Surprise! I managed to update today! I turned in my last project yesterday, and now I only have four tests left to take until the end of the semester! I'M SO EXCITED!
Special thanks to ILoveCheetos, evelinaonline, WindNinja333, ABCSKW123-IX, LeUltimateNerd, Crystal Cea, StoriesAreMagic, RobinLost, Drawkill Vear, Plumcicle, TheYellowNinja, Star, SerpentineKing, SweetHeart114, Peanut2196, xxXTheySayI'mEvilXxx, and PrairieSkies for reviewing!
And, a special thanks and apology to Masterofrecyclin who reviewed chapter nine and whom I FORGOT to mention! I'm so sorry! If I ever forget to mention you, please don't hesitate to let me know!
Masterofrecyclin: Ooh, very interesting theory! I'm so glad I'm known for plot twists! Thank you so much for reviewing and I'm SO SORRY I forgot to thank you last chapter!
Plumcicle: Haha, well surprise! We will deal with Cole this chapter! I hope you like it! Thank you so much for reviewing!
TheYellowNinja: OH MY GOSH WE HAVE THE SAME BIRTHDAY! :O :O :O I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT! THAT'S SO AWESOME! I actually meant to mention it last chapter, but I totally forgot! XD We'll see Cole this chapter :'( Thank you so much for reviewing, birthday buddy ;D
Star: The Bone Keeper's a real jerk :/ And, poor Cole :'( Thanks for reviewing! :D
SerpentineKing: "Literally speechless?!" You are way too kind! This may be me sounding like a noob, but what does AE stand for? XD I hope you like this chapter just as much! Thank you soooo much for reviewing!
Jay's heart stopped.
There was Cole, looking back at them with such innocent puzzlement, and it was like he was in that bed all over again, thinking he killed Cole only to see his brother appear right before him. And, then all the hope that had risen in his heart was immediately crushed when he heard his brother say those two simple words.
"Who's Cole?"
Jay was frozen, but Zane was there, taking Cole by the hand and leading him toward the Lost Soul camp as if nothing was wrong when everything was clearly very, very wrong.
"You are Cole," Zane replied simply, jerking his head at Jay when they passed him. Jay followed them robotically. His limbs felt like they were made of wood, and it took all of his effort to move them forward one step at a time instead of running off and punching something and screaming his lungs out because… because…
It just wasn't… fair.
"I am?" Cole asked him as they picked their way through the trees. "I don't think so."
"You are Cole," Jay insisted, as if saying it enough times would jog Cole's memory and stop this entire nightmare in its tracks. "I'm Jay, and that's Zane. We're your brothers, remember? Remember, Cole?"
The ghost blinked at him, his eyes reassuming the wide-eyed, morose quality they'd had last time Cole lost his memories and Jay hated it.
"No…," he said after a moment. He looked down, beginning to drag his feet. "I can't remember anything. If I was Cole, and you were my brothers, then I would remember, but I don't. I must have been forgotten-"
Jay suddenly whipped in front of Cole, grabbing his shoulders. "You weren't forgotten. You could never be forgotten. You are Cole. You are."
Cole was leaning away from him, hunching his shoulders and ducking his head like, like, like he was scared. "I don't- I don't know. I don't remember, I don't remember, I don't-"
"It's okay," Zane said softly, placing his hand in the center of Jay's chest and gently pushing him back. Jay obediently released him and stepped backward. He looked away when he felt tears pushing at his eyes, thinking that would only scare Cole more. "We're going to help you remember, Cole, because we love you very much."
Cole looked back and forth between Zane and Jay suspiciously for a moment before saying quietly, "Okay…"
Once they made it to the collection of tents, they headed directly for the largest one in the center. They figured they must have beaten Kai, Lloyd, and Nya back as they didn't see their siblings or their vehicle anywhere. Several ghosts openly stared at them as they passed through the tents, but no one approached them.
They entered the tent to see Lydia and Corrine talking while Gem colored on the floor nearby.
Corrine gasped when they appeared, standing up with a huge grin on her face. She opened her arms, stepping toward Cole-
Cole's eyes widened, and he took a step backward.
Jay's heart broke when he saw the horrified confusion on Corrine's face.
"Who is she?" Cole whispered to Zane, moving slightly behind the nindroid as if Corrine wouldn't see him that way.
"She is your mother, Cole," Zane explained, sadness permeating his voice.
"Mother?" Cole repeated, as if testing the word, gazing at Corrine warily and still unwilling to move out from his spot behind Zane. "Mother."
"What…?" Corrine whispered, her voice barely audible. "What is the meaning of this? Why doesn't my baby know me? Why…?"
Lydia stood, placing her arm around Corrine's shoulder to provide physical reassurance. Jay swallowed, suddenly positive that he could never, ever reveal to Lydia that he was her biological son, because he had let this happen. How could he call himself Cole's brother when he had let this happen?
