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Somewhere in the Wildwood Forest, The Serpentine were building a huge treehouse in the middle of the forest which Lloyd and Melissa ordered, that way, they would have a fortress of their own, and they started building it a few hours ago.
Lloyd was going through the treehouse and giving out orders to The Hypnobrai, and then he saw his best friend on the lookout for any of the ninjas that might try and ruin their fun.
"Any signs of any ninjas yet?" Lloyd asked.
"Nope, not a ninja in sight," Melissa shook her head, "So it looks like we're in the clear, for now, that is."
Just then, a thought came into Lloyd's mind, "Hey, Melissa, a few days ago when we first released The Serpentine, you knew what kind of they were." Lloyd pointed out, "How exactly did you know that they were The Hypnobrai?"
"Oh, well, that's because back at Darkley's, I actually read up on The Serpentine," Melissa answered. "When you weren't busy, I read a lot of books about them and their history, and I also learned that there's four other Serpentine out there as well."
"Really?" Lloyd said with wide eyes, "Well, don't keep me in suspense, what other Serpentine are there?"
"OK, let's see," Melissa said as she tried to remember, "There's The Fangpyers, and they can turn anything into a serpent with the bite of their fangs; The Constrictai have incredible strength and won't let go no matter what; The Venomari has venom that can make you see things that aren't there; and then we have the most feared and powerful Serpentine of them all - The Anacondrai."
"And, uhh, how powerful are they?" Lloyd asked nervously.
"They can turn invisible and have unbelievable strength and can swallow a man whole," Melissa explained, "These Serpentine are very dangerous that they banished their general into The Cursed Realm."
"Wow! That's a lot to take in," Lloyd said to which Melissa nodded in agreement, "Thanks for letting me know. Now, let's get back to making sure The Serpentine are working on our fortress."
Melissa nodded and they went around the treehouse, but unbeknownst to them, Skales used his powers to show his friend Selma what Cole was seeing as they saw him feeding his dragon, Rocky.
"I can't believe you hypnotized one of the ninjas, Skales?" Selma said in a surprised tone, "Does General Ssslithraa know about this?" She asked.
"Of course not, Ssselma," Skales answered, "He has been put under the control of those bratsss, and I plan to use it for my bessst interest and plansss."
"I underssstand that," Selma said as she looked concerned, "but Ssslithraa is ssstill our leader, and to plot againssst the children is alssso plotting against him."
"I know, but what choice do we have?" Skales questioned, "We know Ssslithraa's mind control isss a result of our own hypnosisss, and without the ssstaff that holdsss the anti-venom, we cannot free him of it, even if we tried, not even if we hypnotize him again." He reminded, "Ssso our only hope to get him back, isss to resort to drassstic measuresss."
"Well, if it doesss come down to it, then I won't go againssst it," Selma said understanding the situation, "but jussst in cassse he doesn't take the anti-venom, you mussst try and knock some sssenssse into him."
"Underssstand," Skales nodded, "I jussst hope we don't have to resssort to that."
Slithraa came slithering by as the two of them turned to him.
"Everyone works while you two ssslack?" He questioned firmly.
"We were jussst discussssing our plans to reclaim your ssstaff, General," Skales explained.
"That isss very thoughtful of you, Ssskales," Slithraa said before giving a stern look, "But as my sssecond in command, I expect more from you." He said, and then he turned his attention to Selma, "And Ssselma, I know of the history that you and Ssskales have, but we need our entire tribe to work their hardessst to please the young mastersss. You both return to your posssts at once."
"Yessss, General Ssslithraa," the two Hypnobrai said with a bow as Slithraa began to slither away.
Skales spoke again, "Uh, General, forgive me, but you know that I am the mossst loyal to you, and ressspect you a whole lot, but I mussst question thisss childisssh agenda," he pointed out as Slithraa turned to him.
"I mussst agree, General," Selma said as she walked up next to Skales, "The Ninjas have ssstolen our ssstaff and inssstead of making a plan to retrieve it you, inssstructed usss to build this 'playhouse' for Lloyd and Melissa."
Slithraa raised a brow at his two comrades in confusion.
"We're not tree snakessss," Skales and Selma both pointed out.
"You two know better than to question my judgement, Ssskales and Ssselma," Slithraa reminded, "I'll pretend that you didn't asssk, and besssides, it'sss better than living in that ice pit the ssssurface dwellersss condemned us to," he added.
"Well, you do have a point there," Selma said with a shrug.
"Hey!" Lloyd's voice was heard as the three looked down and saw Lloyd and Melissa in one of the elevators, "If we plan on ruling Ninjago from here, this elevator needs to have a trap door." Lloyd pointed out with a firm look.
"You heard him, we want more booby traps!" Melissa ordered.
