A/N: Got bored, wrote a ghost story. This is part one of three, and updates will likely be a bit random as I'm still adjusting to the COVID-19 Apocalypse.
I don't own Ninjago.
Also, I PROMISE I'M STILL WORKING ON THE AU ONESHOTS! (This is just a mere side project)
Part One: Ghost boy
The rotting wooden floors of the porch creaked against Jay's feet as he walked up the porch steps after his dad into their new house. After moving to Georgia, Cliff Gordan had bought an apartment complex. It was an odd thing for a retiring Actor to do, especially one with a ten-year-old child, but Cliff had decided to move his son Jay across the country away from Hollywood. Hollywood wasn't a good influence, after all, children there were taught to abuse waiters from the ripe age of four.
Jay looked around his new home observing the mildew-covered walls and ragged carpet. The whole building seemed like it hadn't been cleaned since it was built in the 1800s. Jay had asked his father why an apartment building had even been built in the 1800s, but Cliff had reminded him that it was actually an old Plantation house from before the American Civil war. Jay leaned back to the point where his head was completely upside-down over the back of the couch he was currently flopped over. The house almost looked cooler this way- wait, nope, still boring.
Jay rummaged through his favorite blue Batman backpack, digging around for the book he'd been reading. Pulling it out, he flipped to the Minecraft bookmark about halfway through the center and stared at the ghoulish picture on page 265, shuddering.
The creature in the center was half-man, half-snake, with creepy long fangs, purple skin, and sharp yellow eyes. He was grinning at the outside world through the page, and even just looking at the picture gave Jay chills.
The book he was reading was titled Clutch Power's Guide to Monsters and it was by far the scariest book Jay had ever read. The snake creature, the one that gave him the chills, was called an 'Anacondrai'. This one, in particular, had a name, "Pythor P. Chumsworth". Even though they supposedly lived in India, the idea of them still freaked Jay out. Shuddering, he stabbed the Minecraft bookmark back into the book and slammed it.
Bored again, Jay hopped up from the couch to go bother his father. Cliff was working at something at the kitchen table, tapping it out on a beat-up laptop. Though he had enough money to buy twelve new ones, one of Cliff's philosophies was not to fix something that wasn't broken.
"Dad," Jay walked over to his father, climbing into the chair next to him. "Can we do something? I'm bored."
"Uh-huh," Cliff didn't look up from his laptop. "Let me just…" He leaned in closer, then scowled. "No! That's not what I want!"
"I can help!" Jay offered, trying to peek around the screen of the computer. Cliff waved him off.
"No, Jay, this is confidential, go play," Cliff snapped, leaning in to type something else.
"But DAAAAAAD," Jay whined. "There's nothing to DO!'
Cliff sighed heavily, leaning back in the chair and rubbing his aching forehead. "For the love of- Jay, this is an apartment complex- there must be other kids here! For heaven's sake, go outside, play in the twelve thousand acres of old farmland, hunt for frogs in the creek- Just. Let. Me. Work!"
Jay sighed so hard it felt like the entire room shook. "Alright fine. Can I have a granola bar, though."
"Sure," Cliff slumped forward, covering his eyes. "Have a granola bar. Have all the granola bars you want."
Jay scrambled to the kitchen and grabbed as many Costco granola bars as he could hold. Heading back to the living room, he dropped them all into the Batman backpack before snatching up his Clutch Power's book and heading out into the hallways of the old mansion.
The lights flickered a bit as Jay walked down the halls, he laughed nervously. "Heh, okay, creepy old lights are flickering, hah, nothing to worry about."
The lights flickered more violently, and Jay shuddered, running to the edge of the hallway and walking back to the wall, so he could see the entire hallway while he walked.
Sliding along, Jay ummed to himself anxiously. "Okay, okay, just a creepy old house, no ghost or anything, hem, ghosts don't exis-"
He was cut off suddenly when a pair of arms reached out from behind him and clamped around his mouth. Jay tried to scream, but a voice hissed in his ear. "Don't! I won't hurt you!"
