Cole stumbled as he fell through the portal. His feet hit the ground on the opposite side. He groaned, pushing himself up to his hands and knees. He was in an alleyway that wasn't well-lit, but it was oddly familiar.
"Cole? Are you alright? What was that?"
Cole looked up, seeing Vania standing over him, her brows furrowed and concern reflecting in her eyes.
"Yeah, I'm ok," Cole nodded, sitting back on his knees.
"What are you wearing?" Vania asked, eyeing Cole up and down.
"What do you mean?" Cole asked, looking down.
Part of him expected to see his uniform damaged or replaced with something else. But it was just his usual uniform.
"This is my normal gi," Cole replied, looking up.
"Gi? What about your royal garb?" Vania asked.
"What?" Cole stared blankly at Vania. "What do you mean by that?"
"You're royal garb?" Vania replied, sounding slightly annoyed. "You know, the outfit you wear literally every waking day. Father always has us wear them, even going into the village. Except when you go into the mountains with your mother, which isn't the case right now."
"Mom?"
Vania looked down at Cole's faint voice. She saw the look of shock on his face, tears in his eyes.
"Cole?"
His head shot up, eyes locking with Vania as he searched for something. Possibly answers. I'm trying to figure out if this was some sick joke.
"What's going on?" Vania asked. "You're starting to freak me out now."
"My mom is here?" Cole asked.
"Yes?" Vania replied.
"What about my dad?"
"No, but my dad is your stepfather."
"Wait, so we are step-siblings?"
Vania nodded, starting to wonder if Cole had lost it.
"This isn't my realm," Cole uttered, looking around. "It can't be. Borg's invention worked."
"Realm? Borg? Can you please fill me in?"
Cole turned to Vania, realizing how crazy he must sound.
"Sorry," Cole sighed. "I guess I owe you an explanation."
Vania nodded.
"What do you know about the realms?"
Vania frowned, thinking briefly, "I've heard Lilly mention the 16 Realms, but I don't know much."
"So, you are right, there are 16 Realms, and Ninjago is one of them," Cole nodded. "I've been to a couple of them. Cyrus Borg is an inventor back home, and he was experimenting with the Realm Crystal, which can be used to move between realms. He planned to use it to move further through the realms, but I think he did something different."
"He opened a dimensional rift," Vania's eyes lit up.
"Yeah, I guess you can put it that way," Cole nodded.
"That is so cool! So you switched places with the Cole," Vania grinned. "Do you think he could bring me back with you? I really want to check it out."
"I don't know," Cole frowned. "I mean, my Ninjago isn't exactly safe."
"What do you mean? It's not safe," Vania frowned. "Is Cole in danger? We've got to help him!"
"He'll be fine," Cole assured, touching Vania's shoulders. "Master Wu will be able to help them."
Vania nodded, still uneasy.
"But I think something's happened. Otherwise, I would have been pulled back by now," Cole sighed.
"So, you're stuck here?" Vania asked.
Cole nodded with a sigh, "I don't know for how long. It could be a couple minutes, could be a couple weeks. It depends on what needs to be done to the machine."
"Well, we should get you changed into something less," Vania paused, looking his outfit up and down as she tried to come up with something.
"Ok, I get it," Cole grumbled. "I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb. What can I change into, though?"
Vania nodded, turning to her white shoulder bag, rummaging around and pulling out a new set of clothes for Cole.
"Here, I always bring spares when we go out in case we need them," she replied. "I'll change too so Father won't get suspicious."
Cole nodded, accepting the clothing. He turned, walking down the alley and ducking behind a dumpster. He quickly changed into a new outfit, picking up his gi as he walked back towards Vania. He noticed she'd already changed into something else, tucking her outfit into her bag.
"What do I do with this?" Cole asked, holding up his gi.
"It's probably best if you hide it and leave it here," Vania sighed. "Father shouldn't ever see it, or he might figure out something's wrong. Then who knows what would happen."
"Fair enough," Cole sighed.
He looked down at his gi. It didn't feel right to him to just throw it away; it was part of him and who he was. But he knew Vania was right. It was best to hide the evidence if he wanted to remain unnoticed here. He turned, gently setting it on the dumpster with a sigh.
"You gonna be ok?" Vania asked.
"Yeah," Cole sighed, turning back to her.
"We know where it is if you need it again," Vania assured him. "Now, we should get back to the castle."
Cole nodded, following Vania closely as they walked out of the alleyway.
They emerged into a large market square. People floated between stands, buying different items and chatting with other people. Cole lingered for a moment, looking around in awe. It was Shintaro like he remembered, but different in a way he couldn't explain.
"Ok, I still have everything for Dad," Vania spoke.
Cole turned, seeing her quickly getting away from him. He ran after her, quickly catching up and matching her pace as they walked through the crowd.
"Your dad just lets his daughter, the princess and only heir to the throne, wander freely?" Cole asked.
"Kinda?" Vania replied, turning to Cole as they reached the edge of the market. "I mean, I'm technically not alone, you're here, and there are guards everywhere. Plus, I'm not the only heir. First heir, yes, but you're second to the throne."