"Asss you wisssh, young mastersss," Slithraa said with a bow before turning to the other two Hypnobrai, "You heard the young mastersss, get back to work!" He commanded as he waved his hand at them.
Both Skales and Selma looked at each other in defeat as they both realized that they couldn't talk their general out of it before they gave Slithraa a bow.
"Asss you wisssh, General," they both said as they continued their work.
"He'sss in too deep, Ssskales," Selma said in worry, "He only lissstens to Lloyd and Melissa'sss wordsss whenever they give the orderssss." She added.
"Then, hopefully, a good blow to the head ssshould return him back to normal," Skales said in concern as he really didn't want to fight the general he respects and admired, but he probably didn't have a choice.
Meanwhile, at the monastery, it was now nighttime, and the ninjas, Sensei Wu, and Nya were gathered around at the dinner table eating some of the food that Zane made for dinner.
"Ooh, I love it when it's Zane's night to cook," Jay said as he was eating some shrimp.
Cole then glared playfully, "Hey, I didn't hear any complaints about my duck chowder that I made last night." He reminded.
"That's because you put in too much starch, and it glued everyone's mouths shut," Kai told him, "You really thought Jay was speechless all throughout dinner," he said amusingly.
Jay crossed his arms and gave Cole a look, "Yeah, please don't make that again." He requested, "But at least it's better than the chili Incident last week."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know I put in too many spices?" Cole complained as Zane walked in with a roasted turkey.
"Dinner is served," Zane said as he stepped back to show he was wearing a pink apron. The others snorted before erupting into laughter, and Zane looked on in confusion, "What's so funny?"
Everyone calmed down as Nya spoke, "Zane, you're wearing a-" She paused and gave a laugh, "Even I wouldn't wear that."
"You laugh because I am ensuring that I am clean after cooking?" Zane asked still confused as he walked around the table.
"No, we laugh because you came out wearing that ridiculous outfit," Kai answered.
"I guess we don't share the same sense of humor," Zane said with a shrug.
"Well, if you don't find that funny, how about this..." Cole picked up a plate of crawfish and threw it at Kai's face.
The group, except Kai, laughed as the fire ninja gave Cole an annoyed look while Zane was staring blankly not getting the joke. Cole then turned to Zane not seeing Sensei Wu coming up from behind.
"Seriously, how could you not find that fun-AHHH!" Cole screamed as Wu dumped a bowl of curry on his head and Kai laughed.
"Now, you are brothers," Wu joked as he placed his hands on Zane and Cole's shoulders and gave a playful wink.
Just then, the others, except for Zane, laughed as they started a food fight, and Zane looked between his friends as he really didn't get it or found it funny as he looked at his apron and the food that got him in the crossfire as the others gave a chuckle.
Sometime later, after dinner and the food fight, Zane was taking out the trash as he took off his messy apron, he looked into the night sky while he was deep in thought.
Zane then heard a falcon cry and he turned his head and saw one on a tree branch next to the monastery. Zane tilted his head which caused the falcon to follow which surprised Zane as he gave a small smile and shook his head which the falcon repeated. Zane then did a little dance as the falcon fluttered his wings as he gave the bird a smile.
The falcon then looked around as it flew off. Zane turned back to the monastery as he heard his friends laughing and chatting together, and then Zane ran down the stairs of the mountain and followed the falcon.
A little bit later, Zane followed the falcon to a forest before it landed on a tree branch, and then Zane saw where the falcon led him. He saw The Serpentine constructing the treehouse fortress.
"If I see one girl in here, I'm gonna go ballistic," Lloyd told some Serpentine before Melissa elbowed him in the stomach, and Lloyd saw her giving him a stern look which scared him, "Uhh, I mean, if I see one girl other than my best friend, I'm gonna go ballistic." Lloyd corrected nervously.
"Yeah, that's what I thought you said," Melissa said with a stern tone.
Zane knew he had to tell the others about this. When the falcon cried out, Zane looked up at it and smiled as it shook its head telling him to go.
"Thank you, my mysterious friend," Zane told the falcon.
The next day, Zane and the other ninjas were running through the forest after he came back and told them what he found. Zane was ahead of them before he stopped and looked around to try and remember where to go next.
"I don't even think Zane knows where we're going," Kai said to the others before they caught up to him, "So, uhh, tell us again how you stumbled upon Lloyd and Melissa's secret headquarters?"
"I followed a bird," Zane answered.
"Why did you follow a bird?" Jay questioned in confusion.
"Because it danced," Zane answered again.
"Oh, OK, was it a cuckoo bird?" Jay joked causing everyone but Zane to laugh.
"Of course not, everyone knows cuckoo birds are not indigenous to these forests," Zane told them before he continued.
The others shrugged before they followed him again. All four continued on before they reached the location of Lloyd and Melissa's treehouse fortress, and then they heard Lloyd and Melissa ordering The Serpentine from the distance.
