Father-Cole

Cole was surrounded by pitch-black darkness, darker than a moonless night. He could see nothing, not even his own hands. Above him, the darkness stretched on for forever, and below him, a pit of black, swirling something squirmed and twisted, reaching out with its slimy tentacles, wanting to drag him down, yet not quite reaching him.

It's alright, he comforted himself. It'll be over soon. I have been in this dream many times. I know how it goes. Nothing to be afraid of…nothing…nothing…

He stood in the darkness for a few more moments, than out of the pit under him, a bit of the something slithered out, twisting and contorting itself until it became a shape. A shape Cole knew much too well.

"Dad…" Cole whispered. Yes, this was always how the dream went. And yet, every time he was in the dream, Cole couldn't resist reaching forward to touch his father, like a hypnotized prey walking into the spider's web.

"Cole." His dad replied, a wide smile across his face.

"Cole, my proud son."

"You…are proud of…me." Cole murmured. How he wished that could be true. How he wished that was true.

"Yes, I am. You are an amazing dancer, I know you are. You will bring forth the honor to our family!"

"I...will…bring…forth the honor…to my family?"

"Yes, that's true. I am proud of you son. I am proud of you."

"I love you, Cole."

And that's when every time Cole realized that it was indeed, truly a dream. His father would never say that he loved Cole.

"You're not real."

And his father's face, his smiling face, slowly, very slowly, melted off, revealing another face beneath, a horrible, terrifying, horrendous face of a monster.

"That's right, I'm not." It said in a terrible growling voice,

"And you're not my son. Did you really think that I wouldn't know you being a Ninja? Did you really think that your father didn't know that you quit dancing? No, we already know, son, and we disowned you."

It laughed a terrible, terrible laugh, its hoarse voice cackling, the sound echoing all over the black, blank space Cole was in. He so desperately wanted to block his ears, to block the sound, but his body was frozen solid, unable to move a single finger.

"How could you do this to me? How could you do this to your family? After all the things I've given to you!" The monster yelled, his face once again changing back to his father's. He looked hurt and angry, and every feature in his face was as realistic as it could be.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry…" Cole cried out in response, tears flowing over his violet eyes and streaming down his well-toned cheeks. He knew that it wasn't his dad, that it was a monster, but the face in front of him was so realistic, so similar-

"But I couldn't just handle it anymore…it was much too hard…Too much…for a little kid I was…"

"Too much? That's how I was treated when I was young, and so was your grandfather, and so on! I've got no use for a weakling! You are not my son!"

"I'm sorry dad…I am sorry…" Cole said again and again.

"I hate you, Cole! I hate you!" The monster-no, his dad, or maybe it was the monster? Cole couldn't tell anymore-bellowed out its final strike, and the pit under him stretched out its long tentacles and finally grabbed hold of Cole, dragging him down, drowning him, throttling him, and the air was thin, too thin, he couldn't breathe-

"AAAAAAH!" Cole bolted up from his bed, his body covered in sweat. The bed under him was a mess, the covers thrown about and the mattress crumpled.

I'm fine, I'm fine. Cole thought to himself, I'm still here, with my friends. My dad doesn't know anything…yet. I'm safe…for now.

After his heartbeat has returned to normal and he could breathe normally, Cole headed for the bathroom. He could really use a cold shower at that time.

"It's better than having your father who forces you to do things you never want to do, require perfection on every single thing you try, he never says good job, he never says I love you, he never tells anybody else about me!"

Cole yelled at Jay. Jay's parents had come over for a surprise visit, showing immense interest at everything Jay did or have done. They told everybody about how they were proud of Jay and how he was a wonderful boy, yet Jay shunned them and blocked them, as if they were an embarrassment. Cole was so jealous, he felt like he could explode. Jay's parents were loving, caring, and kind. Nothing like his own father. Yet Jay was so…so spoiled, complaining about them!

"Sure, Mr. Miserable. At least your father doesn't poke and prod at every single thing you do! At least he gives you privacy, and space is the most thing I needed while living with them!" Jay shouted back, his eyebrows furrowed together into a snarl.

"Spoiled, spoiled kid." Cole sneered.

"Let's see how heartbroken you'll be when you realize how lucky you have been."

Jay, his face as red as Kai's clothes, stomped out of the room and shut the door with a bang. Cole stared at the space where Jay had been and fell down onto a chair, his body suddenly having no strength at all. He dragged a hand down his face as he remembered his own childhood. His dark childhood which he hadn't thought about in a while…

"Act number one, jump up, act number two, spin back, and act number three, moonwalking!" Young Cole recited as he did the dance moves, synchronizing them almost perfectly with the music. Cole's father watched him from the sofa, his face stern and unsmiling.

"Act number four, bear roll, act number five, spring up, and act number-ah!" His steps twisted and Cole fell onto the floor pathetically, now entirely off-rhythm and off-beat.

