Hey guys sorry it took me so long to get this new chapter out I know I say that alot ,but I swear I mean it every time especially now since I'm pretty sure this is the longest I've gone without updating all I can say is family stuff like that's entirely it. I am so grateful for y 'all's patience like seriously I know this story has varied in writing quality and I know it definitely started out really rough ,but I'm still super happy everyday to look back at my old chapters and see where I've progressed and how much you guys have supported me even then. Y'all are amazing. Truly.

On a side not I have updated some old chapters in minors ways, I haven't completely altered the plot or anything ,but I did decide to both remove and add some stuff concerning Koso's character, I honestly don't know what past me was thinking ,but looking back on it now I can see that I did not write him well or likeable at all so I'm glad to have corrected some of my errors and thank you guys again so much for sticking around this long.

And with that said onto,

Review Replies

Phetiamwantip- Thanks lol, it's gonna be something let's just say that. I also hope I got the characteristics of their child selves down let me know what you think.

Alittletip - You have no idea.

Chapter 32

'Woah.' Was the first and only thought that entered the young blond's mind as he looked over the graveyard of lifeless tree stumps surrounding them. On instinct, his gaze flickered behind him at the wind master who was busy shaking off greasy mud from between his toes.

The night Morro ran off. He…... had to have done this.

Lloyd punched down the curl of fear beginning to rise in his throat as they eventually managed to get past it into a grove of alive trees nearby.

Jasper apparently saw fit to flank the boys' left (a feat quite easy since the wolf's abdomen alone covered their bodies' length).

"Ok so, maybe if we can find a tree or something really tall close by we can use that to scale one of these mountains easier." said the green ninja as he tried in vain to ignore the squelching of cold, wet grass against his bare heels. Why did it have to be rainy season in this stupid valley?

Morro merely grumbled something unintelligible behind him.

"Then, I don't know, maybe if you summon your wind we could jus-"

"I told you, there's no way I would have discovered my powers yet." Morro sulkily interjected. "I'm too skinn- young to have met Wu yet."

"Well that still doesn't mean you can't summon them now, I mean you didn't even know you had them back then right?"

"Yeah ok sure, then by that logic why don't you just summon us a dragon so we can fly out of here?"

"I was just saying..." Lloyd frustratedly trailed off as he brushed a stray tree branch aside. He pretended not to hear it smack against the wind master's nose a second later. "Watch it!" Morro barked, before most likely reaching up to rub the affected area.

After failing to hide a giggle, the energy master's gaze swept to the trees towering above him. Judging one for best height was kind of hard when everything already looked like Borg Tower ,but at the very least the energy master could identify a couple of extremely tall trees hovering just above the rest as they laid outcropped off an arching mountain edge.

"Let's try over ther-" Lloyd paused with his hand in the air as he realized Morro was already yards ahead of him. A second later, the blonde felt Jasper's jaw enclose around his loose collar, tugging him forward into a sprint as they both chased after the former ghost.

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"I'll go first." Morro said as Lloyd balanced himself upon a wide tree trunk. Just as the raven was about to grasp a handful of bark however, the blonde began frantically tugging on one of his oversized sleeves.

"What?" The wind master demanded.

"Can you... slow down ...for one second!" Lloyd practically begged as his breaths came in short spurts until he finally bit the bullet and swallowed a lungful of air. "We need to be careful. If we can't summon our powers then-"

"Oh c'mon, you're telling me you never climbed a tree without them?" Morro snapped as he crossed his arms.

The blonde bit his tongue to keep from admitting to the shameful fact that he had actually never climbed a tree at all as a child. Even when the Hypnobrai built him that tree fort he purposefully made them install an elevator just to hoist him up.

"Well yeah." Lloyd carefully replied instead. "It's just….you know it'll be pretty hard to get past the actual mountains in our way if one of us breaks our splines!"

Despite the glare Morro almost poutingly sent his way, he soon sighed in defeat. "Ok fine, we'll be 'careful'. Now can we get a move on, you know before he finds us?"

Ignoring the sarcasm, Lloyd nodded as he eyed the closest branch with a level of caution. It looked sturdy enough to support their weight and it was near the ground. Perfect!

As the two boys approached the limb, the green ninja couldn't help ,but peak over his shoulder at Jasper. Not knowing how far the wolf was willing to follow them, Lloyd made sure to send him a wordless 'Thank you' by way of nervous smile and Morro….. said nothing, wait where did he-

"I'm not gonna wait on you, you know." The wind master contradictingly called from his position already on the next lowest branch.

