Lloyd woke with a start when he heard someone open the front door. He quickly hid his comic book. He was supposed to be counting laps for the alt-ninja, but they were taking a long time.

"Relax, green bean. It's only me," Cole said.

"You look better," Lloyd said.

"I feel better. Whatever was in that tea worked. Everyone seems to be back to normal. I'm a little upset that she got rid of the scar from when my cousin sliced my hand open."

"Well, I'm glad you're back. Where are you off to?"

"To see Nikki."

"What about your dad?"

Cole stopped and looked at Lloyd.

"You have to see your dad," Lloyd said.

"What has he done?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in weeks, not since we brought all the parents together and told them what happened."

"You … Why?"

"Because your parents deserved to know what happened."

"I'm surprised he didn't go after Morgen."

"No, Hermes made sure he knew Morgen wasn't involved in this."

"You let my dad and Hermes be in the same room together?!"

"More like Hermes stole my phone and called him. Seriously, I know to keep those two apart. Besides, your dad said he wasn't going to come if Hermes was here."

"I'm honestly surprised he came at all. I've been trying to get him to come visit for years. He keeps making up excuses not to come."

"So, are you going to go see him?"

Cole took a deep breath and looked at the ground for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess I'll go see him too," Cole said.

"Good."

"Oh. Nya has her memory back, and Jay's spine is healed, so those two are, uh, enjoying each other's company. Loudly."

"Duly noted. I will stay out here and count laps, I guess."

"What are they at?"

"Lap twelve of fifty."

"Oof. Have fun with that." Cole summoned his elemental dragon and flew off.

Cole knocked on the door. He really hoped Nikki was home. He had tried to call her, but his phone service had been cut off during his time away. Just as he was about to give up, Nikki's mom, Iris, opened the door.

"Oh my gosh! How are you?" Iris asked as she hugged Cole.

"I'm good. Is Nikki here?"

"Yeah. Come on in. When did you get back?"

"A few hours ago."

Iris and Cole found Nikki asleep on the couch. Cole gently shook her shoulder, but she just groaned and rolled over onto her back.

"Nikki?" Cole asked.

"Go away," Nikki mumbled.

Cole bent down and kissed her. She inhaled and opened her eyes.

"Cole?" Nikki asked.

"You still want me to go away?"

"Cole!" Nikki sat up and hugged him.

"Hey."

"When did you get back?"

"A few hours ago."

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Iris asked.

"Well, I was probably going to have dinner with my dad tonight, but we can definitely do dinner later this week," Cole said.

"Okay."

"Nikki, do you want to come?"

"Yes. And I want to hear about everything. Just let me go get ready real fast."

Lou sighed as he flipped through channels on the television. He wished the workday was longer. He could distract himself enough at work, but at home, the loneliness and worry set in. The doorbell rang, but he ignored it. It was probably someone trying to sell him stuff.

"Welcome," the doorbell chimed a second time. Lou turned the volume on the TV down in case whoever it was had heard it. He hoped they would get the message and go away.

"Welcome-Welcome-Welcome-Welcome-Welcome-Welcome-Welcome-Welcome-Welcome-Welcome-"

"ALRIGHT ALREADY! STOP RINGING THE DOORBELL BEFORE I RIP YOUR FINGERS OFF!" Lou flung the door open and gasped when he saw Cole and Nikki standing there.

"Since when are you the violent type?" Cole asked.

"Cole!" Lou grabbed his son and wrapped him in a hug.

"But seriously, I'd like to see you try and rip my fingers off."

"I was bluffing," Lou said as he led them inside.

As Cole kicked his shoes off, a long-haired calico cat came over to investigate. Cole looked at the cat, looked at Lou, then looked at the cat again. The cat meowed at him and rubbed against his leg.

"Oh, that's Melody," Lou said.

"All those years of begging for a dog and you saying 'no, a pet is too much work and we don't have the time to take care of it,' but the second I get trapped in another world, you get a cat?" Cole asked.

Before Lou could answer, there was a crash in the kitchen. Lou ran to see what had happened. Cole and Nikki sat on the couch. Melody followed them and rubbed against their legs. Nikki was petting the cat when Lou returned holding a black cat.

"Two cats," Cole said.

"This is Figaro. He's a troublemaker," Lou said.

"Did you know about this?"

"No," Nikki said.

"Yeah, that apartment in Ninjago City I was looking at doesn't take pets, so I'm going to have to find somewhere else," Lou said. He put Figaro down on a large cat tree in the window. The cat immediately jumped down and ran upstairs.

"You want to move?" Cole asked.

"I've wanted to move for years. You know this."

"Yeah, but I didn't think you would ever get around to actually doing it."

"It is well past time that I moved somewhere smaller. I don't need a house when it's just me."

Cole shrugged. Melody jumped up onto his lap and batted at his hand until he pet her.

"Well, Kai's never going to visit you again," Cole said.

"He's not?" Lou asked.

"No. He's allergic to cats."