The faint burning sensation had been creeping into his throat for the better part of their woodland journey, yet Cole refused to pay it any mind. How could he when his thoughts were still so focused on the horrors Jay had revealed back on the ship? And all those little cobwebs forming in the back of his brain…

"So, you're really adopted?" He figured the three days since that fateful conversation in the cabin had been long enough to give Jay the space he so obviously needed. That, and the fact that Jay hadn't so much as winced at the question.

Instead, his friend shrugged. "Yeah. That part's real. Well, I guess it was all real… but now it's not anymore, yet that part is, but…" He shrugged again. "Yeah."

"That's pretty cool of your parents."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Jay's lips—the first Cole had seen since that day on the beach. "Yeah, well, they're pretty cool people. After… everything… I went home and asked them about it. It was nice to hear them explain it again, when I wasn't so stressed about other stuff like the first time."

With a chuckle that hurt his throat more than it should have, Cole shook his head. "Only you could somehow be related to your favorite film star."

"Yeah…" Jay replied, sounding much less enthused than Cole had expected. "Except that, well, he's dead now, so…"

Right. He'd forgotten about that little detail. Cole still felt like he was trying to process everything Jay had told him.

"Oh, yeah…"

"No more movies, then," Jay said with a shrug.

"I guess not."

A beat, then Jay's smile returned. "I should show you the mansion sometime. It's, like, insanely cool. I guess I still have his yacht too…"

Cole nodded, flashing a smile of his own. "I'd like to see it."

A cough tore at his throat, wreaking havoc on his lungs. Covering it up by awkwardly clearing his throat—and paying no mind to the sudden concern in Jay's eyes—Cole questioned: "So, you're not… Well, you're not sad he's, well, gone… or anything?"

Another shrug, yet the concern had vanished. One point for Cole. "I mean, I guess I'll miss his movies? And I missed my chance to get to know him. But that's just it: I didn't really know him, so… I guess what I miss most is the concept of him—of getting to know my birth father, I mean."

"Yeah, that—'' A cleverly placed swallow covered the gravelly voice the cough had left behind. "That makes sense."

"So!" Jay began after a few moments of comfortable silence. "The captain said the nearest village is a good twenty miles from shore, and since the port was a bust—I mean, seriously, does no one know where he is?—I say we pick up the pace. The sooner we find Master Wu, the better, right?"

Despite the slight ache in his bones, Cole was already moving faster. "Let's just hope it doesn't rain before we get there…"

"What?" Jay glared at the sky. "Those clouds? Pft, those won't be a problem for a while, I'm sure of it. See? They're not even covering us yet."

"Maybe, but we're headed straight towards them."

And he really didn't feel like getting wet right now, much less completely soaked by a sudden downpour.

Because you just had to go and get sick, didn't you?

I'm not sick. Just tired.

Yeah. Tired.

In an effort to distract his mind from the fog in his head, his thoughts drifted back to the one matter he couldn't seem to reconcile with himself.

"It's a hard thing to deal with…" Jay's words echoed through his mind for what must have been the zillionth time since that game-changing conversation on the ship. "… having such a big and important part of your life just get erased like that... It's terrifying..."

It was all Cole could do to suppress a shiver. Why couldn't I have remembered? When he thought about all those nightmares his brother had following that fateful day behind the billboard… And, like an idiot, I had no idea.

None of us did.

"I keep telling myself I wasn't real. It never really happened. But it did. I… I-I remember everything. The emotions, the pain, the-the hurt—I can still feel all of it like it h-happened yesterday."

Right.

All that pain. All those memories…

And Cole just couldn't understand them. He couldn't share Jay's pain—not to the extent he wanted to. The shared experiences… We all went through that together… Then, we didn't.

For as long as he'd known Jay, everything they'd been through they went through together. Those shared experiences, that relatability…

"And I-I hate myself for thinking this way, but I wis—Well, sometimes I want you all to remember. I don't… So that Nya and I… Well, so we wouldn't have to be alone."

Gone. It was all gone. Every memory, every painful moment. Cole couldn't remember any of it. It wasn't even a whisper in the back of his mind.

Why?

"Are you… Are you mad at me? For-For lying to you about Nadakhan…?"

"Jay, how could I be mad at you when I don't even remember?" The words had itched at the tip of his tongue, but instead, he'd wrapped his arms around Jay in a tight embrace.

"Of course not," he'd whispered. "Of course not."

"Do you think we'll find him there?" Jay was speaking again, only this time the voice wasn't in Cole's mind.

Sucking in a breath, Cole shook his head, ignoring the slight wave of dizziness that washed over him at the motion.

"Honestly? No." He glanced at Jay, who's shoulders had slumped. "But maybe we'll find a clue. Something that'll point us in the right direction. Hey, prepare for the worst so you can hope for the best, right?"

"Didn't Master Wu say that once?"

After reaching into the very back of his clouded mind, Cole shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Huh. It sounds like something he'd say."

Cole smirked. "Most fortune cookies sound like something he'd say."

A classic, full-fledged Jay laugh echoed through the forest and Cole's smile brightened. He hadn't heard that laugh for days—and that was way too long. Since that first day on the beach.

"Okay, okay!" Jay said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "But did you really not know about the paper inside the fortune cookies?"

"Hey, in my defense, no one ever told me. How was I supposed to know? You don't just go around looking inside your food to see if someone stuffed a piece of paper in it!"

Jay's laugh was highly contagious. "But they're called fortune cookies!"

At this, Cole shrugged. "Guess I never really took the time to think about the name."

