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Chapter Text

"Pythor! Move!" Skales shouted as the Great Devourer lunged towards both him and Sensei Wu. The Hypnobrai General had slithered all the way up to Ouroboros to warn Pythor after he got kicked out of the train, only to see that the worst was about to happen. The blue snake hit him out of the way with his tail just before he could get eaten, leaving Sensei Wu to be swallowed by the huge monster as the two snakes tumbled to the side.

Pythor landed with a thud, immediately scrambling backwards in an attempt to escape while the Devourer started destroying the ancient snake city. It was distracted. At least it was for now. Skales took the opportunity to grab the Anacondrai and start dragging him away, fueled by his own panic and desperation to survive.

"Unhand me at once!" Pythor cried out, too shocked to say anything else. Skales had just... saved him?

The Hypnobrai General rolled his eyes and let go of him. "Well hurry up then! We need to get to sssafety!"

Pythor complied and quickly got upright, slithering fast next to his saviour. "And where exactly are we supposed to go!? It's going to destroy everything in it's path!" the snake exclaimed.

"I know a place where it won't find usss." He looked behind him at the Devourer and gulped. "Well, not for a while..."

Pythor just nodded, speechless for once. He had caused all of this. Everything – including the serpentine –were now in grave danger. He was in grave danger, all because he thought that he'd be able to control the Great Devourer to do his bidding. Everything he and the other snake tribes had done: finding the four fangblades, fighting the ninja and trying to reunite was now all for nothing.

He didn't have much time to process the situation as an abandoned rattlecopter soon came into sight. Skales was the first to get in, holding a hand out for Pythor to take so he could get in too.

"Do you even know how to fly one of these things?" the purple snake asked as he skeptically took the other's hand, getting in. Skales was being almost too kind today and that made him nervous as to what his motives were. Nobody had ever been or done anything nice to him without wanting something in return or was secretly plotting something.

Skales turned the machine on and nodded. "Of course I do. Besides, we haven't got any other choiccce," he replied simply, when in truth he had only flown one once, and it hadn't been the best experience either. Still, there was no other option. The Hypnobrai General pressed a few buttons before they were airborne, heading South.

Pythor looked out of the window, still silent which was completely out of character for him. Skales of course took notice of this and decided to say something rather than endure the awkward silence settling between them.

"Is ssomething wrong?" he asked, returning his focus back to flying the rattlecopter.

"Hm?" He seemed to have snapped out of whatever thoughts he had going through his mind as he sat up straighter. "There's nothing wrong, I'm perfectly fine. Why would anything be wrong?" he asked in a defensive tone, beginning to fidget with his hands a little.

Skales glanced at him just to confirm his accusation. "You're not acting like yourself," was all he said, not wanting to push Pythor too far, especially not when they were both very far from the ground.

Pythor folded his arms. "I'm fine!" he barked, causing Skales flinch. A moment passed, and then a soft huff sounded from the Anacondrai. "I... I thought that I'd be able to control it..." he mumbled.

Skales sighed quietly. "I thought so too, but it's still going to destroy Ninjago. Isn't that what you wanted? What we all wanted? To get back at the people who wronged us all those yearss ago?"

"But it's going to destroy everything!" Pythor said in a raised voice. "Including us! That wasn't what I was planning! It was supposed to just destroy the people and their beloved cities and towns!" He tensed up, barely concealing his built up anger and frustration.

Skales waited a moment for him to calm down before saying anything. "I know, I know. But like I ssaid, there's a place we can go where it won't find us for a while. We can stay there out of it's path and move to a different location when we need to," he said in the calmest voice he could manage.

Pythor was lost for words. Something just wasn't right with the way Skales was acting, but he couldn't put a pin on what it was. That scared him. He was the one who manipulated people, not the other way around, and he could always tell when people were disloyal or trying to manipulate him. But lately with Skales, no. He didn't understand why the Hypnobrai was acting like this since there wasn't anything to be gained anymore, not even power. It was almost as if Skales actually cared about him...

"Pythor?" Skales asked, once again snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Hm-? What?" He decided to just be cautious for now. After all, Skales was still a threat, or could be.

"I asked if you were okay. Are you?"

Pythor nodded. "Yes, I think so," he replied. "Where is it we're going?" he asked suspiciously.

"To the ssouth mountains. I figured that because of uneven land we'd have more of a chance at avoiding the Devourer if it did find us there, and I doubt mountainss are it's top priority at the moment," he explained with a shrug. "There'ss also a few forests there so we don't need to worry about food, if you know what I mean," he added, smirking as he looked at Pythor.

Pythor smirked too, but for a different reason. "Yes, I know exactly what you mean..." he said, his tongue flicking one time as he looked at Skales suggestively.

Skales caught on and gave a soft hiss, hood flaring slightly as a warning. "Are you ssserious?" he asked, appalled.

Pythor laughed darkly for a moment. "No, not at all. Though if we don't find any food then I won't hesitate to indulge myself." He grinned.

"I'll hypnosise you before you get anywhere near me," Skales warned.

"Then I shall remember to close my eyes while I feast~" the Anacondrai teased.

Skales was only slightly relieved when he heard the teasing tone, knowing full well that Pythor would definitely try and eat him if he was desperate. Or not desperate at all... He didn't know how that dark, intelligent mind of his worked.

"I'm ssure you will," Skales said sarcastically. "It's good to see you start acting more like yourself, I will ssay that."

Pythor chuckled and looked out of the window again at the darkening skies. "I told you I was fine."

"And I was only making sure," the Hypnobrai said in return, glad that the atmosphere between them had lightened up. "We're almost there now. What do you ssuggest we do first?"

