On the summit of the Wailing Alps, Morro tells Bansha and Soul Archer that they need to get to Cloud Kingdom.
"Ugh, those cursed ninja. I need to get to the Cloud Kingdom now!" He snaps, his eyes growing with anger.
Soul Archer looks at him. "Patience, Morro. Wanting to get to the Cloud Kingdom will not bring its portal any closer."
Morro scoffs. "But I hate waiting. It's beneath me." He scrunches his face up in what looked like pain. "If the ninja get the Sword of Sanctuary before we do, they'll have the upper hand."
Soul Archer frowns, eyeing him carefully. "I've never known you to worry."
"It's this incessant boy trying to break free of my possession." Morro grunts, thinking about Lloyd trying to break free from his hold on his body.
Bansha shakes her head. "You will not have to wait any longer, Morro." She tells him, her eyes flashing.
Soul Archer frowns. "But how? The gateway won't pass for hours."
Bansha smirks. "Let's just say I'm in contact with someone willing to leave the back door open."
.....
The ninja approach the gates of Cloud Kingdom.
Fenwick smiles as he walks towards them. "Welcome to Cloud Kingdom. We've been expecting you." He states.
Jay blinks. "Ha, how are we—" He starts, looking down at the clouds beneath them.
Fenwick smiles. "Standing on a cloud? Easy. In other Realms, there are other rules. I'm Fenwick. I've been asked to show you around."
Kai steps forward. "Nice to meet you. I'm—"
Fenwick nods. "Kai, yes, we all know. You're quite popular with the other monks. Up here, we see everything that goes on in Ninjago."
Cole furrows his eyebrows, looking serious as he walks forward. "Then you know—"
"You've traveled far for the Sword of Sanctuary, a powerful weapon that can foresee your opponent's next attack. It's also the second clue to finding the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master."
"Blimey." Zane says, still in his pirate accent. "But how be you—"
"Finishing your sentences?" Fenwick asks, raising an eyebrow. "I know, it's rather annoying, but up here we know, let's just say...we know what's going to come next. Come, I know Morro isn't far behind. Follow me and I'll explain."
.....
Lacey stood in the corner as the others all tried to talk to Ghoultar. She eyed him, he didn't look so smart, not from what she had observed.
Nya crosses her arms, looking smug.
"Deepstone bars. You're never getting out of here. Now tell us, what's in the tomb that's so important?" She narrows her eyes at him.
Wu steps forward. "What does Morro want?" He questions impatiently.
Ghoultar scoffs. "Ghoultar never talk. Oops, Ghoultar talked. Uh, Ghoultar no talk from now on." He covers his mouth.
Ronin smirks. "Oh, I'll get him talkin'." He raises his Aeroblade, taking a step forward.
Wu stops him, raising his hand. "No, Ronin. We must find another way to get answers out of him." He kept his gaze of the ghost.
Ghoultar laughs.
Misako smiles. "Let him laugh. The ninja are already in Cloud Kingdom and well ahead of Morro. Let's just hope they can find the Sword of Sanctuary before it's too late."
"We must use our time wisely." Wu tells them. "Come, Nya, there's still training to be done. As for Ghoultar, keep an eye on him, Ronin."
"Don't worry, old man. I've got him." Ronin grins, leaning back on his chair.
"Lacey, stay here with him."
The Sorceress nods.
...
The ninja and Fenwick walk into the library, where the monks are writing on their scrolls.
"Wow, it's the ninja." One of the monks, say.Many start looking at the legendary Ninja, talking and whispering quietly with each other.
"I know you're familiar with a few of the realms. Cloud Kingdom is just one more of the Sixteen Realms that exist parallel to Ninjago." Fenwick says as they walked along the long hallway of the room.
Kai frowns, looking confused. "Sixteen Realms?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowed.
Fenwick nods. "In this realm, we strive for greater understanding and let go of distractions. There is no television, no video games—"
"No video games? Hmmph. Not impressed." Jay scoffs, crossing his arms.
"It appears all any lad does here be writing." Zane points out, looking at all the monks who were all writing on scrolls.
Fenwick nods. "That is because here, our words matter. You see, in Cloud Kingdom, we are the writers of destiny. It was here that it was decided that Lloyd should be the Green Ninja. And just now, that Zane should find his voice again."
Zane grabs his head. "I sense my vocal pattern has returned without any repairs." He smiles.
Jay groans. "Ugh! He doesn't talk like a pirate anymore." He scowls, crossing his arms.