'That was fast.' Lloyd anxiously thought as he swung a stubby leg over the course bark. As he clumsy shimmied himself up into a standing position, he made sure to eye the distance between them. The stupid wind master had already begun departing to the next tree limb, jerk!

After allowing his fingers to embed craters within the wet bark, Lloyd hastily swallowed another breath before forcing himself up the tall trunk. He was thankful for the small nubs and broken off tree limbs in between to hold onto, even as Morro made fast, silent progress ahead of him.

Luckily for the green ninja as soon as he anchored himself to the next big tree limb, he saw the distance between the sturdy branches begin decrease greatly with each inch of added height, only problem was, the number of those strong branches seemed to thin as well, especially toward the top.

This was about to get tricky ,but no time for worrying.

With those temporary thoughts in mind, Lloyd began increasing speed as he steadily worked his way up branch by branch. Never in his life was he more thankful for muscle memory than he was now. In his head Lloyd could almost hear Cole's old coaching.

"Remember it doesn't matter how big you are now, you need to have a steady grip at all times, or you're definitely going to fall!"

'Don't worry Cole, I remember.'

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'Sh*t' Morro thought as he ran a hand against the rain slicked mountain (of course it had to start pouring again!) " F**k this is ba-"

"Hah! FINALLY!"

The wind master was so close to jumping out of his skin he feared he'd turn into a ghost again. Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately that did not happen and all Morro was left with was the sight of Lloyd staring at him with one very punchable toothy grin.

"Heh," The green ninja sheepishly chuckled. "Sorry. Was just happy to catch up, you know."

Regardless Morro glared at him for a moment longer before eventually sighing in agitation.

"The wall's too slippery." He explained. "We so much as try to climb up this f**king wall we're gonna fall."

"Oh." Lloyd replied, looking back over at the prevering landscape like it might just reveal a solution. "Well maybe-Uh oh." Was all the blonde could get out before he suddenly disappeared beneath the shrubbery.

A second of silence passed for Morro to process, before he abruptly yelped and all ,but dived beneath the prickly leaves after Lloyd. As soon as he did though, the wind master saw that the blonde had actually not fallen to his death ,but was instead a mere branch width's beneath him, with that stupid wolf sitting beside him.

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"Jasper!" They shouted together as the wolf gently released Lloyd before sprinting down a lean branch all the way up against a bare spot of mountain wall shielded from the rain.

Both arching a confused brow the two adolescents watched Jasper beckon them as they slowly crept along the thinning bark. After both gradually descended into a groveling crawl they eventually made it within a few inches from the wolf.

Whilst Lloyd gently eased himself into more of a crouch he saw through the corner of his eye the soggy wood in Morro's grip beginning to peel under the downpour.

"Morr-"

The blonde boy's frightened shout was cut short as Jasper lunged for the wind master, his jaws locked around Morro's thin wrist within a second and in the next he was tossing him over his back like a ragdoll.

Lloyd watched in amazement as the animal effortlessly balanced himself on the narrow branch whilst Morro began to throw out surprised curses above him. Before the green ninja realized it, the wolf's eyes were on him too and with nothing more than a quiet growl as a warning he joined his fellow captive upon Jasper's back.

After disentangling his face from the charcoal strands Lloyd shoved his body upwards into a riding position and turned to face Morro. The wind master's face was red with either contempt or embarrassment ,but it wasn't long before it morphed into something else as he stared at Lloyd.

The former ghost didn't even try to hide a snort. "You look ridiculous."

The energy master paused with his elbow pressed against his face to rub away the remaining d-wolf hair. Within a moment's confusion he registered the familiar bowl cut bangs wetly sticking to his forehead.

"Shut up." He spat, whilst attempting to brush the soaked strands away only to have them move back immediately after. Stupid Darkley's mandatory hair cut.

Jasper began moving again and Lloyd could feel himself beginning to slide down his messy fur. He genuinely hoped Jasper's next growl was at the weather and not him clutching his arms too tight around the canine's massive neck.