Pythor hummed, looking at the skies once more. "It looks like there's going to be a storm soon so I suggest we find a shelter of some kind once we arrive. Preferably not in the forest incase of lighting," he said, getting an approving nod from Skales.

"Good idea. Perhaps a cave?" the Hypnobrai suggested.

Pythor smiled. "A cave would be a suitable shelter, yes," he replied, feeling comforted by the agreed idea.

"A cave it is then," Skales said and started to lower the helicopter as the vast mountains came into sight. He looked around for a safe, out of sight place to land and then turned off the engine with a sigh. "Well that went better than I expected it to," he admitted with a small smile.

Pythor chuckled. "It went better than I expected it to as well."

"Hey! Have some faith in me! I'm not just the Hypnobrai General, you know, I'm also an excellent pilot," he said, only playfully offended.

"Of course you are," Pythor said sarcastically. Since when were they playful around each other? It must have just been the weather lately, he thought. Skales was most likely just trying to gain his trust to betray him.

Skales snickered and then opened the door, slithering out. He held it open for Pythor. "Well? Are you coming?" he asked.

"Of course." The Anacondrai said and got out too, looking around while Skales closed the door.

They were at the bottom of a particularly tall mountain which had a natural sort of path around it, making it easy to reach the top without any climbing essentials. Apart from the separated mountains, everything was just rock, dust and silence. Like Skales had said, there was indeed a forest in the distance and what looked like some kind of waterfall next to it. Overall it wasn't the worst place they could be at a time like this, the only downside being the oncoming storm and the fact that they didn't have a shelter at the moment.

Skales looked around as well and hummed, focusing on the first tall mountain next to them. "I say we go up this mountain and ssearch for a cave as we go," he said, turning his attention to Pythor for a second opinion.

The Anacondrai General nodded after looking around once more, checking that there were no threats. "Let's go then. The storm could start any minute now and I'm not particularly fond of them."

"Me neither," Skales said and slithered towards the spiralling slope around the mountain.

Pythor quickly grabbed some sticks from the ground before chipping a nearby rock, extracting some flint from it.

"What are you doing?" the Hypnobrai asked curiously after having turned around to see what the hold up was.

Pythor showed him the sticks and the newly obtained flint as if it was obvious. "Well I don't know about you but I don't want to be in a pitch black cave tonight for who knows how many hours," he said, slithering up to him.

Skales frowned and then a flicker of understanding lit in his eyes. "Oh, I see. For a fire," he said.

Pythor nodded. "Exactly." He slithered past the Hypnobrai and started the journey up the path around the mountain. Skales followed close behind, secretly glad that he was stuck with someone smart instead of... Well, the other serpentine.

Around three quarters of the way up, Pythor found a cave opening. "Here!" he exclaimed, grinning.

Skales slithered up to him and observed it. "Interesting..." he said. "Well, since you found it you can go in firsst." He gestured inside the dark space.

Pythor rolled his eyes. "Honestly. Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark." He chuckled quietly to himself and went in. Once inside he placed the sticks in the centre of the cave and hit the two pieces of flint together, making sparks which lit the fire in no time at all.

Skales watched from outside, impressed with how easily Pythor made a fire in what turned out to be a large cave, now lit with a soft orange glow.

"Are you coming in anytime soon? I won't bite..." he said in that teasing dark tone of his.

Skales hesitated before slithering inside. "You'd better not because I'll bite back." he threatened lightly, keeping his fair share of dominance afloat just incase the Anacondrai decided to take advantage of him.

Pythor smiled and gave Skales a disbelieving look, brushing off his threat like it had no effect on him – which it didn't.

Although Skales looked calm and collected on the outside he was actually panicking, having realised that he'd have to sleep here in the same cave as Pythor and let his guard down in front of him. Staying up all night wasn't an option: he was exhausted and desperately needed to regain his strength to face tomorrow. Not only that but he knew he wouldn't be able to stay up anyway with the surprisingly cosy atmosphere in the cave...

Pythor seemed to sense the other's worries and smirked, happy to have the upper hand. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Skales looked at the fire, barely concealing a yawn. "It's nothing. Just tired, that's all," he admitted reluctantly.

"Then sleep, it must be getting late now." The Anacondrai glanced outside only to see it start to rain, the storm he predicted starting to settle in.

"Are you going to sleep too?" he asked.

The Anacondrai hummed. "Perhaps... If we both make a deal to not try anything while the other is sleeping," he decided.

Skales nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, please." He held a hand out towards Pythor. "Though I don't know how this will benefit you unless you sleep with your eyes open."

Pythor couldn't help but laugh, shaking the other's hand nonetheless. "I know. The deal was just to make you feel safer sleeping in the same place as me," he said, grinning.

Skales' eyes widened slightly. "How did... Nevermind." He really shouldn't have been surprised; Pythor was a smart individual. Working with him he had soon learned that the Anacondrai could read others well, especially their weaknesses or in this case, fears.

Pythor rolled his eyes and smiled before gracefully coiling up in a corner, looking at Skales innocently once he was done.

Skales took the hint and coiled up too a few feet away from him, trying to ignore how graceful the other was compared to himself. "Goodnight, Pythor," he said once he was comfortable. "And don't forget our deal," he added, closing his eyes and letting his guard down.

"If it will put your mind at ease then know that I'm not particularly hungry at the moment," he said with a smirk and then closed his own eyes. "Goodnight Skales."

Skales smiled to himself, feeling slightly better after hearing that. He fell asleep soon after along with Pythor, both exhausted from the hectic day they had.

