The Life of Livana Garmadon

July 22nd, 2023

"The Omega and the Oni, according to Liv, came through the broken pieces of the Realm Crystal, a crystal that has the power to open up portals and allow beings to travel between worlds." Zane said, his eyes showing us a holographic image of the Realm Crystal. I shivered and put my bandaged arm on the table, feeling uncomfortable at having to remember what I had to endure to get this piece of information.

"We need to find those pieces and get rid of them, once and for all." P.I.X.A.L added on, "I have researched a way to destroy the Realm Crystal for good." A picture popped onto the screen, "The Golden Mountains. Their lava is pure and golden, which will get rid of the corrupted crystal pieces. We will not have to deal with them again."

"Who even created this thing?" Lloyd muttered under his breath, "It's been such a pain in our side and caused Ninjago so much... pain."

"Yes, lava!" Kai cheered quietly on the other side of me.

"Livvy." Nya put her hand on my uninjured shoulder, "Are you... feeling alright?"

"Yeah. No. I'm not feeling alright." Flashbacks replayed through my head and I shoved it aside, thinking of the only thing that calmed me down at the moment. Control over myself. Gradually, my breath slowed and my form relaxed, even though I still wasn't okay.

"Here." Nya gave my shoulder a tight squeeze with her hand.

"I'll take a look at that shoulder later, niece." Uncle Wu suggested from where he was sitting and I nodded gratefully at him.

"Thanks, Uncle Wu." I said and then Zane sighed heavily, his eyes returning to normal.

"The only problem that we have is not knowing where the pieces are." Suddenly, all heads swiveled to me and I shrunk under everyone's gaze, "Liv, do you happen to have a clue?"

"Um..." I whispered, "I don't really know..."

"Are you sure?" Jay pried and my hand tightened into a fist. I quickly shifted that hand to grip my elbow, even though my grip was still painfully tight.

"I'm sorry." I murmured.

"It's okay, Livvy." Lloyd whispered, rubbing my back, "You've done more than enough. It's okay."

But it's not. A small voice in my head whispered, None of it is. But all I said was, "Yeah."

"Hm." Uncle Wu started pacing back and forth, stroking his beard, "Let's see. Where did we last destroy the Realm Crystal? Perhaps the pieces never got moved?"

"If they never got moved, Borg would've caught it on his security first because they're in his vault room." Cole pointed out, "And he would've told us. I hope."

"My father is an honest man." P.I.X.A.L snapped, "Do not even dare insinuate the idea that he might have been working with the Oni. First, how would that even work? Second, he has been turned into stone."

"I didn't mean it like that." Cole put his hands up, "I'm sorry, Pix. We all want to save the citizens of Ninjago and our family, including your dad. Please don't be mad anymore."

P.I.X.A.L sighed, "I'm not. I'm sorry. I'm just stressed like the rest of us."

"It's okay. Please, you think you have it bad?" I asked, "Try being shown how the Oni came here. Try being taunted. Try being the villain of this story, even for a second. It'll tear you apart." The others fidgeted and I leaned back, crossing my arms.

"Do we need to talk, Liv?" Lloyd whispered into my ear.

"I dunno. Do we?" I retorted, raising an eyebrow.

"Liv, c'mon." Lloyd sighed, "Being all twisted up with your words and trying your best to hide that you're in pain isn't going to help anyone. Just... We'll talk about this, okay? But we've gotta find the Realm Crystal pieces first."