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Chapter Text

After years and years of missions, fights and battles, Cole had all but forgotten about Wu’s old startup tea shop “Steeped Wisdom” that lay on the mountainous outskirts of Ninjago. But when Lloyd and Wu had been contacted by Misako about suspicious activity that had been happening in the forest nearby, the ninja had been sent off in The Destiny's Bounty to go investigate and revisit the now abandoned tea shop. Cole thought he would never see the old shop ever again, seeing as he had essentially forgotten about it. The old building was overrun with vines and weeds, and the back of the roof was caved in. As the Bounty hovered above the stone pavilion in front of the tea shop, it brought back a rush of memories.

Cole stood on the main deck overlooking the side railing as the massive airship stayed airborne. The sun was setting behind him as he looked at the decrepit tea shop below him, the sun was hot on his back. He barely heard Lloyd approach him until he spoke, which sent a jolt through his spine.

“Hey.” Lloyd said calmly and Cole jumped.

“First Master, Lloyd. You really need to work on announcing yourself these days.” Cole replied, clutching his chest. After Lloyd’s descent into the massive black cloud that had covered Ninjago in their latest encounter with Lord Garmadon (Cole hated thinking about the fact that Lloyd had to face his father… again…) Lloyd had changed. A lot. Along with defeating Garmadon (again) came the fact that Lloyd now knew he was the descendant of someone who was half oni and half dragon. And the black cloud he had fallen into did him wonders too.

Lloyd now sported two 10 inch horns that sprouted from his forehead, and bent and curved slightly backways about halfway up. His hands and feet were now clawed and his canine teeth were exaggeratedly sharp, which were kinda cute except for when he got angry, which were then a lot more terrifying than cute. And his ears grew longer and curved into soft points at the end, not to mention the soft scales that covered his cheekbones, elbows, shoulders and First Master knew where else. And the tail. There was the tail too, that ended in a soft tuft of white fur. Of which Lloyd now swished back and forth self consciously on the deck of the Bounty.

“Sorry,” Lloyd replied shyly, “still getting used to the whole… oni and dragon thing. I know that being ninja makes us quiet by nature, buuut being half mythical creature apparently helps out a lot with that too. You know how it is…”

“Yeah, I get it. And it’s alright, we’re all still getting used to the new you.” Cole said, and punched Lloyd in the arm playfully. Lloyd shifted so that he was leaning over the railing on his elbows, mirroring Cole who had turned his attention back down to the abandoned tea shop.

“It feels like the last time we were here was a lifetime ago.” Cole finally said.

“Yeah, I know… longer than a lifetime.”

Cole hesitated to look over at Lloyd. He knew that Lloyd would know what he was thinking about, and he could probably guess what Lloyd was thinking about too. Ghosts. Morrow. Being possessed. Unfortunately, as fun as it was to hand out flyers for the tea shop in Ninjago city, this place didn’t exactly comfort Cole, and he was sure Lloyd wasn’t exactly having a blast either.

“Cole… I have to admit that I’m pretty nervous about this mission.” Cole finally looked over at him. Lloyd continued to stare out over the railing.

“Because of what happened here? At the tea shop?”

“Yes and no. Obviously being possessed by…” Lloyd hesitated to say his name, “Morrow, sucked. A lot. But I’m not worried about one of us being taken advantage of like that again. We’re all a lot stronger than we used to be. I’m more worried about one of us… changing. Physically. Again.”

Lloyd’s speech got choppier at the end of his sentence and he finally met Cole’s gaze. Oh. Yeah. Cole knew a thing or two about being changed. And Lloyd did too now, for the second time in his life. Cole had also technically been changed twice as well. He thought now about how he had been turned into a ghost initially, and it made his breathing shallow. That’s how it had felt when he was a ghost, like he was always breathing more shallow than he would have preferred. At one point actually he realized that he technically didn’t even need to breathe at all, which made sense. He had been an astral projection of the person he used to be. He hadn’t needed to eat, breathe or drink, in which he also couldn’t drink, even if he wanted to, unless he wanted to risk being erased from existence. He remembered the time when he was alone in the shared bedroom on the Bounty shortly after he had been turned into a ghost when he had realized he didn’t need to breathe. He made it a point to hold his breath for as long as possible just to test his limits, and he had lasted an hour without breathing , before he made it a point to always control his breathing after that. No matter how shallow it had been. Cole took a deep breath now, in the present, on the new and improved Bounty. Thankful for the real air that was flowing through his real lungs. He remembered what it was like once he had been turned back into a human after the Day of the Departed too. The way he flexed his hands and shoulders and how real he felt again. He touched his ragged scar above his left eyebrow that always stung with phantom pain whenever it got wet. He thought about the first time Lloyd had been changed too.

Another lifetime ago back in Ninjago City. Lloyd thrust into teenage-hood against his will, all in order to save Kai, Jay, Zane and himself. He remembered always being willing to talk with Lloyd after it had happened. Cole was his rock, he was the whole team's rock, being a shoulder to cry on and a supportive hand when they needed to be picked up. He remembered Lloyd telling him that his body didn’t feel like his own. He was still a kid, and his muscles and bones were older, but not his mind. He remembered Lloyd told him it felt weird to walk or run sometimes, but he also remembered that Jay had surprisingly been the most helpful in Lloyd’s suddenly new body. Jay had also gone through the whole “body not feeling like his own” thing when he transitioned. He remembered those nights when he, Lloyd and Jay would just talk and talk and talk. Changing was exhausting. He understood why Lloyd would be nervous now… mostly.

“Why now though? Does the mission have to do with something potentially threatening to one of us?” Cole finally replied to Lloyd’s worries.

“Yeah. It does. Majorly.” Lloyd started picking at his new claws like how he used to pick at his cuticles when he got nervous. He turned behind him away from Cole to look at Kai and Jay who were doing a last minute spar on the main deck of the Bounty before they all would meet for dinner that night.

“I’ll explain everything in the briefing once we get going tomorrow. I don’t want to make you as nervous as I am tonight.” Lloyd stifled a laugh. “And it’s easier to talk to everyone while we’re walking, I’ll feel more focused… and less nervous.” Lloyd said, still staring at Kai and Jay. Cole chuckled fully once Lloyd was done speaking.

“What?” Lloyd said with a shy smirk.

“It’s just funny.” Cole said, “Funny and crazy that you - the Green Ninja and the leader of this team for several years now - still get nervous about briefings.” Lloyd made a tsk sound, but he was still smiling.

“Yeah well, you’ll understand once I start giving the briefing.” Lloyd’s smile faded, “It’s hard to lead you guys sometimes when I know I could be leading you right into harm's way. Stuff happens to us all the time. Something always goes wrong. I have a feeling this time isn’t going to be any different.” Cole turned around as well so his back was now against the railing.

“Lloyd, we have followed you into danger every single time no matter what. We do it on our own will because we know it’s the right thing to do… Usually.” He nudged Lloyd with his elbow. Lloyd smiled again but it faded quicker as he looked back up again. Cole finally noticed that he had only been looking at Kai and Jay, of which Kai now had Jay in an unsportsmanlike headlock that had Jay wailing, also unsportsmanlike. Zane and Pixal were at the bow of the ship, examining parts of the upper masts, and Nya had been on the upper deck at the helm the whole time. But every time Lloyd looked up, it was always at Jay and Kai. Cole’s stomach dropped.

“Lloyd.” He placed a hand on his shoulder, clutching his green gi a little harder than he meant to.

“What’s going on? Spill. Is… is something going to happen to them?” Cole jutted his head towards the red and blue ninja. He knew Lloyd too well to not have noticed how he was zeroing in on Kai and Jay specifically.

“No. I don’t know. I don’t know for sure, Cole. I just have a really bad feeling about tomorrow’s mission. And I’m specifically worried about those two.”

“Why?”

“Because they’ve never been changed. Like we have.”

Lloyd was right. Cole had been a ghost, and then he wasn’t. Lloyd had been a boy and then he wasn’t. He had been a normal human, and then suddenly he was an oni and a dragon. Nya had been the entire goddamn ocean. Zane and Pixal had never been human in the first place, but that was unknown to Zane until much later in his life. And Zane had been a ruling tyrant of an icy domain against his will. And Master Wu… had been younger, older, a spirit, a dragon, missing from time and space… this team was a mess of people who had been transformed and molded by fate. Except for Kai and Jay. They were pure. Untouched. Humans with elemental abilities and nothing beyond that. Fate had been saving or protecting them for this long apparently. At least up until now.

“Cole, I… I want you to keep an eye on those two tomorrow. And maybe tonight too just in case. Please, if anything do it for me. But don’t let them know I’ve asked you, I know they’ll get upset that I think they need some kind of extra protection and trust me, I know they don’t.”

“Yeah, I don’t think Kai in particular would be happy that you asked me to babysit him.”

Lloyd looked up at him with a disgruntled expression.

“I know, I know. I’m just teasing you, greenie. I know how important this is to you.”

“I’m sorry I have to ask this of you, Cole. And I’m sorry I’m being cryptic too not talking about the mission yet. But I’d rather keep what Misako and Wu told me back at the monastery to myself until tomorrow.”

Cole simply nodded. He knew what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. But at the same time he didn’t want Lloyd to be carrying that weight all by himself. Cole had been the surrogate leader of this team at one point too… He knew what that felt like.

“Will you at least give me a hint about what we’ll be up against? One word maybe?” Cole thought that smiling and playing it off lightly would make Lloyd feel a little bit better, at least before dinner. But the next word that came out of Lloyd’s mouth certainly did not make him feel any better.

Lloyd exalted loudly before smiling up sadistically at Cole.

“Vampires.”

“Well, shit.”

Cole laughed out loud for the second time during their conversation, which made Lloyd chuckle a little too under his breath. And Cole figured it would be enough to get Lloyd through tonight.

They were definitely screwed though, all things considered.

Chapter Text

That night at dinner, to cast less suspicion on himself in the morning, Cole decided he would make it a point to sit next to either Kai or Jay or both at their large, wooden dinner table in the mess hall of the Bounty. Luckily once dinner had started Kai was already seated next to Nya, and Cole slipped into the seat comfortably next to him. Perfect. Kai gave him a more aggressive than necessary punch on the arm when he sat down next to him, and a brighter than necessary smile too. Cole liked that about Kai, he knew the earth ninja’s limits and was always pushing them. He never held a punch… or a smile either. And Cole knew it was more likely due to his elemental powers but he also always felt… warmer next to Kai. And he felt his face heat up as he sat down next to Kai and returned his over enthusiastic smile.

Keep it together Brookstone. First Master.

“You feel ready for tomorrow’s mission, big guy? I didn’t see you spar at all today. Are you sure you’re prepared?” Kai raised an eyebrow tauntingly. Cole rolled his eyes.

“Yes Kai. I got up early this morning and sparred with Lloyd and Zane before you even rolled out of bed.” Cole flicked Kai’s shoulder.

“Ow!” Kai grabbed his shoulder dramatically and doubled over the table. As dramatic as he was trying to be, he couldn’t hide the stupid smile he was flashing at Cole.

“Oh plu-lease.”

“You used your super strength on me! I know it…” Kai was smiling even more stupidly now as he was also glaring over at Cole.

“Oh, I’ll show you what it looks like to use my-” but before Cole could do anything, the hand he had raised in the air to tease Kai some more was slammed down onto the table in front of him.

“No! Not Kai’s perfect hair and beautiful face! He needs those to live!” Jay was now leaning over the back of Cole’s chair, holding his hand in place on the table, saving Kai from whatever fate Cole had in store for him.

“Okay, you come here then, bluebell!” Cole grabbed Jay’s protective arm with his other hand, dragged Jay behind his chair and pushed him into the empty seat next to him on his left which shook the wooden dinner table. All the while Jay was shouting and giggling, and Kai’s loud and solid laughter filled the room as well.

“Boys, how many times do we have to remind you about roughhousing at the dinner table?” Nya said from the other side of Kai, but she couldn’t hide the fond smile on her face.

“Sorry Nya!” Jay said from the other side of Cole, and the ninja finally settled into their places at the table.

Cole had gotten his secret wish, as Kai was on his right and Jay was on his left, and they’d be none the wiser. As dinner was served, Cole thought about his conversation with Lloyd from earlier. Their team had been through a lot. They had all been through a lot of change. As Cole sat at the dinner table, surrounded by the people he was closest to in the entire world, he felt like nothing could shake him. As scary, dangerous or life altering as a mission could be, Cole knew he would always have this. They came back to it after every single mission no matter what, even if it took some time. Why would tomorrow be any different?

