I don't know what demon inspired me to write this but I did it anyway. I'm a monster, people! I don't like to write these type of things but I guess . . . . .

~~Dedicated To Kirby Morrow~~

Thank you for all that you've done for this wonderful show even if it's about tiny, yellow, plastic ninjas who never seem to fail in inspiring us, entertaining us, making us laugh and cry and leading us to believe that you don't have to be related by blood to be a beautiful family.

And thank you for bringing Cole to life and making him what he is and will always be - a strong and tough cinnamon roll who loves cake so much, it's ridiculous!

Ninja Never Quit!

I can't believe I got so emotional over a Lego show made for little kids (not when looked into it on a deeper level). Is this normal?

Warning: Contains a little violence, blood and eventually death and gets a little dark at the end.

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"COLE!!!"

Nya's shrill cry pierced the bloody atmosphere, reaching every ear in the vicinity. Her hands were bloodied and dust-ridden as they loosened their grip on her spear, the weapon hitting the ground with a meaningless clatter. Her entire world rumbled and crashed down around her, fading away into nothingness as she ran for the Master of Earth.

Her eyes never left Cole's ebony ones which were wide with shock and pain as realization settled in them. His mouth was open in a silent yell and his vision blurred except for the crying girl who ran for him like her life depended on it.

He didn't need to look down to see that he had been impaled by a blade, it's tip dripping with crimson liquid. Unbearable pain seeped from there and spread through his entire body. He uttered a single, sickening cry as the blade was yanked out of him, followed by a sinister chuckle.

Slowly, the pain lessened as numbness took over every part of his being. His ears rang along with the increasing thumping of his heart, the sound of which reigned over Ultraviolet's maniacal laughter.

Nya's scream had caught everyone's attention, villains and heroes alike. Heads turned to watch as the ravenette skidded on her knees just in time to catch Cole's body. Her breathing came in choked sobs as she rested Cole's head on her lap, the latter gasping from the pain invading every inch of his body.

The remaining (former) Sons of Garmadon sneered and jeered at the pathetic scene while Ultraviolet shrieked evily and danced in excitement of her success. But if this was witnessed by the SoG then obviously it was also done so by the Ninja. Time seemed to slow down as they realized the horror of it all.

"COLE!"

The word erupted from the throats of each of the Ninja. Neither of the warriors were composed. They forgot everything because that didn't matter. Only Cole mattered. They ran past their enemies, their eyes trained on the wailing girl and the slowly-dying boy in her hold.

It was too late. The ninjas dropped down next to Nya, forming a mourning circle around Cole and ignoring the pool of blood that soaked the pants of their gis. The Earth Master's breaths were faint and strained as the colour and life left his eyes slowly.

The arrogant yelling and cheering of the Sons Of Garmadon were now an other worldly sound. For the Ninja, the only sounds came from Cole's struggle to breathe and Nya's cries. The black ninja swam in and out of consciousness, his own head pounding too loudly for him to bear.

There was nothing his friends could do to help him. Kai was yelling as he freed himself from Zane's grasp who was trying to keep the fiery-tempered ninja under control. Lloyd broke down as he screamed at Cole to stay awake, his gloves red with blood from covering the gash.

Jay held onto the black ninja's cold hand and pushed his stringy dark hair out of his almost-lifeless eyes. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he joined Lloyd and Kai in their futile attempt to keep Cole awake. Zane simply pulled Nya into an embrace and turned her away from the blood curdling screams of his brothers.

They turned back only when Kai, Lloyd and Jay had grown quiet, a raspy whisper emerging from the disturbing silence. Cole managed to force on a weary smile as he gazed in turn at every member of his family.

"Brother . . . sharpens . . . brother . . ." he breathed out, life leaving him quickly. " . . . and . . . Ninja . . . never . . . quit . . ."

The team doubled over in grief. Some cried, some yelled, some watched. They tore at their hairs and scratched at their skins to make sure if this was real. Unfortunately, it was. They were much too occupied with wishing away the tragedy for them to hear the final wisp of life escape from Cole's dry lips, rising up to the heavens.

The story has ended . . . but the legend lingers on.

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Kai stared at the cup of warm tea in his hands, his reflection in the steaming liquid gazing up at him. It was distorted with ripples as a tear drop fell and became one with the contents of the cup.

