Chapter Text
In a remote part of the Crossroads, a little near the entrance to Ninjago City, there was a street with shops selling artifacts, information, and other old but valuable availables. Many of these came from other realms after the merge, being transported and sold around the small city. Some sold directly from the inhabitants of the realms, others stolen.
Among these shops was an information shop; you enter and place an order, and if it's a good one, the vendor will give you the information you want. Many would know better than to trust the treachery of these areas, but others feared what might happen. And well, one of those people just entered one of these shops.
Covered from head to toe in a hood, and wearing a dark bamboo samurai hat, the people in the shop immediately sensed a dark aura emanating from him. He was something, and somewhat intimidating as he entered, passing by people firmly as if he owned the place.
He stopped in front of the service counter; behind it was a bird. Tall, almost the same height as him, it wasn't a normal bird, it was more anthropomorphic. A crow, to be exact. It wore a pair of glasses over his silver beak and was arranging what appeared to be scrolls on one of the shelves behind the counter. His wings resting on his back.
"I was informed that you possess information about the merged realm." His voice was low, a little hoarse but firm. It didn't seem out of the ordinary, it even sounded normal. The bird turns to look at him.
"Oh, well. That depends on what kind of information you'd like to have, traveler." The crow approaches the counter, resting its arm on it. "Tell me, what would you like to receive? We sell information on scrolls of all kinds. Do you want vacation spots? Maps for relics? Perhaps some of the legends of each realm?" He says, pointing to some of the organized scrolls. The man looks in the direction of the scrolls, also looking around them.
"I want information about something called..." he paused, "Shatterspin." Saying this, the crow squawks in shock, taking a step back. "I've searched everywhere, but I've been told that only inhabitants of Wyldness know about this ancient technique. So, tell me, what do you know?" He pulls out a bag of money and places it on the counter. The crow stares at the bag for a few seconds but shakes its head, looking away.
"I-I believe you, my friend, and I'd love to work with you, but I can't give you any information about it for any reason!" the crow says in a nervous tone, "j-just know that this technique is strictly forbidden for a good reason! You definitely don't want to know about it!" he says, extending his hands defensively.
"Well, I believe so, I want to find out." He places another bag on the counter, resting his hands on the wooden surface, the tips of his fingers noticeably darker than his skin. "I need to know about this technique, the fate of all the merged lands is at stake. Do you understand that?" He steadies his voice, his fingers pressing firmly against the wood.
"Sir, I need you to leave my store right now! You're scaring my customers!" The bird points to the people in the store. The man pauses, looking at their stares and sighs, removing his hands from the wood, a faint CRACK escaping.
"My sincerest apologies." He bows apologetically, turning and leaving, but not before taking back the bags of money from the counter, leaving the crow man disappointed. The man goes outside and looks up, gazing at the blue skies. He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket and uses a pen to scribble what looks like a list. "Maybe I'm doing something wrong?" He scratches his head with the pen.
He sighs and puts the paper away, then turns a corner into an alley and looks around, gazing upwards and shifting his posture, spreading his legs and arms slightly. In seconds, a violet smoke surrounds him, a pair of dark wings emerge from his back, and in seconds he takes flight.
After flying to a safe altitude, he lands on top of a building, the wings retracting as violet smoke surrounds him once more. After the smoke clears, he looks around and walks to the edge of the building, gazing into the distance and picking up a handheld telescope to look through it. He could see the Monastery in the distance.
He lowers the telescope, gazing at the horizon, his white hair fluttering in the wind under his hat. "I hope you have arrived safely.”
—
"Failed." Nya falls to the ground once more, getting up with an annoyed expression. She had woken up early to start training early, and Wu didn't question her, admiring her determination.
But since the beginning of the day, she had never completed the obstacle; if anything, she had gotten worse, not that she was going to admit it.
Wu rises from his seat, removing the mat and tea set with him. "Training ends here, we'll continue tomorrow," he says, turning to enter the monastery. Nya staggers off the ground a little, going towards Wu
"Master Wu, how can I complete the obstacle course? What am I doing wrong?" She asks, following him. Wu pauses and turns to her.
"You have to figure this out yourself.” he said, “Empty your mind, focus on not caring. That way you'll understand what you need to do." He closes the door. Nya grunts in frustration, kicking the ground, stomping her foot away from the balcony and sitting on the steps with a grumpy face. Kai, who had been watching her train from the side, approaches her.
"Honestly, if I were you, I'd give up," he says, shrugging, hands in his pockets and all. Nya glares at him.
