Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cole woke up.

His vision was blurred, and for a moment, nothing seemed wrong… until his head felt like it was going to explode in a matter of seconds. He groaned as he moved a hand up to cradle it, before he winced.

Did he break a couple of ribs, maybe part of his spine? When did that happen? Whatever the case, it hurt like hell, pain zipping up and down his entire body. He suddenly felt feverish, nausea making his head spin. He tore off his mask, gasping for air.

Where was he? The air was… eerily quiet. Was this sand or dirt he was laying on? With great effort, he turned his head, mostly using his eyes to take in his surroundings. He was surrounded by piles and piles of various things, some things in better shape than others. Beside him was a lump of wood, what had most likely been a desk before he had inevitably been tossed straight into it… he could already feel the splinters in his skin.

There was no sense in staying here, no matter how much pain he was in. He had no idea where he was, or what dangers would greet him. He wondered how the others were faring…

Where were the others?

He steeled himself for a long moment, knowing this would be a challenge. One that he hoped wouldn't last long. Finally, he forced himself away from the ground, feeling his entire body shift and try to implode on itself. 

He whimpered, using the dilapidated desk as support. It felt like lightning coursed through his muscles, which he was overly familiar with, but it was at least ten times worse. His legs shook, and he was pretty sure that one of them had a pulled muscle.

Weakly, Cole made his way up one of the mountains of… stuff. Where did it all come from? Old clothes, throw pillows, boxes and bins… Whatever. He just needed to focus. He crawled up until he was high enough to survey the land, in which he found the wind.

He squinted against the force of it, looking around. Where was everyone? No way he had been the first to wake, with this pain? He groaned at the thought of having to be the one to wake them all, especially if Jay ended up being in any kind of pain, or if Kai's hair had gotten messed up.

He looked up to the sky to try and decipher what time it might be, before realizing just how foggy it was. The sun wasn't visible in any way except its light, the sky hazy and bright. He guessed he'd have to wait for it to start getting dark before he could estimate how long he'd been awake.

Before he knew what was going on, the sky split open and objects came raining down. He didn't have time to try and avoid any of it, feeling something crash right into his head and force him right back to the ground, hitting the dirt with blinding pain and a shout.

He didn't know how long he just… laid there in excruciating pain, but it couldn't have been for very long. Every breath came as a hiss through his teeth. If he hadn't had a concussion before, he surely did now. He pushed what appeared to be a couch cushion off of his face before slowly sitting up.

All he wanted to do was cry, his head and back absolutely killing him.

Looking around once more, he took in the new things that had joined him at the bottom. Most of it was junk, old prescription bottles and teeth straighteners littering the ground. But one thing stood out.

A girdle.

Oh, please, provide enough support for his aching back.

Cole quickly grabbed it. As fast as he could, he took the top of his gi off and wrapped the girdle around his waist. He carefully fastened it before trying to stand up again. Good, good… it seemed to help. Now if only he had a leg brace… He put his gi back on, rolling his sleeves up to try and ease the uncomfortable warmth that spread throughout him. 

He limped back to the piles of random stuff, doing his best to ignore every sting that came from his injured leg. If only Zane was here… he's sure that he would be able to figure something out to help. Well… Cole would be able to as well, but Zane was so much quicker when it came to these situations, where he had time to figure things out more logically.

Suddenly, a thud was felt through the earth. He stiffened up.

Cautiously, he climbed another pile and peered over it, squinting to see through the drifting fog and to protect his eyes from the wind and dust. He couldn't quite make it out, but the large, scrawny figure in the distance couldn't possibly be anything more than trouble… unless it was his way to find the others.

His eyes widened, and he looked back down to where he had been… No one else was here. There was no point in looking for them. They were where that thing was. 

Without another thought, he started to make his way over, jumping from one pile to another. It was far more exhausting to do it with just one leg while being in so much nauseating pain, but he needed to keep up and focus.

With every jump closer, the creature became clearer and clearer… and it looked more and more like he should avoid it. A few jumps closer and he stopped before he got too close, needing to take in the situation.

It looked spindly, made of the very things that buried the ground. It was like it was gathering more of the junk, using it all to build itself up. He pulled his mask up, unsure of how sentient it was. He crawled a little closer, holding his breath… before movement caught the corner of his eye.

He quickly looked over, despite his headache, and caught another sliver of movement as whatever had been there hid away. Someone was here, and in this desolate waste land, it had to be one of his friends, and considering they were hiding… they must be in worse condition than he was.

