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1.
To say that Lloyd was not fine after Morro had possessed him, was an understatement. For the first week, Lloyd had refused to talk, to look himself in the mirror, even having panic attacks every time he felt a gush of wind. Lloyd even went as far as locking himself in his room. Avoiding any human interaction, even with his brothers.
Seeing Lloyd, the kid he is jealous of, the kid that stole his destiny, the kid who has everything he ever wanted curled up in a ball alone in his room, made Morro want to throw up. He felt a pang of guilt knowing that this was all mostly because of what he had done.
Morro didn't really know how to feel about this kid. He stole his destiny but he didn't even want the green ninja title. He was just a kid, and now this kid is traumatized and can't even form a word from his mouth.
He took a deep breath and decided. He will regret this, won't he.
"Hey.." Morro said standing in front of Lloyd.
Lloyd immediately shot up and began to panic. His breath started to fasten, everything was a blur. Tears rolling down his cheeks.
"SHIT, OH NO-" Morro panicked.
"Hey Lloyd, everything okay?" A voice asked from outside the room.
Lloyd hears this, trying to speak but can't.
"Oh no FSM, the ninja noticed, uhhh…" Morro thought real hard. He can't just disappear, his consciousness will not let him leave, but if he stays the ninja will obliterate him at sight.
Suddenly, an idea came to his mind.
"Lloyd, I need you to trust me. Please.." Morro begged. "Please! This is the only way I can get us both out of this mess, you just have to trust me."
Morro knew that Lloyd trusting him is something that will never happen. But this is the one chance he has and if he fails, at least he feels satisfied dying with the knowledge that he at least tried.
"I KNOW that you hate me, and that's fair, but only this time let me help you. I promise." Morro pleaded one last time.
"That's it. I'm coming in, Lloyd." The voice of a door opening can be heard.
This is it. At least now he can be free in the Departed Realm. He closed his eyes waiting for the pain he soon would feel.
Lloyd breathed out, and held Morro's hand. Just like that, Morro was possessing Lloyd again.
"LLOYD!! OH FSM, WHAT HAPPENED?! EVERYTHING OKAY?!" Kai holding Lloyd's (Morro's) shoulder tightly.
".. OH! Don't worry!! Everything is okay! I uh… just saw a spider! Nothing to worry about!!" Lloyd (Morro) answered.
"Jeez kid, you had me worried there." Kai let go of Lloyd (Morro). "Hey, if you need anything, we're all here for you. We all know how bad Morro had hurt you," Kai spoke calmly.
Lloyd (Morro) nooded.
"Well it's almost midnight so you better go to sleep okay?" Kai said while going to his room. "Good night buddy!"
Lloyd (Morro) smiled and closed the door.
A few seconds went by to check if Kai had gone to his room. When the coast was clear, Morro got out of Lloyd's body. Lloyd took a few breaths to calm himself down. They made eye contact, only this time, Lloyd wasn't as scared as he was before.
"Thank you for trusting me," Morro said.
Lloyd nodded and sat on the floor.
Morro filed down to meet Lloyd's position. He spoke. "I have a proposal.."
—
2.
Morro didn't believe in miracles before, but he sure does now.
"WAIT WAIT, SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT YOU'RE AGREEING WITH THE PROPOSAL OF ME POSSESSING YOU AND TALKED FOR YOU?!" Morro throws his arm in the air.
'Isn't that what you wanted me to do?' Lloyd wrote on a piece of paper.
"I MEAN YEAH?? BUT I JUST DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD AGREE???"
'Well, turns out I agreed, so?'
"Welp, alright then so how this is how this would work. I'll be in the back of your mind, semi-possessing you while you do your ninja stuff. Once you need to talk or speak, you can call me and I will talk for you. Sounds good?" Morro explained.
"You sure you're alright Lloyd? Y'know, after the whole possession thing?" Nya asked. "Yeah, you're confident that you're ready? You don't have to come if you don't want to," Cole added.
Lloyd smiled and nodded.
Some of the ghosts escaped and still haven't been found, so everyday the ninja go patrolling to see unusual activities happening around Stiix.
"So, what's the plan Lloyd?" Jay asked while the others looked at Lloyd.
'Alright… Morro, say that we can split up to cover more grounds.'
Lloyd's eyes changed from neon green to gray-ish green.
"We should split up, we can cover more grounds that way." Lloyd (Morro) explained. "Nya and Jay, you go south, Kai and Zane can go east. Me and Cole will go west. Sounds good?"
As soon as he finished Morro returned Lloyd's body.
"Alright!"
"Let's kick some ghosts' ass!!"
"Language Kai."
The group split up and went separate ways.
Lloyd and Cole started to patrol on the west side. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Hey Lloyd, be real for a bit. Are you sure you're okay?" Cole asked in a soft voice.
Lloyd smiled and nodded.
"You've been really quiet you know? Nodding and smiling, only talk when it is necessary. We're kinda worried you know?"
Lloyd's eyebrows furrowed. He wanted to say something but words won't come out. A cue for Morro to start taking over.
"Don't worry. I'm fine! Just still adapting to all of this." Lloyd (Morro) answered.
