#bonzal (ninjago)

[goldenavenger02]

i said "i love you" (you say nothing back)

After defeating the Hoarder, Nya finds out exactly what Cole means when he says that it feels like the earth is screaming. Meanwhile, Cole knows that his and Geo’s time is running out.

“We’re gonna need to head out first thing in the morning,” Nya explained as she followed Cole around, the two of them on their own journey to find two sufficient air mattresses for her and Sora to sleep on for the night, but she had a much more pressing matter on her mind, “so, you and Geo?”

“What about Geo?” Cole asked, kneeling down next to a pile of junk and starting to dig through it.

“I just think it’s nice that you found him and the others, that you had others after the Merge,” Nya shrugged as she got down beside her best friend and started to dig through the pile of trash beside him while a much simpler time came to the forefront of her mind, “remember that true match machine?”

“Oh my god,” Cole laughed despite the thin lines of pain around his lips that Nya could only see in a certain light, “I nearly forgot about that stupid thing.”

“What, the machine that resulted in you and I going on one date? Where afterwards you said “I’m not talking to Jay, but you can’t pick me”? How did you forget that?” Nya couldn’t contain her laughter as they stood with zero luck and continued to walk, no longer in fear of the Hoarder now that it was trapped in a jar.

“I still can’t believe that was the last piece of the puzzle.”

“Yep, one date with me. That’s all it took for you to realize that you were gay,” she grinned, but it was quickly replaced by a frown of worry about where her yin was bubbling its way back to the surface of her mind, “I hope that the others find him.”

“Hey,” Cole’s voice was comforting as his hand rested on her shoulder, forcing her attention to him, “we will find him. One of us will find Jay, I promise. I mean, you and Sora found me in a place that, according to most people, doesn’t even exist. That’s gotta mean something.”

“I wish you would come with us.” Nya sighed, pulling an air mattress pump off of the top of a pile of junk, relieved to find that it was only slightly dented and battery powered.

“You know I can’t. Not until I can find a way to bring them with me,” Cole sighed, examining the device, “it would kill me to leave them-” the cry of anguish as he dropped to his knees forced a horrific scream from Nya’s lungs.

“Cole!” She rushed over and knelt down before pulling her best friend into her arms, “Cole, what’s-”

“Get Geo.” Was all he said before his eyes fluttered shut and his body went limp in her arms, making Nya’s stomach churn with worry; she tried to lift him so she could get him back to the Rookery, to find his boyfriend like he said to do, but despite her own share of muscle from the years of being a Samurai and then a ninja, he was still too heavy for her.

So she did the only thing that she could think to do and started to yell out, “Sora! Geo! Riyu! I need help!”

…

Nya’s heart pounded painfully in her chest as she looked around at the others surrounding her; Bonzal was crocheting, her boney hands working slowly but expertly with the light blue yarn that was reminiscent of her own gi. Fritz and Spitz were sitting on the ground, gluing together popsicle sticks into what she assumed was a log cabin, similar to how she had done it when she was their age. Sora and Riyu had gone out to resume finding mattresses for the two of them to settle for the night, insisting that since they had found a pump, a mattress had to be close by.

Nya couldn’t help but wonder if Bonzal’s crocheting was nerves or not with how slow she was working; she couldn’t help but remember her boyfriend’s anxious movements, his hands working nervously on all sorts of projects and inventions if only just to calm his overworking mind.

If he had been with her in this current moment, Jay would focus on trying to comfort her own nerves, using his own words to ground himself, but she didn’t dare wish for him to be there even in the comfort of her own mind, not even a good experience with a Dijin could change that.

With how at ease the boys were, even if they weren’t outwardly showing their nerves, Nya couldn’t help but wonder if what had happened to Cole was somewhat normal for the children he was now practically calling his own, for the skeleton who outwardly didn’t care for much but her craft projects as well as her weird collections and for Cole’s boyfriend, who was in the room just down the hall, tending to him.

It wasn’t that it was unexpected for Cole to have a boyfriend; ever since he came out to her, Nya was aware of the persistent crush he had once had on her brother as well as the brief romance that he had shared with Plundar. If she was being completely honest, she had been expecting it for a long time just like she knew the others had been expecting her to get back together with Jay.

But she couldn’t stop herself from wondering about Geo, the outcast of Shintaro that had found his way into Cole’s heart. They hadn’t spoken much to each other aside from the explanation of his own elemental powers, not that it wasn’t either of their faults given the attack from both The Hoarder as well as Dr. LaRow.

Admittedly, Nya couldn’t help but wonder if it was just her wanting to get to know the Munce, or if some part of her was still guarded from the mess that had been what had gone down with Harumi and Lloyd and as a result, wanted to protect the others from going through anything like that again.