"How'd that happen?" Cole asks, looking at Fenwick.
"It was written." Fenwick states.
Jay walks towards a monk. "Hey, guys, he's writing about Dareth!" He accidentally spills ink on the scroll.
"However, their are a...chosen few....who cannot be....controlled by us..." Fenwick said mysteriously, his eyes going to a door ahead.
The Five
"What do you mean?" Kai asks in confusion.
"Just that your friend Lacey..." His smile looks a bit strained. "....cannot be controlled, we cannot write her destiny. We simply cannot, her destiny is greater than that....along with a select few." He chuckles, but it had no humor.
Cole and Kai frown, sharing confused looks.
"What do you mean?" Zane questions.
"Nothing." Fenwick shakes his head. "Nothing for you to know. It is not important."
Zane, Kai and Cole look at each other with confused frowns on their faces. They all glance at the intricate wooden door.
It was quite beautiful. The color of the wood was red, unlike all the other structures in the room. The door's design had a dragon carved into it, with four smaller dragons surrounding the large dragon. It then also had six small dragons all around the edge, almost as if a protective barrier for the five dragons.
It had a large lilac colored gem in the middle, it glinted in the light. The handle looked like it was made out of gold, but the door however, was locked.
What was that? What did it mean? Why could it defy destiny?
"Oh, poor Dareth!" A monk calls out.
Jay nervously laughs.
Kai then speaks up. "If you know what's going to happen next, then you know how important it is for us to get the Sword of Sanctuary."
Fenwick nods. "Yes, and I know you made a promise to save your friend Lloyd. Sadly, we cannot ensure promises, because we aren't allowed to choose sides." He then turns around, whispering. "And no one else will tell you this, but we had intended for Morro to stay in the Cursed Realm."
Cole raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'intended?' "
"He was never supposed to escape." Fenwick starts explaining. "He somehow defied destiny. And now we're playing catch up." He looks at Cole. "Do you think we wanted you to become a Ghost? That's preposterous. Ever since Morro broke free, things have been happening outside of our control. To be honest, we don't know how this will end."
"Then quit talking and give us the sword." Kai says impatiently. "We'll find the tomb and stop Morro."
"Look, we wanted to give it to you, but first, the Master Writer wants to see you." Fenwick tells them.
Kai rolls his eyes. "Fine, then show us to this 'Master Writer.' "
They all pass the door, no one noticed how the gem had blinked in a glowing form.
.....
Lacey sighs, holding her head. "This bloody migraine won't go away." She grumbles, sat next to Ronin.
To pass the time, Ghoultar dances to some music.
"Ugh."
Ronin eyes her carefully. "You don't look so hot."
"Thanks," She gives him a sarcastic smile. "It's not like my soulmate is on the line and I'm sick as hell."
He snorts. "You seem to be holding up fine. You've got strength, kid."
Lacey only moans, rubbing her temples. Atleast she was getting better, but it also seemed as if she was getting worse. The energy in her body was being drained and whatnot.
"Ghoultar did good?" He laughs.
Ronin scoffs. "Ha! With basic vocabulary? Not so much. But being big and nasty? You deserve a medal." He smirks.
"Ugh, I need to get out of here. That music is driving me insane." She gets up, quickly walking out.
Ghoultar smirks. "Remember deal you made with Soul Archer?"
Ronin sits up. "Quiet, you nasty ball of gas." He snaps, glaring at the ghost.
Ghoultar smirks. "Convincing you were back in Samurai Cave. Maybe time to make good." He crosses his arms.
Ronin scoffs. "I'll make good, but not now. Don't worry, I'll keep my end of the bargain just as long as Soul Archer keeps his."
"It will be our little secret." The ghost laughs.
....
Fenwick lead the ninja to a skiff.
"So this Master Writer, he'll decide if we get the sword just by looking at us?" Cole asks, sitting down.
Fenwick nods. "It is an important decision, one that will not only decide the fate of Ninjago, but the fate of the Sixteen Realms."
Kai stares at him. "Do you know what's inside the tomb?" He questioned.
"I do. Morro's after the Realm Crystal. It's the doorway to the Sixteen Realms."
"Wow!" Jay exclaims as they enter the clouds, a crystal is then shown, surrounded by a glinting light.
"It is a bridge to greater understanding...or a gateway to ruin." Fenwick tells them."When the First Spinjitzu Master created it, he knew the power to freely cross realms could never fall into the wrong hands, which is why he buried it with him in his final resting place. A tomb protected by impossible traps that only a Master of Spinjitzu could get by with the aid of the Sword of Sanctuary." He explains.
