.”
Lloyd stepped in for further commands. “Kai, you and Nya take the Borg store. Zane and I will take Borg Tower, while Jay and Cole will go to the lab.”
They all nodded before splitting up into their respective groups. Cole and Jay both ran to Jay’s newest vehicle: a jet, a fast one. Cole can only imagine he sent Jay to the lab since it would probably be the only vehicle in their arsenal that could get there fast enough to catch the robbers before they escaped. The actual lab was a little way outside of Ninjago City, so they’d have to travel a little farther to get to it. But Jay’s new toy would get there in no time.
“Buckle up, Rocky.” Jay grinned as he hopped into the pilot’s seat. “We’re going for a ride.”
Cole rolled his eyes fondly and jumped into the seat behind Jay, making sure to buckle up firmly. He barely had any time to get comfortable before the glass was closing above their heads. The jet roared to life, and Jay grinned as they flew out of the hangar bay, releasing out of the side of the mountain. The master of lightning did a slight U-turn before they took off and made their way to the lab.
With the sparkling new jet, it only took them maybe five minutes to get to the lab. Of course, Jay had to slow down a little as they got closer so they could land without creating a giant hole in the side of the building, but Cole was impressed with how fast the damn thing was. Pixal outdid herself.
As they got closer to their destination, Jay spoke up. “So, why do you think these guys are stealing a bunch of tech stuff?”
Cole shrugged. “Who knows? They’re probably building something and scrounging for parts.”
“Hmm,” Jay replied. “I could see that if they were only robbing the tech store, but they’re going after Borg Tower and a lab. What could they want from the lab? Probably have some super epic secret project they’re working on and they want to get their hands on it.”
Cole snorted. “Sure.”
Once the lab came into view below them, Jay aimed the jet down to make a steady landing by the main entrance. They made their descent, the tires screeching slightly on the blacktop, but other than the wobbly landing, they made it down safely. The two ninjas wasted no time, jumping out of the jet and making their way through the main entrance into the lobby.
The lobby was an absolute mess, the once-white walls and floors were now covered in broken glass, the windows busted, and broken potted plants scattered across the walls and floors. When they walked in, a girl peeked over the receptionist's desk, fear in her eyes. As soon as she noticed them, her shoulder dropped and she scurried up to them, tripping slightly as she stopped in front of them.
“T-Thank goodness you’re here.” She wiped her eyes. “A-A bunch of people in masks broke in and kept demanding to know where t-this prototype thing was? I-I didn’t know what they were talking about, but they kept breaking stuff and yelling. There were so many.”
“Which way did they go?” Cole asked gently.
She pointed to her left. “D-Down that hall. Take the stairs to the top floor. I-I can imagine they went there.”
“Thank you.” Jay flashed her a grateful smile before they raced down the hall.
As they raced up the stairs, they could hear the sounds of glass breaking and screams. Determined, they burst the stair door open and made their way down the hall, following the sounds. After a few moments of running, they reached a large metal door with some warnings on it. Cole hit his fist together and activated his lava arms before grabbing the door and tearing it open, throwing it to the side.
They were faced with a group of people in ski masks and a few people in lab coats, cowering in the corner. As the door was ripped off, the masked people turned around and tensed up. Right away, Cole noticed the strange thing one of the men was holding. It looked like a laser blaster from a cartoon, but it had some strange veil of black and purple substance attached to the end of it. Was that the prototype that the girl was talking about?
“Shit.” One of the masked people grumbled.
“It doesn’t matter.” The other, a man, spoke up. “We got what we came here for, so let’s get out of here.”
The other man, the one holding the blaster, snickered. “Why bother fighting? Why don’t we test this new baby out and get rid of the problem?”
The blaster was quickly snatched out of his hand. “You idiot! Master told us to not use it under any circumstances! You two deal with them and I’ll deliver the prototype to our master.”
The other two nodded before turning to Jay and Cole with sinister grins. The other man took the prototype and ran out of the door that was in front of them. Jay, as quick as ever, ran after him without a second thought, leaving Cole to deal with the other two, not that it would be much of a challenge.
The two of them pulled out knives from behind them and charged at Cole. He dropped down and dodged their attacks, sweeping his leg to knock one of them off their feet and kicking the knife away from them. The other swung their knife, getting a light cut across his cheek, but overall no major damage. Cole was able to kick the second guy in the stomach, sending him through the open door before turning his attention to the first guy.
With no knife, all he was left with was his fists. Cole scoffed. Trying to fist-fight the master of Earth? Big mistake. It took no time for Cole to promptly defeat his opponent and knock them out cold with a hit on the back of the head. He stared down at their unconscious body proudly but didn’t have much time to celebrate before the second person came charging at them with the knife.
Before Cole could even think, he grabbed the blade of the knife with his bare hand and tossed it across the room before punching the person right in the face. He then grabbed them by the hair and, just like with the last guy, hit them in the back of the head, knocking them out cold.
After taking a few deep breaths, he turned towards the scientist, who looked a little disheveled, but overall unharmed. They all stood up properly one by one, cautiously making their way toward Cole and the unconscious bodies.
“T-Thank you, Ninja.” One of the scientists spoke up.
“Thank you, truly.” Another scientist replied. She extended her hand out for Cole to shake. He grabbed it gratefully. “I’m Dr. Brooks, lead scientist for this project.”
“Cole, master of Earth.” He flashed her a small smile before letting go. “Speaking of…”
“Ah, yes.” Brooks rubbed the space between her brows. “I’m sure you have lots of questions regarding the thing that one man took off with.”
“I… definitely do, yes.” Cole nodded.
Before Brooks replied, Jay walked through the door, completely out of breath and looking a little scruffier up, but with no blaster in his hand. “S-Sorry. I couldn’t stop them. Seems like they had a ride, and made an escape from the roof. I think that thing had vengestone in it, cause my lightning did nothing to it.”
Dr. Brooks flinched. “Oh, dear… Oh, no, this isn’t good. This is very bad.”
Jay glanced over at Cole, and fear washed over his face as he scurried over. “C-Cole! Your cheek, and—” The color washed off this face. “Your hand! Dude, it’s bleeding like crazy!”
Cole glanced down at his right hand and flinched. Yeah… it was bleeding pretty bad. The cup was deep, and a few drops were dripping on the floor. It was probably going to scar, but that’s what Cole gets for grabbing onto a knife with his bare hand.
“H-Here.” Jay reached into some of his pockets and grabbed some antiseptic wipes and bandages. “W-We gotta clean this up before it gets infected.”
Cole smiled softly. He always thought it was adorable how Jay always carried some first aid on him. During small battles, Jay would always go up to everyone and patch up whatever wounds they had because he didn’t want them to dry up or get infected, and was worried if they’d get home fast enough for them to get properly cleaned. He’d even carry little tools to fix up Zane. Cole thought it was the absolute sweetest thing and he had to stop himself from literally gushing anytime he remembered.
“Come, we have an infirmary on this floor. You can patch your friend up in there.” Brooks led the two of them down the hallway towards another door. When opened, it revealed a small infirmary that reminded Cole of school nurse offices: a few small beds with curtains to separate them, as well as a few cabinets filled with various medical supplies.
Brooks pulled out some hydrogen peroxide, more bandages, and what looks like needle and thread and placed them on the counter. “Cole may need stitches.” She explained, before turning to them. “Please, take your time and patch him up properly. Once you’re done, make your way back to that room again, and I’ll explain everything.”
The two thanked her before she left. Jay grabbed Cole by the arm and made him sit down on one of the beds before going to grab the supplies. He sat down next to Cole and applied a cold, wet rag to the wound. Cole hissed in pain but bit his lip and tried to tolerate it.
“We’ll need to see if we can get the bleeding to stop,” Jay explained, taking Cole’s hand and pushing it against his injured hand. “If we can get it to stop, then it shouldn’t be anything too terrible. The wound didn’t look too deep, thankfully, so as long as we can get it to stop here in the next five to ten minutes, then you shouldn’t need any stitching. And the scratch on your face just needs a bandage.”
Cole snorted. “You sure know your stuff, bluejay.”
“Well, one of us should know some first aid.” Jay simply shrugged with a slight smile. “We get hurt in battle all the time. It doesn’t hurt to know some basic first aid so we can patch ourselves up right away. Also never hurts to know if an injury can be serious. You would probably need more medical attention if your wound was deeper and if it doesn’t stop bleeding after ten minutes. So keep the pressure on it.”
Thankfully, after about three minutes, the bleeding did strongly slow down. Jay then carefully took the rag off the wound to see it only slightly trickling blood. He took a few antiseptic wipes to both of his wounds for a light clean-up before he grabbed some bandages. Jay placed a piece of cotton on top of the wound before expertly wrapping his hand up with the bandage wrap, wrapping it around his palm and wrist for extra security for snipping it off with a small pair of scissors.
Jay then reached down for a simple bandage for the cut on his cheek. He peeled the paper off the back before carefully reaching up and placing it on Cole’s cheek, using his thumb to smooth it out. Cole’s face burned from the touch, and he had to stop himself from blushing over a simple touch. Jay was just patching him up, it didn’t mean anything .
Once the bandage was secured, Jay grinned, gathered all of the supplies, and placed them back on the counter. “Good thing that cut stopped bleeding. I’m so bad at doing stitches. I can do it, but it’s certainly not the prettiest stitches.”
“You’re not hurt, are you?” Cole asked as he stood up.
“Maybe some light bruising, but I’m alright!” Jay smiled at him and it made his heart flutter. “Most of that confrontation was me chasing him up the stairs. We fought on the roof for a little bit before he freaking jumped off and landed in some kind of helicopter jet thing.”
“I wonder what they were wanting with that blaster thing,” Cole mumbled.
“Yeah, they had called it the prototype .” Jay held his chin in thought before snickering. “Guess my theory of them wanting to steal some super secret project wasn’t too far off.” He paused. “But still, what would a couple of common thugs want with something like that? What does it even do? A- And how did they even manage to get away with it? They gotta have someone backing them up if they could make epic getaways like that.”
“Well, we can at least find out more about the prototype,” Cole replied. “Dr. Brooks should be able to tell us more. And then maybe we can figure out what this new group’s goal is. Let’s go find her.”
The two of them left the infirmary and made their way back to the observatory room. It wasn’t too hard to find since Cole literally ripped the door off, which he was thankful for since every room looks the same. When they walked in, they found some of the other scientists cleaning up the debris, while others, including a few police officers, were frantically talking to Dr. Brooks, who looked worried.
“Dr. Brooks,” Cole spoke, causing all the other people to stop and look.
Brooks used this opportunity to escape the situation and slipped past them. “Follow me, Ninja. We’ll talk in my office.”
Dr. Brooks led the two of them down toward the end of the hallway before using a keycard to access a door. When opened, it revealed a simple office with light grey walls, a desk with a laptop, a couch to the left, and a few simple paintings. Cole and Jay took a seat on the couch while Dr. Brooks sat down in her office chair. She once again rubbed the bridge of her nose and she sat up in her chair.
“Now, I’m sure you two have a lot of questions regarding what they stole,” Brooks spoke up and placed her hands in her lap. “Normally, this information is extremely confidential, but since they took off with our newest project, I’ll give you any and all information I can in hopes to get the project back and properly arresting those that are behind this. I would normally file out some NDAs, but I believe we don’t have time for all of that, given the severity of the situation. I am trusting that you don’t share anything I say with anyone other than your fellow team members so you can catch whoever is behind this.”
“Of course.” Cole nodded. “All we want to do is help. So, could you tell us about this prototype? What is it? And What does it do exactly?”
Dr. Brooks sighed slowly before sitting up. “The prototype is something of a nickname we gave it. The formal name for it is UH-0137, but we call it the prototype since it was the first model of our experiment to actually work.”
“And what is this experiment, exactly?” Jay asked.
Dr. Brooks seemed hesitant before she looked them in the eyes and spoke. “We were experimenting with the possibility of traveling to alternate universes.”
“A-Alternate universe?” Cole mumbled. “I thought that was just something from movies or books.”
“Alternate universes are real, Cole,” Jay spoke up with a twinkle in his eye. “Or at least, are very heavily believed to be real. Every little choice that we make creates a brand-new universe. Something as simple as choosing to eat cereal instead of oatmeal for breakfast creates an entirely new universe. And you simply chose to live in the universe where you ate cereal, while another universe where you had oatmeal instead simultaneously exists alongside the one where you ate cereal.”
Dr. Brooks giggled. “I see you know your stuff. Your friend is correct. The possibility of multiple universes has been around for a while, the idea that there are multiple different branches of universes where something else happens instead of the choice that was made. However, the main major flaw with that theory, or any theories involving alternate universes, is that it can’t be tested. And that was our goal: to hopefully find a way to travel to alternate universes, and be able to predict future outcomes to prevent tragedy.” She turned to Jay. “I’m sure you’ve also heard of the butterfly effect as well, right?”
Jay nodded, before turning to Cole to explain. “The butterfly effect is a theory that something as simple as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings can have devastating effects, like a typhoon, in the future.”
“Exactly.” Dr. Brooks smiled before continuing. “We hoped that being able to travel to alternate universes where different choices regarding politics or scientific discoveries or other things could help us shape the future of Ninjago into a better and peaceful world for everyone. When Cyrus Borg heard about the project, he offered to fund it.”
“That could explain why they also attacked Borg Tower and one of the Borg stores,” Cole replied.
“The project has been going on for the last few years.” Dr. Brooks continued. “As you’d expect, it’s not exactly easy to suddenly invent a device that has universal travel. We’d been trying anything we could, and for a while, it seemed like we’d hit a brick wall. But over the last several months, we’d been experimenting with some new… additives.”
“Additives?” Cole asked.
“I’m sure the two of you remember when the Oni invaded Ninjago, right?” Dr. Brook asked before continuing. “Various reports showed that the Oni had managed to get to our realm from their own by traveling through the realm crystal using that black cloud substance that they’d used to freeze anyone who breathed it in. Well, we were able to get a generous amount of that substance in question from our tubes back when the lab had been covered by the cloud. While the lab was surrounded by the cloud, we were able to analyze the substance and see what it was made out of, and artificially recreate it in our labs. We also were given the remains of the realm crystal once it was broken for further analysis.”
“So, that purple stuff that was injected in the back of the prototype was that artificial black cloud?” Jay asked.
“Correct.” She nodded. “We had believed that if we used the same substance that the Oni used to travel to our realm, theoretically, that same concept could be taken to its extreme and be used to travel to new universes instead of other realms. It took many, many, tests and failed projects, but we were finally able to create UH-0137, the prototype, the first successful device that can travel across universes.” She paused. “But…”
“But?”
“Well… as you’d expect, the prototype is, well, a prototype .” She laughed nervously. “It technically does do what it’s designed for, but there are still plenty of flaws to it that make it impractical and potentially dangerous if used improperly.”
“What… kind of flaws?” Jay asked nervously.
“Well, for one, you can’t exactly control which universe you end up in.” Dr. Brooks explained, rubbing the side of her neck. “When you create the portal with the prototype or get directly hit by the blast, it sends you to a completely random universe. It’s never been the same universe each time with our tests. So, if we were to send a person with the prototype to an alternate universe, it could be practically impossible for them to return to their own universe. With the theory of there being an infinite possible number of universes, who knows if they’d be able to ever get back to their own universe if they simply traveled universes at random. Not to mention that the prototype is powered by an artificially created substance, which I doubt they’d be able to get from just any universe if they ran out, so there is a chance that the person could get trapped in some random universe forever.”
“So, in simple terms, the prototype is dangerous,” Cole said.
“Yes, extremely.” She nodded firmly. “We had plans to further develop the prototype so that you can actually control which universe you go to via dictated codes. For example, our universe is C1F87, and then you’d be able to travel back to our universe from another one just like that. However, in the state the prototype is in right now, you can’t, and it’s extremely dangerous and unpredictable and shouldn’t be placed in the wrong hands. It can get people killed in the state that it’s in. I can imagine that the people who stole it either were aware of this and wanted to use it for evil, or they simply do not know the true dangers of it, and simply think it was a silly little toy they can use with no consequences.”
“Well, whatever the reason may be, we’ll stop them and get it back for you.” Jay flashed her a smile.
“The two other assailants should go under police custody,” Cole said. “And if the others manage to capture anyone else, we can question them and we may learn more.”
“Do whatever it takes to get it back, or else innocent lives could be at risk.” Dr. Brook pleaded.
“We’ll do everything we can,” Cole told her.
After a few more minutes of talking, Cole and Jay left her office. The halls of the lab were now littered with police officers, taking notes and investigating the damage, while a few police officers escorted the now tied-up assailants out of the lab. A few officers thanked them for helping out, but overall let them leave without much pestering.
As Cole and Jay made their way back to the parked jet, Jay glanced up at him and spoke. “What do you make of all of this?”
“Of the prototype?” Cole asked.
“Yes, but just all of it.” Jay shrugged. “The fact that alternate universes exist, the fact that we have the technology to actually travel to them, and that there are some new villains who wanted the prototype for some reason? It’s pretty intense.”
Cole chuckled slightly. He found it funny how ironic it all was. He kept internally monologuing about how he and Jay may have been together in another life and here is now, getting slapped in the face with the fact that there’s a chance they can travel to alternate universes. Was there one where he and Jay were together? There had to be, probably. Dr. Brooks did say that there is an infinite number of universes, so there had to be at least one where he and Jay were a couple.
Cole shook his head. That was unimportant right now, though. He had other things to focus on. “It all seems like it’s coming straight out from one of your comic books.”
Jay snorted, giggling into his hand. “ Right ? I mean, lots of stories always talk about traveling to alternate universes, but I didn’t think we were so close to being able to do that in reality. No one’s gonna believe us when we tell them, not that I’d blame them. I don’t think I would’ve if I didn’t see the thing myself.”
“Well, they better, because I can’t imagine what kind of damage that thing can cause now that it’s in evil hands,” Cole replied.
With that in mind, the two of them went back to the jet and began to take off, making their way back towards the monastery in record time. As they rode back, Cole thought more about this mysterious new villain.
The masked assailants had called whoever was in charge their master , which was odd enough on its own. Whoever this group was, they were clearly more elaborate than just a couple of thugs robbing a bank. Cole could imagine that hitting multiple places was an attempt to split the ninja up so that they could have a higher chance of securing the prototype. There were probably dozens involved in robbing the lab, so they probably didn’t want all of them there and potentially risk failing. And in a way it worked, cause none of them would have guessed the severity of this.
But what did they want with the prototype? What was their goal? They had said that their master had wanted it, but what did they plan on doing with it? Did they have some bigger plan, or did they just plan on sending random civilians just because?
Whatever the reason, they were dangerous, and they needed to be stopped before innocents were hurt.
Chapter 2: Wheel of Fortune
Notes:
If anyone is curious, here is each of the Ninja’s skin tones/ethnicities in this story:
Kai and Nya - half Taiwanese & half Chinese (tanned skin for Kai, pale skin for Nya)
Cole - half Black, half white (medium-dark skin)
Jay - White (but with slightly tan skin)
Lloyd - White
Zane - White (though I purposely left it open for interpretation)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Thankfully, when Cole and Jay returned to the monastery, everyone else had already returned. Though judging by how calm they all seemed when they returned, they didn’t get any kind of hints about the prototype or the group’s main goal. They all seemed to think that it was just a few groups of thugs. Little did they know.
Of course, as soon as they got back, Cole and Jay called for an emergency meeting in the living room. They stood in front of the TV facing the couch while the others sat on and around the couch, with Wu and Misako standing to the side.
“Cole, Jay,” Wu spoke up first. “Did something happen?”
“Something is an understatement,” Jay responded.
Cole cleared his throat, speaking up. “When we arrived at the lab, they had already broken in. Once we found them, they had some strange blaster in their hands, which ended up being what they were there to steal.”
“Blaster?” Kai snorted. “What is this, a cartoon?”
“They had kept calling the blaster the prototype ,” Jay explained. “And kept saying they needed to get the prototype to their master. One of them ended up getting away with the prototype in a jet that was embedded with vengestone.”
“What does this ‘prototype’ do exactly?” Zane asked.
“It’s an experiment that the people at the lab were working on.” Cole rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “And… and it allows people to travel to alternate universes.”
All of them had the reactions that they’d expected. All of them exchanged looks of concern and confusion, probably because what they said sounded like the fakest bullshit they ever heard, before turning back to them for confirmation. They both nodded, assuring them that they were not crazy and that this was really happening.
“Pfft. A blaster that allows you to hop universes? No way.” Kai scoffed.
“I didn’t think universal travel was even possible,” Zane mumbled.
“Dude, trust me, I wouldn’t have believed it either if I didn’t see the thing myself.” Jay giggled. “But yeah, I guess we’ve advanced technology enough to be able to travel to alternate universes.”
“It was a project funded by Cyrus Borg, hoping they could travel to alternate universes to prevent terrible disasters from hitting our own universe.” Cole continued. “They ended up recreating that black cloud stuff that the Oni made to power it, and they were able to create the first successful universe hopping machine, which they call the prototype.”
“There’s more to it, though.” Jay piped in. “Since it's a prototype, it’s kinda dangerous. You can’t control which universe you end up in, so every time a new portal is opened or someone gets directly hit with it, it sends you to a completely random universe every time, so you can’t even control where you go! It’s super dangerous, so we need to find out where their hideout is before someone gets hurt.”
“That’s… a lot to take in.” Lloyd chuckled nervously.
“How’d you think we felt?” Jay smiled jokingly. “It’s not every day you hear that we’ve invented universal travel.”
“We don’t know much about the group who did this.” Cole continued. “We were able to capture two of the people involved in the attack on the lab and hand them to the police. All we know right now is that they call their leader their master and that this master wanted the prototype for some reason. Whoever we’re dealing with, they’re clearly a more established group than just a couple of pathetic thugs.”
“Whatever they want out of this, they’re clearly dangerous and need to be captured.” Zane piped in.
“For now, our best bet is to question everyone we manage to arrest to try and find out more,” Lloyd said, standing up. “We could also stop by Mystake’s and get some tea of truth for the ones who had been at the lab. I can imagine that they’ll have the most information about what they’re going to do with this prototype . We can go to the police station tomorrow. For now, let’s rest up.”
With that, they dismissed the meeting. Immediately, Nya walked up to Jay, checking him for injuries and asking if he was ok. He was quick to reassure her that he was ok, and the two leaned in for a kiss. As soon as they kissed, Cole left and went to his room. It was so hard, seeing them together. He still supported their relationship and was super happy for them, but seeing them together still did terrible things to his heart. He knew that Jay was happy and that Nya treated him well, but somehow they made it even worse.
Cole slid his bedroom door open before closing it and locking it behind him. He immediately went to his closet to change out of his gi, opting for a black tank top and some sweatpants. He stared down at his wrapped hand, frowning slightly. He would have to be easy with it for the next few days if he didn’t want it to get worse, and he can only imagine that it would hurt if he tried to do something like draw, so for now, Cole grabbed his phone and earbuds from his desk and went to lay down.
