It was the next morning and as said before, at the crack of dawn. Our group was to head back to Imperium to get the Dragon Core back from Dr. LaRow.
I finished dressing up by putting over-garments of my gi before picking up my spear to place it on the holster on my back.
"Well, looks like sleepy head decided to wake up finally!"
A small smile crept up my lips upon hearing the voice. I turned to see my husband: Cole, already dressed and ready to go.
"Well sorry, someone woke me up during an ungodly hour and I overslept because of him," I rolled my eyes at his teasing.
Cole only laughed before pulling me into a kiss, "Sorry about that, beautiful. I'll repay you with my love for you, though!"
I lightly hit his arm, "You've been doing that ever since we started dating, dummy," the two of us walked toward Adam's room.
"Huh..." He hummed before softly chuckling, "I guess I have!"
I opened the door to see a still sleeping Adam, "Adam, dear, wake up, please. We gotta get ready," I told my son who only grumbled in response.
"Mm...No...Five more hours..." he mumbled.
"Yep, he's your son alright," Cole gave a slight smirk making me only lightly shove him back.
"Shush you!" I playfully shushed Cole before turning back to my son.
I tried to softly rock him to get him to wake up, "No..." he mumbled.
"But I thought you wanted to go on a Ninja adventure?" I pretended to be sad that Adam wouldn't join us in the adventure.
Hearing that got him to perk up, "Huh? Mom..? Did you say adventure?"
"Yeah," I gave a dramatic sigh, "but since you won't join us I guess it's no use telling you. We were going to meet your uncles, too. Maybe even go kick some butt. But oh well," I started to walk towards the door.
"Wait! Mom! Wait for me! I'm joining!" Adam stopped me, before rushing to get washed up and dressed.
"Ah~ the old pretend to leave them behind when something awesome is about to happen trick. Smart," Cole chuckled when seeing our son hurry to get dressed.
"A mother always knows her child no matter the years they've been apart," I stated with a proud smile.
Cole smiled at that before hearing his son call out to him, "Dad...? A little help over here please?"
Adam was trying to get his shirt on but of course, the piece of clothing was proving to be difficult to tame.
"Sure, Adam," Cole held back a laugh and sauntered over to help his son.
Once Adam got ready, we went outside in the living room to see the group all accounted for.
"Sorry we took too long, this little guy's been a bit of a problem," Cole teased Adam, ruffling his hair.
Adam huffed, "That shirt was hard to put on...!"
"Sure it was," Cole snickered, not minding his son punching his arm.
"Meanie!" Adam pouted before latching to my right leg.
"There, there, sweetie," I softly rubbed my son's head. I turned to Cole with a slightly stern look, "Cole, lay off Adam, would you? You know how offended he could get."
"Yes, ma'am. Heard y'a loud and clear, my dear," Cole raised his hands in surrender.
Nya chuckled with a smile, "Someone's warmed up to the role 'mother' even more now."
I sheepishly held the back of my head with my free hand, "Well, I guess it's an instinct...hehe..."
"It's a good trait of you, Sensei. It looks good on you!" Sora smiled.
"They're right!" Geo appeared with the Finders.
I grew a little flustered but still smiled, "Thanks, guys. It means a lot," I gave a sad smile when seeing Adam bond with the Finders, "Especially after all that's happened after the Merge...I was scared I wouldn't be a good parent since I missed so many years of getting to know Adam more..."
"It's hard I know," Cole held my hand in comfort, "But you don't know how happy Adam is when reuniting with you, Angel. He's been more upbeat than he usually is." He graced me with his smile which I grew to love immensely.
"Thanks, Cole. I needed to hear that." I smiled at my husband in thanks.
"Hey, I'm here for you, alright? Just as I know you'll do the same for me and Adam." He assured me.
I felt less anxious now and more confident, "Mom! Mom! Look! I defeated the Finders in a game of tag!" Adam ran up to me, patting his chest proudly.
I chuckled and smiled at him, "Good job, dear."
"Everyone ready here? We should probably start getting ready if we want to catch up to Dr. LaRow," Cody appeared from the outside of the Rookery.
