OKAY! So, I have to get a few things out of the way:

This chapter is dedicated to KyraPlays as a birthday present in return for my lovely profile picture. Kyra, I AM SO SORRY I AM LATE! I wanted so so SO desperately to post on your actual birthday, but the story was just NOT coming to me. I PROMISE you though that it wasn't for lack of trying; I must have tried a dozen different ways to write a gift good enough to show my appreciation for you! And, I was NOT going to post something I wasn't proud of on your actual birthday because you deserve better. SO, I finally figured it out and I really like this chapter. I hope you do too :D (This is also why I haven't been sending you any PMs- but don't worry! They are forthcoming! ;D)

Second of all: yes, I know I'm late with the update for Zane's Five Times. If you would like to know why, please refer to the above -_-;

Third of all: this chapter is more like "clips" rather than one continuous plot, so it's supposed feel kind of disjointed. Just go with the flow XD

Fourth of all: I KNOW I STILL NEED TO REPLY TO REVIEWS! I promise I will ;-; Please don't be mad ;-;

Fifth of all: Wow, it's been a while since I updated this. Was the last chapter really a Christmas chapter? ^-^;

Special thanks to: FirstFandomFangirl, WindNinja333, Katla1, thefiresensei, Inimidesert, JBomb217, TheYellowNinja, Peanut2196, KrazyKittyKat3, GameCubeGirl1, MightyShipper, Plumcicle, ColeLoverGirl, RandomDragon2.0, sister mismagius, Rick Riordan1, KyraPlays, Angel Star Ninja, StoriesAreMagic, RandomIsCJ, Ninjago4Life, SheaAndDove, Guest, black is the new black 13, and Guest for reviewing! :D

Replies to guest reviews:

JBomb217: Yay! I was so worried that the chapter wasn't going to as funny as I thought it was, so I'm SO glad that it's the funniest thing I've ever written! XD When Cole admitted he ate the cake with the tools inside... I still love you, Cole, but c'mon XD Thank you so so so much for reviewing! :D

TheYellowNinja: Aw, I'm so glad you liked all the humor in the chapter! I imagine that our sweet, innocent little nindroid getting really angry would be VERY SCARY indeed XD Kai's Venomari hallucinations were weird, but I thought it'd be fun to nod to them with the Christmas chapter XD Jay and Cole are so silly, so you know they thrive in the funny chapter. (Who am I kidding?! They thrive in any genre XD) And, of COURSE! We couldn't have a Christmas special without a happy ending! XD And, THANK YOU SO MUCH for recommending Voltron! Sorry it had to wait until summer vacation, but MAN was it worth the wait! I just finished it today and I was so emotional ;-; I LOVE IT SO MUCH! ;-; *Ahem* I'd love to talk about it with you XD (And... *maybe* write fanfiction for it? BIG maybe ;D) Anyway, thank you sooo much for reviewing! :D (And thanks again for the birthday review :3)

MightyShipper: Dying from laughter?! That's EXACTLY what I was going for! Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

ColeLoverGirl: YAY! I'm so happy you thought it was so funny! (With Jay being forgotten and Lloyd's terrible (and embarrassing) distraction attempts XD) Morro's learning, slowly but surely ;D And what Christmas special is there without a few mishaps? ;D Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

Rick Riordan1: RIGHT?! I'm sure Jay's going to give them an earful when they get home! XD Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

Angel Star Ninja: Haha! Morro just has to get past the "bothering" part to the "caring" part XD Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

Ninjago4Life: Ooh, good idea with a lot of tie ins to the show! I will definitely keep that in mind! Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

Guest: Haha, that's a pretty good compliment in and of itself! XD Thank you so much for reviewing! :D

Guest: Haha, thank you so much for reviewing! :D

Headcanon: Morro is uncomfortable with physical contact at first. Suggested by the birthday girl, KyraPlays :D

It started with his hair.

Morro was sitting on the floor, his back against the couch since Nya and Lloyd had officially called dibs on two of the cushions (Kai and Jay had tied for the third one, but while they were wrestling for it, Zane claimed it and no one could get him to move.) A Summer in Winter, the romantic comedy that Jay had picked for his turn, was only mildly entertaining if Cole's snoring was anything to go off of; but the rule was that only "thee that hath chosen the movie hadst the ability to turn off the movie," and Jay still had half a box of tissues to go, so it didn't look like anyone was going anywhere for the next forty three minutes.