She was so lost in her own mind that she hadn’t even registered Geo, slowly opening the creaking, wooden door until he approached the line of her vision, “how is he?”

“He’ll be okay,” Geo’s voice was steady, like anything about Cole passing out for seemingly no reason after expressing earlier in the day that it felt like the earth had been screaming ever since the Merge was okay.

“How are you so calm about this?” Nya questioned with a raised eyebrow, “this isn’t normal and not just in Ninjago. It’s not normal at all.”

Geo didn’t answer at first and Nya assumed that it was due to the fact that he was refusing to acknowledge her question, but she was surprised when Geo led her over to a small table pushed into the back of the room and handed her a hot mug of steaming chamomile, a scent she instantly recognized from her days working at Steep Wisdom.

“I don’t like scaring Fritz and Spitz,” Geo admitted as he passed her a small dish of sugar before taking a sip of his unsweetened tea, looking right at the young boys as he spoke, “they’re just kids. Kids who look at Cole the same way that they look at me.”

“So they’re your sons?” Nya pressed while sweetening her tea.

“In all but blood,” Geo affirmed, “the four of us, we were all rejected by our biological families, so we made our own and when Cole fell from the sky, we only assumed that he was like the rest of us.”

Nya nodded; she was instantly brought back to those cold autumn mornings in Ignacia where her feet would be so cold that she would instantly go to Kai’s bed and snuggle up to her furnace of a brother; even when he complained about her cold feet on his warm legs, she knew that he was grateful that at least he could provide warmth.

It had just been the two of them surviving together, hoping that the other villagers would take pity on them to the point of at least offering them a warm meal if they didn’t buy some of the extensive stock of weapons that only dwindled as they grew up.

In a weird way, she had been thankful for being taken by the skeleton army; after all, it wasn’t like they hurt her and afterwards, they had the guarantee of comfy beds and warm meals while Kai continued his training to become the master of fire.

“So, what happened out there?” Nya questioned, now that the chamomile was starting to calm down her anxiety and replaced it with the need for answers, “and why are you all so calm about this?”

“I know you said that this isn’t normal, and you are completely in the right, but it has become our normal,” Geo explained, stopping to take a sip of his tea, “a few weeks after Cole arrived, he fought the Hoarder for the first time. But when he used what he calls his “earth punch”, he confided in me later on that the earth struggled to obey his mastery and it felt like the ground was in agony.”

“So the pain is from his earth punch.” 

“Not exactly,” Nya couldn’t stop her eyebrow from raising in confusion, but after being in so many confusing conversations throughout the years, she knew when it was better to remain silent, “after that day, he started to develop these migraines, he told me that he always hears the cries, but that he can drown them out. But some days, like today, it’s too strong for him.”

Nya swallowed in sympathy; after she had been brought back from the sea, she had been forced to go through the withdrawal of the lack of elemental power she had seen both Kai and Lloyd go through in the past. It had been painful to say the least between getting used to her own body again as well as the usual flu-like symptoms that came with having the elemental energy ripped from one's body.

But consistent migraines like that, long after the event that originally caused the internal turmoil, that was new to her; not impossible, but new. Just like everything else that she had learned within the past few weeks since she reunited with Lloyd.

“Is there anything that helps him get through the bad days?” Nya asked, pushing a loose strand of hair away from her face where it had fallen out of her ponytail, only to be disappointed when Geo shook his head.

“Not much. We haven’t been able to find any sort of medicine or herbal remedy to decrease the pain, but physical contact helps him ground himself, so it’s something.”

That was something that didn’t surprise Nya at all. Cole was always the first one to give and accept hugs to whoever might need one ever since she first met him; she had a particularly strong memory of the two of them holding onto each other tightly after a conversation about ghosts and newfound powers. 

But as Geo spoke, every word rattled inside of her mind and filled it with the fact that Geo was not deceptive and had zero malicious intent for her friend. Rather, he may very well be the best match she had ever seen for Cole.

“Then you should go be with him,” Nya insisted, putting her now empty tea cup down on the table, “I’ll clean this up and make dinner.”

“Are you sure?” Geo questioned as she stood, taking his empty cup with her own towards the sink, “you and Sora have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow.”

“Geo, you are the first person I’ve met that has truly loved Cole,” Nya put her hand on the Munce’s to ensure that yes, she had his attention, “and right now, you are the one he needs. You’ve helped him through this before, I would have no idea what to do.”

Geo nodded as he stood, and Nya could have sworn that she saw a shiny tear trickle down his cheek but he made no move to acknowledge it as he walked back toward his and Cole’s shared bedroom, only stopping to turn back toward Bonzal and say, “help Nya with dinner if she needs it.”, before disappearing behind the wooden door.

