Garmadon stared out the window, frowning. The city was vast, skyscrapers and buildings poking up from the ground. He knew a lot of the city's layout—the streets, the larger buildings, places his son may have hid. His days as Emperor had forced him to learn it. To memorize it.

Though those days were over now. But they still haunted him.

He let out a breath quietly, stroking Ochre's face.

The dog sighed contentedly.

He looked at his glove, then his arm. He was glad he'd gotten his gi back. It'd taken some convincing yesterday, but the doctors had finally allowed him to change. It's not like he needed that…thing on anymore. He didn't even want to say what it was. It was kind of embarrassing. Though you'd think he wouldn't care about that sort of thing anymore…

He shook his head.

The door creaked open.

Garmadon looked over, seeing Lloyd. This had to be the tenth time now. The Green Ninja had come and gone, come and gone. Like he couldn't decide if he should stay or not.

Lloyd slipped in silently, shutting the door. He looked at him, then away, putting his hands in his hoodie pockets. He walked over to Wu and Misako.

Wu and Misako had stayed with Garmadon almost always, seeming to refuse to leave. They'd left a few times—for lunch, supper, maybe water. But otherwise they'd stayed.

Garmadon…didn't know why. Although, Wu did seem to care…

"Did you need something?" Misako watched Lloyd.

Lloyd shrugged. "No, I just…" He shrugged again, then sat down on the floor.

Unfortunately, there were only two chairs in the room. Misako and Wu had taken them, which relegated Lloyd to the cold, hard floor.

Misako and Wu watched him, frowning concernedly.

After a few minutes, Lloyd stood again, leaving the room.

Garmadon saw Misako and Wu exchange a glance.

"I'm going to talk to him." Wu stood.

Misako nodded. "Good idea…"

Wu looked at Garmadon. "I'll bring back some more healing tea for you as well, alright?"

Garmadon fiddled with his sleeve, then nodded.

Wu walked to the door, opening it and leaving.

Leaving just him and Misako.

Garmadon patted Ochre, staring out the window again. He didn't know why he was so…nervous. Or why it felt so awkward. Though he could probably guess.

He glanced at Misako, almost against his will. She sat still, her legs crossed and a book in her hands—probably history. She read quietly, like she had been doing most of the time she'd been in the room. He found himself staring, fiddling with Ochre's tag.

Misako read for a few more minutes, then glanced up—most likely having felt his stare.

He blushed a little, then quickly looked away, at Ochre. Fool.

A few seconds of silence passed, and then he heard Misako close her book.

Idiot. He stroked Ochre, trying to calm his anxiety down. Why am I such an idiot.

She stood, walking quietly over to him. "How are you doing?"

He glanced at her in surprise. "Um…fine." He noticed she still held the book, and he read the title out of curiosity—The Great Age of the Serpentine. Huh. The title didn't surprise him.

Misako held the book a little more tightly than usual. "Would you like anything to do? You've only been sitting here…"

Garmadon shook his head. "No…I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You seem bored…and…lonely."

He bit his lip, looking at Ochre. He realized she was right. But I deserve it.

She shifted awkwardly, glancing at her book. "I would read to you, but I think you'd find it boring…"

He glanced at the book.

She set it down on the bed, looking at him. "Would you like to talk?"

"Talk…?"

"Yes."

"About what…?"

She shrugged. "Anything…"

He bit his lip. "I don't know…"

Misako nodded. "That's alright." She looked back at the book, biting her lip.

He shifted awkwardly. What does she want?

"How has Ochre been?"

He blinked, then glanced at the dog. "Um…fine."

She nodded. "Do you think he likes it in here?"

Garmadon shrugged. "I don't know…he seems fine…"

"Hmm."

He continued to pet Ochre.

Misako watched him and the dog.

There was an awkward silence. One Garmadon wished would break. What does she want?

Misako eventually sighed quietly, taking her book and sitting down in the chair again.

He glanced at her.

She opened the book, crossing her legs, and started reading again.

Garmadon watched her—or maybe studied. He didn't know.

She hadn't changed much, since he'd disappeared seven months ago. She still wore her hair in a braid, one white streak running down through the grey. The same glasses. The archaeologist outfit—a simple, tan, button down shirt, and teal-green cargo pants. She still had a green bandanna around her neck—the green for Lloyd.

I hurt her.

The thought was so sudden. Unexpected. He bit his lip, remembering the fight in the apartment building. Nya and her… they'd tried to hold him off. From Lloyd and Wu.

