Review Replies:
Anonymous7: Thanks! Sadly, them being okay won't exactly last long...
Jack638: Aw, thanks! Glad you're enjoying this. I'll pick up writing Movie Mode again probably after this is done (there being a new season confirmed and all).
Time Keeper: Well, whatever ya say ;;)
TheAmberShadow: Oh, yeah. I completely forgot to give you guys the answer in the AN, haha. Good job on figuring it out, by the way! Also, thanks for the riddles! The last one is definitely going in.
Isabella camovic: Haha, yeah, another little headcannon of mine. And you'll have to wait and seeeeee.
ShinyShiny9: Thank you so much for all those puzzels! I'll certainly put them to good use.
Loki God of Evil: Thanking you!
SPECIAL THANKS for the puzzles and riddles from ShinyShiny9 and TheAmberShadow!
Chapter Twenty-One:
Shadows
"I pass before the sun," read Seamus, "Yet make no sound. What am I?"
Lloyd sighed, wishing the constant pounding of his skull would go away. He pressed his palm into his closed eye, but it did little to relieve him. "Uh... a shadow?"
They waited for a moment. Nothing happened.
"Hm," Seamus hummed, regarding the wall in front of them with a critical eye, "Isn't shadow the only thing that sun can't reach?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, temple spiking, "Shut up."
Seamus didn't look at him. He wondered, for a brief moment, if he'd gone too far. Then he decided he wasn't in the mood for caring.
"Oh, wait," said Seamus suddenly, "I've read it wrong. It says 'yet make no shadow.'"
Lloyd groaned. The guilt of getting his team split up was clawing at his chest, and the headache that had been a constant pound against his skull was far from helping matters. He was annoyed, irritated, guilty as charged, and even the slightest sound sent his ears ringing and his vision whitening. They didn't have time for this, he didn't have time for this.
For a moment, he thought perhaps he should have brought along some painkillers, but the idea was quickly banished. Painkillers, while affective, would dull his senses, make his movements slower, leave him weaker than he already was.
Why did it have to be puzzles?
"Oh!" Seamus exclaimed, causing Lloyd to wince as the man's voice bounced off the walls, "It's the wind!"
The wall shifted, opening to reveal another corridor. Lloyd gave a relieved sigh, happy that he was, at the very least, not by himself. He would have probably ended up sitting on the ground in defeat at some point. Hell, he'd probably have fallen asleep by now.
That thought wasn't all that bad, actually.
The two began to make their way down the newly opened corridor, a ball of green light swirling to life in Lloyd's palm. They walked in silence for a long time, and at some point Seamus took the lead, leaving Lloyd to trail after him like a confused child, his fingers almost never leaving his forehead.
If Seamus noticed that there was something wrong, he didn't say anything. Didn't even shoot the younger male a concerned glance, didn't even seem annoyed with him. Lloyd was grateful for this. It was just a headache, after all. He'd gotten his very core partly sucked out of him by a resurrected Overlord, a headache- even a migraine- was nothing compared to the undying agony he'd experienced in that blasted tube.
A shudder ran up his spine, as thought a cold finger was running along it. He pushed those thoughts away. He'd rather not start having nightmares again.
"Wow."
Lloyd blinked, raising his head. His eyes widened. They'd come to a large cavern, light by glowing torches. But that wasn't what had caused his surprise.
Across the floor were large, black pillars about a head taller than Lloyd, attached to the thin gaps in the ground. Each of the gaps lead to a hole in the wall the same size and shape as the pillars, and, at the other end of the room, was a large door, bolted shut by heavy, silver bolts.
"What is this?" asked Lloyd, more to himself than Seamus, the green energy in his palm flickering out of existence. He squinted in the new light of the torches, the throbbing in his head spiking.
"Look's like a puzzle," said Seamus, running a long finger down one of the black pillars, "I recognise it, I think. My daughter loved these kind of games."
"Well, what is it?"
Seamus shook his head, hand dropping back to his side, "I can't remember what they were called. It was so long ago."
Lloyd's eyes softened a little, "Do you remember how to play?"