…

Cole knew that if he stayed perfectly still and kept his eyes closed, the migraine would pass. It would take time and he would be bedridden for the rest of the night, but he knew that the throbbing in his mind and the subtle churn of his nauseated stomach would pass.

In the years that had passed in the Land of Lost Things, he got used to the throbbing of the scar that had come from the rift in the sky sealing around the left side of his skull. 

He knew that any of the other ninjas would have been just as freaked out as he had been when it had started, he also knew that it had been foolish to believe that it had just been from the lack of adrenaline from fighting the Hoarder that first time.

But, he had Geo to get him through it by letting him rest his pounding head on his chest and the comforting squeeze of his arm around his shoulders. It didn’t stop the pain, the nausea or even the fainting, but it was enough for Cole to ground himself and know that he would get through it just like he had before.

“Hey,” the tender whisper broke through his thoughts, resting his gentle hand on Cole’s bare shoulder which gave him the strength to open his eyes in the pitch black room, “how’re you feeling?”

“Honestly?” Cole couldn’t stop his voice from trembling as he spoke because even moving the muscles in his jaw sent a flash of pain through his head, “like shit, the migraines…” he hesitated, but given the little of Geo’s face he could see through the makeshift blackout curtains that covered their windows, Cole knew that his boyfriend knew exactly what he was gonna say, “I think they’re getting worse. The screaming is getting louder.”

Geo’s mouth was pushed into a tight line, the face he made whenever he was deep in thought; Cole had seen it before, when the two of them discussed the Hoarder with Bonzal to try and figure out what exactly it was and how to stop it for good, as well as when the migraines first made their appearance and Geo had tried everything to remove the pain before it was decided that they should just try and manage the pain instead.

“You should go with Nya, Riyu and Sora tomorrow,” Geo finally spoke, and despite the pain, Cole immediately sat up in protest, “Cole, lay back do-”

“I am not leaving the boys, I am not leaving Bonzal and I am not leaving you,” Cole shook his head and fought back the wave of nausea that it caused as he grasped onto his boyfriend’s hands, “you four can’t leave, I can’t leave you.”

“Ninjago has more sufficient medical technology-”

“But Ninjago doesn’t have you,” Cole cut him off, his vision trying to dim around him due to the overexertion, “I need you, Geo.”

“I don’t want you to leave, Cole,” Geo’s voice trembled as he set a gentle hand on his chest, forcing his throbbing head onto the pillows, “but I also don’t want to lose you.”

Cole sighed as he chewed on the edge of his lip; he understood everything Geo was saying and he knew that his boyfriend wasn’t pushing him away because he no longer wanted him around but more so that he couldn’t find another solution to the problem and he knew that, in the depths of his mind where only the truest honesty inside of him was, he knew that the only solution had to be stopping the Merge Quakes.

“I love you, Geo,” Cole sighed as he moved to allow the Munce to get in bed beside him so he could rest his head against his chest, knowing that if this was the last night that he would be with Geo, then he was going to make sure that it ended on a good note, “and I swear that as soon as all of this is over, I’ll come back and bring you four with me.”

“I know you will,” Geo spoke softly before pressing his tender lips to the top of Cole’s head, wrapping his arm around his shoulders, “and Cole?”

Cole turned his head to look into Geo’s shiny eyes, feeling his own tears start to build up from both the migraine and knowing that this could very well be the last time that he shared the night with his boyfriend.

Despite all of that, Cole couldn’t help but smile when their lips met, the familiar sensation of nothing but pure love bringing his attention away from the pain for just a few moments before Geo pulled away and said what he got his attention for in the first place.

“I love you too, and if you can’t get back to us…” Geo stopped to push away Cole’s sweaty, raven-black hair away from his throbbing scar, never putting his fingers directly on it.

“Don’t finish that,” Cole pleaded, gently taking Geo’s purple fingers in his own hand, “I will come back to Bonzal, to the boys and to you. We’ll go back to Ninjago, and you guys can meet my dad,” he started to ramble, which he knew was from both the exhaustion and the migraine taking away his focus, but he had this conversation with Geo before deep in the night after they had their first kiss.

“And if we decide that Ninjago isn’t for us, we’ll go live with your friend, Queen Vania, in Shintaro,” Geo continued, pressing more soft kisses against Cole’s head while speaking, “and we’ll keep raising our boys where they’ll be as safe as they can be and where Bonzal will have so much thread and yarn that she’ll never run out of things to crochet or sew.”

“And when they’re a bit older,” Cole stopped to yawn, his eyes fluttering shut as he continued to mumble, “maybe we’ll have another one. I’ve always wanted three, you know.”

But as he let his eyes stay shut and his mind started to wander into dreamland, he heard Geo speak for just a few more moments.

