So the robot was talking like a pirate. And the baby ninjas were catapulting themselves off the flying ship. And the ghost nearly fell through the deck twice within his first three tries.
How they turned that scroll of mumbo-jumbo into a cohesive set of instructions was far beyond him- even after reading the translation. "Find your center as your energy becomes one with the winds of the Edo energy" was about as vague as Ronin expected. The fact that the blue one managed to actually fly while following such vague instructions was kind of bullshit.
Well, "fly" was a generous term. "Volley along a vaguely vertical vector" was probably more accurate. More veritable. Verily. Vuck.
Ronin snickered from the crow's nest as he munched on a piece of fruit leftover from his belated breakfast. "Y'know, if you want to top Morro, you're gonna need to do a lot better than that!" he called down with a mouth full of food.
"It be rude to be talkin' to others with yer mouth full!" the robot called back- seriously, why was he talking like a pirate?
Ronin just shrugged and let his free hand hang over the nest. "It also be rude to not let me eat my breakfast in peace."
"Then go eat inside!" the red one shouted, sounding distinctly like an annoyed little teen.
So the fate of Ninjago rested on the shoulders of petulant teens. First Master help them all. Ronin suppressed a yawn.
"Ninjaaaaaa go!" Shouted that same red one from below. Ronin watched as a whirlwind gathered around him, tinted red by his own bullshit dormant powers. Unfortunately for him, he wobbled and ultimately capsized. He hit the side of the mast with a heavy "oof!"
First Master help them all.
"How am I supposed to eat without entertainment?" He asked as Fire Ninja fell back to the deck- the white and blue ones caught him and had him back on his feet in a surprisingly fluid motion.
How often do they have to catch each other from these kinds of falls?
Nya shook her head. "This is harder than it looks!"
"You still have your powers! How hard can it be?"
"Creating rain isn't the same as learning a forgotten martial arts technique coined by an angry ghost!"
"Right! One takes some old dead guy's journal. The other requires bending nature to your will!"
Nya huffed and crossed her arms.
The ghost grinned. "Aw, don't listen to him, Waterlily. He's just mad that he couldn't figure out how to get superpowers from my scroll." In an attempt to put his money where his mouth was, he struck some kind of pose and jumped- the wind coalescing around him seemed to mingle with the mist making up his form; his very body scattered after a couple feet's ascent, causing a very rapid and inelegant descent. He stumbled as he landed and ultimately fell backward. "Damn. I thought I had it that time!"
"You're the farthest off from all of them! How is that possible? You should be able to fly even without the tornado! And what do you mean 'your' scroll?"
"Personally, I think dying over something gives me the right to claim it as mine!" he said proudly, still sprawled out on the ground.
"Solid logic, solid logic," said the blue one as he fidgeted where he stood.
The red one scowled up at him. "And you can shit talk our ghost once you know what it's like!"
Said ghost propped his head under his hands and shifted into a lounging position. "Easy does it, Firecracker. You know he's just trying to get a rise out of us."
He was an entirely different person from before- something about becoming a ghost flipped a switch in his head or something, because he went from a cake-obsessed moron with exactly three thoughts in his head at any given time to the level-headed one of the group.
Here Ronin thought the robot was the rational one.
"It be wise to ready ourselves for the slings and arrows of our adversaries, for we know they be slinging mud and insults."
But the robot was busy talking like a pirate.
The group seemed just as amused by this, the robot included. They all broke out into giggles over something so stupid.
Ronin took another bite of his food to hide his own smile. "He doesn't even have armor to weigh him down! A little mist shouldn't stop him!"
It was true, too. Ronin had pulled some of his famous strings to get them that Deepstone armor, only for one of them to end up a ghost that didn't need it. Whatever, as long as he was still being paid.
Which was looking unlikely, seeing as the ninja were shockingly broke for national heroes.
"The mist is his body you-" the red one stopped talking when the blue one put a hand on his shoulder and glared up at Ronin.
