Koko watched with keen eyes, nibbling on piece after piece of the salty, fried meat that Garmadon had prepared for their breakfast - that is, what was supposed to be their undisturbed breakfast, before a certain unexpected guest had arrived. Her bright eyes bounced like a ping pong ball between the two brothers while she sat directly in the middle of their spat, which had only just broke into silence as Wu sipped slowly on a cup of tea.

After separating their fight in the foyer, Koko had marched into the kitchen with her arm linked with Wu's to make the man comfortable and brew some hot water and to help ease the pain in Wu's throat, thanks to Garmadon having choked him earlier. As she had put the kettle on the stove and turned away from Wu, Koko nearly jumped out of her skin as her own shadow seemed to come to life.

Garmadon was standing almost on top of her, yet she hadn't noticed his presence at all. She gazed up to him, about to hiss at him about treating his own brother so disrespectfully, but instead her jaw clicked shut as he bore her an odd expression which she could clearly see was laced with guilt and deep concern. He whispered something to her about their amulet - their amulet - being stored safely in the house, but his voice died away as he brushed a lock of hair from her face. She nodded in understanding, all too aware that her very own life seemed to revolve around these damnable charms.

Though she wasn't certain why the warlord had looked so worried, once the kettle was heating and her hand was free, Koko turned away from the counter and toward Garmadon, taking a tight hold of one of the warlord's clawed hands. A smile started on his lips but she could still see that odd glimmer in his eye, which began to open some uncomfortable pit in her gut.

Koko tried to ignore this odd feeling, but as she moved around the kitchen, Garmadon followed after her, only a step behind. If he was any closer, she would have undoubtedly felt his hot breath down her neck. And as awkward as it was, she tried her best to ignore him as she went about preparing a cup of hot jasmine green tea for their visitor, once almost spilling it all over Garmadon in the process.

Once she served Wu his tea and sat herself down without encountering any more incidents, Garmadon still didn't ease up on her and instead he closed what little space was left between the two of them. He stood just behind her, still acting like her shadow, though Koko couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

After her concern for the warlord calmed, Koko looked over to their guest and gave him a much needed look over. After the redness in his cheeks faded and he tamed his long hair that had been major messed up in the scuffle, Wu looked like a different person from the man Garmadon was strangling only minutes earlier. She couldn't stifle her amusement when looking the two siblings over - they couldn't be any more different if they tried!

Whereas Garmadon was the human representation of nightmares and the shadows themselves from the color of his murky skin down to the clothes he wore, his younger brother looked he could have been an angel or a beam of light with bright, shoulder length blonde hair with a small bun styled on the top of his head and wearing what else but a white gi top with shining silver symbols and dragon stitched along the fabric. Of course, it didn't help that Garmadon was no longer entirely human, but as Koko stared at Wu's calm expression, she was certain, despite their differences, she could still see their familial resemblance.

They both had long noses, though Garmadon's was sloped a bit more while Wu's was closer to being straight; they had the same determined eyes, but whereas Garmadon's sharp glare was crimson and lined with thick, expressive brows that were furrowed downwards in annoyance, Wu's calm gaze was a frosty blue and he had long lashes and narrow brows that were raised high on his forehead; and they both had incredibly powerful auras emanating from them. If she weren't already so used to Garmadon and his overwhelming personality, sitting here between the two brothers would have probably smothered her.

But at the same time, Koko admitted that the two also stood as strong opposites to one another. With as many features that they shared, the two looked nothing alike at first glance. Koko had already become rather used to Garmadon's formidable build and as she looked his younger brother over, she could only imagine if a fight broke out in the kitchen, it wouldn't take long for Garmadon to literally squash his brother in battle. The warlord was muscular and very tall while his younger brother was quite lean and roughly only a half a head taller than herself. Wu also had fairly delicate features - though he'd never be mistaken for a woman with his well preened facial hair! - and Koko could easily recognize that shy boy from the painting in his grown self. Regardless, he was no young boy now. The young man in front of her was a picture of regality and he had a rather a serene energy about him.

