Yakunan sighed softly, remembering a conversation moments before his son had left him. The moment before everything went to chaos. He didn't understand why, but the pain he felt when his son had left him was something that he could never forget.
"I don't want to be alone..." Xenudah sobbed, burying his face deeper into his father's chest, his body convulsing as he clung to him. "I don't wanna be alone, Dad…" Tears poured from his eyes uncontrollably, his throat burning as he tried to stop crying, unable to control his sobs.
"I know, love... I know you don't…" Yakunan cooed, rubbing his son's hair with one hand as he hugged him closer, keeping his other arm wrapped around him protectively, rocking him as he continued to whisper soft reassurances into his ear. "Oh, Xenu... How long have you felt this way?"
"Way too long… And I can't stop it..." Xenudah murmured, pulling away from his father, curling into a ball. "This keeps happening... The pain gets worse and worse, year after year… And sometimes I think it'll never stop… It doesn't matter how often you tell me it'll all be okay... When I see you… It feels like my heart breaks into pieces all over again."
"Then why don't you talk to me? Why don't you come to me? Why haven't you told me these things? Xenudah, I am your father and your best friend. I want to help you... I want you to be okay. I hate seeing you like this… Nothing should make you feel like you are not enough. You are loved by so many, you deserve someone who loves you so much. And I can't even fathom how hard this must be for you, being forced to hide how much you need someone…" Yakunan's voice falters and he lets out a shuddering sigh. "You're hurting so much, darling, and this has been going on for so long. You shouldn't have to suffer this alone…"
"Why are you saying that, when you're the one who left me alone?! When you're the one who made me like this?!" Xenudah snapped, looking up at his father angrily, his lips trembling. "You left me! And I wanted you to stay! But no! You just sealed the cave without even saying goodbye to me! You didn't even try! Do you realize what you did to me?!"
"I didn't have a choice! Hikari turned on me and threatened to kill you! He was convinced that anyone associated with darkness was evil by default! Sure, he tried to befriend me, but all that was an act! He would have killed you and I knew he would have done it! I couldn't let him take you away from me!" Yakunan cried, shaking his head. "I couldn't lose you! I couldn't take another loss…" His gaze softened as he leaned forward and placed one hand on Xenudah's cheeks, pulling him close and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I'm sorry, baby… I'm so very, very sorry… And you were so young… So innocent… I didn't want to burden you with the truth… I didn't want to put any pressure on you. I'm sorry if what I did seemed harsh and selfish… I'm sorry for not having cared enough about your happiness. I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for being so blind to everything you went through. I'm so sorry…"
Xenudah leaned closer and let out a sigh. "I'm a little okay now…. I'm sorry I yelled at you... I just got angry and sad and… I was scared… You were taking away my happiness… So I lashed out at you." He admitted, staring into his father's deep blue eyes, which looked back at him with sadness and remorse. "I know… You're right… I was being selfish… Being angry at you for leaving me was stupid... But it hurt… Because you're my family... You're not supposed to leave me behind… I didn't understand what happened to you… I was too young… I don't remember much of what happened that day… So I'm afraid... Besides my wife and daughter, you're all I have left… I don't want to lose you too..."
"Shhhhhh…" Yakunan pulled him into another hug, nuzzling his nose into his hair tenderly. "Don't worry, love… I won't leave you behind… Never… I'm sorry for everything I have done, for all those years of absence… For making you suffer so deeply. I'm really sorry…" He sighed shakily, holding him close as he rested his cheek against his son's dark locks. "I just wanted to protect you from everything that was hurting you and everyone else in this world… If I had known… That I would have caused so much suffering to people you cared about… I am truly sorry…"
"It's okay, dad… We're both sorry." Xenudah said, closing his eyes and leaning back against his father's chest once more, hugging him back, snuggling closer, burying his face against his shoulder. "I don't want to leave your side…" He mumbled, resting his head comfortably on his father's chest, wrapping one arm around his waist. "So don't go… Please, father...don't go…" His breath hitched in his throat and he bit back a whimper of fear, trying his hardest to hold back the tears once more.
