Chapter 1: we will return for you
Chapter Text
Kai didn’t know how long he’d been here.
The cell sat at the end of a long, dead corridor, sealed in silence, alien technology, and steel. No footsteps. No light. No air. Just the low hum of energy pulsing through the collar on his neck and the weight of chains resting across his bruised and bloodied body.
This wasn’t a cage for someone like him. It was clearly built specifically to contain power. To destroy the divinity that comes with the status of the Green Ninja. Power that Kai was never meant to have….he can only hope that he wears the lie long enough to keep Lloyd and the others alive.
And now he sat in a cage meant for a legend, while the real one was out there, free, but hunted. But alive. Alive and breathing, with a fighting chance.
He wasn’t sad. He was angry.
Angry at the prophecy. At fate. At whatever cruel force kept dealing them the losing hand and calling it destiny. Why them?
His fingers were still scraped, dirt lining the cracks, reminders of the last fight. He would do it again. He would.
Lloyd’s face wouldn’t leave him.
The memory came in flashes, sharp and fast:
Sirens screamed through the air as Ninjago trembled, bowing to the presence of an enemy wielding unimaginable power.
The prophecy had been unveiled to Wu too late. The enemy had taken the city within the hour, leveling buildings and orchestrating massacres. Never before had Ninjago witnessed such atrocities. The Ninja barely had time to retaliate. How were they to protect others, when they were in a position of which they couldn’t even protect themselves?
Regardless, they tried. The Ninja pressed forward, cutting their way through the gory streets, littered with dead bodies. Citizens they couldn’t save. Each step a battle against the very ground beneath them. Every corner they turned, every building they passed, seemed to offer more of the same; soldiers that were more like demons than men, their eyes hollow, their movements unnaturally precise. Their armor glinted in the dim, smoke-choked air, and their weapons flashed with deadly intent.
Lloyd swung his sword, knocking one of the soldiers to the ground. These weren’t the serpentine like they were used to. Weren’t ghosts or djinns. These creatures were stronger and faster, each one seemingly fueled by a dark power beyond mere strength.
"Something’s controlling them," Kai grunted, blocking an incoming strike with his katanas. He stumbles, but steadies himself before he falls. He didn't have to say it- everyone felt it. This wasn’t just a force of nature; this was manipulation and… a feeling of dread fills Kai’s heart. Maybe even possession. How were they being controlled?
Wu’s eyes swept the chaos, his eyes narrowing as he processed the patterns of the soldiers' movements. "The leader must be nearby," he said. "If we can find their source, we can end this."
Nya’s water whip lashed out, sending a soldier crashing into a nearby wall. "Then let's find him before we end up in pieces.”
The Ninja pressed on, cutting through the enemy ranks with the kind of fluidity forged only through years of battle. With every step, the soldiers multiplied, flooding the streets like a wave of darkness. There was no time to slow down—not now.
Then it kept getting worse.
Jay was shot in the shoulder by snipers, Nya struggling to keep watching her back and his. Cole was starting to sway, dizzy with blood loss. Panic was starting to settle in, as Kai watched his family get hurt one by one. He himself was dealing with wounds, blood oozing from somewhere within his torso. Kai glanced back at Wu, and for the first time in years - or, perhaps forever - Kai had seen fear on his face. Kai’s mind echoed the prophecy.
"When light bends to the will of the dark, the heavens will be torn open… and the Green Ninja will fall.”
They couldn’t give up, not now. Giving up mean that the light (whatever that meant) would bend. It would mean that Lloyd would fall. Their baby brother. Kai knew the others realized this too, the way their eyes still shone with fierce determination and anger, despite their bloodied bodies.
The fight continued. Dead bodies kept piling up - men, women children. The nausea Kai felt was overwhelming.
But the soldiers kept coming, relentless and unyielding. Just as Kai and the others managed to miraculously push forward, hoping to retrieve a moment of rest, a chilling laugh echoed through the smoke, freezing them in their tracks. The Ninja paused, sensing the presence before they laid their eyes him.
There, at the center of it all, stood a tall figure, red eyes and a chilling smile. He slowly raised his hand in a ’stop’ motion, sending a pulse of energy around him. All of his soldiers froze in place, including the ones currently engaged in combat with the ninja. Kai and the others backed away slowly, regrouping together.
Wu muttered something under his breath. Kai watched as Lloyd looked at his teammates, then at Kai, and then down at Kai’s blood soaked gi. All of their gi’s were soaked in blood.. they could’ve all passed as red ninjas. It was disgusting. It was terrifying.
Kai watched as something in Nya snapped, posture stiffening. Her temper was always the shortest. Kai vaguely remembered telling her that she needed to be careful - it could get her killed.
Before Kai could snap back into reality and stop her, she was yelling at the figure, demanding him to stand down.
“What do you want from us” Nya had asked, fist clenched in anger. The water around them rose, towering over the battlefield.
The figure, which Kai now knows as Scourge, cackled. His voice boomed, across the battlefield turned graveyard. .
This time it was Lloyd who asked again, voice full of primal rage, “ What the fuck do you want from us!?” His tone lingering on the dangerous line between a question and a threat . It was the kind of anger that caused a person to lose control.. His eyes glowed with an intensity that suffocated even Kai.
For a moment, the figure stared. But the silence was short lived.
The figured waited before answering. “Not us. ” he replied, voice was low, venomous. “Just.. one of you,”
Scourge grinned wider. “Hand over the Green Ninja”.
Everyone around him froze. Kai realized two critical things:
1) If he didn’t do something right now, his family would get slaughtered.
2) Scourge did not know Lloyd was the Green Ninja. Because if he did, he wouldn’t have asked for the Green Ninja, when said Green Ninja was standing in front of him.
The city was burning, the sky bruised with ash, and the prophecy screaming in his skull. ..the sky will open… and the Green Ninja will fall.
Kai hadn’t thought. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He didn’t need to think, muscle memory pushing him forward, in front of Lloyd. He shoved Lloyd back harder than he meant. “It’s me, it’s me. I’m the Green Ninja.” His voice cracked, raw with emotion, each word heavier than the last. It wasn’t just a declaration; it was the only way he could save them.
Wu’s gaze met Kai’s. For a heartbeat, the world went still.The sight of Wu’s raw, heartbroken expression hit Kai like a physical blow. His chest tightened, and he felt a lump rise in his throat- something thick and painful. But Kai had already decided.
Lloyd’s voice broke in immediate protest.
“Kai! NO!”
Zane’s cry followed, panic invading his usually calm tone. Nya screamed his name and it tore his heart in two. Jay’s shout was laced with disbelief, and Cole swore, pushing forward too late. They couldn’t stop him. It was done. Kai once again looked at Wu.
Wu’s eyes were filled with love and grief. The kind that only a father could carry. And beneath it, an unspoken promise, consisting of five words: we will return for you.
Wu raised his hands, slow and deliberate, akin to a final farewell. His gold, radiant energy crackled in the air. It was like the very essence of time itself. It was something older. Something more final.
And then it burst forth in a shockwave of light, knocking Scourge’s soldiers back. The earth shook beneath them, and the chaos around them expanded tenfold. Scourge’s soldiers staggered, but the explosion was only a brief moment in the war. They had to keep going. Scourge growled, watching the others slip through the chaos, escaping.
Scourge screamed, the sound of his fury shaking the very ground beneath them. “Do not let the others leave” The terror in his voice was palpable now, every syllable an explosive demand, driven by a madness that cracked in his voice.
The soldiers surged forward at his command, relentless, but it was too late. The others had escaped. Kai had bought them time.
Kai’s heart clenched as he heard the voices of his family fading away. They were free. They were safe.
—————
Kai buries his face in his hands, the chain clattering against the floor. He hopes his lie holds up long enough for the others to fight back.
Chapter 2: what a fucking joke
Notes:
uh tw suicide? not rlly tho bc he doesnt die but still
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Morro reloads his rifle, the quiet click of the bullet slipping into place echoing through the training room. Scourge’s ship-turned-palace had expanded, giving Morro enough space to train without constant interruption.
He shifts his stance, steadies his aim. The dummy springs forward.
Headshot.
Outside, the ground rumbles from another round of distant explosions. Morro exhales, and then stiffens at the uncomfortable feeling. He was still getting used to his human body- no longer the skinny, frail boy Wu had once sheltered. Another explosion, and the nearby shelves shake enough for the items placed on them to fall. Was Scourge really planning to level all of Ninjago? Dramatic, even for him. At least back when Morro was hunting Lloyd the old-fashioned way, things got done. Kind of? Not that he’d ever go back to that. Morro tells himself he’s changed (has he?)
Someone knocks at the door.
The door creaks open behind him to reveal one of Scourge’s generals. He looks terrified. He should be, granted he was actively disrupting Morro’s ‘free time’.
“Commander Morro?”
Morro doesn’t answer. He raises the rifle again, not aiming at the idiot in the doorway….yet. He’s ready for that to change.
“Commander. Please.” The man shifts uncomfortably, as if itching to rely some life changing news. You know, as if Morro’s life hadn’t changed enough since Scourge had destroyed the Departed Realm, found Morro, and demanded he join his army. Told him he’d be a valuable asset. Over wind powers. What a fucking joke.
In retaliation, Morro tried to kill himself multiple times, but Scourge had placed some horrid spell on him. Turns out Morro’s revival spell won’t let him die.
Morro ended up going along with the joke anyway when Scourge revealed he was a powerful psychotic bastard trying to hunt down someone called the Green Ninja, from Ninjago. Morro had considered this a perfect redemption arc - he could infiltrate his ranks, and once Scourge ripped enough realms and made it to Ninjago, he could help the ninja- hell, maybe even establish peace with them- and then ask Wu to undo his curse and finally let him die. God, living is hard work.
Morro almost forgets about the man in the doorway.
“What?” Morro snaps, finally turning. “Spit it out.”
The general swallows. “Our Lord has captured the Green Ninja. Sir.”
———————
The bathroom door slams hard behind him. Morro leans back against the cold wall, shaking.
Our Lord has captured the Green Ninja.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Lloyd? No way. Scourge couldn’t have taken him down that easily. He’s the Green Ninja. The only one who’s supposed to stand a chance. What the hell happened? Where the fuck were the others?
This was bad. Beyond bad. A complete disaster.
Morro stares at his reflection in the mirror. The boy Master Wu sheltered isn’t there. Nor is the jealous shell of a man that the ninja had once faced. He doesn’t know who he is anymore. But he knows one thing- he has to pull it together. Fast.
Lloyd’s not just the key. He is the plan. Morro knew that Scourge would come for Lloyd, and therefore Ninjago - after all, the lunatic had ripped apart the Departed Realm looking for said green ninja. This was supposed to be Morro’s ultimate redemption mission, he had thought, to prove to himself he was still worthy of something. To tear it all down from the inside.
Outside, trumpets blare.
The royal assembly. Of course. Scourge was going to make a show of it- Lloyd’s execution, probably. A warning. A message.
The only reason Scourge wants Lloyd gone is because he knows what only a select few do: Lloyd’s the only one who can stop him.
Kill or be killed.
Morro steps out of the bathroom, his mask sliding back over his face. No one can know he’s involved. Lloyd can’t see him, and Scourge can’t suspect him. If Morro plays this right, he might convince Scourge that keeping Lloyd alive is more useful. Let the rebels rally around their symbol, give them hope-and then rip it away.
It’s ruthless, cruel, and frankly quite disgusting. Morro doesn’t recall sinking this low in his revenge days, but it’s exactly the kind of thing Scourge would go for.
Morro joins the other three commanders at the front of the assembly hall as the heavy gates creak open. Morro steels himself to face the body he had once possessed.
He looks up subtly, expecting green eyes and blonde hair.
But what he sees instead makes him freeze.
Brown hair, soaked and clinging to a battered face. Red-rimmed, swollen eyes. Shoulders heaving as he staggers forward, half-dragged by the soldiers.
Morro’s breath catches. Shit.
Morro stiffens, every muscle in his body locking up as the guards drag the boy into the chamber.
Brown hair. Not blonde. Tan skin. Scar by his eyebrow. Not Lloyd.
It’s Kai. It’s fucking Kai.
And Morro's stomach turns to ice- Scourge doesn’t know.
He doesn’t know what the Green Ninja looks like.
Of course he doesn’t. Why would he? The prophecy was never visual- just a vague, ancient babble. Light, bending, the green ninja, blah blah blah. No one ever said he’ll be blonde, young, irritatingly noble, and self-sacrificing to a fault.
Scourge saw a ninja. Angry, confident, and unyielding.
He thinks Kai is the Green Ninja. He thinks Kai is Lloyd.
And for a split second, the old bitterness bubbles up.
That was supposed to be me.
He buries the thought immediately, but it still hurts. He'd clawed his way back from the edge, told himself he was done chasing this bullshit. God, he needs to get his shit together.
He blinks again, taking in the scene around him.
Not Lloyd. Not the chosen one, favored by destiny. Just Kai. The one who promised to protect Lloyd back then, in the early stages of his possession. God, why does everything go back to possession?
Morro's hands are sweating beneath his gloves, mask suddenly too tight on his face. He forces himself to stay still. Breathe. Think.
Kai looks wrecked. Scourge's men probably waterboarded him to hell. But he's alive.
Which means Lloyd’s still out there.
Alive.
Hope kicks Morro in the ribs so hard he almost doubles over. He catches himself, adjusts his stance. Scourge will find out, he’s not stupid. He’s going to get intel sooner or later from the scouts he had sent out and everything will go to shit. Maybe.
Kai lifts his head just enough. Eyes bloodshot, unfocused. Doesn’t recognize him.
Good.
Morro doesn’t know what he’d do if Kai recognized him here, standing beside the bastards who did this. Wearing the same colors and the same armor.
But Kai doesn’t see him. Not yet.
Morro watches him, and his eyes lay on the soldiers as those idiots cheer at the capture of the ‘Green Ninja’. A role Morro was born craving and died resenting.
If I’d been chosen. If I’d been good enough. If Wu hadn’t—
He cuts it off. Not the time.
Stay focused.
If Scourge kills Kai now…. Morro would lose a potential ally.
But if Morro plays this right, if he convinces Scourge that killing him later will crush Ninjago more completely...then they still have a shot. Scourge will find out the truth about Kai soon, but Morro will just have to figure out another way to prevent him from murdering the Elemental Master of Fire.
’They’ still have a shot. As if Kai would ever partner with him. But for Lloyd’s sake, maybe. Just maybe.
Morro’s voice is smooth, his tone even as he stands in the room, eyes locked on Scourge, waiting for direction. “What are your orders, my Lord?”
Notes:
sorry guys im still new at this and idk if this is looking too good
Chapter 3: keep him alive
Chapter Text
Wind knows when to move, when to wait, and when to roar.
Morro has learned the art of control: of maintaining composure no matter what. And there’s no room for hesitation here. His attention once again, briefly flickers to Kai, standing before them, soaked and beaten. Morro doesn’t let it show. He doesn’t let his gaze linger too long, but for a brief second, there’s something. Something that catches in his chest; maybe it’s respect, born from Kai’s refusal to sell out Lloyd despite everything.
Morro dreamed of this as a child - becoming the Green Ninja, Wu by his side and maybe having someone like Kai on his team. Someone with unconditional loyalty. A team that stood behind him no matter what.
Lloyd truly did have it all.
-----
Scourge’s smile spreads, a look that’s equal parts satisfaction and cruelty. He seems to have ignored Morro’s question about future orders, instead moving slowly towards Kai.
“The Green Ninja is ours." Scourge says, eyeing Kai like a predator circling its prey.
Suddenly, Kai jerks forward, eyes brimming with hatred. “ Fuck. You."
Scourge brightens, and then shoves Kai down on his knees, pulling him by the hair.
“You’re in no position to be making such demands, sweetheart,”
Kai makes no response, but his expression is telling enough, evidently repulsed.
Scourge then straightens up and turns to Morro, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips. “What do you think, Commander? Shall we keep this feisty thing alive and let the rebels believe they still have their hero? After all, there's no pleasure in killing the hopeless.”
Relief sweeps through Morro, body relaxing ever so slightly.
well, at least now I don't have to bring it up.
Morro words are careful, measured. “Yes, my Lord. Keep him alive. Let them believe he’s still a symbol. The resistance will rally around him, and when they’re at their peak, we crush them. We will emerge victorious.”
Scourge’s smile widens, a flash of approval in his eyes. “Good. That’s exactly what I had in mind.”
He turns back to Kai, his hands on his neck, as if he owns Kai now. The way Scourge’s fingers move, just lightly grazing, feels deliberate-like a threat veiled in pleasure. The tension in the room is thick, and Morro can’t help but feel something stir deep inside him; an uneasy discomfort, perhaps, or maybe something more. He forces it down.
“You’ll choke on your victory,” Kai snarls, voice rough. His pupils are blown, and blood stains his teeth, but he still manages to look Scourge in the eye.
Scourge’s smile doesn’t falter. In fact, it deepens. He leans in just enough for Kai to feel the weight of his breath on his skin.
“Let’s hope you’re alive to see it,” he whispers.
Then, without breaking eye contact, Scourge motions lazily to the guards. They seize him by the arms, dragging a half-conscious Kai outside of the assembly room, closing the door behind them. Scourge turns back, facing his commanders.
“Be seated.”
Morro takes his seat beside Scourge, a privilege given to him alone. The other three commanders sit further, a reflection of their lesser status. Kaeya, Stelle, and Reyna.
Morro was the most feared.
His role was to be stationed at the palace- not as a bystander, but as Scourge’s shadow of authority. His presence alone was a warning. He didn’t need to bark commands or draw his rifle to keep the other commanders in line. His role was simple: observe, ensure obedience, and crush dissent before it had the chance to take root. Of everyone in the room, only Morro possessed power formidable enough to unsettle Scourge.
Commander Kaeya is the second most favored. He had earned his place through an intricate web of intelligence networks and espionage. He is the biggest threat to Kai’s lie - thus, to an extent, also his life.
Commanders Reyna and Stelle were brutal in the way weapons are. They commanded the battalions marching on Ninjago City- and every other realm Scourge had destroyed. It would likely be them that would face resistance from the other Ninja, if any. They were responsible for most of the blood spilled during the invasion. Intentionally spilled- both commanders loved a spectacle.
Scourge leaned back in his chair, the dim light reflecting his red eyes. “Reyna. Stelle. Report.”
Reyna stood first, her shoulder armor shifting. She spoke with the calm detachment of someone who had long since stopped viewing bodies as anything more than obstacles.
"The districts of Ninjago City have been neutralized. Civilian resistance was insignificant. We executed the firebombing protocol before the second wave arrived. Survivors were... minimal." Her voice didn’t waver, didn’t flinch. "We expect full submission from the outlying sectors within seventy-two hours."
Then came Stelle. She stepped forward with surgical precision, the hard lines of her helm gleaming under the low lights.
“We intercepted resistance near the eastern quarter. Local populations are… diverse. Not only humans, but other snake-like specimen. Unpredictable, but manageable.” A beat. “No confirmed sightings of the remaining Ninja.”
Reyna looked to Scourge then, voice dropping slightly.
“Doesn’t matter. They know they can’t hide.”
The air shifted.
Scourge’s fingers curled once against the armrest. Not in surprise-but in satisfaction.
“Good. Smoke them out.”
Reyna and Stelle saluted in unison, the motion unquestioning.
Scourge directed his attention to Commander Kaeya.
“Rise.”
The intelligence commander rose without hesitation, his armor reflecting nothing- it was designed to vanish rather than impress.
“I want everything,” Scourge said, voice low and lethal. “Every whisper. Civilian reports. Surveillance footage. Social networks. See if our scouts have anything to value to say”
Kaeya’s mouth curved into a faint smile as he activated the interface on his gauntlet.
“As you wish, my lord. However… if I may,” he said, voice smooth, “I’d like to indulge a curiosity.”
That caught Morro’s attention. He turned his head slightly, subtly. Kaeya never ‘indulged’ in curiosities.
what the fuck?
Scourge didn’t react at first. Then, slowly, he leaned back into his seat-interested.
“Speak.”
Kaeya’s eyes glinted.
“The prophecy speaks of the Green Ninja standing unbroken at your ruin. Wouldn’t it be wiser, then… to kill him now?”
A hush swept through the chamber, subtle but real. Morro wanted to grab his rifle and watch Kaeya's face bleed.
Scourge’s expression didn’t change. But his tone, when he spoke, was laced with amusement.
“And fulfill it?” he said simply.
He rose from his seat, slow and controlled, the movement itself a warning. His voice filled the chamber, calm but chilling.
“‘Darkness will reign, and his shadows will overwhelm the heavens.… but when the dust settles, the Green Ninja will stand unbroken over his ruin.’”
He let the words hang in the air for a moment. “That’s not a prophecy. That’s a challenge.”
He began to pace, the heavy sound of his boots echoing.
“If I kill him now, I give those words meaning. It gives the people something clean. A death to mourn. A reason to fight.”
He turned, eyes sweeping across the chamber.
“But if I leave him alive-if I tear down everything he loves, everything he believes in-then there’s no victory. No prophecy.”
Then, colder:
“His team shares the burden of prophecy. If one stands, the prophecy breathes. So they all die.”
A beat.
“I will reign. The heavens will darken. The dust will settle- but there will be no ruin to stand over."
Notes:
hi
Chapter 4: unfortunately, it is i
Chapter Text
“Talk amongst yourselves,” Scourge said finally, his voice a quiet command dressed as a suggestion.
He stepped down from elevated platform, glancing once at the high wall of glass behind them, where distant plumes of fire still rose over Ninjago City.
Then, without another word, he vanished down the shadowed corridor behind his throne, doors hissing shut behind him.
Silence followed.
maybe he's off to fuck with Kai again.
Morro swallowed the sick twist that thought brought him.
Whatever he’s doing, it won’t be simple. It never is. Scourge didn’t move without purpose. Every step he took, every word he said, every delayed order-it all spiraled into some grand design most were meant to see the edges of.
But Morro wasn’t most.
He watched the patterns and shifts in tone. The weight behind every word. The others followed orders; Morro studied intent.
That was his edge.
He shifted his stance slightly, letting the silence stretch another breath longer, before speaking:
“Start talking,” he said flatly, finally addressing the room. “We’re not here to silently fantasize about victory. We’re here to ensure it.”
To Morro’s dismay, It’s Kaeya who speaks up.
“It’s only been twenty-four hours since the invasion. We’re still rooting through the wreckage of broken infrastructure. The old city systems: police networks, civilian alerts, emergency comms, they're all fractured. Most were crushed due to our explosives in the first twelve hours.”
“You’re welcome,” Reyna muttered, not bothering to look up.
Morro’s glare cut through the air like a blade.
Shut the fuck up.
She caught it instantly, her smirk faltering, posture drawing in. No one else acknowledged the exchange.
The room dimmed slightly as Kaeya moved on and swiped his fingers across the interface. The central map flared to life with a soft hum, revealing shifting holographics above the obsidian table. It wasn’t just a map. It pulsed with live data: patrol routes, heat signatures, audio spikes. Surveillance drones swept silently across the display, tagged with precision flight paths. Region markers flickered with threat levels. Varying colors for varying threats.
He zoomed in on multiple parts of the map, where blank sectors blinked with static.
“We don’t have a complete read on everything yet. Some local tech nodes are either destroyed or buried. Survivors are isolated- either surrendered or trying to reach out to the Ninja. Our sweep teams are combing the blackout zones, but until the deep scans finish mapping the lower tunnels and outer regions, we can’t confirm where all resistance pockets might be. And, Ninjago City itself isn’t fully secured. There are sectors near the docks and industrial ruins that we are blind in.”
Commander Stelle was quick with it. “As discussed, we’ll have the outlying sectors secured within seventy-two hours. I trust intelligence can manage the wait-considering it’s not their operatives wading through fire,"
Kaeya didn’t look up from the map as he spoke, his tone dispassionate.
“Of course. I trust your timeline is as reliable as your targeting systems: broad, loud, and just imprecise enough to turn half the city into signal-dead rubble.”
He swiped the interface again, static expanding across several sectors.
“Half my surveillance feeds are trying to scan through scorched foundations. If intelligence seems delayed, it's because there's nothing left to read.”
Reyna let out a quiet scoff, arms crossed, voice low and sharp.
“Maybe next time intelligence can march in first- see how far your data streams get without someone clearing the way.”
The tension crackled, but Morro didn’t raise his voice.
He didn’t need to.
He simply looked up.
The room quieted. Reyna’s jaw locked. Stelle straightened. Even Kaeya’s hands stilled above the interface.
Morro took this as his cue to speak.
“If the city’s on fire, it's because we lit it. If the map’s unreadable, adapt. No more posturing.”
Silence.
Kaeya then pulls up an interface of multiple faces.
“I’ve scattered agents across secured zones in Ninjago City, posing as ordinary civilians. Until they check in, we’re operating on assumption, not fact.”
Morro leaned forward, arms folding over the edge of the obsidian table.
“And beyond the city?”
His voice was quiet but it carried, threaded with intent, not inquiry.
Kaeya continues.
“We’ve begun sending drones to conduct preliminary sweeps into the surrounding terrain. We’ve found villages along the ridge line, minor settlements near the southern cliffs.”
Stelle nods," Once the last industrial sectors are secured, we can move inland.”
She gestured toward a cluster of flickering points beyond the city's edge- an area marked only with vague labels like subterranean zones.
Reyna picked up without missing a beat. “ A few scattered villages and no expected defense. They won’t hold.”
Morro didn’t blink. His eyes lingered on the southern ridge markers. Too close to a certain speck of land not yet labeled.
Reyna continued, her voice sharper now.
“If the Ninja regroup, it won’t be in the wreckage. It’ll be somewhere familiar. Defensible. I believe they have a base. And, if I had to guess, it’s probably further inland, near rough mountain or sea terrain.”
The monastery.
Morro responds immediately.
“If they’re rational, they’ll stay mobile. Fragmented. Anything else would be a liability. They know that the moment they retreat to the ‘base', they paint a target on their backs.”
Kaeya hesitated just a second too long.
“Unless they’re counting on that,” the intelligence commander said carefully. “Letting us come to them. A stand: controlled, theatrical. Something to rally what’s left of the city.”
Morro turned to face him fully this time.
shut him down
“I don’t waste artillery on theatrics.”
Morro then paused, as if putting emphasis on his next words.
“Unless, of course… you’re suggesting we should.”
The implication hovered. Clinical, almost curious.
Kaeya didn’t answer right away. His jaw tightened.
“…No,” he said finally. “Just offering the scenario.”
Morro turned back to the map.
“Good. Then we’ll proceed with the real ones.”
Commander Stelle gave a short nod, arms folding behind her back.