And she had to admit that he was really quite handsome, too. But unlike Garmadon, though, who didn't seem able to cover up any of his emotions, there was something in Wu's eyes that made her feel very on edge and distrusting of him. It was as though he was looking down at her, making her feel small and uncomfortable under his superior gaze. Koko tried to shake off the feeling and shot him a smile. Even as a lukewarm grin pulled on Wu's lips, that sly look remained steady in his half-lidded eyes.

Maybe Garmadon was right to be harsh with Wu. She'd half to keep her eye on this one.

Koko looked away and back to the kitchen table. She could only guess that what he lacked in pure strength, Wu probably made up for it in speed, endurance or brains. Not to say that Garmadon wasn't smart, but it seemed like Wu was a calculating sort of man, one who'd always be two steps ahead of his enemies. Koko shrugged to herself as she crunched down on a particularly crispy piece of meat. Who knows? Maybe she was over analyzing him and, anyway, with their opposite strengths and weaknesses there's a good chance that they'd be equally matched up in a fight.

Like yin and yang.

She was suddenly hit by how these two seemed so at ends yet so undeniably similar. Yin & yang… it was the perfect way to describe the brothers. Koko was about to turn around to face Garmadon and whisper her observation, but a creak came from her seat and it froze in place and silenced her mouth before any words could escape.

Garmadon was still standing partially behind her and, blinded as she was to his facial expressions while she had continued to much away on her meal, she could only imagine he was sending Wu a death glare as their conversation had turned to silence. Koko had felt Garmadon plant one of his hands firmly on the back of her chair at the start of their conversation - whether he did so out of protection for her or to help control his anger she couldn't guess - and currently the chair was so under stress in his grip that it was letting out another round of deep cracking sound that seemed to be only a prelude to the entire thing turning to dust.

Koko winced as another creak echoed from her seat and shook through her form. She turned slightly and placed her hand on Garmadon's, begging him to release his grip and cool his rage, if only slightly.

Garmadon visibly relaxed at once under her touch but he still wore a stern frown on his face. Feeling as though she averted a sort of disaster, Koko gave his hand a quick squeeze before she turned around and narrowed in on the fried meat again. Though his hand still clenched onto the chair, at least he was no longer about to break it into smithereens!

Koko licked her lips as she picked up a rather thick piece of meat, happy she could focus on enjoying her meal without any other distractions - except she knew the peace wouldn't last long. It was only a matter of who would break the silence first.

As she was about to take a huge bite of the strip of meat, Garmadon cleared his throat and marked the start of the next round of their fight. Koko sighed disgruntledly and set the meat back down again in preparation should she need to interject between the two men in their discussion.

"You ready to talk yet?" The warlord said, his tone unabashedly gruff as he addressed his younger brother.

Wu casually set the half-filled cup of tea down, folded his hands over his lap and turned to face the growling monster. "I think I can manage," he coughed lightly and made a pointed glare in Garmadon's direction. "As long as no one else tries to strangle the air out of my lungs, I should be fine."

Garmadon took a sharp breath inward and Koko clenched her eyes shut.

Here we go again!

But, what she heard was not what she was expecting at all. Instead of an all out skirmish between to voices breaking out, Garmadon calmly began speaking to Wu, who responded in the same even tone. But… oddly enough, Koko couldn't understand a single word of their dialogue. She actually had to do a double take and watch the warlord as he spoke, as she first believed her hearing was failing her but she quickly realized the sounds he was making were almost gibberish to her.

Alas, he wasn't just speaking quickly to the point of not being able to understand him, but instead Garmadon was speaking some language Koko had never heard before. It was oddly familiar to the warrior, but her brain seemed to fogged over as she attempted to understand what was being said. She caught certain words and phrases spattered through their conversation, but it left her only more so in the dark.

