"Be wary of what you say in the presence of Queen Aspheera," Arcturus warned Lulloyd with a hiss against his ear, "And do not attempt to lie."
Lulloyd took a long stare at the sight that was Queen Aspheera. The Serpentine was rather regal and grand, and everything about her, to him at least, spoke to the fact she was indeed the Queen that Clutch had been talking about. She'd already demonstrated her power by stripping Mage of his element keeping them hidden, and thus, the Queen was able to look upon them both with their real selves bared. But even further than that, her gaze itself felt weightier than the pyramid they stood in. Just locking eyes with her made Lulloyd feel her power, elegance, and words.
"You are both unlike any human I have ever seen," Aspheera commented, "One looks like the mural we've painted on our cities and the other… like the toys we give our young."
"Regardless of how they look," Arcturus growled, "They intruded upon a Slither Pit, and then they spoke of the Prince. They have entered our lands by some power we do not yet know."
"We're not here to fight you!" Lulloyd spoke up, forcing past his stunned silence "We're just here to-"
Arcturus suddenly struck him with his tail. The force of the smack into Lulloyd's gut threw him backwards. The air was completely knocked from him. Arcturus slithered up to him and grabbed him by the shirt (or more so his torso in general), yanking him up onto his feet.
"Silence!" Arcturus spat, "You humans think you can walk onto our lands, hide beneath our faces and then disrespect the Queen without properly addressing her?"
Aspheera slowly raised her hand from the throne's side. Arcturus suddenly silenced himself, gently moving to back away from Lulloyd. He moved to stand beside the throne, straightening his back and curling his tail around his body. He looked almost like a perfect statue with how proper his posture was.
"That is enough, General Arcturus," Aspheera declared, "You may relinquish your anger for them. If you meant to scare them, you have done so thoroughly."
"I apologize, my Queen," Arcturus bowed his head, "They must know the severity of their crime."
"And I believe that we have imparted that upon them by now," Aspheera stared down at Mage still trembling on the floor, "My magic was not meant to harm him unless he resisted. He has paid the price now," She turned her gaze towards Lulloyd, "You. Speak. How do you know of my son?"
"Ophiod?" Lulloyd asked, then shook his head, "I-I mean, Queen Aspheera, your son, Prince Ophiod, attacked us. He uhm, he was working for someone called the Time Twins and, he said that he wanted to scare us. We're, uh, not from this world and… w-we came to figure out why he was attacking us."
"You claim that my son, the crown prince, attacked you?" Aspheera asked coldly, "Did Arcuturs' words not warn you lying would result in consequences?"
"W-We aren't lying!" Lulloyd gasped out, "He attacked us! We're not from this world! He ambushed us while we were fleeing from the Twins, then he chased us all the way to my world and said we had to stay there!"
"You claim to be from another world," Aspheera sat up, "Your body may relay that clearly, but such a claim is a bold one. Is this another lie to avoid my wrath?"
"N-No, no of course not!" Lulloyd gulped, "I swear, we're not from this world!"
"Then let us see you prove it," Aspheera stood up fully from her throne, moving her hands in front of her. Lulloyd watched as she placed her hands together and began to chant in a guttural language, the same that Ophiod had. Slowly, power began to crackle between her hands. Before Lulloyd could question what she was doing, she opened her hands, causing the power to fall to the ground. When it struck, it turned liquid and ran along the ground in rivets. When they reached the two trespassers, it rose up from the ground around them. A ring of fiery chains surrounded them both, swirling mere inches from their bodies.
"These chains will sense your true intentions," Aspheera sat back down, "If you lie to me, they will tighten and burn through the hides you wish to save with your lies. My magic is absolute. Now. What is your reason for coming here, trespassers?"
"To… To…" Lulloyd looked to the flaming chains that gave no heat but swirled around him like spinning blades, "We're, we're from another world, w-well both of us are from different worlds1 Ophiod attacked us and, and we came to learn more about him and figure out why!" The chains did not stop spinning, but stayed where they were.
"So you are adamant that you are from another world, and that you hold true to this fact?" Aspheera continued.
"Y-Yes!" Lulloyd gasped, "Just look at us!" The chains stayed put.
"And you know of where my son's whereabouts are?" Aspheera asked firmly, "Is it your intention to harm my son?"
"We… we know where he's been, we know that he's, he's in one of the worlds our group is from," Lulloyd didn't pause, "We, we don't intend to hurt him! We just want to know why he's trying to hurt us!"