Somehow, the robot and ghost seemed to be the only two with functioning brain cells, despite neither of them being actually alive.
"You be talking big for someone of so little help. I don't suppose ye be having advice for our local specter?"
"Nothing I'm in the mood to shout, especially when I could be getting a show instead! Now get back to it!"
The red ninja groaned. "Hate these heavy suits, I hate Airjitzu, and I hate you!" he declared loud and proud.
Wu said something down below, too quiet for Ronin to bother making out.
It was Nya's turn to try her hand at the move- her failures were less funny than the others- her reactions were nowhere near as much fun. She just tried to reach a flag on the top of the crow's nest, made it halfway up the mast, then flailed for a moment before falling back down.
Ronin hummed and watched them talk for a moment. He noticed that the ghost had peeled off from the group.
"Heya!" said ghost said out of nowhere as he climbed over and into the crow's nest.
"First Master- how did you-" Ronin whipped his head behind him. The rigging and ladder used to ascend to the top was in fact on the opposite side of the nest from where his visitor had appeared. "You know it doesn't count unless you get the flag while flying, right?"
The ghost shrugged- his aura bounced and weaved around him. "I've always been better at climbing than flying."
Ronin took a bite of his food. "Why are you bothering me?" Both him and the ghost watched as the blue one overshot the flag, sailing merrily overhead and tangling himself in the rigging on the way down.
He laughed, though there was a bit of unease. "You sound like you know stuff about ghosts."
"Dunno why you'd think that."
"People don't just have the channels to get weapons and armor effective against ghosts. Unless you're in desperate need of a hobby. You seem like you'd be a good dancer," he teased.
"Just 'cause I know how to kill ghosts don't mean I know how to be one." Ronin finally released his pent-up yawn and leaned against the guard of the crow's nest. "Although, I do know a thing or two about not being an idiot."
The black ninja deflated a bit and crossed his arms. "Yeah yeah, I know. Don't get caught in a haunted temple," he said with the disinterested air of a schoolchild caught running in the halls.
"For one, don't linger over coulda shoulda woulda. For two, you're stuck like this. May as well take advantage of it."
His conversation partner didn't have much to say to that- he just watched Ronin with a perplexed look on his face.
"Ghosts are right bastards to fight. You know that. Now you're a right bastard too. May as well act like one."
The ninja frowned.
Ronin rolled his eyes. "Do I gotta spell it out? Kid, you shouldn't have climbed over and into this air bucket. You should have just gone right through the floor." He stomped the wooden platform below him for emphasis. "Those couple of seconds can make a difference in a fight."
"...Huh."
Ronin almost laughed- hearing such a simple declaration of acknowledgement coming from the warped voice of a ghost was bizarre . Although, a child being turned into a ghost at all was bizarre. Bizarre situations all around.
The ninja waved his hand inside the wall of the crow's nest, as if to remind himself that he was, in fact, intangible. "I guess that makes sense."
"Also, ghosts can possess things. It's part of why they've been such a pain for you to fight."
The newly turned ghost grimaced. "I don't want to possess anybody. Lloyd looked…" he trailed off and crossed his arms with a pensive expression.
"I said things, not people. I mean, don't get me wrong. Possessing people is powerful, but even I know you ninja are way too goody-two-shoes for that. Dunno how, considering the shit you've seen, but it's your funeral."
"Clearly we're better at our job than you think," he shot back with a grin and his hands on his hips. "We're masters at doing crime without anyone knowing."
Ronin scoffed. "Breaking into a building overrun with evil possessed robots doesn't count as crime."
That one got him a pout.
"Anyway, ghosts are a pain to fight. Be a pain."
"Easier said than done when I can hardly control my body." It was phrased like a joke, but there was definitely some frustration behind that.
"No teacher like the battlefield."
"Hnn…" the kid bit his lip, looking deep in thought. "You give very… practical advice."
