Work Text:
There hadn’t been much time when the news of Thunderfang spread throughout the lands. It’d been a race against time to reach him—time they never seemed to have enough of. But with the deceased dragon confined to the Spectral Lands, they still had a shot, even if he was consuming more souls by the minute.
And although it would have been nice for him to stay dead the first time, they could never just have an easy win. Lloyd wouldn’t stop dreaming, though.
The journey to reaching this point had certainly been strange, though. A looming threat like this had even brought Sora and Arin back to them. And Ras? According to them, Ras had given them some very furious threats before they split. Unfortunately not the last they’d see of him, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
The team all divided themselves up before entering the Spectral Lands. Nya dragged Jay along with her and Cole. Zane and Sora would infiltrate one side of the land while Kai and Wyldfyre took the other. PIXAL stayed high above in her mech, feeding them updates from the sky.
That left Lloyd and Arin. So much to say, but his former student pulled away each time, leaving the gap between them to only grow wider. And as it did, Lloyd only felt emptier.
But there was no time for that now.
That brought them to the Monastery—right in the heart of the Spectral Lands. Because if there was one in every other realm, then even one meant for the dead was no exception.
As they passed through the door and to the other side, there was no trouble waiting for them. No minions or goons, no ghosts of any kind. It was just quiet.
And what Lloyd had expected to be dusty and abandoned was neat and well-kept.
“That’s… odd,” he said. A lantern rested near the doorway, but it was unlit. “Is someone living here?”
Arin stepped forwards, a puzzled expression on his face. “Maybe the ghost I met.” While he certainly mentioned his time in the Spectral Lands before, he’d left his ghostly savior out of the story. It’d just been a quick recap, after all.
“You met a ghost here?” Lloyd was quick to follow him, falling in at his side as they started to explore further. He couldn’t find a single crack in the wall or a broken tile, even when they reached the courtyard.
“Yeah,” Arin replied. Despite the mission at hand, Lloyd watched as he began to wander down another hall. He took quick peeks into rooms, then went on.
Antsy, Lloyd started tapping his hand against his thigh, practically hearing the echo of every second that ticked by. “Arin, we can’t afford to mess around–”
“I’m not messing around!” he insisted. He threw an irritated look Lloyd’s way. “I’m looking for the ghost, he might be able to help!” Arin only began to move faster, calling out for this supposed ally. “Hello! Is anyone here?”
With a sigh and a prayer to the First Spinjitzu Master that everything would still go according to plan, he once again followed Arin. “How can you be sure he’d even want to help?”
“Because,” he began in a tone a bit softer than before, “he saved my life last time. There were these… creatures that came after me. Soul suckers. The name kind of gives away their purpose.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Anyways, he didn’t have to help me then, but he did. He’d do the same now. I know he would.”
Even after all that time with Ras, Arin’s heart remained true. Lloyd took some comfort in that.
“Does this ghost have a name?”
“I… didn’t exactly ask,” he admitted. Arin avoided his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “In my defense, there was a lot going on!”
Surprisingly, Lloyd laughed. “Hey, I get it. Lives at stake, that kind of thing—names come later.”
And for a moment, things felt like they used to. A smile even lingered on Lloyd’s face as he searched more of the Monastery, eventually stumbling onto a bedroom. The bed was neatly made, dark green sheets all tucked in tightly with the wrinkles all smoothed out. He almost made a joke about green being his color, but decided this wasn’t the time. Some books and scrolls lined a small shelf, all of it mostly history and mythology as he took a closer look. A kite stood in one corner of the room, but it looked like it hadn’t seen the sky in a long time. On one wall was a weapons rack, twin swords hung with care.
“Well,” Lloyd said, crossing his arms. “Someone’s definitely been living here. But, it doesn’t seem like they’re home.”
Arin stepped inside to take a closer look. His attention focused on the swords, and he tilted his head slightly. “If the ghost I’m thinking of does live here, then I guess all the weapons make sense. He said he used to be a ninja. I hope he doesn’t mind us snooping around…”
That sent a chill through him. Lloyd’s hands, which initially only rested on his arms carefree, now clutched them hard enough that they’d break the bones of anyone else. “A ninja?” He didn’t notice how his voice shook. Apparently Arin didn’t either.
“Yeah,” he said, looking at his own reflection in the blades. “Actually, he told me something else too… he told me that his master is—or was, I guess—Master Wu.”
Lloyd’s vision went blurry for a moment.
“ Morro? ” he choked out.
He thought he was past this, he really did. There’d been nightmares, so many nightmares, but he thought it was over now. Those were gone. Admittedly, they’d been replaced by new nightmares, but they were still gone. All the times he was ripped away from control, smothered further and further down until it felt like he was nothing more than a tiny, insignificant speck in the universe—those times were gone. He shouldn’t be feeling this afraid. He was okay now.
