"Here, brother. This one is chamomile. You've had it before, remember?"
Garmadon accepted the cup of tea from Wu, frowning. "I'm sure I have…"

"I meant from the time you fell asleep at the table."

"Oh…" He felt a stab of guilt. "That was chamomile?"

"Yes."

Garmadon went and sat down at the table, staring at the tea. He glanced around the kitchen, bouncing his leg uncertainly. And because he was anxious. This therapy was in about an hour and a half.

And he was dreading it.

"Drink, brother. Sip it, remember."

Garmadon stopped himself from rolling his eye at Wu. He took a small sip of the tea.

Wu started making some more tea. They'd been at this all morning, trying to find one that worked. They had worked a little…but Garmadon still felt anxious. So Wu had kept trying.

Misako, lucky for her, only had to have one cup of tea. She watched them, slowly sipping from her cup every so often.

"This next one is the Anxie-tea." Wu looked at him. He no longer had the gauze around his face from the wound Garmadon had inflicted on him. He had a small scar, but because of the healing tea he'd had, it was almost gone. "So if that one doesn't work…we'll try this one."

Garmadon still felt very guilty about blasting him in the face. "Okay…" Though this tea-drinking was ridiculous. He sipped some more from the cup, stroking Ochre from where the dog lay on the floor.

"Anything?"

"I've barely had any yet…"
"Hmm."

Garmadon continued to sip the chamomile. Once it was gone, he made a disgusted face. He'd had way too much tea for one morning.

"Is it working?"

"No."

"Hmm…we'll try this last one then."

Garmadon glared at him. He quickly caught himself though, and looked away guiltily.

Wu poured another cup of tea, and walked over to him. "Here you are, brother."

He reluctantly accepted the cup, pausing to stare at it. "What is this, exactly…?"

"Anxie-tea."

"And that is…? Sounds like one of those creepy teas Mystake—" He cut himself off sharply.

"That was your last mistake, Mystake."

There was a scream—

Blood—

"Brother?" Wu frowned.

Garmadon blinked, stiff. He bent his fingers around the cup a few times, taking a breath. Then he sipped the tea.

Wu and Misako exchanged a glance.

The tea had a slightly odd taste, with a stronger flavor. He couldn't pinpoint what was in it—though it seemed leafy, like normal tea.

"What do you think of it?" Wu asked.

"Fine, I guess…"

"Is it helping?"

"I don't know. I've had one sip."

Wu sipped his own tea. "Hmm." He'd been working on finishing off the other teas that hadn't worked—and coincidentally (or maybe not) had made entire pot-fulls of each one.

Garmadon stared at the liquid, biting his lip. He took another hesitant sip. He stroked Ochre a little, waiting.

"Anything yet?"

At this point, Garmadon really wanted to throw him out a window. Not literally, but still. It was starting to get irritating.

"Garmadon?"

He took another sip of the tea, deciding to just ignore him until he actually drank the stuff. Otherwise he'd be saying "No" ten bazillion times.

Wu frowned.

Garmadon looked at the table, studying the lines in the wood. They were kind of pretty, actually. He flexed his fingers again around the cup, loosening his grip. Ow. How tightly had he been holding that? He stared down at the cup. It was blue. It was familiar, too. Wu had had the cups for a while now. Ever since the Serpentine War, he was pretty sure.

He wondered how the ninja hadn't broken them yet. Or anything else, for that matter.

Wu sat down in the chair, waiting. He watched him expectantly.

Garmadon took another sip of the tea, stroking Ochre again. The dog was very well behaved. He was glad Ochre had never gotten to Wu's chicken. Or he'd probably have been kicked out. Had the dog ever even met the chicken? Speaking of which, Garmadon hadn't seen that menace in a while. Only once in the kitchen, when he'd first come to the monastery.

Odd bird.

"Well, brother?"

Garmadon looked at him, then shrugged.

"Is it helping?"

"I don't know." Though now that he was thinking about it…he did seem calmer. His thoughts had slowed. They weren't as…panicked. Or jumpy. Maybe he was more relaxed…

"That's the last tea we had to try…" Wu sighed. "Maybe we should go back to the tea shop and try some others."

He looked at him. "No…I don't think you have to."