He plugged his earbuds and placed them in his ears before turning on his favorite playlist. It was mostly filled with sad and mellow songs, partly because Cole liked that kind of music, but also because he specifically filled it with sad songs. Seeing Nya and Jay being so openly happy together kind of drained his mood. And he hated it.
He hates that he can’t even be happy for Nya and Jay anymore without feeling awful. It’s been like this ever since he found out Jay was going to ask Nya to be his Yang. At the time, he was supportive and tried to give Jay good advice, but now that it’s actually happened? It just makes Cole feel hollow and empty. Beforehand, he was at least able to foolishly hold onto this hope that maybe in the distant future, he’d have his shot with Jay, but now it feels like reality’s come and smacked him in the face, all because of some stupid medallion.
It’s not like anyone’s noticed, though, because Cole hasn’t let them notice. He went to training as normal and acted like nothing’s changed. Nothing did change. Jay and Nya were still happy and in love, and Cole was still Jay’s best friend. Nothing was different. Everything was the same. It was fine.
He tried to ignore the tears prickling in the corner of his eyes as the soft melody played. He sighed heavily. It was becoming so much harder to contain these feelings, but he had to, or he’d ruin everything. He couldn’t even imagine what would happen to the team dynamic if it would get out. Jay probably would feel so awkward around him, or maybe even avoid him, and Nya would probably see him as a threat to their relationship, and all of the tension would affect the rest of the team.
It had to stay secret. No matter what it takes.
-
That next morning, Lloyd had gathered everyone after training to go to the police station and interrogate the captured assailants. They all left together on the Bounty but made a small detour to Mystake’s shop to pick up some tea of truth for Cole and Jay. They had been assigned to interrogate the ones who attacked the lab since the two of them were the most educated on everything going on regarding the prototype and were there when they attacked.
The tea of truth was specifically for them, hoping they could trick one of them into drinking it and telling them more about what their plan is. Cole had no idea how they’d be able to, though, since most criminals are very aware of the tea of truth and how it’s been used in interrogations, and Cole can imagine that these guys were probably very aware of this too.
When Cole expressed this concern, he simply said: “I got a plan, don’t worry about it.”
As much as Cole loved Jay, he was inclined to doubt him. Even if they made the tea, it’s not like whoever they’re interrogating is guaranteed to drink it. That was the only major flaw with the tea of truth, especially since lots of criminals are very aware of the stuff. Just how did Jay plan on getting them to drink it? Well, it’s not like Cole had any better ideas, so he just had to trust Jay.
When they arrived at the police station, Jay immediately took off to make the tea. Meanwhile, Cole waited outside of the interrogation room, staring at the clock impatiently. He knew that tea took a bit of time to make, but this was a little ridiculous. After about fifteen minutes, Jay returned with two large black mugs instead of the usual small blue tea cups they’d usually serve to criminals. Cole once again grew worried but tried his best to trust him.
Once Jay arrived, one of the policemen pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the door to the room. Jay flashed Cole a sweet smile before walking in, with Cole trailing behind. Whatever Jay had planned, he seemed pretty sure of himself, so Cole simply opted for leaning against the wall with crossed arms and observing, only getting involved if the inmate got violent.
Speaking of, Cole curiously looked up at who they were interrogating. His name was Sorren Joneson. He looked to be in their early-mid twenties, with gray eyes and dark brown hair that was tousled to the side with light subtle dusting his jawline. He definitely didn’t look like the criminal type, but then again, even the most normal-looking people were still capable of crime. There wasn’t a lot of information on his file, though.
Sorren had immediately glared at them upon their entrance, but Jay simply flashed him a happy smile before sitting down in the chair opposite of him. “Sorren Joneson. A former student of Ninjago City University before suddenly dropping off the face of the Earth eight months ago, and now the prime suspect in various robberies, including involvement in the recent lab robbery.” He flashed him a smile. “Seems pretty strange to me.”
“I don’t have to talk to you.” Sorren simply responded.
“Never said you did.” Jay shrugged. “I’m just stating the facts.” Jay leaned forward and placed a mug in front of Sorren. “Here, some coffee for you.” Wait, coffee ?! “It’s some weird new blend. I thought it tasted a little funny, but it’s not too bad.”
Cole tried his best to hide his bewilderment. Coffee?! What did he do with the tea? The whole point of this was to make him drink the tea of truth to get him to spill about their group! How exactly are they supposed to do that if they’re serving him coffee? Cole once again tried to remain cool, reminding himself to trust Jay, even if whatever he was doing sounded absolutely ridiculous and counterproductive.
Sorren, meanwhile, eyed the coffee suspiciously like it was poisoned before grabbing the mug and lifting it to his lips, taking a light sip, before humming and confirming that it was indeed just coffee. He happily took another big drink of it.
“Now,” Jay placed his own mug down on the table before giving him a stern look. “I’m sure you know why you’re here. We want answers about your attack on the lab.”
“And I want to not have to go into crippling debt to get a formal education, but we don’t always get what we want.” Soren sharply replied, focusing on sipping his cup.
Jay snorted. “Touche. That’s why I became a ninja instead of turning to crime.” He sighed. “But nonetheless, we need answers.”
“I’m not telling you anything!” Sorren spat as he firmly smacked the mug onto the table.
Jay simply smirked, leaning forward and holding his head in his hands. “Aren’t you, now?”
“Huh-?”
“Why did you attack the lab?” Jay simply asked.
“We wanted to steal the prototype for our master. He had ordered us to get it for him.” Sorren simply replied before smacking his mouth with his hand. He looked over at Jay in disbelief, and Jay simply smirked. Cole stared at him with bewildered amusement. Damn, it seems like every day Cole finds something about Jay attractive. Never in his life did he think he’d see such a sly Jay, and never did he think he’d find it so hot .
“Interesting, very interesting.” Jay held his chin thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair. “What do you plan on doing with it? Certainly, you don’t plan on just using it to play around.”
Unwillingly, Sorren responded. “Our master wants to rule Ninjago, but he knows with you guys around, it’s not that easy, so he simply wants to travel to another universe where he already rules Ninjago, or to one where the ninja doesn’t exist so he can take it over.” He groaned. “You asshole.”
“How lame.” Jay rolled his eyes. “So who is your master, exactly? What does your master want from all of this? Does he just want power? Fame? Any kind of bigger goal from all of this?”
“Beats me.” Sorren shrugs. “Master is pretty secretive about that stuff. We don’t even know his name or true face. He wears a black and white jester masquerade in front of everyone, even in front of his most trusted members.”
“Where is your group’s base?” Cole asked from his spot.
“And what do you guys call yourselves?” Jay added in
“Underground in the old abandoned subway system, where the Sons of Garmadon used to hang.” Sorren, despite his truthful mouth, looked absolutely pissed. “And we’re called the WOF.”
They spent a few more minutes interrogating Sorren, asking him why he joined, how the base was organized, and so on, trying to get as much as they could out of him. However, at one point, Sorren snapped and tried to attack them, and the police had to come in and cuff him to the chair.
Once they got everything they needed, Jay turned to look over his shoulder at Cole with a smirk. “I think we’re done here.” He stood up from the chair, picked up his cup,,, and took a big drink of it. “Thank you, Sorren. We truly appreciate your charity.”
With that, Jay and Cole left the interrogation room, with Jay casually sipping his drink as Sorren yelled from behind the wall as a policeman locked the doors. Cole, meanwhile, couldn’t stop staring at Jay, who just nonchalantly sipped away the last bit of his drink before placing it on a nearby table. When he turned to Cole and saw his expression, he snorted.
“I mixed the tea together with some coffee,” Jay said with a shrug and a smile. “It was a bit of a risk, but I figured the dude would be more likely to drink it if it wasn’t tea.”
Would it be stupid of Cole to say he falls deeper in love with Jay every day? Because he was. It sounded so stupid, so ridiculous, and yet Jay had the guts to pull it off and it worked . Now, they knew all about their newest enemy and even where their base was. Cole honestly thought that getting a confession out, let alone defeating this new villain, wasn’t going to be easy, but now it was like they were given the answer sheet to a test they didn’t study for.
“You’re so dumb.” Cole sighed but smiled. “But it worked, so I’ll give you that.”
Jay gasped dramatically. “A compliment from Cole? What a treat.”
“Stop.” Cole rolled his eyes and shoved his arm. “It was risky, but in the end, your plan worked, and…” He hesitated for a brief moment. “And it was smart, considering the word about the tea of truth has spread. And now we can hunt this villain down and kick their ass, so great job.”
Jay seemed surprised, staring at him for a moment before beaming and lightly punching him in the shoulder. “Thanks, dude.”
Cole smiled softly as Jay continued walking ahead of him. He could feel the heat radiating off his shoulder where Jay punched him, his skin tingling from the sensation. It didn’t matter how Jay touched him; any form of touch from the master of lightning sent pleasant shivers through his whole body. Jay being a physically affectionate person never helped dull the sensations, even when Cole’s been hugged by him more times than he can count.
Cole shook his head, trying to remove the flush from his cheeks. They had more important things to focus on right now. He had no idea how dangerous this group will be, but they have an extremely dangerous weapon that could put innocent lives in danger as long as it was in the WOF’s hands.
-
Everyone rendezvoused at the bounty after their interrogations. As Cole expected, no one else was able to get much information out of the other members, so everyone was relieved when Cole and Jay came back with information about the group. Cole gave everyone the rundown on the group’s name, location, and motive, while Jay proudly bragged about how his plan to trick the captive into drinking the tea worked.
He had that dumb, arrogant smile on his face he gets whenever he’s a little too proud of something he’s done, his grin bright and contagious. He was currently blabbing to Nya about how he came up with the idea to mix the tea into coffee, while Zane and Pixal were looking pulling up the maps to the abandoned railroads and coming up with a plan.
Nya was rolling her eyes and giggling behind her hand as Jay gave her a proud grin. She proceeded to scold him for taking such a big risk, but kissed his cheek and said she was glad it all worked out, and that it could be a useful trick for future interrogations. Cole had never seen Jay smile any brighter, and he won’t deny the way his heart sunk at the sight.
To distract himself, he approached the large monitor of the railroad maps that Zane, Pixal, and Lloyd were busy studying.
“Any plans for how we should approach this?” Cole asked.
“We are unsure.” Zane frowned, tapping away at the keyboard. “After all, while we may know the location of the WOF, we know nothing about how their hideout is laid out, or where they might be keeping the Prototype.”
“A weapon like the Prototype is not something we can be reckless with.” Pixal nodded in agreement. “We cannot just infiltrate the base without running into problems. One blast from that weapon could get us lost in another universe forever. We must prepare as much as possible.”
“Didn’t you say that their hideout was in the same place as the Sons of Garmadon’s?” Lloyd popped in. “Do you have any old files on the layout of their hideout? It might give us an idea of where to start.”
Pixal moved to another monitor, typing away at it before another map pulled up. It was an older map that Zane had from when he originally infiltrated the Sons of Garmadon, including the route Zane had taken when he had to join the gang in a motorcycle race. It wasn’t much, but at least it gave them an idea of what they would be working with.
“Maybe we should have someone infiltrate the group like Zane did before.” Cole crossed his arms with a shrug. “After all, this group is now more dangerous with something like the Prototype in their hands. We need to be careful.”
“Which is why I’d advise against an infiltration this time.” Zane’s eyes traveled over to Cole. “You are right, in the fact that this group has grown more dangerous with the weapon in their possession. We cannot take the risk of sending one, or even two, members of our group into their base with how dangerous the Prototype is. We are better off sneaking into the base as a group.”
“Yeah, but going into this mission with no information about their base is also risky.” Lloyd pointed out. “We need some kind of way of learning the layout, and where they’re keeping the prototype.”
“Oh!” Jay stopped his conversation with Nya and scurried up to Zane and Pixal. “Why don’t we make something similar to Zane’s falcon and have that infiltrate the base? It could be like… a robot rat or something!” He jumped on his feet. “And we could put cameras in its eyes and have it send a map or something to our computer system.”
Cole couldn’t stop the grin from forming on his face. Despite Jay’s insecurities about not being smart, he was insanely creative. To Cole, a robot rat sounded like an amazing idea. There were all kinds of rats in the railroads, and with the WOF base being underground, they were probably plenty of rats there.
“I still have the schematics of Zane’s falcon in the database.” Pixal nodded, holding her chin in thought. “We could possibly reverse engineer it and recreate it in the form of a rat.”
“Pixal and I can work on it right away.” Zane closed the files on the map before he began searching for the blueprints of the falcon. “Many thanks, Jay.”
The blue ninja was vibrating at the praise, his grin big enough to make his eyes crinkle at the corners. The sight made Cole’s heart flutter. Jay loved receiving praise, and Cole loved seeing the way Jay’s face absolutely glowed whenever he was. The sight made Cole always go out of his way to praise Jay, even if it wasn’t necessary, just to see his face light up.
After Jay came up with the plan for the robotic rat, everyone else retreated out of the hangar bay and went on to their own devices. Until the rat was built, there wasn’t much else they could do. Tomorrow, though, Wu announced he would give the rest of the team special training on dodging since they needed to do everything they could to avoid getting hit by the Prototype.
Knowing Zane and Pixal, they’d probably have the robot done sometime tomorrow. Pixal was already scarily quick when it comes to building things, but with Zane helping her, they could easily have it done by tomorrow morning if the two nindroids didn’t sleep at night.
That left Cole with not much else to do other than go to his room and wait. Cole never liked sitting around, though, not when there was a serious threat out there. Any time he tried to relax when there was a new enemy, his skin would always crawl with anticipation, and he’d start to feel anxious if he wasn’t feeling productive.
In that case, Cole figured, it wouldn’t hurt to do a little training, just enough until the anxious sensation goes away. With Wu training them in the morning, the last thing he wanted was to work himself into exhaustion, only to have to wake up early and do it all over again.
Making a quick stop to his room to change, Cole made his way out to the courtyard and turned on a few of the training courses. He felt a light smile form on his face as he cracked his knuckles and got to training, swiftly dodging and punching his way through the course.
Training always helped Cole turn off his brain, to silence his thoughts. Whenever his heart was filled with longing, he’d go and train for hours. The thing about training, and just fighting overall, is that the brain doesn’t have time to process thoughts and emotions like that. The body is more focused on staying alive, taking in its surroundings, and staying safe. As a result, the brain never has enough time to focus on unwanted thoughts or emotions.
Cole doesn’t know if taking his unrequited love out on punching bags and robotic drones is really healthy, but focusing on training allows that part of his mind to shut off, even if just for a little while. And with his new enemy emerging from the shadows with a dangerous weapon, more training wouldn’t hurt.
He didn’t know how long he spent out there training, but it was long enough that he didn’t even process the way that the monastery was getting basked in an orange hue. Cole kept his mind busy with the training courses, occasionally switching to more difficult ones when he grew bored with the others.
It felt good, just letting his survival instincts take over. When the body perceives itself as in danger, it doesn’t have time to think about cute boys with wavy, gingery brown hair he stopped straightening and soft freckles he finally stopped covering with concealer. Because why cover up such adorable freckles? If given the chance, Cole would spend hours making constellations in the little flecks, outlining the paths with his fingers.
It also meant that he didn’t have time to think about how that boy would never look at him with all the love and adoration that Cole had for him. Instead, that boy gave looks to another, a girl with dark hair and a feisty attitude. The worst part with that Cole couldn’t even hate that girl. What was there to hate? She was strong, reliable, and an amazing member of the team. The only part he envied was that she held the boy’s love in her hands and that she spent years not appreciating the precious gift the boy gave her, a gift that Cole would move mountains to have.
“Of course, you’re out here training.”
Cole nearly fell over when he heard the sliding door open, and the master of lightning walking into the courtyard. Jay flicked a few switches by the door to turn off the training course so Cole didn’t get his fingers cut off. The boy was dressed casually, with a loose blue t-shirt and shorts hanging off his body and a towel around his shoulders. He looked ridiculously adorable in the baggy clothes and half-dried hair, and Cole had to stop his cheeks from turning red at the sight.
How ironic, that the very boy that was corrupting the thoughts he was trying to shut out happens to show up.
Sighing, Cole ran a hand through his hair, feeling the sweat gathering as he approached the door and sat down, staring out at the courtyard. Jay stood a few feet behind him, looking down at him curiously before he moved to sit down next to Cole.
“How long were you out here? I wouldn’t have expected to see you out here.” Jay giggled, turning to him. “Especially when Wu’s giving us training tomorrow. ”
“Was bored.” Cole simply said, moving the hair out of his eyes. “Needed to clear my head, and I guess I lost track of time.”
“Something on your mind?” The question caught Cole off guard. The last thing he needed was to vent to the boy who was the very subject of his unwanted thoughts. It wasn’t a problem, though. Over the years, Cole has grown used to having to lie about what’s really on his mind. He’s gotten almost too good at it.
“I guess I’m a little worried about this new group,” Cole said it like it was nothing, though he suppose it wasn’t entirely too far from the truth. “They wouldn’t be much on their own, but I’m worried now that they have the Prototype on them.”
Jay nodded in understanding. “Yeah. I’m also a little worried since these guys also seem to have access to vengestone, and can put it in their vehicles. These guys seem to be put more put together than we thought.”
Cole nodded in agreement. It was bad enough that the group was elaborate enough to stage three simultaneous attacks across Ninjago, but they also have access to vengestone and a dangerous weapon that could get them lost in an alternate universe. He doesn’t know how serious this group is, but they’ve definitely become a bigger threat.
“We won’t know anything for sure until the robot rat can infiltrate their base.” Cole shrugged, looking down at the ground. “For all we know, they could be just a pathetic gang that just so happen to get lucky. On the other hand, they could also be a lot more serious than they’re letting on.”
Jay sighed, moving his towel to dry the side of his hair. “I hope they aren’t as serious as some of our other villains. The last thing I want is some major villain having such a dangerous weapon like that. I just hope this is some quick and easy mission we can get done within a few days.”
“You and me both.” Cole chuckled, running a hand through his hair. After what happened in Shintaro a few weeks back, they were all hoping to have a little break from major villains. Dealing with large enemies was exhausting, both physically and mentally. Having to dedicate that much time to a villain with little to no rest was draining on both their bodies and their mind, and Cole has witnessed the side effects on both himself and the team.
“Well, other than the vengestone and the Prototype, they can’t be that dangerous.” Jay suddenly snickered and grinned. “Especially if their own base is just a recycled base from an old villain.”
Cole rolled his eyes with an amused smile. “I suppose so, but we still shouldn’t underestimate them. As long as they have the Prototype, they’ll still be dangerous.”
“We’ll just kick their asses like we always do.” Jay punched his fist into his palm, turning to Cole with a cheeky grin. “Besides, if we’ve dealt with sorcerers and evil snakes and the literal embodiment of evil, then I think we can handle a few thugs.”
Cole leaned into his hand and smiled softly at Jay. Even when the situation was bad, Jay always found a way to look on the bright side. Some of the others found it annoying, but Cole couldn’t help but find it endearing. Even in their darkest moments, Jay still looks for the light. It’s a rare trait these days, and Cole knows that without Jay, they’d probably all lose themselves in their grief and despair.
Jay can help them let loose and relax when they’re tense. During the beginning of these quiet periods when there is no major threat, the team always feels tense after defeating their newest villain, like a new villain is going to appear any second. Meanwhile, Jay is out here setting up movie nights and game nights, helping everyone on the team relax properly after such a major win.
While everyone on the team is serious and tense, Jay helps keep them balanced with his witty attitude and jokes. Some may find it annoying or inappropriate, but Cole adores it. It’s one of the things that makes Jay so wonderful.
“I’m sure we will.” Cole leaned back against his hands and smiled.
Jay turned his head to look at him and Cole tried not to smile too hard at him. There were so many emotions Cole wanted to portray to him with smiles alone, but over the years he has grown to be careful. He couldn’t show too much or else someone could know. His smiles at Jay couldn’t be too gentle, or too big. His eyes couldn’t be too soft, or his brows too relaxed. Even the most subtle changes in his face could convey his emotions differently.
It was funny, really. Before he fell for Jay, Cole never cared for little details like this. It was always about the broad strokes. The bigger picture. He never wasted his time worrying about things like how he stood or if his hair looked ok, and in a way, he’s still like that, but when it comes to his feelings for Jay, there wasn’t a detail too small. If there was even the tiniest detail about his feelings he could hide, he’d bury them deep and never let them see the light of day.
“Oh, there you are.”
The two boys looked behind their shoulders to see Nya, standing by the sliding door dressed in comfortable clothes. Her hair was tossed into a loose bun, and she was smiling down at Jay on the floor. Her pale skin seemed to glimmer in the orange hue of the sunset. Cole’s throat tightened at the sight.
“What are you doing out here?” She teased, tapping Jay’s back with her foot.
“Oh, I was just talking with Cole about these new thugs.” His grin was so bright it made Cole’s heart shudder. The pale boy stood up, his smile softening when he looked at her.
“Are you anxious about these WOF guys?” Nya asked a small frown on her face.
Cole sighed. She looked genuinely concerned, which only made Cole more annoyed. He quickly shook his head and stood up, running a hand through his locks. “A little, but they’re nothing we haven’t handled before.”
“We’re just gonna kick butt like we always do!” Jay struck a pose, causing Nya to giggle at his antics. The grin that appeared on his face after making Nya laugh made Cole want to crawl into a hole. Stop it…
With a light huff, Cole walked past them towards the sliding doors. “I’m gonna shower.”
Just before Cole turned down the hall, he glanced over his shoulder and saw the way Jay was smiling at Nya, the way he looked so physically relaxed in her presence, and the way he brushed a lock of hair out of her face before he leaned down, and…
Cole turned and walked away before he saw any more.
Notes:
Wanted to say thanks for the comments! I've been super invested in this project so I hope you all enjoy it ^^
Also, from now on, I will try to update this fic every Sunday!
Chapter 3: Adieu
Chapter Text
Cole thought that having a shower would clear the thoughts from his mind, but the ambiance of the water hitting the shower floor only amplified the thoughts. Instead of his mind being filled with Jay, it was filled with the object of his affection, even after he escaped to his room and slipped into bed.
It was tragic, really. Cole would feel better about his feelings for Jay if Nya was a bad partner who treated Jay horribly, but she didn’t, and that only made Cole feel worse. He couldn’t even bring up an ounce of hatred for Nya other than the fact that she has the one thing he’s always wanted. And even then, it was better described as envious, bitter jealousy than hatred.
Because why her? Jay spent years chasing after Nya only for her to reject him time and time again. He remembers listening to Jay vent about his unrequited love for the water ninja, having to force advice off his tongue to cheer his friend up when deep down he just held a bitter resentment for Nya for not realizing how lucky she was.
And then out of nowhere, Nya went from despising Jay and insisting they were just friends to head over heels within a heartbeat. The memory of them on the hospital roof still confuses Cole and the others to this day. Not even Zane’s robotic intelligence was able to comprehend the sudden shift in their relationship. Any time they try to bring it up to Jay or Nya, they just look at each other with this silly look and told them not to worry about it.
While Cole knows that Nya now has a deeper appreciation for Jay’s affection, it doesn’t change the fact that she has the one thing Cole would do next to anything for. He could never hate her, but he hates what she has. She spent years rejecting him, and yet suddenly turns around and decides maybe Jay is finally worthy of her affection?
