Who am I really? | Glacier [DISCONTINUED]

Part three: Mystery Man's ice

Jay's POV

Okay, something is really up with Cole. Over the past three weeks since we talked about the icy guy, Cole has been acting even weirder. He is constantly out of the monastery or locked up in his room. He has been slacking on training and become more focused in his artistic talents.

"Kai, I'm really getting worried about Cole." I murmured nervously, walking through the forest, Kai beside me. He looked over at me, a skeptical expression on his face.

"Oh yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah. He only comes out to eat or use the bathroom, or just go run off to who knows where." I rambled. "It's that dumb Mystery guy's fault! If he wasn't stealing all our thunder, maybe Cole would actually hang out with us again." I had to admit, I was completely stressed out.

Kai smiled and ruffled my hair with a hand. "Don't worry about it so much, Jay." He replied. "I'm sure he'll be fine. He's Cole, after all."

I slowly nodded, smiling a bit. "Yeah, I guess." Kai froze in his steps, no longer walking beside me. Confused, I stopped and turned, looking back at him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, getting a bit nervous when he didn't reply. He suddenly whipped his head over to me.

"Do you hear that?" He asked, voice merely a whisper. We both fell silent. Just over the rustling of the tall trees and the scamper of woodland creatures, you could hear crackling. Not like a fire, like shards of something.

"The guy." We both said, nearly in perfect sync. Immediately getting the memo, I ran towards the sound, Kai keeping up a little too well with longer legs.

It didn't take us too long to duck behind a thick foliage of ferns and brush. Knees scraping against the soft pine forest floor, I pushed the ferns away with a hand and peered through.

A large clearing parted the forest. Through the thick wood and leaf canopy, a few stray rays of perfect gold sunlight shone through. It bounced off a brilliantly shiny turquoise surface and dappled the trees. There he was, the Mystery man. He wore the same white robes we had seen in the marketplace a few weeks ago and held silver shurikens. His eyes were closed and he was standing in a defensive position.

But there was nothing there.

But all the sudden, fast as lightning, multiple rods of pure slick sparkling ice shot out of the ground, tossing the surrounding dirt and grass into the air. The figure opened his eyes. To say the least, they were breathtaking. Could make anyone stop and stare.

And with moves soft and delicate but sturdy as iron and confident as a lion's, the figure easily maneuvered between the rods. When he stopped at the end, the rods split in two and shattered on the ground. Smirking with newfound pride, the boy tossed both of his shurikens at a nearby tree. They both dug in and stay snug, perfectly aligned parallel next to each other.

I ducked my head back from the ferns, leaving them bouncing slightly. Kai did as well, sitting forward and peering over at me. "Did you see that? He totally has powers like us!"

I laughed and nodded quickly. "Oh my god, Cole is going to be so excited!" I exclaimed. I quickly stopped beaming when I noticed Kai wasn't smiling. "Wha..?"

"Your telling him?" Kai asked, voice wary. I nodded, confused.

"Why wouldn't I tell him?"

Kai shrugged dully. "Well.. I just. He takes things pretty seriously and, well, I don't know if he could take that."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't like being lied to. Sensei has never told us about there being others like us out there. He might freak out and vanish." Kai said, staring at me with an unreadable expression.

I smiled slightly. "I'm sure he'll come to. Sensei never really said there weren't, though." Crawling forward, I grabbed his hand and jumped up. "Come on! Let's go back and tell him and Sensei!"

By the time we had both climbed the breathtakingly long flight of stairs, we were winded. Sure, we're some of the best fighters in the land and we're pretty much at top physical condition but man, that's a harsh walk.

He both practically collapsed onto the couch in the TV room, exhausted. Running most of the way had left us wiped out and not wanting to do much.

Forgetting about telling Cole and Sensei, we slowly drifted off, laying sprawled out on the couch.

Cole's POV

I slowly sat up, stretching my arms over my head. I looked down at the parchment I had been writing on. Groaning, I crumpled it up and tossed it in the trash can on the other side of the room. All I've been able to think about is the Mystery guy, I want to know who he is. Even though I've been searching for weeks, I haven't been able to find him or even hear about him.

I don't know what's drawing me to him. Maybe I just want to know what he wants from Ninjago. Is he a friend, or is he an enemy.

Grabbing my scythe from the sturdy hooks mounted on the wall, I ran out, not even thinking to question the two on the couch or talk to Sensei. I just needed to know. And I wouldn't rest until I found him, and got answers of who he is.

[914 words]