The chains remained where they were, again. Arcturus turned to look at his Queen, who in turn stared at those that cowered beneath her throne. Lulloyd shut his eyes, waiting for the chains to seize up and the Queen to declare them liars. If he ever saw Clutch again, he'd make sure that he felt the same fear that he was feeling right now!
Instead, Lulloyd opened his eyes to see the chains had vanished. Aspheera descended her throne, slithering up towards Mage. She moved to hold her hands out in front of her, chanting a different spell in the same odd language. The power moved to envelop Mage in an aura, who stopped trembling and slowly moved to get up to his feet. When she stopped, Mage looked down at his body, surprised to find the pain was gone.
"Then… you have seen my missing son," Aspheera sighed, "And you are people that can be trusted. My magic does not lie. Tell me what you know of my son, and I will tell you what you must know."
Lulloyd blinked, "Your… magic could tell you all that?"
"If you had lied to me, even the smallest bit, those chains would have burned through your soul," Aspheera explained with a sinister edge, "I have no time to deal with liars. You would be lucky to remember your name after I had ripped all that I needed to know from you," Aspheera allowed for Lulloyd and Mage to tense in panic before she stared directly into Lulloyd's eyes, "Speak."
"R-Right!" Lulloyd gulped, launching into what he knew about Ophiod. He quickly realized that saying all this wouldn't make sense without context, so he was then forced to explain the situation that he and Mage were in. To do that required him to first explain what he knew about the Time Twins, then about each of their worlds, the destruction of Overlloyd's world they had recently witnessed, and much, much more. By the time he was done, he couldn't tell whether or not Aspheera was bored, or simply looking passive to listen.
"That… is quite a tale to tell," Arcturus frowned, "If my Queen's spell had not already shown your truth, I would have declared you mad."
"What he has told us about the others is not important," Aspheera replied, "What is important is that we now know why my son has left Ouroborus."
"You… do?" Lulloyd asked, "We don't know anything about him. He just, left, and now he's trying to kill us."
"I know full well why my son has chosen to do this," Aspheera scowled, "And the fact I do brings me no comfort. In fact, it only sits worse knowing what is likely going through his head. I would discipline him if he were here. But… it seems he is beyond my reach."
"Can you tell us about him?" Mage asked quietly, still nervous around Aspheera, "We… we want to know why he's trying to hurt us!"
Aspheera did not respond. Instead, she moved over to her throne, moving to slowly pick up a staff. It was a slender and regal looking staff, deep copper at its core and covered in golden paint to depict a serpent crawling up from the base to the tip of the blade with open jaws. As she picked it up, the golden paint seemed to glow along with the hand she held it with.
"I will tell you what you wish to know," Aspheera frowned, "But in turn, I demand a promise from you both."
"A promise?" Mage blinked, then shook his head, "Yeah, sure! Anything! Just tell us!"
"That with the information that you learn today, you will not hurt my son," Asphera declared, "And you will use that information only to bring him home. You must swear this to me, or else I will throw you from my kingdom now and ensure you never return."
Lulloyd and Mage looked to one another, unsure at first how to respond. That was not anywhere near what they had thought Aspheera would ask of them. It was enough to make them both confused as to what was really happening, and more importantly, wondering why she would ask this in the first place. The two, however, had no other choice. Her words were ones that they shared, even if they weren't sure as to the reason.
"We swear not to hurt Ophiod," Lulloyd declared back, "And, we'll do what we can to bring him home." Mage repeated those words.
Upon hearing that, Aspheera's expression softened. A tension seemed to fall from her body, like a weight that was being lifted from compressed shoulders. Slowly, she turned around and began to slither towards her throne. When she reached it, she moved to lower the staff she held towards the bottom step. A small spot began to glow on said step, the light matching that of the golden serpent. When the two lights resonated, the stairs up to the throne suddenly slid backwards to go flush with the foot of the throne, revealing a massive staircase underneath.
"I will explain what you must know, and show you the reason that he is after you," Aspheera moved to begin slithering down the steps, "Come. Arcturus, you come as well."
"Yes, my Queen," Arcturus bowed his head. Lulloyd and Mage looked to the stairwell into the palace in confusion, but knew following was their only choice. They began to walk down the steps with Aspheera in front of them. Arcturus slithered his way down to remain firmly behind them. Once he had entered, the stairs to Aspheera's throne began to slide back into place, sealing them inside of the chamber.
Lulloyd had assumed that the massive pyramid was similar to any other palace and made of multiple floors. It seemed, however, that was not the case, or at least that Aspheera's throne was the 'bottom' floor. The stairs themselves led them down a long way, deeper and deeper into the palace. The air around them grew cold. Small bricks along the sides of the descending stairs whistled as they walked past, sourcing them air that they needed this far underground. Aspheera's staff was still glowing with enough light to help illuminate small sections of the path for them to follow.
