Chapter 12: Secret
They shuffled up a staircase, the gazes of all the casino's patrons like knives in their backs. "Just as a warning," Morro said quietly. "The Bone Keeper can read minds."
"What?!" Lloyd whisper-shouted. "You're only telling us this now?!"
"It's only a problem if you let him inside your head," Morro continued hurriedly, glancing at the quickly approaching office door. "If you give him consent to look into your mind, he can make you see things. It's important to remember it's not real."
Before they could sufficiently panic about such a powerful potential foe or berate Morro for withholding that information until they were ten feet away from the ghost in question, they arrived at an ornate wooden door with a gold handle.
The bouncer held the office door open for the seven ninja and then closed it behind them. Inside was an extravagant office the size of a master bedroom. An authoritative mahogany desk atop an intricate purple carpet dominated the far half of the room. Behind this desk was a window that covered the entire back wall, showcasing the full moon hovering above the roaming desert landscape. A tall rolling chair looked on at that horizon. Lining the walls were bookcases housing tomes that were all at least five inches thick. Two robust armchairs faced the desk, but no one sat down.
The swivel chair swung around, and the Bone Keeper stood up with a genial smile on his face.
The Bone Keeper seemed a rather unique ghost. Despite not being a particularly tall or broad man, his immaculate pinstriped suit, spotless glistening shoes, and slicked back salt and pepper hair exuded power. Instead of the usual oozing green, The Bone Keeper's aura was a soft light blue. Though his posture and expression were nothing but welcoming, there was... something, in his eyes or his smile or something else they couldn't place their fingers on, that warned them not to trust this man.
"Morro!" He greeted jovially. He walked up to the younger ghost and kissed him on both cheeks. Though the others might have laughed if it were any other time, it seemed unwise to do so now.
Morro kept his face carefully neutral in response. "Bone Keeper." He inclined his head in acknowledgment.
"Come to make another deal? The other one didn't work out so well, but maybe now-"
"No," Morro said quickly, with a nervous glance at the ninja beside him. "I'm only the middle man this time. The guy who knows a guy; you know how it is."
"Of course, of course," The Bone Keeper leaned against his desk and let his gaze sweep over the others. "My, my, it is quite an honor to be visited by the ninja of the Mortal Realm. Some might question your sanity for walking directly into the Realm of the Departed. You may have noticed you are not very well liked."
Lloyd stepped forward. "Bone Keeper, we are-"
"Looking for the rest of Cole's soul, I presume," he finished with a half-hearted gesture at said black ninja, who shifted uneasily. "Yes, I was aware when half of his Soul Stone entered the Departed Realm, just as I was aware when the six of you arrived. It wasn't so hard to put the pieces together."
"So, you know where it is?" Jay asked before he could stop himself.
"I know where everyone is. The question for you is: what are you willing to pay for it?"
Lloyd splayed his palms. "The best I can offer you is our skills as ninja. Maybe there's some sort of task-"
"I have scores of souls to do the menial labor," The Bone Keeper interrupted, holding up a hand. "I am a merchant of knowledge. What I want is something I don't already know."
"I have data on numerous categories," Zane offered. "Simply tell me what you would like to know, and-"
"No, no," the Bone Keeper shook his head, that same creepy, too wide smile on his face. "I have all the information I could possibly want about the Mortal Realm. What I want is something that no one else knows."
Kai grabbed at his hair. "What is it with people and talking in riddles? Just tell us what you want!"
Nya smacked him in the back of the head. "Kai! Don't be rude!"
But, the Bone Keeper did not appear irritated in the slightest, and that only validated their perception about him: he was creepy. "What I want…," he tilted his head back challengingly, "is a secret."
"A secret?" Lloyd repeated suspiciously. "What kind of secret?"
"Your deepest, darkest secret," the Bone Keeper clarified, the smile becoming all the more sinister. "It could be anything really. A traumatic memory, your worst fear, your heart's desire." His eyes trailed over the other ninja, making them avert their own eyes. "Whatever it is you don't want anyone else to know."
Cole cleared his throat. "So, if I tell you a secret, you'll tell me where my Soul Stone is?"
"Not just you," the Bone Keeper shook his head slowly back and forth as if he was laughing at a particularly funny joke, but his expression was unchanging. "Taking into account how valuable a half Soul Stone is and how urgently you need to know its location, that information is worth a secret from all seven of you."
"Oh no," Morro backed up two steps. "That's six secrets. I told you, I'm only the middle man."
"Yes..," the Bone Keeper trailed his finger along the smooth surface of his desk. "But, you did break five slot machines and two poker tables downstairs with your little wind show. Give me a secret, and we'll call it even."