Chapter Text

A few hours before morning, Pythor started to stir slightly, his mind beginning to create an unpleasant dream...

The Great Devourer rose from the ground hundreds of feet up before it stopped, lightning flashing dramatically as it illuminated the beast. Pythor was frozen on the spot. He couldn't move no matter how hard he tried, only being able to to watch as the Devourer turned it's head in his direction.

"N-no... Please..." Pythor said out loud, causing Skales to wake up and hiss softly on instinct incase it was a threat.

The huge snake hissed loudly, baring it's sharp fangs at the Anacondrai who was now desperately trying to break free of this frozen state he was in.

Skales soon realised that Pythor must have just been dreaming, and he was about to go back to sleep before he saw that the Anacondrai was squirming a little bit. Curiosity got the better of him and he decided to wait and see if the snake would say anything else, possibly even give a hint as to what he was dreaming about.

The Great Devourer suddenly lunged at Pythor, mouth wide and green venom dripping out of it.

Pythor yelped and bolted upright, breathing heavily as he looked around in a panic. "Wha-! Where!?"

Skales was by his side in an instant. "Pythor, it's okay. You were jussst dreaming," he said in a calm tone. He used to have many unpleasant nightmares so he knew what it was like. The only difference was that when he woke up he was always alone... He supposed that was why he'd acted so quickly for the Anacondrai; just a natural reaction.

Pythor's breath hitched in his throat and he turned himself invisible for a second, having almost forgotten that Skales was here too. Once he took in the situation and saw that there was no apparent threat he showed himself, trembling slightly. "Just a dream... I- I knew that of course. Hah," he muttered and slithered backwards a few centimetres away from Skales.

The Hypnobrai nodded once, he too moving away to give him some space. "Do you want to tell me what it was about? I've heard that helpsss," he said softly.

"Don't belittle me Skales! It was just a bad dream, nothing more! Why do you even care?"

"I was jussst trying to be helpful. I used to have nightmares too, you know?" he said, glancing at the fire which was now almost out.

Pythor followed his gaze. "I see..." His mind started to race again, struggling to understand why Skales was actually trying to make him feel better. What was there to gain?

"Would you prefer to just go back to sleep?" the Hypnobrai General asked with a tilt of his head, attempting to bring back the peaceful atmosphere they had before.

Pythor nodded. "I would. Goodnight Skales," he said dryly and coiled up, head facing away from him. He was annoyed that he didn't know what Skales was plotting – well what he assumed that Skales was plotting, anyway.

Skales rolled his crimson eyes and coiled up in a corner for the second time tonight. "Goodnight, Pythor." He hesitated for a moment. "Sleep well."

Pythor tensed up.

Sleep well? What was that supposed to mean? Was Skales planning on making his move tonight while he slept and had his guard down. No. That wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to let anything happen. He was an Anacondrai! The most feared serpentine of them all! A Hypnobrai such as Skales wouldn't have any chance of hurting him. He was safe. Unless Skales hypnotised him... But he could keep his eyes closed! Right?

Pythor eventually fell into an uncomfortable sleep, exhausted by all of the worry and paranoia plaguing his mind.

***

A while after the two fell asleep the morning sun shone into the cave, lighting the interior with a soft, orange glow. Birds chirped freely in the distance as a light breeze made its way inside, filling the space with a calm aura. It was almost as if the Devourer had already been defeated...

The change in atmosphere was what woke Pythor up. He slowly opened his magenta eyes and took note of his surroundings: the rocky interior, the ashes on the ground which had originally been a fire, some sticks in the corner and- of course- Skales, the Hypnobrai General who also happened to be his current enigma.

He observed the blue snake with interest, noticing how vulnerable he looked despite being coiled up. His quiet breathing was still noticeable to the Anacondrai along with the way it hitched slightly every now and then. He looked almost innocent like this.

Pythor lost track of how long he'd been staring, his mind beginning to supply him with many ideas of why Skales had actually saved him from the Great Devourer. His main guess was for power, that Skales had only rescued him to gain power through him, though at the moment he didn't have any.

Pythor soon found himself overwhelmed by his thoughts again, so lost in them that he didn't realise he was now looking into crimson red eyes.

Skales had woken up.

"Oh, good morning Skales," the Anacondrai said nonchalantly, looking away in well hidden embarrassment. How long had he been awake?

Skales tilted his head slightly, a small smile making its way to his face. "Good morning," he replied in a rather sleepy tone. "Did you sleep well?"

Pythor nodded and forced himself to look at Skales again. "I did, surprisingly."

"Good." Skales paused, his small smile returning. "You were looking at me like you wanted to eat me, I was just starting to get worried." he joked.

This time it was Pythor's turn to smirk, looking into the Hypnobrai's eyes with an almost predatory look. "A tempting thought, however it is one I'll have to ignore," he said and uncoiled.

Skales uncoiled himself too, smile still present. "Hmph, I don't know whether to be thankful or insulted. Am I not up to your cannibalistic ssstandards, Pythor?" he asked with a smirk. The spirals in his eyes swirled at a slow pace, intention not to hypnotise but to distract in a playful way.

Pythor felt his mouth go dry at the display. "I..." He gulped, managing to look away from those mischievous crimson eyes as his stomach growled.

Skales chuckled to himself, eyes no longer swirling. "I'll take that as a yes." he said and picked up his staff.

The Anacondrai rolled his eyes and slithered to the cave entrance, looking out at the mountains. "Interesting..." he said to himself, glancing up at the clear blue sky.

Skales went by Pythor's side, still giving him his personal space he valued so much. "What isss it?" he asked.

"The sky... It's almost as if those good-for-nothing ninja have already defeated the Devourer," he replied, folding his arms behind his back.

