New cryptid: Updates for this fanfiction

Not gonna... bother doing review replies bc it's been 3ish months but! I was stuck on the stupid fight scene for 3 months so I just decided to skip it here have some words

"Goodbye Ninjago City." Lloyd mumbled, glancing over his shoulder to watch as swarms of ghosts stormed the defenseless city.

"It was the right decision to give it up." Morro 2 reminded him, his arms wrapped around his chest from where he sat behind him on his dragon. Lloyd sighed.

"I know, it's the only way. But the people… they put their trust in us."

"And you won't let them down, will you?" Lloyd shook his head.

"I hope not."

"So do I." Apparently, their plan to fake a loss had worked. They had positioned some of the ninja in the streets, then, after defeating a couple waves of ghosts, they had faked receiving a message and fled to where the others were waiting with their supplies and belongings. Once they had all arrived, they flew away. Lloyd could only hope now that the Preeminent was fooled by the oddly easy battle.

The party flew across the desert in a couple hours, which was by far easier than walking, and they arrived in Stiix by midafternoon. Nya 2 greeted her parents with much enthusiasm as they entered the base, having been informed of their existence beforehand, but the thing that caught Lloyd's attention as soon as he came through the door was his double.

The other Lloyd sat at the back of the meeting room, staring listlessly at the floor and not acknowledging their presence. His wrists were cuffed together, but his prosthetic leg had been re-attached so he could walk. They had let him out. Did that mean… they trusted him not to attack people?

Lloyd glanced over his shoulder at Morro 2, whose eyes were locked on his double and his teeth clenched.

"He's out." He whispered, apparently noticing Lloyd's eyes on him. "Why?"

"I guess he's not dangerous anymore." Lloyd murmured in reply. "Still… I hope he's locked up or something at night." Morro clenched his hands into fists, his metal fingers clinking together.

"Me too." Was all he said.

The ninja spent the rest of the day getting settled back in, and going over the details of their plan. Lloyd guessed that it would be a few days before anything happened, as the Preeminent assured her victory over Ninjago City. Until then, all they could do was wait.

As night began to fall, Lloyd inquired after his double's state of imprisonment, and found that he was, in fact, allowed to roam free at all hours. Lloyd wasn't happy at all about that arrangement, on Morro 2's behalf. What if he attacked him again? So, just before they went to bed, he pulled the wind master aside to talk.

"My double isn't locked up at night. I checked." He informed him quietly. "So I'm going to spend the night in your room, if that's okay." Morro nodded.

"O-of course, but… will it be enough? What if you catch him too late?"

"Don't worry, I have an alternate plan."

"What's that?" Lloyd grinned.

"Booby traps."

TheDarknessReturn

For being a Master of Dreams, Nicole sure was having trouble getting her own.

Nicole wandered around the dark, silent base, bored out of her skull while she waited for her brain to figure out it was nighttime. Insomnia was a hard thing.

Morro A had seemed tense since they had returned, likely due to Lloyd B being there. He had chopped off his fingers, after all. Nicole had already stopped by his room to give him some extra-nasty dreams, but maybe as long as she was up she should give her boyfriend some good ones. So she headed in the direction of his room.

As she got close, she noticed a piece of paper taped to the outside of the slightly open door, which read, "ENTER AT YOUR OWN PERIL!". What was that supposed to mean? Well, only one way to find out. Slowly, she leaned closer and pushed the door open.

Immediately, she was drenched in cold water, and something hard hit her head and bounced off as an alarm started ringing.

"WHAT THE ****?!" Nicole yelled, pushing her soaked hair out of her face.

"Nicole?" She looked up, blinking water out of her eyes, to see Lloyd… B, standing next to Morro's bed. "What are you doing here? Didn't you read the sign?"

"Of course I did! That's why I came in! You're practically begging for visitors." Nicole frowned. "Wait, what are you doing in here?"