Quickly, he ducked down to come up with a plan. Then he was shooting back up, making himself known to the thing.

“Hey, ugly!” he called out, standing tall on the pile. The creature jolted and looked over at him, before barely even thinking about anything, a… claw swinging out to hit the pile beneath. He hardly had any time to dodge it, going to a pile closer. His hands found a metal bar, using his super strength to aid him as he swung it at the thing.

He got one good hit out of it, the creature ringing with it, before the sky started raining things again. Not ready in any capacity, a heavy box dropped right onto him, making him fall right back to the ground with a cry.

He heard something crack, a blinding white pain meeting his vision once more before he lost consciousness.

Chapter Text

Where was he?

How long had he been out?

Cole woke up slowly, head lolling to the side. A dull throb was in the back of his skull, aching down his neck and through his temples. But, surprisingly, it wasn't nearly as painful as it should've been considering all that had happened in the last… what… day or two?

He moved a hand up to cradle his head, but the familiar jingle of chains made him pause. He looked to his wrists and noticed the… makeshift chains that hung down. There was no way these were strong enough to hold him back; the material looked to be of different kinds of metal, including silverware somehow, and it looked to be rushed. These were the worst cuffs he'd ever seen.

Moving his eyes along, he realized that he was in some sort of room. He didn't know when he would've been moved… who the hell had even lifted him? He might have lost some weight recently, but he had still been nearly two hundred pounds of dead weight. That wouldn't have been easy to carry, especially long distances.

Thinking about it, he worried that that monster had captured him. He had been knocked out after all. If so, he needed to get out of here.

Cole shifted, sitting up more properly, before a sharp pain made him gasp out. He had forgotten about his back… or his ribs… Whatever the case, he definitely had at least a fractured bone of some sort, and the pain had shot straight up his spine, making him jump a bit, and making the pain worse until he cried out.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think of anything other than the pain. He had to push through it. He had to get over this so he could-

“You're awake.”

Cole snapped his gaze over to where he had heard the voice. Nothing. He blinked in confusion, before he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and looked over. This time, he saw a skeleton. He didn't remember the last time he had seen a skeleton… She wore a tan vest and a brown elf's hat, a belt wrapped around her torso from one shoulder to the opposite hip. Her eyes were a bright, glowing blue, strangely enough. They were kind of like Zane's eyes.

“What… How-”

“It's a skill I'm working on,” she interrupted, voice devoid of much emotion. He couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or if she was amused. She was leaned up against some sort of makeshift door frame… was this entire house some DIY project? “I bet you're wondering where you are.”

“Um… yeah…?”

“I'll tell you… if you give me one of your bones.”

“What the-”

“Bonzle.” A new voice joined them, one just gruffer and much deeper than the skeleton's. In walked someone with a hood and a mask, and for a fleeting moment, Cole thought that it was one of his friends. But his hope was quickly dashed when he noticed the purple skin and blue markings. “Stop threatening our guest.”

“Really,” ‘Bonzle’ hummed, rolling her eyes as she straightened her pose, allowing for the other to pass through the doorway. “You think your chains are making him feel welcome?”

“It's a safety precaution.” They seemed to grow embarrassed at the mention of the chains. “It's not like I can just let a complete stranger wander the house. We didn't exactly get a chance to meet before we brought him back.”

“You mean kidnapped-”

“It's not kidnapping if they're in the Land of Lost Things.”

The skeleton just raised her brow bone, glancing at Cole's chains again. The masked person just sighed in defeat before finally making their way over to the earth master. Despite the ninja headwear, he could tell the other was trying to give him a gentle smile by the way their golden eyes crinkled.

“Don't worry about her,” they started. “She's only joking about the bones thing.”

“No I'm not-”

“Bonzle!” They gave an embarrassed laugh. “I'm sorry. Please just ignore her.” They took in a breath before kneeling down beside him. “I know this must be confusing, especially with that split in your head-”

“There's a split in my head?!” Cole sputtered out, hands shooting up to feel it before feeling as the other grabbed his hands, preventing him from doing so.

“Yep. It was pretty bad. But don't worry; we gave you some stitches, and the bleeding has stopped,” they continued. Now that they mentioned bleeding, he realized his head was wrapped rather improperly in bandages. “As for your concussion… we're not really sure how to treat it, and it's not like we get very many medical books dropped down here.”

“Oh… I've dealt with concussions before.”