"Ninja never quit." Morro leaps from the roof, where he'd been watching her the whole time, landing without a problem and approaching the siblings. Kai frowned in his direction, grunting. His presence was clearly not welcome to Father, but he ignored it. "If we quit, we're accepting defeat and failure. You don't want that, do you, Nya?” Nya stares at him for a few seconds, clenching her fists.
"No, of course not! Maybe Kai wants to, but I don't!" Kai stares at her, a hand on the chest as if offended. "I said I was going to become a ninja, and that's what I'm going to do!" Morro nods.
Morro appreciated that kind of determination; he wanted Kai to be more like her. The lazybones rolled his eyes and headed towards a corner of the training field.
"Well, make yourself at home then." He turned to sit down next to the wall with his hands behind it, crossing his legs like the lazy ass he was. "I'll just stay here. Good luck, sis.”
Nya looks at Morro, "See what I have to deal with every day?" She points at Kai, She sighs in frustration, waving him off and goes back to training on the obstacle course. Kai opens one eye to check on her before closing it again.
He preferred to stay away from that madness. Elemental master or not, he didn't want to get involved.
"Seriously, tell me you're the brains between the two of you, because there's no way he raised you alone," Morro says, dismissing Kai. He, listening, twists his lips in a frown.
He glanced back at Kai with a disappointed look, his lip twisting in frustration at Kai's laziness. What a waste, he thought. He sighed softly and turned his focus back to Nya, watching her crash face-first into one of the punching bags on the obstacle course.
"Come on, I know you can do better than this, Nya," he said in his cold, harsh tone, but Nya understood perfectly well that it was just how he spoke, but that he wanted to help her improve. He could be a little nicer, though.
Kai sighed, trying to ignore the sounds of the crowds at the obstacle course and his sister training. It was just him and his thoughts, and no one else.
That was until he felt something hit his head.
"OW!”
He opened his eyes, looking around, and when his hand went to where he felt the impact, his eyes stopped on a small pebble not far from him. "Hey, who threw this at me??" He picks up the pebble and looks at his suspects. Morro turned his head toward him, raising an eyebrow, while Nya jumped off the obstacle course, looking at him confused. "Was it you, you creep???" He accuses Morro, who looks at him aggrieved.
Nya and Morro stare at each other, confused. Kai feels another blow to his head as another pebble falls beside him. "Ow!!” He rubs his head again in pain, getting up with an irritated expression. “Stop it!!"
"It wasn't me, you idiot!" Morro defends himself when he also receives a pebble to the head. "OW!" he looks around, and Nya does the same, confused and entering a defensive position. "But what the—!" Morro takes a few seconds to process what was happening, then lets out a long, irritated grunt. "You—I told you not to do that, you brat!!" He turns around and throws the pebble onto the monastery roof.
The pebble hits something that makes a soft but hard sound, the same sound that came out when they were hit.
"Ouch!"
They hear a voice. Kai and Nya stared at each other in astonishment. It was a younger voice, like that of a child. Morro ran a hand across his face, stopping when he reached the scalp with his side bangs out of his face. He removed his hand from his hair and moved his arms in circles.
A gust of wind circled the monastery until it stopped at a point and then returned toward the three of them. The wind left the intruder in front of them. The gust of wind dissipated, revealing who the intruder was. The surprise on the faces of the two siblings was clear.
"Aww, that's not fair!" A boy, pre-teen age, with platinum blond hair, a green gi with gold details and scale patterns, emerald green eyes with some kind of green markings on his face below his eyes. His ears were also more pointed. He stared at the trio with a disappointed look, thrilled at being caught.
"You–” For a second, Morro sounded like he wanted to strangle the boy, but with a deep breath he calmed down. “When did you arrive?" He asks calmly, like an older brother annoyed by his younger brother's antics. Kai would know; he's an older brother himself. The boy straightens up and brushes the dust off his gi.
"A few hours ago, Dad told me to go ahead while he was looking for something in the Crossroads.” He looks at Kai and Nya. "So... who are the losers?”
"LOSERS???" Kai and Nya both shout in disbelief at the boy's audacity. He smirked, amused by their reaction.
"Yeah, like, she keeps failing at the obstacle course and he does nothing. Pure loser behavior!” Nya and Kai snorted in disdain at the boy's words, and he had barely finished his insults. “Also, look at your hair!” he points at Kai, "how much gel did you use to get it like that? Don't you know what a comb is?" Kai lets out a harsh "Hey!” he walks past the two of them, "and you," he points at Nya, "you look like you haven't slept in a month!" he laughs.