Morro was nodding off himself (the movie would have been three million times more exciting if the guy had turned out to be a serial killer, but Morro quickly reprimanded himself for that being his go-to fix.)

And then, there it was. A tickling on the back of his neck.

He looked over his shoulder to see Nya glancing at him apologetically as she shifted the pillow she had been leaning against.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I was just moving your hair out of the way so I didn't pull on it. Oh wait, now it's…," Huffing, she reached out a hand and smoothed down a strand of hair that had apparently been out of place, and Morro shivered as her fingers just barely grazed the back of his neck.

"Wow, your hair is really soft," she continued, thoughtfully rubbing the silky black curtain between her fingers. "Can I, like, play with it? Don't tell Jay, but I'm really bored."

Morro blinked. His hair was soft? That was news to him. He'd never really paid much attention to it, except to squint at the hint of green always in the corner of his vision and wonder where it came from.

And, play with it? What did that even mean?

Outwardly, he shrugged. "Sure."

Hesitantly, as if he was turning his back on a hostile enemy that suddenly claimed to be his ally, he faced the TV screen once again to see that the couple was having yet another rendezvous rife with misunderstandings.

Nya began brushing her fingers through his hair, smoothing out any snags, parting it and bringing it together again. Morro blinked. It tickled, but… it was almost soothing: the feather-light touches, the warmth radiating out from her fingers, the almost massage-like rhythm of the strokes. Whereas, at first, it had been all he could feel, his mind on high alert as an unseen enemy infiltrated his personal space, Morro now could feel his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. The woman and the man on the screen blurred and finally fell out of view as Morro leaned into the touch…

Pain exploded in his cheek. Morro gasped, instinctively grabbing his face even as he stumbled against the brick wall of the alley, nearly toppling over from the force.

"What did I say about trying to steal from me, kid?" The older teen growled, leaning closer to Morro's throbbing face.

"I'm sorry," Morro whimpered. It was humiliating, but he was surrounded- three on one- and with arrogant, self proclaimed "kings of the streets" like these, appealing to their ego was his best option. "I'm sorry. You're right. I won't mess with you again. I swear it. I swear it."

"The problem is, we've heard you make that promise before," the teen clucked his tongue, shaking his head in disappointed. "Now, it's time for something I like to call 'deterrent.'"

The other boy shoved Morro to the ground. His head scraped against the brick wall before his chest collided with the concrete, the breath going out of him in one wheezing whoosh.

The third kid yanked his right arm out and held it flat against the ground, the palm pressed flush against the concrete and fingers splayed, as if Morro were testing for vibrations or wanting to measure the size of something against his hand.

"Wh-what are you- what are you- don't, don't-"

A foot on his back. The last of his breath squeezed out of him. The ring leader lifted his foot, heavy boot poised dramatically over Morro's hand. Hanging there, dangling there, waiting for the signal.

"Let's see you pickpocket me with a broken hand, huh?"

"Nonononononoplease-"

Morro felt the air part as the boot came rocketing down toward his hand-

Morro jumped. His hand was already against his chest. Its mate was cradling it, prodding for an injury that had healed a long time ago but left its mark with the nearly invisible scars and ever-present clicking of his fingers in cold weather.

Eyes were on him. Jay had paused the movie. Even Cole was blinking groggily, though his focus was on the TV screen, as if he was trying to figure out how much of the movie he had missed.

"You okay?"

He turned to see Nya behind him, her hands still unconsciously supporting the very ends of his hair.

"Yeah," he said. He scooted forward, moving out of Nya's reach. "Yeah."

Morro tried to fold both his legs inside his shirt, wrapping his arms around them and tucking his chin into the stretched out collar, all with the hope that the stolen piece of clothing wouldn't tear apart at the already strained seams.

