Lloyd scowled as he watched Kai pace around the dorm room in anxiety while they waited for Cole and Skylor to return. The sun had gone down not too long ago, and the rain was pouring in buckets and streaming down the window. The weather wasn't helping Kai's paranoia. His mind was racing and coming up with the worst possible scenarios. He was scared that they were lost, or they had fallen into a pit, or they were drowning in a river and being washed somewhere far, far away.
"Will you calm down? I'm sure they're fine."
"Then where are they?! It's almost night, they should have been back by now!" Kai shouted. Just then the door opened and he looked over, only to be disappointed when he saw Garmadon stepping inside. "Why did you tell that lady they were here?!"
"Lloyd is right, you need to calm down." He tried to ease the teen, but it just pissed him off more.
"B-But what if they're lost in the woods?! What if they're hurt?! What if those other wolves won't let them leave?! What if-" A sudden pillow in his face shut him up and he glared at the assaulter. "What the heck Lloyd?!"
"Just shut it for a second! You're giving me a headache." He growled as he massaged his forehead to try and fight off the incoming migraine. "First off, I know this is a new territory but I doubt they'd get lost in it; second, if they were hurt they would have howled and we'd come running, and finally, do you seriously think those two can't handle themselves?"
Kai was about to retort when the window was pulled open aggressively. They watched as Cole and Skylor climbed into the room. They were both absolutely soaked but were otherwise unharmed.
When he saw his boyfriend, Cole smiled and was about to say something before Kai suddenly slammed into him and wrapped him up in a tight hug, as if trying to squeeze the life out of him.
"Whoa there, firefly! What's wrong?" He asked sweetly as he ran a hand through Kai's hair. His voice seemed to snap Kai out of his relief and he gritted his teeth and pushed his boyfriend away.
"What the hell took you two so long?!" He demanded, and Cole looked to Skylor, unsure what to say. She sighed and looked at the others.
"You're not gonna believe what happened out there." She said and they gathered around. Needless to say, after she was finished with her tale, they were all shocked and concerned by what she revealed.
"So let me get this straight: Chen is here, he had taken control of a pack of starved werewolves, and he seems like a good guy now?" Lloyd recapped in disbelief after she was done explaining what had happened.
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."
"And you seriously trust him?" Kai scowled only to back off when she snapped her infuriated gaze onto him.
"I never said that! I promised him that I would return in the morning and we could talk."
"That's nice and all, but how are you gonna sneak away again?" Lloyd asked and they all immediately looked to Garmadon. Realizing what they wanted, the older wolf sighed loudly in exasperation and started making a plan...
"What do you mean they're sick?!" Louise cried in dismay. The rest of the class had returned a little over an hour ago and were getting ready for the new day. Morro, Maggie, and Nya's shelter had won by a landslide, and Maggie made a point to let everyone know. She kept talking about it as if stating that everyone should jot down and remember.
Louise had been so excited about today's activities, but Garmadon had inadvertently crushed her enthusiasm.
"Unfortunately, due to their prolonged exposure to the elements last night, both Skylor and Cole are too ill to continue today's activities." He lied calmly, hoping that Louise would believe him. She stared at him for a few seconds and he got scared she could see right through him. But after an awkward moment, she sighed in frustration and asked Garmadon to stay behind and watch them.
After that was settled, Louise and Koko led the rest of the class into the forest for the day's activities. Skylor and Cole waited about ten minutes to ensure the class was gone before they took off towards the mines. Garmadon considered going with them, but it was decided that he would have to stay behind if someone returned for any reason.
As they trudged through the mud and the rain, Skylor regretted not bringing a coat or something to protect herself from the pounding rain. At least Cole had thought to bring a backpack full of supplies. It was raining so hard that the drops hurt her skin when they collided. She glanced to her side and saw Cole wasn't doing much better. Cole looked utterly miserable, unlike her, who was used to facing these elements. He was completely soaked to the bone and his hair dripped limply over his face. He was shaking like a leaf and his teeth were chattering.
"You know you didn't have to come with me this time, right?"
