Prime slowly looked up from his room. As he pulled himself up from the piles of destroyed tables, books and sheets, a harsh alarm was sounding off alongside turning the lighting of his room a deep red. Slowly, he climbed his way out and into the hallway, looking around blearily as he saw people racing down places in the hallway adjacent to his own. Prime sealed the door shut to hide the sight from everyone as he put on his smile and raced down to the others.
"You!" Prime grabbed hold of one of the men, "What's going on?"
"Gah! Prime, s-sir!" Nelson gasped out, "We just got a reading of a massive energy spike on the other side of the city! We don't know what it is, but we're going into a red alert."
"An energy spike…?" Prime leaned in, "What do we know about it?!"
"Just that it appeared out of nowhere and suddenly disappeared, sir!" Nelson informed him, "But I'm sure we could use your help!"
Letting go of him, Prime quickly raced his way down the hall with the others. He'd been waiting here an entire week for Over to come. If this was how Over was going to announce his presence, then Prime's blood was already boiling. He was used to waiting this long for new monsters to show up to fight back. Now was finally the time!
With a harsh skid, Prime shot his way down a smaller hallway and soon to a massive control room. The room already had half the computers rapidly being typed on, their operators rapidly analyzing data. From a large window in one wall overlooking the loading bay, Prime could see Invictus, fully repaired, being prepped for launch.
"Prime," Dr. Julien stepped forward from a massive holographic display, "Thank goodness you're here! The men have been going crazy!"
"When did the signal arrive, Dr. Julien?" Prime asked. The elder man reached up and gently pressed his glasses up on his face.
"Approximately three minutes ago," Dr. Julien pressed a button, causing the hologram to display a graph with a massive impulse on it, "We have never detected something like this before. All we know is it was there for a second, and the next, completely gone! Oh, I tell you, the world still has some surprises up her sleeve!"
"Is it an attack?" Prime asked. Dr. Julien shook his head.
"From what we have gathered, ah, no," He shook his head again, "But we do know that it seems very dangerous! Yes, dangerous indeed…" Dr. Julien pointed out the window, "You best go and investigate it."
"I will," Prime nodded, "Inform the staff to be on alert until I get back. I'll give the all clear if it's nothing. And if it is something…" Prime nodded his head, "I'll take care of it."
"We'll help out from here!" Dr. Julien called after him as he ran. Slowly, the old man turned back to stand in front of the hologram, shifting to an aerial map of the city with a point in red flashing. His gaze hardened as he looked down towards it, wondering just what had happened.
With a hard gasp, Ophiod planted his staff down in the rocks in front of him. He looked towards the spot where Mage and Over had been, seeing they were no longer there. If his spell had worked, that was the right outcome. He slowly lowered his head, his free fist closing tightly as he felt the strength in his body sapped out from using the spell.
Ophiod used his staff to sit up. He looked around a few more times at the barren landscape, a city in ruins without the people that it needed to repair it. He knew now why Prime was so in need to go and save his people. While he was after Over for so long. Prime had encouraged him to do this. He'd told him to follow his heart, what he thought was right. This… this was it. It had to be. Even if it meant having to touch the foul scroll again.
"What have you done?" Oni appeared in front of Ophiod, his face twisted into a rather angry expression.
"...So, now you reveal yourself…" Ophiod huffed out, "You avoid us, all of us, and you show up when we make our own moves, is that right?"
"I have studied the magicks when I embraced my blood," Oni frowned, "And that spell is not one I know. It reminds me, however, of the magic of a fell warlord. One who would use his magic to destroy the bodies of others. What have you done, Ophiod?"
"I did what had to happen…" Ophiod shook his head, "If you have issue with this, then you are welcome to voice it to me."
Ophiod slithered past Oni, not looking at him. Even now, Oni could feel the hatred that emanated right off of the snake. Oni turned to fully watch Ophiod slither away. He took his long while to try to take in the sight of him, yet Ophiod refused to let his hatred die down.
"I blame Over for what happened, but it was your actions that prompted it," Ophiod hissed out as he slithered away, "Know this, Oni. You are no longer my ally. If you are willing to entrap us within your own power in order to win, then you are not someone we should trust at all."
"You misunderstand my motive here," Oni spoke to him clearly, "The reason Over was here was to right a balance. And your actions have thrown it even further off. Do you truly condone what it is that you have just done to that man, Ophiod?"
Ophiod stopped, keeping his back to Oni. He let his grip slacken on his staff, "I do."
"And if he is to fall, as a result of your actions?" Oni continued.
"Then that is the fate of the balance," Ophiod inhaled, "That is what you want to hear, yes?"
"Whatever you do from here, then…" Oni turned away from Ophiod, "Do not tell Prime your actions. Your…. Friend, as you call him, is farther gone than you know. If you heed absolutely none of my words here, then let that be the one that you do."
With a flash of a portal, Oni vanished from the world again. As soon as he was gone, Ophiod reached his hand up. HIs arm was trembling badly, hence why he'd moved away from Oni. He didn't want that thing to see him shaking like that. He knew almost nothing about Oni, and that had cost him. But more than that… the words he spoke cut him deeper than he thought he could.
"... I did what I thought was right.." Ophiod shook his head, "I did what… what Skales deserved. If… if you want to call it revenge then call it that! But it doesn't matter, it…" Ophiod shook his head. He wouldn't justify himself. This needed no justification. With a small flash of magic, Ophiod vanished through his own portal of magic.
Slowly, Mage gave a hard groan and rolled up from where he lay among the rubble. As he did, the injuries from his previous battle with Over came roaring out to him. He gasped out, falling back down onto the ground and ignoring the rubble that dug into his body. He scraped away the largest rocks that hurt him, trying to get his breath as he looked down at himself.
"...Augh…" Mage could tell his left leg was most certainly either broken or was going to be painful to walk on. Slowly, Mage rolled onto his back, taking a long few breaths in anticipation. He reached out his hands with trembling fingers, wrapping them around where he could feel the break. Just touching it made him wince hard, hands jerking away and spasming.
Taking a moment to ready himself again, Mage reached down and pulled the belt off his robes and bit down on it. He shut his eyes and grabbed his leg, forcing it into the right position and screaming out as he covered the entire thing in ice. His teeth dug into the belt as tears flowed out of his eyes. The ice, both numbing the pain and casting the leg, didn't help soon enough for him not to go about crying for a good minute before he could pull the teeth-marked belt out of his mouth.
"...Hate… hate… hate!" Mage slammed his fist into the ground, "Hate that!" He got ahold of himself, looking around slowly to try to find where he was.
Mage was still in the ruined world of wherever this was for Prime. The buildings were still destroyed and ruined around him, but… he wasn't seeing the same buildings. As soon as his mind realized that he'd actually gone somewhere completely different, he shot up into the air, gasping out once he realized his body was still beaten up. Gently, he planted his hands behind him and tried to steady himself.
