#after leaving/ghost morro will be out. maybe soon

[sea-jello]

errm uhh augh how have you guys been long time no see. annotated young morro design be upon ye

without the bg cause you can see the sequins better with the bg but you can also see the words better without the bg

[rosiehunterwolf]

... Morro

XD y'all really like your Morro, don't you? This is the second Morro request I've gotten (third technically, but there was an issue with the other one so it's not going to be filled) and the first one blew up XD, got way more notes than any fic I've posted before even though it was just a short little thing.

Since I already did a typical Morro fic, though, I decided to try something a little different with this one and tie it into the movie!verse. Hope you enjoy!

Spirit of the Deep

Summary: With Garmadon defeated for good, the ninja are eager to find another way to busy themselves. When Kai finds out about an ancient temple rumored to hold some sort of treasure, the others are immediately in.

Not all adventures are good, though. Before the ninja know it, they are in over their heads with a discovery they will never forget. (Movie!verse AU)

“It’s just through here!”

Kai’s voice rang through the temple, and Lloyd pushed his way through the vines, looking around carefully, his sword drawn. “Kai, not so loud. I don’t have a great feeling about this place.”

“Gee, I wonder why!” Jay squeaked from behind him. “I mean, look at this place!” He waved his hands at the crumbling stone walls, overgrown with weeds and vines. “Kai, what made you think it was a good idea to come here?”

“Oh, Jay, stop being such a coward. It’s going to be fun! There could be puzzles! Or booby traps! And most importantly, treasure!”

“You’re excited about booby traps?”

Lloyd stopped, holding up his flashlight to examine something on the wall. It looked to be an engraving of some sort, like a whirlwind, and below it, some sort of runes that Lloyd couldn’t read.

With a start, he realized the others were far ahead of him now, and he darted after them, desperate to keep up. “Guys! Don’t leave me alone like that! Are you forgetting I don’t have powers to protect myself like you guys do?”

“Fat lot of use powers will be when Kai and Jay inevitably trigger all the traps and the floor disappears beneath us,” Cole grumbled.

“Hey!” Kai yelped, at the same time Jay said, “Do you really think there are traps in here?”

Nya sighed. “If you’re so nervous, Jay, why did you even come with?”

“The rest of you guys were all going! I wasn’t going to be left behind!”

“There does not appear to be any signs of life,” Zane said. “I do not think anyone has been here for a long time.”

“What about traps? Can your sensors detect any traps?”

Zane frowned. “No. There seems to be some sort of interference with my signals.”

Kai suddenly stopped, the others bumping into him at the lack of warning.

“Kai?” Cole asked. “Why’d we stop?”

“There’s something in there.” Kai didn’t elaborate further, stepping over the rubble of the crumbled wall and disappearing from sight.

“Kai, wait!” Nya yelped, hurrying after him.

“So much for sticking together,” Lloyd grumbled as he followed the others into the room. “Seriously, one day this is going to-” he stopped short of walking right into Cole. “What is it?”

The earth ninja simply pointed, and Lloyd went slack.

In the middle of the room, there was a pedestal, intricate carvings in the side of it emitting a faint green glow. Atop it, a scroll was rolled up, the paper worn with age.

“What is that?” Nya breathed.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it one bit. Maybe we should just go-”

“Can it, Jay.” Cole grabbed the lightning ninja by the back of his shirt. “We didn’t come all this way for nothing.”

“What’s an old scroll doing all the way out here?” Lloyd asked. He reached for it, but Kai stopped him with a sharp yelp.

“Lloyd, don’t! I saw something like this in a movie once! This is a trap. When you take the scroll, the weight on the pressure plate will lift, and the whole place will come down around us! We need to find something that’s an equal weight to replace it with.”

Lloyd eyed the pedestal. “I don’t think…”

Nya sighed. “Kai, you’re confusing movies with reality.”

“I’m not! Trust me!”

“Fine.” Lloyd turned to the group. “Do we have anything?”

Cole pulled something out of his bag, holding it out to them. “I have a rock.”

They blinked at him. “Why do you have a rock?”

Cole shrugged. “Maybe I like rocks.”

Kai shook his head. “Okay, whatever. That should work.” Taking the rock from Cole, he positioned himself over the pedestal. He took a deep breath. “Here goes.”

In the blink of an eye, he had switched out the scroll for the rock. There was an ominous creaking sound, and they all held their breath, waiting. A few small stones clattered down from the roof, but other than that, nothing.

“We did it.” Unrolling the scroll, Kai’s relieved expression quickly changed to one of disappointment. “It’s just a bunch of symbols and gibberish.”

“Zane, do you think you can decipher it?” Lloyd asked.

Zane took the scroll from Kai. His brow furrowed. “This does not appear to match the dialect of any of the official Ninjago languages.”

“Lemme look at that.” Jay took the scroll from him, and Cole scowled at him.

“Be careful with it, nitwit! As far as we know, this is a priceless artifact!” As the others squabbled over the scroll, Lloyd approached the pedestal. Now that he was closer, he could see that there was an engraving on the top that he had missed before.

A funnel, sort of like-

A whirlwind. It was that same symbol he had seen near the entrance.

“Hey, guys,” he called. “I think this may be important, I saw it earlier-” Reaching out, he let his fingers lightly brush the engraving. Suddenly, there was a bright flare of light, and a gust of wind that seemed to come from nowhere sent Lloyd hurtling across the room. He groaned, rubbing his head.

“Lloyd!” Suddenly the others were beside him, Kai gripping his arm so tightly his knuckles turned white. Lloyd waved him off. “Kai, don’t worry, I’m fine-” he stopped, realizing that the fire ninja was no longer looking at him.

Lloyd followed his gaze and froze.

Hovering over the pedestal was a young man with long black hair, a green streak running through it. His clothes were ripped and disheveled, and he was examining himself in awe.

Most noteworthy, though, was the fact that Lloyd could see right through his body.

The man looked up suddenly, spearing them with his gaze. “Who are you? Where am I? What happened to me?”

“Oh. Oh my gosh.” Jay gripped Lloyd’s arm. “I think we just awakened a ghost! Oh my gosh, Lloyd, what have you done?”

“What have I done? Kai’s the one who brought us here! Blame him!”

“Me? You’re the one who touched the pedestal after I clearly told you not to!”

“Well, maybe if you guys had listened to me about the symbol, I wouldn’t have!”

“The scroll distracted us! Blame Zane, he’s the one who couldn’t read it!”

“Me? Nya was the one who-”

“Enough!” a voice bellowed across the room, and they all froze, turning to look at the ghost. “I can’t believe a bunch of kids just released me from the dead. I can’t believe I’m dead!”

“We’re not kids!” Nya snapped. “We’re ninja.”

The ghost looked at her. “Right.”

“We are!”

“Um,” Lloyd swallowed. “Mr. Ghost, sir-”

The ghost rolled his eyes. “It’s Morro.”

“Okay, Morro- we could get in a lot of trouble if our master found out what we did. So, um… maybe you could consider… going back? To wherever you came from?”

“Are you kidding?” Morro laughed. “I was trapped in there for years! I’m never going back!”

“Uh, I think you are.” Kai stepped forward, igniting his fist. “Get back in! Or else!”

Morro’s eyes widened. “An elemental master. I’ll be damned.”

“And there’s more where that came from!” Nya shot a jet of water at him, and Morro shrieked, darting out of the way.

“Watch it! Didn’t anyone ever teach you that water kills ghosts?”

“To have a ghost roaming the city would be unwise.” Zane stepped forward, ice crackling between his fingers. “We have you surrounded. Please go back inside your pedestal.”

“Two can play at that game,” he muttered. As Zane blasted him with ice, a powerful gust of wind shot from Morro’s hands, repelling the ice.

Lloyd felt his jaw go slack. Suddenly, the whirlwind symbols made a lot more sense.

“You’re an elemental master, too?” Cole whispered.

“Got a problem with that?”

The others turned to look at him. “What do we do, Lloyd?”

Lloyd glanced back and forth between his team and Morro. “I have a feeling we’re not going to get rid of him. And… Master never told us about an elemental master of wind. He should probably know about this.”

“Alright.” Nya turned towards Morro. “We’re going to take you to our master. Cooperate, or else.”

Morro sighed. “It doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice, do I? Fine, let’s go.” And, in a flash, he was sliding into Lloyd’s body.

Lloyd screamed, falling to the floor as the chill overtook him, the feeling of a foreign presence taking over his brain-

“Okay, okay kid, I’ll stop!”

Lloyd looked up to see Morro had left his body and was hovering over him, the others just behind, their expressions ranging from horrified to furious glares at Morro.

“Lloyd, are you okay?” Kai reached out, helping him to his feet.

“Geez, kid, you act like you’ve never been possessed before.”

Lloyd blinked at him. “I haven’t.”

Morro snorted. “Look, it’s not going to hurt you. I’m a ghost- I’m weak to water. The city has water everywhere- dripping from the roofs, pooling in the streets- the protection of a human body makes it far less likely that I’ll die on the way there. Besides, a ghost floating around isn’t exactly subtle, and… I have a feeling that attention isn’t exactly something we want.”

Lloyd exhaled slowly. “Fine. Do it.”

This time, he was prepared as the coldness numbed his body, although it still wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

The others looked at him anxiously. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, Lloyd?” Nya asked.

“It’s fine, it’ll be over soon. Now come on, let’s go find my uncle and get some answers.”

Let’s hope this guy actually knows what’s going on.

It took Lloyd a moment to realize the thoughts were Morro’s, but he found himself thinking the same thing. If Master Wu couldn’t fix this… he didn’t know what he was going to do.

[keity-devil]

Black Sheep - Chapter 7.

--

"Do you know where Lloyd is?"

Morro was holding an open bottle full of water. The three ghosts were in a corner and did not want to move at all out of fear.

"Okay, I'll ask one more time. Where's my brother?"

"In Ninjago City!!"

They once said, they were scared of the water and the person in front of them.

"So he goes there..." He closed the bottle. "You three will take me there. Whether you like it or not."

All three nodded.

------

"Does your father know you went to Ninjago?"

"Dap. I left him a note."

"Oh, okay. ... What did you write on the note?" Morro grinned, and Bansha looked at him shivering. "Kid, what did you write in the note?" Bansha received an almost chaotic laugh in response. "What did you write?!"

"He wrote," Wrayth's interventions. "And I quote: 'I went to Ninjago, old man.' That's what he wrote. "

"He's your father, Morro!"

"Adoptive. Which didn't let me see my brother for ten years. So don't you dare defend him because I know where the water is. And stay calm, I didn't leave the note. I took it before I left and broke it."

"Why do you tell your cousin brother?" Soul changes the subject.

"Maybe we're legal cousins ​​now, but in my soul it's still like a little brother to me. And that won't change any miserable law."

------

"Did anyone see Kai?" Zane asked calmly.

"Uh.. No." Lloyd answered. "But he said he would be here as soon as possible."

"Here!!" Kai had appeared running toward them.

"Here you are. For a second I thought you were lost." Nya had begun teasing him.

"Ha! Good one, sis. No, I had helped someone get to town. They were lost." He approached his sister's ear and whispered to her. "I have to tell you something later." She nodded that she understood.

"Okay. Now that we're all here, can we leave? I'm hungry." Cole complained.

"You always are." Jay spoke sarcastically.

------

"And do you admit we got lost or not?" Morro asks them, not amused about their situation.

"No. No. We didn't get lost." Wrayth insisted agitatedly.

"Wrayth, we walk in a circle for five minutes."

"You said you knew the way!" Bansha caught the ghost with collar chains.

"I-is that what I said?!"

Morro couldn't stand them anymore and went in another direction on his own. He didn't worry he wouldn't find him, or panic for his life, they're ghosts. He looked around. Trees and trees again.

"Maybe I can feel something with the wind.."

He thought, and all his senses were connected to the wind. He was trying to catch a new being, something. After minutes, he succeed. He feel a new soul not far from where he is.

The wind showed him the way. In front of him had appeared a path with burnt leaves on the ground, and not far away, a boy in a black jacket with a fire symbol on his back. His hair was strangely shaped for his taste. He approached him, however, it was his only option.

"Uh, hello, excuse me..." The boy turned to Morro. To his surprise, he looked friendly and about his age. "Could you... help me get to Ninjago? I... got a little lost."

"Oh. Of course! That's where I was going too."

"Seriously?" Hopes were growing in him. "Gorgeous. Oh, I'm Morro." He introduced himself.

"Kai. Come after me."

Morro was still staring at the burnt leaves on the ground. He doesn't notice when in front of them..

"Is that a motorcycle?"

"Yeah. Do you like it?" He was proud.

"Do you have a license for that? Or legal age?"

"Oh don't panic. I haven't had an accident lately."

"Lately?"

"Once. . . . OK. OK. Two or three times. But I didn't hurt anyone!"

"Okay, okay. Accident."

"Accident?"

"Yeah. That's what I'll call you from now on."

"Huh. Okay, I have nothing to do with this. I like it.. Well, come on up." Kai approaches the vehicle. He couldn't hear footsteps behind him, so he turned. "Uh, everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I just... I haven't seen any real or... driven or anything."

"Scared?"

"Too obvious?"

"So was I. But hey, it's not you driving, it's me. Just hold on to me and you'll be fine."

"Aha. With those two or three accidents?"

"... Let's leave them behind!"

------

They stopped after a long time on the roads, where Morro forgot what he was doing because of the cool wind, that maybe they would have an accident at what speed Kai was going. When they stopped, there were buildings around him and not too many people.

"How was your first ride?" Kai asked, leaning against the engine.

"I expected to tremble with fear, but it was great!"

"I knew you'd like it."

"But what were you doing in the woods? And what about all those burnt leaves on the ground?"

"Hm? Oh, you know, I was riding my motorcycle and I was enjoying the peace. And the leaves, aaaa... don't bother with them. It's crazy in the city."

"Seriously?"

"Mhm. Haven't you been to town yet?"

"I was when I was younger. But not after."

