Welcome to Book Two!

First things first; if you haven't read Book One, I strongly recommend you do so before reading any further. The recap I've provided below is just a refresher for folks who have read Book One and is not sufficient to explain all the details therein. So, go read Book One and hopefully I'll see you back here soon!

With that out of the way, please enjoy Book Two.

WAR OF DARKNESS CHRONICLES

Book Two: A New World

Part One: Billingsley
Chapter I: Friends and More

Recap of Book One: Changes…

Morro escaped the Cursed Realm and sought out the ninja, helping them rescue Garmadon and gaining their trust and a place in their family. Months later, a stranger appeared to the ninja. This stranger's name was Mack, and he is the true Green Ninja.

With his guidance, Lloyd has been restored as the Golden Ninja, the ninja have all become more powerful than ever, and they embark on a mission to the Mack's home realm of Earth to locate the now reformed and more numerous Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu.

These weapons are imperative if the ninja are to defeat Rikayla, the Queen of Darkness, who threatens to conquer the entire universe in a matter of a few months…

Mack's Family Homestead; Billingsley, Alabama
Earth
Friday June 15, 2018…

Exactly two weeks ago, the ninja arrived in the realm of Earth.

In addition to growing more powerful by the day, they were slowly becoming accustomed to their temporary home in the tiny rural community of Billingsley. While the absence of Nya, Sensei Wu, and Misako was keenly felt among them, the ninja were pleased that they had become acquainted with most of Mack's circle of close friends.

These friends and Mack's family were the only people who knew of the ninja's identities and their mission.

Even with the unwavering support of his friends, Mack often found himself discouraged; after two weeks, there was no indication as to where the Golden Weapons were to be found or how to search for them.

Sensing Mack's stress, his mother Sharon suggested there should be a bonfire out on their family's wide-open property Friday night so that his friends from both worlds could spend some time getting to know each other better.

It was unanimously declared an excellent idea, and after the day's training was complete, the ninja spent much of the afternoon gathering wood for the bonfire.

As the sun began to set, Mack's friends started arriving and the fire was lit. Thankfully, the temperature began to drop with the sun; it had been oppressively hot that day, and Mack promised it would only get hotter every day until late fall.

For the same reason, it was fortunate that the ninja had time to freshen up before the guests started arriving (one does not socialize after spending all day in Alabama heat and humidity without first taking a shower).

One-by-one, Mack's friends came and took a seat among the ninja in the many folding chairs around the now raging bonfire.

Mack's girlfriend Anna arrived first. She was about a head shorter than Mack (who measured an even six feet) and had blonde hair that reached halfway down her back. She greeted the Green Ninja with a kiss on the cheek and sat next to him. The show of affection prompted some mild teasing from his fellow warriors.

The next to arrive was Mack's best friend Kayla. The blue and purple streaks in her shoulder-length light brown hair matched her personality perfectly: light-hearted and carefree. She and Mack had been best friends since before either of them could remember; they often referred to each other as brother and sister even though there was no such relation between them.

Pete and Kasey were next; they arrived together. The pair dated for a while the previous year, but ultimately decided they were better off as friends.

Pete had short dark brown hair and wore a white baseball cap with a crimson stylized letter "A" on it. The ninja recognized it as the logo of the University of Alabama, of whose football team Mack and most of his friends and family were avid fans.

Kasey was taller than Pete (for which Mack often teased the latter, who was on the shorter side) and wore her very long hair in a ponytail that fell to her waist.

Danny arrived next. His hobby of choice was working out, and it showed; Danny had faded black hair and was similar in build to Cole. In fact, many days Danny came over to the homestead to exercise with the ninja (in an exercise routine that was quite rigorous).

Finally, Zee was the last to arrive to the bonfire. She was rather short, only a couple inches taller than five feet, and her black hair was tied into a bun. After apologizing for being late, which everyone promptly waved off, she took the last seat next to Morro.

Zee was the only one of Mack's close friends whom the ninja had yet to meet, so introductions ensued. She and Morro seemed to have easy chemistry; they clicked right away.

Garmadon was also present, but he retired to his room in the Elemental Temple not long after the sun completed its descent beneath the horizon and bid the crowd a good night.

The others were not to be done in so easily and stayed out deep into the night talking. The ninja told their stories of how they came to realize their destiny; from meeting Sensei Wu, to reaching their true potentials, to their struggle against the Overlord.

They also talked about the absent Sensei Wu, Nya, and Misako and how they stayed behind to protect Ninjago.

When they reached the point of their history where they faced Morro, they hesitated to continue. But the ghost himself picked up the tale without missing a beat. He had no interest in hiding his past with his new friends (who were as gracious and understanding as the ninja had been).

