Ninjago: Remembrance

[mattecat]

Summary: Neither of them can move on. A short scene between Wu and Morro.

 

Warnings: Discussion of death.

Notes: Originally posted on archive of our own on September 23rd, 2019.

 

Remembrance

 

"Don't you have anything better to do, Sensei?"

 

Wu manages a smile at his former student. "It's good to see you again, Morro. How have you been?"

 

The ghost rolls his eyes. "Dead and in the Departed Realm, same as last year. Why do you keep bringing me back?"

 

Wu beckons Morro to his side and they walk down the steps away from the monastery. They walk in silence under the night sky until they reach the base of the mountain, where Wu pauses. "Where do you want to go this time?"

 

"Don't care," Morro grumbles.

 

"Did something happen?"

 

"I'm dead. Nothing happens to me anymore." Morro turns away. "The Departed Realm is boring, and everyone hates me there. Even tried talking to the first Master of Wind – he was pissed that I let his elemental power fall into the Cursed Realm. Why don't you answer my questions?"

 

"I thought I made it clear the first year I summoned you." Wu smiles again. "I miss you, Morro. Even if it's only for one day, once a year, I'm glad I get to see you. I care very much about you, and… I want you to know that you're remembered."

 

Morro spins around in one quick motion and his summoned ghost blade is at Wu's throat. "Lots of people remember me," he snarls. "I'm sure the Green Ninja remembers me clear as crystal."

 

Wu doesn't flinch. "Lloyd has no ill will towards you."

 

"Liar." The blade dissipates into thin air, and Morro takes his hand away. "You haven't changed," he says. "You're still doing all the same things that got me killed."

 

He walks away. Wu follows.

 

Barely any lights are on in the village, only the full moon illuminating their surroundings. Morro goes to the center of the square and stands underneath a barely-functioning streetlight. He casts no shadow. Wu stands a few feet away, outside the wavering circle of light.

 

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Wu asks.

 

"You're decades too late," Morro says.

 

"There must be something to make this night more enjoyable for you."

 

"I would think someone as wise as you would've gotten the hint the first year. Maybe the second, if I'm being generous." Morro glares at him. "I don't want to be here. I don't want to see you. It's better for everyone if you give up and forget me."

 

Wu shakes his head. "I could never forget you, Morro."

 

"You can't respect my wishes, either."

 

"Do you really want me to abandon you?"

 

"Maybe it would hurt less if you did."

 

"What do you want, Morro?"

 

Morro turns in the opposite direction and says nothing.

 

Wu takes a step closer, joining Morro under the flickering light. "I want to help you," he says. "I want to do what I couldn't do for you all those years ago. I loved you like a son, Morro. I still do."

 

"You didn't even know I was dead," Morro says, his voice trembling. "You had this – this fantasy that I was still alive, that I got a chance to grow up, and the whole time my body was rotting in the Caves of Despair. This is your fault, Sensei. Everything I've done, the person I became – it's all your fault."

 

Wu repeats his question. "Morro, what do you want?"

 

Again, Morro doesn't answer his question. He looks up at the sky; under the streetlight, even the brightest stars are invisible, and the moon is all they can see.

 

"I want that fantasy, too," he whispers. "Just for one night. Can we pretend, Sensei? I – I didn't die, and I found what I was looking for, and I'm coming back home."

 

Wu nods, slowly. "We can do that."

 

They walk back up the mountain. Wu's legs ache, but he won't complain, not about this. Morro stops just outside the entrance. Wu walks ahead and waits.

 

Morro walks through the gates, one step after the other. His face is stained and discolored with his ghost form's emulation of the tears he can no longer create. "I'm home, Sensei," he chokes out. "I came back. I came home. I – I –"

 

He falls to his knees and covers his face, his body heaving with sobs. Wu runs to him and kneels down at his side.

 

"Welcome home, Morro," he whispers. "As long as I live, there will always be a place for you here."

 

the end