Morro's POV

I ran off towards Harumi's cell, the nearest, my heart thundering in my chest. Either they had somehow found a way to escape or something had to have happened. I really hoped it wasn't the latter, since it was bound to be terrible.

To my disappointment, she was slumped against a corner of her prison, sleeping peacefully. Truthfully, I would have been disappointed either way, because then that would've meant they escaped without telling me, but at least I wouldn't have to give an explanation for my disappearance.

Still carrying the package, I raced off towards the throne room, which was now empty except for the barrel standing smack in the middle of it.

"Hey!" Ruby called from one of the second floor balconies, waving a hand excitedly. "Come on up here!"

I flew up towards where she was standing, still wondering what was going on.

"What's that you're carrying?" she asked.

"Cole's not in his cell," I said, ignoring her question.

"What did you buy?" Ruby asked again.

Upon seeing no surprise on her face, I knew she knew. "What did you do to him?"

"Oh calm down, Morro," she said, rolling her eyes. "You'll see. He should be here soon enough."

I opened then closed my mouth. Then opened it again. "We had a deal," I snapped through gritted teeth.

Ruby turned to me and blinked innocently. "Of course, how could I forget? I would never harm your friends. We're friends, Morro, and friends would never betray each other. Now that I've answered your question, I will ask again. What is that?"

She did not answer my question, but now wasn't the time to argue. "Herbs to help with his infection."

"Aww, that's so sweet," she said, "But you don't need it. I've actually been considering helping him with his misery as well."

I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it. Something felt off about the whole situation. Why would Ruby go out of her way to help Cole if there wasn't some sinister reason behind it? Over the past week I'd learnt that she was smarter than she let on. This could be some sort of scheme.

"What's the barrel for?"

Her grin widened. "You'll see. Now be a dear and get some appetizers, thanks."

I resisted the urge to flinch at her choice of words, then turned on my heels and stalked off towards my quarters in the west wing. Just before entering the main hallway, I stopped. Gaining the Shadow Riders' trust was of the utmost importance. Might as well start now.

I quickly composed myself and pulled my shoulders back, then walked out into the hallway. No more moping around acting superior.

Whenever I walked past anyone I gave a slight nod, moving just enough so that the other person could see it. Some seemed a little taken aback at first but returned it. I didn't know how, but everyone was able to recognize me for some reason. There might've been something slightly different about my cloak or something. Maybe that was a way for Ruby to keep an eye on me. I'd figure it out eventually but for now, I supposed I could use it to my advantage.

Soon, I spotted a potential starting point to gaining everyone's trust. Lately I'd noticed that there were plenty of Shadow Riders who'd been limping a little, and didn't seem to be fixing up their wounds anytime soon. I knew just what to do, my only worry being that the words might not come out right.

"Hey, I noticed you've been having trouble with your leg," I said, earning what I assumed was a glare from the person. "You know, I actually went to a nearby apothecary to get herbs that could help with infections," I gestured to my bulging bag, "So I could, uh, help or something."

They hesitated for a minute, then made to move on but I blocked their path. "Look," I sighed, "You kinda need it. I've seen firsthand how bad infections can get, and I doubt anyone else is gonna help you with that. Besides, what else am I gonna do with all this excess? I have way too much."

There was a long pause. I heard the person mutter something under his breath.

"Speak up," I said in a commanding tone, then coughed as I realized my mistake.

"What do you want?" From the voice, I figured the Shadow Rider was male.

I hesitated before answering. "I need someone to talk to other than the Shadow Knight himself so I can stay sane. How about you annoy me and I'll fix up your wound?" To be completely honest I had no idea how I was going to do that, but that would be a problem for future me to worry about.

"No thanks," the person snorted, "Get lost."

I didn't. "Is this how you treat people who help you? No wonder you're miserable."

"If you knew any better, you wouldn't get on anyone's wrong side, kid."

"I'm not a kid, I'm sixty-something," I snapped immediately. Chronologically, yes. Though if we were talking physically, emotionally, or mentally, I was nineteen. One didn't age in the Cursed Realm; one only rotted away and spent decades consumed by envy and hatred. Still, this person didn't need to know that.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Seriously, let me help you."

"You're not going to stop, are you?"

"Of course not."

...

It was funny, how when I was in my own quarters, the Shadow Rider and I could take off our hoods with ease. The limitations Ruby set for us sure were oddly specific. Though after she revealed the Ninja's carefully-planned-out escape, I should've figured that out by now. She paid really close attention to detail, and I kind of hated her for that.

I flopped on my bed, which was the most comfortable thing I'd slept in in decades, and waved an arm to motion for my company to take a seat. He sat down cautiously after hanging up the cloak on a hook on the wall, still not looking me in the eye. The Shadow Rider seemed quite young himself, older than twenty but thirty at most. His mousy brown hair looked as it hadn't been combed or washed in weeks, and his brown eyes made it seem as if he was dead inside. One of his pant legs was tattered, a long gash visible underneath.

I began taking the herbs out of my bag and placing them on the bed in piles accordingly. The Shadow Rider scoffed.

