Later that night Cole is having trouble sleeping, probably because he had been sleeping most of the afternoon. He was trying to sleep in his bunk in the shared room, the quiet of the other room was freaking him out a little, but the sounds of the others breathing and rolling over was also quite distracting. His sleep schedule was all over the place, so maybe he just wasn't tired enough yet.
At least he had a lot of practice at filling time during the night. He makes his way up to the deck, and looks out at the floating island. They were all banned from setting foot off the bounty until morning. He had only been here twice, but it felt so familiar, maybe because it was literally the only place he had been able to dream about so far.
It felt like he needed to do something here, but he wasn't sure yet exactly what that was. Maybe he should talk to Wu, like he should have talked to Wu before stealing the Yin blade… He sighs, there would be time to talk to him later, for now he just needed to focus on his recovery.
Cole's eyes drift up to the moon. At least he now knew why it had captivated him, his ghost body must have sensed the eclipse was near.
"Can't sleep?" Nya's voice echoes out over the night air.
Cole turns to look at her as she comes to join him at the railing. "Yeah, I think my circadian rhythm is shot to hell."
"It's not too weird being back here?"
Cole shrugs. "I know it's weird, and I should hate this place, but being here is kind of comforting. Like I'm supposed to be here."
Nya frowns at him, not quite understanding.
"Like, I fixed this place," Cole gestures to the restored building, "and it's thankful? I don't know. It doesn't feel like the place where I was cursed. The energy is all different." He scratches at his head.
"Nya's frown eases. "It does look different. Way less creepy."
"How about you? What are you doing up so late?"
Nya scratches at her chest a little. "I um, I know it's ridiculous, but sometimes it feels like if I fall asleep, I'll go back to being dead."
Cole reaches out a hand to cover hers, giving it a comforting squeeze. "I know exactly what you mean. I thought when I finally passed on it would feel like falling asleep. It still freaks me out a little," he pauses, giving a deep sigh, "but you actually died, I can't imagine what that must have felt like…"
"It happened right over there." says Nya, pointing to a spot near the bridge.
I'm a fucking idiot, realises Cole. He wasn't the only one who had trauma here.
He slams a palm into his face, and lets out a groan. "I'm so sorry! I should have asked you before suggesting we move in here… we don't have to."
Nya cuts him off. "It's fine. If it was too much, I would have said something, but I wanted to face it. Rewrite history so to speak. Lloyd's right, ignoring it wasn't helping. And you're right, the energy is different now."
"If it does get too much, we don't have to stay."
"I know," says Nya, "thanks."
They stand in silence for a moment, enjoying the cool night breeze.
Cole scratches at his head nervously. "Um, it's fine if you don't want to, but one of the things I wanted to do when I got my body back was give everyone a hug… I haven't ticked you off my list."
Cole doesn't even have time to look up before two arms wrap around him, holding him tight. He returns the favour, taking in the slight floral scent of shampoo, the warmth of her body, and the firm grip of her muscular embrace.
"Of course you can give me a hug."
They stand like that for a while before Nya pulls away, because Cole would have stood there all night, realising just how touch starved he still was. "I'm so glad you're ok, I'm so glad we're ok."
Cole knows exactly what she means, the whole perfect match thing really threw a spanner in their friendship.
"Thanks." says Cole with a smile. "I'm glad too. You're a good friend, and Jay is lucky to have you."
Nya blushes a little. "And now I don't have to be constantly terrified of hurting you with my powers. Like, being the water ninja with a ghost teammate was a bit of a drag."
"Hah! I can imagine. But I very much appreciate you keeping me safe all that time."
"Of course." She punches him playfully in the shoulder, as they both turn their gaze back towards the temple. It is so peaceful, wind gently rustling the leaves, small wispy clouds floating overhead.
Unlike Cole, Nya hasn't mastered the art of standing around and doing nothing for extended periods of time. After only a few minutes she turns away from the railing, stretching her arms overhead. "Hey, do you want some herbal tea? It's meant to help with sleep, but doesn't always work."
"Sure." says Cole, dragging his attention away from the temple. There would be plenty of time to explore it tomorrow, and his body still needed rest. "Just, make mine really weak."
The next morning the ninja go to explore the temple, they split up into teams of two. Jay insisting no one should be alone. Lloyd and Cole are a team, and are making their way through the upper levels of the main building.
Lloyd watches Cole closely as he jumps at every sound, and the way a slight frown rests on his face as he creeps around corners.
"I thought you said this place wasn't haunted?" asks Lloyd.
"What?" says Cole sheepishly. What he had said was I don't think we need to worry about ghosts, not that there weren't any. But he didn't want to point this out.
"You're acting like you expect to see a ghost creeping in the shadows."
"Psssht, no… it's just, my senses are still a bit overwhelmed I guess." Cole shrugs as he opens another cupboard. They have found an odd assortment of books, scrolls, blankets and candles so far.
Lloyd sighs. "I thought we said no more secrets?" Cole pauses what he is doing, slight tug of guilt weighing on him. "What happened to Yang?"
