I know it's been forever since I've updated this story. I've just been focusing a lot on school this year. And being a senior means I've got a lot to do.

PrincePacman47: I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. And yes, this story is being updated; I've just been swamped. I'm not sure if I will add Harumi into the story. I did that with my original version of the story, and I didn't like how I executed her part. But, a quick correction, my stories take place after the events of March of the Oni. And I don't associate the year a season came out with the year it is for the characters. So for my headcanon, it is 2018 for the characters but after March of the Oni. But that doesn't mean I won't add Harumi in at some point; I just don't know. But if I do add her, I won't create anything between her and Lloyd because I don't ship them. But I'm glad you enjoy the story.

Morro walked through the forest surrounding the monastery during the mid-day summer sun. He was exhausted from training that day and just wanted some time to himself. Sure, he could have sat in his room or up in the tree he and Autumn had been in the day prior, but he wanted to be alone. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as the sun beat down on him. After a while, he rested at a fallen tree to rehydrate and eat the granola bar he brought with him.

After walking for a long time, it felt pleasant to rest. He pulled out a rag he had brought with him from his backpack and wet it with some water from his water bottle. He pressed the cold rag against his face and neck to cool down, as well as tying back his hair (Wu said he needed a haircut, but he didn't care). Afterward, he rang out the rag and put it back in his backpack. He rested for a while longer until deciding to head back to the monastery. He walked in the direction of the monastery but was stopped when he heard a distant cry. He turned around to where he heard the cry, feeling compelled to follow it.

He set his bag down and followed the cry deeper into the forest. Part of him was afraid of the unknown voice in the woods, but the other part of him knew exactly who the voice came from.

"Mom..."

Morro picked up his pace and ran after his mother's cry. It was faint, but it grew louder the closer he got. His mother needed him, and he needed her. He ran as fast as he could to find her but stopped when he noticed the earth was tinted red. Morro stopped breathing for a moment before following the red tint. He hoped the trail would lead him to his mother, but it led him elsewhere. He found a man in his early-to-mid thirties lying face down in the dry podzol. The man wore a light blue traditionally styled kimono, which was soaked in the same red substance that tinted the earth. Morro thought his heart stopped upon seeing the man.

"Dad!"

Morro ran to his father's side and knelt beside him. He flipped him over onto his back and pressed his hand against the bloody wound. The blood was warm, giving Morro hope that he could save his father.

"Dad, please! Don't die on me! I need you... I need Mom... Please, Dad..." Tears flowed down Morro's cheeks and onto his father's forehead. He sobbed, fearing he was going to lose him.

"...M...or...ro ..." Morro's eyes shot open. He stared down, seeing the smallest sliver of his father's brown eyes.

"D-Dad... I'm here, Dad... It's okay, you'll be okay," he said quietly. Off in the distance, he heard his mother's cries again.

"...G...o..."

"No! I'm not leaving you. I need you." Morro's father was weak but was able to remove Morro's hand from his wound.

"...Go..." The tears flooded Morro's eyes and flowed down his cheeks. He stood up and walked toward the cries.

"I'll be back soon, Dad. I promise."

Morro ran deeper into the forest to find his mother. He didn't know where he was going, but he needed to find her before whatever happened to his father happened to his mother. As he got closer to the origin of his mother's cries, they grew louder, turning into wails. After running for what seemed like forever, he saw a woman in a light green kimono around the same age as his father. He sped up to catch up to her but froze when he saw another figure.

Morro couldn't move; he felt paralyzed. His heart picked up pace, and it felt like he could hardly breathe. The figure inched closer to his mother as she inched away. She had a look of fear in her eyes, which turned into a panic when she was pinned against a tree. She rapidly looked around for a way to escape when her eyes met Morro's.

"Morro baby..."

"Mom!"

Morro tried to run to protect his mother, but he still couldn't move. His mother stared at him with widened eyes, frozen in place from shock. Swiftly, she looked back at her assailant and turned to Morro, and tried running to him. But the figure grabbed her by her arm. That's when Morro saw that the figure was wielding a knife. Before Morro or his mother could do anything to fight back, the figure plunged their knife into his mother's abdomen.

"MOM!"

Morro's mother's eyes met his once more before the figure pulled his weapon out, and his mother fell to the ground. Morro felt his heart sink into his stomach. He didn't want it to be true. He didn't want his mother to die. But then the figure turned to him. Fear grew inside him in an instant, and he was finally able to run. Morro ran as fast as he could away from the figure, running back to his father. But he tripped over a root a few feet from his father. He turned over, facing the figure.

