Today was the day were were marching on the Hypnobri. I was leading the charge alongside General Fangtom with Lloyd behind us on one of the 'cars' as Lloyd had informed me, the snakes and their sentient vehicles behind us, ready to strike. We had just crossed into Hypnobri territory and I could already hear the slithers and steps from the hypno-snakes. The cold threatened to nip at my bare skin, my hoodie still tied around my waist from getting in my way, but nothing could threaten me anymore, not even nature itself. I could see the now General, Skales, making his way up the snow slope, his staff held high. I narrowed my eyes as we approached, the anticipation was building up and I was interested in what might happen.
We then met, face to face, scale to scale, and the two generals narrowed their eyes at each other. I back up to where Lloyd was and sat on top of the green machine, watching as Skales stuck his staff in the snow and stared into the eyes of the Fangpyre general, but before the fight could even begin... it was over.
"Skales! My old chum!" Fangtom exclaimed, slithering up to Skales with the two of them bumping their fists. "We didn't expect to be fighting you!"
"Well, if it isn't the Fangpyre!" Skales's face brightened. "Of all the cold-blooded to creep up on us, I'm glad it is a friend."
Lloyd shook his head. "Wait, I thought you two were enemies?"
"We were at war," explained Fangtom. "But seeing that Skales is now leading them, well, I don't see why we can't be comrades."
Skales nodded. "Now, Little Anur, have you had released the Constrictai, the Venomari, or Queen Crystal forbid the Anacondrai, then we would've had a tussle."
"A tussle?" Lloyd groaned. "A tussle?! But I'm Lloyd Garmadon! Bringer of evil!"
I kicked Lloyd in the leg and he shouted in pain. As he started having his mental break down, I realized there is no point in trying to fight the two generals and maybe a second betrayal will make Lloyd reconsider what he's doing here.
Skales laughed. "What should we do with them," he said, gesturing towards a mentally broken down Lloyd, and at me.
"I could turn them into one of us, I already turned the Moonblood earlier," Fangtom suggested, obviously not afraid of me anymore now that Skales and his snakes are on his side.
"And I see that went well," Skales hissed sarcastically, staring straight at me. I stared back, raising my forbidden middle finger and he hissed again. "Besides, the little tyke is pretty useless," Skales mentioned about Lloyd, who was now hugging his knees and I sighed.
"What if you hypnotize him and make him think he's a pig?" Fangtom hissed.
"That would be pretty funny!" Skales laughed.
I almost snorted at the fact that these two were like old friends and I had the urge to get something to eat and just watch, but Lloyd had other plans. "Wait, Lloyd!"
Lloyd hushed me and motioned me to follow him so I did, us climbing onto the back of one of the copters that were currently landed to try and escape I assumed. However, this was a terrible plan as the tail started lifting us up and absolutely hauling us through the sky yards and yards away. I screamed as we were coming in hot into the thick snow, my whole upper body deep in the snow, my tail flinging around and me tyring to push up with my knees. It was taking more energy than I would've liked so I quickly shifted to my wolf form and pushed through the snow barrier, shaking off the snow once I emerged again. Lloyd had gotten out just fine and I barked at him to get his attention.
Shifting back, Lloyd patted his way up to me and kicked the snow as he did. "They betrayed me," he said. "Again!"
"Lloyd, maybe it's time we-"
"What?" he interrupted. "Quit? No. We still have that map, if we release their greatest enemy, we will be unstoppable!"
"Who says that they will listen to us? And not betray us?"
"They won't. And if all else fails, at least I have you."
My hears fell and I had nothing to say to that. "Fine, lets go find these Anacondrai."
________________________
Lloyd and I continued walking and searching for this tomb but it definitely didn't want to be found anytime soon. I felt Lloyd's frustration the more we continued to walk with no real progress other than just getting lost in the desert with no food. Which reminded me, I'm starving.
"Lloyd, could we please stop for food?" I begged. It has been days since I've had any, surely Lloyd knew this since he has also been without food. "I can hear your stomach from here!"