Yakunan caressed his son's soft, short black hair. "Never, Xenudah...never… I swear it. No matter what happens, no matter where we end up… I will always be here… I will always come back home to you… Always." Yakunan hugged his son tightly and kissed the side of his son's head repeatedly, trying in vain to soothe and console him. "I failed you… You're afraid of hurting people again because of what I've done to you..." He held his son tightly. "Please believe me when I say I never wish to cause you any more harm... I never want to hurt you…"
Xenudah just nodded, laying his head against his father's chest, whimpering softly.
"Xenu... You've been emotionally traumatized for so, so long..." Yakunan sighed.
"I don't want to be alone…" Xenudah whispered, his body shaking in silence. "I'm scared I'm gonna wake up every morning and be alone forever… That I'll never find someone who cares about me and loves me and makes me happy. That I won't ever see you again, Dad…" He sobbed quietly. "If only I could have found you sooner..."
"You and I both, Xenudah… But we're together now... And that's all that matters. You and I are both here now, love." Yakunan smiled softly, desperately longing to comfort the poor boy in his arms, not wanting him to feel alone any more than he already did.
"Apaiya... hold me, please... I feel so lonely... Don't abandon me, Apah..."
"Ohhhhhhh, Xenu... My love… My little angel… My precious treasure..." Yakunan held Xenudah tight, rocking him gently as he sobbed softly. "I'm never leaving you, my love… I never will…"
Xenudah wouldn't let his father go, not one bit. He was too frightened to leave his side. "It really hurts…" I know, baby… I know… I know…" Yakunan pressed a kiss against his head. "Just try to forget about it for awhile. Just rest… You need it. You're exhausted, Xenudah."
"I don't wanna sleep…" Xenudah whined, tightening his grip on his father. "Can't… I'll be trapped in nightmares… Nightmares of me losing you… Nightmares of you losing me… I just don't know how I'll fare if we're separated again…"
"We'll get through this, sweetheart… We'll make it through this together… Okay? Just try to relax…" Yakunan rubbed his son's back reassuringly. "Try to sleep. It's alright... You've gotten used to waking up in pain… I can imagine it must hurt to wake up feeling nothing at all… But you should try to relax before you fall asleep. Try thinking of other times you've felt safe, protected, and warm in your life. Think about how comfortable it felt. It must remind you of when you lived with me. Perhaps it will help to ground you. Think of the good memories before everything fell into chaos." He suggested softly. "Maybe it'll calm your heart, maybe it will give you comfort… Think of them. It'll help."
Xenudah let out a shuddering sigh, closing his eyes, letting himself sink back into his father, letting himself think of those things he hadn't thought of in years… Those were good things; they helped to keep him calm, to bring comfort… He took a deep breath, slowly releasing it, focusing on the things he'd always loved about living with Yakunan: the warmth in the air during the winter nights, the feeling of safety and belonging, the sense of security and protection that came from having somebody by his side. As he concentrated hard, he slowly began to feel better, feeling safer and reassured as his mind drifted to happier times, remembering all the times he had spent with his father, playing together on the grass and laughing, playing tag, or building sandcastles together. The memories brought some kind of relief to his soul, calming him down and helping him ease back into his own skin after a time of feeling so empty…
"I know… I know… They were good moments, weren't they?" Yakunan said, smiling fondly, looking over his head at the ceiling, thinking back on those days. "Good memories, good times… I've missed you a lot, you know…" He continued. "I've missed everything about you, Xenudah… I missed hearing your voice and seeing your smile and talking with you. I miss everything about you. Every little thing that made you unique and different and special… I love everything about you." He smiled sadly, pressing a soft kiss to his child's forehead…
Xenudah snuggled closer to his father, desperately not wanting to let him go.
