Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Spitz was used to finding trinkets in the vast dumps of The Land of Lost Things, but this one was different. A mirror lay slightly off the ground, with its shattered surface reflecting the young serpentine’s face back at him, the rim aglow with an amber hue. The item was unlike anything in the land, beautiful and striking. How could it have been forgotten? Spitz nudged Fritz’s side, urging the young formling to marvel in its beauty.

This was the first time either boy had seen themselves clearly, in spite of the large crack. The Land of Lost Things rarely acquired reflective surfaces, as who could forget an object that constantly reminds yourself of you. Fritz spun around a couple times, flapping his wings and laughing at the following image. Spitz flicked his forked tongue a few times, giggling alongside his brother.

Wordlessly, Spitz communicated to Fritz that they needed to take it home. Bonzle would get a massive kick out of it, Fritz thought, laughing to himself about how the vain skeleton girl would react. Spitz grabbed one side of the mirror, and Fritz the other. Simultaneously, the pair lifted the mirror off the ground. The amber glow did not follow, rather it grew in intensity, with its full radiance now free to shine across the dull land. The boys set the mirror down to their sides, and brushed the dirt off the glowing figure.

Spitz yelped, jumping back, “It’sssssss a person!!” Spitz knew for sure that the mirror was special now. It had been shielding a glowing human.

“People don’t glow,” Fritz looked at his brother for reassurance, “Right?” Spitz examined the details of the person as he spoke, “Thissss one doesssss, I guesssssss.” He continued to poke at the figure, watching as the glow shifted in strength. The luminance came from a scar directly above the human’s right eye. Despite the reasonable size of the injury, the resulting light was enough to cover the entire Rookery. Spitz pushed the figure to its side, exposing a bleeding gash on its back.

“Yikes,” Fritz mumbled, covering his eyes just enough to shield the blood from his view. Spitz set the human back on its back, “Don’t jussssst sssstand there!! Get Geo!” Fritz nodded and rushed down the mound. He stopped for a second, and ran back up to the mirror, grabbing its side and dragging it with him.

“Hey,” Spitz ripped the bandage off his wrist, and wrapped it around the person’s wound, “Hold in there, human-perssssssson-creature.” Geo had told Spitz to always carry bandages on him when exploring the land, because, as he always said, “You never know when the Hoarder, or something as dangerous, may show up.” He had always found Geo’s worry a bit silly, but this moment proved the insurance valuable.

Fritz had returned in no time at all, with Geo and Bonzle at his side. Each of the three carried medical materials in their crossbody bags. Spitz urgently waved for the others' attention, “Geo! It’sssss here!!! A human-persssson-creature!! And it’ssss hurt!!”

“Fritz filled me in,” Geo examined the person, “Great job Spitz, the bandaging is very well done.” He flipped the person over on its front, having Bonzle hold its head up so as not to choke it. “Finders?,” Geo addressed the group, “Can you help me pick this one up? We’re taking it to the Rookery.”

By the time the Finders had gotten the person safe within the Rookery, the scar’s glowing had stopped. Geo paced back and forth, fiddling with a piece of scrap metal he had found. Spitz and Fritz took turns looking over the person, equally concerned by the lack of the beautiful amber light. Bonzle messed with the cracks in the mirror, now propped up against the wall right of the fireplace. The person’s bleeding had stopped.

The familiar smell of smoke lingered in the air as Cole came too. His eyes barely fluttered open, but chose to stay shut against the warmth of the couch he was laying on. He could have laid there for the rest of his life, with the comforting crackling of the fireplace drifting him back to sleep.

“Geo!! It’sssss waking!” a voice cried out, its feet stomping up and down as Cole’s eyes flew open. They scanned the room frantically for any sight of familiarity. However, he was only greeted by the piercing eyes of four others, and the lack of any shirt on his own body, just bandages. He tried to stand, grabbing anything to defend himself with, his scar lighting up for a brief moment. Cole was unprepared for the excruciating pain his injury provided, quickly falling back down onto the couch.

Geo ran to the human’s side, propping its head up on a half chewed pillow, “Be careful, you’re hurt pretty deep.”

Cole stared at the being providing him with help. The individual had a deep voice, purple skin and long braided hair. Cole racked his head for what land this fellow was from, for any indication of where he was. This one was Geo, he assumed given the urgency by which the voice cried out to them for. Behind Geo hid three children; a skulkin wearing a brown cap with intention, a formling dawned in crow memorabilia, and a serpentine who’s blue color indicated Hypnobrai origins. His tension released. These people weren’t going to hurt him.

“I am Geo,” the purple one began to introduce the others, pointing in the same order Cole had looked upon the kids in, “This is Bonzle, Fritz, and Spitz, and we’re…” Geo paused for a second, “We’re the Finders.” Cole blinked trying to find the words to respond. He was able to croak out a few. “Cole. My name. Is Cole.”

“Cole?” Spitz walked over to his side, placing a finger scale on Cole’s scar, “Why wassss thisssss glowing?”

“Spitz! Enough!” Geo spat. There was no anger in his voice, just concern. “Let Cole get their bearings before overwhelming them with questions,” Geo smiled apologetically, “Are you able to tell us what you remember? Why are you here?”

“I don’t know, really…” Cole ruminated, “something happened, and then everything went… white?” A moment passed before he asked, “Where am I?”

“The Land of Lost Things,” Geo said, continuing when Cole seemed to know nothing of it, “That’s what we call it, at least. None of us know exactly where it is. It’s a place where forgotten things go to live the rest of their days.” Forgotten. The word stung against Cole’s ears and brain, pounding like a migraine. Before he could even think, his eyes began to water and he let out a frustrated yell. Forgotten.

Geo kneeled next to Cole, “It’s hard, we know.”

Forgotten.

“You aren’t really forgotten,” Geo assured, “more so misplaced… If that helps.” Cole stared at the Finders in disbelief. He wiped his tears, pulling himself together.

Okay, he thought, This is like any other time we’ve gotten separated, no different. But what had happened before this? Some sort of explosion? Last he remembered, he and Jay were saving some kid from.. something? A collapsed building? His memories blurred together. No point in trying to figure it out now, Cole thought.

“You some kind of.. human?” Bonzle asked with a hint of sass. “I haven’t seen one of those in…” she leaned against the mirror she had been messing with, “ever. Y’know?”

“I’m human, from Ninjago City,” Cole explained, “I’m assuming all of you are from places other than the Land?” Each Finder nodded.

“I’m from the, what do you other-worlders call it? Ah. The ‘Underworld’”, Bonzle joked, “Bit silly I think.”

“Oh! Oh!” The serpentine child, Spitz jumped up and down, “I am from Ninjago too!!” As quickly as the excitement had come, it too faded, “At leassssst I think. That’sssss what Geo ssssays…”

Cole smiled softly at the kid, “Wanna know something? I knew a whole lot of serpentine back in Ninjago. Hypnobrai too.”

“Really!? Did any of them look like me?!” Spitz’s joy came back, alongside his jumping.

“I’ll think on it,” Cole laughed calmly, remembering all of the allies he had made back home. He looked to the others, silently asking where they had congregated from.

Fritz moved past Spitz, “Never-Realm. Raven Tribe specifically. But I can’t transform.” Geo placed his hand on Fritz’s shoulder, “And that’s okay Fritz, not every formling can transform.” The pair looked at each other warmly as Geo continued, “I hail from Shintaro, technically, but I’d never call it my home.” Cole raised an eyebrow, expecting more explanation, but none came as Geo folded his arms close to his chest.

A moment passed before Geo continued, “Regardless of where we hail from, it doesn’t matter. What matters is our here and now,” he spread his arms out across the room, “Our home, our friends, our family, it’s the Land.” The boys nodded enthusiastically as Bonzle agreed.

“How long have you been here?” Cole inquired, reluctantly. Any answer would be too much time for a Ninja to be from their team.

“I don’t even know at this point,” Geo contemplated, “Maybe five years?”

“FIVE YEARS!?”

Geo was confused, “Not enough time for you?”

“That’s a long time! You’ve been trapped here for five years!?”

Fritz spoke up first, “We ain’t trapped Mr Human - Cole Sir! This Land’s much better than where we came from! Here no one will forget us.” There was that word again, forget. To Cole that was sad, but it made sense. Each came from places that hailed the individual rather than the collective. Even his home land was the same way; You had to look out for yourself. That’s one of the reasons Cole joined the Ninjas in the first place, to build a world where people had someone they could rely on.

Geo held his arms even closer to his chest and looked away from Cole, clearly a deflection from the uncomfortable topic at hand. He grabbed Cole’s shirt and threw it at his face, “The bleeding stopped, put this back on.”

“Thank you for taking care of me,” Cole bowed towards the Finders, “I would’ve been lost… gone… for sure if it wasn’t for you.”

Bonzle nodded, “Don’t mention it… or else these two,” she pointed to the kids, “They’ll never let it go. They still make me play with them as a reward for helping to find all my bones.”

Fritz giggled, “Yeah Bonzle!! Let’s go play!!”

She exaggerated a loud sigh and grabbed her brother’s hands, “Let’s go play.” She rolled her eyes in her bone sockets sarcastically, leading the boys out.

Cole looked back at Geo. His eyes were still down, tracing the lines on the wood floor. Cole cleared his throat, “If there’s anything I can do to help out-”

Geo cut him off, “Just rest,” there was urgency in his eyes, “Please.”

Chapter Text

Cole had stayed with the Finders for a few days. The adjustment was tough, but not too much. Mostly the pain. And Geo’s avoidance. Whatever Cole had done had clearly struck a nerve. The kids hung around a lot, Spitz especially. He loved hearing Cole’s stories of his serpentine exploits. Of course, he omitted the real details of what had gone down; instead focusing on the coolness of their abilities and his acquaintanceship with the head of the Hypnobrai, Scales. Spitz never questioned why Cole met with Scales, or why he “saw” the Great Devourer up close. The boy was enamored by the stories. Cole felt a twinge of guilt every time he saw the stars light up in Spitz’s eyes. How was it fair that he had all of these stories about a community this child so desperately wanted to know of? How did he end up in the Land of Lost Things? What happened to his family?

What happened to them all?

“Cole!!” Spitz ran around the couch three times before sitting down in front, “Tell me another story!!” He paused and then whispered, “Tell me a sssscary one…”

“Hmmm… well.” He chuckled before continuing, “A long time ago, I was hypnotized into building a treehouse for a little kid. And that kid,” he couldn’t help but smile, “He was so bad. He gave me a run for my money.”

“That’ssss not sssscary!!” Spitz complained.

“Oh but it is!” Cole giggled, “I was made to stand there and work hard, manual labor! And for no pay! Worst part?” He moved in close, “I could feel my brain fighting against my nerves as the hypnosis took over my whole body. And…. boo!” He flashed his hands out to spook Spitz. The serpentine giggled. “Suddenly I was free, on top of an unstable treehouse.. built with no permit!! The scariest thing of all!!”
Spitz jumped back up and ran around the couch a few more times, “You’re so silly mister!” The real situation had been much scarier than Cole had made it seem. There was no way his top concern was the legality of the treehouse, but it made for a better children’s horror story that way. Suddenly Spitz stopped in his tracks.

“Do you think I could do that?”

“Do what? Build without a permit?”

