Chapter 7

Two weeks have passed since Cole found his golden weapon, the scythe of quakes. Wu spent the time with him showing him how to properly use it. It didn't take long for the young earth master to figure it out. He made sure to spend more time using his weapon than spending it with his dragon. He did everything in his power to avoid the large beast. Even though Sensei said it was important that he spend time with his new reptilian friend, Cole wasn't budging anytime soon.

Cole was actually in the middle of playing video games after training for the past hour and a half. He saw Monica coming inside the living room, her hair and clothes covered in dirt and dust.

She stood in front of Cole, blocking his view of the television, causing him to crash in his game.

"Hey!" Cole shouted, "Move out of the way! I'm trying to beat Jay's high score!"

Monica grabbed him by the collar. "Listen to me, you little shrimp! I'm sick and tired of cleaning up after your dragon! It's bad enough I'll have to take care of him and four other dragons when you and the others aren't here!"

Cole was shocked to hear this. "What?! There are other dragons?!"

Monica nodded, letting go of Cole's collar. "Yeah. Kai has a dragon and Nya and Jay have one. And my cousin has one. But as long as you're here, you can take care of your own pet. I would love to at least have summers off from taking care of those things." She walked away, tracking dirt behind her all over the floor.

"She's right, you know." Cole looked to see Jay standing in the doorway along with Kai and Nya.

"Don't even get started on that subject," Cole said, going back to his game.

"But you're going to have to bond with your dragon sooner or later," Nya said, "He'll be the only way to get you from one place to another. How else do you think we'll get to Ninjago City in such a fast amount of time?"

Cole shrugged his shoulders. "I'll ride my bike."

"Your bike isn't as fast as a dragon," Kai said.

"I'm getting tired of this!" Cole paused his game. "No matter what you guys say or do, I'm not going anywhere near that dragon so you might as well forget it!"

"What is going on in here?" Sensei Wu came inside the living room, staring down at the four young children.

"Sensei, can I talk to you in private?" Nya asked.

Wu nodded. "You certainly may." He and Nya walked out of the living room and went inside the kitchen. "What's going on, Nya?"

"Sensei, I'm worried about Cole. He won't go anywhere near the dragon stables and he won't have anything to do with his own. No matter what we do, he never agrees with it. How is he supposed to battle against evil if he can't get anywhere?"

Wu understood what Nya was saying about Cole wanting to have nothing to do with the dragons, including his own. But he had an idea that may work. "I think I know what we can do. Perhaps all Cole needs is a battle experience."

"What does fighting evil have to do with Cole and his dragon?" Nya asked.

"If we place Cole in battle, he will have to bond with his dragon. It may be the only way. I'm not sure if it will work, but it's better to try than to not try at all."

It was that moment when the alarm sounded throughout the monastery. If there was ever a time for a battle to help Cole, this was it.

Wu and Nya headed over to the control room. Monica was there checking to see what the emergency was.

"What's happening, Monica?" Wu asked.

"Looks like we've got some Serpentine running around rampade in Ninjago City," Monica said, "And this time, it looks like they've got a motive up their sleeve."

"Let's head there at once. We'll take the dragons. They may be able to help us stop the snakes."

Cole knew this moment would end up coming. There was no way he was getting on that dragon that was supposedly his. He had to get out of this battle. That much he knew.

The little master of earth started fake coughing and sneezing, getting everyone's attention. "Guys, I'm not feeling too well. I think I might be coming down with something."

"You were fine about five minutes ago when you were playing video games," Jay said.

"It just suddenly came up," Cole said, giving out a fake sneeze.

Wu shook his head. "You are not sick, Cole. It's time you started facing your fears. If you refuse to go out and fight, you will be punished. Do I make myself clear?"

Cole sighed, realizing there was no way of getting out of this. "Crystal."

When they arrived at the dragon stables, Kai, Jay and Nya didn't hesitate to climb up on their dragons. Cole never really got a good look at them. They claimed the same signature colors as their masters. Cole's dragon was the same way, having black scales the same color as his uniform.

But poor Cole was still hesitant about even going near the giant reptile. He backed up so far that he bumped into someone. That someone was Sensei Wu, looking down at the young boy.