The ex-slave looked about the room with a small frown, before nodding slowly, as though uncertain, "Yes, I belive I remember how to play. It's simple, really."
With a newfound confidence, Seamus strode forwards, pointing to the black pillars, "We need to push these pillars into those holes," he now pointed to the holes in the walls, the ones that were the exact size and shape of the pillars.
"That's it?"
Seamus nodded, "Technically, yes. But the pillar doesn't stop when you want it to; it keeps going until it hits something."
Lloyd blinked, then took a closer look at the puzzel. The black pillars were in seemingly random positioned, but not a single one was halfway across a line, always being at an end or a three-way crossroad. Unthinking, he raised his eyes to the ceiling, and a gasp left his throat.
Dangling above them, hardly visible from where the swung between light and dark, were balls- except, not just any balls. These balls were spiked, a snake's skull painted on their side. He swallowed.
Bombs.
"That's not good," Seamus muttered, moving to stand next to him, "We must only have a certain number of tries."
Lloyd frowned, biting his lip, "But how many?"
Seamus looked around the room, planting his hands on his hips. Then, his arm snapped upwards, finger pointing to the bolted door, "There!"
Lloyd followed his finger, confused. It took him a moment, but, eventually, a number formed out of the door's many bolts.
Twelve.
"Crap," Lloyd breathed, closing his eyes. There were six pillars.
They had two shots with each.
"Okay," said Seamus, nervously scratching at the stubble forming on his jaw, "Let's just think about this."
"I'm not sure if you've noticed," said Lloyd, "But I'm not exactly in a good state for thinking through puzzles."
Seamus didn't answer. Instead, he made his way over to the closest pillar, judging how far away the closest hole was, then following the thin floor gap with his finger, closing one eye.
"There," he said, pointing to a hole, "We can get it through there."
Lloyd followed the floor gap, relieved to find that it was indeed possible to get the pillar to the hole in two shots. Seamus made his way around the other side of the pillar, spreading his palms against its surface. After exchanging a look with Lloyd, he took a deep breath and pushed.
The pillar slid along the floor with ease, like an ice puck gently gliding across the rink. It was unnecessary for Seamus to continue pushing, and the pillar came to stop at the crossroad, as though it had hit a wall.
Unconsciously, Lloyd held his breath, half expecting to find little pieces of himself flying in every direction. To his extreme relief, that didn't happen, and he slowly let out a sigh.
Seemingly just as relieved as he was, Seamus made his way over to the pillar again and gave it another little push, sending it gently gliding towards the hole. Upon reaching it, it slid inside perfectly, coming to a stop with a tiny click as it locked in place.
The bolts on the door shifted and morphed, one darting out of the way, conveniently forming the number ten. Lloyd licked his abruptly dry lips, rubbing at his temples.
"Okay," he said, "That's... that's good, right?"
Seamus hesitated, "I... think so?"
Lloyd sighed, turning to the next pillar. This one turned out to be slightly harder. They followed the gaps multiple times, but struggled to find a route that would only use two pushes. The closest hole would be impossible to get to because of it's multiple turns, so they set their sights on the second closest.
They did this for a long time. At one point, Lloyd had to sit down and cradle his head, the stress of the situation leaving him dizzy and sore. He hated to show weakness in front of Seamus, and so pretended to be investigating the gaps in the floors, although he wasn't sure whether or not it was convincing.
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Seamus gave a yell of triumph and pushed the pillar into another pillar, shoving it into the hole and sending the one he'd pushed to the other end of the room, where it came to a stop at a corner, a single push away from another hole.
Lloyd's head snapped towards the door, wondering if that counted as one push. The bolts shifted, forming the number nine. A grin spread his lip and, since he was closest, he climbed to his feet and pushed the second pillar into it's hole. The bolts shifted into a number eight.
"Three down," said Seamus, crossing his arms over his chest and surveying the remaining pillars with a determined eye.
"Three to go."
Nya wasn't sure if it was out of boredom or out of nerves, but at some point Jay had begun singing. Not in a cheery, loud voice either, since that would risk them being heard and caught, but a low whisper that made this whole place even creepier than it was before.
