First of all, I just want to thank everyone has taken the time to click on this story! I'm sorry there was no Wednesday update this week, and I'm also sorry because there probably won't be one this upcoming Wednesday either :( But, I'm SO CLOSE to being finished with school! I CAN'T WAIT!

*Ahem* Anyway, special thanks to Breeze015, evelinaonline, RandomDragon2.0, xxXTheySayI'mEvilXxx, Crystal Cea, WindNinja333, Star, SerpentineKing, MASTER OF SLEEP, TheYellowNinja, ILoveCheetos, SweetHeart114, Peanut2196, LeUltimateNerd, StoriesAreMagic, ABCSKW123-IX, and FirstFandomFangirl for reviewing! I will be replying to reviews right after posting this!

Star: Yes, Morro is a (formerly) evil genius ;D Good guess! We will see ;D Thank you so much for reviewing!

SerpentineKing: Ooh, interesting guess! We'll find out... eventually. XD Thanks for reviewing!

MASTER OF SLEEP: Maybe! Keep reading to find out ;D Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

TheYellowNinja: Haha, what can I say? I can't resist a good plot twist ;D Aw, thank you so much! Your compliments mean the world to me! :D Haha, you never know- "impossible" never really seems to apply to the ninja anyway XD Thank you so much for reviewing!

"How's it going, Jay?" Cole asked.

The blue ninja sighed in frustration, slumping over in his chair. Zane continued to lay still on the bed, chest plate open and displaying his slightly less disorganized wires for the world to see. "I don't know, Cole. I mean, without my tools and all our scanners and stuff, it's basically guess and check."

Cole turned back to the window, feeling stupid and useless for not being able to do more to help. "Sorry."

Jay sighed again, "Cole-"

"Hey, look!" The black ninja pointed, hopping out of his seat. Opening the window, he allowed Zane's falcon to fly in where it immediately flew up to Zane. Once again, it seemed confused when Zane didn't move to greet it but played the message regardless.

Cole and Jay deflated when they received the news that Lloyd, Kai, and Nya hadn't been able to get to Morro in time and now all they had to go off of were a few clues while the bad guys would have access to Morro's Soul Stone and therefore the Yin Blade's exact location. The order to go back to the Lost Soul encampment once Zane was fixed didn't lighten their mood, because to them, it seemed like giving up.

"No, we can't let this get us down!" Jay announced, turning back to Zane with a determined expression on his face. "We have to think positively. I mean, it's not like the bad guys actually have the Yin Blade yet. We still have time to find it. Besides, there's still, what, four days until the eclipse? That's plenty of time!"

Cole smiled slightly, feeling hopeful if his brother could be optimistic even at a time like this. "Yeah, you're right-"

Cole froze.

He blinked, studying the blue ninja, and trying-trying-trying to-

He couldn't remember his name.

The blue one was his brother, his family, and now he was looking at Cole in concern and saying something- but Cole couldn't hear, couldn't breathe, because he couldn't remember his name.

Suddenly, Cole was crouched on the floor, rolled up in a ball in the corner and hyperventilating, and the blue one was in front of him, pleading with him- he loved him, his brother loved him, he was his brother, his family, so why couldn't he remember his name? Why couldn't he remember his name?

"Cole, Cole, please, talk to me. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong."

It sounded like the blue one was on the verge of tears, but Cole couldn't speak- he racked his brain. His name, his name, what was his name?

"Hey, hey, it's okay," the blue one said softly, trying to calm him down. He rubbed his arms reassuringly, smoothed down his hair fondly, and Cole knew he didn't deserve a brother like this if he couldn't even remember his name.

"Cole," the blue one said sharply, and he jumped. "Cole, whatever it is, we'll figure it out, but you have to tell me what scared you so bad."

Cole was sobbing, but he met his brother's eyes as he choked out, "I can't remember your name."

The blue one's eyes widened with horror, and he pulled away slightly. Cole buried his face in his knees, too ashamed to meet that gaze any longer.

He felt a hand on his back, one on his arm. "Cole, you know me. It's me, Jay."

Jay.

He looked up- Jay, Jay, Jay, it was Jay- and suddenly it seemed ludicrous that he had ever not known his brother's name.

"Jay," he repeated in a near-whisper, trying to cement it in his mind, trying to grab hold of the word and never let it go again. "Jay."

"Yeah, yeah, Jay, it's me," Jay confirmed, still looking at Cole with an alarmed expression.