His hand began to shake slightly as the lump in his throat rose up. He quickly placed the teacup down lest he should spill it on the front of his black tuxedo.

He was startled as a hand wrapped it's slim fingers around his own cold ones. Looking up, he saw Skylor's sympathetic face gazing into his eyes. Her cheeks was tear-stained and a few strands of her red hair hung loose about her face which seemed paler in contrast to the black dress she was wearing.

The redhead didn't smile reassuringly but they both thought that it wasn't right for the moment. Instead, Skylor hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder and rubbing his back as Kai began to reach breakdown again.

As the hug continued, his eyes roamed over to all the other occupants of the room. The normally bright and cheery sitting room of the Brookstones was now draped in blacks and grays. He saw the postman, Dareth and Ronin discussing something in the corner while the remaing Royal Blacksmiths shared grieving looks.

The Walkers and Maya were on the sofa comforting an unsettled Jay who in turn had his arms around a crying Nya. Gayle and her camera crew was there but they had the decency to not start filming and ask uncomfortable questions.

Zane and Pixal solemnly welcomed the other guests that were just arriving, guiding them over to the coffin in the far end of the room. Cyrus Borg rolled his wheelchair over to where Ray was helping Wu in calming Lou down.

The father of the deceased leaned over the side of the coffin, crying as he cupped his only son's freezing cheeks in his wrinkled hands. He half expected for Cole to open his eyes and smile at him. He broke down as he was met with nothing but silence enforced on his son by death.

He leaned down, planting a long and loving kiss on the late Master of Earth's forehead, muttering pleas of forgiveness. He half died on the day his wife passed away all those years ago, leaving him to look after Cole on his own.

He had promised himself that he would never let anything happen to his little boy and tried his best to raise him while working to keep up with his demanding job. But somewhere along that, he failed. Destiny called his son away from him and led him to be a ninja, taking on his mother's legacy.

He was proud of his Cole. He would swell with pride everytime they would announce the victory of Ninjago against all the threats with his son being rewarded for his effort. He had always underestimated him but ever since he found out about Cole's life as a ninja he was scared but also confident that his son was going to raise the family name to new heights.

Now the same person, his life and soul, lay cold and still in a box with death's arms around him in a never-ending hug. His hands were folded on his tuxedo as he lay there in his eternal slumber. A photograph of a woman and a baby was tucked between his overlapped hands, forever his treasure in the afterlife.

"I'm so sorry," he sobbed, brushing Cole's bangs aside. "I'm sorry for not being there when you needed me. For never understanding you when you always understood me."

Wu placed a hand on the shaking man's back, a single tear rolling down his wrinkled face. "Cole was one of the greatest men I've ever met, Lou," he whispered. "He was the rock and foundation of the team and was a blessing to this world. May his soul find peace and may his memory forever live in our hearts."

"Lloyd," Misako called up the stairs that led to the upper floor. No reply came and Kai wondered where the blonde really was.

"Lloyd, sweetie," his mother tried again. "Come down. It's time to say goodbye."

"I'll go look for him," Kai offered, separating himself from Skylor and dashing up the stairs. He stopped on the landing, looking around at the various rooms. Lloyd could be in any of them.

Something guided the red ninja's feet to Cole's childhood room with a puffy cake sticker the size of an average person's palm stuck on the door. Kai slowly pushed open the door to reveal a clean and tidy room with a made bed on which sat a bundle of black and blonde with Cole's old teddy bear in his arms.

"Hey, Greenbean," Kai muttered, hoping to lighten the mood a little. He stopped smiling when he remembered the time Cole had bestowed that nickname upon Lloyd.

The blonde didn't hear him, however. It may be because Kai had said it slowly but mostly it was because of the song that tumbled carelessly out of Lloyd's mouth.

"Shine little glow worm
Glimmer, glimmer.
Hey little glow worm,
Don't get dimmer."

Lloyd leaned against the headboard of the bed, tracing his hand over the frame of a photograph of him and the rest of the Ninja team that was set up on Cole's nightstand.

"Glow little glow worm,
Glow and glimmer . . ."

"Lloyd," Kai reiterated, speaking louder this time. The blonde reacted by sitting up straight and quickly placing the teddy back on its perch on the arranged pillows.