"H...Hahh…" Mage froze as he heard a voice beside him. The voice didn't sound anything like he was used to. For a moment, he was afraid that someone else had found him. Instead, when he turned to look, the sight made even more perplexed.
The figure that was laying beside Mage was one that wore a deep purple set of robes covered in deep red letters on them. They reminded Mage of what his dad wore a lot of the time. His hair was deep blonde, yet seemed slightly more faded in color than what Mage had. His face was aged, showing long lines on it that indicated he was at least a middle-aged man. Yet as he looked up, his eyes were not a powerful green, but a dull, glowing purple.
"What…?" The figure reached down to slowly touch his chest, "What is… who?"
"...Lloyd?" Mage asked. The moment he heard the voice, he didn't know how, but he knew what it was.
"W...What?" The man blinked, "Mage? You, what do you mean? Why are you calling me Lloyd?" He narrowed his eyes, "I'm… Over."
"What?" Mage shook his head, "No way, you can't be Over! You don't look… you don't even look anything like Over!"
'Over' blinked at Mage, suddenly feeling a panic in his body. He looked around, seeing a shard of glass on a wall nearby. He scrambled up to his feet and raced over to it, grabbing hold of it. As soon as he did, he looked down into the reflection and his eyes trembled. Seeing himself looking human, looking like him, it brought him a terror that he couldn't quite describe. He dropped the glass, shards sticking into the cloth around his legs.
"N-No, no no no, this can't be," 'Over' shook his head, "This can't. I can't be like this. This is not who I am! I am not Lloyd! Why, where is…" He shook his head, "S-Shadow Control!"
'Over' thrust his hand out. Nothing happened. He shook his hand, trying to form his staff. Yet there was no Dark Matter inside his body to manipulate. His weapon wasn't there. As soon as this fact sunk in as well, the terror in his eyes began to turn up even higher.
"NO!" 'Over' shouted, "No no no! No I can't. I can't be this. This can't be happening! How, did that snake… Ophiod, he must have, where is he?!" 'Over' scrambled up to the top of a nearby rock, shouting, "OVERLORD! OVERLORD, WHERE ARE YOU?! OVERLORD, PLEASE, I NEED TO HEAR YOU! OVERLORD!"
"C-Calm down!" Mage gasped out. Seeing his own broken leg, Mage slowly called on wind to help lift his body up to his feet. He held his hand out, forming a small crutch out of the rock around him to hobble over to the distressed man, "O-Over… Overlloyd! You can't panic like that!"
"Over...Lloyd?" Overlloyd looked down, his hands reaching up to run through his hair, "I… I. Yes that name is accurate. But… but that means…" Overlloyd gasped out, "No! No this is wrong! I need him! Where is he, Mage?! Where is the Overlord?!"
"I don't know!" Mage groaned out, "But… please, calm down! I can't, keep up with you right now," Mage stumbled forward, "I really need you to stay with me right now."
Overlloyd looked down with those confused eyes at Mage. As he saw the boy, struggling to stand and quaking, however, he slowly forced himself to breathe in. He had to calm down, for Mage's sake. He drew in deep breaths, looking down at his body before slowly stepping forward and taking hold of Mage's hand. Using his own strength, he helped hold Mage up.
"... We must find the Overlord," Overlloyd shook his head, "He has to be out there, somewhere. Ophiod must have… his spell, he said that it would separate things, yes? If that is the case then…" The fear began to well in his eyes again.
"Then we'll find him," Mage nodded, "It looks like we're still in Prime's world, so… so that means he has to be here too, right?"
"Yes, that makes… that makes sense…" Overlloyd agreed, "...I, I am sorry, Mage. Your injury. That was my fault. If I had been in my right mind, you wouldn't need my help now."
"Trust me, I've gotten banged up a lot worse than this," Mage smiled, "And it was worth it. You sound more like yourself now, and that's all that matters. Now… let's go and find the Overlord."
"We… should contact…" Overlloyd looked down at his wrist, then paused. Mage did the same. The fact that Ophiod had stolen them when whatever he'd done happened came rushing back to them, "I… I suppose. This means… he must be here, yes?"
Overlloyd nodded his head, turning to look off towards the distance. As soon as he did, he began to feel something. He reached down, placing his hand over his chest. On his left hand, Mage saw two small glowing marks. Two marks that both began to shine with a darkness inside of them, a purple light filtering out through them. As Overlloyd looked down at it, his eyes welled up with emotion again. He gripped that hand, then pulled Mage in closer to him.
"I can feel where he is… but with your injuries, and my powers gone…" Over inhaled, "It looks as though we are going to have to walk."
There was no hesitation from Mage. Slowly, the two stepped forward, brushing aside the rock and concrete from under their feet as they did. The gray skies of Prime's world began to slowly part as they did walk, revealing the sunset beginning to kiss the far off horizon. Overlloyd raised his face up in time to feel the sun against skin he hadn't felt in a long, long time. He took a single moment to savor the feeling, the warmth that it gave him, before marching his way along with Mage towards his other half.
"Over? Mage?!" Lulloyd tapped on his communicator again, "Say that again! What was that?!"
There was no response. Lulloyd lowered his watch. He looked down at it nervously, trying to make out what he'd heard. It sounded as though Mage had been shouting from far away. Prime, he'd been able to make out. They had something to do with Prime? Was that it? He rotated his head, trying to clear it as he left the room. Something was wrong, he knew that much. And if something was wrong, then he had to go and try to fix it.
Quickly, Lulloyd went off to try to find the others. He picked up his sword, yet left the pieces of his Mechdragon. Prime had managed to actually crack and break the pieces, meaning at the moment, it wasn't going to fly nor build. Right now, going home to get more equally wasn't a good idea.
As he raced along, he tried his comm. Monty wasn't answering. He made his way down the hall, already guessing where Lloyd was. He soon found himself in front of Harumi's door, with Lloyd standing in the now open frame.
"Lloyd!" Lulloyd called out, "Something's wrong, Mage called in but he won't respond back. We, something is up, I think he needs-"
Lulloyd paused. Lloyd was sitting beside Harumi, who had sat up for what felt like the first time in forever. Lloyd didn't even look at Lulloyd as he looked down, taking hold of Harumi's hand and looking at her firmly. Harumi still had that dull look in her eyes, but she slowly began to shake her head.
"I heard…" Harumi raised her wristband up, I heard… Mage. He said that. Said that he's in Prime's world. Something happened."
"Don't push yourself," Lloyd shook his head.
"I heard it too," Lulloyd blinked, "I only heard Prime, though. Are you sure that he said he was in Prime's world? What, would he be doing there?"
"I just knew that I heard it," Harumi whispered, "And…"
"Then we need to go find him," Lloyd stood up, "Come on, Lulloyd. You can stay here, Harumi."
