Chapter 9: Overthrown

'We have to get back to the team' Lloyd said in a daze. Nya was backing away towards the elevator, dragging Lloyds' hand with her.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened. Cole, Kai, Zane and Jay bundled out and ran towards them. Lloyd released Nya's hand.

'Lloyd' Cole addressed him 'It's a skeleton army'

'Skulkin?' Lloyd asked, confused 'but… that's not possible'

'No. Serpentine!'

'What?' Lloyd looked down at Nya, trying to process this unexpected turn of events, but her shocked face mirrored his 'What do we know?' he asked, straightening up, mentally starting to take charge of the situation.

Cole held a Borg Pad and skimmed the incoming news feed 'It looks like they've come out of the desert; the explosion was the gas works on the edge of town. It's in the process of being decommissioned so could have been a lot worse. Further fires and explosions have been reported, due to the first fire spreading and the forward attack'

Zane was stood up against the window scanning the city 'the army has split and spread wide, advancing in a pincer movement. They are heading for the centre; I would imagine Borg Tower would be the main target… Though why they are attacking? Or where they came from exactly? I can't even begin to guess'

'Well we know where the Skulkin came from' Kai said

'The Underworld' Lloyd replied.

Cole pulled a face 'but there was never any hint of serpentine when we were there… You don't think there's a whole parallel world under there, do you?'

'Look guys, I wish we could come up with some answers but we have to get out there. The rate they're advancing the city will be sacked before long' Lloyd was moving towards the elevator. As he turned back a fleet of nindroid patrol ships were dropping in front of the tower and flying straight towards the fray 'Borg's onto it, that's good it will give us a chance to assess a plan of attack on the ground'

'We need to halt their attack, barricade them or re-direct them somewhere where we can deal with them' Nya suggested as they entered the elevator.

'Zane, do you have any suggestions? Is there anything in the city that might enable this?' Cole asked.

Zane fell still momentarily, long pulses of light travelled over them as the elevator descended 'there is the Eastern reservoir which services the dryer desert side of the city. The army is pushing forward but half of it is moving in that direction'

'Borg?' Cole spoke into the air.

'Yes Cole?' came a reply

'Direct your fleet to the Eastern Reservoirs'. Try and corral the skeleton army in that area behind the waters. Hopefully snakes can't swim without muscle and flesh' the elevator slowed abruptly and the doors opened into the hanger set aside for Mechs' and Ninja vehicles. The team ran to them, jumped in and powered up. Lloyd grabbed hold of the controls and felt his hands shake. He was running on adrenalin and a surplus of power. Having re-absorbed the orbs he had created earlier along with exhaustion and lack of food, had left his whole body feeling wired. The jumping and crawling sensation he had been blissfully free of was beginning to creep along his arms 'No, not now. Why now?'

The vehicles exploded out of the hanger 'Zane, chart the best route, we'll follow you' Cole ordered.

'Got it' Zane replied and his navigation appeared on their screens 'The South East battalion is still encroaching. The North East has slowed, it looks like Borgs' Mechs' and the reservoirs have stopped their progression'

'Yes!' Kai shouted 'Some good new for a change'

'Great Job Zane' Cole replied

'We need something… else like that' said Lloyd, his words slurring 'some… thing'

'Lloyd?' Nya asked. There was no reply 'Something's wrong guys' She looked to where Lloyd's jet was cruising just ahead of hers. It subtly tipped its wing to the left, as it banked it tipped even further and went into a sharp dive.

'Holy crap' Nya shouted 'Lloyds down'

'The jets combine' Zane shouted 'Jay, Nya, you have to dock mid flight or Lloyd will be gone'

'We got it' Jay replied. They simultaneously moved their jets into a forced dive, increasing the speed, trying to gain on Lloyd.

They were close but the ground was coming up on them way to quickly 'Get under his wing' Jay barked 'we're not gonna' make the docking, we need to at least right him, try and land it'

'Do it' Nya pushed harder and they both flew under him, pulling up to change his angle, the ground was meters away 'Tip your nose and fire the vertical thrusters, on three' Nya shouted 'One, two, three' They manoeuvred together to try and slow Lloyds speed but it was too late, they crash landed, narrowly missing a temple and coming to a stop in a large city square.

'Guys, guys!' Kai was shouting.

'Nya, Jay, Lloyd can you hear me?' Cole demanded

'There's movement' Zane informed them.

As they watched, the cockpits on both Jay and Nya's jets exploded free. They scrambled out and up to Lloyds', Nya released the cockpit using the emergency access lever and Jay dragged Lloyd out with Nya helping get him to the ground.

Zane interrupted 'the snakes are close and advancing rapidly, it may be best to land now, here. Check Lloyd, Nya and Jay and prepare to face the Skeleton Army'

'Get down there' Cole ordered.

With the team together on the ground, Zane began to check Lloyd over. Nya and Jay had insisted they were fine, but with Lloyd out cold, they had to be sure. The square was eerily silent. The few people that had been brave enough to approach the crash to help had long since gone. The skeleton army were close. Alarms and explosions could be heard in the roads surrounding them.

'Dammit, we have no plan. Are we just gonna' fight until we fall?' Said Kai.

'Maybe this would be a good time for Lloyd to practice how much destructive power he can muster?' Jay quipped.

'That's not funny' said Nya.

'I didn't say it was' Jay snapped back.