Cole frowns, shaking his head. "But I thought Morro just wanted to be the Green Ninja. What does he want with the Crystal?"
"It is not Morro who sees the power to ruin, but his master, the Preeminent."
"The Cursed Realm." Kai says as the realm is shown. "He's in charge?"
"Not he, but she. Queen of the Cursed, an evil so vengeful, she cannot crossover by any other magical means." Fenwick explains. "But if Morro uses the Crystal to free her, after cursing Ninjago, there will be no stopping her reign until every last Realm falls under her control."
They arrive at a building.
'We're here! Wasn't that a lovely ride?" Fenwick smiles pleasantly, getting off the boat with them following.
"Yeah, you paint a lovely picture." Kai says, sarcasm clear in his voice.
Fenwick opens the door. "Now if you just wait in here, I will be back with the Master Writer in a moment." The ninja walk in and Fenwick locks the door.
"Oh, look, a pinball machine!" Jay exclaims, walking over quickly. "Ah, it may not be a video game, but it's the next best thing."
The others observe the stuffed animals. "Strange place to meet this Master Writer." Zane says, looking around at all the toys.
Cole nods. "Yeah, I thought this place didn't have any distractions. Looks to me like they just shoved them all up here."
Jay laughs. "Yeah!"
"Hey, leave that stuff alone. We want to make a good first impression." Cole chides him, shooting him a small glare.
"Oh, just one game. Whoever had this high score is going down." Jay smirks.
The ninja hear a distant sound.
"That machine sounds strange." Zane trails off.
Jay loses the game and groans. He stops playing the game, but the sound won't stop. "Oh, that's not the machine!"
Kai looks around. "Then what is it?"
Nimbus comes out and roars at them.
.....
Nobu, a writer, is writing on a scroll when he gasps when the ink turns red.
"Master Writer! Master Writer! It's the ninja! They're in terrible trouble!" He runs towards Fenwick.
Fenwick smiles. "Of course they are." Nobu sees the Ghosts. "Do not be shy, our new guests and I have made a mutual arrangement. My destiny is secure. I am afraid the ninja's are not."
Nobu swallows hard. "Where did you send the ninja?"
Fenwick smirks. "I locked them away with Nimbus. I am sure Nimbus will love his new playthings."
"Now show me to the Sword of Sanctuary." Morro steps forward, bus gaze malicious.
......
The ninja scream as they are slowly approached by Nimbus.
"I don't think he likes you trying to break his record." Kai says, backing away.
"There goes our good first impression." Cole mutters.
"Is this the Master Writer? He's in charge of our destiny?" Zane says loudly, nearly tripping and falling over.
Kai scoffs. "Whoever he is, I don't think he's handing over the sword."
Jay tries to open the door. "It's locked. Why would it be locked!?" Nimbus grabs and shocks him.
"Okay, so...now...I...know...how...that feels." Jay says in a sing son voice, crackling with shock, he flinches.
Kai jumps behind a giant stuffed animal. "Over here, big guy." Nimbus hugs it.
"Ah. Oh, so you like your toys, huh?" Kai grabs a smaller toy. "Stay, big fella, or I'll break it. Stay, stay. Hurry, find a way outta here." He ordered.
Cole frowns, shaking his head at his stupidity "What am I doing? I'm a Ghost." He goes through the wall. "Oh, I'm such a dummy." He mutters.
Jay looks through the keyhole. "You can undo the locks!" He says.
"I'm a Ghost, not a locksmith. I need a key."
"Be the key, Cole. Be the key!" Jay calls out.
Cole blinks. "Oh, good idea." He goes inside the keyhole and frees the ninja.
Kai laughs. "You know, Cole. I'm starting to like you as a Ghost more and more."
"Look! Morro is here! With Fenwick!" Zane points towards the building that they were walking on.
"Oh, traitorous Fenwick!" Jay scowls. "I knew I didn't like that snob."
"Come on!" Cole tells them.
They leave without knowing he forgot to lock the door.
"The Sanctuary is on the top floor." Fenwick tells the Ghosts and Morro, he then turns around to leave.
Nobu hears the ninja climbing up as he was walking oj the bridge. He frowns in confusion before looking down at the bridge wall.
"Fingers tired. Legs about to give." Kai groans.
"Ow! Stop using my face as a foothold. You're not making this any easier." Jay snapped.
