Lloyd softly knocked on the door. It was about nine in the morning. He usually didn't visit this early, but he was on a mission. But no one answered his knock. The door was open, so he stepped inside. He didn't see Lou, but he heard someone in the bathroom and assumed he was in there. Cole was in the bed with the blankets pulled up over his head.
"Cole?" Lloyd asked.
Cole growled. Lou opened the door to the bathroom. Lloyd had to do a double-take. Lou was in the middle of brushing his teeth, his hair was a mess, his shirt wasn't buttoned, and he didn't have on the bowtie. Lloyd had never seen the man not put together before.
"What are you doing here?" Lou asked.
"Uh, I need to ask Cole some questions," Lloyd explained.
"Oh. Well, don't expect much out of him. He just took his medicine not too long ago, so right now he's trying not to throw up."
"Don't they have medicine for that?"
"It hasn't kicked in yet."
"Oh." Lou stepped back into the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day, but he didn't close the door.
Cole slowly lowered the blankets just enough so he could see.
"Hey, Cole, how are you feeling?"
"Eh." Cole slowly forced himself onto his side so he could face Lloyd.
"Well, at least you're getting better. I'm sure you'll be out of here in no time and back to ninja-ing."
"Ha!" Lou yelled from the bathroom.
"He wants me to quit," Cole whispered.
"Why? Never mind. You can't quit. We need you," Lloyd said.
"Lloyd…"
"No, really. Actually, we were called to Ignacia again yesterday. See, some months ago, a huge boulder rolled into the middle of town, and it's been sitting there ever since. It's starting to grow moss, and the people want it gone. The thing is, despite our best efforts, we can't get the darn thing to move. Even Skylor can't move it. The people of Ignacia want to know when you'll be able to help them."
"… I can't."
"I don't mean right now, Cole. Just, do you have an idea of when they might be releasing you?"
"We are cautiously optimistic about next week," Lou said from the bathroom.
"Really? That's great!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"… I still can't help you," Cole said.
"Why not?"
"Because he's going home with me," Lou yelled.
"Are you really going to let your dad start dictating your life?" Lloyd asked.
"… I don't have powers," Cole admitted.
"What?"
"They're gone, Lloyd. I can't…"
"You can't what? Be a ninja?"
"… Trashcan."
"What?"
Lou ran out of the bathroom and barely got the trashcan to Cole in time.
"This is why they're hesitant to release him. The vomiting is getting worse, but they don't know why," Lou explained as he rubbed Cole's back.
Nurse Crane came in, saw Cole vomiting into the trashcan, and kicked Lloyd out.
Cole was still slightly nauseous at physical therapy, but he was able to hold his lunch down while he floated in the pool. He felt like floating was the only thing he could do on his own. He had just finished a session with Brad and this was his break before heading up to his room for more medicine. He had his eyes closed, but they snapped open when he heard some familiar voices.
"What do you mean you don't have powers?!" Kai demanded.
"Yeah, and why didn't you tell us?" Jay added.
"Are you certain they are gone?" Zane asked.
"When did you find out?" Nya asked.
"Sorry, Cole. They didn't want to wait until you were back in your room," Lloyd explained.
Cole took a deep breath and sank to the bottom of the pool. He did not feel like dealing with this right now. Brad tugged on his arm and pulled him back up to the surface.
"You're done, Cole. I said you couldn't do that again," Brad said as he led Cole to the ramp. An assistant pushed Cole's wheelchair down the ramp into the water slightly so Cole could get in easier. Leaning heavily on Brad, Cole very carefully lowered himself into the chair. Once he was out of the water, someone gave him a towel.
"Start talking, Cole," Kai said.
"Why didn't you tell us you lost your powers?" Jay repeated.
"I tried," Cole said as he dried his face off.
"When?"
"Last week. You're good friends, but you're terrible listeners." Cole wrapped the towel around his shoulders. He wished he had his robe, but he had left it in his room at Brad's insistence. Brad started to push Cole to the elevator. Lou met them in the hallway.
"So they're really gone?" Lloyd asked. Cole nodded.
"But we've been stripped of our powers before. Maybe they'll come back," Kai said.
"No… I don't think so," Cole said.
They tried to ask him more questions, but Cole refused to answer. Once back in his room, the ninja watched as Brad and Lou had to basically lift Cole back into the bed. Cole tried to help them, but his legs were very weak and unsteady. Cole put his robe back on and laid down to wait for Nurse Crane to bring him his afternoon round of medicine. He hoped this time he wouldn't throw up. Lou kicked the ninja out and they reluctantly left.
"… I want to go home," Cole whispered once they were gone.
"Hopefully soon."