Cole was woken up earlier than the other ninja the next morning to begin training. He'd convinced Sensei Wu that he'd been the one to take Destiny away from the monastery and that he should take full responsibility for not letting him know. Wu still hadn't been too pleased with Destiny, which Cole felt guilty about, but he was more than happy to take her half of the punishment since she was injured. He'd stayed up late into the night, cleaning the training arena. Afterwards, he'd gone to sleep exhausted and didn't want to wake up as early as he did, but it was a part of his punishment.

As he stepped, still bleary-eyed from sleep, into the training yard, Wu greeted him.

"Let's practice your focus," his sensei said.

Cole rubbed his eyes and nodded, stifling a yawn. "Cool."

Suddenly, his legs were swept from underneath the Earth ninja, and he landed heavily on his back. The sudden shock of colliding with the ground was enough to scare him awake.

"I hope you're more attentive now," Wu said, his voice hard. "More focus, Cole."

He nodded and got back onto his feet. "Yes, Sensei."

"Battle-ready position."

Cole raised his fists and spread his feet slightly. He stayed that way while Sensei Wu walked around him. Cole could feel Wu's footsteps through the ground, and when there was a sudden jolting vibration, Cole twisted to the left, seeing Wu's staff slam down onto the earth where he'd just been. He spun and kicked up at Wu, who ducked and then stood, walking amicably away. "Better," his mentor said. "You're a good fighter, Cole, but you rely on your strength too much."

Cole bowed his head slightly. "I know. I can't really help it, though.."

Wu tilted his head and smiled. He went to the weapons rack they had and threw Cole a scythe and some other small object. Cole caught both with finesse, and looked at the dark-colored object. After a moment, he realized it was a bracelet made of vengestone. He looked up, confused.

"But the bracelet on," Wu instructed. "You'll lose your powers and your strength. It will help to train you in being less dependent."

Cole frowned but nodded, slipping the bracelet onto his wrist and feeling the scythe become immediately heavier. He adjusted his grip on it, still not finding it difficult to handle, and looked at Wu expectantly. His sensei was standing near the golden dragon statue and flipped it up. He pressed the button twice quickly, and Cole leapt out of the way as the training equipment started whirring and rising from beneath his feet. He knelt and watched the different parts of the yard like it was his prey. He leapt to the nearest section and sliced his scythe powerfully at it, not feeling hindered at all by the vengestone on his wrist. The wood split from the impact of his hit. Cole wasn't even startled; he just continued through the equipment, running along and blocking, jumping, and slashing as he went. Soon, over half of the training yard was destroyed, but Cole sensed that Sensei still wasn't satisfied. He kept going until he was out of breath, and he stood at the edge of the mostly destroyed yard, gasping for breath while sweat dripped into his eyes.

"Good morning, Destiny," he heard Sensei Wu say.

"Good morning, Sensei."

Cole turned his head and saw his girlfriend gazing, amazed, at the wrecked equipment. "Hi," he puffed out.

"Um, hi.." She said. She looked to Wu. "What would you like me to start with today?"

Cole didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation; he leaped back at the equipment and started slashing again, letting out breathless grunts. The only way to improve is to push your limits, he told himself. So when he again felt like he couldn't breathe, he still kept practicing.

"Good, Cole," he heard Sensei Wu call. "Come and rest."

Cole felt as though his lungs were numb and would never be useful to him again. He stumbled over to Wu, light-headed, and sat down on the bench to get his breath back. When he finally felt like his lungs were actually doing something to help him live, he looked at Wu and asked, "Where's Destiny?"

His mentor nodded at the pillar. "Testing herself."

"How long has she been in there?"

"Almost a half an hour."

Cole watched the pillar anxiously. He could feel how soaked he was from his workout, but he wanted to make sure Destiny was okay. He wiped his forehead and ruffled his hair, knowing it probably looked wilder than normal. I wouldn't be surprised if my hair looked kind of like Kai's right now, he thought with a small grin.