Nobu's eyes widen. "You're alive!" He smiles happily.
Kai scoffs. "No thanks to Fenwick." He rubs his hands.
Nobu sighs. "Fenwick's convinced there's no way to stop the Queen of the Cursed, so he's agreed to help Morro only to help himself. But he doesn't know you've escaped. You have to get the Sword of Sanctuary, or else Morro will have too big of an advantage."
Cole steps forward. "Tell us where it is."
Nobu points behind them. "The tallest tower. But you must hurry, they're already headed there."
"Guess there's no time to take the stairs." Kai starts smiling. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Airjitzu?"
"Cyclondo?" Jay says before he pauses. "Why isn't it catching on?" He groans.
"Be careful, little monk." Cole nods.
"You too." Nobu tells him.
"Ninja, go!" They use Airjitzu and use the skiffs as a platform.
"Sorry, just passing through." Cole apologized to a few monks, who stared at them with shock.
....
Morro approaches the Sword. "The Sword of Sanctuary." He sees the ninja in the reflection. "Aah!" He looks but sees no one. "Huh? Oh."
The ninja try to fight him as they enter, but he dodges all their moves.
"Too late. I know your every move." He laughs.
Kai scoffs. "We'll see about that." Morro jumps out the window after fighting them.
"I think he saw that too." Jay says.
"There he is." Kai says, pointing towards him.
"Get him." Cole orders but Morro escapes from them.
Kai groans. "I hate that sword."
"Why fight? I'll win every time." Morro mocks, dodging all their punches and kicks.
Cole scoffs. "Doesn't mean we can't try." Morro uses his Wind to throw bricks at them.
"Watch out!" Kai warns.
"Cyclondo!" Jay exclaims.
Morro smirks. "Bye, bye, ninja." He lands of a skiff Soul Archer and Bansha possessed. "Sing them a farewell song, Bansha." She screeches, making the ninja land on a skiff.
Cole groans. "Still passing through. Uh, on second thought, mind if we borrow your skiff?" He asks.
"The eye. Perfect. Now get us out of here!" Morro says, spotting the storm eye that was forming in the clouds.
"Aargh! How do you control this thing?" Cole snaps, trying to reign in the skiff.
Nimbus grabs their skiff. "Get him off! Morro's getting away!" Jay says, glancing at the Ghosts.
Nobu gasps. "I've got to do something!
He runs back to the library. "Fenwick, Fenwick, Fenwick, Fenwick. Aha!" He grabs a scroll. "Let's change Fenwick's destiny a bit."
Fenwick screams as Nimbus starts chasing him.
However, when he falls down, he spots a pair of red heels. He slowly looks up, paling with terror when he sees who it is. "Lady Amo-"
"Save it, Fenwick." The brown eyed, brown haired girl said, her glare like daggers. "Master picked you because of your wise nature, your not the Master Writer. Not anymore." Her voice was cold and sweet at the same time.
Nimbus whimpers, holding his stuffed teddy as he watched the pair.
.....
"Look! There!" Kai calls out, pointing towards the storm eye.
"Hold on to your buckets, gang. Looks like the ride ain't over yet!" Cole tells as they all go through the eye.
Jay screams. "Ah! Why aren't we flying anymore!?"
They catch up to Morro, sliding down the mountain next to him.
"Aha! Got you now!" Kai exclaims, smirking.
Morro scoffs. "You really think so?" He blows them in another direction.
"Obstacle detected. Collision certainty: 100 percent." Pixal tells Zane.
"Abandon ship!" He yells. The ninja used the debris as skis. "Ah! Haha. Hello, haven't we met before?"
"Don't they ever quit?" Morro groans in annoyance.
Kai slides on his sled. "Your ride is kind of slow, huh?" He runs into a tree.
Jay is riding in the front part of the skiff. "Oh, why do I get the uncontrollable sled!?" He yells.
"Hold on, Jay." Cole tells him.
Soul Archer aims an arrow at him but Jay dodges. "Haha, missed!" He laughs.
Soul Archer smirks. "I never miss."
Jay screams as the arrow chases him, but collides with a log instead. "Phew. Hahaha." He sighs in relief.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team are still trying to interrogate Ghoultar.
Wu raises an eyebrow. "Still won't talk, hmm? Guess it's time to bring in the "big buns." He's all yours, Misako."
Lacey stared at them, feeling nauseous at all the food they had brought out. She wasn't hungry, in fact, she was feeling the opposite. She didn't want to eat anything, she would throw up if she ate anything.