“No!!” Spitz laughed, “Hypnotize you.” Cole weighed his options before speaking. On one hand, that seemed like a terrible idea, teach a seven year old to hypnotize people, but on the other, it would be better if there was someone to help instead of the poor kid discovering this on his own.

“Sure. I mean, someday!” Spitz’s eyes widened in anticipation. “But remember that everything you do has a consequence. You can’t go around hypnotizing people because you didn’t get what you wanted. Want to know how the story with the treehouse ended?” Spitz nodded. “The treehouse collapsed, and the kid got really hurt,” Cole explained. “He is okay now,” I hope, he thought, “But that irresponsibility haunted him for a long time. You have to be better than that, okay?” Spitz nodded again, extra sure this time.

Someone in the door frame caught Cole’s attention: Geo.

“Hey, how goes it-” Cole was cut off by Spitz’s excited rambles.

“Geo! Geo! Geo! Mister Cole told me about a treehouse and a bad kid who hypnotized people like I can and was…. uhh, what was the word?” Cole mouthed ‘irresponsible’. “The kid was irressssponsible! And I gotta be better than that!!”

Geo pat Spitz on the head, “That’s a good lesson to learn, Kiddo.” They smiled and Spitz skipped out the room, waving bye to Cole.

“So,” Geo began.

“So?”

“That was good of you,” Geo spoke softly, each word carrying a weight ten times its size. “I’m sure it means a lot to him.”

“Mhm.” A moment that felt much longer than what passed ended as Cole patted the spot next to him. Sit, it signaled.

Geo considered retreating for a second, but that would be even more awkward he thought, so he sat down. Their arms barely touched before Cole pulled away, careful not to make Geo any more uncomfortable than he was.

Cole needed to ask directly. “What did I do?” Geo’s eyebrow raised, staring at the human.

“What did you do? Nothing.”

“Clearly I did - said something. I want things to be..,” he considered his choices of adjectives. Cool? Chill? Nice? Not-Awkward. Ultimately he decided upon the least opportune one. “...normal between us.” Cole could feel Geo retreating even further.

“Normal?”

“I don’t know man!? The right words weren’t coming. I was never the well spoken one.” He sighed. “Listen, I won’t push you. But I want you to know that I want to be friends! You’ve been kind enough to let me stay here and I want to repay that kindness.” He smiled genuinely. Geo softened, seemingly noticing the sincerity.

“I do not mean to be.. weird,” Geo spoke after a moment. “It’s been a while since I have talked to anyone other than the kids. Let alone someone my age. With history no less.” He smiled softly, “I bet you miss your home.” Cole melancholicly agreed but let Geo finish speaking, “It’s hard to know who to trust when you have got basically nothing to base it on.” Geo felt awful. “It is not like I don’t trust you. But…” he trailed off.
“Hey,” Cole looked Geo in his eyes, “I get you. You’ve built a wonderful home here. I would feel off about something—someone showing up and having the chance to ruin it.” He paused abruptly and rubbed the back of his head, “Not that I am insinuating you think that but….”
“.....”
“.....”
Geo broke the silence this time, “So. We’re good?”

“Of course!!” Cole pulled up his fist to bump Geo’s. Geo stared at the fist, confused, before catching on. He matched Cole’s hand motion. “Friends?”

“Friends! I’m looking forward to it, Geo!”

The next day Fritz had woken Cole up from his couch-hold with a strange request: “Let’s go ice fishing!!”

“Ice fishing??” Cole blinked at the kid, still barely awake.

“Yeah!! Let’s go!!” Fritz grabbed Cole by the sleeve and pulled him from his blankets, careful of the bandages Cole still wore. He pulled Cole through the few rooms of the Rookery, passing Bonzle in the kitchen, who was engrossed in a newspaper dated ten years earlier. Fritz’s cape glid elegantly out the door. He let go of Cole’s hand to grab a sharp wooden stick.

“Careful!!” Cole called out upon seeing the weapon. “You could get hurt on that!”

Fritz sneered, “Nuh-uh! I’m a professional!” He spun the spear around a few times, with a skill matched only by Master Wu and his staff. Cole was impressed. “I go ice fishing all the time!!”

“But Fritz,” Cole leaned against the wall of the Rookery. “What ice?” The kid grinned knowingly.

“Just come on!!” He grabbed Cole’s sleeve again and pulled him along. The pair passed by stacks and stacks of things: car keys, broken dolls, an entire speed boat, crowns? There were items from all over the sixteen realms. This was Cole’s first time this far outside the Rookery, at least when he was conscious. They passed a mini wall made of stacked TV remotes, turned by a circle of wallets, and ducked under an arch made of pencils, all creations Fritz explained he had been working on, before arriving at their destination.

Huh guess Fritz was right, Cole thought, embarrassed at the idea that he would know better than the Land’s resident. “How did someone misplace an ENTIRE lake,” Cole exclaimed. “And how is it frozen!?” He sounded like Jay right now; frantic and amazed all at the same time.

“No idea!” Fritz snickered, handing Cole a spear, “But it’s cool!!”

Fritz sat on his knees by the edge of an open hole in the ice. Cole wondered if there truly were fish in that lake; stranger things had happened today. He kneeled down behind Fritz, looking over the kid’s shoulder into the ice. Shadows slithered slowly beneath the ice: Real fish. Fritz whispered, “Watch this,” before stabbing his spear into the water. He pulled the wood out, revealing a fish unlike Cole had ever seen. It was a distinct reddish-orange, colored like the sunset, with fins shaped like the wings of a dragonfly. Fritz pumped himself up before asking Cole to grab the bucket. When he was turned around, Cole heard Fritz whisper a prayer to the fish before silently ending its life. Fritz took the bucket, “Geo taught us to respect all creatures, especially the ones that bring us life.”

“You’ve got amazing skill, Fritz. Where’d you learn?” Cole watched as Fritz stabbed another fish.

“Not sure, just knew how,” he paused to pray again, “I think my old family ice-fished, maybe.” He looked sad. “Want to try?”

“Me?”

“Yeah!!”

“Alright!” Cole had held spears before. After all, a scythe was like a spear but with a curved blade instead of a point. He should be a professional. He saw the faint hue of the sunset fish and tracked it with his eyes, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Ah-Hah!” Cole celebrated as he pulled the spear from the ice. He knew he was going to be a natural!!

Fritz giggled, “Cole!! There’s nothing on it!!”

“Huh!?” Fritz was right. Cole had failed, “Wow… that’s tough!”

“You’ll get it someday.” Fritz beamed, continuing to fish.

They stayed out for a half hour longer, having caught enough fish to last the month. Geo greeted them as they returned, taking the bucket from Cole. They bowed their heads at each other in acknowledgement.

“Hey Cole, come here,” Geo waved him over, “Let me show you how we cook these beauties.” They stood closer than they had ever before.

Chapter Text

Eventually Cole got the hang of fishing. Hunting too, although that came much easier to him. Creatures from all over the realms called the Land their home. Bonzle kept a journal of every animal she came across. Cole found it left open one day on the kitchen table. After flipping through a couple pages, amazed by the details of the illustrations, Bonzle turned the corner into the room and ran to cover the journal up.

She mumbled, “Don’t look.” Cole put his hands up and backed off. She softened at this notice, “It’s a gift for Geo. To make things easier. So don’t look. Don’t tell him.” She spoke in short sentences, whispering.

“Your art is amazing, Bonzle. So detailed,” Cole answered, “But yeah. I won’t say anything. Don’t worry.” She smiled and took off, journal in tow. As she rushed off, one page flew out, landing face down at Cole’s feet. He picked the page up. On the thin sheet of yellowed paper was a creature that didn’t seem organic. Its body looked like a heap of things, only alive and tall and foreboding. It had no eyes, nor a distinct face, with its arms covered in scrap metal and trash cans like armor. In thick black text the entity's name—The Hoarder—rested above the image. The only other words read ‘take caution’, ‘avoid at all costs’, and ‘grows rapidly no matter what you do’.

Fear washed over Cole’s thoughts. If Bonzle was right, and this thing was out there, was it safe for the kids to be on their own? What other dangers lingered in the Land of Lost Things. He would ask Geo, but he promised Bonzle he’d keep her gift a secret. The kids would be the next best option.

“Spitz, Fritz, I have a question for you,” Cole held the page in front of the boys, “Have you seen this before?” They looked at each other for a second and then nodded.

Fritz began, “Yeah.. it’s scary.”

“Mhm,” Spitz agreed, “It hurt Geo.” They looked down at their feet, clicking their heels in unison.

“This thing hurt Geo?” Cole asked while the kids nodded.

“Real bad,” Fritz muttered, “We gotta hide when it comes around.” Spitz held up his arms covered in loose bandages.

“That’ssss why he hassss usss wear thessse…” He put his arms back to his side, “In cassse we get hurt.”

That’s very smart of him, Cole thought. There was no way these kids could have fought a creature ten times their size.

“We don’t see it very much anymore, since we can run when we think it’s coming,” Fritz said with more confidence than he had before, “I’m a good hider.”

Cole gave the brothers a comforting smile and a thumbs up, pocketing the page safely, not to damage Bonzle’s hard work. “Thank you.”

Geo sat alone in the loft of the Rookery. He had with him the beautiful mirror Fritz had found the day Cole arrived. He held it in his arms, following the cracks intensely. He set it down, breathing in deep, before tracing the lines with his fingertips. Geo held his breath. The sharpness hissed for a second, before disappearing. Just like that, the mirror looked almost brand new, the cracks fused to each other. He ran his hands over the lines again, feeling the smoothness of the surface. His fingerprints now littered the surface.

Fusion was still a bit difficult for Geo. It was hit or miss. Sometimes it would work flawlessly, like now, but other times? Other times ended up like the first time he fought against the Hoarder. In his attempt to build a shelter from the unnatural beast, he ended up creating the weapon it used against him. Now everytime he comes across the creature, he is reminded by the failure of his elemental powers, the shelter glued to the beast’s hand.

Cole knocked on the loft's door, seemingly waiting for Geo’s approval to enter. Geo set the mirror down against the wall and covered his hands with his gloves again.

“Geo. I need you to be honest with me.” Cole spoke intensely and passionately. “I know the Land is dangerous. I know about the Hoarder.”

Geo’s eyes widened. Cole shook his head speaking, “You may not know what this is or why I am saying it but you have to trust me. I can protect you, and the other Finders…” Geo folded his arms defensively. Cole pointed to his scar, it faintly glowing amber, “I am an elemental master.” That was a phrase Geo was familiar with. “I am a master of Earth and back in my home, I am known as a hero.” Cole continued, “I can and will fight.”

“Cole, please stop,” Geo pleaded, “You’re saying so much at once.” He opened the loft’s window, and crawled out, gesturing to Cole to follow. The two stepped out onto a balcony that overlooked the Land. “Continue, slowly this time.”

“I am a Ninja of Ninjago, the master of Earth. How I ended up here, I don’t know, but there has to be some sort of reason,” Cole looked out at the land, aglow in the sunset light, “Maybe I’m here to protect you.

“I’m unfamiliar with the Ninja of Ninjago,” Geo spoke softly, “But I do know of Earth masters.” Of course Geo did, Cole figured. Geo was from Shintaro. All Shintaro locals knew the story of Cole’s mother Lily, the previous master of Earth, and the hero of Shintaro. Geo clearly held resentment for Shintaro, so Cole thought it smart not to mention his mother. “You control the earth, the land?”

