Garmadon glanced at Wu, his fingers brushing through Ochre's thick fur.
The Bounty flew steadily onward towards the city, Wu at the wheel. Garmadon was on the bridge, stiff and anxious.
No one else had come with them.
Where could they possibly be going?
After Wu had spoken with Misako, he'd ushered Garmadon into the elevator, into the hanger bay, and then onto the Bounty. He hadn't said where they were going. Apparently Misako wasn't coming either. He wondered if he'd somehow made her mad—
No. This was for the best. It was best they stayed away from each other.
"Where…are we going?" He had to ask. The anxiety was killing him. Well…not literally, hopefully.
Wu glanced at him. "It's alright, brother. It's not anywhere bad."
"Then why won't you tell me?"
Wu frowned. "Well…I'm taking you to the doctor."
He stiffened, eye widening. "What?"
His brother sighed. "And that is why I did not tell you… Really, it will be fine. They're just going to check you over and make sure you're alright."
"But you said I was fine. You took off the casts."
"I…didn't mean with that."
"Then what do you mean? I don't need a doctor! I'm fine!"
Wu looked at him. "Try to relax, brother. I meant with these panic attacks you've been having. They're going to figure out what's causing them, and what's wrong."
"But—but—I'm fine! How is a doctor going to help with that?!" Panic tightened his chest.
"They will be able to figure out what's wrong and help you. Now, we're almost there. Try to relax."
He swallowed, one hand clenching anxiously. He stroked Ochre, sucking in a breath. He hated the hospital. He hated the doctors. Everything reminded him too much of Ichor's. The smell, the masks, the tools and equipment, the people, the…the rooms.
It would be fine.
He…trusted Wu, right? He'd never once hurt him since he'd come to the monastery. But what if the doctors secretly worked for Ichor, and they tried to cut something off, like his other arm, or they tried to take out his other eye, or cut him open or burned him or drowned him or zapped him—
He sucked in another breath, biting his lip.
The Bounty slowed. "We're here." Wu hovered the ship above a busy parking lot. "Come on, brother."
Garmadon stayed put, not moving.
Wu looked at him. "Brother? Please, come."
When he still didn't move, Wu walked over. "It will be alright. I'll be there the entire time. Come on."
Garmadon shivered. He didn't have a choice, did he? Again. He reluctantly headed for the deck.
"Thank you." Wu followed him.
He felt his stomach twist anxiously.
The doctor led Wu and Garmadon into a small room. Inside was a table, connected to a…round structure…? It was tan and white, and the table looked like it might slide in to the round hole in the circle thing. Around the room was some equipment and a computer.
Garmadon shivered. His hand clenched. He desperately wanted to pet Ochre, but the dog had had to stay on the Bounty. He wasn't allowed in the hospital. Apparently, Wu had barely managed to convince staff to let the dog in the last time.
The doctor gestured to the machine. "I'm going to run an MRI scan on you. It will help me determine if there's anything going on physically in your brain."
He frowned, freezing abruptly. "W-what?"
Wu patted his shoulder. "It will be alright, brother. These people can help you."
The doctor walked over to the machine, gesturing to the table. "Just lie down here. This table with slide in to the MRI scanner." He pointed to the round, doughnut-shaped structure.
Garmadon paled a little, taking a step back.
"It won't hurt. It'll take about an hour." The doctor smiled.
Ichor's cold metal table flashed into his mind. The feeling of being trapped, hurt, confused, alone. The machine was a small space—he'd be defenseless. Who knew what it did? Could do. Would he be strapped down? Tortured?
He shuddered, swallowing.
"Come on, brother." Wu took his arm, trying to lead him to the table.
Everything froze, muddled and distant. Ichor's taunting laughter rang in his mind, the electric buzz and zap of the electricity ripping through the table and his body, the crack of the scoop, the sting of a knife. The smell of blood and fear.
"Garmadon?"
He stumbled back, sucking in a sharp gasp.
"Brother, please? This will help."
Garmadon hesitated, then numbly allowed himself to be led over, his breathing quickening with every step.
"Thank you. Now, lay down, alright?" Wu gestured to the table.
The doctor nodded, smiling.
Garmadon hesitated again, staring at the table, then the round tube thing. He didn't want to go in there.
A sense of danger came over him.
Panic.
"Garmadon?"
Pain raced along his body, a steady buzzing noise, muscles contracting. His eyes were shut tight, teeth gritted. Everything was fuzzy, muted. His consciousness dimmed, darkening.
He couldn't breathe.