"The story you wish to know is one I don't enjoy telling," Aspheera frowned, her back turned to them, "I won't be repeating myself. Tell me, what do you know of the Serpentine Wars?"
"Well…" Lulloyd paused, "They were started by a man named Chen, I think. And, uh, the humans fought the Serpentine. That's, all I know about them in this world."
"Hmmph, typical education for humans," Aspheera scoffed, "The Serpentine Wars were far more complex than that. Us Serpentine lived apart from humans since our creation. When the Vipers first rose from the dirt, they made a longstanding pact that humans were not to cross into Serpentine Lands. That truce had not been broken for centuries. Our lands grew in the places humans deemed inhospitable. It was a mutual relationship. That was, until the humans decided to expand their cities into our lands."
"The humans attempted to claim land that we had not settled yet for themselves, acting as though that gave them right to use what was not theirs," Arcturus continued with an angry growl to his tone, "For many years, we went and negotiated with them. It was never enough. We were forced to station our armies at the borders of our lands. I personally declared I would go to peace talks with the Emperor of Ninjago. It was our only hope to avoid war. It was on my way to Ninjago City that I received a report from my men that the humans had mobilized a force and were ready to forcibly take the land they wanted."
"My father was the King of the Serpentine when this happened," Aspheera picked back up, "And with this, he had no choice but to declare war. It seems that the humans had been given the same information, for the war broke out in earnest that very next day. For the humans, it was a war to take land that they believed was rightfully theirs. For us, it was to defend ourselves. The timing of the attack was too perfectly aligned with the report. At first, none of us questioned it."
"Many months into the war, my men intercepted a report to the human command that did not come from Ninjago itself," Arcturus scowled, "This was when we discovered Chen. That vile coward had played us both. Once we learned of this, we raided his island and destroyed everything he had built. Him, his men, and all those on the island were taken prisoner. The one that we found carrying this report was the one that told us of everything."
Aspheera led them into a large rectangular chamber. It appeared to be a simple chamber at first. Aspheera moved to place her staff on the ground and hiss another spell, causing the stones to rattle, then rapidly fall away. Lulloyd watched as a single path, perhaps only a foot wide, winded above an endless pit. Aspheera moved to slither across it, prompting them to do the same.
"That man was Ophiod's father," Aspheera's tone grew hollow, "His name was Garmadon."
Both Lulloyd and Mage tensed up hearing that name. It was a name that they both expected to hear, but it was strange hearing it come from Aspheera's lips. The implication that set was one that made them rather uncomfortable. Seeing this, Aspheera grumbled to herself.
"So you are familiar with him," Aspheera sighed, "When my father had them, he knew he had only a single course of action. If he were to let the truth loose that the war that had already cost so many lives was built on a lie, the morale of the army would crumble. For this reason, he sentenced Chen, his assistant Clouse and Garmadon to death. He would need time to prepare for it. I was still the Crown Princess when I first heard of this… and when I first met him."
Aspheera's tone grew strained, "I met him in the dungeon. I'd never seen a man so resigned to his own fate before. There was no life in his eyes. He was a man that was going to die without ever being able to see his family again. He had brought his own fate upon himself, yet he was not ready to die. He had given up, knowing if he tried to resist, he would only make his situation that much worse."
Aspheera's words kept getting weaker as she went along. Such a story was one that Lulloyd could tell was tangled up in more complicated emotions than she was trying to hold back. Just the fact she was even telling them this was enough to tell him that. He focused on her words, listening quietly.
"...My intentions were not pure in speaking to him," Aspheera's grip on her staff tightened, "I was a foolish hatchling that wanted nothing more than to grow my own power. I had never met a human before. I had dreams of taking the throne from my father and casting aside his warfare tactics to decimate the humans. They had attacked us, had ripped apart the peace they agreed to. I had seen the troops. The suffering. All I wanted… was revenge."
"...And then…" Aspheera stopped in front of a large door, "I spoke to him. I tried speaking to the noisy one and the rude one. Both of them wouldn't fit my plans. It was my goal to simply find the best one to exploit. It was after I heard of the story that was on his head, I realized what a foolish hatchling I had been."
The door led into another chamber, this one which had nothing unusual about it. Aspheera didn't do anything to it, instead just moving to the end. When she opened the door at the other side of the chamber, it led into a massive shaft deep into the ground with a large spiral staircase along the perimeter descending into the darkness. The only light that let them see anything about the space was the light of Aspheera's staff.