"I's got a little baby, but she's out of sight," Jay whisper-sang, trailing behind her and Cole, "I talk to her across the telephone, I's never seen my honey, but she's mine all right."
"So take a tip," Cole joined in, his voice just as low and haunting as Jay's, "An' leave this gal alone."
"Will you two shut up?" Nya hissed.
"But it's helping my nerves!" said Jay. Nya rolled her eyes, sliding up next to him and curling her hand around his.
"There's nothing to be nervous about," she insisted. Cole made a disagreeing sound, but said no more at Nya's glare. She turned back to Jay, plastering a smile on her lips.
"We're making progress. Within no time, we'll be back with Echo at the Bounty, sitting in front of the TV, the others watching as I kick your butt at that Ninja Defender game again."
Despite the jab at his ego, Jay gave a small laugh, the thought lifting his heart. He gave a nervous glance around at the shadows, but then forced himself to relax, gently swinging his and Nya's interlocked hands back and forth. He gave a small laugh.
"Yeah," he said, "I guess you're right."
"Still," Cole hummed, "It's a good song."
They walked on in silence again, careful not to trip over the random potholes in the already rocky floor. They splashed in puddles with almost every step, and soon their shoes and socks were cold and soaked, the legs of their gi clinging uncomfortably to their calves.
A shock of electricity would surge to life in Jay's palm every time the darkness became suffocatingly thick, but it provided little light. Nya had never been truly afraid of the dark, albeit she would sometimes find it unfriendly, especially when she was younger or after watching a decently scary horror movie.
Suffice to say, she scarcely removed her hand from around Jay's.
"Hey," Cole's voice broke through her thoughts, leaving her blinking rapidly, "What's that?"
Nya followed his gaze, eyes widening as she spotted the room beyond. They entered slowly, hesitantly, inching inside with wide eyes and tensed shoulders, ready to fight or flight at the first sign of danger. But, thankfully, there was no obvious danger.
Besides the gaping abyss in the floor, of course.
Total silence. Even the echoes of his footsteps seemed to have been muffled. There wasn't a single torch in sight, leaving the twin electric blue orbs the only source of light throughout the corridors.
Zane was well aware that the torches were unnecessary with his night vision activated, but that didn't stop him wishing there were some. It would have been comforting, if nothing else.
There was a persistent itch on the back of his head, but he forced himself to ignore it. Kept his eyes wide, observant, searching the walls and the floors for any signs of riddles or passages or anything. It was as if the walls were closing in on him slowly, despite the corridors being larger than the entire Bounty.
He wrapped his arms around himself in form of a hug, the itch on his head spiking, like bugs were digging into the back of his skull. Unable to stop himself, he raised a hand and gripped at the silver hair on the rear of his head, spinning on his heels and looking left and right. His heart was in his throat.
He saw nothing.
Swallowing, scowling at his silliness, Zane turned back around and continued walking, his pace slightly faster. PIXAL remained on his screen, but she didn't speak. He wondered if she felt it too, but didn't ask. He didn't have to.
They were compatible.
The itch returned. An ever present burn. Twin lasers slowly chipping away at his titanium head. Zane closed his eyes. Paranoid. He was being paranoid.
"I don't think so," said PIXAL. Zane drew a sharp breath. Walked faster.
Frost tingled along his finger tips, a comforting coolness against his titanium skin. He took deep breaths, releasing them slowly. Calm. Calm. Calm down.
He was running. When had he started running?
The itch persisted. Ever present. The zap of twin lasers. The burn of staring eyes.
I think we're being watched.
Oooo, suspenseful. Zane feels like he's being watched too. But not the others... hmm... maybe only certain corridors? Something else?
Like I'll actually just out and tell you.
On another note, I've already started on the next chapter. As for Movie Mode fans, I'll be getting back to writing that as soon as this is finished, especially since season two has been confirmed (whoop whoop!).
Sorry for making this such a short chapter, by the way. Things will be picking up again in the next one.