Cole's POV
My heart practicality skipped a beat.
A part of the Yang Blade was deeply inside Zira's head, as red blood trailed down her face.
Unlike her, ghouls were suppose to have a different color blood. But hers was red, like HUMAN blood. Well, my dad she was turned into a ghoul, but still though.
I felt some of the blood dripping down onto my face. She began to choke out cries. She held onto me even tighter. I didn't know what to do.
Was she dying? She had to be.
I waited a bit longer to see what would happen. Her eyes were filled with fear, and confusion. I yank the blade out of her head and she got on her knees.
More blood began to drip on the floor. I started shaking and my scar began to glow. The Yang Blade began to glow as well.
A moment later Zira began to steam up as the dent in her head glowed a deep gold. I didn't know if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but it seems she was slowly outgrowing the dress. It became a little to big on her.
Her dark skin began to crack and peel off. Her claws were no longer claws. Her long black tail began to disappear.
That's it.
I killed her.
I won.
But why don't I feel happy about it?
When most of the steam cleared, I gasped. I couldn't believe my eyes. I looked down and saw what was in front of me.
The person I was looking at was no longer a tall, ugly, evil Queen of Ghouls, but a short, fairly young woman. It wasn't Zira.
Or was it?
I got on my knees and stared at her in shock.
Her peachy skin was smooth. She had normal hands with black nail polish on each. She had curly, dark brown hair that went down to the middle part of her back. She still had a mole on her cheek. She had grey diamond ear rings. Her purple eyes were the same but they were white instead of black. She even had glittery purple lipstick on her lips.
This was ZIRA, in her HUMAN form, what she really looks like.
I'll have to admit, she looks kinda pretty for someone around Dad's age.
Wait, does that mean I broke the spell? Was the blade THAT powerful?
I inched a bit closer to her to see if she was alive. I put my hand on her shoulder. Then suddenly she crashes into me. Her head rested on my shoulder. For some reason she smells like lavender.
I heard her breathing into my ear. I was feeling a bit weird at the moment, but then I relaxed.
"Thank you..." Zira whispered.
Her voice was different too. It wasn't as deep as it was before. I slowly dropped the Yang Blade. I even began to have this strange feeling inside of me.
Zira lifted her head and we looked into each other's eyes. Tears were streaming down her face as the dent on her head continued to bleed.
"I just....wanted...to see him...one last time....I just wanted...to be...happy...."
I uttered a gasp. I knew what she meant but what? I gripped on to her shoulders with widened eyes.
Suddenly, she closed her eyes and collapsed into me again. But this time she wasn't breathing.
In fact..she wasn't even moving.
I looked at her and saw her expressionless face. I checked for a pulse...nothing, not even a heartbeat.
Zira was dead.
I began to feel this strange feeling again, but what?
What is it?
I feel like a felt it before but not in a long time. My eyes began to burn. The feeling was getting stronger. My chest began to throb. My eyes then began to water up.
Wait, oh no.
I can't cry. There's no reason to cry. I'm not suppose to cry. Crying makes me weak. I'm not weak. I'm not a failure. I have to hold it in.
I have to. I have to. I have to!
....I couldn't hold it anymore.
I couldn't control it. Hot tears fell down my face. My chest began to throb even more. I haven't realized that I started sobbing. I held on to Zira's body tightly, thinking about what she said before she died.
The thing is, I haven't cried in so long, that I forgot what it felt like. I haven't felt this emotion in like, forever.
It actually felt, good to cry, to let it all out.
But why was I upset?
I won. I defeated Zira, the person who haunted my family. The person who killed my mother. I saved everyone.
I should be relived.
I should be happy.
I'm supposed to be happy.
But why does it feel like my heart is splitting in half?
Why do I feel so broken?
Did I do the right thing?
I calmed down then wiped my eyes. I gently placed Zira on the floor then got on my feet. I jumped as I saw the other ghouls staring at me.
I quickly activated my powers, but they didn't react. Instead they got on their knees and bowed. They accepted their defeat.
"We will no longer hurt you," A ghoul said, "The Queen is dead. We never wanted to set foot in Ninjago anyway. We really do deserve this."
And like that, the ghouls disappeared. I looked up at the sky and saw the others on their dragons.