“A girl, who we’ll name her after your mom,” one more kiss pressed to his forehead followed by a “good night, Cole” and after that, Cole couldn’t hear his boyfriend speak anymore.

He thought he heard the voice of Master Wu calling out to him, pleading with him to follow him, but it quickly faded to an empty void.

…

Spitz had burst into tears as soon as he heard that Cole would be leaving, his sobs turning into sniffles after Cole hugged him with a little bit of super strength and insisted that he would be back as soon as he could be.

Fritz was just as sniffly as Spitz when he hugged Cole tightly, but was much easier to cheer up with the promise of meeting the others, especially Kai, and the promise that he would be brought back the newest in ninja action figures.

Bonzal didn’t say much before leading the boys away, she didn’t even hug Cole, but when she stuttered over “bring me any bones you find, rock boy,” he knew that she was pushing back any of her emotions so he and Geo could have a proper goodbye without Fritz asking more questions about the dragon cores or Spitz becoming inconsolable about Cole leaving again.

But when the door closed, leaving the Master of Earth and the Munce alone, neither of them could break the silence as Cole pulled the backpack of his few things over his shoulder. He was still exhausted from the migraine that had overtaken him the day before, but the pain was gone and the screaming was quieter now.

Unfortunately, that also meant that his departure from the land he had called home, and the people he had called home for the last few years, was very real and not just an argument between him and his boyfriend.

“You be safe,” Geo’s voice broke through the seemingly impenetrable silence that had filled the living room as he rested his palm in Cole’s, the small burst of powers forming a brief heart shape around their hands, “you come back to us.”

“Geo,” Cole swallowed harshly, his mouth dry as he did, “tell me to stay and I swear, I will unpack this bag faster than the elemental master of speed,” Cole knew that he wouldn’t since he was the one who told him to leave the night before, but he was pleading just the same as his voice trembled into a honest stutter, “I-I love you.”

He should have known that Geo wouldn’t say another word, but the last thing he expected was for Geo to let his hand fall before walking with him toward the entrance. Cole wanted to take his hand again, to drop his pack and insist that he was staying, but that’s when Geo spoke one more time, pressing his hand to Cole’s cheek as he did, his eyes full of earnestness.

“You have to leave.”

And with that, Geo removed his hand from his cheek and turned around toward their bedroom, leaving Cole to stand in the entryway by himself.

His shaky breath filled the room as the water in his eyes started to fall, but he lifted his arm up, wiped away the tears, pulled the backpack tighter onto his shoulder and forced himself to walk out of the Rookery for the last time.

Despite that, he couldn’t stop himself from turning around for a brief second to try and get a glimpse of Geo from the window, only to remember that the blackout curtains were still up; so he continued walking toward Nya, Sora and Riyu to tell them that he would be going to follow Master Wu’s voice instead of coming with them.

But he knew that he wouldn’t tell Nya the reason that he was wiping heartbroken tears from his cheeks and if she pressed, he knew that he would have to lie to her only so she didn’t release any of her powers on the Finders.

‘I will return,’ Cole told himself as his eyes caught onto the small group in front of him, ‘and we’ll all make it back to Ninjago.’

[whydoibe]

I decided to draw a bunch of ninjago dragons rising jay things, but he's a snake

The coloured one on the bottom right is saying I will alwayssss hate you

The bottom left is saying I will shatter your bones as I shatter my mercy

The top leftis the bonzal and jay interaction from the first part of season 2

The top right is just a full body drawing

[honestmouse20]

I am Back from vacation! Thought on new ninjago season under the cut :)

First off, I just wanna say that I watched it at 6am in my hotel room with headphones while my friend slept next to me lol. So I watched it all again yesterday too. Turns out I'd missed a Lot.

I really loved the pacing in this! Each character to me felt like they all had something to do and it all went towards the plot. Wildfyre learned to slow down and let herself heal, Kai and Nya both learned the paitence and tecnique to do Rising Dragon. Lloyd OFC got a Lot to do with his visions and panic attacks! I really liked how they handled his mental health in this one. Cole being back didn't feel forced! he was there bc Bonzal was essential to Ras' plan. Sora got a ton of development and I do wonder if they'll have her learn spinjitzu in part 2. And of course, Arin. Boy is Going Through it. It's a nice parallel to Lloyd also having a rough time. While Lloyd is haunted by possible futures, Arin is terrified of not being Good Enough to contribute to the team Or to make his parents proud.

This post would be hella long if i rambled about everything i loved in this season But I wanna highlight Some of my favs!

Cole and Geo Constantly holding hands and leaning on eachother (and geo's flashback to s1 being changed so they're holidng hands More)

Bonzle's whole arc and how she's a person now! Hella trans implications and also just a really sweet story when they show that she Does have agency and her creator Does recongnize and care for her

Sora and Arin's dymanic continues to be Really Good! I like how the initial excitement for being a ninja has worn off and they're starting to struggle.

