My friends decided to bring me to Mystake while I was slowly fading. I've never truly been able to figure out Mystake. Even knowing what I do about her now, I still feel like I never really knew her. She was someone that was mysterious and playful, and I got the feeling that she knew a lot about me and my family, but she would neer have told me even if I demanded an answer from her. To me, she was a woman that owned a strange teashop that I found out Wu had frequented in the past for Traveler's Tea. Even with all the time I spent with her for what was going to happen, it feels like I barely spent a single day with her.

Of course, now I know that Mystake was actually an Oni. She was one that came after the First Spinjitzu Master, but decided to stay when she saw what he'd created. That meant she'd been around since the beginning of Ninjago itself. I think maybe the reason why I don't know her well is because everything she said was always clouded in mystery. Whenever I tried to talk to her, it felt like talking to Wu in a way. Does growing up just mean that you start becoming more cryptic? But, unlike Wu, it always felt like she had a reason to be that way. It wasn't that she was trying to force me to learn a lesson. It was more like, she was always guarding something whenever we talked. If I'd been around her longer, maybe I'd be able to learn more about her.

I almost wonder if Mystake knew what would happen from the start. It felt like she knew something, since was so willing to tell us about the Tale of Oni and Dragon. I think, deep down, she knew that something like this was going to happen the moment I walked into her shop. I don't think she knew what was going to happen exactly, otherwise I would be mad at her for not telling me. But, I do wonder if she knew that, at some point, I'd end up coming to her in my time of need like this.

When my friends brought me to her, it was because of Wu. I've sorta glossed over talking about him, and part of that is just because I was so focused on Harumi that he was sorta an afterthought to me. I was always more concerned with Harumi than I was with him. Long story short, the reversal blade effects were wearing off gradually over time, so he went from an infant to a toddler in the day after Cole found him. He was the one that started drawing symbols of Mystake's tea shop. We'd sent him off to hide with mom when I saw my dad on TV, and she called to tell us. So, Mystake brewed a tea for them to use on me to help bring me back to life.

To be clear, I wasn't exactly dying of my wounds. While I was asleep, al lI felt was cold. I felt cold in a way that I couldn't understand. I think what I was feeling was Garmadon pulling on my. When the ceremony was completed, it formed some sort of connection between me and my father. I know the others think that it's silly, but I think my father was draining me of my life so he could grow stronger. When I was laying there, in the dark and in pain, he was forming the Colossus to go and attack the city. He'd been brought back using me as a link to the world, I think. Maybe I just sound weird. But I knew that I didn't feel right. I felt like I was being drained of something, but I couldn't tell what it was.

The tea that Mystake gave me was one that required my elemental power to work. I don't know why she chose to use it, but I think it was because it was all I had that I could use to fight whatever my father was doing to me. The tea worked by channeling all of our elemental powers together to heal my wounds and stop whatever was happening to me. This meant that, while I could come back, it would mean I wouldn't have the ability to use my power. I was going to trade my life for my powers, and I wasn't even awake to make that choice.

I wasn't feeling anything but cold and darkness while I was sick. But I remember the feeling of when they gave me the tea. My entire body suddenly felt like it was burning, all over. It wasn't like what it felt when Garmadon's power hit me, though. It was like a warmth was being shot right through my veins. I felt like everything inside me was working to burn away whatever had gotten into me, and was using everything it had to do it. I could feel something flowing into me the entire time, something that was just adding fuel to the flames. And then, just as I figured out what was happening, I was passed out again. This time, I was just asleep.

My friends asked me why me losing my powers like that didn't take away their powers. I think, the reason why is because they'd grown stronger enough to use their powers without me. Like I said before, my golden power was basically holding open whatever they were using to channel their powers. But it'd been years since that happened, and they'd trained hard since Morro's defeat. I think they didn't need me to do it anymore. That's why, when my power was used up to heal me, they didn't lose their powers.

I did, though. Losing them didn't feel right. I'd lost my powers before, but that had been when Chen took them. That was something different. When they were gone then, it wasn't like they'd been ripped out of me. It felt like my power was there, somewhere, and I just couldn't grab it. It was almost worse, since I felt like I could just, use them. If I did something, I could use them. But whenever I tried, they felt like they got further away. I don't know how, or even why, but that's what it felt like. And it was a feeling that just added to the fact I'd lost everything to Harumi, again.