Morro paused, as if recalling the events of five minutes ago, and then grumbled and stepped back into line.
"Okay, I'll go first," Cole volunteered. "Once, I-"
The Bone Keeper held up his hand. "Please. If you say your secret aloud, it is no longer a secret, now is it?" He cocked his head. "I will retrieve your deepest, darkest secret myself," he moved his hand position so his thumb was hovering over his index and middle finger. Preparing to snap his fingers. "All you have to do is say yes."
Letting him inside their heads. Revealing their deepest, darkest secret to an untrustworthy ghost that could potentially use it against them later.
They turned to Lloyd.
Lloyd looked at Cole, who subtly shook his head.
The Green Ninja nodded.
"Yes."
The Bone Keeper snapped his fingers.
"Kai, honey, won't you kiss Mommy goodbye?"
Four year old Kai pouted and crossed his arms, turning his back to his parents.
Because they were dropping him and Nya off at Mrs. Grumiller's, the stinky, old lady's house who never let him run around or play and always told him to "sit still like a good boy," which just made him want to run around more.
He'd thrown a full blown temper tantrum, complete with screaming, crying, pounding and kicking the floor, because he didn't want to go to stupid Mrs. Grumiller's. And, yeah, he woke the baby, and he did feel a little bad about that because he didn't like it when Nya cried, but then his dad had spanked him and that was unforgivable.
So, he decided to be mad at his parents for the rest of his life and then take Nya and run away. It was the only logical option.
He did feel a little bad again when he saw them standing in the doorway of Mrs. Grumiller's house and looking really sad- like really sad- and really did want to kiss his mom and dad goodbye because he always did, but he decided he still had to be mad at them.
He felt his dad's huge hand on the top of his head. He liked his dad's hands- they were really big and rough and warm because of all the work he did and Kai decided he wanted hands like that one day- and he wanted more than anything to turn around and hug his dad's legs and say he was sorry, sorry he woke the baby, sorry he was such a bad kid. But, he didn't because he was still mad because those same hands had spanked him just a little while ago.
"We hope you forgive us, son."
Okay, that was… weird. Even Kai knew it wasn't that big of a deal. He threw temper tantrums all the time, and he always had to be mad for a little while after.
His mom kissed the top of his head where his dad's hand had been. "We love you, Kai."
He watched them go. Why were they acting so weird? They seemed really sad, and he wanted to run out to them and tell them he forgave them… but he didn't. He would tell them when they got back tomorrow. He would tell them he wasn't mad anymore and he wasn't going to run away and that he loved them a lot, a lot, and then they wouldn't be sad anymore.
But they never came back.
Nya laughed at Jay's joke. And, then she realized she couldn't remember what the joke actually was. But, he just told it… How…?
She forgot about her concern as Jay turned back to the car they were working on together. She liked watching him work on something, especially when he forgot she was watching. He was so cute when he was doing what he loved, and the faint smile on his face was to die for. And, when he was doing something physical, she could certainly appreciate the muscles no one remembered he had rippling beneath his skin…
Suddenly, her phone buzzed. It was a news notification, and she gasped when she saw the headline.
Nya the Girl Ninja: Needs a Boyfriend to Feel Relevant
"What?!" She roared, opening the news app on her phone. Another suggested article popped up.
Jaya or Conya? Nya Uses Love Triangle to Get Attention
Outrage was the only emotion Nya could articulate at the moment. Jay seemed not to notice her distress; he continued fixing the car as she scrolled.
Five Reasons Why Nya is a Bad Role Model for Your Daughter
Nya Claims to be Trailblazer, Needs Validation of Men
Of Course the Only Girl Ninja Has a Boyfriend
…Was it true?
Was she not the hero to little girls everywhere that she thought she was?
Was she dependent on the boys in her life to tell her who she was supposed to be?
"Here, Nya," Jay handed her the wrench with a loving smile on his face. Only a moment ago, she had treasured that smile. Now, she couldn't stand the sight of it. "Can you tighten that bolt for me?"
"Of course I can!" She snapped, crossing her arms. "Are you implying that women can't do male-dominated jobs just as well as men can?"
Jay furrowed his brow. "No, I-"
"I can, but I won't because you don't tell me what to do," she dropped the wrench and stormed off, leaving a bewildered Jay in her wake. Nya felt a little guilty for flying off the handle like that, but if the world wanted an independent, strong, female role model, then that's what they were going to get.
Jay opened his eyes.
The room was dim. He recognized it as Cole's bedroom on the Destiny's Bounty, but he couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten there. Hadn't he just been doing something else? Hadn't he just been somewhere else?
