"Come on man... can't you... take a joke"...?
Two minutes. That was all it took for me to capture the stupid insect. Now I had my tail wrapped around him, crushing him! Although I wasn't using as much force as I wanted to, the constriction was still enough to cause him some discomfort. He was now struggling to breathe.
"What's the matter"? I hissed mockingly. "No more wise cracks"?
I didn't give him the chance to reply as I slightly tightened my grip. God only knows how far I would have gone if I hadn't heard a familiar voice.
"Mike".
I turned to see Viper slithering up to me with an annoyed look on her face.
"Oh.. Hi Vipes"... I weakly smiled. "What's up"?
"What are you doing"?
...
...
"...Killing Mantis"? I spoke, giving the most innocent look I could muster. Unfortunatley she did not seem to fall for it as she mentally slapped herself in the head.
"Put him down".
"You're kidding. Right"?
Surely she had to be. After what just went down it was a wonder how she was not as furious as I was!
"Mike. Now".
Given the order, I scowled at Mantis before dropping him and allowing him to land onto his four legs before hopping away as fast as he could. As far as he knew, this wasn't over between us. Since the message had been given, I slithered over to Viper. She seemed only slightly more calmer now that Mantis wasn't facing my wrath.
"You should know that Master Shifu is wishing to speak to you".
Oh boy... that doesn't sound good. After hearing what Mantis had said, there was no doubt that he was probably planning to do something to almost break my soul! What if he makes me clean the whole of the Jade palace, or worse... Po's room...
I shuddered a little at the thought. Pos room wasn't exactly kept in the highest of standards. Not to mention that the floors there are a little sticky from food falling all over it. Ew.
Thankfully Viper called me out of my thoughts before I could imagine anything more.
"Mike, Master Shifu isn't mad. He just said he wants to talk to you. That's all".
I wasn't sure if I was all that reassured. Even a simple daily chat from Shifu made it sound as though he was scolding you. Even so, there was no avoiding it now.
"... You mean as in right now"?
"Yes. Right now".
Oh dear.
"Okay then. I'd be better off getting it out of the way with". I sighed before being escorted back up to the Hall of Heroes. It had taken a couple of minutes just to chase Mantis down the stairs from the main building so I figured now would have been the best time to talk.
"I... guess you're wanting me to apologize for almost crushing one of our friends to death"? I asked in a mumbling type tone. Viper sighed.
"Look, Mike, I won't say that he didn't deserve it, but... just try to calm yourself next time, okay"?
"... Sorry".
I remained silent for a moment until finding something else to talk about.
"Say Viper"?
"Yes Mike"?
"Do you uhh... when will you know whether or not you're"...
"Pregnant"?
"Yeah".
Viper slithered a little slower before stopping altogether and turning to me, making myself stop just after.
"I'll check with the valleys doctor in a few days. That should give us enough time to receive a proper answer".
I nodded.
"Fair enough".
I continued to slither up the stairs again. I hardly noticed that Viper had remained glued to the spot she had stopped in until she called me again.
"Mike"?
I turned back round to see what she had to say.
"Do you... do you think I would make a good parent"?
The question took me off guard for a second. I slithered back on over to her and looked to see that she was quite serious with what she had just said. I smiled.
"Viper, after everything you've done for me, I wouldn't be surprised if you won an award for it".
At least I got her to smile at that. Though I became a little depressed the second I wondered if I could say the same about myself. I mean... just thinking about it, I'm not going to lie, is a scary thought. What if I'm not a good enough provider, or worse?
I turned back to Viper
"You know, it's just like what Oog"-
A few sudden distant screams from the Valley of Peace interrupted me.
Oh for Petes sake. Am I ever gonna get a break today?
"Looks like Shifu will have to wait a little longer". I sighed before the both of us rushed back down the stairs, moving as fast as we could towards the Valley.
...
Hey guys. Sorry for the short lame chapter today. Been lacking my creative spark for a bit. Hopefully the next chapter should prove to be a little more interesting since I haven't written a fight scene for some time. Also, as I mentioned some time ago, for those who may or may not remember, I will be answering reviewer questions in the Authors comments, which seems to be starting today thanks to my latest reviewer.
The Joining: Don't worry, there will be more upcoming nightmares with the story, though it may take a few more chapters until I get to write one. And also for your request about the Halo 2 anniversary Gravemind appearance, I can't make any promises but I'll see what I can do to sneak it in ;)
Thanks for reading guys. Cheerio.