"I…" Harumi nodded her head, slowly trying to curl up again.
"W-Wait," Lulloyd frowned, "This might be serious. We… we should all go."
"What?" Lloyd shook his head, "No, no we can't. Harumi right now is…"
"Not what?" Krux' asked as he walked towards the door, "What's the commotion?"
The group all turned to see Krux' having walked towards the room. Lloyd moved to slowly walk over towards them, distancing himself from Harumi.
"We, just got a call from Mage, he says that…" Lulloyd blinked, "He sounded like he needed help."
Krux' blinked, then he nodded, "Then you all need to go, right away."
"I was saying we should go," Lloyd nodded, "Just Lulloyd and I."
"No… if Mage is in trouble, he needs all of you," Krux' looked over at Harumi, "How long are you going to lay there, Harumi?" Harumi winced, but barely moved. Lloyd quickly moved in.
"She's not okay right now, she shouldn't be going anywhere!" Lloyd frowned, "Especially not to Prime! If he's out there, then-"
"You're protecting her, I respect that," Krux' shook his head, "But trust me, if Mage is in trouble, he'll need all of you."
"How do you know that?" Lloyd asked defensively.
"Who knows?" Krux' frowned, "But I know that she can't sit there forever. And not letting her move forward is going to be dangerous. She's on borrowed time, she should make the most of it. Otherwise, she'll fade away without having done anything with what time she has left. She's spent a week in here, now it's time to get her out."
Lloyd felt his anger rising at Krux', knowing just how little he actually understood about what Harumi was going through. He readied himself to fight Krux'... He could feel the mask inside of his gi, calling to him. How dare Krux' go and try to demean Harumi like that. How dare he! Slowly, Lloyd curled his hands into fists. Krux' refused to yield.
"...Lloyd," Harumi's voice roused Lloyd out of his feelings. He turned to see Harumi now with her gi on, brushing her messy hair back as she shook her head, "He's… right. I. I don't know what help I'll be, but… but I think that…" She sighed, "We have to do something now. Or… or else we," Harumi gulped, "I'll… help."
"Harumi-" Lloyd began, but she cut him off.
"Let's go, now," Harumi whispered, "Before I change my mind."
Krux' stepped back, nodding to them. Lloyd slowly looked down and gently felt his own anger dying down, replaced with a simple feeling of anxiety for her. Lulloyd was already setting his way for Prime's world. They only had one entry point there, right at the entrance to the city. Lloyd gave Harumi another look, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she just set her own coordinates and vanished into a portal before they could say another word.
With one last look towards Krux', Lloyd slowly hit his own watch, letting the portal sink him into the void. He let himself go silent, trying to use the sensation of nothingness to calm his nerves. He wasn't sure where that anger had come from. He was just protecting his friend. He was worried about her and… no, that wasn't what he had to think about right now. He had to focus on himself. He had to. Soon enough, he felt the pull ending and he landed on top of the building that he and Harumi had first touched down on.
When Lloyd and Lulloyd landed, they expected to see something in front of them like Invictus, or something that would be there that Mage would have called them over. Instead, they landed to see almost… nothing. There was hardly anything there. Nothing but the feeling of a desolate wasteland in front of them, with the very small dot of the small settlement where Prime was in the far distance.
"...I don't, see anything," Lulloyd blinked, "I, thought that… there would be?"
Lloyd took a step forward. When he did, he could see Harumi standing at the very edge of the broken bit of building. She slowly looked around, her eyes beginning to flash with some feeling. Nervously, she held her hand up. Lloyd blinked in shock as she pointed directly to the east.
"...L-Lloyd, I feel…" Harumi whispered, "Do you…?"
Lloyd looked to where she was pointing. When he did, he began to feel it. A strange pull was working at his chest. He looked down at himself, trying to place what he was feeling. Instead, all he got was something he didn't recall. It was a feeling that he was sure he'd felt before. Something he knew had to be real. But something he also wasn't sure if he believed. Lulloyd was the only one of them who didn't feel it.
"...Let's go," Lloyd nodded, "And be careful."
Lloyd took hold of both Lulloyd and Harumi, twisting them into Airjitzu to land them on the ground below them. Harumi hardly made any motions as she did. Lulloyd recovered from the disorienting feeling, quickly turning and orienting himself. Before he could say anything, Harumi had taken point. She walked slowly, stumbling up and over several chunks of rubble, but he didn't say anything. Somehow, the two knew it was best to follow her.
Lloyd looked around, trying to place what was going on. It was odd, feeling the sensation of this place again. When he and Harumi had been here, it'd been business only. He hadn't stopped to reflect on many things. With how Harumi both took point and slowed their pace, he was forced to look around and look more as to what was here. To see each building still showing decaying signs of life inside them, worn away by time and the elements. A city reduced to nothing. IF what Harumi had read was true, then that meant that this place had all been destroyed in one moment. The oppressive atmosphere around them… was this what Prime had been dealing with?
"I… never saw this place before…" Lulloyd gulped, "I knew Prime was going through some stuff but this is… really intense. I'm… I feel sorry for him."
"I… want to," Lloyd shook his head, "I do. But, he's doing horrible things for this place."
"I know but… you have to at least, feel bad for him," Lulloyd pointed out, "He's… just trying to save the people he failed. Right? And… we all know what it's like to try to save the people we care about."
"... You're right," Lloyd sighed, "I don't want to condemn him. I just… I don't know what to do about him. He's not like Ophiod and Oni. He's… he's just…"
Harumi froze in her steps. Lloyd nearly ran into her. When he walked over to see her, Harumi's boy was ramrod stiff. She almost felt cold to the touch. When Lloyd looked out to where she was looking, his eyes widened as he realized what she was staring at. Lulloyd did the same, his own expression filled with curiosity until he too got the look at it.
Sitting in the middle of the street was a humanoid thing. Its body had the look of a human on it, but the mass was certainly not. A strange, blackened mass was dripping around a massive swirling orange and purple core, one that pulsed and shone against the world around it. The head emerged from the top of it, sporting some approximation of hair. It almost looked more like some sort of shadow, painted on top of the world. Yet what stood out to them the most, was the massive purple dragon-like eyes that lay on its head.
"T-That's…" Harumi took a step back, "O-O-O…"
"L-Lloyd…" The Overlord gasped out, "Help… help me… I need…"
Lloyd and Harumi couldn't move. That was the Overlord, they knew it. Their bodies, the power inside them, refused to allow them to get close to it. They tried to move away, to back up, something, yet neither of them could. The very nature of who they were wouldn't let them.
"Lloyd?" Lulloyd blinked, "What the…?"
Before they could stop him, Lulloyd had slid down the slope. The Overlord looked up at him as he did, his body stiff and frozen. Lulloyd looked at him curiously as he stopped in front of him, blinking in confusion. Slowly, the Overlord held its head up, revealing he had no mouth with which to speak from.
