I feel like a bit of trouble, so I'm bringing this chapter back, yay! :D

"Can we go now?"

"What's the matter?" Louisa had been a bit fidgety while she and Leo walked around the joke shop they had found, but Leo had put it down to ADHD and the bad jokes in here. Leo noticed the nervousness in Louisa's eyes and how her green orbs kept flicking to something over his shoulder. Leo made to turn and look, but she grabbed his wrist and stopped him. "What's wrong, chica?" Leo asked softly, tucking a long strand of loose hair behind her ear.

"Can we go now?" She repeated, starting to pull him out of the shop. As she did, Leo glanced round, catching a glimpse of a blonde man with a too beautiful woman. Leo let Louisa pull him away from the on-board shopping centre, through crowds of tourists- a few of which she had to shove- and into the elevators that took them up to their rooms.

Leo noticed she was hastily pressing the button to their floor, as if that would make the lift hurry up. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a hug.

"Calm down." He soothed, rubbing her back. Louisa held onto him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder. She only pulled away when the lift dinged and the doors slid open. They made to exit the elevator, but something stopped them.

Not more tourists, no. But a giant black snake.

Louisa gave a half-scream, half-yell and raced away. Leo ran after her, the sound of the snake's giant body hitting the floor, its scales scuffing over it. He shouted for his wife, but she was faster. "Lou!" The snake hissed and swung its head. Leo's legs were slammed out from under him and he landed heavily on his side, his arm exploding in pain. The snake towered over him, its head scuffing the ceiling ten feet above them. Leo heard the hurried rattle as it shook its tail and watched as its forked tongue slipped over its thin lips. The jet black serpent's scarlet eyes narrowed and it bared its fangs, yellow, dripping in venom and as long as Leo's forearm.

"Leo!" An arrow slammed into the snake's eye and it recoiled, hissing sharply. Leo pushed himself to his feet and took off at a sprint, holding his injured arm to his chest.

He caught up with Louisa at the end of the corridor. She was shaking, her bow in her hand and her quiver of arrows slung over her back. Her eyes frequently darted back to the serpent, full of fear. "I-I… I didn't mean to leave ya, b-but…" She trailed off, looking nervous. Leo put his good arm around her.

"It's OK, Lou. We all have fears."

"I shouldn't have left ya. Ya got hurt." She gingerly held his wrist of his injured arm and carefully flexed his arm for him. Leo winced and bit his lip, muffling his groan of pain. Under her fear and nervousness, she looked guilty. "Here." She pressed a square of ambrosia into his good hand and glanced over his shoulder. The giant snake was five metres away and gaining quickly. Leo shoved the godly food in his mouth just as she grabbed his good arm and had them running away again. The pain slowly ebbed from his injured arm, but it didn't set properly and it wouldn't for another hour or two. Leo didn't have an hour or two.

They rounded a corner, sprinted another ten metres before Louisa skidded to a halt, Leo doing the same and colliding with her.

"Sorry." He mumbled, as he grabbed her elbow and helping her stand steady. "Why'd you st-oh…" Leo noticed who stood at the end of the corridor, smiling like the cat that got the cream.

It was the blonde man and his too beautiful woman from earlier.

Luke and an empousa.

"Do you like my pet, Louisa?" Luke smirked, his blue eyes glittering coldly as they rested on Louisa. "I trained him to specially track you down and his venom is most torturous on a child of old Barnacle Breath."

"Don't call my dad names, bitch." Louisa demanded, regaining some of her fire. Leo glanced back as a handful of dull thuds signalled the snake crashing into walls at the other end of the corridor. It hissed at him threateningly, its ruby eyes fixed in a glare on him and Louisa. Louisa noticed the snake's arrival and paled slightly.

"I hear you got married." Luke's icy eyes slid to Leo, sending a mild glare at Leo. "You married that weak idiot."

"He ain't weak 'n' he ain't an idiot." Louisa snapped, notching an arrow. She let it fly and the beautiful woman next to Luke morphed into her empousa form and leapt up impossibly high. Louisa notched another arrow and fired at the same time Leo hurled a fire ball at the she-demon. She exploded into dust and ash, her dying scream echoing down the corridors.

Luke snapped his fingers and the snake hissed loudly. Louisa, with shaking hands, loaded another arrow. Together, she and Leo turned to face the serpent, but he could tell she wanted nothing more than to run away from it. Leo muttered something about the snake's blind side from where she had shot it earlier and set his good arm on fire. His injured arm wasn't as bad, but he didn't want to move it as that made the pain flare up again.

The snake snapped at them, its fangs narrowly missing their fronts as they jumped back. It slithered forward, its scales clattering over the smooth floor. It spat at them, the mustard yellow goo it coughed up landing in a puddle at their feet and melting through the floor.

"Well, that's not fair. It has acid spit…" Leo muttered.

"Flammable." Louisa breathed. "I think." She added quietly. Leo understood. Louisa fired her arrow- a net arrow- straight at the serpent, tying its jaws shut like a muzzle. The snake fought to free itself from the imprisonment, hissing and glaring at them.

