After the events in Bittyburg, the group were back on the road. Now the group had stopped in a forest to set up camp, Ivy, Sprig and Kaemon were setting up the tents, while Valor and Ina were setting up the picnic table using a tree stump, while Polly sat on a log, watching Shadow and Cody spar in a clearing, the boy wanting to go through old training habits to refresh on his skills. Meanwhile, Maddie was nearby with a cauldron, brewing up some potions, no doubt.
Anne, on the other hand, was recording a video with her phone.
"Hey mom, hey dad! It's me, Anne!" She said to the camera. "I know it's been a while since you last saw me, and I'm so sorry for worrying you. Things have been rather hectic, what with everything trying to kill us. But I've been doing fine! Better than fine! And it's thanks to some very important people in my life."
She then picked up the camera and aimed it at Shadow and Cody sparring, the two stopping when Anne jumped in and wrapped an arm around Shadow's shoulder, making him blush.
"Mom, dad, meet Shadow! He's the best teacher, and boyfriend, I could ever ask for!" She declared. "He's been looking after me since we met, teaching me how to fight and so much more! Mom, I think you'll like him."
"Hello, Boonchuy Family." Shadow said, smiling and waving at the camera. "As Anne said, I am Shadow. I can promise you that I'm doing everything in my power to make sure your daughter returns home safe and sound."
"And speaking of teachers," Anne then turned the camera towards Cody. "Meet Shadow's old teacher; Cody the Maelstrom! Wise and skilled in one package!"
"Who are you calling old, girl?" Cody chuckled. "And hello, Anne's parents."
"And if you look over here, here are Cody's students, Valor and Ina!" She then turned the camera to the other two humans, who were just finishing setting up the table. "Say hi, guys!"
When they looked up, however, Valor stood frozen stiff, keeping a stone-faced expression, likely out of being camera shy. Ina, on the other hand, was ecstatic.
"Oh my Frog, are we meeting the family?!" She exclaimed, getting up close to the phone, her eyes sparkling with excited curiosity. "What's it like nowadays?! Are there people like you?! Hi, hi, hiiiiiiiii~"
"Okay, that's enough." Anne quickly pulled her phone away before moving on. "Next up, we have our other friend and the Plantars." She turned the camera to the two remaining boys working on the tents. "Here, we have Kaemon, a newt who's awesome with a sword, or four."
"Hey there!" Kaemon greeted with a wave.
"Then we have Sprig, my BFFF; which means Best Froggy Friend Forever." Anne said.
"Hello!" Sprig greeted, waving, accidentally smacking himself in the face with the mallet. "Ow!"
"And of course, their girlfriends, Maddie and Ivy respectively." She aimed the phone at the two frog girls.
"Hey!" Ivy greeted.
"Hello." Maddie calmly said with a small wave.
"Polly," Anne said, turning the camera to the pollywog.
"Sup." Polly said, waving a flipper.
"And finally, we have Hop Pop!" Anne declared, turning the camera to Hop Pop, who was cooking dinner in a boiling pot. "You can thank this guy for so much!"
"By the way, dinner's ready!" The orange frog declared, carrying a covered tray to the picnic stump, getting the kids and guests excited as they gathered around. "Now hold onto your butts." He then took off the lid with dramatic fashion. "Bam! Stick surprise!"
Looking at what was supposed to be their dinner, almost everyone groaned, Shadow and Cody only frowning in disappointment.
"Is this some kind of joke, Hopediah?" Cody asked. "This isn't food."
"But I didn't tell you what the surprise is." Hop Pop said with a smile, getting everyone excited again, only for him to break the news to them. "All right, there's no surprise. Sorry, everyone. This journey's been longer than expected, and because of the added company, we're out of food."
"No food, huh?" Polly said, as she pulled out a biscuit from her bow. "That's what you plebes think." She then took a bite of the biscuit and put it back in her bow.
Anne let out a sad sigh. "This is all my fault." She said in frustration. "I dragged you guys out here to figure out how to get me home, and now we're all gonna starve to death."
To her surprise, however, the frog family started laughing.
