CHAPTER TEN

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

WITH GREAT POWER . . .

THE JUNGLE WAS WILD AND OVERGROWN, vines crawling up trees in an effort to reach the sun while the treetops seemed sewn together, interlocking leaves and branches making it hard to navigate through the shadows they cased. Hiro could feel the humidity of the air; his sweat stuck to his skin, and he'd long since removed his jacket, tying it around his waist to he didn't have to carry it. He felt gross, to say the least — he would have given anything to get out of the forest and lay down somewhere cool, preferably with water and air conditioning. But alas, he found himself following Lloyd and Garmadon further into Hiroshi's Labyrinth, hoping that they were beginning to reach the end of their journey.

The Ninja had completed their goal in shutting off the power — that was good. Someone had stolen the hard drive with the Overlord Virus on it — that was . . . not so good.

They couldn't return home until anything connected the Overlord was destroyed. Hiro failed to realize the irony in that.

He trudged through the trees, refraining from muttering about the heat; not only was it fairly obvious that Lloyd was suffering more than him (Hiro had told him to bring something other than his ninja gi before they left Wu's school last time, but Lloyd had insisted it was fine; well, now he was suffering in the heat. Go figure), but Hiro didn't want to waste his energy. Even though complaining was kind of Hiro's thing by this point in their journey, it just wasn't worth it.

"Alright back there?" Lloyd asked, looking over his shoulder. Hiro, as he so often did, had fallen behind the other two — useful for avoiding Garmadon and getting to wallow in self-pity, terrible for a chance to stay near Lloyd. Still, he gave Lloyd a thumbs up and a sarcastic smile, which Lloyd seemed to accept, as he chuckled and turned around. Hiro let his hands drop down, smiling secretly to himself as he continued walking behind them, now with a little bounce in his step.

The humidity only got worse. Hiro would have thought that, with all the shade the trees provided, they would be safe from the extreme weather, but as it as he could feel himself losing energy the longer they trudged on. How long had it been now? Three hours? Four? He knew they entered the jungle before noon, after everyone had had their fair share of sleep with one person on guard, but with no way to see the sun, he couldn't judge what time it was, the one thing he figured he was useful for.

Hiro ducked under a large plant of leaves, catching up with the other two, who had slowed as they crossed under the unfamiliar bush. A bug flew overhead, making Hiro duck to get away; he found himself grabbing Lloyd's arm, glaring at the bug as it circled above them. It couldn't have been any bigger than his fist, but he wasn't going to take any chances (and. hey, it got Lloyd to flash him a smile, so Hiro supposed it was worth it in the long run). Once the bug flew off, Hiro stepped away from Lloyd, falling back again.

"Didn't know you were scared of bugs," Lloyd noted.

"I'm not scared of bugs, Lloyd, I grew up with them, but these bugs could be dangerous," he argued. "What if that thing was poisonous? We don't know! We've never been in this jungle before!"

"It was a firefly."

"I don't know what that is!"

Lloyd grinned, shaking his head. He looked ahead, and Hiro finally saw what laid before them — a dense cluster of more leaves, different shades of green, yellow, and red. He sighed, shoulders slumping as he realized that they'd finally gotten off the path that most people had probably used to explore the forest, and were now in the thick of the danger of the forest. How the hell were they meant to get through all of this? Lloyd didn't even have a sword.

"Hiroshi's Labyrinth," Garmadon explained, pushing a few leaves aside with his staff. "Legend says no one has ever escaped its deadly maze, except for Hiroshi himself. But the maze is no match for your powers," he said, glancing at Lloyd. Hiro supposed that was fair — after all, it's not like he could control plants, but Lloyd could certainly burn them away if needed. Or maybe his powers of the earth would make it easier to navigate this jungle. "This is the perfect place to hide from the Overlord's clutches."

Lloyd scowled, stopping in his tracks. Hiro nearly ran into him and quickly took a few steps back, face burning. If anyone asked, he'd blame it on the heat. "Hide. That's all I ever seem to do!" the Green Ninja complained, glaring at the ground. "Why can't we go back? We could help them fight!"

"You golden power only strengthens his cause," Garmadon scolded. "We must not lose sight."

