Chapter Twelve: Bite the Dust
(This is my longest chapter yet, and it gets pretty emotional so just a warning! Also it's probably my best chapter too. I know I say that all the time, but I do mean it for this one. Enjoy!)
"Come on! Too weak! Too far off. What-what was that?" Cole was helping me train. And by helping, I mean screaming.
Me being tired and worn out from kicking a punching bag for an hour snapped back. "Cole, it's been one hour. I'm not doing this shit anymore." I went and sat on a barrel.
"You can't give up now! You know what Master Wu says, 'Ninja nev-'"
"Ninja never quit. I know. News flash; I am not a ninja, Cole! Besides I don't see how kicking a punching bag is going to make me any better at fighting." I crossed my arms.
"It teaches control. You might've been good in that last fight, but what if your powers are taken? You're going to need to learn self-defense skills." Cole said.
"Then let me fight you." I turned to him and smirked.
"Me? What! No! I would beat your ass instantly. You should fight someone expendable...like Kai." Cole looked at Kai while raising his eyebrows.
"What the hell do you mean by expendable, Cole?" Kai crossed his arms.
"Hmm, Jay would know." Cole clapped back.
"I HEARD THAT!" Jay yelled from across the training area.
"You know what, you're on. Once I beat her, you have to apologize to me." Kai said.
"I won't have to, I know she'll beat the crap out of you. Come on, Maya. Let's get ready." Cole grabbed my hand and ran me over to the sparring mat.
All of a sudden, I got really nervous. I didn't want to fight Kai, I wanted to fight Cole. He was my coach after all. "I don't know if I'm ready for Kai." I whispered to Cole as he grabbed my sparring gear.
"Look, you have nothing to worry about. Kai's worst skill is sparring. He's not bad at it, but he's a lot better at other things. He get's really heated and just attacks without thinking. But if you just let him burn out all his anger, he will catch on to you and realize what you're doing. He isn't brilliant, but he's smart." Cole explained as he wrapped my hands.
"So, let him attack but not really. What is that even called?" I asked.
"Your dad invented the technique actually, it's called The Art of the Silent Fist." Cole said as he gestured me to sit down so he could wrap my feet.
I was stunned my father invented something so...so peaceful. "My father invented that?" I said with disbelief.
"Yep. And I'm sure you can guess who was the worst at it." Cole laughed.
"Kai?" I said unsurprisingly.
"Actually Kai And Lloyd were equally sucking at it." Cole said.
"No way, Lloyd is bad at something?" I said.
"Absolutely. You know the kid's got heart, but a temper too. He was furious with Garmadon when he was introduced to the technique. He eventually caught on to the Art, but it took him a while."
"Huh," I looked at Lloyd who was training peacefully across the deck. "I never would've known." I have a bad temper too. Here I was thinking I was the child that had all the anger issues. I guess it runs in the family.
"Are y'all ready yet? I've been ready for YEARS." Kai yelled from the other side of the sparring mat.
"Don't worry, Maya's been ready her whole life." Cole's statement was...eh a little bit cringe.
"You better start rehearsing that apology, Cole." Kai said stepping into the mat.
"I'm not going to need to! I have full confidence in her."
Well I don't even have full confidence in myself.
"Well, improv is always more entertaining." Kai said as I stepped into the mat.
"Um, good luck?" I held out my hand for Kai to shake.
"Good luck. You're gonna need it." Kai said grabbing my hand.
Alright, I was pissed now. There's no way I'm letting this douchebag win.
"Ready," Cole held his arm between us. "And...fight!" His arm raised.
It started out slow, we both circled the mat just starring at each other. I didn't know if I was supposed to make the first move or if he was. Soon enough I heard a yell come from Kai and a fist flying towards my face. I quickly dodged to the side, but I felt a leg kick my legs out from under me. I went crashing down. Cole winced in the background.
"Roll, and stand!" I heard him yell.
Before Kai could make another move, I rolled away from him and immediately stood up. As I turned around he was flying towards me and grabbed me from behind. With the momentum of him jumping on me, I arched forward sending him crashing on the mat, face down. I heard a slight groan come from him and then before I could blink, he was on his feet.
"Art of the Silent Fist...I wouldn't bet on that forever." Kai laughed.
I looked at Cole who just shook his head. I'm guessing he mean't to keep trying the silent first. Once again, Kai threw a couple more punches, but they were too fast to dodge, so I blocked them with my elbows. I didn't see it coming, but his knee dug into my stomach causing me to hunch over his raised leg in pain. Before he could drop his leg, however, I grabbed the bottom side of his thigh and with one of my legs, I tripped his only standing leg. We both crashed together on the mat. I had the advantage. I was on top of Kai. I twisted our legs together so he couldn't stand. Then, I took my elbow and managed to flip his shoulder over so he was on his side. I pinned his shoulder that was the closest to the sky down so it smooshed his face and hands underneath. With his legs twisted up and his shoulder pinned, Cole started to count it.
