Son of the Raging Tide

Chapter 4

Kai paused at the open doorway to Cole's room on the Bounty. Cole sat on the end of his bed, his back turned to Kai. The team had recently returned from Yang's Temple with some grim news. They had gotten the scroll of Airjitzu, but at a price.

Now Cole was green and he glowed and technically, he was dead. Kai could see right through him, as if his friend was an illusion that would disappear with one wrong move. Kai had never known his friend to seem so fragile before. He was, quite literally, unearthly.

Kai knocked on the doorway to announce his presence. "How you feeling, Cole?"

"In case you haven't heard, I'm a ghost," Cole said bitterly. He balled his hands into fists, fists that were usually strong enough to pickup cars and punch through walls, but now passed through everything like the wind through the trees.

Kai walked slowly closer, wondering if he should try to make a joke out of it, but it was probably too soon for that.

"And don't tell me we can fix this, 'cause we can't." Cole reached out for a teacup in front of him, but his fingers passed uselessly through it. "This is just . . . who I am now." He flopped onto his back. "I don't feel anything anymore."

Kai's heart twisted with empathy, and he suddenly realized that his idea to try and cheer Cole up might have been a terrible one. "Can you still taste anything . . . ?" he asked hesitantly.

Cole turned his head, finally noticing the plate of cupcakes that Kai was holding.

"Brought these from the tea shop. I thought . . . they were supposed to help . . ."

Cole sat up and Kai sat down beside him, not really sure what to do with the cupcakes now. He set them next to teacup.

"Even if I could pick it up, I'm almost afraid to try," Cole said. "I don't know what I'd do with myself if . . ." He sighed again before turning back to Kai. "Nice gi. It suits you."

Kai fiddled with the hem of his sleeve. "It feels different than I thought it would. Kinda stiff. And I don't think it fits very well."

"You'll get used to it. In fact, you'll probably get so used to it you'll forget about everything else in your wardrobe. I think we've all accidentally gone out on the streets in our gis before." He sounded like he was trying to make a joke, but his face remained somber. Silence fell between them.

Kai scratched his head. What to say? He wanted more than anything to cheer up his brother, to convince him that everything was going to be alright and give him hope for the future. But Cole had a point. What if this lasted forever?

After another few moments, Kai said, "You remember when we found out that Zane was a robot?"

Cole nodded slowly. "Feels like ages ago."

"Yeah. Sometimes I forget that we every thought he was human. Sometimes I wonder how we didn't figure it out sooner." That, at least, earned a small smile from Cole. Kai pressed on. "I remember when you guys came back, and Zane pulled me aside to explain everything and even showed me all those switches in his chest. It was pretty shocking, but I still remember what I told him that day." He met Cole's gaze. "I told him that no matter what he's made of, he's still my brother."

"Same Zane," Cole said, half to himself. "Just more gears."

"Exactly." Kai rubbed his hands together, choosing his words carefully. "I don't know what you're going through, but I bet it probably feels like the end of everything you ever knew. But you're still the same Cole, and we're still your family, and we're all here to help you figure this thing out. Maybe everything is different now, but . . . you'll get used to it. Just like how I'll get use to being a . . . water ninja." It still felt weird to say out loud.

Cole nodded, but Kai couldn't guess what he was thinking. "Thanks, Kai."

More silence passed between them until Kai finally asked, "Sensei keeps telling me that I have to be like water, but I still can't figure out how to do that. Do you think I'm anything like water?"

"Sure."

Kai quirked an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected Cole to be so certain.

Cole shrugged. "I mean, yeah, you and your sister are both kind of hot-heads. And I guess she's not even as impulsive as you are. But . . ." His features contorted as if he was searching the air for the words he needed to explain himself. "Let's put it this way: Nya's always ready to fight. Anyone for practically any reason. And when we first met, I thought you're sister had all the gusto and you were just a simple villager."

Now Kai was looking at him like he was crazy. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Okay, look, I've seen you about to throw down when one of us was in danger or something, even back when you didn't know the first thing about fighting technique. But beyond that, you don't really strike me as the fighting type. Nya's always been happy to be a ninja, but you never really seemed interested. Even now, I know the only reason you're doing this is for Lloyd. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, between the two of you, you're the more peaceful one at heart."

Kai was dumbfounded. He'd never thought of himself as 'peaceful' before.

Cole was still going. "If you hadn't been captured by Garmadon, and Nya hadn't insisted on moving you guys to the monastery with us, I think you would have been happy to live in your little village making weapons for the rest of your life."

That was somewhat true. Kai hadn't been looking for anything beyond Ignacia when all this started, and while some of the adventures his friends had sounded fun – and, admittedly, the few he'd been a part of were pretty exciting as well – he'd still been too focused on blacksmithing to consider becoming a part of what they did.

"And like just now," Cole added. "Even when my world seems like it's falling apart, you know exactly what to say. I guess when things are going pretty bad, your presence is just . . . peaceful."

"Huh." And yet, it didn't answer Kai's question. 'Peaceful' wasn't exactly a word that he would have used to describe the water. Of course he knew that most people thought of it that way, but it wasn't how Kai felt, and it wasn't something he could identify with.

"Hey, guys." They both turned to see Nya at the doorway. She wore a Deepstone gi like the others, but with red trim. "Misako's ready to debrief everyone on the next clue."

"Thanks, sis. We'll be there soon."

"Wow, Kai, never thought I'd see you in a gi! I love the color."

"Thanks," he said half-heartedly as she walked away.

"Thank you, Kai." Cole got up and Kai followed suit. "At least if I have you guys, I know I'll be alright." He pulled Kai in for a hug, and Kai tried to hug him back, but his arms just went straight through him. For the first time, Kai had the thought that he might have been able to prevent this if he had been at the temple. Sensei Wu was right. Kai's friends needed him. And the longer it took for him to master his element, the more people would get hurt. 

. . .

A/N: *coughcough*brotp*coughcough*

 I always saw Kai as, like, a torch that guides his friends through their darkest moments. Like, when Jay's freaking out, it's usually Kai who comes up with a speech to encourage them forward. But when I was trying to think of it from the perspective of water I thought that it's kind of like how calming rain or the river can be. Idk, I just feel like Kai has this chill vibe about him whenever he's not fighting for his life or something, but maybe that's just me.