After Morro told of the redemption he had found, all present celebrated his reformation with affirming words and pats on the back; Zee even gave him a small hug, which surprised Mack, as he knew Zee to be generally reserved in character.

To lighten the mood, Mack's friends began telling funny stories about their friendship with him. The rest of the evening was spent in similar fashion, and by the end of the evening, many sides were aching from laughter.

Without regard to the time, one-by-one Mack's friends simply left when they were tired. Hugs were in no short supply as the two close circles of friends became one.

Kai put out the fire, and the ninja retreated to the Hut and retired to their rooms in the Elemental Temple.

The Hut; Billingsley, Alabama
Earth
Saturday June 16, 2018…

The next morning, Mack and Jay were chatting in the small kitchen area in the Hut as the former made coffee.

Just as Mack and Jay both had a cup of coffee in their hands, the door in the Hut that served as the entrance to the Elemental Temple opened and Morro came out.

"'Morning, Morro," Jay greeted.

"Hey, guys," Morro replied.

"I was just telling Jay," Mack said as he took a sip of his coffee, "it seems like everyone hit it off last night."

"Yeah," Morro nodded. "That was a great idea."

"You know what else would be a good idea?" Mack asked, walking closer to Morro. "You should tell Zee you have a big crush on her."

Behind them by the coffee pot, Jay spit out his coffee. Morro's eyes went as wide as grapefruits.

"What—I—I don't—" he stammered. "What do you mean?" the ghost finally strung the question together.

"I've seen this before." Mack turned toward Jay and gave him a look. "There's a mop in the bathroom."

"Right." Jay retrieved the mop from the bathroom and proceeded to clean up the coffee.

Mack motioned toward a table in the Hut common area and he and Morro sat down at it.

"What exactly have you 'seen before?'" Morro asked.

"Well," Mack replied, "mostly, I saw the look on your face after she hugged you."

Morro held his head in his hands and groaned. "Crap."

Mack had a small chuckle. "Listen, Morro. If you're interested in her, you should talk to her about it."

Morro took his hands off his face. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mack, look at me," Morro squinted. "I'm a ghost. I didn't even know I could have those feelings for someone."

"You are still a human being," Mack said. "There's a curse on you that changed your physical form, but not your heart.

"The point is, no curse or anything else can take 'those feelings' away. You'll always be a human being, which means you'll always have feelings, and you'll always deserve to pursue happiness, so you should pursue these feelings you have for Zee."

Mack sat back and took a sip of coffee, satisfied that he had said something meaningful.

Morro sighed. After a while he responded, "You're right."

"Usually," Mack smirked.

Mack pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pulled up Zee's contact.

"Why don't you call her?" he suggested. "Invite her over, and we'll help you set up a nice picnic overlooking the sunset."

Morro took the phone. After several months with the ninja, he was finally comfortable with the concept of using a device to communicate with someone miles away… but this was a little different. He hesitated.

"What's the matter?" Mack asked.

"This is all just so sudden and unexpected," Morro replied. "Are you sure this is a distraction we can afford, with how important our mission is?"

Mack considered this for a moment. "I think it would be a greater distraction to try and ignore your feelings."

"He's right," said Jay, who had finished mopping and was about to pour himself another cup of coffee. "You can't keep that inside—it'll eat you alive."

Mack nodded. "See? Jay knows that better than most."

"Alright, alright," Morro relented. "I'll call her."

"Good," Mack smiled and stood up from his seat at the table.

Jay had finally poured another cup of coffee, but Mack all but dragged Jay out of the Hut, once again spilling coffee and leaving the Blue Ninja with nary a drop to drink.

Morro laughed at their antics, took a deep breath, and pressed call.

On the third ring, the phone picked up and Zee's voice came through.

"Hey, Mack. What's up?"

"Actually, it's—it's Morro."

"Oh! Hey, Morro."

"Hey…" Morro drew a blank on what to say next. He was never nervous; his current state defied explanation.

Zee broke the brief but very awkward silence. "So, was there something you needed?"

"Oh, sorry—yeah." Get it together, he thought. "I wanted to ask if you'd like to come over and have a picnic with me? There's a hill here with a great view, and I think it would be nice to spend some quality time getting to know you better.

"You know, if you're up for it…"

"What, like a date?"

"Umm…" Even though he was a ghost, Morro felt his face heat up. "Yes."

Zee giggled on the other end of the line. "Yeah, I'm up for it. I'll be there around seven."

In spite of himself, a big smile broke across Morro's face. "Great, I'll see you then."

