Morro's POV

"You know what's weird though?" Lloyd asked after he finished telling us everything he'd gone through from the moment he woke up in prison to when we reunited.

"Go on," Cole said. He sat cross-legged around the fire that Lloyd had created and leaned back on his hands.

Apparently Lloyd said he'd somehow gotten fire powers after we lost Kai, which was why Chrysanthe thought he was the Chosen One. He'd been very careful in conveying the news, as he was probably scared of how Nya would react. Thankfully, she handled it quite well and only nodded, though I did notice how her movements slowed and the way her gaze lingered on a point in blank space.

Since Lloyd had already gotten the Crystal Blade, we figured that a break was well deserved and made camp early. We didn't have much to do, since all our belongings were somewhere at the bottom of the ocean. Shortly after we'd arrived on land I had another outburst, and the others had had to explain it to Lloyd and Ruby.

I hated those tantrums where I would suddenly lose control of my body, as if I was someone's puppet, and even though all my senses were intact there was nothing I could do. It was like some sort of malevolent spirit had ripped my essence out of my limbs so that I couldn't reach them no matter how I tried.

Harumi was never scared during those times, and I believed that it was because she trusted me enough to not hurt her, which was not true in the slightest. She probably thought I was fighting some sort of inner demon and would regain control if I tried hard enough. I was frustrated that I wasn't able to fend it off, especially since I'd previously been able to possess Lloyd (though he had been weakened by grief). Every time I thought back to those stupid fits I wanted to punch someone. Though I acted indifferent to them, the mere idea just made me want to strangle whoever responsible, in this case the Shadow Knight, with my bare hands.

I was supposed to be in control.

Ruby sat between Harumi and me around the fire. I acted like her staring didn't bother me even though it really did, so I just had my long hair hide the side of my face that she could see. There was something about her that just didn't feel right with me but I couldn't exactly put my finger on it. I disliked Ruby from the start, and truth to be told, I was only being nice to her for the sake of her sister, who I somewhat pitied.

She was so lost, and though she'd recognized the crimes she'd committed, the way she was coming to terms with them was inherently destructive in the way I could see the self-loathing grow. Harumi reminded me of myself, in a way, except that Wu explicitly forgave me before I died and Lloyd hadn't done the same for her.

"Isn't it weird that there was a test designed specifically to make sure you're not going to give the sword to the Shadow Knight?" Lloyd asked, sitting on the other side of Harumi with an arm around her, "Like I get that they wouldn't want this super-powerful sword to fall into the wrong hands, but isn't that a bit extra?"

"You have a point," Nya agreed, "Why would any Shadow Rider go through so many lengths just to retrieve the one weapon that could defeat their master?"

"It would be far more logical to prevent others from finding it instead," Zane added.

I stared at the sword, which lay on the ground in front of Harumi. "You know," I said, "I expected it to look... different."

"I did too," Lloyd admitted, "And there was this voice that said 'Whatever you do, don't let it fall into the wrong hands' or something."

"What are you talking about, it looks great! It's blue!" Jay said. Cole rolled his eyes and flicked Jay's arm. The latter let out a yelp.

"What is it supposed to do?" Harumi asked, picking the Crystal Blade up to examine it.

"Didn't the legends say that it can drain power?" I asked, looking up at Zane. I didn't remember who had said that on the first night, but somebody did.

Zane nodded, confirming my assumption. "I do not know what type of power, but elemental energy is a possibility."

"So if the Shadow Knight gets it he might be able to take our powers," Nya said quietly.

There was a long silence that was then broken by Ruby. "Well, this might be off-topic, but what did you guys do after the battle?"

Even through the veil of hair I could see that the question was mostly directed towards me. I heard several snickers and it took all the muscles in my face to stop my lips from twisting into a grimace. As much as I wanted to tell her to shut up and stop pestering me, I resisted the urge to. I probably should've given her more credit for breaking her and Lloyd out of prison but something about it didn't feel right. Or maybe I was being too narrow-minded. Probably. Either way, I just wished she could take the hint and leave me alone.

"Allow me," Jay said as he stood up, after he was pretty sure I wasn't going to say a word. He then proceeded to make a dramatic reenactment of everything that happened after the battle, dancing around as he told them about the boring island, my outbursts, Harumi's head pains, the sword and vial, and the merpeople. Just as he had finished talking about the artifacts and Ninjago and was about to mention the pearl, Lloyd cut him off.

"Sorry for interrupting," he said, "I don't exactly know how to say this, but this is a question I've had for a long time." There was a hint of nervousness in his voice.

We looked at him expectantly.

