Taking Control. (a Ninjago fanfic)

Chapter 44- Nightmares

C O L E

The darkness was suffocating. It pressed in from every side, heavy and unrelenting, like it was trying to bury me.

I couldn't see, couldn't breathe.

The only thing grounding me was the sharp, burning pain in my shoulder where the pipe had impaled me. I could feel the blood dripping down, warm and sticky, but I couldn't move to stop it. I couldn't move at all, stuck in place.

What-?

This- this-

This is a dream?-

Then, his voice came.

"You're weak."

The words echoed through the void, sharp and cold, cutting deeper than the wound in my shoulder. I clenched my fists, trying to push away the fear creeping into my chest.

No, stop.

This had already happened.

Stop-

It's a dream

But why does it hurt so much?

"I'm not listening to you," I muttered, my voice trembling despite my best efforts.

It's a dream. It's not real.

"Oh, but you are," the Overlord said, his voice slithering through the darkness like a snake. He appeared before me, a mass of shifting shadows, his purple eyes burning into mine. "Because you know I'm right."

I tried to move, to fight back, but my body wouldn't budge. The ground beneath me felt like quicksand, pulling me down as the Overlord loomed closer.

"You think you can protect them," he sneered. "But you couldn't even protect yourself."

Images flashed before my eyes—Lloyd, Kai, Zane, Nya, Pixal. They were all reaching for me, their faces twisted with fear and desperation. But I couldn't reach back. I was trapped, frozen as the walls around me crumbled. I heard their voices calling my name, but the Overlord's voice drowned them out.

"Do you remember how it felt?" he hissed. "The weight of the debris crushing your chest, the blood pouring from your wounds? Do you remember how close you were to death?"

"I survived," I shot back, my voice hoarse. "They saved me."

"Did they?" His laughter was cruel, sharp. "Or did you let them risk everything for you, while you lay there, helpless?"

My chest tightened. I hated how his words burrowed into me, how they latched onto the doubts I tried so hard to bury.

I thought of the building collapsing around me, the moment I realized I wasn't getting out on my own.

I thought of the panic in Kai's voice when he found me, the look on Lloyds face when he walked into the hospital room. And I thought of Rue, the girl who barely knew me, throwing herself into the chaos to save someone she had no reason to care about.

"Stop," I growled, but my voice cracked.

The Overlord smiled, and the darkness around us shifted. Suddenly, I wasn't in the void anymore. I was back in the building, trapped under the rubble. The weight on my chest was crushing, the air thick with dust. I could hear the Overlord's laughter echoing through the collapsing walls, his voice cutting through the chaos.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Dreams weren't supposed to hurt.

"You're nothing, Cole," he said, his tone dripping with malice. "A burden. A failure. And when your friends fall, it will be because of you."

Stop

This had already happened

Please-

Wake up.

"No!" I shouted, trying to push the rubble off me, but it was too heavy. My shoulder screamed in protest, and I felt the familiar warmth of blood soaking my side.

This wasn't real.

This wasn't-

Then, through the haze, I saw him.

Jay.

He was standing in the distance, his blue eyes wide and filled with terror. His face was bruised and bloodied— cheeks hollow from the lack of food— I tried to reach him but it hurt too much.

Agony laced up my arm, and I cried out, falling back to the rubble.

"No.." I whispered, my vision swimming. He was so close.

And it was actually him.

"Do you see now?" the Overlord whispered. His haunting voice coming from everywhere."This is your future. Helpless, useless, watching as everyone you care about falls. You'll never be strong enough."

The ground beneath me crumbled, and I was falling, spiraling into the abyss. The Overlord's laughter echoed around me, louder and louder, until it was the only thing I could hear.

My heart pounded in my chest, as I tried to grab anything, anything to stop me from falling-

It was just a black hole- there was nothing to save me.

The ground was nearing.

Closer, and closer- Jays screams ringing in my ears-

I woke up with a gasp, my heart pounding like a war drum in my chest. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. The weight of the rubble, the Overlord's voice, Jay's terrified face—it all felt so real. My hands trembled as I sat up, trying to shake the nightmare from my mind.

It wasn't real.

Just a sick mess of what was real and what was a nightmare.

The faint glow of the monastery's lanterns seeped through the cracks in the door. I could hear muffled voices in the main room—Kai arguing with someone, probably. The familiar sounds grounded me, reminding me that I was safe. For now.

I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

Everything was ok.

It was just a dream.

A nightmare.

But the image of Jay wouldn't leave me. He looked so... unlike him.

It was scary.

The Overlord's words echoed in my mind, relentless and cruel. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to steady my breathing.

Pushing myself off the bed, I winced as pain shot through my shoulder. The sling was a constant reminder of how close I'd come to not making it out alive. But I wasn't dead. And as long as I was still breathing,

I wasn't going to let the Overlord win.

Not this time.

I made my way to the main room, my steps heavy but determined. The others turned to look at me as I entered, their faces filled with varying degrees of concern and exhaustion. Lloyd started to say something, but I cut him off.

"We need to talk," I said, my voice hoarse but steady. "About what happened before the building collapsed. About Jay."

And as I told them about the nightmare, about what I'd seen, the determination in their eyes mirrored my own.

"So.. we need to hurry. We can't let Jay get into that state." I finished.

We weren't just fighting for Jay. We were fighting for all of us. And we weren't going to stop until we won.