Cole clutches his sheets at the thought. Jay was always worthy of his love. Since the moment he fell in love, he knew that Jay was worthy. He didn’t need to dance around him for years, unsure if Jay was the one or not. Cole knew Jay was the one the moment he realized how he felt for him.
And yet, Jay still chose her.
Cole knew all of this, always had these thoughts on loop in his head for years. He’d come to terms with the fact that Jay would never love him a long time ago, but that didn’t make the cut any less deep or painful. In a way, Cole was still healing from that wound. It wasn’t entirely healed, and it wouldn’t ever, though it hasn’t started to scab over yet. It wasn’t too fresh but was slowly healing. The blood has tried over the wound, but the skin hasn’t started healing, and Cole didn’t know if or when it will.
If the wound were to ever heal, it wouldn’t go away like a paper cut. No, this wound was too deep. If the wound were to ever heal, it would leave a scar. It would be healed, but he would never truly be allowed to forget the pain it caused, a physical reminder of his loss.
Not much time had passed since Jay asked Nya to be his Yang, so the wound was still very fresh. It would take time, but maybe one day the depression and bitter agony will blur into silent complacency. After all, Cole would rather die than ever let Jay feel sad. If Jay being happy meant he had to sit on the sidelines and let someone else be the center of his affection, then so be it.
Like many times before, Cole shut off his thoughts, pulled the covers over his head, and willed himself to sleep.
-
Just like Cole suspected, Zane and Pixal finished the robotic rat by noon the next day after they finished training. The team was on the Bounty, flying into Ninjago City to drop the rat off by the abandoned train system. They didn’t want to get too close to the base in case they roused suspicion from the WOF, but they needed to get close enough so that the rat wasn’t spending hours trying to get to its destination.
Zane used his cloaking abilities to disguise himself and went to go drop the robotic rat off by the entrance of the railroad. He went to the one closest to their base’s entrance, simply dropping the rat off before Pixal took over the control and steered it towards the tunnel.
Once Zane returned, everyone gathered by the large monitor to watch. Like normal, Jay and Nya stuck close together, but Cole ignored it, keeping his eyes on the screen. He had bigger fish to fry than once again reminding himself of their relationship.
It took a while, but eventually, the rat arrived at the entrance to the old Sons of Garmadon base. The door was sealed, but by sneaking into some nearby pipes, the rat was able to slip past. Everyone was on their toes as the rat navigated through the series of pipes and vents.
“What do you think their base is like?” Kai asked, staring curiously.
“I can’t imagine it being too different from how the Sons of Garmadon had it set up.” Jay shrugged. “After all, they did steal their old base.”
“We can’t know for sure, though.” Cole crossed his arms and leaned against one of the beams. “It’s too risky for us to go in there not knowing what we’re dealing with.”
“Especially with such a dangerous weapon in their hands,” Lloyd added. “Sending one or all of us in there to scan the area would’ve been dangerous if we got caught.”
“We cannot afford to be reckless with this group, as long as the Prototype is in their possession.” Zane nodded in agreement. “In the end, this was the safest route to take to ensure none of us were put in danger.”
They all turned their attention back to the screen when the rat exited a pipe into an open clearing. Noise erupted into the speakers, as people in various gang and biker attire stood around the main clearing. Some were casually chatting, while others were spraypainting a specific image on the walls.
It had a rectangular border with various images inside of it. In the center was a large circle with various unrecognizable symbols and shapes. Surrounding the circle were a few winged creatures reading books, sitting together amongst the clouds. It was such a specific image; it had to mean something.
“What’s that symbol supposed to mean?” Kai asked, pointing to the screen.
“From my scannings, it is meant to depict the Wheel of Fortune tarot card,” Zane explained. On another monitor, he pulled up a picture and brief description.
“Ooooh!” Jay smiled knowingly. “WOF. Wheel of Fortune.” He smacked his forehead. “Duh!”
“Do you think there’s anything significant about why they call themselves that?” Lloyd pondered, looking deep in thought. “After all, aren’t tarot cards all about interpretation and symbolism?”
Zane nodded. “Yes. Tarot cards in modern times are used for divination purposes. They are used for cartomancy or fortune telling. It is used to gain insight into whatever information the user is seeking. Each card has a different meaning, and it is up to the user to decipher what the message is meant to be.”
“So, you think the fact that the usage of that specific card may have a deeper meaning?” Cole asked.
“Perhaps.” Zane clicked a few buttons and made the article about the Wheel of Fortune grow. “While the Wheel of Fortune card is often considered the most symbolic and most open for interpretation, most of the overall definitions agree that the card is meant to symbolize fate, and how life always has up and downs, constantly changing. If things aren’t going well in life, things are soon to get better. Though, if things have been going well for a while, eventually, things may go bad again.”
Cole frowned at the picture, brows furrowed. It was strange. He felt like in some way, the card was oddly reminiscent of them. They would defeat a villain, and things would be calm for a while, but eventually, a new villain would show up again and brings things back down. Cole doesn’t know if they chose that symbol on purpose, but it was strange how well it connected to them and their situation.
“Huh,” Kai scratched the side of his head. “What’s that got to do with them being bad guys?”
“If I had to guess,” Pixal spoke up as the rat approached the spray-painted wall. “The card is meant to symbolize how during a period of good, things are going to go bad again. Perhaps they see themselves as the force that’s going to end the good part of the cycle.”
Kai shook his head. “Ugh, this symbolism crap always goes right over my head.”
“Well, at least it gives us better insight onto their motives,” Lloyd said as he approached the screen. “Go deeper into the base. We need to find out where they’re keeping the Prototype.”
Pixal had the rat explore a few more of the rooms. Some of the rooms were turned into makeshift dorm rooms, with bunk beds and a few members all crowded into a bedroom. Another room seemed to house most if not all of their weapon arsenal, but there was no sign of the Prototype anywhere in the room.
“It’s probably being kept with their boss.” Cole piped in, the others turning to him. “When we interrogated one of the members who attacked the lab, they said they were stealing the Prototype because their master ordered them to. If anyone’s going to have that thing, it’s going to be him.”
“There doesn’t seem to be any sign of him, though.” Pixal sighed.
“Maybe he was like Harumi, who was never really in the group’s base,” Nya suggested. Cole didn’t miss the way Lloyd stiffened slightly at her name, and he frowned at the sight. He moved to stand next to Lloyd, giving him a small smile. Lloyd still seemed tense, but he didn’t hesitate to smile back.
“We can’t say for sure.” Cole turned back to the screen. “We’ll have to keep investigating. We have to rule out if the Prototype is here or not before we change our course of action.”
They spent several minutes investigating the other rooms of the base. Most of them seemed to consist of dorm rooms of some kind. They found a lounge room, a commercial shower area, and even a kitchen at one point. They went in circles for a while, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of the leader or the prototype.
Things took a turn, though, when they returned to the main clearing. There were suddenly way more people in the area than last time, all of them packed close together and happily chatting with each other. They kept the robotic rat close to the walls to avoid suspicion, but the robot was still able to pick up on the conversations between the members.
“I can’t believe master is going to be here!” One girl squealed. “He rarely leaves his quarters!”
“I once got stuck on morning cleaning duty after Zach and I snuck out after dark to try and find his room.” Another member complained. “Dude is so secretive.”
“I hear he’s gonna reveal some super secret weapon they stole,” A third leaned over their shoulder to whisper.
The ninja all turned to each other, eyes wide. Their master was going to be there? And with the Prototype? It had to be the Prototype. The other two heists had failed, with nothing ending up getting stolen, so it had to be about the Prototype.
A light gasp escaped the girl. “Are you talking about that secret weapon they stole from the lab?”
Another nodded. “Yeah. According to Sean, Master was always very insistent on getting ‘his prized weapon’ back, so this must be a big win for Master.”
“His prized weapon?” Kai tilted his head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What’s more important is that their master is going to show up with the Prototype.” Cole glared at the screen.
“Cole is right.” Lloyd turned to the rest of the group, a serious look on his face. “This may be our only chance to get the Prototype back.” Within a moment, Lloyd was giving out orders. “Jay and Zane, I want you two to get close to the group and try to blend in with the crowd. Cole, Nya, Kai, and I will stick to the shadows, providing backup in case things blow up on us. The fewer of us out in the crowd, the better. The two of you are best at dodging, so you’re the best at being close to the Prototype. Pixal, I want you to stay here and continue controlling the rat. If things go south, we’ll need your help.” He turned to the group, determined. “Let’s do this.”
With that, the six of them left the bridge and escaped the bounty, slipping into the abandoned underground railroads and racing towards the entrance. It took them only a few minutes to get there on foot, and the lack of guards outside of the entrance made it easy for the six of them to slip through the entrance and into the base.
The base was made up of many hallways and paths, but Zane's internal map of the place made it easy to find the main clearing. Once they were at one of the entrances of the clearing, it didn’t take anything for Jay and Zane to grab two members. After knocking them out and tying them up, they stole their uniforms and tossed the members over to Lloyd for him to hide.
Before they moved to the crowd, Zane showed them the map of the area on a hologram. He assigned the others an entrance to hide by so that each exit to the clearing was covered. Once Jay and Zane turned back to the crowd, Cole and the others jumped away, moving to their assigned entrance.
Cole’s was near the northeast corner, giving him a view of the main stage. He sat above the railings, looking down at Zane and Jay from the crowd. They blended in perfectly with their masks, and no one seemed to bat an eye at them as they made their way toward the front of the stage.
While Cole would never admit it aloud, he was anxious about having Jay being out on the front lines like this. He knew Lloyd was right, and that Jay and Zane were the best members to send out for their superior speed and swiftness, but that didn’t make Cole feel any better.
He kept his eyes firmly on Jay, watching his movements. They were able to get towards the front of the crowd, squished amongst some other members. Cole didn’t like Jay being so close to the stage, but he knew they needed to be close to getting their hands on the Prototype. Whatever happened, he’d be nearby to help in case something went wrong.
It took a few more minutes, but soon enough the crowd hushed as a masked person in long, black robes stepped onto the stage. Cole couldn’t tell their gender, but they did have long, silky black hair. The masked person flicked their hand to the side, and everyone turned to the stage and bowed, with Jay and Zane quickly following their lead.
“It with great pleasure,” They started. “That I present to you, our Lord, our Master, our Leader: Master Kane!”
The robed person quickly escaped the stage as smoke and strobe lights filled the stage. The crowd went wild, their screams and cheers echoing off the walls. Within moments, a shadowy figure appeared amongst the smoke before bursting onto the stage, his arms out wide to the crowd. The people only screamed louder, singing praises of their master.
Their master was… not what Cole was expecting. The man was tall and lean, dressed in a tight black button-down with a blood-red tie and a matching cape that stopped halfway down his legs. He wore thick, leather gloves with matching boots that went halfway up his legs.
Master Kane had short, black hair slicked back with gel and pale skin, paler than Jay’s. He didn’t show a lot of skin, though, with the only skin shown being what little skin his red and black jester-inspired masquerade mask didn’t cover. The mask itself was a treat, primarily red with black accents, feathers, and bells.
“Hello, my beautiful subjects!” Kane grinned proudly down at the crowd. “Thank you for such a warm welcome! You truly know how to bring a man to tears.”
The crowd screamed, but Kane quickly swiped a hand to quiet down. “Now, now. I always appreciate your enthusiasm, but tonight we have something even more wonderful to celebrate! After many months, my dearest creation is finally back within my grasp! Oh, how we spent many moons apart, and it feels wonderful to be reunited again!”
“His creation?” Cole pondered on the words. Didn’t Dr. Brooks say this was her and her team’s invention? Was this man just delusional, or was there more to his words than any of them could have realized?
Two masked figures approached the stage from the side with a dark brown box, bowing slightly and presenting it to Kane. He grinned back at the crowd. “It is with great pleasure that I proudly introduce my greatest invention: The Prototype!”
With a swift flip, Kane opened the box and proudly presented the Prototype to the crowd. Like before, everyone went wild, praising their master and complementing the Prototype. Zane and Jay looked uncomfortable in the crowd but tried their best to mimic their enthusiasm.
“What do you make of that?” Nya’s voice ripped through their earpieces. “He keeps calling it his creation.”
“He sounds crazy.” Kai’s voice crackled.
“Or maybe there’s more going on here than meets the eye,” Lloyd suggested. “We can ask Dr. Brooks about it after the mission. Jay, Zane? Can you hear us?”
Zane nodded. “Affirmative.”
“With so many people around, it’s going to be hard to get the Prototype away from this Kane guy.” Lloyd went on. “When I say go, I want Jay to electrocute Kane. Once he’s shocked, Zane, I want you to freeze the Prototype, so that no one can use the weapon. Everyone else, once the weapon is frozen, go into the room and defend your entrances. We’ll want to keep as many of them hear as possible. And Pixal, contact the police chief and get as many officers here as possible to perform any arrests.”
With their orders given, they all turned their attention back to the stage, the cheers finally calming down as Kane showed off the Prototype. Cole’s jaw tightened at the thought of Kane using it on Jay. While he knew their main priority was securing the Prototype, he would kill before he let anyone hurt Jay. If he got sent to some other universe...
“Now, my beautiful subjects, I am sure some of you are morbidly curious about why I desired such a weapon like this!” Kane’s grin was sinister as he turned to the crowd. “And while I could tell you what my masterpiece does, I figured: why not just show you?”
Cole tensed at the words. Within moments, two new masked figures appeared, dragging a frantic person in their arms. The man looked young, no older than any of the ninjas, and he was dressed in semi-formal clothes, his glasses dragging off his face as he tried to escape, but the man’s grip on him was tight, and his hands and legs were held together by pairs of cuffs.
They stopped when they reached the left side of the stage. He was recklessly dropped on the floor, his glasses falling on his nose as his face was presented with Kane’s foot. While none of them could see Kane’s facial features, he looked furious, his lips forced into a thin line.
“Aww, my old friend Noah.” Despite how cheery his tone was, his face indicated otherwise. “So wonderful to see you again, my dear!”
The boy, Noah, looked terrified. “Who are…?”
“Oh, don’t tell me you don’t recognize me.” Kane spun in a circle and threw his arms out toward Noah. “We used to work together, after all.”
Noah spent a moment staring, before his eyes widened, only looking more horrified. “Kane…?”
“The one and only!” He cheered before crossing his arms and popping his hip out. “I’m surprised you still remember me after you stabbed me in the back and got me fired.”
“You know what you were doing.” Noah spat. “What you were doing was wrong, and messed up. Those are innocent people!”
“Oh, what’re a few sacrifices in the name of human progression?” Kane tapped his cheek with a sigh. “Their sacrifices would’ve been a stable in the safety of our beloved land!”
Cole tapped the side of his earpiece. “You picking up on this, Pixal?”
“All video and audio are being recorded and saved in our systems,” Pixal confirmed over the comms.
“What do you guys make of this?” Kai asked. “What are they talking about?”
“They appear to be former colleagues of some kind.” Zane piped in, his voice low. “Judging by their conversation, I believe they may have both worked at the laboratory that was working on the Prototype.”
“He does keep calling the Prototype his creation, after all.” Nya pointed out. “Maybe he means that literally?”
“Let’s keep listening and find out,” Lloyd said. “Don’t forget to wait for my signal before attacking.”
They all turned their attention back to Kane, who was twirling the Prototype in his hands like it was a baton and spinning in a circle in some grand display. Noah looked annoyed, glaring at Kane like he were the devil himself. The other members of the gang were cheering wildly, a few even wolf-whistling at his antics, to which Kane gave them a grateful wave.
“I believe I’ve kept you waiting long enough, my subjects!” Kane grinned, gesturing to the crowd. “Why don’t I show you all what this little puppy can do?”
The crowd went wild, while Noah went visibly pale. “Are you crazy? T-The Prototype hasn’t been tested on human subjects before!”
“Which is why we’re going to test it here and now for everyone to see!” Kane did a few more spins, his cape whipping in the wind. His smile fell as he turned and aimed the Prototype directly at Noah’s forehead, his glare heavy behind the mask. The crowd went silent, waiting for what Kane would do. His thumb played with the trigger as if debating if he should shoot. Noah, meanwhile, was as white as a sheet, sweat falling down his forehead as he struggled against the restraints, trying to get away.
Noah wasn’t able to move no more than a foot away before Kane stomped on his chest, knocking the wind out of him as he kneeled down and forcibly pressed the head of the Prototype to his forehead.
“You think you can run from this?” Kane snarled, pressing the weapon even harder into his skin. “You dug your own grave! This is simply karma coming to collect your dues!”
Kane stood up, dusting his clothes off before aiming the weapon again. “It is time to show my subjects my power, the power you stole from me!”
“Jay, now!”
The entire stage was filled with bright blue light as lighting flowed through Kane and Noah’s bodies, screams filling the area. Before they could recover, a blast of ice hit the Prototype, causing it to skid across the stage. Jay and Zane moved quick, with Zane jumping over the stage and skidding to a stop to grab the weapon. Jay, meanwhile, tried to give Kane another shock to hopefully knock him out, but the man grabbed Jay’s arm before he had a chance.
Growling, Cole hopped down from his hiding spot and sent a boulder of Earth towards Kane, knocking him on the head and releasing his hold on Jay. The other ninja followed his move, jumping down and blocking the only exits to the room, kicking and knocking out any members who tried to make an escape. Thankfully, most of them were pretty pathetic fighters, so it didn’t take much to apprehend them.
Meanwhile, on the stage, Zane and Jay were busy dealing with Kane. Jay was occupied dodging attacks from the various masked men who were trying to defend Kane, and Zane was busy trying to keep Kane away from the Prototype. Despite how Kane looked, he was swift and calculating, easily hitting spots that made Zane’s stance weaver.
Zane tried to freeze his hands, but Kane was quick, easily dodging each attack like the two were dancing together, his cape twirling like he were a ballerina.
Cole tried his best to stay in his spot, to not help, but it was hard. Between the overwhelming amount of people trying to escape and the way the two boys on stage were struggling, it made Cole want to abandon his post and help them. He knew how crucial it was to get as many members captured as possible, but this would all be fruitless if they couldn’t apprehend their leader and secure the Prototype.
With a stubborn grunt, Cole sprinted up the stage, punching a masked man in the gut as he tried to grab Jay’s leg. With a grin, he kicked the man in the chest and across the stage, watching as he fell limply. Jay seemed surprised, but his grin was so wide it made leaving his post worth it.
“Go help Zane,” Jay shouted as he shocked another masked member. “I can handle them. We need to get the Prototype.”
Nodding, Cole turned to the pair before he sprinted up behind Kane and tackled him, wrapping his arms around the man and pressing all of his body weight into his back. Kane growled, squirming like a worm trying to escape, but he was no match for Cole’s muscles and weight.
However, plenty of masked men were still around, and they all turned their attention to Cole. He could feel several kicks and punch jabbing into his body, so he wrapped his limbs around Kane and tossed them off the stage and onto the hard floor, letting out a soft ‘oof’ as he landed on his side.
Before the men had a chance to leave the stage, Zane stepped on the floor and froze the entire stage, causing the men to slip and tumble over. With a smirk, Zane hit each of them with an icy blast, freezing them in place. Just behind him, Jay grabbed the last masked man by his neck, shocking him until the body fell limp in his hands.
“Zane,” Cole gasped, wrestling the leader in his arms before pinning him to the floor. “Get to the Bounty. We need to get the Prototype out of here!”
“What about you?!” Jay gasped.
“W-We can’t let him get away,” Cole grunted, slamming his palm into Kane’s head. “We got to make sure he and the others get into Kryptarium.” Kane kept trying to raise his head, but Cole kept him still.
“Pixal, are the police on their way?” Zane asked, a little out of breath.
“They will be there in a few minutes.” She sounded just as anxious as the rest of them.
“Zane!” Lloyd shouted from across the clearing. “You and Jay take the Prototype to the Bounty! We’ll deal with the rest of them once the police arrive!”
With a firm nod, Zane hopped off the stage, with Jay following close behind. Before they left the area, though, Jay gave Cole a small smile and a thumbs-up before slipping through the hallway to catch up with Zane.
They didn’t get far, though, as a rouge masked-man was able to corner them back into the room. However, this man was different. Unlike the blank masks that the others wore, this one has a small white mask with black swirls around the eye holes. Unlike the other robes the others wore, this man dressed similarly to Kane, in a dark button-down shirt. Was he some kind of second leader? But everyone called Kane their master and referred to him as the leader. Was he some kind of second in command?
They didn’t have much time to ponder, as this man was faster and stronger than any of the ones before. It took nothing for him to avoid Zane’s ice shards and Jay’s lightning, moving just as majestically as Kane had on the stage like he was dancing rather than fighting.
Even after Kai abandoned his post to try and apprehend the guy, he was still strong, effortlessly flowing through their kicks and punches like water flowing down a stream, fast and adaptable. Just who was this guy?
Cole’s brief moment of shock was enough to give Kane some wiggle room. With a loud grunt, Kane raised his head to shout. “Commit Operation Steamcloud!”
The masked man visibly flinched, turning towards Kane. “But Master-”
“Do it!” He snarled before Cole slammed his head back into the ground.
With reluctance, the new masked man jumped back towards one of the entrances, giving a longing look back at Kane. Before the others could catch up to him, he slipped into the hallway before pulling out some weird device and pressing a button on it. Within seconds, the entrances were sealed up by metal doors, trapping Kane and all the ninja inside the clearing.
A few moments later, a strange, white gas started filling the clearing. Within seconds, the ninja was coughing and gagging as the mysterious gas filled their lungs. Below them, Kane was grinning like a madman, snickering and chuckling to himself as more gas clogged their noses.
Lloyd was the first to collapse, followed quickly by Kai, Nya, and Jay. Cole looked around frantically, trying to see what was going on, but soon his mind went foggy and his vision blurred. His grip on Kane loosened, and the leader was able to quickly escape his grasp, but he didn’t look any better. He stumbled in his steps before dropping to his knees. The leader turned to talk to someone behind Cole, but he couldn’t hear a thing. His vision was getting worse and his ears were starting to ring horribly.
Within seconds, Cole fell to the floor and his vision went dark
-
Cole didn’t know how long he was knocked out, but the next time he opened his eyes, his vision was filled with the familiar smoke and flickering lights from before. He could vaguely make out a crowd, but it looked smaller than the one from before. Looking down, Cole noticed a thick chain made of vengestone wrapped tightly around his body.
His ears rang for a few moments before his hearing slowly returned. He could make out the familiar sound of cheering and wolf-whistling from before, but it sounded much louder. The distant sound of clicking footsteps was nearby, but he couldn’t see anything.
Looking around, Cole saw that he wasn’t alone. Everyone else was all tied together with him, their backs all pressed together, all wrapped in the same thick chain. He didn’t see any sign of Sensei Wu or Pixal, and he wasn’t sure if was good or bad. He’d rather they be back on the Bounty, hopefully getting backup than chained up here with them.
