Chapter Text
The Serpentine camp glowed in the darkness of the evening with the embers of a thousand fires. Some of the reptiles had already retreated to their yurts, large and small, and guards from all Four Tribes were walking along the edge of their settlement, the vast majority of them with cloaks and furs covering their shoulders in the cool of the early night. Everything seemed so peaceful, Kai thought, leaning back to look at the sky and the slowly emerging stars. In fact, it was only now, observing their daily lives, that he realized how much they had in common.
Lloyd, Jay, and Nya were roasting marshmallows on a stick they found on the ground. Zane looked at their choice of material with warm distaste, preparing a metal jug of water to hang over the fire in order to make some tea. Cole, wrapped in two blankets, was lying on his side near the fire, his forearm under his head as a pillow. He looked deep in thought watching his friends.
They hadn't had such a peaceful, pleasant night for a long time. And thinking about it closely, it was actually just a stroke of luck that they got it at all.
Two days ago, they had ventured far out the borders of Ninjago City to deal with a group of smugglers in a remote region. Nothing special, and they probably would have managed in a day or two if not for some bad luck and a few overlapping circumstances.
It had all started out perfectly normal. The Destiny's Bounty had dropped them off at their destination, Sensei Wu and Pixal on board. The team had also managed to drive a truck out the Bounty’s lower compartments; one a bit cramped for the whole group, but bearable when it came to short term usage, so the Bounty had returned to Ninjago to keep watch over the city during their absence. They had planned to return home in the truck, even though they knew they would be constantly arguing about who would be the one driving and who would be the one to choose music.
It had taken them less than half a day to figure out the smugglers' headquarters—bread and butter after years of fighting. Too bad they hadn't figured out that the new enemy was involved with the Mechanic, because that guy had made things a whole lot more complicated.
The skirmish was small and didn't last long before the criminals started to retreat. Naturally, the Ninja gave chase—only to be stopped by an explosion to their left, the force of which sent Cole flying into Kai like a sack of potatoes. The Earth elemental was the closest to the source of it, and the impact of the blast would have probably blown his arm off if he had been any closer, but fortunately his hand just ended up looking as if having lost a fight with a cheese grater. They unanimously agreed that the Mechanic deserved a beating for building yet another stupid machine, and undeterred, they ran after the enemy, but the smugglers were already driving away. They managed to stun the ninja long enough to organize an escape—and Kai's ears were still ringing as they went back to get the car to go after them.
And that's when the next, slightly bigger problem began—the motherfuckers snatched their car.
Kai cursed and threatened, swinging his fist at the sky, but it didn't change the facts; one of them was bleeding enough to stain the sand beneath their feet, and they had only their carry-on first aid kits, which had proven useful in emergencies before. With the Bounty out of reach of their handheld communicators or even Zane, in this god forsaken shithole, they had little choice but to clean the wound as best they could, patch Cole's arm up with the bandages they had, and begin the walk back. Actually, no, they had a choice—split into pairs, send one group to the nearest location with a satellite phone, the other to chase the smugglers, and leave the third, with Cole, where they were, to wait for assistance and a ride, and that was what most of them were for; but Cole had ruled that they'd have to be crazy not to expect another ambush from the Mechanic after the move he pulled, and go after him in twos with melee weapons. He wasn't keen on the idea of staying put and resting either, because, as he stated, the wound was superficial and nothing serious enough had happened that would prevent him from walking.
So they walked all day, blood seeping steadily through the bandages, until they lit a fire and settled down to sleep on the dry ground when it was too dark to go any further. They set up watches, quite short ones, but they weren't the least bit rested as the sun rose. In the morning they examined Cole's arm, which had begun to secrete a yellowish discharge and had swollen slightly, redder than before. The lack of tools to properly clean it, as well as all the dirt and dust from the explosion were evident. Cole was grinning and bearing it, but the infection was starting to spread and he was breaking into a slight fever that was slowly but surely getting worse.
Still, they kept going, trying to connect with the Bounty over and over again. Or whoever, for that matter, because they were switching channels like survivors in a zombie apocalypse. At some point during the day, they had used up their last bandage and things weren't looking so good; morale was sinking and their footsteps dragged on the sand more and more audibly. Until dusk began to fall and the flush of campfires reached them from the distance.