***

After dinner had been cleaned up, Cole went stalking to the fridge looking for desert. He knew there was one last slice of leftover cake in there that he had baked for the team, and he was going to be damned if he couldn’t enjoy it. If Cole couldn’t cook for the life of him, he was certainly making up for it by being an excellent baker. But as he opened the fridge door he was met with a whole lot of nothing.

Dammit… Not this again.

Cole had started picking up on one of Kai’s particular habits again after quite some time. When they had first been learning to train together, Kai would steal Cole’s stuff all the time. And after a while, Kai figured out that he could use his theft in a way that worked to his advantage. Whenever Cole noticed something of his was missing, his first instinct would be to go looking for Kai, because it usually meant Kai wanted to talk. And after Cole’s initial annoyance had subsided from Kai stealing his stuff all the time, he always answered Kai's silent call for his attention. Cole knew it wasn’t always easy for the red ninja to ask for help, so Cole decided he would respect Kai if this was the only way he knew how.

This particular theft made Cole nervous, however. The night before a mission, his cake was missing and Kai wanted to talk. Not a great combination of things that made Cole feel particularly comforted. But he would go and find Kai regardless. He always did. He grabbed a fork before leaving the kitchen. If anything, he was going to eat his damn cake tonight.

Cole eventually found Kai sitting at the bow of the Bounty. His legs dangling off the edge of the flying airship precariously. But he looked content. He was swinging his feet absentmindedly and he was looking upwards at the canvas of stars that were plastered across the night sky. Out here, over the mountains, the oppressively bright lights of Ninjago City couldn’t ruin the view. As Cole got closer he noticed a plate in Kai’s lap and a fork in his hand.

“Hey you know that’s mine you know. I put a sticky note on it and everything this time.” Cole said softly as he approached the fire ninja.

“Yep. And that’s exactly why I took it.” Kai turned and flashed him a brilliant smile as he handed him the plate of cake as Cole approached. But not before taking a bite of it with his own fork he had brought to this rendezvous. Cole accepted the plate and smiled back before swinging his legs over the side of the Bounty as well and taking a seat next to Kai. He wasn’t sure if it was the smiling or being near Kai, but he felt himself warming up again.

It must be pretty cold out here if Kai feels this warm. Cole lied to himself. It was not cold in the slightest. And he knew he was fooling himself. Even the mountains couldn’t take away Ninjago’s humidity. Cole took a bite of the cake with his own fork, which he was glad he decided to bring. He figured that Kai was in a good enough mood to continue his teasing from before dinner.

“So what do you want, firecracker?” Cole said through a mouthful of cake.

“Oh, nothing. Can’t a fella just wanna share a piece of cake?” Kai leaned over and stabbed his fork into the plate that was now on Cole’s lap.

“Very funny Kai. But I know you only steal my stuff when you want something.” Cole tried to keep his tone as warm as possible with his retort. He remembered many times when Kai had taken something of his because he had some serious confiding to do. He didn’t want to think that Cole wouldn’t take him seriously. But this time felt… different. Kai seemed in pretty good spirits. And he was so warm, Cole could seriously feel the heat radiating off of him now, and it definitely wasn’t just him. Kai smiled at him softly.

“Alright, fine. You got me. What were you and Lloyd talking about earlier? Before dinner. I saw you guys standing on deck together when Jay and I were sparring.” Kai folded so easily and was so direct sometimes it was almost funny. Almost. Kai went for another stab at the cake, but Cole pulled the plate away quickly before his fork could connect.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Cole smirked as he held the plate away from Kai. But Kai continued to reach over him to get to the plate.

Warm. Was all Cole could think as Kai entered his personal space.

“Alright. Fine.” Kai reached with his other hand for the plate, and Cole and Kai both held onto the cake covered plate as Kai grabbed another bite.

“I’ll be serious with you. What were you guys talking about? And don’t think you can hide this from me, because I know Lloyd too well. I could tell he was nervous about something. Is it about tomorrow’s mission?” Kai had tugged the plate closer to himself and held Cole’s eye contact as he did. Cole swallowed a bite of cake he hadn’t realized was still in his mouth. Cole realized he folded just as easily.

“Yeah it was. He had wanted to talk about some stuff that had to do with the mission, but you’ll hear all about it in tomorrow’s briefing.” Cole replied with. He wanted to respect Lloyd’s confidence to share with him what he did today, but he also knew that keeping secrets amongst the ninja team was never a good thing.

“What was he nervous about?” Kai said. The two ninja were still holding onto the now plate. Now Cole really folded. He knew how much Kai cared about Lloyd and it would be pointless to hide this from him. Cole sighed and let go of the plate.

“He’s nervous about us. As always. What we're up against tomorrow has him worried about the safety of the team. He just doesn’t want anything to happen, you know? And this place is not comforting to him… And it’s not comforting to me either.” Cole shivered despite the warmth coming from Kai. Cole chuckled.

“I think Lloyd knew that when he came to talk to me. That this place really… holds some stuff. For the both of us.” Cole and Kai were not sitting facing the tea shop. Instead their legs dangled over the edge of the nearby forest, but the tea shop that Cole knew was sitting beneath them felt like a weight on the back of his skull. He shivered again.

“Mmm… I understand.” And Cole believed that Kai really did. The ghost stuff. The possession stuff. And maybe the… changing stuff. Maybe. Kai put the cake plate down on the other side of him along with the clang of his fork. He held out his hand for Cole’s fork as well and Cole obliged. He wanted another bite, but he wasn’t going to ruin the moment if Kai really wanted to talk. Kai sat in thoughtful silence for a moment before speaking again.

“Lloyd told you already what we’re going to be facing tomorrow?” Kai finally asked. Cole’s face twisted in a small grimace.

“Is that what you wanted to get out of me?” Cole said.

“No! No, I… I swear,” Kai answered quickly, a little alarmed “I wanted to know why Lloyd was worried, I really did, I promise. It’s just that, if what we’re facing tomorrow really has Lloyd this worried…”

“Oh…” Cole realized what Kai was getting at. He felt the air between them warm up even more. If Kai was going to get anymore freaked out, Cole thought he might start sweating.
“If I tell you what Lloyd told me earlier, you have to swear not to say anything to anyone else, even after tomorrow’s briefing. I don’t think Lloyd would be happy.” Kai placed one hand over his heart and raised his other hand with a flat palm.

“I swear Cole. I wouldn’t want to upset Lloyd anymore than you do.” Kai said. And Cole exhaled. He looked over at Kai and met his eyes.

“Let me tell you this first, too. He told me what we’re gonna be up against, yes, but he didn’t give any details. I can only assume there’s an encampment of them or something nearby that’s been causing trouble that Misako got information about. But that’s just my assumption.”

Kai nodded at his answer and kept Cole’s gaze.

“All Lloyd actually said to me, was ‘vampires.’”

That’s what did it.

Kai’s eyes widened, his chest deflated and the air between Kai and Cole got a considerable amount of degrees cooler. Cole wished he hadn’t said a damn thing once the words came out of his mouth.

“Kai?” Cole grabbed Kai’s bicep. If anything he was scared Kai was going to pass out on him and slip off the side of the Bounty. He clutched at his red gi, hard.

“I… Uh…” Kai started “Ow! Cole, your grip there buddy.”

“Sorry!” Cole loosened his grip, but decided to keep his hand around Kai's bicep. Just in case. He looked at Kai intensely.

“I was just a little surprised.” Kai explained “I figured we’d be up against a group of something or someone who was causing trouble nearby too, but not necessarily uh… vampires.”

“Why? Is that particularly bad or something?

“No. I mean… I don’t think so? I mean, maybe?”

“Kai. What are you getting at here?” Cole shook him by the arm he was still clinging onto him by. Kai sighed and pried Cole’s hand from his arm and held it with both hands in his lap. Oh. That was certainly new.

“You’re not going to pass out on me and fall off the ship?” Cole asked, now genuinely concerned at this point. Kai laughed heartily. He seemed to be calming down.

“No, I’ll be fine.” He rubbed one of his thumbs on Cole’s hand. The warmth was slowly coming back.

“Then why did you freak out like that when I mentioned the vampires?” Cole asked, strong concern still filling his voice. Kai sighed.

“My father used to tell me stories about vampires. Of all the creatures that we think are mythical or no longer exist in Ninjago, it seems like more and more myths and legends are becoming true every day. And of course it had to be vampires too…” Cole could tell there was something more to the stories Ray had told Kai as a child. These weren’t just spooky stories to get your children to do their chores anymore, they were real. And they were about to be very real for Kai apparently.

“What did your father tell you about vampires?” Cole didn’t care anymore. He scooted closer to Kai and gripped his hands back. Warmth be damned. He would sweat. If he knew anything, he needed to be there for Kai.

“He told me… He told me about them specifically because apparently, they historically don’t particularly like fire elementals. I think he would tell me stories about the… Serpentine Wars maybe? Where many vampires were hunted down and killed by the Serpentine who would harbor elemental fire. Like… Aspheera.” It was Kai’s turn to shiver now. Cole squeezed his hands as encouragement for him to keep going.

“Apparently, I guess vampires are pretty susceptible to fire and were often burned at the stake if they were captured. I guess it’s one of the only things that can kill them. My father used to tell me that human fire elementals, his and my ancestors, would often be hired to hunt down vampires too, if they were causing trouble. But because of that… they harbor a deep hatred for us, I guess.” Kai laughed, and as well as he was trying to hide it, he started shaking.

“I think what concerns me the most is that vampires are supposed to be immortal right? They can’t necessarily die unless they’re killed. What if… What if these vampires we run into tomorrow know one of my ancestors who killed one of them? What if they blame me for something like that just because I’m… I’m a…” Kai let go of Cole’s hand to stare at his palms.

Wordlessly, Cole swung his legs back over towards the deck and grabbed Kai by the legs and shoulders, lifting him up off the edge of the Bounty.

“Hey!” Kai protested “What gives, dude? I don’t need you carrying me bridal style just because I’m-”

Kai didn’t finish. He would never admit it, but Cole knew exactly what he was going to say. Or wasn’t going to say.

Scared.

But Cole didn’t care about Kai’s objection. The last thing Cole needed was Kai falling off the Destiny's Bounty because he was getting frightened. He lowered Kai onto a crate that had been sitting on the deck behind them and stood in front of him. The earth ninja was more thankful to have his feet on something solid than he thought he would be. Kai sat in front of him on the crate with one eyebrow raised, arms crossed and looking up at Cole. Apparently Cole’s kind gesture had shaken Kai out of whatever fear he had been remembering beforehand, but Cole wasn’t ready to let it go.

“Listen.” Cole commanded, crossing his arms as well, “Just because your ancestors possibly could have done something to these vampires decades or even centuries ago, does not make you responsible for their actions, because you possess the same element that they do.”

Kai exhaled through his nose and his expression softened. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just never thought those stories my father told me were necessarily… true.”

“It’s okay. I think everyone on this ship understands the feeling of ‘this ancient story long forgotten that’s a threat to us turns out to be true.’” Cole smiled at him knowingly now, and luckily, Kai smiled back. Kai patted the open space on the crate next to him and Cole obliged and sat down with a thump. They fell into a comfortable silence.

Of everything that Kai had told him, Cole was still at a loss. Of course Lloyd was already worried about this mission because of what it might mean for them. And now it seemed like Kai was going to be shaken up going in as well. Cole figured it was better to just ask Kai if he could stay by his side tomorrow than try and hide it from him anymore. And he didn't even need to let him know that Lloyd had put him up to it either. Even if Lloyd hadn’t asked him to look out for Kai and Jay tomorrow, Cole would have definitely felt compelled towards Kai now.

“Kai.” Cole’s voice was soft and he didn’t meet Kai’s gaze who had turned to him. He stared at the deck of the Bounty, arms still crossed. “I’d like to… Uh… I think we should pair up for tomorrow's mission. I would feel much better being at your side after what you’ve told me tonight.” Kai sighed and rolled his eyes playfully.

“Cole, I appreciate it, but just because I remembered some stories from my dad doesn’t mean I’m going to need any extra protection tomorrow. I can handle myself.” Cole could feel Kai becoming resistant and stubborn. As usual. And after everything Kai had told him tonight too…

Cole thought about Lloyd’s words from their conversation earlier.

Because they’ve never been changed. Like we have.