"I'm sorry, Jay," Cole buried his face in his knees again, still repeating the word in his mind- Jay, Jay, Jay. "I'm so so sorry."

Jay pulled his brother against his chest, simply at a loss with what else to do. "It's okay," he reassured, though it wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't okay, not okay at all, not okay and not fair that Cole was falling apart faster than they could pick up the pieces.

But, what else could he say to his crying, panicking brother that was rightfully terrified of losing himself?

"It's okay," he said again. "It's okay."

Jay sighed, rubbing a hand over his face for the umpth time. It was late at night- he had no idea what time it was- but determined to fix the brother that he was able to, Jay did not let himself sleep but pushed himself to keep working on Zane.

He glanced at Cole occupying the other half of the bed. The ghost had pretty much fallen asleep in Jay's arms after his mini emotional breakdown and hadn't stirred since then.

"C'mon, Zane, I need you right now," Jay whispered, crossing several wires and connecting them into the ports that he assumed were correct. He wasn't good at this: being the one people relied on. Like the Bone Keeper said, he was mostly around for comic relief, and at this point he himself was almost falling apart with the stress of supporting two broken brothers.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. He had been good at it- when he was leading his ragtag team to storm Nadakhan's sky palace and save Nya. But, that had never happened, so it didn't really count. Jay had never been a leader, a hero, so he was still just the comic relief guy that screwed up more often than not.

But, if he could get Zane back online…

Crossing his fingers, Jay pushed the last wire into place. Jay held his breath, but when nothing happened, he groaned, reaching to pull the wires back out and try again-

Zane's eyes snapped open.

He catapulted himself into a sitting position, pushing his chest plate back into place when he noticed it was open.

"Zane!" Jay whisper-shouted, throwing both his arms around the nindroid's neck.

"Jay?" Zane asked, and joy flooded the blue ninja's body when he confirmed that this brother did, in fact, remember his name. "What's going on? Where's Cryptor?"

Jay sat back and quickly related everything that had happened while Zane had been unconscious, including Lloyd's latest message about their failure in finding Morro and, by extension, the Yin Blade.

He hesitated when he came to relating the most recent event. He glanced at the ghost sleeping like a rock.

"And, uh, Cole kind of had a freak out," Jay said quietly, looking at his lap.

"A 'freak out?'"

"He…," Jay hurriedly wiped at his eye. If he was going to have to be the strong one, he couldn't cry at the drop of a hat. "He couldn't remember my name."

Zane started. "What?"

He looked up, meeting Zane's eyes and seeing the same fear he felt reflected there. "He seemed to know his own name, and I think he recognized me, but he couldn't remember my name. He had, like, a panic attack about it." Jay explained tearfully.

Zane turned his gaze on his slumbering brother beside him, resting a hand on Cole's head. "I see."

"What are we going to do?" Jay asked, unable to keep the tears at bay anymore. "It's happening again, Zane. It's happening again. He's losing his memories. He's going to disappear again."

"No, he won't."

Jay looked back at Zane helplessly. "But… how? What can we do? He has his whole Soul Stone, so why is this…?" He trailed off.

"I have been pondering this conundrum. More of the solution than the cause," Zane said, stroking Cole's hair soothingly. "We are searching for the Yin Blade."

When it seemed like he was waiting for confirmation, Jay nodded. "Yeah…?"

"The Yin Blade turns ghosts back into humans." Zane turned away from Cole and looked seriously at Jay. "Cole is a ghost."

Jay gasped. "You're saying we should… actually activate the Yin Blade on the night of the eclipse?"

"Yes." Zane nodded. "If what the Bone Keeper said is correct, if Cole is fading away naturally, this may be the only way to save him."

Jay wrung his hands. "I don't know. It's risky. Kai might go for it, but I doubt Lloyd and Nya would unless… unless they knew for sure it was a last resort."

"Then, we must make sure that it is," Zane said, nodding. "We will question those at the camp and try to determine what is causing this… with the Yin Blade as a last resort."

Jay nodded. "Yeah, sounds good. But, we've got to keep a pretty close eye on him until then."

Zane stood. "I will keep vigil. Sleep, Jay," he ordered pointing at the bed. "You have done a lot. Thank you for repairing me."

"Yeah, Zane, of course. You don't have to thank me," Jay said. He probably should have argued when Zane offered him the bed, but honestly Jay was too tired to do anything but let his eyes fall shut like they had been wanting to all night. He laid down beside Cole, and Zane took his place on the chair by the bed. "Wake me first thing in the morning, alright?"

