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Chapter Text

Lloyd could only watch as Kai flied away with the Sword of Sanctuary. Morro screamed profanities, but the blonde didn't pay attention to the ghost. That was too close. His older brother almost died by his own hands. If he was late for even less than a second...

No.

He couldn't keep going like this.He couldn't waste all his strength fighting Morro's possession only to fail when it mattered most.

Morro dragged the green ninja's body through the icy maze. The body he resided in shivered from the cold. His limbs were heavy and slow, moving them drained his already dwindling energy as did having to power the vessel as a whole. His vision faltered at times, which was a nuisance at best and a weakness at worst. The pounding in his head had not stopped, no doubt Lloyd's own consciousness fighting for control, but Morro held him back with practiced ease. Though he would not admit it, he was stretched thin managing a body so unfamiliar, keeping it's rightful owner under his control and sustaining it with his own energy at the same time. At least the incessant boy had been quiet. Even his attempts at fighting back were so inconsequential he may as well not try at all! Morro would've relished in the fact he broke the so-called legendary green ninja if it weren't so...quick.

Whatever small sense of victory he felt was quickly crushed when he heard voices now oh so familiar.

The ninja.

Whatever remained of Lloyd's spirit perked up at the noise. The boy seemed to relax at the confirmation of his brothers' survival even as Morro could only seethe. That cave had killed him. Slowly. Painfully. That cave had been the reason he ended up in the hellscape he now called home and the pathetic four had survived it. Worse, it'd only delayed them by a few hours from catching up with Morro.

He was going to kill them.

Trapped. Fooled. By the red one of all. He leaned against the very ice that made up his 'cage', breathing labored. He despised this body and how weak it was. Were he not bound by it's limits, surely he would've slain the ninja by now.

"Everyone, dig!"

'Even idiots have uses though,' he mused. To think they were shouting the solution to the last riddle not even ten steps away from where he could hear them perfectly well. It was a miracle Ninjago was still standing. He waited for the ninja to disappear beneath the ice floor before using his powers and the Sword of Sanctuary to get out. The air in the labyrinth was cold and so, the wind bit into his borrowed skin with all the ferocity of a starving predator. Morro let those senses go. He had no need for them in the first place, really, he should have only taken control of this body's sight and hearing.

Really, this was getting better and better. They would take the Realm Crystal and suffer whatever curse First Master put on whoever would dare rob his resting place. Then they would hand it over.

He should have known, though. Destiny itself hated him for sure, so when he held the Sword of Sanctuary to his borrowed throat, he was pushed back. The blade fell to the ground with a clank and Lloyd crumbled to his knees, once again in control of his body.

"LLOYD!" the ninja shouted somewhere far beneath the possessed boy though neither the ghost nor his victim heard it. Both were preoccupied with fighting the other for control of the body.

'Impossible! I will not be defeated by the likes of you!'

"Shut up!" Lloyd gritted out. His strength of mind may have surpassed Morro now, but the toll on his body was still there. Truly, it was a wonder he was still conscious.

The spirit he trapped in his own mind fought back with anger and hatred but he was no longer as strong as when he first took control. When Lloyd rose from his position on the ground with great effort, the headache that struck him was so strong he stumbled like a drunken man. Morro seized the split moment he lost his focus. Blond hair darkened again and in the few moments of control he had the master of wind made blind steps if only to stabilize himself.

Instead the body both were fighting for slipped off the small edge it was standing on. Lloyd only barely managed to hold onto the edge but his grip was slipping. He looked at the rushing river below. There was not a single chance in all the sixteen realms that he would be able to hold on long enough for someone to save him.

'No!' Morro screamed, trapped once again, but it was too late. They were falling and the wind was not willing to help the son of Garmadon and he hit the water.

The cold was the first thing he felt. Then the stinging of the impact all over his body though that faded quickly enough. His soaked clothes seemed determined to drag him down.

'SWIM YOU FOOL!'

Lloyd did not have the strength to. He couldn't even hold his breath. Darkness crept into the corners of his vision and his lungs burned with the lack of air. He closed his eyes and did not open them again...

Chapter Text

Lloyd was pulled away from darkness by an invisible force in no direction. Whatever void he was in was gone and he was... on the Bounty. Though the shift had been sudden and unexpected, he would recognize the deck with his eyes closed.

"Talk." He screamed at the boy that appeared in his line of sight and made a few steps back, unfortunately falling flat on his back. "Tch. Pathetic," Morro all but snarled from where he stood above still-screaming Lloyd. He waited for a moment and when the screaming didn't stop, attempted to kick the blonde in the stomach. Lloyd rolled out of the way and stood up in the process, already in battle position.

"What are you- what are we doing here? And where are the others?" he demanded. If after all that happened Morro had managed to hurt his family more, he wasn't sure he'd be able to refrain himself. If the ghost so much as laid a hand on them, he was going to tear him limb by limb, ghost or not.

