A/n. Man this took longer than expected, probably the longest chapter I've written so far! Thanks to everyone who voted, the results are in and looks like you guys want to see more Cole! Which is great because I find it easier to write about him.  You guys are awesome, thanks a bunchos for over 2oo reads!! It really means so much to me. Huge shout out to the people who followed me, it's crazy how when I first started this fanfiction, I had 0 followers but now 9 chapters in I have 4! so thanks again!

Anyway, I know you want to read the chapter now, so I'll just shut up now! LOL

Cole sat on the edge of the bounty, staring down at snow and ice. He had a lot to think about, like who this mystery person is, why he wants him, how to save their friends and most important of all, how to go the entire day without crying.

Don't get him wrong, Cole almost never cries, and if he does it's definitely something WORTH crying over. Cole wasn't even sure if this counted as one of those. Today was September 14th, the worst day to ever exist. At least for Cole that is. 2 years ago to the day, the raven fell into the dark oni cloud surrounded by monsters who wanted to kill him, while his friends just left. 4 years ago he was transformed into a ghost by sensei yang, and 9 years ago, was the worst tragic time the boy had ever had.

His mother, Lily passed.

It was a great ordeal that he never wanted to go through again, but some small part of him said he shouldn't mourn anymore, it had been almost a decade after all, and yet Cole still felt like he hadn't completely moved on yet. Lily's passing affected the whole family though, Lou, Cole's dad, grieved for his dead wife by drinking. He was never home, always out partying, singing and dancing with his group, leaving all the chores and responsibilities for Cole, who later discovered he had PTSD because of it. Of course the raven never told his father out of fear he would disappoint him. He never told his friends either, not even Jay. The only one that even came close to finding out was Zane, after the oni invasion, but Cole was quick to dismiss that idea. Looking back on it, it probably would have been a good idea to tell them he did have Post traumatic stress disorder, but only because the dark cloud was so very frightening.

But he didn't

He couldn't afford the pitiful looks he was bound to get, or the judgy eyes smeared across people's faces, he already had color blindness, he didn't want another disorder too.

"Hey!" Cole looked up at Burnett approaching him with a sinister smile.

"Hi Kai" Cole choked out. Kai's smile dimmed as he saw the look on his brother's face. "Dude are you ok? You seem a bit" He waved his hand in the general direction Cole was, "lost." Cole shook his head. "No, I'm ok."

"Are you sure?"

Cole nodded before letting out a very snotty sneeze that sprayed all over Kai's shoes. Cole panicked. "Uh oh Kai im so sorry i didn't mean to ruin your shoes I-" "Hey Cole buddy its ok, they aren't mine anyway, i'm borrowing Lloyd's." Cole felt his heart shatter. 'Darn it Cole, how could you be so stupid!' He didn't even realize he voiced his thoughts until Kai squatted down next to him. "Don't say that buddy, c'mon you're not stupid, you just have a bit of trouble recognizing certain shades, no shame." Oh but there was, and there always will be, Cole knew that. He was different, a screw up, an outcast, he risked a look into Kai's eyes. The brownish, greenish (Redish) pitiful eyes.

That's exactly what he did not want

"Hey you guys! We're here!" Jay said through the bounty speakers. Thankful for the distraction Cole quickly sat up, and started walking over to the control room. Well more like swaying he did still feel nauseous. "Cole?" Kai lightly tugged his friend's hand, "maybe you should stay here, you know just in case." Cole shook his head rapidly, trying his best to not show the amount of dizziness he felt. "No no Kai, it's ok, i,m-" He was going to say i'm fine but the earlier conversation he had with Jay flashed through his mind. 'You stop pretending you're ok and start being more open to us' Cole sighed, "I'm going." Kai looked reluctant but knew that if Cole made up his mind on something, there was no changing it. "Just be careful."

