Chapter 19: Realm Of Madness

                                    

                                          
-Realm Of Madness-

Darkness clouded Lloyd's vision. It felt oddly claustrophobic. Not a welcome feelings at all. Though thankfully it soon subdued and was replaced with a numb pain in his head. Not an improvement. After the darkness cleared he started to get his bearings and saw...darkness. Great.
Soon he heard voices before making out a figure standing over him, though it more looked like a shadow. A moment later another figure appeared, also looking like a shadow. Though hope was not lost as he could make out the shape of two stick above their head. He could not mistake that person as none other then Harumi. The other figure's identify was still unclear though.
Finally, he got his bearing and realised the other figure was Lee, a small smirk gracing his lips.
"Looks like you had a rough landing Blondie" 
Lloyd responded to his remark with a dark glare before turning towards the white haired girl opposite him. Harumi held her hand out which he gratefully took before she helped him up, the sharp pain in his head returning as he did so.
"What happened?" He asked groggily, voice quiet
"Well the portal kindly opened up in the sky, leaving us to fall to the ground like rain drops" Harumi explained, a small smile of relief blessing her lips once she realised Lloyd wasn't too badly injured
"Unfortunately you landed on your head"
The pair shared a brief embrace while Lee made gagging noises in the background. Choosing to ignore his childish behaviour, the couple linked hands and walked towards the edge of the cliff they had landed on and joined Master Wu as he silently observed the landscape around him. Lee decided to join them soon after.
"Hmmm, this place has changed since my last visit" Wu stated, stroking his comically long beard
"How so?" Lloyd questioned
"Those towers and castles weren't here before" Wu used his staff to point at tall towers and castles that surrounded nearby mountains
"That's nice. This place is now populated" Lee muttered sarcastically
"Should we be worried?" Harumi asked
"From what I saw in this Realm during my first visit. Yes" Wu stated bluntly
"Perfect, I was beginning to get worried for a sec!" Lee moaned sarcastically
Having being fed up with Lee's irritating comments, Lloyd walked away from the edge of the cliff in search of a way to get down. Wu and Harumi followed suit while Lee stayed by the edge for a few moments, expression impossible to decipher to the point one could suspect he was planning something.


Three hours later the small group had made little progress. Yes they had managed to get off the mountain they were stranded on but after that it was walking in a straight line. How fun.
Master Wu led the group in silence as Lloyd and Harumi were chatting and making occasional jokes. Lee also remained silent, at the back of the group observing the green couple as they occasionally laughed at what ever jokes or stories they were telling eachother. 
Their chatter was silenced when Wu came to a sudden halt, making a signal with his free hand for everyone else to do the same.
"What is it?" Lloyd asked
"Somethings here" Wu answered quietly
As if on que, 3 massive Mud Monsters erupted from the grimy ground, each possessing 4 eyes and 3 long, slimy tentacles. The group was quick to get into battle positions, with Lloyd and Harumi drawing their sword and katana respectively while Wu held up his staff. Lee though was seemingly unarmed yet still stood ready for the awaiting fight.