'Guys? This is not the time to turn on each other. Jay it's also not the time for jokes. We are in some serious shit here'

'Look, sorry ok. I know I made it sound like a joke, but you know Lloyd could just wipe them out with a click of his fingers, right?'

Lloyd stirred. He turned and writhed, opened his eyes and pushed himself up onto his hands. The colour had drained from him and he retched, though there was nothing to expel. Nya rushed to his side 'Lloyd' she whispered 'please be ok, are you ok?' Lloyd turned his face to hers, sickly pale his green eyes acidic and smiled. Nya drew back. She knew those smiles. He could destroy everything with a click of his fingers and when he was like this it might just happen. She edged backwards.

'What's the matter Nya? I think we should carry on where we left off… before we were so rudely interrupted…' He held out his hand to her.

'What?' Jay asked, confused.

'It's not him Jay, he's changed, this isn't Lloyd. It's the power taking over'

The team were unsure as what to do next; they had never encountered this Lloyd. Wind began to whip up around them. The trees became agitated and park benches began to shudder. A green light lit under Lloyd, like a flame igniting with every step he took towards her.

'Oh this is not good' she said to the team 'We need to get away' she looked around, seeing the first sign of the Skeleton Army down one of the roads off of the square.

'You're not going anywhere' Lloyd grabbed her wrist. She brought her other fist up to strike him, but he grabbed that too. He held them still as she tried to pull away. Jay piled into them and they all went flying. He grabbed Nya and wrenched her clear of Lloyd. The ground started shaking.

'It's not me' shouted Cole.

'It's Lloyd' Nya replied.

The wind was now raging, trees began to break apart and cars slid across the roads 'WATCH OUT' Zane cried.

An upturned bus was being thrown towards them from behind. They flattened to the ground as it slid over them, opening their eyes they saw their breath turn to steam in the close proximity to the ice shield that extended over them 'Nice work Zane' Cole said and quickly shattered it. They hid behind the bus, now positioned between them and Lloyd.

'Shit! He hid this well!' Kai said.

A car crashed into the upturned bus they were hiding behind.

'I'll go' shouted Nya.

'No way' Kai responded, waving his hands and shaking his head. Nya couldn't hear him at all, the tempest that raged was deafening.

She gathered them closer 'we can't fight him. He's not in control of himself, but he's not our enemy' the team looked at her with worried eyes.

'What can we do then?' Kai shouted.

'I'm going, just me. The Skeleton Army is here and who knows what could happen if they get together. You have to keep them back. I'll bring him round'.

'You sure?' Kai questioned. Nya nodded.

Jay grabbed her arm 'Nya, be careful. I don't like this. No back up?'

She shook her head and waved that they should go 'It's fine, I'll be ok… It's got to be this way'

They left her. She watched as they ran and span, knocking aside flying debris, heading for the two roads to the east that lead into the square. She flattened herself to the side of the bus. Her nerves were running away with her. Lloyds flare-up's had been absent for a while, she had hoped they had gone, but now... Was this the start? The High Council had warned of 'devastation', she couldn't bear to think of the next part of their vision. She threw her head back and closed her eyes at the thought of the shaman's advice to her and let her confused feelings towards Lloyd run through her thoughts 'I don't want to kiss him… though my dragon would say otherwise. And I have to. I mean what's that all about? How am I supposed to know when? It's hardly fair on Lloyd is it? I mean he's not even had a girlfriend yet and they're forcing me on him…' She climbed up the side of the upturned bus and looked towards him. He was a man now and what life experiences had he had? His life was the fight. No real joy… or love. Could she talk him round without giving him what he wanted? 'Oh Lloyd' Nya whispered 'You don't deserve this life'

She jumped up onto the side of the bus and faced him. He was in the centre of the square. For a moment the wind subsided when he saw her only to increase taking with it some purposefully thrown trees and park benches. She leapt up from the bus, onto one of the flying benches and propelled herself high into the air with water jets. The remaining missiles flew beneath her, crashing onto the bus below. She landed and ran forwards, spinning through any further obstacles. As she closed the gap, she continued to dodge Lloyd's angry projectiles, turning her body in the air gracefully avoiding and deflecting them with water jets. Just meters from him she followed up with a crashing wave that flattened him. As it dispersed she retained two great weights of water to each arm. He kicked and arched his back trying to escape, but the force held him down. The wind still raged, power flowed from his body but without his hands he could not direct it at her.

Nya battled through the wind to reach him. Kneeling beside his head away from his writhing body, Lloyd struggled but could not free himself to attack her. He arched his neck backwards to look at her baring his teeth. She moved her hand into one of the aqueous weights. He tried to jerk away from her touch, but couldn't. She manipulated the water to open his fingers and nestled her hand into his. The wind still raged. She moved her other hand to his cheek. He flinched. Closing his eyes he turned his gaze away from her. Instead of a growling snarl, his face relaxed. His breathing was heavy but her touch was calming him.

Stillness came over them. The wind still whipped around the square but no longer attacked her. All she could hear was her heart pounding in her chest 'what am I doing?' she thought to herself.

Lloyd opened his eyes and quietly pleaded with her 'please… wake me' She saw his expression flicker with longing, worry and fear. It was against everything her rational mind screamed at her but her heart ached for him. She leant down and kissed him, a soft tender kiss and let her forehead settle on his. The weights on Lloyds' arms dispersed. He lifted his arms and placed his hands in her hair. They lingered, looking at each other. She brought her lips to his again.

From an adjacent building, Jay watched.