It was storming- hailing- and every little splinter of ice was a full blown assault on the senses. A blade driven into the skin, flaying away what little warmth there had been to begin with layer by layer. The sound of the projectiles ramming into every available roof and metal surface was a hellish symphony; though it was probably for the best, since dozing off in this weather would have been the Death Sleep, a phrase used solely for the bluish corpses that looked particularly peaceful, like statues more than people. So, instead, the clunk, clunk, clunk of the pounding ice kept Morro maddeningly awake, unsure whether he'd even really heard the clunk or whether his mind had automatically filled in the silence with the ever-present sound.

The air was too cold to even breathe- it burned his nostrils, felt like nails scraping against the inside of his mouth- and though it was probably irrational, he was scared to even close his eyes, as if they might freeze shut in one long blink.

So, he prayed with his eyes wide open that the back door of this sleazy club- a backdoor which had a small overhang protecting him from directly being hailed on- would not open and reveal a security guard that would shoo him away from the little bit of shelter he had. As his eyes drank in the white and gray slush and the shards of shattered glass, he couldn't wish for warmth or heavier clothes, couldn't even bring his frozen, barely functioning mind to do that much. If only this door won't open. If this door just doesn't open, I'll be okay. I'll be okay.

He jumped when hail struck him from the side. As long as the door doesn't open, I'll be okay.

He started again, sure the hail had pierced right through his shirt. If the door doesn't open, I'll be okay, I'll be okay, I'll be-

The door opened-

"Morro!"

The wind master slowly opened his eyes, glancing around for the source of the call. He winced when something hit him in the face- and then began to slide down his cheek.

Morro looked up. Looked up at the dark gray, angry sky that had been a pleasant blue when he'd dozed off on the Destiny's Bounty's deck.

"What have I told you about sleeping outside?" Zane reprimanded, marching over to the former ghost. The rain would have burned him by now, reminded him of exactly how not there he was, if he had still been a ghost. Instead, it hadn't even woken him up at first, and now he was wet.

As the nindroid finally met him where he was lounging on a lawn chair, he placed both hands on Morro's shoulders. Gasping softly, Zane frowned. "You're chilled to the bone. I warned you about this particular outcome, and yet you chose not to heed my advice."

"You could just say 'I told you so' like a normal person," Morro grumbled as he sloshed through the creek that was quickly turning into a river on top of the Destiny's Bounty.

"Yes, well, you could not have a bad attitude," Zane volleyed back; conversely, his tone was teasing while his message was serious. "Because, I did tell you so, Morro. If you continue to sleep outside, you will catch pneumonia, or at least a cold, and where would we be then?"

Finally making their way back inside, the nindroid all but pushed Morro onto the couch, dripping and all, and immediately wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. The fabric brushed against his bare arms, and he shivered in its warm embrace.

Zane disappeared and was back in a less than a minute, a steaming mug in his hand. Grasping Morro's wrist, he pressed the searing touch of the ceramic glass into his limp hand before folding Morro's other hand around the other side.

For a moment, Zane stood there in front of Morro, the nindroid's hands pressing Morro's to the mug. It emanated a heat that travelled through his fingers, reached into his very core and pushed out into every other direction, filling him up and chasing away the cold.

"It's not your problem if I catch a cold," Morro pointed out grumpily, though he was staring at the pale brown surface of the liquid in his mug and not at Zane.

"If you cared about your own wellbeing half as much as I do, then it wouldn't be a problem at all."

Morro glared at the cup on the top shelf of the cabinet. Kai had put off doing the dishes as long as possible, but now that there were exactly two cups left in the cupboard after the breakfast rush, the red ninja had no choice but to do his chore for the week.

Morro weighed attempting to reach the cup himself while cursing his shortness, asking Kai to get it for him, and leaving without the cup at all.

Rolling his eyes in attempt to psych himself up, he stretched to his full height, placing his hand on the counter in order to balance-

Morro had gasped and pulled his hand away before he'd even registered the pain.

And then it hit him- burning, burning, burning, his fingertips were burning- his teeth came down hard on his bottom lip to stop himself from crying out-

Unfortunately, Kai noticed him shaking out his injured hand.

"Morro!" Kai reprimanded, wrenching the wrist away from the wind master's chest. He turned it over, palm up, and studied the fingertips. He hissed in sympathy. "How many times do we have to tell you? Just because there's no flame, does not mean that the stove isn't hot."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Morro grumbled. It wasn't his fault that there were five million different technologies with their own unique safety guidelines invented between when he died and when he came back to life. Who could keep them all straight in his head? "It's fine."