"So for the first time in many years?"

"After ten years."

"Oh, wow- Ten years?!"

"Yes. Whatever..."

"Do you have a place to stay in the city?"

"Uh..." The question took him by surprise. "No..." He said with a little embarrassment.

"Hmm. Stay with me then." Kai decided calm.

"What?"

"You can stay with me. I don't think my sister would mind. We have enough space. And you're fine. Your cool."

"I couldn't accept that. It wouldn't be fair to your sister."

"Neh, it's okay. I can ask her right now and she'll agree."

"I could not- "

"I insist. You also have my phone number. So you can contact me quickly."

"A-" He's checking his phone. "When did you do that?! And how? I have a password on it."

"A 'Ninja' never reveals his secrets.~"

"A Ninja?"

"Well, see you! I'll call you tonight to make sure you've found a place! If you don't, you'll stay with me."

"This is not going to happen!"

"Maybe not today, but for sure tomorrow!"

He leaves, and Morro chuckles. The ghosts had appeared beside him.

"Now that you've made a friend for the first time in ten years, what are you going to do next?"

"Disguised."

They remained skeptical. Morro went after a building more secluded from the eyes of the people. Bansha was the first to notice Morro pulling a thin, not too big box out of his bag, with different shades of color in it.

"Makeup?"

"Yep." He popped the 'p' as he said that.

"And what will you do with your hair?"

"I'll catch him. Dad didn't see me caught with him often. And with the green thread, I have black hair spray that goes quickly to the water. So I'm fine." He had made his final touches. "And so my father won't recognize me if I meet him. I hope this misfortune won't be necessary.."

------

Lloyd was preparing for a walk in the city. He had not permanently dyed his hair black, wearing a different kind of clothes. His little camouflage against the society that hated him because of who his father was. It was the only way he could keep quiet on the streets without anyone screaming at him.

Thoughts passed slowly one after another. Questions and answers that waited and waited may become real or not.

Lloyd had passed a boy with void-black hair not all caught in the back. He didn't pay much attention to him, but he kept paying attention at the same time.

Two souls who had been looking for each other for years, passed each other. If they weren't both full of thoughts and would look more closely at what is happening around them.

[pokemon-ninjago-world]

Headcanon/Pokéninjago version of Lloyd’s identity crisis during season 5 of Ninjago

Got ab 12 likes on the announcement post so here we are: This is an essay-sorta-thing about something I thought and wrote some six years ago. It’s been so long since I wrote this I feel cringy reading it, but it’s tenable in Pokéninjago lore. It’s kind of a mix between my headcanon for the show, and canon of my AU, which is why there is mentions of “evolving” and Pokémon types.

Things to take into account:

Idk if there should be content warnings, but depression mention at least. Otherwise, this is pretty much as intense as season 5 went, just a little more angsty I suppose.

I must say that my version of Lloyd and his identity crisis were inspired by a certain artist’s version of him and by a comic they made about the Child’s Play episode’s aftermath. I don’t dare name the artist, since they don’t wish to be linked with the Ninjago fandom anymore, but some of you might know who I’m referring to. 

I do not know how psychology stuff actually works, all of this was made on grounds of a couple of high school psychology courses and a lot of imagination `:D

I wrote this originally in Finnish and let Word translate it, so this might be v clumsy at points.

Most of the text is under the cut!

                                                  ~***~

When Lloyd was just a small cub, closer to three years, his mother had left him in his father's care. Misako knew the boy would become the Green Ninja and Garmadon would become the Dark Lord. That is why she went looking for any ancient knowledge to avoid the final confrontation. Although her heart was torn since she had to leave her loved ones, she knew that she couldn’t just sit on her hands, and that perhaps she was the only one that could prevent the decisive battle between good and evil. It was also her wish that the father and the son could spend as much time together as possible. Thus, Lloyd's earliest childhood memories are about his father, and his recollections of his mother are blurry, obscure, and fading away as he grows up, or mixing with other memories.

            Dad meant everything to little Lloyd. Although they lived in the same monastery with Lloyd’s uncle as well, whom he also liked, his own father was still the greatest. Garmadon also loved his child deeply and wanted him to have a happy life. Although the poison in his veins was starting to get a hold of him and he was increasingly drawn to the Golden Weapons, his love for Lloyd and the desire to be with him in anticipation of Misako's return kept him away from them for much longer than if the boy had never existed.

                    When Lloyd "evolved," he lost some important years of his life, during which a youngster usually developes a picture of himself and his changing body. Lloyd's body changed in a single moment and even though his mind also changed to some degree, it was still mostly on the same level as before, since artificial aging did not bring him the years of experience that growing up normally would. From that moment on, he had to form himself a new image of himself. Frankly, he was facing a fierce identity crisis.

                     After the episode Child's Play, Lloyd adopted an identity whose foundation was flimsy and unstable. It consisted of a few simple pillars that supported his image of himself. Some emotions, thoughts, and memories that he could not, wasn’t able to or didn’t dare to deal with, secretly and slowly gnawed at those pillars like erosion. They grew into doubt that settled into the cracks like rockfoil.

                     That flimsy foundation for his self-image, consisted of these elements: I am the Green Ninja. I'm the strongest ninja of all. I’m the son of  sensei Garmadon. I’m the grandson of The First Spinjitzu Master. I'm one of the Elemental Masters. I'm a student of Sensei Wu. I'm one of the five elemental ninjas. It's my destiny to protect the world from evil.

                     This made it easy for Morro to destabilize and crush Lloyd’s self-esteem. Morro proved himself to be stronger and more independent than Lloyd, and that he could win him over and over again, no matter how hard Lloyd tried to fight back. Lloyd felt weak and desperate. Two pillars of his self-image collapsed to the ground and the masked emotions and doubts that chipped away at the other columns began to grow and intensify: He was not the strongest ninja and was therefore unable to protect the world from this evil.

                     This also affected his view of him as the Green Ninja. Although logically he still was just that – the Golden Weapons and his powers had proven it – he could not help but think that maybe Morro really was supposed to be the Chosen One. His identity was cracking, which ate away at his strength and self-esteem. Being a Psychic Type, his greatest strength resided in his psyche, and whenever his mind was in an unstable and vulnerable state, he couldn’t do his best, even if he had used everything he had learned. Losing his father fairly recently had already struck a dangerous notch in his mental stability.

                     Even though Lloyd was still his father's son, it didn't feel the same when he was no longer with him. Finally, he was only driven forward by his relationship with his other loved ones. He had to do everything he could to stop Morro from harming his friends. By protecting them he was also protecting the last intact remnants of his Self.

                     Lloyd did everything he could to resist Morro's possession. From time to time a memory of his friends and the will to keep them safe increased his "self-control," weakening the ghost's hold on him. However, a long, grueling time in constant motion, without water and nourishment, poisoned by a cold, vindictive spirit, steadily filled his mind with anguish and despair. Doubts penetrated deep into the tears of his self-image, breaking everything old until he no longer knew who he was. Only with the last bits of his mental strength could he interfere with Morro's possession so that he failed to clear the other ninjas out of his way.

                     Then, when Morro broke away from Lloyd's body, the Espeon felt like nothing more than an empty, broken shell floating aimlessly in the dark, beachless sea. He was unable to live up to any of the expectations and goals that had been set for him. Now, he was used as a trade-in item in the market of the world’s destiny. He longer had the strength or power to save even his best friends. He was as helpless as a newborn pup and all he could do was to stand by and apologize when he was traded for Realm Crystal.

                      Somewhere from his past, he dug up one last spark of strength. Already as a child, he had been left alone with unfriendly people, who then had ignited that stubborn flame in him: the desire to fight the cruel, unjust and repressive world. His body still had more strength than his mind, and this momentary burst of grit made him kick the Crystal out of Morro's hand. This, however, caused him to end up in the freezing stream, all his energy used up. There was not much left but a primitive desire to survive and a little strength to keep his head afloat before the cold numbed his muscles.

                     Lloyd's mind was in shambles. Images, memories, shattered fragments of his adopted identity… they all churned in his tired, blurred consciousness. Unintentionally, he began to go through the feelings of uncertainty, fear and inadequacy that he had denied from himself for years. The present seemed more surreal than the memories. He relived moments that had had a revolutionary impact on his life: When the golden weapons pointed him out as a Green Ninja; when he grew up under the influence of Tomorrow's Tea; when he met his mother and became to know her; when he unleashed the Golden Dragon in the Temple of Light; how he fought the Overlord who was possessing his father; how he harnessed his True Potential; got his father back; lost Zane; reunited his friends again and felt great togetherness with the other Elemental Masters. When he lost his father again. And when Morro possessed him.

                     Lloyd was lost. If it wasn’t for his friends and their care, he would have sunk deep into depression (and, on the other hand, drowned or, at the very least, died of hypothermia). When Kai carried him out of the FSM’s tomb, it triggered a very clear memory of the day when the Master of Fire had fulfilled his potential and Lloyd had been identified as the Chosen One. That day, Kai had come to save him from an erupting volcano and carried him to safety. Now, Lloyd felt like he was that little scared cub again, who had for a moment thought he was going to burn to the ground in the boiling lava of the volcano. He remembered how Kai's closeness had brought a feeling of immediate security around him. Even though the mountain had raged and wanted to kill them both, Lloyd had known he didn’t have to be afraid. Kai was there. He'd protect Lloyd. There was no reason to fight the fear anymore, he didn't have to pretend like he was tough. He was carried by someone older and stronger, whom to rely on.

                     The feeling was so intense, the memory so vivid that Lloyd was overwhelmed by an inexplicable, immense grief. The sadness of being forced to give up a carefree childhood so early on, to take on an enormous responsibility and assume a role that seemed too demanding for such a small boy to perform. He had had to grow up way too soon. He started shaking from holding back the tears. He didn’t mind since he thought Kai was probably assuming that he was shivering from the cold. But when Kai said quietly and understandingly: "Shh... It's okay... Don't worry about it," the last wall of pride and fear fell, and Lloyd could no longer repress his weeping.

                     At this point, he slowly began to build a new identity on the ruins of the wrecked one. He understood that even though he was the Green Ninja, it didn’t make him greater or more important than the others. He had more magical power than anyone else, but he was still only a person just like them. He could hesitate, too, and fail. There was no way for him to do anything more than what he was capable of, mentally, physically, and skill-wise. That’s all there was to offer, and if it wasn't enough, there were others whom he could rely on. Others, who would catch him when he ran out of strength. He wasn't the last link to hold the whole structure together.

                     These ideas developed slowly in Lloyd's exhausted mind. Slowly, he got stitched back up from the fragments of his previous self-image. This time, however, his new identity was not something that was given to him from the outside, in which he would have had to fit himself, but it was a solid, authentic self-image created as a result of self-reflection. It was still obscure, uncertain and seeking its form, and its growth was overshadowed by fear. But the conversation with his father drove away that last fear. The fear that Morro was supposed to be the Green Ninja instead of Lloyd. His father assured that Lloyd’s qi had no influence on how he should live and act. He should live the way his heart told him to.

                     In the end, although Morro managed to beat Lloyd one last time, this time he did not break down. He was more intact now, he had more inner strength, and he knew for sure he wouldn't be abandoned. That the fate of the world wasn't really up to him. He may have been part of the story, but after all, he wasn't the protagonist, at least not the only one of them.

[only-lonely-stars]

The Future is Bright, Chapter 1

[Chapter 1 (Beginning) - you are here!] // [Chapter 2] // [Chapter 10 (End)] (FFN)

Credit for the inspiration of this newest story goes to @hot-anime-plundar! I finally got around to writing it in full (10 chapters). :) Thank you for allowing me the use of your idea! Updates will be on Sundays.

Summary: What would happen if Cole had indeed had a reflection in the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master? How would that have changed his life later? What would it have been? This story follows what might have happened if he had seen something, and what it was; who he would have become. What if his future was already decided?... (Rated T for safety. Alternate title: the Cosmic Spoilers AU.)

Chapter 1: The Tomb and the City

The arrival of ghosts was not something any of the Ninja expected, and certainly not something Cole had thought would happen to them. No, he hadn't expected anything like what had happened; what’s more, he really didn't like being stuck as a ghost.

Of course, it wasn’t as if he could change the fact that he was a ghost. It was… irreversible.

Days, weeks later– how long had it been?– he was stuck in an underwater ship, going to Lloyd's grandfather's tomb. It was a wild goose chase, but they were there to hunt down a magic crystal and hope that Morro hadn’t killed the youngest of his brothers. It was a dire thought, but there was at least a little levity; the irony of it all made it at least a little bearable.

The seawater crashed against R.E.X.’s walls as they descended, and Cole tried to ignore it by cataloguing the events since Morro’s return. As he thought back to the beginning of this mess, it was a bit of a blur in his memory. One moment they’d been trying to advertise the tea shop, the next they were fighting for their lives and Lloyd’s freedom; it was all just too fast to keep straight.

He was too tired to remember.

No, he couldn’t say that anymore. Of course. Cole couldn’t blame tiredness, or hunger, or thirst, or anything he felt, for how messy the whole deal was. Now that he was a First-Master-forsaken ghost, he couldn’t feel anything but cold and emptiness… how fitting.

It was almost a relief when conversation resumed and they were attacked by a giant squid. Then they were at the tomb, with R.E.X. gone… and everyone else felt just as cold as he did.

-----

When they reached the ice maze, they knew Morrow was ahead of them, but it was hard to ignore the grandeur of the place despite him. Around them, great walls of ice reached up, dwarfing the Ninja as they regained their breath from the slides that went down to it from the chamber with the golden staff. Ice coated every surface but the rocky floor, making for traction but not the same amount of reflection. There was a source of light somewhere unknown, filtering through the ice in its watery way, and it made the area almost feel sleepy.

As he took in the surroundings, Cole couldn’t help but look up, up, up at the walls and wonder what the caves were for. Were they always there? Did the First Master make them? It was a curious thought– had the creator of the realm made something without the Golden Weapons, too?

