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••• Oxford Blood •••

i see the wisdom in your years

a melting pot of fear and loathing in suburbia

take away the sting so we can live within

our own parameters

•••••

I sat, shivering in the confines of a shadow while Misako paced anxiously. Garmadon was sat beside me, rubbing my back while I tried to explain what the hell I meant by 'something's really wrong.' Wu was staring at me with an unreadable expression.

"It started on Saturday," I began, voice shaky. My eyes had zeroed in on a fallen leaf on the floor while my mouth rambled.  "I woke up and something in the air felt weird. You know when you can't explain or see it, but you just know?"
Wu nodded.
"A- anyway," I continued, gripping my knees with trembling hands. "Lloyd felt it to. So he went through your scrolls to try and find an answer but came up with nothing. We were going to ask you guys about it as soon as we got back - and this whole other situation with my cousin - but Lloyd had to go on his mission and..."

I glanced up at his dad.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" I asked in a strained voice. Garmadon shared a look with his brother. Their expressions didn't reassure me and I felt something within me crash to the ground.
"I- I need to take a walk," I said, standing up shakily.
"That's not a good-" Garmadon went to say but was silenced when his brother lay a hand on his shoulder. Wu sent a small, forced smile my way.
"Stay close."
I nodded, hugging my arms as I made my way out.
"She needs space," I heard Misako whisper before I rounded the corner and couldn't hear them anymore.

Dusk had come quickly. Quicker than I anticipated. I shivered, holding my bare arms and clenching my eyes closed as I blindly walked. I stopped only when I heard the crashing of the waterfall that sat behind the shop.
I sat down, watching the water roll over the stones. My phone buzzed and my heart jumped, hoping that it was Lloyd. I scrambled to grab it, yanking it out of my pocket but it was just my mother.
I groaned, dropping my head back. I already had so much to deal with right now.
My eyes snapped open. I tossed my head back up and I frantically called Lloyd, scrambling to my feet. It was false hope but it was better than nothing-

Dial tone. Call again.
Dial tone. Again.
Dial toneAGAIN-
AGAIN
AGAIN
AGAIN AGAIN AGAINAGAINAGAINGAINAG

My phone died. I screamed in frustration, throwing it against the rock wall. It shattered upon impact, dropping to the ground in pieces and I fell back, burying my face in my hands. Where was he? Was he okay? Was he alive?
These questions with no answers was driving me insane. I should've gone with him- I should've made him stay- I should've done something to keep him safe- I'm-
My eyes were glowing again.

"Stop it!" I yelled, smashing my reflection in the water. "STOP!" Some powers. Some prophecy! All it's done is hurt Lloyd and I.
It would've been better if we had just never met-
I dropped my face into my hands with a ragged cry, not caring how cold and wet my skin was from the water.
I wanted to go home. I wanted to forget everything. I wanted things to go back to the way they were before.
But-
But I didn't want to forget Lloyd.

I crashed onto my back, hands still glued to my face. It was a fact I resented. How this stressed me out to the max, how I hated this prophecy, how I couldn't leave Lloyd. Too much of my life revolved around him. He was the sun in the centre of my galaxy.
How was I supposed to survive without my sun?
I can't.
I can't.

So I cried. It was ugly and hoarse and full of all the pent up emotions that I had to release. I cried because I'm weak and a nobody and nothing without Lloyd. I cried because I didn't know what else to do.
Commotion in the air made me stop short and glance up with my puffy eyes. The others had returned - but only one dragon?
I scrambled to my feet, falling on my face again before racing over to the others - just in case, just in case. But even this felt wrong.

"... you used your powers?" Wu exclaimed as I got within earshot.
"Yeah, I know, we're terrible students but what happened to our powers?!" yelled a frazzled Jay. My eyebrows knitted together but I couldn't mind that yet. Kai spotted me first and his eyes widened.
"Damn, Y/n, you look-"
"Lloyd!" I gasped, sending desperate looks amongst the team. The wind picked up, making the windmill creak. "Have you seen Lloyd?!"
The ninja sent confused looks to each other. Garmadon and Misako stood behind Wu, not looking hopeful. It was as if they already knew the answer. Truthfully, so did I, even if I desperately refused to believe it.

