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circus4apsycho8 · 2 years

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Umm hi can I request a morro/reader?.. thank you.

i love your writing btw 3>

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑!! 𝚒'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘. 𝚒 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘! 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘, 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎, 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚎𝚡𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚜!

epiphany. | morro x reader

Life with one of Ninjago’s saviors led you to several situations that you never would have expected to encounter. From evil, talking snake warriors to robot soldiers...Ninjago has seen a lot. You’ve seen enough to know that the ninja manage to find both enemies and allies alike in nearly every nook and cranny of the city. You’ve witnessed your fair share of weird, and by this point, it had all become somewhat normal.

You don’t particularly mind it, but oftentimes you find a small part of yourself craving that old sense of normalcy that you used to have – when it was just you and Morro while he had been training. Of course, you’re happy that he’s been doing so well, but the constant worry and stress has weighed on the two of you. With his missions came a sense of lingering fear that hovered over you, no matter how hard you tried to distract yourself.

You know that Morro can get irritated at your constant doting, but you can’t help it. He bottled far too much up, and more than a few times you had caught him trying to hide an injury or repress a concern he held. After all the time that the two of you have shared together, he’s still scared to be vulnerable around you.

And, if you’re being honest with yourself, you’re running out of ways to let him know that it’s okay for him to let his guard down around you. You’ve tried everything that you can think of – telling him, easing him into conversation, letting him have space...

You sigh, entering your kitchen as you check the time on your phone. It’s almost time for him to be home.

Anxiety pools in your stomach as you go about cleaning up the kitchen, thoughts darting between concerns. This can’t be healthy for the two of you. You need to find some way to fix it.

But what could you do? Morro is going to be tired when he gets home. What could you do that wouldn’t be too overwhelming?

As you finish up, an idea occurs to you. It’s not too over the top and would give the two of you a chance for some much-needed quality time.

Your plan doesn’t take much preparing – just gathering the necessary items and moving them to the bathroom, deciding to wait on the water so that it won’t get cold.

A few minutes later, you hear the door opening followed by the sound of Morro kicking his shoes off and shutting the door. Emerging from the bathroom quietly, you listen as Morro heaves an annoyed sigh as he drops his keys on the table. You elect to remain silent for a moment in an attempt to gauge his mood.

You peek into the hallway to find your boyfriend there, hair disheveled and lacking its usual ponytail. His dark eyes are sunken, face blank as he sets his wallet next to his keys. Yeah, he must have had a rough day.

“Hi, babe,” you coo cautiously, gently slipping your arms around his torso and pressing your cheek against his shoulder blade.

“Hey,” he mumbles, placing one of his hands atop yours.

“Rough day?” you inquire softly, slinking away slightly in case he needs a little bit of space.

He nods, running his fingers through his hair. Something about his clouded stare makes you think that there’s more to it than a typical rough day. The fact that his hair is down leads you to the realization that he probably has a headache.

“Go wait for me in the bathroom,” you say, deciding that you’ll bring him some painkillers.

“Huh? Why?” he wonders.

“You’ll see,” you reply, stepping into the kitchen so that you can fill a glass with water. “Now go.”

He obliges with no argument, only adding to your suspicions as you snatch a few painkillers from a cabinet before making your way to the bathroom.

You find Morro sitting on the edge of the tub quietly, staring at something in the distance. You enter, closing the door behind you.

“Here, take these,” you say, dropping the pills in his hand and giving him the glass.

He frowns, staring at them before looking up at you. “How did you know?”

“You always have your hair down when you have a headache,” you state, smiling softly.

He huffs in amusement before gulping them down. “Yeah. Guess so. Thanks.”

“Of course,” you mumble, watching as he swallows and sets the glass on the sink counter. You smile softly, taking a moment to turn on the water. You wait for it to warm up before plugging the drain.

“What are you doing?” he wonders.

“I was thinking we could take a bath together,” you admit. “But, if you want to be alone, that’s okay too. Whatever you want to do, babe.”

“Stay,” he grunts, sneaking his arms around your waist and pressing his face into your tummy. You giggle, running your hands through his hair.

“Okay, I’ll stay,” you reply. “Come on, let’s get undressed.”

Upon hearing this, he separates from you. You go to step away, but he catches your wrist.

“What is it?” you ask.

“Let me,” he replies, gently pushing your hands to the sides. Curiosity piqued, you remain quiet as you observe him.

Morro’s gaze shifts to your shirt. You study him as he slips his hands underneath, pressing them against the skin of your stomach. It’s then you realize how cold his hands are.

A few seconds later, they settle on your waist, but eventually they move to pull your shirt over your head, standing up as he does so. He lets the fabric flutter to the ground, forgotten.

The cold air pierces the skin casing your torso, causing you to shudder. The warmth of Morro’s body easily sweeps the cold away, though – especially when his forehead comes to rest against yours.

“I love you,” he mumbles, voice uncharacteristically quiet as he gazes at you.

“I love you too,” you reply, bringing your hands to his neck. “Tell me if you need anything, okay? I’ll listen if you need me to, I’ll give you space...whatever you need.”

He nods, hand slipping behind your neck so that he can pull you forward, allowing him to chastely kiss your forehead. You close your eyes in response, wondering what he’s thinking about to make him act like this. These past few minutes alone have made more progress than you have in the past few days.

You watch as Morro separates from you slightly, taking a second to pull his shirt off. You immediately go to lay your head on his shoulder, fingers tracing over the scars littered across his skin.

Morro seems to notice that the water is high enough, so he separates from you in order to turn the faucet off. You take the opportunity to undress fully, also putting all the dirty clothes in a pile for the time being.

Morro undresses too, tossing the articles atop the pile. You take a moment to snatch something from the counter while he’s not looking.

It’s an opaque, gray plastic bag. After tossing the bag, you hide its contents behind your back as you step in the tub. Morro follows you, eyeing your arms with a suspicious glance.

“What do you have?” he wonders, staring at you playfully.

“Nothing,” you chirp, smiling softly. “Here, let me wash your hair.”

He seems to shrug the matter off as he sits down with his back towards you. You kneel, leaning over his shoulder so that you can drop the mystery item in front of him.

“Really?” Morro grumbles, eyeing the rubber duck bobbing in the water in front of him.

You giggle slightly as he picks it up, examining it. “Isn’t that cute?”

“I guess,” he mumbles, studying it for a moment more before dropping it. The duck spins around for a second before steadying its momentum.

You hum softly as you squeeze shampoo into your hands, lathering it. Morro remains silent as you scrub his hair, taking your time. You’d missed playing with his hair. Once you’re finished with the shampoo, you reach for the nearby plastic cup on the edge of the tub. After dipping it in the water to fill it up, you hold it over his head.

“Close your eyes,” you warn, waiting a second before dumping it over. You repeat the process until the shampoo is out.

As you prepare the conditioner, Morro begins speaking again:

“Hey...I...I’m sorry,” he says quietly.

“Why?” you wonder. “You haven't done anything wrong.”

“But I’ve been distant...”

“Nothing necessarily wrong with that from time to time. I know that you need time to think sometimes.”

“But it was different. These last few weeks, I mean,” he corrects. “And...I think I’m finally ready to tell you why.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” you encourage, interest piqued as you condition his hair.

He’s silent for a split second before he begins:

“Well...we had this mission a few weeks ago. Probably more like a month by now,” he notes. “And prior to that, Sensei kept droning on and on about how I needed to redirect my anger. And at first, I just thought he was...well, you know. Saying his old-timer wise stuff like he always does, so I never really thought much of it.” Morro stops, tensing slightly. “That is...until the mission.”

You remain silent, rinsing his hair out again before he continues:

“I didn’t really tell you what all happened, and why I just...didn’t come back for a few days,” he mumbles.

You recall that week with a bitter frown, remembering how worried you’d been.

“We were called to respond to a terrorist threat,” he notes. “And, during it, I got shot.”

“Shot?!” you exclaim. “Wait...Morro. No...”

“I did,” he says as he turns to you, gesturing towards a scar on his chest. Your expression completely drops as you notice a subtle but new scar. You eye it in disbelief, gently caressing it with your fingers.

“You got fucking shot and didn’t tell me?!”

Morro takes your hands in his, prompting you to eye him. There’s no sassy response, no attitude cutting back at you. Just his eyes asking for you to listen.

“I’m sorry,” you mumble, anger creeping away.

He shakes his head. “No. It’s okay. It didn’t hit anything major, somehow. So, Zane patched it up and told me to rest. That’s why I stayed at the monastery there. Part of that was because I didn’t want you to worry. But...there was something else. Something that I was confused about and had to work through. Something I had to get advice on. Something that I’m only now beginning to understand.”

Morro’s grip on your hand tightens as he stares at you, continuing his explanation: “I saw my life flash before my eyes. I saw you – and that split second made me realize that I would lose everything I had. You. My friends, no matter how much they piss me off...everything. And I laid there, thinking about that same train of thought I had in the infirmary...just...picturing these different scenarios. What if I died before I could tell you what was wrong? What if I died and we were married? What if we decided to have kids, and then I died fighting? Just...all of these scenarios, and...it was so overwhelming, because I’ve never felt that kind of fear before. I never felt that fear before I met you.”

He takes a moment to inhale. “So, I asked Sensei Wu about it – what, exactly, is that fear? Why is it just coming up now? And he told me that it was a side effect of being in love. Just that...horrifying feeling of potentially never being able to go back to the ones you love.”

“Morro...” you trail off, unshed tears lining your eyes as you clutch onto his hand. All of this he was tormented with...and yet, you never suspected...

“That made me realize what Sensei meant,” he mumbles. “I have to direct my anger into protecting you and making sure that I can come home. I love what I do, yes, but...I love you more. You’re my priority.”

“Morro,” you whisper, going to hug him. He returns the embrace tightly as you bury your face in his neck. “I love you too. I love you so much. More than you could ever know.”

The two of you stay like that for a while, bare skin sticking together as the two of you simply embrace. Soon enough, you loosen your death grip on him, pulling back so that you can press a kiss to his lips.

After the two of you separate, you rest your forehead on his. His eyes are somewhat lidded as one his hands comes up to your cheeks.

“Hey,” he says suddenly, causing you to look at him. “Marry me?”

You can’t help but laugh, looping your arms around his neck as you nod. Ever the straightforward partner, he is. “Of course, jackass. Let’s do it.”

With that, you’re kissing him again. This time, he pushes you so that you’re against the wall, your arms around his neck again. You can’t help but smile as you kiss him.

“I have my mom’s ring that I’ll give you,” he notes, pressing another kiss to your temple. You curl up against his chest, linking one of your hands with his.

“Thank you,” you mumble, closing your eyes momentarily. It’s finally happening – you're engaged to the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. “I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I,” he admits.

“Just...be careful, please,” you request, peering up at him.

“I will. I won’t be as reckless as I used to be. I’ll make sure that I can come home.”

“Thank you. That makes me feel a bit better.”

“I feel better too,” he notes as the two of you sit up. “Okay, I’m getting cold. Let’s finish up, yeah?”

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚒 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍! 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚐𝚘 𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗; 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘!

#ninjagoxreader #ninjago x reader #morroxreader #morro x reader

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circus4apsycho8 · 2 years

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more. | morro x reader | chapter i

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚑𝚒 𝚊𝚕𝚕! 𝚊 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢: 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝟸 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚢𝚍 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚊 𝚔𝚒𝚍, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚔𝚒𝚙 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝟻 𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝.

𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚖, 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚒𝚌 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎, 𝚜𝚎𝚡𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚜

more. | morro x reader | chapter i

[ prologue ]

Some truths are difficult for us to bear. Some hurt. Some deceive. Some kill.

You trained a lot; in fact, you were stronger than your teammates. For a while, it was all you could focus on: getting better, growing stronger, becoming respected and not feeling helpless.

Over time, you finally gained the respect you so desperately craved. People stopped viewing you as The Girl. They accepted you as a warrior. As a ninja. As a hero.

A part of you craved to hear phrases like that. To truly be strong, people have to tell you that you are, right? You started to believe what they said. Their words granted you a twisted sense of pride and strength like you’ve never felt before. It could almost be a high, in a way.

And you only wanted more.

Though, in order to get more, you had to do more.

Defeat more enemies, Keep being the hero. Their praise left you breathless with a racing heart that demanded more.

Sensei Wu was the first to notice your true motivators. You could lie to him all you wanted, but that glint in your eye was all-too-familiar for him. He hated it, but was unsure of how he could save you.

Gradually, your way of thinking festered into something nasty. Something spiteful. Something that Sensei Wu began to fear, for he had seen its effects once before. He did not want to see them again.

Your father warned you that this would happen. Yet you refused to listen.

No one is invincible. No matter how much you train, no matter how much time you pour into bettering your combat and honing your element…it only heightens your chance of winning. It does not guarantee your survival. Nothing does.

And you are about to become a prime example of that.

…

[ chapter i | present day ]

You have to breathe.

Pulsating waves of pressure oscillate throughout your head as Cole drives his shoulder into your jaw, arms pinning yours down.

Vision going blurry, you grit your teeth in an attempt to withstand his sheer strength; it fails to help much. Instead, you’re left struggling to breathe as he increases the pressure on you, probably seconds away from crushing you.

That thought sparks one last surge of fight in you as you jerk your chin out from under his shoulder, mouth immediately latching onto his shoulder as your teeth clamp down onto his skin. He grunts in pain, flinching in response. That gives you enough space to yank his neck down into your arms, coiling your arms in a manner that will choke him once you roll him over.

With a frustrated shout, you use your weight to force him to his side, tightening your hold around his neck. Finally, you feel his resistance slowing down, not feeling the frantic tapping on your arms as your mind zeroes in on making damn sure your submission works.

It takes a few seconds, but soon enough, you hear people yelling. Dismissing the shouts as people cheering, you increase your pressure, hoping he will submit.

Much to your dismay, you feel hands snatching your arms up, pulling you away from Cole. You snap out of your haze, immediately turning to whoever dared to interrupt what was bound to be well-earned submission.

Mind not willing to listen to reason, you immediately raise your fist, slamming it into the perpetrator’s face. A short yell emanates from Kai as he stumbles away from you, hand coming to nurse his nose.

“What the fuck is your problem?!” he spits as blood drips between his fingers. “He tapped and you didn’t let go!”

“He didn’t fucking tap!” you yell, glaring at the brunet.

“Yes, he did!” Kai replies. “You get too carried away to see that you’re actually hurting us! No wonder why we don’t like training with you.”

“What on earth is going on?!” comes the voice of your so-called mentor, Wu. You snarl as you and Kai separate, both staring each other down.

“Sensei, she went too far again!” Kai yells, pointing an accusatory finger at you.

“Kai, I will handle this. Help Zane get Cole inside.”

Kai closes his mouth, still reluctant to retreat. A stern glare from Wu makes him turn his back, though.

A deep sigh emanates from your uncle as Kai proceeds to help Zane lift Cole, who must be unconscious. You huff, folding your arms as the others exit the training deck.

“My young niece…” Sensei Wu drawls, exhaling exasperatedly as he turns towards you. “We’ve been through this.”

You remain silent, unsure of what else there is to say to him. You’ve been through this before and you feel like he should understand your view by now.

“I wish your father was here to help guide you,” he states, shifting his bamboo staff to his other hand.

“I don’t get it, though. You always say ‘iron sharpens iron’ and yet you’re getting mad at me for training harder!”

“There is...a line, of sorts. It’s good to train against peers, but you needn’t hurt them. They are your teammates, yet you are treating them like they’re the enemy!”

“But that’s not realistic,” you spit. “We’re going to get hurt. We have to train realistically. There’s no other choice! I have to treat them like the enemy!”

“My niece...” Wu sighs. “I am beginning to fear for you. This mindset you have adapted...it is dangerously reckless. Training with your peers is surely a means to better yourself, but you cannot continue to treat them how you have been.”

“They’re weak. You’ve gone soft, and so have your students,” you say, turning to the entrance of the monastery. “Don’t fucking worry about me when I’m the only one that’s training well. They’re the ones that need to get their act together.”

Wu remains silent as he watches you slam the door to the Bounty closed, an ache seeping through his heart as he glances up towards the sky. He recognizes that fire in your eyes all too well; and he was hoping he would never have to see it again.

...

You sigh, packing your belongings. Where are you going? You don’t know and you don’t care. You’re just sick of being here, not getting the training that you need.

You’re in the middle of stuffing a shirt into your bag when a knock comes from the door. You sigh, slowly opening it.

Standing there is your little brother, Lloyd. Blonde hair tousled, black clothes wrinkled, and eyes teary.

“Lloyd...” you say softly, bending down to his level. “Did you hear all of that?”

He nods, wiping a tear away with his sleeve. “Yeah.”

You sigh, pulling him inside and closing the door, letting him sit on your bed. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you think I’m weak?”

“What? Of course not,” you say, bending down to his level.

“But I’m small. And I can’t fight like you guys can. I don’t have any powers. If you think the ninja are weak, then I’m even weaker.”

“Lloyd...” you sigh, pulling him in for a hug. “There’s a lot more to it than that. To make a long story short, you're a tough kid, and after everything we went through? I think it’s awesome that you’re here with us now, and didn’t give those mean kids at Darkley’s what they wanted.”

“Really?”

“Really,” you say, smiling softly. “I think you’re the strongest kid I know.”

He smiles, but then spots the packed bag on your bed. “Are you leaving?”

“Yeah, just for a mission,” you state, zipping the bag up.

“But I don’t want you to go!”

“I have to, Lloyd,” you say quietly.

“Why?”

“I need to get stronger.”

“But you’re already strong! You beat Kai up yesterday!”

You chuckle softly, running your hand through his hair. “I know, but I need to get better.”

“But you’re the strongest person I know! How can you get stronger?”

“Well...just remember that there’s always someone better than you,” you answer, standing up.

“Wait! I don’t want you to go!”

You sigh, slinging your bag onto your shoulder. “I’m sorry, Lloyd. This is something I have to do.”

“Then take me with you! Take me with you! That way I can learn to fight and stuff!”

“I can’t risk putting you in danger like that.”

“Please?”

“No. I’m sorry, Lloyd. I’ll be back soon.”

Your heart breaks as you hear him beginning to sob as you exit your room, with him following you and begging you not to leave. Tears lining your eyes, you close them, reminding yourself of what you must do.

“Don’t leave me!” Lloyd yells. “Please!”

You exit the Bounty doors, stepping onto the deck where the ninja now are. You spot Cole now awake, all four standing together and staring at you.

