"Lloyd!" Cole shot straight up in bed, and passed right through, so part of him was on the floor. "Ugh!"

He managed to wiggle out of his predicament and stumble through the door, not bothering to open it. There wasn't any point.

He ran out onto the deck of the Bounty, passing straight through Zane in the process.

"Cole, what has got you in such a rush?" The Nindroid seemed unfazed by the sudden intrusion. Cole, on the other hand, felt all tingly, like the complicated machinery had somehow shocked him.

Kai and Jay stopped jumping in the air to see what was going on. The ghost was all flustered, unable to form complete sentences.

"Dream...mind...Morro...Lloyd...trouble...really big problem!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down. Cole, what about Lloyd and Morro? Tell us slowly." Jay's voice angered him slightly, especially since his talk with Nya.

"Funny," he said, unable to help himself. "I have to talk slowly for the mouth of Lightning. Good one."

The Blue Ninja's face turned red, and he opened his mouth to retort back, when Nya and Wu appeared.

"Knock it off, guys, leave Cole alone." At Nya's remark, the Earth Ninja smirked at Jay, who crossed his arms and looked away.

"What did you see, Cole?" He brushed off the fact Wu knew he'd had a vision. It was Sensei Wu. The old man probably had a vision of him having a vision.

"I saw Lloyd and Morro. From the way he was talking, I think I was in their mind. Anyway, Lloyd had set something up, locked himself in him own head, an is...electrocuting himself to keep him awake, 'cause if he falls asleep, Morro has full control." Cole paused in his story. "He's been without sleep for days. He looked ready to drop from exhaustion. But he's still holding Morro back. Lloyd's still fighting. He...he told me to do what we must to stop Morro, and to not worry about him."

"What? That's ridiculous! We're trying to save Lloyd and stop Morro, not one or the other!"

Cole looked the Fire Ninja in the eye. "I don't know, Kai. He looked pretty serious."

"How could you even say that? You're supposed to be on our side, not theirs. Maybe you turning into a ghost has affected your loyalties!"

The Earth Ninja stumbled back, shocked at Kai's outburst. "I...I didn't mean it like that, I just–"

"What did you mean, then? 'Cause it sounded to me that you were sacrificing Lloyd for the sake of stopping Morro."

"But that's what he wants–"

"So? Lloyd is family, and family is the number one priority. Maybe you're not fit to be part of the family anymore!"

"Kai! That is enough," Sensei roared, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Cole raced off, back to his room, through the locked door. He didn't even bother to get into bed. He just curled up on the floor and began to sob.

Instead of crying tears of water, though, a glowing, neon green substance poured from his eyes, pooling into a sticky puddle beneath him. He felt like he lay there for hours, just replaying that moment over and over in his mind. His fear of failing the team had just come true.

No one else had made a comment, but the fact that they hadn't until things had gone too far told Cole that they all felt the same way. Nya's betrayal hurt the most. She had helped him, convinced him that no one cared that he'd changed. But when he'd finally worked up the courage to face them it had blown up in his face. They had practically disowned him. It had ruined him.

When he heard a knock on his door, he just curled in on himself more and tried to stifle his sobs. He didn't want whoever was there to know how weak he was. How broken.

"Cole. Cole open up."

Kai. What was he doing here? Sensei had probably sent him to apologize. That didn't mean he meant it, though. This was like with Zane when they all were just starting to work together. Zane was strange, weird. They criticized him. As a result, they lost the Monastery, and nearly lost the Ice Ninja himself. But, as a result they found the Destiny's Bounty. The perfect Ninja headquarters.

What good could come out of this? He was a ghost. A part of the opposing army. A damaged link in the team. He wasn't needed, or wanted. All he needed was a bucket of water and this would all be over. When he'd first gotten back to the ship, he'd stuck his hand under the bathroom faucet as an experiment. For the first second he felt nothing. Then his hand began to steam and burning, fiery pain erupted.

He discovered why other ghosts never went near the substance. It hurt. With enough of it, he could definitely be banished to the Cursed Realm.