“Agreed. A centralized regrouping would be tactically unsound. They’d be inviting a siege, and they know it. The smart move is fragmentation. Small cells, scattered movements, terrain advantage.”
Her tone was clipped.
“We focus on pressure and isolation. If they’re out there, we’ll corner them piece by piece.”
Reyna nodded, and Kaeya stayed silent. Morro counted it as a win. He rose, and the others immediately stood after him.
Morro had better things to do.
“Dismissed.”
———————--------------------------------
The door creaked open, slow and deliberate.
No barking guard this time. No metal-tipped boots. No sloshing basin.
Just the quiet sound of hinges.
Kai tensed. Every nerve flared to life. His head lifted from where it had slumped against the wall, stiff and aching. Every breath tugged at cracked ribs. The collar at his neck scraped softly as he shifted.
A figure stood in the doorway, masked.
Not a guard.
But not Scourge either.
The figure didn’t speak. Didn’t move like he owned the place, either. He stepped inside slowly, silently. Like he was trying not to wake something.
Kai tracked every movement.
“Hey,” he rasped, voice thick. “They send you to watch me starve?”
No response.
Kai pushed off the wall. Pain bloomed hot down his spine, as he struggling to stand upright. He managed to somewhat stand , daring the figure to come closer.
The stranger knelt beside the bars and set something down: a bowl-still steaming-and a flask of water.
Kai’s stomach twisted.
His eyes locked on the flask.
Water.
His pulse spiked.
He remembered the hands. The screaming. The drowning, without ever leaving dry ground.
Revulsion hit like a slap. He recoiled instantly.
“I don’t want it!” he snapped, voice sharp and raw. “You hear me? I don’t want it!”
He slammed his fists against the bars, chest heaving, breath fast and shallow.
Still nothing.
But now that the figure was closer, it was even through his panic that Kai noticed something was off.
Not quite a guard’s uniform. The colors echoed Scourge’s ranks, but the armor reflected high status. The mask was too clean. The stance was… familiar.
And the eyes (the only part visible) weren’t cruel. Just... watching. Measuring.
Kai’s chest tightened.
The figure straightened but didn’t move away. Didn’t speak for a while.
Then, quietly:
“You weren’t supposed to be in this cell.”
Kai stiffened.
The voice. Not quite familiar-but it crawled down his spine like a forgone recognition.
“What?” he breathed.
A pause.
“You weren’t the target.”
Kai blinked. His brain was slow, fogged. Trying to catch up.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The figure stayed still, then repeated himself.
“You weren’t the target.”
“…No. I am. I was. I am the Green Ninja.”
“No."
Kai staggered back, heartbeat climbing.
“I am,” he repeated, louder now. “I AM the Green Ninja!”
The stranger stayed expressionless.
“No, you’re not, Kai.”
Kai flinched like he’d been struck.
He took a step back, eyes wide now, breath catching in his throat. The room felt smaller suddenly, like the walls were pressing in.
He didn’t know this man. Who is he? Kai didn’t say anything.
How did he know?
His heart slammed against his ribs. He felt like he was drowning all over again.
“No,” Kai snapped, louder this time, voice climbing into panic. “You’re wrong. I am the Green Ninja. I-”
He forced the words out like armor, like if he said them enough, they’d be believed again.
“I am, damn it! You think you know so much-then prove it!”
His voice broke on the last word, raw with fear- not for himself, but for the one he ended up here protecting.
Lloyd.
He thought of Lloyd. Of green eyes and quiet strength. Of the boy who is, thankfully, anywhere but here.
“Tell me,” Kai shouted. “If I’m not the Green Ninja? Then who is? Huh?”
His hands clenched, trembling. His whole body on edge. Daring the figure to lie. Daring him to confirm the worst.
The figure didn’t move.
For a moment, Kai thought he wouldn’t answer at all.
Then, barely above a whisper:
“…Lloyd Garmadon.”
Kai’s heart dropped.
Cold dread swept in, crashing over whatever defiance he had left. His mouth went dry.
He hadn’t said Lloyd’s name once. Not since the capture. Not since the beating. Not even under water.
Not when they held him down, when his lungs screamed, when his vision blurred, between the drowning and the dark.
He’d swallowed blood before he’d ever given up that name.
So how-?
His stomach turned. If this stranger knew the truth, then-
“Don’t,” Kai snapped, voice raw with panic. “Don’t say his name.”
Kai’s voice cracked, dried out by fear. He tried again, softer this time. Smaller. “Does Scourge know?”
Morro didn’t hesitate.
“What would you do if he did?”
Kai froze.
His breath hitched, the question ringing in his skull. He didn’t have an answer, but only because there was no good one.
Fight? Break out? Die trying?
It wouldn’t matter. Not if Lloyd was already in Scourge’s hands. Not if this- whatever this was- had all been for nothing.
Kai clenched his jaw, a flicker of desperation behind his eyes.
“Then I’d burn this whole damn place down,” he hissed angrily.
Morro exhaled slowly. Not quite a sigh. Not quite steady.
“You’d protect him,”
Even now. Morro thought. Even in chains.
Kai’s breath caught.
There was no mockery in the words. Just something low and frayed- something like envy.
Morro stepped closer to the bars, the shadows swallowing everything but the strange glint of his eyes.
Kai didn’t speak. Couldn’t. The cell felt colder now, as if wind had picked up.
“Scourge doesn’t know. But he’ll find out soon,”
Then Morro added, more measured:
”But I’m trying to delay it."
“What?”
“I’m trying to buy us time. Buy them time."
Kai’s brow furrowed.
None of this made sense.
This man was supposed to be working for Scourge. He wore the colors, walked the halls. And yet… he hadn’t raised a weapon. Hadn’t called for guards.
He stared at the masked face, searching for something, anything.
“Who are you?” he asked finally.
Morro didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he reached up-slowly, deliberately-and unhooked the clasp beneath his chin.
Kai tensed, breath caught in his throat.
The mask came off with a quiet scrape of metal against fabric.
And there he was. The face was no stranger.
It was worse than that.
It was known.
Kai stared at him, blood rushing in his ears.
“Morro,” he whispered, in heavy disbelief.
Morro gave a faint nod. Tired. Measured. Heavy with something unspoken.
“Unfortunately.”
Notes:
guys its a process im working on my writing confidence trust
Chapter 5: what did you expect
Chapter Text
Kai’s pulse spiked, the name feeling like acid in his mouth. His heart pounded, too fast, too loud. He’s not real. He can’t be real.
Morro's expression remained unreadable.
“I’m imagining this,” Kai mumbled under his breath, clutching the bars of the cell, his vision spinning. “This isn’t real.”
But when his gaze locked with Morro’s, it felt too real. Morro’s eyes were cold.
There’s no fucking way.
“Why now?” Kai growled, voice thick with hostility, tinged with fear. “You were supposed to be gone. You used Lloyd. You-”
Morro took a slow step forward. He didn’t speak, but his eyes never left Kai’s. But this time, they held something unsettling, like a faint flicker of regret. It made Kai’s stomach churn.
Hallucination, he told himself again, harder this time.
“I-” Kai’s voice caught in his throat. He was shaking now, and it wasn’t just from the pain. His vision swam, the lines of Morro’s figure starting to waver like a mirage.
“You were supposed to be dead!” Kai repeated, his words now more desperate. Hallucination Morro was winning.
When Morro spoke, it was sharp, cutting through Kai’s frantic thoughts.
“Well, I’m not.” His voice was low, raw, laced with anger-a stark contrast from his neutrality before. “But trust me when i say this: I wish I was dead. I wish- but I’m not. I’m here. Stuck in this goddamn shitshow. Just like you.”
There was emotion in Hallucination Morro’s voice that Kai hadn’t expected. He blinked, willing the hallucination to disappear, but Morro was still there, standing just beyond the bars. He stepped closer, and this time, Kai didn’t back away.
“You sick fuck. have you been working with Scourge this whole time?”
“No.” Morro, frustrated, shakes his head. “Not with him. Against him.”
Kai scoffed. Against him? Was Morro trying to paint himself as some savior now? For fucks sake, this green ninja bullshit needs to stop.
He wasn’t sure which part of this was more absurd: the fact that Morro was standing here, or the fact that he claimed to be working against Scourge.
Morro's next words were deliberate, slow, like he was offering a piece of truth he wasn’t sure Kai could handle. Kai didn’t think this was a hallucination anymore.
“If it helps you sleep at night, you can believe whatever makes it easier,” Morro said, a bitter edge in his voice.
Kai’s breath hitched in his throat. He swallowed hard, willing himself to continue.
“You used Lloyd,” Kai repeated, through clenched teeth. “You took him from us-”
“I know,” Morro muttered under his breath, so quietly that Kai almost missed it. “I’m not fucking stupid.”
“Excuse me?” Kai spat, fury bubbling to the surface. “You chose to hurt him. You made him suffer-”
“You think I don’t know that?” Morro snapped, his voice cracking just slightly. It was enough to stop Kai in his tracks. “You think I don’t regret it? I’ve been living with it every fucking day.”
Sudden silence settled over them, as Kai looked at him in momentary surprise.
“You think I don’t know that?” Morro’s repeated, voice dangerously lingering close to desperation, “You think I dont regret it?"
Morro’s words had an undercurrent of something Kai didn’t expect.
Guilt.
Kai warily eyed Morro as he stepped back, sinking down against the wall of his cell.
“What do you want from me?” Kai asked, exhausted. “What is this, Morro? What are you trying to do?”
Morro looked at him, searching for something. He didn’t seem to find it as he stepped back, distancing himself.
“I don’t want anything,” Morro said quietly, the anger gone from his voice. “I’m just... trying to make it right.” His eyes met Kai’s once more, and again, for fleeting moment, Kai saw guilt. Desperation.
“If you’re trying to make it right,” Kai whispered, his voice strained, “then leave. Leave me alone.”
Morro didn’t respond at first. Instead, he turned, his back to Kai.
“Maybe I will,” he muttered. “But I’m not the one you should be worried about.”
The words hung in the air as Morro moved toward the door, disappearing into the shadows. The door clicked shut behind him.
————————----------------------
Leave him alone. That was the only thing Morro could do now. Leave, and let Kai believe whatever he needed to.
What did you expect?
Morro’s fist clenched. The weight of Kai’s words gnawed at him. They were justified, but that didn’t make them any less brutal.
“You used Lloyd.”
Morro shut his eyes, trying to push that voice out of his head.
"You think I don’t know that?” Morro muttered under his breath. He did know. The act a reminder of how far he’d spiraled. And the worst part? There was no way to undo it.
Morro hated that he was doing this. Hated that he came here, stood before Kai, trying to explain a past he could never take back. He wasn’t trying to make excuses anymore. He was just... existing in this miserable limbo, caught between guilt and anger.
“What do you want from me?” Kai had asked him.
I don’t want anything, he had told Kai, but that wasn’t true. Of course it wasn’t.
What was he supposed to tell Kai? That he thought this could become some quest for an act of admittedly selfish redemption? What he wanted, more than anything, was a clean slate. A way to turn back time and stop everything from spiraling the way it did. But that was impossible.
He had hoped, desperately, that Kai would see past his hatred. Morro's thoughts flickered back to the way Kai had fought for Lloyd, how the sole reason Lloyd was able to momentarily break through his possession and give Kai the opportunity to retrieve the sword of Sanctuary was because Lloyd himself had such firm faith in Kai - the innate belief that Kai would never give up on him. He was right, of course - Kai had never wavered in his loyalty.
It had astonished Morro, truly. It seemed almost… unbelievable, how someone could love so selflessly -
And maybe, maybe.. that was what had driven Morro to seek Kai out now, to confront him. He had thought that, somehow, his own twisted desperation would make sense to Kai, that he would understand that this was all a result of something deeper, something that wasn’t entirely his fault.
maybe if I'd mattered then, I wouldn't be nothing now
Notes:
thanks for reading :)
Chapter 6: can we keep him
Chapter Text
[approx. seventy two hours after siege of ninjago city, 24 hours after morro’s confrontation with kai.]
Earlier this morning, Commanders Reyna and Stelle had confirmed the secure capture of the entirety of Ninjago City. Now, with the city under their control, the next phase was already in motion. Forces were to spread outward into the neighboring villages nestled along the valley paths, and deeper into the winding caves that lined the region’s edge. After all, Scourge wanted more than a city. He wanted everything beneath the mountains and beyond the rivers.
And so, Scourge had declared the night one of celebration. Which was how Morro now found himself seated at a table surrounded by his fellow commanders, people who he found utterly revolting. Drunk on victory.
Don’t pretend you weren’t once like them. Maybe you still are. Kai certainly thinks so.
Shut up
The occasional burst of hollow laughter snapped Morro out of his thoughts, pulling him back to the present.
Kaeya sat with one arm slung casually over the back of his chair, his plate nearly empty and a fresh drink in hand. He leaned toward Reyna, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “So much for the great citizens of Ninjago,” he said, voice relaxed. “I expected more than broken weapons and abandoned checkpoints.”
Reyna laughed, full and reckless, her knife still in hand as she sliced into her steak with violent satisfaction. “I was hoping they’d at least try to fight,” she said through a mouthful. “Would’ve made this taste better.”
Kaeya snickered, clinking his glass lightly against hers. “Bitch. You just like when they scream.”
Across the table, Stelle ate quietly, her movements measured, each cut of her steak precise. Her fork paused halfway to her mouth when Reyna spoke next, but only for a moment, enough for a brief glance toward the woman- a flicker of a raised eyebrow before she resumed her meal, unaffected.
Morro sat beside her and Scourge, eating slowly, barely touching his wine. Eating and drinking still proved a difficult task after being unable to do either for years. His appetite had never fully returned, even after the chaos of his “rebirth".
Regardless, something felt off.
At the head of the table sat Scourge, his presence impossible to ignore even in the midst of the drunken chaos. He sipped his wine slowly, the red liquid darkening the rim of his goblet as he watched his commanders with a half-amused, half-patient expression. The faintest smile curled his lips, as if he found some private satisfaction in the banter, though he was too composed to join in.
Morro stabbed his steak in an unfocused manner, the knife cutting into the tender meat without purpose. His mind was away from the table, rather focused on Kai instead. He had spent all morning trying to figure out how to talk to him again. Morro’s fork hovered in mid-air for a moment as a wave of frustration swept over him. He had rehearsed it a hundred times, what he would say, how he would say it-but nothing seemed right. He forced himself to take another bite of steak, as he tried to reconcentrate on the conservation next to him.
Stelle, who had been quietly listening with her usual unreadable expression, suddenly piped up, her voice tinged with irritation. “Do you two ever shut up?”
Morro glanced over at Stelle with a faint flicker of interest. Stelle looked back at him as he matched her expression of annoyance. She went back to her steak. Morro went back to his head.
Kai wouldn’t want promises. He wouldn’t want empty words. That wasn’t how Kai worked. He’d want action-proof that Morro wasn’t the same man who had who had betrayed them. But what could he possibly do or say that would make Kai see him as something other than a liar?
How do you prove you’ve changed when you’re not even sure you’ve changed at all? How-
“Morro.”
The sound of his name cut through the haze of Morro’s thoughts, pulling him back to the present with a jolt. He looked up, meeting Scourge’s gaze.
“My Lord,” Morro replies evenly, his voice betraying none of the unease that churned within him.
He studied Morro for a moment, his gaze flicking to the half-eaten steak on the table before returning to Morro’s face. “Is the steak not to your liking?”
"It's fine, my Lord. Just... not particularly hungry tonight.”
Scourge’s eyes lingered on him for a beat longer, his lips curling into a faint, knowing smile. But then, without warning, the atmosphere shifted. Scourge rose to his feet, striking his spoon against the rim of his wine glass with a sharp, metallic ring. The chatter faltered. A wide grin spread across his face as he clapped his hands together, eyes gleaming with something too eager to be harmless.
“We have a guest!” he announced, his voice echoing across the room.
What?
Then the doors opened.
Morro didn’t move, but something in his gut coiled like a snake.
Footsteps. Soft. Steady. Not the shuffle of servants or the stomp of guards. Something else.
The hall stilled. And then he saw him.
Kai.
Morro’s heart dropped.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me
Dressed in red and gold silks that didn’t belong to him. Hair tamed, skin washed clean of ash and blood, the faintest gleam of something like powder on his cheekbones. He looked… wrong. Untouched. Almost ethereal under the high chandelier light.
Morro didn’t mean to stare. Didn’t mean to let his eyes drag over the lines of Kai’s jaw, the flush of his skin, the way his clothes fit him like he was born into them. He swallowed, hard.
Kai’s eyes locked with his, and there it was: fury. Clear as a blade. His body moved with a terrifying grace, but his eyes burned like they wanted to set the table alight.
Damn it. Why is he out?
“Ahhh, look at him!” Scourge stood now, arms wide like a showman at center stage. “Does he not clean up well? I must say, I do have an eye for salvageable things. And this one-he’s art, isn’t he?”
There was a murmur of agreement, low and hungry.The others didn’t even bother to hide the way they looked at Kai.
Morro didn’t move. He couldn’t. His spine was straight, but inside, panic was spreading.
Scourge clapped twice, sharply. “Bring him here. No need for him to skulk by the door like a serving boy.”
Kai didn’t flinch as two guards guided him forward. He walked of his own volition, steps quiet but not hesitant. His gaze swept the table.
Morro’s jaw clenched. Why now? Why like this? He risked a glance toward Scourge, who had returned to his seat with a lazy smile. Too lazy.
Then, Scourge’s voice lowered, intimate and lethal.
“Not over there,” he said, pointing with a curled finger. “Come here, dear. Closer. I want to admire my handiwork.”
Kai’s expression didn’t change, but something in the air tightened.
He walked to Scourge’s side.
“Come now, Kai,” Scourge's voice thick with intent. “Don’t stand there like a wild thing. Sit. Or...” His smirk grew wider, more sinister. “How about you kneel beside me? Or even better...” Scourge's eyes glinted, “Why don’t you join me, right...here?” He gestured to his lap.
The words were out of his mouth like a command, dripping with the kind of authority that made it clear there was no room for refusal. Everyone waited for Kai’s reaction.
Kai didn’t move.
Scourge leaned back in his chair, eyes flicking across the table-until they caught on Morro.
Staring.
And that, to Scourge, was interesting.
A slow grin pulled at his lips. “Oh? What’s this?”
Shit.
Morro immediately lowered his eyes off Kai. But the damage was already done.
Scourge’s voice turned poisonous. “Morro.” He stretched the name out excessively . “You’ve been staring.”
A ripple of tension flickered through the room.
“I didn’t think you had such... appetites,” he went on, delighting in every word. “But I can’t say I blame you. He’s something, isn’t he?”
Morro’s jaw ticked once. Barely.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be selfish,” Scourge continued, waving a hand in mock generosity. “Come, Kai. Go sit with Morro. He seems positively entranced.”
The room held its breath.
Kai didn’t move right away. His chin tilted just a little, eyes narrowing-not at Scourge, but at Morro.
And Morro… still didn’t speak.
He couldn’t.
Well. Cheers to Kai hating me forever.
Kai stepped forward at last. Silent. Tense. A slow, measured walk to the seat beside Morro.
Morro didn’t look at him. Didn’t acknowledge him. Not with words.
But as Kai sat, close enough that their shoulders nearly brushed, he felt it-Morro’s quiet inhale. Controlled. Careful. As though he were trying not to breathe at all.
Scourge chuckled, satisfied. “There we are. Doesn’t that look nice?”
Reyna murmured under her breath, “Not the match I was expecting, but I’ll take it.”
Stelle laughed dryly.
But Morro didn’t react.
He sat perfectly still. Letting the room say what it wanted.
Letting Scourge believe what he wanted.
Scourge watched with amusement, his smile mocking. "Ah, so you like him?" he asked, his voice dripping with insincerity. "Why don’t you keep him for the night, then? I’m sure you can find something... more interesting to do."
He glanced at Kai, his expression unreadable, before addressing Scourge again. “I’m not quite sure what you’re referring to."
Scourge only chuckled, as if Morro’s words were nothing. "Oh, I do love it when you get riled up, Morro," he said with a mocking smile, clearly enjoying the power play.
Stelle raised an eyebrow at the display, clearly amused, but it was Kaeya who spoke first, his tone dripping with mockery. "Well, well, Morro," Kaeya said with a sly grin. "Guess the Green Ninja’s got some appeal, huh?”
Morro stiffened.
Why did he say Green Ninja like that?
Reyna sneered. "I didn’t think Morro had it in him," she commented, her eyes scanning the room. "But I guess we all have our... preferences." There was a knowing grin on her lips, but she didn’t press the issue further, sensing Morro’s growing irritation.
Scourge leaned forward again, fingers drumming thoughtfully.
Then, slowly, he spoke, “You know… it would’ve been funnier if he actually was the Green Ninja.”
The room fell dead silent.
Morro’s head lifted slowly. He blinked once, feigning surprise, as if the words had caught him off-guard. He didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Neither did Kai.
Morro’s eyes snapped to Kaeya, a realization dawning on him. Kaeya’s sudden intervention second earlier-the lack of hesitation, the certainty in his words-was too telling. He knows.
Kai turned slightly, eyes narrowing. Reyna paused mid-sip, glass hovering at his lips. Stelle just stared.
Scourge shifted in his chair, arms stretching lazily across the rests. He tilted his head, gaze gliding from one face to the next, savoring their discomfort. “Oh, don’t look so betrayed,” he said, all false sympathy. “Truth be told, I found out just earlier myself.”
His eyes slid to Kai, whose shoulders had drawn just slightly tighter.
And that’s when Morro noticed it. The shift.
Subtle, but unmistakable.
He was holding himself still-not with the grace of a performer, but the restraint of someone suppressing instinct. Fight or flight. The tension radiated off him like heat from a forge.
Scourge added with a lazy smile, “He certainly didn’t rush to correct you, did he?”
Reyna finally spoke, her voice cautious. “Then… who is he?”
A pause.
Then-
“The Green Ninja,” Kai said, loud enough to cut through the stillness. “It’s me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His voice didn’t tremble. It was steady.
Morro’s head turned toward him-too fast, too sharp-but he caught himself before his expression could give anything away. Still, his pulse kicked against his throat.
Scourge… smiled.
“Oh?” he said, grinning dangerously.. “You’re sure, then? That you’re the Green Ninja?”
Morro’s mind was racing.
Shit. I thought we had more time.
Kai didn’t blink. “I didn’t stutter.”
Commander Kaeya smiles.
“You don't need to."
FLASHBACK: EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON-------------------------------------------------------------
The war room was cold, the air thick with tension and the hum of holographic interfaces. Scourge stood at the table, a map of Ninjago projected before him, his hands gripping the edges tightly as Kaeya spoke calmly across from him.
"So you're telling me," Scourge began, on the edge of anger, "that the most visible ninja, the one everyone’s talking about, the one making all the media rounds-isn’t the Green Ninja?"
“..Yes, Sir."
Scourge hummed, his sharp gaze never leaving Kaeya. “Explain yourself. Kai announced himself on the battlefield, with the pride of someone one would consider to be the Green Ninja. He likely knew he would be killed. He wanted to be seen. Who would lie about such a foolish thing?"
Kaeya hesitated before responding. "It’s... not about wanting to be seen, sir. It’s about sacrifice. Kai didn’t seek the spotlight, he took it because he was protecting someone. He’s been hiding the truth all this time."
Scourge’s brow furrowed slightly, but his expression remained controlled, his voice cool. "Protecting someone? Who?"
"Lloyd Garmadon," Kaeya replied, his tone respectful yet unwavering. "Kai has been utilizing himself as a decoy. He’s been playing the role of the hero to divert attention away from Lloyd. To protect him."
"Lloyd... Garmadon?" Scourge repeated, frowning.
"Yes, sir. It’s about the intelligence we’ve gathered.” He paused, letting the gravity of the information settle before continuing. “Recovered Ninjago media holds Kai’s image to high regard, yes. He’s the one who’s made the most appearances, who’s been in the most interviews. But our sources indicate that the civilians refer to Lloyd as the Green Ninja. My operatives have also been monitoring civilian chatter, intercepting communications from survivors, refugees, and those who’ve escaped the initial waves of our invasion. They speak of Lloyd. Not Kai.”
Scourge’s gaze remained fixed on Kaeya as he absorbed this new information. His fingers pressed together, and he leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing as the implications settled in. “This is unexpected,” he muttered, his voice reflecting a rare moment of thought. “I have encountered much... but the notion that someone would sacrifice themselves, hide their own identity, to protect another? That is not something I anticipated.”
Kaeya quickly kneels, his head lowered in deference. "I... I apologize, sir. Had my intel been more precise, we would have identified this sooner. We should have known about Kai’s true role. I’ve failed to provide you with the full picture."
He stopped, turning back toward Kaeya with an air of finality, his eyes cold with newfound clarity. “No matter. This is not a setback. This is an opportunity. After all, we’ve gained something far more valuable than the Green Ninja himself. We now have a man who is willing to sacrifice everything-his identity, his honor, his life-for someone else."
A dangerous smile curled on Scourge’s lips as he stood. "We will exploit this. I had considered ending the prophecy with death. But perhaps betrayal would serve just as well.”
END OF FLASHBACK----------------------------------------
The silence stretched, thick and taut. Scourge’s gaze never wavered, eyes gleaming with cruel anticipation.
“I am the Green Ninja,” Kai said, his voice sharp. “Why would I lie about it? What would be the point? Putting myself in a position like this… risking everything?” He glanced around, his gaze steady and unflinching. “If I’m not the Green Ninja, then who the hell is? You think someone else would step up like this?” His eyes narrowed, but his composure never faltered.
“An idiot,” Reyna replied, her voice dripping with contempt, eyes narrowing at Kai.
Kai’s gaze snapped to her, a flicker of irritation flashing in his eyes before he calmly, but with a sharp edge, said, “Shut the fuck up.” Reyna’s eyes widened in shock, but Kai was quicker in his remarks. “None of you will ever know true power. But hey, at least you get to be useful to someone, even if it’s to that piece of trash.” With a quick tilt of his head, Kai nodded toward Scourge.
Oh No.
With an exaggerated, mocking chuckle, Scourge spoke. “Very cute, Kai,” he mused, his voice dripping with mockery. “It’s almost as if you think anyone cares.” His tone shifted, colder and more sinister. “But if you know what’s good for Lloyd , that’s his name, right?” Scourge said with a sudden, sharp edge, “you’ll shut the fuck up, and sit the hell back down.”
The words hit Kai like a brick. A flash of pure rage shot through him, but before he could move, Scourge was already there. His hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Kai by the wrist with a vicious, unrelenting grip.
Kai's breath caught in his throat as Scourge jerked him forward, forcing their faces inches apart. His eyes were cold, merciless, and there was no trace of the calm facade Scourge had worn earlier-now, he was pure, calculated cruelty.
