Archive of Our Own

He was freezing. Kai, the confident ninja, who ran hot, shot first and asked questions later, felt the cold air of Ninjago City as it engulfed and suffocated him. He felt powerless. A skyscraper, (the NGTV building, from what he could recall,) got closer every second, and he was about to fall belly-first into it.

He closed his eyes. The velocity of which he was falling exerted him greatly just by trying. When he relaxed for just a moment, his eyelids shot back wide open.

To his side was a flagpole, facing horizontally across the street below. Nothing hung off of it. Maybe; just maybe, he thought, he just might get away from this with only a dislocated shoulder.

He jutted out his arm and, to his surprise, didn't pop it entirely off as he landed near the pole's end. He grabbed onto the bar with his hand and made his other do the same, despite the pain searing through him.

Suddenly, Cole grabbed onto Kai's legs to not fall any farther. His arms landed on his feet, making Kai nearly lose his grip. Cole climbed his way upwards, inch by inch, before having the momentum to launch himself onto the pole, grabbing onto it soon after jumping. He spun himself around and crawled his way onto the roof. Kai urgently followed and started sprinting before having a chance to look at where he was going. To him, the top priority was escaping the freaky, Oni tentacles of darkness that were beginning to hound him.

He wasn't fast enough. One of them grabbed him by the leg and made him scream.

Cole pulled him closer towards the roof's access point, tugging at his uninjured arm. He was slower than Kai, but he didn't slow him down any. Kai was going as fast as he could, whether Cole could keep up or not. He prepared his injured hand by conjuring lava hot enough to melt the metal door handle, figuring it could be locked. The door appeared heavy duty and likely couldn't be knocked down by force. Kai believed he had no other options.

He cursed himself when, no matter how hard he pulled down, the door didn't initially budge. The heat from his hand would melt the metal handle in seconds, but he'd needed it to be instant. He flinched at merely remembering the tentacle. Harshly tugging at the handle, he managed to free the lock. Him and Cole ran inside, and, upon seeing a broom closet, Kai yanked him in by the hold he still had on his arm and slammed the door shut.

"God, fucking dammit," said Kai. "Shit. Fucking shit."

They were practically standing on top of each other in the cramped closet. It was much more tall than it was wide.

"That tentacle was the coldest thing I've ever felt," said Kai.

"I'd bet," said Cole. "Holy crap. I never want to run that fast ever again."

"Me neither," said Kai in-between panting. "But we're gonna have to. If they find us in here, we're fucked."

"This'd been your idea."

"I hadn't been asking for your whit, dummy."

"And what's got you shivering so much?" Asked Cole. Kai figured he must've been genuinely concerned. "Where's the damn tentacles? I can punch 'em."

"That's not gonna do shit," said Kai. "And I'm cold because it's freezing and I can barely breathe!"

"What do you mean it's freezing? If anything, it's warm in here."

Kai gasped. "What are you fucking talking about?"

Cole hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Call me crazy, but I think I've gotten used to this place already. I don't feel half bad."

"Lucky bastard," said Kai. "'Cause I still feel like shit, and this closet's gonna snuff me out."

Cole was quick to grab their team's comm link, which was a program on the watch on his wrist. Pixal had outfitted it with a Swiss army knife-like array of tools in case they ever became lost. Kai highly praised the thought, at this moment, and hoped for Cole to make a miracle happen. He had no clue if the fog would jam the signal or not.

"Nya, Nya, we're alive! Me and Kai are both alive! We're doing okay. No serious injuries to report... Nya, come in, Nya!"

Kai's smile dropped when Cole brought the device up to his face. "This is Cole Brookestone of the Ninjago ninja team. Kai and I are alive and we're inside the NGTV building. Can anyone copy? Anyone? Anyone!?"

Cole turned up the watch's volume and Kai could only hear static.

Frustrated, Kai got out his smartphone—he was the only member of the team who carried one on missions, and he believed it could save them out of tight spots. Cole only squinted his eyes when Kai's face dropped again, realizing he had no signal.

"No shit," said Cole. "You can't send out a Chirp saying that we're in trouble."

"Nothing wrong with at least attempting it. We have to get the message out somehow."

"Got any other ideas?"

"No need to bitch at me, Cole," said Kai. "Maybe we can figure out where these guys transmitted their signal, and send ours instead."

Cole nodded. A plan was set in motion.

"Think we can outrun the Oni again?"

"Hell no," replied Cole. "But I'm willing to try if we gotta. If Nya thinks we're dead, I can't even imagine..."

Kai held onto a determined face. He'd grown up under the impression that he had to protect Nya at all costs. Even now, with Nya more than capable of defending herself, the idea that he'd failed her stung him right in his heart. The Kai of the past would've been paralyzed by the thought of failing his family.

"And if we do make it," continued Cole, "we can hop in the Earth Driller and get out of here."

Kai jutted out his lips, questioning him. "Your new car?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's parked right around here and got its own air pump. Thing's air tight, 'cause it was built for going underground."

Kai worriedly nodded his head. If Cole said so, maybe it was an equivalent exchange of bonkers ideas. "Does it have room for two?"

Cole smiled proudly. "Yup!"

He hadn't wanted to jinx it, but he knew Cole understood that they'd been lucky so far already. A broom closet seemed like such a silly way to outsmart the Oni.

"On three," said Kai, smiling alongside him, "we book it."

They got up to their feet and took deep breaths. Somehow, Cole's felt more substantial, with Kai nearly coughing from the darkness entering his lungs.

"Three..."

"Two..."

Kai kicked the door open and ran blindly down the stairs that led to the final floor of the building, Cole following.

"You didn't say one!"

He ignored him and stepped over someone: a poor news station employee who'd failed to reach the closet in time, who must've been missed when they were evacuating survivors. The sight made him shiver, and he was quick to look away. The door leading out of the hallway was in front of him.

Suddenly, a tentacle caught his ankle.

"Fuck!" He shouted as he fell to the ground, his nose crashing into the stairs.

"Get off me!"

"Kai!" Shouted Cole before catching up to him and slowing down.

"Run, Cole, run!"

Kai wanted to tear him to shreds. Nya and the others needed him. One of them had to survive.

He shoved himself back to the floor when Cole grabbed his hand. He wasn't about to waste his time. "Go—!"

In only a second, the Oni darkness let go of Kai and suddenly backed off. They floated towards the hallway's natural shadows, almost sheepishly, as if nothing had happened.

Cole gaped. Bewildered, he scanned the room. "What... What was that?"

Kai laughed. Slowly, but surely, he began to laugh and choke when the blood from his nosebleed caught in his throat. "I'm... I'm still alive!"

Cole joined him. "I can't believe it."

Kai turned his head and snickered. "They're completely ignoring us."

Cole squeezed his hand tightly. In his expression was a look of terror. Kai knew that Cole correctly assumed he'd been trying to stay down so he could've ran. Kai believed that they would've likely both been petrified if it hadn't been for... Why the Oni weren't attacking them. For a few moments, Kai was speechless.

