I'm sorry about this skewed schedule I'm updating on... Hopefully it'll straighten out soon. In the meantime, thank you all for bearing with me. :)
Completely random, but have any of you played To The Moon? That game is delightful. I cried right there near the end when I played it recently. It was my first time, and boy do I love it. Can't wait to play it again.
Less random note: I FINALLY had that epiphany I've been waiting a year and a half for, and I fixed chapter 53! Changed its name to Dance, and I rewrote the bulk of that one scene with Kai and Besai. Whooo yes. It's still not perfect, but if any of you want to give it a peek, it's there for your enjoyment.
KaitheHotHead1: Thank you! ^^
Breeze Winder: Besai's son is Alyx. Huh, it's interesting that you want him back. I'm glad, though! You're actually the only person to ever say that. Besai thanks you. :)
Thank you, Guests, for the reviews!
Orange Blossoms
"Three days," Josi said quietly. "It's actually impressive."
Zane did not answer right away. He cut an imposing figure, sitting tall astride his jet-black mare, wearing the red and gold uniform of the South, eyes staring up the road.
They stood beside the highway at the river that marked the border between the South and Middle, escorted by a company of Southern soldiers, observing the heavy of flow of immigrants both toward and away from the North/Middle. Some traveled north- moving back to where Garmadon still ruled. Those traveling to the South usually paused to bow, or at least nod reverently, when they saw Zane. Zane would always acknowledge them with a nod of his own.
"How so?" Zane asked at last. There was still some palpable tension between him and Josi. But they had eventually decided that they did not have the time or energy to expend on quarrels. They needed to work together. So along with that tension now stood an unspoken truce: they would both put aside their differences, at least for now, so they could more clearly focus on the task at hand.
"I mean…look at all these families," Josi said, gesturing to a horse-drawn cart with two little girls and their mother, all bundled up against the cold, perched atop crates of personal belongings. The father walked before them, guiding a shaggy horse over the bridge. "Four days ago, all of these people had no idea that they were going to be moving. And here they are, with everything they own on their backs or inside of carts like this one."
"Hmm," was all Zane said.
They watched the immigrants in silence a few moments longer. "When do you estimate Cyrus' army will come?" Josi asked.
"Iam promised it would be here by nightfall," Zane answered. "Peran's soldiers have orders to escort Cyrus' men to the barracks when they arrive." He turned away from her, beads in his hair clicking.
Zane's loyalty is still divided, Josi realized as, for the first time, she noticed his hair: it was pulled back tightly in the traditional nobleman style with ribbon adorned with blue, gold, and white beads. He displays the colors of the South on his vest and cloak, but he still wears his father's beads. She could not blame him for his indecision, but she wondered what the people would think of it if they ever noticed.
General Peran, on the other hand, had his loyalties fixed, and it showed in everything he wore, from his embroidered red cloak to his leather armor, dyed red, fastened with gold-plated buttons and buckles. The only thing that set him apart him out as a former Guard was his sword: the hilt and sheath were inlaid with jade vines, marking him as a High General. How did such an important man get assigned, of all places, to the South?
And why was he staying now that the South had left the union?
"Garmadon has not attacked the South yet," Peran remarked. "I'd thought he would have tried by now. He's behaving quite…erratically."
They had all expected Garmadon to be attempting to seize the South by now, or at least to be barricading his side of the border to keep people in the North-Middle from migrating South. But so far, the only Guards they'd seen were a half-dozen spies that had attempted to sneak across before the borders had been reopened, claiming to be searching for Queen Misako. Whether they were telling the truth or not, they were all turned back with their tails between their legs.
"He has been far too quiet, considering that his Queen has gone missing," Zane agreed. They were far enough away from the milling people that it did not matter what they said, as long as they were quiet about it. "I half expected the South to be overrun with Guards by now."
The General nodded to the people traveling south. "The invasion could be happening as we speak," he said, ever the realist of the trio. "I wish you would allow me to conduct interviews…"
"That would take too long," Zane said. "And what would an interview accomplish? Any Guard can lie about where he grew up or what his occupation is."
"At the very least we could confiscate these immigrants' weapons-"
"And leave the South defenseless?" Zane shook his head. "General Peran, you and your men have done a respectable job keeping the peace, and I trust you. But when Garmadon's army comes charging through the streets, massacring any poor souls who happen to be standing in their path, I'd rather the citizens have a sword in their hand to retaliate, instead of relying solely on you."
"That may be so, but if there are Guards here now-"
"I will not burn the entire crop because of a few bad fruits," Zane said firmly.
"But if the rot is a disease that spreads throughout the entire crop-"
"The people keep their weapons, General. I won't hear of this again."
Peran acquiesced, looking unsatisfied.
Josi turned her attention back to the wide, crowded highway and examined the faces as they passed. Yes, there were some men who traveled alone, making them possible Guards. But most walked or rode with families of varying sizes: Josi saw one man walking beside a horse bearing a pregnant woman and only a few bulging saddlebags of possessions. Another man rode on a large cart with nearly a dozen children tumbling in its bed.
Josi felt a pang of fear for these families. If they failed, and if Garmadon regained control of the South, what would happen to them? How would they be punished for deserting him?
"What are we doing here?" Josi asked softly.
"We're greeting the immigrants," Zane said. "Giving them a face to back the name they have decided to follow."
"No, not here," Josi said. She swung her hand in a sweeping gesture. "I mean…the South. What are we doing?"
Zane did not immediately answer.
"What are we trying to do?" Josi asked. "Are we trying to overthrow Garmadon? Are we trying to completely cut ourselves off from the North-Middle?"
"I hope to have peace between these two countries," Zane said finally. "I hope to have open trade, travel, and partnership." He sighed. "I want everything to be as it was before Overlord's invasion of the West. Before Garmadon was poisoned, and my sister disappeared, and Nya…" His mien visibly darkened.
