Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It'd been an early morning, as usual. The young Elemental Master of Wind had been left alone in the Monastery for some time while Master Wu was out. He hadn't elaborated, but he was certain that it was due to the rising tension that loomed over the Monastery.

Regardless, Morro did what he could to keep the Monastery clean. He'd done the dishes after cooking and eating, dusted old portraits and photos off, and swept the wooden deck out in the courtyard. Overall, there didn't seem to be anything else left to do… he'd done laundry the day prior, and stocked up on groceries for the next two weeks.

He made his way back inside and to the room down the hall from his own room. He'd known it as his Uncle Garmadon's room, prior to him being banished, but… he opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. It was unnecessary to replace the bed, so he'd simply gotten new sheets and blankets; old pictures could remain inside, if only to give his young cousin a reminder that his father could still change.

The front gate creaked open suddenly. A loud chattering accompanied the creaking, chattering that was oddly reminiscent of an Elemental Master Morro had once known. One who hadn't been heard from in years.

And just like that, he'd gone from stocking up the bookshelf to blitzing down the hallway within a matter of seconds. He slammed the door to the courtyard open, a part of him knowing that Libber likely hadn't returned, though he had that painstaking childish desire to see her again.

Unfortunately, it was not who he hoped. Standing by Master Wu in the courtyard was a short, auburn haired boy. Said boy was now quiet and staring wide eyed at Morro, shock clear on his face. "Umm.. Hi there?" He said, with a small wave.

Morro quickly stood upright and breathed for a quick second, composure. That's what he needed right now. He didn't need to focus on his disappointment or his frustration. He did not need to focus on the fact that he'd been hoping to see a familiar face and that his momentum had been promptly crushed.

"Hello."

"What's your name? I'm Jay! Jay Walker. How long have you been here? Is it a nice place? I think the view is really pretty up here. Do you like it too? Do you like th-"

"Jay, please allow Morro a moment to answer your questions." Master Wu smiled.

Jay blinked "Oh. Sorry.." He smiled sheepishly and went quiet so Morro could answer.

Morro silently thanked his Father for the moment to speak. "My name is Morro. I've lived here since I was around seven years old. The Monastery itself is a nice place to live, better than what I had before anyways… and yes, the view is quite beautiful."

Jay grinned slightly, "Awesome! It's nice to meet you, Morro!"

"It is nice to meet you as well." Morro nodded his head a bit. Calm. He could remain calm during this interaction, it was fine.

"So you're one of Wu's other students, right? Like I'm gonna be!" Jay looked quite excited.

"Yeah…" He ran his hand through his hair out of habit… he had a feeling these next few weeks were going to be one hell of a long adjustment period.

"That's so cool! And you've been here since you were seven? You probably know so much! I can't wait to start training! It's gonna be so exciting to do something like this! And-" Oh Jay's just rambling now.

Morro glanced at Wu as he walked back out from the kitchen with a tea kettle and cup. He sighed. "Uh, Jay? You might wanna get ready for your first run-through."

Jay paused, "Huh?" His gaze went to Wu, "When did you leave? I didn't even see you walk away!"

Master Wu smiled and shook his head a bit. "A ninja must pay attention to all of his surroundings, including his allies."

"Oh- Alright. I guess I'll pay more attention-" Jay looked a bit sheepish for not having noticed.

Morro walked over to the button to activate the training equipment. "You'll get used to it eventually."

Jay nodded slightly and looked around, "Sooo… Where's all the training stuff?" He questioned curiously.

Morro smirked as he flicked open the head of the golden statue, before pressing the button. In a near instant, the training equipment sprang up and began to run. "You didn't think we'd just have it all in plain sight did you?"

Jay's eyes widened "Woah!" He grinned and his eyes sparkled with fascination, "That's so cool!!"

"Yep! Also, quick warning, you're gonna want to be fast." Morro leaned against the wall. "The course is a little intense, but Master Wu insists on using it since it's how he learned Spinjitzu too-"

"Morro."

"Just saying!" He grinned. "But, anyway, you're gonna want to complete the course before he finishes his tea."

"Morro!"

Morro snickered as his Father glared at him from across the courtyard; ah, the simple joys of being able to tattle. He missed this.

Jay grinned a bit, clearly finding Morro's tattling a bit amusing. "So I gotta be quick?" He stared at the course, "Welp. I'll definitely have a few bruises later.." Despite this, he sounded quite confident and got ready to start.

Wu began to prep to make his tea, and Morro grinned. "Go!"

Jay got onto the course, trying to be quick and not fall. Unfortunately his clumsiness was going against him today and he tripped barely a quarter of the way through the course. He yelped as he fell, barely managing to keep his face from slamming into the ground.

"Today, you failed. We will try again tomorrow." Wu finished his tea and left the courtyard to go inside. Morro groaned and walked over, turning off the equipment as he passed the button.

He held out his hand for Jay. "He… gets like that on the first day. Don't worry too much about it."

Jay took Morro's hand gratefully, "Okay.." He said, though he did still look quite upset.

Morro pulled him upright rather sharply, then again, he had been training for years… he couldn't have expected Jay to have been so easy to move. "I'm on dinner duty for tonight, so… thankfully you won't have to fend for yourself in terms of food. Wu's cooking is good, but I've picked up a lot of recipes over the years and spiced em up a bit."

Jay stumbled a bit when he was pulled up but righted himself and nodded, "Okay." He chuckled a bit, "I guess that's a good thing cause I'm not the best cook.."

Morro sighed. "We'll have to fix that sooner or later. Tell you what, I'll let you watch while I'm cooking tonight."

Jay looked interested, "Okay!" He agreed.

Morro made his way over to the Monastery. As he stepped inside, he could smell the distinct incense that Master Wu used for Spirit Smoke. He groaned and walked towards his room, sliding the door open and stepping inside quickly.

"Why weren't you going to tell me that you found Libber and her son?" He demanded.

Wu looked up at Morro, "Because I did not find Libber and her son.. I simply found Jay."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" He began to pace. "If you just found Jay then that means that Libber is- that she's-"

He looked back at him, that all-too-familiar pain in his core gnawed at him. "She's gone too… isn't she?"

Wu sighed softly, "I am not sure.. Jay lives with Ed and Edna. I do not believe he knows they are not his parents."

Morro walked over and sat down beside him. "It's.. it's not fair." He said quietly. "Why is it we keep getting left in the dust…?"

"It seems this is just Destiny's plan for us, Morro.. There is not much we can do about it.." Wu said softly, glancing over at his son.

Morro pulled his legs up to his chest and leaned against Wu. "That doesn't make me hate it less…"

Wu shifted slightly and put an arm around Morro, "I do not like it either…"

"… Promise to warn me next time?" He asked. "At- at least whose kid to expect?"

"I will, I am sorry I did not think to warn you this time… I am going to bring back four others. I am going to leave after Jay's morning training tomorrow." Wu said.

Morro nodded. "Alright… just - be safe, okay? And no getting hypothermia! I know the whole fact that the First Spinjitzu Master is your dad but you can still get it! So no doing anything stupid, got it?"

Wu chuckled softly, "I will be careful. I know exactly where to find them all. None are too far."

Finally, he relaxed a bit. "Good. And if you see Lou, tell him I say hi, okay? And Mystake! I haven't seen her in a few months!"

"I will. The next person I will be bringing back is the new Elemental Master of Ice." He informed his son, so Morro could be a bit prepared next time.

He nodded. "Alright- I uh.. I'm gonna go start prepping dinner. Sorry for interrupting your meditation, Father."

"It is alright, Morro. I understand why you did so." Wu said softly.

Morro gave him a quick hug before he left the room. A deep breath, and he made his way towards the kitchen, grabbing a ponytail holder to put his hair back while he cooked. Professionalism and also keeping hair out of food was important!

Well, besides the fact that his hair got in his face while he was cooking if he didn't put it back.

Jay was exploring the place right now. It was a big place, much bigger than his parents trailer. He liked it!

Morro glanced out of the kitchen as he grabbed a bunch of different ingredients. "Oi! Cooking lesson starts now!" He called.

Jay was there in moments, barely managing to stop himself before he ran into the door frame, "I'm here!"

Morro snickered. "Don't do what I do. I've had more bruises running into the doorframes than the training equipment."

Jay grinned sheepishly, "I'll try to be more careful." He said. He walked over to Morro at a much more sedated pace.

Morro took a deep breath, and began with prepping the stir-fry. He hummed quietly as he worked, very clearly in his element. He didn't even seem all that bothered as the meat he was frying sizzled and popped a bit from the heat.

Jay stood by, watching curiously as Morro worked. He didn't know what to do yet so he just waited for instructions.

"The main key here is to check for coloration, especially when dealing with meat. Veggies are a different story with stir-fry, but it's the same overall principle." He explained gently, and quickly moved the food onto a large plate. "Next up, we've got to work on some noodles… so…"

Morro quickly set the pan aside and grabbed a pot, filling it with chicken stock and the other ingredients. He was making it a point to leave the noodles to cook for last. After a short while, he added the noodles. "I might need a hand moving the pot. We usually set it on the dining room table so we can each grab our servings during dinner - uh- not yet of course, but y'know. Once I turn off the heat on the stove."

Jay nodded slightly "Got it! I can help with that."

After a moment, he shut off the heat on the stove. "Alright. I've got the right, you've got the left. Got it?"

"Got it!" Jay moved over to the left side of the pot and waited for Morro to tell him to move.

"Alright… three… two… one… now!" Morro lifted his side of the pot, and Jay did as well; thankfully, it wasn't a long walk to the dining room, nor did they spill any of the noodles or broth.

Jay was extremely careful with the pot as they set it down, he wasn't about to let any of this go to waste! It looked delicious.

Morro gave a quick thumbs up as he moved back to the kitchen to grab the rest of the food. The stir-fry, and some bread he'd picked up earlier in the week. He carefully arranged it on the table before he yet again disappeared to the kitchen to get utensils, bowls, and plates.

Jay followed after him, just in case he needed anymore help.

Morro chuckled a bit. "It's not that bad. I've got it, you go sit."

"Are you sure? I don't mind helping more!" Jay said.

"I'm sure." Morro said. "Go pick your spot, I'll get the dishes out."

"Okay!" Jay turned and went back to the dining room, quickly picking a seat and sitting down.

Morro got back into the dining room as Wu stepped inside. He set the dishes down in front of everyone's spots, and sat down as well. "Hope I didn't accidentally mess up the noodles this time… I'd gotten distracted yesterday and they got too soggy…"

"Well they look good so.." Jay looked very enthusiastic about the food.

"I'm sure you didn't mess it up, Morro." Wu smiled a bit as he reached over to get his serving.

Jay waited, quite impatiently, until Wu had gotten his serving to reach to get his own serving.

Morro watched the both of them as they got their food before he'd gotten his own. It was clear he'd been looking forward to making the stir-fry more than the noodles, considering he'd gotten quite the helping of it.

The moment Jay took his first bite his face lit up, "This is amazing dude!" He grinned.

Morro quickly took a few bites from the stir-fry and pointedly looked away. It seemed as though he was not that used to receiving compliments - either that or he was just bad at handling receiving them.

Though Wu simply chuckled and took a bite. It was clear that he was unbothered by his eldest student's struggling. "It is very good, Morro. Thank you."

Jay dug into his food, clearly absolutely loving it.

Morro ate silently. A part of him was grateful… grateful that they weren't going to be alone anymore.

Chapter Text

Had he stayed up all night adding books to the bookshelf in Lloyd's room? Yes, he had. Did it matter? Not really; but he was determined to get this right. Lloyd wouldn't be alone, and they could make sure that he was safe, happy, and healthy… something he couldn't guarantee while he was at Darkley's.

Morro looked at the half-full bookshelf unit. He smiled a bit to himself, knowing that Lloyd would likely add to this on his own.

The door suddenly opened, "Are you in here Morro? Wu's gone now and I'm not sure what to do now?" Jay peeked his head in the room.

Morro jolted, he glanced back at Jay. "We either train… or wait."

"Ah. Got it." Jay paused, "Who's this room for?" He asked as he looked around.

"It… used to be my Uncle's room. I'm re-purposing it for my cousin." He said plainly.

"Oh? Is your cousin one of the other people Wu's getting?" Curiosity took over his expression.

"Nah… I'm getting him." Morro said softly. "He's… in a rough spot right now."

A frown took over Jay's face. "Ah..I see.. Do you need help? I can help." He offered.

"I've got it." Morro smiled. "Been planning getting him out of that shitty school for a long time."

"Alright.. But let me know if you need anything!" Jay smiled, "I don't mind!"

Morro felt a pain in his heart, and nodded. "Yeah… will do, Jay."

"Soo… What's your cousin like? How old is he? Is he my age or your age or..?" Jay seemed to realize he was on-track to ramble and went quiet so Morro could answer.

"I- he's about eight or nine now." He said quietly. "He's… a bit of a menace, but he's still family."

"Ooh.. So he's like.. A little kid, then. Most kids are menaces.. I think."

"Yeah." Morro walked over and carefully adjusted the plushies that were on the bed. "I mean… I know I was. Constantly drove everyone nuts… pulled a knife on two people in particular on the regular."

He shrugged. "Those two had it coming, though."

"Really?" Jay asked, his eyes a bit wide.

"Yeah." Morro paused. "Never did manage to maim either of them though."

"Well.. I guess that sucks?" Jay said, "Were they like.. Actually bad people or did you just not like them?"

"Both." Morro sighed dramatically.

Jay snorted a bit at that, "Fair enough, I guess."

He glanced back at the old photos on the nightstand. One from when Morro had first arrived at the Monastery, back when Garmadon had visited regularly… and another from Lloyd's first birthday.

Jay got curious and walked over to look at the photos too.

"… It'd been… a bit of a rough adjustment period when I'd moved in. Wu wasn't used to having a kid around." Morro fidgeted.

"Oh..? Yeah, I guess that makes sense.." Jay said, keeping his voice a bit lower than his normal volume to be considerate.

He reached out and brushed some dust off of the newest photo, which had been from Lloyd's birthday. "He used to cry when he was over here and I wasn't in the room. Never knew why…"

"…He must've really liked you. You must've been his favorite."

Morro's heart felt like it'd been wrenched out of his chest, squeezed really tight and shoved right back in. "Oh…"

"And seeing how much you're doing for him now? I wouldn't be surprised if you were still his favorite. You're doing more than most people would." Jay smiled softly.

He felt his eyes start to hurt… oh, right. Tears. Those were a thing… he couldn't remember when he'd last cried, though it hadn't been long ago. Morro rubbed at his eyes, trying to wipe the tears away.

Jay glanced over at him. He hesitated and then he hugged Morro gently.

Morro didn't hug back for a moment, but when he did, he was very careful. He still cried, of course, but… it was okay. Things were going to be okay… and in a few months, Lloyd would be here, able to bother them and be annoying to his heart's content.

Jay hugged him for as long as he wanted, his grip stayed loose enough for Morro to back out at any time.

And after a short while, he did. Morro backed up and wiped his face off with his sleeve. "Thanks… 'm sorry 'bout crying."

"You don't have to apologize. It's okay, I didn't mind." He smiled a bit.

Morro fidgeted. "Just… kinda not used to being around many people when I cry."

Jay nodded slightly, "I get it.. I was home-schooled so I've never really had anyone around either.."

"I… guess you could say I'm the same." He shrugged. "Kinda hard to catch a bus to the nearest school when you live all the way up here."

Jay snickered a bit, "Yeah.. I grew up in a junkyard that's miles outside of Ninjago City so… No schools were ever close enough."

Morro dramatically placed his hand on his head. "Oh, the woes of childhood!"

Jay snorted and grinned "Yeahhh.."

"Anyways- would you like to see my room?" Morro asked. "I've got a lot of posters up…"

Jay perked up and nodded immediately, "Yeah! Sure!" He agreed.

Morro smiled and quickly stepped towards the door. He stepped out, and waited for Jay, patient.

Jay followed him immediately, looking quite eager.

As they walked down the hall towards Morro's room, he felt a bit of anxiety well up inside his core. Though he shoved it down the second he opened up his room and walked inside, swiftly making his way over to sit on the edge of his bed.

"And… here we are."

Posters lined the walls of the room; a few were much older and haphazardly taped to the walls, others were hung and framed. It was easy to tell which ones had been put up when he was much younger and which ones hadn't. His bookshelf was full of different kinds of horror mystery novels, and others that were some guidebooks; and an acoustic guitar lay in its stand beside the shelf.

Old photos were on his dresser though, varying from when he'd originally arrived at the Monastery to-

Morro quickly got out of his bed and put the photo frame face-down. Jay didn't need to see the ones with the other Elemental Masters. Not yet…

"Woah.." Jay had stars in his eyes, "This is awesome!" He moved closer to look at all the posters in wonder.

"You- you think so…?" He asked softly, and quickly brought the photo frame with him to his bed. He held it close to his chest, unwilling to let this little piece of his old life go.

Jay nodded "Yeah!!" He grinned brightly.

Morro smiled weakly. "Thanks…"

Jay looked back over at Morro and gained a curious look, "What's that picture?"

Morro paused, and looked down at the photo. "… It's… one of some old family friends. They're not around anymore, and this was the last photo we got to take together…"

Jay frowned slightly, "Oh.. I'm sorry.." He said softly.

Morro shrugged a bit. "It's alright. You didn't know." He pat the space beside him. "I can tell you their names, if you want."

Jay perked up a bit, "Oooh! Okay!" He nodded and came to sit by Morro.

Morro smiled a bit, and held the photo between them. He placed his finger against the glass as he began. "I'm right here. And behind me is Wu, and there's my Uncle. On Wu's left is Maya and Ray…"

Jay nodded along, interest in his eyes. He stayed quiet, letting Morro speak.

"And over here is Lilly… she was really nice. She and her husband taught me how to dance. Her father was real fun too, always had a loud voice." He smiled sadly. "And here's Shard. He'd always chuckle when we made ice puns with him because he was always cold. And this is Libber… she was fun. And… you remind me a lot of her."

"Really?" Jay tilted his head a bit, "How?"

Morro snickered. "Well, you're both chatterboxes and cheerful. She'd always try to check in on me, even when I kept telling her I didn't want to be talked to. Yet somehow, she always managed to get me to talk."

"Really? She sounds awesome!" Jay grinned.

"She was…" He smiled sadly, and set the picture on his nightstand.

Jay's grin faltered, "So.. None of them are around anymore..?"

"Some might be… most aren't." He frowned. "Lilly passed away due to an illness.. Shard disappeared… I don't know what happened to Libber, Maya, and Ray…"

"Ahh.." Jay nodded a bit in understanding.

"… I like to think they're still out there somewhere. Just… harder to find." He said softly.

"That's the best way to think." Jay smiled, "Always have to have hope."

Morro fidgeted a bit, and grabbed one of his plush dragons, hugging it close. "So- one thing you might want to keep an eye out for are… the chickens."

Jay paused "The.. The chickens?" He questioned, looking curious.

"You'll uh… you'll understand if you see one." He squeezed the plush.

Jay frowned a bit, "Okay..?"

Morro sighed. "Uhm… anyways, the pantry has some snacks if you need. I'm gonna just be in here today… considering I finished my tasks concerning setting up my cousin's room today…"

Jay nodded slightly, "Alright." He said and got up.

"And if the training equipment gets stuck, let me know. I'm kinda used to having to repair it."

"Got it!" Jay smiled slightly and headed for the door, "See ya later!"

Morro smiled a bit, and moved to lay down on his bed. He grabbed a novel from off his nightstand, adjusting a bit so he was comfortable; and soon he began to read.

Jay left, shutting Morro's door behind him and heading back outside.

It'd gotten late. Granted, Morro had known it'd gotten late, he always glanced up at his clock when he was given an opportunity, but as he flipped through his book, he paid no mind to the unyielding passage of time.

Jay suddenly burst into the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

Morro jolted and slammed his book shut, shoving it under his pillow. "What happened?"

"You were right about the chickens." Jay squeaked out. His back was against the door and he was breathing heavily.

Morro stared for a moment before he sighed and stood up on his bed. "Give me a second."

He leapt up and grabbed onto one of the support beams and swung himself up. He made his way silently above the room and slid the smaller door above his room to check…

Three. Three of the little fucks.

He slammed the small door shut and dropped back down beside Jay. "We're fucked until Wu gets back."

"What?" Jay's voice was shrill, he looked terrified to say the least.

"I can't deal with three of them at once! I can only handle one!" He hissed.

"What are we supposed to do then?!"

"Stay in here and pray." He whispered. "Those little fucks know better than to come in here because the last time they did, I chucked them off the mountain."

"…What did you do to them..?" Jay asked nervously.

"Chucked 'em off the mountain? Those little shits can survive practically anything."

"Oh- Fantastic!" Jay grinned nervously.

Morro sighed and walked over to his dresser. He pulled out the drawer and then reached for a second drawer inside of the first one. And inside? His snack stash. Morro looked back at Jay seriously. "You better get my permission whenever you take stuff from this stash after this is over, got it?"

Jay nodded a bit, though he made no attempts to move. He was basically frozen where he was.

"… Relax, they can't open the door." Morro groaned. "They climb a majority of the time so if they get bored enough, they'll leave. Which.. hopefully they'll do before Master Wu comes home."

That did get Jay to relax a bit and he moved away from the door.

However… the door slid open suddenly. And three very angry chickens stood at the threshold of the room.

"Oh fuck, they've figured out how the doors work." Morro whispered, mortified.

Jay's eyes widened as he turned to look at the chickens, and he was once again frozen in fear.

Morro slowly backed up, and reached for the broom. "Don't make any sudden movements…"

"Got it." Jay squeaked. he couldn't move even if he wanted to.

Morro grabbed it and moved sharply, catching the attention of all three of the chickens. "Out of my room, you little menaces. You know what happens if you don't." He growled.

Jay was silent, his eyes locked on the chickens.

The chickens, however, had other plans. They all launched themselves at Morro, charging up as the older teen scrambled out of his room, cussing as the little monsters followed him.

"Yeah, that's it you little fucks! Take the damn bait!"

Jay yelped and ran to the door to watch, eye wide and filled with worry for Morro.

Morro had proceeded to get on top of the Monastery wall and was now, one-by-one using the broom to hit the chickens out of the Monastery with a terrifying force that sent them flying with loud screeches and bolts of electricity.

Jay was silent and in shock. Oh wow.

As soon as the last one was long gone, Morro leaned against the broom and took several deep breaths, before he took one more and shouted as loud as he could, "Return once more and you'll have sealed your fate, you fucks!"

Jay just… Stood there. He was trying to process it all but… this was so much.

Morro leaned back to fall against the roofing of the wall. He sighed. "That hurt."

"… Are you okay..?" Jay asked after a minute, finally managing to find his voice.

"Uh…" He looked over at him. "If those things come back again tomorrow? We're hiding in the library until Wu gets home."

Jay blinked and then nodded a bit, "Okay."

Morro rolled himself off of the roof and down onto the stone of the courtyard. He stood up and brushed himself off, though it was clear he had a few electricity burns now. "Well- should we get dinner? It is pretty late…"

Jay nodded "Yeah.. I am pretty hungry.."

Morro began to walk back towards the door that led to the kitchen. "How about somethin' simple? I can heat up one of the frozen pizzas."

Jay perked up a bit "Oooh! Yeah!"

Morro grinned. "C'mon, then. I can tell you some stories about how Ray kept absolutely fumbling when he was trying to talk to Maya."

Jay looked interested, "Okay!"

Chapter Text

They'd been training. More runs through the course, as usual. Jay was getting faster, he could tell. Soon enough, he'd pass Wu's test. Morro had been timing him with a stopwatch instead of the tea… it was a bit easier than having to brew a fresh pot every time.

Jay was on the course at the moment, doing his best to break his latest record. Unfortunately, he would not succeed in this. He yelped as the gate creaked open and he fell. He barely manged to twist and not hit his face.

"Ah, I see you two haven't stopped training while I was gone." Wu smiled. A teen stood beside him, silent and near-expressionless. He was looking around the Monastery courtyard curiously. "Morro, Jay, this is Zane."

Jay pushed himself up and looked at the two, "Uh- Hi!" He waved with a kind smile.

"Hello." Zane smiled slightly. "So… this is where we'll be training?"

"Yes, Zane, it is." Wu nodded. "But your training will start tomorrow. We still have to make sure everything's still in order since I left."

Morro glanced at Jay in fear before he cleared his throat. "Uh… we did have an… incident while you were gone. It's okay now though! Nothing I couldn't handle!"

Jay nodded immediately "Yep!" He agreed. He had suppress a shudder thinking about the chickens.

"Really now? Well, I expect a full explanation of what happened, after Zane has settled in." Master Wu said. To which, Morro was equally grateful, and anxiety ridden for.

Jay was quite literally shaking. He had a nervous grin.

Morro smiled a bit and pressed the button to put the courtyard back from the training course. He walked over to Zane. "So uh, I can show you to your room."

Jay blinked, "Oh yeah! We set it up for you! Got you a bunch of stuff! I really hope you'll like it!" Oh FSM. He's rambling again.

Morro smiled in amusement and gestured for Zane to follow. It didn't take long for them to make it to the former Elemental Master of Ice's room. Of course, there were new bedsheets and pillows, as well as a falcon plush that was nestled between the pillows.

Zane smiled a bit, "This is quite nice.. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Just trying my best to make everyone feel at home." Morro ran his hand through his hair a bit. Deep down, he felt satisfied, happy that he'd been able to help.

Zane stepped into the room, taking a closer look at everything. He looked at everything and finally ending up at the bed. He picked up the plush, looking at it curiously.

"I uh… I find having stuffed animals helps to ward the nightmares off." Morro said nervously. "I didn't know if you had any of your own or if you didn't want one but uhm… I hope he helps."

"A.. Stuffed animal.. That's what this is?" He turned back to Morro with a curious look.

"Yeah…? They're plushes- made of fabric and stuffing. I learned from an old friend how to make them… so…" Morro ran his hand through his hair again, kind of twisting his fingers through it. "It's… also just to help with anxiety. Just… figured it'd be good for you to have one."

Zane looked back down at the plush in his hands and then smiled a bit, "…Thank you.."

Morro nodded. "If you ever want more, just let me know. Who knows, I could probably make a whole flock!"

And with that, he backed out of the room and headed back to his own, fidgeting a bit with the string of his hoodie. Zane didn't have any belongings on him… it wasn't okay.

Zane stood there, with the plush in his hands. He quietly stared at it for a few more moments before hugging it and holding it close to his chest.

It'd been less than an hour after Zane had officially settled in when Morro slammed open Jay's door.

"We need to take him shopping, are you in or are you in?" Morro asked quickly.

Jay dropped the comic in his hands, "Wha- uh-" He took a moment to process the question, "I'm in?"

"Great! We go tomorrow." Morro grinned. "I have a list of shops to go to already and I have my money set aside to deal with everything!"

Jay nodded a bit, "Al- Alright?"

Morro paused, and stared at him. "You didn't notice, did you?"

He smiled sheepishly "No..?" He answered honestly, "Notice what..?"

"Zane doesn't have any belongings." Morro placed his head in his hands.

Jay's eyes widened a bit, "He doesn't?!"

"No, he doesn't!" Morro cried, and began to pace. "He wasn't carrying a bag, he was surprised when I told him about the falcon plush - all he has are the clothes he's wearing right now!"

"Oh!" Jay frowned, "Oh that's sad."

"Yeah- so that's why we're going tomorrow."

Jay nodded a bit "Yeah, yeah."

"Where are we going tomorrow?"

Morro jolted slightly and looked back at Zane, who was standing in the doorway. "Oh thank goodness you already know how to be stealthy enough to scare the crap out of me, thanks."

Jay also jolted, his gaze flying to Zane. "How are you that quiet?!"

"I… wasn't aware I was being quiet." Zane admitted. "Apologies for startling you both."

"Oh for-" He paused and took a deep breath, "Zane. It's fine, we just weren't prepared for it. The silence isn't an unwelcome thing here, just caught us off-guard in your case."

Jay nodded, "Yeah, yeah! It was fine, it just startled us!"

"Oh." Zane paused a bit. He squeezed the falcon plush a bit. "So, where are we going tomorrow?"

Morro grinned and glanced at Jay. "Well.. Jay, would you like to tell him?"

Jay grinned brightly, "We're taking you shopping!!

"Shopping…?" Zane tilted his head.

"Yeah! Cause you didn't have anything with you!"

"Is… that a bad thing?" He asked softly.

Jay nodded, "Yeah! Everyone needs their own things! Having nothing is sad! And pretty concerning too.."

"Ah…" Zane seemed to think for a moment, and held up the plush, though he still kept it close. "Well… I do not have nothing anymore."

"One plush still isn't a lot! You need clothes and other belongings!" Jay huffed.

"I… do?" Zane frowned.

Morro took a deep breath, and nodded. "Yes, it's- it's unhealthy to not have anything of your own. Believe me, I know."

"It helps you be yourself!" Jay agreed, "Helps you feel good having your own things."

"But… I already am myself. And I do not mind not having much." Zane said in confusion.

Morro groaned. "Zane, buddy, you need more clothes. None of anybody's stuff in the Monastery right now is gonna fit you."

Jay nodded "Yeah! You're like… tall. And you definitely need more than just that." He gestured at Zane's current outfit.

"But it's… what I usually wear? I do not see the issue." Zane looked between them.

Jay blinked "That… Zane, dude.. How long have you been wearing that..?"

"I… do not know. It has been a long time." He admitted quietly.

Jay looked at Morro, looking quite concerned for their new housemate.

Morro took a deep breath and walked over to Zane. He carefully set a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, that- that, my dear friend, is what we call unhealthy and also very concerning. We're going to Ignacia tomorrow morning so that we can get you some clothing and whatever else you want that'll make you feel comfortable."

"Is this… truly necessary?" Zane asked.

"Yes." Morro said firmly. "Look, you need to have casual clothes aside from your training uniforms, so- whoop-dee-fuckin-doo, we're going on a side-quest!"

Jay snorted at Morro's wording.

"… A side-quest…?"

"Don't worry about it- point is! We're going." Morro smiled. "And you get to pick out whatever you want and the budget is huge!"

Jay nodded a bit, then paused. "Huge? How much money do you have?"

Morro snickered. "How much do security jobs usually pay?"

"I- I don't know?"

"Well. It's a lot, and guess who's taken a ridiculous number of security jobs."

"… You?" Zane asked.

"Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner!" Morro cheered, and moved to walk out of the room. "Anyways- the budget's about two grand, go nuts. Also, might want to do some planning for what you want to get. Jay, you don't mind helping him out, right?"

Jay blinked than shrugged, "Uh- Yeah, sure. I don't mind."

"Great! Gonna prep dinner now!" Morro gave a thumbs up and dashed out of the room.

Chapter Text

They'd waited for about half an hour after Wu left to make their escape. Well, escape was a strong word - more like… begin their road trip for the day. Yeah, that was it.

Morro's heart ached painfully as they approached the village, though he wouldn't show it in front of his friends. "Well, here we are!"

Jay was practically vibrating with how excited he was to be here. He was basically bouncing as he walked.

"This is… where we'll be shopping?" Zane asked.

"Yeah- first we'll hit up some of the clothing shops. Unfortunately this is the closest village, so we don't have a lot of options, but it's better than getting attacked by the chickens, so…" He shrugged.

"By… chickens?"

"Oh, my dear friend, here's to hoping you never encounter them." Morro said softly.

Jay shuddered at the reminder and grimaced, "Let's not dicuss them."

Morro nodded, and glanced at the blacksmithing shop up the hill. His heart felt like it was being twisted in his chest; with nails being dug into it and causing discomfort. He quickly turned his attention back towards his housemates. "Alright- let's get this show on the road."

"What show?" Zane asked.

"It's an expression, buddy." Morro smiled and shook his head. "C'mon, I know where the clothing shop is."

Jay perked up again, "Awesome!"

As they walked through the older village, a discomfort grew through Morro's being. He could notice some villagers staring at him, causing a shiver to run down his spine. He hated attention.

Jay basically skipped alongside Morro, he had started talking about one of his comics while they walked.

Zane, thankfully, was paying attention to what Jay was saying. Occasionally looking confused as to where the plot was going.

"We're here." Morro said softly. He was staring at the shop window.

Jay paused mid sentence, evidently having not realized how close they were. He had gotten very wrapped up in talking about Starfarer.

"So… are we going to go inside?" Zane asked.

Jay glanced at Morro, "I mean. I'd assume so. We kind of have to to buy stuff."

Morro sighed, and opened the door. He grimaced at the sound of the bell chime as the old man at the front desk looked up.

"You again?" He demanded. "You better not insult the fabric, you little punk!"

"I'm just the guy who's paying, sir." Morro replied dryly as he stepped inside. "So thankfully, you don't have to listen to my voice."

Jay glanced between the two before grabbing Zane's hand and pulling him further into the shop, "Come on, let's get you some stuff!" He grinned.

"Alright?" Zane followed, though he did look back at Morro and the shopkeeper.

"… You better not refuse service just because the circumstances of my existence are stupid." Morro muttered. The old shopkeeper grumbled, and glanced at Jay and Zane as they walked through the shop.

"… You're not meant to be alive." He glared at Morro. "But since you're giving me a new customer, I won't turn you away… not today."

Jay was rambling to Zane again as they looked at all the clothes and such.

"… What happened to Ray and Maya?" He asked quietly.

"Dunno. Abandoned their kids about eleven years ago." He grumbled. "Their oldest ain't good at blacksmithing."

Morro frowned. "I might-"

"Don't you dare bring that teacher of yours back here. He's bad luck, you know." He hissed. "And I know you know that, kid. Trust me, they're better off without him in their lives."

Morro's face twisted in disdain as he sharply pulled his hood up. He remained silent as he waited for Jay and Zane.

Jay and Zane walked back over and Jay had his arms full of clothes for Zane.

Morro smirked a bit as the shopkeeper looked even more annoyed because he had to ring up So Many Items.

Jay was bouncing on his heels and grinning brightly. He was clearly happy to have helped Zane pick out so much.

"Alright… that'll be three-hundred twenty-seven." He grumbled.

"Seriously-?" Zane asked, as Morro swiped his card and quickly inputted his pin. "Morro!"

"What? We got what we came here for, and we're only making two more stops here before we head back home… so…" Morro shoved his card back into his wallet and opened up the suitcase. "Let's get this stuff put in before we wind up losing it all to the wind."

Jay immediately began getting the clothes into the suitcase. Zane made sure that none of the clothing touched the ground, silent.

Though, by the time they began to make it out of the village, Morro had grown more and more restless; the wind kicking up a bit more.

Jay did not let the wind hinder his excitement one bit. He skipped along ahead of the other two and spotted a shop he hadn't seen the first time. "Oooh! That place has weapons!" He darted towards the Four Weapons Blacksmith before either of his companions could respond.

Morro winced and turned quickly to follow as Zane did the same, he felt a mounting pressure in his chest as they got closer and closer to the old building. "Jay! Slow down!"

Jay did not listen to Morro and promptly skidded to a stop right in front of the shop, startling the teen that was trying to work.

"Jay!" He cried, and stopped. He stared at the teen, who now looked very annoyed. Morro quickly moved to compose himself, though being back in such a familiar place threatened to force tears to fall. "I- I apologize. We weren't meaning to cause trouble."

The teen looked so much like Ray it hurt…

The teen huffed, "Whatever.. You need services or is your friend just here to gawk..?" His gaze shifted from Morro to Jay, who was in fact gawking at all the weapons on display.

"Well, this was an impromptu stop." Zane mentioned off-handedly.

"It- I wasn't expecting to be here again…" Morro said quietly. It looked so much like how he remembered… with the notable absence of Ray and Maya.

Jay frowned and looked at Morro. Then he looked at the teen again. Then his eyes widened, "OHHHH!" He started, startling the teen with his volume, "He's, like, Ray and Maya's kid isn't he! He looks a lot like Ray did in that photo you showed me! Is this where they liv-"

"How do you know my parents' names." The teen cut Jay off. He stared warily at the three of them now.

Suddenly a head popped out from the door leading inside, "What's with all the noise?! I was trying to do my homework!" The girl huffed, glaring at all four boys.

"Jay has no volume control." Zane said pointedly.

"HEY!" Jay squeaked out, looking quite offended at the accusation. He was also further proving Zane's point.

"Well… to answer your question; your Father was an old family friend. He was like an uncle to me, same with your Mother." Morro said softly, his voice nearly cracking from how he was holding back tears. "Hell, he was the one who taught me how to repair my own weapons. Well.. small repairs anyways."

The teen blinked in shock, and now his sister had walked out to stand by him.

"… You knew them..?" She asked quietly.

Morro nodded, and pulled out his wallet. He took the scanned photo out and held it out for them to look. It felt like a knife was being twisted in his heart.

The teen and his sister both looked at the photo, both of their eyes widened and the boy was sure he had seen the kid in that photo before..

"… So… If you knew them… Do you know why they left us..?" The girl asked, her brother hissed out a quick "Nya!" but she ignored it.

Morro's heart ached. "Your parents loved you both very much… I remember when they'd visited when you both had been born - yes, each time. But… they wouldn't have left without some sort of reason- like a threat on your lives that forced them to leave."

Nya and her brother exchanged a look.

"You're sure about that..?" The boy asked, "They wouldn't have just… Abandoned us…?"

"Hell no! I knew Ray and Maya and they would not have abandoned you, I promise you that." He stepped towards them. "They loved you both with everything they had. They would never have abandoned you unless they were given no other choice… I promise you that."

"… Okay.. Okay, thank you.." The boy said. His wariness had faded, and he looked a bit more open now.

"By the way, what is your name?" Zane asked gently.

The boy blinked, "Oh, um- I'm Kai.. " He said, looking away a bit.

Morro chuckled. "Knew that, but… y'know."

Kai paused, "..You did..?" He looked at Morro with a bit of surprise.

"Well, your parents did bring you guys over to our place. Would've been rude of me not to at least memorize your names too." Morro smiled. "Thought it'd be weird for a technical stranger to call you both by name though."

"So you knew us when we were little..?" Nya asked curiously.

"Yeah…" Morro's smile grew to be sad. "Didn't get to see you often, but… it was nice seeing you both."

Jay had gone oddly quiet, his eyes were on Nya and he was quite red.

Nya hummed a bit "Yeah.. It's knowing our parents actually cared is.. Really nice… No one here would actually tell us anything about them…"

"They what?" Morro asked, his voice very clearly hitting that dangerous tone. The wind outside began to pick up.

"Yeah..? I mean it's not that surprising.. No one's ever bothered helping us any other way either.." Kai crossed his arms, looking away again.

Morro grew silent for a moment, before he took a deep breath. The wind outside was growing to be dangerously fast. "I'm going to have some choice words with some people, just so you guys know."

Zane glanced outside and raised a brow. "Uhm… was this on the local forecast…?"

Nya frowned a bit "I don't think so.. It was supposed to be fairly nice…"

Kai watched as the wind blew harshly, "This is.. weird.."