Morro didn’t move, but it took everything in him not to.
“You’re not in control here,” Scourge hissed, his voice low and dangerous. “And I’m still the one holding all the cards.” Scourge's grip tightened on Kai’s wrist, making him wince. “The real Green Ninja is still out there... and you, Kai? You’re not him. But you’re a good little distraction, aren’t you?”
He leaned in closer, his breath hot against Kai’s ear as he whispered with a sneer, “You’ve got the face of an angel and the sense of a corpse. Best stay silent. After all, Morro doesn’t like talkative prey.”
Kai visibly tensed, but Scourge wasn’t done. With a brutal shove, he forced Kai back down into his seat, the impact rattling him and the chair scraping painfully across the floor.
Morro spoke up with casual ease, eyes flicking from Kai to Scourge and back again.
“I really don’t,” Morro said smoothly, voice laced with cold amusement. “Mouthy ones just ruin the fun.”
He shrugged, hands loose at his sides, posture the very picture of indifference. But his gaze lingered on Kai’s trembling fingers, the way his shoulders tensed as if holding back the instinct to recoil. Morro’s eyes tracked the faint red mark blooming on Kai’s wrist where Scourge had grabbed him. It wasn’t blood. But it was close.
A tense silence settled over the long dining table, the only sounds the soft clink of cutlery against fine ceramic. Then Reyna jabbed her fork into a piece of meat and lifted it with a flick of her wrist, gesturing it across the table.
“So what now?” she said around a bite, her voice unimpressed. “Are we just going to kill him, or actually get something useful out of him?”
Stelle barely looked up from her plate, delicately cutting through her food. “He’s not the Green Ninja,” she said smoothly, “But he knows something. And we’re wasting time pretending he doesn’t.” She popped a bite into her mouth, chewed thoughtfully. “I say we bleed him for answers.”
Reyna gave a sharp laugh, swirling her wine. “Oh yeah, great plan. We all just sit here and interrogate him one by one while Morro plans to fuck him.” She waved her fork vaguely toward Kai and then Morro. “What is this, dinner theater?”
Kai finally tore his gaze from Morro to glance across the table, jaw clenched. “Glad I’m such a source of entertainment,” he muttered bitterly.
Play Along.
“Entertainment?” Morro leaned forward with a wicked grin. “Sweetheart, you’re the main course.”
Kai’s eyes flicked to him, blazing. “Then I hope you choke.”
Kaeya raised an eyebrow, lips twitching with amusement. Morro let out an unrestrained laugh.
Still chuckling, Morro leaned back in his seat, eyes never leaving Kai. “My lord,” he drawled, lips curling into a self-satisfied smile, “Can we keep him?”
Don't kill him. Don’t kill him. Don’t-
Scourge didn’t hesitate. “I have plans for him,” he said, his voice certain. “So yes. Do you what you like. ”
Scourge then turned to Kai again, voice cold “You’re free to move about, of course,” he said. “But the collar stays. Think of it as… a reminder.”
He raised his glass slowly, eyes never leaving Kai. “Freedom is a fragile thing, after all. Would be a shame if you mistook it for something real.”
Kai’s head then jerked up, the words spilling from his mouth before he could stop them.
“What are you going to do to Lloyd?”
Scourge smiles.
“What I do to Lloyd,” he replied, his voice deliberate, “depends entirely on you.”
He continues. “The servants have prepared a room for you. Follow them."
He then paused, gaze flickering to Morro.
“Unless, of course… you’d prefer he be taken to your quarters instead.”
Scourge’s smile widened. “What do you say, Morro?”
He leaned back in his chair, eyes never leaving Kai, and offered an appreciative smile. “Yes, my lord,” he said smoothly. “I would enjoy that.”
Kai turned towards him. The look in his eyes said everything.
I’m sorry. But this is the only way I can keep you alive without them getting suspicious
Scourge chuckled under his breath, sharp and full of implication. “Shall I have the servants drug him first? Make things easier?”
Kai’s eyes widen in panic. “What? I-"
Morro cuts him off, smoothly. “No need. I want him conscious.”
Reyna scoffed, raising an unimpressed brow as she played with her fork. “Really?” she drawled, her voice thick with sarcasm. “You actually want to deal with him conscious?”.
Kaeya chuckled darkly, swirling his wine with a careless wrist. “Let the man enjoy his meal,” he said, smirking as he tilted his glass toward Morro. “Nothing like a lamb that’s still kicking, right?” His eyes glinted with malicious amusement. “Adds flavor.”
Kai stood rigidly, his hands clenched tight at his sides as though holding himself together by force alone. His breaths came fast, chest rising and falling in shallow bursts, betraying the panic clawing at his insides.
Commander Stelle tilted her head, watching Kai with narrowed eyes. “You’re scaring him,” she remarked, almost bored, twirling her fork between her fingers. “Look at him-he’s practically shaking.”
Scourge let out a dark, amused laugh from the head of the table. “Good,” he said with a twisted grin. “He should be.”
“I’m not scared,” Kai snarled, his voice low and full of venom. The disgust on his face deepened, anger written clearly across his features.
Then, without even glancing at Kai, he waved his hand dismissively, eyeing the servants. “Take him to Morro’s chambers.”
There was a shuffle of movement as the servants approached, silent and swift. The clinking of silverware and the hum of low laughter from the commanders filled the space as Kai was escorted away.
Morro reminded himself that this was necessary. Survival for both of them. That playing along was the only way to vouch for Kai’s life without arising suspicion. But it didn’t change the image burned into his mind-Kai’s wide eyes, the way his shoulders had trembled, how he couldn’t even speak, too shocked to fight back.
The chaos of earlier had dulled to a tense, expectant silence, with only the clatter of a servant clearing dishes in the background. Scourge cleared his throat.
“I suppose you're all wondering what comes next.”
Reyna gave a skeptical tilt of her head. “You mean besides throwing the boy to Morro like dessert?”
Scourge ignored her, continuing." We use him. Parade him. Let the people watch him fall.”
“And the real one?” Morro asked.
“He’ll come,” Scourge said. “They always do, the real ones. Loyalty is a noose they tighten around their own throats. When he shows himself, we strike.”
Reyna scoffed. “So the loudmouth’s bait.”
“More than bait,” Kaeya said, smiling thinly. “He’s our weapon. We’ll dangle him in the open. If the Green Ninja values him, he’ll come.”
Morro opens his mouth to speak, but Scourge interrupts him.
“Oh, Morro.” he said smoothly, voice tinged with false courtesy, “I do owe you an apology.”
The table quieted. Morro raised an eyebrow, mildly surprised.
“I should’ve told you sooner,” Scourge continued, eyes gleaming, “that the boy isn’t the real Green Ninja. But I thought it would be… more impactful to make the truth known publicly. For effect.” He gestured lightly toward the grand dining room. “A moment like this deserves a little drama.”
There was an undertone of amusement in his voice, but also something darker. A reminder to Reyna and Stelle that their rank was not of sufficient achievement to which they even deserved an apology. A reminder to Morro that even he was not exempt from being kept in the dark if it suited the narrative.
“Besides,” Scourge added, raising his goblet as if in toast, “you seemed to be enjoying yourself.”
Morro gave a small shrug, lifting his glass with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Doesn’t make a difference,” he said smoothly. “I’m getting what I want.”
“Just remember-I’m allowing you this as a privilege. Because you're valuable. Not because you're entitled.”
Morro’s smile didn’t falter. He leaned forward slightly, tone still even.
“I know exactly why I’m allowed,” he said. “But don’t mistake that for gratitude.”
Scourge chuckled under his breath. “Careful,” he murmured. “You’re the only one in this room who gets away with that.”
Morro tilted his head, unbothered by the warning. “Then maybe they should start paying attention,” he said, nodding toward the other commanders. “Learn what actual usefulness looks like.”
A tense beat passed. Reyna bristled, but stayed silent. Kaeya and Stelle avoided Morro’s gaze.
Scourge then turned to Kaeya. “And you. Don’t fool yourself-I would’ve figured it out. Sooner rather than later. And I keep you around to ensure preparation, not to announce surprises”
The confident tilt of Kaeya's chin faltered, replaced by silence and a bowed head.
Scourge set down his fork with a deliberate clink, wiping his mouth with a cloth napkin before tossing it carelessly onto his empty plate. He rose from his seat with unhurried precision. The other commanders followed suit.
Scourge’s gaze swept over the table, lingering on each face with quiet authority.
“This meeting is over,” he said smoothly. “But let me warn you all.”
He took a slow step forward, the heel of his boot echoing sharply against the floor.
“Loyalties are not fixed. They bend. They rot. And if any of you start to forget where yours lie…” He smiled, but there was no warmth in it, “I’ll remind you. Personally.”
Then, just as he turned to leave, he paused beside Morro.
“Enjoy dessert.”
Without another word, he strode out, the doors closing behind him with a dull, echoing thud.
Chapter 7: aren’t you gonna do it
Notes:
since i scheduled this like sometime after day of departure i estimated ages based on fandom theories and googled information
zane: zane
kai: ~17
lloyd: ~15
jay: ~16
cole:~18
nya: ~16
morro: reincarnated into ~17. i think i want him the same age as kai but because of his reincarnation curse he doesn’t look 17. he def looks older with his black baggy eyes. he’s emo and sleepless #king
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kai resisted. Of course he did. He clawed and kicked and lashed out until the air stank of smoke and burning silk. Fire burst from his hands, wild and uneven, catching on one soldier’s sleeve. Another yelled, stumbling back. The curtains smoldered. For one brief second, it almost looked like Kai might tear the whole place down with him.
But there were too many of them.
Hands like iron closed around his arms, his throat, his ribs. A needle sank into his neck. He bit someone hard enough to draw blood before his limbs went heavy and the world began to bend sideways. The fire guttered out, useless. The last thing he remembered was being lifted - shoved, really - and then darkness.
When he came to, he was on the bed. Silk clung to his skin, softer than the dinner clothes. The guards must have replaced them with tailored red sleepwear, all fine thread and delicate gold piping. Pajamas, technically. But not the kind anyone slept in. These were meant to be looked at.
His head pulsed dully. The drugs hadn’t worn off, coating the inside of his skull like syrup.
His eyes slid open, and the world around him seemed to twist. The room was hazy at first, but then it slowly came into focus, revealing the dark outline of someone standing across the room.
Morro.
Kai’s heart slammed into his ribs, an instinctive reaction, but his body didn’t follow through. The fog dulled everything, made the fight in him feel far too distant. He didn’t understand why Morro was here, why everything was happening the way it was. His brain struggled to grasp at the details. His fingers twitched against the mattress. He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. The bruises bloomed awake all at once, like something had ripped open beneath his skin. A sound clawed its way out of his throat before he could bite it back.
“Kai, you need to calm down,” Morro’s voice was edged with an urgency.
But Kai didn’t understand. “Why...?” His voice cracked, barely a whisper, and the tightness in his chest made him frantic. His breath hitched as he looked around the room, eyes wide and unfocused. “What...what’s happening?” There was a tremble in his voice now, fragile and afraid, his hand curling instinctively toward his chest, as if trying to shield himself from a blow that hadn’t come yet.
Morro’s eyes searched his face, his expression tense. “If I wanted to hurt you, Kai,” Morro began, his tone firm, “I would’ve done it already. So stop.” His hands tightened briefly on Kai’s shoulders, grounding him. “You’re not in danger right now, okay?”
“Danger?” Kai whispered, his voice barely audible, and his eyes were darting around rapidly. “What’s happening? Where am I?”
Morro hesitated, his gaze flickering, before he exhaled, his hands still holding Kai in place. “You’re safe. Just breathe. Go back to sleep.”
Kai could hear the words, but they didn’t quite make sense. The drugs wrapped around his thoughts like a thick, suffocating blanket, making it hard to hold onto anything. But the hands on his shoulders were comforting, a sharp contrast to the how he had been dragged and beaten earlier, so he obliged.
—————————---------------------------------------------------------------
Kai had passed out, forehead slick with sweat. Morro eyed the clock. 1:03 am. Kai would probably wake up again soon, considering his first ‘wake-up’ was an hour ago. The drugs should have settled by now. Depends on how much they gave him.
Morro’s eyes moved to the fabric Kai was dressed in-those ridiculous red silks. Did Scourge really think he would take advantage of someone like this? Morro rubbed his face in exasperation. Scourge was unpredictable enough. Now Morro also had to worry about staying two steps ahead of Kai, who was likely to prove more unpredictable.
I literally gave him an out. All he had to do was stay silent when coming to my chambers, and he would have never been injected with god knows what.
Oddly enough, the fact that Kai had showed resistance despite the humiliation he had endured had struck a sense of respect in Morro.
Hopefully his rebellious ninja spirit or whatever holds out through all this. Better defiant than scared. Or weak.
But Kai was definitely scared, and he was currently weak, so to be defiant with both cards was even more impressive. Morro ran a hand through his hair, the strands now falling past his shoulders, fingers tugging through the length absentmindedly. He remained stuck in his thoughts for a while, the weight of everything pressing down on him. He had no idea what to do now.
Suddenly, Kai stirred, his body jerking slightly before the slow flutter of his eyelids. Kai’s disorientation was palpable, evident in the way his body shook. His eyes opened, dazed, the world still slightly out of focus. His mouth parted, but no words came out at first. He seemed to be trying to make sense of his surroundings. But, he was more composed than when he first woke up.
Morro determined that this was his chance. He spoke quietly, almost absently.
“Welcome back.”
The sound of his own voice startled him, and the weight of the words lingered, oddly intimate in the air between them. He didn’t know what he expected-maybe that Kai wouldn’t remember everything from before, or that the anger would hit him again. But when Kai blinked at him, there was nothing sharp in his gaze, only that same confusion.
Morro waited, and for a moment, he almost wished the anger would return. He knew how to fight anger: with more anger. But the silence stretched on, and the tension in Kai’s body did not loosen. The drug was clearly still affecting him.
“Do you remember what happened?” Morro asked, his voice a little softer now, hesitant, unsure of how to proceed.
“The dinner…” Kai’s voice trailed off as he winced slightly, trying to shake the sluggish feeling in his mind, “And then they brought me here.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly, his tone edged with something sharper than he wanted it to be. “They brought you here. I... I didn’t have much of a choice, Kai. I told them not to drug you but.. you- Listen, you have to learn to keep your mouth shut in front of Scourge. You’ll get yourself killed.” Morro added something that he thought to be a better persuader. “Remember, you die and the chance of survival for the other ninja tanks."
Kai winced slightly, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his hand before quickly letting it drop, as if the effort of doing anything was too much.
“You watched them,” Kai said, voice strained. “You just stood there. ”
Morro responded, his voice edged with annoyance, “I helped you get out of there. Would you rather have sat in Scourge’s lap like some dog? He would have spared no mercy.”
Kai flinched at the mention of Scourge. Morro felt something akin to guilt stir in his stomach, as he watched Kai shift uncomfortably. “So I’m supposed to thank you?”
Clearly, the drugs dulled Kai's anger, but not his frustration. “I never asked you to thank me,” Morro snapped, his tone sharp and cutting despite the effort he put into sounding calm. His eyes locked onto Kai’s, searching for some kind of understanding - or at least something beyond that hollow frustration. “But I did what I could. And you’re alive because of it.”
Kai’s eyes flickered. He opened his mouth, but the words came out more tired than sharp. “Alive? To be paraded around like this?” He gestured weakly to his outfit, the ridiculous silk and gold, as if that was all that mattered. “What’s the point if it’s just to be someone else’s prize?”
Morro wanted to shout, to tell Kai that it wasn’t that simple. That he couldn’t fix everything all at once. That they were both trapped.
“We’re both in this mess now. And the only thing I can do is try to make sure you don’t die in it.” he snapped, hands extended outward in irritation.
To his surprise, Kai didn’t respond with anger or a retort. Instead, he whispered a quiet, “Okay,” and pulled his knees to his chest, blinking rapidly as if trying to push back the haze of the drugs.
Morro lowered his arm in surprise. An ugly thought twisted in Morro’s chest. This version of Kai was easier. Easier to talk to, easier to deal with. No sharp words, no fire in his eyes, no burning rage ready to cut through the air at any moment. Kai wasn’t fighting back. He wasn’t questioning every word, every move, every look.
No. That’s wrong, Morro.
Kai stared at him, his eyes clouded but expectant, as if waiting for something to happen. Morro stared back at Kai.
“What?”
Kai’s gaze never wavered, his expression blank. “Aren’t you gonna do it?”
Morro blinked, the words hanging in the air like a weight. He furrowed his brow, puzzled. “Do what?”
Kai didn’t answer, waiting.
A sick realization crawled up Morro’s spine, and his stomach twisted.
“No,” he muttered, his voice rising in panic. “No, no. I’m not gonna-” He cut himself off, his words shaking with a mix of disbelief and anger. “I haven’t laid a hand on you. Not when you were unconscious. Don’t think for a second-”
Kai’s voice was quiet again, almost flat. “Okay.” His fingers fidgeted with the edge of the blanket, twisting it between his hands like he was trying to ground himself.
Morro cleared his throat, voice tight. “Okay.” he repeated. “I’ll have food brought up.”
“Not hungry.”
Morro wasn’t sure what to say to that. He wasn’t even sure why he was still there, standing in the room like an idiot, his thoughts swimming with conflicting emotions.
“I’m... sorry,” Morro muttered after a moment, though he didn’t feel its entire sincerity. Kai would never understand what it would be like, in his shoes.
Kai’s eyes flickered up at him, slow and still clouded by the remnants of the drugs. “Are you?” His voice was quiet, almost too quiet, like he was struggling to speak.
“What?”
Kai’s eyes didn’t meet his, but Morro didn’t need to see them to hear the confusion in his tone. “Are you sorry for any of it? Or is this just about trying to fix whatever you can to feel better about yourself?”
Morro shook his head, stagnant rage bubbling up, raw and unrestrained. “We went over this already, for fucks sake. I’m not a hero who’s trying to make himself look good. I’m doing what I can to survive this.” His voice consumed the room, sharp and loud. Now that he had started, he couldn’t stop. “Like I said, I didn’t ask to come back. I was dead. And I was fine with that. Then Scourge found me, dragged me back like some cursed thing and made me useful. Gave me a choice that wasn’t a choice. Serve, or be a warning.”
He stepped forward, and Kai didn’t move. Morro’s hands were fists now, shaking.
“You want to hate me for what I am? Get in line. You’re not saying anything I haven’t already told myself. I didn’t crawl my way out of the grave for power. I didn’t have the luxury of dying. I did it because if I didn’t survive, no one else stood a chance. Not against Scourge.”
“…How noble.”
Kai's voice was hoarse, but the scorn bled through.
“This isn’t about being noble.” Morro's tone was bitter, rage dissipating to weariness. “Trust me. No amount of nobility will fix how I was trained my whole life for something I was never going to be, then died knowing I was nothing more than a shadow of someone better,” he muttered.
There was a long pause. Then, Kai asked, “So why bother?”
Morro stared at him. Kai wasn’t looking - his gaze somewhere near the floor - but his brow was faintly furrowed, like he was trying to thread something together.
“If it doesn’t matter... if you hate this so much…” He blinked slowly, struggling to keep hold of the thought. ““You came to my cell, said all these things. I don’t get it. Why are you helping me?”
Morro turned away.
“I possessed Lloyd. Told myself it was destiny, that I was taking back what I was owed. Doesn’t matter, we both know it was desperation. And maybe I can’t undo what I’ve done. Maybe this doesn’t fix anything. But..” Morro’s shoulders sagged, his voice rough. “I’m tired.”
I want to do something that would make Wu proud, for once
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morro didn’t say anything else.
He moved with quiet efficiency, setting aside the black uniform coat. He turned his back to Kai, shoulders straight but heavy. Like there was still armor he hadn’t taken off. He didn’t look angry anymore. But he didn’t look at Kai, either.
Kai stayed on the bed, words echoing amongst his thoughts.
" I’m doing what I can to survive this.” Morro had said. He had called death a luxury, as if he had given up long ago.
"Trained my whole life for something I was never going to be, then died knowing I was nothing more than a shadow of someone better"
Kai clenches his jaw, fighting the sickening pull of understanding stirring inside of him. He doesn’t want to feel it. He doesn’t want to get it. The thought that there might be something in Morro’s words that makes sense to him, something that mirrors his own buried fears, drives him insane, even in his drug-addled state.
Kai squeezes his eyes shut, as if it would quiet his thoughts. Instead, old words spoken by Wu resurface in his mind.
“I was not good to Morro,”
Kai remembered the way Wu’s eyes had looked that day, how raw and pained he’d been as he admitted the failure that had haunted him for so long. It wasn’t something Wu had ever openly admitted before.
Wu’s voice had been soft but full of regret. “I failed him. I should have seen it sooner. I should’ve known what he needed.”
Misako had placed a hand on Wu’s shoulder then, comforting him “It’s like you said, Wu. You cannot save someone who didn’t want to be saved.”
Wu had looked up at her, his eyes searching, as if he hadn’t quite accepted her words. But he didn’t argue. Instead, he replied quietly, almost as if he weren’t fully present,
“It shouldn’t have gone to that point.”
Morro looks back at him, as if expecting something. He straightens up, his expression unreadable. "I’m going to sleep," he announces, his tone final, as if it’s a simple statement of fact. He doesn’t wait for a response, but then, as if remembering something, he adds, "On the couch.”
Kai shifts on the side of the bed, pulling his legs in slightly, the silk fabric clinging to his skin in an uncomfortable reminder of his vulnerability. Without looking up, he gestures vaguely to the empty space next to him. “Sleep there.”
Morro looks up at him, shocked. “What?” His voice is etched with disbelief, as though he’s not sure if he’s heard right.
Kai shrugs, a tired, half-hearted movement. "It’s like you said. If you wanted to hurt me, you would’ve by now."
Morro stares at him, his expression hardening for a moment, but then it falters, the surprise clear in his eyes. He clearly hadn’t expected Kai to remember that interaction.
Kai ignores his shock, exhaustion creeping into his mind. He can’t think straight enough to contemplate his actions. He turns to the side - facing away from Morro - pulling his knees up slightly, his body aching. He’s tired and confused and admittedly scared. He hears rustling on the other side, and then the bed dips with Morro's weight. Kai abruptly interrupts the quiet.
“Have you heard anything about the others?”
“No.” Morro replies, clearing his throat. “No confirmed movement. They're lying low.”
Kai let out a breath he was unaware he was holding, relief easing his body. At least his efforts didn’t go to waste. His family was still safe.
This time, it’s Morro who breaks the silence.
“We can discuss how to help them tomorrow. For now, you should... sleep off whatever’s left in your system.”
Kai glares at the wall as if it would explain Morro’s behavior. “….I don’t get you.”
He hears Morro grumble something under his breath as he turns off the lights. Kai blinks, adjusting to the darkness.
“Why didn’t you let them take me to my room?”
Morro groans. “Because, your room would have cameras. 24/7 surveillance- audio and video.” Sarcasm seeps into Morro’s voice as he continues, “I’m sure you would have loved it.”
Kai stays silent after that.
“What? Got nothing to say?”
“….”
Morro scoffs. “Whatever”
Silence strikes again, but this time, it actually settles.
None of this makes any fucking sense.
Kai closes his eyes, trying to push away the somber feeling of unease. He faintly remembers what Morro had said in his cell.
"I'm just... trying to make it right.”
The desperate, guilty look in Morro’s eyes lingers in his head. Kai can’t help but think that maybe now, after everything, maybe Morro wants to be saved.
Notes:
thank you so much for reading you guys actually give me so much reassurance like wow i love you
Chapter Text
Kai woke up warm. That was the first sign something was wrong. The second was the silence, deep and muffled, save for the distant sound of running water. A steady hum, coming from behind the closed door beside the bed. He sat up quickly.
No dizziness. No sluggish limbs. No nausea dancing at the back of his throat. No confusion tearing his mentality. Whatever the drugs had done, it was gone now. He was awake—actually awake. His eyes blinked rapidly, thoughts sharpening as he scanned the room with clear eyes for the first time.
The chambers were massive. Vast walls of empty marbled stone, with the exception of a military banner hung in the middle. It beared a crest representing a creature eerily similar to the likes of a demon. The front of the bed led to steps to a reflective floor devoid of any rugs, directing to luxurious, circular couch with a centered table projecting a layout of some kind of territory. A large screen above it, aligning in perfect view of the bed. Further off was presumably a dining area. The table was long and monolithic, a single slab of black stone. A staircase engineered with the same unwelcoming ambience as the lower floor was built on the distant wall. The upper level being fully visible by the lower floor, once again the bed in clear view. Kai tilted his head up to see that the center of the higher floor was occupied with a large desk - dark metal and polished wood. It was equipped with an extensive communication console, and surrounded by large shelves of books. The room was clearly designed to impose, rather than invite.
Kai’s attention snapped toward the door beside the bed, where the sound of running water had suddenly stopped. The bedsheets were still creased from where he’d slept, with the other side of the bed noticeably still warm, the pillow indented. He shoved the blankets aside as if they’d burned him.
You shared a bed. With Morro. Fucking hell.
It didn’t matter that he’d barely been conscious. It didn’t matter that his limbs hadn’t listened to him, or that the world had blurred at the edges until his only choice was to pass out or seize. He let his guard down. He’d slept. He’d surrendered.
“Idiot,” he muttered under his breath. “You’re not safe. Don’t forget that.”
The collar was still there, cold at his throat. Just in case he did forget.
The bathroom door opened in a hiss of steam.
Morro stepped out, toweling his damp hair, dressed in a black undershirt and trousers. His gaze landed on Kai, expression unreadable.
“You’re awake.”
Kai sneered. “No shit, Sherlock.”
Morro cocked his head, raising his eyebrows. “What’s a Sherlock?”
What the fuck.
“Forget it,” Kai snapped. He pretended to ignore Morro and focus on picking the scab that had formed on his forearm. The consequences of lashing out on the soldiers were evident on his body. At least when he was drugged, he was too out of it to fully register the pain.
…. How long has it been since he was captured? Kai chewed the inside of his cheek as he tried to rack his brain to formulate a timeline. Four days, he thinks. Four days too late.
His army reduced the city to rubble within hours. How much ground has he covered by now? How many people are dead?
The familiar feeling of fear buries itself within Kai. He has to make himself useful. He needs to help the others. Kai glances at Morro, who was still leaning against the doorframe. The fire elemental felt as if he was being studied.
What the hell am I supposed to do about him?