“Thank goodness…”

Cole tried to move more, despite his lower abdomen absolutely killing him, before noticing that his leg was forced into a position. He looked down, noticing the makeshift splint over it. “... How long was I out?” he asked quietly.

“Uh… Well… a few hours, I think. That box really took you out, but… I have a feeling you were already out of sorts before that happened.”

“What about that weird, spindly creature thing? What happened to that?”

“That was the Hoarder. Bonzle and I fought it off long enough to grab you before we ran off back here. Y'know, provoking it only makes things worse?”

Cole grit his teeth, embarrassment rising to his cheeks. “Well, I- I saw someone, and it's my duty to protect, even if I don't know who I'm protecting.”

Bonzle and this other person glanced at one another before looking at him oddly. “That… seems dangerous,” the purple one muttered.

“It was how I was trained, and I stand by that,” Cole argued. “Have you seen anyone else? Dressed similarly? Maybe scouting the area, or injured somewhere?”

“Nope. You're the only one we've seen,” they hummed. “But, to be honest, we weren't looking for people when we went out. And we didn't go looking for anyone else after we found you.”

“Wha-”

“You were seriously injured and needed emergency attention!”

Cole took a deep breath in, held it, and let out the longest sigh he had let out in a long, long time. “... Okay.” He focused himself before he started getting up. As the intensity of his injuries agonized him, he was quickly reminded of his concussion as a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him. But he pushed through with a groan, even as his injured leg screamed at him. “Then… Th-then I have to go find them-”

“What?” The red-hooded figure blinked a few times, hands still hovering around the earth master. Then they placed their hands on their hips, eyes going stern. “ You are in no shape to go anywhere but to bed.” Then their eyes softened just a tiny bit. “Look, I'm not even sure your friends are here-”

“Why wouldn't they be? If I'm here, then no doubt there's at least one other person that came with me.”

For a moment, they looked at one another, and Cole wasn't sure what the other was thinking. Then they lifted a purple hand up to take their headwear off, pulling it down to what could be confused for a scarf. The earth master blinked, doing his best to stop seeing double. He had seen this person's species before… right? He looked similar to… to those… Munce and Geckle guys he had helped years ago, yeah. But only slightly in both ways.

His long ears drooped a little and his expression showed sympathy and grief. “In the Land of Lost Things, when one is brought here, it's only them,” he gently explained. “It was a very long time ago that I found myself here. As far as I know, I was the first. One day, I found… two children, both of which came alone but eventually found each other. Then Bonzle managed to find us.

“What I'm… trying to say is… Your friends aren't here,” he said with a much softer tone now. But even that felt like a punch to the gut. “You've been forgotten.”

Cole swallowed as he stared at the Geckle-Munce. His worst fears… No. That couldn't be true. It had to be far from it. His brow furrowed and he broke the feebly-made cuffs. 

“I am the master of earth. I have saved hundreds - thousands - of Ninjagan people, face covered and uncovered. I have been to multiple realms. I have not been forgotten.” That was probably the most confident he'd ever felt when it came to saying those words, despite the nausea clinging to his stomach, to his throat… Maybe Kai's motivational teachings were finally starting to work!

The other furrowed his brow, looking a little taken aback. Then he frowned. “Then you wouldn't be here.” Despite his tone, now he looked confused. “No one has ever been banished to the Land of Lost Things and not been forgotten.” He looked over at Bonzle, who shrugged, before they seemed to have some sort of short, mental conversation. Then the skeleton sighed, rolled her eyes, and made her way out of the kitchen.

The Geckle-Munce turned back towards Cole and eyed him up and down. Then he pulled out a rickety old chair that had been reinforced with some planks. “Sit; you're going to make yourself pass out. You're in no condition to even be standing… How you woke up, I'll never know...” He mumbled the last part to himself, but not so quiet that it seemed he was trying to keep it to himself.

Now that this guy mentioned it, his vision was starting to spot. So, with great reluctance, he sat down. He let out a long breath, looking up to the ceiling to try and ease his spinning mind. “Thanks,” he said appreciatively. “I'm sure we have a lot of things that we need to talk about, but could I at least get your name before all of that?”

The purple one at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “Sorry. My name is Geo,” he introduced. “... and you are…?”

“Cole. Cole Brookstone.”

“At least your memory is intact.” He sounded relieved. “Now, because you're not healthy enough to go out looking for your friends, I'll be doing it for you. Could you describe them?”