Glancing to his left, Cole finally noticed a familiar face. On the other side of the stage was Kane, doing a similar dancing routine that he had done earlier. His peripheral vision was still foggy, but Cole knew that the man had the Prototype in his hand, doing fantastical tricks with it.
Cole could vaguely make out Kane talking, but he could barely register any of it, simply seeing his lips move. Something about him seemed different, though. While he had been dancing around, he looked stiffer, and despite his mask covering most of his face, he swore he could see the daggers his eyes were jabbing into them.
His spectacle speech was much shorter than last time, as he was aiming the weapon at the group within moments. His grin was sinister, bigger, and filled with more madness than ever before. It looked almost deranged as he snarled at the group, his finger playing with the trigger.
As the ringing in his ears finally calmed, Cole could make out some of what he was saying, though it was quiet.
“Time to wish Ninjago’s biggest heroes adieu.”
Kane pressed down against the trigger, and Cole’s head crashed like waves against the rocks before his head filled with color and his ears white noise as his world went dark once more.
Notes:
I caved and released the chapter early lol,,
I have a redbubble where I have some Ninjago stuff, including the cover for this story if y'all are interested:
lxttlecomfey.redbubble.com
Chapter 4: In Another World
Notes:
Hi I was going to update earlier in the day but I forgot-
Hope you enjoy it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cole couldn’t explain the state he was in. It reminded him of a state of high, of floating on endless clouds, but the sky was filled with darkness and monsters. He felt like he was on another plane of existence, but his head was pounding and his hands were left numb. It was some weird mixture of paradise and unbinding pain.
On one hand, he never wanted to leave his little bubble, but he almost felt like he was chained to the ground. Euphoria was just within his reach, but something was stopping him, holding him back from experiencing that true, eternal bliss.
He couldn’t say how long he was in that state, but eventually, the illusion faded, melting like a dark, black puddle. He didn’t regain his senses right away, though. He spent a long time sitting in that black void, not being able to see or hear a thing.
Slowly, though, he could feel his sensing coming back. It reminded Cole of how he’d always hear his dad playing his piano in the studio. It was distant at first, but as he slowly walked closer, it got louder and louder. Within minutes, he could hear faint voices, quiet at first, but slowly getting louder.
“What are they?” A voice called. It sounded vaguely familiar. Jay? “Are they some kind of freaky shapeshifting aliens?”
“I… don’t think so?” This one was Lloyd.
“That’s not very reassuring.” It sounded like Kai, but his voice was slightly deeper than normal.
“They do not appear to be alien life forms.” Zane sounded as formal as always. “They do not look any different from any other human.”
“Well, except they are us!” Jay yelped.
Wait, what?
Groaning, Cole slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry before it slowly adjusted to the harsh lighting. The floors were made up of a similar shade of white and grey that reminded Cole of the Hangar Bay. Blinking rapidly, Cole looked around, trying to take in his surroundings. As he suspected, he was inside Hangar Bay, but he clearly wasn’t alone.
Looking down, he could still feel the vengestone chain wrapped tightly around his body, but he could see other people in the room. In front of the monitors was a group of people, about seven of them, all gathering around and looking right at him. Shaking his head, Cole looked up and tried to get a better look.
However, the more he looked, the more he realized that he was looking at… the team. But something wasn’t quite right. Lloyd’s hair was a little longer, and he had a thick, green stripe in his hair. Kai’s hair was styled differently, and he looked a little taller. While hard to tell from his angle, Jay had an undercut under those wavy curls, and a thick scar going through his right eyebrow. Nya’s hair was much shorter, sporting a stylish pixie cut. Zane and Pixal looked more human than nindroid, with Zane’s hair being white instead of titanium, and Pixal having tanned skin and silver blonde hair.
However, the thing that shocked Cole the most was… himself. What looked like a different version of him was standing between Jay and Nya. Unlike him, this guy’s hair was dramatically longer, easily reaching halfway down his back even though his hair was tied in a long braid. He also had a smaller braid tied on the right side of his face. He also looked a little older…
Something wasn’t right. What in the world is going on?
“Gah!” The other Jay yelped, pointing right at Cole before diving behind… the other Cole? “It moved! It’s awake!”
The other Cole shook his head with a groan, but his gaze did snap to them. Cole felt a shiver go up his spine. This man’s gaze was sharp, his bright green eyes boring into him. Was that guy actually him…?
“Uh… hi?” Cole smiled nervously, looking down at the chains.
The other Nya held a hand on her hip, looking him up and down before looking at her team. “Well… he definitely looks like you, Black.”
“Why is White made of metal?” Blue pointed over at the still-unconscious Zane. “And why is Black’s hair so short? And Cyan’s hair is so much longer!”
The other Cole, or Black as Cole is going to call him for his own sanity, glanced down at him. “They all look like us, but… how?”
“I’m just as confused as you are.” Cole groaned, wiggling against the restraints. He glanced to his side, trying to jab the others with his elbows. “Guys, wake up!”
It took a few moments, but the others slowly began to come into consciousness. While they woke, Cole turned to look at the others by the monitors. “So… this is awkward.”
“Keep quiet!” The other Kai sassed, a hand on his hip. “White, what do you make of this?”
The other Zane, or White, cleared his throat. “I am… not sure. If we wanted to find out if they’re truly human, we would have to get some DNA samples, though I severely doubt that they truly are some ‘ shapeshifting aliens ’ as Blue had put it.”
They must use code names , Cole thought. It wasn’t entirely unbelievable. If all of Ninjago didn’t know their names and faces, they’d probably do the same thing. If they were using code names, they seemed to be color-coordinated names. In that case, Kai must be Red, Lloyd is Green, Nya is Cyan, and Pixal… maybe Silver? Pixal never really had a color associated with her.
Blue peaked over Black’s back, glaring at White. “You won’t know that for sure! I say we test them!”
Black looked less than pleased. “Quit it about the aliens already.”
With a loud groan, Green walked past the others and approached the group, who were all still slowly regaining their senses. Green circled the ground, observing them closely until he came face to face with Lloyd. He crouched down, observing him for a few moments until he fully woke up. With a few rapid blinks, Lloyd looked up to come face to face with Green.
“GAH!” Lloyd yelped, trying to scurry away, but he looked down and saw he was chained up. “I-Is that… me? What in the-- what’s going on?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Green stood up, looking down at Lloyd. “And I was hoping the lot of you could answer that for us.”
“We’re just confused as you are!” Kai piped in from Lloyd’s right. “Who are you?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Green slowly approached Kai, looking down at him. “You look like a member of my team. You all do.”
“Well, you look like you spent way too much time hanging with Morro .” Jay snickered, sticking his tongue out.
Green visibly flinched at Jay's words and, glancing over to the monitors, Cole noticed the other members looking visibly shocked as well, a few others turning to even talk under their breaths. Judging by their reactions, these guys seem to have also run into Morro before.
“How the fuck do you know Morro?” Green demanded, glaring down at Jay.
“Hard not to know him.” Jay rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Creepy ghost, big green streak in his hair, was kind of evil and tried to take over the world by stealing the Realm Crystal to bring the Cursed Realm to Ninjago. Kinda hard to forget him.”
Green seemed even more stunned, looking up at his team with a mixed look of shock and uncertainty. The others looked equally as confused, moving to join Green and staring at their respective counterparts. Black looked down at Cole with a face he couldn’t quite describe. It didn’t look malicious, but it wasn’t friendly either.
“How did you discover your true potential?” Black simply asked him.
Cole figured they met let them go if he complied, so he sighed. “I discovered it after my dad watched us dance in the Ninjago talent show, and we won the Blade Cup. He got hurt by the serpentine, and I tried to save him. I was able to unlock my true potential and use my super strength to get the rubble off of him.”
Black looked stunned, blinking rapidly as his jaw opened and closed a few times. He looked over at Red, an unspoken request sent to him through his eyes. Whatever he asked, Red seemed to understand.
Looking down at Kai, Red smirked. “Alright, little man. How did you know that Green over here was the green ninja?”
“Why should I answer you?” Kai hissed, glaring at Red before turning his head away from him.
“Because you’re tied up with a chain made of vengestone,” Red said flatly, pointing to the chain. He shook his head before smirking. “Maybe if you play nice, we’ll consider untying you.”
Red looked over at Green as if confirming his statement. The others had unsure looks on their faces, looking at Green for approval. After a moment, Green simply nodded.
“This is something going on, and we need to find out more.” Green turned to each of his team members. “The rest of you, follow Cole’s lead and ask one question, something more personal .” He turned to the ninja. “If you guys comply with us and answer honestly, we’ll get the chain off, and we can all begin to figure out what’s going on.”
“What do you think, Zane?” Kai looked at Zane, who was to his right.
“I believe we should go along with them.” Zane nodded, glancing up at White. “They are just as equally confused by this predicament as we are. I think it is in everyone’s best interest to comply with everyone’s demands so that we can all work together to investigate the situation.” Zane looked up at White. “You will release us if we comply with your questions, correct? And in return, we will not attack or run away, and we will help you investigate what is happening.”
White looked over at the others, who all nodded. “I believe those are acceptable terms.”
One by one, they all asked their questions, all of them relating to events that they were all familiar with. From the disappearance of Kai and Nya’s parents, to where Zane’s father had been held at. Whatever Blue asked Jay was muffled, with the two of them sticking close together while they whispered between each other. Regardless of what was said, Blue turned to Green with a serious look and a stern nod. Whatever Jay said to him was enough to convince him.
Cole knew most of the answers to these questions, but he knew the other team wanted some kind of reassurance. They were all there for most of these events, except maybe the details about Kai and Nya’s parents. Regardless, the more they spoke, the more astonished the others looked. It seems they were doing a good job at convincing them they weren’t shape-shifting aliens.
After Lloyd finished answering the final question, Green turned to Silver and gave her a stern nod. She disappeared for a moment before returning with a thick pair of pliers. Holding it up to the chain, she easily snapped the chains, releasing the ninja. With a tired groan, they all stood up, stretching and popping their aching limbs as they looked over at the other ninja.
“I believe it is best we take this conversation to the monastery,” White said, nodding towards the elevator. They all looked at each other, the air still tense, but simply nodded and walked along toward the elevator.
It was a tight fit for all thirteen of them, but they were able to squeeze everyone in. The ride was awkward, with the two groups having to stand uncomfortably close together when things were still tense. From what Cole could see, the other team seemed a little less wary of them, but they didn’t fully trust them by any means. The members of the other team kept silently looking at each other as if having a silent conversation, and it didn’t help dull the tension.
Once the elevator reached the monastery, they all filed out into the lounge room. Green gestured for the other ninja to sit on the couch, while the other group stayed standing by the television. Nervously, the group all piled around the couch, a few sitting on the floor. Cole took a seat by the far right side of the couch next to Kai as White left the room to go get Master Wu.
The wait was uncomfortable and filled with tension. Jay refused to look up from his lap, and Nya and Cyan kept glaring at each other. Kai and Red kept making funny faces at each other while Lloyd and Green kept sending each other small glances. White, Silver, and Zane seemed to be the only ones who looked unbothered on the surface.
However, the thing that caught Cole’s eye was Blue. Every now and then, he’d subtly stare at him before skillfully looking away. If Cole hadn’t become so observant over the years, he probably wouldn’t have caught him staring. Why Blue was staring at him, Cole wasn’t sure, but it must’ve meant something. Though for all Cole could know, maybe he was just curious about the dramatic difference between the two Coles. He kept the thought in the back of his mind for later.
After the longest few minutes of their lives, White finally returned with Master Wu. Cole was thankful that this Wu wasn’t too different from their own. As soon as Wu walked into the room, he halted in his tracks, looking between the two separate groups with a bewildered look on his face.
“What in the sixteen realms is going on?” Wu asked, slowly walking to join the other group.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Green crossed his arms and sighed.
“If it makes you any better, we’re just as confused as you are.” Kai shrugged from the couch, leaning back and getting comfortable. “Just how did we end up… wherever we are?”
“We were hoping you could tell us,” Black said, glancing over at them.
“My memories are a bit fuzzy.” Nya rubbed her forehead with his palm. “I can’t remember much of anything that was going on.”
“If I remember correctly, we were fighting with Kane and trying to secure the Prototype.” Zane closed his eyes as he went through his memory bank. “However, most of my memories and footage get cut off suddenly.”
“Ugh, that asshole?” Red groaned. “He was so annoying!”
“You know about Kane?” Zane asked curiously.
“We dealt with him about a year or so ago.” Red shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. “It wasn’t too hard to catch him and his gang, but he was a bitch and a half to get apprehended, especially with that damn blaster thing he had.”
“The Prototype!” Jay stood from his seat, looking around frequently. “D-Does that mean he still has it?”
“Wait, how do you know about the Prototype?” Blue whipped his head towards Jay.
“Because that idiot sent his goons to the lab and stole it!” Jay glared at Blue. “We were on a mission to get it back from him, but now we’re back at the temple with some weirdo versions of ourselves!”
“I believe I may know what is going on now.” White’s eyes glimmered in understanding. “I honestly feel a little embarrassed for not putting the pieces together.”
“Well, spit it out!” Jay yelped.
“If the Kane you’re referring to is anything like the one we are familiar with, then he must have stolen UH-0137, correct?” The others seemed confused, but Cole and Jay nodded. “Then it must be as I feared.”
Green frowned, turning to stand in front of White. “What are you saying?”
White took a deep breath. “At some point, Kane must have used UH-0137 on all of you, and sent you to an alternate universe.”
The memories flash through Cole’s eyes like a tidal wave. The raid on the WOF’s base, the attack, the gas filling the room, them being tied up on stage. Cole pressed his palm to his mouth in realization. Their worst nightmare had come true.
Kane was able to capture them and send them to an alternate universe.
What would happen to Ninjago? Without them to deal with Kane, who knows what would happen to Ninjago? Pixel was still there, but she would still be limited to just the Samurai X suit. The six of them alone were barely enough to take care of the group, and they were still dangerous as long as they had the Prototype in their hands, so it would just be reckless of Pixal to try and take them on as Samurai X.
And what about them? How would they be able to get back? In their universe, universal time travel was barely in the Prototype stage. If they even tried to use something like the Prototype to get back, they’d be dead before they ever made it back to the right universe.
Were they stuck here?
“How are we going to get back to our Ninjago?” Jay gulped, nervously pacing in front of the couch while playing with his fingers. “W-We can’t just leave Ninjago defenseless like that! H-He could get people killed!”
“Master Wu and Pixal will be dealing with that group alone.” Lloyd shivered at the thought, leaning forward and holding his head in his hands.
Zane visibly froze at the mention of Pixal. Cole felt sympathy boil in his gut. Had it been Jay in Pixal’s shoes, he’d be reacting the same. He was also worried for Wu and Pixal. The two alone would not be enough to stop a group with such a dangerous weapon.
“This is bad.” Kai curled in on himself slightly, running a hand through his hair. “This is… shit .”
“What about Mom and Dad?” Nya gulped, looking over at Kai, and bit her lip. “Will we… will we ever see them again?”
“T-There has to be some way to get back!” Jay’s pacing only got worse, and he was pulling at his hair, a bad habit he picked up over the years. “We can’t be stuck in some a-alternate universe forever! Ninjago needs us!”
Jay crouched down on the floor and his breathing was becoming short and shallow, as he picked at the skin near his nails. Cole knew the signs all too well from the various endeavors they’d been through over the years. No person would be mentally well after everything they’ve been through, none of them were, so the group’s become familiar with certain triggers and some of the signs of an attack.
Leaping off the couch, Cole crouched down in front of the couch, gently moving his head so Cole could look him in the eyes. “Jay, look at me. Look at me.”
The world melted around him. When Jay got like this, all that mattered was him. He adored this boy with his whole being, and he didn’t want Jay to fall too deep into a panic attack. Cole has had to help Jay countless times with his panic attacks, and it breaks his heart every time Jay falls into a bad one.
After a few breaths, Jay slowly raised his head, tears trickling in the corners of his eyes. His lips trembled with every breath, and he couldn't keep his hands still. With a frown, Cole moved his hands so they were hovering over Jay’s on the floor. He sent the boy a look, silently asking for permission. Jay nodded, and Cole didn’t hesitate to scoop his paler hands into his own and squeeze tightly.
“Breathe with me, Jay.” Cole took a deep breath in before releasing it. “Follow my lead, Bluebell. In and out.”
Jay followed along with him, taking deep breaths and slowly letting them out. At one point, tears began to fall down his eyes, and Cole didn’t hesitate to wipe them away with his sleeve. The whole world blurred, and all he could focus on was Jay and making sure he felt better. He’d die before he let Jay fall into the deep end again.
It took a few tries, but eventually, Jay’s breathing evened out and the tears dried up. Years of helping the various team members with anxiety attacks made Cole a professional at dealing with each member, and what they were or weren’t ok with, but he always paid special attention to Jay, partly because Jay was always an anxious person and the most prone to anxiety attacks.
Cole was just glad he derailed it before it got any worse. He didn’t want to remember the bad ones.
Slowly, Cole let go of Jay’s hands before standing up. He held his hand out to the boy, and Jay slowly took it and allowed Cole to pull him to his feet. He gently guided the boy over to the couch and had Jay sit on his spot on the couch while he stood next to the armrest, giving him space while staying close.
“Are you alright, Jay?” Zane asked gently, touching his arm.
“I will be.” He sighed, leaning back against the couch and hugging himself.
“Just remember you aren’t alone.” Cole looked down at him, gently playing with one of his waves. “None of us are.”
“Cole’s right.” Nya stood up from her spot and made her way to Jay, crouching down in front of him and taking his hands. “We may be stuck here, but at least we aren’t alone. We all have each other, and we’re all here for you.”
Ever so gently, she raised his hands and pressed a delicate kiss on them. Cole did his best not to react visibly, simply choosing to stare at their joined hands as Jay gave his Yang a gentle smile.
“Thanks, sweetheart,” Jay said before he looked up at Cole, giving him a gentle smile. “And thank you, Cole. You always know how to stop me from spiraling.”
“Anytime, Jay.” And he meant it.
Despite never looking away from Jay, Cole couldn’t shake off the feeling he was being watched.
Everyone was filled with tension after Jay’s panic attack, so White suggested giving everyone a breather before they talked about what to do next. They all spent the last hour transforming the lounge room into a temporary bedroom for the six of them since the monastery lacked any proper guest rooms to accommodate six additional guests. Cole and the others helped move furniture, while the other group pulled out their spare futons and rolled them on the floor.
The tension between the two groups was still thick. They wanted to give everyone proper time to process the news, especially after Jay’s mini panic attack, but there was still a lot left unsaid between them. All they had was this unspoken agreement to get along and that they’ll be staying at the monastery until further notice.
At one point, White suggested they get some rest while the others prepared dinner, suggesting they may still be feeling additional side effects from being hit by the Prototype. (Memory loss was apparently a common sign.)
So while the other group was away in the kitchen, the six of them all had their futons pressed together as they sat in a circle, trying to come up with a game plan.
“So, are we just going to live here forever?” Kai blurted.
“No, you idiot.” Lloyd smacked his arm with a roll of his eyes. “There has to be some way to get back.”
“Red had said that they had dealt with Kane and the Prototype before.” Cole pointed out, crossing his legs under his thighs and leaning forward. “They might know more about the Prototype than they’ve let on.”
“Perhaps we could even get into contact with this universe’s Dr. Brooks,” Zane suggested. “They were the head scientist behind the project in our own universe, so perhaps the one from this universe may have more insight on universal travel than our own, especially if they were able to successfully retrieve the Prototype and return it to Dr. Brooks.”
“But if they really did have the technology, wouldn’t the others have mentioned something?” Nya groaned and rubbed the side of her temple with her fingers. “If it was really as simple as simply returning us, they would’ve sent us back a long time ago.”
“Maybe this universe isn’t as advanced as ours as we thought.” Jay sighed, lying his head on his pillow. “Sure, they might’ve defeated that Kane guy a year ago, but it doesn’t seem like they’re that far ahead of us with this technology.”
“Dr. Brooks did say they have been working for a long time before they even got a proper prototype working.” Cole nodded in agreement.
“So we’ll probably be stuck here for a good while.” Kai groaned, leaning back and falling onto his futon.
“Maybe even years, in a worst-case scenario.” Lloyd’s comment wasn’t very reassuring to Cole.
“Well, we cannot say for sure until we talk with the others and get into contact with Dr. Brooks.” Zane looked between everyone. “For now, let us get some rest before we meet the others for dinner.”
The ninja spent the rest of the afternoon in silence. Some of them took naps, while others just did whatever they could to keep themselves busy. Cole, meanwhile, spent his time lying in bed thinking. He wasn’t tired, so there wasn’t much else for him to do other than get comfortable on his futon and just… think about their situation.
Nya had a point earlier. If this universe was truly more advanced when it came to traveling to different universes, then not only would the other team have told them that, but they may not have been as phased by their appearance as they were. They acted and are still acting like this is the first time they’ve ever encountered alternate versions of themselves. If this were a common occurrence to them, they wouldn’t have been as anxious as they were.
All they did know for sure was that they knew about Kane and has at least seen the Prototype before. At the very least, this universe was at least the same as their universe when it came to this type of technology, which was better than nothing. However, if that was the case, then they’d be stuck here for a lot longer than any of them could’ve wanted.
How long, though? Months? Years? Cole hoped not. He didn’t even want to think about becoming comfortable with this life. This wasn’t their home, and this wasn’t their Ninjago, and they had to do everything in their power to return home.
For now, though, all they could do is wait.
Notes:
Thank you for all the kudos and comments!! It really helps me stay motivated to write so thank you!
Chapter 5: For a Long Time
Notes:
Sorry I couldn’t think of a better chapter name lol
Chapter Text
The stiffness in the air between everyone didn’t get any better at dinner. Wu sat at the head of the table, while the other ninja sat on one end, and them on the other. Cole couldn’t remove the tension in his shoulders as he took his chopsticks and ate, suddenly feeling aware of every movement he made. The rest of the team seemed the same, with everyone exchanging nervous, unsure glances.
Cole knew deep down that the other team wouldn’t do anything to them, and that they were safe, but there was a tightness in the air he couldn’t explain. Just how was a normal person supposed to react in this situation? He knew they were essentially them, but he didn’t expect him or the rest of the team to get too buddy-buddy with them right away. This situation was strange for everyone, including their alternate selves.
In some sort of silent agreement, everyone agreed to wait until everyone finished eating before they got to business. Red and White took all the dishes, but instead of washing them, they simply returned to their seats once they put the dishes away. Cole couldn’t complain. He didn’t know how much longer he could sit in awkward silence with the alternate team.
Once White and Red returned to their seats, Blue smacked their hands on the table, causing everyone to jump in their seats. “I am so sick of this tension. Can we all relax?”
“A little hard to relax in a situation like this.” Jay pointed to Blue. “I feel like I’m in the First Spinjitzu Master’s tomb all over again.”
“Ha!” Kai giggled, shooting Red a grin. “It does. You guys look like older, buffer versions of us.”
“Can we please focus?” Black sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We got bigger fish to fry, like the fact that we have versions of ourselves from an alternate universe sitting in our dining rooms like we’re old friends. We can ogle about this later.”