Kai, like a total idiot, began to release fireballs into the air, and Jay followed suit with his lightning bolts—until Zane and Lloyd scolded them for acting despite not knowing who they were firing those flares at. Cole would probably have chided in; but at this point, he seemed a little out of focus on their surroundings. Kai took his arm over his shoulder without being asked, and the Earth ninja immediately put some of his weight on him.
It turned out they hadn't attracted an enemy, but an ally. Two scouts on horseback reached them relatively quickly, and the joy on Kai's face couldn't be wiped off even by the dust raised by their shod hooves when he saw that they had reached the camp of the United Serpentine Tribes. Then came the fear—they wouldn't know that the Ninja had no ill intentions. But it turned out that it was enough to say that they had a wounded man and that they were friends, and one of them, after one glance, galloped to the camp for a wagon, and soon they were there.
The Four Tribes camp was bustling with life. They were given some of it; fed a warm meal and enough water to soothe them comfortably. Cole was handled by their doctor, a Venomari woman with faded scales, who took care of his wound with masterful precision, cleaning it expertly and even giving their leader some mysterious drug intravenously that she said would help with the pain and fighting off the infection.
And so they sat by the fire now, warming themselves against the dancing flames. Kai moved forward, pulling his friend up so that instead of on his hand, he was resting his head on his lap. Cole let out a grunt of satisfaction.
“Hey, man,” Jay’s voice pierced the air. The Lightning ninja waved a stick at Cole. “You want a marshmallow? I’ll even roast it for you.”
“Wow, Jay. You’re such a great guy,” Kai snorted.
“Sure. Bring it in,” Cole mumbled, quite clearly more interested in sleeping than eating, which was disturbing in and of itself. Kai nudged his head, to which he responded with a miserable groan.
“Hey, don’t fall asleep here. Skales said he’d get us tents. Just a little while longer and you’ll be able to crash,” Kai said in a hushed voice, watching as Cole’s eyes fluttered closed again, despite his intervention. “I’m serious.”
“What are we even talking about? This boy weighs nothing. Worst case scenario, I’ll drag him to the yurt myself.”
All heads, slightly confused, turned in the direction of the low, hissing voice. Black scales gleamed, reflecting the flames as they watched the long tail slowly trail lazily behind its owner. Kai shook his head. He forgot every time how huge the Serpentine Generals were.
“Hey, Skalidor,” Jay said. “Thanks for helping.”
Skalidor waved his hand dismissively.
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “They should be done soon.”
Cole narrowed his eyes at the snake.
“Here we go with your bullshit again. It's not that I weigh nothing,” he began, as if Skalidor had gravely insulted him, “it's just that you probably weigh three times as much as I do. Your tail is twice as long as me.”
“Is that so?” the Constrictai asked, the tip of his tail swiping vigorously across the dry ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. “Because to me, you're curled up and delicate, just like a hatchling. And like a hatchling, you cry and whine.”
“Wanna repeat that?” Cole asked, a hint of irritation hidden in his voice.
“Hey, are you sure you want to challenge the General here when your eyes are closing on their own?” Kai asked with amusement, emphasizing the title.
“Yeah,” Cole said, before turning back to Skalidor. “I won't be insulted by an overgrown gecko.”
The team fell silent for a moment before bursting into incredulous laughter. Skalidor pulled his head back in disbelief.
“Gecko? You little–”
Skalidor acted quickly, without hesitation grabbing the Earth master by the wrist of his good hand and pulling him up. Cole let out a strangled cry of surprise as the General lifted him off the ground, effortlessly causing his legs to hang in the air.
“SKALIDOR–”
“Skalidor, you crazy, man?!” Kai panicked, but a laugh still escaped his throat. “Put him down.”
“Proving my point,” the snake informed helpfully, still not letting go of their friend. “See? Light as a feather and weak as a kitten. I can't believe this is the same man who arm-wrestled me and almost won!”
Cole laughed, but there was a breathless edge to it.
“Okay, okay! You win, put me down," he said, to which the General let out a contented grunt and, surprisingly careful and gentle for his size, lowered Cole back to the ground. “I hate it when you do that,” Cole muttered. “You can't just go around grabbing innocent people!”
“Oh, please. You? ‘Innocent people’? You're far from that. Merely being weak as a hatchling and weighing just as little as one doesn't erase your sins,” Skalidor offered without a shadow of sympathy, very clearly intentional in repeating his words. Cole glared, proof enough the provocation was successful.