"I know, " he replied, and nothing else was said as they continued their walk to the den. When they arrived, they saw the same couple outside picking berries and flowers again. As soon as they spotted the teens, they smiled and approached.
"Welcome! Welcome! Greetings all; it's so nice to call." They sang again just like the first time. With that, they grabbed the baskets and led them into the den. When they walked into the main chamber, the teens were surprised. Unlike last time, the pack appeared to be more lively. Instead of gathering around in silence, they were walking around, talking amongst themselves, and didn't look as lifeless as before.
Unsure what to do, Skylor and Cole followed the old couple to a room. Inside, they saw Clouse and Gandalaria were sat down, surrounded by various bowls of different plants. They watched as Clouse and Gandalaria collected the plants and mixed them into water.
"Why do you mix all this stuff up?" Cole asked, scrunching his nose at the conflicting smells.
"Don't worry, you will see soon enough," Clouse responded and said nothing else. Gandalaria didn't even look up from her work. Seeing nothing that interested her, Skylor returned to the main chamber. People were still talking and the cubs were playing. It looked like it was a typical peaceful day for them. Yet, as soon as she stepped into the chamber, Skylor felt like something was off.
She looked up at the roof covered in tree roots, but instead of roots, she saw the ceiling was made of b̸̼̋͛̑͆̈́͗̿̅ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅǹ̷̨͍̮̥̹̘͙̗̻̬̬̜̥̮̃̒̈́̽͗̿̍̄̂̏͆͠͝ë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝s̴̹̀̎̇͗̍͗̾̋̏̈͐͒̕͠͠ͅ, with blood dripping and echoing in the darkness. Barely suppressing a scream, she turned to the pack to ask for their help, but as soon as she looked at them she saw their hearts were as hard as s̴̹̀̎̇͗̍͗̾̋̏̈͐͒̕͠͠ͅt̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅǹ̷̨͍̮̥̹̘͙̗̻̬̬̜̥̮̃̒̈́̽͗̿̍̄̂̏͆͠͝ë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝s̴̹̀̎̇͗̍͗̾̋̏̈͐͒̕͠͠ͅ. In sync they all looked to her and she felt herself freeze when she saw their eyes, or lack thereof.
Instead of the blank stares she had gotten used to, all she saw were empty sockets looking into her soul.
A strange hissing suddenly filled her ears, followed by a foul smell. It was so bad that Skylor had to hold her breath and press her hands against her ears. She didn't know how long she stayed like that, but she was snapped out of it when someone grabbed her shoulder.
"Daughter?" Someone called to her and just like that the hissing and smell vanished. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw Chen staring at her in what she believed was concern. "Are you well?"
Skylor looked back at the ceiling, but instead of bones and blood, she saw the dozen giant tree roots holding the ceiling up as drops of rain from outside started dripping in. Looking back to the pack, she was relieved to see they had eyes again, even if they were still blank and cold.
"Y-Yeah, I'm... fine." She stammered, eyes darting around fearfully, though she didn't know what she was looking for. Chen smiled in reassurance and started leading her back toward the previous chamber. Now there were two baskets filled with nothing but meat. At first, she thought they had had a more successful hunt than the last time she was here until she looked closer at the meat. This was not meat hunted by the pack. This meat looked like it was fresh from the store. "Where does this meat come from?"
"Humans leave it for us," Chen replied as he, Clouse, and Gandalaria picked up the pieces of meat and started soaking them in the mixture they had made. Her confusion must have been obvious on her face because he said. "After you've been with us for a while, you will forget all about the hard times."
"We're not staying here that long." Skylor quickly responded. "Once we find Kataru-"
"Long or short, one never knows," Chen suddenly said. With that, he gently pushed them out of the chamber and encouraged them to interact with the pack. Before either of them could protest, he left them without another word. Cole and Skylor shared an uncomfortable look, but what could they do?
They had come too far to turn back now.
After sharing a look, they decided to split up. They had to find either Kataru or Akita, then they would be long gone from this weird place...