"Cole is… fading," Zane said solemnly. "Before he only seemed tired and confused, but now… It's manifested itself in the form of amnesia. We don't know why, and we don't know how to fix it. We were hoping someone here would."
Gem was standing now too, but for all her brattiness even she seemed to sense it was not the time for a snarky comment. She was looking up at Corrine with worry, and Lydia was rubbing her back. Corrine appeared to be too shocked, too miserable, too hopeless to react.
"I'm sorry," Jay said, simply because he didn't know what else to say. "I'm… I'm sorry."
Lydia shook her head. "No, Jay, this wasn't your fault. Ghosts fade for a ton of different reasons. There was nothing you could have done." Turning to Corrine, she said, "We can figure out what's causing this. I know we can, Corrine, so don't-"
Corrine suddenly stepped forward. Where it seemed like she would cry before, her face was suddenly the epitome of determination.
"Cole?" She asked. The ghost jumped, as if he had hoped everyone would forget his presence. "Can I come closer?"
Cole glanced at Zane warily. When the nindroid nodded to show it was okay, Cole nodded at Corrine, though his eyes were still wide with fear.
The blonde ghost stepped closer and closer until she was directly in front of Cole, and Zane discreetly sidled out of the way.
"Cole." Gently, she raised her hands and placed them on either side of his face. Cole looked down at her uncomprehendingly. "I love you so much. I was never there for you before, but I'm here now. I swear I'll do anything and everything to save you, okay, baby?"
Cole blinked at her.
Then slowly, he placed his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. "Mother," he whispered, squeezing her even tighter. "Mom."
"No, no, no, just hear me out!" Lloyd insisted to Kai from where they sat across from each other in the breakfast nook. "Morro and the bad guys do agree to use the Yin Blade on themselves, but Gem messes it up by calling us, assuming that Morro has gone missing. To keep us from ruining the plan, they make up this whole story about Morro having stolen the Yin Blade, when really they have it with them the whole time. Now, they're all together again and they just have to bide their time until the eclipse."
Kai rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "I don't know, Lloyd. Sounds pretty farfetched to me. I mean, that's a lot of planning and stuff. Everything would have to be, like, a hundred percent perfect."
"And, normally I would say that the bad guys wouldn't be able to organize something like this, but Morro knows us, knows… me. He'd know exactly what to do throw us off: lead us on a chase, make a big show of being taken prisoner and giving us his Soul Stone to earn our trust, give us a random clue to distract us..."
Nya chuckled from from the driver's seat, shielding her eyes from the setting sun shining directly through the windshield.
"Something funny, sis?" Kai asked, thankful to be diverted from Lloyd's suspicious ramblings.
"I was just thinking about the clue," she replied, slowing down the RV as they approached the forest of trees that concealed the Lost Soul camp. "When I think about the person that would trust Morro the least, the first person that comes to mind is... well, you, Lloyd."
Lloyd smirked, rubbing the back of his neck and sighing. "I guess I am coming off like a conspiracy theorist over here. Just trying to keep all our options open."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Kai said quickly, grabbing Lloyd's sleeve. "Nya, say what you just said again."
"The person that trusts Morro the least is Lloyd?" She repeated as she put the RV in park.
"That's it!" Kai exclaimed, shooting up into a standing position.
Lloyd frowned at Kai. "I don't have the Yin Blade, Kai."
"Well, duh. Lloyd doesn't trust Morro because Morro did something awful to him." Kai made a circular motion with his arms, trying to get the ball rolling for his less enlightened teammates. "Who else would hate Morro because of what he did to Lloyd?"
Kai seemed too excited to wait for an answer, because almost immediately he threw his arms up triumphantly.
"Garmadon!"
Lloyd's face went slack. "My dad? You think Morro gave the Yin Blade to my dad?"
"It makes sense," Nya said slowly. Kai was already smirking with pride. "Morro knows Garmadon is one of the few ghosts who wouldn't use the Yin Blade on himself. He knows Garmadon is powerful enough to protect it, for a short time at least. And, like Kai said, the clue fits. I can't imagine he'd be very fond of Morro after everything he did to you, Lloyd."
Lloyd was silent a moment longer before a grin spread across his face. "Kai, I think for the first time in your life, you may just be right!"
"Well, thank- wait, what do you mean first time in my life?"
"C'mon, we have to go tell the others!" Lloyd shouted, rushing out of the RV- then starting when he came face to face with sleek black and red tank that was hidden as well as it could be in the trees.
"Now, that's what I'm talking about!" Kai complimented as he also stepped out of the RV.
"Well, it's not being used to attack, so I'm guessing it's one of ours," Nya concluded, already walking toward the camp. "Let's go see if the others are back yet."
