After revealing the map to the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master, Morro is determined to not let the Ninja get ahead again. He sails across the Endless Sea, the rest of his ghostly friends in tow, and discovers an entrance to the Tomb. As he makes his way through the winding tunnels, he realizes that retrieving the Realm Crystal might be more difficult than he initially imagined.

--------------------------

"The Scroll of Airjitzu has a map on the back," Bansha said after she severed the telepathic connection between her and Ronin. She raised an eyebrow at Morro, who was panicking.

"Hey, didn't you draw all over the back?" Wrayth pointed out. He lifted the paper and turned it around, showing the messy drawings of the three symbols. "Oh you did."

"Shit," Morro cursed. He grabbed at his hair in an attempt to calm down. How am I supposed to get the map now? Out loud, he said, "Tell Ronin to bring the map the Ninja has."

"He says that he has this tea--" Bansha started.

"Bansha, are you hearing yourself?" the Wind Master snapped. "We're ghosts, like you said. We don't eat, and we most definitely DO NOT drink anything because we'll DIE."

"You drank that thing in the bar," Wrayth said. "You said it was the most awful--"

"We're not gonna talk about that, Wrayth."

"The tea is supposed to reveal the map," Bansha said as if she didn't just get yelled at. "If it's anything like some of the tea that this realm has to offer, I don't think it'll have much of a problem clearing away your little drawings."

"Fine," Morro grumbled. "Let Ronin bring the tea. And when it doesn't work, I'll be sure to let the Preeminent know who exactly is responsible for the failure."

The other ghosts didn't argue. They knew it was pointless, especially when Morro was in one of his moods. And he had been in these moods more often now, especially since the Ninja were at an advantage. The Ninja had the sword, they had the map, and the girl turned out to be a Water Ninja. Considering that Morro's (actually the Preeminent's) army consisted of ghosts, ghost dragons, and skreemers, they were at a major disadvantage. He could only hope that the Water Ninja doesn't find her true potential before the Preeminent arrives. That and also the weather would be clear.

An inconveniently timed rainstorm would put his (the Preeminent's) entire plan to a halt.

***

Ronin woke up earlier than normal and paced around in his airship. In a pouch strapped across his chest was the Reali-Tea. All he needed was the Sword of Sanctuary. The only problem was that he didn't know where the Ninja kept it. And it wasn't as if he could just walk up to them and say, "Hey, I'm gonna use the sword to get my cursed soul back. D'you know where it is?" to the Ninja.

He glanced at Steep Wisdom. The doors and windows were closed, no lights were lit, and it didn't seem like there wasn't anyone who was awake.

He decided to risk it. If he got caught, then that was on him, but he still had to try and get the sword. It was the only thing standing between him and getting his soul back.

He pushed the doors open, breathing a sigh of relief when no one immediately rushed out with weapons drawn. He rummaged around the shelf, his frustration mounting faster the longer he searched and emerged empty handed.

Ronin pushed a few jars aside and spotted the scroll with the map. He decided to not take it, since the ghosts didn't ask for it. He had the Reali-Tea and that should be enough.

"Ronin, is that you?"

He jumped, hitting his head on a shelf and crawled out from behind the counter. Kai was there, his gi thrown on haphazardly and he had an unopened container of instant Master Chen noodles in his hand.

"Oh, hey Kai," Ronin said quickly. "I was just looking for the... green tea."

"It's right behind you."

"Of course, I knew that." He grabbed a tea bag and a mug to make his story seem more plausible and quickly brewed a cup of tea. "How's Lloyd?"

Kai sighed and started making his noodles. "He's getting better. But I'm worried about him." He ripped open the seasoning packets with more force than necessary and poured it all into the cup. "His temperatures keep rising and falling and I don't know if that's supposed to be a side effect of being possessed."

"He'll get through this," Ronin said, and he meant it. "He's strong, and he's got his family to look after him."

He left quickly, not wanting to stick around for any longer than necessary. Sunrise was fast approaching and if he was late, the ghosts would throw a fit. Well, Morro would throw a fit. The other ghosts would just watch and try to not laugh.