Skales looked at the sky. "Hah, I wouldn't be sssurprised. The ninja always seem to get past the obstacles we throw in their way."

Pythor was quiet for a moment, thinking. "We need to find something that they can't suppass. Something that will both destroy them and give us the opportunity to take over Ninjago once and for all." he said, turning to look at the Hypnobrai General.

Skales met his eyes, reflecting Pythor's passion and determination. "You're right. But... how? How are we going to find this object that will destroy them? Where do we even ssstart?"

Pythor chuckled darkly. "Patience, that's how. We'll strike when they least expect it and with something they aren't prepared for," he said with a grin. "But for now I suggest we get our strength back and gather our thoughts."

Skales raised a nonexistent eyebrow at him. "I admit that wasn't what I was expecting to hear – from you that is – but it makes sssense."

"Of course it does; I said it. When I released the Great Devourer I was acting mostly out of impulse, blindly driven by vengeance. I didn't think the plan through well enough..." he admitted, much to Skales' surprise. "That's why we ultimately failed, and it's also why we need to do things differently next time. That way we'll be stronger, smarter – we'll have the upper hand... We will win."

Skales just stared at the Anacondrai, completely taken aback by his words. He had actually admitted what he did wrong...

"Skales? Did you even hear what I just said?" came Pythor's accusing voice.

The Hypnobrai blinked in surprise and nodded quickly. "I did," he confirmed, looking away.

Pythor tilted his head slightly. "Then what's wrong? The plan?" he asked.

"No no, the plan isn't a problem. Nothing is. I sssuppose I just got lost in my own thoughts for a moment there," he replied with a soft chuckle.

Pythor nodded, understanding that on a personal level. "Well, when you're ready we'll set out to that forest you mentioned yesterday and get something to eat," he said, smiling.

Skales looked at him and couldn't help but return the smile. He much preferred Pythor in a good mood opposed to a bad one. "Let's go now then, I'm ready."

"Wonderful, you lead the way!" Pythor gestured for him to go ahead, magenta eyes glowing in the welcome sunlight.

Skales smiled once more and nodded, beginning to lead the way to the forest.

***

Meanwhile, back in Ninjago City, the people were cheering as the Great Devourer was finally defeated by none other than Lord Garmadon, the man destined to fight the Green Ninja in the final battle. The ground was covered in the beasts' green venom and numerous buildings had been destroyed during the fight. Regardless of all the damage and destruction, people were already getting together and beginning to clean up, preparing to rebuild what had been destroyed.

Lloyd, Sensei Wu and the other ninja watched the scene unfold from the rooftops while Nya helped the few people that were injured.

"Well," Kai spoke up. "This was fun. What now?"

"Now we must to find a place to train Lloyd," said Sensei Wu.

Kai turned to face his team. "Uh, yeah, but aren't you forgetting something? Pythor's still out there plotting who knows what," he said, folding his arms.

"That is true," Wu agreed. "However, we do not know where Pythor is. Looking for him will only waste time. Training Lloyd is our main priority at the moment."

Jay stepped in. "But Garmadon stole our home! The Bounty was the only place we could train Lloyd!"

"Jay's right Sensei," Zane said. "We cannot afford to buy another bounty, or even a place to stay for that matter."

"Then I suggest you ninja find a way to make some money," Sensei said, turning to face them.

"Like a day job?" Kai asked.

Sensei nodded. "That would be the most efficient way. If you all get a day job then we'll soon be able to afford a place to stay, then we can get on with training LLoyd."

"Oh! I know a place that's hiring!" Cole stated. "I saw a flyer back when we were fighting the Devourer – it said that there was a place opening up for a job at the bank!"

"And I know a place that's always hiring new people!" Jay added.

"I'm sure Zane and I will be able to find a job too," Kai said, earning a nod from his robotic friend.

"Then it's settled." Sensei folded his arms behind his back. "Today you will all find day jobs. Nya and I will go out and find a place for us to stay in the meantime with Lloyd."

The ninja all nodded in agreement before parting their separate ways in search of a job.

***

"Remind me again why you know how to make a fully functioning fissshing rod?" Skales asked, watching as Pythor put the last few parts of the second rod together.

The two snakes had arrived at the forest a few minutes prior and were now by the stream, about to fish for their breakfast. Pythor had somehow crafted two fishing rods for them both out of sticks, vines and other natural materials along with two worms for bait.

The Anacondrai smiled as he gave the now finished piece to his companion. "Well you see Skales, you never know when you might end up in a situation like this. So, naturally, I studied up on the art of crafting a fishing rod incase the occasion arose – which it did," he replied simply.

Skales managed to suppress a laugh, spluttering like a broken water faucet. "That's a very specific thing to study about." he said as he cast the vine into the water to distract himself from laughing.

"It is. There wasn't much else to do at the time, other than stare at the skeletons which were slowly piling up in the tomb that is." His voice was neutral as he spoke, not showing even a hint of remorse on the subject. "I'm just glad it wasn't a complete waste of my time."

Skales felt the humour drain out of the situation almost immediately. "Sssorry, I didn't mean to bring that up," he said softly, glancing at Pythor.

The Anacondrai was focused on the water, patiently waiting for a fish to take the bait. "Bring what... Oh – my tribe?" He looked at the other snake indifferently. "What's there to be sorry about?"

Skales blinked. "I just thought that it might have... upset you?"

"Hah! Upset? Me? If there's one thing you should know about me Skales it's that I don't have any regret for what I did to survive those years. Quite frankly, it was rather enjoyable to watch it all play out. My own tribe turning against each another one by one to make it out alive..." His voice had turned slightly darker as he went on, causing Skales to tense uncomfortably. The Anacondrai looked at the water again. Silent.

