AN: It's kinda late where I'm at, but I SAID I WAS POSTING THIS ON TUESDAY SO HERE IT IS.
Review Replies
phetiamwantip: Hmm, it's not much different from canon cuz I just didn't see a reason for it to play out differently, but there's still a lot of yelling. XD
Lynkoln: They're boys; boys like to look cool, which means maybe... altering the details of how you hypnotized a Serpentine general. XD
Personally, I don't think Wu knew about Morro being dead and cursed until season 5. Perhaps he suspected him being dead at least, since it had been forty years since he saw the kid, but he probably didn't know for sure until Winds of Change. The cursed part must have definitely been a crushing revelation.
Good point about the Green Ninja thing! I can imagine at least a couple of the boys (Kai especially) making that connection, but I'm not really addressing it in this fic.
Tomura-chan: Omigosh, yes, I remember Nicole! "Her" Morro was my favorite, lol. ITS YA BOY (I mean, not yet, but we're getting there XD).
To his credit, Wu took the shock well. He looked panicked for a split second before his expression sagged, and he seemed to age before my eyes. With a heavy sigh, he said, "Very well." and turned to the waiting Ninja.
"You four," He began, nodding to Cole, Kai, Jay, and Zane in turn, "Were not my first students. There was one before you. His name was Morro, Master of Wind."
"Morro…" I heard Lloyd murmur, as though testing the name out. Meanwhile, Wu continued.
"Morro may have been my first pupil," He said, his voice laden with sorrow, "But he was also my greatest regret. It wasn't I who found him… but he who found me. My brother had just gone off to train under Master Chen, which gave me time to attempt my hand at teaching. Morro was the perfect student. He did everything that was ever asked of him. I had shown him things he had never seen. And he showed me a few things too," It was here that Wu's voice took on a musing tone, "He had a power over the wind I had never seen. He was a descendant of an Elemental Master. It was then I thought I had found the one. Perhaps he would wear green."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jay interrupted, waving his hands excessively, "Back up. You're saying Morro, the Master of Wind, was going to be the Green Ninja?!"
"No," I said quietly, "Remember, destiny picks the Green Ninja, not Sensei Wu."
"Indeed," Wu sighed, "I knew this at the time, but I had perhaps been… too eager. Too proud. After I told him he could be the Green Ninja, Morro developed a hunger unmatched. There was an arrogance in him. I feared I had made a terrible mistake. But it wasn't for me to decide; it was destiny. When the Golden Weapons didn't respond like they did for Lloyd later, I knew Morro wouldn't become the chosen one. But he became obsessed with proving me wrong. With proving destiny wrong. He became reckless. He thought he was invincible."
At this, Wu faltered, and his eyes grew distant, as though he was seeing something the rest of us could not. Misako still had a hand on his shoulder, and she looked at him with sympathetic eyes. When it appeared Wu wasn't going to continue, I figured I should pick up the narrative.
"When Sensei Wu finally put his foot down, Morro decided to leave and go looking for the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master."
"My grandfather's tomb?" Lloyd echoed, his eyes wide, "Why?"
"To prove he was worthy," I replied simply, "The First Spinjitzu Master left a message for Sensei Wu and Garmadon when he died, giving clues to where he was buried. Morro was determined to find it."
"But it is impossible," Wu cut in, his voice suddenly sharp, "My father left no message."
"He did, actually," I corrected the man as respectfully as I could, "It's on his staff; the one he gave to you."
Wu's eyes widened at this, and everyone glanced at the staff leaning against the table next to the sensei.
"There are symbols carved into the staff," I explained, "They'll give you the clues to find the tomb. We can check them out, and I'll explain them in a second, but to finish Morro's story; he didn't find the tomb. He died in the Caves of Despair."
At this, Wu's face collapsed into grief, but I pressed on quickly, "His spirit was sent to the Cursed Realm. When Garmadon sacrificed himself to free the Anacondrai generals to defeat Chen's army, Morro managed to slip out."
"Whoa, whoa, wait, what?!" Cole blurted out as everyone gave me alarmed looks, "Morro's ghost has been lurking around Ninjago for three months?!"
I blinked, "Uh, apparently? I didn't know it's been that long since Chen. Anyway, during his time in the Cursed Realm, he somehow figured out that the clues to the tomb are on Sensei's staff. He'll be coming for it, and Lloyd, once he's ready."
"Me?!" Lloyd squawked at the same time Kai surged to his feet.
"What does he want with Lloyd?!" The Fire Ninja demanded hotly, and I actually saw flames spark off his hands, blackening the wooden tabletop. Nya noticed too, and she slapped the boy's arm to get him to stop as I grimaced.
"The Green Ninja thing, remember?" I replied, "Think you, but multiplied by, like, twelve. He hates Lloyd for taking the title from him. Ghosts can possess things; his plan is to possess Lloyd and use him to get to the tomb. It's kind of a superiority complex," I added thoughtfully, "By controlling Lloyd, Morro hopes to control destiny."
"Thanks for the psychological analysis," Jay said sarcastically, "And just how are we supposed to fight this guy exactly?"