She couldn't hold anything down. It might have been one of the side effects of Lloyd being possessed.
Misako smiles innocently. "Puffy Potstickers?" She holds the delicious food out to him on a large plate.
Ghoultar yells. "Ghoultar not strong enough. Ghoultar want! Ghoultar tell everything!" He tries grab the food through the bars.
"Come in, Bounty! Come in! Hope your jets aren't cold, 'cause we're coming in hot!"
Lacey stands up straight at the sound of Kai's voice. They were back. Huh, that only took atleast a day or two.
Wu looks at them. "The ninja. Everyone to your stations." Misako drops the potstickers—and the keys.
Lacey runs behind them, or atleast, trying too run behind them. Her breathing picked up fast, she closes her eyes, trying to calm down her breathing.
"Morro has the Sword of Sanctuary." Misako says as they reach the bridge.
Kai's voice is heard. "We know what Morro wants with the tomb. He's after a crystal that can unleash the Preeminent to curse the Sixteen Realms."
Wu's face turns serious."Then we must work together to make sure that doesn't happen. Nya, get us into the action."
"You heard what he said."
"Why do you all run toward the action? We should be running away." Ronin groans at Nya's words.
On the water balloon cannon. Nya smirks. "Let's see how you like these water balloons." The Ghosts dodge it and it hits Jay instead.
"Hey! Watch it!" Jay yells out loudly for all of them to hear from a distance.
"Sorry!" She calls out. As she reloads the cannon, Ghoultar attacks her and Soul Archer aims an arrow at her. Ronin uses his Aeroblade to deflect the arrow before it hits her.
"Good job, Ronin. But who's flying the ship?" She frowns.
"That would be me, I guess." He says.
Ghoultar jumps off and lands on the Ghost skiff, weighing it down.
Morro glares at him. "You big oaf. How are you slowing us down? You're a Ghost!" He snaps.
Ghoultar smiles. "Ghoultar likes Puffy Potstickers." He rubs his tummy.
Wu is on the Bounty's anchor. "Need a lift?" Everyone but Kai climbs on.
"Kai!" Lacey snaps
Kai looks up at them. "Go! I can catch them."
Morro sees Kai using his Aeroblade on the Sword. "Watch out!" Kai damages their mast. "You again." He growls.
Kai scoffs, an amused glint in his brown eyes. "You say that as if it's a bad thing." He hangs on to their sail and gets on the skiff.
Jay runs along on the Bounty, near the railing. "Oh, I've lost sight of Kai."
"Keep following them." Wu ordered.
Morro narrows his eyes. "I guess both our fates are tested. The thing is, I already know how mine will end." He disarms Kai. "And now I know how yours will." He raises his sword.
"You'd fight someone unarmed?" Kai breathes out, trying to stall.
Morro hesitates. "That's a good question. Yes!" Just as he's about to strike, Lloyd stops him.
"Take the sword, Kai! I can't hold him much longer."
Kai blinks in shock, quickly getting up. "Lloyd?" He grabs the sword and Aeroblade. "You can fight him, Lloyd. You're stronger than he is. Just fight him. Lloyd! Fight him."
Morro regains possession and attacks him.
"Hate to spoil this next, but just 'cause you're in my friend's body, watch out!" Kai kicks him. "I think you're going down. Right..." He uses Airjitzu and the skiff falls off the cliff. "...now! Sorry, Lloyd."
Kai goes back to the Bounty and everyone cheers.
Wu walks towards him. "You got the sword, but how?"
Kai smiles. "How else? Working together. Lloyd fought Morro like a true hero."
"He's okay?" Lacey steps forward, holding the blanket tighter around her.
Kai nods at her, a smile on his face.
Cole looks at his friends. "If Morro defied destiny, then why not us?"
Zane chuckles. "He may have gotten Airjitzu first—"
Jay shakes his head. "Uh-uh, you mean Cyclondo?"
Zane sighs.
"But we got the sword!" Cole exclaims happily.
Everyone cheers.
Wu nods. "Now all we have to do is find the tomb, then it's smooth sailing."
Ronin smirks, speaking up. "But who here knows where the tomb is?"
Cole deflates. "Oh, man."
"Come on, you all seemed so confident!" Ronin points out.
"Seriously?" Lacey groans, rubbing her forehead.
"Ugh, you ruin everything!" Nya snaps.
******
Sorry for the late updates, I've been working on Calm Down a lot.
Athena ⚜️