A/N:

I FORGOT TO MENTION BEFORE THAT THIS CHAPTER WAS NOT POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE AID FROM PJO1234 & JamieCulver

 MY HANDS ARE FROZEN

THIS WOULDA BEEN UPDATED SOONER BUT LIKE I'VE BEEN HANGING ABOUT ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE ALL NIGHT WHOOPS

"Knowing that just makes things worse!" Lizz added on, clinging with all her might to Jay's leg--curling around it like a sloth--as Cole pulled the chain of his teammates to a slightly safer place inside the Temple.

As soon as she was completely inside, Lizz heard the taunting echos of Sensei Yang and she doubled in on herself, covering her ears, "Get him out!"

"Lizz! Lizz?" Cole was crouched in front of her, grabbing her wrists, "Lizz, he's taunting all of us. Ignore him. We have to stay focused."

She took a deep breath and straightened out with a throaty snort, "Freakin' ghosts. Freakin' Yang. 'm focused now," she took another deep breath, "'f I freak out jus' leave me behind, 'aight?"

"We're not leaving you behind anywhere," Jay snapped, "Especially not in this creepy place. C'mon, let's move."

Jay ended up leading them back to their half-safe haven of the study on the second floor. They were scattered about the room and Jay was still shuddering, "Alright, so there's no way out of the Haunted Temple, but at least all the commotion's died down."

"Yeah," Kai nodded as he folded his arms over the back of Lizz's neck--so his elbows rested on her shoulders. He was leaning close to her, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her head--she allowed him to, needing the close company at the moment, "We just gotta get through the night. Together," he added on after a moment, "Show Yang we're not scared."

Lizz jumped, "D-Did that picture just move?!"

All eyes turned to the picture on the wall and the boys shook their heads, "You're seeing things, Lizzi," Jay told her.

The clock tolled the hour, loud and assertive compared to the gentle ticking beforehand. Everyone screamed, and Cole put his hand on his heart, "I-I-It's just the clock! We're not afraid of time! But... we are afraid of not getting out of here in time..." he paused, his hands suddenly flying up to tangle in his hair, "Oh my gosh! Why did we spend the night in a haunted temple?!"

"EVERYONE! GET AHOLD OF YOURSELVES!" Zane shouted, stomping his foot on the floor, "EVEN IF MY VOLUME WASN'T STUCK, I'D STILL BE YELLING AT THIS DECIBEL!"

Cole groaned, "Zane's right. What are we doing? We need to toughen up! We're Ninja! We already missed out on Airjitzu the first time, we can't let this opportunity pass!"

Kai stepped away from Lizz--he didn't noticed how she stiffened up--and over towards a painting of the sea that was hung on the wall, "Uh... guys...? Are paintings supposed to move?"

"Th-They do in Harry P-Potter..." Lizz stepped up to Kai's side, watching the gentle waves rock back and forth. It was honestly quite soothing to her.

And then Jay was at her right side, pounding his fist on the painting. As soon as he did that, water began pouring from the frame, splashing onto her feet. Lizz cracked a small smile. Cole threw his hands up in the air, "Why would you touch the scary picture, Jay?"

"I didn't know it would do that, Cole!" Jay snapped back, his hands akimbo on his hips.

Lizz glanced around, "K-Kai?!"

He was on the other end of the room, tugging at the doorknobs, "It's locked!"

"As iron sharpens iron, Sensei sharpens student!"

Lizz's eyes were brimming with tears now, "G-Guys..."

"Block him out, Lizz!" Cole reminded her, looking around at the ceiling.

"G-Great," Jay's gaze went from the painting to the rest of the team, "He's b-back for round two."

The water was rising, up to their waists right now. Kai still had a hand on the doorknob and was looking at the water with fearful eyes, "W-Water... Water! I'm afraid of--Water!" his hyperventilating got worse as he returned his other hand to the door, "I'm going to drown!"

They were all floating now, "I-It's all in your head, Kai. He's trying to scare us out so we don't get Airjitzu," Jay's voice was calm.

Cole bobbed back to the surface, "I don't know. It tastes pretty real to me, Jay."

"WAIT! WHERE'S KAI?!" Zane was looking around, splashing slightly.

Lizz dove below surface, looking around, the water clearing up slightly. Kai was still tugging on the doors, and Lizz was going to swim to him and bring him above the surface before he drowned, but he loosened the doors before she could and the water began flooding out into the hall.

They were all--save for Lizz--spluttering and coughing as the water drained out of the hallway, "Well that wasn't refreshing," Kai grumbled.

