After being pulled into the Cursed Realm, I passed out. I'm not sure why, but it seems that whenever you cross realms you pass out. It might also have been that I was dragged through a portal by a massive slimy tentacle and then thrown down onto a rocky ground. I know the ninja said they passed out when they went over to Cloud Kingdom, and I know the first thing I remember doing after I was yanked into the portal was waking up.
I didn't stay very long inside the Cursed Realm, but I remember everything I saw. The entire place felt like the inside of some massive creature. There was no sun or anything like it, and all the light came from pulsing green mist that kept being blown out from the walls. The ground was solid rock, and it led in all different directions. The rocks reached up the walls like some sort of rib cage, making it so wherever I was, I was still inside of a cave. The air tasted bad, and just taking one breath was like inhaling ash near a fire. When I walked around, the air also felt incredibly thick, so each step meant I had to force myself to walk forward. The more I looked around, the more I saw ghosts that were flying around above me, making me the only person on the ground.
When I started moving, I realized that I was in the middle of strange balls of rock that acted like cages. There were people inside of them, and I think a few of them were the cultists that were dragged into the Cursed Realm. I didn't see Chen, but I had a feeling that I might have passed him at some point. The ghosts above me hadn't noticed me, and I wanted to get moving so they didn't get a chance to. Seeing all of the ghosts trapped in cages, I guess since I was there by the Realm Crystal, I wasn't cursed into becoming a ghost like the cultists.
The entire place felt sick to me, and the longer I stayed the worse I felt. It was like I really was swallowed up by some massive creature that was made of rock inside of flesh. I kept running for a long time. The ghosts never did notice me, and I was going in the opposite direction of the majority of them. They were leaving to find the exit to the Cursed Realm the Preeminent gave them. If you see that giant hole on the Preeminet's face, that's where they were going. I never even realized just how many people went to the Cursed Realm until I saw how many ghosts were heading out. I have no idea how so many of them were even sent there. I guess maybe it has something to do with if you do something wrong in your life, you get cursed. I didn't care and I still don't like to think about it. I was trying to make sure I didn't get spotted by them.
Everywhere I went, the walls behind the large rocky structures pulsed and throbbed. I was worried that I was going to be stuck there. I had to get somewhere. I had to do something. I really don't know why it was that I actually was running. I was just looking for something to do to save myself. I wanted to get away from all of these ghosts. I had just been dragged into the Cursed Realm, it wasn't like I was thinking clearly. I barely even remembered anything that had happened before I was dragged into the Cursed Realm, that's how panicked I was.
Then, I started to notice the light was getting more distinct. I was even seeing a bit more of white light rather than the green light that was everywhere. I started following it. I must have been sent to some sort of prison section for people like Chen, since the cages that I saw just started to get bigger and bigger. I could hear things behind them growling at me as I ran by, but I didn't take time to look at them. I was trying to follow that light. I wanted to get away from everything, not take time and look around. The air was getting thinner the longer that I ran, making it easier to move and breathe. I didn't know why, but it felt like I was heading somewhere important.
Some ghosts spotted me, so I ran even faster. By then, I was almost at my breaking point. I was about to collapse when I noticed that the ground sloped upwards and led to a large cavern up ahead. I heard the ghosts behind me, so I kept going. I wasn't even thinking of where I was going. I didn't have time to regret what had happened to me, or think about the fact that Morro was now in Ninjago all alone. I had to just get somewhere, and get there fast.
Then, I saw the ground sloped downwards. I looked down and saw I was at the dead end of wherever I was. I really was in some sort of prison. At the bottom of the path was the one person I didn't expect to see. It was the one person that I didn't realize I wanted to see. When I saw him, I didn't even believe it was him. It was the man that I had prayed that I'd be allowed to see one last time, the man that Morro had taunted me with. For some reason, he wasn't a snake nor a ghost, but I didn't (and still don't) care about that.
I was staring at my father, chained up, right in front of me.
… Morro. If there is one thing that I want to thank you for, it's the chance that I got to see my father again. The man that was chained up at the very end, the deepest part of the prisoners, was my father.
