Did I mention that these one shots will be interconnected? No? Well, now you know.
Everything that has happened: All canon installments until S1:EP:1
This chapter takes place during the events of S1:EP:2: Home
Nya
Nya had to be careful. A new place with new surroundings had made her focus slip. Usually she was in it alone. No parents and only one protective brother, but now, everywhere she looked there was someone. She had more people in her life now than she ever thought she would have. It was like having four Kai's in the same room. It was actually so overwhelming at times. Always asking what she was doing, always stopping her in the middle of the day to just hang out, or asking how her fighting training was going. She was never alone.
She snuck out again, as usual, in the dead of night because of this and other reasons. It's not that she didn't care for any one of them. Nya found that coming to care for them felt easy. Too easy.
Kai had always been there, and with the addition of three other boys carrying the weight of the responsibilities and taking care of each other made him more laid back than usual. This was a welcome change. The disappearance of their parents made him a statue, steadfast and steady, to ease her pain with an internal promise of protecting her at all costs. As a blacksmith he was close to worthless, so leaving their parents' smithe to a life dedicated to rid the world of all evil was a mark in the good column. Nya was the inventor of the family anyway. But Kai didn't need to know too much about that.
She moved out the old wares with ease, ready to move along into the world, without the constant reminder of her past that kept her down.
For Zane it was always his food. Not only did she not have to cook for Kai almost every day anymore, but because it was always good and made her full. It would remind her of a time when she was a child, one single bite could send her back so far she could have sworn she could hear her mother's voice. He was open, friendly and remarkably straight forward. If you asked something about him he would answer and it would always be the honest truth.
Not to mention he was a living encyclopedia, can breathe underwater in an insane amount of time, and cannot take a joke. Nya was never sure if he ever could. Nya would agree with the boys about him some of the time. He was strange, but how much, she never questioned. No one she ever met was like Zane. That was a compliment.
Being interested in Jay and his jokes took a while to get used to, but it was always genuine. She was skeptical when she first met him for sure, but Nya spent more time with him than anyone else. Watching movies. Playing video games on breaks. Talking of his inventions and things they could make together. His family. In return, he would ask everything about her. When she was gonna beat Kai's speed record. Did she want to hang out today? Literally anything under the sun.
Nya knew where this was going, and secretly, she welcomed it. It felt like it was only a matter of time. They worked. It was easy. He hit on her before. Was he ever going to act on it again? Would she even say yes?
She wished he would just get on with it, but this was uncharted territory. Nya never had a boyfriend before. Hopefully Kai wouldn't be the thing that would stand in their way.
And then there was Cole. He was an enigma, a mystery with a cake constantly in his hand. She really didn't know what he was to her. Cole was always nice to her. He gave her a wave hello or a greeting every morning and a "goodnight'' every evening that was often followed by her passing the room the boys shared together, hearing his ungodly snoring. Other than the night when he taught her the trick to complete the training course, and making a toast for her at dinner that he prepared himself, (Boy, was the dinner he prepared terrible.) out of everyone in the entire monastery the person she knew the least about was Cole.
And that body conditioning exercise… Feeling like never before, feeling the wind tussling her hair in a state of complete calm and wonder. His errant touches readjusting her, gentle but strong, keeping her steady and in the moment. The two hands that cradled her head were just… so… warm. It felt like… an escape…
Where did he learn that? Who was he? Who were his parents? Where did he come from? Siblings? Interests? Hobbies?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nya knew he was a ninja, that he knew how to fight, and that he couldn't cook. It's not like she didn't like Cole, but how do you start a friendship on close to nothing but a night of sparring?
The boys, tonight, were the last thing on her mind. Nya only had one thought, to continue work on a project hidden from the eyes of her extended family. Achieving the pace of Kai's speed record, and the day where she saved Jamanakai Village and Cole from the Serpentine only made her want to further the completion of her magnum opus: Samurai X. A mech, larger than any vehicle that she had previously designed, to help the ninja in the shadows.
If she was being honest with herself, she had thought about creating something big to test her limits for a long time. Building herself up was no big deal. She created different machines, hidden passages for weapons, and small versions of vehicles she intended to expand on and tweak. Nya loved every second creating them and loved editing what she had already made to create her newest behemoth. She was almost done, and with one last trip to Jamanakai Village to sell her final weapons to get parts, it would be up and running soon. Very soon.
Nya smiled to herself as she tried to sneak back to the monastery, climbing the wall at the back of the mountain, and skimming over the rooftops. Another night that she wouldn't be caught coming back in the early hours of the morning. Wu's warning of waking the boys at six a.m. gave her a window to return somewhere around four-thirty and get a few hours of some deserved rest. Right on schedule.
As she climbed up the wall and ascended to the rooftops she heard the unmistakable sound of someone training by themselves. The footfalls on the cobblestones of the courtyard and the grunts she heard were coming from one of the boys. Nya kept her wits about her as she traversed the rooftops of the monastery, carrying the remnants of her belongings from that day's trip to the cave she worked in; a knapsack that was draped over her left shoulder.
As she crept to the left part of the building, she tried to get a good look closer and a glimpse of who was up so early. In order to decide on her best course of action, she hid behind the roof and shielded her presence. Nya applied some deductive reasoning before jumping to conclusions and risking the chance of being spotted. She contemplated her options to herself.
"It definitely isn't Kai." Usually when he didn't have to get up early to get to work at the smithe, he would stay asleep until noon if he wanted. Better for me to sneak off to work on the Samurai X mech. So he is out.
Jay is easy, he took naps sometimes after working and played video games late into the night, which is what he did after Cole's dinner. No way he would wake up this early. "So Jay, a hard pass."
"Cole? Possible." she shrugged. I didn't see him much after he did the dishes after the dinner he prepared. He did wake up early to get something to eat the night of helping me through the course. Did an early breakfast call to him this morning? Maybe he was a heavy sleeper? Ugh. I have no clue. By the sound of his snoring last night, a full stomach might have done him in.
"Hmm… Cole's dinner…"
At that moment, she pulled a conversation that she remembered the previous night to the front of her mind.
"So, how has your training improved for today after the battle? Are you ready to start fresh and early tomorrow? I'll be waking you all at 6." Wu said.
"I will! With all this talk of living up to our true potential and unlocking our golden weapon's powers. I feel I could take down Lord Garmadon with a single blow, prophecy or no prophecy."
So. It's probably… "Zane."
As she came up with this conclusion, Nya turned to face the monastery's courtyard behind the incline of the roof keeping herself hidden. When Nya leaned forward and squinted her eyes, and sure enough his white gi was on, contrasting the darkness of early morning. She was right. Like there was any doubt.
He was keeping a brisk pace in movements and seemed as though he was in a state of heated concentration. Her best option was to be quiet. Zane didn't usually react to light noises. You had to speak to him more directly most of the time when he was occupied. When Zane was cooking, he didn't want any distractions, and nothing would stop him from a task he cared about.