"I know you don't want us to help you, brother, but we have to try. We're not going to—"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then…?" Wu rose an eyebrow at him.

"I…think this one works. A little."

Wu blinked. "Oh. Really?"

"Yes." He smiled slightly, briefly, and then stared at the cup.

"That's wonderful!" Wu stood. "Now, I just have to drink the rest of these others. When we go for your therapy appointment, we'll got some more of this type of tea."

More shopping for tea? At least they'd only be getting one tea for him this time, though. And not an armload.

Misako walked over. "I'm glad that kind works."

Garmadon nodded, glancing at her. "Do you two want some?"

She blinked. "Oh…no, I'm fine." She smiled a little. "I'll leave the excessive tea-drinking to you two."

"You both seem anxious."

Misako frowned a little, then sipped her tea. "No. I'm fine, really." She smiled again.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay…" Garmadon looked at his tea.

Misako looked at Wu. "How are you going to drink all of this before his appointment?" She motioned to all of the teapots around.

Garmadon had no idea Wu had that many teapots. Though it shouldn't surprise him.

Wu waved a hand unconcernedly. "I will, don't worry."

She frowned, staring at him bluntly. "I'm worried."

He poured some more tea into his cup, then sipped it. "How long do I have?"

"Twenty minutes."

"Oh…dear."

"Exactly."

"Maybe I'll put the ninja to work."

"Cleaning up this mess?" She gestured to the teapots again.

"No, drinking the tea."

There was silence.

"Doesn't your chicken like tea?" Garmadon looked at Wu. "She'd probably drink it for you."

Wu frowned. "She already got into my tea once. I'm not going to reward her for that."

He rolled his eye. "I don't think chickens 'learn' much."

"Chickenetta is very smart."

"Sure…" He sipped his tea again.

The next twenty minutes was spent with Wu trying to drink all of the tea. He ended up having the ninja drink it, Misako practically dragging him out of the kitchen.

Garmadon fiddled with his hands in his lip, biting his lip. It was the same room as last time, with the grey couch and white walls. Phil sat in front of him, and Ochre sat at Garmadon's feet.

"Do you know what symptoms are?" Phil held his pencil ready, watching him, notebook in hand.

"I guess…"

"Could you tell me any symptoms you have?"

"Of what? I'm not sick."

Phil smiled a little. "I mean mentally. Or physically too, like things you feel in your body when you're anxious."

Garmadon stared at him, frowning a little. "What?"

"Have you felt anxious before?"

"Yes…"

"What do you feel when you are?"

"Um…" That was an odd question.

"Do ever have a racing heart? Shaky hands? Headache? Nausea? Out of control thoughts?"

Garmadon shrugged.

"Is that a yes…?"

He didn't reply. He just wanted out of here. He was only here because Wu and Misako were forcing him.

"Alright. What do you do when you're anxious?"

"Sit somewhere. Take a walk. Stuff like that."

Phil smiled. "Where do you like to sit?"

"Um…the couch. Outside."

"Where do you go for a walk?"
"Just down the monastery…" Where Ichor is. His hands clenched, and he rung them, taking a breath.

"Do you just walk down there?"

"Yes."

"Where do you usually go?"

"Just…around."

Phil watched him, then wrote something down. "Is there a reason you're hesitant to say much about it?"

"It's just a walk. There's not much to say."

"Hmm. I guess so." He smiled at him. "Thank you. How do you feel right now?"

"Fine…"

"Do you feel comfortable?"

"I guess…"

"I want you to feel relaxed and safe here. Is there anything I can do to help with that?"

"No."

"Alright. Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright." He wrote something down.

Garmadon shifted uncomfortably, then pet Ochre.

"Your brother mentioned you sometimes have panic attacks?"

He stiffened. "He did?" What had Wu told this guy…?
"Yes. Could you describe them?"

"Um…" Garmadon suddenly wished that Anxie-tea lasted longer. It had worked the entire hour it had taken to get here, then had stopped.

"That's alright if you don't want to. How have you been?"

"Fine…"

"Have you had a low mood?"

"I don't know…" He shrugged.

"Hmm…is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Not really."

"How has your day been?"

He opened his mouth say fine, but paused. "Meh…"

"Meh?"
"Yup."
"Did something happen?"

