IT IS FINALLY HERE!

Yes, Forgotten Memory is HERE! I would say it is maybe 80% finished as of now, but I wanted to go ahead and start posting it :D Honestly, I'm *pretty* nervous about this, but I'm forcing myself to do it!

Updates for this story will be once a week on Saturdays, at least for now. Updates *may* move to Mondays if I find that works better in my schedule :D And, updates will be once a week, at least until I finish writing the story :D

To clarify, the timeline for Getting to Know You is pretty ambiguous, but as it stands now, all of those one shots would take place before this story starts. BUT, I won't reference any events that take place in Getting to Know You to avoid confusing any readers who have not read it and because I will be adding on to it indefinitely, though you will see some of the headcanons make appearances! ;D

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D

"It was an accident!"

"I'm fine, Jay," Morro repeated for the one billionth time, rolling his eyes from where he was sitting cross-legged on the floor of Wu's meditation room in Sensei Yang's newly renovated Airjitzu Temple. He grimaced as Master Wu inserted the needle into the soft flesh of his back- right next to his shoulder blade- once again. "It was my fault anyway."

This was true; they had been sparring with their weapons and Morro had bungled one of his evasive maneuvers. Jay, unable to stop his momentum since he had fully expected Morro to dodge the blow, had managed to deal him a cut that, while it required stitches, was still fairly minor in comparison to the wounds the ninja usually dealt with.

It didn't stop Jay from looking at Morro with wide guilty eyes, though.

"Besides," Morro continued, adopting his most evil smirk. "Now I have the opportunity to get even with you."

Jay started, going pale. Morro had been pleased to find that Jay was more than a little scared of him (not in the real way that Lloyd had been scared of him, but in the way that Jay was scared of Kai after he pulled a prank on the red ninja or the way he was scared of Cole after he'd eaten his brother's clearly labeled cake in the fridge.)

"I'll just, uh, leave you two alone then!" Jay squeaked, quickly escaping to, most likely, beg his other brothers to protect him from Morro's wrath.

"Now that Jay has so kindly left us alone…," Wu led in conversationally as he continued stitching up Morro's wound. "Perhaps now you would like to talk about what is troubling you?"

Morro tried to hide his surprise, but he was one hundred percent certain that Wu noticed anyway.

"What makes you think something's troubling me?" Morro asked, his smirk returning. He was only being coy for fun, seeing as there was no point in trying to deny what Wu already knew to be true.

"You were distracted all throughout training, Morro," Wu explained in an admonishing tone. "You would have never made such a simple mistake during your spar unless you were troubled by something else entirely."

Morro hummed in agreement. "Alright, you win this round."

"Ah, with this victory, the score is five hundred and six to… zero."

Morro frowned, though on the inside he was grinning over the fact that he could speak so easily with his teacher after all these years, after everything that had been said and done between them, after they had, in essence, cruelly abandoned each other so long ago…

But, Morro only grumbled, "That doesn't seem like an accurate score."

"Well, we can discuss the score later," Wu chuckled. "Right now, I would like to hear about what could distract you so completely."

Morro drummed his fingers on his knee. He knew he had to answer the question- Master Wu would never let it go- but that didn't make it any easier. If he had a nickel for every time the ninja had told him in quasi-therapy sessions that he needed to "open up" more, he'd be a millionaire- and that was only in three months.

But, Morro had spent a very large part of his life alone. And, the one person he had opened up to completely was sitting in the Departed Realm waiting for him.

But, this was Wu they were talking about…

"Well, the others were wanting to go out today," Morro stated, still drumming his fingers on his knee.

"And, they did not invite you?" Wu guessed. Morro could basically see Wu's lips pressed into a disapproving line even though his sensei was behind him. Wu had made it no secret that he expected his other students to treat Morro as one of their own, prompting the other ninja to insist that they did not need Wu's reminders to do so.

"No, they did," Morro replied, casting his eyes downward. "I said no."

"And, why's that?"

Morro half turned to look at Wu over his shoulder, frustration clear on his face. "You know why."

"Turn around. You're stretching the stitches," Wu ordered, and, with an eye roll, Morro complied. "So, you have been given a second chance at life, and you choose to waste it rotting away in an old temple?"

Morro groaned. "Obviously not, but I also don't want to be chased by angry mobs with pitchforks and torches."

Wu sighed, finally finishing stitching up the wound. Morro stiffened when he felt the hand laid flat against the uninjured part of his back, directly over the Anacondrai shaped scar he'd earned during his brief stint in Chen's torture chamber.

He hated it.

"You have changed immensely," Wu told him solemnly. "Now, prove it."

Morro shook his head. "They don't believe me."

"Then, you must keep trying until they do," Wu told him simply, finally removing his hand from Morro's back and beginning to wrap his wound in gauze. "Seclusion is not the solution."

