Kiwi here. Apologies about the lack of an update last week. Schedules were hectic and it just...wasn't really possible to hash anything out between myself and TombRaiderNinja.
Chapter Thirty: Death's Embrace
"It doesn't literally mean that someone's going to 'embrace death', Jay," the merchant sighed, rubbing a hand across his face in frustration. "Of course, I wouldn't exactly expect you to see that..." Wait a second. He froze as his sentence trailed off, his mind running a mile a minute. "What...what did you say earlier?" Cole was in front of the puppeteer, his grey eyes wide. "Jay, what did you say earlier? Say it again."
He felt small standing in front of Cole. Jay swallowed hard and ran a hand through his already disheveled auburn hair. "That...I...uh...I asked what the prophecy meant before Zane actually finished reading it. And then...Kai snapped at me."
The blacksmith rolled his eyes and turned around, refusing to engage in an argument.
Cole shook his head back and forth. "No, no, no. Before that. What did you say?" Realization was slowly dawning upon him, but he did not want to grasp onto any hope. It might not be there. If his hunch was wrong, Cole did not want to be disappointed.
"I...uh..." Jay was trying to think back to what Cole was asking. "I said that the paper this stuff was written on looked like the pages from Lloyd's book."
A wide grin spread across Cole's face and he pulled his friend into an unexpected embrace. He felt Jay tense up and whimper slightly, no doubt nervous about what the gesture entailed. "I'm so happy that you're okay. I was an idiot for not noticing sooner, but I'm just glad that you..."
Kai gasped at Cole's words. He wanted to slap himself. "Jay, you can see!" He stressed, returning to the conversation.
Jay laughed lightly, the sound muffled. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I can. Whoops...shoulda said something sooner."
"Yes, you should have!" Kai smacked the puppeteer on the back of his head, a reluctant smile creeping up on his lips. The blacksmith shook his head, a chuckle of relief escaping his lips. "Idiot..."
"That means I didn't hurt you too badly, huh?" Cole relaxed, releasing Jay from his grip and stepping back. The merchant looked down, allowing his long bangs to cover his eyes, a tinge of blush spreading across his cheeks. "Sorry for the hug. I was just...relieved. But, sorry."
Jay shrugged, laughing softly. "Don't worry about it!"
"It is, indeed, a wonderful relief that Jay's sight has been recovered so soon," Zane stated, the serious tone in his voice pulling everyone back to reality. "But, there is something very sinister unfolding before us. I fear for Lloyd's life."
"He's in danger?" For a second, there was a brief flash of concern in Kai's eyes, but he quickly shook it away, replacing it with a cold facade. "I kinda doubt it. He's the most powerful being in Ninjago. He can take care of himself, don't you think?"
"Kai, stop being a moron," Cole ordered, staring straight into the blacksmith's fiery eyes. Kai looked away, scowling.
"There is one line in particular that demands my attention," Zane continued, ignoring the disturbance. "'Darkness and light entwined, so they form a single vine'. The 'light' must be referring to Lloyd, I can feel it. But, what is the 'darkness'...?"
"Whatever it is, it's got Lloyd," Jay muttered, his mind returning to his cell, before Lloyd had made it into a personal hell. "When I was talking to him, I heard a bit of hesitation in his voice, almost like he was coming back to being his old self. But, something pulled him away from us."
"So, we're really going to believe some evil spirit is possessing Lloyd?" Kai rolled his eyes. "This is stupid! He's a crazy little traitor, and he killed my sister! We can't just suddenly decide to forgive him. We're just making excuses for his actions. But the truth is simple. It. Was. Him."
Cole's mouth opened, but Jay raised his hand, stopping the merchant from speaking. Jay turned towards Kai, giving him an exasperated look. "Kai, you're going to need to shut up eventually. Lloyd is our friend. Everyone makes mistakes. Sure...his mistakes have had a greater impact than most people's, but that isn't his fault. He's a kid, we're in charge of keeping him safe, and that's what we're gonna do. And, when he's safe, you're going to hug that little kid and tell him that you forgive him, because you're a hero, and heroes don't hold grudges."
Kai grumbled something under his breath, looking down.
"Besides, you care about Lloyd. And you know it."
"Well, I..." The blacksmith shook his head. "Yeah, fine. I care about the little runt. Happy? I just think it's a little far-fetched that he's being possessed."
"I suppose it does sound a little odd, but every bit of it is true."
The four friends swiveled around, coming face to face with the former ruler.
Pythor smiled, a small knife in his hands. The blade was made of a shimmering black material. "Lloyd's body holds a very powerful being within it. Someone who could turn every one of you into a pile of worthless ash. And I, Emperor Pythor, will release him from his human prison."
"Son?" Lloyd's eyes widened, his heart pounding painfully against his chest. The ghost of the emperor didn't respond. He was gone. Lloyd shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. All of his life, he thought he'd been alone. But he hadn't. His father had always been there, watching over him...nudging him towards the right path.
"That wasss...sssomething," Skales stated, studying Lloyd. "But, we need to keep moving. Pythor isss planning sssomething. I think it'sss time you cut him loossse."
Lloyd breathed in slowly. He had to keep making his father proud. He had to be the man he was destined to be. "You're right, Skales. It's time to fix things."
"What do you know about any of it?" Kai spat, narrowing his eyes. He wanted to jump at the serpent and wrestle the weapon from his scaly grip. Before the blacksmith could do anything he would regret sooner than later, Zane stepped in front of him and shot him a wary glance. Kai just took a deep breath and stood down, his hands still clenched into fists at his sides.