"Morro, who is this kid??" Kai asks, seething with irritation. Morro sighs, pinching his nose.
"My first master, Lloyd, what a great first impression!" He stares at the kid with exasperation in his eyes, the boy just shrugs, a neutral expression on his face. "These are Kai and Nya. They're the ones who appeared in your vision." As he said this, the boy took a few seconds to process it, tilting his head to the side like a lizard, his eyes blinking blankly. And then he realized.
"Ooooh! Fire boy and water girl! Yeah, I remember them!" The boy laughs, realizing what Morro said. Kai and Nya just stared at each other with super confused expressions full of questions.
"Morro, my friend, could you explain to us WHO THIS KID IS?” Nya asks, already losing her temper. The boy stifles a laugh, and Kai glares at him, annoyed. They are stopped when they hear the monastery door sliding open.
"Lloyd, I see you arrived earlier than expected," Wu says, stepping down from the entrance porch with a slight smile on his face. The boy beams and runs towards him, hugging him. The old master chuckled softly and stroked his hair.
"Uncle Wu!” The boy exclaimed, a sweet smile on his face, unlike his mischievous grins from before. “I've missed you already!". Morro looked towards the siblings, seeing their shocked and confused expressions; he couldn't resist but held back a laugh nonetheless.
"Ah, but you were only gone for a few days. Was that enough for you to already miss me?" he jokes, gently stroking the boy's hair as he moves away, adjusting his cheeks with puffed-out cheeks.
"Wait a minute, you had a nephew this whole time??" Kai asks, "And he had a dream about us?? Is that why we're here?? Because a kid dreamed about us??”
"Many questions, but necessary answers. Oh, where to begin..." He approaches the fountain and sits down. "It started months ago after Lloyd's birthday. He disappeared overnight for two days; his parents were desperate to find him, but then he returned. But he can't quite remember what happened, only that now he has these dreams, so to speak. And these dreams..." He pauses, looking at the sky, "are more like visions.”
"After that," Morro continues, "we visited the cloud kingdom, a place where all prophecies come from. We discovered that Lloyd was one of several green ninja, masters of life energy. Little is known about them, where they come from, or their purposes, but Lloyd is the green ninja. He is special." He looks at Lloyd, the boy lowers his head with an uncomfortable expression. Nya was the only one who noticed this.
"Lloyd's dreams also appeared in the prophecy we were told about." Wu pulls a scroll from his hat. Kai wondered how he managed to keep so many things in himself. He opens the scroll, revealing an illustration of several ninjas surrounding a green ninja. Evergreen, blue, white, black, red, and gray. "This prophecy indicates that amidst all the chaos of the merged realms, seven ninjas will protect the lands under the connected leadership of the green ninja, the one who will fight against the embodiment of all evil that comes into existence or has ever existed," He explains.
Kai and Nya approach the scroll to read. Kai looks at Lloyd and raises an eyebrow. They look at the illustrations of the ninjas in red and gray. It could only be them, right?
"Leading? This kid here?" Kai laughed. "How do you expect him to lead when he's younger than us?”
"He won't.”
Kai is suddenly startled and they all turn towards the gate, the doors opening to reveal a man with a cloak covering his body and a samurai hat on his head, obscuring his face.
Kai and Nya get into a defensive position, but Morro puts a hand in front of them, stopping them. Before they can protest, Lloyd speaks.
"Dad!" He runs towards the man and hugs him, who accepts without complaint, slowly removing his hat to reveal a perfectly normal face of a man with pale skin and platinum white hair tied in a short ponytail on top. Dark eyes with a hint of violet in his pupils, he also had a purple bandana around his forehead. He smiled at the boy in his arms.
Kai and Nya paused to see what was clearly a family reunion, father and son. The resemblance was slight, but they could see the similarities in their faces and features. Their eyes had unique pupils, almost like those of lizards. They both had pointed ears and pale skin. And looking closely, just below their eyes they had markings, but it was a little different. The man had what looked like small black obsidian markings with light purple streaks coming out of them like cracks. And Lloyd had a small triangular green mark below each eye.
The man looked at them, his expression shifting from warm to intimidating. "Are these the new masters of water and fire?" he asks. Morro replies with a nod. "I see. They look just like their parents.” Nya and Kai released the tension in their muscles upon hearing this, but Kai remained alert.
