Okay, well... This is quickly becoming a pattern -_-; I'm super busy with this semester, but also, more with this story than both Lost Soul and Broken Circle, I'm finding a lot of things I want to change as I go along XD Soooo, I end up taking way longer to post -_-;

SO, I apologize for the tardiness and the lack of review replies! Thank you all for bearing with me, and I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

Special thanks to FullMetalPon-3, TheKittenQueen, Katla1, whycan'tIfindanamethatfits, TheYellowNinja, ColeLoverGirl, Drawkill Vear and Lyracan, RandomDragon2.0, ardhoniel. LotRStarWarsNinjago, MightyShipper, Ebony umbreon, Wolfjem, Inimidesert, WindNinja333, PrairieSkies, Plumcicle, Perosn, Rick Riordan1, KyraPlays, thefiresensei, FlightoftheFury, dragonpearlninja, and Fxreflies! I love you all! :D

TheYellowNinja: Wow, time really flies! Oh, I DEFINITELY feel like we have a lot in common! I mean, being birthday twins has to mean SOMETHING, right? XD Haha, yeah, by the time I got around to do anything, my anniversary would be waaaay past XD Thank you so much for always being so understanding! :3 Oh, thank you so much! Having the characters' thoughts translate into their actions and words is VERY important to me, as I find focusing on characters' motives and intentions suuuper interesting and important. YES, exactly! I really love exploring why characters are the way they are, so that's a lot of what I've been trying to accomplish with these childhood memories! I love your reviews so much, and I don't think I can even TELL you how much you sticking with me this entire year means to me! Thank you sooooo much! :D

ColeLoverGirl: Wow, that's awesome! Poor Kai D': I can't imagine him having to watch Nya suffer like that D': (Well, obviously I can since I wrote about it, but... you know what I mean XD) I remember that part! It was sooo funny XD Ooh, and I definitely have been seeing those things about Season 10! I am SUPER excited (but if anything happens to Cole... Let's just say I will not be a happy camper XD) Yeah, I've definitely been thinking about it, but I'm not sure time management is in my favor :/ Ooh, I think you should definitely get an account! Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

MightyShipper: Aw, I'm sorry my chapter makes you want to cry, but thank you for saying it was good! XD Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

Plumcicle: Ooh, good idea! Thanks for the suggestion and for reviewing! :D

Perosn: Aw, it makes me SO happy you've been enjoying the memories! (I was a little nervous about doing something so drastically different from the previous two stories XD) Yep, I've finished up my midterms, but the projects and essays aren't going away anytime soon D': Thank you so so much for reviewing and the support! :D

Rick Riordan1: Oh my gosh, thank you so much! :D Yes, Jay DEFINITELY needs buckets of hugs and kisses! XD Haha, Kai definitely is a fire dork XD Great idea! Thank you so much for you review and all your lovely compliments! They really mean the world to me! (And I promise I haven't forgotten about the Five Times! ;D)

"Here you go, Father," Zane said, handing his father a steaming cup of tea he'd prepared from tea leaves Master Wu had let him borrow. His father, lying in bed with his glasses on the nightstand beside him, squinted at his son before accepting the cup of tea.

"Thank you, Zane," he said before coughing. It was a loud, wet cough originating from somewhere deep in his lungs. Zane laid a hand on his shoulder to steady his father (and himself) until the fit had subsided.

Hands trembling, Dr. Julien carefully took a sip of tea before handing it back to Zane, who set it on the nightstand.

"You are very welcome," Zane said warmly, helping his father lay down. "Now, you need to sleep."

Dr. Julien obediently rested his head on the pillow Zane was fluffing up for him. Smiling fondly at his son, he remarked, "I don't think I could have created you to be any more perfect if I tried."

Zane started at the non-sequitur, brow furrowed as he looked down at his bedridden inventor. "Well, thank you, Father, but… but saying unwarranted compliments without preamble is usually a trait of a dying person, and you are not dying."

"Zane," Dr. Julien said knowingly.