"He was a man betrayed by his family, the only thing he had," Aspheera bit her lip as she spoke, "Bitten by a snake that corrupted him. His family, unwilling to do anything to help him. A brother that refused to do anything for him. A life of isolation from the people. And then, the one woman that he loved, falling for that very same brother," Aspheera hissed, "If there was someone that destiny forsake, it was him. And as I left his cell that night, I realized what a truly despicable being I was. Perhaps not in one night, but the more we spoke, the more I felt a sickness in myself. It was only by the words we shared, night after night, that I found what a simple minded fool I almost became."
"I was but a young sorceress at the time, yet I knew I had to do something," Aspheera scowled, "Each night, I would spend hours after we spoke researching any spell I could. If the humans refused to help him, I would do so. I didn't know why I did, but I kept at it. Until the day that I found a spell that I tried on him. For the first time, he looked as though he wasn't in pain," Aspheera paused, "I found a spell that would halt the progression of the evil that flowed through him. I could not remove it… but I could stop him from falling further into it."
"Once I knew I could, I begged my father to release him. Chen and Clouse had their sentences carried out, but Garmadon did not deserve that fate. He told me that Chen had tried to make him sign a letter written by his brother that would make the woman he desired fall for him. But he had refused. He had integrity, and I knew that was something my father respected. So we used that integrity and turned him into an ally for our side," Aspheera raised her head, "I was the one that turned Garmadon into the Deceiver."
"The… Deceiver?" Lulloyd asked, as though the name had some weight to it.
"It means he betrayed the humans, Lulloyd!" Mage frowned.
"The child catches on quickly," Aspheera commented dryly, "Yes. For months, Garmadon fed us information from the human side as a plant. We undermined any attempt to outmaneuver us. It was thanks to him that we were able to force almost all of the human army to think they were capturing our main force at the Battle of Birchwood. Instead, we crushed them, and Garmadon revealed himself to the masses."
"...To say that I didn't relish the look of horror on his brother's face would be a lie," Aspheera chuckled, "To see that the man he'd pushed away had finally ripped himself out of that coward's life, it was a look I can never forget. We forced the humans into conceding all land they had occupied and more. It is us that controls the fate of Ninjago. And for his efforts, Garmadon was allowed to remain in the Serpentine lands. The war ended… with us victorious."
"Why are you telling us this?" Lulloyd asked, "It… I'm not saying that it isn't important but, how does this relate to Ophiod?"
"Perhaps if you were more patient, you would learn," Aspheera hissed at him, "We've almost arrived at our destination. It will make more sense if I finish my tale before then." With all of them looking to Lulloyd with ire, he silenced himself.
"When he had settled into these lands, I decided to write a letter of my own," Aspheera looked down at her hands, "I had crafted a spell to give him peace of mind. I knew that he had left behind everything in Ninjago for us Serpentine. He could never return home, and he would remain a simple respected stranger in our lands. After all that we had been through, all that he had done, it was time for him to see words that were not meant for another, but for him." Aspheera gave a faint smile, "I took him as my lover, and together, along with my magic, was how Ophiod was born."
Asphpeera came to a stop, finally. Lulloyd and Mage froze alongside her, and it left them both wondering what was going on. Aspheera took a long few moments to stand in front of a large door, covered in symbols that looked ancient in their origin. She looked frozen in place, as though her story had taken something out of her. She reached up and placed her hand against the door, running her palm across it. Dust fell from it, something which made her grip her hand tightly around the falling particles. Lulloyd turned to look at Arcturus, who showed a similar composure.
"Let me tell you this before we go further," Aspheera hissed out, "The only reason why you were even talked of this story, you were allowed this far down into one our most sacred of places is because my spell said that you were telling the truth. I know that you have made your oaths to me. I will hold you to them. Tell me, do you truly wish to understand why it is that Ophiod is after you?"
"Of course we do!" Lulloyd stepped forward, holding his hand up like a fist, "We're here to save our worlds and, we don't want to hurt anyone in doing it."
"...The reason I have told you all of this about Garmadon is for you to understand how important that man was to myself, and to Ophiod. You must feel the weight that our actions against him were placed that day," Aspheera slowly inhaled, "And you will see the consequences of it all."
Aspheera raised her staff up, letting out a vile sounding slur of chants. The golden light from the staff suddenly detached, flying straight up in the shape of a serpent. When it struck the wall, Aspheera's entire body locked up. The serpent slowly faded into the wall, causing those symbols to glow similarly. Aspheera planted her staff in the ground and bent over it, clinging to it as the light started to pour from her hand and into the wall. As each symbol was painted in golden, she let out one final gasp. The door slowly opened, and Aspheera heaved for breath.
