By the end of their first lesson with Wu, Cole was too excited about going back to be able to focus on anything else. All that night, all the next morning, all the next day, he couldn't wait to return to their training. And so it continued, every day after, he and the others found themselves waiting out the whole day until the time when they could return to that mysterious place.

Their training was simple, for now, though they often questioned their teacher about learning the Spinjitzu technique he had demonstrated to them. He simply told them that the harder they trained, the sooner they would be ready to learn it.

Now, it was about a week after they had started, and the boys were starting to become good friends. For the most part, anyway.

Kai and Jay were in the middle of practicing a move they'd learned the day before while they waited for Wu to show up. Cole was standing off to the side, watching until one of them was ready to switch out with him. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Zane.

"I just arrived and saw you watching them practice. I assumed you were waiting to spar with one of them, so I thought I should ask if you would like to practice with me instead?"

Cole hesitated. He didn't want to be rude, but . . . well, he was already learning that Zane was a bit different than the others. "Um, thanks Zane, but I was really just watching,"

"Oh, I see. Still, I believe that Sensei Wu would want us to train while we wait."

"Really, it's fine. I practice a lot at home, so . . ." Technically this was true, though he didn't get much opportunity to practice without his father seeing.

Zane nodded. "That's alright, then. I will just practice by myself." Guilt gnawed at Cole as he watched Zane move off to another area and start going through a series of motions by himself. Maybe he should have agreed to help Zane. But there was just something about him that made Cole uncomfortable. He always took things literally, and that made it hard to joke with him. And the way he would stand in the background sometimes and just watch everything, it wasn't normal.

When Wu arrived, Cole tried to shove the thoughts aside so he could focus on the lesson. He noticed their sensei's eyes flit from Zane to the other three, and Cole was worried that he might get angry for not letting him join them. But he said nothing as they assemble in front of him, and their lesson began.

Cole had suspected that Jay and Kai felt the same way about Zane that he did, but with a bit of remorse lingering in the back of Cole's mind, he was noticing it more today. At one point, when Jay tried to make conversation with him, Zane turned it from casual to rather formal, and their banter quickly died out. And when Kai make a joke to Cole, Zane cut in, clearly not understanding the point of the joke, or that it was a joke at all. Kai silently pointed at Zane and made a cuckoo motion with his hand. Cole didn't laugh.

Finally, when they were done, Cole found that he was relieved, for once, to be leaving. But sensei Wu stopped them before they could go. "Kai, Jay, Cole. I would like to speak with you three." Cole felt his face burn with shame as he approached his teacher. He had hoped Wu would forget about what he saw earlier, but it seemed he hadn't.

"Would any of you care to explain to me why you have been ignoring Zane?"

The three boys exchanged glances before Kai spoke up for them. "Sensei, Zane's . . . weird." He kept his voice low so it wouldn't echo on the cavernous walls and reach Zane's ears.

Their teacher glared at them, making the boys shrink back. "What is 'weird'?" he asked sternly. "Someone who is different, or someone who is different than you?"

"No, Sensei, he's weird weird," Cole explained, feeling a little defensive.

"We like the guy," Kai added hurriedly. "He's really smart, he's just . . . a little off sometimes."

"Zane is a brother. And brothers are often different. I should know."

"Do you have a brother?" Jay asked curiously, all traces of fear gone.

Wu was silent for a moment. The only thing that could be heard was the crackling fire of the torches. Cole threw a glance over his shoulder to see that Zane was meditating. He didn't think he'd ever seen a kid meditate before.

"Zane come here," Wu called. Zane hopped up and walked over to join them. "Sit," their sensei commanded, and they formed a half circle in front of him.

Wu kneeled and laid his staff across his knees. "I do have a brother," he began solemnly. "Or rather, I used to. He is still alive, but he has not been a brother to me for many years."

"What'd he do?" Jay prodded. All of their eyes were wide and they leaned forward on the hard floor with interest.

Wu remained silent for another moment, thoughtful, as if events from the past were playing through his mind. Finally, he continued with a hint of resentment. "My brother has always thought he was better than me. He was always my father's favorite. But my father couldn't see how selfish and destructive he truly was, so he entrusted him with weapons of great power. In the wrong hands, they could be very dangerous. My my brother wanted to use the weapons for himself, so I planned to take them out of his reach. When he found out, however, he became angry and banished me here." 

"Banished? Is that why . . . ." Cole trailed off as a few things about their sensei began making more sense.

Wu nodded. "That is why I can never leave this place, and why my appearance is not so pleasant to look at. But more importantly, it is why I chose to take you four under my wing and created a place, a team, where your skills would be appreciated, where you can learn to defend yourselves and the people who are good to you. As I told you, brothers are often different. My brother allowed that to tear us apart. I expect you four to make each other stronger."

Cole exchanged a glance with Kai and Jay, and he could see his guilt reflected in their expressions. Wu got back to his feet. "It's time you all went home. Consider what I've told you today, and I expect that tomorrow will be better." He looked pointedly at the three before walking away as the portal opened up behind them.

. . . 

Garmadon and Misako had finally decided on what they wanted to do with the golden weapons: Garmadon would hide them all across Ninjago with beastly guardians to keep them safe and a single map to reveal their locations in case they were ever needed again. Now that the preparations had been made, it was time to carry the weapons to their new homes.

Of course, Misako and Lloyd were going to come with him. They planned to travel together on foot to towns near each location, where wife and son would stay while Garmadon made the more dangerous journey to hide the weapons. It was going to be a long trip, but Garmadon was just thankful for the company.

All packed and ready to start the journey, Garmadon waited for his wife at the front doors of the monastery amongst all the luggage. His son, almost two years old now, was still very tired from his nap and was starting to fall asleep again on Garmadon's shoulder.

The burdened man sighed to himself. He couldn't look at his own son anymore without thinking of the weight that he carried, too. Ever since Misako had told him what she'd discovered about the prophecy, Garmadon couldn't help but feel responsible for dragging both of them into all this. After all, it was his family line that seemed to be forever cursed to battle between good and evil. Little Lloyd's destiny and anything that happened as a result came from his father. If he had known this was going to happen, he never would have brought a child into this world with such a fate.

Garmadon was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of his wife crossing the courtyard toward them. "All ready?" he asked her.

She nodded. "I think so. Have you double-checked that we have everything like I asked?"

"Of course, of course," Garmadon reassured her.

But instead of looking reassured, Misako frowned. "Then where are the nunchucks?"

Garmadon followed her gaze to where the weapons had been lain out on a cloth to be wrapped up for easy carrying. Or rather, the sword, the scythe, and the shurikens were. "They should be right here," he mumbled, glancing at the surrounding mess for any sign of them.

"Uh-oh," Lloyd exclaimed, suddenly more awake. "Daddy loss'em!"

Misako held out her arms. "Go on and look," she said, nodding back towards the monastery.

Garmadon resentfully handed her Lloyd, knowing that she was probably right, as always. As he hurried back up the steps and through the sliding doors, Misako smiled and shook her head.

"What are we going to do with him?" she asked the toddler.

"Timeout?" Lloyd suggested helpfully.

Misako laughed. "I think you might have the right idea."