•🐉•🍃•🐉•🍃•🐉•

~ Someone's turning the handle
To the faucet in your eyes

You pour it out where everyone can see

Your heart's too big for your body
That's why it won't fit inside

You pour it out where everyone can see ~

•🐉•🍃•🐉•🍃•🐉•

Garlic bread was not in Morro's good fortune after all. And he showed his distaste by personally giving Tim's Diner a one-star rating after he and Lloyd were banished from there. With no money and no more bad guys to use as payment, the two had no option but to call it a night without food.

Which brought them to their next predicament: they had no place to sleep either.

"I don't know about you but being a hero sucks," Morro pouted, continuously twisting to find a comfortable position in the backseat of the Morris. "And if sleeping in cars is what you Ninja get for putting your lives in danger then kudos to you."

Lloyd smiled from the front, suddenly getting that bemused twinkle in his eye. "Well, we did destroy the diner."

"After saving everyone's skins!"

"And besides," Lloyd continued, not paying attention to Morro's complaints. "Sleeping in cars is way better than sleeping in the streets, don't you think?" The Green Ninja eyed the wind master in the rearview mirror.

Morro said nothing but Lloyd knew he had given it a second's thought. Even when Morro faced the other way and offered the impression that he'd rather sleep than discuss the topic. Lloyd was getting ready to battle with his own comfort in the passenger seat when his companion spoke up again.

"Hey, Lloyd? You said you came to Matsunai before, right?"

Lloyd nodded, then realizing Morro couldn't see him he vocalized his answer. "Yeah, Cole brought us."

Morro turned to him. "Well, then you obviously know the way back."

Lloyd lost count of how many times he had stood guilty that day. "By air? Definitely. By road? Not really. We came here on the Destiny's Bounty. It has a navigation system and everything."

Morro's perked up face fell faster than a rock through water. He rolled his eyes and turned to frown at the roof of the car. "Why did I even bother to ask? You are bent on making this trip worse."

Eyebrows knitted, Lloyd twisted in his seat to look at the former ghost. "I admit, not bringing food or money was a big irresponsibility. But like I said, you never try to reach out to me or my friends the normal way so planning this road trip was the other option."

Morro sat up abruptly, irritation written all over his expression. "Maybe I never reached out because I didn't wanna be your friend. Ever think about that?" he said, a little loudly. Lloyd opened his mouth but Morro didn't stop. "This isn't some kid's cartoon where you have to make friends with everyone you meet, okay? Some people prefer being left alone. That's what the world has always done to me anyway."

Lloyd climbed further on the seat, fully turned back and seethed. "Well, if you weren't such a crybaby maybe you wouldn't have been abandoned."

"I'm not a crybaby!"

"Of course you are," Lloyd argued, clutching the top of his seat, digging his fingers into the leather. "Despite never being spoiled, you complain like some filthy rich kid who got two gifts instead of ten!"

"Like you're such a grateful little angel," Morro shot back indignantly. "Grandson of Ninjago's creator and you still act like you've got the worst luck."

"It's not like I get discounts for being related to the First Spinjitzu Master!" Lloyd erupted. "I just got kicked out of a diner, dude. You'd think that clerk would give me some respect since I'm so important."

"People should be worshipping the ground you walk on," Morro raged, moving his hands around aggressively. "You should be controlling this whole damn realm. Not running around sacrificing yourself for other's sake. You just don't care how lucky you are!"

Lloyd gave a dry chuckle. "Lucky?"

"If I was the son of Lord Garmadon or the descendant of the First Spinjitzu Master, heck if I was even the Green Ninja, I'd use that to my advantage and show people who's boss!"

Lloyd scoffed, sinking back into his seat and glaring at the windshield. "See, this is the difference between me and you. I don't abuse my power." He lowered his voice, muttering under his breath. "No wonder you didn't become the Green Ninja."

Morro had heard nonetheless. "Why you little-"

"I'm tired," Lloyd said, ending the argument. "Just go to sleep."