The four didn’t take very long to stop and marvel, resolving to continue in and follow Morro. After all, they had to beat him to the Realm Crystal. However, they stopped again when they reacted the first of the ice walls.

When they reached it, Zane approached the wall alone, curiosity written on his mechanical features. “My reflection… is that me?” He paused, examining it and turning his head this way and that. “I look older, but my attire is… different. This is not what I look like right now at all.”

“Really?” Kai followed him. Then he stared at himself, taking a moment to redo the spikes in his hair a little. “Well… mine looks like me, but older. There’s a bunch of magic junk in this tomb; makes sense that the ice walls are magic too.” He grinned. “By the way, I aged super well.”

“Wait, really?” Jay ran up to his own with a beaming grin. “Let’s see!” He looked himself over in glee. “Woah ho ho! I get an awesome eyepatch!” he yelled, voice echoing through the caverns.

“Shh!” Kai hissed. “Jay! Morro’s in here!”

“I know, I know, give me a break!” Jay laughed. “Magic ice is telling me I’m gonna be a pirate, and he knows already.” He touched the ice. “There’s just a thing next to me– a blur. What is that…” Jay stopped talking and watched as the blur shifted, and then sighed, sounding completely smitten. Now he whispered. “...I end up with Nya.”

Cole tried to hear what Jay said, but for once, he was too quiet. Cole only shrugged to himself– it was probably nothing. No, he walked up to the ice wall as well, taking a moment to look at the others before his reflection. “I wonder what mine is.”

“Well, look at it!” Kai called. “We don’t have forever!”

“Fine.” After a moment of trepidation, Cole looked to the ice.

As soon as Cole caught sight of his reflection, Cole couldn’t help but stare. Looking back at him in the ice was himself. He didn’t smile or move if Cole didn’t, but it was no vision of his current self… it really was the future.

In the ice, Future Cole’s hair was longer. He wore white and blue, not black– a sort of robe that tied at the waist, with a belt that had his dragon symbol for the clasp. However, two things were most surprising: a yin-yang pin on his chest, and an orange scar on his very much not ghostly temple, reaching halfway down his face. He was everything that Cole was not right now.

As Cole took in the image, he couldn’t help but grin. Future Cole grinned too, and laughter lines appeared by his eyes. He stared, taking in the sight of himself, until he heard the sound of Kai’s impatient footsteps behind him. “Well? What do you see? You got all quiet.”

Cole turned to him, still grinning wildly, and couldn’t help a little laugh. “I’m human again!”

“What? That’s impossible!” Kai cried. “I mean, it’s good, but it’s still impossible!”

“Apparently not!”

“Kai, you forget that we believed ghosts were impossible before recently,” Zane interrupted, coming over to look as well. “Cole, what do you see?”

“I… well, I’m human.” He examined it again in awe. “There’s… there’s a weird scar on my temple, but otherwise it’s like nothing ever happened.”

Jay laughed. “That’s awesome! You don’t stay a ghost!” He tore his eyes away from his reflection and came up to Cole’s, looking at it curiously. “That’s weird... You’re dressed differently than I am.”

Cole tore his eyes away and looked at Jay. “Really? What do you mean?”

Jay shrugged. “I’m wearing something like, I don’t know, a sensei’s robe. You’re wearing a dress!”

“It’s not a dress! Those are formal robes!” He looked back at it, frowning. “Though… white and blue isn’t like the Ninjagian royal family, so that can’t be it. Plus, a yang pin…”

Kai gaped. “You’ve got a yang?!” The sound of his shout echoed through the ice maze, shrill and bouncing off the ice.

“Quiet!” Zane hissed, covering Kai’s mouth with one freezing cold hand. “Remember, Morro is here. We must stay focused!”

Cole grimaced as Kai recoiled from Zane’s touch. “Crud– okay, yeah. Having a yang is not so great, but let’s talk later!” He glanced back at the ice one last time. “We’d better find Morro.” Still, that was his future self...

He frowned again. Was his reflection glowing green, like a ghost? Why would it glow like that if he was human?

Realization crashed down with even more ghostly coldness as the glow darkened and grew. It wasn’t his reflection, or anything like it.

The words ripped from his throat before he could think. “Morro’s here! LOOK OUT!”

-----

For years, the memory of the First Spinjitzu Master’s tomb was one that stuck with Cole more closely than he would admit to anyone.

Long after Morro and the Preeminent had been defeated, he still found himself sometimes thinking about what he’d seen. Some days he’d ignore it, knowing he’d recognize his path when he saw it. Other days it would weigh on him, much more than it ever did on the others. After all, he had a different fate than them, and apparently a yang to go with it. What did that leave for him to decide?

Nevertheless, and despite Cole’s worries, it didn’t seem to come. Years passed with no sign of any of his brothers’ futures coming to pass– the only exception was Jay, whose relationship with Nya was rebuilt stronger than ever. Even so, the rest (including the eyepatch) didn’t seem to happen, and Cole wondered if it ever would. Maybe it was a trick, or a test from the First Master. What if it wasn’t real at all?

Whatever the truth was, the vision slowly faded from his mind, and he eventually conceded to let it come to pass when it would. There was too much to do and think about, anyway; a biker gang, being stranded in another realm (or three), and evil emperors were just a few of them. There was never a rest, never a break, until after they’d liberated the prisoners of Prime Empire. It was only then that he remembered the vision… and promptly tried to ignore it again.

Despite Cole’s desire to avoid his memories, another adventure came too quickly for his liking. It was an invitation to a place he’d only heard stories of, mostly from his mother as a child. It was to the mythical city of Shintaro, deep in the mountains in central Ninjago. On the surface, it looked like a vacation, but Cole knew better; it was bound to become yet another mess to clean up.

When they at last arrived, the Ninja looked in awe upon the ivory city. There were spires and minarets on every building, and especially the palace. The city’s flagstone streets were perfectly clean, the roofs were gilt, the people were the fairest-skinned people Cole had ever seen– all in all, it was a true wonder to see.

The city’s force of winged guards escorted them to the palace as honored guests, having saved them from horrid direbats as they entered. As they went into the palace, their eyes caught on the vaulted and painted ceilings, buttresses, and columns everywhere. Every wall seemed to be inlaid with gold and carvings, or painted beautifully enough that they would stop looking where they were going. That was what happened when Kai walked into Lloyd, who had stopped to stare– they’d hit their heads, and rubbed them ruefully as Nya rolled her eyes.

Despite their distraction and awe, the Ninja eventually reached the throne room, and without injury. When they reached it, two Shintaran guards opened the doors. The captain of the guard–a man named Hailmar, if Cole had heard him correctly– led them in, gesturing to them and bowing to the throne.

“It is with great honor, King Vangelis,” he cried, “that I present the famed Ninja of Ninjago!”

At his announcement, the king stood from where he’d been sitting on his throne to greet them. He wore white and blue robes that struck Cole as being very familiar, but he struggled to place the familiarity. The king didn’t seem to notice his confusion, as he smiled at them and spread his hands.

“Welcome, welcome! I’m most pleased that you were able to accept our invitation.” The king bowed in greeting. “It is an honor.”

“The honor is ours,” Sensei Wu responded with a matching bow. “Shintaro is beyond anything we imagined.”

The king smiled benevolently. “I’m only a figurehead. The citizens of our proud city are the heart of Shintaro.”

“Oh!” A cheerful voice came from the side of the throne room. “They’re here!”

Cole looked over to its source. The voice belonged to a lovely young woman, dressed in white and blue robes to match the king’s. She was grinning excitedly, and bowed in greeting hastily. Cole’s eyes caught on her– she was beautiful, in a young sort of way, and he immediately knew she was the princess. The colors were still so strangely familiar...

The king beamed at his daughter as she entered. “Ah! Please, meet my heart– her royal Princess Vania.”

Vania happily approached them, coming to stand in front of the Ninja with barely-contained excitement. “I am such a fan of yours. I’ve read all about your adventures! It was my idea to invite you to my birthday.”

Cole couldn’t help but smile at her. Her enthusiasm was infectious! He hadn’t realized it, but she was at least half a head shorter than him– not that her small stature contained her enthusiasm. “Well, it’s an honor to be here, Princess.”

She smiled back, cheerful and bright, and looked among them. “So, is it true that you’ve been to Hiroshi’s Labyrinth?”

“Affirmative,” Zane noted cheerfully.

“Competed in the Tournament of Elements?”

“Oh, do we have stories for you,” Kai added with a grin.

She gasped. “I need to hear them all!”

“Where shall we begin?” Cole was about to tell her a story, but he stopped, for Hailmar had descended between them. He was frowning, clearly protective and watching Cole distrustfully. However, he stepped aside for the king, who set a hand on Cole’s shoulder.

“You can begin by following me!” the king interjected with a smile. “Tomorrow will be a very busy day for all of us; I will show you to your rooms here.” He led them to hallway, and the whole group began walking together.

“Cole, the Earth elemental,” Vania began, coming up alongside him with no sign of losing her excited smile. “What is it like to command the very earth? Is it as fun as it sounds?”

He grinned back at her– it wasn’t hard. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“That’s what I thought. Personally, it sounds amazing! Imagine what you could do with the mountains!”

“Oh yeah, just about anything you can think of! It’s pretty cool.”

King Vangelis hummed in interest. “Are you quite strong, Cole?”

Cole looked to him, then shrugged sheepishly. “Well, uh, I guess. Not the strongest person– that’s probably Karloff– but I can move a lot.”

Vania flushed a light pink. “Come on, Father! He’s the Master of Earth. I’m sure he’s very strong.”

“But of course,” the king said indulgently, though not with the same enthusiasm. “I’m sure the Master of Earth is more than a match for our mountains.”

Cole grinned self-consciously. “That’s really nice of you to say, your Majesty.”

“Think nothing of it,” the king dismissed. “I simply hope you find Shintaro as lovely as we do during your visit. I have personally seen to it that you will want for nothing while in our borders.”

Cole smiled properly at the king. “That’s really nice of you, your Majesty. Thank you.”

“Consider it thanks for all you’ve done for us.” Vangelis smiled flatteringly. “After all, Ninjago’s business is our business. We’re at your service.”

“Yes, we are!” Vania repeated. “I’d be happy to show you around the palace, actually.”

“Well, we’d love a tour,” Cole responded hesitantly. “All of us are super excited to see Shintaro.”

“Of course.” A little wind seemed to be taken out of her sails, but she quickly bounced back. “I’d love to show you all around! I think there’s a spot in the garden you’ll love…”

From there, conversation flowed easily. Cole was completely engrossed in it, even as the king fell behind to talk to the others more, mostly with Master Wu. Behind the group, Jay stopped to whisper with Lloyd and Nya, watching Cole from behind.

“The princess seems to like Cole!” he remarked. “I mean, he’s my best friend and all, but… Cole?”

Lloyd glared at Vania’s back. “Yeah… weird.”

Nya elbowed Lloyd harshly. “Not every princess is like Harumi! Plus, Jay... you’re not subtle.”

“Nya, my darling, my yang, love of my life–”

“Jay.”

“–all I’m saying is that she has a thing for him! When has that happened?”

Nya was about to retort back, but paused, considering what he said. “...You know what? It’s been a while for him.” She pointed at Jay. “That’s really cool, but don’t tease him!”

Jay frowned, muttering. “I have to, he’s my best friend.”

Nya reached over and smacked him.

“Ow!”

“We’re in the presence of royalty!” she hissed.

“Fine,” he whined. “I won’t tease him in the presence of royalty.”

Lloyd gave him a curious look. “Is that code for ‘I’m going to bug him later?’”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

Lloyd snickered. “Do it.”

[talesfromlissom]

Brother Sharpens Brother (Part II)

A/N: This is the same thing as my latest post, but it takes place after Cole becomes a human again. Technically this is halloween ish cause DOTD is technically halloween ish so. 

For those of you that actually know Ninjago and are watching Ninjago, I chose the alternative version of it, instead of the actual one lol. 

ALSO: I’m so so sorry that this took so long to do. I have school, and I was completely unmotivated for a while, then I spilled soda on my laptop cause I’m stupid so I had to get it repaired but uh,,, here it is, hope you enjoy!

!WARNING! Mentions of blood, violence, and broken limbs, please proceed with caution.!

You had completely ignored your brother, and you could tell he was as well. 

But that was the farthest thing from your mind, as it was racing with so many other thoughts, and you could feel your hair briskly waving in the wind as you leaned over the railing of the bounty. 

“Hey.” A soft voice had startled you, and for a second you thought it was Zane, because he was the only person capable of sneaking up on you. 

However, your soft gaze turned hard seeing the ghost before you. 

Morro fidgeted, turning to the floor. 

“Uhm...nice weather we’re having.” 

You blink. 

“Sure.” You reply quickly, turning back to the clouds below. 

You can feel the wind pick up, as you still feel his presence drifting behind you.

“Alright, I’ll bite, what do you want?”

Morro hesitates, he hesitates, which is new, because you remembered fairly well that he never hesitated, as a child, a teenager, a brother, or a ghost. 

“I’m sorry.” He says, so softly that you almost don’t hear it. 

“What?”

“I’m sorry,” He says, much more confidently and a tad bit louder. “I shouldn’t have left you all those years ago, I shouldn’t have possessed Lloyd, summoned the preeminent-”

“Turned Cole into a ghost?”

He stares.

“I didn’t do that.”

“Because you stole the scroll of airjitzu, Cole had to get the original one, so technically it is your fault.”

He lets out a ‘tsk’, before crossing his arms. “Fine, I’m sorry for turning Cole into a ghost.” 

You don’t reply. You won’t gift him that. Hell, you’re too surprised that he even bothered coming up here to say much of anything.

“You’re upset.” He says. “And worried.” 

You don’t reply again. 

“It’s Cole, isn’t it?” 

Now that gets your attention. 

The wind becomes softer, less loud. 

“Ah, there it is.” He says. “When I possessed Lloyd I fished through his memories-” He pauses, seeming to catch himself, and mentally cursing at himself in the process.

“Uh...you like Cole, huh?” 