"See you later, Morro."

Morro hung up and let out a huge sigh of relief. Satisfied with how the phone call went, he walked outside. He jumped a foot in the air and nearly cursed aloud when he saw Mack and Jay standing by the door to the Hut.

"Have you been there the whole time?" Morro hissed after catching his breath.

"I didn't get to have my coffee!" Jay cried.

"Jay," Mack replied, "you are the last person on Earth—or in any other realm—who needs coffee."

Jay rolled his eyes.

Morro fixed Mack with a stare, folding his arms across his chest. "And why are you still here, Mack?"

"To get my phone back," Mack answered. He then elbowed Jay. "And to make some more coffee, since Jay spilled it all."

Jay threw his hands up in the air. "Wha—the second time was not my fault!"

Morro laughed, unable to help himself. For the rest of the day, the ninja worked to prepare a perfect date for Morro and Zee.

Mack's family held some prestige in the Billingsley community as masters of "Southern cuisine," as they called it. Their recipes, when polished by Zane's advanced systems, rose to new levels of decadence.

Zane and Mack worked together to craft an exquisite lasagna for dinner that night, and peanut butter sandwiches for Morro and Zee's picnic date.

A large red and white checkered blanket was set out on the hill with the best sunset view around, upon which hundreds of wildflowers of vividly varying colors grew. Jay suggested that Morro should have some roses to present to his date, so Mack cut a few from his late great-grandmother's rose bush and made a bouquet of them.

Everything was ready, and everything was perfect.

Zee arrived right as 7:00pm rolled around. Morro was waiting to greet her when she got out of her car.

"Good evening," Morro hoped his nerves didn't show.

"Hi there," Zee smiled.

Morro offered Zee his arm, which she took, and the two of them walked toward their picnic spot atop the hill.

"It's windy," Zee observed as they walked. "It could be worse—at least it's not a hundred degrees today."

"I'd say today is perfect," Morro replied.

He and Zee met eyes for a moment. She smiled and looked away.

"You're sweet, Morro," she said.

They reached their picnic spot and sat down.

"What pretty flowers," Zee said when she saw the roses in the middle of the picnic blanket.

Morro picked them up and handed them to Zee. "These are actually for you."

Zee blushed and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Morro," she said, "this is all very sudden, but somehow, I feel I've known you for a long time. How is that so?"

"I don't know, but I feel the same. I can't explain it."

"Maybe you just have a crush on me," Zee smirked.

Morro's eyes widened slightly. "That would explain it, wouldn't it?"

Zee giggled. "Yeah, it would."

At around 9:30pm when Zee went home, Morro went into the Hut and was not as surprised as he should have been to find every single one of its residents sitting around waiting for him with bated breath.

Morro stood at the door for a moment, enjoying the looks on their faces as he kept them in suspense.

"Well?" Lloyd finally broke the silence.

"How'd it go?" Cole asked.

"Did you kiss her?!" Jay shouted.

"Let the man speak!" Kai ordered.

Morro shrugged his shoulders but couldn't contain the big smiled that betrayed his satisfaction. Without a word, he went into the Elemental Temple.

"Jay," Cole said, "you know they didn't kiss."

"And how would I know that?" Jay asked, defensively.

"You were watching from a tree the whole time," Zane replied.

Mack continued, "You're the one who teleported in here and told us that Zee was gone Morro was coming."

Jay stammered, unable to come up with a defense for himself.

"Wait a minute," said Garmadon. "Zane, how did you know Jay was in a tree?"

"Yeah," Cole picked up on where Garmadon was going. "Didn't you bring your falcon to Earth with you—where has it been all this time?"

Zane blinked. "According to the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution, I am under no obligation to answer any questions without an attorney present."

The room exploded in laughter. When it died down, the ninja started to retire to the Elemental Temple.

Mack and Cole were the last ones left in the large fountain room with the pedestals while everyone else went down the hall to their living quarters.

"I guess Morro's date went well," Cole said. "But it's hard to tell, he's so mysterious."

"I think it went just fine," Mack replied. "I sense something strong between them—a unique bond. That's why I encouraged Morro to invite her over."

"He looks pretty happy," Cole shrugged, "whatever else he likes to pretend."

Mack chuckled. "Yes. He deserves that. And Zee is a good friend; she deserves it too."

"Do you think they'll have something like Jay and Nya have?" Cole asked.

"I don't know," Mack frowned slightly. "Only time can answer that question. But I hope time answers 'yes.'"

We'll leave it there to keep Chapter I from getting overly long. When we return, we'll get our first glance in Book Two at those who remained behind in Ninjago…