"Cole!" Jay exclaimed, "You did it!"
"No, we did it," I said, "I couldn't have done it without you guys."
"Who's that?" Kai pointed at Zira's corpse.
My smile faded. The others gathered around her. They gasped as they figured out who it was.
"No way..." Lloyd said.
"It's Zira," Jay replied, "But she's not a ghoul."
"What happened?" Zane asked me.
My felt tears forming in my eyes again. I decided to let them flow. Everyone stared at me in shock.
"Cole..." Kai paused, "You're...you're..."
"Crying!" Jay exclaimed, "You never cry! It actually looks kinda weird. Seriously what happened?"
I wiped my eyes, "I made a mistake. Zira...she told me the truth, the truth to why she was really doing this. She was heartbroken and homesick."
"Huh?" Everyone was confused.
"But Cole, she killed your mama!" Jay cried, "And she even tried to kill you-"
"To see her true love," I explained, "Arlo and Zira, they were just friends. But Zira saw more than that. It all makes sense now. The first elemental master of rebirth was Arlo's crush. I did some research on my other passed relatives. Arlo and Englandtine fell in love before they were masters. Zira wasn't just jealous of his powers, she was also jealous of Englandtine. She was afraid of losing her best friend. She just wanted to stay close to him. I understood her pain. I actually...wanted to help her in a way..."
"Are you sure that she wasn't trying to trick you or anything?" Lloyd asked.
"Are you okay?" Nya stated.
I shook my head, "No...and no. Zira told me after I used the Yang Blade on her. I broke her curse. The last thing she told me before she died, was she only wanted to be happy. Think about it! Everything was taken from her. Just imagine never seeing your lover again."
"I don't think I can do that," Jay looked at Nya.
"You see? She was judged and told she was just a monster. But underneath all that was in innocent young girl that didn't know how to control her feelings. I could tell she hid it the whole time. And I feel horrible! Sure I defeated the person who took everything from me, but that shouldn't mean I do same thing. It makes me feel like I'm the bad guy!"
"Cole, we understand," Zane puts his hand on my shoulder, "Perhaps you're right and wrong about this. But nonetheless, she was part of your family in a way. All I can say now is she is in a better place now."
"Yeah," Nya said, "She can finally see Arlo again."
I smiled. I guess they were right. I guess you can say that the battle we had was bittersweet.
Suddenly, a yin and yang portal appears on top of us and we all got sucked into it. The next thing I know, we were back in Ninjago and the sun was bright.
As my vision cleared, I saw Master Wu, Misako, and the others staring at us with wide eyes.
"Lloyd!" Misako ran to Lloyd.
Maya and Ray came to Kai and Nya. Nadine went up to check on Zane and Jay. I quickly ran to Dan and tightly hugged him.
"I did it Dad!" I cried, "I defeated Zira!"
They gasped and cheered. I saw my friends smiling at me. I wanted to be happy, but I still wasn't sure.
"Thank heaven!" Master Wu said, "Your mother and entire family shall be proud of you."
"Yeah, nice hear that," said a voice.
We all turned to see it was Ronin. That lazy rock! He didn't even help.
"You coward," I pointed at him, "You said you would be right back, but you never did."
"Actually," Ronin raises his voice, "I you all a big favor. I was able to buy the Airjitzu Temple back from Sadie."
Sadie? Oh yeah! That spoiled brat! I forgot about her. I bet she's balling her eyes out.
"He had some help," a woman behind Ronin said.
I couldn't believe it. It was Skylor. The whole gang's here. Kai and Skylor hugged each other. Everyone began to talk about what just happened. I felt sadness and confusion overwhelming me. Dad seemed to have noticed me.
"What's the matter son?" Dad asked.
I looked at him and sighed, "Well, there's something I need to tell you guys. I don't know if I'm insane or not, but I just have to get this off my chest."
I walked over to where Master Wu and Misako were, and told the others what happened, what Zira said and the true story of why she did this. They were speechless.
"I...I never thought of it that way," Master Wu said.
The others nodded in agreement. Ronin called his ship so we can all hop inside.
Kai yawned, "Well I don't know about you guys, but how about we head back and play some games."
We agreed. We might as well just head back. Zane and Nya still needed to fix the wall. When I was about to hop in, Dad stops me.
