Wu walked to the living room, on his nightly check-up on his brother. To make sure he was okay. Because…he was concerned. Garmadon was obviously not alright, but his brother stubbornly refused to admit it.

He shook his head. He'd gain his trust eventually…would find out what had happened. He carefully slid open the door to the living room, silently walking in and to the couch. He peered over—

Garmadon was gone again.

What now? He assumed he was probably out in the courtyard again. Wu sighed, turning—then paused, eyes narrowing at the slightly tilted dartboard.

That…was suspicious.

He walked over, moving the dartboard the rest of the way. Garmadon hadn't…gone to the hanger bay, had he? He frowned. That was odd… Wu glanced at the TV, then back to the red button. He pressed it.

The TV disappeared below the floor and the secret entrance was revealed, the door opening. Wu quickly went in, the door shutting.

He waited impatiently as it slowly lowered him down. He wasn't usually impatient, but his brother concerned him. His behavior was…bizarre. He'd never seen him like this before…

The door finally slid open, and Wu hurried into the hanger. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary…until he got to the large-screen computer. It was on, different windows open like…someone had been searching for something.

He found himself frowning again. He looked it over, making notes and connections. "A…puppy farm?" Why would his brother be looking at a puppy farm…?
A location was opened up in the lower left corner, the window smaller than the others but the words bold and clear.

"Hmm…" Wu's frown deepened. He abruptly turned. He needed help again—his brother may be in trouble.

Garmadon jerked awake, breath quickening. It was dark. He tried to move—but…his wrists were tied? And his ankles…?
Panic came over him before he could stop it, flashes of memory from Ichor overwhelming him as he sucked in strained gasps.

No no no—

Not again, this can't be happening—

"Hello, Garmadon."

Garmadon looked up, sucking in another choking gasp.

Macario eyed him coldly, hands folded behind his back. "I see you broke into my property. And tried to steal from me."

He trembled, cowering on the ground. No no no—

Where was Ochre?

He'll turn me in to Ichor—

Macario stared at him a moment. "You know who I work for, don't you?"

Garmadon bit his lip.

"Do you understand that I could call Ichor over here right now?"

Silence.

"Luckily for you…I want some revenge. You have caused me a lot of trouble, you know. That dog is worth more than you'll ever know in your pathetic life."

Garmadon glanced around the room, seeing that it was small, with a single light bulb on the ceiling. Some sort of closet, probably. Other people were there too, wearing black guard-like clothing. The skinny man who had knocked him out was standing at the back—front—with his arms crossed. He was smirking proudly.

"What…what are you going to do with me?" Garmadon looked back at Macario.

Macario grinned. He walked over to him, then swiftly kicked him in the gut.

Garmadon gasped, curling into himself.

"I'm going to hurt you. Obviously. Maybe I should turn you in? I'd love to see what he'd do to you." Macario laughed, landing another kick to him.

Garmadon coughed.

Two men came forward, lifting him to his feet.

Macario landed a punch to his face.

Garmadon jerked back, trying to get away—

Another punch assaulted his ribs.

Someone else joined in, landed a blow to his stomach.

Then they were all joining in, landing blow after blow—

Insults and threats came at him as they laughed, taunting—

Garmadon choked on a sob, not bothering to fight back. His struggles weakened.

Not again—

I can't get away from pain, can I?

I only wanted Ochre! I only wanted my dog back!

Was that too much to ask?!

He gasped as a blow landed on his broken leg.

"You're a disgrace!" one jeered.

"Monster!"

"Murderer!"

"You're an insult to humanity!"

"To Ninjago!"

"Savage!"

"Villain!"
"Oni!"
"You deserve death for your crimes!"

Another blow landed on his leg, and Garmadon crumpled, only being held up by the two men. Then he was roughly dropped.

Garmadon gasped as more blows came at him, most kicks—aimed at his face, chest, legs, anywhere they could.

"We should turn you in right now!"

"Yes, I'm sure Ichor would love to see you again!" another cackled.

More blows—

Garmadon shut his eye, sucking in a breath. Just endure it, endure—

"Hey! Knock it off!"

Wait, that wasn't them—

Something gold zipped past him, bowling over Macario and a few others. Most of the people fled the room, eyes widening.

Wu turned, slamming another with his staff.

