CHAPTER NINE

As the sun's first rays began to peek over the trees, Morro was awake. He'd been tired and sluggish the night before, but now that he'd rested, that the cold had receded from his chest, he was active, awake, and excited. Though he had to admit he was just the slightest bit nervous about all of this. He'd never really fought in an actual battle, despite all of his years of training.

As the future green ninja, Morro would need to know how to fight in real battles, though. This would be a good experience for him. Morro knew he was a fast learner—one battle like this and he'd be able to handle the rest for certain. The only thing he was worried most about was fighting to kill. Taking a life was something Morro had barely ever considered. Really, most of his moves had concentrated around self-defense, and though he could wield weaponry he'd not thought about using it lethally.

This would be a new experience. In the pale morning light, Morro left his tent and sat on a rock, looking up at the sky as it changed from dull gray to hues of pink, blue, and orange. The light sparkled on the dew and fading fog. Morro heard the sound of approaching footsteps and turned to see Wu. His sensei took a seat next to him.

"You're up early," he said quietly.

Morro nodded. "Yes. I'm trying to prepare for the battle."

"You do know, you don't have to fight if you don't want to," Wu responded. "You can stay at the camp—"

"No," Morro cut him off. "I'm not staying behind. I'm going to be the green ninja, I need to know how to fight battles."

Wu didn't respond this time, and Morro glanced up to see that he was looking at the ground, seeming to be deeply upset. "Very well, then," he finally said, "You'll come with us. Morro, I don't want you to be hurt. You've already been hurt enough."

Morro clenched his teeth slightly. "And whose fault is that?" the rhetorical question escaped him in a harsh whisper before he could stop himself, and then hurriedly he looked up at Wu, who was clearly stung and upset by the comment. "Sensei, I... I didn't mean to..." he began, with wide eyes.

Wu stood. "I know you are angry, Morro," he said, "But I wish that you would remember that, no matter what, I still care about you and love you very much. None of it matters, the prophecy, the weapons. You don't need to prove yourself to me."

"You're wrong, Sensei. I do," Morro stated. "Even if you say you don't care, I do. I care a lot. And I'm not going to fail. Someday I'll find the tomb, then you'll know that I'm worthy to be the green ninja. Until then... just assume that you're not going to change my mind." Now he stood up. He didn't meet Wu's eyes. "I think you should probably wake the others. I'll make something for breakfast." He turned to walk off.

Morro didn't know why he kept talking to Wu that way. But he was angry at him. He was furious that Wu didn't believe in him. It had hurt him so deeply, and now he just couldn't help it. The anger found its ways out.

He stirred the dying embers of the campfire with a gust of wind, coaxing the flames back to life. Morro knew how to cook, and he thought himself pretty good at it. But that was only when he had things to cook. There were some supplies, certainly, but it was really a bare minimum—it made perfect sense for them to be going to retake the village. They'd certainly be able to restock things, besides having the village as a base. Morro hadn't been to Jamanakai village since he was a child on the streets. Vaguely, he wondered what had changed as he began to prepare a pot of porridge, sweetening it slightly. It was one of the only things they had left. As it boiled, he tucked himself into the berry bushes on one side of the camp, picking them and filling up his shirt as he turned back.

The camp was stirring around him, some more quickly than others, and he removed the pot from the fire, blowing dirt over the flames to smother them. Some of those in the camp were starting to pack things up to prepare for the march to the village. Ray was sharpening a sword. When he saw Morro tucking the berries onto trays and dipping out bowls of the porridge, he approached him.

"Hey, I managed to whip up a little something to protect that spot on your chest," he told him, holding up a small metal plate attached to leather straps. "It isn't much, and I'll make you a proper bit of armor when I have a real forge, but it should help for today anyway."

Morro looked up, setting the ladle down and taking the piece, inspecting it a little bit. It was curved slightly, to keep pressure from striking the scar. He glanced up at Ray. "Thank you," he said quietly. "This will work wonderfully. I'd almost forgotten the danger this posed."

Ray smiled. "Glad to help. Good luck."

Morro nodded in response. "Here, have some breakfast before we head out." He held out a bowl of berry-garnished porridge, which the master of fire took readily.

Once all of the food was dished out and distributed, Morro went back to his tent, fitting the armor piece over his chest. It settled just right. Experimentally, he gave it a strike with his hand. It hurt a little, but it didn't send that paralyzing cold into his chest. He smiled a little bit. He rather liked Ray, he'd decided. The man was kind, and seemed to treat Morro almost like an equal—a feeling that the boy enjoyed immensely.