The blood from his nose flowed out freely, causing some to travel down his jaw and close to his gi. As he was trying to wipe off some of the blood, he stood up. "Let's tell the others we're alive."

Cole nodded and happened to let go of Kai, preparing to walk at his own pace.

In an instant, the Oni tentacles sprinted towards him, this time approaching his throat.

Cole and Kai both screamed. Terrified, Kai grabbed onto Cole's arm. However, it did nothing of significance and the Oni only ignored it.

Desperate, Cole grabbed him by his armpits in an attempt to try and drag him away from them.

And like before, the Oni darkness backed away.

"What in the world?"

With his arm injured, face busted, body freezing and still being terrified of the tentacles, Kai was in a bit of a haze. His mind felt like it was a long, long ways away; having fled somewhere safer than Ninjago.

"Is this how we can stop the Oni? With the power of friendship?"

Kai shivered, slowly but surely gaining lucidity. "That doesn't sound right. That can't be right."

Kai felt less warmth than when Cole usually held his hand when Cole took his in his hand and squeezed it tightly. Then, he softened his hold and took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay, okay, okay..."

Cole patted his back and led him down the hallway. Kai coughed, the hand on his back letting more of the fog into his lungs. "We can do this," said Kai.

"We can do this."

They opened the door and noticed commercial shortwave radio equipment sprawled out on a desk. Kai assumed this had to be their ticket. However, the idea that the equipment would actually work was a long shot. The broadcast from NGTV's staff had only managed to reach them when it did because the darkness wasn't interfering with the transmission.

However, he couldn't not let Nya know that they were not only alive, but they were also both in one piece.

The radio simply had to work.

After debating what to put in their message and changing the frequency on the equipment to be what they used on their watches, Kai wiped away the blood from his face with some nearby tissues and let Cole be the one to speak through the radio. Kai was freezing, bleeding and couldn't quite talk right.

After a minute, Cole hadn't started anything up. "What's making you wait?" Asked Kai.

"I don't know how we're still alive," explained Cole. His face looked like it was lost, frantically trying to find something to focus on. "I'm not—I'm not—"

Kai leaned toward the microphone and tried to reassure Cole by rubbing his hand. "I can talk, if you want."

"You talk," requested Cole, sounding unsure.

Kai cleared his throat and closed his eyes.

'—Nya, come in, Nya. Cole and I are inside of the NGTV building. We're not critically injured and this is not a distress call. Do not send a search party after us; we are planning to escape the city and rescue any survivors we find. This is a recorded message.—'

***

As Cole and Kai descended the stairs in silence, Kai looked around. He saw glimpses of the workers' daily lives when they went down each floor. It was hard for him to imagine that this was how so many of Ninjago's citizens lived. Even before becoming a ninja, Kai had lived in a rural town. An office building felt alien to him, even after having protected Ninjago City for several years.

The petrified people, frozen in the same spot as they'd stood in when the darkness came, had been failed by him. They were the people the ninja team were meant to protect. The feeling of failure felt heavy in his step. If they couldn't defeat the Oni, the petrified were as good as dead.

He didn't blame Nya. Accidents happened. She'd only been trying.

When Cole stopped by the entrance of what was likely an executive's office, Kai did the same. He had no clue why Cole stopped, however, until he pulled out his wallet and dropped a decent amount of Ninbucks on the floor next to a coat hanger. "What're you doing?" Asked Kai.

"Doesn't this look nice and cozy?" Replied Cole.

"You want to steal it."

Cole rubbed the bottom part of the wool coat. "It'll be for a good cause."

"You're not the one freezing," said Kai. "Why do you even want a coat?"

"It's not for me. I'll grab your ankle, you put it on," said Cole. "It'll get you to stop shivering like a little baby."

Kai's face dropped. 'Little baby,' his ass. Were babies even known for shivering? It made Kai snicker at his own expense.

He put it on quickly, desiring to feel warm again. It hung onto him snugly. Not too big, nor too small. His body loosened, now having the room to breathe. He summoned fire to show off and lift his mood some. "Great thinking, Boulders."

Cole grabbed a nearby clipboard and frantically wrote down his personal phone number on a sheet of paper. "Of course. Though now that I'm thinking about it, I'm never going to get all this money back," said Cole before groaning.

The coat didn't cover everything and Kai looked at the coat hanger again, hoping to find a scarf. He spotted one nearby and put it on. Purple wasn't his color, but maybe, he thought, it would help him blend in.

They kept their hands held as they finally descended to the ground floor. To Kai's surprise, the building's doors, giant and made of glass, were open, but didn't move. The fog mitigated any wind that would've otherwise been in the city that day.

His gut wrenched at the sight of children and small animals frozen on the street. Cars littered the road. Many of them looked totaled. Some were on fire despite the freezing air, illuminating the otherwise near pitch-black street despite it being in the evening.

Kai felt very thankful for the coat.

Without purposefully doing so, Cole leaned even more onto him than he already had been. They were both horrified. Kai assumed the apocalypse would look and feel just like this, if they weren't already inside of one.

The only thing that could be heard, in the distance, was the sound of an in-air light rail train. Kai vaguely recalled learning from the police commissioner that they were battery powered in case the city ever lost electricity again.

Cole looked at him pleadingly. They didn't need words to communicate their misery.

"...Let's go on the light rail," suggested Kai. "Unless you want to find your car."

Cole thought about the question before answering. "That'll be okay. I don't wanna be in this place any longer than I got to be."

He wasn't sure when they decided that having to always have physical contact would be an okay substitute for the air-tightness of Cole's car. Kai didn't mind—it was nice to know where Cole was without having to look around.

As they walked to the train station, they encountered Oni proper. They looked horrifying—inhuman, cold-blooded, silent. Garmadon acted warm and inviting in comparison. Kai avoided eye contact and kept going.

When Kai looked over to Cole, he seemed out of it. He'd been so ever since walking onto the street.

"Maybe they think you're still a ghost."

Cole almost looked angry at him, but Kai continued. "So that's why they aren't attacking you. Think about it, I don't think anyone else has ever gotten back from being dead, so they probably fear you."

Cole frowned. "I'd be shocked. Besides, apparently I wasn't actually dead. Remember? Because I didn't have a corpse, I couldn't live in the Departed realm."

Kai did recall, now that he mentioned it. "People live in the Departed realm?"

Kai's heart softened when he heard Cole give a genuine laugh at that. "Oh, shut up."

Kai smiled impishly for a moment before coming back to Ninjago and its misery.

He squeezed Cole's hand once again, who squeezed his back. They were alive. They were going to save this place, as long as it would allow them to.

After some time, they arrived at the station. It'd been built when Cyrus Borg's company had gone into architecture, so it appeared clean and quite modern, but it also had some future-forward quirks Kai didn't care for.