Lloyd breaks the hug and runs to Morro. Wu gets up from the fountain and walks over to the man who just entered, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Did you find what you were looking for, brother?”
"Unfortunately not, no matter where I go I frighten others. No matter how much I try to seem friendly." He extends his arms. Kai and Nya look at each other with an expression of ‘is this guy serious?’. This man was dressed head-to-toe, with a hood that concealed 90% of his body, a black samurai hat, and a monotonous, cold voice. It wouldn't be surprising why anyone would feel intimidated by him.
Nya walked up to Morro, "Hey, who is this guy anyway?" Morro looked at her.
"That's Garmadon, Lloyd's father and Master Wu's older brother." Nya raises a finger and opens her mouth to question, "They age differently than we do." Nya immediately falls silent, lowering her finger.
"Isn't he cool?" Lloyd asks, looking at Nya and Kai. The two siblings look at him and Garmadon and just shrug. They have no idea what to think about a guy they just met. "You don't know him yet, you don't know what he's capable of..." He gives a small smile, his eyes emitting a faint violet glow in his pupils. Kai and Nya take a step away from him.
"Don't mind him. He likes to be a pain in the ass when he wants to." He frowns at Lloyd, the boy just sticks his tongue out at him. Wow, Nya thought, they really do act like brothers.
"What's your relationship?" she asks, "because I'm genuinely getting a brother-sister vibe here." Morro's shoulders light up and Lloyd tilts his head toward her with an innocent look.
"We're cous—" Before Lloyd could finish, he felt a very cold wind around him that silenced him.
"I am merely a student of Master Wu," Morro says, his voice sounding colder and more serious. "Nothing more, nothing less." He looks in Lloyd's direction as if telling him to shut up.
Nya and Kai immediately felt a tension between them. But Nya was a little more focused on what Lloyd was about to say. It sounded like he was going to say…
"So," Kai begins, "what do we do now that we have the brat here?" He points to Lloyd, who stares at him with an annoyed expression. Morro's shoulders soften and he turns towards him.
"Now that Lloyd is here, he'll train with you guys." Lloyd crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. Morro sighed at his attitude, "Like it or not, Lloyd, it's your duty as the green ninja.”
"If you care so much about that stupid prophecy, why don't you become the green ninja instead of me?" the boy retorted, staring at him. Morro's eye twitched. Kai and Nya looked at each other, the tension between them growing heavier and heavier; they could feel the wind around them getting stronger.
"That's enough!" A bang of a baton against the concrete draws everyone's attention, turning towards Wu and Garmadon who were staring at them with disappointed looks. Garmadon with both arms behind him. "You two are better than this." Morro pauses, lowering his head in shame. Lloyd crosses his arms and looks away from the older man.
Garmadon approaches his son, crouching down to his level. "Son," he places a hand on his shoulder, Lloyd lifts his head, looking him in the eyes. "Let's go inside, you must be hungry." He stands up, offering his hand. The boy pauses, silently taking his hand. The two leave the field and enter the monastery, leaving the other four behind.
"Well," Kai interjects, "that was awkward." Nya punches him in the shoulder, making him let out an "Ow!" in pain, throwing daggers at her.
"Forgive me, master. It won't happen again." Morro bows, clasping his hands together, his tone apologetic. Wu sighs, extending a hand to him but hesitating to place it on his head, moving it to his shoulder.
"Don't apologize, my student," Wu says calmly, "I understand how it feels to be frustrated. That's normal." Morro stands up, shaking his head.
"It's unacceptable of me," he insists, bowing and being enveloped by his own wind until he disappears into thin air. Wu looks in his direction sadly and then in the direction of the two siblings.
"Back to training," he says, tapping his staff on the ground before leaving. Ka and Nya find themselves quietly in the center of the training field, processing everything that just happened.
They looked at each other for a few seconds with a knowing look. They knew exactly what was happening.
"Family drama," they said together.
—
Kai returned to his room after being forced to train by Nya for the past two hours. Exhausted and with a terrible backache. He wasn't hungry, so he decided to spend the rest of the day in his room. That is, until he realized he was bored.
He shifts in his bed, bored, letting out a long sigh and sitting up. "Well, that's it. I have nothing to do," he grunts, getting up.
He pauses when he hears his cell phone vibrating on the bedside table. He stares at the phone with an annoyed frown, stomping his foot out of the room and closing the sliding door behind him.
He sighs and looks down the corridors, crossing his arms. With not much to do, and with no way he's going to train again, he decides to wander around the monastery. He passes some of the closed rooms until he stops.