"Right." I gave a nod before facing Geo, the Finders and Bonzle, "Thank you for all that you've done up til now. I thank you for taking care of my husband and son."
Geo only waved me off with a smile, "You're welcome! I'm just glad Cole helped us as well. He was a great help to us these past few years."
"Yeah! The Finders agree!" Fritz and Spitz both agreed.
"He's cool. Was able to help me get a new femur bone," Bonzle showed the said bone.
"It's always bones for you, Bonzle," Fritz chucked.
"Like I said, bones are useful," the female skeleton reminded the child.
Cole went to hug Geo goodbye, "It was nice meeting you, Geo. I'm glad I met you."
The mixed Munce hugged the Earth Ninja back, "Same goes for me, Cole. Now go, you got a family to protect and a world to save."
Hearing those words got my husband to smile and soon join the rest of us.
"Bye, Geo! Bye, Fritz! Bye, Spitz! Bye, Bonzle!" Adam waved at his newfound friends he made in the Land of Lost Things.
We said the last of our goodbyes before heading outside.
∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙∘∘∙∘∙
Once we were outside with our dragons. I decided we should at least think over what we need and have before we take action against the Empress.
"Alright, why don't we go over the plan before we take action? Let's say what we need and have at the moment," I started, our group sitting on man-made chairs.
Adam was seen on my lap as Nya started to speak, "Okay, so we need to find a way into Imperium and get back the core Dr. LaRow stole. But how? There's still that huge energy barrier around the city. Flying in on dragons isn't an option."
"And I heard the Empress has enhanced the guards' station all around. Who knows her military plan." Cody added making the team be in a small slump.
Riyu was seen running to a pile of Imperium tech, "Or maybe it is." Sora went out of her seat to check the parts she'd found.
"If I can just...Maybe...Hm..." Sora started to mutter to herself as she tried to put parts together.
We went over to my student to check on what she was doing, "Uh, Sora?" Cole called out to her.
She realized what she was doing and turned back to face us, "Hmm? Oh! I might be able to use this stuff to build some weaponized armour for Jiro. Something that'll amplify his natural energy enough to blast through the enemy barrier."
"Will that work?" Nya asked Sora.
"Maybe?" Sora wasn't sure herself, "Uh, if you have a better idea, I'm all for it."
Nya and Cole looked at me while I was taking care of Adam, "What?" I asked.
"You're usually the one with backup plans, love." Cole reminded the many times I've come up with plans for the group.
"Oh, right!" I said in realization, "Hm. Sora's idea is kind of mine. But I think her idea is better than mine. Without something to get through that Energy barrier, we can't get into Imperium. So I'm all for her plan."
"Alright! The girl boss has spoken. Build that armour, Sora," Nya told the younger girl who smiled in glee.
Riyu gave Sora a boost of her powers to get the parts she needed for Jiro's armour, "Thanks, Riyu. A little elemental power-up should do the trick."
"Okay, now that I see your powers up close. I'm quite impressed." Cody spoke in interest.
"Wow...! That is so cool!" Adam spoke in amazement.
"I know right? My student is getting better and better at handling her powers!" I smiled, being proud of Sora.
"I gotta say, you're getting pretty good at this." Nya praised Sora who started to struggle a bit since she was still getting the hang of her powers.
"I appreciate the nice words..." soon, the parts started to fall apart because of her losing control, "...but I need to focus here."
"Go ahead, Sora," I smiled at her with the others. Hearing my words gave her a small boost of confidence before she started to lift the parts back into the air to merge them.
"Almost...there...!" Sora grunted before she finally finalized the armour for Jiro.
Sora used her powers to place the armour on Jiro's back. And it was a perfect match.
Jiro roared in response to getting more firepower. "There! What do you think, Jiro?" Sora smiled, asking the dragon if it was up to his liking.
A soft grunt could be heard from the creature but he nudged Sora's side.
Cole chuckled at that, "Looks like Jiro likes it!"
Sora was happy that the dragon liked the armour, "All right!" Zanth soon appeared to give Sora and Riyu a ride back to Imperium.
"I've got my transport. I'll be waiting on my hoverbike," Cody spoke up before leaving our group to fetch his transportation.