He turned, feeling a little freaked out, more so because he could not identify the cause of his unrest, but sighed in relief when he saw Cole lying on the bed, his back to Jay.
He shook his best friend's shoulder. "Cole! Am I crazy, or is something strange-"
Cole rolled onto his back.
Jay gasped, scrambling backward.
Cole was covered in blood. His skin, the sheets, everything stained scarlet. His eyes were glassy, his face too pale.
Jay slapped a hand over his mouth, about to be sick. But, he pulled the hand away in shock when he felt something sticky on his face.
His hands were red.
His gi was dark purple in places, almost black.
Now, he remembered. He'd killed Cole.
"No!" Jay shouted immediately upon arriving at the realization. "I didn't! It- It was an accident!"
Was it?
Jay searched for the owner of the voice. "Yes! I couldn't- I would never-"
You saw the reflection in the tomb. You were going to end up with Nya. Wasn't that enough?
"No, no!" Jay protested his innocence while backing away from the lifeless body in guilt. "That was over! Cole let-"
Exactly. He let you have her. Were you afraid he was going to change his mind? Afraid that you'd have to compete with him- and lose?
Jay shook his head, unable to make his voice loud enough. "No…,"
Because he's better than you in every way. Strong, brave, confident, selfless. And, look at you.
"Stop it…," Jay begged, clasping his hands over his ears even though he knew it wouldn't help. Because now he finally recognized the voice as his own.
The worst part is that he never saw it coming, trusted you right up until the very end…
Zane sat cross-legged in the snow beside the tree where he was created, hand hovering over his memory switch.
To the nindroid half of him, it was logical. It made sense. Dr. Julien, even with the elixir Samukai had given him, was very old. He'd spent years in unfavorable conditions, isolated from any medical doctors. It was only a matter of time before he fell ill again. It was only a matter of time before he'd be gone.
To the human half of him, it wasn't fair. It just wasn't… fair. So much time with no idea where he came from, no idea who he was, and then he'd found his father in the most unlikely of places by a stroke of luck- and he didn't feel quite so alone anymore and he felt like they could make up for so much lost time...
And then he died.
Zane was alone again.
Well, that wasn't completely true. Zane knew he wasn't really alone. He had his brothers and sister and sensei, and he loved them all dearly, but really, he was tired. Tired of all the pressure of being a ninja, tired of having to risk everything, everything for the sake of a world who never seemed to appreciate what they were giving up.
And, no matter what, none of his brothers or Nya or even wise Master Wu could know what it was like to be so different from everybody else and not know what to do about it. No one else knew what it was like to be alive without truly being alive. No one lied awake at night pondering not only how he was alive but why and if he should be.
So, maybe it was better to forget that he'd ever been different. To forget the heartache of losing his father not once but twice. To forget about the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. It seemed fitting to do it here, where he'd forgotten once before.
He didn't do it. Couldn't do it. Because he was a coward.
So he went back to his family, who did love him and who he would've missed, and acted as if everything was alright. That was what he was good at. Acting as if everything was alright.
Cole woke up. It was quiet. Way too quiet. There should be some music playing somewhere, or his mom should be singing…
He hopped out of bed and started chewing on his sleeve because it made him feel better for some reason. He'd argued with his mom that five year olds didn't take naps, but she had told him to go in his room and not come out or he'd be in big trouble, so he fell asleep.
She had a bottle in her hand when she said it. He didn't like it when she had the bottle, because she acted so different and it was a little scary when his mom acted different.
Then again, he liked being in on the secret. She used to fight with Daddy about the bottle, so she started hiding it. Now she only took it out when Daddy was working. She would wink and say, "Our little secret. No telling Daddy, right, baby?"
He liked it when she called him "baby," so he'd bob his head and say "yep!"
He wandered into the living room. The cuff of his sleeve was now wet with spit, but he kept chewing because it gave his mouth something to do and his stomach felt weird. ("Nervous eater" his dad called him when he complained about being starving before a performance.)
She was lying on the couch.
His mom looked like she was sleeping, but when he shook her and called her name over and over again she didn't move and there were a lot of bottles around and he wasn't supposed to tell but Daddy would know what to do because dads always knew what to do and what could he do when she wouldn't wake up-
Afraid but also hoping his mom would wake up and yell at him for telling their little secret, Cole stood on his tiptoes to grab the phone and dialed the number he knew by heart.
"Hello! Lou of the-"
"Daddy?"
"Cole? What did I tell you about playing with the phone? Where is your mother?"
And even though he was a big kid, he started crying like a baby- Mommy called him baby…
"Sh-Sh-She w-won't m-m-move…,"
His dad was saying something after that and asking him a lot of questions he didn't know the answers to while also trying to tell him that everything was going to be okay when that was obviously a lie. He kept trying to get his mom to move. She wouldn't move. She wouldn't move.