A short time later, Destiny pushed out of the pillar and crumpled to the ground with a gasp. He watched her carefully, but in exhaustion. A few moments passed and she stood, laughing slightly as she walked shakily over to them.

"How'd I do?" Destiny asked Wu.

He watched her without much emotion. "You'll go for longer next time."

Cole cringed, knowing they'd, more so him rather than them both, truly upset their sensei. Destiny heaved a sigh and flopped onto her back, lying on the ground. Cole smiled softly and pushed himself off of the bench to lie beside her on the ground.

"Both of you rest for awhile, and then spar. No mercy." Wu instructed, and Cole watched as he left the two of them in the training yard that he'd so meticulously cleaned and then destroyed.

He saw Destiny sit up and look around. "I guess you could have waited with the cleaning. Then I could have helped you."

Cole heaved a sigh. "It took me hours to do that much damage. I'm glad you got some sleep."

"I wish you had gotten more. You must've been up really early if it took you hours," she replied.

He smiled and showed her his wrist. "It would have taken me minutes if not for this." He shrugged. "It's fine though. It was a good workout."

She stood carefully, and Cole smiled up at her. "Well, I still feel bad. I'm going to grab some water, do you want some?"

"That would be great. Thank you." After she left, he rolled over and started doing push-ups, going at a slower pace than he was used to. By the time he reached fifty, his muscles started the slow burn that he was used to, and he slowed down even more. He heard footsteps and looked up, still exercising, as Destiny came back into the yard. He let out a breath and settled himself on his knees as she handed him the water bottle. He saw her roll her eyes and grinned. "Thanks," he told her, taking a long drink.

"If you don't take a break I really will beat you when we spar." Destiny told him.

"I only got to 73," he said with a slightly breathless laugh. "I'm fine."

She shook her head and took a drink from her bottle. He stood and kissed her cheek when she was done, noticing a ring on one of her fingers, before settling with an indulgent sigh on the bench. He fidgeted with the bracelet on his wrist before slipping it off and rubbing his wrist gently.

He saw something flash, and watched as Destiny's knife stuck solidly into what was left of a sliced training dummy. "Nice throw," he told her. He took her hand and held it closer to his face, looking more closely at the ring. "When did you get this? I don't remember you wearing it before."

"I found it in my mother's clip. It was her wedding band," she replied with a smile.

"It's beautiful." He told her. He let go of her hand and leaned back on the bench, looking up at the sky. "How do you think the battle tomorrow will go?"

Destiny sighed. "I don't know. But you guys have beaten threats that are much worse. And since this is mostly my fault, I will do anything to make it right." She sighed again and looked at the ground, speaking quieter this time. "It'll take a lot more than poison to keep me from fixing my mistake. Even if I have to get thrown against a tree again."
"It isn't your fault, Destiny," he said, looking at her affectionately.

"Maybe.."

Cole sighed and put one arm over her shoulder, pulling her close enough for him to rest his head against hers. "It'll be okay. Guess what?"

"What?"

"I love you." He grinned.

"I love you too. Sensei Wu will kill us if we don't get moving though." She stood and went to retrieve her knife, turning to smile at him.

He nodded and stood. "Did you want me to put the bracelet back on to make it fair?" He asked teasingly.

"You mean, do you want me to put it on? If it's a fair fight you want." Destiny replied with a roll of her eyes.

He laughed. "I'm pretty sure Sensei has another one. Then we can battle based on skill rather than power."

"Sounds like a plan."

He nodded and tossed her the bracelet, heading over to the cabinet and rummaging for a few moments. He didn't have to search for long before he found another that looked just like the one he'd worn. He slipped it on his wrist and headed back towards Destiny. He looked at her and called, "Ready?"

"Are you?" Destiny asked, grinning and getting into battle stance.

