Misako came into the living room, walking over to the couch. The now-empty plate sat on the small table, the half-empty glass of water sitting by it. Garmadon lay on the couch, staring blankly at the black TV screen.

"Garmadon?" She'd wanted to check up on him after supper. To see how he was doing. He'd just gotten back to the monastery that morning from the hospital, and…she supposed she wanted to see how he'd settled in.

Garmadon blinked, looking at her. He stroked Ochre, who sat next to him. "What?"

"How are you doing?"

"Fine, I guess…"

She nodded, folding her hands behind her back. Maybe…she could try talking to him again? She hadn't really talked to him much. Which she still felt guilty about. It was why she was trying to get better at that.

And…she might care.

"Um…what have you been up to? Just sitting here?"

Garmadon shrugged a little. "Yes. And I ate."

Misako nodded, glancing around. "Um. Would you like to talk at all?"

He looked at her, frowning. "About what?"

"Anything…" She sighed quietly. "I'm sorry…you just seem…bored. And lonely." She realized she'd said the same thing at the hospital. Though that was because she believed it was true. Though she hoped he wasn't annoyed at her continuous tries to talk—

"Okay." Garmadon looked back at the dog, stroking its chest.

She blinked. "Alright…" She sat down on the edge of the coffee table, crossing her legs. "Um…is there anything you have in mind?"

He shook his head.

"Hmm…" She glanced around the room. "Well…what did you think of the hospital?"

Garmadon shrugged a little. "I don't know…disturbing."

She rose an eyebrow. "Disturbing?" It was a small thing, but this was the most he'd opened up to her.

"Mm-hmm."

"How was it disturbing?"

He shrugged. "It's a hospital, I guess…aren't they always disturbing?"

She frowned. And there he'd gone, closing up again. She knew there was more to it, but decided it would be wiser not to press. "What did you think of supper?"

"Fine."

"Did you like it?"

"Yes."

"What was your favorite part?"

"Um…" He blinked. "I…guess the egg rolls."

She smiled a little. "Me too, I think. Though the noodles were good too."

He nodded.

"Zane is a good cook."

"Yes."

"Mm-hmm…Well, I should get back to my research…" She stood, feeling a little guilty the conversation had been so short.

Garmadon glanced at her, then nodded. "Okay…" He hesitated for a moment. "…What are you researching?"

She blinked. Until now, he'd shown no interest in truly reciprocating in a conversation. "Um…that man that tried to murder Lloyd, at the moment. It seemed most important."

He blinked, frowning.

There was something in his gaze…she couldn't make out what, though. Maybe it was best to change the subject. "Well…I suppose the ancient serpentine, too. There was a recent discovery made, the wall of an ancient city. They haven't found the actual city, though, which makes it so interesting. It's just part of the wall." She looked away, frowning in thought. "It's like the city disappeared."

After a few seconds, she looked back at Garmadon. He was staring at her. She blushed slightly, realizing how much she'd rambled.

Archaeology had always been her strong suit, and her weakness.

"I'm sorry. I do need to go now, though." She hurried towards the door.

"Okay…"

Misako left, heading down the hall. That was awkward.

"Garmadon?"

He looked at Misako, then set his empty plate down on the table. This was the second time she'd come, now. Twice in a row, actually, since she'd come yesterday after supper.

Misako hesitated, then sat down on the coffee table. "How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"What did you think of supper?"

"It was fine…"
"Did you have a favorite part?"
He paused, thinking for a moment. "…I guess I liked the potatoes."

She smiled a little. "That's good."

"Mm-hmm…" He was confused on why his answer made her happy, though. He hesitated, then asked, "What did you like?"

There was a flash of surprise in her eyes before she quickly hid it. "Um…I suppose the bread rolls were good. It was even home-made."

Garmadon nodded a little, fiddling with his glove anxiously. For some reason, asking a question made him nervous and guilty, like he'd done something wrong, or she would be angry at him. After all, it was probably out of bounds for him to ask any questions, especially personal ones. Though he wasn't sure if food was considered personal…

"Do you…want to talk? I only have a few minutes, since I need to get back to researching, but…" Misako shrugged, blushing a little.

He wasn't sure what she was embarrassed about, though yesterday she'd seemed awkward after talking about some vanished city. So it was probably that.

Probably.

He found he couldn't read people as well as he used to.

Garmadon nodded a little. "Yes…"

She smiled. "Alright. Anything in particular?"

He shook his head. He was perfectly content to let her lead.

"Hmm…" She glanced around. "Well, I supposed this isn't really something to talk about, but something amusing happened at lunch today."

He watched her, wondering what could be so amusing that it would have her considering it to be amusing. Misako wasn't really known for having a sense of humor, or even a liking of it. She didn't mind it, necessarily, but she was more on the serious side. Though he supposed times changed.

