July 11th, 2023

I always knew that life was cruel, but who knew that it was so damn cruel? 

I've been asking myself these past few days. How come I've ended up with such a broken and horrible path to take in seconds? My life was happy, perfect even, a few days ago. But now… all I could see ahead of me was brokenness. And all that I was… was a monster. 

No matter what anyone says, that is all I can see myself as. And even though this isn't Father's fault, I still couldn't help but think, Like father, like daughter. I'm scared of what my father has done and it's so easy to picture me doing all those things. Me blowing something up, me killing innocent people, me dying, me… stabbing my family in the back.

 My new phone buzzed next to my bed and I looked at it, quickly swiping away the tears that had streaked down my face. It was a missed call notification from Victor. I quickly called him back and Victor's voice immediately came on over the phone, "Livvy? Is that you? Thank God, I've been trying to reach you for so long. Where have you been?" 

"I-I'm sorry." I whispered, my hands shaking again. "My phone broke right after I texted you. I'm sorry that I didn't…" I took in a sharp breath, "I'm okay. I've been at the monastery with my brother, the Ninja, and Uncle Wu. My mom's here too."

"What a party." Victor muttered, "Are you feeling okay, Liv? Is what you said… true or a mistake? I know that I shouldn't doubt your uncle and the Smokes of Vision, but…" 

"It's true." I whispered, my voice breaking, "It's all true, Victor."

"Oh, man." Victor murmured, "I should come over after school. I wanna check on you, okay?" I nodded slightly over the phone, my messy bun bobbing up and down on my head and Victor whispered, "Hey. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah." I said softly, "If time allows. I'll text you if you can't come over or if I need to do something, 'kay?" Suddenly, something crackled on Victor's side and I frowned. "Victor. Can you hear me? Hello?"

"Hold on." Victor said before a muffled scream was heard.

I bolted up from my bed, "Victor! What is going on? Where are you??"

"I'm fine." I heard Victor say over the phone, "It'll be fine. We're gonna be okay."

"Who's "we"? Vic!" I shouted, "Victor!!" 

"Hey, who'd you call?" A voice snarled and I heard a sharp crack and a pained groan. I suddenly felt cold. It was Victor's voice that had groaned. What happened to him? 

"Victor?" I whispered and the voice snarled again.

"Hey, pretty boy." A tearing sound came through the phone, "Is that your girlfriend? Planning to say your last goodbyes or something?" The voice then said, "Who is this?"

"What have you done with my friend?!" I demanded, "What's going on?"

"Your little boyfriend here? Oh, your friend is a goner." Another sharp crack came over the phone and Victor screeched in pain. I put a shaking hand over my mouth.

"Victor!" I shouted, "Victor, please!'

"Goodbye, girlie." The voice in the phone hissed before I heard the dreaded click. Whoever had just hurt Victor and was at his school had hung up. 

"Lloyd!" I screamed and my brother immediately came running into my room. Skidding onto the carpet, he gripped my shoulder as I held back the tears. 

"Sis, what's going on?" Lloyd asked, "What happened?" He picked up my phone, "What did Victor do? Did he hurt you?" Lloyd shook me a little, "Livana, what happened?" 

"No! You know Victor would never hurt me. V-Victor called me on his phone. He said he'll check in with me after school. But then someone hurt him over the phone. I think… I think that Victor's school is under attack." I blurted out, "Lloyd, we have to save him!" 

"Right." Lloyd nodded, "What school does Victor go to now?" 

"B-Borg's Boarding School. He's a tech n-nerd." I stammered. Lloyd nodded his head.

"Okay. I'll assemble the team. We'll get out there as soon as we can." When Lloyd was about to leave the room, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"Lloyd, wait!" My brother whirled around to look at me. I took in a deep breath before saying, "Take me with you."

"What?" Lloyd burst out, "I can't take you with me. You don't have any training done and you can't fight as well as the others and I. You don't even have a disguise! I'm afraid that you have to stay here. Don't worry. We'll buzz you in with news in the earpiece." He tapped his own ear and I shook my head.

"Not good enough. Victor is my friend. And besides, if you want me to be able to help you all, now's my chance. I can rescue my friend and get an experience." I pleaded, "Please, Lloyd. You know how hard I train." 

"I'm not gonna risk you getting hurt or us messing it up. We don't even know what's happening at Borg's Boarding School." Lloyd yanked his wrist away gently, "Liv, drop it."

