Hey Guys! Hope y'all are doing all right during this crazy time.

As usual before the chapter begins, I have some

Review Replies

ItsYoGreenGirl- So yeah I was kind of just wanting to reflect Morro's mental state through his element by having it go just completely haywire. Also, Koso's motivations are well, let's just say complicated. The man has a lot to deal with because he was literally resurrected 60 years after his death, I'm going to try and better convey his intentions in later chapters and hopefully that will help you and the other readers to see the whole picture and everything if that makes sense? You'll see, that's really all I can say lol. Also Also I wouldn't say that Morro can't be forgiven for his actions, I'm just trying to take things slow and not have Lloyd forgive him on the spot because I feel like it wouldn't be earned. Oh and yeah you're right Morro and Lloyd are both related to Koso because they both have the potential to weild his element. I've been trying to be subtle about Morro's specific relation to Koso ,but in this chapter I think things will be made alot more clearer. Thank you so much for all the support you've given this story, I enjoy reading your insightful reviews!

Fallingtoast - Oh man I literally felt that when you said breaking is the first step to healing!

Lol petition to get Lloyd and Morro therapy...and maybe Koso too.

Koso: I heard that!

Me: Shut up you know you need it too!

Phetiamwantip - Oof IKR Hopefully things will get better for him down the road.

Morro: *over hears me* Wait you're the author can't you just write me happy!

Me: That's not realistic Morro I'm sorry.

Morro: well f**k you.

Me: *narrows eyes* You know I could just write that you magically turn into a chicken.

Morro: Do it, it'll be by far the most non boring thing you've written so far

Me: HEY!

Also guys I feel like I should make this clear. So in the beginning of FF I feel like I was playing around with exactly how old Koso was, so for these past few days I finally decided on his exact age. So basically Koso is physically thirty-two, because that's how old he was when he died. Chronologically he is ninety- two because he was dead for sixty years. Okay so now that that's cleared up onto the story!

Chapter 21

If there was anything Koso had learned in his thirty two years of living, it was one - that silence was a very precious commodity and two - relief was a very fleeting thing.

As he began to quietly lead his young, foolish relative back to the cottage, Koso found his previous relief fading quickly as the heavy silence that settled between them began to feel like an enormous weight weighing them both and for the first time in his life the teal eyed man wanted something to break it.

Alas, the only sounds that could be heard for miles was the noise of Jasper's panting as he repeatedly attempted (and failed) at nuzzling as close to Morro as was physically possible.

Chancing an over the shoulder glance, Koso found his sharp glowing green eyes drawn to the wind master's features. Any average mortal would struggle to see his face through the heavy shroud of darkness ,but for Koso the close descendent of dragon hunters so powerful they could genetically alter their vision to be able to see at night, he had no trouble.

As Koso looked upon the boy, and saw Morro's blank stare that portrayed no discernable emotion, he felt he had to do, or least say something-anything that would bring this strange, wretched silence to an end.

Hearing the familiar sound of annoyed grunts escaping the wind master, the teal eyed man looked down to see Jasper still nuzzling at the former ghost's heels with more determination than one would believe possible for an animal to possess.

As Koso witnessed the frankly pathetic display he was once again unwillingly reminded of the past with a familiar conversation between his daughter and wife ringing in his ears.

"M-momma?"

"Yes Sweetheart ?"

"Why does Jasper always follow me around? Does he like me or something?"

"Oh honey of course he does! He loves you and wants to make sure you're safe at all times, just like your father and I do. We're family and its our job to look out for each other."

"Then is Jasper and Daddy always so mean to each other?"

"Oh...well, they just like to tease each other. Isn't that right dear?"

Once again, Koso could not recall his reply, and though the humor of it all was not lost on him none of it really mattered, because he was too focused on the words of his deceased wife that refused to stop repeating over and over again in his mind like the mantra of an insane person.

'..we're a family and it's our job to look out for each other.'

'..we're a family.'