Lloyd stoped walking and sighed, finally letting his eyes leave that map he was glued to and he narrowed his eyes at me like I was crazy. "What food? We're in the dessert! There's nothing here!" he pointed out to me.
I rolled my eyes. "There's plenty of bugs we've passed on the way here, they'll do us just fine."
"I don't know what pack you grew up in," Lloyd started while I looked for bugs, "but I sure don't want to live there."
I chuckled, using a claw I temporary formed to kill a hidden bug deep in the sand. "I'm from Starclaw Pack, lead by Alpha Wildwood, and for your information, we don't eat bugs, just unless we have to." I swiftly found a few other bugs and succeeded in killing them with a smile as I remember my old pack. "We were the pack of assassins. We get hired by Sunbloods all the time and even by some that live in Ninjago. After the Ninja Hunters got wiped out, the need for assassins lessoned and all the packs but mine decided to keep the business going. It's been working well for us ever since."
I stood up with the two relatively large bugs in my hand and handed them to Lloyd. "Take these," I said. But as I looked over his shoulder, I saw a bird leaving its nest from a dead tree in the distance and smiled. "I'll be back," I told him, then I ran towards the tree and the nest.
"What? Wait, Liz!" Lloyd quickly followed behind until we reached the tree and I begun to climb. "Liz, be careful! What are you even doing?"
I grunted as I pulled myself up the relatively tall tree and wagged my tail as I got closer. "I'm getting us a better dinner," I responded and to my delight, there were two eggs when I reached the nest at the top. I didn't think, I just went for it before the bird came back and I shuffled crossed the thick branch to grab the eggs. However, this turned out to be a terrible idea and I should've thought that a dead tree would act like a dead tree because the branch I was on decided to snap under my weight and drop me down all the way to the bottom hard. Lloyd gasped in fear, dropping the bugs and rushing to me as I grunted, landing on the sand harder than I thought I would and groaned. My leg hurt like a bitch as I tried to push myself up, spitting out the sand in my mouth and shaking my head.
"Liz, are you ok?"
I nodded. "I'm fine, Lloyd," I said with a wince as I tried to pull my knee up to push me up, but my leg hurt too much. I was scared to turn around and see what the damage was and I feared the worst. I glanced at my leg, now bleeding and I groaned at the sight of a thickish and sharp part of the branch in my leg. It didn't go out the other end which was good, but this was going to mean it would be hard for me to walk and not get an infection before I'm able to get help. The white wraps on my feet could help but I'd need to change them and wash them regularly.
"Uh, never mind," I admitted, "It's pretty bad."
Lloyd gasped, reaching out a hand, unsure where to put it as I groaned, trying to get up. My leg throbbed as I pushed up to my good knee as best as I could and grabbed Lloyd's outstretched hand. "Lloyd, we need to find something to wrap my leg with."
"But there's nothing out here!" he exclaimed.
"We better find it, Lloyd, or I'll bleed out!" I explained.
"Ok, ok, I'll go take a look around and see if we missed something," he said, letting me rest against the dead tree as he quickly sprinted out through the dunes. Surprisingly not too long later, I could hear his yelling and see his waving arms and I sighed. Deciding to switch to my wolf form was painful but a lot easier to make my way to Lloyd without hobbling the whole way on just one other foot, now I had three. Once I got close to Lloyd, I collapsed in the sand back into my Sunblood body, my head starting to feel dizzy. Lloyd quickly ran to mysid but I held out a hand to stop him. "Don't touch me, Lloyd, you can't touch my blood, it would get into your system."
Lloyd didn't say anything as he back away a few steps and let me get myself up, following Lloyd's gaze towards a mysterious cave. "Let's go in here!" Lloyd said, starting to lead me towards the entrance a couple yards away. "Hopefully there's something we can use."
I limped behind Lloyd as we approached the mysterious sand dusted door and opened it. A horrid smell peaked its way past the heavy door and I cringed. "Eh, it smells like something died in here," Lloyd commented. "Something probably did," I said, trying to hold my breath as we entered. My vision was fuzzed and starting to blacken as I went inside the dark tomb. Dark usually wasn't a problem for me but with my injury, it's making it a lot harder. I fumbled towards a low leveled rock and sat down with a grimace. "Lloyd, do you see anything?" I asked.