"Lloyd." Nya was at the doorway, "It's a bunch of burglars that are trying to steal the advanced tech pieces from the school and then sell it at the black market. It's nothing too bad." Nya jutted her chin at me, "Let her come, Lloyd. We talked about this, remember?"

Lloyd glanced over at me one last time before reluctance entered his gaze, "Fine. But you need a hood first." 

-:-:-:-:-

"Are you sure that you wanna be here?" Cole asked me, "Things are a little intense, if you ask me. Besides, this is kinda a big thing, and we were hoping to slide you into the ninja business slowly." 

"Guess you lost your grip." I raised an eyebrow, pulling a dark purple hood over my face, "I'm going in, guys. Don't try to convince me otherwise. I need to save Victor myself." 

"Her secret boyfriend." Jay whispered to Kai and I rolled my eyes, too worried for Victor and his school's situation to retort.

"Here." Nya tossed me two daggers with the protective sleeve on. I unsheathed them and turned them over. They gleamed in the sunlight. I tucked them into my belt, "You'll need those to protect yourself and the others once we get in."

"Thanks." I said to Nya.

"We have arrived." Zane pointed at the school, which was made of shiny silver metal on the outside, but it was glowing blue on the inside. "It looks like the old Borg tower." 

"Well, Borg built it, so I'd assume that he took after the same model." I said before snapping my fingers and making a purple energy ball appear, twisted around my fingers. The others flinched back automatically and then looked apologetic, but I ignored them all. "Ninja-go."

We ran up to the building and then kicked down the door. Two masked men ran at us almost immediately and Lloyd kicked one aside. The other one ran towards me and then paused, tilting his head at me. "What're you supposed to be?" The man sneered, "A kid?"

"No." I tilted my head at him, "Your nightmare." I then leapt forward and slammed a punch down onto the man's cheek. The man staggered back and then growled at me. 

"Why, you little-" He snarled and ran towards me. I ducked when he swung a punch and then tackled him to the ground, making him land on his back. I sat on his chest and then pointed my knife down at his face with a growl before he could move or grab a weapon.

"Where," I snarled, "are the students?"

"I'm not telling you nothing, girly." The man spat on the ground, inches away from my leg, and I growled. My eyes lit up and I was about to stab the blade down when Lloyd came by and jabbed the man's skull. The man's head lolled over, his eyes closed in unconsciousness.

"Liv." He shook my shoulder, "Livana."

"I'm fine." I shook him off, "Nothing you need to be worried about."

"You almost stabbed that guy!" Kai yelped, "Are you sure that you're okay, Liv? Because we can help you if you need it-"

"I said I don't need help!" I turned around with a snarl and my eyes flared with light. My hands were covered with living, writhing shadows now. I quickly shook my hands and the shadows disappeared, but the sick feeling in my gut didn't. I clutched my ribs and whispered shakily, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so angry." 

"It's okay." Lloyd comforted, even though they all looked so uncomfortable.

"We should get to the floor with the students and staff. I shall scan the school." Zane looked up and bright blue beams came from his eyes and scanned over the floor and above. He then looked at us, "The students are all held in the tech room. Top floor, take a right at the elevator, and then keep going straight."

"Guards?" Cole asked.

"Just one. Very brawny. But I am sure that we can take him with a little Spinjitzu." Zane twirled his finger as we ran and Jay let out a small whoop as we rushed into the elevator. 

"We about to kick some butt, baby!" He cheered and I rolled my eyes but smiled.

"How many people?" Lloyd asked.

"20, including the staff." Zane answered and I cracked my neck, glaring through the glass and cracking my knuckles too.

As soon as the elevator dinged onto the top floor, I clenched my fists. What I did back there, nearly stabbing someone, lashing out at the others, showing my powers… that was all on me. What is happening to me? I could never be the same, but I was changing so fast. I really wanted to grab onto my innocence and hold it tight, but it was hard to do that. I was losing my innocence, bit by bit. By small bits, sure, but I was losing it. What else would I lose…?

"Hey!" We all whirled around to find a muscular man, a few inches taller than Cole, who is 6 feet tall, stalking towards us. "Puny little ninja, huh? Think that you can stop our heist?" A black hood was tied around his face and he grinned at us through his mouth hole. "We've got the students and staff held hostage. You can't stop us." 

"Get a load of this then!" Jay fired a lightning ball right at the man's chest and the man dodged it with a laugh.

