Chapter Text
The Crossroads were loud, too loud, too crowded. Overall, just too alive. Morro also being newly alive, just had to deal with it.
Morro had been living there for a little while now, in one of the abandoned buildings that had slowly been turned into homes after the merge. The people there had been kind, kinder than he expected. Apparently, strange people appearing out of nowhere was not uncommon anymore. Still, adjusting had been difficult, food, sleep, temperature, breathing, showers. He was still terrible at showers, and drinking water. He hated water.
One afternoon, Morro found himself craving noodles.He had gotten very attached to noodles, especially the noodles sold at the crossroads. He sat outside with a carton balanced on one knee and a cup of water in his other hand. Across from him, Pat the pie vendor leaned against his stall.
Pat grinned and let out a hiss of excitement as Morro took a tiny sip of water before making a face. "Hey," Pat said, sounding weirdly proud. "Look at you. Not long until you'll be able to chug one."
Morro snorted. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." He took another sip anyway.
Pat had been one of the first people to stop looking at him like he was a threat. A lot of people from Ninjago had heard of Morro. At first, they had been nervous, ‘and understandably so’, Morro thought. Then they realized he mostly just kept to himself and looked permanently exhausted. Now people waved at him in the street. It was strange, how they grew to like him.
Morro finished his noodles and stood, tossing the empty carton toward a nearby bin. Then he heard voices. Loud voices. Teenagers. Despite even himself being in a teenagers body, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
"That new tech was amazing!"
"I still think we should bring Riyu next time."
"The Crossroads have changed so much."
Morro sighed. Then he looked up and saw three people were walking down the street. Two teenagers, one who seemed quite familiar, clad in orange. The other, Morro didn’t know, but he appreciated her pink hair, it was cool. Behind them, trudging along like a lost parent (Morro almost laughed) was a blond young man. Morro froze.
Lloyd.
He looked older now. Taller. Stronger. But it was him. Lloyd saw him at the exact same moment, and both of them stopped dead in their tracks. Panic shot through Morro and he decided the best course of action was to turn away immediately and start walking away.
Fast.
"Morro!"
He flinched. Then a hand touched his shoulder, causing Morro to suck in a sharp breath. Lloyd stood behind him.
"Hey," Lloyd said carefully. "Calm down."
Morro was breathing too fast. Arin and Sora stood a little behind Lloyd, both looking stunned. Arin pointed.
"I knew it! I saw him before!" Morro realised why he looked so familiar now.
Lloyd ignored him. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly. "How are you alive? What's going on?"
Morro swallowed hard. Of course Lloyd would show concern for an enemy. Just like Wu. Just like Wu when he grabbed his hand-
Morro let out a small breath, and properly looked at Lloyd. He looked genuinely concerned - he looked mature. Wise. Wu must have been proud. Somehow Lloyd’s mannerisms eased him slightly. He thought ‘There’s no point in hiding now’. Reluctantly, he explained. Slowly. Awkwardly. Stumbling over his words. By the end of it, Lloyd looked completely stunned, and Morro was stuck fidgeting awkwardly.
"Wow," he said softly. "You spent all that time helping people?"
Morro shrugged. "I had to do something useful. You know, seeing as I almost caused eternal destruction or whatever."
Lloyd smiled faintly. "So you're a good guy now?"
"I guess."
The silence that followed was painful. Morro looked away.
"Look," he said quietly, "I don’t expect you to forgive me for everything I did. But I want you to know I am sorry. Really sorry. The guilt... it never goes away. You deserve your title more than anyone else. Your powers literally brought me back."
Lloyd was quiet for a moment.
Then he said, "It took me a long time to accept it. But after that Day of the Departed thing... I realized maybe you were not as bad as I thought."
Morro looked at him.
"And honestly," Lloyd continued, "I can appreciate someone who is clearly trying to be better. So yeah. I forgive you."
Morro felt something in his chest crack open.
“Wh- Really? Just like that?”
“Yep. Morro I can see you’re not who you once were. And neither am I. I’ve let go of my past. Now you’ve gotta do that too.”
Morro smiled. “You sound like my da- I mean Wu.”
They both let out a laugh. Suddenly it felt…natural.