"What?" Cole gasped.
"I mean, you are his stepson," Vania shrugged. "It makes sense when you think about it."
"I guess," Cole shrugged.
Both quickly made their way to the palace. More guards became visible as they reached the walls around the palace grounds. Guards stood around the wall on the ground and on top. Both could pass through without any issues and walked up to the door.
"Just remember, don't be weird, or you could give it away," Vania whispered to Cole before opening the door.
She opened the door, seeing Vangelis standing in the entryway. Clearly, he'd been waiting for them.
"You were gone longer than expected," he frowned. "Did something happen?"
"Just ran into someone who wanted to talk, and we lost track of time," Vania shrugged.
"And the outfit changed?" Vangelis motioned to the different outfits.
"Someone tripped over a juice stand, and it got all over us," Vania explained, hoping her father would believe them. "We changed into a spare I brought so we weren't wearing dirty clothes around the market."
"Fair enough," Vangelis nodded. "Did you get everything I asked for?"
Vania nodded, passing her bag to his father. He rummaged around inside, shaking as he looked at the contents.
"Very good," he nodded. "Thank you. And you finished your chores this morning, so you can do what you'd like for the rest of the day. Your mother wanted you down in the mines for some training tonight, Cole."
"Alright," Cole nodded. "I'll change and head there now."
"Alright, I'll see you both at dinner then," Vangelis nodded, walking away.
Both waited until they were alone and let out a sigh of relief.
"I have never been so nervous to talk to Dad," Vania sighed.
"I have," Cole grumbled. "Long story for another time though."
"Fair enough," Vania nodded. "Come on, you shouldn't keep Mom waiting."
Cole nodded, quickly following Vania. They walked through the palace, into the gardens and back to the entrance to the mine.
"Wow, this is bringing back memories," Cole mumbled.
"How so?" Vania asked, pausing in the entryway.
"When I first came to Shintaro in my world, it was for your Birthday Party," Cole explained. "I found a Geckle with my mother's necklace, and you brought me down here to help me find him and the necklace. It didn't go well, but we were great friends after."
"Cool," Vania grinned. "So, we got to adventure together?"
"Yeah, you could say that," Cole chuckled, seeing Vania excited.
"Sweet," Vania cheered. "Mom and Dad never let me adventure. They always say it's too dangerous."
"Because it is."
Both looked up, seeing Lilly in front of them. She smiled at both of them.
"How are my two kiddos doing today?" she smiled.
"Good," Vania grinned.
"Good to hear, deary," Lilly smiled, "unfortunately, Cole and I are having a private session today. So you're going to have to go back up today."
"Ok," Vania sighed in disappointment. She turned to Cole. "Don't have too much fun without me. I'll see you at dinner."
"Ok," Cole replied, now very nervous.
He watched Vania walk back the way they came. Had she already forgotten everything? He had no idea about any of this. Should he just tell his mom? Odds are he should keep everything a secret, but it would be hard not knowing anything about her or who he was here. He could blow it with just one word.
"Are you alright, honey bear," Lilly spoke up.
Cole turned, nodding quickly, "yeah, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong."
"Cole, honey," Lilly sighed, "you know you can tell me if something is wrong."
"Nothing's wrong, Mom," Cole shook his head.
Lilly looked him up and down, suspicious of him but not wanting to push too much. She turned and started walking deeper into the mines.
This place was practically the same as he remembered. He followed, looking around as they went deeper into the mine.
It made sense to him that his mom would have him train in the mountains. He was closer to his element here, as Wu told him. Plus, he learned how to do the spinjitzu burst here.
But as the cave opened, Cole felt his stomach twist as he looked around.
The vengestone mines. He knew they were still here, but why did his mom bring him here? How could she expect him to train with this much vengestone around them?
"So, you really think I didn't hear your conversation with Vania?"
Cole looked up, seeing his mother in front of him with her head down. He stepped back, realizing she knew.
"What do you mean, Mom?" Cole asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"I want to know what you were talking about," Lilly turned, locking eyes with Cole. "You know we don't agree with her going out alone."
"She didn't," Cole frowned, confused as his shoulders relaxed. Maybe she didn't understand it.
"You said that the two of you went on an adventure," Lilly frowned. "You both know that you aren't supposed to leave Shintaro."
"We didn't," Cole replied.
"Then what were you talking about!" Lilly snapped.
Cole flinched back. He remembered his mother, and this wasn't her. Not even close. Even his father could have a temper, but nothing like this. Sure, they were royalty, but that didn't excuse this.
Cole had to come up with something fast.
"It was just a dream I had last night," Cole blurted out, hoping she wouldn't question it.
Lilly frowned, looking at him. "Are you sure?"
Cole nodded, slowly backing away as his mother approached him. Sure, he looked stronger, but he didn't know how his mother was in a fight. Let alone this version of her.
"You're not really my Cole, are you?"
"What?"
"You aren't my son!" Lilly shouted, a mixture of sadness and anger in her voice.
"Mom! Let's talk about this!" Cole pleaded, stepping back.
"So you admit it! You are from another world?!" moving towards Cole, matching his paces perfectly to keep close to him.
