AN: Got a review, so here he is; my boy, Morro. ;)
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SylasPantz: Thank you! I'm obsessed with Ninjago, lol, so most of the major characters are pretty easy for me to write. I'm not saying I don't occasionally tweak them to fit my narrative and/or headcanons...but for the most part, I try to stay true to canon.
Ten' o' clock that night, I found myself in a peculiar situation. Perched precariously in the rafters of the Ninjago Museum of History, half-supported between a ghost and a technologically-advanced samurai, I couldn't help but acknowledge how weird my life had become.
My earpiece crackled, and Lloyd's hoarse whisper filtered through the speaker, "Is everyone in position?"
While I was hidden with Nya and Garmadon, the rest of the Ninja were scattered throughout the foyer in various hiding places. The boys had wanted to spread out through the whole museum, but I assured them it was better if they were all together. Once we had located the room Morro would be attacking—a recently-added exhibit dedicated to the Ninja's exploits—there was a mad scramble to arrange our ambush before Morro arrived. Jay had (excitedly) expressed the concern that Morro might already be in the museum, possessing one of the artifacts until closing time. This had caused some worry among the group, but after some serious thought, I dismissed the idea. If what I knew about Morro was accurate, he wasn't very good at sitting still.
Though I was strongly against it, the Ninja took the time to inform 'Dr. Saunders' of our plans to stake out the museum. They were thankfully vague on the details, reporting only that they got a tip that there might be a break-in that night, and they wanted to be on top of it. Krux was very agreeable and gave his permission for us to stay the night. I made a point to have the Ninja tell him not to inform the night watchman, just in case something he did tipped Morro off.
I listened silently as the others gave multiple affirmatives, and Lloyd said, "Good. Keep your eyes peeled. We have no idea when Morro might appear. Abby?"
Quickly, I reached up and pressed a button on the comm like Nya had taught me before I replied softly, "Yeah?"
"You know what Morro looks like," The boy said as I squinted across the room, trying to glimpse him through the darkness, "So you're our best bet for spotting him before he gets to the security guard. If you see anything, or recognize anything, let us know."
"Will do," I whispered, and the comms went dead. After that, we waited. Since I didn't know the exact time Morro would attack, the only thing we had to go off of was my memory of events in the show. Fortunately, Possession was my favorite season, so I had seen it more often than any of the others. Despite my anxious butterflies, I was confident I would be able to recognize when it was time for Morro to make his move.
Hours passed, and my legs began to go numb from sitting on a narrow metal beam for so long. Garmadon glowed faintly in the dimness, but it wasn't enough for us to be visible from any part of the room. Nya was in some kind of stealth version of her usual Samurai X suit; one with less armor and a darker, sleeker design. Since she was still on the fence about whether or not to commit to being a ninja, no one objected when she chose to do the mission as Samurai X. Luckily, her deepstone armor matched the motif perfectly.
Eleven-thirty struck, and out of boredom, I started searching the room for the Ninja, though I doubted I would be able to find them. At twelve' o' six, there was movement from one of the halls, and the comms crackled.
"Heads up," Kai warned as a light appeared, drawing steadily closer toward our room, "Night watchman approaching."
The comms fell dead, and no one spoke as the security guard appeared. I strained to make out details as the man sauntered into the room, whistling in a bored sort of way. Unfortunately, I couldn't see his face from my position, so I could only listen impatiently, waiting to hear anything that might be familiar.
For a minute or two, we watched the man wander about the room, shining his flashlight randomly into different corners. I saw some of the Ninja move a couple of times to narrowly avoid getting caught in the beam. After a bit, the man seemed to grow tired of meandering around. He started to head out of the room, but he paused by an animatronic of 'Lord' Garmadon; Garmadon's former four-armed state. As we watched, the man suddenly sprang into a battle position, crying, "Hands up, Lord Garmadon! All four of 'em!"
He used his flashlight to rotate the arms of the animatronic up before brandishing the light like a weapon. Beside me, Garmadon let his head drop into his hands in a gesture of absolute mortification, and Nya made a half-amused, half-bewildered noise. But the guard wasn't done. Completely unaware of his audience, the man poked the animatronic, knocking it over loudly as he gloated, "Oh, that's right. Ninjago won't be seeing the likes of you anymore. Good riddance!"