He looked at a map on the wall which showed all the lines. They were smack-dab in the middle of the city, which was bad for what they'd planned on doing. Kai noticed that there was a ticket payment processor beneath, but he couldn't tell how it worked, so he ignored it.

There weren’t any Oni around. Kai assumed it had something to do with the lights, which still worked and illuminated the station.

"I've never been on this before," said Kai.

"I used to go on it a lot, but that was always with my dad," said Cole. "Wouldn't be surprised if they're still gonna ask us to pay for tickets."

"That's ridiculous."

"Yeah, see, I put in that we're going to Simoneville and they're asking for payment."

Kai saw the town labelled in a far corner of the map. It looked just about perfect, given their circumstances. He'd never heard of it. "You've ever been there?"

Cole took one last look at the payment processor and shook his head. "Nope. But it's rural. I don't think I can stomach going to another city."

Kai agreed and looked around, observing the other empty side of the rail tracks. It looked relatively normal, as if him and Cole were just going on the train for a ride on an average day at that moment.

"Plus, apparently the rail's coming in that direction in a little over half an hour. We just gotta wait a bit."

Kai's eyes widened. "Half an hour!?"

"Given that we had no idea when the train was even coming before walking in, that's not bad," replied Cole.

Kai groaned. He felt waiting did him no good.

On alert, Cole and Kai stood upright the entire time as they waited for the train to arrive. To pass the time, Cole hummed songs to himself while Kai practiced making his fire go in a straight line as if it were thread. Cole had just began singing under his breath when the train arrived and opened its doors. They were quick to run inside.

Cole shivered, which Kai felt through their held hands, as he saw people still petrified in their seats on the train.

Thankfully, two row seats were open: one in the middle and one next to the walkway. They took the spots and finally sat down, giving Kai some time to rest his aching feet and arm. Looking out the window resembled trying to look through a tunnel more than it did the heart of Ninjago city, so Kai kept his focus somewhere on the seat in front of him instead.

"Now departing: Borg Station."

The voice made Kai jump and curse. Cole laughed.

"Ha, ha! Funny!" Said Kai angrily. "That fucking scared me."

"Kai, Master of Fire and protector of Ninjago; scared of the train announcer lady."

"Cole, Master of Ninjago's smallest ant hill."

"Hey! And the biggest!"

The bickering made Kai lean back and close his eyes for a moment. "Sorry, Cole, Master of Ninjago's most averaged-sized ant hill."

"Thank you Kai, Master of what makes your tea kettle boil."

He let some air out of his nose by smiling and laughing.

"What are we even doing?" Asked Kai.

"Running away," said Cole, sobering up. "Maybe we'll be able to contact the others if we're far enough away from Ninjago City."

Kai squeezed his hand and rubbed his thumb on Cole's, wanting to find hope. It was going to be a long ride from Ninjago City to Simoneville.

***

Kai opened his eyes drowsily, blinking to get some of the crust off of them. His armpits were sweaty and his mouth felt disgusting. It took him a while to realize he'd fallen asleep at some point. Looking over to his side, he saw Cole sleeping soundly. It filled Kai's heart with warmth, seeing him in such a state. He’d leaned against him. Some drool had pooled in the corner of his mouth, which was open just a tad. They still were holding hands. Looking up, he saw a billboard in the train showing where they were heading and another saying where they'd just been.

Frantically, Kai woke up Cole by shaking his shoulders. "We missed our stop!" Shouted Kai.

"Huh...?"

"We just passed Simoneville! Now we're heading to some place called Spirit Spring."

He shot awake. "You slept through it," accusingly said Cole.

Kai lifted his eyebrows in emphasis and opened his free hand. "...We both did. I literally just woke you up."

"Now arriving in: Spirit Spring."

"I think one of my aunts lives here. Or, at least she did when I was a baby," said Cole, slowly getting up.

Kai tried to pull him up faster. Cole complied with a groan, still somewhat drowsy, and they stumbled out of the train and onto the station ground. Like in Ninjago City, the station was illuminated, with no Oni around. But, there was still a pervasive, dense fog, as if they hadn't gone anywhere.

The air was quiet enough that Kai heard the faint sound of the train's announcement before it left the station, heading to the next town closest to Ninjago City. With it gone, Kai felt truly alone aside from Cole's company.

There weren't many petrified people around, but there were enough to tighten Kai's stomach again. He'd gotten too comfortable around Cole, he thought—there were still many, many people who needed his strength. Who needed salvation from the Oni.

When he looked at Cole, they both knew what they were both thinking: the situation wasn't looking good. The Oni had come here as well.

"Let's just go up one of the mountains," suggested Cole. "We should be able to make contact with somebody up there."

"Sounds like a plan," said Kai, having no other idea of what to do. Without an enemy to fight in front of him, he felt out of his element.

The town proper looked less rural than the one Kai had grown up in, but not by a large amount. He guessed it must've been a recent addition to the train line, as many of the buildings around were under construction by some wealthy-sounding companies, contrasting greatly with the older style of homely buildings nearby.

Small trees dotted the streets, with the thin air preventing larger growth. The smoke thinned the air even more, so Kai appreciated having a bit more oxygen to breathe because of all the trees. It was strangely peaceful, for an empty town.

Soon, they were standing next to the spring that got the town its name. Kai could see his own reflection through it, which surprised him. The water that'd been by his hometown was always a murky brown.

Kai must've looked at himself for a while, because Cole started talking. "What's this about, Narcissus?"

"Can't I admire nature for a second?" Asked Kai, tilting his head to see the scarred side of his face as it morphed to the spring's dimensions. At least, as much as the fog allowed him to.

"'Nature' looks an awful lot like a glob of hairspray."

"Okay, fine," said Kai before taking a handful of water and splashing it on his face. "Ow! That's cold!"

Cole laughed and Kai's face turned red out of embarrassment.

"Now I got this," said Kai, looking at the mountain above him. He began walking.

The trek up the mountain took another chunk of Kai's stamina. He felt like he was running on fumes. First, he'd learned the Oni darkness was coming to Ninjago. Then, he'd rescued the workers from the NGTV building and ended up being left behind. He'd fallen arm-first onto a skyscraper before Cole had fallen on his feet, then they sprinted to and from a closet in the cold, thin-aired new Ninjago. Falling on his nose hadn't helped either. And he now had to walk along the side of a road, on a cold, cold mountain.

There were hiking trails they could've used, but data signal was more likely to live on a road that people drove on every day than in the wilderness.

His nap on the train had been nice, but that didn't cure his exhaustion. Hunger was beginning to hound him. Cole'd let him drink fresh water from the spring as they ascended the mountain, even using his free hand to help Kai catch more of it to drink.

"Aren't you thirsty too? Or dog-tired?" Asked Kai in between panting. He'd noticed Cole wasn't drinking anything.

Cole hesitated. "I—No. I'm doing fine."

Kai shook his head in frustration. "Please drink some, at least. It's good for your bones, since there's rocks and stuff in the water—lots of calcium."

Cole spoke before dipping his head in. "And fish pee."

