When Liz and Lloyd returned to the tomb, Liz was confronted by a not-so-happy snake.

Lloyd's sadness of losing doubled when they returned, and his cries filled the background as Skales confronted the young Moonblood assassin.

He was pissed after his argument with the general about the staff. Liz gave props to Slithera for putting his 2nd in his place.

"You were supposed to protect the general!" he hissed. "Not lose the staff!"

Liz huffed. "I was low on energy. I haven't eaten real food in weeks, and I got thrown into this right as I got here from my long journey from the realm I came from, so I apologize if I was a little rusty."

Skales groaned in frustration. "Aren't you an assassin? Shouldn't you be better at these things?

"I'm also 10."

"I bet you've never even killed before," Skales bickered.

"Actually, quite the opposite," Liz spat back.

Skales crossed his arms. "I think you're lying. You're lucky I don't report you."

"I am because if you did, I'd have to tell the general about you hypnotizing one of the Ninja without his permission."

The snake narrowed his eyes in thought. She had him cornered. He had nothing.

"Fine. We'll work together then, as long as no secrets are shared to the tribe." Skales slithered.

"Deal."

_______________________________

Liz blinked her eyes open as she stared into a black abyss. She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, clearing her vision to see nonother than the Ninja's Master.

"Lizabeth?" Wu asked, stepping forwards.

Liz nodded as she stood herself up and looked to her left to see the white wolf that's been haunting her dreams.

"What is this about?" Wu asked the wolf. "Why are we here?"

"Let me show you."

The white wolf raised its giant paw as its undead eyes fixated on the ground where a lily grew from the black floor.

The symbol of life.

The wolf circled it and soon more lilies were growing to make a total of five, each a different shade of color, possibly representing one of the ninja. The white lily became frosted over but was still beautiful.

Zane. Her mind whispered.

Wu noticed this too.

But then, a red lycoris radiata flower grew and it shifted into a giant snake as fire surrounded Wu and Liz and the flowers.

The symbol of death.

then the large fire snake plummeted down to the ground and a rush of heat touched Liz's skin and when the fire cleared, the lilies were burned. All but one. The one in white and frosted over.

Wu's eyes widened larger than Liz's, he seemed to know much more than she did. And then the Wolf appeared in front of the lily and sat down, disappearing with the abyss and Wu disappeared.

Liz sat up with a gasp and she woke up from the vision and groaned as her head spun with how fast she got up.

She looked around and found Lloyd sitting next to her with panic on his face.

"Liz! Are you ok?" he asked, fearfully.

"You were moving a lot and you looked like you were scared."

Liz gaze softened at the boy. "It's ok, it was just a nightmare."

"Ok," Lloyd said, leaving her side to walk around.

Liz sometimes forgets that not everyone is as empathetic as she is.

Liz stood on her feet and looked for the path to climb out. She needed some fresh air.

Liz's hands pushed into the snow at the top of the tomb as she pulled herself out. for once, it wasn't snowing vigorously and she actually kinda enjoyed the snow.

Liz sat in the snow and her tail covered her legs. she gazed up at the sky to the sound of wings flapping in the air. A dark purple falcon with blue eyes glided in the wind and landed softly in front of the Moonblood in the snow before her. Liz's eyes widened.

It's the Falcon from last time.

Except last time, the falcon carried nothing and this time, the falcon did. A white frosted lily rested in his beak and the falcon gazed into Liz's eyes. Why did it have the same lily that represented Zane? Unless the white wolf was trying to tell Liz something, she was clueless. Liz realizes that this falcon must be connected to Zane which means she knows for sure that this falcon would give her a message to Zane again if she told it to. She knew this was true, somehow.

Liz stared at the falcon, it trembled under her gaze. A Moonblood's gaze is powerful. It can disarm one's mind, depending on how strong they are, and can throw them off. The Moonbloods have lots of powers they don't understand, and this was one of the many they had.

"Tell Zane that we're making a tree-house in the Wildwood forest."

The falcon flapped it's wings and took off to where Liz assumed was the Ninja's monastery.

"Liz!" Lloyd called.

Liz looked over towards Lloyd who was climbing out of the tomb, his hands red from the cold. "You were going to teach me some fighting moves!"

Liz sighed. Damn, forgot about that. She smiled as she climbed down to Lloyd. "Sure!"

"Lets go, Lizzy! I can call you Lizzy right?"

"No-"

"Ok, Lizzy!"

Lloyd practically skipped down back into the tomb and Liz huffed at the new nickname. Liz will have to tell him the plan later.

When Liz and Lloyd made it down into the tomb, they found a clear, open area and Liz dropped her daggers on the ground.

"Ok, Lloyd. I'm going to teach you some Jujitsu."

"Ooo! That sounds cool!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Yes it its cool, when you learn how to do it."

Liz bent her knees and Lloyd copied her.

