Chapter 18: What, Is She a Princess?
"Hnghh…"
"Look, guys, he's waking up!"
For a breathless second, the ghost curled tighter into himself, hair tangled in a trembling hand
that barely veiled panicked, half-lidded eyes— shadows slicing across his face like prison bars.
With a sharp inhale, he forced composure into his frame. A brilliant, accusatory green glare cut
through the darkness, locking onto the six ninja. His claws raked into the earth as he dragged
his sluggish body backward, away from them, terror bleeding through the thin mask of hostility.
"Where am I? Where's my Soul Stone? What did you do to me."
"Woah, Morro, calm down!" Cole waved his hands back and forth as if he could physically keep
the panic at bay. "We didn't do anything to you! We took care of you!"
He blinked, furrowed his brow, then slapped a hand to his face. "Scorpion venom. Right."
The others raised their eyebrows. "So, you're back to your normal self again?" Nya asked.
"Normal self?" Morro sat forward, searching her eyes. "Wait. I didn't do anything weird, did I?"
"You sang, cuddled with Cole, and unironically used the word 'scallywag'," Jay listed on his
fingers before looking up at Morro apologetically but amused. "So, yeah. Yeah, you did."
"You're lucky you ran down my phone battery, or I would've recorded the whole thing," Kai
added unhelpfully.
The ghost groaned then returned his face to cupped hands. "You're not allowed to use this
against me. I'm still your most formidable foe."
The ninja shared a look. If Morro was claiming he still wanted to be viewed as a foe, then he
probably didn't remember confessing to everyone present his not-so-secret desire to be good.
Zane stepped forward and patted him on the head. "My vote for most formidable foe goes to the
Overlord, but you can have the title for the only foe that's ever cuddled with one of us."
Everyone laughed, and Zane looked around in confusion, not understanding the joke. Morro
slapped his hand away, a sulky expression on his face.
"Look, we need to get back on track," Lloyd announced. "Morro, you're still our guide. How do
we get to Gem?"
Morro glanced at him in uncertainty before looking away again. The ghost crossed his arms,
using his opposite hand to scratch subtly at his arm, the air noticeably thickening in response.
"She's not much farther," the ghost sighed, nodding at the jungle waiting patiently behind its
invisible boundary. "She lives there. In a castle."
"A castle?" Jay repeated. "What, is she a princess?"
"Why do you assume she's a princess? Girls can be knights!"
Not for the first time, everyone turned to stare at Nya.
"Why have you been acting so weird?" Kai demanded, brow furrowed.
"I'm not acting weird."
"Well, 'princess' is more accurate in this case. She never leaves her castle," Morro corrected,
leaning back on his palms. "I've never met her. But like me, her reputation precedes her."
"How are we going to get Cole's Soul Stone back?" Jay asked, sticking an elbow in the black
ninja's ribs when it looked like he might speak.
"Honestly?" Morro leaned back on his palms. "I think you should give up."
"Not an option," Kai answered immediately.
"Morro, you don't get your second favor if you don't see this all the way though," Lloyd growled,
advancing.
"Since I'm not getting my first one, the second one doesn't matter so much," Morro responded,
glaring.
Cole, Jay, Nya, and Zane stiffened in surprise and looked back and forth between Morro and
Lloyd. "What's the first favor?" Nya asked hesitantly.
The two continued their staring contest until Morro scoffed and looked away. "It doesn't matter.
Look, I never said I wouldn't take you there, I'm just warning you that you shouldn't go." He held
up a hand and started counting off the reasons on it. "Considering Gem made a deal with the
Bone Keeper and sent a giant scorpion after us, she's obviously very protective of Cole's Soul
Stone, which stands to reason that she'll do whatever it takes to get the other half.
"Since we killed said giant scorpion, she now knows we survived and are on our way to her
castle, so she's actively preparing for our arrival. Stealing the soul stone will be next to
impossible. She's a master of mind control to boot. If you have something she would potentially
trade the Soul Stone for, she'll make you give it up regardless. She wins no matter what."
