“Today you will take turns practicing, acting as opposing armies. Jay, Zane, and Nya, you are the human army, and Cole, Kai, and Lloyd will be the Anacondrai. Ready?”
   “Actually, I—” Jay started.
   “Go!” Wu boomed.
   Again the ninja leapt at each other, this time with a plan. Cole’s scythe shared blows with Jay’s nunchucks, Zane and Kai struck forcefully at each other, and Lloyd and Nya each deflected the other’s attacks. Now that the “humans” knew what to expect, it was rather harder for the “Anacondrai” to cut off one of them from the group, but the latter were determined to succeed.
   As Jay deflected strikes from Cole’s curved blade, he began to chat. “So. . . Where were you last night?”
   “What?” Cole ducked a blow and slashed at Jay’s side, but missed.
   Jay knocked the scythe out of balance and proceeded to knock it out of Cole’s grasp. “You know, when you dropped that take-out box and completely disappeared until you came back around midnight. What was that all about?”
   Jay sounded only curious, but Cole bristled. “It doesn’t matter.” He lunged forward and swiped it over Jay’s head. “I was. . . Taking a walk.”
   Jay ducked. “Pfft, yeah, I’m sure.” He jumped up and kicked. The blow caught Cole in the shoulder, and he tumbled. “We were talking about Kai’s weird fan-girl, and then suddenly you dash off like—” He gasped, then grinned slyly. “You didn’t actually go see that chick, did you?”
   Cole rolled to his feet, one hand still grasping the scythe, and snapped a bit too quickly. “Of course not!”
   Jay chuckled gleefully and swung his nunchucks at Cole. “You did! I bet you did! Did you have a nice date?”
   Cole lunged out of the way by a hair and scrambled to his feet. A spark of anger began kindling inside. “I didn’t go see who it was,” He lied bitterly. “And what I did was last night was none of your business!”
   Jay didn’t catch the dangerous tone in his friend’s voice and swung again, this time catching the scythe and knocking it in Cole’s hand. “Ooh, touchy!” He teased. “Hey, maybe you could introduce us! I’d like to meet this mysterious stranger who you meet in the middle of the night!”
   The blaze of fury roared in Cole’s ears, and he didn’t notice his arms beginning to glow an unearthly orange. “I—said—I—DIDN'T!" 
Jay, on the other hand, saw Cole’s arms and gasped. “Cole! Look, your—!”
   BAM! Cole punched Jay in the stomach with both hands, then watched in astonishment as his friend flew across the room and slammed into a boxing dummy. Jay tumbled to the floor and fell still. That was when Cole glanced at his hands and gasped in shock. It was just like back during Day of the Departed, when he was fighting Sensei Yang; his arms and hands were now rock-solid and glowing eerily. As his mouth fell open, the glow faded, and his hands returned to normal.
   Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Jay in shock. “Jay!?” Nya, Lloyd, and Kai exclaimed. Zane immediately ran over to Jay’s side and scanned him, with Wu close behind.
   “What happened??” Lloyd dropped his sword.
   Jay stirred and tried to speak, but the wind was knocked out of him. “Hhuuuuhhhhh!” He gasped.
   Cole felt as if he had been the one punched in the stomach. What have I done?! He wondered in agony. He had hurt his friend because he lost control of himself. He felt worse than ever.
   “Jay, are you hurt?” Zane inquired as he knelt down. When Jay didn’t respond, Zane said. “P.I.X.A.L., scan Jay for serious injuries. I can see no apparent wounds on his body, save for the fact that the breath has been knocked out of him.”
   The female robot connected to Zane’s system announced. “Scan complete. Besides several bruises on the surface of Jay’s shoulder blades, all that he has suffered is a blunt trauma to the solar plexus.”
   “Care to translate that?” Jay wheezed.
   Nya sighed in relief and smiled. “He’s OK.”
   “Take several deep breaths,” Zane advised as he helped Jay to his feet. “You should feel better in a few minutes.”
   “How did this happen?” Wu inquired.
   “Ask him.” Looking pale, Jay gestured in Cole’s direction. The ninja turned around, but realized that he was gone. Nya bit her lip in concern when she saw that the door to the dojo was open, a cool breeze wafting in.
   Cole was nowhere to be seen.