When I saw him, I felt those raw emotions that Morro had dredged up inside me when he first possessed me. All of that time I'd been trying to move past my father felt like it never happened. When I saw him, it was everything I could do not to cry. I felt like my world had just shattered, and in a way it had since I was standing in a completely new one. The man that I thought I'd banished for good, was standing right in front of me.
I think… I think the reason that I was able to fully move past my father's demise was because of this moment. When people talk about getting closure, they often say they come to some sort of realization, or they figure something out, or they just have something happen that makes them finally understand it all. All of those months, I'd just been telling myself I was okay. After Zane, after the team broke up, I thought that I had all of this under control. I told myself I was better than that, and I didn't need to mourn like I had with Zane. My dad hadn't died, he'd been cursed and sent away where I'd never see him again. It was so much easier to think when I told myself that he wasn't gone, I just wouldn't see him again. Now, I was seeing him again, and I couldn't feel any happier than in my entire life.
My dad only asked me once why I was here before I threw my arms around him. I missed him so much, I didn't know what I could even say. Whenever I tried to talk at first, I'd just start crying. My dad was chained up so his arms were pulled out, so he couldn't hug me back, but I didn't care. It was actually him. I felt his robes as I hugged him, I heard his breath on my back as I just kept hugging him. I couldn't believe it. Everything in me just was all coming up at the same time, like some sort of big eruption I didn't know could happen.
I don't know how long I was sitting there hugging him for. It felt like just long enough for me to be able to speak again. My dad of course asked why I was there, and I told him that Morro had unleashed the Preeminent. Dad confirmed that I was indeed inside the 'belly of the beast,' as he called it. I tried to break the chains, but they were made never to let go. I think dad said that they were meant to hold him there until the day he stopped living, but his life was frozen in place inside the Cursed Realm so he could serve out his punishment he'd taken on.
For a bit, I tried to just be happy that I had my dad again. I couldn't free him, and I knew that I didn't have time to. But, eventually I remembered why I was here. I told dad that now Morro was the Green Ninja. I don't know why I said it that way, but I did. For some reason, I'd started believing Morro when he said that if he defeated me, he was stronger and clearly meant to be the Green Ninja. I'd given it my all to try to stop him, and it hadn't been enough. When it came down to it… I froze. Just like always.
At first, my dad told me that I couldn't give up because Ninjago depended on me. That wasn't what I needed to hear. I was feeling more and more guilty. I felt upset that I was even getting this distracted while having my once and only chance to reunite with my father, but I'd been thrown in there because I failed. My dad told me that I couldn't give up, and then I said it again. I said I wasn't the Green Ninja anymore. Somehow… seeing Morro holding onto my gi made me somehow believe that I'd really lost it all.
"It was never the color of your gi, it was the color of your heart," That was what my dad told me about why I was the Green Ninja. It wasn't the person that I became, but the person that I was inside. That's what I thought my dad was trying to tell me. When he told me that, it reminded me of what Kai had told me. If someone else had said that, I wouldn't have listened. With my father telling me that, the man that I'd become the Green Ninja for, I started to get my answer to Morro's question.
Why was I the Green Ninja? I was the Green Ninja because destiny knew that I would one day be willing to put my family and life on the line to save it. No matter how destiny played out, I would have one day come to save Ninjago. Who I was as a person… who Lloyd Garmadon was, he would do whatever it takes to save Ninjago. It wasn't because I said I had to, or because I thought I was strong enough to. Destiny chose me because I was willing to put my faith in family. And when I had my family by my side, no matter what happened, I would also rise to the challenge.
Once I realized that, I felt my doubts start to strip away. Everything that Morro had used to tear me down started to sound more and more like petty insults. Morro had given me the chance to see my father, and now I had the confidence I needed to go and save Ninjago. I now had what I needed to say that I could be the Green Ninja and take back my gi from Morro. I told my dad I could do it, and I was about to say more when he told me that I had to destroy the Cursed Realm to stop the Preeminent.
When I heard that, I realized what that meant. If the Cursed Realm was destroyed, everyone in it would be. The chains were unbreakable, and my father wasn't going to be able to come with me. If what my dad told me was what I had to do, that meant that I had to condemn not only the Cursed Realm to death… but my father too.
