Chapter Text
Cole sat in silence as he tried to the ignore the muffled sound of waves crashing against the ferry, stress building gradually within his ghostly self. The ocean had never been a place of comfort for him. When he was kid, he blamed his discomfort on sea sickness, often retreating below deck.
After Wu recruited him, however, it became clear that his "sea sickness" was just the physical manifestation of how disconnected he felt from his element. It was worse when he was below the water, in their little submarine voyages. He constantly felt nauseous, weighed down by all the water pressing against the glass, the ocean floor.
He shivered just from the thought of it. Now the ocean sparked a new anxiety within him—certain death. There was so much water around him, and it took only one strong wave to leap onto the deck for him to be sent to the Departed realm. He retreated even further below deck now, curled in on himself as he prayed to the First Spinjitzu Master that this trip wouldn't be long.
"So, does anybody else think this is weird?"
So overcome by his uneasiness, Cole had forgotten the other ninja had accompanied him below deck. He raised his head slightly from his knees, spying Jay sitting across from him in another row of seats.
Zane's voice spoke from beside him. He hadn't remembered the ice ninja taking a seat close to him, but then again, he had been preoccupied with his overwhelming anxieties for the past however long.
"How so?" he asked, voice as gentle as ever.
"Well, like—" Jay leaned back in his seat, flexing his hands on his knees. "Didn't Kai's girlfriend own the island? When did she sell it?"
"Not my girlfriend," grumbled the fire ninja, sitting the furthest from the group. His gaze was fixated on the waves beyond the small windows, arms crossed as a tension permeated his body.
"Public records on Chen's Noodle House show that Skylor sold the island not long after acquiring it due to her father's demise." Gears clicked quietly in the nindroid's head as he finished his searched explanation.
"And someone decided to buy it and make a theme park?" Jay laughs incredulously. "This place is just begging to be haunted!"
"Well, that is what we've been called here to take care of," Zane reminded.
The earth ninja bemoaned and groaned, "If it's ghosts they wanted us to take care of, why couldn't Nya have come instead of me? I'm not much of an asset like this."
Zane frowned as as he reached out a hand to put on his friend's shoulder. Cole willed himself to solidify further before the hand had a chance to pass through him. The touch was comforting, grounding.
"They asked for us four specifically, not Nya. The 'remaining active ninja' is what they said." Zane squeezed his shoulder just a bit more, a silent apology of sorts. "Besides, I think out of the five of us, it's best she's the one to stay behind with Lloyd."
"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Kai, his head turning in an instant to glare at his friend.
"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean?" mirrored Jay, though less intimidating.
The nindroid froze under their glares, blinking innocently. "Nothing, I just…they seem to have bonded a lot over these past few months. He's more at ease around her."
The two continued to stare at him, prompting Zane to question, albeit hesitantly, "Have you two not noticed…?"
"Three," mumbled the ghost, raising his hand slightly. "I didn't notice."
The quartet went quiet for a moment, Zane awkwardly avoiding the others' glances. Kai eventually let out a short exhale before turning to stare out the window yet again. For a moment, Cole believed they'd return to that comfortable yet slightly tense silence.
Of course, Jay didn't have the same idea. "It's just weird."
Cole held back a sigh as he finally raised his head completely, arms still wrapped around his legs. "You just said it'd make sense for the island to be haunted."
"Yeah, but like in the sense that—it's haunted so you wouldn't buy it. You'd just leave it alone, like the Overlord's island."
"Well, Chen's island is a lot closer to Mainland Ninjago than the Overlord's," pointed out the ghost. "And shouldn't we be calling it Roman or whatever now?"
"Omen," gently corrected Zane.
"I just don't get why someone would want to buy it, and—build shit on it," continued Jay. "I mean, besides Chen and his creepy snake stuff, there was just something off about it. Some, like…presence or something. You guys remember that, right?"
Cole stared at his friend, an annoyance building as he continued with this nonsense. "Jay—what the hell are you talking about?"
"I don't remember such thing as a 'presence' on the island, and I was there the longest." Zane paused, taking a moment to think. "I believe your imagination is getting the best of you."
Jay looked between the two ninja, before scoffing quietly and falling back against his seat. "Whatever."