Kai scowls as he steps in front of Lloyd, taking him into his arms. Your brother flails, now sobbing as Kai embraces him. As much as the fire ninja got on your nerves, you’re glad he’ll be there for Lloyd.

You don’t deserve to have a brother as loving as Lloyd. He deserves a better sibling than you.

That thought echoes in your mind as the team watches your movements. You pause at the edge of the Bounty, staring down at the fall with a hazy gaze.

You take a deep breath, easily stepping off and allowing the wind to encompass your being. You orient yourself so that you’re facing the Bounty, watching it get smaller and smaller as the ground approaches.

At the last second, you summon your dragon, making sure you’re out of the Bounty’s view before you ascend above the clouds again.

...

[ months later ]

An airy smile crosses your lips as you down another shot, impressed with the flavor. Ultra Violet cheers from her spot beside you, the both of you having a mini-celebration in Ronin’s secret club.

“Girl, you’re a fuckin’ machine!” she yells, smacking you on the back.

You offer a drunken laugh, disoriented but overall in a decent mood. “I know.”

“Now, what do you say we show these fuckers how to really dance?” she offers, nudging you with her elbow as you recognize that mischievous tone in her voice. You giggle stupidly, nodding.

“Let’s do it with Kuzuryu’s boys,” you suggest, a wicked grin settling on your face as she cackles.

“No shit? You really want to?”

“Hell yes I do,” you reply before lowering your voice slightly. “Maybe if we cause big enough of a scene, Ronin will give us free shots again.”

“You bitch,” Ultra Violet says, cackling. “I’m so down. Come on!”

With that, two of you make your way out onto the dance floor, openly displaying your faces to the guards surrounding the area. Ronin had hired them from a local mafia, one that just so happened to be offering a bounty for both you and UV – dead or alive. You both had done a good job of hiding your faces until now.

The two of you dance sloppily, waiting for the magic to happen as the guards start whispering amongst themselves. You find yourself facing UV at a close distance, a smirk lining your lips. “Are we about to kiss right now?”

“Maybe after we take these chucklefucks out,” she answers, winking at you. For some reason, that makes you break out into a giggle fit as the guards slowly begin walking towards the two of you.

“Oh, they’re coming hard,” your friend says, practically waiting for you to finish out the extremely overused and predictable joke:

“That’s what she said,” you reply, causing the two of you to snicker as the guards approach.

“Sorry to ruin the mood, ladies,” the guard states, eyeing both of you. “But our boss needs to have a word with you.”

“About what?” you drawl.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Nuh-uh!” UV sings, smirking ever-so-slightly.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about. Now, you can either come with us, or we can do it the hard way,” he replies, shifting the fabric of his suit aside so that he can reveal the gun settled within a holster at his hip.

That settles it – you and UV spring into action, your quick movements not expected from two estranged and supposedly drunk women.

Your elbow becomes planted into the guy’s jaw, effectively knocking him out. He collapses on the floor, causes the other partygoers to halt as they observe.

Another guard catches your attention as they dart towards the two of you. You knew Ronin would have their heads should they dare to fire a gun within a club, which works in your advantage.

Ultra Violet takes one guy while you take the other. Your knee rams into his gut, effectively compromising his posture so that you can slam an elbow onto the back of his neck. He collapses, and you release a shaky exhale as the thrill of combat floods throughout your veins.

UV finishes up her guy shortly after, and you’re about to provoke more of the guards when the man himself comes out from his office, a less-than-happy expression on his face.

“Come on, everyone. Can’t we just have a nice night?” Ronin yells, sighing as the party quiets down. “Ladies, if you need to release some pent-up steam, I've got tons of jobs available for you two. Just don’t send my guys to the hospital, please. I pay good money for them.”

“Sorry, Ronin,” you reply in a singsong tone. “They came onto us first. What can you expect a gal to do?”

He shakes his head with a soft smile. “You know, not much else when it comes to the two of you, sweetheart.”

“Aw, he’s sweet-talking me again,” you coo, giggling.

Ronin chuckles. “No more sending my boys to the hospital, please. Otherwise, the two of you are fine to continue on with your night.”

…

After parting ways with UV for the night following another round of drinks, the two of you promise to meet up in the afternoon of the following day.

You find yourself stumbling to the cheap, one-bedroom apartment you’d been renting for the past few months. It wasn’t much, but it was home.

The last few months had been...strange. After joining up with Ronin and then UV on a few jobs, the two had become your crowd to hang out with. Their jobs were fun, exciting, and sometimes even challenging. You had learned a lot about the treasures Ninjago held during your time with Ronin – you were curious to discover what secrets they held, and how you could use them to your advantage.

Of course, you trained still, but even now you still find that no one is willing to go as hard as you liked. Ultra Violet is probably the closest one who will go your pace, but she’s usually busy with other jobs that she receives from her gang.

Hah. It’s all ironic, really – look how low you’ve sank. You went from a prestigious warrior of the Spinjitzu Masters to nothing but a rowdy alcoholic. You would almost say that you’ve nearly switched sides, with the only buffer at this rate being Lloyd. Even so, the guilt is gradually wearing you down, and that’s when you noticed you were starting to change – both physically and mentally.

With these negative influences entering your life, your inner Oni had slowly begun taking control of your appearance. Inch by inch, your skin is turning to the midnight black of your father’s form, laced with wicked purple veins. It’s up to your elbows now, in splotches elsewhere. Your father warned you that your element – destruction – made you far more susceptible to the evil’s influence, and yet you completely discarded his warning.

To sum it all up – if you haven’t already switched sides, you will soon whether you like it or not.

And damn did you miss your dad. You missed Lloyd. Your mother, on the other hand, well...you could really care less about. But the epiphany struck you one night that you are just as bad as she is. Leaving Lloyd? That was the reason you were mad at her in the first place. But now, you have no right to speak. No right to call yourself his big sister. No right to ever see him again because he’s better off with the ninja. Without you.

That thought often haunts you, but you do your best to continue on with the fragments of your life, wondering if there’s a point in attempting to find some kind of purpose. Crimefighting no longer suits you. That thought somewhat makes you sad, but on the other hand...it also excites a newfound part of your personality. Probably the Oni. The idea of not being bound by the law sounds almost freeing now. Imagine the range of people you could fight now!

And those opportunities? They were nearly limitless – you could join your father and embrace your Oni, make your own cult off of some bullshit belief, or something of the like, you could enact your own plan to take over Ninjago. Who knows! With your power and strength? Hell, you could really do a lot of damage.

That thought brings a twisted smile to your lips as you ponder it for a moment. You may not be strong in the ideal sense, but damn you are powerful. The question is...what would you do with your element? What will your end goal be?

Hmm. Definitely food for thought, and probably something better weighed on a sober mind. You stand, the change making you slightly dizzy for a moment. After you recover, you gather what you need before setting out.

...

You know what you’re doing.

A soft hum escapes your lips as you saunter through the darkness-laced streets of Ninjago, not a care in the world as you go about your nightly stroll.

Through your upbeat hum and tipsy mind, you feel that urge again – the one that begs you to grant your body the adrenaline rush of a fight. A fight that would make your opponent collapse. That tingle continues as you saunter through the darkened streets. Normally, women would walk the sketchy streets of Stiix in fear. Not you. People understand the threat you pose here, and you like that.

Now, you want trouble. Whatever form it came in didn’t matter to you.

The darkness envelopes your figure, aiding in your hunt as your hum treks on. For a few minutes, your mind wanders off to other matters, eyes trained on your feet as you peruse the street.

You don’t notice anyone nearby until a few moments later, when suddenly your senses detect a pair of eyes lingering on your figure.

A simper crosses your lips as you draw the malicious intent from the atmosphere, its energy gathering at the tips of your fingers in the form of your element – destruction. You still, waiting for the adversary to make the first move.

Seconds later, you spot a figure stepping out of the shadows. You don’t hesitate in inducing an explosive magic circle underneath the adversary that sets off right away.

A male shout emanates from his position as his corpse falls to the ground. Another yell comes from your right – much, much closer than the previous one. Without looking, you slam your elbow upwards, hitting what feels like a jaw. Attention now on this man, you drive a hefty hook into his jaw before kicking him backwards and onto the ground.

Next up, you hear a mighty battle cry coming from a guy trying to rush you with a knife. Your hands immediately latch onto the knife-bearing wrist, one foot coming to smash into his knee. Easily disarming the knife, you slash it across his throat, listening to his dying gurgles as blood spews everywhere.

Knife in your dominant hand, you twirl to greet the next opponent, sinking it into his chest before tugging it back out. He stumbles backwards, collapsing onto his back as he attempts to say something.

You chuckle darkly, stepping over him. “What was that?”

“We...we’ve got you now, bitch.”

As soon as that statement finishes, a loud sound echoes throughout the dark streets, coming from a distance and above you.

It begins as a slight pain, embedding itself in the space between your neck and shoulder. You find yourself falling, attempting to brace yourself but failing. The heat intensifies as the darkness becomes overbearing for the first time since you were a kid. You think your hand is blindly coming to grope your shoulder – just to see the extent of the damage, but you can’t feel your hand. You can’t feel anything.

Against the darkness, you think you see silhouettes. Are there actually people? Probably. You’re probably screwed, huh?

Somehow, that doesn’t scare you. In fact, you feel...warm. The heat isn’t as intense now – dying, like a flame deprived of oxygen. You can’t seem to speak anymore.

But that’s okay.

This had been a long time coming for you. Karma is a bitch, after all, and now you’re glad you’re getting what you deserve – to no longer be a burden. To no longer be useless. To no longer be weak.

You take what you know to be your final breath, eyes fluttering shut as your murderers drag your corpse off of the streets, ready to be hidden for what you hope to be an eternity.

#ninjago #ninjago x reader #morro x reader #reader insert #morroxreader

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circus4apsycho8 · 3 years

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ethereal. | morro x pregnant!reader

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚒 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚜𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎. 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚕𝚎 :) 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚒𝚍𝚔 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚝?

Someone once told you that the present is a gift.

For the longest time, you had disagreed. The present was merely a haze of activity; something everyone was acquainted with. How could it be a gift? It wasn’t. Nothing about the present had been beautiful for a long time.

Despite this, the idea of an ethereal present gently envelopes your mind as you tune back into your surroundings. A soft sigh escapes you as you tilt your head against the tree, the breeze trickling across your skin. The grass pokes your palms as you reposition yourself, listening to the distant yells of your friends. That phrase – “the present is a gift” – gradually was beginning to make more sense to you.

On a typical evening, you would have joined them in their antics. After all, the present is gifting you all perfect summer weather: it isn’t too hot nor is it too cold. A golden glow peaks through the clouds so that it may delicately cast its audience in an auric state.

It’s no wonder why Lloyd dragged everyone out for a match of frisbee (with a violent twist). The roughhousing had become second nature to you during your years with the group. If it weren’t for the baby developing within you, you would certainly have joined.

Even so, you don’t regret it one bit, no matter how terrifying the idea is. You release a deep sigh, willing yourself to breathe deeply as you settle a hand onto your tummy. Eyes fluttering shut, you allow yourself to delve into the moment.

Perhaps you were simply in too much of a hurry to realize how beautiful life can be. Or maybe you just didn’t understand. Either way, I forgive myself. I have learned, and I will savor the present as best I can from now on.

Moments pass as you fall further into your meditative state, not allowing any thoughts to manifest as you smile smally. The distant shouts of your friends subside into a gentle echo as your consciousness sinks further into your haze.

Despite how deeply centered you are, your heightened senses still detect the footsteps coming your way. With a deep breath, you gradually open your eyes.

“Did I wake you?”

Before you stands your husband-to-be, Morro. You shake your head, taking a second to admire his simple outfit of worn sweatpants and a soft, cotton t-shirt. His dark hair has been thrown into a messy high ponytail with a few strands attempting escape. The dirt stains on the knees of his pants don’t go unnoticed by you, though.

“I was just thinking,” you reply as he comes to sit next to you.

“Good things?”

“Mostly. I’m just…adjusting, I guess,” you mumble, gratefully snuggling into his side when he slings an arm around your shoulders.

“I get that,” he replies, setting his free hand on top of your tummy. “It’s a scary thought, huh?”

You nod, shifting your hand so that you can trace the callouses on his knuckles. “It really is.”

“I’ll be with you the whole way,” he mumbles, pressing a chaste kiss to your temple. “I promise.”

That makes you giggle as you lean on him, his hands still on your belly. “You’re adorable, you know?”

His signature scowl crosses his face once more as he glances away, a light blush tainting his cheeks. “Shut up.”

“No,” you say mischievously.

Morro huffs, turning back towards you to scrunch his face up disapprovingly. You roll your eyes with a small laugh, loving that you get to experience his soft side more often.

A comforting silence settles over the two of you as you once more gaze out to the horizon. And although you’d love to join your friends in their fun, you also have come to realize what Sensei meant about the present being a gift. It is here. It is gone. It is now. It is ethereal.

That thought invokes a smile; how lovely it is to be in the now.

#ninjago #reader insert #ninjago x reader #morro x reader #morroxreader

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circus4apsycho8 · 3 years

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all yours. | morro x reader

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚊 𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚖 𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚒 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 :) 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚞 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚓𝚊. 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢!

“Back already?”

“Got out early for once,” Morro answers as he pushes his way through the door. “Why, don’t want me here?”

You giggle as you stand, quietly padding over to him. After he kicks his shoes off, he turns to you with a small smirk. You take the opportunity to wind your arms around his neck, smiling when you feel his arms circling around your waist.

“Nope. I don’t want you here.”

He chuckles tiredly, gaze flicking down to your lips as he presses his nose against yours. “Fine. I’ll go spend the night at the monastery.”

“Noooo,” you say playfully, bringing your hands to his neck so you can gently rub his skin. “I want snuggles!”

“Woman, your hands are freezing. Please move them.”

You simper lightly as you slide your hands to his cheeks. “Is that better?”

“No, but I can think of a few ways to warm you up.”

You snort, happy to see a small smile crossing his lips. “Oh?”

“I have a proposition for you.”

“And that is?”

“Do my hair before we go to bed?”

“Of course, babe,” you say, sneaking a chaste kiss to his lips. “You know I always love doing your hair.”

“Thank you,” he mumbles softly as he lowers his head to your shoulder. You hum in response, threading your fingers through his hair. He must be awfully tired to let the banter stop so early.

“Why don’t you go ahead and shower?” you suggest, taking a moment to press a kiss against the skin below his ear. “You seem tired.”

He nods, hands still looped around your waist as he gently kisses your forehead. “Sounds good.”

With that, he heads off to the shower. You set about turning off the lights, locking up, and straightening end-of-day matters out before walking into the bedroom with a yawn.

You settle on your bed while waiting for Morro, making sure to hook both of your phones to their respective chargers. Everything else seems to be done, so you sit quietly as you hear the water shutting off.

Moments after, your boyfriend emerges in a pair of grey sweatpants. A towel is slung around his neck, long hair messy and damp. You spot a rubber band on his wrist while his hands bear a brush and bottle of detangler.

“Come here, baby,” you invite, moving so that you’re sitting on the edge of your bed. Morro obliges with a small nod, settling between your legs so that the back of his head is within reach.

You set to work by drying his hair as best you can with the towel on his neck, taking your time with each lock. Once it’s a bit drier, you start brushing it. His hair always was horribly tangled since he had to train with the others, so it took a little extra TLC to get it back to its normal state.

Morro seems to sense that it’s time to brush, because he raises his arm to hand you his favorite bottle of spray detangler. You chuckle, quietly thanking him as you grab it. As you spray it onto his hair, you feel his fingers absentmindedly tracing the skin on your shins. It makes you wonder what he’s thinking about.

After the detangler has been applied, you take a moment to rub it in before snagging the brush. You start on the left side and gently work your way through the messy bits.

“Let me know if I hurt you,” you say, eyes focused on your task. He only hums an acknowledgment.

After a few minutes, all of the tangles have finally been worked out. You check once more for any you might have missed, but there are none. With that, you set the brush aside.

“Are you going to let it air dry tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Want it up or down?”

He raises his arm again, bending his wrist down so he can hook a finger through the rubber band and pull it off. “Up, please.”

You take the band from him, gathering his dampened hair in one hand before loosely tying it up. Once it’s done, you let go of it, smiling at your work.

“How’s that?” you ask as he stands, tossing his towel in its rightful spot.

“Perfect,” he answers while returning the brush and detangler to the bathroom. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. I always love playing with your hair.”

He mumbles something as he walks back in, pushing the blanket aside so he can join you.

“What was that?” you ask, laying down and facing him.

“I like it when you do my hair,” he confesses softly. You giggle, scooching closer to him so you can rest a hand on his cheek.

“I’m glad that you do,” you reply, rubbing soft circles into his skin with your thumb. “And if I’m not mistaken, you still need to hold up your end of the bargain.”

“I’m all yours, babe. Cuddle away.”

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚓𝚊𝚐𝚘 𝚡 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗; 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘!

#ninjago #ninjagoxreader #morro x reader #morroxreader #reader insert #drabble #fluff #one shot

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circus4apsycho8 · 3 years

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earth, wind, and fire. | chapter i

𝚊/𝚗: 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢’𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝, 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎. 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌, 𝚒'𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢.

earth, wind, & fire. | cole, kai, & morro x reader | chapter i

Another one down.

You absentmindedly gaze at the fire blazing before you, the flames eating away at the remains of a supernatural creature. Eyes entranced within the dancing colors, you cross your arms over your chest and release a heavy sigh.

Another day, another evil struck down by yours truly. I’ve done something good…but why don’t I feel satisfied?

You sigh, taking a moment to just breathe as you settle down cross-legged on the grass. You pick up your knife from where you had tossed it down earlier, wiping the blade off using the grass. The blood smears across the ground, but it gets off most of the gunk.

“I don’t understand how you can sit that close to the fire with that smell. It’s been almost a year of being your partner and I still can’t get used to it.”

“The smell of what?” you ask, turning to face none other than Ronin, your partner of almost a year. Despite being one of the most dangerous mercenaries in Ninjago, even Ronin had trouble dealing with supernatural targets. Ever since you had saved him from the clutch of a demon that fateful day nearly a year ago, the two of you had remained partners since.

Well, not exactly partners – he was the one who gave you the contracts and paid the money. Even so, he still was frustrated by his limited knowledge of the supernatural, which is why he travels with you rather than doing his own thing. He’s a quick learner, and you think that he could handle himself by now.

Yet, you enjoy his company. He’d become one of your closest friends.