"Pretty sure that strengthens your pancreas."

Kai found himself lazily staring at Cole's face as he whipped his hair back from the spring water.

"How in the hell would drinking fish pee strengthen my pancreas?"

"Sorry, um, I meant your immune system."

Cole grumbled, but only lightheartedly. "When we defeat the Oni, I'm taking you to a school."

Kai could see the hot air from his mouth as it turned to vapor when he laughed through his nose.

"But I'm too old to go to high school."

"Not that. I meant college, or a trade school or something," said Cole, beginning to walk and taking Kai along with him. "Because we're not gonna be ninja forever."

Kai would've stopped in his tracks at the thought if it'd been any other day. "We're not?"

Cole's gaze landed on the ground sheepishly. "You've thought about what we're going to do after the next generation of ninja show up, right?"

"We're gonna teach them everything we know," said Kai. "We're gonna be teachers, and it won't be like that Darkley's stint."

"You'd be good at that," said Cole. "You and Lloyd."

"Right, he's really great at having his head in the game. Nya has done a whole bunch of stuff and she's like, a wizard at finding the strength in others. Zane's great at adapting to things and keeping yourself focused on something. Oh, Jay's good at making you laugh and knowing how to get out of tough situations—"

"We're not gonna do this forever. One day, the team's gonna break up and not get back together again."

Kai gaped before turning his head and looking at Cole questionably. "I mean, sure, we all die at some point, but we're in the prime of our lives right now. Just imagine, someone just as lost as we were when we were kids; training them to be even better than we ever were; to help them do awesome stuff like saving the world, or making friends, or playing games, or doing whatever they want to do that we can't even begin to picture in our heads right now because they're just that ahead of us."

"I might need to go on a journey of my own soon," said Cole.

Kai's eyebrow raised. "What!?"

"There's a lot about myself that I just don't know. I went straight from always having silent arguments with my dad to being a ninja without... Without really asking questions. Or ever being on my own without being mad."

Kai opened his mouth to retort; to say that it was a horrible idea and that Cole would be much better off sticking with the team despite his worrying, but Kai had no words that would accurately express what he was thinking. He hadn't experienced Cole's issues and couldn't wave them away with a brush of his hand. "Is that right?" Kai ended up asking.

Cole nodded his head. "I'm not in the position to teach anyone right now."

"Then who am I to stop you," said Kai, smiling in hope of lightening the mood. "As long as we can call you in case everything goes south again."

"Of course," said Cole.

Kai wasn't positive how he would cope when the team eventually split. When they thought they'd lost Zane for good, it'd killed his spirit. The time he'd spent mindlessly wrestling strangers made him never want to touch alcohol again. It did no good to not remember your darkest moments, he thought, even if only in the back of your mind.

He squeezed Cole's hand again. Whatever he was going through, he wanted him to know that he would be there.

Cole squeezed back, but didn't look at him, instead gazing somewhere between the ground and his feet.

They hiked for some time afterwards. Eventually, Kai thought it looked as if the Oni darkness was clearing up. He could see the setting sun past the fog and could feel a small breeze against his chest. Their plan was working.

Not long afterwards, his face lit with glee when he found something.

Cole looked at him quizzically until Kai motioned for him to follow him. Cole did, seeming hopeful.

"I found a squirrel!"

He smiled softly and ran to keep up with his pace. "You did!?"

The light of the sunset illuminated the dense forested area of the side of the road.

"Kai, you found three squirrels," said Cole, sounding amazed.

The squirrels climbed on the trunks of the trees and looked around cautiously, almost certainly noticing them. It'd been a long time since Kai saw wildlife at all, given how much time he spent in Ninjago City or in the ninja compound. Even the first realm had hardly had any aside from lizards or the occasional rodent.

Then Cole suddenly began coughing.

Kai gathered his courage and let go of Cole's hand to slam his fist against his chest to help him get out whatever was in his lungs.

He eventually took in a deep breath and found his footing. "You okay?" Asked Kai.

"I wouldn't worry about it," said Cole, sounding unsure. "Just a weird reaction after finally getting out of the Oni fog."

Kai smelled the scent of open air and autumn leaves when he took in a deep breath as well. It'd been his first one in over an hour. "I think we're finally free."

Kai was confused by how Cole didn't immediately become excited. This'd been just what they were looking for. The reception on their watches couldn't be impeded by the fog any longer. Despite it being quite cold for a day this time of year, Kai felt blazing hot in anticipation. There was hope for Ninjago yet.

"Almost," said Cole. "Let's see if we got any signal strength..."

Kai whipped out his watch and quickly turned on the main comm to the Bounty. Even if Nya wouldn't be there to answer, someone else definitely would. "Hello? This is Kai! Cole and I are—"

He stopped when he could only hear static on the other end of the line. If it'd made a connection, he would've heard the tone that they used to tune into the Bounty's frequency. "What the hell?" Shouted Kai, fiddling with the tuner to try out nearby channels. "This is bullshit!"

"Nothing?" Asked Cole.

"Nothing."

"I'm not getting any better luck with mine," said Cole. "Maybe we ought to split up to find a spot where we can get a signal."

"No, no, I'm not leaving you any time soon," said Kai, putting his hand back in Cole's. "Because a ninja never leaves a ninja behind."

"I wasn't planning on 'leaving you behind,'" said Cole, more upset than Kai had anticipated; sounding mad. "We just have to split up for a bit."

The words 'have to' confused him. Cole seemed very adamant about the idea, but Kai didn't know why. "If you say so..."

When Kai let go of his hand, a somber expression fell on Cole's face, almost reserved. He supposed that they had been physically close for a while and maybe Cole simply needed time to be alone. Kai turned his back on him before he could and pulled out his watch again. He was getting one bar—which'd been more than what Cole got on his back in Ninjago City—but it wasn't enough to transmit audio.

He stepped over the rough terrain of the mountain; over creeks and fallen trees, trying to find something. He made sure to track his steps so that he was less likely to become lost.

Eventually, Kai heard something strange. It made him worry that he was going delirious. Somewhere, higher on the mountain, people were playing instruments. He recognized the sound of a hulusi and an erhu, but couldn't put a finger on the others. It sounded fast paced, as if the instrument players were trying to spread joy.

He figured it was possible for someone's radio to still be on, playing something-or-other on loop, but he had a gut feeling that wasn't what was happening. It sounded live.

He turned around and ran back. He had to tell Cole. Kai thought they were much better off following the music.

Kai worried that finding him might take a while, and he'd been thankful after realizing that Cole hadn't actually gone far. He was fiddling with his watch and mumbling to himself. When Kai made his presence known, he jumped.

Cole looked at him hopefully.

"I think there's people higher up on the mountain."

Cole's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't look happy. He took a deep breath. "You should go talk to them. I'll—I'll stay here—"

"What're you talking about?" Asked Kai before once again grabbing his hand. "I'm taking you with me. Maybe they got food we can eat, or they need our help..."