"Now, I'm going to try to grab your hair. I've noticed the Ninja like to go for your hood and head area so I'm going to teach you how to get out of it, no matter how big they are."

Lloyd nodded enthusiastically as he took in the information.

"We'll start with you grabbing my hair, ok?"

Lloyd nodded again and walked towards Liz and grabbed the back of her head, sloppily because of the hat.

Liz went to show him the move but Lloyd's arm just fell out of the way. Not the way it was supposed to happen.

"Lloyd, you need to grab on tighter."

"It's hard to get a grip with your hat on," Lloyd stated. "Maybe it would be better if-"

"No," Liz barked, sternly. "Try again."

But when Lloyd did, it had the same ending. His hand couldn't get a good enough grip for the size of his hands without hurting her ears or her head.

Liz knew she had to take it off but she hated her ears. She didn't fit in, she was only ever a target, a threat. The last thing she needed was to loose a friend. Not again.

Liz groaned in frustration. She needed someone with bigger and stronger hands. "Boa! Come here for a moment!"

Boa, the young Hypnobri, turned her head at the sound of the Moonblood's call. The snake made her way over and took a spot next to Liz. "Yes, master?"

"Please... don't call me master," Liz said, emberessed. Back home, the Moonbloods lived in packs and they all had an Alpha. No one dared or wished to pretend to be an Alpha, and it felt weird being called "master".

"But... I'm supposed to call you that," Boa said, shocked.

Guess I'll have to learn their culture a bit more.

Liz huffed. "Fine, but don't call me Master. Call me... Anur. It's how you say Alpha or Master in Lunarian."

Boa's scaley face brightened and nodded her head. "Yes, Anur."

Still weird.

"Ok, Boa. All I need you to do is grab the back of my head," Liz ordered. "Just try to avoid my ears."

Boa did as she was told and took her large hand and softly, but firmly, grabbed the back of her head, just how Liz wanted it.

Liz turned over to Lloyd as she started her teaching. "Ready, adren?" she asked.

Lloyd hesitated before answering. "Oh!" he recalled. " Yes, athro."

Liz smiled. Some of the two words, she taught him. "Student" and "Teacher" seemed easy enough to remember.

"Good. Now, when someone has their hand grabbing you from behind, you grab their wrist like this and pull it to your head as hard as you can. Then, you take your elbow and bend over their arm like this and you put all the weight you can on their arm and put your weight on their elbow as you bring it down in front of you as you twist the wrist, causing them to let go. There, you're in control and you can easily break their arm."

"Please don't," Boa whispered, nervously.

"I won't," Liz laughed, releasing the snake. "You're free to go."

"Whoa!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Now, you try it on me."

Liz grabbed the back of Lloyd's head and threaded her fingers in his blond hair, locking them in place.

"Ok, just try to remember what you need to do without my help."

Lloyd took a while to get it down before being able to master it but he was a fast learner and was very close at getting Liz to were she could be controlled.

Liz taught Lloyd a few more moves and practiced them over and over until Liz was sure he could get them, with the help of Boa of course. However, their training session was cut short when Slithera approached with his booming voice echoing throughout the tomb.

"Lizabeth and Lloyd, we need a plan in order to get back at the Ninja and we need to hear one quick."

Hypnobri started gathering around the group to hear the plan and Liz stood up before Lloyd could speak.

"We have a plan," she declared.

Lloyd shoved Liz's side. "We do?" he whispered.

Liz ignored him. "A tree-house," she continued. "We'd build it in the Wildwood forest where no one can find us."

"And why should we trust you?" Skales asked.

Liz looked into the 2nd's eyes with power and strength that Moon gave the Moonbloods long ago, causing him to be locked in and tremble under her gaze. She could feel his blood pressure drop, he's lucky he doesn't faint, most week Sunbloods do. 

"Because I'm your Anur, and whatever I say goes," she growled, offering the small reminder of their agreement he seemed to easily forget.

Liz looked away from the snake and back towards the crowd as he collected himself again. 

"General, can we make this happen?"

Slithera smiled. "I believe we can make it work, Anur."

_____________________________________

Liz was getting a little too used to being called Anur. She was started to really like it and the power it gave her. Who didn't like power? It's power! And when she was done with the Ninja, she'd have even more power. It was starting to do something to Liz and Liz wasn't one hundred percent sure she wanted herself to go down this path. 

Don't get too used to it, there's no way that my Alpha would pick me to be his successor. He already has a Beta who doesn't like me or my family when Mother mated with a Sunblood.

Since Liz wasn't a pure Moonblood, she could never be Alpha. In a perfect world maybe but not this one.

The treehouse was coming along well. It had been a few days and the treehouse was already quite tall and had a good amount of traps in place, upon Lloyd's request. Liz was sitting on the edge of one of the platforms, quite high in the air, swinger her legs in the soft wind. Her ears hidden beneath her purple hat. 