"I've been thinking about that," I answered, and a small note of smugness crept into my voice, "And I have a few ideas. First of all, ghosts can phase through and possess anything except water, deepstone, and Vengestone. Vengestone should be our first option since Morro is an Elemental Master. However, getting you guys, Lloyd especially, some deepstone armor should also be a priority. It will keep you from getting possessed. Vengestone and deepstone will be for containment and protection purposes, but our main offensive weapon is going to be water."
"So, what, do we need to get some squirt guns or something?" Kai asked. He sounded serious. I shrugged.
"Honestly, why not?" I responded, "Sure, it'll look kind of silly," I admitted at Cole and Jay's snickers, "But I don't see why it shouldn't be an option. Actually, it doesn't even have to be cheap plastic toys. I think Jay and Nya could totally rig up some weaponized water guns."
"You bet we could," Jay said, casting a smirk at Nya, who smirked back dangerously. My mouth twitched with the urge to grin as I focused my attention on the dark-haired girl. Time for a little fun.
"Really, though," I said with forced casualness, "Your best weapon is going to be a Master of Water."
"Wait, water is an element too?" Jay said, giving me a surprised look. I glanced at Wu and Misako from the corner of my eye, feeling a sense of twisted pleasure when I saw them give each other alarmed looks.
"Oh, yeah," I said, unable to resist grinning now, "You guys should have done your research on the Elemental Masters. The Master of Water was part of the alliance that fought in the Serpentine Wars. She ended up marrying the Master of Fire."
A beat. Then every head swiveled to look at Kai and Nya, who were suddenly staring at me with slack jaws.
"Surprise!" I exclaimed, "Anyway, if Kai inherited Dad's powers, guess who inherited Mom's?"
Another beat. Then Jay yelled in sheer glee, "HOLY FSM!"
Without a sound, Nya's eyes rolled back in her head, and she keeled over backwards. My heart lurched, but thankfully, Kai was quick enough to catch her before she fell off the bench. I started to snicker uncontrollably as the others glanced first at the unconscious Nya, then at me, all in various stages of shock and delight (the last one being mostly from Jay).
"I… I'm sorry," I managed to get out between giggles, "I figured it was the only reveal light enough that I could have fun with it."
"Wait, I'm sorry," Lloyd said, shaking his head in visible confusion, "I don't know if I got all that. Is Nya an Elemental Master of Water?"
"Yeah," I replied, finally settling down enough to talk normally, "She inherited her mom's powers. I'm not quite sure why the adults didn't think to say anything," I cut a side-eye at Misako and Wu, who both looked bashful, "Except it wasn't really necessary until now, but yeah; as the Master—or to be more grammatically correct, Mistress—of Water, Nya is going to be our best defense against ghosts. She'll probably be a little resistant to training at first, but—"
"Okay, Abby, can you maybe chill?!" Kai blurted out suddenly. I stopped, snapping my mouth shut as I gave the brunet a startled look. He didn't look… angry, per say. But he did look frustrated as he supported Nya against his shoulder.
"You're throwing a lot at us at once," The fire master continued as he grabbed a glass of water off the table and started to trickle a bit on Nya's face to wake her up, "Can we at least get a minute to process before we start planning?"
His words were like a lightning bolt shooting through my brain, and I suddenly became aware of the atmosphere in the room. Wu looked drained and tired, and everyone else seemed tense. Even Jay, who had gotten so excited about Nya being an Elemental Master, sobered up quickly when he also noticed the others' looks. My heart sank to my shoes, and I felt a sickening wave of guilt wash over me.
"Oh, gosh," I breathed, settling back in my seat as I looked over the group's painfully tight expressions, "I'm so sorry, guys. I didn't mean to…"
"You're just trying to help," Lloyd assured me gently as my voice petered out, "We get it. And we appreciate it a lot. But Kai's right; it's a lot to take in right now. Can we just have a bit of time to process it? We have time to plan for Morro later, right?"
"Um, yeah, of course," I said quickly, looking at my hands, "He's not supposed to show up for about a month, give or take, so we have time. I'm sorry to dump all of this on you guys at once. I've just had it on my mind a lot lately, and I…"
I stopped myself before I could make any more excuses. Because the truth was, I didn't have any. I should have known better than to rush things like this. While it was old news to me, this was all completely new to them. Not just new; traumatizing. Morro's return brought bad memories and heavy regrets for Wu, as well as life-changing revelations for the Smith siblings, Nya especially. It also brought new worries for Lloyd as he now had the threat of a vengeful ghost hanging over his head. I should have gone about it slower. I was just eager to get this burden off my chest.
The breakfast clean-up process was sober and silent. Kai managed to revive Nya, and the two disappeared, probably headed somewhere to talk. No one tried to stop them. Sensei Wu also left and stayed gone for the rest of the day. The mood from then on was tense and depressed, and I ended up spending most of my time with Lloyd and Zane, who were the only ones that seemed to be taking the news calmly. Cole spent most of the afternoon training furiously on deck, and when Kai finally emerged from Nya's room, the two sparred. I helped Zane make dinner.
Somehow, we went through the whole day without once speaking of the morning conversation. I knew we needed to continue the subject soon; I think everyone knew. But for now, I was more than happy to let them take their time and digest the information. It was the least I could do after making such a mess of things.
Abby: Imma help the Ninja by telling them the future.
Abby: *traumatizes everyone in fifteen minutes*
Abby: ...Well, that didn't go as planned.