Soooo... I wrote something. I was thinking of rewriting and revamping my Possession rewrite, and this was what I came up with spontaneously.
I want to write a "Preeminent Wins" AU and see what might've happened after. Like would the seasons still happen after Possession.
I'm honestly thinking of continuing this story, but for now, I just have this one-shot.
Other than that, enjoy the story!
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The temperature was dropping rapidly by the minute. Winds with the force of a hurricane blew past, sending shrapnel and debris and anything that wasn't bolted down flying through the air. If the villagers of Stiix wanted to remain unscathed from the onslaught of wind and random objects, they had to stay indoors. It didn't help that the winds were strong enough to rip houses from the weak, half rotting stilts and supports that kept the town above water. It didn't help that so much of the infrastructure and architecture was already ruined by the ghosts' rampage through the village on their search for gourmet burgers.
It definitely didn't help that the leader of this cursed army was currently in the process of conjuring up a funnel cloud, which soon touched down to the planks, forming a tornado.
The tallest tower in the village was torn off its supports, flying up in large pieces in a slow spiral around a solitary figure, their body glowing softly with a harsh green light.
Morro was the Preeminent's "chosen one", the leader of the ghost army, and the one sent by the queen to ensure the mission went successfully. Usually he was in the standard black and green uniform and armour that was required for all Cursed Army soldiers to wear, with his hair tied because the Preeminent apparently believed in the power of appearances. She was one to talk, because she never showed her true appearance, save for that one time Soul Archer came back from a meeting with the queen and was only muttering about stitched up mouths and glowing eyes.
Since the queen wasn't here, and he was technically in charge, he had tossed that 'appearance rule' out the window, and had opted for a more comfortable pale green gi and a torn black cape he'd found in Ronin's pawn shop.
He always thought the armour was too constricting, and having his hair tied all the time hurt his scalp even though he technically had no nerves.
Like the element he wielded, Morro hated being restrained and controlled. But he tolerated whatever the Preeminent told him to do and did it because she could kill him for the second time in an instant if she wanted to.
He looked down, spotting a blond, green-clad figure jumping from wood plank to wood plank, a determined expression on his face.
The Green Ninja — Lloyd Garmadon. The boy who stole his destiny. The boy who never had to work hard to earn the green gi. All Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon had to do was exist, and everything he wanted was handed to him.
Morro knew there was more to that; he'd possessed the boy, and in doing so, he had discovered so many of Lloyd's secrets that had been buried under the mask of the Green Ninja. And for a moment, a bit of pity rose. Because Morro understood what it was like to be alone, what it was like to have no one to turn to in a dire time of need.
"Morro, you can stop this!" Lloyd exclaimed, using Airjitzu to fly onto a rotating plank around the ghost ninja.
He felt a stab of anger and all the pity vanished in a second. How dare Lloyd use Airjitzu, use the power of flight and wind to his advantage. How dare he try to use the pity tactic against him.
"What do you mean stop this?" Morro asked rhetorically. His hair whipped around in the forceful gales, as did his cape. "Stop what? Stop me from being loyal to my queen? Stop me from finally doing enough to proVE THAT I AM WORTHY?"
"Please, don't do this!" Lloyd begged again. "Don't let your anger cloud your judgement! Sensei said you were a good student, and he's sorry!"
"If he really was sorry," Morro hissed through clenched teeth. "He'd come here and say that to my face, not get his precious little nephew to do it for him."
"Oh wait, he can't," the Wind Ninja cackled, remembering what he'd told his generals to do with his former teacher. "Because he's—"
"Heads up!" he heard Ronin call. "I saved up a lot for this moment."
Morro looked up just in time to see a shower of golden coins fall onto his head.
He cursed, momentarily losing control of the wind as he ducked and dropped into the closet building; Ronin's pawn shop. It had been one of the few that was floating around above his head as he taunted Lloyd, but it was now nothing more than a slightly squashed mess of wood and metal.
He groaned, picking himself up. He could still see the bright glow of the Realm Crystal, somewhere in the ruin that was the pawn shop. He staggered to the wall, holding his head as it spun.
Get the realm crystal, you idiot, he hissed to himself. Or did you want that sad excuse of a green ninja to get it?
Morro exhaled, doing several "breathing" exercises to calm himself. He would be fine. Lloyd was probably crushed under the pawn shop when it fell.
That was what he wanted to believe, and he would've believed it if he didn't spot a different glow from the corner of his eye. A faint tinge of green mixed in with the bright, vibrant blue of the Realm Crystal. The same green that had swirled around those energy balls that were thrown toward him only minutes earlier.
