"I hate this."
"You already said that. Twice."
"Yeah? That's because it's still true. I hate this."
"Oh, come on. There's no difference between this and a haunted house." Though meant to reassure his friend, the comparison only served to set Cole more on edge than before.
"Well, seeing as I've never even been in one of those things before, I wouldn't know much about them, now would I?"
"Why is that not surprising?" He kept his eyes on the dark corridor ahead as Jay shivered beside him.
"Besides, haunted houses aren't supposed to be life threatening."
"That's debatable. There was one I went into once that was actually the former home of a serial killer. It turns out that he actually still lived there and the attraction was just set up around him. No one even knew he was there, until…"
"Until…?"
Despite their circumstances, Cole felt his lips tug into a smirk. "Until he stabbed seven people and set them up as part of the attraction, so no one knew the difference."
"Uh huh. Then how did you figure it out, genius?"
His smirk widened. "Because… he stabbed me, too!"
A yelp of surprise echoed through the hallway as he jabbed his fingers into his friend's side.
"Cole! Knock it off! That isn't funny!"
Even amidst his laughter, the earth ninja kept his gaze glued on the dim hall ahead. "That's a new one for you."
"You're the one who said we can't afford to get distracted," Jay pointed out, clearly having recovered from his momentary shock.
"No, that was Lloyd. And I was bored, okay?" He sighed. "I mean, nothing's even happening! If she truly had it out for us, something would've happened by now."
"What if it already has?" And… Cole resisted the urge to facepalm. Here we go. "What if she's already picked off the others one by one? What if we're next? What if we get separated? What if she separates us and—?"
"That's only going to happen if we freak out, okay? We can't afford to get distracted, remember?"
"So you did say it!"
"Yeah, like, just now, not before. That was still Lloyd. Now, you just need to calm down and focus."
"Hey, you were the one messing around!"
"And now I'm the one saying we'll never get out of here if we don't focus."
A hollow silence fell over the two brothers after that and Cole soon found himself missing the banter. Because even if it had bordered on an argument, it had still been something. Now, there was nothing left to echo against the thick metallic walls but their light footfalls and heavy breathing.
Just keep going, Cole urged himself as he set his jaw. Keep going and this will all be over soon. Soon.
But how soon, exactly? They'd all been so certain they were walking into a trap, and yet they knew it was the only way. Play her game. Keep her distracted long enough for Wu and Misako to evacuate the village.
Then, and only then, could they work on taking her down.
Right. Just keep going. One step at a time—
"Did you feel that?"
Cole's entire body stilled, and for a moment, they both just stood there listening, waiting.
Nothing.
With a sigh, he started around the next turn. "Jay, you're paranoid."
"Better to be a nervous wreck than way too relaxed," Jay defended himself, his boots clipping quickly against the floor in an effort to catch up.
Cole forced his shoulders into a half-hearted shrug. "Who said I was relaxed?"
"No one had to. Ever since we set foot in this stupid haunted house, you've been skipping from corridor to corridor like you don't have a care in the world!"
That's it! Cole turned on him now, staring his friend down for the first time since they'd all split up. "You've been following me this whole time and you haven't noticed how freaking tense my shoulders are? I might not be completely paranoid like some people, but I'm in no way relaxed! What about this place of hers screams relaxation and serenity to you?"
"None of it!" Jay shot back. "That's why you—Wait, I think I kicked something…"
Then, Cole did hear it, and he really wished he hadn't. He'd desperately wanted Jay to be wrong; to just be his usual paranoid self.
A shudder, a creak. Then, the floor rattled.
Oh, no…
Wu had warned them this wasn't going to be easy… I just didn't expect it to be this hard.
This was his last thought before the floor slid out from beneath them. He heard Jay cry out as they both fought for a handhold.
One of Cole's hands quickly found purchase on the floor's edge while his other fumbled to catch Jay.
And missed by finger's length.
No… No! He couldn't lose any of his friends—his brothers—but he especially couldn't lose—
"Jay!"