"Isn't he still at the museum?" Nya asked, starting to get worried. Clouds rolled overhead, blocking the sun. "We haven't seen him since he left."
I felt my entire world drop beneath my feet.
"No- nonono," I cried, grabbing my head and kneeling. This was the last ray of hope. The last thread of string that was keeping me from falling.
"Wh- what's going on?" Jay asked.
Wu shared a fearful glance with Garmadon, the reality of it setting in. The penny seemed to have dropped as a look of horrific realisation washed over the ninja's expressions.
"If your powers are gone, then something must of happened to-"
Wu stopped himself, eyeing the entrance. We followed his frozen gaze as a familiar flop of blond hair stepped onto the edge of the courtyard.

Relief fell amongst the group but I stayed back, eyeing Lloyd with fear in my eyes. This was wrong - everything was wrong and I didn't trust the person standing at the entrance.
Yes, he looked like Lloyd. He had the blond hair that I loved and the scar that solidified the day met. He had the cute dimple below the left corner of his lips and the splash of freckles, so so light you could barely see them. The green of his irises that I adored.
But there was something different in his posture. Rigid and smug. Something off about the look in his eyes. Cold and haunting.
It sent chills down my spine.
Garmadon saw the paralysed expression on my face and his face dropped, eyeing the figure at the front with a look of apprehension. It clicked for him just as it had for me.

"That's not Lloyd," Wu announced gravely.

"What do you-" Zane was cut off.
"Step aside," demanded a rough voice from Lloyd's body. His voice carried over the wind and struck me through the chest. The same wind whipped harshly through my hair, rough and angry.
"Lloyd!" cried Jay against the steadily strengthening wind. "What's wrong with you?"
The imposter's dark gaze narrowed. The wind twirled sharply, almost lifting me from my feet. Was a storm approaching? Or... was this his..?
"I want a word with your master," he spat, stepping forward with a threatening snarl. I edged back, holding my hands close to my chest worriedly.
"What's gotten into him?" Cole asked, glancing back at the team with a confused, concerned expression.

"You're taking too long!" imposter-Lloyd roared and then suddenly the wind crashed hard against my back, sending me forward. I coughed violently, tumbling across the courtyard as my body dug into the ground. Reeling and aching in shock, I raised my head.
I froze when Lloyd crouched in front of me, a wicked grin curling across his mouth.
"Hello, sunshine," he chirped, using Lloyd's nickname and it made me feel sick. He chuckled, inclining forward. "Wow oh me, Lloyd Garmadon really loves you, huh? I can feel him fighting inside me. Do you want to know what he's saying?"
I stared at him like a deer in headlights, wide eyed and unable to move my body. The others had starting running towards us, but Lloyd just lifted his hand and a pulse of air sent them crashing back against the shop.

"He's begging me not to hurt you," he chimed merrily. "Imagine that - the mighty green ninja reduced to begging. He doesn't deserve the title."
"Wh- w-" I swallowed sharply, words dying on my lips as fear clutched sharply at my throat.
"Who am I?" he tilted his head with a wide smile, narrowing his eyes dangerously. He leant in close, breath brushing across my cheek as he spoke and his blonde hair turned black, the colour dripping down the strands like tar.

"You can call me Morro."

I stiffened, feeling like a cornered mouse and Morro was the cat. My heart raced.
I was probably going to die.
But then he suddenly reeled back, an expression of pure agony on his face. I scrambled to my feet as he stumbled, gripping at his own head.
"L- let go, you incessant fool!" Morro spat, his eyes flickering in shade. His head whipped up to face mine and I flinched.
"Y/n!" Lloyd shouted, panicked and desperate. "Batman's better than Iron Man!"
I sent him an incredulous look, about to shout because this is not the time when-
Oh.
Oh.
I sprung my arm back and punched him across the face.