"Ouch," Garmadon intoned dryly as Nya convulsed with silent laughter, "After all I've done…"
I would have liked to offer some words of comfort, but I was too wound-up. The watchman's little spiel was all-too familiar…
Something moved in the corner of my vision, causing my stomach to lurch in a painful panic. I glanced in the direction, but I didn't see anything. My heart pounding, I reached up and pressed a shaking finger to my comm.
"This is it, guys," I whispered as quietly as I was able, "He's here."
There wasn't any response from the boys, but both Nya and Garmadon whipped their heads up to give me startled looks. I swallowed the lump in my throat as static played briefly over the comms before Cole spoke, "Watch your backs, boys."
The mood in the room was sober and tense now as I let my eyes flick around the room, searching for some sign of Morro's presence. A flickering shadow, a ghostly-green glow… Anything. I paid special attention to the security guard and a few select exhibits that I knew Morro would be presenting himself at.
Sure enough, as the night watchman began playing with an animatronic of Chen, I saw a shadow flit through the middle of the room. The guard noticed as well, and he dropped the Chen statue as he whirled around.
"Who's there?" He demanded, flashing his light wildly around the room, "The museum's closed!"
A short pause.
"I know Spinjitzu!" The man added warningly, and I could just feel Nya roll her eyes beside me. Abruptly, the guard's flashlight flickered out, and the room was plunged into darkness. I blinked frantically, willing my eyes to adjust. In the brief moment it took for my vision to clear, a scream rang out.
For a second, I thought the night watchman had been attacked, but I quickly realized that scream didn't belong to him; it belonged to Jay. The watchman's flashlight came back on, and he whirled the light around just as the Lightning Ninja burst from his hiding place, scrambling to get away from the ghostly green figure that emerged behind him.
"He's on to us!" Lloyd called over the comms, "Go; go now!"
Just like that, the room exploded into action. The boys erupted from their hiding places, appearing as if by magic, and they made a rush for Morro. The ghost was obviously startled, barely dodging when Zane threw a deepstone shuriken at him.
"Ninja?!" I heard him snarl, "How is that possible?!"
"I guess you could say we caught wind of your return, Morro," Jay taunted, swinging his nunchucks in a rapid circle. The watchman was gone, having fled the second the Ninja appeared, though he left his flashlight behind. The beam from the flashlight illuminated the battle as the Ninja pressed against Morro hard. Despite his initial shock, the ghost seemed to recover quickly, and he began tossing the Ninja away with blasts of wind. Seeing that the boys' advantage was waning, I turned to Nya.
"What are you two still doing up here with me?" I demanded incredulously, "Get down there, go! Go help them!"
Garmadon didn't argue, pushing himself off the beam immediately. He hit the ground, rolled, and popped back to his feet before he took off running toward Morro. Nya was more hesitant, glancing first at me then down at the battle.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She asked anxiously, "Don't you need to get down first?"
"I'm fine, go!"
Without giving her another chance to argue, I nudged the girl insistently in the shoulder, urging her to move. Nya gave me one, last, uncertain look before she pressed a button on her wrist cuff and slid out of the rafters. She dropped about a foot before the thrusters in her jetpack caught her, and she floated to the ground. She was running as soon as her feet hit the floor, a bubble forming in her hands as she drew up water from the pouches on her belt.
I hugged the nearest support beam tightly as I watched the battle below, my heart racing. The Ninja had the element of surprise, but Morro was quick, powerful, and clever. He evaded attacks nimbly, possessing random statues and objects to use as shields. I could hardly identify him as anything but a green blur as he flashed around the room, tossing gusts of wind here and there to catch the Ninja off-balance. A couple of times, I saw him take a dive at one of the boys, only to recoil as he struck the deepstone armor.
Morro plunged into a nearby statue of Pythor, but before he could make a move, Garmadon tackled him. In a burst of green light, Morro was thrown out of the statue, hitting the ground hard. The Pythor statue moved briefly, the head swiveling to look at its hands, before another flash of light showed Garmadon ejecting himself from the statue.
"What..?" Morro pushed himself up, staring at Garmadon in confusion.