“Yes,” Cole explained, “Well not so much control, but harness. The details aren’t important. What matters is, when push comes to shove, I can fight.” Geo’s attention never shifted from the sunset.

“You can fight? Are you implying….?”

“Yes.”

“Cole you can’t.”

“Why not?”

Geo looked Cole in the eyes. “I won’t let it hurt you.” And that was the end of it.

Chapter Text

One quiet morning, the Finders sat together at the table. Bonzle read close to a newspaper from two years ago. Fritz calmly ate his meal and Spitz circled around his plate. Geo offered the others more water, and Cole sat and smiled, proud that this was the first group meal he had prepared entirely on his own. Of course, Cole never considered himself a bad cook but his fellow ninja always taunted him for his less than desirable performance the few times he took on the duty. But Geo had been giving him lessons and working alongside the Finders helped him gain the confidence he needed to make a group meal. The others seemed to be enjoying it too.

“And you said you didn’t cook,” Geo laughed, elbowing Cole’s arm playfully, “This is great!”

“Much better than Geo’s old meals..” Fritz mumbled as Geo cut him off with a “Hey!”

They spent the meal joking about random observations they had made the day before. A comfortable echo of laughter lingered throughout the dining room of the Rookery. It wasn’t a very big place, but the company made it feel like someplace grand. It was proof of the family the Finders had made for themselves. Was he a part of that Cole couldn’t help but wonder. To an outsider it would sure seem so.
“Bonzle sssaw ssssomething yessssterday!” Spitz spoke up. “Sssshe said there wassss a meteor!”

Bonzle nodded, speaking bluntly, “True.”

“Meteors are beautiful,” Cole sighed, “I would love to see one here…” The others looked at him inquisitively. “What?”

“We didn’t tell you, did we,” Geo detailed, “We call large arrivals of Lost Things ‘meteors’ because they vaguely look like meteors.”

Bonzle looked up once again, “Yeah. Like how we call normal loads of things 'geysers’....‘cause they look like geysers.” She quickly returned to her reading.

“Yeah so, we’re very creative here,” Geo joked.

Fritz cut him off excitedly, “And! When a meteor comes, a bunch come!!!”

“A meteor shower!!!” The youngest Finders exclaimed in unison. Cole wondered if he arrived on a meteor or a geyser? He lingered on the thought for a second.

“You sure seem excited,” Cole chuckled.

“Duh. It’s like... A big deal,” Bonzle said deadpan.

Geo stood from the table, picking up the plates and glasses. “Well, you know what that means….?” Geo asked, waiting for the excited answer.

“A picnic!!!”

“A picnic?” Cole asked. All of the Finders smiled at him, even Bonzle.

Geo grabbed Cole’s finished dishes, “Of course, what better way to celebrate!”

Cole grabbed the rest of the silverware. “Here, let me help you,” Cole said as Geo responded in thanks.

“Finders? Come’on and help us.”

Each of them carried the unmatching dishware out the back of the Rookery, handing every piece to Cole as he washed each one out the back hose. He had helped install it just a few days ago and was still showing the others how to use it. Fritz had found all of the pieces lying around and due to one of his many old odd-jobs, Cole knew exactly what to do. He had been planning on more renovations for the Rookery, thinking back on all of the fix-it jobs he had at the Monastery of Spinjitzu. It was the least he could do.

Geo nudged his shoulder, asking Cole to step aside with him for a second.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Cole smiled, drying his wet hands on the tank top he was wearing. It was one of Geos’.

Geo shifted in his stance, glancing over at the boys who had since picked up the hose and were misting each other. “This picnic? I want it to be really special. These kids deserve nothing but the best but I don’t have anything to give them.” He sighed, “They’re good kids and…”

Cole crossed his arms for a second before resting his hand on Geo’s shoulder reassuringly, “You’re doing the best anyone could given your situation. I’m sure they appreciate everything you do for them.” Geo looked Cole in the eyes as he continued, “What can I do to help? We’re going to make this the best party they’ve ever had.”

Spitz and Fritz couldn’t see a thing as Cole and Geo covered their eyes, walking them carefully up a Lost Things mound. Bonzle held the boy’s hands, walking in between them. She had overheard Cole and Geo’s conversation and offered to help. The three elder citizens of the Land of Lost Things count down: three, two, one, before uncovering the boys’ eyes. Around them lights twinkled, tables of interestingly decorated food sat available, and multiple large blankets littered the floor. It was a sight out of their wildest dreams.

The lights were in reality paper lanterns coated in a luminescent gel released from a Lightning Fly, a creature Bonzle knew all about. How Geo got the lanterns to stay up on the thin wire, Cole had no idea. He wasn’t there when Geo had set that part up. He was preparing the meal at the time. There wasn’t much food compared to the feasts Cole had seen as a Ninja, it was nothing, but to the Finders it was far more than they ever knew. The blankets were quilted by Geo, with Cole’s help.

“Cole, I can’t sew?” Geo squinted at the almost rusty needle and fraying thread Cole had instructed Bonzle to find.

Cole held Geo’s hands, guiding him through threading the needle using the same steps Master Wu had taught him. “Sure you can! Look, you just did it!” Geo half laughed, bringing the materials closer to his face.
“Why’d they ever make this so tiny…”

The boys spun around, laughing with a joy Cole had yet to see. Fritz’s cape fluttered in the early evening wind, creating a shaped shadow on the ground. Bonzle leaned up against the lantern’s wooden support beam, nudging her head towards Geo and Cole. Fritz and Spitz noticed this, running up to the elder two and grabbing them tight in a hug. The four held each other, falling to the ground by the weight of the kid’s embrace. Geo and Cole looked at each other for a brief second, nodded, and started gently wrestling the kids onto the blankets. You could hear their laughter and the boy’s giggles from mountains away. Each ended up lying flat on their backs, staring up at the sky which had just begun to show the stars.

“Fritz, Spitz, Bonzle,” Geo addressed each Finder, “I cherish you more than anything. I want you to know that. You’re my family.” As he spoke a meteor fell out of the sky, landing miles away. It was a spectacular sight, coupled with the gorgeous watercolor paint of the landscape. Bonzle sat down next to Cole.

“Woah…” she mumbled.

“Woah indeed,” Cole gave the Skulkin a pat on the shoulder. “You did good, kid.”

After the main meal, each Finder was given a slice of Cole’s favorite cake. Well, all were, except for Bonzle, who’s generally boney structure meant that she didn’t eat often.

“Geo…” Bonzle walked up behind him, tapping his shoulder and handing him a notebook; the same notebook Cole had found before. “I wanted to give you this, to say thanks,” she paused, “for allowing me into your family.”

Geo flipped through the pages in awe of Bonzle’s attention to detail. Wordlessly, he pulled her in for a hug, whispering thank you. Cole watched from the food tables, proud.

More meteors came as Cole was teaching the boys how to dance.

“Did you know I went to a performing arts school?” Cole mentioned offhandedly. When the other’s all looked upon him with interest, he continued, “I dropped out but I learned some things while I was there,” he looked at the Finders, “You three want to learn some moves?”

Cole lined Spitz, Fritz, and Bonzle up in a line and showed them every move he could remember of the waltz. He made up quite a bit of the dance on the spot, but the others were none the wiser.
“One, two, three, one, two, three.” Cole kept a consistent metronome. The Finders messed up quite a bit but they had fun, dancing under the twilight and meteor ridden sky.

“Cole! Cole!” Spitz jumped up and down, still as energetic as he was in the morning, “Can you ssssing too?”

“Sing?”

“Yeah!”

“Kind of?” No, Cole could not sing. Well, at least he didn’t think he could, but he sang anyways. “Jump up, kick back, whip around…And!! Spin!!” On the last note he spun straight into his Spinjitzu. The others cheered as his amber earth glow lit up the night sky.

“Besst! Night! Ever!” Fritz and Spitz roared, the last meteor of things arriving from the realms above.

Chapter Text

Geo and Cole each carried a passed out Spitz and Fritz back to the Rookery. It was quite late and Bonzle had already returned. Cole sat Fritz down in his bed, pulling the picnic quilt Geo had sewn over the young boy. The formling curled around it, moving comfortably in his sleep. Cole turned around to see Geo giving Fritz a quick kiss on the forehead. He smiled, turning his attention to the wall before Geo could see him looking. Geo started to descend down the stairs, which Cole thought a little strange. Geo’s room was a floor above, not below. Cole followed, careful to make each step as quiet as possible.

“Geo?” Cole called after him, once they were out of earshot of the sleeping Finders.

“I left a few things at the hill,” he responded, “I’m going to get them.”

“It’s late!” Cole grabbed Geo’s shoulder light, “We’ll go out and get it in the morning,” he smiled reassuringly, “It’ll be there tomorrow, I’m sure.”

Geo’s stance shifted. He sighed.

“You’re probably right,” Geo stared off past Cole’s face, “I liked watching you dance. It was fancy.”

Cole laughed, “If you call that fancy, wait till you see my dad dancing! He’s a professional!” Geo looked as if he wished he could meet Cole’s father; to meet more kind people.
“You said you went to a performing arts school?”

“Yeah, for more time than I probably should’ve,” Cole snorted, falling onto his makeshift couch-bed, “I was not cut out for it.”

Geo raised his eyebrow, “I think you’re cut out for it?”

“Well…” Cole pulled off his boots and set them to the side, “Maybe I’m not all bad but I only really went for my dad. He’s a Royal Blacksmith and…”

Geo cut him off, “He’s a blacksmith? I thought you said he was a dancer?”

“No no no,” Cole giggled, “He’s a Royal Blacksmith. They’re a dance group. Pretty famous in Ninjago. Anyway, I was at the school for a couple years but eventually ran away. I was going through some stuff and the last thing I needed was,” he gestured with his hands, “All that.”

“You seem to love dancing, though? I could see it in your smile,” Geo helped Cole as he made his bed.

“Yeah, I do, but only when it isn’t a competition. When I can just be free… with it.” He cleared his throat realizing the strange pause.

Geo wasn’t sure how to ask his question. He scanned across the room, his eyes landing directly on Cole, “Uh.” The human looked at him, “Could you—Will you? Uhm,” he coughed, embarrassed, “dance with me?”

“Dance with you?” Cole looked at Geo, unsure of why he was being so strange about it, “Of course!” He shot up and immediately started pacing, trying to find a great routine to teach. “Couple dances… couple dances…”

“Couple dances!?” Geo involuntarily shrieked, a bit too loud.

Cole waved his hands no frantically, “Duo dances I mean! Duo dances!”

They froze and shared a quick awkward chuckle. “Hmm.. how about,” Cole put his hand up above his head, gesturing for Geo to follow. He held his right hand in Cole’s palm, Cole’s fingers wrapping around lightly. Geo’s palm was rough and warm, similar to Cole’s own calloused hands.

“May I?” Cole asked before pulling Geo closer.

Geo nodded shyly. “This is a dance I always saw my mother practicing,” Cole smiled sadly at the thought of his mother, “I’m not sure she ever gave it a name.” Cole wrapped his free hand around Geo’s waist, careful to watch Geo’s reactions for any uncertainty.
Geo followed, putting his other arm around Cole as well.

