Chapter 33 - The Lair of the Beast

"Positive, positive, positive." Jay sighed, shaking his head. "I'm always positive. Or at least I try to be. But that hasn't turned out very well now, has it?"

"C'mon, Jay," Cole hissed. "We've gone through a lot, and we're still alive. I think things have turned out as best as they can."

"I. . . I know you're right." The puppeteer shook his head. "But I'm just kind of tired at this point. We've done a lot. . . And things just don't look any brighter."

"We must not give up," Zane stated, leading the way, his robot body glowing against the darkness. "We have come this far, and we will continue to advance. Eventually we shall reach the light at the end of the tunnel."

"Well we better-"

Jay's words were cut short as a loud growl reverberated around them. The creature sounded close, very very close. The three friends backed up against one another, keeping an eye on all angles where the gigantic serpent might attack. Jay's hands began to shake, but he managed to focus enough to make sparks of lighting entwine around his arms. The light from them created large shadows against their surroundings. Cole's breathing became slightly quicker, but his mind was tuned in to everything around him. He could feel the earth beneath him shuddering, allowing him to guess the basic location of the snake.

"It's coming from our right," he said, turning along with the others. "Remember, find a weakness and attack it. But most of all, try to stay alive."

"Ah, how encouraging." Jay chuckled weakly, straining his eyes against the darkness.

Something darker than the darkness surrounding them moved, and Cole saw it out of the corner of his eye. "It's right on top of us now, did you see it?"

"I didn't see anything!" Jay squeaked, eyes shifting around nervously. No sooner had he heeded Cole's warning about the Great Devourer's location and heard the sound of its massive scaly body dragging along the ground, Jay saw it. The serpent hissed, its large pink eyes practically glowing. The puppeteer started shaking again before he got a hold of himself. You can do this, Jay. "Th-There it is." The slight quiver in his voice betrayed his forced confidence, almost bringing him back to the verge of uncertainty. Almost. Jay thrust his hands forward, palms facing the creature, and narrowed his eyes as two quick bolts of lightning erupted from his limbs and struck the creature in what Jay hoped was its face.

The Great Devourer gave a feral, piercing screech. Jay took another step backwards, feeling two shoulders digging into either side of his spine. At least his friends were still there. It gave him a sliver of comfort. "I don't think I did anything," Jay said in a small voice. "I think I only made it angrier." Hissing once again, the serpent lunged for the disadvantaged group. Jay closed his eyes, unable to stop himself from flinching. Just as he expected to feel the warmth of the Great Devourer's breath all around him, the puppeteer heard a sickening smack. He opened his blue eyes to see Cole standing in front of him, arms raised. The merchant had managed to erect a large wall from the ground, shielding them all from the attack. "Whoa, quick thinking," Jay commented, becoming aware of how painful his heart was in his chest.

"Don't just attack it all willy nilly," Cole said, voice strained as he leaned against the barrier he had made. It was bigger than he had expected it to be. He could feel his energy wavering. He needed to be more careful about how much he exerted himself. "We're never going to actually defeat it unless we find a weakness first."

"I might have seen something in the briefest instance," Zane piped in, his back still against Jay's, surveying the area to make sure the creature was not going to suddenly sneak up behind them. "There was a discoloration on its head. You most likely missed it. I turned when I felt Jay tense up and managed to get a glance at it before Cole stopped the Great Devourer from attacking us."

"Oh great, let me make a note of that. . ." Jay muttered, his voice loud and shaky from the adrenaline and nerves. "Giant snake has wee, itty bitty weak spot, that'll be totally impossible to get at because the thing is too ridiculously huge to do anything to stop it!"

"If we attack as a team we might have a chance. We need to be ready for its next attack." Cole ordered, ignoring Jay's momentary break down. He turned towards the sound of the snake, which was once again slithering towards them. "Here it comes. . ."

Cole focused his strength on the ground. Jay channeled his energy into the tips of his fingers. Zane closed his eyes, allowing his icy powers to flow throughout his body. Out of the darkness came the Great Devourer, standing tall before them, shrieking angrily. The three friends felt a cold, humid surface pressed against their backs. The giant snake had wrapped its tail around them, blocking any chance of escape.

It was all or nothing this time.

As the snake lunged down, Cole braced himself, counting down the seconds until. . .

"Now!"