"We need to keep you safe, Lloyd," Hiro added. "You might be the Green Ninja— or the Golden Ninja, whatever, but we have no idea what my fa— the Overlord could have planned. It's better to keep you out of harm's way than to go back." Lloyd sighed, not looking convinced. Hiro frowned. "Look, you know I don't trust the Ninja with much, but they have Nya with them. I'm sure they'll be able to fix this without our help." Lloyd almost smiled at that, but quickly shook his head.

"But I miss our— my friends," he whined, quickly correcting the our friends part. "What good is being all powerful if I can't ever have any fun?" he asked, scowling at the ground.

"The Golden Power needs to be protected, honored. Evil forces will seek it, try to take it for their own. It seduces. . . . Even your friends may one day covet it," Garmadon said, his eyes shifting over to Hiro. Hiro narrowed his eyes back, offended by the very thought — he would never hurt Lloyd. Besides that, he had enough power of his own. And the idea of any of the Ninja hurting Lloyd to take his power . . . not only would Hiro never allow that to happen, but he doubted he would need to protect Lloyd from the Ninja at all. They were friends. Brothers, even. Hiro didn't need to worry about the Ninja hurting Lloyd. Once upon a time, he had thought that he didn't need to worry about Garmadon, either.

Now he wasn't so sure. Garmadon wasn't a threat to Lloyd, that much was clear. But what about everyone else? And, even more selfishly, what about Hiro?

"My friends would never hurt me," Lloyd snapped, tone incredulous about the fact that Garmadon would even suggest so. Hiro suddenly felt like he was intruding on a conversation that he was not meant to be apart of, but making any moves would probably remind Lloyd and Garmadon about his existence, and Hiro really didn't want to deal with an awkward fallout before these two had worked out whatever issues they were having.

"He who holds the power has a tremendous obligation," Garmadon said, looking unconvinced. His expression grew soft. "You must be prepared to handle this journey alone. Even without me one day," he said, gaze landing on Hiro again. Hiro looked away. He couldn't catch if there was a hidden meaning in Garmadon's words — did Garmadon truly think Hiro would willingly leave Lloyd's side, or was he implying that even Hiro wasn't immortal? Hiro wouldn't leave unless Lloyd asked him to, that much was for certain.

But maybe Garmadon was right. Lloyd had to be prepared to be alone. Because at the end of the day, Hiro wasn't immortal. In fact, he was living on borrowed time. He shouldn't have even existed, but here he was, ready to go to the ends of the earth for a boy he'd only known for a few weeks. How depressing was that, Hiro's ability to get attached to anyone who showed him a hint of kindness? It was almost laughable if it wasn't so sad.

"Hiro?" Lloyd asked, pulling Hiro from his spiral into dark thoughts. Hiro met his eyes, coming back to reality. A spark of pain flared up his arm — at some point, he'd begun digging his nails into his skin, probably in his own effort to calm down, and had broken through the skin, coating his nails in blood. He released his arm as sneakily as he could, not wanting Lloyd to worry, and flashed his friend a quick, reassuring smile. Lloyd relaxed, smiling back warmly. "Come on, my dad says there's this oasis that no one's ever seen before? It's supposed to be super beautiful!" he explained, leading Hiro on through the greenery as they attempted to catch up with Garmadon.

Hiro pulled his sleeve over his arm as he listened to Lloyd speak.

Somehow, Lloyd's voice could always calm him down.

They continued their journey in silence, the air growing more bearable the further they found themselves in the jungle. Hiro hoped that meant they were approaching a water source, or even a food one. His stomach growled at the idea of eating something that wasn't a granola bar, as had been the travelers' breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the last 3 1/2 days. Hell, he'd even accept something Cole had cooked, and that was a dangerous game to play — the first time Hiro had ever eaten something made by Cole, he thought that the Master of Earth was trying to poison him.

The sun and heat continued the rise as they walked through the jungle, pushing past branches and leaves. Hiro avoided every bug they came across, and Garmadon had some sense to do the same; Lloyd, however, laughed at their hesitance and was very nearly bitten by what Garmadon recognized as a cousin of the Wicked Spiders, which was enough to make Lloyd just as hesitant as the other two — enough to hold onto Hiro and nearly make both of them fall as he tried to bolt at the sight of any other spider.