Only one person he knew had that power.
"That fucking..." Morro sprinted toward the light, silently muttering every single curse he knew of.
To his dismay, Lloyd had grabbed the Realm Crystal from the stand and had a ball of emerald energy surrounding it. Outside the jammed door, Kai and Nya were spotted, shouting for the younger boy to destroy the crystal.
"I'm gonna kill him," Morro grumbled under his breath and sprinted out, shoving Lloyd away.
"Don't!" he all but screeched. He fumbled for the blue relic, but Lloyd managed to grab it first.
"Morro, we have to destroy the Realm Crystal," Lloyd said, managing to keep his face calm and neutral. "We should've never gone looking for it, the power is too great and dangerous."
"Ohhh, I see," Morro said. He decided to amuse the boy for just a moment. "And I suppose you know all about great and dangerous powers, don't you, Lloyd?"
Lloyd froze. Morro knew he'd struck a chord in the green ninja.
"And I suppose you know all about going to look for dangerous things," the ghost crept closer, his voice dropping until it was a mere whisper. "Don't you, Lloyd?"
"Like..." Morro pretended to think. "Like those snake people. What were they called again?"
He was only faking obliviousness, of course. During his stay at Wu's monastery, Morro had made it his life goal to read all the scrolls and books his former sensei had on Ninjago history. He wanted to become the greatest student his sensei had ever trained, and in the six years he lived there, he did exactly that.
"You set them free," Morro whispered. "You wreaked havoc on Ninjago City, and it was just the butterfly effect taking place after, wasn't it? So many innocent people suffered. I bet some of that will come back to haunt you." Then he snickered, before saying, "no pun intended."
"They're the Serpentine," Lloyd hissed. "And why would you care, Morro? I was a child. I was—"
"Naive and unaware of the harsh realities of life," Morro finished. "And it appears that you still don't know of the realities."
"What do you—"
"Well, look above," Morro said. "I've been stalling. You're not trying to destroy the Realm Crystal or the portal, which has now accumulated enough energy for my queen to cross over."
A sickening crack sounded as the portal, which had been swirling and glowing the entire time, suddenly split open. A grin slowly appeared on Morro's face, spreading until his cheeks stretched painfully, but he didn't care.
A long, teal coloured tentacle winded out of the crack, with more gripping the edges and prying it apart. Then a hand, to Morro's surprise. Then long, dark green dreadlocks and curls, framing a ghostly face with a stitched up mouth and glowing eyes.
Lloyd backed away with horror, his feet tripping over loosened floorboards and broken furniture.
Morro looked on with interest, seeing the true human form of his queen for the very first time.
The Preeminent was tall, as were most ancient entities of the Sixteen Realms, but her appearance was more horrific than ethereal, much like the Oni that Morro had read so much about in his past.
She was pale, her skin emitting the same sickly green glow as all the other ghosts, but somehow it was harsher, the energy was more draining. Her hair was long, done in dreadlocks or falling down her back in tight curls. It blended into the mass of tentacles that protruded from her back, writhing and twisting as if they had a life of their own.
She was clothed in a simple dark green gown, cinched at the waist with a belt and jewel buckle. A crown of jagged black and green stone sat upon her head.
"My queen," Morro said softly, lowering his head in respect, and just a bit of fear.
The Preeminent looked around the pawn shop, her head tilting to the side when she spotted Lloyd, trying to pry the doors open. In the panic and terror that had captured his body, he forgot that he could easily blast it away with his powers.
A tentacle shot in Lloyd's direction, causing him to scream when it wrapped around his torso tightly, to the point where it might break his ribs. More tentacles moved his way, restraining his arms and legs until he was suspended in mid air, held in a mass of dark green and teal.
"Morro!" Lloyd shouted, momentarily not caring that this was his enemy. "What is this? Help—"
The Preeminent hissed something and Lloyd's mouth was clamped shut. His eyes widened more in horror.
:I've had enough of your whining, boy: she cooed in a soothing voice. :I shall deal with you later:
She disappeared back into the portal, Lloyd in tow.
When she emerged again, she was alone.
"LLOYD!" Kai was heard shouting from the other side of the door. "NO!"
Morro's grin was so wide, it must've reached his ears. Finally, the Green Ninja was gone. Incapacitated, dead, half-dead, whatever. Lloyd was out of his way.
"Welcome to Stiix, my queen," Morro said, using his powers to blast away the remains of the shop. The Realm Crystal was held in the Preeminent's hand.