"Cole, come on, open the door. You don't even have to get up. Nya told me about your new power."

Of course she did.

"Go away, Kai. Sensei obviously sent you here. I don't need to hear it."

"Actually, he didn't. I came to apologize myself."

"Sure you did."

"I'm serious. What I said earlier...it was uncalled for. We will always need you. You are a part of this family. It wouldn't be complete without you. I let my emotions rule my head. I...I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

Wow. For the hotheaded Fire Ninja swallow his pride like that and apologize...he must really mean it. Cole stood, sniffing. He passed through door to stand in front of Kai. The Red Ninja appeared unfazed by his sudden appearance.

"Thank you, Kai. I can tell you really mean it. I was your leader, remember? I can read all of you like an open book."

"And I am your brother," Kai placed a hand on his shoulder, and Cole made himself solid in time for the hand to not go through. "I can tell when you're hurting. I am genuinely very sorry. It's kind of like what happened with Zane, before we found out he was a robot.

Cole cracked a smile. "I was thinking the same thing." He smile faded. "But, as a result of us being mean to Zane, we found the Bounty. What good could come out of me being a ghost?"

The Red Ninja thought for a second, and, in that time, The Earth Ninja's hopes crashed. Then Kai spoke again, well, more shouted.

"I got it! You said Morro took you to his mind right? So, you have some sort of a connection now. What if you used that to, first, see how Lloyd is doing, and, second, figure out what Morro is up to! We could know what he plans before he does it, and we can prepare for it. You can be a like some sort of spy!"

Cole wasn't so sure. "But I can barely control my new form as it is. I got stuck through the bed not too long ago. How am I going to sneak into our number one enemy's mind without him detecting me? Lloyd might be able to help, but he's worn out as is. I don't want to put more strain on him."

"Then you can train for it! How about you form a link with me? Then, you can practice looking into my mind randomly, without me knowing. When I can't tell, you'll be ready!"

"Aright, but I'm still kind of reluctant. Maybe we should go ask Sensei if this is safe. I don't want to hurt you. Plus...I don't know how to open a link."

Kai looked a little...put out, but he agreed. The two Ninja made their way toward Wu's quarters, but were intercepted.

"Hey, guys, where are you going?" Kai greeted his sister with a friendly smile while Cole just looked at the ground. He still hadn't gotten over the immense betrayal he felt toward the beautiful Water Ninja. It just hurt even more that he also loved her.

"Just going to see Sensei," Kai responded, oblivious to the Earth Ninja's torment beside him. "We've come up with something awesome! It'll be even more awesome if it works!"

"Cool." Nya turned to him. "You alright there, Cole? You look a little green...no pun intended."

"Yeah, I'm just fine," Cole replied, a little malice dripping into his voice. To Kai, he whispered, "Can we go?"

Kai gave him a strange look, but shrugged it off. "Alright sis, we better get going. But I want to hear how your training is going later, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, but she smiled. "Fine, Kai. I'll leave you alone. You don't want to leave Sensei waiting." She left, closing the door to her own room.

When they reached the right door, Kai knocked on it, and when Sensei didn't immediately respond, Cole worried they were interrupting something important.

"Come in!" The old man's voice sounded tired, like he hadn't had sleep in days. Like Lloyd.

"Hello, Sensei," the Earth Ninja said, and him and the Fire Ninja bowed before entering the room. "We came to ask you about something."

"Oh?" Wu arched an eyebrow, sounding mildly surprised.

Kai launched into his explanation, since it was his idea. Sensei looked thoroughly surprised when he was done, but the expression quickly changed into one of intense thought.

"That might actually work," he said. "It's brilliant. We would always have the upper hand."

"But there's one issue," Cole said, standing firm when Sensei's intense gaze locked on him. "I don't know how to open a link."

"I can teach you." Both Ninja were shocked.

"But...but you're not a ghost. How do you know how do it?" Kai eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

"When you're as old as I am, you pick up a thing or two through the years. Yes, I will teach you, Cole. Right now, as a matter of fact. We cannot afford to delay. Lloyd's life could depend on it"

That hardened the ghosts resolve. "What do I do?"