"Lulloyd…" The Overlord spoke in his hazy, deep voice, "You must… you must help me. The snake, he did something to me. Something… something is wrong…" The Overlord held his hands up, clutching his head. The palms almost seemed to disintegrate into his head, "I can't hear him. I can't hear Lloyd. He isn't here. He's not here, he's not… he's not!" The Overlord shook his head, "I can't HEAR HIM!"
The Overlord let out a wail that sounded like a screech of a dying beast. Lloyd and Harumi both held their hands up, putting up a shield of green power on pure instinct. Harumi charged a trembling Rhotatae disc in her hand. Lulloyd simply covered his ears and looked more closely at the Overlord.
"You're… the Overlord… inside of Over?" Lulloyd blinked, "You said, Ophiod did this?"
"Snake, he used a spell, he hurt us…" The Overlord huffed out, "He's not here. He's not here he's not here he's not here! I need him, I have to… I have to find him, I have to find him!"
"W-Woah, calm down!" Lulloyd reached out, "It's, okay, we're here!" Before Lloyd could shout at him to stop, Lulloyd gripped the shoulders of the Overlord.
For a moment, both of them readied for Lulloyd to instantly corrupt, fill with darkness and attack them. Instead, Lulloyd just held on, looking at him firmly and taking a few deep breaths.
"You…" The Overlord looked up, "Those two… they fear me. I do not have the power to hurt you…" The Overlord groaned out, "Help me. I need to find Lloyd. He split us. If he doesn't have me… the paradox of his existence. If he doesn't have me, then he'll die! He'll die, Lulloyd!"
"Then we better find him," Lulloyd affirmed, "Do you have any idea, uhm, where he might be?"
The Overlord slowly held his hand up. On his right hand, two small marks began to shine. Lulloyd looked down at them, thinking about what they might have been. They almost looked like, some kind of snakebite. Slowly, the mark began to shine a deep purple. The Overlord gave a long inhale, then nodded.
"He's looking for me… he's looking for me…" The Overlord groaned out, "You must help me. Help. Help me. This body, it won't last long. I am only being held together by will. Without our body, I cannot-"
"Like I said, we better find him, then," Lulloyd moved to pull the Overlord along, "Let's go."
Without hesitation, Lulloyd pulled the Overlord up the road towards Lloyd and Harumi. As he approached them, the two immediately began to back up. Lloyd felt a pang of confusion in him, one filled with fear, wonder and… guilt? Harumi, meanwhile, seemed to have skipped all the other ones and gone right for the fear, as she quickly tried to stumble away as soon as Lulloyd got close to her.
"G-Guys I'm gonna, need some help here," Lulloyd grumbled out, "He's kinda heavy."
"They… will not help me," The Overlord growled out, "I am their antithesis. The power in their bodies opposes me. The girl… she would try to destroy me the instant she touched me."
"I-I wouldn't…" Lloyd gulped, "N-No, I…"
"I do not need you to lie…" The Overlord growled out, only for that growl to die as his strength failed him, "... You are not him. He was willing to look past me, he was willing to… to touch me," The Overlord turned his head away from Lloyd, "I see now why your worlds were separate."
There it was. Guilt, once again. Lloyd looked over at Lulloyd. He was touching the Overlord just fine, was he? The Overlord didn't look… the way that Lloyd remembered him. His hand nervously reached out, then froze. The Overlord kept his head turned away. Lulloyd looked over towards Lloyd, telling him what he should do, what he needed to do.
Lloyd's hand reached out again to gently brushed the 'skin' of the Overlord. As soon as he did, the Overlord stiffened. He turned to look at Lloyd, his gaze burrowing into him. Lloyd readied for his body to suddenly corrupt, to flare in pain or react in some other fashion. Instead, all he felt was a dull numbness in his hand. That… that he could handle. Slowly, he moved over to the other arm of the Overlord, helping to carry him alongside Lulloyd. Once more, that numbness filled each area he touched the being, but… nothing more.
"...Perhaps you are more similar to him than I gave you credit for, then," The Overlord muttered out, "... I will remember this."
"Harumi?" Lloyd asked. Harumi looked down, seeing she had a Rhotatae disc still charged in her hand. After a moment, she just shook her head.
"...I-I… I don't trust him…" Harumi whispered.
"Then leave…" The Overlord grunted out, "Dead weight will slow us down."
"I'm… I'm staying," Harumi shook her head, "T-To… To make sure that you don't hurt them," Harumi gripped her other fist, "I-I won't let you hurt anyone else… a-again."
"So be it," The Overlord ignored her twitching anger and instead just huffed out, "We've wasted too much time. This body will not last the night. I must find Lloyd, I must, before… before his…" The Overlord trailed off, fear in his words.
For the rest of them, there was no reason to say any others. Harumi let Lulloyd and Lloyd carry the visage of darkness past her, falling into step behind them. As they walked, the Overlord could sense the fear-triggered malice that Harumi had in her eyes. Yet he paid no mind to it. THe only thought he had was the glowing mark on his hand that would lead him back to where his other half was. The vast war-torn landscape stretched out across them as they went.
Mage looked down at Overlloyd. The man was coughing hard, his eyes looking tired and spent. Where they were in Ninjago City, Mage couldn't say. All of these streets were foriegn to him, and that was before they were destroyed. It seemed to him, though, that this place had been perhaps four or five times bigger than what Lloyd and Motny had in their worlds, given they'd walked for nearly an hour and barely gotten any closer to the massive structure in the distance or the edge of the city.
"...I just need, another moment," Overlloyd groaned out, "To… to rest."
Mage looked down. He wasn't sure what was going on, but something about Overlloyd didn't look right. Well… that was putting aside the fact that he looked like an older man rather than the young man that Lloyd was. He wasn't exactly sure how old Over was, but he hadn't seen him as that old! Had he actually been ruling for that long?
"Is everything alright?" Mage asked, moving forward on his crutch another pace forward.
"I'm fine," Overlloyd shook his head, "My body has just, tired. I will be fine."
Mage wasn't convinced by the man's words. He couldn't bend over to help him, so instead he slid his crutch down to sit beside him. Overlloyd gave another long pant, and from this distance, Mage could see he was actually covered in sweat.
"How much further until we reach him?" Mage asked.
"That relies… on if he is… looking for us," Overlloyd panted out, "I fear we must find him by nightfall. I cannot explain why. But it seems that… we must."
"Then, we need to keep moving," Mage looked up towards the sky, "It'll be midday soon. We have no idea how long it'll take," Mage frowned, "Can you stand?"
Overlloyd looked towards Mage, then reached back and dug his hand into the wall. Slowly, he forced his body to climb up the wall, digging his limbs into the rock. Once he was on his feet, he felt an apprehension in daring to let go. He turned to look at Mage, then he let go of the wall. He wobbled for a few moments, then nodded.