***

"Why would someone be playing music right now?" Asked Cole for a second time as he trailed behind Kai, now loosely holding his hand.

"I've heard you come from a long line of people who do," said Kai.

"That doesn't mean I get it."

"Maybe that's all they can do," said Kai. "Or they don't know what happened."

Kai's face faltered when he saw the near-miserable look on Cole's.

"Come on, lighten up some. We won't know if we don't ask them."

Cole's expression turned just a bit warmer. "Let's hope you're right."

The music was coming from a log cabin. It'd traveled down the mountain, though not very far, as they'd been nearby when Kai first heard it. Walking there had only taken a few minutes. Next to the cabin was a small lake and farm speckled with chickens, which clucked away.

Oddly enough, next to the farm were about a half-dozen parked cars, several bicycles and a few motorcycles. Kai had assumed earlier that the cabin only housed a single family, but, looking around him, he realized he might've been wrong.

It was only after Kai walked up to the front door, preparing to knock, that he realized him and Cole looked like an odd duo. He was still wearing a wool coat and purple scarf, almost completely hiding the top part of his gi, while Cole was just in his—sleeveless, no less, despite the setting sun. Kai could hear the inside of the house from where he was standing and the voices of nearly a dozen different people. If it weren't for what they'd just gone through, Kai felt like they were trying to barge into a house party without being invited. He thanked his nerves as he knocked.

Within seconds, the door opened. A young boy, around the age of ten, stood on the other end with a baby in his arm.

"Hi," said the boy, sounding shy and awkward. "I'll close the door."

The cabin's air was warm and cozy. Kai suddenly felt overheated in his wool coat. The people he'd heard before, once muffled, were now understandable, though he still had no idea what they were talking about.

The architecture of the house was old fashioned, with narrow hallways and wood-paneled walls, making the boy look out of place. To Kai's right were the people playing music. A hulusi, two erhus and a pipa player were all performing in a half-circle next to other adults, chatting amongst themselves, and another small child.

The sight was surreal to Kai. How long had it been, since the last time he went to a gathering of people this large outside of Ninjago City? Although he was tempted to believe this was some sort of family gathering, the people around didn't look particularly related to one another.

As the boy closed the door, Cole and Kai took off their shoes. Judging by how no one had tried stopping them from coming in, Kai assumed that they were allowed to join them in... Whatever it was these people were doing.

"Grandpa!" Said the boy, looking behind himself, "Cole's here!"

Kai noticed Cole's face turning red with embarrassment as he was taking off his coat.

"God help me, I think some of my relatives live here."

Kai snickered, enjoying Cole's misery. "That explains the music," said Kai.

Cole sighed, making him laugh.

Two women, both of whom didn't look related to Cole, approached them. One of the two, who had a bottle of Cheerday beer in her hand, spoke to Kai. "Welcome to the end of the realm party. Anyone else with you guys?"

"Nope, Just us," replied Kai.

"I'd been hoping more survivors were coming."

"Maybe they are, since they're not from town," said her friend.

"Yeah, where are you two from?"

Kai hoped they meant from where they'd just come from. His hometown was practically on the other side of the realm. "Ninjago City."

She gaped. "That's crazy talk. That's great. How'd you two find your way here?"

"We..." began Kai before realizing he didn't have much of an answer. Simply saying that they'd been immune to the Oni darkness didn't sound like a satisfying explanation.

"Best not put him in the spotlight," said her friend before looking over to Cole. "You're one of Xinying's nephews, right?"

Cole nodded. Kai hoped he wasn't supposed to already know who that was. "Yup. Well, more like grand-nephew. But I'm more known for being one of the ninjas protecting Ninjago City."

The woman with the Cheerday beer swung it around and laughed. "Lucky! You get to have magic powers, be famous, be part Oni... I'm not cut out for any of that. I fall wrong, I break my leg!"

Kai's eyes shot open. "Sorry for the confusion. We fight the Oni, we're not part Oni."

"Really? My bad," said the woman. "I was hoping one of you could drive down to town to pick up my purse."

Her friend gasped. "You're thinking of your purse right now!?"

"It's just sitting in the middle of the street. When everything's back to normal again, somebody's gonna steal it! It's a Louis Vuitton!"

Her friend turned back to them. "I'm sorry, she isn't usually this bad."

Cole put his hands behind his back and lowered his head. "It's fine. She... Hadn't been wrong about me being part Oni."

He looked to Kai pleadingly; defeated. Kai could only stare back, at a loss for words.

He didn't want to believe it. There was just no way. No way did Cole, someone he'd known for years—almost inside-and-out—have some of the same blood as the undead creatures who wanted to destroy and take over their home.

He knew that Lloyd, Wu and even the good parts of Garmadon were part Oni as well. But, at least it made sense for them. Being the green ninja required a strong connection to the first realm and its oddities: the dragons, witchcraft and power-hungry weaponry of it all. The three of them were descendants of the First Spinjitzu Master, who himself had been a product of some legendary figures.

Their powers simply held more weight than Cole's. Cole was supposed to be like him. Elemental? Sure. But, someone Kai could fully trust on a species level. If a normal-appearing person could be part Oni, how rare really was it?

The boy's grandpa came in not long after. "Welcome, both of you! Cole, you've grown so big."

Cole sheepishly rubbed part of his gi between his fingers. "I promise I've been dieting."

The man dismissed it with his hand. "Oh, don't say that. You'll hurt Xinying's feelings if you don't eat anything."

"I wouldn't dare to," said Cole.

"She's been hard at work making guoqiao for everybody."

Kai recognized the name of the noodles as something Cole often made for them when it was his turn to make dinner. He liked the thought of eating it again.

"And what's your name, young man?"

Kai smiled. He always got a kick out of introducing himself. "I'm Kai, the fire ninja of the ninja team," he said as he summoned a small flare in his hand.

The old man smiled. "You can call me Shaokang. Or Mr. Hence, if you prefer. Come."

Shaokang guided them closer to the kitchen. Along the way, Kai realized the sheer amount of people stuffed into the cabin. There were around two dozen, if he had to guess. Many of them looked like they'd been plucked off the street. He figured they must've escaped the darkness somehow and ended up taking refuge here.

Xinying wasn't the only one in the kitchen. Several people were helping her, mainly with setting the tables. To Kai, she looked strikingly a lot like Cole for an old woman. The noodles smelled wonderful.

This guoqiao, otherwise known as crossing-the-bridge noodles, was made with hot chicken broth and soup. The toppings, including the raw vegetables, cooked meats and even the noodles themselves, was meant to be added just after sitting down to eat it, thus, Kai was going to have them 'crossing the bridge' to fill his bowl. Cole and Kai gave their sincerest thanks to Mrs. Hence before walking further in and sitting down at a slap-dash table, set up to provide everyone with a place to sit.

The food had already been picked at by some of the others, but a lot was still there for others to eat. As Kai got out his chopsticks, ready to dig in, he didn't want to mention how quiet Cole had become. Talking about anything could come after eating, if that was what Cole preferred.