As Zane was using a sequence of moves hitting the air around him, Nya recognized this as the warm ups that Wu would occasionally guide them through before a session. She calculated her moves on the roof carefully as she tiptoed along the shingles of the roof to keep herself scarce. She would wait for him to have his back turned before she made any large strides towards her destination, and small careful steps when he would face the monastery. To the best of her ability, and her memory, inch by inch she approached the centermost point of the roof where she would prepare her descent to reach the two sliding doors, thus completing the task of escaping to bed.
"Okay. So far, so good." Nya whispered to herself. "Almost got it."
She eased her way consistently looking at her feet, and then Zane in succession, matching her movements to his series of maneuvers. As if by chance, a sound came from Zane that was unfamiliar to her around the time she was watching her feet traverse the roof. Before she could look up and catch a glimpse of the string of jump kicks he began to practice, her toe grazed against a loose shingle, slipping in an instant.
She gripped the strap of her bag, keeping her knees bent as she glided down the roof. As she surfed down to the concrete below with the aid of the loose tile, she braced for impact, clapping a hand over her mouth stopping any extraneous noises dead. An almost disgusting sound of clay scraping against itself became more vocal as she advanced towards the gutter. Nya then skidded into the gutter and crouched down to vault over it into a flip. She landed on the concrete below as silently as she could and looking down, collecting her balance using her arms as a counter weight.
She was facing Zane's back, which was all the way across the courtyard. He kept going, unaffected. Nya sighed to herself in relief for a job well done, turned, and started to walk away towards the double doors.
Just before she could reach for the door, there was a crashing sound behind her. The shingle that she slid on came tumbling down and fractured on impact when it hit the ground. She tensed up, shoulders raised, gritting her teeth as she gasped in surprise. Her instinct to hide kicked in and she turned to the wooden pillar close to her and pressed her back against it, waiting for the inevitable. But after a few beats of nothing but the continuous sound of Zane's feet against the courtyard's cobblestones, her body started to release its tension.
Nya slowly turned her head, her body still hugging the pillar, to find him focused on only his sequence of warmups again. To prove that she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating her great luck, she whispered to him across the way to get his attention.
"Pst! Zane!", she whispered. Nothing. "Zane. Zane!" Still going. "Phew." With that sigh of relief, she readjusted the bag on her shoulder and began to walk the path towards the doors. She slid them open and walked in.
She looked back and caught another glimpse of Zane, who remained unperturbed by the sudden noise of a person falling off a roof. She muttered a "Huh. Weird." as she turned to leave for her room, shutting the doors gently behind her. When she heard the sounds of heavy snoring from inside the hall Nya knew she was home free.
—
The alarm that she set for herself rang out too late, because she was already out of her bed, her awake body betraying her mind which wanted to sleep in a little later. Nya agreed that going to about ten-thirty was good enough anyway. She did her morning stretches and headed out the door and into the hall.
Nya was expecting at least some hijinks going into the day. At any point she knew that Lloyd Garmadon would be back with an army of Serpentine, and any kind of training to take them on was needed. It would be the perfect opportunity for the boys to fight over who would be the best to take them down. She hated it when boys fought over something so trivial as to who was the best to not only defeat his army of snakes, but Lord Garmadon himself. Nya believed with her whole heart that they would all get their shot, despite the hiccups.
It surprised her to find that this morning there was no noise of training in the courtyard. The training equipment was put up for the day and nothing but the sound of the wind pierced her ears. That was strange enough, but she remembered what time it was. Ten o'clock was when the mail arrived, on the dot, every morning. They must all be busy answering it. Jay would usually be the one to deliver mail to her if she had any. Good. No news is good news.
Before she had the chance to return inside the monastery, she heard the unmistakable sound of a dragon roaring across the sky. The breeze came from the northern end of the gate as the form of Cole's dragon, Rocky, crossed over the roof behind her. It gave her a glimpse of the underbelly of the beast as he was steered by his master. As Cole tightened the reins to make an abrupt stop over the courtyard, the guardian of the Scythe of Quakes breached the sky and released a mighty roar.
"Good morning, Nya!" The wind from the flaps of the dragon's wings swept her hair as Cole pulled up to greet Nya with a wave.
"Good morning to you too!" Nya noticed how well he was guiding his dragon through the steps of landing. She was impressed. "Great riding Cole!"
"Thanks. Practicing every day. Getting better and better."
Remembering his perfect practice makes perfect speech, Nya decided to goad him further. "Oh. So you're not at perfect practice yet?"
Cole laughed. "Well, I'm close. Not too long ago I had a race with the rest of the guys and I won."
"Really?! That's great." Nya said in congratulations. "Do you need some help putting him away?"
"No, but I do need help with something else." Cole answered. He anxiously moved the hair from his face. "Um, are you doing anything? You don't have to come with me if you don't want to."
"Sure," said Nya. "but I was gonna go see Jay and ask if I got any mail."
"Oh, I can tell you that. You didn't get any today. Just me, Kai, and Jay."
"Well, then. Looks like I got a clear schedule." Nya started to head for the gate that would lead to the dragon's stables.
"Hey, Nya, there's no need to walk. You want a ride?"
"Well, okay. That sounds good."
"Cool." Cole slowly landed the hovering dragon in the courtyard, one flap of the dragon's wings at a time. When Rocky had his talons firmly on the ground, Cole offered her a hand to help her onto the dragon's back. "Hop on."
With a smile Nya took the hand, set herself up to jump and climbed up the back of Rocky. She was unsure of what to do next, unfamiliar with how Cole would be with another person in the saddle, so she settled to take the spot she usually sat, behind the rider. Nya adjusted herself on Rocky's back and when she was comfortable Cole turned around to place her arms around his waist. Shocked by the gesture Nya felt a heat rise in her cheeks.
"Cole? What are you doing?"
"Hold on, sweetheart." Cole said with a wink.
Sweetheart? She gave him an aggressively questioning look as he slung the reins. No one called her that. Ever. Revenge was definitely in the cards for that later.
"It's gonna get bumpy. Hyah!" In a jolt they were off to the stables, but Cole turned the dragon's snout north towards the sky and traveled farther and faster than Nya expected when she was placed on the back of the dragon.
"Hey Rocky," Cole said to his dragon, raising his voice, "show Nya here what you can really do! Hyah!" They breached the open air above them, and Nya was hanging on for dear life, pressing her cheek against his back. In a show of skill, they were reaching a break-neck speed, and after getting used to it, Nya relaxed as she felt the wind in her face and through her short black bob.
She turned her head behind her to see how far up they were, and the monastery was hardly in her vision, the clouds behind them blocking her view. As they ascended into the blue, Cole lifted up his reins to make Rocky take an almost abrupt stop. When they stopped, Cole let up a shout into the sky to his mammoth friend. "Let it rip, buddy!" Rocky let out a mighty screech and from his mouth it made a cloud of earthen mist that showered across the space in front of them. It swirled and glittered around the snout of the dragon and Nya was amazed, mouth agape in shock of what appeared before her. Cole turned his body towards Nya to speak again.