"You mustn't think that way," Zane insisted, shaking his head. "Research shows that a positive outlook alone can-"

"Zane," Dr. Julien repeated, reaching out to take his son's synthetic human hand in his own wrinkled one. "Zane, you and I both know I don't have much time left. I want you to know-"

"This is not goodbye," Zane interrupted uncharacteristically, feeling tears beginning to collect on his eyelids. "This is not goodbye."

"No, not goodbye. Never goodbye," Dr. Julien reassured, pulling gently on Zane's hand. "Please, son, will you sit down?"

Zane, never one to defy his father, sat in the chair by his bedside, where he had spent most of the last few days keeping vigil over the old man.

"Zane, you have been and always will be the greatest thing in my life," Dr. Julien told the nindroid as Zane used his unoccupied hand to wipe the tears leaking down his face. "You know, when I first had the idea to create a companion, I never imagined I would care for it so much. I gave you the ability to move and then to speak… but over the years, I kept wanting to give you more, like any father I suppose. It wasn't enough for you to think, but you had to feel, and it wasn't enough for you to feel, but you had to love."

Dr. Julien smiled, squeezing Zane's hand. "Somewhere along the way, you weren't my invention anymore. You were my son, and so I loved you the moment you opened your eyes."

Zane placed his other hand on top of Dr. Julien's. "I know I can love, Father, because if I could not, this would not hurt so much."

"Don't grieve for too long, Zane," Dr. Julien said quietly, his eyes falling shut as he struggled to stay awake. "You're going to do great things…"

"Father-" Zane stopped himself when he saw that Dr. Julien had fallen asleep. Sighing fondly, Zane leaned back in the chair to wait, still holding his father's hand.

Time passed.

Zane could watch the numbers growing on his internal clock. The sun receded and then stretched across the floor.

His father's hand grew cold in his grasp.

Zane knew he should check. He needed to check. He already knew- of course he knew- his chest was completely still- but he needed to check because he knew he was supposed to check-

But, he couldn't move. His joints were frozen, his muscles petrified, his brain stuck repeating the same thoughts- he wasn't breathing, he was too cold- and he could not move-

It wasn't like not checking was going to change- but- couldn't- because if he didn't check, it wasn't real, and so he just stayed frozen with his father's hand in his because that way he was still… he was still…

It had been ninety three days, seventeen hours, twenty minutes and twelve seconds since they had found Dr. Julien in the lighthouse. Roughly three months. Three months with his father. Three months. Not enough time. Not enough time…

Time? Right, time was passing now. He could almost hear it. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock…

He had to check. He had to check. Moving stiffly, Zane reached his hand toward his father's chest, placing it right over where his heart was beating.

Should have been beating.

Zane couldn't quite remember how he got outside, but somehow he was huddling in the snow, shaking so badly he could barely click on the first brother in his phone. When Cole answered, Zane couldn't get any of his words to come out right, like all the wires in his head had been crossed and now each word had been assigned a different definition in a code he couldn't begin to unscramble- and then Cole told him to slow down and tell him why he was crying- and only then did Zane realize that somehow he hadn't even known he'd been crying, which seemed awfully concerning since he considered himself to have a very firm grasp on his faculties at all times.

Finally, Cole told him to wait right there and not move because they were coming to get him, and without so much as a noise of confirmation, Zane hung up the phone.

He waited.

Suddenly, there was a door that shouldn't have- couldn't have- been there.

The white ninja wasted no time. He couldn't stay in this memory, in this place, with- without his father one moment longer.

So, he stood and rushed to the door, ripping it open and stepping through without so much as a second thought.

Cole, Jay, Kai, and Nya all shared a look as they reappeared in the small room with the six doors. Zane was standing in the center, his back turned to them, and they couldn't tell if he was trying to compose himself or trying to come to a conclusion about their situation. Probably both.

"Did you guys know about any of that?" Kai whispered, using his hand to block his voice from the nindroid.

Cole shook his head. "I had no idea that Zane had been sitting with Dr. Julien for so long. When he called, I thought he had just died."

"Don't you guys remember? Zane was… really distant and… kind of cold toward us for a long time after his dad died," Nya reminded them. "I don't think he ever talked to anyone about it."