'.look out for each other.'

'.family..'

As his head became engulfed beneath the wave of Tera's words, Koso suddenly found himself questioning the very mental fabric keeping him together all this time.

'...Have I...been going about this all wrong?'

That was certainly what he was beginning to believe every time he looked upon the boy trudging behind him.

'Elizabeth he's... so much like you, confident to a fault and hopelessly reckless. I ...I wish you were here. I'm sorry that I had to leave you with Greta. Perhaps...if I had been there for you...like a father should, ..you...you would still be here and your son, wouldn't wish for death so greatly.'

Risking another glance at Morro's face, Koso almost immediately found himself overcome with a foreign emotion that despite himself he soon identified as something resembling remorse.

' I wonder what I could possibly be regretting now of all times? ' The teal eyed man couldn't help himself from pondering.

Perhaps it was the way in which he had treated his charges thus far, or maybe it was how he had acted so callously in the face of their emotional distress time and time again?

' Wait no,' Koso determinedly thought. 'No, I can't start to feel remorse. Not now. I promised myself I wouldn't treat them like...like...no don't even think of that. There's nothing else I can offer those boys except this. Once...once I've done that. Then...then I can finally leave this world and see them again.'

The sound of leftover rain drizzling from the sky and nearby tree tops broke Koso from his thoughts momentarily. As he stared out at the vast nature surrounding them, he couldn't help ,but crack a humorless smirk.

'What a hypocrite am I. Telling Morro he was foolish to depart from this world again, and yet here I am planning on doing the exact same once this is all done and over with.'

Still even as he called out his own sanctimoniousness, Koso's resolve didn't falter in the slightest.

He was an entirely different case -at least that what he told himself- because unlike Morro Ninjago didn't need him to continue existing. He was nothing ,but a forgotten relic of a time long past and he had nothing left ,but his family who were waiting for him in some beautiful better afterlife than whatever horrid place his wretched soul had originally been sent to.

Koso knew this without a shadow of doubt because his wife had told him so.

ForgottenFamily

"Brother...no...please...please please...no I'm sorry..I'm so sorry I didn't mean it...please forgive me..."

It felt like an eternity since he had heard those words.

Drifting...that was all he was capable of doing now. He was nothing ,more than a stray soul floating amidst a sea of endless untamable darkness.

His only comfort(and burden) was the rage that had wrapped itself around his being like a chain. It was the only thing keeping him tethered to some form of sanity.

If he had rage, he could still think, he could still feel. He still existed. He was not just a shadow of the prideful youth he once was.

He didn't know how much time had passed, or even if time existed in this awful place, but a part of him was grateful for that fact. The more he thought about what was happening in the world he once called home, the angrier he became.

As immature as it might have sounded, he really believes this is all phenomenally unfair. He didn't deserve this! He needed to be back in Ninjago, his children were out there on their own and...and...

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He shouts into the pitch black void. He doesn't have lungs anymore that could possibly be sore from his loud screaming so he doesn't care.

With no one to witness his outburst, He continues,

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME BROTHER?!"

As expected there was not even the slightest sound to answer him.

"I FOUGHT BY YOUR SIDE! I PROTECTED YOU WITH MY LIFE SINCE THE DAY YOU WERE BORN!"

He did it because mother had told him to. He could still remember the way she looked at him that night.

"I WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU THROUGH EVERYTHING AND YET THIS...THIS IS MY REWAR-"

"KOSO!"

If he still possessed a body, all air coming in and out of lungs would have halted as his heart exploded with shock from hearing the sound of a person's voice.

Koso was so stunned with bewilderment, he almost didn't realize he recognized that voice. Allowing himself a moment to gasp with surprise, accompanied by the feeling of desperate hope that he had not just lost control of his senses and hallucinated it, he quickly searched the expanse of darkness surrounding him without hesitance.

'It couldn't be...,but...oh please please please PLEASE let it be her. It doesn't matter if it's real just let it be her!'