Finally, as the time passed noon and began straying into 'evening,' they stopped to rest.

Hiro couldn't remember the last time his legs had hurt so badly. When Garmadon announced that they could finally rest, Hiro had immediately sat on the ground with no second thoughts, laying down. He glanced at the other two; Garmadon shook his head with a sigh. Lloyd was quick to join Hiro, though he remained sitting instead of completely laying down. Wordlessly, Lloyd offered Hiro a granola bar, which Hiro took gratefully. They ate in silence as Garmadon explored the small area they were in, probably wanting to have a fun story to tell his students if they ever made it out of the jungle.

Lloyd held out a canteen. Hiro shook his head. Lloyd shook it, insistent, and gave Hiro a look for good measure. Hiro sighed, taking it from him and sitting up. "Thanks," he muttered, taking a sip of the water. He blinked, feeling a rush of relief as his dry throat was taken care of.

"You really need to be better about that," Lloyd muttered, voice soft. Hiro looked at him. "If you don't drink water, you'll die."

Hiro shrugged. "I'm not human. I could probably last without it longer than you could."

"That's not—" Lloyd sighed. "I know that's probably true, but that doesn't mean you should see how long you could go without it. You need to take care of yourself."

I quite like when you take care of me, though, Hiro thought to himself, eyes lowering to the ground as his ears began to burn; his whole face felt hot, actually, like he was burning from the inside out. He took another sip of water, hoping the blush wasn't visible on his pale skin. He didn't know how he would explain to Lloyd that he liked the attention without feeling completely clingy and utterly annoying. He also didn't want to see Lloyd's reaction — it was bad enough that Lloyd had to put up with him already, and Hiro doubted that the blond wasn't annoyed. He didn't want to creep Lloyd out on top of tire him out.

Lloyd gently nudged him. "You okay?" he asked, because while Hiro may have been good at hiding his emotions, he was pretty easy to read once you've spent weeks around him, and only him.

Hiro nodded, not convincing either of them. "What about you?" he asked, flipping the question. "What's bothering you?"

"I've been complaining about it this entire journey," Lloyd deadpanned, making both of them smile. Lloyd sighed, pulling at a loose thread on his pants. "But . . . I have a weird feeling. You know when you're about to make a bad decision and everything in your body is telling you not to?" Hiro nodded. "That's how I feel right now. Just . . . super anxious. And it's probably just because of everything that's going on, but I'm worried. I feel like something bad is about to happen and I don't know if I can stop it," Lloyd confessed. "I'm not . . ." He trailed off.

The unspoken words sat between them. I'm not a hero. I'm just a kid.

Hiro reached out to put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. Lloyd's eyes flickered up, meeting his own; a million emotions swam in the depths, and Hiro didn't have the capacity to understand them all.

"We're going to get through this. You once told me that I'm good, and that good always defeats evil. You're good, too, Lloyd. And whatever happens, you have me. And your father. And the Ninja. None of us are going to let you lose hope." Lloyd smiled at him, making Hiro's stomach flip. He'd blame it on the hunger.

"For someone who hates when I'm cheesy, you sure are being—"

Hiro dropped his hand, laying back down with a sigh. "Aaaannnnnd moment ruined," he announced, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hands as Lloyd broke into laughter, laying down next to him. Hiro turned his head to look at him, a soft smile overtaking his expression. Lloyd caught his eye; Hiro turned away quickly, pushing the smile away and trying to ignore how his stomach was still doing cartwheels, or how his heart beat a little faster, heating his face from neck to ears.

And in his effort to clamp down on his emotions, he missed the way Lloyd let his own go free, eyes softening as an adoring grin made its way onto his face; the way Lloyd's hands twitched, for a moment reaching out for Hiro's before drawing back, afraid of rejection; the way he quickly turned away, training his eyes on the sky as he desperately fought back his feelings, reminding himself that it wasn't fair to Hiro; the way he kept himself in check, closing his eyes and wishing things could be different for them; and the way he breathed out, letting that wish go, knowing this would never be different when they were two teenagers chosen by Destiny.

He had to let go of this fantasy.

"Are you boys ready to go?" Garmadon asked, reappearing at the edge of Lloyd's vision. Lloyd stood up first and helped Hiro to his feet, neither of them looking at each other. Then the three set off again, traversing through the jungle like they had before, only this time with a new awkward air.