"Things will never be as they were," Peran said. "You agreed to Cyrus' treaty, and these…worshippers of the Way will be professing their faith publicly on your streets. If Garmadon hates the Way as vehemently as it appears, then there can never be peace between the North-Middle and South. He will continue to fight us until one party surrenders."
"I will not surrender," Zane said sharply, glad to find an outlet for his sudden frustration.
"I was not suggesting any such thing, my Lord," Peran assured him. "I'm only telling you that, by agreeing to Cyrus' treaty, you do have his troops, and his antidote. But along with this power, you have taken responsibility for the battle that Cyrus has been fighting quietly underground for countless years. He is counting on you to help him win."
"I know…" Zane sighed. "I think we've been here long enough. Peran, call for more of your men to watch the border. We need to head back to Sheshin."
"Yes, my Lord." Peran made a motion to the soldiers behind him. One man kicked his horse forward and loped up the highway to gather more men; they had a base about a mile down the road where surplus men waited for orders such as these. The crowd gave him a wide berth.
As the solder disappeared around a bend in the road, Josi turned back to the bridge. She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that Iam?" she asked.
"What?" Zane looked in the direction of her pointing finger. His face mirrored her surprise.
On the bridge that stretched across the wide, frozen river, the dark-haired man was riding toward them on a large white horse. He seemed to notice them at the same time, and nodded to them, pushing his horse through the throng to reach them faster.
"My lord," Iam said when he came close enough. "I am flattered that you came out here to greet us, but there was no need…"
They had not been here to greet Iam, but Zane did not say so. "Where are Cyrus' men?" the Nindroid asked.
Iam chuckled and looked over his shoulder at the road. "You've been looking at them all morning," he said, and Peran murmured something unintelligible under his breath. "They've come with their families, as specified in the contract. Which you did read before signing, right?"
"Of course I did," Zane snapped. He scanned the people on the road with renewed interest. "All of these people are Cyrus'?"
"Not all of them," Iam answered, "but a large percentage, yes." He hesitated. "Are you disappointed?"
"No," Zane assured him quickly. "No, no. I just hope they came with food. I prepared enough for armed men, but not their families, too…"
"Yes," Iam answered. "There are about two hundred and fifty fighting men. They have rations for themselves and their families for the next two weeks. After that time, if God permits and the battle ends, they will get jobs in the Southern community and work for their own food."
Zane nodded approvingly. "And the Nurses?" he asked. "Where are they? When can they begin healing people?"
"I suspect they have already begun knocking on doors," Iam said. "They were among the first to cross."
Zane's shoulders visibly loosened. "There is room for all of the men in the barracks," he said. "The wives and children may be able to fit, too…"
"Oh, they will," Iam assured him. "Believe me, we are used to tight living spaces. They will share beds if necessary."
Peran chose then to interrupt. "We should return to Sheshin," he said. "Iam, do your men know to go there?"
"Yes."
"Good. With your permission, my lord…"
Zane nodded. "Let's head back."
As the minutes dragged on, the rain slowed from a blinding deluge to a slow but steady pour, blown nearly sideways by the wind. Merv trembled under the cold torrents as they knelt by the river, quickly drinking their fill so they could continue on.
"Be careful," Cole warned them, shouting over the loud pattering of heavy raindrops, and the raging of the river. Unlike the others, he stood, looking upstream. "We could have a flash flood from all this rain. The mountain has a lot of underground streams and lakes that gather the water before it flows down to here. If those basins overfill…" He shuddered; a movement most of his companions missed. But Merv understood.
"Cole's right." Ronin set a welcome hand on Merv's shoulder. For some reason Merv felt more calm when he was nearby. Maybe because he had such a close relationship with Jay, and she could feel his presence in many of Ronin's mannerisms. "Drink fast, then get away from the water. We're getting close to the orchards. Maybe we can find some food there before we go on."
To Merv's right, Besai moaned. Her skin had regained very little color since her healing. She sat on her knees, eyes staring vacantly at the churning water. She ran a hand over her belly and grimaced.
"Do you still hurt?" Kai asked. Seeing that she didn't want to drink anything, and that she wasn't answering him, he helped her walk a safe distance away from the water and sat her in the sand. Worried, Merv took one last drink from the river and followed, reluctantly brushing Ronin's comforting hand away.
"Are you hurt?" she repeated Kai's question to her sister.
Besai shook her head slowly, eyes still clouded.
"She's in shock," Kai explained, brushing Besai's hair out of her face. Worry pinched his eyebrows. "She lost a lot of blood. We need to rest somewhere warm and find some food."
Merv couldn't help it when her eyes went down to Besai's belly. Her dress had been carefully torn in the front by Kai when he'd heal the wound. Though the scar was faint, Merv feared what damage might be hiding underneath.
"We can't take her with us," Ronin said, coming up behind them. "I don't think any of the girls should come to the fortress with us. It's too dangerous."
"It's too dangerous to leave them without protection, too," Cole said solemnly. "As bad as it is for them to stay with us, they're marginally safer this way. Besai is a prime example of what happens when we split up." With an arm around Sage's waist he pulled her closer to him. "We need to stay together, so we don't end up like Jay, Pixal, and Wu."
"Are you already writing them off as dead?" Ronin bit off.
"I'm being realistic," Cole said sternly. "Stay together, stay sharp. We're finishing this task."
"Why?" Merv asked. "Why is this so important?"
"Because it's the first real thing we've done to resist Overlord," Cole said. "And I don't know about you, but if I'm going down, I'll do so fighting, not fleeing." His eyes softened. "I hate being out here as much as the rest of you. There is nothing I'd like better than to put Sage, Besai, and Merv in a place where even Overlord can't find them and finish this, just us men. But we can't."