For a moment the sheer thought of not seeing the person he desperately wanted to, kept him actually frightened him, and he didn't know what he would do if she wasn't in sight.

However that dreaded feeling was banished the moment he heard the most beautiful voice in all the world call out to him yet again.

"Koso!..."

Using all of the strength and will power he still possessed, Koso spun his spiritual body around and around, clinging to the hope that he if kept trying he would somehow be able to see her.

Then as if she had read his thoughts like a book, she revealed herself, right in front of him and the moment he saw her, Koso felt like he was staring at an angel. She was just as amazingly breathtaking as the first day they met. Her chestnut brown hair still framed her soft features perfectly and her hazel eyes showed with the familiar gleam of confident intelligence that could never be overshadowed by the unconditional love and admiration she held for his undeserving self.

'...Tera...' He mindlessly thought before he witnessed his wife's thin lips begin to move.

"Koso...it's okay. I'm here." If he wasn't so completely overjoyed to see the love of his life, Koso might have had the sense to say something in reply ,but as it were all he could do was silently listen to the mantras of "I'm here." that continued to escape Tera's lips as she moved closer and closer before finally embracing him.

At that point Koso was actually quite glad he didn't have a mortal body anymore because if he did, he had no doubt he would begin to blubber like a newborn babe and make a complete fool of himself.

Instead of daring to speak for fear his voice would begin wavering, Koso settled for wrapping his arms around his wife and all ,but burying his face in the tangled mess of brown hair that occupied the top of Tera's head.

For a moment (or it could have been longer, Koso could never tell in this strange world) the two lovers just existed there in that vast sea of emptiness with nothing better to do than to bask in the others presence. A part of Koso believed that maybe this was it, they would just spend eternity like this; holding each other until the end of time and he'd be lying if that didn't satisfy him just fine ,but of course with all good things, there must eventually come an end. For after what felt like just the blink of an eye and forever all at once, Tera eventually picked her head up from where it had been firmly planted against Koso's chest. The look in her eyes worried him.

"Is..Is something wrong my love?" Koso was hoping more than anything he would like the answer.

For a fleeting second Tera just stared up at him, a small smile gracing her features. Then she did something that surprised him.

She kissed him.

Koso jolted with surprise before returning his wife's advances without hesitance. For a fleeting second utter bliss consumed his entire being and he was able to temporarily forget everything around him except for the woman in front of him.

When they eventually broke apart, Koso felt like he was weightless and that any moment he was going to just starting floating up and up forever and never come down.

However that feeling was as fleeting as everything else in his life had been because, when Tera looked upon him once more, he could see the look that had previously worried him was still there.

Mustering his will, Koso dared to speak again, knowing full well doing so could lead to this wonderful fantasy ending and leaving him alone with no one ,but himself to converse with.

"Tera...Tera..what's going on? This is the Departed Realm...isn't it? Why have I been alone for so long?"

For a moment Koso expected her to say that this was all an allusion his exhausted mind had conjured in order to cope with the agony of existing alone like this forever.

Instead though, Tera simply smiled again, only this time instead of kissing him, her eyes began to shimmer with a kind of desperate longing as she once more wrapped her arms around him, whilst nuzzling her head against his neck.

Koso thought that this must have definitely been a fantasy ,but before he could voice this epiphany, Tera spoke.

"My darling...I... I missed you so much. You and Elizabeth...and...Grant."

Koso stiffened as he heard the name of his son uttered from her lips. The memory of his baby boy's fate flashing inside his mind like a horrible picture show.

"Oh Tera...I'm so sorry. I failed you completely. I couldn't protect our children! I left Elizabeth with your sister ,but Grant he-"

"Shhh. It's okay" Tera soothed as Koso felt his ghostly body begin to shake uncontrollably. "I know you did your best, husband."

"It was all his fault!" Koso shouted as he recalled the image of his brother standing over his dying body. The familiar feeling of anger began to once again tighten itself around his psyche and he became so enraptured in his own rage he almost didn't notice the feeling of Tera abandoning his embrace and backing away to put distance between them.