"I'll go get our stuff prepared," I kissed my husband's cheek before walking up to Rocky.
"Can I help?" Adam asked nervously, I only smiled and welcomed him to help me.
"Of course you can, Adam! Come on! Let's get Rocky ready." I smiled before the two of us went over to the earth dragon that immediately nudged his nose toward me and Adam.
"Haha! That tickles!" Adam laughed before petting the dragon.
(In Nya's POV, talking with Cole.)
I went to go back to Jiro, but I felt a bigger hand grab mine, "Nya, there's something I have to tell you." I turned to see Cole.
"Can it wait until we're in the air? Time is running out here, Cole," I reminded my friend's husband that we have no time to stall.
"That's just it. I think it's running out everywhere," seeing Cole's conflicted face got me thinking if something had happened.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Remember how I told you and my wife I could hear the ground 'screaming?' Like something was wrong?" Cole asked me, I did remember.
"Yeah. Little unnerving," I casually replied.
"Totally," he agreed, "But last night when everyone was asleep. I heard a voice. Calling out to me from the edge of the valley. It happened again when I was sleeping. It was a voice I hadn't heard in a long time."
"Master Wu," I answered.
Cole turned to me in shock, "How did you know?"
"I once followed his voice in the Cloud Kingdom. He led me to Kai, and we ended up saving Lloyd and the others," I explained my situation when I heard our teacher's voice.
Cole walked up to me, "He was calling me to follow him."
I smiled and held his shoulder, "Then you should go. Things have gotten really strange and unpredictable since the Merge, but one I do know, if you hear Master Wu's voice, you follow."
The Earth Ninja held my hand, being grateful I understood his dilemma, "I was hoping you'd say that. Now go, stop the Mergequakes. It looks like my journey is going to take me somewhere else."
With a smile, I hugged Cole one last time before letting him go, "You should also go and tell her, y'know? She and Adam deserve to know why you're not going."
"I know. I'm just...scared. Honestly, I just got back together with Angel, but Adam...? I'm scared of what he'll think. I'm afraid of what both of them are going to think." I saw Cole's face look in pity at his family.
"Adam was so happy when seeing me when we first reunited after the Merge. But now that his mother is here too...I feel it'll be hard to explain it to him and Angel. They just got the opportunity to get to know each other," I heard Cole sigh at how hard it is to part ways with his family.
"Cole," I called out to him, he turned to me to listen to what I was about to say, "I've known (Y/N) for a long time. We both know how understanding and caring she is. She'll understand. Same thing with Adam, I mean he IS both her and your son. He and your wife will understand."
He smiled at me saying, "Yeah. Thanks for that Nya."
I gave a nod with a smile, "Of course. Now go, I'll be with Jiro," he smiled before going to his family.
(Back to your POV!)
"Whee! Haha!" Adam was seen being in the air for a few moments, thanks to Rocky using his nose to push him in the air.
The dragon was mindful of how accidentally hurt the boy.
"Thanks for entertaining him, Rocky!" I thanked the dragon who huffed some steam out of his nostrils.
I noticed a presence and realized it was Cole, "Hey, love! I'm almost done here. We should be in the sky soon," I smiled towards my husband before attaching some bags to Rocky's back.
Before I could get back to what I was doing, Cole gently held my hand, "Angel? We need to talk."
I noticed the slight change in Cole's tone of voice making me a little worried, "Cole...? Is there something wrong?"
I saw his pupils shift from the ground before looking back at me, "Whatever it is. I'll listen. I promise," I gave him a reassuring smile to ensure I won't react too much.
"Thanks, love," Cole smiled before getting to the point.
"I need to talk to you about what happened last night," he started making me remember that he woke up because something was wrong. But he didn't tell me directly.
"While we were sleeping, I heard a voice. A voice that I haven't heard in a long time. The earth was also screaming again and it was worse this time. But when I tried to go back to sleep again, the voice called out to me to follow it." Cole explained his whole ordeal about his powers responding to the earth and a voice calling out to him.
"My uncle...?" I asked, my husband gave a nod to answer my question.