“Kai, please.” Cole begged, “I think it would be for the best.”

Cole finally met his gaze and Kai furrowed his brow. He definitely knew there was some other intention behind Cole being so adamant about his request. But if he knew… he didn’t press further.

“Okay, Cole. Okay.” Kai’s gaze back at him was intense before he exhaled and it softened “You do always make me feel a little safer, I guess.”

And at that moment Kai placed one of his hands to the side of Cole’s cheek.

Oh no. What was he doing…?

Cole could feel himself heating up under his touch and this time for sure, he was sure it wasn’t because of Kai’s overly warm hand, but the thrill he was feeling in his gut. Kai stared back at him intensely, the slightest smirk across his lips. Cole’s gaze flickered wildly between Kai’s gaze and his lips, painfully aware that his eyes kept wandering to his smile. Cole swallowed thickly.

“Kai! Cole!” Nya’s shrill voice echoed over the deck of the Bounty. It startled Cole so bad he almost fell off the crate he was sitting on. Kai snatched his hand away quickly.

“Get inside and go to bed! We have an early day tomorrow!”

Kai and Cole stood quickly, both a little flustered.

“We’re coming in sis!” Kai shouted, turned back to Cole, and then burst out laughing. Cole’s palms were slick with sweat.

“What…? Kai, what?!” Cole couldn’t help but start laughing too. Confused laughing. But laughing.

“Nothing, nothing! I’m just… I’m sorry for…” Kai’s laughter was dying out. He inhaled. Cole could see him smiling now, under the stars.

“Sorry for what?”

“You know what? Nevermind.” Kai said with a smirk, and turned on his heel and started walking back to the doors that would lead to the lower decks of the bounty. Cole stood for a heartbeat before bounding after him. He felt like he was out of breath despite barely moving for the last hour.

As Cole followed Kai back into the bowels of the Bounty, there were three things he was absolutely positive about. First, that Kai was definitely an asshole. Second, that - and he was sure Kai was doing this on purpose - Kai knew exactly what he was doing, and was doing it purely to torture Cole to no end. And third, that Cole was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Chapter Text

The next morning, the entirety of the ninja team made it down to the stone pavilion in front of Steeped Wisdom bright and early. Cole, Kai, Zane, Lloyd, Nya, Jay and Pixal milled about in front of the tea shop as they waited for Lloyd to give them the okay to start heading into the forest that awaited them. Luckily, no one had suggested they stroll down memory lane and take a look inside the old tea shop, and for that, Cole was thankful. Again, as much fun as running the tea shop with Wu had been, Cole didn’t exactly love everything that came afterwards. Finally just as the sun was breaking over the tree line, Lloyd signaled for the ninja team to follow him into the forest. Cole strode alongside Kai who seemed to be at ease (thankfully) as he chatted casually with Jay and Nya. Cole liked these types of missions. The early morning air felt cool and refreshing and nobody seemed to be freaking out. Yet.

Lloyd withholding the mission’s details until this morning was certainly… a choice. But Cole understood why Lloyd was doing it. Going in somewhat blind like this almost reminded him of when the ninja team was much… younger. Going into things on a whim, following a righteous path no matter what the danger, taking care of odd jobs throughout Ninjago, it all seemed so simple. Cole supposed this could be simple too, hopefully.

The forest floor they walked along was smooth and flat, barely any hills disrupted their descent into the shaded trees. The tall pine and wide leafed trees seemed to run endlessly in every direction, and the sun became more blotted out the further they went in. The trees were so tall they were almost menacing, and it was like walking through rows and rows of ornate, earthy columns. The trees made Cole feel small, but not in a bad way. He was almost in awe of the forest, it was so… grand. Even though they were probably the furthest things from underground at that moment, Cole could feel himself connecting with his element and the earth all around him. The forest floor stretches for miles. The roots and grass and leaves mixing and burying themselves in the dirt. Cole inhaled and exhaled through his nose. Everything smelt fresh.

Whatever happens today, everything is going to be fine.

Lloyd finally broke through everyone’s quiet chatting as he led at the front of the group.

“Alright guys, listen up,” he called over his shoulder as the ninja team continued to walk through the forest. “We've been sent out here to investigate something my mother heard news about a couple of weeks ago. From the most recent news she had heard it seems like the situation is getting pretty bad, so that’s why we’re stepping in.”

Lloyd continued to explain that not far from the tea shop there was a village some ways off the main road that resided next to the forest. A few houses, but lots of farms and farmland that came right up to the edge of the forest. A couple of these farms had been known for raising various animals, sheep, pigs and cows, your typical farm animals. A couple of weeks ago a sheep farmer noticed that his sheep seemed to be disappearing more and more frequently. Wolves from the forest had always been an issue, but it had never gotten this bad before.

“This… is where things start to get weird.” Lloyd explained “My mother explained to me that she had been in the area doing some archaeological research and was staying in the village when the sheep farmer asked if he could speak to her about his problem. My mother was rightfully confused at first, but the farmer knew who Misako was and knew she knows all of us. At first my mother didn’t think we would be much help with controlling the local wolf population, until she heard the rest of the farmer’s story.”

“Lloyd, as much as I love this fantastic backstory about your mom, would you please tell us what we’re doing out here in these creepy woods?” Jay asked impatiently. It was starting to get darker and darker the further they traversed, but Cole was listening so intently he hadn’t really noticed. Unlike Jay who seemed to be distracted.

“He’s working on it! Maybe if you would just shut up and listen, Jay.” Kai quipped and poked Jay in the ribs and yelped. Jay slapped Kai on the back of the head and Kai raised his hand to give it right back to him, until Cole caught him by the wrist.

“Guys.” Cole said sternly. Despite Cole’s sternness, he could see Lloyd and Nya smiling to themselves in appreciation. Cole threw Kai’s wrist down and the red ninja huffed. Cole thought he could see the slightest red tint in Kai’s cheeks from embarrassment, but the dark forest made it difficult to see.

“I’ll try and keep the rest of the story brief.” Lloyd promised with a chuckle.

The farmer had told Misako that a few nights before they spoke, he had sent one of his sons out into the field to keep watch all night. As the son was keeping watch, he finally saw what had been killing all of their sheep. Or more accurately, didn’t see. Whatever had been stalking and killing the sheep moved so quickly that the son explained that it was like a blur in the night.

“A flash of movement, a quick shadow sweeping through the night. Three sheep had been taken with one fell swoop.”

Shocked and panicked, and not thinking quite straight, the son decided to follow the blurred shadow into the rustling forest bushes where he had last seen the shadow to try and follow it. He took his lantern and followed as quickly as he could but quickly lost the shadow. Then he heard the loud sound of a sheep in distress. The son raced through the woods, following the sound of the bleating sheep.

“And this is what Misako had told me directly. The son had found the sheep, but in the short time he had raced into the woods and followed the sound of the sheep it was already dead. And I’m not talking about blood still warm and heaving as if it has just been killed. Misako said that the son had said that the sheep was completely still, lifeless and cold as if it had been dead for hours or even days. No color was left in the animal’s complexion. And here’s the kicker…”

Lloyd paused for what seemed to be dramatic effect, but Cole already knew what was coming… and it made him feel a little sick.

“Two massive puncture holes in the sheep’s neck.”

A beat passed and Cole could feel Kai tense up next to him. He placed his hand on Kai’s shoulder, who gave him a pained smile and relaxed the tiniest bit. Cole was definitely glad now that he had explained to Kai what they were up against today. He could only imagine how mad Kai would be right now… and frightened.

“Well technically she had said there were four puncture holes but…”

“We are going up against vampires today?” Zane said in his cool tone. He said it so casually. As if he had said We are going to the gorcery store today?
After all the weird shit they had been through, Cole supposed it shouldn't be a surprise that this was what was happening today.

“Yep. My mother said after the farmer told her that story, the next day she did some investigating in the forest. And… she actually found their encampment, which is where we’re heading now.”

“Wow…” Nya quipped “Misako’s been busy.”

“Yeah, dangerously busy. I wish she hadn’t gone looking for them herself, she could have gotten hurt…” Lloyd replied. Nya stepped up to fall in pace next to Lloyd and put her hand on his shoulder.

“Misako has been an explorer since forever, by now. She can handle herself, and she clearly gathered enough information for us without getting hurt. So that’s gotta count for something, right? So what did she find at this encampment?”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jay cut off Nya’s line of questioning, waving his hands in front of himself. “Are we just going to fully accept the fact that vampires are real? And they’re here? In Ninjago?”

“Are we really surprised by this fact, Jay?” Cole said “After everything we’ve seen here in Ninjago?”

“I mean… I guess not, but vampires just seem comically fictional, you know? Like, isn’t there a really popular romance book series about vampires? Quite frankly if I was a vampire I don’t think I would necessarily appreciate people writing romance books about me…”

Kai shot Jay an annoyed and exasperated look, shaking his head in the process.

“Yeah, it’s the Daylight Saga by Mephenie Steyer.” Nya answered him over her shoulder.

“And you know this, how? And why?” Jay asked.

“Because I’ve read them. Duh.”

Cole didn’t exactly clock Nya as the type to read vampire romance novels, but who was he to judge?

“Not to stereotype myself for a second, but I don’t think any girl can resist a good vampire romance novel. Pixal?” Nya turned away from Jay to Pixal on her other side.

“I have swept through them in my databanks on occasion.” Pixel admitted sheepishly. Zane laughed, the sound hearty and electronic. Cole couldn’t help but crack a smile at this point as well.

“Anyway,” Lloyd said, pulling them back into focus “previously thought fictional or not, they’re here in Ninjago and they’re here in this forest, killing farmer’s livestock. Misako wants us to try and talk to them, first and foremost.”

That seemed easy enough.

“Misako also ended up doing some research on vampires when she got back to the monastery, of course. And she actually said she found them being mentioned in some records about the Serpentine Wars, interestingly enough.”

“Huh…” Kai said under his breath. Cole glanced at him but he appeared to be fine for the moment.

“Here’s what the records had said,” Lloyd started, and Zane and Pixal chipped in every once in a while with their own impromptu findings as well. He explained that the vampires have a strong aversion to fire, a result of the aftermath of the Serpentine Wars. They can in fact go out in the daylight, but it weakens them so they can’t stay in it for long periods of time. And they are in fact immortal, unless killed by fire, heavy dismemberment, or the destruction of their heart. Obviously, from the disappearance of many sheep over the past weeks, they could feed off of animals to satiate their bloodlust, but were still prone to killing humans and consuming their blood in the process. Vampires could kill humans, but they could also turn humans into other vampires too, if they so wished. They were also faster, stronger and their senses of sights and hearing were amplified as well. Of all the various chilling information they had just received, Cole heard Kai swallow thickly at the mentions of fire.

“My mother didn’t explain the four puncture holes though… I should have asked her about them. Maybe the vampire just bit the sheep twice? But she said they were in a line…” Lloyd wondered out loud to himself.

“I’ve been scanning my databanks on all historical documents involving vampires as you’ve been briefing us, Lloyd.” Zane said to the group.

“It would seem that it’s a common misconception that vampires only possess two fangs protruding from their canine teeth. It would appear that there are accounts of human-like skulls possessing not only fang-like canine teeth, but also slightly pointed and smaller fangs on their lateral incisors as well.” Zane explained.

“So four fangs where exactly?” Jay asked.

“Your lateral incisors are the two teeth on either side of your two front teeth.” Pixel answered, pointing at her metallic teeth.

“Okay, perfect…” Jay laughed nervously.

“Kai,” Lloyd changed the subject suddenly. He seemed to have been lost in thought after Zane’s explanation “Did your father ever tell you anything about vampires? There seemed to be a lot of mention of fire within the Sperpetine War’s accounts, so I was just curious.”

“He, uh… He did, actually.” Kai admitted “Just stories and stuff like you’ve been talking about. I didn’t exactly think that they were real until now, obviously. I always thought he would just tell those stories to scare me into doing my chores.”

“Is that why you wouldn’t watch the Daylight movies with me?!” Nya accused.

“No!” Kai answered defensively, “Well, maybe…”

“Interesting,” Lloyd said almost under his breath “So they have a connection specifically with fire elementals too…”

As much as Lloyd would never admit it, due to his more than complicated relationship with his mother, he was very much like her in a lot of ways. He had a curious mind that was always looking for connections or discoveries from the past. But in his pondering, he shot a knowing glance at Cole.

Keep an eye on him. Please.

Cole simply nodded.