He took another bite of his half-consumed fruit and let his head hang back. "You like it? I'm plannin' on becoming a life-counselor if the mercenary thing falls through."
"You could be an after-life-counselor at best," Cole said with a smug grin.
"See, that's the hustle. Get 'em as a mercenary so they come to me for counseling. Then after they follow my advice, they'll need-"
Cole broke out into a manic laugh. "The triple hustle! Why are we trusting you again?"
"Because I'm a mercenary before a post-life-counselor," Ronin said with a perfectly level voice for a perfectly reasonable sentence. He happily ignored the pang of guilt inside him.
A silver pirate yelled some pirate-y swears as he sailed over their heads and half-crashed into the crow's nest before tumbling back to the deck. The goal flag hadn't been so much as touched.
"Also, the entertainment can't be beat."
Nya squinted as she stared up at the crow's nest, where Cole was talking with Ronin. The sun was glaring in her eyes- Cole was practically invisible.
"Cole is kinda freaking me out," Jay said in a surprisingly candid tone. "He got over the ghost thing pretty fast."
Kai hummed. "Is he over it, though? You can never really tell with him."
"I got over me own struggles over bein' a nindroid quickly, but this be its own great ordeal."
"Yeah, this do be its own thing," Jay mused, but it was kinda hard to be depressed when your local Nindroid was talking like a pirate. He bounced up and down on his toes.
"Seriously, why the pirate voice?" Kai asked, still bewildered. "Didn't you fix his voice? He was talking fine at breakfast."
Jay grinned and stretched one of his arms across his chest. "There's always room for improvement!"
"We be needing some levity in these tryin' times! The voice be Jay's idea."
Leave it to Jay to come up with the most bizarre morale-booster possible.
Zane's eyes flickered for a brief moment. "And I can turn it off at any time," he said in his normal voice. His eyes flickered again. "So there be no harm in humorin' him!"
Oh, that made it way less annoying. Thank the First Master it wasn't permanent.
Still, Jay looked offended. "Humor me ? A voice module was your idea!"
"I don't be findin' that event in my databanks."
Jay sputtered indignantly at being betrayed by his pirate brother. "I can't believe you!" He lowered himself into a ready position, then sprung up with his petulant rage and Airjitzu power surrounding him.
He missed the flag, but it was the closest attempt yet. Ronin's helpful "Miss!" echoed from above, and Nya swore she could hear Cole's famous belly laugh from all the way below.
He actually landed, too. It wasn't particularly graceful, but he did manage to land on his feet. He hissed as his ankles protested. "Ow, shoot. Almost had that!" He turned to Zane. "Hey, we should paint your falcon green! Turn it into a parrot!"
Said titanium falcon squawked in protest from somewhere above. Zane scowled, all in good fun. "Paint the falcon and ye be walkin' the plank!"
"Not a threat when we can fly!"
"I'm not sure I'd call this," Kai gestured vaguely at their group. "Flying."
"It's totally flying. I mean, it doesn't beat the dragons, but it is totally flying!"
"Look out below!" called Cole from above. Nya squinted up at him, but all she could make out was a cloud of mist and sunlight enveloped in a shaky tornado. "I got iiiiiii-" Cole's declaration of success was cut short by his own yell as the Airjitzu vortex sputtered and faltered, leaving him to plummet to the deck below, straight through Nya.
She shivered and lurched back as he passed through her. He hit the deck silently, which was strange. He still groaned, though.
"Woah dude, are you okay? That looked nasty!" Kai asked as he knelt beside Cole, who was currently face-down on the deck.
He just gave a thumbs up. "Never better. I certainly don't miss feeling pain right now." He lazily rolled back over, craning his neck at the sensei. "What gives? I totally thought I had that."
Wu shook his head- through this whole ghost-Cole ordeal, he had been frustratingly quiet, but he was still here to be their teacher. "I'm afraid I don't have any sagely insight to make this easier- it seems like it will come down to practice."
