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"The mask of hatred... We've found it." Cole laughed, and he had to laugh. After all this time, after all this stress and false leads and simply not knowing where to go, the final mask was right in front of him.
Right there. Shrouded in purple energy.
Lloyd smiled too, but it was probably due to a different reason. They'd beaten the Sons of Garmadon, they weren't going to win and carry out their plan; that was most likely the reason.
In that moment, though, Cole had won. No one else, not the ninja, no one.
Him.
He just needed the mask.
"Lloyd, you can take it. Your Oni blood will let you take the mask."
And Lloyd turned, he faced the purple field with a set gaze and Cole swallowed hard. All this time, all of the lies and the struggle, it would be over! He could finally get what he wanted, bring back what was taken from him.
Then Lloyd took hold of the mask, and pulled. The purple light flared for just a second, but died down just as promptly; and the mask was free.
Cole took a small step forward beside himself, he just wanted a proper look. "The last mask..." He shook himself, "Come on, let’s head back to the Bounty. Before the Sons of Garmadon find out we've got the last mask."
He reached over for the mask, subtly. Like, why would he not want to hold it? Lloyd could take the lead, focus on getting back to the Bounty safely, and Cole could carry the mask.
Then Lloyd shifted away, moving the mask with him, and with a slight bit of confusion, he questioned, "How did you know... That I was part Oni?"
Cole just raised an eyebrow after a second, as if it was obvious, "Lloyd, you're the grandson of the First Spinjitzu Master. He's an Oni, you're part Oni."
"But, at Mystaké's, Jay and I found out. And we didn't tell anyone, it wasn't important at the time..." Lloyd faltered, they hadn’t told anyone, "We didn't even mention it."
"Jay told me." Cole shrugged, but his eyes flickered between Lloyd's expression and the mask. At the shock that was there, the confusion.
The dawning realisation.
"Lloyd, just give me the mask, we need to get going--"
"You're the Quiet One..." He whispered.
All that could be heard in the cavern was the sound of dripping water. The echo of the river running outside, and their joint breathing. Deep, fast.
Cole swallowed hard, but put on a small smile, "What? Lloyd, come on. That's a stupid idea."
He advanced, Lloyd just stepped further away.
"Why would I be the Quiet One?"
Lloyd paused, and Cole could tell he was thinking. Thinking of a reason, an explanation of his accusation.
"I don't know... But Cole, you're the Jade Prince. You're a Ninja! But you knew about the mask, you knew where the map to it was.
It wouldn't be the first secret you've kept from us--"
Cole's gaze snapped up to Lloyd at those words. The first secret? The fact that he'd kept it from them? That he’d kept everything from them?
No, he didn't keep secrets. He didn't lie to people, not really. He wouldn't have to if he knew that he could trust them with the truth. The reveal of him being the Jade Prince had only been a source of jibes and ridicule. Jay had laughed at the situation, right in front of his father.
Was there any reason why he should have told them? The Sons of Garmadon knew, they knew every part of his life. Everything.
Whereas, the ninja, his supposed friends find out one thing about him and suddenly that's all they tease him for.
Is it any wonder why he kept things from them?
And if he'd told them, would they have cared? Taken an interest? Cole knew that he wasn't the most liked ninja; in the sense that if he asked anyone of his teammates who they cared about the most, Cole wouldn't be at the top of anyone's list.
He was in the background. He was ignored and pushed aside and almost forgotten about! He got turned into a ghost and no one seemed to care how he felt; and between his life at the Palace, at the Monastery, and with the Sons of Garmadon, he was being pulled in so many directions and he was so exhausted...
Yet, no one asked him if he was okay. No one acknowledged the bags under his eyes or the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Me, keeping secrets?" Cole laughed beside himself, though it wasn't jovial. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes. They really didn't understand.
They didn't know what they'd done-- or not done.
"I've never kept anything from you guys. The idea of a secret is something that I keep hidden actively from people. That is unseen by others." Cole grit his teeth, glared at Lloyd. "You don't pay attention, no one cares enough about me to even class it as a secret. No one looks at me and wonders if I'm okay, wonders if I'm keeping things from people-- no one wonders because no one cares!" He shouted.
The ground rumbled in unison, powers fueled by Cole's frustration. The hurt. Lloyd stumbled back.
"Cole--"
"I'm invisible to you guys! Always the last one you think about, the last one you notice!" There was a short crack in his voice. He threaded his fingers through his hair, pulling. Everything was coming rushing out, all because Lloyd had to pick the wrong thing to say.
"So what if I am the Quiet One? I've been silenced my whole life! By my father and my role as the Prince, by being a Ninja and not being able to tell you who I really am! By being the least important! No one listens to me!
No one notices that I'm in pain and I'm so exhausted that I can't even keep myself awake half the time!"
Cole advanced forward faster, and Lloyd moved the mask behind his back and maintained the distance between the two of them.
"Cole… We didn't know you felt like that." Lloyd said, placatingly. "If you'd just come and told us, told us how you were feeling, who you are, we would have helped you! We would have listened, understood!"
Cole grabbed for the mask and Lloyd tripped backwards, hitting the ground, Cole just stood over him, his shoulders heaving, his eyes burning with tears that were quickly threatening to spill.
"So you could laugh at me?" He shouted. "And don't tell me you wouldn't have, Jay did! In the throne room, in front of the Emperor, my father!” Cole jabbed a finger at his own chest, “So you could dismiss my feelings? Get caught up in some other worldly problem or someone else's issue?"
Lloyd looked hurt at that, and gathered himself up off the floor, "We're your friends, Cole! We may not get it right all the time but we're here for you! We care about you, and whatever this Quiet One phase is, whatever the reason behind it is, we can help you." His eyes moved down to the mask in his hands, before he gripped it tightly.
"Why do you want the masks? They can resurrect people, why do you want them?" The question was carefully measured, quietly spoken in the expanse of the cavern. The atmosphere was still thick, tense, but Lloyd was trying to calm it. Calm the situation.
"Because with the masks, I can get the one person back who actually cares about me." Cole swallowed around the lump in his throat, he could feel a tear fall free and track down his cheek, he just wiped it away and held out his hand.
"Give me the mask, Lloyd."
"Tell me who you're resurrecting-- Cole, tell me everything. We can sit and talk, figure this out. This doesn't have to go any further than it has done, you can stop right now. This whole thing can stop."
Lloyd, always the talker. Always words before actions.
"I want my mother back." Cole ground out after a second of silence, his head dropping forwards a little. He didn't need Lloyd to see the pain on his face. He didn't want anyone to see the pain he felt inside.
Lloyd's eyes widened.
Cole just straightened up after a moment, he eyes the mask but his attention was mainly on Lloyd. At the fact that he was listening.
Or, at the fact that it took deception and lies and a severe betrayal to finally get someone to listen to his plight.
To ask if he was okay.
Is that really what it took to get people to listen to him? For him to stop being invisible?
"I just want to be seen, Lloyd. I just want to be understood and cared about--
"We do care! And you can help us understand--"
"Shut up." He spat.
Lloyd promptly fell silent.
"I want my mother." Cole shifted on his feet, until he was in a fighting stance, his legs apart, arms up and fists balled. "And I want that mask."
Lloyd observed what was happening, but didn't make any move to retaliate, to show he was going to fight back.
"Cole--"
"I want to be seen! I don't want to be ignored, I don't want to be invisible or to be someone's second choice! I want to be cared about!
And when you give me that mask, willingly or not, I'll finally have someone who cares.
I'll finally be seen."