Speaking of Arin, I stg that scene of him and Ras fighitng in the last couple episodes makes me think we're gonna get a dark Arin arc. Maybe he won't Stay evil (I don't want him to be a villan but they Could go that way if they want) but seeing Lloyd's reaction to his student turning sides would be very angsty and Very good

Also Lloyd in this was So good! Even tho he's trying very hard to be a Master and the keeper of the monastary, he's struggling and these visions are only making it harder on him. I'm sure we havn't seen the end of these visions and I'm sorta hoping they'll come to some big breaking point for him in part 2. Where he'll have to drag himself back up and Never Quit despite everything falling apart just like the visions said it would

Once again this show made me like kai again lol. HIs relationship with Nya and Wildfyre is So good and you really can see the similarities in how he interacts with them!

lloyd's power confirmed to be life????

why is no one talking abobut that ? did i read it wrong???

Onto some things i didn't Quite like but definatly didn't hate!

Ras' master is like 90 percent gonna be the Overlord. I'm aprehensive on this bc he's not really my favorite villan. Plus like he was Just the villan in crystalized so i feel like it's too soon for him to come back. once again gonna give this show the benefit of the doubt bc they've done a lto of stuff Really Really well. I'm just sorta hoping it's Not the overlord. Plus the powers were golden and that's Not the overlord's colors

what is timeline?????

i thought the shorts were two years after s1 and that s2 was gonna be between the shorts and s1???? but now the shorts are at the Beginning of the season and ryu is a teenage dragon? how long has passed? If it's been a couple years since season 1, it's a little less believable that arin and sora havn't progressed much fruther in their training. also no one Acts like it's been years?? But if it's Not a couple of years and Ryu just Grew up like that it's still a bit iffy. Ik they probably won't tell us exact times but I hope it's implied or Something bc im hella confused

so, tldr: This half of the season was Fantastic! From the animation being Incredible and the relationships between the characters being super interesting and realistic, this season was a ride from start to finish! I'm excited, and a bit scared, to see what part 2 brings!

[goldenavenger02]

do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?

Cole wakes up in The Land of Lost Things. The few inhabitants teach him that even those who are lost can be loved.

Takes place before episode 16: The Land of Lost Things. Major Dragons Rising spoilers

It happened in an instant.

He had just saved a few people as the world swirled around him and the sky was splitting open like it was being ripped apart by invisible hands when he felt the blast hit him directly in the torso.

The next thing he knew, he was laying on the hard, rocky ground; the pain coming from what he assumed was a fall radiating in his chest and when he managed to blink his eyes open for a moment, he was surrounded by piles of junk and dust.

At first, he thought it was the junkyard belonging to Jay’s parents, but another blink and he knew that all the colors around him were too muted to be the colorful and happy junkyard. This place looked somber and lifeless in comparison.

He let his eyes close again, just for a minute, and that’s when he heard it.

“Fritz, Fritz!” A young voice with a slight lisp called out, “Fritz, I found a human!”

“Whoa. We gotta tell Geo. It’s been…well, I guess you were the last one to end up here.” A second young voice, that he assumed belonged to whoever “Fritz” was.

“Is he…,” a sharp poke to his ribs forced him to open his eyes to see a young Hypnobrai holding a stick and a young human with what looked like a bird head on his head, sending both the boys yelling as they backed up.

“Not dead!” The Hypnobrai child yelled, and that was all Cole heard before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he was engulfed in darkness again.

…

“New bones?”

“No, not new bones! A human, an alive human!”

“Yeah! He blinked and everything!”

“Did the hoarder see you?”

“Nope!”

“He looks really hurt.”

“Maybe new bones after all.”

“Bonzal, he’s not just bones. Cool it with the bones.”

“Lay him down here, carefully, there you go.”

“He’s gonna be okay, right?”

“Right.”

Cole groaned as he managed to open his eyes, his ribs starting to hurt more and more as time passed, only to look up directly at a Munce who seemed to be around his own age and the Hypnobrai child who had poked him with the stick.

“Where am I?” He managed to ask, his mouth tasting like dust and his tongue dry against the inside of his mouth.

“I’ll answer all of your questions later, I’m sure you have a lot of them,” The Munce explained, gently applying a squeeze to his wrist which calmed him down now that he knew that the few voices he had heard were not enemy voices, “but you should rest; wherever you came from, you got pretty hurt while you were there.”

Cole nodded, his eyes already fluttering shut because he could tell that just by the gentleness he was being treated with, he was safe here.

…

Over the next few days, Cole was in and out of sleep. He was too weak to stay awake for long periods of time, but whenever he did wake, he was never alone.