Zane paused again, before removing his hand from the ghost's shoulder. With a sense of remorse in his voice, he stated, "While I do think it was certainly a weird choice to buy this island to turn into a theme park, we're not here to critique the buyers. Let's just focus on doing our job, so we don't have to see this creepy island again."
"I second that," announced Kai, a strong disdain in his voice.
The three turned to face their unusually quiet friend, all somewhat surprised by his sudden declaration. Jay's mouth opened, undoubtedly ready to prod at him further with some stupid joke, but before he could get it out, the ship's speakers began to crackle.
"Hope you didn't get too comfortable, gentlemen," quipped the ferry captain. "We've arrived!"
"As if we haven't been on this damn boat for hours," Jay complained, rising from his seat to stretch. "I don't get why we couldn't just use our dragons, would've been so much faster."
"The park is still open to guests for now. They'd prefer we don't break immersion by arriving on a physical manifestation of our elements," Zane explained yet again. "Besides, it's only been an hour too. Maybe shorter."
Jay made an exaggerated effort in rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Felt longer…"
The four were quick to disembark the small ferry, hopping from the wavering deck to the much more solid dock one by one. Cole was the last to do so, hesitating for a moment as he caught a glimpse of the water in between. Turning and sloshing against the wooden poles and sleek underside of the boat. Anxiety began to pool in his gut again—but he hopped over before it became paralysing.
Zane beamed proudly at him before continuing down the dock. Even Jay spared him a pleasant smile, clapping him on the back affectionately. It made no sound and he couldn't really feel it, but the gesture was appreciated nonetheless. Cole smiled back as they began to make their way to the entrance.
"First Master, it's windy," complained Jay as his short hair whipped around in the strong breeze.
"Sucks to be you, huh?" snickered the ghost, unaffected by such weather.
"Oh, can it, dirtclod!"
Cole rolled his eyes, instead turning his attention to the theme park's entrance. He recognised the same structure of Chen's grand entryway, but the style had been renovated into something more gothic. Age had been manufactured onto it, the stone stained and small breaks carved into it.
Foliage decorated the surrounding area, a garden of greens and purples surrounding and climbing the monotone structure. It was a beautiful sight, certainly more welcome than what originally stood there, though bound to resurface not the best of memories.
Cole shuddered just thinking about it. The dampness of those tunnels, the blisters and bruises he gained from hours of nonstop labour. Out of everything this island had to offer to the buyers, he sincerely hoped the underground was the one section they left alone to rot.
Movement caught his eye; someone wearing a white-and-black uniform, metal name tag glittering in the sun. They were waving the quartet over, a very obvious customer service smile plastered on their face. He readied to pick up the pace, now knowing where he was supposed to be heading, but paused when he heard someone hiss behind him.
He turned around to find Kai's face distorted in pain, his hand hovering close to his head as his posture seemed to tighten.
Cole's hand hovered close to his friend as he asked, "You alright?"
The fire ninja shuffled away from the ghost. "Yeah, I'm fine—" He suddenly gasped as he began to keel over, placing a hand on his knee as he tried to balance himself. His other hand started gripping at his hair, fingers digging into his scalp. "Fuck."
Cole jumped into action, carefully gripping his friend's shoulders to further steady him. "Hey, talk to me man, what's going on?"
Kai's eyes opened in a squint, the tension in his body slowly dissipating. "I…I don't know. My brain just…hurts?"
"Shit, uh…do you need a second? There's some benches over there if you just wanna rest for a bit."
His friend swallowed as he gently shook himself out of the earth ninja's grasp. "I—I'm good now. Seems to have gone away."
Cole couldn't deny his own scepticism; it wasn't exactly uncommon for the fire ninja to ignore his own pain and put on an unaffected front to keep others from worrying. "Like completely? No headache or anything?"
"Completely gone, I…" He paused for a moment, avoiding his friend's gaze. "We should get going."
Okay…weird, but whatever. He turned back around to find Jay and Zane standing with the staff member, both glancing at them with a shared concern. He jogged over to join them, Kai hot on his heels.
The staff member beamed once they made it. "Welcome! Glad to see you all could make the time to aid us here at Omen."
"We're just happy to help," Zane replied, smiling back though noticeably less enthusiastic.
They nodded. "My name's Kier, he/him, and I'm here to guide you four through our wonderful park! Any questions before we get started?"
