Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Arin pov

We sneak through the spectral lands with our mechs without saying a word. 

I'm quitting the ninja. 

I hear myself saying that over and over again in my head. I've been thinking about quitting, yes, but saying it to Lloyd out loud maybe isn't the right decision. 

He has been quiet ever since, we haven't said a word. We see in front of us the massive body of Thunderfang, he is behind the well of the lost. I am still looking for that departed ninja who helped me when I first arrived here, but he is nowhere to be found. 

The soul suckers are also nowhere to be found, they haven't tried to suck our soul out and I hope they don't because I don't want to catch Lloyd's soulless body again. 

Boom! 

My mech collides with a fence without me realizing it stands there. I look at Lloyd, who rolls his eyes. Maybe I didn't make too much noise...? No, I definitely made too much noise because we hear the cries of the spectraldragonians.

Lloyd steps with his mech in front of me and hits the spectral dragonians so they fall onto the ground. "Arin! We need to go!" Lloyd screams and I nod. We run forward as fast as we can through the spectral lands, trying to reach the well of the lost so I can place the unbidden storm there. 

Lloyd is right next to me... or not? 

A Dragonian has pulled out one of the tubes and the mech just quits, he can't move. He also can't get out of the mech because there are a lot of Dragonians on his cockpit. 

I stop and run back to Lloyd. I hit all the dragonians off his exit and he immediately crawls out of the mech. He jumps on mine and we continue. One spectral dragonian is about to hit Lloyd and steal his soul but Lloyd is alert and hits the dragonian with his sword and knocks him back. 

We arrive at the bridge of the well of the lost, Thunderfang is busy laughing about him winning, he doesn't know we are here. 

"Arin, you need to get the unbidden storm down the well of the lost as fast as possible. Go!" Lloyd screams while he defends him with his sword against the spectral dragonians. I nod and we begin running towards the well of the lost, towards Thunderfang. 

We are goingto make it! 

I think so, but then I look right in the eyes of Nokt. Oh no, he has seen us. 

"Lloyd, Lloyd!" I scream and he sees it too. "Just stay quiet, don't mo..." But we are too late, Thunderfang has seen us. 

"I see the conduit has returned, together with the person who defeated me" He says, looking at us with his angry, scary big eyes. I swallow, we are in trouble but Lloyd isn't scared or it doesn't seem like he is scared. 

"Thunderfang, you won't devour more souls, we won't let you!" He screams and Thunderfang looks amused and says:" You sure, conduit? I would love to taste your soul again." 

But Lloyd isn't scared. He bends over to me and whispers:" Arin, no matter what happens, you need to get the unbidden storm down there okay?" I nod, not realizing what he means. 

I want to go but then the realization comes and I say, turning back to Lloyd. "But what about you? He wants to devour your soul, he will focus on you!" He looks me in the eyes with his green emerald eyes and says:" That's exactly the reason why you need to go down there, he will focus on me and not on you." 

I look at him a little scared and ask trembling:" But what if he...what if he...?" He still looks me in the eyes and says:" Don't worry about me, just go." Tears begin to roll over my face and I say:" I just don't want to lose you again, I don't want to catch your soulless body again." 

He climbs onto my mech and smiles. "Arin, I know, but we need to save everyone, even if it means sacrificing your own life for it. Maybe you are right, you should quit the ninja, I don't want you to make that decision." 

I am crying but I nod and Lloyd scream:" Go!" I run over the bridge towards the well of the lost, crying because I am leaving Lloyd against Thunderfang alone. 

Crying because I am scared to lose him. 

Again.

Lloyd pov

Arin runs onto the brigde, leaving the mech behind, straight to the well of the lost, straight towards saving the world.

I am left alone, I need to face Thunderfang, again. I know I am going to lose, I know I don't stand a chance but I need to try. Maybe I will survive just enough time for Arin to reach the well of the lost and summom the arc dragon of focus, if I can give him enough time....