Cole flopped back onto the deck. "Ugh. I need to lay off the sweets…"
"Do you even weigh anything?" Jay asked as he leaned over Cole.
"Dunno. Probably not much. The principle stands, though. I'm not even wearing any armor and this feels impossible."
Nya hummed and swiped a hand through Cole's misty form. He recoiled, more out of instinct than anything else. "It'll probably get easier when you get better at keeping yourself solid. The other ghosts didn't seem to have much trouble, but you've only been a ghost for a day."
One day of how many? Nya wondered. She hoped Cole wasn't worrying about the same thing.
"Bleh," was all he settled on. "When can we learn rock-jitzu? That sounds way more my speed."
"Rock-jitzu… roll-jitzu…" Jay mumbled under his breath. "Hey, what if Airjitzu just needs a better name?"
"Jaaaaaaay, dooooon't," Cole whined- unfortunately, putting his palms over his eyes did little to block his vision.
"Maybe… 'Cyclon-Do!' Ninjaaaa… go!" He sprang upward, gaining some decent height before the cyclone swirled beneath him- he rocketed upward, and made it up to the crow's nest before the winds petered out. He yelped, and then Ronin yelped.
Jay didn't have the flag, but he waved at them from the crow's nest with Ronin's fruit in hand. "Cyclon-Do!" He took a bite, much to the mercenary's protests.
"That is absolutely not becoming a thing," Nya called up to him, but she still found herself smiling. Jay had always been quick on the uptake with these kinds of things.
Zane put a finger on his temple. "Yar! Pixal says we be approachin' the tea shop within the quarter hour. Misako be waitin' for our arrival."
Even Wu cracked a smile. "Well then, we best not keep her waiting."
It was then that everyone scattered to prepare for landing- Nya knew she needed to head to the wheel, but she took a moment to offer a hand to Cole.
He smiled and took it- or tried to, at least. It took a try or two for him to keep his hand solid enough to grab hers.
"How are you?" She asked him as she pulled him to his feet- indeed, he didn't seem to weigh nearly anything.
Cole stretched and led her towards her station. "I'm about as good as I can be, all things considered."
She gave him a sympathetic look that he tried to not meet. "For what it's worth, I know what it feels like to be totally out of your depth with no idea what you're doing."
"Get used to that feeling and you'll fit right in on the team," he replied with a warm laugh that felt so Cole that it nearly drowned out his ghostly echo. "None of us ever have any idea what we're doing. Honestly, we're pretty much always winging it!"
Cole had a way of brightening the room. Still, he sighed and donned a more serious expression. "I am worried, though. I don't want to slow us down, I guess."
"Would it comfort you if I offered to be dead weight alongside you?"
"You're not dead weight. You never have been. You're just new at the ninja thing."
Nya grinned triumphantly. "And you've never been dead weight either. You're just new at being a ghost. And who knows? Maybe your new powers are just what we need to save Lloyd!"
"So says the Master of Water," Cole rebounded with his head tipped back as he climbed the Bounty's ladder.
"Hey! I'm supposed to be comforting you! Don't change the subject by pointing out my hypocrisy!" Nya called after him as she followed him up.
Cole took to one of the consoles where he fiddled with a pre-landing system diagnostic that he didn't really understand. "First Spinjitzu Master, you're helping just by treating me like normal. Jay looks like he wants to shrivel into a ball any time he glances in my direction, Zane is talking like a pirate- as funny as that is, and I'm pretty sure Kai still wants to punch Yang."
Nya let free a wizened old sigh. "Kai absolutely still wants to punch Yang."
Cole stretched and let out a hearty yawn. "Honestly, when this is all over, I might let him," he joked.
Nya grinned and spun on her heel. "He can get in line." She punched her palm with a fist. "Because I'm a living water pistol, and Yang sounds like some nice undead target practice."
"Now that I wanna see!"