Jay was quick to pipe up. "Actually, I was wondering—"
Before he suddenly went quiet, biting back a small gasp. His face cringed, an obvious discomfort hijacking his expression. He scratched at the back of his head, his mouth stretched into a thin line.
Kai watched him with a concerned look in his eyes. "You too?"
Jay blinked rapidly as he turned to face his friend, slightly dazed. "Wh—huh?"
"The, uh." The fire ninja gestured vaguely at his own head. "The worm."
The ginger stared at him, brow furrowed in confusion despite relief slowly melting into his posture. "Yeah. The worm."
Cole watched the two, unable to overcome his intense confusion. What the fuck is the worm? He had no choice but to ignore it, spying that Kier looked even more perplexed.
The earth ninja cleared his throat as he stepped up. "I think it's best we start the tour, if that's alright?"
Their tour guide struggled to tear his eyes away from Jay, meeting Cole's with a blatantly unsure look. "Uh, yeah—I mean, yes! Right this way."
The ghost tried his best to wash out any lingering concern or confusion, offering a soft smile. He took charge, joining Kier's side with the rest of the ninja following behind him.
"Some history before we get to the attractions," began their guide, clearing his throat. "The park hasn't been open for long, but the idea has existed for years. Our founders, brothers Pat and Theodore Kilgore, had dreamed of making an amusement park since they were children, making up our beloved mascots in primary school on the backs of worksheets.
"However, the idea was placed on the back burner as they grew older. They found success in different fields; Theodore starting a successful entertainment studio, and Pat founding a revolutionary tech firm later acquired by Borg Industries. Combining their riches from their solo ventures, the brothers decided to finally pursue building their dream amusement park."
As the guide paused for breath, Jay took the opportunity to ask, "Hey, uh, question?"
Kier offered a plastic smile as he replied, "Of course!"
"Well, I meant to ask this earlier, but, um—why build the amusement park here? You know, given the island's history with like, housing a cult that tried to take over the world and stuff like that." Jay couldn't hide his judgement, even as he tried to swallow the tone in exchange for something tamer. "Just curious, 's all."
Something flickered in their tour guide's gaze, that smile morphing into a softer expression, yet just as practised as what came before. He placed a hand over his chest, voice considerably lower as he offered, "Us at Omen anticipated such a question coming from you, and would like to clarify that the island's history was not considered when it was bought. It was chosen purely based on the convenience of having an entire island that can be expanded into at any time, as apposed to the trouble of going through governments and rural farmers in the case of acquiring more land.
"However, we don't want to discredit your previously awful experience here. We offer our sincerest condolences to you, and all others affected. Omen aims to redirect this island's reputation into something more positive in the near future, so people don't continue being haunted by the crimes of the previous owners."
And yet you called about a haunting, Cole couldn't help but think.
Jay blinked as Kier's long-winded speech came to an end. He bit at his lip, a tick the ghost recognised as sign of frustration. "Yeah. Alright. Guess that makes sense."
Kier smiled once again, before turning back around and returning to his backstory spiel. Cole had honestly lost interest with the "apology", though it was barely even that. More of a stale acknowledgement.
They continued on, none of the ninja really paying attention as their guide explained the layout of the park and different lands. It was all irrelevant information anyway; as far as he was aware, they were only dealing with one contained location. Needing to know where the Future Land was in contrast to the Gothic Land was entirely unneeded to complete their job. Hopefully. Maybe I should be paying attention.
While Cole had gotten engrossed in his own thoughts, he nearly lost track of the rest of the ninja. It took him far too long, though in reality it was probably a handful of seconds, to realise they had come to a stop.
He turned around to find Kai and Jay huddled around Zane, the nindroid hunched over as he gripped his titanium hair. They seemed deep in conversation, though their voices were drowned out by the general commotion of the park. As if feeling another pair of eyes set on the trio, they all turned to look at their friend in a strange, deceivingly coordinated manner.
Cole felt paralysed under their combined gazes, an immediate concern making a return, if not overshadowed by an intense uneasiness. What the hell is their problem?!
After what felt like an agonisingly long moment, Zane finally spoke up. "Cole," he began. "Have you perchance felt the worm?"
"No! I—" The earth ninja turned around to find Kier still standing nearby, his monologue paused as he watched the group with an increasingly concerned expression. "Sorry, Kier, just—give us a second, please."
