Cole Has a Really Bad Day

by MoonPotatoe

Summary:

Collection of angsty & whumpy prompts involving everyone's favorite Earth Ninja having a really bad day (I am not sorry)

Chapter 1: Snake Got Your Tongue (Rendered Mute)

Cole awoke in a cold cell, dressed in a shoddily patched up orange jumpsuit instead of the tournament gi he had been provided with. But he had no regrets in throwing Jay the Jade Blade. He only hoped he wouldn't be stuck in this cell for long as the others try to stop Chen from whatever it is he is scheming.  

The teen was bored. The cell was completely empty save for a mattress in the corner…well it was more like a very thin blanket then a mattress. He could hear some of the cultists chatting as they passed by his cell, which annoyed him to no end. Cole tried to shout at them to shut up, but no sound left his mouth. Almost immediately he started to freak out. 

Cole tried to scream, shout, say anything, but nothing but air and horse sounds came out. It was then Coke noticed the bandages covering his neck and the absence of something in his mouth. He tried to move his tongue around, but there was nothing in there to move. Those sick bastards! They must've done something to him after he passed out after Chen took his element! 

The sound of his cell door opening caught Cole's attention. Turning his head towards the now open cell door, there stood Clouse along with two high ranking cultists, a sinister smile on his face as he took a gaze at the pathetic state Cole was in. 

"Well…looks like the procedure was a success." 

The sorcerer and the cultists laughed. If he still had his super strength Cole would knock the three of them on their asses and make his escape, but without his powers he's just as strong as the average fithteen year old, so angrily glaring was the best he could do. 

'What did you do to me?!' He tried to say, but no sound or comprehensible words came out of his mouth.

"Consider it a punishment for the little show you and your friend put on last night. A mix of removing your vocal cords and tongue along with a silencing spell, so even if your friends manage to stop us, you still won't be able to make a sound ever again." 

Clouse started to laugh again at Cole, who looked down in shame, hand hovering around his bandaged neck. Despite how awful the situation is, Cole is somewhat glad it was him who lost and not Jay. Jay wouldn't take being rendered mute very well at all. 

The cultists with Clouse entered the cell and grabbed Cole by his arms, dragging him out of the cell. 

"You seem well enough to work, take him to the factory with the rest of the losers."

Chapter 2: I Need to Invest in a Nightlight (Nightmares)

The ground was rumbling, cracking apart and tearing the streets asunder. People were in danger, buildings were collapsing in on themselves and people were getting buried as indestructible warriors emerged from the earth, buried and forgotten for millennia. 

Cole stood helpless among the chaos. He couldn't save all the innocents, he couldn't do any damage to the ancient warriors, he could do nothing but flee leaving the city to its fate. The sound of a clock counting down echoed…the end of the world was nigh.

He fled to the Dark Island, a wild place where the forces of Darkness prepared to destroy everything he holds dear. Despite being blessed with the power of Earth, he could still do nothing when the Celestial Clock chimed, the bells signaling the end, he could do nothing as the darkness started to corrupt the light, turning people into nothing but empty husks. 

Where the Overlord marched, darkness followed. The fate of the world resting in the hands of a few blessed teenagers. Cole was always afraid of dragons. He may have gotten over it a bit with Rocky, but the Overlord towered above, his wings blocking out the sun in an eternal eclipse. Darkness spewed forth from his breath, and one by one the ninja fell, the darkness corrupting them. Their colour faded instantly as they twitched on the ground, choking on black bile in their throats as it also leaked out their eyes and every other orifice on their faces. 

Cole was cornered, broken sword in hand. His corrupted friends surrounded him as the draconic Overlord spewed out more of the intoxicating darkness towards him. As he felt the cold slimey tendrils of evil spread through him, choking on bile, the last coherent thought he had was pure hopelessness. The world is finished. They failed. Darkness shall reign forevermore.

