Darkness from Within #4: Fading (A Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 8

Cole took a few heavy breaths as he leaned over his bedroom desk. The pain in his stomach was deepening with every moment that passed, even though he had experienced no recent vision. Exhaling, he sank onto his bed. What's the point of all this? he wondered. Lloyd is nowhere near coming home. Am I here just to suffer?

He gasped as a sharp pang suddenly shot at his stomach. He leaned over, gritting his teeth as a tingling feeling swept through him. Lloyd? he thought. Is Lloyd here? He didn't know exactly what all these feelings meant, and without Kai to help him figure it out, he felt utterly bewildered.

He heaved himself to his feet and the world immediately burst into flames. Breath quickening, he staggered backward in surprise. Fire. It's always fire.

He glanced around wildly, but all he could see was the blazing flames surrounding him. Oh, come on, he thought frustratingly. There's gotta be something for me to see!

Something wet suddenly hit his back.

Cole whipped around in alarm, but found nothing behind him. Reaching over, he touched the liquid and brought his hand back in front of him to find his fingers stained red. He gulped. Okay, so we got blood, he thought. Never a good thing.

A golden flash showed at the edge of his vision and Cole turned to see Kai's sword floating in midair. Fear began to creep up on him. He forced himself forward, but before he got near to the sword a hand suddenly shot out of the smoke, gripping Kai's sword first. Then another hand appeared, then another, then another. Four arms, Cole thought. Where have I seen four arms?

Cole gasped and shuffled backward as someone stepped out of the fire toward him. Cole's eyes widened as he recognized the red eyes and reptile-like body. Garmadon.

Not daring to move, Cole looked up as Garmadon halted in front of him. Then Cole's blood turned to ice as he found not the iconic face of Garmadon, but a much younger, paler face of someone Cole knew too well.

"Lloyd!" he gasped in surprise.

He stared at Lloyd's blazing eyes and for a long moment nobody moved or talked. Cole took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he looked at the son who had become the father.

A sudden wail that sounded like the cry of a baby distracted Cole for a minute and he turned his head. Finding nothing, he looked back and jerked in alarm to see that Lloyd had vanished. Cole scratched his head, then gasped as his heart suddenly lifted. Any weight on his chest vanished and he felt lighter than he had in months. He gave a soft laugh as he realized every inch of pain he had been feeling was gone. He bounced on his feet, joy swelling inside of him. Sweet mother of the First Spinjitzu Master, I'm back! he thought excitedly. Man, I haven't felt this good in a long time!

Then suddenly, a weight from inside crashed down on him. Cole gasped and fell onto his hands and knees, trembling violently. He felt as if a stone was weighing him down from inside his chest and he was unable to get to his feet. His breathing came in gasps as the world began to spin. Oh, this is just great! he thought, gritting his teeth. Now I feel even worse than before!

A voice shrieked in the distance, and Cole felt panic rise inside of him as he recognized Lloyd's voice.

"No!" Lloyd cried, sounding truly in agony.

Cole gasped as he was suddenly jerked violently and he closed his eyes tight as everything spun faster. When his eyes flew open again, he found himself back in his bedroom.

As he stood there, catching his breath, intense pain shot from his stomach. He let out a cry of pain before he could stop himself and bent over, clutching his stomach. He staggered on his feet as waves of pain rolled over him mercilessly and his vision clouded. Hissing through gritted teeth, Cole found himself up against the corner of the wall. He groaned and felt his eyes swell with tears as he suffered in the agony. He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor. With another moan, Cole grasped his stomach tighter as dizziness swamped over him.