"But, the fact that she sent the scorpion after us at all proves that she sees us as a threat," Zane
concluded.
Morro cocked his head. "I suppose so. She has thousands of slaves but not really any fighters,
or at least none of your caliber."
"Just how effective is this mind control?" Kai asked.
"Very," Morro replied. "I've heard rumors that some can resist it, but if that's true, it would take a
hell of a lot of mental fortitude. Let down your guard for one second— bam, your hers."
"If she has so many Soul Stones, why does she care about mine?" Cole asked.
Morro shrugged. "She's a collector. You know how rare a half Soul Stone is? But she's also
insane. Maybe she's just obsessed with you."
Cole grimaced, and Jay and Kai snickered at his expense.
"We need to get moving," Lloyd announced. "You sure you know how to get there?"
"Of course I do," Morro muttered, the edge of defiance still clinging to his voice as he pushed
himself upright. "It's—"
The world tilted violently. His breath caught as the ground lurched out from beneath him, colors
blurring into a formless smear. Before he could steady himself, strong arms seized him. A rush
of vertigo followed as his body was lifted, weightless for a moment, before being
unceremoniously hoisted through the air.
By the time his vision cleared and his hands ceased shaking, he was draped awkwardly over
Cole's shoulder, limbs dangling, dignity left somewhere on the ground behind them.
"Put me down!" He demanded, kicking at the air behind the earth ninja's back. "I am not a child!"
Even as he protested, though, he found the strength draining out of him quicker than usual. The
anger was quickly dispelled, replaced with exhaustion.
"Sorry, Morro," Cole said, the size of his grin evident even from his side. He started moving
forward, following the others who were heading into the jungle and laughing at Morro's
predicament. "You're obviously not one hundred percent, and we can't leave you behind. That
means I get a new backpack." Morro deflated more in response but lacked the strength to
argue.
Kai, leaning on Lloyd (the makeshift cart wouldn't roll through the thick undergrowth of the
jungle, and Kai insisted he could walk), called over his shoulder, "Don't worry, Morro! This will
give you plenty of Cole cuddle time"
Morro drooped in his captor's grasp as more peals of laughter assaulted his eardrums. If ghosts
could die, the mortification would have killed him.
It took them over half a day to reach Gem's castle.
Most of that time was spent trying not to get eaten—or maimed—by the undead jungle fauna,
which looked suspiciously like ordinary flora until it lunged at you with a mouth full of thorns or
too many legs. The vegetation had a sadistic streak. Zane nearly became a snack for a
grotesquely oversized, mutant Venus flytrap, and the only reason they made it through in one
piece was thanks to Morro's begrudgingly accepted guidance—even if Lloyd would rather bite
his tongue than admit it.
Once Morro gave up fighting the indignity of being carried like a sack of laundry over Cole's
shoulder, he actually became useful. He pointed out which plants were safe to eat—a critical
survival detail, considering all their supplies were obliterated in the bus crash. He warned them
about the poisonous ones, which spared Jay from an unfortunate encounter with something
dubbed "ghost poison ivy"—whatever that meant—and flagged insects so dangerous their
avoidance became a series of ridiculous, high-pitched chase scenes.
At long last, they stumbled upon the castle and finally got an answer to the unspoken question
haunting them the entire journey: who builds a castle in the middle of a jungle?
The answer? No one. The castle was here first. The jungle had swallowed it whole.
Its stone walls were darkened by age, worn and cracked where the ivy and other alien plant life
hadn't yet claimed every surface. Crumbling battlements loomed above, and the once-proud
wooden drawbridge now sagged with rot and mold. The moat lay dry, reduced to a shallow
trench—just another imitation of the Mortal Realm, like so many other eerie echoes scattered
throughout the afterlife.
"It seems… empty," Lloyd concluded, levelling a sharp gaze at Morro. "Are you sure Gem is
here?"
"I told you, she never leaves, and no one else— or should I say, no one else sane— would
come anywhere near this place if they didn't have to," Morro replied from where he was still
seated on Cole's back. "She's here."