"Hey Nya, hang on tight, and watch what happens behind you! We're going down!" Cole said loud enough Nya could hear over the sounds of a dragon's beating wings and the pants of the beast as it prepared itself for the plunge, and did Nya as she did what she was told.
The great Earth dragon went down and plummeted to the ground below through the clouds. Nya felt Cole twisting in his seat to pull the reins sharply to the right, making the dragon pull his wings out and Rocky started to propel downward in a corkscrew. The ensuing movements made Nya curious and decided to watch behind them instead of cowering in fear at the speed in which they were falling. The glittering dust formed a trail behind them in the form of a tornado, not too different from Cole's spinjitzu. The trailing glints of the brown mist fell amongst the clouds as if it was sand underneath the waves of the ocean, the blue of the sky mixing with the color of the white and gray clouds.
As they fell, Cole then pulled the reins up again and they parachuted up to glide forward and up again to make a loop de loop. As they flew forward and the adrenaline of the moment and the beauty of the makeshift tornado hit her like a mack truck, a reaction finally came from her. She let out a loud exuberant shout.
"Yeah! Go Rocky, go!" she exclaimed, leaning her head back to feel the wind against her face, both her fists punching the air. "Woo-hoo!"
Cole was shaking with laughter and joined in as he drove the dragon through the air. A few turns later and they were an uncontrollable force of laughter and cheering Rocky on. The dragon turned and twisted in the air in a series of complicated corkscrews and loops, at the request of the twists of its reins. Nya noticed as soon as Rocky started to slow, Cole took notice and pulled up, letting him relax.
"Okay Rocky, I hear ya. Let's go back." Cole said to Rocky, leaning forward, petting him on the neck. "Hold on to me again, Nya. Don't want you falling off before we get home." Nya placed her hands back around his waist as he moved the reins in the direction of the stables. She took a long view of the clouds in the sky wafting by, already hungering to stay a little longer in the air, but she knew that was what her new suit was for. She could be patient. Mostly.
Cole eased through the door of the stable which held Rocky, and they landed with a solid thud. She let go of him slowly and released a hearty sigh as Cole slid off Rocky's back. "Cole. That was amazing. Are you sure your practice isn't perfect?"
"Thank you." Cole said through a laugh. "I'm glad you had fun." He held out his arms to her, and she knew he was trying to help, but she refused them with a hand and decided to dismount the dragon herself. He put his hands away gingerly.
"You've come a long way, Cole." Nya said as she, with one hand, pushed off the back of Rocky and swung her legs to get off and land next to Cole. When she did, the swinging caused her leg to be caught on the strap of a bag that was strapped around Rocky's body, and suddenly tripped into the arms of the dragonrider.
"I know," Cole said. His arms were under hers as Cole slowly lifted her from the crouching position in which she landed in. "And I owe it all to you."
Nya's face flushed, eyes wide in surprise. They readjusted, standing up straight. Cole slowly came closer to her, looking down, never taking his gaze away from her eyes, searching.
"Are you okay?" he said. A beat.
"Yeah, uh. I'm fine." said Nya with a nervous laugh. She gathered herself gently pushing his arms away from her, patting them in thanks "You don't give yourself enough credit. I didn't teach you how to do those tricks. I think the only thing left to work on are your landings and slowing to a stop, other than that, perfect."
"Sound advice." Cole said. "I'll take it." He went towards the dragon to unstrap the bag that was attached to the dragon's body.
"So, what did you need help with?" Nya asked, curious.
"Okay, I need some help watering him to keep him distracted from what I have in this so I can give it to him. It's a-" Cole cleared his throat with an "ahem" and loudly whispered his next set of words. "-T-R-E-A-T. Just got it in the mail."
"What's with the spelling?"
Cole looked at Rocky and then back to Nya, then he put an arm around her shoulder shielding her from Rocky's eyes and whispered into her ear. "I can't say that word or he'll go crazy. Once he was so excited there was an earthquake so big that Rocky almost shook the stables down."
"Okay. What do you want me to do?"
"See that bucket over there?" Cole asked. Nya nodded in response. He brought her to Rocky and handed her the reins around Rocky's neck. "Take the reins, I need you to lead Rocky towards the trough and fill the bucket in front of him with water. Keep filling it until I call you and say that I'm done opening the box. Got it?"
"Sounds simple enough." Nya averted her gaze from Cole, who was opening the box behind her, and walked to the front of the dragon and gave him a few strokes on his snout, gaining his trust. When he relaxed into her hand, she started pulling forward towards the trough and the bucket. "C'mon Rocky. I bet you're thirsty from all that exercise, huh?" Rocky huffed in agreement.
She arrived at the bucket, lifted it up and carried it to the water spout, filled it to the brim, and returned it to the trough. Rocky began to drink, distracted, and one bucket at a time the trough would be filled as Nya would hear the consistent rustling of paper from Cole on the other side of the room. Once she was through, she made sure that Rocky got his fill, petting the scales on his long neck. Nya could have sworn to the First Spinjitzu Master that he started purring like a cat. She turned her head over her shoulder wondering what was taking Cole so long.
Nya wanted him to hurry up, not because she wanted to leave, but she was more curious about the contents of the box and silence in the presence of others truly annoyed her. As Cole was emptying the contents of the bag he must have dropped something, there was an envelope behind him. She studied the envelope behind him with a quizzical brow, and Nya ended up being distracted by it enough that Cole spoke to her again and she 7hardly noticed.
"Alright Nya, I'm done. Bring him over."
"Huh? Oh! Okay." said Nya with a shake of her head to remain focused, took him by the reins and led him towards Cole and the treat he had in store for him. "Hey, Rocky, we have a surprise for you."
"Yeah, big guy. Come on over." Whatever contents were in the box, Cole was hiding it behind his back with his right arm as Rocky came closer and closer to its master. "Look what I got in the mail for you, I have a nice big old treat just for you." he said in a sing-song voice, and that did it. Rocky shook with a cataclysmic fury, the promise of confectionary goodness proving to be too much for the creature and he leapt forward.
Nya made a small squeak as she was pulled forward by the force of his stride. She escaped in record time and held a safe distance away from the beast. Cole pulled out the treat, or what seemed to Nya to be a blob of complete and utter disgustingness, toward the nose of the dragon. She could smell the rank stench of it from behind Cole and his pet. The smell went away as soon as Cole tossed it into Rocky's mouth. He jumped forward to grab the treat from the air and shook the room, and Nya gave him room when she stumbled back into the table behind her.
She almost slipped on something when she fell back. The envelope, addressed to Cole, from a person who carried his same last name. A person named Lou. Nya picked it up and put it in her pocket. She'll ask him about it in a minute.
"Cole, what in Ninjago was that?" Nya asked, disgusted.
When she looked back at him he was farther forward and petting Rocky's snout. "Liver and toads. They're his favorite." When he was done he grabbed his bag that was on the floor.
"Ew. I am so sorry, Rocky. Are you sure that you didn't lose the real thing in the rest of the guy's mail?"
"It's highly doubtful I would find dragon treats in a letter by a Kai fangirl or one from Jay's mom and dad."