Morro on the other hand was forced to grip the fur around Jasper's lower abdomen as the wolf sauntered them towards the mountain wall, at that exact moment, the two boys realized with startling clarity that there was a deep hole in the side of the bedrock with no end in sight. Looking down at the animal's mud covered paws Lloyd had no idea if they had the most beautiful luck within all the sixteen realms or Jasper was just that fast a digger. Either way, Lloyd and Morro both looked at each other in understanding before they were given just the briefest moments to tighten their grip on Jasper. Then the wolf took off into the boundless darkness.

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Morro couldn't tell if the high pitch scream that assaulted the air was from him or Lloyd ,but it didn't seem to matter as he barely held onto Jasper's flailing fur. Why did that stupid f**king animal have to sprint so fast!? They were lucky the small tunnel seemed long enough to warrant this speed or they'd be spitting dirt out through their cheeks by now.

As the narrow tunnel quickly increased in width and height, the wind master dared to look up front at his former enemy. Lloyd let out delighted shriek as they began running at an upwards slope. At the very least the wind master could be grateful for the noise as a distraction from the darkness.

"Where is he taking us!?" Morro shouted through the rushing air.

"You think I know?" The green ninja rhetorically asked, though he sounded far too lost in the land of whimsy to actually be annoyed.

The former ghost rolled his eyes regardless as he adjusted his shaky grip on Jasper or the thousandth time. He didn't know for sure if the wolf would leave him behind if he fell off, but it wasn't something he wanted to risk. At least not here.

Lloyd let out another hollar and unfortunately Morro soon figured out why. Jasper's slope was starting to go back downwards.

If he threw up he was gonna direct the bile onto both of them.

Luckily even as they passed the hopeful climax of the unpredictable tunnel, the wind master retained his insides in favor of screaming at the top of his lungs along with Lloyd. In the back of his mind Morro desperately hoped his earlier taunts were going to come to bite him. He could already hear the smug blonde asking him if he was 'scared without his powers?' F**king brat.

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As they slowed towards the end of the decline, Lloyd couldn't help sighing in satisfaction. He hadn't had that much of a fun rush since his first time going on the 'adult' rides at MegaMonster. Though the blonde could only imagine how ridiculous they looked, two children slipping and sliding upon the back of a giant wolf like they were failing at learning to ride a horse he didn't have the brain capacity to care.

Eventually as the pathway widened and widened specks of gray light began peaking through cracks in the bedrock until finally Jasper began clawing his way up a steep incline again, except this time instead of another sudden drop at the end, the two boys were instead greeted by the foggy mountain air as they exited the tunnel.

Lloyd was the first to unsattle himself and once his bare feet touched the ground (which was in no way a struggle with Jasper still standing upright) he took off towards the nearest edge of the mountain side.

"Lloyd!" He heard Morro yelp whilst Jasper let out a loose growl as if in agreement.

The energy master ignored them both as he looked out over the vast landscape. Beyond the mist covered ground just below, he could see a valley of farms stretching on for miles all the way to brilliant bright lights in the distance. Ninjago City. They were so close!

"Ok," The bowl cut child shouted as he turned to face his travel 'companions'. "Now we just gotta figure out a way down!"

Morro turned a thoughtful eye to Lloyd as he shakily got down from Jasper's back. It would have been hilarious if it didn't remind the blonde of their earlier escape from the cottage. Maybe they'd get lucky and not have to deal with any more dark enclosed spaces from here on.

"Do you see anywhere we can go?" The former ghost asked as he ran up beside him. Lloyd bit his lip as his eyes peered down the deadly straight cliff side. He should really consider getting Kryptarium moved out here if-once they escaped.

"Uh…" C'mon there had to be somewhere they could get down safe- "Wait look, over there." The green ninja pointed to the lush green grass of a hilltop peaking itself just above the fog. It leaned tall up against the mountain side, almost reaching the top whilst down below the soft shrubbery contrasted greatly to the harsh stone surrounding it. If there was a safer way down he had yet to see it.

"That's…..really far." Morro said as his eyes followed Lloyd's. It was actually pretty far, like on the whole other side of the mountain range far.

"Well, maybe we can ride Jasper again?" The blonde suggested as he looked over his shoulder at the wolf…..who was busy panting on the ground like he was about to pass out.

Already feeling Morro's glare on him, Lloyd nervously chuckled as he said.

"Guess we better get walking."

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"Why is it so faaaaaaaaar?" Lloyd whined. Again. "Would you please stop?" Morro asked through gritted teeth as the almighty green ninja threw his head back and groaned further in response.