“Burning corpses,” he answers, standing a fair distance away from the fire.

“Oh,” you reply, frowning. “I don’t know, honestly. I guess I just got used to it.”

“I don’t think I could ever get used to it,” Ronin mutters. “I’ll just sit over there.”

With that, he makes his way over to a little makeshift chair – one that he had made a few months ago, when the two of you had first discovered this place. It’s simply comprised of a fallen tree trunk that he had pushed against another tree. A hefty sigh escapes him as he leans against the bark of the tree, crossing his arms underneath his head.

Now that he’s away from the fire, the mercenary looks rather calm tonight: donning a pair of well-worn jeans and a dirty, white tank top. His eye mech has been replaced by a normal eyepatch for the time being.

“Is it almost done?”

Nodding in reply, you say: “Yeah. Just waiting for this last bit to finish burning, then cleanup and we’ll be done for the day.”

“Good. I’m ready for a drink.”

“Me too.”

“I’m regretting not bringing anything strong out here, but hell. At least the weather’s nice tonight,” Ronin comments, gaze shifting to the stars. You nod in agreement, closing your eyes as a breeze gently tousles your hair. You turn your gaze to the forest clearing before you:

This is the spot you and Ronin always use to cremate corpses. The place has been enchanted with evil-containing magic (even better: evil-containing magic that doesn’t affect you!) that prevents anything from spawning inside or entering. Additionally, this spot is angled in such a way that the smoke is concealed from the city. This clearing is circled by the trees of the seemingly never-ending forest leading to the outskirts of the city.

There are a few stars dotting the sky, though. You wish you could see more, but the lights of New Ninjago City are too bright for that. What a shame.

“You’re right. It’s the perfect weather for cremating a corpse,” you note. “I wish we could go stargaze somewhere darker. Areas close to the city are way too bright for stargazing.”

“You could try Stiix,” the mercenary suggests, not taking his eyes off of the skies. “Used to go up to the docks there and watch the sky early in the mornin’.”

“That sounds nice,” you say, smiling. “I haven’t been stargazing in years.”

“Well, maybe we can go when we make our back there. By the way…” Ronin straightens his posture before standing and making his way over to REX. “I think a found a lead for ya, sweetheart.”

“A lead?”

“Yeah. See for yourself.”

You stand and face him, catching the envelope when he throws it at you. You frown, flipping it upright and examining it.

Nothing is really out of the ordinary – it’s just an envelope. The only writing on it is containing within the wax stamp enclosing the paper.

“Master Chen?” you wonder, cracking the envelope open. “Oh shit, I remember this fucker.”

Before you had escaped Chen’s island, your father had taken you there when you were young – when you had been separated from your brother. Starting that day, you had trained with the evil contaminating that island in order to develop your own power.

You sigh, pushing those thoughts away. Instead, you focus on what the paper inside reads:

Master Chen has personally invited you to participate in his Tournament of Elements. Secrecy is of the utmost importance. Tell no one, or suffer the consequences. Meet on the pier at midnight and leave your weapons behind.

“Tournament of Elements?” you wonder aloud, not really caring about the warning.

“And Chen’s hosting it?” Ronin questions. “Seems kinda sketchy.”

You sigh, flipping the paper over to examine it before you stand and walk over to REX, setting the letter back on the seat. “Definitely. There’s no way he doesn’t have anything planned.”

“Considering the amount of elemental power that would be present there…” Ronin whistles. “Yeah, I’ll leave this one to you, sweetheart.”

You chuckle. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you about anyways.”

“Then why’d ya tell me?”

“Because fuck Chen.”

The mercenary laughs softly. “You gonna go? We have two hours ‘till midnight. We can make it.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll go,” you say. “There’s a possibility the ninja may attend. And if they do…”

“Ah, I get it. No need to explain. Well, best of luck, sweetheart. I’ll have REX take you on autopilot while I finish up business around here.”

“Are you staying the night here?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry about me,” he replies. “You take care out there. I’ve heard nasty things about Chen, but he pales in comparison to what you’re capable of.”

Chuckling darkly, you nod. “I know. Thanks, Ronin. I’ll be back in a few weeks, I suppose. Try not to vomit at the smell of charred flesh.”

…

The streets of Ninjago City are nearly empty when you exit REX, pausing to watch her fly back to Ronin. You flick your mask over your face, concealing your mouth and nose. The pier is only a short walk from here, thankfully. You already see a small crowd of people gathered there.

Thankfully, no one spares you a second glance when you step onto the wooden pier. You decide not to pay much attention to the others as you sit down on the edge of the dock, swinging your legs over the edge.

Though, a moment later, you feel a hand on your back, causing you to turn.

A hooded girl smiles at you as she removes her hand and sits down next to you. Your eyes widen when you realize who she is.

“Skylor?” you question, smiling.

“Hey,” she replies, saying your name, “It’s been a while.”

“Too long,” you answer, pulling her into a side hug. “Shit, I missed you, girl.”

“Same here. I should have known you’d be coming. You’re going to dominate.”

“So are you!”

The two of you continue catching up as more and more people arrive. Midnight ticks closer as everyone grows more anxious to get going.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many elementals gathered at once before,” you comment.

“I haven’t either. It’s incredible. Oh…is that the green ninja? Isn’t he…?”

Skylor trails off as she studies your expression, which has hardened as you bite your lip underneath your mask.

“Yes,” you say quietly. “But…I…”

“I get it. It’s alright. After all, you have the whole trip to…you know. But we should probably discuss this later on,” she notes. “The ferry has arrived.”

With that, you two stand as the boat approaches and anchors at the dock. You clench your fists upon seeing your old mentor step onto pier.

“Clouse,” you hiss.

“Not now,” Skylor reminds you.

“Ah, what a pleasant surprise,” Clouse greets you and says your name.

You say nothing in return, boarding the ferry in silence. Clouse doesn’t comment on it, instead warning Skylor to watch her step.

Once you’re on, you and Skylor walk to the other side of the ferry, silently observing the other elementals as they board. You see an invisible man wearing an eccentric outfit. Must be the Master of Light. Shortly after, another guy runs past him – he could only be the Master of Speed. After, you spot a group of boys and an elderly man.

“The ninja and Garmadon,” you comment quietly, sighing. “As if Lloyd being here wasn’t difficult enough.”

“You’ll get things worked out,” Skylor assures, resting a hand on your shoulder.

You decide to pour your attention onto the other masters. Master of Poison. Master of Gravity. Master of Gravity. Master of Shadows. Hm, who else…

Next, you spy a…guy with…metal hands. Who’s walking up to the two of you with a determined expression.

“Karlof cold! Karlof want to borrow orange girl’s cloak!”

“Please leave us alone,” you demand coolly, folding your arms. “I’m sure they have something on here that will warm you up. You should ask Clouse.”

“Yeah. You look like you got big enough mittens. Why not leave the gals alone?”

That voice…

“These not mittens! These crush ninja!”

“Ha. I’d like to see you try.”

“Knock it off,” you snap, glare stern as you square your shoulders. “Just leave us alone.”

When your eyes lock with the ninja’s, however, you freeze.

The spiky, brown hair with ridiculous amounts of gel in it. Those dark, chocolate-colored eyes. The scar on his eye.

It could only be…

“Kai…?”

#ninjago #reader insert #colexreader #ninjagoxreader #morroxreader #kaixreader #cole brookstone x reader

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circus4apsycho8 · 3 years

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earth, wind, and fire. | chapter iii

earth, wind, & fire. | cole, kai & morro x reader | chapter iii

Phantom finally came back.

Just as you were about to move to the comfort of the shade in order to gain some relief from the sweltering sun, a bit of rustling caught your attention. And lo and behold, out came none other than your demon.

Now, he’s situated on a rock nestled against the cascading waterfall, snacking on an apple. You shake your head in amusement before eyeing the meditating earth bender.

He’s sitting on the edge of the small pool of water, completely entranced in his own little world. You sigh quietly, the heat of the sun beginning to annoy you. Your clothes are becoming stifling, and you already feel sweat trickling on your forehead. The shade looks tempting, but you have a better idea.

You take off your hoodie, leaving you in your tank top as you toss it to the side. Next, you remove your boots and socks, setting them next to your hoodie. Lastly, you slip out of your pants to reveal a pair of shorts underneath. Once that’s set aside, you quietly slip into the water.

Immediately, you’re enveloped into the biting grasp of the cool water. A content sigh escapes you as you submerge yourself deeper, careful not to be too loud.

Once you’re in, you dunk your head underwater, noting that it’s about ten or twelve feet deep in this section. It gradually gets shallower as you swim to the left – the shallowest point permits one to lay on their back while still being able to breathe comfortably.

You decide to remain in the deep end for the time being. You push away from the side and glide across the water before treading water. Phantom catches your eye from his position, smiling a little before he returns to his apple.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath before you dive underwater, kicking yourself to the bottom. The ground comes into sight and you’re able to stay there momentarily.

Pressing your fingers against the sediment, you dig around for a second before righting yourself and pushing off the ground. You break the surface and inhale deeply.

“Oh, there you are,” Cole says, turning to face you.

You crack a small smile. “I just got too hot to stay up there. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Is the water cold?”

“Yeah, it’s nice,” you reply before frowning. “I find it both cool and odd that there’s deepstone down here.”

“A vein of deepstone?” Cole wonders. “Isn’t that stuff only found in the Endless Sea?”

“I thought so, but this certainly looks and feels like deepstone,” you say. “I suppose it’s not horribly farfetched considering this island is surrounded by the Endless Sea.”

“True. Still odd. How deep is it?”

“Ten or so feet,” you say. “Not too deep. That section over there is shallower, though.”

“Cool. I think I’ll dip my feet in and come back for a swim later.”

“I wonder how long we’ve been out here,” you say, noting that the sun is directly above you. “It looks like it’s noon already.”

“Already?” Cole asks, following your gaze. “Damn…guess so. It didn’t feel very long!”

“I know,” you say, chuckling.

“I should probably get back and regroup with my team soon,” he notes, standing. “But…thank you for this. I really needed some time to think and clear my head before I started the search for Zane.”

You nod, swimming over to the edge of the pool before hoisting yourself out. “No problem. I’m glad you like it.”

Once you get out, you notice Cole averting his gaze with a small blush. Awww. He must be a teeny bit shy. Cute.

You chuckle, slipping your pants and hoodie back on, cringing a little at the stickiness of the saltwater on your skin. A shower would do you some good once you return.

“Back we go?”

…

After parting ways with your new friend for the day, you head back to your room, immediately going for the shower.

“Where’ve you been?” you ask Phantom as you exit your steamy bathroom, a warm towel hugging your figure as you pad over to the closet.

“Exploring.”

“Exploring the kitchen?”

“No. Elsewhere as well, for this island is rather large.”

“True,” you note, swinging your closet doors open. “What’d you find? Anything underground?”

“I found the prison, though it is well guarded. Are you planning on going?”

“Not yet. I need to talk to Kai and his team first,” you say, pulling out an outfit.

“Very well. Will you be needing my assistance today, or may I return to the void temporarily? I will be back by the time you go to meet the ninja.”

“Go ahead, I’ll be alright for a few hours. Take care.”

“You as well.” With that, your demon vanishes, leaving you alone.

You sigh, changing and fixing your hair before you grab your mask and step out of your room.

The hallways are devoid of life at the moment. Everyone must be either out, training, relaxing, or exploring. Or eating, considering that it is lunch time.

“I am a little hungry,” you mutter. “I’ll wait for the rush to die down before I go.”

Decision made, you decide to wander around the palace for a bit.

The silence of the halls is soothing, but also eerie. Something really is off about this gathering – there’s a nagging feeling in the back of your head telling you there’s more to figure out about Chen’s plan, and you believe it.

“Hey!”

You pause, your heart skipping a beat when you unconsciously register the voice as familiar…but also very foreign, in a way. Part of you wants to ignore the person and move on, but you find yourself glancing over your shoulder at the new voice. You freeze in your tracks upon seeing the source of your fear there, offering you a smile as radiant as sunshine and an amicable wave – completely unaware of the turmoil brewing in your stomach as you realize who it is.

Without your permission, your hands start to shake as your knees become unsteady. Fear courses throughout your veins as he starts talking, saying something about how he wanted to ask you a question, but you can’t hear him. His words are blurring together as your voice becomes caught in your throat, unable to form words. He’s here. He’s really here. And he’s so much older. How? How much have you missed? Why is he so much older? How did things come to this?

“Are…are you okay?” Lloyd asks, snapping you out of your panic. It takes you a moment to realize how labored your breathing is. How heavy your chest is. How tears have escaped your eyes. And is it then you realize that you’re tired.

You’re tired of hiding. Tired of being scared. Tired of missing your family. It’s time you step up, shove your fear away, and give your little brother the tightest hug ever.

Heart and mind set in your decision, you lift your dominant hand up to your ear and remove your mask, eyes locked on your brother as you study his reaction.

Sure enough, you can track his every thought. His knit brow and frown morphs into an expression of realization as he remembers who you are.

“Lloyd…”

He softly says your name before your composure finally shatters and you close the distance between him, giving him the hug you both so desperately needed.

“How are you here…?” he wonders with a shaky tone.

“I know,” you say, voice cracking as you hug him tighter. Your mind is too overrun with emotion to form a coherent sentence.

“It’s really you…” he mumbles, gingerly returning your hug.

“Yeah, it is,” you reply softly. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. Where have you been all this time?”

Sighing heavily, you separate from him and grasp his wrist. “Come on, let’s talk somewhere private.”

“My room is close,” he says. “Follow me.”

With that, you let him lead the way, trailing behind quietly. You take the time to pull yourself together and wipe your eyes.

Soon enough, the two of you have arrived at his suite. Lloyd pushes the door open and gestures for you to enter first, so you do, thanking him quietly.

“So…” Lloyd starts, sitting cross-legged on the floor. You copy his position, suddenly feeling nervous. You’re not entirely sure why.

Now that you’re close to him, and alone, you can study him more. His eyes haven’t changed a bit – they’re still the exact shade of green you remember. His hair is longer and fluffier now, and like Kai, his muscles are more defined now.

It’s like he’s all grown up now, even though this defies every

“Well…it’s been years,” you say, biting your lip. “You were still a kid when I last saw you. You…you should still be a kid. But you’re not. What happened?”

“When Dad was still evil, he summoned a prehistoric monster that we had to face. The thing was…Garmadon managed to turn the ninja into kids when he turned the time back on the Grundle.”

“Seriously?” you mutter.

He chuckles, nodding. “Yeah. Turns out, the only we could defeat it was with some kind of tea from Mystake’s shop. Wu threw it over to me and I ended up using it. It worked, but I also grew up.”

“So you’re still mentally a kid, but physically you aren’t?”

“I guess so?” he says, rubbing the back of his neck and averting his gaze. “I mean, that’s how we’ve been looking at it.”

“You were robbed of your childhood…” you mutter, face falling as the gravity of the realization hits you. “Lloyd…”

“It’s okay,” he says, smiling, but something tells you he’s feigning part of it.

“No, it’s not!” you insist, a scowl crossing your lips as you shake your head. “That’s not fair to you! You…we missed out on so much…”

“None of it is really our fault,” he says, sighing. “But I’m at peace with it, because like this, I can help out my team better.”

You’re still hesitant, but there’s nothing you can do except accept the truth. “I guess you’re right…but still. I’m sorry, Lloyd.”

“Don’t be,” he replies. “Like I said, it’s not our fault. I’m just relieved that we got out of that unharmed.”

You shake your head, sighing. “I’m so glad Uncle Wu found you.”

“I am too,” he says. “How about you?”

“After we got separated, Dad brought me here. I trained under Chen’s guidance, like Dad did. I ended up staying here for a few years until one night, I made contact with my demon.”

“Your demon?”

“I inherited Dad’s element,” you say, deciding not to tell him that you are both half-Oni yet. “As a result, I have to live with the very evil that courses through my veins. I have to be careful not to lose control.”

“Is…your demon here right now? Can I see him?”

“He’s currently sitting on the railing of the balcony,” you say, pointing over to what must look like an empty space for Lloyd. Phantom chuckles, waving. You shake your head as Lloyd shudders.

“And you can’t see him. I’m the only one who can. Well…Dad might be able to, but I don’t know.”

He nods, electing to ignore the spot behind him.

“Does that scare you?” you ask.

“Kinda,” he admits, chuckling nervously.

“Don’t worry. He doesn’t bite that hard.”

“Hey! Don’t do that!” he whines.

You laugh lightly, a wave of nostalgia rushing over you as you remember what it was like to have typical sibling banter. A minute of silence ensues before Lloyd breaks it.

“Dad mentioned something about being on this island when we regrouped last night.”

“What’d he say about it?” you question curiously.

“He just said that he brought you here with him, and that you two trained with Chen until a bunch of weird stuff started happening and you disappeared.”

You sigh, rubbing your forehead. “Yeah…that was a really shitty night.”

“What…what happened?”

“I’ll tell you the specifics later, but I basically just fought my way off the island with the help of Phantom.”

He nods, not pushing the topic. “I see. Well…I’m glad you got out of there.”

“Was… Do you know if Dad was mad at me for leaving?”

“Mad? Why would he be mad? He said he was glad you escaped.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. He ended up betraying Chen a while later to help Uncle Wu.”

“I see,” you mumble. No wonder why there’s so much shade between him and Chen. You’re surprised that they’ve not said anything to you yet – aside from Clouse speaking to you on the ferry.

I find that a bit odd…what are they planning if they keep calling Garmadon out but not me?

“Where did you go after you left?” Lloyd asks.

“I ended up traveling out of Ninjago City for a while, since Chen has eyes everywhere there,” you said, smiling sadly. “Eventually, I found myself at a tiny little blacksmith shop in Ignacia Village.”

“Oh…so you’re who Kai was talking about,” Lloyd notes. “It’s kind of crazy that you ended up meeting him like that.”

“I know,” you reply. “It’s insane how things fall into place. I still can’t believe I found you two again.”

“I’m really glad you’re back,” Lloyd says quietly. “I always thought about you every day, wondering if I’d get to see you again.”

“So did I,” you say, tears threatening to spill once more. “But…all we can do is move on now.”

Lloyd nods in agreement, his eyes also laced with tears. “Yeah. I’m glad that our family is going to be whole again.”

“Does that mean you found her?”

“Mom? Yeah, I did! She-“ he trails off upon seeing your livid gaze. He raises his hands defensively. “Wait, I know how you feel. I was mad too at first, but-“

“Save it,” you spit, crossing your arms. “She did what she did, and she could have handled it better. You have to agree with that at least.”