Green nodded in agreement. He turned to the group with a serious look as he folded his hands on the table. “Can you tell us anything you remember before getting here? The more details, the better. You said that you guys were dealing with Kane and the WOF?”
“Correct.” Zane piped in, turning towards Green. “The members of his gang had successfully managed to steal a prototype of a machine that could send people to alternate universes, but it wasn’t fully functional, and it had no control over which universe one got sent to.”
“That sounds familiar.” Cyan nodded, crossing his arms. “We had dealt with that group about a year ago. They were annoying, but nothing too threatening. Though I suppose things didn’t go as well as planned?”
“Things get blurry after that.” Lloyd nodded. “We had created a robot rat to infiltrate the place since we thought it would be too dangerous to send someone alone, and then we all infiltrated it together. After that, though? It becomes hazy.”
“I think he filled the room with a gas.” Everyone turned their attention to Cole when he spoke. He didn’t remember everything, but he thinks he could put the rest of it together. “I remember him shouting something, and then suddenly the room filled with this pink gas, and we all got knocked out. I… I remember waking up at one point, but I couldn’t really process anything. I think he ended up tying us up together and blasting us with the Prototype before backup could arrive.”
“What can you tell us about the Prototype?” Lloyd asked. “You mentioned it before, so I assume your universe is similar when it comes to technological advancements.”
“It is true that at one point, we did have our own version of the Prototype.” White frowned, looking down at his lap. “However, after the events that went down with the WOF, the entire project was scrapped, and the Prototype was destroyed, so we aren’t any more advanced when it comes to this type of technology as you are.”
“Great.” Kai groaned, rubbing his cheek. “So we’re going to be stuck here for a good while.”
“We’ll try to get into contact with Dr. Brooks and Cyrus Borg tomorrow.” Green tried giving them a reassuring smile. “I’m sure they will be more than happy to revive the project again if we explain the situation.”
“To translate Green’s formal diplomate talk,” Red leaned his head against his head and smirked. “We’ll help, but yeah you’re gonna be here a good while.”
Cole sighed. He had a feeling that was going to be the case, but it didn’t feel any better hearing it out loud. They were going to have to spend who knows how long here until they could whip up a proper machine. One that would not only be able to work but could actually send them to the correct universe on command. Considering this universe only had the Prototype and it was destroyed a year ago, he knew it was going to be a while.
But how long? Months? Years? Dr. Brook had told them it took them years just to create a working prototype, so how long would it take for them to create a device that can travel to specific universes at will? There was also the fact that Wu and Pixal would be facing the WOF on their own while they had the Prototype in their hands. He wouldn’t go as far as to say they were on borrowed time, but the sooner they could get home, the better.
“Ok, now can we ogle at our alternate selves?” Blue grinned brightly. It was almost identical to Jay’s but Blue had little dimples.
“Really?” Black sighed, turning to him with a grunt.
“I mean, we got all the diplomatic stuff out of the way.” Blue shrugged. “There isn’t much else to do. And come on!” He opened his arms and gestured to them. “How often have you met alternate versions of yourself from another universe? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!”
“This guy gets it.” Jay snickers, pointing to Blue with his thumb.
“I just find it hard to act silly in such a tense situation.” Black sighed.
“Oh, let him have his fun, sweetie.” Cyan elbowed Black, who gave her a small frown. “He is right, you know. It’s kinda cool to see how things might’ve played out differently.”
Sweetie?
“Sweetie?” Nya beat him to it, looking between Black and Cyan like they were mad.
Cyan turned to her, confused. “What? Are you and Cole not together in your universe?”
Cole’s head snapped to them so hard he swear he felt it pop. Him and Nya? Together? He won’t deny that there was a short period he thought he was infatuated with Nya, but actually dating her? Cole later figured out that his infatuation with Nya turned out to be some weird way of denying the fact that he was gay, and he even realized later down the line that it was Jay who had truly captured his attention.
He had no issue with Nya. She was a great person and a skilled team member, but dating her? Even if Cole wasn’t gay, he doubted he’d date Nya. Besides, Jay probably would’ve kicked his ass into next week if he ever tried dating Nya after that whole best match incident.
Cole and Nya turned to look at each other before visibly shivering.
“I’m… actually with Jay,” Nya pronounced nervously, gently taking her boyfriend’s hand.
“Yeah!” Jay beamed at Nya before looking at Black and Cyan. “How did you two end up together?”
“Happened after the Overlord returned.” Cyan leaned against her hand and sighed happily. “We were all a mess after White’s sacrifice, but… we got closer and helped each other cope. And the rest is history.”
“Did Blue ever…?” Jay turned to Blue with a nervous frown.
Blue shrugged. “I mean, I had a crush on her for a little bit in the very beginning, but it was never that serious. And no offense, but…” He glanced over at Black before he looked at Jay and shrugged. “She’s not my type.”
That was weird… the looks were barely noticeable, but Cole could notice that deep look from anywhere. It was a quick ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moment, but it was there. Cole couldn’t tell what the look was supposed to be, but it was weird he felt the urge to look over at Black like that. It could’ve been nothing, but Cole’s become so aware of little movements like that in his attempt to hide his feelings for Jay that he’s become almost scarily observant.
Rarely did he ever let his raw feelings for Jay show. There were a few exceptions, like helping Jay with anxiety attacks, but even then he still holds himself back. He makes sure not to openly stare at Jay when others are in the room, or to not touch him too much. He wasn’t nearly as physically affectionate with the others as he was with Jay, so he made sure he didn’t touch him too much that the others or, heavens forbid, Jay begins to notice.
He was even careful with little looks like that. On the surface, no one would really bat an eye, but people like Zane were scarily observant. After Cole realized he was in love with Jay after the tournament of elements, he’d sometimes just stare at Jay, watching him go about his day. Things that Jay did that Cole never care about before suddenly became endearing: the way the stuck the tip of his tongue out when he was trying to focus, or how he’d always check in on everyone in subtle ways after defeating a major villain like making sure they ate and slept enough.
Of course, all the staring caught the attention of Zane and he asked him about it. Thankfully, Zane mistook the staring as Cole being jealous of Jay again, but he was quick to reassure the nindroid he was over it. From that point forward, Cole became acutely aware of his actions around Jay, making sure his feeling for the boy was never too apparent.
That meant that he became aware of the little looks he’d give Jay. He never even noticed how frequently he did until he paid attention to it. The last thing he ever wanted was for someone like Zane to notice him frequently looking at Jay and trying to interpret what the looks mean. Zane was scarily smart, and it wouldn’t take much for the nindroid to pick up on what the looks could mean.
So that’s why when Cole saw Blue glance at Black when he said Nya wasn’t his type, of course, it made Cole curious. Did it mean something? It had to. One doesn’t look at someone else when you talk about a person not being your type. To Cole, it meant that while Cyan might not be his time, perhaps… Did that mean that Blue…?
Cole shook his head. Why should he care if Blue liked guys? It wasn’t a big deal if Blue was gay. It wasn’t… but that didn’t mean Cole wasn’t curious. Was Blue out to the team? If he was, he felt like one of the members would’ve cracked some joke about how Cyan wasn’t his type because he liked guys. If that was the case, was he in the closet? Cole technically never came out to the team…
Even if it didn’t matter much, Cole couldn’t help but be curious. As far as he knew, no one else on the team was gay. Jay and Nya were together, Kai was into Skylor, Lloyd was super into Harumi before she revealed herself to be evil, and Zane and Pixal… did they count as a heterosexual couple since they were robots? He supposes they did since they both strongly presented as a certain gender and use the appropriate pronouns…
And that left Cole, who never showed to have any kind of strong interest in women. Sure, there was the incident with Nya, but he later ended up confessing to everyone that he was confused by the sudden attention she was giving him. There was also Vania, who everyone thought he had the hots for, but it’s not like he ever told anyone he was interested in Vania. He thinks Vania may have liked him at one point, but they were strictly friends by the time he defeated her father.
So yeah, Cole could see how they may think he’s straight, but it’s not like he ever went out of his way to make it obvious he liked girls. He knew that the team would never care if he was gay, but he never came out for a few reasons.
Firstly, he never really liked the concept of coming out. He feels like they live in a time where telling people you’re gay doesn’t have to be this big event. If he ever expressed interest in men in front of the team, he doesn’t see why they should make it a whole thing. He wouldn’t want them to start asking questions about how long or when he knew he liked guys. Being gay wasn’t a big deal, and he didn’t feel like telling people he was gay should have the same excitement as announcing something like an engagement or pregnancy.
Second, why bother making that fact known when he’s too busy being a ninja to date? Similarly to Kai and Skylor, unless he dated someone on the team, it would be hard to date. Kai and Skylor didn’t really work out since they were both busy with their own responsibilities. They saw each other sometimes, but it was few and far in between. The same thing would apply to Cole. He just didn’t have the time to invest in a relationship with someone from outside the team.
And most importantly, the last thing he wanted to do was reveal something that could only further fuel the fire about him being in love with Jay. Someone smart like Zane or Pixal could always speculate that he had feelings for Jay, but it’s not like people know he’s gay. For all they know, he’s straight. If he just casually let everyone know that he liked guys, it would only make his actions toward Jay more obvious.
However, that didn’t explain Blue. Cole primarily hid his sexuality to hide his feelings for Jay, but what about Blue? What reason could he have for hiding it? His team wouldn’t have any problems with it if they were anything like his own team, so why? Internalized homophobia? Past trauma from coming out? It had to be something.
“Cole?” Zane’s voice snapped Cole out of his thoughts, making him jump and bite his tongue in the process. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, just thinking.” Cole rubbed his cheek. He could hear some of the others talking with the alternate team about the differences between their universes, which he didn’t even realize was happening.
“Are you worried about being stuck here?” Zane scooted a little closer, giving Cole a worried frown.
He seemed so genuinely worried that it actually made Cole smile. “A little, but having everyone here makes it a little better.”
“Please, do not hesitate to talk to me or someone else if something is ever troubling you.”
“Thanks, Zane.” And he really meant it.
Once Zane turned his attention back to the conversation, Cole sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He felt ridiculous, getting so worked up over the fact that there may be someone on the alternate team that’s gay. By the sixteen realms, he didn’t even know if Blue was gay. He just guessed he might be because he just so happened to glance at Black when he said Cyan wasn’t his type. That could’ve meant nothing!
He didn’t even know why he was fixating on it so much. Maybe it had to do with the fact that no one else on the team was gay besides him, at least as far as he knew. And the fact Blue might not be out of the closest if we were gay, just like him. Was he simply intrigued because Blue may be in a similar situation to him? It’s not like Cole had anyone who knew and could relate to his situation.
Regardless of what the reason was, Cole laid his arms on the table, hiding his face and deciding to shove the thought away and ignore it, even as felt someone’s eyes on him again for the second time that afternoon.
-
Sleeping on the futons was awkward, but manageable. Cole was used to his soft, comfy mattress, but he knew the alternate team was working with what they had. Even their own monastery didn’t have the space to accommodate six more people, so it’s not like he was expecting much.
He certainly didn’t expect to wake up with Kai lying across his stomach like a fish, but that was unrelated.
Just like they promised, Green got into contact with Cyrus Borg and Dr. Brooks first thing that morning and asked if they could meet at the monastery as soon as possible for an emergency meeting, and sent Wu out with the Bounty to go pick them up.
Green explained that it would be too much of a hassle to escort them all to Borg Tower or the lab and that he wanted as few people to know about this situation as possible. Cole agreed, as he wasn’t sure how the people would react to something like this, or what would happen to the alternate team’s reputation if the news did get out.
Right now, both teams were gathered in the kitchen and dining area making or eating breakfast. Some of them were happily eating breakfast, and others… not so much. Jay looked like he was going to collapse any second, and Cole held much of the same sentiment. As it turns out, having the master of fire sleeping on your stomach for who knows how many hours doesn’t make you feel the greatest.
Nya didn’t look much better, with her hair sticking out at funny angles. Kai, the fucker, looked like he just slept on a cloud, and Zane looked as calm and collected as always.
Looking around the space, Cole noticed there just about everyone was there, at least physically (he wasn’t sure if Jay even knew what room he was in.) Upon looking further, the only one that seemed to be missing was…
The door to the kitchen flew open, making Cole jump. Turning to the door, Cole saw Blue standing there looking like a revived zombie. His hair was frizzy and tangled, and he had noticeable eye bags. The dark blue robe he was wearing was falling off his shoulder and he was only wearing one sock.
Seems like Jay and Blue had the same sleeping habits.
“Good morning, Blue.” White smiled from the stove. Cole was kind of glad the alternate team was silently on board with referring to themselves by their code names for the sake of everyone’s sanity.
Blue didn’t say anything right away, but he did step into the space and slowly made his way into the kitchen, though he didn’t even look like he knew what he was doing. After taking a few steps into the kitchen, Blue glanced up, narrowing his eyes at Cole like couldn’t see.
Cole couldn’t explain it, but there was something about the way Blue smiled at him that made his stomach twist in knots.
“Morning, Black.” Blue smiled, looking down and rubbing his eyes. Oh, that explained it .
“I’ve over here, dummy,” Black called from the dining room, a bowl of cereal in front of him. Glancing over, Cole noticed Black didn’t have his braid in, and his hair was loose and wild. The hair didn’t help him look any less unamused. “Do you have your contacts in?”
Blue slowly looked over, blinking rapidly. He rubbed his eyes again before he shook his head. Black sighed before he got up from his seat and left the room. When he came back, he was holding a simple pair of glasses. Black lifted the glasses to Blue’s face and gently put them on him.
“T-Thanks,” Blue chuckled, rubbing his cheek with a nervous smile. Black simply nodded before returning to his seat and going back to eating.
Strange…
Maybe Cole was looking too much into it, but he of all people knew how much subtle actions can have more significant meanings. The interaction was just odd in a way he couldn’t explain, especially from Blue. He seemed flustered. And sure, one could shrug it off as Blue being embarrassed for mistaking him for Black, but it just didn’t seem the same.
Cole turned away from Blue, picking up a box of cereal. Why should he care? It’s not like it’s any of his business. Sure, this other team is technically an alternate version of his very own team, but they were still their own people with their own lives, even if they did have their faces, and personalities, and lived similar lives.
After all, in this universe, Black and Cyan ended up together instead after the best-match incident , and Blue apparently had bad enough eyesight that he has to wear contacts. That’s not even getting into how he wasn’t even entirely sure if White and Silver were even nindroids or not if Blue’s comment about Zane being made of metal was anything to go by.
These people lived different lives from them and had different dynamics and relationships. What right did Cole have to butt into their business and assume things about them?
Just because Blue looked at Black as he said that Nya wasn’t his type, gave Cole this soft smile when he thought he was Black and also got all flustered when Black put his glasses on him didn’t mean anything.
In the meantime, the two groups eat breakfast while waiting for Cyrus Borg and Dr. Brooks to arrive. It was strangely comedic, having all thirteen of them just casually sitting around the large, square table. Some of them looked half-dead, others were literally falling asleep on the table, and then there was Zane, White, and Silver looking normal, like a bunch of weirdos.
It must’ve been quite a sight.
The silence in the room wasn’t comfortable, but not heavy either. The tension from yesterday had lessened, but it still felt awkward. It reminded Cole of the various events he had to attend with his dad as a kid: surrounded by familiar people, but people he didn’t really know that well. He wouldn’t call the alternate team his best buddies, but clearing things up yesterday helped ease the tension off everyone’s shoulders.
“So,” Kai spoke up, chewing on a piece of toast. “How is all of this jumping universe crap going to work? Do we really just have to sit around and wait for the smart people to make a machine?”
“What other choice do we have?” Lloyd sighed, dropping his spoon into his bowl. “This is way more complicated than anything we’ve ever dealt with.”
“You think there’s some dirty old scroll sitting in a cave that’ll show us how to travel across the multiverse?” Jay snickered. The comment made Cole smile too because if he thought about it, a lot of their problems got solved by some weird scroll Wu pulled out of his ass.
“That is highly improbable.” Zane shook his head. “Traveling to other universes is a highly complicated science. If the power were to exist, I do not think it is something that could be learned, let alone something that exists in an object like the Realm Crystal.”
“Well,” Kai held his chin in thought. “If something like the Realm Crystal exists, is it really that crazy to think that something like… I don’t know, the Universe Crystal exists?”
“Realms work differently than alternate universes.” White joined in as he sipped his tea. “The realms are worlds that exist and are connected within our own universe, rather than some kind of alternate world that doesn’t exist parallel to our world. Just like your Ninjago has sixteen realms, we have our own sixteen realms. The realms in your world and our world aren’t the same, so hopping between realms and universes isn’t the same science since each universe has its own version of the sixteen realms.”
Jay and Kai looked like White just spoke another language, so Zane stepped in. “How about an example: you know how the Cursed Realm had gotten destroyed?” They nodded. “There is, theoretically, a universe out there where that realm never got destroyed, and still exists, but that doesn’t mean we can use our crystal to travel to those versions of the realms where they didn’t get destroyed, just to the ones in our own universe.”
“Essentially,” Silver piped in too. “The Realm Crystal allows you to travel to your own versions of the realms, but not the realms in alternate universes, thus making them different times of science and magic.”
Jay nods in understanding, a sparkle in his eye, while Kai looks like he got hit by a bus. If he was still confused, he didn’t bother to vocalize it. It made sense to Cole, though. Just like there are an infinite number of alternate universes, there are also alternate realms that exist in those universes, so it’s not like the realm crystal had the power to hop universes.
“Besides,” They all turned their attention back to Zane. “While I understand wanting to prevent tragedies and chaos, I personally find the idea of inventing machines that travel to alternate universes a bad idea.”
“But why?” Blue perked up from his seat. “Isn’t the idea of meeting alternate versions of yourself cool?”
“I just believe normalizing this type of technology could cause chaos across space and time.” Zane shrugged. “None of us were ever meant to leave our individual universe. I believe allowing the travel across different universes could have terrible unintentional consequences.”
“Like what?” Kai teased. “The sky falling?”
“I would rather say universes collapsing at the seams due to the balance of their universe being disturbed by invasive forces that were not intended to ever be there.” Zane glanced over at Kai, his face flat. “But sure, Kai, the sky falling, like in the chicken movie.”
Jay and Red burst out laughing, smacking his hand on the table several times. Everyone else around the room snickered, or at least cracked a smile. Cole giggled into his hand, looking around the room with a smile. It was weird, but it was nice to see both teams getting along despite the bizarre circumstances they were thrust into.
“Hey!” Kai yelped, moving to get into Zane’s face. “Alright then, Mr. Robot, how is the sky falling not possible?”
Zane’s face dropped into confusion. “Are you serious?”
“Who’s going to tell him?” Blue snickered.
“Shhh, shhh, Don’t say anything.” Nya giggled.
Red sighed. “Jeez, is my alternate self really that stupid?”
“Well, it’s not like you’re any smarter.” Cyan elbowed Red, nearly knocking him out of his seat.
Green blinked for a moment. “Wait, robot-?”
The door burst open, and the thirteen of them were met with a very tired Sensei Wu and two scientists that looked like they just walked into the Never Realm. It wasn’t that strange of a reaction to Cole. How often do you get called for a meeting at seven a.m. only to walk into a room where there’s suddenly a double of everyone? It was probably the only normal way to react.
“Now I see why you called for an emergency meeting so early.” Borg chuckled. He looked like he was about to piss himself.
“Can someone please explain what…” Dr. Brooks gestured vaguely to the room. “All of this is?”
“Nothing much,” Jay leaned back in his seat, looking as nonchalant as possible. “We’re just different versions of your ninja from an alternate reality. Just another day in Ninjago, am I right?”
Cyrus Borg only looked more puzzled by Jay’s aloofness. “Please… just start from the beginning.
Once the two scientists sat down, Lloyd took over and explained the whole situation to the scientists: how the Prototype got stolen, how they tried to sneak into the base and steal it back, how some mysterious gas knocked them unconscious, and how the enemy used to the weapon to send them here.
The more Lloyd talked, the more confused, yet fascinated the two scientists looked. Borg looked concerned, while Dr. Brooks looked like she was physically holding back her excitement. Cole supposes he could understand her excitement, as she was the head scientist behind the creation of the Prototype in both of their universes. Her excitement must only be heightened since she had to abandon the project, only for people from an alternate universe to fall out of the sky.
“With Master Kane still a threat in our own universe,” Lloyd went on. “We need to get back to our universe as soon as possible, and we were hoping the two of you could revive your project and invent a way to control which universe you end up, in so we get back to the proper universe.”
“Well, I will need the funding from Borg Industries, but…” Dr. Brooks grinned brightly. “I would be more than happy to revive the project!”
“But, ninja,” Borg spoke up, a serious look on his face. “While I am willing to help, I need you all to understand this is not an easy task. I understand that you need this machine as soon as possible, but inventing universal travel isn’t exactly easy.”
“You’ve already made the Prototype, though.” Cole pointed out. “That’s a start.”
“It’s still a Prototype, though.” Borg scratched his neck. “And we had the original Prototype and all of its records destroyed in the aftermath of it getting stolen. It won’t take very long to recreate the Prototype, but there are still lots of quirks and problems we need to fix to make it more efficient. And that’s not even mentioning we’ve yet to come up with a way to safely travel between two specific universes at will! This isn’t going to be as quick as you think it will be. I-It’ll probably take several months before we even get close to a final result, if not longer.”
Cole knew this, but it didn’t make it easier to hear, especially from a genius like Cyrus Borg. They’ve been able to create wacky inventions quickly, but even Cole can agree that something as reality-bending as traveling to other universes isn’t something that can be rushed. If there is even one mistake made in their invention, they could get stuck in some other universe and would have to repeat the process all over again.
But then again… what else were they going to do? Cole felt useless sitting around doing nothing. They had no other choice, but what were they supposed to do with all this time? Sitting and twiddling their thumbs while Borg and Dr. Brooks work?
“Rest assured, though.” Dr. Brook gave them an intense look. “My team and I will do everything in our power to get this done.” She frowned, looking guilty. “But Borg is right. Even if we worked non-stop, it’s going to take months before we make any kind of major breakthrough, between inventing the technology necessary for this device and the numerous tests we’ll have to do to ensure it works.”
“We understand.” Lloyd gave her a reassuring smile, but Cole could still see the anxiety in his eyes. “Thank you so much for doing this. You have no idea how much this means to us.”
“I can’t imagine living in a universe where our ninjas don’t exist.” Dr. Brooks tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a smile. “Your universe needs you, and we’ll do our best to return you home.”
Dr. Brooks and Borg spent the rest of the meeting working out a formal contract for the project. Cole turned most of that part out, as it mostly had to do with budgeting and equipment Borg would provide the lab, information that wasn’t really relevant to him and the rest of the team.
He thought he would feel reassured by this meeting, but Cole only felt more dread. Getting the confirmation that they were going to be spending months stuck in some alternate universe only made the pit in his stomach grow. Cole felt so useless in this situation, having to sit around and wait for someone else to solve the problem for them.
Logically, he knew that letting the professionals handle it in a controlled environment was the best way to go about it, but that didn’t make Cole feel better. He was always a person who liked to face a problem head-on. If it was his problem, he liked being the one to solve it, so having to sit around and rely on other people for this problem made Cole anxious.
