Lloyd had never realized as a kid how out of place Zane felt with his own family.

The young green ninja frowned as he watched the ninja engage in an impromptu food fight with Zane's carefully constructed meal, not missing the utter confusion and disappointment on the latter's face. He was wearing a somewhat-frilly apron, which Lloyd had to admit he had snickered at when he saw it, but he wasn't dense enough to mock Zane for it as the rest of the ninja had done. It seemed like the food fight was an attempt to make him laugh, but it had the opposite effect, as the white ninja quietly slipped away into the kitchen. Ducking under a flying shrimp, Lloyd pushed his chair back and went to go after him.

A hand grabbed his arm as he passed. "Hey, um, Lloyd?" Jay brushed cranberry sauce out of his hair. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Lloyd hesitated, looking after Zane.

"Uh... sure." He answered slowly. Zane would be fine. Jay hopped up, leading Lloyd into the other room, and Lloyd followed, abandoning the others to their food fight.

"Sooo..." Jay halted on the opposite side of the room, as far as he could get from the others to keep them from listening in. "You're... from 6 years in the future, right?" Lloyd nodded. "Do, um, do Nya and I ever get together?" He asked shyly. "I just wanna know if there's... a chance." Lloyd blinked, then frowned.

"Uh..." They did, though their relationship had seen plenty of turmoil over the years. Lloyd wasn't sure what exactly had prompted them to go steady about six months ago, but he worried that if he told Jay 'yes, you do' that he would screw it up by not going through it. Then again, if he told Jay that they didn't then he might give up altogether. Jay, why would you ask me this??

"There's..." He spoke up at last, "...a chance." Jay blinked.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not gonna tell you whether you date her or not." Lloyd shook his head. "I don't want to help you 'cheat' your way into a relationship by telling you how to get with her. It has to be genuine. But I can tell you, um..." What could he tell him?? Lloyd didn't know anything about romance. "She likes the kind of person that you are." He said finally. "So don't give up hope. Be her friend first before her boyfriend." Jay nodded, eyes sparkling as he bounced on his toes.

"I will! Thank you!" The blue ninja practically shot off back towards the dining room. Lloyd let out a little sigh. At least it seemed like Jay took him seriously.

His gaze shifted towards the kitchen, and Lloyd slipped over to the window, looking out. Zane was walking towards the monastery gates, untying the apron from around himself. Intent on apologizing for the others' actions, Lloyd broke away from the window and went outside to speak to him.

By the time he got to the open gates, however, Zane was gone.

Lloyd blinked at the mountain staircase, glancing over to the trash cans. Zane's dirty apron laid on top. Where had he gone?? Had the other ninja really gotten to him that badly?? Maybe he had just gone back inside while he wasn't looking.

Turning away, Lloyd headed back for the monastery. He needed to talk to Wu about the way the ninja treated their brother.

—

Acronix groaned, pressing his head back against the ice pillar he was bound to in an attempt to alleviate his headache.

"Cease your grumbling." Krux muttered, tied to the pillar next to his. "It isn't as if it'll make them let us go any sooner."

"Quiet." Acronix hissed, face pinched. "My head is killing me." Krux merely sighed and looked away. The Hypnobrai were furious at their failed invasion of Jamanakai, and were now arguing loudly in the center of their cavern. It seemed a power struggle had broken out between the general and his second-in-command, of which the snakes were clamoring for resolution through combat. Every shout made Acronix scrunch up his face a little more, and Krux blew out a cold breath, flexing his fingers. What he wouldn't give for just a bit of his power right now.

Failure to ally themselves with the Hypnobrai had resulted in them being swiftly hypnotized, and presumably brought along on the Hypnobrai's first outing. Neither of them remembered it, eventually having woken up bound to the ice back at the tomb. Acronix seemed to have sustained minor injuries, complaining of his head and knee hurting, but Krux wasn't sure how much was genuine and how much was him being dramatic. Krux himself was unharmed.

"We need to think of a way out of here." He muttered to his brother. "Perhaps if the general is overthrown, the new general will be more willing to work with us."

"Ah, it's a long shot." Acronix said with a sigh. "Perhaps the ninja will come along to save us." Krux scowled at that, but his twin had a point. The Serpentine had reportedly clashed with the ninja at Jamanakai, who had stolen their staff. Another fight was all but inevitable. "What do you suppose happened to the Green Ninja?" Acronix murmured thoughtfully. "Wasn't he supposed to have released the Hypnobrai?"

"Indeed." Krux nodded. "We must have beaten him to them. Perhaps the snakes chased him away." Acronix was silent for a few moments, thinking.

"If we do escape," He said at last. "We would be better off getting ourselves as far from the Serpentine as we can manage. I can't imagine that any of the other tribes would be any more glad to see us, and they would do much worse to us than hypnotize us."

"You're right." Krux agreed grudgingly. He didn't fancy being turned into a snake, or having the life squeezed out of him, and he didn't even want to think about what Pythor would do to them. "It seems my plan was not well thought-out."

"Oh, you think so?" Acronix shot him a grin. "I've had an idea, if you'd like to hear it."

"I'm willing to hear anything that could get us out of here."

