Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

T he Spectral Lands and the spirits, well, spirit, they housed within were odd. Morro had become mostly accustomed to the cursed realm and her constant nagging within his mind, the constant bitterness that had become so familiar. Though the Well of The Lost’s tug for Morro to rest had settled within that empty space, it wasn’t half as all encompassing as she had been. Another thing strange about spirits within these lands was that they weren’t exactly spirits. Morro’s body mostly remained solid, and unlike before, it took a great deal of energy to fuse through objects. To possess something was mostly out of the picture, to possess someone seemed like it was just a product of the past.

Morro was rather content with his existence within the land for the most part. Sure, the pests were nuisances, and he’d lost his elemental powers in the merge, but the reactions of the people he helped was worth it. Take the kid that blew in a few days earlier who needed some of the Well’s elixir to heal his master; he’d gotten called a hero on top of doing a good thing.

The ghost was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the Soul Suckers chuffing. From his perch on top of one the many abandoned houses, he witnessed a distant pack of three begin to form. He stood, preparing to drive them away from whatever unfortunate soul had entered the lands, but was shocked at the group dispersing. He shifted on his feet for a moment, debating if he should investigate what it was that drove them away. Morro sighed, before deciding to stay on the safer side and remain on the rooftops.

His footfalls were almost silent. He shifted behind a chimney as he heard a voice.

“What’s wrong, Riyu?” From the way she sounded, Morro had to place her within the latter end of the teenage spectrum. Something grunted, complaining back at her, Riyu? Seemed displeased at something. From the way it sounded, Morro could have guessed it was a dragon.
“Probably being in this shithole.” Morro silently mused. He was startled by the voice that replied to her.

“I get him.” This one was male, and clearly older than the girls. It was also oddly familiar to the ghost. “This place gives me the creeps.” Riyu chittered at that, like he was agreeing with the man. Morro himself scoffed at how cute the thing was, the sound seemingly amplified in the dead quiet of the Spectral Lands. 

At that, the footsteps stopped, “Did you…?” The man’s voice trailed off.

“Hear that too? Yeah.” The girl picked up where he left off, her voice thin with nerves.

“D’ you think we’re being watched?” The man replied. 

Morro had to fight down a chuckle at that, “How stupid would you have to ask a question like that if they were actively afraid of being observed.” The whole conversation seemed so ridiculously pointless, completely giving up the elemental of surprise that they could’ve had if they just kept their mouths shut.  After a beat of silence, their footsteps picked up again. This time they seemed  more hurried.

Morro stepped out from behind the chimney after they were a good deal past him. Now that he had laid eyes on them, he could confirm that his assumptions were correct. The girl had a pink pony tail that swished as she turned her head back and forth, Morro even caught a glimpse of cat ears on her head. She was seemingly observing the land and was a good deal ahead of the man. The dragon, who was a good deal smaller than Morro had assumed, was ever farther ahead of the pair. Seemingly following the trail of the Soul Suckers that’d scattered earlier. Gray snout buried in the dirt as he walked.

Morro’s dead heart almost stopped a second time when his eyes caught a glimpse of blonde, almost white hair, it stirred something deep within his gut. That slightly settled as he glimpsed the elegant curling of tail behind him and the horns nestled within his hair. That relief was only temporary as the man, Lloyd, looked to the side. The markings around his unnaturally vibrant green eyes.had faded from his time away from the grasps of Morro’s possession. He’d gotten taller, he’d somehow grown horns and sprouted a tail, but, though Morro would never admit this to himself, he’d always recognize the stubborn spark that shone within them. 

Quickly, Morro shifted back behind the chimney, ready to bolt off into one of those long abandoned houses and hide away until Lloyd and his group passes through. Though, a little voice in his head chirped at him he’d made a promise to assist anyone that entered these lands no matter their alignment or reasoning.

“FSM.” He cursed internally, kicking at one of the shingles on the roof. It didn’t fly off the edge, nor even move as at the last moment he realised creating that kind of noise would be ill advised for this situation and willed his foot to phase through it. He stepped back through the chimney this time and half jumped-half floated over the right-hand side of the roofs. He walked bristly after the two, ducking back and forth between sides and behind as many visual blockers as he could. Which, with how these houses were built, it was a miracle that they didn’t spot him. 