A sudden bolt of pain shot up his arm and tugged at his fingers as his body was jerked downward. Though his fingers felt close to snapping clean in half, Cole grabbed onto the edge with his other hand before risking a glance down toward what he hoped was Jay.
Sure enough, the lightning ninja was dangling over a sea of black, clinging to Cole's leg as if his life depended on it. It probably does…
"Whatever you do, don't let go!"
Jay's first response was to tighten his grip. "Yeah, because that's the first thing on my mind right now!"
"Just hang tight while I try and get us out of here…" Come on, super strength… Come on—
Cole bit back a curse as his arms gave out halfway through the strenuous task of trying to pull both himself and Jay back onto the floor.
"Cole…?"
"Do you…" Cole gritted out through a series of labored breaths. "D'you think you can climb your way back up?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Just answer the stupid question, Jay!"
"Fine, fine!" There was a slight pause during which all time seemed to stand still for Cole. "Yeah… I can at least try."
"Good." Because I don't know how much longer I can hold us both.
As Jay slowly worked his way up the Cole Ladder, the Master of Earth worked on calming his heart rate. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale—
Jay had just clamped a shaky hand over the back of Cole's shirt when an unexpected tremor shook the floor—and Cole in the process.
As his brother lost his grip, Cole felt time slow to a crawl once more. Not again… He fumbled to catch Jay and this time, their hands connected.
"Don't let go," Jay breathed. "Whatever you do—"
"I…" Cole fought to adjust his grip, his thumping heart caught in his throat. "I'm slipping…"
"No, you're not! Don't say stuff like that! Don't—"
"Jay, I'm sorry, I—"
"No! Cole, don't you dare!"
He would never actually let go, not when it meant risking more than just his own life. But he simply couldn't hold on any longer…
… And his fingers slipped out of their once tight hold.
The fall into the darkness below was relatively short, but to Cole, it seemed to drag on for eternity upon eternity. He'd failed. I failed. How? Why?
He was supposed to be strong—the strongest in Ninjago. Pulling them both back up should've been easy. So, why had it been so hard?
Why did I fail?
The sickening thud of Jay's body hitting the ground pounded against Cole's eardrums mere seconds before he felt the impact. The darkness clouding wherever they had landed was so thick, Cole had a hard time discerning whether or not he was still awake. He didn't feel awake, but he didn't feel unconscious either—whatever that felt like.
Caught in some sort of messy inbetween, he tried to get his mouth working again, but his tongue felt like led; his throat like ash.
Jay… He needed to make sure Jay was all right. He needed to… to…
"Are…" A light cough pierced the inky black void. "Are we dead…?"
A groan was the best response Cole could manage.
"C-Cole…?"
Before he could work on forming a proper reply this time, lights flickered on overhead. They were dim, but they were something. Something to reassure Cole that he was still counted among the living.
Jay… Despite his body's protests, he forced himself into a sitting position, only to find Jay struggling to do the same.
"Jay!" In an instant, Cole was at his friend's side, helping him up. "Are you all right?"
With a slight wince, Jay rubbed at his head and took a look around. "I'm guessing this means we're not dead, then. Right?"
"Unless death looks like a tall metal chamber, no. Are you hurt?" Even as he asked it, Cole did a quick scan for injuries.
"Nah, just a little bruised, that's all." Right. Despite Jay's nonchalant reassurance, Cole noticed the way he favored his right arm as he pushed himself off the ground. "You?"
"Fine," Cole replied, brushing himself off out of force of habit. "We've got to get out of here."
"And… how do you suggest we do that?"
"Uh…" Another glance about the room didn't reveal much and Cole bit back a curse. "Can you boost the power and give us a little more light to work with?"
Jay cracked both his knuckles and a smile as sparks of electricity danced atop his fingers. "With pleasure."
Then, Cole felt something hard and cold wrap around his ankle, and as quickly as the sparks appeared, they flickered out of existence, seemingly gone forever, no matter how Jay tried to bring them back.
"Hey! What—?" The blue ninja was cut off by a familiar disembodied voice.