Or, maybe he’d only ever told himself that because Morro was supposed to be far, far away from him. Never again would they meet. That was how it was meant to be.
But now he was faced with the very real possibility that that wasn’t the case .
“Lloyd? Lloyd, are you okay?” He’d nearly become deaf to Arin’s voice, the sound of it too quiet compared to his own panicked breaths. He stepped away from the boy, closing his eyes as he tried to silence the pounding of his heart, or still the shaking of his hands. He let himself fall back against the doorframe to combat his dizziness. It was the only thing keeping him upright.
He was in control. He was in control. If he looked at his reflection, all he would see was himself.
He was in control.
Arin was still talking.
His chest felt tight. He couldn’t feel anything. (Was he even breathing?)
Arin’s hand brushed against his shoulder. It felt like he’d been clawed at.
Something felt numb. He felt numb. Lloyd (because he was Lloyd, he was standing on his own two feet, no one else trying to erase him) dug his nails deeper into his skin. He didn’t know when they’d sharpened into claws, but the pain helped. It shouldn’t help, but it did , because he felt it, and if he felt it then he was him .
Arin wasn’t talking.
Lloyd didn’t know how long they stayed there. How long he was stuck like that.
But like every storm, it passed. Breath found its way back to his lungs. The world was beginning to quiet down. Though the dizziness clung to him for a few seconds more, he could once again stand without a wall keeping him up. As his heart stilled and his mind slowed, he became acutely aware of a pair of eyes on him.
Arin had stepped back from him, making himself look as small as possible as he waited. “Lloyd?” he said, his voice hesitant.
Rolling his tongue across his teeth, he realized his fangs were poking out. He wasn't one to talk about the... unique traits he inherited from his father. He didn't want to be looked at any differently than he already was. The prophesized green ninja got enough stares. Clearing his throat, he set his teeth and nails back to how they'd been. Now he was back to normal.
“Hey.” Lloyd tried not to wince at the rasp to his voice.
“Are you… okay?”
“Yeah,” he said, leaving Morro’s room in a hurry. “I’m okay. I just…” He trailed off, the words escaping for a brief moment. With a shake of his head, he dragged them back. “I’m sorry you had to see that. Come on, the others are probably waiting for us.”
“But don’t you need a moment?” Because even after all the false promises, Arin still cared.
Lloyd said nothing.
“Listen, I’m sorry for bringing it up…” Arin started. “I didn’t know that M—that he was Master Wu’s student. If I had, I would’ve figured it out and I wouldn’t have said anything.”
Lloyd looked at him, his eyes widening in slight alarm. “Hey, no, you don’t have to apologize, alright? You didn’t know.”
“But—”
“‘Buts’ are for sitting,” he said, quoting his uncle. “Besides… I know Morro’s good now. He warned us about Yang and Cole during the Day of the Departed. It’s just… hard for me to remember that sometimes. I didn’t really think I’d ever have to face him again.”
“Even after the Merge?”
“Well, it’s not exactly as if I like to tour the Spectral Lands,” he chuckled. “If it really is him, and he’s out there upholding Master Wu’s teachings… then I guess that’s worth something.”
Arin nodded, quiet for a moment. “If we run into him, then what’re you gonna do?”
Lloyd took a breath. “Well, I don’t like to hold grudges.”
“Would you forgive him, though? Just like that?”
“I didn’t say that,” he replied. “I don’t know if I ever could forgive him… but I don’t want to be stuck in the past forever.” There was a glimmer of something in Arin's eyes, but it passed too quickly for him be sure of what it was. Remorse?
For a slight second, Lloyd saw something else in Arin. Someone else. A boy going off on his own, turning his back on his master as he declared he didn't need him anymore, that his master had done nothing but fail him.
Morro had seen all of Lloyd's memories, but on a rare occasion, Lloyd had seen some of his, too.
The comparison frightened him more than he'd like to admit. After all this was over, he would make things right. He couldn't let him go back to Ras, not like this.
Quickly, Lloyd took one last look around the old Monastery before jumping back into mission mode. “We better get going. If he’s not here, then Thunderfang might’ve already gotten him. The rest of the team needs us.”
“Right,” Arin managed, straightening up.
Lloyd resumed lead, leaving the Monastery behind.
He didn’t know if it was true—what he said to Arin. About moving forwards. He didn’t know what he would do if he saw Morro again. He wouldn’t run, but he couldn’t fight either. Whatever happened would happen, he supposed. Maybe soon he’d find out. Until then, his friends needed him.