"We're not gonna starve to death." Sprig told her. "This is our chance to find food the way nature intended... as hunters."
Anne brought a finger to her chin and thought, "Hunters, eh?"
She imagined it, herself running through the forest, stopping and spotting a roasted chicken running off. With a confident smile, she jumped in the air and readied a glowing arrow before letting it fly, and when the arrow made contact, it caused a massive explosion. And when her friends are seen on the ground, starving to death, she would land right next to them, with a giant leg of chicken, the family and friends feasting on the leg as though their lives depended on it. Somewhat amused, Anne then pulled out a large pop of ranch sauce, letting out a victorious laugh.
She wasn't the only one daydreaming, of course, as Kaemon imagined himself chasing down a pack of running hamburgers, drawing his four swords before jumping in the air and slashing at them. As his friends are seen on the ground, starving, Kaemon returned with thousands upon thousands of hamburgers before everyone dug in, Maddie jumping at him and peppering him with kisses, the newt laughing victoriously.
Yes, they could imagine it now, both human and newt eyes sparkling in amazement.
"No need to worry, Kaemon and I will handle the hunting." Shadow said, standing up.
"Wait!" Anne exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "No need for that, Shadow. Leave the hunting to me."
"Huh?" Kaemon raised an eyebrow.
"That came out of nowhere." Polly said.
"Are you sure, Anne?" Shadow asked. "You've never gone hunting by yourself before."
"I'm one-hundred percent certain, Shadow." Anne said. "You and the Plantars have done so much for me. Let me do something for you for a change."
Shadow seemed unsure, remembering trying to teach Anne how to hunt, with each attempt ending with her either scaring the target away or becoming the hunted, forcing Shadow to jump in to save her. Still, he wanted to give her a chance to prove herself.
"Ooh! I can teach her to hunt the Plantar way, Hop Pop. Just like you taught me." Sprig said before turning to Shadow. "You won't have to worry, Chief! I'll teach her how to hunt the Plantar way!"
Giving it some thought, Shadow nodded. "Alright, but you two need to be careful. We're not in the valley anymore and you never know what dangerous predators could be lurking about."
"He's right." Hop Pop shared the sentiment. "They could be poisonous, or they could be psychic. They could be poisonous and psychic! You don't know!"
"Dude, chill, I'll be going with them." Kaemon said, getting up. "Nothing will get past my swords!"
"Me too!" Ivy said, following them. "Someone's gotta watch Sprig's back."
"Hehe, if you want, sure." Sprig said with a blush. "Alright, you guys ready to hunt?"
"I'm so pumped." Anne said, clearly excited to go on the hunt. "This is gonna be awesome!"
As the trio made off for the forest, from above the clouds, the white-cloaked stranger watch with careful eyes, specifically the trio that just departed for the forest, before an idea hit his mind.
Time for a little test.
"This is not awesome."
Turns out, Anne's fantasy of hunting in the wild wasn't how she imagined, as she picked herself up from the mud, Kaemon and Ivy following behind. Sprig, on the other hand, was diving into the mud and munching on it, much to her disgust.
"Ugh! I thought hunting was supposed to be cool." Anne complained. "Conquering nature and stuff. Not eating mud."
Sprig spat out some mud. "Conquering nature? Oh, no, no. Hunting is about becoming one with nature."
"Hah! Who needs to be 'one with nature' when you can conquer it?" Kaemon said dismissively before drawing one of his swords. "Not like nature can do much anyways."
"Not a good idea to underestimate nature, dude." Ivy said. "Like Sprig said, it's a good idea to connect with nature, and if you're lucky, bond with animals!"
"Are we hunters or hippies?" Anne asked before sighing, pulling out her bow. "Alright, let's do this."
"Weapons are for barbarians!" Sprig yells, making to grab Kaemon's drawn sword, only for the newt to grab his hand and lift him up, glaring right into Sprig's terrified eyes.
"Touch my swords and you will lose more than your arms." The newt said in a warning tone.
Once he was sat down, Sprig nervously backed away from him.
"Now then, hunting the Plantar way involves three main steps. The first, track your prey." Sprig started by scooping up a bit of mud with his hand. "The soil is a buffet of clues." He said, eating the mud. "Oh, oh! I think I'm getting something. This way."