"Wu made me drink a ton of tea. That makes any morning 'meh'."

Phil laughed a little. "Oh. I see. Your brother really likes his tea, then?"

"Yeah."

"Is it alright if I try something? It's an assessment for anxiety and depression."

Garmadon looked at him, then shrugged.

"All you'll need to do is answer some questions as truthfully as you can."

He bit his lip. "Okay…"

Phil took out a computer from a laptop bag beside him, opening it. "Just a second…"

Garmadon fiddled with his hands, taking a breath. What did he mean by assessment? Was that some sort of test? Was he testing him? But testing him for what? No, it was for anxiety and depression… But he was fine. And what would he do if the results were bad? Put him in a mental institution?

He did feel crazy sometimes. Actually, all of the time.

Phil looked up, smiling. "Oky-doke, I've got it now. I'm going to ask you a few questions, alright?"

"Okay…"

"This applies to only the past two weeks." He looked back at the computer, then quickly wrote in his notebook. He flipped it around, pointing his pencil at what he'd written. "This is the answers you can use. So it's very simple." Phil smiled at him. "Does that sound alright?"

Garmadon scanned over his writing, biting his lip. It gave the replies of, "Not at all", "Several days", "More than half the days", and "Nearly every day". He hesitated, then nodded slowly.

"Great." Phil kept the notebook facing him, shifting the computer as he tried to balance holding both items. "So, first question—over the past two weeks, how often have you felt nervous, anxious, or on edge?"

He bit his lip harder, heart starting to thud in his chest. That was seriously the first question? Wait, why was he doing this? Why was he telling some random guy about everything? He didn't know him. He didn't trust him. Garmadon shook his head, staring at Ochre and running his hands through his fur.

Ochre wagged his tail, leaning into the touch.

His heart slowed slightly. He took a breath, looking back at the answers.

"Take your time." Phil smiled encouragingly. "You don't need to give any details."

Garmadon studied the answers, then said quietly, "Every day…"

Phil nodded. "Next question—over the past two weeks, how often have you not been able to stop or control worrying?"

"Every day…"

"Worrying too much about different things?"

He shrugged a little. Why did these questions all sound the same? Did he just want him to admit to his pointless anxiety about everything? He rung his hands, feeling the metal and wires underneath his glove—

A loud whirring sound filled the room.

Garmadon felt his breath catch. He caught a glimpse of silver in the machine, spinning too fast for him to make out—

Garmadon sucked in a breath. Was his worry and anxiety pointless?

"It's alright if you want to skip a question. There's no pressure." Phil glanced at him.

He let out a breath, trying to calm his racing heart. "Skip."

The therapist nodded. "Next question—trouble relaxing?"

"Yes… I mean, every day."

"I have a quick question, when you say every day, do you mean nearly every day, or literally every day?"
"Um…" Garmadon shrugged.

"That's alright, I was just curious. Next one is, 'being so restless it's hard to sit still'?"

"Uh…" He studied the answers quick. That one was…less…ish. He was pretty sure. "Half the days…"

"Becoming easily annoyed or irritable?"

"Half the days…" Especially with Wu's tea obsession that morning. Really, his brother could just be very annoying. Even when he was trying to help.

"Feeling afraid, as if something awful might happen?"

Might happen? Something awful—

"Ready for today's session?"

"Enjoy your stay at the monastery. I'll be watching. Waiting back at the lab as you crumble under their judgment and pain."

"Oh, and I almost forgot—meet me here in two days. I'll give you your punishment again. That is what you want, isn't it? You deserve this, remember—we wouldn't want your conscience getting soft again, would we?"

"I see you're here for your punishment. Right on time, too. You must be itching to get started, hmm?"

"How does it feel to be helpless?"

Ichor was always watching, always waiting, always hurting him—

He would never stop. He'd do whatever he could to get to Garmadon. Even hurt his family. Like that car…he'd almost killed Lloyd.

Phil looked at him. "Garmadon?"

He sucked in a breath, clutching his hands into fists tightly. He could feel the sweat on his palms. The fear.

Phil lowered his notebook and computer. "Take slow breaths. You're safe here. Just breathe in for seven seconds, okay? Can you do that?"

Garmadon looked at him, then nodded a little. He counted to seven, sucking in air slowly.

