Planning an attack always made Kai fidgety, but he'd never before felt as though he couldn't sit still for more than a minute like this. His legs kept pacing and there was a familiar bubbling in his chest that no amount of deep breathing could calm. This was it. They were officially heading into the final battle, and very ahead of schedule.
Kai wished they'd been more prudent earlier on. If only they hadn't let the last three Fang Blades slip through their fingers, then this battle wouldn't be necessary.
First, there was the Blade in Fanghorn forest that Keaton had dropped, attempting to rescue Ann, then there was all the trouble the second Blade caused them. After spending weeks in Brookside trying to get close to that trophy, they realised too little too late that it was a fake, so they had to go to a museum where they finally did take it, only for Garmadon to ruin everything. Using their hard-earned Fang Blade as a bargaining chip still got Kai riled up when he thought about it. At least there was a little comfort in the thought that maybe, just maybe, the Fire Temple Blade had been destroyed in the ensuing eruption... but the ninja were right to be cautious. They never visually confirmed the Blade's destruction. There was still a very high chance that the Serpentine had managed to salvage it, and if that was the case...
Kai tried to take another deep breath, though it did him little good.
This next mission—if all went well—would be the thing to set the scales of fate back in their favour. For once, they would be ahead of the Serpentine, instead of the other way around. All they had to do was sneak in to this Ouroboros place, steal the Fang Blades, and then hide them somewhere the Serpentine would never, ever find them. Or destroy them. After that, it would be a simple matter of eliminating the remaining enemy; one by one if necessary.
The sun was getting low in the West now. They'd be making landfall soon. Wu had told everyone to rest before that happened, but Kai had never been able to sleep before a battle. That was why he was up on the deck while everyone else was in the bunkhouse.
"Fancy meeting you here," said Ann, coming up beside him. She didn't look at him, but rather at the ocean and the dark strip of shadowy land on the horizon.
Kai reciprocated her even tone. "What do you want?"
"Nothing. Why do you always assume—"
"Okay, jeez, it was just a question." Truthfully, he didn't know why he suddenly snapped like that. Perhaps Ann's defensiveness was more annoying than usual tonight?
Then Ann looked at him for a moment, suddenly relaxing. "You're nervous."
"What?" he blurted.
"Oh, don't be such a baby about it, everyone gets nervous before a battle," she huffed, crossing her arms.
Kai just rolled his eyes. "Sooo glad you're feeling better."
The two of them stood together for a moment, watching the mainland get steadily closer and closer.
And the wind blew cold.
And the ocean spray made their eyes flinch.
"So I guess we're cousins," Ann eventually said.
"I guess," Kai shrugged.
"...Did you ever meet my mom, by any chance? You might have known her as Aunt Sara..."
Kai thought about it. "It doesn't sound familiar."
She nodded.
"...Did you ever know my dad?" he said tentatively. "...Uncle Lee."
"No," she replied. "Not that I can remember..."
Another stretch of silence came over them.
"Your parents are still missing, aren't they?" Ann continued, her voice much softer now. "Ever since Garmadon's war campaign?"
Kai eyed her a moment, then said, "...Yeah."
Her expression remained stony, staring across the water, as though there was something out there she was intensely scrutinising. "When all of this is over... would you like some help looking for them?"
Kai had to stop and replay what she had just said. This was Ann Jing. Notorious, all-business, ice queen Ann Jing. Yet here she was actively making small talk with him, Kai of all people, and asking if he would like her help with something dear to him.
"Are you... saying this just because we're related?" he asked.
Ann's lip went tight. "Well... maybe that's part of it... but... I guess I just want to give us something else to think about. Something to do after this whole mess is over and dealt with."
Kai nodded again. It did feel kinda nice, making plans for after the battle. It almost made it feel like the threat they were going up against was a lot smaller than it really was. And actually... the more he thought about finally going and looking for his parents, the quieter that anxious feeling became.
"Alright. After we defeat the Serpentine... I'd appreciate your help. Since you're offering," he said evenly.
"Sounds like a plan."
The sky was turning sunset orange now. This was their last chance to get in some rest before the battle.
"...Do you ever think about it?" Kai found himself asking instead of turning for the bunkhouse. He tried to tune out the puzzled look on Ann's face and continued, "About dying?"
Ann's reply was exactly what he expected. "All the time. Every battle feels like you're dancing on a knife's edge."
The water foamed beneath them.
Seagulls cawed overhead.
Kai found himself suddenly taking in the colours of them... the sounds they made... the smell of salt in the air...
"I'd hate to die..." he thought out loud. He still had things he wanted to do, and people he needed to protect. Dying would very much put a dent in those plans.
"Me too," said Ann. It was obvious to guess where her mind was at. The water ninja didn't have a lot of soft spots, but Keaton had always been one of them. Kai respected that. "Hey..." said Ann in a nervous tone that Kai didn't particularly like. "If... if something were to happen... hypothetically... both to me and Sensei Wu... would... would you and Nya..."
Kai felt his shoulders tense. "But it won't come to that," he insisted.
"I know," she nodded quickly. "But say it did... you'd be there for my sister... wouldn't you?"
"Of course," he answered, not taking his eyes off the horizon. Kai supposed that he and Nya were the only family the girls had right now. So while they were on this thought... "And I trust you'd do the same for Nya... in the unlikely event that..."
"Without a doubt," said Ann quietly. "But like you said, it won't come to that, right?"
"Right."
"It's just a hypothetical."
"Exactly."
It did feel good to talk about it, though. In a way. There was something of a plan in place now, in case they needed it. Kai actually felt rather silly for not considering it sooner.
"Hey, Kai?" Ann continued.
What more is there to say, Kai wondered.