She looked at him, then continued. "Well…it seems the chicken has a liking for tea. Wu sometimes will give her some. But at lunch, the ninja found her raiding Wu's tea stash in the cupboard." She smirked fondly. "I do feel bad for your brother, but I suppose that's what he gets for sharing his tea with an intelligent chicken."

He blinked. The image of a chicken raiding Wu's tea played in his mind. A small smile slipped onto his face, before he coughed awkwardly, trying not to laugh. That would be rude. Also he didn't deserve to be happy. He patted Ochre, trying to keep a straight face.

Misako smiled. "There was tea everywhere. The chicken made quite a mess. And of course, she didn't know how to boil water or anything, so she just tore into the tea bags. I think Wu's going to get a lock on the cupboard. Or train her. I'm not sure."

That's probably why Wu seemed annoyed earlier. Garmadon bit his lip. It was funny, and it would probably be funnier had it been told back before Chen's tournament.

She sighed. "Well, I should probably get going now."

He nodded.

Misako smiled a little, then stood, leaving the living room.

Garmadon watched her, then looked at Ochre. Why did she keep coming? Why would she want to speak to him…?

He sighed. First Wu, and now her.

He didn't understand it.

Though, he realized he was beginning to like these talks. Even if they were short.

"Did you enjoy supper?"

Garmadon nodded a little.

Misako smiled. "That's good."

It was the third time in a row she'd come, now. And he still didn't understand why.

"What was your favorite part?"

"The puffy potstickers."

She smiled awkwardly. "I suppose that makes sense. There wasn't much else besides that."

He nodded.

She fiddled a little, then shifted on the coffee table, glancing around. "Well…um. I learned more about that city, then one I told you about a couple days ago. If you were interested."

He nodded a little.

She smiled, looking a little relieved. And a little excited, by the way her eyes lit up, but she tried to hide it. "Well, I've been listening in on any findings made on the ancient city. Archaeologists have looked everywhere, trying to find a trace of the rest of it. But get this—just this morning, a young boy who lives around the area, stumbled upon a small monolith stone. With writing on it." She straightened, smiling in barely contained excitement.

He felt a spark of amusement. She was still the same Misako. He didn't know how she got so excited about this stuff, but she was pretty when her eyes lit up.

He blinked.

Wait.

Where had that come from…? Well, sure, she'd always been pretty, but he hadn't thought about that in a long while, and he probably didn't have any right to—

"—And no one's been able to interpret it yet. They've called in a scholar all the way from Metalonia, but I guess we'll see of he's able to interpret the writing. I may look into it myself." She smiled.

Garmadon blinked, not having realized she'd continued speaking. "Uh…oh." His mind was suddenly a jumbled mess.

"It would be amazing to get it interpreted. Just think of all the knowledge it might contain! It could be a breakthrough in history! Or, at the very least, have something about the mysterious city." She sighed. "I wish I could be there…I've missed the adventure."

"Why can't you?"

"Lloyd. He needs me, especially after I…" She trailed off, biting her lip. "Well, I haven't been around as much as I should. Besides, I don't mind staying here. Wu has a ton of books for me to look through. Some are ancient." She smiled sadly. "And I'm not very young anymore. I think my days adventuring are over. I can still do archaeology here, though."

He nodded, looking away awkwardly. That made sense, he supposed.

"So, what's your opinion on the city?"

He shrugged. "I don't know…" He pet Ochre uncertainly. "I guess it seems interesting…"

"You've lived through ancient times…you've never heard of a city vanishing?"

"I've heard of many cities vanishing."

She blinked, eyes widening slightly. The curiosity was barely contained in her gaze. "Which ones?"

"I don't really remember their names…I didn't consider it very important back then. It was pretty common, with the serpentine around. They sieged villages every so often."

"So you're saying the serpentine may have caused the city to vanish?"

"Possibly…though there could be other reasons too."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Wu and I ran into some crazy things back then…" He bit his lip, recalling memories he hadn't thought about in a while. Like getting stuck in a painting, or a sphinx's maze. Or getting turned into a wooden doll…that had been the most…interesting.

"Hmm…" Misako glanced around, then suddenly stood.

He started a little.

"I'm sorry, I have to go…I got carried away."

"It's alright." He looked up at her.

She smiled a little. "Perhaps…we could talk every evening?" Then she quickly added, "I mean, if you'd like to. I've just found I've enjoyed them."

Garmadon blinked. She wants to talk to me…? "I…uh…sure."

Misako looked relieved, smiling. "Wonderful. Maybe I could come after supper from now on until you're back on your feet? That way you won't be as bored. Well…unless you find my archaeological rambling boring." Her smile turned awkward.

"No…I don't mind it. That sounds fine."

"Alright." She hesitated, then walked out of the room.

Current time~

"I brought something this time." Misako waved a book, sitting down on the coffee table, and crossing her legs like usual.