"I never thought I would ever feel like this again... Not even when you told me to my face that you didn't want to see me anymore… That you thought I was a bad parent… I never imagined that… But after everything you went through... Everything you experienced in such a small amount of time… I guess I never thought I would feel this way again either… After I lost you, I was sure that I would never feel anything remotely close to what I do now again… That I wouldn't even be able to feel joy…" He swallowed thickly. "You brought me back to life, Xenudah. I don't know how I managed to survive until this moment without you in my life. You gave me hope, hope that we could be happy again someday, that we could be together… I've tried not to think about what I could have done differently, but I know that there was something I could have done differently… It haunted me so much… It haunted me day and night. But it also made me realize that it wasn't your fault, my dear. It was mine… I did wrong things…and for so many reasons... But I'm still sorry... So very, very sorry."
"Father, I-I just… I couldn't understand why you left me alone in the first place and it was killing me…" Xenudah whispered, burying his face against his father's chest, holding him tightly, crying silently in his arms as he cried, letting the tears flow freely without holding back, allowing the floodgates to open, his pain and grief pouring out freely. "I thought you hated me…" Tears rolled down his cheeks, his sobs growing louder.
"Xenudah… My little angel…" Yakunan murmured, nuzzling his nose against his son's messy, sweaty hair, kissing the top of his head tenderly. "I love you… I love you so much. I promise I'll never leave you again… I'm not going anywhere… I never have, nor will I ever again…"
Yakunan sighed softly, gazing out the window. "Ohhhh, Xenudah…" He missed his beautiful, innocent child so much...
The last thing he wanted to do was break his son's heart even further… To make things worse was to add fuel to the fire, to encourage his son to hate and resent him even more than he already was.
Lloyd peeked inside Yakunan's room before sitting down next to him. "You miss him a lot... It must be so hard losing someone you love, even temporarily..."
"It is..." Yakunan whispered through tears as he continued to weep, his body trembling. "...I can't imagine my life without him anymore… He's all I have...All that matters to me now… W-What if he never wants to come back to me? ...I c...can't take the thought..." His eyes glazed over with tears, tears he had no control over now. "I c...can't lose him..." He stammered, his voice cracking as his throat tightened with emotion. "...Not like this… Never..." He knew it was selfish of him to be asking Lloyd for advice about what to do about his problems, but he was just so desperate for answers.
Lloyd placed a comforting arm around Yakunan. "He'll return…" Lloyd said quietly, trying to offer as much comfort as possible, although even he himself was struggling to find the right words to say. "It'll be okay, Yakunan… He'll come back…"
"How are you so sure?"
"Because I know he loves you… And if anyone can convince him to come back to you, it's you. Besides… You're his dad, he knows how much you care for him. If anybody else is capable of convincing him to come back to you then surely you can. You won't let him go." Lloyd said with certainty. "I saw how much he adored you in the past. Even though he acted like he didn't want to interact with you anymore, whenever he saw you he'd immediately run up to you and hold onto you, clinging to you, hugging you like he never wanted to let you go…"
Yakunan unclasped the locket from around his neck, gazing at the photograph of him and Xenudah, twirling the chain around his finger. He sniffled gently, blinking back tears. "I don't want to ever let him go... Never…" He sobbed, his hand shaking weakly. He closed the locket, holding it close to his chest. "Never… I won't ever let him go…" He choked, his throat tightening painfully as he shook violently, unable to speak, unable to stop crying, unable to fight back, unable to hide, unable to stay quiet and strong, unable to control his emotions, unable to deny what he was feeling. "I just...wish I could have been a better father to him in the past… Instead of making such poor choices and hurting him and leaving him to suffer alone… It wasn't fair to him… He was a child… A young boy… He shouldn't have been forced to endure the hardships that plagued him… He shouldn't have gone through it all alone. I should have been there for him...I… I should have been there for him…" Tears fell down his cheekbones freely, the sobs uncontrollable. "My poor little boy… My precious little baby… I failed you… You deserve a father who isn't a coward or a weak, stupid man…" He whimpered softly.