Misako was waiting at the tea shop when they touched down; she carried a light yet large sack of scrolls and books over one shoulder.
"I found what you wanted," she told Wu as she boarded the Bounty. "Set a course for the Wailing Alps. We don't have much time.
The sun was just starting to set- it'd be more than an overnight trip to reach the mountain once Nya had time to refuel the ship. Misako put a hand on Wu's shoulder and pulled him close.
"I also brought the other scrolls you requested. But Wu," she began in a horribly glum tone, "I don't know that you'll find what you're hoping for."
He allowed himself a weary sigh, away from the prying eyes of his resting pupils. "I assumed as much, but I'd still like to look into the matter myself."
Misako watched him with those shrewd eyes of hers as she wheeled him around and leaned them both against the railing of the Bounty. "I don't think there will be a way to restore him."
"It's too early to say that with confidence," he said, careful to keep his voice level.
His old friend shook her head. "The power that turned him is a dark one. Frankly, it's a miracle he's with us at all. Meddle further, and worse could befall him."
Wu craned his neck over the Bounty - he could see Nya and Ronin working to attach a fuel pump to their reservoir. Zane was cooking dinner, Kai was taking a shower, while Jay and Cole were gathering food from the shop to last the trip.
"I do not intend to act, merely to research, in case a path may present itself by which we can restore him." It was true that they could not afford to be hasty, and Wu was anything but. Still, as he leaned against his staff, he felt ten times his age at the thought of worse befalling Cole.
Misako bit the inside of her cheek. "How is he handling the change in the present?"
The sensei shook his head. "As well as anyone under that amount of pressure can be. However, when Lloyd is back in our care, I intend to give him- all of them- a greater chance to…" he trailed off.
"To be kids?" she finished. Misako did always know what was going on inside his head. His enigmatic persona crumpled away in her warm presence.
"That would be nice. I think they've more than earned it."
Misako ran her palm along the rail of the Bounty . She watched Cole as he balanced several boxes of food in one arm while prodding and elbowing Jay with the other. The Master of Lightning tried to retaliate, only for his attempt at a shove to throw him and his two boxes off-balance as he passed right through Cole and toppled to the ground. They both laughed as they picked the spilled goods off the ground.
It is good to see them laugh.
Wu allowed himself a smile.
It wasn't just about Cole being a ghost, and it wasn't just about Lloyd being gone. It was about this happening out of nowhere- no prophecy to prepare them for Morro's return, Lloyd's possession, or Cole's fate. And it happened so soon after they were all finally settling down into an ordinary routine they had worked so hard to secure.
"I wonder if they're ever going to find some peace," he mused aloud- Misako always made for a good confidant.
He startled when she actually laughed at that- he eyes sparkled with amusement. "Wu, I don't think you could make them 'find peace' if you tied them down and held it in front of their faces. Your ninja have a knack for finding trouble."
Wu pondered her statement for a few moments before finally allowing himself to agree. "I suppose you're right." That had certainly been why he tracked them down in the first place. He had first found Cole on the summit of a mountain he had climbed without any safety gear. He felt a pang in his chest. Cole always did have his own way of dealing with loss.
Oh Lily…
He watched Cole ascend the ladder to the Bounty , boxes still stacked on one arm- his brow was furrowed in concentration as he fought to keep himself solid.
"Order up, Master Wu!" he said when his head poked up from the side of the ship. He tossed the crates forward as though they weighed as much as paper.
He nodded and gestured to the kitchen. "Go help Zane put the stock away."
Suddenly, Jay screamed. Cole yelped and dove onto the deck just in time for Jay to spiral upwards in a clumsy Airjitzu cyclone, his box of food throwing him wildly off balance. When the vortex petered out, the box flung forward and clattered to the deck with a cumbersome thud.