"You're a good guy."
All of a sudden, Kai looked at Ann and a deeply unsettling feeling came over him. All of this talk... it almost sounded like the sort of thing you say right before you know that you're going to... to...
Ann looked up at him with the first glint of sincerity he'd ever seen in her eyes and his worry doubled.
"I mean it. You're insufferably hot-headed at times, but you've always been there when it counted. You helped save Keaton's life before, and brought Cole back from the Hypnobrai... then you rescued Lloyd..."
"Hey, um..."
"Look, what I'm trying to say is... thanks."
Kai took in a deep breath, all at once feeling anxious again. Looking back over his achievements... suddenly, it felt like Ann was laying it on a little thick. He'd made countless mistakes, too. He really didn't deserve all that much praise. Half of the times when he'd fixed something, it was only because he'd been the one to break things in the first place.
So instead of accepting the apology, all he could think to say was, "And thank you... for saving all of our necks on more than one occasion. I know we all... give you a hard time... but..."
"I appreciate it."
"Hey, um..." he started, not knowing if saying this part out loud was a good idea. "This is all just pre-battle nerves talking, right?"
Ann actually smiled. "I told you everyone gets nervous. I'm no exception."
Kai smiled too. A brief, amused smile. "Then I guess we'd better win."
"Yeah... kinda feels like we don't have any other choice."
"I guess so."
"We'll just have to see what 'destiny's bounty' is," Ann almost chuckled.
"What do you mean?" asked Kai.
"It's the name of the ship. I found it etched in the wood of the captain's quarters. The Destiny's Bounty."
"Fitting."

* * *

It was night now. Landfall was expected within the next half-hour. Hardly anyone could really get some sleep in, but lying down was still better than nothing. Once they did hit the shoreline, they would be hiding the Destiny's Bounty and proceeding inland using the jetpacks Jay had made. He'd been periodically tinkering with them on and off, but he hadn't been able to really fix them up the way he wanted. All the same, they would do their job.
Garmadon had opted to stay behind on the Bounty, and Lloyd was forced to remain with him, being that he was still too weak to travel very far. No one very much liked the idea of leaving those two alone, but at least this time there wouldn't be any important weapons lying around for them to steal. Wu had thought it best that the ninja go ahead and bring the Golden Weapons with them. Really, there was no reason not to, considering what they were about to go up against. However, as always, Wu gave them s very stern talking to about using the weapons.
"The ruins themselves can afford to be destroyed," he had said, "but remember... the Golden Weapons can easily overwhelm their users, and cause collateral damage to people we do not intend. Mind your surroundings and mind each other. Cole especially. Don't go creating a chasm in the ground by mistake."
He had been extremely hesitant to relinquish the Golden Weapons into his students' hands, but there was simply no other way. With any luck, this would ensure a swift victory for them.
Nya, not wanting to be left alone with Lloyd and Garmadon, asked if she could come along. The group had been hesitant, to say the least. She still wasn't trained yet, and then there was her own insistence of staying out of the fighting ever since Greta Junction. However, this time Nya insisted on coming, and that she could wait on the outskirts of the city, or even further away, and provide lookout for the team should the other Serpentine return with the final Fang Blade. Kai did have to admit, he preferred that idea over her remaining with Garmadon.
When the anchor hit solid sand, it was time to move out.
Everyone equipped themselves with their weapons and their jetpacks. Jay had made extra, with Wu's creation power, to ensure they all had transportation. He briefly explained to Cole and Ann about the best ways to pilot them, and then Keaton was creating their headwind.
Wu wanted to take a moment before they left to say goodbye to his brother, but the frown Garmadon gave him before even a word was said reminded him that things were not the same as they were when they were boys. Garmadon would not wish him well on his journey, and he would not be providing support for them. His intentions were to make sure his son was safe, and so he would remain with Lloyd. Still, in his heart, Wu imagined that if Garmadon were his old self right now, they would he leaving for this battle together. He imagined that Monty would know exactly what to do, and that any lingering worry Wu had would be dissolved the moment he laid his hand on his shoulder...
Wu blinked the fantasy away before he could make himself feel worse, and looked to his nephew instead.
"You'll be sure to stay out of trouble, won't you?" Wu asked, glancing once at Garmadon. Yes, he did mean what he said for both of them.
Lloyd rolled his eyes.
"He will," said Garmadon coldly.
All Wu could do was sigh. "Very well. With any luck... we will meet again."
The ninja were watching Wu as he came back over to them, though he got the distinct feeling that they were far more interested in the way Garmadon and Lloyd were skulking off to the bunkhouse behind him.
"Ninja," said Wu loud and clear. Everyone snapped to attention. "Ready to disembark?"
"Yes, Sensei!" said Ann, Keaton, Zane, and Cole. Nya, Jay, and Kai were a little late in their response, and rather than lamely saying something after the fact, they opted to simply remain silent and nod.
"Then let us be off!"
The sky was clear and full of stars, making navigation very easy tonight. Wu led the way, guided by Lloyd's directions. The boys and Nya made up the center of their formation, and Ann and Keaton brought up the rear.
Keaton always thought it was terribly exciting whenever they flew over Ninjago like this. She was sure they'd flown over hundreds of people by this point, and not one of them knew they had been flown over at all! Perhaps becoming excited was her way of dealing with the nervous energy coursing through her now. She'd been itching to get back out into the field, and although she still had a few lingering sniffles (so did Nya, for that matter), she felt much better than she had in weeks. The best part of it was, Ann was feeling much better too. Keaton hated having to go into battle alone. The last couple of adventures were some of the worst, in her opinion. Almost losing Ann to the Serpentine, Ann getting Venomari spit in her system, and then while she was sick—it felt like her big sister just couldn't catch a break. But tonight, surely, would be different. They would fight side by side, just like how they were brought up. It was an exciting night, to be sure.
