Skales x Pythor: My Loyal Number Two

Chapter 15: Not so easy

While things had seemed bleak, the good news is that the Devourer had been taken care of. But that still leaves the Serpentine leaderless and with Ouroboros partially destroyed, also without a home. Their ranks are in disarray and left in shambles, with no clear purpose to follow. And so the question may not be who will try and take the role of leader, but rather, who wouldn't?

"Are you almost-ready?" Fangtom asked Skales, who was busy cleaning his scales of sand in front of a mirror.

"In a moment!" The Hypnobrai replied, not enjoying being hurried along.

After the shaking had stopped and they heard cheering from above, the Serpentine were in agreement that the Devourer was defeated. Coming back above, they were proven right. After managing to find some Serpentine who had been hiding in Ninjago City, they were told of how the events had gone down. As far as it is known, the Devourer attacked the city before being harassed by the Ninja. They somehow got it stuck around a building, where Garmadon had plummeted down from the top and destroyed it, dying in the process.

Skales didn't know what was worse. The Ninja being brave enough to take on the Devourer while they hid, or that it was one of their mortal enemies that struck the killing blow. But while the resentment and shame were fresh, it was at least convenient that the matter regarding the Devourer had been taken care of by itself. As a bonus, Garmadon's death was a good start on the vengeance Skales had planned to enact. For he knew the Ninja had something to do with Pythor's death. He was sure of it, considering their ability to always get in the way. And once he was in power, it would only be a matter of time before he would finish what Pythor had started.

But first, he still needed to be recognized by the Serpentine as their leader. The Generals, surprisingly, stood by his side, leaving only the others to be persuaded. Already, they had lost a good number just by leaving the tombs and moving across Ninjago. Disheartened, Serpentine were leaving left and right, hoping to find their fortune elsewhere. The respect for the Generals was not what it used to be, ever since Pythor's crowning as King. It was only by a miracle that they had herded a force of warriors to the Sea of Sand. Even more so since they learned of Ouroboros' devastation following the Devourer's awakening.

In the end, they came upon the remains of the Ninja's flying ship, close to a cave below a large rock. There they stopped, and Skales decided there was no reason to delay his bid for kingship further. Using the remains of the ship as a quiet place to prepare, he had been busy cleaning his scales when Fangtom had come in.

"Why are you always so focused on-cleanliness? It's a desert, there's going to be sand!"

"That'sss no excuse for not being presentable!" Skales fired back before focusing on the cracked mirror, splitting his visage in two. He wouldn't tell his friend, but it was something he borrowed from Pythor. The memory of the second time they met, where they gathered the Serpentine under Ninjago City, had suddenly become fresh in his mind. Especially the part where Pythor was grooming himself before the show. It had seemed awfully vain at the time, but he couldn't help but mimic it. He was in a similar situation, after all.

"You better hurry. The others have started complaining, and I'm not sure-how long Acidicus and Skalidor can keep them in one place." The Fangpyre explained, glancing out to the rock, where angry mutterings could be heard.

"Ugh, incredible how little loyalty meansss nowadaysss." Skales snarked, shaking his head.

"I'm sure Slithraa would-agree." Fangtom was quick to comment.

"That wasss different!" The Hypnobrai said, before staring thoughtfully at the mirror. "To think, thisss whole messs started with that. It seemsss ssso far away now."