"Argh!" Morro cursed in pain, falling back and clutching his face. I used the opportunity to scamper to safety. "What the- I saw his memories! You can't punch!"
"But I just did!" I called, not looking back as I high tailed it to the shop where the others were recovering. Garmadon clasped my arm and tossed me around behind him, my feet stumbling as I tried to keep my balance.
Then it hit me and I felt elation squash my panic. Lloyd's still in there! He's still alive.

But-
"He's... he's been possessed," Misako whispered in shock, not being able to tear her eyes away from her son, whose nose had begun to bleed. He roared in frustration, flicking off the blood with his thumb and turning to face us.
I clasped my fist to my chest, knuckles beginning to hurt from when I landed the hit.
"P- possessed?" I echoed in a strained voice. "So... ghosts are real..."
Garmadon solemnly nodded, eyes not straying from the current danger.
"Well, how do we get the ghost out?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, only Lloyd can dispel himself of the ghost," he replied gravely. The returning fear in my chest began to pool faster. "All we can do is hold whoever's possessing him off until Lloyd regains proper control. We need more of what he was able to do just now but we have to get to safety first. It may be a while before Lloyd regains the amount of energy needed."

"I- I can go back out there," I offered, voice shaky and words slipping. "I-I-I can help him! Maybe I can bring him out again."
Wu shot me a warning look, adamantly shaking his head.
"It is too dangerous!"
"Forget danger!" I insisted with a cry. "Please let me do this! You know Lloyd would do the same!"
"That's different!" he barked.
"How?!"
"Because if you die by Lloyd's hands, then he will never be the same again," Wu rounded, snarling his words as he glared at his nephew. "Lloyd would never be able to forgive himself. The difference is that he's trained for years. Combined with Morro's own skills, he may be a foe that could prove incredibly difficult."

I stared at the side of his weathered face with a slack face.
"... how did you know his name was Morro?" I asked quietly.
Garmadon froze. Misako sent a stare. Morro sent a blast of wind so strong, it flung us back into the shop.
I crashed against the shelves with a strained wheeze, losing all breath in my lungs and leaving me winded as I crumpled on the floor amongst the broken tea containers. My back ached.
I struggled to sit up, wincing with every creak and flash of pain my hurting body made, brushing glass from my arms. The others sat up with broken groans.

Morro was fighting the ninja. It was a losing battle. On our part.

"We have to get to the Bounty," Garmadon ordered, hauling me and Misako to our feet and pushing us hurriedly towards the back exit, while the front doors were shuddering erratically in the wind.
They slammed open and we froze, facing the figure stood towering in the doorway. Behind him, the ninja laid on the courtyard, scattered and groaning. I wanted to whimper but held it back by chomping down on my lip until it bled.
I'd never seen the ninja defeated like this before. Not even in the news. Nothing like this.

Morro stood at the breadth of Steep Wisdom, an accomplished and cruel smirk that looked wrong on Lloyd's face. His dark eyes surveyed the scene - the ruined shelves, the scattered remains of glass containers and us, standing still.
His eyes landed on mine and he snarled. I subconsciously stumbled back, terrified.
"You're lucky that I'm not here for you," Morro gnarled, turning his gaze to Wu.
I opened my mouth, went to take a step forward, but Wu drew me back with a steeled grip.

"Stay back, Y/n," he ordered, clutching onto his staff as if it were his lifeline. "It's me that he wants."
"Not you," Morro hissed, stepping forward with a dark glare. "Just your father's staff."
Wu stepped in front of me, holding said staff out defensively.
"I see you've found the allied armour, Morro," commented Wu, changing the subject. My gaze darted down to the blue chest plate that he worse, half hidden under the folds of a black cloak. I could feel the hairs on my neck begin to stand on end. "Yet you haven't summoned your friends."
Friends? My head began to hurt even more.