"First the haunting, then the water," Cole listed off, "What's next?"

"That's it!" Jay was scowling, thinking, "He is testing us! Don't you see? Cole's afraid of ghosts, Kai's afraid of water!"

"As iron sharpens iron..." Kai began, "Sensei sharpens student! He's making us face our fears!"

"Which means whatever he throws at us next, we have to face together," Cole made a fist and hit it on his open palm, "And no running away."

"Or swimming away,"Jay added angrily.

"Fine," they all stood up, Kai sounding slightly defeated, "But time is running out, and if we don't figure out a way of staying in this together, none of us are going to get out alive."

Cole was furrowing his eyebrows, glancing around the general area where they all were, "Guys...? Where's Lizz?"

Jay's eyes widened in surprise, "Lizz?"

They were all looking around, now, calling out for her, though no response came, "Lizz?!" Kai took a deep breath, sighing, "Maybe she found a way out and just left us."

"Have you met her?" Jay sassed, "She'd never do that to anyone."

"Jay is right," Cole agreed, "Lizz is the type of person who'll save everybody but herself or die with them. Not leave everyone behind. Something's wrong."

"GUYS! I THINK I FOUND HER!" Zane was down the hall a little ways, watching something.

When the other three came up to him, they saw Lizz. She was curled into a ball, her back pressed into a corner as she covered her ears with her hands, "Lizz, what's wrong?"

Her gaze was distant, darting every which way. Once in awhile she'd wince, flinching away from something the boys couldn't see. Kai hummed, "What's up with her?"

It was dark, so they couldn't see the mortified fear in her eyes, or the silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Jay inhaled, "LIZZI!"

No response.

"Alright, something's definitely wrong," Cole was looking around the hall, now, "That's not really her. Yang is playing tricks on our minds; he's done something with Lizz."

Zane shook his head and fell to his knees in front of where Lizz was, "IT'S NOT US HE HAS TAMPERED WITH. I DO BELIEVE LIZZ IS TRAPPED INSIDE HER OWN HEAD."

The other three fell to their knees too, "What do you mean?"

Kai scrunched his eyes shut, thinking hard, "I think I got it! L-Lizz's got so many fears, none of which have about anything to do with her own safety, but I know for a f-fact that she's completely scared of-"

"Being alone," Cole finished, "But that makes no sense, we're right here! She knows that, she's spent the entire night with us in here!"

"SHE CAN'T SEE OR HEAR US!" Zane told them, gently shaking Lizz's shoulder. Absolutely nothing happened; she was basically lifeless.

"How do we get her back?!" Jay was patting her knee, too, now, and still nothing.

They all jumped back when she began shouting.

Get out! Lizz clamped her eyes shut, shaking her head madly, "No! I'm not alone!"

"They've left you for dead," Yang's voice was deeper than before, surrounding her, "You've never been apart of the team. You're completely alone."

"You're lying..." she pleaded, her voice cracking, "You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong! I'm part of the team! They'd never leave me on purpose! I'm one of them!"

"They don't think so," Yang's voice somehow got closer, making Lizz flinch and press her hands harder to her ears, "If they did, they'd have come back for you."

"Th-They didn't leave me..." she was shaking her head and made the mistake of opening her eyes a crack; there was no one around, the hallway completely dark and empty. She winced and closed them again. They're gone.

"You're completely alone," he repeated, his voice taunting.

Lizz didn't respond, her heart caught in her throat, thumping loudly. Repeatedly she shook her head, trying to get the ringing of Yang's laughter mingling with the laughter of more ghosts. The sound made her skin crawl. Lizz gasped, taking a large gulp of air before holding her breath. If I pass out, I can't hear the noises.

The lacking intake of breath made her ears funky; everything now sounded muted, far away and underwater, but it didn't block it out completely. Her eyebrows furrowed in discomfort and she sniffled again.

Her entire persona changed when she felt something shaking her shoulder; Lizz sprang to life, rolling forward. There was nothing in the hallway and her knees buckled, fear seeping into her bones once more; she'd thought for sure someone had come back for her.

Jay yelped wordlessly, dodging Lizz's blind attack, "What are we going to do with her?!"

"STOP!" Zane's hands were held out as he yelled, making everyone pause, "SHE THINKS HERSELF ALONE. WE SHOULDN'T MOVE; IF SHE FINDS US SHE MAY VERY WELL HURT US AND IF WE CONTINUE TO ATTEMPT TO SPEAK WITH HER SHE MAY LOSE HER MIND."

"Hasn't she already lost that?"Jay asked.

