A/N: This story takes place in Ep 1, S10 when Cole was almost dragged into the cloud of darkness when they'd first encountered it and were trying to get away, just so you're not totally lost. ;)

Disclaimer: All rights to any familiar characters, dialogue, settings and storylines belong to Netflix and the writers, whichever geniuses they are.

They had almost made it out.

After their elemental attacks failed to do any harm to the darkness, Lloyd made a smart decision to retreat and called Nya to pull them out. They'd climbed onto the ropes and were cinched up onto the Bounty to where the Commissioner and his officers had safely climbed up to.

Except the ropes were moving too slow.

And the darkness apparently had tentacles.

Cole had never liked creatures with tentacles, even more so after his encounter with the Preeminent. His feelings towards tentacles could be described as dislike and disgust, but also, though he'd never admit it to anyone, living or dead, a tiny bit of fear.

Which is why, despite everything else going on and past the usual fear anyone else would feel when something caught their leg as they were trying to escape, his heart skipped a few beats.

Looking down in fear, he saw a tentacle reaching out from the cloud of darkness, wrapped tightly around his leg, trying to pull him down. Naturally, he fought it, grabbing the rope he was hanging from tighter. Why, oh why had he hesitated before joining his friends on the ropes?

None of the others seemed to realise what had happened, too focused on their own slow progress to safety.

"Uh, guys!" He called out to the others. "Help! It's got me."

He saw Lloyd look down at him, followed by Jay, Kai and Zane, but only the Green Ninja moved to help him. Not that Cole was really paying attention anymore, as his grip on the rope loosened while the tentacle's grip on his leg only tightened.

As he fell, time seemed to slow and somewhere in the back of his chaotic mind, he wondered if maybe Krux and Acronix had managed to return.

The tentacle pulled him down, making him hit the ground hard. His breath left him, and his chest hurt from the impact. Yet, even as he gasped for breath, even as the tentacle slowly pulled him to his inevitable death in the cloud of darkness, all he could think about was how cold he was.

It was radiating from his leg, the tentacle somehow colder than anything he'd ever felt, even though it was just mist. He could feel his life force, his warmth sucked away, leaving his body deathly cold.

He made the mistake of looking at the cloud of darkness, now flashing purple, like a storm was raging inside it. Looking closer, it was almost as if he could see something there…

He futilely resisted the tentacle, trying to slow himself down by holding onto the pavement below him. Which, predictably, didn't work well, but the thought of using his earth powers didn't occur to him in the haze of fear and terrifying cold taking over his mind.

Cole almost gave in to the cold, his body becoming numb, his mind forgetting what warmth even felt like anymore…

Suddenly, a blur of green appeared beside him, a glint of steel breaking through the hazy darkness of the tentacle. The second the tentacle's hold on him was gone, the cold seeped out of his body, his mind clearing, registering Lloyd talking next to him.

"Come on, buddy. I gotcha." Lloyd helped him up, Cole's leg still a little numb as they made their way to the ropes again.

"Time to get out of here. Reel us in. Quick."

He held onto Lloyd as the Green Ninja held onto the rope while Nya pulled them up and away, quicker this time. Soon, they reached the side of the Bounty, Lloyd swinging him up so he could climb over, Pixal helping him while Nya helped Lloyd, who was now talking about going to save other survivors.

The Bounty's deck was crowded with people they'd already managed to save, ninja going around and talking to them, hoping to calm them down. Jay was even passing out tea, though who knows where he'd found it. On second thought, having Master Wu as their teacher meant that there was usually at least one teapot in every other room, whether it was the Bounty or the monastery.

Looking around, Cole considered joining his friends in comforting the people, but he couldn't shake the feeling of the tentacle. The coldness, the feeling of his life and warmth slipping away. First, he supposed, he should work on comforting himself, then the others.

Noticing Lloyd by the railing, Nya going over to join him with the rest of the ninja, he headed over too, knowing that they were most likely discussing exactly what he was thinking about anyway.

"We hit that thing with everything we had and it did nothing. It just went right through it." He heard Kai say.

"How are we supposed to fight something like that?" Nya asked, incredulous.

"I… I touched it." Cole joined in, taking his place next to Zane. "It was colder than anything I've ever felt. And there was something in that cloud." He added, remembering the purple storm he'd seen inside. Now that he thought about it, it may have had a shape. A faintly human shape… "I think it was an Oni." He realised.

"Maybe we can't fight it." They all turned to Lloyd. "But I know someone who can."

A/N: This story got its inspiration from how freaked out Cole seemed to be in ep1 and 2 of March of the Oni about the darkness touching him. When he said it was colder than anything he'd ever touched and was just generally super scared of it after that one encounter, i was just like 'Cole whump!' and immediately wrote down the idea while watching the episode. Anyway, hope you liked it even though i know it was short.

Stay safe and see ya soon.

- CrowofArcadiaOaks