The wind master scowled as he felt yet another group of sharp pebbles dig into his heels. He was starting to wonder why he hadn't brought his oversized shoes along. Idiot.

Jasper walked closely ahead of them with his ears flat against his head. Hours had passed and the rain took few breaks in between the massive downpour. 'This place might as well be a fishbowl' Morro thought as a frigid breeze blew by causing everyone to shudder. Even as silence reigned over the group, that f**king pitter patter sound wouldn't stop assaulting his ear drums.

And then when it didn't seem to be able to get any worse he suddenly heard a low rumbling noise emanating from behind. The wind master raised both brows as he turned around to see Lloyd clutching his stomach. The blonde looked up from his belly with a tight frown. "Uh, you hungry too?"

Morro felt both his eyes begin to twitch as he started to wonder if throwing himself off the cliffside would be a good idea (if nothing else it'd be a sure fire way to see if he could summon his powers).

Instead the ravenette turned around with an angry sigh. "No."

"Oh c'mon!" Lloyd pleaded even as Morro began walking away. "You're really telling me after seven hours without food you're still just fine and dandy?!"

The wind master scoffed, seven huh? Not even close to his record.

"Look around Lloyd there's nowhere on this damn mountain we could find food anywa-Wait,..w-where the hell did Jasper go!?" That f**king wolf was in front of him just a second ago! Now the only thing there was a distant trail of soggy prints embedded in the rocky mud.

Morro turned a murderous eye at Lloyd as if that alone would bring Jasper back.

The blonde said nothing as he shrugged at him, then began sprinting after the quickly fading former ghost muttered a particularly unsavory curse as he soon followed.

ForgottenFamily

Lloyd desperately hoped whatever Jasper was after was either something warm or something edible. They were such idiots why didn't they think to grab any food!

Behind him, he could just barely hear Morro's footsteps chasing after him. They were almost completely overshadowed by the fat droplets of rain pounding into the ground.

The blonde desperately hoped this kinda climate wasn't cold enough to support hail, otherwise they'd be in a world of hurt.

"Jasper!" Lloyd called out, for once hoping his high pitched voice didn't get drowned out too. He was sure they had only ran a couple yards or so ,but with each step the cold was beginning to wear on him, and Jasper's footprints became less and less easy to make out in the mulch.

"Jasper where are you!?" The energy master tried again, hopefully louder this time. Nothing.

"Jasp-"

"There he is!" Morro suddenly yelled, beside him. He was pointing to a group of tall dirt mounds on the opposite ledge of the pathwa- Wait how did he catch up so fast?! "He went inside!"

The blonde planted his feet fist deep into the mud and grinded to a sliding stop...of course not without splashing the rocky brown sludge up to his elbows though, perfect.

The wind master either didn't really notice or didn't have time to taunt him about it because the ravenette was already looping a thin arm around his waist to haul him up and drag him by the arm as they darted towards the mounds.

For the briefest of seconds the blonde almost had to suppress a flinch, but for some strange reason he never even got the urge.

As they reached the strange hills, Lloyd saw a pale shade of green peaking just over the top.

Then on the other side he heard a distant bark.

The two boys didn't bother wasting time waiting on each other as they quickly trudged up the mulchy hilltops. As soon as Lloyd reached the peak, he was bombarded with a million different strong scents invading his airways. Only a little ways below the mountain top, the strangest plant he had ever seen in all his life wedged itself out of a massive crack in the bedrock and stretched to the heavens whilst a variety of vibrant flowers adorning almost every leaf and vine, the most beautiful thing of all however was the gigantic red fruits hanging off it.

The blonde's jaw hit the mud as he mindlessly marched down through the thick dirt with Morro just beside him. The two might've stood there all day were it not for the sound of loud howling interrupting their awe.

"Jasper." Stated they in unison without so much as looking at the other.

Lloyd's mind whirled as his gaze scoured their surroundings for even the barest hint of black fur ,but it wasn't until he heard the third and final howl that he suddenly realized the sound was coming from...below them!

Eyes shooting to the cracked ground, the blonde stepped back in amazement as he watched a distant black fuzz ball come close and closer until a pair of bright blue eyes reared themselves out of the ground. Jasper.

"Why did you do tha-" Morro cut himself off as the wolf began shaking off a cluster of water and mud as the rain finally began to cease for another break.

Lloyd almost found himself chuckling again at the wind master's annoyed expression before he caught himself. Why was he laughing so much?

