"Where are you taking me?" Cole asked as Kai pulled on his arm.

"I told you, it's a surprise," Kai said. He regretted not bringing backup. Even with a fraction of his super strength, Cole could easily stop anytime and Kai wouldn't be able to move him. For the moment, Cole's curiosity was getting the better of him.

"And I told you, I don't want a surprise."

"Dude, you've barely left your house since the trial. You need a distraction."

"What do you call fighting my dad over my career then?"

"A waste of time, now let's go."

"I feel like this is the start of every horror movie ever," Cole said as they went deeper into the woods.

"Do you really think I would drag you out here to kill you?"

"If this is about that boulder again-"

"It's not. Although I will say, the boulder has a nice layer of moss growing on it, at least, according to my parents."

"Why can't the boulder just become the new mascot of Ignacia?"

"Because it's blocking the main road."

Cole stopped when he saw what was up ahead. Kai followed Cole's gaze and groaned. Standing in the middle of the group of ninja plus Skylor was Hermes.

"What's he doing here?" Kai asked.

"He just sort of showed up," Nya said.

"Why?"

"Because I can. Because I wanted to meet my grandson properly, not in a court setting. And because I want to see this," Hermes said.

"See what?" Cole asked.

"Well, I was hoping you could teach me how to master Earth. I'm not that good at it, and Hermes showed us this exercise that I can't do, but we were wondering if you could do it," Skylor explained.

"Do what exactly?"

"I blindfold you and you beat up your teammates while I hold someone hostage," Hermes said.

Cole looked at his friends, who nodded.

"You brought me out here to train? What are you, Wu?" Cole demanded.

"Cole, it's not like that," Lloyd said.

"Then what is it like?"

The ninja were silent.

"What part of "my powers haven't worked right since Morgen attacked me" is so hard to understand? And another thing, you want me to blindfold myself and stand next to someone I can't trust? I'm not even sure I should be here now!"

"Oh, you can trust me," Hermes said.

"I'm not sure I can," Cole replied.

"Why not? Did your dad say something? You can't let him poison your thoughts. Make up your own mind."

"He said you broke into his home, threatened him, then destroyed the computer, the TV, the coffee maker, and over fifteen thousand dollars' worth of equipment and instruments."

"Fifteen thousand… No wonder they wanted to charge me with a felony."

"A felony?" Lloyd asked.

"Hey, Kelly bailed me out the next day, and I had a good reason for what I did."

"Tell me, why did you feel the need to attack a man who was recovering nearly being stabbed to death?" Cole crossed his arms.

"Because… Morgen told us he beat her and made her lose… you …" Hermes slowly explained. He knew it sounded lame, especially now, after everything that happened. Back then, he hadn't questioned it because he didn't think his only daughter would lie to him and Kelly.

"Grandpa's right: you're crazy," Cole scoffed.

"Your father isn't the saint you're making him out to be. He had a mullet once upon a time."

"He also has a tattoo on his shoulder he thinks I don't know about. What's your point?"

Everyone gaped at Cole.

"Your dad has a tattoo?" Jay sputtered.

"He was young and dumb once."

"Kid really was a punk," Hermes muttered.

"Would you quit calling him a punk? He's forty-six! Meanwhile, you have done nothing to prove that my entire family is wrong and I can actually trust you not to kill me," Cole added.

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Cole, we aren't going to force you to do this," Lloyd said before Cole could retort.

"We aren't?" Hermes asked.

"No. However, I think it would be a good idea to test where you are now, so we all know where you need to go. Maybe not by blindfolding you though."

"Can I aim for the crazy man's face?" Cole asked as he walked over to his starting position. Despite what Lloyd said, he knew the others weren't going to let him leave until he showed them something.

"Just don't leave a mark," Kai said as he took a position on Cole's right. Jay stood on Cole's left.

Cole took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tried to focus, but his mind refused to quiet down. He thought of his nana, who vowed to kill the man who endangered the lives of her youngest son and grandson all those years ago if she ever saw him again. He thought of the General, who would yell at Cole if he saw him hesitating now. He thought of Anna, who always told him never to throw the first punch or instigate a fight, but to win if he must defend himself. He wished she were here now to give him advice, even though he knew exactly what she would say to him.

"Soldier up," Cole whispered to himself as he focused all his energy on his powers. He felt them rise up through his body from his feet towards his heart, then out to his hands and arms. He felt his arms start to glow. He opened his eyes and saw Hermes' shocked face. Cole commanded a chunk of the ground up, but he could only manage a size no bigger than a baseball. He inhaled and tried to fling it towards Hermes, but it only went two feet before falling back to the ground.

"That was pathetic, even if your arms do glow. Mine never did that," Hermes said.

"Not helping, Hermes," Nya growled.

"I told you, between Morgen and the Vengestone, my powers are messed up."

"Vengestone?" Hermes asked.

"Vengestone is a common ingredient in anti-nausea medicine. Cole was on these medicines for months," Zane explained.

"Yeah, so now we know if anyone else gets super sick and is throwing up, we're limited to pretty much Dramamine and peppermint tea," Jay added.

"Okay, well, Cole, now we have a baseline. The question is, how do we improve that?" Lloyd asked.

"Maybe Wu has a tea?" Kai asked.

"We can ask, but I'm not sure he does."

"Or we accept that my dad is right and I can't be a ninja anymore," Cole deadpanned.

"Don't talk like that," Jay said.

"Yeah. You can still be a ninja. You still know Spinjitzu. You can still do ninja things. We just need to work on your powers," Lloyd explained.

"You're still family, Cole, and we don't give up on family," Kai added.