"Running toward the danger is just as bad as running away," Kai agreed quietly. "Overlord will come after us either way." He looked up at them. "I can feel it. This is the last day. Overlord is done with us, one way or another, and each of us are going to have to give it our all if we want to survive until nightfall."
" 'Till Sunlight's End," Ronin murmured. He exhaled, running a wet hand under his eyepatch to scratch an itch. His eye rose toward the sky. "This really is it. The last day. All of my battles in this past year… It all comes down to this. The final chapter."
"Or the beginning of a new story," Cole said. "We have all fought so hard. I don't believe that this is the end. We've all endured so much. And look where we are now. Tired, yes. Weak. We're at the end of our rope. But you know what?" He looked right at Sage as he continued, a hand on her cheek, lifting her chin. "We're still alive. Through all of this, we are still kicking. And I'm not going to stop kicking until my heart stops for good. You all need to make the same commitment."
Sage nodded. In her arms Chedva cried feebly: she was cold, wet, and hungry. They all were.
"Well, I for one believe today is the day we will finally get rid of Overlord," Kai said. "For good."
"You changed," Besai murmured, eyes unfocused. She slid her hand into Kai's. "You changed a lot."
Kai's expression warmed. "Yeah," he said, eyes soft, but bright. "I need to tell you all what happened out there."
"Does it have to do with Overlord?" Cole asked.
"I…well, I don't know."
"Well then, can you tell us as we walk?" Cole looked west, pointing to the mountain that rose up in the west. "We need to keep moving. We've wasted too much time already. First King only knows what's happening to Jay and the others right now."
"No," Kai said. "This is important. All of you need to know this right now. Before it's too late."
Cole sighed. "Make it quick."
Kai nodded his thanks and looked back at Ronin. "I met your God," he said.
Ronin's eyebrows went up. He smiled. "Did you?"
"Yes. And…Besai, Merv? Cole and Sage? I really think you should start taking this God seriously."
Besai blinked and wiped her eyes, looking his way with more clarity. "This God is the reason you changed?" she asked.
"Yes." The confidence with which he spoke seemed to surprise her. Her brow wrinkled with thought.
"How is he any different from the First King?" Cole asked skeptically.
"I don't know Kai all that well," Ronin said. "But I think we can all agree with Besai. Something big has changed in his heart and mind since this morning when he tried to drag Besai off." He smiled at Kai. "It's freeing, isn't it?"
Kai opened his mouth to speak, eyes alight, but Cole cut him off.
"This isn't the first time Kai's pretended to have everything together since we escaped," he said. "Just wait. I hate to admit it, but he'll fall apart again eventually. Let's back away from the fiction for a moment and take the situation seriously. We need to get going."
"Don't take such an important thing so lightly," Ronin said.
"Important or not, I need to keep this ragtag troupe from falling apart any more under these dangerous delusions!" Cole snapped.
"Cole," Sage said, touching his arm. "Please. I agree with Ronin. This is important."
Cole looked hurt. "You can't really be considering this," he said.
"I-"
"Sage! There is nothing to be found in those daydreams but pain. You think you can count on a god, and when you need him most…" He faltered. "You…find they weren't ever there to begin with. They were just man-made masks to hide the nightmare that is life." He kissed her softly. "I'm trying to save you here, Sage. Trust me. I know from experience. Trust what you can see with your own eyes, and nothing more."
Sage looked down, defeated.
"How do you explain Kai's resurrection?" Ronin asked sharply. "You can't just dismiss what you don't understand. It's been made evident to everyone that there are forces far beyond our understanding at work here. Someone with the power to raise the dead wanted Kai alive. For what?"
"Nephilim said something about an implant in Besai," Cole said coolly. "She had strength that rivaled Nephilim's during the battle that killed Kai. Whatever that implant is, it's what healed Kai."
"Look at you!" Ronin said, shaking his head. "Talking about only trusting your eyes, then turning around and saying that an implant of unknown nature and origin is was healed Kai and pulled him from Hell?"
"Nephilim said-"
"Nephilim? Do you actually trust the word of that girl over Kai's?"
"I never said that."
"You just did!"
"Stop fighting," Merv said timidly. Kai looked just as uncomfortable. "Please. This isn't right."
Ronin paused, looking between Kai and Cole. He sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "Merv, you're right. I went about that wrong. Forgive me, Cole." He helped Merv to her feet, then gestured to Besai. "You need some help with her, Kai?"
Kai hooked his arms under Besai's shoulders and knees, carrying her close to his chest. "I'm fine," he said stoutly. "She doesn't weigh much, and we don't have far to go."
Merv watched Besai, feeling a pang of sadness and worry as her baby sister closed her eyes and, shivering, tucked her head under Kai's chin. She looked so tiny in his arms. Like the little girl that Merv had protected for so many years during their captivity.
Besai had been so strong these past few days as she supported Kai. Now their roles had switched. And though Merv was troubled by her sister's weariness, she was also a bit grateful. Besai could finally rest in Kai's arms, if only for a little while.
A yellow portal opened in the rain before them. Merv stood sharply, waiting for the stone warriors to step out. There was a simultaneous hiss as Cole drew his Blade, and Ronin his sword.
Overlord emerged from the light instead, hands hanging loose and empty at his sides. Yellow light swirled around him for a moment before fizzling out of existence. He looked them all over calmly, nodding to Cole, then regarding Raindancer with a slight tightening of his jaw.
Kai froze as Overlord's gaze turned to him. Brown eyes contracted to pinpoints, nostrils flaring. He held Besai a little closer.
"I've played along with your games," Overlord said, "for far too long. I should have killed you all in your sleep days ago in that old man's cave." He smiled. "Though that would have been far less exciting."
Overlord continued circling the group for a minute, examining each of them. Staring at Sage until she trembled and Cole stepped between them, glaring at him with as much bravado as he could muster. Overlord moved on to Merv, and her heart stopped beating for a moment. She suddenly wished Ronin's hand were on her shoulder again.