"We were worried about the other Lloyd attacking me again, so…" Morro sat up in his bed, pushing hair out of his face. "Lloyd set up traps in my room. Sorry." Nicole shook her head, squeezing water out of her hair.

"Whatever. I'm glad someone's looking out for you. I checked on him too, and he's asleep. Well, he might be awake by now." She put a finger on her chin, staring up at the ceiling. "Had to say." Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"It's like midnight. Why would he be awake?"

"Nightmares can be a cause of sleeplessness." Nicole shrugged. Lloyd stared at her for half a minute before it clicked.

"Nicole!"

"What? He deserves it." She raised her hands in a shrug. "Besides, it might help him feel remorseful."

"I… whatever. You still shouldn't have come in." Lloyd crossed his arms, sinking down on the edge of the bed.

"What can I say? Curiosity killed Ni-cat." Morro covered his mouth with his hand to hide a smile. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep in here." She plopped down against the wall. "No offense to her, but Indigo creeps me out."

"Uh… okay." Lloyd blinked. "Do you want the bed, or…?"

"No, I'm all wet. Besides, I lived out in Stiix for a while, I'm used to sleeping on hard surfaces." Nicole leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

"O… kay." Lloyd seemed confused, but not bothered. "I'm going to reset the trap. Be back in a minute." Nicole opened one eye to see him grab a bucket – which must have been what hit her – and jump out the window with it. The dream mistress shrugged, then closed her eyes again.

"Nicole?" She opened her eyes once more at the sound of her name, and watched as Morro slid off the bed, hesitantly walking over and sitting down next to her. "Can I… ask you something?"

"Sure." She tilted her head a bit.

"Are we… dating?" He asked, blushing. "I… you kissed me, but I'm not really sure that means anything." He touched his lips self-consciously.

"We haven't really seriously talked it over, so… no, I'd say we're not currently dating." Nicole considered lowering her head onto his shoulder, but decided she was too wet. "But I want to date you. So…" She trailed off, and he looked hopeful.

"And I wanna date you."

"Boom." Nicole clapped her hands together. "We're dating now." Morro looked startled, but he smiled.

"Good." Slowly, he reached over and took her hand, entwining his fingers with hers. She looked down at their clasped hands, admiring the craftsmanship of his metal fingers.

"Did you get that adjusted so you can punch people?" She asked out of the blue.

"Not yet, I forgot." He shook his head. "But if I get in a situation like the one with Claire again, punching them will be worth it, padding or no padding." Nicole smiled.

"How did you end up behind he without her noticing? Even if you were a ghost, it's hard to be that quiet."

"Well, I have experience." He smiled a bit, looking away. "I had to stay out of sight when I was a kid, or I'd be hurt." Nicole's smile vanished.

"What do you mean? Who would hurt a kid?"

"Most people, if he's an orphan." Morro was an orphan? "They called us thieves, even though we didn't steal. We just took what had been thrown away. Still, if people saw us, we were chased away, sometimes pelted with rocks or rotten food." He looked at the ground, and Nicole noticed his eyes starting to fall closed. He should sleep.

"That's terrible." She rested her head on his shoulder now. "You should really sleep. It's past midnight." She nudged him with her powers just a bit to get him to agree with her, and she gave him a slow nod.

"Yeah… okay." She patted his shoulder as he closed his eyes, and, in just a few moments, he was asleep. Careful not to disturb him, Nicole pulled her hand away from his, scooting away from him and kneeling in front of him on the ground. Gently, she pressed her hand against his forehead, a soft blue mist floating up from her fingertips.

"You're a kid again." The dream mistress murmured, closing her eyes. "But this time, you are safe…"

Please excuse me if they're OOC, I'm trying to work on transitioning back to how they're supposed to act in this fic.

Aaaanyway... Don't expect frequent updates, I won't be updating this a lot until I finish my other fic or Candaru starts reading this series.

~FFF