Garmadon gasped, stumbling back.
"Brother, it's al—"
He jerked away from his grasp, tripping. His vision blurred, becoming hazy.
The pain stopped for a moment, Ichor's voice echoing. He couldn't understand the words. They distorted, like through a staticky radio.
The voice cleared a little, enough to hear. "How do you enjoy pain, Garmadon? Had enough yet?"
Garmadon shuddered, heaving in gasps of air.
Someone grabbed his arm.
Garmadon gasped sharply. He turned, kicking the person in the stomach—or tried to.
They moved swiftly. "Brother, what's wrong?"
The doctor walked over cautiously. A few more doctors followed him, closing in, trapping him—
Garmadon lit his power in his hands, backing away. He realized he was being herded towards the machine. No—!
The power erupted from him before he could think. There were startled, pained yelps.
"Garmadon! Everyone, back away, I'll handle this."
"We should sedate him—"
There were more panicked voices, orders, muddling together in fear. Fear of him.
Garmadon blinked, his vision clearing a little.
Wu walked towards him slowly, hand held out towards him. "Calm down, brother. It'll be alright."
He hesitated, breath catching in his throat. "Don't come any closer." His trust of Wu snapped. At least in the moment. There was no way any of them were getting him on that thing. Not when Ichor had—
Wu paused for a moment, but took another step forward.
Garmadon blasted his power.
Doctors ducked. Wu also ducked. They scattered.
There was sudden havoc and chaos, doctors shouting out orders. Wu tried to stop them, but approached Garmadon again.
Garmadon choked on a terrified gasp. Flashes of Ichor and the table raced through his mind, mixed with the doctors and Wu. They were going to hurt him. He knew it. He knew it.
"Garmadon. Listen to me. You're safe." Wu took another step towards him, now mere feet away.
His breath caught, overwhelming panic slamming into him. Ichor— He blasted his power before he could think.
There was a pained yelp. Wu stumbled back, a hand to his face, wincing.
"Someone sedate him already!"
"On it!"
"Hold him down!"
"No, don't hurt him, you'll make it worse—"
Garmadon fired his power again—
He was suddenly slammed to the floor, his arms held behind his back firmly. He gasped, struggling madly.
"Brother, it's alright, calm down."
Something poked his arm. He looked, seeing a—
He sucked in another gasp. He couldn't breathe—
They'd just stuck a needle in him. Like at Ichor's, they were going to experiment on him, chain him down, pain would race under his skin and through his blood like fire—
The voices dimmed, muting again. A lull of tiredness slowed his struggling, slowed his panicked thoughts.
"It's working. Hold him for a few more minutes."
I need to escape—
Blackness came over him, and the everything faded into blank nothingness.
Wu watched as the sedative worked. His brother went limp, falling into unconsciousness. He relaxed a little. He had no clue what had happened. One moment, it seemed to be going fine. Then the next…
He shook his head, looking at the doctor. "Can you still do this…M, R, I…while he's unconscious?"
The doctor nodded, wiping some sweat from his brow. "Yes…yes, we can." He stood.
Wu nodded, standing slowly. He gingerly touched his face, wincing a little. It burned. He felt some wetness as well—blood. He wasn't sure how hard Garmadon had gotten him. The other doctor's probably hadn't fared much better.
The other doctors who had been injured headed out of the room, some holding their arms and others clutching their faces or chests.
Wu frowned.
"You should get that look at."
He glanced at the doctor. "Oh. Yes."
"Get your brother on here, then I'll check your face quick."
Wu nodded, carefully lifting up Garmadon.
"Need any help?"
"No, thank you." Next time he came to the doctor, he was giving clear instructions on not cornering his brother or trying to sedate him…that had not gone over well. Garmadon was anxious enough as it was. He would never want to come back here again.
He hoped he could smooth things over when he woke up…
Wu set him on the table, making sure he seemed comfortable. Garmadon's face looked tense still. He patted his shoulder awkwardly, then turned to the doctor.
The doctor handed him some antiseptic and gauze. He looked at his wound. "It's…a mix between a cut and a burn. Interesting… Oh, and run that under some cold water first."
"Yes. Thank you."
"A nurse will help you."
Wu walked out, feeling a little guilty for leaving his brother alone. But he knew he would be fine.
When Wu returned, he walked over to the MRI machine. He now had gauze wrapped over his face and around his head, mostly covering his right vision. Which made it hard to see. He wondered how Garmadon managed it—he hadn't realized how disorienting it could be missing half your vision.