It was so odd, the words came to her and vanished just as quickly as her brain had first translated them. She could understand single words here and there and then in a few groups together, but she was certain she'd never heard this tongue in her life. An incredibly nostalgic feeling pierced through her mind as she listened to the two talk.

Koko attempted to unfocused her mind and stopped trying to intentionally understand the words they spoke and instead listen to the calming tunes their words made. This language was melodic to the point of nearly carrying a tune, yet Garmadon's pronunciations were sharp and aggressive - accusatory, even. Still, it was so pleasant to listen to him speak. Koko's head nodded lazily as she felt herself drifting off to a warm spring day, while the warlord's deep voice nearly sung to his brother, pulling her into some distant memory as the sound flooded into her soul.

Suddenly, Koko felt a breeze tickle her nose and tug playfully at her kimono. She wrinkled her freckled nose and smiled, not caring for the first time in weeks that she was missing both of her front teeth. There certainly was nothing quite like that feeling of standing in the sunlight during a perfect summer day after such a long drawn out winter and miserably wet spring!

The girl basked in the sunlight and slowly spun in a few circles before she decided to sprint off into a nearby field. The air was so fresh and the day was so young - she couldn't let it go to waste! Koko gleefully gazed up at the sky as she ran, flapping her arms to mimic a flock of white birds that were soaring higher and higher into the endless blue, only for them to vanish into a fluffy white cloud.

Koko giggled and dove into a mess of tall grasses that tickled her nose as she barrelled through the undergrowth. Small leaves and burrs stuck painlessly to her dark hair and floral printed dress with each step. She was completely oblivious to the grass sticking out from her dark braid, but if she could have seen her reflection, she would have proudly named herself queen of the woods.

Koko was laughing uncontrollably as she passed a raggedy looking scarecrow that marked the edge of her family's property, his grimacing face warning her to return home, like always. But today, she wasn't scared of that old scarecrow anywhere near enough to stop her from running and enjoying herself on this bright day.

And so, she ran on.

Her giddy excitement nearly blocked out a loud, commanding voice calling behind her, begging her to slow down.

"Please, my child! Slow yourself!" He called in a language she shouldn't have been able to understand. "How have you been blessed with such speed?!"

Koko knew it was her dad who was following her, probably intending to stop her fun before she became lost in the nearing forest that she forbidden from entering. And because it was locked off from her and just out of reach, the wild woods enticed her that much more!

Koko smiled bravely and continued to run at the same uninterrupted pace while her father still chased her, his weary voice carrying that same melodic tune as he spoke in their native tongue.

"For your mother's sake and mine," her father panted as he struggled through the tall grass. "Come back! This is not a game!"

Koko didn't even slow as she shouted into the wind, foreign sounding words spilling from her smiling lips as easily as it was for her to take a breath of air.

"I'm a bird, bàba! So, so high in the air!" Koko flapped her arms again as she leapt over a dead tree stump and pretended to fly. Her feet hit the ground all too soon, but a rush like a sugar high hit her from her short flight and powered her to run at a fast sprint again.

"Come back, my little bird!" Her father's voice was getting quieter as she lost him in the maze of foliage. Much to her excitement, she had lost him!

Koko easily found her way out of the tangle of tall grasses and stopped at the top of a slow-sloping hill. The girl set herself down on her side with her hands extended above her head like a rolling pin. With no time to lose, she tumbled and bumped her way to the flat meadow awaiting her at the foot of the hill, where she slowly stopped rolling and lied flat on her back. Her braid had nearly unwound itself and her light colored kimono had patches of grass and dirt staining her sleeves and front, covering up the fabric's floral design in some spaces. Koko sat up and marvelled at herself in it, for it seemed that nature had accepted her as its own.

Koko threw herself backwards into the soft grass and stared up at the world above her as it spun around and around in hectic circles. Her stomach swayed and churned noisily, causing the young girl to again breaking out in raucous laughter.

