Chapter Text
Kai wakes up aching.
Every twitch of his limbs ache.
They feel backwards too, like every shift they bend at an awkward angle. Not painful, but unused to the movement.
Everything is louder.
Everything is hurting.
His body feels...
Not his own
Yet familiar
He groans as he moves.
He opens his eyes to
"What-! No! I-!" His hands are covered in blue scales. His gi was in ruins, his pant legs ripped and torn up to mid thigh, his sleeves were tattered and ruined. His gi was completely torn in the back! It revealed-
A, his, tail large and pure muscle, moves in irritation.
And his legs!
They bend backwards, like an animal. They hurt more then the rest of his body and when he moves to try and support his weight, even if its just to crouch, the movement feels too unnatural and unsteady to properly move.
He growled and watches it.
He knew this would happen, Egalt had warned him of this. He didn’t expect it to be this much of a change though!
He needed to get up!
His tail thumps into the floor as he writhes, his wings get in the way and his gi gets caught on the scales of his hands.
CALM DOWN
ITS OKAY
He could be attacked at any second and--
Wait...
Who found him after he collapsed..?
Where are they?
He snarled as he heard rattling in the distance.
He staggers backwards, slipping on his wings as he goes.
"Ah, you up. It took me a while to find you after we were separated. I'm... sorry about that." The skeleton with a familiar voice says.
They are safe, helped us
CALM DOWN BOZO
"You're the one who controlled the portal!" Kai squeaks in surprised before covering his mouth.
"I am, I'm Bonzle. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get you out." She says shamefully. "Especially considering your encounter with one of the Forbidden Five."
Kai's eyes soften a bit. "I'm Kai and its okay, I told you to close it when you get a chance, no matter what. I'm grateful you did, if anymore of the ForbiddenFive got out, my family... they'd be in big trouble and I couldn'tlet that happen. So thank you."
Bonzle looks up in surprised. "I...thank you... uhm..." She awkwardly hands him a bowl of... soup? Or something similar. "Eat this, you need energy. I'm assuming since you weren't... like this before that this form costed a lot of energy."
"I- thank you..." Kai says awkwardly, silently eating the liquid given to him. The liquid taste... fine... not exactly delicious but not disgusting either. He finishes it quickly. His stomach which he hadn't even noticed was aching too, settled.
Small miracles. Hopefully this place has food so he doesn't starve half to death like an idiot. He doesn't exactly wanna upset Zane with how much he ignored the schedule he tried to put Kai on.
Zane...he's
outside of here...
He isn't sure what to do right now.
How to get out of here unharmed and with Bonzle here now too, he needs to make sure she's safe too.
He can't stand, he definitely can't fight and Bonzle seems like she wants to disappear into the labyrinth and hide.
"What... is happening here?" He ask Bonzle. "You were part of the spell, right? Can you...?"
"I was used a while ago to trap the Forbidden Five here, but it can be used the other way around. The Nether Space was supposed to be their purgatory. It was supposed to be forever changing, moving and creating new paths and spaces to drive them crazy enough that they couldn't plan an escape. It was supposed to show them their worse fears.
It was supposed to punish them, making them go crazy. However, it seems like they found a way to communicate outside the prison and they were able to stay relatively sane. I don't know how they could have thought, and it seems like they found ways to use the labyrinth to their advantage." She explains.
So Rox might not have caused all the illusions he saw? The labyrinth itself was supposed to drive the person in it insane?!
"So, what do we do?" Kai asked. "I hate this place, he grumbles."
"We run, we stay quiet, we can't afford to have the rest of the Forbidden Five find us. They won't have mercy on us. We have to stay on the move. Can you stand?"
"... I can try, I haven't stood on these legs before..." He mumbles.
"You... haven't? The way you were moving fighting Drix I'd have thought you were used to this form." She mumbles.
"...that was all instincts..." he hisses. "I didn't really stay conscious during it."
let us help, stand for you
This is how
You move like a newborn
He stumbles to his feet, now clawed, and he attempts to shakily walk.
He stays standing, but his movements are akward and weak, like a newborn deer.
His tail slithers uncertain behind him, agitated and nervous. His wings twitch behind him as a way to help balance him as he stumbles his way forward. "I can walk! So let's go!"
Bonzle watches stunned but swiftly follows behind him.
