Unintentional

Chapter 15: Mirrored

"WHAT WAS THAT? AHHHHH!!! HELP MEEEEEEEE!" What a perfect way to start the day.

Kai was screaming like a baby, unable to process anything except the fact that he was scared for his life. He had waken up to the sound of rumbling in his ears and the trembling of the ground beneath him. It reminded Kai of an angry ocean, roaring and screaming at him. He feared the earth would open up and swallow him whole, just like how those waves had tried to drown him in their fury. 

Nya, on the other hand, kept her cool, as she knew exactly what that thing was. She dropped down onto the ground and covered her head with her hands. The smell of fresh earth filled her nose. Nya could feel her clothes rubbing against the ground as the rumbles grew louder and more powerful. The cloth was tearing apart. She told herself not to worry. She'd ask Misako to sew up the gi later. 

"Kai, Cole! Get down!" Nya called. Kai didn't listen to her, running around in circles, his hands in his hair. His sister was quite concerned. Kai, who had warned everybody to keep away from his hair, was actually flattening the gelled spikes. 

Cole didn't appear to have heard Nya. He was frozen, staring at the horizon, Vania in his arms. While Nya sat the fire ninja down beside her, Cole thought about the first time he'd been in an earthquake. 

His mom had been taking him to "a friend's place". She told him that there was a very nice girl living up in the mountains that she wanted him to meet. On the way there, the ground began shaking. Lilly hadn't panicked, though she'd instructed Cole to get down while she "took care of things." 

Even though his mom had passed down her elemental powers to him, Lilly had somehow calmed the earth. Cole remembered digging his hands into the dirt while she did so, trying to hold onto the peace that had filled the world just moments before. He didn't know why at the time, but he felt connected to the ground. It was almost as if he was the one soothing the earth... 

After that, Lilly decided to cut the trip short and go back home. As they made their way back to their back, she warned Cole: "Do not give the earth haters your attention. They are easily angered. Remember their place, but focus on yours."

Now, Cole did his best to focus. He laid Vania down and curled around her protectively. His lips were a centimeter away from hers, but this wasn't the time to start kissing again. Not with an earthquake threatening to send him to wherever Vania's soul was. 

A minute later, the ground stopped shaking. Cole looked up and saw Nya glance at him.

"Do you think it's safe now?" she called.

"I think so," Cole replied. "How's Kai doing?"

"Take a look for yourself." Nya stood up, revealing Kai on the ground behind her. Snake-like flames wrapped around his body, hugging him comfortingly. Smoke curled up and away from Kai, and it seemed like it carried his fear with it. Cole gently touched his friend's shoulder (which was the only part not engulfed in flames.

"Kai, it's over. You can open your eyes now." The red ninja gasped and stood up. The fire disappeared instantly and Cole stepped back, just in case Kai decided to summon it again. 

"Are we okay?" he asked, out of breath.

"Yes, we're okay," Nya replied, patting her brother's back. "But we need to move. There might be  aftershocks."

The team started walking again, weaving in and out of the trees, with Cole up front and Nya keeping watch from behind. Kai had regained his confidence, and he spent most of the trip fixing up his hair. 

"How does it look now, Nya?"

"Um, there's one more loose strand on the left."

"You mean- ow!" Kai slammed into Cole and Nya into Kai. Cole had stopped abruptly and the siblings noticed it a little too late. 

"Cole, what the- wow." A large cave was just up ahead. A massive tree was growing out from the center, so tall that no one could find where the tree ended and the sky began. At the very top of the tree, there was a wooden balcony shaped in a semicircle, hanging over nothing but air. 

It was so confusing and intriguing to see. Everyone unconciously stepped forward, already wanting to know more about the building made of nature's children. 

And step by step, they made their way into the cave.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why does it feel like we're in the Never-Realm?" Jay whined. "It's so cold." The crew had exited the story room and were now climbing a seemingly-endless staircase. 

"I know it's cold," Lloyd said, gritting his teeth. "We all do."

"We don't," Akita and Zane said in unison. 

"Zane, can you warm me up?" Jay asked. He should've remembered that Zane was the master of ice, but he didn't. Akita giggled and Lloyd cracked a smile. 

"I will do my best," Zane said. The ice ninja remembered seeing Kai warm up Nya after she fell asleep in the shower. (The master of water had been a little too relaxed when she decided to wash her hair.) The hot water had turned cold, and Nya would've gotten hypothermia if Jay hadn't come to her rescue and taken her to Kai. The fire ninja had wrapped his arms around his little sister, bringing out his elemental power to warm her. Zane just needed to do the opposite.

He hugged Jay and tried to hold back every bit of ice in his body. Zane became warmer and warmer. (As did the color of his cheeks, though that was just because he was embarrassed.) Jay loved every moment of it. He was no longer cold, instead, it felt like he had just drank a cup of hot cocoa. 

Akita walked over to Lloyd and gave him a hug. Akita didn't need fire to heat up Lloyd; simply being close to the green ninja made his body temperature go up ten degrees. They embraced and continued walking, Lloyd facing backwards over Akita's shoulder. 

Luckily, Misako wasn't freezing to death. She had gotten used to the cold years ago. Instead, the archaeologist focused on figuring out the story that had been painted on the walls of the room. She had once heard about an earth goddess and a moon god teaming up to destroy the world, though that had been a myth. Or so she had thought.

An hour later, the group reached the top of the staircase. It led into a cave, so tall and wide that the Bounty could've easily fit inside. The cave stopped at what seemed to be the trunk of a very large tree. It filled the space between the rock walls, so nobody could see beyond it. 

"Well, should we check it out?" Jay asked, clutching Zane's good arm.

"I guess so," Lloyd said, still hugging Akita.

"Okay then," Zane whispered. "Let's go."

*A/N Thanks for the 2K reads!*