Eventually ending up well in front of the two. Morro settled on the crests of one of the building’s roofs. Perched there like a vulture waiting for a deer to succumb to its wounds. Riyu was the first to notice his presence, the dragon raised its head from the dirt and growled, stopping at where he currently stood, the scales on the back of his neck raising like hackles.The next to spot him was the girl, her gaze following his up to where Morro was. Her footfalls freezing at the sight of him.

Lloyd was the last to see him, Morro thought it was ironic that the so-called green ninja, the one above everyone else, was that unobservant of the surroundings around him. He sucked in a sharp breath when he met Morro’s gaze, Morro didn’t even know he’d been so focused on staring at him. Signaling to him that his presence was fully acknowledged. He could see how Lloyd’s pupils constricted.

Morro cocked his head to the side, in a motion that hoped was intimidating, strands of his long black hair falling into his face. The wind politely decided to pick up at that moment, the way it rushed through the canyons of the Spectral lands almost made it seem like it was howling. He felt his lips curl into a smirk.

“So we meet again, Green Ninja.” The voice he forced out was a little more ghastly. A little more natural to him than the soft one he used for newly departed souls.

“Morro.” Lloyd hissed back, his eyes narrowing at the specter. His hand quickly found the handle of his sword. He drew it in a swift motion. Any of that anxious energy he held as a teenager had seemingly dissipated over the years, at least, Morro assumed it was years that he’d been gone. “Sora.” He said, his voice steady, serious even. The girl’s head jerked back to look at him. “Get over here.”

“Must be her name.” Morro thought as he witnessed Riyu and Sora step back towards him. Her gaze found Morro’s again but the dragon’s gaze permanently broke as he scampered off to hide himself behind Lloyd’s legs. He scoffed at that reaction, a goddamned dragon being afraid of him.

Silently, he slipped off the roof, the soles of his jaki-tabi making a soft thump. He stalked closer, tilting his head to the other side before he brushed hair out of his eyes. He found it amusing how his every movement made Lloyd.

“Relax, Green Ninja.” Morro practically purred, drawing out each syllable in a mocking manner. He may have sworn to try and be a better person(?) but that doesn't mean he’s not allowed to have a little bit of fun. “I’m not here to hurt you.” He raised his hands in a show of mock surrender. “I’m here to help.”

“Bullshit.” Lloyd snarled, not letting up on his glare. Sora flinched, not used to such a harsh tone coming from him. “How in the cursed realm are you here?”

Morro snickered at the irony of that phrase now, he lowered his arms. “Well, it’s simple really. When the merge, as you call it, happened, the cursed realm and the departed realm combined,” Morro intertwined both his hands to emphasize his words, “to form this wonderful little land.” The smirk had surely formed into a grin now.

“Where’s the rest of the departed?” Sora said, to the visible displeasure of Lloyd.

“They’ve all gone to rest now.” Morro replied simply.

“And you haven’t because of..?” Lloyd let his voice trail off again.

“I’m attempting to redeem myself by escorting them to The Well of The Lost.” Morro said. “I am still a ninja after all, it’s my duty to help people.”

Lloyd looked like he was about to say something else, before Sora cut him off.

“What’s the well of the lost? Have you helped any departed lay to rest about ye high,” she motioned slightly below her eyes, “curly black hair, he has horns on his gi’s hood. Is there anyway to un-rest a spirit that has gone to rest-”

Morro paused for a moment to listen to her ramblings, before he cut her off. “The Well of The Lost holds an elixir that when drunk by spirits allows them to rest, and has rejuvenating properties when the living drink it. I have helped that boy.” Lloyd and Sora’s faces drop at that. Riyu makes a sad sound himself like he could understand what Morro was saying.

“Not to lay to rest.” Morro adds quickly. Watching as Sora’s face rises in hope and Lloyd’s face becomes minorly ticked off but still intrigued. “I helped him need some of the expire from the well of the lost for his dying teacher.”