“Okay, I gotta admit, that was impressive,” Kai cut in. “But next time, we’re fistfighting. Your doctor has him high as a kite, you can see the guy can't even object.” The Fire master nudged the black-haired man in the ribs, and Cole let out an unhappy pant.
“Oh, I ain't done. I do not weigh as little as a hatchling,” Cole hissed through clenched teeth. “But you are built like a fucking tank. You could probably bench press all of us if we stood on each other's shoulders.”
“I would like to politely object to performing this hypothetical barbell in practice–” Jay began, still stifling a laugh.
“And despite that, I still look like a gecko?” Skalidor asked, completely ignoring Jay's statement, a spark of malice on his face. Cole looked at him glumly.
“No. I changed my mind, you look like a very overfed iguana.” His words made the rest of the team blink in shock at the challenge, some of them still chuckling lowly.
“Dude,” Jay said. “Can we please not insult Serpentine Warlords anymore?”
But Skalidor only laughed, the sound deep, booming and shaking his entire frame until he settled comfortably by the fire and his tail curled around the glowing coals.
“I appreciate your lack of respect,” he said informatively. “Because how much might you weigh?”
"Why would you care?”
“Amuse me.”
Cole sighed heavily, eyes rolling back. For a second, he seemed to think about his options here, before finally deciding perhaps it's not worth the fight. “Ninety-five*, last time I checked," he responded.
It wasn't really a surprise. Cole was more on the muscular side, and through super strength and years of training, his frame and weight had adapted to the elements that led him. But Skalidor's arms still shook with laughter.
“I'd break you, Earth wielder,” he began with a wicked smile full of teeth, "like a twig. I don't weigh three times as much as you, but six, easily. Maybe seven.”
“Wait,” Lloyd stopped him, raising his hand. “You're telling us you weigh, what, over six hundred kilos**?”
“Exactly, aren't you fucking some info up?” Jay asked, looking at him in disbelief. Nya elbowed him in the ribs, her way of teasing his shock, and Jay groaned in pain in response. Skalidor grunted, a low sound coming straight from the diaphragm.
“I can’t believe it,” Zane mumbled. “You weigh as much as a Nile crocodile.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Jay cut in. “Those huge-ass bastards grow to weigh seven hundred***?”
Kai snorted in amusement, watching the incredulous looks of his teammates and half-smile on Cole’s face as the sounds of their argument lulled him to sleep. He ran his fingers through Cole’s hair.
“Most animals are bigger than you think, boy.” Skalidor nodded. “You humans are always so terrified of anything bigger than you—but I suppose that is fair with how defenceless you are. Just look at your buddy. A small wound and he’s already whining like a puppy!”
“Don’t start,” Cole said in a sleepy voice. Skalidor laughed loudly.
“Even now, you’ve got some determination in you. I like that,” the General said with a happy expression, opening his arms. “Come on, let me hug you.”
The ninja on the ground jumped back at the sight, grabbing Kai by the leg of his pants.
“Oh no, no way! Last time you hugged me, I had your scales imprinted on my stomach for two weeks!” Cole protested.
“I beg your pardon? It was an accident! I’ll be gentle, I promise,” Skalidor said, his yellow eyes wide and gleaming in the evening darkness.
“Skalidor– no, come on, please, don’t do the puppy eyes,” Cole groaned. “No, stop. Oh god, okay! Just be really careful.”
The Serpentine didn’t need to be told twice. He immediately moved forward, wrapping his massive arms around Cole in a bear—or rather snake—hug. The Earth master let out a breath, while Skalidor, looking as if he was about to start steaming from concentration it took him to not crush Cole to death, tried his best to not tighten his arms around his frame.
“Okay,” Cole groaned at some point. “Don’t go any harder on me.”
Jay let out a muffled snort.
“Only you’re crazy enough to let the biggest Constrictai on the block hug you,” Lloyd cackled. Skalidor finally pulled away, patting the black ninja on the back. “But seriously, do the other Serpentine weigh that much too?”
Zane nodded thoughtfully.
“You could crush a car,” he said.
“I’ve crushed cars before,” Skalidor replied with a wicked smile. “And might I add, it was fun.”
