When Cole landed back in the monastery, he was exhausted due to the flight, but also too energized to keep still. He jumped from Slate's back, letting her disappear, and ran to Sensei Wu, who had greeted him and the other ninja.

"Were you successful?" Wu asked.

"You mean he isn't here yet?" Kai asked.

Wu looked startled, then sighed. "I'll take that as a no."

"The army and whatever that pile of living sludge is went through a portal back to Ninjago." Cole told him. "But, Sensei-"

"Then there is no time to lose," Wu interrupted.

Lloyd said with a sigh, "We can't, uncle. We're exhausted from our flight back. We have to rest before we can try to fight again. And we don't even know how to defeat him."

"Did no one else hear what it shouted at the General?" Nya asked. "He wanted Cole gone."

"He would have if I hadn't jumped in the way. My vision came true, Sensei." Destiny said, sounding much more tired than the rest of the ninja.

Cole reached for her and wrapped one arm around her shoulder to support her in case she needed it. "And I almost got thrown into the Dark Matter pit when we went on our previous mission there. It's like they were gunning for me."

"What did you say he looked like, Cole?"

"Who?" Cole asked, suddenly confused.

"Mud, Sensei," Nya said, glancing at Cole with a humored glint in her eye.

"Mud?" Wu repeated, glancing at Cole. "We may have just found our secret weapon to defeating this person."

"Shaka," Zane put in. "The General called him Shaka."

"What do you mean, we found our secret weapon, Sensei?" Destiny asked.

"Cole is the Master of Earth, is he not?" Wu answered with a grin.

Cole jumped, startled at what he realized his sensei was suggesting. "I am, but that doesn't mean I can control a living thing!"

"You can control Slate."

"That's different! She's a part of me, it's-" Cole stuttered, trying to explain. "We don't even know if I could try to control him, and if I can, how that would even help!"

"You have to try," Wu told him. "For the sake of all of Ninjago."

"You can do this. I believe in you." Destiny looked at him with a smile.

Nya nodded. "We all believe in you."

Cole saw Jay give him a thumbs up, and he sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, I just don't think it'll work."

Suddenly, he heard a banging from the monastery door. The mailman biked in, panting from his journey. "I have a letter for Jay." He held up a letter and finished, "Also, Lloyd has to go to Ninjago City. Someone told that lunatic mud monster that Lord Garmadon was dead, and now he wants the sons of Garmadon, except there is only one son. And that would be Lloyd."

The ninja glanced at each other, worry coming to their faces.

"Well, it looks like we don't have time to argue about whether or not this plan is going to work," Lloyd said. "We have to go now, before Shaka does any damage."

"Why does he want Lloyd?" Destiny asked, confused.

"Hah! You're asking me like I'd stick around to find out!" The mailman replied. "No thanks!" With that, he rode away.

"Well he was about as helpful as a treehouse full of snakes." Destiny muttered.

Kai gave a small laugh. "Guess we're heading to Ninjago City?"

"Let's go!" Lloyd summoned his dragon and left without another word.

Cole sighed and shook his head, summoning Slate and looking to Destiny. "Do you need a ride?"

Destiny glanced around, then replied, "Yes, please."

He nodded and jumped up to hold onto Slate's side and reached a hand down to her, smiling kindly. She took his hand and he swung her onto his dragon's back. Slate rumbled a greeting to Destiny as Cole took his place on her back. Once Destiny placed her hands on his shoulders, he took off, heading after Lloyd as quickly as he could manage.

When Ninjago City came into view, Lloyd called to the ninja.

"I'll distract Shaka while you guys focus on getting Cole close enough to control that thing."

"I can't do it!" Cole protested. "We can't depend on me!"

"We don't have time to argue!" Kai flashed at him. "You have to try! If you can get that thing to stop attacking us, we can get the Golden Armor off of him and then we'll be that much closer to destroying him!"

Lloyd dove down into the clearing where Zane's statue was, heading straight for Shaka. Cole directed Slate behind a building a block away and jumped from her, making sure Destiny landed safely before letting her disappear. Cole felt a frown plastered on his face as he pulled his hood over his head.

"You can do this, Cole." Jay told him.

The Earth ninja looked his friend in the eye and said, "Let's go destroy ourselves a mud monster."

He raced around the building, following Destiny. When he reached the park, seeing Lloyd confronting Shaka, he watched carefully and looked down at his hands. The ninja left him and he took a few breaths.

How is this even supposed to work? He thought incredulously. Just try. He sighed and felt the power rush through his arms. He stared hard at Shaka and felt his arms beginning to tremble. He felt the familiar rumbling of earth beneath his feet and shook his head. No, not spikes, Cole. Control it... control the mud.. It isn't living, it's a pile of mud that you need to take control over.

Finally, he felt a strange tugging in his powers, and focused more strength into what he was trying to accomplish. He could see Shaka stutter, and he had to sharpen his will as he felt the being fighting against him.

Come on! He grunted and felt a rush of power, then saw Shaka stop moving. A few seconds passed, and the creature shuddered back into motion. No! Focus, Cole! Shaka turned haltingly towards him, and he saw his green eyes burn with hatred.

"YOU!" the creature screeched. "Get him!!"