'I see, the conduit thinks he can handle me? No one can defeat me!' Thunderfang his voice brings me back and I turn his head towards him, jumping into the mech. 'I know but I can try!' I run forward with the mech, seeing Arin disapear from my sight, he is almost there!

'Spectral dragonians!' Thunderfang screams and some spectral dragonians fly towards me with immense speed, good that this mech is soulless. I hit them with the arm of the mech and they fall off, I run futher with them defeated.

I jump up and want to hit Thunderfang into his eye but a blast from the side hits the mech and I fall down. I look up and let the mech stand up again, it is the forbidden five but then soulless, under Thunderfang his control.

Nokt flies towards me, they aren't on full strength because if they were, I didn't stand a chance, now I do.

I hit Nokt and then Zarkt tries to hit me with his power but I dodge and blast him with my own power. Rox appears from the side, I see it just in time and draw my sword to block her hit that could have been fatal to me. I win and knock her to the side.

Suddenly a lot of bugs appear and I can't see! I hear that the mech is going down, the mech is going to explode!

While the bugs are still all around me, I jump out of the mech just in time while the mech explodes behind me. The bugs disappear and I look up with a lot of pain in my arm, I landed rough from the explosion, I think I might have broken it.

'Your mech is gone conduit, you have nothing to help you anymore' Says Thunderfang cruel and mean, in front of him standing the forbidden five. I look to the side and see Arin looking at me, just going down the well.

I nod at him in pain but confident. He nods back in fear and he disappears from my sight, going down the well and ending this. I turn my head back towards Thunderfang and the forbidden five and stand ready in a fighting pose, my arm hurts but I don't care.

'Come and get me then' I say brave and confident while I am not all of that, I just try to sound like it.

Never show your weakness to your enemy, he will take advantage of it.

I hear Master Wu say in my head, I will make you proud master.

Thunderfang laughs and screams:' Get him!' The forbidden five flies towards me, I blast with my power Zarkt and then Rox appears with her sword again. I spin into spintjitzu, despite my arm and knock her back, grab my sword and focus on the next one.

Zarkt, recovered from my attack, blasts his power at me but I jump to the side, knowing that Drix is behind me. It is hits Drix and he stumbles back, rips onto a stone and falls right into the ravine.

That was unlucky, I think laughing but then I get hit from the side.

I fall onto the ground and see that Nokt is standing over me, doing shatterspin. I quickly spin into spintjitzu and then rising dragon and knock Nokt away from me.

The next one arrives, Rox. She wants to hit me with her sword right after I stopped doing rising dragon. I block it with my own sword but then I get hit from the back and I fall over.

I want to stand up but Rox points her sword at my neck, I am defeated.

Kur stands behind me, just stopping with shatterspin. Nokt stands up and walks towards us together with Drix, who climbed out of the ravine.

'Not so mighty hey, the legendary green ninja defeated by the forbidden five, how pathetic' Thunderfang says and he gets closer.

I know this is the end.

I am going to lose my soul again.

I will need to endure all that again.

I just hope I gave Arin enough time to summon the arc dragon of focus.

I feel something pulling at me, Thunderfang has begun the draining. I fly through the air, feeling my soul slowly leaving my body.

It hurts, feeling you whole being sucked out of your body. I try to move my head to see if Arin succeeded with summoning the arc dragon of focus but I already begin to lose control of my body.

I hear Thunderfang laughing before I lose consciousness and everything fades to black.

I just hope that Arin succeeded........

Chapter Text

Arin pov

Lloyd jumps out of his mech and it explodes right after he jumped out. He lands rough, hurting his arm in the process. 

I look at him in fear but then he nods with braveness and confidence, the things I don't have. I need to do this, 

for Lloyd, 

for my parents, 

for the world, 

for everyone! 

I nod back and jump down into the well of the lost, trying not to touch the energy that comes out of the well. I fall down and see that it is really a well, there is some yellow water down there where the energy comes from! 

