The sound of a gong banging outside his bedroom door forced Cole to open his eyes. The room was still mostly dark, except for the tiny amount of sunlight peeking in through the curtains. It took him a moment to remember where he was. The monastery. Sunrise stretches. He had only ten minutes to get ready and get out there. Cole regretted staying up until two the night before video chatting with Nikki as he pulled himself out of the comfort of the bed.
He had moved the last of his things back to the monastery the day before and had spent his first night back in his room. The vengestone level in his blood was down to just below ten percent, but as long as he didn't try to push himself too far, he should be fine.
Cole sighed as he straightened his gi. He triple checked to make sure everything was fastened or tied like it should be. Still, the gi hung off his body. He especially hated the fact it was sleeveless. Normally he preferred the sleeveless gis, but not now. Not when his arms were little more than pale noodles. Though Wu assured Cole it wouldn't take long for him to start putting on muscle, Cole had his doubts as he pulled his belt as tight as it would go. He thought about skipping sunrise stretches and getting back in bed, but he knew Wu would never stand for that.
At two and a half minutes before it was time to start, Cole went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Kai and Jay were already there doing the same.
"Hey. You ready for this?" Kai asked.
"No," Cole replied as he put toothpaste on his toothbrush.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad. Master Wu knows you can't do a lot still," Jay assured Cole.
Cole shrugged and focused on finishing up before Wu came looking for them. The three made it to the courtyard with twenty seconds to spare and Lloyd ran to catch up before he was late. Nya was half-awake and leaning against the wall of the courtyard, while Zane was meditating in the center of the yard.
"It is good to have you all together again. It has been far too long," Wu said.
"Seriously," Lloyd whispered to Cole.
"No talking. Let us begin."
Training hadn't worn Cole out so much since Wu made him, Jay, and Zane complete the old training course. He knew when they sparred tomorrow, whoever he faced would win. Cole collapsed on the couch.
"You okay?" Lloyd asked.
"I knew I was out of shape, but I didn't think it was this bad," Cole admitted.
"You've been out of commission for over six months. Give it time."
"Maybe I'll sit out sparring tomorrow."
"But… I mean, it's your choice. If you don't think you can do it, we don't want you to hurt yourself."
"I know, you're all looking forward to the chance to beat me."
"Yeah…"
"What's going on?" Kai said as he entered the living room.
"Cole might sit out sparring tomorrow," Lloyd replied.
"But it's my turn to spar you!"
"It's everyone's turn, Kai."
"I just don't want to risk going back to St. Albert's. I feel like I just got out," Cole said.
"I think you just don't want to get beaten," Kai smirked.
"That too."
"It's your choice, Cole. We aren't going to force you to do anything if you feel like you can't handle it. Well, Wu might, but the rest of us won't," Lloyd assured Cole.
"My plan is to just take it one day at a time. Eventually, I'll get back to where I was before, it's just going to take a long time."
"Like Uncle Wu always says, patience is key."
Cole nodded. Sure enough, he got a little bit stronger with each passing day. Before long, he was back in his old routine. Skylor came by most evenings to train with the ninja or hang out with Kai. Some combination of Ray, Maya, Libby, and Hermes usually popped by once a week or so to "help train" the ninja.
Cole and Nikki video chatted most evenings, and they texted all throughout the day. If he wasn't busy, Cole would fly to her house on Fridays or Saturdays.
Overall, Cole was excited to see where life would take him next.
Author's Note: I am so sorry this took a long time to post. I thought I had posted this, but I guess not. Whoops. Work has been super crazy since Christmas, and our lead at work ghosted us shortly after the New Year, but no one realized it at first because for the first week and a half, she called out sick. So we've been trying to transition me into the lead position and hire more people to fill in the gap. Unfortunately, this results in me working 10+ hour days most days, and I've just been too tired to write when I get home. The only time I get to write now is on my lunch breaks, which is only 30 minutes long and I have to use the Google Docs app on my phone.
Anyway, this is the last chapter. I want to thank everyone who followed me on this journey. I was very hesitant to do this, but my friends said I should absolutely put myself out there if I want to have some original work published in the future. One of my friends does have an account here, and she's the one who really encouraged me to try out this site. Go check her out and tell her SJ sent you. Her pen name is theoriginalbookthief07 and she does a lot of Marvel Avengers stuff. (My favorite story she's posted is called "Alas, Thou Hast Misconstrued Everything!" and it's about that old Norse myth where Thor and Loki cross-dress.)
If you liked this story, then good news: the adventure is not over. I do have plans for two more complete stories- originally it was only supposed to be one more, but one idea I had just wouldn't go away, so now it's two. The first of these will probably start going up in April. I say this because I am going to Thailand in March and I don't want to start publishing it then have to stop for a while. But, I will also be publishing some one-shot stories that take place between What Makes A Mother and (name undecided). The stories will all be lumped together under a single title, currently titled "Stuff I Wrote On My Lunch Break/Stuff I Wrote When I Should Be Working." I'll think of a better title, but keep an eye out for that soon.
If you would like to read some of my non-fiction stuff, I do have a blog I sometimes update. Go to animatedthoughts and check it out. There, I give my thoughts on animated movies and TV shows. I usually only get to update that once a month or so, but if you like seeing people tear apart plot holes, terrible animation, and just overall bad choices, then you might like it.
Anyway, that was it. I will see you next time.