"What are you doing here?" Overlord asked, calmly, looking to Ronin. "This is not your fight, is it? Where did you come from? That ship that smuggled off a few of my slaves two days ago?"
Ronin frowned.
"What do you hope to accomplish here, man?" Overlord asked, drawing closer. "And where did you get this?" Faster than the wind that whipped around them, Overlord dug a hand into Ronin's pocket and held up the Gem. "I've been missing this."
"Give it back," Ronin said through gritted teeth.
"Ah. And the man with no tongue speaks." Overlord smiled. "I remember you now. You've come for that wench of yours that you misplaced last year." He slipped the diamond Gem into a pouch at his side. He said the next part as if to himself. "What a pity, considering…"
"Considering what?"
"Forget I said anything." Overlord waved a dismissive hand, and Ronin paled as the green-eyed man turned to Merv.
Overlord ran a finger across Merv's scarred cheek, sending shivers down her spine. Biting dread spilled into her gut. She stayed still under his touch, praying that he would leave her quickly and move on.
"Don't touch her," Ronin growled, pulling Merv to himself. She grunted, surprised despite her hopes that he would do so: one never interfered with Overlord and his slaves. Not if they wanted to keep their heads.
Overlord clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "I do what I will with my property," he said. Then his smile returned. "However, I did tell John that his fate would be Merv's as well…"
"What did you do to Jay?" Cole asked in a low voice.
Overlord looked over his shoulder at Cole, amusement glinting in his eyes. "I killed him," he said. "Threw him off the eastern cliffs. I would give you more specific directions so you could bury the body, but none of you will be alive long enough to do it either."
Speechless, Merv looked down, tears filling her eyes. Jay was dead.
Oh, Hosts. Her John was dead!
Ronin set a hand on Merv's shoulder as she held back the tears. "Bastard," he snarled. His voice wavered. "Why him?"
"Oh, now, don't get jealous. I'm going to kill you next." Overlord raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. Around him, Ronin, and Merv, a portal opened, enveloping them in a tingling world of yellow.
"No!" Ronin shouted, but it was too late. They had been snatched up from the riverbank. "No, no, no!" He moved to attack Overlord, howling with rage and anguish.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Overlord said. "You might foul up Sunseeker's calculations and find your arm trapped inside a door, or your feet embedded in three inches of floor. I've been told that it's not the most pleasant experience."
These words froze Ronin, and he glared vehemently at Overlord.
The portal disappeared, and the three of them appeared in a stone room.
Merv dropped to her knees on the grimy floor, hardly able to see past the tears. The room smelled sharply of dirt and decay.
They were in Overlord's fortress.
John is dead, she thought. In the distance she heard violent sobbing. It took a moment to realize that it was herself. But she couldn't stop. The tears slipped down her flushed cheeks, past her lips, which parted as she wailed her brokenhearted cry, until at last they dripped from her chin, shattering on the stones. Her chest tightened, and she gagged before resuming her bitter keening.
John. Her best friend. The one who had rescued her from this dungeon in the first place, who had helped her relearn her mother tongue, who had comforted her after her frequent nightmares… He was dead.
And she was back where she'd started.
"If you're done," Overlord said impatiently, "I have some questions for both of you before I kill you."
"Why don't you just kill us now?" Ronin spat. "You know I won't cooperate."
"First order of business," Overlord said, taking Merv by the wrist and pulling her to her feet, abruptly breaking off her cry. "What exactly were you all planning on doing? Did you really think that sending Nephilim back to me with the message that you…" He sneered at her. "…know my weakness…would scare me?"
Merv could do nothing but whimper, her arm clenched tightly in his iron grip. Under his intense glower, she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable strike.
"I'm not playing your games!" Ronin's voice thundered in the small stone room, rattling Merv's head. "Let her go!"
Overlord's free hand slapped Merv's face. She cried out, falling to her knees again as Overlord released her wrist. There was no room in her mind for anything but paralyzing terror as she tried to stop her tears. She wished he wouldn't hurt them.
She wished he would kill them now and rid her of this fear forever.
"You amuse me, Ronin," Overlord said. "You never spoke a year ago while I interrogated you and your woman. Now you won't shut up. Do you care so little for the lamed whore I thought you had come to rescue? And what about this sniveling girl at my feet?"
"Tina! Her name is Tina, and you know it!" Ronin charged toward Overlord, sword raised.
"So much fire," Overlord chuckled, lightly stepping out of the way. Ronin nearly tripped over Merv; she cowered, and he stumbled to the side. Overlord caught him by the shirt and righted him. "It's a shame. In a different time, I would have loved to temper it. But, as it is…" He drew Morningbloom. It grew into a sword with a single long, curved edge. "You all need to die."
Breathless, Ronin pulled himself free and fell into a defensive stance. "I ain't dying yet," he said, stepping between Overlord and Merv. "But I think your time's about up."
Merv swore she saw Overlord falter for a moment. But she could have just imagined it. Still, it was enough to give her a glimmer of hope.
There had to be something she could do to help Ronin. He couldn't win this battle without help. But moons, whole armies from Ninjago had been unable to win this battle against the Overlord! What could she do?
It was no surprise that Overlord had not been fooled by their story that they had discovered his weakness. He had no weakness to begin with, so why would he be worried about their fickle plans that had so quickly fallen apart the moment he set those first stone warriors on their tails?
I said that this would work, Merv thought, grief still contending for attention alongside her terror. I assured them all that this would work, and now Jay is dead. We will all be dead because of me.
Overlord and Ronin stared at each other defiantly, sword and Blade raised. One grinning scornfully, the other's face twisted with rage as they waited for one of them to make the first move.
"Please don't fight."