Suddenly, the white ninja turned on his heel.

He was smiling.

"So, we are all reliving a memory, I presume?" Zane asked cheerfully. "Considering Morro is not with you four, I can only assume he is still experiencing his, yes?"

The other four ninja shared another glance. It was… almost eerie how jovial Zane was being after reliving the death of his father.

"Zane," Jay led in uncertainly. "You know, if you want to talk-"

"There is no time to talk," Zane interrupted with the same courteous, pleasant tone he had been using previously. "We are here to search for Lloyd, and we have only a limited time to do so. I suggest we continue."

Knowing the white ninja was only acting happy to dissuade the others from pressing the issue, the others couldn't deny that he was right about one thing: they had a time limit.

"Okay, then we need to get Morro," Kai announced, reaching for the only door no one had entered.

"Maybe we should just wait for him," Nya suggested.

"We can't just wait!" Kai protested. "We have no idea how long he'll take! But, we do know that he'll come out if we go in."

"You know he'll kill us if he finds out we went in there, right?" Jay pointed out nervously. This was true; Morro was an extremely private and guarded person, and the ninja seeing him at his most vulnerable was certainly something worth killing over.

"Besides," Jay continued. "What if… we see something really bad?"

Cole frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we know Morro did a lot of bad things in his life. What if we see him… you know, hurting someone?"

"It doesn't matter," Cole replied immediately, his tone suggesting he was offended Jay had even brought it up. "We told Morro he's our brother no matter what. We forgave him for who he was, and seeing whatever's behind that door doesn't change anything."

"I know that," Jay retorted irritably. It wasn't that Cole wasn't right in what he was saying, but for some reason, it really bugged him that Cole was so quick to defend Morro. Maybe it was because the faces of his bullies were fresh in his mind, that time when he had zero friends in the entire world was fresh in his mind, the feeling that he was completely alone was fresh in his mind, and seeing Cole go to bat for Morro just reminded Jay that he was losing his place as Cole's best friend. Crossing his arms, he turned slightly away. "I just thought I'd, you know, bring it up. No reason to get all up in arms about it."

Cole recoiled, shocked by Jay's tone. "I-I wasn't getting 'all up in arms' about anything! What's been up with you lately?"

"Nothing's up with me," Jay replied immediately. "I just-"

"Alright, you two can go to marriage counseling after we get out of here," Kai interrupted with an exasperated tone. "Now, can we go?"

Cole and Jay glared at each other a moment longer before they both nodded.

Kai opened the door.

He breathed into his gloved hands, trying to warm up his numb fingers. The gloves were threadbare and full of holes, but they were a little better than nothing.

Finally, he spotted a brave soul that had chosen to weather the harsh elements. He was walking with a purpose, his trench coat flapping behind him, his face tucked into his collar to protect it from the icy wind.

The six year old rushed out from his alleyway, directly into the man's path.

"Please, sir," he begged, clasping his hands together in a show of desperation. "Can you help me? I lost my mom, and-"

"Get out of here, kid," the man snapped, pushing roughly past him. "I don't have time for street rats."

Though the nickname stung, the child was not deterred. He caught up to the man, grabbing onto his trench coat and pulling on it.

"Please, sir," he implored with a sniffle, beginning to cry. "I can't find my mommy. Please help-"

The man snarled, using one hand to shove the kid off of him. He tumbled to the ground, crying out as he landed gracelessly on the ice cold sidewalk.

The man continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, leaving the child sobbing into his hands on the instant the man disappeared around the corner, though, the child's crocodile tears disappeared with no evidence that they'd ever been there. Still looking warily down the street, as if afraid the man would reappear, he pulled out the wallet he had easily lifted from the man's pocket.

"Yes!" He cheered, successfully pulling out a handful of bills. He hopped to his feet, threw the wallet over his shoulder like it was trash, and rushed down the street.

He went straight to one of the only restaurants where he knew they wouldn't ask questions about where the money came from and so was one of the few restaurants that would serve street rats. Barely able to contain his excitement (and the anticipation of relieving the ache in his stomach), he pushed the door open.