( BIRTHRIGHT — REBOOTED )

The cawing of birds was all that greeted them when they finally stumbled out of the woods. Hiro looked up, shielding his eyes from the sun.

They had emerged in a clearing, and Hiro was blessed with a sight he had never seen before.

The trees reached high into the air, looking as if they were balancing on their own roots; above, the sky was clearly visible, allowing Hiro to see the sun for the first time all day; a small pond greeted them, being fed water by a medium sized waterfall, the sound of which covered any other noise in the jungle. Surrounded by purple and pink plants, thick greenery, and vines, the oasis welcomed them with a breath of fresh air, the temperature decreasing to an acceptable state. Hiro took a deep breath, glad to be out of the humidity.

"The jewel of the Labyrinth," Garmadon noted. Hiro approached the water, standing at the edge. It was so clear that he couldn't even see his reflection; when he leaned down to touch it, his hand came away cold, the breeze turning the water to an almost ice-like feeling against his skin. He stood up, looking around the clearing with interest. He would have never seen this type of thing on the Island of Darkness; his father's realm had been small at first, at least when Hiro arrived, and he hadn't had time to explore the new attention to the island when he'd been released. He wondered if something so beautiful could even exist on the island at all, given its history.

"It's . . . beautiful," Lloyd announced, almost breathless with wonder. Hiro wandered back over to him.

"Yes. Beauty can be born even in darkness," Garmadon agreed, looking over the oasis with a smile. For the briefest moment, the three travelers had found peace, broken only by the sound of birds calling out to each other. Hiro closed his eyes, letting his other senses take in the environment — and quickly found himself on edge when his ears picked up on the sound of saws buzzing.

His eyes snapped open. "They're here!" he announced, just as the buzzing reached the other two, along with the sound of trees falling. The three turned in the direction of the noise, just in time to avoid a tree crashing into the pond at the base of the waterfall. Hiro grabbed Lloyd's hand, intent on racing off in the opposite direction.

For once, he and Garmadon agreed on something. "They've found you. You must leave! Go!" he ordered, turning around. Hiro tugged on Lloyd's arm, but Lloyd was stood frozen, staring at his father. Garmadon turned, expression made of fire. "I said leave!"

Finally getting the hint, Lloyd allowed Hiro to drag him away. They began climbing up one of the trees as quickly as they could. Hiro paused to look back, seeing Garmadon in combat with Wu, who was . . . not at who Hiro expected, and who looked nothing like how he had days before. His beard and eyebrows were black, a stark contrast; both of his eyes were now vibrant red, which seemed to be the standard for the villains of Ninjago, Hiro thought; one half of his face was crafted from metal, making him look robotic; his clothes were black and silver, and his bamboo staff was black and red. So the Overlord had given Wu a makeover — curious, considering there was no point in doing it.

"Hiro!" Lloyd called. Hiro looked up and continued climbing, pulling himself up the tree. He jumped off and grabbed onto the rocks at the top of the waterfall, where Lloyd was; Lloyd pulled him up the rest of the way. They spent a moment looking each other over, checking for any injuries. Confident that Lloyd was okay, Hiro took his hand again and got ready to run, only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw several Nindroids approaching them, identical clones of robotic evil.

"Lloyd, go," Hiro ordered, holding out his hands.

Instead, a ball of golden energy appeared in Hiro's peripheral vision as Garmadon yelled something out. Hiro shielded his eyes until the light was gone, then looked to see that Lloyd had created a motorcycle from his powers. Lloyd turned the cycle around and gave Hiro a look that was easy to decipher. A little weary about getting on but not seeing much of an option, Hiro hoped on the bike, wrapping his arms around Lloyd tightly as the Green Ninja began to drive. Trusting Lloyd with a dragon was easy — a motorcycle? Not so much.

But Lloyd was a surprisingly great driver. He kept the bike steady as he drove, making it easy for Hiro to turn around and take care of the Nindroids that were falling them. Both of the droids crashed into trees, being smashed to pieces, thanks to a little meddling on Hiro's end. Then several droids descended at once, and it got increasingly harder to keep track of the purple and black droids as they drove through a section of purple and black plants. Hiro was able to knock some out of the way — seriously, which one of them thought it would be a good idea to fly in a forest? — but the rest were destroyed when Lloyd drove faster, which would have made Hiro fall off the bike if he hadn't whipped around to hold onto Lloyd again.

