We both deserve better. (Ninjago Fanfic)

chapter 5.

Cole fell to his knees, defeated.
His veins returned to their normal colour, and his eyes faded back to their dark brown as a tear escaped, rolling down his cheek.

Nya collapsed beside him, staring up at the sky, watching the mech fly further and further away.

Failing was something that Cole had gotten used to a lot. Being a Ninja meant failing loads. But it didn't mean that it made it any less painful. Ninja never quit! No matter what we do, no matter what happens, we always get back up and try again.
Jays voice echoed through his head.

This time was different though. Because this time he wasn't sure if they could get Kai and Jay back. The mech- and the person inside of it- were too powerful for them to handle. Especially now with two of their Ninja missing.

He saw the way the remaining Ninja looked at him. How Lloyd looked at him. Like they wanted him to reassure them, to get back on his feet and say some encouraging words that would help them get their friends back. That's what he usually did. That's what he always did.

But he didn't have anything good to say this time. He didn't want to say all hope was lost, but it certainly felt like it.

"We'll get them back." Nya whispered to him, tears falling down her cheek . "We always do." She smiled sadly and looked him in the eyes.

"We need to stay strong. For Lloyd." She said with a serious face.
"For Lloyd." He answered and wiped his tears away.

~~~

Back at the monastery, all was chaos.

Pixal and Nya were trying to fix Zane, who seemed to be in an even worse state than before, his chest cavity wide open as the girls were sifting through the wires.

"Look for the blue one!" Pixal instructed Nya as she peered into the hole.
"I AM." Nya hissed in annoyance. It seemed like every single colour apart from blue was washed into her sight as she rummaged through the compartment. "Found it!" She sighed in relief as she pulled on it. "It's broken though. Kai, can you-" She stopped mid sentence, and swallowed.
"Never mind." The water Ninja said quietly and walked over to grab a blowtorch instead.

Cole could see her trying to contain her tears. She had lost the most. Her Yin and her brother, both taken by this monster to be experimented on. Goodness knows what he would do to them.

They needed to hurry. They all knew that. Wu and Lloyd were discussing the best way to infiltrate the base, which was a difficult discussion because Sensei kept saying that they needed to wait longer, to prepare.

But no, they didn't have time for that.

A cheer from Pixal indicated that fixing the blue wire worked, and Cole glanced over to see Zane's eyes flickering back to life once more.

"Welcome back, buddy!" He grinned, and Zane smiled.
"What happened?" He questioned, looking at Nya for answers. "Did we defeat it?"

Oh, how Coles heart crushed when he saw the hope on the nindroids face.

The group exchanged looks of sorrow and Zane sighed, eyes dulling slightly.
"It took Jay and Kai, didn't it." He asked quietly, before lying his head back down on the table as the girls continued to work on his chipped shoulder.

Cole nodded and looked away.

"Your elemental powers are so very interesting. I'd love to see what it does to you."

What did the mech mean by that? What was he gonna do with Kai and Jay..

The words echoed in his mind, and he kept repeating them in his head, like if he said them enough they'd finally click and make sense.

But they didn't.