Sprig walked through the forest eating things, including leaves and mushrooms, while Ivy, Kaemon, and Anne followed, the latter two less enthusiastic. A few minutes later, after what seemed like just wandering through the forest, they saw movement from a bush. Anne pulled out her bow and notched the arrow, ready to fire, while Kaemon drew out two of his swords, ready to slice and dice.
Instead, what crawled out was a worm-like creature that strangely looked like an éclair. It was similar in color and even had several dollops of cream-like bumps along its back. The worm squeled and snorted like a pig before falling out of the bush on its face, wiggling its legs around trying to get back on its face.
"See, guys? Nature provides. We found some grubbles. They're supposed to be delicious." Sprig said.
"They're kinda cute, not gonna lie." Kaemon said, before raising two of his swords. "And delicious!"
"Nope, none of that." Sprig pushed the swords down, much to Kaemon's annoyance. "Step two, use your surroundings."
Walking over, Sprig pondered before digging a hole in front of the bush. He then removed a slab of bark from a nearby tree and props in in the hole against the bush like a ramp.
"So, what's next?" Ivy asked.
"Now it's time for the final and most important step... the dance." Sprig said.
Sprig prepared to dance as Anne asked, "Dance? What do you mean da...Oh, my gosh!" She then covered her eyes as Sprig was bent over, shaking his butt in her general direction.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Kaemon groaned as he looked away, holding a hand up.
"This dance has been in our family for generations." Sprig said as he continued dancing, not shaking his butt anymore. "Watch me closely. It's designed to both entice and disorient."
"I'd rather not." Kaemon said.
"Hey, I'm not complaining." Ivy said, watching the dance with a smile.
Some worms pop out of the bush as he danced and slapped his knees. They started dancing with him before throwing themselves into the hole that Sprig dug. Anne and Kaemon watched in confusion as Sprig continued to dance and more worms popped out of the bush. The pink frog puffed out his cheeks before slapping his cheeks to create a hallow drumming sound, followed by flopping on the ground like a fish out of water, then finally slamming his face against the ground repeatedly.
"Oh, boy." Anne cringed at her friend hitting himself.
"Okay, that's enough." Kaemon said, stopping his friend from hurting himself even further. "I think we can hunt just fine without a funny little dance."
"Yeah, I'm with the sword newt on this one." Anne nodded.
"There's nothing funny about the sacred Plantar hunting dance, guys." Sprig said with his arms crossed. "Besides, I thought you loved dancing, Anne."
"Well, yeah, when there's music and a dance floor." Anne said.
"Is this even necessary?" Kaemon asked, Ivy reaching into the bush and pulled out a grubble. "These little guys seem pretty easy to catch. I don't even think they have brains."
The grubble squealed.
"I doubt all prey will be as easy as grubbles." Ivy said.
"Yes, but that's not the point." Sprig said. "Hunting is about connecting to the harmony of nature. Let its rhythm flow through you. Can you hear the drums, guys? Can you hear them playing the beat of the hunt?" Sprig finished by raising his arms and with flowers in his eyes.
"Nope." With breakneck speed, Kaemon lunged with his two swords, stabbing the bush repeatedly before stopping, his swords having four or five grubbles stuck on his swords.
"Kaemon, that's not the Plantar way of the hunt!" Sprig chastised him, the newt pulling the grubbles off his blades and sticking them in a bag. Where he got the bag from, no one knows.
"My way is better. Faster too." Kaemon shrugged, slinging the back over his shoulder. "Come on, Anne! Let's grab more grubble!"
Sprig sighed. "All right. Just be careful, okay? We still don't know what's out here."
The human and newt walked off into the forest, Sprig watching with a disapproving look.
"Wow, I didn't think Kaemon was this eager." Ivy remarked.
"More like impatient." Sprig huffed. "I can't believe he'd disregard the traditional Plantar Dance like that."
"Well, he's always been a man of action, you know." Ivy said. "Still, I find the dance to be interesting, and I'd be more than happy to join you on it."