"What?"

"The only people who get rooms like yours are the highest-ranking generals," he said, "While you're just a newbie who's a second-rate spy."

I chuckled. "Yeah, bet everyone hates me."

"We do. It's a tradition now that every day at lunch we discuss the best way to kill you and make it look like an accident. We would've done that already if Boss didn't need your blood so badly."

I laughed, then realized the guy was being serious. "Wait, for real?"

He rolled his eyes as if it was a no-brainer. "What do you think? You have no experience whatsoever and you're annoying as hell. Then you get special treatment on top of all that. How anyone in their right mind can tolerate you is beyond me. Your friends must be saints."

I frowned a little. If Ruby was doing that to keep me from turning the Shadow Riders against her, it was working. That meant she still didn't fully trust me, and it wasn't like I was surprised, since at this point she still hadn't told me her full plan, just that in order to open the portal, Aportus would need mine and almost certainly Harumi's blood after it was ready. I still didn't know what she planned to do with the rest of the Ninja, but knowing Ruby, she no doubt had a plan in mind.

That meant that I had to gain enough trust among the Shadow Riders so that they wouldn't be with Ruby and me once we got to the North Tower and kill me on the spot. That would be bad, since she was bound to send assassins after Wu and the Ninja, and no matter what, nobody was touching my sensei. So in that case, maybe I should just give up going after Lloyd―

Suddenly my head exploded with pain, as if something was ripping my skull apart. I dropped whatever I was holding to tear at my hair and doubled over on my bed. The sensation began spreading down to my spine, and I clamped my teeth down onto my bottom lip to prevent from screaming out. Somewhere in the back of my head I could hear laughter, which I would've assumed was hallucinations if I could think straight.

My entire body began shaking, and I felt as if my bones were growing needles and slicing my flesh to pieces. No position was able to mitigate the agony, as any part I was applying even the slightest bit of pressure to sent a searing pain into my chest. I tasted blood in my mouth, but that only made me even more determined to bite harder.

Make it stop... I'll do anything...

Finally, after what seemed like forever, it finally ceased, and I found myself in a table top position, sweat and maybe even tears trickling down my face. I sucked in a couple of breaths, then realized the laughter hadn't stopped.

"Well, well, look who had thoughts of betraying the Shadow Knight," the person said with an amused grin, "Better report this."

With reflexes quicker than I'd ever thought was possible, I found myself suddenly standing up, my fist tightly gripping his shirt collar with my other hand holding a knife to his throat. "Say that again."

His face grew several shades paler as I pressed the dagger deeper into his skin, all thoughts of mocking me forgotten. "S-someone will find me."

"Will they now? How do you know I won't simply dispose of you in some garbage dump at a nearby village? Surely you don't think you're important enough that your dear boss will notice your absence. As for me, you have to realize she'd believe me over you regardless, especially given the fact that you speaking up is directly telling her her powers aren't working. And what do you think she'll do to you?"

"I-I won't say anything."

"Think I'm still just a kid?"

"No," he squeaked, breathing heavily, and I let go of him. He clutched his throat, staring into empty space for a moment, then looked back up at me. "I guess... I guess I'll go?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and say something along the lines of "coward" but stopped myself. No matter how menacing I could make myself look, they'd never be as afraid of me as they were of Ruby, so I needed a different approach.

"Well, we came to fix up your leg so we're going to finish it. In case you were wondering, I wasn't gonna hurt you, but people need to take me seriously, I'd assume you'd know that," I left out the part where I had considered legitimately hurting him, because he didn't need to know that.

"Y-yeah," he said shakily, "I understand, we all have passing thoughts like those," he sighed, "Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I left. I wonder about my parents a lot 'cause I've been an orphan begging on the streets all my life, and when the Shadow Knight came along, I thought, why not? I dunno why I'm telling you all this, but... consider it a sign of acquaintance-ship. You can call me Toran, by the way. It's not my actual name, but teenage me thought it sounded cool and stuck with it."

I felt the corners of my lips make the slightest twitch upwards.

...

"What's going on?" I inquired, yanking back the shoulder of a Shadow Rider just before he ran past. Right after Toran and I left my room we were met with some sort of commotion in the hallway.

"Boss says to gather in the throne room balconies. You don't wanna be late." With that, he wrenched himself free of my grip and hurried off.

I glanced at Toran, who threw his hooded head in the direction the Shadow Rider had gone, and the two of us tore after him.

The run to our destination was a quick one, and almost as soon as we arrived, the crowd parted, forming a path leading to Ruby, who stood leaning against the railing with a large semicircle around her and a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.

"Glad you could make it," she said, turning back around. However, instead of going to her side, I stayed where I was, unmoving, feeling the glares of all the Shadow Riders on my back. Smart of her to subtly alienate me by giving me "special treatment." I subconsciously noticed Toran slipping into the crowd and suppressed a sigh. Fine, I'll play your game for now.

"What's happening?" I asked, keeping a civil tone instead of the usual snarky one. If I continued to be disrespectful towards Ruby, that would only make gaining everyone's trust harder. For now I shouldn't worry about getting them to turn against her; the task at hand was to at least get them to trust me enough so that they wouldn't be around once we got to the north tower.

