Everyone sighed deeply. "So, how do we fix him?" Ryder asked.

"We don't do anything. I will stay with Ebony and try to get his memory back, while you guys try to find a way out of here."

Ryder began to argue, but Drake shook his head, knowing how stubborn I was. I opened my mouth to give more directions out, but I was interrupted by a low growl emitting from my stomach.

Drake knelt down next to me, and looked at me skeptically. "When was the last time you ate?"

I grinned sheepishly. "What month is it?"

He sighed, and turned to Elrond. "Scout the land for some food. Looks like all our plans will have to wait."

Elrond nodded, and began to scour the land, looking for some sign of nutrition. Drake looked at me.

"So how do you plan on getting Ebony's memory back?"

"Well...that plan's still a work in progress."

Drake sighed, and massaged his forehead. "So you're telling me that you wanted to send us away and face a potentially dangerous man without a plan?" I nodded meekly.

He slapped his hand on his thigh, looking at me in distress. "We'll worry about that later. First--"

He was interrupted by a loud, resonating gong going off in the distance. He turned to me, fear etched in his eyes.

"That's the Gong of Terrible Woes. Elrond must have accidently walked near it, and the gong sensed his many woes. Now, it has marked him as a target--" Drake paused, thinking over his last statement,"however, I am quite confused as to why it is here. The Gong of Terrible Woes usually sits in the heart of the Jianwe Temple shrouded in the jungles of Sri Lanka."

Drake stood up, and began sprinting to what appeared to be the source of the sound. Ryder turned and followed suit.

I looked wildly around me, thinking about the source of the sound. But my thoughts were broken by almost dog-like panting. I switched my attention to a new figure who had come into my view.

I readied my knife, looking at the stranger intensely. The sky had turned black, and thick, dark gray trees suddenly surrounded me. But as the figure got closer, my nerves jumped and danced, begging me to run away.

I gave in to my notion and moved back a couple of inches, but the rough, sandy bark of a tree smacked into my back. I twisted my body around, desperately trying to escape the apocalypse of the trees. But my clothes caught on thick, gnarled branches.

While my attention had been diverted, the figure had made the distance up between us. The stranger walked straight up to me, and I realized too late that my quest was over. I hung my head in defeat as the figure held a knife over his head, aiming it at me. I smiled at him, waiting for the darkness that would follow.

The stranger swung...and cut away the branches tearing into my clothes. I looked around, surprised to still be alive.

I looked back up at the figure, and he clapped his hands together in a rhythmic beat. A python slithered up behind him, and hissed in my direction.

I looked up at the sky, noticing the fading clouds. Suddenly, the figure's hand struck out and grabbed onto my wrist, pulling me closer to him.

As his face got closer, I started to recognize some of his features.

"Elrond?" I sputtered.

He smirked. "I wondered when you would finally recognize me."

I sighed in relief and pointed toward the python coiled around his shoulder. "And who's your new friend?"

He looked at the snake in surprise. "Who, this? I found him when I was searching for food. I haven't come up with a name for him yet, but...wait, where's Drake?"

I looked around in confusion. "Wha--? Oh, he went to...help you--" realization dawned on my face "--because he thought you had rung the Gong of Terrible Woes...but you didn't, right?"

He nodded gravely.

"So, who rang the Gong? And more importantly, who is Drake going after?"

Elrond scanned the trees around us. "Where did the noise come from?"

I pointed in the direction both Ryder and Drake had gone. He grabbed my hand, and yelled, "Nicoursi!"

Suddenly, the python began growing in size, his twisting body covering up almost the size of  two full-grown horses.

A thought bloomed in my head. "We should call him Basilisk."

Elrond looked at me weirdly. "What?"

"I said, we should call the python Basilisk because of its size."

He nodded, understanding filling his face. "Hop on," he suggested.

He patted the snake, and climbed onto Basilisk. He turned toward me, offering me a helping hand. I shrugged his hand away, and stubbornly crossed my arms.

"No," I pouted.

"No, what?"

"No, I don't want to sit on Basilisk. I thought he would just be protection, but now that we actually have to sit on that slimy, gooey..." I shuddered in disgust.

Elrond frowned. "He's not slimy. He's silky. And how do you know that you don't want to ride him when you have never even tried?"

"Still..." Elrond looked at me in disgust.

"Drake told me of your amazing bravery and courage. I was kind of excited when I realized that you and I would have to save Drake and Ryder. I thought to myself, 'wow, now I'll finally be able to witness that fierce courage in battle.' But now, I realize, that if you can't even board a python, then what chance do we stand in battle?"

I sighed, feeling Elrond's disappointment wash over me in waves. He's right, I scolded, you need to man up and do what needs to be done.

I looked up at Elrond, smiling widely. "Are we going or not?" I asked as I began to climb onto Basilisk's back.

Elrond turned around and beamed at me. "Now, there's the girl Drake talked about."

And as we slithered off to save Drake, I quietly whispered, "I'm glad I found myself again."

And that couldn't be truer.