“Well…maybe so, but-“

“She’s the one who separated us!” you snap, taking a deep breath to calm yourself. “Even if she has changed, I don’t think I could forgive her.”

Lloyd’s eyes widen as he frowns. “But she’s still our mom!”

“Do you understand how fucking horrible it was to have to be separated from you, knowing you were going to a boarding school for evil kids and being able to do nothing about it? Do you understand how hard it was to watch Dad gradually succumb to the evil within?” You shake your head. “Dad tried. He could have given up and let his darkness consume him earlier than it did. But he didn’t. He woke up every damn morning and he fought tooth and nail to keep his evil from getting the better of him. And then…our excuse for a mother comes in and just drops you off at a boarding school for evil children after seeing how hard Dad was trying to keep us together. Like it was nothing. Like she couldn’t see how hard he was struggling.” You gasp, noticing that you’re crying again. You scoff, wiping your tears away with your sleeve. “She’s the real traitor here.”

Lloyd’s crying too, and your heart shatters when he says your name in a hurt tone, averting his gaze for a moment. You sigh, burying your face in your palms.

I just found him and I’ve already made him upset.

Saying nothing, you move so that you’re on your knees and shuffle over to him, embracing him.

“I’m sorry, Lloyd,” you mutter. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll…I’ll give her a chance.”

“That does make me feel better,” he says with a sniffle, latching on to your arm. “Thank you. I’m sorry too.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” you say, hugging him tighter. “I need to control my anger better.”

Lloyd wipes his eyes with his arm as you release him, patting your own eyes dry. Well, that’s one confrontation of two. You’re halfway there. Woo.

“Hey, um… Have you met my team yet? Other than Kai,” he asks, looking at you expectantly.

“I met Cole earlier today,” you note, smiling softly.

“Really?” he asks. “How?”

“I met him in the forest. We ended up meditating together for a while.”

Suddenly, a sly smirk creeps across his face as a mischievous glint reflects in his eyes.

That’s the Lloyd I remember. My sneaky little shit of a brother, always wearing that same expression.

“Meditating together?” he questions. “Ooooh!”

“Oh, shut up,” you say, turning away from him.

“No!”

You huff before standing up, your brother following suite. Once he’s up, you immediately sling your arm around his neck and trap his neck in your arm, effectively getting him into a side headlock.

“Hey! Let go of me!” he squeals, trying to push you off of him.

“Never!” you yell, pulling him forward so that he’s thrown off balance by your hip. Soon enough, he’s on the ground.

“Not fair!” he whines, standing up and rubbing his neck. “Ugh, you got stronger…”

“Much stronger,” you add, smiling as you pat him on the shoulder. “But you got stronger too.”

“Much stronger,” he repeats, laughing. “It’s…it’s really nice having you back.”

“I feel so much better just…knowing you’re here. Knowing you’re okay.” You release a shaky breath before smiling slightly. “Knowing that you actually turned out kind of decent.”

“Yeah – hey! I turned out just fine!”

With that, you feel your world beginning to slip back into its natural place. Piece by piece, you’re becoming whole again.

…

Soon enough, almost an hour passes and you find that you’re beginning to get hungry.

“I’m getting hungry,” Lloyd mutters, causing you to chuckle. It seems as if you two still had that weird sibling same train of thought thing going.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” you add, grinning.

“Come on, let’s go eat. I bet some of the others will be there!”

“Do you think Dad will be there?”

“Probably. We eat lunch together about the same time of day usually. Are you nervous?”

“Very,” you mutter, looking away. “It’s been so long…I just…”

“I understand. Come on, let’s go see if we can find him.”

With that, you grab your mask and the two of you exit Lloyd’s suite. You follow the hallway to the dining hall. As you suspected, everyone is out doing their own thing, so the dining hall isn’t horribly crowded now. The only people in here at the moment are the guards, and it seems like they’re getting ready to retreat into a room behind the counter once they serve you two.

“I think Dad’ll be here shortly,” Lloyd replies, picking up a tray. You glare at the creamy biscuit guy when he doesn’t give you enough creamy biscuits. He quickly corrects his mistake and piles more biscuits onto your tray.

“You eat that many?!” Lloyd asks incredulously.

“…Yeah?” you say. “Something wrong with that?”

“No, that’s just…a lot?”

“Uh, no it’s not. I wanted at least fifteen, but I was being nice.”

Lloyd chuckles nervously. “Alright then?”

You shrug it off, following Lloyd to a booth. He slides in across from you, and with that, you both dig in.

“Shit, I missed these fucking biscuits,” you growl, savoring every last bite of your beloved creamy biscuits.

Again, Lloyd laughs with a hint of nervousness in his tone. “I can tell.”

“What time do you guys usually eat together?” you ask.

“About ten or fifteen minutes from now,” Lloyd answers, pulling something out of his ninja gi and glancing at it. It looks like some kind of communicator. “Yeah, he should be here soon.”

You nod, suddenly feeling stiff and tense as your appetite begins fading away. Lloyd notices your shift in mood, looking up at you.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay, alright? He’s not mad at you, he just really misses you. He’s been worried, too.”

“Worried?”

“We couldn’t find you,” Lloyd says, sighing as he looks down. “We tried to see if we could track you down, but we never were able to get leads often. And when we did, they always pointed to dead ends.”

“Yeah…I have to cover my tracks for my missions.”

“Missions?”

“I work with Ronin to investigate paranormal activity.”

“You work with Ronin?”

“Yep. He’s actually a good guy if you overlook his greed.”

“Who would’ve guessed…” he mumbles, chuckling. “I trust you, though.”

That last sentence makes you pause. He really had changed for the better. You’re almost jealous – he developed such a lovely appreciation for life. He sees the good in everyone no matter how deeply it may be buried. You study his green eyes carefully. What exactly had he gone through to make him this way?

“I trust you too,” you reply quietly, smiling.

“I’m glad.”

Silence ensues for a bit as the two of you continue eating. What a trip this has been so far, and it’s only the second day.

Moments later, you hear quiet footsteps approaching the two of you. Lloyd perks up, but remains quiet as his eyes land on the newcomer.

Garmadon steps out from the side, first glancing at you, then Lloyd. You remain silent as tears begin building in your eyes, shifting your gaze down at your lap.

“Lloyd?” Garmadon asks. “Is this…?”

You don’t hear Lloyd reply, but a few moments later, you feel a hand on your shoulder as your father gently says your name.

“Is…is it really you?” Garmadon asks.

You sigh, forcing yourself to meet his gaze as you pull your mask down once more, hating how insecure you feel without it.

“Dad…” you mumble, unable to resist any longer as you stand and throw your arms around him. He staggers backwards, but doesn’t seem to mind as he returns your embrace.

You can’t help yourself anymore – the emotional toll of the last few years finally breaks you as you cry for the second time today, this time sheltered in your father’s long-awaited embrace.

You feel Lloyd’s eyes studying you carefully, so you extend an arm to him. He also comes to join the embrace, and before you know it, the three of you are kneeling on the floor and hugging each other.

Well, that’s two down. The weight on my chest is getting lighter and lighter… I wonder if it’ll keep getting lighter. Maybe even to the point where I feel weightless.

“You’re all grown up now…” Garmadon mumbles, separating from you. “I can’t believe… After all these years, you’re here…”

“Yeah. Kind of ironic, huh?”

“Come, let’s sit. We’ve much to discuss, my dear.”

…

As Lloyd had told you – your father had indeed ended up betraying Chen and his goons. Their stories matched, and for once, you were nearly at ease with yourself.

“Well…Mom’s going to be happy about this too,” Lloyd notes, causing you to frown.

Garmadon seems to notice your frown, but he says nothing on the matter. “I think so too. And your Uncle will be excited to see you again.”

“I haven’t seen him in forever,” you mutter, sighing. “I can’t believe you just ran into Mom one day. That’s crazy. What are the odds?”

“All I can say is that it was destiny,” Lloyd answers. You roll your eyes at the cheesy answer but smile anyway.

You’re about to ask them another question when you hear the door to the cafeteria being slammed open as multiple voices enter the hall.

“Your clench fighting is weak!”

“Yeah, well, you’re literally the only one here with super strength!”

“I hate doing clench work. It always messes up my hair!”

Ah, the ninja. At last, they arrive.

“Hey guys!” Lloyd calls, waving them over.

“Yo!” Kai responds as the group comes over to where the three of you are sitting. Kai catches your gaze with a questioning glance, to which you nod.

“Wait, who’s this?” the blue one asks suspiciously, glancing at you.

“Ninja, this is my daughter,” Garmadon says your name, “She will be joining us on our hunt for Zane.”

“Daughter?!” shrieks the loud ninja.

“Oh, Garmadon’s who you were talking about?” Cole questions.

“Wait, you know her?” Blue asks, eyeing his fellow ninja with a pointed stare. “And Sensei, how can you drop such a crazy bombshell so casually?!”

“I just met her earlier today,” Cole explains, chuckling. “I didn’t realize that you were her dad, though.”

“I’m glad you finally realized,” Kai admits, chuckling.

“You know her too?!”

“Yeah. She’s my ex-girlfriend.”

“Your WHAT?!”

“Jay, calm down,” Garmadon replies, rubbing his forehead. “The questions can wait until tonight. I’ll explain then. Have you all any updates?”

“No…not yet, other than that we have an idea of where to look thanks to her,” Cole answers, nodding his head towards you.

“Which is?” Jay questions.

“We’ll talk about it later. We’re too exposed right now,” Kai says. “She’s gonna meet with us tonight to help.”

You nod. “Yep. I’ll be there.”

“Then it’s settled. Midnight, Kai’s room.”

…

“How’d it go?”

You sigh. “It went…well, despite me being a complete wreck both times.”

Skylor chuckles, going to close the door to her room. “That’s to be expected. And it’s perfectly fine. Good on you for doing it, it takes a lot of courage to do something like that.”

“Thanks,” you say, rubbing your neck awkwardly. “I think I’m still kind of…processing everything, but I should be better tomorrow.”

Skylor places a hand on your shoulder. “And just remember that it’s okay if you still need time to process it, okay?”

You nod, smiling smally. “Alright. Thank you.”

“Anytime,” she says, removing her hand.

“I’m glad I found you too,” you say. “I missed you.”

“Same here. You’re the only Elemental here that knows the truth about me. And I still don’t understand why you won’t tell the ninja I’m related to Chen.”

“Because he’s gonna get his information one way or another. At least if you’re the one relaying it, you have an idea of what he knows. Not only that, but he could have implanted cameras in all of our rooms. Or microphones. And I know you’re goodhearted, so I’m not really worried about all that.”

She smiles a little. “Thank you.”

Nodding in response, you lean against the wall of her room and cross your arms, sighing.

“Did you end up training with Cam and Tox today?”

“A little bit,” Skylor says. “I’ll probably start going with them more often. They go hard.”

“I bet. I kind of want to be paired against one of them tomorrow.”

“Yeah…I wonder how the matches will play out tomorrow? There’s no way my father picked boring or predictable matches.”

“True. I’m kind of curious to watch everyone fight.”

“Me too.” You pull your phone out of your pocket, checking the time. It’s nearing midnight. “Oh, I need to get going.”

“Ah, got that little meeting? I think I just saw a ninja silhouette slipping into Kai’s room,” Skylor points out, chuckling. “Go on ahead. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

You bid her goodnight before exiting to her balcony. After sliding the door closed, you hop onto the balcony and leap onto Kai’s railing, jumping over the edge before knocking at his door a few times.

After a few seconds, the door slides open to reveal the redheaded ninja of lightning.

“Hey,” he greets. “Come on in.”

“Thanks,” you say, smiling as you step inside. You’re met with the sight of Lloyd, Kai, and Garmadon huddled together discussing something as Cole lounges on Kai’s bed. You chuckle, trying not to get distracted by his biceps.

That sleeveless gi suits him a little too well.

You shift your eyes back to the ninja. Garmadon smiles at you, beckoning you over.

“My dear, we were just talking about you,” he says as you step next to Kai.

“It’s so cool that you’re a Master of Destruction like Garmadon!” Jay yells. “Garmadon literally never uses his element and I really wanna see it in action!”

“Jay, calm down,” Kai replies. “You’ll get to see it soon enough.”

“Anyways, we should get back to the task at hand,” Lloyd says, crossing his arms.

Jay groans dramatically, flailing his hands. “Okay, it was almost impossible to get here. This place is swarming with guards. Any ideas on how we search the island?”

“We need to find an underground tunnel,” you say. “I bet there’s going to be some kind of access point from here.”

Kai nods. “Agreed. And we travel by shadow. Cover every square inch until we find Zane.”

Suddenly, you hear Cole shout as an odd noise catches your attention. You glance to where the Master of Earth had been, but it seems he’s not there anymore, causing you to raise an eyebrow.

“The island’s big. We'll need to split up,” Jay suggests, the team ignoring Cole’s antics.

“No, we stick together.”

You sigh, shifting your gaze back over to the bed. Sure enough, the bed flips and Cole emerges with wide eyes and an agape mouth. Cute.

“Uh, guys, this bed is, uh...”

“Cole, I get it! You like my bed. Would you stop playing around?!” Kai snaps, turning towards Cole.

“Hm. I think Cole just found our passageway entrance,” you note, elbowing Kai in the ribs because you can.

“Ow!” he grunts as you smirk and step over to where Cole is. You lay down beside him, looking around.

“What did you do to trigger it?” you question, chuckling at the blush on Cole’s face.

“I…ah, I was laying here, then I stretched-“

Once he stretches, you hear something click before the two of you are flipped over. You aren’t able to grab something in time, and wind up falling on your back. You gasp as you spy Cole also falling, barely having enough time to bring your hands up to your face.

You grunt as Cole lands on top of you, his weight managing to knock the wind out of your lungs.

“Oh, dammit! I’m sorry, I-“

Once you catch your breath, you lower your arms, locking your stare with his. His gaze makes your breath hitch as you study his eyes. He freezes as the two of you silently study each other for a quiet second.

The moment is shattered when you hear the trap door spinning again as more screeching meets your ears.

Thankfully, you and Cole manage to react fast enough to avoid being crushed. Again. The two of you stumble to your feet and watch as the ninja crash into the floor rather ungracefully, all groaning as they pick each other up.

Jay gasps upon taking in the area. “Whoa! Secret passageway! Cool.”

Kai sets fire to his fist, extending his arm out in front of him. “Nice work, Cole. Maybe Zane's not on the island, but in it.”

A hush falls over the group as a foreign sound emerges from deeper in the tunnel. It almost sounds like someone is grunting.

“Do you hear that?” Lloyd wonders.

Jay points upward, to where there are two holes drilled into the wall. Light pours out of both, leading you to think it’s a peephole. “Oh, secret peep holes.” He laughs in response, running over to the wall and climbing it. “Super cool. Sounds like someone's fighting on the other side of this wall.”

“What do you see? Who's fighting?” Cole questions.

“It's not a fight. It's Skylor's room. And it looks like she's training,” Jay answers.

You’re about to speak up when Kai extinguishes his fire and interrupts you: “Let me see, let me see!”

You roll your eyes, shaking your head. Cole chuckles from beside you.

“Ah, looks like Kai's got the hots for her,” he says.

“No kidding,” you mutter. “Kai, get your ass back down here before I pull you down.”

“No! She's competition. I just wanna know what powers we're up against!”

“You’re an idiot,” you mumble, approaching both boys. You grab one leg from each idiot and pull them down, smirking as they cry out and hit the floor.

“Hey!” Kai yells, “What was that for?”

“I warned you.”

“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean you had to actually do it!”

You shrug. “Yeah, but what you were doing was an invasion of privacy, like Lloyd said. And that’s not the best way to win someone’s heart. But, if you must know, she’s the Master of Amber. She can absorb any element and use it.”

“Woah, really? That’s insane,” Jay says.

“Now enough,” Lloyd interjects. “We need to find Zane!”

With that, you all continue forward until Lloyd raises an arm and gestures for you all to stop.

“Everyone stop! Booby traps,” he warns, pointing to a tripwire strung between the walls.

Once again, Jay laughs. “Booby traps. Even cooler. Or, I mean, kinda cool. I mean, they're totally not cool, you know, 'cause they're dangerous.”

Lloyd shakes his head and sighs. “From here on out, we have to watch our step.”

“I think the prisons are back this way,” you say. “But I believe there’s also a gathering room nearby. And Chen’s noodle factory is around here somewhere too. It’s been a while, so I don’t know where everything is, exactly.”

“That’s alright. I’m just grateful you gave us somewhere to start. This island is so huge!” Lloyd notes.

Kai nods in agreement. “It's like a maze down here. Good thing you're leaving a trail back to our room.”

You hadn’t noticed earlier, but apparently Cole had brought a bowl of chocolate-covered shell peas. It seems he hadn’t noticed that some of them fell, judging by the slight amount of chocolate smeared across his lips. You giggle, shaking your head. What idiots.

“I'm what?” Cole questions, taking a moment to glance behind him. “Oh, yeah, heh. I meant to do that.”

With that, the five of you clamber down a dark shaft, the walls only illuminated by Kai’s fire. You grunt as you climb down, noting that you should work on your endurance later.

“Hey, wait, be quiet for a second,” you say when you hear distant chanting. “I think the gathering room is up ahead.”

“Someone’s coming,” Lloyd adds as you all take cover behind a rock wall.

Moments later, you hear footsteps emanating from the end of the hallway. Lloyd gestures towards the small group of Anacondrai Warriors, and before you know it, all four are knocked out by the ninja.

“Going undercover?” you ask, chuckling.

“Yeah, we’re gonna steal their armor. What about you, though?” asks Lloyd.

“I’ll just wait here and keep watch,” you say. “There aren’t any female Anacondrai Warriors, so it would be risky to have me out there. Go on ahead.”

“Alright, we’ll see you in a minute, then?”

…

You sigh, leaning against the rock wall. It’s been about six minutes since the ninja entered the gathering room. Part of you wants to walk around an explore some more, but you have a feeling you should wait for the ninja to come back out.

Just as you’re wondering how much longer the ceremony is going to last, you hear Chen’s voice shouting something about intruders. You sigh, standing. Looks like their cover has been blown, but you’re not horribly surprised.

You step out from behind the wall to spot the ninja hurrying out of the room, splotches of melted chocolate covering their faces as they dart away. You start running behind Jay as you hear angry yells coming from behind you.

