Back to the Beginning - A Ninjago Lavashipping Fanfiction [COMPLETED]

Chapter 17

Cole

"Rocks comin' your way!" Lloyd shouted from in front of Cole. A series of pebbles dusted the top of his hair. Climbing to the Temple of Light wasn't the ideal way of transportation, and they didn't want to use their elemental dragons; it would attract too much attention. They've been climbing the mountain for at least forty minutes, and it wasn't the best way to start your morning.
Last time, they used Nya's Samurai X suit, which would be really helpful in this situation. Even if he was in tip top shape, Cole's arms ached and his legs wanted to give away, but he'd rather feel the pain than die falling.
Plus, extra strength building?
"How much longer?" Jay whined and threw his head back, groaning. Nya rolled her eyes and continued to climb.
Zane scanned the mountain and a hopeful expression beamed across his face. "About one fifth of a mile left, so approximately five minutes."
"Thank the lord."
Heaving and breathing hard, they finally made it to the top. Cole laid down on the floor, the world spinning around in circles.
"Remind me why we had to climb this mountain?" Cole managed to say.
"To get the rock, crystal or whatever." Ethan answered from somewhere to the left. Cole sighed from exhaustion and sat up, getting water from his thermos. As he looked down, Lloyd made eye contact and nudged his head towards the direction of the temple. Cole put his water down and followed.
      "So according to the spell, we have to pour the tea from a teapot made of the crystals. Do you think you can make one using your element?"
     Cole scratched his head. "Uhh I dunno. Never tried," he put his hands on his hips. "but I'll see if I can do it anyway."
     "Thanks buddy." Lloyd smiled like a child. Cole returned it.
      "Hey you're doing a really good job leading us. I know it's hard sometimes." Cole chuckled while complementing Lloyd. The green ninja laughed back.
     "Thanks. And I couldn't have it any other way." Cole turned to the rocky cliff and sat cross legged like he was going to meditate. Using his element, he took a chunk of the rock from the cliff easily. The hard part was shaping it.
     Concentrate. You can do it.
     The rocks shifted and turned as he commanded them too. It took a lot of energy to centralize his element to his hands. Not only that, but using the right amount of force to remerge the rocks together without breaking the shape.
     A drop of sweat trickled down his neck, eyes focused on the small teapot. With the slightest movement, he closed his fingers, shifting the rocks closer together. The edges of the rock glowed when they came together, like lava was sparking inside the sediment, gluing the pieces to one. It died down once Cole thought it was good enough, and the floating teapot dropped in his tired hands. Taking a deep breath in, he looked at his creation. Not a bad job for the first time.
Getting up, he jogged to the others and showed Lloyd. With a thumbs up, the group entered the temple and marveled at its beauty. Through they've seen it before, the design and architecture was amazing.
Light blue crystals lined the upper corners while intricate designs spiraled down the pillars. Destiny painted itself on the walls of the temple while plated gold contrasted against the dark stone floor. It smelled of fresh dew, chilly and cold like the morning.
Memories came flooding back to Cole when he first stepped in. Destiny seemed to have recorded itself since the past few years; paintings on the walls showed of the ninja defeating the Overlord, traveling to Chen's Island, Morro's possession, and so on. Even Ethan and Catori showed up in the last frames.
The others gathered around Cole as they read the walls, recalling each and every moment of their adventures together.
"Seems like only yesterday. We were so young back then," Cole carefully touched the cold walls with his fingers. "now we're like eighteen, nineteen, going onto twenty?"
"Yeah, time really passes quick. Next thing you know we'll be old farts." Jay laughed at his own comment.
Zane and Pixal only stared at him with confusion. "I do not understand. We will not become gas when we age." the ice ninja scratched his head in bewilderment.
Sensei snorted and laughed with Misako. "It is not like that Zane, only an expression," the wise ninja master gestured for the others to follow. "Come students. Let us leave Cole in silence to do his work." the others followed, soft footsteps echoing in the room. Ethan patted his brother on the shoulder and smiled, saying that he has faith. Cole smiled back, and turned to look up at the crystals that jutted from the ceiling. Raising his right arm, the earth punch glowed from his shoulder to his hands, slowly and carefully cracking a crystal. The temple shook a little, like the balance was disrupted.
      Looks like I've only got one shot at this.
Sitting down in the lotus pose and gently setting the crystal down, Cole meditated for fifty breaths in and out, slowly calming his heart rate and clearing his mind to better concentrate. When he finished, he took a deep breath in and picked up the crystal. Levitating three inches from his palm, the earth master got to work.
The crystal twisted and turned with each twitch of his hand or fingers. Texture wise, it was very different from the rock. Much more harder but stretchier, and less crumbly. It was like going from drawing with a pencil to painting with oils, the two have different techniques and ways to achieving a specific look.