Then, his dad was rocking him in his lap and humming the songs he liked but men were taking his mom away…
Daddy explained that, like the time they had to flush Pebble the fish down the toilet because she started swimming upside down, Mommy was going into the ground and never coming back. Because of the bottle. And the secret.
Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, and Nya were laughing as they climbed aboard the Destiny's Bounty, playfully shoving one another.
"I told you those snakes didn't stand a chance!" Kai boasted.
"Yeah, but did you see the way Zane fell flat on his face and Lloyd had to rescue him?" Jay pointed out, nudging the nindroid playfully.
"I would not have fallen if you had not been distracted fawning over Nya and forced me to dive out of your path." Zane replied, causing Jay to splutter and blush.
"I-I wasn't fawning…,"
Cole looped an arm around his shoulders. "You were definitely fawning. Anyway, I think we can all agree that Lloyd kicked some serious butt back there."
Said Green Ninja pulled himself over the railing at that exact moment. Grinning, he said, "I saw Nya taking out way more snakes than I did."
Nya started bragging, and Lloyd was sure this had to be bliss. Here, with all his friends just coming off an easy win, for once.
He turned and called over the railing. "Right, Morro?"
The seventh ninja flipped onto the deck, shrugging. "I could've done better."
"You got tied up. Literally. With a rope."
"It was all part of my master plan," Morro countered, crossing his arms. "And, then Kai had to ruin it by untying me."
"Yeah, you're welcome by the way," the red ninja called, overhearing his name in the conversation.
"What's going on out here?" Master Wu asked as he shuffled out onto the deck where all of his students were gathered. "I trust your mission was a success?"
"Yes, Sensei," Morro answered, turning to face his teacher.
"Good," Master Wu placed his hand on Morro's shoulder, and his eyes crinkled with affection. Morro knew he was different. The others were his students, Lloyd was his nephew, but Morro was his-
His-
Morro gasped, nearly tripping in his haste to get away from Master Wu, from Lloyd, from all of them.
"This isn't real," He whispered. The others looked back at him in confusion.
"What are you talking-"
"This isn't real! This isn't real! None of this is real!" Morro yelled, turning away so he wouldn't have to look at them anymore. "I'm dead! And, I-"
He grinded his fists into the eyes of this fake, mortal body that could cry, because he remembered the Bone Keeper was watching.
And I don't deserve this.
Lloyd's eyes snapped open. He was breathing heavily.
Focus, Lloyd, he told himself. But, what was it he was supposed to focus on? Something… something important…
He looked around to gather his bearings while trying to remember whatever it was he was supposed to focus on. It looked like… the kitchen on the Destiny's Bounty. But, it was covered in dust. The floorboards were half-rotten beneath his feet, and anything metal had a fine layer of rust.
"Hello?" He called, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice. "Master Wu? Mom? Guys?"
"Who are you talking to?"
Lloyd spun on his heel to see Morro- Morro, Morro, wasn't he supposed to remember something about Morro?- sitting calmly at the kitchen table when he was sure no one had been there before. He was flipping disinterestedly through one of Kai's magazines that had faded with age. He didn't spare a glance at the Green Ninja.
"No one lives here anymore," the ghost continued, flipping the page. "Except you."
"What are you talking about?" Lloyd demanded, eyes narrowing. "What did you do to them?"
"I didn't do anything." Flip. "You did."
Lloyd recoiled, "Wha…?"
"You drove them away." Morro shrugged. "It was inevitable really. Daddy abandoned you not once, but three times, and Mommy dropped you off at that school where nobody liked you. Everyone thought you were a pain before you became the Green Ninja, and everyone resents you now that you are."
Lloyd shut his eyes, because he was sure that thing he was supposed to remember would help him out right about now. If not, that meant… that meant he really did drive everyone away...
"Face it, Lloyd. I may live in the Cursed Realm, but you're the one that's cursed. Cursed to be so sad and lonely forever, because no one can stand you long enough to stick around."
Lloyd glared. "Then, why are you here?"
Morro stood and flipped the magazine shut. Only now did he meet Lloyd's eyes. "Just wanted to see how pathetic you were." He turned away. "I wasn't disappointed."
The ghost began to walk away- until Lloyd's voice stopped him.
"You got it wrong, you know."
"Oh?"
"Morro doesn't live in the Cursed Realm anymore. He's in the Departed Realm right now, and so are we." Lloyd's eyes were ice. "Let us out, Bone Keeper. You got what you wanted."
Morro blinked, actually impressed, then smiled.
He snapped his fingers.