Nya laughed. "Maybe you're right." She thought of the empty courtyard at that moment and the missing boys and before their bout of dragon riding. "Oh, so that's where Jay was. Was he writing to his parents? I can't wait to meet them. I hear they are really great people."
"No matter what he says, they really are."
"You've met them? When?"
"I've known Jay for a while. And they have visited the monastery before. They've made a care package or two. His mom makes a mean carrot cake."
"So, didn't Zane get anything?"
Cole shook his head. "Nope. Nothing, he said he didn't have anyone that would send him anything. No parents, no other friends. Nothing."
"I get that." Nya solemnly said with a sigh. Cole responded with a forlorn look, questioning her with his gaze, but giving up. Then they, all together, looked forward towards a dragon that was finding a place to lie down, being indecisive. In order to avoid such a heavy subject of discussion, Nya perked up a little bit, thinking of the letter in her pocket and getting an idea to lift the conversation. "And you didn't get anything else?"
He cleared his throat and rubbed his left forearm. "Mm-mm. Nothing. All that I got was the treat for Rocky. Nothing else."
Nya sensed his nervousness and guessed that he had to be hiding something from her. She planned her next move to get some information out of him. She pulled the envelope out of her pocket and teasingly flicked it back and forth in front of her face. "Are you sure about that?"
He jumped out of his position on the table and with eyes wide he said, "Where did you get that?" Cole tried to grab it from her hand but she stepped away and put the letter behind her back. An evil little sneer was plastered to her face.
"Oh, this?" She held the letter in front of his face, and pulled it away when he would use both of his hands to grab it out of hers. Cole would come closer and closer to her to get it back, but as if they were in a dance, she matched him step for step. "I found it on the floor. You know? You should really be careful where you put your personal items. You never know where they are gonna end up."
"Nya, come on." Cole goaded. "Give it back. Don't know it's against the law to mess with somebody's mail?"
"Oh, is that all I am to you… sweetheart?" she said in a condescending way. Nya wanted revenge and she was curious. You know what they say, curiosity killed the cat, and I plan to use this to my advantage. "You don't want to send me off like that? Do you? What would Kai think?"
"You know I wouldn't. I just need that back. Give it back."
Nya was far enough away from Cole that they were already crowding Rocky's space in the stable. She used it to her advantage and started walking away around him. Cole followed suit.
"Cole, you really need to ask more nicely. I'm sure you can wait on a letter from, oh let's see.." she looked at the front of the envelope to read, "Lou Brookstone…" Nya made the tone of her voice sound as though she was faking that she knew nothing of what that name would mean to him. It could be his father. But I'll test the waters first. Let's see what I can get out of him. She thought. "Wow isn't that your last name? Huh. That name seems really familiar to me."
"What? You know who that is?" Cole asked, almost in despair, sweating bullets. "How?"
Gotcha.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Nya teasingly said as she turned the corner, stepping over Rocky's tail out of Cole's view. Not taking her distance away from Cole for granted, she broke the seal of the envelope with a fierce velocity that the tear could be heard from a long distance.
The sound of Cole's footsteps became louder and increased in speed. Nya started giggling as she used the sound to move on her own accord and further away. She opened the envelope up in front of him and started to take the letter out of the envelope and cleared her throat as she traveled a safe distance from Cole's hands. Nya unfolded it and started to read. "Ahem, Dear Cole,... "
Nya was interrupted by Cole coming for the letter. As she held the letter in one hand she used the other to push him to the side with a stiff arm. He lost his balance, using Rocky to propel himself forward and get a hold of her arm.
"Nya. Stop. I beg you. Please?"
"A please? Really? Finally, but nope." Nya twisted her arm around and escaped his grip. "I'm too intrigued, I'm not losing out on this chance to know anything about you. I don't want to have to wring it out of you. I want to be your friend, how can I do that if I know nothing?"
"Is that what all this is for? Me being your friend?" Cole asked, a smile replaced his dismal expression, holding his hand out to her in an effort towards the letter. Nya knew it had to be an appeal to her better judgment. "Nya, of course you can be my friend. Just ask me whatever you want. I'll answer. I promise."
"Oh, okay." Nya said, slowly handing the letter over enough that it would graze his palm. She hesitated, her next step quickly entered her brain in an instant and replied, "Well, so then I guess you wouldn't mind if I read the rest of this then." She pulled away and bolted to the tail of the dragon to hide behind Rocky again, giggling all the way.
"No, that's not what I meant." Cole said, still trying to reach her, but failing miserably. "Nya!"
Nya continued despite the interruptions that were in the way. Errant pails, puddles, a large dragon, all in the name of getting a rise out of him. She wanted to know what was on this page, and she always got what she wanted. She started reading as soon as she was a safe distance from Cole's pursuit.
"Dear Cole, it's been a long time, so hello again. I know that you are busy with your schooling and that you are working hard, but I miss you terribly. When you start to work you are always so focused that it is hard for you to stop,..."
When she stopped reading he came at her at full speed, an arm lunging for the letter in her hands. Dodging it was too easy. When his arm came forward, she used what she had been taught by him, jumping, ducking then sliding under the arm. The momentum of the maneuver made Cole slip on a nearby puddle. Face planting into the stomach of a sleeping Rocky. He pushed himself up to look in Nya's direction. She reached out for him, worried.
"Are you okay?" she said. He nods with a grunt. She kept her distance. "You know, I don't believe that for a second. I mean, before any of you guys found out about the Green Ninja prophecy, you were playing video games and getting lazy. What happened to you guys?"
"Hey, like you said earlier, I did my own training with Rocky to do all of those tricks. I haven't been that lazy." He went after her again once more and she dodged his advances again.
"Touché," Nya said. When she ran away from him, Nya picked up a pail that was to the left of her on the floor and tossed it to the ground where she knew she would not trip over it again. As Cole kept gaining ground, she kept on with her reading, running around the dragon's snout, being careful not to trip. "...but I'm afraid that these letters you write to me may not be enough, but now that you are following in my footsteps and still have that good work ethic since you were still a child, I know you will make me proud."
Nya after the last passage she paused to marvel at what Cole's father had said, watching Cole come up behind her as she walked backwards away from him. "Isn't that sweet?"
"Well, I have a good relationship with my Dad."
"I can see that, so let's keep going." Nya continued. "Please tell me all about your new friends and the pieces you're working on, I would gladly help you with anything."
"Pieces?" What was Cole's dad talking about? "What does he mean by pieces?" Nya asked.
"Nya, I'm not kidding, please just give it back to me." he came forward to her side briskly and got a hold of her arm, she kept the letter behind her back again. "Please, I'm not ready for that yet."
"Ready for what? Come on, Cole. It's your Dad, and since you have such a good relationship with him, what's so bad that you don't want it to be out in the open? You're not scared of anything it might say, are you?"
He pulled her closer to him, his grip easy and not hard. "I'm not afraid of anything."
"Really?" she asked, skeptical. "Then you'll let me finish?"
"You're not going to take "no" for an answer are you?"
Nya shook her head.