Cole mirrored her and nodded. He took a moment and then rushed for her, flipping over her at the last second and landing on her other side, sweeping his foot in a circle to attempt and trip her. She dodged and aimed a kick at him, and he darted backwards, pushing her leg faster in the direction she was kicking. Without any thought, he aimed a punch at her face. She ducked, and he realized how much he could have hurt her. He was distracted long enough to feel her fist collide with his stomach, but knew it would likely hurt her more than it had hurt him for punching him there. He was knocked backwards slightly but darted forward, aiming to collide with her shoulder. She stumbled to the side and flipped, aiming a kick at him. He realized too late where exactly it was aimed and it collided painfully with his skull, and he stumbled backwards, seeing stars. When he could see halfway straight again, he put a hand on his head with a wince and got down onto his knees, putting the other hand up.

"I give," he told her, trying to look directly at Destiny but seeing three of her. "You win." He closed his eyes and massaged his temple.

"Are you alright?" Her voice came right by his head.

He nodded with a slight groan, opening his eyes to squint at her. "That was a hard kick," he said with a slightly forced laugh. Though he was less dizzy, his head was starting to pound, and he knew he'd probably have a headache for a while.

"Let me look at your head. I might've accidentally done some real damage."

He removed his hand from his skull and turned his head slightly, smiling. "That's one way to knock some sense into me."

"If that's how I'm supposed to knock sense into you, I think the monastery is going to need a medical room." Destiny sighed.

He smiled and laid down on his back, his face twisting in pain as he rested his head on the ground. "I'll be fine."

"I completely believe you."

He opened his eyes and saw her leaning over him, her face filled with concern. He smiled and brushed her cheeks with his fingers tenderly. Summoning a small reserve of courage, he sang softly to her, "With nothing to do but to give to you, and to give to me, love forever true.."

"So, on and on it will always be. True love, true love," Destiny sang back, and Cole felt her take his hand.

Cole closed his eyes as she sang, enjoying her voice more than he'd enjoyed anything else. When she stopped, he smiled. "Your voice is beautiful," he whispered, not wanting to break the tranquility of the scene he was seeing.

She whispered back, "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself."

"I'm horrible," he chuckled softly. "I can't sing."

"You're a little pitchy, but not horrible. Plus, if you can sing, that might mean you're feeling better." She told him with a smile.

He nodded a bit. "It was just your healing touch."

"Having fun?" The new voice startled Cole, and he winced as he jumped. He turned his head slightly to see Jay, a small smile playing on the ninja's lips.

"I may or may not have kicked him in the face." Destiny explained quickly. "But I blame it on Sensei for telling us no mercy."

"Is he okay?" Jay asked.

Cole snorted in laughter. "You're really asking that? I think I hurt Destiny more from her punching my gut than she did kicking me in the face."

Jay winced as he approached. "You only have to hit Cole's stomach once to learn not to ever do it again."

"Well, if I had my powers he'd be in worse shape. Plus, I did win, again."

"I let her win," Cole said feebly.

"Say that to my foot! Hitting your face was like kicking a brick wall!" Destiny exclaimed.

Cole laughed. "Maybe it'll learn not to kick me."

"Doubtful."

He smiled at her then looked to Jay. "You're out late."

"And you destroyed the training yard anyways, so it doesn't matter," Jay replied.

"In his defense, Sensei Wu was having him practice. Besides, it's not like you need the training yard to practice." Destiny said.

Jay rolled his eyes. "I can use them."

"Use what?"

"The equipment," Jay said. "So long as it isn't shredded."

Cole chuckled and heaved himself into a sitting position. "You think you can use it," he told him. "You don't have the slightest clue."

"I was the first one to learn Spinjitzu!" Jay exclaimed.

"That's my cue to leave. If you need me, I'll be slowly dying in that pillar."

Cole looked after her with a soft smile. He watched as she ducked back into the pillar, discarding the bracelet of deepstone. Afterwards, Sensei Wu stalked back over to him, and he felt nervousness creep into his stomach.

"Good morning, Jay." Wu said with a nod, then blinked at Cole. "On your hands. Balance for as long as you can."

Cole blinked in surprise, and asked, "With or without the bracelet?"

"With."

Cole sighed and performed a handstand, grunting slightly as he tried to find the balance. Once he did, he took a few breaths and listened to Jay talking to their Sensei.