The hands let go of him and Jay turned around, scared to see a creepy creature there, but instead, all he could see was a group of children, all sitting in a back hallway. The boy that had grabbed him was standing close to Jay, behind him was a black-haired girl, and next to her were two blonde boys.
"Why'd you grab me!?" He whined to the boy. "That wasn't nice! And who are you guys anyway!"
The first boy smirked. "I thought it would be funny. Anyway, I'm Kai, this is my sister Nya," he motioned to the black-haired girl who gave a small wave. "And these two are Lloyd and Zane." He pointed to each of them in turn.
"Nice to meet you, I guess," Jay wrinkled his nose at Kai, however. Yeesh. What a creep.
"We heard someone new moved in and wanted to ask you to hang out," the shorter blonde boy explained. He held up an odd-looking box.
Jay tilted his head to read the words on the side of the box. "Oooogjaa board?"
"It's actually pronounced 'Ouija'," the taller of the two blondes, Zane, corrected gently.
"Like 'wedgie'," Nya added. "So, you wanna play?"
"I don't know," Jay glanced back down the hallway towards his apartment, then pulled out his book. "I don't think my dad would want me to play with strangers."
"Is that a Clutch Power's Monster Manual!?" Lloyd asked, shoving Kai aside. "Like, a real one!?"
"Um, yeah?" Jay offered. "My dad bought it for me."
"Neat," Lloyd answered, "Can I see?"
Jay nodded and handed the book to Lloyd, who began excitedly flipping through it. The others soon huddled around him, looking over his shoulders to watch. Finally, Lloyd gasped suddenly.
"What is it?" Kai asked, trying to shove Nya, who was not moving in the slightest. Jay stared at her for a few seconds. She must be a lot stronger than she looked.
"Check it out!" Lloyd exclaimed. "There's a whole section on Ouija boards!"
"No way!" Zane politely tapped Jay on the shoulder, and he stepped aside so the taller boy could see. "Does it say what to do?"
"It says," Lloyd squinted at the book. "To get the best results, use the board at night. Having candles and sage isn't a bad idea."
"Oh, great, we can't even play with the board now?" Kai grumbled. "And you just got it!"
"No, wait," Lloyd shushed him. "It says to use it in the most haunted places to get the best results. Which means…" He trailed off, prompting the others to finish his sentence.
"The attic!" Nya exclaimed. She turned to Jay excitedly. "Think you can sneak out?"
"Um, yeah," Jay answered, but he gave an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "But, um, how do I get into the attic?"
"That's easy," Kai answers. "Meet Nya and I on the fourth floor's west wing, and we'll let you in." He turned to Lloyd. "You'll bring the Ouija board, right?"
"Duh," Lloyd answered, grinning. "What time are we meeting at?"
"Perhaps at 3 A.M.?" Zane suggested. "I have heard that it is a 'Witching Hour' in a lot of media."
"Sounds good," Kai answered. "Alright, we'll meet then. Everyone cool with it?"
"Yup!" Nya answered.
"Obviously," Lloyd was grinning.
Zane gave a curt nod. "Of course."
They all looked at Jay, who let out a nervous laugh. "Uh-huh! I'm coming, yeah! Heheh," He swallowed audibly. The group dispersed, and as Jay was walking back to his room, he couldn't help but tremble. What did I just get myself into?
? ﾟﾑﾻ?
"The book says that you're supposed to use at least one male and one female for the board to work the best," Jay noted, holding his Clutch Power's guide close to one of the cheap dollar store tea lights Kai and Nya had snuck out.
Zane had tried to find sage, but when he couldn't he had brought some dried oregano to substitute. Hopefully, the ghost was Italian, or at least liked oregano, because otherwise, they'd have a problem on their hands.
Lloyd began setting up the Ouija board in the center of the circle they were all sitting in. He placed the planchette in the center of the board, then moved it in a few circles.