He sighed and with a breathy and annoyed "Fine." and walked away. He walked, dejected, in Rocky's direction. He leaned back to put his back against Rocky's and slid down to the floor, relinquishing his secrets into her hands. Nya then completed the final lines on the page.
"You know that. I hope you do. I hope Marty Oppenheimer's School of Performing Arts is doing you well and I hope to hear from you soon. I have to prepare for the next concert. A Royal Blacksmith's work is never done! Good Luck, Your Loving Father." When Nya was finishing what she read from Cole's father's letter, the weight that Cole carried became more apparent in his face and her voice progressively became more and more quiet as a result.
"You know, I almost wish I hadn't taught you those moves," he fake laughed to himself. "you're getting better than I have ever been."
"You're the son of a Royal Blacksmith?" She had been into Ninjago City to run errands, and had seen posters of the famed group of singers that would perform in concerts all over Ninjago. She was flabbergasted.
"Yes."
She stepped a pace back to gather her thoughts. "So, can you dance? You're a dancer like him, right? Or a singer?"
"Yeah- uh- no. I don't dance." Cole said. He was scoffing as he answered her second question. "And no, I'm no singer either."
Nya shook her head, confused. "Why does your dad think you live here instead of the school?"
"I told him that I live with my quartet. Which," he sighed again at his lies, "I'm not technically lying about."
"So, you've been lying to your dad about living in the monastery, being a ninja… everything?"
"Yep." he sighed. "Pretty much." He huffed a breath into the hands his head fell into, hiding his face from her.
"Why?" She moved closer to sit down next to him and lean back against the dragon.
"It's… complicated." Cole said, leaning his head against Rocky, looking up, eyes closed. Nya wondered if it meant that he was either distressed or just broken.
"Does Wu know?" she asked him, finally handing him the letter he so desperately wanted a few minutes ago.
He paused a minute to get the letter and stare at the writing from his father's hand. Cole replied with a heavy "No." It fell like a thud.
"So now one knows but me?"
"Right on the money."
"I think you should tell him. All of them."
"I can't do it now, Nya. I need time. I can't do that all at once. My dad, the team, Lloyd and Lord Garmadon, the Serpentine, the prophecy? It's too much."
"Take it from someone who knows. I would give anything to talk to my mother again. Or my father." Nya said. "And honestly, so would Kai. You never know when a chance could be your last, or if the last one you did have was the only one you had left. You're lucky to have at least someone left, like Jay, or even Wu."
"I know." he said.
"At least you're not like Zane, he has no one but us."
"What would they all think?"
"The other guys? Well, they all can be really immature sometimes," Nya pondered. "but at the end of the day I don't know and you never will until you tell them."
"Soon. I promise." Cole said. He then held his hand out to Nya to shake it. "I trust you and you have convinced me but, for now, let's just make this our little secret, okay. Friend to friend. Deal?"
"Deal." They shook on it for a few solid seconds. That silence was deafening. Nya broke it, hoping to alleviate Cole's tension and the uneasiness in the room. She let go and knew she had succeeded when she decided to speak again.
"Need help putting stuff away?"
"Sure. Let's do it."
Cole went to Rocky and patted him on the nose. The dragon nuzzled into his hand in sleep and Nya went to the other side of the room to get the pail that she threw, during their chase.
"Man, Rocky must have had a big day."
"He did, but I've never seen him sleep so fast after a run. You don't think anything's wrong with him do you?"
"Maybe we can talk to Master Wu about it together? But he did do a lot today, and I'm sure the excitement must have tuckered him out. Like you do after a good dinner. Maybe dragon's do take after their master's, huh Cole?" She laughed to herself as she put the pail back to its proper place near the trough. Nya expected an answer in the form of a quirky comeback to come from Cole, but the only sound she was given was a low growl. Almost inhuman.
"Cole?" she asked. Silence. "Cole?" Nya asked again. Still no answer.
When she wanted to ask for his name once more she found that Cole was standing away from her, facing the dragon, his back turned and slowly swaying. The low growl that she was hearing, persisting, in a low purr. Cat-like. No different than his dragon from earlier. She took frightened steps toward her newly titled "friend" wanting to snap him out of whatever was causing him to act in such a way. Step by step she crept her way toward him.
As she got closer and closer, she technically didn't know what to do next when she approached him. Considering the noises that he was presently making she didn't know if he would jump at her or would just snap out of this trance he was under, not hearing her at all. It reminded her too much of the previous night outside Wu's room.
That was it. Something has to be wrong. I don't want to scare Cole, but this has happened before. I need to talk to Wu. Alone.
There he was. So close. Nya lifted her shaking hand to lightly grasp his shoulder to test the waters. She asked for a response from him again. "...Cole?"
The very moment that her hand grazed the junction where his forearm connected to the rest of his shoulder, the boy she knew as Cole slowly stiffened into a hardened stance from gradual shock. His head slowly twisted into Nya's line of sight so she could see his face. With what she saw next, Nya had to force herself from jumping out of her skin in fear.
Cole's eyes were bloodshot, his eyebrows encasing them in deep and intelligible anger and the familiar pinch in the center of his eyes were there with them. He was still in there somewhere. What gave Nya pause was when he looked at her, and that low growl still reverberated in his chest enough that it shook. He lowered his head in her direction deliberately, looking to inspect her face's every feature in his blood red gaze.
The sights and sounds raised her skin into gooseflesh and she took a stream of calming breaths to ease her nerves. Before his face could reach her's she decided the next course of action was to prepare for some kind of assault, but it never happened. He just stood in place, staring in her face and his eyes never let go of hers. Once she was calm enough, she made her choice.
She slightly shook him.
"Cole? Cole?" Nya shook him gently again and again, repeating his name. "Cole?" The red of his eyes slowly began to dissipate outwards, his black as night pupils showing first. To Nya it felt like he was starting to slump forward, but he caught his balance, all the while turning his face away from Nya and back to the dragon. Like it had never happened. Cole shook his head from side to side.
He responded with a gentle, "Yeah? Wait. How did you get done so fast?"
Nya was entirely confused. He was back, but what was wrong?
"I have to ask you something. Are you okay?" Nya said.
"Yeah, I feel good! Right as rain." he said, cheerfully.
"Are you sure? You had me worried a little bit there, you couldn't hear me." The understatement of the year. You are not getting out of my sight for too long.
"I'm fine, Nya." Cole started laughing. "Sorry, I lost my train of thought. What were we talking about?"
She changed the subject.
"It's nothing. Come on, let's get out of here. So. Um. Kai hasn't even been a ninja for about a month and he already got a fan letter? That's got to be some kind of record." Nya said, slowly walking to the door of the stables.
"Yeah, about that…" Cole asked, "Do girls really go after him that fast?" as he followed Nya to the door of the dragon stables and let her go into the outside first.
"Always has been, it's almost unnatural." Nya said heading out the door. "There was never a time that he didn't fail in acquiring attention from the female persuasion."
After he used the levers to close the doors of the stables behind them, he stopped to look down and shake his head, clearly thinking about his next word. "How?" he said, hands outstretched.