If this had been before the Dark Island, I would never have agreed to it. If it had been before Zane, I wouldn't have been able to make my choice to do that in time. But after having already banished my father, I was being asked to take one more step. I felt sick hearing that, and the fact my dad had said it was even worse. But because my father said it, I was able to once again accept it. No matter what happened, my father wanted me to be the one to put him to rest.
My dad gave me his robes and told me that he would always be with me, no matter what happened. As I put them on, my dad told me that every boy had to become a man at some point. I had to choose what type of man I was. With my father's robes on me, I felt like I had a piece of him with me. It was a symbol of me finally moving past everything that happened to me. From the moment that I stepped onto the Dark Island to that very moment, everything had been connected to my father. Now, I was finally going to move past him with his blessing. It was there and then that I made my vow to ensure that the Cursed Realm, one way or another, was destroyed.
I shared one last hug with my father. I'd never seen my dad cry before, but he did. He told me it wasn't because he was afraid to die, as he'd come to terms with that fact for a long while. Instead, he was just so proud that I'd finally grown into the man that I was always meant to be. Once I parted ways with him, I turned and began running all the way back. The first step that I took felt like I was weighed down with a hundred chains, but with each step it got easier. My father shouted at me to remember that he loved me, and no matter what he would watch over me. If I was to be what finally did him in, then he was proud that it would be someone like me that did it. I was crying as I ran away, but I wasn't sad anymore.
I fought my way past all the ghosts that tried to stop me. Nothing could stop me anymore. Morro had felt invincible when he went out to become the Green Ninja. Now that I had finally accepted myself again as the Green Ninja, I felt that too. I knew, however, that I couldn't rely on that feeling. I had to make it back to my friends. Once I showed them I was okay, I could give them the strength they needed to continue the fight.
I saw the massive opening the ghosts were jumping through. On the other side, I could see Stiix. I fought past a few more ghosts, and realized the second I leapt through that hole, I was going to be committed to saving Ninjago. Once I leapt out of the Cursed Realm, I was going to finally have to say goodbye to my father. I didn't hesitate. I couldn't stop the Preeminent before, but this time I wouldn't stop. Now, there was no way Morro was going to get inside of my head.
When I emerged into Stiix, I landed on the rooftops to see Ronin fighting Morro with the SoS. Just as Morro was about to reclaim the sword, I swooped in and took it. I saw my friends nearby, all fighting for the people. I looked back to see the massive thing that I'd come out of, but I didn't feel any fear. For once in my life I wasn't afraid of Morro. I ordered the ninja to sink the Preeminent into the ocean while I challenged Morro.
The battle that happened between me and Morro is one that I remember very vividly. I know each and every kick that we threw. I can even recall the feeling of Morro using the Realm Crystal to teleport around me and attack me. But it was more than that to me. I remember that fight, because it was my chance to prove to Morro that I was indeed strong enough to be the Green Ninja. I wasn't a scared little kid being thrown around inside my head. I was a man that was going to stand up to someone that was going to take my family away from me.
As the Preeminent began to fall into the ocean from the ninja breaking the supports, Morro tried to teleport behind me again. That was when I leapt into the portal just before it closed. I made a split second decision that changed the entire battle. The two of us were falling from the sky in some strange place that looked like suspended pillars of rocks and bone over a pit of lava. The ninja told me later that it was the Underworld. Morro and I were about to visit more Realms than anyone in all of Ninjago.
Spiders came down to try to attack me, and while I held them off with the SoS, Morro realized that he didn't have to fight me if he could just leave me stranded in another realm. Thus, whenever Morro opened a portal, I had to follow him. I started to realize that our battle wasn't going to be about who outlasted the other. It was going to be about who made it back to Ninjago to either save or stop the Preeminent.
Whenever one of us got the crystal, we would open a random portal and jump through to try to get away as fast as possible. I refused to let Morro have the SoS, knowing if he got it I had already lost the fight. I admit that the SoS is probably my favorite sword that I've ever used. It's super handy, and it saved me from being left behind a few times by seeing what Morro was about to do. Each portal we jumped through made us have to think fast to try to get ahead. The two of us were in the middle of a true fight to the last man standing.