Once their tour guide nodded, Cole rushed over to his friends, forming somewhat of a huddle as he hissed, "What the fuck is this worm?!"
"It's like this—pain in your brain, like something's digging into it," explained Jay to the best of his ability. "You know, like a worm."
The ghost shook his head. "No, I haven't experienced this worm." He paused. "Are you sure this isn't some specific kind of headache you guys just happened to experience around the same time? Like a, uh—ice pick headache."
"No, I don't get headaches," stated Zane.
The other three's gazes turned onto their friend, Jay asking, "Seriously? None at all?"
"Well, I'm not human, so no."
"What about those times you've claimed Jay's shitty invention ideas gave you a headache?" pointed out Kai, earning a brief glare from the lightning ninja.
"Figure of speech." Zane turned his gaze on the fire ninja. "You didn't take it literally, did you?"
Kai seemed bristled by the comment, grimacing as he turned to look away.
"I guess we all did," Cole muttered, trying to alleviate any specific blame from the fire ninja. He nearly added an excuse, about how their titanium friend was so lifelike, but decided against it. The back-handed nature would do no good. "You alright to keep going?"
"The feeling has subsided," confirmed the ice ninja.
The ghost turned to give the rest of his friends a questioning look, both of them thankfully reading his intentions.
"Haven't felt anything since it happened," Jay assured.
"Same here," added Kai, his tone a bit quieter.
Cole nodded. "Alright, good."
He turned around, returning to their guide. "Sorry about that, you were saying?"
Kier looked between the group, a more present concern hidden in his gaze. His voice was clearer, less practised as he replied, "It's alright. Um—so the ride in question is in our Traditional Land, based around the Ninjago of old. It's called 'Our Wonderful Realms', being about unity of all known species across the realms."
He led them to the left, towards and under an ornate gateway. For a second, Cole was amazed by the colour and scale of the structure—before squinting to get a look at the finer details, and spying the plaster lines leftover from the mould. The paint job was still impressive.
As they crossed over into the new land, the ghost froze. Something had sprouted in his head, a pressure digging through his skull and into his brain, such as a big needle. He was stunned at the fact he was even feeling pain to begin with—before it got worse. The pain became so insistent it was debilitating, Cole stumbling towards one of the pillars to steady himself.
Voices began to gather around him, muffled and watered down to incoherent, low noises. The more he tried to focus on what was being said, the more he slipped. Agony overtook everything, overwhelming his senses to the point where he screwed his eyes shut, the light around him too much to bear.
The pain was beginning to define him, pushing him towards desperation. His hand shook as he raised it to his head, digging at his roots and pulling at his locs. The outer pressure alleviated some of his focus on the sharpness ravaging his brain, though not completely. It continued to dig within, so intense that he feared it was tearing the flesh apart, climaxing into what felt like a ravenous bite at the centre—and then it was gone.
It faded nearly instantaneously, a dull echo of the previous pain being the only evidence of this unusual headache, if it could even be classified as such. He slowly opened his eyes, still squinting as they adjusted, finding Zane standing next to him. He turned his head, spying the rest of the ninja hovering nearby. All shared a similarly blatant concern.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I get it now."
Jay let out an unnerved laugh, panic clear in his wide eyes. "Oh god, this is so weird. What the fuck is wrong with us?!"
"Language, Jay! There are children around," scolded the nindroid. "Though I admit, this is awfully peculiar."
"Peculiar?!" gawked the lightning ninja. "It's beyond peculiar, it's fu—freaking bizarre! It has to be a sign!"
Cole raised his head, still leaning on the pillar. "Sign of what, Jay?"
"I don't know! Nothing good though, I can tell you that much!"
"It has to be connected to the haunting," Kai decided, a rare absolute seriousness in his voice. "We all need to keep an eye out, because it's probably going to get worse."
His friend's aloof words sprouted a deepening sense of dread within the ghost. "Quite the pessimist, huh?"
Kai stared at him, a reserved yet slightly judgmental look in his eye. "I'm being a realist. Every time something weird like this has happened, it's gotten worse."
"Nothing like this has ever happened to us, that's why it's weird," pointed out Jay.
Going back and forth like this would get them nowhere. Cole put his hands up, before interjecting, "Look, let's just—be cautious, alright? We still have a job to do, and as long as we watch each others' backs, we should be fine."