"No one deserves to go through what you and your son did… No one." Lloyd breathed. "That doesn't mean he hates you… It means he misses you too. It means he misses you and he loves you more than anything."
"I wish..." Yakunan whispered, wiping away his tears, his eyes red and puffy. "It seems like every day I wake up and realize I'm still alive and well. But it feels like only yesterday that I found out that my beloved baby boy was gone... It feels like my world has collapsed in itself again, completely."
"I'm sorry, Yakunan...that sounds horrible. I wish I could bring him back to you..."
"Please… Please try to help me fix things…" Yakunan begged, grabbing Lloyd's arm, pulling him closer, holding his hand tight as he looked at the younger man.
Lloyd stared at Yakunan with a pained look, sighing. "I can't promise anything…" He murmured, lowering his gaze. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry. You've given me nothing but good and positive feedback about everything I've done so far… I don't think I have any right to ask for anything more than that… Nothing I can give you is worth you doing this for me…"
Lloyd nodded, squeezing Yakunan's hand in encouragement. "Just keep believing. Keep believing that he'll return to you… Keep believing that you two can be together again. Don't forget that everything happens for a reason. He probably just needs time to process what happened and calm down from it… Maybe it will take time…maybe it won't. But keep believing, keep fighting for him… I know it will work out somehow. And I believe in you… You're the one responsible for bringing him home again... So please, be patient with each other.
"Xenudah is my everything…If I lost him again–" Yakunan's fragile speech breaks off, his breath catching in his throat as another painful sob racks his frame.
A tear ran down Lloyd's cheek.
"But if I lost him again… If I lost him again after so long… I know how cruel it will be to myself as well… I don't think it would hurt more than what's already happened… If I were him…I think I could never live through it again… The pain and misery… The guilt and anguish…" Yakunan swallowed harshly, his eyes glistening as he squeezed them shut and shook his head. "But I won't… I won't let him go… Not like this. Not because of me. He came to me because he loved me and I failed him. I'll prove to him that I'll never leave him again. That I'll always be there for him. Always."
"And if he decides to stay away from you again, just remember that he loves you and he will come back to you," Lloyd said gently, holding his shoulder, rubbing it lightly, reassuringly. "He may have felt betrayed by you, betrayed by his own family, betrayed by everything you did to him, but he loves you…"
"I wish I knew for sure... I wish I was sure of something... But I just can't help thinking that he hates me now…" Yakunan breathed sadly. His voice broke again as he continued to speak. "I-I just can't stop myself from wondering if he really does hate me. All I want is for him to be happy, and I feel terrible that I caused him so much pain… How am I meant to make it up to him when he's so angry at me? I'm such an idiot!" The former Overlord cried miserably, clenching his fist, his knuckles going white from the pressure. "I just hope he comes back! I need to see my baby boy again! I need to tell him how sorry I am! I need to apologize for everything and beg for forgiveness from him!" Yakunan choked, his eyes tearing up.
"Yakunan…"
"I need to make it up to him… I have to! I'm not giving up on him again! I refuse to give up on him!" Yakunan exclaimed desperately, his tears spilling down his face. "I'll fight for him! I swear it! I'll never stop fighting until my last breath for him… He can't die… I won't let him die…" His voice grew louder, becoming hysterical as the sobs wracked his body, choking him as his voice wavered, breaking. He clung tightly to Lloyd, trembling with grief and terror, refusing to let go, clinging to him desperately, pleading for comfort. "Please… Help me…"
"...I'm sorry..." Lloyd whispered, pulling Yakunan into his arms, wrapping his arms around him. "It's alright… I know it's scary… But he loves you, Yakunan… I know he does…"
"...You don't understand… You don't understand…" Yakunan sniveled, gripping onto Lloyd.
"Then help me understand. Talk to me Yakunan… I know I haven't known you for very long, but I care about your well-being as much as anyone else's. Please, talk to me."
