Cole woke the next morning and stretched, breaking out in a huge grin as he remembered what had happened the night before.

Lloyd noticed his good mood when they'd gotten out into the training yard. "You're happy," the hothead commented.

Cole nodded, bouncing energetically from foot to foot. "Oh, I am."

"It's good to see you smile," Lloyd chuckled.

He hummed softly to himself, going towards the weapon rack to find a new scythe. He knew that he'd lost his first one, which upset him, but he knew Sensei Wu had always kept multiples of the same weapon.

"Well," Kai said when he saw him. "That's definitely a lovestruck grin."

He shook his head while showing his teeth in a grin.

Nya came out, and she looked at him pointedly. He gave her a thumbs-up and she rolled her eyes as though saying, "Told you, rockhead."

Kai grabbed his arm. "Want to spar while you tell me what happened to make you so happy?"

He scowled playfully at the Master of Fire. "Spar, yes. Tell, no."

He'd just finished his spar with Kai when he saw Morpheus landing. He grinned as his rider jumped down from his back. "Destiny!" He called happily to her. She didn't respond, and he could see Morpheus glare at him. Confused, he started to walk over to them. Morpheus disappeared and Destiny turned to face him.

"Hi," she said, her face angry.

He stopped mid-step, his face twisting in confusion. "Uh? Is something wrong?" He reached for her arm.

She stepped back, and he watched, stung. "Yes." She looked down, her voice dismissive.

"What is it?" His hands dropped helplessly. "Whatever it is, let me fix it."

"I talked to Jay." She looked so sad that it made Cole's heart ache. "He told me you dated Nya a while ago. And, I thought to myself, why would you not tell me when I asked? I mean, you told me that you had problems, but not that you had dated."

He winced. "I didn't tell you because it was years ago. And I thought that since you were already suspicious, I thought it would just convince you Nya and I were lying.. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hidden it from you.."

"You're right. You shouldn't have. I trusted you. More than anyone else, actually. And not just that, because you didn't tell me, I have been embarrassing myself every time I talk to Nya."

As she spoke, he looked down at the ground, growing more and more ashamed as she spoke. "You have..?

"Yes! And the worst thing is, I don't know if I can trust you anymore."

The words sliced through Cole like daggers, and he watched her helplessly. "I'm sorry. If I'd known how you would've reacted I wouldn't have hidden it from you. But it's been so long that no one talks about it anymore, honestly. It just makes things awkward whenever it's brought up, because all three of us regret it."

"I had a right to know." She told him. "Then I wouldn't have looked like such a fool to Jay."

"But not even Jay told you until just now," he pointed out, suddenly angry at Jay. Did he know this would cause a problem? He wondered. Is this a last ditch-effort to keep Destiny and I apart? "Why wouldn't Jay have told you before? Technically, he should have been the one to tell you."

"He and I never discussed what really happened between Nya and him. Out of respect for his relationship! And the reason you should have told me was because you lied about it in the first place! What am I supposed to think now? Are you lying to me about other stuff too? Was last night all just to mess with me so I wouldn't look too closely at you and Nya?" Destiny looked to be angry rather than disappointed now, and he shook his head as he saw what had happened with Nya happening all over again in a much shorter time frame.

"Of course I'm not lying to you now! I don't care about Nya as anything more than a friend, and I haven't for a long time." He sighed and looked pleadingly into her eyes. "It took me a long time to realize I don't still have feelings for her, especially when I started having dreams about her. That's why I was talking to her that night. I was talking to her about my dreams and.. My mother. Why I thought I was done with love."

"I thought I was done with love when my mother died. Then I met Jay, and he was a good cousin, but he never really changed my mind. Then I met you." Destiny said, her voice deathly quiet.

He frowned at her. "This is exactly why I didn't want to admit I liked you. Exactly why I should have stayed far away from Nya. Feeling the happiness isn't worth any of the pain." He turned his head away as his voice cracked, bitterness and sorrow welling up inside him.

"You're wrong. Happiness is worth it if it lasts. Even if it's painful."

He swallowed and looked at her, sudden tears coming to his eyes. "And is this going to last?"

She replied coldly, "It might have."

He felt his jaw drop open as she turned away, and he choked back wordless protests as she left him. His bewilderment boiled into anger, and he stalked over to the dragon statue, flipping it up and pressing the button. The equipment rose from the ground, and Cole located the punching bag. He took three swings at it, and it tore. He jumped back, startled, as sand started pouring out from its side. He blinked, then scowled. Great. He took it down from the hook and let it fall to the floor, then kicked it.

"Cole."

The Earth ninja snapped, "What?" before he could register who the voice was coming from. He turned to see Sensei Wu, and his face fell.

Wu didn't seem offended, but rather his usual calm mixed with concern. "Destiny is gone."

Cole felt the rage welling in him again. "Of course she is! She's probably off on Morpheus scheming on how to get back at me or something-"

"No, Cole," Wu said, grabbing his arm. "She's gone, as in Grimfax and his warriors have her."

He snapped instantly to attention. "Wait, what?"

"Jay found her clip on the ground just outside of the monastery."

He started to panic and protest that maybe she'd just dropped it, but stopped himself. That was from her mother. She never would have dropped it accidentally. He looked at his Sensei with steely determination. "Where am I going to get her back?"