Cole, however, wouldn't use the word "exciting" at all. Instead, the word "terrifying" came to mind. It hadn't really sunk in at all these past few weeks on the ship, but he was the team leader now, and in a cruel twist of fate, that information chose tonight of all nights to worm it's way into his head. He was quite literally at Wu's right hand as they flew, and he could feel the weight of the Golden Scythe on his back, just begging to be used. He had to keep himself from thinking about both of those facts, or else the weight of the situation might ruin his nerves right before this critically important battle. It was difficult work, though. If he wasn't thinking about the Golden Weapon, he was thinking about the battle, and once he thought of the battle, he thought of how he was the team leader, and then of how he was at Wu's right hand, and then back to the Golden Weapon. His stomach was beginning to feel sick from how much his thoughts were going in circles.
The air suddenly changed. As though they had passed through a wall, the winter chill which stung their noses vanished and was replaced with a gust of warm air. If you squinted, you could just make out the shapes of sand dunes beneath them, almost blue in the moonlight.
The Sun-Scorched Sea (as this desert was sometimes called) was located in Long Zhua prefecture. Literally translated, Long Zhua means "dragon claw." So named because this strip of land was one long peninsula, like an arm, and had three smaller peninsulas at its end, like long dragonish fingers. Knowing this did not help anyone's anxiety, as it felt as though fate was playing a mean trick on them, delivering them straight into the "claws of their enemies" so to speak.
Torchlight can be difficult to see from a distance, but never for Kai. The moment the torches of Ouroboros were in view, he told Wu, and they began to descend. The team landed silently as can be at the top of a sand dune and then got low to the ground, observing their enemy.
Ouroboros was nothing more than a heap of black stone from this distance. The only thing that distinguished it from its surroundings were the torches they could all see now, bobbing and flickering ever so slightly. It was likely that each torch indicated the presence of at least one Serpentine, but there would undoubtedly be more.
Cole was listening to Wu explain all of this when he heard the tiniest whimper beside him. Only then did he realise that he had been crouching beside Ann Jing this whole time, but he didn't immediately become tense. Rather, he was worried. Ann had her head lowered, and she was swaying ever so slightly.
"Ann?" he whispered. "Are you okay?"
"Fine..." she whispered back. "...just... I think I understand how you feel about sailing now..."
Cole frowned, trying to understand what she meant. How he felt about sailing? He didn't like sailing, because it made him seasick. Oh! Was she feeling sick? Motion sick from the flight over? That was too funny, what with her sister being the Master of Air and all.
"It'll pass," he whispered again. "Just keep breathing and maybe keep your eyes on the horizon for a while."
She nodded.
"Cole," said Wu suddenly. "Can you see underground here?"
Cole straightened and was instantly reminded of the day he and everyone else had come to the Caves of Despair. Wu had asked him the same question then, and he had been so green to using his powers that he had been utterly useless. Now, though, he had had some better practise and he hoped that the outcome would be different, but when he plunged his fists into the sand...
"I'm sorry, Sensei," he answered. "Everything's all... blurry. I think the sand is the problem."
Wu scratched his beard in thought. "We must not go about digging arbitrary holes here. The Serpentine have undoubtedly dug tunnels layers-deep beneath us, and if we stumble into one, not knowing what's inside, we will lose the element of surprise. However, the soft sand is also working to our advantage. If Cole cannot sense them, they cannot sense us."
"But so then how do we get inside? They're gonna be keeping the Blades in the deepest part of the tunnels, aren't they?" Cole asked.
"Oh, how about we collapse all the tunnels?" Jay suggested enthusiastically.
"It might take out some of them, but keep in mind that the Serpentine are tunnelling creatures. They are no strangers to cave-ins," said Wu. "And don't suggest we use the Scythe. As I said before, we are to have no chasms of any kind here. We might as well use the Fang Blades ourselves and release Anguis now."
That was another point which Cole hadn't thought to consider. Somewhere beneath them, right this very moment, a giant snake was lurking in the dark. She had to be very deep, or else the tomb must have very thick walls, for the Serpentine to not be able to tunnel a way for her to escape.
"Then we turn up the heat," said Kai, already reaching for his sword. "I say we smoke 'em out."
Wu seemed to be debating with himself now. Undoubtedly, the idea of taking down as many of the Serpentine now as possible was an alluring one, but what might go wrong with it? That was always the question to ask. If only Lloyd hadn't woken the Anacondrai! That blasted purple snake might very well have anticipated an attack like this, and would have put countermeasures in place. For a perfect example, it wouldn't surprise him to find out that those torches way over there weren't really Serpentines after all, but decoys, meant to lure the ninja in to their deaths. Why else be so obvious that there was life out here in the desert?
All at once, he felt old muscles reawaken. He hadn't done this much worrying since the last time the Anacondrai were loose, and he hated it then just as much as he hated it now.
"Sensei?" Kai pressed, ready and waiting for him to give the order.
Wu weighed the options once more. Hitting them hard and fast was always an ideal option in battle—don't give your opponent the luxury of coherent thought—but what if Pythor had anticipated that? In which case, they would be gaining nothing by attacking boldly. So then, they should infiltrate the city with stealth and steal the weapons quietly. But what if they were spotted?
Wu looked to his students, all much braver now than when they first came to him. They were ready for a fight, and were well protected while they had those Golden Weapons.
Reluctantly, he said, "We will infiltrate them with stealth. Should we be discovered... don't hold back."
Kai nodded solemnly.
"Keaton," Wu ordered, and she at one understood him.