"First," Wu sat down, legs crossed in a meditative position. Cole copied. "You must open your mind to the other beings around you. Relax. Let their consciousnesses mingle with yours."

Cole took a deep breath, and relaxed, closing his eyes. He let go of all his troubles, all his doubts, his conflicting feelings. He let it all go, becoming one with himself, his soul no longer anchored by all the hardship.

Suddenly, a bright light glowed in front of him. It was pure white, in the shape of figure that looked suspiciously like Sensei Wu. Even his symbolic straw hat was there, also white. But, sitting next to the figure, was another one. It was like a shadow, a deep purple color. The figure looked familiar, but he could not place it without any illuminating features.

To his left, standing, unlike the one before him, was a fiery red silhouette, spiky hair and everything. Clearly Kai. He looked down at himself, and gasped.

His own soul was brown with flecks of black. Just like the earth, but that's not what shocked him. Immediately to his left, sitting next to him was a green figure that outlined Lloyd. It was faded, though. Every other was solid, but Lloyd's was partially transparent. The Green Ninja didn't have much time left.

To his right was the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen. It was vaguely humanoid, and pitch black with swirls of a dark, dark green. It was huge, a brute. It felt like he was sitting next to a black hole. Morro's desire and greed to become the Green Ninja had corrupted his soul to the point of no return.

"Cole, reach out to Kai. Connect with him. Find common ground. Become one. Then your link will be formed." Sensei's voice sounded as if he was hearing it from underwater.

The Earth Ninja did as he was asked, though, and reached out to the fiery soul. Finding common ground was easy. They were brothers, fighting and growing beside each other for years. And since Lloyd was in danger, they both had a fierce desire to rescue him. That's why they'd made this plan in the first place.

Cole began to feel pins and needles all over his body. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the red silhouette begin to fidget. Kai must be feeling it as well.

Very slowly, Cole watched as another version of himself appeared standing next to the figure. He turned around, and there was the figure again.

"You have succeeded. Congratulations, Kai, Cole. You have now formed a nearly unbreakable bond with each other. This will only make you closer. You have done well."

Cole opened his eyes, and he was back in Sensei Wu's room. No souls, no distorted voices. He stood, only for an immense wave of dizziness to wash over him. "Ugh, how long have I been sitting there?"

"About two hours," Kai replied, his impatience leaking into his voice.

"Really? It only felt like two minutes." He stood straight, ignoring the spinning room. "So we formed this link, then?"

"Yes, but there is something I must tell you about this connection." Both Ninja crowded closer to hear their Sensei, whose voice had dropped into a low whisper.

"Over time, as you grow closer, so will this bond. But the side-effects of a stronger bond are quite serious."

"Then stop dancing around the subject and tell us what they are!" Wu glared at the Fire Ninja for his outburst, but continued on.

"You'll begin to feel what the other feels. Like, say, Kai got punched in the stomach Cole will feel as if he was punched, too. Eventually, you'll be one soul split into two bodies. You'll feel each other's emotions, desires, pain. You'll be able to sense what the other is doing and where he is. You'd become each other. One couldn't survive without the other."

"What about my connection with Lloyd and Morro? Will that eventually fade after we defeat Morro? Or will I be as connected to both of them as I now am to Kai?" He really didn't want to a share a soul with the other ghost. He'd seen the one he already had. He didn't want to become that.

"I don't think that is a real link," Sensei said after a bit of thought. "Only a temporary one, meant to mess with your head. For real links, you must find something in common that you both firmly believe in. I doubt Morro found anything like that. This temporary one will last for a while, but it won't cause permanent effects."

"One more thing," Cole said. "Can we not tell the others about this quite yet? I'm not sure how they'd take it. It seems a bit too soon to drop something like this on them."

"I agree with Cole. Could we just...wait a bit? They'll find out eventually, just not now."

"If that is what you wish, I will respect it." Sensei inclined his head toward the door. "Now go. I still have some meditation to finish up."