The blonde didn't waste much time pondering though before his gaze was captured on the most beautiful thing he could possibly ever see in his lifetime.

Food!

In between the crook of Jasper's sharp teeth rested the long, wiry stem of one of those massive plant fruits. It looked even bigger in person, practically the size of his body. Lloyd gasped as the blue eye canine released the fruit onto the ground and stepped back as if afraid the boys might maul him by accident in their hunger. Smart wolf.

As Lloyd leaned almost all of his body weight up against the large fruit he used his small hands to feel out the texture. It was surprisingly soft, almost like a peach. Without hesitation the blonde dug a palm into the skin and scooped out a handful of the fruit's flesh.

Beneath the thin bright red was a soggy white substance that was just barely tinted blue with a lapis singe. Holding it up to his face for inspection the green ninja took a whiff.

'Smells like an apple.' Lloyd shrugged as he carelessly took a bite.

The taste was bitter, causing blonde's lips to pucker ,but he was so hungry he didn't care and devoured the entire handful within seconds. Just before he was about to reach for another serving though Lloyd raised his gaze back to Morro.

"Nowhere on this mountain we could find food huh?" He asked with a smirk.

"What?" The wind master's attention was hardly focused as he stared at the bizarre fruit with a frown upon his features. "Oh...uh yeah, whatever." Morro scowled awkwardly as he attempted to turn away, already beginning his climb back over the mounds.

"You got your food, now let's go."

"W-wha-Hey!" Lloyd yelled after him. "This thing's huge, there's no way I can carry it the whole way."

"Not my problem." The ravenette spat without looking back. "You can stay here and get found if you want ,but I'm no-" Morro was cut off by a timber growl emitting from Jasper as the wolf came up to block his path.

The green ninja was sure if he could see his face, the wind master would look undeterred.

"Move." Came the simple order.

It was not followed.

Instead Jasper's growl only deepened as he bullied the wind master back down the mound, right up against the side of the fruit.

After briefly turning a glaring eye at Lloyd (like it was fault), Morro huffed with a grimace, crossing his arms in defeat.

"Fine. Okay, I won't leave." Well that was easy, for once.

For some reason though Jasper didn't seem content with that and continued to growl causing both boys to stare at the wolf in confusion until he pointed his muzzle directly at the patch of fruit attacked by the green ninja's hand.

"Oh," Lloyd dumbly said as he looked back and forth between the two. "I think he wants you to eat."

Morro's gaze harshly snapped to the blonde. Then Jasper. The wolf sat back on his hind legs, looking strangely patient. Then the wind master's baffled expression immediately morphed into one of annoyance as he got up and glowered at the fruit. Without a word he ripped off his own chunk and begrudgingly tore out a bite.

"Happy?" Morro asked around a mouthful of the bitter produce. Lloyd wasn't quite sure what Jasper was feeling at the moment ,but nonetheless the wolf did cease his growling.

And so the two boys stood there for the next few minutes quietly munching away on the fruit until they were both full. Surprisingly Morro ended up eating more than Lloyd, going as far as to rip off handfuls of fruit with both hands. The only time the blonde had seen someone eat that quickly was Cole every year on his birthday. Difference here though the Earth master always seemed to be enjoying himself, Morro looked like he was just mindlessly shoveling food into his system, like an animal.

Heck, even Jasper was slower as he casually ate his fill on the other side of the fruit.

Eventually the only thing left of the fruit was the very top half, just barely able to take up the length of Lloyd's small head.

As the blonde twisted the flexible stem in his hand, an idea popped into his head and he quickly wrapped the rope like wire around his waist, causing the bowl shaped fruit to hang off him like a satchel.

Morro watched skeptically.

"What? We'll get hungry later" Lloyd explained as he began marching back up the mounds.

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Jasper didn't let so much as force them up on his back again. This time though Morro went up first while Lloyd sat behind with his back facing the wind master's. The wolf barely waited for their feet to leave the ground before he was tensing up then taking off just as fast as before.

Morro could feel the wind whipping against his face immediately, but it was not an uncomfortable feeling. Riding Jasper was far nicer now than in the tunnel and with it this high up he could almost recall the feeling of flight. How long had it been since he'd taken to the skies again? Maybe a few years, it felt longer, like a few lifetimes away. For the briefest flicker of a moment, the former ghost almost considered stupidly raising his arms up like a f**king imitation. The immersion may have actually made him do it though were it not for Lloyd's presence.