"This is your mind, twerp. Both of us are still in your head and there is noone at the front because your body decided it was lights out."

"I call bullshit. This is clearly the Bounty," Lloyd said though he found himself doubting it. The ship had crashed as a result of Morro's first attack and the one they were currently on? Not a single scratch. At least, nothing new. All the small imperfections of his home were still there but he found no new scratches, no mismatched wood from having to replace the floorboards in a hurry. Not to mention, his body should be in a worse state and-

Is that his old gi on him? How the fuck–

"You can't even lie to yourself." Morro huffed as though he heard Lloyd's uncertainty. "This is the manifestation of your mind created by itself for your brain to be able to process it. Trust me, you wouldn't be able to comprehend true intricacies of a mind."

"Can you go one second without insulting me?!"

"That's a fact, blondie. No mortal being can be confronted with their own mind in such a direct way without suffering consequences. This?" he gestured at their surroundings. "This is basically a defense mechanism your own mind conjured up so you wouldn't go insane."

"And is this normal when you're dying?" he asked. After all, the chances of his survival were little.

"You're nowhere near dying, idiot," Morro huffed.

"I fell into a river with a waterfall at the end. Green ninja or not, gravity will be fatal if I don't suffocate first," Lloyd pointed out.

"If you were dying, I would not be able to pull your soul back here. In fact, the moment you died, the water would've dispelled me out of your corpse."

"So what, the guys fished me out?"

"I see no other explanation." Morro shrugged. At least he wasn't dead. That was good. "Why thank you for pointing out the obvious," the ghost said. Lloyd squinted at the intruders in his head.

"Are you hearing my thoughts?" Upin receiving a nod, he sighed. Great. Not even his thoughts were safe. He hated this. "So we're both stuck here until I wake up." It was more a statement than question.

"Yes, so you have plenty of time to start explaining," Morro said.

"Explaining what?"

"Am I supposed to believe you got lucky? No, you were far too sure of yourself and I will find out what exactly that was," he said and Lloyd glared at him. Though there couldn't be any harm in confessing, he had no plans to do so. "You don't have to tell me. We're in your mind now. All I have to do is to make you think of it."

'Fuck,' Lloyd thought as Morro opened the door that should have led below deck. Instead there was a hall of doors with no end in sight and each door seemed to lead to a past event.

A memory.

And the one Morro was looking for? It was right there.

Lloyd groaned from his position on the floor of the vengestone cage. He didn't have the strength to move into a more comfortable one. It had been quite some time since he last had a meal. If the stuff from Ronin's fridge even could be called that.

He could remind Morro, of course. The first time the ghost was confronted with a weak body, Lloyd had reminded that it was a result of hunger and not a shortcoming on his end. And Morro had listened. He was not starving Lloyd out of malice but because he was out of experience on living and occupying a body.

He didn't tell Morro he was starving.

This was crucial for his plans. There were layers upon layers of control involved in possession and Morro seemed to be of opinion that he did not require some aspects of a body. His movements and most of his senses may have been taken but bodily needs were not among those. Morro thought he could rely on Lloyd to be a reminder and Lloyd was going to be the worst in the whole world.

After all, if Morro run himself dry to power an exhausted body, it would be much easier to regain control.

"Bastard. Starving yourself, making me power your body with my own energy... you're lucky I can't kill you here," Morro hissed as he slammed Lloyd into a wall. Lloyd bared his teeth at the ghost.

"Try me. I'm not afraid of you."

Morro smirked. "You literally screamed when you saw me."

"That's because you're ugly," Lloyd said. It wasn't the best of his insults, not that he was ever good at it if his Darkleys grades were anything to go by. Still, luck seemed to be on his side as his body decided to pull him back before Morro's fist could collide with his face. He didn't know whether he would feel pain in that mind place and he'd rather not find out.

He opened his eyes to familiar walls of the infirmary aboard the Bounty and Kai's worried face.

Chapter Text

"Lloyd!"

The boy was crushed in a hug as soon as he opened his eyes. It took him a moment to process it.

"Hey, Kai," he said, his voice raspy from having been forced to imitate a different one for so long.

"It's him!" the others cheered and they too joined the hug. Lloyd was swarmed by his siblings but he only minded his inability to hug them back. They would've stayed like that longer if not for...

"Sentimental much?"

Lloyd hadn't even noticed his control slip until it was Morro speaking. As though a switch had been flipped, the ninja all backed away from him, various weapons drawn.

"He is still here?!" Jay cried out, a giant shuriken in hand. It was the same type of weapon the other boys and Ronin used to fight ghosts. Weapons that worked.

"Unfortunately," Morro drawled. The ninja exchanged glances as the ghost continued to lay on the cot. He watched their movements but made none of his own.

