𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔸𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕛𝕚𝕥𝕫𝕦 ~ L. Garmadon

23: Taken

Darkness. 

Wherever Lloyd was, light didn't seem to exist. It was an empty valley, void of all warmth and happiness. Every once in a while, he'd gain the strength to try to climb the endlessly-tall walls around him, but he always failed. There'd be a wave of grayish-green energy that coursed through the rock--if the walls were even made of rock--and hit him with unrivaled power, causing him to fall back down on the ground. 

That energy blast was the only time Lloyd could see anything, since his eyes didn't seem to adjust to this type of darkness, but gaining sight only led to dismay. As the colour split the shadows in half, it merely revealed a long, long passageway in front of Lloyd. It seemed more unending than the walls surrounding him.

Sometimes, voices would echo throughout the area, bouncing off walls until the sounds were too distorted for Lloyd to understand. However, there was one voice he seemed to recognize, though he couldn't quite place a name to it, since he could only hear the faintest whisper.

"A n y...s c a r...t h o u s a n d...o v e r," the voice murmured, sounding a bit like T.V. static.

It's a female voice, Lloyd realized. And she sounds upset. Is she talking to Morro? 

Lloyd wasn't quite sure who Morro was, other than being the ghost who possessed him. Occasionally, a string of words would race down the chamber he was stuck in. These words were different from the other voices because they seemed more...internal. The best theory Lloyd had for them was that they were some of Morro's thoughts, since he'd mentioned how people he possessed would be able to read his mind or something.

"Y o u   w i l l   n e v e r   b e   t h e   G r e e n   N i n j a,"  the girl said. "Y o u ' r e   j u s t   a   w a n n a b e.  L l o y d ' s   t h e   r e a l   t h i n g."

At those words, an epiphany hit Lloyd like a truck. Only one girl says my name with that tone. It's Lyra! But what's she doing near Morro? Shit, did he capture her?

Knowing he needed to do something about his discovery, Lloyd leapt back onto the rock wall and began climbing again. He scaled swiftly, reaching heights much farther than he'd previously achieved, since his adrenaline was pumping so much. The gray-green waves did nothing to deter him, even though they increased in power and frequency. His thoughts were all centred around his friend, and the thought of her being even just in the presence of Morro kept him going, even when his hands began to bleed from the rocks and his muscles started to ache from the strain

Just as he'd begun to see the top of the mountain-like wall he was climbing, Morro's voice resounded through the area.

"Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be." His voice was like nails on a chalkboard, cutting into the very soul of the one he controlled. "Just stop fighting, and she won't be harmed."

This made Lloyd freeze. What was he supposed to do? All he longed for was to be out of this prison; to be next to his friends again. To be next to Lyra again. He just wanted to hug her, to feel the warmth of her body around his. But if he tried to escape, would the very one he wanted to be with get hurt because of his actions?

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Lloyd challenged.

"Here. I'll allow you to see from my eyes," Morro said. 

Within a second, the empty 'sky' above Lloyd shimmered with the same gray-green as before. The colour streaked across the dark area, providing just enough light for Lloyd to see his hands in front of him. As blurry shapes began to form, more colours bled through the rip in the sky. While those shapes focused and became more clear, the rip split itself and transformed into the exact shape of two eyes. Through those eyes, he could see the figure of a tall, redheaded girl.