"Watch it!" Lloyd said.
"No bigger," Melissa said.
"Come, we don't have all day," Lloyd said.
"Hey, it's not time for a lunch break! Get back to work!" Melissa ordered.
"Holy cannoli! Frosty was right," Cole said when he saw the treehouse fortress.
"We can't let those brats and those snakes get a foothold in Ninjago," Kai pointed out, "We have to destroy that thing before it becomes operational." He said to his team.
"Whoa! Are you sure? It looks like a pretty cool treehouse," Jay said, not finding it so dangerous, "There's a rope course- oh, a tree swing..." He listed while finding it fun.
"Hey, remember who's team you're on," Cole reminded Jay as they turned to the treehouse, "Alright, guys, what do we do?"
Kai looked at the treehouse carefully before noticing the vines at the top of the tree, "It looks like the entire place is being supported by those three trees." He said pointing to the vines that were tied to the three largest trees around the fort, "We take those out, and the whole thing will fall like a house of cards." He declared.
Zane turned to him in confusion, "But why would one make a house of cards? Such construction would be faulty."
"Oh, brother," Kai rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Let's travel by shadows, boys," Cole told his team as they all headed towards the treehouse.
Kai cut a rope in the ground and used it to line himself up with it. In the treehouse, two Serpentine got on the elevator and as it moved up, Cole was holding onto the bottom as the two Hypnobrai hit each other. Zane and Jay climbed the trees, and Jay nearly fell before Zane prevented him.
"Got you," Zane said as he caught Jay.
Kai made it to the top of the treehouse as the rest of the team regrouped with him. They made their way to the top, and they looked down to see Lloyd and Melissa.
"It's almost finished, Melissa," Lloyd told his best friend, "And soon, our fortress will be complete."
"Yeah, but we need to test something first. Hey you!" Melissa shouted at a Serpentine, "Hold up that sign for us."
The Serpentine held up a sign that said 'No girls (besides Melissa) or ninjas allowed' as Lloyd walked over to a lever, and pulled it. A trap door appeared underneath The Serpentine, and he fell through it.
"Booby trap!" Lloyd and Melissa yelled in unison.
The Serpentine hit the stairs five times as he fell to the bottom, and hit the ground. He then sat there with his eyes spinning with cuckoo birds rotating and cheeping around his head.
The ninjas looked at each other and nodded to one another as it was time to ruin Lloyd and Melissa's day. Kai stayed on top of the treehouse as the others went to the three trees to cut the ties. Kai then gave the signal.
"NINJA-GO!" Jay called out as he did Spinjitzu to cut one of the ropes which caused the treehouse to tilt as some Hypnobrai fell off it.
"NINJA-GO!" Zane called out next as he cut the second rope.
The treehouse tilted even more on the verge of collapse as Lloyd and Melissa fell on a rail and a Hypnobrai fell off with a scream.
"What's going on?" Lloyd asked in a panic.
"I don't know," Melissa shrugged, but then she looked up and her eyes widened as she saw Kai on the roof, "Lloyd, the ninjas are here they are behind this."
"I said no ninja attacks," Lloyd ordered the Hypnobrai who were desperately trying to hold on to the tree.
Slithraa was about to repeat the order, until Selma came up to him, "General, forgive me, but you know that we can't battle in a place like thissss." She told him as the fortress was falling apart, "We mussst do what'ssss bessst for our ssssurvival."
"But, the young mastersss said..." Slithraa tried to deny it before a piece of wood fell and hit him on his head, and he fell unconscious.
"General!" Skales yelled out as Selma and another Hypnobrai grabbed him by his shoulders.
"Ssskales, we need to go, now!" Selma called out as two Hypnobrai carried Slithraa out of the fortress.
Skales nodded in understanding, "Everyone, retreat!" He ordered.
The other snakes didn't need to be told twice as they either jumped off the treehouse or climbed down with ladders as they all screamed in a panic.
"They're retreating!" Kai called out as he turned to Cole, "Cole, wait till we're off the treehouse, then cut the line." He ordered as Cole nodded in understanding.
Skales looked to where Cole was and he saw an opportunity to distract the ninjas long enough for them to make their escape.
"You will obey my every command," Skales said as he used his powers on Cole again, this time, really hypnotizing him as Cole's eyes turned red while swirling.
"I will obey your every command," Cole repeated as he gave Skales a bow.
The other ninjas then regrouped with Kai as they looked around.
"Where's Cole?" Jay asked.
"I don't know. This whole place is coming down," Kai said as the treehouse fortress was barely holding.
Cole then jumped down in front of them with his scythe out, "No one goes anywhere until you deal with me." He declared marching to his team as the others backed away in worry.
"What's gotten into him?" Kai wondered out loud.
"Wait, look at his eyes," Zane pointed to Cole's red and swirling eyes as he realized what was going on with him, "He's under their control."