Not too long after, her father had finally caught up with her - he had probably navigated her way thanks to following her unique laughter - and bound down the hill in a few short paces. Koko quickly sat up, dusted herself off and ran to him with her arms outstretched as he called her name

"Yun!"

"Bàba!"

Her father swiftly scooped her up and tossed her high in the air before catching her and smothering her with goofy kisses.

"Yun, my child, where did you think you were going?" He asked, sounding quite exasperated.

"To the forest! I wanted to go 'splore the woods!" She was practically bouncing in excitement at the thought of finally entering the forest.

Her father clicked his tongue and tapped her on the nose. "No, no, no. You know you cannot go in there."

Koko pouted dramatically. "Bàba, why not?"

"Because, little one, it is not finished yet."

Koko sat up in his arms. "But, bàba, what's not finished? What does that mean?"

He chuckled and ruffled her hair gently, shaking leaves and burrs from her in the process. "I will explain it to you when you are older, little one."

"But I want to know now!" She cried. "I want to go and see everything instead of being trapped here! There is nothing new to see - nothing new to do! It's no fun!"

"You may not see it, but this little home of ours is not a jail. This is our own spot of heaven," her father pushed away her bangs and kissed her forehead. "But, I cannot be mad at you. You are still so young, Yun. You will not understand, yet. I will explain in due time."

"OK,' the girl sighed in his arms, knowing she had lost their argument. Feeling tired but secure, she wrapped her arms around her father's neck and complained that she was hungry. Her father laughed and began walking up the hill back to their small home in the clearing. He promised her a good story and a warm, delicious dinner for her and her sister once she got cleaned up.

Koko nodded and rested her head against her father's shoulder, enjoying the last of the summer breeze before she was stuck inside once more.

Koko slowly opened her eyes, disoriented and weak as if she had just woken up from the longest slumber in her life. Her head throbbed sickly and her eyes were unfocused and blurry to the point that she could barely distinguish the two men from the various fixtures in the kitchen. Koko put a hand to her forehead, all too aware that her nasty fever had returned. But, why did it return so suddenly just now while she was dwelling so peacefully on the past?

Koko stifled a groan as she reached for a glass of water on the table, almost knocking it over as she blindly grasped for it. Her hand was trembling as she brought the glass to her lips and she gulped it's cool contents down as if it was her first taste of fresh water after being trapped at sea for days. Once she parted the glass from her lips, Koko attempted to focus on the rim of the glass, but it was as if her head was wobbling on a crooked axis and she was completely unable to keep her eyes fix on one spot. As she struggled in silence, she was completely deaf to the conversation behind her, unaware that both men had grown quiet as they watched the girl clutching onto the empty glass, as if for dear life.

Koko's head was hurting so viciously that she dropped the glass in favor of grasping at her temples in an attempt of chasing the pain away. She didn't even hear the glass as it shattered on the countertop. Garmadon cried out as he pulled her chair away from the island, saving the girl from a few renegade glass shards from embedding themselves in her skin.

"Woah, Kokes, watch it! You could'a hurt yourself!" The warlord spun around her to look at her. He slowly peeled her hands away from obscuring her face gazing into her unfocused eyes with worry. "Hey," he said gently. "You all there?"

Koko's brows had lowered in deep concentration, unable to think of anything but the scene she had just witnessed in her own mind, Garmadon's concerned voice vanishing into the background as the thudding of her heartbeat pumped through her ears.

Something was wrong.

As peaceful as the memory was, Koko felt panic creeping into her chest.

Why?

It was because that young girl wasn't her. That man who called her "Yun" wasn't her father. She had never lived close to a forest. She had no sister, no other siblings. No matter that she witnessed it so close and personally in her own mind, but it wasn't one of her own memories.

It belonged to someone else.

Koko's mind spun around in violently erratic circles, just like when the girl rolled down the hill, as she digested these thoughts. Somehow, it seemed against all nature, she had peered into someone else's mind and lived in that little girl's shoes.