“This is a bit strange without music but…” Cole moved slightly, his feet leading their steps, “I always saw her moving to every other beat. She was like that.” Cole count under his breath like a metronome, slowly walking Geo through the steps. Geo looked at the floor, afraid of running into anything, but the room they were in was quite open. Any excuse not to look at Cole, who’s previous assertion that he could not dance was embarrassingly wrong in comparison to Geo’s own skills. On the floor beside them, the lanterns that they had prepared for the picnic shone their last glimmer of light.

The pair walked in a careful and comfortable rotation. At some point they had moved much closer to one another, able to match their dance to the synchronized beats of their hearts. Geo looked up now, tracing the lines of Cole’s healed body scars with his eyes. He’d ask where they came from someday, but not now.

“I bet we look kind of silly,” Cole laughed, continuing their routine.

“No,” Geo whispered, “It’s nice.” He had never danced with anyone. “This is nice.”

“Mhm,” Cole looked closely at Geo. He saw the healed scar tissue from an old piercing on Geo’s ear, he saw the carefully inked Shintaro tattoos on his face, and he saw the way Geo’s figure turned a deep magenta every time they locked eyes.

Geo was a striking individual. Never had Cole seen such a unique person, with eye’s so orange they seemed to glow, and fangs so sharp, Cole wondered if Geo had ever gotten hurt on them. When Geo noticed Cole’s staring, Cole turned his head to look away, but Geo carefully pulled it back, cupping the side of Cole’s face with his hand. They had stopped dancing now.

“Let me look at you,” Geo hushed, still holding Cole’s face. Geo pushed Cole’s loose locs out of his eyes, uncovering his distinct scar. “Does it hurt?”

“No.. not anymore,” Cole took a deep breath, “Honestly, I’m glad to have it.” He smiled, “It was either this or death.” Geo’s heart pained. Cole’s life must have been terrifying, Geo thought, this or death—how depressing. He released Cole’s rested cheek from his soft hold. His hand lingered at his side, itching to hold Cole’s hand, to let him know that he was there for him. Cole let go of Geo’s side, and turned away.

“Cole, I…” Geo whispered, folding his arms close to his chest. He sighed, “I’m going to rest.”

Cole nodded, “It’s late. That’s for the best.”

“Goodnight Cole.”

“Night Geo.” Cole curled up on his couch-bed, facing the headrest. Under his heavy eyelids he felt Geo’s stunning stare piercing his soul. They were amber like his scar, the same scar Geo looked upon with such compassion and comfort. His thoughts raced faster than his heart, which unfamiliarly felt faster than it did when they were dancing in sync. There was more adrenaline in his mind than when he fought the World’s villains.

Geo, in his room, paced back and forth, fidgeting with his necklaces’ beads. A loud, frustrated, cry escaped his throat, as he buried his face in his knees against his hammock. He looked down the ladder at the sleeping Finders, relieved that he didn’t wake them. “Normal,” he scoffed, “Yeah. Right.”

Chapter Text

Geo woke up in the middle of the night to a loud thud and a frightened scream. He rushed down the ladder to check on the kids. They were fine, and asleep. The sound had come from the first floor, the living room—Cole’s room.

The bottom of the stairs glowed with that amber hue coupled with the pained grunts of distress. Geo scrambled down the stairs, terrified that something had happened, tripping on the last step. He pulled himself off the ground to see Cole, shining the same way he had the day they met, twisting and contorting around his body. A nightmare, Geo assumed. Cole had those a lot.

“Cole,” Geo whispered firmly, shaking him intensely in an attempt to wake him up, “Cole!” The distressed one shot up straight, hyperventilating and in a sweat. He turned to directly face Geo, his widened eyes squinting into tears. He lowered his head and Geo pulled it close to his chest in a protective hug. They sat like that for some time, with Geo rubbing the back of Cole’s head at every loud sob.

“I…” Cole croaked, “I remembered…” Geo moved away, sitting next to Cole on his bed, his hands never moving from Cole’s reach. He hushed Cole’s speech.
“It’s okay.. It’s going to be okay.”

Cole sighed, wiping the tears that wouldn’t seem to stop, “Geo. I saw my family…” He paused, “I saw how I got here.”

Geo’s heart stopped for a second. He grabbed Cole’s hands and held them to his chest, nodding for him to continue.

“There was some kind of... Portal? A rift in the sky and…”—and he saw the others disappear—the Ninja needed him. Cole stood up instantly and started to gather his belongings, the little of it he had.

“What are you doing?” Geo asked, concerned. Cole did not answer. He grabbed his damaged Gi and ran to the door, trying to force it open but ultimately failing. “Cole!”

Cole slumped against the door, “My family needs me Geo. They’re going to….”—they’re going to die, he thought. How could he be so irresponsible, having fun here with the Finders when the others are dying.

“Cole….” Geo wanted to tell him the truth of the Land of Lost Things but Cole wouldn’t listen. He opened the door, and stumbled outside, falling to his knees in exhaustion. He yelled and slammed the ground, a bit of Earth shattering around him. Geo followed, “Cole!” he yelled, “Listen to me!!” Cole paused and stared, “There’s nothing you can do…”

“Nothing I can do?! Are you kidding me Geo!??”

“I’m serious. There’s a reason we haven’t left!!”

“A reason?! I have a reason to leave!!”

“You don’t get it!” Geo pleaded.

“You’re right I don’t!!? What’s this ‘reason’?”

“We’re stuck here!!!” Geo screamed, “We can’t leave. Ever.” Cole’s frustration softened. He breathed heavily, his glow finally subsiding. “I’ve tried. Trust me I’ve tried. The fog just brings us back here,” he paused, “This is the Land of Lost Things for a reason. We can’t leave unless someone wants us to be found.”

Cole cried even harder now. This was like the Day of Departed all over again—everyone forgot him—no one wanted him to be found—he wasn’t good enough to be remembered.

Geo tried to hold Cole’s hand, to reassure him that it wasn’t all bad, but even he wasn’t sure that was the case.

Suddenly the world lit up, the split Earth and rocks from around the pair flew in the air, connecting and building a web around Cole. Geo was terrified, staring at his neon glowing hands. His elemental power activated; he fused the rocks together. “Cole!!! Are you okay??!?”

A giant mecha shaped rock monster rose from where Cole once stood. It was half the size of the Rookery and stood dumbfounded. It opened its stony mouth and spoke with Cole’s voice, “Geo? What happened?” It touched its face and torso, examining every inch of its form.

“Cole.. is that you?”

“Yes…” he hastily replied, “What happened?”

Geo frowned and wiped his tears, “I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

Cole’s rock monster crossed its arms, “This sounds familiar.” Like a certain Master Wu he knew.

“You know how you are an elemental master?” Cole nodded at Geo’s question, “Well… So am I.”

“What?”

Geo fidgeted with his necklace shyly, “Master of Fusion. I think I may have combined my powers with yours and,” he laughed for a brief moment, “I think I created this rock monster of yours.”
“Can you fix it!?”

“Let me try…” Geo placed his hands on Cole’s leg, straining to disconnect the pieces of rock, “Brace yourself for impact!”

The rocks fell apart, returning to the Earth below them, the cracks from Cole’s punch healing themselves. Cole hit the ground, rolling to protect himself like he had hundreds of times. He ran to Geo and shook him, “I thought you said we weren’t going to keep things from each other!?”

“Well you were the one on a death mission,” Geo scoffed, “Even if you left the Land, you’re still hurt and what was your plan, huh? Anything?”

“I didn’t think it through,” Cole looked down, embarrassed, “Adrenaline.”

Geo leaned against a mound of Things, “I get it. I really do. I would do anything to protect my family but… you can’t be hasty.”

Cole sighed, “Fine. What else are you hiding?”

“Nothing else I swear,” he paused, “I didn’t think my power was relevant. I barely know how to use it or even where it came from! And the Land’s curse? You were already so distraught about the idea of Lost Things that I didn’t even know where to begin.” He didn’t want to hurt him, but in doing so hurt him even more.

“So I can’t leave, even if I want to?” Cole murmured.

“Yes but we can try? Maybe you’re the exception.” Assured Geo. So the two walked and walked and walked in silence to the fog, and sure enough it pulled Cole right back every time. Even when Cole forced Geo to fuse him with the Earth once again, creating the massive rock monster, the fog still pulled him back. They were at it for an hour before Cole gave up. No more crying would come.

“So… this is it then?” he muttered.

“This is it,” Geo put his arm on Cole’s shoulder, “but it’s not all bad right?”

“Mhm,” Cole smiled sadly, “You’re here.” He pulled Geo in for a hug, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” They broke apart, “You know? When I first got here, I was the same way. It’s scary.”

Cole laughed, falling onto the sand to look at the sunrise, “It is terrifying.”

“I’m sure your family is fine. They’re fighters aren’t they?” Geo sat beside Cole.

“They sure are…” he chuckled, “Eh, we’ve been through worse.”

“I bet.” Geo was curious but now was not the time.

Cole looked off into the distance, “Did you lose anyone when you came here?”

“Not really. I don’t remember my parents.” Cole frowned and held Geo’s hand reassuringly. “I’m sure you’ve guessed that I’m not exactly normal…”

“How so?”

“I’m a Munce but I’m purple like a Geckle.” Geo explained.

Oh, Cole thought, that made sense.

“You definitely don’t know about the Shintaro Munce Wars.. but uhm..” Cole cut him off.

“I am VERY familiar with the Shintaro Munce Wars.” Geo was shocked but didn’t ask for Cole to elaborate.

“Oh.. Okay then,” He pulled himself together, “It wasn’t easy looking like your communities’ mortal enemy. They hated me and somehow, their hatred turned to apathy, and now I am here.” He had never told anyone this, not even the other Finders. “Honestly I’m glad they forgot about me. It is much better here than it was there,” he said with disdain.

“That’s awful.”

“Yeah.” Geo shrugged half heartedly.

Cole smiled, “I’m glad the Finders have you.”

Geo laid down, “I’m forever thankful to have them.” They saved his life. “Cole?”

“Hm?”

“You know what’s bizarre? The Shintaro Munce War was about an Earth elemental…” Geo spoke in hushed tones, “Like you..”

“So,” Cole gritted his teeth, “Funny you would say that…”

“Oh no,” Geo bantered, “More information coming to light?”

“My mother, the one who’s dance I taught you? She was the last Earth master. Her name was Lily…” he trailed off.

Geo raised an eyebrow, “That sounds awfully like Milly, the hero of Shintaro.”

“Right on the money there my friend,” Cole watched as Geo’s mouth dropped, his pointed ears perking up.

Geo punched each word, “No. Way.”

“Yes, ‘way’.” Cole smiled as Geo began to laugh intensely, a laugh filled with real joy and shock.

“Your mother is Milly?!?”

Cole corrected him, “Lily.”

“Her name has been Lily this whole time!?” Geo exclaimed, sitting back up and facing Cole, “This is…” He was dumbfounded, “Wow.” In his excitement he got very close to Cole’s face, holding his hands even tighter to his chest.

Cole stared at Geo, stared at the glimmer in his eyes, the puffiness from his past tears, and the way his mouth curved into a smile. His brain raced, trying to find an excuse to pull away from Geo’s gaze, but he couldn’t. Geo realized his breach of personal space, growing magenta in embarrassment, but he did not move, captivated by Cole’s earthen eyes. Everything in his mind was telling him to be brave.

Cole closed his eyes, and moved in closer. There were mere inches between the two now. “Cole?”

