I tried to post this on time, I swear. Thank you for your patience.
Having a friend means that Jay's life is forever changed. A best friend is one of several things that Jay never thought he'd have, for reasons that he can't remember anymore. All he knows is that meeting Cole changed his life for the better, even if it didn't always seem that way.
The years have forged a strong bond between them, a bond that will last a lifetime. Jay can't imagine where he'd be without his best friend, but then again, he can't imagine a world without Cole. Even when Jay was in another world—or another realm, to be more precise, Cole was there.
This is why the time after Cole falls feels so surreal, because Jay didn't think it could happen.
Cole is the second half of his whole idiot, and if anything happened to him, Jay would die.
He feels like he does the second he feels the ladder snap.
Jay is halfway up, unable and not wanting to move until Nya gets the ship under control, and he goes back and forth between looking up and down, making sure that Cole gets his grip on the ladder.
Cole does, after getting knocked around in a way that might have been humorous in any other situation, and he smiles at Jay.
Jay smiles back, and that's when the rope holding the ladder taut snaps.
Jay feels the event before he hears or even sees anything. The weight that pulled the ladder steady below Jay suddenly slackens, and Jay swings free.
Cole falls.
Right before Jay's eyes, just out of reach.
"Cole!" Jay calls.
One hand, useless and hanging, reaches after Cole as his friend falls away from the ship. One word, Cole's name, is all Jay manages to say. He can't scream, for his voice has died, and he watches in silence as his best friend drops.
Cole doesn't look scared, or even horrified, like Jay feels the longer he watches. Cole looks surprised.
Before he disappears in the darkness, he holds a hand to the ship, as though reaching for it. Then he is gone, and Jay almost loses his grip in his despair.
He doesn't move right away, hardly feeling the strength to do more than hang onto the ladder as it swings back and forth, unbearably light compared to the steady weight of before. The ship jolts as Nya finally drives off, and the air cuts into Jay like knives through his clothes.
He closes his eyes against it, feeling them water, and when he opens them, he finally moves. He steps down first, then stops as he wonders why. Maybe he could reach Cole if he climbed down to meet him, but Cole is gone.
They're flying away from him.
In his shock, Jay climbs the rest of the way up the ladder, almost collapsing onto the deck when he gets his feet over the railing. His legs feel like they've turned to jelly, and while his friends are there to meet him, their shaking hands don't do much to steady him.
They had seen what happened, certainly.
Jay looks to their faces, and that's when the reality of what just happened slams into him. The light of the sun is suddenly blinding, and the colors around him swirl. His friends' faces disappear as Jay loses focus of the world around him, but he can still see Cole's face clear as day.
It is frozen in his mind, caught in permanent surprise.
He lost Cole.
Cole was right behind him, as he always is, yet—
He lost Cole.
Jay is dying. Something implodes in his chest as he braces himself against the edge of the ship, staring into the darkened city. He can't see the spot where Cole fell, but a part of him doesn't want to find it, either.
He doesn't let himself fall apart like he wants to, despite every joint in his body quivering like they're going to pop apart, because the ninja still have a mission to complete. Ninja never quit, and the world needs every one of them to stay together for this.
All the same, Jay thinks he dies.
Sixteen hours later, Jay is a wreck.
Just sixteen.
There were four hours between the time Cole fell and the time that Cole came driving back in his earth drill, and the frame of time between there still feels like an alternate reality.
Kind of like Nadakhan, but not enough. Everyone is affected by the march of the oni, and the evidence of it is all around Jay, in both the destruction left behind and the way his friends are behaving.
Jay sees it best in how Cole looks now, lying in the hospital bed with a strange look on his face. Jay stands at the foot of it, hands braced at the edge as he tries to comprehend everything that's happened to them.
On one hand, he's overjoyed. The ninja defeated the oni, and more importantly, Cole is alive. Seeing him appear at first left Jay a little starstruck, for he was sure that this was a dream (or a nightmare, more likely, since Jay would wake up with Cole dead and gone, except—).
Cole appeared.