Lloyd was at the main door looking out at the training field. He tilts his head, raising an eyebrow at the boy. He flinched at the sound of Nya's angry shouts outside.
"Damn stupid obstacle course!!" she yelled, followed by sounds of impact and punches. Kai approached the boy unnoticed, sticking his head out to get a better view of his sister, who continued to try to complete the obstacle course unsuccessfully, becoming increasingly frustrated.
"Your sister is quite intense." Kai is startled when the boy refers to him, looking down to see him staring back. "I expected the water master to be calmer." He looks back at the girl training.
"Calm? You really don't know anything about my sister," Kai retorted, leaning against the door next to Lloyd. "My little sister is anything but calm. Be glad she's not angry!" He chuckled.
"He can't be worse than my dad when he's angry." The boy laughs, "No seriously, he's scary." Kai lowers his shoulders, aligning his lips with a tense look. They look back at Nya, who was hit in the stomach by one of the wooden pillars and thrown to the ground. Both boys wince, feeling her pain. "Wow, even I wasn't that bad.”
Kai looks at him in surprise, "You know Spinjitzu?" Lloyd looks at him as if he has two heads.
"Ah, yeah? I was trained here." The boy replies as if it were obvious. Kai rubs the back of his neck, "Just because I'm younger doesn't mean I can't learn." He crosses his arms.
Kai pauses. If that boy managed to do Spinjitzu, then it's possible for Nya too. He looks at his sister. What is she doing wrong then? he wonders.
He looks back at Lloyd, "Any tips on how to help her? Because she really needs it." He points at her with his thumb. Lloyd looks at her, looks at him, closes her eyes thoughtfully.
"Clear your mind," he replies. "When I trained at the beginning, I was failing a lot, and it was because I was too focused on finishing the obstacle course. But when I just tried not to think too much about finishing and just focused on my surroundings..." He takes a step back, prepares himself, and begins to spin. He is surrounded by a vortex of green energy with sparks, forming a spinjitzu tornado. After a few seconds, he stops with his hands on his hips. "I finally did it.”
Kai murmurs a "wow." But he knew his sister; he knew very well that this wouldn't be easy for her. "Nya is too stubborn for this. Everything for her requires focus and preparation." He sighs, putting a hand on his hip and looking at her. She paused to rest. "She won't stop until she gets it right." He looks back at Lloyd.
"I see," Lloyd says, "I'd love to help you with that but..." he pauses, looking back. Kai looked in the direction he was looking; on the wall behind them was a photograph Kai didn't know he'd seen before.
It was a picture of Wu, Garmadon, Morro, Lloyd, and a woman he didn't know together. Lloyd looked younger, he was in Garmadon's arms, while Morro looked younger and closer to Wu with a straight build. Strangely, he didn't seem to have his current skin tone or the lines around his eyes.
"Dad doesn't trust strangers," Lloyd continues, "he doesn't want me training with you guys..." Kai looks at him, a downcast look with a disappointed expression. Kai could sense that he wasn't happy about it. "Maybe when he gets to know you guys better. I don't know." He shrugs, looking away. "At most, I can only watch from afar.”
"Sounds boring, right?" Kai looks in Nya's direction, a long, thoughtful look. "Watching from the stands while someone else is doing something..." He clenches his fists. Why am I even here anyway? he mentally questioned, lowering his head.
"From what I heard from uncle Wu, your parents were pretty cool." Kai looks at Lloyd in surprise. "So that means you guys are cool too." The boy smiles at him. Kai just stays quiet for a moment. He rests his hand on the door, looking thoughtfully at the floor. Kai looks back at Lloyd, but the boy has vanished. Well, it seems he and Morro had something in common.
Kai looks back at Nya, seeing her training, striving, and fighting to prove her worth. What was he doing anyway? He bangs on the wall beside him, grinding his teeth. He remains silent for a moment before returning to his room.
Morro was right.
—
After hours of training, Nya returns inside the monastery, her muscles aching with exhaustion. She passes through the living room where Morro is and ends up bumping into Garmadon.
"Oh! Mr. Garmadon! I'm sorry, I didn't see you!" she apologizes. Seeing him up close, he didn't seem so intimidating after all. He just seemed like a nice man.
"No, no, don't apologize," he insists, offering a friendly smile. She could see that he had fangs, something she had never seen before. "So, how was your training?"
"Eh, the same old result. I can't finish that damn obstacle course! What am I doing wrong??" She drops her shoulders in frustration. Garmadon chuckles.