“They must not escape!” Chen shouts from wherever he is.

The five of you sprint past the group of tied up guards, and you notice that there’s a tripwire strung on the guard. You go to warn Kai but are too late as he trips over it. You sigh in annoyance.

A door slams down to block the path of the Warriors. Okay, you won’t complain about that, but surely there must be more to it than a mere divider.

“Yes!” Kai cries.

And sure enough, massive axes start slamming into the ground. Dammit Kai.

“Oh no!”

With that, you all race to outrun the mass of giant, swinging axes. Soon enough, you find a small shaft wide enough for everyone to avoid getting chopped into sad little pieces.

Unfortunately for you, it doesn’t stop there – an all-too-familiar hiss greets your ears, causing you to glance down.

“Ah, shit,” you mutter, sighing upon seeing Clouse’s serpent resting at the bottom. Damn did you have memories with that thing.

“That has got to be the second biggest snake I have ever seen!” Kai yells before you all begin scaling the wall. The only escape you can use seems to be a small, rectangular hole only wide enough for you all to crawl through. The ninja are able to climb in first, and with no exit available, you’re about to prepare a spell against the serpent, when –

Click!

The ninja scream as you all are dumped back into Kai’s room. You hear Kai grunt when you land on top of him.

“Are we...”

“Yeah, barely.”

“Did we just – ow!”

Kai groans before sitting up. “We may not have found Zane, but we found something just as important. This tournament isn't about glory. It's about Chen stealing all of our Elemental Powers.”

“But why? What is he planning?” Lloyd asks.

“Wait, what did you guys see?” you question, standing up.

“Chen stole Karlof’s powers with some kind of staff,” Cole answers. “He used ice too, so that means he had to of stole Zane’s element.”

“Hm…he has to have something big in mind. But what?” you mumble.

There are lots of possibilities, but this has to do something with Chen’s obsession with the Anacondrai. What could he scheming…?

“I don't know, but if we're gonna find out and find Zane, we have to play by his rules. Agreed?” Kai says

“Agreed,” respond the ninja in unison.

“Good thing we weren't spotted. That was close,” Cole comments.

“Yeah, too close.”

#ninjago #reader insert #colexreader #ninjagoxreader #morroxreader #kaixreader #cole brookstone x reader

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circus4apsycho8 · 3 years

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earth, wind, and fire. | chapter ii

earth, wind, & fire. | cole, kai, & morro x reader | chapter ii

Your heart freezes the moment his lips utter your name.

“How are you here...?” he mutters, but he’s cut off by Karlof punching his shoulder. His warm eyes linger on you a moment longer before you feel Skylor tugging you away from the scene. You want to say something, but the two seem to be fighting now.

“You know him?” she questions as you hear things escalating between the two elementals. The two of you settle on the edge of the ferry, legs crossed and arms resting on the railing.

“Yeah..” you mumble with a sigh, leaning your head on the railing as you close your eyes, feeling a little bit of seawater splash on your face.

“How?”

“He’s...kinda my ex?”

“Your ex?! Wait, when in the hell did that happen?”

“A few years ago, when we were both in high school. He ended up dropping out to focus on his blacksmith work, so we decided to break things off so we could work on our own things. We didn’t leave off on a bad note, though.”

“Really? What’s he doing here?”

“He must be an elemental too,” you mumble, biting your lip. “The Ninja of Fire. It would explain his hotheaded nature.”

Skylor glances over at him and Karlof going at it at the other side of the ship and chuckles. “Well, he is kind of cute, I guess.”

You scoff. “He is cute. But don’t let his stupid charm get to you.”

“His charm?”

“Trust me. He’s a cheeky little bastard and he knows it,” you mutter.

“I’ll keep it in mind,” she replies. The two of you cringe as you hear something crashing nearby.

The two of you are silent for a while, just listening to the crashing waves before Skylor asks:

“Does Lloyd know you exist?”

“I’m not sure how much he remembers,” you note sadly, your legs hanging over the side of the boat as you absentmindedly gaze at the water beneath you. “It’s been years since I last saw him. He might remember me. Or maybe he’ll just think I’m familiar to him somehow.”

“But Garmadon...”

“I’m pretty sure he’ll recognize me.”

“Are you going to talk to him?”

“I don’t know,” you say, sighing. “I’m kind of scared to do it.”

“That’s understandable. At least you have the rest of the tournament to do it.”

“Yeah. I think it’ll happen naturally – especially if our battles are spectated.”

“I wouldn’t imagine us fighting without everyone else watching. It’d make the tournament more entertaining.”

“You’re right. I guess I will have to confront him soon.”

Skylor smiles, placing a hand over yours. “You can do it, okay?”

“I hope so,” you mumble, squeezing her hand. The two of you are quiet for a moment.

“What about you?” you ask, breaking the silence. “What happened after I escaped?”

She sighs, her expression dropping. “I stayed on the island until my dad let me start traveling to Ninjago. I was under pretty strict supervision, though.”

“I wish you could have come with me…”

“You know Clouse would have never let that happen. I was too weak when I was younger,” Skylor notes with a sigh.

“But you’re not weak now. You can break free from their grasp this time.”

“Maybe so, but it won’t be easy.”

You smile. “Maybe change will come for you by the time this is all over.”

“You might be right. You never know. I guess we’ll see, huh?”

The two of you are interrupted when Clouse’s voice sounds over an intercom system,

“All elemental masters, gather on the deck. We have arrived at Chen’s Island.”

“Here we go,” you mutter, standing.

…

With all of the elemental masters gathered on the dock of the ship, Clouse moves to lower a long piece of wood to the dock of the island, creating a makeshift bridge. You make sure to keep your head covered by your hoodie, feeling eyes bore into your back.

This is going to be one hell of a ride.

…

“Welcome to Chen’s Island. The Tournament of Elements welcomes its brave fighters.”

You see Clouse muttering something to Garmadon, but you’re not close enough to catch the exchange.

“Hmm…” you mumble, frowning. You have a feeling something’s going on here.

All of you are guided to a wide room that’s been lavishly decorated. An extravagant (and overdramatic) scene plays out as a familiar man enters the room on a floating chair. You know exactly who he is, and his presence only causes your scowl to deepen.

“All rise for Master Chen.”

“Welcome to the Tournament of Elements. Now, everyone can all di-“ Suddenly, the doors to the room slam shut as the others gasp. “-rect your attention to me!”

You roll your eyes, used to Chen’s stupid antics. This is going to be a long trip.

“Hee hee hee! Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesied Green Savior. And…two former pupils have returned.” Chen only glances at Garmadon when he says that, avoiding your gaze. Good.

He proceeds to point at the gong situated at the front. “This symbol before you is for the Anacondrai, fiercest Serpentine warrior to ever roam this land. Its creed: ‘Only one can remain.’”

Then, the gong opens to reveal what appears to be a bracket. In it lists the fights to happen during the first few rounds. You hear people murmuring upon seeing it.

“Behold, a Jadeblade. Here, it represents life. Obtain it, move on. Allow your opponent to take it, loser! The rules are simple. Every match will be different. No two fights will be the same. Your powers will keep you in the tournament. Use it or lose it.”

He brings up a point - you know your element is going to get exposed at some point, but when? When should you expose it? Would it be better to use it at the get-go or to hide it until the time is right?

Something tells you that Chen isn’t going to let you hide your power for long, though. Which means you’ll have to face confrontation with your father and brother soon. Well, that’s the reason you came, so…maybe you should just cut to the chase and get it over with?

“Hm, what does Karlof win?” questions the Master of Metal.

“Win and stay on the island. Win it all, and you'll receive fortunes beyond your wildest dreams, and lifetime supply of Master Chen noodles. But no one is here because of noodle. You want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!”

Not really. You want to get out of here as fast as you can. Riches and noodles be damned, you’re here to mend what’s left of your broken family no matter how much it daunts you.

“And what happens if they lose?” Garmadon wonders.

He must be thinking what you’re thinking – something is really off with this whole thing. Why would Chen want all the Elemental Masters gathered in one place? Why is he letting you and Garmadon, both known traitors, in on this? What’s his plan?

Despite your questions, you tune into Chen’s answer.

“Lose? Who here likes to lose?”

In response, all of the other masters laugh except for you, Skylor, and the ninja.

“Now please, enjoy my island. It's a super fun happy place.” Chen laughs. “Fun time on me!”

Clouse steps up with his hands tucked behind his back. “You’ll now each be shown to your rooms.”

…

After being escorted by the Kabuki, you enter your room.

“Hm…” you hum, closing the door as you take a look around.

As you had expected, it’s pretty nice – the walls are dark, accented with hints of your favorite color. There’s a fairly large bed built into one wall, and you notice something on the floor.

It’s a devil’s trap situated underneath and around the bed – but it’s…not painted on the floor. You frown, kneeling to examine it more.

It’s made of metal attached to the floor, and the metal is silver. It’s not a complete circle, though, which means it can’t trap you. That is, until you notice a hinged piece of metal. Curiosity piqued, you go to swing it around.

“Oh,” you say as realization dawns on you. “If I close this, it completes the circle. Then I’d be trapped. But, if it remains unhinged, or if I take the screw out, I can enter and exit freely.” Chen himself be damned, this is actually a pretty smart idea. But, on the other hand, that means this could be easily used against you. “Interesting. Phantom won’t like it, though.”

Speaking of your very own demon, you don’t see him anywhere. Maybe he just went to go get some snacks.

As a half-oni, you have a demon that lives inside your mind. You had met him when you were just a small child – your mind manifests him to appear as a tall, muscled man donning a baseball suit and bat. He has white hair and amber eyes that are concealed by his baseball cap, though you have seen his eyes double and turn red before. As you got older, he explained his name was The Batter, but he liked the nickname you gave him.

He scares you sometimes, but you know it’s necessary. Your father went through the same thing. On the bright side, you’re pretty used to his antics by now.

“Hm…” You frown, looking around. Other than the bathroom, there doesn’t seem to be much else of interest.

You stand for a few more minutes, wondering if you should go find Skylor when you hear someone knocking at your door.

“Huh? Who could that be?” you mutter, approaching the door and swinging it open cautiously. You only open it enough to see out with one eye.

Ah, I guess I should have expected this after earlier.

“Kai?” you ask, opening the door a little wider.

“Hey,” he says, smiling smally. “Can we, uh, can we talk?”

You nod, opening the door and stepping aside to let him in. You take a moment to examine him.

He had changed a bit since you last saw him – his muscles are much more toned now, and he dons a sleeveless red gi. He’s still the Kai you had loved, though. Hell, you don’t think you ever fully got over his disappearance.

“You bastard,” you mumble, going to hug him. “Why did you leave? Why didn’t you tell me? I was so worried about you guys after you just…vanished.”

He sighs, returning the hug. “My sister got kidnapped a few weeks after we broke things off. I went to go train with my sensei and the other ninja.”

“Dammit,” you mutter, taking a moment to inhale the scent you had missed so dearly. Smoky with a hint of cologne. That hadn’t changed one bit – in fact, it reminds you of how his blacksmith shop smelled.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, pressing his lips to the top of your head. “I wanted to tell you…”

“Yeah, no, I get it. You weren’t the only one keeping secrets, after all.”

Kai nods, separating from you. You watch him as his dark eyes study your face. You don’t move when he quietly goes to pull your mask and hood down.

“I’ve missed you,” he says, his thumb rubbing your cheek. “Even though we’re not together anymore, I still missed you.”

You nod, understanding the feeling. “Me too.” You grab his wrist, tugging him to the edge of the bed, where the two of you sit down.

“So, you’re an elemental?” he wonders.

“Yeah. Remember all the weird stuff we experienced while I stayed those few weeks?”

Kai frowns, nodding. “How could I forget?”

“Well, it’s because I inherited my father’s power. But, because it’s such a dark power, I learned that I had another side – a demonic side. The demon haunting me – the one we named Phantom – is actually a part of me.” You sigh, rolling up the sleeve of your left arm and showing it to Kai. “But it’s not all bad, because he’s actually a pretty chill demon.”

Your arm is covered in a pattern of black tattoos, all swirling around and intertwining together. “That tattoo is my inner demon. The more I use my demon, the more these patterns spread. Once my entire body becomes covered, I will lose control.”

Kai takes your arm in his hand, tracing the patterns with his thumb. “They’re…kind of pretty. In a creepy way. But…who’s your father?”

You groan, bumping your forehead on his shoulder. “Garmadon.”

“Wait – Sensei Garmadon is your-!”

“Yes,” you say, sighing frustratedly as you stand and turn your back to him. “Once I got the message about this tournament, I figured that Lloyd would be here at least. I…want to tell him. But I’m just…”

“You’re scared,” Kai notes, standing too.

“Yeah. Very.” You pinch the bridge of your nose. “You know, shortly before I met you, I escaped this island.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

“When my parents split Lloyd and I up, I was brought here with my father. I trained under Clouse’s guidance to master my element and to fight with and without it. A few years passed and I ended up making contact with Phantom one night, and he helped me escape. I haven’t seen my father, Clouse, or Chen since.”

“Holy shit…”

“I know.”

“Is…Phantom here now?”

“No, I think he’s trying to steal food from the kitchen now.”

“He still has that habit?”

“Yeah. That’s why all your fruit went missing when I was staying with you guys.”

He chuckles, coming up behind you to hug you. “Well, Miss Master of Destruction. I’m glad you’re here, even if we have to fight each other.”

A short laugh escapes you. “Me too. But if I have to endure any more of your shitty pickup lines, I might just ask Phantom to take me out of my misery once and for all.”

“They were good!” he defends.

“No, they weren’t.”

He huffs, puffing his stupid little cheeks out. “They worked on you!”

“Shut up,” you groan, pretending to be annoyed despite your small smile betraying you.

“Whatever. Hey, you should come meet my team!”

Ah, that’s right; he’s a ninja now.

“I will later, I think. I should probably get settled in for now. And I don’t think I’m quite ready to face Lloyd just yet.”

“But you can’t hide from them forever,” he points out, poking your cheek.

“Hey!” you cry, swatting his hand away as you scrunch your face and squirm out of his grasp. “I’m not hiding! Just…preparing myself.”

“Alright, fine. Can we just talk for a bit, then?”

You nod, turning towards him. “I’d like that.”

His face lights up as he smiles. A pang of nostalgia causes your body to shiver as you realize just how much you missed this idiot. Sure, the two of you are no longer together anymore, but he’d always be one of your closest friends. Him, Skylor, Ronin, and…

Let’s not even go there, you think bitterly, shoving your thoughts aside as you step up to the balcony of your room. You pull the sliding door open and step outside, taking a look at the view you have.

Your room overlooks the sea along with the initial section of Chen’s Island. You hear Kai stepping out beside you, his hands tucked away in his pockets.

“How’s Nya been?” you wonder.

“She’s been good. She’s all grown up now.”

“I bet she’s a nightmare now,” you say, smirking.

“She is. I’ll never admit it to her face but she absolutely is. She’d kick my ass any day. And so would you.”

“Damn straight,” you reply, opening your eyes. A figure from below catches your gaze, causing you to focus on it.

It��s…your father. He appears to be talking to someone through the front door.

Kai seems to know what you’re looking at.

“You should talk to him soon,” he says, voice softening. “It’ll be good for both of you.”

“I know, but…I have no idea what to say. I don’t know how to act around him. Or Lloyd. I don’t even know if Lloyd will recognize me. And that reminds me – why does he look so much older?”

“Uh…that’s a long story,” Kai responds, chuckling nervously. “I think he should be the one to tell you, though.”

You sigh, slouching against the wall and pulling your mask back over your nose. “Okay.”

Your ex remains silent for a moment as he watches Garmadon before shifting his gaze back to you. “Why do you wear that?”

“I have to keep my identity concealed for some of my missions,” you answer. “But also…because I hate not wearing it.”

“I can understand that,” he says, going to sit on the ledge of the balcony. He rests against the wall, left arm propped up on one of his knees as the other lays hanging off the side. You quietly study him as the breeze gently tousles his spiky hair.

A pregnant pause ensues as you turn your head back to where Garmadon was, flicking your hood over your head. You watch as your father steps away from the door, turning his back to it. After a few moments, Garmadon turns his head to meet your gaze.

You freeze.

He studies you, as you are him.

He looks so different than how I remember him. So much older. I guess I never truly realized just how much time has passed.

“What is it?” Kai asks, jumping off the ledge and stepping over to you.

You look away from your father, suddenly drained. You spy Kai waving to Garmadon, and sigh.

“He’s gonna question you.”

“I know,” Kai replies, chuckling. “I don’t really care.”

You shake your head, smiling as you retreat into your room. Kai comes in a few moments later.

“I should probably regroup with my team,” Kai speaks up. “We’re trying to find our teammate.”

“Zane, right?” you ask, turning towards him. “I…heard about what he did.”

“Yeah…we think he’s here somewhere.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. Check every nook and cranny of your room. Chen likes his passageways. I’ll try to look around too,” you say, smiling before you frown. “Wait…sometime before I left this island, I recall there being a prison somewhere underground. I was sent there a few times, but I can’t remember how to get there.”

“A prison?”

You nod, sighing. “I’ll tell you later. Get back to your team. We’ll talk later, okay?”

A sad smile lines his lips as he steps closer to you, snaking his arms around your waist. You wrap your arms around his neck, nestling your chin into his shoulder and closing your eyes.

“Thank you,” he says softly.

“You’re welcome. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

…

Soon enough, the sun begins to set. You’re sitting cross-legged on the floor, attempting to meditate so you can sort out your cluttered thoughts.

It’s not working very well.

“One more time,” you mutter to yourself, closing your eyes and reassuming your meditative position. A few moments later, though, a blaring voice interrupts your session:

“Fellow fighters!” You recognize the voice as Chen’s, and it’s emanating from the intercom situated on your wall.

“Hidden around my island are enough Jadeblades for every participant except for one. The one who returns to the palace arena empty-handed loses. The tournament begins...now! May the best fighter win!”

Your eyes widen as you immediately get up, slipping your hood and mask on. You crack your knuckles, determined to crack some skulls.

“Let’s get it!” you yell, stomping up towards your door before kicking it open. You immediately hear commotion coming from the center of the main hall.

Hmm…it’ll be too crowded down there. I should look around up here – maybe higher.

You climb up on the ledge of the hallway, grabbing the upper part of the wall and hoisting yourself up. Once you’ve secured your grip, you pull yourself up and manage to grab the banister on the upper floor. With a grunt, you pull yourself up and jump over, immediately surveying your surroundings.