Lloyd tapped his chin, thinking. "Fine. Let's walk the perimeter and see what weaknesses we
can spot. Remember, this is reconnaissance only."
The other five ninja voiced their affirmation, and Morro rolled his eyes.
They crept silently through the normally noisy underbrush of the jungle, scrutinizing every visible
detail of the stronghold. Honestly, it did not appear formidable whatsoever; there were even
cracks and holes in some places, and they had yet to see a single ghost guarding it. While it
helped alleviate some of their fears about getting Cole's Soul Stone back, it was also quite
unsettling.
That unsettled feeling transformed into outright alarm when they neared the garden wall and
encountered… singing.
"Into the trees! Get a visual!" Lloyd hissed. Instantly, the ninja dashed into the thick foliage the
jungle trees provided. It was a challenge for Cole with Morro on his back, but he managed,
perching in the same tree as Lloyd. The injured Kai and Nya stayed on the ground, peering
through the brush.
The aerial view of the garden showed that it was actually quite stunning compared to the rest of
the decaying construct. Flowers of every imaginable color blanketed the ground, their soft,
delicate aesthetic contrasting nicely with the jungle plants' vibrant, aggressive colors. There,
right in the middle of all of them, singing an unrecognizable song was a little girl gathering
flowers in a bundle.
A little girl, perhaps six years old. She was obviously a ghost, her glow so pale it was almost
white, matching her outfit. She turned and caught the light and the flash of color piqued interest
in her pristine party dress.
Sewn into the skirt of the dress were Soul Stones, scores of them arranged in a gradient from a
pale coral pink to blood red.
She stopped singing and straightened, gripping her bouquet of yellow flowers tightly. "Big
brother!" She called, hurrying toward a ghost they hadn't noticed standing stoically near the
garden's edge.
"Brother?" Cole whispered to Morro.
"Not her real brother. He's just someone she owns." The ghost shuddered. "She likes to pretend
with them like they're dolls or something…"
She pushed the flowers at him, and the ghost, nondescript aside from the eerily blank
expression, accepted them thoughtlessly. She laughed, flipping golden blonde ringlets over her
shoulder, revealing to the seven ninja one last stone around her neck, fixed on a dainty chain.
It was black as obsidian with a luminescent silver spiral, but its most striking characteristic was
its shape. Half a Soul Stone, round on one side and straight on the other, cleanly split in two.
Cole froze, a cry of recognition, of longing, caught in his throat.
Gem took her 'brother's' unoccupied hand and began to lead him inside-
She stiffened, turned on her heel to stare directly at the cluster of trees beyond the garden. She
couldn't see them— surely she couldn't see them, concealed in the canopy as they were— but
they held their breaths anyway. Her gaze was piercing, like she was staring directly into their
souls, and suddenly, she looked nothing like the carefree child they had believed her to be. That
moment of controlled intimidation could only be conceived by something more.
Eventually, she sniffed, and seeing nothing, disappeared into the castle with her slave.
No one moved until several long, fearful seconds had passed. Then, they disembarked from the
trees and moved to a small clearing far enough away from the castle. Only then they dare
speak.
Cole gently let Morro down from his back- and Lloyd smacked him on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" Their guide rubbed his arm, glaring at the Green Ninja.
"You keep conveniently leaving out vital pieces of information!" Lloyd fumed, throwing his arms
in the air. "You don't warn us about the Bone Keeper's illusions until we're right outside his door,
and now you didn't think it important to mention that Gem is a child?!"
"A child?" Kai repeated, scoffing. "Morro's freaked out by a little kid?"
"She's older than I am. I told you earlier: Age isn't a thing here," Morro argued, his tone biting.
"Besides, knowing the age she was when she died doesn't change anything about the mission.
You're still going to take the Soul Stone back, aren't you? Or are you chickening out now that it
might involve a tussle with a toddler?"
"I don't see how that's even going to be possible, guys," Cole input forlornly. "You saw it. She's
wearing it. It'll be impossible to get close enough without falling under her control."
