"vita mutatur, non tollitur" - life is changed, not taken away.
Morro builds a new life for himself, starting with a cat.
Warnings: Mental health issues, self-indulgent fic, possibly ooc Morro?
Extra: I wanted to give Morro a redemption arc and a cat, and decided that the Ninja and Wu will not be there to cause drama until after Morro's redemption arc. I've been working on this for so long-
also, this is not and will not be finished. it's old (i started this last year in october or november) and i've given up on this AU because it's strangely written and not the exact content i'm interested in writing anymore
Morro is revived alongside Garmadon not Garmadon, his unc- the man he knew was kind and would never hurt his son. That... thing is a monster in the crude shape of Garmadon's husk. He's given a choice, but instead of picking a side with the Ninja or Garmadon, he goes into hiding, stalking the grimy, abandoned streets of Ninjago.
Wu and most of the Ninja are presumed dead, the remaining Water Ninja and Green Ninja hate him, and Garmadon is not the same man he met 40-some years ago.
Where does he go? What does he do? What purpose does he have?
The wind doesn't seem to respond as much anymore. As expected, why would such a powerful, amazing element be wasted on a good-for-nothing like Morro?
The wind master wanders the streets, barely convincing himself each morning to keep on living.
The human body is very finicky; needs sleep, needs food, needs water, it's so needy.
He finds a small cat. A little, skinny but fluffy black cat with crusty green eyes and the saddest meow you've ever heard.
He shouldn't take in the cat. He can barely take care of himself, not to mention he'd just forget about feeding it. He'll probably end up hurting it like he hurts everyone else around him, so he really shouldn't take it in.
...but feeding it sometimes wouldn't be horrible. Eating with it makes Morro feel just a little less alone.
But nothing else.
—
He feeds her it every day. He eats with it, so, if just out of convenience, he's always near the scrawny kitten whenever he decides to eat, he pretends he doesn't notice. She might be growing on him.
He lets her- it sleep with him. The thing is so small, it shivers itself to sleep. The poor kitten will die in the winter. He curls around her protectively to stave off the elements. His element is kind enough to avoid blasting them with sharp gales of frozen air.
Morro is never seen without her. The locals call him "Black Cat Man", as she's always visible peering curiously out of his hood, resting on his shoulders. She's gained weight, and is looking more healthy, rather than emaciated.
—
Maybe she should have a name.
"Shadow?" No.
"Midnight?" No.
"Ash?" No. Light nip on the ear.
"...Violet?" Purring and a nuzzle to the cheek.
When Lloyd and the Ninja liberate the city, Morro helps.
Not much, but he helps. He guides crowds of escapees to safe locations, escorts people out of unstable buildings, finds people trapped in rubble; he helps.
Violet cheers up some siblings that got separated from their parents. The family reunites, and the children ask for a black cat.
Wu is alive. He looks strangely young, but he is alive.
Morro cries in an alleyway when he is finally alone. With Violet, of course. He missed his Sensei.
Part of him considered trying to return. Arriving one day to the monastery, the doors wide open and Wu waiting for him. To apologize for everything he did and just be his student again.
But, he can't. He's hurt too many people, hurt those his sensei care for. Hurt Lloyd.
He cannot return.
He will imagine anyways.
Morro got a job. Apparently, he fit the "emo-punk vibe" the store was going for. He doesn't know exactly what they mean by that, but at least he doesn't have to steal food anymore.
He also got an apartment. It is quite small, but enough space for him and Violet. The place came with furniture and appliances, so he bought cat supplies and clothes. The wind elemental was told by a worker that he had an outdated style – she pushed him over to a store that had, in her words, "alternative clothing", which "fit his vibe" more.
He thinks she's right after trying on a few outfits.
Her name is Eryn. She gives him her phone number, the nickname "Stripes", and tells him, "Once you get a phone, call me up, 'kay Stripes?"
—
Morro thinks Eryn's pretty cool. Likes her... "vibe". Is he using that word correctly?
New slang is so weird.
He's saving up for a phone, which is easy because the place he works at, Skreeming Skullz, pays a good amount of money. As long as rent doesn't raise too high.
He meet two of his neighbors; Acid and Maggie. They're dating, and live together. Acid is something they call "non-binary", which means they aren't male or female.
Morro understands, he feels the same way. He tells Acid this, and they introduce him to all of the different "genders" and "pronouns". He thinks he may be agender.
It doesn't matter to him; he's still Morro.
Whenever their landlord tries to bring up rent, the three of them do things like break windows, yell loudly, graffiti walls, and generally make living suck a little more. Some of their other neighbors do the same thing.
He asks Maggie why. "We're rebellin'," she says. "We're tellin' 'em that we won' pay more to live here, n' no one else'll wanna live in a buildin' with broken windows and rowdy ass neighb'rs."
Violet has gotten much bigger. Morro uses to be able to hold her with one hand, now she fits into his arms, provided he cradles her like a baby.
He also brought her to the veterinarian, got her vaccinated, tested, and given a check up. She is perfectly healthy, surprising considering she grew up on the streets. The vet said Violet looks like a Maine Coon, which means she'll get much bigger. They think she's about 7 months old.