"One, two, three! YES!"
I immediately let go of Kai and he quickly stood up, embarrassed. "How the hell-"
"It's called getting the most awesome coach ever." I wrapped my arm around Cole's waist. Cole smiled and squeezed his arm around me.
"Alright alright, if he is such an awesome coach, then maybe you should fight him." Kai crossed his arms.
Cole looked wide eyed at Kai.
"I mean...if I managed to beat the elemental master of fire...how hard could the master of earth be?" I smirked at Cole.
"Pretty damn difficult. Sparring is one of my best skills, Maya. I don't want you getting hurt."
"Then if you're so good, don't hurt her. After all aren't you the...what was it...second best at sparring? You know, next to Jay?" Kai laughed.
"Jay's better than everyone here at sparring?" I whispered in shock.
"I wouldn't say better. Just...that he has more technique." Cole said.
"Face it, Cole, only a handful of us have beat Jay more than once. He's good." Kai said.
"Kai I'd never thought you'd give him so much credit for something. I smell...maturity." Cole snickered.
"Don't be expecting anything else. That's all he's getting from me." Kai laughed.
"Can we please just fight?" I looked impatiently at Cole.
"Alright, alright! Fine." Cole stepped onto the mat.
"Where's your sparring gear?" I asked looking at his bare hands and feet.
"Oh tough guy here doesn't need any." Kai sneered.
"He's right. I don't." Cole said as I stepped back onto the mat.
"Good luck," I smiled giving Cole a handshake.
"Good luck." He smiled.
"Ready," Kai held his arm out. "And...fight!" Kai raised his arm.
Same thing as last time, we just circled each other for a good ten seconds. It was my turn to make a first move. Attempting to show off, I threw a low-high kick, but Cole dodged it and ran to my side, giving me a round-house kick in the side. I took a couple steps back, shocked that he actually kicked me that hard. I looked at Cole and he just shrugged. Kai was getting into it. He summoned the others to come and watch, but Cole and I didn't notice. Cole threw a punch then dodged me very swiftly. He then came from behind me and snaked his arms under my arms and placed both hands behind my neck, pinning my arms to where I couldn't move them. I was struggling. Badly.
"Here's a tip," Cole started to whisper. "Drop like dead weight."
I realized what he was doing. I didn't want to cheat, but he was my coach after all, so I listened. I dropped all my body weight and felt to the floor. The other ninja were getting excited, they began to start cheering. After I dropped, I rolled between Cole's legs and grabbed his hips from behind and attempted to pull him backwards, but he didn't budge. Cole leaned forward, causing me to hang from his waist. I took the opportunity to climb onto his back and put all of my weight on his upper back, causing him to fall forward with me on top. Immediately, he pushed me and rolled on top of me, placing his hands on my shoulders and his feet pinning my feet.
"This is kind of hot." I smiled. I knew exactly what I was doing. Emotionally getting him off guard.
"I mean, yeah, wait, really?" Cole asked looking into my eyes.
Without him knowing, I snaked my legs free and kicked him off of me.
"That was mean." Cole pouted.
"Sorry!" I smiled getting back in my front stance.
I threw a few hooks at Cole, hitting him with a couple of them. He tried to round house me again, but I was so pumped with adrenaline I jumped over his leg. I could hear Kai scream in the background with excitement. Punch after punch, I threw at Cole. I noticed his only defense was to place his forearms in front of his face and hunch over.
"Come on, Cole! Fight back!" Jay screamed.
I let Cole have a couple seconds to breathe, but as soon as I saw him unblock his face, he looked green. Dizzy almost. I didn't know if this was his tactic for getting me to stop fighting, so I just held my fists up and bounced back and forth around him. "Come on!" I yelled.
Cole stood up straight and looked right at me. His arms dropped to his side and he started to rock back and forth, unstable on his feet. "Cole?" I stopped bouncing at looked at him. All of a sudden his face went from droopy to wincing in pain. His eyes squeezed shut and his head lowered. He knelt on the ground and grabbed his shoulders, screaming in pain. "Cole!" I ran over to him. I knelt down and began to ask him what was wrong.
"I can't...my back. Agh!" I put my arm in front of his stomach so he could lean onto it. One by one the other ninja jumped on the mat and came by Cole.