Her voice.
"You've stumbled into one of my traps already?" A chilling laugh echoed off the walls. "Honestly, this is all too easy."
"Says the coward who won't even show her face and make this a fair fight!" Cole shouted, instinctively tugging against the chain now tightly secured around his ankle. One end was attached to the wall; the other held him prisoner.
"Fair?" This time, the laugh sent an involuntary shiver racing down Cole's spine. "Since when do storybook villains play fair?"
"She's crazy!" Jay hissed as he pulled at his own chain. "Vengestone, dang it! You know, I'm just about sick and tired of this stuff. Where does it even come from?"
Cole offered up a pacifying shrug, bracing himself for her next words.
"My dear ninja," she began, "since you've tumbled into my little game, it appears you have no choice but to play. All you have to do is simply tell me what I want to hear and I'll see to it that your lives are spared."
"What about our friends?" Jay demanded, to which she just laughed. Again.
If Cole never heard that awful sound for the rest of his life, it would still be far too soon.
"What about your friends? They have their own traps to slosh through. And if I'm not mistaken, it was you who triggered this one." At her words, Cole exchanged a quick glance with Jay, only to watch his friend's expression twist from confused to guilt-ridden within nanoseconds.
"Oh…" Jay forced a nervous chuckle. "I knew I kicked something… Heh…"
Right. Cole nearly facepalmed right then and there, but she was talking again, and the only way to escape was to listen.
"Now, tell me what I want to hear,"—Though she was speaking to them from some other room, Cole could practically see the wicked smile that possessed her lips—"and the water will recede."
"Water?" Jay repeated, looking around the barren chamber. "What wate—?"
As if on cue, square holes opened up on all four sides of the room and began gushing out steady streams of water.
Cole fixed Jay with an unamused glare. "You just had to ask, didn't you?"
"Hey! She was gonna do it anyway!" Jay protested, and the argument died there. There's no time for this!
"Just look for some way out of here, okay?"
"There's only one way out." The more her voice filtered through the hidden speakers, the faster Cole's heart began to race. "And you both know what it is."
"Uh, no," Jay shot back before Cole could even open his mouth to reply, "we don't!"
"Jay, would you quit antagonizing her and just help me for a second?"
"She's the one antagonizing us!"
"Just don't talk to her," Cole ordered as he scanned the room for an escape hatch, or a crack. A crevice. A hole. Anything.
When she began taunting them again, Cole did his best to ignore her, but he couldn't ignore the way his heart hammered against his chest. Beating, beating, beating, until he was sure it would burst into a million pieces.
Shut up… Shut up!
"I thought you were supposed to be the Master of Earth, possessing a super-strength that has gone unrivaled for years…" Just shut up… "You should've been able to save yourself and your friend from falling. Oh, wait…" Another laugh was followed by an annoyed whine from Jay. "The trapdoor was crafted using vengestone, wasn't it? I'd quite forgotten about that tiny detail."
A dull pain shot through Cole's palm and it took reassurance from Jay for him to realize he was clenching his fists. Tight.
"Don't listen to her. This isn't your fault."
"And yet the water's still rising." Way to go, Cole.
"Hey,"—He felt Jay's hand on his arm—"we're gonna get out of here."
Cole clenched his fists tighter, this time in determination. "I know we are. We can't afford not to."
An eternity seemed to drag by as they scoured the chamber for an escape hatch, banging on the walls and feeling for any sort of trigger or loose panel.
And still, the water continued to rise.
Nothing. There can't be nothing. There's always some way out! There can't be—
A sharp gasp from Jay pulled Cole out of his desperate musings and he spun around in the water. Their feet had left the ground long ago—though, if Cole was being honest with himself, it was probably only a few minutes ago—and they'd been forced to resume their search while treading water.
"What—?" The sheer panic etched on his brother's face nearly had Cole choking on his own words.
"It stopped," Jay breathed, face white as a sheet.