"No clue, but I am his sister." Nya said, turning to face him with a laugh. "He says it's the confidence, and the hair gel."
"Hey, heh, maybe I should try that sometime." Cole forlornly sighed and then continued after a moment or two as they headed up the steps back to the monastery, walking with Nya side by side. Laughing to himself he added another remark. "Not that it'll help that much."
"No. Don't say that Cole. I wouldn't change anything, and friend to friend, if anyone ever didn't like you for yourself, they don't deserve you."
As they headed back to the monastery together talking up a storm, they climbed the steps of the mountain stride for stride towards home.
—
Throughout the rest of the day and into the late night, Nya kept that promise to herself to keep tabs on Cole and make sure that one of his episodes never happened again. No matter what the other ninja wanted to do, she made sure that Cole was a part of it. Video games, a turn in the weight room, or just a movie, she was always the one who asked him if he wanted to join and each time he responded with a rock solid and enthusiastic "yes".
"Any reason why you're so into me tonight, Nya, or are you just trying to get my attention?"
"No. I just want to spend some time getting to know my new best friend I met in the stables."
"You're new best friend, huh? I'll take it. Want to help me with something again, friend?"
Then she agreed to spot him at the bench press.
When dinner finally came around and all of the activities were done, with all of her new family at the table in her usual position right next to Jay, she decided to let loose with the rest of them. When Zane arrived after he finished cooking, his antics stole the show. A pink frilly apron was his choice of apparel and it looked ridiculous enough to Nya that once she said it was, the rest of the boys joined in. She felt sorry for Zane, but with the food throwing and the atmosphere and just feeling so open she couldn't let go of this feeling no matter what. Jokes were told, fun was made, and food was thrown, and it felt perfect. It felt like home.
But, though it was a wonderful night she would remember for a long time, a side of her still felt uneasy. Cole had no episode through dinner either, which gave her plenty of time to think of what to say to Master Wu. He had red eyes, a growl that was almost like a low purr, and was standing in one place seeming like he was in another world, with no focus or drive. Just a motionless automaton. That seemed like enough to go on.
She tested the waters during the food fight, tossing a good few lobs of perfectly good food at him to make him angry, but it didn't work. His eyebrows would lower, a giant grin splitting his face and the world was gone. It was just their table, the laughter, her family, and her new friend.
—
It was close to midnight when Nya decided to make her move. When the coast was clear and Nya made sure that she could hear the tossing and turning of sleep, and Cole's snoring, she made a break to the room where Wu resided. She was a little nervous that she would be waking him, but as she closed in she could smell the aroma of Wu's spirit smoke.
It was an earthy sort of smell, the kind you would sense after a rainstorm. It was extremely calming, and often when Wu did this she would stand and lean against the door frame, taking it in. She had no time to do this now. Nya took the steps forward and paused before she could knock on the door. Stepping out of the room, out of the sliding doors was Sensei Wu himself.
"Master Wu? Hi."
"Good evening to you, Nya." Wu bowed in a greeting. She bowed back in response.
"Can I come in? I need to speak with you for a moment."
"Of course. Come in." he replied.
Nya was led to the middle of the room, as Wu approached the teapot that was steaming on a shelf on the opposite side of the room. He poured a cup full and approached the mat at the center, but before asking if she wanted a cup. "Tea?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine." Nya answered.
"Please. Sit." said the sensei. He sat down on the mat that was placed before his pot of burned spirit smoke. Nya followed suit, taking a seat on the mat, across from him. "How can I help you, Nya?"
"I wanted to talk to you about someone, it's not really urgent, or at least I think it isn't. I have been seeing some strange things and I'm starting to get worried about him." she said.
"Well, I'm sure the feelings you feel are nothing to worry about." Wu said while taking a sip of tea from his cup.
Nya shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Often feelings can be tricky, but once you know they are reciprocated it becomes much easier." he said.
Nya was perplexed as she asked him, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I don't mean to pry into your activities during the day but I'm assuming you would want to talk about Jay. You have been spending a lot of time with him around the monastery." he raised the cup to his mouth once again.
Wow. Am I that obvious when it comes to him? She thought.
"Jay? Well you're right, we have been spending a lot of time together but, no. I want to talk about Cole." she said.
He looked up from his cup of tea in a puzzled expression. "Oh, you wish to speak about Cole? Well, that's a surprise. What do you need to know?" He continued to sip his tea.
As everything that she had remembered that day resurfaced, she tried to think of an appropriate place to start. His family, where he came from, or what was up with him in the dragon's stables that frightened her so much? It all jumbled together in an inconsistent succession. First thing's first, then. "How long have you known him?"
"I have known him for a long while. He was the first student I asked to train in the monastery to battle Garmadon, the master of Earth, then soon Zane and Jay followed behind him."
"Would you say you know a lot about him?"
"Yes. I suppose I do, he has told me a great deal, but he does have his limits."
"What would you say they were? He told me about his father and-"
"I try not to goad him on the subject of his parents, unless he asks, but you know of his father? I bet he trusts you a great deal. I'm glad Cole has you to talk to about his family, and other things. He usually doesn't."
Good. Let's keep going. "That's great to hear. I have been spending some time with him the past few days, training and being around Rocky-"
"That's very nice of you." Wu said, interrupting.
"-but I noticed some things that worry me." Nya continued.
"Like what?"
"Has he ever had, I don't know, times where he would lose focus, or space out, in the middle of a conversation?"
"No. Not that I know of. That is very unusual." Wu said, taking a sip of his tea. "Look, I know he is a little distant, and a little detached lately, but when he sets his mind on a task there is no one you can trust more to get something done."
"That's… good to know," Nya said nervously. "but he has been acting weird lately. I've caught him standing around in one place a few times, and today he was mumbling or growling to himself."
"He usually talks to himself, to guide him through his challenges. That's not unusual for Cole." He paused from another sip from the cup. "But, growling? " Wu asked. He grazed a hand through his beard. A gesture that Nya knew all too well. He was nervous. "Anything else you could tell me?"
"Yes, growling. He was swaying from side to side, like he wasn't there anymore." Nya's worry was engraved into the tone of her voice. "His eyes were bloodshot and… has he been losing any sleep as of late? I mean I can understand if it is the cause of his snoring, but…"
"No. He hasn't." Wu said. The hand that was in his beard joined his other hand in putting away his tea cup, casually and calmly placing it in the space next to him. "Are you sure that everything you said is true? Bloodshot eyes, growling? Did you try to talk to him about it?"
"I just don't want him to worry." Nya honestly said. "It may be nothing."
"No. It's not nothing, you were right to come to me." He stood up from the place he was sitting and walked around the mat towards Nya, but he approached the shelf behind her and began to open the cabinet. "Nya, I need you to wake up Cole and the others and bring them all here." He finished with one word that he said sternly: "Now."
"Why? What is wrong?" Nya said, stuttering in reaction to Wu changing the demeanor of the conversation. When he pulled a wooden flute out of the cabinet and came back to meet her, she had to ask about the instrument in his hands. "Master Wu, what is that?"