"Sorry!" Lloyd yelled.

"I could have died!" Hiro complained, though he knew Lloyd would never let that happen.

"I said sorry!"

"Wow, that'll definitely bring me back to— STOP!" Hiro shouted, looking away from Lloyd to see that they were rapidly approaching a cliff edge. Lloyd slammed on the breaks, turning the bike so it skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliff. Hiro glanced over the side and quickly leaned back over, shaking his head. Too high.

The sound of slapping wings and robotic whirling drew his attention. Hiro turned around to see the mechanical dragon from before, flying higher as it approached them. His heart dropped into his stomach, mouth going dry. He could barely help defeat the dragon last time, when he was at full strength and had help. Now he had traveled all day and used his powers — he was tired. And on top of that, Garmadon was on the dragon, held captive by Wu, who glared at Hiro and Lloyd with disdain. Garmadon struggled against his brother, but it was clearly no use.

"Dad!" Lloyd shouted.

"Go, boys! And never look back!" Garmadon yelled back. Before, Hiro would have had no problem following this order. But as much as he disliked Garmadon, the man was Lloyd's father. That had to count for something, and that something was Hiro's reluctant alliance.

"Leave, and your father falls!" a raspy voice threatened, and it was then that Hiro realized his dad was here, possessing the dragon. Hiro's heart stuttered in his chest. He got off the bike as Lloyd made it disappear, both of them getting ready to fight. Lloyd summoned his golden power, hands held in front of him; Hiro followed the motions, though he was calling on his own abilities, letting his power wrap around the dragon as quickly as he could.

He wouldn't allow his father to win again.

But sometimes choices were out of your hand. Sometimes Destiny took over. And sometimes a mechanical snake wrapped around your body, constricting your movements and making your powers completely useless, unable to be used any longer. The latter is what happened to Hiro and Lloyd, both of their arms locked to their sides as their powers were taken away abruptly, causing Hiro to feel a flare of panic begin in his chest. The last time he'd been powerless was when he was locked in his father's mind — now here he was again, at his father's mercy with no powers and no help. It felt hard to breath, and he didn't think it was because he was being constricted at that moment.

Hiro felt a presence creeping up behind them. He caught sight of Lloyd's horrified expression and turned, eyes landing on a sight he'd never seen before.

Lloyd was staring at a large, horrifying snake, who had a long and curved neck. Hiro would think that, at full height, the snake would be twice as tall as either of them. The monster's skin was pure white, though clearly was made of scales, which was how Hiro knew he was looking at a snake; in contract, they had purple markings along their forehead, neck, and under their eyes, with a light blue gem on top of their head. Their eyes were a hazy read, which told Hiro that this snake was definitely a villain if the whole taking away Lloyd and Hiro's powers thing didn't give it away. Hiro could see two sharp teeth, and he wondered if they were poisonous. They also had a long tail. Hiro tired to remember if Lloyd had ever said anything about tails being important to Serpentine.

"Hello, old chum," the snake greeted in a voice raspier than the Overlord's.

"Pythor?" Lloyd questioned, immediately putting Hiro more on guard. So this was the snake that had broken Lloyd's trust. Good to know. "I thought you were—"

"Gone?" Pythor interrupted. Hiro winced, tempted to offer this guy a cough drop. " Actually, I suffered a worse fate. Digested in the bowels of the Devourer. It can wreak havoc on one's complexion. Fortunately for Wu, he escaped unscathed," Pythor explained. Hiro wrinkled his nose, the idea of being digested in anything almost too disgusting to think about.

Pythor began to march Hiro and Lloyd onto the dragon. Hiro struggled in his bonds, though quickly learned that that only caused them to get tighter. He huffed, trying to breath. This would be so much easier with his powers — he could send Pythor right over the edge, and then take the dragon down with the stupid snake. But instead he was trapped, useless to Lloyd and probably about to be trapped in a prison of darkness once again. The very thought had Hiro seizing up, muscles tensing as he found it difficult to breath.