The sign for the shop suddenly slammed onto the ground - causing all five of them to jump. The wind began to die down as Morro looked back at the sign. A map was tucked into it, just barely poking out, but enough for it to be noticeable.

Jay stared at the sign for a moment before walking over and pulling the map out curiously.

Nya and Kai watched him, their eyes a bit wide. They clearly hadn't known that was there.

Morro took a deep breath. "Look- My Father wouldn't mind if you both came to live at the Monastery with all of us. It's- it'll be safer for you… I promise."

Kai and Nya exchanged a look. Kai looked reluctant. Nya looked hopeful. They stared at each-other for a moment before Kai sighed.

"..Just give us a bit to pack..?" He said, looking back at Morro.

Morro nodded. "Take all the time you need."

The two teens nodded and went inside, leaving Zane, Jay, and Morro outside.

Jay was staring at the map he had pulled out of the sign.

Morro glanced at it. "I've got a pocket I can put it in to keep it safe."

Jay looked over, "… Alright." He moved back over to Morro and held the map out for him, "Here ya go."

Morro carefully folded it up and placed it in his inside jacket pocket. Deep breaths…

He was calm. So was the wind. He could stay calm… the wind could stay calm…

It was about ten minutes before the two siblings returned. Neither had much, a single small, worn backpack each and the clothes on their back.

Morro looked over to them. He dropped his hold on the suitcase and pulled them both into a hug. "I'm so sorry I didn't try to check on you both sooner…"

Both Kai and Nya tensed at first in his hold, then they melted into it. It felt so nice, being held in a comforting way.

"Should we… also join in on the hug?" Zane asked Jay quietly.

Jay shrugged, "I dunno.. Um.. Maybe not…? This is kinda personal…"

Morro eventually let go and took a deep breath. "Let's uh- let's put the sign back up before we leave. Don't want to invoke Maya and Ray's scolding when we find em."

Kai nodded a bit, quickly wiping at his eyes and trying to hide the fact that he had teared up.

He moved to lift the sign. "Jay, a little help?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry!" Jay immediately moved to help Morro lift the sign up.

"Alright- one, two, three-"

Jay did struggle a bit, but he managed and sighed in relief when they got it in place.

"Good- if we make good time getting back to the Monastery I'll have enough time to get the frozen ravioli cooked before seven." Morro grinned.

"..Ravioli..?" Nya questioned softly, looking at him with a curious look.

Morro felt that knife in his heart twist ever so slightly more. He nodded. "It's a kind of pasta filled with either meat or cheese, covered in a sauce. Trust me, you guys will love it."

Kai looked a bit hesitant "Okay.."

Nya smiled a bit and nudged Kai, "Come on, stingy. Anything is better than just rice. Lighten up."

The wind picked up a bit again, and Morro released a long exhale. "Alright- let's uh, let's get moving."

Although, at the exhale and the wind slowing once more, Zane tilted his head.

Kai groaned for the second time in the past ten minutes, "How far is your place..?" He grumbled.

"Rule number one! Don't ask the question that you're about to hear the answer to." Morro snickered as they rounded the corner to where the bridge led to the Monastery. "Voila! The Monastery of Spinjitzu!"

Kai huffed, "You couldn't have said that, like, five seconds ago?"

Jay snickered a bit, grinning.

"What? And miss being a menace? Absolutely not." Morro picked the suitcase up and put the backpack straps for it over his arms. "Anywho~ time to climb the stupid stairs!"

Nya tilted her head, "..They look.. So old.." She commented.

"Not as old as Master Wu." He rolled his eyes and walked across the bridge. Zane followed close behind.

Jay snorted as he followed by Zane.

Nya gave Kai a questioning look and when her brother simply shrugged she sighed and followed the other three. Kai was right behind her.

As they made it up to the Monastery, a familiar noise could be heard beyond the door. Morro glanced at Jay and took the luggage bag off of his back. "Give me a moment whilst I deal with the little fucks."

Jay's eyes widened when he heard the noise. He immediately ducked back to hide behind Nya, and subsequently Kai as well.

Morro climbed up the wall swiftly, and grabbed something from off the roof. "Oi! You fuckers are up for a rematch?! You ready to get clocked?! Ready to get punted off the fucking mountain you little monsters?!"

And with that, all hell broke loose as two flurries of feathers and lightning launched at him. He swiftly hit the two offending chickens off of the mountain once more.

"And stay out!" Morro screamed before he hopped down the other side of the wall. It took him a moment before he opened the gate doors. "So- hopefully those don't return."

"What… were those?" Zane asked quietly.

"ONLY THE MOST TERRIFYING THINGS TO EVER EXIST!!" Jay shrieked, still hiding behind Nya and Kai.

Nya and Kai both winced at his volume and shrillness.

Morro sighed and gestured for them to all come inside. It had been a long day after all. "C'mon. I'll prep dinner."

"O- Okay..?" Nya said, glancing at where the chickens had fallen to, "… Are they gonna be okay…?"

"Unfortunately." Morro groaned. "I swear, the First Master made those things just to torment us."

"What are they..? Demon chickens..?" Kai asked warily.

"Specifically lightning chickens, but yes, essentially. Heaven forbid you try to exist around them when they get into your bedroom- speaking of which we need to install locks on all the doors in the Monastery." Morro swiftly turned to bolt towards the kitchen. "I'm going to put it on the fridge notes!"

Jay finally came out from behind Kai and Nya with a small sigh.

"… Well that was an experience." Zane said as he lifted the luggage bag up and brought it inside.

Kai nodded a bit, "Yeah.. An experience.."

"Well, who knows. Morro may surprise you like he did to me." Zane shrugged. "I would not know, considering I've only been here for just over a day, so…"

Jay nodded slightly "Oh he's full of surprises!" He shrugged, "He's like a super good cook and he makes plushies and.." Oh he's rambling now.

"He… sounds like he does a lot." Kai said nervously.

Jay paused and nodded quickly with a bright grin, "It's pretty cool honestly!"

"And you don't think it's… weird at all?" Kai asked.

Jay blinked, "Not.. really? It seems like it's just been him and Master Wu here for a long time so… I think he just needs stuff to busy himself!"

"Seriously?" He narrowed his eyes.

"If it is any consolation, I noticed on my first night here that Morro often sings outside when he believes everyone else is asleep." Zane looked back at them.

Jay paused, "… He does? I fall asleep really quickly. I never noticed..?"

"In all fairness, I think he does it most often in the middle of the courtyard." Zane set the bag down. "Then again, I do not know him as well as Jay does."

"I mean.. Yeah. That would make sense.." Jay nodded slightly.

Kai fidgeted, before he scowled. "Whatever. What rooms do we go to-?"

"I believe they're in the same hall as our rooms." Zane nodded. "I have to go put these clothes away anyways… so…"

"We'll show you!" Jay grinned, "Come on!" He grabbed Zane's hand and pulled him along, gesturing for the siblings to follow them.

Nya glanced at Kai, waiting for her brother to follow first.

To which, he did, though he wore an irritated expression. Morro could've at least told them it was going to be that long of a damn hike!

Nya followed after him, looking around as they went.

Zane gently tugged his hand out of Jay's grasp and made his way to his own room to put the clothing away. He waved slightly to the siblings and disappeared behind the door.

Jay paused a moment when Zane pulled his hand away, then he smiled at the siblings, "Your rooms are just a bit down the hall! This way!" He led them a bit farther down.

"Isn't it weird they have rooms set up for us…?" Kai asked quietly.

"A little.." Nya agreed softly, "It's… It's like they were planning to come get us… Or at least Morro was…?"

"Maybe…" Kai frowned.

"Right here!" Jay grinned, "Morro let me help out a bit with your rooms since we had a lot of spare time during the week Wu was gone getting Zane!" He explained brightly.

He squinted. "O-kay…?"

Kai slowly opened the door to his room and… there were a few plushies on the bed, tucked close to the pillows. Dragons, of course. The bookshelf was bare, save for a few books that'd been placed there - survival related and about different types of weapons and their practical uses.

"… What's with the dragon dolls…?" Kai asked.

Jay peeked in, "Morro made them for you! We made Nya some too!"

That made Nya curious and she went to her own room and opened the door. It was similar to Kai's right now, of course, though she had an otter plushie too alongside the dragons. She walked over and picked up the otter curiously.

Kai poked his head into her room. "An otter? Seriously? Why did Morro make us dolls anyways, we're not kids!"

Jay frowned a bit, "I mean.. You guys are like my age.. So you kinda are. " He said, "Also plushies aren't just for kids! Morro has a bunch too!"

Kai snorted. "Oh, this I gotta see."

Jay hummed a bit, "Uhh.. Maybe you can ask him later? I don't wanna just go in his room with permission."

"If you want to look upon the hoard, do it!" Morro called loudly from the kitchen.

Nya looked in the direction the yell came from, "… I think that was our permission." She looked back to Jay, "Lead the way dork."

Jay squeaked and went a bit red when she addressed him, "I- uh- Yep! This way!" He spun around and headed towards Morro's room.

As they walked towards the room, they passed by another room, of which, the door was slightly ajar. Kai stopped and poked his head in; it was definitely set up like a kid's room would be, save for the very absent messiness. It was… odd.

Nya paused when her brother did, "What's that room?" She asked, which made Jay stop too.

"It looks like a kid's room…" Kai said quietly, now more confused.

Jay looked back, "Oh! uh. That's for Morro's little cousin. Morro told me he's in a rough spot right now and he's really trying to get him out of it. He's been working on the room for a while." He explained, though his eyes were on Nya the whole time.

"Huh." Kai frowned. "How old's his cousin?"

"About eight or nine, I think he said." Jay answered after a moment of thought.

Kai hummed a bit. "So, the dolls in Morro's room?"

"Uh- Right! Yeah!" Jay tore his gaze away from Nya and led them the rest of the way to Morro's room.

Compared to the other rooms they'd seen, this room was by far the most lived in. The posters, the books scattered about and the desk with sewing materials in the corner, as well as… well… the obscene amount of plushies on his bed.

Jay stood by the door, letting Kai and Nya look into Morro's room.

Kai's eyes widened at the amount of plushies. "What did he call it again?"

"..The hoard." Nya said, her eyes just as wide as her brother's.

"I see why he calls it that now." Kai whispered. So many of them looked handmade - and almost all of them were placed carefully on the bed. "Did he make all of these himself…?"

"I guess so.." Nya mumbled.

"I think he did!" Jay piped in, "Or at least I haven't seen otherwise.."

"Huh…" Kai rubbed his arm a bit.

"It's so many.." Nya almost seemed in awe of all the plushies. She still had the otter plush in her hands. She held it a little tighter.

There was the sound of a bell ringing through the Monastery; dinner time.

Jay perked up, "Dinner time!"

Kai sighed, and nodded. "Right."

"Come on! I'll take you to the dining room!" Jay smiled and headed out of Morro's room.

Nya followed after him, she was quite hungry.

Kai frowned as he followed, still a bit wary as they entered the dining room-

Holy fuck that was a lot of food.

Jay grinned "Woah! This looks great, Morro!" He quickly went to his seat, clearly quite excited.

"Eh, it was nothing. Had to check the recipe book a few times to make sure I got the garlic bread done correctly." Morro said sheepishly, running his hand through his hair.

"You made garlic bread?" Zane asked as he stepped past Morro from through the kitchen.

"Yes- please don't cut through the kitchen!" Morro cried. "I haven't cleaned up after cooking!"

Jay grimaced, "Sorry, 'bout that! I forgot to mention that earlier. Don't use the kitchen entrance while Morro's cooking or right after he's finished. He's a bit of a neat freak."

"Uhuh… noted." Kai squinted.

Morro quickly shut the door behind himself and Zane, sighing. "Bad enough when Wu does it…"

"Master Wu often cuts through the kitchen while you're working?"

"Yes! I swear he's been doing it on purpose!" Morro groaned as he sat down. "He's a pain!"

Jay snorted a bit, "He's like your dad. Doin' it to get on your nerves."

Morro just stiffened and looked at him. "How did you know that?"

Jay blinked, "I- Huh? I was just making a joke, dude. What do you mean?"

The eldest took a deep breath. "Wu is my Dad! Legally!"

"Oh- Woah.. That. That makes a lot of sense now, actually."

Nya looked a bit confused, "It does?"

"Yeah! I mean you'll see when Wu gets back, but they, like, act a lot alike sometimes." Jay said, gesturing with his hands as if that was helping him make his point.

"I did notice this as well." Zane pointed out as he slowly loaded his plate. "That, and the fact that apparently Morro had yelled at him regarding sleeping arrangements prior to Jay and myself arriving."

"… He did?" Jay tilted his head a bit.

"Oh on my Grandfather's name where do I begin with how stupid the original plan was?!" Morro cried. "Okay, so at first he was going to have you guys share a room and I looked at him and told him that was stupid, you can't put a bunch of teenagers who don't know each other in the same room, someone's gonna get stabbed!"

Nya blinked, "He thought putting us all in the same room would be a good idea?"

"Yeah! And I mean, sure he hasn't been a teenager in centuries, but that still ain't an excuse and I told him that! Anyways I finally convinced him after like- a whole day of arguing to let you guys have separate rooms because putting you all in the same room would've resulted in disaster." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then again, he should've known that considering the stories I've heard about how bad Uncle and him acted when they had to share a room while entering their teen years."

"… Centuries..?" Kai questioned, "But.. You're only a few years older than us..?"

Morro winced. "Fuck, I wasn't supposed to say that- uh- just- don't worry about it, m'kay? Shit regarding this family is… weird."

Kai frowned heavily, that was… Weird.. That and… That photo Morro had shown him and Nya had looked really… Old.. The clothes in the photo had been odd too.. Old looking.. Not what people a few years ago would have worn… He looked suspiciously at Morro, his expression guarded and distrusting once again.

Morro just began eating, definitely in an attempt to hide… something. He looked uncomfortable and embarrassed.

Kai reluctantly sat down, as far from Morro as he could.

Jay quietly began eating as well, though he kept glancing between Kai and Morro.

Nya sat down beside her brother. She was still a bit on edge now, though she remained hopeful.

Zane was… already eating. He'd started when Morro had.

Nya glanced nervously at her brother before getting herself a portion, smaller than a normal amount and beginning to eat.

Kai refused to get anything.

Morro stopped and looked at both of them. He moved to get up and picked his plate up. "Y-You guys can continue without me. Just… let me know when I gotta wash the dishes."

Jay frowned worriedly, "But-… Okay.." He said quietly.

Morro stepped out of the dining room through the door to the courtyard. He shut it gently behind him, though some quiet, choked breathing accompanied by a loud wind whisking past the door made itself very known.

Jay looked down at his plate, picking at the remains of what was on his plate.

"… Morro would be telling you both to eat proper portions." Zane said plainly. He was looking at Kai and Nya, very clearly addressing them. "And he'd likely flick your head for picking at your food, Jay."

Kai grumbled and looked away. He still didn't get anything.

Nya glanced up, "I'll get more if I can finish what I have…"

Jay sighed and began to actually eat again.

A sudden slamming of the gates followed by an angry scream carried through the dining room door. It was… kinda obvious Morro was the one screaming.

Jay winced a bit and looked towards the doors, very clearly worried for Morro.

"… Master Wu said he did that often when he was frustrated… particularly with himself." Zane said, and continued to eat.

Kai glanced at the doors, then looked away again. He didn't care, that guy was basically a stranger. He was only here because Morro knew his parents at one point. He didn't need to care about anyone but Nya.

"… Why did he say centuries?" Nya asked quietly.

"… I don't know.." Jay said quietly,.

Zane also shrugged. "Master Wu did find me while I was underwater in a frozen-over pond. I didn't even know someone else could do something like that. It is entirely possible he's much older than we originally guessed, Jay."

Kai's gaze shot to Zane, "He found you when you were what."

"I was under a frozen-over pond while testing myself? I thought that was self-explanatory?"

"Why??" Kai looked genuinely confused and shocked, "That's like.. Asking to drown!"

"… I can also survive underwater holding my breath for a little over five minutes, if that helps." Zane said.

Jay's eyes widened and he looked at Zane now too, "Dude that's- That's impossible! Like actually not humanly possible!"

"Then explain how I did it."

"I don't know!" Jay threw his arms up, "But I know it isn't normal for you to be able to do that!"

"Have any of you considered that everyone in this place is strange? Like- the wind gets more intense whenever Morro seems upset! Zane's… like that- and!" Kai paused, staring at Jay. "I don't know what the hell your deal is!"

"My deal??" Jay seemed a bit offended, "What's wrong with me??"

"Okay, poor phrasing on my end, but you see it too, right?!"

"Obviously! But still- Everyone's a little weird!"

"To the point where the wind seems to respond when a specific person is upset?" Kai raised a brow. "Seriously?"

"I don't know! I'm very stressed out right now!!" Jay said shrilly.

There were several popping noises from the kitchen.

"Perhaps we should check on that?" Zane suggested.

Nya nodded a bit, "Yeah.. We should.."

Kai rolled his eyes and slammed the door open for his eyes to widen in horror as several electronic devices in the kitchen were smoking.

"What the fuck?!"

"That's not good." Zane quickly got up and moved to enter the kitchen. "Jay, please get the other fire extinguisher?"

Jay shot up and darted out of the dining room.

Nya's eyes were wide, "How did this happen?!"

"I do not know, but it did happen right after Jay got stressed." Zane pointed out as he lifted up the fire extinguisher. "Does this often happen with electronics when you get stressed?"

Jay slammed open the other kitchen door with a fire extinguisher, he was still very stressed.

Unfortunately Jay's presence just made things worse as the appliances near him began visibly sparking.

"We need to unplug them!" Zane shouted. "And get Morro or- Kai, help with the extinguisher!"

Kai held his breath as he went into the room that was filling with smoke. He grabbed the extinguisher from Jay and began to spray down the appliances.

Jay stood there for a moment, his brain trying to process it all, before darting out again. Morro told him where the breaker was, he just needed to shut it off and then get Morro. Shut it off and get Morro.

"Is it getting better or worse?!" Kai shouted.

"I cannot tell! Though I do know Morro is likely going to be pissed!"

Jay just about slammed into the door way of the room the breaker was in before darting over and shutting the kitchen off. Then he darted out again and ran by the kitchen and dining room to get outside.

Morro had seemingly finished his plate, and was sitting on top of the wall, silent.

Jay slammed open the door and proceeded to trip down the few stairs and land face first on the stones with a smack.

Well, it caught his attention. Morro looked back at him and slid off of the wall. He was quick as he got closer and lifted Jay up. "What happened-?"

Jay's nose was already beginning to bruise and bleed, "We- I- Kitchen! Sparks and smoke!" He squeaked out.

Morro's eyes widened in horror. He quickly took out his first aid kit. "Gauze is in the little packets! Do not use the alcohol wipes!"

He sprinted up the steps and got into the kitchen. He grabbed his oven mitts and put them on, unplugging all of the appliances that had sparked… thankfully not the oven or the fridge. Morro took a deep breath and opened the windows to the kitchen, allowing the smoke to vent out properly.

"I'll explain everything after I take care of Jay." Morro said firmly to the others. "Courtyard. Now."

He swiftly made his way back outside, only to find Jay struggling to open the packets of gauze. He sighed, and leapt down the step, kneeling down to take the gauze and help open it. "Easy… we just gotta stop the bleeding…"

Jay's hands were shaking a lot and he was struggling to calm his breathing. So much was happening. So much was happening.

"Shh…" Morro whispered. He carefully helped settle the gauze into Jay's nostrils before he pinched the bridge of Jay's nose. "You're gonna have to breathe through your mouth for a bit. I gotta stop the blood-flow, okay? You're doing great."

Jay managed a tiny nod, trying to breathe through his mouth. The most he was getting right now was small gasps as he tried to calm himself.

"I know. That was a nasty fall…" He said softly; Morro carefully ran his hand through Jay's hair. "It's gonna be okay… I'm not mad at you, I promise."

Jay leaned into the touch, his breaths stuttering and still full of small gasps, but he was starting to calm down.

Kai, Nya, and Zane had entered the courtyard, and were staring a bit.

It was a good ten minutes before Jay actually managed to calm himself. He slumped forward, just… So worn out now..

Morro sighed, and carefully held Jay. He glanced to the others, tense.

Kai stared Morro down, "What the fuck is going on here. What is with this place and weird shit happening."

"The hell do you think is gonna happen when you're literally in the First Spinjitzu Master's house?" Morro deadpanned.

"The- The what?" Nya's eyes widened, as did Kai's.

"That is highly improbable-"

"It's true." Morro sighed. "Master Wu is one of the sons of the First Spinjitzu Master."

"One of them?" Kai questioned, still looking quite shocked.

"… The eldest is my Uncle. Lord Garmadon." He did air-quotes when he said lord, and frowned. "He was banished to the Underworld several years ago after he tried to steal the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu. That map that was behind the sign of your family's blacksmithing shop was placed there by your Father after Wu had given it to him - it shows their locations."

"Oh.." Kai frowned a bit, looking away to consider all this.

"Wow." Was all Nya could manage.

He still kept support up for Jay, and grimaced. "Look, if Wu asks, I didn't tell you. Got it? Your parents were Elemental Masters. Ray had Fire, Maya had Water… and at some point Ice passed his to Zane… and Jay got his from Libber."

"I- That- … You're serious..?" Kai asked quietly.

"If you want me to fill a room with some candles and say shit that'll piss you off so we can watch the flames get bigger, we can." Morro replied dryly. "Still remember how Ray's temper managed to nearly set several rooms on fire."

"How did Jay inherit his?"

"He just… did. I'm not going to question it at this point. Elemental powers are fucking weird, man." He shrugged. "And believe me, I grew up around them."

"… How were you a kid in that picture..?" Nya asked, "That.. It looked like it was taken way too long ago to match up with how old you look…"

Morro winced. "Well… thing is… I've not been- fully honest about myself. Mostly because the entirety of Ninjago knows me to have been dead as of forty years ago, and I really don't want to have to fucking deal with the legal system."

"DEAD?!" Nya and Kai yelled at the same time.

"You try dealing with a bunch of posh know-it-alls who change your expedition gear last minute to something you can't even use as an eight year old." Morro groaned. "Worst experience ever."

"But… how are you alive now?" Zane asked.

"Good fucking question! I can't get that answer out of Wu or Garmadon! Neither of them would tell me!"

"That's… Wow…" Nya murmured.

Morro frowned. "… Well, now you know."

"And the one Wu is bringing back after this trip… who is it?"

"Cole Brookestone…" Morro said quietly. "Lilly's son."

"…What's his element..?" Nya asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Morro was quiet for a moment, before he finally forced out the response, "Earth."

"So… Jay caused the sparking and all that..? Because of his elemental powers..?" Kai asked.

"Yeah…" He frowned. "Elemental Masters who haven't unlocked their true potential have… an effect on their surroundings."

Kai and Nya thought back to every single time the wind had acted up when Morro seemed upset.

"…So… You have one too then, Right?" Kai asked.

Morro grimaced. "I… don't like talking about it… but yeah. I do. Inherited it when I was seven."

"Got it.." Kai nodded slightly.

"… Elemental Powers are typically passed down from parent to child, though if the Elemental Master has no living relatives or any offspring, it'll go to someone random; like in Ice's case…" Morro said quietly.

"But.. If both of our parents had Elemental Powers.. How do you know which I have, and which Kai has?" Nya asked.

"It's your attitudes. Kai is stubborn and quick to be brought to anger, and while this can also match water as well, the way it manifests is very… telling." Morro said gently. "Maya often had a go-with-the-flow attitude, though when she got angry? Stars above, best hope she's not angry at you."

"Oh.. So.. We act like the elements…?"

"I mean, you've heard Jay rambling. What do you think?" Morro chuckled.

That did manage to get a small smirk out of Kai, "..Fair enough."

"Truth be told… I don't remember much about what traits of mine are just because I'm the Elemental Master of Wind and which ones are just… because of me." He looked down. "Besides the fact that it's been so long since…"

He trailed off, now looking sad.

Nya frowned softly, "… Are you okay..?"

Morro shrugged. "Been a long time. Just… grief."

Kai and Nya exchanged a look but neither pushed him.

"Perhaps we should deal with the appliances that wound up damaged? Place them somewhere they won't be used?" Zane suggested.

"… My poor rice cooker." He whispered.

"… Sorry.." Jay murmured quietly. His first word since he had come to Morro in a panic.

"It's alright." Morro replied quickly. "Just gotta find one of a similar make to that one…"

Jay nodded a bit, sighing softly.

Chapter Text

Well, it'd been… a hectic seven days. Morro squinted as he stared at the old computer and scrolled through the store's kitchenware page.

"… I think it'll just be easier if we planned a trip to Ninjago City to buy it." Morro leaned back in the chair and turned around to face the others.

"To… The Ninjago City..?" Nya asked, a bit shocked.

"Uh… yeah?" He looked at them. "We sure as hell can't get stuff like what we need in the villages nearby, and I sure as hell can't explain to the poor postman why we're asking for a delivery that has several kitchen appliances when the mountain's staircase is like that."

"But- That's- It's Ninjago City!" Kai emphasized, "That's for like. The people who are successful and not.." He struggled with his words for a moment.

"Bud, it's just a City. A bigger village." Morro stood up and grabbed his keys out of his jacket pocket. "There's nothing that different aside from how it's constructed and how many people there are."

"But the village elders said-"

"Ap-ap-ap!" Morro turned to face him. "What's the magic rule? They don't know shit till they've seen it themselves!"

Kai still looked reluctant but sighed, "Okay.."

"Anyways, it's not like it'll take all day- okay it might, but still-" Morro stopped as the telltale creaking of the Monastery gates cut him off. He grinned. "Hold that thought."

As they entered the courtyard, Wu was very clearly talking with Cole, though he looked up as the others got closer.

He of course, eyed Kai and Nya, before he looked at Morro.

"What did you do?" He asked. He sounded… very much like a disappointed father.

"Well~ funny you should ask, Father." Morro put his hands together with a very tight grin on his face. "So, we went to Ignacia to get Zane some clothes since he had nothing with him, and Jay decided to run over to Four Weapons. We met Kai and Nya and I proceeded to nearly destroy the village so thus I am no longer legally allowed to go within a five mile radius of it~!"

"Morro-"

"And now we've got to plan a trip to Ninjago City because we lost the microwave and the rice cooker to a panic attack!" He grinned.

"… I leave for a week and everything falls apart." Wu pinched the bridge of his nose.

"In my defense, you thought I could handle it. The fact that the Monastery is still standing is a testament to the fact that I handled it." Morro insisted.

Cole cleared his throat. "Uh… Whose panic attack caused the microwave and rice cookers to be unusable? Because I'm kinda lost here."

"Jay's." Zane supplied.

"ZANE!" Jay cried.

Kai snorted and looked very amused by Zane's bluntness.

Nya simply sighed, already looking tired of being in a house full of boys.

"O-Kay then?"

"I take it you told them about their heritage against my warnings?"

"Who else was gonna tell them? My Uncle? Actually wait, he would do that, but he can't right now." Morro tapped his head in consideration. "… Hm…"

"We pretty much made him tell us after Jay's panic attack almost set the kitchen on fire." Kai deadpanned, while Jay groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Uh… yeah. We need to make the electrical system able to withstand an anxiety riddled Elemental Master of Lightning, Father." Morro said firmly. "This is a non-negotiable."

"I'll see what I can get done…" Wu sighed. "When are you all planning on going to Ninjago City?"

Morro glanced at Cole. "Well how ready can he get his stuff to his room and get back here?"

"Wait wait wait, we're going right now?!" Nya gaped.

"I guess so.." Kai huffed.

Cole glanced between all of them and grabbed his things before darting into the Monastery. "Which room?!"

"First one on the left in that hall!" Morro called.

By the time they got down the mountain, it'd been made very clear that Wu was going to be staying at the Monastery while they go on this road trip.

"So… Morro has a license?" Cole asked.

"… Here's hoping.." Kai grumbled.

Morro grinned as he tapped one of the buttons on his keyring, causing a section of the stone to move. "Tada! Secret garage!" He announced and walked over to the van.

Nya and Kai's eyes widened while Jay gasped.

"Woah! That's so cool! Who made it? How did they get it to be so well hidden? How long has it been here?" His questions just kept on coming..

"Uh, dunno on all three! Figured out the frequency to open it by complete accident!" Morro smiled weakly. "C'mon! We're burning daylight!"

The teens piled into the van. There was… A bit of shoving, on Kai and Jay's part.. And Jay ended up being shoved out of the van with Kai slamming the door afterwards.

"Do you two ever get along? Seriously?" Cole asked as he climbed into the front passenger seat.

"No." Kai decided, while holding the door shut as Jay tried to get in.

"If you two keep fighting, you're sitting in the trunk." Morro threatened.

Kai huffed but finally let Jay into the van.

Jay pouted and got into his seat, which was unfortunately right by Kai.

Morro started the engine and they were off!

As they drove through the mountainous terrain, Cole messed a bit with the radio, finally settling on one that was in the middle of playing The Weekend Whip.

"Ha! I love this song!" Cole grinned.

It wasn't long before Kai and Jay's banter started again.

Ten minutes later, Jay shrieked as Kai shoved him back, into the trunk area.

Morro grimaced and pulled to the side of the road, put the car in park, and looked back at them. "Jay, you're up front. Cole, sit beside Kai please."

"What- why do I lose shotgun?" Cole whined.

"Because Kai's being a brat and it's my car. Deal with him." Morro said sharply.

"Hey!"

Jay climbed back over the seats and tumbled to the floor. Cole rolled his eyes and got out of the front seat so he could move to the back.

Jay just climbed into the front seat, like a heathen, instead of using the doors.

And then there was Cole, using the doors and making his way to the back normally instead. He sat down in Jay's former spot and crossed his arms, looking out the window.

Jay struggled a bit to actually position himself normally but eventually figured it out and got settled.

Morro let out a quiet sigh, got the van out of park, and began to drive again. Hopefully there would be no more hiccups this way of the trip.

Jay began to fuck with the radio.

"Oh, come on! Everyone likes that song! It's catchy! What the hell, Jay?!"

Jay snickered at Cole's reaction, clearly entertained by the chaos he was causing.

Morro grabbed something - an aux cord, and brought it to his hoodie. All of a sudden, the music swapped back to The Weekend Whip as the eldest smirked. "Stop fucking with my radio."

Jay pouted, "Aw, come on! I was having fun!!"

"Kitchen rules apply to the car, Jay." Morro said sternly.

Jay stuck his tongue out at Morro and crossed his arms, slumping down in his seat.

After a long while of driving through the mountains, they finally made it to the desert. Morro pointedly kicked up the AC.

"Destiny is cruel but I'm not about to let us deal with desert heat in this thing."

"Destiny is cruel?" Kai questioned.

"Hopefully, you never understand why I say that." Morro said quietly. "In the event you do? I'm sorry."

That made everyone go quiet. That somber tone felt weird with the music that Morro had playing….

Cole broke the silence.

"So uh… what do you guys think of cake?" He asked.

"Cake?" Morro sounded surprised. "Uh… I'm not a big fan of sweets. Gotta be a particular flavor and texture before I even consider eating it."

"I like cake!" Jay responded but it was overlapped with Zane, Kai, and Nya asking, "What's cake?"

"You've- you've all never had cake before?" Cole looked shocked. "How have you guys even been living?"

"..Poorly." Kai said bluntly.

"… Okay I have to teach you guys my mom's recipe." Cole said firmly. "It'll be the best cake any of you has ever had!"

"It'll be the only cake we've ever had." Kai deadpanned.

Cole stared at him. "I'll look up different cake recipes. I'll get a cookbook. You're not going to miss out on this."

Kai sighed.

Nya and Zane, on the other hand, both look quite excited.

"Okay, you just better promise to put all the cookware back where you found it when you're done." Morro said. "Don't like it when everything gets fucked up."

Kai gained a bit of a smirk but quickly schooled his expression, "Whatever.."

"So, have you been to Ninjago City before?" Cole asked. "I mean, figured you might've since you're not using a GPS, but…"

"Oh, yeah. Loads of times." Morro replied. "Some of my friends and I go riding around when we have the free time. Helps clear the old noggin."

"You're a biker?" Jay asked curiously.

Morro chuckled. "Does a tea kettle shriek when water's boiling?"

Zane blinked, "I do not understand. What does that have to do with Jay asking if you are a biker?"

"It's- okay, bud. It's a common way people will respond to questions, by presenting another question that has a yes or no answer - the answer being yes in this case - will answer the original question." Morro explained.

Zane hummed a bit, "Ah I see. So you are a biker."

"Yep! Unfortunately, my bike's under repairs since I got into a bit of a tizzy last time." Morro sighed. "That fucking stupidhead…"

"Ah.. That sucks…" Jay said, "Who's repairing it?"

"Eh, one of my old buddies. Met 'em when I was first getting my motorcycle license." He shrugged. "She's cool, a bit of a jerk at times, but cool."

"You didn't answer fully." Zane pointed out.

"… Okay look I'm not the best with names, okay-" Morro's voice cracked a bit.

Jay frowned, "You trust them with your bike but you can't remember their name?"

"Bud, you try being dead for thirty years and not having memory issues afterwards." Morro deadpanned.

"What?!" Cole cried. "He's joking, right?!"

"I wish.." Kai sighed.

Jay smiled sheepishly, "Right… Sorry.."

"It is intriguing how you came back to life without having aged…"

"Ghosts don't age, buddy." Morro shrugged. "Plus, I was asleep most of the time while I was dead."

"Ghosts can sleep?" Nya asked.

"Apparently!" Morro shrugged. "Most of the time I was asleep, semi-conscious, or wide awake. And when I was wide awake was when you and Kai got brought over to the Monastery a few times."

"Please tell me he's joking." Cole whispered to Kai.

Kai shook his head, "Nope.." He said.

"What?" Cole whispered. "How? Those steps are stupidly steep!"

"Been saying that since I was seven!" Morro chimed in. "And yet! No new stairs!"

"Maybe I can use my clumsiness to our advantage! If I fall enough times, maybe then he'll fix them!" Jay suggested.

"Please don't do that for our sakes… I just dealt with your bloody nose…" Morro whined.

Jay shrugged, "It was just a suggestion."

"A dumb one!" Kai called up to them.

"I cannot argue with that fact." Zane said sadly. Though it was clear he had a smile on his face due to his voice.

Jay huffed, "Bullies.." He grumbled.

"Not bullying. Looking out for you." Morro smiled as they passed by a junkyard. "Hm. Hey Jay, wasn't that your parent's place?"

Jay's eyes widened and he glanced back at the four in the back quickly, "No! No, you must be thinking of someone else!"

"M'kay. Cause I do have to stop somewhere to find some parts to help get my bike back up and running…" Morro shrugged. "And that junkyard did look promising."

Jay bit his lip, now looking conflicted. "Oh.."

"I mean, if you don't want us to go, that's fine. I can just try my hand at other places and pray that I'm not gonna get absolutely socked in the face by falling material." Morro said plainly.

They were approaching the city.

Jay picked at some loose threads on his shirt, "I guess we can go."

"You're sure?" Morro glanced at him. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable, so… your decision, bud."

"Yeah, it's whatever.." Jay shrugged.

"M'kay. Just remember, if you change your mind, let me know. Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay.." Jay said.

Soon enough they pulled up to the store. "Alright, we go in, we get the rice cooker and microwave, we get out and then…" He turned back to look at them. "We stop at a clothing store so we can get you guys some more clothes. Got it?"

"… Why?" Kai questioned.

"… Honey, your parent's clothes are too big on you both, and Zane also needs more than seven day's worth of clothing. Also I'm not letting you both get away with having a tiny ass fuckin wardrobe." Morro deadpanned.

Kai blinked then crossed his arms and grumbled under his breath.

Morro rolled his eyes and stopped the engine. "Alright, everybody pile out. Let's go get these damn kitchen appliances."

Jay jumped out of the van, his hyper persona back up and going,

The others also got out. Kai grabbed Nya's hand and kept her close, warily glancing around at everything. So much was happening all at once, it was so different from Ignacia…

As Morro walked towards the shop, a young man stopped and stared at him. "Dude, what the hell are you doing all the way out here?"

"I thought you got my message that I'm still bound to the shackles of the beast until my bike gets out of the shop?" Morro deadpanned. "Seriously, Beck, I'm just here to replace appliances."

"Replace appliances- didn't you just get that rice cooker Tina recommended?" Beck asked.

"Yeah, but there was an… incident with the circuit. Gotta replace 'em since it's become a fire hazard."

Jay looked away, oh fuck. Not this guy, not this guy… He tried to shift back behind Zane so Beck wouldn't see him.

Beck glanced at Zane and unfortunately, noticed Jay, his expression growing to have that shit-eating smirk. "Oh hey, isn't that Jay Walker?"

Morro's stance shifted, as his did his demeanor. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, come on, surely you know, right?" Beck said. "Kid was born in a junkyard just out of town-"

"Don't fucking talk about him like that if you want your bike to not get trashed, Beck." Morro growled. "If I hear anything more out of your mouth like that about my friends, I'm going to make sure you suffer the consequences, is that understood?"

Jay's eyes widened. Morro was.. Defending him…?

"Dude, don't get all bent out of shape over it, it's not like I'm hurting him-"

Morro's stance shifting and the wind picking up was all the warning Beck got before he punched him in the face. The teen stumbled and backed up. "What the hell?!"

"Get away from my family." He growled, before he walked closer to him, practically looming. "You've seen me fight before… wouldn't you rather to not be on the receiving end of that?"

Jay's jaw dropped.

"Holy shit!" Kai hissed out, as Nya gasped a bit when Morro punched Beck.

Zane and Cole's eyes were both wide.

"You don't have the balls-"

Morro grabbed the collar of Beck's shirt. "Do I now? Because last I checked, you don't know how to fight… do you? And I'm not above breaking a few bones to prove a point… so why don't you take my advice…"

He slammed Beck into the wall harshly and held him there for a moment, the wind was whipping past them sharply. "And back off."

When he finally released Beck, the teen pushed Morro away and ran down the sidewalk.

Morro scoffed, and brushed his hands off on his pants. The wind died down to a small breeze, though he still looked a bit irritated.

All of the younger teens were in shock, especially Jay. He still couldn't believe Morro punched someone for him!

"Alright. Now that that's out of the way. Let's get that damn rice cooker and microwave." Morro smiled.

"You- What-" Kai was the first to speak again, yet his shock had not completely worn away.

"… What?" Morro asked.

"You punched him!" Jay got out, "For me!" As if that was just… Unbelievable.

"Yeah? Why wouldn't I have? Fucker had it coming for a while now and him picking on you was the last damn straw." Morro said firmly. "Gonna rat him out to Tina next meeting."

"But- Why for me???" Jay questioned, still absolutely baffled.

Morro crossed his arms. "Family."

"Uh… what?" Cole piped up. "Yeah uh, sorry I was confused by why you called us family and now you're saying it again-"

"Yeah! I'm not family! I'm just me!" Jay said.

Morro frowned a bit, and turned to enter the shop. "Let's just do what we came here to do."

Jay opened and closed his mouth a few times before giving up and just following Morro.

The other four also followed, all exchanging looks with varying degrees of confusion.