"Oh, I remember when I was young and training in this courtyard. My brother managed to finish it in just three days, while it took me a week." Nya looks at him confused. "I grew up training in this monastery. It wasn't my childhood home, but it was an important place for me. I chose to train my son here."
"Oh, Lloyd also trained here?" she asks.
"Yes, ever since he discovered he was the green ninja." He looks away as he says this, his voice sounding more uncomfortable. "It took him a while to understand the point of the training, but as soon as he understood what needed to be done, he finished the course."
"And what did he do?" she asks him, excited and somewhat desperate.
"Well, what's the fun in telling you how to do it? It's your lesson to learn what's necessary." He walks past her. "But I'll give you a tip. Open your mind, focus on what your element represents. Don't stress." Saying this, he leaves.
Nya watches him leave, confused. She kicks the floor in frustration and goes to sit on the sofa in the center of the room. No matter what she did, nothing worked, and she was starting to get frustrated.
She looks around, noticing she was alone. Where's Kai? she wondered, getting up. The door opens and Morro enters. "Hey, Morro, have you seen Kai?"
"I saw him going to his room after training," he says, removing his cloak, folding it, and placing it on a shelf.
"Hmm, I'd better go after him." She leaves the room and goes to Kai's room, but she stops when she sees the open door and Lloyd looking out. "Lloyd?" she asks, the boy looks at her.
"Nya, do you know where he's going?" Nya raises her eyebrows and goes closer to him, looking towards the patio. Kai was there carrying what looked like a sack on his back, staring at the gate.
"Kai?" she steps out the door. Kai lifts his head and turns toward her. "What are you doing?" He looks at her silently and smiles.
"I'm doing what I should have done before. Leaving." Nya's eyes widen. "Oh, sis, don't be so surprised. You know I'm a lost cause. I don't want to be a ninja, but you do..." He looks down. "I'll just get in your way." His voice breaks.
"What...?" Nya stares at him in shock. Her brother was just... leaving her?? "You're abandoning me??"
"No!" He drops his bag. "I'm leaving you free to do what you want! I'm nothing more than a waste! A burden to you!" He tears up. "You're intelligent, brilliant, talented... I'm none of that. I don't have any talent like you, I'm not athletic, and I'm not as determined as you. I'm a coward. Morro was right." Tears streamed down his face. "I don't belong here..."
Nya says nothing, letting her body move and wrap Kai in her arms. He seems startled for a moment before embracing her back.
"You're my brother..." she whispers tearfully, "that's enough for me." The two siblings remain embraced for a little longer. Kai breaks the hug, head down. "Please... stay." She takes Kai's hand in hers, her eyes pleading with him to stay. Dark clouds begin to fill the sky.
"And what? I don't belong in this monastery... I'm not like Daddy... or Mommy..." he cries, clenching his fingers around Nya's grip on his hand. "You're the only reason I'm here…”
"You really are a coward." Kai and Nya looked up at the top of the gate in astonishment. Morro stood there intimidatingly, staring at them, his cape and ponytail fluttering in the wind.
"Morro, this isn't a good time!" Nya says, clenching her fist. "I know you don't like Kai, but he's not a coward!" Morro looks at her and then at Kai before jumping and landing on the ground.
"He's throwing away this important opportunity." He walks toward them, the wind around him growing stronger. "You were given a chance to do something with your life." He stops in front of Kai, staring down at him.
Kai looks up at him, a nervous look on his face. He had never noticed how high Morro was compared to him.
"And why do you care? Don't you want me out of here?" Kai retorts, clicking his tongue. The two glare at each other for a long time until Kai pushes Morro away from him. "You never liked me! So why do you care?!”
Morro pulls out his double-bladed sword, twirling it in his hands and slamming the blade against the ground. "And I won't hesitate to fight you, Kai." They stare at each other, and Kai creates a fireball above his hand.
"You two stop!" Nya tries to intervene, but in the throes of thunder, the two charge at each other. Nya runs away from them, running towards the patio balcony with Lloyd.
Kai and Morro get inches from each other, Morro bringing the hilt of his blade close to him, but Kai dodges, ducks, and punches Morro in the chin, throwing him back.
Morro's blade falls, and before he can grab it, Kai catches it and spins it on the ground until it stops, pointing the blade at him.
Morro uses his wind to try to unbalance Kai, but he digs the blade into the ground to stabilize himself. He creates fireballs around Morro, and as he clenches his fist, the fireballs close in on him.