Morro had multiple chances to hurt him, but he didn’t. He could be lulling him to a false sense of security, but he was actively taking steps to make sure Kai was away from Scourge, which was a risk in itself. And now, instead of dealing with whatever Scourge would have done to him at the dinner- Kai shudders at the thought - he’s on a bed, untouched. Morro had respected him. Morro had hurt his baby brother. Morro said he was tired. Morro was the reason Lloyd couldn’t sleep sometimes. Morro said he wanted to make things right. Morro upset Master Wu. Morro offered to help him help the other ninja. Morro is working for the enemy. Morro is aware of his mistakes and is supposedly regretful. Morro this, Morro that. Kai was going insane.
But Morro was a liar. He was good enough to divert Scourge’s attention from Kai. That was fine, though. Kai was no less of a performer. He could lie too.
“You hungry?”
Kai shot him a glare, an attempt to hide his surprise. He forgot Morro was still actually there with him. “Fuck no,” he muttered, his tone anything but conversational. Clearly Morro couldn't read into that, or perhaps (and more likely) he just chose not to, because he still opened his mouth to say something. The moment he started to speak, however, a loud growl echoed amongst the room. Kai grimaced at the sound of his own stomach's betrayal, his face flushed in embarrassment.
Morro uncrossed his arms and straightened up, giving Kai a once-over before glancing toward the door. “The servants will bring up breakfast within the next hour,”
Kai’s gaze lingered, sharp with suspicion. “I still hate you.”
Morro didn’t flinch. “So you’ve said. Multiple times. It’s good, actually. Hate keeps you alive.”
A sudden knock drew their attention to the door.
”Pretend you're asleep.” Morro hissed, grabbing his coat and wearing it mid-step, already halfway across the room.
Kai pulled the covers over himself immediately, heart hammering in his chest. Fuck. Anyone but fucking Scourge.
——————————————————————————
Morro took a deep breath before answering the door. Kaeya was standing in the doorway, smile plastered on his face.
“Good Morning, Chief Commander."
His eyes skimmed over Morro’s shoulder, landing on his bed where Kai was ’sleeping’, lingering just long enough to make the implication obvious.
“So,” he continuous, “How was your night?”
Morro smiled back at him, as if Kaeya’s audacity didn't have his fingers itching for his rifle.
“Better than yours,” Morro replies.
Kaeya’s brows rose slightly, but he didn’t answer. He couldn’t, not really. Morro outranked him, and they both knew it. The game only worked as long as Morro let it.
“Scourge wants you at the afternoon briefing,” Kaeya said at last, a touch cooler now. “Figured you might need the reminder.”
Morro stepped forward, letting his presence fill the space between them. “He could’ve messaged me,” he said, still smiling.
Kaeya grinned, brittle at the edges. “Sure. But you know why he didn’t.”
After a moment, Kaeya stepped back, bowing just enough to demonstrate the obligation of respect. Then he turned and left. Morro shut the door behind him, letting his smile drop. He turned back to look at Kai, who unburied himself from the sheets.
Kai eyed the door before looking back at Morro. “That was…?”
Morro adjusted his cuffs. “Kaeya. One of Scourge’s other three commanders.”
Kai blinked, frowning. “So… what, he works under you?”
“Technically,” Morro said. “But Kaeya’s more interested in proximity to power than hierarchy.”
Kai raised an eyebrow. “Then why’d Scourge send him?”
“Probably to keep me in check,” Morro responded.
That quieted the brunet for a moment. Morro watched as Kai's hand fidgeted with the edge of the sheets.
“You didn’t.. give him a proper answer. About your night,” he said finally. “What do you think he believes?”
Morro shrugs, walking towards his bedside mirror. “Enough to make him uneasy. That’s all I need.”
Kai wrinkled his nose in confusion. “Who’s really in charge around here? Scourge? You? That Kaeya guy? What about the other two girls at the dinner? And how the hell are we going to help the others when you’re being monitored?”
Morro didn’t answer right away. He adjusted the collar of his uniform, then glanced at Kai through the mirror.
“You ask too many questions.” Before Kai could retort, Morro continued. “ Relax. They’re only up my ass because of my behavior yesterday. I rarely get monitored regularly. Besides, I have a plan on how to help Wu and his color coded circus. I know way more about Scourge than you do."
Kai bit his lip, clearly thinking hard. Morro couldn’t help himself.
“Careful. Wouldn’t want you to overheat that pretty head of yours.”
The commander watched as Kai’s expression shifted predictably - from focused intensity to sharp, rising anger. Without a word, Kai snatched up a pillow and hurled it at him. Morro, unbothered, caught it midair with one hand and casually fluffed it out, smoothing the edges like he was simply making the bed. It was the kind of indifference Kai couldn’t stand.
“You are so fucking annoying.” Kai seethes, glaring.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Morro moves to grab his boots and hook his rifle to his belt, amongst other things. He grabs his gloves and puts them on last.
“I’m going to meet with an informant. I understand it’s quite hard for you, but don’t do anything stupid. If someone knocks, don’t answer. I’ll tell the guards outside that they’re forbidden from entering the room. Don’t try and play hero until I get back,”
Kai ignores the bait and looks at him incredulously. “What? Right now? Kaeya just said- “
“Afternoon briefing is hours away. It’s only eight. Besides, Kaeya said. Not Scourge. Scourge patrols his other realms in the mornings, which is why he sent Kaeya to ‘check’ on me. Which, again, is also why I have to go meet my informant now. Like I said, Wu and his remaining clowns may not have been found or captured yet but we don’t know when that’ll change.”
“Is this informant in Ninjago? Are they going to help us defeat Scourge? Also, you’re not exactly a model of maturity yourself. If anyone’s a clown, it's you. We beat you. ”
“No. Yes. I’ll explain later. I’m also going to ignore the clown comment. While I’m gone, I need you to look presentable,” Morro said, already turning away. His boots clanked heavily on the stairs as he rushed upstairs. In his office, he grabbed a few papers from the desk, shoved them into his bag, then paused. Kai has little to no information about… anything right now. If I share what I’ve learned, then maybe... Morro turned his head briefly down at Kai, who was picking at scabs again. I don’t need to give him everything, but enough to build a bridge of trust. Or something. Why does this have to be so complicated? He pulled a few books off the shelf - ones already worn with notes and bookmarks - then headed back down. He tossed the books onto the bed with a dull thud. Kai stared at the books with skepticism.
Morro spreads the books out on the bed. “Read those. I’ve marked them up: notes, bookmarks, everything. It’ll give you some context, so when I come back and explain things, you’ll at least have an idea of what’s going on. Painkillers are in the bedside drawers. I’ll be back in less than an hour, before breakfast.”
Then, without warning, Morro pulled out his phone and held it close to the collar around Kai’s neck.
Beep.
Kai jerked back. “What the hell was that about?”
“I just synced your collar to my device,” Morro said calmly. “I’ll be able to monitor your vitals. If anything happens or you try to do something crazy, I’ll know and I’ll come back.”
Hopefully I won’t have to. Given his condition, he’s in no shape to try anything reckless.
Kai rubbed at the collar, eyes darting away. “What else can it do?”
Morro’s tone shifted to something serious. “Don’t do anything that’ll make you find out. Just stay put and you’ll be fine. Remember - less than an hour.”
And just like that, Morro was gone.
Notes:
thank you so much for reading <3
Chapter 9: what the hell
Notes:
wow thank you all so much for more than 100 kudos and your lovely comments i genuinely didn’t think this would get such attention
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Kai sat alone in the dim, quiet chamber, files and books spread out in front of him. The silence pressed in as he lay still for a moment, body faintly throbbing with persistent ache. Ignoring it, arm moving slowly, deliberately, reaching across the bed despite the protest of tender muscles. Fingers curled around the edge of the nearest volume and pulled it toward him. Kai hesitated only for a moment before flipping it open, pages dry and brittle under his fingertips. He leaned forward, grimacing at the pull in his ribs - eyes following yellowed pages filled with elegant script. In some margins, ink-stained scrawls - probably Morro’s handwriting - were found, evidently written in haste. He flipped through the book again, pausing. Why do these fuckers have age old books here, when they clearly have such advanced technology? And either way, would reading this even change anything?
"Ignorance is death," Master Wu had told them once, eyes holding years of experience,"For power is useless without the knowledge of where to strike."
Kai’s shoulders slump at the memory. Well, I have nothing else. This is the best way I can help.
He opens the first book, titled The Esoteric Powers of the Five. Seriously? Talk about dramatic.
"The five Demon Mages are entities of pure demonic essence, born devoid of any inherent power. Their survival and dominion rely upon the external siphoning of energy to conduct blood magic - a desperate parasitism that drives their relentless conquest of realms. Blood magic harnesses the life essence of the slain, as this profane sorcery infuses weapons and armies alike with unholy vitality, striking fear into the hearts of all who face it."
What the hell?
"Among the five, Scourge alone possesses an innate power: his mastery of his self generated mind manipulation and corruption magic. This destroys the need for external power absorption. This singular trait renders him uniquely formidable among the five. Two of the other mages stand as allies to Scourge: Stelle is the first, whose magic serves as martial might; the identity of the second mage is unknown. The remaining two mages operate independently. The powers of the other two mages may not be self - sufficient, but they are still strong in their own right: one channels the cosmic and celestial energies of the stars; the other commands the fluidity of reality, creating rifts in dimensions with ease."
Kai’s attention was then drawn to Morro’s emphasized notes: “Innate mind magic - why Scourge is unlike the others. Still vulnerable ; Ninjago’s elemental purity offers natural resistance to blood magic” Elemental.. purity? What does that even mean?
He continues to follow Morro’s scribbled writing, eyes widening at the realization. “Blood magic struggles to take root where elemental essence remains pure. The natural energy of elemental masters and other elemental beings, like dragons, resists corruption, often rejecting blood magic entirely. This purity is probably woven into Ninjago itself, which should limit Scourge’s reach"
Kai digested the information, muttering to himself. The demon mages weren’t like elemental masters. They didn’t have any actual power, they stole it. They bled it from the living and twisted it into something else. Elemental power is inherited, rooted in balance. Blood magic sounds like anything but. While Scourge was the only one who actually did have his own power, he still had his limits. Kai scans the titles of the remaining books, and grabs one called Scourge’s Dominion:
"The rise of Scourge stands unparalleled in the history of realm conquest. His dominion, a sprawling expanse of shadowed territories, is heavily controlled maintained by his three commanders, each wielding authority over distinct aspects of his military and governance. Commander Stelle is singular among the ranks for her unparalleled command of battle sorcery and martial discipline. She, among the commanders, is recognized as a true mage."
Kai’s eyes flicked to the margin, where scrawled words once again interrupted the formality of the text writing:
Morro’s Note: “If Stelle is an actual mage, why isn’t she of higher rank?”
Three commanders? I need to ask him about this later. If Morro is in charge, then he must be the highest rank. But Morro isn’t a mage, so maybe it’s because he has elemental purity or something?
“Commander Reyna’s role is also prevalent open conflict, her expertise rooted in mechanized legions and naval forces. Commander Kaeya's role resides in the orchestration of covert operations. His manipulations within enemy ranks have turned the tides of battles without a single blade drawn. His origin is shrouded in mystery. While no official recognition of magical ability is granted, numerous reports speculate on his possession of unusual powers, potentially linked to the ancient starborn or shapeshifting lines, though such claims remain unverified."
Beside Kaeya’s name, a fresh note from Morro caught Kai’s attention: “Kaeya - possible second demon mage.” Huh.
He drew in a sharp breath through his nose. The commanders were obviously dangerous, but the book had no mention of Morro. Admittedly, he didn’t know exactly how Morro got caught up into this. With a groan of frustration, he lays back on the bed with a thud.
Elemental purity. That was it. That’s what the book had called it. Not just some theory or idea - an actual magical barrier. Pure elemental magic couldn’t be corrupted because it didn’t mix with blood magic. It weakened it. And if Morro is right, and the ‘purity’ is weaved into Ninjago itself… then that would explain why Scourge hadn’t just rolled in and destroyed everything . Considering the technology and magic they were capable of, it was certainly possible. The mind manipulation explains the stiff behavior of the soldiers days earlier, right before Kai turned himself in. Scourge was the one who was controlling them.
Fire burst from Kai’s fingertips, evidently weakened by his state. The flame sputtered, barely holding shape before he closed his fist and snuffed it out. His power was weak, but at least now he knew - it gave him a single advantage, but a critical one. Unless Scourge found a way to take it.
Memories arose before he could stop them: power being torn from their bodies, being pitted against eachother. He remembers the energy pulsing through him, enabling him to almost hurt -
He halts the train of thought before the familiar feeling of guilt overtook him, rubbing his face with the heel of his palms. Calm down. Chen’s stupid fucking staff was destroyed.
He sits up again, grazing the corner of the book with his thumb, exhaustion looming. Kai didn’t know how long he sat there after that. The words on the pages had started to blur together, his focus ebbing as exhaustion crept in around the edges of his thoughts. His body reminded him that he was still hurt. He blinked down at the sprawl of books and papers on the bed. How long had it been since he’d even stood up? His hand moved slowly, closing the nearest volume with a soft thump. He leaned back against the headboard, muscles stiff. Morro’s voice floated back to him from earlier: “Look presentable.” Right. That. He huffed softly and swung his legs off the bed, steadying himself with a hand against the mattress. A shower. He could do that much. Maybe once he freshened up, and the bruises weren’t the first thing staring back at him in the mirror, he’d feel considerably less shitty. A less shitty Kai meant a more useful Kai.
He later realized that a shower was a terrible idea.
Everything was fine at first. He dug through the extra box of toiletries that Morro probably requested from the servants at some point. Took off his clothes. But then he turned the shower on, and the water hit him, and suddenly he’s in that stupid cell again, head jerked around by a merciless hand, water forcing its way into his lungs. The suffocating pressure, the feeling of drowning, the way his body had thrashed around helplessly. Kai swallowed hard, attempting to steady himself. His hand fumbled for the shampoo - fingers shaking, heart screaming behind his ribs. He squeezed the bottle, liquid spilling onto his hands and shoved it back against the shelf. He began scrubbing his scalp with short, sharp movements - too fast, too rough. Fingers tore through wet hair, nails scraping across his scalp. His knees almost gave out, as he stumbled back into the corner, hand flying to the wall, chest heaving as if his lungs couldn’t remember how to work.
It’s not real. It’s just a fucking shower.
He grabbed the bar of soap next, nearly dropping it. Lather built up in quick, frantic circles across his chest, down his arms, over his shoulders. The soap was everywhere, thick and clinging, but it felt like filth, not foam. His hands shook, but he didn’t stop, breathing in short bursts through clenched teeth. When he’d scrubbed every inch he could reach and the soap was finally gone, Kai reached out blindly and slammed the water off.
He stumbled out of the shower, water trailing from his hair and skin, yanked the towel from the hook, and once again viciously scrubbed at his body as the world spun around him. He paid no heed to the bruises and just tolerated the pain. His breaths quickened, turning shallow, as once again he felt as if he was suffocating. His legs gave in, the washcloth slipping from his grip as he sank back onto the cold bathroom floor, his back pressed against the wall.
No. No, no, no. I’m fine. I can do this. Just breathe. Just breathe.
But the more he tried to control his breathing, the more his chest constricted. The cold, slick feeling of water on his skin, the dread of it wouldn’t go away, despite how aggressively he had wiped off his body.
It’s not real. It’s not real. I’m not drowning. I’m not. I’m fine.
But it felt real. The collar around his neck tightened, as if to mock him. Then -
Beep.
A loud beep sounded from the collar. The sudden noise had him flinch violently in surprise.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sound came faster, more insistent. His breathing became increasingly more erratic.
Stop. Stop. Stop!
But the beeping wouldn’t stop. His pulse was roaring in his ears now, thundering in time with the beeping, and the air in the bathroom seemed to thicken, pressing down on him. Arms locked around his legs, body shaking violently as the first sob tore through him - a sound half swallowed by the tightness in his throat. He pressed his face deep into the crook of his elbow, desperate to hide the trembling that racked his frame. The sobs came in ragged waves, each one wracking his chest with aching force. His breath hitched uncontrollably between gasps, tears spilling over the edges of his elbow, dripping onto the cold floor beneath him. His hands clenched and unclenched, nails digging into his skin. Every sob was harder to keep quiet as his body convulsed with panic. The irritating sound of his own crying filled the small bathroom, mixing in with the relentless beeping like some cruel chorus. But then another instrument joined.
A soft, almost melodic purr filled the room, cutting between Kai's gasps and the collar’s beeping. His eyes snapped toward the source of the sound. There, sitting at the doorway of the bathroom, was a small white cat. It blinked slowly at him, its green eyes glowing softly in the bathroom light. It meowed once, gentle and sure, then without hesitation, it padded over to him. The cat brushed against his leg, nuzzling him with a softness so unexpected that he froze. The furry creature, completely unfazed by the panic of the human before him, settled next to his leg and curled up, its fur a warm, steady weight against his skin. Though the beeping of the collar still echoed loudly, the cat’s purring softened the chaos. Kai's body still shook, but the uncontrollable raggedness had eased into quiet trembling.
The cat pawed at his leg, nuzzling him again, this time pressing its head against his thighs. Kai sniffled, lowering his knees slightly. The animal took it as an invitation and jumped on the newly created space, curling into the shaking body. The beeping from his collar was still there as Kai registered the situation, tears continuously blurring his vision. He watched as the cat stayed, even as he cried and tears wet its fur. When the sobs reduced to muffled whimpers, he used an unsteady hand to try and pet the animal. Before he could do anything else, a sudden, sharp crack sounded in the distance, followed by hurried footsteps approaching the door.
"Kai!?"
Kai’s head jerked up, stomach twisting, panic rising again. The Master of Wind was standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable, scanning Kai’s disheveled form. His lips pressed together, and there was a flicker of something that Kai couldn’t identify in his state.
“What the fuck happened? Your vitals were off the charts. I came as soon as I could, I thought -” Morro paused. He took a step closer, eyes narrowing as he took in Kai’s… current predicament.
Morro’s hands hovered for a long moment, as if unsure whether to reach for him or leave him be. Kai stared up at him in disbelief.
But then Morro moved. Slowly. Cautiously. He kneeled down in front of Kai, hands settling on his shoulders. The touch was surprisingly gentle - far from the forceful grip Kai had expected, his body relaxing and leaning into the touch.
“Breathe,” Morro said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. His fingers pressed harder, as if to jerk Kai back to reality. “It’s okay.”
He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, Morro’s hands resting on him, but it was long enough for Kai’s pulse to begin to calm.
When the rapid beeping of the collar finally ceased, Morro stepped back, but his presence didn’t leave. Kai was still on the floor, knees drawn up to his chest, the cat still resting on his lap like it belonged there.
Morro didn’t immediately speak. He studied Kai for a moment, his eyes scanning the other man carefully, glancing at the cat in momentary surprise. Then, without another word, Morro turned and reached into the sink cabinet, pulling out another towel and a pile of clothes. He placed it on the counter, and grabbed a tissue, handing it to Kai.
“Here. You need to clean up.”
Kai took the napkin without looking at him, embarrassed, wiping his face.
Morro watched him carefully for a moment, then asked, “Need help standing?”
Kai shook his head.
“Alright,” Morro said, his voice steady. “Take it slow. By the time you’re done changing, breakfast will be outside.” He steps out and closes the door behind him.
Kai slowly nudges the cat out of his lap. He stands, slowly, grateful he had half-mind to cover himself with towels earlier. He slowly squeezed his hair with the new towel Morro gave him, and changed into the new clothing set. The cat leapt up onto the sink, staring at him. Kai stares at the mirror, his face red and eyes swollen. His hair was down, reaching his shoulders. Well, he thinks bitterly, I’ve already ruined my reputation in front of him. No dignity left to save.
He steps out of the bathroom, cat on his heels. He sees Morro open the door, stepping out into the hallway for a brief moment. Kai could hear the muffled voices of the guards outside, the clink of metal as someone moved past. When Morro returned, the door closed softly behind him, his hand motioned Kai towards the dining table. Kai makes his way to sit, and the cat jumps again onto his lap, pawing at his chest. Kai looks up as the door opened again moments later, and servants entered. Without a word, they moved toward the table.
The servant placed the silver tray down on the table with a soft clink. They quickly and efficiently began to arrange the items. First, they set down the bowl of eggs, placing it carefully in the center of the table, herbs scattered atop. A platter of sliced meats followed, laid beside it in neat rows. Bread was placed next, alongside a small dish of vibrant fruits. The fruit was unlike anything Kai had ever seen, their colors sharp and vivid against the otherwise neutral spread. Finally, several golden-brown treats dusted with cinnamon and sugar were placed neatly at one side of the table, beside a small silver jug of honey.
The servants, seemingly finished, took a step back and bowed in Morro’s direction, before leaving. He takes his coat off and takes a seat in the chair next to Kai.
“Not quite your usual breakfast, is it?” he remarked coolly, as he gestured toward the table with a flick of his hand. “The eggs, they’re infused with sage. And the meats are smoked with a blend of other herbs you probably haven’t tasted before. It’s a bit... heavy, but it’s meant to be satisfying.”
Kai swallowed, unable to ignore his gnawing hunger. He reluctantly fills his plate, movements stiff as he places the fork back down. He eats quietly and tries to ignore everything that happened in the last hour.
” So. Are you... okay?”
Kai froze mid-bite.
“I’m fine,” he mumbled, pushing a slice of melon into his mouth. The sweetness of it only made him angrier. He wasn’t supposed to be here, wasn’t supposed to be stuck in this stupid room with weird food and an ex-ninja villain who is helping him not lose his shit while seemingly on some holy path of eternal goodness. But then he remembers the sleeping creature in his lap, and the words are out before he can think.
”Since when do you have a cat?"
“Since when do I have a cat?” Morro repeated, as if the question had caught him off guard. There was clear amusement in his eyes.
“I… didn’t mention it, did I? Forgot to.” He took another bite of the food, clearly unbothered by the shift in focus. “She’s usually very shy. Keeps to herself most of the time.”
…. Fuck it. Might as well bite the bullet . “What’s her name?”
“Uh… cat?” Morro said sheepishly. He looked at the animal again, as if reconsidering. “I never really bothered to name her. She’s just... the cat.”
Kai must have looked incredibly judgmental, because Morro ended up continuing. “She’s a cat. I don’t think she cares much about names. Besides, she never seemed to like me much. Guess she’s warmed up to you, though.”
Kai felt the familiar tug of a memory. He didn’t mean to remember, but the feeling of something soft and warm curled into him was too close to ignore.
------------------------------------
He was back in the monastery. It was late afternoon, the light gold and drowsy as it filtered through the windows. Lloyd was younger, so small then that he fit perfectly in Kai’s lap, all skinny arms and bright green eyes. He’d crawled up without asking, like he always did, planting himself right against Kai’s chest with a satisfied sigh.
“You’re getting too big for this,” Kai had teased, wrapping an arm around him anyway.
“No I’m not,” Lloyd huffed. “I like it here. You're warm.”
Kai stifled a laugh and rested his chin lightly on top of Lloyd’s head. He closes his eyes and cherishes the moment, smiling at the way the kid’s hair tickled his chin. He remembers when Nya used to do this.
Then, out of nowhere, Lloyd had piped up, “I want a cat.”
Kai raised an eyebrow. “A cat?”
“Yeah! One that follows me everywhere and knows tricks,” Lloyd said seriously, squirming in Kai’s lap as if a cat might appear at that very moment.
Kai chuckled. “I don’t think you can teach a cat tricks, buddy. What would you even name it?”
Lloyd had leaned back to look up at him, face scrunched in thought. Then he beamed. “Oreo!”
Kai snorted. “Oreo?”
“Yeah!” Lloyd nodded eagerly. “Because it’d be black and white. Duh!”
Kai shook his head, ruffling his hair. “You’re such a dork.”
Lloyd giggled, and the sound had stayed with Kai even now, echoing faintly in the back of his skull.
-------------------------------------
Kai glanced down at her. White fur. Black paws. His chest clenched unexpectedly.
“…Oreo,” he whispered.
Morro, still seated beside him and finishing the last of his drink, looked over.
“What?”
Kai didn’t look up. He kept his hand on the cat’s back, gently scratching between her ears. “Her name. I’m calling her Oreo.”
Oreo purred again, louder, pressing her head into his hand like she agreed.
Kai straightened up as he reminded himself who he was fighting for. There was a quiet strength in the way he gathered himself, the memory grounding him. He cleared his throat, his voice steady and even, no longer betraying the earlier turmoil. 'I read what you gave me. I have questions. But before that… I want to hear your side of the story. How you ended up… here." Kai met Morro’s eyes, and for the first time, his brown gaze held gentle curiosity instead of hate.
Notes:
thank you for reading :3 ik this was fully kai so we get morros pov next!!
Chapter 10: natural hair, amber eyes
Summary:
basically lore dump #2 + morro thinking kai is pretty (he is) but not outwardly saying it
Notes:
GUYS 200+ KUDOS?? stop you guys…. guys….. guys…. i love you
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Morro ran down the hallway with an urgency he hadn’t felt in a long time. He felt the buzzing in his pocket, a testament to how wild Kai’s vitals were at the moment. He gets past the guards, asking if anyone has gone inside the room while he was gone. Both stationed guards say no, but Morro just feels more uneasy. He pushes open the main door, and turns toward the soft sobs coming from the bathrooms.
“Kai!?”
He’s standing in the bathroom doorway now, watching as Kai jerks his head up, curled in on himself. He’s... terrified.
Morro approached slowly, trying not to startle Kai further. “What the fuck happened? Your vitals were off the charts. I came as soon as I could, I thought -”
His hands hovered uncertainly. To force help or to wait? To assert control or to let Kai find his footing? But then he remembers last night, and how Kai seemed to have found comfort in touch, so he takes a gamble and runs it down. He kneels, letting his hands rest gently on Kai’s shoulders. Morro braced for resistance, but Kai immediately leans in instead, seemingly desperate for something solid.
“Breathe,” Morro whispered, forcing his voice to be as gentle as he could manage. He was terrible with emotions. He never knew what to do or say in these kinds of situations. When he cried, Wu didn’t really know what to do either. He just sat down with him and handed him tissues until his tears would stop. He scans Kai again, hair damp and falling naturally, no longer held stiff by a mountain of gel. It framed his face softly, bangs brushing lightly over big amber eyes. Said eyes wide with fear just moments ago, now blinked rapidly, as if willing their owner to relax. He didn’t pull away, so neither did Morro. He stayed still, waiting for the first sign of Kai easing: the beeping of the collar slowing, then stopping altogether. That’s when Morro finally stands, gathering an additional towel and clothes. He offers a tissue as well, catching the flicker of shame on Kai’s face.
“Need help standing?”
Kai’s shook his head, small but resolute.