"My Queen," Arcturus remained behind Lulloyd and Mage, but tensed himself, "Are you alright? That spell is taxing on your body."
"Only a fool would make it so any simple-minded man with the ability to foresee a few traps could walk right into the heart of this palace," Aspheera spat, "This seal is all that is keeping that from happening."
Aspheera straightened her back and stumbled forward. She led the three behind her into a large room. On one wall was a series of painted tiles that slid in and out of their places, almost like some sort of puzzle. On the wall opposite the entrance and adjacent this wall was a large sealed door. It was massive, stretching almost twenty feet into the air. As they entered, Aspheera slowly pointed one hand towards the wall. Lulloyd blinked, but slowly walked towards it. When he stood in front of the strange sealed door, Aspheera narrowed her gaze and gestured further.
Slowly, Lulloyd placed his hands against the wall. As soon as he did, he felt something. What should have been cold stone, was warm. It was warm, like the surface warmed by breath. And in fact, the warm slowly grew and faded, just like breath. Mage, however, had an even more visceral reaction. As soon as he touched it, he jumped backwards and raised his hands in front of him in worry.
"I-I can… I can feel life!" Mage gasped, "L-Like, a huge life! A super huge thing is behind there!"
"Behind that wall lies the Great Devourer," Aspheera narrowed her eyes, "As well as my husband."
"What?" Lulloyd turned around, "I… what? How?"
"...The very thing I used to help cure him," Aspheera gave a bitter chuckle, her lips curling into an almost deranged smile, "The venom inside him isn't simply some infection. It's darkness that realized it couldn't overcome my magic. But that was then. I didn't even think of revising my spell. So I grew a hubris. And I let that venom fester inside of him for forty years. And when it broke my spell, it was determined to make up for lost time."
Aspheera began to chuckle even more, "Isn't that ironic, humans? The thing that I used to help cure the man that I loved, was what caused his downfall? He had almost no control of himself when the evil took him. His raw malice called even the Great Devourer from its slumber. Right here in this very city, the Serpentine saw the only human they had ever trusted turn on them."
"Ophiod was eight when it happened," Aspheera's hands gripped her staff hard, "He had just barely learned magic. He watched his father turn on him. It was when he heard Ophiod screaming for him that the man you know as Garmadon actually woke up again. He saw what he'd done, and he begged me to stop him. He couldn't control himself. The last words that he even spoke to me were in those few moments he begged us… to end his life."
Lulloyd and Mage could both imagine it. A dark force, a man corrupted, standing atop a city of flame with the Great Devourer -to them a giant snake- rampaging through the streets. Mage in particular could relate to the feeling of those last few words, begging for it to end. Something which made him reach up and grip his chest as the weight of Aspheera's tale came to him.
"...Instead, Ophiod and I used our combined magic to seal him in this very tomb, along with that wretched thing," Aspheera moved up to the wall and placed her forehead against it, her body quaking, "Ophiod sealed his father away, because of my mistakes. He is still as corrupted as he was, a foul magic in his body, trapped behind this very wall," Aspheera clutched her chest, her eyes wavering in their gaze and emotion. She planted her staff down and leaned fully against the wall, her words failing her.
"I will take it from here," Arcuturs slithered over to place his hand on Aspheera's arm, "Two months ago, a pair of humans infiltrated our capital, flanked by Serpentine we had never seen before. They asked our Queen to speak to Ophiod, and so they did. For days, they returned and spoke only to him. We at first were not sure of what they wished for, until the Queen discovered they matched the identities of former Elemental Masters that fell during the Serpentine Wars. Specifically, the masters of Time."
Just as Over had guessed, the Twins had offered something to Ophiod in exchange for his services. What exactly was it? Mage looked up towards the wall, towards Aspheera still pressed against it and silent as she listened to what noises lay beyond it. When he turned to Lulloyd, it was simple to figure out what they had offered him. It didn't take much for them to realize it.
"And so it seems you understand," Aspheera sighed as she saw their expressions, still pressed against the wall, "Ophiod would never have left this place otherwise. He is not allowed to."
"Wait, what?" Mage asked, "Why can't he leave?"
"Because he is the Half-Breed," Arcturus spoke that title with a venom more potent than any Venomari, "The Serpentine may have tolerated his father, but when it was learned that the next ruler over the throne would be one only half-Serpentine, they discredited his claim to it. Several of the generals at the time even declared an intention to make sure that he would not reach the throne."
