Legends of Ninjago: Book 3: The Four Fangs

Chapert 26: Everything's Going to be Fine

    It was twilight when Garmadon woke up. He was groggy, confused, and swaying in one of the many hammocks hanging in the musty barracks. As soon as his senses returned to him, he could tell that he wasn't alone. Someone was watching him from the corner of the room, and once he realised that, pure unbridled anger began to swell.
    In one frantic motion, he was on his feet, his hand deathly close to the throat of his brother.
    "You..." he seethed, his red eyes beginning to burn. "...How could you...?" His grip tightened. "It's always you! Always messing things up!"
    Wu watched him calmly, trying to keep his jaw steady and his eyes set forward. "I did what I had to."
    "Did what you had to—did what you had to!!? I have to save my son from those monsters!!"
    "And I have to keep my students safe from the IBI!!" Wu countered, eyebrows knitted together in a pained sort of way. "Don't you dare think for a second that I didn't want to help Lloyd too."
    "Oh, I dare to think, Wu," said Garmadon, his tone getting deathly low. "...perfect little Wu... you always do whatever you want... nothing's changed."
    Wu's eyes twitched. Not with strain or anger or frustration... but from the thin layer of water beginning to build in his glassy, bright blue eyes. The very same eyes he'd had since he was a child. His heart felt heavy and his chest felt tight, but he said nothing.
    Perhaps it was because of that silence that Garmadon finally lost control and struck him across the face.
    Then he did it again.
    And again.
    And again.
    Until Wu's nose was running red. Still, the old master did nothing in retaliation.
    "You've always been spoiled!" Garmadon spat. "You don't know what it's like! To be cursed! To have a son!! ...a son you know you'll never be able to love..." Garmadon's breathing became suddenly heavy as he leaned against the wall. "You've always had it easy..."
    Wu gingerly wiped his nose, not meeting his brother's gaze.
    "You genuinely believe you can fix everything, don't you? Don't you?!"
    Wu still didn't look at him.
    His brother moved over and grabbed his collar. "SAY SOMETHING, DANG IT!!!"
    Blood still running, and a single stream of water dripping from his eye as moonlight began to shine through the window, Wu watched his manic brother and said, "...I... have only ever tried... to do what I thought was right... to be like you used to be..."
    Garmadon pressed his lips together as hard as he could, fighting off his own wave of unbridled emotion, before letting out a gut wrenching yell and slamming Wu back into the corner where he had found him and marching away. "You're insane."
    Wu sat, bent over his knees, in the darkness of the barracks, all alone. He didn't blame his brother for being angry, not one tiny bit. If the roles were reversed, he probably would have acted out in a similar way. But regardless of how much his face hurt, regardless of how much his heart ached for the well-being of his nephew, he still stood by his decision. If they'd turned back so that Garmadon could reach Lloyd, or even if they'd stayed a little longer, the IBI undoubtedly would have captured them, and they had already let that happen once before—never again. It had been an extremely close call. If those lab-coat-wearing maniacs ever found out what these kids truly were... and he was getting older every day. Soon enough, there would be no more rescue missions, no more close calls. Just casualties. And he'd made too many promises already. Too many times he'd stared into the face of a worried parent and assured them that he would do everything in his power to keep their child safe. Yes, one could make the accusation that he'd brought this upon himself, and one would be correct... but that still didn't change the fact that this was the reality he was facing. While he still had strength, he was going to do his best to help as many people as he could, even if those multiple interests conflicted from time to time.
    Garmadon would never see it that way, though. He couldn't. Firstly, because the venom flowing through his veins clouded his mind from seeing things in any other way besides his own self interest, and secondly... because he was a father. Wu was certain that if he'd done nothing, Garmadon would have destroyed that entire fleet with his bare hands to get back to his son. But that would mean a lot of people would have been killed or stranded at sea as a result, and then Wu and the kids would have "accomplice to murder" on their records, and everything would have just become an even bigger mess than it already was.
    Wu's head hung lower. He was getting too old for this. He could feel it, not just in his bones, but in his soul. He'd been alive for far too long. He had seen too much—had done too much—and now he just felt unbearably heavy from the weight of it all.
    If only he had the power to stop the Serpentine all on his own—to be able to send the children back home where they'd be safe, and not have to worry about the fate of the world all the time. But, pathetic as it was, he needed their help. Perhaps if he had been younger, things would be different, but as it stood now...
    He wished... he wished his father were still alive to handle all of this. He would know what to do. He always had the right answer. He was always there for his sons and Ninjago, no matter how bad things became.
    "...Father..." he whispered into the night. "...please... give me wisdom... and give me strength... I need your help... I need you..."