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He breaks the surface, pulling himself further up the wet rock with aching muscles as he splutters, gasping for air. Gritty sand sticks to his cheek as he collapses.
Through a blurry eye, he watches Kai reach over to ruffle his hair. He's numb everywhere.
"Stop it," his brother murmurs. "You'll get hurt."
"—!" He can only wheeze, words refusing to form. Fine. No one can hear him anyway.
"They're coming. They are, so just—just hang tight."
"Can't."
"Lloyd—"
"Can't!" He grits.
The ocean really is amazing here, with waters so clear you can see the deep, sandy floor from the surface.
He tastes saltwater on his lips as he pushes himself over so he's facing up.
Fuck. This was his fault. He should've picked another direction. They're stuck. His fucking fault.
"You did your best, it's not your fault."
It is, fuck you. He closes his eyes, breathing as deeply as he can. This is his last chance, he knows. That's all he needs.
"Oh first master, you're so stubborn," Kai groans.
Lloyd snorts. Yeah, wonder where he picked that up, huh?
"Ugh, just—you have to let me go. Don't let it take you down too."
"No—" he clears his throat, "No promises."
"Yeah, I don't know what I expected."
He wobbles to his knees, then his feet, trying to shape himself the way Nya had taught him to dive, to slip right through the water.
Bright sunlight glitters over the distant floor, and Kai's hair drifts gently in the sedate current as a halo around his slack face. One arm hangs loosely toward the sky, free from the weeds gently clutching the rest of him.
He breaks the surface.