He was aware of every movement after that. He heard Morro lie back down and shift to his side, away from Lloyd. The argument's adrenaline wore off and exhaustion took over. Lloyd felt his eyelids drooping, his conscience swimming in and out of oblivion.

He did catch a muffled sniff from the backseat. However, he fell asleep before he could regard it properly.

•🐉•🍃•🐉•🍃•🐉•

In the morning, the venom of their banter was overshadowed by the fact that they were aching all over after sleeping in the uncomfortable car.

They had continued on their way, still fuming but Morro made sure they didn't completely forget that they now had a "stay clear from me" barrier in between them. After another round of argument with Lloyd that he was mostly definitely not fifteen, Morro had won the right to drive. Now, he sat clutching the wheel with his eyes stuck to the road ahead, perpetually ignoring everything the blonde had to say.

That is until Lloyd started screaming his head off and waving his hands all in Morro's line of sight.

"Stop, stop, stop! Quick!"

Morro, who was already tense in the driver's position, almost jumped out of the seatbelt he had guardedly strapped on. He had been having difficulty coordinating his brake-accelerator senses and now, in a panic, he hit the wrong pedal. The car lurched forward violently, throwing Lloyd into the dashboard.

Morro didn't stop to apologize. His foot seemed to be glued to the accelerator and his instincts were not acting right. He only had a few seconds to settle his whirring mind and hit the brakes before the car collided with a row of fruit stands on the right. Morro mentally located the right pedal and moved to slam it.

Before he could act, arms shot out from the side and grabbed the wheel. Instead of braking, the car swerved to the left as Lloyd led it away from danger. However, the deflection was sudden and the car drifted along the street, gradually heading for the other side of the road.

"Turn, turn!" Morro screamed, forgetting he was the driver and taking his hands off the steering wheel entirely.

Lloyd was having trouble controlling the car from the position he was in and was too late in turning. The Morris Minor hit a mailbox, the impact rattling the vehicle with an ear-splitting crack. Morro was sure something had broken though he didn't know if it was the car or himself. The collision's momentum sent the car careening across the road again.

"WILL YOU HIT THE BRAKES, FOR DRAGON'S SAKE!" Lloyd roared, attempting to keep the smoking car straight as it headed fast for a downward slant in the road.

Morro rammed the pedal with all his might and then his heart skipped a beat. The car only hummed loudly but didn't slow down. He tried again and again, the approaching slope making his movements delirious. The brake pedal appeared lighter as if it no longer supported anything.

"They're not working!" Morro yelled back, trying once more. The car rumbled without decreasing its speed, proving the point.

Lloyd cursed, trying to climb over the gear stick and handbrake to make his access to the wheel easy. "The axle is dislodged! The crash must've done it!"

The car zoomed down the road, the slope facilitating the rise in speed. Morro saw the road straighten out at the bottom but it was right at the mouth of an intersection. If they didn't stop in time, the car would use its built up potential and shoot into the traffic. Morro didn't want to think what that would mean for him and Lloyd.

"We need friction!" Lloyd concluded, sounding desperate.

"How are we-" Morro asked but stopped midsentence. Friction? Air friction!

"Wind!" Morro ordered, clawing his fingers into the air around him. It took a few seconds but slowly a rushing sound filled the car. Some invisible force began gradually pushing against the hood.

"Hurry!" Lloyd screamed. They were gaining on the intersection and the traffic light facing them was burning red.

Morro clenched his teeth, forcing the flurry of wind to blow in the opposite direction of their descent. His arms began to ache with the muscle tension but he kept at it. The car slowed down a considerable amount.

But it wasn't enough.

With another tug from Lloyd, the Morris jerked off the road just as the intersection loomed ahead. The next moment was a blur. The car bumped a little before it plowed through a pole. Morro's whole world shook violently. All he could hear was his and Lloyd's screams of horror and a deafening crash.

Everything stopped. The ringing in Morro's ears was itching his brain. He opened his eyes and gaped at the shattered windshield and bashed in hood. Smoke rose up in thick columns and obscured the world around him. He could hear nothing but his own ragged breathing as he tried to push down the nausea. He felt something slump next to him. One glance to the side made Morro feel like the ground had dropped out from under him.