Without hesitation, Jay and Zane followed the merchant's orders. The three of them shot at the weak spot with each of their elements, causing the snake to slither back. Its head shook from side to side, and for a second, it seemed as if it would crumple down. Then, it stopped. Its body straightened, and the Devourer's tail tightened around Cole, Jay, and Zane's body.

"Well. . . we're on the right path," Cole muttered, "We just need more. . . power."

"T-too bad w-we. . . don't get a second chance," Jay said, gasping for a proper breath.

Kai had let the flame from his hand die down an eternity ago. His head lay back against the wall behind him, eyes wide and staring up at the low ceiling. "Something feels. . . wrong," he sighed. There was a chill that ran down his spine. "Did you hear something, Lloyd?" The blacksmith strained his ears against the deafening silence.

Lloyd brought his mind out of semi-consciousness. He had been on the verge of dozing off, the fatigue finally taking him over, when Kai's voice forced him out of his stupor. "Hear what?" the boy asked, a hint of sleep still staining his voice. "I just heard you. That's it."

"No, no," Kai said, placing a hand on Lloyd's shoulder and giving him a quick shake. He heard the boy give a light groan of annoyance, but now was not the time to dwell on it. "The others should have been back by now, don't you think?" Was he just letting his nerves get the best of him, or was there actually something bad happening? Kai slowly got to his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain in his left leg. "We need to go look for them. I just know that something's up."

Lloyd was finally aware of everything around him. Part of him, a large part, had hoped that everything that had happened in recent memory was actually just some sort of terrible nightmare. Yet here he was, sitting down in the chasm of the Great Devourer, his clothes stained with his own blood. "They're probably fine. You worry too much."

A tremor of anger overwhelmed the blacksmith and he stared daggers at the silhouette of the Golden Master. "Of course I would worry. My friends are out there, with the Creator only knows what, and we're just sitting here in a cave!"

The Golden Master shook his head. "I'm not saying you shouldn't be worried, I'm just saying there probably is nothing to worry about." Just as the words slipped out of his mouth, an ear shattering screech erupted through the cave like a shockwave. Lloyd felt his eyes widen in horror and Kai was tugging him upwards by his arm. The world seemed to be far away, more distant than it had ever felt before. Kai was dragging him towards the entrance of their shelter now, his pace unbalanced from the hitch in his step.

"Still think that's nothing? Come on, the guys need our help."

Lloyd nodded, then began to follow Kai. His body didn't feel as weak as before now, but it was still a struggle to keep his eyes open. Yet Kai was worse off than he was, so Lloyd had no right to complain. The two of them trudged forward through the darkness, following the sound, hoping they wouldn't be too late.

"Do you see anything?" Lloyd squinted his green eyes, but there was not enough light to see more than a few feet ahead of him. Kai was struggling to keep walking now, but the blacksmith refused to say anything, utter stubbornness allowing him to put one foot in front of the other.

"Not yet. . ." Kai hissed, trying to keep his breathing even. "Wait. . . there!"

Using the last bits of his strength, Kai brought a small flame to the palm of his hand. In front of them, the body of the Devourer was revealed, its thick tail slowly tightening around the bodies of his friends. Jay was the first to spot the blacksmith, his blue eyes lighting up and his lips flashing a wide smile.

"It's Kai!" Jay shouted, then coughed as more air was forced from his lungs. "Now we can. . . all attack."

"There is a weak spot upon its head, Kai. If we all attack it at once, it will destroy the snake once and for all." Zane explained with a steady voice, as his metallic body had no need for air. "You will, of course, have to get the snake off of us if we are to attack."

Kai nodded. He'd have to think of something. And quick. Jay and Cole looked as if they were grasping the last threads of their consciousness . If they were to pass out, everything would be over. But what would-

A flash of green snapped Kai back into the world.

Lloyd was running towards the Devourer, faster than the blacksmith would have thought possible. His heart pounded against his chest painfully, while his stomach twisted with worry. "Lloyd, what are you doing?"

"This is my fault," the Golden Master shouted back. "I'm not going to sit back and wait for you guys to fix the things I've done anymore."

Ignoring the pounding that had erupted on his head, Lloyd created a ball of golden energy in the space between the palms of his hands. He allowed it to grow larger and larger, pushing his own limits until black dots began to crawl in from the edges of his vision. Lloyd then looked up at the Great Devourer, allowing his mind to lock into its target.

The Golden Master released the ball of energy.