The three ninja hurried toward the camp with a certain bounce in their step. Because, finally things seemed to be going their way: they had Morro's Soul Stone to protect the Yin Blade and they now had an entirely plausible lead to it. Barely able to contain their excitement, they called out a greeting when they spotted Jay and Zane speaking in low tones to Lydia and Corrine near the center of the camp.
"Guys, you won't believe-"
Kai cut himself off when he saw the expressions on his brothers' faces.
"What? What is it?" When Jay and Zane didn't immediately respond, Kai took a meaningful step forward, his tone harsh. "What's wrong?"
Kai, Nya, and Lloyd stepped into the main tent, needing to see it to believe it.
"Why are we drawing these again?" Cole asked Gem from where he was sitting cross legged on the floor, yellow crayon in hand and a barely started drawing in front of him.
"We're making a bunch of cards to give Morro when he gets back so when he sees them he feels really guilty for leaving and won't ever leave me again," Gem explained without looking up from where she was finishing shading the background of her own drawing.
"Oh, okay," Cole said, pressing his crayon to the page… before picking it back up again. "Wait, what am I supposed to draw?"
"I told you, just copy that one!" Gem replied, pointing at an already finished drawing laying on the floor near Cole.
"Oh, right," Cole answered, studying the reference intensely before moving to begin his own work.
Kai took a step forward.
"Don't scare him," Corrine warned in a whisper from where she, Lydia, Jay, and Zane had gathered near the entrance of the tent. "It's not his fault."
Kai nodded before kneeling beside his ghostly brother who still didn't seem to notice his presence.
"Hey, Cole," he said softly before reaching out to touch him on the shoulder.
Cole jumped the second Kai's hand made contact with his skin, finally registering his presence. Scooting away from the red ninja ever so slightly, Cole whispered to Gem, "Which one's this?"
"That's the kind of stupid one with a witch for a sister," Gem answered offhandedly.
"Gem!" Nya hissed. The little girl ghost only stuck her tongue out in response.
"Oh," Cole replied, obviously confused.
"What's my name?" Kai asked him.
Cole studied him for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know."
"What's your name?"
Cole looked down, rolling the yellow crayon between his fingers. "I don't know."
"Do you know where you are?"
Cole furrowed his brow. "Here."
"Where do you live?"
"I don't live. I'm a ghost." Cole sighed sadly, curling up and retreating into himself as was his go-to response. "And, it's even worse because I was forgotten."
Kai stood up without warning, turning on his heel and stomping out of the tent.
"Kai-" Nya called after him.
"I didn't mean to upset him," Cole insisted. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"It's okay," Gem said, holding up a green crayon. "Color. It's fun."
Despite already having a crayon, Cole's face lit up at the offer. He reverently accepted the green crayon, going to press it to the page… and stopped. "Wait, what am I supposed to draw?"
The other ninja joined Kai where he was pacing in front of the entrance to the tent.
Jay approached him. "Kai, we're trying to-"
The red ninja shoved him hard in the chest. "Why didn't you tell us?" He demanded. "You should have called us. You should have done something!"
"You think I don't know that?" Jay snapped, pushing Kai back. "I watched him fade away right before my eyes, and I didn't do a single thing to help him, Kai, so I don't need you to tell me-"
"Guys, stop it," Nya ordered, pushing on her brother's and her boyfriend's chests to separate them. "Fighting is not going to help Cole."
"What will?" Kai demanded. "Oh, wait, we have no clue!"
"Settle down, boys," Lydia said in true "mom" fashion as she and Corrine joined them, and Jay felt a pang in his chest. "The first thing we need to do is figure out why Cole is fading. Most commonly, ghosts fade because people forget them, but obviously that's not the case." She tapped her chin, thinking. "It could be something to do with the circumstances of his death. Was it violent? Something unresolved perhaps?"
Lloyd scratched his head and said, "Well, Cole never actually died."
Lydia blinked. "You do realize he's a ghost, right?"
"Yeah, but he didn't die die. He was, like, cursed or something. He didn't escape Sensei Yang's temple in time, and he got turned into a ghost." Lloyd explained.
Lydia gasped. "Sensei Yang?!"
The ninja's eyebrows shot up. "You know him?" Jay asked.
"Yeah, everyone knows him! The master without a student?" Lydia's eyes widened. "If Cole was turned into a ghost by Sensei Yang's curse, then… Yang still has power over him."
Nya held up her hands. "Wait, are you saying that… Yang is causing Cole to fade away?"
Lydia nodded rapidly. "He would have the power to do that."
"Well, how do we stop it?" Kai asked.
Lydia glanced warily at Corrine who was holding her breath as she waited for the answer. "That's the thing; only Yang can stop it. There's nothing we can do."
"Or, we go and tell him to stop it," Kai said threateningly.
"Kai, we can't just…," Lloyd faltered when the red ninja turned his murderous expression on the Green Ninja but continued regardless. "We can't just abandon the mission."