Within hours of the time that Jay was sure he'd never see his friend again, Cole arrived in a nick of time to help them defeat the oni, like nothing happened at all. Then they nearly lost Lloyd, and everyone struggled to deal with the emotional whiplash of it all.
Between the running around and trying to get Ninjago's displaced citizens back where they came from, the ninja agreed that it was probably best to take Cole and Lloyd to the hospital, because there is no way that either of them can be fine, right?
For Cole, it was a miracle that he survived. Jay has no clue how Cole was able to stand, let alone walk and fight.
So Jay might be a wreck. Happy, terrified, and sad all at once.
"You look terrible," Jay says. It is the first thing he's said since walking in to see Cole.
Cole grins at him, and despite the ease with which it appears, pain still pinches parts of Cole's expression. The doctors have him propped in a way that eases pressure off the bones in his back, but the scrapes and tears he received upon impact with whatever Cole landed on makes it difficult to relax, despite the many bandages and medicines Cole has taken.
Jay isn't sure how to feel about it. It breaks Jay's heart to see the strongest person he knows lying on the bed like a broken doll, but at the same time, Cole is alive.
Jay repeats this thought to himself.
"C'mon," Cole responds, "Tell me how you really feel."
"I wish I could hug you."
Cole is trying to joke, but Jay can't match his energy. Jay is having trouble doing more than looking at his friend—looking to make sure that he won't disappear when Jay looks away.
"You can hug me," says Cole, "I'm fine."
"No, you're not!" says Jay, "The doctor said—"
"Pff," Cole dismisses with a wave of his hand, "I'm tough. Give me a day or two. I'll be as fresh as a daisy."
He speaks with the same bold, almost jovial tone he spoke with after appearing during the fight. Jay shakes his head at it, unable to believe his ears. Considering Cole's experiences, the tone seems out of place, and Jay can't think of a reason for its appearance other than that Cole is just happy to be alive.
He supposes Cole deserves to think this way, but Jay can't get past the fall.
"If you're not going to hug me," says Cole, when Jay is quiet too long, "at least fist bump me, man."
He holds out his fist from the bed, barely suppressing a wince as he does. Jay tries not to wince with him. By all accounts, Cole's fall was less damaging than it should have been—considering that he should have been…unable to make it out of the city.
Despite the miraculous survival, Cole will likely sport the effects of the fall for the rest of his life, in both the scars on his back and the different gait at which he walks.
Jay snorts. "A fist bump?"
"Sure," says Cole, with a grin.
"What is this, a 'congrats, you're not dead, bro!' kind of fist bump?" asks Jay, indulging Cole anyway.
"Well, yeah," says Cole. For a second, his expression falters, and Jay sits next to Cole's bed, getting a good look at his face.
"I do mean it," says Jay, "You look rough. Maybe you should sleep."
"I'd say the same about you," says Cole, "You okay, bud?"
"Why are you asking me this?" asks Jay, "What about you? How are you so happy?"
He must ask, because despite how well he knows Cole, he can't figure this out. Cole fell, suffered possibly irreparable injuries, and had to watch as his family flew away without him. He had to fight tooth and nail to make it back to the monastery alone, only to nearly lose one of their own with the rest of the team.
Jay doesn't understand. Jay is a wreck, but Cole isn't.
Cole replies, "I'm alive," like it's that simple.
Maybe it is.
Jay exhales, counting the seconds out slowly. He wants to sleep, but he doesn't want to close his eyes for fear of waking up and finding that this is all a dream. Cole is gone, Lloyd is dead, and they are surrounded in darkness.
"Aren't you happy?"
The question comes as a shock to Jay, and his eyes go wide.
"I—of course, Cole!" says Jay, sorry for making Cole think otherwise, "Of course I'm happy. I couldn't be—it's just that," he takes a breath, "I thought you were a goner. I really did."
"I'm sorry," says Cole.
"Don't," says Jay, "I was scared. I felt like—"
He doesn't say what he felt, but he thinks that Cole knows.
"Yeah," says Cole, and his eyes turn distant as his voice goes serious, "I can't say I was doing too well myself down there. But I got through. We always do."