"Your pathetic students haven't given me a reason to," Morro grinned wickedly, tilting his head back at the five other ninja, who were stumbling to their feet and groaning.
"Heyheyhey!" spat Jay furiously, his voice small but loud from the courtyard. "Nobody calls me pathetic!"
Morro didn't bother to reply, instead just forcing the doors shut with a flick of his hand and a rush of heavy wind. They slammed loudly, making me flinch.
"Get Y/n out of here!" Wu ordered, making Garmadon grab my upper arm and drag me down to the back of the shop. I glanced back just as Wu and Morro began a battle.

"What are we going to do?" I asked as Garmadon and I stumbled out the back exit. The Bounty sat idly waiting as we clambered inside, racing down the hallway to the bridge.
I felt my body tremble with each blast of wind that curled around my body, half expecting it to grab me in a vice grip and throw me against the mountain side like I'd done with my phone just twenty minutes before. The Bounty rumbled to life.
"I don't know," Garmadon admitted as he guided the ship over the courtyard, allowing the ninja to climb onboard and make a quick getaway.
"Wh- where's Misako?" I stammered.
"Where's my brother!" Nya exclaimed as she stormed through the bridge. I followed her, beginning to feel feverish with panic.
"He's fighting Lloyd- alone!" replied Jay in a worried yell, clutching the barrier of the bounty as he stared down at the ground.

I watched in horror at the spectacle of Kai fighting Morro. They were ruthless, neither one  willing to give up. Kai spun Lloyd around and put him in a tight headlock. They were shouting at each other but I couldn't hear them over the howling of the wind.
"He's going to get himself killed!" Nya cried. With an expression of terror, she flung out her hand and a rope of water erupted from thin air. twirling tight around Kai's midsection and pulling him up onto the ship's deck with a hard yank.

"Put me down!" Kai commanded. "Let me go!"
Zane and Cole grabbed Kai by his arms and hauled him on board. He collapsed against the wood, spluttering before swiftly leaping to his feet, wide eyed. Cole kept him from jumping back over the side.
I felt my body pause again, paralysed where I stood as I watched the scene. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening.
This had to be a nightmare. I was living in my own hell.
Surely I was going to wake up on the bounty for our last day. Simon doesn't want to murder the green ninja. A ghost isn't possessing Lloyd. Everything's fine. Everything's fine.

Jay grabbed me, tossing my body over his shoulder as they gathered inside the bridge. My eyes shot open in surprise, glancing at the back of his ginger hair.
He set me down at the table and crouched before me, a worried look on his face. He looked to be on the verge of crying himself.
"Are you okay?" he asked. I stared back at him blankly, unable to process his words.
The bounty shook violently and Jay inhaled a sharp gasp, clenching his eyes closed.

This was his hell too. This was just. Hell.

"We have to go back!" Kai ordered, slamming his hands down on the console desperately as Nya took over from driving, trying to urge the Bounty through the wind that had suddenly began to feel like thick soup.
"Are you insane!" Nya snapped as she shot her brother a glare. "That's what I'm trying to avoid!"
Kai went to argue but was abruptly cut off by the bow of the Bounty suddenly lifting towards the heavens. Jay whipped an arm around my midsection before I could go tumbling down and onto the deck, his other hand clasping onto a pipe.

"He's not letting us leave!" Cole warned as he struggled to stand. The Bounty was shaking with effort.
"Yes, I SEE THAT!" Nya screamed frustratedly. Her grip on the steering wheel slipped and she began to slide down the floor, cursing. Her hands grasped at anything to stop her descent but it was no use.
"Give me your hand!" Kai ordered just as his sister began to slide past. Nya obeyed, slapping her hand into his and he tossed her back up to the console with a grunt.