What the hell was going on?!

She lurched forward feeling incredibly ill, her stomach suddenly ready and eager to empty its contents across the kitchen floor. Garmadon backed away and Wu nearly leapt from his seat as she slowly hauled herself upright a weak groan escaping her lips.

"Koko, you alright?" Garmadon eagerly helped her out of the chair. As her feet hit the ground, her legs wobbled and shook, but Koko stood upright and shook away his concern with a waving gesture of her hand, knowing full damn well that this was not the time or place to explain what she just saw.

"Oh, I'm fine!" Was her voice slurring? It felt like she was slurring. "I'mma going to go get some fresh air. You two feel free t' keep catching up, don' let me slow ya down," Koko said weakly as she stumbled out of the room, allowing Garmadon no time to argue with her as she hurried across the hall to a screen door that led outdoors.

She thrust the door open and, without a second thought, walked out onto a wooden porch that was dusted in a layer of untouched snow and she slammed the door shut behind herself.

Koko shuffled slowly to the center of the porch where she sat down, somehow completely immune to the cold, and she attempted to recenter herself after such a jarring experience. She counted in time with her breathing until her heart was no longer pounding shrilly in her ears and the motion in her head came to a still.

By the time she had cleared her mind, she could feel her skin stinging from the bitter cold air that whipped around her barely clothed form. She shivered violently as she returned to reality, still sitting in a few good inches of snow, closing her eyes to bask in the warmth of the morning sun.

Whatever language that Garmadon and Wu spoke seemed to trigger some far off and incredibly familiar memories that weren't even her own. It made no sense - hell, even less than no sense! - but it felt like something inside her had been broken open, in a very frightening way. She felt just like a child that had broken a precious family heirloom, too scared to admit the truth, so instead she hid the evidence under the rug away from view. In the same way, she sat outside, too frightened to admit the truth to the warlord or his brother.

Koko shook, partially due to the cold and partially due to the terror creeping up her spine. She didn't understand why, but it felt like accessing these memories was something that should never have been allowed to happen, like she had opened her very own Pandora's box. There was some sort of forbiddenness about being linked into another person's mind and it truly scared her. She had never dealt with anything like this before.

Koko wanted to run inside and tell Garmadon everything, but a stronger part of her soul pled to her to keep this hidden in hopes that it would go away. She rubbed her useless arm and shook her head.

She had no idea what to do.

A brisk wind drove by the warrior and her teeth clattered together as a shiver wracked through her thin form. Koko sighed at a loss as she hauled herself out of the snow, slowly retreating inside She didn't feel much better, but at least the cold brought her back to her back down to earth and hopefully drove away some of her fever. She hoped she'd be able to focus on her thoughts more clearly once she returned inside or at least be able to act less disoriented in front of the two men.

She entered silently into the kitchen, the two men stilled as their gazes followed her, like two hungry cats watching an injured bird hopping around the ground. Koko tried to give them a weak smile as she walked ever closer towards the threat of danger that loomed in the air.

"Hey, ya feelin' better?" Garmadon approached her slowly, offering a hand or two for support.

Koko gratefully took his hand in hers, sending him a thankful grin as he helped keep her upright. "I'm actually feeling ill again, I think I might lie down for a bit."

Garmadon gracefully linked her arm with his as he excused himself from Wu's presence. Koko looked over to Wu, in order to give him the same acknowledgment, when her stomach dropped through the floor.

Though she had attempted to lock them away, the memories of Yun flowed suddenly into her mind as her eyes traced over Wu's features. Koko turned on the balls of her feet to stare at Garmadon in turn. Her voice died in her throat and a deep chill rippled up her body as she looked rapidly between the two men.

She hadn't thought of it before, but it became all too clear that Garmadon and Wu looked just like the man, Yun's father, from her vision. The man had Wu's nose exact same easygoing smirk that Garmadon wore, and their eyes! They all had that same sneaky glint in their bright eyes...

