Morro rested his elbow on his knee, head in his hand. It wasn't very comfortable, given that his wrists were chained together, but then, Morro hadn't known comfort for well over forty years.

The green moonlight that filled the room steadily grew dimmer, turning the shadows that were cast by the house's ancient décor into menacing shapes. Two of Yang's students stood on either side of Cole and Morro, never taking their eyes off of them.

But Morro didn't pay them any mind. If the grandfather clock was any indication, the night was only getting later; it wouldn't be long before he disappeared completely. Earlier that night, Morro had been ready for it. He had already mentally prepared himself. He was going to say goodbye to Sensei Wu, try to make amends as much as he could, and accept his fate. Over the past couple months, Morro had more than enough time to figure out that this world wasn't really for him anymore. He couldn't possess a body forever, and without one of his own, what was the point? This world had never done him any favors, and if it hated him so much, he might as well stop trying to force it to make space for him.

And yet, he couldn't even get a goodbye. He was going to die alone, just like before.

(Could you still call it dying when there was so little left to kill?)

Yang had been right when he said that Morro would never change. And maybe Morro didn't care. He had worked too hard and for too long just to see it all go to waste. Sensei Wu was wrong about him, Morro knew. He was a lost cause, he was beyond saving. If the old fool finally came to his senses and told him off for everything he'd done, Morro wouldn't argue with him. But he wouldn't take any of it back, either. This was just who Morro was, and it had taken him his entire afterlife to see it. At least he would die having given Destiny a real run for her money.

(Was it too much to ask that his pain might just have a purpose?)

Morro was stirred from his thoughts when the Earth Ninja spoke. "Sorry about all this."

His head snapped up and he turned slightly. "For what?"

"For getting you into this mess."

Morro's lip curled. "What are you apologizing to me for?"

Cole shifted behind him, chains clinking. "'Cuz I dragged you all the way up here. And because you were right. I should have listened earlier."

"Ya think?"

"Look, I'm just trying to be nice. I'm sorry I made you come with me, and that I –"

"You didn't make me do anything," Morro snapped. "I should have just found Sensei Wu myself."

"Fine! I mean, you're right, it wouldn't have been hard, anyway. He's at the monastery."

Morro closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew he should have listened to his own instinct. He could have been there now, he could have made everything right before he left –

"I guess that's what I'm really sorry for," Cole added, sounding more sincere again. "You two should have at least had a chance to say goodbye."

Morro let out a bitter laugh. "You don't mean that. Not for my sake."

The Earth Ninja didn't object. Morro looked up at the guard in front of him, who remained emotionless and silent. Maybe Morro was being too sentimental by clinging to the idea of a final meeting. After all, he wouldn't have to worry about anything after tonight, so what did he care what Sensei Wu thought of him when he was gone for good?

After a long, drawn out silence, Cole cleared his throat. "Look, I don't exactly know how to say this, but I think we share the same goal, now. I don't care what Yang thinks, I'm willing to do anything to defeat him."

"Good luck with that," Morro said under his breath.

"C'mon, seriously! We stand a better chance if we work together! Don't try to tell me you don't wanna get out of here."

"What's the point? We'll be gone soon, anyway."

"The point is, there are people who still need us, people who, if we can get this right, will still be here even after we're gone. Don't you care –"

"No."

Cole's voice rose with anger. "You literally came with me just so you could see Wu one last time! I know you still care, even you're not heartless."

Morro leaned back on his hand. "Is that so? And what makes you think I came to see him? What makes you think I didn't actually come tonight to kill him?"

That was enough to finally shut the ninja up. He'd already been suspicious earlier that night. It wasn't too far from his mind.

"That's what I thought. You don't' know anything about me."

"That's not true."

"Then you're even more foolish than I thought."

"Even if you don't care about anyone else, you at least care about yourself. You never gave up when you were trying to release the Preeminent, you were freakishly persistent. I do know you, because I fought you. I know how hard you work to get what you want. You never gave in, no matter how hard we fought, no matter how much I wished you would." Cole paused. "So what happened?"

"Simple," Morro said. "I ran out of steam. I spent a lifetime waging war, but I'm finished now. I'm . . . tired."

"Yeah, that much I noticed."

Morro clamped his mouth shut before he could make another comeback. It would probably only encourage the Earth Ninja's ranting. How much longer until this night was over? He half wanted to stay silent and let Cole talk his ear off until they both faded away, but then he thought that really would be the worst way to go.

"Look, I know you want to help Sensei Wu," Cole pressed. "I'm sure of it. I'm also pretty sure you don't want to sit here all night and wait until it's all over. We can still do something to help, but we have to work together. Ninja never quit! And you're a ninja too, right?"

"Not one of your ninja."

"Point is, we can still make a difference. I don't think you want to let Sensei Wu die any more than I do. So even if we can't tell him goodbye, why not do one last good thing before we go? Even if it turns out you do have a heart, who else is gonna find out about it? These guys aren't about to tell anyone."

Morro gazed at his guard again, who had been looming over them like a statue, not reacting to a single word that was said.

"Sure, you may be tired," Cole continued. "But what's one more night? We can rest for our entire afterlives!"

"I don't know how you plan to escape when they've been listening to every word you've said."

"Well, maybe they can help, too." Cole leaned forward. "Hey! Yeah, you. I didn't catch your name before."

Silence. What a surprise.

"Okay then, how about 'Chuck?' What's your friend's name, Morro?"

"How would I –"

Cole had turned around and was squinting at the other guard. "Looks like a Ralph to me. Okay Chuck, Ralph, here's the deal: You may think you're Yang's students – maybe you were, once, but now you're as much his prisoners as we are. Don't you see? He's not your friend, he's your captor!"

"I don't think they could do anything even if they wanted to," Morro noted. "They're not just ghosts, I think they're under some sort of spell. Look at them."

Cole was silent for a moment. His voice sounded more serious this time when he said, "You gotta shake it off. Then we can stop him. All of us, together!"

There was no reply from either of the ghosts. Whatever he was expecting, it didn't happen.

"Okay, no pressure," Cole said. "I know it's tough doing the right thing. I'd rather not do this by myself, so I'll give you all three seconds to decide.

Morro frowned. This was the stupidest thing he'd heard yet. He had made up his mind already, he wasn't going to change it. Not for Cole, not for anybody. Not even for –

"One . . ."

Not even for the one person who had ever believed in him. The only stranger to ever show kindness to him, to take him in and give him a home where he was warm and safe and happy –

"Two . . ."

The one person who had never stopped loving him, who clung to his hand and refused to let go, even at the cost of his own life –

Cole nudged Morro in the back. "Three!"

The clock chimed.

Morro tackled the ghost before him and they both fell in a heap on the floor. Before the ghost could get up, Morro straddled him, raising his fists, and brought them down with enough force to break a live person's skull. The guard was knocked out in an instant.

Cole was staring at him. The other ghost was also out cold.

"Why three?" Morro asked.

There was a beat before the Earth Ninja seemed to register the question. "Oh. I dunno, I thought it would be cool to sync up with the clock."

Morro rolled his eyes. "What kind of plan is that?"

"I had to come up with something while you were moping around. Sorry, I mean since you're so tired."

Morro grit his teeth "Well I hope you have more to the rest of your 'plan' than the last one."

"Sure. Now we find Sensei Yang and stop him before the eclipse happens."

"Why didn't I think of that." Morro took another look at the clock. "We'll be cutting it pretty close."

Cole simply laughed. "What else is new?" He jogged up the staircase and Morro trudged after him. So maybe he wasn't quite done yet. But he wasn't about to get his hopes up. The night was still young.