The trip into the appliance store went off without a hitch. As it turns out, the store owner knew Morro, which meant things went a little smoother.

Though, of course, after they got the microwave and rice cooker into the trunk, Morro had moved their attention to the clothing store that was across the street.

"Is this necessary?" Cole asked. "I mean, it can't be that bad-"

Morro stared at Cole. "It's that bad."

Kai sighed, "It really isn't" He grumbled.

"Honey, your guys' wardrobe is the size mine was when I first arrived at the Monastery. It simply will not do." Morro announced.

"Really? I thought it was fine.. We just wash them everyday.." Nya said quietly.

"I-" Morro took a deep breath. "Look. You guys deserve to have your own things. Also… the chickens love to mess up clothing. So if you leave anything unattended and they find it? All hell will break loose and you'll lose that piece of clothing."

"…Noted.." Kai said.

"I do not see why I need more though?" Zane said, "I understand Kai and Nya because they only have about two outfits, but I have about a weeks worth. Is that not enough?"

Morro took a deep breath. "Variety is a healthy thing to have. Like with foods…"

"Oh.. I suppose that makes sense." Zane accepted.

"Besides, you guys didn't get to have your experimental dressing phases and I am going to rectify that." Morro smiled.

"What does that even mean..?" Kai asked.

"It's like when you put two different conflicting kinds of clothing pieces together." Cole said plainly. "Believe me. I did that before…"

"No- I- I got that.. What's rectify..?" Kai asked, shrinking in on himself a bit.

Morro stared at him for a moment before he spoke softly. "… It means to correct…"

".. Okay." Kai nodded slightly, "… Thank you.." He mumbled.

Morro smiled a bit. "No problem. Now, shall we?"

Jay darted in before anyone could say anything, clearly very excited about this.

"And… there he goes. Weren't we going to do buddy systems?" Cole asked.

"… Yes… yes we were." Morro rubbed his temples. "I swear…"

Kai snorted a bit, "Welp.. Guess we're never seeing him again."

"No, no, we'll find him." Morro sighed. "I know how to get him."

"How?" Zane asked.

"Remember when we were in the kitchen talking about Starfarer?" Morro looked back at him with this dead expression.

Zane hummed a bit, "Yes, I believe I remember that."

"And I said something that caused Jay to slam the door open while shouting objection? Yeah. That."

"Ah! I see. You are going to summon him with a false statement!" Zane smiled.

The other three teens were heading inside now too, they had no idea what those two were talking about and they weren't sure they wanted to.

Morro nodded and opened the door. "Anyways, after you, my friend."

Zane hummed a bit, "Thank you." He walked in.

Morro walked in behind him and… wow, did they expand this place since the last time he'd been here? It definitely looked like it!

"This is quite an impressive store.." Zane commented, "Much bigger than that one in Ignacia.."

"Well… it's in a bigger town with a larger population. Happens." Morro shrugged. "So, where do you want to look first?"

"..I am not sure. I have not been in a big store like this before."

"Well… then how about we just walk around. See what catches your eye?" He suggested.

Zane hummed slightly, "I am fine with that." He nodded a bit.

Morro smiled. "Lead the way, then, Zane."

Zane smiled slightly and began walking, just heading a random way.

Morro followed, smiling. A little well of pride rose up in his chest, making his heart ache a bit.

As they walked they passed Cole, Kai; and Nya, as Kai and Nya shot down another one of Cole's suggestions. Cole wilted slightly, he was trying his best.

Morro glanced over. "Hey, Cole? Wanna join Zane and I? I think Kai and Nya can pick out what they want on their own, bud."

Cole sighed a bit, "Yeahh.." He walked over to the two, "I don't think I was being much help anyway.."

"They're not used to it." Morro said gently. "Give them some time, it's hard to accept help when you've been alone as long as they have."

Cole frowned a bit, glancing back at the siblings with some worry.

"They'll adjust… they always do." He smiled sadly.

That didn't seem to reassure Cole at all.

Zane was waiting patiently, quietly watching them talk.

Morro glanced at one of the racks they were passing and paused a bit. "Hm…"

Cole and Zane paused as well.

"What is it?" Zane asked curiously.

Morro narrowed his eyes and took a bit of the fabric in his hand, it was definitely a dress. "Mm.. material's okay. Definitely not something I could stand for longer than three hours though…"

Cole stared for a moment, "..That's a dress though..?"

"Who said dresses had to be for girls?" He raised a brow. "It's just another article of clothing."

"But- I mean.. People are gonna look at you weird.."

Morro sighed. "There is much we have to teach you, my friend."

Zane had wandered further into dress section, looking at them all. They interested him and some of them looked quite comfy.

Morro glanced back to Zane and smiled a bit. He moved over to follow him. "Anything catching your eye?"

Cole followed as well, considering Morro's words.

Zane shrugged softly, just glancing around. He didn't know what to choose, there were so many options. It had been much easier when Jay was choosing for him.

Morro set a hand on his shoulder. "Try feeling out the fabrics. Seeing which ones you think would be the most comfortable for long periods of time. That's usually what helps when I'm stuck."

Zane hummed a bit. "Alright.." He glanced around, gently felt some of the ones that caught his eye.

Morro waited patiently with a smile, he could still hear the bickering of Kai and Nya from across the store. And Jay was likely looking around. He could hear the screeching of the hangers against the racks in the distance.

Zane paused at a light blue dress. It had long sleeves and appeared to go down to a few inches below the knee. He liked the texture.. He liked this one.

"That one?" Morro asked with a smile. "I think it'll look great on you, bud."

Zane smiled a bit and nodded. Then he paused as he realized he didn't know what size to grab.

Morro tilted his head and smacked his own head with the realization. "Okay, so what we usually do… start with a size that may work - let's try a large for example-"

He took the dress off of the rack and held it up, gently pressing it against him. "You want the shoulders to be able to match up as best as you can get them to…" Morro frowned a bit before he sighed. "The large would work but we'd have to do some alterations. You good with that?"

Zane nodded slightly, "Yes."

Morro grinned and handed him the dress. "Great. I can work on it when we get back to the Monastery."

Zane looked quite happy, "Alright."

Cole smiled a bit, he was glad they had found something for Zane.

"Morro? That you?"

Morro looked past Zane and waved slightly. "Hey, Demitri. Looking for stuff for Pip?"

"Trying! They won't give me specifics and it's driving me up the walls… when the heck's your bike getting out of the shop? Katy said that it should be fixed by now."

Morro grimaced. "There were… complications."

Demitri groaned. "Man! Well, hopefully we won't need ya for another race soon. But if we do, you know I'm up to send you out with mine."

"Hey, I'm not going to use your bike, dude. You know that thing's controls are way different than mine."

"They're both bikes!"

"And I'm an idiot!" Morro laughed. "Ah- also, these are my new housemates. Demitri, meet Zane and Cole."

The young adult waved a bit at them with a small smile.

Zane waved politely with a small smile, while Cole let out a "Hey."

"Also… any clue as to why Beck is blowing up my inbox?" Demitri asked.

"Because he decided to bite off well more than he could chew and got clocked in the face for it." Morro said with a false sweetness, which caused Demitri to wince.

"How bad?"

"I was the one who punched him."

"Oh." Demitri's eyes widened. "Yeah… uh… I'll talk to my sister 'bout it then. See what we can do."

Zane hummed a bit, "I do hope some consequences are had.. Jay was trying to hide behind me when he noticed Beck. I do not believe that was their first encounter…"

"Jay- as in Ed 'n Edna's kid? Fucking… I'm gonna kick Beck's ass the next time I see him." Demitri grumbled.

"Don't. I think I scared him enough." Morro said simply.

"Are you kidding? It's the one rule- the one rule! We don't pick on kids! We don't pick on anyone unless they're hurting others! That's the rule!" Demitri hissed. "And he broke it!"

"It's said and done. Don't do anything brash-"

"Ohoh, I'm gonna do something brash and you can't stop me, bucko." Demitri began to walk past them. "See you at the next meeting you can make it to."

Morro grimaced. "… He's gonna kill him."

"What?!" Cole gaped.

"Not really. But uh… definitely gonna scare him halfway to the cursed realm." Morro shrugged. "Demitri works at a horror attraction, so anytime he puts his practical effects skills to use? Horrifyingly accurate results."

"Oooh.. That sounds quite fascinating." Zane said.

"It is. It's also… very unnerving." He shuddered. "Anyways, let's get back over to Kai and Nya, see how they're doing."

"Probably haven't gotten far.." Cole commented.

"True…" Morro sighed, as they began the trek over to where the siblings were still bickering.

"That's obviously too expensive, Nya! He'll never let you get it!"

"Oh like you know anything! Maybe he'll be nice for this one thing!"

Nya was holding a red blouse. It was flowy and had a tie in the front.

Morro tilted his head. "You guys do know the budget's like… at least two grand, right?"

Kai's gaze shot to Morro, "What."

"Uh… yeah? Did I forget to say it this time?" Morro asked quietly. "Yes, I did. Fuck."

"Two grand is… A lot.." Nya said, "That's way too much to spend on us.."

Morro crossed his arms. "Well, you're family… so… deal with it."

"… So, does that mean I can get this blouse..?" Nya asked.

"So long as it's a material you like and it's something you want? Go for it." He gave a thumbs up.

Nya grinned, "Awesome!"

Kai glanced over at Zane and made a face, "What's with the dress?"

"… Well, it caught my eye." Zane explained simply.

"Dresses are for girls though." Kai said, "Not guys."

"And who made up that rule?" Morro asked. "Seems just like a way to control people if you ask me. Besides, dresses are cool."

"But-" Kai tried.

"Ap-ap-ap! One day you will see my closet and you will know that I give zero fucks about what other people think." Morro smiled.

Kai huffed, "Fine, whatever.."

"Alright and… three.. two.." Morro grinned. "Starfarer is confusing and the lore makes no sense!"

Jay was there within seconds, with a cart full of stuff, "EXCUSE ME!?"

"Hi, Jay." Morro still had that grin. He did that on purpose. "Glad to see we could find you."

Jay blinked and huffed, "Hi.." He was clearly still miffed about Morro's Starfarer comment.

He simply reached over and gently ruffled his hair. "Just did it to make sure we knew where you were."

"He did say he was going to do it." Zane pointed out.

Jay stuck his tongue out at Morro and swatted his hand away.

Nya giggled a bit.

Jay's gaze darted to her and he flushed a bit.

Morro took his hand away, glancing between them a bit before he cleared his throat. "Okay, so… what's with the cart?"

Jay grinned, "I picked out stuff for everyone!" He said, clearly very proud of himself.

"M'kay… should we take a moment to pause? Make sure everyone likes what you picked out? 'Specially since some fabrics are… iffy at times."

Jay blinked and nodded, "Okay, yeah. That makes sense."

Kai stepped over to the cart and raised a brow. "So… which stuff did you decide to pick out for me?"

Jay pointed to the stuff in the front left corner of the cart, "That stuff!"

Kai narrowed his eyes as he rummaged through a bit. Morro frowned as he noticed a bit of a grimace cross Kai's face before he shrugged. "It's alright."

"Oi." Morro said firmly. "I saw that."

"… Saw what?"

"One of the clothing items is of a material you don't like. Which one?"

"They're all fine." Kai crossed his arms.

Morro set a hand on his hip. "If they were all fine you wouldn't have grimaced. Which one isn't passing?"

"They all "Pass". They're fine. I didn't grimace!" Kai argued.

"Kid, it's fine if you don't like something, we can just put it back." Cole rolled his eyes. "Seriously, we're not judging you because you don't like a kind of fabric, that'd be stupid."

Jay nodded, "Yeah it's fine dude! What was it, I'll run it back!"

Kai hesitated before reaching into the pile and rummaging a bit before pulling out one of the pairs of pants. "…These.." He mumbled.

Morro gently touched the fabric briefly before he made a face. "Yeah those things are not of a worthy material."

Jay snatched them out of Kai's hand, "I was iffy about them too, but I wasn't sure so I just threw them in. I'll go put them up!" And… He's gone.

Morro took a deep breath. "Alright, everybody else check."

Nya stepped forward next, easily finding her pile next to Kai's. She rummaged through it, looking at and feeling everything.

Morro hummed quietly, waiting patiently as he watched her.

Nya got to a pair of jeans. When she was feeling them, she frowned a bit.

"… It's the seams, isn't it?" Morro deadpanned.

Nya looked at him and nodded slightly, "Yeah.."

"Of course it is." Morro sighed. "It's always when the jeans aren't made with the same quality and causes them to get worn out after a much shorter period of time and-"

He stopped and took a deep breath. "Sorry."

Nya shrugged a bit and set the jeans aside to be put back.

Zane stepped up now, looking at the third pile of clothing. He began going through. He didn't really have a problem with any textures.. then he came across a pair of skinny jeans. He frowned slightly, examining them.

"Jeans too, huh?" Cole asked.

"They.. I do not like how restricting they seem to be.." Zane said.

"Yeah. Then that's a fail on that front." Morro shrugged. "It's okay, not everybody has the same tastes or the same comfort levels."

Zane nodded slightly and set the jeans with the ones Nya didn't like.

"And that should be it… Cole, you sure you don't wanna get anything?" He looked over at him.

Cole shrugged "I'm fine."

Zane glanced back at the cart, "You may not have a choice. It appears Jay picked out stuff for you and Morro as well. There are two more piles in this cart."

Morro's eyes widened. "Oh shit, there is."

Kai snorted, "Well.. Look through it." He gestured slightly.

He sighed, and moved over to check his pile. He hummed a bit in surprise. "Wow. No horrors."

"Well, Jay has known you a bit longer than the rest of us.." Zane commented.

"True… the war with the chickens was rough."

"The what?" Cole asked.

When no answer came from Morro, Kai sighed, "He ain't gonna tell you.. Just look through your pile.."

Cole made a face, but moved over to check his pile. He grimaced at a few of the clothes and pulled them out of the pile, setting them with the offending jeans.

"There."

Jay came back at this point, "Anything else I gotta take back?" He asked.

"Sadly." Morro picked up the clothing and handed it to him.

Jay took the pile and was off again, disappearing to the places he found the clothes.

Morro smiled a bit, and stretched. "So, how would you guys rate today's trip out of ten?"

"Zero." Kai said immediately.

"Okay, your response is noted but as it's very clearly the response of a little shit, I'm gonna have to ask you to be truthful here." Morro smirked.

Cole covered his mouth as he giggled.

Zane smiled with amusement, "I think the trip has been rather nice.. A nine, I suppose."

"Seven." Kai grumbled.

"Eight." Nya shrugged.

"About a seven.. kinda wanted to punch Beck too." Cole said quietly.

Morro gave a thumbs up. "Alrighty then."

Deep down, though, he felt an anger stirring in his heart. Jay had been afraid of Beck. That meant that Beck must have hurt him before. That he'd knowingly stuck with the group while still being an asshole and-

He a took a deep breath. The wind that was whistling past the storefront slowed. It was fine. Everything was going to be fine. If Beck messed with Jay again, Morro would probably beat him to hell and back. No problem.

Nya and Zane set their blouse and dress in the cart with their respective piles.

Soon, they were loading all the bags into the trunk of the van.

Kai was still in shock about how much Morro had spent on them all.

Meanwhile, of course, Morro was marking each of the bags so that they'd all go to everyone's respective rooms. He was humming quietly.

Jay had been sent to sit in the van. He was slouched down and pouting.

After a bit, they'd finally gotten it all loaded in, and Morro closed the back door. "Alright! Everybody pile in!"

He quickly moved past them to get to the driver's seat; he quickly rummaged through his pocket and grabbed the keys. Morro glanced back at the others as they piled into the back.

They all piled into the same seats as they were in on the drive there.

"You still up for stopping by your parent's place?" Morro asked.

Jay nodded quietly, "Mhm..!"

"Alright." He turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking spot, soon turning back to go they way they'd originally entered the city from.

This time the car ride was a bit less chaotic. At least until Jay decided to start fucking with the radio again.

Morro pulled the van to a stop and shut off the engine.

Jay paused, looking at Morro with confusion in his eyes.

"Why'd we stop?" He asked.

"We're here?" Morro said. He unbuckled his seat belt and climbed out of the van.

"… Oh." Jay slowly climbed out of the van, with the others. He stayed quiet.

Morro walked around a bit, though he was seeming to struggle with finding Ed 'n Edna. Obviously, he wasn't going to take any spare parts without paying so…

Jay stayed towards the back of the group. His anxiety was making him jittery. They were all gonna think he was so lame…

Suddenly the trailer door opened, "Well hi there, kiddos! What can I do for you?" Edna walked down the steps and over to the group.

"Hello, Edna." Morro waved slightly. He had a hand in his pocket, a little tense, though for what reason, the others likely were unable to pinpoint.

Edna's eyes widened, "Morro? Is that really you, deary?" She quickly went to him, her eyes wide.

"Yeah… it's me." Morro said weakly. "Sorry I hadn't visited-"

Edna cut him off with a big hug, holding him close and tight.

Morro squeaked a bit and hugged her back. "Ok- hi."

"It's so good to see you again, kiddo.." Edna released him after a moment, "Oh, let me go get Ed! He'll be delighted to see you again!"

"Okay-" He smiled weakly. Though that old pain in his heart lingered, it was lessened a bit.

Edna rushed off, "Ed! Ed, dear, you need to come here!" She disappeared between some piles of junk.

Cole walked over to Morro. "So uh… what was that about?"

Jay's eyes were a bit wide. His parents knew Morro.

"It's uh… it's complicated." Morro said quietly.

"Complicated how?!" Jay asked, "How do you know my parents?!"

"Look- it's a long story!" Morro hissed. "It's also- very difficult to explain because a lot was happening at the time!"

Jay shrunk back a bit, his anxiety clawing at his mind and his thoughts racing, "… Sorry.." He mumbled.

"I-" Morro ran his hands through his hair. "Look, I'm nervous about this too, okay? It's not exactly easy being back here and…"

Jay nodded a bit.

Edna came back, pulling Ed along with her, "See! He is back!"

Ed's eyes widened, "Well, would ya look at that.. He is back."

Morro nodded sheepishly. It was a little odd, seeing him this shy. The wind was blowing softly, though it was clear was keeping his hands shoved in his pockets to try and keep himself calm.

Ed walked forward and gently pulled Morro into a hug like Edna had "It's good to see ya again, kiddo."

Morro practically melted into the hug, trembling a bit as he moved to hug him back. "'m sorry I didn't visit- I didn't think that you'd w-want to see me again and-"

Edna frowned softly, "Oh, honey.. You're always welcome here.. You're family."

Morro sniffled a bit, and nodded. "Uhm- also- kinda need some parts for my bike. Got into a nasty accident a few weeks ago and Katy's havin' the worst time trying to scrounge up anything salvageable from it…"

Ed smiled slightly, "Take whatever ya need, bud."

The teens were all just… Quietly watching.

Morro nodded a bit and let go. "Also uh- Jay's adjusting well- found Kai and Nya and I'm definitely not allowed to go anywhere close to Ignacia after that incident."

Ed and Edna both raised their eyebrows.

"What'd ya do?" Ed asked, not sounding all that surprised.

"Well uhh.. as it turns out, the folks in Ignacia weren't that good with Kai and Nya and left Kai to basically be the adult of the house after Ray and Maya disappeared and you can just imagine how I reacted upon hearing that-"

He took a deep breath. "No I didn't stab anyone this time, thankfully."

Ed sighed, "Well, at least no knives were pulled."

"Kai and Nya are with you?" Edna glanced over at the teens behind Morro, "Oh.. And Cole too.. You three have grown so much.."

"Uh… what does she mean by that…?" Kai asked quietly.

Jay shrugged, "I don't know!" His voice was a bit shriller.

Edna laughed softly, "Kai, hun, I first met you when you were an infant. Nya and Cole as well! Oh, you three were so small back then.."

"Well, guess that answers that question." Cole said quietly.

Zane shifted a bit, he remained close by Jay, silent.

Edna's gaze shifted to Jay and then Zane, "Oh, what's your name, hun?"

"I'm Zane." He replied curtly.

"Oh, well, it is very nice to meet you Zane!" Edna smiled softly.

"It is nice to meet you too." He said with a small smile.

Edna hummed a bit, "So are you an Elemental Master too, deary?"

"I… do not know."

"I mean being able to sit under a frozen pond while holding your breath for the whole time is pretty telling." Jay commented.

Ed looked Zane up and down, "He does remind me quite a bit of that Ice fellow."

Edna nodded slightly, "I was thinking that!"

Morro glanced between them and took a deep breath. "Can we- talk in private really quick? I… have some questions."

Ed and Edna exchanged a look. Edna smiled softly, "Of course, dear. We can talk in the trailer."

Morro nodded a bit. It'd still been so long… he felt stiff just being near them.

Ed and Edna led Morro inside the trailer, leaving the younger teens outside.

Morro took a deep breath, and looked to them. "Did- did you guys find out what happened to Libber? A-Anything at all?"

Ed and Edna were quiet for a moment, then Ed sighed.

"We haven't anything since before she left Jay on our doorstep and Cliff stopped contacting us…" Edna said softly.

"We wish we could tell ya anything.. But we don't know.." Ed looked apologetic.

Morro nodded a bit as his eyes began to fill with tears. "R-Right… Right- 'm sorry… just… hard adjusting- knowing almost everyone's gone…"

"We understand, dear.. Wu sent us letters about everyone.." Edna gently set a hand on his shoulder.

Morro sniffled a bit and rubbed at his eyes. "I'm just- not sure if I can face Lou if it comes down to it…"

Ed nodded slightly, "We heard how he spoke about Elemental Masters after Lilly's death.. "

"I'm surprised to see Cole's here." Edna said, "I didn't think Lou would let Wu anywhere near him…"

"From my understanding, Cole had run away a few months ago." Morro said quietly. "Keeps telling him he's going to that dance school in Ninjago City."

"And he didn't want to..?" Edna guessed.

"Considering Lou? I'm not surprised he didn't want to."

Ed nodded a bit, "I wish we'd known! Coulda offered the boy a place here.."

Morro frowned. "Well.. you know how he got after…" He trailed off, his voice felt heavy again.

Edna hummed softly, "Yeah…"

Morro took a deep breath. "Uhm- can- can we look for the parts now? I think if I keep talking any longer I won't be in any state to drive everyone back to the Monastery."

"Of course, bud." Ed smiled slightly, "Let's go find those parts."

Morro smiled a little, and moved over to the door, though he stopped as he heard very obvious scrambling from behind the door. He frowned a bit, but steeled himself, opening the door- and they did not even bother to try covering their footprints. Nice.

Ed and Edna were right behind him. "Oh dear.." Edna said, noticing the footprints.

Morro sighed. "Nosy little menaces…"

"We can handle that in a moment. Let's get the parts and give ya a chance ta calm down." Ed said.

He nodded, and moved to pull his hair back. "It's the suspension that we need. Katy's good at makin' it work, it's just.. the old one got totaled."

Ed nodded slightly, "We have a bunch! I'll show ya where we keep 'em."

"Oh thank goodness." Morro breathed. "You guys are awesome."

Edna chuckled, "You're too nice sweetheart."

Ed smiled, "They're in one'a the back piles! Come on."

Morro nodded and followed Ed further into the junkyard, he remained a little on-edge… mostly due to the fact that the group had listened in on them.

"… Well, that was… an experience." Zane said quietly.

'That's one way to put it.." Kai mumbled. He glanced at Jay, who had not made a sound since they had ran away from the trailer.

"I mean- at least it wasn't… extremely bad news…?" Cole asked. "I mean sure, it was bad, but… Jay, your folks care about you. I can tell. And- and I'm sure your Mother had a- a good reason…"

Jay didn't respond, curling further into himself and looking away.

Zane shuffled over and carefully hugged Jay. "It is going to be okay."

Jay shifted and buried his face against Zane.

Nya sighed softly, "… That's a shitty secret to keep.. I can't believe Morro knew.."

"I quite frankly, cannot believe he didn't tell us." Zane commented. "He often explained a lot about those he'd once known."

"It's stupid that he didn't say anything. Now look at what's happened!" Kai gestured to Jay, who was still buried against Zane and shaking a bit.

"… Maybe he was having a hard time trying to figure out how to tell him?" Nya suggested. "I mean- I can't speak for all of us, but he does sometimes seem to stop when he's talking, like he's trying to figure out how to say something before giving up."

"..He has done that quite a bit." Zane said, "Especially when he is talking about those he knew in the past."

There was a gentle knocking on the door of the van.

The teens all looked over and Edna was there, with a small frown on her face.

Cole was the closest to the door, "Should I..?" He looked to the others for permission to open the door. Did they want to let her in?

"… Jay, I believe this is your decision." Zane said softly, as he gently nudged him.

Jay peeked up, looking at the woman who he had believed was his mother. He hesitated, then nodded a bit before burying his face against Zane again.

Cole reached over and opened the door for Edna.

"Hello, kiddos.." She said softly.

"Hi, Mrs. Walker…" Nya said quietly.

"Hello, ma'am.." Zane said softly.

Edna let out a small sigh when no one else responded, "I just wanted to come check on you.. And apologize for whatever you all heard.."

"… So it's true?" Kai's voice raised slightly, he sounded angry. "Jay's not your son?"

Edna nodded slightly, "He isn't our son.."

Jay clung tighter to Zane.

"Then why did Jay's mom leave him at your doorstep?! And how the hell does Morro even know you two?!" Kai's voice got louder. "And why didn't you tell him?!"

"Ah, you didn't let me finish, hun.." Edna said softly, not seeming surprised nor upset by his anger, "Jay's our grandson. Libber, his mother.. She was our daughter.."

Kai grew quiet. "… Then what the hell- why did she leave Jay?"

Edna sighed, "We don't know.. We just woke up one night to Jay swaddled in a carrier on our porch. When we checked the cameras we saw that Libber had left him there and left quickly. She didn't tell anyone where she was going.. And no one has heard from her since…"

"… And Jay's biological father?" Zane asked.

"He had been very upset about Libby's disappearance, and couldn't take Jay back. And then.. He stopped contacting us." Edna explained.

Jay had shifted a bit and was looking at Edna now. His cheeks were damp from tears.

"… Why do you think Morro kept it a secret?" Cole asked.

"Wu wanted it to be kept a secret, he wanted to find Libber.. I'm sure he still does.." Edna said softly, "And Wu raised Morro so.."

"… So it's Wu's fault?" Nya finished, looking quite miffed.

"Sure sounds like it." Kai said dryly. "How much else do you think he's keeping secret?"

"… Wu is a man of many secrets.." Edna said softly.

Cole frowned, crossing his arms.

"That's great and all, but have you considered we've had enough of secrets?" Kai suggested.

"This is getting quite annoying.." Zane admitted softly.

"I wish I could tell you more.. But Wu didn't tell us much either." Edna said apologetically.

Cole groaned. "I just got here."

Nya sighed and crossed her arms.

"… -And of course the evil little bastards somehow managed to learn how to open doors! They opened my bedroom door, Ed! My bedroom door! Insanity!" Morro's voice trailed into the van from outside, getting closer.

"Well that is just horrible!" Ed commented, "I'm real sorry that happened, bud."

Jay shifted closer to Zane once again.

"Yeah… then I had to launch myself out the door while the chickens were chasing me! Wound up with more electrical burns thanks to that and then boom, knocked 'em off of the wall."

"Well at least ya got rid of 'em!" Ed patted his shoulder.

"Yeah… think Jay's scared of the little shits now though." He sighed. "Here's hoping they learned their lesson after I launched myself up the wall and punted 'em one more time."

Ed laughed a bit, "Uh huh."

All the teens had gone silent as the two walked up to the van.

Morro had moved over to the back to get the parts loaded into a compartment where they wouldn't rattle. He closed the trunk afterwards and sighed.

"I just… wish Father didn't have to keep so many secrets… even from me." Morro said quietly.

"I know, kiddo.." Ed said gently.

The teens had begun shifting into proper seats. It seemed they'd come to silent agreement, as they moved. Zane and Nya stayed in the very back with Jay while Kai and Cole took the two middle seats. No one sat in the front passenger seat…

Morro took a deep breath as he got into the front seat and set his key in the ignition. The wind picked up slightly outside the van, but it stilled once more. When he got the van started, he rolled the window down. "I promise when we visit next, I'll bring one of my batches of soup over."

"We'll look forward to that!" Edna smiled.

Morro nodded, and got the van back onto the road. He remained silent as they got through the desert… hell, he couldn't even bring himself to put the radio on.

The teens were quiet too. Jay had curled himself into Zane's side. Nya was rubbing his back gently. Cole and Kai had shifted to face the back more than the front.

"… I didn't want to keep it a secret." Morro said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"… It's okay.." Jay mumbled, " It's not your fault…"

"It is." Morro said firmly. "I could have told you sooner, but I didn't. The blame rests solely on me. I am not my Father."

"… Are there any more secrets we should know..?" Nya asked softly.

"… There's an odd chance of the two Elemental Masters of Time appearing at some point soon, so… there's that. At least I'll get to stab the shits this time instead of being held back." Morro grumbled.

"Well.. That's better than nothing." Cole said.

"Mhm." Morro said as they began to enter the foresty region. "Just hoping I have more of a reason to stab them than just the fact that they betrayed the Elemental Alliance. And the fact that they're both assholes."

Kai snorted a bit at the blunt comment at the end.

Jay managed a little smile.

They soon slowed as they approached a sign that read Darkley's School for Bad Boys.

Morro's expression turned to a glare. "Should I do it?"

Jay paused and looked out the window to see the sign, "… He's talking about his cousin.." He murmured to the others.

"Do it." Kai said immediately.

Morro turned his turn signal on and turned to go up the hill towards the school. "Fucking bet."

As they approached, he swerved to avoid several different traps, cussing quietly as they got to the top of the hill. He took the key out of the ignition. "Alright. I'm going in and getting Lloyd. Cole, do you have a license or not?"

Cole blinked, "No.." He answered.

"Well, shit. Do you think you can at least handle driving this thing back to the Monastery if things go south?" Morro asked.

"Umm.. Maybe..?" Cole said unsurely.

"Okay. Good." He tossed the keys towards him. "I'll be right back - but if I'm not back within thirty to forty-five minutes? Go."

"I- Okay..?" Cole said, just barely catching the keys.

Morro got out of the van, and stormed towards the front entrance of the school. He, of course dodged a water balloon trap. Fucking amateurish.

He got to the entrance and slammed the doors open. "I am here to see Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, is that understood?!"

The guy at the front jumped when the doors were slammed open but quickly regained his composure, "Uh huh? Why?"

"He's my cousin." Morro said sharply. "I'm here to take him back home."

"Riight.." The guy looked uninterested, "Blood relation?"

Morro reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife. "Don't make me use this." He growled. "I am sick and tired of that kid being stuck in this piece of shit institution."

"…Mhm.." He sighed, "Just go up." He gestured to the elevator.

Morro put his knife away. "Thanks for understanding." He walked over to the elevator and pressed the button.

The guy didn't respond, just going back to whatever he had been doing beforehand.

When the elevator finally arrived, he glanced back. "Which floor?"

"Six." The guy mumbled.

Morro growled a bit. "Fucking liar."

He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor. As the elevator door closed, he pulled his bandana over his nose and mouth, grimacing at the smell of the elevator.

"What do you fucking know, a school that raises kids to be little monsters and they don't even have proper sanitation… I'm gonna kill them."

As elevator went up the horrible music began to play. Morro scowled as he put his headphones on and plugged in his MP3 player.

He tapped his foot impatiently, anger building with each second that the elevator seemed to take too long. He could feel the wind outside getting worse. He didn't care.

Soon the elevator finally dinged and opened up on the fifth floor.

He stepped out quickly, and made his way to where the shared dorm room was. Morro steeled himself for a moment before he sharply knocked on the door.

There was obvious scrambling and shouting inside before the door opened and something was launched out, missing him entirely.

He slammed the door the rest of the way open, causing several of the boys to shriek. "Where's Lloyd?"

No one spoke for a moment, but a couple boys did point towards the back.

Morro stepped inside and walked past them, determined to bring his young cousin back home.

Lloyd had scrambled to hide behind some of the bunks the moment this stranger said his name.

Morro, however, spotted his mess of blonde hair. "Pack it up, Squirt. It's moving day."

Lloyd popped up immediately, "Morro?!"

"Who else would be ballsy enough to drive up this frickin' hill?" Morro grinned. "C'mon, got your room set up back home and everything."

Lloyd immediately scrambled to get his stuff together, clearly excited to leave.

Morro waited patiently, though he did notice several boys glaring at them. "By the way, the back seat might be a bit cramped, just as a heads up."

Lloyd shoved his stuff into a backpack, "Whatever!"

Morro chuckled and held out his hand for his little cousin. "You ready?"

Lloyd nodded and simply ran past Morro and out the door.

The older cousin simply shook his head with a smile and bolted after him. "Wanna take the stairs?"

"Duhhh.." Lloyd said, "The elevator stinks right now." He huffed

Morro grinned, and opened the door to the stairwell as he scooped Lloyd up. "Three… two…"

He leapt over the railing and landed safely thanks to his elemental powers acting as a cushion. And of course, Lloyd was safe in his arms. "Safe!"

Lloyd shrieked when Morro jumped, and clung to his cousin. He blinked when Morro spoke again and looked around, then he glared at Morro, "You rotten cousin!"

Morro cackled and set him down. "C'mon, you used to like it when I'd jump off the bed when I was holding you!"

"That wasn't five floors!" Lloyd smacked at Morro's arm.

Though, all that did was make him smile and gently ruffle his hair. "I missed you."

Lloyd melted a bit, "…I missed you too.." He mumbled huffily.

Morro pulled his bandana down. "Let's get to the van. Warning, the back is crowded."

"Crowded..? There are other people with you?" Lloyd looked curious.

He nodded. "Try not to be a little menace, m'kay? I gotta drive, you know."

Lloyd grinned, "No promises."

"And that's the little stinker I know." Morro gently noogied him as they walked outside.

Lloyd giggled a bit, but swatted Morro's hand away.

As they got to the van, Morro waved to Cole, who'd moved to the front seat just in case. "We're clear! No need to drive without a license or adult in the car!"

Cole immediately got out and moved to the passenger seat.

Morro opened the van door with a smile. "Lloyd, meet Kai, Jay, Nya, Zane, and Cole."

" 'Sup."

"Hi!"

"Hi there."

"Hello."

"Hey kid."

Morro unceremoniously scooped Lloyd up and set him into the van, causing the nine year old to hiss disapprovingly.

Jay snickered a bit.

Lloyd pouted, "Why don't I get the front seat!"

"Because I do not trust you for the life of me with the radio. Besides, I don't want to get pulled over for child endangerment." Morro said firmly.

"Laaaame.." Lloyd huffed.

Kai snorted, "I like this kid."

Morro smiled. "Buckle your seatbelt and wear it properly or I'm gonna hide creepy crawlies in your room."

Lloyd scrambled to buckle up as soon as Morro mentioned creepy crawlies.

The eldest shut the van door and made his way to the front seat, getting in and buckling up. "Alright! Who's ready to explain to Wu that I don't give a fuck about what he thinks we should be doing?"

All the teens in the car raised their hands, and soon after Lloyd did too.

Morro grinned and started the engine. It didn't take long for them to get back onto the road, and Cole began to mess with the stations as soon as Morro was clear of any traps in front of them.

There was actually some chatter this time round, not really any tension anymore.

"So… was Darkley's as bad as Morro described it?" Zane asked.

Lloyd grimaced, "It sucks!" He huffed, "My first night there someone put fire ants in my bed!"

"They what?!" Morro snapped, his grip on the steering wheel becoming tight.

"Dude, don't get angry at the steering wheel when you're the Elemental Master of Wind." Cole deadpanned.

Morro took a few deep breaths. "I am going… to be calm. I am not going to send a tornado the direction of the school. I am not going to do that."

"It kinda sounds like you're gonna do that.." Kai commented, to which Nya reached forward and smacked his arm.

"I would be doing that if I wasn't trying so fucking hard to keep the car steady." He squeaked.

"Yes.. I think we would all prefer to not crash.." Zane said.

"Mhm!" Morro's voice sounded strained. He is. So going to wreck the training equipment later.

The teens and Lloyd were quiet now, not keen on accidentally saying something that would upset Morro more.

Soon enough, they got to the bottom of the mountain, where the hidden garage automatically opened. Morro sighed and parked the van, leaning back in his seat. "Holy fuck…"

"… I'mma tell Uncle Wu you cursed in front of me." Lloyd commented idly.

Kai covered his mouth to muffle the snort that occurred when the kid said that.

"He can't ground me, go ahead." Morro said dryly in response.

Lloyd huffed. Then he rolled down the window and hopped out that way.

Morro squeaked in fear as he rolled the window back up and shut the car off. "Get back here, you!"

The other teens went around the back and began getting the bags from the trunk while Morro went after the gremlin.

Lloyd snickered as he used his small size to evade his cousin.

"You little stinker! I'll revoke candy privileges for a week!" He said sharply.

Lloyd gasped in offense, "You wouldn't!"

"I would. And I'd tell Wu you're not allowed to have candy for a week. And we'd hide it where you can't find it." Morro grinned.

Lloyd glared at him, "… No."

"No we won't? Or no, you'll behave?" Morro asked gently.

"… No."

The teens began snickering.

"… I'm taking it as the former, then." He groaned, before finally sagging. "You know you get away with being a little menace too often."

Lloyd grinned brightly, "I know!" He giggled.

It was at that that Kai just doubled over in laughter.

Morro sighed and gently ruffled Lloyd's hair. "You're taking a shower when we get up there, you know that, right?"

Lloyd bit at Morro's hand, "NO!"

"Buddy, your hair is greasy. You need to shower. You're gonna get overstimulated like I do and then it's gonna be a mess for everyone." Morro said softly.

Lloyd glared at Morro and darted away again, going around the van and to the teens.

Morro groaned a bit, running his hands through his hair before he moved to get the stuff loaded into the elevator that led up to the Monastery.

Kai finally regained control, only giggling a little bit as he glanced over at Lloyd. "You're a riot, kid."

Lloyd grinned, "Thank you! I know!"

"Please don't encourage him…" Morro said quietly.

"Oh I'm gonna encourage him plenty!" Kai called.

Lloyd giggled and latched himself to Kai's leg, sticking his tongue out at Morro.

Morro's expression was dead as he stuck his tongue out back at his little cousin in retaliation.

"Perhaps we should get upstairs now..?" Zane suggested softly.

Morro nodded as he sent the elevator up. "Yeah… who's taking the squirt?"

Lloyd remained attached to Kai's leg.

"… I guess I am." Kai shrugged and soon turned to walk, awkwardly with Lloyd of course still latched onto his leg. "Alright, c'mon, Lloyd!"

Lloyd took a bit of mercy on Kai and scrambled up onto the teen's back.

Nya smiled a bit.

"Oh, hell yeah! Race you guys to the top!" Kai shouted as he bolted off, cackling loudly.

Lloyd also began laughing, absolutely loving this.

Jay gasped indignantly, "Cheater!!" And he took off after Kai.