He searched around the nearby shed, where the Ninja kept various tools and equipment, and there, he finally found what he was looking for.

Inside an ornate box decorated with gold leaf and black ink was the Sword of Sanctuary. The blade glinted in the few sun rays that peeked over the horizon. The crystal sword guard and pommel practically glowed.

For a moment, he thought about taking the sword and keeping it for himself. It could reveal his opponents' next moves, and it would be a huge advantage to have in a fight. Not to mention, he could make quite a lot of money from selling it to the right person.

Then he remembered his cursed soul. He lived with it for fifteen years, and that was fifteen years too long. Besides, this was also him paying off that ridiculous debt he accumulated through a few games of mahjong. He was pretty sure that Soul Archer had made up a few rules for the games to work to his advantage, as those ghosts tended to do.

He quickly boarded Rex and flew away, his mind torn between whose side he should be on. The selfish part of him, which was most of him, said that he could use the whole Lloyd situation as a distraction. The Ninja were preoccupied with helping Lloyd heal, and some of them, namely Kai, were clearly more stressed out about it than the others. The nicer part of him said that he should just take the sword back to the Ninja and help them defeat the ghosts. If the ghosts and the Preeminent were destroyed, he would get his soul back.

But Morro claims that I'd get my soul back as soon as I bring the sword, he thought, gripping the controls tightly and steered Rex in the direction of Stiix. So that's the fastest, and least... problematic way, so to speak.

The sun was high up in the sky when he landed. He carefully parked the ship inside a hidden garage underneath the ocean surface and took a secret tunnel to the docks. He could see a few green figures floating around as if they were waiting for him.

Ignoring them, he headed for his pawn shop. The entire building looked the same from the outside, but when he looked through the window, the interior was completely different.

Green banners, curtains, and lanterns hung from every surface. A lot of the shelves were covered by sheets of cloth, chains had been hooked up to the walls and ceiling for no reason other than to act as decoration, and there was a large throne in the place where his counter would be.

There were no ghosts in sight except for Morro. He was sitting on the throne, seemingly asleep. His friends had all been out by the docks, no doubt waiting for him, but he wasn't about to risk escaping. And although most of the shop seemed empty, he knew it was probably a trick, something created for him to let his guard down.

He gripped the case tightly in his hand and pushed the door open.

***

Morro rested his head on the palm of his hand as he stared ahead. The shop was empty and quiet, something he usually liked, but now he only felt tense. That and an underlying sense of dread. He wasn't sure if Ronin was going to deliver the sword even though Bansha and Soul Archer assured him many times that it would be foolish for Ronin to not listen to their demands.

Despite the conflicting emotions he felt, he was glad to be seated inside the shop and not roaming around outside where a single misstep would send him right back to the Cursed Realm. And on top of that, his friends had built a throne and it was nice, even if the intention had been to replicate the Preeminent's throne when it was first built by Wrayth and Bansha. It gave him a clear view of the entire shop, and the other ghosts had cleared away the shelves and random items to use as decoration pieces. The only thing that was missing from this place was a few spiritstone pillars, and it'll fit in with the rest of the Cursed Palace.

In an attempt to pass time, he unrolled a scroll that he'd swiped from Cloud Kingdom. In all honesty, he had forgotten about it over the last few days, but now he decided to read it. He knew what it said, it was the prophecy of the Green Ninja. The one thing that sent him walking down this path all those years ago.

The parchment was long and the words were printed in black ink. The elegant script spanned the entire length of the paper, which was quite a feat considering the paper was almost as tall as he was.

[One ninja will rise above the others and become the Green Ninja; the ninja destined to defeat the Dark Lord]

Those words were committed to memory the moment he heard them, all those years ago when he was still a young, naive eleven-year-old child. And reading them now only reopened old emotional wounds that had been slowly healing throughout his life.

Then the doors creaked open and his head snapped up from the paper. About time, he thought as he settled back into his throne. There was a nicely cushioned backrest and he wanted to just sleep, but he couldn't. It's noon, nearing the afternoon. He let the paper remain draped over his legs and propped his head on his hand.