:The village built on water?: The Preeminent inquired. :Very brave of you to set up your base here. One wrong step and you'd be a pile of steaming ash at the bottom of the Endless Sea:
"I'm one to take risks," Morro said quickly. He didn't say anything about Ronin or the pawn shop. It was likely the Preeminent already knew.
:Of course: Her voice was still soft, soothing even, like a snake carefully luring in its prey before it struck. She looked around some more, head tilting in curiosity. :Water problems aside, with a bit of reinforcement, this would make for an excellent main base:
She walked out of the pawn shop, what remained of it crumbling down behind her. The portal to the Cursed Realm also closed, trapping Lloyd inside.
Morro nodded along with whatever his queen said. It was more important to go along with her plans than to question it. He had learned that the hard way a few years ago.
"There's only a few problems," Morro said, daring to bring up his own ideas.
The Preeminent's piercing gaze turned to him, making him want to shrivel up and die.
:What... problems?: she asked slowly. :When I arrived, I assumed all problems were taken care of:
"Ah, yes, of course," Morro stammered. "But it's those Ninjas." He pointed a finger at Kai, who was huddled with his friends, no doubt trying to plan his murder. "They were so close to thwarting our plans. Even after Wrayth turned one of them into a ghost, they still never gave up."
At that exact moment, Kai rushed forward, his fists ablaze. "This is for Lloyd!" he shouted, launching a flurry of punches and kicks at Morro, who was barely able to deflect them all.
One particular blow came rather close to the Preeminent's arm and she gripped onto Kai's fist. Both Morro and Kai froze in surprise and exchanged a glance of shared confusion. The Queen of the Cursed had moved so fast, they barely caught the movement.
She twisted Kai's fist, tightening her own around his hand until she felt bones grind and then fracture. A loud crack sounded amidst the fighting. Kai bit back a scream and resorted to glaring at the ghostly queen and her general.
:I'm feeling... merciful today: she mused, letting go of the Fire Ninja. He crumpled to the ground, cradling his hand. :But don't expect me to let you go without so much as a scratch next time:
It was clear to the Ninja that they had lost. Literally.
Kai looked like he wanted to rush forward again, but didn't, due to his now broken hand. His sister was supporting him, a ball of water hovering above her palm, but she didn't dare shoot it at any ghost.
"Ninja never quit," Kai said quietly to his teammates. "We can take them!"
"Kai, your hand is broken," Zane said gently. His eyes shone blue as they scanned his injured hand. "She fractured nearly all the bones in your fingers. You need to heal."
"But Lloyd—"
"We won't do Lloyd any good if we're dead," Cole cut in. "Well, if you guys were dead, because I'm already dead."
"We have to come up with a plan," Jay said. His humour and lightheartedness was gone, replaced with a solemn expression.
Kai looked to his sister, hoping she'd take his side. But he knew deep down that retreating would be the best course of action.
The Ninja looked to Cole, the unanimously decided leader in the given situation, and waited for what he might say.
The Earth Ninja looked at the Preeminent. She had moved away, and was rallying the ghosts to her, giving them commands and orders, and who knows what. "We have to go," he said. "If the Preeminent decided to give us a free pass today, who knows if she'll give us another one next time."
"We'll regroup at the tea shop, and decide what else to do." he finished. "And we will get Lloyd back. That is something we cannot fail at."
***
The Preeminent stood on a partially collapsed tower that looked over the entire village of Stiix. It wasn't the villagers' anymore. It was hers.
She looked behind her, seeing her top five generals standing around a table, talking in hushed tones as they scribbled on various pieces of paper.
She had made the right choice sending them to complete this mission.
The queen returned her attention back to the now ghostly village and smiled, as best as her stitched up mouth allowed her to.
:My generals: she said, knowing that the five warriors behind her were standing at attention. :Today, we took Stiix, and tomorrow we will take more:
She turned around, the fabric of her dress slithering over the floorboards, causing a cloud of dust and smoke to fly up.
:And once we take Ninjago, we'll move onto the other fifteen Realms: The Preeminent held up the Realm Crystal, the relic now fused to her crown by more of the black and green stone. She placed the crown on her head, her eyes shining as she felt the power from the gemstone flow through her body.
She turned to Morro. :Lead us to victory: she commanded. :I must return to my palace. I have to make sure the Green Ninja doesn't try anything funny:
"Yes my queen," Morro said, lowering his head in a bow. "I won't let you down."