Linking their arms together, the two once more began to trek their way through the ruined city. They were in what looked to be an abandoned mall, though only Overlloyd would be able to identify it as such. To Mage, it was just a massive building with strange rows of shops that vaguely looked like the place in Harumi's world, one that his memory had yet to return to him.
The two stepped out of a ruined entrance and looked out across a vast parking lot. The space itself was a dull gray, with the painted lines either faded with the rains or broken apart. The sight made Mage wonder what had been able to do it. He could imagine a dragon doing something like this, perhaps leveling the buildings with its power and then cracking the ground with its weight, but even they would eventually tire. How many dragons would it take to do that? How many beings on par with their power had been in this place when it was destroyed?
A small shadow in the sky above flashed overhead. "...Get down!" Overlloyd suddenly reached over, grabbing Mage and spinning him backwards. He slammed his back up against a small chunk of wall near the entrance, hiding away form the parking lot. Before Mage could ask more, he heard a massive crash that kicked up dust in front of him, making him cough hard as he did. Overlloyd reached out and slammed a hand on top of his mouth to stop him.
Mage turned and looked out towards the parking lot, only to suddenly have to turn around and go silent. That was Invictus. The massive mech was back to its fully repaired state, and already was scanning the area. Mage looked towards Overlloyd, seeing the calm resolution normally in his eyes. And yet still, his body trembled and his breath was shallow. Gently, Mage reached out with sound, listening in on the mech.
"Prime!" Dr. Julien called out on Invictus' display, "Why did you stop?"
"I thought I saw something," Prime informed him, "We shouldn't rule anything out just yet."
Invictus took a step towards them. From the sound of it, it didn't seem like he was looking for them specifically. What was he looking for? He thought about it for another moment. Was… was he looking for what Ophiod had done? It was the only thing that he could think of. But… then why wouldn't Ophiod had told him? Was he looking for them now that Ophiod had?
Another step forward. Mage shook his head. Could they fight? He looked at his frozen, broken leg. Then he looked at how Overlloyd, even if he was as calm and determined as ever, was still shuddering and sweating. Something was wrong with him. They couldn't afford to take someone in a fight right now. Not in this state!
The mech reached out, gripping the broken wall above their heads. Mage took a deep breath, and Overlloyd did the same. A second later, the two had vanished right into smoke, racing out in all directions to hide it. Prime lowered Invictus' head down over the wall, scanning the area for anything. He kept scanning for a rather long while, thoroughly checking everything. Mage held them apart for as long as he could, yet he could sense that Overlloyd's lungs were burning.
Then, Invictus pulled its head back. Mage pulled the two back together, taking in deep breaths between them both. The mech above them took a few steps away from it, and Mage desperately reached out with sound to hear Prime.
"I don't see anything here," Prime sighed, "I'll get back in the air.
Just as he promised, Invictus suddenly rocketed up its jets, flying back into the sky above them. The two waited until the thing had flown up above the cloud layer and the glow of its blue jets had flown off a long way in the other direction. Once gone, they both took hard and deep breaths, forcing themselves to calm down.
"Thank you…" Overlloyd nodded, "That was quick-"
Suddenly, Overlloyd felt a sickness in him. He shook his head, then he leaned down and retched over the rocks. Mage blinked in confusion as Overlloyd emptied himself, looking down and shuddering as he did. He took in a few raspy breaths, shaking his head at the taste the bile left in his mouth. He used the side of his robe to clean his mouth before taking a few more breaths.
"I apologize," Overlloyd grunted out, "That was uncalled for."
"Are you… sure you're okay?" Mage asked. "If something's wrong, you should tell me!"
Overlloyd was silent for a moment. A cold sweat had once more taken his body. He looked down at his hands, seeing himself for a moment. Taking the sight of it. He slowly pushed himself up onto his knees, looking up at the sky before he shook his head.
"... I… fear that I am dying, Mage," Overlloyd whispered, "Or to be more precise, unraveling. When I met the Overlord, I was a man slowly being erased from time, held only in place by the Iron Doom. Now both that Iron Doom and the Overlord is gone. If I do not reunite with my other half soon then… I fear that I will cease to exist."
"What?" Mage blinked, "Like… like…"
"Yes," Overlloyd cut him off, "Like Sun. If Ophiod's intention was to kill me slowly, he has succeeded in it," Overlloyd mumbled out, "It is already at work. I do not feel I will make it to the night. My body is weakening. What little presence of the Overlord is left in my body is fading. When it is gone, I will-"
Suddenly, Overlloyd was back on his feet. He blinked in confusion, only to turn the see Mage, hefting him up. Mage summoned a second crutch of earth, leaning on them as he pulled Overlloyd onto his back. He forced Overlloyd to clasp his hands around his chest to hold in place.
"Which way?" Mage asked, "Which way is he?!"
Overlloyd was confused at his determination, but nodded towards the south. A moment later, Mage was marching down that way, using the crutches that dug hard into his armpits to keep moving. After a few more steps, Mage nodded, "I won't let anyone die on me, Overlloyd! You hang on, I'll get you there!" Mage ignored his own iced leg dragging along behind him as he continued to walk forward.
"... Thank you," Overlloyd whispered, closing his eyes. Slowly, the two walked their way across the parking lot and into the vast stretch of destruction in front of them, ready for whatever may come, or praying that they could be.
The trek through the wasteland was one that Lloyd and Harumi's familiarity with gave them little speed from. Despite having made their way through it once before to see Prime, they hadn't quite done so with another like this. The Overlord walked along on legs that almost felt like that of a young child, unsteady and wobbling at any uneven terrain. With the rocks underfoot that constantly shifted and stumbled, there seemed to be no end to it.
The two summited a small hill, gaining a small look across the plain in front of them. From what Lloyd could tell, they were in an old apartment district, with the buildings normally tall and full of small pockets of life, now cracked over to strip the vertical for horizontal. He looked around to see where they could go around, but the rubble there was too intense. With a sigh, he nodded to Lulloyd, and the two found a set of old stairs amongst a patch of browned grass to make their way down.
All the while, Harumi remained behind them. While she never said a word, she spoke with her actions. She kept a Rhotatae charged in her hand, one that remained shakily lit and sparking. At times, a bit of black would arc out inside of it and then fade back in. She shook as she walked, and dared not make a move to help them.
The Overlord ignored her, too focused on his goal. The group made their way between two fallen buildings, seeing stairs that had once gone up now framing them on either side like jagged rails. Doors hung open, the numbers rusted and handles browned, with no lights inside to illuminate what beautiful things might have once lay inside. Instead, it was just a small miniature void that looped with every few steps. Windows had long since been broken in or had turned several different shades. It was a sight that made Lloyd feel a strange twinge of melancholy.
"This world… his failings. I can see why he has chosen to place his hatred onto me," The Overlord growled out, "I am the last connection he has to what was before this. To strike me down again would be to remove that connection… and perhaps relieve his anguish."