20 minutes later, the 3 ninja stood in the hull, while Jay was fixing up his mech and Kai was collecting supplies, Cole sat down to think. He was quite excited to be able to go with his friends, after being cooped up inside the bounty for so long, he was finally going to help. The only problem was that he wasn't really sure if this was a smart move, what if something happened down there? Scratch that, when something happens down there. Since it was the 14th day of the 11th month, the raven was worried, granted it wasn't every year something bad occurred, last year he was completely fine, but still a mountain covered in ice and snow with powerful winds that were strong enough to blow someone clean off it was not an ideal place to be. Especially since he was still sick, in fact he was pretty sure his condition only worsened.

But hey what's the worst that can happen?

Wait, don't answer that.

"Clunk clonk clip." Cole looked up to see Jay's pliers rolling towards him. Without thinking too much about it, the black ninja bent down to pick them up. "Thanks Cole, could you bring it here please?" Jay called from the top of his mech where he was sitting. The raven rolled his eyes but made his way over to his brother anyway. "Here *cough" He said standing on his toes to reach his brother. Jay snatched it with a gratef ul smile. "Thanks Dirt clog." Cole tried his best to smile back, but it ended up looking really sloppy. "Yeah" Jay looked down at his friend, "Are you ok? Do you wanna talk?" Honestly, he didn't want to, it was really heavy stuff, and some of it personal.

But they had a deal didn't they?

"Today's the *cough *cough *cough anniversary *cough *cough *cough." Jay lay on his stomach, his hands resting on his cheeks. "What anniversary?" He asked, smiling. "Is there a girl involved? A certain queen perhaps?" Cole blushed immensely. "No Jay listen *cough *cough 14th *cough" Jay started kicking his legs. "14th? Like the date? Isn't that today? Ooohhhhh you asked her out and now you want me to help you win her heart on a DATE!" Cole shook his head so fast all that could be seen was a blur. "No I didn't, there's no date! *cough what i'm trying to say is." "You like her alot and you want advice on how to ask her out?" Jay interrupted, "weird i always thought you would've been good with girls, are you not? Oh my gosh you stutter don't you?" By the way things were going Cole thought he would die of embarrassment before he even got to the Wailing Alps. "Cole cant talk to girls, Cole cant talk to girls." Jay sang. Cole gritted his teeth. "JAY PLEASE MY MOM DIED TODAY!!" Jay stopped immediately. "Oh, Oh Cole, I'm so sorry." As fast as lightning the redhead climbed down his mech, and embraced his little brother in a hug. "I'm so sorry." He repeated. Cole cried onto Jay's shoulder. "It's stupid, it's almost been 10 years and I'm still crying over it. You must think I'm such a baby." Jay shook his head. "No I don't, I think you're a kid who just misses their mom, and it's not stupid Cole, It's normal to mourn over someone you love, and I can tell you love her, you guys had such a special relationship right?" Jay pulled the crying Cole closer. "Losing someone is hard, but it gets better, if she was still here, she would tell you how proud she was. You've done so much, protecting ninjago, protecting Shintaro, and protecting us. Just think about how much you've grown too. When we first met you were really closed off, and now you feel at ease enough to talk about your problems, and that's true heroism." Jay pushed the raven back a little just enough to see his face. "And she's not completely gone, she still lives on in you, in your dad, all the geckles and monks. You're a good kid Cole, and your mother loves you so much." Jay used his hand to wipe a tear off Cole's face, the other one firmly holding on to his shoulders. "And so do we." Cole smiled, like an actual general smile. "Thanks Jay, I do feel better." The blue ninja beamed. "Of course, and for the record, if you ever do need help talking to Vania, I'm your guy." Cole lightly punched his friend's shoulder, "Shut up!" He laughed.

"Ok I got snacks, bandages, hair gel, you guys ready to go?" Kai said, walking over to the duo. Jay rolled his eyes. "Really Kai, you're bringing hair gel on a rescue mission?" The Burnett put his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey I gotta look good while down there, last time the wind blew my hair all over, completely messing it up!" He pouted. Both Jay and Cole laughed at that one. Well Jay did, Cole half laughed half coughed. Kai looked at his brother skeptically. "You sure you wanna come? You can stay if you want?" "NO, trust me im *cough coming." "If you say so."