She raised her hands and a cold wind rose up, wiping away any remaining heat from the day. With her wind, the sand also rose, and everyone made sure their masks were on as tightly as possible.
Nya hunkered down and let herself be somewhat covered by the sand, left in charge of the jetpacks and watching over Ouroboros from the outside. Meanwhile, everyone else steadily approached under the cover of a sandstorm.
Once Keaton had picked up the wind, she discovered that it was easy enough to let it keep going on its own, without much stoking from her. It grew larger and larger, so that by the time it hit the city walls, it truly enveloped it, blocking out any sign of light or life. The ninja went straight to the wall and Cole made them a way inside.
It didn't sit right with anyone, not being able to see more than five feet in front of them in the storm. Keaton was able to use the wind to feel where things were, so they were completely blind, but suppose she missed a sneaky Serpentine coming up behind them? Keaton seemed intensely focused on the way ahead, and unable to really keep track of every last thing on all sides of the group. Although, at times her power was entirely unnecessary. A handful of Serpentine guards were heard wailing and moaning about the sand in their eyes far off in the distance, and everyone one of the ninja felt certain that none of them needed powers to be able to find those scaly snakes.
From what little they could see, Ouroboros used to be a great city indeed. Large streets implied large crowds, and long dry waterways implied intelligent designs for everyday life. Not to mention the columns and the statues and the intricate houses and other such structures, all made of warm sandstone, white lime, and occasionally glinting flecks of opals set into the ground or walls to form intricately colourful murals. However, all of these things were but shadows of their former selves. The columns, which at one point might have been over twenty feet tall, were now worn down to the point that they looked like felled trees; nothing remaining but their pathetic stumps. The houses and other buildings had lost their rooftops long ago, and many had lost entire walls, so that it became difficult to tell the difference between what was an old building and what was just a stack of old rubble. The statues lay broken in pieces on the ground—from the smallest hand-held trinket to the largest, skyscraper sized monument, cut into the shape of an old Serpentine Pharaoh. Beyond that, there was no sign that people had once lived there. No old furniture, no plants, no remnants of any food or livestock or even old fields where food might have been grown. The sharp sands had cut down everything until it too was nothing more than dust in the wind.
Keaton and Cole, combining their powers somewhat, were able to guide the team over to a small tunnel opening that looked like it might crumble under their feet. Keaton reassured them that the main tunnel entrance was way over in the middle of a big courtyard somewhere—she could feel the air currents. Cole agreed that this felt like the best way in, after he searched the stone for vibrations. There was no one nearby that he could tell.
Inside they went, closing the way behind them to keep out the sand and the wind. It suddenly became very quiet, to the point that even the tiniest scuffle of their feet felt entirely too loud.
Kai lit up a fireball, Wu made an orb of light, and together they led the team forward. Cole kept one hand on the wall at all times, and did his best to keep his breathing slow so that he would be able to sense even the tiniest of vibrations.
The moment they heard voices coming their way, they extinguished their lights and let themselves be absorbed into the shadows. They saw two Fangpyres slithering by, one torch between them. Nothing more. Wu smiled to himself. No one ever realised it, but it was at times like these when he would use his special power on his enemies. They never felt suspicious or like checking the corridors for intruders when they felt all safe and happy. Garmadon would surely chuckle at the thought of his goody-two-shoes brother using his ability like that.
When the Fangpyres were gone, Wu led them forward again.
The tunnels beneath Ouroboros fell into two distinct categories. Ancient highways, and scrappy recent builds. The former usually had steps or more columns decorating them, and they were always wide enough for many people. The scrappy builds were clearly recent, being held up by whatever material there was lying around (typically old stone or old columns). Cole found that he much preferred the smaller tunnels, as they felt easier to hide in, and much warmer than the large highways.
Their work was slow, mostly relying on Cole's power to guide them, as well as any clues the passing Serpentine happened to drop. It sounded as though there was something going on in one of the lower levels, and that's where the bulk of the Serpentine were gathered. The closer they got, the more Cole could confirm this. There were hundreds of them down there, making a lot of noise.
Wu instantly felt nervous. Were they waiting for an ambush?
At once, he made the ninja take a side passage that would keep them from getting too close to the big room where the Serpentine were gathered. They needed to gather information before they could continue, so he motioned to Jay and Keaton to scout ahead.
Both ninja were light on their feet and quick to react—ideal traits in a scout. They followed the tunnel until they came to a triple fork in the road. Their minds were easy to make up, though. They simply needed to follow the sound of wild cheering.
Poking their heads out of the tunnel reminded Jay an awful lot of when they had emerged above the stage at the Performing Arts contest. There was no doubt in his mind that this was meant as a service duct, to maintain all the fixtures and things there were up here, but what were they for? Well, if you simply directed your attention to the ocean of Serpentine below them, you would figure it out in short order.
"Slither Pit! Slither Pit!" they chanted over and over again. At the center of this crowd, there was an open space, and in that open space were two Serpentine, apparently fighting to the death. What a charming pastime.
Jay counted easily over a hundred of them—perhaps two, maybe even three hundred—crammed into that comparatively small room, and guessed that there were many more still uncounted, roaming the tunnels and guarding the city up-top. He suddenly had a very bad feeling, as though he was standing in the middle of a giant hornets nest.
Keaton suddenly tapped him on his shoulder and pointed at something. Jay scanned the room for a moment until he saw it. A small dias on the far side, and on that dias was a pedestal, and on that pedestal sat three of the four Fang Blades. So the Serpentine had rescued the one from the Fire Temple after all. It was a good thing they came, then, and Wu said as much when Jay and Keaton raced back to tell them everything they had seen. If they could just get those blades and get out, then this whole crisis could be averted without any fuss.