He wondered if that was why Garmadon got so anxious. But…the brother he knew wasn't like that. He was brave and noble, and he didn't think losing an eye and missing part of his vision would cause him to be so nervous.
Wu looked at Garmadon in the MRI machine, laying still. Only his head, neck, and tops of his shoulders were in, since it was just a brain scan. But the sight did make him feel uneasy, like when his bother had been at the hospital the last time.
The doctor was still working on his brother, but looked at him when he came over.
"How is he?"
"I don't have the results yet. It'll be a little bit. How's your face?"
"Fine. Were you injured?"
"No."
Wu nodded. "Good."
The doctor sat back, glancing at the machine. "Well…this really will be awhile. You might want to find something to do."
"Hmm. It's alright, I'll stay here."
He nodded.
"What exactly is the MRI for?"
"To check for anything abnormal in his brain. It's most likely a psychological thing, but with possible torture involved and the car accident, an MRI is a good idea. Just to make sure brain damage or something isn't causing these panic attacks."
"The car accident isn't the cause of the attacks. These were happening before then."
"Yes. But still, since he hit his head, it's better to be safe than sorry."
Wu nodded. "I suppose…"
"After this, I'll take him to the psychiatrist wing. They'll run a SPECT scan. That'll assess for psychological problems, like the trauma and anxiety."
"Hmm."
"It may help to get a diagnoses for him, and for us to better understand what's going on."
"That's good."
The doctor monitored the machine.
Wu pulled out his phone, heading for the door. "I will be right back. This will take about an hour you said?"
"Yes."
He nodded, opening the door and slipping out. Once outside, he called Misako. He found having half his vision obscured made it harder to work the phone and press buttons—of which he already struggled with.
Misako answered the call. "Wu? Did you get the results?"
"Not yet. I'm waiting for the MRI to finish. Garmadon was…sedated."
"Oh…why?"
"He panicked. We had no choice."
"That's…not good."
"Yes… Is there a specific reason you didn't want to come?"
"I'm busy."
"I'm sure there's more to it than that."
"Well…yes. But I'm not in the mood to talk about it."
"Did something happen between you and Garmadon? You seemed to be doing fine."
"No. But…I'm coming over. I'll be there in an hour."
"Hmm. Alright. I should have the MRI results by then, and hopefully the results from another scan."
"Okay." She hung up.
Wu frowned. That was…odd.
An hour later, the doctor completed the MRI scan. Misako had arrived a few minutes ago, and was now in the room as well. She had questioned Wu on what in Ninjago had happened to his face, and he'd had to explain—she had looked concerned and a little shocked. Wu had tried to explain that he was fine, that the burn and cut weren't that bad, but she still seemed worried.
The doctor stood, looking over the results on the computer.
"Well? Did you find anything?" Misako asked.
"Hmm…no. These all look good."
Wu and Misako walked over, looking at the scans. The scan showed a black and white photo of Garmadon's brain.
"This is normal?" Wu asked.
"Yes. There's no abnormalities." The doctor gestured to the scan, showing them photos of different sides of Garmadon's brain. "Everything checks out. It looks good. See this? It's all grey, no black or white spots except where normal." He pointed to a black part in the middle, shaped like…small leaves? Wu really didn't know. "Those are the ventricles, the part of the brain that stores fluid. It acts as a cushion against brain damage, things like that."
"Hmm." He didn't understand a word of that.
The doctor smiled awkwardly at his confused look. "Anyway. Sorry, it can be a bit complicated. Since this looks fine, you can head over to the psychiatrists' wing. I'll take you there."
Wu nodded. "Alright. Thank you." He was relieved they seemed to finally be getting answers. Hopefully, these scans would help.
Garmadon had been wheeled in a gurney over to the psychiatrist's wing. The doctor left them with the psychiatrist.
Garmadon was put on another table, connected to a machine. This machine had a round hole in the middle as well, like the other machine. It also had two square-like things, positioned to be over the head at an angle. The person's head would lay on a plastic headrest of some sort.
An IV was put into Garmadon's arm.
The psychiatrist, James Clifford as he had introduced himself as, smiled at them. "We'll have to wait about thirty minutes for the imaging solution and radioactive tracer to work, which I've inserted into this IV. Then the scan will take about twenty minutes. I'll show you the results and let you know what I find."
Wu and Misako nodded.
Wu looked at his brother. Garmadon was still unconscious, unaware of what was going on around him. He felt a prick of pain at that—having to sedate his brother, just to help him, hurt.