“What’s a couple of vampires though, huh? We’ve got this today guys. All we gotta do is tell them to stop eating the local livestock and that’ll be that.” Kai said confidently, and everyone murmured in agreement. Cole knew what Kai was doing though, they all did in some way, he was hiding his fear under a thick mask of overconfidence. And unfortunately, this was something that had gotten in their way in the past… hopefully it wouldn’t today.

The rest of the walk through the forest towards the vampire’s encampment was mostly silent, except for the occasional conversation between Zane and Pixal as they exchanged information as they continued to each sweep their databanks. So they really were going up against vampires today… real, sheep killing, blooksucking, immortal vampires. Interesting. There wasn’t anything that had stopped the ninja team before. Hopefully this wouldn’t be any different.

Chapter Text

As the ninja team descended further and further into the wide expanse of the forest, it proceeded to get cooler and darker. Cole was thankful for the shade and the coolness, but Jay had been right about the forest being a little creepy. Cole had noticed they had been walking down a slight decline, they must’ve been heading into a wide valley of some sort. The descent made the air cooler too, and a slow morning fog came rolling through the forest. The sunlight filtered in and out through the trees, their beams of light cast majestically on the forest floor. And then, a thick gray cloud would roll overhead, blocking out the sunlight periodically. The sunlight waxed and waned with the clouds. Cole paused to try to catch a glimpse of the sky through the trees, shading his eyes with his hands. Would it rain later? The air was thick with humidity and precipitation. He wondered…

“Cole!” Zane called aloofly ahead of them. He smiled and waved his hand politely in a gesture telling Cole to hurry up. Cole didn’t think he had been staring at the sky that long. He jogged to catch up with the rest of the group, but remained at the back of the pack as they continued to traverse.

Cole was glad they were walking through the forest right now as his head was spinning, because at least hiking gave him something else to focus on, rather than all the information he had learned in the past 24 hours. A simple communications mission made him relieved, but the fact that it was with real life, actual vampires did not make him relieved. Lloyd, Misako and Zane all seemed curious and intrigued by these new… creatures? But there was something about Misako’s story that left Cole feeling uneasy. If vampires were most commonly known for killing humans and draining their blood, why was this specific group of vampires picking off farm animals? Especially when they appeared to be living in the middle of the woods. Couldn’t they just hunt wild animals? Why would they disturb the fringes of human life, like their farm animals, but not the humans themselves? Something didn’t add up…

Not to mention their involvement and seeming disappearance after the Serpentine Wars. Had they really been almost completely eradicated during that time? And if they had, how many vampires would be at this encampment now, today? 10? 20? More than that? And their aversion to fire… Cole shot a glance up at Kai. Jay seemed to be talking about something to him, but whatever it was Kai wasn’t listening. His head was down, focusing on hiking, nodding periodically to make it look like he was listening to Jay. But Cole could tell he was lost in thought too. Cole decided something else that was making him uneasy was the fact that… if it were his decision, he wouldn’t exactly bring a fire elemental to their first meeting with vampires. What if they saw Kai as an immediate threat?

Hey mythical creatures turned real who we thought were extinct! We’re just here for a friendly chat, but oh yeah, we also brought one of our friends who harbors an element that can literally destroy you instantly. Don’t worry about it though, we’re definitely not trying to threaten you!

Cole had a funny feeling the vampires wouldn’t not see Kai as a threat. But they were already on their way to the encampment and there was no way Kai was going to listen if anyone wanted to send him back to the Bounty now. Stubborn bastard. And the whole changing thing. Argh! That one was driving Cole insane. Lloyd had already recently just changed into his whole daragon-oni situation thing he had going on. Sprouting horns out of his head had already been a difficult enough process for him, Cole couldn’t imagine how he was already back on his feet leading the team in his new form. Change, the Serpentine Wars, Jay and Kai, it was all so… so… Wait. Jay and the Serpentine. Jay and the Serpentine… Jay had BEEN a Serpentine at one point. First Master, how could Cole and Lloyd have forgotten? Jay had been changed before too, he was not untouched by fate either.

Cole looked up at Jay and his bright blue gi brought all the memories rushing back. His accidental encounter with being stabbed by a Fangpyre fang in the hand. His first disastrous date with Nya where he was almost turned into a Serpentine for good. The day that Jay unlocked his true potential for crying out loud. And that meant… that Kai really was the only one who had never been changed before. Truly and fully. The rush of old memories and his realization almost made Cole feel dizzy and he staggered behind the ninja team. The tea shop, his memories, this forest, it was almost too much. He blinked rapidly, trying to keep up with his team.

“Cole? Are you alright?” Cole hadn’t realized that he had slowed down and fallen behind when Zane had come to his side and placed a cool, metallic hand on his back. The cold sensation between his shoulder blades grounded him for the moment. He inhaled and exhaled slowly. He needed to focus, they were on a mission.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Cole said feeling a little better “It’s just this mission is making me more nervous than it should. The tea shop, this forest, the vampires… it’s a lot to take in.”

“I understand.” Zane said reassuringly “It is a lot to take in. I would not feel too pressured to process everything we have learned today quickly, either. A new species in Ninjago could mean a lot for us. But we have handled things like this many times before.”

Zane seemed so confident. Cole supposed it was easy to be, coming from someone whose skin was literally made of metal and couldn’t be bitten by a vampire. And there was his last worry fully realized. Being bitten, being changed. Cole’s heart hammered in his chest. He glanced up at Kai. Zane followed his glance.

“Although… I am worried about him too, Cole.” Zane admitted “Kai’s elemental fire could pose a challenge for us today if the vampires interpret our intentions incorrectly…”

Cole laughed sadistically.

“My thoughts exactly, buddy.”

Zane cracked a smile then too, and continued to keep pace with Cole at the back of the group. Cole was thankful for Zane. As much as Cole had been the rock of the team, trying his best to keep everyone in balance, ice had its own calming abilities in many ways too.

***

Their decent sloping downwards quickly ended as the ninja team was now confronted with a large hill. The other side of the valley, Cole thought. Lloyd halted and turned around to address his team.

“Alright, the encampment is just at the top of this hill. Like I said, Misako just wants us to try and talk to them first and foremost, figure out why they keep killing livestock. The nearby village shouldn’t have to suffer because of their new neighbors.”

Lloyd looked up and over the group, glancing away towards his right. His pointed ears swivel back and around on the sides of his head.

“And speaking of, the village is just a couple of miles west from here. It’s closer than the Bounty so if anything goes awry, regroup there first, then we can make our way to the Bounty using the main road.

“But…” Lloyd continued, slightly under his breath as if talking to himself rather than addressing the group “That shouldn't be necessary for today… hopefully.”

“It is always good to have a backup plan. Just in case.” Pixel reminded Lloyd, calm as always.

“Right.” Lloyd said with confidence “And remember, talking first. We’re just trying to figure out what’s going on, and hopefully getting them to stop or relocate if we can. We’re trying to avoid a fight.”

More than just Lloyd’s eye shot a glance over at Kai.

“Unjustified!” Kai said with mock annoyance.

“Justified.” Cole and Jay said in unison. A small chorus of laughter broke from the group. It was good to see Kai smiling at his own jab.

“Alright, alright. I know. No fighting if we can help it, I got it.” And for once Cole actually believed he would hold back if these vampires pissed him off. Almost.

“You mean if YOU can help it.” Jay quipped.

“Quiet you.” Kai retorted.

Lloyd’s ear swiveled around on his head again. They pointed promptly backwards up the hill behind him. Cole realized Lloyd’s senses were probably just about as heightened as the vampires were.

“I think they know we’re here. I don’t hear any rushed movements, so I think they’re calm for now. And hopefully… they’ll be up for a pleasant conversation.”

Lloyd turned around and motioned for the ninja team to follow him up the hill. It was completely cloudy at this point in the early afternoon. At the crest of the hill, it plateaued into another wide flat area, and ahead there was a campsite. A handful of small shacks made out of logs, branches and leaves. It was almost like a small village, other shacks were bigger than others, and a central area had been cleared out of forest debris which left a wide, flat, dirt covered area in the center of the encampment. A stone circle sat in the very center, where a campfire might have been burning, but within the stone circle was simply just more dirt. No logs, charcoal or ashes to be found.

Two figures stooped over the circle, crouched low and appeared to be whispering to each other. Their backs were to the ninja. One figure was broad and tall, even as they were crouched down. They had long, layered, blonde hair that fell to their waist. The other was slimmer, but still tall, with jet black hair that was tied into a low bun at the nape of their neck. The ninja team could see the two figures clearly as they approached, the figures made no movement, and no other figures made themselves shown in the camp. Lloyd clasped his hands behind his back and started signaling.

Fan out.

Standard formation.

And again. He seemed to be signaling as his hand movements got more aggressive and he repeated the signal three times. No fighting.

Lloyd continued to stride straight towards the camp. Pixal, Zane and Nya spread out on his left, and Cole, Kai and Jay spread out on his right. They slowed as they formed into a hastily formed line, with Lloyd at the front walking just slightly ahead of everyone else. As they slowed and stopped, the two figures swiveled around effortlessly and walked to approach the ninja. The blonde one, a girl, had a strong and heavy walk, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides. The black haired one, a boy, walked more effortlessly and lightly, his hands swinging loosely at his sides. The girl’s skin was impossibly pale, her hair just holding ever so slightly more color than her skin, and the boy’s skin was a sickly desaturated tan color. The boy reminded Cole of Nya, only her skin was darker and more full of life, but the jet black hair was unmissable.

Something else that was unmissable, was that fact they were both impossibly beautiful. They both wore simple black gi’s, but they pulled them off as if they were wearing designer clothes. Their cheekbones were high, skin smooth and unscarred or blemished, and hair perfect. The girl’s layered hair fell perfectly into place down to her waist. Even the boy’s seemingly messy bun gave off the appearance that he had worked on getting his hair perfect for hours. Cole unconsciously raised his hand to self consciously touch his scar on his forehead.

“Whoa…” Cole heard Jay murmur on the other side of Kai. He glanced over to see Kai looking down at his own gi with confusion, and it was as if his face was saying “How am I not pulling off MY gi that well?” Jay’s jaw had dropped and eyes were wide with amazement.

“Greetings.” The blonde girl said finally, her voice much sweeter than her militaristic stance she was in. Her back was rigged and her hands were still in fists. “Your arrival is expected.”

Her black haired counterpart smirked. His loose and casual stance looked unnerving next to the blonde girl who towered over him. They both smiled as casually as they could. Two pairs of four fangs each were flashed to the ninja team.

Yep. They were definitely vampires. Apparently none of the historical texts had mentioned how unnaturally beautiful they were. Cole had wondered if anyone had lived long enough to even talk of their beauty. He stifled a shiver.

“Hello.” Lloyd managed to choke out. “Our arrival was… You knew we were coming?”

“Yes.” The blonde girl continued sweetly. Her voice really didn’t match her appearance at all. She looked like a professional bar brawler mixed with a supermodel. “The people who live in the village nearby… They speak loudly. Loudly enough for us to keep tabs on them.”

So they had been spying on the villagers as well as killing their livestock. Cole supposed this meeting was the reason why. They must’ve heard the farmer telling his story to Misako and Misako’s assurance that the ninja would come and check things out.

“I believe you already know who… Or I guess WHAT we are.” The girl spoke again. She laughed lightly

“The villagers and Misako,” The girl continued nonchalantly. She glanced at her long fingernails confidently as she spoke. Cole could feel Lloyd tense next to him. “are very clever indeed.”

“How do you…?” It was Lloyd’s turn to ball his hands into fits.

“Like I said, Lloyd Garmadon,” Everyone flinched at the use of his full name “the villagers speak very loudly.”

“Creepy…” Cole heard Jay lean over to Kai and whisper through his teeth.

The tension that had been building was suddenly very palpable. The vampires had apparently been doing their homework, taking information from the villagers by spying on them, and Misako too apparently. Cole had a funny feeling they weren’t going to play nice with the information they already had.

“I must admit, it’s rude of me,” The girl continued “I know so much about you, Lloyd. But you know nothing of us. My name is Vivian. Vivian Hale. And this is my… assistant. Jasper Haji. And trust me, I only know so much about you from your mother and the babbling villagers, I know nothing of your friends. Please, will you all come and have a seat?”

