Cole awoke, shivering, a cold sweat covering his entire body. His blankets were tossed from his bed, his pillows thrown haphazardly against the opposite wall. This was the third time this week that this had happened. Not that it meant anything. Just another aftereffect from long-distance realm travel. Jay had been vomiting for a week after they returned from the Never Realm.

Cole laid on his mattress for a few hours, until their training for the day would begin. The Earth Ninja was glad to have been able to get Zane back, but he secretly wished there was more to do in the frozen realm. He missed adventure. He always missed having a bad guy to face, any time there was a drought in crime. Most of all, he missed Krag. That furry monster had been a great friend, and Cole wondered if he would ever get to see him again.

Cole heard a knock on his door. "Are you awake, Cole?", asked Lloyd, "We should get to training."

"I'm on my way!", said Cole enthusiastically, ready to begin the day. He got dressed, took his hammer, and went to the training ground. Kai, Nya, Lloyd, and Master Wu were already there. Jay, Zane, and PIXAL were notably absent. Jay had likely overslept yet again. PIXAL was probably working with Zane. Apparently his hard drive had been damaged from his time in the Never Realm, and he needed time to make a recovery. The nindroid had barely spoken to anyone besides PIXAL since they had returned to Ninjago.

"Kai, you go with Cole. Lloyd will go with Nya," said Master Wu. Jay walked in just after. "And Jay will go with me."

"What?", said Jay, just before getting whacked in the face with a Bo Staff. "Ouch!"

Cole faced off towards Kai. The Master of Fire smirked as his hands burst into flames.

"Think you can beat me," taunted Kai, "With the full power of fire behind me?"

"Yes, yes I do," retorted Cole as he ran toward Kai. He jumped up, and kicked to Kai's head. The Master of Fire ducked and launched a ball of flame at Cole, who barely dodged out of the way. Cole lunged down, smashing his fists against the ground. The ground shook, and Kai fell. He rolled out of the way of another punch from Cole, and quickly recovered. They faced one another again, when suddenly, PIXAL ran out of the Monastery.

"Red alert!" she cried, "At the bank! There is a heist."

"A bank heist?" remarked Kai, "I can deal with that alone Pix."

"No you won't," said Lloyd, "You need at least two others to accompany you."

"I can help," said Cole, wanting any excuse for an adventure.

"Someone needs to keep the boys in check," said Nya, "I should go with them." Nya and Cole ran out of the Monastery. Kai was already flying down the stairs, three steps at a time.

The Ninja burst into a dark stone vault. Cole, Nya, and Kai assumed battle-ready positions, facing their foes.

"FIYAH!" yelled Kai, as fire engulfed the room. Two familiar skeletons, Nuckal and Kruncha, began running in circles, now covered in flames. "It feels so good to have my powers back!"

Water rose from a puddle in the corner, forming around Kruncha. He poked his head out and laughed. Nya smirked and closed a fist, freezing the water immediately. Kruncha let out a sigh of indignation.

Nuckal ran forward, only for an arm covered in molten lava to block his path, smashing him to pieces.

"Commissioner, they're all yours!", said Cole, turning to the Police Commissioner, who had just entered the room.

"Thank you, Ninja, for stopping the Hooligans once again!", said the Commissioner.

"Just another day's work,'' said Nya.

"It seems like every day Ninjago is in danger," said the Commissioner, "It's very good to have you Ninja back. By the way, where are the other three?"

"They decided to stay back at the Monastery to train," responded Nya.

"We figured we three could take out a couple of dumb skeletons in no time," remarked Kai.

"You idiot, you got yourself frozen by a WATER ninja!" said Nuckal.

"At least I'm still in one piece," responded Kruncha. Nuckal groaned.

At that moment, two cops entered. One gathered the pieces of Nuckal and put them in a bag. The other tried to lift Kruncha in his ice cube, but was having major difficulties. Cole offered to help, and used his super strength to easily lift the frozen Skulkin.

"I'll bring Kruncha to Kryptarium," said Cole, "You guys can head back to the Monastery without me. Nya, try to keep Kai under control."

"That won't be so easy," responded Nya.

"Alright Cole, see you later!", says Kai, fire still in his eyes. He ran out, Nya chasing behind with a scoff.

Cole carried Kruncha to his Earth Driller outside. There, he placed the frozen skeleton in the backseat and made the journey to Kryptarium. All had gone to plan. It was just another battle won. As Cole began to bring Kruncha into the prison, the skeleton began to speak.

"Cole. You didn't think you could escape forever, did you?"

"What?" Asked Cole, befuddled by the strange remark. He looked up only to see that Kruncha's head, protruding from the ice, was sporting unnatural green eyes. Cole recognized the color. It was the color of a ghost's possession.

"Morro?" Asked Cole, becoming increasingly concerned.

"Not quite,'' said the possessed skeleton, "No, I am your worst nightmare. I am the collector of your debts. You will no longer—"

"Is everything alright?", called the warden from the other side of the hall.

"Everything is fine, thank you!" responded Cole. When he looked back at Kruncha, the Skulkin was unconscious.

"Well, you get some rest then! You'll need it for when these prisoners break out next season."

"What?", asked Cole.

"Oh, nothing," said the warden.

Cole returned to the Monastery to see all the Ninja, minus Zane and PIXAL. Lloyd was sparring Nya in hand-to-hand combat. Jay was in a discussion with Kai. Wu was observing from the stairs, drinking a hot cup of tea.

"Hello Cole," said Master Wu, "We've heard from Kai that the battle against Nuckal and Kruncha went well."

"And then I was like, 'FIYAHH', and Nuckal was toast!" said Kai to Jay, who looked to be fed up with this story.

"Repeatedly," said Master Wu, "What is wrong Cole? You look troubled."

"Nothing, Master," said Cole, "I just need some sleep." Cole went inside the Monastery, Jay looking suspiciously after him.

Cole fell asleep, only to have haunting dreams. A portal to a dark realm. A mysterious ghost, scars running across its face. A beautiful woman. A dark, yet all too familiar cloud. "Cole. You should be dead."

Cole awoke with a start, gasping for air. This was more than realm-travel sickness. Something was seriously wrong. He looked to his right at his mirror. A green glow reflected back at him. Cole gasped, realizing the severity of his circumstance. His scar had returned, a remnant of his time as a ghost. Cole was scared. More scared than he had been in years. A flurry of memories swept through him, of his previous ghostly form. The fear of fading away. The constant accidental phasing. Above all, the unceasing cold that spread through every inch of his body. He looked at the mirror again. Odd, it did not have the usually stone frame of the mirror he was used to. Nor was it reflecting his bedroom. Cole quickly jumped off the bed, looking around the unfamiliar room. It had gothic upholstery, a tad dusty. On the back wall was a Yin-Yang symbol.

"Hello Cole, it has been a while," said a voice Cole knew all too well.

"Yang?"