He twisted his bottom lip a little, his eyes darting all over the place before he finally spoke. "Morro, since you know about this other world could you tell us about it?"

Harumi's POV

As soon as the words left Lloyd's mouth, Morro's face paled in a way I'd never seen before. The others immediately flared up.

"Wait, what?" Nya asked angrily, "You knew? Why didn't you tell us?"

"You just had to keep us in the dark, didn't you?" Cole yelled.

"YOU KNEW A MULTIVERSE EXISTED AND NEVER MENTIONED IT? I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!" Jay shrieked.

"How could you not inform us of this crucial piece of information?" Zane exclaimed.

Morro flinched a little at these accusations even though he seemed to try to hide it.

"Calm down, everyone!" I said as I stood up, "I'm sure there's a reason he never told us."

"I'd sure love to hear it!" Cole said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Do you not trust us?" Nya snapped and stood up as well, "After we risked EVERYTHING to come on this mission?"

"Does it matter?" I shouted back, "Do we really have to know what this world is? It's not going to change anything!"

"Why are you defending him, even?" Nya demanded as she stepped closer. She was on the opposite side of the fire from where I was, so there was still a significant distance between us, but I still stepped back. "He's not even talking! Oh wait, do you know too?" When she said the word "you" her head quickly jerked a little to the side.

"Since when did you know this?" Lloyd cried. At first he had looked a little guilty for causing the argument, but now it seemed he was full on in as well.

"Let's not forget that one day two years ago he suddenly knew how to create a dragon out of pure elemental energy! He went from terrible to OP at using wind overnight! Things like that don't just happen overnight, they take time! Unless he somehow hid it from us all these years, which isn't possible knowing him," Cole said angrily.

"I agree with Cole, we always found that quite suspicious," Zane added.

"Why do we keep secrets from each other? I thought we were friends," Jay moaned.

"Maybe we should let him explain," Ruby said quietly.

"Does he look like he's going to?" Nya retorted, waving an arm in Morro's direction, "For ONCE, Ruby, just realize that Morro is a mess already! Why don't you direct those unreciprocated feelings elsewhere?"

"Don't go off on her," I said.

"AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, GO OFF ON MY BROTHER?"

It was so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Lloyd's eyes flicked back and forth between everyone's feet as Nya sunk into her knees, her body shaking with each sob. Nobody reached out to comfort her except Jay, whose hand lingered in midair before he figured that it would be of no use. Not knowing what else to do, everyone stared at Morro.

"This other world is called Ninjago," he said after what seemed like an eternity, "Those days weren't exactly my proudest moments, so I never mentioned anything and was hesitant to show that I had any connection to it when I realized that's where the Shadow Knight wanted to go."

I noticed several raised eyebrows around the circle. Nya continued to cry, but she was noticeably quieter. Realizing that everyone was waiting on him, Morro continued.

"I don't know how to say this, since it's a long story, but we have time, so..." he looked up at the sky, which was still a pale blue, and began.

"I was born in Ninjago. Never knew my parents, and my earliest memories were in this orphanage. I hated it there and made a run for it as soon as I could and basically became a beggar boy. There were a group of kids a bit older than I was that were doing the same thing, so I joined them. We stole from civilians and slept on the streets and hunted for leftover scraps in garbage bins. One day we were fishing for food outside this monastery, and the person living in it came out while we were rummaging through the trash cans and the other boys ran off before I could do the same. He caught me, but instead of punishing me, he offered me food, shelter, and his teachings."

"Nice guy," Jay said.

I stared at Morro, surprised that he was actually telling the truth. If it were me, I'd tell some stupid tale so that the Ninja wouldn't hate me for being a ruthless murderer. I admired his courage but still dreaded the moment where the others would demand for me to tell them my life story.

Then again, maybe that moment would never come and I'd be able to wear this mask until the very end because that was all I was ever good for. Nobody needed to know that I used to command a gang and have the members terrorize Ninjago City for my entertainment. I wished that that memory could be erased from my own mind, and that I'd never have to be constantly reminded of how terrible of a person I was, and still was. Even as someone who was trying to save the world, I never felt any empathy for those around me, and really, my real motivation for doing this was probably to "make things up" with Lloyd.

Morro's eyes were fixated on the fire, as he probably didn't want to look anywhere else.

"The man was called Wu," he paused, as if expecting an interruption.

"Hang on a second, Wu?" Lloyd asked, leaning forward.

"Heh, what are the odds?" Jay said and looked at Cole, who stared at Morro.

"He taught me martial arts and a bunch of other lessons like honor and stuff. I quickly mastered using Wind without any prior experience, and so he thought I was a prodigy and that maybe I would become the prophesized Green Ninja."

