~~ Ch47:Fri3, Serpentine ~~

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I forgot my phone. And my clothes. I certainly couldn't go back home in the Green Ninja gi.

And I really, really, didn't want to go back to the Warehouse right now. Crap. This was even worse than the Green Ninja thing. I'd finally been coming around to the Green thing, even! The power was kind of cool, and the feelings of hope and confidence it flooded me with were always great.

And now that stupid prophecy is AGAIN telling me that I have to do MORE? And Gold was apparently the power of the FSM, and I was supposed to become the Gold Njnja now, because Green isn't good enough now I guess, and what the heck?!

What's even the point of Green, then?! And why me?! If Gold was needed, why didn't "Grandfather" just take care of this stupid mess himself?! And apparently Uncle Wu said he DID try - and he FAILED - so are they saying I'M supposed to succeed where the creator of our REALM failed?! And if I fail, according to the prophecy, the whole of Ninjago is DOOMED!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Ok, ok, ok. Run. Jump. Dive. Catch. Leap. Run. Flip. I can do this. Keep my breathing regulated. My heart will calm down on its own. The tears will dry if I can just STOP making new ones. Distract myself. Exhaustion is good for that. Run, run, run.

This isn't working!

A helicopter whirred overhead, so I took a dive into a narrow alley. Landed. Leaned against the wall. Yanked down my hood to scrub my face. And crap, it was all I could do not to scream.

"Hello, Lloyd."

The nastiest laugh ever broke from my throat. Seriously, it sounded like something my dad would be proud of.

"Yeah," I began, lighting up both fists with Green and turning to face the Anacondrai with literally the worst, best?, timing possible. "I don't know whether to say 'Get the hell away from me', or 'Bring it on.' Unfortunately for you, I think I'm leaning towards the latter."

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Past

The cage was too small. I couldn't lie down. It was tall enough for me to stand in, thanks to me being so short, but lying down was impossible. Even stretching out my legs wasn't going to happen.

So there I sat, huddled in a small ball, hugging my knees and so grateful for the cape I'd snagged when I left the volcano two weeks ago on my epic evil quest. At the time it had only been to look dark and cool. I didn't think it'd be my only source of warmth. I tugged the hood as low as it would go over my head and hugged the edges tight around me again.

"Pythor! Thisss waiting isss tediousss! When do we ssstrike?!

"Patience, Ssskales! All isss going neatly according to plan!"

"I ssstill don't sssee why we need the brat! Jussst eat him already!"

"I probably will, in time. Having a pet wasssn't as interesssting as I'd thought. But for now, we need the little annoyansss as blackmail againssst Garmadon! Once the plansss all fall into place..."

The voices trailed off and I shivered anew, and this time it had nothing to do with cold metal on a chilly desert night.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

The brat looked absolutely like his father's heir as he advanced on Pythor. His childhood manipulator, captor, torturer. The object of years and years of nightmares and trauma.

Lloyd's eyes glowed a sickly neon green in the dark alley, the light from both them and the green sparks and swirls around his fists making the shadows dance menacingly. The child grinned, and it was actually a wonder that there were no fangs to flash, as it definitely was no smile.

"You will never hurt me again."

And by the Great Devourer, for a moment Pythor actually thought Lloyd was going to kill him, here and now.

"SSSKALES!" he practically shrieked.

A little girl's crying broke through Lloyd's anger, instantly smashing it into shame, even horror at the thought he'd terrified a child.

But it wasn't him that had made the small girl cry, as Skales came around the side of a dumpster, dragging the little human along. She was a hostage. About the same age Lloyd had been when he'd released them. And everything that had come after.

Lloyd knew this was already over. His powers winked out and he raised his hands above his head in surrender.

Pythor smirked in victory. "Kneel."

Lloyd glared, but obediently lowered himself to his knees. Skales handed the girl off to Pythor before approaching Lloyd himself.

Lloyd visibly flinched, eyes snapping shut.

"Cooperate, and I will sssee no harm comesss to the girl. We have no interessst in her, after all," commented Skales.

The son of Garmadon rather bravely reopened his eyes. Skales was reluctantly impressed, especially when the boy's green eyes steadily met his own.

"Swear it," Lloyd demanded.

"I do," swore Skales. And it was rather interesting how the boy seemed to trust him. Pythor certainly wouldn't keep such a promise, though Skales had a higher standard of honor than that snake.

Lloyd's mind was a bit harder to smother and wrap in his control than a normal human's. Possibly because he'd experienced a Hypnobrai's thrall before, though there was probably a genetic element as well. Skales doubted he'd even be able to hypnotize Garmadon (not that he wanted to touch that bag of rabid cats).

Once Lloyd's mind was his, he implanted the order to follow himself.

Then he turned his attention to the little human girl. She was sobbing now, and it was pathetically easy, after Lloyd, to order her to forget all of this and go home. She had gotten lost, it had been scary, but nothing more.

The girl ran off, and Pythor, Skales, and Lloyd slipped into the sewers.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Author's Notes: And here we go, kidnapping number three! At least I think it's three? Kid gets kidnapped so often, it's hard to keep track! Sorry it was a bit short, but hope you guys enjoyed anyway and that the cliffhanger wasn't too evil! I'm afraid the cliffies might get worse from here - apologies in advance! Just the nature of trying to write a good climactic final arc!

Did you guys think the past insert worked? I was originally going to use it later, when Lloyd actually is in a cage again, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to show how much our boy has grown! Pythor was expecting a cowering child, and instead found himself facing an actual threat! It's a shame Lloyd didn't get a chance to kick his tail, but I assure you Pythor won't get away with this.