Captured!

Kai stared down at the console, oblivious to the world around him. He was focused on his thoughts-his memories-of yesterday. Of how he'd failed Zane...

"I believe I know where he is." Kai and everyone else had looked up at Zane, their hopes soaring. If he knew where his vision of Pythor had come from, they could get to the first fang blade before the Serpentine did!

"Where did your vision take place in, Zane?" Sensei Wu asked calmly, ever one for rational thought even in tense situations.

"In my vision, I saw they were in a cave-with markings on the wall..." Zane remarked. "However, I recognized the markings, because I'd been in that cave. Actually, so has Cole. It's the Constricti's tomb!" The ninja grinned at each other. If they kept a close eye on the cave, they could get the first fang blade from Pythor!

"Alright, Zane!' cried Cole. "That's so cool! Sensei Wu stood up.

"When exactly was this vision?" he asked Zane. Zane frowned, concentrating.

"I-know it is from the future, not far off, but other than that..." he shrugged. "Sorry." Sensei Wu nodded, then turned to the others.

"We will need a security detail on the location of the Constricti's tomb at all times. The moment there is Serpentine activity, I want to know. If we succeed in capturing just one of the four fang blades, we will be able to stop Pythor completely in his plans to ressurect the great snake." Nya nodded, grinning.

"On it, Sensei." The ninja were really excited, and as they sat down to dinner, they quickly started to babble and congratulate Zane. For the first time in over a week, they had something on Pythor! Tommorow, Nya would organize a guard schedule for them-but for now, celebrating was enough.


Two days later found two ninja training-and two keeping a close eye on the Temple of a Thousand Steps, the location of the tomb. Kai and Zane were the latter group, and they'd been watching for about two hours. Kai was quickly falling asleep after SO much sitting still in the warm sun, and it seemed that Zane was, too, falling asleep-or was at least a statue-but he was just meditating, as he could do for many more hours than two. It was about time for them to report "No Activity" when-SURPRISE!-there was! Zane was sitting on a flat rock, when suddenly, he heard some rocks fall next to him. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and looked up, so as not to alert whoever was up there that he knew they were. Aha! Creeping along behind a bluff were some Fangpyres-with a fang blade! Zane pretended he hadn't seen them, and let them pass out of his sight. As soon as they were, he jumped up, shook Kai awake, and told him of his sighting. Just then, more appeared, but at such an angle where they couldn't see the two ninja. Kai and Zane grabbed their Golden Weapons, and slipped unseen up the cliff face to the entrance of the tomb. Kneeling behind an outcropping of rock, they planned their attack.

"Okay, this is what we'll do," Kai said, drawing a map in the sand. "We'll go in the entrance, Spinjitzu our way around the room, grab fang blade, flip on out. Simple." Zane saw several flaws in that plan, but before he could say Wait, Kai was gone.

"What-oomph!" Zane groaned, and he quickly flipped over the outcropping and to the tombs entrance, where Kai knelled.

"Come on! Let's go!" Kai hissed, gesturing to Zane to follow. They each took a side, leaned forward, and...dropped! In a second, their weapons were out, they were in position, and they were staring at...an empty room. Not a soul was in it! The ninja looked around, confused. They'd seen snakes-but where were they? The two looked at each other, stood up, and cautiously stepped forward off the small platform.

"I don't get it! Where are they?" cried Zane. Kai shrugged, feeling as confused as Zane looked. He searched the room all over, his eyes circling it again and again. And then the ground exploded. He flew across the room, and his head thunked into a hard something. For a few seconds, he felt light and sleepy, and what jolted him out of THAT was the sensation of falling. He saw the spinning ceiling rising away from him-and then a hand grabbed at his wrist.

"Kai!" cried Zane's faraway voice- and then, magically, his head felt fine. The room steadied, and he realized he was hanging over a deep hole.

"Ah!"he cried, scrambling up the dirt wall as Zane pulled him up over the edge. but hardly a second passed before Zane cried out and was pulled backwards, and Kai felt hands grab at him. Instinctively, he whipped around and punched the snake in the face, jumped out of his arm's reach, and looked around wildly for Zane. But there were to many snakes, and he was being forced onto the pedestal, and his Sword of Fire was gone, and-

"Kai!" yelled a voice, and suddenly he was being pulled upwards, out of the tomb, and a robotic voice was saying "Magnetizer, activate," and he was soaring higher and higher, crying out, as Jay later told him, Zane, Zane, Zane...

He pressed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. We're gonna find you, Zane. Don't you worry.


Zane stared up at Pythor like he was insane-because, well, he thought he just might be.

"You want me to WHAT? I can't-I can't- do that! No one can! No one but a god!" Zane stammered. Pythor glared down at him.

"Then how do you explain what you did to your freind?" he asked coldly.

"What?" Pythor raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"You really don't know, do you?"

Zane stared up at him. He could feel the curiosity growing inside him, like a seed. He breathed in, straightened up , and said, quite calmly, "Don't know what?"