Kai kicked him in the shin, "This isn't funny, Jay! You know just as well as I do that she's the sanest person here."

"How do we get her back to us, then, Zane?" Cole's voice was urgent, "We can't spend all night doing this."

Zane took up a hesitant grimace and bit his tongue. Kai raised an eyebrow, "Zane..."

Zane shook his head and Jay crossed his arms, "Zane, what are you thinking."

"I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT PIXAL SUGGESTED A MORE INTIMATE TOUCH," Zane was always one to speak bluntly, but even in this circumstances he felt slightly uncomfortable; thinking that of anyone was always a jittery experience for him.

A lapse of silence fell over the boys--meanwhile Lizz was walking away from them, her head hung low, hands gripping her elbows. Kai sighed heavily and inched quietly towards her. She's like a reanimated version of herself... he thought, stepping slightly in front of her, Is that really what she's like when she's completely alone? "Lizzi?"

Kai reached forward to touch her shoulder, but let his hand hover above it for a moment before letting it drop back to his side, "Listen. Please, please come back to us. We need you," He pleaded with her, though her eyes remained blank, glossed over, "more than you will ever believe. And Lloyd, he can't lose family again. It'll crush him. I," he choked on the words a bit, "I can't lose you. Please, realize, we, I, would never leave you. You'll never be alone. So shake off whatever trance Yang has you in. Come back to us, to Lloyd... to me."

He thought he saw a ghost of emotion cross her face when Lloyd was mentioned, however whatever was there disappeared in a flash and Kai opened his mouth to try again when Cole suddenly brushed past him. Kai allowed him to, thinking Cole was going to reason with her, too, until Kai heard Cole mutter, "Touch, not talk."

Though by the time Kai'd heard the words, Cole had already grabbed the sides of Lizz's face and pulled her into a rough kiss. Lizz's hands jerked slightly, reacting before the rest of her when they went to Cole's hair. Then her eyes; they went wide, life flooding back into them before they fluttered shut.

And she began kissing back. The two of them in the middle of the hallway, not hearing Jay loudly clearing his throat, or Kai's low growling. Cole's hands slid down to Lizz's waist, pulling her into him before he regained his senses and shoved her backwards. She stepped back, wiping at her mouth with the back of her glove, "Cole-"

"Lizz!" Cole's voice held the exact opposite emotion of her voice; while her's held accusation Cole's tone was enlightenment.

"Cole!" it was Kai now, and he was standing behind Cole, grinding his teeth together.

"DON'T START FIGHTING, KAI," Zane stepped in front of Kai, taking up his entire field of vision, "WE HAVE THINGS TO DO!"

Lizz glanced over the boys, drinking in their appearances before leaping into Jay's arms, "You're still here!"

Zane was the next one to start hugging her and soon she was in the middle of a tight-knit group hug, "Obviously we're still here!"

She wriggled out from their grips, wiping at her eyes, "Yang is a dick. But Z-Zane is right. We can't turn on each other in the middle of a war with the dead--especially not over me. No way in hell I'm worth fighting over. Kill each other on your own time. Let's g-go," as she began walking away, Kai couldn't help but notice she was shaking more and more with every step she took.

"Rope?" Lizz tugged at the rope that was tied around her waist, "Rope? This is your master plan? Tie us together?"

"So no matter what happens, none of us can run away," Cole told her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "And none of us gets lost again. We're in this together."

"Ha-ha!" Jay snickered, "Ain't no thayng but a Sensei Yang." Sensei Yang who can apparently warp your mind... Lizz shuddered, glancing back at Cole, then forward at Jay when he added on, "Let's find him and get that Airjitzu."

Kai was in lead--bad idea--then Zane, followed by Jay, Lizz and Cole respectively. Kai looked over his shoulder as they walked, "Just so we're not surprised, Zane, Jay; what sort of things are you afraid of?"

Zane started screaming, "I-I think I know what I'm afraid of!" The others followed his gaze back down the hallway. Covered by shadows, standing still as night, was Morro, "It's Morro!" Zane finished, as if it wasn't already clear.

The boys began screaming, rooted to the spot by fear. Lizz was so stiff she couldn't even scream; Lloyd was barely recognizable, "And of all the times we have to fight him again!" Cole groaned.

"And he already knows Airjitzu!" Jay chimed in with an angry growl, "We don't stand a chance!"

Kai paused, "Wait a minute... if we're all afraid of Morro, this must be the next test!" Kai stepped forward so he was able to look at all of them, "How are we supposed to save Lloyd if we don't even have the courage to face him?"

"I do have the courage to face him," Lizz grit out, "I'll never be frightened of Lloyd. Never."