At this point Skales couldn't even begin tell what the other was feeling, whether it was sorrow, a sick kind of pleasure or both. It was a mystery to him. Pythor was a mystery to him, one that – for some reason – he desperately wanted to solve and understand.

"Why are you even concerned about how I feel?" Pythor asked suddenly, voice curious now as he returned his gaze to the other snake.

Skales looked at him, unable to stop a smile. "Honessstly? I just enjoy your company. It's nice to be around sssomeone interesting for once," he replied.

Things suddenly clicked together in the Anacondrai's mind, realising now that he had it all wrong. If Skales had wanted power then he would have just left him to get eaten by the Devourer, not save him. Even if Skales had wanted power like he originally thought, he wouldn't have been able to overthrow him – not physically and not in a tactical way either. Pythor sighed. Clearly, Skales wasn't planning to betray him.

He had fallen victim to one of his own faults: the inability to trust others.

Pythor looked at the Hypnobrai General with a small smile. "I enjoy your companionship too, Skales. I never did thank you for saving me..."

Skales' eyes widened slightly at his words. "You don't have to thank me. I'm jusst glad to hear that you enjoy my company."

Pythor chuckled. "Of course. Still, you deserve my gratitude," He paused for a brief moment. "Thank you."

Skales allowed himself a smirk. "There, wasss that so hard to say?" he teased.

"Don't push your luck. Have you noticed we haven't caught anything yet? That means you're still on the menu," Pythor said.

Skales would have started to worry for his safety if it wasn't for the playful smile Pythor now had.

"Just you try it and see what..." His eyes were suddenly drawn to a small red and green snake emerging from behind a tree. "What kind of snake is that?" he asked, pointing it out.

Pythor looked over at the serpent as it approached them. "That's odd... I don't actually know. I haven't seen it before." he replied, curious.

Skales smiled and watched the small reptile wrap around the end of his tail. "I think it likes me."

"I wouldn't let it do that if I were you. We don't know anything about it," Pythor warned. "It might be deadly for all we know."

Skales' smile disappeared and was replaced by a look of fear. He moved his tail in an attempt to get the snake off him only for it to suddenly slither up his body and bite his left side. The Hypnobrai flinched and quickly pulled the reptile off, throwing it on the other side of the stream. "It bit me!"

Pythor dropped his fishing rod and slithered over to him. "Are you alright? Let me see the bite mark," he said worriedly.

Skales hesitated but moved so he could see it. "I'm fine, it was only a little bite. I've had worse."

Pythor looked at where the mysterious snake had bitten him. "I wouldn't have been worried if it was just a bite. Like I said before, we don't know anything about that snake," he said as he examined the mark carefully.

"What are you sssaying?" Skales asked.

The Anacondrai watched as Skales' skin started to swell a little. "I'm saying that this might not be good. How are you feeling? Any different?"

Skales shook his head. "No, not really. It just stings," he responded.

Pythor hummed. "I see. Swelling is a common symptom when it comes to bites so perhaps we got lucky this time."

No sooner than those words left his mouth, Skales fell to the ground, shaking.

The Anacondrai felt his heart drop. "Skales!" he exclaimed. He lifted the Hypnobrai General up and looked at the bite which was now a very dark shade of red.

Skales shifted in the others' arms, a soft whimper slipping past his lips. "P-Pythor..." he gasped out quietly, eyes half open and unfocused.

"Skales! Skales, it's going to be okay! I- I'll find a way to help you!" Pythor was panicking slightly, not wanting to loose his only friend that he'd just gained.

"You need to-" Skales coughed weakly. "Go to Fangtom. He'll know what... what t-to do..."

A small trickle of hope found its way to the Anacondrai. Skales was right- Fangtom would know what to do. He was a Fangpire! Their kind were practically experts on all things to do with biting!

Pythor wasted no time. He held Skales safely against his chest and slithered at rapid speeds back to the helicopter.

"Don't worry Skales," he said, looking down at him. "We're going to get through this. I promise..."

Chapter Text

Skales hadn't said anything throughout the whole flight. He was laying across the two front seats, head resting on Pythor's lap - seemingly unconscious. Soft, incoherent words were occasionally mumbled by the sleeping snake along with the odd shudder or twitch as they traveled through the sky.

Pythor, being an Anacondrai, had quickly caught on to how the rattlecopter worked and was now almost at the Lost City of Ouroboros – one of the many places where the serpentine tribes could be.

He had no idea whether the Great Devourer had been defeated or not but had no choice but to return in search of Fangtom. He took a quick glance at Skales, taking note of how unnaturallly pale he had gone and how the bite mark had swelled a considerable amount since they left.

Typical, he thought. He'd finally found a loyal companion only to now be in danger of loosing them.

He took his eyes off Skales to look out of the main window. Ouroboros was now in sight and – much to Pythor's surprise – had already started to be rebuilt. The Devourer must have been defeated then, just like he suspected.

A huge wave of relief washed over him when he saw that the serpentine tribes were indeed there, training together in the Slither Pit arena. Some were having one-on-one battles and others fought in groups while Fangtom and the other two generals watched from the side, having their own conversation.

Pythor didn't hesitate to steer the rattlecopter towards the middle of the arena.

Some of the serpentine looked up; their eyes widened once they saw the machine getting closer and managed to leap out of the way just in time. The copter landed with a soft thud on the sandstone brickwork.