When they finally got to the top - okay, how the fuck did Morro get there so fast and also- dude, the training equipment! He was going at the punching bag, evidently having set the equipment to only be the centerpiece parts so the others could get past him.

"Okay, you totally cheated." Kai commented.

"Not cheating if you don't wanna play." Morro hissed as he landed another blow on the punching bag.

Lloyd frowned a bit.

Nya and Zane exchanged a worried look.

Cole simply walked past him. "Uh… where did that elevator lead to?"

"Kitchen." Morro stopped the punching bag from swinging. "Wu probably got all the stuff out of it. So… Y'know."

"Right.." Jay said, gesturing for everyone to follow Cole's example and just walk by.

Zane walked past, though he did seem concerned still.

Nya followed after Zane, pulling Kai along with her.

The center sliding doors opened sharply, causing the group to jolt, even catching Morro off-guard.

"Morro, what the hell did you do?!"

"Oooooooo."

Morro stepped around the punching bag to look at him. "Got Lloyd. Why?"

"You know why-"

"Ap-ap-ap! I don't wanna hear it! First it was not getting Kai and Nya, then it was not getting Lloyd back from Darkley's, then it was keeping Jay in the dark about his parents, I am done! You hear me?! I am done keeping secrets and I am done with your bullshit, Father!" He snapped. "Lloyd's first day at Darkley's had him getting fire ants put in his bed, did you fucking know that?!"

Wu stared in shock, before he tensed up. "I didn't-"

"You knew how bad of a school it was and still left him there!" Morro snarled. "You, of all people!"

"Morro-"

"I don't want to talk to you!" Morro snapped. "I don't want to talk to you at all for the next week, is that fucking understood?! If I change my mind later, then I do, but as of this moment? I am not in the mood for this!"

"Can you just-"

"You know why I kept going into Uncle Garmadon's room?! Because I was fixing it so that Lloyd could use it!" He screamed. "And you still said we couldn't go get him! Well, look what I did! I got him out, no damn problem!"

"Morro, stop yelling-"

"Just leave me alone!" Morro snapped. "I don't want to hear your voice right now, Wu!"

Wu grew silent, and left the courtyard.

Morro remained there, and soon sat down on the ground, pulling his legs to his chest. Deep breaths…

He couldn't stay mad at him forever. He knew that… but it still- it hurt. It hurt an unfathomable amount.

He buried his face in his arms, muffling his already quiet sobs.

The yelling had stopped. Kai glanced at the others, and released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"It wasn't windy that time." Zane pointed out.

Lloyd was staring at the ground. They were arguing because of him..

"Yeah.. The air was almost.. Eerily still.." Cole agreed.

Kai sighed. "Hey, Lloyd? Bud? How about we get you to your room, okay? We can pick out some clothes that you can wear after your shower too, if you want."

Lloyd couldn't even find it in himself to argue about the shower this time, "Okay.."

Kai took his hand and led him down the hall to his room. He gently slid the door open and let go of his hand. "From what I know, he worked real hard on this…"

Lloyd stepped in and looked around the room.

There were a few poster frames that hadn't been hung up, though one had been hung up. A Starfarer poster. There were a bunch of plushies on the bed, and the blankets were soft.

On the nightstand, there was a framed picture; one from when Lloyd had turned three, it seemed. Morro was slightly out of frame as a little Lloyd had a big smile on his face as he hugged a new plush toy.

The bookshelf was full of different kinds of books, lots of them action books and a few training guides that Morro had clearly annotated based on the amount of sticky notes poking out of the top, and several comic book collection volumes were placed there. It was clear a lot of thought went into this.

Lloyd smiled a bit as he looked around. It was so much better than Darkley's and so much more than he'd expected. He walked over to the bed and grabbed one of the plushies. He stared at it for a moment before hugging it tightly.

"The Starfarer stuff is from Jay. I'm not really into it but eh…" Kai shrugged. "He said something about the stuff Morro reads being 'too dark' for kids, whatever that means."

Lloyd looked over at the bookshelf, and then the one hanging poster. He smiled a bit.

"… So? What do ya think?" Kai asked.

"I love it!!" Lloyd grinned.

He smiled, and leaned against the doorway. "I'm glad."

Though, he heard the slam of the door down the hall, and glanced out to spot Morro making his way to his bedroom door, looking exhausted.

Lloyd came to the door when he heard the slam.

"… He'll be okay, little man. Don't worry." Kai gently ruffled Lloyd's hair.

Lloyd frowned a bit, "Okay.."

"So… wanna check your closet? Kai asked.

Lloyd perked up a bit and he nodded, "Yeah." He went to his closet, curious about what Morro had put in it.

Kai walked over and sat down on the floor. He was curious too, considering neither himself nor most of the other teens had seen what was inside.

Lloyd opened his closet up, looking inside it.

There were several different t-shirts. They were definitely older than the rest of the clothes inside. Graphic tees for some bands and old cartoons that he had watched with Morro when he was little. The rest of the clothing seemed newer than those, picked specifically for Lloyd instead of being hand-me-downs.

"Woah…" Lloyd looked at all the clothes in awe. Clothes just for him. That no one would take.

"And he wasn't kidding when he said he'd filled it. Goodness." Kai chuckled. "Seriously, I will never understand your cousin."

"It's all awesome!" Lloyd grinned, and reached for one of the older shirts.

"Those ones are hand-me-downs, huh?" Kai asked. "Seems softer than the other shirts."

"Yeah! They must've been Morro's!" Lloyd pulled the shirt down.

Kai glanced at the graphic on the shirt, very clearly being an old band shirt… "Yep. Definitely one of Morro's."

Lloyd looked at the graphic, curious on what the band was.

"The Royal Blacksmiths… Huh. Never heard of them." Kai shrugged.

Lloyd shrugged as well, " I dunno. I didn't have a radio or anything at Darkley's."

Kai nodded. "Me either. Was too busy trying to take care of Nya and keep up with the bills…"

Lloyd grabbed some pants and glanced over at Kai, "Oh."

"Yeah." Kai shrugged. "It's… not as bad now. Especially since we're living up here, but we do have to deal with Jay's constant yammering."

Lloyd giggled, "He talks a lot?"

"Oh all the time. Morro mentioned once that the previous Elemental Master of Lightning did too, but I'm pretty sure at this point that it's a family thing."

Lloyd snickered and grinned. He was liking this place a lot!

"Also, Cole arrived today too, so I'm not entirely sure what his deal is either." Kai shrugged. "But he's chill from what I can tell."

Lloyd nodded, "Got it!"

There was some sort of loud discussion going on in the hall now. It was definitely Cole and Jay.

"Huh. Say their names then boom they appear."

Lloyd giggled, "Like Beetlejuice!"

"Yeah, like-" Kai paused and stared at him for a moment before he sighed. "Yeah, you're Morro's cousin alright."

Lloyd grinned, "Yeah, it's great."

"Only reason I know what it is is because I've been here for a week and Morro's been listening to it non-stop." Kai groaned. "Seriously! I've caught him listening to it like- sixteen times."

Lloyd snickered, "He likes it."

"I can tell." Kai ran his hand through his hair a bit. "Frickin'… anytime he's listening to one song in particular he gets really quiet and shuts himself in his room. I dunno why though."

Lloyd shrugged, "I dunno. Did ya try asking him?"

"The guy's like a foot taller than me and appears out of thin air, no I haven't tried asking him."

"So… You're scared of him?" Lloyd tilted his head.

"I watched him punch someone in the face today, but no I am not scared of him. Just a little intimidated is all."

"It sounds a lot like you're scared."

"I am not scared!" Kai's voice cracked.

Cole poked his head in the doorway. "What's Kai scared of?"

Lloyd glanced at Cole then looked at Kai, a mischievous grin growing on his face.

"No-"

"Kai is scared of Morro!" Lloyd said looking back over at Cole and now Jay too.

"I mean- his temper is pretty bad." Cole shrugged. "I don't blame him."

Jay snickered a bit, "It's still funny though!"

"Is it? I mean, dude, he punched a guy in the face this morning." Cole pointed out.

"He had it coming!" Morro shouted from down the hall.

"You guys haven't seen him when the chickens get into his room." Jay said.

"Doesn't he hate the chickens?" Kai asked.

"He's also terrified of them!" Jay grinned.

"You don't know true fear until you see one of those little shits open a door!" Morro yet again called from his room.

"Okay, seriously, what's the thing with the chickens?" Cole asked. "I don't get it."

Jay stared at Cole, "They're terrifying,"

"They're lightning chickens." Kai said.

"First of all, that's not a thing. Second of all, it sounds to me like you guys are just trying to mess with me." Cole said.

Jay solemnly patted Cole's arm, "Let us hope you stay innocent, my friend."

Cole just stared at him for a moment. "Dude, quit acting like you just got outta college."

Jay stared at him, "Those chickens will take years off of your life.."

"I mean. Can confirm, and I haven't even gone face to face with one." Kai spoke up.

Jay nodded a bit.

Lloyd was looking between the older teens, "… You guys are weird."

Kai looked at him and smirked. "Thanks for noticing."

Lloyd blinked, "Uh- You're welcome..?"

"Anyways… you should go take a shower, squirt." Kai pointed out. "You're a lil stinky."

Lloyd huffed, "I smell fine!"

"Tell you what, we can prep a bubble bath. I spotted some soap for it in one of the closets." Cole said.

Lloyd perked up a bit, "..Really..?" He looked quite hopeful.

"Yeah. C'mon, we can go find it together." Cole smiled.

Lloyd ran over to him, looking pretty excited, "Okay!"

And off they went to check the closet near the bathroom. The soap bottle was placed on one of the middle shelves, easy enough for Lloyd to reach up and snatch it.

"And that's the soap! I'll go get the bath ready, okay- ah- warm-ish water or…?" Cole asked.

"Warm water!" Lloyd said immediately.

Cole gave a thumbs up and went into the bathroom. The sound of the bathtub filling was a little loud.

Lloyd peeked in, watching Cole and making sure he wasn't gonna tamper with the bath.

He didn't, simply adding the soap for the bath and giving a thumbs up to Lloyd. "All good. I'll let ya get cleaned up now."

He stepped past Lloyd after turning off the water, and left the room.

It'd been a bit. Lloyd was sitting in the tub still, pouting as he tried to think of a way to get his hair cleaned. It wasn't that bad but he knew that Morro was right about the overstimulation bit. He leaned against the edge of the tub in frustration.

Kai was coming to check on the kid. An hour was a long time to be in the bath.

Lloyd finally whined in frustration and buried his face in his hands. "What the fuck am I s'pposed to do about my hair?!"

Kai paused, frowning softly. He knocked on the door, "… You good, kid..?"

Lloyd grumbled a bit. "Yeah! Totally not trying to figure out what the heck kinda soap I need to clean my hair!"

"… You want some help?" Kai offered.

"… As long as you promise not to tell anyone that I don't know how to wash my own hair." Lloyd said quietly.

"I promise, kid." Kai said sincerely.

Lloyd sank a bit in the tub. "… You gonna help or what then?"

Kai walked over, "Yeah, yeah.. Calm down." He looked at the shampoos and stuff before grabbing the one labeled for Lloyd.

Lloyd looked at it. "… So that's hair soap?"

"Shampoo, but yeah kid." Kai nodded.

Lloyd turned around and waited, occasionally moving his hands a bit to make ripples in the soapy water.

Kai knelt down and got to work, starting in a similar way to how he did Nya's hair before she could.

Lloyd made a face at first. "It feels weird."

"Yeah, it will at first. But I know what I'm doing. I used to wash Nya's hair too." Kai said as he gently scrubbed the soap into Lloyd's hair. He then paused when he felt two bumps on the kid's head.

Lloyd stiffened a bit. "… They're sensitive." He said quietly.

Kai immediately moved his hands away and went back to getting the soap in, "Sorry kid." He apologized. He needed to ask Morro about that later..

"It's ok… they started growing in a few years ago. I think it's a lil stunted because I didn't get to clean up properly all the time…" Lloyd mumbled.

"Well.. Maybe they'll grow properly now." Kai said, gently scratching at the kid's scalp.

Lloyd seemed content now, leaning his head back into Kai's hands.

Kai smiled a bit, continuing and carefully avoiding touching the horns too much.

"Thanks, Kai…" Lloyd yawned.

"Of course kid.. Can you lean your head back a bit..? I don't wanna get soap in your eyes." Kai said softly.

Lloyd nodded a bit and adjusted accordingly.

Kai carefully scooped water into his hands and began rinsing the shampoo out.

"Blegh- some got into my mouth-" Lloyd complained.

Kai paused and sighed, "Maybe you shouldn't move when I'm trying to rinse your hair." He snarked.

Lloyd took his hand out of the water and flicked some water at him. Revenge.

Kai sputtered and glared at the kid. Then he reached into the tub and gently splashed some water at the kid.

He yelped and turned to splash a bunch of water at Kai. RETALIATION!!!

Kai yelped as he got soaked.

Lloyd snickered, a lil grin on his face.

Kai huffed, "Brat."

Nya poked her head in, "What are you two doing in here?"

"War!" Lloyd declared, still wearing that grin.

Nya looked at Lloyd, who still had soap in his hair, and Kai, who was now soaked. She sighed, "I'm getting Morro.." And then she walked off.

"Oh shit." Lloyd hissed.

Kai tensed a bit, "What?"

Lloyd remained quiet as Morro stepped into the room with an exhausted expression. "Seriously? Seriously?"

"… The kid started it." Kai said.

"Did not!" Lloyd gasped in offense.

"I don't give a shit who started it." Morro reached up and grabbed the shower wand before he turned on the water. He set it to a calm setting and moved over to rinse out Lloyd's hair as the little shit groaned in annoyance. "Just… tired today."

"You're no fun."

"I'm fun when I'm not exhausted. And right now? I'm exhausted." He said simply and soon put the shower wand back up after turning off the water. He pointed at the drain plug. "Pull this out when you're done and make sure you dry yourself off with your towel. It's the green one on the rack. Got it?"

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at him as Morro helped Kai up and out of the room.

Kai grimaced as his shirt and pants stuck to him because of how soaked they were.

"Go get changed. I put the laundry basket in your room and got your new clothes put away." Morro said quietly. "I'm gonna go lay down again…"

"Oh. Uh, alright." Kai nodded a bit, he was quiet for a moment, "… Sorry we bothered you.."

"… It's not a problem." Morro replied. "Just… emotionally out of it right now. I'll be fine in a few hours, but until then? Need to pick my brain apart and put it back together."

Kai frowned slightly, "Okay..?"

Morro stared at him for a moment. "I'm going to take a nap." He clarified.

"Ah, got it." Kai nodded a bit.

Morro gave a slight wave to him before he turned to leave to his room, yawning quietly as he entered. The loud thud was the indicator that he'd flopped onto his bed.

Kai quietly went to his room. He shut the door behind him, and went to his closet. He stared at all the clothes. It would feel weird to wear something that wasn't his father's.

But at the same time, Jay did pick out a set of pajamas for him.

Kai stared at the pajamas for a moment. Then he grabbed them with a small sigh.

They were soft and breathable, definitely meant to be worn regardless of what the weather was.

By the time he finally got changed, there was a quiet knocking on his door. "Yeah?"

Lloyd's voice came through the door, "We're having a plushie competition!"

Kai opened his door. "Seriously?"

Lloyd nodded "Yes!" He looked very serious and very determined.

"… Guessing we're doing this in the living room then?" He asked.

"Yep!" Lloyd nodded with a grin.

"What's the limit on the plushies?" He asked, the image of the hoard was still fresh in his mind.

"Two!" Lloyd answered easily.

"M'kay. I'm guessing I'm the last to know?"

"No! I still gotta tell Morro!"

Kai sighed. "Alright. I'll get over to the living room while you tell him."

"Awesome!" Lloyd ran off, heading for Morro's room.

Kai looked back at his bed and grabbed two of the plushies, before he walked to the living room with them in his arms.

The other teens were sitting in a semi-circle, talking quietly. Zane seemed to be meditating with his plushies having been stacked on top of his head. Likely thanks to Jay.

"So uh… Plushie competition…?" Kai asked.

"Guess so.." Cole shrugged.

"I think it's fun." Nya smiled. "Though, I am a little worried since Morro has so many. Might take him a while to pick only two."

"That just makes it more fun!" Jay grinned, "We have no idea what he'll choose!"

"Indeed." Zane commented with a slight smile, though he opened his eyes. "Also Jay, please stop putting my plushies onto my head, it's difficult to focus."

"Hmmmm… Nah!" Jay snickered.

"You're a menace." Kai commented as he sat down.

"I know!"

There was a bit of commotion from Morro's room, likely Lloyd attempting to badger him to come out.

"Think the kid's struggling with that?" Cole asked.

"Probably, Morro said he was gonna be napping just before Lloyd got out of the bath." Kai said.

"Yikes." Nya grimaced. "Here's hoping Morro doesn't launch a pillow at him."

Zane hummed a bit, "That would be unfortunate.."

There was a loud yelp from Morro's room followed by, "Okay! Okay, I get it, damn!"

Jay snorted, "I think Lloyd did the launching."

"Huh."

It didn't take long for the two cousins to finally join them, though Morro had brought one of his pillows along with his plushies.

Kai snickered a bit, "Nice of you to join us, Morro."

"He threatened to headbutt me after hitting me with my pillow." Morro mumbled and dropped the pillow before he promptly flopped onto the floor, his head resting upon it.

Jay cackled, "Nice job kid!"

Lloyd grinned and sat beside his cousin. "Alright! We're all gonna put our plushies in the middle and say their names and their backstories! Then we decide who'd win in a fight!"

Morro snickered quietly. "Little menace…"

"Wait, wait- Names and backstories?" Kai questioned, looking incredulous.

"Yeah! You don't just have plushies and not give them a name and story!" Lloyd huffed. "That's like. Plushie rule number one!"

"… There are plushie rules..?" Nya said, confused.

"Yeah-!" Lloyd glanced at Morro who made the sign signal for 'no,' "Oi! You're the one who started this!"

"I was a kid-"

"And? You still are! Don't make me headbutt you!" Lloyd threatened again.

Morro sighed and buried his face into his pillow. "I'm not going to argue that logic…"

Jay snorted.

"Soo… Plushie rules?" Kai questioned.

"Yeah!" Lloyd smiled. "Like how some plushies are good at fighting monsters in the dark! Or how some of them check under your bed for ghosts and bad guys!"

Morro nodded a bit. "Naming plushies is also super important. Gives them an identity to grow."

Nya and Kai both listened. "… Identities..?" Kai questioned.

"Plushies are like… little guardians! They help with sleeping and when you're really scared! Like Morro's plushies do!" Lloyd smiled.

"Not all of them are because I'm scared…"

"Yeah, but I know the one Dad made you is because you get scared! It's why it's a dragon!" Lloyd argued.

"Yeah…" Morro sighed and hugged the plush close.

Kai huffed a bit, "Well, mine don't need that. I don't get scared."

"But what if you do get scared by something? And you just don't know what scares you yet?" Zane suggested. "It would be wise to have something to help with that."

"I'm not a kid. I don't need help like that." Kai said stubbornly

Morro stared at him. "Bud, you do realize that I'm the oldest one here outside of Wu, and even he has plushies, right?"

"He does?!" Lloyd gasped.

"Yeah! I made most of 'em!" Morro grinned. "Caught him holding them while meditating a few times."

Kai scowled, "That- That's different. I don't need plushies."

"Dude." Cole looked over at him. "It's just another way to handle things that stress you out. So what if it's a little… odd. Nobody in this Monastery is normal by any stretch of the word."

Kai stared at him for a moment before throwing down the plushies he had and storming out of the room. He grumbled something along the lines of, "None of you fuckin' get it.."

Nya sighed quietly, her gaze falling to her lap.

Zane frowned as he watched Kai leave. "… That's… not good."

"Definitely not.." Jay agreed quietly.

Cole sighed and set down his plushies. "I'll go after him."

Zane sighed a bit, "Alright."

Cole left the room, and walked down the hall to Kai's room. He gently knocked on the door. "Kai?"

"Go away!" Came the muffled reply.

"I just want to talk." Cole said. "Look, I know it's… overwhelming. But… it's supposed to be something to help."

"I don't need help! I'm not a kid!"

"I get that you're not a kid, but we all need help at some point! That's how we survive, you dork!" Cole said.

"But- No! I have to be strong so I can take care of Nya!"

Cole groaned. "Are you on your own in this? Seriously, do you think you're alone in keeping her safe?"

"Uh yeah! We're only here because Morro knew our parents!"

Cole opened the door slightly. "And you know that's not the only reason, Kai."

Kai was on his bed, curled up and facing away from the door, "Says who!"

"… Zane told me that Morro got really angry when he found out that nobody in Ignacia had tried to help you both." Cole said softly. "And that it's why he brought you both back here."

Kai was quiet at that, though he still refused to look at Cole.

"… Look, I know I haven't been here long, and I don't know you as well as the others, but suffering in silence isn't the answer. If we're all gonna be stuck living under one roof, we might as well talk properly instead of bottling it all up." Cole walked over and sat on the edge of his bed.

Kai glanced over at him. He had tears forming.

Cole looked at him and held out his arms. "If you need a hug, I'm right here."

Kai looked hesitant, he didn't know if he wanted one… After a few moments of non-movement, he finally shifted over and quietly leaned against Cole.

Cole carefully hugged him, and rubbed his back a bit. "I gotcha, man."

Kai quietly hid his face against Cole.

"… You wanna brainstorm names for the plushies or do you just wanna sit here?" He asked softly.

"… Just sit here for now…" Kai mumbled.

"Okay." Cole replied. He remained steady, and eventually began to untangle Kai's hair. He was quiet, a calm presence.

Kai relaxed a bit as Cole began untangling his hair.

After a little while, Cole started humming. It was an old tune, something that'd been on the radio a few times.

Kai glanced up at him, curious about the tune.

"… One of my Dad's songs. Mom used to sing it to me when I was upset." Cole said gently.

"…Your dad makes songs?" Kai asked quietly.

"Yeah. He buried himself in his work after Mom died though…" Cole grumbled.

"Oh.. I'm sorry.."

Cole took a deep breath. "It's fine… It- it happened a little while ago. Just… wish he'd given himself more time to grieve properly."

Kai nodded a bit, "Yeah.. That sucks.."

"… Do you remember much about your folks?" Cole asked gently. "It's- it's okay if you don't, just wondering."

"… Not much.." Kai admitted, "… I was only five when they left."

Cole frowned. "Sorry…"

"It's whatever.. I'm over it now." Kai huffed.

"M'kay. Whatever you say, man." Cole sighed, still holding him carefully.

Kai was quiet again now. He would never admit it, but Cole's hug was actually really comforting…

"… Think they're still doing the little plushie competition or that they're waiting on us?"

"… They're probably waiting.." Kai mumbled.

"You still wanna stay here for a bit longer?" Cole asked.

"No… We can go back out.." Kai sighed.

Cole let go carefully, like he was still worried. He stood up and held out a hand for Kai.

Kai took Cole's hand, keeping his gaze down.

Cole led them out of the room and back to the living room. Jay's voice was audible in the hallway, clearly explaining the plot of one of the various Starfarer movies. Lloyd was asking questions.

"And what happens next?"

"We don't know! It was left on a cliffhanger!"

It was now that Cole and Kai walked in again. Still holding hands.

Morro glanced back at them and waved. He was not going to say anything about the fact they were holding hands.

Lloyd took notice to Morro's silence and also did not say anything.

Jay on the other hand…….

"So did ya kiss?!"

Nya covered her mouth and looked away, laughing quietly.

Lloyd's face turned to a grin. "Kai and Cole, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-"

Morro threw his pillow at Lloyd, causing the kid to yelp. "Stop tormenting them. I swear upon our Grandfather, you're immature."

Kai's face was bright red as he ripped his hand away from Cole and marched over to his plushies.

Cole stood there for a moment before he quickly moved over to his spot, cheeks also a bit flushed at the comments.

"Seriously, you see one instance of people holding hands and immediately think they kissed… unbelievable." Morro sighed.

Jay snickered, grinning widely. He felt no remorse.

"So… what names did you guys come up with?" Cole asked.

Nya smiled a bit. "Well, I decided to name the otter River. I… dunno much about a story for them but that's okay."

"Oooh, nice!" Jay complimented.

"And uh… I couldn't come up with a name for my other one… sorry." She ducked her head sheepishly.

"It's okay, Nya. Takes time to find the right name for a plush." Morro shrugged.

Lloyd nodded slightly.

"How about you, Zane? Any ideas?" Morro asked, prompting the teen to look up.

"I have not. Apologies…"

Jay was practically vibrating in his spot, he had clearly come up with names already.

Morro looked at Jay. "You have the floor."

Jay grinned, "Okay, okay. So this dude," He held up a worn stuffed bear that was a dull blue, "This is Mister Cuddlywomp. I've had him since I was five." He then held up one of the stuffed dragons, "And this is Bolt!"

Morro gave thumbs up. "Nice."

Lloyd grinned, "My dragon's name is Thorn!" And then he held up a thing of incomprehensible species, "And this is Scribbles!!"

Morro smiled fondly as he looked at his cousin. "Takin' a guess you like Scribbles then?"

Lloyd nodded aggressively, "It's awesome!!"

"Good, taking a note that making incomprehensible plushies makes ya happy." Morro smiled and rested his head back onto his pillow.

Lloyd looked down at him, "You're turn."

"I- oh come on!" Morro cried. "This is my fate, huh?"

"Unless you wanna get headbutted."

Morro sighed and held up the older of the two plushies. It definitely looked like it'd seen a few rough times. "This is Patches. Uncle made them for me when I was recovering from resurrection."

"Oh that's nice.." Nya said softly.

"And this one…" Morro held up the dragon. "Is called Cyclone."

"Awesome!" Jay grinned.

Zane glanced over at Kai and Cole. "Have you two come up with names for yours?"

Kai sighed, "I guess so.." He glanced down at the two dragons that he had snatched from his bed, "Um… This one is Ember.." He kinda held up the larger one, "And… This one is.." He stared at the smaller one for a moment, "… Indigo."

"Why Indigo?" Zane asked. "The dragon is obviously red."

Kai stared at him for a moment, "Because I felt like it."

"Mood." Morro said simply.

Lloyd giggled a bit.

"So, Cole. What about you?" Jay asked, grinning.

Cole was quiet, staring at his two plushies.

"… Cole?" Zane gently nudged him.

"Oh- Um.." Cole looked up, "… This one is Pebble." He held up the small dragon plush.

"Aw…" Nya smiled.

"And this one…" He looked at the larger dragon, "…Lilly."

Morro sank a bit into his pillow, though he had a small, sad smile. "She'd be honored, I think."

Cole nodded quietly.

Lloyd yawned rather loudly. He seemed exhausted from all the excitement.

Kai was sitting up. He had been awake for the past thirty minutes and couldn't fall back asleep.

Of course though, he couldn't talk to anybody in the Monastery about it… unless…

Kai, hesitantly, got out of bed and headed for the door. He quietly opened it and peeked out into the hallway. Nobody… Good. He walked down to Morro's room and stopped in front of the door. He stared at it, regret creeping into his mind.

A light was clearly on inside, barely illuminating the hallway. It seemed to be by his desk?

Kai began to back away. Bad idea. This was a bad idea.

Morro definitely still seemed awake though, based on the frustrated tapping coming from inside.

Kai glanced down the hallway to his open door.

There was a sudden shifting in the room and the door opened. He stared in surprise at Kai.

"Uh…" Morro stood there awkwardly for a moment. "… I was gonna get a juice box… d'ya want me to get you one and we can talk or…?"

Kai hesitated… And then nodded quietly. His gaze stayed to the floor.

Morro nodded and quickly darted off down the hall before he came back with the juice boxes. Holy fuck how the hell did he do that so fast without making noise?

Kai's eyes widened in shock, "How..?"

"It's called you get used to trying to sneak past Wu to get cookies at obscene hours when working on puzzles." Morro grinned and passed him the juice box. "C'mon."

He walked inside and sat down on the floor.

Kai followed him quietly and sat down in front of Morro. He avoided the older teens gaze.

"… Can't sleep either?" Morro asked as he stuck the plastic straw into the juice box.

Kai nodded silently, he stared at the juice box in his hands.

Morro glanced at him and sighed. "You take the straw off of the box and stab it into the little foil bit right there, bud."

Kai glanced up at him, "… Thank you.." He murmured, and then he did as Morro said and got the straw in the juice box.

Morro gave a thumbs up as he drank the juice. Dude- dude you don't need to drink it all in one go-

Kai just sipped at his. He couldn't really enjoy it with everything that was running through his mind.

"… So, what did you want to talk about?" Morro asked.

Kai froze for a moment. "I-… Um.." He looked hesitant again.

"No rush." Morro sighed and shook the empty juice box a bit before he tossed it into his rubbish bin. "Not like I'm getting to sleep anytime soon."

"… Did you really bring me and Nya here cause you wanted to protect us..?"

Morro nodded firmly. "I wasn't about to leave you guys there. Not after finding out about the fact that they were still trying to get you guys to pay bills while you were children. Asinine behavior, the whole load of 'em."

"… So it wasn't just cause you felt you had too..?" Kai finally looked up at him.

Morro sighed. "It was a combination of a lot of things, Kai. I didn't want you and Nya to be struggling any longer… and I was angry because nobody had stepped in to help. It's… out of spite and out of love."

"… oh…" Kai's voice was barely audible.

Morro nodded. "… I yelled earlier at Wu because I… if I had let my anger out with my elemental powers, we might have to be repairing one of the walls."

Kai silently nodded, processing Morro's words… Love.. Morro actually loved them…

Morro pulled his hair out of the ponytail and glanced back at his desk. "I'm definitely not finishing that until morning."

"… Finishing what..?" Kai asked quietly.

"Sudoku puzzle." Morro sighed. "It's kicking my ass. Gotta do 'em to help with my memory issues."

"… What's a Sudoku?" Kai looked up, confusion on his face.

Morro stared at him for a moment before he reached under his dresser and pulled out a dusty sudoku book, one he'd already finished. He opened the book to one of the puzzles and pointed at it. "It's a puzzle game. You're supposed to fill up all the boxes with numbers while avoiding repeats in each row and column."

"Oh… I don't like numbers." Kai frowned a bit.

"I don't either." Morro shrugged. "Father suggested it after… well…"

Kai tilted his head a bit, looking up at Morro.

"… Getting resurrected after a traumatic brain injury makes it… difficult to remember things." Morro said quietly. "I've gotten better over the years… or at least, I thought I was getting better…"

"Oh… I'm sorry.." Kai said quietly.

"It's okay." Morro smiled a bit. "Just… means I got more to progress with…"

Kai nodded a bit, "… I hope it goes well.."

"Yeah… So uh… anything else you want to discuss? While you're still here and we have a low likelihood of anyone being a snoopy little shit?"

Kai was quiet for a moment. He thought back to how Morro hadn't cared that Zane had wanted to get a dress.. and then his mind drifted to how he'd felt when Jay had implied he and Cole had kissed… "…Would… Would you care if… if I like boys…? And girls…?"

Morro paused a bit, and smiled. "Hey, so long as you end up happy in the end? Who am I to judge. Besides, I can't deny that I've definitely had some crushes on other guys over the years."

Kai's eyes widened a bit, "Really..?"

"Yep." Morro sighed, before he feigned being upset. "And yet, I am still somehow single. The horrors."

A small laugh escaped Kai and he managed a small smile.

Morro smiled a bit. "You should get to bed soon. I'm sure Wu's gonna make me drag you all down to the other training course tomorrow."

"…Okay." Kai sighed. He didn't really want to go…

"… I mean, if you want, I can set up the spare mattress in here?" Morro said gently.

"I-… Yeah… I don't want to be alone…" Kai admitted quietly.

Morro gave thumbs up, and got up. He rummaged around near his desk before a quiet click sounded. He looked back to a panel of the floor and lifted it up- like it'd been unlocked.

He pulled the spare mattress out and set it down, before he carefully closed the hatch. He sighed and moved to grab some spare bedsheets from in his closet. They were gray, but a soft material.

Morro got the mattress set up and quickly walked over to his bed, taking a few pillows out from underneath the hoard and plopping them onto the mattress. "Got more blankets in the closet. Pick which one you want."

Kai got up and did as told, going to the closet.

There were several different blankets, though a few quilts were inside, seeming decent enough for hot weather.

Kai hesitated before grabbing two of the blankets and heading back over to Morro.

Morro looked at him. "Yeah?"

"… Thank you.." He murmured.

"Hey, just doing what I can, bud." Morro gave him a short hug before ruffling his hair a little. "Now, I have got to get that light turned off before I get tempted to try and complete that sudoku page."

He walked over and turned off the lamp, which prompted a small night light to turn on in the corner. He walked back over to his bed, careful not to bump into Kai and dropped onto it unceremoniously.

Kai quietly went to the mattress and got onto it.

"… G'night." Morro mumbled.

"Night…"

Chapter Text

There was a very loud scrambling noise followed by a thud. A shifting of the door and a quiet bump indicating that it'd been shut… and then…

"Don't you do it." Morro grumbled.

There was quiet giggling.

"I know you're in here, you little stinker. Don't do it."

Lloyd proceeded to jump onto the bed, causing the eldest to groan in annoyance.

"Wu's not even up at this hour… what the hell…"

Kai turned over with a groan, bringing one of the blankets up over his head to ignore the two cousins.

"I can't sleep." Lloyd said, very pointedly.

"… Mhm?" Morro rolled over a bit so he could look at his young cousin. His eyelids were still heavy. "Why?"

"I don't know." Lloyd flopped amongst the hoard. "It's annoying! I wanna sleep but noo I keep having nightmares of this- this thing that's like- made of darkness that keeps laughing at me!"

Morro stiffened, now more alert. He looked at him closely, to notice that he'd brought Scribbles with him. "… Maybe Scribbles can help with chasing the monster away?"

"Maybe Scribbles can make everyone shut up." Kai grumbled.

He then proceeded to yelp as one of Morro's pillows slammed into him. He pulled the blanket off of his head to glare at the resident child.

Morro sighed and sat upright. "… There's an old story, one about our grandfather, back when the First Spinjitzu Master first created Ninjago…"

Kai sighed and flipped back over.

Lloyd paused, looking back at Morro. He looked kinda interested.

"When he first arrived in the realm, it was a realm of chaos… an ancient sea serpent named Wojira was relentless, leaving the realm in an ever-lasting storm." Morro said gently. "And as he battled Wojira, a warrior - the first elemental master of water - struck Wojira, sending the ancient being of chaos into eternal sleep."

"Woahh…"

"After that, the endless sea calmed… and Grandfather was able to create Ninjago… though, deep in the darkness, a monster grew restless. Like with the realm of the Oni and Dragons, light cannot exist without shadow." Morro said quietly as he pulled a blanket up to put over Lloyd's shoulders.

Lloyd nodded a bit, listening intently.

"The monster soon tried to spread darkness across the land, creating an army to do so… and Grandfather fought tirelessly, until he reached a solution - to divide Ninjago into two." Morro gently pulled Lloyd into a hug. "Some say that the other half is still out there, but it's where that monster lives so nobody can go there unless they know how to stand up for what's right. Because that monster's a huge jerk."

"Wow.. So there's like… A whole half of Ninjago just… Somewhere out in the Endless Sea..?"

"Yep. And one day, my little cousin, we might wind up exploring it… though hopefully that day isn't for a long while." Morro said gently.

Lloyd smiled, "We'll beat up the monster!"

"Yes we will." He smiled back, and gently ruffled his hair. "You feeling a little better now?"

Lloyd nodded, "Yeah!"

"But I'm guessing you're not wanting to wander back into your room just yet, huh?" Morro leaned back onto his pillows.

Lloyd immediately flopped down with him, "Nope! I'm staying right here!"

Morro chuckled and set an arm over him. "Just try to get some sleep, Lloyd. We got an early day coming up…"

The unfortunately familiar sound of a gong resonated through the Monastery, causing Morro to grumble in frustration.

Kai buried himself under the blankets again. He did not want to get up.

"Morning, morning, morning! Everyone up! It's a new day!" Wu said loudly through the halls. To which, Morro whined and slammed his head back onto his pillows for a moment before he moved to get up.

"Alright… let's get up, you two."

Kai grumbled and did not move.

Lloyd pouted but did start to get up.

Morro walked over to his closet and grabbed his training gi, clearly irritated, but he took a deep breath.

"Father, if you continue to hit the gong I am going to stick something in the mechanisms of the main equipment…" He threatened under his breath.

Lloyd tumbled out of the bed, clinging to Scribbles. During this Kai still did not move.

"Kai, get your butt up, we gotta get moving." Morro said dryly.

"… No." Came the reply from under the blanket.

Morro sighed. "I'll try to cover for you, but if Wu kicks you out of my room, I'm sorry."

"..Whatever." Kai grumbled.

"… I mean, it would be healthy for you to try to learn. Especially considering the fact that… well… your element does need a way to properly express itself somehow." Morro said as he started to get into his training gear.

Kai seemed to consider this. His mind went back to the kitchen situation, and he groaned, "… Fiine…"

Morro finally got fully into his training gear and brushed some dust off his sleeves. "Alright- Lloyd, do you want to spectate?"

"Sure!" Lloyd grinned. He was still on the floor.

"Morro, do you know why-?" Cole paused as he glanced at Kai and Lloyd in the room. He was standing in the doorway. "… Okay, why are you two in here?"

"They couldn't sleep so they decided to crash in here." Morro said bluntly. "What were you going to ask?"

"Why Wu said something about the equipment needing repairs so we need to use the other training course…?"

Morro's eyes widened as he turned to face him. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

"Oh my stars, it's happening." Morro whispered.

"… What's happening? Kai asked, looking very confused.

Morro grinned. "I get to teach you guys today."

Cole suddenly looked… very worried as he glanced to Kai. "Uhuh? And… why's that?"

"Because I made the other training course, obviously." Morro looked incredibly smug.

Kai huffed, "Grreeeat." He was clearly very enthusiastic about this.

"Oh, relax. It'll be fun! Just going over the fundamentals!" Morro grinned. "Besides, maybe you'll get through this faster than you're getting through the old course."

Kai glared at him and flipped him off.

He simply cackled, and grabbed his wooden swords. "C'mon, pouty-pants. Gotta get your training clothes on."

Lloyd was snickering quite a bit.

Kai threw the blankets off and got up, leaving Morro's room. He was grumbling the whole time.

Morro sighed, and looked to Lloyd. "Go get some clothes you won't mind getting dirty on. We'll be in the forest."

Lloyd nodded excitedly and ran out of the room.

He got out of the room and out to the courtyard. He yawned a bit, but still moved to put his hair back in a ponytail.

Their was a slam down the hall. Kai was in his room now.

Morro grimaced and glanced over at Jay and Zane. He sighed, and walked over. "Are… you two doing okay?"

"I am doing fine." Zane answered simply with a small smile.

"Yeah! I'm good!" Jay nodded.

