Love is Madness

by MidnightDragon06

Long before the Serpentine were locked underground, there was a brief time of peace. During this time Pythor is a young Anacondrai warrior who has finally found the one. There is only one problem: Aera has been stricken with a deadly disease known only as the Shadow. No cure is known, no one has ever survived . . . and yet, as it always must, life must go on.

Pythor stood at Aera's bed, scaled hand in hers. She had fallen ill a few months back, and the doctors had said she didn't have much longer. Her scales, which had once been a beautiful violet, had darkened, and were almost black in color. Too weak to stand, Aera now spent the majority of her days lying in bed. "Don't leave me," Pythor begged. "I don't think I could go on if I lost you. You're the love of my life. . . my sunrise. You're everything to me."

Aera laughed, frequently pausing to cough. "You always were a stubborn one." She smiled, amber eyes filled with mixed emotions of admiration, love, and sorrow. "I had a dream last night. I saw my sister. The one you loved until she-" Aera broke off, shaking from the pain caused by coughing so hard. "Until she introduced me to you, yes, I was there." Pythor adjusted the sheets nervously. Reminiscence was one of the first signs of death.

"She told me to tell you...to tell you not to worry. She said to tell you I'll be in a better place. I won't be sick anymore. I'll be with family...wouldn't you like that for me?"

Pythor looked down at her affectionately, "Yes, but then you wouldn't be here with me."

Aera shifted in the bed, pulling something from under the covers. She reached out to Pythor, "Here. Now you'll have something to remember me by." Into his hand fell a stone. It was small, but large enough that Pythor could feel its weight in his hand. He looked at it in amazement, then turned his gaze back to Aera, "But this is your-" he stopped, just standing in shocked silence. Aera had turned in the bed, cold and unmoving. She was gone.

Five years pass, and a lot has happened. Pythor became general of the his tribe, the Anacondrai. Shortly after, the Serpentine had been forced to live underground, locked away in five separate tombs. With no food, the once-feared Anacondrai had turned to cannibalism for survival. Now, only Pythor remained, spending his days searching for something to eat. Not a day passed that he didn't think of Aera, about how much he loved her. He would occasionally examine the stone entrance, trying to find a way to escape his underground prison. And then one day, his greatest dreams became reality.

It started with a dream, as most miraculous things do. A dream about Aera.

They stood side by side in a field of tall grass, surrounded by flowers. Aera stepped forward, as if to say something, but just as her foot made contact with the ground, Aera had vanished. Pythor looked around, "Aera?". The earth beneath him began to shake, and an enormous serpent burst up from underground. The Devourer. Except...except it was different from the legends. It's scales were a deep violet, the same as. . . the same as Aera's. Pythor gasped, "Aera? Is- is this what happened? You became...the Devourer?"

The massive snake moved its head, as if nodding. It hissed, its forked tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. A voice rang in Pythor's ear, "Release me...release your god and we can be reunited . . . " Images of four silver blades formed in Pythors head. Each was shaped like a serpent's fang . . . they were the keys to unleashing the Devourer.

Pythor woke, breathing heavily. A loud, ear-shattering noise echoed throughout the cavern. "Hello? Is anyone there?" Pythor heard the groan of century-old doors opening after decades of unuse. He followed the sound, now able to hear footsteps and the click of

Pythor woke, breathing heavily. A loud, ear-shattering noise echoed off the walls of the cavern. "Hello? Is anyone there?" He heard the click of a flashlight being turned on, and someone's footsteps as they walked through the cave, shining the flashlight on everything within reach. Pythor grinned . . . whoever this was, their arrival meant the tomb had been opened, providing Pythor with both an escape route, and the beginnings of his journey to being reunited with Aera.

Pythor made his way through the maze-like passageways of the tomb, eagerly anticipating what was going to be the biggest meal he'd had in five years. It was a little boy, of about nine. He wore a black hoodie, on which he had painted bone-like markings. In the top left corner was a green five. The boy held the flashlight tightly, sensing he was not alone. He took a step back just as Pythor had slithered forward, ready to swallow the sandy-haired kid in one bite. They collided, and the boy fell backwards, landing flat on his back.

The Anacondrai leaned forward, offering his hand in apology. The boy took it, his hoodie moving as he scrambled to his feet, revealing a rolled up map. I have got to get that map. Pythor thought. It was the map that would lead him to the locations of the four other Serpentine tombs. "I'm terribly sorry I frightened you," Pythor apologized, his forked tongue sliding over his teeth.

Now that he had recovered, the boy smiled, foolishly trusting Pythor. "You know, after being betrayed by the Fangpyre and the Hypnobrai I've been on my own most of the time. How would you like to be my loyal henchman?"

Not in your wildest dreams, Pythor thought, but if that's what it takes to get to that map . . . "I'd love to . . . and who might I have the honor of meeting?"

"I'm Lloyd Garmadon, evil son of the super-evil Lord Garmadon!" Lloyd announced, assuming what he probably thought was a heroic stance, holding his head high with his hands planted firmly on his hips. "And as my first order, I order you to help me steal all the candy in Ninjago!"

I must be mad, thought Pythor. The two spent the next few hours doing whatever meanless thing Lloyd felt like. They returned to the cave at sundown, full of candy. Lloyd collapsed to the floor, exhausted. "This was the best day every Pythor." He pulled some candy out of his pocket and ate it, "I'm glad you're my friend . . ." Lloyd sighed. "If only the people at my boarding school were like that. They said I wasn't evil enough to be a student there . . . I'll show them! I'm Lloyd Garmadon! No one is more evil than me!"

Pythor, who hadn't said anything up to that moment, spoke, "You mentioned wanting to get revenge on some ninja earlier. Why don't we go have ourselves a double revenge and go to that school of yours. I'm sure you'll be able to show them how truly despicable you really are."