Nelson was so stunned he couldn’t speak.
“Um… Nelson? Are you okay?” Liam asked. He fidgeted with his fingers and looked at the spot where the portal to the Never Realm once was. When he realised that Antonia was out of sight, he was so surprised that he jumped. “Wait, where’s Antonia?” Liam gasped. “Antonia? Can you hear me? I’m sorry if my stuff about the Never Realm was boring for you! If you come back, I will offer you all my ninja chips!” he shouted so loudly that nearby birds flew away. “Antonia!”
Every time Liam shouted the name ‘Antonia’, Nelson tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. “Antonia’s… gone,” he forced out that last word like a heavy rock pushed off a cliff. Nelson struggled to make eye contact with Liam as he sniffed and shivered at the thought of Antonia’s disappearance.
“Antonia what?” Liam questioned. He saw Nelson crouching in the spot that Antonia disappeared and started to realise what happened. “Hang on a second, did Antonia disappear in to the Never Realm?” he panicked. “Oh no, no, no! It’s all my fault and we’re never going to see Antonia again! I’m so sorry, Nelson. I didn’t mean to vanish your friend like that!”
Nelson huddled his legs together and hid his frowning face in his knees. His words were muffled, making Liam fidget with his fingers even more and try harder not to hide his guilt. “Liam, Antonia was like a big sister to me for so long,” Nelson replied. “When I was seven, I broke both of my legs and ended up in a wheelchair, in a hospital. I couldn’t go to karate practice for several months and it wasn’t easy making friends with the other kids. But Antonia, another disabled kid at the hospital, noticed what I was going through. She even gave me this purple ninja suit she sewed together herself, which inspired me to call myself the purple ninja. If she wasn’t there for me, I don’t think I would’ve continued my hopes of being a ninja someday.”
Liam instantly stopped fidgeting with his fingers and his mouth dropped open. “You went through all of that?” he gasped. “Jeez, Nelson. I feel sorry for you!”
“It’s okay. My legs already healed,” Nelson muttered.
“Wait a second. If you broke your legs and they healed, then wouldn’t the same sort of thing happen if you lose Antonia and find her? But those who enter the Never Realm-“
“Never return,” Nelson interrupted. “The only way to find her is to go to this place you say people never return from, and I do not want to stay in a realm where there are ice warriors wanting to harm people from where I live and the ninja are in a battle with the blizzard samurai to return to Ninjago in one piece. Wait, how are you so sure that the people that enter the Never Realm never return?”
“Because the blizzard samurai said so. He rules the freezing place!” Liam said.
“But did he create it?”
“I don’t know,”
“Then we’ve got to rescue Antonia. If the ninja can return back to Ninjago safely, then perhaps we can if the portal is there. We might even discover who the blizzard samurai’s son is!” Nelson encouraged Liam.
Liam held his arms close to himself to make his anxiety less visible. “The ninja will probably do all of that for us anyway,” he whimpered. “What about our parents?”
“Even if they did do Antonia’s rescue for us anyway, she would be so proud if we were brave enough to try to find her in a realm rumoured to never return from. I really want to do it in return for how she supported me all these years. Plus, I’ve researched the Never Realm on Ninjago Wiki and it says that time passes very differently in the Never Realm to Ninjago,” Nelson showed his phone screen. “Now, where was the portal again?”
“There, I guess?” Liam sounded unsure as he pointed his finger to a spot.
Nelson mustered all his courage when he got closer to the Never Realm’s portal. Liam hesitantly held Nelson’s hand, and little did they know what the blizzard samurai’s son would do for Antonia.
To be continued…