The old man turned around, and Kai headed toward the door. "Cole, you coming?"

"Not yet. There's one more thing I've got to ask him."

Kai shrugged. "Alright. I'll wait for you out here. I wanna talk about all this before we face the others."

Cole nodded. "I'll only be a minute." He closed the door. It had just clicked in his head who the mystery soul was in the room. It also explained a lot of Sensei's behavior over the past few years.

"You have a bond with your brother, don't you? With Garmadon."

The question shocked Sensei so bad that he nearly dropped his teapot. But Cole was oblivious to this action, and continued on.

"I saw him when I was meditating. He was sitting right next to you, completely purple while you were white. He had looked familiar, but I couldn't place it until now. It explains why you were always so determined to convince us he wasn't a bad guy when we thought he was the Dark Lord. You knew he wasn't. You two are more than brothers. Tell me I'm wrong."

Sensei sighed, and, with trembling hands, Cole noted, set down his teapot.

"Just how long have you had that bond?" The question asked itself. Cole just voiced it. It had already been ringing in the air.

"Since before he was bitten by the Great Devourer. Only a month before, in fact. Our father had asked us to do it. We didn't have to, but, as I've said before, we were always more than brothers. We were best friends. We just took it to the next level. We decided to become one.

"Making such a serious decision at our age was a regular occurrence. He was eleven while I was only seven. Lloyd's age when we first discovered his potential. Sometimes, for many weeks, our father would leave us to take care of the Monastery while he went on one of his numerous trips. We had to cook for ourselves, train ourselves. We even taught ourselves Spinjitzu. But when Garmadon was bitten, everything changed.

"It hadn't been quite long enough for us to feel each other's emotions clearly, but we could feel them. I felt the betrayal, anger, and overwhelming evil consume my brother as he lay in bed, our father watching over him as I looked on from the doorway.

"Those feelings subsided, though, as we grew older. Yes, they were most certainly still there, but, for the most part, he was still the brother I loved dearly. It wasn't till we met Misako. I was nineteen and he was twenty-three. By now we were one, able to sense everything the other felt, saw, and heard. It only made sense we both fell in love with her.

"When I wrote that letter, while Garmadon had gone off to train at Chen's Island, I felt sure that I'd win her over. I felt waves of guilt rolling off him though days later. He'd shut me out, building walls higher than ever before. I knew he'd done something. But I couldn't figure out what.

"Garmadon then told me through the connection that the love of both our lives had chosen him. I was devastated that my words seemed to have no effect in swaying her heart, but forced myself to be happy for him. Not many good things happened to him in his life, so when they announced they were engaged and Misako was pregnant I was both overjoyed and heartbroken at the same time. I officially had lost the battle.

"The walls seemed to crumble after they were married and fell all together when Lloyd was born. It was a heart wrenching thing to happen. I let my own walls fade, and, for the first time in years, we were one again.

"But then the transformation was complete. Garmadon's skin went from vampire-white to pure black in a matter of hours. His sudden desire to possess the Golden Weapons drove him to the near brink of insanity as we fought. I told Misako to run with their child, run and never come back. And that's exactly what she did. I didn't hear any more of my nephew or sister-in-law until the day Lloyd opened the Hypnobrai tomb."

Cole just stood, in rapt attention, as Wu told his story. He was transfixed by the tale. And it made sense, too, explaining why the two were always so protective of each other, even when they were on opposite sides.

"That...You...I just have no words. I'm flattered you trust me enough to tell me this. It must've been hard to open up like that after holding it in for so many years."

The old man looked ready to drop. He stood, but almost fell, and would've if Cole didn't catch him and help him upright. "Okay, you need to get some rest."

Sensei began mumbling to himself. "Yes, I think I will." He made his way over to the bed in the corner of the room with Cole's help. Just as the Earth Ninja was about to leave his sensei's side, Wu muttered, "Thank you, brother. You always look after me."

Cole smiled. Even dimensions apart those two were still looking out for each other. It was quite beautiful to watch. He wondered if Kai and him will ever end up like that. He exited the room and closed the door behind him, giving the younger brother some much needed time off and rest.

