"Oh, but I will," the snake weaved his head around to meet Iggy's face. "Asss sssoon as you ssstop ssstruggling and lend me your earsss, I will releassse you."
"You want me to give you my ears?" Iggy meant that as a sarcastic joke, but it didn't sound as hilarious in his panicky tone. "What are you, some crazy voodoo snake with a lisp?"
"Certainly not," said the snake. "But I know that you are here looking for a certain female companion, are you not?"
The snake's intriguing question made Iggy stop struggling for a brief moment, but he was still on guard in case it was a trap. "How did you know about Max?"
"I have eyesss in every rock and in every tree in thisss jungle," the snake grinned. "I also hold the world'sss mossst powerful sssecret in my mind…if you will allow me to demonssstrate."
"Yah, *don't care* pal!" Iggy interjected as he continued to struggle again. "And I don't plan on listening to any secrets till someone gets me off of this ride, okay?" He tilted his head to a point slightly to the left of the snake's massive head. "You can get off, right?"
"Ah, but there isss no need to get off this very inssstant," the snake smiled. "In fact, unlesss you lend me you're cooperation entirely, and make no fusssesss and noisssesss, you will misss out on a great experience that will make you happy forever."
"Yeah, and what could you possibly have that could make me happy?" Iggy asked, not out of curiosity however, but obligation.
"Jusst look into my eyesss and you will sssee heaven in all of her gloriesss."
"...heaven?" Iggy gave a bit of a mirthless laugh. "Oh the things you miss when you can't see...anyways can I go now? I have a lot of work to do. Ya know, saving the world and such."
"You don't ssseem to grasssp at what I am offering you." The snake's tone was all of a sudden growing dangerous His tail began to wrap around Iggy's neck and chest.
"Look dude, I'd love to look at you-I would love to see anything-but I can't. I AM BLIND!"
Iggy huffed up his bangs to reveal his milky white eyes. "So I can't take your gift, so I'm sorry, but don't blame me for something evil scientists did, now will you please let me GO!"
"W-what?" The snake wasn't paying attention to Iggy's protests; merely excusing them as childish ranting. Even though he was colored-blind, now that he got a closer look at the man-cub's eyes he noticed his pupils were too pale indicating that he was telling the truth. The snake was baffled.
"I will find some way to get you to sssubmit," the snake hissed. "Even if it meansss sssqueezing the life out of you."
Iggy gashed as the coils tightened around him. Feeling completely trapped, he tried to call for help.
The Gasman was running back to the place where he left Iggy, with his pockets stuffed with enough explosives to make a professional bomb squad nervous...but Iggy was nowhere in sight.
"Iggy? IG! I'm back! Where are you?" He called out loudly.
Iggy's head popped up as he heard Gazzy call him. "GAZ RUN! GET H-" the rest of his warning was silenced as the snake wrapped a coil around his mouth.
"Iggy?" He looked up at the tree above him.
The snake quickly snapped his head around to where Iggy was starting to shout at.
"Oh now wha-" he started to say in frustration, but then his voice turned into a seething, loathsome, and greedy hiss when he spotted yet another man-cub beneath his tree.
"I'll be right down, stay right there, man-cub number two." he whispered. He lowered his down slowly, so to not scare the youngling away.
"Yesss, yesss, who isss it?" the snake asked ever so politely.
The Gasman backed up slightly as he saw the reptilian's head lowered before him. "Whoa, talking snake...cool!" he exclaimed an interested grin forming on his face. "Did you see a blind bird kid around here lately? I've got a few things for him." He asked expectantly, his blue eyes shining with excitement.
"Oh, um, I'm afraid not. I haven't ssseen anyone but you crosss by here," the snake lied. Upon hearing him say bird kid, he was trying his best to swallow up all of his excitement.
"By the way, do I fassscinate you because I'm…well…a talking snake?"
"Um, well not really, because we have a talking dog...with wings!" said the Gasman, unfurling his own.
The snake's stomach was boiling with raging excitement. The others were here in the jungle, and none of them but the leader would be anticipating what he was about to do. However, he didn't have the time to dwell in his gluttonous fantasies when he saw the little boy turn to leave.
"Sorry I can't stay, but now two of my friends are missing. I got to go back to camp."
"Pleassse, don't go jussst yet," the snake pretended to beg. "I'm a very lonely ssserpent with no family of my own. You might know how it feelsss, sssurvival of the fittessst and sssuch.
Gazzy turned back to the giant serpent, a look of almost regretful sadness on his face. "Sorry dude, family comes first...besides I fear the wraith of Max" He added smirking. "When she says I'm gonna duct tape your mouth shut for a week if you don't stop imitating me, she means it." Ironically, the paraphrased threat was done in a perfectly mimicked form of Max's voice.
Suddenly, an idea began to sprout in the snake's devious mind after hearing the little man-cub's wondrous intimidation of the spunky girl who was snoozing in his coils.
"Ssso you fear thisss Max ssso much?" he hissed. "Fear her ssso much that ssshe won't let you ssstay and accompany me?
"Well not so much fear...I don't really know how to say it. She just knows how to get people to do stuff." He shrugged. "Besides, I can make my own fun. But if she'll let me come back tomorrow, I'll accompany you."
"Very well then, you may go back to your camp." The snake shrugged, even though he seemed to have no shoulders. "And if I happen to sssee any of your friendsss, then I will inform you firssst. Ssso, are we both satisfied?"
Gazzy smiled gratefully at the snake's promise. "Awesome! Thanks!" He waved goodbye and ran back to the flock's campsite.
As soon as the man-cub was out of sight, the snake returned to the other two bird kids up in his tree. The female was still in her peaceful state of bliss, but the boy had nearly passed out from the tight squeezes. Taking no chances, the snake found some loose vines underneath his branch and pulled some out with his long tail. The white-coats had taught him how to make use of his single limb after he was created, such as tying knots for one thing, and he was surely grateful for that experience. He quickly slipped the vines around the bind one against the tree trunk, and made sure they were tight.
"Now if you will excussse me," the snake leered gleefully, "You're friend and I have a dinner party to attend." He pulled Max next to him and lowered her to the jungle floor.
The barely conscious Iggy could not resist as he struggled against the tree. "If you so much as touch them, I'm going to tie you to a tree and...You're gone aren't you?" The silence was his answer.
"Figures…"