None of them wanted to respond to that. Instead, they found themselves in front of a chunk of building that was blocking their path. Lloyd took a deep breath, then twisted into Airjitzu and landed on the top of the chunk. Lulloyd and Harumi both climbed up after them. The Overlord turned to look at Lloyd, his eyes as emotionless as ever. Yet they held something inside of them. Something that Lloyd wasn't sure of how to interpret.
"How… how close?" Lulloyd gasped out as he landed on top of the chunk, "Been walking for… walking for a long time…"
"He draws nearer… we are finding each other," The Overlord informed him, "Do not ask for anything further. I know little more than you."
"Why did Ophiod send you apart, in the same place?" Lulloyd asked, "Like… if he was, wanting to seperate you then… why not, just, send you into different worlds?"
"Because the spell he used was not complete," The Overlord informed him, "I could sense his hesitation. He was weak. He meant to, and yet he had no ability to do just that."
There wasn't much of a need to answer that. Instead, Lulloyd looked down as he took hold of the Overlord again. The two moved to find a small slope they used to get down and back onto the path. Once there, they curved around another toppled building, avoiding it as best they could. As they did, though, they soon found themselves heading towards a large tunnel, one that seemed to have once been an underpass for a street above.
"...I sense power…" The Overlord hissed out, "Power that is on its way here. Hide! Now!"
Before the group could question him, the clouds in the sky above showed a single glistening white metal plate between them. Lloyd and Lulloyd yanked the Overlord down towards the small tunnel, pressing him into the shadowy wall. Harumi soon followed suit. With a crunch of rocks above them, Invictus landed on the street above them.
"Hold on," Prime's voice projected through Invictus, "I got a signal here. It's faint, but… Invictus recognizes it."
Lloyd and Lulloyd turned to look at the Overlord. The being had no face to show emotion, and even now his body was starting to melt back into the wall. From that, Lloyd could see his body was actually Dark Matter, and he recalled that Over's body had Dark Matter inside it from which he made his weapon from. Just seeing him there, half-melted and weak, Lloyd knew a fight wasn't going to work.
"What… What is he doing here?" Lulloyd hissed out.
"Ophiod must have told him what he did… and sent Prime here to finish the job," The Overlord hissed out.
The group heard Invictus whirl above them, likely drawing some kind of weapon. If that thing had sensors on board to do a scan, then the moment it found the Overlord, it was over. Over for them, and over for, well, Over. Lloyd felt a sense of dread welling in his gut as he tried to figure out what to do in this situation.
"...I got an idea," Lloyd turned to the others, "Harumi, Lulloyd, when you see Invictus move, you run. Get the Overlord to where he needs to go. I'll deal with Prime."
"W-What?" Lulloyd gasped out, "B-But you can't!"
Invictus made another whirl above them. Lloyd shook his head, "We don't have a choice! We don't have the strength to fight him. I'm going to lure him away. Now go!" He snapped his last words out and quickly took off racing for the other side of the tunnel.
The harshness in Lloyd's tone made Lulloyd wince. Harumi barely reacted to the entire thing, still so focused on the Overlord as she was. Lulloyd hefted the Overlord up, then made it back to the side of the tunnel from where they came.
Once Lloyd reached the other side of the tunnel, he pulled the Mask of Hatred from his robes. He took a few deep breaths, then placed the thing firmly on his face. After a few moments, the purple power seeped out from under it, causing his body to snap and jerk as the blonde hair grew from the mask and his body turned to stone. Lloyd's distorted breath came out in full force as he turned and leapt into the air, grabbing hold of the lip of the top of the tunnel to pull himself up.
Inside of Invictus, Prime was just about to scan when he felt a jerk to his foot. The action was enough to slightly destabilize the mech, and Invictus turned to see the source of it. Before he could scan, the attack hit again, causing him to stumble forward.
"...Hrmm," Prime asked himself, frowning as he did. The jets on Invictus quickly turned on and the mech leapt off the road, landing on the ground below. The second he saw that, Lulloyd yanked the Overlord out in the opposite direction, scrambling up the hill from the tunnel's entrance to the road above them. Once they were on the overpass, he found a car long since abandoned and hid behind it. Harumi found a car nearby and did the same.
There was a streak of gray across the rubble. Prime looked down at it, but it was too fast to identify. Lloyd looked around for something to use. There was a large building nearby, one that likely used to be a small office structure. It was the perfect sight. Lloyd looked around for something, then saw a bus turned on its side. He flung his body right towards it, striking it hard and causing it to let out an awful screech in the air.
Invictus turned right towards the bus, staring at it. Lloyd shot out from behind it, running over towards a twisted bench and hiding behind it. Invictus, still focused on the bus, didn't see him as he ran right across the open air and towards the building nearby. He rolled right underneath the broken doors, just as Prime noticed the sight and once more looked.
"Prime?" Dr. Julien appeared on his screen, "Your tracking shows you've stopped. Have you found something?"
"I don't know… I thought I got a signal, but I haven't seen anything," Prime shook his head, "It might just be a wild animal. I saw the report that they'd started to occupy some of the outer blocks. Still…"
A warning flared up on Invictus' screen. The building beside him, perhaps a good eight or so stories tall, suddenly cracked and was sent toppling towards him. Prime didn't have any time to fire weapons, instead having to reach up and catch the thing with Invictus' hands. The structure was just heavy enough for Prime to feel the weight on his arms as he tried to hold it up. Inside the first floor, Lloyd growled out and smashed yet another support pillar, forcing more and more of the weight to fall onto Invictus. He huffed out with the mask and shouted again, smashing all of the ones facing Invictus with as hard of strikes as he could give.
"Prime!" Dr. Julien called out, "Is everything alright?!"
"Just… seems that I triggered… something!" Prime huffed out, "Give me a second!"
Lulloyd knew that was his chance. He turned and quickly raced with the Overlord as fast as he could carry him down the road, right in the open along with Harumi. The three didn't bother hiding, knowing the moment that Prime finished, they would be toast. Lloyd darted out of the back of the collapsing building and ran along his own way, hiding from sight as he did.
To Lulloyd's horror, he heard the sound of the building being tossed to the side, along with the miniature rumble under their feet as it landed. Harumi was the one who turned to see Invictus standing upright, as though recovering from a heavy weight lift. Seeing this, Lulloyd looked down to see the ground sloping up slightly to eventually meet the level of the overpass. Without asking permission, he flung himself and the Overlord off the side, landing on the slope hard and using it for cover. Harumi jumped over a moment later, the three hiding not quite far away enough for their own comfort.
"...It looks like we need to assess the integrity of the buildings around here again," Prime shook his head.
"Is the signal you saw still there?" Dr. Julien asked. Prime looked up on his screen, scanning the immediate area. The scan radius stopped just barely in front of where Lulloyd was hiding.
