AN: Sorry this is late; had a dentist appointment today.

Review Replies
Tomura-chan: I understand. I don't actually play Minecraft, I'm just really into the lore, and I find Dream's videos entertaining.
You and Ghostkie had the same theory, lol. I don't want to give spoilers, so you'll have to wait to find out if you're right. ;)

SylasPantz: Thanks so much! That part was fun to write, and I thought it might add a bit of intrigue.

phetiamwantip: Awesome! I honestly just wanted, like, one person who would be willing and able to understand it, lol.
"Mission accomplished... Now what?"-The Ninja, probably. They're not used to wrapping things up this quickly. XD

Ghostkie: Hehe... You'll have to wait to find out. ;)

2240713356: Aww, thank you! ^_^ It's more heavily focused on the Dream series than Ninjago, but I'd say it's entertaining regardless.
The cringe nightguard... Every time I watch that episode, I think "aw, poor guy." And then he starts making fun of Garmadon, and I immediately flip to, "Sic him, Morro." XD

"Can you tell me again what happened?"

I huffed as Sensei Wu repeated the question for what had to be the third time. The team was quiet for most of the journey back to Steep Wisdom, though Kai and Morro broke into a shouting match at one point. Apparently, the ghost was more than miffed at being thwarted and he demanded to know how the Ninja had known of his plans. For some reason, Kai decided it would be a good opportunity to gloat, and things just devolved into chaos from there. Zane eventually had to fly between Kai's and Cole's dragons to keep the Wind and Fire Masters from killing each other.

When we made it home, Nya, Zane, and Garmadon escorted Morro to the holding cell on the Bounty, while the others hustled me off to see Sensei Wu. I suspected that whatever had happened between Morro and I scared them more than they were willing to admit, which was why I now sat with Wu, Misako, and Garmadon in the back room of Steep Wisdom at three in the morning. I was happy to talk about the incident, as I also wanted to know what the heck happened, but the repetitive questions and late night were finally starting to take their toll on me.

"I was hiding in the rafters of the room," I said wearily, struggling not to get snappish. "Everything happened so fast, there wasn't time for me to get to a safer place. Morro spotted me during the battle and tried to possess me; he did possess me, I could hear him in my head, but then I got… really hot. It felt like I was burning from the inside. I don't think Morro knew what was happening either. Then there was this big flash, and I got thrown off the rafters."

Wu hummed thoughtfully, stroking his beard. Turning to Garmadon, he asked, "And how did this look from your perspective?"

"At first, we weren't sure what had happened," the elder brother admitted, "We saw Morro fly into the rafters and vanish into Abby..."

I shuddered at the disturbing image that gave me.

"...We feared the worst," Garmadon was still going, "Some of the boys tried calling up to her, but she didn't answer."

"I didn't hear you," I confessed, "I couldn't hear anything except me and Morro."

Garmadon dipped his head in acknowledgement. "A moment later, we heard you scream. Then a white light exploded around you. When it cleared, both you and Morro were falling in opposite directions."

"So Abby was somehow able to… deflect Morro's possession?" Misako said wonderingly. I sighed heavily.

"I don't know," I said, rubbing my eyes as I fought a yawn. "It wasn't so much that Morro was deflected as he was… expelled out of me. Which sounds really weird when I say it out loud," I made a face before resuming seriousness. "I've never seen or heard of anything like it. I've wracked my brain over it, but it just doesn't line up with anything I know about Ninjago. The only explanation I can come up with is that maybe it has something to do with how I got here. Something messed with my DNA or… molecules or—I don't know. Or if I was intentionally sent here by some kind of cosmic being, I might have been given some kind of protection."

Sensei Wu was still stroking his beard, his eyes distant. For a long moment, there was silence. When I lifted my hand to stifle another yawn, Misako noticed and immediately jumped into mother-mode.

"I think that's enough questioning for tonight," She said, taking my hand gently and tugging me to my feet. "It's been a long night. Abby, why don't you go on and get some rest? We'll continue this conversation tomorrow."

I nodded sleepily, and once Wu gave his consent, I shuffled off to the Bounty. I didn't bother to take a shower that night, but only changed into my pjs and flopped into bed. I was out within two minutes.

I slept soundly until the sunlight filtering through my window woke me up. For about an hour or so, I lay still, ignoring the light in favor of burrowing under my covers and curling into a ball. Eventually, however, a slight odor reminded me of my lack of a bath the night before, and I forced myself to get up and shower.

When I was finished cleaning up, I felt fully refreshed and actually excited for the day. I had worried the night before was all a dream, and I wanted to check with the others. On my way out the door, I paused to glance at the clock; it was nearly noon. Normally, I would have been appalled at having slept in so late, but considering the circumstances, I didn't berate myself too much about it.