"Very well," Zane replied, leaning back in the chair. "Good job today, Jay. I am very proud of you."

Jay gave a little nervous laugh, turning onto his side. "Heh, thanks. I didn't really do anything, though."

He was positive Zane said something after that, but Jay's eyes were already closing and he fell into a deep sleep.

Jay squeezed the blue and gray Soul Stone in his hand. Cole was still sleeping, and there was no way they were going to leave him alone after last night, so Zane had volunteered to stay behind with him.

Which meant Jay had to face the Bone Keeper alone.

"You have his Soul Stone," Jay whispered to himself encouragingly as he mounted the steps to the office. Once again, the casino was empty seeing how it was morning, but the silence did nothing to calm Jay's nerves. "There's nothing he can do to you."

At the Bone Keeper's door, he raised his hand to knock, but then, remembering that he was he one in charge here, he barged in without announcement.

The Bone Keeper, having recovered from his injuries dealt to him by Cryptor and Samukai, had seemed to anticipate his arrival though and stood up from his desk chair with his creepy grin perfectly in place.

"Jay, what a pleasure! Come to rip something else out of my body?" He asked, his tone friendly and frankly unsettling.

"We need a vehicle," Jay said, hoping he sounded firm enough. "Something fast, faster than a car. You must have plenty."

The Bone Keeper cocked his head. "Really, that's all? I thought you would want to ask about- well, never mind, it's not my place to say. I am your humble servant after all." He walked past Jay and headed out the door. "Come."

Jay was already dying with the agony of not knowing what the end of the Bone Keeper's sentence was. He knew the Bone Keeper did it on purpose- somehow he always seemed to be the one in control- but Jay had to know. Was it about Cole? Morro? Their enemies?

They made it to the bottom floor before Jay finally broke.

"Ask about what?"

And, he hated the Bone Keeper's arrogant smirk, but at least he would get answers.

"Oh, it's really of no consequence; honestly, I don't know why I brought it up-"

"Ask about what?" Jay interrupted, narrowing his eyes. The Bone Keeper led him through a door off the main casino, and Jay balked at the multitudinous vehicles filling a garage that was at least as big as his parents' entire junkyard.

"I just thought you'd like to know about your mother, but I suppose not," the Bone Keeper threw over his shoulder.

Jay came to a dead stop. "What about her?"

"I think there's a vehicle that might suit your tastes-"

"What about her?" Jay demanded, running to catch up to the Bone Keeper.

"Hm? Oh, just that she comes to me every year on her death day- your birthday- to ask where her husband and son are. I don't think I've ever seen a woman look so crushingly depressed and yet so happy at the same time when I tell her the same thing every time: not here yet."

Guilt hit Jay as if he'd had a weight tied to his heart. Lydia's one true desire was to see her family, the one she had been so cruelly ripped away from, and Jay was denying her that.

But, he didn't think he could bear seeing the disappointment in her eyes whenever he told her. Wasn't letting her believe she had a perfect son better than proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that that was nowhere near the truth?

"I must say I quite enjoy her visits, though," the Bone Keeper continued, as if he were oblivious to Jay's internal dilemma, though Jay thought he knew anyway. "She's a very beautiful woman. Out of all my customers, I think I like receiving my… payment from her the most."

And then he winked.

Rage, more potent than any he had ever felt before, crashed through Jay like a wave, turning his vision red. He grabbed the Bone Keeper by the front of his pin-striped suit and slammed him against the eighteen wheeler truck they were passing.

"Don't you ever touch her," Jay growled, glaring up at the ghost who was half a head taller.

The Bone Keeper, very rarely flustered, only smirked down at Jay. "I'm curious. How did she react when you told her you were her son?"

Jay swallowed, saying nothing.

The Bone Keeper's jaw dropped.

Then he laughed a loud, barking, mocking laugh, and Jay felt his ears burn bright red.

"You haven't told her!" The Bone Keeper correctly concluded, still chuckling. "And, finally Jay Walker makes a good decision!"

Jay recoiled. "What do you-"

"Lydia may seem strong, but she really is so fragile on the inside," the Bone Keeper explained. "When she learns that her entire life and afterlife has been building up to meeting such a sorry excuse for a ninja, let alone a son, it might just shatter her."

Jay knew he should say something, defend himself, argue that Lydia would be proud to have a son like him.

But, he didn't. He released the Bone Keeper and took a step backward, keeping his gaze trained on the ground.