He peered into the mirror, running his fingers along the plate, then draping his half-cloak over it, then pausing. He turned his head to the side, letting his pale digits brush the burn scar. It had healed over for the most part and was now covered with a scab. It itched a lot, but was better than the agonizing pain of the angry red skin. Though now it seemed to look even worse. It still hurt a lot if he thought about it too much.

Morro sighed, wondering if it was too much to hope for that Garmadon would be killed in the fight as revenge. Most likely it was. Besides that, it would grieve Wu, he was certain. While he was angry at his Sensei, he didn't wish to hurt him. Though, if Garmadon attacked him ever again, Morro knew he wouldn't hesitate.

They finished packing up the camp, settling the tents and supplies in packs over their shoulders, and began the trek to the first village conquered by the Serpentine. Morro stayed near the back, taking in the scenery around him, looking for any sign of a place the tomb could be located. It was pretty hard, though, considering the fact that he had absolutely no idea where to start. Eventually he simply gave up and kept walking. They went on all morning, and stopped to eat a quick lunch of sandwiches, and then continued.

Morro was tiring once more as the afternoon sun began to paint the sky, turning it from blue to myriads of colors. He didn't really look up at the sunset. His feet were dragging, his eyelids drooping. He'd never gotten so tired so easily before that awful curse had been put on his soul.

He felt Wu's hand on his shoulder—he knew it was him, it had a certain firm but gentle grip.

"We're nearly at the village now. Take a drink."

Morro took the offered canteen, sipping from it. Even after all the times Morro had yelled at him, Wu was still treating him almost like his own son. It was baffling him. Not that he was complaining... it was just... just so odd.

"Thank you," he replied after a bit. "Why am I so tired?"

"The curse has weakened you," Wu responded sadly. "It will take time for you to get used to it, and after that you will be stronger."

Morro pressed his lips together. "I hate it. Just thinking about it... it gives me such awful thoughts and dreams..."

"I know. We will try to find a way to remove it, I promise you," Wu told him. "Perhaps Garmadon knows where we can start looking..."

"No, Sensei, it's alright," Morro said hurriedly. Garmadon had been the one who had put the curse on him in the first place. He didn't want him to have anything to do with him. Wu gave him an odd look, but Morro quickly settled his expression. No matter how sincere Garmadon's apology had been, Morro wouldn't trust him. Apologies didn't really matter, after all. What people did mattered. An apology was just some horrible and pathetic attempt to undo damage that couldn't be undone. Even if Garmadon suddenly became the nicest person that Morro had ever met—which was highly unlikely—Morro would never forget that he'd tried to kill him. He'd never forget that he'd doomed him to an afterlife in the Cursed Realm—a place whose horrors Morro couldn't even begin to imagine.

Without noticing, he reached up and wiped a few tears on his sleeve. He didn't like this uncertainty, this fear. Morro had never been afraid before. He didn't like it now. He had to be fearless to be the green ninja, he had to be invincible...

Wu's hand on his shoulder tightened in a gentle grip. "Morro, we've stopped," he said gently. "Come, let's get your tent set up."

"No!" he snapped, once again immediately regretting it. He looked away, his gaze finding the ground. "I'll be fine putting it up myself." He turned and walked away, blinking away tears. Why was everything going wrong? Certainly, Wu had disappointed him, but he hadn't done anything but been kind to Morro, even after Morro had repeatedly shunned him. So why was he still so snappish?

Morro dropped his tent and bedroll on the ground in a spot a little bit away from the others, taking a moment to sit on it and scuff his feet on the ground. A part of him wanted to go apologize, but then when he looked up and saw Wu and Garmadon sitting together on a large rock, laughing and talking, he remembered that apologies didn't do any good. And if Wu had already forgiven him, what use was there in apologizing anyway?

The day died in all of its glory, and Morro finished setting up his tent, crawling inside and curling up on his bedroll. Only then did he remember the cause of his earlier anxiety—the looming battle itself. The lights of Jamanakai village could be seen in the distance, and as the light faded the fire had been put out to keep the sentries from spotting them. They would be attacking in the morning.

Morro tried hard to sleep, really he did. He was exhausted from walking all day. But he couldn't sleep. His thoughts had strayed from the fight only to return now. Tomorrow, he could very well die. And it was what came after that that was terrifying him most of all.

AUTHOR's NOTE: So, this chapter was originally going to include the battle for Jamanakai village, but I ended up spending too much time on Morro and Wu's relationship and making it a shorter chapter. So, NEXT chapter you can look forward to the battle, and a much longer chapter. Thanks to everyone reading and please leave me reviews! -Valkyrie