Pythor chuckled and slithered forward. "The pages were in my library, weren't they? I know more than enough about this prophecy." The group before him looked so pitiful and broken. Now that Lloyd was not looking over his shoulder, Pythor could actually be rid of these pests like he had originally planned. "At first, I was just going to kill the little brat once I got my hands on him. The threat that he brought, the possibility of him overthrowing my power, was too great. I didn't want to risk it."
The obsidian blade of the knife caught the light in the room and highlighted Pythor's bloodthirsty eyes before he continued. "Then, I went digging around in here. I had to know that there was something that could be done to prevent my downfall. That was when I found the pages, stuffed in between two other books that I hadn't noticed before. There is a darkness that dwells within the supposed hero. I had to provoke it, nurture it, to see if it was truly there." His lips parted, revealing his fangs. "And it was."
Suddenly, the doors to the library burst open and a variety of Serpentine guards rushed forward, taking everyone by surprise. Within seconds they were all surrounded, serpents holding back every single one of the elemental heroes. Except Zane. The android stood his ground, gears turning and eyes scanning the situation. "I'll give you one more chance, robot," Pythor hissed, his face inches from Zane's. "If you come back to me, I'll spare your life."
Zane scoffed. The foreign sound echoed off the walls. "I would never stoop so low as to take orders from you ever again."
"Take him with the others," Pythor snapped, bringing the tip of the blade close to his former servant's throat before he was ushered out of the library with the other three struggling prisoners. "Take them to the Great Devourer's chasm so I can deal with them from there."
Lloyd ran through the castle, followed closely by Skales. He didn't exactly know where he was going, the maze of hallways unfamiliar to him. With each turn, Lloyd grew more and more frustrated. The timer on his friends' lives was ticking away. He didn't know how long they could live in the prisons he'd created for them. Yet, the entrance to the dungeon eluded him. Pythor was nowhere to be found either. It was as if the castle was trying to protect its master, sending Lloyd on a wild goose chase through endless hallways.
"Look," Skales shouted, stopping in front of a window. Lloyd trotted back, following the Hypnobrai's line of sight.
Jay, Cole, Zane, and Kai were being dragged out of the castle, their forms growing closer and closer to the chasm where the Great Devourer lay. In front of the group was Pythor, leading his four victims to their doom. Lloyd looked down the hall, then back towards the window, his eyes shifting nervously. He had no idea which way would lead him out of the castle. And his friends needed him now.
"I'll be right back..." Lloyd mumbled, more to himself than to Skales. Focusing his elemental strength into the tips of his fingers, he thrust his arms forward, shattering the window with a powerful gust of wind. Closing his eyes to prevent any hesitation, Lloyd jumped.
He landed on his left foot, rolling forward onto the dusty ground, the bone in his ankle twisting the wrong way. The young man didn't stop. He forced his body back into a standing position, pushing himself forward, ignoring the pulsing pain traveling up his leg. Slowly regaining his focus, Lloyd looked ahead, raising an arm and aiming at the guard that was pulling Jay forward.
A streak of lightning sent the Serpentine falling to its knees.
Jay looked back, shooting a thankful smile at Lloyd. The former slave didn't stop to acknowledge the gesture, his eyes focused on Cole now. He willed the earth to obey him, raising it around the Serpentine's legs, trapping it in place. Cole stumbled forward, barely stopping himself from face-planting against the ground.
"Lloyd?" The merchant raised an eyebrow as the boy ran past him, his limping stride not slowing in the least.
"No time," he shouted back, turning towards Zane. With a hard look, and a command from Lloyd's mind, the Serpentine's legs froze in place and the android managed to free himself.
There was only Kai left. Lloyd tried to move faster, but the adrenaline that had fueled him moments before was dying out. Pythor was now holding onto the blacksmith's arm himself, throwing his weakened body forward, closer to the chasm.
"No..." Lloyd groaned, continuing to run, ignoring the nausea that had begun to flow through him. He couldn't let Kai die. Enough people had been sacrificed for Ninjago. "No...Kai!"
Pythor looked back, eyes widening as he took in the mess Lloyd had created behind him. The boy was out of his grip. Pythor was once again Lloyd's enemy and, if the Anacondrai was killed now, his plan would crumble. He couldn't let that happen. Not when he was so close...
He needed a distraction. Something that would take the boy's attention away for just a little while.
The chasm wasn't too far now. Pythor pulled Kai up by his arm, slithering forward faster than before. The blacksmith coughed, dust flying up and clawing at the inside of his throat. The friction from the ground beneath him burned his skin, making any sort of struggle send a throbbing pain throughout his body.
"Come on, boy...come save your little friend..." The Anacondrai whispered to himself, stopping inches away from the chasm. Kai looked up, blinking away the involuntary tears that had formed in his eyes. He spotted the strange black knife resting in Pythor's left hand.
"Lloyd! Don't!" Kai shouted, Pythor's plan suddenly clicking in his head.
"I'm coming, Kai! I'm not letting you die!"
With a whip of his tail, Pythor sent Kai's body flying off the edge of the chasm. Lloyd gasped and slid forward, reaching out and entwining his fingers with Kai's just in time. Slowly, he began to pull his friend upward, an exhausted smile forming on his lips as he attempted to catch his breath.
"I-I've got you, Kai. I'm not-"
Lloyd's voice stopped working. The boy made an awful gargling sound, his body twitching as violent spasms traveled through it. With wide eyes, the boy looked down at his own chest.
Pythor's knife had surfaced from his body, cloaked in Lloyd's own blood. As Lloyd's grip loosened from pure shock and weakness, Kai's body was swallowed up by the chasm's darkness.