Panicked at the feeling of missing warmth, Koso turned his shocked eyes to his wife and frantically began to shout.

"Tera! Where are you going?!"

The saddened look plaguing her beautiful features made his non existent heart beat right out of his chest.

"I...I can't stay here husband."

"What?!" If Koso had been in his right mind he would have most definitely cringed at his pathetic sounding tone.

"I...I'm sorry darling. If I could stay here forever I would." To emphasize her point Tera came towards him again and gently grasped his hand, whilst letting her delicate thumbs rub against his knuckles with such tenderness, Koso almost felt himself fall into another state of bliss.

",but...I...I can't. The departed realm won't let me."

Koso tilted his head in reply to a silent question all on its own. Obviously sensing her husband's confusion, Tera continued. "Darling, this world its...its only a part of the Departed realm, this...this is where the souls who are still angry with Ninjago must reside."

Tera paused, most likely so Koso could let her words sink in.

"Husband...you have so much...rage and...that's what's keeping you here. I...I need you to let it go."

Koso stared at his wife in reply. He waited for even the slightest sign that this was some kind of bizarre jest.

It never came.

Letting out a breath of frustration, Koso felt himself about to pointlessly argue with her. Tell her that he every d**n right to be angry with how his life turned out. He was abandoned by his coward of a father at birth! His mother was burned alive by her own people! He was murdered by his brother and more than all of that He would never get to see his children grow up...

For the briefest of seconds, Koso found his eternal rage momentarily replaced by the feeling of sadness as he stared down upon his adoring wife who once again smiled at him sympathetically whilst she lifted a hand to gently rest against his face.

As Tera's thumb brushed against his lip, the mother of his offspring seized the opportunity to stand on her tiptoes so that she would gain enough height to be able to press her forehead against his.

Koso sighed as he recognized the familiar gesture of comfort.

"It's okay husband. I understand heh, you always were so stubborn...,but do not worry. You're going to get your chance at closure soon enough."

Koso's eyes widened tremendously as he leaned back to stare his wife in the eye.

Her features once again portrayed no trace of humor.

"Your fate has been decided." She explained. "Do you remember what you did before you passed? You cast a spell darling."

Koso's mind spurned with great velocity as he desperately tried to remember the so-called spell she was referring to.

Multiple symbols he had memorized throughout his life had flashed through his mind at the moment of his demise. To recall a specific one seemed nigh on impossible at the moment.

Either uncaring or oblivious to her husband's confusion, Tera continued. " You cast a spell on the realm crystal, and one day when it breaks you'll be brought back to Ninjago...alive"

"What!?" Koso shouted in reply. He couldn't believe it. He didn't even remember casting the blasted spell.

"Darling," Tera spoke, interrupting his thoughts, "You'll be given a second chance. What you do with it is up to you, but whatever you decide please I beg of you do whatever it will take for you to find peace and finally move on. Once you can do that, the day you once again pass into this world we'll be able to be together again."

As his mind strained to get a proper grasp on the mountain of possibilities this entailed, the one thing that brought Koso back to reality was the utterance of those words.

"...together?"

"Yes darling!" Tera breathed excitedly. "Yes, just do as I have said and all will be well!" With that she began to steadily walk away.

"Wait! No!" Koso called after her. For some reason he couldn't move to go after her. "Please don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry husband!" She shouted, without turning back. "I have no choice, I must return. Just remember what I have told you and don't lose hope Koso! Everything will turn out okay! We'll all see each other again I promise! I love you!" As the distance between them steadily became greater, her yells of reassurances grew quieter and quieter, until finally they were only an echo in Koso's mind and not even a trace of her being could be seen to evidence her existence.

Alone once more, he did the only thing he could think to do. He screamed into the endless nothingness.

"TERA!"

As before, there was not a single sound to answer him.