"Not yet!" he called. "Wait, I see some- whoa!"
My ears perked as I heard an impact and chuckled. "Did you just run into a wall?" I teased.
Lloyd groaned, "Sure felt like it..."
My heart skipped a beat when I heard the all too familiar sound of hissing and my hair stood on its ends.
"A wall you say," hissed a deep, dark voice. "I haven't heard that one before."
I gasped as I saw a purple figure appear from the shadows, could he shadow mend too? Lloyd screamed, backup up and tripping over himself and looked up at the figure, who was none other than a large snake with black markings and red eyes. The snake stuck out his tounge, tasting the air before his gaze fell upon mine, causing his eyes to widen. "Well, look what the cat dragged in! I haven't seen any of your kind since the Serpentine War."
Lloyd quickly scrambled up and running in front of me, blocking the purple snake from me. "Don't touch her!" Not a suggestion, an order.
The snake tisked. "Now, now, my dear boy, I don't mean to frighten you and your friend here, I'm here to be of service."
"Of service?" Lloyd tilted his head.
"Why, of course! I have something that might help with that leg of hers. You let me out of my tomb after all, why don't you let me return the favor."
Lloyd glanced over his shoulder at me, looking for my answer. He must believe the snake, even if it's only a little bit if he's willing to take his eyes off of him. I nodded, sensing evil intentions from the snake, but none possibly involving my blood. At least not today.
Lloyd, lowered his outstretched arms and stepped aside as the snake slithered up to me, much taller than me or Lloyd, and I told myself to keep breathing steadily.
"My name is Pythor P. Chumsworth," he explained while examining my leg with a frown. "I'm the last of the Anacondrai, I haven't seen anyone in ages."
"What happened to all the others?" Lloyd asked as Pythor looked around for something to help with my leg as I unwrapped my good foot for some extra bandages.
"They grew too hungry, I suppose," the snake explained, picking up a chunk of old cloth. "Locked away with nothing to eat for so long."
My ears fell as I looked at my leg, Pythor approaching me slowly and I took in a breath, knowing that I'd have to take out the branch.
"What are your names my new app- I mean, friends?"
I hissed as I gripped the twig in my leg and pulled as hard as I could, screaming loudly, my cry echoing through the tomb with a small tear falling down my face, blood spewing out as I quickly covered my wound with my wrap.
"Lizabeth Wolfadeer," I breathed out. Pythor reached out a talon full of cloth, causing Lloyd to step forwards to him, taking the cloth himself. "Don't touch her, it could contaminate you!" he said.
"Oh, I'm well aware, little one," Pythor cooed. "She's not my first Moonblood I've encountered."
"My mother, I assume?" I ask, reaching out with my clean hand to grab the cloth from Lloyd's hand, making quick work of my leg as I awaited the Anacondri's answer.
"Among a few," he answered, watching as I wrapped my leg.
Once secured I sighed. "Yeah, she doesn't have the best reputation around here."
"She doesn't," Pythor hissed. "But I'm sure we can break you free from that little wolf."
Lloyd came to my side and sat down as I tried getting the blood off my hands.
"Will you help us get our revenge?" Lloyd asked. "The Hypnobri and the Fangpyre betrayed me, and don't even get me started on the Ninja. You are going to help us, right?"
"You have let me out of my tomb," Pythor said before bowed dramatically with his talon in the air. "I'm humbly at your service."
"You're not going to betray us?" Lloyd asked, narrowing his eyes.
Pythor smiled wide. "Now why would I want to betray a friend?"
I stared at him and in to his soul. Something was up. I couldn't quite tell what, but it's got to be something. The way he stared at us as if he couldn't wait to get started with whatever plan he has been able to cook up was unnerving. Could Phantom be the one truly pulling the strings? I sighed and pushed the thought to the back of my head. I need to stop worrying about Phantom, right now, I need to protect Lloyd and make sure whoever this "Pythor" is, is legitiment. At least for now while I heal so I can properly kick his snake butt when the time inevitably comes.