Somewhere else in an unknown place

"Boss, I have great news, Cole and his friends found the tracker we planted on the Wailing Alps, they're going there now." A dark shadow said to a man sitting in a chair facing the window. "Excellent we strike tonight, find the boy and bring him here, make sure he is unharmed, that's my job." "But boss, what about his friends? They seemed reluctant to leave him alone." The man lifted up his hand showing a very rude gesture. "They won't be a problem Dread, if things go to plan they will have... other things to worry about." The shadow nodded. "Then it shall be done, boss, I'll ready the army." The shadow figure left the room. The man got up, his black trench coat dragging across the floor with every heavy step, he stopped in front of a cage. "You will have a friend soon, or not. I doubt he'll even recognize you anymore. It has been years." He grabbed the person's chin roughly. "Maybe this could turn out to be a bonding experience for the both of you." The prisoner let out a painful grunt as its captor pulled away. The man sat back down in his chair. "Oh Cole, sweet sweet innocent Cole, just you wait and see what I have planned for you."

Back on the bounty

"I don't know about these mechs Jay, they seem pretty scruffy." Kai complained as he climbed onto his mech. The blue bird scoffed. "Well I'm sorry, it's not to your liking oh prince of hair products! Do you have any idea how long it takes me to build these kinds of stuff?" He crossed his arms, gazing up at the fire master's mech, Cole was leaning on him asleep. Kai rolled his eyes. "Pixel can build better ones in only 24 hours." He looked down at the controls. "How do I drive this thing?" "Press the red button to go, and the green one to brake, the orange switch is for acceleration, and the white one is for communication. The handle in front is to help steer and finally, the blue lever actervates weapons, and you can use the touch screen to choose which one you want." The redhead presented proudly. Kai stared at his brother. "Ok good to know, but hold on, why did you make red go and green stop? Won't that get confusing?" Jay shrugged, "thought I'll mix it up a little bit. To make things more interesting y'know?" He peered down at his sleeping brother. "Cole, buddy c'mon time to go sleepyhead." "five more minutes." Cole replied tiredly. Jay raised one eyebrow. "Cole! You need to wake up." Cole grunted. Jay sighed. "Ok you asked for it." In one swift move Jay twisted to the side, causing the tired raven to fall. "Ow, *cough what was that for?" He stared at his brother with a murderous look in his eyes. Jay smirked down at him. "I had to wake you up somehow, besides we gotta get going, ninjaing waits for no one!" He offered a hand to Cole, Cole took it. "Yeah *cough whatever motor mouth." Kai walked over to the coat rack where he picked up his red jacket "Before we go, we need to get our winter clothes, it's really cold down there." Jay nodded and went to get his, Cole just stood there awkwardly. "Um *cough what if you don't have any?" His brothers looked at him like he just said "Um I can speak fluent dolphin." "You don't have any winter clothes? How?" Jay asked, dazed. "I never really needed it *cough i'd rather just train my body to deal with the cold *cough than rely on something to keep me warm." Kai zipped up his fury coat. "So you don't have anything?" Cole shook his head.

"Boots?"

"Nope"

"Coat?"

"Nada"

"Gloves?"

"No"

"Scarf?"

"Kai I don't have any of that stuff! *cough"

Kai looked at the black ninja in shock. "Then how did you survive last time we were here?" Cole's face went blank. "Well, I was a ghost Kai, didn't really feel anything." Suddenly Cole remembered all the hard times and crap he went through because of Yang. He's not just their master, he's their captor... Why is it that I can see through my hand... ahhhhhhhhhhh... you didn't make it out in time Cole... I'm a ghost! The scene flashed through his mind, the running, the screaming, Yang's evil laugh, it was all too much, he couldn't feel his legs, he couldn't feel anything! 'dontpanicdontpanicdontpanicdontpanic' "...ole..ole...Cole...COLE!" The raven blinked and he was back. His friends were surrounding him with worry written all over their faces. "Huh?"