Lloyd suddenly came into his line of sight, brandishing his sword to any who were foolish enough to battle the Green Ninja.

Most were not foolish, stumbling away.

Macario scrambled to his feet, backing away from Wu. "More intruders!"

Wu turned to him, eyes narrowing. "And you are illegally holding someone hostage and assaulting them!"

"He broke in!"

Wu glanced at Garmadon.

He cringed, looking away.

"Broke in?"

"Yes." Macario scoffed.

"Lloyd, get him up." Wu turned back to Macario. "He's my brother. I'm taking him home."

"I ought to call the police!"

"If you do that, I'll tell them what you were doing."

Macario shut his mouth, scowling.

Lloyd pulled Garmadon to his feet.

Garmadon blinked, almost falling over, but Lloyd kept a firm hold of him.

The Green Ninja looked at the rope, then lifted his sword to his wrists—

Garmadon flinched away, eye widening—

Lloyd cut the rope off, and it slipped to the ground. He gave him an odd look, then cut the rope tying his ankles.

Garmadon took a breath, trying to calm himself—and get his head wrapped around the fact that Wu and Lloyd had just rescued him again.

Why?

He…didn't know.

Lloyd sheathed his sword, then slung one of Garmadon's arms over his shoulders. He started dragging him towards the door.

Garmadon stumbled blindly after him, glancing back at Wu, who was glaring at Macario.

Wu gave a quick nod to Macario, then turned, following Lloyd out. "We'll be going, now. Goodnight."

Macario was silent.

Wu and Lloyd took him out the front the door, many of the people in the mansion turning to glance at them.

They took him to the main gate, and Lloyd blasted the lock off. Wu swung the gate open, and they walked through.

"We're going to take you home, alright?" Wu turned to him, pausing.

Garmadon blinked, having been in a daze and only half paying attention. "What?" Home? Then his eye widened in realization. Ochre!

Lloyd started walking again, Wu following.

"Are you alright?" Wu looked him over worriedly. "What were you doing here? Mr. Dommick said you broke in…?"

Garmadon sucked in a breath, glancing back at the mansion. No, no, no! He struggled away from Lloyd.

Lloyd stopped, giving him a confused look, but also keeping a hold of him.

"No, I need to go back!" Garmadon jerked away.

Lloyd almost fell over, stumbling as he stubbornly kept a hold of him. "Hey!"

Wu stopped walking, looking at Garmadon. "Why do you need to go back? We just rescued you. What were you doing there in the first place?"

Garmadon shook his head. "No, I'm not leaving without him!"

"Without who?"

"Ochre!"

Wu's eyebrows rose. "That dog?"

"Yes! My dog!" Garmadon finally pulled away from Lloyd.

"You were trying to steal him?"

"I—" He shook his head again, stumbling back towards the mansion. I need him. You don't understand!

"Garmadon, hold on a minute." Wu grabbed his arm. "You can't just steal him. He belongs to Mr. Dommick. I know you're fond of the dog, but—"

Garmadon tried to jerk away, gritting his teeth. "No, I will not leave without him. Go back to the monastery if you want, but I am not leaving."

Wu kept a hold of him, gazing at him with a searching frown.

Please, just let me go. You don't understand, you couldn't know— He sucked in a breath, abruptly stopping his struggling against him, and stared at the mansion hopelessly. He was never getting him back, was? He would never—

"…You really care about the dog that much?"

Garmadon bit his lip, gaze going to the ground.

Wu glanced at the mansion, then back to him. "If…he really means that much to you…I'll talk to Mr. Dommick."

Garmadon's head snapped up to look at him. "What?"

"Trying to steal Ochre was wrong. You understand that, right?"

He stared at him in confusion. "I…I know, but—"

"I'll buy him for you. I'm sure I can haggle with Mr. Dommick to—"

The rest of the words were lost to him, and he instead found himself gaping in shock. He was—

He was going to—

Ochre—

"Stay here, alright? I'll be back in a few minutes." Wu looked at Lloyd. "Make sure he stays, and keep an eye on him."

Lloyd nodded, taking Garmadon's arm as Wu let go.

Garmadon watched Wu walk away, heading for the front door of the mansion.

He was still gaping.Ochre would be—

"You…really like that dog?"

Garmadon's attention was snapped to Lloyd. Wait, he was talking to him—? "Um…what?"