"C'mon," Kai commanded, ignoring Morro's protests. The fire ninja turned the faucet on and let it run for a few seconds, testing it himself, before forcing Morro's injured hand under the ice cold stream. Morro started, nearly yanking his arm out of Kai's grasp, before he relaxed under the jet of cold water as it soothed the burns. "Trust me. I burned myself enough times as a blacksmith to know what to do."

Morro stood there, watching the water run between their fingertips as Kai held his hand firmly underneath the water. The drips explored their skin, learning the shape of their hands, before cascading back toward the basin, to mix with its brothers and sisters and relay what it had learned in its short life.

"Okay," Kai eventually said, turning off the water. Turning, he grabbed the nearby dish towel and gently wrapped Morro's hand in it, careful not to disturb the throbbing fingertips. "Let me just grab the first aid kit, and I'll wrap them up for you."

"I can do it myself," Morro mumbled as he used his uninjured hand to secure the rag. It was blue with little storm clouds with smiley faces on them and cartoonish yellow lightning bolts peeking out from under them- probably Jay's choice.

"With one hand? Yeah, right." Kai moved to the medical cabinet and pulled out the first aid kit, rifling through its contents. "It'll take me two seconds. It'd probably take you half an hour- and, it'd be sloppy."

Morro collided with the bar, aggravating the gash in his side, before allowing himself to fall to the floor. He crawled behind the counter, breath coming in heavy, rasping gasps as he attempted to think logically through the pain.

He'd trespassed on some holy ground, searching for the First Spinjitzu Master's Tomb. The guardians of the temple had called him demon once they'd discovered him, and they swarmed. Morro had fought, but he'd been outnumbered ten to one- and one of them had gotten a lucky shot. He'd barely made it out alive.

They were still out there, hunting him, and he knew they'd finish the job. He had to get away from here- but first, he had to take care of the wound. First things first. That's why he had broken into the bar. First things first.

Searching desperately, he found it: a rag hanging off the edge of the counter. Reaching for it, crying out as the torn skin was pulled, he stuffed it in his mouth, biting down hard.

Then, unscrewing the top of the closest bottle of alcohol, he yanked up the hem of his shirt that was heavy and sticky with his own blood. Closing his eyes but not allowing himself a moment longer to psych himself out, he poured it on the wound in his stomach-

He screamed through the rag as the alcohol burned its way through his body, bit down so hard he was sure his teeth would shatter as his blood bubbled. He banged his head against the back of the bar as if that pain would distract him from the inferno searing away his inside-

As the shouts of the mob hunting him outside grew ever closer, echoing in his ears, Morro finally slipped under the surface of consciousness, and black closed over him.

Morro wandered out onto the deck, looking for the black ninja he had been sent to-

"Sneak attack!"

Cole tackled Morro from behind, sending them both colliding to the ground. The wind ninja cursed in his head; he didn't know what had possessed some of the more childish ninja to begin this trend, attacking people with the battle cry of "sneak attack," but it was getting old.

They wrestled across the deck. Cole had had the element of surprise, but now Morro had gained the upper hand. He actually laughed as they tumbled over each other, each attempting to trap the other in a hold before the targeted limb could wriggle out of their grasp. Morro thought he had won when he managed to sit on Cole's back, pinning his opponent's leg behind him-

But, Cole also had the advantage of his super strength- and Morro was not very heavy. The earth ninja flipped Morro off of him, causing Morro to smack gracelessly- chin-first- onto the deck, the pinned ankle slipping out from between his hands.

Cole was immediately on top of him, wrapping his huge bicep around Morro's neck.

Laughing breathlessly, Cole demanded, "Say uncle."

"Never!" Morro resisted between gasps of laughter- until Cole tightened his chokehold warningly.

"C'mon! Just say you give up and I'll let go…," Cole sang teasingly as Morro's hands slapped uselessly at the rock hard arm.

Morro slammed into the ground on his back, but he recovered almost instantaneously. He arched his back, preparing to leap to his feet-

But for the blade at his neck, forcing him to look up into the dead eyes of his sparring partner.