I use my grappler hook to not fall into the well and look from the side. It is glowing like the energy that comes out of the well, it is a whole room down here! 

I look at the stones on the side and see that there are symbols on it, I know those symbols, those symbols are on the rooftops in the city of tempels! Those are the symbolf of the source dragons! 

I need to place the unbidden storm! But where? It needs to be in the middle but how? 

I have an idea. I use my grappler hook to make a save place for me to hang above the well. The unbidden storm in my hands begins to glow when I hang above the well. 

I breath in deeply and whisper:' Now or never' I place the unbidden storm above the well and it begins to fly and glow really bright. 

I cover my eyes and then there explodes a light that knocks me out. 

................

.........

...................................

..........

...

..

.

I open eyes slowly, not knowing what happened but then I see the one I needed to summon. The arc dragon of focus stands right in front of me, mighty and big. 

'Young one, for what did you summon me?' The arc dragon of focus says with a serious voice and I am a little shocked about the arc dragon of focus standing right in front of me right know. I don't know what to say but then I think, what would Lloyd......

Lloyd! 

I stand up and scream:' You need to go up there! Thunderfang is back and my friend is there all alo.....' I stare in shock at the ceiling, it is completely gone. We look straight at the sky, the arc dragon of focus nods without me seeing it and hops me onto its back. 

'What..?' I bring out and then the dragon flies up with a beautiful light. I sit on its back! I am on the arc dragon of focus its back..... 

When we fly up, I look at Thunderfang, in front of him the forbidden five standing in the circle, why are they standing like that? 

But then I look at Thunderfang his mouth, it is filled with green light, just like last time.... 

I look around and try to find Lloyd but I don't see him anywhere near, I only see his sword laying on the ground. 

Doesn't that mean.....? 

I jump off the arc dragon of focus its back and run towards the forbidden five. I spin into spintjitzu, grab the sword and trow it at the closest forbidden five member. The sword performs spinjitzu and knocks down Rox who is the closest. 

Then I see it. 

They aren't just standing in a circle, they are guarding a body, a body I know very well. 

A body with green clothes, with eyes closed but green behind it eyelids. 

The body of a person who trained me with kindness but I betrayed.

The body of the legendary green ninja. 

The soulless body of Lloyd. 

'No!' I scream and kneel down his body, tears already streaming down my face. His eyes are closed like the last time, his heart not beating like the last time, he isn't breathing like the last time. 

He is soulless like the last time, he said he would be okay but he isn't. 

Behind me is the battle of the world, will the darkness of the light win? But I don't care who wins, I just wanted him to be okay. 

I want him to smile at me or help me up after I failed the training course again. 

I want him to stand up and enjoy with me the win if we win this. I just want him to be okay because....

Because...... 

....

....

............

Because I love him!

I never told him but I love him, he more than a friend. He is my big brother or father figure when I didn't had one. 

He cared for me, he helped me and then only thing I gave him was betraying him and even hurting him! 

I am a terrible friend or son or little brother. 

Why am I so bad in everything? 

Why can't I leave my family be happy for a while? 

Why must they get hurt? 

Why don't they just hurt me? I can have it but why my family? 

I just want everything to be fine, to be okay. I want people to enjoy, smile because of their life. I want them to be happy because that makes me happy. 

'You're mine small ninja' I hear someone say while I feel pain, massive pain exploding in my head. I feel myself flying up, leaving Lloyd his side. 

My body turns around and I see that it is Thunderfang, he is going to steal my soul! I want to resist but I can't move my body anymore. 

Is this what Lloyd felt when his soul got stolen? 

I feel my whole being being sucked out of my body, it feels like I am losing myself. I close my eyes without knowing it, I lost control of my body. 

I feel a tear running down my face when everything fades to black, my soul leaves my body. I think before I can't feel or think anything anymore: 

Lloyd, I failed you. 

I'm sorry.....