"Oh, if you say so, Lloyd," Cole said, satisfied with his answer. "Hey, just know that, Morro won't hurt you anymore okay?"
Even though Cole didn't know about their agreement, it felt like he was talking to both of them. Lloyd (and maybe part of Morro) nodded and smiled.
The two (three) continued walking.
Something feels off.
Lloyd immediately scanned around the area. 'Morro, can you tell me what's wrong?'
Their eyes both landed on a piece of string that Cole stepped on. Morro possessed Lloyd.
"COLE GET OUT, IT'S A -"
A wave of water suddenly emerged from the ground.
Lloyd as fast as a wind created a force field around to protect them from the water.
The water stopped and Lloyd opened his force field.
"ARE YOU GUYS OKAY?!" A scream can be heard from behind.
"WE LEFT YOU FOR HALF AN HOUR AND YOU ALMOST GET YOURSELF KILLED!" Kai shook both of them.
"Easy-easy dude, we're fine! Thanks to Lloyd. You have a very good eye," Cole patted Lloyd.
"Right, on other related news, we found the escaped ghosts. They planted traps around so as soon as we heard one of them set off, we immediately went there," Jay explained.
"But it seems that you two are fine, so now we can go back to the bounty," Zane added.
While the others walked in front, Lloyd walked slower.
'Why did you do that?'
Huh?
'You could have used that moment to kill Cole, but you didn't.'
Their conversation got cut off by Jay screaming for them to walk faster.
Morro possessed Lloyd.
"Coming!"
---
3.
"It appears that we have run out of meat," Zane said while looking through the fridge.
"We don't have anything? Fish? Egg??" Cole asked in disbelief.
"Uhmm.. yeah we pretty much ran out of ingredients" Nya standing beside Zane to double check.
"Well who's turn is it to go to the grocery?" Kai asked.
All eyes turned to Lloyd who was walking out of his room.
"Lloyd, it is your turn to buy the groceries. I have conducted a list on the items you will need to buy," Zane handed him the list and money. "You can buy some items you want if it is not over the budget."
Lloyd stared at Zane's eyes before taking the money.
Lloyd breathed unevenly. Not too much that other people would notice, but enough for Morro to notice.
Morro possessed Lloyd and calmed him(Lloyd)self down. He returned Lloyd's body afterwards.
"You're still anxious about leaving all by yourself. Why did you accept it??"
Lloyd opened his mouth but was interrupted by the sound of a kid crying.
He followed the sound. Morro seemed to be interested as well. After a few minutes, they found the source of the cry.
A little girl, no older than 10 sitting and holding her arms. She was full of bruises, like someone had just hit her.
'Do your thing Morro.'
"Is everything okay?" Lloyd (Morro) asked.
"I- I'M SORRY PLEASE I WON'T STEAL AGAIN!" The girl shouted pushing herself back to the wall.
"Hey hey! I'm not here to hurt you, I promise…" Lloyd (Morro) kneeled down to look at the girl.
"... I- I'm-"
"There she is! Little miss thief thought she could get away huh?" A big man who looked like a shopkeeper came.
The girl looked even more scared and hide behind Lloyd (Morro).
"Leave here alone," Lloyd (Morro) demanded.
The guy stopped. "This is between me and her. She stole the bread from my shop and when I asked her to pay, she ran."
"I- I was very hungry sir.. I'm so-sorry," the girl pleaded.
Lloyd (and Morro) felt a pang of sympathy. "How many did she owe?"
"$20"
"WAIT T-THAT'S NOT-" The girl rebutted.
Lloyd handed the money.
The guy scoffed and left the two (three) alone.
Suddenly, Lloyd's body got hugged.
"Thank you mister.." The girl sobbed.
"Of course, what's your name?" Lloyd (Morro) asked.
"Sam, my name is Sam," The girl answered. "I went on a trip with my parents but I got lost because I was wondering on my own. I just wanted to go home."
"Alright, let's get you home," Lloyd (Morro) took Sam's hand.
After twenty minutes of walking, they finally found Sam's house. Sam rang the doorbell and Sam's parents showed up. As soon as they saw Sam, the three hugged.
"Thank you so much for bringing her back," the mom said.
Lloyd smiled and began to wave his hand. Sam smiled and waved back before entering her home.
After a few minutes of silence, Lloyd realizes. '... THE GROCERY FSM!"
---
4.
Today was an off day for the ninja, so everyone was doing things they wanted to do. Kai and Nya went to the museum, Cole decided to visit his dad. Jay and Zane wanted to see Cyrus' new inventions and Lloyd went outside to go buy an ice cream.
It's been a while since he can just relax without stressing out about his life.
Wow, so many things have changed since I died
He(They) arrived at the ice cream store. There weren't that many people inside so there weren't any lines. Lloyd walked up to the cashier.
"Hello! How may I help you?" The cashier asked.
Lloyd signalling Morro to take his place. Dude! I don't know what to choose, you pick! Morro demanded.
Lloyd signalling the number three.
"I'll have number three please" Lloyd (Morro) said.
"Chocomint dragon coming right up! That would be $5," The cashier explained.
