Chapter Text
As far as Lloyd was concerned, the battle against the Preeminent and Morro wasn’t going too badly.
Sure, he could barely stand on his feet, icy cold in his core where his powers should be and fever wracking his body. Sure, he had to swallow down his panic every time his eyes landed on a ghost. Sure, they had no way to stop the unending influx of ghosts from the massive body of the Preeminent.
But they were evacuating citizens to safety and he was so close to destroying the Realm Crystal.
He’d even seen his dad again in the Cursed Realm.
…Which might haunt him forever.
He hadn’t been able to save his father.
But this was not the time.
Not with Morro blasting wind at him, trying to stop him from fighting, and stop Lloyd from trying to get the Realm Crystal clutched in the ghost’s hand. He could avoid some of the attacks, but not all of them. And Morro had the Sword of Sanctuary, too, while Lloyd was unarmed.
Not exactly a fair fight.
The Sword nicked Lloyd’s arm and he hissed, jerking backwards. He was covered in cuts like that, slicing through his green hoodie and sweatpants. His damp hair clung to his face, tired eyes dull with red peeking through the green. His powers had exhausted themselves trying to heal him after the…possession. And now he was demanding them to come to his aid and fight the ghost.
The energy or whatever it was seemed to be the only thing that could hurt Morro aside from fire or water.
It made sense why Kai’s and Nya’s powers could hurt him. Kai’s, because apparently Morro had died in a fiery explosion. Lloyd had discovered that much when the ghost was in his head. For some reason, it seemed reasonable that Morro could feel pain from the thing that killed.
Nya’s powers made sense too. Water shifted and was ever-changing, but ghosts were stuck in the past, trying to be something they weren’t. They refused to change. And the difference was enough to be their weakness.
Lloyd was stumped as to why his powers could hurt the ghosts.
Was energy the opposite of a ghost? No, that didn’t make sense. They were dead, they didn’t have energy.
Unless it was the opposite of death.
Life.
A sharp sting on his cheek brought his attention back to the present. Oh, yeah. Morro was actively trying to kill him.
He needed to stop getting distracted in fights.
The docks trembled as the stilts broke under the Ninja’s weapons. Lloyd let himself feel slightly relieved at this. They could drop the Preeminent into the ocean and drown her.
He hadn’t told them that it would send him down too, and he didn’t have the energy to swim.
Morro paused, a small frown on his face, but Lloyd was quick to jump in with an attack. Morro growled and backed away before he remembered his sword and brought it up for an attack. Lloyd stumbled back. He could feel his body shaking with strain and utter fatigue.
“You think you’re so clever?!” Morro screeched. He held up the Realm Crystal and jumped through the portal before Lloyd could stop him. The Ninja paused, listening for an attack, but Morro dropped on top of him and forced him to the ground, squirming with a pained yelp. “No one is better than me!”
He jumped off and screamed out orders to his ghost followers, demanding them to stop the Ninja from destroying the rest of the stilts and protect the Preeminent.
No! Lloyd tried to wriggle out from under the ghost, but he was too tired and in too much pain. All the effort he and his team had gone through to stop the Cursed Realm…it would all be for nothing if they couldn’t get her into the water.
Morro suddenly yanked him onto his back, the Sword of Sanctuary pointed at his throat. Lloyd thrashed and he uselessly clawed the ghost’s ankle as it landed on his chest, lips curled into a snarl.
He smirked. “Not so powerful without your precious powers, are you?” He spat.
“I don’t need them!” Lloyd protested, throwing himself to the side and kicking Morro’s leg out from under him. He rolled and shot to his feet, the sudden change making him dizzy. He grit his teeth and blinked hard, swaying.
Morro held up the Realm Crystal and a portal opened. The ghost leaped into it—but Lloyd wasn’t letting him get away that easily again.
He chased after, pushing through the pain. He managed to snag Morro’s wrist before cold air washed over him.
Lloyd shivered involuntarily. Morro hadn’t given him enough food for his body to regulate temperature as it should. The portal felt like stepping outside in the winter without a coat.
He would know. He’d spent weeks like that.
Then it was over, replaced with air only slightly warmer and reeking of death.