They all nodded, Zane being the only one to grace him with a response; a simple "Right."
"Alright, let's get going," concluded the ghost, walking through their small circle and towards the ride entrance.
Kier stood outside, not bothering to hide his own concern. "Is everything alright? That's like the third time you guys've stopped for something."
"Everything's great, Kier!" chimed in Jay. "Just peachy, don't need to worry one bit."
Cole interrupted the lightning ninja's sarcastic response, knowing it would on spur on more questions from their guide. "No need to worry, just sorting some things out. This is the, uh, haunted ride, yeah?"
"Are you sure?" Kier continued to ask. "I know it's not my place, but if there's something going on—"
Jay and his damn sarcasm! he thought, mildly annoyed. "I'm sure, Kier. There's nothing to worry about."
The guide didn't appear satisfied with the answer, but accepted it nonetheless. "Alright…well, uh, yes this is it. I'll take you guys backstage; the park just asks that you try to keep any potential damage to a minimum, as animatronics are pretty expensive to repair. Don't touch them if possible, and definitely don't press any buttons you see."
The four of them nodded, following Kier as he led them through a backstage entrance and behind the scenes. Jay appeared antsy to stop and stare at the various bit of costuming and machinery strewn about. Cole found his continued obsession with robotics charming, even though he didn't get to exercise the hobby much in recent years.
They continued through the halls, stopping right before a door. Kier turned to face them all as he explained, "Beyond this door is the start of the ride. It's a dark boat ride, but we've turned on all the lights so you can see your way through. The ride goes around in a loop so you shouldn't worry about getting lost. I wish you all the best of luck, I'll be waiting outside for when you all finish the job."
Cole smiled at their guide. "Thank you, Kier. You've been a great help so far."
He smiled back at the ninja, before walking through the group and exiting the building. The moment he left, the attitude of the room shifted. Each of the ninja exchanged worried glances, uneasiness settling between the group.
"Don't worry, guys," assured Cole, though he wasn't much convinced of his words. "We got this."
"Kinda hard not to worry when there's something in my head," grumbled Jay.
"Whatever it is, we will persevere," stated Zane. "We are elemental ninja; we can and will take care of this."
"Right," agreed the ghost.
Jay grumbled something under his breath, but provided no obvious push back. Cole returned his attention to the entrance, barely hesitating before pushing the door open.
Something changed instantly, like some invisible gas leaking into the room. Everything about the space felt different in a nearly inconceivable way. Nothing had changed physically, yet it was all different. A new way of seeing things? Or a stain on the physical world around them? They had never experienced anything like this with ghosts they've fought before, this terrifying aura.
This was something different.
He shuddered, fear bubbling beneath his skin. "I'm not the only one feeling this, right?"
"Unfortunately not," replied Zane, his voice airy.
Cole's mind was reeling with worry, theories forming as he tried to make sense of all this. However, thoughts were interrupted when he felt something brush through his arm. Kai was walking past them, staring out into the room beyond with a terrifyingly blank look on his face.
Cole reached out, grabbing his forearm to stop him before he crossed into the threshold. The fire ninja made no effort to fight back, or even express he noticed he had been stopped. It only worried him more.
"You alright?" Cole asked. He continued to prod when the other didn't respond, only continuing to stare. "Kai, look at me. Are you okay?"
The fire ninja turned to look at the ghost, blatantly dazed. It took him an uncomfortably long moment to respond, his voice somewhat laboured, as if it was a struggle to speak. "Yeah. Sorry, I…"
His voice trailed off as he turned to stare out the door again, entirely transfixed on something beyond.
"Okay, everyone—" Cole tugged at the fire ninja to get his attention, who lazily turned to face him again. "Let's stick together, alright? No funny business."
They all nodded, prompting the ghost to relinquish his hold on his friend. He immediately began walking again, crossing through the doorway with no hint of hesitance. Cole followed behind, uncomfortable with continuing so readily, though he assumed they had waited long enough. They had a job to do, after all.
Despite what Kier had said, the lights weren't turned on at all. Darkness greeted them readily, along with an unnerving silence. Paranoia sparked within him as he left the light of the room behind, enveloped in a place seemingly designed to terrify. Was this really a family friendly ride? Thankfully, Zane was quick to provide some light—his eyes beginning to glow as a beacon through the shadows.