However, the real problem would be getting to the blades in the first place. The only door in that whole room that wasn't in use or being watched like a hawk was the one Jay and Keaton had used for their spying, and it was as far away from the pedestal as it was possible to be. Perhaps Keaton could fly over the crowd, but then what? Everyone would see her coming down to grab the blades, and no one liked the idea of Keaton being surrounded like that. What if she got sprayed with Venomari spit? What if they had projectile weapons? What if they sounded the alarm and all the hallways started filling up with Serpentine? If they had no other option, maybe they could go with that plan, but everyone wanted to try and find a different work around.
Cole suggested that maybe he could go through the tunnels and find his way around to that side of the Slither Pit Room, and then reach through the stone wall and grab the blades that way. Wu didn't like it, though, because it involved more moving around the tunnels, and the less they moved around, the less likely they were to be caught. Instead, he proposed that Cole use his powers to create a platform for him to walk along high above the crowd. They shouldn't notice it with how much noise they were making. Then, he would grab each blade with a technique Kai had dubbed The Rock Fist, and one by one lift them up slowly. The rocks should cover the blades' distinct shape, and by going slowly, the odds of it being noticed would be severely reduced. It was still a risk, but one everyone felt was much easier to take.
It was decided.
The group went to the doorway to watch and wait while Cole began his perilous journey to the other side of the Slither Pit Room. He felt his palms getting sweaty in their gloves as he carefully created his stone pathway, wrapped around the length of the walls. His head was so near the ceiling that he had to crouch a little, but he didn't mind. Anything to keep him separated from those snakes down below. Once or twice the crowd whooped or cried out in surprise, and Cole froze in a panic, only to look and realise that they were just reacting to their Slither Pit game.
Finally, he was at the other end of the room, and when he leaned over he could see the three Fang Blades, glittering beneath him. Very carefully, he created the first rock fist and grabbed the blade with it. This sort of precision-based technique was not at all what Cole would call fun or easy. He would much rather be throwing boulders than trying to concentrate on holding such a specific formation together. In a way, it almost felt like he was pulling up a bucket of water from a well, slowly and steadily, trying his hardest not to let it spill. Then, right as he was thinking he'd wished he had practised this more, he felt one of the rocks falling from his mental grip. In something of a panic, he pushed it hard back into place. The resounding KLINK it made alerted one of the Serpentine.
This particular Venomari seemed to have a bit of a vacant look in his eye—at least to those who are familiar with Serpentine faces—and when he turned back to the Fang Blades, searching them over, he seemed to not see anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps he hadn't bothered to count how many Fang Blades there were, though he certainly didn't bother to look up. If he had, he would have seen the floating clump of rocks above him, and possibly even the strange-looking stone platform above that, and even Cole's face peaking over the side of it. But this Venomari did not see any of that, and as soon as his curiosity was satisfied, he turned back to the Slither Pit and started cheering again for his favourite to win.
Cole felt his shoulders relax and he began again to pull the Fang Blade up. In almost no time at all, he had it, and he could feel his friends staring at him with glee from across the room. He set the blade down beside him and then went back for the second.
This time he made extra sure to be careful and concentrate on each rock. The blade rose steadily up and up until it too was within his grasp.
Finally, just the third blade remained. In all honesty, they could have left it at the two blades. The Serpentine needed all four in order to unlock the tomb, so even taking one would foil their plans. Even so, Cole couldn't help himself. None of those blades should be in their possession, he thought, and who knows? It might end up saving them some trouble later down the road.
In all actuality, it wound up causing them some very real trouble right then and there.
The moment the last blade was lifted from its spot, Cole thought he saw something change in the pedestal; as though it shifted. Then, two things happened in quick succession.
First, Cole suddenly heard something tunnelling in the wall next to him, but before he had time to react, a Constrictai came bursting through the stone and was on top of him! It had him in its coils, wrapped around his head and one of his wrists, and try as he might to pull himself free, the Constrictai's muscles were far too powerful and far too already attached to him to do much about it.
Second, the group across the room found the way out of their little observation deck blocked! Cole was in trouble though, so some of them were already dashing out to run across the platform to save him, not even noticing they had been shut in. Wu didn't like it one little bit. With their way out gone, and with Cole being attacked, it could only mean that Pythor had indeed anticipated this!
"Boys! Weapons at the ready!" Wu called to them, expecting Plan B to be put into effect.
The crowd below them seemed wholly aware of them now, craning their necks to see what was going on above them. Actually, it almost looked like they were backing away from the middle of the room where the Slither Pit was, as if expecting something to fall.
That something was Cole. While struggling to rip the Constrictai off of him, he hadn't been paying close attention to where the platform ended, and all it took was one misplaced step for him to go tipping over.
"Cole!" Ann cried, among the first to run to him. She reached out as quick as she could, but just barely missed him. She had felt the hem of him shozoku on her fingertips!
Cole and the Constrictai fell and tumbled into the center of the room, and naturally, his teammates felt compelled to follow. The other boys had their Golden Weapons drawn, and they were all eager to get their friend and escape with their lives, but Wu began to see this for the folly it was.
"Wait—don't!!" he tried to warn them as they all jumped down after Cole. He had wanted to try and formulate a new plan, but with all those kids down there in blatant harm's way, his only real thought suddenly became to protect them as best he could. So he too jumped.
The ninja were now standing in the middle of the room, surrounding on all sides by four colours of Serpentine. Kai promptly stabbed the Constrictai in the tail, and it shrieked and slithered away, allowing Cole to breathe again. For that singular moment, the ninja felt good about their chances. After all, they had the Golden Weapons on their side. However, what only Wu seemed to realise was that they were now standing on top of a Slither Pit.