“Really? Just like that? And you can all do that?” Nya asked, watching as Cole fell back onto his right side and rested his head on Kai’s lap. Skalidor shook his head, though.
“Constrictai grow to be the largest,” he began informatively, “but even among my kind I’m considered one of the bigger. My size gave me a definite advantage when I fought for the position of General.”
“So you challenged the former leader to a duel, like Skales did?” Nya concluded, and Skalidor grunted in response.
“Except Skales won the duel and became General already after having been freed from the tomb. I secured my title years earlier, while we were still in confinement,” he clarified. “The previous General didn't do well in our prison, his uncertainty caused riots among the Constrictai. His leadership had to be terminated. I was young and foolish then, but size wins when used right.”
“And most of that size is in the tail, no?” Nya asked. Skalidor nodded.
“I see we're entering biology class territory, the kids are curious today,” he snickered. “But fine, let's go there. The tail is the Constrictai’s weapon. That's why there's no point in measuring me and the other Generals. Each of them is a hundred**** kilograms lighter than me, at least. Fangtom is quite scrawny, despite that second head," he added thoughtfully, and the rings and signets on his long, scaly fingers ending with sharp black claws glinted in the firelight. “Pythor was the only one coming close to my weight, but he was still lighter.”
“Pythor was lighter than you? I mean– you know what I mean, pun not intended,” Jay added quickly. Skalidor chuckled.
“That tracks,” Zane said. “You're a Constrictai, so you're built for brute strength.”
“That's right. Whatever I wrap around, doesn't get back up.”
“Okay, the other Generals may not weigh seven hundred kilos, but they're still huge. Couldn't they strangle someone with their tails?” Lloyd asked curiously, but Skalidor shook his head again.
“They lack tail structure for that. Their main weapon is venom, or in Skales' case, hypnosis. That's enough,” he explained, grinning wickedly and moving his tail toward the fire.
“And you don't produce any venom?” Nya asked.
“No. I can strangle, and I can dig tunnels. I'll leave the venom to Acidicus and Fangtom. They know their stuff,” their scaled interlocutor replied. “I prefer to lean on my tail. With a little effort, I could break your legs if I snapped to trip you just right. At a well striking angle, I could cut a man open, like with a whip.”
“Okay,” Jay said, grimacing. “Honestly, this is a bit dark and gross. I’ve tried not to get on your nerves before, but I think I’ll try harder.”
“That’s good,” Skalidor said coolly. “Fear is healthy. But don’t you worry too much, little ninja. I enjoy listening to your threats. This one, for example,” he pointed a claw at Kai, “knew he had no chance, but he still wanted to fistfight. I appreciate the courage.”
“Yeah…” Kai muttered. “I guess I’d only stand a chance if I set your ass on fire.”
To their surprise, Skalidor cackled.
“Maybe. Maybe, if you hit me with a serious enough flame. Minor ones don’t have much effect on my skin. Heat is cozy to me. Of course, direct contact hurts after a while, and if it lasts long enough, I can be cooked like any other creature, but my skin is much thicker than yours, and it takes much more to puncture or burn through it.”
“Wait,” Jay interrupted. “You mean you can tank fire?”
“Not tank. Endure, for short periods of time,” the General clarified.
As soon as he said that, his tail twitched—and then it moved lazily across the sand, sliding into the hot wood and flames without hesitation. There was a collective gasp of concern from the Ninja as sparks flew, but Skalidor didn’t seem worried. He slowly, deliberately ran his tail across the width of the campfire before pulling it out on the other side, completely unharmed.
“Oh, fuck,” Nya said. “You were serious. You are really totally fine”.
“I like the heat,” Skalidor said. “My people and I prefer warm climates. We usually dig our lairs close to lava pits and hot springs. We’re cold-blooded, and we absorb the temperature of our surroundings faster than you do.”
“Can the other Generals… walk into a campfire too?” Nya asked in a worried tone. Skalidor cackled.
“No, for real. Because if we have four huge fireproof snakes on our backs, I gotta rethink a couple things,” Jay agreed.
“Oh, no, little ones, no. God forbid. Constrictai are one of a kind. We come from the Earth, and we’re built to survive its humors. The other Tribes don’t fancy fire as much as we do,” he said with a grotesque smile on his face. “Especially the Hypnobrai. If Skales were to enter our lava-lined burrows, he wouldn’t last an hour.”