Sometimes Fritz or Spitz would be there, trying to ask him questions about who he was, where he was from, what was with the strange outfit, but questions made him more tired and he usually fell back asleep after only answering one of the questions.

Bonzal was quiet whenever she was there, which was rare, usually working on sewing something or building something else; but when he woke around her, she kept her mouth firmly shut and made sure to give him water or some sort of salty broth before he could fall asleep again.

The one who was there the most was the Munce; sometimes he would be tending to what Cole now knew were broken ribs, other times he’d be switching one soft but torn blanket that covered his body with another one with a similar texture and same amount of use. But most of the time, he was just sitting beside him and assuring that he wasn’t alone.

As the days came and went and Cole was able to stay awake for longer periods of time, he couldn’t help but be grateful that even though the others hadn’t come for him, at least the four people who seemingly were the only inhabitants of this place weren’t forgetting him either.

He didn’t know how many days had come and gone when he managed to stand on shaking legs and walk around the strange building, his left arm wrapped carefully around his lower ribs as a means of balance as well as keeping them from causing more pain than necessary.

There were a few toys on the ground near the small table, most likely from Fritz and Spitz; he couldn’t help but smile when he saw one of the old Kai bobbleheads from years ago laying amongst the toys he didn’t recognize.

He decided to leave it for now, and continue looking around; draped on a very ratty recliner was some sort of yellow and pink crocheted blanket but he couldn’t be sure if that was one of Bonzal’s projects or something that had made its way to this junkyard of a place.

When he looked at the wall above the recliner, however, he let out a small gasp when he saw it; the poster for one of the many promotions they had done under Dareth’s guidance years ago, the obnoxious text happily displaying “the one power anyone can have, go, reading, go!”

But most importantly, he was standing proudly next to his friends despite the soft green glow that wrapped around his body, and he could clearly imagine the wide grins under all of their masks; the next thump of his heart was filled with hurt when he remembered that he had no idea where they were or what happened to them.

He wasn’t even sure what had happened to him; all he could really hope at this point was that he had ended up somewhere that wasn’t Ninjago, even if it was because he wasn’t sure he could ever live in a world without ever experiencing Lloyd’s hugs, Kai’s laugh, Jay’s wit, Zane’s smile, Nya’s resourcefulness or Wu’s acceptance again.

“You seem to be doing better,” The Munce's voice nearly made him jump out of his skin before he turned around to face him, “I’m Geo.”

“Cole,” he introduced himself, wondering why Geo didn’t have a traditional Munce name, but he knew better than to pry and instead asked the question that had plagued him since he arrived, “where are we?”

Geo offered him another smile, but Cole couldn’t help but notice the twinge of sadness in his voice as he spoke, “this is the Land of Lost Things. If someone forgets or loses something, this is where it ends up.”

Cole swallowed as he processed that information; his fear of being forgotten had mostly quelled when he returned to being human, but when he would lay in his bed at night, it would still creep up occasionally and taunt him in the back of his mind; he had taught himself how to ignore it, but he had never processed what to do if it came true.

“So, Bonzal, the kids and you? You’ve all been-”

“Forgotten,” Geo confirmed, gently taking his hand to lead him away from the poster and toward the door so they could stand outside, more than likely so the others didn’t hear their conversation, “Bonzal never told me why she was here. I’m a Geckle, with the coloring of a Munce. I couldn’t stay in Shintaro, so I left. I came across this place a few years after I left. It was just Bonzal and I for a long time.”

Cole nodded as he sat down with his back against the side of the building that he only now realized was the shape of a giant rook, his ribs starting to hurt more painfully now. He didn’t protest Geo sinking beside him, or when his hand lightly grazed Cole’s, making a soft flush fill Cole’s cheeks, a singular thought quickly filling his mind.

‘I think I like him.’

“Fritz and Spitz showed up within a few weeks of each other; they both ran away from home, but they instantly bonded when they met. Now they run around calling themselves “The Finders” which means they’re also constantly scaring me as they explore this place,” Geo explained, before turning to Cole and asking, “What about you?”

“I don’t know. One minute, I was helping my friends save people while it seemed like the sky was splitting open and the world was collapsing in on itself and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground,” Cole explained, looking directly into Geo’s eyes as he told him, “I wasn’t forgotten.”

“Maybe not,” Geo shrugged, “but given that you’re here and your friends are not, you were lost in The Merge.”

“The Merge?”

“You just described the merging of all sixteen realms. My guess is that you were in the center of it, which is why you got separated from your friends.”

“I need to get back to Ninjago,” Cole said as he stood up, his chest throbbing at the sudden movement, “I have to find out if they’re okay-”

“And you will,” Geo insisted as he stood up as well before gently placing a hand on Cole’s shoulder which calmed down some of the panicking that was filling his mind, “but you’re still injured. Until we can find a safe way to get you back to your home, you should stay here.”