"Make sure to 'warm-up' the board by- oh, you're already doing that," Jay looked up to see Lloyd setting up. Zane pulled out a notebook and pen and looked up expectantly. "The back of the box says it tends to move quickly. I thought writing whatever it is down might help."
"I think we should all use it," Kai said. "Well, aside from Zane, because he's writing. Jay, get over here."
Jay swallowed, but sat down between Lloyd and Nya, placing his fingers on the planchette. "So, heh, how do we start?"
"I'll start," Lloyd answered. "My uncle is kind of an expert on these, he says to introduce everyone with you and then try to talk. Just treat the ghosts with respect."
"Respect," Jay chuckled. "That shouldn't be too hard."
"Well, can we get started?" Kai asked, looking eager to open a door to the spirit world only to prod what was on the other side.
"Ready, Zane?" Lloyd double-checked, and Zane nodded. Then Lloyd took a deep breath, placing his fingers on the planchette next to Nya's and Kai's. "Um, Hi there, ghosts, if you're here, I'm Lloyd, this is Jay, Kai, Nya, and Zane. We don't want to hurt you, we just want to talk. Is that okay?"
"It's moving!" Nya exclaimed as the planchette slid a few inches.
The planchette swirled a bit before moving to yes. Jay laughed nervously. "That's good, that's good, um, how many of you are here, exactly?"
The planchette slid to one, then to two, then back to one.
Nay went next. "What's your name?"
Zane recited the letters as he wrote them down. "C...O...L...E… Cole?"
Nya laughed slightly. "Nice to meet you, Cole."
"N...I...C...E…...T…O…...M...E...E...T…...Y...O...U…...T...O...O…"
It was Kai's turn to ask a question now, and he thought for a minute before answering. "Were you a real person?"
The planchette slid directly to 'yes' and almost looked offended while it did that.
Lloyd's turn again. "Okay, so if you're a ghost, can you do something physical to show us that you're really here? How about…. Oh! Turn on that tea light." He nudged the light with his shoe, and after a few seconds, Cole wrote back.
"N...O...T…...E...N...O...U...G...H…...E...N...E...R...G...Y…"
"Oh, okay…" Jay stared at the planchette under his fingers. "Um, you can borrow some of my energy if you want."
"R...E...A...L...L...Y?"
"Yeah," Jay answered. "I have plenty."
He yawned suddenly. His eyes were really tired… did that tea light have to be so bright? Oh gosh, maybe it would be better if he could just rest for a minute-
"JAY!" Nya shook him hard. "Are you okay?"
Jay blinked, then yawned again. "Yeah, um, just really tired. Heh. I think I'm going to close my-"
"No!" Lloyd half-shouted, grabbing him. "I mean, no. You looked like you were about to pass out."
"The candle lit up, though," Kai added. "We think Cole might've used some of your energy."
The planchette moved again. "S...O...R...R...Y...D...I...D...N...O...T...M...E...A...N...T...O...H...U...R...T."
"You're okay, Cole," Jay answered. "That probably wasn't the smartest idea."
"A...G...R...E...E...D"
"Hey Cole," Nya asked, looking towards the ceiling as if the ghost was really there. "I hope this isn't too personal, but, when did you die?"
"1...8...4...8…"
Kai glanced at Zane. "Wasn't that right before the American Civil war started?"
Zane nodded. "That is correct. It was approximately 3 years before the attack on Fort Sumter, a battle that would inevitably cause the beginning of a war."
"Hey Cole," Kai looked around. "How'd you die?"
The planchette moved so fast it was nearly jerked out from under everyone's fingers, as all of them scrambled to keep their hands on it. It hovered over 'goodbye', swirling in circles.
"Okay... Okay!" Lloyd shouted. "We're sorry! Ah," He tried to regain control over the board as it spun faster. "COLE! CUT IT OUT!"
The planchette froze, then it crept across the board at a snail's pace, spelling something out.
"S...T...O...P…"
Kai cocked his head. "Did that just say 'stop'?"