Morro watched as Lloyd’s face twisted into something he couldn’t read. “What did his teacher look like?”

“Ah.” Morro tapped his foot. “He was a tiger, I think, black fur, purple markings-” He didn’t get a chance to finish the description before Sora and Lloyd looked at each other. Both looked equally panicked.

“Ras.” Sora said.” But why would Arin be with him? Why would he be calling him his teacher?” Her head whipped back to look at Morro, eyes wide and full of hope, like she was wishing he had all the answers.

The ghost could only shrug at her. “I do not know where their final destination is.” He said, his tone almost held a note of pity. “But I do know which way they went when they departed from here.”

“Do you know what’s in that direction?” Lloyd said.

“I do not.” Morro shook his head a little.

“And that is…?”

“Because I have not left this realm. In all honesty I do not think us spirits can even leave. And I have no desire to leave, I cannot leave my job as the protector of the spirits that enter this realm.”

“Who do they need protection from?” Said Sora.

“The Soul Suckers.” Morro sighed. “They go after the energy possessed within souls, they favor the living as they hold more. Usually when the living enter the Spectral Lands they are quick to gang up to attempt to feed.” He makes a motion with his hands at Riyu. “Though your little friend here seemingly scared them off.”

As the last words leave his lips, he can visibly see the cogs within Lloyd’s head start to turn, his eyes dart to Riyu, back to Morro, then back to Riyu again. Riyu makes a noise of displeasure, seemingly picking up on Lloyd’s plan before Morro can.

“Morro,” Lloyd starts slowly, “I believe you’re too dangerous to be left here.”

The pieces click into place and the ghost can’t help but to scowl. “You are not replacing me with some four legged beast just because of your distrust of my reformation.” Riyu makes an insulted noise at the insult. Sora seems just as offended. Lloyd sheaths his blade.
“Hey, Riyu is not just a four legged beast, he’s highly intellegent.” She paused, taking a breath to seemingly continue onto a tirade.

Morro huffed. “I do not care for its intelligence=. It could be smart enough to speak and I still would not care. I will not have an animal replace me, the master of wind for the FSM’s sake.”

Sora paused. “You’re the master of wind?” 

“Yes.” Morro said curtly.

“And you still have your powers?”

“Yes.” Morro lied, he can’t have this brat having something above him.

Sora’s eyes darted to Lloyd, Lloyd only shrugged. “I don’t know stuff like this. Maybe he still does have his powers, Zane’s died like 10 times and he still has his elemental powers.”

Morro suddenly felt like he missed the punchline of a joke. “Pardon me, but why are my possession of my elemental powers relevant?” He said.

“Oh.” Lloyd's eyes find him again. “There’s a new, living master of wind.” The way he forms the word living made Morro’s gut twist in disgust, it almost seems like he’s pitying him.

“Her name is Euprasia.” Sora piped up.

“Interesting.” Morro mused, he can’t help but be slightly bitter at the thought that he’d been replaced, though he’d been dead for decades, it still stings that the way of the elements had continued on before he came to lay to rest.

“We should get going now.” Lloyd patted Riyu’s head, the dragon still looked rather displeased but still sat where he stood. Sora hugs him, petting his head and cooing about how they’d be back soon and not to worry about them and how they’d get Arin back. 

Morro however was even less pleased with this deal. “I never said I’d-” He is quickly cut off by Lloyd grabbing his arm. He flashes a slightly threatening grin at Morro as his free arm just happens to brush the side of his Gi to showcase his canteen of water. 

The ghost scowled at him, but still relented. “Fine.” He huffed. “I’ll come with you.”

Sora smiled at the two of them, clearly unaware or willfully ignoring how the tension in the air is so thick that you could probably cut it with the sword on Lloyd’s back. could probably cut it with the sword on Lloyd’s back.