"Too easy, lightning ninja." He laughed, "And why even bother covering up your faces? I already know who each and every one of you are." He grinned at me and I felt a shiver crawl down my spine agonizingly slow. "Especially you, daughter of Garmadon."

"If you know me so well, you know there's no way you can stop me." I growled, my hands lighting ablaze, "So let all the hostages go." 

"You're the one that called on the phone, didn't you?" The brawny man sneered and I was so surprised that I took a step back. "Goodbye, girlie." The man smirked and held up Victor's phone, smashed to bits. Some wires were dangling out of the shattered device and my heart sank another inch. 

"What have you done to him?!" I shouted, "Where is he?"

"He's separated from the rest. I knew that he would be important to you, baby Garmadon." The man spun Victor's broken phone on his fingers before he dropped it over the ledge, "Oops, my bad." He grinned.

My whole figure tensed but I tried to shove my worry for Victor aside. "Don't call me that. Now get out of my way if you don't wanna get hurt." 

"Feel free to try and land a hit." The man spread his arms wide open, "I find it amusing when children try to fight back." 

"Well, you'll be ashamed when you find out that a 13-year-old can harm you just as easily as anyone else!" I shouted before leaping at him, my vision red with rage. The man lifted his fist and I ducked under him, sliding under his feet. I kicked him on the calves and he teetered over. I looked over at Lloyd. "NOW!!"

Lloyd quickly formed a ball of green energy and blasted it at the man's chest. The man fell back towards me and I punched him, sending him keetering forward. I growled and Cole darted forward, giving him an uppercut on the chin. The man finally fell backwards and I let him, drawing my daggers in case he wasn't knocked out. But he was. I slid my daggers back into their sheaths.

"Are you okay, Liv?" Lloyd asked me and I nodded my head.

"I'm fine. We've gotta find Victor. Zane, tell me that you can find something good." I looked over at the nindroid, whose eyes started to expand into blue beams again before he shook his head.

"I am sorry." Was all he said. I slammed my finger into the earpiece and pressed a button so that I could talk to P.I.X.A.L.

"Pix! Can you find any security cameras that show a lone student in a classroom? It's my friend. They kept him there to spite me." I tried to keep the panic out of my voice, "Please, P.I.X.A.L…"

"I have found him." P.I.X.A.L said over the earpiece, "He's in the boy's locker room. He's tied up to a chair in there." 

"Okay." I nodded my head, "Can the rest of you handle the staff and students?"

"Sure. You and Lloyd go after Victor." Nya encouraged and I nodded gratefully, sprinting into the boy's locker room. I opened the door with a bang and there sat Victor. His wrists were tied to the arms of the chair and his mouth was sealed shut with duct tape.

"Vic!" I yelped and I quickly ran to his side, untying his wrists and ripping the tape off my friend's lips. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" I then saw the limp way that Victor held his left arm and I sighed, "Oh no…"

"They broke it, I think." Victor murmured and then inhaled deeply, "What are you doing in the boy's locker room?" He asked with a teasing smirk. I shoved his good arm, removing my hood as Lloyd did so as well.

"Rescuing your stupid rear end." I brushed my hair back, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks for coming to get me." Victor said, "I was the one that was supposed to meet you after school ended for me, you know." 

"Well, guess I was impatient." I smiled.

"Yeah. Hey, Lloyd." Victor waved with his good hand.

"Hey, man." Lloyd nodded, "Good to see you safe. My sister was worried as heck." He frowned, "Do you know those men? Are they rivals of Borg's? Or something else…?"

"They were just burglars." Victor answered softly. He then let his arm fall limp, "Owwww… How are the rest of my classmates and my teachers? Are they okay?"

"Mhm." Jay said from the doorway and Victor straightened, "They're good."

"Uh… hi." Victor smiled, "I'm-"

"Victor. I know." Jay grinned at me, "Livana here has said plenty about you."

"Oh?" Victor smiled at me, raising an eyebrow, "Has she now?" 

"Shut up." I shook my head with a laugh, "Both of you." I then turned to Victor and said, "You know… I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight without knowing what's going on with you…" I smiled at him, "Wanna stay over at the monastery? You can go back to your dorm tomorrow, if you want." 

Victor went over and then took my hand with a smile, "I'd love to, Livvy." 

"Awww!" Nya cooed from the door and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Nya, no." I said.

"Let's get this guy to a hospital first though." Kai suggested and we all laughed. For the first time in a few days, I felt like I'd actually accomplished something. I felt like I had actually been a good person. 

I felt whole.