"Quickly—we must—" he began, but never got the opportunity to finish.
He had not thought to explain about Slither Pits to the kids, but now he deeply wished he had. On the surface, they were like any other gladiatorial ring where two unfortunate souls fought to the death. Beneath the surface, they were full of contraptions and surprises to keep the games from getting boring. One of these was called "sudden death." When the Pit Master called these words out, the two Serpentine in question had only two or three seconds to run away before one large trap door was opened. Anyone unlucky enough to be a slow runner would find themselves falling down into a deep, dark hole. Depending on the Slither Pit, it varied what you would find at the bottom, but it was never anything pretty.
In this case, no one had called "sudden death," but they might as well have. The floor gave way beneath the ninja's feet, and before they knew it, they were without light and falling fast! Kai was instantly reminded of several nightmares he'd had that involved endlessly falling, but this was so much worse!
Then—
SPLASH!
Everyone was submerged in a pool of water, and they swam up to gasp for air. Any fears of them being drowned to death were put at ease once they realised that this was Ann's doing. She had filled up the bottom of this pit with water and caught them all just in time. Now that they were safe, she made the water disappear into the cracks in the walls and everyone stood on shaky legs.
"Everyone alright?" Ann called.
"Fine," was the general response.
At once Wu and Kai lit up the room, and Wu's frustration was clear as day.
"Why did you not listen to me up on the platform?!" he asked, almost yelling.
"Sorry, Sensei," said Ann at once.
"We were trying to help Cole," said Jay next.
"Yeah, he could have been strangled," said Kai.
"There are many ways you could have helped, but jumping down into such an obvious trap was not one of them!" Wu thundered on, looking more and more stressed by the second. All at once, however, he seemed to collect himself and looked around. "There are no obvious death traps here," he said curtly. "They've been removed." It was true. The room showed signs of being tampered with—scuff marks on the floor and chinks in the walls—but at the moment it was empty. "Quickly, Cole! Tunnel a way out of here!"
The tone of Wu's voice conveyed a meaning that everyone intuitively understood. He suspected that something more was going on, and that they were still in grave danger, and Cole didn't hesitate for even a second to comply with his orders. The only problem was, the moment Wu had spoken, something else happened.
Several huge walls suddenly sprung up from the ground! As though the room were possessed, it started moving on its own, separating the ninja from one another—even Ann and Keaton! There was lots of confused shouting, calling out to one another, and general panic, but none of that did anything to help.
Cole found himself all too suddenly falling again, and this time he truly had no light whatsoever with Wu and Kai gone. When he stretched out his arms even a little, he felt walls all around him, scraping his gloves. With this tunnel—almost a tube, really—being so small, he was able to force his hands and feet outward and stop his descent in a matter of seconds. He stayed there, held up by sheer strength and pressure, and began thinking his way out. All he needed to do was make a new tunnel and climb out, and it should have been easy, but he was beginning to get the distinct feeling that whoever had planned this trap had no intention of going easy on the ninja.
Light filled the tunnel from above. A dark, deep red light. It was accompanied by the smell of sulphur. Cole snapped his head up and saw a stream of lava being poured down on top of him.
He let go of those walls faster than if they had been made of lava themselves, and he started falling again. Feeling this was a perfect excuse to use it, he reached for the Golden Scythe and blocked the way above him with stone, plugging the lava spill. Then, with a sudden thrill, he turned and used the Scythe to blow a massive hole out in front of him. The ground shook from the impact, and rocks were falling everywhere. Cole had no idea exactly what kind of a hole he had just blown open, since there was no light other than what little glow the Weapon gave off, but he landed on his feet in short order, and felt that now he was much better prepared for whatever the Serpentine threw at him next.
He paused, looking around the dark, unable to see anything that wasn't exactly in front of him. The rocks were still shifting, and that was all he could hear. Was he truly alone? Had the Serpentine expected him to die in that lava trap? Was he free to start making his way back to his friends and Sensei?
Evidently not.
For out of the shadows, something finally appeared. There were two of them, small at first, but they grew large. They were a pair of bright red Hypnobrai eyes, and they were staring right at him. Then another appeared. And another. And another. Cole quickly realised in a state of dread that he was surrounded by Hypnobrai, and if he didn't do something in that split second, he might be done for.

* * *

Jay was standing next to Wu and Ann when the walls began appearing. He counted eight walls in total, like an octagon, separating them into eight consecutive pizza slices—er, well, pizza-sliced-shaped rooms. There was a brief moment where Jay thought to himself, 'eight slices? But there are only seven of us...' but that thought barely had enough time to settle before—
"AAHH!!!"
That was Nya's voice!
A door had opened in his little chamber and Nya was somewhere inside. The Serpentine must have captured her!
No time to think things through—no time wonder if this was yet another trap—all Jay could picture in his head was poor Nya, frightened half to death like that night in Greta Junction! She didn't deserve all these things that kept happening to her! He swore he would save her!
He was running at top speed now, following the sound of her voice through the dark.
"AH!"
It echoed off the walls, sharp and shrill, and made Jay's blood run cold. What were they doing to her?
Being a source of light was not something Jay was usually called upon for, on account of lightning being a bit more wild than a fireball, but while he was all alone, he eagerly let tendrils of electricity loose. They filled the room with bluish-white light as they blinked in and out of existence, as though he were the center of a plasma ball. His hair was standing on end now, too, and the very air inside his lungs felt tingly.
The tunnels all looked the same, however. Amorphous blobs of rock, cut with hard black shadows. The only real sense of direction he had to go off of was Nya's voice, but even that was hard to follow. Sometimes it was almost like he could hear it coming from every direction at once.