Morro manages to dodge, stopping the strong wind that had started. Kai continues to throw fireballs at Kai, who dodges them and moves with the wind, using spinjitzu to move faster towards Kai, and begins to kick, which Kai defends using his dual blade.
Morro uses the wind to briefly lift them both into the air, but Kai uses the weight of the blade to his advantage. He looks down, seeing the small dragon statue near the gate.
He begins to spin the weapon with the strength of his body, using the strength in his arms to throw the blade against the statue, not only opening it and revealing the button but also striking the button itself.
The ground beneath them begins to shift and change, revealing the obstacle course. Kai is thrown to the ground by Morro's wind, but he manages to grab onto one of the wooden pillars.
He looks around and begins to run along the course, jumping from pillar to pillar. Morro pauses on the pillar in front of him, and the two resume their physical fight. Kai and Morro exchange punches and kicks, all while balancing on the pillars.
Kai feels the pillar lowering and a smirk appears on his face. Morro watches him, realizing what's about to happen. The pillar changes speed, throwing them both against the wall, but Kai puts his foot against Morro.
They impact the wall. Kai jumps back to the ground. Morro falls to the ground grunting, raising his head through gritted teeth, a whirlwind of wind surrounding him.
"Oh no..." Lloyd whispered. Nya looked in the direction of the boy who was trying to run towards Kai. Nya stopped him, grabbing his arm.
"Lloyd! What are you doing??" she asks. The boy just stares at her.
"If I don't stop them, they'll kill each other!" he says, letting go of her. He jumps off the balcony and runs towards the two boys, he pauses and extends his hand towards them.
He starts to strain, closing his eyes to stay still. Nya runs towards him, pausing when she sees a green aura surrounding the boy.
Kai felt himself being dragged backward by Morro's strong wind. He had never seen him so furious. Trying to open his eyes in Morro's direction, all he could see was his silhouette within the tornado, his eyes glowing a ghostly green.
He could swear that part of his arm was glowing too. Kai readied his fire when Morro advanced again, grabbing him by the throat before he could act and holding him in mid-air. Kai felt his hand tightening against his neck.
He forced his eyes open, seeing that Morro seemed to have changed completely. His eyes glowed green, the hand that gripped Kai with the bandages coming loose, horrible scars underneath, all a fluorescent greenish hue as well. His hand felt more like a claw against Kai's skin.
Kai's eyes widened in horror. What was Morro…?
Morro is suddenly struck by a ball of green light, causing him to release Kai, who then lets out a gasp of air.
Kai weakly glanced in the direction from which the ball of light had come, seeing Lloyd fall to his knees, gasping for air, his eyes glowing green. Nya was beside him, helping him up.
Ka looks back at Morro, and to his surprise, he was frozen, staring at Lloyd. His eyes, though completely glowing, were wide with shock, his hands trembling, his posture tense, as if he had just realized he had done something wrong.
He looks at his hands, at his claws. He murmurs weak "no's," almost in horror. Kai stands up, his hand smoothing his throat.
Suddenly the doors of the building open. "What's going on here??" Wu and Garmadon emerge from the monastery, alarmed.
"Lloyd!" Garmadon runs towards the boy and begins checking on him like a worried mother, or rather, a father. "What was all that commotion about?" He looks at Kai and Morro with an irritated expression.
Kai looks back at Morro, who had calmed down, but his expression remained locked in one of panic and shock. Kai had never seen him like this before. He holds his cloak and uses it to cover his arm.
Kai begins to stand up with Nya's help beside him, his hand on his throat, groaning in pain. Morro turns towards him. The two stare at each other before Morro disappears in a whirlwind.
The rest of the night felt like a blur. Kai was taken back to his room and treated by Wu. His throat hurt for about half an hour before it improved, but he remained in bed for the rest of the night. It seemed his plans to leave would have to be brought forward.
Nya was the last person in his room, she was hugging her legs on a chair. "You idiot..." she muttered. "Picking a fight with Morro, what were you thinking?? First leaving without telling me and now this??" She extended her arms. Kai turned silently, taking a glass of water while averting his gaze from his sister.
The two are silent for a while. "Sorry, Nya..." Kai begins, his voice still a little hoarse. "I just... I don't see the point in me staying." He looks down.
"Well, I do! You're my brother, my family! I need you here with me!" she exclaims, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You're strong, Nya... why do you need me?" Nya's eyes widened in shock, as if he had said something nonsensical.
