A/N: Thank you for the follows, favorites, and feedback on the story! All are appreciated.
And I'm pretty sure that the villain of this story is Gollum's reincarnation. But I digress...
Cody could hear his own breathing. It shuddered in, and shuddered out. It filled his head – it was the only sound in the abyss that he had been pulled into. He let out a growl. He rolled over, forcing himself into a sitting position. Agony seemed to tear through his abdomen and legs. How far had he fallen? He wasn't sure. It seemed to have gone on forever.
He had to find the others; if there were any. There must have been. And some of them must have been alive, if he had survived. He had to stand. He didn't know if he had broken any bones, he would have to take his armor off to know that. And he wasn't willing to do that. His skin kept crawling, like something or someone was watching him every second.
No. The armor stayed on.
His expression collapsed into a pained one as he made himself stand. Cracks and pops followed the movement. How long had he been unconscious? He couldn't be sure of that, either.
"Come now, tell me what you're thinking."
He flinched at the whispers and put a hand to his head. Or helmet. He shook his head and took a steadying breath.
"Tell me, tell me, tell me, what's your name? What's your name?"
Cody growled again. And then groaned – it hurt to move. There was something down here with him, he could feel it. He wasn't imagining things, no concussion was that extreme. And he had had many concussions before; hallucinations were one thing. Voices were one thing. This was something else entirely. And a whole new level of wrong.
"I shall call you… Electus. Yes, you are special…"
"You might as well…" Cody began, speaking through grinding teeth, "Show your ugly mug!" His yell echoed back to him, unanswered. The clone scowled deeply, a shudder raking his form. The headache continued to throb behind his eyes, making it increasingly difficult to keep them open. He could barely see as it was.
He began walking, an arm wrapped around his abdomen. No, it wasn't walking – gingerly limping was a better description.
Fire exploded from nothing. He cursed and jumped back, nearly falling onto the ground. It climbed high, licking at the thick air. "I will show you, as you asked. Yes, I will show you. I will know you, you will know me, we shall be here for my eternity…"
Heat reached towards Cody – as did the flames.
And so came the water, seeping from the floor.
As if things could get any worse.
Cody moved towards a small ledge. He raised his arms, reaching for it – agony seared his torso. He cried out, but didn't give up until his fingers found the cold metal. He began hauling himself up. The water was filling too quickly. His arms were shaking terribly, threatening to dump him back to the ground. Fire climbed the walls, and water rose from the deep.
The fire roared as a dragon. It reached high, smoke beginning to billow from its red and orange arms.
He reached for his wrist comm, trying to find the buttons. They wouldn't know if there were any survivors. It was his duty to inform them, was it not? He didn't know if they would come back for a few clones, especially if the planet was so unstable.
The comm had been destroyed during the fall. Just like the skin on his arms; destroyed, or it certainly felt that way. All he could see was the fire, and the light glinting on the water's surface as it rose. He needed to get out. He wasn't on high enough ground, he would drown. He crouched on the ledge, struggling to breathe.
What was this thing?
"Electus…"
Cody shook his head. Pain moved through his body, trying to pull him from the conscious world. If he passed out now, he would die. He was well aware of that fact.
And everything in him wanted to live.