Tired or not, he had to maintain the "take no shit from anyone" attitude. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

"Well look who decided to show up," he drawled. He snapped his fingers and the rest of the Preeminent's generals floated through the walls, surrounding the mercenary. He rolled up the parchment and dropped it on his throne as he stood up. "It's the afternoon. You're late."

"I got held up--" Ronin started, but Morro cut him off with a single glare.

"I don't want excuses," he said. "I want the sword."

"Give me my soul back first," Ronin snapped. "And I'll hold my end of the deal."

"Show me that the sword isn't fake."

"Wait--"

Morro snapped his fingers again, and Ghoultar floated toward Ronin. He grabbed the red and black case, opening it and taking out the sword.

"Well?" Morro asked, drumming his fingers impatiently on his throne.

"The Sword is no fake," Ghoultar said. He handed it to Morro, who's smile widened as his fingers closed around the handle.

"Huh," Morro said, genuinely surprised that Ronin didn't play a trick on him. "For once, the crook makes good."

"And my soul?" Ronin asked. "I got you the sword, so--"

"And the tea?" Bansha asked. "You said there was a tea that could reveal the map."

In response, Ronin took out a packet of tea. The packaging was red, oval, and had the words Reali-Tea scribbled on in black ink. "This will reveal any secret messages," he said. "I watched the Ninja use it, and it works. We have to steep it in fresh boiling water."

At the mention of water, the generals vanished in a puff of green smoke, leaving Morro and Ronin staring at the space they were just occupying. Morro, not wanting to touch water or get close to it, motioned for Ronin to boil the tea, to demonstrate its magical abilities. The mercenary obliged, but only because he still wanted his soul back.

"We have to let the tea steep for five minutes," Ronin said as he started boiling the water. He could've easily lied and said a different time, but one look at the Master of Wind told him that lying wouldn't help his case here. "And we have to use fresh boiling water like I've said before."

Damn these teas and their ridiculously specific instructions, Morro thought as he stared at the teapot for what felt like the longest time. One by one, the other ghosts reappeared and they seemed more at ease when Ronin didn't immediately dump the boiling water onto their heads as their forms flickered back into existence. Ghoultar even floated closer, his glowing eyes widening with delight as he watched the tea steep.

Morro, on the other hand, was less than amused. He was just about to ask if Ronin was tricking them when a sharp whistle cut through the air. About time.

He watched with bated breath as Ronin lifted the kettle and poured tea straight onto the Scroll of Airjitzu. A bit of the tea splashed out, narrowly missing Bansha's hand and she screeched, jumping back.

"Careful!" Morro said. "If we die because of you, you're never gonna get your soul back."

"Trust me, this tea wouldn't hurt you guys," Ronin said, though even he sounded a bit unsure.

The tea steamed and hissed as it touched the paper, immediately evaporating when it flowed onto the table. The messy drawings of the three symbols melted away when the Reali-Tea touched it, revealing a coastline and ocean map.

"Whoa," Wrayth exclaimed, snatching the paper from the table. He turned it around a few times, reading the map from different angles before Morro grabbed it to read.

"My soul?" Ronin asked.

"It's right here--" Soul Archer was about to remove the curse when Morro glared at him and said, "Wait, I need one more thing."

"You can't keep changing the deal details!" Ronin protested.

"And you'll know a lot about that, won't you?" Morro asked rhetorically, effectively silencing the mercenary. "Anyway, I want the Ninja too. The Preeminent would be delighted to have more skilled warriors in her army."

"They're not that skilled," Bansha muttered.

"True, but they've all unlocked their true potentials and can do spinjitzu."

Ronin started to back away once he realized he wasn't going to get his soul back. "Forget it," he said, edging toward the door. "Deal's off, and I'll keep the cursed soul. It's one thing to bring you the sword, but my friends are another."

"Friends?" Wrayth asked, giggling at the thought. "You have friends? I thought Soul said you were more of a 'I look out for myself' type of person."