"Thanks, Ivy." Sprig said as the two grabbed some grubble and began making their way back to camp.
The human and newt made their way through the forest, Kaemon catching more grubble and sticking them in the bag and Anne following behind.
"The dance, Anne. Ha!" Kaemon laughed as he stuck another grubble. "As if we need some silly dance to catch prey!"
"Yeah, you know what's better? An arrow to the face!" Anne said, aiming an arrow before firing, hitting a grubble. "One grubble-on-a-stick!"
"Hey, let's split up, cover more ground." Kaemon suggested. "That way, we'll bring in twice the grubble."
"Good idea." Anne nodded. "Don't worry about me. I've got the eyes of a hawk."
"Anne!" Kaemon suddenly grabbed Anne with his tail before she could fall into an abyss.
"Totally saw that." Anne smiled.
In agreement, the two split up, unaware of a large creature watching from the shadows of the trees, watching the newt with hungry eyes.
"Oh, man, are we gonna feast tonight." Kaemon declared.
Later, Anne was seen approaching some bushes with grubble, her bow and arrow drawn, as the worms were still coming out.
Anne chuckled to herself. "'The dance, Anne.' Ha! You know what's better than a ridiculous dance? An arrow to the face." She paused a bit, realizing she had already said that, before shaking it off. She then took aim, pulling the arrow back on the string. "Time for some grubble-on-a-stick."
She prepared to let the arrow fly at her intended target…
"AAAAAAAHHH!"
Suddenly, a scream made her gasp before recognizing the voice.
"KAEMON!" She screamed before darting into the direction of the scream, right back to camp, the site itself trashed, but the family and guests were okay, all gathered around Kaemon's fallen form on the ground, not moving.
"Kaemon!" She gasped, worried for her friend's well-being.
"Anne, watch out!" Shadow called, pointing at something behind her.
Turning her head, Anne gasped at the sight of a large creature perched on a large rock. It was feline in appearance, having a muscular body covered in gray fur with four glowing yellow eyes set on the front of its head. It possessed red mandibles with a pair of expandable jaws lines with sharp teeth that could retract, resembling those of a scorpion. It also had a long scorpion tail ending with a hooked stinger which is used to deliver poison to its prey.
And unbeknownst to everyone, hidden within its fur was a glowing purple device that seemed to have some purple liquid in it.
"What is that?" Anne yelled as she aimed her bow.
"A Scorpileo." Cody told her. "Part lion, part scorpion. Messed up horoscope, I know."
"It came out of nowhere!" Sprig yelled. "It poisoned Kaemon!"
"Careful, you two! It still might be psychic!" Hop Pop said.
"I'm too cute to die!" Polly screamed in fear.
The beast roared as it raised its stinger, ready to go for the kill. Anne fired an arrow, but the Scorpileo easily jumped over and ran straight for Anne, only for Shadow to jump in and slam both fists against its head, sending it crashing through several trees.
"Be careful, you two!" Valor called from the side.
Anne readied another arrow as she stood behind Shadow, who drew out his katana as the beast got up, its eyes staring at the boy. The hidden device within its fur started beeping silently before pumping the purple liquid into the beast, its eyes beginning to glow a dark purple color, roaring as it made to lunge at the boy, who readied himself, the guests ready to jump in when needed.
Then it happened.
The earth shook under their feet before something massive burst from the ground, completely swallowing the beast before shooting straight up to the sky, the new entity raising high above the tree line like a scaly tower. Everyone watched in shock as the massive tower-like creature towered over them before leaning over, crashing into the dirt before burrowing underground.
Everyone stood in shock at what had just happened. Whatever came after had just swallowed the most fearsome monster out in the forest.
"What…just happened?" Anne finally asked.
"I'm not sure." Shadow said. "I don't think I ever saw a snake that big."
An audible groan could be heard, drawing their attention back to Kaemon, the two rushing over to him, seeing the sting on his left arm, green veins appearing on the skin.
"Got sloppy…didn't even see it coming." The newt said through gritted teeth, the fear of Anne and the others grew when the green veins seemed to be inching up his arm.