"We'll catch up later," Dad said, "I need to have a word with him."
"Very well," Master Wu replied, "Take us back Ronin."
"Bye Cole!" Jay shouted.
Everyone waved goodbye to me. I did the same. A few seconds later the ship takes off into the sky. I turned around and saw Nadine talking to Dad.
"So what's the problem?" I asked.
"There's no problem," Nadine said, "Your father and I wanted to show you something. Get over! I use Criss Cross spell."
I uttered then walked over to where Dad and Nadine were. She then used the spell and suddenly we were at Dad's secret room. The hole was still there.
"What's going on? Why are we here?"
"You didn't let me finish when you stormed off," Dad said, "I wanted to talk to you about this."
Dad walks over to the tapestry with the red curtains then pulls them off. I uttered a gasp. It was mom. The picture showed her, lunging at Zira with the Yang Blade in her hands. I saw Nadine, Dad and my younger self in the background.
"Laura Hence," I read the script, "As being the first woman to pass down this road, she did what only a mother would do. Protected her family in harm's way, so justice shall live another day."
I felt tears forming in my eyes. I held them back this time. I was getting carried away with it. Nadine takes the Yang Blade from me as I take a look at the others. I first pulled down the violet one.
"Takia Hence: The son of Arlo Hence. He was judged and told he was weak. And until the day came, he was dragged away."
Poor Takia. He was bullied most of his life. Sure over the years he eventually began to start a family. But in the picture, it showed Takia being dragged away by Zira and his wife had tears in her eyes as she tried to save him.
I felt a chill up my spine from that. Then I go to the silver one, which was my grandfather's tapestry. It showed him struggling to shake off Zira with the Yang Blade. In the background it showed nothing but shadows.
"Harewood Hence: As he was raised with abuse from his foster parents, so did his dignity. With a heavy heart he took a price to take it all away. He did all he could to protect his daughter but had no choice but to end it all."
Yikes. He abuses my grandmother and mom and then let's Zira kill him? That's pretty dark. No wonder my dad hated him so much.
I turned around and saw Dad writing something in an empty slot. There was no picture, but I saw what it said.
Cole Brookstone: He had no choice but to become something he wasn't. He runs away from everything he knew to find himself. Crosses the rift with pride, defeats Zira with the blade inside, ending the family's curse.
It was heartwarming. Dad walked over to me and smiled. He handed me a couple of photos and an old camera.
"Go upstairs, Cole. This is going to take some time."
I nodded then let myself out. I walked into the living room and sat on the couch. When I opened the case I gasped. There were pictures of mom and dad. They looked so young. There were even pictures of them where they're in grade school.
On the camera showed videos of them as well. There was their getaway video and a few with me in them.
This was gonna be awhile. I had a lot to catch up on.
Okay, enough back story. This is where it ends.
I never thought something like this would happen. My family has had a hard time keeping it together, and it's finally over.
The hole in my heart has been fixed, and I feel whole. This is the other side of me. Sure my mother isn't alive to see this, but I'm sure she's still proud of me.
I have to thank the others for helping me out.
How ironic. Kai didn't want to get involved, but he kept helping me from the start.
Jay started off with fear, but became very brave when I was no longer around him.
Zane, stayed focused the whole time with no distractions. He's a nindroid so I'm not surprised.
Nya, she was the toughest out of all. If Kai can't take you out, then she will.
Lloyd, poor Lloyd. He was poisoned and left to die, but that didn't stop him. He's no weakling.
Master Wu and Misako, of course they'll work it out. Why wouldn't they? They knew and trained my mom until the accident happened.
Dad and Nadine, I bet they feel whole too. Nadine can finally be trusted by people in Ninjago, and Dad can no longer be overprotective of me. I've finally grown up.
Thank you all for finding me see my true colors. I love you all. And here's something I else I want to say.
No matter how bad your past has been, don't give up.
Your story maynot have a happy beginning, but you can push through your hard times to make a better future.
And if you think running away from home will solve it, forget it. Running away will only make your problems worse for those around you.
It's important to just be yourself. And thanks to my friends and family, I can be myself now.
We are a family, the most biggest and weirdest family of all.
And I hope nothing on earth can change that.
THE END