The sun was shining as the next day begun, my eyes adjusting to it when I opened them, looking out at the junkyard and looking towards Jay's parents, still sitting where I left them last night. I looked to Lloyd, still asleep next to me up next to my fur and I gasped. Never mind fur, I had scales. My paws were talons with thick, long claws, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was very green with black lining to the scales and now I'm even more of a monster. The weird thing was why was I green when the Fangpyre are red and white?
I turned to Lloyd as he started to stir due to my mini panic session and he opened his eyes. My scales were almost as green as his as he overlooked my new form with a very loud gasp.
"Liz! You're a snake!" He gasped.
I glared at him in annoyance. "You think?" I said sarcastically back, my new tongue struggling on my 'T's'. I then stood up, my face reaching the boy's chest and I shook my body. It felt so foreign with these scales, I might as well belong to those forest dragon freaks in Dazzleclan. Lloyd's eyes filled with something I couldn't read, but I could feel. His guilt tugged my gut, but he didn't want to admit it. However, I softened my eyes.
"I'll be fine, Lloyd," I told him. "We should make sure we're ready for the Ninja."
With a final nod from Lloyd, I transformed back to my Sunblood body to see the damage and it was alarming that my wolf tail was replaced with a snake's and my body was covered in scales. Luckily, I was able to keep the ears that sat securely under my hat. Trying to ignore the form I've taken, thanks to the Fangpyre General, I followed Lloyd throughout the junkyard, over viewing all the vehicles that the Fangpyre took over. Apparently, these snakes could bite and turn anything into snake, including vehicles and machines, as terrifying as human shifting already was.
Suddenly, I gasped, gaining Lloyd's and nearby Fangpyre attention. Kai's strong sent, I could smell it from here.
"Quick!" I ushered everyone. "The Ninja are arriving!"
Fangtom nodded at me. "Everyone hide!"
I rushed with Lloyd in my wolf form, carrying him along my back and hiding in a corner with a bunch of shadows. I just prayed when it mattered, I'd have enough energy to mend into the shadows and I'd be able to hide Lloyd. My heart sped up as the sent got stronger, hoping the Ninja would still train someone who looks like this.
I need the Ninja to get that staff to save Jay's parents and the Snakes can't get an upper hand on them, but I also would like to not be a snake anymore.
Enda and Ed were stuffed in an old fridge and then the Ninja arrived.
I watched in the dark, waiting to see if I needed to mend or not and they started to hear struggling from the fridge. Jay beelined it to the fridge and opened it, his parents falling out. They'd become snakes but not as much as I had due to me being bit much sooner and the two rejoiced at the sight of the Ninja.
"Sweetheart!" his mother cried. "You came!"
"Oh, you gotta get out of here. You shouldn't have come, it's the ssssnakes!" Ed hissed.
I watched Wu take a step back with a gasp. "The bite of the Fangpyre!" he informed. "Once they sink their teeth, their venom can turn anything into a serpent. It's only a matter of time before the full transformation is complete!"
Suddenly, I felt the ground shake underneath my paws and I looked over to see the new vehicles round a corner, seeming to have a mind of their own as they swarmed the Ninja and their Master. Among these is a giant wrecking ball, it's eyes narrowing at the black Ninja.
"Uh, is that wrecking ball staring at me?" he comments.
"Duck!" Jay yelled, diving down to save his parents as the ball barrels towards them, earning a groan from his parents. "Thanks, son," Ed says, gratefully.
I then felt a nudge from Lloyd on my scruff as he whispered me to go towards the Ninja. I did as he asked and Fangtom followed from behind the trailer along with a handful of other snakes. As the Ninja got their bearings, Lloyd tugged and pushed my scruff, leading us up the big pile of junk by the Ninja and the vehicles. My green scales stuck out among the Fangpyre as we reached the top. A sharp howl escapes my muzzle, gaining the Ninja's attention, Lloyd fixing his posture and adjusting the hood that covered his head.
The group stared at us in absolute shock, stared at me. Lloyd laughed loudly and the General joins me by my side.
"Lloyd!" Wu shouted.
Lloyd laughed again. "Well, hello, Uncle!" I flicked my tail at the information, trying to keep a straight face. The other snakes were hissing and looking excited, the Ninja not jarred by the news either. Was I the only one who didn't know this? Before I could continue my train of thought, Lloyd continued yelling down at the Ninja.
"Looks like we're not the only family reunion. I'm glad you brought the Ninja, we could use some help taking out the trash!"
While Lloyd was finishing his evil laugh, Nya informs that they need to get Fantom's staff for the anti-venom.
"Nobody messes with my family!" Jay yells.
"Attack!" Lloyd commanded, the snakes charging full steam ahead at the Ninja. Lloyd patted my left side, our new code meaning he wanted to slide off, and I bent down for him to easily dismount, watching him grab a snake-turned device from a Fangpyre soldier near by, me looking in confusion to Lloyd.
"What?" I barked. I recently taught Lloyd two words in wolf, well more or less. He obviously couldn't speak it, but he wanted to understand me if we ever needed to communicate in wolf form. So I came up with two words, "What?" and "Help". I was great with using body language but sometimes, he just couldn't understand what I was trying to tell him, so we practiced and practiced the two words for ages and annoying the shit out of the Fangpyre with my repeated growling. I was impressed Lloyd could do it but then again, these were two very basic words.