Kai could see the Green Ninja furiously wiping away his tears out of the corner of his eye and waited till Lloyd was done righting himself. He walked over and sat down beside the blonde, his arm making its way around Lloyd's shoulders.

"It's time to say goodbye, Lloyd."

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Slowly, Lloyd turned his face to look at Kai with unreadable emotions mixed together in his green irises. "You know I can't," he muttered, his voice hoarse from crying.

"Why- why not?" Kai asked, his own voice breaking a little.

Lloyd turned back to stare at the chocolate brown carpet on the floor, his hair a blonde mess on his head. "I'll just break down and I can't afford that. I have to be strong for the team. Like Cole used to be."

Kai clenched his fists together as he kept himself from launching into tears in front of his little brother. "What you are doing is not strong, Lloyd," he muttered, annoyance and anger seeping into his tone. "Hiding from reality is not what you call strength."

Lloyd didn't lift his gaze from the floor and almost seemed like a lifeless dummy but the way his fingers clutched the bedspread harder indicated that he was listening. He let out a shaky breath and tried to keep his eyes from pouring as Kai continued.

"You know what strength is?" the red ninja asked, shaking the blonde's shoulder. "Strength is when you stare at defeat, loss and death right in the face and say, 'Is that all you got?'"

Kai waited for Lloyd to reply but went on as he was met with nothing but silence."You go down there and face your fears. You challenge life to throw more at you and you stand your ground. Show life that you're not scared."

"Just stop it," Lloyd finally whispered as he gulped in order to lessen the lump in his throat.

"No!" Kai countered, grabbing Lloyd's shoulders and twisting him around to face him. "Listen to me. You shouldn't let losing Cole break you down. You should let it build you up. You should face the truth head on. He made us who we are but that doesn't mean we lose ourselves now that he's gone."

Lloyd squeezed his eyes shut, his lips pressed together. Kai's words rang in his ears and he wanted nothing more than to just run away from everything that he'd ever known, ever loved.
"I said stop it," he hissed through gritted teeth.

Kai ignored the command though he could see the tears leaking from the blonde's eyes. "Not crying and hiding yourself away is not being strong. The bravest hearts are the ones that break the most because everyone targets them." He paused to regain his composure which was slowly disintegrating with each word he spoke.

He felt his own warm tears trickling down the side of his face but he made no movements to wipe them away. "Right now, the cowardest of us all is you," he growled all the while hating himself for calling Lloyd that. "It's cause of you that Nya is crying her eyes out downstairs. We all feel broken cause you don't wanna be with us. You're the reason Cole's soul is hurting because you are not there for him!"

"STOP IT!" Lloyd screamed at the top of his lungs, covering his ears as he did so. "Just shut up!"

Kai drew back as Lloyd pulled at his blonde hair and muttered something inaudible under his heavy breathing. He hit his fist on the nightstand causing the photograph on it to tumble forward till it fell face down on the wooden surface.

"It hurts, okay?" Lloyd yelled, glaring at Kai with such ferocity, the Master of Fire nearly winced. "I'm tired of losing people in my life! I'm sick of it! I can't afford to fail anyone else."

Lloyd buried his face in his hands and quietly sobbed out all his pent up emotions. Kai's gaze shifted around the room once before settling back on the boy next to him. "Just tell me one thing," he whispered. "When I die . . . will you be there for me? Or will you hide away like this?"

Before any of the two could say something more, the door to Cole's room burst open and in came an angry Nya followed by Jay and Zane.

"What are you doing, Kai?!" the Water Master shrieked, making a dash for the shaking blonde and enveloping him into a hug. "You're making him feel worse. Get away from him!"

"I'm telling him what's right!" Kai hollered back as Jay sat himself next to the brunet, squeezing his shoulder to calm him.

"Yelling won't solve anything," Nya countered angrily at her brother, ignoring the break in her voice. "People are already upset down there and your fighting isn't calming any nerves."

Lloyd sobbed into the ravenette's shoulder as she continued to pat his back and glare at Kai. The Master of Fire ran a hand through his hair and gave an exasperated sigh before muttering, "I'm sorry, Greenbean. I didn't mean to . . . y'know . . ."

"We all need each other right now," Jay spoke up boldly. "We need to be whole and together for Cole. He would never want us to fight like this."