"So what if I am! That doesn't change the fact that I'm your kid!" Cole snapped.
"But it does! You aren't my Cole. You're some imposter."
"Mom, please!"
"Stop calling me that!" Lilly snapped. "I am not your mother!"
Cole felt his heart shatter. The idea of being able to see his mom again had just been crushed by those words. And she was right. She wasn't his mother. She was Cole's mother; Cole was stuck in the other realm.
Cole yelped, diving out of the way of the dagger his mom launched at him. He rolled on the ground, pushing himself up and onto his knees. He looked at her in fear, seeing a second dagger clutched in her hands.
"Stop!" Cole pleaded.
"What did you do with my son!"
Cole fell back, looking up as his mother towered over him. She reached down, grabbed him by the collar, hoisted him up and launched him across the cave. He landed with a thud, groaning as he tried to get to his feet.
"I didn't do anything," Cole cried, hoping his mother would come to her senses and stop.
"Then where is he? Did Lou put you up to this?" Lilly kicked him from behind, sending him face-first into the dirt.
"What? Dad had nothing to do with this," Cole cried, rolling onto his back in hopes of countering his mother's next move.
"You're working with someone! Who! Wu? Garmadon?"
"Wu," Cole mumbled. Wu could have helped him. If only he had thought about that before just willingly coming down here.
Cole cried out as Lilly plunged the dagger into his calf. He looked down at his leg, crying again as Lilly slowly pulled the weapon out. He looked up, feeling tears welling in his eyes as the pain in his leg grew.
"Why?" Cole whimpered.
"You know Wu, don't you," she frowned, couching over Cole.
Cole winced, holding back a cry as Lilly pressed down on the wound.
"Talk."
"Yes, I know Wu. He was my Sensei back in my world. Your son is most likely there with him. He's safe, I promise."
Lilly cursed, standing and walking away from Cole. Cole looked back down at his leg. It was still bleeding, but it didn't look like she'd hit anything vital. He'd had worse, somehow. He glanced up, seeing his mother distracted and in her own world. He quickly went to work tearing his damaged pant leg. It was shredded pretty severely, but there was enough for a bandage. He wrapped it around his leg over the wound, tying it in place. Hopefully, that will help lessen the bleeding.
"You trained with Wu," Lilly spoke.
Cole snapped his head up, looking at Lilly as she began to circle him from a distance.
"At least that will stop you from trying to spinjitzu your way out of here," Lilly commented, sounding disgusted at the idea of spinjitzu.
"Why are you doing this?" Cole pleaded.
"Because you're a threat," Lilly countered, pointing her dagger at him.
"But none of this is making any sense. You're an elemental master. You're a good guy. What are you doing?"
"Selling vengestone, obviously," Lilly replied.
"Why? It's only effective against elemental masters," Cole questioned, knowing he wouldn't like the answer.
"Venge stone is valuable, and I have a very generous buyer. It's a rare stone, and its practical use makes it even more valuable. At first, Vangelis was all for it. More money for the people of Shintaro. But then he got cold feet when he realized what it was used for. He didn't want to support hurting people, even for the greater good."
"What do you mean? How can it be for the greater good if you're hurting people!"
"Of course, you wouldn't understand," Lilly laughed. "Wu raised you to be a little hero and his puppet. Well, Wu isn't the saviour and mentor everyone thinks. He thinks we should be equals yet still protect the people like their lives matter more. I can't stand it. We have this power, given to us by the First Spinjitzu Master. They should treat us like gods!"
"That isn't why he gave us the power!" Cole argued. "He needed the power and his people to be protected! Not for the power to be abused!"
"Well, it's too late; you can't change my mind. These people need to pay. And don't even think about trying to stop me. Vangelis already tried, and he failed. It was quite pathetic, really. He thinks I'm crazy. He tried to keep Vania and Cole out of the mountain. Tried to keep them away from me. Can you believe it? He really thought he could keep my son from me. He thinks I'll try to corrupt him or something. I don't really know; his lectures all sound the same. "Think of your son" "Cole looks up to you. What will he think if you're selling the one thing that can be used against him?" "I can't believe you've enslaved innocent people," blah blah blah. I can't stand it!"
Cole didn't have enough time to move to dodge the second dagger. It slid past his face, grazing his cheek. His hand flew up his cheek, touching the mark as blood oozed.
Cole looked up as Lilly approached him.
"And I won't have you stop my plans," Lilly growled. "I've worked too hard to have one spoiled brat stop me now."
"Mom, don't-"
"Silence!"
She slapped Cole across the face, blood from his cut staining her hand. Cole sat in shock, staring at the ground, unmoving.
He felt hands wrap around him as he was lifted like he weighed nothing.
But he didn't care.
The pain throbbing in his cheek, not just from the cut but from being slapped. Hard. And the pain from the dagger he took to the leg. Throw in being thrown around like a rag doll, his body aching and throbbing from the pain. It was just too much to handle right now.
Especially with the idea of it all being from his own mother.
He just couldn't handle it.
He was exhausted.
And gave in.
Letting his world go dark.