“Yeah, so what if I do?”

Morro throws his hands up defensively. “Hey the kid-” 

You frown and Morro bites his tongue.

“Look, I’m not sure how much time I have left until I go back to the departed realm, but...you should...tell him.” 

You scoff. “He likes girls.”

“Do you know that for sure?”

You shake your head. “He has a picture of those girls in bikinis on a car above his head.” 

“I used to have a picture like that above my dead, you’re forgetting all of you are horny teenagers.” 

“I am not horny.”

“Are you?”

You turned to him, a small smile on your face. “I liked it better when you were trying to kill me.”

“No you didn’t.” 

“Pft.” A pause, as you turn back to the clouds. “I suppose you’re right.”

You feel his presence become closer. 

“Anyways, as your bestest big brother-”

“Bestest isn’t a word.”

“Whatever, as your big brother, I’m telling you to go get ‘em.”

“You really think I have a chance?”

Morro shrugs. “I dunno, I’ve only ever tried to kill Cole.” 

You frown. “Wow thanks.”

                                                             _

Morro had disappeared soon after that, you assumed he slipped off of the bounty to go back..wherever he went. 

You had gathered up the rest of the ninja and currently you and the group were making your way over to the air temple. 

That is, until the wind hit.

You couldn’t control the wind, why couldn’t you control the wind.

“(Y/N)! C’mon, do something!”

“It’s not working goddamn it! It's not my wind, my powers don’t worry like tha-”

A large gust throws the ship to the side, and you tumble down the deck and into one of the ship’s posts. 

A rope slaps you in the face, and you grab it with your hand.

“Can anybody see Cole? Or Yang!” A voice calls in the distance, another reply is said, but your ears are ringing far too loudly. 

You grab the rope, and begin to pull yourself up the pole, resting on the top of the bounty.

If Cole was here he’d probably shout something at you, say you were being reckless, and that you’d get yourself killed. 

But here you were.

Your eyes widened.

“I see him!” You shout, hoping your friends will hear you. “He’s fighting Yang on top of the temple!” 

A bright blue light fills your vision, and you screech, tumbling from the post and onto the deck.

A deafening crack! Is heard, as well as a screech from your mouth.

The wind dies down a tad bit, as footsteps fill your ears. 

You see Zane above you.

“Why’s the bone sticking out like that!” Jay cries. “Bones are supposed to stay inside your body!” 

That’s the last thing you hear before you close your eyes. 

                                                             _

Waking up in white was the last thing you wanted to do. 

You knew they had changed you, that didn’t bother you, no.

What bothered you was if Cole was okay.

You sat up in your bed, eyes surveying the room. Looking down, you saw a white cast slung on your arm. 

Great, just great. 

You sigh, and fall backwards into your pillows, staring at the ceiling.

You could feel a soft breeze flowing through the room, that’s when you realized that your window was cracked open, the curtains flowing softly from the wind. The sun was low in the sky, as said sky was painted soft oranges and pinks.

Normally, you would’ve sat up and meditated, maybe even sung a quick tune or two, but your mind was so active with anxiety and fear inducing thoughts that you barely even muster the strength to get up.

Cole.

What happened to Cole?

That was enough motivation for you, as you pulled yourself from your soft bed, despite your entire body aching. 

You made your way down the hall, realizing that you were in a plain black t-shirt, and grey sweatpants. 

Your head drifts to the hallway ahead of you, seeing shadows dancing on the walls, and a soft light from the room to the left.

You step towards the room quietly, only to peep your head into it. 

You see the other ninja, happily chattering away, boxes of chinese food littering the table.

Jay is fighting with Cole over a dumpling, where Cole snatches the dumpling from-

Wait what. 

Jay looks up, his face riddled with shock.

“(Y/N)! You’re awake!” He calls out, almost getting up from the table, but Zane beats him to it. 

“(Y/N), I do not wish to intrude but, you should be resting,” He says. “You...broke your arm, as you can see.”

Zane gestures to the arm, and your eyes drift to it. 

You shrug, wheezing slightly at the pain. 

“I’m fine, nothing hurts right now.” You reply, softly. 

Your eyes fall onto Cole’s, and you almost double back in shock.

He’s there, his face looks full, not green, his eyes are as bright as ever, and he’s non-transparent.

However, your eyes become captivated by the deep, green, and nasty scar that goes from his hairline and falls just below his eyes. 

He flushes, and gets up from the table.

“I’ve...got it Zane, you guys finish eating.” 

Zane flashes Cole a look, before a grin forms on his face, so small that if you weren’t a ninja you probably wouldn’t catch onto it, but Zane returns to the table.

A hand falls to your waist softly, and Cole guides you down the hall.

However, you come to a halt once you know you're out of earshot.

“Wh-” Your unbroken arm grasps Cole's face, pulling him down to your eye leve.

“Is there something on my face?” He asks.

You frown.

But your eyes fall onto his. 

“How…” You say, before turning back to look at him again.

His hand drifts up to your, grasping it so lightly, and god is his skin soft. 

“Yang...he...he tried to become human again, so he created a portal that would...well..make him human again,” A pause. “But, I went through it instead, after he thought better of it.” 

Your eyes widen.

“Yang?” You ask, hearing your almost turn to a shout. “Didn’t he turn you into a ghost?” 

“Technically Morro did.” Cole mutters, and you chuckle.

“True, I even told him that.” 

Cole raises an eyebrow, but you shake your head. 

Your fingers drift to his hair, twirling a strand in between your fingertips. 

“So..what’s it like being human again?”

Cole is silent for a moment, his eyes never leaving your hand, which is still playing with his hair. 

“I..uh...it's different.”

“Do you like it?”

“Of course I do.” He chuckles. “I can touch stuff, again, and I don’t feel cold anymore.” 

You sigh. “That’s good..” 

“It also means I can kiss you.”

You pause, your hand drawing back from his face immediately. Your cheeks feel hot, and your eyes widen at the words, and he sheepishly looks away from you, almost seeming surprised that he even said those words.

“I…”

“Cole.”

“I’ve gotta go now, bye-!”

“Cole hang on a second-”

“Bye!”

Cole races down the hall, leaving you in silence. 

You shout; “I swear to god if you don’t get your ass back here and kiss me, I’ll make you a ghost again!” 

You cried, chasing after him.

                                               ──•~❉+❉~•──

Rules

Overwatch Masterlist 

Ninjago Masterlist

The Arcana Masterlist (WIP)

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[aweebwrites]

Move on dragons Ch26

Cole had to admit, now that he wasn’t focusing on the negatives, this whole ghost thing was pretty fun. While he was possessing the others, he had all five senses again which was absolutely great. Possessing someone for a few minutes a day actually helps out a lot and makes the rest of the day without it a bit easier. Not to mention how cool it is to use their powers. Each one feels pretty different and needs different approaches. He never really saw it that way, you know? But what was equally entertaining was watching the shock and awe of the dragons as he casually passed through trees and solid surfaces. It’s even more entertaining for the twins. He was afraid he’d spook them too badly doing it but they were tough little guys that did indeed get spooked but in a way that made them even more excited and well, now? 

Cole grinned as he peaked up through the ground just outside the Dragon Tower, just behind the two searching dragons. He slowly floated forward, only his head above his nose visible, creeping up on the two as they searched everywhere but behind them. He and Jay were the only ones out here, the others gone to New Ninjago City to deal with a group terrorizing the city and they needed the Bounty to get there quickly. Jay was watching them, content to sunbathe not too far away on his stomach, wings spread to help him absorb the warmth of the sun easier. Cole crept closer, his hand phasing up through the ground as he reached for them- Jay gave a grunt and Nix quickly whirled around, giving a high roar of triumph of finally being able to catch him before he spooked them.

“Jay that’s cheating.” Cole huffed, shooting a glare at the lightning nin that stuck a long, forked tongue out at him before grinning.

“Oh come on, let the kids win too for once.” Jay huffed at him before he sat up, warm and toasty all over. “Games aren’t fun when there’s only one constant winner.” He reminded him chuckling as Nix ran over, burying himself in his arms.

“You’re getting big! Pretty soon, I won’t be able to hug you like this at all!” Jay laughed as Nix wiggled in his excitement, already taller than him while sitting.

“They are getting big, huh.” Cole smiled as he rose up from the deck only to crouch in front of Rux watching him curiously, getting closer to attempt to sniff at him- but he had no scent like this. “Who knows? Maybe in the next few months or so they’ll be Morro’s size…” He says, imagining it.

“The dragon’s time runs differently after all. I mean, from what Kai told us,  Lloidie did go from a little older than these two to almost an adult in like… Two months or so.” Jay shrugged. “We’ve had them for almost three months now and they’ve grown a lot. They went from barely being able to walk to big, strong dragons in no time!” He grinned, nuzzling Nix who gave a happy coo, nuzzling him back, his wiggling increasing.

Cole laughed at the sight of the two, a smile lingering after. Who knew raising dragons would be this much fun? Sure getting them potty trained was easier said than done and sure they still liked to gnaw at whatever they could and get into all sorts of trouble but they were worth it. He reached out to place a hand on Rux’s head- then blinked, realising he wasn’t- His hand made contact anyway, his body solidifying as he did. Cole stared as Rux purred, rubbing himself up against his hand before lunging forward, pulling a yelp from Cole as he fell back, Rux now sitting on his stomach, looking down at him triumphantly with his wings half spread.

“Alright bud, you win, you win.” Cole huffed, reaching up to pet his snout.

He was smart enough to realise that there were times he could and couldn’t touch Cole where Nix often makes that mistake. Rux gave a huff through his snout then hopped of him and gave a chirp of a certain tone they knew well.

“Looks like it’s lunch time, but the others aren’t back yet.” Cole says, scanning the sky for any signs of them.

“The two of us can totally handle this, don’t worry.” Jay grinned as he got up. “The river’s not too far away and there should be plenty to eat out there. This area’s pretty warm all year around so there’s fish and food all year ‘round.” He told Cole as he marched ahead into the forest, Nix trotting after him.

“That might be but I’m no good with water…” Cole mumbled, following after him as Rux trotted ahead, catching up with his brother.

____

“Jay, I’m not so sure about this…” Cole says nervously, floating high over the bank of the river where Jay walked along, looking for a good spot to fish from.

“Relax Cole! I’ve got this! You just stay up there!” Jay reassured, both dragon younglings trotted after him, pausing at times to look at the river or an interesting plant but keeping close to Jay.

“Right. Relax.” Cole says flatly, taking his higher viewpoint to keep an eye out for anything dangerous.

These forests, as regularly visited by dragons as they were, still had beasts and entities that would not hesitate to attack them since they were much, much smaller. He didn’t want to chance how fast he could float with how fast an enemy could move.

“This looks like a good spot!” Jay grinned, gesturing to a pool of water that was rather deep further up stream.

“Jay that’s way too deep for them. They don’t even know how to swim.” Cole pointed out.

“Then today’s a good day to learn!” Jay called back as he walked in a bit. “You guys stay there first.” He told Nix and Rux who were at the banks and they sat, understanding stay.

“What are you planning?” Cole asked with narrowed eyes, settling closer to the twins.

“You’ll see.” Jay hummed then stopped once the water was up to his neck.

Cole watched as Jay’s straight, backwards facing horns charged with electricity before he realised what he was planning. With that,he sent a pulse of low electricity through the water- and almost simultaneously, several stunned fish popped up to the twin’s amazement.

“Come in and eat as much as you want!” Jay says as he pick up the closest one and sunk his teeth in.

The two excitedly hopped in then, wading in to grab one and taking it to shore to eat. Cole would have been worried about the electrical current in the water still but this was Jay. He may be accident prone but he knows his lightning.

“I thought you hated raw food.” Cole commented, watching him all but swallow the rest of the fish.

“Raw meat.” Jay corrected with a huff, moving towards shore with as much fish as he could carry. “Raw fish is just sushi and I like sushi.” He shrugged, piling the fish on shore, leaving the majority he missed to break free from being stunned and swim away.

“Eat up! We’ll digest then learn how to doggy paddle- or in this case, dragon paddle.” Jay grinned and Cole rolled his eyes but didn’t comment.

Them learning how to swim at this age could really save them if they were to end up in a situation.

______

“There you go! Kick those little paws! You can do it!” Cole cheered, watching the two paddle in the water without Jay this time.

“You’re more excited about this than they are.” Tempest hummed, holding his arms out for them as their goal.

“Shut up you.” Cole huffed from above, floating down closer, watching as they kept going, clearly racing against the other with the look of focus on their faces.

Rux was faster though, what with him being more active than the two. Nix watched Jay play video games as his means of entertainment while Rux made trouble of himself, climbing anything he could and keeping himself entertained with self play- or their tails.

“We have a winner.” Tempest says once Rux reached his hand first, Nix giving a protesting whine as he swum in moments after.

“Don’t worry about it. You can beat your brother in lots of other things.” Tempest murmured as he headed towards shore with them both, the water supporting their weight up until their small paws touched the ground and they walked the rest of the way out themselves, shaking out their wings on reflex. “If you don’t want these two catching a cold, I suggest we get them back to the tower to warm up.” He says as Cole followed behind them.

“You know, you’re surprisingly good with them. Why don’t you hang around with them more?” Cole asked Tempest as they headed back.

“Oh don’t be fooled. Jay’s the one who’s dealing with them. I’m only in control mind-wise right now, not body.” Tempest dismissed. “I’ve seen enough of the modern world through Jay. It’s places like this I prefer. Less people, less problems.” He shrugged, lazy smile in place.

“You know, for a person who seems to hate people, you sure come out a lot when you’re surrounded by the whole team.” Cole pointed out with an arched brow and Tempest shrugged.

“‘Course. There’s a big difference between people and…” His smile slips but only to become smaller and more honest. “And friends…” He whispered, surprising Cole.

Before he could properly react however, loud wing beats interrupted and they looked up at the tower they just arrived at.

“The last two Kronos Steel blades are ready.” The dark elder dragon told them as he and his brother landed before them, both of which were holding a blade.

