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Cole arrived back to the monastery after a hard day a work to them all lounging about in the what they nicknamed a hot tub but was actually Wu’s sacred bell of divinity which had one day filled with water which Kai used his fire to heat up and turn into a hot tub.
Even though it had been months since they all had used the tornado of creation to defeat the Oni and thereby saved Ninjago one again the rest of ninja had done what they always do during breaks and go completely soft and lazy doing nothing but play video games and relax. And while Cole enjoyed his down time he had found it boring after a while so the first time they had one of these breaks he had started at the University of Ninjago studying and working towards becoming what he had always dreamed of being a doctor.
He had never told his friends about his passion for healing people secretly whenever he had any spare time studying and working at the local hospital and he had officially acquired his medical license some years ago now he was working his way up slowly to his hope of becoming a qualified surgeon. He was already quite gifted and only needed a bit more training and work before he would be a fully qualified surgeon with a specialty in paediatric medicine given his love of children.
He had always been adept at using his hands not just for heavy lifting but more precise things he enjoyed challenging himself and was smarter than many people though finishing top of his class in medicine at the university and had wanted to be a doctor since he was a young child and watched his mother suffer and die from a long and painful disease he had wished he could fix her. And while he did enjoy dancing like his father he had no talent for it and much preferred helping people.
‘Hey Cole’ Jay called to him finally noticing him in the kitchen pouring himself a cup of coffee after working a 12 hour shift
‘Where have you been? Why don’t you come and relax with us?’ Jay asked
‘Oh nowhere and sure I fancy a nice relaxing dip but first I’m really close to beating Zane’s high score on lava zombies and I really want to get back to it maybe later’
‘What really I’ll go get the others’ Jay said sounding excited as Cole sat down at video game attaching his drink hat to his head the other ninjas all coming in to cheer him on
‘Get the guy on the left’ Lloyd said
‘Cole you’re on fire’ Kai exclaimed
‘Whoo-hoo you did it’ Nya exclaimed and the rest cheered alongside him
‘Whoo-hoo lava zombie king’ Cole said proud of his own small achievement
Suddenly Jay came running back in with Zayne saying
‘Aw man we missed it’
‘Congratulations Cole. That is quite an achievement’ Zayne congratulated
‘Thanks buddy no hard feelings?’ Cole asked
‘Of course not’ Zayne reassured
‘Aw good because my arm is pretty sore’ Cole grumbled
‘I’m sore just from watching’ Nya chimed in
‘Know what I’m thinking?’ Kai asked
‘Hot tub’ they all shouted Cole smiled glad at spending this time with his friends and ran to get changed into his swimming trunks and jump in the hot tub he was glad he had changed out his scrubs at the hospital after he had finished his shift he really could do with a bit of a relax it had been a challenging but also rewarding day he had figured out what was wrong with this little girl called Grace that had stumped all of his colleagues before he figured it out thankfully she would be ok
‘Kai a little heat please?’ Nya asked her brother
‘But of course’ answered
‘This is the life’ Cole said feeling fully relaxed more than he had all day because he loved his job don’t get him wrong but it was nice to be home with his friends near and just relax without someone’s life hanging in the balance
‘We earned it pal fighting all those bad guys saving Ninjago’ Kai answered just then there was a bang and they all gasped and looked up the steps to the top of the ladder only to see Master Wu glaring down at them
‘I can’t believe we’re back to this’
‘What’ Lloyd answered
‘After every big victory you get lazy. complacent. careless’
‘Uh that is not true’ Kai argued
‘We’re recovering. We’re resting our muscles’ Cole answers privately agreeing with Master Wu about the other ninja not him though he had a full time job but the others didn’t know so they all assumed he did nothing but eat cake
‘It was months ago’ Master Wu growled
‘Months? Really?’ Nya answered sounding puzzled
‘Are you sure?’ Cole replied thinking that time really does fly by it hadn’t felt like months but he had been really busy working he wasn’t sure what the others had been doing
‘Yes’ Master Wu said
‘Oh well who’s counting?’ Kai answered shrugging
‘I am look at yourselves you’ve gone soft you do nothing all day but play video games and eat cake and soak in this…this’ Master Wu said poking them with his staff and dumping Cole’s sandwich into the water Cole glared that had been his dinner and he thinks he deserved it after his long shift but he kept reminding himself Master Wu doesn’t know that
‘Hot tub’ Cole answered cheekily
‘It’s not a hot tub it’s the sacred bell of divinity out out all of you’ Master Wu shouted finally losing his temper before saying as the other ninja groaned
‘Emergency meeting in the monastery in three minutes’
‘You have become soft, lazy, flabby’ Master Wu lectured once again throwing away Cole’s sandwich Cole was beginning to get annoyed at this he agreed the others may have been but he wasn’t he was actually loosing weight because he’d been so busy with shifts he still had a full six pack and he trained when he could and enjoyed climbing as a hobby recently climbing all the peaks in Ninjago which had been one of his life goals.