"What took you so long?" Kai was leaning against the door frame, impatience written everywhere in his body language. "You said you'd only be a minute. That was more like fifteen."

"Sorry," Cole said after he'd closed the door. "The response took longer than expected."

"Well, let's get going, now. It's Zane's night to cook. I don't want to miss out."

The two started down the hall toward the dining room, an uneasy silence between them. Neither knew what to do now that they were bound so closely. Eager to break it, Cole tried an experiment, reaching along the link until he could see the Fire Ninja's thoughts. Every single one of them was an image of different meals Zane had made.

'Wow, Kai,' he said, aloud and in his head. 'If you love Zane's food so much, why don't you marry it?'

Kai jumped a mile at the sudden voice in his head. "Don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Then I have done my job, the Earth Ninja said, smirking. "But in all seriousness, we should practice before we meet the others. Here, you try reaching out to me."

Kai's face screwed up in concentration. Suddenly, he felt another presence in his mind, and a quiet 'hi' echoed. The sensation made him feel tingly and strange.

"Good," he exclaimed, holding back the sigh of relief as the Red Ninja left his head. "Now we can communicate."

They entered the dining room, which contained only Nya, Jay, and Misako. Zane must still be in the kitchen.

Jay leaned over and whispered something into Nya's ear, and she laughed. Cole's fists clenched.

He pushed his resentment aside, though, to keep Kai from sensing it, and sat on the other side of the Water Ninja. Surprise, an emotion that was not his own, flowed through his mind and he turned to see Kai raise an eyebrow at him. The Earth Ninja just patted the seat next to him, and Kai obliged, sitting next to him.

"Where's Sensei," Nya asked, turning to face them. "Weren't you two going to see him?"

"We were," Cole said, preventing Kai from saying anything, "But he was asleep. We didn't want to wake him."

"That is highly unusual," Zane commented, finally leaving the kitchen, arms stacked with different foods. "Sensei never misses a meal."

"Yeah, especially one of yours," Jay said, staring at the platters on Zane's arms, drooling. "Uh, heheh, you mind setting those down so we can start?"

Dinner started and Cole jumped slightly when he felt Kai enter his mind. 'Sensei isn't really asleep, is he?'

'Actually, he is," Cole replied through the same method. 'I'll explain later.'

The evening meal went by as normal except for three things: one, Wu wasn't there. Two, Misako never said a word. She'd barely spoke at all since Lloyd's possession, and three, Jay kept whispering to Nya.

The Black Ninja clenched his fist again as the Blue Ninja leaned over once more, and whatever he said caused Nya to burst out laughing. Why the conniving little–

'Calm down, Cole. I had no idea you still had feelings for my sister. Is that why you were acting weird when we met her in the hall?'

The ghost sighed. 'Yeah. I never really let it go. I was just tired of fighting with him. But he still aggravates me. Like right now.' Cole ground his teeth together as Jay whispered once more. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him. He smiled, and sent other message to the Ninja beside him.

'Watch this.'

Cole waited until Jay picked up one of his shrimp. It was one of the Lightning Ninja's favorite foods. Just as he was lifting it to his mouth, Cole used his poltergeist powers to make him miss, so the shrimp went up his nose instead.

Everyone busted up laughing, minus Misako, but even she cracked a smile. Jay just looked dumbfounded. He lifted another piece, only for Cole to make it go into the other nostril. The four other Ninja just laughed harder.

'Okay, that was pretty funny.' Even in thought form Kai's voice was breathless from laughter. In between her fits of laughter, Nya gathered up enough air to ask, "Jay, what has gotten in to you?"

He just gave her a black stare, the shrimp still up his nose. "I...don't know."

"Jay" then proceeded to start pulling out the shrimp and then sticking them back up his nose repeatedly, the dumb, mouth-open look on his face only making the group laugh harder.

Cole was laughing so much he didn't have the focus to continue controlling Jay's hands. They dropped to the Blue Ninja's sides, and he just watched them. Kai was wiping away tears when the group finally calmed down.