"-and so my daddy bought this brand new coat for me! Isn't it just to die for?!"

He almost couldn't stop the eyeroll.

Miranda.

The prissy little rich girl and her crony, Ryann. They were certainly too rich to be hanging around these parts, if the thick blue coat with white fur trimmings and silk hair ribbons were anything to go off of. Yet, here they were, sitting at the bar and nursing mugs of hot chocolate (what he wouldn't give to try that, just once) and complaining as if they had something to complain about.

As soon as he clambered up onto the last bar stool at the counter- as far away from them as possible- Miranda swivelled around, her piercing green eyes immediately fixating on him, and Ryann watched wide-eyed, waiting to see what her idol would do.

"Ugh, I thought I smelled something," Miranda snapped, fixing the orphan with a glare full of absolute disgust.

He glared right back.

"Trash cans are in the back, you know."

Although his blood was boiling, he only smirked as he pulled the bills out of his pocket, slamming them down on the counter like he owned the place. The slight widening of her eyes was victory enough- not really, though. Nothing was ever really enough- and she huffed and turned back to Ryann, most likely to complain about him.

The owner came shuffling over to him, inspecting his money for a moment before nodding and disappearing into the back. A moment later, he came back with a bowl full of pale colored soup, and the child wasted no time in scarfing it down, barely able to stop from moaning as the warm liquid filled his stomach.

"Anyway, then my mommy was all, like, 'you have to stop buying her things at the drop of a hat! You're going to spoil her!' I mean, can you believe she actually said that?!"

"No way!"

Spoiled. Spoiled was when you had everything you could ever want. To never have to fight for anything, to never go without. Spoiled was not knowing that one of your silk hair ribbons could feed an orphan for a month.

"She's always so mean to me. She's always, like, 'clean your room, practice the piano.' Why can't she just leave me alone?"

A room. A piano. A mom.

"I just hate her!"

Whatever. Parents were dumb anyway. It didn't matter if having a mom you hate was better than having no mom at all. He didn't need one. He survived without one.

Using his spoon to skim the curve of the bowl, ensuring that he got every last morsel of soup, he reluctantly held the bowl out to the restaurant owner.

"More!" He chirped, knowing he had more than enough money for another bowl.

"Ugh, 'more, more, more,'" Miranda mimicked derisively, as if she had been waiting for the opportunity to engage the street rat yet again. Laughing cruelly, she continued, "That's all I ever hear you say. You better be careful or else we'll start calling you 'Morro.'"

The child clenched his fists, aiming the most potent death glare at Miranda he could muster. "That's not my name!"

"Then, what is it?"

He looked away.

"Oh, that's right," Miranda laughed. "You don't have one."

"Shut up!" He snapped. "You better shut up, or I'll pound you! I don't care if you are a girl."

She hopped off her bar stool, Ryann following suit almost immediately, and sauntered over to the orphan, her hands on her hips (covered with the light blue coat with the white fur trim that looked so, so warm…)

"Aw, what's the matter, Morro?" She asked mockingly. "Mad your mommy didn't love you enough to give you a name?"

The orphan hopped off the bar stool immediately, anger burning in his chest. Miranda was a little bit older and a little bit bigger, but he didn't hesitate to step up and show her he wasn't intimidated by her in the slightest.

"You take that back," he growled.

"Take what back, Morro?" She asked, smirking, enjoying how she was getting under his skin. Maybe that's what rich kids had to do. They had everything they ever wanted so they had to be mean just to stop from being bored. "You should thank me. I gave you a name, Morro."

"I said, quit it!" He tried desperately to keep the anger in his chest from exploding, knowing it could only get him into trouble.

It didn't work. "You're spoiled rotten, and you deserve a good beating."

A furious blush rose to Miranda's cheeks. She threw a glance over her shoulder at the restaurant owner, who had his back turned to the childish drama playing out in his restaurant. Before the street rat could decipher the meaning of the look, though, Miranda collapsed against one of the bar stools, crying out as it toppled over with a startling bang.