Lloyd was looking at him, expression unreadable. "You really like that dog?" His tone was monotone, emotionless.

"I…" Garmadon looked away, unsure what he was really asking. Because he was getting the distinct feeling there was a lot of subtext to that question he was missing. "I…yes."

He couldn't lie to him. He did care about Ochre, a lot.

Lloyd didn't reply, staring at the mansion with a frown.

Garmadon glanced at him uneasily, but he couldn't read his expression. But there was something in his eyes…something…he couldn't make out…

He frowned, looking back at Wu. He'd made it to the door, now. He was talking to Macario.

"I wanted to ask you about your dog, the one my brother had for a while."

Macario frowned unhappily, crossing his arms. "What about it?"

"Is it for sale?"

"No."

"Could I buy him?"
"No." Macario scoffed. "There's no way you'd have enough money, anyway."

"How much is he worth?"
"More than your life, old man."

"How much do you think my life is worth?" Wu rose an eyebrow.

"Hmm. Not sure…two-hundred bucks, maybe?" He shrugged.

"Then how much is the dog?"

Macario's eyes narrowed. "It's not for sale."

"Please, my brother is very fond of the dog. I'm sure we can work out a reasonable price we can both agree on. And I don't think my brother will leave without the dog, either."

"Hmph. What, you have one million bucks laying around?"

"Is that how much the dog is?"

"It's worth more. Do you know what the ChīsaiKashikoi wolf is?"

"Yes, I do."

"That's what that dog is part bred with. That makes him rare—a fortune. He's one of the last of his kind. Can you really offer me a deal that will surpass what I'll make off of him?"

Wu frowned thoughtfully. "No…probably not…"

"Exactly. Good riddance, then." Macario started to slam the door—

Wu stuck his foot in.

He opened it again, glaring at him. "Will you get off my porch, old man?"

"I can offer you a different deal."

"Oh, really? How's that?"

"I'm not really into blackmailing, but I have information I could use against you. I'm not too happy with the way you treated my brother."

Macario's eyes narrowed. "I'm not someone you want to threaten."

"And I'm not someone you want to get on a bad side with." Wu rose an eyebrow.

"Hmph. You're just an old man."

"I'm Master Wu. You know who I am. And that I have a team of ninja that would be very happy to take down whatever operation you have going on here."

Macario growled, now looking a little uncertain. "You know, I could still tell the police on him for breaking and entering."

"But I could tell them that you held someone against their will and assaulted them."

"He broke in. Do you really think I'd lose the case?"

"Yes. You would. We both would. But the police would also investigate this—"

Macario waved a hand. "Alright, alright, you've made your point. We'll keep this under wraps for now."

"So, how much is the dog?"

"Same as before—a million bucks."

"I don't have that much."

"Oh well, then. Goodbye—" He started to shut the door.

Wu once again put his foot in, opening the door before Macario could. "I'm sure we can work out a price. Because if you don't, I will be forced to turn this into a legal case."

"You won't get the dog just by telling the police on me because of your brother, old man." He scoffed again.

"Maybe not. But do you want to take this risk?"

Macario narrowed his eyes into a glare. He stayed silent for a moment. "…Alright. What about $500,000?"

"$1,000."

"$300,000."

"$2,500?"
"…$100,000."

"$5,000."

"Fine…$50,000. And that's my final offer."

Wu smiled, holding out a hand. "Deal."

Macario shook his hand, scoffing quietly. "The dog is in the kennels. I expect my money in the morning. Sylvester will show you to it."

Sylvester stepped out, frowning unhappily.

Wu nodded, tipping his hat at Macario. "Of course. Thank you. I will send it in the morning by mail." He turned, listening as Macario shut the door behind him.

Sylvester took the lead, heading for the left side of the mansion, towards the brick wall.

Wu followed, sparing a glance at Garmadon and Lloyd. They were both watching questioningly, though his brother had a hopeful look on his face. Wu gave him a small smile, watching Garmadon's surprised look, before he entered the gate behind Sylvester.

The kennels lined the wall to the mansion, dogs in a lot of them. Sylvester led him past them, and Wu frowned at the dogs. They all looked sad, facing the wall forlornly or watching with hopeless eyes.

He'd been right. There was something more going on here.

