Close the Circle (Find Your Path)

~2~

"Oh my god," Jay wheezed, clutching his stomach. "That pirate-voice switch was the greatest thing ever. Holy crap."

"I be in disagreement," Zane muttered, rolling his eyes and flicking said switch off, much to everyone's disappointment.

A cackle suddenly sounded and then Lloyd made his appearance known again. "Look guys!" he exclaimed, holding up a small plate. "Mom made tombstones out of Rice Krispie Treats and chocolate! She let me take some of the first batch to share!"

Cole eyed them warily. "....this isn't a prank, right? You didn't spike it with, like, wasabi or anything?"

"Mom wouldn't let me..." Lloyd trailed off at the glares he received. "I mean, what, noooo, never! How could you think that I would do such a thing?"

Kai scoffed and ruffled the green ninja's hair. "Lil' devil," he said fondly before taking a treat and biting into it. "Mmm, that's good! Remind me to tell Misako when we see her."

That persuaded the others that the treats weren't tampered with and they all grabbed one. Cole had only taken one bite out of his, however, when a group of kids came squealing past. "Ghost!" one of the kids shrieked, sounding terrified.

Cole tensed, and he saw the others do the same. "You don't think..." Jay started to ask.

Lloyd straightened up, adopting a serious look, any and all traces of the goofy kid from earlier gone. "We better check it out."

~~~~

It didn't take long to find the ghost.

Shortly after the ninja had set out, another group of kids ran past, screaming and shrieking about a paranormal specter. Then, a few minutes later, a third. Cole couldn't make out if any of the kids had a green scar (if any of them did, it was certainly well hidden), but the fact did little to assuage his fears that an evil ghost had decided to attack the party.

The actual sight of the ghost, however, put his fears to rest.

A slight distance away from most of the booths and games, a lone, white bedsheet was floating underneath a tree. Someone had taken a black marker to it and made two slightly lopsided circles at the top for eyes, which stared out forlornly into the distance. A small gaggle of children had circled around it, giggling and pointing. Every so often, a brave soul would approach the otherworldly specter, inching towards it constantly. The autumn breeze would eventually swirl, causing the 'ghost' to raise its 'arms' up threateningly, making the children gasp and run away, shrieking and laughing.

Cole sighed, beyond relieved. "Oh thank goodness, I thought it was going to be an actual ghost," he said, rubbing at his scar.

"Huh," Lloyd blinked at the spectacle. "Wonder when my parents set this up..." he shook his head. "Musta been when I was going up to the ship to greet you guys."

"We should get a picture!" Jay exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

Kai raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Why? We live with a ghost everyday, you can literally get a picture of one any day." He blinked. "Actually, would Morro show up in a photo? Or would we be the only ones to see him?"

"...good question," Cole frowned.

"I'll test it later," Jay decided. "But for right now, picture time! Who wants to go first?!"

Nya laughed. "I'll go," she said, indulging in her boyfriend's enthusiasm.

"Would you like for me to take a picture of the two of you together?" Zane asked.

"Oh yes, please!" Jay practically shoved his phone at the nindroid. "Thanks!"

The couple took a few moments to situate themselves, arguing slightly (but fondly) over whether to take a serious picture or a silly one. Kai and Lloyd unhelpfully called out suggestions while Zane fiddled with the camera's settings. Cole found his attention wandering to the 'ghost', unable to shake the sudden feeling that something was not quite right.