"Good morning, Sensei."

"Could you get Kai and clean up the mess Cole made?"

"Sure."

Cole heard footsteps as Jay left, and he let out a controlled breath of air. His arms were already getting tired, but he knew that as long as he focused he could keep himself up. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, trying to imagine things that made him feel empowered. After a while, he could hear the footsteps, likely from his Sensei walking away, as they got softer and softer, though Cole could still feel the vibrations through the ground. He tried to ignore the increasing soreness of his arms and focus on his breathing, in and out for three beats each. That became quickly difficult, however, as a noise crept into his consciousness. He kept his eyes closed but listened quietly, hearing a rapid pulsing. After a moment, he thought that it might have been the stopwatch that Sensei had been using to time Destiny. But then he realized that the sound was much more muffled and quicker than that. He tried to ignore it, along with the beginnings of trembling in his arms. He shifted from hand to hand quickly, shaking each one in turn, but it didn't help much. The rapid pulsing grew louder and louder to him, and finally he opened his eyes, irritated out of his concentration.

He gasped, startled, and tried not to fall straight onto his already battered skull. A purple aura could be seen from just inside the monastery gate, and Cole swore he could see a dark figure inside. His arms screamed at him for a break, but the Earth ninja simply pushed himself onto one hand, grunting with the effort, and shook the deepstone bracelet off. Immediately after it fell off, he could feel new strength flood him, and he looked more closely at the figure. As he watched, he saw what looked like a hand extended in a "follow me" gesture, and he furrowed his brow.

I must be exhausted. This isn't a real thing, right? Cole thought dubiously. The figure made the gesture again and then pushed the monastery gate open, slipping outside. Cole stared and shook his head, blinking a few times. I'm sorry, what?

He stared at the now-open door in indecision for a few moments, then pushed himself back onto his feet. He glanced at the pillar where he knew Destiny still was, then at the stopwatch his Sensei had left. It read forty-three minutes and twelve seconds. He felt a flash of pride at Destiny's skills, then swallowed as he heard the rapid pulsing grew louder once more. He turned to see the figure peering at him through the open gate, and he took a few steps towards it. The figure stayed still for a moment, then darted out of his view. Cole made a surprised sound and followed after it, pushing the monastery door open more and looking outside. He saw the usual steps of the mountain, but also the figure racing down the stairs. Confusion and curiosity bubbling in his mind, he took off in pursuit.

As he got closer, the figure and its purple aura became harder to see. Suddenly, it disappeared from right in front of Cole's face, and he stopped running. See? You were imagining things, he told himself, although he could still hear the pulsing. He shook his head, trying to stop the pulsing from reaching his ears. Far ahead, he could see the aura appear again, and he groaned. Okay, you're going insane. Just go back inside, everything will be fine. Ignore whatever that is and take a nap. He turned and headed back up the steps, his feet beating out a quick pattern.

He was nearly to the top when suddenly everything around him turned black. He yelped, startled, and put one of his hands in front of his face. It's so dark I can't even see myself, Cole thought. Either that or I just went blind, and this is so odd that both are equally likely.

He tried to feel his way carefully forward. Suddenly, there was a sharp, stinging pain in his right arm, and he instantly clutched at it, both startled and frightened by the sudden attack. Then, just as suddenly, he could see everything again, and he nearly tripped over his own feet. His arm still hurt horribly, and he kept his hand over where the pain was worst. It throbbed through his entire arm, and he gritted his teeth as he forced himself to take the last few steps up into the monastery. He glanced at the door behind him, then decided that he hurt too much to bother attempting to close it. After a few moments of surveying the training yard while his arm pulsed painfully, he headed into the monastery housing. He was startled as he felt the pain beginning to spread from his arm into his shoulder and hand. The edges of it were creeping along his back towards his other extremities, and his arm was still in a blaze of pain. He felt a cold sweat breaking out over him as he realized the pain wasn't going to stop.