"Yeah, well he better snap out of it quick, because this whole place looks like it's about to go down." Jay reminded them as Cole slowly walked towards them.
Below them, The Hypnobrai were still trying to evacuate the treehouse before it collapsed as Lloyd and Melissa tried to get them to stay.
"Don't go. We have to protect our treehouse fortress," Lloyd pleaded with Skales since he was second in command of the Hypnobrai.
"Yeah, you can't just leave. Our Treehouse needs protecting," Melissa followed.
Skales turned to them in disbelief, "Your treehouse? Our General is unconscious and that's what you two are worried about." He demanded gesturing to Slithraa as he was being carried out of the treehouse, "So I say it's about time we did this," he said as he walked back which made Lloyd and Melissa give each other a confused look.
"Uhh, did what?" Lloyd and Melissa asked in confusion.
They soon got their answer as Skales pulled a lever which opened a trap door below them and Lloyd and Melissa gave a startled scream as The Hypnobrai laughed at them when Lloyd and Melissa ended up in a cage.
"What just happened?" Lloyd asked.
"I think we have been betrayed," Melissa answered.
"You two were right about one thing, trap doorssss are very effective." Skales mocked as he turned to his tribe, "Now to get the ssstaff."
"But, what do we do with them?" Selma asked as she gestured towards Lloyd and Melissa in the cage.
Skales looked at the two imprisoned children, and he was tempted to leave them there, but on the other hand, even though they put them through a lot, they were still children and didn't know any better, and they were not that cruel to leave two small kids to die in a place like this.
"Even though they are bratssss, they are ssstill kidssss," Skales admitted before he turned to his tribe again, "Grab the bratssss and put them in chainssss, and then we go get the ssstaff." He ordered as a couple of Serpentine ran off to get Lloyd and Melissa and they continued to evacuate.
Back on the roof, the ninjas were slowly backing away as Cole advanced towards them.
"OK, now come on, friends don't hit friends," Jay said nervously. but as soon as he said that. Cole kicked him in the face as he grunted from the hit, "Ow! OK, I'm uhh, I'm gonna ignore that." He mumbled as he rubbed his face.
Cole kept attacking as they dodged his swings.
"What are we supposed to do?" Kai asked the others, "If I use my sword, this place will go up in flames faster than a tinderbox." He said as he dodged Cole's punches, remembering that they still had little control of their weapons.
"Isn't the anti-venom in the staff?" Zane asked them about the only thing that could snap Cole out of it.
"Yeah, but the staff is back at the monastery," Jay reminded them before Cole kicked Kai into a post that came loose and he fell before Zane grabbed him.
"Jay, use your lightning," Zane said as he tossed Kai back up on the roof, "Try to shock him out of his trance."
Jay turned to Cole apologetically, "Oh, sorry, Cole, this is gonna hurt you a lot more than it's gonna hurt me."
He then grabbed his nunchucks and spun them around, charging up a blast before flinging a bolt at Cole, knocking him back, and the three watched hoping it would work, but they were dashed when Cole's eyes were still red and swirly. Cole then rushed up and grabbed Jay before tossing him.
"Jay!" the others yelled.
Jay screamed before he grabbed a rope. He swung around with a laugh before he landed at the side of the treehouse which caused it to tilt the other way.
"That is a serious safety hazard," Jay quipped.
Cole ran up the remaining supporting line as he rushed up and was ready to cut it.
"No, Cole, don't!" Kai called out as Jay rejoined them.
"No, no, Cole, no," Zane spoke next trying to snap him out of it.
But then, they all heard soft music from a flute playing and they all turned to see Wu and Nya riding on Flame as Wu was playing a flute and Cole's eyes returned to normal.
"Uhh, where..." Cole started as his mind cleared, "Where am I? What are we doing?"
"We're getting out of here because this whole place is coming down," Nya answered as Cole jumped on Flame and the others jumped next as the treehouse fortress fell apart.
"That flute," Kai spoke.
"It cancels their powers," Jay finished.
"It's as old as The Serpentine themselves," Wu told them before his eyes widened as he realized that he and Nya left the monastery defenseless, "Now, quickly, we must hurry. The monastery is unguarded." He said as they flew back in haste.
As soon as they reached the monastery, they found it set to a blaze and burned down to the ground.
"We're too late. Those snakes," Kai grunted when they saw the damage.
At what's left of the dragon stables, the dragons were roaring as they were trapped by the fire spreading.
"Rocky!" Cole called out.
Flame landed at what's left of the monastery as Cole jumped off and rushed towards the stables as the others did the same. They freed the dragons and looked around at their destroyed home, removing their hoods.
"Our home," Kai said in despair.
Zane saw Shard flying over them as he turned to his dragon, "Shard, put this out."
Shard used his ice breath to put out the fire.
