The Soldier (A Ninjago FanFic)

Chapter 1

Yo my Ninjago dudes! It's been a while! Now, this is a Cole-Centric fic taking place pretty much directly after Cole is turned into a ghost, give or take a few hours. The video above is the song used in this first chapter, and is actually what I was listening to when I first got this idea. Admittedly, this story has been sitting here on my laptop, collecting dust, for a wanna say close to three years now. It is incomplete, but, like Family, I give anyone who wants to free reign to continue this, as long as you remember to give me credit [=P Spiel over, enjoy this fic!

Cole was tough. He was solid, dependable. He always had been. Earth was his element for a reason. He could relate to it.

But when he walked out of that mansion and saw the sun, the earth crumbled beneath his feet, encasing him in the deep, dark hole that is depression.

He locked himself in his room, curled up in a ball on his bed and tried to sleep. But it wouldn't come. He was dead; he no longer needed to rest.

Dead. The word hit him like a speeding train. He was dead. He was a ghost. He was a flesh-and-blood ghost.

Flesh and blood. He no longer had those things. When he first got into bed, he nearly phased right through it onto the floor. It took most of his concentration to remain solid.

His voice sounded funny, now, too. It was echoy, like he was speaking into a tunnel. He refused to talk out loud, now. The sound only reminded him of what he was.

Jay, Kai, and Zane had all tried to coax him out, but he didn't respond to any of them. Even Sensei Wu and Misako had failed to convince him. Nya was the only one who hasn't tried.

Nya. She was beautiful. Jay didn't deserve her. Though he had tried to shove his feelings down, forget about them, he couldn't deny the extreme attraction he felt pulling him towards her. Like he had any chance now.

Though he'd bowed out and given up their fight, Cole couldn't suppress the sudden surges of resentment toward the Blue Ninja. P.I.X.AL. had said Nya's perfect match was him. So why couldn't the thick-headed mouth of lightning accept that and move on? He already checked out pretty much every girl he came across, so why was Jay so fixated on the Water Ninja?

Wow, what a twist. Nya, Master of Water, was the younger sister of Kai, Master of Fire. No wonder she was the only one who could cool his temper when it flared.

There was a knock on the Earth Ninja's door. "Cole, can we talk?"

Ronin. The nerve of that guy! First, he's the one who kidnapped Zane after he rebuilt himself and gave him to Chen. Then he refused to help the Ninja when they confronted him and asked for the Scroll of Air Jitzu, which they knew he stole.

He was the one who directed them to the Sensei Yang's mansion where he...died. In a sense, the stupid thief was the whole reason he was a ghost.

When Cole didn't reply, Ronin sighed. "Look, I...I know some of this is partially my fault, but–"

"Partially?" The Black Ninja snapped, and sat up, glaring at his door. "If you had given us the scroll in the first place, none of this would've happened. Morro wouldn't know Air Jitzu, and I'd still be human! This is all your fault!"

"You still are human," Ronin countered, but he could hear the tremor in the thief's voice. "Just...transparent. And...green."

Cole got out of bed, something that hasn't happened in hours now, and stood. He walked purposefully toward his door. He took a deep breath, relaxed, and went straight through, right into the startled form of the thief.