The blonde continued to make dumb noises as his head kept turning from side to side, soaking up the scenery. The wind master scowled as he looked ahead. With nothing to do ,but stare at the endless mountain road Morro couldn't stop his thoughts from wandering.

So ….he knew about his parents now. Of course they turned out to be some stupid teenagers who got caught up in their own dumb decisions. He really shouldn't have expected more, although the whole revenge quest was at least surprising, made for a pretty good story.

Maybe that's all it was.

Maybe that's all he deserved, a fancy story to help him sleep at night.

Not that it would anyway. Who cared if they 'died to protect him' that didn't change anything.

It didn't take away all the nights he spent sleeping besides trash cans, all the times he foraged for food out of them the next morning, all the humiliating words he had to spew to some righteous passerby for something to keep warm, all those times he sat nursing a broken arm, or wrist, or ankle, or something while he watched other kids clutch onto their mother's hand, all the times….he wished he was those other kids ,but children like him never got anything kind handed to them.

He could remember so little faces, but he could recall the sound of voices. Always low, scratchy, and most importantly quiet, if no one could hear you it was easier to steal from them. So many times he watched boys tear eachother apart over a scrap or bread or a sip of water, sometimes it was even less than that. Just about no one could really speak properly, they almost developed an entirely new language solely based on grunts and curses alone.

They were outnumbered though, practically thrown off the cliff since day one, destined not to survive, and everyday it seemed more and more children like him disappeared, so that strange communication eventually just ceased to exist. Morro wondered what those children talked like today. He almost dared to hope there were none left, that maybe just maybe Ninjago had changed.

Probably not.

ForgottenFamily

As a brief stint of rain passed freshly soaking the trio, Lloyd looked back at their progress and quickly realized they were just about halfway to their destination, even more pressing than that Jasper was beginning to slow down. Uh oh.

The sun had been buried by the horizon over an hour ago. The just barely visible moon and a handful of stars was the only thing left lighting up their path.

As the blonde sneezed against another cold breeze Jasper's strength suddenly gave out and he fell panting upon the ground whilst Morro and Lloyd scurried off his back.

Sympathetically petting the exhausted wolf's fur, the energy master scrunched his legs up against his small frame whilst weariness weighed heavily upon his mind. Morro himself even seemed to be practically sleepwalking as he sluggishly crept onward.

Before he could go scampering into the darkness however Lloyd called out to him.

"Maybe we should just, I don't know, make camp for the night." Morro paused for a moment so long the energy master was beginning to wonder if the ravenette had fallen asleep standing up. Then.

"No."

"But Morro-"

"I thought you were the one who had family to get back to!" The wind master looked over his shoulder, with bags of tired skin under his eyes he never looked more like his past self than he did at that moment. "So why the hell are you acting like...this!?"

Lloyd's eyes briefly widened before they condensed into something that felt too annoyed to be anger. "Shut up. Of course I want to get home, I just don't want to be reckless about it okay otherwise I'd just jump off one of those cliffs." The blonde gestured to the general direction of his left.

Morro scoffed from where he stayed, unmoving. "Well good luck with that then. I told you I wasn't gonna wait up."

The ravenette didn't wait for a reply before he started walking away again. This time the blonde felt pretty content to let him….until he heard a weak growl from Jasper and looked to see the wolf crankily rising to wobbly feet.

Lloyd gasped as he tried to coax him back down, but the animal ignored his silent pleas as he rose to follow Morro…...who didn't even bother to look back at the determined beast.

The green ninja could feel his temper begin to flare asit gave him the energy to march after the short wind master and snatch his collar stretched shirt collar.

Morro looked enraged and baffled all at once as the blonde forced him to turn around.

"Look." Lloyd commanded pointing to Jasper. "You're gonna run everyone ragged if we don't stop for the night!"

For a second the blonde wanted to believe he saw a flash of regret within the former ghost's baggy eyes ,but then he remembered it was Morro he was talking about.

The wind master pulled on a sneer so fast, Lloyd didn't have time to react before he was being shoved aside and Morro was already on his merry way again.

The blonde's irritation rose to genuine anger as he began to yell. "How can you treat him like that! After everything he's done for you, you just- I would kill to have a friend right now!"