"No, we should move on then," Prime shook his head, "I'm not leaving until I find it."
"Then get to it!" Dr. Julien encouraged him. Prime looked up towards the sky, then Invictus followed suit. As he once more rocketed off into the clouds, four pairs of eyes watched him disappear off into the city.
Despite this, Lulloyd still waited. He waited for a long time for the coast to be clear again. And even when he was sure it was, he was quick to doubt it, instead taking a deep breath and pulling the Overlord up slowly. Once the three were aware they were safe, Lulloyd looked around.
"Lloyd?" Lulloyd asked, "L-Lloyd are you okay?!"
"I'm fine!" Lloyd called out. The three saw Lloyd, sans the mask hidden in his gi again, hopping up over the side of the road. He raced over to them and huffed out, "I'm okay!"
"How did you manage that?" The Overlord asked skeptically, "I do not recall you having the strength to topple buildings."
"Does it matter?" Lloyd shook his head, "We need to move. We don't know if Prime's here. Which way?"
The Overlord continued to stare at Lloyd, not believing what he had heard. Yet the need to keep moving impressed on him enough that he turned and looked down the road. He slowly nodded his head in that direction.
"Then let's get going," Lloyd took the arm of the Overlord again, "We can't get stopped again." Before Lulloyd or Harumi could follow up on the question, Lloyd had begun to walk them again, and slowly they all began their trek down the road of a hopeful reuniting dream.
Mage stumbled forward. The sunset had begun to cast down on his face, highlighting him underneath the body of Overlloyd. The man had his eyes closed, and his breath was now silent under the constant huffs of exertion and effort that it took to carry him. The stone crutches he used could barely keep him upright, and several times he would nearly pitch over.
"Put… me down…" Overlloyd groaned out, "I'm… I won't last…"
"Stop it!" Mage snapped at him, "I saved you once… I'm not, going to lose you!" Mage growled out, "A-Again!"
"You… shouldn't…" Overlloyd whispered out, but by one he had hardly anything left. Mage felt a pang of fear as he sensed how shallow his breath had gotten.
Mage redoubled his pace. He looked up to see just how late it had gotten. He'd trudged along all day, and yet had hardly made any progress, it felt. He'd been too weak to use his elements, over than the ones he was using already. He knew that Overlloyd was too weak to walk now. If he didn't hurry, he'd lose him. He walked up a slope, digging his crutches into the earth and making sure to get a firm grip. He had long since stopped caring about jostling Overlloyd on his back. He had to help him. He had to!
Suddenly, Mage's foot slipped. The incline gave way to a slate-like slope, and just their combined weight was enough to crack it. The two went pitching forward, tumbling and rolling down. Mage felt his grip slip as his arm was struck into another hard rock. And worse so, he felt his frozen leg nearly shatter across another one. By the time he came to a stop, he felt as though he'd just gone through the battle all over again.
When he saw Overlloyd, though, he felt his panic again. The normally powerful man was now laying there, pale and no longer bothering to sweat. Even someone like him knew that wasn't a good sign. Mage used a last trace of earth to yank his fallen crutches to him, then stumbled back onto his feet. He was covered in scrapes and bruises, but he had to keep moving! He couldn't let Overlloyd die like this.
"Come on!" Mage gasped out as he tried to haul Overlloyd onto his back again, "Y-You can't! Not now! I-I said I'd get you there, you can't die on me yet!"
With one more heave, Mage slid him onto his back. Overlloyd wasn't holding on anymore. Mage didn't care, and instead he just kept walking. Stumbling in the same direction that he had to go. They were heading towards what looked like a small plaza. The light of the sunset was casting it in a beautiful orange. The devastation seemed not to have touched that one small place.
Mage set his sights on it. It took him almost fifteen minutes. Each minute that ticked by was near agony. He had to keep at it, though. He'd gone through this before. Many times, even. He pushed on. Stumbling along. Vision blurring. His heart nearly burst inside his chest. He wandered past buildings and machines, strange fountains and lamps, until finally, he made it.
Once he was at the plaza, Mage collapsed. He couldn't bear the weight anymore. Overlloyd slid forward off him onto the ground. Mage tried to will his body to move, to do something, to let him save Overlloyd. But he was truly spent. His battle, his journey, it had to end here. He couldn't carry him any further.
"I'm… sorry…" Mage whispered, "I… I tried." Slowly, Mage shut his eyes. He couldn't bear the thought of seeing Overlloyd's look. Not knowing how he'd failed.
There was a sound. Mage gasped, opening his eyes to look. Across the plaza, he could see people. One of them looked like a mass of shadows, barely even human and being held up by places Mage couldn't make out. But more than that, he could see the faces of Lloyd, Lulloyd, and Harumi. A small pang of relief hit him. They'd gotten his message.
"Mage?!" Lloyd shouted as soon as he saw it. He saw the boy in torn and bloodied robes, laying beside the figure of another downed person. The very sight made him worry. He slowly growled, finding himself angry, ready to attack, and ready to-
"LLOYD!" The Overlord shouted. The sound was so grief-stricken and joyful that it carried the shadowy mass to yank free from Lloyd and Lulloyd.
The words stirred the figure on the ground. Slowly, Overlloyd pushed himself to his feet. It took effort, more effort than he'd ever given, but hearing that sound, it was something he couldn't stay away from. As he fully stood up, revealing his face, his features, his age, the shock that struck the others.
"H-He's… you…" Lulloyd was the first one to comment.
"He… he really is," Lloyd whispered. It was like looking at an older version of himself. An older man without his powers, and yet still the same person. The same person who…
Lloyd turned to look at Harumi. The girl stood with a confused, horrified shock in her eyes. The Rhotatae she'd kept charged this entire time faded. Slowly, she stepped forward. She had to confirm the sight. The feeling. And when Overlloyd looked at her, he slowly inhaled.
"So… you came," Overlloyd panted out.
"F-Father…" Harumi whispered. Overlloyd sighed and shook his head.
"No… not your father. I will never be, and would never wish to be, him," Overlloyd frowned, "But I share some of his visage, do I not?"
Harumi stumbled backwards. Her mind seemed to shut down. The sight of it, mingling with her fear of Over, of the Overlord, it all didn't make sense. How could a man like him, have a face like that? It was a thought that made her remain frozen in place as Overlloyd stepped forward.
The space in the plaza was cleared for them. There was nothing there to hinder them. After all of that journey, they had arrived. Overlloyd looked down at his arms. Then, to the shadows. Overlloyd… no, in this moment, he was just Lloyd. The one being who had accepted the darkness, and now, needed to once more.
"Over…Lord…" Lloyd held his hand to his chest, his body quaking as he did, "…I've… found you…"
The dark mass of shadows that was the Overlord writhed. Just looking at it, it was in pain. A pain from separation. A pain that the two had never truly felt before. A pain no one other than they could feel. A pain of one's soul, ripped in two. Lloyd felt it as well. The two were beings that should never have been apart. And now, the others were watching as they came together.