Morro tried to strike him with the Sword of Sanctuary but Lloyd somehow kept a relentless grip around the arm that held the weapon. They free-fell through a dark cave illuminated faintly by lava, the wind whipping Lloyd’s air into his eyes and making it near-impossible to fight.
He landed on a sharply slanted wedge of rock and tumbled, losing his grip on Morro. Sharp stones cut into his exposed skin and his already-aching body screamed at him in protest. When he stopped, it was with an ungraceful oof as he slammed into the ground.
For a moment, he lay there unmoving, gasping for breath and heart racing. His eyes danced with black spots. Skull-like white shapes moved above him.
…Those weren’t skulls. They were spiders.
Lloyd struggled to his feet only to feel burning pain in his right leg. He shrieked, no doubt attracting the attention of every monster in the cave, and pressed his hand to the wound as Morro pulled back. The tip of the Sword was stained red.
The spiders descended, hissing greedily as they smelled blood. Lloyd was on the menu and they were hungry.
Morro laughed as he vaulted away. “You can’t fight forever, Lloyd!” He taunted. “But I could just take the Realm Crystal and leave you here forever!”
“No!” Lloyd cried, limping closer. Morro watched with cruel amusement and lifted the Crystal to the sky, opening another portal. He jumped into it without waiting for Lloyd.
Behind him, the spiders snapped impatiently, desperate for warm Ninja for lunch.
Lloyd grimaced and scrambled up to the portal just as it began shrinking. He managed to get through, and after a shock of cold, the air turned humid.
He rolled for a while again, more scraps appearing on his skin. When he stopped, he managed to get to his feet.
Morro was running down a mountain ahead of him, the Realm Crystal lying on the ground further down.
Lloyd’s leg felt wet and sticky, but he refused to look down. Instead, he chased after Morro.
The ghost opened another portal, and Lloyd jumped in from above. His leg was numb and tingling.
The sudden brightness of the Cloud Kingdom made him squeeze his eyes shut, warmth washing over him as he fell again. Below him, Morro lounged back and watched Lloyd with amusement.
“Aw, what’s the matter?” He mocked. “Do you need a time-out?”
Lloyd hissed under his breath and bent forward, making himself like an arrow. “Not until I don’t have to see you again!” He bit back, though even to him he sounded weak and tired.
Morro yawned with boredom and bent so he was facing downwards. Another portal swirled into existence, and they both went through.
Instead of falling into clouds, a vast cityscape appeared next to them, a beach underneath, bathed in the golden light of a sunset. Lloyd managed to summon enough energy to surround himself in a weak, crackling shield as he slammed into the ground, pain shooting up through his legs, especially the injured one. He fell to his knees, utterly exhausted.
Morro hovered above him, a mischievous grin on his face. “Giving up?” He taunted.
Lloyd tried to rise but his legs buckled. “N-never!” He spat, placing his feet underneath him and attempting once more to stand. He rose on shaky legs. “I’ll never stop fighting you!”
Morro suddenly frowned, bored, and a light blast of wind had Lloyd crashing onto his back. The ghost appeared over his face, unimpressed. “Yeah, you are. Have fun never seeing your friends again!” He opened a portal and flew into it.
Lloyd couldn’t follow. His body refused to move.
He felt tears pricking his eyes as he watched his only way home close.
His head fell back and he squeezed his eyes shut, heart pounding and breathing raspy. His body ached and stung. His leg was badly wounded, he knew that, but he couldn’t do anything. Sand clung to his skin.
A moment later, he heard voices.
He forced his eyes open, though his vision was fading rapidly as his adrenaline wore off. Fatigue wanted to pull him to the Underworld.
Everything blurred together. The pink clouds, the orange-tinted sky, the green and black, red, and gray colors swimming above his face.
“Hey, kid!” A voice echoed weirdly. Lloyd felt sick. Then something shook his body. He whimpered in protest and it stopped. “Are you okay?”
“Obviously he’s not okay!” A feminine voice snapped back. “Look at him!”
A third voice, slightly younger than the first, spoke worriedly. “Kid, stay awake.” A black glove waved in front of his eyes, but Lloyd barely saw.
His eyes forced themselves shut and numbness swept over his mind.