Lloyd lay pale and unconscious in his seat, his head lolling to one side. His lip was cut and other lacerations dotted his face. His blonde hair were disheveled and stained red in a small patch.

"Lloyd!" Morro tried to reach over to him but he was restricted by the seatbelt. He fumbled with it, his hands shaking. Setting himself free, he kicked open his door and stumbled outside. Coughing in the smoke, he dashed around the back of the car and yanked open Lloyd's door.

Within minutes, Morro had pulled the blonde out of the totaled vehicle and laid him down on the sidewalk. Hovering over him, the wind master chanted his name repeatedly, frantically telling him to wake up.

"Come on, come on," Morro whispered, lightly hitting Lloyd's wounded cheek. "Your uncle and friends are gonna kill me. Please, wake up!"

His own head was throbbing badly but he let it slide. His focus was the Green Ninja. He could hear sirens wailing all around him. The sound mixed in with the chattering of a crowd. People had tightened around the scene in a circle. Cries and whispers of, "It's Lloyd Garmadon! It's the Green Ninja!" fluttered through the air.

A few people glanced at Morro suspiciously but said nothing. He realized that his hood was down and he immediately covered up his hair. There was no use of it now. Majority had seen who he was.

The sirens grew louder with every passing minute and before long, a white van pulled up next to him.

•🐉•🍃•🐉•🍃•🐉•

Morro peered into the room through the glass panel, his feeble reflection distorting his view. A trio of white clad people fussed around Lloyd as he lay on the hospital bed. He still hadn't regained consciousness but his injuries had been dealt with. The blonde now had a strip of bandage across his forehead on the left side, stained with blood in the centre, and an assortment of band-aids littering his face.

Morro saw a doctor delicately place her hand on Lloyd's forehead before inspecting the monitors. She smiled and nodded reassuringly at the two nurses. Morro waited for her to exit the room before quietly shuffling over.

"Is he alright?"

The doctor inserted her hands into her labcoat's pockets and glanced at Lloyd through the glass. "His vitals are stable. He has sustained no severe injuries, just a few external wounds. Nothing a properly preformed first aid won't fix. We are waiting for him to regain consciousness. We'll let him rest and monitor him for a bit. If all is well, he'll be free to go."

Morro nodded wordlessly and turned to look at Lloyd as well. He could feel the doctor's eyes on him and he knew she wanted to say more.

"They are saying you are the one who caused the crash in a deliberate attempt to kill the Green Ninja," she spoke, her tone indistinct.

Morro was expecting this sort of thing to spring up. The people were so predictable at times. He smiled bitterly, not taking his eyes off the unconscious blonde. "No surprise they would say something like that. After all, I am the evil, vengeful ghost guy who unleashed an otherworldly creature to destroy Ninjago. That is a much more interesting topic to throw around instead of acknowledging my redemption."

The doctor shrugged. "That is what the people believe. Only you know what really happened."

Lowering his gaze to his shoes, Morro recounted the events of the crash. "I was the one driving, yes. But I lost control of the car. It wasn't on purpose. Lloyd tried to stop it but he couldn't and we crashed."

Silence passed between the two and Morro assumed the doctor was finding ways of rejecting this story. She couldn't be any different than the others. "I know you don't believe me so I'm not gonna convince you otherwise."

The woman sighed, folding her arms. "By possessing Lloyd, you not only manipulated him spiritually, but also physically and emotionally. Even after all that damage, if Lloyd is willing to put his trust in you then so am I."

Morro looked up at her, mild shock visible in his eyes. She smiled in return and placed a hand on his shoulder. "He will be fine. Just take good care of him."

With that, the doctor left. Morro watched her disappear around the corner, her words still ringing in his ears. How could Lloyd still trust him after all he had put him through? If something like that had happened to Morro, he would never have forgiven that monster. This new thought only made him feel more guilty. But he couldn't deny the tiny ray of hope flickering inside him that maybe he was worthy of a second chance after all.

•🐉•🍃•🐉•🍃•🐉•