Morro nodded and glanced at the wall, before he sighed and parkoured his way up to the top of it. He feigned checking for chickens, while he took his vengestone bracelet off and slid it between the shingles. "Well.. looks like we're still chicken-free for now."

He hopped down into the courtyard and stretched a bit. "Do you know if Nya is going to be joining us? I figured since… well… Wu's trying to give us space…"

Jay shrugged, "Dunno! Haven't seen her yet."

Cole walked out of the Monastery and yawned. "Frickin… I heard Lloyd scrambling around last night."

Jay tilted his head, "How do ya know it was Lloyd?"

"He was giggling." Cole whispered.

Jay snorted, "Fair enough."

"Yeah… he kinda joined us in my room." Morro sighed. "Was having difficulty getting to sleep."

"Us?" Zane asked curiously.

"Don't worry about it." Morro waved his hand a bit.

Cole squinted a bit, but ultimately, decided against pursuing the subject, especially as a loud slam came from one of the doors. Nya looked pissed.

Jay blinked, his smile falling.

"Nya?" Zane asked, "Is something wrong?"

Nya grumbled a bit before she crossed her arms, clearly irritated. "Wu thinks that I should sleep in!"

Morro narrowed his eyes. "Why…?"

"Because he thinks I shouldn't be training! Even though I know that Mom's elemental powers likely got passed down to me!"

"He's trying to keep you from training? That's so dumb!" Jay said, "Even if you didn't have powers, training would still be useful!"

"I know!" Nya groaned. "It's so stupid!"

"Well, Wu can suck it." Morro set a hand on his hip. "Since I'm in charge of training today, he can't say shit."

Zane nodded, "It would make no sense for Nya to not join us today since she has joined us during every other training session."

Cole squinted. "Seriously? He's being stingy about that- that's so stupid!"

Jay nodded, "Yeah!"

It was now that Lloyd ran out with a small backpack on, though he quickly picked up on the soured mood and his grin fell.

Morro glanced at Lloyd and smiled a bit. "Ready to watch Nya absolutely mop the floor with 'em?"

Lloyd grinned once again, "Yeah!!"

Nya managed a small smile at Lloyd's excitement and Morro and the other's immediate defense of her.

Morro checked his stopwatch, of which he'd started when Kai left his room. "Hm. Grasshopper's taking it painfully slowly today."

"Huh?? Grasshopper?" Lloyd questioned.

"Probably means Kai, bud." Cole sighed. "Is he doing it on purpose to torment us?"

"Oh, definitely." Nya said, "He's not been the most enthusiastic about training.."

"I think I can try and point out that when he gets control over his elemental powers he can set bad guys' pants on fire if he wants." Morro deadpanned.

Jay snorted, "Oh, I'd love to see that."

Cole snickered a bit. "Yeah."

Finally, Kai came out. He still did not look one bit happy about this.

"And… that took you a whopping total of five minutes, bud." Morro said as he stopped the timer. "Better than last time at least."

Kai shrugged, he didn't give two shits about this.

Nya sighed.

Morro rolled his eyes and scooped Lloyd up, allowing him to adjust so he was clinging to his back. "Alright! Down the mountain, team!"

Kai grumbled, while Jay cheered, "Down the mountain!!"

And, of course, they began the trek down the stairs, which Cole was scowling at.

"Seriously, who made these stairs?! This is ridiculous, someone could trip-"

It was at this moment that Jay tripped, yelped, and stumbled down a few steps before finally falling and slamming his face into the steps.

"Shit!" Morro rushed over to Jay and carefully lifted him up, whining a bit at the fact that Jay had wound up with yet another bloody nose. "Fucking… dude, Cloud Kingdom hates your ass."

He'd of course, gotten the first aid kit out and was starting to help with the bleeding.

Jay blinked away tears that were threatening to fall. "W-what's Cloud Kingdom..?"

"One of the other realms." Morro said. "Apparently they're the writers of Destiny."

"The writers of Destiny?" Lloyd questioned.

"Yeah. Remind me if we ever wind up going there to scold the whole lot of 'em." Morro said. "Destiny sucks."

"Why do you say that?" Zane asked.

"I pray you never have to find out." Morro sighed. "Jay, we're gonna have to keep moving, but just- hold onto me so that I can make sure you don't fall again."

"Okay.." Jay agreed easily. He really didn't want to fall again either.

And with that, they got moving again, with Morro leading the way down the mountain and to a clearing in the forest. It seemed well-maintained, but there was no training equipment.

"Alright, you can get off of my back now, squirt." Morro said.

"Uhhhh.. Nope!" Lloyd grinned.

Morro sighed, and reached down to grab a stone. He looked over at a particular tree and threw the stone, knocking the branch out of place as it… slid? Down the bark??? What.

All the teens', and Lloyd's, eyes widened as they watched this happen.

"Wait for it…" Morro grinned, as the ground began to shift, a previously hidden training course emerging from beneath the stone clearing. There were several sections to it.

"WOAH!" Lloyd gasped, "THAT'S AWESOME!!"

"My ears, Lloyd… I need those…" Morro whispered. "Anyways- the first part is for precision and balance. Especially since both factors are important for Spinjitzu."

He gestured at the balance beam with hanging targets. "You can use the wooden swords to hit the targets."

Lloyd giggled.

"Woah.." Jay said.

"And you built this?" Nya asked.

"Eh, you've got a lot of spare time on your hands while plotting to yoink your cousin from an evil school and you decide to make a more friendly version of the training course." He shrugged. "Seriously… sharp weapons on the normal one is not child-proofed."

Zane nodded, "That makes sense."

Morro sat down on one of the benches. "Besides… I think it's cooler than the one in the Monastery. More unpredictable."

"… Great." Kai grumbled under his breath. He hated this already.

"Says the Elemental Master of Fire." Cole gently nudged Kai. "Who wants to go first since Jay's down for the count?"

"Heeyy!" Jay pouted.

"I can go." Zane said.

"Well, go ahead." Morro gestured to the balance beam.

Zane walked over and grabbed a wooden sword. Then he got up onto the balance beam to begin.

"The goal is to be able to hit the targets while doing several rotations along the beam. Think you got it handled, Zane?"

Zane nodded, "I believe so.."

Morro gave a thumbs up. "Go ahead."

Zane began, carefully going across the beam and hitting the targets.

Morro smiled a bit as he watched. A little bit of pride swelled in his heart.

Zane got decently far before he stumbled and had to jump off to avoid falling off.

"Good job, Zane. And good quick thinking to get down before you fell." Morro smiled. "Who's taking the stage next?"

Zane smiled and walked back over to the others.

"I'll go!" Nya said, running over to grab her own wooden sword.

"The floor is yours." Morro smiled. "Just remember, balance is key."

Nya nodded and climbed up onto the beam. She started out decently well, but then she missed a few and her frustration started to show.

"Relax… let the movement come naturally. Don't try to force it." Morro warned.

Nya huffed but tried to relax some. It didn't last long.

She suddenly let out yell of frustration and threw her sword at one of the targets.

Morro stood up. "Nya, it's okay if it's difficult… just take a break, alright?"

Nya grumbled and jumped down, clearly upset about this.

"… Cole? Do you want to…?"

"Not yet. Trying to think." Cole said quietly.

"Alright. Kai, you're up." Morro said.

"What- No! I don't want to go!" Kai argued.

"I mean. There's a lake nearby if you want me to try and teach Nya how to hit people with water." Morro smirked.

Kai blanched, "I- Fine." He huffed and stomped over to grab a wooden sword and climbed up on the balance beam.

"Just remember to stay with the motions, even if you falter a bit, take a moment to recover, and then continue." Morro said softly.

Kai grumbled an acknowledgement before starting. It.. Was okay…?

Morro watched closely, silent.

It didn't take long before Kai got frustrated, scowling as he messed up.

Morro walked over. "Easy, it's not going to be something that you can get immediately, Kai…"

Kai ignored Morro. Though he barely lasted a minute longer before he stumbled and fell off the beam.

The eldest almost immediately rushed over to help him up. "Okay, okay- that was a good first attempt-"

Kai threw his sword aside, "Oh fuck off! I know it was shit! You don't need to lie to try and make me feel better!"

"It wasn't shit!" Morro shouted. "This training course is difficult, even for myself! It's supposed to help with mastery of the basic parts of Spinjitzu while being safer than the one at the Monastery!"

"Well no shit, I suck at it then! I suck at the one up there too! This is all fucking stupid!" Kai argued back.

Morro pulled Kai upright. "The only reason why you're struggling is because you're not motivated to try harder. You don't have any fuel to your fire, and as such, it's just a spark."

Kai jerked away from Morro, "Well maybe I'm not supposed to be the Elemental Master of Fire!" And then he shoved past Morro and was running.

"Kai- Kai wait!" Morro ran after him.

Kai ignored him, continuing to run.

"You need to stop!" Morro cried.

Kai pushed himself more, trying to go faster, trying to lose Morro. His eyes were squeezed shut, trying not to let tears fell.

Morro leapt over fallen logs, his anxiety rising as they got deeper into the forest. "Kai!"

Kai's eye shot open as his footing was suddenly lost and he fell. He was surrounded water and sinking. No- NO. Not water. Anything but water- He couldn't swim. He couldn't breathe.

There was a sudden change as something- no, someone landed in the water beside him. Two arms wrapped around him and he was pulled up sharply.

Kai coughed and coughed. Tears were freely falling now, his vision blurring.

As he was pulled to shore, there was a moment of heavy breaths, like who'd gotten him out had been almost out of breath.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He asked quietly.

Kai couldn't answer, he could barely breathe. The only things that escaped him were coughs and harsh gasps alongside his tears. He had almost drowned. He had almost drowned.

"Stop." The person said softly, as a hand was carefully placed on his shoulder. "Deep breaths. In… and out. In… and out."

Kai tried to follow along with what the person was saying. It was hard though. He was shaking so much, his breathing was shuddery.

The person carefully took Kai's hands in his own. "Focus… try to imagine a little flame in the palm of your hand. It'll grow with your breathing… okay? Don't rush it. Just like a normal fire, it needs time to grow…"

Kai tried to focus on that. Anything but the water, anything but the water.

"I know it's scary, when your flame is nearly extinguished… just keep at it, please… it'll be okay." He said quietly.

Kai took a shuddery breath. He was.. Safe. The person had pulled him out.. He was okay. He was okay..

"Feeling better?" He asked.

Kai managed to bring his gaze to the person. He still had teary eyes, he looked a lot smaller than he usually presented himself. He actually looked like the scared fifteen year old he was…

They pulled him into a hug, careful as they combed their hand through his hair. "You don't need to be strong around me, bud… I promise."

Kai melted in the hug, clinging to the person and letting out a small sob.

"There ya go, just let it out." He said quietly. "You're gonna be okay."

Kai sobbed against the person, burying his face against them.

They rocked back and forth a bit, humming a quiet song, one that was comforting and a little familiar.

Kai slowly began to calm down. That song… He liked that song…

It stopped after a little while… likely due to not remembering how the rest of the melody went.

Kai sniffled, he was quiet now. His awareness beginning to come back to him.

"Better now?" Morro asked quietly.

Kai hesitated and then nodded silently.

"C'mon… let's get back to the others." He said softly. "I told you to stop…"

Kai couldn't even muster up a snarky response about how he'd said wait first, not stop. He just avoided Morro's gaze.

Morro carefully helped him up, and held his hand as he led him back through the forest to the training site.

Cole had been pacing.

Nya was wringing her hands together, worry coursing through her. Morro had mentioned a lake.. He hadn't specified what direction though.. And Kai couldn't swim…

Zane was quiet, watching the direction the two had run off in and hoping they would return soon.

Morro waved a bit as they approached. "He's okay!"

Nya rushed over immediately ran over, and then skidded to a stop as she noticed they were both soaked. "What happened." She demanded, looking at Morro.

"He fell in the lake. I fished him out." Morro sighed.

Nya's eyes widened and her gaze went to her brother. He was hugging himself, a bit shrunk in on himself, and avoiding everyone's gaze by staring at the ground.

Cole walked over. "Maybe we should call it a day? After all, we don't want you guys to get hypothermia."

Morro's face turned sour. "Yeah…"

"If it helps, Cole was able to complete the challenge while also hitting all of the targets." Zane added.

"Timing, bud… timing." Morro said softly. "But nice."

When they made it up to the Monastery, it'd grown a bit colder…

Kai's grip on himself tightened. He had ruined everyone's training. Just because he had been stubborn and run off…

Cole set a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it later?" He asked quietly.

Kai glanced at him for a moment then his gaze shifted back to the ground. He shrugged.

"… Well, my door's open if you need to talk." Cole murmured.

Morro opened the gate to the Monastery and yawned. "Shit.."

Kai nodded a bit, so Cole would know he wasn't just ignoring him.

"I'm gonna go talk to Wu." Morro said. "Just… everyone get yourselves cleaned up for when supper's ready."

"Alright." Zane responded softly.

Morro walked into the Monastery, very clearly seeming nervous, but he continued nonetheless.

"So…" Nya glanced at Lloyd. "Want to snag some cookies from the kitchen?"

Lloyd perked up, "Yes!" He agreed immediately.

She snickered and walked to the kitchen, with the kid trailing close behind.

Zane glanced at Kai, "You should go change. So you do not risk getting sick in those cold, damp clothes."

"He does have a point, you know." Jay said.

Kai sighed, "… I know.." He murmured, and then headed off for the door to the bedroom hallway. He couldn't muster up the energy to argue.

As he got into his room and got changed, he noticed an uncomfortable chill. It definitely wasn't because of his pajamas, they were made so that he'd be comfortable regardless…

"Shit."

Later, during dinner…

"Okay, so let me get this straight - they're doing limited runs of Starfarer?" Lloyd asked.

Jay nodded, Yep!" He confirmed.

Lloyd groaned before he stuffed his face with another dumpling.

"Still annoying." Morro grumbled. "I mean, if they're going to do a limited run, then that means that not all people who want to read the comics can read them, and that some of them will be sold as collectors items to never be opened or even read."

Jay sighed, "Yeahhh, I know. But it's better than nothing!"

"Blegh." Morro made a disgusted face. "Besides, if I can't tell that the work was made with love, then that means it's likely been messed with by executives or it's just a cheap cash-grab. So… not really my thing."

"Starfarer is amazing, excuse you!" Jay huffed.

Cole rolled his eyes at the banter and looked over at Kai. "Are you doing okay?"

Kai glanced at him, "… Yeah. I'm fine now.." He mumbled.

"M'kay… was just wondering since you were shivering almost the whole way up." Cole said gently.

Kai shrugged, "Was just cold cause of my soaked clothes. Nothing to worry about now."

"Better be nothing to worry about." Cole mumbled before he took a bite of the dumpling he had.

Kai nodded a bit and turned his attention back to his food.

"So… are we going to discuss how Morro made that entire training course?" Nya asked.

"It appears he had a lot of time between he came back to life and now.. So it is not entirely impossible." Zane said.

Morro snorted a bit. "Well… it involved a lot of studying the mechanisms of the original training course… and taking clocks apart."

"Fair enough. I also took a lot of stuff apart to learn how things worked!" Jay said.

"My only question.. is how the hell you hid the mechanism to hide it in the tree." Nya squinted.

"… That's not a real tree."

"You're lying to me." Nya accused loudly. "That tree is wood!"

"It's not a real tree!" Morro cried. "It's not!"

"Admit you hollowed it out then!"

"I built the tree! It doesn't even look like a tree that'd be in that forest!"

Lloyd was giggling at this chaos.

"It's wood!"

"The outside of it is coated in wood! So that nobody fucking finds the training course!" Morro cried.

"Morro, please mind your language at the dinner table."

"Oh- like you're any better, I heard you cussing earlier when you tried to get your food!" Morro pointed to Wu.

"I was reaching across the table?!"

"Still dropped an f-bomb!"

Jay snorted, as Lloyd's giggles turned into full on laughter.

Wu sighed. "Must you do this every time?"

"Yes! Yes I do have to do this every time." Morro grinned, as his Father shook his head with exasperation.

Kai managed a small snort at that.

"… I understand, though." Wu said softly. "It has been… a difficult adjustment period, especially with all the changes."

"… You're not saying you understand in response to me being a shit, are you?" Morro asked.

Jay snickered, trying to cover it up by shoving some food in his mouth.

"No, I am not." He set his utensils down and sighed. "I understand that all of you have been… apprehensive to all of this, especially with my habit of secret-keeping."

"That we need to break, by the way!" Morro pointed out, before he coughed a bit. "Who said that? Not me."

"Very funny, Morro." Wu replied dryly, before he looked to all of his students. "My biggest regret would be that I didn't tell you all the truth sooner, and that I hadn't tried to care for Kai, Nya, and Lloyd… especially with Ray and Maya's disappearance, and the… situation that is Darkley's."

Kai rolled his eyes. Like he would believe this old man..

Nya, similarly, shifted a bit in her seat. "Why is it you tried to get me to skip out on training?"

"Especially since Nya's been training with everyone else since she arrived." Zane pointed out. "It is illogical to try and bar her from joining in, especially considering we know about Maya having been the previous Elemental Master of Water."

Wu took a deep breath. "Morro."

"I promised! I promised I'd tell them the truth and the whole truth!" Morro cried. "You know I cave easily!"

"… Yes, I know."

"And besides that! We're a team, secrets aren't something teams do… unless they're rightfully embarrassing secrets." Morro muttered that last bit.

Jay grinned, "I like embarrassing secrets."

"You can pry mine out of my cold dead hands." Morro hissed.

Jay snickered, "I'm sure I'll find something!"

Morro's eyes remained wide for a moment before he sagged and got back to eating.

"… Nya's training is… a lot different compared to all of yours." Wu said gently. "Considering I hadn't known that there was an Elemental Master of Water until I'd met Maya, and similarly with Morro…"

"So shouldn't I be the most qualified to help teach her as a fellow undocumented Elemental Master?" Morro pointed out. "I mean… wind and water aren't that much different? One's just more confined by gravity."

"Wait, wait.. You didn't know that Water was a possible Elemental Power until you met Kai and Nya's mom?" Jay asked.

"Yeah, that makes no sense!" Cole piped up. "I mean- no offense Jay, but Lightning is an Elemental Power and you thought that Water can't be one??" "HEY!"

Morro nearly choked on his food, and slammed his hand on the table momentarily.

"I- look…" Wu took a deep breath. "It's very difficult to try and figure out how exactly to train Nya-"

"No it fucking ain't." Morro said hoarsely. "Father, you are simply… not going with the flow."

Jay snorted at the pun.

"… I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"Yep!" Lloyd piped up, still clearly in the middle of eating, as Morro gently messed with his hair.

"No talking with your mouth open, dude."

Lloyd swallowed his food and attempted to nip at Morro.

He quickly yanked his hand away. "Oi. You need to get out of that habit, man. Your chompers could cause someone to bleed."

"Good."

"Twat."

Lloyd grinned, "I know!"

Wu sighed. "Regardless, it would take… some time to figure out how to effectively train Nya in using her powers."

"Can't wait for the plumbing to get absolutely fucked when she can't properly control her anger." Morro rolled his eyes.

"Morro!"

"Just saying! It's pretty obvious that when an Elemental Master can't effectively use their element, it causes… unforeseen consequences."

"Like Jay nearly blowing up the kitchen." Zane pointed out.

There was a thunk as Jay's head hit the table and he sighed miserably.

Nya gently pat his shoulder. "It's okay."

"Regardless-" Morro cleared his throat. "If Nya doesn't get proper training- at least the basics, then we'll be having to deal with some… incidents."

"Yeah, I don't think we need any more accidents, thanks." Kai muttered quietly.

Jay flipped Kai off.

Wu looked at all of them and sighed. "Alright. Though, if it's going to be a habit of someone falling into the lake, I will be barring you all from going down there to train."

"Excuse me? I am going to bite you." Morro threatened.

"… Do not."

"I will." Morro said seriously. "It'll hurt. You are going to let us use my training equipment."

"… Fine."

"Good! Glad we could come to an understanding, Father!" He smiled, as if he wasn't just threatening to bite him.

Lloyd was giggling quite a bit.

"You do know it's hypocritical of you to threaten to bite Master Wu after telling Lloyd not to do that exact same thing, right?" Zane asked.

"Do as I say, not as I do." Morro said plainly before he popped the last of his dumplings into his mouth.

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at Morro, "I'll bite all I want!"

Morro looked at him, his tone of voice indicating he knew Lloyd had done something stupid earlier that day. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Lloyd nodded, despite Nya trying to warn him not to say that.

Morro sighed. "Okay, I am going to address something. Nya helped Lloyd steal some of the cookies earlier."

Lloyd paused, realizing his mistake.

"Lloyd!" Nya whined, "You should've just stayed quiet!"

"… I mean I'm impressed he kept it a secret that long." Cole said.

Kai just looked amused, patting Nya's shoulder as she glared at Lloyd.

Lloyd punched Morro in the arm, "You rotten cousin!"

Morro sighed. "I'll give you my cookies if you stop trying to bruise my arm."

"Morro!" Wu scolded.

"What? I don't wanna get headbutted!"

Jay snorted.

Lloyd grinned, "Okay!"

"Thank you." Morro breathed.

"Okay, can I address the elephant in the room?" Cole asked.

"There… is no elephant in the room?" Zane said in confusion.

"It's an expression, buddy- how the heck does Lloyd have one of my Dad's band shirts???"

Lloyd looked down at his shirt then at Cole, "… Don't ask me! It was Morro's shirt first!" He pointed an accusing finger at Morro.

"H-Hey, look. Lou's music is good and I'd attended a few of his shows before the incident." Morro said quietly.

"Seems like a fair enough reason to me." Jay shrugged.

"If it helps…" Wu began, causing the teens to turn to look at him. "Morro also still has some that are still too big for him."

"Baggy shirts are comfortable!" He cried.

Jay snorted.

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"… Look, I bought at least five shirts and only one fit me at the time. I didn't think to look at the clothing sizes, okay!" Morro cried, covering his face.

"Doofus." Nya said bluntly.

Lloyd giggled, looking absolutely delighted that he had embarrassed Morro.

The eldest was still covering his face out of embarrassment.

Kai looked quite amused.

"Can't you guys amuse yourselves in ways that don't involve embarrassing me?" Morro asked, peeking through his fingers.

"No!" Came from both Lloyd and Jay.

Zane tilted his head. "Why is it amusing that he has multiple of the same shirt but in different sizes?"

Jay and Lloyd burst into giggles.

"… I do not see how it's funny…" Zane said. "It's simply clothing."

"Zane they're probably laughing because he bought five shirts, the same shirt, that weren't the same size and didn't realize it." Nya said.

"… Oh."

Morro quickly got up. "I am going to wash my dishes now. Bye."

And with that, he swiftly left the dining room, closing the screen door a little too sharply.

Jay snorted and laughed.

"… He still seems a bit upset." Zane said quietly.

"He's just embarrassed." Nya explained, "It's nothing bad."

"Yeah. He'll calm down." Cole shrugged. "It… is pretty funny though."

Kai nodded slightly, "Yeah.."

Chapter Text

It'd been two days since the… unlucky accident that was Kai falling into the lake. Morro was meditating in the courtyard, the wind moved past him slowly.

Stillness…

Kai was… feeling like shit to be frank. The brunt of the cold had hit in the middle of the night and had effectively ruined his sleep. His head ached, his throat was sore, he probably had a fever, and he was just feeling generally unwell. It sucked.

Okay. Morro frowned and opened his eyes. Something was up.

Kai made his way to the kitchen, fighting off a wave of dizziness. He just needed some water. He could do this.

Morro got up and walked towards the door that led to the hallway adjacent to the kitchen. Something was about to happen and he was not going to have to deal with another electrical fire.

Kai grabbed a small cup from the cabinet and headed for the sink. Some cold water would settle him for a bit…

Morro stepped into the doorway and paused. "Why does it feel like you're dying?"

Kai glanced back, "I'm not-" He was cut off by a sneeze that sent fire at his right hand and the cup in it.

Morro's eyes widened. "You're sick?!"

Kai huffed, "I'm not!" The glass in his hand had been mostly melted and his hand was definitely burned, "I'm fine, it was just a sneeze!"

Morro cocked his head to the side as he pointed at the clearly molten glass. "Just a sneeze, you say?"

Kai glanced down at the glass and his eyes widened, "I- uh- All my sneezes are like that!"

"… Get that out of your hand. Now." Morro ordered as he walked over and briefly set his hand on his forehead. "You have a fever! You. Have a fucking fever."

Kai set the glass down and went to use his left hand to help with the molten glass.

Morro, however, smacked his left hand away. "No. Put your hand and the glass under hot water. This is going to suck beyond belief, but you- ugh- Wu! Get in here and help me with this!"

It didn't take long after Morro had shoved Kai's hand under the hot water that Wu walked into the room. "What happened?"

"This! This doofus! Is sick!"

Wu sighed. "Of course he is…"

"You expected this to happen?!" Morro cried.

"I expected that one day he'd get sick! Didn't expect it to be today of all days-"

"I bet you fifty that it started with the lake incident!" Morro said sharply.

Wu sighed. "I'll help deal with the molten glass, you go work on making sure everybody's not going to bother him while we help him recover."

"I don't need help!" Kai argued, to no avail. He was being ignored.

Morro nodded and swiftly left the room, scooping up Lloyd who'd been on the way to steal cookies with an indignant yelp.

"You are not the eldest here, Kai." Wu said softly as he rolled his sleeves up to help, silent as he gently prodded the now cooled off glass away from his skin. "I am not going to let you try and push through this when you need help."

"I can handle it fine.." Kai grumbled, "I've handled it before.."

"You do not need to handle it now." Wu pointed out. "We'll make sure you recover… and after that we need to take you, Nya, and Lloyd to the doctor's to get you three vaccinated."

"… Okay.." Kai said quietly.

"Good…" Wu breathed a bit as they got the last of the former glass cup removed. "A mild burn… be glad you're the Elemental Master of Fire. Any other person would've had beyond third degree burns from that."

Kai winced a bit, staring at his hand..

"… Don't worry." Wu set a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get it wrapped with a medicine that will help it heal."

"Okay.." Kai murmured, feeling dizzy.

Wu looked at him and sighed. "Let's get you back to your room. You need to rest."

Kai nodded a bit. Unfortunately, they barely made it a few feet when his legs gave out and he fell.

Wu quickly caught him and shook his head a bit. "You shouldn't push yourself this far… it's bad for your health."

Kai mumbled something incomprehensible.

Wu just… resigned himself, and began to walk through the Monastery to bring Kai back to his bedroom, though Morro stopped by them.

"I've still got the mattress up in my room. Might be a good idea if someone is able to watch over him while he's sick." Morro said gently.

"Considering what he tried to say to me earlier came out garbled? That would be a wiser decision than leaving him alone in his room." Wu murmured, and turned to instead bring Kai to Morro's room. It wasn't that much longer of a walk.

Kai just let himself be taken, he could barely tell what he was seeing ahead of him.

Wu soon settled Kai down onto the mattress, carefully moving him so his burned hand wasn't touching anything. "You'll be alright. I promise.."

Kai once again mumbled an incomprehensible response.

Wu sighed, and gently brushed his hair out of his face. "Save your strength, little one…"

Kai leaned a bit into the touch.

Wu frowned a bit. The last time he'd seen Kai this sick… it had been forever ago. No, forever was too long… several years… twelve.

Morro slid open the door with a bucket of cold water and a washcloth. "We've got to break his fever…"

"And the others?"

"Have been informed."

Wu nodded, "Good.. Then let us get to work."

Morro frowned a bit as he dipped the wash cloth into the water before he wrung it out. It was almost muscle memory at this point, knowing how to break a fever like this. He carefully set the cloth on Kai's forehead.

Kai grumbled, trying to get the sudden cold off of him. Unfortunately for him, his arms weren't really cooperating so they didn't even make it past his chest before dropping again.

Morro grabbed the anti-burn cream and carefully applied it to Kai's hand. He made sure to get every spot that'd been touched by the molten glass, though that was… very uncomfortable, even as he got it wrapped up.

Kai whined, his hand twitching, though he couldn't get his hand out of Morro's.

"I'm sorry, I promise it'll get better… it'll only sting for a little while…" He whispered.

Wu gently ran his fingers through Kai's hair, which appeared to calm the teen some.

Cole poked his head in the room. "Making sure the others don't bother him… how bad is it?"

"So bad that I can't understand a bit of what he's trying to say." Morro deadpanned.

Cole grimaced, "Oh wow… That's… Wow."

"Yeah." Morro sighed. "Thankfully, I got his burn covered…"

Cole nodded a bit, "That's good.. I'll stick to keeping the others out.. " He paused, "Mostly Nya and Lloyd…"

Morro sighed. "If they were vaccinated, both of them being in here wouldn't be a problem… however…"

Cole nodded again, "Yeah.. I'll keep them out."

"Thanks…" Morro leaned back a bit, sighing. "This is going to be a long night."

"Good luck.." Cole tried for a reassuring smile.

He nodded and checked the cloth, before he quickly dampened it again and re-placed it onto Kai's forehead.

Kai murmured, but couldn't even try to fight it this time.

"… I will go make sure the others get some food. Will you be okay taking care of him for now?" Wu asked softly.

"Yeah, no problem."

Wu nodded slightly and got up, leaving the room.

Kai whined when Wu's hand left his hair.

Morro frowned and carefully began to undo any knots or tangles Kai's hair had, while still checking on the status of the cloth. "You're doing great, bud…"

Kai relaxed, leaning into the touch.

"… I'm sorry that you didn't have anyone to care for you when you got sick like this…" Morro whispered. "I know what it's like… but I promise, you won't have to deal with it alone anymore…"

Kai mumbled something, though it was unclear whether he actually hearing Morro or just reacting to being spoken to..

"… Sometimes I wonder what would've happened… if you'd been able to call us." Morro said softly. "If I could've picked up the phone after you dialed one of the emergency contacts in Maya and Ray's phone book… and if I could've told Wu to get you both out of there."

Kai gazed blearily at him, not really comprehending Morro's words but still hearing him.

He carefully lifted the cloth, and dunked it into the bucket once more, wringing it out easily with one hand, though it irritated him. "My Uncle used to give you, Jay, and Cole toys to play with when you visited… I remember wandering out of my room to see you all tormenting Ray with a bunch of toy guns."

He settled the cloth back down onto his forehead. "You three always did like to be little menaces, huh?"

Kai just blinked at him.

"… Do you remember when you used to visit with Nya? Admittedly… I can't remember much aside from the fact that you both used to try and badger me to leave my room so you could play with me." Morro said quietly. "… It felt… emptier… after you both were unable to visit…"

Kai once again didn't respond, too delirious and out of it to do anything more than stare.

He soon grew silent, unable to bear talking when Kai couldn't answer. Morro continued to fix the cloth every time it got too warm.

Kai occasionally whined at the coldness.

Morro would whisper apologies, knowing that it was for the best, but his heart still ached all the same.

Kai shivered, whining quietly.

"I know.. I know it sucks. It'll be okay." Morro said softly. "You're going to get through this, Kai…"

"Mmmm… Cold.." Kai barely managed to whine that.

"I know." Morro gently ran his hand through Kai's hair. "You need this though… otherwise your fever won't break."

Kai whined, but he could barely move.

"It'll get better, I promise…" He said softly.

Kai leaned into the feeling of Morro's hand in his hair.

He resigned himself, continuing to try and comfort Kai while he re-soaked the cloth… hopefully the fever would break soon.

Kai's eyes opened to a dark room, he felt sluggish. He couldn't really tell where he was, or remember what was going on. He felt sick… Where was Mama.. Mama always helped him.. "Mama..?" He barely managed to say that, it hurt his throat despite barely being louder than a whisper.

"Kai, get some more rest, bud… your fever's still going." A voice said softly.

Kai tried to look for the voice. "Papa..?" It was deeper, it had to be him..

There was silence for a moment. "I… I'm not Ray, Kai…" The voice said, sounding smaller now.

Kai frowned, "But.. Who..?" His head hurt.. No one cared but Mama and Papa… Who was with him…?

"It's Morro, bud…" He said quietly.

"Mo.. Morro..?"

"Yeah…" He walked over and knelt down, setting a bucket down nearby. He dunked the cloth into the water and wrung it out. He carefully set the cloth on Kai's forehead.

"Wha- No-.. You're not supposed to touch water..!" Kai tried to reach for Morro, "Papa said you'd dis'ppear.."

"Not anymore…" He said softly as he ran his hand through Kai's hair. "Please, just get back to sleep… I promise, I'm not gonna disappear on you. I broke Destiny once and I'll do it again, bud…"

Kai leaned into the touch, "… Pinkie promise..?" He murmured.

"Pinky promise." Morro said and held out his pinky finger.

Kai weakly lifted his arm a bit, he couldn't get very far up. He whined a bit.

He sighed and linked their pinky fingers quickly, before he checked the status of the cloth. "You're doing great, bud. This cold's just really putting you through the wringer."

Kai mumbled a bit, his eyes already drooping closed again. "I love youu.." He slurred out, and then his eyes shut and he drifted off.

It was early… early enough that if the Monastery was under normal conditions, Wu would've woken them up by now for sunrise exercise… but unfortunately, Kai's illness meant that he'd have to get everyone awake without disturbing him; something that Morro was grateful for, considering the gong was loud and annoying.

Kai was still out, but sweat had begun to bead on his forehead.

Morro glanced down at him and sighed. He opted to change where the cloth would go, this time settling it on Kai's neck.

Kai shifted a bit but didn't wake. His body catching up on rest it had missed during the brunt of the cold.

He sighed. "There ya go… it'll get better from here. Promise."

There was quiet speaking outside of the door, Master Wu getting Cole up.

Morro frowned a bit, but shook his head. It'd be okay. He could miss a day of training to make sure Kai was alright.

One set of footsteps walked away, and after a moment the door opened quietly. It was Wu.

"How is he doing..?" He asked softly.

"His fever started breaking a bit ago… I'm gonna keep monitoring him until I'm sure he's better." Morro said quietly.

Wu nodded slightly, "I will bring you some soup for yourself and for him.. It will be best to try and get him to eat some when he wakes next.."

"Okay… thank you, Father." Morro replied. His voice barely rising.

"Of course, my son.." Wu watched Morro for a moment longer and then stepped out of the room, gently shutting the door.

Morro took a shaky breath and pulled his legs up to his chest, watching Kai in silence. He wouldn't cry. He was supposed to be able to handle stuff like this- it… it wasn't a life he had anymore…

It never was.

The realization filled his weary mind with anxiety… did it even count if he'd been dead? Did it count when he'd been a ghost? Unable to age? He still had memories of that time but-

The door slid open slowly, like someone was trying to not get caught opening it. Nya poked her head in.

Morro's attention snapped to the door, and he adjusted a bit. "You know you shouldn't be in here right now. His fever broke but it's possible he's still a little sick."

Nya wilted, "I just wanted to check on him.. He doesn't get sick like this often.."

"Either that, or he's gotten good at hiding it." Morro sighed. "Caught him on the second day, I think…"

Nya's eyes widened, "The.. Second day..? You think he's been hiding it from me..?"

"Lots of people do it when they don't want the people they love to worry." Morro said quietly. "Plus… it wouldn't exactly be that much of a stretch…"

Nya's gaze shifted to Kai, her eyes filled with worry, "Oh…"

Morro nodded, and re-soaked the cloth. "Thankfully, me staying up all night working on breaking his fever paid off..."

Nya frowned, "You stayed up all night..?"

"Had to." Morro said quietly. "He woke up a few times…"

"Oh.." Nya said softly.

"Yeah." Morro frowned. "He's… been having a rough night."

"… What happened..?" Nya asked.

"… One of the times he woke up, it was like he was a little kid again… back before Maya and Ray disappeared." He said quietly.

Nya's breath hitched, "Oh.. Oh my…"

"Yeah…" Morro frowned.

"Did he… How did he react to you..?"

"He… freaked out a bit after he saw me handling water…" He frowned.

"I.. I vaguely remember getting warned about you and water.." Nya said quietly.

"Yeah.. ghosts… they can't touch water or else they'll be sent to either realms of the dead." Morro replied.

"Oh.." Nya said.

Morro nodded. "The idea of losing me a second time… it terrified Wu. He never cried around me out of fear of hurting me…"

"Oh wow…" Nya said, "That's…" She trailed off.

"… Yeah. Bad." Morro frowned.

"At least you're alive again now.." Nya said softly.

"Yeah." Morro said quietly.

Nya's name was called from down the hall. She sighed, "… I should get to training.."

"You go on ahead… I'm gonna sit here and make sure Kai's okay." Morro said softly.

Nya nodded slightly and left, shutting the door quietly.

Morro sighed, and brought his legs back up to his chest. "… Why can't things be easier?"

There was, of course, no answer…

"… You could at least show up more often… I know that it's hard with the whole… being in the Underworld thing, but…" Morro frowned and buried his face a bit. "I miss you, Uncle…"

There was still nothing…

Morro wiped some tears away. "… You should've stayed longer… m-maybe we could've found Maya and Ray- and- and maybe we'd have found Libber…"

His voice grew to be shaky as that pain crept up through his body and constricted his throat… "If only you just stayed…"

Kai stirred a bit.

Morro quickly wiped his tears away. "… Hey…"

Kai grumbled, "Why am I so sweaty…"

"Your fever broke." Morro said plainly. "You need to take a shower."

Kai grimaced, "Oh.." He attempted to sit up. He failed.

Morro sighed and grabbed Kai's arm to pull him to stand. "Tell me when your legs aren't asleep."

Kai leaned heavily against Morro, his head was pounding. He turned his face slightly against Morro to stop the room from spinning.

Morro sighed. "Take all the time you need, bud."

The door opened again as Wu returned with two bowls of soup. He paused at the scene in front of him, "Morro.. He should not be standing yet. Even after his fever has broken he will need time for the rest of the illness to fade away."

Morro blinked. "R-Right…"

He quickly helped Kai sit back down onto the mattress. The eldest student now seeming incredibly embarrassed.

Wu walked over, "It is okay.. Now you will know in case there is a next time."

Kai was sitting up for exactly five seconds before he simply fell back with his arm over his eyes and a small groan.

"I- uh-" Morro looked terrified, glancing between Kai and Wu, his anxiety clearly at a tipping point- boy you should not have stayed up all fucking night.

"I will take care of him for now.. You need to eat and rest, Morro.." Wu held out one of the bowls of soup to him.

Morro took a deep breath and took the bowl. "I don't need to sleep though…"

"You did not sleep at all last night, my son. You need rest."

Morro stuck out his tongue, though he wasn't irritated… just exhausted… and sad.

Wu sighed softly, "At least try.." And then he turn his attention to Kai.

Kai frowned, his head ached. "This sucks…"

"Yes, that is how illnesses work.." Wu said softly, "Do you think you can try sitting up again to eat a bit..?"

Kai grimaced and slowly began to sit up, using his elbows to push himself to sit. "If I take it… really slowly…"

Wu set the bowl aside to help him stay steady.

"… Thanks." He mumbled quietly.

Wu nodded slightly, "Of course.." He grabbed the bowl again.