"Oh, you haven't seen this before?" He asked, earning a shake of my head. I walked up towards the machine and gave it a sniff, Lloyd holding it at my height at his chest and it was unsettling how it stared right back at me. "This is a radio," he explains. "It plays music!"
I gave him a look of interest but before I could go and check on the Ninja, my ears were pierced with a terrible noise, wait not noise, a melody. The Sacred flute.
Lloyd gasps and immediately turns on the radio in his hands as all the Fangpyre around me cover their ears and we were quickly relieved by the new melody playing out of the radio.
It was quite loud, especially for my ears, but it was better than that flute.
"Are you ok?" Lloyd asks me. I nod and stare back at the Ninja, Wu infuriated.
"Young nephew, must I teach you which side you should be on?" he yelled.
Lloyd just responds in turning up the music then puts the radio down as he requests to mount me again. Once secure, Fangtom and I look over at biggest robot I've ever seen begin to shake the ground, walking towards the Ninja.
I looked at the Ninja in shock, Jay screaming at the big metal beast. "AH! What is that?" he asks.
"It was supposed to be in your honor, son," Ed explains. "But do you like it?"
"Thanks, but no thanks," Jay responds, moving out of the way as the giant metal beast lowers it's hand, holding a giant nun chuck. The Ninja flee out of the way, Cole grunting as he runs into a dead end of junk.
"Why'd you have to be born in a Junkyard?" he asks.
Jay scoffs. "I know. Tell me about it." The General, Lloyd, and I watch as the wreaking ball makes it's return, Jay seeming to get an idea in his head. The giant wreaking ball swings, the Ninja ducking out of the way, however, when they came too, Jay was missing.
"Uh, wasn't there four of us?" Kai asks.
We all turn as Jay climbs up into the cockpit of the crane and laughs. I hid my smile as he starts looking at the controls. "Let's see if I can work this!"
The giant Robot swings at Cole again and he quickly moves out of the way, grabbing his golden scythe, ready to hit this thing out of Ninjago. "Don't worry, I got it," he tells jay, with a grunt. However, Jay still takes a big swing at the robot, hitting it down to the ground now lifeless. "I told you, I had it!" Cole says, rolling his eyes.
I felt a tug of my scruff as Lloyd screams "Retreat!" and I growl at him. We're either winning, or we're losing, but we're not retreating. Lloyd didn't seem to realize what "retreat" would mean for me because he tugs on my scruff again and I finally obey, letting him lead me to a platform that was attacked to a sentient Helicopter. I was able to fit thanks to my smaller than average size for a Moonblood and the Fangpyre General joined us as we took off, him clutching the staff as tightly as ever, and we were pulled swiftly into the air.
"He's getting away with the staff!" Nya shouts. We swiftly leave the junkyard, leaving my stomach and any hope I had for not being a snake anymore were left in the junkyard as we flew through the sky, back to the tomb.
I try to not let my anger consume me, but it was getting harder with ever second we were in the air at the call of retreat. But somehow, someway, they found us. Gaining up on our tails was the Ninja in new vehicles on the ground with Jay in the sky coming in hot towards us. My joy was replaced with fear as the blue ninja wasn't stopping anytime soon straight towards us. Shit he's gonna hit us!
At the last minute, he moved off course and laughs.
"What the heck was that?" Lloyd asked. I wish I could give him an answer.
"Oops!" I heard Jay comment. "Overshot that one a bit." He's going for the staff. Turning around back towards us, Fangtom shouts for us to duck, Jay flying dangerously close to us again.
I sighed in relief when I saw we were all still alive and then a ear piercing yell filled our ears as Fangtom cried out, without the staff in his hand. I turn back in amazement as Jay held the staff in his flying electrical machine and he yells in victory. "I got it? I GOT IT!". However, his victory was short lived when his new vehicle to disappeared and he started barrowing down towards the ground. Is it channeled through his golden weapon?
"Jay, you have to concentrate!" Kai yelled.
"I CAN'T!" Jay screamed, flying down quickly towards the sand.
"I think we're gonna have to catch him!" Cole says, trying to get in a good position, but Kai starts moving in front of him
"I got him, I got him!"
"No, I got him!" Cole barks back.
"He's mine!" Zane butts in, the three of them running into each other and their vehicles disappearing in the process. But Jay still got caught by Nya in her tiny vehicle, Jay sighing in relief.
Fangtom swings us around and yells for the snakes to attack, all of them gaining up on the now vehicle-less Ninja. Kai trying swinging his weapon around and grunts in frustration. "Huh? Why isn't this thing working?"
"Your weapon is merely an extension of your mind," Wu explains. "If your mind is immobile, so is your weapon!"
"We have to get back to headquarters!" Jay shouts, the group of them getting in Nya's vehicle and racing away.
"They're getting away!" Lloyd shouts, us speeding after them as they race to their new headquarters.
The Ninja beat us to it and I feared what might happen if we attacked the Ninja, I really hated being a snake. But suddenly, the ship roared to life and it used it's new rockets to launch it into the air as they boosted away, the smoke going right into our faces, pushing us back as they flew swiftly away.
"No, no, no!" Lloyd scream, coughing.
"These Ninja, they must be stopped," said the General's two heads.
"Tell me about it," Lloyd groaned, fiddling with my scruff as we turned around, admitting defeat as we returned to the tomb. Now I'm definitely not going to be turned back anytime soon.