We kept going from place to place. We were standing in the middle of a mountain in a world with a black sky. I raced and got hold of the crystal and soon we were falling through the sky in Cloud Kingdom. It was actually the longest I'd gotten a chance to look at it. Then we were falling in the middle of this weird place, and some weird animal people looked at us as we fought. Morro opened another portal, and then we were sent sprawling across this big dessert where a dragon landed and tried to attack us. We grappled and another portal sent us into a strange place that looked like one massive palace. We kept flying between the realms, each portal taking us further and further away from Ninjago.
Finally, the two of us were back in Cloud Kingdom, fighting on top of the tallest tower. Morro told me that no matter what happened, I'd never be able to stop him. I was about to swing the SoS at him to try to cleave the Realm Crystal out of his hands, when I saw something inside of the blade's reflection. I saw Morro appearing in a portal alone in Ninjago. That meant that what was about to happen next was Morro getting back to Ninjago, alone.
That revelation I had about being the Green Ninja struck me at that moment. All of this time, Morro had been defying destiny. I was holding a sword that quite literally showed someone's destiny before your very eyes. I could keep this fight going, and neither of us would ever get back to Ninjago in time. If we both made it back to Ninjago, neither one of us would have made a difference.
That's when I knew that I had to let Morro go back without me. If I kept this going, then I would make it so destiny couldn't happen. The sword had just told me what it had told Morro in the tomb about the deadly traps. I needed to take heed of those visions. I had to let Morro go back to Ninjago, alone. For once, I wasn't going to be one there when it was all over. I needed to let destiny work through my friends. I needed to be the Green Ninja.
So I let Morro escape. Morro was laughing about how he'd finally gotten me right as he disappeared. I still had the SoS. Morro was gone, and I knew now it was just a matter of time until it was all over. I sat down, and I waited. I didn't feel any fear about what was going to happen next. I knew that I'd made the right choice.
There are two things that happened while I was waiting that I need to talk about. This is the time that I want to talk about how Nya became the sixth ninja on our team. Nya had been helping us out as Samurai X for a long time, but Wu had told her she had inherited the power of water. For all the time that I was possessed, she was training to become the Master of Water. The Preeminent used the buildings in Stiix to make legs so it could go and chase after a boat the ninja and all the people of Stiix were fleeing in. They lured the creature to a massive trench in the ocean, where they knew they could actually have a chance of drowning it. It was Nya that unlocked her True Potential to summon a flood and push the thing into the trench.
The weird thing is, I felt like Nya was already a member of our team. I knew in stories when they add another member it's a big deal since it's someone completely new. Nya, though, was there from the very start. She revealed herself as Samurai X pretty early, and after that she was constantly going with us in her mech suit or even just there to help build and repair things. There isn't a mission I can think of between when I first joined the team and now that Nya wasn't apart of in some major way. I always find it odd to imagine there was a time where Nya wasn't a ninja like us, because she was always apart of us as a team.
I never even considered that Nya would have some sort of hidden elemental powers. It was partially because all of the Elemental Masters I knew, including my friends, had already unlocked their powers. I thought you started to show your abilities early, like I did when I was training in Dareth's Dojo. Nya, however, just hadn't even thought of the fact she had them. It wasn't like anyone else did either. Wu, however, knew that she had abilities from the very beginning, or at the very least figured it out after Chen's island.
Since I wasn't there for her training, I can't say much on how her powers were at the start. I do, however, know that it was her that washed the Preeminent into the ocean. Knowing that she'd unlocked her True Potential was something that I didn't know would happen, but I know was destiny. Nya was the hero of that day. If it hadn't been for her, Ninjago would be cursed. I'm proud to fight alongside Nya, and I'm proud to say that she's my friend.
