Sleep was a rare commodity these days. It had been over ninety six hours since Garmadon left to lead the homeless vagabonds to the closest village; but Skylor kept their training at full strength in his absence.
Lloyd proved to be an exceptional leader, but that was already a given. It was common knowledge that he once led the resistance forces against Empress Harumi, and his ability to pull last minute plans out of thin air were unsurpassed.
This being said, the squad definitely noticed when Lloyd's focus began to fray, a strange onset of distracted ADHD taking hold. He was jumpy, quiet, and not getting any sleep whatsoever.
The others were worried about his health, but it quickly became clear that the jaws of life would be required to pry any info out of him. It had all started with the ghost writing on the mirror. Lloyd had mentioned strange occurrences once or twice since, but Jay and the others all laughed it off or explained it away.
Well everyone except Kai, and secretly Cole. Even Skylor noticed the dark rings under Lloyd's eyes, the dazed look in his brilliant green eyes.
Finally she pulled him aside.
"What was that?" She demanded. "Your team could have been caught!"
Lloyd rubbed his right eye. It was blurry from severe lack of sleep.
"You look terrible. Are you sick? Is your team causing problems?"
"Who's Moro?"
Skylor inhaled, eyes narrowing sharply. "Don't you dare say his name here!"
Lloyd blinked, rubbing his eye again and just giving her a dazed look. He didn't have the resolve or the patience to deal with this right now. He had a migraine building pressure in the left side of his skull.
Skylor frowned, grabbing his arm and dragging him down a hallway. Soon they were in a part of the base Lloyd had never seen before. It looked like a vacant warehouse, gray walls with catwalks and elevated platforms jutting out in all directions. Still she didn't stop, pulling him to a small corner.
He didn't offer any resistance.
Her narrow Hazel eyes shifted from the right to the left before she pressed a button on her remote to mute their bracelets.
"Where did you hear that name?" She demanded. "The empress commanded that we never mention him by name; so how did you hear it?"
"He told me... more or less."
He saw shock glimmer in the amber master's eyes before her jaw set.
"Liar." She hissed. "Where did you hear that name?"
"He wrote it on the bathroom mirror... A voice whispers it in my ear at night... we encountered a strange wind in the woods, and I... I can feel eyes on me when I'm alone."
Skylor ground her teeth together as she studied the ground. It explained a lot. Her father had been a master of the dark arts, he and his main goon Clouse. Even though she'd been young, she still to this day, knew that ghosts and necromancy were by no means myth or fable.
"The master of wind." Skylor finally sighed, turning her back to Lloyd. He could hear pain in her voice, a melancholy frown tugging at her lips. "He was on my squad years ago. His parents were... killed when Moro was culled. It was one of the only three fatality cases, but Moro never recovered. He couldn't see past his rage at Garmadon, and... we discovered an ancient prophecy in the library, about a legendary warrior who would destroy Ninjago's most feared dark lord. Moro was convinced that he was destined to destroy Garmadon... so he waited for an opportunity... and gave it a try."
"And Garmadon executed him."
"Yeah... you really don't want to know how either." The haunted look in Skylor's eye confirmed her words. "I... we were forced to watch, and I still have night mares. He deserved the death sentence... but no one deserves to die the way he did."
Skylor shuddered, folding her arms across her chest and staring vacantly at the opposite wall.
"He's haunting you isn't he?"
Lloyd took a breath and shrugged. "I'm beginning to think so. It could be... Other things, but... The guys say it's all in my head."
"Ghosts exist." Skylor told him sternly. "Those who die without finding a purpose are destined to walk the earth until they do. My father and his bodyguard, Clouse, learned lots of ancient fighting styles from dead warriors cursed to roam the world."
"Is there anyway to help him?"
"I don't know. That's a question I'd have to ask my dad, but quite frankly he and I aren't on speaking terms these days."
"I know the feeling."
"I'm sure you do." Skylor replied quietly. She leaned against the railing of the platform overlooking the empty floor and narrowed her eyes. "Why do you fight the empress?"
Lloyd stiffened. One wrong step could have him one head short... or maybe a tongue short. Neither option was particularly alluring.
"Because I believe in freedom."
"What's freedom? Just a bunch of poverty and crime."
"Initiative." Lloyd replied. "Gives our lives meaning. We can amble through life as drones obeying the bidding of another, or soar above and beyond expectations. We can be whoever we want to be, when we want to be, how we want to be."
"But people use freedom to hurt others."
"And that's when their freedom needs to be taken away... Not before. If people can't make their own choices, then what's the point of living?"
Skylor opened her to mouth to reply, snapping it shut again moments later. She bit her lip and frowned thoughtfully.
"Surviving?"
"There's more to life than surviving, Skylor. Next time you get some leave, if you get some that is, go to one of the outer villages and just be helpful. Do it because you want to, and you'll see exactly what I mean."
"I might just do that."
Alright, so I know I'm moving slow these days. If I simply can't find the inspiration, I prefer to just wait. It's better to get a post out every other day rather than bore you with less than quality work. Anyhow, things are progressing pretty well I think! I look forward to the upcoming chapters. Stay tuned to see what happens next!
LouTheStarSpeaker: I'm so glad you love my fic! I'm enjoying writing it a lot, and love seeing your all reactions to it. Thanks for choosing to read my little Au!
I.D.'s Fantasy: I'm glad you find it interesting! I know I have a few spelling mistakes lumped in there occasionally. I do try to iron them out, but some always find a way through . So yeah, I will definitely be more careful. Anyhow, I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for taking the time to review to that and my other stories.
FireWriter316: Yeah, wind was a dead give away . I have something in mind for moro that'll be pretty awesome.
Bookkeeper2004: Lloyd's emo cousin, eh? Yeah, I could see Moro being Wu's adopted son in ways... interesting. I will have to say your comment gave me an attack of the chuckles.