Morro pulled back, reminding Kai about breakfast before heading out. He distantly wonders why Kai bothers to gel his hair; the natural look suits him way better.
-----------------------------
Morro tilted his head in confusion. What the fuck is an Oreo? I must really be out of touch with Ninjago culture..
Suddenly, Kai straightened, and the way he eyed Morro shifted - different from before. ''I read what you gave me. I have questions. But before that… I want to hear your side of the story. How you ended up… here."
Morro drums his fingers on the table, meeting Kai’s gaze. “Scourge found the Departed Realm. And he found me in it.”
“What, just by accident?”
“He was looking for anything immune to blood magic,” Morro replied, clipped. “Something he couldn’t control. I survived that place when Scourge came, while most others didn’t. He noticed. Took me.” He hopes Kai doesn’t ask for details. Morro isn’t really keen on telling him about how he discovered his immunity curse or that he has one in the first place.
“I read Scourge’s Dominion,” Kai said after a beat. “And the one on the Five Demon Mages.”
“Then you know how they survive.”
“Yeah,” Kai said, grimly. “They’re basically parasites.” He quoted without looking at the page, making his voice deep, adding finger quotes: “‘Born devoid of inherent power. Their survival and dominion rely upon the external siphoning of energy to conduct blood magic.’” He lowered his hands. “It’s not even magic. It’s fucking murder.”
Morro crossed his arms. “That’s why Scourge is different. He doesn’t need the blood. His magic’s in the mind - corruption and manipulation. The only one of the five with power that doesn’t rely on death. Not that he doesn’t murder anyway, of course.”
Kai leaned forward. “You wrote that blood magic struggles to take root where elemental essence is pure. That it rejects corruption.”
“It’s a resistance, not immunity. But it slows the infection. Can even stop it entirely, sometimes.”
“And Ninjago has that,” Kai said, recalling what he’d read. “It’s... woven in?”
“Generations of elemental wielders and elemental dragons. The land remembers.” Morro’s tone was almost reverent. “If I remember right, the First Spinjitzu Master made Ninjago with the four golden weapons of creation.” He gestured vaguely. “There’s nowhere else like it. In a way, Ninjago’s a realm made of purity. That’s why Scourge moved fast when he invaded and maxed out his resources in a short span of time. Maybe if the other ninja can use the weapons—”
Kai grimaced. “The Golden Weapons were... uh. Long story short, they’re the Golden Armor now. Cyrus Borg has them.”
“Who? Armor??”
“Uh... the point is, we can’t really use them anymore. It was the Overlord’s fault.” Kai laughed nervously.
What is he talking about? “I don’t understand… they were turned into armor? You idiots let that happen?”
“Okay, first of all, it wasn’t our fault. And Cyrus Borg,” - Who is Cyrus Borg supposed to be? - “has them. He’s keeping them safe, but they were in Ninjago City, so I don’t know if they’re still technically safe but—”
Morro cut him off before he could spiral. “Whatever. I’ll have my informant look into it. I doubt Kaeya’s scouting teams found it yet, considering he hasn’t reported anything. So I doubt it.”
Kai scratched behind the cat’s Oreo's ears, then looked up. “Speaking of Kaeya, do you really think he’s the second Demon Mage?”
“Possibly. He’s older than he looks and doesn’t age like a human. There has to be a reason Scourge chose him specifically for Intelligence. Plus, Scourge trusts him a larger amount then normal”
“And Stelle is... for sure? A mage, I mean.”
“Confirmed mage. Her magic’s weaponized: enhancement, battlefield control. I’m sure you read about it in the books.”
Kai nodded slowly, chewing on that. “And the other girl, Reyna isn’t a mage. The books said only two mages followed Scourge.”
“Yeah. No signs of magic. Reyna’s mainly with the naval force. She works with Stelle. Loyal and strong, but that’s pretty much it.”
“So… where do you fall in this?” Kai asked. “Because the books didn’t mention you at all.”
Morro’s expression didn’t shift. “That’s intentional. I don’t exist in their system,” he said. “My orders come straight from Scourge. I’m ranked, but not listed. Besides, those books are older than when Scourge found me.”
Kai stared at him, lips pressed thin. “Doesn’t Scourge know that you’re an Elemental Master? Like, that you’re originally from Ninjago?”
Morro looked down, avoiding the subtle accountability in Kai’s gaze. “Not really. The Departed Realm messed up my energy, I guess. He couldn’t sense it then and he doesn’t sense it now. I can still use wind, but he just thinks I have some other weird, outlandish magic. As far as he knows, I’ve lived my whole life in the Departed Realm. Not that he even knows it’s called that- but still.”
Kai looked at him - like really looked. And Morro hated it, because whatever he saw in Kai’s eyes wasn’t pity, but it wasn’t forgiveness either.
Neither of them spoke for a while. Then Morro added, almost absently, “He controls eight realms now.”
“ Eight? How?”
“They had strong armies. Some had special abilities. But no effective resistance, because no elemental purity.”
Kai exhaled, shaky. “What about your... informant. What did they say? I mean, who even are they?”
“I try to have informants in every realm Scourge has conquered. The castle has a room with eight gates, one for each conquered realm. No amount of regular blood magic allows teleportation -not unless it’s powered by a mage. Not Scourge or Stelle. So, again, I assume possibly Kaeya. In any case, Scourge knows I have them, but I usually report what I learn. Sometimes- like now- I keep it to myself. For later.”
Morro handed Kai a scroll, which he hesitantly took.
“Do you recognize this?”
The scroll read: "Darkness will reign, and his shadows will overwhelm the heavens but when the dust settles, the Green Ninja will stand unbroken over his ruin.”
Morro watched as Kai froze in surprise, seemingly rereading it again and again.
“This is the prophecy Scourge got—”
“Wait. Wait. Pause. Stop. This is.This is fucking different. This says Lloyd wins. ”
“What are you- ”
“We got different prophecies, Morro! Different! They’re fucking different!”
Morro blinked, astonished. “What? You got a prophecy too?”
“Yes!” Kai hissed, frantic. “We got it only hours before Scourge invaded. Ours said the light will bend to the will of the dark, the heavens will be torn open, and Lloyd will fall. This one says Lloyd will stand unbroken over his ruin. Do you get it? They’re different!”
So Wu got a prophecy too, then? That’s new. But if they received theirs too late... does that make the other one more likely?
“Scourge was shown this prophecy before he found me. No one knows what it actually said - well, except for us, now - but that’s only because there’s a rule: if a prophecy is revealed to one mage, it’s revealed to all. Since there are still two mages out there who aren’t under Scourge’s command, I was able to... bargain for information through my informant.”
“...Bargain?”
“Long story. The point is, now we know something crucial: there are two outcomes. And the older prophecy says Lloyd wins. Maybe that means it’s more likely.”
Kai rubbed his face in relief. “This is great. This is good. I thought Lloyd was—”
“Don’t get too excited. Two prophecies still means two possible ends, regardless of timeline.”
The cat’s Oreo gave a soft purr, and neither of them moved. Traitor. All it takes is him crying and now you’re obsessed
“So what’s your plan to help the others?”
Morro sighs. “Not with brute force. Not yet. But if we fully understand how his magic works, we might find a way to undo it.”
“And you think information is stronger than-”
“Than actively fighting? Yes,” Morro cut in. “Because knowledge is the only thing that’s ever slowed him down.”
“Then how do we fight back?”
Morro looked at him carefully, like weighing the risk of honesty.
“I watched your sister destroy the Preeminent.” Morro notes the pride that fills Kai’s eyes at Nya’s mention. “She can probably overpower the naval forces. Not alone, of course - but it’s a critical advantage. Plus, the robot one-”
“Nindroid,” Kai corrected.
“...Right. Whatever. The ice could freeze the ships. Cole’s earth can disrupt the armies. And the blue one... Jay, right? Yes, I remember him being fast- he can support Cole.”
Kai interrupted, startled by the detail. “You planned all that?”
“I’ve been waiting a while,” Morro shrugged.
“But if our elemental powers were enough, we would’ve taken care of Scourge the moment he walked in.”
“Are you even listening? Why do you think I keep saying knowledge is important? If you’d let me finish-”
Kai raised his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, boss. Keep going.”
Morro glared before continuing. “Like I was saying, you guys were overwhelmed. Two mages present, both Scourge and Stelle - plus Reyna in the mix. It was too much. Being overwhelmed in power, and lacking information? That’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
Apparently, the food had replenished Kai’s sarcasm meter instead of his stomach, because he kept going. “Right. Of course. So bestow your holy knowledge.”
Sadly, Morro was not a better man. “Ah, yes, indeed. However, the likes of you could never comprehend. So naturally, I suppose i’ll have to dumb it down. Maybe I’ll even throw in a puppet show. ”
Kai snickered, a warm sound laced with disbelief. There was something in the way he smiled, bright and so alive , that caught Morro off guard. He felt something unfamiliar stir before he shoved it back where it came from and continued. “We both know Scourge can use mind control. But I’ve learned it’s more detailed than that. To use his magic, he has to draw blood from the back of someone’s throat. He regains control from there as the magic spreads into the nervous system and brain. I haven’t tested it, but I think if we can open the cut again- maybe we can sever the control. Or, if we’re in contact with the blood, maybe we can use our elements to purify it.”
Kai rests his head on his arm, thinking. “No wonder the soldiers had those thick neck guards. That would explain it.”
“Yeah. But Scourge is unlikely to use such a large surge of power again- and even if he wanted to, he can’t. The longer he stays here, the worse his control gets. He got Ninjago City, and the other commanders are trying to expand control and find Lloyd. Their forces are closing in on the area near the Monastery. I managed to redirect some attention, but still. I assume Wu’s regrouped the ninja there. No one’s spotted them in the city or outer villages yet.”
A crease formed between Kai’s brows, tension rippling across his features. “Shit. Really? This fast?”
Morro pauses before responding. He really does wear his heart on his sleeve. “Yeah. They’re moving faster than I thought. But you don’t need to worry about the others yet. Stelle’s still needs to replenish her magic, and Scourge is probably waiting until she’s back to push past Ninjago’s resistance. I’d guess we’ve got a week - maybe less, maybe more, depending on how things unfold.”
“Why not? Why the hell shouldn’t I be worried?”
“Because you should be worrying about yourself.”
Kai pushed back, defensive. “Excuse me?”
Morro didn’t sugarcoat. “Scourge knows that you’re the elemental master of fire. And, more importantly, that you weren’t corrupted when you were captured. Scourge needs to understand how it works - why some people succumb, and others don’t."
“So what? You think he’s gonna experiment on me?”
“I don’t think. I know him. He’ll find out what kept the corruption out - from you, and from Ninjago - and he’ll destroy you to get it.”
Notes:
thank you for reading! <3 major angst next chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chapter 11: his majesty
Summary:
tw murder, suffocation, “suicide"
im sorry ik i said this chapter would be angst, but i didn’t like the flow so I added some extra details to this chapter and will now move angst to next chapter :( to make it up to everyone i will make the angst super angsty
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
[approx. ninety hours after the capture of Ninjago City]
Kai rolled his eyes with emphasis. “Please. I’m not here to be anyone’s science project, so I’m just not going to fucking cooperate.”
“Doesn’t matter. You don’t cooperate? Scourge will just drug you. He doesn’t give a damn about your opinion.”
Kai jerks up, startling Oreo as she leapt off his lap and settled on to the floor, meowing in distress. “So what? I just let him do whatever the hell he wants?”
“No,” Morro said calmly. “You pretend you’re scared. Make him underestimate you. Play the part until you get your chance.”
A soft buzz interrupted them. Morro glanced down - his communicator lighting up. A message from Scourge.
He sighed, annoyed. “Are you kidding me?” he muttered.
He calls in the servants, yelling out orders. “Clean this place up. Prepare Kai. His Majesty suddenly wants to see him at the briefing too.”
Kai shot him a sour look.“I can get myself ready.”
Morro’s eyes narrowed into a glare. “No, you can’t. Help him. Now.”
The servants moved swiftly, dragging Kai away to be dressed and readied. Kai’s sputtering protests died unheard.
Before leaving, Morro leaned toward a servant and whispered,“No need for a bath. He’s already had one. Fetch me when he’s done - I’ll walk him down myself.”The servant nodded and quickly began clearing the dining table, then followed the others around Kai. Morro then raised his voice loud enough so Kai could hear, "I’ll be at the meeting. Don’t be stupid."
Ignoring Kai’s angry “You’re stupid!” and the servants’ startled gasps, Morro strode out the door.
Several hallways later, he enters the council chamber with the unmistakable weight of command pressing down on him. The room fell into sharper focus at his presence; guards straightened, and Kaeya and Reyna, previously relaxed, snapped rigidly to attention.
Morro’s gaze swept the room with cool authority. “Where is Stelle?” he demanded, taking the seat to the right of Scourge’s empty throne.
“She remains in the portals,” Reyna answered, fingers tracing the rim of her glass.“The last raid exhausted her magic. She is recovering.”
“How long before she can return to duty?” Morro pressed.
“Typically another day or two.” Kaeya responds.
“Scourge expects full mobilization by cycle’s end. We cannot afford delays. Do we have geographical details on this realm?”
“Our devices managed to capture an overlay,” Kaeya explains. “It’s not a detailed map, but it offers a general view of the city and its key locations. It should give us some insight into the mainland. I’ll wait for Scourge to arrive before sharing it with everyone.”
Reyna let out a breath, her fingers tapping impatiently on the edge of the map. “The window is closing, Sir,” she said urgently. “While Ninjago City and outlying villages are captured, our expanding technology seems to be massively halted by a force within the realm. Ninjago has clear resistance to our magic, and we’ve yet to understand why. If we do not act soon, we’ll be fighting a war on two fronts. And that won’t end well for any of us. ”
There was a brief pause, before Reyna added, voice thoughtful, “I wonder if we could start trying out technology from other realms? Something that could give us an edge against Ninjago’s alleged resistance?”
“Outlandish technology won’t help,” Morro replies. “We’ve seen their tech - none of it matches ours. Our magical arts are the most powerful thing we’ve got. Switching to another realm’s tech would just end up being more of a hassle. We’d be fighting with one hand tied behind our backs. After all, no other realm has matched the blood magic-powered systems we’ve built. Even if we were to switch back to their tech, we’d probably be worse off than we are now.”
Kaeya agrees. “We’ll need to make what we have work. That’s our best option for now.”
The chamber doors opened. A servant bowed and whispered in Morro’s ear. The prisoner is ready Morro stands. “When is His Highness due to arrive?”
“He’s close to the gates. He visited Ravothar this morning.”
“I’ll get our prisoner before he arrives, then.”
࿓࿓༄༄࿓࿓༄༄࿓࿓༄༄࿓࿓༄༄࿓࿓༄༄
Morro finds Kai standing just outside his chamber door, nervously fidgeting with his hair. The sharpness in Kai’s eyes flared when he spotted Morro, his anger evident.
“I hate this outfit. Everything about this pisses me off. I hope you know how ridiculous this is. I’m only doing this for the team. And—”
“Please. Must you always be this dramatic?”
They walked together, Morro’s boots clicking against the floor, Kai’s earrings jingling faintly. Out of his peripheral, he watched as Kai shuffles, dressed in simple, dark robes fitting for a prisoner. His arms were crossed, and his lips were pursed.
Morro groans. “Spill it.”
Kai shot a nasty look before opening his mouth. “Just… what if he asks me questions? About Ninjago and stuff? Do I lie?”
“No. Do not lie under any circumstance. He will decipher it and—”
“How? His magic can’t even affect me—”
“Scourge is all mental skill. How do you think he got this far? Don’t lie. Just give vague answers and see how much you can get away with. If he asks you about the Golden Weapons, tell him. About the history of Ninjago? Be vague. He’s just trying to figure out how to minimize Ninjago’s resistance to blood magic. It’s affecting them bad enough. One of the commanders is still recharging. Any information they get from you isn't necessarily going to be used right away, considering the realm-wide resistance.”
As they neared the door, Morro stopped and turned to face him once more, hesitant. “But... I need to tell you one more thing,”
Kai, sensing the gravity of the situation, locked eyes with him. Morro’s voice dropped, “I can use blood magic.”
“What?!"
Morro nodded slowly, continuing. "I don’t know exactly why. But I remember.. Mast- I mean, Wu talking about the elements of creation and the elements of change. Wind is an element of change... So my guess is that elements of change adapt to blood magic, while elements of creation remain immune. You’re proof of the second part.”
Morro stopped for a moment, allowing Kai to process the information. His expression darkened as he continued. "I’m only telling you this now because Scourge might ask me to demonstrate it in front of you. Or demonstrate it himself. I don’t want you to be surprised."
"Does this mean... you’re not immune, either?"
Morro shook his head slowly, his features softening for a brief second. “No. I still am, but to a lesser degree, I think. It’s... complicated. Don't worry about me, though. I can’t die.”
Kai glanced away, his cheeks flushing a bit. “I wasn’t worried. "
They reached the end of the corridor, and the closed doors now greeted them. Morro watched in subtle amazement as Kai took a deep breath, wiped his face of all emotion, then shrank his shoulders and lowered his head. All the talk about Kai’s behavior being important for the other Ninja's survival must have got through to the fire elemental's head. It’s moments like these when Morro realizes that none of the other ninja would likely survive this. While Kai can be emotional, he knows how to keep up a facade.
“ I don’t know what Scourge is going to do. I hate to admit it, but he’s probably going to pull something crazy to scare you. So, just.. follow my lead, okay?"
“…..Right."
They walked in, and Morro noticed the extra chair next to him, in between Stelle’s. A servant must have placed it when he left. He gestured for Kai to get settled on it.
Morro cleared his throat, ensuring both Reyna and Kaeya caught what he was about to say to Kai. “You will speak only when spoken to. Answer only what is asked. And you will not provoke.”
Kai’s eyes flickered upward, meeting Morro’s. “Yes, Commander."
Kaeya's eyes watched Kai. “Damn,” he said with a teasing edge, “what did you do to him, Morro? He seems quite agreeable now.”
Morro's attention shifted back to Kai as Kaeya's teasing words drifted into the air, but he didn’t flinch. Before he could say anything more, the heavy doors to the chamber slid open, and the chilling presence of Scourge filled the room. He moved with the predatory grace of a king accustomed to command, his crimson armor catching the lights.
Without a word, Morro stood, his back straightening as he acknowledged the monarch's arrival. The others, following the unspoken protocol, stood as well, rising to their feet. The Head Commander spoke first. “Your Majesty.”
A smile played on Scourge’s face. He only nodded at Morro, his eyes flicking around the room, taking in the atmosphere. His gaze settled briefly on Kai, and for a split second, an inscrutable gleam flashed in his crimson eyes.
“Ah, the Green Ninja’s loyal dog,” Scourge drawls. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Kai.”
Morro waited for Scourge to take his seat. “Please, Your Majesty, the council awaits your direction.”
Scourge moved toward the high chair beside Morro, settling into it with the ease of a king. Stelle entered moments later, surprising the already seated commanders.
She took her seat beside Kai, and Morro leaned forward, his voice sharp as he addressed Stelle.
”Stelle. I trust your recovery has been swift. You seemed to have recharged at an impressive rate. How did you manage such a rapid restoration?"
She tilted her head just enough to catch Morro’s eye. “I drew upon the remnants of... more potent sources,” she replied, "The essences of more formidable creatures. Their vitality was absorbed and redirected toward my restoration, yet not fully complete. It is... a method of efficiency, though not one to be employed lightly.”
Morro nodded slowly, his gaze lingering on her for a moment longer, before he chose not to press further. Stelle’s response was deliberately vague - she wasn’t one to divulge more than necessary. He would figure it out later. This means they’ll start pushing inland faster. We might have less than two days, now.
"Enough of this.” Scourge clasps his hands in front of him. "It’s time we stop wasting time on trivialities and discuss the matter at hand."
Morro straightened, giving a curt nod of agreement. He turned his attention to Kaeya, signaling for him to report.
Kaeya stood up from his seat, fidgeting with buttons as a holographic appeared. “As we all know, the blood magic resistance is beginning to have an effect on the technology we rely upon. It’s disrupting much of our network, making it increasingly difficult to operate at full capacity. However, we have managed to gather some satellite data that shows partial mapping of Ninjago. It’s incomplete, but it provides us with a few key locations."
He then pulls out a physical map, his finger tracing over the edges as he continued. “Fortunately, we also discovered a series of maps among the remnants of the Ninjago City museums. We have restored one of them. The realm itself is defined by balance - there are two large islands, each with various smaller sections. This structure is akin to the symbol of what is called a yin-yang, where two opposing yet complementary forces exist in a constant state of equilibrium.”
Kaeya then pulls out another technoligcal interface, dragging images of six people to be displayed across the table. “The elements themselves seem to be the protectors of this realm, a group known collectively as 'The Ninja.' They act as guardians, each aligned with one primary element. According to my database, there are five male ninja and one female.”
He gestured toward Kai as he spoke. “Fire, represented by none other than our esteemed guest here, Kai, and his younger sister, Nya, who wields the element of water.”
At the mention of Nya, Reyna’s eyes flicked to Kai, and her lips curled into a teasing smile. “A sister?” she interjected, “Is she as… appealing as her brother, I wonder?”
Kai looked like he wanted to kill her.
Kaeya, ignoring her, continued with the report. “There is also Ice, represented by a boy named Zane, Earth by Cole, and Lightning by Jay. And, of course, we have Lloyd - the Green Ninja. His element appears to be something akin to energy, a force that transcends the elements, something far more powerful. And lastly, their master, Wu. The same Wu who orchestrated the explosion that allowed the other ninja to escape the day of siege.”
“I see,” Scourge says. “That’s six people who are immune to blood magic, then.”
Reyna raised an eyebrow. “Immune, My Lord?”
"The elemental powers themselves seem to act as a barrier. After all, Kai here has not been corrupted by any blood magic during his stay. In fact, why don't you stand up for us, dear.”
Kai stiffened at the sudden attention, but he complied, pushing himself to his feet. He throws a nervous glance at Morro.
It’s fine. Morro thinks, Just do as he says.
“Let us see first see how this works on an average subject,” Scourge adds, gesturing for a servant. “Step forward.”
Morro inwardly scolds himself for not predicting this sooner. Shit.
The servant’s breath caught, his face blanching further as he realized the fate that awaited him. With no choice but to comply, he stepped forward hesitantly.
In an instant, Scourge’s magic lashed out with brutal force. The tendrils of pulsing, red magic engulfed the servant, wrapping around his body like a tightening coil. The man’s eyes bulged in horror as the magic began to drain the very life from him. A horrific sound filled the air - the gurgling of a man’s breath being stolen, followed by the sickening crack of bones and blood vessels snapping under the pressure. The servant’s skin paled rapidly, veins blackening and bursting out beneath the surface. His mouth opened in a silent scream, but no sound emerged.
He’s going to kill him. Fuck.
Scourge’s eyes remained fixed on the servant as the blood magic continued its gruesome work. With every passing second, the servant’s form shriveled, his chest caving in as more blood was ripped from his body. The floor around him began to pool with crimson. Stelle moved forward without a hint of hesitation, her form in fluid precision. She extended her hand, and as if drawing the very essence of the substance into her being. It melded with her skin in a strange, unsettling display, as though she were a conduit for the life that had been stolen. The man collapsed to the ground, nothing more than a lifeless and withered corpse. The room was thick with the metallic stench of death, the air heavy with the horror of the display.
Morro had gotten used to it. As disgusting as it was, he had. Years rotting in the hellhole that was the Preeminent, and then trapped in a realm for the Departed with nothing but the kind of silence that drove you insane. And then, just when he thought he'd tasted freedom, he found himself serving another bloodthirsty master. He’d learned to endure, the way the wind carves through rock, bending without breaking. Fire, on the other hand, was unyielding in its purity —
Kai dropped to his knees hovering over the remains of the man with trembling hands. His breathing became abnormal. His collar began to beep, its rapid pulses mirroring the frantic thudding of his heart.
“Relax, child. The man was useless anyway.” Scourge’s voice sliced through the beeping. “Let’s see how your magic reacts, shall we?”
Still stunned, Kai remained where he was, unable to fully process the grisly scene he had just witnessed. His collar continued its incessant beeping. Scourge raised his hand once more, a wave of crimson energy surging forward, tendrils of the same red force stretching toward Kai like the claws of a predator, hungry for its prey. The room seemed to close in, the temperature rising as the magic reached for him. But as it crept closer, they suddenly recoiled. The magic hesitated, swirling in an agitated dance around him as though it had encountered an impenetrable wall. Morro’s breath rushed out in a startled exhale.
“Fascinating,” Scourge murmured, eyes piercing into Kai as if trying to unravel the mystery before him.
Kaeya’s eyes widened. "It would be prudent to conduct further examination," he remarked, amazed. "He presents an exceptionally valuable subject for research - one whose potential merits deeper investigation.”
The persistent beeping of Kai's collar continued, and Scourge finally growled under his breath. "Mute the damn thing," irritation evident in his voice. Morro pulled out a small device from his pocket, pressing a button with practiced ease. At once, the red light on Kai's collar flickered and then shut off, the beeping ceasing immediately.
Kai, his face pale and drenched in sweat, looked as though he was on the brink of collapse. His hand reached for his mouth, and before anyone could react, his stomach churned violently. He leaned over and retched, the contents of his stomach spilling onto the floor.
"Huh," Reyna mused aloud, "do all humans simply extract food out of their mouths when under stress? Fascinating.”
A chuckle made its way out of Scourge. "Morro has done no such thing. But I suppose he's different." he replied, his gaze now on the commander. "I admit, we do have an unfamiliarity with the average human species. Their biology is... much more fragile than a demon’s."
Morro glanced back at Scourge, his expression unreadable, but did not comment further. He gestured for the servants to clean up the mess, Kai still heaving on the floor. “Get up, Kai. This meeting is not over yet,”. Stay grounded. Do not let fear control you. He watched Kai struggle to steady himself, shakily rising from the floor, staggering back to his seat.
“Do tell, then.” Stelle asks, uncharacteristically talkative. "What are the weaknesses of you… elemental masters?”
Kai kept his head lowered, hands clenched on his lap.
“Is something the matter, Kai?” Scourge remarks. “Would you rather see another servant die before you? Perhaps that would convince you to speak.”
Kai’s head snapped up, expression horrified. “No!”
A satisfied smile curved at the corner of Scourge’s lips, as though the response was exactly what he had hoped for. “Excellent,” he said, voice dripping with mock sincerity. “Then I will ask again. Is there anything that can stop elemental power? Or perhaps, take it away?”
Kai averted his gaze, “There is...” he began, slowly. Stelle gestured for him to continue.
“….A staff. One that could strip away elemental power. And store them. Whoever held the staff could use any captured power of their choosing.”