"Scared to fight?" Kai taunted, unable to bear the tense silence anymore. He received a glare in return, an expression so foreign on his little brother's face it made him shift uncomfortably.

"In case you haven't noticed, this body is about two steps away from being on death's door."

"He is right," Zane affirmed, "Lloyd is in no state to move, much less fight. He is malnourished and in need of care."

"Did you starve him?!" As soon as Zane had finished speaking, Nya had turned to the ghost with fire in her eyes. Morro even flinched at the sudden hostility. It took Jay and Zane's combined efforts to hold her back. "You sick fuck–"

"I didn't do shit! If anything, it's his fault!" Morro denied the accusation. Lloyd remembered that now Morro and him were equally drained and so, pushed for control. It seemed Morro was all too happy to give it to him if only to get out of the way of Nya's ire.

"Lloyd?"

"Yeah...it's me again," he confirmed. His siblings all stared at him expectedly. He sighed, knowing hell would break loose once he confessed. "Technically, he did not starve me on purpose? I kinda let him? It's a long story."

"Explain. Now," Kai choked out and Lloyd wasn't sure if that was panic, fury or concern. Perhaps, all three. Still, he complied. Explaining the intricacies of his half-assed plan required explaining the complicated thing possession is and how Morro kinda sucks at living. That last bit earned him a headache he was sure had less to do with his body's current state and more to do with the unwanted guest in it. By the end of it Nya broke the pencil she was fiddling with in vain effort to not blow up and Kai left the room entirely. Lloyd could only assume he is trying go calm himself with the breathing exercises they were all taught by Wu early into their days as ninja. Which reminds him...

"Where is uncle? And mom?"

The two's absence had gone unnoticed by him when he woke up but now it was glaringly obvious.

"Shit," Jay muttered under his breath as he dashed for the door leading out of the infirmary.

"We weren't sure which green boy we were going to get, so they insisted on doing some research while you were unconscious," Cole explained. Lloyd couldn't look him in the eyes and he had about a thousand and one questions but he couldn't voice any of them either. So he nodded instead. "We were told to call them once you woke up."

"Is it wise to discuss that where Morro can hear us?" Zane whispered.

"It would take an idiot to not realize they're looking to exorcise me," Morro thought somewhere in the backseat and Lloyd was pretty sure he wouldn't have heard that had Morro wanted to hide his thoughts.

"What's there for him to do? He unpossesses Lloyd willingly and we're sending him back to that hellhole he crawled out of the hard way," Cole snarked.

"Exorcism is the hard way," Morro replied and Lloyd's unease grew with how easily Morro took control without Lloyd noticing. All three ninja present jumped at his voice but Lloyd was quick to reassure them. "Me again!"

"And I am glad to hear that," master Wu said and Lloyd grinned at his uncle as the elderly man entered. Following behind were Jay, Kai and his mother; the woman was quick to rush to his side to embrace him.

"Lloyd! My little boy!"

Lloyd was too happy to be back to be embarrassed but his cheeks still reddened at being fussed upon. Perhaps it's because of that that he didn't notice the pressure beneath his skin immediately. When it became so strong as to be impossible to ignore was when he leaned out of his mother's embrace with what little strength he had. It seemed the pressure subsided but his relief was momentary as it returned immediately with its strength tenfold. Whatever it was, his head felt like it was being turned inside out. The pain was blinding and nigh unbearable. He could only vaguely tell silhouettes fumbling over him and he was pretty sure a pained groan escaped his lips. Any moment now an alien would burst out of him for sure–

The pain was gone as suddenly as it had come and Lloyd gasped in relief.

Wait a minute. Not an alien. A–

'WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?'

–ghost.

"What was that?" he muttered, breathing heavily from the mental onslaught Morro had just unleashed on him.

"Lloyd? Greenbean you okay?"

"I...I think so? He did something weird. I don't–"

He was pushed aside once again.

"The hell you did to me!?" Morro screamed and had Lloyd not been sharing headspace with him for the past week or so, he wouldn't have detected that hint of panic cleverly masked beneath rage. Morro is afraid. And Lloyd couldn't help but panic as well because whatever in sixteen realms could scare this guy was a problem for sure. Especially if it had him feeling pain without Morro in control.

"Morro–"

"Release me!" Morro's emotions were so strong Lloyd couldn't even begin to think of where to look for weak spots to regain control. The wall of panic and fear that kept Lloyd in the backseat was less of a solid barrier Morro would intentionally put up and more of a storm. And Lloyd was in the center of it.

"Morro, calm down," Wu tried to soothe the ghost in control of his nephew's body as one would attempt to calm a spooked animal. The ravenette was not having it.

Neither was Kai. He grabbed the glass of water on the stand near the infirmary cot and splashed some on Lloyd's face. Or Morro's? Did being in control make it Morro's face?