Just what were they going to do while Dr. Brooks and Cyrus Borg worked? Green already expressed he didn’t want anyone else knowing about them, so it’s not like they could even leave the monastery unless they were in their uniforms with their masks on. He supposed he could always ask the alternate team about helping them with missions.
As he turned back into the meeting, Cole tried to think of the positives, of the things he could do to help, but he couldn’t shake off this nervous feeling boiling in his gut, especially when he felt someone in the room looking right at him.
Chapter 6: Thanks for saying that
Notes:
Hi sorry I’ve been too busy playing Tears of the Kindom 🚶🚶
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cole wasn’t sure how Green was going to react when he brought up helping them out with some of their missions, but he was actually really on board with it. The others also seemed to agree with Cole about not wanting to sit around doing nothing while they wait, so it worked out well.
They, of course, had to set up some ground rules about leaving the monastery. Due to some of the dramatic differences between the two teams (at least in terms of appearance), they weren’t allowed to go walking around without either their uniform or some kind of disguise. It would be pretty hard to explain to people how Nya suddenly grew several feet of hair overnight, or why Zane was suddenly a robot, so Cole was inclined to agree. They also weren’t allowed to travel outside of the monastery with their alternate counterpart, because duh .
Cole was glad they weren’t stuck in the monastery until they returned home.
Green would also have the team do some more mundane tasks, which they didn’t mind. After all, their monastery was now housing an additional six guests, so that meant more food, more dirty dishes, more laundry, and more cleaning needed. Really, Cole didn’t mind what they threw at him as long as it kept him busy. If Cole spent too much time lazing around knowing their universe was facing a new villain without them, he’d probably lose his mind.
After Cyrus Borg and Dr. Brooks left, both teams sat down and came up with a game plan. Well, ‘game plan’ was just a more intense version of what could better be described as a glorified chore chart. The benefit of having six new temporary team members meant they could not only spread house chores out between the members more thinly, but they also could spread missions out between more members. Since their heads and faces were covered by their masks, they could send their team out for smaller missions without anyone noticing the difference. This arrangement not only allowed the team to do their fair share but let everyone not be as exhausted since things would be spread out more thinly between thirteen people.
Green even talked about looking into getting the ninja their own bedrooms, or at least shared bedrooms. ‘You guys will be staying here a lot longer than any of us planned’ Green had said. ‘We could at least get you guys proper beds to sleep in since you’ll be helping out around here.’
Cole was creeped out by how… weirdly domestic it all was. Yeah, this was going to be their new normal for a while, but it was kind of unsettling how ok everyone was with this. Then again, Cole had a feeling that this was going to be their new normal for a while since they first realized they were in an alternate universe. Dr. Brooks and Borg simply confirmed the feeling, so it’s not like this was surprising news for anyone. One does not simply invent controlled universal travel.
So, with the chore chart made, they now had a system: Each Ninja got assigned one daily chore each day and got assigned for patrol on certain days. If sudden missions came up, Ninja was sent out in a randomized queue, and they’d just go down the list accordingly. With the nightly patrols and the queue consisting of thirteen people, that meant a single ninja would only go on patrol or be sent on missions two or three times a month. That was a far cry from the system they had at their own home.
Despite how nice everything was, Cole couldn’t help but feel disturbed by how to normalize this whole thing was coming. They hadn’t even been here for twenty-four hours, and they already had a chore chart with them in it. Hell, White was already looking at the available rooms in the monastery and the team’s budget to possibly purchase the proper beds.
Cole kept reassuring himself this was all necessary. They weren’t just going to be average guests staying for a few nights. They would be living here until further notice. Cole knew all of this, but that didn’t make him feel any more comfortable with the casual attitude everyone seemed to have toward the situation.
“There isn’t much of a reason to dwell on it.” Lloyd had said to everyone. “We can’t change our situation, so we must embrace the new chance.”
He knew that Lloyd was right, but Cole had a hard time accepting change like this so easily. That mindset didn’t apply to just their current situation. While Cole was more than willing to make changes when necessary, like running away from Marty Oppenheimer’s, that didn’t make the change any easier. It was like that when he ran away, and when he joined the team, and it was the same when his mom…
Cole shook the thought out of his head. He really should just listen to Lloyd’s advice. There was nothing he could do to change the past, so he might as well roll with it.
Partly due to boredom and also curiosity, Cole decided to explore the monastery. He didn’t know how useful it would be, since he couldn’t imagine how different the alternate monastery could be from their own, but it wouldn’t hurt to look. Besides, Cole wasn’t sure he could sit and do nothing after everything that’s gone down. Walking around wasn’t really productive, but it helped Cole feel productive.
Overall, other than the placements of some of the bedrooms, Cole didn’t notice too much of a difference. Some of the furniture was slightly different, but nothing was too different to make much of a difference to Cole.
He turned down a hallway that wasn’t used much by the team back at home. In their universe, one room was the living room, and the rest of the rooms were mostly used as storage or guest bedrooms. One side of the monastery already had enough room to support all their bedrooms, so not much else was needed for the other rooms.
Cole caught a glimpse of the living room, where Kai, Jay, and Red were already vegging out on the couch playing video games. The hallway was quiet besides the faint noises from the living room. Cole didn’t know if he really had a right to go around poking around in these rooms, but with everyone else already busy with their own devices, surely it wouldn’t hurt.
Just as Cole suspected, the first few rooms were used for storage, with stacks of boxes, unused furniture, and other miscellaneous items. There were also two guest bedrooms, but they were fairly small, and not enough beds to fit all six of the ninja. If Cole had to guess, White was probably going to work on converting the rooms over here into temporary bedrooms.
The last room two rooms at the end of the hall, however, caught Cole’s eye. The one on the left was actually a makeshift gym, or at least as close to one as they could manage. They had a few machines littered around the room, as well as yoga mats leaning against the walls. Cole also noticed an old-school stereo sitting on the floor next to the mats. The space was small, but it wasn’t a bad setup for the space.
The room across from it, though, seemed more interesting. At first, Cole didn’t notice anything interesting about it, but in the space between the sliding door and the wall was a small, wooden sign. Getting a closer look, Cole saw that it read Jay’s workshop . Workshop? Curious as ever, Cole slide the door open and stared in awe.
The room could better be described as a large closet than a room, but despite the small space, it was absolutely flooded with stuff. On the far back wall sat a long wooden table with a few rolling stools in front of it. The table was absolutely littered with wires, scraps of metal, and tools. Off on the far left of the table was a small speaker with a few screwdrivers sitting next to it. The wall above the table was filled with various tools hanging off on the wall, and the other walls had shelves filled with toolboxes and scrap metal.
Wanting a closer look, Cole stepped into the space and approached the table. Towards the far right of the table was some half-finished device. Curious, Cole picked it up and took a closer look. It reminded Cole of the Borg Watch, but it didn’t quite match. He tapped on the little screen, but nothing happened. What was this for?
“Like what you see?”
Cole yelped (it was a very manly yelp) before he quickly put the device down and turned around, only to be met with Blue. He was dressed comfortably in a loose, grey t-shirt and black shorts, his arms crossed over his chest as he gave Cole an amused smirk. Now that Blue wasn’t in his gi, Cole noticed a strange pattern of scars across his arms. It was a little more noticeable with his tanner skin, but they weren’t like anything Cole’s seen before. They… looked like lightning bolts, almost.
Shaking his head, Cole looked up at Blue with a totally innocent smile, and not like he was looking at his personal stuff. They stared at each other for several seconds, the silence in the room feeling impossibly louder as the seconds go by. What was he supposed to say in this situation? Hey sorry for touching your shit, it’s just that I, that come from an alternate universe, have never seen anything like this in our home and I thought it was neat?
Very smooth.
“If you were really that interested in seeing my workshop,” Blue smirk grew as he placed a hand on his hip. “You could’ve just asked.”
“I-” Cole looked away, rubbing his cheeks as they heated up. “I-I didn’t mean to, I just… I was looking around and I just…”
“I’m teasing, dude.” Blue stepped into the room and gave him a light punch on the shoulder. His smile then dropped for a moment as he looked away, rubbing his neck. “If you really want, I can show you some of the stuff I’m working on? No one really comes in here, so…”
Cole looked down at him, his curiosity bubbling. Blue was trying to be humble, but if he was anything like Jay, he really wanted to tell him about the workshop. Jay always felt the need to hold himself back whenever he got super excited and interested in something, and Cole always took the time to listen to Jay ramble, even if half the stuff he talked about went right over his head.
Did Blue not have someone on the team indulge in his interests? Cole thought it was strange he’d ask him of all people, some weird alternate version of his teammate that fell out of the sky. Jay always got upset and would even shut down if people seemed disinterested in his passions, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to indulge Blue. After all, maybe he didn’t have anyone to talk to about this stuff?
And he won’t lie: the workshop was cool.
“Sure,” Even Cole couldn’t contain his smile when Blue looked up at him in awe, as though he couldn’t believe he said yes. “What’s this little wristband thing you’re working on?”
“O-Oh!” Jay walked over to the table and picked up the band before turning to Cole and showing it to him. “I-It’s actually a prototype me and Borg are working on. It’s kind of like an emergency hotline bracelet? It’s mostly aimed at the elderly, but we’re working on making other features, too.”
“What kind of other features?” Cole asked, looking down at the band before glancing over at Blue.
“We’re still working out the details, but…” Blue hesitated for a moment before looking at Cole. “We were working on making it compatible with security devices so you can do stuff like turn on cameras and set off house alarms, so it can be multifunctional.”
“That’s… actually pretty cool.” And Cole meant it. He never really saw Jay, or any of the other members, with hobbies like this. If they weren’t playing video games or lazing around, they were doing work. Cole would draw sometimes, but it wasn’t nearly as elaborate as all this. And the fact that Blue was working with Borg? It was only more intriguing.
“Y-You think so?” Blue looked so hopeful, a hesitant smile forming on his face. “The others don’t really pay attention too much. They let me set up the workshop with no problem, but none of them ever really bothered to ask about this stuff…”
Why? This was genuinely impressive work. While Jay did similar work before, with how busy they’ve been, Jay never really seemed to indulge in his older hobbies. Jay was very capable, he was the one who originally built the rocket boosters on the Bounty, after all, but he slowly faded away from doing mechanical and technological stuff.
“It’s really impressive.” Cole nodded. “Do you only make stuff for Borg, or…?”
“Most of it is for Borg,” Blue sat down on one of the stools and moved to the table. “But sometimes I make my own personal projects.”
“Can I…” Cole sat on one of the other stools, scooting so he was next to Blue. “Can I see some of them?”
And that’s how Cole spent the last few hours in the workshop with Blue, listening to him ramble about his various inventions and projects. Some of the information he shared went straight over his head, but he didn’t dare interrupt. He felt a little awkward around the alternate team, but Blue looking so similar to Jay helped ease some of the tension. And by the end, he was really enjoying himself, even asking Blue questions a few times.
As it turns out, Jay works with Borg on the side sometimes when they aren’t busy with any major threat. Being the master of lightning and a big video game nerd, he’s pretty handy when it comes to programming electronics.
“Yeah, it started off as like, one or two little projects Borg needed help with,” Blue rambled as he tweaked around with the wristband. “But he told me that he likes my ideas and that I have a ‘rare creative soul,’ his works, not mine, so I pitch him ideas and help him with some of his products and I earn a percentage of money on all the products I work on.”
“Do you make a lot on them?” Cole asked, scooting closer to see what he was doing. He never really understood computer stuff, too complicated for him.
“I make a decent amount!” Blue beamed proudly. “Everyone does little odd and end jobs sometimes during quiet periods, but I think I’m the one that brings in the most money the most consistently.”
“If you’re anything like my Jay, that money would’ve gone to junk food and video games the second it entered his bank account.” Cole smiled at the thought.
“Well…” Blue rolled his eyes and smiled slightly. “I won’t lie: I indulge myself with junk food and video games when I can, but I’ve been trying to be more responsible with my money.”
That definitely shocked Cole. Jay has been and always will be irresponsible when it came to money. If that boy earned money, everyone knew he wouldn’t have it for long, and it would always go towards something like a new video game or snacks from the convenience store. Seeing a version of Jay being so productive and responsible was… strange, and made Cole feel something he couldn’t describe.
“Mostly cause, well, we need money to live, you know?” Blue turned the little screwdriver in his hand a few times. “Surprisingly, we don’t get any kind of special government money for being the saviors of Ninjago.”
“Don’t I know it,” If anything, they were still kind of controversial amongst some people. Most people supported them, but a lot of them thought they did more harm than good despite how they’ve saved Ninjago from things like snakes, ghosts, more snakes, and the literal embodiment of evil.
“So, I use most of my money to pay for crap like food or more equipment for work.” Blue gestured around to his workshop, which Cole could imagine he built over time from various paychecks. “If I have the extra money, I’ll always buy a video game, but not living off a diet of chips and expired soda is also pretty cool.” He said with a wink before turning back to the wristband.
Cole couldn’t explain it, but he felt his heartbeat quicken and his hands turn clammy. Why was he getting so flustered over something as dumb as a joke? Jay makes dumb remarks like that all the time, so of course it wouldn’t be any different for Blue. Because Blue technically is Jay on some level. And the only other person that made him get this flustered was…
Wait, was it because it was something Jay would do? No, Jay and Blue were two different people, and this information about working for Borg and having a literal workshop in the monastery only solidifies that fact. Just because Blue was technically Jay didn’t mean Blue was a carbon copy of Jay. Hell, Cole knew for a fact that Jay would never have the ambition to do something like make a whole workshop in the monastery.
Why should he even get flustered over Blue? He was his own person. Sure, he had the face of the literal love of his life, but…
Wait, why hadn’t Cole acknowledged that?
That only made Cole’s blush travel further. Did he seriously just spend the last few hours sitting in a dark, cramped room watching and listening to a boy who had the face and voice of the guy he’s been in love with for years? Cole had no problem with it before, but now that he’s thinking about it, he can’t get that fact out of his head.
He looked down at Blue, who was oblivious to Cole’s sudden panic. He shouldn’t be acting like this… Jay was the one he was in love it, not Blue. Sure, Blue looked like Jay, a lot like Jay, but that wasn’t the same! Getting nervous around Blue would be like getting nervous around Jay’s twin if he had one. Just because Blue looked almost identical to Jay didn’t mean anything.
It meant nothing.
“Cole?” Blue stopped his tinkering to turn his seat towards him. “You went kinda quiet there. You good?”
“Uh, yeah!” Cole leaned his arm on the table, holding his head in his hand and laughing nervously. “I was just thinking about…” Cole paused, trying to come up with anything. “A-About… how admirable it is of you to put your money towards the team!”
Nailed it.
“You think so?” Blue gave him a little half-smile.
“Of course,” Cole rubbed his sweaty hands on his thighs, trying to hide his previous nerves. “I-It’s technically your money, so you can do whatever you want with it, but it’s admirable to see you use it for selfless reasons like that.”
Blue stared at him, eyes wide, before he turned back to the table, fighting a smile. He rubbed his neck, looking like he was contemplating something. Cole didn’t push him, though. He didn’t have any right to intrude on Blue’s business when the two had barely known each other for a day. If Blue wanted to tell him, he would.
After a few silent moments, Blue flashed him a little smile. “Thanks for saying that…”
The two stared at each other for what felts like hours to Cole. That smile… it was so similar to Jay’s that it made his heart do somersaults. He wanted to look away, but he couldn’t get over the similarities. He knew that it should be obvious it would look like Jay’s, Blue was Jay after all, but it feels like that fact is really sinking in.
Sure, there were differences, like Blue’s undercut, the scar on his eyebrow, and the weird marks on his arms that he can’t get out of his head… but it was all still uniquely Jay. They were so similar, but there were so many differences, like the dimples that would appear whenever he’d smile, or the way his eyes were a brighter, more electric blue shade than Jay’s.
If he looked hard enough, Cole swore he could see even lighter flecks of blue in his eyes.
A knock on the door knocked them out of their trance, making Cole nearly fall out of his seat and brace his arm on the table. Blue was in a similar state, shoulders tense and eyes wide as the whipped his head to look at the door. After a few seconds, the door slid open and White was standing there with his usual pink apron on and a light fleck of sauce on his cheek.
“Oh, there you are.” He smiled casually, not aware of the tension in the room. “Apologies for interrupting, but dinner is ready, and it’s your turn to do the dishes, Blue.”
“Haha, thanks, White!” Blue flashed him a grin, but even Cole could tell it was forced. White didn’t seem to notice though, as he simply returned the smile before closing the door and walking away.
Blue stood up from his seat, turning to Cole. “Let’s go eat.”
Cole nodded, standing up and following Blue out of the workshop and towards the dining room. The air between them was so thick that Cole could feel it on his tongue, but he dare not say anything. What was Cole supposed to say after all that? Even he wasn’t entirely sure what had happened.
He was staring because he couldn’t get over the similarities and differences between Jay and Blue… was Blue doing the same thing? Cole and Black looked pretty different not only physically, but in personality too. He hasn’t spent a lot of time with him, but Black seemed a lot more serious and level-headed, focusing on the important things and getting annoyed by distractions. They weren't bad traits to have, but he seemed almost too serious sometimes. It was probably strange for Blue to see a more laid-back version of Black.
As they arrived outside of the dining room, Blue suddenly turned to face Cole, causing Cole to almost bump into him. As he did earlier, Blue had that contemplating look on his face, looking down at his feet and rubbing his toe into the floor. Figuring he needed a minute, Cole waited until Blue spoke up.
“Uh…” Blue swallowed, taking a deep breath before meeting Cole’s gaze. “Thanks for saying all that stuff, and… and for listening to me talk about my work and stuff.” He shrugged casually, trying to appear aloof. “No one really cares or asks me about that stuff, so… it’s nice to talk about it to someone actually interested, I guess.” He rubbed his cheek with his index finger with a nervous smile. “I don’t even think they know I do work for Borg, so thanks for indulging me.”
Cole was surprised by the revelation. They didn’t know about his work? But didn’t Blue say that he was their primary source of income? How could they just not know how Blue is bringing in money? Did they never even casually ask him about his work? How could he be bringing money in like that and not have anyone even ask him where he works? Sure, not everyone on the team had a knack for electronics, but did even White or Cyan not know?
For some reason, it made Cole weirdly angry.
“It’s no problem.” Cole shrugged, giving him a tiny smile. “If you want…” He knows he shouldn’t, but… “If you ever want me to listen again, come find me.”
Blue looked at him like he were a child in a candy store, and Cole can’t find a reason to regret saying that. “S-Sure! Thanks!”
With that aside, the two entered the dining room to a chaotic room filled with ninjas and nindroids.
-
While Blue was busy with the dishes, Cole went to the living room to keep himself busy. Thankfully, no one else was there, so Cole moved to flop on the couch and grabbed the remote, flipping through a few channels before he turned on some cheesy romance movie he liked.
While Cole would never admit it out loud, he really liked some of these cringe romance movies. In some way, he wished to live some of these experiences, to go through those corny romance dramas only to run to the person he loves and kiss them passionately in the rain. He’s daydreamed about it a few times, and it never fails to make him smile, though only for a moment.
Cole watched the movie for a while before he heard a light pair of footsteps approaching the couch. Glancing up, Cole saw Jay approach, looking between the couch and Cole, silently asking for permission. With a nod from Cole, Jay moved to sit down, but Cole nearly choked on the air when Jay nearly pressed up against his side and laid his head on his shoulder.
Biting his lip, Cole forced himself to relax and keep his eyes on the tv. It wasn’t common for Jay to do stuff like this, especially with Cole. Jay had always been very physically affectionate, even in the beginning. It wasn’t strange of Jay to casually lay his head on someone’s shoulder, give them tight hugs, or even lay his head on their lap when he was tired. It’s just how Jay was, so Cole tried to not think too hard about it.
They spent a good half an hour watching the movie in silence, with nothing but their breathing and the tv filling the room. It was so cozy that Cole couldn’t help but indulge himself and lay his head on top of Jay’s. If Jay noticed, he didn’t say anything, and Cole was thankful.
He never let himself indulge in Jay’s touches too much. He knew that Jay was just an affectionate friend, but sometimes his heart mistakes these friendly touches for romantic affection, and he has to remind himself that this was just Jay being Jay. However, if Jay initiated the touch, sometimes Cole would allow himself to give in, but he’d never touch first. He only allowed Jay to dictate how far the touches would go. He didn’t want to do anything that could reveal too much.
Even then, he loved sharing quiet moments with Jay like this. His face was pleasantly warm and his heartbeat didn’t sound too loud. He just allowed himself to enjoy the warmth and closeness the boy would give him, and savor every drop like a dying man at an oasis.
“Everyone seems super comfortable with living here,” Jay mumbled into his shoulder.
“Yeah,” Cole whispered in his hair.
“How do you feel?” Jay looked up at him but didn’t move his head from his spot. “About all of this?”
Cole didn’t respond at first, simply choosing to hide his face further in Jay’s wavy locks. “I think it’s weird how quickly everyone’s gone along with this, but this is our new life for a while…”
“Trying to follow Lloyd’s advice.” Jay looked down at his hand, rubbing his thumb on his index finger. “About not dwelling on something we can’t control. I’d rather just embrace this new change since there isn’t anything we can do to change or fix it.”
“Doesn’t it bother you how long we have to spend here?” Cole asked.
Jay didn’t say anything at first, simply trailing his fingers across his own arm, but eventually, he shrugged, keeping his eyes locked on his legs. “A little, but I think it’ll get better with time.”
“And besides…” He moved his head to properly look up at Cole, his cheek squished on his shoulder as he smiled at him. “Having everyone else here helps. I… I think we’ll be ok because we’re here together.”
Cole felt like his head was going to beat out his chest. God, his smile… it took everything in him not to react badly. He loved this boy with his whole heart and it ached with the urge to drown him in his affections. But Cole knew better. Jay didn’t want his affection, not like that at least. He’d probably never look at him the same if he knew, let alone do stuff like this with him.
Instead, Cole gave a light chuckle, turning back to the tv. “Yeah.”
He could hear the others slowly piling in the room, but he paid no mind until Nya came in and Jay instantly went to go greet her. Cole longed for Jay’s warmth on his shoulder again, but he had to remind himself not to get too selfish. He should be grateful for any affection Jay gives him, and shouldn’t get greedy, especially when he already has a lover.
So he didn’t let the disappointment show on his face when everyone else joined him in watching the movie, and Jay went to cuddle up with Nya. Everyone found a way to relax and get comfortable, and even a few members from the alternate team joined them in the movie, a few even crying when an emotional scene played on the screen.
Just like Cole does every day, he shoved his feelings deep in his chest, never letting them show. He simply allowed himself to concentrate on the movie, even when he couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone was watching him.
Notes:
Hope you guys enjoyed this one! Last chapter was mostly filler but this one has a little more stuff in it
Chapter 7: Holding Him Back
Notes:
Sorry that this chapter was so short.