"Something's wrong with Kai," Jay whispered from behind him.
"Most definitely," agreed Zane, voice just as hushed.
"Could it be the worm thing?"
"I believe so. But if that is the case, why aren't we acting like that?"
The lightning ninja paused, voice meek when he eventually replied, "I don't know."
Cole kept his eyes forward and focused on the fire ninja, who appeared oblivious to the talk behind him. If he wasn't getting mad at clearly audible chatter about him, something was definitely wrong.
They eventually came across their first batch of animatronics, though it took the ghost nearly walking through one to notice it was there. It was a cartoonish version of a human, smiling with its hand stuck up in a wave. As he looked around, he noticed more posed similarly—some sat, some stood. All of them smiled.
"First Master, this is creepy," he swore to himself.
"I do not think the lack of proper lighting is helping," mused Zane, who had similarly stopped to look around.
"Definitely not," agreed Jay, before being startled by the animatronic closest to him.
Silence enveloped the group again, unnerving as they continued to look around for any signs of a haunting.
"Do you guys hear that?" Kai eventually asked, voice somehow more strained than before. It almost sounded like he was choking.
"Uh…hear what?" questioned Jay.
"A voice…in the walls."
"I can check it out," suggested the ghost.
The other three nodded, prompting him to make his way to the nearest wall. He stuck his head through the painted plaster, finding a thin space between the wall and brick. There wasn't anything in there, except—slithering. The distinct sound of a serpent large in size moving between the cramped compartment. Despite how loud it was, he couldn't make out any shape or movement. Was the ghost they were hired to deal with a snake?
He pulled his head out of the wall, turning to face his friends again. "No voice, but it sounds like some kind of big snake is in the walls."
"A snake?!" gawked Jay. "Are we fighting a snake?"
"I don't know, I didn't see anything moving in there."
"A ghost snake?! Are you kidding me?!"
"We've fought a giant tentacle ball and won, Jay. I think a ghost snake isn't that bad." He turned to face the fire ninja, asking, "Are you sure you were hearing right?"
Only to find where he stood before empty.
Cole looked around, panic overtaking him as he quickly realised he couldn't find Kai anywhere. "Kai?! Hey, man, where'd you go?!"
"Wait—Kai's gone?!" asked Jay, eyes widening.
"Do you see him anywhere?! Yeah, he disappeared!" Cole turned to face the nindroid, asking in a rushed voice, "Zane! Did you see where he went?"
"No, I—I was watching you!" he stammered out, an uncharacteristic anxiety prominent.
"Fuck!" the ghost hissed, passing through his friends as he hurried further into the ride. "Kai?! Kai!"
The others followed behind him, similarly calling out to their lost friend, though it all appeared to be in vain. As they came across the next section—something resembling the Underworld with Skulkin animatronics strewn about—it was becoming clear they couldn't find their friend. Cole remained determined, continuing to call out his name with a fervour outmatching the other ninja.
"Cole," Zane began, "I'm not sure we're going to find him."
"It's a linear ride! Where else could he have gone?!" Cole turned forward again, preparing to march further into the darkness. "C'mon, there's no way he could've gone far—"
Zane reached out, hand passing through the ghost's arm, though he got his attention nonetheless. "Checking heat signatures in the building only reveals Jay. Kai is nowhere to be found."
Cole froze, mind reeling as he tried to comprehend was his friend was implying. "…How could he have just disappeared?"
"Fuck, do you guys feel that?" Jay interrupted, his voice a slurred mumble. He wiped at his forehead. "When did it get so…so hot?"
The two non-humans turned to face the lightning ninja, both sharing equal concern.
"Jay?" Zane asked slowly. "Are you okay?"
Jay gulped, before beginning to gasp as he reached for his neck. "I can't…can't breathe…."
The nindroid made his way over to the other, planting his hands firmly on his shoulders. Cool mist sprouted of his hands, relief momentarily spreading across the lightning ninja's face as he began to cool off. However, he continued to cough—a choked, horrid sound—with no signs of stopping.
The light of Zane's eyes flickered as he muttered to himself, "Nothing's stuck in your throat. It appears to be…closing?"
Jay looked up, a far-off look in his eyes as he stared through the ghost. Cole felt unsettled by it, beginning to make his way over to the duo so he could try his hand at helping.