They'd had many "talks" over the past week. Or, almost a week, now. It had been about five days. He found he was starting to look forward to them.

"What is it?" He gazed at the cover curiously.

She smiled. "You know, you've grown less anxious over the week…"

Garmadon blinked. He supposed he had…but why? Although…ever since the accident, ever since he'd talked with Lloyd, he'd felt more at ease. And Misako was a nice, calm presence. Well, she was usually calm. When she got excited about archaeology she tended to spark with energy.

Misako watched him, then looked at the book awkwardly. "Er…it'sSerpentineTheology. It was written around four hundred years ago."

"Oh…what's it about?"

"Serpentine theology." She laughed a little. "But the part I wanted to read isn't as much about theology. It relates to that city I've been telling you about."

Garmadon blinked. "Oh."

"You don't mind if I read, do you…?" She looked uncertain.

He shook his head. "No…that's fine."

She smiled a little. "Alright." She opened the book at the place she'd marked with a slip of paper—apparently she hadn't had a bookmark.

He remembered she did that often, getting whatever was around to use as a bookmark. It was probably a habit she'd picked up as an archaeologist, when she didn't have many things with her. And she'd probably had very few bookmarks.

"Okay, here's the part I wanted to read to you—'The city seemed to vanish overnight. The threat of the gods had hung over our heads after Hyblek's betrayal. Two hundred serpentine citizens, gone. They had been wiped out, along with Hyblek himself. We had tried to satisfy Beohernie with offerings, gold and silver and our own young, but he was not satisfied. Blood must be paid by blood. And so he took Hyblek's very own city.

"'Our Great King, Maelstrom the Fourth, paid even more offerings to Beohernie. After that, we never saw the beast again. Though he is sure to return. The Great King ordered everyone to never betray the gods again, lest this happen again, and we lose another city. We could fall to the humans if we grow too weak.'" Misako looked at him. "There's more, but it's not very relevant. This section was written by a serpentine scribe, before the book was written. It was inserted into here as a warning to other generations of serpentine to come."

Garmadon slowly nodded. "Interesting…so you think Beohernie leveled the city?"

"I don't know. It's possible." She smiled. "Though that's what I love about archaeology—the mystery of it."

He smiled a little before it vanished, studying her face.

She set the book on the table, glancing at him awkwardly. "Well…anyway. The Metalonian scholar wasn't able to decipher the rock. It was written in ancient serpentine, but it had a dialogue pattern he couldn't interpret." She sighed a little. "Sometimes archaeology comes to dead ends like that. The search for answers isn't over, yet, but I don't think they'll find much for a while. Unless some miracle happens."

He nodded.

"Oh! And I forgot to ask, how was supper tonight?"

Garmadon blinked. She'd asked him the same question every time, and apparently they'd both forgotten. "Um…it was good."

"Did you have a favorite part? I know it was ramen, but I suppose it has other things in it…" She shrugged awkwardly.

"The eggs were good…and the noodles."

She nodded. "I liked the eggs too. How was your day?"

"Um…" He blinked. "Fine." It had been pretty boring, but he wasn't about to say that.

She smiled. "That's good. My day was pretty good. I enjoyed the research."

He nodded.

Misako glanced around. "Well…I have a little more time tonight."

"Oh. Why?"

She shifted awkwardly, smiling a little. "I can research later."

"Oh…" He frowned, not sure what to make of that.

Misako fiddled with her hands, looking around the room.

"…Could you maybe read more?" He cringed at the question. I shouldn't ask anything of anyone—

And besides, why would she want to keep reading to him? He was a monster and a—

"Sure. I supposed I could." Misako blinked in surprise, then smiled.

He blinked.

She picked up the book, opening it again. "Hmm…maybe I'll read a different chapter, though. Oh, did I tell you this book specifically wasn't written four hundred years ago? That's just the original copy, this one's translated."

He nodded mutely, still surprised she wanted to keep reading to him. Though, it was archaeology. She loved history, so it made sense she'd want to read it. But to him?
Misako flipped through the book, paused at the what was probably the table of contents, and then opened to a new page. "Alright, this seems interesting. I haven't completely read through this book either, I was more skimming it for info on the city. But anyway…" She smiled awkwardly.

He nodded again, waiting.

She began reading, something about the Serpentine's belief system.

Garmadon realized he wasn't listening, the words blurring. His attention had drifted to the reason he'd wanted her to read in the first place.

Her eyes had lit up again, like a child's on Day of the Departed at the prospect of candy. Archaeology did that to her—it sent an excitement and child-like curiosity through her that was visible to everyone else.

He smiled a little, studying her like he had at the hospital that one day. Her hair was braided like always, grey with a streak of white. It had used to be brown, but either way she was still pretty. She still wore the familiar archaeologist's outfit. It matched her well. Her eyes were between hazel and chestnut, a color he'd always found pretty, especially when she lit up with excitement or joy. And her glasses made her look smart and sharp, bringing out an intelligence in her eyes.