"You need to go and help the people, Cole," Wu said, "Ninjago City is in danger."

Cole shook in fear, holding tightly onto his teacher. "I can't. I can't get on that dragon. I'm too scared."

"I understand, Cole. It's normal to be scared. We are human, after all. Everyone has fears, but during times of desperate need such as right now, we must face those fears. And you must face yours in order to get to Ninjago City and stop the Serpentine. Your dragon is just as important to you and you are important to your dragon."

Taking a deep breath and placing every bit of confidence he had into himself, Cole slowly climbed up his dragon. Holding tightly onto the reins, he stuttered out, "C-Come on, b-big guy. L-Let's go to Ninjago City." By that command, the dragon lifted them off the ground and began flying through the sky.

Cole tried to converse with his dragon along the way to their destination, but it was hard to do that and concentrate on the sky in front of him. But Cole actually felt a little more comfortable with his dragon. It was actually a lot of fun being this high above the clouds. When they landed, Cole actually admitted that his dragon may not be so bad, but he couldn't help but still have a surge of fear within him.

"Come on, Cole," Kai called out to him, "We gotta stop the Serpentine."

The master of earth actually forgot why they came here in the first place. Jumping off his dragon, he joined up with the rest of his team to fight the snakes.

The Serpentine have been trying to find some weird artifact and for some reason they continued to scour around Ninjago City, believing it was somewhere around the place. But luckily the citizens have nothing to fear. The ninja have arrived to protect them and scare away the slither heads.

The ninja worked together to stop the Serpentine from Nya using her water powers to soak them and Jay using his to shock them. Cole used his powers to cover them in dirt while Kai lit it on fire, causing the snakes to receive burns worst than a third degree.

It was at one point Cole had been grabbed by a giant purple snake. Pythor, former leader of the Anacondrai and now king of all the Serpentine. He was the reason the rest of the tribes were released from their tombs, causing panic and disturbing the peace Ninjago has worked so hard to gain.

Pythor used his long purple tail to trap Cole, keeping him from escaping and dragging him away from the others. They tried going after them, but snake warriors continued getting in the way, forcing them to fight.

Cole squirmed in Pythor's strong grip. "Let me go!"

"Not a chance!" Pythor said, "I could certainly use you to my advantage to find what I and the Serpentine have been searching for ever since I freed them."

Cole knew squirming would get him nowhere. He needed a better tactic. His weapon would be considered useless since he couldn't move his arms, but then he found out he had a better weapon in his mouth. If all else fails, biting was the only other option. Well, in Cole's case, that is.

So he opened his mouth and sunked his teeth in the giant snake's tail, causing Pythor to scream in pain and letting his hold of Cole go.

Cole landed on his feet, having enough of the giant snake's disobedience. He decided to give him a taste of his own medicine which allowed him to accomplish two things he never thought he would ever do in his life. The confidence built in him to stop Pythor was able to aid him in performing spinjitzu to knock down the Serpentine leader.

"Whoa!" Cole exclaimed, "That was awesome!"

Pythor growled. "Warriors, take this boy down!"

At least three snake goons came up on him, but Cole had a secret weapon on him that would allow him to stop them from harming him. He wasn't sure it would work considering he's attempted it dozens of times and has failed it, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It had to work. He needed it to work. He could feel the inner dancer telling him it was the right move.

So using the most difficult dance move ever known to mankind, he went from foot to hand to head successfully on the three snake goons, knocking them out and landing safely on his feet, giving out a tiger growl for a fun emphasis.

"Yes!" he cheered, "I finally did it!"

"All right, Cole!" Jay exclaimed.

"Way to go!" Nya cheered, jumping up and down.

With Cole distracted, Pythor came up and used his fist to punch Cole right in the eye since it was the only visible part of his body. Poor Cole's eye was all bruised and began swelling up.

The others tried rushing up and helping him, but snake warriors grabbed them before they could even get close to the little earth ninja. Pythor raised his weapon, giving Cole an evil chuckle and said, "Looks like this will be the last I see of you, child. Any last words?"