Liz mentally kicks herself for being so insecure but she couldn't risk losing Lloyd. Not when she's lost everyone else.

Liz's covered ears perk at the sound of Lloyd coming over towards Liz with a skip in his step, obviously happy about all the progress. 

"Hey, Lizzy!" he said.

Liz snorted. "I told you not to call me that."

Lloyd ignored her again and sat next to her. "This was a great idea!" he exclaimed.

Liz nodded in response.

"What's wrong?"

Liz shrugged. "Nothing much. Just thinking."

"Oh, ok."

The two sat in peaceful silence as the wind blew through the forest.

"What's the forest called where you're from?" Lloyd asked.

"We call it Rovar," answered Liz. "We love the forests. I've missed it."

Lloyd swung his feet in time with Liz's as they stared out towards the trees.

"What is it like in your realm?" he asked. "Do you have a family?"

"I had a family," Liz answered. "My mother was amazing. At least that's what my siblings said. After Dad died she went nuts. Lost her mind. No one knows why. My siblings raised me until my brother was kicked out and sent to some place far away. Then my sister was next and then I was all alone. So I left before she could throw me out to where ever they went. I miss my sister the most."

"That's sad," Lloyd whispered.

"It is. But my pack helped me when I needed it."

Liz looked over at Lloyd who was sitting in pity. A pity she didn't know he had.

"My realm is amazing though. Obviously, we have a cool language we used to use created by Moon, the first of the Moonbloods. But as Sunbloods and other Ninja Hunters came to live in Molotoke, the language lost it's touch. We still use it for code and to talk behind people's backs."

"That's cool!"

"I know right? We also do this thing every full moon where our Alpha's and the packs come together for a peaceful gathering to chat and catch up! It's also the one night of the month when the rare few can talk to their loved ones in the Departed Realm!"

"The Departed Realm? Do you ever see Queen Crystal?" The leader of the Departed Realm.

"I never have but she shows up to the people who have used a stone reserved only for a select few that makes it possible, designed by the queen herself! After the gathering, we have a Nattlys Grau which means 'Moonlight Hunt' and we hunt as one!"

"Are all Moonbloods assassins?" Lloyd asked excitedly.

"Not quite. Most of us are though. We're selected as very young children and usually, if your parents are assassins, you're an assassin."

"You're realm sounds really cool!"

"What's your story?" Liz asked with a tilt of her head.

"Well, I have a dad! But he's gone and was banished to the Underworld and I want to be just like him!"

"What about your mom?"

"Well she abandoned me at Darkley's school for Bad Boys when I was really young."

Liz's blood boiled. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know," Lloyd said, his face slowly falling.

"Anur."

Liz and Lloyd turned around to see Boa with a strict look of her face, hands behind her back with Skales to her right.

"Skales would like a word with you."

The hell does he want this time?

Liz turned back to Lloyd and patted his arm. "I'm sure she had a good reason. She probably loved you very much."

Liz stood up before Lloyd to respond and she passed Boa to follow Skales.

The snake looked pissed as they moved to a more private area where no one could hear them.

"What do you want this time?" Liz asked.

"Cole. I know the Ninja will find this place, one way or another. And I'm going to use him against the Ninja."

Liz flicked her tail. "I know. I don't know why you needed to tell me?"

"Because I wanted to hear your oh so brilliant plan to make this happen."

Liz frowned. She knew she needed to save Cole from his wicked plan, but how? That's when it hit her.

"What if we used me?"

Skales flicked his tonge. "I'm listening."

"Use me, and you won't have to worry about my loyalty and you'll have an assassin and a Moonblood fighting those Ninja!"

Skales pondered the idea for a moment, not having much of a choice because if he said no, there's a high possibility Liz would tattle on him. "Fine, we'll do it if we have to."

Liz nodded.

"What about your little eye trick though? Won't it stop me from hypnotizing you?"

"Not if I let my guard down."

"Everyone works while you slack." General Slithera turned the corner with a frustrated expression on his scaley face. "Pardon me, Anur."

Liz bowed and walked away, she'd like to hear what Skales had to say to that with her super hearing.

"But General," he said, hushed. "Why are we putting all this energy in for a treehouse? Snakes don't belong in trees."

"I am your General!" Slithera hissed with anger. "As my 2nd in command, I expect more from you! You will respect Anur Lizabeth and Master Lloyd and do as I say! Now, get to work."

"Yes," Skales said with a bow. "General."

"Everyone!" shouted a voice.

Lloyd ran around the corner in panic and over towards Liz and Skales. "The Ninja! They've found us!"

Well that was quick.

Liz was ready and she looked to Skales and saw that he was ready too and when Lloyd ran out to tell the other snakes, she looked into Skales' deep red eyes, relaxed her eyes, and the plan was on it's way. She really hoped this would work.