Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 111: "Sister Only; a Broken, Scattered Heart"

Cole didn't know how long he knelt there in the dark, hugging Liana and hearing his own voice ring off the walls like a mourning ghost's. When his eyes finally ran dry he felt nothing—he was numb. Reality didn't feel real anymore.

The chill of stone slowly seeped into his limbs until it hurt. It dawned on him that he was still alive. There was a world in turmoil outside this black hole and he was needed.

He didn't want to get up. He wanted to stay with Liana, to keep her safe. But he got up.

He trudged to the landslide, feebly kicking aside rocks and soil. He set Liana down gently on a flat rock before attempting to move the massive boulders out of the way. As he shoved and kicked rocks twice his size out of the way, he realized dimly that most of his wounds from the fight and fall had been healed. He stopped in his tracks and pondered on that for a minute, before realizing it had to have been Liana's work.

Even when she was dying, she was trying to help me. The thought made him want to collapse again like a small child. His legs trembled. He bit his lip hard to keep from crying.

Why, why, why...

Inhaling sharply with a shudder, he swung and punched one of the biggest boulders. It flew across the cavern and he heard it smash to pieces against the wall. He stood there on the landslide trembling from head to toe, breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't save you. I'm so, so sorry..."

A single thought stopped his grieving like a sting of fire:

Blood Star did this.

The hole he could feel in his heart seemed to rip apart further; his sister, who'd already killed Eagle Talon, killed Liana. Liana was dead because of her. It was Blood Star's fault. It was all Blood Star's fault.

Rage, slow and hot, built up itself up within Cole. He could feel it in his pulse and hear it in his ears, his heart pumping harder and faster. Adrenaline surged and pushed against the heavy grief.

"Blood Star," he growled.

With an unintelligible roar he used his powers to chuck boulders aside, this way and that. They fell crashing on either side of him as he worked his way up the landslide. The walls echoed angrily with the sound of shattering stone and Cole's wrathful shouts. More soil and rocks tumbled at the disturbance, but he shoved them away, too. The pile shifted and groaned in protest, but he didn't care. He had to get up there. He had to find Blood Star and he had to finish what she started.

He didn't know how much he climbed until he shoved a boulder aside and heard the sound echo strangely. He stepped up again only to find there were no more rocks to climb. Empty space yawned before him. Holding his arms out he stepped forward again and onto flat ground, kicking aside small rocks.

He found himself back in the tunnel. He remained there a moment to catch his breath before turning and skirting down the landslide. He couldn't leave Liana in there, cold and helpless in that black pit. She didn't deserve that.

Like a lurching shadow, Cole carried Liana's body up the landslide and into the tunnel. On he went, trudging slowly through the inky world. Occasionally he'd scrape his shoulder on a wall or bump his head on the ceiling, but he hardly felt them. The only things he felt were raw grief and reawakened rage. Rage was the thing that kept him going.

For what felt like a long time he only held Liana close and walked. The sound of his footsteps sounded unearthly against the black walls and floor; they made the silence feel loud. Step by step he made his way down the corridor.