A few moments later, you sense someone approaching you from behind. You don’t even look as you immediately raise your elbow as you’re spinning around, slamming it into someone’s face.

You hear a grunt, but you don’t see anyone. You’re confused for a moment before you realize you’re facing Paleman.

“Ow!” His voice comes from your right, so you take a chance and throw a front kick in that direction. He cries out in pain again, and you think you hear his footsteps fading. You turn and run the other way.

“Phantom, where are you?” you mumble, spotting a Jadeblade hidden behind a decorative painting. You snag it before turning and leaping over the banner, seeing several other Masters fighting over a Jadeblade. You do your best to sneak around them as you run into the Jadeblade room and slip your blade into the golden stand situated at the front. Clouse and Chen are standing on either side, and neither say a word to you as you put yours in.

You silently wait at the front, noting that you’re the first to complete the challenge. Your muscles tense as you feel Clouse’s stare burning into your back, but you keep your head up as you wait for the other Masters to arrive.

A few minutes later, you hear something in the main hall being struck with great force as the floor and walls vibrate.

Must have been the Master of Earth.

You wait a few moments longer, and soon enough, Masters start trickling in one by one. You spot Lloyd and Garmadon entering together at one point, talking amongst themselves. Once again, you manage to catch Garmadon’s stare.

He’s going to figure it out sooner or later. I can’t hide my power for much longer. I got lucky this initial round…but next time won’t be so easy, I know it.

“Two Jadeblades remaining,” Clouse states as he inserts yet another blade into the stand.

You hear footsteps coming from the door again, and this time, you see a guy around your age running inside.

“Wait! I got one!” he yells, smiling victoriously. Your stomach flutters at his smile.

He’s…really tall, and very well-built. He wears a gorgeous black gi with the design of a golden dragon imprinted on it, and his smile is complimented by a pair of stunning emerald eyes and a set of dimples. His hair is swept to the side messily.

Oh my god, he’s adorable-

“Cole!” yells a ninja in blue. “Woohoo! You made it!”

The black ninja’s smile fades as he surveys the crowd. “Where’s Kai?”

His question prompts you to search the group as well – and sure enough, Kai hasn’t arrived yet. Neither has Karlof.

“Come on, you idiot,” you mutter quietly, growing worried. Everyone awaits in anticipation, and a few minutes later, you hear the door opening.

Your heart drops.

“Karlof wins!” yells the Master of Metal as he enters with a blade.

You frown, but your spirits are raised when your bastard of an ex comes up behind Karlof to unscrew his metal…glove thingy. In turn, Karlof drops the blade.

“Ah, looks like you got a screw loose!” Kai quips before taking off towards the stand.

“We have a loser!”

Despite Kai’s…questionable and not-so-honorable victory, you can’t be helped but be relieved. You just found him, and you don’t want him to be gone again.

“That's not fair. He cheated!” Karlof accuses, putting his metal hand back on.

“I did what I had to do,” Kai replies, though you detect a hint of shame layered under his tone.

“That is not how you win,” Garmadon says, frowning.

“Fine, I lose. Karlof never wanted to be on stinking island!”

Chen hops onto his throne again as it descends from the ceiling. “Oh, I'm sorry to hear you did not enjoy your stay. I guess this worked out for the best. This is goodbye!”

Upon bidding the Master of Metal farewell, Chen proceeds to push a button on his throne. The floor panel underneath Karlof slides out from underneath, and the Master of Metal is sent spiraling into the darkness.

“As you can see, lose and you are out. Break any rule, you are out. Never bite the hand that feeds you Master Chen delicious noodle! Now rest up. Tomorrow the tournament will recommence.”

…

Morning arrives and you arrive at the dining hall. Damn, it’s been a while since you’ve been here. If there was one thing you missed about this island, it was the food and the food only.

You spot Skylor entering the room and walk over to her, smiling.

“Good morning,” you greet, turning so you can walk beside her.

“Morning,” she replies as the two of you get in line for breakfast. “How’d the round go for you?”

“Pretty easy, honestly. Everyone was too focused on one Jadeblade, so I was able to slip by most everyone and just had to fight Paleman.”

“That’s good. I just had to fight Kai.”

“Really?” you ask. “How did that happen?”

She falls quiet for a moment before answering: “We were outside talking from our balconies when the announcement played.”

“Dammit Skylor!” you say, already knowing how that went. You sigh, approaching one of the guards standing behind the counter. “Extra creamy biscuits, please. At least ten, preferably more.”

The guard shrinks underneath your glare and obliges with your request as Skylor observes you with a small smile on her face.

“Your diet is still shit,” she points out.

You elbow her in the ribs, childishly retorting with: “You’re still shit.”

Skylor laughs, returning her attention to her meal request.

After getting your food, the two of you make your way to an empty table that’s situated a ways away from the other ones. The two of you take your seats and start eating.

“I wonder what our challenge will be for today?” you wonder.

“Not sure. Maybe we’ll have the day off?”

“That’d be nice,” you say. “But I’m not gonna let my guard down. Not here.”

Skylor sighs, lowering her voice. “Has Clouse said anything to you since you’ve been here?”

“Not yet,” you say, nibbling on a creamy biscuit. Ah, tastes like nostalgia. “Now. What were you talking to Kai about last night?”

“Nothing!” she defends, looking away.

“You like him, don’t you?”

“No!” she retorts, frowning. “I mean, he’s cute and all…”

“Dammit Skylor, this is how it starts!”

She’s about to fire back at you, but she’s cut off by approaching footsteps.

You see who you think are Tox and Chamille walking up to the two of you, both holding trays.

“Hey, mind if we sit with you guys?” Chamille questions.

“Of course not,” Skylor replies.

“Thank fuck. There’s too much damn testosterone in here,” Tox adds, grinning as the two sit across from you and Skylor.

“Seriously. It’s good to know there are other female elementals,” Skylor says.

You nod in agreement, watching as Kai and his team enter the place. He smiles at you, and you nod at him in acknowledgement. The exchange doesn’t go unnoticed by Cole, though, who shoots Kai a questioning glance. You roll your eyes, returning to your breakfast.

“Man, I hope I get the chance to knock some of these fuckers out,” Chamille comments.

“You will soon,” Skylor says. “Hopefully Chen will announce the event soon.”

“What even is your element?” Tox asks, directing her question to you and sipping on her drink. “I don’t think I saw you use it yesterday.”

“I didn’t. I’m going to try and hide it for a little while.”

“That’s understandable,” Chamille says. “And also pretty impressive.”

The four of you continue talking and enjoying your breakfasts together, the other Masters steering clear of your table.

This is pretty nice. I wish Nya could be here, though. I miss her so much.

A few minutes later, you hear music coming from the intercom.

“Good morning, fighters! I hope your first night on my island was relaxing! I know you all are wondering what today’s event is, and that is: NOTHING! We’re taking today to set up all of our super exciting events! So, feel free to explore the palace and relax at your leisure! However, do not go anywhere that is marked as ‘restricted’. The tournament will resume tomorrow. Goodbye for now!”

“A day off?”

“Ugh,” Chamille groans. “No ass whooping today.”

“I’m kind of interested in exploring the island, though,” you say, looking at Skylor.

“Eh, not much has really changed, honestly,” she replies. “You might wanna check out the old training grounds later, though. And the ruins.”

“Well, maybe we can at least train some, Cam?” Tox suggests.

“I’d like that,” she replies before shoving her empty tray away from her and standing along with Tox. “Well, I guess we’re off now. You two are welcome to join us later if you want!”

Cam nods. “Thanks for letting us sit here. Let’s meet here again tomorrow, yeah?”

With that, the two exit the cafeteria in stride. You chuckle lightly.

“I like them,” you say, smiling.

“Yeah, so do I,” Skylor adds before her attention shifts and she points at something. “Hey, look who it is.”

You turn to see none other than Kai approaching the two of you. You roll your eyes as you catch him winking at Skylor.

“Ugh.”

“What?” Kai asks.

“Stop flirting!” you demand.

“Nah, I don’t think I will.”

You sigh. “What’s up?”

“Come meet my team?”

Growing anxious at Kai’s proposition, you fumble for some kind of excuse to make the meeting wait a bit. “Can we do it later today? I was gonna go train with Tox and Chamille.”

He lifts an eyebrow, and to your surprise, he relents: “Fine. Meet me at my room at midnight.”

“Deal. Talk to you later, then.”

…

“You can’t put it off forever, you know.”

You sigh frustratedly, kicking open the front doors to Chen’s palace. “I know. I just…I don’t know how I feel about…well, everything. I think I should take some time to gather my thoughts first before I talk to them.”

“Alright. Where are you off to now?”

“I want to visit the old training ground. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

She nods. “Okay. I’ll leave you to it then. Take care.”

“You too.”

With that, Skylor heads back inside as you set off into the jungle of the island. The path to the training ground is still here; granted, it has been claimed by vegetation and weeds, but it’s still visible. You begin following it, the familiarity of the scenery bringing back memories.

Soon enough, the air grows too humid for you to continue wearing your hood and mask, so you take them off for the time being. The worn path winds into a stone road that outlines the ruins of the old village.

When you both were younger, you and Skylor would come up here to explore and just escape the life you were subjected to. You pause for a moment upon entering the old village, taking in the nostalgia and atmosphere.

It’s been so long…

Continuing on, you observe the remains with fascination. Despite all the overgrowth, you still recognize the building that you and Skylor would always run off to together. A peek inside reveals that it hasn’t changed much aside from the overwhelming amount of invasive vegetation.

After that, you progress through the ruins, taking the time to clear your mind.

You miss your family. That much you know. But are you angry at all? Angry at your dad? Angry at your mom?

Garmadon…no, not so much. The evil in him was foreign; he never asked to become the envoy of destruction. There were moments you had with him while on this island that proved he was fighting it to the best of his ability – and for that, you had admired him. You still do, and you’re elated he’s been purified.

But you’re also terrified. How would that affect your relationship? Would he be mad that you betrayed Chen first? Or because you left without him? Without saying goodbye?

Your chest suddenly grows heavy as you feel tears pricking at your eyes. What a horrible night that had been.

Even so, perhaps now is the time to make your amends.

Now, your mother on the other hand…you are mad at her. For leaving Lloyd alone at a boarding school for evil children all of these years. There had to have been a better solution.

Shaking your head, you look back up at the path you’re following. You notice you’ve exited the ruins and are now headed towards the spot you and your father used to train at frequently.

A small smile graces your lips as you step down to examine some of the plants. Sure enough, the wild shell pea vines are still alive and kicking, much to your delight. One of your favorite memories you have of your father was ditching training for the day to pick an absurd amount of wild berries, shell peas, and edible plants. Then, you would bring them back to the palace and wash all of them with your father and make tasty creations out of them.

You pluck a pea off the vine, rolling it around between your fingers before popping it in your mouth.

“Still yummy,” you mumble, smiling.

“I know, right?”

You squeak in alarm, immediately spinning around to face the intruder. You’re met with bright green eyes and an adorably startled expression.

“Woah there!” he says, raising his hands. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

You recognize him as Cole, one of the ninja, causing you to relax a bit. “Oh, it’s okay. I was lost in thought. Cole, right? Master of Earth?”

He nods, also picking a shell pea off of the vine. “Yep. And you’re Kai’s friend, right?”

“I am. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Cole grins. “Same here! Mind if I ask what you’re doing out here?”

You shrug, a bit surprised at how at ease you feel with him despite just meeting him. “This isn’t my first time on this island, so I was just walking around to spots I used to visit. How about you?”

You get the impression he wants to question further, but he ends up not doing so as his smile relaxes. “Well, being the Ninja of Earth and all, I always like exploring forests in my off time.”

“That’s understandable,” you say with a nod. “Have you visited the ruins yet?”

“I did, I passed by them on my way here. Then I saw you up here and wanted to try some of these wild shell peas,” he says, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head while chuckling.

Oh my stars, he’s precious!

“Aren’t they good? I used to come here to pick them so I could make chocolate-covered shell peas with my dad.”

“Those are one of my favorite desserts ever! Not as good as cake, but still way up there.”

You chuckle. “Did you find a bowl of them in your room?”

“No…I did get lots of cake though!”

You chuckle. “Well, the Kabuki usually put a bowl of them in each room. But, the thing is, they’re Chen’s version, which means they aren’t homemade. The ones my dad and I used to make kicked ass.”

“I bet. How’d you make the chocolate?”

“There’s a section on this island where Clouse has a pretty big garden he uses to grow any ingredients he needs for his spells. He grows cocoa beans there. I used to sneak into his garden and steal some of his cocoa beans just so we could make the chocolate.”

“That sounds really good…”

“It was,” you say, sighing. “I might see if I can make some again here soon. Perhaps you’d like to join me?”

“I’d be honored,” he replies, offering you a smile that makes your heart flutter.

“It’s a deal, then,” you say.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

The two of you fall into a companionable silence. Contrary to how you’d normally feel around most people, you don’t feel the need to fill the quiet.

“This is such a nice forest,” Cole says quietly.

You nod. “It really is. It’s too bad Chen has to ruin it all.”

“Yeah…something’s…off about him, I guess.”

You nod. “Kai told me you guys came here to look for your friend.”

“Yeah, we are. You…wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”

“I’m afraid not. Though, I will say this – if he’s here, he’ll certainly be locked away in Chen’s underground prison.”

“Underground prison? How can we access that?”

“Chen loves his stupid trap doors. I’ll tell you what I told Kai – investigate everything you find in your room. It could lead to a secret passageway. But be warned that it’s like a maze down there. I can’t remember how to get to the prison, but wander long enough and you should be able to find it.”

He nods in acknowledgment. “Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You’re welcome. Best of luck to you all. I’ll try to help out too.”

“I appreciate it,” he says before glancing around the area. You take the chance to subtly check out his toned arms. “Hey, would you happen to know a good spot to meditate around here?”

“Oh, yeah. There’s a really nice little oasis ahead. It’s got a small waterfall and lots of room to just chill. Or train. I used to train there a lot.”

“That’s perfect. Thank you. Would you…wanna join?”

“I’d like that,” you say, smiling. “Follow me!”

#ninjago #reader insert #colexreader #ninjagoxreader #morroxreader #kaixreader #cole brookstone x reader

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circus4apsycho8 · 3 years

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earth, wind, and fire. | chapter v

earth, wind, & fire. | cole, kai, & morro x reader | chapter v

The wind is sharp tonight.

It nibbles at your skin, eliciting an uneasy weight onto your chest. Something about the way it caresses your skin feels so familiar, but at the same time, it’s eerily foreign. A shudder runs down your spine as you rub your arms, trying to get rid of the goosebumps dotting your skin. The distant howling of the breeze almost sounds like a whisper…

“Doing okay?”

You jump a bit in response to the sudden voice, the heavy feeling subsiding as Kai steps up beside you.

“Did I scare you?” he wonders, frowning.

“A little,” you confess, biting your lip.

“You never get spooked like that unless you’re lost in thought,” he notes, studying you with his warm gaze. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing, really,” you reply, sighing. “Can we go inside?”

“Sure,” he says, stepping aside so that you can enter your suite first. Kai shuts the sliding door once he enters.

“Where are the others?” you wonder.

“In Lloyd’s room, just hanging out, I think. Maybe planning. I just wanted to come check on you.”

“Why?”

“Because you seemed off last night,” Kai notes, frowning as he studies you. “I can tell something is up. I can also tell that you didn’t sleep well.”

“I’m fine,” you retort, crossing your arms and huffing. “Just leave it.”

“Neuro seemed to understand.”

“I wish he didn’t,” you spit, clenching your teeth. “Will you please drop it? I promise you that I’m fine.”

Kai sighs, sitting down on the end of your bed. “If you say so. But you know your dad isn’t going to relent when he asks you about it.”

“I know,” you mutter. “I’ll tell you after all this blows over, but I can’t right now.”

“Fine,” Kai replies reluctantly before laying down with his arms crossed underneath his head. “Have it your way. Damn, you’re worse than Nya. So hardheaded.”

“Look who’s talking,” you retort. “Don’t even get me started on how hypocritical you’re being.”

This draws another sigh out of him as he closes his eyes and rubs his forehead.

You sit by the edge of the bed, leaning your back against the side. “You know what I’m talking about. Don’t even pretend you don’t.”

“Yeah. You’re right. You understand my position, but…I also understand yours. And now, it’s biting me in the ass.”

“Look,” you say, turning towards him and laying your hands on his stomach. You prop your chin atop your hands, looking at him. “I appreciate that you’re worried, but I know I can’t say anything right now, as fucked as it is. Not with tensions being so high already. If we make one wrong move, it could cost us dearly.”

“Yeah, true. Okay then. I won’t pry anymore.”

You smile, moving so that you’re on his chest now. “Thanks, Kai.”

“You’re welcome,” he mumbles softly, running his fingers through your hair a few times, and it makes you a bit sleepy. Mmm. Just like old times.

“You’re gonna make me fall asleep,” you mutter through a lidded gaze.

Kai chuckles, giving you a gentle pat before sighing. “I hope Cole’s okay.”

“We could go look for him,” you point out, sitting up.

“Did you discover a passageway in your room?” Kai questions.

“Yeah, it’s over here.” You stand, walking over to the table in your room. You reach underneath it, your fingertips fumbling for a tiny switch you’d accidentally stumbled upon earlier.

“Nice. Think you can find the prison from here?”

“I’m pretty sure I can if we wander around long enough,” you answer with a chuckle as you flick the switch. With a tiny click, a portion of your wall opens to reveal a hidden passage.

…

It’s quiet.

A slight draft gently tousles your hair as you and Kai progress through the hallway, your footsteps the only sources of sound present for the moment.

“This place is so big,” Kai notes, flames encasing his fist as his head swivels around. “How far do you think we are from the cells?”

“Not terribly far – in fact, I think we’re getting close. This part looks really familiar. Hell, we may even be able to find the factory too.”

Kai’s fiery light source aside, the hallway is still pretty dark. Not that it bothers you, but it makes you realize there aren’t any peepholes over here. You wonder why that is.

You’ve noticed that ever since your last visit, this place hasn’t changed all that much. You know you’ve been here before.

Eventually, the two of you come across a new hallway – this one is much brighter and is angled into a right turn.

“We’re here,” you say, lowering you voice as Kai follows you to the wall.

And sure enough, a quick peer around the corner reveals that you have arrived at the prison. Nice. Looks like your memory isn’t complete shit after all.