WHAT?! Morro studied Kai’s face desperately, but….. He isn’t lying. Great. “Where is it now?”
Kai met Morro’s gaze. “I destroyed it,"
“……"
Thank God.
The room erupted in unionized frustration. The commanders’ reactions varied, but none were calm.
“You what?!” Reyna barked. “You destroyed it? Are you out of your mind?”
Stelle's expression shifted to one of irritation. “Why would you get rid of such a powerful thing?”
Kaeya shook his head in disbelief, voice dripping with incredulity. “You couldn’t even keep it for study?”
Scourge raised a hand, silencing them “You had a weapon that could have granted you immense power... and yet, you chose to rid yourself of it. A fascinating choice, indeed. You surely keep surprising me, with your... unpredictable decisions.” Scourge taps his foot impatiently, “what else is there, then?”
“There’s nothing else -"
Suddenly, Scourge jerked the body of another servant, wrenching her down onto her knees with a sound that echoed through the chamber. Red matter creeped around her throat like a serpent, constricting and lifting her slightly off the ground, so she dangled there, choking for air. Her eyes widened in terror, her face turning a mottled shade of purple as she clawed at the force choking her.
Kai surged to his feet, his hands erupting with flames. He thrust his hands forward, using the fire to break the pull of Scourge’s magic. The heat from his flames pushed against the energy with a forceful shove, breaking the hold long enough for the servant to collapse to the floor in a heap. He knelt beside her, holding her shaking body as she gasped for air, her chest heaving. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he muttered, his voice shaky.
“Speak, then.” Scourge ordered.
“There’s- there’s a stone,” he stammered, “A stone called Vengestone. It stops elemental power.”
“Where can they be located?”
“Uh - mines?” His voice faltered. “I - I don’t know exactly. I swear. I don’t know.” Morro watched as Kai fought to stay composed. His gaze focused to the servant on the floor, still gasping for breath. The girl had regained some color, the painful grip of Scourge's magic finally releasing its hold on her. She took in a deep, desperate breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her shaking hands clutched the floor as she steadied herself, her body visibly relieved to be alive, the weight of terror lifting off her shoulders. Kai looked like he was feeling the same sense of relief for her.
Reyna groaned in exasperation, "This is pathetic. She’s just some silly servant. Let her die.”
“No, wait-“ Kai shoots Morro a pleading glance.
“It’s fine, Reyna. She can go." Morro said, looking away from Kai. "We’ve wasted enough time here.”
Kai's grip on the servant loosened, his voice, barely audible, murmured a few words in her ear. She nodded quickly as she stumbled to her feet, and left. Kai stayed kneeling on the floor, his body frozen in place, his gaze still locked on the door where she had left.
Kaeya crosses his legs. “I’ll look into the mines to find where this Vengestone is located. Incorporating it into our technology could be the key to overcome resistance.”
Stelle nods, “Reyna and I can start focusing on seizing larger territories. The mines might be located around inland areas,”
Scourge motioned toward the map on the table. “Show me the map again, Kaeya.” Kaeya obliged, laying out the map once more. Scourge turned his attention back to Kai, who had finally torn his gaze from the door and now stared blankly at the map. “Good Riddance. Get off the floor, would you?” he snapped, his tone laced with impatience. “And do tell, where is it most likely for the ninja to regroup?”
Morro wanted to bang his head against the wall, to punish himself for being so fucking stupid. The flood of self-loathing threatened to choke him. Idiot. He knew Scourge would press for details about a place the ninja might still consider a refuge. That’s why had had come up with the idea to send an informant ahead, with an anonymous message to warn the others, to give them something - anything - before it was too late. But he failed to do so. I was so wrapped up with the prophecy, and preparing for this fucking briefing that Kai wasn’t even originally supposed to attend - He should have planned ahead. Of course Scourge was going to want him there. Why did he ever think otherwise? This is going to cost them everything.
“…...I don’t know,” Kai whispers, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his eyes.
Scourge is doing this on purpose. Morro’s teeth clenched, fury bubbling in his chest. Scourge knew that direct torture hadn't worked on Kai. He wasn’t naïve enough to try it again. So instead, he was using others. Innocents. Kai does not seem like the type to under the pressure, but what about when it was someone else’s blood on the floor?
“Hmmm.” Scourge muttered, as if the answer had sparked a fresh line of thought. “You must have a hideout though, yes?”
“…….”
How could I have forgotten? Fucking hell. I should have sent one this morning. Why didn’t I send one this morning? Now Scourge will force an answer out of Kai, the others are going to end up dead, and everything I worked for - Days, fantasizing about when Wu would welcome him with open arms, finally, finally loving him as he did his other children. Morro himself would realize he didn't need to be the green ninja, that instead he would be forgiven and understood. And then Kai, would never forgive himself, as rash and annoying as he was, was so full of life and Morro had been alone for so many years and any hope of companionship Morro had with him would -
At Kai’s lack of response, Scourge’s magic stretches and grabs three more servants. With a swift and brutal twist, Scourge snaps their necks, one after the other. The young servants' bodies go limp, their lifeless eyes staring blankly as they are unceremoniously dropped to the ground, adding to the growing pile of corpses. Stelle absorbs the energies. Kai is once again, frozen in horror.
“Don’t make me pluck another servant. Would you like me to kill more?”
Servants' lives are meaningless. They won’t amount to anything. Morro reasoned. It was harsh, but it was the reality, wasn’t it? Yes. Kai would think that too, right? Wouldn’t he? After all, wasn’t Lloyd his world? Kai wouldn’t give up the monastery. Kai knows better than to lead Scourge there. Surely, Kai would not want his family to be massacred?
“No. I…I can point it out,” His eyes were glazed over, staring blankly at the corpses.
Scourge nodded, “Go ahead then.”
Kai slowly approached the table, his hands resting gently on its surface as he leaned in. He stood detached, his expression vacant, standing next to Reyna, who was adorned with an array of open weapons on her suit, ready for deployment. Kai met Morro's gaze briefly, brown eyes darkening as if they’d retreated behind some kind of barrier. But then before anyone could react, his hand snaked out and snatched one of Reyna's open daggers. Kai then aimed it at himself, ramming the dagger into his throat.
Notes:
no kai is not dead!!! thank you for reading <3
p.s. ravothar is the name of scourge’s home realm
Chapter 12: quite the gift
Notes:
goddd im so sorry this took SO long. i rewrote this chapter SO many times. sometimes kai felt too ooc, sometimes morro just felt wrong, sometimes the pacing was shit and good lord. im still not too sure about it, i might re- edit it later. but please let me know what u guys think bc this had me tweaking out
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
[approx. two hundred and fifty hours after the capture of Ninjago City]
Kai hummed along with the rain as it tapped gently against the windows. The outside world blurred into soft watercolors, while the kitchen was cozy, filled with the comforting scent of cinnamon toast. His mama was standing beside him, black hair lengthy but not quite long enough for him to reach where he stood. Her belly was big now - round and full with the promise of his sister's arrival. It wouldn’t be long.
His three year old self watched Maya carefully, his eyes following her every movement with near reverence. He wanted to memorize this. Wanted to tuck the image somewhere deep in his heart, where it would never leave (why did you leave me, mama?). As if some part of him already knew that memories like these would one day have to last him a lifetime.
His tiny hand reached out and rested gently on her thigh. “Mama, you tired? You sit. I help.”
Maya looks down at him, and smiles (you smile like mom did, nya). “You’re helping already! Just by being here.”
Kai beams. He leans into her side, wrapping his little arms around her leg in the best hug his size could manage. His words were muffled against the fabric of her dress.
“I love you, Mama. I love Nee-Nee too.”
Maya crouched down slowly, her hands cupping his round cheeks dusted with freckles. “I love you too, baby. You’ll always be my boy, you know that?”
Kai nodded solemnly. “I’m Mama’s boy. And Nee-Nee's boy. I share.”
He turned and positioned himself in front of her belly like a tiny, steadfast guard, one hand resting on it with grave importance.
“I protect you. And Mama.”
Maya ran her hand gently over his hair. “You already do, Kai. You’re going to be the best big brother. I know it.”
The kitchen seemed to glow warmer in that moment, as if the world itself leaned closer to savor it. The cinnamon grew sweeter. The rain softened to a lullaby.
But then—
The warmth peeled away like smoke. The kitchen dissolved, and suddenly it's dark and the neighbors are knelt down in front of him, telling him things he does not understand, and his baby sister is crying in his arms. He does not understand. Nya is perfect. He may not be, he spills things and is loud and cries too much. But Nya is perfect. Why would they leave her, too? Why, why, why—
And then the world tilted.
Kai gasped; a broken, rasping sound that scraped up his throat like glass. His chest ached as he tried to suck in air, but every breath caught was shallow. His hand jerked instinctively toward his damp face - but it didn’t move. That’s when he felt them: restraints, wrapped around his wrists, holding him to either side of the bed. He tried to blink away the tears, pain blossoming in his throat. His gaze flicked wildly around the room, finally settling on the person before him. With a few more blinks, his vision becomes less blurry and he’s able to recognize the figure as Scourge. Panic roared in his chest as he tried to force a sound. Nothing came. His mouth shaped words, but no sound followed - just the unbearable burn of a throat cut from the inside out.
“Ah, welcome back. Your body must be at full strength now.”
Kai stares, frozen in place.
“You’ve given me quite the gift, you know. ”
Scourge didn’t look up immediately. He was seated at the console now, long fingers gliding through glowing glyphs, scrolling through layers of data. Holograms flickered around him: nerve maps, chemical pathways, medical schematics - each one seemingly annotated with notes.
“What was missing in the study of your kind, I completed in days,” he says, pointedly ignoring that Kai is on the verge of breaking down right in front of him. “An intimate examination of pain thresholds, action response, and neurochemical pathways. Specifically, all thanks to you.”
He continues. “Morro may be classified as human, but his physiological structure deviates significantly from the norm. Within him resides residual energy from the realm I extracted him from - an extraneous and foreign influence that would greatly disrupt research. This interference renders him a marked anomaly.” He added, almost dismissively, “In short, he was not a subject of viable scientific interest. So my gratitude extends to you, once again”
Scourge’s attention was elsewhere for the moment, his gaze fixed on a scan of Kai’s neck. “I administered a dose of melatonin through your IV while you were under. It’s a primitive hormone, but quite effective when paired with low-level theta induction. Enhances dream vividness in humans. I wanted to see what you’d reach for.”
His hand beckoned toward a rectangular device near the foot of the bed. It hummed to life, projecting the kitchen where Kai stands, talking to his mother.
“It fascinates me, that your kind dreams at all. That you wander so freely in your sleep, clinging to scraps of memory and longing as if they might protect you.” He sighs. “We don’t dream, you know. Us demons. We do not drift or create in sleep. There is no refuge for us in unconsciousness. So I watched yours instead. I wanted to see what you build when you think you are safe. I assume it was your mother you are speaking to, hmm? Is she dead, now? Killed, perhaps?”
Turn it off. Turn it off. His fingers curled against the restraint. How dare he? He wanted to scream. I’m supposed to be with her. I’m supposed to be dead. Why aren’t I dead?
With the wave of his hand, the projection turned off, and Scourge’s gaze landed on Kai again. “But let’s focus on why you’re here, rendered mute and alive. I assure you, under normal circumstances, your efforts to rid yourself of life would have succeeded. The only reason you didn’t collapse then and there was because Reyna’s blades are forged in blood magic technology. It pierced your skin, causing you to choke on your own blood and lose consciousness, but it couldn’t finish the job. Quite the... fortunate break, wouldn’t you say? Your calculated attempt at self-elimination, commonly known as ’suicide’, resulted in the destruction of your vocal apparatus, a clinical outcome of your deliberate action."
Kai thrashed around his restraints. No. No. No no no no -
Scourge stepped closer, unfazed. “Do you know how rare that is? To choose voluntary death over betrayal? You’ve defied all rational conditioning models. It’s almost laughable, isn’t it? I’ve crushed kingdoms, obliterated warriors. But you... you’ve given me something no other realm, no other person, could: an action I didn’t foresee."
Kai's mind was racing, his thoughts a jumbled mess. He could barely process what was happening around him. If he can't talk, does that mean he can't answer questions? Did he find the monastery? He considered the possibilities. Technically, Scourge could still make him write things. Maybe he should burn his hands…. or he should’ve just picked up the other fucking dagger. Stupid fucking Reyna and her stupid fucking daggers. He’d never felt this much hatred towards his status as an elemental master, but this immunity to things was not favoring him at all . An alive Kai is liability, not an advantage. Morro was crazy for thinking otherwise.
“You see,” Scourge smiles, and rage further engulfs Kai, craving to scorch the smirk off his face. “loyalty is a powerful thing. It deceives you into thinking it gives you purpose. You believe that by giving up everything, you protect what’s yours. But loyalty to others, Kai, is a mistake. It makes you blind to your own needs, your own survival. And in the end, you offer your life as a weapon for someone else’s cause - and mine to exploit.”
There’s nothing to exploit Kai wants to say. He would very much like to end it all right now. He’s more afraid now than before - because now he knows Scourge won’t let him try anything else. Scourge knows how to push him, and how far he can go. And if Kai is forced again to choose between his family and the lives of innocents, he knows he’s selfish enough to choose his family. That terrifies him - what that choice might do to him, and what it might turn him into. Would his choice even matter? Would it really keep them safe? Fear is a breeding ground for nausea, and it coils in his stomach, thick and rising. It swells so sharply he has to close his eyes, forcing himself not to gag. As his eyes are closed and his body shakes, he feels the familiar sense of detachment take over him, and he gratefully welcomes it.
“Ah!” Scourge chuckled, almost giddy. “I suppose I should stop rambling. You must forgive me - you're just such a fascinating subject. I find myself... growing quite attached.” He leaned forward, “You must be wondering, how long have you been here? Six days. Six long days, and yet, still so much to uncover - ”
Whatever else that Scourge says sounds muffled, and everything feels a step too far away - like he’s watching it all happen from behind glass. He wants to stay behind the glass. He's safer, there.
Scourge suddenly looks away from his screen and flicks his gaze toward Kai, who’s now blinking blankly at him, “My dear Morro seems to have grown rather fond of you as well. He insisted, most of the time, on sitting by your side. Unfortunately, I had to deny his wishes a couple of times.” Scourge’s voice hardened, a cruel edge creeping in. “After all, he is one of my most valuable assets. Seemingly strong enough to withstand Ninjago’s resistance. Makes my other commanders look pathetic. Speaking of which -"
A loud buzz interrupts him, followed by a knock.
“Enter.”
The door slides open, and Morro steps inside, his cloak covered in blood. “My lord, I—”
Morro stares at Kai, who does not acknowledge his arrival. “Uh. You’re awake.”
Scourge hummed. “How convenient. I was just speaking of you.” He scrutinized Morro, taking in the blood-streaked cloak and the signs of a recent struggle. “Too many close calls, hmm?"
Morro hesitated only a breath before slipping seamlessly back into protocol. “Irrelevant. I’m here to deliver the latest battle report, my lord.”
“Proceed.”
“...Er, In front of him?”
Scourge’s grin sharpened. “Why not? He can’t interfere. Poor thing can’t even talk. Besides, I imagine he’ll appreciate the update. It’s good for him to know just how fast Ninjago is crumbling beneath us.” He stretched back, almost savoring the thought. “Fear, after all, is such an excellent motivator. Let him drown in it.”
“Very well.” Morro replies flatly. “Hiroshi’s Labyrinth has been fully destroyed. We’ve located the Realm Crystal. It’s now secured. Kaeya is currently investigating the matter.”
“We’ve also made progress in our Ninjago City investigation teams. Their technological epicenter appears to be spearheaded by a man named Cyrus Borg.” Morro’s arms folded behind his back, “We’ve begun leading investigative teams into his towers. The same man was responsible for guarding the Realm Crystal, so we anticipate discovering additional artifacts - perhaps even comparable technology - within his holdings.”
“Mm. And the rebellions in Aetheris?”
Morro frowns. “I took care of them personally.”
“Delightful. They won’t happen again?"
“Of course not. Who do you think I am?"
Scourge laughed, rising from his seat. He hands Morro a screen, filled with Kai’s scans, then removes his gloves. “I’d like to examine this realm crystal alongside Kaeya. You’re free for the day, Morro. Make sure our patient here is on his best behavior.” He whispers something to Morro's ear, before retreating to the door.
Kai looked down, avoiding eye contact with Morro. He stopped feeling fully present a while ago—
(He registers Zane’s gentle voice. "It’s called Dissociation, Kai. That is the name of the feeling you experience sometimes. Disconnection from the environment around you. ”
“Oh.” )
Kai only vaguely registers Morro taking a seat across from him, eyes scanning the information on the screen. Time slips by without shape or meaning. He doesn't know how long it takes to come back to himself - only that by the time he does, the scrolling has stopped and Morro looks to be at the end of whatever he was reading. It’s then that Kai finds the courage to look up at him, and take in his image. Morro’s hair was tied back in a simple braid; messy enough to feel effortless, with a few rebellious strands falling just right across his forehead. Kai found his thoughts drifting to Cole, imagining him struggling to manage his hair without him - probably stuck with loose buns for now.
Kai watches as Morro powers down the screen and meets his eyes. He isn't sure what he expected - but it definitely wasn’t Morro getting up and crossing the room to a cabinet to grab a bottle of.. alcohol?. He ends up pouring himself a generous glass of wine. Morro downs it in a single gulp, then immediately pours another. After the second, he seems marginally more pleased - though the glare he throws Kai’s way hasn’t softened one bit. He leaves the liquor there and comes back to his seat, rubbing his face.
“...Fuck’s sake, Kai. I didn’t crawl through hell to keep you alive just for you to toss it all like it meant nothing.”
He regards Morro cautiously, but sees that the worry etched into Morro’s face is real. His mind highlights something Scourge had said—
“My dear Morro seems to have grown rather fond of you as well. He insisted, most of the time, on sitting by your side."
Huh.
Morro looked away, voice rougher now, as if struggling with the words. “And now, you can’t talk. Scourge isn’t going to let you pull that shit again. Neither am I.”
The guilt hits him harder than he expects. It doubles over with the reminder of the dead servants, and suddenly the feeling of detachment creeps up again, desperately trying to numb to guilt. But it doesn’t take him under like it normally does - it can’t, not with the presence of someone else who’s already worried. So, Kai forces himself to remain present and wallow in remorse as Morro comes closer and fidgets with his restraints. First his wrists, then his ankles, the cold bite of metal giving way to freedom. Kai’s hands fall into his lap, useless for a moment. .
Without thinking, he reaches out. His fingers brush Morro’s cheek, demonstrating the only apology he can manage. It wasn’t much. But it was the only language Kai had left, so he thinks it would be alright.
He was wrong, maybe, because Morro’s entire body stiffens. He’s about to pull away when Morro’s leaning into the touch. So Kai stayed there, thumb ghosting gently against Morro’s skin, letting the silence hold them both. That familiar itch in his fingers - that desperate, gnawing urge to touch - eased with the warmth of skin against skin. But the ache didn’t leave, and longing clung to Kai like a second heartbeat. He almost gave in to it, nearly pulled Morro into his arms right then. He hadn’t held anyone in so long, and he misses his family so much, and Morro is right here, and he’s helped him, so maybe Kai should forgive him, and —
But then Morro flinched, like the weight of it finally caught up with him. He shoved Kai’s hand away, scaring him. “Don’t,” Morro muttered, voice low and cracking. “I’m - ” He dragged in a breath, staring at the floor. “I’m dirty. Bloody. Don’t - don’t touch me.”
He rose, grabbing the interface. “I need to show you something,” he says abruptly, deflecting. Before Kai could react, Morro had already pressed play. The screen flickered to life, and the recording began. ݁
lloyd pov, one day prior ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⊹
Lloyd paced restlessly, the tremor of anxiety still coursing through his limbs. His mind churned with unease - Nya was no better off than he was, but she was strong enough to wear a false front to keep him steady. He envied her resolve even as he hid his own trembling beneath clenched fists.
After Kai’s capture and Wu’s rare utilization of power, they ran (like useless cowards). Wu had insisted there was no other choice, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow. They stumbled into Skylor during their retreat, leading a small group of civilians toward safety. Together, they made their way to The Bounty, heading for the monastery as quickly as they could. They took as many survivors as they could carry, the stench of death normalizing in the air. They’d tried reaching out to the elemental masters from Chen’s Tournament, trying to gather allies - but it was useless. Communications were completely cut off. Jay, still nursing the bullet wound in his shoulder, couldn’t do much but sit back and watch, but the others were relentless. They went over scrolls and scraps of information, hoping for something to make sense of all this.
But there was something strange about the bullet in Jay’s shoulder - Zane had been the first to notice. By all accounts, the bullet should have torn straight through, but it hadn’t.
“It should have fully pierced the joint,” Zane had said, frowning as he examined it.
“Isn’t that a good thing, Zane?!” Jay had shrieked, clutching his shoulder.
It was just a soft tissue injury - painful, sure, bleeding a lot - but not the total destruction it should have been. That caught Wu’s attention.
Still, none of them had really slept. They’d been too wired, too desperate, too angry to rest. But eventually, both Skylor and Wu forced their hand. “You’ll be of no help to Kai if you collapse from exhaustion,” they told them, pressing steaming cups of sleeping tea into their hands.
After rounds of yelling and panicked arguing, they finally drank. If Lloyd had cried himself to sleep in Nya’s arms, well… no one else had to know.
Overnight, something changed.
When they woke up, their injuries were gone. Deep cuts, bruises, gashes - vanished, like they’d never been there. Only Jay still needed tending; the bullet had torn up enough tissue to slow him down, but even that was healing faster than it should.
Nya was the first to storm into the living quarters - Lloyd at her heels - voice echoing down the hall. “GUYS. All my cuts are gone! What was in that tea?!”
Cole stumbled in right after them, tugging his shirt up to show a faint scar where a fresh wound had completely sealed. “SENSEI! You didn’t tell us we have healing tea?!”
Wu popped his head out from behind a pile of scrolls, genuinely confused. “That’s because… it isn’t? No tea can heal wounds overnight.”
Naturally, this led to a whole new round of frantic theorizing. Wu triple-checked the tea, brewing more and giving it to some of the injured civilians. They drank, passed out, and woke up well-rested - but their wounds remained, exactly as they were. Except Skylor.
Zane had checked her over too, carefully. “Same thing. All her injuries are gone. Except one.” Zane lifted up Skylor's hand, where a previously bandaged cut was bleeding again.
Wu and Lloyd exchanged a look. “Maybe it only works on elemental masters? But why didn’t it work fully on Skylor?”
“Where did you get this injury, specifically?”
Skylor’s eyes went wide. “This one? Knife accident in the noodle shop… all the injuries that healed - they were from yesterday. From those…things.”
After that, Nya had decided she’d had enough. She dragged Cole with her and announced that they were going on rescue missions, digging for information as they went. No one stopped her.
The rest of them - Zane, Jay, Skylor, Lloyd, and Wu - gathered in the common room and went over everything they knew. Which, frustratingly, was mostly nothing.
“The creatures,” Wu said slowly, “were certainly not human. Nor dragon. But they bear resemblance to Oni. At least, in part.”
“Whatever they are,” Zane added, “I think we might be resistant to their magic. I mean, our wounds—”
Jay cuts in, “Do you think Kai’s okay then?”
“We shouldn’t lose hope,” Skylor said carefully, “but we can’t be sure. Sensei, did you—”
“It has to be what the prophecy spoke of, nephew,” Wu interrupted, his voice grave.
“WHAT? SO LLOYD WILL DIE?!” Jay screams, accidentally bumping his arm against the table in surprise. A hiss of pain followed.
“Quit your yelling. Prophecies are not final,” Wu snapped, patience fraying at the edges. “Nor did it say Lloyd will die. It simply said ‘fall.’” His gaze flicked to Lloyd, “And a fall can mean many things.”
Lloyd wanted nothing more than to disappear, melt into the floor and never be seen again. More than anything, he longed to hear Kai’s voice, steady and soft, to tell him that everything would be alright - that this nightmare would soon be over. But he isn’t here, he’s gone, and Lloyd has no idea if—
“Lloyd? Lloyd— “
“—Sorry, Sensei. What did you say?”
Wu sighed. “I apologize. I know you are afraid. But I promise you, I am doing everything I can to find something that can help us… to change the prophecy. And to bring Kai back.”
There was nothing else to say after that.
They spent the rest of the day in uneasy silence, each of them burying themselves in research, checking on the civilians, trying to stay busy so they wouldn’t have to think too hard. Every few hours, Cole and Nya would return with more injured families. More grieving faces. And questions they did not have answers to.
The final rescue mission of the day returned just after sundown, the last rays of light slipping behind the mountains. Wu had firmly shut down the idea of night missions - too dangerous, too unpredictable.
“So far, it’s just Ninjago City,” Nya had said quietly.
Cole nodded, exhaustion weighing on his shoulders. “Nya and I gathered as many people as we could from the outskirts, but they’ve fully blocked off the city. We managed to evacuate most of the nearby areas, but…” His voice trailed off, the rest unspoken. Whatever was happening in the city, no one else was getting out.
“This doesn’t quite make sense,” Zane mentions. “Shouldn’t they have pushed past the city by now?”
Lloyd turned to Cole and Nya, “Did you guys have to fight? Did you see anyone?”
Nya shook her head, still trying to piece it together. “No… they can’t seem to move further in from the city? I don’t know why. Though we spotted drones, and managed to avoid them. Any of the creatures outside the city were significantly weaker than what we fought before. It’s like-”
“Something’s stopping them,” Cole finished.
“And every time I demand to know about Kai, or where he is… they just—” Nya dragged her hand across her throat in a sharp, cutting motion, “Like it’s a line they’re not allowed to cross. Like they’ve been ordered not to speak his name.”
That night, no one drank tea. No night after that, either. Sleep became a luxury they couldn’t afford, a fragile thing buried beneath the anxiety of finding Kai, weight of research, reconnaissance, and the endless scramble to rescue whoever they could. It settled into a brutal cycle: scouring for information, running evacuation routes, and trying to stay ahead of whatever was coming next.
It was on the third day when Nya and Cole - now joined by Lloyd himself (“They’re looking specifically for you, Lloyd! It’s too dangerous- ” “I don’t care! I have to do something!“) - spotted the expanding forces. The enemy had finally moved, pouring out from the city, raiding the nearby villages.
The sky glowed with the sick orange haze of fire. The villages were already up in flames. “Well,” Cole said, trying to sound hopeful, “good thing we evacuated everyone earlier, right?”
No one answered. It was hard to keep level headed.
On the fifth day, before Nya, Cole and Lloyd set off, a surprise greeted them at monastery doors.
