Chapter 2: Just my Imagination
The last month had been bleak, to say the least.
Training grinded to a halt. Nobody, not even Master Wu, had broached the subject of doing something they had only ever done together.
Lloyd was in denial. He seemed to float through every day with a faint smile on his face, telling anybody who would listen that today would be the day that Cole would show up. Even the time Kai slapped him did not put a dent in his optimism; in fact, it only seemed to strengthen his resolve to a manic level, and all Misako could do was nod when he explained to her that Cole had probably been here the whole time, laughing at how ridiculous they were acting.
Kai was angry, so angry he didn't know what to do with himself. He'd physically lashed out at everyone, especially at Jay. The two could not be in the same room together for more than a minute without a brawl breaking out- or rather, without Kai abusing Jay. The latter never fought back, perhaps even relished in the punishment and this only made Kai angrier. With Jay's numb reaction serving as a never- ending fuel to Kai's fire, Nya had begun to act as a physical barrier between them to disperse the flame of resentment.
Nya appeared to think she could bargain for Cole's return. When she wasn't putting out the fire, she was fixing something, anything. Once, Zane had even caught her sabotaging the ship's engine so that she could fix it later. It was like a challenge from an unseen deity, a deal she had brokered without their knowledge. If I fix ten things today, he'll come back. If I fix this and that and that, Cole will have to come back. If I fix enough things, maybe I can fix the emptiness inside. If she was still for even a moment, she would fall to pieces, and that was the one thing she did not know how to fix.
Jay laid silently in Cole's bed. He did not sleep. He did not eat. He did not leave.
Zane was beginning to think he was the only one who had moved on to acceptance. Not that he did not miss the black ninja as much as the others, but he took comfort in doing what he believed Cole would've wanted. In that way, he felt closer to Cole in death than the others ever could in their current, mournful states. He indulged Lloyd. He restrained Kai. He broke things for Nya to fix. He force fed Jay. And at the end of the day when he was finished trying to care for everyone as Cole would have, he could sense the black ninja's approval and imagine his warm smile. Logically, it was the closest he would ever come to feeling his embrace again.
Zane pondered this as he cooked dinner for the family that night. He had debated making Cole's favorite dish but decided that it was too soon for that, and so was carefully preparing a stew. He tasted it- perfect- and felt a twinge of sadness that the biggest fan of his cooking would never get to do the same. He turned toward the sink to deposit his spoon in the basin-
Thump.
The nindroid whipped around. Something was there, but frantically scanning the room, he confirmed that he was alone.
"Lloyd?" He called anyway. He wasn't crazy; there had been a distinct, ununatural clink. "Nya?"
Finally, Zane noticed the salt shaker on the shelf above the stove that had fallen onto its side and was now spilling its contents directly into the pot. He yelped and scrambled to right it. Taking up a clean spoon, he again tasted his stew- ick, way too salty, but not unsalvageable. Then, he stared in wonder at the shaker. A breeze must've blown through that-
Zane cried out in surprise when the flame under the pot suddenly increased to an impossible height, engulfing the pot. Steam flowed up and kissed the ceiling as the boiling salt- water violently bubbled over the edge. Zane could feel the heat on his face but reached to save his stew anyway. The flame wasn't too hot to melt metal.
But, just as suddenly as the flame had grown, it shrank back to its original size, a flame no bigger than his thumb.
Zane took several steps backward. First, salt shaker falls; then, the stove… He was positive he had not touched the dial. It was… bizarre. It was almost…
The nindroid gasped.
Supernatural.
No. It couldn't be. It had been an entire month. He had accepted it. He had been trying to move on…
"Cole?" He whispered. Maybe… Just maybe… "Cole, is that you?"
If he listened really hard, he thought he could hear something that sounded like a voice among the boiling water, but Zane knew it was likely hopeful imagination.
"Cole, if you're here… give me a sign," he tried, searching all about him for any hint of movement, of anything. "Can you do that for me, brother? Can you give me a sign?"
A flour sack on the counter toppled to the floor and exploded, coating Zane and most of the kitchen in the ghostly white powder.
"Everyone, come quick!" Zane shouted, euphorically laughing because it was Cole, it was Cole, his brother was finally home and he could stop acting like everything was okay and being strong for everyone else because it was Cole. "It's Cole, it's Cole, he's here!"