Vivian turned and gestured behind her to the stone circle. So far, this girl was not exactly making a great first impression. Cole felt pretty confident in his ability to read people, and from the annoyed expression the boy, or Jasper, had pulled when Vivian called him her assistant, he had a feeling Jasper was not her assistant. Or rather not JUST her assistant. And the various mentions of Lloyd’s mother weren't exactly helping her case either…

“I think we'll stay right here. For now.” Lloyd said, qualifying himself quickly.

“There’s no need to be afraid.” Vivian said, smiling again. Her smile was not comforting which surely she knew. “We know what the villagers want, and that you have come here to discuss it. I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement.”

She gestured behind her again. Lloyd unclenched his fists.

“You have to give us a reason to trust you first. We want to come to an agreement about the village, but you spying on them has made me… has made us suspicious. Why should we trust you and follow you into your camp?” Lloyd asked. He was always willing to make friends, but his experience with being taken advantage of in the past made him weary. Cole glanced at him and then back to the vampires.

“Because there are only two of us here.” Jasper finally spoke. His voice was deeper than Vivian’s despite being much shorter and younger looking than she was. “We knew you would be arriving in the next couple of days or so after Misako left. So we cleared out. We want to avoid… conflict as much as you do.”

Despite his smirking earlier he seemed like he was being serious now. Lloyd’s ears were swiveling again. They were like satellites.

“And how many more of you are there exactly?”

“Eight. Including us two.” Jasper answered. “But we’ve asked the rest of our kind to wait in the caves that reside in the mountains north of here. That’s where the other six of us are now.”

“This is trivial.” Vivian interrupted. “We are the only ones here, and you want to talk. We have no ill intentions towards you ninja. We know you just want to protect the village. So please, can’t we sit and discuss this like civilized people?”

Vivian gestured behind herself for a third time. She seemed like she was on the edge of becoming impatient.

Lloyd hesitated for a couple moments before relaxing his shoulders… and making a decision.

“Very well. We might as well sit and talk.”

“Perfect.” Vivian said with another smile. Jasper smirked again next to her as they both turned around to lead them into their encampment. Lloyd shot glances at all the ninja and gestured for them to follow behind him. They fell in step in pairs of two to follow Lloyd through the narrow opening between two shacks that lead to the center of the encampment. As they did, Lloyd shot the ninja two distinct hand signals behind his back.

False information.

Trap.

Kai cursed under his breath next to Cole.

Okay so this WAS going to a typical mission where nothing went according to plan. Perfect.

Chapter Text

The ninja filed into the encampment slowly. Eyes glancing around everywhere, as subtle as they could be. Except for Cole, apparently. Cole tried his best and strained his eyes to look into every shadow that surrounded him, through doorways, behind shacks. He could swear he could feel eyes looking back at him when he craned his neck around to look back at the entrance to the camp, but he came up blank. The thing that drove Cole the most crazy about that stupid “false information” signal is that Lloyd wasn’t able to be specific enough about what exactly was false. Were the other vampires here or not? Was it the amount of them Jasper was lying about? Did Vivian even really want to talk? Or were they about to die? Instantly. Was that the trap? Cole tried looking behind him over his other shoulder.

“Cole.” Kai smacked his arm with the back of his hand, and his voice was a harsh whisper. “You look insane and extremely suspicious. Would you please keep your head on your shoulders and try not to get us in more trouble then we’re already in?!”

Kai being somewhat responsible for once was certainly a first. Cole couldn’t even manage to apologize. He just huffed as they arrived at the stone circle. The ninja sat down, or rather knelt down. Everyone sat with their knees tucked under them, hands placed on their thighs, ready to jump up at any moment. Nobody felt safe enough to sit criss-cross. They made a semicircle with their backs to the entrance. The vampires sat across from them, criss-cross and casual.

“So what seems to be the problem?” Vivian began. “We’re aware one of the villagers stumbled upon a sheep we… killed.”

She seemed to be avoiding the words “ate” or “sucked all of the blood out of.”

“I don’t see what the issue is.” Vivian continued innocently.

Cole leaned forward, looking at Lloyd for permission to speak. Lloyd nodded.

“The problem,” Cole said, “is that you’re taking something that’s not yours. These animals are raised by these farmers all year long. It’s their livestock and they should decide what happens to them. You’re stealing from them without giving anything in return. Some of these farmers rely solely on their animals to survive - for food, for wool - you can’t just take from them.”

Always stand up to those who are cruel and unjust. Always. Lilly’s words rang in Cole’s head.

“Yes, but what about our survival?” Vivian’s face darkened. “Don’t we deserve to eat too?”

“Yes,” It was Nya’s turn to argue “But not at the expense of others. The villagers were here first, which definitely doesn’t justify your need to steal from them.”

“Were they here first?” Vivian asked slyly. None of the ninjas could answer that one…

Vivian turned her head back and forth, taking in the ninja’s half of the semi circle.

“Lloyd, you never introduced me to your friends here. Tell me, who is this infamous ‘ninja team?’ We heard you’ve done quite a lot for Ninjago over the past couple of years…”

Cole was starting to realize the vampires knew a lot more about them than he thought. Go figure. Lloyd exhaled as evenly as he could. Cole could tell he was starting to get annoyed. As much as everyone liked to joke about Kai’s short temper, guess who Lloyd had been practically raised by for a good portion of his life? Kai. They weren’t as different as everyone thought them to be.

“This is Pixal, Zane and Nya.” Lloyd gestured to his left “And this is Cole, Kai and Jay. We’ve been doing this a long time, I’m surprised you only knew my name.” Lloyd added curtly. Vivian didn’t seem to notice his sass.

“And each of you harbor elemental powers, yes?” Shit. This was getting way off track. Vivian was just trying to collect information now…

Not good, not good.

Cole looked straight over at Kai, not even trying to hide it at this point. Kai did not meet his eyes, he kept his head straight forward, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

“Not all of us.” Pixel said taking no offense to the comment and breaking the tension for the moment.

“I see. You two are… made of metal? Can you not possess elements?” Apparently Vivian didn’t quite grasp the concept of a nindroid as she gestured at Pixal and Zane.

“Not quite.” Zane answered “I possess an element.”

“Which would be… what, exactly?”

“What does this have to do with getting you to back off from the village, exactly?” Kai suddenly cut in sharply, mimicking Vivian’s tone with a bit more edge to it. Ah… blunt as ever. Surely this would have no consequence, Cole thought.

“No need for hostilities… Kai.” Vivian said, remembering his name. “I just figured we should get to know our friends better, if we’re going to strike a deal. Element’s have always been an interest to us vampires. We’ve been around through generations of elemental masters. It’s only natural that we should try and stay up to date on who inherits them. And six elemental masters all in one place? What a sight…”

Vivian had referred to herself as what they truly were for the first time. Vampires. And it made Cole shiver. He didn’t try to fight it this time. And her interest in the generations of elemental masters… something occurred to Cole. How old WAS Vivian? She looked no older than her late teens early twenties at most. Had she really been around to see multiple generations of elemental masters?

“Please, tell me your elements. I would very much like to know.” Vivian said as she gestured at Zane to start. Zane looked over at Lloyd, bewildered. Lloyd nodded. What other choice did they have? They were on Vivian and Jasper’s territory, apparently sitting right in the middle of a trap. Who knew what would happen if they disobeyed something Vivian was clearly very curious about.

“My… element is ice.” Zane said hesitantly. Vivian turned to look at Nya.

“Water.” She said bluntly.

“Energy.”

“Earth.” Cole held his breath after he spoke. He knew what Vivian wanted…

“Fire.”

“Lighting.”

A single heartbeat passed.

“Interesting…” Vivian said quietly. “I’ve made my decision about our agreement.”

“But we didn’t-” Nya started, but Vivian didn’t care.

“How about this… We continue to keep taking the village’s livestock as we please, and in return, we don’t kill the entire population of the village. Or even better, we won’t even turn any of them into one of us.” Vivian's smile was devilish as she spoke. The ninja team jumped to their feet. Vivian and Jasper, who had been silent the entire time, rose to their feet calmly and slowly.

“Not a chance.” Lloyd answered quickly.

“Yeah, no,” Cole continued “They shouldn't have to live in fear of you.”

“Correction.” Zane said “They will not live in fear of you.”

“Because we’re not gonna let that happen.” Kai finished

Vivian sighed dramatically.

“Very well then.” She turned to Jasper “Well, at least we can tell Leon that we tried.”

“We really didn’t though…” Jasper said somewhat glumly.

“Whatever.” Vivian proceeded to crack her neck, then her knuckles and rolled her shoulders. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a good fight anyway.”

“True.” Jasper agreed. The ninja team tensed, ready and waiting in fighting positions. Nobody dared to move. Vivian smiled a truly demonic smile again.

And lunged across the stone circle at Lloyd.

Chapter Text

As Cole watched in shock horror as Lloyd was tackled to the ground, an equally strong figure as Vivian leapt onto Cole’s back. He shouted and panicked, grasping for who, or what, had just attached himself to his back. Thinking fast, he grabbed them and threw them over his shoulder in front of him, sending them flying onto their back. It was another vampire, and he hit the ground. Hard. He scrambled back onto his feet, hunched low and hissed aggressively at Cole. Spit flew from his mouth as he showed off his mouthful of fangs and spread out his claw like fingers. His eyes were bright yellow and full of malice. Cole stumbled backwards at the sudden engagement and tried to grasp the situation at hand. The encampment had exploded with sound, shouting and fighting coming from every direction.

For every ninja, there were at least two vampires. At least as far as Cole could tell right away. As soon as Vivian had lunged at Lloyd, the wooden shacks and hovels had burst, showing what they were truly hiding. The rest of the vampires. The trap. And there were certainly more than six of them. Lloyd had engaged with Vivian, but he was protecting himself more than he was fighting back. His long tail swished behind him angrily as he kept backing up away from her with every punch, shove and swipe of her claws she threw his way, one after the other. Cole didn’t have time to grasp how the other ninja were doing, because for the split second he had lost his bearings and had turned around to look at Lloyd, the yellow eyed vampire had jumped back into his back.

“NO! Get off of me! You- Mmph!” Cole didn’t have time to finish. A hand was suddenly hooked into his mouth and he was yanked backwards. He stumbled, the vampire pulling all of his weight directly into Jay. The three of them fell to the ground, Cole to his knees. Cole tore the hand out of his mouth and swung his fist as hard as he could over his shoulder. It connected and his back was freed, for the moment. He briefly noticed another figure dressed in all black on the other side of Jay.

“Cole!” Jay shouted as they helped each other to their feet. “Look!”

Ahead of them, Kai had been backed to the other side of the stone circle. Four vampires were closing in on him and his hands were a fiery blaze ready to strike. He had a scowl etched across his face. But Cole could see beyond the scowl, the fear resting just behind his eyes. The vampires flicked their claws in anticipation and stalked slowly towards him.

“Bastards!” Cole shouted and sprinted towards Kai, grabbing Jay and pulling him along with him. He did not slow as he crashed into one of the vampires shoulder first. Jay kicked the one next to him in the head, sending the vampire stumbling. Kai had finished off the one Cole had sent stumbling forward, with a fiery hook right to the jaw. The vampire screeched, grabbing their face.

“Firemaker!” The vampire shrieked before running away. Cole could see the dread wash across Kai’s face before it quickly disappeared under the anger of battle.

Cole could only imagine what he, Kai and Jay looked like as all three of their heads snapped to the third vampire.

Apparently it was a collective look of something terrifying enough, because the third vampire quickly gave a look of panic and fear before backing away slowly and running out of the encampment. Cole noted the vampire, or girl he supposed, only looked like she was a teenager. Cole exhaled roughly.

“Look out!” Kai shouted in front of him, pushed Cole out of the way, and kneed the fourth vampire who was about to pounce on him in the gut. The vampire winced, took a single step back and raised their vicious hand. Cole was just about as surprised as the vampire, or man was, when Cole caught his wrist mid swipe of his claw. For the second time that day, Cole was hissed at.

“Would you guys please quit doing that?!” Cole shouted and seized the man’s face. He threw the fourth vampire to the ground by the head as hard as he could. He hit the ground for only a moment before he was back on his feet stumbling backwards.

“Oh, come on!” Jay whined from behind Kai “Just stay down, would ya?!”

“Guys, look!” Kai shouted “This is getting out of hand…” Kai’s voice had a quick and anxious edge to it.

“Ya think?!” Jay’s voice was just as high pitched and on edge.

