Lloyd's breath shuddered, and he curled into a tight ball on his thin, uncomfortable mattress. This is going to be a long night. He thought dismally.

Just then, Xenudah entered the room. "Hey, Lloyd, what's up? Garmadon is being weird again, isn't he?" He asked.

"He won't let anyone get near him. He won't listen." Lloyd sighed. "He won't listen if I try to talk to him."

"Looks like he's not listening to me, either," Yakunan said. "Maybe he doesn't want to hear."

"He won't listen to anyone." Lloyd sighed. "I just wish I could help."

"Maybe he doesn't want any help," Yakunan said. "It does look like he wants to be alone right now. I don't think he's trying to shut out the world. Maybe he just wants to cope on his own. If he has to."

"He won't even try to cope in a way that lets those around him help." Lloyd sighed. "It's like he doesn't care."

"I don't know, Lloyd," Xenudah said. "I know he cares. He's probably just having a harder time coping than he realized he would. Maybe he is struggling through it all on his own because he doesn't want to let all of us see him like this. Maybe he doesn't want to hurt us."

"Maybe... But I'm worried." Lloyd sighed.

"We all are. I'm sorry, Lloyd. I want to do whatever I can to help. I don't want him left alone."

"I know. It's hard for me too."

"I'm sure he'll stop fighting us," Xenudah said. "He has to let us in on his pain. It's either that or he won't be okay."

"I'm starting to think that he won't be okay." Lloyd sighed.

"Well, whatever he's doing, I'm still going to help. We need help." Yakunan spoke, moving closer to Lloyd from the door. "You need help. You know he won't be okay."

"And that's what hurts." Lloyd sighed. "I wanted him to be able to let the others help. I wanted him to be able to handle this. He hasn't let anyone help. It's not like he's been trying to be unhelpful." He sighed. "He just won't let us."

"What are we doing about it?" Xenudah asked. "If we really look at the big picture, we have to say that we failed. He's suffered this great emotional shock and is struggling to cope. We're not helping him, so what do we do? Everyone is worried about him and needs to be helped, yet he won't let us help him, or admit how much he needs help."

Yakunan shook his head. "I don't know. If we keep failing to help him, I guess we could end up causing him to fall apart."

"He's very strong. I think he really can handle this." Xenudah said. "It's something that deeply wounds a strong man."

"He should accept our help," Lloyd said. "I know that he's avoiding our help. He doesn't seem to care about our well-being. That hurts the most. He sees us as people that won't help him, and he doesn't want to have to trust that we are here to help him. When I try to talk to him, he just refuses to listen."

"It's going to take something big to get through to him. Something that forces him to listen." Xenudah said.

"I doubt we'll be able to do that," Yakunan says. "Unless he breaks down, he's going to be able to ignore us. Unless you want to become a villain, Lloyd, and just try to force your way into this." He sighed. "Maybe we could do that." He said thoughtfully.

"I've thought about it." Lloyd sighed. "But that's just not right. I refuse to become a villain."

"So what are we supposed to do now?" said Xenudah. "We've done everything we can. Now it's up to him."

"I know, I just..." Lloyd trailed off. "I can't do that to him. I guess we'll keep trying."

"We can only hope," Yakunan spoke quietly. "I do hope you figure something out soon." He said to Lloyd.

"Me too," Xenudah said. "We all do."

Lloyd leaned his back against the stone wall, his body starting to tremble from the stress. "I miss how we used to be... I miss it now. I wish it was still like that." His eyes grew misty. Tears flowed from them as he looked up. "But I can't change this, I can't change him..."

"Sooner or later we all have to face what's happening..." Xenudah said. "Eventually. It's hard, but we can't try to change it. We have to face it. I'm sorry, Lloyd."

Lloyd stated tearfully, "I'm starting to think that he won't be able to cope." He continued, "I don't want him to leave me, but I'm scared I'll lose him too."

Yakunan slipped out of the room, seeing Garmadon sitting down on his bed.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure, Yakunan."

"I've talked to Lloyd about this a lot. He's worried about you. Just lately he's been getting a lot more frustrated. It seems worse now than ever." Yakunan sighed. "He seems like he's at his limits."

"I know that." Garmadon snapped, "It's clear we're running out of options."

"I know. I wanted to do something, I really did. Lloyd's barely holding on now... I'm so worried about him now." Yakunan explained. "He's been all alone for too long. Everyone needs someone. He needs someone to help him. He knows that, but I don't know how to help him."

"We can't do anything to change this. We can only hope Lloyd can find his own way."