Sylvester finally stopped in front of one of the kennels, gesturing to it. "There's your mutt." He slipped a key into the lock, opening the door.

Ochre had been standing as far as he could to the door, a rope taut around his neck. His ears pricked when he saw Wu, and his tail started wagging. He leaped up, pawing the air at him.

Wu walked in, kneeling next to the dog.

Ochre tried to lick his face.

Wu quickly pushed the dog's nose away, frowning. "Down."

Ochre's ears went back, and he slowly sat, staring at him apologetically.

Wu undid the rope, freeing the dog.

The dog leaped to his paws again, bolting towards the exit.

Sylvester yelped, lunging for Ochre dramatically. "No, bad dog! Sit! Stay!"

Ochre yelped, jerking away from him as he tried to barge past him instead.

Wu quickly grabbed the dog's ruff—but not hard enough to hurt him. "Stay, Ochre!"

Ochre whined, flinching. His tail tucked.

"Here—" Sylvester slung a rope leash around the dog's neck, tightening it—probably a little too tightly. He handed him the leash end.

Wu took it, nodding in thanks, and released Ochre's ruff. He walked out of the kennel.

Ochre stood there uncertainly.

Wu gave the leash a gentle tug, looking at him. "Come on, Ochre. I'll take you to Garmadon."

Ochre's tail wagged slightly, and then he hesitantly followed him.

Wu started for where he'd left Garmadon and Lloyd.

Sylvester didn't follow.

Wu wasn't sure how he felt about having a dog in the monastery… Their father had never allowed pets, and even having a chicken had been strange at first—he hadn't expected on keeping her, either, but she'd grown on him.

He was still uncertain why Garmadon had a dog, but his brother obviously cared about it a lot. So much he'd be willing to commit theft, apparently.

So he was willing to fight for his brother's dog and let him keep it. If it meant that much to him.

Garmadon had watched Wu disappear into the walled space a few minutes ago, following the skinny man into the kennel area.

He bit his lip uncertainly. Was…Wu actually getting his dog for him? Why? How?

He didn't understand. It didn't make sense. If Wu wanted something from him…then he couldn't figure out why he'd buy his dog for him. Ochre couldn't be cheap…

Just then, Wu came back out, shutting the gate behind him.

Garmadon gaped. The dog—

Ochre—

His vision got a little blurry, and he blinked rapidly.

Wu soon neared them.

Ochre, the moment he'd seen Garmadon, had perked up in excitement, barely containing himself from bolting away to Garmadon.

"I bought him from Macario for you." Wu stopped, handing the rope tied to Ochre to Garmadon. "He was $50,000, but Mr. Dommick claims he's part ChīsaiKashikoi wolf. Remember those wolves way back in the day? I had believed the last ones were killed off during the war. Or maybe slightly after…I'm not sure."

Garmadon glanced from him to Ochre in disbelieving shock, not taking the rope. "You…really bought him…?"

Wu gave him a small smile. "Of course. If he means that much to you. Here, he belongs to you, now." He gestured the rope at him again.

Garmadon stared in shocked silence, eye wide in disbelief.

Wu gestured again, expectantly. "Garmadon?" At his continued silence, Wu gave him a concerned look. "Is something wrong? It's okay, the dog is staying…he's yours. We can bring him back to the monastery, now."

Garmadon blinked. "…Really?"
He nodded. "Yes, really." Wu gestured the rope at him—again.

"You…" Garmadon's gaze finally went to Ochre, whose tail was still wagging excitedly at him. Though the dog looked a little confused, wondering why he hadn't greeted him. Garmadon looked back at his brother in almost overwhelming gratitude, blinking to try and keep the tears back. "Thank you." His voice cracked a little, and the unmistakable hoarseness in his voice came out due to the strong emotions swirling through him. And with how much his throat had tightened.

Wu opened his mouth to reply—

But Garmadon never heard it, instead diving to hug Ochre.

The dog trembled excitedly, licking his face.

He felt the stares of both Wu and Lloyd, but he found that he didn't care—Ochre was back. And he was officially his. No one could take him again.

I failed him… But his brother had come through for him. And for that, he'd be forever grateful.

Maybe…he did care. Maybe Wu didn't just want something. Something sprung in his chest, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time…

Trust, maybe…? Or…at least, the beginning's of it.