A/N: Sorry this took so long! I wanted to get this out yesterday but (as you can see) that didn't happen. To be completely honest, I probably could have gotten this out way earlier, but I was a little afraid to.
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Maka: I'm glad you like it! These earlier chapters are pretty much meant to be pure comedy, so enjoy!
"Candy," Lloyd moaned. "I need candy!"
Brad rolled his eyes, ignoring his friend in favour of listening to the snakes.
"The boysss ssset usss free." His favourite! Loyal, wonderful Slithra. Boy was he glad this guy was the general, as none of the others had managed to get themselves hypnotized by Lloyd.
"They are but children, they are not Ssserpentine." Skales. His least favourite.
"I may not have the staff, but I am still your general!"
That was enough for him. "Lloyd!" he hissed.
"Not now, Brad! I'm busy complaining about my lack of candy!"
"More like whining." he muttered before folding his arms with a roll of his eyes. "Lloyd, we have way more important things, like a potential rebellion from some of the snakes."
"Relax. We've got their leader totally under control. What are they gonna do, change their leader?"
Brad stared at him for a second. "That's what a rebellion is, Lloyd."
His face fell for a second. "Well, their culture is clearly different than ours. Slithraa is the only one with a long tail like that, which probably signifies his leadership. Which means leading the tribe would be a family thing, as only the long tails would lead. So he's like, leader for life."
"I'm not so sure..."
Lloyd's eyes suddenly lit up, and he bounced on his feet. "I just had the greatest idea! This place is horrendous for a base, right? Remote, hard to get in and out of, it basically makes for the worst base ever in all the books. So… what if we built a treehouse to rule Ninjago from?!"
*Evil Journeying*
"Oh, yeah, a treehouse with only three trees for support was a wonderful idea. Especially when there is threat of an uprising from your ARMY!"
"Shut up, Brad. Like you were any help."
"I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen!"
"I listened!" Brad narrowed his eyes at him. "You just… just… were really bad at saying it!"
"Wow. I gotta say, that was the most pathetic comeback I've ever heard. And I took that 'Homemade Insults for Beginners' class."
"Ssssilencce!" Skales growled. "Pathetic human children."
Brad slapped a hand over Lloyd's mouth, only removing it when he thought Lloyd wouldn't try and argue with the snake.
Glaring at Brad, Lloyd immediately turned to Slithraa. "Do something, General!" Then added in a whisper, "You're still under my command, right?"
Slithraa puffed out his chest, stopping and calling out to Skales. "ENOUGH! I am the general. You will return my staff at once!"
With a slightly sly look, Skales glanced around before finally focusing on his general. "No."
Various hisses filled the cavern as Slithraa glared down at Skales. "You dare challenge my command?!"
It was impossible to tell who started it, but within a minute the whole crowd was chanting. "Slither pit. Slither pit! SLITHER PIT!"
After much too short a time for Brad's liking, Brad and Lloyd found themselves watching a glorified gladiator fight. One in which the side they needed to win just so happened to be losing. "You still got the map?"
"No, they took it." Lloyd glanced around. "Look! They stuck it in that ice over there, you think I can get it?"
Brad pulled at his rope, which was attached to an ice pillar even farther than Lloyd's. "I sure can't. Go for it! Quickly!"
Lloyd stretched against his own rope, facing away from the fight with his fingers barely brushing the map. For some strange reason Brad felt a bit of relief that the younger child could not watch the match from his position.
Lloyd turned back around, triumphantly tucking the map back into the folds of his cloak. "GO GENERAL!" He cried the second his eyes returned to the match, and the elder boy simply facepalmed.
Slithraa fought hard, but Skales battled dirty. Using a strange martial art - which one of their fellow spectators supplied the name 'Fang-Kwan-Do' for - he knocked his opponent to the ground, where he lay beaten.
"WE HAVE A WINNER!"
"SSSKALESS! SSSKALESS! SSSKALESS!" The triumphant cheer echoed through the tomb.
With an elegant, long tail now in place of his legs, he pressed an icy blade to the neck of the former general. "You will be loyal to me now!"
To the two boy's horror, the snake bowed his head. "I will do asss you command."
A slight smirk plagued his face as he turned to the two humans. "And you, both of you, leave and never return!"
The two children nodded, sprinting out of the cavern the second they were untied. They ran for quite some time - exhausting their legs - before finally risking slowing to a walk, not wanting to stop. When the sun was reaching the horizon they found themselves in a desert, and heard a distant cry of joy. Curious, they followed to see who could possibly be so happy at the moment; they found a beautiful, slightly worn down boat with a red dragon head at the front. The sounds of laughter echoed from the structure as two clearly ninja figures walked inside. Brad quickly shrugged it off: so what if their enemies were having a good time? It just meant they had let down their guard.
Lloyd, however, seemed almost forlorn. Staring out at the ship, a few tears forming at the edges of his longing gaze.
"Hey." Brad gently punched the blond on the shoulder. "Which tribe should we release next?"
"Which ones are there again?" Blood reddened his face from his close encounter with a breakdown.
"Uhm, we did the Hypnobrai, which leaves the Venomari, Fangpyre, Constrictai, and the Anacondrai."
"How about the Fangpyre? They sound pretty fierce."