Jay, on the other hand, was not so lucky- he undershot the distance to the deck, leaving him a foot or so short. Cole lunged to catch him. "I gotcha Jay- I got-"
The Master of Lightning landed flat on his back when Cole's hand failed to stay solid. Wu winced and descended the ladder- Cole jumped off the side of the deck and landed in a roll beside his friend. "Jay! Are you okay? I'm sorry! I tried to catch you, I just…!"
Even as he gasped for breath, Jay gave a thumbs-up. It looked like the fall had merely knocked the wind out of him, despite landing on stone and concrete. "I… nearly… had it… that time… too…"
"When you're carrying something, it's going to throw your center of gravity off," Wu offered, alongside his hand.
Jay took it and pulled himself to his feet. "Oh sure… now you give straightforward, non-cryptic advice after I deck myself…" He took a deep breath. "Ugh, that sucked."
Cole pinched the bridge of his nose. "Maybe a little warning next time before you catapult yourself in my direction?"
Jay scoffed and bent down for one of the boxes stacked on the ground. "Where's the fun in that?"
"It's a lot more fun if you give me time to actually catch you," Cole teased as he snatched the box from Jay and mounted the ladder. Wu watched him climb with a frown. The green mist seemed to whip around Cole with just a bit more energy- frustration, perhaps.
"Just keeping you on your toes, I think?" the other ninja tried. He dusted himself off and tried to get some of the dirt out of his hair.
Wu re-boarded the Bounty and put his hand on Cole's shoulder- he hovered over it long enough for the ghost to have time to solidify his form. "Cole-"
The Master of Earth craned his neck and tipped his entire body off-center by holding the crates in the opposite direction as a counterweight- he really did have the same sense of balance that made his mother such a proficient fighter and dancer.
"What's up, Sensei?"
Wu knew Cole well. Better than perhaps Cole realized. Even still, comforting him had always been a difficult affair. The best he could do at the moment was offer his unconditional support.
"If you ever need to talk, I'm always available to listen."
Cole could barely hear Misako's sword presentation. He couldn't even sleep, and the slideshow still managed to make his eyelids heavy. In the dim room, the two brightest things were the projector's image and his own green aura casting a dull light on everything around him.
He passed the time with his hand planted on the side of his seat. He bounced his finger back and forth; first, he made it solid, pressed it against the chair, then he lifted it back up. Next, he let the mist around him loosen and free itself- he passed his finger through the seat, then withdrew it again.
He repeated this action with the rhythm of a metronome. Aside from one or two slips, he could do it with decent consistency.
What good is it if I can't do it when it matters, though?
Jay had been falling, and Cole had just… not made himself solid in time. What if the fall had been larger? Or there had been lava or whatever at the bottom?
Jay would have died, and it would have been his fault.
He was still by far the worst at Airjitzu. Even Nya, who was new at the whole ninja thing, was closer to success than him.
Not to mention, everyone was still fawning over him.
First Spinjitzu Master, he had so much he needed to learn so quickly.
Zane snapped him out of his thoughts.
"The Sword in the Cloud could be many a sword! There be the Sword of Fire! The Sword of Destiny! The Golden Cutlass!"
Why a pirate of all things?
Cole heard Jay and Kai snicker behind him, and he couldn't help but smile. The pirate voice was just so… silly . But also harmless enough that it didn't really hinder their attempts at saving Lloyd.
Zane continued listing magical swords- although Cole would have been content with Kai's old sword being the only magical sword. But no, apparently there were tons.
"-The Sword of Invincibility. The Blade of Ruin!"
Misako smiled, but didn't comment on the voice. "Aye Zane. And there are even more than those. However, it wasn't until Nya's Samurai X suit was stolen that we knew for certain what they were after. They're targeting the Sword of Sanctuary, protected by the Cloud Kingdom."
Ronin scoffed from his broody spot leaning against a wall. "Now you're just making stuff up. There ain't anywhere in Ninjago called the Cloud Kingdom."
Wu nodded. "That's because it isn't in Ninjago." He stood up and turned to Kai. "Remember the passage to the Underworld behind the Fire Temple's lava?"