"Do you really think they're gonna consider you their friend after you betrayed them?" Bansha asked. "After you slipped away with the sword without a word as to where you were going?"

Ronin bolted, throwing the door open and disappearing into Stiix. Morro snatched the Sword of Sanctuary and pointed it at the door. He looked at his friends, nodding once and they too, floated out, chasing after him. Only Wrayth remained in the pawn shop, reading over the map.

"He'll escape," Wrayth said, rolling the paper up. "And we'll be screwed again."

"No, we won't." Morro took the map and stalked to the table. He spread it out and stabbed the sword into the wood. A gleaming red "X" shone in the blade's reflection, mirroring the image onto the paper. He marked the spot on the map with a pencil. "Soul Archer still has Ronin's soul, he can use that to communicate. And we know where the Tomb is."

"What if the NInja knows as well?"

"They won't." Morro glared at the map with intent. "I'll make sure they won't ever find the location. But if they do, we can use that to our advantage."

Wrayth nodded, his hand resting on his chain blade. "We've got this," he said, hoping his words would reassure his friend. "The Preeminent chose us for a reason. And out of all the ghosts in the Cursed Realm, we're the ones who passed the trial."

"Of course we do," Morro said. He looked at the map again, noting the red "X" in the middle of the ocean, the location of the tomb. "The Realm Crystal will be mine."

***

"What do you mean the sword is gone?" Jay asked, crossing his arms.

"I mean the sword is gone," Nya said, mirroring his action. "It's not there, the case is gone."

"Well, who could've--"

"Ronin," Kai said and all eyes turned to him. "I saw him earlier in the morning, but I didn't think much of it."

"Without the sword, we cannot locate the tomb," Misako said. "And if the ghosts get there first..."

"Unspeakable danger will curse us all," Sensei Wu finished.

"Yeah, we know!" Jay snapped. "We're all gonna die, and it's because Kai couldn't stop Ronin."

"I was more worried about Lloyd," Kai muttered, ignoring the jab. "At least he's getting better now."

Silence fell over the group at the mention of Lloyd. In the heat of things, they had temporarily forgotten that one of their teammates was bedridden with fever or whatever a ghost's possession did to humans. It was clear that, should any battle or war ensue, Lloyd would be sitting out, so to speak.

"At least we have the map, so we know where to start looking," Zane said, trying to remain positive. "It's near a small group of islands just off the eastern coast. There would no doubt be tunnel systems and caves down there."

"What are we waiting for?" Cole asked. "Let's go!"

***

The boat that Ghoultar had found was sailing across the Endless Sea toward the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master. Morro stood at the very back, eyes squeezed shut in concentration as wind whipped around them, propelling the boat forward at a breakneck speed.

Despite being on a wooden boat in the middle of the ocean, the ghosts weren't that concerned. They had faith in Morro, even if the faith was on the verge of being non-existent, that he wouldn't let them be vaporized by water.

"Are we there yet?" Wrayth asked, clinging tightly to the mast at the center of the boat.

"Almost," Archer said. He held the map in his hands and was directing where Morro should steer the boat. "It should be right past those sea stacks."

Sure enough, the boat sailed past a sea stack, toward an island composed mainly out of cooled basalt magma and glassy obsidian. There was a large cave entrance at the far end of the island, the darkness within seeming to call them forward.

"That's the entrance," Bansha called. "It has to be."

"But the tomb is underground," Archer said. "I mean, it's supposed to be underneath the water."

"If this is an alternative entrance, then that means we could just bypass all the tests," Morro said.

"That's cheating," Ghoultar called. He was inside the small boathouse, eating from his large supply of takeout from Master Chen's.

Morro bristled with anger and snatched the Sword of Sanctuary before using his wind to push the boat right to the side of the island. He jumped off, floating through the air for a moment before he landed on a rocky beach.

"I'm going in," he shouted for the other ghosts to hear. "You four control the situation. If I hear from the Preeminent that another one of you got vaporized, I swear on the Cursed Realm, I'll--"

"Relax, Morro," Wrayth said almost dismissively. "We've got this. Just get the Realm Crystal and we can go!"