Cole nodded; as much as he wanted to find the others, he knew that it would be foolish to run off with no plan, no backup and no map; he had to be smart about this, even if it was the pain in his ribs stopping him from running off into the distant fog that seemingly engulfed the entirety of the land.

Instead, he made the safe choice and followed Geo back inside to get some food for his growling stomach and hoping that someone had lost a freezer that now held ice to numb his ribs.

…

As the days continued to pass him by, Cole managed to regain his strength alongside his ribs finally healing with the exception of some yellow and green bruising and with that, he was able to finally say more than a few words to the others.

Bonzal, it turned out, was exiled from the underworld when she had zero intention of working for Garmadon after he defeated Samukai for the title of leader. “Now I sew, and collect bones.”

“Why bones?” Cole asked as he handed her a rusty wrench as she worked on building…well, he had no idea what she was building. It looked partially like a hammer, but also like a VCR.

“Bones are extremely useful.” 

Between her vagueness and his flash of a memory where she asked if he was new bones, he decided to leave it at that; but when she would sit in what he learned was her recliner and sew scraps of fabric together, he couldn’t help but sit beside her with curiosity, mainly to find out what she spent her nights sewing.

Fritz and Spitz were always at the other one’s side. They played together, explored together and asked Cole a lot of questions. But, he didn’t mind. Every question they asked gave him a chance to talk about the others and the many adventures they had experienced together. 

Fritz was obsessed with all of his stories about Kai, which made a lot more sense when Cole found out that the bobblehead and poster were two of the things he had found when he arrived, the one good memory he had of Ninjago.

Spitz was a bit more timid around Cole, but not by much; he just assumed that it was due to the feud between the surface that the Serpentine still held, choosing to stay underground even just for their own safety. He still did enjoy hearing stories about Cole’s past, especially when they had to do with dragons. 

“You really got trapped inside of a video game?” Fritz asked when Cole went to tuck both of the boys in that night, per their insistence after he told them yet another bedtime story that just so happened to be one of his own experiences.

“Yeah, and it was beyond strange.”

“Did you get a higher score that way?” Spitz asked, which made Cole smile widely.

“No. That would have made it worth it though,” he stood up to leave, but turned back to them, “Get some sleep, boys.”

And with that, he turned off the light and closed the door, making his way to the room he shared with Geo until they found another bed that someone had lost; now that he was in the dark, he started to really think about the fact that it had to have been at least a month now and still no sign of the others aside from an occasional Kai bobblehead being found.

‘Maybe they really did forget me…or they didn’t make it out of the merge.’

The sudden realization, or rather, acceptance of the lingering thought that had plagued him since he had arrived, hit him directly in the chest like a tsunami and as it washed over him, the tears came fast down his cheeks and onto the mattress under him.

‘They’re gone. They’re all gone. That is the only reason I’m here, because they can’t remember. Not when they’re dead.’

“Cole?”

Cole couldn’t even hide the fact that he was crying from anyone with how hard and fast it came; instead, he welcomed the warm embrace that surrounded him and allowed his cheek to lay on Geo’s shoulder as the tears continued to come down.

“I’m right here. You’re not losing me too. I’ve got you.”

How Geo knew exactly what was plaguing his mind, he had no idea; but just his words, or rather, Cole processing that he wasn’t fully lost here, slowed his tears to the point where he could feel the sting in his eyes and the soreness in his head from just how hard his own mind had hit him.

And through all of it, Geo was there; gently rubbing his back and holding his hand tightly in reassurance; it made the quiet, background thoughts of Cole not just liking, but maybe even falling in love with Geo in the past month, flood to the forefront of his mind.

With how gentle he was with Fritz and Spitz, always making sure that Bonzal was content even if she barely spoke around him, and helping Cole to not only heal, but begin to feel like something that wasn’t a shell of himself, he was forever grateful.

“If you want, I have a small library,” Geo explained, which pulled Cole’s attention forward, “we can see if there’s anything about getting out of here. So you can get back to Ninjago.”

Cole could hear the dejection in Geo’s voice about the aspect of his leaving, but at the same time, he had to know if he could get back, and he had to find out what remained of the others; so despite his judgment telling him to just ‘tell Geo how you really feel’, he nodded and laid down, his eyes fluttering shut almost instantly as soon as his head laid on the pillow under him.

��

“Anything yet?” Cole pleaded with Geo as he flipped through yet another “History of Ninjago” textbook that, given the drawings inside, more than likely had belonged to Darkley’s at one point or another.

“Nothing.” Geo admitted as he slowly closed the atlas he had been looking at.

“We’ve been here for hours. How has no one lost a textbook about this place?”