For a moment there was silence only interrupted by Morro's heavy breathing. The team stared at Kai as though surprised he actually did that, still keeping part of their attention on Morro in case of an another outburst. Morro himself looked equally perplexed, blinking away the water in his borrowed eyes.

"Are you done?" Kai asked, an unamused frown on his face. Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "What were you doing with Lloyd just now?"

"And what got you so freaked out?" Cole added his own question.

"Trying to leave his body," Morro answered Kai first.

'That can't be right,' thought Lloyd. It wasn't like this before.

And as though to confirm him, Morro mumbled, "I couldn't leave...and I did not freak out!" The last part was said louder and clearly directed at Cole, who frowned but did not comment. He had a feeling Morro would forsake all caution to attack him if he did.

"What do you mean you can't leave?!"

It was Nya who raised her voice.

"Something's keeping me from leaving, that's what I mean!"

Zane stepped in before the two could start a shouting match. "I assume you have done this before. Were there any complications then?" he asked. Morro shook his head. "Do you have any ideas on what could be the cause?"

"If I knew, it wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

"There is no need to lash out, Morro. He was only making sure–"

"I don't care, old man," Morro hissed.

"Watch it! That's our master you're being rude to!" Jay exclaimed. Lloyd decided it was enough. He lunged for control and though Morro resisted, he managed it.

"Master Wu, do you know why it could be?" he asked. Surely his uncle had an explanation? He always did!

Wu could not bear to look at his nephew. The desperation in those red-green eyes was too similar to what he saw on another face decades ago.

'I'll train more! Learn more lessons!'

"I'm sorry..."

'...destiny has spoken.'

"But I promise, I will–"

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep."

The eyes that glared at him were a familiar shade of gray as dark as the sky during a storm. And Wu could only lower his head for how could he look in those eyes when the boy was right?

"Now listen here punk–"

"It's alright, Jay. He is right." the elderly man stopped his student. "We would not be here if not for my promises." Wu approached the boy on the infirmary cot and took his hand into his own. "I know I failed you, Morro. Not a day went by where I didn't think of what I could have done differently. And though it is unfair to expect you to give me another chance, I hope you do. I promise, to both of you, I will find a way to fix this no matter what it takes."

Morro stared at his former mentor, his thoughts unclear to all watching him.

"Lloyd believes you," he said at last and watched the mans face shift into a relieved smile. He pulled the hand Wu was holding out of the mans grip. "But I don't."

The smile was gone and yet Wu nodded. There would be no convincing the boy nor would it be right. So he stepped back. Fingers full of scars and wrinkles were stark white as they gripped the wooden staff, golden eyes cast to the floor.

"And who will you believe?"

It was Zane who broke the silence.

"What?"

"As I see it, both you and Lloyd feel... disturbed by the predicament you're in and while Lloyd can rely on everyone here to help him, you refuse to do so with the only person willing to show you kindness," Zane said, which earned him a huff from Morro. "And it seems that you have the advantage when it comes to maintaining control over Lloyd's body, so it is crucial that you do not try to harm him while you're under our care, be it mentally or physically." Zane paused as to let it sink in. "And the way I see it is to guarantee your safety too, so we can all cooperate. I ask again: who will you trust?"

"Not a student of Wu for sure."

"OH COME ON!" Jay exclaimed, hands thrown in the air. "Who do you want, the First Spinjitsu Master? Get over it."

"I will not listen to a man that tried to bite through a metal lock."

"Says the guy who died in a cave with two ways out right there–"

"JAY!" Even Kai sounded scandalized. Jay winced. "Too much?" he asked.

"Duh!" Cole replied.

"We're getting distracted," Kai said. "Jay's right, Morro's in no position to make demands. He will just have to take our word."

"I've seen firsthand just how well you did at protecting Lloyd. You don't have a great record of keeping promises either," Morro snapped. He could feel Lloyd's rage as the words left his mouth, the attempt at regaining control of the body. He pushed all of himself into keeping the boy at bay. He needed to finish this conversation.

"By the Master, you're so lucky we don't want to hurt Lloyd," Jay murmured under his breath.

"Ugh! If you're not going to take their word, will you take mine?" Nya spoke up. All eyes turned to her. "I'm not a part of the boy band. Therefore, not a student of Wu."

"Nya-"

"Sure," Morro agreed. Whatever the ninja were about to say was forgotten in favor of Morro's agreement.

"But," Nya began, "I am doing this for Lloyd, not you. And I expect you to behave. You will not so much as breathe without supervision and you will not try anything while you're here. Understood?"

Morro nodded. "Reasonable. I agree, though I do expect fair treatment as well." The last part was said in blue ninja's direction, who just shrugged.

"Then it's settled. Until we find a way to separate him from Lloyd, Morro shall be our...guest."