That’s right. Yesterday when he heard Garmadad leaving, he actually went to Torchfire Mountain to gather embers of the volcano to help forge the metals sooner. The elders were fearful of what else their powers could do to them so they decided to nudge the fire dragons providing the heat in which the metal dragons need to forge the blades a bit further by having them consume the embers to temporarily double the heat of their fire to make the hard to melt metal even more pliant. Rux uneasily shifted closer to where Cole was floating, not liking the situation at all.

“Hey, don’t worry.” Cole says as he knelt, reaching a hand out to stroke between the nubs of his horns growing in, his hand becoming solid on contact. “It won’t hurt a pinch and you’ll get your powers back when you’re a little older.” He promised him and while Rux was still uneasy, he relaxed some with Cole there.

He then turned to Garm and nodded, shifting closer to hug Rux to him once he lowered the blade over them. He watched in awe as amber energy rose up from Rux, getting sucked into the blade itself, creating a huge time blade. The same was done with Nix, his blue time energy absorbed inside the blade, leaving the bright blue streak down the side of his body a dull one.

“Good job…” Cole murmured, nuzzling him and Rux purred as both brothers sent the newest time blades to Wu’s pocket dimension.

“Indeed.” Wu rumbled. “It’s as you know, temporary. Once they’ve reached a certain age where we are sure they can actively make the right decisions, we will return their powers in full.” He reminds them.

“Even if they show malicious intent?” Tempest asked them.

“That is the only scenario where their powers would remain with us.” Garmadad told them. “Though that is a scenario we are certain, will not happen.” He added and Tempest hummed.

“Jay wants to know if you guys wanna join our movie night tonight.” He told the dragon elders who blinked, never expecting that.

“Yeah! It’ll be fun! Food and entertainment! We have a projector so Zane can use his ice to make a like, wall to run the movie on! The other dragons could come too if they wanted!” Jay grinned, patting Nix’s head from where he reached his waist.

Both brothers shared a look as Cole huffed.

“Sounds like fun.” Garmadad murmured affectionately.

_____

That was how they had the most chaotic movie night yet. A lot of dragons turned up, almost all the dragons present at the tower- which was at least half the dragon population. They had to make the block of ice they would project on it much bigger. Luckily, Shard and the other ice dragons were there to help. They also had to organize the dragons, not only by size, but horn size as well. That and they had to have the elders translate the movie but they didn’t mind at all. And let’s not forget snacks… By the end of it, they were all tuckered out but they had a lot of fun. The dragons really seem to like the movie- even though it was an animated film. Cole went to tuck in the dragons as everyone else cleaned up- and by the time they too returned to their room to sleep- they stumbled upon a very human Cole fast asleep between the two dragons on their nest.

“Holy shit! Cole!” Kai gasped but the earth ninja only grumbled and hushed them as Rux struggled closer than he already was.

“Cole you’re not a ghost anymore!” Nya told him excitedly, still baffled.

“Sleep now, celebrate later.” Was all the earth nin grumbled, his face relaxing again soon after as he drifted off again.

The group looked at each other, a little baffled before Lloyd yawned.

“I can get behind that.” He murmured, heading over to his bed and crawling in.

One by one, they followed Lloyd’s example- all but Kai that is. He slept with the twins as a means of warmth for them. It’ll be a tight fit with Cole there but he’ll make it work. With that, he slid in behind Nix and extended his wing over him, Cole and Rux as he settled in. He was just glad Cole was back to normal...

____________ (This is technically on time and not early but only because writing a chapter before some actually exciting stuff goes down is hard af so sorry if this chapter seemed low qual. I hope you guys liked it still! One more chapter until the final arc! Thanks for reading!)

[that-was-anticlimactic]

He Used To Be Mine — Lloyd Songfic

After HoT, before SoG, song is She Used To Be Mine from Waitress

----

It’s not simple to say that most days, I don’t recognize me

Lloyd gazed at himself in the bathroom mirror, his usual brilliant green eyes shadowed and made dull by the bags that lay underneath them.

With these shoes and this apron, that place and its patrons

There were times when he looked in the mirror he could see the smallest shadow of himself as a kid. He was young, he was fun…

Have taken more than I gave them

More often than not, he only felt older when he did so, his hair far longer than it was before, his facial features more pronounced. Even his eyes were older. They held wisdom.

It’s not easy to know, that I’m not anything like I used to be

Oh what he would give to have his childhood back, to take a look at himself in a mirror and not be able to actually see himself because he was too short.

Although it’s true I was never attention’s sweet center, I still remember that boy

There it was- that wide, toothy smile… when he looked now all he can see is a thin, straight line where his grin used to be

He isn’t perfect, but he tries

His ears used to be so full of kids at Darkley’s laughing, of the sound of candy wrappers opening and teachers telling him to do his work… now all he could hear is shouting. Battle cries and the shouts that led to death plagued his once joyful ears.

He is good, but he lies

As a child he had lied to get what he wanted. Now, he lied just to be left alone.

He is hard on himself, he is broken and won’t ask for help

If Lloyd squinted he could see a faint scar running along his nose and another on the left side of his chin. Battle scars. The one on his nose was from his dad. The one on his cheek was from the Tournament.

He is messy, but he’s kind

Despite being faint, he knew everyone could see them. The scars were usual, always there. He forgot about them. Fans, the press… those scars are the first thing they all see

He is lonely most of the time

In the reflection, he sees the image of his father. Garmadon’s hand is on his shoulder, a proud smile taking over his face. But as soon as Lloyd would lock eyes with his hallucination it would vanish, leaving him alone once more.

He is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie

He longed for that back. Those few years when his family was whole. His dad, his mom, his uncle, even his brothers…

He is gone, but he used to be mine

He wanted to look away. But each time he pulled his face away, he somehow always came back.

It’s not what I asked for

He could see the green on his gi, ugh, that green. He didn’t ask to be the green ninja, he didn’t want it.

Sometimes life just slips in through the backdoor

He didn’t ask to fight his dad, he didn’t ask for all the power, all of the enemies and fame.

And carves out a person and makes you believe it’s all true

But it was destiny. A destiny he wished he could change. But no, he had to accept the fact that this is who he is. He didn’t want to.

And now I’ve got you

When he looked in the mirror, he saw fakeness. He saw lies, betrayal, hurt. He saw the longing to run far away and never look back.

And you’re not what I asked for

He didn’t want to be fake. It’s always a fake smile, fake optimism, a fake “I’m okay”.

If I’m honest I know, I would give it all back for a chance to start over

Maybe he wouldn’t have been the green ninja if he hadn’t been kicked out of Darkley’s… or maybe if he hadn’t unlocked the serpentine tombs. Maybe then his destiny would have changed.

And rewrite an ending or two, for that boy that I knew

Then he wouldn’t have had to fight his dad. Or the Overlord. Or Chen. Maybe Morro wouldn’t have possessed him. Maybe he wouldn’t have to fight anyone.

Who was reckless just enough

He was the reason Zane had died, if he had been faster, smarter, or strong enough to fight the Overlord himself the white ninja would have been fine.

Who gets hurt, but who learns how to tough it up

He was the reason that Kai had been corrupted for a few minutes during the Tournament, Kai should have been the green ninja. Not him.

When he’s bruised, and gets used by a man who can’t love

Sometimes he dreamt of his dad, his dad that despised him because he wasn’t evil enough, or perhaps because he had died for good because of him.

Then he’ll get stuck

He was the reason Cole had been turned into a ghost. They wouldn't have gone to the temple if he hadn’t been possessed.

and be scared of the life that’s inside him

He was the reason Jay was jumpy. He didn’t know why exactly the blue ninja was jumpy, but he always asked Lloyd not to leave him again. Again?

Growing stronger each day

Wu, his uncle, is gone, lost in time… he could have saved him… he should have saved him.

Till it kindly reminds him to fight just a little

He had to be Master Lloyd, he had to lead the team and pretend like he was okay.

And bring back that fire in his eyes

Then he would look in the mirror, and all of the lies would wash away as his smile faded. He can lie to the others, but he can’t lie to himself.

That’s been gone but used to be mine

He ran a hand through his blonde hair and stiffened in that position, his tired eyes lackluster and aimlessly gazing at the sight before him.

Ohhh, used to be mine

All he could see was green, that stupid color. He ripped his gi off of his body, exposing his chest to himself. A grunt escaped from his mouth and he threw the dastardly piece of clothing to the floor.

He is messy, but he’s kind

He kicked the gi, his breathing heavy. He looked back into the mirror.

He is lonely most of the time

He was alone. Alone in his burden, alone in his pain. No one understood.

He is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie

He was tempted to shatter it, break the glass. Then it would be broken, like he was.

He is gone, but he used to be

But he didn’t he never did. He bent down, picked his gi up, then walked away.

Mine.

----

aka I’m posting this because work was really rough and just not good in any way today so lowkey venting by posting this so I hope you all enjoyed (also I want to finally contribute something to the fandom)! I just feel Lloyd gives off serious She Used To Be Mine vibes and I was sad one day so I wrote it, it’s a beautiful song, really. Sorry if it sucks, I don’t generally write songfics but this seemed like a depressing but not too depressing oneshot I could post to vent so yeeeah. Sorry if it sucks, thanks to anyone who read this far:)

[morros-writing-blog]

The first thing he thought when he returned was ‘did anyone remember me?’ He wanted to know what was left of himself. And so, he set aside thoughts of the Preeminent and his mission to find the Monastery.

The Monastery. Morro’s first true home. He’d stayed in a few other places, sure, but none that he considered a home. None that had people he considered family. He was happy, at first. He felt safe and okay, at first.

A tear escaped Morro’s eyes, burning his cheek as it went. He gazed at the burnt remains, sucking in a breath and steeling himself. Its okay. Maybe something was salvaged. Maybe he had something left.

His foot crunched on something as he took a cautious step in. He looked down, lifting his foot again, and recognized the shattered material of a dinner plate. Morro frowned and dropped to one knee, picking it up and shaking off the ash and dirt that had gathered over the years. As he turned the piece in his hands, he realized it belonged to the same set Wu had used since he was young.

A young boy ran through the hallways of his home, laughing as he chased after a much smaller cat. He entered the kitchen, barrelling into a larger form without realizing. As he fell back onto his butt, the loud clatter of a plate dropping onto the ground startled both the cat and him.

Wu frowned when he realized the plate had been broken but ignored it for now, looking over at the boy. He’d gotten up and ran off again, retreating to his room. With a slam of the door, the boy dove under his bed and curled up into a tight ball, guilt wracking through his body.

Morro blinked as he snapped out of it, unsure of how long he’d been wrapped up in his own memory. He set the plate down and stood back up, wiping more tears from his eyes before they burnt him again. The Monastery was completely burnt, and the few walls that remained were empty. Morro wasn’t going to find anything here.

Realizing this, he finally decided to leave. Morro sighed through his nose and reluctantly turned around, pulling his cape around himself. His eyes lingered on the building for a moment longer before he shook himself off and began the descent down a million stairs.

It was... odd.

Morro missed decades of improvement. As he walked through what he’d discovered what was called Ninjago City, he truly realized how much he missed of the world. How things moved on without him. He didn’t like it. While he was dying in those Caves, he’d lost hope that he would ever be great.

He just wished for Wu to never let him be forgotten. Morro only ever wanted to be remembered. Being another ‘nobody’ terrified him greatly — well, that and being a disappointment, but he already knew how to avoid that. It was up to Wu to remember him. No one else knew of his existence.

Well, maybe those other children, but Morro hadn’t been the nicest to them. Eventually, Wu stopped trying to make him be nice, because he really didn’t like those kids and nothing would change his mind. Morro didn’t change his mind easily, and he didn’t let things go easily.

He supposed that was why he ended up where he did.

Morro’s attention shifted when he realized he was being given odd looks. He partially wondered if this was because he was a ghost, casually strolling down the City streets, or if they knew who he was. Even if it was illogical and unrealistic, he still clung to the slightest hope. And so, he grabbed someone by the wrist as he passed them, tugging them into an alleyway.

“H - Hey!” The man protested as he was dragged, trying to tug his wrist from Morro’s grasp. “Who do you think you a—”

Morro cut him off pretty early, taking hold of the body as soon as he was out of sight. He took a deep breath, leaning against the alleywall for support, before delving deep into the man’s memories.

There was a lot about family. He watched these memories for a few moments, almost feeling like he was there himself. The man had two kids, a boy and a girl, and his wife was... a really pretty woman. Morro had never been one for romance, especially not with women, so he supposed it was the man’s memories affecting him. As he watched, he realized this family was truly happy.

The kids had a good mom, and an equally good dad. Something Morro could never have. He sighed through his nose, resting his head against the wall before letting go of his hold on the man. Ignoring the yelling to his back, Morro floated above another building, using the wind to aid himself.

As he stared over the City, he realized for the first time that no one would remember him. It was dark out now, and the lights blocked out the stars, but that wasn’t important right now. Morro sat on the edge of a tower, focusing to keep himself invisible to anyone who may come near but letting his thoughts wander at the same time.

He had been erased.

Was Morro really erased, or was it just that he didn’t look hard enough? He went through the memories of anyone he could, found archives in the museum and searched through history books in the library. It had been a week, and no one knew who he was.

He didn’t exist anymore.

Morro never wanted to be forgotten.

He wanted people to know he existed.

He wanted to make Wu proud.

He wanted to be known, he wanted to make a place in history.

He wanted to be the boy who built himself to greatness out of nothing.

But that didn’t matter now.

Morro supposed this was his second chance.

Well, its best he get to work, then.

there is a tendency with history, i think, because we're so far removed from it, to kind of forget that all of the people were people

a child 10,000 years ago left a handprint on a wall. they were fingerpainting. a viking climbs up a rock just to carve the words "this is very high" 10ft off the ground. somebody centuries... milennia... ago burned their dinner so thoroughly that they buried the ruined pot in the backyard rather than attempt to clean it. shakespeare got drunk and wrote dick jokes. tutankhamun was a little boy who liked ducks more than anything. a roman carves his name into a monument in another country saying "i was here". a prisoner, centuries ago, in the tower of london scratches lines into the wall as a tally marking the days. a medieval monk scrawls in the margins bemoaning the boredom of his work.

every human being across history has said "i was here. i lived. i loved. i made something. i laughed. i cried. please do not forget me"

[magicalbluelightning]

So I attempted writing something... its not done but I think it’s alright so far?