"What's a ninja?" Jay asked, "Is that like a special type of knight or something?"

"I am not familiar with that term," Zane said.

"I'd say pretty much a knight except no horse and no armor and a larger variety of weapons," Morro shrugged.

"Oh," Lloyd said.

"So this Green Ninja was destined to defeat this Dark Lord and become the most powerful ninja in the land. Once Wu told me of this possibility, I became arrogant and determined to prove myself. But when I went to the Golden Weapons, they didn't react. I wasn't the Green Ninja."

"Wait then who was?" Jay asked, interrupting for the third time.

"Do you know who it is?" Cole asked.

"Lloyd Garmadon."

All eyes turned to the blond sitting next to me. Morro continued, "Not you. Ninjago is like an alternate universe and everyone has counterparts. I don't know how any of this works, but basically there's one of each of you there. And you're all Ninja."

"Why isn't there one of you here?" I asked, wanting to say something to not seem suspicious.

He shrugged. "Beats me. Anyway, I was extremely stubborn and wanted to change destiny, so I went searching for the First Spinjitzu Master's grave―"

"Who-what-tzu?" Once again, it was Jay who cut in.

"Spinjitzu. It's this martial art."

"Is there like a thing with Ninja and martial arts?" Cole asked.

"Yeah, you could say that. Anyway, I wound up traveling to these mines that people call 'The Caves of Despair' then got burned alive. The Soul Archer offered me a place in the Cursed Realm, and I accepted. I became a ghost and I think I was there for several decades. Who knows, time passed fast, and we planned to curse all sixteen realms."

"Wait, so are all of these realms like variants? Like are there sixteen of me?" Jay asked, "Sorry, I had to know."

"No, they're pretty different," Morro answered.

"But why are there two realms in existence that are counterparts of each other?" Zane asked, "That does not compute."

"Don't ask me," the Master of Wind said, "Anyway stuff happened and someone opened the door to the Cursed Realm, and I escaped. I went to the First Spinjitzu Master's tomb and got the realm crystal, which allows you to travel between realms. Then I unleashed the physical embodiment of the Cursed Realm but then Nya drowned us all because ghosts can't stand water."

Everyone turned to Nya and she stiffened.

"Even after all that, Wu still offered to save me. I realized how petty and wrong I was and was touched that he would still want to save me, so I chose to die instead. And I found myself here. Two years ago. I'm sorry I never told any of you, even though you're all risking your lives to save my home. And I'm sorry, Harumi, that you're the one tasked with stopping him and I never said anything."

If I had been drinking something, I would've spit it out. He was... pretending that I didn't know about Ninjago to spare me from confessing. I wanted to throw my arms around him but I knew that if I did the others would realize something was up.

"Thank you," I whispered, hoping he would know what I meant. He gave me a small smile that made my entire body want to melt.

"And we're not going to hold it against you," Cole said softly, "That sounded like some terrible stuff you were trying to do but from what I've seen in the past two years, it seems like you've changed."

"We'll help you," Nya agreed as she looked up, and the tears had finally stopped, "That must be why the Shadow Knight wants you. He probably wants you to help him take over."

"I'm glad you opened up," Lloyd said.

"Thank you for trusting us with the truth instead of a fabricated lie," Zane said, "But where did the Morro before you go?"

"I... really don't know," Morro said. Everyone exchanged confused looks that had a hint of fear in them. Now that I thought about it, it was really weird. When Morro and I had come, we'd basically replaced our counterparts. Or had they even existed? This mirror dimension stuff was giving me a headache.

"Is it weird that your story is like, totally insane but we still believe it?" Jay asked, looking around the circle.

"It's cool, though," Ruby said.

"Sorry for getting mad at you Ruby," Nya apologized, "I just really wanted to direct my anger somewhere. It's not an excuse, but..."

My sister smiled. "It's okay, Nya."

"I'm going in there for a bit," Morro mumbled, pointing this thumb behind him towards the trees.

"Be careful and don't get kissed by the Shadow Knight," Lloyd joked, trying to lighten the mood.

The Master of Wind gave him a half-smile. "Of course."

He got up and left, and almost immediately, my head began to ache.

Morro's POV

I slumped down against the trunk of a tree, my heart still racing. Though the others had said it was fine and they wouldn't judge me, I was sure that it was because they hadn't thought it through, since my rampage never affected them in any way. If they really sat down to think about it, they'd realize just what a terrible person I was and what I was capable of doing if I didn't get what I wanted. I had promised that I would never let my selfish desires drive me any longer, nor allow myself to be so overcome with emotion that I couldn't think straight, but how could I guarantee any of that?