Before Jay suddenly broke out of the nindroid's grasp, and began to run.
He sprinted through the ghost, seemingly uncaring of the weird sensation walking through one sparks. Cole turned around in an instant, trying to solidify fast enough to be able to grab him—but he was already gone. Disappeared into the darkness beyond.
"Holy shit…," gasped Cole. "What the hell is going on?!"
"It's the worm. It's messing with their heads, causing some state of delusion," concluded Zane, though similarly shocked.
The ghost turned to face his friend, clearly panicking. "Does that mean we're next?"
Zane gaze turned to him, glowing eyes still shocked. "I…"
A humming began to echo through the tunnel, the space around them vibrating, before bursting into life. Sparks flew from the animatronics as they all powered on, the soundtrack of the space blaring. The lights all turned on out of sync, some glowing furiously as others only blinked. The ride had suddenly become an overstimulating space, Cole's mind running frantic as he struggled to think through all the noise.
"Shit! What the hell happened?!" he tried to scream over the volume.
"I don't know!" screamed back Zane, covering his ears. "Could Jay have messed with something?!"
Right! Jay! "Come on, we need to look for him! The lights will make it easier!"
The nindroid appeared to hesitate, but followed along as the other progressed through the ride. The next section appeared more futuristic, populated by various nindroids. They all sung the same song, though overlaid with a robotic voice modifier. Cole craned his head to look between the various animatronics, frustration building as he couldn't find a single trace of his friend. Don't tell me he disappeared too!
He turned to face his remaining friend, hurriedly asking, "Can you check the heat signatures?"
The light from Zane's eyes flickered, before disappearing all together, as he stammered, "I—I can't—something's messing with my systems—"
Cole rushed to his side, solidifying his hands as he grasped the other's shoulders. "Come on, man, don't do this to me! Stay with me, alright?"
The nindroid slumped, head falling as he reached out and grabbed the other's own shoulders, desperation clear in his titanium grasp. His voice broke as he tried to speak, static filling in the gaps. "I…head…Cole…."
Cole's grasp moved down as he tried to keep his friend upright, brow furrowing. "It'll be alright, Zane. I got you."
He wasn't much convinced of his words, but figured he should at least try and comfort as his friend as he devolved into a robotic mess.
The scene was only getting worse. The song was growing louder, grating even for the ghost. Combined with the scraping of machinery as the animatronics waved and danced—it was unbearable. He could only just barely make out Zane's voice, which had since broken down into static begging and screams. The lights above were shining furiously, reflecting off his skin and somehow only getting brighter, until—
Pop!
The lightbulbs burst in near harmony, darkness enveloping them once again. He barely had time to adjust to being thrown back into horrifying shadows, before he noticed a weight lighted from his arms.
Zane had disappeared from his hold.
He stared in disbelief at the air before him, hands still cradling a figure that wasn't there anymore. "…Zane?"
Sense eventually returned to him, the ghost looking around frantically. The animatronics had since stopped moving, completely frozen in place. If he squinted, he could make out frost spreading from the joints.
"No…no, this can't be happening."
As he stared mournfully at the scene before him, something shifted inside his head. His vision began to stretch, mind bending as the whisper of a hiss began to echo in his ears. His thoughts left him before he could comprehend them, only leaving an ache shadowing the pain he felt at the gateway.
Hither, borne of the ground, spoke the hissing voice. Your fleeting light shall find remorse within I.
He turned to face the way forward, feet stumbling forward before he even realised he was moving. The voice guided him through the tunnel, his peripheral becoming fuzzy as he focused solely on what was ahead. He barely took in the animatronics of the new area—Serpentine, perhaps?—passing through them without worry as he reached the end of the ride.
The air became thick, somehow more different than before. It was otherworldly, enveloping him in a strong hold despite his dematerialised nature. It was unbearably tight…comforting? That's what the voice insisted as he continued on, even as it became a struggle to walk.
Cole gasped as he fell to his knees, arms holding him up as he tried not to collapse. He could barely see them, thick shadows enveloping him entirely. He was losing it all—touch, sight, voice. Even his identity was slipping away, swallowed by the beast that lured him here. There was no effort he could make to free himself, no scream to alert anyone who could listen.
He was simply gone.