‘Okay that’s getting a tad personal’ Cole said annoyed and insulted
‘Nobody has gotten soft Master Wu I promise you we are in perfect condition’
Lloyd tried to persuade his old master which was ruined by Cole’s burp
‘Silence’ Master Wu shouted Straightening all the ninja up before continuing with his lecture
‘Since ancient times the hills around this monastery have been populated by a species of highly aggressive predators the first monks built the walls extra tall to keep them out they failed many monks were lost’ the ninjas attention was then directed to box by their masters feet that was snarling and shaking
‘What’s in the box’ Jay asked freaked
‘In order to survive’ Master Wu continued ignoring him
‘the monks became faster, stronger, more cunning they evolved into ninja to this day it is a test that every ninja must face’
‘Uh test’ Cole asked hesitatingly he had a hard and long day and did not know how well he would preform
‘To prove their courage they must survive five minutes in a room with one of these’ Master Wu said opening the box and walking out the room and shutting the door behind him.
The box opens to reveal… a chicken
‘Oh he had me going there for a sec’ Cole chuckled relieved
‘Heh who knew Wu had a sense of humour?’ Jay replied just then the chicken turned bright blue and exploded with hidden energy and starting attacking them the other ninja immediately started to freak out and scream but Cole managed to keep calm him time in the emergency department at work going in his favour he could literally keep calm under even the most stressful of situations so while the others started getting beat up and attacked by the chicken he formed and plan and picked up his discarded sandwich and somehow managed to lure the chicken back into its box with barely a hair out of place. The other ninja stared at him in slack jawed amazement as Cole went to open the door only to see Wu on the other side smiling smugly Wu studied him confuse to see the other ninja lying on top of each other in a pile looking like they’d just survived a war while Cole looked barely troubled handing him the box and saying ‘Hey we got the chicken it’s in the box we’re as sharp as ever’ ‘You are weak and slow a ninjas guard is never down a ninja expects the unexpected he is ready for hesitatingly’ Master Wu replied looking at the other ninja then looking back at Cole and scanning him up and down as though he had missed something
‘Right that’s us’ Cole replied to which Master Wu only chuckled before saying
‘We shall see’
‘What does that mean’ Lloyd questioned finally getting up of the floor and looking at his old master who only walked away.
It had been weeks and Cole and the other ninja were reaching ends of their rope after the pranks Master Wu had been pulling on them Cole especially every time he tried to leave for work or come back he was having to shake off a tail and even then when he came home from work to find something to eat he found the chicken in the fridge ready to attack him while he managed to contain it relatively easily it was really stressing him out also when he tried several days later to get his weekly piece of cake out the fridge that had ganache frosting only to find a trap door he managed to avoid falling down if only just but from what the other ninja were saying they were getting even worse treatment
‘This has to stop we have to do something Lloyd’ Nya screamed entirely fed up and with green slime on her arms
‘Okay okay let me think this is ridiculous let’s just go and talk to him like reasonable ninja’ Lloyd said leading the other ninja outside to where Master Wu was sweeping
‘Master Wu is there anything that we can do as a group that could prove to you that we have not gone soft?’ Lloyd asked
‘So you can stop booby trapping stuff?’ Jay screeched
‘There is one thing’ Master Wu replied mysteriously
‘What’s that’ Lloyd replied hopefully
‘Prove me wrong by defeating me in combat’ Master Wu said
‘Combat?’ Lloyd questioned
‘But I thought you said fighting never proves anything’ Nya asked
‘Accept in this case it will prove you can still fight’ Master Wu said
‘We can’t fight you your our master’ Lloyd said
‘And we’ll no offence but your kinda old’ Cole replied but no to be rude but because he knew where his old master was going with this and was quite sure he would beat all of them easily
‘Ah is that why? You sure you aren’t afraid’ Master Wu taunted
‘Yeah right’ the other ninja laughed confident in their victory
‘Then prove it attack me’ Master Wu replied grabbing his staff and making a move of slamming it down in front of him his golden power coming off it like electricity knocking all the ninja down like skittles Cole held back a bit watching all his fellow ninja rush in and Master Wu nock them all down saying
‘Fail’ after to make it even more humiliating Cole however formed a plan while waiting for all the ninja to become incapacitated easily he grabbed his hammer then using the element of surprise used his lava hands making the earth shake and managing to unsteady Master Wu before shooting an earth ball at him which he ducked quickly Cole then prefers to use his spinjitzu to get in close before flipping over him before managing to knock him down with his hammer Master Wu looked slightly shocked before jumping up and staring across the training yard at him and when he realised Cole wasn’t going to charge him he ran towards Cole however dodged and weaved his blows using his gracefulness as a dancer to artfully weave around all of his moves finally Wu stepped back panting and looking In amazement at his pupil feeling very proud of him and very old. Cole smiled and said
'the art of the silent fist is what i believe sensei Garmadon calked it' Wu looked shocked at that then an understanding looked passed over his face and he said
'well done Cole for using your brain clearly my earlier words were misplaced you have not grown lazy or flabby but have in fact improved and i am very proud if you as your master' Cole smiled at this and nodded at him
'you are forgiven Master Wu' Wu smiled then looked round at the rest of the ninja seeing then all stare at both himself and Cole
'as for the rest of you lot' he said before preceding to beat the rest of them up leaving them all piled up on top of each other before dropping a chicken on them for good measure Cole watched for a bit before heading for his shift.