"Ophiod was raised in isolation in this palace to protect him," Aspheera slowly raised herself back up, "He is not to leave this palace without Arcturus escorting him. My son would never be harmed by another like that. The fact he has chosen to leave us is the most disturbing fact here."
"Wait, so Ophiod was raised in this place, his whole life?" Lulloyd asked, "By…. both you and his dad until, well, you know?"
"Yes," Aspheera eyed him up, "What of it?"
"Oh, uh, nothing, just wanted to confirm," Lulloyd looked to the side and muttered, "Lloyd really got the short end of the parenting stick…"
"I understand," Mage stepped forward, "Ophiod wants to free his father, right? And he thinks the Twins can help him do that. So, he's attacking us thinking that if he does what the Twins want, he'll get his dad back. He's not a bad person…" Mage gripped his fist, "...And, we can't hurt good people. I understand why you made us swear that oath to you."
"I am glad to see that you do," Aspheera bowed her head, "It will ease my burden if I feel of his return if I know that there are others out there that can find him. Thank you."
"We won't hurt him," Lulloyd stepped up with Mage, "...I know what it's like, wanting to have your father back. And feeling like you have to fight something in order to get it. I really get it. And… and we can't hurt someone when we know this about them."
"There's just one more question we have," Mage continued, "Who is Skales?"
"...Skales is with him?" Aspheera asked, blinking in surprise.
"Yeah, it kinda confused us since you know, he kinda doesn't have any connection to the First Elemental, or well for you I guess it's Spinjitzu Master. And like, Ophiod seems to really like him," Mage pointed out, "Our friend met with him and he said Ophiod won't even leave the room without him."
"That… is a bit of a story," Arcturus paused, "Well, not as long as the previous. And sadly it is not ours to tell. Even we do not fully grasp the bond between those two."
"Right now, I will tell you this," Aspheera narrowed her gaze, "In all of his years of being labeled the Half-Breed and feeling as though the world was against him, Skales was the only Serpentine that truly looked past his heritage and moved to defend him. After he demanded training, I sent Ophiod to the frozen wastes to learn of the truth of being a warrior, and it was there he met Skales. Since then, Skales has never left Ophiod's side. We know little of what happened, aside from the fact that Ophiod saved Skales' life."
Lulloyd blinked, "I, guess that makes sense. Well, if we aren't going to hurt Ophiod, we won't go hurting Skales either."
"Good," Aspheera sighed, slithering to the other side of the room, "Now that you have seen what you must, it is time to leave this place. This is a room for grief, not for stories. If you wish to remain in these lands, I will grant you immunity to disguise yourselves as you had before. But do not linger here. Take what you need, and then leave this place."
"One more thing," Lulloyd spoke up, "Ophiod has this, weird scroll with him. It's on this big spear. Do you know what that is?"
Both Aspheera and Arcturus went silent. Aspheera in particular turned her head back towards the wall, pressing her hand against it. It was as though she was thinking of what to say. Lulloyd wasn't sure what their reaction menat, but when Aspheera spoke, she did so quietly.
"A scroll…" Aspheera paused, "The only thing I can think that matches that description would be the Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitzu. But I do not know where he took it from, or much about it. You will need to find someone else more... knowledgeable on it."
Lulloyd knew there was more to this than what she said. She was omitting something, something important. But from the gaze of the two powerful snakes, there wasn't need for him to ask further questions. Instead, Lulloyd just sighed and nodded his head.
"I… think we have what we need now," Lulloyd paused, "We just have one thing that we need before we go…"
Slowly, the car of the Serpentine train rolled into the station in the city of Nagaus. Sitting in the seats across from Lulloyd and Mage was a very unhappy Clutch Powers. The man had been found in the city, as per Lulloyd's request, and been directed towards the way they had come from.
"You didn't have to make me leave!" Clutch scoffed at them, "I was learning so much in that library of theirs! Do you know how much knowledge they have that we don't?!"
"Heh… yeah," Lulloyd shook his head, "But, uh, we had to leave. We finished our audience with the Prince and it turns out we aren't supposed to be bringing visitors." Mage had shifted his power of form to reveal Clutch's normal body, but shroud both him and Lulloyd to look more 'normal' to Clutch.
"I would have been fine," Clutch rubbed his head, "Gah! This is horrible! I'm missing out on the chance of a lifetime! I should have ran from those guards!"
