The next morning, Wu and Garmadon were sitting at the dining room table, going over all that had happened.
"Okay, so," Garmadon began, "I talked to Lloyd last night."
"I bet he was frustrated," Wu murmured.
"He was," Garmadon affirmed. "His room was a wreck, as if he had been throwing things around in his anger. When I came in, I found him sobbing."
"Lloyd was crying?" Wu raised an eyebrow.
Garmadon nodded. "I've never seen him so upset," he continued. "He didn't want to talk to me at first, but eventually I got him to spit it out."
"Good, good," Wu said. "What did he say?"
"Turns out, he was only angry because his feelings were hurt," Garmadon murmured. "The whole secret thing made him feel unloved."
Wu laid his hand on his forehead and sighed. "And we were only doing it because we do love him. Boy, did we mess things up." He lifted his head again. "Did you tell him the truth?"
Garmadon shook his head. "I didn't get around to it. Besides, I wouldn't want to cause trouble for the others just to patch up our relationship."
"You know he's going to ask about it sooner or later," Wu warned.
Garmadon scratched his head. "Do you think he's ready to know the truth?" he asked. "I don't know how he'll take it."
Wu shrugged. "We'll wait and see how he acts now that he got his feelings out," he said. "Then we'll decide if he's ready or not."
The two sat in silence for a bit.
Then Garmadon broke it. "How is Kai doing?"
Wu hesitated. "It's hard to say," he admitted. "He's had quite a shock. He hasn't come to his full senses yet." He sighed, rubbing his beard. "I should've known it would come to this."
"What are we to do?" Garmadon questioned.
Wu shook his head helplessly. "I've never dealt with something like this before," he confessed. "But I'll look into it. For now, we have to let him do what he needs to do to recover. And we should... probably... for the best..." His voice trailed off.
Garmadon stared at his brother. "Keep Lloyd away from him," he finished for him. "I was afraid you'd say that."
"We don't want Kai to sink deeper into his trauma," Wu stated.
"I know." Garmadon bit his thumb. "I just don't know how to tell that to Lloyd," he sighed. "I don't want him to get hurt again, but he has to know the situation—"
"It's okay."
The senseis turned at the sudden voice to see Lloyd standing near the entrance. He looked at his feet. "I understand," he murmured. "I don't want to cause any more trouble than I already did."
Without another word, the green ninja turned and headed back up the stairs.
Garmadon and Wu looked at each other.
Wu's eyes twinkled. "He's ready."
Garmadon gave a chuckle. "Hold up, Lloyd!" he called. "You're not getting away that easily!"
* * *
The senseis found Lloyd halted by the entrance to his room. He blinked at them. "What?"
"Come, sit down." Wu herded the ninja into the room and closed the door. "It's time we set some things straight."
Lloyd and Garmadon sat side by side at the edge of his bed, while Wu sat on a chair nearby. Lloyd frowned. "If this is another pep talk about 'why it's so important that I can't know the truth', you can skip it," he scoffed. "I'm so over it."
Wu smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."
Confusion glittered in Lloyd's gaze. "Huh?"
"Because now I know you're ready for the truth," Wu responded smoothly.
"What?" Lloyd blurted out. His jaws gaped as he switched his gaze from Wu to Garmadon. "You're going to tell me the secret?"
Wu gave a short dip of his head.
Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so, after all this you decide to tell me now?" he inquired with a hint of frustration. "What's the difference from now and then?"
Wu glanced at his brother. "Will you take that one?"
Garmadon looked down at his son. "Because, Lloyd, now you realize that we know what's best for you," he told him. "And you learned to let go of your anger to put the needs of your friends before your own."
Lloyd was speechless for a moment.
"And also we... don't want anything else to happen like what happened to Kai yesterday," Garmadon added with a grunt.
Lloyd shifted his feet. "Now I'm not really sure I want to know," he murmured. "It seems too easy. I thought I'd have to figure it out for myself." When he raised his head again, his eyes were bright with excitement. "But I really am dying to know what everyone is so secretive about!"
Wu and Garmadon suddenly went silent, all of their teasings suddenly drained. "Lloyd," Garmadon started again, "we can't keep this secret from you forever. We know that now. It was too big of an event to hide."
Wu nodded. "We also decided to tell you now because... we believe..." He stopped to take a breath. "We believe you're mature enough to face the consequences."
"Consequences?" Lloyd echoed. "What consequences?"
Wu stared at the ninja intensely. "The consequences of your actions."