 

***

 

The Ninja of Earth woke up with a scream. He tried to escape but ended up tangled in his covers and fell out of his bed. For a moment he still thought he was witnessing the end of the world, hyperventilating as he scrambled out of his blankets and turning the light on. Once he was sure he was simply in his bedroom in the Monastery and not in a darkness corrupted Ninjago City did Cole start to calm down and sort himself out. Cole has always been afraid of the dark, ever since he was very little. He thought he'd outgrown it by now. 

The Final Battle was still fresh in his mind. It had only been a month since Lloyd defeated the ultimate evil. Still…it was a scary thing for a bunch of teenagers to fight. That nightmare…it felt all too real. As much as Cole should go back to sleep, he can't find it in himself to fall back asleep. Guess tonight's gonna be an all nighter…again. Maybe he can see if he can beat Kai's Sitar Legend II highscore.

Chapter 3: Dark Past, Bright Future (Scar Reveal)

Summary:

When tending to Cole after he gets injured trying to catch the Mechanic, he notices some odd scars on his wrists

TW/CW for self harm

Cole was in the med room, having some wounds being tended to. The ninja just got back from catching the Mechanic who had once again broken out of Kryptarium, an encounter which resulted in Cole getting banged up as the crook knocked him off a building. Luckily it was only a few stories down and the ninja in black landed on some discarded bin bags full of rubbish, but he was still somewhat injured from the debris and fall. 

So here he was, sitting on a table with his shirt off while Kai cleaned up the cuts and gashes littering his body. Cole was praying to the First Master for it to be over already, being in the med room brings back memories of his childhood he'd rather forget. 

Kai was just finishing up cleaning some cuts on Cole's arms when he noticed some odd looking scars on his forearm. Cole had scars dotted all over, thing with being a ninja, they've all lost track of how many scars they've gotten over the years. But these ones were much more faded, and were very precise. Kai wasn't naive, he knew what those scars were. Everyone has those really bad days, where the only way they feel that can help them is some pain and blood. Kai's had them, but he'd pour all his efforts into violently ripping appart the training dummies instead of hurting himself. 

Cole seemed to notice the ninja in red staring awkwardly at the scars in his forearm. "It's alright, I've been clean for years." The ninja in black reassures Kai, who drops his arm and begins to clean up the first aid kit. Cole knows Kai has questions and worries, but is afraid he'll offend if he asks. Cole understands his friend's worries, and simply starts to yap as the other cleans up.

"It started shortly after my mum passed. I was all alone, my dad just dropped me off at MOSPA and never called, I tried to call him but it always went straight to voicemail. I'd always leave a message, but whether he listened to them or not I never knew. Classes were awful, I struggled to keep up with the school's impossibly high expectations, and my peers picked on me for my tone deaf singing voice and clumsy dancing, always asking how someone as untalented as me ended up in the most prestigious performing arts boarding school in all of Ninjago. I lost count of how many times I was kept after class as punishment for my grades not being up to standard." Cole nervously rubbed his scarred wrists as he continued with his story. "Eventually…I turned to cutting, as a vain way to cope with the loneliness so I could feel something, and as a way to punish myself everytime I failed or messed up in class. The pain of the healing wounds affected my performance, making a seemingly endless cycle until my arms and legs were nothing but torn up mangled meat. Wu found out when I was first training with him, after I messed up on the training course I'd sneak off to cut. When he found out he put a stop to it and helped me find a healthier way to cope with failure. I've been clean since then, but there have been moments where I feel like relapsing back to old habits, but I quickly take my mind off those dark thoughts and focus on something else." 

Kai didn't say a thing as he listened to Cole's story. He knew Cole had it a bit rough when he was younger, but he wasn't expecting all of this. Cole clearly didn't like to think about that dark chapter in his life, but he still chose to open up to Kai, who didn't mean to pry. The ninja in red just gave his friend in black a hug, who responded in kind by wrapping those big thick arms around the lankier ninja. "Sorry you had to go through all that."

"Hey, it's all in the past now. Water under the bridge. Best not to dwell on the dark past and look towards the brighter future." Cole gently reassured Kai, speaking words of wisdom.

Kai chuckled, "You're starting to sound a lot like Wu."