"Maddie, please tell me you have a cure for this." Shadow said to the creepy frog girl.
"I do, but it'll take some time to prepare." She said, wrapping a bandage around the around the arm in the hopes of keeping the venom from spreading. "He has until morning, but I need time."
"Be quick." Shadow said sternly. "I'll be damned if I lose another friend."
"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's get out of here!" Polly exclaimed.
"Yeah, before that thing comes back." Sprig agreed in fear.
The group quickly packed up their camp while Shadow carried Kaemon into the Plantar wagon as Maddie got out her set to work on the cure. Soon enough, with Hop Pop and Cody at the reins, the two wagons departed, unaware of the terror that followed beneath the ground.
Above the clouds, the white-cloaked stranger watched, blinking several times in surprise. He had released that Scorpileo with the control device in order to test the Black Wolf, to see if he had gotten soft or still had his edge. He certainly wasn't expecting the king of snakes to pop out.
"Well, that certainly was unexpected."
Inside the Plantar wagon, Shadow laid Kaemon on the wagon before stepping aside to allow Maddie to administer the antidote.
"Okay, just sip this, Kae." She said, holding a small bowl. "You'll need time to completely recover, but this'll fix you up."
Nodding, Kaemon allowed his girlfriend to bring the bowl to his lips before he sipped the liquid up.
Anne looked out the window, into the dark forest…
"MOOOOOOAAAAAHHH!"
Suddenly, the cries of what sounded like cowipedes can be heard, along with the sound of earth and rock crashing about, making the Thai girl almost jump back in fear, wondering if they were attacked. Sprig and Polly were huddled together in fear, having flashbacks about how their parents met their end at the jaws of herons. Shadow looked out the window, seeing Cody driving the garrison wagon, the older man nodding in his direction.
Soon enough, the two wagons came to a stop near a river, the forest not nearly as dense, but a dense fog enveloped the area, before everyone stepped out for some air.
"What was that thing?" Anne finally asked. "I never saw a snake that big."
"That was a basilisk." Cody said. "The biggest snake of all Amphibia, dubbed the King of Snakes."
"We only ever came across one before and we barely got out alive." Valor said with a shudder.
"They mostly hunt underground, using the vibrations overhead to hunt." Ina added. "Once they're directly underneath, they burst out of the ground and swallow unsuspecting prey whole, as you just saw."
"Sorry to interrupt, but we're gonna need to bunker down, for the night." Hop Pop said from the hatch above. "The mist is getting dense."
"It's okay, HP." Anne said. "The snails could use the rest."
Night came and everyone decided to get some much-needed rest, with Valor and Shadow taking the first watch, keeping an eye out for any potential threats, while the others slept in sleeping bags around a campfire.
The two sat in silence, before Valor broke the silence. "So, been a long time since we got together like this, huh?" He said, hoping to start a conversation.
"Indeed." Shadow nodded.
"So, you and that girl," Valor said. "You two dating?"
Shadow blushed at this question. "We recently started, yes."
"Wow, look at you!" Valor grinned. "Finally found yourself a woman!"
Chuckling at this remark, Shadow rebutted. "So, when are you and Ina gonna get together?"
Valor sputtered, "H-Hey now, don't go making assumptions!"
The two laughed, falling back into silence before Valor spoke up again. "It's been five years, ya know? Since we last saw you."
"I know." Shadow nodded.
"What I want to know is…why?" Valor said. "Why did you leave? With the Box, no less."
Shadow fell silent, as though refusing to answer.
"Azazel, help me understand." Valor insisted. "We've known you for a long time, and we know you wouldn't do anything without a reason."
Shadow looked at his old friend with a serious expression. "Would you believe me if I told you?" He asked.
Valor looked back in astonishment as the Wolf continued. "You know what it's like, having knowledge of something, but you can't say a word because the people you care about might not believe you? That they might think you're crazy? That you're overreacting? And no matter how much you want to scream, you have no choice but to bottle it up?"
"Aza…" Valor said, but Shadow wasn't finished.
"And you want to know how father dearest reacted when I told him of the vision I saw?" He glared at his friend. "He LAUGHED in my face! He laughed at my concerns as if they meant nothing! So yes, I took matters into my own hands and took the box, even if he would hold it against me."