Kai tried his best to keep his eyes squinted, that way the light wouldn't bother him too badly and he wouldn't be forced to watch the room spin.

Wu gathered a spoonful of soup and brought it to Kai's mouth.

"'m not a kid…" He grumbled quietly.

"You are far too sick to try and hold this right now. When you can stand properly, then you can hold your own bowls." Wu said.

Kai caved, he wasn't in the mood to argue… not with his headache threatening to knock him out before he got any food.

Wu smiled softly, then got another spoonful.

Kai ate in silence, trying to take it slow, considering his stomach was pretty much full of acid at the moment…

Wu went at Kai's pace, not minding at all.

"… I'm done." Morro said and got up, swiftly leaving the room.

Wu watched him go with a small frown, but said nothing.

"… Did he stay up all night…?" Kai asked quietly.

Wu looked back over at Kai and nodded slightly, "He did.."

"… And he gets on my case…" Kai mumbled.

"He is simply worried for you.." Wu said softly.

"And yet, he does the same stupid thing…" Kai frowned. "It's annoying."

"I have been trying to help him break that habit for a while.." Wu said, glancing back at the door, "Perhaps with you all here.. He will start being able to sleep more.."

"… Here's hoping." Kai mumbled. "… He said something about… if only someone had stayed…? I dunno… was still waking up when he was talking…"

Wu paused then sighed, "… He was… Most likely talking about his uncle.."

"… Your brother? Isn't he… y'know… evil?" Kai asked.

Wu nodded, "Yes… He is.. But he wasn't always that way.."

"… Yeah…?" Kai looked up at him.

"My brother was a good person, when I first took Morro in.. He was good for many years. He held the evil back, getting to see Morro alive again and watching Lloyd be born.. But he could not push it away forever.." Wu said solemnly.

"… And the night he tried to steal the Golden Weapons was the tipping point?" Kai asked quietly.

Wu nodded, "I tried to talk him out of it.. I tried to stop him.." He sighed, "… I was unaware my robes had protection runes.. And he was banished.."

"… Morro saw it happen, didn't he?" Kai asked quietly.

Wu nodded quietly, "… He did.." He looked so remorseful.

"… This family has a lot of messed up stuff to it, huh…" Kai mumbled.

Wu blinked and then chuckled softly, ".. I suppose so…"

"… I think I remember a few times when I was a kid…" He said quietly. "I was playing with two others… 'n Nya… and we had toy guns…"

Wu paused and looking back at him, "Yes..?" He nodded slightly, to get him to continue.

"I remember… my Father was getting pummeled by darts… 'n another man with brown hair cackling." Kai said quietly.

Wu smiled fondly, "Anything else..?"

"… I think after a little while Morro was there…? Or his ghost…? He was standing nearby the other guy and looked really tired…" Kai mumbled.

"Yes.. Morro was often woken by the chaos. I do not think he ever really minded though.." Wu said softly.

"… The one who was laughing… was it Garmadon?" Kai asked quietly. "I know his name was hard for me to say as a kid…"

Wu nodded, "It was.. He loved giving you kids toys to play with when you visited.. Somehow your father would always end up as the target in the end."

Kai snorted. "I cannot imagine how that kept happening…"

Wu smiled, "You four loved to go after him, no what my brother had given you, be it water guns or plush hammers."

He chuckled a bit. "I imagine the plush hammers were preferred over the water guns…"

"Not when you were viciously whacking him in the face."

"… Ah." Kai looked down. "… Yeah, that tracks."

Wu chuckled and nodded, "Yes, you were usually the first to start the assaults.. Jay would quickly follow you, with Cole right behind him.. Nya would always watch for a moment before joining."

"Wait- wait- Cole and Jay-?" Kai gaped. "They-? Seriously???"

Wu smiled, "Yes.. Your parents were all very good friends. Once a month visits to the Monastery.. To see each-other, and Garmadon, Morro, and I.."

"Huh…" Kai looked down. "I… think I remember when the water guns were out… Morro was rushed back inside pretty fast…"

Wu nodded, "My brother would always herd him back inside if he had given you four water guns. We didn't want to risk anything."

"Risk anything…?" Kai asked quietly. "It's just water…"

"Ghosts cannot touch water.. It will send them back to one of the two realms of the dead." Wu explained.

"… Ah…"

"Mhm.. We always told him to watch from the windows those days… He was never happy about it." Wu said.

"I can imagine." Kai shrugged. "Can't exactly keep a force of nature contained…"

Wu nodded, "Mhm.."

Chapter Text

Morro nearly tripped down the stairs to the old library. It was still mostly caked with dust, considering they hadn't gone down there in years. Shadows were all around… especially considering there was no light source. Not down here… not after everything.

He made his way to the little nook he'd made for himself over the years, filled to the brim with books that he'd managed to collect over the years that wouldn't fit in on his bookshelf. He sat down on the pillows, and took a shaky breath.

"Uncle?" Morro called out softly. "… Can we talk? Please?"

There was silence for a few moments and then the shadows shifted, "…Morro." Garmadon greeted.

He rubbed a bit at his eyes. "Hi…"

"… So you have some new housemates.."

Morro nodded. "It- it was necessary… for most of them." He said quietly. "Kai and Nya- Maya and Ray had disappeared and- and Lloyd was stuck at Darkley's before we got him out and-"

"You don't have to explain, nephew… Thank you for getting Lloyd.."

Morro sniffled a bit. "I couldn't leave him there… fucking hell, you've probably seen how small he is… there's no way Darkley's fed him enough…"

The shadow nodded slightly, "He is… Much too small…"

Morro hugged himself a bit, before he began to pick a bit at his sleeves. "D-Do you think there's a way for you to come back home?"

"I… I am not sure, Morro." Garmadon said apologetically.

"Right… r-right. I- I should've figured since there's- there's only so many ways to get to the Underworld… but-" Morro paused. "Wait! Wait- the dragons! The ones that are protecting the Golden Weapons! Dragons can cross through realms and- and maybe if I just- we can get you back home!"

"No.. No, Morro it isn't safe to come after me.."

"… What do you mean?" Morro asked quietly. "Are you in trouble?"

"I'm not in trouble. But there are things in the Underworld that are far too dangerous for you, nephew.."

Morro looked up at Garmadon's shadow. "You do realize I've fought street thugs armed with very lethal weaponry before, right?"

"The Skulkin armies down here are much more dangerous than simple street thugs, Morro.. I can get along fine because I am the Master of Destruction… They would not take kindly to a human down here, let alone a dragon…" Garmadon said.

"But- I've been able to sneak up on both you and Father! I can do this-!" He cried. "Please, just- just let me bring you back home… I don't want to spend another birthday without you and Father here…"

"I'm sorry, Morro.. I wish to return as well.. But it isn't that simple… I'm sorry."

"… Can I at least get a hug…?" He asked quietly, his voice hurt… he wanted to scream and yell but that'd get everyone's attention so he couldn't and it hurt it hurt it hurt.

"Of course.." Garmadon said softly.

Morro forced himself to stand and held out his arms. Despite doing this for years, it still was difficult to tell where he was.

Garmadon shifted forward and hugged his nephew.

Morro shakily hugged him back, as best as he could. "… I just wish you could be here… 'n see how far they're getting with their training… I just… I miss the days when I wasn't scared…"

"I know… I know… I'm sorry.." Garmadon murmured.

"… Why does Destiny have to be so cruel?" He asked quietly.

"… I don't know, Morro.."

Morro moved a bit to wipe at his tears, he looked up at him. "Just… promise me when you get back… that we can spend everybody's birthdays together?"

"I promise…" Garmadon said softly.

"… We'll get to have a water balloon fight… if I can convince Wu we won't accidentally break the doors…" Morro said quietly. "It'll be fun…"

"That sounds fantastic.."

"And- and I'll make Grandfather's soup! And- and we can watch a scary movie before bed- but not too scary because I don't want to give Lloyd nightmares and-" He cut himself off, taking a deep breath. "'m sorry… I just want to have a simple birthday…"

"It's okay.. I understand…" Garmadon said softly.

"… And maybe we can celebrate yours and Wu's birthdays too?" Morro asked quietly.

Garmadon stilled for a moment, "…Yes.. That could be nice.."

"… I promise we won't make it too loud. Maybe a few sparklers…" Morro mumbled.

Garmadon chuckled softly, "With all of you kids there now..? The parties will end up as chaos no matter what is planned.."

"Yeah… one can dream though." Morro said quietly.

Garmadon nodded slightly, "Yes.. One can certainly dream…"

"… Lloyd named his little plushie Scribbles." Morro smiled. "The one that I made for him!"

Garmadon smiled, though he knew his nephew wouldn't be able to see it, "I'm sure he will cherish Scribbles forever."

Morro nodded a bit. "Uh… Kai got sick recently. I blame the lake. But uh… we gotta get him, Nya, Zane, and Lloyd vaccinated soon…"

"Ah.. Yes, that makes sense…" Garmadon sighed, "Is… Is Kai recovering okay…?"

"His fever broke this morning. I… stayed up all night making sure it would." He said quietly.

Garmadon paused, "… You should have taken shifts with my brother. Not stayed up all night on your own.."

"Didn't want to…" Morro said quietly. "I just- I couldn't have gotten myself to fall asleep even if I'd tried."

"Ah.. I'm sorry.." Garmadon said softly.

"It's okay… 's not about me anyways.." Morro took a deep breath. "I'm- I think I'm gonna take a nap down here, if that's okay…"

"Of course.. Go ahead, Morro.." Garmadon nodded slightly.

Morro smiled weakly and moved to sit amongst the pillows again. As he closed his eyes, he mumbled a quiet "I love you."

Guilt coursed through Garmadon, "… I love you too, my nephew.."

Chapter Text

Morro walked out to the courtyard, stretching as the wind sped up briefly. "Still waiting on a storm, huh?"

"It's been cloudy like this almost all week. You'd think we'd have gotten a little bit of rain then but nope." Nya groaned as she leaned against one of the supports. "Seriously, I wanna try stopping rain at least once."

"And hopefully today you'll get your chance." Morro replied as he sat down. "… Just hope it's not gonna be a lightning storm."

"Why?"

"Elemental Master of Lightning plus active storm equals…?"

"Ah, don't bring him outside if there's lightning. Got it." Nya said, as one of the doors opened and Jay poked his head out. "… if we can even manage that."

Jay was grinning, "Oh, it's soo gonna storm soon." He giggled.

"We know." Morro sighed. "Here's hoping we don't end up with hail."

Jay grimaced, "Yeahhh.. Hail sucks."

"I mean, I don't hate it, but it'd be annoying to try and do the stopping water trick with hail." Morro looked back at him. "Y'know?"

Nya nodded. "I don't even think I can move hail.. it's like ice, right?"

"Yes… but ice and water are one in the same." Morro shrugged. "One's just colder."

Jay tilted his head as he came to stand next to them, "That makes sense."

"Yeah, but- I mean, heck, I can't even get water that's in the sink to move away from the drain!" Nya cried.

"That's you trying to fight gravity, Nya, it's not gonna be easy." Morro deadpanned.

Jay held back a snort, "Yeahh.. Gravity holds us all down." He giggled a bit.

"And perhaps one day we can all try defying gravity." Morro smirked.

Nya covered her mouth as she tried not to laugh. "Seriously- two puns? Back to back???"

Jay snorted and snickered, grinning, "Come ooon, Nyaa.. You totally found them funny!"

"I did, but-" She was interrupted by the Monastery door creaking. Morro's eyes widened as he turned to look towards the gate.

Jay paused. also looking towards the gate, "Um.. Was anyone supposed to be visiting us today..?" He asked quietly.

"No… nobody was…" Morro put his arm between the two and the gate, anxiety beginning to rise. "We need to-"

He was interrupted by about a dozen smoke bombs dropping from the roof of the Monastery.

"Shit!"

Jay and Nya's eyes widened as both of them tensed.

"What's going on!" Nya was clearly a bit panicked.

"Get inside- GET INSIDE NOW!" Morro shouted as he held back a few Skulkin warriors. "Fuck- fuck!"

Nya grabbed Jay's hand and ran to the doors, pulling him along with her.

"Lord Garmadon says take the girl!" A voice commanded loudly.

Morro faltered, only for a brief second as he grabbed a Skulkin's axe and sharply sliced one of the other's femur, causing the warrior to scream. "Get Nya somewhere safe! Now!"

Nya felt terrified, they wanted her. She and Jay slammed the door shut and ran for Wu's room.

"MASTER WU!!"

There were sounds of fighting coming from Wu's room. Shit.

Morro was shaky, the wind picking up sharply as he grabbed his metal training swords from the cabinet that'd been knocked down. "Show yourself, Samukai!"

There was a dark laugh. Samukai spun his daggers and attacked Morro.

Morro quickly moved to dodge and block, his heart pounded hard, adrenaline fueling every movement. "Long time no see, you prick!"

Samukai had a dark look, "Oh, we will be seeing much more of each-other when I kill you, boy.."

Morro's stance shifted. "Oh, you really think so? Did you forget that I have home advantage?"

"That might be true.. But I have skill and numbers." Samukai growled.

"And I-" Morro quickly backed up as a strong gust of wind slammed into Samukai. "Am the Elemental Master of Wind, bitch."

Samukai was pushed back, he used his daggers to try and deflect the wind.

Morro made it a point to keep his distance. He remained nearby the knocked over cabinet, glaring at Samukai. "You're not going to take Nya. You're not going to hurt anyone I love, you hear me?!"

Samukai chuckled darkly, "Oh really..?"

Morro's grip on his swords tightened as he pointed one at the Skulkin leader. "Don't. Even. If you even dare to harm my family I will wipe your existence from Destiny itself."

Samukai grinned darkly, "I'm afraid it's too late for that, brat."

Morro's eyes widened, then his expression grew to be one of fury. He rushed at Samukai in a blind rage. "I'll kill you again!"

Samukai jumped back and dodged, his grin never faltering.

Morro threw one of his swords at Samukai as he rushed at him once more.

And suddenly there was a piercing scream. It could only be Nya, it only matched her.

Morro stopped. That scream was further down the mountain. No… no no no no no-

Samukai cackled, "We have what we came for, boy. It is a shame I could not kill you before we got her." He, and many other Skulkin warriors that had come pouring out of the Monastery, ran back out of the gate.

Morro's knees felt weak. He looked back at the doors and rushed inside before he could even think, dropping his swords. "Lloyd! Father! Guys-!"

He tripped, unable to keep moving…

Kai and Cole came running towards Morro, both were very injured. Kai was crying.

Morro weakly pushed himself back upright and looked to Kai, feeling a deep ache in his heart.

His Uncle had lost…

"They- They took Nya!" Kai was shaking so much, "We have to go after them!"

"… We can't- not right now." Morro forced himself to stand. "We need to recover. I know where they're going and the odds are that they'll go to the Caves of Despair first so we need to train. And… that means we can't use the basics course. Not with this."

"What- No! NO!" Kai argued, "We can't wait! We don't have time to wait! Nya might not have that time!"

"I can't watch people I love die again, Kai!" He snapped. "Garmadon wouldn't let them hurt her… not badly, at least. The venom is affecting him more and that means that…"

He grew quiet, before he punched the wall. "That jerk!" He screamed. "That's why he wasn't talking to me! That's why he was being so secretive! Why hadn't I seen the signs, I'm such an idiot!"

Cole stared at Morro and glanced at Kai.

"You… You've been talking to him." Kai sounded angry, hurt… A little betrayed..

"I had been since he was banished!" Morro cried. "How was I supposed to know that he'd- that he'd do this- I can't-"

The winds outside were getting dangerously strong. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bracelet; shakily, he put it on and the winds died down…

He took a difficult breath, and looked at Kai. "I didn't know… I- I didn't know, Kai…"

Kai glared at Morro, "I don't wanna hear it." He spat, then he turned on his heel and stormed off.

Morro watched in silence. A dread rose up and constricted his throat, making it beyond just difficult to speak. Cole glanced between the two, and quickly moved to follow Kai.

Kai went straight back to his room, his tears hadn't stopped.

Cole gently knocked on the door-frame. "Do you need to talk?"

"No. I don't. Go.. Help the others or something." Kai huffed.

"… They're not needing me as much right now." Cole mumbled, before he walked over to Kai and set a hand on his shoulder. "We just lost Nya, so if you're going to do anything brash… don't. You're still recovering, remember?"

Kai was tense. "I'm fine.."

"Kai." Cole said firmly. "Please…"

Kai trembled, "I- What if they hurt her.. We don't know what those skeleton things will do! You heard her scream!"

"Skulkin." Cole amended, and carefully pulled Kai into a hug. "Look, from what I could tell, Garmadon's in charge of the Skulkin army now, and that means if they hurt Nya… they'll probably get absolutely destroyed."

Kai didn't look much more relaxed, "He let them attack us! Why would he care!"

"Because he was friends with our parents, Kai…" Cole looked down at him. "My dad still has old photos up from when we used to have play-dates here at the Monastery."

Kai looked at the ground, "But…" He couldn't come up with another argument.

"Kai… even though he's evil, he still had a little bit of good left in him." Cole said quietly. "I know it's… difficult to accept, but… there's a possibility that this isn't how he wanted it to go."

"I…" Kai was quiet for a moment, "I guess you're right.."

"But that still doesn't mean we can't gang up on him like we would've when we were kids." He joked.

Kai managed a little smile, "Yeah.."

Cole gently ruffled his hair. "C'mon… let's go check on the others."

Kai took a breath, "… Okay.."

He let go, though took Kai's hand. "Besides… we've gotta make sure all injuries are dealt with."

Kai sighed, "Yeah.." He didn't protest when Cole grabbed his hand.

As they left Kai's room, Zane was pacing back and forth, as though he was trying to think though with all the chaos that'd just happened… he hardly could. He didn't seem to be bleeding thankfully.

Jay was trembling and looked absolutely distraught. He had tears streaming down his face. It was his fault. His fault. His fault.

Cole moved over and quickly pulled Jay into his arms. "Hey, hey- it's going to be okay, bud…"

"No- No, it is-isn't! Nya's gone!" Jay couldn't even hug Cole back; he was shaking too much.

"And we'll get her back, Jay." Cole said firmly. "We will get her back. Just breathe."

Jay couldn't, he couldn't. "It- it's my fault! I wa-was with her- her!"

Cole frowned, and hugged Jay a little tighter. "Jay. It's not your fault. None of us were ready… none of us could fight back all of them…"

"I sho- should have done- done better tho- though!"

"Jay." Cole said firmly. "It already happened, we can't dwell on this. We just have to focus on what we can do to fix it."

Jay sniffled and glanced up, "Bu- but-"

"Cole is right. If we continue to work ourselves up over this, we will not be able to save Nya." Zane looked at them. "And please, take care of your injuries…"

Jay let his head fall against Cole, "… Okay.."

Lloyd's sobs could be heard from down the hallway… Wu was trying to help him calm down and Morro…

Morro was silent.

Kai winced when heard the kid's sobs. Right… He had heard most of that.. And seen some too…

"Lloyd, it'll be alright. We'll get Nya back-" Wu said softly as Lloyd's crying only got worse.

Kai moved past the others and walked down the hall to Morro's room. He may be upset at Morro right now, but Lloyd was like a little brother to him and he wasn't just going to let the kid cry.

"They took her! They took her and we can't- we can't-" Lloyd cried, his tears were streaming down his cheeks as he sobbed.

Kai walked over and paused for a moment. Then he scooped Lloyd up into his own arms, despite the pain from his injuries.

Lloyd almost instantly clung to Kai, his cries died down to whimpers. "Why… why'd this have to happen…?"

"… I don't know, kid.." Kai mumbled softly.

Lloyd buried his face into Kai's shirt, upset.

Kai rubbed the kid's back, holding him close.

"Thank you, Kai." Wu said softly.

Kai glanced at him, "… Just didn't like hearing him cry.." He shrugged slightly, turning his attention back to Lloyd.

Wu nodded, and gently nudged Morro to get him to stand. The older teen didn't respond, still staring at the floor.

Kai continued to comfort Lloyd, humming quietly for him.

"… Can we go to Nya's room…?" Lloyd asked quietly.

Kai paused then nodded, " 'course kid.." He immediately headed for Nya's room.

Lloyd remained quiet, tightly holding onto Kai. His tears had dried, but he still seemed upset.

Kai went into Nya's room and shut the door behind him. He walked over to her bed, still messy from when she got out of bed that morning…

Lloyd rubbed at his eyes. "… This sucks…"

"I know kid… I know…" Kai agreed softly, "… Today is really shitty.."

"… I hope Nya's kicking those Skulkin's non-existent asses…" Lloyd leaned against Kai more.

Kai snorted softly, "I bet she is… She's always been feisty.."

"Mhm…? How many times has she kicked people's butts?" Lloyd asked.

"A lot.. Usually when other kids made fun of her.." Kai said.

"Then they deserved it." Lloyd huffed. "Nya's awesome!"

Kai managed a small smile, "Yeah… Yeah she is.."

Lloyd closed his eyes. "I'm tired…"

Kai rubbed his back, "We can lay down, buddy…" He sat down on Nya's bed.

"Ok…" Lloyd said quietly. "… Do you think… d'you think my Dad's gonna hurt her…?"

"I… The others say he won't.. Because he knew us when we were kids and that will override the venom… I really hope they're right…" Kai said softly as he kicked off his shoes and scooted back to lay down.

Lloyd nodded. "Hope so…"

Kai settled back, letting Lloyd rest against his chest.

"… Think when you learn Spinjitzu you'll be able to kick Skulkin butt even harder than today?" Lloyd asked sleepily.

Kai paused, then he smiled a bit, "Yeah… Yeah, I'm sure I will.." He rubbed the kid's back gently.

"… We'll bring her home… 'n then we can watch that one Starfarer movie Jay's been talking our ears off about…" Lloyd yawned.

Chapter Text

They'd been training almost non-stop since Nya's abduction. Morro occasionally joined them, but he never spoke and always left back to his room after completing ten runs of the course.

The teens were training hard. There had been none of the usual complaining or trying to get out of it. Just constant runs of the course or sparring. Still, despite their constant training, no one had gotten though the course yet.

Until now…

Jay got through the last bit, right before Wu finished his tea. He was shaky, a little out of breath, but gave a weak thumbs up. "Did it?"

Wu smiled slightly, "You did it." He nodded.

Jay threw his arms up in the air. "Yes!"

Zane clapped for Jay, "That was a great run, Jay! Good job!"

"Yeah.. who knows, we might have this in the bag!" Cole said as he got off of the course. "Just… gotta get all of us through the course before Wu finishes a cup next time."

"Here's hoping…" Jay glanced over at Lloyd, who was pouting by one of the doors.

Kai nodded quietly, "Mhm.."

"I still don't see why I can't train!" Lloyd called loudly.

Wu sighed, "You are too young, my nephew.. It is not your time.."

"Nuh uh!" Lloyd shouted. "You and Morro were training when you were way younger than me! Why's it I can't-"

"Because I said so." Morro said sharply as he stepped through one of the doors. "Got it?"

All four teens turned to look at Morro, varying amounts of surprise on their faces from hearing him speak.

"Uh… hey, Morro?" Jay waved slightly. "How've you been-?"

"Fine." Morro replied curtly, his voice sounded strained, like he was holding back from yelling.

Cole grimaced, "Alright.."

Kai looked away from Morro.

The eldest student similarly, couldn't meet his gaze. He was tense… and the wind still didn't seem to be responding to his emotions.

It wasn't normal.

Jay was watching Morro worriedly. Usually the wind would be pretty strong but… Nothing. Not a breeze stronger… Despite the fact that Morro clearly wasn't okay!

"… Are you all done using the equipment for today?" He asked quietly. His tone now flat, like he was trying to keep from showing any emotions…

The four teens exchanged nervous looks. They hadn't been done… but Morro was acting off, and it was making all of them nervous so…

"Yeah.. Yeah, we're done." Cole said.

"Okay." Morro said, before he began to go through the course with ease. It was almost terrifying how precise he was, hardly waiting for any openings as he rushed through.

"… Okay, is anyone else worried?" Jay asked quietly. "The wind isn't reacting to him at all."

"I am quite worried as well, yes… This is quite unusual." Zane responded softly.

"… Think it's because not all of us are here…?" Cole asked, though they all knew that likely wasn't the case.

Kai shrugged, keeping his gaze away from the training course. He didn't know.. And he didn't want to care.

"What if he's sick?" Jay whispered.

Zane frowned heavily, "I hope that's not true.."

"If it is… then we should probably tell Wu…" Cole said quietly. "He shouldn't be training if he's sick-"

"I'm not sick!" Morro shouted as he darted past them to get back onto the course.

Kai huffed, crossing his arms.

Zane watched Morro worriedly, "I suppose that means he is not sick then.."

"Then what's going on with him?" Jay hissed. "This isn't normal!"

"Maybe when he's really upset he can't use his powers?" Lloyd piped up.

Zane hummed a bit, "That could be true..?"

Morro finally stopped, and took a shaky breath.

Cole glanced over, "… You okay, Morro…?"

Morro looked back at him. "Does it look like I'm okay?" He gestured broadly. Very clearly like there was an obvious answer.

Cole winced a bit, "Sorry.." He apologized quietly.

Morro's expression softened a bit, and he gently pat Cole's head, before he walked past them.

The four teens watched him go, Kai only looking at Morro after Morro wasn't facing him anymore.

"… Okay, it's really freaking me out that he's acting like this." Jay whispered.

"It's freaking you out?" Lloyd asked. "He's my cousin!"

Zane sighed softly, "It is worrying all of us… But if Morro is not willing to talk, I do not think we should push him. It will just make him more reserved."

"Yeah… we just… gotta give him time." Cole sighed. "I'm gonna go through the list of what we need for the trip. Do you guys wanna keep training?"

Jay shrugged, "Not really…"

Zane sighed, "I am not sure I am up for any more.."

Kai glanced back at the course, "… I'm gonna keep going.."

"Suit yourself." Jay waved a bit, and walked off.

Zane followed after Jay, giving Kai a worried look but not saying anything.

Cole set a hand on Kai's shoulder before he started again. "… Don't overdo it, okay?"

Kai looked at him, then looked away, "… I won't.." He said. Y'know, like a liar.

Cole nodded a bit, and let go. His footsteps were almost silent as he walked away.

Kai went back to training as soon as Cole let go of his shoulder. He couldn't let Nya down.

Lloyd remained, watching him silently as he trained.

They'd all completed the course… and now were heading to the Caves of Despair. Morro hadn't said a word the whole time, and kept Lloyd close to him on the way there.

There was still no wind.

"Okay, isn't this starting to get… really freaky? There hasn't even been the slightest of breezes since Nya went missing." Jay whispered.

Cole nodded slightly, "Yeah.. I've never had absolutely no wind before.. I'm not sure how to feel about it.."

"It is strange…" Zane agreed. "It's been days and yet there has been no change in the winds…"

Kai huffed, "It's probably just some weird Morro shit like everything else with the wind is.." He crossed his arms, trying to hide his worry.

"Yeah, but like… dude. First week I was here, the wind was going nuts." Jay commented. "This isn't normal for him… like, at all."

Kai shrugged, "You don't know everything about him."

"No, I don't. But I know that this isn't a normal kind of upset." Jay gestured at Morro as he walked ahead of the group, carrying Lloyd on his back.

Zane nodded, "I have to agree… This is very odd…"

"Well… should we just… ask him directly? It'd be better than just speculating." Cole pointed out.

"Yes.. Because that has worked so well before." Kai huffed sarcastically, "He has totally been receptive to our questions since Nya disappeared."

"Perhaps we have not been phrasing them correctly?" Zane suggested.

"That could be it." Jay said, "We should change our approach."

"Good idea. But who's not too spooked to actually ask him?" Cole pointed out.

"That… Is a good question.." Jay said.

Zane hummed a bit, and glanced at Kai.

Kai immediately made a face, "Why are you looking at me."

"You seem to be the most qualified for asking the questions at the moment." Zane said simply.

Cole tilted his head. "Uh, Zane, I don't think that's-"

"No, I think Zane's right." Jay agreed, "Kai has seemed the least off-put by Morro's quiet reclusiveness.

Kai paled a bit. Well fuck.

"Perhaps give it a try after we've found the first Golden Weapon though." Zane added, as they neared the Caves of Despair.

Morro had stopped, silent as he waited for the others.

"Uh-" Kai didn't have an excuse not to, "…Okay.."

"I won't be going in to help." Morro said quietly to the others. "I have to be here to help protect Lloyd and Wu. Please… be careful."

Zane nodded slightly, "We will be."

The other three nodded as well.

"Good." Morro smiled weakly, and glanced at Wu. "Just…"

He looked back at them. "Don't do what I did."

"We won't." Cole said softly. "C'mon, guys. And no noise, please, Jay."

Jay pouted, "I can be quiet when I need to to." He huffed.

"Mhm." Cole rolled his eyes. "Let's go."

Jay stuck his tongue out at Cole as the four headed in.

As they made it to a checkpoint, Cole looked over the rock formation. "Alright… first we can sneak past the guards and then-"

He paused and looked to the others, then to his side. "Where's Kai???"

Zane and Jay both looked around and their eyes widened.

"I thought he was right behind us!" Jay said, trying to stay quiet while also holding back panic.

"There." Zane pointed as Kai took down several Skulkin without being spotted or sounding an alarm… fucking hell, what was he thinking?

"C'mon." Cole whispered. "Travel by shadow, guys."

Jay nodded quietly, "Got it.."

As they made their way through and past the mining operation, there was a noticeable… eeriness to the area. Like there was a deep rooted pain around this part of the cave.

Jay was visibly nervous as they moved, but, to his credit, he was staying quiet.

"I hear Kai, c'mon." Cole said. Granted, he was also on-edge… he swore he spotted a bone earlier amongst a pile of rocks.

As they rounded a corner to an opening, Kai was there, trying to push one of the boulders aside. Cole walked over. "Hey, you shouldn't run off like that… gotta remember that we're a team. We can't protect each other if we're all separated."

Kai huffed, "I was fine." He said, still trying to push the boulder.

Cole sighed and moved to join Kai. "Stop pushing for a second. Zane, Jay, over here. Let's get this done."

Kai rolled his eyes but relented and stopped pushing.

Jay and Zane quickly moved to help as well.

And soon they pushed the boulder out of the way with a rather loud scraping sound of stone on stone. Cole grimaced and looked into the other chamber.

The chamber was a bit large, with statues and carvings of potentially ancient elemental masters lining the walls. A large statue (?) of a dragon was sticking out of the ground, and in between its teeth was the Scythe of Quakes.

"Hurry." Cole climbed up and grabbed the scythe before he wrapped it up in the cloth they were given. "We've gotta get out of here."

The other three nodded. Jay looked particularly eager to get out.

Maybe it was the fact that they'd taken out several Skulkin guards; maybe it was the fact that they'd been rather loud moving the boulder… but the chamber behind them was full of Skulkin. Including Samukai.

"Shit."

Kai tensed, his fists clenching and his face soured.

"Remember, we can't use the Scythe." Cole said firmly. "Ready to kick ass?"

"Affirmative." Zane pulled out his shurikens.

"Y-yep!" Jay nodded as he pulled out his nunchucks and Kai, his sword.

"Hand over the weapon, and we might consider sparing your pathetic lives." Samukai hissed.

"Yeah, right." Cole grabbed his normal scythe and passed the Scythe of Quakes to Kai. "Go for the exit! Hurry!"

Kai caught the Scythe of Quakes and ran.

Cole immediately rushed forward, avoiding Samukai as he dodged several Skulkin warriors. "We can make it!"

Jay and Zane followed Cole's example, rushing into the swarm.

Unfortunately… their evasion could only work with so many numbers. There were too many enemies to try and flee the confrontation.

"We need another plan!" Zane called.

"I'm trying-!" Cole grunted as he blocked another attack from the Skulkin. "Kinda busy here- Jay! Any ideas?!"

Jay knocked down several enemies, making a few odd noises to punctuate the hits.

"Hey! It's just like the training course! Over the planks! Dodge the swords! Here comes the dummy! Cha-Ching!" Jay knocked down a lot of Skulkins and managed to perform Spinjitzu.

"How did you do that?!" Cole asked.

"I'm just going through the motions!" Jay called over, "Just remember it like the training course!"

"Right- right-" Cole began to fight, going through the motions… and… it clicked.

Zane and Kai soon followed suit.

And soon, the Skulkin army retreated… though with seemingly no real cause behind said retreat.

"Well, glad that went well!" Cole grinned as he turned around. "Guess they couldn't handle these-!"

Zane smiled and nodded slightly, "Yes, they retreated quite quickly after we figured that out."

"Though… it is a little weird. Didn't Wu say something about a guardian that was protecting the weapon?" Jay asked.

Cole remained still, staring behind the others. "Uh… guys…?"

The other three went quiet and turned around.

"T-That's a- that's a-"

"Guys!" Morro's voice sounded from the entrance of the chamber. "Are you okay?!"

"There's a dragon!" Cole screamed.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Morro sped into the cave, clearly seeming uncomfortable as he got between the teens and the dragon. "Relax, buddy… we're with Wu. He sent us to get the weapons, okay?"

Cole was being so brave and totally wasn't hiding behind Kai.

The other three teens were quite frozen too, unsure of what to do.

Morro reached out his hand, and the dragon gently bumped its snout against his palm. "Hey… ya do remember me. Good boy…"

"H-How does it know you?"

"He used to live in the dragon stables under the Monastery." Morro smiled. "C'mon, we can cover more ground if we've got him with us."

"Is… is this a good idea?" Jay glanced at him.

"Did you grow up around dragons or did I?"

Zane looked nervous still but nodded, "The… The dragon does seem to recognize and tolerate Morro.."

"Right. Right." Cole still seemed a bit shaky.

"Relax, bud. He's an earth dragon." Morro smiled as the dragon gently nudged them forward with his snout. "Let's get back to Wu and Lloyd."

Jay nodded, eager to get out of these caves, "Yeah! Let's go."

As they got out of the caves, Morro seemed more relaxed, though he stopped briefly, saying a quiet apology before he followed the others back to where Wu and Lloyd were.

"What do you think that was about?" Jay asked quietly.

Kai shrugged, "Who knows.."

As they got closer, the dragon sped up a bit and bumped its snout against Wu, clearly happy to see him. Morro cackled as that almost knocked Wu over.

Lloyd yelped a bit, surprised by the sudden dragon's appearance.

"Guess who we found!" Morro called. "Well, who they found! Still!"

Cole still seemed a little shaken up, though he was sticking close to the others and trying so so hard to hide it.

"Did you make sure not to use the scythe?"

"Yep." Cole gave a thumbs up. "We didn't use it-"

Jay interrupted almost immediately, his hyperactivity returning as they left the cave, "We figured it out!"

"Figured what out?"

"Spinjitzu!"

"Seriously?!" Lloyd whined. "I wanted to see it!"

Kai grinned slightly, "It was pretty cool.."

"You gotta show me later!" Lloyd huffed.

Zane chuckled softly, "We will, Lloyd. Do not worry."

Morro smiled, and moved over to a tree. He took a deep breath, and fussed a bit with his gear, pulling the fabric of his undershirt down as he undid the clasp of a choker that was around his neck. After he placed the choker in a small capsule… the wind began to pick up again, a gentle breeze.

Kai relaxed as soon as he felt the breeze, it felt easier to breathe now. Easier to move.

Morro pressed the capsule back into its pouch, and looked back at the others, his facade rising once more as he walked over and gently messed up Jay's hair. "Well, I'm glad you guys figured it out."

Cole smiled slightly, "Jay got it first." He said.

"Yeah, well, of course I did- ack-" He squeaked as Morro continued to aggressively ruffle Jay's hair.

Kai snorted and smiled a bit. He seemed in a better mood now, since Morro had taken that choker off.

"Please tell me you guys aren't fighting anymore." Lloyd said quietly to Kai.

Kai glanced down at Lloyd, "… Yeah kid.. We're done fighting."

"Morro- stop…" Jay whined as he tried to bat Morro's hands away.

"He's just telling ya he's proud of you." Lloyd tilted his head. "Seriously, have you not figured that out yet?"

"Wait, really?" Cole asked.

"Oh my gosh you're all dense!" Lloyd threw his hands up. "Dad used to do it too, Morro picked up on it and I do it too!"

Zane blinked, "Oh. I suppose that does make sense."

"How?" Jay finally grabbed Morro's wrists and shoved them away from his head as he laughed quietly. "I'm pretty sure he's just doing it to be a shit."

"He does it quite a bit, especially after we have completed something." Zane said.

"… I still don't see it." Jay deadpanned. "I'm still pretty sure he's just doing it to be a shit."

Morro simply grinned and moved over to mess with Kai's hair now, though he also was carefully undoing any knots and tangles.

Kai leaned into the touch slightly, relaxing some more.

Morro pulled Kai into a hug, to make it easier for him to fix his hair up a bit, and just… because he'd missed him.

Kai absolutely melted into the hug, letting Morro fix his hair.

"… So, should we get back on the road to the next weapon… or…?" Zane suggested softly.

"That would be wise." Wu nodded, "We have quite the distance to travel."

It'd been an eventful week… only one weapon was left to go. They'd opted to settle down for the night; just a few miles away from the Fire Temple.

Kai was watching Cole play the bongos that had been brought. It wasn't bad. But it was beginning to get on Kai's nerves.

Morro was leaning against a tree, listening to the talking around the fire and the music. Lloyd was close to Wu, clearly tuckered out but trying to stay awake.

Kai listened to the chatter for a few more minutes before suddenly standing up. He said nothing as he walked over to Cole.

Morro quirked a brow, though he was in no hurry to stop what was about to happen.

Kai stared down at Cole, "I would say I'm sorry for this. But I'm not." He proceeded to pick up the bongos and chucked them into the trees.

"Oh, come on! Was my playing that bad?" Cole asked.

"No. I just didn't wanna hear the bongos anymore." Kai walked away and plopped back down in his spot.

Morro chuckled a bit and moved over. He tapped Kai on the shoulder. "Think it's time to clear your noggin, bud."

Kai glanced at him and sighed a bit, "Okay.."

Morro held out a hand for him. "C'mon."

Kai took his hand quietly.

Morro pulled him upright and began to lead him a bit away from the campfire, close enough that they could still see it, but far enough that they were out of earshot. Thank goodness it was a moonlit night.

"Alright so… What are we doing?" Kai questioned.

Morro let go and backed up a bit. "Just… enjoying the breeze. It's quiet out here… helps to deal with all the stress."

Kai tilted his head, "Okay..?" He obliged but it didn't take long for him to speak again, "… How does this count as training?"

Morro smiled. "For our elements especially, it's good to center ourselves amongst nature. I… often find that going through the motions for Spinjitzu slowly while the wind is blowing helps."

Kai considered this, "I guess that makes sense.."

He nodded and took a deep breath. Slowly, he began to go through the motions. It was practiced and smooth. Each motion fluidly led to the next, it was becoming obvious he didn't have to think about it much as he practiced.

Kai watched him for a moment before beginning to follow him. Slowly going through the motions, though with a lot less precision than Morro.

