Chapter 6

The next morning couldn't have come any sooner. Sensei Wu led his students and Monica to the Caves of Despair, resting place of the Scythe of Quakes. Luckily it wasn't too far away from the monastery so the trip was only planned to last a day. When they arrived, Wu suddenly stopped them.

"Stop!" The children stopped to see why their teacher moved no further. In front of them were a group of archeologists, digging the dirt around the caves. Probably there to find ancient artifacts for the history museum in Ninjago.

"How are we supposed to get Cole's weapon now, Sensei?" Nya asked.

"I will take care of this," Wu said, "I will go talk to the people while you all stay right here. Don't go anywhere. Monica, you're in charge." He began making his way towards the excavation site.

Monica sat on a rock, taking out an emery board and began filing her nails. Cole decided to take this time to get to know Jay since he barely knew the guy.

Cole sat down next to the blue ninja. "So, Jay, where do you come from?"

"From a junkyard in the middle of the Sea of Sands," Jay told him, "I come from a family of inventors. It was a couple of years ago when I discovered my powers after working on my robot buddy. Sensei Wu found my family one day and had seen me testing out one of my new inventions. Later on in the day he asked me if I wanted to be a ninja. After much t hbtlr ibehi said yes."

"So you're the master of lightning, is that right?"

"That's right, but I'm also the master of inventing, art, academics and so on and so forth." Jay sighed. "Sorry, summertime is the only part of the year I'm around other people besides my parents. My mom is my homeschool teacher and it's also where everything else is for me. I never knew anyone else until Sensei Wu came along. I never really thought I would ever be considered a ninja or anything heroic for that matter. But here I am surrounded by other people I never thought I would ever meet."

Cole shrugged. "Well, things changed. Not much we can do about it. Destiny has a lot in store for us."

They noticed Sensei Wu returning, giving them a smile. "I bring good news. I was able to work it our with the archeologists. We are welcomed to search for the scythe, but we only have two hours."

"But the Caves of Despair is a pretty big place," Cole said, "Where would we even begin?"

Wu handed young Cole a map. "Use this. It will lead you to the scythe's resting place. Now hurry, ninja. Time is of the essence." The children were just about to head out to the excavation site when their teacher stopped them. "Hold it! I almost forgot. Cole, I must warn you that when you find the scythe, don't use it. You are not yet ready to handle its power for it is too much for us mortals."

Cole nodded. "Yes, Sensei." He followed the others as they let the map lead the way.

Thankfully the archeologists would be of no problem and would mind their own business and there were no enemies in sight. Cole wished there were so he could start learning to fight against them using his now ninja skills. But Sensei Wu taught him how it was important for ninja to keep the peace, not start fights. Those thoughts were to be pushed out of his mind in order to focus on the task at hand.

Continuing to follow the map down the trail, they came upon a giant cave that was blocked by a huge boulder. This had to be it. The best way to protect the weapon is to keep it hidden.

"Well, this is it," Jay said, "So how are we gonna get inside?"

Rubbing his hands together, Cole prepared to use the strength within him that he thought he would never use again. He started to push it, but then stopped just when he was halfway done.

The moment he wished he could forget was returning within his mind. Thoughts of the moment he caused Buck's downfall. The moment when he used a boulder just like the one right in front of him to push the man down. All because of the strength he possessed. The awful day got to Cole, making him cease his process of moving the boulder. He slid to the ground and hugged his knees, removing his ninja hood from over his head. That's when the others noticed the tears rolling down his eyes.

Nya couldn't help but have pity for her new ninja companion. She sat down next to him and gave him a hug. "Are you okay, Cole?"

Wiping away his tears, he shook his head. "No. No, I'm not okay. I can't use my powers. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"What are you talking about?" Kai asked, sitting across from Cole.

Cole sighed, knowing he needed to tell someone about his dark moments from when he ran away. "I guess I can't hide it forever. There's something you guys deserve to know."

So Cole told them everything. Why he couldn't use his powers after what he did to Buck and how the earth within him can be so dangerous, it can potentially kill a man. As he spoke, his teammates gave him a look of sympathy, understanding exactly what he was feeling. They may not understand what he went through, but they can at least help him cope with these emotional problems.

"And ever since, I've had nightmares about the moment where Buck was pushed off the cliff," Cole said, sniffling, "All because of me. It's all my fault. Now you guys probably think I'm a murderer."

Nya shook her head. "We don't think that at all. It was only an accident. You didn't mean for it to happen. You were just going through a rough time debating whether or not you wanted to go home. It caused your emotions to go out of whack which can also cause your powers to go unstable. But you didn't know about any of this. So nobody can blame you."

"Nya's right," Jay said, "We all make mistakes. Some good, some bad. But we can fix those mistakes."

"How am I gonna fix killing Buck?" Cole asked, "It's not like I can bring him back to life or anything."