Every occupant of the Destiny's Bounty, even Jay, dashed to the kitchen. No one would have bothered if it had been Lloyd, but this was Zane, the logical one therefore it had to be true.
They all marveled at Zane's appearance for a moment but didn't comment.
"I knew it! I knew he would come back! Where is he?" Lloyd shouted, peering around Zane as if the black ninja was hiding.
"Cole?" Zane asked the air, feeling a little self-conscious now that everyone was watching. "Cole, can you show them what you showed me?"
Nothing.
"Cole?"
"Give it up, Zane." Kai shook his head with a frustrated exhale. "You're hallucinating. Cole's obviously not here."
"No, no, he is!" The nindroid insisted, looking this way and that for any glimpse of the earth ninja. "He-he knocked over the salt shaker! And, then the flame…," he trailed off, the logical part of his brain rationalizing all the events of the past few minutes. A breeze, turbulence, you must've been leaning on the dial… "The flour!" He exclaimed, gesturing to his shirt. "I asked him to give me a sign, and he knocked the flour off the counter! He was here-"
"But, did you see him?" Nya asked gently. "Did you actually, really see him?"
Zane did not answer.
"Should've known…," Kai scoffed, checking Jay with his shoulder as he left the room.
Jay, head bowed, trudged out after him.
The others filed out one by one, offering Zane sympathetic glances.
Except for Lloyd who grasped Zane's arm in a tight death grip. "I believe you."
Zane blinked, still staring at the empty bag of flour on the floor. "Thank you, Lloyd."
Maybe it was just his imagination…
Lloyd sighed as he began the final boss battle. Misako had all but ordered him to do something fun "to get his mind off things," and so he had started playing video games to appease her. But, it did not get his mind off things; it only made it worse. Several days had passed since Zane's incident in the kitchen but there had been no further signs of Cole, if indeed it had been Cole.
Of course it was, Lloyd argued with himself, and vaguely wondered if it was a sign he was going insane. He couldn't help it. Zane oscillated between being convinced Cole was haunting them and denying that he had ever thought that. Jay faded more with every day. The guilt was eating him alive, and Kai wasn't helping remedy that. The red ninja was just as volatile as he had been that fateful day in the forest, and Lloyd feared he was close to leaving, like they all had after Zane's sacrifice in the battle against the Overlord. Nya was tearing herself apart trying to bridge the gap between her brother and her ex-boyfriend.
And, what was the Green Ninja, destined to unite the world against evil, doing to stop his family from falling apart? Sitting here playing mindless games. If Cole would just come back already…
In the game, Lloyd's character jumped to execute a combo kick move- and froze. The Green Ninja started spamming buttons on his controller, but the character remained stuck in mid-air.
"C'mon…," he groaned and stood up to get Nya. She would be excited to fix something-
Suddenly, the colored pixels dripped down the screen like paint, and ear-splitting static filled the room, causing Lloyd to cry out and cover his ears. The game chirped loudly three times, and then the screen went dark. When the picture returned a moment later, Lloyd's character had respawned in the village where he had last saved the game.
"O-kay…," he murmured to himself, experimentally nudging the control stick≥ The character responded appropriately. Huh, the game just glitched then.
Shrugging, Lloyd took up the controller again and moved through the village filled with non-playable characters that one could use to find the final boss.
This time, Lloyd was the one who froze.
That NPC- that NPC had never been there before. It looked a lot like...
"Cole!" He shouted, dashing across the room to kneel directly in front of the television, his face two inches from the screen. He laid his hands gently on the surface. "Cole, it's you! It's really you!"
Lloyd lurched backward. Without a prompt from the Lloyd's controller, a large textbox had popped up, engulfing the screen.
HELP
The Green Ninja felt his heart stop.
"Of course I'll help you, Cole. Just tell me what I need to do." He whispered, staring at the Cole NPC standing in place with a smile on his face like all the NPCs wore when the player clicked on them. "You know I would do anything for you. Just tell me what you need."
The game chirped again. Lloyd winced from the volume but did not move away. This time, he would not leave his brother behind.
...cANt...
"Can't what?" Lloyd demanded, leaning closer. "Tell me how to help you, Cole! Please!"
With a pop and a spark, the screen went black. Lloyd stared incredulously, before wrinkling his nose at the smell of burning plastic. Looking down, a small tendril of smoke rose from the game console. It was completely fried.