"I'm worried about Lloyd, too. I know he'll be alright, but he's really depressed." Yakunan put a hand on Garmadon's shoulder. He said that he felt like he didn't know what to do. I'm starting to wonder if we should start doing things more."

"Doing things that we don't want to do?" Garmadon spat. "Dealing with the pain of our own rejection? That's only going to end badly."

"Lloyd could barely handle it when you left him for that small moment." Yakunan said. "He's really trying hard to hold on, but it's getting really difficult. He needs you, but you weren't willing to open up. Just talk to him. Maybe you can figure out what he's trying to express."

"I feel overwhelmed." Garmadon's voice fell to a broken whisper. "The pain is so strong now. It's so strong that I don't know how to fight it. I can't fight this. What do you do when you can't fight the pain that overwhelms you every moment?" He whispered.

"Talk to Lloyd about it. Maybe you can at least tell him how you feel. That you don't want to do this anymore. I know he'll be really happy." Yakunan said.

"I don't know if I can do that." Garmadon said. "I don't know if I can tell him that."

"Lloyd started saying that he feels like he doesn't know what to do anymore." Yakunan said. "Maybe at least you should talk to him about it."

"Maybe I will." Garmadon said. "But I don't know. I just want to give up."

"You can't." Yakunan said. "You have to try harder, Garmadon. Lloyd needs you."

"I'm scared. I don't want to lose Lloyd again." Garmadon said. "I miss us. I miss how we used to be when we were happy and before the Oni came and stirred insecurity between us."

"Just talk to Lloyd about it. Maybe you can say something that will help." Yakunan said. "You can't give up like this."

"I'm the one who made him feel like this." Garmadon said. "I've hurt him. I don't want to hurt him anymore."

"You won't lose him."

"It doesn't feel like that." The destruction elemental's voice was sharp and pained, on the verge of breaking.

"You're grieving." Yakunan said. "You're holding back your own feelings. You know there is something between you and Lloyd. I doubt he feels like this is just casual."

"I can't do it." Garmadon said haltingly. "I'm afraid. I don't want to hurt him. I don't want to see him hurt."

"You know he will be lost in the dark if you give up on him. Yakunan explained. "Just talk to him. He told me that he feels like he doesn't know what to do but he's also happy that he didn't have to let go yet."

"I've run out of options." Garmadon confessed, "I screwed everything up."

"Just talk to him." Yakunan pushed on. "I'm sure he'll do the same. He cares for you. He loves you. He doesn't want to let you go."

"I'm afraid to lose him. I'm scared to hold him. I'm scared to be without him. I don't know what to do." He said. "I can't let him go again. If I do that, I don't think I could ever see him again."

"We can't give up hope." Yakunan said. "There has to be a way. You have to try."

"I can't! I don't want him to fall into the Oni's hands." Garmadon cried. "I don't want to fall into the Oni's hands. I don't know what else to do." He let out a long breath and his body seemed to calm down, falling into a slump. "He's giving up on me. He doesn't want to hold on." The destruction elemental took in another breath. "I'm the one who doesn't want this to end, too. I don't know what to do either, and it hurts... It hurts me to see him like this."

"Talk to him. Don't fall back on what happened before. Lloyd wants you to change." Yakunan said.

"Maybe we both can. I love him," Garmadon said. "I'm scared to lose him. I don't want to do it but I have no idea what to do."

"Just talk to him." Yakunan said.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Yakunan asked.

"I'm afraid he'll ask me to let go."

"He won't. He's expressed time and time again how much he misses you." Yakunan said.

"He misses the person I was." Garmadon said. "He wants to be friends. He wants his father. He wants an old friend. He wants to feel close to me not this monster I've turned into."

"You're not a monster...Lloyd knows you so well and he wants to reconnect. You have to know that." Yakunan said.

"I do, I really do," Garmadon shuddered. "I want to hold onto him and I want to make it better. I want to protect him from every day he has to see me like this."

"You have to try. You promised him. You can't just give up now."

"You're right. I can't. I love him. I have to protect him. I know it's a mistake but I can't just give up."

"Tell him that. You have to tell him."

"I'm going to try. I can't lose him, not ever again... Even if it means he wants to leave me. At least I'll know I tried–" Garmadon stiffened as Lloyd entered the room.

"I'll leave you two to sort things out." Yakunan bowed slightly before leaving the chamber.

"Lloyd." Garmadon turned around as his son approached. "I'm sorry about before."

"Don't be," Lloyd said. "We can't avoid the elephant in the room."

"So what's been going on?" Garmadon asked.