He saw several warriors race towards him and watched as his friends pounced into battle, guarding him by surrounding him in a protective circle. He was shaking at this point, attempting to channel all of his energy into controlling Shaka but failing, and he felt exhaustion coming on fast.

He saw Destiny take a few steps closer to him, and he gasped out, "I-I can't.. He's too strong.."

She seemed to sigh and then scampered off towards Shaka. Barely a minute later, he felt Shaka's struggles decrease dramatically, and he closed his eyes, focusing his energy into ripping Shaka apart. As he did, he heard a muffled scream come from Destiny, the sound scaring him and nearly shocking him out of using his power, but he persisted, stronger and more desperate than before. A few more seconds passed, and he heard Shaka screeching in pain and anger as well. Light flashed out as Cole felt the creature tearing apart, and he let out a cry of pain, collapsing onto his back. He could see his teammates gathering around him, their faces anxious. The world around him was getting darker and darker, and Cole wanted nothing more than to allow the darkness to swallow him, but he fought to stay conscious.

He saw Destiny hover over him, and he managed, "Golden Armor?"

His girlfriend looked up, and Cole watched her fade from his view. He shook his head, shuddered, and heard her say, "It's fine. You did it."

He reached for her, knowing his hand was trembling but not caring. "Are you okay? You- you screamed."

Her fingers provided something solid for him to focus on as she held onto his hand, and her face came back into focus. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

He nodded and closed his eyes, the tiredness sweeping through him and making his limbs feel heavy. He couldn't manage to reply to her in words, though he tried. He felt her set his hand on his chest and forced his eyes to open. Destiny was walking away with Jay.

"Cole," came a voice. He turned slightly and saw Nya come into view. "You alright?" He gave a weak thumbs-up, and she smiled a bit. The Water ninja sat on the ground beside him, then said, "Destiny found her true-potential when she was fighting Shaka."

Cole closed his eyes and shook his head slightly as confusion poured through him. He was too exhausted to think properly. In fact, it hurt to try.

"She's okay." He heard Nya continue. "And you did a great job, too. We're all proud of you. I just wanted to let you know that before you pass out."

Cole smiled softly and heard Nya chuckle. Of course, she was right; blackness swam once more behind his eyes, and it was draining him even more to fight it. With a relaxed sigh, he let the darkness swallow him.

When he woke, he was in his bed, and the change of scenery startled him. It took him a few moments to adjust to the familiar gloom of the ninjas' room, but after he did, he sat up. His arms were terribly sore, but Cole knew he'd be fine after a little while. He headed out into the hallways, stopping to glance outside of a window. It was daytime, and Cole realized that the other ninja were likely training. He wove his way through the monastery at a slow pace. When he finally reached the training yard, the bright light dazzled him for a moment.

"Cole!" Destiny's voice reached him, and he was startled by her running into him, her arms wrapping around him in an enthusiastic hug.

He hugged her back gently, then gave her a tired smile. "What did I miss?"

The other ninja were coming up to him as well, Sensei Wu behind them.

"I got Akita's hood back," Lloyd told him. "She's off somewhere, enjoying her redeemed powers."

"You slept for a long time!" Jay laughed. "Destiny was worried you'd never wake up."

"How do you feel, Cole?" Wu asked.

"A little tired, still. And sore."

His sensei nodded. "I'll go make you a tea to help."

"Other than that, the army went back through the portal to the Never-Realm," Kai said. "Grimfax had been infected by Dark Matter for Shaka's purposes. They needed the fur from a Formling to bring him into this world, which is why Akita's hood was stolen."

"Apparently my father had promised Shaka he'd bring him into Ninjago if he granted him four arms," Lloyd took over the explanation. "It was a promise he didn't keep."

Cole nodded, processing all the information slowly. When he was done, he turned to Destiny. "Let's go for a walk."

"Are you sure? You said you're sore.." Destiny said, looking surprised.

He nodded with a smile. "I'll be fine. Let's go." When they were out of the monastery, he reached for her hand, taking it gently in his. "I think Nya told me you'd found your true-potential when you fought Shaka. But I didn't even know you fought him."

"Yeah." Destiny said, blushing slightly. "When you were fighting Shaka I heard you say he was too much. I thought that if I distracted him for you, you could finish him off. So I kind of, um, jumped into him."

Cole looked at her, surprised, but not angry. Yes, she could have hurt herself, but she's fine. "Well, you definitely helped."

"Oh, good. You were amazing, by the way. I told you you could do it."

Cole smiled and walked on in comfortable silence. The sun warmed his back, and he stretched happily as he basked in its rays. Suddenly, his right arm blazed in pain, and he grabbed at it in a panic as a voice filled his head.

Hello, Cole, it said. Isn't it interesting how magic works? So many simple spells that do such wonderful or damaging things.

"Are you okay?!" Destiny asked, her face showing worry as she peered at his arm.

He opened his mouth to attempt to speak to Destiny, but found that he couldn't formulate any words.

Ah, yes. That's another thing. You won't remember this after it's over, and while it's happening I have control over you. He heard the voice laughing in his head. Such fun! Until next time, this experiment is complete!

Cole looked to see Destiny peering anxiously at him. "What?" he asked, confused.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Cole looked down at his hands, hearing alarm bells ringing in his brain. "I think I'm fine... Let's just say that something feels off."