Chapter Thirty-Five: Evil Rises

"Lloyd, stop!" Kai's voice echoed in the emptiness as he struggled to free himself from the prison Lloyd had created for him. A sense of betrayal welled up inside of the blacksmith, his thoughts immediately returning to the cell that had housed him not so long ago. Back to the manacles that had held him back, made him feel so useless. And Lloyd was responsible for both. His temper flared and he conjured a flame in his hand, watching it grow stronger with each passing second. Kai lifted his right hand, prepared to launch the fire at Lloyd. If the boy was not going to listen to him, then he would stop him by any means necessary.

"Kai, stop!"

There was a cold that spread down Kai's arm. He jerked his head back and saw Zane staring at him, blue eyes wide. "If you harm Lloyd then you will regret it," the nindroid continued. He kept his hand on the blacksmith's shoulder, grateful that he was able to extinguish the flame that Kai had managed to conjure. "If you hurt him now, then it will only hurt as all in the long run."

"If I can stop him then he won't be able to get up to Pythor where he'll get destroyed," Kai argued, struggling to move his legs. "Let me try and help him before something happens, Zane!" He gazed up at Lloyd's form, steadily growing smaller as he made his way up the wall. "He's going to get himself. . . killed or something!"

"Wait here and I will get Cole," Zane said, leaving Kai's side and disappearing back into the darkness of the chasm.

He heard Kai shouting, his words ringing in his ears. He couldn't stop. He felt guilty and sick at having harmed his friend once again, but this was the only way. This was between him and Pythor. Whatever had happened to the old snake emperor had been caused by a parasite in Lloyd's body. It wouldn't be fair to allow the others to get hurt because of him. They were a team, and they had suffered enough to protect Lloyd. Now it was his turn.

"Kai, stop!"

That was Zane's voice. It was no more than a faint whisper, barely reaching him in at the height he was in. Lloyd forced himself to climb faster. If Zane was awake, it wouldn't be too long until the others learned of his escape. If Cole woke up before the Golden Master reached the top. . .

Lloyd shook his head. He shouldn't preoccupy himself with anything other than getting to the top. Sure, Cole had more practice with bending the earth to his will, but Lloyd was, without question, the more powerful of the two. The young man risked a glance upward, making his limbs tremble as he realized how much further he still had to go. Climbing was too slow. There had to be a better way.

Lloyd looked down, spotting Kai and Zane, talking amongst each other. Seconds later, the small speck of Zane's body was running back to the cave, planning to wake Cole no doubt. The Golden Master took a deep breath, releasing his right hand and holding it above the earth below, fingers outstretched. The ground beneath him began to shake, and a large pillar emerged from the ground. As soon as it reached Lloyd's body, the young man jumped onto it, then continued to use his will to move upwards.

He was going to make it.

"You little brat," Kai seethed, struggling to do anything. After Zane's intervention, the blacksmith did not want to try anything too rash. Maybe hurting Lloyd was not the right course of action, but there the boy was, finding a way to steadily push himself upward towards danger, even faster now than before. Kai clenched his teeth together. They were supposed to look after him. They had promised. But right now Kai just felt. . . useless. "Lloyd, please, stop!" His futile shout fell flat around him, only being answered by the sound of rushing footsteps. The guys were coming to help him. But what was the point? Lloyd obviously did not want their help. . .

The earth beneath him shook and Kai fell to his knees as the stone around his legs crumbled. He was free, but the blacksmith still felt trapped. "Kai, are you okay?" Cole's voice echoed in his ears. Hands gripped under Kai's arms and lifted him upwards. "Kai, seriously, are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me," the blacksmith said, keeping his head bowed. Why was Lloyd always insisting he could do everything on his own? He had help, so why was he always refusing it? Because he's stubborn, his thoughts answered. And you know all about being stubborn, don't you? "We have to worry about Lloyd instead. He's going to get himself killed if we don't stop him."

There was a nervous chuckle from off to Kai's right. He turned his brown eyes on Jay who looked frightened. "Well, uh. . . it looks like we might be out of time," the puppeteer pointed out, watching Lloyd's small figure grow closer to the top of the chasm.

"Not if we can catch him," Cole said, gesturing for the others to follow him. The group hurried to the wall, huddled around the merchant who gave a small smirk. The ground rumbled as Cole lifted his arms, responding to his motion. They were rising, a bit slower than Lloyd's pace, but rising nonetheless. "We'll get the pipsqueak. Don't worry."

Finally, Lloyd reached the top. He jumped off his platform, looking down just in time to spot the others. They were rising. But he still had time. Pythor had to be here somewhere. Or at least Lloyd hoped so. There was no way to know that he hadn't simply wandered off into Ninjago, wreaking havoc among the villages. The Golden Master ran forward, towards the castle, finally admitting to himself that he had no plan at all. Something would come up. He was sure of it. He wouldn't have been chosen to save the world otherwise, right?