Jay gaped, "But, Cole-"
"We have three days until the eclipse, and the Yin Blade is still out there," Lloyd explained apologetically.
"There is a solution to both problems," Zane said, speaking up for the first time. "We use the Yin Blade on Cole. Sensei Yang would have no hold over him if he were human."
Kai, Lloyd, and Nya shared wide-eyed looks with each other, the thought obviously having never occurred to them.
"We know how badly he wants to be human again…," Nya pointed out thoughtfully before shaking her head. "But, it's risky."
"Cole deserves to be human again," Corrine stated firmly. "He deserves to be alive."
"I know he does, but…," Lloyd sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "I know he does."
Corrine, detecting the weakness in his defenses, pushed ahead. "You have to-"
Suddenly, there was a commotion, a dull roar of voices rising in unison as the various Lost Souls milling about the camp simultaneously looked up and rushed to ogle something entering the camp.
Placing the debate on the shelf for now, the ninja rushed over to see what all the hubbub was about. "You think it's an attack? They found us?" Lloyd asked as they jogged.
"The Lost Souls do not appear to be scared," Zane observed.
"Maybe it's-" Jay interrupted himself with a gasp. "Lloyd, look!"
The ninja had finally pushed themselves to the front of the crowd-
And came face to face with Garmadon with a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder, picking his way out of the trees.
"I'm too old to be doing all this gallivanting about the Departed Realm," he grumbled to himself, straightening his robes before looking up. "Excuse me, do any of you know where-"
He got the answer to his question when a ball of green barrelled into his chest, almost knocking him clear off his feet.
Garmadon chuckled as he hugged Lloyd back, resting his weathered hand on the back of Lloyd's head. "I missed you too, son."
"Sorry," Lloyd said when he finally pulled away, hurriedly rubbing his sleeve over his face. "Sorry, I just- you know-"
Garmadon just smiled fondly at Lloyd's embarrassed stuttering, waiting.
"Do you- Well, this might be a really weird question, but do you have the Yin Blade?" Lloyd asked to change the subject so he might compose himself and not bawl like a baby in front of all the Lost Souls. (Especially since it might get back to Morro and then he'd never hear the end of it.)
Garmadon smiled, squeezing Lloyd's shoulder. "Yes." He half-turned to nod back toward the way from which he came. "I also brought some reinforcements."
The ninja froze again when they heard a yelp- a very familiar yelp- and Garmadon groaned in exasperation.
"Dr. Julien, that must be the twelfth time you've tripped between here and the car."
"Well, not all of us can be masters of Spinjitzu, now can we, Garmadon?" Dr. Julien called back teasingly as he emerged from the treeline. "Oh, hello, Lloyd! So good to see you again, though I wish it was under better circumstances."
"Uh, hi," Lloyd greeted distractedly as he turned to glance at Zane who seemed to have shut down where he was, he was standing so still.
Following his line of sight, Dr. Julien's face immediately lit up with joy, and he rushed over to his son. "Zane! My, so many upgrades! Really, we must discuss your whole new design whenever we have a moment; it really is remarkable. I trust Jay and Nya are keeping up with your virus protection scans? Oh, what am I saying? First, I want to hear about everything I've missed! And, what's this Garmadon's been telling me about this P.I.X.A.L. character?"
Dr. Julien, now right in front of Zane, slowed down his questioning when he realized the nindroid had yet to move or react in any way.
Smiling gently, he touched Zane's arm. "It's alright now, Zane."
And, then Zane crushed his father in his embrace, shaking so badly he might have been short circuiting.
Zane was amazed that Dr. Julien seemed to know exactly what he needed to hear. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and tried to stop his shaking as his father, hugging him just as tightly in response, said again, "It's alright now."
Shout outs to: Breeze015, RandomDragon2.0, Crystal Cea, WindNinja333, Star, and LeUltimateNerd for correctly guessing that Morro gave the Yin Blade to Garmadon!
And half shout outs to: TheYellowNinja, ILoveCheetos, Sweetheart114, Peanut2196, StoriesAreMagic, and ABCSKW123-IX for, against their better judgments, saying Lloyd XD
On another note: With regards to Five Times, there was a vote held in the last chapter of Lloyd's Five Times for whose to write next. Zane did end up winning the vote... BUT with writing Broken Circle, I've really had Morro on the brain! I've been hit with crazy inspiration for his Five Times and have written a bit of it whenever I had the time!
Let me know if you guys would be interested in reading "Five Times Morro Trusted Master Wu!" I have my final exams next week, and after that I *hope* to post Mondays and Thursdays! (And regularly update Broken Circle on Wednesdays and Saturdays) unless I just *really* get behind on writing, which I doubt with it being summer :D
Anyway, thank you to everyone who bothered reading this entire author's note XD