I think Cole would have some issues with water after returning to human form, and was in the mood to write some angst. There’s heavily implied bruise here too :)

there’s no title yet and not done but oh well I wanted to share

“You getting in Cole?” Jay’s voice brings me back to the present, my worried thoughts fading for a moment. “Zane and Nya are going to beat us to the water slide if we don’t hurry…” He sees my hesitant look and trails off. It’s been around a month since we moved into Yang’s temple and for the most part I’ve gotten used to having a solid form again. Water, however, was still a major obstacle, especially with how deadly it had been to me as a ghost.

“Why don’t you go on ahead?” I tell him. “I’ll meet you over there in a bit.” We both know that’s a lie. These days I’m barely able to wash myself, and that’s only if I wet a sponge and scrub myself with that, instead of getting fully under the running shower.

           Jay frowns, remembering how sensitive I’ve become to water since I was a ghost. “You sure? I can wait out here with you if you like…”

           “No, go catch up to the others. I’ll be fine, I swear.” Another lie. All I want now is to get away from this damn water park and do something else. I don’t really care what, just something that doesn’t involve this much water. He starts to get that look he gets when he’s getting ready to argue, and I shoot him a look of ‘Don’t you dare, I’m not going to take this away from you for my sake’. I grab my towel and sit on it after laying it out on the cement. This seems to somewhat convince him to stop trying to fight me on this. I’m not going to let him miss this.

           He shoots me a soft smile, not entirely convinced that I’ll be alright without him. “Alright, but you’d better be ready to tell me what you want to go do tomorrow! We’ll do whatever it is you want, and make sure it’s something that doesn’t involve water.” Another smile, this time happier.

           I smile back, and it’s actually a truthful one. “Alright, just go on or you’ll miss the slide…” He’s already back in the pool, swimming toward the park’s massive water slide. We have this rule that the first time you go down the slide you have to swim over to it through the pool, no walking along the side. I always won that, though Zane sometimes came close to getting ahead of me. I wonder who won this time? Probably Nya. Since becoming the water ninja, Nya had become quite the swimmer. As the elemental ninja of water, Nya like to use her abilities to “push” the water away from her and propel herself forward. I’ve long suspected her of allowing me to win all those times- there’s no way she could be the water ninja and not win.

           With Jay finally gone, I allow my smile to fade. Why did I agree to come to this fucking water park anyway? I could have gone to the arcade with Kai and Lloyd, but for some reason I decided to come to the one place I would be most uncomfortable. I reach over and pull my phone out of my bag, grunting as my legs, sore from sitting cross-legged on the hard pavement, protest the movement. Maybe a game might help ease my mood. Before I can get my passcode in I’m flooded by a literal wave of both emotions- and water. We had set up camp near the outer fence, both as a precaution against theft and damage of our electronics- they didn’t do well after getting wet after all -and since I had insisted on being as far away from the water as possible. I guess the distance didn’t stop the two trouble-makers from carrying a bucket of water and pouring it on my fucking head, drenching both myself and everything around me.

           At first I’m angry, which is understandable- those punks most likely just damaged what was the first new phone I’ve had in a long time, as well as all the dry clothes and snacks we’d brought. I stand fully ready to knock some sense into whoever it was, only to see the pair of them running around a corner and disappear into the crowded pool. Now, with no distractions, the anger dissipates and all that remains is ice-cold fear as I register just how wet I am. Memories of the past year come back, rushing to the fore-front of my mind. All those ghosts we saw killed, just from a few drops of rain. Being on the submarine, underwater. Morro possessing Lloyd, then almost killing him in the Spinjitzu Master’s Tomb. The Pre-Eminent. Everything. In a way I’m aware that I’m not actually going to die, but now, it’s just too soon. Too painful. I sit back down and wrap my arms around my legs as if it will somehow do something relieve the pain. My chest hurts as I try to breath, too far into the panic attack to care about that right now. I’m going to die right now, my fear tells me, as my mind is screaming at the same time that everything is fine, I’m just over-reacting. Unfortunately, there’s no way of negotiating with anxiety, not when it’s already well on its way into a full-blown panic attack.

           I don’t register the footsteps until Jay is already standing next to me, his eyes wide in worry. “Cole! What happened? Did someone push you in?” He asks, looking around at the soaked bags and towels. “No, then our bags would still be dry…” He hands me the towel he had been holding. For the most part it was still dry, and I attempted to dry myself as much as I could. My hair would have to wait until later, as would my clothes. No amount of towels would be able to dry a wet shirt in a short amount of time. Jay reaches out a hand and I grab it, shakily getting to my feet.

Jay was surprisingly dry, not a drop of water on him apart from the bit that had dripped from my hair. “You-…”

He cuts me off, grabbing the towel. “Didn’t end up wanting to get on the slide. You, on the other hand, need to get that shirt off. The damp fabric is only going to make things worse.” His mouth was curved in that adorable little pout he gets whenever Jay is worried, and I decide to focus on that as I fumble with my shirt, cringing at the soaked cloth. Eventually I get it off and Jay has wrapped the towel around me. I grasp it, shivering. Mostly due to the panic attack, but also because there’s a slight breeze and I’m wet and shirtless. Wind. I’m sure my nightmares aren’t as bad as Lloyd’s, but the thought of Morro sends me into another round of panic. Jay wraps his arms around me and suggests we go away from the park. I nod numbly, breathing heavily. My vision clouds, and I just need to get away from this place. I doubt I’ll ever feel safe here again…

We ultimately decide to go to the arcade to join Kai and Lloyd after sending a quick text to Nya’s phone to let the rest of the gang know where we were when they couldn’t find the two of us later. When we get to the table Jay puts our bags on a table, then leaves to find our friends. I sit and wait for him to return, shakily grasping Jay’s towel around me like a protective cape. I had mostly dried off by now, for the most part, though bits of my hair were still wet, plastered to my face like limp noodles.  

[littlemonkeythief]

GreenStorm

 "Focuse Lloyd!", "Try again Lloyd!", "You can do better than that!". Those were some sentences Lloyd heard nearly each day, when he and the others trained. After the whole Anacondrai apocolypse, Lloyd had been forced to train for any potentially next threat for Ninjago. He didn't liked this at all, but it was important, that he would get stronger. After he and the others had helped a village near the ocean, they came back now and had been told to get some costumers, while Lloyd had a mission in the Museum. Once he arrived there, the Police mens told him what had happened and he headed over to the Nightwatch then, which looked clearly scared out of his mind. "I'm here to help you.", Lloyd told him. The men looked up to him, before he dropped the tea cup, grabbed his wrist and pulled Lloyd with him to a room, where he locked the door behind him then and turned to Lloyd. "I didn't see who it was, but when i woke up, i saw only an old armour called The Allied Armour of Azure had been stolen.", he explained to Lloyd. "What? Why would someone only steal an old Armour, if there is far more better things in here?", he asked and looked at the now empty box. "Oh, I don't know. It says the armour could call your allys, even ghosts from the Cursed Realm.", the man answered, secretly grabbing a kershief and came closer. "The Cursed Realm? My father lives the-!". Lloyd had turned around, only to see the man swinging at him, but dodged it quickly and jumped away then. The man turned, throwing the blanket off him and showed nothing else than the Allied Armour. "The Allied Armour? You stole it!", Lloyd growled. "So Wu decided to make you the Green ninja! Silly old men!", the man growled. "How do you know Sensei and if you have a bone with me to pick, then can't we do this without weapons?", Lloyd tried to argue, but it ended that the men attacked him again. Lloyd jumped once again away, while something dark suddenly came out of the man and the man fell onto the ground unconscious, while the ghost snickered, sending Lloyd into a wall with Wind. Lloyd yelped, before he slided to the ground unconscious and laid there moveless Morro walked over to the boy, before he picked him up and disappeared. Soon, Lloyd would be only his. Once he appeared in the cave he had kept himself hidden, he chained Lloyd against the wall roughly. Once Lloyd started to wake up again, Morro came over and lifted his chin. "I see you're awake~", he purred and smirked down to him. Lloyd's eyes widened slightly, before he winced at sharp claws being drawn over his skin. Looking to his arms, he saw bloody lines slowly appearing on his skin. This was going to leave scars. Morro chuckled and run one of his claws down Lloys's neck, leaving a thin line of blood back. The ghost leaned in closer, licking the blood off hungrily and purred deeply. He was going to enjoy the green Ninja, no doubt. When Lloyd flinched back, Morro pulled away and leaned down to the boy's ear. "I don't care if you're the green Ninja! I'm the green Ninja and I'm going to make sure, my legacy will live on!", he growled into it and Lloyd's eyes widened. This wasn't good. Morro saw his shocked expression, using that as distraction and ripped Lloyd's clothes off, stopping for a moment. "Well well well~ The green Ninja is in real life a girl~ Who would knew~", Morro smirked and looked down to Lloyd. Lloyd didn't wanted anyone to know she was a girl. "What will your friends say, if they know this~?", he asked and Lloyd looked away from the ghost angrily. Smirking, Morro got some ghost clothes for Lloyd, which Lloyd put on, seeing how much they showed her female sides. "What is your real name then? Llily? Llayla?", Morro asked and snickered devilish then, looking at Lloyd. "No...  Llyra...", Lloyd mumbled and looked to his hands. Morro seemed to smirk at the name. "Llyra~? What a cute name.", he said then and Llyra huffed. "Please just call me Lloyd.", she said and Morro snickered. "Maybe I will. Maybe I won't.", he shrugged and Llyra groaned out then. "I hate you.", she snapped angrily at Morro then, who laughed only and pulled the girl close to him. "Now tgat i know you're a girl, I'll make sure you will be mine~", he told her then, purring deeply

[piperchu]

DotD rewrite Episode 1: Day of the Departed

It’s here! There are a few minor tweaks in this one, like dialogue changes, plus Yang isn’t evil. Go ahead and read!

Episode 1

Day of the Departed

The sun shone hot down on the pink dunes of the Sea of Sand. The sky was turning shades of pink and purple. The rocks in the desert cast long shadows across the ground. Sunset was fast approaching.

Suddenly there was a rumbling sound somewhere in the distance. The rumble turned into a roar, and a large motorcycle tore across the ground. The Raider Bike’s driver was a young man dressed in a ninja gi. “Move, move, move! We’re running out of time! Pick up the pace!” Kai yelled into his radio.

Another large vehicle, the Rock Roader appeared behind it. “Kai’s right, we’re already cutting it close!”

Two more vehicles appeared. “Roger that, Cole!” Nya said from the second Raider Bike. “Zane, do you have a read?”

“It may be too late,” Zane replied from the Titanium Ninja Tumbler, “unless we break all speed limits! Increase velocity!”

“Already on it,” PIXAL confirmed. Another vehicle suddenly appeared out of the dust, Lloyd at the driver’s seat.

“Ninja, I’ve reached the rendezvous point. Where are you?” Wu asked from the screens on the vehicle’s dashboard.

“The museum is still five clicks away!” Lloyd answered in his Ultra Stealth Raider Bike. “We’re on our way.”

Suddenly a small craft caught up to them up in the air. “Look up, kids! Jay to save the day! Race you there, Lloyd!” Jay called from the cockpit.

“I still don’t understand how you got the Super Sonic Raider Jet,” Lloyd said, shaking his head.

“Uh, ‘cause I called dibs! Guy who calls dibs first gets it! Right Cole?” No answer. “Right Cole? Cole?” Still nothing. A sudden realization hit Jay. “Lemme go get him! He’s drifting off again!”

Cole looked at his hands. They were fading again. Not another one of these episodes! “No. No! Come back! Come-” he pleaded.

Jay was heading back, only to see Cole’s tread assault hurtling through the air straight for him. “Cole! Look out!” He cried. Jay took a quick dive and only just missed it.

Cole regained control finally. “S-sorry Jay,” he apologized.

Jay sighed. “I know you’re a ghost, but I’m still in the living world, and I’d kinda like to keep it that way!”

“Ninja! Time is of the essence!” Wu exclaimed.

“He’s right!” Cole said. “Engage!”

“We have one last shot if we want to make it. Combine for maximum impact!” Lloyd commanded.

The vehicles began to converge and combine. “Locked!” Kai confirmed.

“Loaded!” Nya added.

“And, jet speed reporting for duty, sir!” Jay piped. He lowered the jet and latched onto the combination. Cole and Zane also put their vehicles in place.

“Fire all engines!” Lloyd directed, and they all zoomed off.

The Ninja sped toward the city, tore down the streets and finally skidded to a stop at the Ninjago City Museum. They jumped out of their vehicles and rushed over to Sensei Wu, who was standing on the front steps of the museum. “Sensei Wu!” Jay panted. “Are we too late?”

Wu looked up at the sky where the moon shone bright green. “There may yet be time,” he answered.

The ninja raced up the steps. “NINJA-GO!” they shouted, and Spinjitzued inside, Misako and Wu closely following.

Moments later, the Ninja walked out of the gift shop, carrying orange lanterns and now feeling much more relaxed. “Haha! Mission accomplished!” Jay laughed.

“Good thing we got to the gift shop before it closed!” Lloyd remarked.

“Yes,” Zane agreed. “A Day of the Departed celebration is incomplete without a Day of the Departed lantern.”

“I don’t know about you all, but this has got to be one of my favorite holidays! There’s lights, there’s costumes, but the best part is the candy!” Jay exclaimed. He turned to a kid with a pilot’s helmet on. “Go long, kid!” The boy’s eyes widened in terror, and he ran to the front of the group. “Hey, what was that?!”