The Bone Keeper didn't seem surprised. Even if Jay wouldn't look up, he could hear the smirk in the Bone Keeper's voice as he straightened his suit. "Now, for the vehicle you requested…"

Cole woke up slowly. The surroundings were unfamiliar, and it took him a few minutes to remember where he was.

"Cole?"

Cole sat up and looked at… Zane - that was it, he had remembered, it didn't really count if you only forgot it for a second so he remembered- sat up and looked at Zane. The blue one- Jay, he corrected himself- was nowhere to be seen.

"How are you feeling?"

Feeling? He couldn't feel anything. Every sensation was numb and muted, even his own thoughts were quiet and muddy in his head, his own memories were dim, like he was watching them through a grimy window…

Zane placed a hand on his shoulder but Cole had to focus intently on his own solidity just to register the pressure there. "Don't worry. We'll leave soon and meet up with Kai and Lloyd and…"

It was a test. The white one- Zane- was testing him. Who had he forgotten to mention? The red one, the green one… wait, wasn't there a girl? Yes, he was almost positive there was a girl…

"Nya," he whispered, shutting his eyes. "Kai and Lloyd and Nya."

Zane smiled. "Yes. We'll meet Kai and Lloyd and Nya at the Lost Soul camp soon. We'll meet your mother there."

Cole looked up. "My mom." He grabbed Zane's wrist and tried to squeeze but he couldn't really tell if he did or not. "I want my mom."

"We will see her very soon." Zane reassured.

Suddenly the door to their hotel room opened, and the blue one- the blue one- the blue- Jay, Jay, Jay- rushed inside.

"Guys, you won't believe what I heard!" He exclaimed excitedly, bouncing up and down in place. "You know how the bad guys captured Morro?! And, they were going to make him tell them where the Yin Blade was by taking his Soul Stone?! Well, Morro didn't have it in him! He hid it! That means we still have a chance to get to the Blade first!"

"That's fantastic!" Zane cheered.

Cole concluded that this was a good thing, but he was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the information the blue one had just related to them. Who was Morro again? He must be good if he was captured by bad guys. He remembered his Soul Stone was the little gem inside him, but the Yin Blade? What in the world was that?

"And, what about your idea?" The white one asked.

"Well, first of all, I told the Bone Keeper that he can only share information with us, so we don't have to worry about the bad guys coming back to figure out where Morro's Soul Stone is now," the blue one replied, pride apparent in his voice for having thought of this. "And, he did have a super fast, awesome vehicle just like I thought!"

The Bone Keeper? Cole didn't like him. He couldn't remember what he looked like or his voice, but Cole knew he didn't like him.

"C'mon, come look at it!" The blue one called excitedly, gesturing for them to follow. "It's so cool!"

"Ready, Cole?" The white one asked.

Though he was a tad distrustful, Cole nodded regardless and followed them out.

The thing the blue one was so excited about was a huge tank, pitch black in color with red spikes adorning its outside. The barrels of guns were attached to every available surface on its roof, and its many, many huge wheels on either side had tank treads winding about the outside.

"It's got laser cannons, rocket boosters, all-terrain capabilities, autopilot, GPS, cupholders!" The blue one described, hugging the machine as if it were a person. "It's perfect. Though I'm bummed about leaving behind the classic…"

Cole didn't want to get inside since it was really scary, but the white and blue ones assured him that it was totally safe- that he would be safer inside- so he got inside. He saw them looking kind of sad at each other once he got inside but he didn't know why.

The blue one drove the big machine, and Cole laughed because he was so, so excited about it. He sat near the front so he could look out the big windshield and watch the outside pass. He liked watching it pass, but it seemed like he kept missing pieces of it- like he kept falling asleep and waking up but he couldn't tell when he was asleep and when he was awake, but he supposed it didn't really make much of a difference.

They told him a long time had passed whenever the blue one finally stopped the tank, but it hadn't felt like very long. The sun was in the middle of the sky and he liked looking at the way it shined on the green leaves of the trees.

"Cole."

They were in a forest, and he reached out to touch one of the trees. He was sad when he remembered he couldn't really feel it. He wished he remembered what bark felt like, or what the sunshine felt like. He thought it was supposed to be hot, but he couldn't be sure.

"Cole!"

He turned around. There was the blue one and the white one, staring at him. He kept turning around, searching for the person they were calling for. When he saw no one else, he looked back at the blue one and the white one and cocked his head in confusion.

"Who's Cole?"

*GASP*

...That's all I have to say on the matter XD

Update will *most likely* be next Saturday! Thank you everyone for reading!