Cole held my hands, "I know you and the others are to go Imperium. But...the voice is telling me otherwise...I want to join you...But I..."
"Cole," I held his right cheek, "It's okay. I'm okay with this," I softly smiled at him, understanding why he couldn't join us.
Cole looked at me in slight surprise, "Angel...But I don't want to leave you behind. We just got back together and...I don't want us to part ways again."
"I say we never parted ways, at least mentally. Our love is strong, whether we're together or not. I know that we'll always be together by heart. Nothing can get in the way of that," I told him, he smiled at that.
"And nothing ever will," Cole kissed my hand that held his right cheek.
"There's one more thing. I want you to take Adam with you," I was taken aback by that, "What? But isn't it too dangerous for him to be in Imperium?"
"I know it's a long shot, but I know his mother will protect him from the others. Plus," Cole smiled, "I know my wife, she's super strong."
"Okay. I'll take Adam with me," I agreed with Cole's arrangement.
"Thank you, Angel," my husband thanked me before ending up catching Adam who lunged at him.
"Hi, Dad! Did you see me play around with Rocky? It was so much fun!" Adam giggled.
Cole smiled at his son, "Yeah, I did. You make friends easily don't you, Adam?"
"Yep! So, you coming with us?" Adam asked, breaking the ice.
I looked at my son, "Adam, sweetie. Your father spoke to me saying he needs to go somewhere else instead of going with us."
He looked in between us in silence before speaking, "So...Daddy's not coming with us...?"
"Sorry, bud. I wish I could, but I have my journey ahead," Cole held his son in his arms.
A few sniffles could be heard before Adam tightly held his father in a hug, "O-Okay...! B-But you gotta make sure to meet us back soon, okay?!"
"Haha...! Of course, little guy. I promise," Cole chuckled, ruffling Adam's hair one last time.
"And I mean it, Dad! If you don't, you'll make Momma cry and I don't like it when Momma cries! I'll blame you if she does!" Adam gave a warning to Cole making me laugh lightly in the background.
"Pfft! He's SO your son...!" I laughed.
"Angel, come on. It's not that funny," Cole gave an eye roll.
"It is."
"Come back soon, okay, Dad?" Adam hugged his father's legs one last time before feeling strong arms lift him in an embrace.
The two gave one last hug, "I will, Adam. I will."
The boy smiled before letting his parents say their final goodbyes.
Cole and I hugged one last time before we had to part ways, "See you soon?" I asked.
"Haha! You know it! Always," Cole smiled making me smile back.
For one last time, Cole went to kiss me, I replied to the action before we let go.
"I love you," my husband whispered, his lips still close to mine.
"I love you too," I replied.
We stayed still for a moment, taking in each other's presence before we parted.
Before he completely let me go, Cole kissed my hand to where my ring was, "I'll see you soon, alright? And one more thing, I'm happy I married you."
I grew a little flustered but smiled, "Of course. Always. I'm happy I married you too."
Rocky came in to nudge Cole making the both of us laugh, "I'll miss you too, Rocky," Cole gave the dragon a goodbye as well.
Giving my husband one last smile I jumped on Rocky's back as Adam was already on the dragon.
"Bye, Dad!" Adam smiled, waving to his father.
We saw him wave back to us before we went into the air to head to Imperium.
"You make a great family," Cody spoke up.
"Thanks, kinda still feeling surreal about all this, hehe...! I mean, having a son, let alone an energetic one is a tough job!" I chuckled.
"Hey! I'm right here y'know!" Adam slightly yelled, the group all laughing at his retort.
"But seriously, once Arin and the others know, they'll freak! I can't wait to see his reaction!" Sora smiled.
"Oh right!" Nya had a look of realization, "The others don't know that you and Cole have a son. Kai is surely going to be the most freaked out with Lloyd in tow."
"Haha! Yeah. I'm just worried that they'll overreact a little...You know how the boys get," I stated.
"True. But let's not think about it too much. We'll talk more when we meet up with them back at the monastery. Come on! I see Imperium!" Nya changed the subject, getting the rest of us serious.
It's time to finish this fight.
Once and for all!