My stomach was rumbling mightily by the time I left my room, so I headed straight for the kitchen to fix myself some brunch. This meant the first person I ran into was Zane, who was fixing some kind of noodle casserole for lunch.

"Hello, Abby," He said with a smile as I wandered into the kitchen, my stomach growling at the smells emanating from the oven. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mmhm," I responded vaguely, "Considering the circumstances."

I paused before I added, "How's Morro?"

Zane's smile dimmed somewhat, and he tilted his head as he replied carefully, "He has been… sullen, to say the least. He refuses to speak to anyone, and I believe he spent most of the night attempting to escape his cell."

I grimaced, "That bad, huh? Has he eaten anything?"

Something we quickly discovered after Garmadon's return was that while ghosts didn't necessarily need to eat, they still felt the pain of hunger. One of the first things Garmadon did once he was strong enough was wolf down three bowls of oatmeal and six pieces of toast in one sitting. And that was after only three and a half months in the Cursed Realm. I couldn't begin to imagine how Morro must feel.

At my query, Zane gave me a startled look and stammered, "Ah… To be perfectly honest, we have not thought to bring him anything."

I groaned, "Seriously, Zane? He's spent forty-plus years in the Cursed Realm, he's probably starving!"

The Nindroid ducked his head sheepishly. "I apologize. I suppose one of us should have considered it."

I sighed, "It's fine. There was a lot going on last night, and he's a ghost. I can understand if you forgot. I guess I can bring him a plate after lunch."

Zane's eyebrows lifted, and he looked concerned as he asked, "Are you sure that is wise? Considering what happened last night…"

I felt a stab of annoyance at the way he trailed his sentence off uncertainly. While what had happened was weird, of course, I didn't see why everyone had to be making a big deal out of it. It was a fluke, that was all. It wasn't like I was radioactive.

"It'll be fine," I said, waving my hand to dismiss the subject. "He's locked up, so he can't try to possess me again. Besides, I don't think he'll want to. I got the sense that whatever happened was… unpleasant for both of us."

The Ice Ninja still looked skeptical, but a strategically loud grumble from my stomach distracted him.

"Lunch will be ready in approximately five minutes," He said, glancing at the oven. "If you are willing to wait."

"Sure, that's fine," I said, relieved that he had changed the subject. "Do you want help setting the table?"

Zane nodded, and the two of us worked together to set out dishes, silverware, and cups of water. By the time we finished, the casserole was ready, and Zane set it out on the table along with a couple of side dishes. My mouth watered at the aromas wafting from the dining room as Zane went to call everyone up through the kitchen intercom.

The first one to the table was Kai, diving straight through the door and somersaulting before he popped to his feet.

"Am I first?" He asked, looking around wildly. I grinned as Zane nodded, and the Fire Ninja let out an ecstatic whoop, jumping up to punch the air. There was an ongoing contest among the Ninja about who could be the first to the dining room once a meal was announced. From what I gathered, it started with Cole. Because of his appetite, he was almost always the first to the table, so the other boys made it a race to see who could beat him. This then devolved into an all-stakes, every-man-for-himself competition between all six teens (including Nya). They even allowed the use of martial arts skills and sabotage, which was why I had yet to participate in the games.

Lloyd arrived a second later, skidding into the room with a huge grin on his face. He was followed by Jay, hair mussed and covered with leaves. From the dark look he cast in Lloyd's direction, I assumed someone was already playing dirty tricks. It wasn't long before everyone had gathered except Cole, who Zane told me was guarding Morro. At this, I seized my opportunity.

"I can take him a plate," I volunteered before anyone else could. Zane leveled me with a knowing look while Lloyd grimaced.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" The blond asked skeptically, "After what happened last night…"

Before I could snap that I was fine, Sensei Wu spoke up.

"Morro is contained," He said calmly, not looking up from serving himself noodles. "Cole is there, and Abby is a grown woman. I'm sure she'll be perfectly safe against a captive enemy."

My eyebrows shot up as I cast Wu a startled look, but he didn't even spare me a second glance. Nothing about his tone betrayed his thoughts, but I wasn't complaining. I exchanged a surprised look with Lloyd, but the boy didn't say anything, only sitting back with a tilt of his head. His body language said; fair enough.

I smiled slightly before I started fixing two plates.

"Uh, I know Cole eats a lot, but he'll still only take one plate," Jay said, grinning as a couple of the others snickered; I didn't. I paused what I was doing and looked the Lightning Ninja straight in the eye.

"I know," I said simply, my voice full of innocence. There was a confused silence, although Zane was ducking his head to hide a smile. Garmadon and Misako gave me knowing looks. Wu still didn't look up from his food. I was baffled by the man's behavior, but I didn't wait around for an explanation as I picked up the two plates and walked out of the room.

AN: I hate leaving you guys with fillers. :P

Operation "Show Morro Love" has begun! You'll get to see how that goes in the next chapter... :)