Lloyd looked puzzled as he looked at the senseis. "What actions?" When they made no reply, worry crept down the green ninja's spine. "Why do I get the feeling I won't like what I hear?"
"Because, Lloyd, you won't," Garmadon murmured.
Lloyd's heart pounded in his chest. "So it's more serious than I expected, but so what?" He forced a chuckled. "You said I'm ready to take it. So lay it on me."
Garmadon glanced at his brother, who nodded. "It's time he knew the truth," Wu affirmed.
Garmadon looked down at his son. "I don't really know how to say this... It might be hard to take," he warned. "Or—"
"Dad!" Lloyd interrupted, eyes blazing with intensity. "Just tell me."
Garmadon took a deep breath. "Lloyd, do you remember a few weeks ago, when you first woke up from unconsciousness?"
Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, when I was in the hospital room."
Garmadon bit his lip, hesitating for a minute. "That... that wasn't the first time you woke up," he confessed.
"You mean in the fire?" Lloyd asked. "Because I sorta remember waking up for a second—"
"No, Lloyd," Garmadon cut him off. "I mean... another time... in the monastery."
Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a minute. "But I don't remember waking up a second time," he murmured.
Garmadon shook his head. "You wouldn't have remembered."
Lloyd was clearly befuddled. "I-I don't understand," he stammered.
"I didn't think you would," Wu put in. "But you have to trust that what we tell you is true."
Lloyd scratched his head. "Okay..." He hesitated. "So I woke up before I woke up... but I don't remember. And all this is completely normal?"
"Pretty much," Wu said.
"So... what happened?" Lloyd asked.
Garmadon shifted his feet. "When you awoke, you were in some kind of trance," he went on.
"Trance?" Lloyd echoed, utterly confused. "What kind of trance?"
"Let's just say... a bad one," Wu answered.
Before Lloyd could question anymore, Garmadon continued. "You didn't know what you were doing," he said. "You weren't in your right mind."
"I'm sorry—what?" Lloyd interrupted again.
"Look, Lloyd," Wu sighed, "you thought you were still a kid."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lloyd demanded, frustrated because of his puzzlement. The senseis paused as they waited for him to figure it out for himself. "I thought I was a kid?" Lloyd exclaimed with a hint of disgust. After a moment's thought, he blinked. "Wait—" he said, "but when I was a kid I was..." He furrowed his eyebrows, concentrating. "I was... evil."
"Are we starting to connect some dots?" Wu urged.
Even more confusion rained down on Lloyd. "Wha—what?"
"Remember those nightmares you've been having?" Garmadon inquired. Lloyd nodded, and Garmadon let out a sigh. "Let's just say, those nightmares weren't dreams, but... but flashbacks."
"What do you mean?" Lloyd breathed, thoughts whirling.
Garmadon didn't say anything. Instead, he shifted his hair around his ear until it uncovered an ugly bruise.
Lloyd's eyes widened and he gasped. "No..." Panic welled inside of him. "I-I hurt you?" He looked at Wu desperately. The sensei grabbed his staff and held it out. Lloyd inspected it and found fresh slits carved into it, as if it had been cut with a sword.
Lloyd shook his head. "No..." His voice trembled. "I-I couldn't have..." His face was pleading when he looked back up at his father. "I'd never hurt you!"
Garmadon rubbed his hands together uneasily. "It's not your fault, Lloyd," he murmured. "You didn't know what you were doing."
Lloyd's breathing became heavier. "But I still did it." Shock lit up his face. He lowered his head. "I've heard enough."
Wu and Garmadon exchanged a glance. "Lloyd, hear us out," Garmadon began.
"I don't need to," Lloyd murmured. "I understand now. I hurt my family, and I should be punished."
"No," Garmadon groaned. Stressed, he drew his hand over his face. "Lloyd, that was only the beginning."
"What?" Lloyd exclaimed. Then he furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't want to know."
"But Lloyd," Wu started desperately, "we haven't even told you the worst part yet."
Lloyd stared at him. "Worse than hurting my own father?" he demanded. He rose to his feet. "I don't think so."
Frustration rose inside of Wu and he heaved himself to his feet. "Lloyd, don't do anything stupid," he growled. "You were begging for the truth, and here it is."
Lloyd scoffed and headed toward the door. "Yeah, right," he muttered. "I bet you can't stop me with three words."
"I'll stop you with one." Wu stared at the ninja intensely. "Kai."