But the water's still coming… Unless he's talking about… Cole was certain he felt his heart stop beating altogether. No…
"It won't—" Jay cut himself off with a strangled gasp and he continued to jerk against the chain around his ankle that prevented him from rising with the water any higher. "It's not long enough! It won't stretch any more! Cole! Why won't it—?"
But Cole couldn't hear him over the rush of water against his ears as he dove further below the surface. No, no, no!
They were not dying today.
Not if I have anything to say about it.
He didn't stop until he reached the other end of Jay's chain. If he tore every single one of his muscles trying to rip it out of the wall, it would be worth it.
The first three tugs were in vain, but he was determined not to give up until his lungs burned with a fire that rivaled Kai's. Then, Jay was at his side, joining him in his quest of strength.
Even with their combined efforts, the chain remained stubbornly attached to the wall.
Failure. Failure. Failure!
He was an absolute failure, and it was going to kill his friend. His brother.
When his lungs began to hold the harsh threat of death over his head, Cole tore Jay away from the chain and kicked like crazy back to the surface.
Gasping for air, Cole felt his stomach lurch at the way the water was quickly swallowing Jay's shoulders. And yet, his own chain continued to stretch far enough for him to keep his head above the watery grave for another solid four feet. Why?
What sort of sick game is this?
Before he could say anything—but what was there to say? Gee, I hope you don't drown, Jay? Yeah, right.—Jay dove down once more, leaving Cole no choice but to follow.
One, two, pull.
One, two, pull.
One, two, fail.
Fail.
Fail.
Fail.
Jay spluttered and coughed suddenly beside him, kicking Cole's survival instincts into first gear. He latched onto his friend's arm again and swam for the surface, where Jay fought to catch his breath.
Cole swallowed, forcing himself to remain calm.
Calm? Who am I kidding? We're way past calm!
As he readied himself for another dive, he felt Jay's trembling hand on his arm.
"Wait, Cole, I—" A final bout of coughing wracked his sopping frame. The water circled around his neck now like a fast-tightening noose. "I need to tell you before—"
"No!" Cole snapped, gripping both Jay's shoulders. "Don't talk like that, do you hear me? I'm getting you out of this—"
"For once would you just listen to me?" It was the desperation in Jay's voice that finally shut Cole's mouth, leaving him with nothing else to do but grit his teeth and try in vain to pull his friend higher above the water.
"Listen," Jay repeated as he gasped for air. "I need to th-thank you for being my friend, a-and for being such a good one, too. You were my first real friend—the best a guy could ever have—a-and I'm sorry for kicking whatever it was that t-triggered this trap, but I c-couldn't see and I didn't know, and I d-didn't want it to end this way, but—"
"It won't, do you hear me? It's not going to end this—Jay!"
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Jay sucked in one last breath. Then, the rising water devoured him.
"Jay!" Cole was diving before he could even finish taking his own breath, swimming down to where Jay was going at it with the chain again.
They pulled and pulled, but it held fast, almost seeming to laugh at their miserable failure.
No. No!
With lungs burning, Cole's brain pushed him back toward the surface. He kept his hand closed tightly around Jay's, and even though he knew all too well what was about to happen, shock still coursed through his veins when Jay's chain jerked them both to a stop just below the surface.
No… Please, no…
This can't be how it ends. Not him. Please, not him!
Drowning was never how Cole had wanted to go out, but in that moment, he would've willingly drowned a hundred times over if it meant Jay could live.
Heart pounding, lungs screaming, Cole gazed at his brother. Beneath the thin layer of panic and terror rested an odd expression of calm—of acceptance.
And Cole just couldn't accept that. He wouldn't accept it.
Keeping his hand clenched around Jay's, Cole broke through the surface again. Each strangled gasp pummeled him with guilt—because why should he be able to breathe when his brother couldn't?—but he needed air; he needed words.
He felt Jay's grip tighten until he was certain his fingers would snap. It'd serve me right for letting go.
After one last inhale, Cole cried out to the disembodied voice, "Why is his chain shorter, huh? What do you want from us? From me?"
For the first time, she remained silent. Was she even there anymore? Or had she moved on to torment his other friends?