Lloyd gave the cashier the money. He waited for his ice cream.
After a minute or less, he got his ice cream. He licked it and the tasty mint flavor melted in his tongue.
'Do you want some Morro?'
Huh?? You do realize that ghosts can't eat food, right??
'I mean, you can possess me and eat it. That way you can taste what ice cream tasted like.'
Morro mouth went agape. You're being serious?
Lloyd now was the one who was confused. 'Why not?'
Lloyd gave Morro a space to possess him. Morro hesitantly filled that space and began to taste the ice cream.
"... This is the best food I have ever tasted in fifty years," Morro said with a serious face.
Lloyd can't help but laugh.
Morro in the end followed along and laughed together with Lloyd.
—
5.
Lloyd was informed that there will be an interview with a bunch of press today. He did not however get informed at how many presses would be there.
There were at least 15 presses trying to ask him questions, ranging from the normal one, to the ones that he is definitely not comfortable answering. All the other ninja had to do other things so Lloyd was all alone and had to handle this situation by himself (and Morro).
Breathe in Lloyd, everything is okay Morro tried to calm Lloyd down. Okay i had an idea.
Morro possessed Lloyd and Lloyd welcomed it.
"Everybody calm down! Let's do one question at a time!" Lloyd (Morro) suggested. "You! In the back, what is your question?"
Lloyd (Morro) pointed at a man with glasses. The man came forward and held a microphone below Lloyd's mouth.
"What are your thoughts on the Stiix incident happening a while back?" The reporter asked.
FSM why do people have to ask this question. "It's uhm… It was quite traumatizing, but we are trying our best to return the place to how it used to be," Lloyd answered.
"There's a rumor going on that after the incident, you have become more reserved. Is it true that the possession was that horrible?" A woman asked from behind.
"I- uh well-"
"What are your thoughts that the earth ninja are now a ghost? Does he bring you bad memories?" Another person asked.
"What do you think about the ghost that had possessed you?" More questions asked.
"What would you say if the ghost was seeing this?"
Shit, I understand now why Lloyd hated this. At this point, all of the reporters are asking questions. Lloyd (Morro) tried to calm the crowd down.
"STOP!" Lloyd (Morro) screamed. The room instantly went quiet. "I'm sorry i just-"
He sighed.
'Just say what i am thinking.'
".. To be frank, I'm still getting used to all of this. I'm a lot better now than when I was finally free from possession. I used to be scared of ghosts. I can't look at Cole and not be scared by him, I can look at myself in the mirror scared that the ghost will be there… But I'm better now, I really do." Lloyd (Morro) sighed.
I wanna add a few things Lloyd.
"And… I'm sure that the ghost that possessed me felt an enormous amount of guilt. If he was here, he would try his best to redeem what he did wrong and try to help as much as he can. That's all I can say," Lloyd (Morro) got down from the podium and got out of the room. The reporters are swarming him (them) but got ignored.
Just like that, Lloyd walked down and returned to the Bounty.
—
(+1)
Lloyd got to the Bounty and started to check if anyone had come back. He searched the deck and the rooms but no one seemed to have arrived yet.
After a few minutes of double checking, he got to the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. Lloyd walked towards a mirror and sat in front of it. He wasn't as scared as he used to be, but he still only looked at it if it's necessary. This time, Lloyd chose to look at the reflection of Morro.
Morro, confused by Lloyd's actions, just sat in the reflection. Lloyd seemed to be writing something on the paper he had brought.
'Why?'
"Huh??" Morro answered
Lloyd wrote more words. 'Why did you do all of this?'
Morro knew what Lloyd was implying.
"Because you don't deserve the things I did," Morro answered, unable to look at Lloyd.
"You- what I did was wrong. So wrong. And I deserved to die for that, but I didn't. Somehow, destiny let me live and that meant something," Morro finally looked at Lloyd. "Destiny gave me another chance, and I couldn't waste that. So I tried."
"I know that what I did was unforgivable, and I get that, I really do. I'm not asking for forgiveness, but I only wanted to help, so I won't waste this chance that destiny has given me." Silence fell over between the two. This time, Morro broke the silence.
"Why did you accept my help? That night," Morro asked, sounding desperate for answers. "You could have just left me and I would be gone, but you didn't. Why?"
Lloyd took a moment to think before writing his answer down at the papers.
'Because you tried. You could have gone away, never have to see me again, but you chose not to,' Lloyd turned the paper over revealing more words. 'You chose to help me. And that's good enough for me.'
Morro couldn't react to the answer Lloyd had given him.
Lloyd proceeded to write another messages on a new paper.
'You have done so much for me, even if it doesn't look that important to you,' Lloyd turned the pages around.
'for everything'
Lloyd looked at Morro. The grayish green met the neon green. "Thank you," Lloyd spoke, for the first time.
Hot tears rolling down his eyes. Lloyd was smiling, a happy smile. Morro walked to Lloyd, made himself visible and hugged Lloyd.
Morro doesn't know how to feel about Lloyd, and he is confident that Lloyd has very mixed feelings towards him either. But right now, he knew that he was glad that destiny had given him another chance.
And he was satisfied that he had used it well.