Kai groaned. Nya smirked at him in that shit-eating way they could only manage for each other. "Vividly. We blocked it off, though."
Oh yeah, I remember Nya teasing him about that. Wonder what happened there.
Wu nodded. "Well, like the Underworld, the Cloud Kingdom exists as one of the many realms alongside Ninjago. And, like the Underworld, there is a certain 'thin spot' through which we may pass into it."
Misako changed the slide to an illustration of a precarious looking mountain.
"Are those the Wailing Alps?" Ronin huffed. "At this time of year? You guys really do have a death wish."
Comforting.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Kai muttered under his breath with crossed arms.
The mercenary kept talking. "The Blind Man's Eye will be passing right over, soon. The winds could blow you clean off. You'd have to be crazy to-" he trailed off, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're going there because of the Eye, aren't you?"
Wu nodded. "The Blind Man's Eye is too tall, with winds too strong for the Bounty to pass through. However, at the peak of the Wailing Alps, an updraft is created that's strong enough to pull someone in."
"Assuming you don't freeze to death, first. Or get blown off a cliff. Or get killed by a ghost."
Theoretically, only one of those things should be able to happen to me, at least, Cole thought unseriously. Temperature would probably still end up being the biggest problem they faced.
"What, are you worried?" Cole asked in a sickly sweet voice that came out just a little off with his ghostly inflection.
"Considering my stuff is at stake if Morro succeeds? Petrified."
Tch, you and your stuff.
The comment should have rubbed Cole the wrong way, but at this point he was getting used to Ronin's Ronin-ness. So he decided to drop it. "Well, I've climbed plenty of mountains before. How hard can it be?"
"Easy for you to say, Master of Earth!" Jay grumbled, looking far less than enthused as he bounced his leg. "Half of us can still freeze to death. Or fall to our deaths."
Hey, this is something I can actually help with.
"Don't worry about it! You guys are strong and agile. We could put most professional mountaineers to shame!"
Well, not necessarily true when we have to carry our weapons and gear with us, but they'll be fine.
"Well, at least someone has some faith in us," Kai said with a blank stare at the projector screen. "What's so important about this sword, anyway?"
Misako flipped to the next slide- one depicting what was likely an illustration of the Sword of Sanctuary. It looked like a pretty normal sword, though. "The Sword of Sanctuary is, as you might expect, a powerful artifact. It can do two things: reveal the location of the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master, and predict your opponent's next attack."
Cole cringed. "Yeah, that definitely sounds like something we don't want Morro getting, huh?" A bit of an understatement, maybe, but that was really all his brain was giving him.
Kai groaned. "Why can't we ever just punch the problem? It can never just be solved with punching. It's always gotta be magic swords or something."
"You had a magic sword once," Nya deadpanned.
"Yeah, and if I can't have my magic sword, I don't see why anyone else should get one."
"Well, the plan is for them to not get it," Cole reiterated. Nya flicked the lights on as Misako turned off her projector. "When are we going to get to the Wailing Alps?"
"By midday tomorrow. Whereupon we will have until midnight to reach the summit. Morro got a head start, so expect a confrontation," Wu explained with the same tone as an instructor laying out a series of dance moves. To be fair though, they've danced this life or death tango before. And at least they'd be climbing a mountain. That was something Cole could actually look forward to. It'd been way too long since he'd had a chance to tend to his old hobby. Even if the circumstances were less than ideal.
Cole grinned. "I can give you guys a crash-course on mountain climbing! Do you want to tie ourselves in together, or would you rather fully free-solo the big rock?"
"No rope, ever ever again," Kai said quickly. Jay nodded emphatically. "That did not go well for us last time."
Well, running through a haunted mansion wasn't exactly the same thing, but it wasn't like it made a difference to him if they used a rope.
Their stunt didn't go well for ỳ̴̨ỏ̴̧ú̸̪ last time.