All eyes were now on him. He turned off the engine, the propellers gradually slowing down before coming to a complete stop. Pythor then slipped his arms under Skales' frame and lifted him up close to his chest. He didn't want anything else to happen to him despite being with his own kind now.

Until Skales was back to his usual self – able to defend and fight – nobody could be trusted. Nobody other than Fangtom.

Unfortunately.

The Anacondrai opened the door and slithered out, Skales still in his arms. He ignored all of the other serpentine staring and whispering amongst themselves and went straight to Fangtom.

A Hypnobrai stepped in front of Pythor, blocking his path. "Skales?" he spoke, concern lacing his tone. "You did this! You've killed our general!"

The light muttering turned swiftly into a panicked clamour around them. More serpentine began crowding around, some even coming right up to Skales to see for themselves. It made the Anacondrai's blood boil.

"Enough!" he shouted in a voice which silenced them all instantly. "I wasn't the one who did this you fools! Get out of my way!"

He pushed past the crowd and located the Fangpire General. "Fangtom, Skales was bitten by a foreign snake," he said quickly, gesturing to the bite mark.

"A foreign sssnake?" asked Fangtom, leaning down to see it more clearly. "Come with me, quickly."

The two generals travelled down one of the paths, which eventually lead them to an old building with a hospital symbol on. Fangtom entered first with Pythor close behind.

Inside was surprisingly modern – the kind of hospital you would come across in Ninjago city – but Pythor knew he had no time to properly admire it.

"Place him on there," the Fangpire General said, pointing to an examination table. Pythor did so, briefly wondering when and where they had managed to install all of this equipment. Maybe it was already here. Whatever the reason, he was very grateful, and impressed.

"What did the snake look like?" He asked  while busying himself with a computer.

"It was green and red; relatively small, and came out from behind a tree in the southern mountains."

Fangtom nodded, turning his attention to Skales. He injected what looked to be a green liquid inside of the wound using a needle, before going back to the computer, typing away at a fast pace.

Pythor looked down at Skales' trembling form with a heavy heart. This was his fault. He should have done something to stop it – should have hit the snake away with his tail or at least been more assertive when telling Skales to not let it near him.

But he didn't. And look where that got him.

Will he be okay?, is what he wanted to ask.

"Do you know what kind of snake bit him?" is what came out instead. He pulled his gaze away from Skales and looked over at the other general, who was now filling up a few more needles with the same liquid.

"Yes. What you saw would have been a Scarlett Boa. They are a rare breed, but slightly less so in the sssouthern mountains, which would explain your unlucky dissscovery of it," he said, both heads taking turns for each sentence spoken.

Pythor felt slightly relieved by the news. "How do you cure a serpentine who's been bitten by said snake? Is there an anti-venom?"

A slight pause, and Pythor felt his heart skip a beat. "There is," Fangtom began, but said nothing more. He slithered over to Skales and injected another dose of liquid into him, this time in his tail.

"And?" The Anacondrai snapped, watching him closely. "What is it?"

Fangtom looked at him. "Anacondrai venom."

Pythor blinked. "What? How does Anacondrai venom counteract the effects of another venom? My venom would just make him weaker, wouldn't it?" he asked, feeling genuinely confused.

"You would think so, but no. Serpentine venom is a strange thing, you sssee. It doesn't always follow the laws of science. The toxins in Anacondrai venom actually neutralises toxins found in the Scarlett Boas. Persssonally, I think it's because although your venom is poisonous, it contains antibodies which benefits you, but not your victim.

In this cassse, I believe that if the two venoms combine they'll just cancel each other out, and what does get through will be the antibodies. I could be wrong though; it's just a theory of oursss."

Pythor stared at Fangtom with a surprised expression. He was aware that the Fangpire General had a lot of knowledge on venom, but he had no idea it extended this far.

Of course, the Anacondrai understood everything that was just said (he himself was well versed on the subject), but it was just a suprise that another held that same knowledge, and more. His ego wasn't a big fan of that, however now wasn't the time to dwell on it.

"I see..." he muttered, regaining his composure. "So, what's the catch?"

Fangtom busied himself with the computer again, although this time Pythor noted that he seemed to be doing nothing of importance. More stalling, perhaps.

"Well... There's two catches, actually. The first is that you have to directly inject the venom yourself."

"So I have to-"

"Bite him," Fangtom said for him, giving a short nod.

"I don't see any issues with that," Pythor was quick to say. He was willing to do anything that would help Skales. "What's the second catch?"

Hesitation again. Pythor presumed this was the catch he didn't want to mention.

"There's a very small chance it won't work. The outcome of that for Skales would be... death."

A wave of fear washed over the Anacondrai as he looked back over at Skales. Could he take that chance? The risk of killing the Hypnobrai General was small, but just the mere thought of it was absolutely devastating. To end the life of one who had saved your own, and one who you'd grown a small emotional attachment to.

Did he even have a choice?

As if reading his thoughts, Fangtom spoke up. "If you decide not to, Skales will eventually die," he said carefully.

Well, that was great, wasn't it? So his only options was to either let Skales die or run the risk of doing it himself, with the chance of him surviving. He already knew what he had to choose.

"Tell me when to do it," he sighed, meeting the other's gaze.

Fangtom nodded. "I'll need to ssstabilise him first. The medication should be keeping his vitals in check without going through the procedure humans perform. We jussst have to wait a few minutes."

The Anacondrai watched as Skales' body began to slowly stop twitching, and his expression seemed to shift from a pained, uncomfortable one, to a much more relaxed one. He looked peaceful, lying there. Completely unaware of the danger he was in, and the danger that was soon to come.