"What Jay means is you have a choice to right this wrong," Kai said, "You can make up for it by using your powers for good. Accidents happen sometimes. We're only human, after all. But we can only fix them by making them right. What do you say, Cole?"

Smiling and wiping away his tears, Cole stood up. "I'm glad to have you guys as my friends." Mustering up all his strength within his little body, he used his powers of earth to move the giant boulder out of the way. Breathing in deeply and exhaling out slowly to catch his breath, the group finally went inside the cave.

Not having to walk very far, they spotted the object Cole was destined to find: the Scythe of Quakes.

Nya took him by the arm before the little master of earth could move any further. "Remember not to use the weapon, Cole, or else Sensei will have your head."

"Don't worry, Nya," Cole said, "I'll make sure to get dinner tonight."

Approaching slowly, he went up and took the weapon off its resting pillar, holding the heavy golden object in his little hands. But the weapon wasn't actually very heavy to hold thanks to his earth powers. It was bigger than he was, but in his eyes, it was amazing. The greatest weapon in the world.

And it was his. His golden weapon. The Scythe of Quakes. The weapon he would use to protect Ninjago. His home. He would make it up to the one person who's downfall he caused. He would continue working hard to have better control of his powers. To have better control in order to help the ones he loves and cares about.

He wished he could live in this glorious moment forever. But a growling sound was heard from behind him. A deep growl. He thought it was one of the ninja trying to prank him out of his trance, but all three of his teammates were standing right in front of him. He turned around slowly, fear seeping into his heart. And he had every right to be scared.

Right behind him was a creature he has feared his whole life. Ever since he was small, just looking at a picture of this huge beast was enough to make him stand still until its deafening roar would send him running home to his mother. Even if it wasn't there to roar at him since it was only a photo, he could still hear the roar in his mind to make him fear for his life.

Except this wasn't a picture hung up on the window of a store.

The beast was real.

The dragon was standing right in front of him.

And it was a second later Cole was running for his life, screaming his head off, calling out for help. The other three were running out after him with Jay carrying the scythe since Cole dropped it trying to escape the dragon. They finally made it to see the master of earth clinging onto Sensei Wu's leg, shaking in fear.

"What is going on?" Wu asked, "Is everything alright?"

"No! Nothing's okay! It's real! It's really real!" Cole held tighter to Wu's leg.

Wu looked at the other three. Kai was the only one to really understand what was going on. "Long story short, Sensei, it seems Cole is scared of dragons. And that's going to be a problem."

"How is that a problem?" Cole asked.

Wu chuckled, removing Cole off his leg. "There is no reason to be afraid, Cole. The dragon you just saw inside the cave is your new friend. Oh, there he goes now." He pointed up in the sky to see the same black and brown scaled dragon Cole just met fly above them.

Cole gasped, hugging Sensei Wu. "No way! There's no way I'm becoming friends with that…that…scary huge beast! I can't even stand to be within a centimeter of it!"

Wu patted Cole's head. "You will learn in time to care for your dragon. Who knows? He may just save your life one day. Now that we have found your weapon, it is time to go home."

As they began making their way back to the monastery, Cole couldn't help but think that agreeing to become a ninja was a bad idea. But he wasn't planning to give up. He agreed to do this to protect Ninjago and that's what he's going to do.

Even if he does have to live with his biggest fear staying right next door to him.

OKAY, GUYS, HERE IT IS. THE NEXT CHAPTER. SOME CHAPTERS WILL BE SHORT AND SOME WILL BE LONG AND ALL THAT.

YOU GUYS WILL PROBABLY BE MAD AT ME, BUT I HAVE DECIDED TO DELETE SOME OF MY UNFINISHED STORIES THAT I HAVE ON FANFICTION BOTH ICE AGE AND NINJAGO. AND I HAVE DECIDED TO SHORTEN THE AMOUNT OF STORIES I HAVE ON HERE. MAJOR CHANGES ARE EXPECTED TO COME UP FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS SO BE PREPARED.

ALSO, A NEW CHANGE I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE IS THANKING REVIEWERS AND I PLAN TO START DOING THAT FOR EVERY UPDATE. SO HERE ARE THE REVIEWERS WHO HAVE COMMENTED ON THIS STORY.

The Mayor of Ninjago City: THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME THAT CHAPTER ONE WAS A HEARTWARMING CHAPTER. I FELT THE SAME WAY. THE BIRTH OF A NEW BABY INTO THE WORLD IS THE MOST HEARTWARMING FEELING IN THE WORLD.

EmpressLoveSiren23: DON'T WORRY. COLE HAS FINALLY FOUND HIS PLACE AS A NINJA. NOW HE JUST NEEDS TO GET OVER HIS FEAR OF DRAGONS AND LEARN SPINJITZU.

HOPE TO HEAR FROM MORE FANS SOON.

HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD.

PLEASE REVIEW.