Review replies:

Ebony: Those would be super fun.

KitKat: Here you are!

Aurro: I don't think... I don't think that's an AU exactly.

peachyheart: Sure! I'll work on that when I get a chance!

"This is the trophy room." Ronin tapped a rectangle on his map. "The crystal will be easy to find once you get inside. I got in once, but only barely got out. If you're detected, the room will be sealed and dark matter will flood it. Don't get detected."

"Wait, how'd you get out?" Morro 1 spoke up. Ronin smirked.

"Explosives. Never leave home base without 'em. Anyway, guards are posted everywhere. You'll have trouble getting past them unnoticed."

"Not with my skill set." Nicole flipped her hair. "We'll leave first thing in the morning." Ronin sighed.

"If you must."

"It's the only way to fix this." Morro 2 insisted. "And we won't get caught, I promise. You two will be safe here." Ronin chuckled halfheartedly.

"It's you two I'm worried about. Morro, uh, 1 and I can move, once you two are infected you're gone."

"Not gone for good. Golden power turns dark-matter zombies back to normal." Morro shook his head. "Speaking of which, do you know where the ninja are?"

"The Overlord keeps them in his castle." Ronin shrugged. "They're his bodyguards. They'll probably be sent after you if you make a ruckus."

"I guess we'll have to make a ruckus then." Nicole deduced. "Morro, let's go to bed. We need a good night's sleep if we're gonna go save the world." When both Morros gave her a questioning look, she sighed. "Morro 2."

"Alright, darling." Morro took her hand, and his double made a gagging sound.

"Morro 1, you're going to bed too." Ronin announced, and the boy scoffed.

"It's barely 9!"

"You were up far too late last night, and you're going to make up for it tonight." Ronin pointed towards the sleeping quarters, and the ghost grumbled and walked off in that direction. After a moment, Morro and his girlfriend followed, leaving Ronin to mull over his maps by himself.

"So what's your story?" Morro asked his double as he shook the dust out of the blanket he and Nicole shared. "I'm guessing your life was pretty similar to mine, up until the point where you were released three years early and found yourself in the zombie apocalypse."

"Yeah, probably." Morro 1 fluffed his pillow. "Raised by Wu, filled with rage when I couldn't be the green ninja, Garmadon killed me, spent 50 years marinating in my own salt." Nicole snorted at that. "Then I was freed, and… 50+ years of hate doesn't help against zombies. Ronin took me in. If he hadn't, I'd be dead or infected by now."

"It's for the better." Morro mumbled. "In my timeline, I…" He trailed off. Maybe it was better not to give him ideas. "…I did some really horrible stuff." He finished. Morro 1 frowned at the bed.

"I guess I should be glad I didn't get the chance, then. I still hate the…" His face twisted with disgust. "The green ninja, but I won't hurt him. And… I feel kinda sorry for him. He's lost everything. He's a zombie, he's lost his dad." He paused. "I don't know about you, but I never had a dad. Although, Ronin's kinda like my dad." Nicole pressed her hands to her face, going 'awww'.

"My dad died." She said matter-of-factly. "My boyfriend had him killed."

"Before we started dating." Morro 2 added. "And Wu wasn't like a father to you?"

"Not really. I guess it's different in your world."

"That might be why you're so… mellow, then." Nicole suggested. "You're a lot more chill than most Morros we've met."

"You do this a lot, then?"

"Oh yeah, it's what we do for a living." Nicole fell back on the bed with a sigh. "We're heroes in… probably thirty-ish dimensions at this point.

"And I'm probably wanted dead or alive in my home dimension." Morro muttered.

"Pretty sure they think you're dead." Nicole pointed out.

"Do they?"

"I did. Rumors got around."

"Hmm." Morro sat on the bed next to her, untying his boots and leaving them next to the bed. "We should get some sleep."

"You two do. I'm gonna sneak out. Don't tell Ronin, okay?" Morro 1 stuffed a pillow under his blanket.

"Uhh… where are you gonna go?" Nicole sat up with a frown. "What's out there by zombies?"

"I have a place I hang out." He shrugged. "Don't worry, I won't get caught." He smiled at them, then turned invisible, and the door moved slightly as he left the room.

"He can turn invisible." Morro noted. "I'm impressed. I wonder how long he's known how to do that?"

"Hopefully- well, presumably a long time. If he's avoided the zombies so long." Nicole lay down, and Morro lay down next to her. "G'night, Morro."

"Night, Nicole."

AnUndyingFlame

"Don't move." Morro hissed, pressing himself into the corner and turning invisible. Nicole closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could on making the guard turn back. The footsteps got closer, then slowed, then stopped. Then they turned back. Morro let out a breath as the footsteps faded, becoming visible again.

"Let's go." He whispered, and they continued down the hall. It had been a very stressful morning, full of close calls and near disasters, but somehow they had made it through undetected. And they were almost there.

"It should be in the next hall." Nicole whispered. Morro nodded, peeking around the corner before waving her through. Sure enough, there was a huge door on one side of the hall. Definitely something important. After briefly checking the area to make sure there was no one coming, they opened the huge door and ducked inside.

"Well, this could take a while." Nicole remarked, glancing around at the huge, almost cathedral-like room. Hundreds of objects either lay or were suspended above pedestals that filled the room, all trophies of some sort. "Split up?" She suggested, but Morro shook his head.

"Not safe. Let's stick together for now."

"Alright." So, together, they began to move through the room.

"Ronin said it was a crystal." Morro mused. "Look for a small, golden crystal." Nicole, however, was already distracted.

"Is this…" She reached towards one of the Overlord's prizes, but didn't quite touch it. "Is this Wu's staff?" Morro turned to look, and immediately his heart sank.

"It is." He answered quietly, staring at the lightly-engraved bamboo pole. "He's probably dead."

"I'm sorry." Nicole let her hand drop to her side.

"It's fine. I've seen Wus die before." He tore his eyes away from the staff. "Let's keep looking."

It was about half an hour before they found their target, a tiny crystal that swirled with golden light.

"This has to be it." Nicole reached out to take it, but Morro grabbed her arm.

"Wait, it might be trapped." He frowned at the pedestal. "Remember what Ronin said? The room might be flooded with dark matter if we take it."

"Well, remember what I said? We have to make a ruckus if we want the ninja to come after us. And what are we gonna do, not take it? This is what we came for." Morro bit his lip, then sighed.

"Yeah. I guess there's no other way." Taking a deep breath, Morro reached out and took the crystal from the pedestal.

Immediately, an alarm began to blare and purple slime began to leak into the room.

"Figures." Nicole remarked. Morro held up the crystal.

"Let's see if this works." Face scrunching up a bit, the wind master focused on the tiny crystal, and it began to glow. Slowly, from his other hand, an orb of golden light began to grow. "Good sign."

"See if it kills the slime." Nicole urged him. "And, uh, if it doesn't, I love you." Morro leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek.

"I love you too." Drawing his hand back, Morro hurled the orb at the approaching dark matter. It vaporized on contact.

"Nice." Nicole nodded approvingly. "Can we get out?"

"Probably." Morro took her arm, creating another orb around the pair as a shield as they headed back towards the exit. The easy part was done. Now he had to go fight his best friend.

Not that this isn't fun

~FFF