"I warned you."
"We're getting his Soul Stone," Jay asserted, narrowing his eyes at the ghost.
"There must be a solution. Morro, tell us everything you know about Gem and her castle," Zane
ordered.
"And don't leave anything out." Lloyd added, crossing his arms.
Needless to say, arguing about the correct course of action lasted into the evening.
Kai, unsurprisingly, and Nya, surprisingly and aggressively, advocated for a full frontal assault,
insisting they could participate in spite of their wounds. Zane busied himself pointing out logical
flaws and calculating chances of success. Jay was overly enthusiastic about every suggested
plan. Cole was almost silent, seemingly the one least concerned about his Soul Stone's
retrieval.
Lloyd and Morro on the other hand…
"There is no way you're coming!"
"I'm the guide! How am I supposed to guide from here?!"
"You're still weak from the scorpion venom!"
"Which proves that I'm serious about having your back!"
"I didn't ask you to 'have my back!' You're not a part of this team!"
Jay, finally tired of the fighting, nudged Cole. "Can I talk to you? Privately?"
Cole, eying him warily, nodded. "Sure."
No one noticed them leave the group meeting; or, if they did, no one said a thing. Once they had
walked a sufficient distance away, and the argument was only a low murmur, Jay turned to face
Cole, though he kept his eyes directed toward the bioluminescent undergrowth of the jungle.
"Jay, if this is about what I told you yesterday-"
"No. There's something I have to tell you, but I'm really, really scared you'll hate me when I do."
Jay took a deep breath and, cutting Cole off, said in a rush,
"WhenwewereattheBoneKeeper'scasino-"
"Jay, Jay, slow down! I can't understand a word you're saying."
Jay sighed and began again more slowly, "When we were at the Bone Keeper's casino… I didn't
really see mimes."
"No, really?" Cole asked sarcastically.
Jay rolled his eyes. "Will you just let me talk?" He huffed before immediately reassuming his
grave manner upon remembering what he was about to say. "I saw… you. Dead. I- I killed you.
And, then I heard this voice- well, it was my voice, talking to me- and telling me that I did it on
purpose- I didn't think I did!" He rushed to add, waving his arms frantically. "But, then I started
thinking about how I've always been jealous of you because you're so much better than me at
everything and maybe I'm still a little afraid that Nya likes you better, so maybe subconsciously...
I pushed you into the water on purpose."
He kept his gaze fixed at the earth, waiting for Cole to yell at him, tell him what a horrible brother
he was- or that they weren't brothers anymore- and that he was going to tell the others that he
was a murderer-
Cole burst out laughing.
Jay gaped.
"I'm sorry!" Cole gasped for air, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry! Just… you're
jealous… of me?"
Jay blinked. "Um, yeah. You're stronger and more confident and you let me have Nya because
you knew I'd lose her if we kept fighting, so"
Cole was shaking his head, still grinning with the last of his chuckles. "Jay, I didn't stop our fight
because I thought you'd lose. Who would win never even crossed my mind. I gave up because I
could see that she loves you. And who wouldn't! You're a genius! I actually wish I could be more
like you!"
Jay was silent, eyes bugging out of his head.
"I know you didn't push me into the water on purpose," Cole continued. "I saw your face when I
fell. Besides, don't you remember? You even tried to catch me."
Jay frowned, relief mixing with guilt and jealousy with a smattering of awe all fighting in his
stomach and sort of making him feel like he wanted to throw up. "But-"
Cole jumped, grabbing his arm. "Do you hear that?"
Jay, a little frustrated that they were being interrupted again, listened and could just make out
someone singing very faintly. At first he was afraid Gem had found them, but quickly he realized
the voice they were hearing now, though female, was deeper and older.
"Yeah, so?" Jay turned back to Cole, brow furrowed. "It's just some ghost singing. Or, probably
some age-old jungle curse Morro neglected to mention that's going to drive us insane."
Cole tightened his grip on Jay's arm.
"That singing… It's my mom."