The former ghost stopped again. Except this time he didn't bother looking back at the blonde. "I don't care." He said. "Just because you're weak, doesn't mean I have to be. I don't need that ..wolf, I've always made it alone and I'll do it again now so I can go back to the departed realm, alone."

Lloyd just barely heard him past the word weak making it past his lips.

"You're weak, need others, but I...I need NO ONE!"

Lloyd's temper reached its peak and he couldn't fathom forming a response that wouldn't result in nonsensical rambling, so he settled for clenching his fists at his sides and digging his toes deep into the cold mud-wait...the blonde's eyes narrowed as lip tightened so far it practically disappeared behind his gums.

The idea that popped into his head refused to quit floating to the front of his brain like a dead fish.

Without realizing it he was bending down to the ground, pushing his fingers into the thick mud…...and the next moment, the back of Morro's neck was the victim of the fiercest mud ball he'd ever thrown.

Any and all air left the area surrounding the three of them as the wind master's thin hand slowly rose his neck to feel the cold dirt resting upon it.

Then he turned.

Lloyd could never have imagined the sheer amount of utter shock,anger, and something almost akin to despair that he would see as Morro's dull gaze met his ,and yet here they were. Still no one spoke.

'Guess I might as well be the first.' Lloyd thought as he rode this strange high of satisfaction. The blonde crossed his dirty arms over his thin chest, eyes pointed to the stars.

"You deserved tha-"

The green ninja wasn't allowed to finish before he recognized the sound of running feet and looked down just in time to see Morro charging straight at him. The blonde had no time to dodge before the wind master's small body crashed onto his and they went tumbling into the surrounding mud puddles.

The former ghost instantly fisted his fair so he did the same. They rolled around for the next few seconds with no direction. The only sound Lloyd could hear aside from his heart thudding into his pounding ears, was Jasper's distressed barking as the wolf weakly fell to the dirt again out of pure exhaustion.

Fueled by that alone, Lloyd strengthened his hold on Morro's hair and used his larger body to knee the wind master off of him and switch their positions. Planting his knees into the ground beside Morro's waist, the green ninja patiently waited for him to calm down.

That did not happen though.

Even as pinned as he was, the ravenette still managed to elbow the energy master's gut, causing his hold to weaken just enough for Morro to twist around and shovel handfuls of mud up his shirt before he was shoved down again.

Lloyd immediately shuddered as the ice cold dirt seared his skin ,but he did not release the wind master, instead opting to dig up his own globe of mud and mushing it up and down Morro's hair. Despite himself the blonde couldn't help chuckling whilst the ravenette shrieked in rage as he failed to throw the blonde off him. When pounding his small fists against the ground and demanding the green ninja to get off him didn't work either he opted to claw one of the boy's hands down so he could gnash his teeth into it.

The green ninja yowled in pain as he fell backwards into even more mud whilst Morro moved out from under him til he was a good few feet away.

The two boys stood there for the next few seconds, panting in exhaustion as they looked everywhere ,but each other.

Lloyd stared at the bite mark in the junction of his hand.

It was deep.

"I-I just wanted to say that, I shouldn't have done what I did to you, it was wrong and I'm sorry."

He'd really got in there.

"...it was wrong and I'm sorry."

It started to bleed some.

"I'm sorry."

'Like hell you ever were.' Lloyd actually almost caught himself laughing as he fixed his gaze onto the still panting wind master.

Morro had the decency to look ashamed as he eyed the blonde's bleeding hand.

"You wouldn't get off." Came the former ghost's only defense before Lloyd abruptly launched himself at him.

The green ninja actually did end up laughing as he and Morro wrestled in the dirt some more.

He had to hand it to the wind master, even most boys at Darkley's didn't fight like that. Figures.

The blonde tightened his hold on Morro's greasy hair ever harder this time (kinda impressive actually with the mud slicking it up and all) as he 'jokingly' smudged some mud down the back of the wind master's shirt.

Morro's reaction was priceless as he twisted around to look at the green ninja with mud dripping out of his hair.

Lloyd just laughed him off as they continued to struggle. At one point in the skirmish the energy master 'accidentally' kicked Morro into a fairly deep water puddle causing the ravenette to almost sink beneath the foggy water before he righted himself again and trudged out just in time to catch the blonde whilst he was hunched over laughing. Morro stabbed his muddy thumbs up Lloyd's nose.

The green ninja retaliated immediately by quickly grabbing Morro around the waist and spinning him forward before grabbing the ravenette's waist and toppling the both of them forward into the soggy dirt.