"Jay," he said, still breathless, "You have outdone yourself. I never thought I'd see that." He chuckled again.

'Cole...'

The Earth Ninja sat straight up. That voice...was that...Lloyd?

'Cole...can you hear me?'

Another voice came through, Kai's. 'What's wrong? I'm getting something, but I can't make it out.'

"It's Lloyd..." Cole whispered, speaking allowed. "But...how?"

'Cole, please answer me! I don't have the strength to keep this up much longer!'

'I'm here, Lloyd. But...how are you doing this?'

'Morro set me free for the moment. I passed out as soon as I was, though, so I don't know where we are. Sorry.'

'No, that's...that's great! What's he doing?'

'I don't know what they're saying, I'm too far up to hear, but he's having some sort of conference with the three other ghosts he summoned.'

'Wait...up?'

'Yeah. I'm being held in cage above them. Venge Stone. As if I could use my powers right now anyway.'

"Cole, what going on? Why are you so quiet?" Jay's voice broke through, snapping the Earth Ninja's concentration and severing the connection with Lloyd.

'Lloyd? Lloyd! Are you still there?'

'I'm losing connection! I won't have the strength to do this a second time! Just know I'm alright, for the moment, but Morro is planning something. Something big.' The Green Ninja's voice faded out completely.

Cole's anger grew. If Jay hadn't interrupted me, I could've found at more. Out loud, he shouted, temper flaring.

"Why do you have to ruin everything," he snapped at the Lightning Ninja. "That was Lloyd! I was talking to Lloyd! He had information on what Morro was planning, but, thanks to your annoying voice, I lost my train of thought, and the connection broke! He doesn't have the strength to hold up another mental conversation! So thank you, Jay, thank you! You just ruined our best chance at figuring out what Morro was doing!"

"How was I supposed to know," Jay shot back, ducking plate as he stood. Everything was flying around the room because of Cole's anger. He could keep the new power in check. "You were just sitting there! I can't read your mind! {Heh.} Maybe you should've said something!"

"I did," Cole yelled back, now standing as well. More items flew into the air and went even faster. "But if you hadn't been so busy listening to the sound of your own voice and kept whispering to Nya maybe you would've heard me!"

Jay's face grew bright red, whether from anger or embarrassment he didn't know, nor did he care. He was furious. The resentment he'd been holding back for years flowed out.

"What were you even whispering to her about, huh? Come on, spit it out!" When Jay didn't respond Cole continued. "How come you can't say it to us? Huh? Aren't we supposed to be a team? Aren't we supposed to be brothers? Didn't we make a pact no more secrets? Huh?"

Jay continued to stare at his feet, face still red. The flying items flew faster, responding to the pure rage crackling through Cole's system. Unbeknownst to the ghost, though, one of the zooming plates knocked over a cup, spilling water everywhere.

"It's none of your business, Cole!" Nya stood up as well, defending the Blue Ninja. Cole took a step back, momentarily stunned. Why would she stand up for him? Unless...she's already chosen him.

Suddenly, Nya gasped, and she stared at him. Cole, confused, just stared back. Why is she looking at me like that? Then Kai's voice filled his head.

'Cole, you're standing in a puddle of water!'

Cole, jumped back, but the damage had been done. A pain burning at the heat of a thousand suns overloaded his systems, and, instinctively to get the pressure off his feet, he jumped in the air and began to float a few inches above the earth. The burning eased but was still there. He had to bite his lip to keep from screaming.

The flying things all crashed to the floor as his body began to steam. The others were all crowded around him, even Jay, who'd he'd been awful to a few seconds ago. The Lightning Ninja's eyes were wide with worry.

Zane was saying something, but he couldn't hear it. His ears were ringing. He felt extremely vulnerable. So he did the only thing that made sense in his conflicting mind.

Cole turned and ran.

He flew, to more accurately put it, as it still hurt too much to be in contact with anything solid. Flying was much faster, anyway. He sped into his room and collapsed once more, and continued to mourn the loss of his body, the grief renewed and he began to cry.