Chapter Text

Lloyd felt a sudden wave of awareness hit him the moment he and Sora stepped out of the spectral lands. He heard the sudden scuffing of feet in a stumble. He glanced back, only to check if Morro had decided to be a pain in the ass and run off, only to be met with the sight of the other man half slumped over. Hand to his forehead as he supported himself on one of the rocks near the border of the cursed realm with his free arm.
Sora is up and in front of Morro and saying something that Lloyd couldn’t seem to hear in the moment. It was drowned out simply by the sounds of his racing thoughts. The feeling of bitter anger that boiled within his stomach. He didn’t consider himself the bitter type, but the sight of the specter dragged memories that he’d long since pressed into the back of his waking mind. The scars left on his body from the sheer recklessness of the unwanted host, if he thought about it too much, he could almost feel the feeling of water clogging his lungs.
Morro blinked at Sora, Lloyd thinks he looks confused for a split second before he rolls his eyes and shrugs her off with a clipped “I’m fine.” His voice made the blonde’s skin crawl. It was odd, an accent that he’d only heard traces of in his uncle and father’s speech. Though Lloyd couldn’t help but notice that the bitter sharp edges that lined it in his memories had seemingly dulled.
His eyes rake over Morro’s form, trying to identify what else had changed over the years. The only thing that seemed to stay the same about the man was his height. His hair was longer, the green streak that was once that marked it had long since disappeared. The wind master’s robes had been traded at some point for something more modern. And for some reason that Lloyd could not fathom, he appeared to have visually aged.
His tail curls behind him, and he snorts in both annoyance at the sand caked into the delicate fur topping it and that he had thought it was a good idea to let Morro walk so far into the back.
“Leave me alone, child.” Morro snorted at Sora with a roll of his eyes as he pushed himself back onto his clearly unsteady feet.
“I’m not a child.” Sora retorted.
“Morro.” Lloyd interjected, causing the two sets of their eyes to flit up to him, Sora because she’d never heard him use that cold of a tone. Morro because, well, that was his name. He makes a motion to the area beside of him, up here,” he tacked on helpfully.
Morro gave him an incredulous look but still stepped up next to Lloyd. They both can see the way Lloyd’s gaze follows his wobbly steps.
“So you don’t wander off.” Lloyd said, gaze lingering on the other’s face for a moment. Up close, Morro had definitely appeared to have aged, his brows still oddly dramatically shaped, though now they gave him the constant look of mild concern. His hair fell gently over his shoulders, now it looked thicker. His cheek bones jutted out more than the blonde remembered, more sunken in a way that gave the feeling that his ribs protruded out in a similar manner underneath his Gi.
Lloyd blinked at that thought, snapped his eyes away from Morro’s face as he decided that it’d be better not to think about that. The visual of the dips between each bone, plainly visible against deathly pale skin, made his own rib cage feel tight against his lungs.
They walked in awkward, tense silence for the next hour or so, occasionally interrupted by the grunt or sigh of one of the others. Before Sora spoke,
“Sooooo,” she drawled it out, eyes darting back and forth between the two men, “how do you know each other?” She said with all the gracefulness of Riyu in a fine china shop. Though, Lloyd knew that it wasn’t her doing something wrong, that it was just because he was on edge.
Morro snickered, and at that moment when Lloyd looked over at him, their eyes met. Lloyd willed himself away from jumping onto ravenette to maul him with his claws and teeth and whatever the hell else his blood brought out in a moment of anger. He opened his mouth to answer before Sora also added,
“He also mentioned that you didn’t have horns before why was-”
“Sora,” Lloyd sighed out, cutting her words off. “Morro was a villain that me and the ninja faced awhile back.” He said. “He tried to merge the departed realm with ninjago and release his evil master. He did that by possessing me and attempting to kill me.”
Once again, Morro snickered, and once again Lloyd felt a hot coursing of rage inside of himself. “Look where we are now.” The spirit retorted under his breath.
“Shut up,” Lloyd quipped, as he looked back at Sora’s now concerned face. “He, redeemed himself and prevented the merging of the realm. And helped us with taking down other threats.”