Morro grunted to show he was listening even if he wasn't fully convinced. After pondering this a moment, he smirked and decided to change the subject.

"Hey, what would you think about me getting a tattoo?" He asked, moving to gesture at a particular spot on his chest. "Right here on the last rib. Something cool."

Wu sighed in exasperation as he tied off the gauze. "I already agreed to the earring. Why do you insist on doing this to me?"

"C'mon, I said it would be cool," Morro repeated, as if the subject matter of the tattoo was the issue. He stood up, grabbing his ruined shirt that had been sitting nearby.

"You know I will not stop you if a tattoo is truly what your heart desires," Wu said, though he made sure his disapproving sigh was audible.

Morro grinned as he headed toward the door. This was part of their healing. Morro asked for permission, and Wu granted it, both knowing Morro had no obligation to ask and Wu had no obligation to agree.

"Eh, I'll think about it," Morro shrugged. "Of course, I no longer trust strangers near my body with sharp objects, so it may just be an unachievable dream."

"Morro."

Morro turned around with his hand on the sliding door, waving off Wu's concern. "I know, I know. I'll go."

Wu smiled and waved a hand at Morro to dismiss him.

Lloyd had the distinct sense that something bad was going to happen.

Of course, living the crazy lives of ninja that they did, he always had that feeling, but still.

He glanced nervously at Morro carefully keeping his gaze straight ahead as they strolled down the streets of Ninjago City. The former ghost had wasted no time in making minor changes to his appearance. He'd gotten his right ear pierced almost immediately after becoming human again, only taking off the Deepstone earring he'd had custom made during training and fighting. His hair had grown slightly longer, and he rebuffed all of Zane's offers to cut it. He'd even mentioned wanting to get a tattoo.

Though he never said so in so many words, it seemed that after so long of staying the same, he seemed desperate to change, as if to prove to himself that he was really human again.

A passerby shot them a dirty look as they passed. A pair of girls were whispering what were very clearly unkind things to each other from where they were loitering in front of a store. Lloyd knew Morro saw all of them even if he made no indication.

At first people had been enthralled by "the new ninja." The fangirls had had a field day when they discovered that the seventh member of the group seemed not to copy any of the other ninja's personalities either: with his dyed hair, earring, and the scars across his cheek, he was very clearly the "edgy bad boy," causing even the goths and punks that rejected mainstream things to admit that they now had a favorite ninja.

Of course, none of Morro's body beautification had stopped Gayle Gossip and her team of reporters from finally matching a picture of the new ninja with their footage from the ghost invasion when the Preeminent had nearly destroyed Ninjago.

It was impossible, but no one could deny the likeness (and much more impossible things had happened in Ninjago.) The new ninja was Morro, leader of the ghost army that had tried to destroy their homes as they knew it and hurt many, many people in the process, wiping the entire city of Stiix off the face of the planet.

And so, no matter how many times the other ninja vouched for him, he was deserving of the people's intense and eternal hatred. Morro had barely survived being chased by three different mobs, and the hate mail came by the boatload. Finally, the Ninjago Supreme Court declared that Morro could not be tried for the crimes he had committed as a ghost, since there was no way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were, in fact, the same person. The people were up-in-arms, but the ninja had celebrated (though Morro felt like he was going to throw up even after the ruling had been made.)

In conclusion, Lloyd was glad that Morro had changed his mind about coming on the outing with them.

But, he still felt like something bad was going to happen.

"Hey, you guys want to eat here?" Nya asked, pointing at a restaurant coming up on their side of the street.

"Anywhere," Cole moaned, holding his stomach as if he was in immense pain. "I'm so hungry…"

Jay elbowed him. "You know, since you say it so much, 'I'm hungry' has lost all meaning for you."

"What?" Cole said, his voice pitched high with disbelief. "Are you saying you guys don't care that I'm literally wasting away over here?"

"That is an incorrect use of the word 'literally,'" Zane pointed out, since Cole was very clearly not wasting away. The black ninja rolled his eyes. "And, the folktale, 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf,' comes to mind with regard to your complaints of hunger, Cole."

"You guys are going to be really upset when I die from hunger one day," Cole threatened, crossing his arms.

"That's about as likely as Nya dying from drowning," Kai pointed out, rolling his eyes. "Now can we please go inside?"

The other ninja agreed, filing into the restaurant. Lloyd, who had been too distracted by all of the hateful looks they were receiving to chime into the semi-ridiculous conversation, held the door open for Morro rather than going in before him, as if he was afraid the wind master was going to get kidnapped if Lloyd turned his back on him. Morro rolled his eyes at the gesture, but he was smiling.

They chose one of the biggest tables in the restaurant that could seat all of seven of them. As the other ninja were animatedly discussing what they were going to order, Lloyd noticed the other patrons in the restaurant already shooting them glares and whispering to each other. A couple seated near them even got up and left.

Morro was picking at one of the black leather bracelets he had taken to wearing.