"Hey, someone's gotta remember his wise words." Cole  grinded, playfully flicking Kai's forehead. "You should pay attention to what he says, could help with your anger issues."

"Hey, I've mellowed out over the years!"

Chapter 4: Why Didn't the Ninja Get Winter Coats in the Never Realm (Hypothermia)

Summary:

Cole goes to find Traveler's Tea in the middle of a blizzard. What can go wrong?

Cole should've brought some warmer clothes with him. A blizzard had struck out of nowhere, and here Cole was high up on a mountain looking for some tree from a children's story. But despite the cold biting into his exposed arms and chest, he couldn't turn back, not until he got that tea. It was his fault they lost the batch they brought with them, so it's his responsibility to find some more. He could still hear their disappointed voices echoing in his head from the nightmare he had the previous night, it may have been all in his head but it felt so real.

"You've let us down, Cole!"

"Once you get the tea you, you can be our friend again!"

"You should've thought about that before you lost the tea! Go!"

He couldn't let them down, not again. As the blizzard raged on, Cole started to shake and shiver, teeth chattering uncontrollably. In a vain attempt to warm himself up he put his hood up, but it barely helped with the fabric on his gi being very thin and loose for easier movement. Still, he pressed further on into the cold, determined to find that tree. 

The blizzard raged, the snow under his feet got thicker and more difficult to move in…or was that him, his legs feeling heavy as if they were frozen solid. The shivers were now at a constant, never ceasing. He couldn't feel his fingers, which probably wasn't a good sign. Neither was the occasional stumble or falls he took, each fall getting more and more difficult to get up from. Still, he pressed further on into the cold, determined to find that tree.

Cole couldn't see. He could barely keep his eyes open, and the snow falling obscured his vision greatly. The shivering had long since stopped. He tripped and fell into the thick snow, but couldn't get up, everything was numb, and he could barely feel his limbs. He was tired, maybe a rest couldn't hurt. Before everything went dark, he could see a silhouette of a tree in the distance. "Trav…elers…tree…" He mumbled, before finally collapsing

 

***

 

Jay and Nya pressed on into the blizzard, both of them shaking like leaves. They seriously need to invest in warmer gis for harsh cold environments like this, something to suggest to Master Wu when they get back. 

If they get back…

Jay hadn't seen Cole since he stormed out of the cabin they slept in, angry and frustrated at the ninja in blue because of a dream, though it was more directed at himself. Nya hadn't seen Cole since he accidently interrupted her training to try and command ice, storming off muttering something about 'another Cole mistake.' No one could find him anywhere in the village, until a pair of ice fishers came running saying he had gone up the mountain looking for the Traveler's Tree. So the Masters of Lightning and Water bravely set forth to find their friend, while Kai stayed behind to keep the villagers safe incase Ice Samurai decided to return. 

The blizzard showed no sign of stopping, and the pair was already starting to shiver. As much as they hated it, but soon enough they'd have to turn back before they froze to death, opting to return when the weather was less dangerous. 

Thankfully, they spotted something in the distance. Something black sticking out among the white. Something humanoid laying in the snow. Jay and Nya quickly ran towards the collapsed figure, hoping it wasn't who they thought it was. 

It was. Cole was frozen solid, snow sticking to his black gi, his skin gray and cold to the touch. Nya checked for a pulse, but struggled to find any sign of life within the black ninja. Thankfully she managed to find a pulse, but it was so weak and slow. They had to get him somewhere warm immediately, and carrying him down the mountain would take too long. Knowing what to do, Jay called forth an old friend from within, a dragon made of pure electrical elemental energy. Nya would have called forth her own dragon, but with how cold it is it may freeze solid like all the water in this realm. 

Working together to lift Cole onto the dragon, they flew down the mountain as fast as they could. Kai saw the dragon zip towards the village. The villagers were all scared at first, but Kai quickly reassured them the lightning dragon was a friend. The dragon landed right in front of the cabin where the Hearthfire burned, dissipating in an instant. "Kai! We need you!" Nya screamed at her brother, who immediately rushed to her side. Upon seeing Cole in his frozen state he knew what he needed to do. Stripping the Earth Master out of hia frozen gi, Kai warmed up his hands and started to gently rub the frozen body in an attempt to thaw him. His powers may be nothing but an ember, but it's better than nothing.