Another comfortable silence was about to settle over the brothers again, Cole could practically feel it. Just like he could feel the impending storm closing in on them. Closer… Closer—

"So, a lumberjack? Really?"

Cole sighed, though his smile never wavered. Of course, Jay would break the silence. He usually did. Cole didn't mind, though.

He never did.

And Cole hadn't realized it until now, but there were a lot of things they hadn't talked about. Many were little things, like filling each other in on their lives after Zane… Well, after everything.

They'd both been too angry and hurt during the Tournament of Elements, and after that, they'd been too busy.

"What can I say?" Cole smiled again. "I'm a quiet soul who thrives in the midst of nature. Plus, with all that wood chopping, I didn't even need to work out."

His wink sent Jay's eyes into an exaggerated roll. "Do you ever miss it?"

"Nah. I mean, it was nice and all, but compared to what we normally do, it was pretty dull. What about you? Do you miss your show?"

"Oh, heck yeah! Television really isn't the same without me these days."

As Jay proceeded to delve into every tiny detail of his game show, Cole found his mind wandering to those distracting cobwebs. They seemed to be growing thicker by the minute. Like the first inklings of a head cold—or allergies.

Only, Cole didn't have seasonal allergies. That was Lloyd. And Jay.

Nope, definitely a head cold. But those weren't so bad. He'd still be able to function, like always. And it wouldn't slow their search for Wu.

Right. When he coughed again, Jay didn't seem to notice—he was too busy describing his season one finale. Nothing to worry about, Cole.

You're fine.

In the end, he wasn't.

And then came the rains.

"You know," Jay called over the pounding rain, "I can see how you might think this is all my fault. But in my defense, I'm the Master of Lightning, not the Master of Weather Forecasting!"

Wrapping his arms tighter around his body did nothing to ease the cold chill seeping into Cole's skin. "You said those clouds weren't gonna be a problem!"

"No, I said I didn't think they'd be a problem!"

"You were sure of it!"

"So I made a mistake!" Jay shot back as the gust of wind tossed his rain-soaked hair. "Sue me!"

Cole grit his teeth against the growing ache in the back of his skull. "You bet I will! Once we get out of this storm… Ugh! We should've taken shelter while we still could!"

"Where? In case you haven't noticed, we're stuck in the middle of a never-ending forest!"

The next flash of lightning struck a little too close for comfort and even Jay flinched at the sudden illumination.

"On second thought," Jay went on, "maybe there's a nearby cave or something…?"

There wasn't. Because there's never a cave when you need one, right?

If Cole's joints hadn't been achy before, they sure ached now. Mixed with his chattering teeth and rising nausea, it became increasingly difficult to pay attention to anything besides the left, right, left march of his feet.

One foot in front of the other.

One at a time.

You're almost there.

Almost… where…?

They had no destination. Even the trees provided minimal cover in their half-decayed state. Stupid Autumn, killing all the trees. And to think, it used to be my favorite season.

"Cole!" His head spun as Jay grabbed his shoulder, putting a stop to his mindless forward advance.

Steady… Steady…

Blinking hard did nothing to ease the dizziness as Cole glanced at Jay. "What?"

"Are you all right?" A mural of concern painted Jay's face. "I've been trying to get your attention for a whole minute!"

Cole couldn't help but smirk. "You timed it, huh?"

"Cole, I'm serious. It's like you couldn't even hear me, or something."

"It's hard to hear over all this rain. I'm fine. Soaked to the bone and freezing, but fine. Now, come on, we have to get out of this storm—"

The stumble was accidental. Maybe he'd slipped on the wet grass, though it felt as if his legs had just up and decided to stop working.

Slipped. You definitely slipped.

But it's fine.

You're fine.

"Cole—?"

"I'm fine! Now, come on!"

They kept pushing forward, only this time, the silence was anything but comfortable. Cole's focus was now split between putting one foot in front of the other and ignoring the looks Jay kept flashing his way.

Quit worrying… I'm fine.

I'm…

"Cole!"

He hadn't even felt it. The buckling of his legs, the tipping of the landscape. The explosion of pain in his knees.

The aftermath, however, came at him without mercy. Pain. Sheer pain flooding through his knees and pinching his cheeks, which had gotten too hot at some point. You're supposed to be freezing. Why're you so hot?

Someone was shaking him, shouting his name. Yet, the world was all too fuzzy. Too dizzy. He couldn't think. Couldn't see through all that rain. Couldn't hear over the buzzing in his ears.

And weak. He felt so weak.

I'm not weak, I'm…

Master of Earth.

Strength was kind of his thing.

So why can't I…

Another wave of nausea washed over him as Jay shook his shoulders, mouth running a mile a minute. Way too fast for Cole to comprehend anything he said.

Something about staying? Or was it going? Get going…?

Shelter. Yeah, maybe Jay would find them a nice little cabin in the woods.

Shelter… Wake me up when you find it…

Help. Jay was saying something about needing help.

Sure… Cole blinked. Sure, just… Just hang on a sec.

His lungs suddenly screamed at him and he launched into a coughing fit that threatened to shred his entire throat.

"Cole!"

Just…

Just hang on, Jay…

Falling. He was falling again.

This time, he felt it. Felt Jay's grip tighten on his shoulders. Felt his body go limp.

Felt whatever strength he'd had left seep out of him as the coughing finally subsided.

Help is on the way…

Hey! I'm back! I hope you enjoyed! If there's anything you'd like to see happen during their search for Wu, don't hesitate to comment! I truly would love to hear your ideas!