Lloyd put his elbow on Jay’s shoulder. “Jay, take it from me,” he began, almost as if he were a wise old man teaching him a valuable lesson. It was so dramatic it was comical. “Candy is a child’s greatest treasure. No kid is going to be willing to give up that sweet, sugary goodness for free.”

“Yes, enjoy the fun and festivities,” Wu encouraged, “but never lose sight of the true meaning of the Day of the Departed. Today is about remembrance. We light lanterns to remember our ancestors… and to settle our debts.”

“Yeah, got it, got it.” Jay babbled. “Lanterns, ancestors, debts, but candy too, right?”

Suddenly a voice that sounded like it had a slight cold came up behind them. “The Ninja! The Master Wu!” The speaker was a man in a red suit with glasses and a very long grey mustache.

“Dr. Saunders,” Wu acknowledged.

“Oh, please, we are all friends, ah, you must call me by my first name, yes, Sander, yes?”

Kai snorted softly. He leaned over to his sister. “Dr. Sander Saunders?” he whispered into her ear.

Unfortunately, Dr. Saunders heard it, but didn’t seem to take offense. “At your service!” he laughed cheerily. “I am so pleased to be seeing you at this now. We are opening our new exhibit. Come! You see! Come!” He led them over to a set of double doors. Opening them, he announced, “Might I be presenting… the Hall of Villainy!” Everyone gasped. All the mannequins looked very realistic. He pointed to each one and introduced them. “Cryptor!”

“Very realistic,” Zane observed.

“Kozu!”

“Uncanny!” Lloyd remarked.

“Chen!”

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Nya groaned.

“Samukai!”

“...Is he looking at me?” Jay asked nervously.

“Maybe from the past,” Wu reassured him.

“And Morro!” Dr. Saunders finished. “Checking this out! We don’t just open on Day of Departed. It’s Day of Departed lunar eclipse! A special eclipse!”

“The rarest Yin Yang eclipse,” Wu informed, looking at the moon chart Dr. Saunders was pointing out. “Unlike most eclipses, it lasts for two weeks instead of one night.”

“Ah, poetic, is it not? Scary holiday, scary exhibit, scary moon, there is magic in the air… BOOGLY BOOGLY!” None of the ninja were impressed by Dr. Saunders’ attempt at spooking them. However, the exhibit was a different story.

“It’s… every villain we’ve ever faced,” Kai breathed.

Cole walked toward a specimen that caught his eye. “Not every villain….” he corrected more to himself than to Kai. He was facing a weapon encased in glass underneath a painting of a familiar face.

“No, there are many more to unpack,” Dr. Saunders continued. “Overlord, Golden Master, all the ones who tried to destroy you. Exciting!”

“Uhh, yeah, e-exciting…” Jay agreed nervously.

Cole walked nearer to the weapon and painting. He began to read the description. “‘Although known to some as the Master Without A Student, Honakuna Yang will be remembered by most as the creator of airjitzu, the most powerful martial art in history.’ Huh, actually, I remember Yang as the guy who turned me into a ghost.” Then he called behind him, “Hey, uh, Dr. Saunders, what’s the story on this thing?” He put his hand through the glass. “Hello? Dr. Saunders? Anyone?” No one answered.

“Hey, what’s that?” Nya rushed over to the case.

“Ah, you have a good eye, Nya!” Dr. Saunders complimented.

“Wha- her?! I’m the one who spotted-” Cole stopped. No one seemed to hear him. In fact… “Hey! Watch it! You guys are walking right through me!”

“The Yin Blade belonged to Master Yang, eh, it is said to possess much dark magic...”

Cole came to a realization. “They don’t hear me… or see me… it’s like I don’t exist anymore… And it’s all your fault!” He finished by yelling at the painting.

“Cole… come… come to me….” said a voice.

“Uhh, tell me you heard that?” he asked Jay. Jay didn’t notice.

“Come Cole….”

Dr. Saunders was still talking. “...which is why it is in this case made of clearstone, the hardest substance known to human, impenetrable by any living being…”

“...Cole…” The painting called.

“Yang…” Cole responded softly.

“...Close the circle…”

“Close the circle?”

“...Close the circle…”

“Close the circle…” Cole shook his head. Then he realized he was alone. He walked over to the window. To his horror, he saw his friends outside, saying goodbye to Dr. Saunders.

“Thank you so much for such an informative tour, Dr. Saunders,” Wu said. They shook hands. Then Wu turned to the Ninja. “Ninja, tonight is the first night of the eclipse. At midnight we will return here for the concert. But first, we must go forth and honor those we have lost… those who have departed. We honor our ancestors because if we never look to the past, we cannot envision the future. On the Day of the Departed, we pause to remember those we have lost, and enjoy our time with those we are still fortunate to have.”

Reality came crashing down on Cole. “They don’t realize I’m gone… maybe… I’m departed….” As he stood there in the window, watching them go, his sadness turned to anger at a certain someone. Yang was at fault. It was all his fault. And Cole wasn’t about to sit here while none of his friends could see or hear him. Cole had never wanted pure revenge on anyone before. It wasn’t the way of the Ninja. But I’m not a ninja. I’m a ghost. Cole’s fists balled up. He turned to leave. He didn’t care about what anyone said; he had a debt to settle.

Back in the Sea of Sand, the other ninja rode away. “See you soon!” Kai shouted to everyone over the noise of the engines.

“Happy Day of the Departed, everyone!” Nya waved. With that, everyone left for their various destinations.

In the Corridor of Elders, Lloyd and Misako lit a floating lantern. After making sure it had enough hot air in it to let go, Lloyd released it. Slowly it rose up into the sky. As it passed Garmadon’s stone statue, it cast its warm glow across his face.

Back in Ignacia, Nya held up a lantern in front of Kai. He lit up his hand and used it to light the lantern with a warm red glow. Nya placed the lantern on the table under a picture of their parents, the masters of water and fire.

In the Birchwood Forest, Zane walked toward the ice statue of his father. He placed a lantern in his open hand, and stepped back for a moment of reflection. This was his creator. He touched the snowy floor with his shurikens, and the ice power traveled across the ground and encased the statue with a fresh layer of ice.

Back in the junkyard, Jay sat on a bench outside the trailer where he grew up. They were looking at photos of Jay just after his parents found him on the porch. “Aww…” Edna cooed. “That’s when I gave you your first teddy bear.”

“Well, yeah, that thing was your best friend,” Ed agreed. “You took it everywhere.”

Jay laughed at a picture of him refusing to eat peas and carrots baby food. “I never really liked vegetables, did I?” he chuckled.

“We still loved you, Jay,” Edna said, her head on Jay’s shoulder.

At the mountain on which sat the remains of the old monastery, Wu made tea next to a picture of his father. “I raise this cup of Remembrance Tea to you father,” he said, holding up the tea cup. “We never forget.”

It was only a few minutes until showtime, and backstage, Lou was beginning to worry. Where was his son? “Cole, Cole where are you? You were going to light a lantern with me before the show!” he lamented. Lou’s quartet slid in.

“He still not here, Lou?” Gary asked. “C’mon, put a few notes to it! It’ll make you feel better! Bum bum bum bummmmm! Gave you your voice… gave you your soul… gave you your heart, now my heart is goooone…”

The others joined in. “To pieces!”

“Pieces!”

“Pieces!”

“Pieces!”

“Ooo la la la la la oo la la la la la!”

“Ooooooooooooooooooooo!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Just then Dareth entered. “Hey, guys?” he said, trying to get the four performers’ attention. But they seemed entirely absorbed in their art. “Hey! Guys, listen!” Still no answer. “Guys. Guys! GUYS! STOP IT!” Finally they finished. “Ah, kids! Always letting you down! That’s why I don’t have ‘em. Not because Gail keeps turning down my marriage proposals even though I’m an excellent provider.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway! It’s a good thing your manager is here to help you focus on the important things!”

“What’s more important than family?” Lou asked crossly.

“A paying gig for a festival audience! Have a good show, boys.”

Dareth raced onstage. “Hello Ninjago!”

Lou sighed. What could have happened to Cole?

Cole drove through the desert in his Raider. He had to do this. He drove for what seemed like hours. Dry desert turned to fluffy snow, fluffy snow turned to grassy plains. Finally the visibility dropped, for fog was closing in. He’d have to go the rest of the way on foot. Cole exited the Raider and walked through creepy, skeletal trees until he finally found it. Yang’s temple.

Cole burst through the door. “Alright, Yang! Show yourself!” he shouted into the empty entrance hall. He walked further in. “You hear me? Show yourself!”

“Cole,” a deep voice suddenly said. Cole looked to the right and saw Yang emerging from behind the staircase. “You received my message. I have something important to speak with you about.”

“Really? Well I’ve got a message for you. It’s direct from the business end of your own weapon!” He pulled out the Yin Blade from behind him and pointed it at Yang.

Yang gasped. “The Yin blade! But, how? It’s encased in solid clearstone! That case is impenetrable-”

“Not to a ghost. Which thanks to you, I still am!” Cole didn’t care if he was sounding scary even to himself. Yang was going to pay.

“W-what are you going to do?”

“There’s magic in the air. You know, eclipse and all?”

“Please, where is your holiday spirit? It’s the Day of the Departed.”

“Uh-huh. And I’m settling my debt!” Cole let out a vengeful cry and leapt toward Yang, blade in hand. But Yang jumped out of the way, and the blade hit a large vase instead.

“You foolish boy!”

“What?” Cole asked. Suddenly the vase began to let out an eerie glow.

“You’ve broken the seal on the Vase of Wicked Souls Past!” Yang yelled as the light from the eclipse shone a beam down on the broken vase. A sickly green gas started to swirl around inside of it.

“Woah! What’s happening?!”

“The consequences of your rash behavior!” Yang responded angrily. Streams of green smoke began to escape from the vase. They slithered out of the temple doors and into the surrounding woods. Quickly they made their way across the land and toward Ninjago City. They weaved through the streets and snaked into the Ninjago City Museum. As they went, the lanterns they passed turned green. The smoke soon made its way into the Hall of Villainy exhibit. Each strand of smoke began to circle one of the villains. At first nothing happened.

Then they all blinked.

[p0tat0-g0ddess]

Despair Chapter 8

I wrote this chapter in like an hour, which is pretty good for me, especially since it’s over 1,000 words. :3

Despair/Rated K+(PG)/Adventure/Angst

 “You can’t do this!” Garmadon snapped. “This is madness!! You’re starting an entire war for your own gain?!”

“Why not?” Chen raised an eyebrow.

“Hundreds- thousands of innocent people will be killed! And for what?!”

“Why should I care? That’s none of my business.” Garmadon just gaped at him. “In this world, you have to look out for yourself, not others.” His sensei said with a shrug.

“But you’re killing people!”

“Who cares?” Garmadon blinked.

“I’m leaving.”

“What??” Chen frowned.

“I said I’m leaving. I refuse to help you in this- this insane plot.”

“It’s not insane! Insane would be leaving when together we can have it all!” His sensei threw his hands up in the air. “This will work! All I have to do is play both sides until they’ve killed each other off, then we can step in and take control of the whole world!”

“Do you have no sense of morals?!” Garmadon demanded. “Don’t you care what you’re doing to people?!”

“No. No I don’t. And I know that you don’t either.” Chen jabbed him in the chest with his finger. “Or have you already forgotten the Master of Wind?” The brunette stepped back in alarm. Clouse must have told him.

“That was one man.” He sputtered after a moment. “And he might’ve gotten in the way later. He was an elemental master. These are innocents with no powers, who can barely fight.”

“Blah, blah, blah.” Chen turned away. “I don’t care.”

“Then I’m leaving.”

“Fine! Go! Then die in my war with your pathetic brother!” Garmadon paused. He hadn’t actually considered going to help the other side. But there was no reason he shouldn’t. Besides, Misako was there. He felt a pang of fear at the thought of her finding out what he had done to Morro. Not to mention the letter…

“Good idea.” He said at last. “But I won’t die. I’ll fight you, and I’ll win.” With that, he spun around and left the room. He heard Chen scoff behind him, but didn’t turn back. Grabbing his bag and his staff, he walked straight out of the temple. He had no need to pack, since he had just returned from a trip and all his belongings were already in his backpack. A glance over his shoulder revealed Chen standing in the doorway, watching him leave. He might regret this decision later. But probably not. Chen’s plan was mad. There was no way he could go along with this. Clutching his staff tighter, he headed off down the path towards the setting sun.

 Despair

 Morro knelt in front of the monster in front of him, staring at the ground as he fought to keep his body from shaking. This creature… the… “Preeminent”, he thought Soul Archer had called it, was silent, the sound of its uncanny breathing being the only sound in the huge cavern.

“So you wish for revenge.” Morro startled at the sound of a feminine voice in his head, almost losing his balance.

“I…” he started uncertainly out loud. “…yes.”

“On whom?”

“The man who killed me.” The ghost boy replied, his voice more confident now.

“…Garmadon.” He jumped again.

“How did you know that?”

“The same way I am speaking directly to your mind.” The creature replied. “I can read your thoughts.”

“Oh…” Should he be speaking out loud, then?

“Yes.”

“Oh.” Did she know everything about him?? What was this creature, anyway?!

“I am the Preeminent, the heart of the Cursed Realm. Without me, you would be in the Departed Realm instead of having a second chance here.” Oh. “You were sent here to pledge your loyalty to me.”

“Yes.” Soul Archer had directed him here after he had asked the older ghost for help. With all his talk of revenge, he had convinced the wind master- well, the ex-wind master – to try. The archer had told him to find the Preeminent, who would help him. He hadn’t warned her she would look like this, though. Oops- he hoped she wasn’t reading his thoughts when he said – thought? – that. The sooner he got out of here the better, this was too confusing for him.

“You are well-trained in the art of fighting. What know you of battle?” The Preeminent’s voice formed in his mind again.

“Uh… what do you mean?”

“Wars. Strategy.” Wu had taught him lots of strategy, many of the stories he had been told when he was younger were of wars fought before he was born.

“I think I know a lot.”

