Legends of Ninjago Book 1: Brotherhood (Ninjago AU, Cole, Jay, Zane, Kai)

Chapter 9: In the Dark

Suddenly Cole was moving rapidly. The world became a blur of blacks and golds, and he hit the stone floor hard then rolled a short ways before everything went pitch black. He coughed on the dust that was stifling the air and tried not to imagine how badly his body must've been bruised as he removed his mask.
"What just happened?" Cole coughed. "Is anyone out there?" He tried to look for any of his friends, but there was no light whatsoever in the cave. Not even after his eyes had adjusted.
"I'm here.... barely," said Jay, somewhere behind Cole.
"Are you two all right?" That was Ann's voice, very hoarse and weak. She was somewhere ahead of Cole.
"I'm fine, I guess," Cole said.
"I'll live," Jay answered.
Cole replayed the last few seconds over and over in his head trying to figure out what on earth had just happened.
"That was you, wasn't it, Ann? You pushed us out of the way of the cave-in?" Cole guessed.
"The only person... who can retrieve the Scythe is you. You had to make it to the weapon chamber," Ann explained.
"It was much more than that. You saved my life. Thank you."
"...Your welcome."
"Okay, but what about everyone else?" Jay asked.
"They should be fine as long as Sensei Wu is with them," said Ann. "But we should try to open up the tunnel."
"How? We can't even see where it is," Cole pointed out.
"Both of you come over here," said Ann. Cole did his best to follow the sound of her voice and stumbled over to where she was sitting. He reached out his hand and eventually found her face. "Thanks for that," she said.
"Sorry. Well, at least I know where you are now," said Cole.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he jumped.
"Woah, woah, it's only me, dude," said Jay. Cole could hear him sit down next to him. "Now what?"
"We need light," Ann started. "Jay, you're the only one of us three who can generate that."
"But I've never used my powers before!" Jay cried.
"It's a bit of a long shot, I know, but it's our only option. Now, try to calm down. Deep breathes. Okay, good. Now picture a time when you were close to your element. Perhaps when you were in a lightning storm, or when you were shocked by static electricity. Try to feel an energy surge through you."
"I'm trying!" Jay whined. "Nothing's happening."
"Okay, well, movement often helps me and Keaton control our powers. Try movement your arms like this... up and down."
"I feel... ridiculous."
"Well then, just—ugh! Okay, okay.... um...  lightning is energy. One form of energy is friction, right? Try rubbing your hands together."
While this was going on, Cole was looking around him, trying to see into the darkness. Wu had said that the weapon should have been in this tunnel, but there was nothing as far as he could tell. It didn't feel like a tunnel, though. Whenever Ann or Jay spoke he could hear their echoes bouncing off the walls ten times louder than it had sounded earlier. It was safe to say that they were in a very large cave, now.
He turned back to where he imagined Ann and Jay were sitting, but as his eyes swept over the room, he thought he saw something. He looked again to make sure, and presently he found a small dot of yellow light shining far off in the distance.
"Hey, guys, do you see that?" Cole asked.
"See what?" Ann sounded anxious.
"Over there," Cole gestured, but then realised that neither of them could see his hand. So he grabbed Ann's arm and pointed it toward the small dot of light, then did the same for Jay.
"What is that?" Jay muttered.
"Come on, let's go see," Ann said confidently. "But let's not get separated. We'll have to hold hands."
Cole felt his cheeks grow warm as he reached for Ann's hand, but did his best to shrug it off. He looked up again at the glowing light and stepped forward over the rocks, big and small. They nearly fell over several times, but Ann kept them steady.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jay asked after a while.
"The Scythe of Quakes," Ann breathed.
Cole looked up again and now that the light was closer, it began to resemble the shape of a war scythe.
He squinted at it, and it's funny shape, and thought that he could hear something coming from it. A sound, possibly a voice, speaking in a low, rumbly tone. He couldn't understand what it was saying, except for a few words here and there which he mildly understood the meaning of.
"Mighty deeds...?" he murmured, trying to understand what he was hearing.
"What?" said Ann.
"Can't you hear that?" Cole asked.
"Hear what?" Jay said, confused.
"That voice. I think it's coming from the Scythe."
"Cole, there are no voices except for yours, Jay's, and mine," said Ann firmly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Cole replied.
They inched closer until they were about three yards away.
"Go on, Cole," said Ann.
"Wait, what?" Cole stammered. "Go and get it? Now?"
"Yes," Ann replied. "That scythe could be our only way out of here. Its glow is the only light source in this entire cave."
"I don't know, I have a bad feeling... like someone else is in here," said Cole. The voice was growing louder, and he could feel something moving out in the shadows. "We're not alone."
A new light began to shine before them, past the light of the weapon. It was a deep orange colour, in the shape of two slitted eyes.
"D-didn't you say that the weapons were guarded?" Jay asked sounding mildly terrified.
"That's impossible," said Ann, her voice filled with shock.
The orange glow began to spread until they could just see the outline of an enormous creature. It stood at least twenty feet high and had enormous teeth, claws, and a pair of shrivelled wings. It moved closer to them, each mighty step causing the ground to shake, and it let out a nasty growl.
"Is that...?" Jay stammered.
"A dragon!" Cole cried. Fear shot through him, creating a deep pit in his stomach, and turning his blood cold. He couldn't move, he couldn't think, he could barely breathe. Standing right in front of him were two enormous eyes sitting above a mouth of teeth large enough to swallow all three of them at once. Death never seemed closer in all of Cole's life.
"Run!" Ann shrieked, and she pulled hard on Cole's hand, jerking him and Jay away from the dragon.