"The training equipment... gone," Zane said.
"Our video games... gone," Jay cried out as he ran up to Zane and hugged him by the arm.
"Why? Why would they burn down our home?" Nya asked in sadness.
"They stole their staff back," Wu told them as he looked at what was left of the home.
"What do we do now?" Cole asked the others as Rocky came next to him and nuzzled Cole in comfort as he petted him.
The others were silent as Kai picked up a burned piece before he gave an angry look, crushing it before he advanced toward Zane.
"If you hadn't followed that silly bird, none of this would've happened," Kai said angrily as Zane turned towards him in surprise.
"Kai," Wu warned with a look.
"No, Sensei, he's right," Jay said agreeing with Kai as he angrily went straight to Zane's face, "Because of you my, high score has been deleted."
"This is a teaching moment," Zane spoke calmly, "We must learn from this."
"A teaching moment?" Cole questioned in disbelief as he angrily got into Zane's face as well, "What's wrong with you? Don't you get it? Everything is gone and it's all your fault!" He yelled out as Zane flinched.
"OK, that's enough!" Nya yelled out as she pushed Cole away from Zane, "Our home is burned down, and all you boys can think to make it better is blame Zane for it?" She questioned angrily, "This wasn't his fault. Our home was burned down."
"Nya is right," Wu said in agreement as they turned to him, "The only one at fault here is me. I chose to leave the monastery unguarded, which is why it happened." He explained before giving the others a stern look, "And even though everything is destroyed, they can all be replaced - equipment, furniture, and even video games and high scores can be replaced - family cannot and Zane is a brother, apologize at once."
The three boys looked down in shame as they realized that they let their anger get the best of them as they turned to Zane.
"I'm sorry Zane I..." Cole started before he was cut off when they saw that Zane wasn't there.
"Zane?" Jay asked in surprise.
"Where did he..." Kai asked as they looked around for Zane.
They all noticed that Shard wasn't there either, and they saw the ice dragon flying away and his rider with him, and they watched in sadness as they all thought that they hurt Zane's feelings.
Meanwhile, the Serpentine returned to their tomb with Lloyd and Melissa, having one of their arms tied to a rope while Skales held the staff with Selma beside him.
"That wassss a very clever plan getting the ssstaff back, Skalessss," Selma commented with a proud smile.
"Well, I didn't do it alone it. Wasss a team effort, Sssselma," Skales said with a smile, "Now that we have the ssstaff back, let'ssss work on the anti-venom and free our general from the brat's ssspell."
All of The Serpentine were chatting amongst themselves about Skales which made Lloyd and Melissa nervous, knowing that if they freed Slithraa from his trance, they'd be kicked out again, but then they saw Slithraa waking up rubbing his head.
"Do something, General," Lloyd whispered.
"Uhh, you are still under our command, right?" Melissa asked hopefully.
Slithraa got his bearings back as he nodded to the two kids, signaling that he was still under their control as he turned to his tribe.
"Enough! I am sssstill your general," Slithraa roared before turning to Skales, "You will return my ssstaff at once!"
Skales looked at the staff knowing that they had the one thing to free Slithraa, but they had no time to make the anti-venom as long as Lloyd and Melissa had Slithraa under their control.
"I'm ssssorry, Ssslithraa, but I cannot do that," Skales told him which shocked the rest of the tribe, including Selma.
"You dare challenge my command?" Slithraa questioned angrily.
Lloyd and Melissa shared a small smile as they had a feeling Skales was gonna get what was coming to him, but the rest of the tribe knew differently as they began chanting Slither Pit in excitement, and Skales, even though he was conflicted about what the tribe wanted, he knew what had to be done.
"Even though I don't want to do thisss, I have no choice but to fight you for it, Ssslithraa, in the Sssslither Pit," Skales announced.
The crowd started to cheer while Selma gasped in concern. Lloyd and Melissa looked worried wondering what the Slither Pit meant, and as everyone got ready for the Slither Pit, Selma walked next to Skales in concern.
"Skalessss, what are you doing?" Selma asked in concern, "You know that you can't defeat the general in combat."
"I know, but we don't have time to make the anti-venom, not without Ssslithraa taking back his ssstaff while under Lloyd and Melissa'ssss ridiculous commandssss," Skales pointed out, "Ssso, I have no choice but to fight him in the Ssslither Pit, even if I don't want to, and hopefully with enough hitssss, the ssspell will be broken."
"Then, let me fight with you," Selma suggested in concern, "That way, you might have a chance."
"Ssselma, you know the rulesss, no outssside interference and you're not built for combat," Skales reminded her as he held her shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll be fine, jussst trussst me."
Selma was still worried, but she knew that she couldn't stop him, so she gave a sigh, "Alright, jussst be careful out there and good luck."
"I will," Skales nodded as Selma walked off to find a spot for the duel.