"You spaced out, is everything ok?" Jay asked. Cole nodded. "Sorry *cough just remembering, agh what were you saying?" Kai gave him a look, before handing him a white fluffy coat. "It's Zane's. I don't think he'll mind if you borrow it. Are you sure you're ok? I know what today is." Cole sighed. "I'm fine *cough really just zoned out, that's all." Kai took one last glance then walked over to the hanger doors. "I'm opening up, get into your mechs."

Cole coughed once more but did as he was told, he had to give Jay credit his mech looked awesome. It was all black with orange rocks painted onto it, it even had a light gray earth symbol imprinted on the back. Smiling to himself Cole climbed into the metal machine. Jay did the same, but with his blue one. It looked similar to Cole's except it had a giant yellow lightning strike across the front, with mini light blue ones surrounding it. Cole gave Kai a thumbs up and the burnett switched the toggle that opened the trapdoors. He then jumped into his own fiery red mech. "Ok boys, let's go save our friends." The black ninja watched as both his brothers landed safely on the ground. He looked down at his controls. "Aw man, why did Jay have to use red and green?" He said to himself, "calm down Cole, you got this, you know that green means go and red means stop, and if those two colors are switched... well at least for you, then that one." He pointed to the green button, "is green, and that one." He moved his finger to the red button, "is red." With a deep breath he pushed the green button.

Nothing happened. "What? Oh come on!" "Cole is everything alright buddy?" Jay's voice came through the coms. "Yeah, *cough real quick is the green button on the right?" Cole waited patiently for his brother's reply. "Yup it is, oh but i should probably mention i switched the meanings, if you want to move you gotta press the red one hehe." Cole could only imagine Jay's nervous smile. With a quick eye roll he pressed the red button, the mech moved so fast forward it flung him down the hole. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" He landed with a thump in the snow.

"Ooh that's gotta hurt." Jay said unhelpfully. Kai helped Cole up. "Thanks Kai *cough *cough just like old times, right?" The raven joked. Kai rolled his eyes. "Yeah except this time it was just your own clumsiness, at least back then you had a good excuse." For the sake of his dignity Cole decided to change the subject. "Remind me again why you switched red and green?" Jay smiled. "I thought it could be fun, you know to mix it up for once?" The black ninja started maneuvering up the mountain. "Yeah ok *cough it's not like one of us is colorblind or anything." Jay was suddenly filled with guilt. "Oh man sorry I forgot." Cole noted how wavy his voice was, very unusual for the normally chirpy blue bird. "Its ok lets just-" The black ninja saw something move out of the corner of his eye. "Cole? you alright?" Kai asked walking up to his little brother. "Shh, somethings in the bushes." "It's probably just a yak." "Or a goat" Jay added, Kai rolled his eyes. "Yak Jay Yak!" "No it's a goat, I'm calling it!" While those two entered a very manly and totally not childish debate on what animal was in the bushes. Cole went to see for himself.

He heard some strange noises then a loud snap! As if something or rather someone stepped on a twig. Suddenly a figure jumped out of its hiding place, it wore an all black outfit with a dark gray jacket, and its boots were as high as its knees. "Commence operation Earth Snatcher!" He yelled. As he said that many other people jumped out of their hiding places, some guys even had their own mechs. The ninjas stood in a fighting position. One of the new mechs launched an attack at Cole who swiftly dodged it, but then he felt a force hit from behind that knocked him off his feet. He tried to jump out of his mech before it hit the ground but ended up wedged in between. His face was pressed against the dirt but he managed to wiggle to his side to see his brothers surrounded by many other strange figures. 'uh oh' The guy Cole saw earlier was now flying in a black jet shooting harpoon-like hooks that ultimately took the blue and red mechs down gray smoke escaping all around them. "Noooooo *cough *cough" Cole coughed. The jet landed on the snow, and its pilot hopped out before slowly making its way over to the trapped ninja. "Hello Cole." He spoke with a deep husky voice. "I've been expecting you!" He raised a fist to the back of the raven's head. "Boss wants to see you later, we've got big plans for you boy." The figure smiled, "but for now it's nighty night time." Cole felt his body go limp, the last thing he thought before darkness took over was...

Worst.Day.Ever.