"I got it!" she exhaled in relief as she punched a button, making the engines pack in an extra punch and shoot away from Steep Wisdom. We stumbled back at the sudden correction and power. Jay immediately scrambled over to help Nys pilot while I turned around and stared out at the view we were leaving behind.
Steep Wisdom wasn't visible anymore over the storm clouds. The mountain valley was growing smaller and smaller.
A dragon had been following and I tensed.
"It's just Sensei Wu," Zane reassured, patting my shoulder. I relaxed. But somewhat not fully.
What does he know? What isn't he telling us?

Over the furious wind and over the sound of the grumbling engines, I could hear that dark voice coming from Lloyd's body roaring in pure rage as we made our getaway.
It sent frigid chills to the very centre of my body.
Wu landed on the ship, eyes wide and huffing. He was clutching his staff unusually tight.
"Whew," Nya said as she slumped over the wheel. "That was too close for comfort. The coast is clear."
The others clambered back inside, wincing at injuries and exchanging tired, scared glances. I slumped against the wall, exhaustion finally settling in my body as adrenaline fell away.

"Spill it, Sensei Wu," Jay snapped, teary cheeked, as he rolled his shoulder with a grimace. "What the hell was that? What's happened to Lloyd?"
Cole rubbed at a spot on the back of his head with an expression that spoke a million emotions.
"Yeah, Sensei," he chimed in quietly. "Who was that?"
Wu shared a reluctant look with his brother. Garmadon nodded, a cold look on his face as his eyes kept flickering from our group to the wake of the Bounty.

Wu heavily sighed, leaning against his staff and suddenly looking older.
"You four were not my first pupils," he admitted in a shaky voice. "There was one before you."
"Huh?" Kai breathed.
"What?" Cole asked. Zane and Nya exchanged a look.
"Morro," Wu elaborated grimly. "The master of wind."
"Misako has left for the museum to see what she can find out about our friend, here," Garmadon said in a grave voice. "She'll also be looking into whatever information she can find on possession."
"It's not halloween yet," Jay grumbled. "He couldn't have at least waited until October?"
"Can you take this seriously?" Kai snarled, throwing a hand out in Morro's direction. "Lloyd's been possessed by some old ghost that Wu never bothered to tell us about!"
"I'm just-!" Jay squeaked, fresh tears bursting from his eyes.
"Hey-"

"This isn't the time to fight!" I blurted, voice pitched and strained with stress. "We've worked out that Lloyd's still conscious and he can sometimes control it. That's good- that's great. It means that part of that guy back there is working with us. But we have to help Lloyd, too! We have to work together to get him back!"
Kai huffed, turning his head to glare at the floorboards. His fists were clenching with controlled frustrated anger.
"Well said," Zane murmured. I couldn't even spare the energy to be proud of my insightful words.
Damn. I've been spending too much time with Lloyd's family.

A sudden beeping from the console at the front of the bridge broke the silence. Nya glanced over at the screen before tensing.
"Okay, now those lights scare me," she said, her voice a little shaky. She cleared her throat and shook her head, regaining dignity before pointing at the screen. "We've got something on our six."
I stepped outside, the wind tossing my hair through its cool fingers. It spread goosebumps across my arms, but I shivered for a different reason.
A green dragon was trailing us. Terrifying and fast, its powerful wings propelled it forward. It was getting closer and closer.

On the back of it was Morro. Even from here, I could see the manic glint in his dark eyes. I hugged my arms. We stared long at each other.
Somebody stepped out beside me, staring at his approach with a impassive look.
Garmadon glanced at my face but I couldn't look away from Morro. I could feel him staring back at me. I held his gaze. I was still but I was terrified.
Garmadon held the barrier with iron fists, glaring at his son's husk.

"Prepare yourself, Y/n," Garmadon warned, oddly calm but his voice scared me more than Morro did. He held an unspoken promise in his words. "It may be Lloyd's body, but he is not a friend."
I blinked slowly. The wind was angry.
"Right," I whispered, my voice drowned out by the howling of the storm.

He is not a friend.