Or was she waiting to hear…
Ever so slightly, Jay's grip began to loosen. No!
"What do you want me to say?" If he sounded desperate, he was way past any state of caring. "What are you waiting to hear? That I give up? That you win?"
Still, nothing.
It took several long, mind-numbing seconds for Cole to realize that Jay's grip had loosened completely. That he was no longer holding on.
That Cole was now the one hanging onto his friend for dear life.
One quick dive was enough to stop Cole's heart, and for a moment, time came to a screeching halt. Jay's eyes were closed; his chest deathly still as he floated, seemingly frozen in time.
Only, he wasn't frozen—he was drowning.
He was dying.
Bursting out from under the water, Cole didn't even bother to catch his breath. Instead, he screamed his throat ragged.
"What do you want me to say? You win, okay? Did you hear me? You win! Now get us out of here! You said you'd spare our lives, and yet he's still dy—" He choked on the awful word. Despite how very close Death's cruel hands were to Jay, uttering the word aloud would just make it all the more real. And it just couldn't be real. "You win! We give up! I give up! You win! Now, make it stop! Do you hear me? Make. It. Stop!"
Time continued to drag on as an eerie silence settled over the chamber. But in that silence, Cole was sure of one thing: the water had stopped its relentless gushing.
Cole felt it mere seconds before it began. The trembling of the water, the slight swirling sensation. Then, he was spinning; being pulled along with the current. Faster, faster, faster…
And in less than a third of the time it had taken to fill, the chamber emptied of all its water.
Before his brain could catch up to his body, Cole was stumbling across the floor. He had to get to Jay. He had to—
To what?
As he knelt beside his friend, Cole refused to think the worst. He can't be… Please, don't let him be…
"Jay…?"
Nothing.
Cole scrambled to check for a pulse, holding his breath until he felt something—anything.
Please, no…
"Jay! Jay, come on, buddy! Can you hear me? Come on!"
I can't lose you. Please, don't make me lose you!
His lungs began to burn once again, screaming for the breath he wouldn't let them have. Not yet. Not until…
There! It was there! Very faint, but Jay had a definite pulse.
Through a tight throat, Cole continued to call out his brother's name, trying desperately to wake him up. He needs to wake up!
"Jay!" He shook the limp body with a strength he didn't feel. "Jay! Come on, buddy, please! Come on…"
Jay…
Not a half-second later, Jay's eyelids shot open and he jerked onto his side in a fit of wet coughs.
Relief washed over Cole in waves and he nearly collapsed under the weight of it all as Jay cleared his lungs.
"Jay," he sighed, taking in a few labored breaths along with his friend, as if both of them inhaling at the same time would somehow help speed up Jay's recovery.
"C-Cole…?" Jay's voice was weak and raspy, but to Cole, it was the greatest sound he'd ever heard.
"Don't scare me like that!" Cole said, his own voice toeing the line of hysteria. It took all his self-control not to laugh out loud.
Don't. Don't make another sound. She's still listening… And he didn't want to look like he was completely losing it.
Still, these thoughts might've kept him from laughing, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
"Cole…" Jay repeated, his expression equally as bleary and dull as his usually dancing eyes. "What—?"
Whatever Jay was about to say got muffled as Cole grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close. Never again. "Don't ever scare me like that again…"
As emotion tightened his throat, he felt Jay grip his gi, burying his face deeper into Cole's chest. Like Cole was his only lifeline, his only hope.
Maybe I am.
When the lights grew dimmer, Cole held Jay tighter.
That was too close a call. Way too close.
But at least they were still together. Whatever she threw at them next, they would have each other's backs.
Because he's fine now, Cole reassured himself as he felt Jay try to catch his breath. He's fine. We're gonna be fine…
Even though the lights continued to dim, threatening to swallow them up in a black void, Cole felt as though he could finally, truly breathe.
As the darkness closed in, he took another breath and buried his face in Jay's soaked mop of hair.
We're gonna be fine…
We're gonna be…
And the darkness devoured them.