Skales approached the fight master, Mezmo, and he handed the staff to him as he and Slithraa took their places in the arena of ice as Mezmo stood on a podium above the arena and looked at the two.
"Winner gets the ssstaff and leads the tribe," Mezmo announced, "You know the rules, no outsssside interference or biting, and the only way to win is by ssssubmission, and in the Ssslither Pit, whatever I say goessss." He announced as Skales and Slithraa bowed their heads in understanding, "Alright, fight!"
Skales and Slithraa circled around each other as they faced each other and the crowd started cheering while Selma looked on in concern. Slithraa swiped his tail at Skales, but he jumped as he threw a punch at Slithraa, but the general caught his arm as he tried to punch him, but Skales twirled and did a spin punch to the face as the general shook his head as he focused on Skales again.
Lloyd and Melissa watched the fight as they were tied to an Ice pillar. As Lloyd watched the fight cheering Slithraa on, Melissa turned and saw a map stuck to an Ice pillar, seeing the map gave her an idea, so she tried to reach for it while Lloyd watched the fight, and Selma looked on in worry for Skales as Melissa eventually grabbed the map and put it into her hoodie.
"Two weaponssss!" Mezmo announced.
Mezmo pulled a switch as some ice weapons came in the middle of the fight and Skales and Slithraa picked their weapon. Slithraa grabbed a pickaxe and a shield while Skales grabbed a sword and dagger.
Slithraa threw the pickaxe at Skales who dodged it as it hit the wall which caused the ice to crack. The ice spikes fell from the ceiling and Slithraa blocked one with his shield.
"Ssssidewinder!" Mezmo announced again as he pulled a lever, and the floor tilted shaking Skales and Slithraa off balance.
"Be careful, Skalessss!" Selma called out in worry.
"Go, Slithraa, go!" Lloyd cheered.
"Yeah, kick his tail, General!" Melissa cheered as well and Selma turned to them in confusion before she turned back to the fight.
Slithraa's tail rattled as he was about to hypnotize Skales, but Skales saw this and he jumped and kicked Slithraa in the face, and then he struck him with the ice blades, but Slithraa blocked them with his shield knowing that Slithraa needed just one more hit to freedom. Skales had no other choice than to play the trump card.
Skales twisted and twirled his body side to side while moving his weapons like the snake he was. Slithraa was caught off guard by his movement as Skales gave him an apologetic look.
"I'm ssssorry, Ssslithraa," Skales whispered apologetically before he gave a determined look, "But thissss isss for your own good."
Skales kicked Slithraa in the face with a yell which caused Slithraa to yell as Skales twirled in the air and Slithraa fell on his back as Selma and the rest of the tribe watched in shock.
"He used Fang Kwan Do," one Hypnobrai called out in awe as Skales approached Slithraa seemingly defeated.
"Oh, that's not good," Melissa said worriedly.
"Get up! Get up!" Lloyd called out in a panic.
Slithraa tried to get up, but he was too weak from the fight and he fell on his back. Skales gave Slithraa one more apologetic look before turning his back seemingly victorious as Mezmo stepped down to announce him as the victor, until Slithraa opened his eyes and raised his tail and Selma saw this and panicked.
"Skalessss, watch out!" Selma called out.
Skales heard her, but it was too late as Slithraa wrapped his tail around his legs and lifted him up, slamming him on the ground twice causing him to drop his weapons. Selma covered her mouth in fear while Lloyd and Melissa smiled as Slithraa stood back up and grabbed Skales' sword. Skales flipped back around to see Slithraa standing over him with a sword to his throat.
"Yield!" Slithraa ordered.
"I yield," Skales said reluctantly, but Slithraa was not satisfied.
"For all to hear!" Slithraa demanded moving the sword closer to Skales' throat causing Skales to move back a bit.
"I... I yield!" Skales said a little louder.
"And, to whom?" Slithraa asked as he drew closer.
Skales looked around and saw Selma looking at him in concern.
"I yield to you, my general!" Skales declared as his voice echoed throughout the chamber as he bowed his head in defeat.
Slithraa gave a firm nod and moved back as Mezmo approached him and declared him the winner, he raised Slithraa's arm as the others gave a half-hearted applause and Slithraa's victory meant that they still had to serve Lloyd and Melissa, and Mezmo gave Slithraa the staff as Selma rushed to Skales side to aid him.
"Skalessss, are you alright?" Selma asked in concern as she helped him.
"No, I failed," Skales said before turning to the rest of the tribe in shame, "I'm ssssorry, my brotherssss and sistersssss, I tried."
"Alright, General, way to go!" Lloyd cheered as Slithraa turned to him and Melissa.
"We knew you could do it!" Melissa cheered as well, "Now if you can just please untie us, we can..." Slithraa interrupted, bursting into laughter.