Jay asks himself how, and repeats it over and over. How many more times can the ninja play this same song and dance? How many more times can Jay lose someone before they are lost for good?
"I suppose we do," Jay says. He doesn't know how, and maybe he isn't meant to know.
They sit in silence. Then Jay inhales.
"Let me know," says Jay, "as soon as you're feeling better, that way I can kill you for scaring me that bad."
Cole chuckles. "Sure thing."
A moment later, Cole sets his hand against Jay's arm. Jay looks over in question.
"Thanks for being here," says Cole, "This is why you're my favorite."
"You're funny," says Jay and a part of him wants to make a joke to both laugh off the unexpectedly sweet statement and cheer Cole up, but he says instead, "I'll always be here for you."
He will, just as Cole has been there for him.
One morning months afterwards, when peace has finally returned to the monastery's halls, Jay wanders about after a long night of playing video games. He rubs at one bleary eye and finds that his clock reads a time well after Jay should have gone to bed. It's late—well, early—and earlier than he expected.
It is almost dawn, and at this point, Jay figures he might as well stay awake. Glancing out his window, he spots the distant horizon and gets an idea. He hopes Cole won't mind being woken up at this hour.
It's been a while since Jay has sought Cole out for a spontaneous excursion, mostly since losing Wu and every event afterwards had diminished whatever time they had to enjoy themselves. Since the march of the oni, this fact has changed.
Their team has healed slowly, but they've healed well.
It's taken a while for Jay to see this, because for a long time after the march of the oni, Jay walked on eggshells around his friends, not wanting to disturb something. He didn't want to trigger any emotional stress from the memories, nor any physical stress from the injuries, afraid that he'll break something that his friends won't come back from.
He was like this around Cole more than anyone due to the nature of his fall, refusing to lean on him or clap his friend on the back—any of the familiar expressions of their friendship, and he should have known better than to treat Cole that way.
It culminated in a pretty heated argument after Jay found Cole standing close to a cliff's edge two months after the fall, but the result was an openness between them that hadn't been there before, a surprising fact considering how close they were already. It turns out Jay has a lot to learn about the nature of things, but everyone does.
And now Jay is…at peace. He thinks he can say that now.
He goes into Cole's room and pats his sleeping friend across the shoulders.
"Hey," Jay says, patting a rhythm, "Wake up, sleepy head!"
He hears Cole groan and shift, sounding not unlike a zombie or one of the stone warriors they fought so long ago. This thought gives Jay pause as he thinks of how the time has passed.
"Jay?" Cole squints from behind his bangs. "What time is it?"
"Early," says Jay, "Want to watch the sun come up with me?"
Cole raises an eyebrow and peers at the window. It is still dark outside, though the horizon hints blue. It gives them enough time to get up, grab a snack or two, and make it to a nice sitting spot before dawn.
Assuming that Cole agrees to go with him, but Jay knows that Cole will.
True to Jay's assumption, Cole lifts his blanket away. "I might not be much fun; I went to bed late," says Cole as he swings his legs over the side of the bed.
Jay grins, pumping a fist and dancing for the door. "Just get your pants on and meet me outside. What jam do you want on your toast?"
"Jelly," Cole corrects, stretching and popping his back as he does, "Peach jelly, if there's anything left."
"Will do!" says Jay.
Cole meets Jay outside the monastery's door, clothes haphazardly thrown over his pajamas.
"Good to see you're decent," says Jay.
"You got my toast?"
"Right this way, buddy."
They trek down the side of the mountain until they reach a small shelf hidden around a steep wall of rock. This shelf, wide enough for them to sit with their legs hanging over the edge, is a favorite sitting point of theirs that was discovered on accident after moving into the monastery. Since then, they've enjoyed several picnics on it, because it has a great view and is out of the way from the rest of the world, like a secret nook that only they know.
When they arrive, Cole walks over it first, for the path is narrow and steep enough to almost be considered dangerous. Of course, danger is Jay's middle name, and despite Cole's recent experiences, Cole is deft enough with climbing that Jay is sure that Cole won't fall.
Though this fact was something both of them had to be reminded of, at first.