Cole looks at Lloyd, surprised by the question. "I, um…" he isn't sure what to say.
"Like, we know what happened to his students, we took them to the hospital, but Yang was here too right? He didn't make it through the rift, so is he still here?"
Cole's shoulders slump. "I, I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I mean, I don't know." Cole pinches at his nose. "He was here, he tried to use the yin blade to live forever, but it cursed him, letting him live forever as a ghost, tied to this temple as the master of the house." Lloyd blinks, listening intently, glad Cole is finally saying something. "His plan was to lure me here so I could take over as master of the house, and he could return through the rift, freed of the curse. At the last moment he had a change of heart. He decided to help me, he pushed me through the rift and decided to stay behind. He just wanted to be remembered."
"So he is still here?" asks Lloyd, confused about how that matches with Cole's statement of 'I don't know.'?
Cole scratches his head. "I broke the yin blade. The brainwashing on his students was lifted, so other parts of the curse may have been lifted too? Maybe he was able to move on. Maybe he's still a ghost but he's not tied to the temple anymore? I don't know, but I feel like there's something I need to do here."
Lloyd sighs in frustration. "And when were you going to tell us?"
"After I had a chance to talk with Wu, but I've been a bit busy with recovery and seizures and what not… I just didn't want to freak anyone out about ghosts that might not even be here anymore. And if Yang is here, I don't think he will cause us any trouble. He helped me."
Lloyd stares at the scar on Cole's face. "Yeah… helped you. How can you trust him so easily? He cursed you, tried to trap you here forever, brainwashed his students, but hey, one act of kindness and he's all good?" Lloyd kicks at the nearest piece of furniture, a bookshelf, which rattles slightly.
Cole frowns. "I don't trust him completely, I just don't think anyone deserves to be cursed to be trapped here forever."
Lloyd lifts a hand to his face, emotion rippling through his body, and Cole realises, oh, that wasn't about Yang. "I heard you saw Morro?" he asks gently.
Lloyd lets out a shuddering gasp before taking a deep breath. "Yeah." he says with some composure. "He didn't fight us, he warned us about Yang, made us realise you were missing."
"It's ok if you still hate him. He hurt you pretty bad."
"But Wu trusts him! Wu forgave him!" Lloyd holds out trembling hands in front of himself. "Aren't I supposed to be training to be like Wu?"
Cole walks over and grabs his trembling hands. "You're only supposed to be like you." Lloyd meets his eyes, still looking unsure. "Also, forgiveness doesn't excuse their actions. Doesn't make it ok. You're allowed to still be hurt."
Lloyd gives the tiniest nod, water clinging to the edge of his eyes. Cole pulls him into a hug delighting in the fact that it didn't set his nerves on fire. He feels Lloyd lean into it, burying his face into Cole's shoulder.
"I'm so glad you're not a ghost anymore."
"Yeah, me too buddy." says Cole as he rubs at Lloyd's back.
The search of the temple didn't turn up any ghosts, or obviously haunted artifacts. They found the remains of the yin blade scattered on the rooftop and garden below, shards carefully collected and placed in a crate. They found a copious amount of books stashed all over the place, none of which seemed to be sorted, Wu was holed up in the room with the most shelving which had been dubbed the library. Zane and Nya were already discussing electrification. Given the building's age, it was pretty low tech. There was a wood stove to go with the many candles. The toilets were in one of the smaller buildings, but at least there was running water.
Everyone congregated near the main entrance. "So, thoughts?" asks Lloyd.
"It has potential." says Zane.
"It's much more spacious than the bounty." adds Kai.
"No power is a bit of a drag." says Jay, playing with sparks on his hand. "How are we supposed to play video games?"
"Give me a week and we can fix that." says Nya confidently.
They all look at Cole, concerned that he hasn't said anything, worried it is bringing back bad memories.
"A perfect place for a ninja to train." says Cole, forcing a smile onto his face. Something didn't feel quite right, but he hadn't been able to figure out what it was just yet. Right now he needed to be here, needed to do something.
"Well you know what this means?" says Jay with excitement.
Everyone turns to look at him blankly.
"Housewarming party?" says Jay with disgruntled outrage, it was so obvious.
"Ooh, right." says Nya, rolling her eyes.
"I should invite my parents," says Jay eagerly, "and Ronin I suppose? He did help me out with Samukai."
"Don't forget Dareth. Misako too." says Lloyd, he didn't always feel right calling her mum.
"You haven't seen your dad since you changed back." says Kai, while looking to Cole. "So he needs to come, right?"
Cole nods. "Right." He had ditched his dad to come and fight Yang, they were going to light a lantern for his mother, and he missed it. He sighs.
Nya looks at Cole with one eyebrow raised. "Maybe we could light lanterns?" asks Nya. "Like a day of the departed do over?"
"I better start cooking." says Zane.
"What, tonight?" asks Jay.
"Why not?" says Lloyd.
Jay jumps up and runs towards the bounty. "I'm gonna go call my parents!" he hollers back towards the others as he does so.