"Now, why in the world would I do anything for two little bratssss?" Slithraa asked as his entire tribe turned to him in surprise before he turned to Lloyd and Melissa with a glare, "I am the general of the Hypnobrai, and I take ordersssss from NO ssssurface dwelling children." He called out with a firm glare.
Lloyd and Melissa were shocked, and they stepped back in surprise as Skales and Selma looked at Slithraa in shock.
"General, issss that you?" Selma asked.
Slithraa turned to Skales with a grateful smile, "Skalessss, my loyal sssecond-in-command, you have my eternal gratitude for freeing me of my own hypnosissss." He said while bowing his head.
"You're free from Lloyd and Melissa'ssss spell?" Skales asked in surprise, "I thought I couldn't sssnap you out of it after I losssst."
"No, it wasss your Fang Kwan Do that freed me. It wasss then that I reclaimed my true sssself." Slithraa explained before looking down in disgrace, "And yet, my old age hasss fallen victim of my own powerssss, and nearly led all of you to our own dessssstruction, but you, Skalessss, were able to protect our tribe and reclaim my ssstaff in my stead, and to that, my decision isss clear."
"General... What are you ssssaying?" Skales asked as Slithraa made his way towards him and looked at his tribe.
"Brotherssss, Ssssisssstersss, effective today, I ssstep down assss general, and clearing the way for your new leader - General Skalessss!" Slithraa declared raising Skales' arm.
Skales was surprised by this as the entire Hypnobrai started cheering him as their new general.
"B-but, General, I..." Skales tried to say before seeing Slithraa offering his staff to him.
"You are the general now, Skalessss, you have what it takessss to lead our tribe." Slithraa said with a proud smile, "I wasss a fool for letting my own powerssss turn against me, but your attemptssss to free me and keep our tribe ssssafe, you have earned the rankssss to be the general."
Skales was conflicted about accepting such an honor as he turned to Selma who gave him a small smile with her hands motioning for him to take the staff. Skales looked at the staff again as he slowly took it in his hands.
Then, his body was enveloped in a yellow glow as the markings on his body vanished. Skales' legs then combined as they disappeared and were replaced with a tail of his own as his new markings now matched Slithraa's and the crowd started cheering. Slithraa's own markings then disappeared and were replaced by old grey and light blue markings that symbolized his status as an elder.
"All hail General Skalessss!" Selma announced proudly as the Hypnobrai cheered.
The entire tribe started to chant Skales' name except for Lloyd and Melissa as they were now in a panic and looked at each other in concern wondering what was gonna happen to them.
Skales turned to Slithraa, "I shall make you proud, my general." He said with a bow of his head.
"You already have, Skalessss." Slithraa said with a proud smile.
"I'm sssso proud of you, Skalessss." Selma said as she went up to him.
"Thank you, Sssselma," Skales gave her a smile, "Although, every general doessss need a sssecond-in-command."
Selma was shocked by that, but she smiled and nodded her head as her markings changed to those similar to Skales' old ones as the entire tribe cheered them, and Slithraa gave another proud smile.
"Now, assss for the two of you," Skales turned to Lloyd and Melissa with a glare, "Leave and never return."
Lloyd and Melissa gasped and stepped back a bit knowing that they had lost full control of The Serpentine, and were now being kicked out again.
Somewhere near the mountain peaks, the ninjas, Nya, and Wu were sitting by a fire while eating something.
"Uhh, what are we eating again?" Kai asked.
"Ugh! Roasted mud newt," Cole answered after taking a bite out of it, "Not bad for something that lives underground."
"What? Aah... Ugh!" Jay shouted in disgust as he spat it out and threw a rock into a can nearby, "Y-yeah, a new high s-score."
The dragons lay nearby as Rocky shook his head finding this whole thing sad.
"Remember, we must be thankful for what we still have," Wu told them while trying to keep their spirits up.
"What do we have? Our home is gone." Cole reminded them sadly.
"You know, I don't miss our home. What I really miss is Zane." Kai said feeling ashamed for what he said to their friend.
"Yeah, I miss Zane too." Jay agreed wanting his friend to come back more than his high score.
Nya then saw something up ahead, "Zane?"
"Yeah, Zane, you know, white ninja, the smart strange one?" Jay questioned thinking Nya forgot.
"No... Zane!" Nya beamed and pointed as the others turned to see where she was pointing.
"Zane!" They all beamed with joy as they saw Zane and Shard walking up to them. Shard went to the other dragons nuzzling their heads.
"Oh, Zane, we're so sorry for everything we said," Jay spoke first.
"Yeah, we're a team and that means we're all responsible," Cole added.
"Thank you, my friends," Zane said as he smiled at them, "But you didn't need to apologize to me."
"But, what about all those awful things we said?" Kai asked in confusion, "Isn't that why you left?"
"Of course not, I saw the falcon again and I followed it," Zane said as the others gave him a small smile.