He knelt down to her on the floor and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her dead in the eyes. "There is no time. I'll tell you and the others when you return. Go and find them and bring them back here. Hurry."
By his instruction, Nya picked herself up and went through the door as quickly as she could to get to the ninja's rooms down the hall. As she strode through the hall she noticed something that made her uneasy even more so than Wu's conversation. She could no longer hear the snoring or any noise for that matter. She started running toward the door, and opened it. She found and heard nothing. She stepped into the darkness of the room and searched each of the beds. Nothing and no one. Nya checked the window to see it was open, and it was locked shut and tight.
She ran out the hall and in one thought she looked throughout the rest of the monastery in a panicked frenzy. Nya had the kitchen on her mind first, and when she arrived it was cold and dark with no sounds but the humming of the fridge in the back. She turned the corner to arrive at the dining room, and it remained the same as the rest of the rooms. Empty.
She didn't hear the humming of the equipment outside, but it was her last resort. She hightailed it into the courtyard, sliding the double doors so hard it made an obnoxious slam. She ran out to the middle of the courtyard, being stopped by the statue of the dragon that stood strong in the center. The empty air that prevailed over her expectations of finding them all safe and sound. At the dragon, she huffed and puffed panicked breaths.
She shut her eyes and tried to calm down, easing her breaths to a crawl. She felt all of the world around her, being hyper-aware of her surroundings. Cole's words were echoing into her ear as the hot night air traveled slowly through her lungs…
"Okay. I want you to think of your favorite place, your happy place. You got it?"
"Yeah, Cole. I got it." she said, speaking to the voice in her ear. Nya imagined a dinner table, surrounded by her new family. Loving who was next to her and locking eyes with the boy who believed and trusted her enough to succeed. It carried her to the next step.
"No, don't tell me. This has to be all yours. Eyes still closed. Breathe like you did before, and relax. Find your center."
She did, and her first instinct was to open her eyes and just see. The dragon in the center of the courtyard gave her a vision. It told her to look in the stables. She agreed and she ran again. Nya threw open the gates and traveled down the steps to where the dragons were kept, and as she walked toward it she found the footprints in the dirt that led down out of the mountains and into the night. She fled back to the monastery.
"Thank you, Cole."
She crossed the courtyard and back into the monastery to come back to Master Wu. When Nya went back to Wu's door, he was in the middle of preparing another fire. The sticks he used to conjure the spirit smoke that guided him, already starting to burn and releasing it's earthy fumes.
"Sensei! I've checked everywhere. They're gone. All of them are gone. They went off on their own down the steps without their dragons."
"I was afraid of this." He sighed an aggravated huff when he uttered the word: "Teenagers." He continued, eyes never leaving hers. "I need you to stay outside of this room. I must confer with the spirit smoke once more. Don't go anywhere on your own. We will fix this together."
"But what if-"
He slid the door in her face and it frustrated her to no end. What is happening with Cole? Where is Jay and Kai? Are they safe? What happened to Zane? Did he disappear because of us and my jokes? I hope that those jokes didn't hurt him. As those questions were tossed in her head, Nya impatiently waited for their next move. The minutes that passed as she was pacing up and down the hall felt like hours went by. Nya finally settled to sit on the floor, the wall a place to rest before the fight.
After a while and when the smell of the smoke dwindled, she could hear the opening and closing of a door as an intelligible thud. Sensei Wu appeared with a slide of the doors, and Nya got up to meet him immediately. He carried the flute with him as he exited his room.
"Come. We must be vigilant. The ninja are on their way to a treehouse. Zane is going to lead them to Lloyd and the Serpentine, and to their doom if we do not hurry." He was already halfway down the hall. She caught up to him in a sprint.
"What about Cole?"
"He is under the spell of the Hypnobrai, if we don't get to them in time, they all could be lost to us." he said.
"Master Wu, what are we doing with that then? We need to get the staff and give him the antivenom." Nya stopped following him and attempted to turn back.
He grabbed her arm, preventing her from going in the other direction. "We have no time for that, we need to be in and out as quickly as possible. If the Serpentine catches a glimpse of the staff, they will not rest until they get it back." He let go, as he said this.
"What do you have that flute for? That won't help Cole."
"Yes it will. This flute is as old as the Serpentine itself, a single song from this flute and he will be cured. It will also leave any Hypnobrai who come after us completely incapacitiated. It is the only way we can save Cole and the others."
"Okay. If you say so, Master." She swallowed her pride and they moved forward.
They approached the hall in which the boy's room resided and Wu spoke to her again. He stopped her in the hall again and gave her another set of instructions. "I want you to get a gi out of your brother's room, his dragon will follow the scent, and we'll be there, I promise. I'll be at the stables in your brother's dragon's cabinet. Meet me there."
"Yes, Sensei. I'm on it."
"Let's just hope we're not too late."
—
Nya internally thanked the First Spinjitzu Master when they made it in time for Cole not to topple the hideout and leave everyone to fall out of the treehouse to their demise. Wu played the flute beautifully and she wished that she could hear it at a point where she wasn't scared if her friends made it out alive or not. Kai's dragon fortunately knew where he was immediately, and once they arrived at Lloyd's treehouse, Wu played until Nya could see that Cole was shaking his head, clearly snapping out of his trance.
"Where am I?" He was still shaking his head while rubbing it, coming to his senses. "What are we doing?"
"We're getting out of here, cause this place is coming down!" She shouted to him. He then jumped from the perch that held the last vestiges of stability the treehouse hideout had left, landing behind Nya. Wu steered the dragon to the rest of the team who was placed at the top of the treehouse. They jumped onto the back of the dragon, just as Lloyd's makeshift palace came crumbling down.
"That flute!" Kai said.
"It cancels their powers?" Jay added.
Nya could see Wu was unphased by the surprise from the team how such a thing could exist, his tone encapsulated his fear of their dire situation. "It's as old as the Serpentine itself, but we must hurry, the monastery's unguarded! Quickly!"
—
When they returned the monastery was entirely and completely destroyed and engulfed in flames. When Zane used his dragon, Shard, to combat the fire and extinguished it once and for all, the shouting started. The insults to Zane's intelligence came from Kai and then in sequence from brother to brother. To Nya it happened so fast, and Zane fled on Shard so quickly, not even the promise of an apology from them apparently could make him stay.
Nya knew he would be back. She hoped.
Wu would lead the ninja back to the dragons, getting on Kai's dragon first. "There is no hope in just staying here, we need to find shelter. I suggest we go east. We need to set up camp in a location that is equal distance to Ninjago City and Jamanakai Village so that if Lloyd and the Serpentine come back, we will be able to protect them."
They all stood in solemn silence, and Nya could only guess it was because the brother that just flew away overtook their minds. She took a glance at Wu who was waiting on them to make the next move, but Nya decided it would be all up to her to get everyone moving.
"Come on, you guys. Master Wu is right, we need to keep going." she said to the team. They complied and slowly walked to each of their dragons.
"But if we leave, how will Zane find us?" Kai said, taking his position on his dragon behind Sensei Wu.