“Good. You’re in charge, then.”

“Wh- what?”

“I am in need of a general to lead my armies into Ninjago. My subjects here are hundreds in number, but they know nothing of fighting. Someone must lead them.”

“And you want me to do… what, exactly?”

“You will rule over every ghost in the Cursed Realm, second only to me. You will take the ghosts here and turn them into an unstoppable army, then, when the time is right, bring them and me into Ninjago. Together, we will take control of not only Ninjago, but the other fourteen Realms as well.”

“Other fourteen…?”

“Now is not the time to explain. Will you take me up on my offer?”

“Yes, of course.” He readily agreed. He couldn’t think of anything much better than having an entire realm of ghosts under his command. “But how can we get to Ninjago? Soul Archer told me there was no way out of the Cursed Realm.”

“There are ways. And I can see that you will escape. Not soon, but you will escape.” She could see the future?? “In Ninjago, there exists an artifact known as the Realm Crystal. It can create a portal to any Realm, almost instantly. It is the only object powerful enough to bring me to Ninjago.”

“Where is it?”

“In the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master.”

“The tomb of the…” Morro trailed off, his eyes widening. He could kill two birds with one stone. Find the tomb, proving himself to Sensei, and get the Realm Crystal to free the Preeminent.

“You have other motives to find the tomb.” The Preeminent remarked.

“Yeah.”

“The Realm Crystal comes first. You agreed to my deal. You belong to me now.” That was a… mildly disturbing way of putting it. But she was right. “Now go back to the others. I will inform them that you are their new leader.”

“Alright.” Morro got to his feet, keeping his head bowed. As the Preeminent said nothing more, he turned and left the cave. As soon as he was out of sight of the cave, he let out a whoop, pumping his fist in the air. He had been here two days, and he was already… well, basically king, of the entire realm.

Maybe being here wouldn’t be so bad after all.

[only-lonely-stars]

The Future is Bright, Chapter 6

[Chapter 1 (Beginning)] // [Chapter 5] // [Chapter 6 - you are here!] // [Chapter 7] // [Chapter 10 (End)] (FFN)

Cole now knows what he’s seen, but he still doesn’t know what it means. There’s still so much to know, and the mystery is centered in Shintaro. Good thing he has an ally who can help him find answers!

Summary: What would happen if Cole had indeed had a reflection in the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master? How would that have changed his life later? What would it have been? This story follows what might have happened if he had seen something, and what it was; who he would have become. What if his future was already decided?... (Rated T for safety. Alternate title: the Cosmic Spoilers AU.)

Chapter 6: Drawing Conclusions

With the drawing from the First Master's tomb in tow, Cole hadn't wasted much time in going back to Shintaro, and had left a couple of days later. If he had any luck– assuming luck was real, like destiny apparently was– it would be enough to help him find whoever he was meant to find. Then it was just a matter of dealing with whatever that was.

When he at last arrived back in Shintaro, Vania greeted Cole with an enthusiastic hug, almost knocking him over. "Cole! It's good to see you!"

Cole laughed and hugged back, grinning. "Good to see you too, Queenie! I missed you!"

She beamed at him just as widely, almost vibrating in her excitement. "What's going on? I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon!"

He nodded, brushing his hair back. "I had something I needed to talk to you about, and I figured in-person was better than a letter."

Immediately, her brow creased with worry. "Something to talk about? Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all!" He put up his hands defensively. "It's okay– everything's completely okay. I just wanted to talk to you about something that happened, and maybe get your opinions on it? If it's not a problem, that is."

"Oh! No, it's not a problem! I love talking to you." She turned her head questioning. "Did you want to talk somewhere private, or just anywhere?"

"Somewhere private, I think." He smiled awkwardly. "It's kind of... personal."

"I can do that!" She clapped her hands. "Follow me!"

Cole did as she asked, and she led him into the palace. They followed a few hallways, going deep into the palace, until they at last stopped in a private room with a fireplace. She shut the doors behind them, and together they sat on a couch before the fireplace.

When they were at last comfortable, she smiled at him. "So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

He sighed. "Okay, so I have to explain a little bit before I can get to it, but I'm kind of wondering if you can help me figure something out. It has to do with Shintaro."

"Okay." She nodded. "What do you need to know?"

"Well…" He shrugged. "I guess I kind of need to know about Shintaro customs, and stuff. There's a bit of a backstory to why I need to know."

"Go ahead and tell it," she urged him enthusiastically. "I have plenty of time, don't skimp on the details."

"Okay." He sighed, relaxing a little and managing a smile. He was just talking to Vania. There was nothing scary about that: she wouldn't judge him. "So, you probably heard about what happened a few years ago in Stiix, right?"

"Of course. All those ghosts!" She laughed. "That's one of the stories we heard about the soonest, I think."

"Probably, it was a big deal." He found himself talking with his hands as well as his voice, waving them around a bit. "Anyway, right before that, we were dealing with Morro. He wanted to get the Realm Crystal to summon the Preeminent. Still sound familiar?"

"Yeah, completely!" She leaned forward, invested. "What about it? Did you stop him?"

"We had to find it before he did– not that we succeeded, but it was okay." He thought back to the events. "It was hidden in the First Spinjitzu Master's tomb, and he made it only accessible to Spinjitzu Masters like him. Morro had possessed Lloyd so he could get in."

"That's terrible!" She frowned. "Is he okay after that?"

"He's okay." Cole smiled at her concern. "This was years ago, remember?"

"If you say so. I just wanted to make sure." She smiled back.

Cole chuckled. "Well, that's sweet of you."

She smiled a little more. "I try."

He grinned back. "Okay. When we got there, we found a bunch of traps that only Spinjitzu Masters could survive. One was this huge maze of ice– and when I say huge, I mean huge. Gigantic."

"A maze of ice? Wouldn't that melt?" She frowned in confusion. "Unless it was enchanted…"

"Maybe, I don't know. Whatever it was, it wasn't just normal ice." He paused, attempting to describe it. "When you look at your reflection in the ice wall, it shows you a reflection of your future self, and when we made our way through, I saw mine."

She gasped, staring at him in rapt attention. "You're kidding. It shows the future?"

"Yup."

That's– that's incredible! It must have been fascinating!" She grinned brightly. "Future vision sounds incredible!"

"It's really cool- no pun intended. It kind of showed me that I was going to be human again, which was really nice. Made it easier to deal with being a ghost."

"I can imagine." She leaned in a little closer. "Speaking of which, what was it like being a ghost?"

He chuckled. "Numb, really. You don't feel anything, just kind of cold. Not on my list of top ten recommended experiences."

"Probably not." She sat back, trying to control her excitement, but still clearly enamored with the story. "So… did you just see yourself as human? How does that connect to Shintaro?"

"I'm getting there." He pulled out his sketchbook as he spoke. "When we saw our reflections, Kai, Zane, and Jay saw themselves dressed like senseis. Jay even saw Nya with him, which was just proof that they've always been meant to be. Thing is, I didn't see the same thing." He flipped to the right page and handed it over. "Jay, Nya and I went back last week to take another look, and I drew what mine looked like."

She took the sketchbook gently and examined the drawing, tracing the lines with a light touch. A soft smile bloomed on her face. "You're an incredible artist," she commented.

"Thanks. I'm okay." He smiled, watching her look at it with that sweet look on her face. "So… what do you think?"

She hummed. "Well, it looks like Shintaran robes, obviously."

"Yeah, it does." He shrugged. "I don't know what the heck I saw, but I've kind of been on edge about it since we first visited. Do you know anything about what it means?"

"Hm…" She looked at him, and then back at the drawing, and held it up to compare. "Well… I can kind of tell some things." She examined it a little more closely. "In this, you're wearing white and blue. That's something not many Shintarans wear, because it's the royal colors, but it's not unheard of for non-royals if they want to emulate the royals. Plus, you're wearing your own crest, not the royal one."

"Wait, there's a royal crest?" He looked at her quizzically. "I've never seen it."

"Oh, absolutely!" She smiled at him, brushing her bangs out of the way. "It's a spear and some clouds. You might've seen it around the palace somewhere if you looked close enough."

"I don't know." He laughed. "Last time I was here, I spent most of my time underground."

"That's fair." She laughed too and looked back down, pointing at the sketch to direct him. "See your belt? That's where you might wear your crest in Shintaran formal wear."

"Huh! It's still my dragon..."

"Yep. Either that's the crest you stuck with for just yourself if you came here, or that's the crest your family would take on. Either way, it's not unheard of either." Her brow furrowed. "That said, the style of robes is pretty impractical for everyday wear. This is formal clothing, like I said, so I think it's probably likely that it's royal clothing. That explains the colors better."

His heart caught in his chest. "Royal clothing? Are you saying I become part of the royal family?"

"If you got married and your yin was a Shintaran royal, yes." She smiled up at him again. "Sounds like you'll be moving up in the world."

"Huh." He smiled faintly, head spinning with the possible meanings and making him feel a little dizzy. He had thoughts about how little he knew of Shintaro, yet it was clear how much this meant here… was there extended royalty in the Shintaran royal family?

Eventually, he found his voice. "That's… that's a thought."

"I bet it is." Her smile formed into yet another infectious grin. "That said, it would be awesome!"

That threw him for a loop. "Huh? How come?"

"Because then you'd live here! Then we could see each other all the time!" she chirped. "I mean, it's obviously not great to leave Ninjago, because that's your home and you love it and you've always protected it, but it would be amazing to have you around! You'd love to live here in Shintaro, I guarantee it."

He shrugged. "Oh, I wouldn't know... I haven't put much thought into that part of it."

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe…" He reached over and pointed at a gold smudge on the paper next to the sketch of himself. "Okay, see that?"

"Yeah. Is that supposed to be there?"

"Yep. The ice walls sometimes show other people, too, but all I saw was a blur. It's my one clue to whoever my yin is supposed to be. She's got really bright blonde hair– just like yours, actually." He shrugged. "I don't know how common that color of hair is here, but either way it narrows it down."

"It's not that common," she noted. "I haven't met many other people with the same color. Most people here are brunette."

"Then it's even easier."

The conversation fell quiet, and a familiar anxiety crept back into his mind. His mind spun tales of the possibilities, some of which he dared not even think... but he was snapped from his thoughts when he felt Vania's hand on his arm. "Cole? Are you okay?"

He laughed humorlessly and nodded, shaking himself. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. I'm just– it's a lot to think about."

"I can imagine." She smiled compassionately. "I know you haven't really liked the idea of a relationship– just about everyone knows that. It must be pretty hard, knowing in the future you've got that, despite how much you don't want it yet."

He nodded. "Yeah, uh, you hit the nail on the head." He brushed his hair back anxiously. "I don't do relationships; never have, actually. Now the creator of entire realms has given me cosmic spoilers and told me I'm marrying someone from another country. It's hard to process."

"I'd bet it is." She nodded along with his story. "Having your future set for you before you get to it isn't fun."

"You must know about that, right?"

She let her hand rest on his arm comfortingly. "I do. I didn't really ever get told I could be anything but the queen in the future. It made some things easier, but others harder." She laughed quietly. "I can't imagine what it must be like to be told that, but about whoever you're going to end up marrying."

"Yeah, that's it. I don't know what to do, if I'm honest."

"Well, you could do a couple things." She shrugged, letting go of his arm.

"What do you mean?" He leaned in, listening intently.

Vania giggled at his blatant interest, and then began counting on her fingers. "One: you ignore it. Not the best idea, in my opinion, but it would work for a little bit. The future comes to pass whether we want it to or not."

"Yeah, definitely can't just expect it not to happen. Already tried that." He smiled.

"Yeah, exactly." She smiled back. "Two: you wait. You can let it happen in its own due time and do other things now, instead. Instead of pushing it and trying to find her, you can let her find you."

"But that'd leave it hanging over my head," he dismissed. "That's happened for long enough already, too."

"I figured you'd say that." She laughed quietly. "Three: you start looking for her now with what you know. She's got to be a noble or royal, and since she's blonde, you've got plenty of clues." She shrugged absently. "Of course, you could be wrong about part of it, and get mixed up, but you could try at least."

He nodded, thinking it over. Would it be worth it to look for her? Of course, there was always the possibility that he, Jay and Nya had been wrong. What if he was wrong? Or… what if she was right under his nose? What if they were right?

He sighed. "I guess I should figure out who it is, but I'm starting to wonder if I'm right about what I actually saw."

"Well…" She paused. "You drew it while looking at it, didn't you?"

"I did." He shook his head. "I just– my mind's playing tricks on me. I kind of wish I could see it again, but a third visit, and going alone at that, doesn't sound like much fun."

She hummed. "You have a point… I must admit, I'm extremely curious. It sounds fascinating to see the future!"

"It really is." Would it be worth it to go alone?...

She closed the sketchbook and handed it back. "Well… what if I come with you? We can look at it together and figure out what we're doing to find your yin."

"Really?" He took the book back. "You'd want to see it? I thought you wouldn't want to."

"Sure! It sounds fascinating, and I'd love to know a little more about my future, even though it's already mostly laid out for me. It would be another adventure!" She grinned. "That is, if you don't mind me coming along?"

"No, I'd be happy to bring you!" He grinned back. "That place is a little creepy when you're alone, seeing as it's a tomb."

"Well then, let's make it not creepy!" She got to her feet gracefully, seemingly energetic. "Let me just change and talk to Hailmar, and then I'm ready to go. We can make a day of it."

"Okay. It's a bit of a trip, dress warmly." He pocketed the sketchbook.

"Will do!" she chirped. "Make yourself at home! I'll come find you when I'm ready."

"Okay." Instinctively he wanted to come with her, but he kept himself back. There wasn't a reason to follow her, just that... well, she was the one he came to visit, but it would only be a little wait. There wasn't a need to miss her already.

Having gotten his thoughts in order, Cole stayed in the room and took the book out. As he looked at the sketch, his thoughts swirled in confusion. Who was this blonde royal he was supposed to be marrying? His suspicions fit too perfectly… but was it what he suspected?