"He is no longer of importance to me," the Overlord snapped, pulling Hiro out of his self-induced panic. "Throw him overboard."

Lloyd yelled as Garmadon was thrown into the Endless Sea; Hiro's heart broke as he considered the possibility that Garmadon wouldn't survive (as much as they disliked each other, they'd traveled together for days. That changed a few things), and even more at the sound of Lloyd stifling his cries. He wanted nothing more than to protect Lloyd from what was happening, but all he could do was watch as everything they'd worked for fell apart in front of their eyes.

He stopped struggling as Pythor and Wu took them further into the dragon.

He stopped hoping for a rescue mission, or for their survival.

He stopped feeling, shutting down as he was chained to a wall and Lloyd was locked into a glass cylinder.

The room was small, and lit only by glaring red lights that made it hard to see. Across the room from Hiro was a set of small monitors; beside that, what looked to be a coffin without a lid; above that, on a tiny rectangular monitor was the eyes of the Overlord, which Hiro could feel watching him; in the corner, hooked up to dozens of thick grey wires and a strange box with a ball on top was Lloyd's glass prison. A few feet away from the prison was where Hiro found himself chained, eyes shifting onto the metal floor below his feet as the realization of failure set in.

"Begin the transference," Pythor ordered. Hiro looked up to see Wu following the orders. Pythor slithered over to Hiro, sneering, and Hiro suddenly understood why Lloyd was afraid of snakes.

"Pythor, you don't have to do this!" Lloyd shouted, barely able to be heard. Pythor ignored him.

"It's so sad to see that Lloyd has found a new friend in you," Pythor sighed. "After I betrayed him, I had hoped that he would learn not to trust the villains." Hiro glared up at him, not breaking his gaze away. "I guess Lloyd has always had a love for trouble, though, hasn't he?"

"Fuck you," Hiro spat, pulling on his chains. Why wouldn't his powers work?

"Wherever did you learn that?" Pythor asked, genuinely looking shocked by Hiro's language.

"Where do you think, bitch boy?" Hiro taunted. Across the room, one of the monitors sparked, sending Wu flying backward. Pythor hissed, rounding on his minion and giving Hiro a break.

"Must I do everything myself, you old fool?" Pythor demanded. Wu stared at him wordlessly. Pythor huffed, slithering over to the monitors and beginning to type of them. A moment later, the strange box with the ball on top began to hum, faintly glowing white. Hiro glanced at it, seeing that it was connected to the coffin and Lloyd's glass prison, neither of which could mean anything good. "Take care of the brat," Pythor ordered Wu. ". . . Permanently," he added.

Hiro's eyes widened. He looked at Wu, who approached him slowly, and shook his head, unable to speak due to the fear that had sunk its claws into his chest.

He was going to die.

A bright flash lit up the room. Hiro tore his eyes away from Wu to see swirls of golden energy surrounding Lloyd, his golden power being drained as his knees buckled, unable to hold him up; electricity crackled from the glowing ball, sending the power directly into the coffin, where, Hiro could see, a shape began to take form, surrounded by shimmering gold. On one of the monitors was the percentage of power being taken; horrifyingly, the percent had risen rapidly, already over 20% done. Hiro hoped it was only a trick of his eyes.

The Overlord chuckled. "Soon you will be utterly powerless," he taunted Lloyd. "And I will escape this digital prison and become whole, and nothing will stop me from becoming the Golden Master!" the Overlord ranted, growing more gleeful with every passing second.

"Do you ever shut up?" Hiro complained, struggling against his chains. "Seriously. Most annoying motherfucker on the goddamn—"

"Kill him," the Overlord hissed.

The pain was unlike anything Hiro had experienced before. There was no adrenaline to keep him from feeling the pain of a knife entering his side, then being stopped by his ribs. He gasped, vision blurring for a moment from the sheer pain and the feeling of blood soaking through his shirt. He couldn't breath.

Was he meant to breath?

"NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lloyd shouted, voice muffled by the glass. Hiro's eyes shifted toward his friend and saw that Lloyd was still standing, somehow, with renewed energy. The Green Ninja was pounding his fists on the glass, desperate to break through, but Hiro knew it was no use. The Overlord would take every precaution, and that included unbreakable glass that could withstand even the strength of the Green Ninja. "HIRO!"