From behind the fourth attacking vampire, Cole followed Kai’s pointing hand to where Lloyd and Vivian had ended up. Off to their right Cole could vaguely make out Nya, Zane and Pixal somewhere in a sea of black gis and in a commotion of fighting. But where he saw Lloyd lying on the ground horrified him too much to pay attention to anything else. Lloyd was clambering backwards, using his hands and elbows to get as far away from Vivian as he could, who was stalking slowly over him. Vivian looked like she had gotten even bigger, her blonde hair was a wild mess.

Cole’s attention was being pulled in every single direction during this fight, he couldn’t focus. If he jumped in to go and help Lloyd he was putting Jay and Kai at risk, he knew it. And as he was focusing back in on the threat at hand, the older vampire who had taken a swing at them earlier just smiled. An eerie, toothy, truly conniving smile. Cole growled loudly with frustration.

“What are you smiling about?!” Cole said with genuine confusion and anger. The man began laughing, the sound was low and cold. He took a step back. And then another. If he was backing away then that meant…

“Behind-!” Cole could only manage the one word before he whirled around, and was slammed to the ground.

Cole was hit with so much force he and his attacker skidded backwards, kicking up clouds of dirt. Jay and Kai were a blur of blue and red as he went flying. A pair of cold hands closed around his neck, grasping tight. No, no, no! Cole kicked his legs trying to get the vampire on top of him off, but to no avail. She had him pinned to the ground with her knees and her hands were like iron cuffed around his neck. Cole looked up into her eyes, his own starting to water. Her red eyes bore into him, hostility and hatred seeming to flow from her gaze though her body and into her hands. She started squeezing her grip slowly. Cole gasped for air and tugged at the hands around his neck. Her claws were starting to dig into his skin. Not like this… Not like this! Cole was about to die, quite literally, at the hands of a vampire. And he had done practically nothing to protect his friends.

He would die not knowing what would become of his friends. Kai. Jay. A flash of lighting struck out into the sky behind the vampire girl’s head, but it sounded dim and far away. He would die with a broken promise to Lloyd. A broken promise… the thought enraged him. He wouldn’t break his promise. He couldn’t break his promise. He would protect the ones he cared for. His thoughts were enough for Cole to focus his strength and energy for one moment. One moment to pry his own hands away from the ones around his neck, and slam his fists into the ground. He could feel the earth shake and crumble underneath his back and head. The vampire on top of Cole startled, the hate in her eyes turning to confusion. It was enough. She loosened her grip for a split second, and Cole used his burst of strength to throw her off of him. She went flying into a nearby shack, the wood cracking loudly and splintering around her. Cole gasped and inhaled. Oh, sweet air! Cole propped himself up on his elbows to see that everything had… gone still.

The vampires that had been attacking Kai and Jay were now as still as statues, blank faced and serene, looking up and over Cole to something behind him. The vampires were hunched, still ready to attack. It looked like someone had pressed pause on a movie. Kai stood with another blaze of fire in his hands, he was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling with rasps. Jay was on the ground behind him. He wasn’t moving. Shit! Cole snapped his head behind him, rolling onto his stomach and deciding to remain on the ground for the time being… yeah… the ground was nice. He inhaled again deeply.

Behind him, Vivian had dragged Lloyd into the center of the stone circle, one had clasped around his bicep, her eyes were hard and focused. Lloyd punched at her with his freehand, but he looked like a child compared to her. She didn’t even flinch when Lloyd punched, albeit weakly, at her legs. A massive scratch had torn through Lloyd’s sleeve on his free arm as well, the blood was starting to turn his green gi red as it seeped towards his elbow. Cole slammed his fist into the dirt in frustration and was about to stand when he noticed the entire encampment had gone still. Every vampire, the ones behind Cole, the ones behind Vivian surrounding Nya, Zane and Pixal, all had their eyes locked on Vivian. Vivian suddenly threw Lloyd by his arm in front of and away from her. The motion looked effortless, despite having thrown Lloyd several feet. He landed in the dirt with a shout and a huff… his head didn’t raise at first when he settled into his landing.

Vivian raised her hand with an open palm. Her expression was still blank.

“Let’s go.” Was all she shouted. And then suddenly, in a blur of black, the vampires ran out of the encampment. Fast. The ninja were alone again in the woods.

Cole jumped to his feet and ran to Lloyd. He helped him up, careful to avoid his scratched arm. Lloyd coughed and grabbed his bad arm. He winced.

“Lloyd…” Nya’s voice was suddenly beside Cole. She had an equally bad scratch scathing across her shoulder.

“I…” Lloyd couldn’t seem to say what he was thinking. He was out of breath. The other ninja started to gather around them. Kai had one of Jay’s arms over his shoulder and was helping him walk. Cole sighed a heavy breath. At least he was conscious and walking, was all he could think. Lloyd’s head suddenly spun towards the woods.

“Which way did they go?” He asked urgently. All confusion and pain suddenly disappeared.

“I believe they… they appeared to be heading west.” Zane said from behind Nya.

“Shit!” Lloyd said, panicked and quickly “They’re going to the village.”

***

It took only a brief exchange of words for the ninja team to regroup before they took off sprinting into the woods. Pixel, Nya and Jay had stayed behind at the encampment. Jay had been doubling over hard, clutching his chest and squeezing his eyes shut tight when Cole had watched Kai help him sit down. Nya plopped down hard next to him, her shoulder in no more condition to be used. And apparently Pixal had sustained some wiring damage too, but Cole didn’t have time to comprehend just what exactly was wrong with her before Lloyd barked at him and Zane to follow into the woods. Zane looked apprehensive to leave Pixal, and Cole would have much preferred Lloyd stay behind too, but there was no time to argue.

Lloyd, Zane, Cole and Kai took off running, trying to follow vaguely the same direction the vampires had run in. Cole squinted up at Kai as they burst through the trees and bushes. Argh! He should have stayed behind too. He could tell the fight had really shaken him up, as he was trying to keep his breath as even as possible while helping Jay. Cole was beginning to think they were really pushing their luck with this mission. But it was already too late. The vampires were on their way to the village and half the ninja team was trying to follow them blindly. Cole blinked as the wind from running stung his eyes. Dammit! Why did these vampires have to be so… so… Argh! Lloyd suddenly slowed to a jog and fell in pace next to Cole.

“Lloyd, what happened back there?” Cole asked as well as he could through breaths. Vivian had definitely taken more than just the fight out of Lloyd, had she been talking to him as well? Tearing him down not only physically, but mentally? That sick freak.

“I…” Lloyd still couldn’t spit it out “I’ll have to tell you later. But I’m pretty sure Vivian has just changed their plans. They’re going to take out the village. Now! We have to get to the village before they do.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Zane called from ahead of them, he had come to a stop in a clearing. Cole, Lloyd and Kai all caught up, breathing heavily. Zane’s mechanical wiring was even and quiet in comparison. Lloyd looked like he was ready to pass out. The black haired vampire from earlier, Jasper, stood on the other side of the clearing. Lloyd tried to make his breathing as even as possible.

“Where’s Vivian?!” He shouted immediately. Jasper smiled wickedly.

“Hm, you’re quick aren’t you, green one?” More vampires stepped out into the clearing. They all wore the same black gis, but all wore wildly different expressions. Some were smiling like Jasper, others stone faced and expressionless like before. Others had looks of worry strew across their faces. All were beautiful and pale. What was going on here?

“Enough games, Jasper!” Cole barked angrily and stepped forward for Lloyd, who had stumbled so hard Zane had to catch him. Maybe he WAS going to pass out…

“We know you’re headed to the village right now. We are not going to let you hurt, never mind kill, those innocent people.” Cole readied himself, smashing his fists together, lighting up his arms with the power of the earth. No messing around this time. He could feel his scar glowing and heating up on his forehead as the power of earth and lava flowed through him. He wondered how many of these bastards he could bury in one go…

Jasper simply laughed lightly, other vampires around him joining in. The sound was eerie in the cloudy woods. Cole took another step forward.

“Oh, master of earth. That is your element, right? Your elemental types are… confusing to put it simply. Always aligning yourself with the wrong people.” Jasper quipped.

“And what is THAT supposed to mean?” This guy was seriously starting to piss Cole off.

“The green one is your leader, yes? Do you choose to follow him willingly? Do you choose to stand alone to face us, on his behalf?”

“You’re damn right I do.” Cole said through his teeth.

“He seems… weak. Vivian beat him so easily. This is the person you follow? Someone so weak?” Cole definitely concluded now that Jasper was indeed an asshole.

“You know nothing of real power.” Cole stomped one foot forward and the forest floor shook. Some vampires stumbled wildly, others maintained their balance, Jasper stumbled around before looking angrily at Cole. It was his turn to smile now. Jasper scowled at him.

“Real power? I believe something that comes along with real power is knowing your enemy, and you seem to know nothing about us!” From leadership to knowing your enemy, of all the banter Cole had ever participated in when it came to villainous types, this banter seemed oddly personal for someone he had just met. All things considered. And Jasper did have a point, the ninja team knew next to nothing about the vampires going into this fight. But Cole wasn’t thinking straight enough to care about that fact right now. People were in danger, and he appeared to be the only thing that was keeping these vampires from rushing into the village at the moment.

“And why do I need to know anything about you, huh?” Cole quipped back. Maybe if he could keep stalling…

“Because then you would know we’re smart enough to do this!” Jasper’s scowl turned into a truly nasty grin. And he pointed behind Cole triumphantly. His stomach dropped. Any and all power left his arms, draining from his body. Cole turned around slowly, he could count every time his heartbeat as he did so.

One.

He saw Zane, holding up Lloyd who had slumped over, unconscious. Zane’s eyes held just as much panic and fear as Cole’s did as he turned to look behind himself as well.

Two.

Beyond Zane stood Kai. And behind Kai, Vivian. She had one powerful arm thrown over his shoulders and chest. Her other hand was over his mouth. He stood rigid, with his hands in tight fists at his sides. The most bewildered look of fear Cole had ever seen was burning in his eyes.

Three.

Vivian held her head beside Kai’s. She opened her mouth wide, tilted his head to the side… and sank her fangs into Kai’s neck.

At that moment, Cole wasn’t sure whose scream was louder. His or Kai’s.

Chapter Text

Kai could tell he was on the hazy edge of a dream. Colors and sounds he couldn’t quite remember danced around in his head. He remembered a forest with trees, green, leafy and tall, stretching so high he couldn’t see the sky above him. A blur of black. A flash of orange light. Blonde hair tickling his neck. Claws. Fangs. Red eyes. Monsters. They wanted something from him? What did they want? He didn’t have anything of theirs… Did he? And then the sharpest pain he had ever felt right from the crook of his neck. It was like an explosion was happening behind his eyes. And then everything went black. It wasn’t the black blurs from the forest though. This was proper darkness.

The darkness of death.

No… that wasn’t right. Kai wasn’t dead. He was just asleep for what felt like a really long time. Because he was waking up now… right?

Yeah… Kai could feel himself properly waking up now, the fuzziness from his dream getting fuzzier until it was completely gone and he had forgotten what he had been dreaming about for the time being.

He was lying down in a bed, hopefully his own, and he could feel himself breathing. The slow rise and fall of his chest, his eyes twitching behind his eyelids. He was awake now but he couldn’t seem to get himself to open his eyes. He felt like there was something important about the dream he was just having… something he should probably remember…

The forest. The darkness. The blonde hair. Vampires. Vivian. Cole’s look of abhorrent terror. Shit!

Kai bolted upright, eyes flying open and gasping hard as he immediately reached for the necklace he always wore. He recognized immediately that he was in the guest bedroom of the Bounty, it wasn’t quite his own bed but it was better than probably any other alternative. And his necklace was still there around his neck, sitting on his bare chest. A simple golden chain with a simple golden charm from his father. Kai sought after the comfort fidgeting with the necklace always brought him as he tried to control his breathing. He felt like he should have had a fever, or been violently ill, but his body appeared to be fine, except for his ragged breathing. He rolled the charm of his necklace in his palm, which should have been soaked with sweat. It was dry. What was wrong with his necklace? Kai realized it was ice cold.

No. It was just a dream right?

Kai moved his hand from his necklace to the crux of his neck. His hand shook as he did. There was gauze taped to his neck. He ripped it off. Four, bumpy scabs appeared under his finger as he ran them down his neck. But then that meant-

He moved his fingers to his mouth too quickly.

“Ow!”