There wasn't anything Cole wanted to say. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could with all the dust surrounding them and a horrifying shaking sensation that felt like an earthquake. Pythor was knocked to the ground when a large scaly tail slammed on top of him, trapping him to keep him from getting up.

In front of Cole was none other than his dragon, giving him a worried glance. Standing up, the young master of earth gave his reptilian friend a hug, forever in his gratitude. Sensei Wu was right. This dragon did save his life because he cared about him. Maybe it was time Cole returned the favor and make this large beast his best friend.

"Cole!" The young boy and his dragon looked up to see Sensei Wu and Monica fly in upon the Dragon of Light. While Monica went to go check on the others, Wu went up to Cole. "Are you alright?"

"You bet I am!" Cole exclaimed, showing off his black eye as they stood in an abandoned alley in the city where he was free to reveal himself since they had to keep their identities a secret, "You won't believe what happened! I unlocked spinjitzu, I finally mastered the triple tiger sashay and I've faced my fears of dragons! Isn't that awesome?"

Wu chuckled. "Some are lucky to accomplish one thing, but you have accomplished more than anyone I know, Cole. I'm very proud of you."

"Cole?" Turning around, Cole spotted his parents and Jerky coming through the alley.

"Mom! Dad!" He rushed over to embrace them, not hesitating for a moment to spend time with them. He even hugged Jerky, petting him and giving the big dog attention while looking up at his parents. "What are guys doing here? How did you know I was here?"

"We heard about the battle on the news and saw you fighting the snakes," his mother said, "We rushed right over to make sure you were okay. I can see that you are mostly." She kissed his eyebrow, being careful not to touch his still swollen eye.

"Boy, you guys won't believe everything that's happened," Cole said, smiling, "I stood up against Pythor, king of the Serpentine. I learned spinjitzu and I even learned the triple tiger sashay."

Lou chuckled. "Who knew you could use dancing skills when you're fighting in battles? I suppose the fine arts have found their way into the martial arts."

"And I've also gotten over my fear of dragons."

"You did?" Lilly looked up at the giant reptilian creature. She never thought they were actually real until she finally stood next to one. Usually Cole would run home after even seeing a picture of a dragon, but there her son was petting him. She chuckled, seeing how happy those two were together. "I can see you two are best friends already. What's his name?"

Cole actually hadn't thought of that. He had been too scared of his dragon to go near it which meant he never gave the large beast a name. But it was time he gave the dragon one. After careful thought, he wanted the dragon to have something to do with his element and decided to give him a name that would prove he truly is a beast of the earth. A good beast, that is.

"His name is Rocky."

"I say that's a wonderful name," Sensei Wu said.

After saying goodbye to his parents and Jerky, Cole and the rest of the team were ready to head back to the monastery. This time, Cole was excited to be riding atop his very own dragon. He never knew this day would actually come where all this great power and wonder would be blessed within him, but it was.

Cole was prepared for what may come tomorrow as he and Rocky flew into the sunset, ready for whatever the future may hold.

For he knew his legacy was just beginning.

OKAY, I KNOW I'VE STILL RECEIVED NO OTHER REVIEWS BUT THE TWO I'VE HAD AND YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY MAD AT ME RIGHT NOW AFTER I DELETED HALF THE STORIES I'VE GIVEN UP ON OR JUST GOT BORED WITH WRITING. BUT I HAVE DECIDED TO SHORTEN UP THE AMOUNT OF STORIES I WAS WRITING TO GIVE YOU GUYS A CHANCE TO SEND IN STORY REQUEST. I'M AVAILABLE TO DO ONESHOTS AND PROBABLY DO A NOVELLA. BUT NO FULL LENGTH STORIES SINCE I'M ALREADY DOING PLENTY ON MY OWN.

IF YOU GUYS HAVE A STORY IDEA OR MAYBE NEED HELP WRITING YOUR STORY, LET ME KNOW IN THE REVIEWS OR JUST PM ME. EITHER WAY IS FINE. ALSO COMMENT ON THIS STORY AND TELL ME HOW IT'S GOING SO FAR.

REVIEW PLEASE! I LOVE TALKING TO YOU GUYS!