"You lose," Bansha growled, tossing her sword away in disgust. "You're weak."

"I'm not used to fighting as a ghost," Morro insisted. He drooped as the adrenaline went out of him. Normally, after a fight, he revelled in the blood rushing through his ears, the pounding of his heart against his chest telling him that he'd never been more alive.

Now, it was silent, because there was no blood in his veins, no beat in his chest. He was only an echo of it, an echo forced to chase the exhilaration that had created it… but never quite catching it.

"I just need more time," Morro continued.

The foot rammed into his shoulder, rocketing him back into the ground with a gasp of air that he didn't need anymore.

"There is no time," the Soul Archer said quietly, though no less threateningly than Bansha. Every word was precise, like a scalpel tracing the exact cuts it needed to make through his flesh. "The Cursed Realm could open at any time and you have to be ready."

"The Preeminent does not tolerate weakness," Bansha added, appearing over the Soul Archer's shoulder. "Ghoultar!"

"I said I'd do better!" Morro snapped, even as Ghoultar came lumbering toward him. The bigger ghost easily lifted Morro by his shirt, dragging him however unwillingly away. "Give me another chance!"

Ghoultar brought Morro right up to the edge of the puddle of water, his toes dangling right over the surface. Having it here hurt the Preeminent, but the dull ache was a small price to pay for discipline. Pain breeded success. Pain cleansed failure.

"It will make you stronger," Bansha offered, though there was no note of sympathy in her voice.

"Remember this next time you decide to lose a fight," the Soul Archer warned. "Ghoultar."

The hulk of a ghost obediently tossed Morro into the water.

The acid ate through his skin like fire tore through a library. His bones were melting, his organs liquefying, his very mind being ripped to shreds-

Cole tightened his hold yet again. "C'mon, Morro! Do you give up?"

"Alright, alright, I give up!"

Cole let him go and stood up, and Morro finally took a deep, unencumbered breath.

"I give up," Morro said again, quietly, to himself. The words didn't fit in his mouth. They were awkward and unwieldy coming up his throat and falling from his lips.

Morro saw movement in the corner of his eye, and he braced himself-

It was Cole. Offering a hand. "Good try, but I am undefeated, you know."

Morro looked at the hand.

"Yeah," he laughed, accepting it and letting Cole pull him to his feet. "I know."

Steeling himself for the thirty eighth failure, Jay turned on the latest version of his sparring robot. He closed his eyes, waiting for an explosion…

Then, he hesitantly opened his eyes when nothing happened.

There the robot was. Waiting patiently as its touch pad screen scrolled through different fighting style and weapon options.

"I did it," Jay whispered to himself, as if saying it out loud would help him believe it. "I did it! I did it! Finally, I did it!"

Barely able to contain his joy, he shot out of the lab, searching left and right like a wild animal hoping to sniff out its target. Finally, he spotted the closest living being just passing into the mouth of the hall.

He smashed into Morro, capturing him in a bear hug and even lifting him a few inches off the ground. "I did it, I did it, I did it!"

"Woah, woah- what?" Morro replied, frazzled by his sudden capture and already struggling to escape Jay's vice grip.

"I finished my robot! It works!" Jay clarified triumphantly. Then, coming down slightly off of his high, he set Morro back on the ground, now slightly embarrassed. "Er, sorry. I was just really, really excited. And, you know, my mom always said everyone likes hugs, even if they don't know it yet. So… it's kind of my go to."

Morro blinked, still able to trace the outline of where Jay's body had connected with his.

The tentacle wrapped and wrapped and wrapped around his body, encasing him totally. It was bastardized version of a mother hugging her son, and instead of being surrounded by safety, an invisible force that could battle anything, it was just dark and dark, the gravity of which was crushing him out of existence. She was swallowing him whole as she died; even when she had lost, she couldn't let him go. Not him. Not her favorite.

Morro allowed himself to be dragged toward the water. He had always been hers in a way. Her tentacle had always been wrapped around him in the killing hug, she always meant to drag him down under the black, roiling surface.

