"Where's the oxygen?"

"Get him onto the bed! Hurry!"

"What are his vitals like, Zane?"

Pain shot through Cole's body as his friends carried him to the infirmary on the Destiny's Bounty. He tried to open his eyes, but the lights blinded him. He felt them place him onto a bed and put stuff in and on his body. He groaned as someone stuck something into his arm.

"Cole? Can you hear me, buddy?" Jay asked.

"His heart rate is 180 and climbing," Zane said matter-of-factly.

"Cole, if you see a light, don't go towards it, okay? Stay away from the light!" Jay screeched.

"Kai, what happened to Cole?" Wu asked.

"It was crazy, Master. That woman, I don't even know what she did to him. She said she wanted to take Cole's power for herself. Is that even possible?" Kai asked with panic in his voice.

"Chen took our powers once," Zane answered.

"With magic. She didn't have anything magical that I saw. Just a bunch of machines."

"Enough. We will deal with her once Cole is better. Where is Lou?" Wu asked.

"I saw him go into the restroom," Misako said.

If Cole could open his eyes, he would roll them. His dad hated heights, so of course he had found somewhere to anchor down and hide. He was never around when Cole actually needed him. After twenty years of this, Cole was not surprised. He had always gone to Anna whenever he needed something, but she was gone now. She had been gone for years. The way he felt, he might soon join her in the Departed Realm.

"His blood pressure is rising dangerously fast," Zane said.

"There has to be something we can do," Lloyd said.

"All we can do is hope he survives until we can get him somewhere safe," Wu said.

"Yeah, well, hope won't help us with that. Look!" Kai said.

"How did she follow us?" Nya asked.

Cole wished he could see what they were seeing, but at the same time, he was glad he couldn't. He had a feeling he would not like whatever was appearing on the screen. Whatever they had given Cole was starting to take effect, since he suddenly felt very sleepy. While everyone was looking at the security footage, he took some deep breaths and let himself fall asleep.

He woke up in a dark place. Chills went through his body as his eyes adjusted. He could hear his friends calling his name, but they were nowhere to be found. As he looked around, clouds surrounded him. He couldn't see anyone or anything.

"Where am I?" Cole asked himself. He expected silence, but he felt like there was a presence near him he could not place.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" As Cole slowly turned around, he realized that he was no longer in any pain. When he looked at his arms, all the scrapes and bruises that were there just a couple hours earlier were gone.

"Am I… Am I in the Departed Realm?"

"No."

Cole whipped around to face the voice and saw someone walking towards him. As the figure came closer, he realized it was someone dressed in a Ninjago military uniform. A few steps later, and Cole recognized the rank as a lieutenant colonel.

"… Anna?" Cole ran to her and stopped just as he reached her. He slowly reached out and touched her arm, to make sure she was real. She was. He wrapped his arms around her, and she held him close.

"Oh, Cole. It is good to see you again. I almost didn't recognize you, you've grown so much," Anna said as she stroked his hair.

"Anna, I-I don't understand. How are you here? Where are we?"

"Your spirit is between realms right now. I've come to help guide you. I will have to return to the Departed Realm, but you could either go with me or return to Ninjago."

"Between realms? How did I get here?"

"I do not know, Cole. What happened right before you arrived?"

"Um, my friends and I went to go save Dad, and this woman claiming to be my mother was there. She captured me and hooked me up to this machine. The next thing I know, I'm being carried onto the Bounty and everyone is panicking."

"Your mother?" Anna asked.

"That's what she said. I need to ask Dad about that."

"What did she look like? Did she say her name?"

"Uh… Morgen, I think. She had dark hair, and there was a scar on her left cheek. She was absolutely insane. She said she was going to take my elemental power and transfer it to her."

"That's what she wanted this entire time? Your power? Do you even have a power?"

"Yes, I'm the Master of Earth. Why? What's going on?"

Anna sighed. She avoided looking at Cole.

"Anna?" Cole asked.

"I suppose your father never did tell you the truth. I told him over and over again you deserved to know."

"Know what?"

"What happened between him and your mother. Your real mother."