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Misako was lying down in her room at the monastery, staring blankly at the ceiling. To her left, a crib, with a sleeping baby boy. To her right, a shelf, with captured memories of lost love.
A picture of them, young, reading together, sneakily taken by her sister.
A picture of the falls where he asked her to be together forever.
A picture of him in a robe and her in a white dress, the day that made them one.
The last picture of him, her, and her brother-in-law, none of them knowing it would be the last.
Garmadon had been by her side for so long. Misako knew he would not be around for the forever that he promised, and that he would eventually fall to the darkness. But she wanted to be there. She wanted to say goodbye.
Now he was gone, his son had arrived, and they were both alone. Reality had crept up behind them until it swallowed them whole.
Wu returned after hiding the sword of fire. He told Misako that her lost husband was able to communicate with the outside world there, but only as a shadow of himself. He said this like it was bad news, as if it was a warning. Misako thought the opposite.
She picked up her infant child. Shadow or not, Lloyd still needed to meet his father.
She did not tell Wu she was leaving. He would never let her go visit him after what happened.
With a lantern in one arm, her child in the other, and everything she needed for the night’s trip on her back, she made her way down the mountain steps, through the dark woods, and arrived at the temple.
The dragon did not stop her from entering. The dragon must have recognized her, and did not see her as a threat to the sword. Flame was her favorite, after all.
She called out for him, her voice echoing in the rotunda.
No reply.
She slowly crept toward the sword of fire, beginning to feel the heat of the volcano, when she was suddenly overshadowed by a dark presence.
Him.
A literal shadow of his former self, the only thing she could recognize him from was his slow but booming voice, not too dissimilar from the one she had yearned to hear for so long.
“Misako.” He said. She could not make out any sort of feeling from this shadow.
“Montgomery?” she replied, only using that name to make sure it was really him.
“Yes.” the booming voice replied. “Is the baby ours?”
"Your son, Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, was born a month ago, perfectly healthy." Misako said. “We miss you.”
"Please take care of him. Please keep him safe." Garmadon replied.
Misako tried to reach out to him, to tell him that she loved him, but he had disappeared back into the darkness. Her lantern went out, and there was another voice behind her.
"Why did you bring the baby?" Wu cried, holding his own light. "Get out of here! It is not safe! For either of you!"
Wu grabbed her arm, and led her out of the temple. Lloyd began to cry.
"Are you insane?" Wu was somewhere between worried and angry. "You cannot bring Lloyd into the volcano! Do you have any idea what could have happened to him, or what could have happened to you?"
"Lloyd is Garmadon’s child. He deserved to meet him." she answered. Wu did not listen and ordered her to go back home with him.
A few years went by. Wu would not let her communicate with Garmadon. He no longer trusted his brother, even with his own family. Misako was beginning to wonder if she should have trusted Garmadon when they first met, years ago.
She did not want Wu to watch her anymore. Lloyd was a toddler now, she could raise him on her own.
Back in her apartment in the city, she lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. To her left, a young blonde boy asking what was wrong. To her right, an old memory, now shattered.
She was still in the dark, still heartbroken over the inevitable. Countless months of endless research, desperately trying to find a way to bring him back. She was not sure if he was even still alive. The worst of her fears had been realized. The chosen one, the one to destroy the darkness her husband became, was the young blonde boy in front of her. Her family would forever be broken.
Misako did not know how to care for their child. There was no time to guide her son if she wanted her husband back safely. She needed to bring him back from the darkness so son and father would not be forever in a battle with one another. Preventing this prophecy was the only way to keep Lloyd safe. And if Misako wanted to prevent this prophecy, all of her time would need to be dedicated to doing all that she could to defeat destiny.
There was only one place where his father's name was still celebrated. She left her son there, her back turned.
She got back to her apartment, now with an extra bed.
Misako was trapped in mourning, and Garmadon was trapped in revenge.
She had spent so much time desiring a love that was gone, without realizing there was a new love with her, one that could have stayed with her.
It became her biggest regret.
She could not go back now. She would have no idea what to say. How to explain where his father was and the things he did. She did not know how to explain that he would eventually have to fight his father if they ever were to finally be reunited.
She did not know if her son would ever want to see her again.
Her longing for lost love pushed everyone away.
She was alone, still hidden by heartbreak, not knowing if she could ever find a way back.