“I also assisted in turning your beloved earth ninja back into a human.” Morro said. Sora looked even more concerned.
“Cole was only a ghost because you’re the one that made us have to face the temple of airjitzu.” Lloyd sneered, suddenly more annoyed.
“You could’ve just not.” Morro said. And Lloyd couldn’t help but notice the near invisible dimples that formed at the sides of his slight smirk.
“Oh.” Sora said, trailing off.
—
They fell into the tense silence, until they made it to the edge of the desert. Lloyd quickly pulled the communicator that he had stashed in the belt of his gi out and into his hands. He quickly shot a few texts to the others.
L>Pick me and Sora up at [location attached]
K>What about Riyu
L>Long story.
N>What
K>???
L> We also have an
>familiar face with us.
>not jay.
C>Cryptic
Z>ETA is 15 minutes
Lloyd dropped his communicator back into the pocket of his gi. “We have 15 minutes until the bounty gets here.”
“Why the hell didn’t you call it sooner?” Morro said. Finally catching Lloyd’s gaze in the challenging glare down his nose.
“Because we don’t leave the highly populated region unless it’s important.” Lloyd retorted. Holding the other man’s gaze, he couldn’t help but notice the slight bump in the upper part of Morro’s nose, and the way it was slightly crooked from not being set back properly after it had been broken.
They held that silent staring contest before Morro tore his eyes away.
“Your eyes are green, Green Ninja. Why is that?” He said simply as he looked off to nowhere at his side. Lloyd blinked, he didn’t even realize the change until he’d looked back on some of his older photos.
“It’s ‘cause of my element.” Lloyd said. Pierced ear flicking with annoyance.
“Is that also the cause of your,” Morro seemed to be trying to make a mental list of all of the changes that had happened to the other man over the past years before he just gave up and fully motioned at Lloyd.
“No, the,” Lloyd mimicked Morro’s motion at himself, “is because of me being part dragon and oni.”
“How does that work?” Morro’s brows furrowed. “I thought you didn’t have horns-”
“I don’t know. I had to access them in a major battle and I just, then everything started growing.” Lloyd said, still annoyed. The air was thick for a moment.
“Did it hurt?” Morro said softly, and Lloyd was just thinking about a response, before his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bounty’s blasters
They stepped back collectively, hair getting swept back by the wind as she landed. The rest of the ninja clamored out. Their reactions were tamer than the last time they’d seen Morro. Though Nya still had water pooling at her sides.
“Morro.” Cole was the first to speak up, as he crossed his arms. “I’d say it’s nice to see a familiar face in this shit show, but,” he made a motion with his hand at the spirit standing at Lloyd’s side, “it’s you.”
Morro sneers, and Lloyd couldn’t help but observe how he was acting so much more like a cornered animal than the last time they’d crossed paths. He felt annoyed at the pity bubbling up in his stomach, sometimes he hated his forgiving nature, hated how he couldn’t hold onto it. Sometimes he wished he could just stay angry and hateful, Harumi had taught him that much.
“I could say the same for your group.” Morro clasped his hands behind his back, only making Nya, and now Kai, more on edge. “How the living-life treating you?”
“Fine.” Cole bit back.
Morro clicked his tongue, “being short with the man that’s the only reason you’re breathing now, is this always how you ninja show appreciation?”
Kai looked like he’s about to butt in with the reasonable retort relating to how Cole was only a ghost because of the master of air, before Zane cut them all off.
“Lloyd, why is Morro joining us?” He said.
“I second that.” Kai growled, glaring daggers through Morro.
“Because he’s too dangerous to be left alone.” Lloyd paused for a moment, before adding, “and he knows where Arin is.”
“Not where he is-” Morro got cut off by Lloyd’s voice.
“Who he’s with.” The blonde watched all of the ninja's brows rise in confusion.
“Raz.” Sora said. “Raz has him, Airn is calling him his new teacher.” The other ninja’s faces contorted into something of a grimace.
“Fsm.” Cole breathed, which was met with a nod from Kai in agreement.
Nya retreated the water that had been hovering around her back into the bottle that hung on her hip. “What are we lingering around here for then?” She said, before promptly walking back into the Bounty, followed by the rest of the group.