With his clothes gone, Cole looked a lot worse. He was showing signs of frostbite, his fingers and toes covered in frozen blisters. Thankfully, the damage isn't too much. While Kai worked on warming Cole up, Jay and Nya prepared a soft blanket to wrap Cole in and a hot water bottle to keep him warm while Kai rested. 

Once it's deemed Kai has done enough, Jay wraps Cole up in the blanket both to keep him warm and give him some decency. He was still unconscious, but thankfully alive, his pulse still slow but not as quiet, his breathing no longer shakey. All the ninja can do is wait for him to wake up, in the meantime maybe they'll see if the villagers have any spare coats and boots they can wear so something like this doesn't happen again.

Chapter 5: Home Alone (Neglect/Abandoment)

Notes:

Sorry for the delay, was focusing on artfight all last month

How long has it been since Cole saw his dad? Cole doesn’t know. Ever since his mum passed away, his dad spent all his time singing and dancing with his barber shop quartet, spending all of his time with them, instead of being home and caring for his son. The last time Cole saw his dad properly was at the funeral, but even then he hung around his quartet, ignoring his son as if he didn’t exist.

For months it’s only been Cole in the house, a thirteen year old boy keeping the house nice and presentable so his dad doesn’t come home to a mess. If he comes home. Cole does all the chores in the house, buying groceries, making himself a meal, cleaning the dishes, unloading the washing machine and dryer. The chores normally don’t take too long, and with the rest of the free time he has, Cole simply sits in the lounge, quiet, looking at the door awaiting his dad to come home. He never does.

The sun sets, and Cole locks up the house for the night before going to get ready for bed. Before he goes upstairs, he calls his dad using the housephone, a thing he does everynight in hopes that he may hear his dad’s voice. It goes straight to voicemail, as it always does. Cole leaves him a message, discussing how his day has gone. Cole was more talking to himself than his dad, but despite not knowing if his dad even listens to all the messages he’s sent, Cole hopes that one day his dad will pick up and Cole can properly talk to his dad. 

Once Cole has run out of things to talk about, he closes the message with a “goodbye” and “I love you” before hanging up. He mumbles an “I love you too” to himself, as if it’s his dad saying it to him, before making his way to his parents room. Pillows have been arranged to look like two adult figures, with space in the middle for Cole to sleep. The boy wiggles his way in between the pillow parents, giving them a hug before saying goodnight to them as if they were his real parents. 

He missed his mum. He missed his dad. He missed his family being whole. Now he feels nothing but alone.

Chapter 6: Race Against The Clock (Whumptober Day 1)

Summary:

The Ninja greive a fallen brother, until they get a strange signal from the ruined area of the city

The battle was over. The Oni had been defeated by some miraculous miracle. Ninjago was saved once again, and the people celebrated the victory. It didn’t feel like a victory to the Ninja. They won…but at what cost. Cole was gone, not from an epic last stand, but a completely unavoidable accident. One moment he was there, the next…he was gone. 

In the days after their victory, the ninja helped out with fixing up the mess the Oni had made in the city. They thought the Oni just covered the city in their petrifying fog, but no they ended up destroying some buildings along their march. If Cole was still around, he’d be able to easily move the rubble and rescue civilians trapped underneath. In his place Pixal aided, using her Samurai X mech. 

The ninja just wanted to rest, they just wanted to mourn their fallen brother. They need to make preparations for a memorial, to honor their brother. Master Wu had commissioned some monks to paint a mural for Cole next to all the murals of all the Ninja’s past adventures. They really should’ve included him more in the murals. 