“Hm?”

Geo whispered into Cole’s ear, “I’m glad you’re here,” and he rested his head on his shoulder.

He should have gone for it

He should have kissed him.

Chapter Text

That morning Cole made breakfast again. The Finders skipped into the room, none the wiser of what had occurred outside their window that night. Geo yawned, rubbing his tired eyes. Bonzle sat drawing with a pencil in hand while Spitz and Fritz set the table. They chattered about anything and everything, as Geo and Cole stayed mostly silent. They kept glancing at one another. Bonzle quickly caught on.
“Hey Geo, can I talk to you for a second?” Bonzle asked, blending the last part of her drawing with her boney fingers. Geo agreed and the two left the room, Bonzle glancing back at Cole who was preoccupied with his meal.

“Alrighty Finders… This is a special meal,” Cole performed a drum roll on the dining room table, “This is a traditional delicacy where I am from…” He plopped down a large plate of noodles in front of the boys. They “oooh-ed” and “ahhh-ed,”looking at each other and then the meal.

“What issss it?” Spitz inquired.

“Noodles!” Cole put his hands on his hips triumphantly. Or at least, what are supposed to be noodles he thought. He couldn’t sleep so he had spent the entire morning trying to make some kind of noodle using what they had lying around. Who could have known being enslaved to work in an underground noodle factory for weeks would have had its benefits. “Try it!”

Fritz grabbed his chopsticks and twisted a few of the noodles around them. He slurped the food up, humming the whole time. “These are delicious!!”

Cole grabbed a few too, “I did good, didn’t I?”

Spitz smiled, “Yesssss!!”

Cole had basically lied to them. While yes, noodles were culturally relevant in much of Ninjago, these noodles were entirely based on his favorite chain restaurant, Chen’s Noodle House.

“You guys know the best part?” Cole asked as he walked back to the island, picking up a tray and setting it down in front of the boys, “They’re fully customizable!!” He pulled out his seat and started making his plate. “Delicious.” It reminded him of home. A home he may never see again, but he had to be okay with that - No matter how hard.

Geo and Bonzle entered back into the room. Geo tried to hide it but he was magenta again. “What do you have here?”

“Noodlesssssss!!” Spitz roared, stuffing in an entire mouthful.

“Be careful!” Geo hissed, grabbing Bonzle’s chair for her. She bumped into Cole’s side deliberately, winking at him. He looked confused as she took a seat, her head resting on the flat part of her fingers. She looked at Geo and then at Cole, back and forth, until the two looked at each other.

Cole raised an eyebrow and Geo shrugged. Geo absolutely knew what Bonzle was getting at, but could not tell Cole that. Bonzle had assumed there was some tension between the pair. She was right.
Geo cleared his throat, “These are great Cole!! I do not believe anyone ever told you your cooking was bad.”

“Eh,” Cole brushed it off, “I’ve practiced.” Geo fiddled with his fangs using his tongue, some noodles got stuck on them. He nervously laughed, pulling the speared noodles off. Cole’s eyes lingered, watching as Geo ate the meal, avoiding his fangs. How charming, he thought.

“Cole?” Bonzle snapped, “Cole!!” His eyes snapped forward.

“Hmm? What’s up?” Everyone was staring at him.

“We’ve been trying to talk to you, but you’ve just been staring..” Bonzle sassed, “Spitz was asking how you made these.” Cole bowed his head in apologies and began to talk about his process.
Geo tried to listen but he couldn’t stop thinking. Cole was staring at him. Cole stared so long that he forgot what he was doing. Geo wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel about that, but it made his heart flutter.

“Cole?” Fritz mumbled groggily, “Can you tuck me in?” It was late afternoon and Fritz was still very tired from the night of the meteor shower.

“Yeah, of course,” Cole helped the boy onto his bed, which was still a bit tall for him.

Fritz yawned, “If I was like the other formlings… I could fly to my bed…”

“You’ll get there someday,” Cole reassured, smoothing out the blankets around Fritz. “Everyone will discover their true potential eventually.” He turned to leave but Fritz grabbed his arm.

“Geo gives me a hug before I sleep. Can you?” Cole nodded, and wrapped his arms around Fritz tight. The boy was warm and his clothes were covered in soft downy feathers. “I want you to stay with us forever…” Fritz mumbled drifting off into sleep.

Forever.

Staying with them.

A family.

But he already had a family. He felt guilty. His family was who knows where, drifting off into the space of the realms trying just to survive. He missed them more than he could ever describe.

But this was a new chance; a new start. Yeah, he thought, he could stay here for some time. What’s wrong with having two families, two groups of people he loved?

Love.

Did he love the Finders?

Yes. What else would this be?

They had shown him nothing but kindness in their time together.

And he had this inexplicable desire to protect them. It wasn’t like when he was doing his job as a ninja, not that kind of protection. It was closer to how he felt about Lloyd, or young Master Wu—like their lives were more important than his, more important than the world. It was such a strange feeling for someone’s whose whole purpose in life was to save the world. And Geo, gosh Geo…

“Night kiddo,” Cole whispered. He blew out the candle and made his way down the stairs. Bonzle sat on the couch, reading something in a language Cole couldn’t read.

“Bonzle?” he asked, “I need to find Geo. Like now. Do you know where he is?” She sat her book down.

“I don’t know?” she ruminated for a second, “Oh! Probably at his art gallery. That’s where he always is.” Cole showed thanks and began to rush out the Rookery before turning back.

“Geo has an art gallery?”

“Like… yeah? It’s his whole thing.” Bonzle was back nose deep in her book again. “About a half a mile away,” she pointed behind herself, “That way.”

“Thank you Bonzle. I’ll be back I promise. Watch the boys.”

Cole ran and ran, with conviction in every step. Quickly the mounds of Things began to become more organized and deliberate. Geo’s art, Cole assumed. It was gorgeous in an odd way. Much like Geo. The sculptures stood at bizarre and impossible angles of every shape and size. They were probably made using his fusion ability. Now that he thought about it, the Rookery was also probably made using Geo’s elemental power, that’s why each floor of the building was disconnected in an oddly harmonious way; they came from different places but were always meant to fit together—like the Finders.

Geo stood at the edge of his latest creation, a statue larger than he had ever made. It pulled from elements of the Finder’s individual birth cultures, creating an amalgamation of what made them, them. He hummed, fusing the last piece he had to the statue’s head—the front lights of a car, representing Bonzle’s glowing eyes.

He heard his name faintly. “Geo… Geo.. Geo!!!” He whipped his head so quickly to face the noise that he almost fell off the statue. “Careful!!”

“Cole!!” He climbed off the statue delicately. His elemental power made sure no one but he could break his creations, so he alone had to be careful handling it. “Hey.”

“This is beautiful,” Cole grinned, gesturing to the statue, “Your artwork.”

Geo smiled shyly in response, “How’d you find me?”

“Bonzle,” Cole admitted.

Geo exhaled, “Figured,” he trailed off. Geo felt someone grab his hand, leading him to the side. It was Cole. Obviously. “Cole what are you…”

“Geo. I,” he couldn’t mess this up, “I know that my family are somewhere out there and I miss them more than anything but,” he released his breath, “I want to stay here, with you, and with the Finders. If you’ll let me.” Before he could finish Geo picked Cole up by the waist and folded him in an embrace.

“Of course you can stay,” he beamed, setting the shocked Cole back down, “You’re our family.”

Family. Cole cried again—smiling this time. “Family,” he whispered, feeling each syllable of the word on the roof of his mouth.

“Hey Geo. I have a crazy idea,” Cole looked him square in the eyes, “Let’s fuse.”

“What?”

“Let’s do the fusion rock thing again! Controlled this time.” He put his hand on Geo’s shoulder. Geo looked at it and grabbed it as he spoke.

“Sure.” Geo’s body started to glow, his tattoos now a mix of pinks and blues. Cole’s scar too lit up, as did his hands and the insides of his arms. Sure enough, the land began to form around Cole, enveloping him in a hold of Earthy rock, until he was the size of the mounds around him. Cole reached out his hand, setting it on the ground.

“Get on! I’ll put you on my back,” Cole said, waving his stoney fingers. Geo carefully walked onto his palm, curling up to take as little space as possible. It’s not that he didn’t trust Cole not to drop him or was afraid of heights, this was just a wholly new experience—for the both of them.

Cole lifted his hand above his shoulder, the space between Geo’s position and the location being just a jump away. He bounced up and landed right next to Cole’s form’s head. It looked at him and smiled as much as a rock monster could.

“Well… where too?” Geo wondered.

“Maybe you can show me where you found me at?” Cole inquired. Despite his now large size, his voice was just as gentle as it had been before.

“Sure,” Geo motioned past the Gallery, “We’ll place a memento for the arrival of our new family.”

Chapter Text

Cole’s arrival location looked no different from the rest of the Land. It was dusted in a tan hue, rough and uneven from the mounds, but something about it felt special.
It felt familiar.

Cole kneeled down and shifted the dirt off the top of the mound. He dug as Geo stood by. Cole’s fingers hit a sharp object—his scythe—damaged and cracked, best used for farming now.

He grabbed it, holding it to his chest and whispered, “Thank you, old friend.” He laid the scythe on the top of the mound and circled it with the rocks he found around. A resting place for his old life, and the start of his new one.

Geo pulled off one of his bangles, it’s colors black and orange. He stood beside Cole, gently raising Cole’s arm in his and put the bangle on. Cole smiled softly, removing his mask from down around his neck. He tied it around Geo’s wrist, taut like a bracelet. Exchanging worn gifts as a sign of trust was a part of munce culture. Cole didn’t know much of it, but that was one aspect he did know.

“It wasn’t easy, being here alone,” Geo murmured after a second, “Going from having no one—nothing at all—to having to care for others all on my own, without any practice..” He sighed, “I managed somehow.”

Cole thought of the other Finders and how lovely they were, “And you did a great job.”

Geo softened, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They looked out at the vast nothingness. Cole pointed to a flat plain, “Imagine a town here. Houses for each Finder, and…”

One for us.

Us.

Geo laughed, “An official art gallery there, and,” he exclaimed, “a restaurant for chef Earth Master.”’

“Who’d be our customers?” Cole joked. Geo picked up a broken doll that lay under his feet. He fused its face back together, like new.

“Here! A customer!” He giggled, moving the doll’s arms up and down. “Fritz’d like this,” Geo said, pocketing the doll in his bag.

“They’re good kids,” Cole pat Geo on the shoulder, “You did well raising them.” Geo bowed his head, proud. “And,” Cole continued, “You don’t have to do it alone anymore.” He gestured to himself, “I’ve always wanted to be a role model to someone.”

“You’re so good at it, that I wouldn’t believe you if you told me you weren’t already,” Geo scoffed lightheartedly.

“I mean…” Cole thought for a second, “There was a time when I believed I was going to be a dad.” Geo was taken aback.

“Huh??”

“Not like that!!! Not like that!!” Cole assured, “On a mission, I found a baby, and it was alone, so I… I took him in. Named him Cole Jr.” Geo laughed at that. “Anywho long story short, that baby ended up being my pseudo father figure aged down, don’t ask, and I lost him.” Geo stared in disbelief, but trusted Cole’s story. “He aged rapidly because of some elemental blade I don’t even pretend to understand, and soon enough he was the same old man who took me in,” He missed Wu.