“Heyya Ninja! Long time, no see!”
“What the FUCK, Ronin?!”
“Language, Nya."
“I brought someone with me!” Ronin exclaimed cheerfully. Behind him, a shadowy figure emerged.
Lloyd and the others drew their weapons immediately.
“Woah, woah!” Ronin tried to back away, but it was too late. Nya already had him on the floor, her spear then moving to press to the stranger’s throat, demanding answers.
The messenger raised his hands in surrender and rolled a scroll toward them. “Kill me if you must,” he said simply, “but do not fail to heed this message. The enemy will soon push further inland. Leave now.”
Voices erupted in heated argument over whether they could trust him. Nya’s spear stayed steady, her eyes blazing as she pressed closer, demanding the messenger’s identity.
He merely shrugged. “My… supervisor forced me to swallow a poison pill. It will take effect in less than five minutes. Please sit down while I relay the designated information.”
“Yep! So we better listen to this guy before he drops dead, right?” Ronin said, from his spot on the ground.
The room fell silent. Zane picks up the scroll, then inquired if they had an antidote, while Wu urged the messenger to explain. The man simply shook his head. “No antidote.”
Then, with clinical precision, he recited his message:
"The enemy’s name is Scourge. He comes from a distant realm called Ravothar. He is not human, but a demon. The magic he and his army wield is blood magic. Every user requires the life force of another living organism. Scourge is the sole exception—he can initiate mind control without needing external essence ( This explains the odd behavior of the soldiers, Lloyd thinks). Your red companion—"
Kai.
"—is doing fine. For now. "
All composure fled Lloyd’s mind. “Fine? What do you mean, fine?!” he snapped, his voice cracking with frustration. The others shouted alongside him, their anger spilling over.
The messenger continued without flinching.
”They now know he was lying about being the ‘Green Ninja’. Do keep that in mind. As Elemental Masters, you possess a natural resistance to blood magic. Specifically, elemental powers of creation are fully immune. Elemental powers of change, however, hold a lesser degree of immunity. This is balanced by the fact that those who wield powers of change can, to a certain extent, harness blood magic alongside their own elemental abilities. You all can likely resist Scourge’s control—though my suggestion? Don’t wait around to find out. Keep the backs of your necks protected. Any questions?”
Once again, they erupted in anger, voices clashing over each other in disbelief and rage.
Wu stepped forward, silencing the others. “Who sent you?”
And with that, the messenger drops dead. Figures. Nothing in Lloyd’s life is ever this convenient. Ronin, naturally, was no help. He’d shrugged the entire time, utterly unfazed. “Guy popped outta nowhere while I was escaping the city. Forced me to come with. Seems as good as gold, though. Honest.” He tipped his hat with a sly grin. “I am a bounty hunter, after all.” Bounty hunter my ass.
Cole frowned, crossing his arms. “Seems like this Scourge guy got himself a mole.” He hesitated. “Kai, maybe?”
Nya shook her head immediately, certain. “No. Kai would never… poison someone like that.” Around her, the others murmured in agreement. Nya dragged a hand through her hair, frustration crackling beneath her words. “And all this about elements of change using blood magic? I mean—how do I even use it? Should I even try to use it?!”
The scroll the now dead messenger had given them proved invaluable. It detailed enemy soldier types, their army’s organization, and even blueprints of unfamiliar technology—knowledge they desperately needed. The last few days had been spent adjusting their fighting styles, forcing themselves to unlearn old rules.
( “Ninja don’t kill.” wu had taught them to fight with honor. disarm opponents and retreat.
“I have spent my whole life believing in mercy. I have taught you all the same.” mutilated bodies litter the streets of the city, their lifeless eyes staring
But this enemy will not allow it.” kai being dragged away, helpless )
All of this led to the current situation, Lloyd and the others standing on the deck of the Bounty, the ship now repositioned deep within the mountains. They’d set up camps here - isolated, hidden. Jay and Nya had spent time studying the blueprints and building defense and alarm systems, reassuring the survivors that this new refuge was secure. It was safer this way, Wu had reasoned. The monastery would have been compromised eventually, regardless of what the messenger said. Out here, they had room to regroup. To breathe.
Now, they were preparing to send a message: to both the citizens of Ninjago and to Scourge himself. Ninjago needed hope. And they all agreed, Lloyd was the best person to give it. Besides, they couldn’t run forever. They needed to start fighting back.
Jay settled the camera in front of Lloyd, adjusting the frame. Nya placed a steady hand on his shoulder. “You ready for this?”
( Lloyd was never ready. He hadn’t been ready when his mother abandoned him. Hadn’t been ready when his destiny was forced on him. Or when his father—
Why would he be ready now?)
“I'm ready."
morro pov, present day꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳༄꠶˳
Lloyd’s face appears.
“Citizens of Ninjago City, I stand before you not just as your Green Ninja, but as one of you: a son, a brother, a friend. This past week has tested us all beyond measure. Our home has been invaded by a ruthless, foreign enemy who shows no mercy. They have taken our streets, our homes, and our peace. But hear me when I say this: we are not defeated. We are not broken. We are stronger, only when we stand united. I urge you to find shelter. Protect your families. Do not approach the city. For your safety, stay away from the fighting. We cannot yet reveal our location, but know this: we are working tirelessly to evacuate as many civilians as possible, bringing them to safety where the enemy cannot reach.
And to Scourge, hear my words clearly: we will not stay hidden any longer. You may have basked in the glory of having us cornered... but not anymore. We will reclaim what is ours. Ninja never quit.
And for Kai… know this: whatever it takes, we will find you and bring you home.”
Morro's mind was still stuck on the lingering warmth of Kai’s hand on his cheek. None of Lloyd’s words registered, which is fine, since Morro had already watched the video live when the ninja had broadcasted it anyway. It was only Kai’s first time watching it.
He caught the way Kai’s eyes shimmered - desperate, wide, caught somewhere between hope and fear, like the message hurt to hear. Kai’s head whipped toward him, silent but pleading for answers he couldn’t speak.
The commander answered the question anyway. “Don’t worry,” he said quietly. “I was able to send someone to warn them, and give them a good amount of information. They’ve moved away from the Monastery now, and are certainly better prepared. They broadcasted the video yesterday, so I think they’ll be making their move soon. Either way, they’re ready. I made sure.”
Kai made Morro rewind the video at least five times. Every single time, he stared at the screen, eyes fixated, as if Lloyd himself had hung the stars in the sky. The affection plastered across his face almost made Morro laugh in its intensity. He’s not surprised. Kai was willing to die for him, after all.
Who would’ve thought? Morro mused, Guess all Kai needed was a video to motivate himself. Lloyd clearly knows what he's doing.
….
He’s definitely hit puberty, too.
By the fifth replay, Morro pretended not to notice the red rims around Kai’s eyes, and the faint sheen of unshed tears. Kai wiped them away, then turned back to Morro. His gaze dropped pointedly to the dark bruises and cuts.
Morro gave a small shrug. “The realm crystal was guarded well. I didn’t want to bring it to him.. but, can’t be too obvious I guess. He won’t try to invade the other realms directly. He’s spread too thin. I think he just wants to study it.”
Kai seemed to accept the answer, but the tension in his shoulders didn’t ease. His behavior wasn’t unusual, but Morro felt the need to check anyway.
“Let me see your neck.”
Reluctantly, Kai turned around. As Morro had guessed, a thin cut marred the skin - fresh, precise, but not caused by Kai himself. It was Scourge’s mark.
Morro’s voice softened, tinged with relief. “So he did try. I guess it didn’t work, though. Good for you.”
He straightened slowly after inspecting Kai’s neck, but the motion sent a wave of dizziness crashing over him. He sucked in a sharp breath, his hand flying to his head. Kai immediately straightened too, shifting aside on the bed, giving Morro enough room to settle down. The sudden movement, though, pulled at one of Morro’s dried wounds, stretching it open. He couldn’t help the groan of annoyance that escaped him. He tries again to get up.
“Sorry. I’ll take care of this—"
Kai shakes his head furiously, walking away from him. Morro watches him dig through the labeled drawers. Once he had what he needed, he came back to Morro’s side and set the supplies down quietly beside them. He helps Morro take his coat off, and then cuts the shirt. His fingers brushed against the fresh wound, and Morro flinched slightly, but Kai just looked at him for a moment, his expression unreadable, before gently pressing a cloth to the area. A gash on his shoulder.
Old bitterness rises inside Morro and he finds himself angry -
“I don’t need your help, Kai.”
Kai hadn’t stabbed himself in the ears, so his hearing was just fine. They both knew it, but he kept going anyway. He dabbed at the blood with soft, careful movements, taking his time to clean each spot. He pulls away from Kai again, and sharpens voice.
“Fuck off. I fucking mean it."
Kai’s angry now, undoubtedly cursing at Morro in his head. Good. Now, he’ll throw a fuss and leave me alone. He’ll realize that someone like me doesn’t deserve this
Kai, in fact, does the exact opposite of ’throwing a fuss and leaving him alone’. He instead, simply rolls his eyes, grabs Morro and continues his work. Morro ought to just word the opposite of what he wants.
He's on the verge of yelling again, but stopped when he snuck a glance at Kai’s expresssion.
Kai needs this.
Maybe he just needed to take care of someone. Might be an older sibling thing. Do I deserve it? No. Kai made it pretty clear that he hated him. But then why would he patch up the guy he clearly hated? Maybe it wasn’t about him at all. Maybe Kai just needed something to do with his hands. Or maybe… Morro was just too disgusting for him to ignore. He was covered in blood, after all.
Kai’s eyes flickered to Morro’s face now and then, checking for any sign of discomfort. The alcohol he drank earlier helped with the pain. Kai's hands, though, were unhurried. He applied the antiseptic, then began stitching up the wound with precision, as if the rhythm of each stitch grounded him.
Suddenly, Morro is a kid again, and he's hurt his knee during training. And then, there’s Wu, right in front of him, the same familiar look in his eyes (Worry? Fear? Morro could never tell with that old man) , smiling down as he praises Morro’s bravery. But then, just as quickly, the memory fades. Now it’s Kai’s hands, tender and close, making Morro's skin burn where they touch him. It’s been so long since anyone’s been this close, and for a fleeting moment, he wonders what it would feel like to be surrounded by the warmth Kai carries. But that thought is pushed away when Kai’s gaze lingers a little too long — unfocused. It’s a look he knows all too well. He’s familiar with the weight of it, having carried it still carries it for far longer than he cares to admit.
Guilt.
“It wasn’t your fault. Those servants were going to die anyway.”
Kai’s eyes snap to his, horror flashing across his face, and Morro immediately realizes he’s said the wrong thing. But he doesn’t know what else to say, because destiny's a weight he’s learned to accept—he knows it better than anyone. And no servant of Scourge will ever have a good fate. So why bother saving them?
Maybe I’ve just grown indifferent. Desensitized. Kai’s not like me, after all. “Uh. That’s not what I meant.”
Kai meets his eyes again, expression unreadable, and opts to continue his work. He’s disinfecting the smaller cuts now, stitching as needed. Morro decides to stop talking and let Kai do his work. Besides, he himself would’ve just let those wounds act dramatically and never have closed them. Not that he could die anyways. Kai doesn’t know that. Maybe he should tell him.
...If he tells him, would he stop?
It takes a while, but the final cut is stitched up now, and Kai stands, seemingly satisfied with his work. Morro whispers a quiet ‘thanks’ as Kai moves to grab the bottle of wine left out earlier, takes out another glass, and pours enough for both of them. Without a word, he plops himself down beside Morro, a casualness in his movements that contrasts with the sullen look in his eyes.
Morro looks at him, astonished. “You drink?”
Kai looks Morro dead in the eyes, and proceeds to chug the entire glass in one go. He winces after, rubbing the bandages wrapped around his throat. The collar is still there too, but it’s design has changed to accommodate with the injury.
“... Alright then.” Morro considers himself very able to hold his liquor, so he proceeds to down his own glass and pour both of them another. Kai, on the other hand, is already flushed after two glasses. To be fair, it was strong.
“Didn’t take you for a lightweight,” Morro teases, pouring them both another round, his fingers moving fluidly as if he’s done this a thousand times.
Kai sighs and buries his face in his hands, elbows propped on his knees, his shoulders sinking lower with each passing second. Morro watches him over the rim of his glass, as brown hair falls forward, sticking to the faint sheen of sweat on his forehead. The red in his cheeks has deepened, the flush spreading across the bridge of his nose and the tips of his ears.
“Seriously, though. It was out of your control. I know this sounds bad, but Scourge would have killed them anyway. Truly. Whether you gave up the location of the monastery or not. And if you gave up the location of the monastery, well.. you know what would’ve happened."
He can’t help but notice the way Kai flinches. Maybe he’s just not used to hearing things like this so plainly. I should keep that in mind he thinks, because Kai’s trembling again and making choked sounds that sound similar to when he found him sobbing in the bathroom.
For a moment, Morro thinks he should just leave it be. He knows nothing he will say will alleviate whatever Kai is feeling right now. The usual fierce look in his eyes is replaced by a desperate sadness that feels like it could swallow them both whole. Morro opens his mouth to say something, but Kai moves first. Gentle arms wrap around him carefully, almost cautiously, like they're afraid of breaking something. Kai buries his face in Morro’s shoulder, tears dampening the area.
Morro stills for a moment, stunned. His arms remain rigid by his sides. He doesn’t know what to do with them. This kind of closeness is something he’s forgotten (or maybe, never known. Wu was never this affectionate with him.), submerged by his constant isolation. But now, with Kai’s arms around him, Morro feels an aching emptiness he didn’t realize was there, filling up little by little. It should not be filled, however, because Morro has done nothing worthy. If he was deserving, shouldn’t that emptiness been filled long ago? An emptiness he had long buried? The guilt gnaws at him the way it always does. Maybe it’s pity .
He doesn’t know, Morro thinks. Because if Kai knew even now, Morro was still trying to prove himself (To what? Can't be the Green Ninja. For who? Wu?), he would...
His pulse quickens. His body tenses in confusion - what does he do? How does he respond to this? Kai’s warmth seeps into his skin, but Morro doesn’t know how to let himself sink into it. His throat tightens, a mix of emotions flooding him that he can’t quite place.
"Stop—stop it. I'm not—" Morro tries to break free from Kai’s grasp, but Kai doesn’t pull away. Instead, he holds on tighter, his arms wrapping around Morro, fingers digging into his back as though trying to keep him close. Morro’s voice rises, desperate. “I’m not a good person, Kai. I—You hate me, so what—”
Kai shakes his head, burying his face in Morro’s neck, muffling a sob.
“You’re drunk. That’s all this is.”
The words strike something deep inside Kai, and with a flash of fury, he shoves Morro back. He scans the room, his eyes landing on the papers scattered across the console. He grabs them, snatches a pen, and begins to write furiously. Morro sits there, uncertain, not knowing what to do until Kai slaps the paper against his face.
Morro stares at the paper, wrinkling it slightly he reads:
“You’re different now. I’m good at reading people. I know you’re different. Without you, Lloyd and the others would have been slaughtered. You warned them. Do you understand? I would have been alone. I don’t know what Scourge would have done.”
Kai thrusts the paper in front of his face again, shaking it like a challenge. The action cuts through the fog of confusion that’s settled in Morro’s mind. Kai's eyes are still glassy with tears, but there’s something else there now. He points to Morro, then to himself, and squeezes Morro’s hand.
(We’re in this together, now. )
Notes:
morro decides he cant deal with kai sober and kai decides he cannot deal with himself sober and so
ALSO i think that morro has this like angelic image of kai BECAUSE of possession, and lloyd def idolized kai and surrounded like positive emotion around memories revolving kai. so i think it would make sense that morro thinks of kai as ‘pure’ because his full complete ‘image’ of kai is based off of lloyd’s. plus i feel like i cant flesh out morros character properly until i have kai reveal that he wanted to be the green ninja too at some point, so i’ll have to figure that out
thank you for reading as always <3
p.s i think that kai def succumbed to alcoholism after zanes death, and i dont think he ever stopped after that. he DEF still got nightmares about it and guilt trips himself so im certain he wouldnt have fully quit drinking so dont consider this a relapse. just a continuation of a bad habit? idk
Chapter 13: wretched thing pt1
Summary:
morro character study?? kinda??
Notes:
please note that everything now in quotes for kai, should automatically assumed to be written down by him
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
[approx. four hundred and ten hours after the capture of Ninjago City]
The palace bathhouse steamed with an elegance: everything sleek, silver-lined, humming softly beneath the surface. The pools weren’t built for pleasure; they were built for restoration, for discipline, for regulation. Morro knew this. Even here, behind heat-blurred glass and calibrated mineral waters, there were always eyes. The illusion of peace was as manufactured as the light-filtering roof overhead.
He sat naked, waist-deep in the pool, steam curling against his collarbone. Across from him, Kai entered slowly, his gaze never lifting from the water’s edge. He stepped with caution, as if the surface might betray him - something unreadable flickering briefly in his expression.
Morro had casually mentioned that the pools were designed so the water would remain low and calm. He’d also discreetly switched off the jets, ensuring no sudden splashes reached above his chin.
Now he watched Kai settle with practiced ease. He discarded his towel right before stepping in, pausing to glare at Morro until he looked away. Morro only shrugged and shut his eyes, waiting until the water settled and the ripples from Kai’s entrance faded into stillness. He’s surprised Kai came at all, and is displeased that he cannot discern his motive for coming.
Kai chose a shallower step than Morro, so the water stopped at mid-chest—just shy of the bandages wrapped around his neck.
He still couldn’t speak. Instead, Kai relied on the notepad Morro had given him days ago. Or on touch.
Morro was seldom seen without his gloves. He almost never took them off, not even here, in a place meant to strip away all finery and pretense. But—
A hand on the arm. Fingers tugging at a sleeve. Shoulder taps. A gentle nudge. Kai had built a silent language from necessity. And Morro had… adapted. Poorly. Because while Morro knew it wasn’t meant to be intimate - knew it was practical, born from Kai’s ruined voice and a notepad too slow to keep up—he still felt every brush of contact. He felt the weight of each touch, as though Kai was reaching into something deep inside him, stirring it up. Morro hated that, because he didn't understand it.
A sudden kick nudged Morro’s shin beneath the water. Not hard—just firm enough to jolt him out of his thoughts.
He cracked an eye open.
Kai was glaring at him, faintly smug, legs half-curled on the shallower step like nothing had happened. Morro didn’t bother responding verbally—he simply returned the kick, a slow press of his foot against Kai’s ankle under the water.
Kai jerked slightly and narrowed his eyes. Then, without warning, he stuck out his tongue, squinting at Morro in exaggerated mockery.
Morro stared at him, unamused.
“…What?” he muttered dryly, though there was no real bite in his tone.
In response, Kai began to move—edging closer through the heated pool until he was at Morro’s left side, water sloshing gently as he settled there. He reached out without hesitation, hand rising toward Morro’s face.
Morro stiffened on instinct. But Kai didn’t touch his skin. He went for the hair.
Kai tugged gently at the longer strands near Morro’s face, fingers curling around the frayed, uneven ends. He mouthed something slowly.
Morro blinked, confused. “What are you—?”
Then he realized.
Kai was twisting one of the split ends around his finger, frowning with faux concentration. He mouthed the word again, slower this time.
”Haircut."
Morro stared at him, deadpan. “Seriously?”
Kai only grinned, silent, and tugged at another strand like it had personally offended him.
Morro didn’t stop him. He let Kai twist the ends of his hair, watching as his brows drew together in focus like he was solving some delicate equation. His movements were gentle, almost absent-minded, though his lips were still curled into that barely-there grin from earlier.
Morro watched him, quietly.
Kai’s body was lean but built—toned in the way all trained swordsmen were. Defined shoulders. Long, scar-flecked arms—strong, but not showy—built for the repetition of blade strikes and parries, for the control it took to wield steel like an extension of breath. His forearms flexed faintly as he twisted another strand of Morro’s hair, and Morro caught himself watching the way the muscles shifted beneath damp skin. Not much different from Morro himself, if he was being honest.
Though… if he were really being honest, Kai’s shoulders were probably built better than his. Broader. More carved out. Morro wondered if it was the swordwork—if that constant tension and counterweight carved strength in places chakrams and rifles didn’t. He’d given up the sword a long time ago, left it with the boy who was fighting for a title that slipped further with every strike. Carving his worth into air, hoping someone would see. Not that it did him any good.
Rifles, Chakrams and the like didn’t make him feel like a boy trying to become something he never was. They just did what they were told, which is why he specifically appreciates them. Especially rifles, because with Scourge, killing is normal, and you can’t see the life go out of someone when you shoot them from far away.
Regardless, he had a bit more height than Kai—probably thanks to longer legs. How fortunate that wind allows him further, stronger jumps.
The movement of his hair stops, and he automatically looks to Kai. Kai’s not looking at him though, instead looking at the entrance of the baths, as if seemingly hearing something. Morro strained his hear until he realized that knew the gait—he could count its rhythm in his sleep.
The confident, near-silent tread, the solid thunk of boots as they were stripped off, the dull pat of something hitting the floor. Then bare feet against the warm, smooth tile. She was practical. Always had been. The door slides open.
Stelle walked in, her body a weapon she had honed through years of relentless precision. And like any finely tuned instrument, she carried it without shame or hesitation. She had worked hard to become exactly what she was. To her, modesty was a waste of time. Kai’s eyes darted away instantly, shoulders stiffening, face turning to the wall with a sharpness that felt more like panic than politeness. Morro didn’t so much as blink. The moment had long lost any power to startle him. Kai looked at him, bewildered. Morro simply shrugged.
“Chief Commander.” Stelle greeted, offering a crisp salute before casually moving to the pool on the lower tier. She studies Kai, who was still noticeably looking away from her. “It seems your pet project has gained bath privileges.”
Kai bristles beside him. “The fact that you’re here is intriguing. Perhaps I must direct more tasks your way?"
Stelle decides on a pool and dips in it, raising a privacy screen with the press of a panel, not yet enabling audio blockout. “You may proceed as you think appropriate.”
Morro is about to comment when he realizes something is missing. He did not sense the familiar aura of magic to her that she normally carried. “Hm. Your power is growing weak again.”
“Staying in this realm is affecting me. I look forward to going back to Arcadia tomorrow.”
In the days following Kai's dramatic "exit strategy", while Morro had been dealing with rebellions arising in realms under Scourge’s regime ( + stressing himself stupid over a certain dumbass who wields fire) and Scourge himself studying Kai, Stelle and Reyna had been pushing their forces into Hiroshi’s Labyrinth, with Morro briefly helping them retrieve the realm crystal the day Kai awoken.
The days following Kai’s less dramatic awakening, Morro was tasked on looking over him (making sure Kai doesn’t try anything else). Meanwhile, the female commanders and their troops to attempted push beyond the Labyrinth—only to be repelled by a surge of wild energy—so Scourge had them change course, preparing to direct forces north of the city, toward the Holy City of Domu.
Which, as far as Morro was concerned, was a catastrophic turn of events. Domu contained a library, a vault of ancient knowledge—a deep reservoir of information Scourge could easily feed on if they breached its perimeter. However, there was no way for Morro to deny advancement without arousing suspicion. So he did the only thing he could, signing on to the mission personally—ensuring that if anything was found, it would pass through him before anyone else laid claim to it.
Considering Stelle was a mage, it made sense Ninjago was affecting her more than the others. She and her troops were going back to Arcadia for a scheduled military demonstration, and further replenishment of magic. It was after she would return from Arcadia, is when Morro would join her in capturing Domu.
“I see.”
Morro’s done talking now. With a flick of his fingers, he activates the audio blocker. The soft hum of interference rose around them, sealing the space in soundproof static. It was just him and Kai again. Kai presses his face into Morro’s shoulder, and Morro feels the weight of his desperation ( there’s nothing kai can do right now to help the ninja, except pray, and wait for their first move). It’s a stark contrast to the cold, angry version of Kai that he faced in the cells.
The feeling of Kai’s breath against his skin is maddening. Morro wants more, and his own desire surprises him, the sudden force strangling him on the inside. He doesn’t remember when the lines between them had blurred, or when this... whatever it is between them had started to shift.
For a brief, fleeting moment, Morro wonders if this is what it feels like to be alive. To be here, in this tangled mess of everything he shouldn’t want. He should push Kai away - hurt him, just like he hurt Wu wu hurt you first , just like he hurt lloyd he took the only thing you ever wanted away from you, just like he must have hurt anyone and everyone in whoever he was in his past life, because he must have done something so, so terrible to be a child born in the slums. Always looking for scraps of love food.
But Morro doesn’t think he was ever made to take. He’s supposed to beg, be useful. It isn’t until much later he realizes that Kai is doing this for him, because that stupid fucking fire ninja noticed the way Morro leaned into his touches.
It isn’t until much, much later that Morro realizes Kai’s desperation makes him easier to predict, and suddenly, because Morro still does not understand what Kai is giving him (but what he does know is that a man gives what he wants in return) he morphs it into something he does understand: power.
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
[RAVOTHAR DATA SYSTEM: CAPTIVITY CATALOG]
SUBJECT #KS01 SELECTED
— >NAME: KAI SMITH ⚠ SUICIDE WATCH ⚠
— >LOCATION: PRIMARY CASTLE, REALM OF NINJAGO
— >SPECIES: HOMOSAPIEN, CHILD OF HUMANITY
— >ABILITIES: FORM OF PYROKINESIS, MARTIAL ARTS, SWORDSMANSHIP, PARKOUR, SPINJITSU
— >BEHAVIOR: MENTALLY UNSTABLE, HIGHLY TEMPERMENTAL, EMOTIONAL
— >AFFILIATION: ELEMENTAL MASTER | LOYAL TO GREEN NINJA, LLOYD GARMADON
— >THREAT ASSESSMENT: SEVERE | ENSURE FREQUENT SEDATION
— >ENDURANCE ASSESSMENT: HIGH | PHYSICAL/MENTAL INTIMIDATION TECHNIQUES AND WATER INDUCED ASPHYXIATION WERE UTILIZED
— >ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS:
[ ] currently under the direct supervision of commander morro.
[ ] frequent nocturnal mental activity suggests subject is plagued by recurring dreams, often centered around family-related trauma. these recurring themes indicate possible psychological vulnerabilities that could be exploited for future interrogation or behavior modification.
[ ] given the volatile nature of his emotional state and his exceptional combat capabilities, it is imperative that sedation protocols remain in effect to mitigate risk during extended periods of confinement.
[ ] exhibits high levels of physical attractiveness; sexual appeal is evident.
“Is there anything else you’d like to add?”
Morro stares at the screen, agitation growing at Kaeya’s close proximity.
“No.”