"He's my world, my everything..." Yakunan sobbed. "I-I just can't handle being without him…" His entire body quaked as he wept, clutching onto Lloyd desperately.
Lloyd shuddered. "Please tell me what happened. I'll listen to you. Just talk to me…"
Yakunan sighed shakily. "Nearly an hour or so before he left, I revealed that your grandfather had lied to me… He used Xenudah and I for his own gain, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with us, even going as far as taking us out completely… I tried talking to him about it, but… He wouldn't listen… He called me pathetic, a worthless, useless failure, a disappointment, a waste of his time, a disgrace… My heart shattered, Lloyd, I was devastated... I didn't know what to say… And then he said he forgave me, but it appears he's still upset about it because he brought up the fact that he was going to save his family as a means to avoid the conversation…I've been lying to him for years, and now the truth is out and he knows it." His breathing quickened slightly, tears streaming down his cheeks, his words falling fast and hard. "I…I can't…can't live like this anymore. H-He hates me now… I know he does. What am I supposed to do?!"
"What do you want to do Yakunan?"
"I want to tell him everything…" Yakunan replied, sniffling, shaking. "I want to explain… I want him to hear the truth... To get closure, I want… I want him back…" He whimpered. "I can't lose him again. Never again. I can't lose him. I love him. I love him so much…"
"I'm here… You can cry as hard as you want... Just… Just tell me what happened next."
"We started talking about our feelings, everything that had happened between us in the past few weeks… Our relationship, our problems, everything. We talked about the good memories, the bad moments we shared together, the good times that reminded us of the happiness we once shared…" He spoke softly, sniffling, his words coming slower now, barely coherent. "And as I got closer and closer to him, I realized… I realized…"
"You realized what exactly?" Lloyd asked quietly, gently rubbing his arm.
"I realized that… Everything I'd ever done for him made him angry at me… It didn't matter why he was angry. It didn't matter who he hated most. No matter what he said, no matter what he did, I had caused it all… I had led him on… I hadn't cared about him and I wasn't honest enough with him." Yakunan whispered, his tears flowing freely. "I didn't deserve him. I never deserved him. I was a fool to think I could ever get over him. A coward to let him leave… A liar to let him go… But as I watched him leave me for days without a word… Without telling me where he was going… Without looking back…Without saying goodbye… Without anything… I realized… I realize… How could I? How could I have been so stupid?" He closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping, hunching forward in defeat.
His breathing grew shallow, ragged, his lips parting as he sucked in air sharply, his chest rising, falling heavily as his heart pounded against it. "I realized that if I couldn't forgive myself… Then how could I expect him to forgive me? How could he forgive me?" Yakunan's body trembled, his breath shaky. " He must have hated me because...Because I made him so angry, so hurt, so afraid. I caused it all… Everything I did to him… All the horrible things I did to him... All the terrible things that had already occurred… It was all my fault... Everything was my fault…" Yakunan said brokenly, trembling and shaking with every heavy, painful breath he drew, his chest rattling loudly as he gasped in shock, his mind whirling. "Everything I do, I do it because I care about him too much... Because I love him too much..."
"Oh, gosh…" Lloyd muttered weakly, sighing softly. "This is worse than I expected… He was always a sensitive guy…" Lloyd frowned sympathetically, squeezing Yakunan's shoulder gently.
Yakunan glanced down at the locket again, his vision fuzzy from the tears that welled up in his eyes. He slowly reached out for it, gently grabbing it between his fingers, holding it carefully to his chest. He opened it, staring inside as his heart ached painfully, knowing full well what was inside… He held the pendant in his hand, twirling the chain gently. "Why? Why would he do that?... Why can't he stay?" Yakunan murmured to himself quietly, his voice cracking. "How am I supposed to be happy if he isn't by my side?... How am I supposed to feel whole when I miss him so much? Why can't he love me? I deserve it! I shouldn't be alone anymore!" Yakunan cried out suddenly, his sobs wracking his body as his head fell forwards, his face buried in his hands, the tears flowing silently down his cheeks.