Zane kneeled down at Lloyd's feet, gazing comfortingly at the blonde as he broke the hug with Nya. The nindroid took the boy's hands in his own and spoke in the gentlest voice he could possibly use. "Downstairs, Mr. Brookstone's mental health is deteriorating and it is our job to be there for him. Shall we?"

After a few seconds of wiping tears, sniffing and hugging, Lloyd finally nodded. Nya and Kai helped him up as Jay led the way down the stairs. Zane stayed back to straighten the picture frame, smiling sadly at the cheerful face of Cole. It seemed so long ago when he had last heard Cole's happy voice and he would do anything to get him back.

"Goodbye, brother," he muttered, switching off the lights as he walked out of the room. "May you find happiness and peace wherever you are."

He slowly trudged down the steps, the sitting room gradually coming into view. Lloyd was crouched over Cole in the coffin, mumbling his goodbyes while Lou stood to the side with Jay.

As Master Wu saw the nindroid approach, he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Come, Ninja," he announced. Lou had wanted no one else but Kai, Jay, Lloyd and Zane to be the pallbearers for his son's funeral and they had all agreed on it. They shared solemn looks as the coffin was closed tight and the black pall was draped over it, shielding their brother forever from their eyes.

The four of them bent down and slowly lifted the coffin up onto their shoulders before leading the procession out of the house. Nya walked alongside her brothers, a bouquet of lilies in her hand. They were the Master of Earth's secret obsession that the Ninja had found out a little while ago. It was a simple gesture to prove their love for him.

"It is time for the earth to claim its master," whispered Master Wu, lifting his eyes to the heavens. "The last earth elemental."

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Two pairs of feet made their way down the dimly lit hallway of Kryptarium, their eyes peeled for the cell whose inmate they wanted to deal with. Their steps slowed down as they reached their destination.

Jay brushed his curls out of his eyes and waited for Kai to say something now that they had arrived. The Master of Fire peered through the bars, squinting at the gray-skined woman who was whistling casually and filing her nails while leaning against the far wall of her cell.

"You," Kai hissed venomously. "You monster!"

Ultraviolet slowly raised her eyes to look at the two ninjas before breaking into a grin that looked maniacal. "Well," she spoke, placing a hand on her hip. "If it isn't late Colie-cole's fake, pathetic brothers."

"You have no right to even speak about him!" Jay screamed, launching himself onto the bars of the cell door. Kai pulled him back gently, making him stand a few steps away. "Relax," he muttered.

The biker seemed unfazed by the sudden outburst. She scoffed and stepped closer to the metal bars, smirking as she took in the dark circles around the boys' eyes. It felt good to torture the Ninja in this way. "What do you want?" she asked impassively, as if the Ninja were merely here for a light-hearted talk.

Kai seethed at the way Ultraviolet acted oblivious to the pain she had caused everyone. Despite telling Jay to calm down just minutes ago, Kai let his own fire take over. He reached out through the bars and grabbed the woman from the front of her shirt, lifting her up a few inches and pulling her close.

Ultraviolet's body collided with the metal with a dull clang as her face continued to be pressed against the cold surface. Jay gasped at the sudden action and took a few steps closer to his fiery brother. He didn't intervene, though.

"Give me a reason to not to kill you right now!" Kai snarled as the woman tried to free herself. "People like you deserve to be burned! And fortunately, that's exactly what I'm the master of."

Ultraviolet's eyes widened as the hand Kai was holding her with began to heat up and turn red. The part of clothes which were balled into Kai's fist began to emit a feeble string of smoke.

"You won't stoop as low as me," she hissed at him nonetheless. "You will never kill me. Ninja don't kill."

"I hate to admit it but she's right, Kai," Jay muttered, fiddling with the belt of his gi. "Let her go. This isn't our way to deal with things."

Kai glared daggers at the biker as she struggled to loosen his grip on her. "Where is it?" the Master of Fire whispered.

"Where what is?" Ultraviolet breathed out, her face completely squashed against the bars.

There was a moment of silence before Kai mumbled, "The resurrection spell Harumi used to bring back Garmadon."

The woman looked shocked at first but as the question was ingeminated loudly by the blue ninja this time, she stuttered her response. "I-It's- she found it in the library of Domu. In the rituals section. That's all I know!"

"We have what we need. Let's go," Jay spoke up, looking at Kai expectantly. He wanted to be out of there before Kai did something completely violent. The red ninja glared silently at the woman before throwing her back on the ground.