As Lloyd felt Morro squirm beneath him, he slowly rose back to knees again before grasping the back of the wind master's head and shoving his face down into mud.

The ravenette's entire body shook like a pair of nunchucks as the blonde chuckled above him, going as far as to rub another glob of mud into his raven locks.

"Not so fun when it's you getting pushed around is it?" Lloyd eventually asked once he recovered from his laughter. He wondered if Morro could even hear him.

The wind master's struggle increased as his fingers dug into the soil beside his head, his legs kept flailing up and down like a pair of punctured balloons. The blonde laughed a second time as he wrenched Morro's face from the mud, eager to see the angry look he was about to ge-

Lloyd froze.

The former ghost trembled as he stared at him.

Or at least what could be called a stare, all the blonde saw was clumps of liquid gathering in his red tinted eyes, whilst the mud smeared across his nose and mouth caused his breath to stutter.

The energy master's chest clenched as he quickly got off the filthy wind master and helped to rub away interfering mud.

As the dirt was cleared, Lloyd suddenly realized Morro was saying something.

"I'm s-orry."

The green ninja tensed. "Morro I-"

"I-I'm sor-ry." The wind master paused to hiccup. " 'm so-orry."

"Morro you need to-"

" 'm sorry!" The ravenette wouldn't stop, mumbling, sometimes shouting apologies on repeat.

Lloyd gritted his teeth as he looked back to Jasper, the wolf just barely mustered the effort to stand only to come crashing back down again. He softly whined as Morro kept hiccuping out messy "I'm sorrys"

Inside the energy master began to panic as he stared back at the wind master's sunken features. What were they doing? How did this happen?

Lloyd was given no time to ponder on that thought when he realized the moon had moved across the sky somewhat since the beginning of their scuffle. Crap, why did they have to waste so much time!?

Without any thought protruding inside his brain that didn't concern sleep, the blonde quietly wrapped his arms around Morro's trembling form and walked them both over to Jasper.

The wolf's blank blue eyes stared upon them both in distress as he nuzzled his head as close to Lloyd's arms as his exhausted body would allow.

The blonde gave Jasper a guilty look as he slowly descended onto his knees. The cold breeze whipped against their helpless forms more harshly than ever. The memory of those tree stumps entered Lloyd's mind before immediately dissolving as he looked upon the sad little boy crying into his muddy hands.

"We'll rest til, morning then we'll keep going."

"'m sorry."

Lloyd sighed. "I know."

Even that didn't seem to help though so the green ninja simply leaned the dirty wind master up against Jasper's abdomen . The wolf made no protest as the mud soaked into his coat he even leaned over and began attempting to lick Morro's face clean.

Lloyd almost hoped for a familiarly cranky response ,but instead the former ghost only latched his small arms around Jasper's neck and buried his face into the limb whilst mumbling even more barely audible apologies against the fur.

The blonde stared at the scene, feeling a strange detachment from everything as the cold left him numb as he huddled up into a fetal position.

Jasper, apparently sensing this, used his tail to gently sway Lloyd into a recline against his fur as he carefully wrapped himself around both boys like a comforter.

Without much else to do, Lloyd leaned his head back and stared up at the stars. Jasper's tail was a pleasant weight against his cold arms and soon the sound of Morro's muffled sniffling died away as he quickly dozed off into a dreamless sleep under the night sky.

Unbeknownst to anyone a small ring shaped vortex flickered into existence on the ground a couple feet away for just the briefest of seconds.

ForgottenFamily

An annoying ray of morning light made Lloyd groan as he slowly rose to a seated position. As he peeled his eyes open, the blonde realized he had awoken upon the precipice of sunrise. Great.

He turned to check on his 'companions' before he froze.

Right beside Jasper stood a pair of boots, a pair of familiar boots. F**K!

Lloyd fought the urge to scream as his gaze slowly grazed upward to see a pair of bright piercing green eyes stare upon him and his slowly waking travel crew. Morro rubbed his muddied eyes as he stared at the blonde's frightened face in confusion before he turned around too.

The blonde gulped just like he had all those years ago when he rode Jay's shoulder straight onto his enemy's ship.

His mouth dried as he attempted to say something ,but Koso's sharp voice cut him off.

"Quiet." The sorcerer raised his hand up high….

….

….

…...and snapped his fingers.