The thing is, this had an effect that I didn't think of. When I stayed behind, I didn't realize that Morro would be there with the Preeminent. When the Preeminent went down into the ocean, it dragged down Morro with it. Morro was left desperately using wind to try to stay above the water, unable to use the Realm Crystal to escape. Wu went over to try to offer his hand to Morro, trying to get him to come back. In the end, Morro told Sensei a few words I've been trying to figure out what he meant for a long time, before giving him the Realm Crystal… and dying.
"You can only save those who want to be saved."
For a long time, I never understood what those words meant. Wu told me in confidence (and I got permission to talk about here), saying that since I had come to know Morro the best, I would likely have a perspective on what they meant. Now that I've had so long to think about them, I think I've figured out what Morro was trying to say. When I realized it, however, I didn't feel good about it.
Morro was making sure Wu couldn't feel guilty about this. If Morro had been begging Sensei for his help and been dragged down that way, Wu would never have forgiven himself. Morro wasn't trying to redeem himself. Instead, he was making sure the man that had meant so much to him, had put him on this path and had blamed himself for Morro's demise in the first place, knew that Morro didn't hold it against him. Morro chose to end his own life so that Wu wouldn't have to have a hand in it. In the end, Morro chose death over a chance at redeeming himself.
… I never thought that Morro was going to die. After having spent so long with Morro, it truly did seem like Morro thought himself invincible. In a way, he was. Morro was always one step ahead of us, and never let up. He had the most determination I'd ever felt. He'd kept me possessed and trapped even after so long of me trying to fight back against him. For some reason, it never occured to me that Morro's will would give him clarity when he realized he was about to fully die. He was given a chance to come back, and he decided to tell Wu there was never a chance for him in the first place.
To this day, I still don't know how I really feel. Whenever I try to think about it, I just start to feel strange. I don't feel angry that Morro had to die, and I'd never be happy to see a villain gone. Morro was a boy that was led to believe he was destined for greatness, and then did everything he could to prove he was up until the end. Every evil thing he did, he was doing because he believed it was right. In the end, he believed himself to be the Green Ninja.
I wonder sometimes if he had become the Green Ninja, if everything in Ninjago would be even more different than it is today. I've thought about if Morro had taken Wu's hand and come with him and how that would have gone. Most of all… I wonder if Morro truly had to die for what he did. I don't think so, but that doesn't matter. Morro made a choice in his last few moments. He decided what he wanted. If he couldn't defy destiny, then he wouldn't force someone to question their own. Morro chose to do right by all of us in the end, even if he didn't die a hero. I'm sorry it had to end like that, Morro. I've respected your power to this day, and I'll never forget you.
Eventually, Wu used the crystal to open a portal for me to come back to Ninjago with. As I saw my friends, I told them what happened. For some reason, I felt calm. I knew what happened, but I also had already decided it would happen. I had let Ninjago decide its own destiny, and now I was back with the last reminder of my father.
Wu told me that I had a lot of ways to go to be able to wear these robes. I think that was the moment that I decided that one day, I would become a Sensei like my father. I would grow and continue to protect Ninjago until I was old enough to train others to protect it themselves. My father was gone, but for once I didn't feel guilt. I only felt the hollow sadness that came with it. I could finally move forward, with my new sword in hand and a destiny laid out in front of me. The others asked me about the other realms, but I didn't know enough to tell them. Instead, I told them that the future of Ninjago looked bright.
The time of possession was over. Our team had grown and changed, and we now had even more threats ahead of us. For the first time in a long time, though, I felt that we could rise up to meet whatever challenge was ahead of us. For once, I truly did feel that my destiny looked bright. Whatever was to come, I was going to be ready to face it.
I didn't know just how unready I was for that time to come to me.
"So… how is it?" Lloyd asked nervously, sitting down at the table and looking at the divided up casserole sitting in the middle of the table.
Slowly, everyone in the room took a bite. Lloyd felt his breath stall in his throat as he watched them all take time to chew and swallow. It was nerve-wracking, a feeling which made him shift around in his seat. He tried to remain still, but the longer that it took everyone to eat, the more it felt like they were trying to figure out how to mince their words.
"It's good!" Jay exclaimed, startling Lloyd, "Really good!"
"Indeed," Zane took a bite, "I may need to save some for Pixal."