Cole was starting to think this was a lost cause. He had been wandering around for about an hour now and he had no idea where Akita or her brother were. He had tried asking around but most of the pack completely blanked him as if he was mute and invisible. The ones that actually acknowledged him either completely dodged his questions or went back to ignoring him the moment he mentioned Akita or Kataru.
He couldn't even look for them himself because he didn't know what they looked like.
He had never met Kataru and he only got a brief look at Akita. Best case scenario he would bump into her and he'd be able to recognize her. Since that was unlikely to happen though he had to settle with asking random strangers if they had seen a girl he could only describe as having dark hair. Not exactly a good description for-
Cole was suddenly jolted out of his thoughts when he tripped over something heavy in the path. He cried out as he fell and hissed in pain from his freshly stubbed toes. Turning to see what he had tripped over, he frowned when he saw it was a basket that was filled with tools. They resembled the carving tools his mom would use when making sculptures but they looked like they were handmade.
Sensing movement to his side, Cole looked up and smiled in relief when he saw Geo rushing towards him. At least Geo was normal enough to have a conversation.
"Cole? I didn't know you had come back!" He exclaimed joyfully as he pulled Cole into a big hug. "It's nice to see you, my friend!"
"It's great to see you too, Geo," Cole grunted from the force until Geo finally released him. It was then that Cole noticed the contents of the basket he had knocked over were now scattered across the floor. "Oh, crap, sorry about that let me help." He said and before Geo could protest he bent down and started picking up the various tools. Geo smiled gratefully and started to help.
The clean-up didn't take too long and after they were done, Cole looked up at what Geo had been working on. It looked like a bunch of rocks stacked on top of each other. They did faintly make a shape, but Cole couldn't make out what.
"What're you making?"
Geo sighed as he stared at his creation. "I was making a new sculpture, but I ran out of materials."
"Why don't you just get some more?"
"Unfortunately, the stones I need are only found outside, and no one goes outside alone." He replied and Cole thought he could see a faint shiver run through his body.
"What if I went with you?"
"Really?" Geo gasped in surprise. "You don't have to do that."
"I know, come on." Cole grinned and led the way out. As they were leaving Cole noticed some of the pack staring at them with those dead eyes, but he brushed it off. He was still a stranger to them and everyone was a little weird here regardless.
It was still raining outside, but not enough to put a hindrance on their plans. Grabbing a couple of baskets, Cole allowed Geo to take the lead. He hesitated at the entrance for about a minute before stepping out into the rain.
As they traversed through the forest, Cole noticed that Geo moved very slowly, as if every step was a life-or-death situation. Though visibly nervous, Geo did lead them to a quarry filled with stones so white that the sun reflecting off of them almost blinded Cole. Now that they were here it seemed Geo was a lot calmer and the pair started filling the baskets with various stones, which didn't take as long as Cole thought it would.
"What's it like where you live?" Geo suddenly asked as they finished filling the baskets and took a moment to breathe.
"Not bad; nothing like this place." Cole shrugged. Geo hummed in thought and seemed to stare off into the distance. There was an awkward moment and Cole didn't like it, but he was worried about saying anything. Instead, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a Walkman. Seeing this, Geo watched as Cole pressed play and bopped his head along to the music.
"What's that?" He suddenly asked, startling the teen.
"Oh, that's my tunes."
"Tunes?" Geo repeated in confusion. Cole smiled and handed the Walkman to his friend so he could examine it. "How do the people fit inside this tiny box?" He asked and Cole had to stop himself from laughing.
"No, no, humans use machines to save their voices to this tape so people can listen to it over and over again." He explained, but this only confused Geo more. "Here, give it a try." He offered and tried to put the headphones on but Geo jumped back as if the headphones were going to bite him. "It won't hurt you, I promise." He reassured and though clearly scared, Geo allowed Cole to help him put the earbuds in. Once that was done, Cole pressed play and smiled at the astonished look on his friend's face as the music started playing.
"What do you call this?" Geo asked, bewildered, as he examined the device.
"This guy's called Elton John, he's a great singer."
"This is an amazing gift; how'd you get it?"
Cole smiled warmly. "My mom; she had this way before I was born, and we'd listen to music together all the time." His smile faltered slightly. "When she died, this is one of the few things I had left of her."
