Zane, Cole, Jay, and Nya were walking across the hall towards the tv room, since they wanted to watch the news and see what was going on in Ninjago city.

"Man, we haven't been in Ninjago city for awhile," Jay said, as he stretched his arms.

"I wonder if anything interesting has happened since we left," Nya said.

"Well, itis the largest city in all of Ninjago with the highest population, so I wouldn't be surprised," Zane said, as he entered the room and Nya and Jay followed.

Cole was about to enter, but then he heard another door open. He turned to see Auria and Christa exiting the same room where Raven was first kept at when they found her in Ninjago city.

"I hope Sensei Reine will feel better," Christa said as they began walking down the hall, and Auria replied,,

"Don't worry Christa. Sensei will be fine. King Terrin will take care of her."

Christa nodded, as she looked ahead and saw Cole standing by the tv room door. He smiled, as she smiled back. Auria took notice and then she walked ahead of Christa. Auria looked at Cole seriously, as he became nervous. Then Auria nodded towards Cole and cracked her knuckles, as she entered the tv room. Cole gulped, as Christa walked over to him.

"So, um, Cole," Christa said, as she held her hands behind her back and looked away from him a few times, and added,

"What'cha up to?"

Cole glanced into the room where the others were, and then back towards Christa and said,

"Well, I was going to... uh, hey Christa, I haven't shown you my photo album have I?"

Christa tilted her head to the side and replied, "No, you haven't- Whoa!"

Cole grabbed Christa's by her hand and tugged her along with him towards the guys' room. When they were in front of the door, he told her to wait outside. As she waited, she heard pots and pans CLANK, chains RATTLE, and a BANG. Christa looked curiously at the door, and then Cole stepped out holding onto his photo album.

"Come on Christa," Cole said, as he extended his hand towards her with a smile and added,

"Let's go to the dining room upstairs."

Christa looked at his hand, and then back towards his face with a sweet smile, as she placed her gentle hand on his strong one. Cole blushed a little as he held her hand, and then he nodded as he led Christa across the halls up to the dining room.

After they entered the dining room, they sat next to each other. Cole laid the photo album on the table between them, and he opened it up. He showed her a few pictures he had of his father, the Royal Blacksmiths, and a few of himself when he was younger that he didn't show the others. Christa looked at each photograph with curiousity, and some amusement when she saw Cole's dad and Cole when he was younger.

"Your dad looks quaint. He seems pretty nice," Christa said, as Cole rubbed the back of his head and said,

"Yeah, he is... unless your his student."

Christa looked at Cole with a pout, and then they both started to laugh a little. As Christa looked at Cole's younger pictures she said,

"Aww, you were so cute."

Then Cole asked a little disappointed, "Were?"

Christa heard the disappointment in his voice, and she looked up at him and clarified,

"Of course you were very cute... and now your handsome too."

Cole's eyes softened, as he smiled at Christa, who smiled back and continued to look at the album.

"Sooo, your father is a singer and dancer?" Christa asked, while fluttering her lashes with a smile as Cole blushed a little, and replied,

"Yup. He won a lot of trophies and stuff with the other Blacksmiths..."

Cole told Christa more about his dad, the Blacksmiths, the school his father wanted him to go to, that he lied about going there, how he became a ninja, and then the time he revisited his dad and reconciled with him.

"Wow. It's so great that you and your dad made up," Christa said softly, as Cole nodded and said,

"Yeah, it was. He accepted me for being me, and I was able to make him proud... -sniff- ... it was pretty awesome."

Christa tilted her head to the side and asked, "Cole, are you crying?"

Cole's eyes widened, and he turned around and rubbed his eyes as he said,

"Uh. No. No... I was just... you know the dust from the photo album got caught in my eyes."

Christa leaned a little closer to see if he was crying or not, and Cole turned back towards Christa. When he did, both of their eyes widened by how close their faces were to one another. Christa immediately sat back, as Cole leaned a little back, and they both blushed and giggled a little.

Then Christa looked at the last picture in the photo album and saw all the ninja together with Sensei Wu, Garmadon, Misako, and Dr. Julien.

"When was this picture?" Christa asked.

Cole looked at the picture and replied,

"Oh that was after we defeated the Overlord. Before we met you girls and even Raven."

"Oh, I see," Christa said as she looked at he picture a little longer.

Then Christa looked down, seemingly sad, and Cole asked,

"What's the matter?"

"It's nothing bad. It's just that, seeing this picture of all of you together made me think, about my own team. We always were together through thick and thin, and no matter how bad things would get we would always be together... but when Sensei Reine was frozen in the crystal prison, although we would still see each other, it wasn't the same. We all were sad for Sensei Reine and, our team wasn't as close as we usually were... But... If it wasn't for meeting you guys, we wouldn't have come together like we did, and Sensei Reine may not have been with us either..." Christa said, and Cole looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You guys found Raven, you brought her back to each of our kingdoms safely, you let us come with you, and Dr. Julien helped free Sensei Reine from her prison... You guys really helped my team to get back together again. Thank you," Christa said, as she smiled at Cole.

Cole smiled back and said, "Your welcome."