The young man skidded to a stop. A tall black shape stood before the wooden doors of the castle. Four arms emerged from the sides of his body, ending in sharp curved claws. Every bit of its skin was black, but the most prominent feature was its bright, purple eyes.

"Pythor. . ?" Lloyd's voice was shaky. He felt his knees tremble slightly, as if the weight of his body had suddenly increased. He tightened his hands into fists, forcing himself to focus. If he didn't put a stop to this now, his friends would be hurt. Because of him. Again.

"No," the creature growled, "There is nothing left of Pythor here. Only me. The Overlord, ruler of the darkness. Years ago I was banished. But I slowly grew stronger. And then I found you. Between your powers and your fears, it was easy for my weakened soul to entwine itself with yours. I would have been happy to keep your body in my control. But then Pythor was kind enough to lend me his, giving me far more power than I had imagined."

"Too bad you're not going to get away with anything." Lloyd muttered, trying to remember the little things he'd learned about fighting in his time with the old sensei. "I'm here to stop you."

The creature lunged forward, but Lloyd was ready. He raised his arms, blocking the attack, then swung his left leg towards the Overlord, causing it to tumble back. Focusing faster than he'd ever had before, Lloyd called forth the golden energy, shooting it forward, hitting the Overlord straight on its chest.

"You wont stop me, boy!" The Overlord hissed, raising his arms, shooting purple beams of light towards Lloyd. The Golden Master used his own powers to block the attack. "I am a god."

Lloyd was strong. But he was untrained. The creature before him had lived for longer than the young boy could imagine. Its knowledge surpassed Lloyd's own, giving him the upper hand. Even when Lloyd began to grow tired, the Overlord's strength kept its vigor. The Golden Master groaned, but there was nothing left in his body. His power flickered out, and he was shot back, landing roughly upon the stone floor.

He felt a tight force wrap itself around his body. He couldn't see a thing, but he could feel himself been lifted off of the ground. Lloyd struggled to break free, but he had no more strength.

He was at the Overlord's mercy.

"I am a god."

Kai could hear it plain as day. He had anticipated to hear Lloyd, but the voice he heard was very unfamiliar. It was booming and raspy, sending a chill through the air. The blacksmith felt both Cole and Jay tense beside him. So they could feel it too, the dark energy that pulsed around them. "I don't think Lloyd's doing okay," Kai said, trying to keep his voice steady. They still did not have a plan and Pythor was waiting for them. What if, by the time they got to Lloyd he was. . . He shook his head, forcing the thought away. Lloyd was going to be fine. They were going to be fine. Pythor, on the other hand, was going to have the living daylights beaten out of him. Kai was going to make sure it.

"We try to back up Lloyd as quickly as we can," Cole said, arms still raised as he willed the ground to propel them upwards. The edge of the chasm was too close for comfort now. He was not sure what they would see when they reached the surface, but Cole was positive that it was not going to be pretty. "We'll find a way to take cover and then quickly regroup so we can take Pythor on together."

"This is a good plan," Jay answered, his voice wavering. "I-It might not necessarily work, but I think it's good all the same."

"Let us just keep our wits about us," Zane said. "What we are about to face is worse than anything we could have prepared ourselves for." His tone was steady and calm, making the others feel uncomfortable. The nindroid sounded so certain about the mystery that loomed before them.

Kai squinted his eyes as they finally reached the edge of the chasm. There was a light that emanated from around Lloyd. The boy was trapped in an orb of violet energy, and the blacksmith grit his teeth, jumping up onto the solid ground before him and rushed forward, now focusing on a grotesque, four-armed creature. "Leave Lloyd alone!"

The creature turned towards him, smiling briefly, revealing row upon row of sharpened teeth. "Leave him alone? That would be my pleasure."

The violet energy around Lloyd vanished, causing his body to plummet towards the hard earth. Lloyd did his best to land safely, but his left leg caught most of his weight. He heard a crack! and pain overflowed his body, dragging him into unconsciousness. Kai froze up, staring at the Golden Master's body. He blinked a couple of times, shaking his head rapidly.

"Lloyd!" The blacksmith ran towards the boy, kneeling beside his body. Lloyd was breathing. It was a rough, troubled breath, but it was there nonetheless. But before he began to relax, he heard another sound.

It was the sound of the bridge lowering, one built in order to allow people in and out of the emperor's castle, as it laid a path across the chasm itself. The Serpentine, now with their eyes glowing purple, were lowering it, letting the Overlord cross safely to the other side. Right into the city.

"No!" Cole shouted, running towards the bridge. Whatever happened, the worst possible outcome would be allowing the black creature to roam around Ninjago freely. The merchant tried to focus, tried to create prisons of stone around the creature's legs. Before he could do anything, however, he was shot back by the Overlord's purple energy. Cole rolled on the ground, skin throbbing.

"You cannot put a stop to this!" The Overlord growled. He shot at the bridge, easily pulverizing the wood, leaving the friends stranded on the wrong side of the chasm. "Ninjago is mine!"