He had finished the pot part of the teapot, moving onto the handle when a crash sounded from the outside. Whipping around, Cole finished melting the last end of the handle and grabbed the newly finished pot in his hands. Squeezing through the crack in the wooden doors, Cole peered out on the small clearing.
A battle roared in front of him, shadow figures and flashes of colors in a jumble of chaos. All colors except for the black ninja.
      Pulling his hood on, Cole carefully hid the teapot behind the door and grabbed his hammer, running into battle. Doing a front flip, he landed perfectly to smash his weapon on the floor, sending wispy figures across the clearing.
     "Cole! Where's the teapot?" Lloyd asked when he turned around. Without saying a word, he nudged his head in the direction of the temple. Lloyd nodded before going to help his mom. Catori and Lloyd dissolved the figures using their bows, and since Pixal had a titanium sword, the shadows perished once they touched her blade.
Cold, smokey tendrils grasped Cole's arms in place from behind. Dropping to a lower stance, he quickly did a back kick, turning around to finish the figure off with a roundhouse to the face. A silver arrow barely whisked past Cole's face a second later. He looked in the direction of the arrow, seeing Catori on a higher rock, lowering her bow. He gave her a thumbs up and continued to help the others.
     Scanning the area, it seemed Lloyd was helping Misako, and Sensei was being a total show off, jumping on his iconic bamboo staff and easily dodging the shadow figures with ease, a small smirk spread across his face.
      Fighting without fighting.
      Jay and Nya worked together, as well as Zane, and Pixal, the two couples being totally awesome working as one. Kai and Ethan fought the figures back to back, occasionally switching to confuse the shadows. Apparently, Kai's sword was titanium, too.
Cole was about to go and help his brother and secret crush when he saw a black figure snooping around the temple. It's tendrils lurked around the doors like a dog's nose, sniffing in various places to find a lead. Going on his toes, Cole quietly and quickly ran to the doors. He jumped and smashed the floor, sending a row of rocks to surround the shadow. The figure whipped its head around and snarled at Cole, pulling its tendrils away from inside the temple. It glowed a bright purple and exploded the rocks that trapped him, shaping black daggers and leaping towards Cole. The earth master sidestepped and swung his hammer, hitting it straight at the midsection and stunning the creature for a second. Using one of its wispy tendrils, it swept Cole from behind. It knocked the wind out of him, and the shadow sneered, raising its sickly curved dagger at Cole's throat. Regaining his consciousness, the black ninja rolled to the side and quickly did a kip up, getting into guardian stance. His weapon was swept behind the shadow figure, so he was unable to reach it, unless...
He ran straight towards his opponent, eyes narrow and fists full of elemental power. Right as he was five inches away, Cole released dirt into the figure's eyes and jumped, doing a front flip to land behind it and grab his weapon. Hissing, the shadow covered it's eyes and roared as Kai's sword went straight through its stomach. It screamed and dissipated, small specks of black floating away in the wind. The two high-fived other and smiled wide. Cole could look into Kai's eyes for eternity, but not now, they still had a battle to win and a mother to save.
      Kai's smile died down as he looked over Cole's shoulder. A second figure floated from the temple's doors, grasping the crystal teapot in its tentacle. Cole's eyes widened. Gripping his hammer tighter, he ran towards the shadow, Kai right behind on his heels. He had to get that teapot before they take it and disappear.
     Luckily the shadow was facing the opposite way, so surely he couldn't see Cole coming. Of course, bad luck had to come in and ruin his life, so the shadow turned around, screeching to the others. They stopped fighting and disappeared into dust, the specks all floating towards the tallest mountain. Right as Cole was going to tackle the shadow, it sneered, showing a cave of inky black teeth and dissipating into dust. Cole fell on the ground, elbows and hands scratched and bloody. He punched the ground out of frustration, a crack splitting the floor.
      "No! I was so close! What are we gonna do now?" the others gathered around Cole and looked into the reddish-purple horizon. Kai bent down and patted his shoulder.
      "We have to get it back." Kai said from out-of-the-blue.
       "Well yeah obviously! But how? Climb another mountain?" Cole was really annoyed at this point.
        Kai summoned his fire power and a fiery dragon appeared, roaring and flapping its giant wings. "No need to climb a mountain. And we won't have to worry about being a distraction now."
        The others seemed to agree, elemental powers ready and glowing in their hands. They looked encouragingly at Cole, urging him to join. He scanned the group until his eyes met Kai's, full of determination and courage, ready to face danger alone. His spirit lifted Cole's, raising him up to his feet and summoning the dragon in his hands, the others following one by one. Ethan rode with Cole and Catori with Lloyd, each readying their weapons preparing themselves for the greatest battle.
This was it. Today was the day. Today's the day we're gonna face the voice, fulfill the prophecy, save Ninjago, and bring. Mom. Home.

Sorry it was short. These next few chapters may be like this cuz I wanna get a good perspective on a couple people so yeah. AND THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR 300 READS!!!😁😁😁