#skylor's mostly using the metal powers to keep herself steady so she doesn't jostle cole too much

[razzle-zazzle]

Whumptober Day 10: Look so pretty when they bleed

Blood loss with a pinch of Trail of Blood

806 Words; Powerless AU

TW for blood

Skylor was not having a good day.

Her father had completed his spell—and she was now an Anacondrai, which was just great—because of course he did. Chen always got his way, even when it should have been impossible. Even when there was no Master of Earth to complete the spell.

“I’m starting to wonder if they really needed that much blood.” Cole said, sitting heavily.

This was the third time they’d had to stop and rest. At this point, Skylor was wondering if she couldn’t just use the powers of metal to give herself enough of a buff to carry him. Cole probably shouldn’t be walking, even if they had fashioned a makeshift tourniquet.

Not that it had helped all that much. A little trail of red, mostly in small dots and blotches in the dirt, marked their path through the jungle from the cave they’d escaped from.

“Okay, that’s long enough.” Skylor said, moving to help Cole up. Cole winced, but allowed her to support him as they started the trek again.

Their progress was slow, Cole stumbling over what felt like almost every step. But they were making progress, slow as it was, and every step brought them closer to the medical attention Cole was in desperate need of.

Skylor’s side was already damp with Cole’s blood.

“Oh wow,” He said breathlessly, “Is it just me or is everything spinning? Are you dizzy? I feel like I’m about to fall over, oh fuck—”

Cole stumbled forwards, Skylor barely catching him from falling. He trembled.

“This is bad.” Skylor moved to lift Cole up before he could fall again. “This is really really bad.” She hoisted him onto her shoulders, using the powers she’d copied from Karloff to reinforce her body. A fireman’s carry should work best for this situation.

“You okay up there?” She asked, not exactly respecting a reply. Maybe if she’d trained with Bolobo’s powers more then she could clear a path.

No. Skylor needed to focus. Now wasn’t the time to be worrying about what-ifs. She had to warn the rest of the alliance, and get Cole to safety.

Cole mumbled something.

“Come again?”

“‘M tired…”

That wasn’t good. That was the opposite of good. “C’mon, dumbass, you gotta stay awake.” What was Skylor supposed to do in this situation? How did she keep this idiot awake? Was she supposed to talk to him?

Yeah, that sounded right.

“You’ve gotta stay awake, Cole.” She said, trying to maneuver over a log without jostling him too much. “Talk to me or something, just—stay awake.” She stopped for a moment to readjust her grip. “Why are you even with the ninja if you don’t have any powers?”

“Oh, that?” Cole asked. “Wu found me climbing the Wailing Alps and recruited me from there. Though I was my aunt’s son.”

Who was Wu? The ninjas’ sensei? Was that his name? Skylor thought their sensei was Garmadon. “Wu’s your sensei?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool. Took me in when my father and I weren’t talking. He’s a bit odd, but I trust him.”

Skylor had the feeling that, were Cole not so woozy from blood loss, he wouldn’t be talking about this. At least, not so openly. It felt almost wrong to be hearing it, like Skylor didn’t have the right to be privy to such information.

But maybe that was just her nerves talking.

Either way, Cole continued, undeterred by the lack of response. “So Wu thought that I was my aunt’s son, and would get her powers. By the time he realized it was a little too late to just send me home, so he kept quiet about it. He keeps telling me that, with the Overlord defeated, there’s no need for me to be a ninja anymore, but he doesn’t tell the others that when they’re in the same boat as me, except they have powers. The whole reason Wu gathered us together in the first place was because of the green ninja prophecy, and that’s already been fulfilled, so technically none of us need to stick around.”

“But you do anyway?” Skylor understood about half the things Cole just said.

Cole snorted. “Obviously. The others are family. I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

Skylor was navigating a particularly treacherous patch of undergrowth when Cole spoke up again. “It’s why we came to this tournament.” He said softly. “Zane is—Zane is our brother and knowing that he’s alive—”

“I’m sorry.” Skylor said, before she even realized.

“What do you have to be sorry for? It’s your father who had the bright idea to pull all this shit.”

Skylor nodded, but the words were just words. But she couldn’t change the past—she’d just have to do better moving forwards.

And she could start by getting Cole and herself out of this jungle alive.