His cheerful and seemingly unconcerned tone didn't make Morro feel any better as he stepped into the cave. He was quickly surrounded with darkness and it was at that moment when he briefly regretted leaving Lloyd Garmadon in the middle of Stiix. He could've used that green energy power to light up the surrounding areas. But he still had his wind powers, and he used that to feel for any turns and cracks in the tunnels. It was unconventional, but it worked, similar to the way bats use echolocation.

He took the time to think, walking slowly to prevent too much cluttering of thought. He was so close to completing this mission, the toughest mission he'd been given yet. The Preeminent would be so proud that he managed to do what no other cursed spirit had done before. Or any human, for that matter.

The Realm Crystal was supposedly impossible to locate, but here he was, about to find it. He would truly be worthy then, the Preeminent had said to him. And she would ensure that he received the title and gi of the Green Ninja. He would be the first spirit to have survived a deal made with the Preeminent.

"I got this," he mumbled to himself. "Wrayth's right. There's nothing to be worrying about."

He found himself in a stone tunnel that glowed softly with blue light and knew he must be nearing the tomb. But when he reached a door and opened it, he was disappointed to see a circular room with doors on all sides. A carved figure holding a blue crystal was on the surface of every door, though the crystal placement and pose the figures held were all different.

The cave entrance hadn't been a backdoor at all. It had run right from the surface to under the ocean.

He should've known it wouldn't be this easy. The First Spinjitzu Master (and the rest of his family, really) never made anything easy. If he remembered correctly, this room was the first test out of three.

He looked at the sword, hoping that the reflection would show him the answer to this room. No such luck. The reflection only showed him one of the doors, which was really helpful because there were sixteen doors inside the room and it could be any one of them. Then the reflection changed, showing the ground that he stood on. He looked down, only to see an inscription on the floor, the engravings filled in with a black stone.

Morro squinted, reading the text as best as he could in the dim lighting. "A... spinjitzu master can," he read. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Hello? he thought, hoping the other generals had an idea. What does "A spinjitzu master can" mean?

It's part of a riddle, Bansha's response was immediate. For those who don't have the sword.

What can spinjitzu masters do? Archer prompted, his tone indicating that Morro should know the answer.

"Do spinjitzu?" Morro thought out loud. "I mean, they're called Spinjitzu masters for a reason."

Yeah, Wrayth said. So just do some spinjitzu.

It was a simple solution, except that Morro didn't know how to do spinjitzu. He had left the monastery before that skill was taught to him. That was another thing he regretted.

He closed off the mental link and growled, glaring at the sword in hopes that it might reveal the answer again. This time, the only thing that appeared was a door with a yin-yang symbol drawn in blue over the door.

"That's the door I came in from!" he shouted out at no one. "Stop with this... this overly ambiguous and vague--"

Morro, try spinning around in a tornado, Bansha suggested, her words cutting off his rant. Like Archer's, her tone of voice suggested that she knew the answers and it annoyed Morro to no end. Allow the wind to spin you around as if you were doing spinjitzu. You can do that, can you?

"Fine!" he snapped, raising a hand to force the air to condense into a cyclone around him. He allowed the wind to lift him and he spun around. First slowly, but the wind speed picked up and he was spinning around at a dizzying speed. He knew that normal spinjitzu was not like that at all.

To his surprise, he saw the figure carvings on the doors move, the arms rising and falling until the figure was drawing a circle with the letter "S" drawn in the middle. It was the--

"No fucking way," he muttered to himself, slowing the winds and letting himself drop to the ground. He faced the door with the yin-yang symbol. The same door that he entered the room from.

There was no way that it was the solution--

He opened the door despite being extremely confused. That confusion mounted when he realized the door led to a completely different room and he stormed into the next puzzle room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Of all the confusing and absurd directions the puzzles could've taken," he growled, leaning against the walls and glaring at the closed door. "This is the worst."

Did it work? Bansha asked.

Yes, he replied begrudgingly.

I told you, she fired back, sounding just a bit smug.