While I was asleep, the Colossus was brought into the city. Seeing that thing was a giant reminder that I was helpless to stop my father. I was scared of it like everyone else, but it wasn't because it was something that could kill me. It was a reminder that my father was there, waiting to try to take me out. He was searching for me, but more than that, he was taking the city. The Colossus was his sign that he could do anything now. There wasn't anything to stop the Colossus.

When I did wake up, I knew immediately what had happened to me. Nya asked me if I still felt my powers, but I didn't. I didn't even need her to tell me. I could feel something was wrong about me. My body didn't feel right. Mystake's tea had healed me, but I felt weaker than I normally did. I was struggling to just sit up. The others had already left to go and try to slow down that thing, but I was left behind with Nya. I didn't know what was going on, but I could feel that my father was in the city. Somehow, I could feel him. And I could tell that he wasn't happy.

Our objective, however, wasn't stopping my father. Mom had been hiding with Wu inside Dareth's apartment, and now he was coming to take care of his brother. Nya and I rushed over as quickly as we could. Before we left, though, Mystake told me something. Something that I'll remember for a long time. I'll say it later, but I didn't care about it at the time. I needed to go and save mom. Mystake said I had a vision while I Was asleep, thanks to the tea. Maybe. But it could have just been a gut feeling, the more I think about it. Either way, I had to help them.

When we got there, Garmadon was already there. That thing that claimed to be my father was coming to kill his former wife and brother. Nya and mom stayed behind to fight him, while I grabbed Wu and ran. I didn't know where my friends were, and I was leaving behind Nya. I didn't want to leave them, but I couldn't do anything. Seeing Garmadon, still as strong as he was when I fought him, while I wasn't even able to muster the energy to fight him, I knew I had to run. I couldn't do anything. I had to just… run.

While I was running up the stairs, I felt like crying. That thing wasn't my father. I knew from the moment we fought that I could never call him my dad like I wanted to. Even if I do so now, it's usually because it's just easier to refer to him that way. Even if I know that he still was brought back with some love for me, I can't see him as my father. Knowing he was willing to fight the woman that he loved, the son he'd defied true pure evil itself for, it felt like I'd been punched in the gut, on top of all the lingering pain from my last beatdown. I knew hearing him attacking them down in the hallway behind me that he wasn't my dad. I knew that Harumi had wanted to only bring back a man to hurt me. I felt it there and then.

And, of course, it wasn't like I was going to get away with seeing Harumi at some point. When I got onto the roof, she was there waiting for me with the Mask of Hatred. She must have known I'd go running. Seeing her should have made me angry, but it just made me feel sick. I knew why she was there, I knew what she wanted from me. She wanted Wu, and to defeat me again. But I couldn't get mad. I just felt… drained. Looking at her just made my stomach turn.

I tried to reason with her. I thought maybe that she'd listen if I told her that this would just make more kids go through what she did. But I don't think she cared. I don't think that she ever truly wanted to prevent what happened to her. I know now that, deep down, she did care for others. She cared for people that would go through what she did. But she didn't care about that. Her goal wasn't to do that. She only wanted to make me suffer. She wanted to show me that I was wrong, and that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to stop her. She wanted to just make me suffer.

I couldn't fight her, not with both Wu and how weak I was. So I ran. I ran away from Harumi as quickly as I could. I ran from rooftop to rooftop. It almost reminded me of when we'd first met, when she'd saved me from nearly falling down trying to go after her. Everything she'd done was a lie. Every bit of her that I thought I knew was just there to hurt me. I wasn't angry. It just made me want to cry more. I don't know why it was that chase that made me want to break down, but I couldn't. I had to keep going. It felt like I was a child again, and I was trying to fight the ninja. It felt like if she caught me, I would lose, for good. Harumi even offered me a chance to join her, like she was mocking me one last time. She knew I wasn't going to say yes. She just wanted to make a cruel joke.