Morro looked down quickly. "...Thank you."
Lloyd smiled, and squeezed his shoulder, before letting go and gushing, "I still cannot believe my powers brought you back to life."
"Neither can I," Morro muttered, rolling his eyes fondly. Lloyd really had grown.
Arin and Sora joined them properly after that. Arin had about a million questions. Sora seemed more interested in watching Morro try to figure out a vending machine (“Why does this have to be so complicated, back in my day-” “PFFT he said ‘back in my day’ what an unc”).
Slowly, painfully, the conversation became easier. Then Lloyd said, "You could come with us, you know."
Morro blinked. "What?"
"Join us," Lloyd said. "You don’t have to be alone down here."
"Absolutely not. I’m fine right here, I’m adjusting well enough."
"Morro -"
"The other ninja would hate me."
"No, they would not."
Morro raised his eyebrow. Lloyd sighed. “I mean they may be wary but I’m sure over time they’d come around! Besides..” he paused, looking at him carefully. “I can tell you’re lonley.”
Morro frowned. "I don’t deserve it."
“Yes you do!” Lloyd said exasperated. "Besides," he added, "you would be helping me. Euphrasia could use some pointers from the original master of wind."
Morro froze. "There’s a new master of wind?"
"Yeah," Arin said brightly. "She's awesome."
Morro stared for a moment. Then, despite himself, he felt something warm in his chest. He had known. He had felt it. The wind had never really left, it had just found someone new. Somehow, the news did not hurt as much as he thought it would.
"...I guess I could come," Morro muttered. "Only to help you. A short visit"
Lloyd grinned. Arin looked way too excited. Sora smiled.
And for the first time in a very long time, Morro followed them willingly.
Bonus
As they walked, Morro stayed a little behind the others. Not far enough to be alone, just enough that he could still disappear if he wanted to. Arin was talking excitedly about dragons and mechs and training and about six other things Morro could barely keep up with. Sora kept correcting him. Lloyd walked beside Morro quietly for a while. Neither of them seemed to know what to say, but the silence had turned comfortable.
The streets of the Crossroads buzzed around them. Merged realms, strange creatures, new technology, really good food stalls. Morro saw from the corner of his eye, dragons flying overhead. They reminded him of Egalt. He missed him, but knew he was happy to take his role in the Spectral Lands.
It still felt unreal, this second (third..fourth..? He’d lost count) chance.
Morro glanced sideways at Lloyd. "So," he said awkwardly, "you really think this Euphrasia person wants help from me?"
Lloyd smiled a little. "Maybe not at first."
Morro gave him a flat look. "Great."
"But she'll come around," Lloyd said. "She's stubborn, but she's good. Really good."
Morro looked ahead again. "Wind users usually are."
Lloyd laughed softly. The sound surprised Morro. For so long, every memory he had of Lloyd was full of anger and resentment, probably due to his clouded judgement around wanting to be the green ninja. He remembered how lloyd used to be as they fought - scared but full of rage. Morro had of course taken advantage of his bodily autonomy, his memories, his very actions. He wondered how long it took him to recover from the trauma he inflicted. A lump formed in his throat.
Now Lloyd just seemed... older. Kinder. Tired, maybe. Morro understood that feeling.
"You know," Lloyd said after a moment, "Wu never gave up on you."
Morro nearly stumbled. He looked down quickly. "Yeah?"
"Yeah. He talked about you sometimes," Lloyd continued quietly. "Even after everything."
Morro swallowed hard. "What did he say?"
Lloyd was silent for a second. Then he said, "That you were still his son. And stuff."
Morro stopped walking, frozen. He looked away before anyone could see his face properly. His eyes burned.
"Hey," Lloyd said softly, placing his hand back on his shoulder like before.
Morro shook his head quickly. "No, I'm fine."
He absolutely was not. But for the first time, he thought maybe that was okay. Maybe he did not have to carry everything alone. He looked up at the sky. The wind brushed against his face. Warm. Alive. For once, it did not feel like it was trying to pull him away, it felt like it was carrying him forward. And maybe, just maybe...
Morro was finally ready to let it.
“I think I’ll be okay Lloyd.”