That was right about the time he remembered the Nunchucks of Lightning. With his electric field around him, it was impossible not to hear it calling out to him, and the moment he had his hands on their cool metal, he felt his electric field expand tenfold! The whole cave was lit now, and information about the tunnels was being hungrily devoured by the hundreds of tendrils of electricity shooting out from him. He knew which way to go now.
He had never felt so light when he ran before—his feet were practically skimming the ground, scattering loose pebbles to the wayside. Then, in the distance, he could sense people moving. He would charge in there, demand they release Nya, and then use the Nunchucks to utterly obliterate them!
The tunnel let out into a large room with smooth walls and more stone columns. At the far end of the room, chained to the floor by her wrists, was Nya, looking frantic.
"Jay!" she cried out, and in his emotional fever he mistook her shout for one of passionate relief. In reality, she was trying to warn him. "Don't come any closer!" she persisted, "It's a trap!"
But Jay was moving too fast to slow down, and his thoughts were too clouded to judge the situation properly. If he had been even the slightest bit more observant, he might have noticed the metal square on the floor, or the metal box right above him about to fall on top of him!
The moment Jay was in position, the box did fall, and then with a CLUNK it was locked into place. Jay rammed his whole body into its cold wall, but it wouldn't budge.
"No! Nya, are you alright?!" he yelled through it. He could just barely make out her response. "Don't worry, I'll get you out!" he continued, and then added under his breath, "Just as soon as I get out..."
His first instinct was to use the Nunchucks, and he swung them around and around, building up so much energy that when he released it, he was worried he might hurt Nya. However, it would seem that his concerns were necessary. The lightning had no effect at all—or, at least it had no desired effect. He could tell that the box was now electrically charged, but that didn't help him in the slightest. What he needed was for it to break! He tried again with the Nunchucks to blast his way out, but again the only thing he could manage was a black scuff mark. He started pounding away on the walls, feeling like every second he wasted was another second he was a complete failure.
He needed to rescue Nya now!

* * *

When Kai became separated from the group, he heard all manner of strange noises from behind the walls. What sounded like doors opening, people shouting and running, crashing and exploding. However, nothing in particular seemed to be happening to him. There were no doors opening in his little slice of the pit, no explosions, and no death traps. Naturally, he had his sword out, glowing red hot and ready for anything—or so he thought.
Behind him, a pitter patter began, like a lot of liquid being suddenly poured into his room and splashing on the floor. He whipped around at once, and nearly gave himself a heart attack, narrowly keeping his flaming sword from touching the stream of liquid. The moment the smell touched his nose, he instantly recognised it as gasoline.
Thick, stinky, yellowish gasoline was being poured into his room like deathly waterfall, and he knew that if he dared go near the stuff with his fire, it would be set alight faster than he could blink. So he lifted any fireballs he was using for light high above the growing waterline, and held the Sword close to himself as he backed up into the thinest corner of his slice. By putting pressure on either side of the walls, he was able to start climbing up—if a bit slowly—so avoid getting his feet soaked as the gasoline began to smother the entire floor.
What should he do? His powers were completely useless here! But there must be some way out...

* * *

Ann hated being without light, but she had trained for this, believe it or not. Her sense of hearing was very keen, and although she couldn't tell if there was a rock she was about to trip over, she could tell if she was alone or if there was someone standing behind her.
She had been wary of the door that opened in her room after the walls went up, and had not dared follow the torchlight within it, knowing it would be a perfect trap, but then she shouldn't have been surprised that her reaction had been anticipated. A large spike suddenly shot up out of the ground behind her, and she felt it when she knew it was safe. Out of caution, she stepped back from it, and sure enough, two more spikes appeared. The Serpentine were trying to goad her into falling for their trap, but she wasn't having any of it.
With a wave of her hand, she coated the entire cave tunnel ahead of her with water and closed her eyes, looking for an ulterior exit. She found one in the shape of a narrow, narrow passage near the floor that let out into another tunnel next door. Perhaps even the one where Keaton had been taken.
Ann wasted no time and, laying flat on her stomach, crawled her way through it on the floor. The roof scraped over her head, and rocks poked at her skin the whole way, but eventually she squeezed out the other side and looked about the pitch black. Again, she had to use her powers to feel her way around.
The tunnel she was in now seemed relatively untouched, which she hoped was a good sign. If the Serpentine hadn't been in here, then it was unlikely she'd have to worry about anymore traps.
"Keaton?" she called out. "Sensei Wu? Guys?" Her voice bounced back to her in a lonely sort of way, letting her know that she was the only living thing around for quite a distance. All she could do was keep moving uphill, hoping to find a way out of here. Preferably, she'd like to be able to find one or more of her teammates first, but at this point, she would gladly accept any good fortune.
Then, she rounded a corner and was met with another torch. This time she couldn't tell if it meant she was back to playing into the Serpentine's clutches, or if maybe she'd found a way out. There were two tunnels ahead of her, and she stopped to debate whether or not to follow one or the other, or try to find another way out.
"Keaton?" she tried one last time, hearing nothing in reply. She had just run a long way, so perhaps she was well and truly out of the woods?
Something tickled her nose just then and made her frown. She looked around, up at the ceiling and down at the floor, but saw nothing, so she took a tentative, tiny sniff. It wasn't a type of gas she familiar with. It wasn't sulphuric, it wasn't volcanic, but it didn't smell lab-made either. Well, whatever kind of gas it was, Ann was sure that she didn't want to inhale any more of it, so she picked one of the tunnels and started running again, hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a dead end or something.
The further down the tunnel she ran, however, the more it almost felt like the air was getting thicker. Her breaths took more effort and her head started feeling tight. She had to lean against the nearest wall for a moment, her vision becoming blurry and her sense of balance beginning to waver.