After a minute, it snapped its jaws open. Leo acted quickly as the snake gagged and attempted to produce another acid spit ball. He threw a fireball with the accuracy and speed of a pitcher, relishing in his returned power. The flames caught the acid in the snake's mouth and its mouth started spewing flames. The snake thrashed about, nearly taking them out. Leo pulled Louisa back as she didn't have the sense to move away herself, rooted to the spot in fear.

The snake collapsed on the ground where they had been seconds before, flames still sputtering from its mouth and smoke furling from its nostrils. There was a scrape of metal as a sword was drawn. Leo felt rather than saw Louisa shake worse than before as they turned to face Luke. The blonde git advanced with the new version of Backbiter ready. Leo saw the heat waves rolling off of the blade and made a silent promise not to let her get burnt.

"That wasn't very nice." Luke snarled, slowly and cautiously making his way towards them. Louisa's bow shimmered and her sword appeared, but she couldn't stop shaking. "It took me years to raise that bloody snake."

"Oh well." Leo retorted defiantly, readying another fireball. Something in Luke's expression changed and he went for a different approach;

"It's so boring without you, Louisa." Luke drawled. Louisa glared at him, but there was no witty comeback. "Why don't you come back?" He offered, smirking.

"No." Her voice shook, but in his own anger, Leo couldn't tell what emotion her voice shook from- either anger or fear or both.

"She's not going anyway with you." Leo growled, one hand on fire and the other clasping Louisa's.

"Ooh, so noble." Luke gave a bark-like, patronizing laugh. "What? Will pathetic little Valdez fight for her?" Luke cooed mockingly.

"Always." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Louisa stare at him. He didn't look back, not breaking eye contact with Luke. The latter was looking Leo up and down, considering his choices. "Why the hesitation, Puke? Can't fight pathetic little Valdez?" Luke scowled, drawing Backbiter.

"No!" Louisa's sword suddenly appeared in her hand. Luke pointed Backbiter at her, the heat rolling off of it in obvious waves. Louisa didn't falter, but her eyes possessed a glint of terror in them, stubbornly masked. Leo's respect for her shot up- she was petrified of that sword, yet here she was, standing up to it and its owner for him.

"And what will you do?" Luke smirked. He snapped his fingers and a hum rippled through the air. There was a great hiss and the shift of something heavy and scaly. The next thing Leo knew, everything was dark…

Dark, warm and damp. Not Leo's best climate.

It took him a few seconds to figure out the snake was trying to eat him. He felt the pull of the snake trying to swallow and actually felt… burns. Not fire burns- acid burns. It felt as if his whole nervous system was full of the acidic salvia and it brought a sickening churn to his stomach.

At some point, it clicked in his mind that acid was flammable. These conditions, however, and the depleting level of oxygen… could he spontaneously combust?

He slipped on the snake's tongue and was very nearly swallowed. He risked himself turning into a fire ball, but it wasn't orange flames that encased him, but green.

Greek fire.

So cool.

The snake screeched and Leo fell to the floor, light blinding him. He was half aware of Louisa cursing every curse under the sun, but his main concerns were the acid burns and the fact that he was covered in snake slobber.

"Leo! Oh, shit." Blood was seeping from the acid burns and in some places; the acid had corroded away skin and a thin slice of flesh.

Leo felt a hand on his cheek and somebody was helping him drink something. It tasted like fresh, ground bean coffee, nice and hot with the perfect amount of sugar- nectar. The pain numbed and he slumped, half-unconscious, in his pool of slimy snake salvia. His vision cleared enough to see Louisa getting to her feet, loading her bow with four arrows and firing. Judging by the explosions and strangled cries of pain, Luke had had his ass handed to him on a plate.

Leo had blacked out after that. When he woke up, he was lying in his boxers in the bath of his and Louisa's suite. The bath had been filled partially with warm, clear water. Louisa was kneeling on the floor and healing his wounds one by one with the water.

"Lou…" He croaked, making her jump.

"You're OK!" She totally surprised him by kissing him. Leo was momentarily stunned when she pulled away and continued healing the acid burns with more speed and inspiration.

"How… how'd you…"

"How'd I get ya back?" Leo nodded. "Mikey helped."

"The bi guy helped."

"Yeah. Why?" She smirked. "Worried he'll see ya in your boxers?" Leo managed a weak smile. "Mikey's good, ya leave him alone." Leo nodded slowly, but hissed in pain as her fingers brushed against an acid burn on the inside of his leg. "Sorry." She apologized quickly. "I'm tryin'."

"I know you are, chica." He watched her as she concentrated to heal him. Her eyes seemed a sharper shade of emerald green and a power flickered and coiled in them. "Luke… and the snake?"

"Gone. Burnt. Greek fire."

"Greek fire… not safe." Leo frowned. Louisa smiled.

"Your dad helped with that one." Leo nodded, relaxing slightly. "Don't worry, we ain't sunk the ship."

"Yet."

"Have a little faith!"

OK, I know this was originally split into two or three chapters, but I felt like putting it all in one, so yay! No cliffhanger- nice- Leoisa- nice- and big snake go boom!- nice, but not for the snake.