The next chapter is fairly lengthy and the chapter would've been too long for my tastes if I combined this one and the next one, so this one had to be cut short lol
Chapter Text
It didn’t take long for everyone to fall into a routine. This universe’s Ninjago has been at peace for a while, so rarely do they ever really need to take on anyone as a group. Cyan, Green, and Kai have had to leave the monastery once to deal with some baddies in the city, but it’s all been minor things. So, other than the daily chore each of them gets assigned to complete, things have been rather calm this last week.
Cole won’t lie: he can tell everyone is still pretty awkward around each other, but everyone’s been slowly coming out of their shells and just accepting the situation. Since they have to leave the majority of the work to Borg and Dr. Brooks, all they have to do is just wait. At least doing chores and going on missions makes everything easier.
When Cole isn’t doing his house chore, he’s usually in the workout room or the courtyard exercising. While he didn’t mind lazing around, the little voice in the back of his head always made him guilty, reminding him that Wu and Pixal are back in their universe having to deal with Kane all on their own. Cole knew there wasn’t anything they could do, but that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty. As a result, he spends most hours of the day exercising or training until he feels like he can’t move.
Everyone else, though, seemed more content to relax. Cole didn’t judge them for it, though. He just had a harder time settling his nerves. If he wasn’t being productive in some way, Cole would get riled up with nerves, feeling guilty for letting himself relax. How could he when who knows what’s going on Ninjago?
Currently, it was around mid-afternoon and Cole was out in the courtyard, hair up in a bun as he tried out a few new training courses. White and Silver had programmed a few new courses into the training deck after seeing how much Cole was using it. They weren’t too difficult, but they were different enough that they made the motions of training feel less repetitive.
As he kicked down one of the training bots, Cole heard the sliding door open. “Hah, so this is where you’ve been hiding.”
Cole looked up to see Blue standing there, a tight tank top and shorts on. He was leaning against the door frame, a cold water bottle in his hand. Seeing Cole’s sweaty state, he tossed the water bottle across the courtyard toward him. Cole scrambled to catch it, flashing the boy a grateful smile before chugging half of it down.
Things with Blue have been a little awkward since they hung out in the workshop. They were still friendly with each other, but Cole didn’t know how to act around him. It felt too bold to call them friends, but to say they were strangers was also misleading. Compared to everyone else on the team, Cole and Blue were more acquainted with each other.
They would greet each other in the mornings and they’d sometimes talk to each other in the mornings, but Cole’s been so busy with training that he hasn’t talked much with Blue. He wasn’t actively avoiding him, but he also wasn’t going out of his way to seek him out.
And besides, it felt… strange, to get to know the alternate team more. They were going to be spending the next several months with them, but he had a feeling getting too close to them would be a bad thing. After all, once they left for their universe, they’d probably never see them again. He’d hate to get too attached to anyone from the alternate team knowing they’d eventually part ways forever.
Then again, it would cause problems if they didn’t get along with each other, so it’s a weird balancing act.
“Mind if I join you?” Blue asked, stepping down onto the courtyard. “With all the excitement going on this last week, I haven’t done any kind of proper training.”
“Uh, sure…” Cole gave him a small smile, rubbing the sweat off his neck. “Besides, might be helpful to train against a person.”
Blue grinned, moving to turn off the current training course. “How about some classic hand-to-hand combat?”
“Alright.” Cole shrugged. “No powers, though. We got to build up our natural abilities, too.”
Blue giggled. “Yeah. What was it that Master Wu was always saying? About how we can’t rely too much on our elemental powers? So don’t go using your super strength on me.”
Cole smirked, getting into stance. “I don’t need super strength to beat you, sparky.”
“Bring it on, boulder-brain.”
SSparringwith Blue was exciting. The two of them had very different fighting styles, so they had to strategize a bit more with their training. While Cole mostly relied on his bulky build and his strength, Blue was all about agility. Blue may not have the same strong muscles as the other members, but what he lacked in strength he made up for in speed. He could dodge like no tomorrow.
As the master of lightning, it made sense that whatever punch or kick Cole threw at him, he was able to easily dodge it. Cole meanwhile, like the Earth, was all about brute force. They were both good traits, but they had their weaknesses. While Blue could dodge easily, he lacked raw strength and didn’t have a strong punch. And while Cole was very strong, he also didn’t have the agility to dodge properly.
That made training together really efficient for them both. They both had to work around their opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. While Cole had a strong punch, he struggled to get a hit. Blue could dodge and hit fast, but he didn’t have as much strength.
“You gotta learn to be light on your feet,” Blue commented, jumping from side to side a few times as he dodged his hits. “You’ve got bulk, but what good is bulk if you can’t dodge a hit?”
“I could say the same about you,” Cole smirked, predicting Blue’s movements and hitting him in the shoulder. “You’ve got speedy feet, but if you can’t dodge a hit, you don’t have the durability to take a lot of blows.”
Blue was able to jab Cole a few more times before jumping away. “Maybe we could do some more special one-on-one training, help us work on those weaknesses more.”
“Special training?” The boys jumped when they realized they weren’t alone. Standing on the deck were Black and Cyan, dressed in casual workout clothes, Cyan in a cropped tank top, and Black… shirtless. The couple seemed surprised by their presence, looking between them with various perplexed looks.
“What kind of special training are you talking about?” Cyan asked as she stepped down into the courtyard, Black following behind.
Blue stood up straight, stretching his arms up over his head with a groan. “Oh, we were just talking about maybe working on our weaker skills.” He pat Cole on the shoulder a few times. “Like having Cole work on his speed, and for me to build up some muscle.”
Black rolled his eyes with a smile. “No offense, sparkplug, but you’ve been a ninja for years and you’ve barely gained a pound in muscles.”
“That’s cause he’s always been about agility,” Cole crossed his arms, glancing over at Blue. “If he wants to build muscles, he just has to do the proper exercises to build them up.”
Cyan smiled, placing her hands on her hips. “He’s got a point. You two have very different fighting styles.”
“I was just an idea.” Blue rubbed his neck with a nervous smile. “We’re just doing basic hand-to-hand combat at the moment. You can join us if you like!”
“Sure!” Cyan flashed him a smile. “How about it, Blue? We haven’t sparred in a while.” She then turned to Cole with a smirk. “Besides, I’m curious how two earth elementals would fare in a head-to-head confrontation.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. Between Cole’s muscles and his super strength, he had a harder time properly sparing with the other team members. The only one that stood a decent chance was Zane but only because he’s a nindroid made of titanium . He can’t remember the last time he faced a team member on his level regarding raw physical strength.
“I’m fine with it if Black is…” He shrugged, turning towards Black.
Black looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to train against someone who is, essentially, equal to me.”
They broke out into groups and got to work. Blue and Cyan had similar but different fighting styles. While Blue was just about being fast, Cyan, like water, was all about fluidity and flexibility. She wasn’t just moving to dodge or hit but was moving in tangent with her opponent, following their movements to avoid getting it. It was quite a sight.
Cole and Black, meanwhile, were evenly matched. Neither one was better at something than the other. If one made a hit, the other was able to hit just as hard. If one took a punch, the other could take it just as well. They were the same both in terms of strength and speed, which made it all the more exciting.
The two spent several minutes going back and forth, but it was clear they were at even strength across the board, at least in terms of hand-to-hand. Personally, Cole did not have the energy to try and take him on in an all-out battle with Spinjitzu and elemental powers.
A little while into their training, Black spoke up. “I didn’t realize you and Blue were friendly with each other.”
Cole blocked a punch to his face, keeping his arm there. “I mean, I guess. We’ve talked a few times.”
“It’s not good to get too attached to anyone.” Black dodged a punch to his shoulder.
“I know that,” Cole flipped to the side to dodge a kick. “But if we’re going to all be living together until further notice, might as well at least be on friendly terms with each other.”
“Yeah,” Black managed to get a hit on Cole’s arm before he jumped away. “But I never expected you and Blue to get along.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cole raised a skeptical brow at him as he landed a kick on his thigh.
Black shrugged, dropping his stance momentarily. “He just seemed freaked out when you guys first got here. I thought it would take him a while to get used to you and your other teammates.”
Cole couldn’t explain it, but something felt off about the way he said it. It sounded more like an excuse than what he was thinking. Was it really that strange for him and Blue to get along? He and Jay were best friends, and he could imagine that Black and Blue were best friends too. So wouldn’t it make sense that, out of all the potential dynamics, he and Blue getting along made the most sense?
Why did it matter to him if he spent time with Blue? It’s not like the ninja needed other people’s permission to do things. If Blue wanted to do things with him, that was his choice to make. Cole didn’t see anything strange about it. He’s already seen some strange pairings hanging out, like Jay and Red, or Green and Zane. Was it that strange to see the two of them hanging out?
Besides, they only spent a little time together. They spent a few hours hanging out in Blue’s workshop. That’s it. Black didn’t have to look that deep into it when they’ve only hung out once.
“Hey, Black, switch with me?” They looked over to see Cyan waving to Black, and Blue chugging a fresh water bottle, brushing the sweaty hairs off his forehead.
“Sure, sweetie.” Cole nearly choked when Black spoke.
He keeps forgetting that Black and Cyan were together in this universe. It was just strange to think about. While Cole thought for a while he had a thing for Nya, it took him a while to figure out his ‘feelings’ for Nya were just an elaborate way for him to deflect his growing feelings for Jay. He didn’t have any interest in Nya before until Pixal had revealed he was considered her perfect match. Subconsciously, Cole just used the opportunity to distract himself.
So it was weird seeing an alternate version of him and Nya together, seeing how things would’ve played out if Nya chose him.
While Black went to go train with Blue, he and Cyan came face to face. The two got to work right away in silence.
Cole didn’t know how to feel about Cyan, as he’s never really spent a lot of time with her. She seemed no different than Nya except for the fact that she was dating Black. Otherwise, they seemed almost the same. But then again, Blue ended up being pretty different from Jay, so she might be different too.
After a few minutes, she leaned closer to Cole and looked around, as if she were afraid of getting caught. “Am I really with Jay in your universe?”
Cole was caught off guard by her sudden closeness. “Y-Yeah. I mean they had their ups and downs but things ended up working out, and Nya is even his Yang.”
“It’s just so surprising.” Cyan used their proximity to get a few hits in. “I mean, I was kind of into Blue when we first met, but I don’t know, things never really developed between us. It was like something was holding him back.”
“Holding him back?” Cole asked. What did that even mean? Didn’t Blue say he wasn’t super into her back then?
“Yeah!” Cyan jumped back to dodge some hits from Cole. “It’s like he wanted to but something was stopping him. I think he had mixed feelings at the time so he just dropped it.”
“You’re still good friends now, though?”
“Oh, for sure!” Cyan moved to punch Cole, but he quickly moved out of the way. “We’re fine now, but he was just indecisive in the beginning like he was trying too hard to have feelings for me. So it’s just weird to see your Jay and Nya together.”
Trying too hard to have feelings for her? That intrigued Cole. What could it mean? Did Blue have feelings for Cyan at one point and didn’t want to admit he lost feelings? He must’ve tried to force himself to have feelings for Cyan, but for what reason?
The more Cole learned about Blue, the more intrigued he was. He was just so different from Jay. Cole still loved Jay and him alone, but he also wanted to learn a little more about Blue. He thinks he’d make good friends with the alternate lightning elemental. Did he still make his inventions as Jay did? Jay kind of stopped inventing a few years back, so Cole wondered just how different the two were.
“What makes you think Blue tried to force the feelings?” Cole asked.
“Why do you want to know?” Cyan questioned, but she was teasing him more than she was interrogating him. “I didn’t realize you were so interested in Blue.”
“I-Interested?” Cole sputtered. He was praying for his sanity she did not mean what he thought she did. “I-I just kinda wanted to know more about him. We hung out a little bit and he seemed cool… a bit different from Jay on my team.”
“If you’re that curious,” Cyan gestured towards Blue and Black with a smile. “Get to know him yourself. He seems to like you enough that he trained with you.”
“But what about what Black said? About not getting attached?”
“You want my opinion?” Cole nodded at her. She dropped her stance and gave him a small smile. “You guys are going to be living here for a while, several months at the very least. Whether we like it or not, we’re all going to get attached at some point. You don’t just live with a group of people for months and not get sentimental. I’d rather just rip off that bandaid nice and quick, you know?” She gave Cole a light pat on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t let that mentality stop you. If you want to hang with Blue, just do it.”
Cole looked down at her hand on his shoulder with a small frown. If he was being honest, she had a point. Getting attached and used to each other was going to happen at some point down the line even if they tried to prevent it. If he held himself back for a while and gave in later, it might hurt more when they had to leave because he wasted his time. Trying to deny the inevitable felt pointless.
With that in mind, why should he not spend more time with Blue?
“Ugh, slow down, sparky.” Cole heard Black huff from the other side of the courtyard.
“In your dreams, boulder-brain.” Blue snickered as he jumped to avoid a kick from Black. “The whole point is to work on our combat. Why would I just let my enemy hit me?”
“Too bad your mouth is as fast as your legs, chatterbox. Prepare to eat your words.” Black glared, but he didn’t sound too serious. He tried to grab Blue’s arm, but the boy did a flip over Black’s head and kicked him in the back, sending him to the floor. With a bright grin, Blue did a silly victory dance, making Cole and Cyan snort at his antics.
“Ugh!” Cole raised his head from the ground, standing up to dust himself off. “Cyan! Swap with Blue!”
The woman rolled her eyes before she turned back to Cole with a little smile. “Just think about it, alright?”
“Thank you,” He rubbed his neck. “For the advice.”
She gave him a little wave before she walked over toward Black. When Blue returned to him, Cole noticed he looked a little off. He couldn’t explain it, but he didn’t have that usual spark that he and Jay were associated with. Was he getting tired? While he had a lot of agility, his stamina wasn’t the best.
“You alright?” Cole whispered.
“Yeah! I’m good!” Blue gave him a little smile, his earlier expression gone. Cole wanted to push, but he might’ve just been looking too into it. While a light grunt, he readied his stance and prepared for an attack.
-
After a few hours, the four of them finished up training and took turns showering. Once Cole was all washed up, he changed into a comfortable tank top and sweats lent to him by the alternate team. While in the shower, Cole thought more about what Cyan had said.
None of them knew exactly how long it would take for them to return home, but it was going to be many months at best if not years. Trying to be distant from the people who’ve gratefully let them crash here would just be counterproductive. Maybe they all didn’t have to be best buddies, they could at least be friendly with each other.
And with Blue… what good reason did he have not to spend time with him? He was sweet, humble, and ambitious… he was a good guy, and different from Jay in a few ways. It’s not like the sun was going to explode if they spent together and learned more about each other. Black may try to avoid the inevitable, but Cole simply didn’t have the energy or the will, so why bother?
With that in mind, Cole walked into the living room, hoping to crash on the couch for a while, only to see a few others already taking up the couch. Sitting on the couch was a pair of wavy auburn-haired ninjas, furiously playing away at a video game while Kai, Red, Lloyd, Nya, and Cyan watched from the sides of the armrests, invested in the video game.
With a light sigh, Cole strolled past them and flopped into a nearby bean bag, letting his body sag. Glancing at the tv, Cole noticed it was a newer Starfarer fighting game that came out not too long ago. Looking over at the couch, he saw Jay and Blue looking focused, trying their best to try and beat each other and win.
Looking over toward Jay, Cole couldn’t stop the sappy smile from slipping on his face. That boy always took video games too seriously, so it didn’t shock him in the slightest if he challenged Blue. While Cole still liked a good video game sometimes, he was nowhere near as passionate as Jay.
In a way, Cole admired his passions. While to some those passions seemed childish, Cole couldn’t help but be amazed. If asked, the boy wouldn’t hesitate to go into a long monologue about the history of video games or how they’re programmed, or the complicated ways video game consoles are built. While he didn’t make any himself, he was very passionate about how they worked, and it was infectious.
“Oh, hey Cole.” Cole shook his head and turned towards the screen when Jay noticed his arrival. Jay only glanced at him for a moment before concentrating on his game again.
“Hey,” He said nonchalantly. Through the screen, he could see Jay and Blue’s reflections. For a second, Cole could’ve sworn Blue had looked at him too.
“Dude, these two have been going back and forth forever.” Kai sounded amazing, staring at the tv. “They’re practically unstoppable.”
“It’s cause they’re technically the same person, dude” Cole rolled his eyes. It was the same concept as earlier with him and Black, just with a video game. “It’s like fighting with a mirror. They’re going to have about equal skills.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Jay grinned, frantically hitting the buttons.
“Hmm, we’ll see,” Blue smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
After hitting a combination of buttons that Cole could barely register, Blue’s character did some weird attack that sent Jay’s character off the edge of the screen, effectively winning the match. Various cheers roared across the room, as well as a few groans as Blue crossed his arms and grinned brightly at his win. Even Cole couldn’t help but chuckle as Jay made a noise that sounded like a dying goose.
“How did you do that?!” Jay squeaked, staring at Blue in awe. “I’ve never seen an attack combo like that before!”
“I am a man of many mysteries.” Blue snickered, looking like a cheeky monkey. “Or maybe I’m just better.”
“How can you say that?” Jay gasped dramatically, violently shaking the controller. “You’re literally me!”
“Well, maybe I’m just the better you,” He winked at Jay as the other squeaked.
Yeah… maybe getting to know Blue and the others wasn’t a bad idea.
Chapter 8: Black Card
Chapter Text
It was so early in the morning when Cole walked into the kitchen that he wasn’t even sure Zane or White were up yet. Cole had always been an early riser, usually getting up just a little after Zane or Wu. He liked taking advantage of the daylight, so he just naturally woke up early, but even this was early for his standards
Cole would’ve normally caught another hour or so of sleep, but his stomach had other plans. With how much he’s been exercising and training these last two weeks, he’s been hungrier than ever. Besides, he was never one to deny himself food, so he saw no reason to not get up.
Glancing at the microwave clock in the kitchen, Cole saw it was almost five thirty in the morning. It would only be about another hour before he expected Zane to wake up. Like him, the nindroid was always an early riser, but Cole thinks that has more to do with the fact he was a nindroid and just didn’t process sleepiness as they all did.
Rummaging around the kitchen, Cole decided to cook himself a few eggs. While Cole wouldn’t ever admit it out loud, he knew he was bad at cooking, but he could at least cook a decent egg without it tasting bad or blowing up.
The kitchen filled with the sounds of popping from the pan. While Cole was at it, he set up a few pots of coffee to brew since he knew the others were going to rabid over the stuff, and he could imagine how happy they would be waking up with coffee already brewed. And just because Cole even filled and started up the kettle to brew a pot of Zane’s preferred tea he had in the morning.
With all the ruckus in the kitchen, it was no surprise that someone would wake up. Cole could hear the soft footsteps from down the hall, slowly approaching the kitchen. It was probably Zane or White, so he was glad he started boiling some water.
“Cole?”
Turning around, Cole was surprised to see Blue. He was wearing a loose tank top with dark shorts and black crew socks, his glasses sitting on his face. He looked absolutely wrecked, with his curls sticking out everywhere and the skin on his face looking clammy. Cole wasn’t too surprised by his state, though. Jay was never a morning person and usually preferred staying up late.
Which is why it was odd he was up so early.
“Morning, Blue…” He mumbled, turning back to the pan. “You hungry? I could make you some eggs if you want.”
“Thank you…” Blue slowly made its way towards the kitchen, rubbing his eye with his palm.
Cole quickly grabbed a few more eggs and sat them on the counter. As he went back to cooking, Blue slowly approached the fridge, looking over the chore chart. After a few moments, a loud groan escaped from Blue. Cole could only imagine he got one of the more annoying chores, like doing the dishes.
“Uuuugh.” The lightning elemental groaned as he walked over to the breakfast bar. He popped on one of the stools before promptly dropping his head on the counter. “It’s my turn to do the grocery shopping this week.”
That caught Cole’s attention. As he flipped the egg, he turned slightly towards Blue. “Grocery shopping?”
“Yup.” He slowly lifted his head up, his glasses falling off his face a little. “I normally don’t care, but since we suddenly got an extra six people to take into account, this trip is going to be a bitch .”
Cole frowned as he thought about it further. Grocery shopping by himself for the seven of them was rough enough, but he could only imagine how gruesome it would be to shop for a household of fourteen. Would there even be enough room in a single cart to hold all the food? Even if it could, would any of their vehicles have enough space to carry it all?
He felt bad for Blue. Was the entire team really expecting one member to do all the shopping? If Blue did it solo, he’d probably have to make multiple trips just from lack of space in any of their smaller vehicles. Even if the cars did have the space, it was probably still a lot to handle for one person.
Cole pondered for a moment. What if… he asked Blue to go with him? He knew that Green didn’t want them to leave the monastery, but he couldn’t just send Blue off by himself to do all the work. With the six of them now living here until further notice, grocery shopping was no longer a one-person job.
“How about… I go with you?” It sounded more like a question to Cole, but whatever.
“What?” Blue sat up, fixing his glasses on his face. “Go with me?”
“Yeah…” Cole turned back to the pan, refusing to meet his eye. “Shopping for fourteen people isn’t a one-person job. It’ll be a pain going by yourself.”
“I know that,” Blue sighed at the thought. “But I just didn’t expect you to willingly volunteer. Black would rather go a year without cake than do that. He hates grocery shopping.”
Cole curled his lips in disgust. Look, a year without cake was a horrible punishment, but was that really as bad as buying groceries? Cole wouldn’t go as far as to say he loved grocery shopping, but there was something about the simplicity and domestic nature of it that made it enjoyable. It was a weekly task that just about everyone in Ninjago had to do, so there was something about going out to the city to do something so normal that everyone else did that Cole liked.
Even if he didn’t like grocery shopping, it just felt cruel to not help. Shopping for that many people was not something that should be done all on their own. Why wouldn’t he volunteer?
“You need all the help you can get.” Cole pointed the spatula at Blue with a light smile.
“But I thought Green didn’t want you guys leaving the monastery?” Blue looked conflicted, but he didn’t seem against it, just worried. “It’ll be hard to explain to people why you suddenly cut your hair, and then said hair magically grew back overnight.”
“I could just wear a hat or hood of some kind.” Cole shrugged as he shoveled a few cooked eggs onto a plate. “As long as we don’t draw too much attention to ourselves, it shouldn’t be a big deal.” He cracked a few more eggs into the pan, watching them sizzle. “And if you’re really worried about Green, I’ll take the blame for you.”
Blue frowned, a thoughtful look on his face before he dropped his shoulders and sighed. “Alright. If you insist. But we are doing this, might as well leave after breakfast so the others don’t catch us.”
Cole cooked up a few more eggs before sliding them on another plate for Blue. The two ate together in comfortable silence while they sipped on their coffee. Blue would glance over at Cole sometimes, but the two didn’t speak until they finished up their food. After Blue finished up, he left the kitchen to change and get a set of clothes for Cole.
After cleaning up the dishes, Blue returned with fresh clothes: a blue flannel with black jeans, and strangely enough, he was still wearing his glasses. In his arms were a clean set of clothes that looked fresh out of the laundry. Cole gratefully took them and slipped into the bathroom to change. Unfolding the clothes, Cole found a pair of black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a dark grey hoodie.