Cole plops down in his usual spot, and Jay follows. They hang their legs over the rock as it slides away from them, and Jay serves their breakfast. By this point, the sky has brightened significantly, making for easy navigation as Jay unpacks the little basket he brought (perhaps it was unnecessary, but this might as well be a picnic).
"Your toast," Jay presents, "I brought sodas, too. Grape or orange?"
"Blegh," says Cole, taking his toast.
"I'll give you the grape," says Jay.
He has no qualms about drinking soda for breakfast and pops his can with vigor. For a moment, they sit in silence, chewing through their breakfast and watching the sky change colors.
"Pretty," Jay comments, after the blue ignites with oranges and yellows.
Cole hums. "Any reason you're up? You didn't get a nightmare, I hope?"
It's been a while since Jay had a nightmare horrible enough to warrant an all-night prowl, but Jay appreciates Cole's concern, nonetheless.
"I never went to bed," he replies.
"Good grief," says Cole, "You ought to look out for yourself, more. You're going to look like a raccoon."
"Raccoons are charming," says Jay, "They have little hands."
Even as he says so, he stifles a yawn. He'll regret his all-nighter in a matter of hours—likely less—but he's enjoying the moment too much to care. As the sun starts to rise, Jay closes his eyes and lets the light crawl over his face.
A quick peek a few minutes later reveals Cole doing the same thing. Jay smiles.
"You think we'll always be like this?" Jay asks.
"Like what?"
"You know," says Jay, sitting straight, "Pals. Buddies. Doing stuff like this together."
"Oh," says Cole, smiling, "I think we will."
"Even if we fight?" says Jay, "Or if we move away—stop being ninjas or something? What if one of us loses the other?"
Cole laughs, but Jay is serious. This subject has been on his mind a lot in recent weeks as he thinks over the uncertainty of the future.
"Please, Cole," says Jay, "What if I'm old, and you're not there anymore?"
"What makes you think I'm going to die first?" says Cole.
Cole grins in jest, and Jay thankfully finds that he's able to share the humor, if for a moment.
"Between the two of us," says Jay, "I think you've had more near-death or death-like experiences."
He almost laughs following this, but the whim dies before it reaches his throat.
"That's fair," says Cole in such a matter-of-fact way that Jay peers at him.
"We'll always be friends, Jay," says Cole, "in life and afterwards. I promise. Even if we move away and live our separate lives, you can always call on me if you need anything. If it's a favor, or if it's just to hang out. I'll be there."
Jay nods, watching the sun until it burns a stamp behind his eyelids.
"I'll be there, too," says Jay.
"I know you will," says Cole.
Jay smiles again, and a thought strikes him—a sleep-deprived, pure genius thought. "We'll have to think of a code. In case one of us dies before the other. That way the other one of us knows we're there."
"Not even cursed souls could travel between realms on their own," says Cole.
"Right, but just in case there is a way that we could show each other that we're still around, we should have a code," says Jay, "I don't know; it might be comforting on bad days."
"What did you have in mind?"
"It has to be something clever."
"How about, 'hey Jay, it's me?'" says Cole, "Or is that too direct?"
"Anybody could say that," says Jay, "It'd have to be something only you and I would know, like 'dog food tastes good after midnight' or something like that."
Cole laughs his deep belly laugh. Jay grins along for a few moments more before they settle into silence again.
Then Cole says, "Would we need a code?"
Jay thinks. "Maybe not. Maybe we'll just know."
They watch the sun rise, and Jay thinks of the future. He can't even begin to guess what the world will throw his way, but Jay is at least confident in the friendship he has with Cole. In a world of uncertainties, it's a tangible thing that strengthens Jay in all the best ways.
And sitting there, watching the world wake up from its rest, Jay thinks that it will always be like this. Regardless of where the future takes them, there will be moments where he and Cole can sit like this, and they'll be okay.
Yeah, they will.
There's a scene in here I cut that I might make into a companion piece somewhere down the line, but here we are at the end! Thank you all so much for reading, following, and reviewing this story (thank you as well to all the guests who I can't thank privately)! The response to this story was absolutely lovely, and I can't thank everyone enough.
Thank you always for reading!