Lulloyd just gave an apologetic smile. If he told Clutch what was really going on, it would have likely made him even more upset than he already was. The two had more or less deceived him into coming with them, so leaving him there for Mage's power to fade and then leave him a human caught red handed was even worse. The two hadn't intended to be there for that long, after all. Once the Serpentine car had returned to the station, he helped Mage up and offered the same to Clutch. The annoyed man just ignored him and hopped out, only to frantically regain his balance before he fell back in. The transport soon had disappeared back into the tunnels.
"Heh… well," Clutch smirked, moving to pull his journal out of his pocket, "I at least got some pretty nice things from that place."
"In your journal?" Mage asked, "Wait, we didn't ask if it was okay to do that!"
"They won't find out!" Clutch sawa the Serpentine at the entrance to the tunnel walking towards them and quickly hid the book, "And they won't be finding out, got it?"
Lulloyd and Mage felt a bit of apprehension, but there wasn't much they could do. Clutch flashed them an appreciative grin before moving to greet the two guards. The Serpentine looked them over and hissed, guiding them out from the entrance and across the lowest level of Nagaus. When they reached the entrance, they gestured with their weapons for them to cross back over into the human side of the city. The three obeyed, allowing them to relax as they were back on the side of Ninjago they were meant to be.
"We need to get back to Ninjago City," Lulloyd told Clutch, "Do you want us to wait for you?"
"Nah, I need to go back since I don't have a reason to stay," Clutch gave Lulloyd a long angry look, "So I'll tag along with you two."
"Let me guess," Lulloyd frowned, "You want us to pay for your train ticket."
"Always knew you were clever," Clutch smirked at him.
With a long sigh, Lulloyd just began walking back up towards the train station. Mage was already using metal to attract loose coins as they continued up the path. The two still had their own ticket stubs, so it was just a matter of buying one for Clutch. They, unfortunately, came up rather short, forcing Clutch to pay for half of his ticket. Lulloyd couldn't help but feel some satisfaction seeing that.
Soon enough, the three were leaving Nagaus behind once again. Lulloyd sighed as he pressed his back against the seat of the train. Mage did the same, taking the time to relax from using form on their bodies once again. The sun outside had begun to reach the top of its peak, meaning they would be cutting their window here pretty close. Thankfully, they would make it as long as the train didn't have any sudden derailments.
"So, I learned some pretty interesting stuff about the Vipers," Clutch smirked, "Since you two did help me get this stuff, I'll show you the information. I'll write a book about Ouroborus. Nobody has ever seen it, so it'll sell like hotcakes! I'll make sure you two get coauthor credit."
"Thanks," Lulloyd paused, "What about them?"
"Turns out Serpentine genetics aren't as straightforward as we thought," Clutch opened his journal, which looked as though it had been half filled just that day alone, "Alright, get this. You know how most Serpentine aren't Vipers? Looks like however the Vipers were created, the gene that determines if they show up Viper or something else is recessive. You know about how that stuff works, right?"
"I know about breeding," Mage answered. Clutch shrugged.
"That works, either way," Clutch tapped the page, "Viper genes are all recessive. That's absolutely perfect for evolution. Just from what I got alone, Vipers dwinded in ranks because certain elements of their genes were just passed on into the other tribes. I'm not even sure how it all works out, but it looks like if anyone other than a Viper mates with one, well, they won't be Viper. That's why the royal family has been so big about making sure they're all Vipers. I wouldn't want to see what's going on to keep that bloodline pure."
"Uh… yeah," Lulloyd muttered, "Sounds really interesting."
"Of course it is!" Clutch declared, "This means what we know about Serpentine is all wrong! Of course, I'll make this all easier to understand in my book release. Most people aren't smart enough to get that sort of thing."
"And, you're saying you are?" Mage asked. He asked childishly, but Lulloyd detected some sly hint of annoyance in his words.
"I'm saying that you have to treat the general masses like children to make someone sell well," Clutch put his journal away, "Look, kid, when you get a book deal, you come to me and I'll help you edit. Until then, don't knock success till you have it!"
Lulloyd felt an urge to do something to Clutch rise in him. If this was how Harumi felt around Monty, he was starting to understand why Harumi was always so upset with him. Mage was doing either a very good job of hiding it, or just wasn't caring enough to put effort into thinking about it. Either way, Lulloyd decided to look back outside the train as they drove.
Before they left, Lulloyd had seen a map of Ninjago painted on the side of one of the buildings in Ouroborus as a piece of art. Seeing it gave him a sense of where the Serpentine had drawn the line. Roughly a third of all the land in Ninjago, all on the western side, belonged to the humans. The rest was Serpentine. In a sense, the humans had lost a lot during the war. He wasn't sure where they had first drawn the borders, but it was a massive disparity between them. It certainly explained why Ninjago City was so crowded and so… underdeveloped.