"Now hold it for a few." Phil waited, then said, "Now let it out slowly. Seven seconds again."

He slowly did so, feeling his muscles relax slightly. His mind slowed.

Phil smiled a little. "There you go. Do it again."

Garmadon did, feeling himself blush a little. This was ridiculous. He wasn't some frightened child. He shouldn't be so weak and stupid and afraid—

"Do you feel better?"

He nodded a little.

"Would you like to skip the question?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to continue?"

"No."

Phil nodded, looking at his computer. "Alright. Oh…and that was the last question, actually."

Garmadon looked at him. "And…? What's my result?"

"You skipped two questions, so it's not completely accurate…but you got severe anxiety as your result."

He bit his lip.

Phil closed his computer, looking at him. "It's not surprising to me. I expected as much. The test just helps me to get some clarity and verification. It's not one-hundred percent correct, either—just gives me an idea."

"Oh…so now what?" He cringed a little.

"I help you in any way I can." He smiled.

He blinked.

Phil stood, setting his computer on the chair and closing his notebook. "That's all for today."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm."

Garmadon stood uncertainly. "Oh…"

Phil led him out the door. "You did well today. Thank you for coming."

He nodded a little.

When they got back to the waiting area, Misako and Wu were waiting.

"How did it go?" Wu asked.

"Fine…" Garmadon said.

Phil nodded. "Yes, it went well. I will see you tomorrow, Garmadon." He smiled, then turned, walking away.

Garmadon watched him leave, frowning. He was…too nice. Something had to be off. Especially if the man knew about everything he'd done. Something wasn't right.

He followed Wu and Misako back to the Bounty.

He just wasn't sure if he'd figure out what before or after it came back to bite him.

Garmadon stared at his glass of water, standing in the kitchen. It was getting late, about ten o'clock. He hadn't been able to sleep, and so he'd come to get a drink. Earlier, after therapy, they'd all stopped for some more Anxie-tea. Wu had made him have some when they'd gotten home.

Garmadon was so sick of tea. He was very happy to have a glass of water right now and not more leaf-flavored blech. He sipped it, trying to get the tea flavor out of his mouth. It'd stayed all day.

"Hey. You're still up?"

He started a little, looking at Misako. "Um…yes. It's not that late."

"I suppose so." She bit her lip, hands in her pockets. Which was unusual. "What did you think of therapy today?"

"It was fine…"

"I know you don't like it, but Wu and I really believe it will help you."

"I know. I just…" He trailed off awkwardly, looking back at his water.

"Just, what?"

"I don't know this guy at all. Who's to say he's trustworthy?"

"I think he's trustworthy. Wu does too."

"That doesn't mean anything. Wu trusts everyone."

"No, he doesn't."

"He trusted—" He cut himself off. Ichor. And ME. Both had been a mistake. And then his brother had trusted Aspheera once, too.

Misako rose an eyebrow. "Trusted who?"

"No one…um…" He looked at her. "Why are you still up?"

"I just…I wanted to check on you." She shrugged, like it was nothing. But she seemed slightly tense.

He wasn't sure why.

There was an awkward silence, Garmadon finishing his water. He set the glass by the sink, then paused. He should probably wash that…

"I…did want to talk to you about something, actually," Misako said.

He looked at her, blinking. "Oh…" He picked at his glove, shifting a little.

She chewed her lip, then crossed her arms, hesitating. "Well…you remember how we stopped talking after you were fully healed?"

"Yes…?"

"I was wondering…well. Did you want to stop talking?"

Garmadon stared at her, frowning a little. "What do you mean?"

"Last time…we cut it off abruptly, I suppose."

"Oh…" He watched her. She still looked uncertain, shifting, not quite meeting his gaze. His eye slightly narrowed, studying her. He was never the best at body language.

Misako caught his gaze full on, blinking at his stare. There was…hurt? Then it was gone, and she straightened a little.

Suddenly it hit him. "Did you…want to keep talking…?"

"I…" She blinked again, looking away. "Maybe, I guess. It's just…after you were healed I didn't really have a real reason to."

Why would she want to talk to him…? He stared at her.