"Dude, the box was one thing, but what about Apollo?" Valor finally managed to speak. "He looked up to you and you just up and left him!"
"He wouldn't understand, just as you wouldn't now." Shadow scowled. "None of you would! You'd all just laugh and act like I made it up!"
"Nobody saw this vision but you!" Valor argued. "If there was a way for you to show us, maybe-"
"Guys!"
The two turned to see Anne standing from her sleeping bag, dressed in a tanktop and shorts and looking up at them.
"The heck are you guys arguing about?"
The two boys remained silent, both looking away, Anne seeing the look on her boyfriend's face, reluctant to say anything.
"Shadow…"
Suddenly, the earth quaked again, making the three dart around, trying to see where the basilisk would strike, before the earth not far from their campsite rise up, as though something was about to burst from the ground.
"What's going on?" Sprig asked groggily, as the others followed suit.
"The beast! It followed us!" Valor shouted.
"Quick, back in the wagons!" Hop Pop shouted.
Quickly gathering their things, everyone go ton their respective wagons, the Plantars, Ivy and Maddie on the Plantar wagon while Shadow, Anne, Kaemon and the guest got on the garrison, Hop Pop and Shadow at the reins.
"Bessie, things are getting' messy!" Hop Pop shouted, Bessie instantly waking up chirping and taking off.
"Ironhide, time to roll out!" Shadow yelled, his loyal snail waking up and rocketing off after, the ground exploding as the King of Snakes burst from the ground, roaring before diving back into the dirt.
The two wagons rolled through the mist, both parties desperately trying to escape the giant beast currently tunneling underground after them, both drivers looking ahead in a panic. They needed to get away from. But how?
Their answer came in the form of the dense fog up ahead, but whipping the reins of their snails and riding into the fog, hoping to lose their pursuer. Popping up on top, Anne looked around.
"Any sign of it?" Shadow asked.
"Hard to tell." She said.
Suddenly, the creature burst out of the ground, almost knocking the garrison over, Shadow barely able to keep all four wheels on the ground. Anne, unfortunately, lost her balance and fell off, tumbling to the ground.
"Anne!" Shadow yelled before tossing the reins down. "Valor, take the reins!"
Moving and allowing Valor to take the seat, Shadow jumped off and hit the ground running.
"I'm coming, Anne!"
Anne groaned as she pushed herself up. Besides a few scratches, she was fine and didn't break anything.
Her moment of relief, however, was shortly lived, as the basilisk roared before slithering in her direction, the Thai girl scrambling to draw her bow before notching an arrow and letting it fly, but it bounced off the scaly skin harmlessly, the monster lunging at her with its massive jaws open, Anne bracing herself for the end…
Bam!
Suddenly, Shadow rushed in with Calamity Trigger activated and punched the creature in the side of its head, sending it back into the ground before it burrowed underneath.
"Shadow!" Anne gasped as her boyfriend reverted to normal.
"Remember, we have our powers, Anne." Shadow told her. "Use it when needed."
The ground shook again, the two humans pressing their backs together, Anne with her bow at the ready and Shadow with his sword ready, both watching, ready for when the creature would strike.
And it did, bursting from the ground and lunging towards Anne, mouth wide open and aiming to swallow her whole. But Anne was ready, and shot her arrow, the projectile nailing it right in the mouth, hitting the tonsils, making it recoil in pain before diving back into the earth.
"Careful; he's a slippery bastard!" Shadow warned.
"Master! Anne!"
The two turned to see the two wagons approach in a hurry. "Hurry up, guys!" Polly yelled.
"Wait! That thing will still chase us!" Shadow told them. "There's no escaping it! We must kill it here!"
"How? That thing's skin is stronger than steel!" Valor pointed out.
"Who says we needed steel?" Anne smirked, hers and Shadow's swords glowing.
The basilisk tunneled underneath the earth, waiting for the right moment. Its prey had proven more troublesome that it anticipated, the beast not expecting such resistance.
Then it felt it. High levels of vibrations coming from above ground.