Not much of that was going through his head, though. What he had learned of Ophiod was sticking with him. Ophiod wasn't some evil person, just like the Twins. He was someone like them, being manipulated. If that was the case, was the same true of Prime? Not only that, but the Twins had also taken the time to figure all this out about Ophiod and then dangle it in front of him. It'd been powerful enough to make someone confined to the palace leave suddenly and just vanish from the world.
And then there was Skales. Aspheera had left what she knew about him at that. Ophiod has saved his life, and now Skales was willing to go to a brand new world with him? He wasn't sure what to fully make of that. Part of it was just because he knew that, in some way, Ophiod was like them. He was their counterpart in this world. It was odd to think of the fact that Ophiod had someone like Skales. Sure, he had his own partner back home, but he'd never done something like save her life before. Not that he wouldn't if it came to that. Maybe he needed to just drop the thought altogether.
Finally, there was his promise to Aspheera. That the two of them wouldn't harm Ophiod. They would need to extend that to the others. Once they heard of what happened, Lulloyd was fairly certain Harumi and Lloyd would back down. They were pretty firmly on the good side of the moral spectrum. Overlloyd, for now he just hoped that he wouldn't go fighting him on this. But Monty would be a hard sell. Monty didn't like being told what to do, and, well, that was pretty important to making sure that Ophiod wasn't hurt.
But, Ophiod was working with the Time Twins. Regardless of why he was doing it, he was willingly aiding them. Two men that were murderous, had already threatened to destroy them, and were already the source of the destruction of an entire world. While Lulloyd wasn't trying to think about that last bit, it was still a fact. And Ophiod… was on the other side.
His thoughts carried him until the train had arrived back in the station. By now, the sun was rising up for the afternoon, and the two were due back at Dareth's place soon. Mage hopped up to his feet and subtly summoned the element of earth so he could push a path open for the three of them. Clutch followed them until they were through the station itself and were standing on the side of the busy streets.
"Well," Clutch rolled his eyes, "I would say it was great, but it was more a waste of time for what I got. Next time you're heading to Serpentine lands, make sure you can bring someone."
"Sorry, Clutch," Lulloyd sighed, "We just couldn't' really stay any longer. We're really sorry."
"Yeah, I'm sure you are," Clutch turned to Mage, "You're still young, so remember this when you grow up more: if you're going to offer something to someone, go through with all of it."
"Sure thing!" Mage nodded his head, "I'll remember that! I'll be waiting for that 20% cut of your book!"
"...Thought you'd forget about that," Clutch muttered, "Yeah, sure, sure." He turned away from them, giving a little wave as she moved to disappear into the crowd.
"Geez, he's almost as bad a Monty," Lulloyd sighed, "At least he didn't threaten to shoot us."
"Well let's not think of him anymore," Mage dropped his naive tone and turned to Lulloyd expectantly, "We need to get back to the others."
Lulloyd nodded, realizing that Mage was right. The two quickly began to push through the crowds. The idea that this city was so crowded because of the humans losing so much land put a new perspective on everything, and explained why they weren't seeing big tech. Either way, though, the two had to get back. They continued to fight their way through the crowds until they had Dareth's shop in their sights. Thankfully, it looked like the shop was empty right now, with a big sign up saying that the owner was out to lunch.
As soon as the two stepped inside the door, Lulloyd saw the sight of the portal on the wall. Monty was leaning casually against it, tapping his foot against the floor in a silent noise. Once he caught sight of them, he put his hand up and pointed at the portal.
"You're ten minutes late," Monty scoffed, "Another two and I was gonna leave you here for another day."
"I'm sure you were, Monty," Lulloyd sighed, "Have you already picked up Lloyd and Harumi?"
"Of course I have," Monty rolled his eyes, "They found some pretty interesting things. You did get what we asked you to, right?"
Lulloyd and Mage shared a look with each other. They shared a silent moment of understanding. Monty gave them a rather long annoyed look before waving his hand again. The two stepped into the portal, disappearing back into the void. Monty looked around the small dojo before crossing his arms and groaning.
"That thing Harumi found better work," Monty grumbled, "I'm already sick of playing chauffeur." With that, Monty disappeared into the portal, leaving it to close on yet another world.
Author's Note:
Our hearts go out to Kirby Morrow, VA for Cole. For those of you unaware, he just recently passed away. Let us remember him and everything both him and the show has given us.