Back on the dragon I had told Harumi I'd forgiven myself, but all that was just to make her feel better. The loss of her parents had driven her to insanity, and yet there I was, swearing revenge on the only person who ever cared for me because of my arrogance. I should've realized the mere fact that I would go to such lengths to prove myself to be the Green Ninja meant that there was no way I could ever be the Green Ninja.

At this point I'd accepted my fate, but having to pour everything out again was like reopening a wound that had never healed. What would they think of me now? I was never good enough and always hid under a hard shell so that I could at least pretend I was. Sometimes I would even be mean to others just so that I wouldn't end up forming attachments and see the disappointment in their faces once they realized who I really was. Looking back, that was probably why I avoided nicknames. My twisted logic saw that as a sign of attachment.

It seemed that Harumi wanted me to call her "Rumi," but...

There was still some light visible through the canopy but I was bathed in shadows for the most part, which suited my mood. The only sounds I heard were the rustling of tree branches and the squawking of seagulls in the distance. Master Wu had once told me that if I was having a hard time, meditation could work wonders, so I sat in a lotus position, closed my eyes, and focused on my breathing.

"Morro?"

At the sound of her voice, I immediately looked up to see the white-haired princess staring at me. I uncrossed my legs and managed an uneasy smile. She walked over and sat down.

"Thanks for not ratting me out back there," Harumi said quietly, running a hand through her hair.

"No problem."

Still fumbling with her hair, she stared at a spot on the ground in front of her. Harumi bit her bottom lip slightly, then looked up at me. "Really. It means a lot to me."

I gave her a half laugh and broke eye contact. "Like I said, no problem. I still owe you for being a jerk."

She leaned closer and tucked several strands of greasy hair behind my ear. "You don't always have to pretend to be strong. Everyone's vulnerable sometimes, and that's okay," Harumi said softly, "You were so brave. I wouldn't have been able to."

"They had to know at some point," I said with an uneasy chuckle, "Besides, I've been hiding it for two years. It's about time I opened up a bit. And your secret's safe with me, don't worry, I won't say anything until you're ready."

She squeezed my hand, and I wondered why Lloyd had let her come talk to me alone in the first place, especially since he had been visibly uneasy whenever we were too close to each other since the day they met.

"Just know that whatever happens, I'll have your back," Harumi murmured.

"Thanks?" I said, uncomfortably aware of how little space was between our faces. Her fingers slowly trailed down my neck and I felt her place her other hand on mine. I was stupidly frozen in place like a dummy, waiting to see what she would do next. A part of me wanted to push her away, but I stopped myself. After all, I didn't want a misunderstanding to cause a rift between me and the only person who understood what I was going through. She wouldn't do anything bad, right?

She did.

Our lips touched. At first I simply sat against the tree, frozen in place, still trying to decipher what she had done. I felt Harumi press her body into mine, her hands grazing my back and neck, and she seemed to be enjoying every second of it.

As soon as I regained my senses, I shoved her aside, maybe a little too violently, and turned away. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but the only words repeating in my head, somehow audible over my pounding heart, were "WHAT THE HECK HARUMI?" Since when was she interested in me? And even if she was, what about Lloyd?

"I'm sorry, but I don't like—" I began, not wanting to see the hurt look on her face.

"Too late."

The voice wasn't Harumi's.

I spun around to face a grinning Ruby, confirming my beliefs.

Everything clicked. Her "obsession" with me, her various disappearances, her and Lloyd's escape... Even her eye color had been changing, but I'd been wondering if I was seeing things. No wonder the Shadow Riders always knew where we were.

And now it made sense why the fortune teller had told Harumi to "keep him away from the darkness."

I sat in shock, horrified. Of course Harumi would never do such a thing. She was with Lloyd, and she'd made it clear that she would never hurt him ever again. I should've pushed her away the second she was acting out of character.

How could I have been so stupid?

A/N: wOw WhAt A sHoCk!! How many of you saw this coming lol
(The_lightning_ninja, if you're active, on a scale of 1-10, how happy are you)

But anyway, I also have to note that if some of the characters start acting differently from before (especially Morro), it'll be because after I figured out the ending, I decided to tweak some things a little, so if that happens, yeah... Sorry about that, I tried to stay consistent and thought that by editing before publishing I wouldn't run into this problem but... 

I probably won't be editing the chapters I've already published any time soon, since lately I've been feeling kinda down, and if I kinda disappear and am inactive, that's the reason why

But anyway

I hope you guys enjoyed this part, and we're 60% of the way through (prob more, 'cause I began making the chapters shorter after some point I think)!

Thoughts/predictions?

Thanks for reading/voting/commenting as always, and have a great day!