"L…L…Lloyd…" The Overlord's shadows pulsed.
"Yes… I've… found you," Lloyd slowly held up his shaking right hand, "Let us… be one again."
Slowly, the shadows the Overlord comprised began to form together. The angry colors, pulsing, writhing, burning inside of concentrated evil, began to quell. Slowly, the shadows took form. Form mirroring that of Lloyd. The being had no defining features. No hair, no clothes, no traits. Only the pulsing purple eyes of the Overlord. Slowly, the shadows stepped forward. Like the Dark Matter's colors, it looked as though the form was barely containing the shadows. And yet the Overlord stepped forward either way.
Lloyd mirrored the shadows. He stepped forward until he could reach out and touch the Overlord. Together, their hands pressed together. On Lloyd's left hand, two small slits began to flare up. A purple, flaring up from his pale skin. Seeing this, Lloyd hung his head and chuckled. He chuckled in a way he couldn't place. And, steadily, he raised his head to meet the shadowy figure in front of him.
"May… I have this dance, Overlord?" Lloyd asked quietly.
"…You may," The Overlord agreed.
As if those words had healed them, the two being straightened their backs. Lloyd took a step back and formally extended his hand. The Overlord reached out and took it in his own. Almost instantly, Lloyd pulled the Overlord's shadows up against himself. Lloyd took the lead as his other arm wrapped around the Overlord. An embrace, almost romantic in its gesture. An embrace that only the two could share. A sound between them, only they knew.
Lloyd stepped forward. The two swayed together. Their bodies remained firmly against each other. Not one of their steps was able to move away from the other. Not one breath they took could throw away their rhythm. The two circled the ground under them. Grass and dirt under them turned to ballroom floors as they moved. Each step they remained close. Their eyes fixed on one another. Their bodies, their souls, synced.
Their dance was calculated. Beautiful. Something that not even a seasoned veteran could truly touch. No one could know their partner better than them. The two made one last spin, and then Lloyd touched the back of the Overlord's hand. The shadows nodded, and then Lloyd threw him out.
The Overlord shot out in a line from Lloyd, his body spinning beautifully. The shadows swirled around him, like filaments on a dress rising up in a conflagration. Lloyd raised his hands and slowly began to dance around the spinning figure. His motions were smooth, filled with the grace of a ballet dancer, making their stage their own. The Overlord slid one foot out and violently stopped his momentum, causing his body to snap backwards. The moment that he did, Lloyd turned his head and locked eyes with his partner.
The two ran. They ran for one another. The moment they met, Lloyd extended his arms as the Overlord leapt into them. He spun the shadows above his head, as though weighing nothing more than the air. The Overlord landed behind him and the two went back to back, taking one breath each before pressing their palms together and launching away. They slid across the ground until both were away, apart. The distance between them too great. And again, the two ran together.
Their hands slammed together, and this time they didn't push apart. Instead, they spun. They spun, their body rising with the tempo of the song only they could hear. They moved together, spinning around the other, their legs snapping to fill the space the other had left open, their arms just barely gliding past the other. Shadow and man, bodies both slowly fading from the paradox that they had both shared, gathering together in this burning conflagration together.
Faster they went. Their bodies, pulsing with the desire and the need for one another. Snapping together to remain with the other. Holding the Overlord out to spin. Throwing their bodies in arcs, just to snap away from them. Footwork that neither of them truly were predicting. Simply feeling. Praying. Knowing.
Faster. Their bodies blurred. The shadows rose up around them, almost as though consuming them. The Overlord's form was beginning to unravel. Lloyd's body was starting to collapse. The two continued. Throwing together. Pushing the other to go to heights, limits pushed they knew they could never exceed. Throwing their might of darkness and passion until it had finally consumed whatever light was there to snuff them out.
Faster. More. Stronger. They were darkness. They were the Emperor. They were the ones that ruled Over all. Sweat, shadow, tears, all of them flying from the two to stain the ground. Neither cared. Lloyd finally grabbed the Overlord's arms and yanked him close, then went up onto one foot. The Overlord leaned back as Lloyd spun them around in a circle, hanging the Overlord's head barely an inch above the ground. A trust between them only they knew. Lloyd's breath began to fade. They continued. Pushing. Thriving. Desiring.
And finally, it was over. Lloyd's legs failed him. He collapsed, his body rolling down onto the ground as he dropped the Overlord. The Overlord fell down, no attempt to get up. The two were there. Laid out across the ground. Their bodies, spent of everything they had left. Nothing there for them to hold from the other. The beings, dying of the lack of the other. Their passion displayed for all to see.
"It… is time for us to return to what we were," The Overlord's right arm reached out to take Lloyd's left one.
"As I knew it would be," Lloyd nodded, "Let us join together once more."
The mark on Lloyd's left hand flared. A bite, long since passed in a time that should never have happened. The Overlord gave one inhale, then the shadowy form he occupied fully melted away. It melted into Lloyd's hand, the mark accepting the shadows into it. Drawn into Lloyd's body, the shadows began to pulse with less and less color. Red, purple, black, all of which fused into Lloyd. Slowly, Lloyd's eyes began to lose their color. They began to flicker as the purple consumed them. With a small chuckle, Lloyd shut his eyes as the last of the shadows finally returned to him. Finally, back where they belonged.
His eyes opened, back to the pupiless, glowing purple of the Overlord. With one last sigh, shadows began to pour from his eyes. They slid around his body, wrapping around him like a blanket. They snaked around until they had consumed every inch of him, closing last along the bite mark around his left hand. Once they did, the shadows turned opaque, and the world was unable to see the two. The shadows shifted the body under them, snapping, reforming and remaking him. The two were becoming one again.
Finally, the body stood up. The shadows faded to reveal the form of Over. His four arms, his black skin, his blacked hair, and his glowing purple eyes. There was no frown on his face, however. Instead, it was a warm smile, one that turned into a long and beautiful sigh as he pressed his hands up against his chest. The mark on his hand was there now. Two purple slits, permanently displayed there. Over held onto his chest for a long few moments, enjoying the sensation as best he could.
"Truly," Overlloyd's returned body slowly chuckled, "Our existence is a violation of the Decretum of fate."
"And yet together, I have never felt more at peace than this moment," The Overlord echoed.
"Then let us ensure that our link is never truly, ever, severed again," Over declared, raising his head to the sky, "Truly, let us walk forward into the night with our souls as one, once more."
Author's Note:
Yes, I did plan this entire chapter just for that last scene. For those of you who are drawing a particular comparison, I will also say yes, this is inspired by that. If you want to read it with music, I recommend Almost Human by Voltaire. That song is actually what inspired Over's entire personality and character.