His thoughts began to wander down a dark place - if the worst happened. If Skales didn't make it. Pythor didn't fully understand his own feelings about it. On one hand, there was a part of him that had already disassociated himself with the emotional attachment. That part of him was trying to protect him, he knew that, trying to keep him from the pain of loosing someone he cared about... again. But even those feelings were messed up; the whole Anacondrai cannibalism incident had seriously affected him in terms of emotions.

On the other hand, there was another part of him, a stronger part, which was in complete turmoil. The thought of Skales dying- no, being killed, was setting off a whirlpool of sorrow throughout his mind and body. It stung his heart, made it almost cramp up with pain.

Stop thinking like that, he scolded himself mentally. Skales will be fine. You're an Anacondrai for goodness sake! You're not supposed to feel like this. Pull yourself together!

Though despite his inner dialogue, he couldn't brush off the fears which lurked within him.

It was only a few more minutes before he got the go-ahead from Fangtom. Hesitation ran through him like a river as he looked down at the Hypnobrai General, daunting thoughts clouding his already worried mind. But he had to do this.

Taking one last glance back at Fangtom – and recieving a small, not so reassuring smile in return – he leaned towards Skales. This was it; no turning back now. He slowly sunk his teeth into the Hypnobrai's neck, closing his eyes in a last regret, before allowing the venom from his fangs to poison the other, hoping beyond anything that this wouldn't go wrong.

Once the venom had successfully entered Skales' bloodstream, he pulled away; Fangtom was quick to clean and dress the wound, and just like that, it was over.

Pythor wiped the blood off his fangs, grimacing. Not so much at the taste (it was actually rather nice, as sick and twisted as that was), but at the context; he had maybe just killed someone he was starting to see as a friend. A real friend.

"All we can do now isss wait," came Fangtom's voice, startling Pythor out of his thoughts. "He has around two minutes to pull through your venom..."

Two minutes.

Two. Minutes.

Pythor felt sick.

Those two minutes were perhaps the longest two minutes he had ever experienced. Each second that ticked by seemed to slow the next second to come. Pythor found himself clenching his fists so tightly it hurt, and the words come on, pull through, please pull through this Skales, repeated on an endless loop in his mind.

Two minutes came, and two minutes went. Skales hadn't opened his eyes. Pythor felt his heart sink, hand reaching out to check the other's pulse before retreating almost simultaneously; he couldn't do it. There was no point in checking what he already knew.

A hand touched Pythor's shoulder, and he turned around to see Fangtom who looked just as devastated.

"I'm sssorry, Pythor..."

The Anacondrai nearly whimpered. His magenta eyes were on the verge of tears, and when he turned away to look back at Skales, he was met with a deep crimson. Not blood, but eyes. Skales' eyes.

Pythor gasped. "Skales?"

The Hypnobrai General twitched, his eyes flickering between Pythor and Fangtom, confused and weak-looking. "Pythor...?" he slurred.

The Anacondrai snatched up Skales into a hug before he could think better of it. His neck and arms wrapped around him in a way that could almost be seen as protective, and not even Fangtom could miss the huge, relived grin Pythor had while doing so.

He let go quickly, however, scared that he would end up hurting him further. Skales didn't seem mind; he had a small smile of his own now, albeit lopsided, and didn't look to be in any pain at all. Just... very tired.

"He'll come around sssoon, don't worry," said Fangtom, slithering over to get a better look at Skales. "Jussst let him get some rest."

Skales frowned. "I'm not tired," he mumbled, exhaustion written all over him.

Pythor chuckled; resilient as always. He didn't know why he ever doubted his survival.

"Thank you, Fangtom," the Anacondrai said softly, watching as Skales' eyes drooped and eventually closed, sleep taking over him. "Without you, I don't think I would have ever fathomed how to save him in time."

A soft hum from the Fangpire. "Don't mention it. Skales is a good friend of mine; I'm jussst glad he made it..."

Pythor smiled. "As am I."

***

Around three hours passed by untill Skales finally woke up. It was still quite early in the morning – somewhere around 9am – and yet Pythor had stayed by his side the entire time. He watched the other's eyes slowly flutter open, a deep red meeting the glowing magenta eyes belonging to Pythor.

"Good morning, Skales," the Anacondrai spoke softly, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

Skales blinked a few times and sat up, seeming to struggle in doing so. "Pythor?" he asked in a tired voice. "What happened? Why am I...." He looked around confusedly, down at himself, the bite mark, and then back at Pythor, the pieces suddenly clicking in his mind as he remembered. "Oh... Right. The sssnake. Did you kill it?"

Pythor couldn't help but laugh. "You almost die and the first thing you ask me is whether I killed the snake?"

It took Skales a moment to catch on to the humour, but soon enough he was joining in with a laugh of his own, grinning bemusedly. "I suppossse that probably wasn't the bessst first question I could have asked," he admitted.

"No, definitely not. But to answer your question, I didn't kill the snake. I was too busy carrying you to the rattlecopter – killing the snake wasn't the first thing to come to mind, surprisingly."

Skales couldn't blame him. "So... what exactly happened? After I passed out, I mean."

"Well, like I said, I rushed you back to the rattlecopter and travelled back to Ouroboros in hopes that Fangtom would be there. Against all odds, he was. They were all there, actually, training together-”

"Wait, what? Doesss that mean the Great Devourer has already been defeated?" Skales interrupted, sitting up a little more in attentiveness.

"I believe so," Pythor replied, still unsure of that himself. "The city was in the process of being rebuilt when I arrived so I could only assume as much."

Skales laughed shortly. "No doubt those pesssky ninja were behind it all. They certainly exceeded my expectationsss," he said, glancing down at the bite mark again. Pythor followed his gaze, seeing that the wound had almost completely healed now. "So how did you manage to heal me?"