"Cole, you've been practicing the dance moves for three days now but it's still not perfect. What's going on? You should have been able to master the dance moves in two days at most!" His father chided, tapping his cane impatiently against the wooden floor. Cole looked down on the floor guiltily, his hands folded neatly across his back and biting his lips nervously.

"Eh…I'm…so sorry, dad. I've been practicing…but the tutor did say that they were hard, even for experienced dance masters…"

"Excuses! Don't you dare talk back to me! You'll have no dinner today as the punishment. Go to your room and don't come out until you have perfected your dance moves."

With the last cold glance, Cole's father stood up from his sit and walked out of the room, leaving the Young Cole alone in the room with only the music blaring as the pitiful background noise.

He did try very hard. He practiced day and night, hoping to someday win his father's approval and praise, but every time he succeeded in something, the only thing that came back was higher expectations and higher demands. Cole always felt a gnawing pit of emptiness at his stomach, eating him from the inside. He tried to fill it up with food, and it did work-even if only for a few moments. So he ate as much as he could when the gnawing became unbearable and too empty. He could never figure out the exact reason of his emptiness though. And he still didn't know today. The pit was always gnawing him from the inside, slowly eating him, until he had nothing but a thin crust of himself left.

"Okay, so, everybody, let's review the plan. We go out, we steal the blade, and we go back. Got it?" Cole said, tugging at his uncomfortable tie. He wished to get out of the clothes as fast as possible and go back to the ship. It would be much more comfortable too, not having to lie to his dad. Oh, how he wished-

"Cole? What did I just hear? I-Is that true? Y-You are a thief?"

"Dad?" Cole turned around in horror, to see his dad staring at him like he would stare at a stranger, disbelieving.

"Well, Dad, uh, what is happening is-" Cole sputtered, trying to find his words, but failing. Heaving a deep sigh, he bit down on his lip and collected his thoughts.

"It's rather a good thing that I can tell the truth now. Well, dad…the truth is that I am a …Ninja. Not a dancer. I was tired of dancing, and I found what I really liked to do! I'm happy dad, and I really hope that you will…understand."

A moment passed. Then two. Finally, after the heavy silence was about to choke Cole to death, his father spoke.

"No. I do not understand. I will not understand. You are a dishonor. I never had a son."

With the words crushing down on Cole like a brick, his father coldly turned around and left, only leaving a trail of emptiness. Just like his dream, Cole thought. Just like his dream.

"I'm…sorry Cole." Zane awkwardly broke the silence, his hands fidgeting with his white hat. Kai and Jay nodded in agreement, their expressions grim and sad.

"No, it's alright." Cole smiled bitterly.

"I knew it would happen one day, one way or another. It just happened to be…today."

"Okay everybody…Let's get going. But we're not going to do it this way."

Cole swallowed, hoping to wash down the feeling of thick disappointment into his stomach, where the wide, deep pit of gnawing emptiness was, once again trying to gnaw him into nothingness.

"We're going to do it our way. And we're going to win the Blade fair and square."

"Jump up, kick back, whip around and spin! And step back, do it again. Ninja-Go! Ninja-Go!" Loud, pumping music blared from the speakers, winding up the crowd into its catchy rhythm. The Ninjas moved simultaneously, their body in a perfect synch. As the Serpentines moves up to the stage, planning to ruin their dance, Ninjas expertly defeated them, while still staying in the rhythm. As the last three Serpentines charged, Cole ran towards them, launching onto his feet as he did a cartwheel in the air as he hit the snakes with his feet, then hand, then head. As he landed on his feet, he crouched low like a tiger and growled, "Grrrr."

"T-Triple Tiger dance move! The legendary dance move has been succeeded!"

The crowd gasped, and as the judges delivered their scores and announced the Ninjas as the winner, the blade was brought forth. As the heavy blade was given to him, Cole desperately searched the crowd, hoping to see, so desperately hoping to see-

But he didn't. He couldn't find his father anywhere.

With a heavy heart despite their joyful victory, Cole trudged back to the back of the stage, his face devoid of any happiness or joy.

"Alright. We've won the blade. Now we've kept the Serpentines from awakening the Great Devourer." Cole muttered, his voice dry and cracked.

"Let's go home now."

"Cole! My son!" A voice boomed behind him, which made Cole turn in surprise.

"D-Dad…?" Cole said, disbelieving.

"Y-You saw everything…?"

"I did, my son! I saw you dance, I saw you defeat the snakes! What you said was true. I'm sorry for not believing you."

"Dad…" Cole felt his eyes getting hot and wet as his father pulled him into an embrace. The empty pit of nothingness in his stomach slowly filled up and shriveled away, only leaving an air of contentment in its trail.

"I'm proud of you, Son. I love you." His father said.

And Cole knew that this was not a dream.

A/N: I'm back! And now all the Ninja's stories are finished and done! I'm thinking about writing chapters in Nya's POV or Sensei Wu and Garmadon's POV if you guys want. I'll decide to write it or not based on how many people want it. Thank you for reading and please review!