"Really? Why?"
"My Dad, he... well, I think he doesn't like talking about the past." Cole sighed, feeling his eyes starting to sting at the memory of coming home from the funeral to find almost all his mother's stuff packed in boxes to be donated to some charity. Cole had been lucky to sneak the few items that he had now.
"I understand; my pack has a similar mindset," Geo replied, looking more forlorn than before. Another uncomfortable silence surrounded them until Cole pulled out his phone to check on the time. "Who's that?" Geo asked when he saw the picture on Cole's lock screen.
It was a picture of Cole and Kai after their first official date.
"That's my boyfriend, Kai." Cole smiled at the memory before pulling up his photos and telling Geo all about his pack. He talked about Kai and all the ways he was the most special person to him. He told Geo about how Jay was his best friend and all the fun they had. He spoke about how Lloyd and his family had lived in Ninjago City the longest, and how Morro ended up joining their pack. He explained how Nya and Zane were the smartest and most responsible members of their pack and how their quick thinking had gotten them out of danger.
He even talked about Pixal and Harumi, though wisely left out the small detail of them being human, knowing how wild werewolves viewed them.
"Your pack sounds amazing," Geo said in awe after Cole was done explaining. He wished that his pack was like that. Sure they all knew each other, but none of them were close like Cole's was. The only people Geo was even remotely close to was Bonzle and her grandmother.
Seeing that the sun would be setting soon, the pair got up, grabbed their baskets, and started making their way back to the pack. They walked mostly in silence until Cole finally worked up the question that had been on his mind all day.
"Hey, Geo, why can't you hunt?"
The wild werewolf suddenly froze and his eyes looked as dead as the rest of his pack's. Cole started internally freaking out, fearing he had crossed a line and had upset his friend in some kind of horrible way until Geo let out a shaky breath and started speaking again.
"A long time ago, back when my mother was no older than Bonzle, humans came and almost wiped our pack out; ever since then our pack has been too scared to leave the den." He explained, his voice cracking ever so slightly. "If it weren't for our alpha, we'd be dead by now."
Cole frowned when he heard that. The thought of anyone relying on a man like Chen formed a knot in his stomach.
"If you want, I could show you how to hunt."
Geo gasped as his face lit up at the idea. "Really?"
"Yeah, I mean, I know how to catch things like fish and rabbits if you want to learn that." He offered and it was true. Despite Zane and his dad leaving fresh meat in the den, sometimes the pull of the moon was too strong and their instincts took over. Cole vividly remembered waking up one morning after a full moon to find what was left of a poor bunny rabbit on his chest. He almost turned vegan right then and there if the smell of Zane cooking bacon hadn't snapped him out of it.
Geo thought about it for a moment before nodding. Cole smiled and the pair quickly transformed, making a mental note of where they left their baskets and clothes and took off into the forest. While running, Cole noticed how Geo was much slower and more cautious than him. The wild werewolf kept looking around frantically, almost as if he was expecting something to jump out and attack him. Though confused and curious, Cole decided to leave his questions for now. Geo had never been hunting before so he was probably just nervous.
After a few minutes of running Cole came to a stop and started sniffing the air. Geo copied him, unsure what the younger werewolf was doing until he smelt it.
Rabbits.
Making sure that Geo was paying attention, Cole crouched low and started creeping forward, with Geo following his every move. A few feet into the long grass Cole saw them. Five wild rabbits were huddled together grazing along the grass, unaware of the predators' presence. If Cole could smile he would. This was too easy and perfect practice for Geo.
*SNAP*
His head whipped around to see Geo lifting his paw from the stick he just stepped on. Looking back to the rabbits, Cole gritted his teeth when he saw they were all now looking at them, bodies stiff and ready to bolt. Not wasting a second Cole leapt forward and started chasing his prey. He wasn't fast enough and they scurried into a nearby burrow. Cole snarled and turned to Geo, only to see with wild werewolf chasing down a rabbit that had strayed from the group.