Scourge scoffed. “He practically resides in your chambers now. Surely, you’ve noticed behaviors I was unable to identify during his unconscious period.”
“…….He has an alcohol dependency,” Morro responded flatly.
Kaeya resumed typing:
[ ] displays addictive behavior, favors alcohol.
“Anything else?”
Morro runs his fingers along the keyboard, thinking. “I believe he is less temperamental since you decided to execute servants in his presence. He appears more subdued.”
“Good. That simply means what I did worked.”
The typing continued, and Morro glanced up to see another line added to the behavior section:
***personality appears to be diminished or attenuated, characterized by a noticeable reduction in temperamental intensity***
“There we go.” Kaeya moved away from the keyboard and stood between Morro and Scourge. “His file is now up to date.”
“Excellent. You are both dismissed.”
₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚ ✧ ━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━ ✧ ₊˚
Morro has never been thankful to be alive. He knows he is a wretched thing, doomed by ultimatums. Be useful to Wu or die. Be powerful or lose. Be the best student or rot in the slums. Be the Green Ninja or be nothing. Be obedient to the Preeminent or get punished. Be useful to Scourge or die. It all comes back to dying. How cruel of him to now be unable to succumb to death, cursed by immortality. He cannot die, yet half of his ultimatums remain untrue.
Living is cruel, for it entails being present among destiny’s whims. And Morro has never been favored by destiny, and the ache that came with this realization had cultivated a special kind of hate. The kind that roots itself into its host, akin to a parasite, growing like a never ending weed, feeding upon the misfortune of the boy growing it. The boy who was denied his parents, denied his father master, denied everything and anything that could have ever shown him love.
The absence of love eats away at his bones, for after he witnesses a different boy get showered with it, a boy born far after him, with blond hair and green eyes. This boy is blessed with everything he could have wanted, and Morro thinks maybe this is who stole his rights, his parents, his family, his power, his title.
But it ends up being far more complex than that, and Morro does not feel closure after becoming one with the boy, instead grows angry at the selflessness and nobility in the boy's heart, and angry at the people that love him, and angry at himself.
He sits in the Departed Realm, thinking of memories. He thinks of the reason Lloyd is alive, thinks of the spiky haired boy who saved Lloyd twice. Once, in a volcano, as shown in Lloyd’s memories. And twice, from Morro himself. He thinks and he thinks and he drives himself insane. The Departed Realm is supposed to be peaceful, but Morro’s mind is not.
And then, he is brought back by some higher being. He warns Wu about Yang, in order to save Cole. He watches as Wu convinces the others to lower their weapons, and tries to ignore the amber eyes that continue to glare at him. He warns the ninja, and tells them of how Yang tricked Cole into helping him open a rift. Wu thanks him, and he goes back, but he’s never felt emptier. They all had rushed to save Cole. No one had ever rushed to save him. Wu took too long for it to matter.
And so then he’s left with his own mind again. He is always being found, yet always ends up being lost, in this perpetual cycle of back and forth. Except he is ‘lost’ by the same hand of the person who ‘found’ him, and Morro wonders if it always has to be this way. And because people like him can never find peace, when he is lost another person finds him. Just like Wu found Morro. Just like The Preeminent found Morro. Just like Scourge found Morro.
For once in his life however, Morro has found someone. He found Kai.
Kai is not a wretched thing. He is not like Morro. Kai cries over the bodies of the servants killed, lies awake at night replaying Lloyd’s broadcasted message, as if to remind himself why he’s fighting. He fights in protest every time he’s brought to Scourge's chambers to be studied. Collars and chains don’t suit him—Kai was made to run, to feel freely. His heart is wide open for all to see, full of emotion. He does not give up.
Yet, his resilience is subdued (but not gone, never gone), and in its place is a desolate Kai—one that Morro has grown to admire, sickly as that may be. This Kai clings to him for comfort because he has no one else. Kai turns to Morro because there is no one else. It has to be out of desperation, not choice.
Over time, Morro began to give in to the temptation, to feed Kai’s hunger (and his own) for affection. When their fingers touch, it isn’t a simple gesture of connection - it’s a negotiation. Kai’s starving eyes, the way his body leans in for more, seeking warmth in the cold, are like a silent plea that Morro has learned to respond to. His hands linger a little longer, his fingers curl a little tighter.”
And Morro relishes it, for it’s the one thing he has finally found for himself. In this exchange, he’s the source of Kai’s need. And it’s a power that Morro has come to crave more than he’s willing to admit.
Notes:
thank you as always for reading!! <3!! i love you all for your support
ps. arcadia is one of the realms conquered by scourge
pss. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Ninjago/comments/jlab7m/my_current_map_of_ninjago_featuring_almost_every/] this is the link to the map (no credit to me) i am referencing in the story !! remember ninjago is bigger than it looks on the map, so distances are longer than shown (ex. ninjago city isnt actually that close to ignacia, etc)
… LAST THING!! (even tho no one asked mwhahah)
i think kais shoulders, arms are way more sculpted than morros cuz of blacksmithing n stuff. morros got stronger legs and a stronger torso, specifically because 1) kai is shown to be acrobatic throughout the show through scenes like fighting the master of smoke, so i think hes more leaner maybe 2) generating high velocity winds NEEDS muscular endurance to withstand the pressure and be balanced. so no i dont think morro is a twink…. 3) [in this au specifically ] morro carries around a rifle. that shit is heavy as fuck
Chapter 14: wu, maggots, caves…& kai?
Summary:
people dont talk about how terribly morro just. died in that cave. like what the actual fuck? my poor baby.
Notes:
guess whos back
my twin brother and i got grounded because our parents found out we were ninja (we went to a rave. oops). got my laptop back tho and wrote this asap mwaahahahahahahahahahhahha
good news: i was able to clearly remember and rewrite a tidbit of upcoming chapter
bad news: most of it is on my phone in a non-icloud locked note because i dont trust the drafts system on here. havent gotten my phone back yet but i will soon!
so, sorry for the supa short chapter. will hopefully write a bigger one soon. love you all!!!! mwah
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
[Approx. seven hundred and fifteen hours after the capture of Ninjago City]
Wu’s in front of him, yelling something. He doesn’t know what, but he knows it makes him upset all the same. He’s coming closer, and the world is getting darker, and suddenly Wu is roughly grabbing him, telling him that he should’ve stayed dead for his mistakes, that Wu should’ve killed him himself. Morro isn’t sure what he’s yelling back, but Wu’s getting angrier and taking out his sword. And then suddenly, Morro is in a cave, starving, maggots infesting his open wounds, gas in his lungs, and then—
“Kai?” he rasps.
Wide amber eyes meet his own, as Kai already has his notebook pulled out. Though, this word isn’t prewritten, so he has to write it himself.
“Nightmare.”
Oh.
“Sorry.”
Kai shakes his head and sits up alongside him. The bed always seemed to engulf them both, a testament to the luxury reserved for someone of Morro's stature as a commander. Kai, at some point, resisted sleeping on it, but even he realized that sleeping on it is the equivalent of sleeping a bed away from him anyway. And better than the couch.
This is exactly why Morro doesn’t fucking sleep. Or can’t, rather. Can’t eat properly, can’t sleep properly. It’s like his body has decided it’s not allowed to do either. Regardless, he must’ve really tired himself out to actually fully sleep long enough to dream. Plus, he woke up Kai, who also rarely got any sleep. And Oreo has awakened too, it seems.
He rubs his face and watches the feline get up from her chosen spot beside Kai’s stomach. It’s freaky, because Kai and Oreo sleep the same way, curled up and everything. Kai, though, specifically curls and sleeps like he’s leaving space for some somebody.
Morro gets up to use the bathroom and hopefully wash away his pathetic-ness. Kai stops him, though, grabs his arm, and pulls him back down on the bed. Morro sighs and turns on the lamp, since it looks like Kai is in the mood for a conversation at 2:32 a.m.
They should change the catchphrase from ninja never quit to ninja never fucking sleep. They both sit on the edge of Morro’s bed territory, with Kai scribbling more words in his notebook.
“Were you dreaming about Wu?”
Morro stares at the notebook.
“No.”
This time, Kai seems to have a page that matches his peeved expression. He flips through and finds it, tilting it toward Morro. It says, in all of Kai’s shitty handwriting glory: "Don’t lie, stupid."
“I’m not lying,” he lies, like a liar. “And I’m not stupid. Why is that a prewritten page?"
Oreo looks at Morro as if he just mentioned a desire of scrambled cats for breakfast. She even hisses at him and everything. Morro decides he hates cats, and it seems Kai can, of course, read his mind, because Kai scowls at him again, petting the furry little shit and flipping to another blank page.
“You were begging him to kill you.”
Clearly, Wu is an incompetent bastard since he’s still alive, so Morro is going to fucking kill himself if this conversation doesn’t end. He rips the paper from Kai’s notebook apart, pushes Kai away, and locks himself in the bathroom. He hopes they can’t hear him throw up whatever little food he managed to stuff himself with. Whatever. His stomach feels better when it’s empty anyway.
He doesn’t know how long he sits there, trying to fend off a panic attack, periodically flushing with a shaky hand and doubled over the toilet, but he prays it’s long enough for Kai to have fallen asleep. Joke’s on him for being a dumbass and a naive one at that, because apparently, he didn’t actually lock the door, and apparently, Kai has no sleep left in him.
His ‘trophy' walks in and kneels down next to him, making a move to hold back his hair. At least Kai has good timing, because this time he vomits so bad his whole body jerks forward, and if it weren’t for Kai, his hair would’ve gotten all dirty.
There are a few more before Morro thinks he’s done, so he flushes one last time and closes the lid of the toilet. He’s feeling too dizzy to get up yet, so he just awkwardly sits there on the floor. Kai’s hand changes from holding his hair to now rubbing his back in circles, and the way Morro doesn’t fight it must reflect how he vomited his pride out along with his food. A shame. If only he emptied out his misery, too.
The hand on his back stops, and Kai gets up. Oreo walks behind him like she always does, leaving Morro in the bathroom. He wonders how disgusting he looks for them both to leave until they actually come back, Kai holding bottled water in his hands.
He lowers himself back down on the floor, opening the bottle for Morro and offering it to him. Morro makes a move to grab it until Kai brings the bottle closer to his lips and puts his other hand underneath Morro’s chin. It’s clear he wants to help Morro drink it. Morro looks at him weirdly but drinks it anyway, because what is Kai if not weird?
Kai tilts his head as if to ask “Better?” so Morro nods. Kai settles for the response and stands up, offering Morro a hand. He realizes he’s been staring at the outstretched hand for a couple of seconds when Oreo meows loudly, jerking him out of his trance.
He takes Kai’s hand and gets up, moving to brush his teeth. Kai’s waiting for him on the bed again, head resting on palm as Morro turns off the bathroom light and closes the door. He tiredly sits beside Kai on the bed and waits. Kai slowly writes in his notepad.
“What did you dream about, then? You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”
No, Morro really doesn’t want to tell him about Wu, and the maggots, and the cave. Doesn’t want to tell him how scared he was in that fucking disgusting cave, before dying and coming into the cursed realm. Doesn’t want to tell him how it felt to have insects feeding off of your own rotting flesh, to sit in an empty cave knowing your master had given up on you, leaving you to die.
Why didn’t Wu come looking for him? Did he even fucking try? Morro doesn’t even remember what killed him first. The air, starvation, or maybe..
He feels tears building up and really does try to subdue them, because he’s not a fucking pussy, and fucking hates Wu, and doesn’t get fucking scared. He’s better than this. He knows he is, but throwing up is exhausting, and now all he can think about is maggots crawling all over his putrefying body. He needs to leave.
He hears sobbing and thinks it’s Kai, until he realizes the tears are coming out of his eyes, and he’s scratching at his face desperately, because fuck, fuck, fuck. And then his hands are being gently pried away from his face, and he’s being forced to face amber eyes again.
Kai’s looking at him, and it’s dangerous because why does he look so upset? I must have done something wrong, he thinks. That familiar instinct to control, to hold something over Kai, pushes him to take advantage of this moment and do something.
But then, as Kai cups his face and pulls him in, Morro understands that it’s him whose being controlled right now, but lets himself be pulled—sobbing into Kai's neck, feeling everything break apart.
For a moment, all the power he thought he had slips away. He feels so fucking exposed, but at the same time, he clings to the body that offers him something in a graveyard of nothing.
Notes:
crying about how u died in ur crush’s arms is step 23 in the slowburn handbook. dont you worry kids
thank you for reading xoxo. love all your comments and kudos <3 again im realllllyyyyyyy sorry about the delay AND short chapter. if you could find it in your big kai-filled hearts to forgive me…..
Chapter 15: can’t tame fire
Summary:
some sap and some yap
Notes:
sorry guysssysys im back again. things got super busy and i got sick but we are back on track. i hope. rest assured i will never quit this bc the fact that i started this just as some stupid ass little hobby to get ts out of my head ….now has 400+ kudos and omg it makes me so happy. i will FINISH AND I HAVE PLANS!!! i love you all <3 so much <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
If you ask Kai, having Morro cry instead of him is nice for a change. The feeling of not being useful had been eating away at him, but now he gets to do the holding instead of the being-held in this weird ass relationship that they both ended up cultivating. The familiarity of it puts him oddly at ease, and dulls the aching sting of missing his family.
He feels his shoulder get increasingly damp, but his attention is focused on Morro’s hair. Jet black with a streak of dark green, silky, and straight. He runs his hands through its long length, and Morro’s body shakes harder. The arms wrapped around Kai are cold, and he can feel the chill seep through his clothes. Kai presses himself against Morro, willing his body heat to expand, as if it’ll somehow help. He suddenly remembers—
“I was not good to Morro.”
Well, no fucking kidding. Wu must have done something really traumatizing for Morro to have a nightmare of this scale. In the past, when Wu said stuff like this, especially when Lloyd was freshly out of possession, Kai had paid no mind—he was too wrapped up in the anxiety and anger of losing Lloyd. But now?
Kai rocks him gently back and forth, trying to calm him down. He knows it always worked on Lloyd. Nya wasn’t one for touch or tears, but she always ended up in his arms when she was ready. The depth of how much he misses them is humiliating—but it hurts too much to care.
Morro’s cries don’t reduce, so Kai continues rubbing his back, and tries to whisper, but what comes out is a croak. The sound is atrocious, and it shocks Morro enough that he immediately releases his hold and gets up to stare at Kai.
Kai stares back at him, then ends up laughing. Morro laughs too, and then Kai’s coughing and sputtering because—fuck—his vocal cords are shot. That only makes Morro laugh more, tears still on his face but eyes brightening.
Their 3 a.m. giggles fade away, and now Morro is simply wiping his face. He hopes for an explanation, but then he watches as Morro avoids his eyes. Kai accepts the refusal with understanding. He settles on his side of the bed, watching Morro do the same, before closing the lamp.
If Morro wakes up again, he’ll be ready.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Approximately eight hundred and five hours after the capture of Ninjago City]
“To what extent can we consider the power of Nya’s control over water?”
Kai is going to skin this traitorous little shit alive. This is a question he knows Morro has the answer to – Nya had drowned an entire cursed being with her true potential – but whatever. It’s fine. Morro’s acting here is something he has learned to appreciate. What he does not appreciate, however, is the fucking monster sitting next to him.
Said fucking monster (Scourge) nods. “An important question indeed.”
Kai hates how they're hyper-focusing on Nya, Nya this, Nya that, but Morro says they’re doing it to shake him, because they’re blood siblings. Which is fine. Kai can handle it. So, he simply makes a gesture of expansion, opening his arms out to demonstrate the word ‘large.’
“Is there a radius to which her power stops at? Can she make it rain or create whirlpools? Does she have control over sea animals, as well?”
What the hell? Kai doesn’t fucking know. He knows Nya mentioned stopping the rain, but sea animals? Radius? How should he know? It’s not that any of them kept track of things like that anyway. So he shrugs, which is clearly a terrible idea because suddenly he’s on the ground, gasping for air.
The collar tightens around his throat, and he’s clawing at his neck until Morro releases a button and he can breathe again. Lately, it's Morro who keeps his hand on the controls of his collar. Better him than anyone else, considering the only time Morro actually uses it, it’s in front of Scourge.
Scourge tuts in disappointment, but apparently, he can tell that Kai really doesn’t know, so he waves Morro off, and he’s back in his seat, while Kai is still on the floor.
“A shame. A birth power has its mysteries, doesn’t it? Once a generation grows accustomed to it, the desire to understand it fades. You’d think previous masters of the elements would leave some notes for the next users.”
Huh. Maybe we should start doing that. Kai’s still coughing, but he’s able to get back off the floor at least and stand. He vaguely wonders if Nya drowning the Preeminent would be called a whirlpool. I mean, it technically was, right? He looks at Morro for any indication of, well, anything, but Morro’s steeled his face beyond any recognition. Fan-fucking-tastic! What’s he supposed to say now?
Nothing, apparently, because Scourge tells them to leave. Morro gives his ass kissing salute and they are both on their way.
It’s been a month now, and he can feel himself losing strength. The diet Scourge has specifically curated for him is fulfilling but not enough. Half of the time, the food has something in it so Kai can’t fucking think for too fucking long. He doesn’t even get food all the time, but whenever Morro can he shares. And Morro’s food isn’t poisoned, so he shuts up and takes it. Beggars can’t be choosers. The only good thing about being constantly hungry is that you get drunk much faster.
Besides, the invisible debt Kai has is racking up. How is he even supposed to pay Morro back? He doesn’t even know why Morro’s helping him. He asks all the time and all Morro does is smirk like a madman and tell him he’s going to ask for payback later. In other words, ragebait. Stupid wind fucker.
Plus, Kai's never written or drawn more than he has in this time. His notepad’s practically bursting with stuff now – prewritten pages of ‘yes’, ‘’no’s’ and ‘fuck you’s’, crude drawings of middle fingers, and (Kai’s favorite) a page with a dick and a head on it (Morro’s head and his fuckass braid).
But because the universe deems it necessary to withhold certain talents from Kai, he is ultimately shit at drawing and writing. So most of the time it’s just him poking at Morro until the guy gives in and does what he wants.
Regardless, things are starting to get complicated. Morro is sending more messages to the Ninja about the whole situation, including the double prophecies – something he hadn't been able to mention before. Kai begs Morro to let him talk to them, and tell them he’s okay, but Morro refuses and says it’s too risky.
Kai bitches about it for a while until ultimately he too realizes that if they know exactly where he is, they’re going to rush in and save him. Which is not an option. His family will not get anywhere near this hellhole. That’s why he’s here in the first place, after all.
nya pov —————————————————————————--------——————--——————--——————--
The newest message contains a familiar quote, and one far too well-timed to be coincidence.
"He who grows too fond of victory veils his eyes to the shadow of defeat.”
Wu has laid out the latest messages in front of them, each sent by a different messenger fated to die at their doorstep.
“How interesting,” Wu murmurs.
Jay is fidgeting nervously, picking on nails too short to be picked on. “Isn’t that what you said during the Great Devourer or something?”
Cole nods in agreement. “Jay’s right. You used to say that all the time, Master,”
“Oh my god, do you think this mystery guy knows you?”
Zane steps forward, rustling through papers again. A total of five messengers had arrived at the monastery’s door, four of which carried scrolls along with their verbiage. “The probability is high. What other justification could there be for their assistance?”
“I mean, every single piece of information they’ve given us is right. But they won’t tell us the most important fucking thing. Good fucking riddance.” Nya wants to kill someone. Preferably Scourge, but it looks like that’s not happening with Wu’s bullshit insistence on waiting for the right time. What right time? When Kai’s fucking dead? If he isn’t already—
“Language, Nya,”
“Don’t care.”'
She feels Lloyd’s gaze fixed intently on them, like he's waiting for something to go wrong. Sensing his unease, she instinctively takes a step back, not wanting to push things further. The last thing she wants is to make Lloyd any more on edge than he already is. She really doesn’t want to be the reason why he cries again tonight.
At her new stance, Lloyd relaxes. “But Nya’s right. They certainly know if Kai is there or not? I mean… no letter even mentions him.”
Skylor sighs, leaning forward. “That’s not even the worst part. I mean, the guy is no saint. Every single messenger just drops dead after… giving us the message. Why go through all the trouble? Not to mention lack of morality— "
“ I believe that this person has been providing information to us in secret. There is no other explanation for the purposeful death of each individual messenger."
“Zane’s right. This is definitely a ’no trace left behind’ kinda thing."
“Regardless, it seems that their defense preparations against us are getting started."
“Well,” Jay’s pulling something out his pocket — a blueprint — ,” So have ours. Nya, Zane and I managed to almost finish with our counter measures. We know how their machinery works and added additions to our own, but—"
“Then we do not make any bold moves until we are confident in the ability to defend ourselves."
“What?"
“But Master Wu—"
“What’s the point of defending ourselves if m—our brother is dead?” Nya snaps, her voice loud as her fists clench at her sides.
Lloyd shifts beside her, voice soft. “Nya, please—”
But Wu raises a hand to stop him, his expression hardening. He takes a step toward Nya.
“I understand your frustration, But if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that the enemy is cunning.” He pauses, looking around. “Kai is a valuable asset. They are, rather fortunately and unfortunately, not blind to that.”
--------------——————--——————--——————--——————--——————--——————--——————--——————--
[Approximately eight hundred and sixteen hours after the capture of Ninjago City]
“Kai is a ticking time bomb.”
Morro’s hand shifts slightly, fingers finding the end of his braid, grazing the strands—a familiar habit. His words come slowly, deliberately chosen.
“Can’t exactly tame fire.”
Scourge’s expression doesn’t shift, but the energy around him does. The room seems to tighten under the weight of his disapproval.
“You’re telling me you can’t tame him, or perhaps you’re unwilling to? Do you take me for a fool, Morro? Do you believe I am blind to your favoritism?”
Morro knows he’s stepping onto thin ice now—fragile fucking ice—and worse still, the other commanders are watching.
“Favoritism? Sure,” Morro replies, forcing calm into his voice. “I’m the reason he doesn’t put up much of a fight anymore. He’s scared.”
A lie Kai will wring his neck over, but it’s fine. It’s not like Kai has lying his ass off on the double agent agenda.
“This is testing my patience,” Scourge mutters, “Everything about this damned realm is.”
Crimson cracks begin to creep across the edges of the table, veins of power reacting to his temper. He turns his gaze back to Morro.
“Provide me an update on the defense against the ninja.”
Morro stands.
“We began implementing the primary defense protocol shortly after Stelle returned from Arcadia with an augmented supply of magic. Fortifications are nearing completion.”
“Nearing?”
“Yes, my lord. Several key measures have already been deployed. We’ve disrupted the region’s water supply and are soon going to be poisoning the remaining reserves—this is targeted specifically at the Water Elemental. Our electrical defenses are close to full operational status. Meanwhile, heat-focused weapons are being deployed on a wider scale. Both of these methods are being utilized to counter the Lightning and Ice Elementals.”
He pauses, carefully selecting his next words.
“However, we are still assessing strategies to neutralize the Earth Elemental and the Green Ninja. The Earth Elemental poses a significant threat to all ground-based defenses. In a perfect scenario, I would recommend an air superiority campaign, but Ninjago’s resistance to our magic renders that approach ineffective.”
Morro put a lot of thought into how to keep Scourge satisfied without raising suspicion, all while trying to not actually kill the Ninja. This was actually Kai’s idea—focusing Scourge’s attention on Cole and Lloyd, two people Morro claimed he had "no adequate defenses against." This way, Nya, Jay, and Zane would still face defenses, but they'd fly under the radar a bit more.
The real problem, though, was the poison. Kai insisted his sister couldn't get hurt, so he came up with a plan for that too. The psycho willingly ingested the poison, giving Morro the chance to push Kaeya into formulating an antidote on the spot. Morro took it, made sure it worked on Kai, and ordered Kaeya to show him the process.
After that? Boom, antidote sent over to the Ninja. Nya can use water without worrying about it touching her skin. Poison-recovering Kai was relieved to hear that. Actually, any Kai would’ve been pretty relieved.
Jay and Zane might be countered by the defenses, but thanks to Nya’s ‘loophole,’ they have it under control. Water’s a natural counter to electrical and heat-based weapons, so those won’t be as effective once they’re wet.
“Given the terrain, our only viable course of action is to reinforce infrastructure and implement seismic disruption technologies. Both would work poorly. As for the Green Ninja—there is no known weakness to exploit. Even Kai himself—”
Reyna scoffs, loud enough to cut him off. “Perhaps you haven’t asked hard enough.”
“I have,” Morro cuts in sharply. “Settle down, Commander.”
Reyna pauses, clearly annoyed by the interruption. Rolling her eyes with a theatrical sigh, she turns on her heel and retreats to her seat.
A new voice rises.
“The ninja have yet to launch any major offensives,” Stelle reports. “I am unsure why they have not acted in a bold manner as of yet. However, they are continuing to evacuate civilians with alarming efficiency. We’ve observed multiple instances where villages—specifically near Birchwood Forest and the volcanic perimeter—have been entirely emptied prior to our forces’ arrival.”
Scourge’s eyes narrow.
Kaeya continues her trail of thought. “This suggests that the enemy has either established a highly covert intelligence network or breached our security systems. Either possibility is cause for concern. My latest intelligence also suggests that the Ninja might have already infiltrated the City of Domu.”
“…..”
“Pardon?”
“WHAT?!”
“…. I see.” ”
Reyna slams her fist on the table. “I don’t fucking understand. You didn’t think to mention this beforehand?”
“Like I said, might. My full reports haven’t come through yet—”
Morro raises his hand. "We need the information from Domu, no matter what. We move, Ninja presence or not. I’d rather fight them away from the castle than risk drawing them closer. At least out there, we have some control.” This way, we’re wasting time and resources. I already told Wu in my last message—take whatever they can from Domu and burn the rest. Hopefully, they pulled through.
Scourge, thankfully, agrees. "I approve Morro’s assessment. We proceed according to the original plan. I will remain in Ninjago in the event that Lloyd is sighted—I would prefer to deal with him personally, if the opportunity arises.”
“Affirmative.”
“As you wish.”
“Very well. I will personally look into how the Ninja are managing to predict our movements with such accuracy. Until then, remain alert. Is that understood? Anything else?”
“The realm crystal is useless to us, sir. We are unable to use it. Another repellent to blood magic.”
Reyna frowns, looking up. “Huh? What does it do exactly?"
"It’s a long story. I can brief you individually. We must not waste the Master's time.”
Scourge clears his throat. “A small setback. Keep the jewel regardless.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Dismissed.”
Morro practically flies out of his seat. Thank the first spinjitzu master—
“Oh dear. Not you, Morro. We are long overdue for a chat."
Notes:
thank you for reading! i love seeing kudos and comments <33
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