“Nice,” Kai comments, grinning. “Let’s have a look.”

“Wait,” you whisper, spotting two guards patrolling the area. Though it’s not a huge concern, you know you still need to be careful. You crouch behind the wall, Kai copying your movements and remaining silent.

You press your back against the wall once the guards turn to face your direction. You strain your ears to listen for their footsteps. Soon enough, they approach your position. Once they’re finished surveying their surroundings, you wait for them to resume their patrol. After waiting a few seconds, Kai nods to you. You smirk, sneaking up behind the two guards before breaking into a sprint at the last second and slamming your hands into the back of their heads and pushing them into the ground. Purple veins of magic course into their skin, effectively knocking them out.

Great. Time to hide these morons.

You spot a vacant cell nearby and decide to throw them both in there after checking them over. Nothing of use is present – including any keys.

“Damn,” Kai says with a whistle after the guards have been hidden. “You still play rough.”

“You should know that by now,” you reply with a wink, smirking as you turn around.

You cautiously peer into each cell that follows. A few of them are empty, a few hold bandits or other petty criminals, and one holds a…silver man?

Wait – that must be Zane!

“Kai, over here,” you instruct, waving him over.

“What is it?!” he asks as he jogs over. You simply smile and point to the cell.

“Zane? Zane!” Kai yells. “Hey!”

The nindroid seems to be unconscious at the moment, but otherwise, he looks okay. You make a mental note of his cell’s location.

“Well, he may not be awake, but I’m just glad he’s here. He’s here, and he’s-he’s alive-“

You place a hand on Kai’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “Yes. He’s safe, and we will get him out. But not now.”

“No, we can’t just leave him!”

“We have to,” you say, staring into his warm eyes. “Think about it. When Chen realizes he’s gone, we’re gonna be targeted even more. We have a better chance of freeing Zane and stopping Chen by waiting until we have a solid plan.”

Kai still doesn’t look convinced. You sigh, having expected this. “Kai, look at it this way. If we can find Cole, we can tell him about Zane. If he can free Zane, then that’ll mean we have two people working from down here, which could prove invaluable in the end.”

A groan escapes the fire elemental as he relents. “Okay, you’re right.”

“And that also means that…if Zane’s down here, then Cole has to be,” you mutter, approaching the next cell and taking a look. Kai walks ahead to check the next few.

Soon enough, the sound of Kai speaking catches your attention. You notice he’s stopped at a cell near the end. As you get closer, you realize you know this voice.

“Cole?” you question, stepping beside Kai so you can peek into the cell.

Sure enough, there stands none other than the Master of Earth himself. His eyes widen as he says your name once.

“Hey!” you say, smiling. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. They just took my powers, is all,” he answers, sighing with a slightly downcast gaze.

“Well shit,” you mumble with a small frown. “That’s…not good. Oh, but your friend is down here at least.”

“Kai told me,” he says with a cute grin and relieved eyes.

You nod. “Good. He’s only a few cells away in that direction.”

“Thanks, guys,” Cole says, tone laced with appreciation.

“No problem. Now hold tight, I’m going to see if I can find a key,” Kai replies, going to search the area before Cole cuts him off.

“Wait, Kai. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the thought, but you guys shouldn’t risk more than you already have. If they find out you came down here, then Chen is going to pull more dirty tricks to get you guys out too. It’s better that we don’t risk that. We’re already split up enough as it is.”

“But Chen is going to make you work in the factory to work with the other losers,” you point out.

“Yeah, but I can do some damage down here if I can get Zane out and band with the other Elementals. Leave Zane to me, and I’ll leave everything up top to you guys.”

“Okay,” you say, looking to Kai.

He folds his arms, nodding in reply. “How about we come in to check on you?”

“Not necessary, but you can if you want,” Cole answers, his hands coming up to grip the bars of his cell. “And be careful if you do.”

“Will do. Alright, I’ll be right back. I wanna check something over here,” Kai says before he walks over to the unexplored part of the hallway.

With Kai gone, you turn to Cole with a soft smile and lowered voice. “Hey. What you did last night took a lot of courage. You did the right thing.”

Cole’s eyes widen in surprise slightly before he averts his gaze bashfully. “O-Oh…well, I’m glad. I feel a lot better now even though I got sent here.”

“That’s good,” you say. “I knew you would find the right thing to do.”

“I’m glad I did,” he mumbles. “How’s Jay?”

“He seems alright. From what Kai told me, he was upset about you losing, but he’s also glad you two settled everything.”

“I’m glad he’s okay. Well, I can deal with being down here. Especially since we found Zane.”

You go to respond, but are cut off when you feel Kai roughly grabbing your arm and pulling you away from Cole’s cell. Cole confusedly glances at the two of you before shifting his gaze to the other side of the hallway, where his eyes widen in realization.

It’s then you notice two humanoid shadows entering the hallway from where Kai just came.

Kai manages to yank you behind the entrance wall, pulling you to his chest. It appears the two of you managed to hide just in time, too, because you hear the voices of two guards emanating from ahead.

“Hey!” Cole barks. “You can take my power, but you’ll never take my super strength!” He grunts for a second before sighing. “Alright, so you got that too.”

You muffle a giggle with your hands before Kai takes your hand and pulls you back through the secret passageway.

…

“Eenie, meenie, minie, moe. Catch a Jadeblade by its toe!”

You observe Skylor’s fight with a small smirk on your face, crossing your arms and sitting back. It seems as though your father is watching just as interestedly as you are.

“Master of Sound's gotten stronger since the last time I saw him,” Garmadon notes.

You’re about to reply when you hear a minor commotion emanating from your left. You turn to see Kai stumbling through the observing crowd.

“Excuse me. Excuse me. Uh, don't mean to block your view. Just passing through!”

You sigh, shaking your head slightly as Kai comes to sit down. “Sorry, all of these temples look the same. Did I miss anything?”

Jay scowls. “By the looks of it, you didn’t miss much.” He gestures to the annoyed crowd before sighing. “Maybe we shouldn't be sitting together. I mean, the more they think we're a team, the bigger targets we put on ourselves.”

“Don't say that. We are a team! Sure, we just lost Cole…and still can't find Zane, but we're a team. Just smaller. All the more reason to stick together,” Lloyd argues.

Ah, that’s right. You still haven’t told them about Zane yet.

“Skylor’s fighting?!” Kai yells.

“Hell yes,” you reply, returning your gaze to your friend’s fight. You already know she has this one in the bag.

With that, you all quiet down to watch her finish off the fight by confusing Jacob and breaking the last vase. She catches the Jadeblade with a smirk.

“Let’s go!” you screech, jumping up along with Kai.

“WInner! And loser. I hope the Tournament of Elements has entertained you as much as it has me. To thank you, I wanted to give everyone fancy jewels and untold shiny things. But then in yesterday's battle, Master Jay and Cole tried to undermine me by teaming up and refusing to fight each other. And that made me very upset. For their insubordination, all of your fancy quarters will be taken away, and tonight everyone must sleep together in the chow house. That is all. Thank you, you can go.” With that, Chen exits.

“Nice one, Jay,” Kai spits. You punch him in the arm with a light chuckle.

“Whoa, easy, Romeo!”

“Don't worry about them. We aren't here to make friends, just to save ours,” Lloyd says.

“Yes, but your exclusion of others has only made enemies,” Garmadon advises. “Beware how you treat those around you, for they will treat you the same.”

…

“This isn’t going to go well,” you mumble, already feeling unsteady on your skates. You frown, trying to get the hang of the motion, but it’s not really working.

“Ugh, I know. I feel so helpless in these!” Kai yells, not in much better shape.

“Yeah, I don’t like the look of this,” Lloyd adds.

“Don’t worry!” Kai chirps, trying to find his balance. “We got your back - aaagh!”

Kai topples over, grabbing onto your arm. You grunt as he pulls you down with him.

“Great job!” you hiss, pushing yourself off of him. “Ugh, I hate this already…”

“Welcome to my favorite event - Thunderblade!” Chen yells at his throne.

Griffin perks up at the mention: “Hey, I know this game. It's just like—“

Chen scowls. “No, it's not like that! This is my game. I made it up! Fully original! A Jadeblade for you, Lloyd, Master of Power.” He tosses a helmet and blade to Lloyd, who catches them with ease. “And another for Chamille, Master of Form. Rules are simple. Each lap you complete with your Blade in possession, a point. Most points before time expires, you win.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What about us? Are we supposed to just stand here?” asks Griffin.

“You get to help anyone you wish…or hurt, for that matter. You're free to choose sides. I'm not a dictator.”

You watch as the rest of the elemental masters side with Chamille. You stick with Lloyd, Kai, and Jay, realizing just how not good this is going to go.

“What was that you said about us having targets on our backs?” Lloyd mutters.

“Don’t worry. We’re still a team-“ Kai yelps as he falls again.

“I gotta be honest. This doesn’t look good,” Jay notes, frowning.

“You think?” you mumble, trying to get your footing.

“Lloyd, Master of Power, versus Chamille, Master of Form. Most laps with their Jadeblade when time runs out wins. Loser is out. Thunderbladers - on your mark, get set, go-od luck to everyone…” you hear Chen muttering something as he spins around in his chair, but you don’t quite catch it. “Now go!”

With that, Chamille and Lloyd are off. You’re glad at least half of your team can skate properly. Skates. Why skates?!

Whatever. You can make it work. Kind of.

“It’s us against the world, guys,” Jay starts, a determined expression on his face. “If Lloyd has any chance of moving forward in the tournament, it’s up to us.”

“Okay, I’m going to…do my best,” you mutter, perking up when you see Phantom arriving. He starts pushing you by your back as he runs, making you go!

“Whoa, okay,” you say before smirking. “This works too.”

Jay shocks some of the other masters, allowing Lloyd to break through, but that lead is for naught when Kai trips on him again.

You sigh. This is going to be difficult.

Decision made, you decide that even if you’re unsteady on skates, you can at least do some damage.

Phantom pushes you up next to Griffin Turner, who you elbow in the jaw. He trips and falls, though you know that won’t last for long. Next up, you catch Tox in a rear choke before using Phantom’s grasp on you to steady yourself and toss her over your hip, making her fall too.

“Nice,” Jay comments.

“Thanks,” you say. “I don’t really know what I’m doing, though. Have a plan in mind?”

“Just keep trying to slow them down,” he directs. “I’ll try to keep up with Lloyd and help him.”

You nod. “Need a push to catch up?”

“That’d be much appreciated!”

You fall behind the lightning ninja before blasting a docile strain of destruction at Jay’s back. It launches him forward, just in time as a random ramp pops up in front of you. Jay makes the jump, but you, on the other hand, do not.

A grunt escapes you as you land in a front break fall, the impact jarring you more than you’d like to admit.

“Fucking hell,” you curse as you get to your feet. “I hate skating!”

Though, as you stand, you realize that the group is about halfway to where you are, and about to lap you. You realize that Lloyd is in front of the rest of the masters.

Hm. Well, you may suck at skating, but there’s one thing you’re amazing at – and that’s fucking shit up.

An idea comes to you as you turn and wait for the crowd to get closer. You ready yourself when Chamille and Lloyd pass you.

“Here goes nothing,” you mutter as the skaters approach.

With a screech, you launch yourself horizontally at the group.

You’re not sure who goes down first, because the wind is knocked out of your lungs once you land. Once you regain your breath, though, you find that the majority of the masters have been knocked down. Even Kai, but that’s not really a surprise.

Phantom shakes his head before helping you stand once more.

“What the hell was that?” Griffin questions as he tries to stand up. You slam your palm into his jaw, sending him back down.

“A makeshift mass takedown,” you answer before you turn and let Phantom push you again.

“Your tactics are…questionable sometimes, Mistress,” Phantom comments.

“It worked, though,” you comment.

“True…but still.”

Moments later, you hear the sound of an engine roaring.

“Seriously?” you say as you spot Chamille getting a lift from one of Chen’s buggies, but she’s slowed down when Kai uses his fire to launch himself at her and drag her down. Jay picks up her Jadeblade and keeps skating.

You’re not really sure what you should be doing now, because while Chamille has regained her blade, you notice that the masters are talking amongst themselves now. Even so, Chamille is still in the lead, and time is running out. You decide that you’ll try to slow her down for the last few laps.

Decision made, you study her for a few seconds before you’re able to predict her movement, summoning a destructive blast where she is. It works enough to let Lloyd catch up, but she gets back to her feet quickly.

It’s then you realize Lloyd has taken the buggy and is regaining his lost ground.

You snap your head over to Chen’s throne when you hear Clouse chanting. You’re about to interfere, but it appears as if your dad hears it as well. He attacks Clouse and stops the spell, so with that in mind, you start sending more attacks Chamille’s way.

Finally, the race finishes when Chamille beats Lloyd before realizing she doesn’t have her Jadeblade. A smirk crosses your face as you join the other masters and watch her fall down the trapdoor hole. Despite the victory, you can’t help but feel a tiny bit of disappointment – before all this, you had enjoyed her company.

Oh well. I suppose it’s one more elemental we don’t have to worry about.

#ninjago #reader insert #colexreader #cole x reader #cole brookstone x reader #kai x reader #kaixreader #morroxreader #morro x reader #ninjagoxreader #ninjago x reader

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circus4apsycho8 · 3 years

Text

earth, wind, and fire. | chapter iv

earth, wind, & fire. | cole, kai & morro x reader | chapter iv

It’s early.

From what you can tell, it’s about five in the morning. The revelation causes a groan to fall out of your mouth as you rise from your bed and stand.

Last night had been full of tossing and turning. You had so much to think about that you had no idea where to even start. Maybe some fresh air will do you some good before the tournament starts.

Decision made, you quickly get dressed before exiting your room via your balcony. The cool morning air does wonders to refresh your exhausted self as you hop over the balcony and descend to the ground.

You decide to see if your father is around. You know he’s most likely awake, considering how he always woke up early while the two of you were here.

And sure enough, you find him at the front gates, eyes closed as he leans against the doors.

“Dad?” you ask.

He looks up and smiles tiredly. “Good morning, my dear. How did you sleep?”

“I slept okay. How about yourself?”

“I slept well,” he replies. “Jay was supposed to come let me in around now. It looks like he overslept, as per usual with him.”

You chuckle. “I’ll wait here with you then.”

He smiles before he seems to remember something and frowns. “I’ve been meaning to ask – yesterday, I was too caught up in our reunion to realize that you said Kai is your…ex-boyfriend.”

You chuckle nervously, nodding. “That’s right.”

“I would like to know why that prefix is there before I make him past tense.”

“We left off on good terms, don’t worry,” you assure.

“He did not hurt you?”

“No, he didn’t. We’re still close.”

“Hm… Very well then.”

You smile as you turn towards the door. “I could probably just sneak you in through my room?”

“It would raise too much attention from the other fighters,” he says. “It would be wiser to remain here for the time being.”

You nod. “Okay.”

“Lloyd should be waking them shortly anyways.”

“Oh, that’s good,” you note before exhaling heavily.

“What is troubling you?”

“It’s just...Lloyd is so different,” you mumble, sighing. “And his childhood was robbed of him. We missed out on so much...”

“And I’m to blame for that,” Garmadon responds, layers of guilt lacing his gaze.

“That wasn’t you,” you assure. “Besides. The past is in the past.”

“You’re right,” he says, offering a small smile. “Now is the time to make things right.”

You’re about to ask a question about Misako when you hear a flurry of voices emanating from the inside. It kind of sounds like the muffled arguing of idiots.

And sure enough, the gates open a few moments later to reveal none other than the ninja.

“Sensei Garmadon! I’msorryIforgottocomeletyouinsideIoversleptbecauseIcouldn’t-”

“Shut up,” Kai groans. “You overslept. We get it!”

“No matter. Let us return to the task at hand,” Garmadon instructs with a sigh. “Have we any updates?”

“Actually, yes!” Jay chirps. “Remember that secret passageway we found? Well, we followed a path and found some weird ceremony going on!”

“As it turns out, this whole tournament is just an excuse for Chen to steal everyone’s elemental power,” Cole explains, stretching his arms above his head. You glance away from his nice biceps.

“Hm...”

“I think this has something to do with Chen’s obsession with the Anacondrai,” you note, sighing. “Wait...do you still have the mark?”

“I do,” Garmadon answers. “Do you?”

“No. I burned it off years ago.”

“You...you what now?” Jay asks with wide eyes.

“Anyways. Let’s go eat. The tournament could start at any moment.”

…

“I’m glad I’m the only one who’s obsessed with these biscuits,” you say with a small smile.

“Me too!” Jay cries as he eyes his pile of creamy biscuits with excitement. “They’re just so freaking delicious!”

You chuckle in response, but trail off when you hear the announcements turn on. Soon enough, Chen’s voice comes on the intercom:

“The Tournament of Elements continues. Fun time! Would the following Masters please make their way to their assigned arena? Speed, Gravity, Smoke, Nature, Destruction, Shadow, Mind, oh, and last and hopefully not least – Fire! Remember, only one can remain.”

You glance at Kai, and his expression hardens as he nods in your direction.

“Let’s do this,” you mutter.

The two of you bid the others goodbye as you proceed to your arenas.

…

Your assigned arena turns out to be situated in the ruins, where you spot Shade lurking. A frown lines your lines as you listen to Chen running his mouth. This might be a bit tricky.

“Shade, Master of Shadow, versus (Y/N), Master of Destruction! Begin!”

Shade immediately vanishes, and you know that at the very least, he’ll be lurking in the dark. You stay still, studying each and every area.

There must be some tell for when he’s about to reappear, so you simply remain still and listen.

Moments after, you sense a disturbance rippling to your side, causing you to raise your left arm as you slide your feet into a fight stance. Once your ears pick up a foreign sound, you rotate your left side back before slamming your elbow into Shade’s sternum.

He grunts, and you take advantage of his compromised position to throw an oblique kick at him. The blow forces a yell out of him, as you notice he’s trying to separate himself from you. He pulls himself away, but your grasp around his wrist remains there. You yank him towards you as hard as you can before driving your head into the crook of his neck and snatching his upper wrist, using your upper body weight to pull him down. In an instant, you move your hands so that you’ve trapped his arm against your chest.

He tries swinging at you with a fistful of shadows, but your mind notes this in an instant as you kick out one of his legs before shoving him and knocking him off balance, effectively making him fall.

With Shade on the ground, you straddle him before raising your fist and lighting it with dark purple destruction magic. Shade’s eyes widen as he raises his hands to guard his face as you slam your hand down. He manages to disappear again just as your fist makes contact with the ground, causing it to explode in a pile of debris.