So, Cole got busy describing his friends, going into detail about the scars their faces all had, even if they were just the tiny little ones that Jay and Lloyd tended to get. It made it easier for him to ignore his aches and pains when he had things to occupy his brain. He didn't know if Geo's imagination was as intricate as his tended to be.

“Geo,” called Bonzle not too long later, startling the both of them. She came into the kitchen with a stack of newspapers clutched in a skeletal hand. “Here.” She handed the loose papers to the Geckle-Munce, who smiled and thanked her.

He busied himself with newspapers for a moment before pulling out one of them and humming. He placed it in front of Cole, who looked down at it. On the front page was a picture of the ninja, at some sort of celebration with the city of Ninjago.

“That's you… right?” Geo asked, a clawed finger pointing at him in the picture.

“Yeah- you guys get newspapers here?”

“Weeks behind schedule.” Then Geo went over the rest of the picture, pointing at each of the other ninja. “That's Zane. Then that's… Kai, and Jay next to him. Lloyd here in the middle, Nya to the side. Pixal, Sensei Wu…” 

With each name he listed his brow furrowed more and more, and his expression became more grave. He stared at the newspaper in silence for a long moment, before finally looking back up at Cole.

“You weren't lying,” he muttered. “You don't belong here.” Realizing how rude that sounded, he rephrased. “What I mean is… every one of us has been completely forgotten or unwanted for most - if not our entire - lives. But you are remembered and wanted… So how did you get here?”

Cole blinked and frowned. “I… I don't know,” he managed after a moment. “I'm not even sure how long I was out before I found that… the Hoarder.” All of this talking and remembering was really starting to hurt his brain and fatigue him.

“Geo, look on the next page,” Bonzle interrupted, sitting beside the Geckle-Munce.

Geo did as he was asked, flipping to the page the skeleton had referred to. On it, separate pictures for each of the ninja were laid down on it, listing their names for each ninja. At a quick glance, it just looked like a way to introduce the ninja to newcomers, but looking closer, it had their last whereabouts and in-depth descriptions.

Cole, for a moment, thought they were wanted again, and his stomach dipped in dread. He snatched the paper from the other, who protested, but was pushed to the side. No, these weren't wanted posts. 

These were missing posts.

He flipped back to the front, reading the date and the “Ninjago's Heros Go Missing” title at the top in big, bold letters. 

“... When did you get this?” he whispered, looking up at Bonzle.

She rocked her skull from side to side as she thought, not seeming to notice Cole's growing panic. “Maybe… a few months? Five tops.”

His friends were missing. They could be hurt, captured, tortured… Killed . His breath quickened and he forced himself back out of his seat and limped towards the door, his ailments going numb.

“Whoa- Cole- wait!” Geo called out as he pushed himself out of his own chair. “You can't go-”

“I have to,” Cole gasped, whipping towards the other, who flinched back in surprise. “I have to- I have to find them.” He breathed in, then out, throat suddenly so dry.

“I mean… That would be nice. But there's no way out of here.” His clawed hands were placed on the ninja's shoulders, and Cole felt just slightly grounded. The sympathy in his golden eyes was strong. “I know you want to find them, but, one: you're not prepared in any way, and two: the Land of Lost Things is literally inescapable. None of us can leave.”

“B-but I- I-I can't just sit here and do nothing-”

“You have to.”

The words rang in his head and bile suddenly rose up in his throat. Bonzle came just in time with the trash can, and Geo gave him space. Cole crumpled down to his knees, so weak.

For a long moment after, they were all quiet. Sadness was deep in Geo and Cole's souls, and it was nice to have someone understand him at this moment, even if it was just for a little bit. But he felt numb to all of this information, especially with how ill he felt.

“Cole,” Geo started softly, inching towards the other. The other looked up at him. “Let's… Let's at least get you on the couch, alright?” He could barely give a weak, hesitant nod. “Alright.”

Geo hauled him over to a creaky sofa, carefully letting him down. “Bonzle, could you get him some water?” It didn't take long for that task to be taken care of, and soon, Cole was numbly sipping on the glass he had been given. “We'll give you some space… Call for one of us if you need anything.”

Cole was given a pillow and a couple of blankets before both the Geckle-Munce and the skeleton left him to his own devices. All he could do was lay down, try to get comfortable, and think about his friends… Despite how much it upset him.

At least with his feet in the air, the pain didn't seem to radiate as badly to his head.