The walk is... akward to say the least. Bonzle takes staying quiet seriously. The only noise is the skittering of bugs, dripping of water and hushed whispers of illusion form the past they try their best to ignore.
"Kai~" Jay says sings behind him. "Why haven't you've gone looking for me since the merge? Hm?"
ILLUSION
ILLUSION
ILLUSION
He does his best to ignore Jay and continue moving.
"I bet you were happy I was gone." Fake Jay snickers. "You couldn't bare to deal with me, especially after Nya merged with the sea. She went to me! Just me and didn't even bother to look at you! I bet you never want to deal with your sister choosing me over you!
I was so annoying to you, making Nya's death all about me, everyone was so worried about me but not about you. You know Kai you're so selfish-"
"SHUT IT!" He lunges with a growl. He did his damn best to support Jay, but Jay just couldn't move on. His was practically in psychosis and it constant brought Nya to the front of his mind. He was not selfish!
RUN, WE HAVE TO RUN
THEY HEARD US
Wait... shit
"We need to move!" Bonzle says, grabbing him by his ruined gi. "This way!" She says leading him down a new path as footsteps hurry in thier direction.
Kai, wobbly as he tires to move quicker, stumbles i to Bonzle nearly making her fall into a pit.
Look out! Coming down this path!
Kai grabs Bonzle and turns around.
"What-?"
"They're coming down that way! We need a new path!" For once the labyrinth isn't shifting.
DOWN
GO DOWN
IT HAS A BOTTOM
Kai holds his breath. The footsteps are closer. He goes to the pit where Bonzle almost fell and drags her in as he falls.
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!" She shouts.
Kai uses his wings to slow their decent. "They can't follow us down here without breaking a leg! My instincts say its safe!"
"Can we trust your instincts?!"
"Probably!"
Kai's claws hit the ground softly and slowly he lets go of Bonzle. His antennas twitch, sensing nothing in any direction. He lets out a sigh.
The hole where they came from is gone. Smooth stone is all that's left.
He moves forward and trips on his tail, forgetting it was there. "Dammit." He hisses. "I forget about you." He's been too focused on his legs.
The tail just moves in agitation, annoyed at itself. Kai tries to move it, but the signals in his body aren't fully connected to the new changes as it just continues to move back and forth in annoyance.
Bonzle comes up behind him, tapping to get his attention. "We should rest here tonight. I'll keep forst watch, I don't need to sleep as much as humans do. I'll wake you if somethings coming."
His instincts will probably wake him first, but he appreciates the sentiment.
"Thanks Bonzle."
He lays down, wrapping his wings around him.
"Why are you accepting it so easily?"
Kai looks at the sound.
It's him, but... normal. No wings, no scales just normal.
"Why are you accepting it so easily? After what it thinks of Nya? What it made you do to that monster? Ripping its throat out? You know, you are only suppressing that side."
No! He isn't, it'll hepled him! He realizes that now amd sure he's ignoring it right now but-
"Why are you accepting the fact that your becoming a monster so readily? This was how it began! You accept it, you turn into a mindless beasts! Like with Drix! It's only the beginning!" 'Kai says.'
Kai closes his eyes and trun towards the wall. Ignore it.
"You are never going home, because I have died years ago, the second you got your wings. Your humanity died too. The you they loved died years ago, and your the imposter in its place.
It's a mercy you are alive, stuck here. A place where you can't hurt them. Where that part of you that you suppressed will come out and won't be able to differentiate who's friend or foe! Like when you attack your sister. That fear is still there!
You will-" Kai covers his ears. It isn’t real. Just sleep, ignore it.
"You aren't going home. You are stuck here." 'Kai' says softly. "They've moved on already. Maybe they're sad, but this isn’t the first time this happened is it? Who would mourn you?
You guys aren't close anymore you know? Nya, Lloyd and Wyldfyre were all you've got. Yet, Lloyd has the new trainees, Nya has always been adaptable, and Wyldfyre is the wild card. She probably adoated fast enough, dragons are her only family. Zane and Cole are so distant now, and Jay is nowhere in sight. The Monastery isn't home anymore.
Was it ever home to begin with if one death always split you all up?"
Kai uses his wings to.cover his entire body in a safe, warm cocoon.
Sleep, he needs to sleep, conserve energy.
He will go home, he will, he will.
It doesn't matter if it doesn't feel like it used to. He will go home.
He will always be the protector.
He will go home