And I hurt her.

He unconsciously fiddled with the medallion in his pocket. Did she still have hers? Their vows to each other had been broken terribly. Mostly by him, of course. He doubted she did.

He sighed quietly, taking his hand out of his pocket, and looked out the window again.

It didn't matter. What had happened, happened, and there was no way he could change it.

Lloyd wouldn't answer his uncle. He could tell Wu was frustrated, he knew he just wanted to help him, but…he needed to figure things out on his own. And…he was too afraid to talk about it aloud. Because then it may suddenly be unreal.

It was a foolish thought, he knew, but he couldn't help it. He did not want to jinx this.

"Lloyd…" Wu shook his head.

Lloyd exited the hospital, holding the door for Wu, before heading for the Bounty. "I'm fine, Master Wu. Really."

"It doesn't seem like it. Did your conversation with Garmadon go well yesterday? I can't tell if you're avoiding him, or…"

He shrugged, looking both ways before crossing the parking lot. "It went fine, I guess…"

"You guess? Did something happen?"

"Nope."

"You seemed out of it when we came to check on you…"

"I was fine, and I'm fine now. Nothing happened. I'm fine." He gritted his teeth, irritation starting to bubble under his skin. Please, leave it alone. Just drop it.

Wu shook his head. "Alright…"

Lloyd reach the anchor chain, and climbed up quickly—wanting to get away form his pestering uncle. He heard Wu follow. When he reached the deck, he headed for the bridge.

"Lloyd, are you going to head back over again?"

He paused, not looking at his uncle. "Um…I guess. Probably. Maybe."

"I see…"

He shook his head. "I don't know…maybe later." He climbed up the ladder to the bridge, not listening to whatever Wu's response was.

The ninja were all gathered there, talking. They all turned when they saw him, though.

Lloyd paused, suddenly uncomfortable. He walked over to Nya. "The city quiet?"

She nodded. "Yup. How are you?"

"Uh…fine."

His friends exchanged glances.

Lloyd stared at the computer screen. It showed a map of the city, but no red dots or blinking warning lights were on. No notes or anything. It was quiet, like Nya had said. He sighed quietly, suddenly wishing for a distraction.

Not…that he wanted the city to be attacked. But having a villain to punch sounded really good right now.

Cole patted his shoulder. "So, how's Garmadon? You've seen him, right?"

Lloyd glanced at him. "Uh…yeah. He's fine…" He noticed Kai's eyes narrow, but surprisingly, the red ninja didn't say anything.

"You doing okay, then?" Nya looked worried. "You were really distraught before…"

He bit his lip. "Yeah…I'm fine."

"You were not injured, were you?" Zane's eyes lit up a little brighter, most likely scanning him.

Lloyd blinked at him. "Um…no. Of course not. I was shoved out of the way!" Sudden anger burned in his chest. I should have been hit. Not Dad. He looked away.

"Alright." Zane nodded, though he watched him closely. "It occurred to me we never asked you."

Kai frowned. "Yeah…" He walked over.

Lloyd shook his head. "It's fine. I'm fine. I wasn't hurt at all."

"You sure?" Kai looked him over.

"Yup." Though now that they were asking, he did have a slight headache. Though who knew if that was from the accident or stress. He got headaches more often than he'd like to admit…

Kai narrowed his eyes for a moment—then pulled him into a headlock, rubbing his head affectionately. "Okay. Good."

Lloyd smiled a little, trying to fix his hair. "Yup. Now stop interrogating me. What have you guys been up to?" He was suddenly even more eager for a distraction. He didn't want to think about his dad, what had happened, their conversation yesterday. He just wanted…a sense of normal. Something that didn't cause him to feel torn and shredded.

Kai released him, shrugging. "Nothing much. Just…hanging around here."

Lloyd mostly fixed his hair. "Okay…doing what?"

"Eating." Cole grinned.

"Yeah, my pudding cup!" Jay pouted, arms crossed.

Cole patted his head. "Eh, it wasn't labeled."

"Was too!"
Lloyd smiled, watching his friends bicker. He felt Kai's gaze on him, but he tried to ignore it. He was fine. Kai didn't have to worry.

He found himself glancing at the red ninja anyway.

Kai was watching him, eyes narrowed in thought. He looked away when he noticed Lloyd looking at him though, joining in on the bickering between Jay and Cole, and now Zane, who was trying to break up the fight. Nya watched amusedly.

Lloyd frowned. What was that about?