Hiro gave him a weak smile, darkness crawling at the corner of his vision. He breathed out shakily, moving his eyes back to Wu, who stared down at him with menacing eyes. This wasn't Wu, the sensei that had taken the time to listen to Hiro's tale. This was a corrupt Wu, who would regret every action once he was back to normal. That very fact made it easier for Hiro to forgive Wu.

He couldn't black out. He had to stay awake for Lloyd.

But it was so hard to stay awake . . .

Hiro forced his eyes open. The percent had risen even faster, reaching 75%. Wu and Pythor were nowhere to be seen. Lloyd was leaning against the glass, eyes closed, trembling as his power was taken. How long had Hiro been out for? Not long enough to become numb to the pain in his side. He still found it difficult to breath, but he couldn't give up.

"You are all alone, Golden Ninja," the Overlord said. "Nothing can save you now." He chuckled darkly, believing full well that he had won once more. Lloyd opened his eyes and glared at the Overlord, hatred clear in his gaze, something Hiro had never seen before.

"He's not—" Hiro forced out, standing — when had he fallen? "He's not alone," Hiro sneered, glaring at his father.

The Overlord remained unimpressed. "You've failed," he said simply, which was something that seemed to hurt more than the stab wound. "I cannot wait to see you fall."

Moments later, the eyes disappeared. Hiro felt a rush of relief — for some reason, the Overlord had left the dragon to tend to other matters. That still left the issue of Lloyd's power being extracted and put into the body that had appeared in the coffin, but without the watchful eyes of his father, Hiro could begin taking charge. He pulled on the chains, sparing worried glanced toward Lloyd. On the desk across the room was the key to the chains. If he could pull the bonds off the fall, he could use the key to get them completely off of him.

"Hiro," Lloyd said, still barely heard. "It's no use."

"Not you, too," Hiro muttered, facing the chains. He leaned back, trying to let gravity to its work, but the chains stayed rooted into the wall. "I'm not giving up on you, Lloyd! We're getting out of here!" he huffed, though his mind was beginning to focus solely on the pain in his side, making it difficult to breath, much less focus. "I— Lloyd?" he asked, hearing the Lloyd had gone quiet.

Lloyd looked up at him from the floor of the prison. His eyes were hopeless.

That was an expression Hiro never wanted to see again.

He pulled harder on the chains, vision going white for a moment at the excruciating pain that nearly knocked him over. He pulled again, then once more, continuing until he was breathless and his side was soaked in blood. He couldn't breath.

"Hiro!" Lloyd was shouting, finally cutting through the ringing in his ears. "Stop killing yourself!" he pleaded, voice cracking.

Hiro looked at him, then at the chains. Was it really meant to be no use?

He collapsed against the wall, staring at Lloyd with a look of defeat. "I'm sorry," he said, not even sure if Lloyd could hear him. Judging by Lloyd's expression, it didn't matter — Lloyd could tell what he was saying. "I'm so sorry."

"Hiro," Lloyd said, looking stricken. "If we don't make it out of here . . . I need you to know that—"

He was cut off by the ground rocking beneath them. The dragon lurched to one side, nearly ripping Hiro's arms out of their sockets as he flew in that direction, only stopped by the chains. The monitors sparked; the strange box with the ball followed before exploding outward; the coffin and the body inside both did the same, the force of everything hitting the glass finally cracking it; Lloyd's power was freed, allowing him to escape, but he was clearly too tired to move. The dragon veered to the side again, throwing the key toward Hiro. It landed at his feet, unable to be picked up. A bright flash of light nearly blinded Hiro as the dragon leaned forward, toppling the glass prison and completely shattering it.

Fires started. Right next to Hiro was a blaze so hot that he felt his eyes dry out. It was even harder to breath, and with the smoke entering his lungs, blackness once again crept into his vision, urging him to go to sleep.

He blinked. Lloyd appeared in front of him, gently cupping Hiro's face in his hands. Lloyd was crying, Hiro realized, though the thought quickly slipped away.

"Hiro," Lloyd groaned weakly, and though Hiro desperately tried to stay awake, his eyes closed once, twice, and then he was gone, lost to the darkness.

There was nothing he could do. They'd lost. He'd failed.

He'd failed Lloyd.