It was only a matter of time.

The manager of the restaurant, altogether looking too timid and frazzled to be able to manage anything (though that could have just been a result of their presence in his restaurant), came up to their table.

"I-I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said to the table as a whole, though his gray eyes trailed to Morro who was still picking at the bracelet.

Nya huffed, crossing her arms. "On what grounds?"

"We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone," the manager said by way of explanation, glancing once again at Morro. "Without a stated reason."

Morro stood up suddenly, his chair scraping against the ground. The man jumped about a foot in the air and immediately backed up, as if afraid Morro was going to attack him. Morro clenched his fists, and Lloyd knew the manager's terrified reaction hurt more than being thrown out of the restaurant did.

"You guys stay," Morro said, turning toward the door. "I'll go."

The manager seemed relieved until Kai reached out and snagged Morro's wrist. "No way! We're a package deal." Kai turned to Zane sitting next to him. "Is that true that they don't have to serve us?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Zane replied. "Though I find it an improper show of gratitude since I specifically remember saving this restaurant from total destruction during the Stone Warrior invasion."

"I am grateful!" The manager insisted. "Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk- really, I'm not- but if I'm caught with him in my restaurant, I'll lose all my business!"

"It's fine," Morro replied, tugging on his trapped wrist to get Kai to let go. "I'll leave."

"Yeah, you'd better leave," a waitress who had been watching from behind the counter yelled, stomping over to the table and causing the manager to panic. "How dare you show your face here. How dare you show your face anywhere!

"My nephew lived in Stiix, you know," she stated, coming to stand directly in front of Morro, displaying none of the fear the manager did. "Not only was his home destroyed, but he spent months in the hospital. Months!"

Lloyd stood up, pushing gently on the woman's shoulders. He told her firmly, "That's quite enough, ma'am."

"You're a monster!" She yelled as she was pushed away. "I hope you drop dead!"

The ninja were on their feet at that comment, ready to give the woman a piece of their mind- but Morro yanked his hand out of Kai's grasp and stormed out of the restaurant.

While the others tried to stop Kai from lighting the place on fire, Lloyd ran out after Morro. Not only was his brother upset, but, after Morro had narrowly escaped his third mob and came home smelling of smoke and rotten fruit, Lloyd had made it his personal responsibility to make sure Morro was never caught out alone again, even if Morro resented the supervision.

His fears were confirmed moments later when he caught up to Morro.

The wind master was leaning against a building, clutching his eye. A rock sat on the ground right beside him, seemingly harmless now. Lloyd turned to see a group of pre-teens across the street quickly drop the rocks they had been holding and run off at the sight of the Green Ninja.

"Morro, are you alright?" He asked, though part of him wished he could run after the kids that had done this and see how they liked rocks being thrown at them.

"I'm fine," Morro muttered, just as he had in the restaurant. It seemed to be the only thing he could say nowadays, "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine," as if he wanted so badly to become accustomed to the abuse that he finally believed he was.

Lloyd tugged at the hand hiding the injury. "Well, at least let me see-"

"I said, I'm fine!" Morro snapped, turning away from Lloyd. "I'm going home. You guys go on without me."

Lloyd clenched his fists. He demanded, "Why- Why is that always your solution? We're willing to put up with this until they see, Morro, so why aren't you?"

Morro finally moved his hand so he could glare at Lloyd properly. There was a cut on his temple, and his right eye was already darkening with a bruise.

"Because, they're right, and you know it!" Morro retorted.

Lloyd straightened with surprise, but the other ninja ran up behind him before he could respond.

"Morro, are you- woah, what happened?!" Cole exclaimed upon seeing the black eye Morro had somehow earned between here and the restaurant.

Kai stomped forward. "Who did this to you?" He asked, clearly still raring for a fight after barely being restrained in the restaurant. "We'll get them back."

"It doesn't matter," Morro mumbled, turning away almost as if he was ashamed of the bruise- just like he was ashamed of all the other scars on his body. "I'm going home."

"Obviously, we're coming with you," Nya stated. "These places don't deserve our service anyway."

The comment didn't make Morro feel better, and he started walking away without waiting for the others to follow.

"Zane?" Jay whispered as they followed their upset teammate.

"Morro seems to have only a minor contusion. I sense no head injury," the nindroid replied. "Black eyes usually appear worse than they are."

"That doesn't make it better," Kai grumbled, crossing his arms.

While he was semi-grateful to be walking behind Morro so he could keep an eye on him, Lloyd wished the wind master wasn't always turning his back to them when they were only trying to help.

Aw, poor Morro D': So, this chapter was more or less introductory, but don't worry! The plot will be set into motion very soon! ;D

What did you guys think? Is this what you were expecting from Forgotten Memory? Please let me know! :D

And, I will still update Getting to Know You periodically, though I'm not sure when the next chapter will come out as of right now :D

Have a great day! :D