"Remember, fire likes to settle in the core when not in use, but swells up to the heart when being brought to the surface." Morro said softly. "Wind collects in the lungs, but is all throughout the body. Air is fuel, and fire grows with the fuel it has."

Kai nodded slightly, "Mhm.."

Morro smiled a bit, though it faltered. "I'm sorry if… if it was bothering you. The wind being missing."

Kai glanced over, "… Bothering me is kind of an understatement.." He huffed softly, "… Felt like I was suffocating." He said bluntly.

Morro faltered, as the wind picked up slightly. He looked over to him, and quickly moved to hug him again.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Kai was still for a moment before returning the hug, "… It's fine. I'm fine.."

Morro shook his head, and let go a bit, before he took out the capsule that the choker and bracelet were in. "… We can make a little fire and melt them if you want." He said quietly.

Kai stared at it for a moment, then he nodded. "… I didn't like there being no wind…"

Morro began to clear a circle for the fire. "Yeah… well… vengestone blocks elemental powers…"

".. How…?" Kai asked softly.

"… I don't know." He admitted softly, and set the capsule amongst the wooden fuel. "Wanna try lighting it without any help?"

Kai paused then nodded again, "Yeah."

Morro gestured towards the pile, and smiled weakly. "You've got this."

Kai knelt down in front of the pile and held his hand at it, focusing.

Morro smiled a bit as a small flame caught on the twigs. "Tada! Don't tell Wu I helped you figure this out."

Kai grinned slightly, "Got it."

Morro sat down on the ground. "… So… are you… still upset about the whole- me talking to my Uncle thing…?"

"… Kinda.. But… I guess I understand why you're doing it…" Kai admitted softly.

"… I'm sorry for not telling you." He whispered. "Of all people, you should've known…"

"Why..?" Kai asked, sounding confused, "Why me?"

"… You were close with Uncle Garmadon, before your parents went missing…" Morro said quietly. "Granted, he was close with all of you, but you tended to gravitate towards him the most. Like how fire can help bring life, it can also cause destruction. And toddlers definitely know a thing or two about causing a bit of destruction."

"Oh… I was…?" Kai asked quietly.

Morro sighed. "Yeah. Used to latch onto his leg and cry when you had to go back home."

Kai looked over at him, "Really..?"

"Yeah…" Morro smiled sadly. "It took you forever to be convinced to let go."

"Oh…"

He gently poked the fire with one of his swords, seeing the capsule melt. "Heh. You made a really hot one."

Kai looked down at the fire, "… It's pretty cool.. Being able to do that.."

"Yeah." Morro smiled. "It's also a sign that your element is still strong."

"Really?" Kai looked at him again.

Morro nodded. "Like ice being colder and more firm, fire being hotter and burning this strongly is a sign of a healthy element."

"Ooh.. Okay." Kai nodded.

"Yeah." Morro smiled weakly. "I suppose… the wind is the healthiest when it's always moving for me. Wu used to say that before I'd fully adjusted to living at the Monastery, that there was almost always barely any wind…"

"Woah.. Really..? But it's windy all the time there now.." Kai said, "That's because of you..?"

He nodded. "Certain elements are highly reactive to their wielders… like Jay causing power surges when excited or stressed."

"Oh.. That makes sense." Kai hummed slightly.

Morro nodded. "When winter comes, I think you'll see how Zane's reacts."

Kai looked curious, "What? Will he, like, start growing icicles everywhere?"

Morro cackled. "Nope- I uh… actually don't know. I wasn't awake enough to know how Ice's element ever reacted during the winter."

"Really?" Kai tilted his head, "… Damn."

"Yeah." Morro sighed as the fire finally died down, the capsule had melted with its contents. "It was annoying… didn't even know I was dead."

"You… You didn't know?" Kai questioned.

Morro nodded. "… Father never told me. Only said that I was sick…"

"Oh wow.." Kai said, "How did you find out?"

"Garmadon and Wu were having an argument about it one night… 'bout letting me attend school in one of the nearby villages." Morro said quietly.

"Damn.." Kai said.

Morro nodded. "It's uh- it's okay though." He stood up and smiled. "Let's get back to camp, I think we're all good now."

Kai looked up at him, "… Okay.."

Morro held out his hand to help Kai stand, honestly he was just glad that this conversation had been productive.

Kai took his hand and let Morro help him up. He smiled a bit.

As they walked back to camp, the sound of drumming could be heard; specifically on the bongos Kai had chucked into the trees. Morro stifled a laugh and glanced at Kai.

Kai groaned, "I can't believe he actually got them again…"

"The percussionist's determination." Morro snickered.

Kai huffed and crossed his arms. He muttered something about… "Burning those stupid drums."

Morro rolled his eyes. "They're some good bongos. Don't do that. Just ask Cole to stop playing them."

Kai looked at him, "… But that's not as fun as burning them would be."

Morro stared at him for a moment. "Or you could just startle him enough so he stops playing. That could also work."

"Oh.. True." Kai shrugged.

Morro smiled a bit as they approached the camp. Lloyd was curled up by Zane, already fast asleep.

Zane was gently rubbing Lloyd's back while talking quietly with Jay.

Wu was meditating as Rocky and Wisp were gently bumping him with their snouts. Like they were checking if he was asleep or not.

Kai snorted softly as he watched the dragons nudge Wu. "They're like big cats.." He commented.

"Yep." Morro smiled as he moved over to his sleeping bag. "Big, amazing and adorable lil fellas."

Kai looked amused as he went to his sleeping bag as well.

Zane paused and looked at Morro, "But… They are not little?"

"They're still young dragons." Morro said. "You can tell by the scales and the headbutting."

"Really?" Jay asked as he glanced back at the dragons.

"Shard especially is young. Ice dragons become more like snow as they age, makes it easier for hunting." Morro said.

Zane hummed a bit, "Fascinating.."

"I'm… unsure about how old Wisp is. Storm dragons from what I've researched usually hatch to be dark so they remain camouflaged within the clouds as they follow the rest of their family." Morro frowned a bit.

"He has just barely reached adolescence, Morro." Wu said softly.

"Woah.. They're like.. Our age?" Jay asked.

"In dragon years? Yes." Wu replied.

"… How old are they in human years..?" Kai asked.

"… Well over sixty years old." Wu said gently as he grabbed his hat before Wisp could steal it.

"Sixty?!" Jay shrieked.

Lloyd growled angrily at Jay as a warning, his hands tightly gripping his blanket.

Jay immediately quieted down, "Sorry kid.."

Zane rubbed Lloyd's back gently.

"Yes, sixty." Wu sighed. "Though to them, it's more like twelve or so years. Teenagers, essentially."

"Woah.." Kai said, "So technically.. They're younger then us?"

Morro snorted. "They've definitely been teenagers longer than us though."

Jay snickered, "Yeahh.."

Cole was still gently drumming; not as loud as earlier, but but definitely enough that it may be a factor into keeping Lloyd awake.

Zane glanced over, "Cole.. Would you mind stopping or quieting down? Lloyd is trying to sleep." He said politely.

"Shit- right. Sorry, little buddy." Cole said quietly as he moved the bongos a bit away.

Lloyd only grumbled and curled up more.

"Either way, we'll be dealing with a volcano tomorrow, so… everybody get your darn rest." Morro said. "Otherwise I'm revoking cookie theft privileges for the week."

"Excuse me?"

Morro snickered as he hid in his sleeping bag once more.

Kai laid down as well, though it was hard to think about sleeping when they didn't have Nya back yet..

"Good night, everyone." Morro said quietly.

"Night!"

"Good night."

"G'night.."

"Night."

There were quiet footsteps just outside of the camp.

"Kai…"

Kai broke out of his light sleep, "Huh..?" He heard his name said again. He knew that voice.. "Was that..?"

"I have to go." Nya's voice said softly, before the footsteps retreated into the forest.

"Nya, wait up..!" Kai scrambled out of his sleeping bag and ran after her, "Slow down! Why are you running so fast!"

He couldn't see her anymore, he had lost her. "Nya! Where are you!?"

There was a popping and crackling noise a short ways away… like lava or fire after something had fallen in.

Kai looked around and saw the Fire Temple. After a moments hesitation, he headed for the temple.

"Don't worry… I'm right here, brother." Nya's visage shifted, morphing to become a shadowy reflection of Garmadon.

Kai's expression hardened, "Garmadon."

Garmadon's head tilted. "Forgot something?"

"You can't hurt me here. You're banished. Trapped in the Underworld!" Kai's fists clenched and he tensed.

"And that is why you're going to remove the Sword of Fire for me." Garmadon said softly.

"Hell no!" Kai glared at the shadow, "I won't do shit for you!"

"Are you sure about that?" Garmadon's shadow disappeared in an instant as Nya was dropped into view, chained and hanging from the ceiling of the temple.

"Kai!" She shouted.

Kai's eyes widened, "Nya!" His anger was overrun by worry and fear.

"If you don't remove the sword, how else will you cut the chains and save your sister?" Garmadon asked quietly.

"You know it's a trap!" Nya wiggled a bit, "I can.. free.. myself.." She struggled with the chains, "Okay, wow… These are tight.."

The chain suddenly dropped, like it'd been dislodged from something as Nya had struggled.

"Shit!"

Nya yelped and winced as she fell a few feet closer to the ground.

"Nya!" Kai grabbed the sword and jumped for Nya, performing Spinjitzu to give himself a boost as he cut the chain and freed Nya. He carefully got the both back down onto the ground.

"Y-You learned Spinjitzu?!" Nya cried.

"We figured it out when we were getting the Scythe of Quakes." Kai explained shortly, "Now, stay close."

"Trust me, I'm not going anywhere!" Nya hissed.

Kai's attention shifted back to Garmadon, "You can't hurt us! You're only a shadow!"

"Even shadows have their uses." Garmadon said softly as his shadow manifested once more in front of them. "… I am proud of you both, though… you've both grown so much. Keep being good, okay?"

Kai and Nya's eyes widened. They exchanged a glance.

"You.. You're proud of us..?" Nya asked quietly.

"How could I not be? It felt like yesterday when you both used to run around in circles with Jay and Cole… but we cannot reminisce much longer. Please, just give me the Sword of Fire. I can use it to escape the Underworld." Garmadon said softly.

"I… But.." Kai looked hesitant, but he and Nya both appeared to be considering it.

"I promise, after I leave the realm, you will be able to retrieve it and the other Golden Weapons." Garmadon pleaded. "I do not wish to fight you… not after everything."

"He.. He did get mad at the Skulkins for hurting us.. and for not feeding me.." Nya murmured to Kai.

Kai bit his lip. He looked at the sword, then at Garmadon again.

"… Okay."

Garmadon nodded gently, and walked over to them. He carefully pulled them both into a hug, and gently ruffled both of their hair. "You're both going to be just as strong as Ray and Maya, if not more. And I couldn't be prouder."

Nya let out a small sniffle and Kai's tension melted away.

"And Kai, I am unsurprised that you took after Morro in training without telling Wu. Keep it up, m'kay? But don't force it. You'll get hurt that way…"

Kai looked a bit surprised, but he nodded, "Okay.."

"And Nya? Remember… water is like the blood flowing through your veins, it follows a current, but you can nudge the current along, or change its direction entirely." Garmadon said softly. "And don't worry, it'll be frustrating, but that's part of the process."

"Okay.. Thank you.." Nya said quietly.

Garmadon glanced towards the entrance of the temple as he carefully took the Sword of Fire into his hands. "Wu is coming… I must go. Don't worry, he'll know how to get the weapons back. And… if you do not see me again for a while, I'm sorry. Tell Lloyd I love him."

"We will.." Kai said.

Garmadon nodded, as his shadow moved to go deeper into the temple, off of the drop that led to… who knows where?

Nya and Kai watched him go, both of them completely quiet.

Wu's steps got faster and he stopped, looking around the temple before he spotted Kai and Nya. "Kai- you found Nya-?! Where is the Sword of Fire?"

"… Garmadon has it." Nya answered softly.

"What- are you both hurt-?" Wu walked over to them and looked them over worriedly. "He must not unite all four weapons, do you two understand that?!"

"He didn't hurt us." Kai said, "He just… He just needed help. He said he was proud of us."

Wu sighed. "And he likely is… But he cannot unite all four weapons, it will kill him."

Kai and Nya's eyes widened.

"But.. He seemed so confident… That's he'd see us all again one day." Kai said, "Like he already knew what he was going to do to get free from the Underworld."

Wu took a deep breath. "Uniting all four weapons will cause a mortal to cease to exist… it will kill him…"

"But what if you're wrong?" Nya cried.

"You have to be!" Kai agreed, "He wouldn't let himself die! He wouldn't!"

"I have seen it happen! The moment you touch all four, you cease to exist. I have seen it…" He sounded remorseful now. "We cannot allow my brother to unite the Golden Weapons."

"You can say that again."

Wu jolted slightly and looked back at Morro, who was carrying Lloyd on his back.

"What are you doing?!"

"Lloyd and I needed to use the bathroom and we noticed you and Kai were missing." Morro deadpanned. "Also pretty sure the Skulkin yoinked the Golden Weapons so…"

"And you didn't stop them?!" Wu asked.

"Does it look like I can just- pause going to the bathroom to fight? Seriously?" Morro sighed. "Besides, knowing Jay he's probably cut them down from the rope by now and they're likely chasing after the weapons and…"

A loud crashing sound occurred distantly. "Yep. Called it."

"That sounded bad." Lloyd commented.

"Yep."

"We need to go help them." Wu said.

"Yeah…" Morro sighed. "Oi, Flame! Hey buddy! You here?"

The fire dragon dropped down from its perch higher up in the temple. It bumped its snout against Morro and Lloyd before turning to bump Kai and Nya.

Kai and Nya both yelped when the dragon turned to them.

"Alright! Now let's go save the dork trio." Morro turned on his heel. "Onward!"

"Onward!" Lloyd mimicked.

Wu sighed. "I will catch up."

"Alright.." Kai said, eyeing Flame warily.

Flame gently nudged them towards the exit, clearly eager to get outside.

Kai and Nya quickly went for the exit at the dragon's nudging.

As they got outside, one of the Skulkin's vehicles slammed through a wall. It almost looked like they'd… gone through a portal?

"Dammit! Fucking! Dammit!"

Morro whistled a bit. "Yeah, they got their butts handed to em."

Nya winced, "Yeah.. It seems like it.."

As they made their way over, the rest of the dragons landed near them and begun gently bumping the others with their snouts.

Jay was fuming, though he was pacing and not yelling like he normally would. He did gently press his hand against Wisp's snout to acknowledge that the dragon was there and no he wasn't ignoring them, he was just pissed.

Nya ran over to the others, "Hey guys! Did ya miss me?" She gave them a small smile, trying to lighten up the situation.

Jay immediately turned and ran over to her, hugging her close. "Hi…" He whispered hoarsely.

Nya squeaked a bit, but hugged him back, "Hi.."

"He is unable to talk right now. Cole accidentally whacked him in the throat." Zane pointed out.

Kai was walking over as Zane said that. He stopped and looked at Cole, "How did you manage that?" He asked incredulously.

"You try fighting while hanging onto a vehicle going sixty or seventy miles per hour!" Cole cried.

Kai simply raised an eyebrow.

Nya had pulled away slightly to look at Jay's throat, "Does it hurt..?" She asked softly.

Jay nodded a bit. "I'll live." He said quietly.

"Alright.." Nya said, though she still looked worried.

"Alright- so… Uncle Garmadon's got all the Golden Weapons, right?"

"Uh, yeah! We couldn't stop him- wait how'd he get the Sword of Fire?" Cole paused and looked to Kai.

Kai looked away, and Nya's gaze also shifted to the ground, "We… We gave it to him.." He mumbled.

"You what?!" Cole cried.

"I don't blame them." Morro said softly. "And don't yell. It's been… a lot."

"He was nice to us." Nya said quietly, "He didn't hurt us.. He just wants to get out of the Underworld…"

"… He said he's proud of all of us.. And he loves you, Lloyd." Kai added, matchung Nya's quiet tone.

Okay, Lloyd already looked tired but now he looked tired and sad because his eyes were tearing up now. "He did?"

"Of course he did, bud…" Morro said softly.

Kai nodded, "He misses you a lot.."

Lloyd sniffled a bit and quickly wiped at his tears. "Okay… okay…"

"But how are we going to get to the Underworld?! We can't cross over!"

"We may not be able to cross over…" Kai said, "But a dragon can." He looked at their four otherworldly companions.

"What?!" Cole practically shrieked. "I- w-we can't- nope- nope nope nope-"

"Cole, it's the only way." Morro said softly. "We have to do this or else Garmadon… we could lose him."

"And?! I mean I know he's Lloyd's father and he was supposedly all good and nice and all that, but have you forgotten that he's evil now?" Cole cried. "What if we go down there and it's all a trap?!"

"The last thing he wants is for us to get hurt." Morro said firmly. "Even Zane… I imagine he'd probably nearly kill a few Skulkin for hurting any one of us."

"Umm.. He kind of did do that.." Nya piped up, "I watched him yell at them for hurting us when they broke in and not feeding me… And then he threw them in the lava."

Morro blinked a bit. "Huh. Wow I wasn't expecting that- but eh what do I know, at this point I'm just as lost as you guys."

"Doesn't that mean that he's still dangerous?!"

"Not to us." Morro grinned. "Let's keep it that way and save our dumbass uncle."

Jay snorted at the wording and grinned, nodding along with Morro's words.

"Alright. Kai, I'm trusting you with Lloyd. Nya, are you okay to ride alongside Jay?" Morro asked.

Nya nodded, "I am, yeah."

"Alright. Cole, do you want me to help you so you don't have a panic attack and fall off of Rocky?" Morro looked over at Cole.

Cole glanced at the earth dragon and then looked back at Morro. He nodded meekly.

Morro shook his head with a smile and walked over. "C'mon. I'll explain everything you need to know on the way."

"Do they have to go so fast?!" Cole screamed.

"Yep!" Morro smiled.

Lloyd whooped and cheered, clearly enjoying the ride.

Jay would be cheering if he hadn't lost his voice. He just seemed content on making sure that everyone was okay, glancing at the other dragons and back at Nya as they flew.

Nya was smiling brightly, "This is amazing!"

"Yeah!" Kai grinned. He was making sure Lloyd didn't fall off, very pointedly in fact.

Zane smiled, "It is quite fun!" He agreed.

Cole pointedly did not agree with any of them.

"Eh, for those of us not used to high amounts of inertia and riding on the back of a dragon? I don't know if it qualifies as a good time but I unfortunately do have to agree!" Morro called.

Cole did not say anything. His eyes were squeezed shut.

Morro sighed and gently nudged him. "Hey, you don't have to enjoy it, but it's good to take in your surroundings. This might not be the last time you have to ride on the back of a dragon… besides, Rocky likes you."

Cole grimaced but reluctantly opened his eyes.

They were going fast, beginning to approach a mountain. "Uh, might wanna scratch that for now, bud. They're about to cross through."

Cole's eyes widened as he saw the rapidly approaching mountain. His eyes were shut again within seconds.

And soon enough, they were through in what felt like an instant, their once-bright surroundings now dark as their dragons stopped themselves.

"Good work, alright- let's go find Garmadon and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid-" Morro said as he climbed down off of Rocky's back. "And… let's not get caught."

Kai slid off of Flame and helped Lloyd down as well.

"So… this is where Dad lived all this time…?" Lloyd asked.

Kai looked around, "I guess so.."

"… No wonder he's grumpy." Lloyd said softly.

Kai snorted, "Yeahh.."

"… I'm gonna give him a cookie." Lloyd said quietly.

"Good idea." Morro smiled. "Let's go get past all these Skulkin first."

Kai nodded "Let's do this."

"First…" Morro looked back at Lloyd and handed him a sword. "If you need to use it, use it."

Lloyd nodded and held the sword tight. "I'll kick butt!"

"Don't rush into battle." Morro instructed. "You're only to use that as self defense or as a last resort."

"Okay…"

Zane hummed a bit, "We will have to be careful here. This is the Skulkins' home. They will know the terrain better then us."

"Then we better make this an even playing field." Morro grinned. "Don't follow what I do, but make sure you get to the same place as me, got it?"

"What does that even mean?" Kai questioned.

Morro rushed forward, wind trailing fast behind him as the area became flooded with strong winds. "Hey, assholes! I'm here to see my Uncle, any chance you could point me in the right direction?"

There was a stunned silence over the group as they watched him run off.

Several Skulkin warriors ran at Morro, attempting to either apprehend or kill him, but he just laughed. The winds grew in intensity until the Skulkin in the way were launched off the edge with a strong wind.

"And~ bye bye!" Morro grinned.

They watched for a moment. Then Kai took a breath, "Well.. Let's get moving." He said.

"Woo!" Lloyd grinned and ran ahead to catch up with Morro. "That was amazing! How'd you know you could do that-?"

"I was just… having fun." Morro smiled. "Works best when you remain in the moment. Just focus on your goal, and how to get there."

"It was pretty cool." Nya commented as she caught up with them.

Morro sighed. "Eh. Just… y'know, existing."

Zane tilted his head. "You still have not unlocked your true potential, and yet you have that much control over the wind?"

"It's called practice. And… it mostly responds to my emotions anyways…" Morro sheathed his swords. "C'mon, I think the throne room is this way.

"Great. Let's go then." Cole said.

As they descended the stairs, there were the sounds of fighting. Morro's pace quickened as soon as he heard the clashing of the weapons.

The others also quickened their paces and Nya scooped Lloyd into her arms, worried about what they were about to witness.

They soon entered the throne room, and in the center, Master Wu and Samukai were fighting. Wu had the Sword of Fire… somehow.

Cole, Jay, and Zane tried to rush in to join. Though, Kai stayed back, realizing this fight wasn't for them.

Morro held his hand out to block the three of them. "We're late. This is his fight."

Zane frowned but obliged, as did Cole and Jay.

Nya held Lloyd close, worry in her eyes.

As Wu fought, Samukai used the Shurikens of Ice to freeze the sword onto the ground, then the nunchucks to try and electrocute Wu, which… thankfully, he dodged.

But the last blow from the Scythe of Quakes forced Wu to stumble away from the sword. He watched in horror as Samukai stood before the Sword of Fire.

"Bring me the weapons." Garmadon commanded.

"No! You will obey me now!" Samukai said as he grabbed the Sword of Fire, suddenly betraying Garmadon.

Garmadon chuckled. "Oh, really, now?"

Samukai faltered as the weapons began glowing, "What's happening to me?!"

"You thought I wouldn't have planned on your betrayal." Garmadon stood up and walked towards Samukai. "Not even I can withstand the power of all four Golden Weapons. And think of this as punishment for what you did to my family, Samukai…"

Samukai screamed as he exploded.

All the teens, and Lloyd's, eyes were wide.

Though, with the force of the explosion, a vortex was created. Garmadon sighed, and looked back at them. "I did not want you all to see this…"

Lloyd took a shaky step forward before he was running. He hugged Garmadon tight. "Dad!"

"Hello, son…" Garmadon said softly. "Promise me you'll stay out of trouble while I'm gone?"

"I-I promise." Lloyd looked up at him. "… Want some cookies for the road?"

All the other teens stayed back, just… watching..

Garmadon smiled a bit. "Alright…"

Lloyd smiled and reached into his backpack. He pulled out the bag of cookies that he'd been snacking on throughout the week. "They might be a little stale, but they're still good!"

Garmadon nodded a bit and took the bag, before he looked back at the teens. "… I'm very proud of all of you. And Wu, try not to keep too many secrets from them. You know Morro won't let you hear the end of it if they find out another one."

Wu sighed. "Father would not want you to do this."

"… Father is no longer here. And my path is long and winding." Garmadon said softly. "Lloyd, please go back to the others.. I must go now."

Lloyd nodded a bit and ran back over to Nya, though he looked back as Garmadon walked through the vortex… and vanished.

Nya gently patted his head.

"He is gone… but he will return." Wu said softly.

"He better!" Morro huffed. "I still gotta make him some soup."

"… How many bowls of soup have you promised him?" Wu raised a brow.

Morro looked away pointedly as he whistled.

Jay snickered a bit, grinning.

"So… are we all in agreement that when we get back we're watching Beetlejuice and not Starfarer?" Lloyd grinned.

Jay spun to face him, "What?! NO!" And then he paused, "Oh hey, my voice is back!"

Nya smiled. "Glad to hear your voice again."

Jay flushed red as his gaze snapped back to her, "O-oh um- Yeah- Thanks.." He immediately hid his face in his scarf after that mess of a sentence and groaned a bit.

Morro chuckled a little.

Kai looked a bit amused and snickered.

Lloyd had that shit eating grin again.

"Jay and Nya sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He sang.

Nya squeaked and went just as red as Jay was.

"First comes love, then comes-" He squeaked as Morro walked over and gently flicked his forehead. "Hey!"

"No more teasing until we get back home, squirt."

"Hmph! No fun…"

"Nah. Nya's gotta recover from being kidnapped. And you have to get to bed." Morro threatened.

Lloyd pouted, "Rotten cousin.."

"Stinker." Morro smiled a bit and ruffled his hair.

Kai smiled a bit, "Let's get going.. I wanna sleep in a real bed again soon.."

"And take a shower!" Cole yawned. "Fuck… I'm so tired…"

"Yeah, yeah… let's get back home."

Chapter Text

"This sucks!" Nya whined. Of course, having been barred from training to recover was… going to suck.

"No kidding…" Kai huffed. "Seriously, this is a pain in the ass…"

"Your fault for not sleeping, bud." Morro grinned.

"You are not any better with sleep than he was, Morro." Zane pointed out.

"Yeah, well I at least am used to having shit sleeping habits!" Morro rested most of his weight on the armrest of the couch. "Besides, not like any of us could've trained with the hot flash going through right now."

"He's got a point there." Cole sighed.

"Agreed." Jay sighed as he flopped down onto the couch. "It's way too hot out there to do anything!"

"We could get the hose out and play with that." Lloyd suggested.

Nya perked up, "Oh, please? That sounds fun!"

"But it's so hot outside!" Cole groaned. "Even if we can, we'd still be dying of heat exhaustion!"

Morro thought for a moment. "What if we do it after the sun has passed the Monastery walls?"

Zane nodded, "It would be cooler then." He said.

"Yeah! We can do it then!" Jay grinned.

Nya beamed, "I can't wait.."

"… Should we play a game to pass the time?" Morro asked.

"Yes, please." Jay said, "I'm so bored!"

Morro got up and grabbed a box of cards off of the table. "Alright… everyone remembers the rules, right?"

"Can we please have the card swap rules?! Please??" Lloyd begged.

"No. Last time that happened we wound up with scorched cards."

Kai huffed softly, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Not saying it's a bad thing, but I'd rather avoid more scorched cards." Morro smiled gently as he got the already shuffled cards out of the box. He sat down amongst the circle and began to pass out seven cards to them.

Jay could barely sit still, just happy to be doing something again.

"Three… two… one…" Morro flipped over the card from the deck and placed it in the center. Hm… a red 4.

Nya hummed a bit as she looked at her cards. She set down a red 9.

Jay grimaced and reached over to grab a card from the deck. "… You have got to be kidding me."

Cole snickered a bit as he set down a red 2.

Lloyd slapped a red skip into the middle, grinning at Kai.

Kai blinked and then glared at Lloyd, "Really?"

"Yep!"

Zane looked at the red skip, looked at his cards, and then looked Morro dead in the eyes as he set down a yellow skip.

"I-… Okay." Morro sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Nya, you're up."

Nya snickered and set down a yellow 8.

Jay sighed and set a blue 8 down.

Cole grinned and set down a blue 5.

Lloyd set down a blue reverse card. A shit eating grin on his face as he looked to see Kai's reaction.

There was smoke coming up from Kai's hands and the cards. He did not look happy as he stared at the reverse.

"Ouch, gonna let Kai play?" Cole asked Lloyd.

"Yeah, but this is payback for the over sixty cards I had in my hand last time!" Lloyd stuck his tongue out.

Kai huffed, "That was not my fault, brat."

"You were laughing!" Lloyd accused.

"So was Jay!" Kai shot back.

"Jay didn't place that last plus two!" Lloyd cried.

"Can you two please stop fighting?" Cole asked as he set down a blue 0. "It's getting annoying."

Kai huffed.

Jay set down a blue 3.

Nya set down a wild card. "Green!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Morro cried as he grabbed another card. "What the hell?!"

Kai snickered a bit.

Zane set down a green reverse. And like with Morro, he stared Kai in the eyes.

"I am going to kick your ass in training when I can!" Kai threatened.

Morro grabbed another card from the deck, and growled in irritation. "I am going to throw this fucking deck I swear upon our Grandfather."

Nya giggled and set down a green 9.

Cole set down a green 7.

Meanwhile Lloyd grumbled and set down a green 5.

Kai sighed and finally set down a card, a green 4. It was slightly burnt.

Zane once again, stared at Morro as he placed down a green skip- "HOW MANY OF THOSE DO YOU EVEN HAVE?!" He shrieked.

Everyone started laughing at Morro's anguish.

"I can't believe that!" Nya wheezed as she reached over and grabbed a green 9 to set on the pile.

Jay was hunched over with laughter, absolutely dying.

"Jay, do you need a minute?" Cole asked between giggles.

Jay simply wheezed in response.

"Okay… break time until Jay is no longer a tea kettle." Lloyd said as he set his cards down. "I'm gonna get a juice box."

Kai snorted, "Just be quick, brat."

Lloyd nodded and darted out of the room.

"… Do not look at his cards." Zane said.

"I wasn't gonna.." Kai huffed.

Zane hummed a bit as Lloyd scrambled back into the room with his juice box in hand. "Haha! Record time!"

"Did you have to speed in and out to avoid Wu cooking?"

"… Yes."

Jay was finally catching his breath.

"Anyways! I think Wu's making dumplings, couldn't tell what kind though. Had to get out of there fast." Lloyd said as he plopped down between Kai and Cole yet again.

"Ooh, dumplings.." Cole grinned.

"Mhm!" Lloyd stabbed the straw into the juice box and sipped from it. "So… Jay are you gonna play a card or draw?"

Jay nodded a bit, still giggling. He set down a green 5.

Cole winced and set down a wild. "Red."

"No!" Lloyd whined as he reached over and grabbed a card from the deck.

Kai snorted and set down a red 9.

Zane stared at Morro again, and set down a +4 wild-

"I am ACTUALLY going to boobytrap your room!" Morro hissed as he grabbed four from the deck.

Nya snorted, "Color, Zane?"

"Ah, right. Yellow."

Nya nodded slightly and looked at her cards again. She huffed and picked up a card.

Jay glanced at his cards and grimaced. He grabbed a card and glanced at it for a brief moment before he slapped the plus 4 wild down onto the middle. "Blue!"

"Jay!" Cole cried as he grabbed four cards.

Lloyd snickered and set down a blue 1.

Kai set down a blue reverse. "Do it again."

Lloyd looked at his cards again and grumbled and picked up another card.

Cole glanced at Morro's hand, and grinned as he set down a blue +2.

Jay grinned and set down his own red +2.

Nya then set down her green +2.

Morro's eyes widened and he set down a red +2, causing Cole's eyes to widen in horror.

Zane was silent, simply staring at the four +2s. He then let out a resigned sigh and picked up eight cards.

Kai set down a red 6. "Sorry, buddy…"

Lloyd tried to hold his giggles as he reached for a card, then set down a red 5.

Cole set down a red skip.

Jay groaned and huffed.

Nya set down a red 1, though she glared at her cards.

Morro snickered as he placed down a red skip card.

Zane frowned heavily, "This is disheartening."

"Tis called karma, my dear friend." Morro gently pat his shoulder.

"Karma for what? I was simply playing the game with the cards I had..?" Zane said innocently.

Morro blinked. "Fuck… fuck! Why do you have to be so persuasive?! Every time!"

Kai set down a red 3. "You also have a soft spot for him, dude."

"I will throw you at your bed." Morro threatened.

"Good luck catchin' me." Kai shot back.

Lloyd had to grab a card.

Cole glanced at Kai's cards and Nya's cards nervously. He set down a plus 2.

Jay set down another plus 2.

Nya huffed and grabbed four cards.

Cole frowned, now looking between Jay and Kai. He did not think that through.

Morro glanced at Kai and Jay, before he set down a red reverse card. "Get payback."

"Hey!" Jay squawked.

Nya grinned and set down a plus 2.

Jay groaned and dramatically reached over to grab two cards. "What the hell, Morro?!"

Nya snickered, and ruffled Jay's hair to mess with him.

Jay sank a bit, his face red.

Nya giggled softly. He was kinda cute when he got all red…

"Get a room!" Lloyd shouted.

Kai choked on his breath.

Nya went bright red, "Lloyd!"

Morro rolled his eyes. "He'd be doing this even if it was his own parents staring at each other."

"Duh! Because relationships are weird!" Lloyd huffed.

Cole patted his head, "Alright kid."

"… Cole, it's your turn?" Morro pointed out.

Cole paused, "Oh- Right-" He looked at the cards and sighed. He picked up a card.

Lloyd stared at Kai's hand and reached for a card in the middle before he slapped down a yellow +2.

Kai grinned at the kid and then set down his own blue +2, "Uno."

"I'm gonna bite you!" Lloyd threatened.

Zane slowly grabbed four cards. "Must you always involve me?"

Kai looked a bit apologetic, "Sorry Zane.."

Morro set down a blue skip.

Nya huffed and Jay set down a blue 4.

Cole set down a green 4.

"I'm gonna bite you too, Cole!" Lloyd hissed as he grabbed a card from the deck.

Kai grinned and set down his last card. A green 7. "First!"

Cole was smiling at Kai's victory, and Lloyd scowled. "You both ALSO need a room!"

Kai flushed bright red and immediately went for the kid. He tried to get the kid into a headlock.

And as he did so, Lloyd bit his arm.

Kai yelped, "Ow!" He immediately released the kid. The bite was bleeding.

"Lloyd!" Morro hissed.

"He was trying to headlock me!"

"Because you teased him. Kai, go pour some hydrogen peroxide on that and get it bandaged up. Supplies are in the cabinet in the bathroom." Morro said plainly.

Kai nodded and got up, headed out of the living room.

"… So…" Zane set down a green skip, causing Morro to gasp in offense. "Are we going to discuss it?"

Nya snorted as she was forced to grab a card, "We can, if we wanna embarrass the shit outta Cole."

"Guys!" He hissed.

Jay smiled. "C'mon, it's all in good fun!"

Lloyd giggled like the little menace he was.

"Stop…" Cole leaned back, covering his face with his hand. "You all suck!"

Jay set down a green 3. "But either way. Why do you like Kai?"

Cole was saved from answering by a sudden thud from the bathroom and the clattering of something.

"Well, uh! I'm gonna go check on that! Bye!" Cole slapped his cards onto the floor and ran to the bathroom.

Kai was crumpled on the ground with the medkit supplies scattered around him.

Cole sighed and walked over. He carefully poured hydrogen peroxide over his bite before he bandaged it up. "How many times are you gonna pull this, Kai?"

Of course, he'd get no response, but… Cole shook his head with a smile and carefully picked Kai up. "Alright, back to your room, man. The bathroom floor is not good for your back."

Kai was mostly limp in Cole's hold, barely reacting at all.

As Cole got him back to his bedroom, he carefully tucked Kai into his bed. "Get plenty of rest, okay? You did great today."

Kai shifted and curled up a bit in the warmth of his bed.

Cole smiled weakly and pressed his fingers to his lips, then to Kai's forehead. He didn't want to do that… not yet. Not when he didn't know if Kai even liked him at all like that.

Cole left his room, but paused a bit to look back at him. "Have some good dreams, okay?"

Kai had a small smile on his face now.

When Cole finally made it back, the others were looking back at him and grinning.

Nya was snickering so much.

"So, how'd our resident Prince Charming save the day?" Morro grinned as Cole grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at him.

"You. Are such an ass." Cole hissed as he got back to his spot.

"Aw, I know." Morro grinned, like the little shit he was.

Jay cackled, grinning like a shit.

Cole scowled and grabbed a card. "I cannot believe you guys are being like this over a crush."

"I mean we'd be teasing Nya or Jay if one of them had left the room!" Lloyd pointed out loudly as he also grabbed a card.

Nya groaned and buried her face in her hands. Jay similarly seemed embarrassed.

"Well… are you going to answer why you like Kai?" Zane asked as he set down another green skip, much to Morro's dismay.

Cole opened his mouth, then closed it. He… He really didn't have an answer.

"… You don't know? Seriously?" Lloyd asked. "I mean… isn't that a little weird?"

Morro sighed. "I've encountered weirder crushes with other people. This is nothing."

Nya looked up, "Really?" She picked up and set down a green 6.

Morro groaned. "Do I even need to discuss how much Katy's hear me out list is horrifying?"

"What's a hear me out list?" Lloyd asked.

Nya tilted her head, "I've never heard of one before.."

Zane frowned slightly, "I am unsure as well."

Morro ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, so… a hear me out list is basically… a list of fictional characters that you'd like to kiss."

"Oh.. Ew.." Lloyd stuck his tongue out, "Gross."

"Never said it wasn't."

Jay squinted. "Who's on Katy's list?"

"How about how many villains are in Starfarer, including the annoying ones."

Jay grimaced. "Yikes."

"Yeah. And several horror novels of which I will not name for they are not appropriate." Morro said quickly.

"Ooooh!" Lloyd snickered.

"I'm old enough to read them, Lloyd. You, on the other hand, are not. And I don't want you getting any ideas because you'll wind up with nightmares for weeks." Morro frowned.

Lloyd huffed, "I'm a big kid! I don't get nightmares!"

"Nightmares happen to everyone, Lloyd. Even Wu." Morro said softly. "It's not just a kid thing."

"Well I won't get nightmares from dumb books!" Lloyd crossed his arms.

"… Even if the books have graphic descriptions of injuries and occasionally images of the horrors being described?" Morro deadpanned. "Lloyd, buddy. If I showed you any of those books, Wu would ground me for like- forever."

Nya shuddered, "Those sound like too much even for me.."

"Girl, you're thirteen." Morro said sassily. "I wouldn't be expecting you to read horror novels like that anyways."

Nya stuck her tongue out at him, "Shush."

"… So! Cole, on a scale of one to ten how bad is your crush on Kai?" Jay grinned as he grabbed another card.

Cole flushed again, "Um.. Seven.." He murmured, clearly embarrassed.

"Ohhh, so bad enough you have difficulty talking to him sometimes." Jay nudged him. "Eh, it'll get better, don't worry."

Cole set down a yellow 6. "Don't you have difficulty talking to Nya sometimes?"

Jay squeaked, "I- Wha- That is not the point!"

"Mhm. Sure. Pipsqueak, you're up." Cole tapped Lloyd's shoulder before he slapped down a wild.

"Green!"

Zane set down another wild card. "Blue."

Morro sighed as he set down a blue +2.

Nya huffed and grabbed two cards.

Jay set down a blue reverse card. "Here's a turn, Nya!"

Nya smiled slightly, "Thanks.." She set down a blue 9.

