A/N: What… is… this? Could it possibly be…? *gasp* It is! It's another Ninjago chapter story! :D Honestly, I'm surprised at myself! I don't even know where this came from (wait, no, that's a lie- I couldn't sleep one night and the next day I read a Legend of Zelda horror fic, so that's where this came from), but anyway, I was in the mood to write something creepyish. Unfortunately, I don't know how good I am at scary, so I guess we'll see where this goes. Hope you enjoy it anyway!

"Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night."
― Leo Aikman

Cole sighed heavily, staring at the ceiling through the darkness of his room. He hated insomnia. No matter what he tried on nights like this, he could never get himself to fall asleep. It was beyond frustrating. Cole groaned and turned onto his side, squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe if he just thought about other things, sleep would come…

But no matter how hard I try, I can't stop thinking about it! Cole thought angrily. Zane said that it probably wasn't anything to worry about, because as far as he could tell, Garmadon isn't even in our world. But all that does is make me worry more! He could be planning something that doesn't even require his presence, and then when our guard is down, he'll attack! Or maybe he found a way to counter Zane's sixth sense! Or maybe…

Ugh! Stop it! He growled in his head, slamming his fist onto the mattress below him and snapping his eyes open to glare into the darkness again. This wasn't going to do. Cole threw back the blankets keeping him warm and sat up, hanging his feet off the edge of his bed. As quietly as possible, he stepped onto the wooden floor, willing it not to creak as he stood up. Shivering slightly at the crisp night air that had seeped into the dojo, he crept out of his room and into the hall.

Once there, Cole paused. Some fresh air would be nice, but the nights had gotten cooler with the arrival of autumn, and he didn't particularly need to catch a cold. Sighing, Cole settled for padding silently through the dojo, trying to clear his head.

Letting his feet carry him where they would, Cole soon found himself leaning against a windowsill that overlooked the outdoor training area. The half-moon cast a peaceful radiance over the empty courtyard, but to Cole, it appeared almost eerie. With another sigh, he allowed himself to ruminate on what had transpired earlier in the day...

~Flashback~

"Jay! Think fast!" Kai called out to his blue-clad teammate. Jay glanced up just in time to glimpse the ninja of fire leaping toward him, ready to knock him over with a well-aimed kick. Eyes widening, Jay brought his arms up to defend himself, but nevertheless found himself flat on his back within seconds, scowling up at the cloudless sky.

"Hey, no fair!" He complained as he sat up, directing his scowl toward the cause of his disgrace, who seemed positively delighted at the results of his own actions.

"Aaaaand…. Fail." Kai declared, imitating Sensei Wu's favorite sparring phrase before he burst into laughter. "You may be quick with your mouth, Jay, but your reflexes need work!" he snickered.

Cole, who had seen the entire incident play out from where he was training on his own, gave Kai a glare. "Kai, what do you think you're doing? Sensei said to 'keep out of mischief' while he's gone, and I'm pretty sure he was looking at you." Sensei Wu was away on an excursion that he had assured them would take several days. As was expected, he left Cole in charge.

"But, I was just…" Kai started to protest.

Suddenly, a loud CRAAAACK was heard as the sky went gray with clouds and reverberated with the sound of the first thunderclap. It quickly developed into a severe thunderstorm. White bolts of lightning illuminated the sky, and there was almost no break between one clap of thunder and the next, resulting in what sounded like a freight train rushing past. Rain began to fall in sheets as Cole, Kai, and Jay ran for cover.

"Wait! Where's Zane?" Jay asked anxiously not ten seconds after they had made it inside, sopping wet.

"Right here, Jay," a calm voice spoke from nearby. Zane walked over to join them by the door. "I was meditating in my room, and my concentration was broken by that loud thunderclap. So I decided to make sure all of you were okay."

"But… wait. Didn't you sense that the thunderstorm was coming?" Cole asked, confused.

Zane's brow furrowed as he realized the aberration that had occurred. "No, as a matter of fact, I didn't. That's strange…"

"I'll bet it's Garmadon!" Kai burst out angrily. "It would be just like him to do something like that!"

Zane shook his head. "I'm not sure, Kai. From what I can sense, Garmadon isn't in Ninjago at the moment."

"But, what else could have caused that thunderstorm?" Jay questioned. "The sky was clear just a few minutes ago."

"I'm not saying that it wasn't him. But we should probably wait awhile and see what happens. It's not time to worry yet."

~End Flashback~

"Cole?"

Cole started at the voice, jerking himself out of his thoughts as he turned to face the speaker. "Zane," he stated, not at all surprised. "What are you doing up?"

"I could ask you the same question, my friend," came the placid reply.

"But I'm sure you already know the answer, don't you?" Cole replied bitterly, turning back to the window and gazing out once more.

"Something is troubling you," Zane continued, seemingly oblivious to Cole's sullen tone. "It is keeping you from relaxing enough to fall asleep. And we both know that this is not the first time this has happened. It is not healthy, Cole. Staying up all night worrying is not going to help us in battle. You need to rest."

"You think I don't know that?" Cole questioned, frustrated. "I'm tired. I want to sleep. But I just can't!"

Zane placed a hand on his leader's shoulder. "Yes, you can. I told you before, Garmadon is not in this world, and I do not believe that he is going to attack any time soon. Please- believe my words and you will be able to sleep."

Cole sighed. "All right, Zane. I'll give it a rest until morning. But that doesn't mean I believe you."

"As long as you allow your mind to quiet down for the remainder of the night, you will be fine," Zane responded as the two of them turned and headed back toward their rooms.

Neither of them noticed the shadow that detached itself from the wall outside; it paused only briefly before fleeing into the night.

A/N: Hmm… what could that mysterious shadow be? Honestly, even I'm not entirely sure. XD I guess we'll all find out in a couple of chapters! Don't expect frequent, regular updates on this one- unlike my last Ninjago story, this has not been prewritten; I'm posting it as I go.

Anyway, sorry it took so long to post... titles are a pain in the neck to come up with.

Oh, and by the way- if you haven't noticed, this takes place waaay back after the first season, or at least before the dojo burned down. Frankly, I bet this could even be considered completely separate from the show's timeline. Oh, and Zane's not a robot. :P Because it just makes things easier.

And one more thing... it seems that I have once again fallen behind on watching the episodes. Please don't give me any spoilers in reviews or PMs, or anywhere else for that matter. I want to see what happens for myself.

Anyway, REVIEW! Thank you kindly!