On a String

Chapter 9

Oh, Kai...

Everything has just fallen...fallen so far.

Swallowing dryly, the (solid as rock, he must. Stay. Solid) Earth Master focused on pushing all the painful memories aside and letting go of the small, painful voice which asked 'Why can't it be the same? Why can't we go back?'

(Ignoring the memories was like trying to throw gem stones away. Like leaving something very precious, extremely rare and exceptionally beautiful in a gutter to rot and decay. But even though breaking gem stones is hard, Cole managed somehow). He opened his eyes slowly, the broken voice of his friend still seeming to echo around the silent room.

"The Puppeteers hung them,"

Cole thought his own trembling heart had just broken. Was there anything in the world which was worse than watching your best friend (who you trusted with your life) falling to the floor screaming as you stood by helplessly?

Was there anything worse than hearing them speak in a raw, broken voice knowing you couldn't fix it because you didn't evenknow what was broken?

Was there anything worse than giving them a simple, reassuring touch only to have them flinch violently and skitter away from you as if burnt; their mistrust visible with each panicked step they took?

Was there anything worse than looking into their eyes and seeing nothing but a deep, agonizing, burning pain?

Yeah, Cole reflected sadly as he looked up at Kai, who was shaking silently. There was.

It was knowing that once, they lived with passion; with purpose.

Once, joy colored their voice.

Once, they smiled and it reflected in their eyes.

It was knowing that once, once so long ago, they trusted you.

(Once, the battleground had been a field).

"Oh, Kai..." The words slipped out softly even though Cole hadn't intended them to. It was just that... he didn't know what to do. Didn't know what to say.

... Oh, why the hell was he so damn useless in this situation? Kai was breaking and he couldn't fix it! Cole stiffened furiously- shaking with anger and hopelessness.

He realized too late that it was the wrong thing to do.

Kai's head snapped up as soon as he sensed Cole's sudden anger. Brown eyes shining with panic, the Ninja in red (red like blood and fire) anxiously moved to the other end of the room.

(When pressure builds in the earth's core, tectonic plates shift and deep fissures are formed).

Hurriedly, Cole tried to fix his uncharacteristic slip. "I'm sorry. It's okay, Kai. I'm not angry with you," Kai remained silent, looking up at him with guarded eyes. Cole took a hesitant step forward. "I'm not going to hurt you,"

(Don't let the cracks cause division. Don't let anything break.)

Kai immediately took a step back from Cole's approaching figure. ("Haha, Fireboy, we aren't going to hurt you!" The 'kind' voice was poisoned with twisted mirth and Kai knew that 'hurting him' was exactly what they were about to do.)