His mind wandered to when they'd first met. She was still as beautiful as then.

Wu and Garmadon approached a young women, glancing around at the dirt and tools scattered about. Other archaeologists dug in their own respective spots. White tarps lay on top of concealed items.

It was a common dig site. Nothing unusual about it. It was near Jamanakai Village, about three miles from the mountain.

Garmadon wasn't sure what they were excavating. Nor did he care.

"Excuse me?" Wu gripped his staff a little tighter, and Garmadon could see the nervousness in his gaze. His little brother, even after a thousand years, didn't have much confidence.

The young women looked up, blinking in surprise.

Garmadon felt his breath catch for a moment.

Wu also seemed taken off-guard, words escaping him for a moment. "Er…hello. We had a few questions."

The young women had beautiful brown eyes, brown hair held in a braid, and glasses. Her clothing was a common archaeologist outfit. She smiled at them. "Hello. What sort of questions?"

"I…about the serpentine." Wu shifted, blushing a little.

"Oh? Ancient history on them?"

"No, no…recent activity."

"Oh, I don't know anything about that…"

And just like that, their hopes were dashed.

Wu's shoulders slumped. "I see. Thank you for your time."

She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry I can't be of help. Why do you want information on recent serpentine activity?"

"They've been going over the border." Garmadon wasn't going to let Wu do all the talking. Not when they were both attracted to someone again. He wasn't letting his chances slip like they had the last however many times—though those instances were mostly from their teen years. On that stupid journey to find some useless plant.

Which hadn't even helped him. Go figure. It was just his luck. Besides, he was fine, anyway.

"Why would the serpentine go over the border?" The women frowned worriedly.

Garmadon shrugged. "They're snakes."

"Do not worry about it," Wu quickly said. "They're mostly just rumors. We're…um…investigating it."

Garmadon rolled his eyes.

The women nodded. "I see…"

Wu shifted awkwardly, then turned to leave. "Thank you for your time."

The women made to go back to work.

"Wait, what's your name?" Garmadon asked.

"Oh…um, Misako." She smiled at him. "And you are?"

Garmadon smirked, though his heart was thudding wildly. "Garmadon. Nice to meet you. Do you live around here?"

She nodded, gesturing towards the village. "Just in Jamanakai, up the mountain."

"My name is Wu." Wu turned back around suddenly.

Misako smiled at him as well. "It is nice to meet you too. Perhaps I'll see you both around?"

Garmadon nodded. "Yeah. We live near here, in the Monastery of Spinjitzu. Maybe you can visit sometime?"

She blinked, looking a little surprised. "Oh…I'd love to."

He smiled, trying to hide his excitement at that. "Great! Maybe we can show you some ninja moves?" He smirked.

"Oh. You're both ninja?"

"Yup. Spinjitzu Masters." He stood straighter, proudly.

Wu shook his head at him. "Yes, and we should go…"

Garmadon glanced at him in annoyance.

Misako nodded. "Of course." Her gaze held many questions, a burning curiosity. "When will I see you again?"

"Soon. We're heading to Jamanakai tomorrow," Garmadon said.

She smiled. "Alright."

They both turned to leave, Garmadon glancing at her again.

She'd gone back to work, using a small shovel to dig away dirt. He decided she was the most beautiful women he'd ever seen.

Garmadon blinked, still staring at Misako. The same sort of feeling erupted in his chest for a moment, the same as when he'd met her. Or similar.

I love her.

He jolted in surprise, sudden reality crashing over him. Love? He frowned.

He really still loved her?

After everything that had happened? No…no, he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve to love anyone. Not after everything he'd done. He was a murderer. A monster. And a villain.

Misako deserved much better. She didn't need him. He was nothing, a criminal with a bad habit of hurting people over and over again. Including her. And Lloyd. And Wu.

He winced, forcing himself to look away.

Misako glanced at him. "Is something wrong…?"

"Um…no. Sorry. I'm a little tired."

"Oh…maybe I should let you rest. It is getting late." She stood, closing the book. The spark was gone from her eyes again, though he knew it would reappear when she read the book again or made some discovery.

Garmadon nodded, then stroked Ochre. He'd forgotten the dog was even there.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Misako walked away, glancing at him one more time, before leaving the room.

Garmadon sighed. I can't love her. Not after everything that's happened. I lied to her and Wu with that letter, I almost killed her, I almost killed our SON. His jaw clenched.

Destiny really did hate him.

I don't love her. I can't. She was…maybe a friend. No, no…someone he knew. Yes. That was all. The past was the past. It was gone and over.

This was the present.

I'll just hurt her again. It was best if he just thought of her as someone he knew, and nothing more.