Dillon blinked her eyes open. The world spun for a moment before everything came into focus.
"Where…where am I?" She muttered to herself. Her head was pounding, and she was struggling to remember what had happened.
She recalled Pythor's evil laughter as the snakes had descended on her. The snakes had closed in, and she remembered panic welling up in her chest, her breathing accelerating rapidly. Then, a gray and orange Serpentine had stepped forward, raised a club, and that was the last thing that she could remember.
Dillon squeezed her eyes shut, trying to mentally push away the pain in her head. After taking a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes back up and looked around.
Ropes tied her arms to her sides, as well as binded her feet together. She was dangling from a large tree branch over a sea of burbling, green goo, her body hanging horizontally. The smell was awful, and was probably what had woke her up, and it was definitely NOT helping her headache.
"Um, hello?" She called out, looking around the smelly bog. "Anybody there?"
No answer.
"Stupid snakes. When I get out of here, I swear, I'll -"
"And you're sssssure that this plan with work?"
Dillon quickly snapped her mouth shut as she recognized the slithery voice of Skales. She could barely make it out, and found that the sound was coming from a cave on the island the tree she was tied to was on.
"Of course I'm sure," replied Pythor. "The ninja are too predictable. Once they catch word that we Serpentine have a helpless Ninjago citizzen in our clutches, they'll come running in to the rescue. Then, we can capture them once and for all. After that, nothing will stand in our way of releasing the Great Devourer!"
"But they have evaded usss before. Are you sssertain that they won't ssslip away again?" Came a deep voice that Dillon linked to the short black and orange leader.
"Yesss, but we have our own secret weaponss. Trust me. The ninja will not get away from this encounter unscathed."
Dillon gulped. She had to get out of here fast. She wriggled and squirmed, trying to loosen the knots, but to no avail. She gave up after a few moments, wanting to conserve her energy, and formulated a hasty plan. It wasn't the best in the world, but it was all she could come up with for the moment.
"Hey, snakes!" She hollered. "I bet the ninja will kick your tails when they get here! Yeah, they've got their own secret weapons!" Dillon bluffed. "Oh, and by the way, I totally overheard your entire plan!"
Maybe if she was annoying enough, they would let her go. It was a worth a shot, and it was the only plan she had right now.
"Yeah, I TOTALLY know ALL of your secrets!" She gloated. "And once the ninja come and whoop your butts, they'll know your next move, thanks to your guys's loud mouths!"
Next, it was time for the second phase of her plan. Using something she had heard the snakes mention before, she hollered, "Hey, Skales – you sound like a wimp! 'Oh, look at me! I'm sssssso amazzzzzing! I took over my previousssss general jusssst to be ordered around by a ssstupid guy in purple!'
"And Fangtom! I bet your brain is only half as big as the rest of ours, between those two heads of yours! Was it split in two, or fourths? And where'd the extra slices go? Down a drain? And don't even get me started on your teeth! You should really consider getting braces!"
She heard enraged hisses come from the cave, and she continued.
"Hey, blackie! Yeah, you with the big tail! Are you fat, or just short? Cause I honestly can't tell! OR maybe you're BOTH! And you call yourself a general! What dignified leader is shorter than the people under his command? Do you have to look up to them when you order them around? I bet they REALLY respect you!"
An angered roar gave her the satisfaction to keep going.
"And Mr. Green! What's your name? And is your four eyes distracting? I bet that snakes are too preoccupied looking at your millions of eyeballs to even pay attention to what you're saying! Talk about leadership! And your voice! Ugh, it's like nails on a chalkboard! How old are you? Ninety-six? I'm sure everyone else takes you very seriously when you can have a stroke at any second! Talk about time to retire!
"Don't even get me started on Pythor! What tribe are you from? The Giraffe-drai? And your scales! They're purple, for goodness' sakes! I can't tell if you're supposed to be a male, or a female, especially with that high-pitched scream of yours. Seriously, do enlighten me of your gender! I need a little help here!
"Not to mention that you're SUPER RUDE to the rest of the Serpentine. Why do they even listen to you? You're annoying, needy, bossy, and we can't tell if you're a boy or a girl!"
She smiled when she heard a frustrated scream come from inside the cave. Ha ha. Get roasted, you dumb overgrown lizards.
Dillon let out a muffled sigh. Unfortunately, her plan had not gone as expected. In fact, it had backfired. The infuriated snakes had retaliated to her irritating remarks by shoving a gag in her mouth.
So much for that plan.
Come on, ninja. Get me out of here. I could REALLY use your help right about now, she thought.
But what about the trap? If the ninja do show up, I can't warn them that it's a trap. Argh, me and big mouth. And just what exactly does Pythor have planned? Man, I hate him and those purple scales of his!
By now, she was starting to lose feeling in her hands and feet, her headache was NOT going away anytime soon, and the stench was starting to make things particularly awful. Not to mention that she was trying not to gag with the rag shoved nearly down her throat.
She sighed again.
Well, at least I'm not home bored out of my mind.
That was about the only positive thing she could come up with about her predicament.
Sorry for such the short chapters, guys. My mind has been going blank every time I sit down at the computer. Writer's block has been killing me these past few days.
Well, things are starting to pick up. Tell me what you guys think so far, and if I have made any mistakes, whether it be grammar or something I got wrong concerning Ninjago (such as incorrect facts, etc.). Thanks again for the kind reviews, and keep watch for the next chapter!