"Garmadon?!" He exploded once he recognized the man, his voice filled with rage and disbelief, "I saw you banished! How did you escape the Cursed Realm?"
"I believe you're familiar with the properties of the Allied Armor of Azure?" Lloyd's father replied, a smirk in his tone, "An impressive device, well-utilized in the right hands."
Slowly, the Ninja formed a tight circle around Morro, fencing him in. The wind master scrambled to his feet, but froze when he saw the huge bubble of water Nya had aiming at him.
"Go ahead," The girl said tauntingly, "Make my day."
"Surrender, Morro," Lloyd added, forming an orb of green energy in his hands, "It's over."
The ghost boy's head whipped around frantically, searching for a way out as Zane cautiously began approaching with a pair of Vengestone cuffs in hand. In a moment, it would all be over. Then Morro looked up.
Somehow, he managed to spot me shrouded in the shadows near the roof. I could tell because his eyes locked directly on mine, and we both froze. My chest seized, and I clutched the beam so tightly that my fingers hurt. Slowly, a deadly grin spread across Morro's face. My mouth went dry.
With a harsh laugh, Morro abruptly sank through the floor. There were cries of shock from the Ninja, and Jay spun in circles as he yelled hysterically, "Where'd he go?! Where'd he go?!"
Garmadon started to sink into the floor as well, but stopped when a shadowy, green form rocketed up from the ground right beneath my feet. I could feel the wind propelling Morro upward as he shot up in front of me and gave me a nasty grin.
"Boo."
Before I could so much as scream, the ghost dove at me, and a sharp, cold sensation gripped my chest. I gasped and almost let go of the beam as the ice spread, racing up my limbs, stabbing into my brain…
The cold transformed into a burning heat, and I managed to choke out a short shriek as my skin began to burn. A pressure built in my chest, making it difficult to breathe. I could hear Morro's voice in my ears, in my head, but I couldn't make out the words. He sounded as panicked as I felt. What was happening?! Possession wasn't supposed to feel like this!
The heat inside of me grew until I felt like my skin was melting off. I clawed at my shirt with one hand, vainly trying to stop whatever was happening. My breath came out in short, quick pants, and I was beginning to feel light-headed. The pressure was immense, threatening to explode my chest—
BAM!
There was a brilliant flash of white light, and I was blown backwards off my perch. I couldn't even draw the breath to scream as I plummeted toward the hard, unforgiving floor below. Fleetingly, I wondered if I could somehow angle myself so as not to hit my head and immediately die upon impact, but I didn't get the chance to try it.
Seconds before I smashed against the ground, I felt strong arms wrap around me, pulling me close. The force of my momentum made my rescuer stagger, but he managed to stay upright. Heart thudding, I lifted my head to see Cole looking at me with scared eyes.
"Oh my gosh," He said, his voice notably relieved as I blinked dumbly at him, "That was close. Are you okay?"
I opened my mouth, but when no sound came out, I closed it. I swallowed and tried again; still nothing. Finally, I just gave a small shake of my head, and Cole's expression collapsed into concern.
"What happened?" He asked as Lloyd and Garmadon came up behind him, both looking frightened and worried, "Did he hurt you?"
"I…" My voice came back in an embarrassing squeak, but I couldn't bring myself to care as I tried to stem the feeling of nausea rising up in me.
"I don't know," I stammered once I was able, and Cole lowered me to the ground, "That wasn't like anything I've ever seen or heard of in the show. I felt him possess me; he was in my head, but then… everything was just burning, and it hurt, and I couldn't breathe…"
"Get off me!"
Morro's rage-filled shout distracted me, and I glanced over Cole's shoulder to see that they had managed to secure the ghost. The Vengestone cuffs were locked tightly around his wrists, and he was struggling against the grips of Zane and Jay without success. Nya was keeping her water bubbles up as a warning, but it didn't look like the ghost was going anywhere. Numb shock flooded through me, briefly pushing aside my pain as I gaped at the captive wind master. I couldn't believe it; we had actually done it.
It was all over.
AN: STOP SNEAKING INTO THE NARRATIVE! *throws the Allied Armor at Krux*
I can't believe it took me 14 chapters to get to Morro, lol. This fic is going to be longer than I thought.