After changing his clothes and combing his hair, Cole carefully stepped out of the bathroom to see Blue already waiting for him.
“I figured we could take the Bounty.” Blue pushed himself off the wall, giving him a light smile.
Cole frowned as they walked down the hall towards the Hangar Bay. “Isn’t the Bounty a little excessive for something like this? Don’t you have any vehicles we could use?”
“I have a jet, but it’s not going to have any space for the groceries.” Blue rubbed his hair with a frown.
“Does Black have anything?” Cole asked. If it was Black’s vehicle, he could technically drive it.
“He… he has the Dragon Cruiser, but Black would kill me if I touched it.” Jay rubbed his thumb over his index finger, biting his lip.
“Well, he won’t be the one touching it, will he?” Cole smirked. As he slid the door open to the living room, he paused when he saw the other five ninja sleeping. The two paused, looking down at their sleeping forms. That’s right… if they wanted to get down to Hangar Bay, they’d have to take the elevator in the living room.
Putting their ninja skills to use, the two trod lightly and stuck to the walls, slipping past the futons and across the couch. With a flick of a switch, the T.V. slide away and revealed the elevator. They looked over the couch at the others, but no one moved an inch. Sighing in relief, the two stepped inside the elevator and made their way down.
Various vehicles lined the Hangar Bay, including the Dragon Cruiser. Inspecting the vehicle, I the trunk of the car looked big enough to fit everything. Still, Blue looked hesitant to take it. Then again, what else were they going to use? Cole felt the alternate team would be angrier if they took something like the Bounty or the Land Bounty.
Taking the keys from the main computer, Jay approached Cole and handed him the keys. “Look, just be careful with it, alright? Black’s already going to be mad I let you leave the monastery, but he’s going to be even more pissed if he finds out I lent you his clothes and let you drive his vehicle.”
“I’ll take any responsibility if Black or Green gives you shit,” Cole assured him with a pat on the shoulder. “After all, I was the one who suggested I go with you.”
Blue seemed surprised, but he didn’t argue. With a light smile, Cole unlocked the car and the two hopped inside. With a reserve of the engine, Cole stepped on the gas and raced out of the mountain.
-
It was a little hard to find a good spot to place the Dragon Cruiser, but after parking it near the back of the parking lot, the two ninjas arrived at the grocery store in Ninjago City. When they hopped out of the car, Cole threw his hood up, tugging his hair into a low ponytail and tucking it into the hood. With the hood up, it was pretty hard to tell the difference.
Blue also looked different with the glasses and casual clothes on. Unless someone actively looked, they’d have a hard time telling it was him. Like this, Blue just looked like a normal college student out buying groceries and not one of the saviors of Ninjago who saved the city countless times.
“We’re going to basically have to buy double what you normally buy,” Cole said as he grabbed a creaky metal cart.
Blue sighed, pulling out his phone with a list of groceries. “This is gonna be expensive…”
“Do you have the money for it?” Cole frowned as the two walked through the sliding doors of NinjagoMart.
“I do,” Blue sighed, running a hand through his hair. “But it will eat up most if not all of my money.” He grumbled. “I might have to dip into my savings…”
“Savings?” Cole snorted, following behind Jay as they walked down the isles. “The Jay I know wouldn’t have any kind of impulse control. Any savings he’d have would be gone within seconds.”
Blue flinched, looking startled but quickly recovering with a light and awkward laugh. “Haha, y-yeah! L-Like I said, I’ve been trying to be more responsible with my money… A-And it wouldn’t hurt for us to have saved up money for emergencies, right?”
“Right…” Cole wondered why he sounded so nervous. Havings savings is pretty normal for any average citizen, so why would it be weird for them to have savings? Zane kept an emergency fund for them for emergency situations, so why would it be weird for Blue to have one? After all, since he does have a consistent income, it would make sense if he put some of the money aside for emergencies.
Shrugging it off, Cole pulled forward to walk beside Blue. “So, what’s on the list?”
“The essentials,” Blue scrolled through the list, humming to himself. “Milk, eggs, bread, stuff like that. There are also some items the others requested that we got to pick up too.”
Blue handed him the list to look at. Just from looking at it, Cole could tell who requested what. There were some snacks and raw ingredients thrown into the list, as well as tea. The list was pretty long by itself, and they were going to have to buy multiples of some of these.
“Well,” Cole handed the phone back to him. “Might as well get started.”
-
The two stood in the aisle, looking down at Blue’s phone as it buzzed again. Black has tried to call him several times over the last five minutes, and the constant interruptions were making it hard for them to go through the list. Cole was just annoyed, while Jay looked white as a sheet.
It wasn’t too surprising. The two had been gone for about an hour and a half, still gathering groceries, so everyone else had to be awake by now. They probably noticed that the two of them were gone, and maybe went to investigate the Hangar Bay. Black must’ve noticed the Dragon Cruiser was missing if his insistent phone calls were anything to go by.
“They might just be worried,” Cole tried to assure him. “Maybe they’re calling to see if you’re ok?”
“It’s a wild card with Black.” Blue sighed, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “I don’t want to answer the phone just to have him yell at me.”
“At least answer it,” Cole sighed. “If he yells at you, just hang up or give me the phone.”
Blue looked unsure, but he dropped his shoulders in defeat. Clicking the green button, Blue answered the phone before setting it up on speakerphone so that Cole could listen too.
“...Hello?” Blue spoke softly.
“Blue!” Black sounded slightly relieved. “Ugh, finally! Where are you? We’ve been looking for you all morning.”
“Finally! I thought you got kidnapped or something!” Red was shouting over the speaker. “Where the hell are you? And is Cole with you? We can’t find him either.”
“U-Uh, yeah, he’s here.” Blue gulped, glancing over at Cole. “We’re at the store. ‘Was my turn to do the shopping.”
“I thought I told you guys not to let the others leave the monastery.” Green sounded exasperated, but not angry. “What if someone sees him?”
“He’s got a hood on, he’s fine.” Blue rolled his eyes. “You can hardly tell the difference. No one’s said a thing.”
“ Why is he even with you?” Black’s relief shifted to annoyance over the phone. “You should’ve had one of us come with you if you really needed help that badly. Are you an idiot, Blue? We can’t risk the public finding out about them. That was stupid of you to bring him with you.”
Blue flinched and Cole grits his teeth at the sight. Why was he being so rude about it? He could understand why he’d be upset, but did he have to be so harsh to Blue? It’s not like they didn’t take any precautions to hide Cole’s identity.
“Look, I was there and I offered to go with him.” Cole sighed, crossing his arms. “Don’t give him a hard time.”
“You should’ve stayed behind, for your own safety.” He could feel the glare through the screen.
Cole scoffed. “My own safety? Do I look like some damn damsel in distress? I am literally you .”
“Green gave you orders,” Black grunted. “I didn’t ask for your opinion,”
Cole glared at the screen. What was his deal ?
“Like Black had said earlier,” White spoke up, walking closer to the phone to break the conflict. “It is not your physical safety that is of concern. Things will get complicated in a hurry if the general public became aware of you and your team’s presence and has the potential to put everyone’s safety at risk. Keeping you at the monastery is simply a precaution to attempt to keep things under wraps.”
“Look, we’re almost done here, so we’ll be back before you know it.” Blue tried to sound cool, but his face looked strained as he talked. “Let’s save the scolding for after we get back, alright?”
There were a few mumbles over the phone before Green let out a long sigh. “Fine, but be careful, alright? We’ll see you in a little bit.”
And with that, Black hung up the phone.
Cole scoffed, glaring at the black screen. What was Black’s problem? He understood why he didn’t the public to know about them, but why did he have to be so rude? If he were really that worried about it, he could’ve just talked to them like Green and White did. Was he always like this?
“I knew this would happen,” Blue groaned, pulling up the shopping list again.
“What’s his damage?” Cole sneered, crossing his arms.
“He’s just worried, in his own way…” Blue sighed, dropping his arm. “Black’s always been a pretty serious guy, always focused on the mission… When Green gives orders, he listens and takes them to heart.”
“That didn’t give him the right to treat you like that.” Cole insisted. “He shouldn’t have been so harsh.”
“He had a point, though.” Blue shook his head as he grabbed the cart handle. “I was risky letting you leave the monastery.”
Cole glared, voice thick. Was he serious? “Why do you keep defending him?”
Cole just didn’t get it. Why would Blue let Black treat him like that? Black was his teammate, not his boss. Even if he was, that didn’t give Black the right to be so harsh about something so trivial. This problem was something they could’ve talked out, calmly . But he had to go and call him stupid? And why did he let him?
Blue turned to him with wide eyes, caught off guard by the question. “I’m not defending him. He was right. Letting you leave was risky.”
“If it was so risky, why did you let me come with you?” Cole pointed out, making Blue flinch. “You could’ve said no, or waited for someone else to wake up to go with you.”
“I don’t appreciate being interrogated.” Blue huffed, giving him a sharp glare through his glasses.
“I just don’t see why you could let someone treat you like that.” Cole huffed, turning away with his arms crossed. “You aren’t some punching bag. If they have a problem, they should just talk to you, not throw insults at you like you’re some kind of moron.”
“Why do you even care?” Blue huffed, his hands twitching on the handles. “We’re… not that close.”
“We’re close enough that you let me see your workshop and come with you to the store,” Cole said as he grabbed the edge of the cart and stepped closer. “If my team was treating one of our members like that, I’d be tearing a new one into them.”
“Well, I’m not part of your team.” Blue stepped away from Cole, nearly bumping into a shelf. “You have no right to judge how we do things.”
“But is treating you like a verbal punching bag really any better?”
“ Cut it out , people are looking.” Blue glanced around nervously. There were only a few people in the aisle, but he didn’t want to draw attention. “You’re looking way too much into this.”
Cole took a few deep breaths, pulling away from the cart to glare at the floor. “Am I, though? Because if you’re like my Jay, he wouldn’t speak up if he were in your shoes. He’d either be too nice to tell them to stop…” Cole tilted his head down to look at Blue, dark eyes boring into him. “Or he’d feel like he deserved it.”
That struck a nerve with Blue, and Cole could tell he was right. Blue looked pissed beyond words, his brows furrowed and his jaw locked tight as he squeezed his fist. Cole simply looked at him, his blank expression not changing. Cole knew his assumption was right, and he wasn’t about to let Jay think otherwise.
After a few moments, Blue simply dropped his fist, turning away to glare at the ground, his glasses sliding down his nose slightly. Cole knew he was right, but he didn’t want to upset Blue further. He didn’t want to make Blue upset, just help him realize that it’s not normal to patronize one’s friends so harshly. There’s nothing wrong with criticizing, but Black especially took it too far.
“...It’s none of your business,” Blue whispered, but his face dropped slightly.
“Has Black always treated you like that?” Cole pushed but kept his voice gentle. He didn’t want Blue to think he was obligated to answer, and he didn’t want to come off as bad as Black did on the phone. “Or do you just let him treat him like that because you’re-”
“Now is not the time to have this conversation,” Blue’s glare was filled with malice as he glanced around the aisle. The looks have stopped, but he didn’t want to draw any more attention. “If you’re really that curious, it can wait until we get back to the monastery. I don’t have time to deal with your interrogating.”
Cole wanted to object, but Blue had a point. A grocery store really wasn’t the place to have such a conversation. With mild reluctance, Cole nodded, and Blue grabbed the cart and moved to leave the aisle. Cole followed behind, hoping he could get some more answers.
-
While the tension between them was still there, shopping with Blue was… actually pretty fun. They’d occasionally bicker about which brand was better, and every now and then Cole would see an alternate version of a brand from his universe, with different colors or a different mascot. It was fun comparing how the brands were different between their universes.
While the two were still able to relax, they couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room for too long. However, Cole wasn’t going to press it until they got back home and unloaded the groceries. He already felt bad for being so pushy earlier, and he wanted to at least apologize for the way he approached it.
Though, something else came up as they brought the groceries to the self-check-out. They worked together to scan the items, but as they kept scanning and the price went up, Blue looked more anxious. Was he really that worried about having to pull out of his savings? It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary, since Blue would probably have to end up paying double what they usually spent on groceries.
When they finally managed to scan everything, even Cole couldn’t help but flinch at the final price. That… was a lot , even for a normal person with a stable income. Would Blue even have the money to cover that? He knew Blue had money, and was the main source of income for the team, but did he really have that much? Cole didn’t want to doubt him, but how could he not with that price tag? It was nearly a thousand dollars worth of groceries…
“ Shit ,” Blue whispered, burying a hand in his hair.
“Do we need to call the others to help pay?” Cole asked with a frown. “This is a lot…”
Blue shook his head, looking pale. Cole could understand why he was nervous, but did he really have the money for this? The only reason he’d be able to pay is if he had a credit card, but Cole wouldn’t want him to do that. It would be a little time-consuming, but it wouldn’t hurt for them to wait for the team to arrive to help pay for what Blue couldn’t afford.
“I can afford it,” Blue assured him, but he sounded nervous. “Kind of…”
“How can you kind of afford it?” Cole asked, genuinely confused.
“Look,” Blue turned to him and poked him on the chest, giving him a serious look. “I can take care of this, but I need you to promise me not to say a word to anyone. Not anyone in your team, no one on my team, no one .”
Cole gulped slightly, nodding slightly. What in the world was going on? “Ok…”
With a deep sigh, Blue removed his finger and reached into his pack pocket to pull out his wallet. Opening it up, he moved his hand to the cardholder. He traced his thumb over a certain card before crowding up to the machine. Was he… trying to hide something? What was he doing?
After hesitating for a few seconds, Blue moved his thumb down to pull out the card and press it into the machine. At first, Cole couldn’t see it since Blue hid most of it in his hand, but upon further inspection, Cole’s eyes widened when he saw what Blue meant.
It was a black card .
As soon as the transaction went through, Jay put the card back in its place and put the wallet back in his pocket. He looked around, as though making sure no one else saw before he grabbed the cart and began to make his way to the exit. Cole followed behind, but his brain was absolutely wrecked with questions.
What was Blue doing with a black card? Aren’t those the credit cards that only super-rich people have? Cole knew Blue made some decent money working with Cyrus Borg, but it couldn’t be that much money! How did he get it? He couldn’t have gotten it from doing ninja work. They didn’t even get paid by the government for their duties! So just how did he get his hands on one of those?
There had to be more to the story.
As soon as they made it to the Dragon Cruiser, Cole smacked his hand on the side of the card and leaned close. “Dude, you got some explaining to do. You can’t just flash out a fucking black card like that. H-How the hell do you even have one of those?”
“It’s a very, very long story,” Blue sighed, looking defeated as he opened up the drunk and began to load bags of groceries inside it.
“Did you steal it or something?” Cole asked, narrowing his eyes at him.
“I-” Blue stared at him like he’d seen a ghost, before smacking his arm. “No, boulder brain!”
“Then how else do you have a super exclusive credit card that only, like, CEOs or super rich people can have?” Cole grabbed a few groceries to put away, but he didn’t look away from Blue. “I know you have money, but not that much money.”
“The short answer?” Blue raised a brow at him, not looking any more pleased. “I inherited it.”
“Inherited…?” Cole blinked. “How? Ed and Edna are sweet and all, but they aren’t…”
“Ugh!” Blue threw his head in his hand, looking very tired. “I didn’t inherit it from my parents.” He raised his head, looking confused by his own statement. “Well, I sort of did? It’s kind of complicated.”
Before Cole could ask any more questions, Blue pressed his index finger to his lips and hushed him. “Look, this has already been a very eventful grocery store trip, and it's not even ten a.m. If you don’t ask any more questions, and keep this to yourself, I’ll properly tell you why I have it. Capiche?”
Not wanting to push his luck, Cole simply nodded. After Blue removed his finger, the two silently loaded up the Dragon Cruiser, thankfully able to get all of it to fit with what space they had. The two loaded into the car in silence, feeling awkward after this morning’s events.
The drive back to the monastery was thick was tension, and it only grew as they got closer to the monastery. After all, Cole could only imagine the storm they’d be driving into when they got back, but he wouldn’t hesitate to take any and all blame if Black tried to yell at Blue again as he did on the phone. While the black card was definitely a big revelation, he wouldn’t forget about how Black treated him.
When they pulled into the Hangar Bay, Cole wasn’t surprised to not only see the alternate team, but his own team members already there waiting for them. Whether they were there to yell at them or help them with groceries, Cole wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to be optimistic, especially with the way Black glared at them as they pulled into the Hangar Bay with the Dragon Cruiser.
As soon as Cole and Blue got out of the car, Black was on their tail. “Did you really have to take my car?”
“Would you prefer if we took the Bounty next time?” Cole offered with a flat expression as he turned to the trunk and popped it open. “We had no other practical vehicles to take.”
Cole knew he won that argument when Black didn’t respond.
“That’s beside the point.” Lloyd stepped in. “Cole, you shouldn’t have gone with Blue. We have to lay low.”
“I wasn’t about to send him out there by himself.” Cole rolled his eyes as he grabbed an armful of groceries and promptly dropped them in Lloyd’s arms. “He mentioned having to do the shopping, and I just so happened to be there. How could I not offer when he was about to go shopping for fourteen people all on his own?”
“Next time, it is best if you ask one of us to assist you, Blue,” White said as he grabbed a handful of groceries from the trunk. “While disguising Cole helped, we cannot take any more risks like that.”
Blue looked hesitant, before nodding slightly. “Yeah, yeah…”
“Seriously, that was dumb of you.” Black sighed as he picked up a few bags. “Just call me or someone else next time to help.”
Will he lay off already? Cole sent him a glare the others didn’t see as he handed more bags to the other members. While they did have lots of groceries, with the number of hands they had helping them carry the bags, they were able to get all the groceries up to the kitchen in one trip.
Once they got to the kitchen, everyone pitched in to help put everything away. While they did get a lot of food, they also had other items like toilet paper, laundry detergent, and so on. Having everyone help made the task go by way quicker, and before they even know it, they were tossing all the bags in the recycling bin and returning to their activities.
But that didn’t stop Cole from following Blue to his workshop so they could talk.
“Alright, spill, dude.” Cole sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m really confused. You said you inherited it but not from your parents? I thought you didn’t have any other family.”
Blue sat down on one of the stools with a sigh. He vaguely gestured towards the other stool, inviting him to sit. Cole swiftly sat down on the stool next to Blue, but gave him a little space so he didn’t feel too crowded. Whatever this was, Cole had a feeling it was going to be heavy.
“I wasn’t wrong when I said I inherited it from my parents, well, parent .” Blue scratched his cheek awkwardly before looking down at his lap. “A few years ago, a little while after dealing with Morro, I got a letter in the mail from the government about… about my birth father passing away.
Cole’s eyes widened. Wait… “Birth father? But I thought Ed… Is he not…?”
Blue shook his head. “When I got the letter, I immediately went to Mom and Dad’s to see what was going on, and my dad was fine.” He turned his head to look up at Cole. “Turns out, I’m adopted.”
“Adopted…?” Cole gasped. No way… But he was so much like his parents! Was Jay also adopted? If he was, he would’ve said something at some point, and it’s not like Jay had a bunch of money or anything.
“Yeah,” Blue folded his hand in his lap, playing with his fingers. “My real dad is… was , really rich. He was an actor who played in a lot of famous movies, so his net worth was in the billions.”
“So the black card was originally his?” Cole asked.
“Yup,” Blue took a deep breath before continuing. “In his will, he left everything to me. And I mean everything , his money, his assets, his stocks, his estates, everything. I keep most of the money put away, but I’ll occasionally use the money to sometimes help with the reconstruction of the city when some bad guy destroys it. Otherwise, it sits in a bank account.”
“Why do you work for Borg then?” Cole asked, confused. “If you have all this money, why not use it? You’d probably never have to work a day in your life again.”
“Partly because I like working with my hands,” Blue shot him a smirk and flexed his hands, which has quite a few callouses and scars on them before dropping them. “But I also don’t want to rely on some inherited money to get through life. What did I do to earn that money other than being blood-related to someone super rich? I’ll use the money for emergencies, but otherwise… I feel dirty using it.”
Cole could understand that to a degree. To Blue, it probably felt unfair for him to use that money, especially when there are lots of people out there that don’t even have a roof over their heads or food on the table. It was very Blue of him, and very humbling of him, so Cole couldn’t blame him.
“I assume then that no one else knows?” Cole knew the answer, but he was curious why Blue’s never said anything.
“It would be a circus in here if I ever did.” Blue giggled, rubbing his finger under his nose before sighing. “And besides, I don’t want the team to suddenly value me just because I have a lot of money. The team would never be the same if they knew.”
“But you told me,” Cole noted, letting a few strands of hair fall on his face.
“It was partly due to circumstances,” Blue admitted, crossing his arms. “If I was going to bust out a black card on you, you at least deserve an explanation…”
“And besides,” Blue seemed hesitant, but he gave him a light smile. “I don’t mind having to tell you this… you’re taking it better than I thought.”
“You didn’t have to if you really didn’t want to.” Cole figured now was a better time than never. With a light sigh, he turned to Blue. “...Actually, I wanted to apologize for giving you shit at the store. I shouldn’t have pestered you like that. It was uncalled for.”
Blue seemed surprised, but he smiled and elbowed Cole with a small smile. “Thanks, Cole, but…” He looked away with a frown. “While you could’ve handled it differently, I… I don’t think you were entirely wrong.”
“Wrong about what?” Cole asked.
“About… what you said about how Black treats me,” Jay’s cheeks flushed as he rubbed his mouth with his arm.
Oh.
“I don’t think he’s actually being malicious when he does it,” Blue admits with a shrug. “I know deep down, Black is just trying to do what is best for the team. He wants us all to be the best versions of ourselves, but he’s also very direct, and sometimes I think I misinterpret that directness… or he says it in a way that comes off different than he intended.”
“Even if it’s unintentional,” Cole pressed a hand to Blue’s arm with a frown. “He shouldn’t speak to you like that. You should talk to him, tell him it’s bothering you.”
“He’ll probably call me a baby and say I’m reading too much into it,” Blue rolled his eyes at the thought.
“If the way he talks to you is bothering you, then it's not you reading too much into it.” Cole insisted. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this just because you’re worried about how he may react. If you think he isn’t talking to you well, then you should talk to him.”
Blue seemed conflicted, looking down at his feet. If his insecurities were anything like the other blue ninjas, he probably wasn’t sure how to handle standing up for himself like that. He never liked bothering people like that. But in the end, if the way Black is speaking with him is affecting their relationship, intentional or not, Blue needs to make it known to Black.
After a few moments, Blue turned to him, a shy smile on his face. “Thanks… I’ll, I’ll try talking to him.”
“That’s the spirit.” Cole grinned brightly, patting him on the back. “All relationships require communication. I’m sure if Black knows how his words affect you, he’ll be more careful. You don’t deserve to be treated like that.”
Blue looked up at him for a moment, looking kind of shocked before he turned away, looking a little flustered. He smiled slightly at him, and Cole couldn’t help but return the smile, staring at the boy’s dimples.
Notes:
I really need to watch Dragon's Rising but according to my sister it's super weird-
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