The Life of Livana Garmadon

August 29th, 2023 (From Another Perspective)

"You fled." Her voice echoed across the room as he shrugged off his cloak, still annoyed by the encounter he had with the darkness Ninja back there. If she just hadn't showed up and messed up my plans... He let out both a physical and mental growl as he heaved the cloak off his shoulders and tossed it onto a wooden chair.

"You are the one who left me first." He pointed out, brushing back his jet black hair and plopping down onto the torn up couch, "What, were you afraid they'd spot you?"

Silence.

"I thought so." He grabbed a cup and filled it up with water, chugging it. God, he hated being brought back to life. Why couldn't he have remained dead? After all those times of being resurrected, he thought he'd have peace by now. Guess not, he huffed.

"Hey, boy." One of his teammates, Rattlesnake, walked over to him and grinned, showing off all of his crooked teeth. "Why so gloomy? Failed to kidnap the little tech kid?" He plopped down next to him, drawing an annoyed eye roll from him as he scooted as far away from Rattlesnake as possible.

"Go away, Rattlesnake. I don't want to talk to you." He responded bluntly.

"Aw, come on." Rattlesnake grinned, furthermore prompted by his annoyance. "You never want to talk to me. Why can't we just engage in a conversation, boy? I don't see what the issue is here."

"I do." He got up and crossed his arms, glaring down at Rattlesnake, who was still grinning innocently. "It's the time I wasted here with you. Now leave me alone."

"Buh-bye!" Rattlesnake waved from behind him.

He stepped into an empty room and then let out another tired sigh, brushing his constantly-getting-into-his-eyes hair. He looked over at the window, which was boarded up anyways, and then looked back at the open doorway. He was about to leave the room when suddenly, she spoke up. "We need to attempt the mission again, and you know it."

"Oh yeah, sure, sure." He raised an eyebrow, not turning around to look at her, "You gonna flee again this time?" He turned around, crossing his arms and glaring right into her metallic, evil purple eyes. "Because that went so well last time."

"Don't judge me for my decisions. What I do is none of your concern. You just play your part," She grabbed his jaw and then yanked him down to her eye level, making him glare more ferociously at her, "and all is well. Understood?"

"Let go of me." He growled.

Her grip only tightened, and her white hair flowed in front of her like snakes. "I said," She whispered, which was even more menacing than when she yelled, "understood?"

"Perfectly." He spat out, grabbing her wrist and then yanking her hand off his face. "Happy now?"

She leaned back and then scanned him up and down. "You've grown bolder. Stop trying to fight back against me, or I'll send you back to the Cursed Realm again."

"And I'll be pleased." He retorted, "I never wanted to be a part of this."

"But I wanted you to be." She walked up to him and pressed a hand against his chest, making him cringe back, but not away. "You know the Ninja the best, and besides," Her lashes dipped as she smiled up at him, "you're much more fun than that old bore, Rattlesnake."

From the main room, Rattlesnake's voice carried down to them, "I heard that!"

"Oh, shut up. Don't act like what I said wasn't true!" She yelled back before turning her flirtatious gaze back to him. "Come on. I need you."

"Oh, forget it." He tossed his arms up into the air, "You'll just keep on inveigling me until I do what you say, so I'll just go with the plan. Just leave me alone, will you?"

"That's my boy." She patted his cheek and he flinched away. "I'll call you when I decide to launch the mission."

"And I'll be waiting." He responded and then muttered underneath his breath, "Not like I'm going anywhere else, anyways."

"Oh, and this time," She looked over her shoulder, "Rattlesnake will be going with you."

"WHAT?!" He yelled, his hair lifting off his shoulders as harsh winds blew around him. "Are you serious?! Don't make him come with me."

"Goodness, I haven't seen you show this much emotion in forever." She grinned, turning around and flipping her long white hair over her shoulder, "I should send Rattlesnake with you more often."

"I despise you with every bone in my body." He snarled.

"That's why it's a good thing you don't have them, darling." She winked and then spun away, leaving him glaring at her shadow in the empty room. He took a deep breath and then looked over at the barred windows, trying his best not to make the whole room explode.

"It's fine, it's fine..." He muttered to himself, suppressing his emotions. "I'm fine."

But the more he sat there, the more he wallowed in his emotions, the more he realized... Oh, he was terribly far from fine.