"I'm so sorry, Yakunan…" Lloyd sighed sadly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "This has obviously taken a lot out of you…"
"I'm scared I've lost him forever... He's irreplaceable. How could I possibly make it through life without him?" Yakunan sobbed, his breathing growing ragged, erratic, filled with gasps as his chest rose and fell rapidly in panic. He shook violently as his hands clutched the locket tightly, tears sliding down his cheeks as his breaths came in short, rapid, panicked bursts. He curled his fingers into a fist, his knuckles white from how tightly he gripped the necklace. He choked on a sob as another one escaped, his shoulders trembling. He then let out a piercing cry. Yakunan buried his face in his hands, crying harder, more hysterically. His breathing grew louder, his sobs more forceful.
"You really do miss him…" Lloyd sighed softly, resting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, gently rubbing it.
"More than you could ever imagine…" Yakunan sobbed, shaking harshly.
"Yakunan… I promise… I will find a way to make sure he's okay. I won't allow him to die, not like that."
"It's not that simple…" Yakunan hiccupped, closing his eyes, his arms wrapped around his legs, hugging them close to his torso as he sat on the bed, his knees pulled up, his body shivering violently. "I live only for him... He's my everything… If he died, I wouldn't be able to handle it… I don't think I'd survive it..." He whimpered weakly, burying his face in his hands, his chest rising and falling in frantic rapidity. "I couldn't even imagine–" His voice faltered, struggling to gain a handle on his emotions. "I could never imagine losing my child…even for a moment… I could never stand it… I love him so much..." Yakunan breathed shakily, sobbing loudly as he sobbed, his words becoming mumbled and quiet. "Oh, Xenu… My son…"
"You were trying to protect him from pain and anguish… That makes sense…" Lloyd nodded. "But you also need to stop blaming yourself for his actions. He left because he wanted to. You didn't force him to leave… You never forced any of those decisions on him. It was all him, he chose to leave, and he has a right to choose what happens after that. Don't blame yourself."
"I-I'm so scared... So, so afraid..." Yakunan whimpered, his breathing getting heavier and weaker. "If something happens to him, I don't know… I don't know what I'll do… I don't know who I'll become… I can't lose him… I can't…" He shivered. "N-Not again!" He gazed up at the ceiling. "Please… Please don't leave me alone, Xenu… Don't leave me like this again… I can't handle it… I can't stand to see you leave me… Please stay… Please just… Stay..." Yakunan begged desperately, his sobs filling the empty space between them, his words sounding distant, muffled. "Please… Stay please… Don't leave… Stay with me... Don't go.. P-Please…"
"Oh, gosh…" Lloyd gazed sadly at the former Overlord, noticing that even though Yakunan had started to calm down a little bit, he still clearly felt awful… He knew how hard that was for Yakunan. How hard it was for Xenudah. He wished there was something he could do to ease Yakunan's pain and sorrow. But honestly, he didn't know if there was. There weren't many options… He knew how much they loved each other, so the last thing he would want to do was force them apart, which he suspected wouldn't be an option anyway. The last thing he wanted to do was take away their time together, or make them uncomfortable while they tried to heal and move past what had happened and try to live their lives together.
No matter what anyone else thought, they were still a family; despite the ups and downs. They were still father and child, despite the differences, despite everything that had gone on between them since that fateful night.
Even though they seemed worlds apart now, they were still two parts of the same whole and Yakunan hoped with all his heart that whatever happened later would work out. Maybe, they would finally put that part of themselves behind them and start living happily again; hopefully, together.
"XEEENNNUUUUUDAAAAAHHHHH!" Yakunan screamed, as if falling into a fit of insanity and madness, thrashing wildly, clutching his hair and pulling at it in desperation, his screams growing more desperate as the world seemed to spin around him, seeming to distort, the only thing clear in his mind was his beloved little boy.