What is happening?? He thought, rushing through the hallways. He stopped at every door to see if someone was in the room that might have been able to help him. Much quicker than he would have thought possible, his entire top was alight with pain so bad that he could barely move. As he felt it working its way down to his legs, then sat down, trembling and half-delirious.

"Help?" he choked out, unsure of how loud his voice was and whether anyone was available to come to his aid. He closed his eyes as the stinging took over his whole body, unable to do anything but breathe and wish for it to pass quickly. He heard a muffled cry and felt the ground vibrating beneath him.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there, but finally the pain began to ebb, going away much quicker than it had spread. Once he was able, he took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes, staring up into the face of his girlfriend.

He blinked, confused. "Where did you come from?"

"Oh good, you're not brain dead." Destiny said with a huge sigh.

"Brain dead?" Cole asked, sitting up and looking at her. He reached forward and touched her forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

Destiny pulled away from his touch and exclaimed, "What do you mean, am I feeling okay? You're the one lying here on the ground! Are you feeling okay?!"

Cole glanced around at his surroundings and realized that he was, in fact, on the ground in the middle of the hallway. "Yeah, I'm fine.." He looked at her, completely confused. "How did I get on the floor? What was I doing?"

"That's a good question. What were you doing? Hmm, I don't know!" Destiny snapped at him.

He was slightly startled but said, "Okay, can you at least tell me why you looked so worried?"

Destiny sighed and explained, "I found you here, you were just lying on the ground. You looked like you were in pain, or worse. I would have thought you were dead, except for the breathing."

He furrowed his brow but nodded. "I don't remember being in pain.. I didn't even come over here. I was out in the training yard doing an endurance test like Sensei Wu told me to."

"Maybe my kick really did do some harm." Destiny said, her voice thoughtful. "I guess it could have made you see things.."

Cole nodded and shrugged a bit. "I feel fine. I'm sorry that I scared you."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you're alright."

The Earth ninja stood slowly and blinked at Destiny. "Aren't we going to the Dark Island soon?"

"Yes. You should probably go pack if you haven't already." Destiny said, looking annoyed.

He tilted his head at her, slightly concerned. "Destiny, is everything.." he trailed off and looked more closely at her. She'd pushed her hair back and revealed the sides of her neck, which seemed oddly discolored. "What's this?"

She quickly put her hand up to her neck and said, "Nothing! I'm fine, it's nothing."

He reached forward and gently took her hand, pulling it away from her neck and peering more closely. It looked like she'd been strangled; the red marks lined up perfectly. "I believe that you're okay," he told her softly, "but don't hide it from me, please. What happened?"

"I'd really rather not talk about it. But don't worry, it's nothing." Destiny smiled at him and turned, heading quickly away from him.

Cole, for his part, felt confused. He wasn't sure what had made her close up so quickly, but he knew that he should give her space if that's what she wanted. He frowned as he thought about the fact that he'd apparently been in pain, and he stretched, testing his body carefully. There wasn't even a whisper of pain, so he shrugged to himself and went on his way.

Cole busily attached his bag onto Slate's side. His dragon growled at him, and he stepped back with a frown. "What? You're upset at me?" Slate huffed air at him and then brushed her head against him, and Cole sighed and pet her head. "I'm fine, silly girl. We just have to focus, hm?" Slate grunted affirmatively, and Cole gave her a small smile.

Around him, the other ninja were also preparing to leave. The sky was dark, and Cole couldn't help enjoying the darkness enfolding him.

"Ninja," he heard Sensei Wu say, and turned to see him standing a small distance away from them. "This is extremely dangerous. Please be careful."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Kai asked.

"Once again, I'm staying behind." Wu answered. "Lloyd can lead you just as well as I can. Trust each other, and do not make unnecessary sacrifices." Cole thought he saw him look to Destiny as he said that, but he couldn't be sure, so he shook the thought away. "I await your safe return."

Cole nodded his head to his Sensei, then turned to Slate and clambered up her side onto her back. He waited until Lloyd took off before following, their dragons pointing immediately towards the Endless Sea, and in the midst of it, the Dark Island.