“You’ve lived quite a life,” Geo noted, “Mine is plain in comparison.”

“Yours’ isn’t plain!!”

Geo glared jokingly at Cole, “Name me one of the most unbelievable things that has happened to you.” Cole thought over his life.

“I was a ghost for over a year,” he said nonchalantly. Geo cut him off.

“See! Who else can say they were a ghost, which what does that even mean, that they raised the man that raised them, and are the son of an entire land’s hero!?” He exclaimed. Cole chuckled.

“Okay, point taken,” he felt his facial scar, “You know, the ghost story is where I got this bad boy from.” Geo thought about what Cole had said days ago, that it was either that scar or death. The ghost part explained the death.

“Cole, you are an amazing person.”

“You are too, Geo.”

The sun was setting once again and the winds were comfortably strong. “This reminds me of the day my master, the one I raised… kind of,” he explained, realizing how silly it all sounded, “The day that he found me on top of the tallest mountain in Ninjago.”

Geo wanted to say something about ‘The Tallest Mountain in Ninjago’ but chose not to.

Cole continued, “It was about a year after my mom died. I would do anything to distract myself from the fact that she was gone, and there he was, my future master, an elderly man sitting atop the mountain with a pot of still warm tea.”

“It is poetic,” Geo noted, “That he saved you, and you saved him.”

Cole nodded, “I want these kids, the Finders, to have it better than I did.” He gestured to Geo, “Better than we both did.”

“We have to care for them,” Geo agreed, “So that they don’t go trying to climb the tallest mountain in the Land of Lost Things as some sort of coping mechanism.” He jabbed Cole’s side playfully, by which he giggled.

“We have to leave the world a better place than we found it,” Cole put his arm around Geo’s shoulders, “Starting here, with them.”

“And with us,” Geo muttered quietly.

“With us?” Cole raised an eyebrow, hearing Geo’s statement.

“You know…” Geo messed with Cole’s bracelet gift, “Us. Making sure we’re happy.” The stars had just begun to shine.

“And what would make you happy now, Geo?” Cole asked. He knew the answer.

Geo’s heart soared, the two face to face once again. They stood like that often, more than either of them had ever. Geo cupped Cole’s face in his hands gently, whispering “This.”

Cole closed his eyes and leaned into Geo’s face. He had never done this before. Neither had Geo. Their noses brushed up against one another, their breathing in sync. Cole’s face was blushed deep red, and Geo’s magenta. Their lips touched gently, Geo’s fangs poking at the top of Cole’s nose. Geo pulled away, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered, but before he could finish Cole grabbed him by his waist and pulled him even closer. He went for it. His eyelashes fluttered against Geo’s cheek, their arms wrapped around each other fast and frantic.

Geo opened his mouth in an attempt to avoid the sharpness of his teeth. Cole matched, his emotions racing.

Geo was so handsome. He moved carefully, each step like the dances they had practiced before, slow but full of life.

He had done it, he had kissed him. Geo grabbed the back of Cole’s head shielding it as the two fell backwards. They landed beside each other giddy.

Cole rolled over and kissed Geo again. On his lips. On his forehead. On his tattoos. Each kiss delicate but full of intention.

“Did this make you happy?” Cole cooed as he planted a kiss on the folds of Geo’s ear. Geo nodded and they pulled away.

Geo composed himself, brushing the dust from both his chest and Cole’s. Cole turned around and Geo wiped away the dirt from off his back. They were both beaming.

“Wow…” Geo smirked, “That was…” New.

“Yep,” Cole hid, blushing. “I’ve never, uh…” He trailed off.

“Me neither,” Geo laughed. He pulled forward and gave Cole a light kiss on his forehead, “Thank you.” They stayed like that, with their foreheads touching.

“So…” Cole began.

“So?”

“What does,” he indicated towards the dents they had made in the mound around them, “What does this mean.”

I think I love you, Geo thought. His look conveyed more than words would. Eventually he said, “I think this means we’re partners.”

“Partners?” Cole ruminated, “I like that.” Geo twisted his feet around and played with his jewelry.

“I think,” he went for it, “I think I love you.” Geo had told the Finders that he had loved them hundreds of times before, but this was different. He loved Cole like a Finder but also as something more. “I think I’m in love with you.”

Cole’s eyes lit up, shining in the dark night sky. “I love you, Geo.” The words felt right.

“I love you,” Geo giggled.

“I love you,” Cole grinned wide, his teeth showing.

Cole held out his hand, and Geo took it. They both nodded, as Geo’s eyes and tattoos glowed the color of fusion. Cole was now in his rock form, gesturing for Geo to get on his shoulder once again, “Let’s go home to the kids.”

“Our kids,” Geo corrected.

“Our kids.” Geo held close his bag, which was heavy with things he had picked up along the way for the Finders. Geo’s mind kept wandering to their kiss, and to how gorgeous Cole looked with his hair out of his eyes, a blushing mess. Even a warrior can get nervous, and it was so cute.

Chapter Text

“What’ssss that!?” Spitz stood under the looming shadow of something in the distance much larger than him. The sounds of loud footsteps had shaken the house, waking the Finders up from their night sleep. Spitz was the first to run out the house, to see whatever made that noise.

Fritz stayed inside, fearful that it was the Hoarder. He tried hard to convince Spitz to stay but to no avail. Curiosity won over. Bonzle exited after Spitz, looking up to the figure, as frozen in awe as the serpentine.

“It looks like…” Bonzle trailed off, squinting her eyes, trying to make clear the waving shape on the figure’s shoulder. The beast was almost as large as the Hoarder but much less intimidating. It felt familiar, but she couldn’t place where. Fritz peaked his head out Geo’s room’s window, and stepped out onto the balcony.

“Is that…?” He muttered, the night sky drowning out most of his visibility. Unlike Spitz, who’s serpentine eyes made sure he could see in the dark, and Bonzle, who’s eyes glowed, perpetually flowing around in her eye sockets like translucent marbles, Fritz did not have night vision. As the figure grew closer, its true being became more apparent.

“Why are you up?” The figure on the shoulder scolded, “It’s very late.”

“Geo!!” Bonzle and Spitz cheered in unison. Fritz was confused, the darkness still obscuring the figure from his view.

“Geo? Where’s Geo?” He questioned, racing back into the house and down the stairs to the front door. They drew closer, the figure placing Geo delicately at the front of the Rookery. Geo outstretched his arms, the Finders moving into a group hug. Behind them, the figure broke apart, its rocky limbs becoming one with the land. In its place, Cole.

“Hey, Finders,” he smiled. Fritz jumped up and down, circling Cole.

“How’d you do that!? How’d you do that!?” he chanted.

“A little magic,” Cole winked, holding Geo’s hand, “And a lot of elemental mastery.” Geo blushed at the compliment. He dug into his bag and pulled out his latest haul.

“We’re sorry to wake you,” he handed each Finder an item, turned on its back to obscure what they were, “I hope these are compensation.” Fritz felt the figure and brought it close to his eyes to see in the darkness. It was a porcelain doll, dawned in Formling clothing. His eyes watered at the sight. It looked like him—a crow.

Spitz’s gift was a collection of pictured serpentine research books. He couldn’t read all that well yet, but the fully illustrated pictures would aid in his understanding. Geo had wondered how a book like this could have been lost.

Bonzle’s did not relate to her homeland, like the others. Despite being the oldest, she shared no desire to learn anything of the Underworld. One might even assume she wasn’t really even from there, but Geo never pushed it. They all had their secrets and needed to trust each other. No, her gift was a brand new set of watercolors and a pen that Cole had explained was from the Cloud Kingdom, a brush of destiny. She thought it was rad.

“These are amazing, Geo,” Bonzle hugged her palate, “Thank you.”

“Thank Cole here too, he helped me a lot,” Geo said, nudging him forward.

He cleared his throat and spoke quietly, “I want to stay here. I want to be a Finder,” he looked at each of the others, “If you’ll have me.” Before he could finish, Spitz, Fritz, and Bonzle ran to Cole’s arms.

“Of course you can stay,” Fritz smiled.

Spitz’s eyes twinkled, “You’re our family!”

Bonzle giggled, “I second that.”

Geo held Cole’s hand, “Welcome, formally, to the Finders Cole. Welcome to the family.”

Family.

How wonderful. How truly wonderful.

“We’ve gotta give you a room! A proper room!” Spitz giggled, “You can’t ssssleep on the couch forever!” Hmm, Geo thought. He wanted to say that Cole could stay with him, that they could find a new hammock and string them from the rafters next to each other, but were they at that level yet?

“Geo?” Cole asked, pulling Geo from his thoughts.

“Hm?”

“Can I move in your room? For the time being,” Cole inquired to a stunned Geo, “I mean if you’re not comfortable, I can stay downstairs!!!”

“No, no, no,” Geo reassured, “That would be lovely.

Cole didn’t have many belongings to move into the third floor of the Rookery, or really, any belongings at all. He had the under clothing that he arrived in and nothing else. He had been wearing Geo’s spare shirts this whole time, which in hindsight made him blush so hard.

Regardless, Geo made room for Cole’s things, an empty spot on the mismatched dresser that was all his—for the things he finds here, his new belongings. Cole lined each edge of the furniture with his fingers, tracing the corners of the room—his room.

It was very Geo, with metal art pieces on the walls and organized trinkets of all kinds on the shelves. In the middle was a hammock, tightly hooked to the ceiling, where Geo slept. Due to his fusion power, it was bonded to the wood above, and would not fall down unless he released it. The window leading to the balcony was cracked slightly open, from when Fritz had run out on it, and the breeze drifted into the room. It was not too hot, nor too cold, a comfortable temperature in between.

“Geo? Do you have seasons here?” Cole asked, pulling the curtains from outside the window.

“Not really,” Geo explained, sitting down on the hammock, “We’ve got the pockets of different climates instead, like Fritz’s ice fishing hole.”

“That’s neat,” Cole pulled off his shirt to change into the one Geo had just handed him. It was a tan tank top that had a few holes in it but it was comfortable and airy. A perfect sleep shirt. Geo tried to look away as Cole changed, but his mind kept urging him to look. He didn’t, afraid of what he would see, afraid of the scars and the hurt.

Cole sat on the floor beside Geo, leaning up against his hanging legs. He yawned and closed his eyes, “Today was good.”

“Yeah?” Geo questioned, swinging around into the hammock. He offered his hand to Cole to help him up beside him.

Cole accepted the assistance, and laid next to Geo, “Yeah.” He rested his head on Geo’s chest, “Thank you for saving me.”

Geo kissed Cole on the forehead, as Cole looked up into his eyes. “You’re welcome.” Geo stretched out his arms, asking if he could hold him, to which Cole accepted. Drifting off to sleep in the comfortable arms of the hammock and Geo.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Chapter Text

The morning light shone through the crack in the window. Geo sat, his arms against the railing, on the balcony feeling the breeze. It was exceptionally windy this morning. He looked out on the Land of Lost Things every morning, but today was different. Today Cole joined him. The pair stood in comfortable silence staring out at the Land.

Cole was rebraiding Geo’s hair, which had come undone in the middle of the night. Geo’s hair was shockingly soft, in spite of the conditions. It was clear he took care of it.