The words were quiet and timid, spoken in the Dark Tongue. In a moment of panic, Merv wondered if she was the one who had so rashly said them. But no, the voice had not been hers. She didn't think so, at least.
Overlord and Ronin did not dare look away from one another, but Merv's head shot up to see who had spoken.
Nephilim stood in the doorway, a key clenched in her shaking hand. She looked at her mother fearfully, then at Overlord. "Father." Her voice shook. "This is not right."
"Get aboveground, Nephilim," Overlord growled, still not looking to the side. "You disobeyed me. It's not safe here."
Nephilim's resolve wavered. But she looked back at Merv, almost pleadingly, and began again. "Please, Father. Stop hurting them."
Child, Merv thought, sitting a little straighter on the floor. What are you doing?
"This is none of your concern, girl," Overlord said. "Obey me."
"But-"
"OBEY ME!" Overlord turned to her at last, Blade glowing purple. "Go wait for your punishment!"
Ronin surged forward with a yell as he found his opening, sword glinting in the torchlight.
Without a thought, not even looking in his opponent's direction, Overlord brought up his Blade. It phased through Ronin's sword.
Ronin blinked in surprise as his sword continued through Overlord's body harmlessly. He stared at the weapon for a moment, then let his arm fall loose at his side with an angry sigh. He looked about the room, no doubt for another weapon.
"Why aren't you obeying me?" Overlord demanded, stalking toward Nephilim, hand raised to strike her.
With a little yelp, Nephilim dodged his blow and ran to Merv, helping her to her feet.
"What are you doing?" Merv whispered.
Nephilim didn't seem to have an answer. She looked back on her father, who was beside himself with seething rage. He ran for them, murder in his eyes.
"A'chaji!" Ronin said in the Dark Tongue, shoving the girls toward the open door. "Run, run!" He followed them, Overlord hot on his heels.
"Wait!" Nephilim whirled and shut the cell door, locking Overlord inside. Immediately Overlord thrust his Blade through the door; Nephilim leaped out of the way with a short squeal.
"Go right," she said, and began running, gesturing for them to follow. "We need to get outside!"
"What good will that do?" Merv asked. "He can find us anywhere!"
"I don't know," Nephilim whimpered, looking back. Overlord was walking through the hole he'd phased in the door.
Merv met the beast's eyes for a moment. Overlord's eyes glowed white as he glared at her, his face twisted in a grotesque snarl.
White eyes? Merv thought, turning her eyes back to the hall in front of them, running even faster. In all her years she had never seen such a thing before. What was Overlord?
"We're not dead yet," Ronin panted. "If we can just keep moving-"
Above their heads came a crack like thunder. Rubble fell around them, and they lifted their arms above their heads. Thankfully the larger pieces missed them, and they kept going.
What was that? wondered Merv, looking back again.
Overlord was directly behind them, Morningbloom grown to an impossible length. But instead of swinging it at them, he cut at the tunnel overhead. Was he trying to block them from getting to the front gates with a cave-in? Why not just use his Blade to cut them? Wasn't that easier than damaging the structure of his fortress?
"I would have killed you quickly!" Overlord screeched, swinging his Blade overhead again, cutting both wall and ceiling, showering them with rocks. Dust got in Merv's eyes, and she coughed. A fist-sized stone hit her head, and she ran blind for a moment before her vision returned. She felt dizzy, and her skull throbbed. "You may now call yourselves fortunate if you die with any one of your bones unbroken!"
"Do you feel it?" Ronin asked in the Dark Tongue as they got clear of the falling rubble a second time. "Overlord…something isn't right about him. I didn't feel it a year ago, but now…dwrendi, I feel sick to my stomach being near him."
"I think that is just fear," Nephilim answered. She was bleeding out of a shallow gash in her forehead.
"No," Ronin said. "No, it's not fear. Not fear of him, at any rate. It's…" He tapered off. "It's…guilt. I feel guilt. Death."
A third time the Blade swiped the ceiling above them. A third time they were showered with debris. A large stone grazed the side of Ronin's face, and he teetered and fell.
Nephilim hesitated only a moment when the man Ronin collapsed. She pulled on Merv's arm, urging her mother to move out of the path of the falling debris, lest they both face the same fate.
"Ronin!" Merv cried, holding up her hands to protect herself from sharp rocks that beat down on the three of them. She bled out of a dozen different wounds of varying severity.
"Just leave him," Nephilim said. "We must get out!" Merv eventually followed her daughter.
Nephilim's head pounded as she ran, and her body shook with exhaustion. Truethorn's presence was nothing more than a whisper in the back of her mind, but she grit her teeth and focused all her attention on it. Despite its inactivity she could tell that the Blade approved of her decision to disobey her father. Though, she couldn't say she was quite so pleased with herself at the moment.
Overlord ignored Ronin's fallen form and pursued the girls, raising his Blade for a fourth attack. Nephilim prepared herself for more falling debris.
"Hey!"
Overlord was interrupted by a shout from behind. He spun back angrily. Merv hesitated again, looking back.
Merv whispered something in the Ninjagian tongue. Her blue eyes searched the darkness all around them, but there was no one there but Overlord and Ronin, who lay unconscious- or maybe even dead- on the floor a ways off.
Overlord looked back at Merv and Nephilim, more vexed than ever before, eyes like glaring white flames set in deep caverns in his skull.
It was as though those cold eyes had numbed Nephilim's very core. She stood frozen, not even daring to breathe. Merv wrapped her arms around Nephilim, and, in the midst of all this mayhem, the girl was suddenly overcome with emotion. How long had it been since Nephilim had allowed her mother to embrace her?
How much longer had it been since she actually enjoyed this embrace? Since she'd taken comfort in it?
"Nephilim," Overlord growled, standing still, eying the walls warily, shrinking his Blade to a more reasonable size. "I will give you one last chance. Come to me, face the consequences of your actions, and live. Or else I will kill you, too."