The Ninja were simply sitting around the courtyard, an air of grief and melancholy surrounding them, when all of a sudden Zane ran outside from the monastery, calling for everyone’s attention. He looked frantic. Everyone gathered around the Nindroid as he brought up a mini hologram of the map of Ninjago City. There was a signal going on and off repeatedly, and it didn’t take an idiot to realize it was morse code. But…it was in the area of the city the Oni destroyed, and according to Zane’s screen…the signal was coming from Cole. But that was impossible! There was no way he could have survived falling from a couple hundred stories, and even if he did the buildings in that area are nothing but rubble. But…if there was a chance he was alive, the ninja had to act fast to get him. Who knows how long he’s been stuck there, with limited food, water and oxygen, plus possible injuries from the fall and building collapse. 

They took the Bounty, the medical ward set up just in case he was still alive. The signal was still going, showing no signs of stopping. Still, the ninja acted fast, all five of them sliding down ropes to the ground, Pixal staying on the Bounty to monitor the signal. Zane led the way, following the signal on his screen. They also brought a stretcher just in case. 

The signal led them to a pile of rubble. They checked for their brother around the rubble pile, but saw no sign of him, meaning he was somewhere in the rubble. They had to be careful when digging through, one wrong piece removed and the whole thing will collapse. They tried to call out to Cole, but got no response from the trapped ninja. They all started to dig, careful not to cause the pile to collapse. Zane used his powers to make some pillars to keep the pile stable, though he wasn’t sure how long it would last. Some of the pieces had blood on them, Cole’s blood, only causing the ninja to dig more frantically.

After what seemed like the longest ten minutes in the world, they finally reached him. Cole was sprawled out on the ground, laying in a pool of his own blood, one of his legs twisted weirdly. But Zane could detect a pulse, it was weak but it was there. Cole was alive…barely. Lloyd and Nya carefully worked together in moving their brother out of the rubble before Zane allowed the pile to collapse. Cole was awake, but he didn’t really seem all there, probably due to the nasty head wound. The Bounty’s medical bay will not do enough for him, he needs to go to a hospital. 

Kai and Jay carried the stretcher back to the Bounty, before flying off to the nearest functional not full hospital. They were glad Cole was alive, who knows what would’ve happened if they came a moment later.

Chapter 7: Trust Issues (Whumptomber Day 2)

Summary:

What happened? Where was he? Who was he?

Bright colors. Flashing lights. A big explosion sending him flying. That was all he could recall. He had found himself waking up in a bed, fluorescent lights blinding him. There was nothing in the room save for his bed and a little side desk to his right.

Some strangers dressed in black suits and sunglasses entered the room, and upon seeing he was awake they started to ask him questions, questions he couldn’t answer. 

“What is your name?”

“I don’t know…”

“Where did you come from?”

“I don’t know…”

“What is your occupation?”

“I don’t know…”

“What is the last thing you remember?”

“I don’t know…”

His mind was blank. He couldn’t remember anything, not even his own name. Just…what had happened to him? What were those bright lights? Were they connected to his missing memories?

He was kept under observation by the people in suits. He learned he was in a place called the Administration, a place where people keep order in the chaotic Merged Lands. They said they had found him in the middle of one of their offices. Maybe…he was a member of this organization, and an incident happened resulting in his lost memories. Maybe if he stayed and worked, his memories may come back. 

Once he recovered enough, he got to work. Years went by, and he rose up from a simple agent to manager of his own department. But…his mind was still blank, he still remembered nothing since arriving here. Maybe, the memories of who he once was were gone forever. He felt a bit sad thinking about that, especially if he had friends or family that knew him and missed him. He’d like to see them again, maybe seeing them will jog his memory.

His simple life in the Administration then suddenly changed when his head was filled with screaming noise, coming from the ground beneath his feet. At random his arms started to glow, covered in magma like patterns. It scared him. What was going on? What is this? One thing he knew is he couldn’t let the other agents see him like this. He’s supposed to be their manager, he can’t let this..problem distract him from his work. 

One day when out on a mission to take back some stolen equipment, he ran into a stranger. A stranger who looked very much like a tiger, but tigers don’t have black fur with violet stripes. The stranger took a look at him, and smiled. “I’ve been looking for you, Master of Earth.”