"You will pay for what you did," he whispered before following Jay out of the block.

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Kai threw down his research on the table under the dim lightbulb. The rest of the Ninja and Pixal were seated around it, stabling themselves as the Bounty rocked in the wind.

"What did you find?" Nya asked, reaching for the file her brother had brought. Kai dropped down into the seat next to Lloyd who was observing some pictures that had fallen out of the file.

"Me and Jay went to Kryptarium to get the info from that bi-" He stopped in the middle of his cursing as he saw Jay's eyebrows shoot up warningly. The Master of Fire cleared his throat before continuing, "From that, uh, biker. That's- that's what I meant."

"She said that Harumi got the resurrection spell from Domu," Jay continued for Kai. "So we got there and scrounged around. You won't believe what we found."

"Pictures of ancient tunnels?" Lloyd asked dubiously, lifting his eyes momentarily from the photographs in his hand.

"Not tunnels," Zane spoke up as he peered down at the pictures from over Lloyd's shoulders. "These are catacombs."

"They are underground cemeteries consisting of tunnels and rooms with recesses dug out for coffins and tombs," Pixal explained helpfully from the corner. Lloyd observed the pictures again in light of the android's definition and saw the similarities.

"There is a place called 'The Undead Catacombs' in the extreme south of Ninjago," Kai said, taking the file from his sister and flicking through the pages.

"Since we don't have the Masks we can't use the Oni spell of resurrection so we looked for an alternate solution in the rituals section of the library," Jay added, leaning back in his chair. "These catacombs seem to be our only option."

"Even if we did have the Masks," Lloyd mumbled slowly, "there was no way I would do that spell. It only brings back the bad side."

"I don't think Cole even had a bad side," Kai muttered, his eyes glazing over and a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"He was the sweetest, most caring boy I've ever met," Nya sighed, running a finger over the edge of the table. "Apart from you," she added as her eyes met Jay's who smiled afterwards.

Zane shifted slightly to her left due to which Nya giggled and said, "And you too, Zane." A throat was cleared somewhere and the ravenette turned her head to look at Kai and Lloyd as they intentionally looked everywhere but at her. "And you both as well," she smiled at their childishness.

Once all the boys were satisfied, they settled down to discuss their plan. "So what do the Undead Catacombs do?" Lloyd voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"That place is surrounded by ancient magic that was used in resurrection in the earliest times," Kai read from the papers in the file. "Basically, if you put a dead person in there, they come back to life."

"The place is real but the resurrection stories are legends and myths," Jay chimed in. "That means we have no idea what we're dealing with here or what we're risking."

"No one comes back the same," Lloyd whispered as his father's memory played in his mind. "Regardless of the methods used."

"I would sacrifice myself again and again if it means we can have him with us once more," Zane replied, determination sparking in his luminescent eyes.

"But are we doing the right thing?" Pixal's doubtful voice sounded. "What will we tell the others?"

"The others won't care once they see Cole alive again," Nya responded, her voice shaking a little. She regained her composure before asking," What about the cover for Master Wu?"

"I told him we are going away for a while to clear our heads from all that has happened," Kai replied, folding his arms. "I think he'll believe that."

"So Pixal, are you in or out?" Jay directed his gaze at the samurai. The female android thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "I miss Cole too and I would like to see him again. I'm in."

"Zane," Kai spoke causing the nindroid to snap to attention. "We all may be thinking irrationally here and making spontaneous conclusions. You're the sensible one. What do you think?"

Zane stared at each of his team member in turn, the absence of Cole striking pain in his metal yet feeling heart. "I may be the sensible one but in the light of the recent tragic events, even I'm incapable of logical thought."

"Then it's settled," Lloyd said, getting up from his chair. "Nya," he announced, "You, Zane and Pixal will stay on the Bounty and use the coordinates in the file to map out the shortest possible route to the Undead Catacombs. Me, Kai and Jay will go get the body."

Nya shivered slightly before standing up and nodding. Everyone shared reassuring looks before rushing off to their tasks.

"Let's get our brother back."

The song has ended . . . . but the melody lingers on.

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Aaaaaahhhhh!!! What have I done?! What is this monstrosity that I've written?!

As Ron Weasly would say: Bloody hell!!!

Do y'all want me to write a part 2? (Im'ma write it anyway)