Legacy of the Departed

Chapter 8 - The Lone Ghost

Morro was seconds faster than Cole. With what little strength he had left, he used Airjitzu to hurl himself into the air at Yang. He caught the old ghost by the arm, yanking him out of the sky. Both their cyclones disappeared, and they dropped like stones. They hit the roof, and although it couldn't kill them, it almost felt like it did. Morro was pretty sure he blacked out for a second. The next thing he knew, Cole was next to him, helping him up, while his back and his limbs felt like they had been stomped on by a mountain.

"Just give up already!" Sensei Yang shouted above the howling winds, as if he was in any position to tell them what to do.

"We're keeping you here until the eclipse ends and the Rift closes!" Cole said. He approached Yang with his sword out. Morro didn't have his weapons, but he moved toward Yang, hoping he could still summon that same strength he had found in the attic.

"You're outnumbered," Morro said. "There's no one left to fight for you "

Yang chuckled. "Is that what you think?"

To their horror, one of Yang's students drifted up through the tiles in front of them.

"Oh, come on!" Cole complained as a handful of others appeared around them. "Don't these guys have the courtesy to stay down when they're beaten?"

"You wanted to work together?" Morro said. "Keep Yang distracted. I'll hold them off."

"But you can't fight them all –"

"Watch me!"

Morro charged at the ghosts, arms glowing again. He redirected the wind and swung his arms through the air, creating bursts that cleaved superficial cuts into the roof. The ghosts were more wary of him this time, but they were still no match for a fully-powered Elemental Master. With the extra strength behind every blast, Morro battered them relentlessly, even as the rest resurfaced from the attic. He didn't have to keep it up forever, he told himself even as his weariness made itself known again. Just for long enough.

Meanwhile, Yang had forced Cole up to the flat peak of the temple. Cole's sword and the Yin Blade clanged viciously against each other. Yang was able to use the ancient weapon like a whip, throwing its three-cornered blade on a chain that gave him more of an edge than Cole and his measly sword.

It was all Cole could do to defend himself. "What are you even fighting for?" Yang asked. "Your friends have abandoned you!" With a vicious slice he sent Cole reeling backwards.

Cole groaned when he hit the ground. His limbs felt weak, his body aching. He closed his eyes as he got onto his hands and knees, gathering the strength to force himself up.

"Your master has abandoned you," Yang told him. "You are all alone!"

A fresh surge of anger welled up inside of Cole. Yang didn't know what he was talking about. Cole's friends would never leave him behind like that, never! Cole whipped around and leapt at Yang, but the old sensei met him with a kick that landed Cole on his back for the umpteenth time that night.

Cole got up again, because he couldn't afford to stay down. Even if his friends didn't know where he was or what exactly was happening, they needed him to fight. He couldn't give in.

He held his sword out to deflect another blow from Yang. But the Yin Blade was stronger and Yang swung it with such force that it sliced off a chunk of Cole's own blade. Back and forth, he chopped away until Cole was left with nothing but a jagged hilt.

Sensei Yang cackled. Cole tossed away the hilt, but he had nothing left. He looked at his hands, clenching them into fists as he tried to summon his powers, but the cuffs merely rattled in the fierce winds and they blocked his element from materializing. There had to be something he could do, but what? If he didn't find a way to fight, then Yang would escape and that would be the end of it. Cole's friends would fall tonight, and it would be his fault. He would disappear forever and there would be nothing left but destruction and darkness and –

Cole stumbled to the ground, an unfamiliar tightness seizing his chest. He had no strength left. He was alone. Completely alone. He couldn't do it by himself, his friends weren't there, and it was all his fault.

"I can't . . ." he panted, his nonexistent breath leaving him. "Can't . . . go on . . . alone . . ."

"Yes," Yang said. "Yield! Soon I will be gone, but you will remain forever Departed, destined to haunt this temple forever as the new Master of the House."

What have I done? Cole asked himself. The thought echoed in his mind over and over again. After everything he had given to protect Ninjago, after giving his life to protect Ninjago, he had thrown all that away with one rash decision, dooming the fate of everyone he knew and loved.

Yang was right. He would be left here, alone with his mistakes.

Cole caught a glimpse of his hand, which was now barely more than a mirage. When he held both hands in front of him, they were so faded that he could almost see the roof's shingles more clearly.

"I'm . . . f-fading away." In fact, he could have sworn that his hands were becoming even more transparent the longer he looked.

"Just one more lonely ghost," Yang said as he turned his back on Cole. "Not a friend in the world."

"You're right," said Morro as he floated to the top of the roof. "It's pathetic."

Sensei Yang turned just in time for Morro to punch him in the face. He fell to the ground, clutching the Yin Blade for dear life.

"Your students can't come to your rescue anymore," Morro said, standing over him. "You're the only one here who's alone. Your power is waning, too, there won't be anything left after the Rift closes and the Yin Blade becomes useless again."

"You think you can save yourself by defeating me?" Yang growled. "You're no friend of Cole's. You're not a friend to anybody! You're just as lonely as he is. " He gave a wry chuckle. "Compared to everything you've done, Cole's actions tonight look like the crimes of a child. You think he'll forgive you for what you've done to him anymore than he would ever forgive me? Face it, you're using each other! You may have come here together, but you couldn't be more alone if you were on opposite ends of the world."

"You're wrong, Yang." Cole pushed himself to his feet and stood beside Morro. "We got this far by working together. You got this far through control and manipulation. But you've got no one beside you now. Allies or not, we're going to do what we came here to do!"