"What's wrong?" Kai asked.
"I-I don't know. He said it was his back." I looked at the others in fear, still holding onto Cole.
"Take off his gi. Hurry." Lloyd said. Jay and Kai came around and lifted Cole from my arm he was leaning on and untied his belt. Jay let Cole lean on his shoulders as Kai slid off the shirt of his gi. My face sunk when I saw it. His back was covered in snake bites.
"That can't be from-" Nya gasped.
"Zane, what is this?" Lloyd demanded.
Zane walked close to Cole's back and scanned it. "There's multiple snake bites here. Twelve to be exact. It must have been from the fight."
"Cole, buddy, why didn't you say anything?" Jay asked as he held his best friend.
"It didn't bother me till now-ah!" Cole winced.
"It's his super-strength. That's what prevented him from feeling anything."
"Well it's kicked in now!" Kai yelled.
"We need Master Wu." Lloyd said.
"I'll go get him!" Nya yelled as she began to run down the stairs.
"Cole?" I hunched over so I could see Cole's face that was buried in Jay's shoulder. I pulled his hair back and tucked it behind his ear. "I know it hurts, I know. But I can help you. I've been bitten many times before. I know how it feels,"
Cole grabbed my hand that was moving his hair. "It hurts so bad, Maya." He cried.
I thought of what I did when I was bit. the venom was drawn out by steam. My bites didn't look as nearly as infected as his, so I hope it'll do the same. I stood up and looked at everyone. "Look I know what to do here. The Slithraa venom is no joke. It's been well over 24 hours since the battle, so the venom could already be traveling through his bloodstream. We need to get him in the steam room you all have for your post-workouts." I said.
"You sure that will work? Master Wu-" Lloyd began.
"Master Wu has never been bitten by a Slithraa. I have. Hundreds of times over the course of 5 years. Trust me." I walked up to my brother.
"Alright, let's try it. Kai, Jay, let's help move him."
Kai pulled one of Cole's arms around his shoulder and Jay did the same with his other arm. Slowly they stood him up. His head hung low the whole way to the steam room.
"Easy, buddy." Jay said as they slowly walked him down the stairs.
"Master Wu and Misako are gone, I can't find them anywhere." Nya said out of breath.
"It's okay, I know how to help him. We're putting him in the steam room, can you turn it on?" I asked Nya as we continued to guide Cole down the stairs.
She looked at Cole speechless when she saw how much pain he was in.
"Nya!" Kai yelled while he was struggling to help Cole.
"Yeah...yeah I'm on it." Nya ran and turned on the steamers.
"We're almost there, you'll feel better soon." I said.
Eventually we made it to the steam room. I ran to the towel rack and laid out two on the floor for Cole to lay on. "Lay him on his stomach." I said.
"Okay, nice and easy." Kai said as he took all of Cole's weight on his shoulders. Jay ran behind Cole to guide him to the floor. Slowly, with the help of Kai, Cole knelt on the floor. Lloyd and I took his shoulders and lowered him to the ground completely on his stomach. His head turned to the side Lloyd was on so his face wouldn't be flooded with steam.
"I need lavender oil. It'll help with the inflammation, and it will help the steam reach the bites better." I said looked at all the ninja.
"We don't have that." Zane said.
"Wait, Master Wu has lavender tea. Would that help?" Lloyd asked.
"Shouldn't hurt to try. Go grab it." I said. Lloyd nodded and ran out of the room.
"God it's so hot in here." Kai said fanning his gi top.
"I've got this if you all want to leave. I know it's hot."
"We aren't leaving him until we know he's okay." Jay said kneeling next to me looking down at Cole.
Cole was motionless, but I could hear him groaning. I could tell he was in a lot of pain. He began to start sweating, which was good. It was a sign the steam was starting to work. I wiped my forehead. I was getting hot too. I removed my gi top revealing only a sports bra underneath. Nya immediately smacked her hand over Jay's eyes.
"Nya, relax it's just a sports bra." I laughed.
"You're right. I'm hot too." Nya whipped off hers showing that she only had a sports bra on too.
"See it's not even as revealing as your bathing suit." Jay smirked.
Kai looked angrily at Jay which caused Jay to give off a nervous giggle.
"I've got it!" Lloyd ran back in and handed me a jar. I quickly opened it and stuck my nose in to smell it.
"Yep," I coughed. "That's lavender all right." I took a hand full of the tea in my hand and with the other I rubbed it on Cole's wounds. He started to grab the towels, squeezing them because it stung. "I'm sorry." I said with a frown. I didn't want to hurt him.
"I know you're only trying to help." Cole coughed.