The warmth of the broth cleared any remaining dried blood in his nostrils. He finally felt relaxed. The noodles went down smoothly and filled his belly. He could tell Cole quite enjoyed the meal as well, despite his earlier posturing about not even being thirsty. Thinking about it now, Kai realized that his behavior might've been related to him being part Oni, but how exactly, he wasn't sure.

Suddenly, Xinying approached their table. "Thank you again. We both had really needed that guoqiao," said Cole.

"Anything for Lou's boy."

Kai cleared his throat, wanting her attention. "So... You two are related through his dad?"

Xinying nodded. "Yes, Lou's father is my brother."

"Are... All four of you Oni?"

Xinying answered without hesitation, the somberness showing her age. "Always have been."

"Dad never told me anything," said Cole, looking at her.

"He doesn't talk to the rest of his family much," said Xinying with a resigned pout. "It's not your fault, that you didn't know."

Cole turned inward, becoming smaller. Kai hadn't seen him in such a state since he'd been a ghost; when he'd lost hope in ever turning back into a living person again.

Xinying shook her head disapprovingly. "There's no need to look so miserable. I can show you what I know."

Cole gave Kai one last look before getting out of his chair and following her lead. They walked towards the ten-year-old boy that'd greeted them by the door, who was now trying to carry both a baby and his portable game console at the same time. Xinying, after taking the baby and motioning him to turn the console off, took him and Cole into another part of the cabin.

It struck Kai as a little nutty—the boy was likely an Oni, too. It made him wonder who entrusted their baby with him.

Left to his own devices for the first time in hours, Kai savored his solitude for a few moments. Though, he couldn't sit idly by for too long. He decided to try and help with the dishes in the kitchen.

They accepted his help with open arms, which made him kind of regret being so eager to assist them. He got tasked with drying them. Another, a woman about his age, had to wash them. After a while, he was split between drying the dishes proper and taking dry towels to the countertops so water wouldn't blotch his gi or her shirt.

After some time, the woman frantically looked around, her eyes wide in distress. "Looking for something?" Asked Kai.

"I gave my baby to Shaokang's grandson, but now I have no idea where he is," she explained. "I just hope he hasn't done anything stupid with him yet."

"I don't mean to judge, but, boys his age aren't known for their child rearing," said Kai, speaking from experience. Nya was only a year younger than him, but she still often gave him trouble for how he'd treated her as a child.

"I know," she said, sounding defeated. "But he's part Oni. He's been able to heal him."

Kai didn't quite understand what she was saying and let her continue. "He got caught by those freaky Oni hands when the fog came in. I thought he died, it was awful. You've seen it—how many of us are missing people. I didn't even want to get rescued. But, then I heard that it can be reversed. An Oni can cure someone of being turned to stone."

"I had no idea."

"But it's not a tried-and-true process. All I know is that the more his grandson holds onto Weiyang, the more he's turning back to normal."

Kai realized he should be drying dishes and quickly got back to work, though he was now turned to her side. "That makes sense. If they can turn people into stone, then they should be able to reverse it too."

"It's just very strange. Why are they like this? Why do they only want to hurt people?"

"They're not all evil," said Kai. a little unsure.

"One of them is Shaokang's ancestor, but still. They act like zombies. Can you imagine, living a life so devoid of anything? They don't even speak to one another, or seem to have thoughts of their own."

Now that he was thinking about it, he agreed with her. The Oni didn't act like living beings. They felt less alive than the ghosts he fought back in Styx.

He felt small suddenly, having no more dishes to dry, standing with a towel in his hand.

"The other ninja should be holding their own. They'll make them disappear," said Kai before clearing his throat. "I'm part of a ninja team, by the way. That's why I'm wearing this."

She snickered. "I thought I recognized you. Were you the people who killed that giant snake in Ninjago City? With the giant stag beetle guy with four arms?"

Kai smiled with pride before sobering up. "Hm-hmm. He's part Oni too. More than anyone here. He's not... Completely awful, but. He acts very human, actually. I think that's the source of most of his problems, rather than his Oni side."

Kai admittedly had never thought about Garmadon in this way before now. He'd been willing to say it out loud, believing it could make the woman happy, if only temporarily, to hear that her baby was likely in good hands. Garmadon might've been more of an outlier regarding Oni blood than he'd initially assumed.

They worked side by side as more dishes came in—likely the last of them—before two people walked into the kitchen. Kai heard a loud, crying baby before looking to his side and seeing Cole, standing by the countertop with the baby in his arms, trying desperately to rock and coo at him. Xinying stood behind him and was laughing to herself.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong, Auntie. Sensei Wu liked being rocked," said Cole.

"Here," said Xinying before grabbing him and giving him to the woman who'd been helping Kai with the dishes. "Katie knows what to do."

"That's debatable," replied Katie before, ecstatic to see he was okay, talking to her baby and walking off, seemingly to give him some milk.

"Mrs. Hence, is it true, that an Oni can cure people after they've been turned to stone?" Asked Kai, now that Xinying was nearby. "Katie'd really believed in it."

"Yes. But, I hardly know much about this," said Xinying. "Some in my family have always claimed that we're part Oni—from someone from a failed invasion who'd stuck around, but I didn't believe it until today. The story sounded phony. I... When the Oni came into Spirit Spring, they perceived me as one of their own. They didn't even attempt to get my husband."

The story sounded familiar to Kai. He assumed she already knew.

Xinying sulked. "I wish I could've saved more people. My son's out by the spring right now, trying to find anyone who might've fallen in and trying to locate any other survivors. We've lost most of the folk in this town."

"I like the atmosphere you've made here," said Kai. "I think we're gonna make it; we're gonna defeat the Oni."

"If you're gonna go anywhere, Kai, I'm coming with you," said Cole. "Not that I dislike your house, Auntie."

She let out a laugh. "I understand. I'm assuming you two have ninja stuff to get back to."

"That's our big problem: we've been trying to reach my sister, but we've been having no luck in sending anything out," said Kai. "Our phones don't work."

"And our watches!"

"Well, that's harder to explain, Cole," said Kai with a judgemental gaze.

"I think I know your problem," said Xinying. "All of this crud in the air is amplifying any existent Oni crud you naturally give off. If you try to concentrate what's blocking the signal somewhere, like on your finger, it should clear up the room and make your phones work."

"Wait, really?" Said Cole. "How!?"

"Focus and calm yourself. Then things'll work, there's no big science to it."

Cole excitedly put his hand on Kai's shoulder to shake him. "Thank you so much, Auntie! Kai, we've got to try this out!"

Now in somewhat of a rush, they announced their departures and went into another corner of the house, figuring the less people around to hear their phone call, the better. As Kai got out his phone, he paused.

"Does this mean the phone towers are still running? That seems really unlikely."

"Maybe. But someone might be there trying their best to keep it up," said Cole. "After finding this place, I wouldn't be surprised."