"Cole?" Jay looked around the creepy attic, shivering hard. "Was… was that you?"
"It's moving!" Lloyd shouted, sounding panicked.
"Y…...A…...N…...G"
"Yang?" Kai stared. He looked at Nya. "What's a Yang?"
"It's actually a name of Chinese origin," Zane clarified. "There is a possibility that a worker of Chinese descent lived here."
"But there weren't that many Chinese slaves," Nya added. "And the house was abandoned right after the war."
"Yeah, heh," Jay agreed. "That's super weird."
"Guys, I don't really like this," Lloyd butted into the conversation. "I… I think we should stop."
"Hang on, I want to ask one more question!" Kai answered, looking at the ceiling. "HEY Yang, what the heck do you want!?"
"I… I can't look," Lloyd shut his eyes. "Kai, don't…"
The planchette began to move.
"Kai, that's not funny!" Nya snapped at him. "STOP IT!"
Kai stared at the board in horror. "That's not me…"
Jay gulped.
"K…...I…...L…...L…...A…...L…...L"
"Kill all?" Zane asked, unnaturally calm. "Why?"
"CLOSE THE BOARD!" Almost everyone screamed at once. Kai wrestled the planchette away from Yang's forces and dragged the rest of them through the goodbye ritual.
"G-O-O-D-B-Y-E, Goodbye!" He took his hands off the planchette. Nya took a shaky breath. Lloyd didn't open his eyes. Jay stared at the board, horrified. Whatever was in this house, it wasn't natural or real. It couldn't possibly be real. Jay reached for his water bottle and promptly watched Nya punch Kai.
"Don't you EVER do anything like that again!" She snarled. "Whatever Yang was, it was evil, and you asked it a question!? You're crazy, you hear me, CRAZY!"
"Alright fine!" Kai snapped back. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to know what it wanted!"
"Why the fu-" Nya glanced at Lloyd and Zane and cut herself off, deciding not to use playground words around her more innocent-minded friends. "-Heck, would you want to know that!?"
"Didn't you see," Kai wiped a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Cole fled the second we asked how he died, and Yang took over."
"So?" Lloyd butted in. "How does that make a difference?"
"What if Yang is keeping the other ghosts here captive, and they can't leave because of him?" Kai answered, using wild arm movements to illustrate his point.
"That's crap," Jay answered. "Ghosts can't keep other ghosts captive!"
"Yes, they can!"
"No, they can't!"
"Can!"
"Can't!"
"Can!"
"STOP IT!" Nya half-screamed. "Maybe we should all go to bed and talk about this later. Because some of us," She shot a glare at Kai. "Aren't telling the truth!"
"Why are you picking on me!" Kai snapped. "I'm the only one being truthful!"
Nya stomped away, and Kai followed her, but only after he gathered the tea lights. Jay shuddered at the thought of going back to his room alone.
"Would you like me to walk you to your apartment, Jay?" Zane asked, noticing his friend's fear.
"Um, yeah, that would be great," Jau glanced at Lloyd. "You gonna be okay?"
"I'm good," Lloyd answered, picking up his board. "I just want to ask my Uncle Wu something."
"About what?" Jay asked, helping him pick up the pieces, and helping Zane with the oregano.
"Well, you know how I got really scared right before Kai started prodding Yang?" Lloyd looked around the dark attic anxiously.
"Yeah," Jay prodded. "What about that?"
"It's because I smelled something weird," Lloyd shrugged. "See, my cousin, he used to wear this, like, weird minty brand of deodorant, and while we were sitting here, I started smelling it super strong. The thing is, though, he died in this house five years ago."
Now Jay was officially creeped out. "Um, how about you, heh, walk back with us. Because that's really freaky."
"Yeah, I guess," Lloyd picked up his Ouija board and followed them to the stepladder down from the attic.
Before they left, however, Jay looked around the cramped space. "Hey, Cole? We're leaving now."
He turned to the stepladder and climbed down into the chilly hallway below.