“Really? But he’s the leader of the United Tribes,” Zane interjected.
“That doesn’t change anything.” Skalidor shook his massive head, then tilted it back to glance at the stars. "Skales is a Hypnobrai. They are the polar opposite of us in terms of temperature preferences. Fire would pacify them in a matter of minutes. But frost?" he hissed. "Skales can walk through a blizzard and not even shiver. He's completely immune to it. Even you have nothing on him,” he nodded at Zane.
“Huh,” Jay muttered, turning his head toward the camp. “So that’s why he always sits far away from the fire.”
“And that’s why, despite being the leader, he sets up his yurt among the other Hypnobrai on the edge of the camp, far from any heat sources. The other Generals sleep in the center, where the temperature is the highest.” The Serpentine waved his hand. “Look around. Hypnobrai don’t light fires, they don’t put out torches. They can see in the dark, and the heat is repulsive to them, completely unnecessary. If possible, Hypnobrai live in frozen parts of the world, like caves with ice structures.”
The ninja’s eyes followed his hand that was now pointing into the darkness. The Hypnobrai were moving in their unlit part of the camp, and in front of the largest yurt, if you focused your eyes, you could see the motionless silhouette of Skales, curled up and in the evening light looking very much like a statue.
“What a fucked up concept,” Jay mumbled. “So if we warmed Skales up…”
“He’d go out like a candle in the wind,” Skalidor finished. “Skales hates the heat. He’s overheating everywhere. That’s why he doesn’t come near me unless he has to. And why he gets all bitchy whenever I nudge him.”
“Do the others have... uh, weird environmental preferences, too?” Jay asked.
“They do,” the Constrictai said. “But we’re extremes on the spectrum. Acidicus and the Venomari? That’s a whole different story. That whole bunch thrives in tropical, warm, humid climates. Swamps, rainforests, anywhere the air is thick as soup and sticks to you like an insect to a flypaper.”
“That sounds awful,” the blue ninja said.
“It does to you, maybe. For the Venomari, there’s no better place. Water is their domain. Land is optional,” the General finished.
“And Fangtom and the Fangpyres?” Zane asked, clearly interested now.
“Fangpyres thrive in dry conditions. Deserts, hot sand and rocks; they can go without water for ridiculous amounts of time, fucking camels,” Skalidor cursed. “So, you see, between the Venomari and the Fangpyres, it already takes a fine balance to keep either one from dying.”
“And you all prefer warm environments,” the Nindroid noted.
“That’s right. Except for the Hypnobrai, yes. The rest of us have to hide away for the winter; otherwise, we’ll freeze to death,” the snake admitted.
“So how do you even… all of this” Lloyd gestured toward the camp vaguely. “How do you keep this thing alive, huh?”
“And that's the catch; what, did you think the Serpentine Wars were the only reason all past alliances fell apart? That we just didn't get along?” Skalidor shook his head. “No. It's not just stupid prejudices, it's our nature. Without perfect planning, we can't coexist. Each of us has to have access to our preferred environment, or at least part of it. We can let some things go, others—we can't. It's a lot of sacrifice, a constant balancing act. And a lot of weather maps.” He rubbed at his chin in thought. “Last man who succeeded at that, partly, was Mambo the Fifth, although even under his rule the moods among the Serpentine were getting tense. They stayed out of respect for him; but as soon as he was gone, the whole thing fell apart. Everyone's found their center of the world elsewhere.”
The Ninja fell silent, looking at him expectantly, fascinated by his story. Fire gleamed in his yellow eyes, his scales reflecting light as if carved from obsidian. His face was serious, proud, as if he himself was pleased with the effort and work they had put into making the alliance work.
“Whenever the cold comes, we,” he continued, patting his chest, “the Constrictai, start digging. We find warm spots, prepare caves where we, the Fangpyres and the Venomari can ride out the frost without hibernating. The Hypnobrai, on the other hand, stay up above; they guard the entrances, watch for danger, hunt so we have food. They stay in their domain, led by Skales, and keep us safe through the winter. And in return, the Constrictai always prepare a cool hideout for them when the heat returns.”
“So it’s not just about getting along,” Lloyd said. “But about literally surviving together.”
“That’s right,” the General confirmed. “We watch the weather currents like hawks. Because if one catches us off guard, it could end… not just tragically, but for all.”