His powers are slowly returning. It reminds him of when he first unlocked his powers. He had to focus to even shift around leaves.
He works to become better. Not like he did with Wu; to become the Green Ninja. He practices because he loves his element. He tentatively told Eryn, Acid, and Maggie about his powers. He thinks they may have made the connection that he's the ghost from the Stiix Incident.
They don't act differently.
—
Morro is... happy. He has a purpose. He's friends with Eryn, they made friendship bracelets and she promised that, no matter how "kooky" or "messed up" he is, she is his friend. He's Violet's caretaker. He's Maggie and Acid's neighbor. He's the Master of Wind.
...
He still misses Sensei Wu.
Most times, Morro's happy. He goes on walks with Violet, catches up on history at the library, texts Eryn modern slang questions, and hikes to the top of hills to feel the breeze.
Sometimes, Morro's sad. He sits around with the old, rickety blinds as shut as possible. He eats cold leftovers from three days ago. He questions if he deserved any of this. On those days, Violet carries over her brush and purrs contentedly as Morro grooms her dark fur. She always makes him feel a bit better. Makes the bad days not as bad.
Sometimes, Morro's angry. He soaks in the silence of his internal fuming. He yells incoherently. He repeatedly hits the wooden table. He complains to Violet about destiny's unfairness.
He isn't angry as often anymore. He has another worth, another purpose, he doesn't need to be the Green Ninja; doesn't need to be Lloyd.
—
The Ninja aren't in Ninjago City much. According to rumors, they're finally rebuilding the monastery.
Ninjago City is rebuilding as well. Morro volunteers around the city, when he can.
It's good that the Ninja aren't often there anymore. His throat seizes and his heart bangs against his ribcage like it's imprisoned whenever he sees the Green Ninja, or the Water Ninja, or Sensei Wu. He cannot be caught.
Morro helps people from getting attacked by fiery snakes, and watches the Prime Empire attack happen through NGTV News at home with Acid, Eryn, and Maggie.
He ventures out more when the Ninja leave to Shintaro.
He finds a nice, serene coffee shop with decent prices. There's a kind barista there, they smell of lavender and coffee, and have a bunch of piercings in their face. Their name is Salem. They used to go to college with Eryn.
Morro's powers are going crazy. He doesn't often use them, unless it's a "rot day", as Maggie calls them. Apparently, when Morro doesn't feel like doing anything because he's done too much, that's normal for some people, and he shouldn't be chastised or forced to work more. He was a bit shocked by this, as that was always Wu's first go-to solution. Then again, that old fool was quite outdated. Morro mostly use them to check for people or to get things out of reach.
He shatters a plate, which scares Violet. Acid and Maggie bursts in to make sure he's okay, and helps him clean up the broken plate. He also sees on the news that the Water Ninja's powers are acting up too; she conjured a water spout and lost control of it. He knows the history of Wojira and their powers connection, but Morro brushes it off.
It's probably fine.
—
A few days later, he scolds himself for brushing that off as he barely keeps Violet and himself afloat. She mewls quietly, clearly upset at this situation.
Morro tries one more time to rocket them out of the water, and this time it works. He uses his now-under-control powers to dry Violet and himself off.
He sets her down, and dives back in to find Acid and Maggie, who are trapped in their apartment. He manages to break a window to get in, causing water to gush in and fill any spaces that haven't been flooded yet. He grabs their hands and they swim like hell to the surface, landing of the rooftop where Violet is.
His phone miraculously works, so he dials up Eryn, who is out of town to visit family. She and her family are luckily okay, as they live up on a mountain. He also checks on Salem, who is saved by one of the Ninja.
They see the Wa- Nya merge with the sea, and a part of Morro nags to join her. He watches as she left her family and friends. He quietly stands near the back of her sort-of funeral.
Morro knows she isn't gone, he had a gut feeling... or is it more his elemental power knowing? His connection with Nya is strange.
He wonders if she could feel it too.
The Ninja seem to disappear along with her.
Kai leaves to teach kids martial arts. Jay leaves. Zane stops expressing emotion. Lloyd completely quit to become a window washer. Cole was the only one that seems to continue semi-normally, but it was obvious Nya's absence affects him too. He has no clue what Sensei Wu is up to. He worries about him, Wu never handles loss well.
While Morro learns about the other Ninja through the news, social media, or rumors around his complex, he discovers Lloyd's fate himself. Hell, he shows up at his window.
To clean it.
Luckily, Morro could tell it's him before he sees into the window, so Morro has a chance to dash into hiding. He doesn't clean windows on Morro's complex often, but Morro makes an effort to never be home when Lloyd's cleaning.
Born from a contest sucessful Rose Violet had no idea how successful her mother was, her mama going silent at any questions of her mommys past. Raised alongside an alolan vulpix her mother wanted to give her since birth she grew to love ice and fairy types, if she wasn’t pestering her mama with questions she’d be spending times chasing after the fox or sleeping with Roses alolan ninetales, the only thing she knew about her mother.
On her tenth birthday Violet decided to leave her home, waving goodbye to her family as she decided to forge her own journey into alola, to make new friends and take on the island challenge and one day the champion.