He was breathing hard now, constantly looking back to see how close the beast was, and tripping over rocks as a consequence.
"Stay here!" Ann ordered and she flung both of them to the ground before turned back around. The dragon was only a few yards away, and she charged at it, summoning huge waves of water that took the shape of massive blades. But when her first strike hit, it glanced off the monster's scaly skin.
It let out a skull-rattling roar, amplified by the cave walls, and it looked as though it was about to breathe fire. Suddenly, a dark, course substance began emanating from its mouth and when it hit the ground, Cole realised that it was dirt.
"Come on," Cole said to Jay as he grabbed his arm and led him farther away, behind a boulder. "A dragon! Why did it have to be a dragon!" he muttered.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of dragons?" Jay asked beside him.
"Of course not!" Cole shot back indignantly, but just then the dragon let out another gravely roar that made the hairs on the back of Cole's neck stand on end. He closed his eyes and prayed that Ann would prevail, but her constant shrieks and groans only worsened his fears.
"I can't beat this thing!" he heard her yell. She was coming closer to them now. "My powers don't seem to touch him at all! Cole! You have to fight it!"
"What?! Are you insane?" Cole exclaimed. "I haven't had any training!"
"This thing is an earth dragon! The only one who stands a chance at taking it down is y-Agh!!" Ann explained. It sounded like the dragon had gotten her.
Cole began to panic. What should he do? What should he do? What could he do? Well, for one thing, he could save Ann. Had to try, at least. He closed his eyes, clenched his jaw, and let out a loud scream as he leaped from the behind the boulder and ran toward the glowing beast. He spotted Ann on the ground, covered in a massive pile of rocks and his mind jumped to dark conclusions.
The first thing he thought to do was distract the dragon. He reached down and summoned a massive stone, larger even than the one he had lifted earlier, and sent it flying toward the creature's head. It landed with an ear-splitting CRACK! and sent its head reeling backward.
With the dragon indisposed, Cole turned back to Ann. He lifted the rocks off of her and picked up her body, carrying her in his arms. She wasn't unconscious, but she was weak. He needed to get her to Jay, so he could make sure she was okay while he—
"Behind you!" Ann shouted, eyes growing wide. She rolled out of his arms and put herself between him and the dragon, making a shield of water appear to protect them from another of the dragon's earthy attacks. When both elements collided, the water shield buckled under the force, and a large chunk of it was sent pooling in their direction, but as the solution became a wall of mud, Ann re-shaped it.
Cole realised that he should be doing something right about now, so he reached out to take control of the mud beside Ann. He could tell, by some sixth sense, that the dragon had relented in its attack, so he shaped the mud into a giant, floating spear head and drove it straight at the creature's heart. It flew through the air, but when it met with the dragon's scales, the mud splattered like a water balloon.
Cole grabbed Ann's hand and led her over to Jay as quickly as possible. They both collapsed behind a large rock, panting and sweaty.
"You really think I'm the only one who can stop that thing?" Cole asked.
Ann turned to him and said, "I think it's our only real chance."
Cole was thoughtful for a moment. Then an idea formed in his mind. "If we can just reach the Scythe the dragon won't be a problem."
"I can sling shot you over there," she said confidently. "But we'll need a distraction."
"Did someone call my name?" Jay asked, coming up beside them.
They had their plan. Now the beast was making his way over to them and they needed to move. All at once, they jumped from their hiding place and bolted for it. Jay ran one way, shouting and throwing things at the dragon, while Cole and Ann ran in the opposite direction, toward the Scythe.
"Once you're airborne, I don't know if I'll be able to catch you," Ann warned as they ran.
"I can catch myself... I think," answered Cole.
"Then hold on!" Ann created a large blob of water and scooped Cole up in it. He felt like he had just fallen into a water bed as she pulled the water back a bit, like with a bow and arrow, then the blob became a long cylinder and pushed Cole forward several feet in the air, as if he had been shot out of a canon. The wind rushing passed him hurt his eyes, but he did his best to keep them open as he prepared for his landing. The weapon was getting so close. So very close—
Cole let out a gruesome scream as he came to a startling stop, having crashed into the tail of the earth dragon. He felt the air leave his lungs and as he fell to the stone floor he could barely breathe.
Looking up at the bulky form of the dragon as it hovered over him, he prayed a silent prayer. He tried to get up, but he was so sore, and so out of breath. He was on his side now, trying to prop himself up on his knees when he felt a sudden pressure which knocked him on his stomach. It wrapped around him, cool and course, until he felt like his whole body was immersed. He had been buried alive.
Dirt filled his nostrils as he tried to breathe in, and he felt like he might suffocate, right after he puked. Cole squirmed, but even with his great strength, he couldn't break free. His eyes were closed, and he tried to relax, but he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and his sweat made the dirt stick to his skin.
Then he thought he felt something. A deep feeling rose in his chest and poured through his stomach; it raced up to his head. Cole had never experienced it before, and the more he concentrated on it, the more it grew, like a homing beacon. In a way, it felt relaxing. It was familiar somehow, and when the feeling settled in, he knew that he could trust it.
He felt like he was beginning to float, now, the pressure of the dirt on top of him began to lessen, and he could breathe again. He opened his eyes and looked around. The cave was still dark, but the earth dragon lit up about half of it. It's back was turned toward him, and it was standing over Ann and Jay, poised to strike.
"Hey!" Cole shouted. The dragon looked up suddenly and turned toward him. "Leave them alone!" The dragon looked positively startled and let out some sort of whimper. Lowering it's head, it slunk over to where Cole was and... was it bowing?
In an instant, the cave was pitch black again, and Cole found himself falling to the ground.