The only way I managed to escape was by jumping onto the monorail. There was nobody inside, since everyone was fleeing from that Colossus. My friends were fighting it, and I knew it. Harumi was coming after me, but I needed them. My friends showed up on the Bounty, and I thought maybe I had some hope. I didn't know where Nya was, but I needed to get Wu to them. I was ready to jump over, but that was when Harumi caught up to me.

Harumi grabbed me, and I managed to throw Wu before she could take him. The ninja caught him, but they were forced to avoid the buildings. That was when they flew right into the grasp of the Colossus. Harumi grabbed me and held me over the side of the monorail, just so I couldn't escape. I didn't have the strength to fight her. She held me there as the Colossus began to crush the Bounty in front of me.

Harumi said she wanted me to finally lose it all, just like she had. I kept trying to fight, but I could hear it. I watched the Colossus slowly crush the Bounty. I tried to beg, to break free, but Harumi wasn't going to let go. Even without the mask, I think she could have held me. She finally was getting what she wanted. I could see my friends on the bridge, scrambling to break free. Watching as the two ends of the ship came together. Listening to Harumi laughing at me.

And then… Harumi murdered my friends, right in front of me.

I watched the Colossus finally crush the Bounty. The sight of it is burned into my mind. I can't forget it. I saw the pieces fall from its hands onto the streets. I can remember the sound of it crunching. I can remember all of it. That thing dropped it, and for all I knew, my friends were dead. Harumi tossed me back onto the monorail and laughed. Laughed seeing me in pain. Laughed saying she got what she wanted. Asking me how it felt to see the end.

In that moment, I could see what she wanted. I could see it in my head. Me, jumping up and fighting Harumi with all I had left, taking out my anger on her and trying to throw us both off the monorail and perhaps to our deaths. I could see her laughing at me and letting me die, knowing that I'd felt the worst pain she could put on me.

I could see myself giving up, laying there as Harumi laughed. I could imagine her dragging me to my father, just so he could finish me off. Or maybe even locking me up so I could spend more time feeling all of this pain. I could see it, since I didn't want to get up.

I could see myself trying to argue with Harumi, trying to demand justice for what she'd done. I could maybe try to tell her that she was wrong, and that one day, someone would come to get her. But then, I'd just be telling her what she wanted to see. Me grasping at straws.

All I could feel was pain and sadness. All I could do was just lay there, watching as it happened. For all I knew, they were dead. My friends. My mentors. My brothers. All of them, snuffed out like that. I wasn't able to stop her. I didn't know anything about where they could have gone. All I knew was that they were gone. And Harumi had been the one that had done it.

I wanted to give in to my feelings. I didn't know what that would do, though. My anger at Harumi wanted me to lash out tand do something stupid. My pain wanted me to keep lying there and just not move anymore. What was the point, when she'd already won? What was the point when I didn't have my friends by my side? What was the point, when I didn't have any power to stand up to her?

I knew what I had to do, though. It was what the Green Ninja would do. It was what I should do. I knew that I should stand up to her, and be bigger than she was. I knew that I needed to be stronger than she was. If I gave in, then I was showing her I was no better than she was. I'd suffered before. I'd faced greater evils than this. I had to stand up to her. I had to do something to keep her from truly tearing me down. I had… I had to be the Green Ninja, the city needed.

I didn't want to. I didn't want to put aside my feelings. But I knew that if I gave up, there was no one left. The only one that could stop my father, was me. I had to be the one to stop him, even if it cost me more than my life. Just standing up felt like I was lifting a mountain. But I did it. I told Harumi that I had to stand up to her. She'd taken everything from me. She'd taken my friends, my family, and now my hope. But I wouldn't let that beat me. Even if she hurt me, I was the stronger one. I was going to stand up to her, to her tyranny, no matter what.

And so, I escaped. I jumped off and landed in the same river where I'd first seen Mr. E escape to when he stole the Mask of Vengeance. Nya was waiting there to catch me. Harumi was forced to watch me get away. The greatest villain is the one that gets away. I was going to make myself that greatest villain. I'd lost everything. I'd failed the city. But I wasn't going to let her be the one that decided when I had lost.