Then Christa looked towards the photo album, and was about to close it since they were at the final picture. Cole looked at her and thought,

'Christa, you've been through a lot, and yourso sweet... I... I really want to tell you how much I like you, but how? I'm too nervous! I gotta shake it off! I want to tell her, but does she feel the same way for me?'

When Christa reached for the album and closed it, Cole placed his hand over her's, and she looked up at him. Cole placed his other hand on her shoulder gently, and then he looked deep into her eyes as she looked deep into his. He moved his face a little closer to her's, and Christa responded by moving closer to his, which left them only a lips' distance apart.

'She does,' Cole thought happily, as they both moved closer... and closer... and then

SSSHHHHHOOOO!

Someone slid open the sliding door, which made Cole and Christa jump and pull away from one another to look at who opened the door.

"This is the dining room- Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here," Raven said, as she looked at Cole and Christa, while Lucy stuck her head in.

"OOoooohhhhh, Wooow. It's really nice in here," Lucy said, as she pulled her head back outside.

Raven just shrugged and waved at Christa and Cole, who waved back, although nervously. After the doors closed, Cole and Christa stood silent for a moment and a little awkward. Then Christa got up and said,

"So... um... I'm going to go downstairs with the others. Do you want to come?"

Cole looked up at Christa and smiled as he said,

"Yeah sure, I'll meet 'cha downstairs, I gotta put this away first."

Cole stood up and picked up his photo album, and Christa smiled and nodded. Christa walked ahead, heading down to the tv room, while Cole waited until she left the room. Then Cole face-planted the photo album on his face.

'UUUUhhhh...' Cole thought, as he signed since he wasn't able to tell Christa how he felt or show her.

(Bummer man) Then he shook it off and headed towards his room.

'Next time,' Cole thought, as he exited the dining room.

'W-We were so close. We almost... almost k-kissed! I mean, I dolike hima lot... He's strong, confident, smart, and brave, but what doesAuria think? I should ask her. She is my sister after all, and I respect her,' Christa thought, as she signed heading towards the tv room.

During this time between Cole and Christa, Auria had entered the tv room with Nya, Jay, and Zane. In this room was a pretty long red couch on the wall, and a pretty large tv on a stand a few feet away from it. Nya sat at one end laying her arm on the arm rest, and Jay sat next to her, while they were both holding hands. Zane sat next to Jay but he sat a little away from him since Jay was with Nya, so he wanted to give them some space.

"Oh hey Auria. Where did Cole go?" Jay asked first, as Auria turned to see that Cole was talking to Christa.

She was able to hear him say something about showing Christa a photo album.

"Cole had second thoughts," Auria replied, as Jay just shrugged and said,

"Eh all well."

"Auria, how's Queen Reine doing?" Nya asked, and Auria nodded and replied,

"She's doing much better. King Terrin is taking care of her so she'll be fine."

Nya smiled and said, "That's good to hear."

"Yes, great news indeed," Zane added, and Auria smiled as she walked over and sat at the other end of the couch next to Zane.

She placed her arm on the arm rest, as she looked at the television and saw that the news was on, which didn't show anything really important at this point. As Auria continued to watch the news, Zane looked towards her and noticed that her eyes seemed more vivid.

'Ever since she gained her memories and true potential, Auria has become more lively and open. She doesn't conceal her emotions like she usually does with a nonchalant expression, although she is naturally casual and calm... I can see that she is a more spirited and energetic woman... she's more than what she seems, like myself.'

Zane looked away quickly from Auria, when she turned to look at him. She felt that he was looking at her, but he seemed to be paying attention to the news.

'I wonder...' Auria thought, as she turned back towards the television.

Zane then turned back slightly to look at Auria.

'I feel something within my chest, almost warm... Why do I suddenly feel this way? I feel uneasy, but my heart feels whole. When I look at Auria, when I'm close to her like I am right now I feel... complete.'

Zane looked down at Auria's hand that she kept on the couch right next to her. He looked at his own hand, and then back at Auria's. Slowly, he moved his hand closer to Auria's hand, and before he could make contact, her hand moved over his, and grasped it. Zane looked up, and he saw that Auria was looking at him with a smile on her face. He was a bit surprised, but then he smiled back and clutched her hand a little tighter. Jay and Nya noticed this, and they were both surprised, but then they smiled towards one another.

Zane moved closer to her, as Auria moved closer to him.

"Zane," Auria said, and Zane smoothly replied,

"Yes, Auria?"

"Will you really stay by my side? Like you said before in Fountain Falls?" Auria asked.

Zane nodded and said, "Of course I will, and.. you will stay with me too, right?"

Auria nodded with a soft smile and replied, "Yes, I will Zane, and thank you."

"Your welcome Auria." Zane said with a smile.

Then Zane asked, "Auria, do you think we..."

Before Zane could finish, Christa called out from outside the room,

"Auria? Are you there?"

Auria immediately turned and stood up as she released Zane's hand and walked towards the door.

"I'm here Christa," Auria called out, and then she turned and noticed that she left Zane on the couch alone.