“And…. all done!” Cole smirked, proud of his creation. He had a lot of experience doing his own hair, who’s texture used to combat against the masks the ninjas wore, but he had never done anyone else's. Geo stroked his braid, impressed.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime!” Cole beamed, returning to the view ahead. “Any plans for today?”

Geo was caught off guard, “Uh, no?” He thought for a moment, “No. No plans. Unless you do…”

Cole laughed, “Nope!” He paused for a second before pulling in for a quick peck on Geo’s cheek, “But I do have some ideas.” He raised his eyebrow flirtatiously as Geo jokingly shoved him away.

“Cole!” He giggled when his partner began to lightly tickle his sides.

Loud footsteps came from Geo’s room, the two pulling away from each other. They composed themselves, and pulled their bodies back through the window into the room. It was Bonzle, and she looked distraught.

“Spitz is gone,” she lamented.

Geo moved to Bonzle’s side, “What do you mean gone?”

“The Hoarder… it took him,” Bonzle couldn’t cry, but if she could, she would’ve. Cole held Bonzle’s hands. Geo was speechless, his thoughts racing with the worst possible outcomes.

“Where?” Cole punched his hands together, his arms and scar veined with the Earth glow.

Bonzle’s speech stalled, “He.. he.. By the pond.” She composed herself, “He was fishing with Fritz and I and... I came to get you.” She was with him. She saw him get nabbed and she didn’t do—couldn’t do—anything. “Fritz is safe downstairs,” Cole rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.

“We’ll get him back, Bonzle, don’t worry,” he looked her in the eyes, “It’s not your fault.” Cole and Geo started down the stairs as Bonzle lightly nudged Cole’s shoulder.

“I’m coming with you.”

And the three Finders made their way to Fritz’s ice fishing pond.

Cole crouched, peeking his head out from behind a mound. Neither he nor Geo had brought weapons, or anything to defend themselves. The Finders didn’t have artillery or melee weapons. What they did have, however, were two strong elemental masters, and that would need to be enough.

Cole couldn’t see anything, or anyone in the distance. The Land felt as vast and empty as ever. “Any idea where it could have been headed?” he asked Bonzle, who was defensively covering herself with a broken stop sign she had found along the way.

“Not sure,” she spoke reluctantly, feeling useless, “I have studied the Hoarder incessantly but I could never find where it came from.” Or what it was, she thought.

Geo spoke next, “That’s fine.” His tone was harsher than usual, catching Bonzle off guard. Cole pulled Bonzle aside for a second.

“He’s terrified right now. He doesn’t mean to be severe,” he reassured. She nodded, understanding. Of course Geo would be worried. Who wasn’t?

“I hear something!” Geo exclaimed in a hushed whisper. He gestured to the mound in front of them, “There’s something there.”

Cole, being the only one with combat experience, motioned for the others to stay as he snuck around the hill of things to look.

The mound began to shake ever so slightly. It wasn’t a mound at all. It was the Hoarder. Its body was made of the same junk that littered the Mounds and was ever changing. Everything was dull, save for the distinct blue of the Hypnobrai child in its center. The Hoarder’s chest looked like a cage, cramped but the right size to hold captive Spitz. Cole hid back around the hill. “It is over there,” the others looked at him terrified, “And it has Spitz.”

“What’s the plan?” Geo asked, calmer now but with the same fiery conviction.

Cole extended his hand, “We go in guns-a-blazing.”

“But what guns do we have?” Bonzle retorted.

“It’s a figure of speech,” He shook his hand towards Geo again, “Fuse me, and I’ll rip the beast apart till it drops Spitz. Bonzle, you stay here and I’ll signal you if I need backup and Geo, try to build some kind of base for us to hide in.” They all agreed to the plan, as Geo held Cole’s hand, turning him into the rock form.

In his rock form, Cole was as tall as most mounds in the flatlands of the Land of Lost Things. While there were many impossibly tall mounds, the ones around them were quite normal sized for being hills. As he towered over the tops of the mounds, the Hoarder perked up. It turned to face Cole, its eyes a bright piercing red. Spitz noticed Cole and yelled out to him.

“Cole!!!”

Cole smiled, “I’m coming buddy,” and then charged towards the Hoarder. His plan was to tackle it to the ground. He lunged at the beast’s arm, ripping it off with the pure weight of his rock form. He pulled himself up, but as he did so, the dismembered arm flew back into the air, lodging itself back in its socket. It rebuilt itself.

“What!?”

The Hoarder swung, sending Cole flying into the mound behind him.

“Are you okay!?” Bonzle peeked her head out. Cole gave her a thumbs up and charged forward again, this time aiming for its legs.

Spitz cheered, “You’ve got this!!” Cole smiled, bashing the Hoarder’s left leg with his forehead. Its legs were made of old car parts and scrap metal. The leg went flying, but, almost like a magnet, found itself back in its place once again.

“I get why you’re called the Hoarder now,” Cole yelled, punching the beast’s face with his elementally charged fists, stunning it. He ripped open its chest cavity enough to allow Spitz to crawl out on his arm. The Hoarder stumbled up, trying to retaliate. It swung at Cole, trying to grab Spitz back. Cole dodged, just barely, feeling the wind woosh from the speed of the assailant’s attack.
Meanwhile, Geo was scrounging the surrounding area for scraps. He was building a temporary shelter, and all he needed now was a stable roof.

“Bonzle,” he announced, “Watch my back!” He rushed out into the open battlefield. The perfect roof piece was there, just out of reach. He needed it, a rectangular piece of reinforced scrap metal that had just fallen off the Hoarder’s legs. It was one of the few pieces it didn’t bother to reattach. He slid under the Hoarder’s body, grabbing the metal. It was heavy, but not too heavy. He planned to drag it back to the shelter.

The Hoarder lifted its foot in the air, above Geo. He froze staring up at the beast’s spiked foot. There was no way he could get out of the way in time. It was going to crush and impale him.
Suddenly, as the foot was mere inches away from the top of Geo’s head, the beast stopped all movement. It was like it was frozen in time.

Spitz stood tall on Cole’s shoulder. His eyes hit the Hoarder’s vision, spirling and pulsing. “Leave,” He demanded. Sure enough, the Hoarder did just that. It moved its foot to the side of Geo, and turned off into the distance, retreating. Spitz had done it. He had hypnotized the Hoarder.

“Spitz!” Geo cried. Spitz giggled, when Cole set him down on the ground. He ran into Geo’s embrace. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Geo knocked on Cole’s leg, turning him back to his human form.
“You did amazing, kiddo,” Cole said, patting Spitz on the back, “I knew you had it in you.” Bonzle ran out to the others.

“Spitz!? You did the thing?!” She spoke excitedly, “You hypnotized that beast!!”

“Yeah! I did!” Spitz exclaimed, running in a circle, “I’m a real Hypnobrai!!”

Geo questioned, “You’ve always been a real Hypnobrai?”

“But now I’m a sssssspecial one!” Spitz explained.

“Spitz, you’ve always been special,” Geo hugged the kid again.

Cole pulled Bonzle into the hug too, “We’re so proud of you.”

Geo pulled away, examining Spitz, “Did it hurt you?”

“Not at all!” Spitz beamed, “‘Cause I ssssscared it away.” He held Geo’s and Bonzle’s hands, “Can we go home?”

“Sure,” the three spoke in unison.

Geo picked up Spitz, letting the tired boy ride on his back.

Chapter Text

The sun hadn’t even set the same day the Finders had found Spitz before Cole heard the loud crashing of breaking glass from the living room. He dropped his cooking pan and turned the corner. Fritz stood, shards of glass around his feet, facing Spitz, who was in tears.

“What happened here?” Cole demanded an answer.

Spitz flicked his tongue and ran upstairs. Cole yelled after, “Spitz! Get down here!” He tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, turning his attention to Fritz. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“It’s not fair,” Fritz mumbled, bending over to pick up the glass. Cole made a noise, and gently pushed Fritz away.

“You’ll hurt yourself, let me get it,” Cole grabbed a broom from outside and swept the glass up. Fritz did not move. “What’s not fair?” Cole asked, dropping the glass into a bag. It came from a vase, and it wasn’t so broken that Geo couldn’t fix it.

“It’s just not fair,” Fritz grumbled stubbornly.

Cole sighed, “Come on, Fritz, I can’t help you if you don’t work with me.” Fritz’s eyes welled with frustrated tears. He wanted to stay silent but he couldn’t. The guilt ate at him.

“Everyone is special but me,” he frowned, still frozen in place.

Cole was confused, “How do you mean?” He led the kid to sit down.

“You’ve all got something special!” Fritz yelled. Cole raised an eyebrow. “It’s not fair!!”

“Is this about your brother?” Cole asked. With Spitz awakening to his hypnotism, there was bound to be some strife. The brothers had always bonded over having been “bad” at being a part of their respective cultures, but Spitz was no longer “bad,” in his own eyes.

Geo had tried explaining to the boys that there was no way to be “bad” at being yourself, but the idea went in one ear and out the other.

Fritz nodded shyly. “Fritz,” Cole said disapprovingly, “You are special.”

Fritz was furious, “It doesn’t feel like it! I’m the only Formling in the world that can’t transform!!” Cole sat next to him.

“Oh sweetheart, no you aren’t,” Cole smiled kindly, “I know plenty of Formlings who can’t transform. Your ability to transform, if or not, is not all you are.” Fritz pulled his hat off, shouted with a frustrated gusto, and tossed it across the room. “Fritz!” Cole yelled, “This is how you break things.” Cole paused, piecing the prior events together, “You threw a vase at Spitz?!”

“NO!” Fritz folded his arms, “I didn’t! I swear!”

“Then tell me what happened,” Cole demanded, picking Fritz’s hat back up.

“We’ll just get in trouble.”

Cole sighed and tapped his foot, “You won’t get in trouble if you’re honest with me. You might with Geo, but that all depends.”

Fritz looked at him and thought of answering. Instead, he stood up and ran out the house. “FRITZ!!” Cole demanded. The child did not turn back, and kept on running. Cole grunted, annoyed.
This parenting thing is hard, he lamented, starting up the stairs after Spitz. Bonzle and Geo were outside, they would catch Fritz. He was surprisingly slippery, and hard to catch when he didn’t want to be found.

Bonzle sat against the wall of the Rookery. She was drawing a study of a plant Geo had found for her earlier. She wasn’t super familiar with the realms, but it appeared to be from a place like the Wildness, given its shape and color. She did not know if it was edible or even dangerous, but she had no way of finding out. Such were the drawbacks of the form she had taken. She looked up when she heard footsteps drug against the ground.

Fritz.

“Hey!” Bonzle waved half heartedly. Fritz looked at her and glared. “Woah, what’s up with you?”

“It’s nothing!” Fritz grumbled.

Spitz scoffed, “Clearly there’s something wrong. I know you.”

“Fine!” Fritz retorted, slamming himself down beside Bonzle.

“Did you get into a fight?” Fritz nodded. “A fight with Spitz?” Fritz nodded again.

“I’m glad he’s safe,” he began, “but things are different.”

“How so?” Bonzle asked, setting her drawing pad down entirely.

“He’s better than me.”

“What?” Bonzle almost laughed at the absurdity of the statement, “No one is better than another.”

“No! You don’t get it!!” Fritz hid into his knees, covering his face with his cape.

“Then help me get it.”