"Yeahah!" Cole took three more bites in rapid succession, "Hoho this is just like eating a non-sweet cake!"
"Wow," Nya breathed in, "This is really good! I didn't know you cooked, Lloyd."
"Uh…" Lloyd rubbed his neck, "I uh, didn't really until now. Kai helped me learn how."
"Kai?" Jay asked skeptically, "I didn't think Kai could do anything but burn food!"
"It'd still taste better than whatever you'd make, Jay!" Kai shot back playfully. The room laughed at Jay's expense, making Jay huff and dig back into the food. As the laughter died down, Lloyd looked over to Kai. Kai grinned and gave him a nod as he took a few more bites.
"Thanks, guys," Lloyd sighed in relief, "It means a lot. I was kinda worried you all wouldn't like it."
The room gave another murmur of support before they each went into eating their food. Lloyd felt so relieved he couldn't even take a bite of his own food -that and it was hot. He instead pulled it apart with a fork to let it start cooling down, looking around discreetly to see if anyone was just humoring him. With how eagerly they were all eating, it seemed that Lloyd had actually pulled it off.
"So, Lloyd," Cole asked after swallowing a mouthful, "How's that book of yours coming?"
"Wait, Lloyd's writing a book?" Nya asked, looking across the table to Lloyd, "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Uh… well I mean, I was going to tell all of you, you know…" Lloyd sighed, "And, I'm not really writing it. I'm recording myself talking and Zane and I are going to go through at the end and actually make it into a full book. I've been going through all the big fights we've done and… well. I've been asking you guys one by one to help out."
"I was present for the first three major events," Zane spoke up, "I recorded the chapters that went over the Serpentine, Overlord and Golden Master."
"I listened to him do all the stuff with Chen," Cole spoke up, "It was pretty neat, actually. I learned a lot. More than just the stuff I wasn't there for, I mean."
"And I just got to listen to all the stuff with Morro," Kai grinned, "It's pretty neat. Not exactly what you think, but it's something you all should do, too."
"So wait, if you've done all that… does that mean you're talking about Nadakhan next?!" Jay perked up, "Oh I'd love to help you with those! I can help you with anything you all don't remember, and we can-"
"Actually," Lloyd frowned, "I'm going to have Cole help me record the next chapter. You're going to help me with what comes after that."
"What about me?" Nya leaned in, "You haven't forgotten about me, have you?"
"I'm planning on having you help me with some later stuff," Lloyd pointed out, "When I start talking about some of the more recent stuff."
Nya, realizing what he meant, nodded her head and sat back. As the table looked around from their food, Lloyd sighed and dug into his own meal. He hadn't thought he'd be explaining this to them yet, but it did help to at least tell them.
"So," Jay spoke through a mouthful, "Got a title for the book yet?"
Lloyd shook his head, "Not yet. I got a few ideas but… I'm gonna wait until I finish it to really name it."
"Well," Cole leaned in with a smile, "You know if you ever need any help, feel free to hit us up!"
"Yeah," Nya added, "We're all happy to help! I was thinking of trying to write a book myself. I've gotten a few chapters in, but after that it got pretty rough," She pointed to Jay, "Having him help out turned it from just an idea to an idea with pages."
"I still say you should finish it!" Jay rolled his eyes while the others chuckled, "It was really good!"
"Well," Lloyd spoke up again, "I'll let you all know when I need help. But… thanks for liking the dinner, guys."
The room looked a bit confused at Lloyd's statement, but after a few minutes they all just shrugged and continued eating. Lloyd felt a small warmth blossom in his chest at seeing all of them together like this. Morro had tried to tell him he was weak for having family, that he couldn't do anything alone. The people in this room were his brothers and sister. They were his family, and the people that made him the Green Ninja. No matter what Morro said, Lloyd was still the Green Ninja.
No matter what Morro said, Lloyd was still here. And so Lloyd let himself smile and continue to relax and smile, spending time with the family that he'd chosen, and the people that had fought so hard for him. For tonight, he enjoyed his dinner, closing the door on one set of chapters and moving on to the others.