Koko's heart trembled in her ribs and she grasped at another of Garmadon's hands, a sudden realization becoming making everything all too violently clear. As he helped her down the hall, Koko's eyes jolted between each of the framed pictures until they reached their family portrait. The warrior froze, stopping Garmadon in his tracks as her body became dead weight.

"Koko?" The warlord searched her expression, confused as to why she was staring unmoving at his family in the old photograph. "Hey, now that Wu's not listening in, you gonna tell what's goin' on?"

She hesitantly drew her hand out of his hold and raised it to the picture. Koko balled her shaking hand into a fist and pointed at the one person she was almost magnetically drawn to.

"Garm," she scrambled to keep her voice even as she stared unblinking at the photograph. "I think I already know, but can you tell me who he is?"

Garmadon turned to look at the picture with reverence. "That's my father."

Koko nodded, nervously licking her dry lips as her hand fell away from the picture.

"The First Spinjutsu Master, right?" She probed quietly.

"Yeah, that'd be him."

She nodded back to him, a cold sweat descending from her brow. "By any chance, do you have any other siblings?"

Garmadon cocked an eyebrow at her question. "No, it's just me and Wu. Why d'ya ask?"

Koko grabbed at her head as an onslaught of memories that weren't her own flooded through her mind.

Koko was lying under a clear night sky with her younger sister, as they pointed up at the bright dots, creating their own constellations. The two young girls clung tightly to each other, promising each other that things would always be this way.

Then, she was a bit older and sparring with the FSM, laughing wildly as she caught him off guard and knocked off his hat and dropping it easily onto her own head. Her father laughed deeply as he praised her great skills. Koko dusted herself off and turned, her heart breaking as she heard her father complaining at her sister, while she struggled miserably with perfecting her form.

She was suddenly thrown into another memory years later. Koko was sitting by her sister, who was now a young lady with fair colored hair, defending her protectively from their parents. Her sister was leaning into her and crying as she pressed a mangled hand to her chest. Their father broke over Koko's voice and scolded her sister for venturing too deeply in the woods, telling her she deserved exactly what she had gotten.

Then, another year or two passed. Koko found herself running at an inhuman speed after her sister, chasing that light hair and heartbroken sobs around trees, bushes and thickets, begging her to stop, despite their father's voice lingering just behind them, demanding that they returned home.

"Lei Hui! I want to help you! Please don't leave me!"

As she entered into the darkest part of the forest, she could still make out her sister's voice, but Koko stopped the chase. She was fully willing to risk herself in the unknown for her sister, but she was likewise unable to fight the pull on her arm as her father dragged her back to their home.

"Lei Hui…"

Suddenly, her heart calmed. Another year had gone by since she lost her sister. Koko was sitting besides her mother, who was absolutely beaming as she clutched a squirming bundle in her arms. Koko took a gentle hold of the babe and she cooed gently as she looked at the newest edition to their family. The baby already had a handful of wild brown hair and he had incredibly intelligent, bright eyes that watched her in awe. She was overwhelmed by how much she loved her baby brother already.

"He's beautiful!" She smiled with unrestrained joy as the boy held tightly around her finger. She had to fight to tear her eyes away from him as she looked to her proud parents. "He's going to be something quite special, won't he? What will he be called?"

Her father smiled, a genuine smile she hadn't seen since before her sister had run away.

"His name will be Garmadon."

Suddenly hit by another wave of nausea, Koko bent in half, moaning as she tried desperately to get some air into her aching lungs. Garmadon clung onto her, at the ready to pull her into his arms if the need arose.

"Shit, Koko, what the hell is going on?!"

"I think," Koko gagged as she pulled herself upright, falling into Garmadon, who held her tightly in his arms. She tried desperately to keep her eyes linked with his before fading into unconsciousness. "There might be something your father was keeping from you."