That funny smell was back, and she could almost swear she had smelled it somewhere before. It was acrid like skunk spray, and sickeningly sweet like liquorice mixed with pine sap. The pine sap part may have been what jogged her memory, as the last time she had been around pine trees was in Fanghorn Forest, when she had been spit in the face by a Venomari.
Venomari spit!
She tried to keep walking to the next torch in the tunnel—tried to get away from wherever the gas was coming from—but it felt impossible now, as though it was following her.
The venom was truly taking effect now. She could feel it in her heavy legs, her heavy eyes, and her achy head. The tunnel seemed to stretch on and on, and for a moment the roof almost looked like it had ribs. Perhaps she was really in the belly of a large snake, being slowly digested.
"No..." she murmured, trying to get out.
Then she heard a laugh.
"Keaton?"
The laugh came again, far away.
"Keaton? Where are you?"
She couldn't tell which way was left or right or up or down anymore... let alone where the laughter was coming from...

* * *

Keaton's trap, as it turns out, was the Venomari gas, and Ann had indeed stumbled into her side of the tunnels. Keaton had been caught totally unawares when it happened, on account of it happening so fast. Almost immediately after the walls went up, the gas was administered, and then a doorway opened up for her. She had just enough coherent thought left to try and get away, but was suddenly confronted with two Fangpyres. They both lunged for her, trying to infect her with their mutatious venom, but Keaton's hard-trained instincts won out. Even while under the influence of Venomari spit, she could still sense the danger she was in, and quickly used her powers to jump over her assailants and started running away for dear life. (Of course, in her mind, she was running from two giant potatoes, but still, she saved herself.)
She had no sense of direction down there, or no sense of purpose, really. She just kept running and running, her mind a scattered mess. The Fangpyres continued to pursue her, and soon there were more of then, trying to help catch the nimble ninja of air, but she was proving... illusive, to say the least.
Still, she wouldn't be able to outrun the Fangpyres forever. Lucky for her, she didn't need forever. She just needed to run long enough for the spit to wear off.

* * *

To say that Wu was upset when the trap unfolded would be untrue. He was livid.
His chosen death was meant to be crushing via the room walls closing in on him, but he easily created a large metal beam for himself which made the walls crack and buckle. Ultimately, the pressure buildup must have busted whatever cog-and-spring contraption was powering this twisted place, and Wu was free to start collecting his students and getting them out of here.
A wrecking ball was all he needed to break down the nearest wall and he was at once in Ann's corner. With his orb of light, he could track her footsteps in the dirt and rocks, and could still see remnants of water on the walls. She had been sensing her way through the dark, but had not gone past the torch. Why?
He soon discovered the small crevice near the floor she had escaped through and promptly started clawing his way through it. Once on the other side, he continued tracking Ann, only stopping when he too smelled the scent of venom in the air. In his case, however, he had the ability to create for himself a breathing mask that would filter the air. How he wished he'd thought to make more for all the kids. No doubt Ann was wandering around somewhere down here, utterly out of it.
Not to worry. He was coming.

* * *

Zane's attention was immediately drawn to the door that had opened up in his corner, and he blinked in the light of the handful of torches now shining in his eyes. Hesitantly, he stepped forward.
With only a brief moment of surprise, he heard the door close behind him, and began preparing himself for an ambush, but none ever materialised. The room he was in remained silent and still. No further traps seemed to activate, either. No gasoline, no spikes, no cages, or anything else of the sort. In fact, the only thing in this whole room... was a small table.
Once he was sure that nothing was going to happen, he decided to investigate it. Perhaps the Serpentine were feeling gracious and were allowing him the chance to win his freedom in the form of some sort of puzzle? He seriously doubted it, but the thought did cross his mind, especially when he realised that the only thing sitting on the small table was a piece of paper.
Why was he getting a bad feeling all of a sudden? He seldom got bad feelings, at least in the traditional sense. He could tell when he was in danger—immediate danger—but that was a quick feeling that came and went with the danger. This... this felt something more like dread. Why did he dread to look at that piece of paper? Why did he approach so slowly? Part of him didn't care and didn't want to know, but the other part was so desperately curious and told him that if it could just get a peek, it would be satisfied.
So Zane crept closer, and closer, and closer, and began to see a white block pattern over blue paper. Blueprints, he realised. But why on earth would the Serpentine be interested in showing him the blueprints for something? What could they possibly hope to gain from this?
Then Zane saw what was written on it—the contraption that was laid out in detailed notes and diagrams—and he felt his mouth gape. He couldn't swallow. He couldn't blink. He could barely breathe.
The paper felt old and dry in his hands as he looked it over again and again, hoping that this was a trick the Serpentine were trying to pull. It wasn't possible. It was almost laughable how impossible this was. But just in case, he felt the need to check his pulse. He touched his neck and his wrist, and he felt a heartbeat, and he felt warm, and alive. He combed through his hair, and his hair felt real—he poked a finger in his mouth, and his tongue felt real and his teeth felt real too. He was breathing and he felt hungry and he dreamed and he did all the other things he was supposed to. Whatever this was, it had to be a joke.
Zane tossed the paper back onto the table, wanting to forget he ever saw it, yet no matter how hard he tried to, he just couldn't. He was sure that paper was lying, but... he felt a dark desire—no, a need—to check and make absolutely certain.
His hands were shaking as he reached up and undid the front of his shozoku, showing his bare chest. If the diagram was to be believed, then all he had to do was trace his fingers down his left side and feel for the last three of his rib bones. When he did, he pushed his three fingers down on them firmly, expecting nothing to happen...
...but then his stomach gave a lurch and he felt like he ought to vomit from how nauseous he had just become.