"This benevolent part Oni is working for a cell phone tower company?"

"I don't see why not."

"But they make us pay such high prices—"

"Oh, shut up," said Cole. "That's not even... We don't have paying jobs—we hardly pay any of our own bills. Who should we call?"

Suddenly, Cole's face dropped. "Wait. If we gotta concentrate all the Oni fog into one place for this to work, then this won't work on the other end. Whoever we're gonna call, their phone is gonna be surrounded by all this crap."

Kai, without hesitating, put his hand on Cole's, for a moment. "Let's try Sensei Wu."

Cole's face lit back up. "That should work!"

Kai figured, between him and Lloyd, that he was their best bet. He likely already knew about this so-called concentration technique. It made him wonder what else he knew—what else could he teach Cole to lift the weight of Oni blood off of his back. Because although he believed that Cole was a great person, if he were to tap into his Oni power, it could transform him into something terrible.

After some time, as Cole tried and initially failed to concentrate himself, Kai saw as his phone began receiving a full signal. Cole nearly slammed the call and speakerphone button. Kai crossed his fingers, hoping they would come through.

"...Cole?"

At the sound of his voice, Cole and Kai both shouted 'yes' so loudly that it broke Cole's concentration and ended the call. "Sensei Wu! You're—Oh, fucking hell!"

Kai laughed.

"We could've lost him for good." said Cole. "What're you smiling for!?"

"You got so excited..."

Cole sighed, closed his eyes, and didn't have enough time to press the call button again before he heard that Wu was calling him back. He pressed accept and put it on speakerphone. "Cole, is that you?"

"Yes!" answered Kai. "I mean... We're both here!"

"Sensei Wu!"

"I am very grateful to hear your voices again," said Wu. "The others have been worried sick, wondering if you two are still alive."

"We tried sending you guys a message back at the NGTV building, but by the sound of it, nobody got it."

"Yes, we heard no such thing."

"We just said that we were both alive and in one piece," explained Cole. "We're in better shape now."

"I'll be sure to tell them when I can. Are you two still in Ninjago City?"

"No. We're in Spirit Spring."

"Spirit Spring?" Replied Wu, as if Cole'd told him something in a foreign language.

"We boarded the train in Ninjago City and followed it to the town furthest away," explained Kai.

"Wouldn't that be Simoneville?"

"Look, we found somewhere safe in Spirit Spring," said Cole. "Where are you?"

"At the Monastery," said Wu. "We've been meaning to get in contact with Kai in particular. We need his fire to reforge the Golden Weapons."

"Whoa, what? I'm more than willing, but since when?"

Kai believed that he was a poor blacksmith. His father, blessedly still with his mother, Nya and himself, would've be a much smarter choice. He didn't have fire, but he knew what he was doing, which was half the battle, especially when it came to the idea of reforging anything.

"The Golden Armor is feared by the Oni. If we can recreate the Tornado of Creation, we can eliminate the Oni horde."

"But what about my father? He'd be much better for the job."

"There is no time. We need your specific set of skills."

Kai couldn't smile any wider. He was excited to hear good news and had been itching to fight again for some time. "Then we're coming, Sensei!"

"Don't rush yet," said Wu, sounding unsettled. It was subtle—hardly noticeable to anyone who hadn't been by his side for years, but it usually meant he was about to get very serious, very quickly.

Cole and Kai stopped shaking and preparing to book it.

"There is one question that I need to ask."

They sat silently, letting him continue. "There is an Oni helping you. To escape from Ninjago City, and to make this phone call... It is simply not possible without an Oni's assistance."

Kai, worried, looked at Cole. He was gazing at his phone blankly, and Kai assumed there were a thousand thoughts swarming in his head. His heart felt heavy just imagining it—having hardly anyone to talk to, yet again, regarding something about his body that he had no control over. Unlike when he'd been cursed to become a ghost, or, hell, when he'd been hypnotized by Anacondrai, it was highly unlikely that anything could erase his Oni heritage. It certainly couldn't be erased from the other members of his family.

After a few seconds, Cole slowly turned his head to see Kai.

He offered his callused hand. With one of his free hands, Kai grabbed onto Cole's and squeezed tightly.

"I'm part Oni. I got Kai out of Ninjago City, and my family in Spirit Spring helped me confirm it. I only learned how to heal the petrified and make this call just now. Other than that, I hardly know what this means for me. My family knows almost nothing about it; my dad didn't tell me anything."

Wu was silent on the other end of the line for a moment. "I had no idea there were Oni in your family. Thank you, Cole, for telling me this. I wish only for you to come to peace with it."

Cole gulped, swallowing his spit. He allowed Kai to still hold his hand. "Me too, Sensei Wu."

"If we defeat them, you and Lloyd can work on this together."

Had Cole been in a worse emotional state, Kai could've easily seen him crying at that. "That would be great."

"I trust that you two can arrive soon."

"Thank you, Sensei," said Kai before Wu ended the call.

Cole's hand felt nice in his, but he let go. There was urgent business to attend to. The Monastery was hours away.

***

Kai had hardly seen any of the Oni until now. There were about four, appearing in a small marching formation, to his side. Kai drove by them at a blistering speed—the fastest the car could go. It was hard to imagine it was all coming to this.

"Maybe we should've looked for your bike," admitted Kai.

"As much as I hate to look a gift horse in the mouth... Yeah."

"I mean, no disrespect to the gold-colored commuter sedans of the world—"

"That someone offers to you. To save the world. Again."

"Yes," replied Kai. "That someone offers to us. At least this can't possibly be aired on TV."

"I wouldn't be so worried," said Cole. "It makes you look much more humble than you really are."

Kai agreed with the sentiment, but his pride stopped him from saying so.

Several people hiding out in the cabin had offered Cole and Kai their vehicles once they learned what was at stake if they couldn't make it to the Monastery in time. However, none of the motorcycles could comfortably fit two without the passenger being outside of hand-holding distance, and others couldn't completely stomach the thought of their precious car being destroyed in the process of defeating the Oni. Only one person, a man who'd been looking to upgrade his car anyway, had offered his without asking for anything in return. The tentacles weren't deterred by speed.

A thought popped into his mind again—all his doubts, coming to a consensus. This might be how it all ends. They might already be too late. "I'm sorry, Cole. I've been holding you down."

Cole, confounded, looked at him almost angrily. He continued. "If I didn't fall, you probably would've found your bike, called Wu, and arrived at the Monastery a long time ago."

"Kai. Listen—"

"I'm still wearing this stupid purple scarf and stupid coat, and you've been the only reason why I haven't died—"

"Listen. I do not care even a tiny bit about your scarf. It's fine. It looks good on you. Don't even play hypotheticals like that. We learned something, because of this."

Kai wasn't completely convinced. Cole continued. "I learned I was Oni in the best way possible. It made both of us survive. Jay and Zane are great people, but... I feel like I can trust you with anything. I trust you more than my own family."