A cut appeared along his middle finger, blood seeping out slowly. He had barely touched his teeth. He ran his tongue carefully across his teeth as he stared at his finger. Yeah… he definitely did not remember his teeth being like that. He inhaled. That was a mistake. The smell of the blood from his finger wafted straight up into his nose and boy was it strong. The metallic scent clouded his sinuses and the back of his throat and into his mouth. It felt like the smell was traveling behind his eyes and into Kai's brain. It was so strong it smelled sweet. The sweetness and iron swirled around in Kai’s head. Kai licked his chapped lips, careful to avoid his sharp teeth and realized with horror what the smell of his own blood was making him feel.

Hungry.

What. The. Fu-

At that moment the clicking of his doorknob and opening of his door made him jump way harder than it should have, but the quietness of the room made the sounds piercing.

Cole had stopped dead in his tracks with his hand still on the doorknob. His blank expression was quickly placed with one of relief and it looked to Kai as though he was about to start crying. Kai wasn’t exactly sure what he would have done at that moment if Cole HAD started crying, because as soon as he entered the room it started to smell different.

“Kai!” Cole stammered, realization and relief finally leaving his body in the form of words. “Kai, First Spinjitsu Master you- you’re… you’re-”

As Cole started talking, Kai could only focus on two things. Trying not to let his face show the fear that was running through his body. And breathing through his mouth the best he could. Because as Cole had walked into the room and Kai had taken one too many deep breaths through his nose, he realized why things started to smell different… Each of the ninja smelled different. Kai knew this. He knew that his sister smelled like sea salt and the pavement after it rained, and he knew that Jay smelled like ozone and car oil. But Cole, standing in front of him right now and saying something Kai still hadn’t been paying attention to, smelled different. He smelled even more like himself. Even from across the room on the bed Kai could smell the earth and clay that radiated off of him.

And something else too. The sweet, iron-like smell that was still coming from his finger, was also coming from Cole.

Kai continued to breath through his mouth and stare right through Cole. He realized with a shudder than ran through his neck and down his spine that he was restraining himself. He gripped the bedsheets in front of him. How long had he been asleep? When was the last time he had eaten anything? When was the last time he had drank anything? His throat felt dry and his stomach ached as he swung his legs off the bed and slowly turned away from Cole. He couldn’t look at him anymore, unsure at this point if he might actually surge forward and kill him.

Kai took another snaky breath in through his mouth and made a silent confession to himself.

He was a vampire.

And he was thirsty… hungry… tormented by whatever new desire was running through his body. And the closest thing that would fill that desire was Cole, who had taken another hesitant step into the room. Panicking, Kai blurted out the first thing he could think of as to not kill his friend as quickly as possible.

“Cole?” He said as evenly as he could. Cole stopped talking.

“What, Kai?”

“Leave. Go get Lloyd. Please.” Perhaps bringing another one of his teammates into this wasn’t the best idea, but he needed Lloyd. He trusted Lloyd would know what to do. And hopefully not smell so… strong.

“Right.” Cole said flatly and left the room swiftly. Kai could only imagine what look had been plastered across his face. Cole always wore his emotions on his face too easily. Kai was almost glad he wasn’t looking when he sent Cole away… What would he even think was going on here? Kai squeezed his fist shut and breathed through his nose again. The… tempting smell had subsided somewhat. Kai ran his tongue over his teeth again. His new fangs. He relaxed his shoulders as best he could as he heard another, lighter, pair of footsteps making their way quickly down the hallway.

“Kai! You’re awake…” He heard Lloyd sigh from behind him and slow to a stop in the bedroom once he saw Kai turned away from him on the bed. Kai tempted a breath through his nose. Lloyd’s scent had always been somewhat ambiguous, but for now he smelled like tea. The sweet smell was there too, but not nearly as strong. Kai ventured a question right away.

“How long was I asleep?” Kai turned his head to just barely look at Lloyd out of the corner of his eye. Lloyd seemed to understand his urgency somewhat.

“Three days. Are you okay? You look-” Kai could hear him take another step forward.

“Don’t!” Kai said as evenly as he could. “Just… don’t come any closer. I don’t want to hurt you.” Kai gripped the bed next to his legs.

“Right… I get it. You must’ve figured out what happened to you by now.” Lloyd said empathetically.

“Yeah… yeah.” Kai was definitely not in the headspace to be processing all of THAT right now.

“Where are we?” Kai asked, “I can feel the Bounty moving…”

“We’ve been traveling north from the tea shop, we weren’t sure what to do about… you. So we’ve just been drifting for the past couple of days. We’re over a mountain range right now, I think.”

“So we’re somewhere… remote? We’re nowhere near Ninjago City?”

“Yeah…” Lloyd sounded confused and asked hesitantly, “Why?”

“Are we able to land?” Kai ventured again, he knew Lloyd probably wasn’t going to let him go this easily…

“Kai… I don’t know if that’s the best idea-”

“Please! Please Lloyd, I- I don’t want to hurt anyone who’s on the Bounty right now. I’m not really sure what’s… what’s going on.”

Kai heard Lloyd shift his feet and swish his tail behind him. He hesitantly looked over his shoulder. Lloyd’s eyes were cast downward in thought, a hand covering his mouth pensively. Kai noticed a bandage covering one of his biceps. He instinctively felt a growl growing in his throat and his hands turning hot. He lifted his hands away from the bedsheets quickly before he could cause any real damage. So he still had his elemental powers, that was good… or was it? Before Kai could process that line of thought any further, Lloyd spoke again.

“Alright. We’ll land. Do you need anything? Food? Water? Just at least tell me what you’re going to do once we land so I don’t lose my mind once you do it.”

“I’m just going to… run. Hike. I don’t know! But all I do know is that I need to get away from the Bounty. I just need to be alone, NOW. And I don’t need any food. I’m not hungry…”

At least not in the way you’re thinking of, but Kai kept that to himself.

“But I’ll take some water with me, okay?”

“Fine, and take a sword too at least. I trust you to handle yourself out there, but just in case.”

Kai couldn’t believe Lloyd was letting him do this. He felt like the equivalent of a caged animal about to be set free, who knows where, in the mountains of Ninjago… but just as long as he was away from the Bounty… away from Cole. Kai squeezed his eyes shut in remorse as he thought of Cole as Lloyd left the room while saying something about going to tell the others. First Master he hoped Cole hadn’t been saying anything important. He couldn’t even bear to look at the black ninja. Why did he smell like THAT? Did it have to do with his element? Did it have to do with… them? Their bond? Kai knew it was no secret that besides his sister and Lloyd, Cole was probably the next in line in terms of who he was closest to. Then why hadn’t Lloyd smelled so strong? Was it because he… he…

Kai shook his head and tried to squeeze his eyes shut tighter. He couldn’t think about Cole like that right now. He knew. He knew that Cole liked him just a little bit more than everyone else, and it truly made his head swim sometimes. But now? That Kai was like THIS? Who knew what Cole would think of him. Kai stood from the bed and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. He found a fresh red gi laid out for him on the other side of the bed. He grabbed it and started dressing quickly. Despite what he told Lloyd… he was starving.

***

Lloyd made his way back through the lower deck of the Bounty, poking his head into their usually shared bedroom. Color coded bunk beds lined the side walls and Jay was sitting in his top bunk, reading a book. All Lloyd had to do was wave one hand in a gesture to follow him to get Jay to jump out of bed and follow him down the hall. Nya and Pixal were at the hull, Zane on the outside deck and Cole was already sitting at the kitchen table, hands folded covering his mouth and one leg bouncing anxiously. Lloyd let all of the ninja settle down at the table before he began talking at the head of it.

“Kai’s awake, and we’re going to land the Bounty.” Lloyd supposed he should just start off strong rather than try and hide anything at this point. A ripple went through the team as whispers and gasps went down the table. Cole kept his hands to his mouth and only merely glanced at Lloyd. Nya stood to start down the hallway toward her brother.

“Nya don’t. Not yet anyway.” Lloyd warned holding his hand out to stop her. She stopped, albeit confused.

“Why? He’s my brother, if anything I have the right to see him!” Nya folded her arms.

“He seems really on edge. I don’t want to upset him any further than he already seems to be.”

“Does… does he know what happened?” Jay asked sheepishly.

“Yeah… I think he does. I’m not sure if he knows how, but he seems to know what he’s… become.” At that moment, Cole stood and slammed his fists on the table. If he had done it any harder, the table surely would have splintered.

“He’s a vampire, dammit! And what the hell are we going to do about it?!” The question didn’t seem particularly directed at Lloyd… but nobody answered for a moment regardless. Lloyd inhaled.

“We’re going to land… and let him off the Bounty.” Lloyd answered. There was more uproar from just Cole and Nya this time.

“This seems highly unusual…” Zane muttered.

“What?! Why?! Are we just going to let him, what, run away into the mountains?” Jay fumed.

“Lloyd! You have to let me see him first at least!” Nya cried.

“You can go see him before he leaves Nya, I promise. But just be cautious. I think it would be safest for all of us if we let him off of the Bounty for now.” Lloyd answered after the initial shock was gone.

“Why?” Cole said through his teeth. His fists are tight balls leaning on the table.

“Because we have to let him hunt.” Lloyd said firmly.

His gaze made its way around the kitchen table. No one seemed to be able to object to that.

Chapter Text

“Kai!” Cole stammered, a lump was growing in his throat as he spoke. “Kai, First Spinjitsu Master you- you’re… you’re okay!”

Cole had been doing his routine check in on Kai just after breakfast and the last thing he expected to walk in on was Kai fully conscious and sitting up in the guest bedroom bed. He was so stunned for the moment he couldn’t take his hand off the doorknob. Kai simply stared at him, a blank expression across his face. His breathing was heavy, but at least he was breathing.

“I’m… I’m sorry about what happened.” Cole said suddenly. He had been holding this in for three days, which meant that he also had three days to think of exactly what he was going to say to Kai once he woke up… Surely he remembered what had happened… Cole held his arms around himself, suddenly feeling self conscious.

“Kai, I’m so sorry. I should have seen through what the vampires were planning, I should have seen through their trick! I truly believed that the village was in danger, and it messed with my head. My focus. But I should have been focusing on us. On the team.” Cole corrected himself quickly. Man, maybe he should have practiced more.

“I should have been watching your back… but I- I didn’t. And I’m sorry for what happened because of it.” Cole let his arms drop to his sides, not knowing what else to do. Or say.

Cole watched as Kai gripped the bedsheets in front of him. A mix of anger and pain flashed across his face. Cole dropped his gaze to the floor feeling ashamed. He had royally messed up this time, and Kai had paid the price because of it…

“I understand if you’re angry.” Cole said, still not looking up from the floor. “You have every right to be angry with me, and angry about what happened. But I’ll do anything to make it up to you, I promise.” I promise, and Cole meant it too. Cole wasn’t sure what he was going to do if Kai didn’t forgive him. He could name countless times Kai had gotten angry, even furious with him, but he always came back around. Cole wasn’t exactly sure if this was going to be one of those times. A sudden movement from the bed dragged Cole’s attention away from the floor. Kai had swung his legs over the side of the bed so that he was facing away from the door and Cole.

“Cole?” Kai said in a strained voice.

“What, Kai?” Cole hoped his voice didn’t sound as desperate as he felt.

“Leave. Go get Lloyd. Please.”

Cole could swear he felt his heart drop straight through the floor of the Bounty. Right. This was all strictly business. Okay then.

“Right.” Cole said as calmly as he could and took off down the hallway of the Bounty. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and balled his hands into fists. He would do this for Kai. He would do anything for Kai, even if he didn’t forgive him.

***

That was this morning. Cole’s mind flashed with other scenes that had played out shortly after his one-sided conversation with Kai as he sat cross-legged on the deck of the Bounty, Zane and Nya had been sparring in front of him on the middle deck, but he could hardly watch without losing focus. He seemed to be losing his focus too much lately. He remembered the conversation and decision that was made in the kitchen, and slamming his fists harder than he meant to on the table. He was surprised Nya didn’t yell at him for that. He remembered Lloyd quarantining the rest of the ninja team to the bow deck of the Bounty as Kai gathered some supplies in the kitchen. He remembered Lloyd lowering the Bounty into a nestled area of trees on the side of a steep mountain.

He remembered Kai scanning all of their faces as he looked at them from the other side of the Bounty. He remembered Kai looking back at them as he disappeared into the woods below as the ninja team watched over the Bounty’s railings.

“I WILL be back!” Kai called, before taking off into the mountains running. At least he had prefaced himself. Because THAT certainly made everyone feel less nervous about him being in a coma for three days, and then taking off into the middle of nowhere.