Pythor met the other's eyes for a brief moment, but they were then inevitably drawn to Skales' neck, where his own bite mark was – not healed in the slightest. It wasn't as if the Anacondrai had expected it to have healed (he certainly hadn't, especially not in three hours), but he had hoped it would be slightly less noticeable.

He sighed, looking away from the mark and Skales entirely. "To make a long story short, Fangtom and I took a small yet unavoidable risk in order to save your life."

"And that was...?"

Pythor cringed. "I... had to bite and poison you."

Skales' eyes widened. "What!?" he exclaimed.

"It was only a small risk! And we had no other choice anyway; if I didn't go through with it you would have died anyway!"

Skales reached up quickly, finding the bite mark somehow straight away with his hand. "Are you ssserious?"

"Well I apologise for the inconvenience, but I was merely trying to ensure your survival," Pythor huffed, folding his arms.

"Hm?" Skales looked at him, confusion in his eyes. Then it clicked. "Oh, I'm not annoyed – jussst impressed," he clarified, his arm falling back by his side again. "How did that even work? You're venom should have just poisoned me even more, right? I don't underssstand..."

"I thought the exact same thing, but your friend does seem to know an awful lot about venom. I hate to admit it, but I'm afraid it even surpasses my own knowledge..."

"Ah, Fangtom," The Hypnobrai said, immediately knowing who Pythor was referring to. "Yes, he is a bit of an expert on the sssubject. I hope he didn't show off too much?" Skales grinned.

"No, not exactly. I think he was too concerned on your behalf to do so, though he didn't hesitate to go into a bit of detail I asked the same question as you," he admitted.

"That'sss a shame..."

"What is?"

"It's a shame I wasn't awake to sssee your reaction -- you know, to him 'surpassing' your own knowledge," Skales said, barely holding in a chuckle.

Pythor growled, his magenta eyes glaring down at Skales in a way that made him shiver.

"I was only joking," Skales said quickly. He would have flinched away but his pride just wouldn't allow it. Instead, he somehow managed to maintain eye contact with the Anacondrai. "Thank you for everything, by the way. Without you I would be dead by now."

That seemed to appease the other, who now had a much softer expression. Skales internally stored away that information away just incase he needed it in the future which, at this rate, he certainly would. Skales couldn't help teasing others -- especially Pythor, as he had recently discovered.

There was a sort of thrill in messing with a serpentine like him, an egotistical, highly intelligent (and highly dangerous) Anacondrai. Pythor could quite easily kill him if he wanted to, but he didn't. Skales very much enjoyed being at that little edge of the other's mercy.

"Anyway, where were we?" The Anacondrai asked, breaking Skales out of his thoughts

"I believe you were in the midst of explaining how your venom didn't poissson me," Snakes chimed in helpfully.

"Ah yes. Well, let's see now... Fangtom mentioned something about the two venoms cancelling each other out, with only a small chance of it failing. He also said that I would have to inject the venom directly -- hence the bite mark," he said, gesturing lightly to the other's neck.

"I bet you didn't hesssitate to agree to that," Skales joked.

Surprisingly, Pythor didn't seem offended by that one. "If there wasn't a small risk of it failing then I wouldn't have, believe me," he said darkly, looming over Skales. This time he saw the light shudder that ran through the Hypnobrai, and he couldn't help but feel proud that he had elicited such a response. Consider his ego stroked.

Seeing as though Skales was stunned into silence he carried on, "But there was a risk. I wouldn't have taken it, however Fangtom was kind enough to mention that if didn't then you would die anyway."

"I sssee... I'm glad it's all over now. How are the other tribes doing?"

"They're fine. Last I heard, they're all working together to rebuild Ouroboros."

"Together? Now there'sss a surprise."

Pythor hummed his agreement. "I assumed they would back to their own ways, fighting amongst one another or at least leaving to go with their own tribes, but no. For some reason they're staying together. It's absurd. Not that I'm complaining, of course; their partnership is very beneficial to me." Skales gave him a look, and Pythor quickly added, "To us."

Skales rolled his eyes. "I guess they really have bonded after all."

"It seems so."

"Then... What do we do next?'

Pythor shrugged his shoulders. "Plans take time, Skales, like I said before. For now I believe the best course of action is to continue training. When we're ready, we'll start off slow. Spying on what the Ninja are up to seems like a good place to start."

"Agreed." Skales smiled, but it quickly faded and was replaced by a look of embarrassment when his stomache rumbled in hunger.

Pythor's quiet chuckle which followed definitely didn't help his damaged pride. "It'ss not funny!" he hissed, folding his arms and turning away.

"Of course not, why would I ever think such a thing?"

Skales would have believed the sincerity in his voice but the sly grin he wore gave it away. He huffed, humiliated.

Pythor's grin only widened. "Don't be like that, my loyal second in command. How about we go and get a bite to eat, hm?"

Skales sighed, pushing himself off the table with a small wince which didn't go unnoticed by Pythor. "Alright, let'sss go."

"On second thought, stay there. I'd hate for you to injure yourself further. I'll bring you back something myself instead – Fangtom will want to check up on you in the meantime anyway," he said, giving no chance for Skales to argue as he slithered out of the room.

"Okay...?" The Hypnobrai spoke into the empty room, sitting back on the examination table. That was odd, but he presumed that Pythor only wanted him to recover quickly so they could go about their training. That sounded about right.

Skales sighed to himself, getting comfortable (well, as comfortable as one could get on a solid metal table), while he waited for Pythor to return.

Hopefully he wouldn't take too long...