Panic crippled Nephilim's mind. If not for her mother's firm embrace, she just might have rushed back to her father, if only because he would spare her life. But Merv's gentle restraint was enough to make her pause and think it through a little better.
For years Nephilim had gone along with- and had even enjoyed participating in- the torment Overlord meted out to others. Inflicting pain on slaves, captives, and even her own mother was the outlet Nephilim had found to vent her own anger. A way to hide her insecurities: to prove to herself and to Overlord that she was strong. That she was a predator, not prey.
"What are you doing?" Merv whispered. "Go, child. There is no reason for you to die too."
Go. Go back to her father, and endure severe beatings- and perhaps even waterboarding, or another water-related punishment- before he at last forgave her and allowed her to see his love again. She would be safe from death.
Or she could stay with her mother, who, oddly enough, seemed able to love and forgive her without dealing out her deserved revenge for all her daughter had done to hurt her.
But would will I go if Father kills me? she wondered with a jolt of alarm. She had tasted death once, and did not want to do it again.
She suddenly recalled the words the old man in the cave had spoken last night, right before she'd escaped: It is natural to be afraid, he'd said. …But let me tell you this: there is no reason to fear for your life if the creator of the universe is on your side.
"…No," Nephilim found her voice at last. She hated how shaky and small it sounded as she spoke to Overlord. "No, I don't want to go to you anymore."
To Nephilim's bewilderment, Merv's grip tightened around her shoulders. But it was not a terrible feeling: Nephilim found a smidgen of comfort in her mother's touch.
Overlord's eyes seemed to dim for a moment. Then he raised his Blade, pointing it at the two of them. "Give up now and come back to your cell," he said, voice shaking slightly. "Answer my questions, and die quicker. Aren't you tired of running already, Hrymerv?"
"Very," said a voice in the Dark Tongue, again behind Overlord. "We are very tired of running."
Once more Overlord spun around. This time Nephilim caught a shimmer of blue in the air. Merv cried out with relief and joy as Jay came to a halt behind Overlord and drove his Blade through the older man's heart.
Overlord looked just as surprised as Merv as the Blade went into his chest. He grunted as Jay pulled his Blade free, stepping forward to catch himself, but did not seem too put off by the impediment. White light coagulating around his chest, healing the wound, he turned and stared at the bloody Blade in Jay's hand.
"You people just don't stay dead," Overlord grumbled. His eyes faded back to green. "Are you here to avenge that female Nindroid?" He grinned suddenly. "I'm curious, John. How many pieces was she in when she hit the bottom? Were you able to find all of her?" A mocking chuckle. "Did you try to put her back together?"
Jay growled and spat to the side. "Sorry I didn't come sooner, Merv," he said, small bits of rubble falling around him from the fractured ceiling. He avoided the worst of it with a burst of power, leaping to the left. "It took me a minute to find you. Are you okay?"
I'm just happy you came at all! Merv thought, finally allowing herself to feel a glimmer of hope. "Yes," she managed. "But Ronin-"
"I already checked Ronin. Don't worry about him now." Jay grew Stormstrider into a long, double-edged sword, facing Overlord. The Western nobleman was tall to begin with, but standing before the abnormally short Overlord… Well, it might have been comical if Merv wasn't aware of how terrible Overlord could be. Size meant nothing when one had power of his caliber.
And Overlord knew it. He grinned slyly up at Jay as if he knew a great secret, holding out his own Blade. "You're dead," he said in his grating voice. "I'll make sure of it this time."
The walls around them shook. Nephilim and Merv looked up, all relief replaced by dread as water began to pour down from the growing cracks.
"That happened faster than I thought it would," Overlord said, eying the water with only slight surprise. He lowered his Blade.
"What did you do?" Jay spluttered, leaping back as a torrent of water showered him. Merv and Nephilim gasped as cold water poured down on them as well.
Drowning-! Merv leaped out of the muddy spray, heaving for breath. Nephilim was only a step behind her.
"The springs and underground lakes," Overlord explained, stepping gingerly around the growing puddles on the floor. "Rainwater from the mountains above us feeds these and, by extension, the river that flows through the island. Surely the Western Lord knew this already."
"Yeah," Jay admitted, running to Merv. He pulled her and Nephilim close as Overlord walked around them, standing between them and the path they needed to take to get outside. "But why are you destroying your home?"
Overlord chuckled. "It was never a proper home," he said. "I have a far better place waiting for us in Ninjago." He held up his Blade. "Now, I could just kill you with this. But that's not very interesting." He smiled at Nephilim, speaking in the Dark Tongue. "You know this, Neph, yes? It's not just about killing them- or the destination. It's about the journey. You have to enjoy it."
Nephilim shook her head at him. It was strange to see her usually haughty face so seized by fear. She really is just a child, Merv thought with a pang of regret. So young.
A flicker of nervousness flashed in Overlord's eyes. "Neph," he whispered. "What's wrong?"
Water pooled around Merv's ankles. She breathed heavily; swallowed in an attempt to alleviate the bitter dryness in her throat. A torch on the wall fizzled out, doused by the spray. Boulders of varying sizes fell from the ceiling a ways behind Overlord, allowing the water to pour in more freely. Walls crumbled around them, exposing empty cells. The noise was deafening.
Nephilim fled down the dark tunnel, away from the entrance. Away from Overlord, climbing over wet and slippery rocks, sidestepping debris.
With a cry of alarm, Merv started after her, stumbling and splashing in the near-darkness. "Nephilim!"
"Neph!" Overlord barked. He seemed to have frozen in place. "Nephilim, stop!"
The girl ignored them all, staggering further into the shadows.