You stand once more, glancing around before an idea occurs to you.

The chant tumbles out of your mouth as you raise your hands and coil them towards your body. Purple mist gathers at your fingertips before you shoot your arms out and send a wave of dark magic scattering over the arena. You find that there’s a disruption in the shade underneath an overhang, so you immediately send a blast there.

Shade reappears and is knocking back by the blow. You stomp over to him as he clambers to his feet.

“You bitch,” he spits. The attempted insult only makes you smirk as you smack your fist into your palm.

He lunges toward you, clawing at your arms and trying to get a hold on you. You yank your wrists out of his grasp and wind up slamming your knee into his gut and dri.ng it into him so hard that it knocks him back underneath the shady area. You realize your mistake as tendrils made of shade snake around your torso.

Shade laughs as he walks away from you. You strain to see where he’s going, and notice that there’s a Jadeblade residing on one of the rooftops.

You clench your teeth and growl. Oh hell no.

You look around for a way to escape, and an idea comes to you as you notice that you’re in front of a wall. It looks like the overhang won’t hit you if you were to jump, so you step back as far as you can before jogging towards the wall and using your momentum to step onto the vertical portion. You jump as high as you can off of it and flip yourself over, making sure that you’ll land far away enough. Sure enough, you land in the sunshine, where the light causes the tendrils to evaporate, leaving you free.

Even better, Shade hasn’t noticed yet. You use this to your advantage by selecting a spot that’s just in front of your foe before timing a destructive blast just right.

Turns out, your plan works, because Shade is sent flying backwards. You sprint towards the rooftop, grabbing onto the side of the roof and hoisting yourself up and grabbing the blade victoriously.

“Winner! Master of Destruction moves on,” Chen announces. “Master of Shadow...loser!”

With that, Shade is subjected to Chen’s odd fascination with trap doors as he tumbles down a hole that appears underneath him.

“Come join the spectator stands in one of the arenas. The other fights are still going on,” Chen instructs. You nod silently and make your way towards Kai’s arena.

…

“Hey!” Skylor says, approaching you as you exit the ruins. “You did so well!”

“Thanks,” you respond, chuckling. “Has Kai finished yet?”

“Yeah, he won against Ash,” she says, smiling.

You sigh in relief, grinning. “Good. I’m really glad to hear it. Who lost?”

“Nature, Gravity, Smoke, and Shadow,” she notes.

“Nice,” you say. “Looks like the tournament’s going to be pretty well-narrowed from this point on.”

“Yeah,” you reply. “Oh, it seems like everyone’s heading back towards the palace. The battles must be over.”

“We should go check on the bracket to see who’s competing next,” she suggests.

“Oh, good idea,” you note, following her back to the palace.

…

You see that a crowd has gathered around the bracket. You frown at the hushed murmurs.

“What’s wrong?” Skylor mumbles to Kai as the two of you sidle up next to the ninja.

“Chen changed the brackets,” he answers as he points at the item in question.

You frown, going to study the changes:

Skylor vs. Jacob

Jay vs. Cole

Lloyd vs. Chamille

Tox vs. Mr. Pale

“What the hell?” you start, but are cut off when Clouse appears before the crowd, a knowing smirk residing on his lips.

“Is there a problem, ninja?” he questions.

“You cheated!” Cole accuses, stepping forward. “You changed the brackets!”

“Oopsie.” With a malicious laugh, Clouse walks off.

“What do we do? They can’t fight each other. We came here to become whole, not fall further apart!” Lloyd says.

Your father sighs, setting a hand on your brother’s shoulder. “You can't undo what's been done. My only advice is to be at peace with it.”

“Peace? One of us has to lose! Oh my gosh. It's totally gonna be me. He's got super strength and what do I have? Quick, tell me! What do I have?!” Jay screeches.

“Don’t listen to my dad,” Lloyd interrupts, sighing. “We find Zane, then none of us have to battle. Your fight isn't until tonight, so we still have time to figure out what Chen's up to and stop this.”

“I think I know just the person who can help. And I think he already knows.”

…

The heat aside, it’s a lovely day today.

After the ninja decided to ask Neuro for help later in the night, you had nothing to do except wait for the ninja’s match to take place. The nice weather prompts you to take a stroll to the waterfall once more. You step into the forest, the shade of the leaves helping to cool you down and clear your mind. Your fight against Shade had been easy, but you know the tournament will get progressively more difficult.

Chen wants to divide the ninja, but you know he won’t succeed. Bonds like theirs are nigh impossible to sever.

You’re shaken out of your thoughts when you hear a splash up ahead, where the waterfall is located. You walk over to investigate, and when you arrive, you find that Cole is there, treading the water.

“Oh, hey Cole,” you greet with a small wave, chuckling lightly as he shakes his shaggy, wet hair out of his face. He grins at you, but you can tell he’s forcing it a little.

“Hey. Came to meditate?” he asks.

“Just wanted to walk, actually, but meditating doesn’t sound half bad right now.”

“I tried to, but I think I’m too antsy right now.”

“That’s understandable. I’d be nervous too if I were in your situation.”

He sighs, floating on his back and staring at the sky with a forlorn gaze.

“We’ve been fighting over dumb stuff lately,” he says softly. “I don’t know if this can even end well.”

“You still have time to do the right thing,” you assure. “You’re brothers. I know you two won’t let silly bickering get in your way.”

“I don’t know what the right thing to do is,” he confesses.

“It’ll come to you when the time is right.”

“I hope so. I’m sick of being at his throat all of the time.”

“I think that you two will work it out tonight.”

He sighs before righting himself and swimming over the wall, where he grabs the edge and studies you with a curious gaze.

“So. Master of Destruction, huh?”

You nod, chuckling awkwardly. “Yup.”

“Your battle was really intriguing to watch. I’ve never seen an element like yours. I mean - Garmadon, obviously, but he doesn’t really use it.”

“Yeah, I think he’s had enough of it after his Oni became exploited by the Devourer’s venom.” You sigh, sitting down next to Cole.

“I feel bad for him,” Cole mumbles. “Lloyd, too.”

“So do I, but as those old geezers would say, ‘the past is in the past’.”

Cole chuckles, shifting his gaze to you. “They drilled that into your head too, huh?”

“Oh stars, sometimes it felt like it was all my dad would say.”

“That’s funny,” he mumbles before the two of you go quiet for a moment.

You end up taking off your boots so you can dip your feet into the water.

“Hey,” you say, a question you’ve had for years surfacing in your mind. “What was the gi you were wearing when you arrived here?”

“Oh, the DX gi?”

“Yeah, that one,” you say. “I’ve always been curious - does the image on it represent your elemental dragon?”

He nods. “Yeah. His name was Rocky, but after our dragons fused together and disappeared…well, we haven’t seen them.”

Your heart aches at the saddened expression on his face.

“Oh…I’m so sorry,” you say. “But I was just curious because those gis have always been my favorite.”

“Mine too, actually,” he says, smiling softly. “Have you ever had any pets?”

“Well, right now, I have a slug named Snurpy. He just does his thing around my home. I used to have a pet spider named Adam, when I was a kid, but he went missing one day.”

“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure Adam was a great spider.”

“He was,” you say sadly. “But I have Snurpy, at least.”

“Heh. Snurpy. That’s a great name.”

You giggle. “Thank you. It just kind of slipped out. I just said ‘Snurpy’ and he became Snurpy.”

“Because he snurps,” Cole adds with an understanding nod. “Yes.”

“Exactly!”

He laughs a bit. “Nice. You know, Wu has been talking about getting a chicken.”

“A chicken…?”

“I’m dead serious,” he snickers.

“…Why?”

“We don’t know, and that makes it even funnier. Misako told us that she suspected he thought chickens were funny but we don’t know for sure.”

“That’s so weird,” you cackle.

“I know. We still make fun of him for it.”

Another pause settles between the two of you. You decide to slip in the pool alongside Cole after taking off your jacket.

“How’d you and Kai meet, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“After I escaped this island, I had to find a place to stay that wasn’t inside Ninjago City. Chen has spies everywhere there. So, I traveled via the outskirts of the city and ended up in Ignacia Village, where I met Kai and Nya. We ended up going to the same school together for a while.”

“Wow. Small world,” he notes.

“I know. It was so crazy to see him here.”

“I bet. That must have been wild.” He seems to remember something before he huffs out a laugh. “And Lloyd…he told me stories about his awesome big sister whenever he could. He always told me about how much he missed you, how he wished he could see you again.”

You suddenly feel tears pricking at your eyes but choose to blame the water.

“But I could tell from how excited he was that he found you,” Cole explains, chuckling. “Only younger siblings have the kind of excitement I saw in his eyes that night.”

“Dammit,” you growl, pawing at your eyes. Aghhh! Emotions.

Cole laughs lightly. “Sorry, heh. But yeah, he missed you.”

“And I missed him,” you mumble. “I’m so glad you guys were there to guide him.”

“We owe most of that to Kai,” he admits. “He’s closer to Lloyd than any of us. Even Wu, I think.”

“Heh. Doesn’t surprise me. For someone so dumb, Kai’s one of the most emotionally-driven guys I’ve ever met. So passionate and fiery. And able to connect with kids surprisingly well.”

“Yeah, it’s…kind of odd, but at the same time it kind of suits him.”

“It really does,” you note, smiling. “What a cheeky bastard that asshole is.”

“For real,” he says. “Oh. Are you coming with us to talk to Neuro tonight, before the fight?”

“I mean - if it’s okay with you guys. I wouldn’t want to…I don’t know, disrupt the team dynamic or something.”

“Of course you won’t,” he assures with a gentle smile. “Seriously. Don’t worry about that. You’re a Garmadon, and not only that, but Sensei G, Lloyd, and Kai all trust you. That means you’re one of us.”

“Just…just like that?”

“Yeah.”

Damn. It’s…odd feeling so included so quickly; it’s such a sharp contrast to how you’re normally treated by others. It’s nice, but in way it’s…kind of scary. Knowing how easy it can be to gain their trust, to use their kindness against them.

And the thought of someone doing that makes your blood boil.

“Thanks,” you say. “I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

It’s then you notice that the sun is beginning to set. Light rays of orange dance across the skies and paint the world in a warm embrace.

“I can’t believe the water stayed this cold all day,” you note. “It’s so nice.”

“I know. I feel like I could almost fall asleep here. But I should probably go eat before we meet with Neuro.”

“Oh yeah, go eat!” you encourage. You silently watch in admiration as he climbs out of the mini pond with ease, not realizing that he had been bare-chested the whole time. Wow. Well, you wouldn’t expect any less from the ninja with superhuman strength, but damn he’s gorgeous.

“Are you coming back too?” he asks, swiveling around to face you. You decide it’s a good idea to avoid his bare, wet chest as you smile up at him.

“Yeah. I’ll come back.”

The smile he gives you makes you warm and fuzzy inside. “Awesome. Let’s go!”

…

“We need your help, Neuro.”

The Master of Mind is seated on a boulder outside of the palace. You silently walk up beside the ninja and listen.

“You think I can get close to Chen to read his mind, so you can find your robotic friend and not have to fight.”

Kai interrupts with: “Don’t forget-“

“You still need to know what Chen’s up to, because he’s hiding something.”

“That’s really impressive, Nerdo,” Jay quips.

“It’s Neuro. Master of the Mind. And Cole thinks Jay won’t last long in a fight.”

“Pfft. You think that?”

“You just said it yourself not too long ago,” Cole points out.

“But you didn’t have to believe it!”

What kind of logic even is that?

“Don’t be offended, Cole. Jay here thinks you’re the least valuable ninja.”

“You don’t say…”

You and the others sigh as they start pushing each other around. Well, maybe this fight will be for the best after all.

“We wanted you to help, Neuro, not make things worse,” Lloyd states as he pushes through Jay and Cole as they start fighting.

“But why would I help? You’re competition. The sooner you’re out, the better for me.” Good point. And it’d be more valid if there was no sinister plot lurking beneath the guise of a fun tournament.

“If you want what's best for you, just look into my head and you'll see what this tournament is all about. It’s only a matter of time before Chen steals your power too. So, are you in?”

Neuro pauses for a moment, staring at your brother with conflicted eyes. You can tell he’s weighing his options.

“Neuro,” you say, an idea springing into your thoughts. “Read my mind.”

It’s best not to say your idea aloud, but you think if you can get Neuro close enough to Chen or Clouse without raising suspicion, then you can see if he can get a glimpse into their thoughts.

“I see,” Neuro replies. “Very well then. I accept her terms.”

“Terms?” Kai questions.

“It’s best if we don’t discuss this aloud,” you mutter. “Come on, Neuro. Everyone else, prepare for the fight while we enact.”

…

“Where are we going?”

“To a restricted area. Chen loves to pamper himself before a big event, so it’s reasonable to conclude that he’ll be getting ready. It’s this room up here.” You stop in front of a door. “This is the kabuki changing room. Chen gets ready on this floor. This is the time where he’s most likely to have his guard down.”

“Got it,” he says, opening the door. “I’m going in.”

“I think Clouse is nearby,” you mutter, feeling a shift in the atmosphere as you sense footsteps coming from outside. “Hide.”

With that, Neuro ducks behind a changing panel. Unfortunately, Clouse spots you before you can find a hiding spot.

You grit your teeth as you spot his smirk, ever-so-knowing. Your hands ball into tight fists as the urge to punch him grows stronger.

Clouse’s piercing gaze eyes you up and down, making you sick to your stomach, causing you to back away and clench your teeth.

He’s not going to scare me. Not like he did back then.

“This is a restricted area… but you know that already. Don’t you, my dear?”

“Get away,” you hiss.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he replies. “After all, you’re the one breaking the rules. I could make you suffer for this…”

“I don’t give a shit. You can go fuck yourself for all I care. Or Chen.”

An unamused frown crosses his mouth as he approaches you, grabbing your wrist. You immediately yank your arm out and slam your knee into his stomach.

“Don’t fucking touch me again,” you spit, turning and leaving. You hear him growling, but you don’t notice Neuro’s curious stare from behind you.

…

You don’t bother meeting up with the ninja beforehand. Neuro should be back soon enough anyways, so you decide to spectate with your father.

“Something is troubling you,” Garmadon notes with a concerned gaze.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” you mumble. “How are they doing?”

“About as you’d expect. Ready to fight.”

“Well damn,” you say, sighing. “Well, I hope Neuro at least found something helpful.”

“Why did you return by yourself?”

“Because,” you trail off, searching for the right excuse. Your father can’t know about your encounter with Clouse – not now. “We couldn’t go much farther than the entrance. It was a smarter idea to let Neuro go on his own since he’s the one with telepathy.”

“You are hiding something, but I’ll let it slide for now.”

Okay. Great. You can deal with that later.

“Looks like Neuro’s back. I’m going to go check in with him before the match starts,” you say. “Talk to you later.”

Your father sighs and nods. “Very well, but don’t think I will forget this so quickly.

With his words in mind, you hop over the railing to the arena and jog over to where Kai and Neuro are standing.

“What’d you find?” you question.

“Well, I saw that the powers Chen is collecting are all for a spell. It’s on page one-forty-nine. I’m sorry it’s not enough to stop the fight. I wish I could’ve done more.”

“I’m sorry for leaving you with Clouse,” you say, averting your gaze and biting your lip. “I should have stayed-“

You’re interrupted when Neuro rests a gentle hand on your shoulder. Your eyes widen slightly as you look at him.

“It’s okay,” he says softly, eyes difficult to read. “I understand.”

Kai confusedly glances between the two of you, but doesn’t say anything on the matter.

“I’m glad we’re finally going to get all of this over with,” Jay says from where his cell is.

You sigh in response. “I’m going to go talk to my brother. I’ll meet you on the stands?”

Kai nods, and you proceed to thank Neuro once more before you walk to the other side of the arena, where Lloyd and Cole are.

“Hey, nerd,” you say, immediately snatching your little brother into a side headlock.

“Hey!” he yells, pushing you off of him. You snicker in response. He huffs, glaring at you before turning back to Cole. “As I was saying! That doesn’t mean you still can’t find peace with each other. We don’t have control when we fight, but we do have control over how we fight. Jay’s not the enemy; Chen is. Remember that.”

“Yes, what he said,” you say, walking up towards the bars and leaning against them. You stare into Cole’s green eyes, trying to read his mood. “Keep in mind what I said earlier, okay?”

Cole sighs, breaking the eye contact as he averts his gaze to the ground. “Okay. I’ll do my best. Wu once said the best way to defeat your enemy is to make him your friend, but how are you supposed to defeat your friend…?”

With that, you and Lloyd bid Cole farewell as you all return to the stands.

“I think this is going to go better than you think it will,” you say, looking towards your brother.

“I don’t know…they’ve been fighting so much.”

“You tried your best,” Garmadon assures. “The rest is up to them.”

“I hope they can see that too,” Lloyd admits, viewing the brewing battle with a concerned gaze.

Well. It’s intense – evidently, it’s an emotionally-involved battle that makes their attacks powered by rage and underlying feelings they’ve not revealed. Jay’s lightning is unstable and violent, while Cole’s earth is sharp and offensive. A sigh escapes you; you just met these boys and yet even you, an outsider, know that this isn’t right. It’s petty. This duel is a result of both parties being defensive and refusing to communicate because of how hurt they felt.

And as a result, they insult each other. They try to gain an advantage over the other in any way they can. They fight and fight and then –

You see it – that moment of hesitation emanating from Cole’s end. There’s a shift in his eyes, and you can tell he’s rethinking his actions and taking everything in. The anger fades from his stare as he starts talking to Jay, and soon, they seem to come to terms with what’s been happening. A smile lines your face as they devise a plan and use it against Chen, until he gets fed up.

“Enough! I know what you are trying to do. If neither of you will win, then both of you will lose!”

This is where it’s going to get intense. How is this going to end…?

They discuss a bit more before Cole takes the Jadeblade, but in an instant, his gaze hardens as he throws it to Jay.

“Winner! Loser! Master of Lightning moves on.”

Cole says a bit more to Jay, but you catch one phrase:

"Win this thing.”

With that, Chen activates a trap door and Cole falls underground.

“Cole may be gone, be he did not lose. Let what he did here today be a lesson for us all: know thine enemy, but more importantly, know thy friend. He fought like a true ninja.”

#ninjago #reader insert #colexreader #ninjagoxreader #morroxreader #kaixreader #cole brookstone x reader

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