"I'm going to look around a bit." Misako headed for the door.
Wu looked at her. "Oh…alright."
She disappeared out the door. She was certainly acting odd…which was worrisome.
Misako closed the door quietly behind her, glancing around. She noticed the different posters on the wall, of different SPECT scans. She walked slowly, studying them.
The photos showed rainbow colored 3D brains, but the brains were just a general shape of one. They looked to have been developed digitally. From what she understood of SPECT scans, they showed brain activity. Some other scans showed many blues lines interwoven into the shape of a brain, with some red and some white areas, mostly in the back of the brain. The backgrounds of the posters seemed to usually be black, which she assumed was to better show the brain scans.
She read the poster labels of each one. Dementia, Alzheimer's, depression, anxiety, ADHD, the brain on drugs of various kinds, PTSD and trauma, traumatic head injury. It was remarkable the differences of each compared to the healthy brain. The healthy brains were full, but the unhealthy one's had holes, dents, sometimes cracks. The lined brain scans showed more red and white on the unhealthy brains, and less of it on the healthy ones.
It made her wonder what Garmadon's scan would show.
She frowned. She wouldn't tell Wu the real reason she hadn't come with at first. She'd claimed she was busy. But the real reason was that she was a little sad, maybe hurt and disappointed, that her and Garmadon weren't going to have their after-supper talks anymore. She didn't know why. It didn't make sense. The talks had seemed to be going well…but they'd both agreed they weren't needed anymore.
She sighed quietly. That was fine. She would live. Besides, maybe these scans would reveal something. Something they could use to finally help Garmadon.
The SPECT scan was completed fifty minutes later.
Wu waited impatiently while the psychiatrist looked over the scans carefully. "What are the results?"
"I can't say for certain. These are just to get an idea of what's going on, not a diagnoses or anything." The doctor turned to face them, gesturing to the screen by the SPECT machine. "But do you see the 'diamond pattern' here on the active view scan? That's a big sign of PTSD." He showed them four red spots of the blue-lined brain scan, which made a diamond shape. "And, on this other one of the surface view of his brain, it shows some dents here. It's not full, like a healthy brain would show."
"So…what does that mean?" Misako asked.
"It means, he's possibly been through something significantly traumatic."
"So what this scan reveals, is things we already know?"
"No. This may prove your theory on torture. It isn't concrete, just strong evidence. It will help his journey to recovery."
Recovery. Yes, finally, they were getting somewhere. Wu felt a spark of hope. "What should we do now?"
Garmadon blinked, stiffening. The smell of chemicals hit him… A bright light shown above him, and he was laying on something…a table…? His breathing quickened. The last thing he remembered was blacking out, after…after they'd attacked him…
He leaped off of the bed, tripping over himself.
"Garmadon?" Wu hurried over to him.
He sucked in a breath, backing away—then did a double take at Wu's face. He'd…he'd…that was him? He'd hurt—
Monster.
He hurt his brother. Again.
Wu had gauze wrapped around one side of his face, mostly over his right eye.
That was him.
"Brother, it's alright. The scans are done. It's finished."
Garmadon bit his lip, clenching his fists to try and stop his trembling. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Wu smiled a little. "It's not that bad."
"I hurt you."
"I'm fine. I understand."
No. You don't understand. He looked away, teeth gritted.
"Garmadon, we were just talking to—"
"I want Ochre."
Wu paused. "I…we'll go outside in a minute. He's still on the Bounty."
"Please?" He bit his lip again, harder. He tried to even his breathing, tried not to think about what had happened while he was out. What had the doctor done to him? They were in a different room from where he'd been sedated. He wasn't sure how they'd gotten here.
"I…alright." Wu looked at the other person in the room. "Is it alright if I bring his dog?"
The doctor nodded. "It's fine with me. Just keep it on a leash. If anyone asks, say I let you bring the dog." He smiled.
Wu smiled gratefully. "Thank you." He hurried out. "I'll be back, brother. Misako will stay here with you."
Garmadon watched him leave, swallowing. He glanced at Misako.
Misako was watching him, but quickly looked away.
He fiddled with his glove, staring at the floor.
Wu returned shortly, bringing Ochre in. The dog happily wagged his tail at Garmadon. Wu walked over, handing Garmadon the leash. "Here you are, brother." He watched him closely.
Garmadon accepted the leash, stroking Ochre's head.
Ochre wagged his tail excitedly, licking his hand.
He relaxed a little, feeling a small sense of safety.
Wu nodded slightly. "How do you feel now?"