It was hard to focus on driving as Cole told him how he felt. Kai wanted to hug him. He looked over, for just a few moments, to see the emotional sincerity on his face. Kai, feeling like his heart strings were being tugged, his heart racing, hoped his face looked the same. He rubbed his finger on the outside of Cole's hand, hoping it could help him read his mind.

Kai let out a shaky breath, still smiling. "I don't think your family is even half-bad."

Cole gaped, surprised. "You don't know how terrible they can get."

"I mean it. My family extends to just Nya and my parents. My neighbors raised me more than my aunts or uncles."

"You're not missing out on much. Big families like my dad's are just a hassle."

"It could be worse. Your great-uncle could've wanted to join us."

Cole sighed at the thought. "You're right. The Oni are the biggest threat I can even think of. He would've been toast."

"Don't jinx it. Trouble's around every corner," said Kai.

"They've conquered other realms. They've almost conquered all of Ninjago. When they're gone, what can possibly be bigger?"

"Well, it's not like Ninjago's going to be at peace any time soon," said Kai. "We're still gonna be needed."

"We were talking about this before, weren't we?"

Kai accepted the idea of them eventually breaking up even less than he had before. Unless Cole really did need time to himself, even if the thought terrified him. He hoped, if the entire realm disappeared one day, or some other cataclysmic event destroyed his spirit, that Nya, or Cole, or the other ninja, could still be by his side to push through it.

"I'd say we keep on fighting. It's kind of a miracle we're both alive, despite everything. It means something. Probably."

Cole rubbed one of the fingers on his free hand against the cloth interior of the passenger seat. "Honestly, I think I want to settle down someday. Little kids aren't too bad to talk to. Not sure about babies, but talking with my cousin had been nice."

Kai stopped himself from blurting out that it was too early to be talking about this. He knew how genuinely happy he'd been around Wu. Maybe, to Cole, the idea seemed less constricting. "As long as no one wants me to be a human piñata again, they can be great company."

"Maybe I could adopt. Don't know how potent Oni blood is."

Kai'd wondered, on some nights when he was half-dreaming, what it would be like to teach his child how to use his fire. He felt he liked it too much to willingly give it up, despite how selfish it sounded. Maybe adoption could be an answer.

"I... I can't believe I'm admitting this now," said Cole, sounding like he was jittering in his seat. "But, when Nya'd been split between me and Jay, and when I kept on riling him up, and up, to forget about the idea that Zane died, I... I was being pulled in so many directions—I hadn't actually wanted to date her."

Kai was still sour on the subject. He'd watched it happen. The stupidity of it had almost made him go completely mad. However, he appreciated the confession. He'd already figured part of it out, really, despite hearing from those around him occasionally that he was the least inquisitive out of any of the ninja.

"You don't have to make any of those big decisions right now," said Kai, even if how he wanted to answer Cole's confession sat on the top of his tongue. "I mean, what about your powers?"

Surprisingly to Kai, Cole put his free hand on his chin, actually thinking about it. "I wouldn't be surprised if we can somehow willingly give it to someone. I mean, how else could Zane have even gotten his?"

"...Luck of the draw? You're right—that sounds like that might've happened."

"If my kid inherited my power, that would be awesome. They'd probably be stronger than me. Even if they don't want to be a ninja for whatever reason, they could become a mad landscaper."

Kai, feeling over the moon, gave a good laugh. "Better your power than mine!"

Only after letting out the last of his laughter did Kai realize what he'd just said. Frantically, he looked over his shoulder, seeing Cole gazing down at their intertwined hands.

"I didn't mean it like that! Don't worry. It—It's been a long day. I'm exhausted, I'm sorry."

Cole wasn't laughing. However, he didn't seem mad, only upset.

"I mean it!" Said Kai. "I'm sorry."

Cole continued to not say anything. Kai felt like he was being interrogated.

Then, Cole slowly lifted the arm which held his hand and leaned forward. His head was close to Kai's arm, and Kai could feel his warm breath against his skin. To his bewilderment, Cole didn't move for a while afterwards, as if he was hesitating.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Asked Kai, now upset.

He almost couldn't believe it when Cole leaned down further and kissed his wrist.

For a few moments, he was speechless. He flushed a stronger hue. "That wasn't what I... That wasn't what I'd meant..."

Cole laughed. The sound was quiet enough that, in most other circumstances, it would've only been audible to himself. "Was that... Not what you meant?"

Kai didn't want to lie. His initial answer caught in his throat. He cleared it, hoping to think of something else to say.

"It's too early for this."

"Well, people our age are already having children—"

Kai's eyebrows scrunched with anger. "You know that's not what I meant. Tell me whatever you're thinking straight—no teasing."

"I wasn't teasing, I—okay, fine. I don't quite know what you want to do in the future. I'm not sure, myself. But, if you do want to think about it, I'll be available. I'm not huge on dating, as I think you're already aware. What I said earlier... It's not just Nya."

Kai nodded, agreeing. He'd already assumed as such. But, it was good to have conformation, even if he didn't empathize with Cole. He liked the idea of being both with men and women.

He continued, his fears placated by Kai's understanding reaction. "I haven't been accepting of this for very long, but I've always thought you look great. You take care of yourself, your personality's warm, and inviting, and I think you'll age very well."

Putting it in those words made Kai's heart soar. "Don't put your expectations too high. Nya can tell you about all my problems, even ones that don't exist yet."

Cole let out a small laugh. Kai let himself believe it was cute, for once, without immediately back-tracking the thought. "So I've been told."

"Anyone else been catching your eye?" Asked Kai, smiling impishly. "I might just need some tips on how to look even sexier."

Cole laughed harder, sounding embarrassment. "You're killing me, Kai!"

"What? It's just common—"

Suddenly, the car slammed against something standing tall in the road. Kai flinched at the horrible, loud sound of the car's front bumper being dented, even if the car wasn't actually his. Whatever he'd hit had been the size of a person. He closed his eyes immediately, his heart sinking on instinct.

"What the fuck!?" Shouted Cole. "What the... Oh my god. We ran over an Oni!"

Sure enough, when Kai took a deep breath and re-focused, he could see an Oni, now injured, as it stood defiantly where it'd been hit. A wound on its side gushed out concentrated fog. Looking at it closely, Kai almost felt bad. The wound looked bad.

"I can't believe we can actually injure them. It just takes a freakin' car," said Kai.

"You were blazing over the speed limit," said Cole. "No wonder you don't have a license."

Kai huffed, playing offended. "And you were distracting me!"

"Sure..."

The warmth of his answer made Kai flattered, but, looking around him, he sobered up. The fog had been beginning to grow stronger. They were close to the horde. The car still ran. They had enough gas to reach the Monastery and save Ninjago.

They could figure everything out after the Oni were gone. Everyone needed them.

Only many minutes later, after they'd exited the car and used Cole's power to scale past the staircase leading to the front doors of the Monastery, not having enough time to run up them, did they see the overjoyed faces of their comrades and realize they'd arrived just in the nick of time.