The owner whipped around. "What happened?!"

Miranda was sobbing hysterically, pointing an accusatory finger at the orphan. "H-h-he hit me!"

"What?" The street rat shrieked. "No, I didn't!"

"He did! I saw him!" Ryann testified, nodding enthusiastically.

"Alright, that's it, kid," the owner grumbled, shaking his head as he walked out from behind the counter. "You fight, you're out of here."

"I didn't hit her!" He protested. "She's a liar!"

Regardless, the owner grabbed the orphan by his arm and the back of his shirt, forcibly dragging him toward the back door of the restaurant.

"But-But, that's not fair!" He sputtered, reeling with the injustice of it all. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Miranda offering him a smug wave and Ryann giggling behind her hands.

"Life's not fair, kid," the owner offered unsympathetically, shoving open the back door of his restaurant and allowing an icy breeze to sweep through. "It's a kill or be killed world."

The owner shoved him out into the frigid evening. "No, no, please-"

The door slammed shut as he stumbled, slipping on a patch of ice-

He pitched forward, his head connecting with the cobblestones of the alleyway with a crack.

He didn't know how long he laid there. The throbbing in his head made it hard to think or move, so any number of hours could have passed. The coldness from the snow was seeping into his bones, though, infiltrating him so completely that he knew he would never be warm again.

For some reason, the only coherent thought that could actually stick in his head was Morro. The word kept repeating itself in his mind, bouncing around in his skull until all he could hear was Morro, Morro, Morro.

"Morro," he muttered aloud, trying to pick himself up off the ground. His fingers were so numb that he couldn't feel a thing, but he fought through the cold and the pain to push himself to his knees. "Morro. Morro."

Morro blinked.

There was… a door? His ears were still ringing, so he couldn't even be sure if the door was really there, but…

He… needed to go through?

It was hard- so hard- to stumble toward the door. He had to hang onto the knob for a moment, steadying himself for a moment to try to reorient his thoughts.

"Morro," he mumbled, still the only thing he could even coherently hear inside his own head. "Morro."

Steeling himself, he walked through.

Morro was staring at the ground when all six of them reappeared in the small room with the doors.

Before any of them could offer any words of comfort, he said in a low voice, "You weren't supposed to see that. No one was ever supposed to see that."

Jay reached a hand toward him. "Morro, we didn't mean to-"

"Stop," Morro snapped, taking a step back before Jay could touch him. "I didn't want pity then, and I don't want pity now so stop looking at me like I'm a kicked puppy-"

"Morro, no one's looking at you like that," Cole reassured.

Morro clenched his fists but managed to offer a nod, turning slightly away from the center of the group.

Kai cleared his throat. "So, um, now what? Now that we're all here, what do we do?"

"I suggest we go through the seventh door," Zane stated.

"Wait, seventh door?" Kai repeated. As one, they turned they saw a pitch black door sitting in the wall across the room as if it had always been there. The room was no bigger than it had been, and the doors seemed to be just as wide as before, but somehow the mindscape had shifted to perfectly fit a new door into the room.

"Yeah, I think that's a pretty good suggestion, Zane," Nya said with a little laugh of disbelief. Being in an environment where the laws of physics and logic clearly didn't apply was certainly grating on her as a woman of science, but she also was determined to move forward, especially since her little brother was on the line.

Moving to the door, Nya pulled it open.

Ooh, looks like things are heating up! What else awaits are beloved ninja in the mindscape?! And, where's Lloyd?!

Anyway, here's a fun anecdote-ish question for you guys: Does anybody else think "Emperor's New Clothes" by Panic! at the Disco fits Morro, like, perfectly? I mean "done my time and served my sentence" = being in the Cursed Realm. "I'm taking back the crown" = possessing Lloyd (where the crown is being the Green Ninja). "Finder's keepers" is basically all of Season 5. And, c'mon, "you just might see a ghost tonight?" Plus, you know, the rest of the song. Anyway, let me know if you agree or I'm just trying too hard to inject Ninjago into every aspect of my life XD

You are unstoppable ;D