All the ninja minus Cole were all sat in their room thinking but not of the humiliating defeat they had just gone through but of Cole
‘This doesn’t make sense how come Cole managed to beat Master Wu and then just disappeared while we all got totally humiliated’ Lloyd complained
‘Yeah and how has Cole improved so much while the rest of us are really rusty I mean even Master Wu himself said how much improved he was I mean he’s my best friend and I love the guy but last I checked he wasn’t that good a fighter he’s normally a bit clumsy’ Jay replied
‘He’s not clumsy’ Nya defended
‘You didn’t see him when he got his new lava hands I swear he almost killed me multiple times with them’ Jay replied
‘But that was when he’d just acquired a new power and was getting used to it but this was different it wasn’t just the way he fought it was how to did you notice while we all charged in he went to go get his hammer and come up with a plan’ Nya replied
‘She’s right it was very logical the way he fought which is not normal for him’ Zayne agreed
‘Maybe he’s been getting extra training?’ Lloyd wondered
‘Certainly not from Master Wu he looked as shocked as the rest of us’ Kai added
‘But where else I mean he hasn’t really been anywhere else in months like the rest of us’ Jay added
‘No that is not strictly true he has been spending most of his time elsewhere’ Zayne replied
‘Really how come we haven’t noticed and where has he been going’ Kai asked
‘There’s only one way to find out how about next time we see him we follow him to see where he goes’ Lloyd said making a plan the other ninja nodded they too were very curious about where Cole was getting this extra training from
When Cole got back to the monastery late that night they took turns spying on him and the next day when he was getting ready to go they followed him secretly following the tracker they placed on the car he was using when they arrived at the Ninjago hospital they exchanged worried looks but followed him inside but they were confused when they saw him go in to the staff locker rooms and come out in a pair of blue scrubs with a hospital badge on and a stethoscope around his neck they were even more shocked multiple doctors addressed him as doctor Brookstone confirming their suspicions that Cole had a secret job. Cole then walked into an empty room the rest of the ninja followed so they could hear what was going on only to hear Cole say
‘Well I guess the jig is up come on out guys and I promise I’ll answer all your questions’ the rest of the ninja proceeded to enter the room all of them staring at Cole who had the grace to look slightly apologetic
‘Why did you never tell us you were a doctor?’ Lloyd asked sounding confused
‘Yeah we are meant be friends at least if not siblings how could you lie to us and keep such a vital part of your life away from us’ Jay asked sounding hurt
‘I’m sorry ok it’s just I didn’t want you to think I that I don’t want to be a ninja anymore I do I just love being a doctor more than anything I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I never meant to hide it from you I just started studying not long after we became ninjas and every time we had a break from battle I’d go to university and study getting my qualifications and working in the hospital whenever I got the chance’ Cole said trying to explain his reasoning
‘I didn’t want you lot to think I was overwhelmed or that was going to pick one career over the other so far I’ve done a pretty good job of balancing them both’ Cole continued
The ninjas looked thoughtfully at him before Nya asked
‘so how smart are you actually because just be a doctor you must be smarter than we thought’ Cole smirked at that before replying
‘ I’m smart enough I just don’t know very much about engineering and building as Nya, Jay and Zayne but I was top of my class in medical school I’m also almost finished with my training to be a surgeon and I also have a specialty in paediatric medicine’ the rest of the ninja looked rather shocked at that before a voice sounded out on the intercom
‘Paging Dr Cole Brookstone to surgical room 3’
‘Oh shit I’ve got to go I’m late can we talk later when I’m finished with my shift’ Cole swore
‘No we still need to talk your not getting out of it’ Kai replied sounding annoyed Cole groaned and said