Geo wasn't paying attention to anything but his hunt. His eyes were solely on the rabbit running for its life. Every turn the critter took, so did he. Every obstacle it jumped, he wasn't far behind. Within seconds, Geo was mere inches from the rabbit. Instincts took over and his eyes narrowed. Teeth bared, he was about to make a lunge for his prey when suddenly-
*BANG*
-the rabbit banked a hard right and avoided the large boulder by a second. Geo's reflexes weren't as quick and he ended up slamming straight into the giant stone with a pained cry. Cole's eyes widened as he ran over to his friend's aid. Despite his worries Geo quickly got back up and shook off his nerves, seeming relatively unharmed. Ignoring Cole for the moment he looked around for the rabbit but realised it was long gone by now.
Seeing the disappointed look in the skinnier wolf's eyes, Cole knew he had to think of something else. Rabbits were probably a difficult meal to catch for someone who never left their den for more than a few minutes. Continuing their trek through the forest they soon arrived at a flowing stream. The water was shining in the light and was crystal clear. Looking at the stream, Cole could see dozens of various fish casually swimming passed them.
This was perfect.
Letting out an excited yip, Geo came up beside him. He looked at the water, then back at Cole, and kept repeating the action, unsure what Cole wanted him to do. Seeing this, Cole examined the water for a second before suddenly dunking his whole head into the stream. Geo thought he had lost his mind until Cole remerged a second later with a fish clutched tightly between his teeth.
Seeing this, Geo's eyes widened in awe and he turned to the water. After a moment of hesitation, he too dunked his head into the water but when he came up there was no fish. With more determination, he tried again but misjudged how hard he had to lunge. He ended up losing his footing and fell face-first into the stream.
Panicking, Cole dropped his fish back into the water and dove in after his friend. The water just barely came up to his chest and the current wasn't strong so there wasn't a fear of being washed away. Geo was standing in the middle of the stream looking like a miserable drowned rat. Once Cole was sure he was unharmed they made their way back to shore. By now the sun was set and the fish had swam away so there wasn't much point staying.
Shaking the water from their fur, the pair ran back to where they left their clothes and baskets.
"Don't worry, practice makes perfect." Cole encouraged after they finished getting dressed and headed back to the den.
"Thank you Cole; despite not catching anything I did have a good time." Geo smiled, truly grateful for his help. "I'll keep working on-"
Cole grunted as he accidentally walked into the smaller man. He frowned in confusion as Geo stood rooted in place and he stared blankly ahead. Instead of the usual empty stare, Geo looked absolutely horrified. His expression reminded him of Kai's when they watched Jaws. He followed Geo's gaze but instead of seeing something terrifying, he saw Bonzle. The little pup was all by herself by the den's entrance kicking around a ball carved out of wood.
Cole smiled at the wholesome sight, but there was still a question buzzing around his brain. Why did Geo look like he was watching the most scariest movie ever made?
Suddenly Bonzle kicked the ball a little too hard and it disappeared into the field of bushes. Without thinking, Bonzle went to find her ball.
"BONZLE, NO!" A thunderous roar boomed beside Cole and the teen could only watch as Geo launched himself forward faster than anyone he'd ever seen. Within seconds Geo was grabbing Bonzle and pulling her away from the bushes.
It didn't take Cole more than a minute to run up to them. When he stopped beside Geo he saw the skinnier werewolf hunched over and shaking like a leaf. His already pale skin was ghostly white and he looked like he was about to start crying, vomiting, and fainting all at once. His breathing was short and labored and he was hugging Bonzle so close to her chest that Cole feared she would be crushed. Their eyes met and she looked as confused and scared as he did.
"I... I just wanted my toy." She whispered fearfully and that seemed to snap Geo out of it. Reluctantly, he released Bonzle but kept an arm wrapped around her just in case.
"A-Are... you Ok?" Cole awkwardly asked and Geo's eyes snapped to him, almost as if he forgot the teen was there.
"...I think we should head back inside." Was all he said before picking Bonzle up and heading into the den, not even bothering to grab their baskets. Cole considered picking them up for him, but decided against it and quickly followed them inside.