Wu had offered his hand. But, Morro wasn't ready to be saved, wasn't ready to abandon everything that had caught him when he had fallen- but he thought he saw then, really saw. That she hadn't saved him, but dragged him down further, dragged him down so far he could never climb back up, would never be able to climb out.

Lloyd would be up there, above the water. He didn't know why that was one of his last thoughts as his feet brushed the water, sticking his skin like white hot needles. He didn't know why he thought it was fitting that Lloyd was being saved at the exact moment he was dying.

She sank beneath the surface, and like a captain going down with his ship, he drowned with her. Like a loyal son, he hugged his mother as they died, even as he realized that she had already killed him a long time ago.

It hurt to possess him. It hurt to infect his golden blonde hair with black, it hurt to shove him down beneath the swirling black depths of his own soul. It hurt because Lloyd fought him every step of the way. It hurt because Lloyd was pulling his soul apart, trying to find an escape, trying to shoot a beam of his endless light through the crisscrossing net of black. Morro never let him know how close he was to breaking free. Morro never showed how close he really was to losing control.

It hurt to possess him. It hurt to watch his memories, it hurt to feel the affection, the ache of longing that accompanied them, it hurt to watch Wu smile at him while knowing it wasn't him, that it was someone else when it should have been him. It hurt to touch what only after the fact he realized was endless love; it hurt to put his hand in it and almost fall in because he could never reach the bottom no matter how far he reached.

It hurt to possess him. Lloyd was his opposite in every way, and they cancelled each other out. It hurt because getting to know him hurt. It hurt because it awakened some spark of something that he had called hatred when it was really hurt itself, when it was really a pain he thought the Preeminent had seared away a long time ago. It hurt because Lloyd was good, and Morro was not, and it hurt because he knew he had to snuff the light out, and it hurt because he couldn't.

"Morro! Morro, wake up!"

The wind master sat up in bed, gasping in heavy, heaving breaths as he attempted to focus-

"It was just a nightmare," Lloyd reassured, laying a hand on his arm. "You're okay."

Morro rubbed his eyes, blinking through the dimness at the Green Ninja sitting on the edge of his bed in his pajamas. "Lloyd? What are you doing here?"

"I heard you through the wall," Lloyd offered somewhat sheepishly as he gestured at the wall separating their rooms. "I just wanted to check on you."

Morro rubbed his knuckles across his forehead, trying to master himself while also wiping away the cold sweat.

Lloyd shifted awkwardly on the mattress in the face of Morro's tense silence. "I'm sorry if you didn't want- I just thought-"

Morro thought about the way Jay had hugged him, thought about the way two bodies could be as close as possible, thought about the way meaning and thought could somehow be transmitted through touch, as if that was always the way nature had intended humans to communicate.

Morro reached out and grasped Lloyd's pajama shirt. The Green Ninja cocked his head questioningly.

Morro yanked Lloyd against his chest, hugging him close. Lloyd was completely frozen at first before he relaxed bit by bit into the unexpected embrace, hesitantly returning it.

"I'm glad you're here," he said quietly, fisting his hands in the back of the green pajama shirt, as if he was the only thing keeping Lloyd from slipping away. He was sure the Green Ninja could feel his still heaving chest, his still racing heart, but he only pressed Lloyd closer.

He hugged Lloyd because it didn't hurt then. He hugged Lloyd because it hurt not to.

The next movie night, it was Zane's turn, and he had picked an intellectual film: it was in black and white with subtitles. Cole was snoring before the indecipherable opening credits had faded.

Once again, Nya had claimed a coveted couch cushion. Morro could have called dibs on the next one, but he had purposely hesitated and so the other two had been claimed by Jay and Kai (which was only just, since they had been so unfairly robbed of the privilege last movie night.)

Instead, Morro sat directly in front of Nya's cushion, resting his back against the couch.

He could almost feel Nya's eyes on him, but instead of verbally asking permission, she combed her fingers through his hair gently.

Morro didn't pull away but leaned into the touch.

SO, I hope you guys liked the update to Getting to Know You after 3000 years XD

KyraPlays, I hope this is what you in mind. I'm sorry again for being late, but I really hope you like it :D (I'll send you a PM soon! :D)

Suggestions/requests are always open, and Zane's Five Times will be updated relatively soon! Thank you all for reading! I love you :D