"There," I handed the jar back to Lloyd. "That should do it. Now, we wait." I sat on the bench above Cole so I would be able to watch him without having to stand or kneel by him the whole time. I wanted the steam to take it's full course.
"How long is this expected to take?" Zane asked.
"If we had known about this yesterday, maybe ten minutes. But it's been so long, I can't tell for sure." I shook my head.
Well, 40 minutes had passed. Nothing changed. Except for the fact Cole fell asleep. I made sure Zane was constantly checking his vitals, but other than that, there was nothing else we could do. Everyone but Zane, Jay and I left the room because they couldn't take the steam. Jay was still sitting by Cole. He was really his best friend.
I looked out the window. I could see a couple of birds that flew by our stationary Bounty. It made me think of the elemental dragons. They were so fascinating. Cole's especially. I pondered on what mine were to look like if I was able to form one.
"What are you thinking about?" Zane turned to me.
"Nothing," I looked at Zane. "This is just taking a lot longer than I thought It was going be. I feel terrible we didn't know about it sooner."
"There's nothing we could've done. From the looks of it, Cole didn't even know the bites were there either." Zane said.
All of a sudden Cole woke up and started moaning. "Uh...guys? What's happening?" Jay looked and Zane and I.
I got off the bench and knelt down by Cole. I could see streams of green liquid pooling out of his wounds. "It's working," I whispered.
The walls were glass so the other ninja were able to see what was going on. They all stood up and walked in the room.
"Don't crowd him." I scolded them. They stood back by the door listening to me.
"Cole?" Jay asked seeing if he was awake.
"I'm alive." Cole groaned as the liquid continued to pour.
"This is uh...probably one of the grossest things I've ever seen. You're missing out, buddy." Jay laughed and gagged at the same time.
"I can feel it and it feels pretty fucking gross." Cole said wincing.
"You've made it this far, just a little more." I said putting my hand on Cole's shoulder.
"I'm trusting you." Cole started shaking.
"What's wrong?" Jay screamed.
"This is normal, it happened to me every time. It's a sign it's almost over." I said. Cole started to scream. This was the most painful part. I hated watching him scream. I wish I could take his place. I wish I could take all his pain away. I hid my emotions well. I was good at that. I stayed firm and knew that he had to stay strong. "Cole, this is it. This is the worst of it. You gotta stay strong." I said.
"This is a piece of cake!" Cole said sarcastically. It made everyone let out a small chuckle, including myself.
"Just think of your favorite cake in the world- chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache. I'm getting you one of those after this!" Jay said.
"That sounds so good," Cole tried to laugh but it turned into a cough.
Nya grabbed a couple towels and gave them to me. I started to wipe up all the venom and pus that came out of him. Then I wiped off the tea to see how everything looked. The venom was completely drained, but his wounds were still pretty infected. "All the venom is gone." I said.
Everyone cheered. Kai immediately turned off the steam and cold air filled the room. It felt great on my sweaty body. I used a spare towel to dry myself then I threw a clean towel to Jay.
"See, wasn't that bad." Kai joked to Cole.
"Nah, It was totally fine." Cole said still lying on the floor.
"He's not out of the woods yet. These bites are infected so he'll need eucalyptus oil-or tea- and lots of rest. He definitely needs a nap after what he went through." I smiled looking at Cole as he looked at me, trying to smile.
"And you do too. Same with you Jay. You were in this room thirty minutes over the recommended time. I wouldn't be surprised if you are all light-headed." Nya said hugging Jay.
...
After Cole, Jay and I were all in our own beds, everyone else went up to the deck so they wouldn't disturb us. I tossed and turned in my bed. I couldn't sleep. I had to make sure Cole was sleeping or at least comfortable. I jumped out of my bed, feeling very light-headed, and walked out of my room. I crept down the hallway and found Cole in his room with his door open. He was sound asleep on his stomach. I smiled. He looked so precious. I just wanted to hold him. I was about to leave, but then I turned back around. I walked into his room quietly and shut the door behind me. Slowly, I walked over to his bed and opened the covers on the side where he wasn't sleeping on. I crawled in and rolled over, facing Cole. I covered myself up with the blankets and looked at him in awe for a good five minutes. He looks so sound when he's sleeping, not as rowdy as he is when he's awake. Before I drifted off to sleep, I kissed him on the forehead, and rolled away, facing the wall. But right as I closed my eyes, I felt a hand wrap around my stomach. I smiled. I turned back over and saw Cole, still with his eyes shut, but smiling. I scooted in a bit closer to him and faced the wall again, that way my shoulder was right against his. With his arm still around me, peacefully, we fell asleep.