"Kai..." she puts her hand on his shoulder, "you're my big brother... my hero... my everything..." she cries, hugging him. He pauses, tears escaping his eyes. He hugs her back.
"I'm sorry..." he sobs softly, "I feel so useless here! I don't know what to do, I don't know what I want! I miss Mama and Baba!" He buries his face in her shoulder. "I... I just want to be good enough for you…”
"You are..." she pulls away from the hug, wiping away his tears. "You already are…”
The two hugged again, holding each other tightly. Kai was still uncertain about staying, but, at least for now, he would stay just for Nya.
—
Wu knocks on Morro's bedroom door. The man says nothing. Wu sighs and opens the door himself. Morro was nestled in a corner of the room, the window open to let the wind in. The wind was agitated, swirling around him. Wu ignores the agitation of the wind and approaches him.
"Morro." He says. Morro lifts his head, which had been buried in his arms on his knees. His eyes were red with tears. His hair fell over his face.
Wu looks at him silently and crouches down to his level as if interacting with a child. Well, in his view, it was like talking to a child. The same child he found years ago, lost and alone.
He adjusts Morro's bangs, brushing them away from his face. The young man looks at him with expressions of guilt and fear. Not fear of his master. Fear of himself.
"M-master... I'm so sorry..." he whispered, his voice trembling. "I... I shouldn't have warned about the fight... I should have controlled myself... I... I..." He buries his face in his hands. Wu's eyes soften.
"Morro... my son." Morro shrinks back at the word. He lifts his head, his eyes wide. "It's not your fault." Wu's eyes shift to Morro's arm, and he runs his hand over it. "I should have found a solution to this a long time ago…”
"You know there's no solution..." Morro whispers. "I'm a lost cause..." Wu lifts his face to look at him.
"Don't say such nonsense," Wu protests, his eyes turning serious. "You're a strong man. You're not a monster. You lost control once. That doesn't make you a monster," he says gently, opening his arms in a hug.
Morro hesitates, but his body moved, wrapping his arms around his master. Wu tightens the embrace. The wind around them grows calmer.
Wu was already familiar with this side of Morro, ever since he was just a little boy. Even though he tries to hide it behind a mask of seriousness and maturity, he still has the soul of a child.
He felt Morro's grip loosen. Breaking away from the embrace, Morro was unconscious, his head resting on Wu's shoulder. He chuckled, a soft smile on his face.
Carefully, he carried Morro to his bed, remembering the times he did the same when he fell asleep after a long day of training. He tucked him in, leaned him back, and went to the door, pausing to look at him again.
"Good night, Morro." He closes the door behind him.
—
Kai wakes up to the sounds of Nya training once again. By this point it was routine. He opens his eyes and stretches, feeling his entire body aching from his fight with Morro. Man, he was a tough guy.
He stood up, a little unsteady, but managed to move to the door, opening it while yawning. When he opened his eyes, he jumped back.
"Morro!?" The older ninja stared at him in front of his door. He had a tired expression. Did he come to finish the job? Kai thought.
Then he did something that left Kai speechless. He bent down and bowed, his forehead touching the ground.
"Kai, forgive me for my previous behavior," he says, without a hint of sarcasm or forced tone. He was being genuine. "I acted inappropriately for a ninja. I should have advised you, not fought you.”
He raised his body to look at Kai, still kneeling with his hands in his lap. Kai stared at him, dumbfounded. Morro had been extremely hostile towards him before, but now he was... apologizing??
"My frustration with you... I heard stories about your father. So when I found out about you, I was disappointed that you weren't like him." He looks to the side, "I think I placed my expectations on you, and that's not fair." He looks back at him, "But I believe you have potential.”
Kai just stares at him, speechless. He feels like he's repeating himself, but he's simply never acted like this before, even though they've only known each other for a few days.
Morro stands up, closing his hand into his other palm. "From now on, I will train you to become the elemental master you are destined to be." He bows his head. Kai's eyes widened. "I understand, you don't want this. But it's your duty. The fate of all the realms rests in your hands.”
Kai paused. He didn't want to be defined by what his father was. But... he never thought about what he wanted. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Okay. On one condition," Kai says. "If I'm meant to be the elemental master of fire, I'll do it my way." He points to himself. "I'm not my father, I never will be." He pauses. "And I don't know what I'm going to be... but I want to find my own way!" he says confidently.
Morro nods, a slight, satisfied smile on his face. "It's a deal." He offers his hand, "I'll help you reach your true potential." Kai looks at his hand and shakes it.
This will be a new beginning for him.