Determined to catch and devour this persistent prey, it started tunneling upwards before shooting its body above ground, letting out a roar before looking downward. The two humans that were giving it so much trouble. And they weren't alone, accompanied by three other humans, two young female frogs, a newt and a family of three frogs, the company drumming their fists against the ground, creating the vibrations it felt.
Good, they invited it to dinner.
"Remember, guys, you have to believe." Sprig whispered. "You have to feel the music."
"Ready, Anne?" Shadow asked.
"You lead and I'll follow." Anne nodded.
As the basilisk lowered its head to them, the two got ready for the dance. Sliding their left foot outwards against the ground, they both bent down on all fours and closed their eyes. Then they listened, their ears twitched with every sounds they heard in the wild, listening as nature practically sang to them. From drops of water that landed on a mushroom, to the woodpecker bugs hitting the trunks of trees, and the small insects hitting wood, creating drums beating to the rhythm.
They now heard the rhyme of nature, and now danced by shaking their rumps.
The group looked away, but the Plantars watched, Sprig watching in awe and pride. "Yes, you're doing it! It's beautiful." He said with sparkling eyes.
The basilisk watched with a hypnotized stare, lowering closer and closer as the two danced…
…unaware of the swordnewt notching an arrow with a boom shroom tied to the end and aiming his war bow.
"Gotcha."
He let the explosive arrow fly, the arrow exploding upon contact, the basilisk roaring in pain as it reared its head back, its eyes completely destroyed.
"NOW!" Shadow yelled.
Both teacher and student pulled their blades out, the weapons glowing, before rushing in with battle cries before swinging their glowing weapons, cutting into the beast's torso and severing the body, sending the top part crashing into the ground.
Their foe fallen, both Shadow and Anne swung their blades to get the blood off before letting out a sigh of relief.
"It's finally done." The Black Wolf said.
"Looks like we're the apex predators, huh?" Anne said. "But how did you-"
"Hop Pop taught me." Shadow said. "I admit, I didn't think much of it at first, but over time, it became quick useful against the much bigger and more ferocious creatures."
"Okay, now let's get outta here already!" Polly exclaimed.
With the beast dead, everyone got back in their wagons and drove off.
The beast, however, wasn't quite dead yet, as it burrowed underground.
Looking back, Sprig's eyes widened at the sight of the corpse still able to move.
"Uh, guys? We've got trouble still!"
Looking back, Shadow gasped. "How? We cut that thing in half!"
The earth shifted, the beast revealing itself, its mouth wide open and hungry for vengeance. Both Anne and Shadow got on the top of the garrison and drew their swords, the beast lunging off the ground and diving at them, the two humans ready to finish it off…
…when suddenly, there was a whistle in the wind, as a slash mark appeared on its face, much to everyone's confusion and shock, before several more appeared across its body, before it soon exploded in bloody and gory fashion, the wagons stopping some distance away and stared at the scene, at what remained of their persistent foe.
The basilisk, the King of Snakes, was no more.
"What just happened?" Anne finally asked.
"I'm…not sure." Shadow replied, unsure what to say himself.
"You know, it's better to not ask." Hop Pop said. "Now, let's get out of here before something else jumps at us."
All in agreement, the two wagons rode off, glad that the chase was over.
Above the clouds, however, the white-cladded stranger watched, his golden, ornate spear covered in blood and dripping at the tip, as he watched the wagons ride.
"An unexpected event, but not one that couldn't be shifted." He said silently before sliding his spear up his sleeve. "You've gotten sloppy, brother. Your time out in the boonies have made you soft."
As he turned and made to fly away, he looked back at the wagons as they rode out of sight.
"It's only a matter of time now."
And with that, he flew off, out of sight.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest, the robots were seen walking through the forest, the lanky robot leading the way. The lanky robot heard a thunk sound, turning his head to see his bulky robotic companion had bumped into a tree. The bulky bot then walked around the tree before clumsily bumping into another one.
The lanky bot slapped a hand over his face, facepalming, before extending his robotic claws and chopping down the tree ahead of them. The lanky bot then gestured the bulky one to follow before they proceeded to walk.