‘Fine go to room 23 on the second floor tell them Dr Brookstone sent you to entertain the patients and I’ll meet you there in about thirty minutes’ the rest of the ninja nodded then proceeded to go upstairs not talking to each other till they reached room 23 and told the nurse what Cole said the nurse looked suspicious but then smiled and nodded after she heard what they had to say when they walked in the saw that all the bed were filled with kids but there was a play room at the end that had a table one of the patients though looked familial
‘Nelson?’ Kai asked
‘Ninja what are you doing here?’ The little boy with a cast on his foot asked looking up at them
‘We’re here to talk to Cole’ Lloyd said
‘Oh Dr Brookstone he should be here soon he always makes sure to visit all the kids here at the start of his shift’ Nelson replied
‘So you know him?’ Jay asked
‘Of course who doesn’t he’s practically famous in this hospital’ Nelson said
‘Why because he’s a ninja?’ Kai asked
‘Maybe a bit at first I suppose but not anymore it’s because he’s so fun and caring and smart I hear the nurses and the other kids talk about him he solves the cases no one else can solve I mean just a few weeks ago there was this little girl Grace all the doctors looked at her and had no idea what was wrong with her so they give her case to Dr Brookstone and within an hour he knows exactly what’s wrong with her and in the next few hours she walked out the hospital completely healthy. I hear he’s set to become a surgeon in the next few weeks making him the youngest surgeon in all of Ninjago and that they want to promote him to head of paediatrics’ Nelson babbled it was clear to the ninja that he really cared about Cole
‘Wow really’ Jay replied stunned to think his best friend was so accomplished and that he apparently had some secret life the other ninja knew nothing about. Not long after that Cole entered he spotted the ninja immediately but instead went round and to every child in the room entertaining them asking them how they felt and if they needed anything when he finally made his way to Nelson’s bed he smiled and said
‘How my most frequent patient another broken ankle?’
‘Yep I fell off my bike Dr Brookstone’ Nelson replied
‘Well are you feeing ok now any numbness or pain?’ Cole asked
‘Nope I’m good I think your friends want to talk with you’ Nelson said
‘Okay I promise to come again to see you before the end of my shift remember anything bothers you call a nurse and they’ll send for me’ Cole replied
‘Will do bye Dr Brookstone’ Nelson said waving at him as Cole made his way to the table at the end of the room where the other ninja were
‘I’m still working here so I can’t talk for very long just tell me what you want to tell me and we can continue this discuss when I get back to the monastery tonight’ Cole said very seriously to his friends the other ninja glanced at each other before Lloyd said
‘I think we all need to think a bit but we can talk tonight when you’ve got more time’
‘Ok feel free to entertain the kids if you want if not just leave the door you came in I have to go now’ Cole replied and left
When Cole arrived back in the monastery he opened the kitchen to find all the ninja there waiting for him he was about to open his mouth before Lloyd said
‘You don’t have to look so worried we all are kinda sad you didn’t trust us and that you hid a part of your life from us but that’s your choice we would never kick you out of the ninja if that’s something you didn’t want but we’ve all decided to go on a quest but we know you want to become a surgeon but with your new skills we could use you’
‘Don’t be so serious Lloyd we just wanna know if you want to come on a quest with us and to answer how did you get your new skills?’ Jay chimed in Cole smiled before saying
‘I would love to come on a quest with you I’m on a pretty flexible contract and only work when I want to work my boss understand ninja work comes first and in terms on the skills working in the ED and with children means you’ve got to keep you head and be calm pretty much all the time not to mention be active and on your feet and have great balance in surgery to do your best plus I’ve been doing a lot of training recently since I’ve been climbing and just achieved my life goal of climbing all the tallest mountains in Ninjago’
‘That’s good then congratulations ninja on your strength both as a team and a family and congratulations Cole on your achievements underestimating you is a very stupid thing to do as I think we have all learned here today’ Master Wu chimed in creeping out of the shadows with a very proud look on his face all the ninja smiled then Cole said
‘Well then let’s go on a quest I have no doubt we can face anything we meet together united’