"G-Get away from me!" Morro pushed himself away from his assailant, trying to get away from them as fast as possible. But he wasn't fast enough. The figure grabbed Morro by his hair and pinned him down. The figure pressed their knife against Morro's throat and went for the killing blow.

Thunder crashed, and lightning filled the room as Morro jolted awake. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he struggled to regain his breath. He tried to calm himself, feeling his heart race in his chest. He reached for his phone with a shaky hand to look at the time. Two-forty seven a.m. Morro tossed his phone back on the nightstand and held his head in his hands, simultaneously wiping the sweat from his face. Morro pulled himself out of his bed and walked out of his room and to the kitchen.

Once he arrived, Morro grabbed a glass and filled it with water. He sat at the table, trying to calm himself from the nightmare he had. He should have known it wasn't real, but he wished it was. His parents died fifty years ago. He found his father dead and watched his mother die. And he just watched it happen all over again. His glass remained full for some time before he took the first sip. A quick chill ran down his back, a part of him still afraid of water.

Morro listened to the thunder for the remainder of the night until sunlight shown through the window. By that time, the glass was only half empty. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting at the kitchen table, but it didn't matter by this time. Not long later, Garmadon entered the kitchen to begin making breakfast.

"Oh, Morro, good morning. How long have you been awake," he asked upon noticing Morro.

"Since about two-forty-five this morning," Morro replied. Garmadon looked at Morro with a look of surprise and confusion.

"Could you not sleep?"

"Something like that." Garmadon seemed slightly concerned but decided not to pry.

'Well, I'll start on breakfast. Let me know if you have anything to request." Morro nodded, and Garmadon began. The two were silent and only exchanged brief eye contact. A few minutes of silence passed while Garmadon made the batter for blueberry pancakes.

"I saw my parents." Garmadon looked up at Morro, who was still hunched over the table.

"It felt like I was watching them die all over again. But rather than finding my dead father, he was still alive when I found him. He was bleeding out, and he even talked to me. I know it wasn't real, but I talked to him. I'd give anything to be able to talk to them just one more time." Garmadon rinsed off his hands to rid of any batter and sat in the chair across from Morro.

"I understand wanting to be able to speak with a loved one that has passed on. I wish I could let my father know that I love him and that I knew he loved me," Garmadon said, his mind wandering off.

"Did something happen that made your father think otherwise?" Morro asked. Garmadon remained silent as his mind continued to wander, remembering the last time he spoke with his father.

"A few days before my father set out to rest himself in his tomb, the venom in me took control. My father was able to calm me enough to a point where I was able to think rationally. However, his intent to help me was seen negatively by me. I yelled at him, saying that he was didn't care about me and only cared for Wu. My father tried to reassure me that it was not true, but I didn't believe him. I told him that I knew he favored Wu and that I wished he wasn't my father. After that, I stormed out of the monastery. A few days later, I returned to apologize to him. But I only found Wu crying his eyes out, gripping our father's staff tightly. When I asked what was wrong... Wu told me he was gone."

"Whoa... The last thing you said to him was that you wished he wasn't your father," Morro said in awe. Garmadon nodded, showing his regret in his eyes.

"I wish I could talk to him one more time. Just to let him know that I didn't mean what I had said." The room went silent once again. Garmadon stood up and returned to making breakfast. Everyone else eventually woke up and came to the kitchen.

"You look like death. Did you sleep at all?" Kai asked. Morro glanced up from his water cup and glared at him.

"Fuck off." He received a hard smack on the back of his head with Wu's staff.

"Language, Morro."

"Ow! So this is what I get for having a rough morning. Jeez, thanks." He rubbed his head where the pain was.

"In all seriousness, are you okay? It literally looks like you didn't sleep at all last night," Autumn said as she sat down.

"I'm fine. Really. I just didn't sleep well." Morro returned his attention to the still half-empty water glass in his hand. Silence filled the room, with everyone staring at Morro. Morro knew they were staring but chose not to-

Morro felt someone repeatedly poke the side of his head.

"Autumn, I know that's you. Stop it." A quiet giggle came from the young girl.

"What do you mean? I'm not doing anything," she said, continuing to pester her friend.

"Stop it. I'm serious." Morro was beginning to get annoyed.

"What's wrong, Morro? Something seems to be bothering you." The others in the room started to snicker from Autumn's childish action and Morro's irritation.

"Cut. It. Out. If I tell you what's bothering me, will you stop?" Morro asked, now very annoyed.

"Uh-huh." Autumn nodded, and Morro pushed her hand away from his head and sighed.