Merv tripped over sharp boulders, tearing her clothing, scraping her hands and knees. Sludge clung to her skin and clothes, warning her that she needed to watch the ceiling as much as the floor. "Nephilim!" she called, trembling as the water rose around her calves. Up ahead she saw the girl, running past a torch that still had a bit of weak light. "Nephilim!"
"Merv?" a ragged voice shouted.
Merv stopped short and turned. "Ronin!" She rushed to help him. "Ronin, Nephilim- She-"
Ronin talked over her, trying to calm her down. "I know. Hey, I know. Help me out and we'll get her."
Ronin's hat had long since been lost or discarded. A steady trail of blood seeped from his forehead. He looked a bit disoriented, his left arm hanging limp at his side, one leg pinned under a rock. Merv got her hands under it and lifted. Ronin helped a bit by pushing with his uninjured arm.
"Gah…" Ronin groaned as the boulder rolled off his leg. He moved it stiffly, face pinched in a grimace so tight Merv thought it might leave permanent lines in his skin.
"Are you all right?" she asked quickly.
"I've…been better," he grunted, touching his left shoulder. "I think the rock that clocked the side of my head broke my collarbone, somehow. Or maybe I broke it when I fell…" He brought his right knee up in the water. "This boulder didn't really fall directly onto my leg, though, so I don't think that's broken. Thank God." He looked up. "It's not safe to be here. Help me up."
Merv got an arm under Ronin's good shoulder and, with some effort, lifted him to his feet. He teetered for a moment.
"Maybe it's a bit broken," he muttered, then took a deep breath. He started after Nephilim at a brisk pace without Merv's help, limping. "Come on!"
Merv looked back for a moment before following him, squinting in the darkness. Where were Overlord and Jay? Fighting where she had left them down the hall?
As grateful as she was that Overlord didn't seem to be after them, she wished that Jay was not the one distracting him. There was no way Jay could win.
No time to think about that. Merv set her jaw and started after Ronin. There was nothing she could do to help Jay- she would only be a liability in that battle. She just had to get to Nephilim.
She caught up to Ronin at the end of the hall, where the path split left and right. They were both breathing heavily. Down this far the walls were still intact, but water splashed around their boots all the same.
"I don't know which way she went," Ronin said, looking pale beneath all that blood and grime. "Should we split up?"
"Yes!" Merv surprised herself by shouting. She lowered her voice, but only a little. "She needs to be found! We must get out of here!"
Ronin nodded. "I'll go left," he said. "You go right. We'll make our way around to the entrance and regroup if we haven't found her."
Merv nodded, and took off without looking back.
The walls still trembled, and Merv could see hairline cracks overhead in the flickering torchlight. How much time did they have before the entire place fell?
Aside from the cracking, groaning noises from the walls, and the whispering of water as she splashed through it, the fortress was silent. No one is here, she realized. To confirm this, she opened a door where she knew comatose stone warriors were kept. Water spilled into the empty room
Empty? And where are the slaves? They should be fleeing this place. Unless…
Unless Overlord had evacuated his slaves from the fortress before taking her and Ronin. She recalled Overlord saying that he'd told Nephilim to get aboveground because this place was no longer safe.
In hindsight, it seemed untenable that hacking away at the ceiling a few times, even with a Blade, would cause this much damage throughout the fortress. He'd planned on destroying this place from the beginning, and weakened the structure or…something before we were brought here. But why?
I have a far better place waiting for me in Ninjago, Overlord had said. Horrified, Merv realized that he could be planning to finally take Ninjago in the same way he'd taken the West.
But no, if that were the case, why was he doing it now, nearly sixteen years later? He could have done it at any time before now.
Do his plans have to do with Nephilim? Merv supposed that might be why Overlord was so hesitant to kill her.
As Merv abandoned the open door and continued down the hall, she listened carefully for any sign of human life. Breathing. Footsteps. She heard nothing but herself, and the moans of the fragmenting mountain.
Nephilim could be anywhere, she realized. Inside any of these rooms. She has keys, so she could also lock herself in. And then a horrible thought.
What if I passed her? What if she was buried under rocks in one of the other halls? Wouldn't Merv have seen her? I didn't see Ronin until he called out, and he wasn't even fully buried. What if Nephilim…
Feeling ready to faint as the water caused her clothes to cling tightly to her, constricting her breathing, she pressed on, opening doors and peeking in. She found one that was locked.
"Nephilim!" she shouted, pounding on the door desperately. She had to get out of here. The water-
The floor shook under her feet, causing the water to lap at the walls. She gripped the door's latch to keep from falling.
The wall behind her crumbled. She pressed herself against the door, avoiding most of the debris. When things stilled somewhat, she turned around.
The only torch had been snuffed out. A bit of natural light came in through the cracks up above, gray and gloomy. And the entire wall had crumbled, opening the way to several other rooms. Merv stepped over shattered bits of rock and peeked into the first one. Empty. She went on to the next one, and then the next after that, all the while calling Nephilim's name. No voices answered. Because she doesn't want me to find her, or because she's unable to answer?
The water continued to rise, more rapidly than ever. It now came up to her knees, pouring out of fissures above her. What would she do when it reached her head? She hadn't swum in many years- not since she was a child, playing in the lake with John and Sarnai and the other kids in the settlement. The memory stuck a knife in her gut.
Had she really lived like that once? Had a world without Overlord really existed someplace outside her dreams?
Merv tripped over a rock hidden under the water, and she fell. She was back on her feet in an instant, choking, wiping water and hot tears from her face. She didn't have time to dwell on the past. She needed to see and think clearly if she ever wanted to find her Neph.
Why do you care so much? a voice in her mind hissed. Have you forgotten what she's done to you?
She has changed, Merv said firmly, shutting the voice up. She sloshed through the cold, murky water- now crawling up her thighs- and looked past the last crumbled wall. Her heart stopped beating.
Nephilim lay slumped over a pile of rubble, head and shoulders barely above the rising water, eyes closed.