Cole nodded, "Neither will I. Kai is right," the Ninja turned back to glower at Morro, "Let's get him!"

Some of them were faster than the others--Lizz--and so a couple of them tripped and stumbled--Cole. Jay--on the run down the length of the corridor to where Morro stood. Morro, in turn, ran. When they rounded the corner, he was gone, "Agh," Cole snapped his fingers, "We were too late!"

"There he is!" Kai pointed at the other end of the hall, where a fleeting flash of green leapt around another corner.

"Alright, let's step together," Cole suggested. The team listened, and began running as one, "One-two-three-one-two-three-one-two-three-"

"Count in your head, asshole," Lizz snapped at him; it shut him up.

Kai came to a dead stop, causing a collision, "KAI?" Zane asked.

"He went up into the attic," Kai motioned up the ladder.

"A-A-Attic?" Jay stuttered, "Attics are definitely near the top of the list of things I'm afraid of," Lizz was nodding, trying to back up and away from the attic--attics meant heights--however Cole was in the way.

Kai had produced a lantern and they inevitably went up into the attic. Lizz recoiled harshly when--standing in front of the far wall--was Morro, his back to them, "H-He's just standing there..." Jay whispered, "What do we do?"

They all stopped about two feet from him, "I-I don't know," Kai mumbled, "Go face him, Jay."

Jay made a noise and slapped Kai's shoulder, "You go face him!"

"We'll all face him," Cole stood his ground.

Together, they all began taking slow and small, deliberate steps towards Morro. When they got as physically close as possible, there was a poof of bright green light, making the Ninja scream and jump back a good six feet.

When they looked, Morro had been replaced with the ghost of Sensei Yang; Lizz covered her ears and hid behind Cole, quivering, "As iron sharpens iron," Yang began--Lizz squeaked--, "Sensei sharpens student. You have passed the test."

"Th-Then you'll teach us how to do Airjitzu?" Kai asked eagerly.

Yang procured a scroll, holding it up, "Only those who see things through will see the benefit of the reward," he held out the scroll; Cole happily took hold of the one end of it.

"That's not the only thing we see through," Jay started, looking at his hand, "Why is it I can see through my hand?!?"

Lizz glanced at her hands and sure enough; they weren't there, "G-Guys...!"

She jumped back and swore when the clock tolled again, at the same time Yang began glowing slightly brighter; his light illuminated several identical, corpse-like ghosts that were hovering behind him, "Now you will join my students."

"He's not just their mentor..." Cole began backing up.

"He's their captor..." Lizz finished in a timid whisper.

Yang was raising higher and higher towards the ceiling, "The new dawn is upon us. Get out before the clock's last chime; if you can."

Lizz was practically dragging them all down the ladder, all of them screaming the entire way. The five of them ended in a dog-pile at the bottom and Zane groaned, "WHY DID WE TIE OURSELVES TOGETHER?!"

"There's no time!" Kai was helping the others to their feet, "We have to move!"

"One-two-three-one-two-three-one-two-three-" Cole was counting again as they ran and Lizz just chose to ignore him rather than waste good breath yelling at him.

The clock tolled again and the front door was just coming into view, "The door!" Kai counted, picking up speed as they took the stairs two at a time, "Hurry!"

They bumped into a few red-velvet ropes, making Cole lose the scroll. Both he and Lizz skidded to a stop to try to grab it, "The scroll!" Cole yelled, tampering with the rope around his waist as the clock chimed yet again.

"Cole!" Lizz was being dragged by the other three boys--though they didn't know what was happening behind them, so it wasn't their fault, "Cole! Don't!"

She was inevitably tugged outside just as the clock chimed with the hour and she was quick to untie herself and jump back to her feet, "Guys!"

They didn't hear her, "My hand!" Kai was wiggling his fingers, "I can see my hand!"

Then they glanced around, "Wh-Where's Cole?!" Jay called, taking a quick head-count.

"Don't worry!" Cole's voice called out, "I got the scroll!"

Jay, Zane and Kai's hands flew to their mouths, stifling gasps. Lizz's eyebrows drew together, "G-Guys...?"

"Why're you all lookin' at me like that?" Cole asked--still from behind Lizz.

"You didn't make it out in time..." Jay whispered, stunned.

"Yeah, Cole," Kai's eyes were darting everywhere, trying to seek out the correct words, "You're a... a..."

There was a long pause and then Cole's horrified whisper rang out, "I'm a... a ghost..."

Lizz hesitated before turned around to look at Cole, and when she did she screamed. 

A/N: SO YEAH