“Because The Land of Lost Things is a story, an old wive’s tale to teach children to watch out for their important belongings,” Geo explained, which made Cole sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, only to look up when he felt his hand on his shoulder, “we’re going to find a way to get you home.”

“Thanks, Geo,” Cole smiled, now directing his attention to the shelf of folklore, looking for anything that remotely referenced The Land of Lost Things when he heard two screams that sent chills up his spine.

And not just any screams, but the screams of Spitz and Fritz.

Within an instant, he was running outside despite Geo’s shout, and that’s when he saw what was chasing the boys; a large monster made out of large metal pieces that were mostly black and yellow.

Cole went to run toward the boys, to try and use Spinjitzu on the thing, maybe an earth punch for good measure, when he felt Geo’s tight grip on his wrist.

“Cole.”

“I have elemental powers, I have to go save the boys.” Cole pleaded, watching as Geo simply resigned himself to let him go, but not before a flash surrounded their wrists for maybe a second.

With that, Cole sprinted faster than ever before, shouting “leave them alone!” along with a “ninja-go!” before barreling directly into the monster’s leg, only for him to bounce right off of it onto the ground, a wave of dust hitting him in the face.

“Okay, so Spinjitzu is not gonna work,” Cole resigned before hitting his hands together, allowing his wrists to light up as he punched the earth; but as he did, it didn’t feel normal; he groaned with agony as the world around him started to feel like it had been split apart that spread from his hand to the scar on his forehead.

He couldn’t keep back his shout of surprise as the monster picked him up by the foot and lifted him into the air before starting to shake him up and down.

“Let…me…go!” He shouted as he used his Spinjitzu to lower him to the ground before using his earth punch again, able to bypass the agony that surrounded him; but instead of a crater forming, he was instead surrounded by rock that encased him and raised him to the monster’s height.

“Oh, this is more like it!” He yelled, although he wasn’t sure what exactly it was, but instead, he focused on fighting the monster in front of him.

Luckily, after landing a few punches for good measure, the monster ran off which allowed him to let the rocks fall away and lower him back to his feet; but instead of focusing on his new rock form, which he had a feeling was linked to the spark that had come from Geo, he turned to Fritz and Spitz and used all of the authority in his body that he could muster.

“Are you two hurt?” When they shook their heads “no”, he nodded sternly and gestured toward the Rook, which sent the boys straight inside and toward their rooms. Cole’s guard was up as he followed closely behind them, but the monster didn’t show any sign of coming back for a second round.

‘One less thing.’ 

But as soon as he felt Geo’s warm embrace surround him, he let his guard down. “I”m okay, Geo. So are the boys. We’re all okay,” Cole assured him, waiting until Geo pulled away, “what was that thing?”

“The Hoarder. If you face it head on, it just comes back bigger and stronger,” Geo explained, running a hand over his face which still showed clear signs of stress, “when the boys go out, it scares me so badly that all I can do is wait and hope that the hoarder isn’t behind them when they return. Sometimes I can fend it off with my powers, but it’s rare. That sound coming from the top of the tower?” Geo brought up, which focused Cole’s attention to the noise he had heard from the beginning of his time there, “the Hoarder hates it.”

“Wait, wait,” Cole held a hand out, “powers?”

“You’re looking at the elemental master of fusion. At least, that’s what my studies have been telling me,” when Cole’s mouth opened in shock, Geo just offered him a smile that quickly faded after he said, “what? You thought that elemental powers were just a Ninjago thing?”

“That’s what that rock form was,” Cole processed out loud, “which is how I fended off the Hoarder. You…you gave me a new form.”

“I’m still learning how my powers work-”

“That’s what that flash was,” Cole realized before turning to Geo, grasping his hands tightly in his own, unable to hide the flush in his cheeks, “I’m going to help you stop the Hoarder.”

“But Ninjago-”

“You guys need help now,” Cole insisted, shaking away the pressing thought of finding out just what had happened to his friends. “My friends can handle things without me, but we need to get rid of that thing.”

“You’d really do that? For me?” Geo asked, and Cole couldn’t help but realize that Geo’s face was just as flushed as his own as he laid his hands on his shoulders.

“For all of you. But especially…I like you, Geo.”

The next thing he knew, Geo was pressing his lips to Cole’s, and Cole couldn’t stop himself from leaning into the kiss, letting the reassurance that his feelings hadn’t just been in his head wash away.

When Geo pulled away a minute later, confessing that he liked him just as much, Cole was the one to initiate the second kiss, his hand on Geo’s cheeks as he let all of his doubts wash away and let the love in his chest replace them.

And when they walked inside, Cole grasping Geo’s hand tightly in his own, he wasn’t even shocked by Bonzal just looking up from her sewing with a slight shake of her head and an exasperated “took you long enough.”