"Well," Lloyd said. "I guess the way I felt, I needed someone I could trust. I can't trust you right now."

"Why?"

"Because you're never around," Lloyd snapped, his face starting to heat up. He crossed his arms for a few seconds before throwing them up into the air. "And when I do try to turn to you, you're not there for me."

"It's not my fault you–"

"It's not your fault, either. But it doesn't mean you don't have to fix it."

"I know. But you don't understand."

"Then explain it to me," Lloyd insisted. "Tell me what's going on. I'm the one with the right to know, if only to keep myself safe. You're not the one who can stop the darkness. You're not the one who needs me to trust you more than anyone else. I know what I can and can't do, so quit treating me like I can't do a thing."

"Lloyd," Garmadon said with a sigh. "I'm trying. I'll try harder if you can tell me what I'm doing wrong. You're right, there's nothing I can do right now. But I'll do everything I can do to fix it. And I'll prove to you why I'm still worth the risk." Lloyd's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth to speak, but his father held a hand up to stop him. "And I'll give you everything you've ever wanted."

"Anything?" Lloyd asked quietly, hopeful. He needed his father now. He wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by the feeling of love and protectiveness, even if the feelings weren't reciprocated.

He tore his eyes away from his father, wanting to avoid getting more attached, knowing his father wasn't going to love him. A part of him still shattered every time someone he loved left him. He wasn't going to allow himself to break for his father this time. He knew the relationship he held with Garmadon would change, but he wasn't going to allow himself to be fooled this time.

"Anything but what?" Garmadon asked.

"Nothing," Lloyd said. "I'll believe you when I see it. I have a bad history with people promising they'd do anything for me, then disappointing me. It leaves me a bit reserved when I'm uncertain."

"I know. I'm sorry. But Lloyd," and Garmadon stepped towards him, then wrapped his arms around the boy, his voice cracking as he spoke. "I promise you, I'm going to make up this to you."

"Take your time."

"I don't take my promises lightly. I know that's not something you have to know much about me from the times we have spent talking. I know I haven't been around lately. I needed to take time for myself after what happened. And coming here to you, it was a start."

Lloyd curled into a ball. "I don't know what's wrong with me... I don't know what's going on, and I need to figure it out..." He began to tremble, his anxiety rising.

Garmadon rubbed the boy on the back. "You're my son, Lloyd," he began. "I love you, I always have... So trust me. I wanted to make sure you were okay. You're safe here. I want you to be safe. I want you to be happy, and I'll never stop trying."

"Then what's wrong with me?"

"I can assure you that none of this is your fault," Garmadon said. "Now, why don't you go to bed?"

"I'm scared..." Lloyd spoke quietly. "I-I think I'm going crazy."

"You're not crazy, Lloyd... You've been pushed to your limits. I should've known, you really were overworking yourself. You're exhausted. You need rest."

"I don't want to," Lloyd murmured.

"Then I'll stay here with you."

As his father brushed gentle fingers through Lloyd's golden hair, Lloyd relaxed slightly. "This is what I needed... I never..." He trailed off.

"You've never?" Garmadon asked.

Lloyd shook his head. "I never get this much attention... Not from anyone... No one except you ever cared to keep me safe..."

Garmadon nodded. "I'll always be here for you. I love you, okay?"

Lloyd choked on a sob, his body starting to tremble again. He could barely hold it in now.

"Come here, son…" Garmadon whispered, pulling his son close, rocking him back and forth as he did. Don't cry… Please... It breaks me to see you like this... I just want to make sure you're okay..."

"I'm not okay," Lloyd cried. "What's wrong with me?" He wailed, really cried, for the first time in years. The boy's body shook, and he clenched his hand into fists. "Why is this happening to me? Am I losing my mind?"

"Of course not," Garmadon said. "You're just overwhelmed. You've been going at this for so long, especially all at once. I understand. I really do. I've been feeling the same way. But you need to calm down. You need to rest. Don't worry. You're in safe hands now."

"I'm scared... You don't understand..."

"I understand," Garmadon began. "I really do... My heart breaks knowing you're in so much pain, that you're scared, that you're hurting. I can't stand it. Just knowing you have to go through this, it's utterly devastating. But I'm going to be here for you, regardless. Lloyd, I love you. You already know this."

Lloyd's tears fell silently, the boy's anxiety dissipating. "I...I know."

"You've protected Ninjago for so long," the destruction elemental praised. "It's time I returned the favor."

The green ninja's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as his father smoothed down the flyaways.

"Just rest now… I love you… I'm not leaving… Never again."