Lloyd watched in dismay, his heart breaking as Yakunan continued to shout his son's name over and over again… He wished there was anything he could do. Nothing he could say would make this better. Nothing he could do would change what had already happened. But he wished there was something he could do. He wanted to help somehow…
Garmadon walked into the room, his eyes softening when he saw Lloyd. His shoulders were shaking. "Oh, there you are, Lloyd... What happened to Yakunan?"
"It's his son... He's been troubled by his departure... His heart's broken…" Lloyd replied solemnly, looking down sadly at the unconscious man beside him. "He's been devastated since then." The energy elemental sighed tiredly, wiping some stray tears from his cheek, gazing down at Yakunan. His lips trembled, his eyes reddened as he sniffled quietly. "The poor guy... He doesn't deserve this…" Lloyd murmured softly. "Xenudah won't even try to make up with him... He won't talk to him about anything at all... And he won't listen to reason either..." Garmadon frowned sadly, taking in Lloyd's words as he glanced over at Yakunan's distraught form. His expression softened further when he turned back towards Lloyd. "Come here, Lloyd," He said, patting the bed next to him. Lloyd slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed, his eyes never leaving Yakunan, the tears falling freely.
Lloyd nodded and nestled closer to his father.
"You've always been so compassionate... So kind... It's very refreshing seeing that side of you again. You're definitely much stronger than you realize, son." Garmadon smiled faintly, his gaze softening and his smile turning more genuine. "You have to remember that, Lloyd..."
"I know... I know…" Lloyd whispered softly.
"Xenu, please!" Yakunan wailed, curling in on himself. He buried his head into his knees, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. A fresh bout of tears flowed from his eyes, streaming down his cheeks, soaking into his kimono. He let out another painful sob, writhing and trembling as the moments passed. "I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE! I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU! I WANT YOU BAAAAAAAAACK!" He screeched loudly, his voice hoarse and strained.
Lloyd let out a choked sob, tears welling in his eyes as he stared at Yakunan, watching helplessly. He couldn't even begin to understand the agony Yakunan must feel and the amount of stress he must be feeling.
"Oh, Lloyd… Come here…" Garmadon whispered softly, holding his arms open for Lloyd, beckoning him forward.
Lloyd shuddered, wrapping his arms tightly around him, letting out a few silent whimpers as he cried softly. "I wish I could do something…" Lloyd gasped, burying his face against his father's chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt in his fists. "But... There isn't anything I can do for Yakunan… I mean, he has been through a lot… I can't exactly blame him for wanting his son to come home. I know how much he loves Xenudah too… I really can't blame him…"
"Please..." Yakunan whispered. "Just leave me to my own problems..." Yakunan managed to strangle out. "Just... Leave me alone…" His tone became softer, his tears stopping abruptly before fading completely. His shoulders slumped slightly, his breaths returning to a normal pace, the shuddering slowing and eventually dying off. His breathing returned to normal as he closed his eyes and sighed shakily. "...Just let me sleep... I'll be fine in the morning..." Yakunan's body trembled slightly, his breath hitching ever so slightly. "...I'll be okay... Just... I'll be alright..."
Garmadon and Lloyd got up to leave, but not before looking at Yakunan's fragile form one more time.
"Xenu..." Yakunan whimpered weakly. "Please come back to me... No matter what I do, please..." Yakunan begged softly, his voice shaking. "I love you... I love you so, so much, Xenu... Please... Come back to me..." Yakunan's pleading voice echoed in the quiet room as silence followed, save for the steady sound of his shallow breaths being the only noise in the room. He let out a strangled sob, his voice cracking as the memories of their tenderhearted moments together came flooding back, bringing tears to his eyes and his heart pounding painfully in his chest as he squeezed his eyes closed tight. "Ohhh, Xenu… My dear boy…" He opened his eyes again and gazed down at the locket once more. "Please come back… I'm sorry I left you... Please forgive me... I miss you terribly... I love you... I love you..."