She didn't answer and looked on, the content smile still on her face. I felt a growing sense of apprehension; something that my gut instincts didn't like was going to happen, and I was positive it had to do with the barrel still at the center of the room. As always, the Shadow Riders didn't make a sound, so I couldn't listen for snippets of conversation that might clue me in on what was going on.

I stepped closer and gripped the railing, feeling the coolness of it even through my cloak. Nothing was happening so far; why was that sense of dread so... prominent? And also, what was it with the constant silence when it came to the Shadow Riders?

Turns out the soundlessness did have its merits, as I soon heard a voice coming from below.

And even from where I stood, frozen on the spot, I could tell it was Cole's.

"Where are you taking me? What have you done to the others?" The shouts, albeit quiet, were clear as day, every syllable almost jamming itself into my chest, only amplifying the pounding of my heart. I shot another glance at Ruby, who looked as though everything was perfectly fine. And as much as I felt like I should do something, my feet stayed rooted to the ground.

A few moments later, a burly, topless, raven-haired boy came in, with the long, hideous gash on his side that even I could see from where I stood. My fingers coiled tighter around the iron bars of the railing. She said she wouldn't harm him... I could only hope we had all been brought here to watch the Master of Earth put on a circus performance. But his wound...

Cole looked up and his jaw dropped. His lips moved, and though I couldn't hear him speak I knew what he said.

I stared at Ruby, who watched as if nothing had happened. Something needed to be done. If she let Cole find out... I started forward, then felt a hand grab my hood. It dropped.

In that second, it felt as if everything was still. Cole's dark brown eyes widened, and he looked like he was trying to form words but failing. We went on staring at each other for what felt like an eternity, the Shadow Riders holding him stopping in their tracks just to lengthen the time. And out of the corner of my eye I could see that Ruby was enjoying it very much.

I wanted to jump out of the balcony, but my cowardice held me back. My legs stiffened, and I could barely stand without keeping hold of the railing to maintain my balance. Then finally, Cole spoke, and this time I could hear every word.

"How long have you been corrupted?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Though it wasn't cold, I could feel my hands trembling. My breath quickened, and my lungs were tight and heavy in my chest.

"You-you can fight it!" he yelled, beginning to struggle against his restraints with no avail. Then his eyes fell on Ruby, his gaze immediately turning cold. "You're the Shadow Knight, aren't you?"

"Of course," she said cheerfully and tossed her hair off her shoulder, as if someone had just complimented her, "Thanks for not giving Morro all the credit here."

Cole's eyes narrowed, his lips trembling but no sounds coming out of it. Silence hung in the air.

I found my voice again, still feeling lightheaded as if in a daze. "You'll understand, Cole. I have to do this."

"No, you don't!" he shot back, "I thought Ninjago was your home!"

My voice faltered when I tried to speak again, and every breath of air sent needle-like pains down my throat.

"You're allying with the person who killed―"

"Okay, that's enough. Hope you enjoyed your reunion," Ruby said, cutting him off with a wave of her hand.

Cole opened his mouth again but was suddenly jerked forward by one of his accompanying Shadow Riders, who began dragging him towards the barrel. Every one of his steps was like a blow to my chest, and as much as I desperately wanted to look away, I couldn't.

The Shadow Riders stopped abruptly about a foot or two away from the barrel. Cole, who had been staring at me the entire time, lurched forward a little bit, and quickly steadied himself. Even then his eyes were fixated on mine. I felt my breath freeze in my throat as one of the Shadow Riders unhitched the latches on the barrel, and just before they swung it open, I quickly averted my gaze back to Cole.

He finally turned away from me to face what was in front of him, and dreading the sight I would see, I looked as well.

The two halves of the barrel were separated, connected only by a few hinges on one side and several latches on the other. And long, thin spikes protruded from every square inch of its walls.

Something inside me cracked, and I lunged forward, only to find black tendrils swooping up from the ground and blocking my path, sending sharp pains through any part of me that made contact with it. I saw Cole and Ruby both watching me, one blankly staring and one grinning. Any attempts to summon the wind failed, and shaking, I knew there was nothing I could do to save him.

Even though she promised.

Before they shoved Cole inside, I spun around on my heels, shoved the Shadow Riders aside, and staggered back to my room. When I collapsed in the middle of the corridor, I crawled the rest of the way.

I couldn't bring myself to cry. 

A/N: So uhh I've kinda lost interest in Ninjago since the last season dropped but hey, it's April, and I said I'd keep uploading depending on what happened in March, so yeah. 

And speaking of March, I'm excited to announce that I'll be leaving high school a year early and attending my dream college in the fall! And since I kinda owe it to everyone who's been reading all this time (especially after my multiple hiatuses), I will definitely try my best to finish before September. 

ONCE AGAIN I PROMISE I WILL FINISH THIS

Thanks again for reading/voting/commenting as always and I will hopefully push out another chapter soon!

Thoughts?