He cut the connection again and glared at the walls some more, this time finding another inscription.

"A spinjitzu master cannot," he read. This time, the line alone was enough for him to lose his patience. "Spinjitzu masters can do everything!" His gaze caught on a shining golden staff at the far end of the room. "A spinjitzu master cannot get that staff?"

He looked at the Sword of Sanctuary, this time surprised to see a short montage of sorts where chunks of the floor fell out beneath him. He shrugged that off and stepped forward, his foot sinking a bit as he stepped onto a pressure plate.

A few mechanical-sounding clicks echoed through the room and his eyes followed the sound as it travelled around within the walls. Then it stopped and he froze, preparing himself for anything that might be thrown his way. Mostly though, he kept a firm grasp on his powers as he was only aware of the floors falling out.

A spike thudded into the ground only mere centimeters away from his boot and he jumped back, stepping on another pressure plate. More spikes shot out, most of which missed him, but one flew right at his chest. He braced himself for the pain, but quickly straightened. He was a ghost after all, and ghosts could only be harmed by water.

"A spinjitzu master cannot," Morro repeated to himself as he jumped from platform to platform. He eventually resorted to floating above a gaping chasm using his wind before trying to figure out the clue once more. "Well, clearly they can't get the staff."

He glared at the staff and floated around some more. His elbow accidentally caught on a loose stone and it dislodged, sending a stream of water flying at his face.

He screamed, temporarily losing control over his powers and falling onto one of the few small pillars that remained standing. The water jet barely missed his head. "Cursed Realm, doesn't this stupid room ever quit?" he snarled, about to summon a wind gust to destroy the room.

As those words left his mouth, he suddenly had a revelation and his rage was forgotten. "Wait." He looked around at the gaping chasm, then at the golden staff. "A spinjitzu master cannot..." He remembered something that the Ninja had constantly said, whenever they battled, or even when he was still possessing Lloyd.

"Ninja never quit," he mused out loud. "Oh, I see. Very clever."

After composing himself slightly, he leapt off the pillar he stood on and forced the wind to condense into a protective cocoon around him. He landed on a slide made of ice and crystal and scoffed.

I went through all that trouble and I could've just jumped, he thought as the slide continued to spiral down further beneath the ground. It shot him through the air, causing him to narrowly miss hitting some icicles, and he crashed through a wall of snow. He landed on the other side in a heap, his clothes and body steaming slightly as small bits of snow melted and burned him.

He wanted to lie there, to just rest after falling several hundred meters on the slide, but he heard voices. Loud, overlapping voices that carried all the way down, even though the walls of ice.

He sighed with annoyance and pushed himself up. The Ninja had caught up, somehow, and he might fall behind again. Memories of what happened on Blind Man's Eye flashed through his mind and, despite being extremely exhausted, he started walking.

Very quickly, he realized this was a maze. Was the tomb at the center of the maze? Probably.

Morro didn't bother looking for another inscription this time. He just wanted to find the Realm Crystal and then get out of there. Maybe he should've thought to bring Wrayth along. They could've at least talked to each other to fill the silence.

As he walked, he gradually became more and more aware of the Ninja's chatter. Most of it he ignored, but he noticed that they kept talking about reflections and their future.

He almost turned to the glassy crystals beside him but stopped. He didn't need to know his future. His future was going to be serving the Preeminent as her true second in command and being the Green Ninja.

He kept walking, telling himself that his future was secure, but with each conversation he overheard from the Ninja, the more hesitant he became. He finally gave into his curiosity when he overheard the lightning ninja gasp with delight and whisper "I end up with Nya".

Morro pushed down the burning jealousy he felt and stared at the maze walls. He froze, because instead of being met with a reflection, one that depicted the future he already knew, he was met with nothing.

--------------------------

I've decided to split Grave Danger into two parts, in which the second part will lead a bit into Cursed World Pt.1.

A note to the readers: sorry about the slight cliffhanger at the end.

Haven't written in a while bc I was super busy, but here you go! We're almost at the end of the story and while it might not have gone in the direction I initially wanted, it was still really fun to write!