(I know all these cliff-hangers must be icky, but I promise, I'm typing as much as I can. Family keeps visiting and it's sooo frustraatiing not to be able to type much)
Chapter 20-In a god's hands
Lloyd ran further into the labyrinth, taking wrong turns and backtracking far too much for his liking. He didn't know what the Overlord was planning to do. Whatever it was, Lloyd's bad sense of direction was only giving him more time to accomplish it. He could hear the dark creatures shrieking not too far away. He had to be close.
"If we keep this up . . . We'll be too tired to do anything when we do find him." Naomi panted, trying to keep up with Lloyd. Her legs were becoming heavier and heavier, and the simple process of breathing was more painful that it should have been. "I can't even feel my feet anymore."
"And I'm getting dizzy with all these twists and turns." Lloyd groaned as he stumbled upon yet another dead end. "I think we've made some progress but I still have no idea where we are."
"I think we've been here before actually. . ." The purple eyed girl looked down, where their past footprints had been imprinted on the sand.
"Great we're going in circles. . ." Lloyd stopped, trying to contain his anger. He didn't want the labyrinth to make him go crazy, like last time him and Naomi had been in it together. "Let's just. . . Try to take a path we haven't taken before."
Naomi nodded, too out of breath to say anything else.
Trotting forward, they found a small path that was void of any footprints. Accelerating his pace, much to Naomi's dismay, Lloyd ran through the sand. Each time he turned, A sharp pain bubbled up in his stomach, which left him only after he realized that the path didn't have a disappointing dead end.
There was one turn ahead. Lloyd ran, knowing he'd finally made it. He turned, getting ready for anything. He was going to face the overlord once more. Pythor's crazy idea, Casey's evil plan, Cole's broken mind. . . It had led up to this point. His eyes focused forward knowing that he would find the overlord not too far from him. Dark creatures would most likely
Dead end.
"What!? No way! This is so stupid!" Lloyd shouted, kicking one of the labyrinth's walls.
"I really thought we had it this time. . ."Naomi sighed.
The green ninja swiveled around, ready to retrace his steps. "We're close I know it we just have to- Gah!"
Something tugged on Lloyd's suit, pulling him upwards in a rough motion. Below him, the ground moved further and further away from his feet. He looked back, spotting a bunch of dark disfigured limbs. He was in the claws of one of the dark creatures.
The flight was short, ending abruptly when the creature's claws let go of Lloyd's body. He slammed against the rough sand, hearing his wrist crack under his weight. He quickly sat up, running to Naomi's body, which had landed not too far from him. She brushed him away, slowly sitting up on her own.
"I was getting tired of waiting. . . It almost seemed as if you were trying to avoid me green ninja." The overlord, still within Kai's body, stepped closer to Lloyd. "You really don't stand a chance now. Not with this army by my side."
The overlord motioned to the mass amount of dark creatures surrounding him. "Let's see if your fighting has gotten any better. . . Attack!"
Lloyd and Naomi were swallowed by a blur of darkness. Using his golden powers, Lloyd managed to shoot away most of the threats that surrounded him. Problem was, his energy wouldn't hold out forever. Yet the creatures around him seemed to be neverending.
He was surrounded, as every creature was focused upon him. It was impossible to dodge every one of their attacks. Everytime Lloyd rolled away from a pair of snapping fangs, he ended up in the way of one of the creature's sharp claws.
"Lloyd!"
That voice. Lloyd kicked the face of one of the creatures, pushing it out of the way in order to follow the source of the voice. " Mom!"
Misako stood on top of one of the labyrinth's thick walls. Her face was bathed in sweat and her gray hair, usually pinned down in a tight braid, was now cascading onto her shoulders. Bruises and cuts were spread throughout her face and body, and the right lens of her small glasses had shattered apart.
Lloyd's eyes noticed only one thing. There was a fangblade, resting on her shaking hand.
"Catch!" Misako swung her arm, throwing the fangblade towards her son.
The green ninja caught the blade, ignoring the throbbing pain that it caused on his broken wrist. A sharp scream made Lloyd's eyes shoot back up. A dark creature had taken ahold of Misako's body, its sharp claws digging into her chest. Before Lloyd could react, his mom's body had gone limp. He shook his head, telling himself that she would be alright. He just needed to focus on the task ast hand. Destroying the ring.