"Fine."
"Hmm…" Wu turned to the doctor. "What should we do now?"
"I would recommend therapy." The doctor looked at Garmadon. "Perhaps look into both a psychologist and a psychiatrist for him."
Garmadon stiffened uneasily. Therapy?
"What are those…?" Wu asked.
"A psychologist will look into the mental side of his problems. A psychiatrist would help with any medication needed," the doctor said.
"I see…"
"Therapy, specifically talk therapy, will help these panic attacks, and if he does have trauma, it will help with that as well. A therapist can work with him to understand what's going on, and help him heal."
Wu nodded. "Alright. We'll do that. Thank you."
The doctor smiled. "You're welcome."
Wu looked at Garmadon. "Brother, we're going to get you some therapy, alright? It will help."
Garmadon frowned, his stomach clenching. "I…no."
"Why not?"
"I…I don't need it. I'm fine."
"Good. I will see you then for our next appointment. Think of this as your therapy." Garmadon shivered at Ichor's words. Would this "therapy" be the same as that? Someone trying to get him to see how horrible and awful he was? How much of a monster he was? A murderer? A villain? Would torture be involved? Would they—
"Brother…I'm sorry. But I don't know how else to help you. I've tried everything I can think of. Meditation doesn't work, I've tried to talk to you but you won't say anything, Misako has talked to you, Lloyd has, and I've—"
Since when did Wu know about the talks with Lloyd…? He'd thought his son wanted to keep those a secret…
"—gathered what information I could on what happened to you. I've tried to get you to eat and drink water. But none of this has worked. Ochre is the only thing that seems to help—but only a little."
Garmadon frowned, running his fingers through Ochre's fur. His throat tightened uneasily.
"I agree," Misako said. "Therapy will help you, Garmadon."
He stared at the floor, biting his lip. Nothing can help me. Why couldn't they understand that? Why would they keep trying? He was hopeless. He didn't want to "recover" anyway. He deserved to feel like this. He was a monster.
Ichor was right.
Wu patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, brother. This will help you. You'll see."
You don't know what you're talking about. Nothing can help me. I don't WANT to be helped. I'm fine. You're wasting your time… He wished he could say those things aloud. But he couldn't risk it.
"Let's head back to the monastery." Wu headed for the door.
"If you need anything else, give me a call!" the doctor said cheerfully.
"We will."
Misako followed Wu out, and Garmadon quickly did as well. He didn't want to stay in this place any longer than he had to.
Wu, Misako, and Garmadon stepped out of the elevator and into the living room. Ochre trotted at Garmadon's heel, tail wagging. He'd gotten used to the elevator now. The dog's first time down, he'd been terrified. But he'd warmed up to it.
The ninja were in the living room, playing…video games. Of course.
"Whoa, Master Wu, what happened to your face?!" Jay yelped.
Most of the ninja stood, looking concerned and alarmed.
Garmadon bit his lip, staring at the floor. My fault. It was my fault.
Wu waved off their concern. "I am fine, students." He headed for the door. "Though you should all finish up, now that Garmadon is back."
Kai narrowed his eyes at Garmadon suspiciously.
"But why is your face bandaged up? What happened?" Nya asked.
"Are you okay?"
"Did Garmadon do something?"
"Are you alright, Master Wu?"
"Uncle, what happened?"
Wu ignored all of them, leaving. Misako followed him.
The ninja exchanged glances. Then they looked at Garmadon.
Garmadon didn't look at them, stroking Ochre nervously.
Silently, they all got up, turning the TV off and putting the game controllers away. The ninja left, whispering to one another on what may have happened. They shot a few glances at Garmadon.
He sighed quietly, then sat down on the couch. Ochre sat beside him on the floor.
Garmadon ran his fingers through the dog's rough, soft fur.
Therapy. They were really forcing him to get therapy? He didn't need therapy. He was fine.
"Good. I will see you then for our next appointment. Think of this as your therapy."
He shuddered. Would it be like Ichor's "therapy"? Would they electrocute him? Wasn't there some sort of electroshock therapy?
He tried to calm down. It would be fine. This therapy would be fine. He would just do as Wu and Misako asked, and get through it. Then he'd be done with it, and could go back to living…however.
He wasn't sure how he wanted to live yet. Talking to Lloyd and being his dad for once, like his son wanted. Or staying silent, quiet, hiding.
But he certainly didn't want this "therapy".
Author's note: I'm back! Posting should go on as usual again, so you can expect a chapter a day (: