CHAPTER 12
"CRUEL INTENTIONS"

PREVIOUSLY:
Lizy and his friends were surrounded by Cruel and his army!

"What an awful fate to befall us," Speedy sighed, "Should we surrender now, or should we wait and see how long it'll take for them to brake the door down? Oh, woe is us!"

"Stop being so dramatic, Speedy!" Lizy retorted, sword at the ready, "I, for one, am not going down without a fight!"

"That's the spirit!" Sandy cheered him on. "Now, go out there and give Cruel a little of his own medicine!"

"And I hope it makes him gag!" Chubby added.

"This place doesn't happen to have a back door, does it?" asked Number Two, though nobody was really paying much attention to him.

Just then, the whole group was knocked to the ground as the house shook violently, taking several direct hits from the mosquitoes. They all painfully got back up and brushed themselves off.

"I have a lot more where those came from," taunted Cruel from outside.

"Enough is enough!" shouted Lizy, kicking the door open, "It's time I see for myself just how tough you really are, Cruel!"

"You're not going out there to face him!?" cried Number Two, dashing to hide behind an overturned table.

"We're behind you like marshmallows covered in peanut butter!" encouraged Speedy.

Lizy walked out the door determinedly, making his way toward Cruel. The mosquitoes and alligators parted to make way for him, smirking to themselves as he went.

"This is between you and me, Cruel," Lizy said as he stepped forward, "Your villainy and disrespect for the King of Lizard Valley has gone on long enough. Today, you're going to face the Guardian of Lizard Valley himself! Draw your weapon!"

"You better hope you're more prepared than that father of yours," yawned Cruel as a group of minions handed him a huge war hammer. "But as you wish. You might actually look pretty good as a pancake!"

Lizy had had enough of this. He rushed forward with his sword at the ready. But with a simple swing of his hammer, Cruel sent poor Lizy rolling down the street.

"Wowr!" cried Lizy in pain as he crashed through a brick wall which stopped him; only not right away.

"A Hole in one!" laughed Cruel, "What luck!"

"Don't let him beat you!" Sandy cheered desperately from the doorway of the building they had been hiding in. Speedy and Chubby were standing beside her with their hands clenched in anger. As for Number Two, he was still behind the table with his hands over his eyes.

Lizy crawled out of the debris, dusted himself off, them made another charge with the last of his strength. The fate of Lizard Valley rested on this moment. But with another, more powerful swing of his hammer, Cruel sealed the Valley's doom. Despite his valiant effort, Lizy was sent flying through the air with a "Wowr!" that became increasingly faint as he became just a speck above the horizon.

"Hey!" cried Speedy, "You can’t do that to the Guardian of Lizard Valley and think you can get away with it!"

"C’mon, Speedy, he can’t possibly take both of us at once!" shouted Chubby as he drew his spear and led a new charge. Speedy grabbed his trusty boomerang and followed after him. But it was no use. In the blink of an eye, Cruel sent them flying after Lizy.

"Two birds with one stone!" laughed Cruel out loud. "Lizard Valley is mine, and there’s nothing Lizy the Lizard can do about it!"

NEXT TIME: "A Last-Ditch Effort"
Lizard Valley braces for dark times.