Please don’t remember me as that man
When the Evil Garmadon is released from Departed Relam, Sensei Garmadon came with him like chained. But nobody don't see him at all,because he can't control his evil self.
Request from ao3!
Sensei Garmadon felt himself slowly departing from the Departed relam. He sensed someone calling out to him.
Except it was not him. Or was it?
As he left against his will, he felt his dark side pulling at him.
The sensation of becoming alive again intensified along with the feeling that he was bound without control over himself.
It was the most painful sensation he felt at every moment.
~~~~~~
"You have changed?" Garmadon spoke out loud. Even his dark side seemed taken aback.
"So have you!" Lloyd replied.
This struck Sensei Garmadon deeply. But he knew it was the truth.
He couldn't do anything while fighting against Lloyd.
He was there. He was tied to the malevolent Garmadon.
He still couldn't do anything.
Was this a cruel punishment for what he had once done as a Dark Lord?
Every blow he dealt to his son hurt him three times more. Every word...
"I have no son!!" Garmadon yelled as Sensei Garmadon screamed within him.
"Of course you do, fool! That’s Lloyd..."
No one could hear him. No one could feel him. At least that’s what he thought.
When Garmadon threw Lloyd through the walls, Sensei Garmadon wished to die on the spot.
He couldn’t bear it... It seemed he could somehow still influence himself.
Because Garmadon no longer pursued Lloyd but left him alone.
~~~~~~
At first, he could talk to himself.
It ended up with Garmadon yelling and destroying things around him.
"Stop, stop!" he shouted as he tried to free from himself.
Sensei Garmadon did everything he could to at least gain some control over himself.
No, he saw Oni but there became another way to prevent that. There is always another way.
Just when he thought he had established control, Harumi would ruin it all.
How he loathed that girl. No, he didn’t hate her; he felt sorry for her. Such a young soul full of bitterness and hatred...
He tried to reach out to her, but he never got the chance.
Soon, he became Emperor Garmadon. His power grew with the fight, while Sensei Garmadon grew weaker. Oh, how he wished to depart...
But he couldn’t; he was trapped by his evil self. And no one noticed him. Except for Emperor Garmadon, occasionally, almost never.
He recalled Lloyd's words as he fell deeper into despair:
"I saved you once, I will save you again!"
"Please save me, Lloyd." he cried internally. "Because when I was evil the first time, I was not aware of what I was doing. Now I am, and I can do nothing. Please save me."
~~~~~~
However, salvation did not come. One moment when he received another scar in his heart was the fight against Misako and Nya.
He heard his baby brother's scream. He could do nothing.
"I was married to him once, I'm upon everything," Sensei Garmadon felt his heart ache again.
What did she mean by that? And did she even see him as the same man?
He hoped that in her eyes, he could see that he wasn’t.
The fight was dreadful. Misako held her own very well, but every blow Garmadon dealt hurt him more than anything else.
He never thought he would hurt her, Lloyd...
~~~~~~
The moment he managed to regain control happened in the battle between him and his son.
Just as Emperor Garmadon attempted to throw Lloyd off the Borg Tower, Sensei Garmadon intervened.
"No, no, no, no!!" he screamed and ignited himself. Emperor Garmadon threw Lloyd aside.
"I cannot fight you, but I can resist you!"
He was so proud every time Lloyd said that sentence.He taught him that.
To fight without fighting, the art of the silent fist.
He felt stronger as Emperor Garmadon weakened. Finally, he was defeated.
Sensei Garmadon put in all of his efforts to stand his ground now. But he didn’t succeed.
Perhaps he didn’t want it badly enough, because he couldn’t bear to see their faces after everything.
What would they think?
He felt himself separating from Emperor Garmadon and returning to the Departed Realm.
He felt relieved; at least he could return to his parents...
When he fully arrived, he collapsed to the ground from mental exhaustion.
"Oh son..." He heard from behind but could not lift his gaze.
What would they say about what he had done? He knew he would never recover from that, just like many others...
Was destny punishing him for all his wrongdoings? Was he being punished by suffering while watching others suffer?
Perhaps. Destny is unpredictable.
He remained on the ground, apologizing to everyone in silence. To Lloyd, Misako, Wu...
He wanted only one thing. For them to be okay and not to remember him as that man. To leave behind only beautiful memories.
Deep inside, he knew that the good him was never blamed. That they wouldn’t see him as the same man.
This comforted him while he knew he would never forgive himself. He felt hands lifting him off the ground, asking if he was alright. His parents...
He wasn’t alright, and that probably showed.
"PPlease don’t remember me as that man.lease don’t remember me as that man." He begged of Lloyd, Misako, and Wu primarily and the others as well.
He spoke until he fell unconscious. His parents later took care of him. And he did not feel better.
Maybe he did, but only a little.
Very little.