The rain was starting to pick back up anyway...
Despite watching what they had been doing for the last hour or so, Skylor was still confused by what Gandalaria and Clouse were doing. Gandalaria was tearing up the meat caught yesterday into small chunks roughly about the size of a chicken nugget and putting them in a basket. That was normal pack procedure to make sure everyone got something to eat. That wasn't what befuddled her.
What did raise an eyebrow, however, was what Clouse was doing.
He was taking the various plants and berries that had been collected and mushing them into a bowl filled with water. He stirred the mixture around and around, occasionally adding an extra berry or plant. A pungent, sickly sweet smell that reminded her of her friends' shampoo and perfume quickly filled the chamber. Soon the liquid turned light pink. It prompted an image of that pink sauce Kai had shown her on that weird clock app.
She was about to ask what the mixture was for when they did something that completely stumped her.
Her eyes widened when Clouse stopped mixing the bowl and reached for the basket with the pieces of meat. She watched as he carefully took the pieces one by one and dipped them into the strange pink mixture, rubbing it deep into the meat, before putting them into a different basket.
Following her gaze, Chen smiled and held up a piece of meat. "You can have a taste if you wish." He offered it to her, but Skylor scowled and pushed it away.
"I'm not touching this stuff until you tell me what exactly you put in it." She firmly stated and fixed him with a glare. As soon as she spoke she could have sworn Chen's smile became a very angry scowl for a split second but by the time she blinked he was smiling again. He turned to Clouse and nodded.
Clouse didn't look too pleased about that, but couldn't disobey his alpha.
"This particular mixture is one I crafted with the aid of the pack healers." He explained and gestured to Gandalaria who was still dipping the meat into the mixture, not paying them any attention. "When consumed it absorbs into the stomach and removes the feeling of hunger regardless of how little the subject eats." There was a harsh flash in his eye. "It also eases the mind's fear and rage to an acceptable level."
"You're drugging them?!" She cried at the revolting implications.
"They know what they are eating, so if they want to be 'drugged' who am I to stop them?" Chen scoffed at her claims. However, upon seeing she was still sickened by their actions, he sighed and began to explain. "This is to help them in the long run my child; it is an alpha's duty to protect and provide for their pack and this helps them deal with the constant lack of food."
"If you're so low on food why won't you teach the rest of the pack to hunt?" She challenged.
"Because I learned from my mistakes!" He bristled but quickly recomposed himself. "Our old pack was too comfortable and demanding; they had grown lazy and had come to expect to be showered in food and care, and thus no longer appreciated what their alpha had been doing for them." He growled simply at the thought of his former pack's ungrateful treatment of him and his daughter.
His statement made Skylor pause.
Had her pack been demanding under her leadership? No, they were just frustrated with her father and taking it out on her.
But did that make it right? No, but a true leader could deal with that.
But then why did they leave? Because those asshole twins had fed lies to them about her fate.
Except even before then they constantly argued and undermined her authority no matter how hard she tried to gain their respect. Was Krux and Aconix's betrayal a long time coming? After all, they had been whispering doubts amongst the pack for weeks before she was shot. Yet Akita ran away because she was teaching them human things, not because of the twins' and their sneaky comments.
Was she truly a terrible alpha?
Or were they a terrible pack?
Chen smiled as if he could hear her conflicting thoughts. "Maintaining loyalty to the title we have inherited is our duty above everything else because the calling comes from the highest source."
"...Do you really believe that?" She murmured and he nodded.
"Our position gives the members of our pack an ideal to strive towards; an example of strength and duty to raise them in their wretched lives." He exclaimed with an invigorating voice as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. Surprising herself, Skylor found herself leaning into his warmth. "Skylor, trust me, these people are far better now that we're here to lead them."
His words seemed to spark something inside her, but before she could open her mouth to speak Clouse suddenly cleared his throat.
"Master, we are ready now." He said as he and Gandalaria held up baskets filled with the meat pieces. Chen nodded in satisfaction and turned to Skylor with a smile.
"Come, daughter, it's time to eat."...
NEXT CHAPTER: It was all too good to be true...