I remember after that, I passed out. I was exhausted, and the pain of it all had worn me down. Nya took us to a safe location where we wouldn't be found. When I woke up again, they told me everything about what happened. Garmadon had taken Borg Tower and turned it into his palace. The Colossus and the SOG were roaming the streets, suppressing anyone that tried to leave or run. Ninjago had officially been declared under the rule of its new Emperor. Harumi was his right hand.

I was the one that had to tell them about the ninja. None of them cried. I knew Nya wanted to. Pixal looked like I'd just torn her heart out. And mom looked worried for me. All of them knew that I'd watched that, and I'd been the one to see it. They all thought I would give up. They were ready for me to tell them I was done. I know they wanted to cry, but they wouldn't let themselves. Not with me till being around.

Instead, I shocked them. I think the reason they didn't cry in front of me was because I told them I wasn't done. I wasn't going to let the city fall. I declared then and there that I was going to resist my father, no matter what happened. I told them I was going to fight for what I believed in. And that Harumi wasn't going to take me down.

Harumi had taken everything from me. My dad was on the throne, and now Ninjago thought I was either gone, captured, or dead. It was time for me to work my way back up to take it back. It was time that I started a Resistance.


"...Alright, there," Lloyd stretched his back out, "That's good for now. I think we're finally done with these chapters, Jay."

"Yeah, I think we are," Jay nodded his head, "I know you'd said before that you thought we were dead when you were leading the Resistance, but I didn't, know that was how you felt about it."

"Of course I did," Lloyd pointed out, "I watched you all get crushed. Why wouldn't I think you were dead?"

"Because, Mystake gave us the tea that let us travel to the First Realm!" Jay pointed out, "Why didn't she tell you?!"

Lloyd opened his mouth to respond, then went quiet. Jay stared at him intently, waiting for his reply. That was a good point. Mystake had hinted that his friends were alive, but never said anything specifically. She'd never let him know that she'd given his friends a way to escape.

"I… guess she didn't know?" Lloyd guessed, "I mean, she was just sorta dealing with the fact that the city had fallen? Maybe she didn't know."

"Yeah but like…" Jay sighed, "It's weird! Right?"

"If she knew, she'd have told me," Lloyd told Jay, "I think. I… no, she would have. She wanted me to grow strong. She knew that losing you guys hurt me a lot. She would've told me."

"I guess, but I don't like it," Jay sighed, "Speaking of Mystake, are you going to talk about…?"

"Yeah, I will," Lloyd nodded, "But I wasn't there, so I don't know how it happened. I only found out from Skylor."

"I never thought that we'd come back to find she was gone…" Jay pointed out, "I don't know how to even, feel about that. I hardly knew her but… to think that Garmadon would take her down like that, it's…"

"Don't worry about it," Lloyd shook his head, "It was my plan that caused it. I never thought that it would happen. It was my fault… it's, my thing to bear."

"...Alright," Jay frowned, "Lloyd, I know you have to talk about, that, with Nya. Look, if you need me to be there when you do, I can help. Or even Zane. You know, someone that you can… lean on?"

"I know what I'll say," Lloyd stood up, "...I've, made peace with it. I think. I'm working through it. I feel better, now that I've said everything. I know you felt weird about my chapters so, I'll try not to do that again, alright?"

"It's not that I felt weird," Jay told him, "It's that you sounded so upset. Lloyd, we're your friends. I'm glad these chapters are helping you but, you don't need to try to hide it. Tell us if you want to stop!"

"I get it, I get it," Lloyd waved his hand, "I'm fine, Jay. I appreciate it. Thanks for doing these chapters with me, even if you didn't enjoy it."

"Anything for you, Lloyd," Jay smiled, "Now, wanna go do something else? Maybe take your mind off this a little bit? Eh?"

"Sure, I got my car fixed recently, why don't we go and race a bit?"

"Oh you're on!" Jay smirked, "I'm going to school you! No one is faster than the Master of Lightning!"

"You mean the mouth of the Master of Lightning," Lloyd darted out of the room.

"The mouth of- HEY!" Jay turned to scold Lloyd, but saw he was already gone. Realizing this, Jay gave a small sigh before running after him. The two disappeared again, leaving behind one chapter of the story, and leaving the next open for the last one to hear his story.