Fritz uncurled and stared at the plant, “Spitz can hypnotize now… and I still can’t do anything. It’s not fair.” He continued, “Geo and Cole are both elemental masters too. They’re more special than me.”
Bonzle smiled, relating to the anxiety, “Then what am I? We’re in the same boat, aren’t we?” Bonzle’s own relationship with power was complicated. There was a time when the world would bend to her will, if she so chose, but those days were completely behind her. At least she hoped.

“You can draw and... and,” Fritz trailed off.

“And you can ice fish, cook, spear stronger than a trained ninja, and run faster than the sun can set,” Bonzle hushed, “You are special. Who else can do those things?” Spitz smiled shyly at the compliments. “Your ability to transform wasn’t what made you special, it was you. Just as my inability to do much of anything Skulkin related is not what makes me special.”

“You’re so smart, Bonzle,” Fritz added, leaning against his sister.

“It comes with age,” she joked. He had no idea, she thought, of how much you learn when you get older. “Now, I think you’ve ought to apologize to Spitz.”

“I threw a vase at him,” Fritz blurted out before covering his mouth.

“You what?”

“No! Not like that!!” Fritz frantically shook his hands, “Spitz wanted to demonstrate on me, and it felt weird. He was having me juggle the vases and I hated how it felt. I wanted him to stop but I couldn’t open my mouth so I… I tried to break through by chucking the vase.”

“That’s…” she didn’t know what to say. After a moment, “I think you and Spitz need to have a talk about uhm,” she struggled to find the right word, ultimately settling on, “Consent?” Maybe communication was the better word.

“I feel awful,” Fritz whispered, “I hurt Spitz and I yelled at Cole.”

“Well, you’ve got to apologize to both of them,” Bonzle grabbed her drawing pad and pencil, “Go,” she shooed, raising the bones where her eyebrows would be. Fritz smiled, mouthed ‘thank you’ and went on his way. Bonzle chuckled to herself. Fritz’s crisis of identity was all too familiar for her, and she was glad she could be there to see him work through his own. It was nice to be needed, she thought. She returned to her studies, captivated by the distinct color of the Wildness plant.

As Fritz entered the Rookery, he could feel all eyes on him. All eyes. Cole’s. Geo’s. Spitz’s…

“Hi,” he shyly waved, shifting through the room. He locked eyes with Spitz, who’s spirals became more noticeable than ever. Neither could break their hold, both staring, eyes wide. Almost in unison they both spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sssssory.”

They both smiled and ran into each other’s arms. Fritz spoke first, “I wasn’t fair to you. Or to myself. I’m sorry.”

Then Spitz returned, “I’m ssssory for doing thingssss that made you uncomfortable. I won’t do it again, I promisssse.”

Cole and Geo looked on, proud that the brothers had resolved their differences almost on their own. Frankly it reminded Cole of his relationship with the ninja, how they always fought but were still brothers nonetheless. Brother sharpens brother, as iron sharpens iron, as his Master Wu always told him.

He missed them, Wu and the ninjas, more than he could ever describe, but he could live on, comfortable that they would all be alive and well. Ninja never quit and all that.

Spitz? Fritz?” Geo started, “You’ve got to apologize to Cole for yelling at him, okay?”

“We’re sorry,” they spoke in complete unison. “And we’re sssssorry for the vasssse,” Spitz added.

“It’s okay,” Cole put his arm around Geo’s shoulders, “We’ll fix the mess.” Geo blushed but did not pull away.

“Nothing I can’t fix,” Geo added, “But don’t do it again. Violence is not the solution.”

“But Cole wassss a ninja! He fought all kindsss of folksssss,” Spitz joked.

"Come on. That’s different and you know it,” Cole laughed, “Alright, you’re free to go. Just,” he paused, “Just come to us if you have any problems. Any at all.”

Geo agreed, “We care about you both. More than you will ever know.”

Chapter Text

Geo’s fingers traced the lines of the broken vase. A large piece cracked but not broken glimmered off the light from the open window. It was the base.

He sighed, delicately releasing his breaths so as not to break the shattered glass anymore. Cole sat across from him on the hammock, his eyes following Geo’s calloused hands. There was something so captivating about the skill with which Geo worked.

Geo blushed when he noticed that Cole was looking, but did not break his composure. He lifted the last piece off the floor, and used his fusion to glue it to the rest of the vase. Like Kintsugi, the vase’s cracks were covered in a crystalline hard glow. It was more beautiful than it was before; creating something lovely out of something broken. It was like the Finders in a way. A family made from tattered remains of worlds lost, together to create a home.

Geo released his held breath, setting the vase down on the table beside him.

“How beautiful,” Cole hushed, slithering up beside Geo. He sat his head over Geo’s shoulder, placing a small kiss on his cheek. Just a few days ago, he had never thought of kissing another so casually, but now it came more naturally than breathing. He felt Geo’s heavy chest, trying to catch up on all of the half-breaths he exhaled when working with the glass. Or, at least that is what Geo would’ve said. In reality his beating heart and deep breaths came from the tension building up in the room. A palpable and yet soft tension that echoed in their every interaction—their every touch.

Geo stood from his stool, Cole holding onto his waist as they walked softly around the room. Geo wished to speak, to say so much, but his words broke in his throat. He figured that his eyes would do most of the talking.

Cole hummed, swaying rhythmically. Geo matched his moves more confidently than he had in the past. He felt Cole’s hands on his waist, tracing up and down the lines of his scars. His fusion didn’t work on people. It couldn’t work on people. He had found this out by now. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to heal the scars completely, to remove them from Cole’s body and to take away all of his pain. He couldn’t, but at least he could prevent new ones from forming. He could—would—try his best to make sure he never got hurt again. He couldn’t remove the complex tapestry of stories represented by the wounds on his skin, but he could be there to listen to them.

Geo straightened his posture, looking down on Cole’s forehead. He was taller, but his generally curved posture rarely gave that impression. Geo always hid his real height in an attempt to not seem intimidating. Munce’s were quite large. It seems he inherited that part from them.

Cole’s eyes fluttered upward towards Geo. Geo pulled Cole even closer, walking him step by step across the room to the hammock. He put one hand behind Cole’s head, shielding him, before pushing him down on the fabric. He followed, pinning Cole gently down against the swinging bed.

In the commotion, Geo’s shirt had been lifted ever so slightly. Cole smiled, leaning up and kissing Geo on his lips, careful to avoid his protruding fangs. Geo beamed and kissed him in return. In his attempt to take charge, he still melted under Cole’s charm.

One day I’ll get him first, Geo thought, one day.

He felt Cole’s legs twitching from underneath his pin. He was trying to flip him over.

“H-Hey!!” Geo laughed as Cole wrestled from under him, pushing him down instead. Cole stuck out his tongue playfully. “Not far,” he pouted half-heartedly.

“I’ll let you win next time,” Cole smiled.

“Next time?”
Cole winked, “Next time.” He rolled off to the side after quickly sneaking one more kiss on Geo’s cheek, “You’re so handsome.”

Geo’s heart skipped a beat. No one had ever called him handsome before. He snuggled his head up against Cole’s shoulder, “So are you.”

The door creaked open, just slightly. Cole and Geo shot up, facing the entering figure - Bonzle.

“Hey,” she said, eyes wide and confused. Cole’s hair was ruffled and Geo’s shirt hadn’t been pulled back down yet. The two rushed to fix their appearances before addressing Bonzle.

“Uhm,” Geo cleared his throat, “H-Hey.”

Cole spoke awkwardly, “What’s up, kid?” Kid? He called her kid?

“We uh,” she kept staring as Geo stood up and started fixing the hammock, “We made dinner. The boys wanted to apologize, so they made food.” She smiled, “So if you want any, uh, you can… come downstairs.”

“We’ll be down!” Cole answered.

“Cool,” Bonzle smiled and shut the door. They could hear her footsteps as she raced down the stairs. How come they couldn’t hear her come up, Cole wondered. The two looked at each other and lost it laughing. How awkward.

“Should we,” Geo spoke with his hands, “Should we explain?”

“What’s there to explain?”

“That we’re… y’know.”

“Right.”

Bonzle pulled Fritz and Spitz into the side room. “Guys, I think Cole and Geo are…” She smiled, “I think they’re in love!!”

“In love?” The boys spoke together.

“Mhm,” Bonzle looked around and lowered her voice, “I saw them kiss each other.” The boy's eyes lit up. “But you’ve gotta keep it a secret, ‘k?” The boys nodded and they returned to the dining room just as Cole and Geo came down the stairs.

“Smells delicious!” Cole said, “What’d you make?” Instead of responding Fritz and Spitz stood with all knowing grins on their faces.

Cole motioned to ask again but instead Spitz blurted out, “BONZLE SSSSAID YOU’RE IN LOVE.”

Bonzle grit her teeth and scoffed at her brothers. Geo froze, unsure of how to respond. Cole did instead.

“Of course,” he spoke, and quickly gave Geo a cheek kiss.

“Cole,” Geo whispered.

The boys smiled. “Cool…” Fritz spoke genuinely. Then they returned to setting the table.

“See,” Cole looked at Geo, “That was easy!”

When they sat at the table, there was a bit of tension. Mostly because Fritz had something to say, but he was kind of afraid to say it. Instead, he bit into his fish kebab.

Bonzle raised her hand, “Does anything have to change?”

“What do you mean?” Geo asked.

“You know… are things going to be different?”

Cole grabbed a napkin from across the table and spoke plainly, “Nope.”

“Okay,” Bonzle sighed, relieved and satisfied with the answer. It was what she had hoped for - to not have to make another adjustment. She didn’t like change much.

Fritz shook his leg, unable to wait any longer. He finally blurted out, “So you’re like our dads!!!!”

Geo chuckled, “Yes. I guess so.”

Bonzle scoffed jokingly, “So what, I’ve got to ask Dad One to pass the water now?”

“You can call us whatever you like,” Cole grinned, handing Bonzle the water. What she was going to do with it was anyone’s guess. Such is the mystery of Bonzle.

“I think I’ll stick with names,” Bonzle cackled, “Easier that way.”

“Fine by me,” Cole bit into his kebab, “This is really tasty!”

Spitz beamed, “Thank you!! My recipe!!”

“And I caught the fish!” Fritz exclaimed.

Geo tapped the table, “You both did real good. You work best when you work together,” He patted each of their heads, “So no more fighting, if you can help it.”

“We promise,” they spoke together, each giving Cole a high-five. So they returned back to their meal, their dialogue lingering on everyday things.

They sat together, like a family— much like the family none of them ever had access to. Cole’s mother was ill and never was allowed home, and his father was solely dedicated to his work. Sure, the ninjas ate together, and joked together, and lived together, but this was different. This was a different form of family, as equally valid but just as nice. It felt really good to belong, they all thought at that moment.

Later that night, Cole and Geo stood on the balcony together. They had since put the boys to bed. Spitz’s final quip for the night was a jab at their status of fatherhood. “Nighty-night Dad One and Dad Two,” he had said. Cole jokingly rolled his eyes, but Geo’s heart melted. He never thought anyone would call him dad, not even as a joke. He never figured he’d be given the chance. Maybe getting lost was a blessing in disguise.

“Y’know Cole… To be found is all I’ve ever wanted,” Geo felt the wind against his face, “To look in someone’s eyes and know I belong, and am loved.”

“Well… The kids and I… We found you, didn’t we?”

“Yeah…” he held Cole’s hand, “And I’d never have it any other way.”