"I don't know, but we can try to find him along the way, let's go." Wu said to Kai.
As Nya was looking around to find a spot to take up on a dragon, she had one of two choices: Jay's or Cole's. She saw Cole staring at the ground, his eyebrows pinched in that familiar anger, starting to travel to Rocky. I wonder if he is okay. She thought. Before she could have the chance to ask she felt a tap on her left shoulder.
"Uh, Nya. Do you want to ride with me?" Jay asked. She was impressed with the confidence in which he asked her to join him. Nya turned, and behind her was Cole. She felt the desire, a pull, an instinct, to be next to him and to make sure he would be okay.
"Thanks, Jay, I'd love to, but uh… I wanted to ride back with Cole. He seems really out of it since he was mind-controlled. I want to see if he will be okay."
"Oh, uh. Okay. Whatever. No problem." His anxiety felt as real and as hard as a forcefield. She wanted to laugh at his attempt to keep his cool after her rejection, and she was pulled back in with the next question he asked her. "Next time?"
"Next time. I promise." With how cute he was after being flustered, Nya couldn't help but ask him another loaded question: "Are you sure it's no problem?"
"Yeah. Sure. Go." he said nervously, before climbing onto his dragon, and she left him to his devices.
Nya walked towards Cole who was already aboard Rocky. "Hey, Cole? Got room for one more?"
She must have just broken him out of a trance of thinking to himself, because when Nya called out to him he had to do a double take. He hesitated for a moment. "Yeah. Sure. Hop on."
He lent her a hand and this time she took it, climbing in the saddle of Cole's dragon. Sitting behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and they were off.
The flight over the Mountains and east towards the Sea of Sand was hot and dry and mostly quiet. Kai and Wu led the pack, followed by Jay, and Nya and Cole took the back. As soon as the others weren't in earshot, Nya brought up the courage to speak to him again.
"Are you okay?"
"I will be." She felt a sign of his tension that she could sense in her hands. He stayed silent for some time, carefully watching Wu and the rest of the team as they flew out of the mountains and went further east. She couldn't help but notice he was shaking a little bit, and due to the temperature she knew he wasn't shivering. She decided to cut the tension with the knife of speaking to him to clear the air.
"Something on your mind?" Nya asked. A beat. He said nothing. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." he said, shaking a little bit again.
"Well I don't believe you. You're shaking like you have a fever or something."
"You don't have to believe me." Cole said.
"It's because of what happened to you and to Zane isn't it?"
He let out a beleaguered sigh.
"The prophecy says that the destinies of all of you and 'The Green Ninja' are tied together, like a family. And if I know Zane, he's probably focused on how to fix all this for you and the rest of his brothers. You'll see." When her spiel was over, Cole was still silent, but after a few flaps of Rocky's wings, he mustered up the strength to admit the truth.
"It's all my fault."
"No. It's not. You need to stop being so hard on yourself."
"It is all my fault, Nya." Cole said. His voice became louder as his frustration grew. "Zane paid the price for my mistakes. I wish I never said anything bad to him. He's all alone."
"Well, he's not alone, he has Shard. And like you said at the stables, he had no one, no other family or friends."
"I didn't notice anything wrong with me."
"You didn't know anything about it. Plus, jokes and insults aside, if anything we all had something to do with what happened." Nya thought of the cruel way that she had made fun of his frilly pink apron, while he gave her and the rest of the table a meal that they threw around and didn't even notice how he would feel. At this thought, she laid her head on his back and sighed, feeling incredibly guilty. "Even me." Cole had stiffened in his seat at her confession.
"It was my fault I didn't warn Wu in time that you were under a spell. If I had told Wu sooner, you all could have handled it all yourselves and we wouldn't have left the monastery unguarded with the Hypnobrai staff." Nya continued. "If I can forgive myself for that then you can too. It's just the way the cookie crumbled."
Cole turned his head around, and Nya raised her head off of his back to see him face to face. "You really think that?"
Nya nodded her head. "I do. All in all, I'm just glad that we all made it out okay. If you're alright and you have us and yourself to forgive you, then Zane still has us too and he can forgive."
"Okay. I just hope you're right." Cole responded as he turned his attention back to the others and steered Rocky through the sky.
"Look, there!" Wu shouted amongst the clouds up ahead and Nya could see in the dunes of the desert below where he was pointing. It looked like giant rock formations that were large enough to shade them from the hot sun. Nya couldn't wait to feel solid ground, and find something to eat.
—
Shortly after their arrival and after they had prepared their evening meal, Zane had indeed returned. Even better, a new home was found beyond the dunes of the Sea of Sand by Zane himself; a ship that had been marooned in the midst of a barren desert. Nya was the first to see him, and when they all saw him again, including her, they burst forth. They were grateful for their friend returning and forgiving them when they apologized, but also running to greet the pie and desserts he made for them on the ship. Nya was absolutely right. If there was ever any doubt.
After their dinner they were all spent and they chose the quarters that they would sleep in for the night. The crew's quarters went to the boys, bunk beds and all, and down the hall Nya chose a spacious room for herself. No way she was gonna waste the opportunity to have it bursting with blueprints to make new machines and gadgets with.
She had already asked Jay if they would do the modifications, which he agreed to, and if he needed any help just call on her. Kai checked up on her to see her new digs and approved, and Zane didn't have any leftovers left, they all went to Cole. To Nya, all was right with the world.
Later on that night after the meal and before she was settled in for the night, she heard a knock on her door. And to her surprise Cole was there and greeted her with one of his warm smiles. "Hey, Nya. I know it's late and you're probably going to bed, but can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure? What is it Cole?" she smiled back at him.
His nervous tick of scratching his head to figure out what to say made her giggle a little. "Um. I forgot to tell you this earlier, so I know you haven't heard a thank you from me yet. So, here it is, I just wanted to say thank you."
"You're very welcome, Cole. For what?" she asked him.
He leaned against her door frame and in a nervous bout of finding the right words to say, lasting maybe a moment or two, he started laughing in a series of miniscule chuckles. It constantly interrupted his speech. "Well, uh. It's nothing really. I just wanted to… well I just wanted to…"
The taught tension Nya saw he had felt was snapping between them like a bowstring. "Wait. Why are you laughing?"
"It's nothing really. Just a thought is all." he said to her.
"What is it?" Nya asked, lightly punching him in the shoulder. He didn't answer, he just calmed his laughter down to something low. "Tell me."
"It's just. I have only known you for a couple of weeks and after all this: Jamanakai Village, talking about pop, snapping me out of the Serpentine's mind control, Zane…"
By the time the words he was saying finished leaving his mouth, he had completely stopped laughing. Nya felt that his genuine words were starting to hit him hard in some way. Some way she just couldn't put a finger on. He continued on, but more straight forward. More serious. "It seems that you have been saving me a lot lately."
In order to connect the dots to this statement and his earlier laughter she asked him, "Are you ashamed?"
She was surprised to find how flirtatious this statement sounded in her voice.
He stood his ground.
"Me? Never." he sternly replied.