"And I guess I was a little…disappointed that you seemed fine with that. That we weren't going to talk anymore. Which does make sense, I understand. You have a lot going on. And I suppose all I do is ramble about archaeology and history which I know you don't care about, you were just lonely and bored—"

"I don't mind your rambling."

She looked at him, pausing.

He bit his lip. "I…I didn't mind it. I just thought…" He hadn't meant to hurt her. Again. He'd thought it was for the best they stayed away from each other. He'd thought it was the right thing to do.

Apparently, Misako didn't agree. But why?

She frowned. "Thought what?"

Garmadon hesitated. "That… I just don't want to hurt you." He looked away.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I always do. I hurt everyone. The further I stay away from people, the less chance I have of hurting them." Maybe if he explained…she'd see reason, and stay away from him. A monster. That's what he really was.

"But you wouldn't hurt anyone. You're good now…aren't you? You're not who you had been. You're back to…to being yourself again. After the Final Battle."

He glanced at her, fists clenching slightly, hair partially obscuring his vision. "I…yes. I am. I think. I don't know. What if I'm not? And after the Final Battle, I just turned evil again. How do we know that won't happen again? And I almost blasted Lloyd in the face a few days ago. Who's to say I won't do it again? Who's to say I won't actually hit him the next time?" He bit his lip hard, staring at the floor again.

There was silence for a moment.

"Garmadon…no one could have expected you to be resurrected into an evil version of yourself. That won't happen again. Besides, almost hitting Lloyd was an accident."

He shook his head. "But what if it does? Destiny seems to hate me. How do we know I'm actually who I once was?" Though he wasn't sure being who he once was would be a good thing, either. He was murderer then. "How do we know I'm not still Emperor Garmadon?"

Light footsteps came towards him. "You are not that Garmadon. Your 'emperor' self would never even consider any of that. Wu believes you're back to your real self, to Sensei Garmadon. Who you became after the Final Battle."

"How do we know I wasn't Emperor Garmadon my whole life…?" His voice lowered to a whisper. "That he wasn't just my real self finally revealing itself?"

"I don't believe that."

"I don't know what I believe anymore."

"Then trust me. You aren't your evil self. He was just a shell of you—he wasn't really you."

He glanced at her, biting his lip. He was pretty sure he tasted blood now.

She stood a couple feet from him, hazel-chestnut eyes narrowed, sincere in her words. Her arms were crossed, expression one she had used many times on him and Wu, her passionate stare usually able to sway them to believe her words. She'd always been headstrong. Always willing to help them. Her stubbornness and passion over her work was one of the things he'd been drawn to. And it always stretched beyond her work, to something bigger. To protecting Ninjago, to helping her friends.

He loved that about her.

Garmadon paused, blinking. He'd considered it once before…or a couple times. Did he still love her? Did he deserve to? Should he?

Misako frowned a little, still watching him. "Garmadon?"

"You really believe that?"

"Of course I do. Or I wouldn't have said it."

He stared at the floor. He didn't want to hurt her again. But…these feeling weren't going away. They wouldn't go away. She believed he was different, that he was good. But she was so naive to what he'd done, to what he'd been even before the venom had fully corrupted him—a monster. He didn't want to hurt her again. He couldn't love her. Not like that.

But the emotions stayed. And maybe…a little bit of trust erupted in his chest. Maybe she did care. She wouldn't hurt him. He could trust her, maybe. Maybe she wouldn't leave him.

She knew he was a murderer, a monster, a villain—yet she refused to leave.

He looked at her. "Okay…" He smiled slightly, before his gaze returned to the floor. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome…" She still watched him. "If you need anything I'm here, okay?"

"Yeah…"

"Would you like to keep talking, then? Maybe not scheduled like our other talks…but just, whenever?"

Garmadon hesitated. Considered the risks. Then he nodded a little. "I would like that." He glanced at her.

She smiled, a real genuine smile, eyes lighting up for a second. "Thank you."

"You're welcome…"

She turned, heading for the door. She paused though, looking back at him. "Goodnight."

"'Night…"

She smiled, then walked down the hall.

He smiled a little. Maybe…maybe things would work out. Maybe Ichor would disappear into the background, vanish. Maybe Garmadon could keep his distance a little from anyone, but still talk to them… Maybe he could fix some things. Maybe everything would be okay.