She was going to walk towards him, but then he smiled and nodded, telling her to go to her sister. Auria smiled and nodded in understanding. Then she turned and walked out of the room to meet her sister, as Zane stood in the room and looked at his hand that held Auria's, and he smiled more widely.

"So you knew about the Green and Purple ninja, but why didn't you tell me about them?" Terrin asked curiously, as he leaned his head on his hand that stood on the arm rest of the chair he sat in.

Reine was sitting on the bed in front of Terrin, who had finished giving her the ointment for her wound. Terrin had already informed Reine of everything that she missed while in the crystal prison; about trying to break her out, the arguement with Raven, Raven running away and meeting the ninja, when she came home, and the evil meeting. Also, before Auria and Christa left, they informed the King and Queen of Fountian Falls about how Raven was found out to be the next Purple ninja.

"Well, I wanted to learn more about them... and I wanted to have all the scrolls that spoke of them, but since I was in the crystal prison, I couldn't acquire all the scrolls. But as you told me, Silva possesses most of the scrolls.," Reine said.

"Yes, wait, most? There are other scrolls?" Terrin asked, and Reine nodded and pulled a scroll out of her pocket.

"This one I kept on me just in case. I think the others should see this, but I just wanted to take a minute to relax," Reine said, as she placed the scroll back in her pocket.

"And... I wanted to spend some time with you," Reine added, as she extended her hand towards Terrin, who sat up and held her hand with one of his own.

"My dear Reine," Terrin said, as he kissed her hand and continued, "I've waited so long for this moment... to be by your side again. I've missed you so much."

Reine heard the sadness in Terrin's voice and she smiled at him with sympathy, as she stood up and kissed Terrin on the forehead.

"I've missed you too my love," Reine said, and she hugged Terrin and caressed his head, while he hugged her, still sitting down.

Both of them had let a few tears escape their eyes and slide down their cheeks, as they held each other for awhile longer.

"Oh, and Reine," Terrin said, as he looked up at Reine, who looked down at him.

"I believe our daughter has found... love, as well."

Reine's eyes widened, and she said, "Really? With whom?"

Terrin smiled a little, and then he replied, "The Green ninja, Lloyd. I believe they hold a special bond. He protects and cherishes her life, as she does for him."

Reine thought about Lloyd and Raven. She smiled and said,

"That's wonderful, especially since she found love with such a brave and heroic young man."

Terrin looked off to the side with a skeptical expression, which Reine took notice of.

"What's the matter Terrin?" Reine asked.

Terrin looked back up at Reine and replied, "I know he's the one who saved Ninjago from the Overlord, and that he is the Green ninja and Golden Spinjitzu Master, but... it's just that, Raven is my little princess, and..."

Then Reine said, "Terrin. Your not... jealous, are you?"

Terrin looked more sternly towards his wife and said,

"What? Jealous of the boy? No..."

Reine looked at Terrin, skeptical, and said, "Terrin."

Terrin relaxed his face with a sign and said,

"I know the boy means well for Raven, and I know that they have a unique bond... but, she's my only child, and I guess I am a little more protective. I don't want to lose my baby girl."

Reine signed and gave a little smile, as she spoke, "Terrin, Raven is not a little girl anymore, even though the Gem of Ages made sure of that. Raven is more mature than most people her age. She's smart, perceptive, and your her daddy. She loves you. You'll never lose her to anyone, and I don't think the hero of Ninjago would steal someone's daughter."

Terrin gave a small, amused smile and thought, 'She's right. Raven is grown up, and she's not one to be taken lightly... and the boy- Lloyd, wouldn't hurt my daughter in any way. His life depends on it anyhow.'

Terrin looked into Reine's sincere eyes, as she looked into his calm, glowing ones.

"Alright Reine, but you haven't really met him yet huh? Why don't you meet him now?" Terrin asked.

Reine nodded and replied, "Yes, I wish to know who has won my daughter's love, and you should rest here."

Terrin was a little stunned, and he asked, "What? Why?"

Reine replied, "You need some rest my dear. You ran all this way after me. The ointment restored some of my strength, but you need some time to rest now."

Terrin was going to protest, but he saw that Reine knew that he was tired. Terrin signed and smiled, as he said,

"Okay, Okay. I'll take some time to rest up. You'll be alright though?"

Reine smiled and gave Terrin a kiss on the forehead again, and said, "Yes, I'll be fine. You rest."

Terrin stood up from his seat, as he quickly wrapped his arms around Reine and kissed her on the lips, which surprised her by how fast he was. Then Terrin smirked and said,

"Stole one."

Reine just shook her head and smirked, as she said, "And your worried that Lloyd might steal Raven?"

Terrin was surprised by her counter, which made him laugh and reply,

"I guess that's why I thought he might."

Reine also laughed with Terrin, and then she kissed him back. As she started to walk out of the room, she kept her eyes lovingly on Terrin as he did to her's. Finally, Reine stepped out of the room, while Terrin walked over towards the bed and threw himself on it, while he closed his eyes to sleep.

This chapter was more of a break/character developing chapter from all the fighting, but don't worry... more is to come... and it will be awesome... especially around Ou-