"Fine! I just had a bad dream about my parents. I found my dad bleeding to death, and I saw my mom get stabbed. Just my mind replaying horrible memories with added twists." The room immediately went silent. Morro looked up and saw everyone staring at him.

"What? Someone say something instead of staring."

"Well, Morro. That's not all of what you told me," Garmadon said. That's not what Morro had in mind when he told someone to say something a moment ago.

"Garmadon. Shut. Up. That, I do not want to talk about," Morro said. He went silent again and turned away. Everyone stared at Morro, waiting for him to say more.

"If you don't talk, I'll start poking you again," Autumn said. Morro glared at her, and Autumn slowly started to poke him in the head again.

"Stop it! Fine, I'll talk!" Autumn stopped poking Morro.

"It's just that it kinda felt like my parents in my dream were my actual parents. Like there was some extent of recognition in them. Like when my mom saw me, it felt like it was really her and not a figment of my subconscious. That's it. I don't know why that's such a big deal," he said.

"How do you consider that not a big deal. Morro, we know you don't like talking about your parents, but maybe there's a reason your dream was like that," Jay said. Morro's head shot in Jay's direction, and he glared at him.

"If you're trying to suggest that my dead parents are literally trying to talk to me, you can stop! My parents have been dead for over fifty years! I don't want to consider the idea that they are trying to talk to me! I've accepted that they're dead, and I want them to be at peace rather than looking for me!" Everyone started at Morro. Jay had clearly touched a nerve.

"Sorry..." Everyone went quiet, and Garmadon finished making breakfast. Morro remained silent for the remainder of the morning.

A little while later, Morro was in his room messing around on his phone. He wanted to forget about the events of that morning. Morro technically didn't understand his phone too much, but he enjoyed the games Cole showed him. Really, all he knew how to do on his phone was the games and texting. Except it took Autumn, Lloyd, and Jay three days to teach Morro just how to use the keypad.

Regardless, Morro was slowly adjusting to his strange modern device. He continued messing around in one of his games until he heard a soft knock on his open bedroom door. He looked up and saw Autumn sheepishly looking in.

"Hey, penny for your thoughts?"

"Sure, come in." Morro sat up and set his phone aside. Autumn entered the room and sat on Morro's bed.

"What's on your mind?" he asked Autumn.

"I've been thinking about what happened this morning. I know you don't like talking about your parents, but your dream has been bugging me. Can you explain exactly what happened in your dream?" Autumn asked. Morro went quiet and shifted in place.

"I don't know what else to say. I said everything-" Autumn cut him off.

"I know, I know. But I'm just asking for you to explain everything you can remember from start to finish. I feel like I have an idea about your dream," she said. Morro raised his eyebrow and looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Morro, please, just explain everything you can remember." Morro stayed silent, thinking. He eventually nodded and sighed.

"I remember I was exploring the forest around the monastery when I heard my mom's cry from somewhere in the woods. I followed her voice and found my dad bleeding out. He was a little conscious and told me to go after my mom. So I did. I followed her voice until I found her backed up against a tree as someone was getting closer to her. I guess that the assailant was supposed to represent Pythor.

"My mom looked around when she spotted me. That's when I saw the recognition that made me feel like it was really her. She tried running to me, but the assailant got her and stabbed her. Then I ran back to where my dad was, hoping he was still okay, but I didn't make it. The person got to me and killed me. That's when I woke up.

"I know it was just a dream, but I can't help but think that it could've actually been my parents. But I don't want them to try to look for me because I want them to be safe."

Morro looked back up at Autumn, and her eyes were wide open.

"What?" Morro asked. Autumn grabbed Morro by his wrist and pulled him out of the room. She ran to the living room where some of the ninja, Garmadon, and Wu were. Wu noticed Autumn and Morro enter the room and saw that Autumn looked very shocked.

"Is everything alright, Autumn?" he asked. Everyone else in the room looked over at her and Morro and saw her shocked expression.

"Morro explained everything he could remember about his dream to me. Something about it had been bothering me all morning, and I had a theory about it." Autumn let go of Morro's wrist and walked over to where she had left her phone. She picked it up and clicked on one of her contacts.

"A theory? What theory?" Lloyd asked.

"Do you know what that dream meant?" Cole asked. Everyone looked at each other, then back at Autumn. She looked over at them; the person she called hadn't answered yet.

Then the person answered.

"I don't, but I know someone who might."

Finally glad I got this chapter done. I have summer break coming up soon, so I'll try to update more often. But once I start college, I don't know how often I'll be able to update.