“It’ll be for his own safety… and ours.” Lloyd had said. Cole hoped he was right. He hoped this seemingly needless risk Kai was taking wasn’t so needless…

Hunting… Something Cole didn’t remember was a bow or any sort of hunting supplies on Kai’s person as he took off…

“Cole! You’re chewing on your finger nails again.” Nya called up to him in an annoyed tone. What Cole really needed to focus on was working on his bad habits, apparently. But all he could do was grumble for now.

“You should really observe us more closely. Practicing fighting is important, but observing can be just as beneficial.” Zane said matter of factly from next to Nya. Cole grumbled again at that.

“I just think that you guys are a little too relaxed despite what’s going on right now. Kai just took off, how are you not worried?!” Cole gestured wildly at them from the bow deck. Zane and Nya shared a glance with each other.

“You heard what Lloyd said, Kai just needs to… hunt. And it’s better if he’s just not… well…”

“I believe it is better if Kai is not around us at this time. He’s been turned into a vampire and my assumption is that he’s acting on instinct right now. It is most likely better if WE are not the ones he is hunting.” Zane finished bluntly for Nya. Always one to put it lightly. It was Nya’s turn to share a glance with Cole this time. Her mouth twisted downward in a face of discomfort. She folded her arms.

“Right… he’s a vampire.” Cole could tell even from the other deck that the word sounded uncomfortable in her mouth.

Kai was a vampire. And it was mostly Cole’s fault too.

What was this world coming to?

And Cole couldn’t even argue with Zane’s observation. He was right, it probably was dangerous to them to be around Kai, but for how long? Would it always be dangerous for them to be around Kai now? And the hunting… hunting what? Animals? Cole wouldn’t even let himself complete the thought that Kai could possibly be hunting humans. The thought of Kai in Vivian’s place in the horrible image that had been stuck in his head for three days made him feel a special type of nauseous. Kai would never hurt anyone like that. He just simply couldn’t. Cole wouldn’t let his mind wander down that possibility.

And speaking of the image that had been stuck in his head for three days… seeing Kai so unarmed and helpless like that. Cole never thought he could even use the words “Kai” and “helpless” in the same sentence, but here he was. His look of fear. The face of disarmament. The look of almost acceptance as Vivian bit him. Vivian bit HIM. Kai of all people. Cole was trying so hard not to blame himself. He tried so hard as he explained what had happened to the ninja team. He tried so hard as Zane reminded him that he had been there with Cole. He tried so hard as he carried Kai, running all the way back to the Bounty. He tried to leave the blame back in that forest. But he just couldn’t. In some way, Kai having been turned into a vampire was Cole’s fault. And until stated otherwise, Kai seemed to think so too.

Cole willed his eyes not to start brimming with tears. Kai, who he loved more than anyone else on the Bounty, more than anyone in all of Ninjago, was changed and hurt because of him. His hand made its way over his mouth. It was too much to bear…

Suddenly, another hand appeared on his leg. It was Nya’s from the middle deck. She looked up at him with an apologetic smile on her face.

“It’s okay to be upset.” She reminded him “You just don’t have to be upset alone.”

Her eyes started to sparkle with wetness too.

Cole slid off the bow deck to meet her on the middle one, and he pulled Nya into a tight hug. Nya wrapped her arms around Cole as much as she could and squeezed back. Sometimes, he forgot how well she could read him. Cole was a pretty open book after all. Cole pulled back from the hug and chuckled, albeit pathetically.

“At least he’s alive right?” Nya said, putting on a strong face. She had a point there…

“Yeah, at least he’s alive. Thank you.” Cole sighed, smiling at her, he would make sure her reminder to him would be appreciated. She smiled back. He looked over at Zane who smiled and nodded approvingly from where he had been standing nearby.

“What’s Jay been up to today?” Cole asked, looking for another distraction.

“I think he’s been in the workshop all day. Always gotta keep his hands busy…” Nya mused. Cole made a disgruntled noise. As much as he loved Jay, the makeshift workshop right next to the engine room wasn’t exactly his favorite place on the Bounty. Cole didn’t think he would ever understand Jay, Nya, Zane and Pixal’s collective fascination for technology. And that was okay with him.

“I think I’m just going to go back to the bedroom for now then.” Cole said.

“Are you sure?” Nya squeezed his wrist.

“Yeah I’ll be fine. I just need some rest I think.”

Nya nodded understandingly, and Cole made his way to the shared bedroom of the Bounty.

***

Cole didn’t remember falling asleep. The book he had been reading to distract himself was laid across his chest and his eyes opened from his groggy nap. It must have been mid afternoon when he had made his way to their bedroom, feeling better once he was alone for the time being, but it was dark now. He could hear the other ninja breathing or snoring softly in their respective bunks. Cole rubbed his eyes and cranned his neck to look at the digital clock that sat on the back wall of the room next to various photographs of the ninja team and their friends. 2:36 AM. Had he really been that tired? Maybe the guilt was making him more sleepy than he thought. And no one had woken him up for dinner either, to which the sound that came from his stomach alerted him of that too. Cole yawned and stretched, sighed defeatedly, and rolled out of his top bunk and landed expertly quietly onto the wooden floor. He took an unconscious glance over at Kai’s empty bunk which sent a pang through his chest before he hurriedly left the room, not wanting his stomach to wake up any of the others.

Cole had felt a lot of different things in the past 24 hours. Pain, sadness, anger, worry, but now, wandering down the halls of the Bounty in the dead of night, he just felt defeated. The past couple days were starting to weigh on him. The worry of whether Kai was going to wake up or not took a lot more out of Cole than he thought. But at least he was alive, Cole thought, remembering Nya’s words from earlier. At least he was alive… right? How alive are vampires? Cole thought absent mindedly as he opened the fridge door, the light from the interior blinding him momentarily. Are they like ghosts? Do they cross that sort of dead and alive boundary at the same time? Or was Kai now more like a separate creature all on his own? Like the Serpentine or Oni? Cole wondered whose fangs were sharper, Kai’s or Lloyd’s. Considering Kai had JUST been turned into a vampire, Cole’s more detached curiosities were coming surprisingly easy to him. He wondered if he was processing this too quickly…

The faintest creak of a floorboard from behind Cole made the muscles in his back tense and his hand tighten on the fridge door. He remained still for the moment, not wanting to alert who or what was behind him that he knew of their presence just yet. A swift movement to his left heading towards the hallway of the bedroom made Cole jump into action. He lunged towards where he thought the movement had come from in the darkness and briefly made contact with another figure who made a loud “OOF” sound as Cole slammed them into the hallway wall. The intruder grabbed Cole by the shoulders and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back into the kitchen. First Master, Cole was pretty sure Lloyd was the only person who had ever kicked him that hard. Cole hit the floorboards but quickly made his way to his feet, jumping for the next thing he could think of. The light switch.

He vaulted across the kitchen island and hit the switch. He hoped whoever was breaking and entering into the Bounty right now was just as blind as he was, because it took Cole a moment to blink away the brightness before he saw who was standing at the edge of the kitchen.

“Kai?!” Cole was exasperated. And still hungry, unfortunately.

Kai laughed weakly and gave Cole a timid smile.

“Hey.” Kai said awkwardly.

Four fangs covered in blood glinted off the kitchen lights. Cole’s gaze wandered down to Kai's hands, to which the sleeves of his gi had been rolled up and his hands and arms were covered in dried blood as well. All the way up to his elbows. Cole wasn’t sure what was making him feel more nauseous at that moment. The fact that he didn’t know who or what’s blood was all over Kai, or the fact that the blood was almost the same deep red color as his gi. Kai followed his gaze downwards on himself.

“It’s deer blood!” Kai explained, holding up his hands in defense. “It’s just… It’s deer blood. That’s what I- I hunted tonight.”

Kai tried to keep the flatness in his tone, but it was obvious there was something different about him. He had just admitted that he had hunted deer with his bare hands. And Cole didn’t think he was hungry anymore. His gaze made its way back up to Kai’s face. It said, please understand. Please don’t be disgusted with me. But there was something else, some sort of new, wild edge in his eyes. And his eyes… They were a deep crimson color. The deep, soft brown that Cole always knew was now drowned out by the supple red. Cole finally relaxed his shoulders and lowered his hands. He hadn't realized he was still holding them up in defense. How could he be mad at Kai when this was the result of Cole’s failure. If anything he was surprised Kai didn’t just storm off without any sort of explanation to him.

“You must think I’m a monster.” Kai whispered and lowered his arms too.

“No! No.” Cole corrected him quickly. “I’m just uh… I’m just glad you’re back safe.”

“Yeah well, could you not tell anyone I came back tonight? I just need to wash up real quick.”

“What? You’re going back out? Why?” Cole went to take a step forward.

“Stop! Please don’t come any closer.” Kai put his hands up in defense again and took a backwards step down the hallway. He exhaled through his nose. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Cole wondered just exactly how true that was.

Cole took his step forward. Even if Kai hated him for what he did, he wouldn’t let Kai think he wouldn’t be there for him in the future.

“I’m not afraid of you.” Cole said defiantly. What was he doing? Had he truly gone insane? Had Kai always been so… so… the word couldn’t make it to Cole’s head in time before Kai took another step backwards.

“I think maybe you should be.” Kai’s voice definitely had a warning in it this time and Kai looked up at him darkly through his long eyelashes. Cole shook his head. He wouldn’t be afraid of Kai.

“Why do you need to leave again?” Cole ventured.

“Because I’m still… thirsty.” Kai swallowed thickly and inhaled through his mouth. “Cole, please let me go.”

Cole sighed, the feeling of defeat coming back to him. And a shiver running down his spine.

“Okay. Alright, fine. But you’re safe? You’re not hurt or anything?” Kai chucked again at that.

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay. I’m fine. Just… getting used to this, you know?” How was Kai being so casual about this? Was he just putting on a strong face, like usual?

“I guess so…”

“Gotta do whatcha gotta do right?” Kai shrugged. And assuming he was free from their conversation, turned down the hallway and made his way to the bathroom. Cole heard the faucet from the sink in the bathroom turn on as he dropped his shoulders and went to shut the fridge door, grabbing an apple before he did so. He figured he should eat something at least, even if he didn’t feel like it. Cole could feel the confusion mixing with his defeat as he sat down at the kitchen island. Of all people, Kai seemed to be handling his transformation into a literal vampire surprisingly well. He supposed it would be new for all of them, and the worst thing any of them could do, especially Kai, was panic. And he seemed to be listening to his instincts at least. Cole bit his apple loudly.

A couple of minutes later, the only indication that Kai had come back from the bathroom was another faint creak from a floorboard that made Cole jump. He turned to Kai, who had all traces of blood removed from him, thankfully. Kai stared at him for a moment, which made Cole shift uncomfortably.

“When will you be back?” Cole tried to keep things casual like Kai had. There was definitely something about Kai that was making him uncomfortable besides the blood.

“I’ll make sure I’m back by morning.” Kai answered.

“Are you tired?”

“Not really…” Kai made his way to the kitchen door that led outside and opened it, but paused before leaving fully. Beyond him, Cole could see the bow of the Bounty which only four days ago he and Kai had shared a piece of cake and had an… intimate moment. Cole wondered if they would ever have any moments like that ever again. He took another bite of his apple.

“What does your apple taste like?” Kai asked. What an odd question… but Cole felt compelled to answer honestly without any snark.

“Sweet.” Cole answered truthfully.

“Hm…” Kai looked back outside into the black of night.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because that’s what blood tastes like. Sweet.” And with that Kai left with a swift leap into the darkness.

Cole paused, frozen for a moment, before his heart started hammering in his chest. He realized what was different about Kai. Before Kai had been turned into a vampire, Cole had already considered him attractive. His deep brown eyes were stunning and the flex of his tan skin was mesmerizing. But Cole thought back to the other vampires he had encountered recently. Their effortless beauty. Their spotless skin, their perfect hair and their piercing eyes. Kai’s eyes were red now, but they were dangerous and beautiful. And his skin was far from perfect, flecked with scars everywhere, but the scar that ran across his eye seemed only to add to his attraction now.

Flustered, Cole threw his apple away and flicked off the light in the kitchen before taking a desperate look outside into the darkness. Kai was already gone. Cole wished more than anything that was not so. He had just seen Kai and had been lucky enough to have a conversation with him, even if that conversation involved Kai hunting deer and drinking blood, but he craved his presence again already.

This whole vampire transformation was going to be a lot more complicated than Cole thought.