* * *
Chapter 3: Little Secrets

Hardly anybody was wandering the grounds of the park that day, which was just fine with Cole. He wanted to be alone.
   Cole stood on the Cherry Blossom Bridge, just as he did last night. Arms on the cobblestone rail, he stared at his blurred reflection in the gurgling water. He didn’t know why he came here. It just seemed like a good place to go.
   The sky was bright and blue, and puffy white clouds drifted across the sky, grazing the spires of the skyscrapers. Warm sunlight filtered through the green leaves of the trees and soaked into Cole’s back. The trees rustled and whispered with the wind, and a soft breeze toyed with Cole’s hair. If it weren't for the distant sound of traffic, one could believe they were the only human being within miles.
   Cole stood there on that bridge, gaze downwards. Time passed peacefully. He was glad to just stay in one place quietly and breathe. His racing heart eventually slowed, but it didn’t stop the aching guilt.
   How could he have done that? He bowed his head. In a moment of rage, he had hurt his friend. He had had no idea what he was doing. What happened to his hands? Was it connected to Sensei Yang? Was it connected with his elemental powers?
   What if they had some kind of effect on Jay? What if that punch did something really bad to him? What if—?
   Something thumped on the bridge to his left. Cole spun around, and saw that he was no longer alone.
   “Liana!”
   It was odd seeing her in daylight. She stood on one side of the bridge, her scars even more vivid in the sun. Wisps of pale blond hair escaped her long ponytail and danced in the breeze. She held a support cane in one hand and carried a book in another. She cocked her head in surprise. “Cole!”
   She stepped softly onto the bridge beside him. “What are you doing here?”
   “I was going to ask you the same thing.” He paused, regarding her. “When did you start using that?” He pointed at the support cane, temporarily forgetting she couldn’t see his gesture. “You’ve never used one before.”
   “This is new. I started using it when me and my cousins and uncle arrived in Ninjago City. The city can be too much for me, and the noises make it harder for me to sense where I’m going and to get around.”
   “Your family’s in Ninjago City?” Cole asked in surprise.
   She nodded. “Yeah. We’re here for my cousin Rosie’s graduation. She’s been attending the college here, training to work in the film business.”
   “Oh. Well, ah—“ He stammered. “You must be proud.”
   She nodded again. “She’s worked hard.” Liana turned away and titled her face to the river.
   There was a long, awkward silence. Whilst the birds chirped and sang in the trees and the leaves rustled in the wind, Cole tried to think of something to say. I’m sorry your brother passed? That support stick looks good on you? Hey, look at that bird—Oh, wait, sorry, you’re blind? What a nice day?
   It was Liana, though, who broke the silence. “I’m sorry that I had to bring the news of Philip to you. That must have been a nasty shock.”
   Cole glanced at her. A look of worry and remorse was on her disfigured face.
   “It—it’s fine, Liana.” He said quietly. “I. . . I’m glad you told me.”
   In a way, that was a lie. It was her fault that he was so distracted, so angry with the others right now. Why did Liana have to show after all these years and disrupt his life with unnecessary grief? Wouldn’t it had been better for both of them if she had kept her quiet and left him alone? He could have gone on thinking that the orphaned siblings were living happily together in Stiix. Would that be so bad??
   He sighed. Yes. Better to know the truth than to continue living in oblivion. Cole knew that.
   “Do you miss him?” He asked. Stupid question, He instantly berated himself.
   “Very much.” Liana rasped. She bit her lip. “So much that it hurts. He was my best friend.”
   Another silence followed. Cole was beginning to hate this bridge. Stupid bridge, He thought rebelliously. Why does depressing stuff always happen here??
   “They buried the people smashed by the Anacondrai cultists in this park.” Liana lifted her head from the bowed position. “I wanted to visit Philip’s grave, which is why I came here. I—“ She toyed with one of her strands of hair in embarrassment. “I was hoping I could run into someone to show me the way. I haven’t been in Ninjago City long, and I don’t know the park very well.”
   “Why couldn’t your uncle or one of your cousins help you?” Cole asked.
   Liana scowled. “I’d rather not.” Something in her tone prevented him from asking her why.
   “I could help,” Cole offered. “I mean, I don’t know where it is, but I could help you look for it. Plus,” He added softly. “I’d like to see Philip’s grave, too.”
   Liana turned her head in his direction and smiled uncertainly. “OK. . . I’d like the company.”

[a]