"Nephilim!" Merv ran to the girl's side and shook her shoulders. She was freezing. "Nephilim, get up!"
Nephilim did not move.
"No," Merv whimpered, pulling on Nephilim's body. Both her legs were pinned by a pile of boulders under the water, and Merv worked frenetically to remove them. "Hey, Neph, please wake up."
The mountain's very roots seemed to tremble with the next mighty shake. Almost instantly the water rose another foot. Nephilim's head went under.
"No!" Merv got her arms under Nephilim's shoulders and jerked hard, not caring anymore what happened to her daughter's legs. She just needed to get free!
Nephilim came free easily, to Merv's surprise- perhaps the quake had loosed the boulders- and they both fell backwards. With Nephilim on top of her, Merv somehow managed to find her footing under the water. She climbed onto the large pile of rubble that had originally trapped Nephilim and pulled her up as well, laying her on her back.
"N-Nephilim." Merv whispered her daughter's name. Shivering, sobbing, she pressed her ear to Nephilim's chest, listening for a heartbeat.
Thump…thump…thump…
Merv exhaled. She was alive. But her legs were mangled possibly beyond even the ability of a Gem to heal. The water around them had a pinkish tint as she bled.
"It's amazing," Nephilim breathed weakly in the Dark Tongue. "That even I can be forgiven."
Merv sat up straight and cupped Nephilim's cheeks in her palms. So she was awake. "Neph," she said. "Don't go to sleep. S-stay here."
There was not the slightest bit of color in Nephilim's face as her eyelids drooped over her gray eyes. Her pale, whitish-gray lips trembled as she fought out the next words.
"I…am forgiven," she said. A question, or a statement?
"Yes," Merv cried, nodding fervently. "Yes, Neph. I forgive you."
Nephilim breathed out what Merv assumed was supposed to be a laugh. "But…you refuse to forgive that green-eyed girl, who never even wronged you?"
Merv's face fell. So her bitterness toward Pixal had been that obvious?
"No," she said. "I forgave her, too."
Nephilim closed her eyes. The walls shook, and the water rose. Merv held her daughter's head to her breast, crying the most desperate and overwhelmed tears she had ever cried in her life. Her daughter was dying. Was there nothing she could do?
"Was I… Do you think…it was worth it?" Nephilim asked. "If you could do it all again…would you?"
What was this question, out of the blue? Merv didn't want to think about her life. These last fifteen years had been nothing but sorrow. Nothing but pain.
Nothing but a gathering well of hate and resentment, which she had so unjustly directed at Pixal as soon as she had been freed.
But I saved Besai from the brunt of it, she thought. I spared her from some of the pain. And that has helped her to heal much better than I ever could.
"Yes!" Merv wept, her face hidden in the crown of her daughter's beautiful black hair. "Y-yes, Neph! I have waited s-so long for thi-is. I would do i-it all ag-again for you and Besai."
Nephilim smiled faintly into her mother's bosom. "If my mother can…forgive everything that…that I have done… Maybe your God will forgive me, too…"
My God? Merv thought. "I-I don't believe in a god. Are you talking a-about Ronin's g-god?"
Nephilim did not answer. The water lapped up around her chin, lifting her long hair as if it truly was a crown. Skin as beautifully pale as the star-shaped blossoms on the orange trees in spring.
Blossoms. Unable to contain herself any longer, Merv screamed at the cracking, crumbling stone ceiling; at the bit of cloudy light that managed to push its way through the trickling fissures. Jay had told Merv that her scarred skin was like cherry blossoms: some white, some pink. All beautiful.
But none could compare to Nephilim, her precious baby girl, who lay dead in her arms; mouth, nose, and then eyes under the water, victim to this collapsing fortress' last malignant act.
I have to get out, Merv thought, looking around herself with blurry eyes. If not for the pile of boulders she had climbed on, they would have already been submerged.
The water already covered Nephilim, rising toward Merv's own head. She looked up. There were precious few feet between her and the crumbling ceiling. Could she make it out if she swam? Probably not. The water was too high, and she was too far from the entrance.
And she couldn't leave Nephilim behind! The mere thought nearly split her in two: could she try to save herself and Nephilim, to give her a proper burial? The thought seemed foolish, but…
I can't just leave her here. Merv let go of the girl and stood, waterlogged boots finding precarious holds on the rocks. Nephilim's body sank just below the surface, face-up, and began to float away in the slow current. Merv barely caught her arm in time. The rocks had taken Nephilim's life. Merv couldn't bear to let the cursed water- cold as death- take what had been left to her.
Keeping a hand on Nephilim's body, Merv reached for the cracked ceiling. She could barely reach it. Would it be possible to squeeze through there and get outside? All she could see was a bit of daylight: she didn't know how far she would have to go before she actually reached the other side. What if it was too narrow and she got stuck?
Then the mountain shook again, and rocks came tumbling down on top of her.
...
So...you guys know that feeling where you're so sad that you get this really painful, sour tingling in your stomach, like something's eating your insides? Or is that just me? Because that happened while I wrote and proofread this chapter. That, and enough tears to fill the Nile. (Not quite but...yeah) Neph is one of my favorite characters, and...mehemenehblehhh. Ugh.
I'm so sorry about this. And because you might have a cliffhanger for the next couple chapters, since I'll be focussing more on Zane POV from here on out. :/ I feel terrible for that, but it can't be helped now: I planned the Ninjago ending poorly. I deserve flames.
On a lighter note, what do you all think of Iam so far? I'm curious...
Don't forget to check out my poll! Also, I have my Facebook page, Go Ninja Go, up, and I know you will like it. ;)
Have a great week, you guys, and God bless. And thank you all for you reviews! I just cannot get over how our numbers are climbing. You guys are the best. *Massive hug for all my readers*