The thought hit him with so much sudden venom that he completely lost focus, falling straight through his chair and clattering to the deck, still half-inside the seat. He blinked once, twice, turning the thought over in his head as though it were an object to hold.
"Woah! Cole! You good, man?" Kai asked, immediately offering him a hand.
Cole shook his head, trying to brush whatever kind of intrusive thought that was away. He smiled and took Kai's hand- he couldn't feel it, but the gesture still left him feeling warm.
"No ropes," he agreed. "Although, the temple had less to do with the rope and more to do with me dropping the scroll," he explained.
Kai's eyebrows shot up. "You dropped the scroll?"
He shrugged. "We were in a hurry, and I panicked."
Jay laughed in that awkward "Hey, let's lighten the mood," tone of his.
"Well, how about we try to stop tying ourselves together with tiny ropes and we avoid dropping things?"
Jay yelled and recoiled as a green fist flew towards his face, even as it passed through harmlessly. He tripped over his seat and fell back against the wall with a disoriented look on his face. "I dunno, I make no promises," Cole said with a casual grin.
"Hah hah, very funny," Jay said- Cole let his arm solidify so that it could be brushed aside by his brother.
"In any case, me senses tell me we had best get a good night's rest for the perils we be facing on the morrow!" Zane declared, causing Cole to jump, because somehow the pirate voice had slipped his mind again.
"We be fighting Morro on the morrow…" Jay mumbled, not quite loud enough to justify too hard of an elbow. Kai rolled his eyes.
"Yeah yeah, you're all hilarious," Nya groaned, though her tone betrayed the gesture. "If your little comedy routine is over, I'm exhausted."
As if Nya herself manifested the tiredness, a yawn spread from her, to Jay, to Kai, and even to Ronin and Misako.
They went to bed that night in good spirits. Which was strange- they were about to embark on yet another deadly adventure, but Cole just found himself strangely excited. Granted, he had never been squeamish with regards to danger- but it was still strange, now that he thought about it. How all this pre-battle banter was such a comforting return to normal.
First Spinjitzu Master, he'd take this over all the fretting any day. And they were going to climb a mountain. Forget the Airjitzu and ghost powers he couldn't control, for a little while, they'd be doing something he was good at.
Well, of course he wouldn't forget it all entirely. It was still Lloyd's life on the line, and he'd never take something like that lightly, but he felt so much better now that they had a clear goal in mind. "Stop Morro from acquiring the Sword of Sanctuary" was so much less vacuous and vague than "Figure out being a ghost."
Still, Ronin's advice tumbled awkwardly around his head and churned unsteadily in his stomach. To try and figure out how to use his new powers to his advantage. Why did the thought make him feel so queasy? It wasn't like phasing through walls was going to turn him evil, and even Ronin agreed that he didn't have to possess people.
Cole decided that he really had no clue. It was probably just because he was new to all this. He'd get used to it with time.
I don't really have a choice on that one, do I?
In a way, the thought made it easier. This was just another obstacle. And like a mountain, if he just kept climbing, he'd eventually get over it.
Cole went to bed with the rest of the group- he didn't need to sleep, but there was something comforting about it. He could feel himself sway with the rocking of the Bounty . Kai was the loudest sleeper- he didn't exactly snore as Cole had been told he himself was wont to do, but his breaths were still loud and rough. Jay tossed and turned, even after he had fallen asleep. He really never was able to sit still, even when he was supposed to be at rest. Zane was, of course, totally silent. Nya's breathing was deep and rhythmic. It had a soothing effect.
He couldn't sleep, and he wasn't planning on lying here for the entire night- he had too much that he needed to practice as much as possible before the next day's mission. But still. In that moment of the night, no matter how brief, there was some peace to be found. It was easier to believe that he'd figure this all out. That Lloyd would be sleeping beside them again soon.
They had a difficult day ahead of them, but at that very moment, all was quiet and calm.