Morro squinted and set down a red 9.

Zane set down a red 4.

Lloyd paused for a moment as he stood up and stomped his feet on the ground in frustration before he grabbed a card from the deck.

Cole smiled and set down a red 6.

Jay slowly set down a red 2.

Nya sighed and set down a yellow 2.

Morro set down a yellow 6. Though he was squinting at Jay's singular card.

Zane set down a yellow 2.

Lloyd, on the other hand, slapped a yellow skip card down.

Cole groaned, "Damn, kid! Now Jay might win!"

Jay popped the wild card down. "And a blue victory!" He cheered.

Nya smiled slightly, ".. Congrats.."

Jay sank a little bit. "T-Thanks…"

"Room! You two! Go!!!" Lloyd whined.

"Oh hush it, Lloyd." Nya huffed, looking slightly red.

"… I forfeit." Morro set his cards down.

"That's because you're a loser!" Lloyd called.

"No, it's because I'm tired and strategizing is hard on three hours of sleep." Morro leaned back against the couch again.

"That seems like loser talk." Jay said, with a grin.

"I shall kick your ass in training once we're done recovering." Morro pointed at him.

Jay snickered, "I'll be prepared."

"You better." Morro grinned. "So…"

Nya put a blue 2 in the middle, and Zane set down a blue 1.

Lloyd looked at his cards, then set a blue skip down.

"Are you kidding me?" Cole asked as Lloyd stuck his tongue out.

Nya grimaced as she set down a blue reverse card.

Cole sighed and grabbed a card, then groaned.

"Ouch… sorry, Cole." Nya said quietly as Lloyd slapped a red reverse card onto the deck.

Cole groaned and grabbed another card, "Aw c'mon!"

Lloyd cackled as Nya set down a red 9.

Zane looked at his cards and gained a small smirk, but quickly schooled his expression. He set down the +24 wild.

"No! No no no!" Lloyd whined. "I don't want twenty-six cards!"

"My apologies.. I didn't have a red or a nine.." Zane said, with that innocent voice again.

"… Ugh! Why do you have to make it so hard to be mad at you?! It's annoying!" Lloyd huffed.

"Well.. either way, it's twenty-four cards or an embarrassing secret. So… spill the beans or else you gotta draw, Lloyd." Jay grinned.

Nya giggled softly.

"F-Fine! I have a crush! Shut up!" Lloyd snapped, his face red from either anger or embarrassment. Probably both.

"Ooohh! Little mister "relationships are weird" has a crush!" Jay snickered.

"Yeah! And you're never finding out who it is because if you do I'm gonna throw your stupid nunchucks at your face!" Lloyd threatened, though his voice squeaked so much it couldn't be constituted as much of a threat…

Jay just continued to snicker, not at all put off by the threat.

Lloyd growled angrily. His tail flicked with aggression.

Jay couldn't help his continued snickers, it was just too funny.

Lloyd set his cards down and lunged at Jay, growling angrily. Morro winced as his young cousin tackled him.

Jay shrieked and fell back as he tried to get Lloyd off of him.

Nya scooted closer to Morro and away from the wrestling boys.

Morro grabbed his cup and took a sip. "I'm unsurprised this happened… just surprised it took this long."

Jay flailed as he was attacked by the half-feral nine year old.

Cole quickly moved the decks out of the way of Jay's feet.

"Uh… you expected this to happen?" Nya whispered to Morro.

"He used to get like this all the time as a toddler… most of the time it was playful but when he was angry? Uhh.. let's just say I still have a few scars."

"So he was always quite feral?" Zane asked.

Morro nodded. "You should've seen him when he used to get his zoomies on the regular. I think Wu's still bruised from it!"

"Get him off of me!" Jay shrieked.

"You gotta fight back, dude! Just don't hurt him!" Morro called.

"I think Jay's more likely to get hurt than Lloyd is.." Nya commented.

Morro sighed. "Lloyd!"

"What?!"

"… Is your crush on Brad?" He asked smugly, and Lloyd proceeded to immediately switch targets, launching himself at Morro who caught him and tickled him aggressively. "You know how this ends! You fell for the classic blunder!"

Lloyd shrieked, "No! You rotten cousin!"

Jay scrambled away, breathing heavily.

And eventually… Lloyd slumped in Morro's arms, pouting. "I hate you."

"No you don't."

"You're a jerk!"

"Not my fault you left your journal open in your room." Morro grinned as Lloyd smacked him in the face.

Nya giggled softly.

"Isn't that an invasion of privacy?" Zane asked.

"Yeah." Morro sighed. "Not my fault Lloyd's handwriting still needs some work-"

Lloyd bit down on Morro's arm, growling angrily.

"Ow?" Morro said quietly, though he didn't let go of Lloyd.

Nya reached over and ruffled Lloyd's hair, "It's okay, Lloyd. Everyone gets crushes. It's okay to have one."

Lloyd growled and finally let go of Morro's arm. "Morro hasn't had a crush!"

"It's true." He shrugged. "Haven't had a single one… ironically."

"Oh really..? Not once?" Nya tilted her head.

"Not once." Morro sighed. "Dunno what it is, but Demitri's never had an actual crush either. He and Pip are only a thing because of benefits."

"Benefits..?" Nya questioned.

"They share an apartment and have lower rent because they got married legally." He shrugged. "Plus it keeps people from asking either of them out since both of them hate dates."

"Oh.. But they aren't really together?" Nya asked curiously.

"Yeah, they're not. Caught Pip making out with Katy a few times, actually." Morro shrugged.

"EW!" Lloyd shouted.

"Yeah, I know. I don't get what the hype is all about either." Morro said as he rested his chin on top of Lloyd's head.

"Huh… I though you had to be with someone to do that stuff.." Nya said.

"Eh… Katy said they just do it for fun." He shrugged. "Either way, Demitri isn't really interested in anyone, so he's mostly just been buried in his work and all that stuff."

Nya hummed a bit, "Oh."

"Yeah. It's not really my business to judge either, since I'm not involved in anything beyond being their friend who consistently gets his bike absolutely wrecked almost every other month… so." Morro hummed. "Not our lives, not our business."

"I guess that makes sense." Nya said.

"Yeah." Morro released Lloyd. "Anyways, I gotta get this cleaned up before it gets infected."

"All the supplies are on the counter still." Cole told him.

Morro gave a thumbs up as he got up and left the room.

"… So… now what?" Lloyd asked.

"Not sure.." Cole said, "The games kinda done, I guess? Morro forfeit and you set your cards down to tackle Jay."

"I- hmph!" Lloyd huffed. "I was gonna win, anyways."

"Sure you were bud." Jay said.

"Perhaps we should go outside and mess around with the hose now? It does seem like the sun has passed over the wall."

Nya perked up, "Oh! Yes, please!"

Jay nodded and got up. "C'mon! Time to make an absolute mess!"

"Remember, no spraying the water at the doors!" Cole called as Jay sprinted out of the room. "… Or the windows…"

Nya was quick to run after Jay, abandoning her cards.

Lloyd scrambled after them, cackling as he nearly tripped Morro as he walked back from the bathroom.

Cole sighed and started to clean up the cards.

Zane began to help, quiet for a moment, before he hummed. "What does a crush feel like?"

Cole paused, "I- Why the sudden question?"

"I… do not know what a crush feels like." Zane said. "I would like to know, in the event I wind up with a crush one day."

"Oh um.. Well, they can feel different for everyone. Cause everyone feels love in their own way." Cole said.

"I see…" Zane hummed. "Well… hm. Perhaps if I ask Nya or Jay…"

"Yeah.. I'm not the best at stuff like that.." Cole said apologetically.

"It is quite alright." Zane smiled a bit. "But… how does your crush on Kai feel? Just as an example."

"I.. It's a bit suffocating honestly.. It feels overwhelming a lot." Cole admitted.

"Oh…" Zane frowned a bit. "Apologies…"

"It's okay. Not like you caused it." Cole said.

Zane nodded, and got the cards put back into the box. "I am surprised at how quick that game went… Though, considering Kai passed out, I am grateful it didn't last too long."

Cole sighed, "Yeah.. After our water game, someone should check on him again.."

"… You are not going to check on him yourself?" Zane asked.

"Oh- Well, I- I guess I could.." Cole said, flushing a bit.

Zane hummed, and put the box back onto the table. "Let us go join them before they've fully soaked the courtyard."

Cole smiled slightly, "Yeah, can't let them have all the fun."

Zane walked out of the room to head to the courtyard where the others were playing.

Cole followed him.

Nya and Jay were both already soaked.

"Muaahahahaha! Taste my wrath!" Lloyd announced as he continued to absolutely soak everybody that was outside. And this is why they shouldn't give him the hose.

Nya glared playfully. Her hand twitched by her side and she focused on the water.

"Don't get too cocky, Lloyd!" Morro called.

Nya had a concentrated look. She shifted her hand a bit and tried to get the water to move the way she wanted.

Morro smirked as Lloyd continued, though he was glancing at Nya.

All of a sudden the water shifted around and sprayed back at Lloyd.

Lloyd shrieked and dropped the hose a tad too late as he got drenched.

Morro began to clap. "Nice."

"What the fuck was that?!" Lloyd screamed. "That's not fair!!"

Nya grinned, "I did it!" She whooped, and the water returned to normal.

"Did I seriously have to be the one to get soaked?! Why couldn't it have been Jay?!" Lloyd cried.

"You were the one with the hose." Nya grinned.

Lloyd picked the hose up again and aimed it at her. He was pissed.

Nya grinned and swiped her hand up. The water followed her hand and went back at Lloyd again.

He shrieked once more and scrambled to hide behind Morro.

Nya, being the little shit she is, made the water follow Lloyd.

He continued to scream and run around, trying to get her to mess up and hit somebody else with water as Cole walked over to pick up the hose.

Nya grinned, "You can't escape, Lloyd!"

"You suck! I hate you!" Lloyd screamed as he scrambled up onto Jay's back.

Jay yelped, "Hey!"

"No, you don't!" Nya snickered.

Morro was smiling at the chaos, the winds keeping a steady breeze. "Lloyd, you're trying to fight against an elemental master who has no hesitation to be a shit back at you. You're not getting out of this without being soaked."

"Bite me!" He hissed. "I don't wanna get soaked!"

Nya's gaze shifted to Morro and she smirked.

The water suddenly swapped directions and was now hitting Morro.

Morro closed his eyes and gave a bit of a shrug, like he was asking why.

Nya giggled like a menace, "This is fun.."

"What is going on out here?" Wu asked suddenly.

Nya yelped and let go of the water immediately, "Nothing!"

Cole sighed and finally turned to hit Zane with some water, since he'd been waiting so patiently during the mayhem.

Wu narrowed his eyes. "Morro, you taught her how to move water, didn't you?"

"Uhhh… noooo… no. Totally didn't, Father. She figured it out on her own." He lied, very poorly in this case.

Nya smiled innocently and nodded.

"… Morro, you're grounded. I know you helped her figure it out."

"Hey!" Morro cried. "We were playing!"

"Yeah! Why're you grounding him for that?!"

"Because she's not ready." Wu said firmly.

Nya's fists clenched, "I'm not ready? I'm not ready? Why the hell am I not ready! I learned it perfectly easily! And Jay is my age, so why is he ready but I'm not? Is it because I'm a girl? I have to wait longer cause I'm weaker than the boys? Cause that's bullshit!"

The water suddenly shifted aggressively and slammed into Wu.

"I am more than ready! You just don't want to fucking train me!" Nya stormed back inside, clearly very pissed off now.

Morro got up and walked over to Wu, though he didn't fully approach him, keeping his distance. "You do realize it's stupid, right? You don't get to baby her just because she doesn't have part of her elemental powers connected to the golden weapons. Besides that, she'll probably kick your ass if you try to keep her from training."

"Morro, you know that-"

"Ap-ap-ap!" Morro said sharply. "Remember what Uncle said about forcing it?"

Jay watched Wu and Morro nervously then glanced at where Nya had gone in.

"This is not the same as forcing Spinjitzu-"

"It's the same as forcing oneself to suppress who they are." Morro growled. "If you keep pulling this shit I'm going to hide all the scrolls in the library somewhere you'll never find them."

Lloyd frowned a bit. He didn't like this.. He didn't like fighting.. He hid his face against Jay's shoulder.

Morro took a shaky breath. "What would Maya say if she found out you weren't going to help Nya with her powers as soon as possible?!"

"… She'd kick my ass." Wu muttered.

"Precisely. So would Ray." Morro pointed out.

Wu grimaced and avoided meeting eye contact. "… I will do what I can to teach her."

"Good! Glad we could have this discussion!" Morro swiftly turned to scoop Lloyd up off of Jay's back.

Lloyd yelped a bit, letting go of Jay and immediately clinging to Morro instead.

Jay let out a small squeak as he stumbled back a bit.

Morro quickly left the courtyard and darted to his room before he'd darted into Lloyd's room.

Jay stared at Wu for a moment before going inside too. He couldn't bring himself to go back playing after everything.. Wu had ruined the mood. And he wanted to check on Nya..

Nya's door had been slammed shut, she seemed to be screaming into a pillow.

Jay winced a bit and knocked on her door, "Nya…?"

"… What is it?" She asked.

"I… I just wanted to come check on you.. I'm sorry about what Wu said.." Jay said nervously.

"… 's not your fault." Nya mumbled. "… You can come inside if you want… it's annoying talking through the door."

Jay hesitantly opened the door and came in.

Nya was sitting on her bed. She'd already gotten into some dry clothes and was hugging a pillow close to her chest. "… Hey."

"… Hi.." Jay quietly shut the door. He pulled his scarf up a bit, feeling nervous.

"… You feeling okay?" Nya asked.

"I- Why are you asking me that- I should be asking you that!"

"Because you look like you're cold!" She huffed.

"I- I'm okay..!" Jay's nervousness was making him stutter more, "You- You're the one who walked away upset.."

"Yeah.. because Wu's being a massive jerk!" Nya got up and walked over to her closet. She grabbed a blanket and put it around Jay's shoulders. "Here, you're shaking a bit."

Jay stiffened a bit, "I don't wanna get your blanket wet..!" He protested.

"It's fine, I'll toss it in the dryer after you're done." Nya gently ruffled his hair and walked back over to her bed, sitting down again.

Jay flushed and looked away, feeling quite embarrassed, "Okay.."

"… You can sit down if you want. I'm not really wanting to leave my room anytime soon since I don't wanna run into Mr. Oh you can't train because you're a girl." She stuck her tongue out in annoyance.

Jay hesitated then came over and sat down. He sat on the very edge. He didn't want to get her bed wet.

"… Do you think he hates me?" Nya asked quietly.

Jay's eyes widened a bit, "No- No. He cares about you just like the rest of us!"

"Then why's he always trying to get me to not train? It's stupid!" Nya cried. "It's stupid and I hate it and I just-"

She threw the pillow she was holding at the rest of the pillows at the head of her bed. "I hate being treated like I'm weaker just because I'm a girl!"

Jay winced a bit, "I'm sorry.."

Nya took a shaky breath and dug her fingers into her blankets. "I just- I want to be able to help… I don't want to get captured again. I don't want to be used as a pawn…"

Jay frowned worriedly, "Yeah.. That was.. Do you want a hug..?" He offered nervously.

Nya looked at him before she hugged him close. She buried her face into his shoulder a bit, just.. feeling so upset and wanting some way to soothe her frustrations.

Jay wrapped his arms around her gently. He rubbed her back softly. "It's okay.. It's gonna be okay…"

Nya sank a little bit in his arms. "… Why do you have to be so sweet?"

Jay flushed, "I- I'm not that sweet.." He mumbled.

"Yeah you are." Nya adjusted a bit, seeming more comfortable. "Big softie with an even bigger temper."

Jay whined and buried his face in her shoulder. His face was so so red.

She snickered a little. "Just teasin' ya… it's cute."

"I'm not cute!" Jay shrieked, though it was very muffled due to the fact that his face was still buried against her shoulder.

"Uhuh? Then tell me why I found that adorable?" Nya smiled.

Jay couldn't even get anything out after that. He was too flustered to let out anything other than a squeak.

Nya smiled a bit and gently ran her hand through his hair. "… Your hair is really thick… 's gonna take a while to dry."

Jay absolutely melted with her hand in his hair. He was soup.

Nya continued to run her hand through his hair. "You're amazing, y'know?"

Jay let out another squeak, completely unprepared for that.

"I mean… just… all the stuff you've been able to come up with and create…" Nya said softly. "And on top of that you're just- one of the sweetest, most anxious people I've ever met? I swear, it's stupid that people pick on you…"

Jay couldn't even form noises at this point. She… She actually thought of him like that…?

"Guess what I'm trying to say is… I'm really glad I know you." Nya whispered. "You're just- augh, I can't say the words I want to say…"

Jay's grip tightened a bit. She was absolutely killing him.

"… Is it okay if I kissed your forehead?" Nya asked softly.

Jay squeaked but gave a tiny hesitant nod.

Nya adjusted a bit and kissed him on the forehead. It was brief, but she still hugged him close right after. "I uh… I hope that got across what I was trying to say…"

Jay's face was like a tomato. He barely managed a nod.

"D'you… wanna stay in here for a bit? It's nice…"

The lightbulb in Nya's lamp popped and it went out.

Jay squeaked a bit when it happened.

"… Was that a yes…?" Nya asked quietly. "Or uh.. did I break you?"

"… yes.." It was so quiet, Jay almost didn't think he actually said it.

Nya adjusted once more so they could just lay down and hug each other. It was nice.

Jay shifted and continued to hide his face against her. It was burning red.

She closed her eyes, and began running her hand through his hair again.

Jay absolutely melted again, letting out a small content noise.

Chapter Text

It was early… honestly, earlier than most of the others would even be awake for training.

And thank goodness it wasn't a Wednesday.

Jay quietly opened Nya's door and peeked into the hallway to make sure no one was out there.

"Is the coast clear?" Nya asked softly.

Jay nodded, "All good.. No one's up yet.."

"Still better avoid going down the hall with Wu's room.. just to be safe." She whispered.

"Yeahh.. Definitely.." Jay agreed.

She followed behind him as they silently made their way out of the Monastery, but stopped when they got to the wall.

"… The gate's gonna totally wake everyone up." Nya frowned.

"Maybe… We could climb over the wall..?" Jay suggested.

"Yeah, that could work." She smiled, and moved quickly to climb over the wall.

Jay quickly followed her over the wall. It was honestly a miracle he didn't fall.

Nya smiled. "Nice job, Jay!"

Jay grinned shyly, "Thanks.."

"C'mon, we gotta hurry!" She smiled and took his hand. She went down the stairs pretty fast, though at a pace Jay could keep up with comfortably without stumbling.

Then again it could also be the fact that she was holding onto his hand to make sure he wouldn't fall, but that was besides the point.

Jay's face was quite red as they hurried down the stairs. He was holding her hand. He was holding her hand.

"So- one of the times we were out training I noticed one of the more shallow parts of the lake actually connected to the shore, so I was thinking maybe we could hang out around there for a bit?" Nya looked at him with a smile.

Jay smiled in return, "Y-yeah! That sounds fun!"

Nya gently squeezed his hand. "So… any new projects you've been working on?"

"Oh- Um.. Nothing big. Just working on a model train.. Nothing cool." Jay shrugged slightly.

"But that is cool…?" She tilted her head a bit. "I mean… I haven't actually seen many trains up close. The nearest station to Ignacia is like.. three towns over."

"Oh..? I just- Most people think model trains are dumb.. " Jay looked away.

"… I don't think they are." Nya said quietly. "From what I know they're pretty hard to build, right?"

Jay nodded, "Yeah.. They can be. A lot of them have a lot of small pieces."

"Figured." She smiled gently. "Takes a lot of precision to assemble them correctly then…"

Jay nodded again, "One model can take days to assemble!" He grinned, "It's so fun watching it all come together!"

"Maybe one day we can try to assemble one together?" She suggested.

Jay's eyes widened, "Oh- Uh- Really..? You'd really want to..?"

"Yeah!" Nya smiled. "I think it'd be fun."

Jay flushed some, "Yeah.. Yeah.. We can definitely do that!"

"Cool!" Nya gently bumped her head against his.

Jay flushed a bit and let out a small nervous giggle.

And soon enough they got to the lake… the shoreline dipped down into the lake at this particular spot, just like Nya had said.

"Tada!" She smiled.

"Woah.. Nice..!" Jay smiled as well.

Nya nodded and sat down on the shore. It was still mostly stone, so she wasn't too worried about getting her clothes dirty.

Jay sat down beside her, looking out at the lake.

She hummed a bit, carefully pushing and pulling the water against the shore. It was calming.

Jay gaze shifted over to her. His eyes shone with adoration.

"I like being out here with you." Nya said softly. "It's nice."

"Yeah.. Yeah, it is.." Jay murmured. His gaze still on her.

Her cheeks were a little flushed.

"We should.. We should do this more. It's nice to get away from everyone… To have.. some quiet." Jay said.

"Yeah." Nya smiled a bit. "Plus… if we do it during a storm, then maybe we can do some stuff with our elemental powers!"

Jay nodded, "That'd be cool..!"

"Yeah! And-!" She yelped as the water made a splash distantly. Nya grimaced, her cheeks red. "S-Sorry.."

Jay smiled, "It's okay.. 'least you can't accidentally blow up anything with Water.." He sighed a bit.

"Mm…" Nya scooted a little closer to him, just enough that their arms were brushing against each other. "Yeah… I guess… but it's so… I dunno. I think it's just… odd for me."

"Odd..?" Jay questioned.

"It's like…" Nya frowned. "I don't know. Feels just… weird. I know, it's- it's weird to feel like this about my element, but it's harder to move more stationary water than running water. Like with the hose yesterday."

"Oh.. Huh.. That is kinda odd." Jay said, leaning slightly against her.

"Mhm." Nya pouted. "I guess I'll get more used to it as I get older… but it's still annoying."

"Yeah.. I'm sure Morro might be able to help a bit too. Since, he's helped you get it so far.." Jay assured her.

"Yeah.. it's just- ugh…" Nya leaned against him. "… Any better control on yours without the nunchucks?"

Jay sighed, "Not really.. Almost blew a fuse in my room the other day.."

"Mmm~" Nya smiled a little. "Think it has any chance to flare up out here?"

Jay tilted his head a bit, like a confused puppy, "I don't think so.. Why..?"

"Well, I mean… when we were in my room last night, you kinda popped the bulb in my lantern." Nya shrugged. "Just wondered since uh… y'know… it's nice hugging you."

Jay flushed red, "O-oh um.. It's nice hugging you too.." He admitted, clearly flustered.

Nya's cheeks got a little red before she grabbed a nearby pebble. "W-Wanna try skipping stones?"

Jay nodded slightly, "Yea- Yeah.. That sounds fun.."

Nya passed him a stone and stood up. "Wanna go first?"

Jay looked hesitant, "I dunno.. I probably won't do that well…"

"I believe in you. Toss it underhand, not overhand." She smiled.

"… Okay.." Jay looked towards the water and took a shaky breath. He tossed the rock. It… It didn't go very far at all.

Nya smiled weakly. "It's okay. You've just gotta get proper form for it."

She stood carefully, stepping back as she turned slightly so her tossing arm was further away from the lake. After a moment, she moved, stepping forward as she tossed the pebble. It went pretty far!

"That was good..!" Jay complimented, "… A lot better than me.."

"Hey, yours was good too!" Nya huffed.

"It barely went far at all.. It sucked." Jay sighed.

Nya sat back down next to him and bumped her head on his shoulder. "It. Did not. Suck. You better work on your self-esteem issues or I'll make you work on them!"

Jay squeaked a bit at her light threat, "I- um- okay…?"

"Good!" She huffed and continued to lean against him a little. After a little while, she pointed up at a rock formation above the lake. "… The cracks look like a lantern.."

Jay glanced over at it, "Huh… It does.."

"It's cool…" She said softly. "… Maybe we could use it as a code word for when we wanna go back out here?"

Jay smiled a bit, "Yeah.. That'd be smart.."

"Mhm! And that way nobody can tease us about it!" She smiled. "It's foolproof!"

"Yeah..!" Jay smiled some more.

Nya paused a bit and hummed. "… Wanna play around in the water?"

Jay glanced out at the water, then back at her. "Sure..!"

Nya smiled and got up. She took off her shoes before she walked over and stepped into the water-

"Fuck! That's cold!"

Jay hesitated to step into the water at that. "It's that cold..?"

"Just- colder than I was expecting! It's- it's okay though!" She smiled. "Kinda like the cold tap water at the Monastery!"

Jay frowned a bit but cautiously put a foot in the water.

It… was just like the cold tap water. Why the hell had she reacted like that?

Jay frowned and stepped in completely, "It's… It's not that cold.."

"Yes it is…" She said quietly.

"… You don't like the cold much..?" Jay guessed.

She nodded. "… Grew up in a blacksmithing shop, remember?"

"Yeah.. Do you.. um.." Jay opened his arms, face very red.

"… What?" She asked quietly.

"A.. A hug…? To um… To warm up till you get a bit more used to the water…?" He refused to meet her gaze.

Nya walked over and hugged him. "T-Thanks…"

Jay stiffened slightly but hugged her back. He kept her close.

Nya settled her head on his shoulder. "… You're awesome. Don't forget that…"

"I- um- thank you…? I won't…?" Jay's face was burning.

Nya smiled, and closed her eyes. This was nice…

Jay did his best to stay calm. It was hard.

"… I wonder what it's like… having your element… not saying I wanna swap, I like Water, it's just…" Nya quieted down. "It's gotta be cooler than this…"

"Not really.. I mean.. Me being dumb and anxious has caused so many fuses to blow and almost set the kitchen on fire.." Jay huffed.

Nya sighed. "Jay, I literally broke the water heater a few weeks ago. That's why we didn't have hot water."

"It- Really..? I thought that was a normal thing..? The water is just really cold sometimes." Jay said.

"No…" Nya frowned. "'s not normal."

"Oh.. I thought getting cold water for about a week was normal.. It happened almost every other month at home.." Jay said.

"It's… usually because of other causes…" Nya said quietly.

"Like what..?" Jay asked.

"Like- the water heater breaking or lack of funds for hot water… stuff like that." Nya closed her eyes.

"Oh.." Jay frowned a bit. Lack of funds…

Nya reached up and gently ruffled his hair. "Hey, it's okay… we didn't have hot water much back at the smithy either…"

Jay leaned into the touch, "Okay.."

She continued to run her hand through his hair absently. "… Your hair's really thick…"

"… Yeah.. " He nodded slightly, "I know.. Not really that fun to deal with.."

"I think it's nice…" She said quietly. "Means you'll be warmer in the winter."

Jay blinked, "… I never thought about that.. Will it really..?"

"Yeah!" Nya nodded. "Cause hair usually traps heat up at the head, it's why you feel a lot better after splashing cold water on top of your head on hot days!"

"… Oh. That makes sense.." Jay mumbled.

She smiled a bit. "Hey, it's okay if you didn't figure it out… I figured it out after the fifth time Kai almost passed out at the forge."

"Was he okay..?" Jay asked.

Nya nodded. "Yeah, he was. Just needed about two hours of break time."

"That's good.." Jay said.

She smiled a little. "Yeah… though I did ban him from trying to work in the forge when it got too hot… didn't want him having heat exhaustion, y'know?"

Jay nodded, "Yeah. He seems like the type to try and work through the heat.."

"Like an idiot." She frowned for a moment, before she smirked. "Also if I catch you working in stupidly hot conditions when you have a choice to cool off, you're getting soaked. This is a threat."

Jay squeaked a bit, "Okay! Noted, I won't do that."

She laughed softly. "Good. Cuz I'd never let you live it down."

Jay flushed slightly and nodded.

"So, I think I'm good to let go now-" Nya moved to back up and stumbled a bit.

Jay quickly moved to catch her.

Though uh… unfortunately, they both wound up crashing into the water.

Jay yelped as he got absolutely soaked.

Nya stared up at him, her cheeks felt way too hot. The cold water wasn't helping. "… I am so sorry-"

Jay tried to brush some of his hair out of his face and grimaced when some of it stuck. "It's okay.. It's not like you meant to fall.."

She nodded slowly, though she still seemed so so embarrassed, unable to look him in the eyes. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire and it was so stupid!

Jay shivered and shifted, trying to get some more hair out of his face.

Nya reached up and carefully brushed his hair out of his face. "Stop messing with it…" She said quietly.

Jay flushed when she did that and averted his gaze, "Sorry.."

"It- it's okay… I just… don't understand why you don't like your hair." Nya murmured.

"It's a mess.. And it sucks." Jay grumbled.

"… Maybe we can look for some books on how to properly take care of it?" She suggested.

"… Okay.." He agreed hesitantly.

Nya smiled gently. "For what it's worth, I think it's cute when it's all messy."

Jay flushed bright red, "C- Cute..?"

Nya nodded. "Is- is it okay if I say that?"

Jay averted his gaze and nodded shyly.

"Cool…" Nya said quietly. She fidgeted a bit, the water rippled a little as a response. "Uhm…"

Jay picked at a loose thread on his scarf.

"… Maybe we should-… move…?" She suggested, unsure.

"Probably.." Jay nodded, "… Don't wanna get colds like Kai did.."

Nya carefully sat up, though she didn't seem to be in much of a rush to get out of the water.

Jay sat up as well, his hair fell in his face again and he huffed.

"Here." Nya moved close and parted his bangs a bit. "It sometimes helps if you part them around the middle area…"

"Oh.. Thank you." Jay mumbled, stilll quite flushed.

"You're welcome…" She whispered, also a little flustered. Though, a familiar yelling in the distance caused her to look up.

Shit.

Jay tensed, "We need to get back.."

Nya nodded. "C'mon, I know an alternate route. I kinda scoped it out the past few times I snuck out to practice."

Jay stood up and offered her a hand, "I'll let you lead the way then."

Nya nodded and took his hand. She stood up and grinned. "Think you can keep up?"

"Duh! Who's got more training here?" Jay grinned in return.

"Ohoh, don't get cocky now!" Nya gently punched his arm. "C'mon, let's go!"

Jay rubbed where she punched, "Alright, alright! Lead the way!"

Nya started running after she slipped her shoes back on. She was quick, going far off the beaten path but making sure to avoid messing up any of the plants or bushes she ran through.

Jay followed after her quickly, after he slipped his shoes back on. Followed directly after her and also trying to avoid messing up the pants and bushes.

After a quick moment, she looked back at him and gestured downwards before she leapt down onto some rocks, landing safely.

Jay quietly followed her down, only stumbling a little bit.

Nya smiled a bit. "So… we gotta go through a cave for a bit. The lake passes through it."

"Alright." Jay said and returned her smile.

"Just stick close and don't slip. It's dark so I might not be able to catch you." She said softly.

Jay nodded a bit, "Got it. I'll be careful."

"… If you want, you can hold my hand and I'll walk closer to the water." She held out her hand.

Jay flushed a bit but took her hand, "Yeah.. That'll be a good idea.. Knowing my luck I'd end up slipping and falling."

Nya nodded as they started walking into the cave. "Yeah… plus it'd be hard to find you in the dark…"

Jay nodded a bit, "I don't wanna be lost like that.."

"I mean if you started screaming… nah, too much echo. I'd lose my hearing." She joked.

Jay gave a little nervous smile, "Yeah.."

"… So… Think the others are freaking out?" She asked with a little smile.

"… Probably.. We did just disappear." Jay said.

"Mm… yeah. But they won't know where we were or what we did." Nya sighed. "This is awesome."

Jay smiled a bit, "Yeah.. It is a bit exciting.."

"… What do you think about romance movies?" She asked.

"… They aren't bad.." Jay said quietly.

"I like them… sometimes. The execution has to be just right for me to really enjoy 'em." Nya shrugged. "Just comes with being picky about the genre I guess."

Jay nodded a bit, "That's fair.."

"Yeah…" She blinked a bit as a small light began to get closer. "Oh, hey! We're getting close to the exit!"

Jay perked up, "Nice!"

"So while we're still in here… opinion on horror?" Nya asked.

Jay shuddered a bit, "… No thanks.."

"Yeah… figures." Nya smiled sadly. "I kinda like horror… just a little bit though. Too much gives me nightmares."

Jay nodded, "Yeah.. I… I get nightmares easily.." He admitted.

"… I mean, if you want- if you ever get any nightmares, you can tell me about em. I'm always down to listen 'n try to cheer you up." Nya said softly.

Jay flushed a bit, "… Okay.. Thank you.."

"It's not a problem… b'sides… I like listening to you talk."

"O-oh.. Really..?" Jay flushed even more, though he seemed a bit confused.

Nya looked down. "Yeah- I just… dunno why it's just… comforting hearing your voice…"

"Oh.. I- I'm glad.." Jay smiled a bit.

As they got to the exit of the cave, there were some hanging vines covering it that Nya pushed aside. "Uhm… it was nice… hanging out with you today, Jay…"

"… It was nice hanging out with you too.." Jay agreed quietly.

"… Uhm…" She fidgeted, like she'd run out of things to say.

"I uh…" Jay hesitated looking nervous.

Nya looked down at the ground, her cheeks red. "I don't know what else to say…"

"… I dunno either.." Jay admitted quietly.

"Back to the Monastery…?" She asked quietly.

Jay nodded slightly, "Yeah.. That's a good idea.."

Nya nodded and started to walk over to the mountain, silent as she tried to avoid squealing and being as annoying as some of the other girls in her class about their crushes.

Jay walked beside her, his gaze mostly stayed down but it did occasionally drift to Nya.

She hummed quietly to herself. It was an unfamiliar tune, but it was nice…

Jay's gaze went to her once again and it stayed there this time, watching her hum.

Nya occasionally swayed a bit as she hummed. Honestly, she seemed to be in a good mood now; a massive improvement from yesterday when she'd gotten mad at Wu.

Jay smiled slightly and stayed quiet. This was nice… He liked her humming.

As they got up the mountain, the song she was humming had changed, it was something a little more upbeat than the last one.

Jay continued to listen, smiling some more.

She practically skipped a few stairs from how fast she was going, trying to keep rhythm with the song with her steps.

Jay sped up, trying to keep up with her.

After a bit she slowed down, and looked back at Jay.

Jay stumbled a bit as he tried to slow down and tripped over his own feet. He yelped as he fell and his face hit the steps.

"Shit! Jay!" She rushed over to him and helped him to sit up. "Okay- okay, give me a second-"

She reached into her bag and grabbed the first aid kit, carefully beginning to stop the bleeding. "Why does this keep happening to you?"

Jay winced a bit, "I don't know.." He mumbled.

Nya carefully pinched the bridge of his nose. "I swear, one of these days your nose is gonna wind up scarred, you know."

Jay winced again, "Yeah.. I know.."

Nya smiled a little. "It might look cool though. Y'could say you got it in a fight."

Jay grinned a bit, "Yeah.. Then, people wouldn't think I was lame.."

"You're not lame!" Nya insisted. "You're one of the coolest people I know!"

"I- There's no way that's true! I'm not cool at all!" Jay denied.

"You literally figured out Spinjitzu! That's cool as hell!" She argued.

"The others did too.. It's not that big of a deal.." Jay downplayed.

"You! Were! The! First! One!" She poked his chest to punctuate each word. "You're cool! Deal with it!"

"Ack- Okay, okay!" Jay accepted.

"Good!" Nya smiled. Satisfied.

Jay smiled some, "… Thanks for helping with it.."

Nya nodded a little. "Just- uhm, can't have you dying from blood loss, y'know?"

Jay shrugged slightly, "I guess so.."

"Don't say I guess so, you could've died!" She threw her hands up. "Well, not literally but you'd have been fucked up for days!"

"I'd be fine. It's no big deal!" He said.

"It's blood! That's supposed to stay inside of your body! Not out of it!" Nya cried.

"I've hurt myself before! I'll be fine!" Jay shrugged again.

"… I am going to put you in bubble wrap." She said quietly. "And that way you won't get injured."

Jay blinked, "What- But- What about training..?"

Nya stared at him for a moment, before she covered her face. "I said that out loud?!"

"Ye- yeah..? Did you not mean to..?" Jay tilted his head like a confused puppy.

"I DID NOT MEAN TO SAY THAT FORGET THAT I SAID IT PLEASE-" She said quickly. It was… obvious that she was embarrassed beyond belief.

Jay blinked and then laughed a bit, smiling.

Nya was still covering her face, embarrassment prevalent. "Don't laugh…" She said quietly.

Jay covered his mouth to try and muffle himself, "Sorry- Sorry.."

"I mean- you can laugh, I like your laughter, but please don't laugh at that-!" She squeaked.

"WHERE HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!" A voice shouted from down the steps.

Kai.

Jay yelped and scrambled around to see the others. His face was so red. "I- um- I-" Welp. There goes his speaking ability for the next little while.

"Did you two sneak out?" Zane asked innocently.

Jay immediately went even redder and scrambled to stand. He tried to come up with an excuse it just ended up being frantic hand motions and no words.

Cole squinted. "Dude, did you get a bloody nose?"

"He fell!" Nya defended.

Jay gave up and just buried his face in his hands.

"Why the hell did you sneak out early?!" Kai demanded. "And why are you both soaked?!"

"Don't worry about it." Nya said. "I asked Jay to help me with my precision before practice. Obviously. Seriously, you're so paranoid."

Jay immediately nodded along with her lie. Though Morro raised a brow at the explanation.

"I mean, seems like a solid explanation… but why didn't you leave a note or anything?" Cole asked. "You had Kai freaking out."

"Heaven forbid an elemental master wanting to have some one-on-one training." Nya huffed.

"Leaving a note still would have been preferable." Zane said, "Then Kai would have been less likely to have almost burned the Monastery down."

"You almost burned the Monastery down?!" Nya stared at him. "Kai!"

"You were gone! I was freaking out!" Kai said defensively.

"I'm not helpless!" Nya asserted, "Plus, Jay was with me!"

"I'm not saying you are!" Kai said, "But you were kidnapped barely a month ago! And both of you were gone with no note! What was I supposed to think?!"

"I'm not talking to you right now!" Nya swiftly turned around and grabbed Jay's hand as she stormed up to the Monastery gate, shoving one of the doors open.

Jay squeaked as he was pulled along. He glanced back at the others apologetically.

"… Let's get breakfast." Morro said dryly.

Zane watch Nya and Jay go with his head tilted, then he looked at Morro, "Alright."

Kai crossed his arms and looked away from them all.

Cole set a hand on Kai's shoulder. "… She's totally lying about the aiming practice."

Kai looked at him, "I- " He huffed, "I knew that!"

Morro moved to get back into the Monastery, clearly just too tired at this point.

"… This the first time she's lied to you?" Cole asked quietly.

Kai hesitated, then he nodded, "Yeah.."

Cole frowned. "… Look, I don't have any siblings, so I don't exactly know what it feels like, but… I know it's not good."

Kai nodded a bit, looking away again.

"… Would you want to talk about it?" Cole asked quietly, his worry evident.

"… No.. No, it's fine."

"Alright." Cole let go. "Just… let me know if you ever do want to talk."

"Okay…" Kai mumbled.