"That's our Zane," Cole commented as they all gave him a group hug.
"We are so happy to have you back," Nya told him.
"Why? Is it my turn to make dinner?" Zane asked causing the others to laugh.
"Yes, Zane," Wu answered, "We would love for you to make dinner."
"But, I already made it." Zane told them, "Come, I want to show you what I found. I think you would all be very pleased." He gestured to them to follow him as he walked down where he came.
The others were confused but decided to follow.
A few minutes later, the ninjas, Wu, and Nya followed Zane through the desert for a little while before Zane stopped and turned to them.
"I can't explain it, but I feel a strange connection with the falcon." Zane explained, "I think he's trying to help show us the path we need to take."
They all walked for a bit more before they approached what appeared to be a large twin-sailed pirate ship with a dragon figurehead on the front.
"Our new home," Zane said.
The others were in awe at the sight of the ship as they all gasped.
"My goodness, the legendary Destiny's Bounty!" Wu gasped as he recognized the ship, "But I thought it was lost at sea over 200 years ago."
Everyone was still in awe at the legendary vessel before a delicious aroma from the ship had caught their nostrils.
"Do I smell pie?" Jay asked with a wide smile as did the others who smelled it too.
"Cobbler berry," Zane answered with a smile, "Oh, and I made myrtle berry and apple and..."
Whatever Zane said wasn't heard by the others as their mouths watered, and they ran towards their new home cheering excitedly to get the first piece of pie while Wu and Zane stood behind.
"I am proud of you, Zane." Wu said with a smile and placed a hand on his shoulder, "One day, I promise we will find your family."
"But, I already found them," Zane said fondly as he watched the others race to the ship.
Wu gave a smile as he nodded in understanding, proud that Zane found his place, "I feel like there's more to you than meets the eye." Wu told him, "There's something special about you."
Zane smiled a bit as he thought, "Sensei, will I become one of The Ninjas of Yin and Yang?" He asked wondering if he was one of the Chosen Ones because of his unique personality.
"It's too early to tell, but if it's in your path, you will know." Wu answered with a smile, "Come now, it would be a shame to let them eat all that pie." He said as the two walked to the Bounty to join the others.
Pretty soon they were all in the dining area laughing over all the food Zane had prepared for them, even starting another food fight, and this time, Zane joined in as well.
Unbeknownst to them, Lloyd and Melissa were watching them from a distance, and Lloyd frowned in envy seeing his uncle and the ninjas laughing and eating while he and Melissa were kicked out again by an army that was never loyal to them.
"Lloyd, are you OK?" Melissa asked seeing how upset her best friend looked.
"No, I'm not." Lloyd sadly admitted, "The ninjas got a cool new boat home while we got kicked out of someplace again, and are back to where we started." He then gave a sad sigh and looked down in sadness, "I hate to admit it, but the ninjas are lucky to have a cool home and each other while we have nothing."
Melissa understood how her Best Friend felt, and she could tell that he wanted to join the ninjas, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to as well, but she knew that after all they've done - from releasing The Serpentine and making them lose their home - The ninjas or Lloyd's uncle probably wouldn't accept them.
"Hey now, look, yes, we might've gotten back to where we started, but at least we still have each other." Melissa said with a smile as Lloyd looked at her, "You are my best friend, Lloyd, and I promise that I will never leave you."
Hearing that made Lloyd smile, "Thanks, Melissa, I can always count on you, but what do we do now? We don't have an army anymore." He reminded.
"Well, I think I have a solution." Melissa said as she pulled the map out of her hoodie, "I found this map during That Slither Pit thing. Maybe this has something that could help us."
Melissa handed Lloyd the map, and when they unraveled it, they could see that it was a map with several locations marked with snake eyes, and that's when Lloyd and Melissa realized what kind of map it was.
"It's a map that reveals the locations of the other 4 Serpentine tombs!" Lloyd exclaimed excitedly as he gave Melissa a hug, "Oh, Melissa, you are the bestest friend and second-in-command that I've ever had."
"Oh, uhh, hehe, thanks," Melissa said bashfully while blushing red.
"Now, let's go and find those tombs and get our revenge on not just the ninjas, but The Hypnobrai as well," Lloyd said with determination.
Melissa nodded as she and Lloyd made their way through the desert to search for the other 4 Serpentine tombs and get their revenge on The Hypnobrai and the ninjas.
To be continued...
A/N: And that's episode 2, and like I said, I based this off of Ninjago: The Children of Yin and Yang by jesus gonzalez21, and speaking of that author, he helped me with some of the ideas on what to do, so thanks to him, and I hope he can help with more ideas in future chapters, and I also hope that you all like the change that I did with Skales. He's kinda one of my favorite Ninjago characters, so I hope you all enjoyed. Leave a review and tell me what you all think.