"Well, my idea hinges on getting out of here first," Acronix gave a small shrug. "But once we do, the masters of Fire and Water. You hold them prisoner still, do you not?" Krux nodded.

"How can they help us?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? They can do what you kidnapped them for - provide weapons, armor, and vehicles for us." Acronix gestured. "Surely that would be helpful." Krux considered this.

"You're right." He agreed at last. "If nothing else, it can give us a small edge. We'll find them as soon as we-" A loud crash interrupted them, causing Acronix to cringe away, and Krux looked up to find the Hypnobrai general flat on his back with his opponent standing over him with a sword to his throat. The crowd roared with cheers of Skales! Skales! as the victor raised his sword above his head in triumph, and, as Krux watched, his legs slowly transformed into a snake tail. The older twin frowned. What an odd ritual.

"With me, my brethren, and we will reclaim our staff!" The new general shouted. His beady gaze fell upon the twins, and Krux felt his heart jump. "I think our guests will be most eager to help us."

—

"Wait!" Jay yelped, struggling to keep up with Zane's eager pace. "Hang on! I've got a stitch in my side!"

"I think you need more training, Jay." Kai called back, but he slowed his pace slightly. "Zane, come on, we're losing Jay."

"My apologies." Zane slowed, coming to a stop. Jay came up beside him, wheezing and panting as he leaned on his knees. Cole just rolled his eyes.

"Zane, explain to me again how you found the Hypnobrai's lair?"

"I followed a bird." The ice ninja explained, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Oh." Jay straightened up, leaning back until his back popped. "And why did you follow the bird?"

"Because it danced." Zane shrugged. His brothers exchanged glances.

"Was it a cuckoo bird?" Were the first words out of Jay's mouth, and Kai snorted with laughter.

"Of course not." Zane protested. "Everyone knows that cuckoo birds are not indigenous to this region." Cole just sighed.

Zane had vanished the previous night after dinner, which had Lloyd very concerned until he reappeared around dawn. His fellow ninja were less worried - they were used to Zane's strange behavior. Then again, Lloyd claimed to have known him longer, shouldn't he be used to it as well?

Zane had explained to them once they woke that he had found the Hypnobrai's tomb, and Lloyd had practically begged them to let him come, but this time Cole had put his foot down. The kid was already injured, and couldn't keep up with them due to his size. They had opted to leave their dragons behind this time so they could focus on stealth, get in close and seal in the Serpentine before they knew what hit them. At least, that was the plan.

"Come on!" Zane insisted, obviously anxious to get going. "The longer we delay, the more chance that the Hypnobrai escape!" He took off again, and Jay reluctantly followed. Cole jogged behind the rest of the group, musing over what to do once they got there. Would it be easy to re-seal the tomb? If not, maybe he could use his Golden weapon to move the earth and block the Hypnobrai's exit.

Once they had scaled the mountain adjacent to Jamanakai, Zane slowed, pointing out an area before them.

"There." He pointed to a large, open hatch in the snow.

"How do we close it?" Jay hissed.

"There's probably a mechanism somewhere." Kai hissed back. "I don't see the snakes. Let's move in."

"Wait," Zane protested hurriedly. "You're right, I don't see the Serpentine. But I don't hear them, either. Last time I was here I could hear them below - it's possible they've already left."

"Maybe they're sleeping?" Jay suggested. "Maybe they're nocturnal."

"They attacked Jamanakai during the day." Kai pointed out.

"Hey, I can stay up late."

"Hey, boys." Cole snapped his fingers. "Stay on task. Let's move in - quietly - and see if we can find out if they're here or not." Zane nodded in agreement, seeming satisfied with this course of action, and the group crept towards the open hatch.

Jay made his way up to the edge of the pit, carefully leaning over and peering into the darkness below.

"I don't see anything." He reported.

"You wouldn't." A new voice almost caused Jay to lose his balance, and Cole seized him by the back of his gi to keep him from tumbling in. Tugging him upright, Cole spun around to face the newcomer.

There were two of them, actually - two men, in odd clothing that he couldn't place. Both of them had red, glazed eyes - hypnotized. One had grey hair, the other black. Cole didn't know who they were, but their malicious intent was clear enough.

"The Hypnobrai are long gone." The older man announced, as the younger drew a pair of daggers. "They left us to deliver a message."

"Oh yeah?" Kai drew his own sword. "What's that?"

"That you are out of time." As soon as the words had left his mouth, the pair lunged at them, weapons drawn, and the ninja were abruptly forced into battle.

"Ninja, go!" Jay flew into a spinjitzu tornado, disorienting the younger man as he tried to attack him. "Guys!!"

"What?!" Cole found himself struggling to keep at bay the elder's rapid attacks, slamming his scythe into the ground and causing the earth to shake. While this had the intended effect of knocking down his opponent, it also unbalanced the rest of his team, and Jay shrieked as a dagger whipped past his ear. "Shoot! Sorry!"

"You think these are the guys Lloyd was talking about??" Jay charged a lightning attack and aimed it at the younger man, but he backflipped out of the way. "The Hands of Time??"

"It could be." Zane threw a shuriken, which was sidestepped by the older man. "Drat."

"Doesn't matter, there's two of them and four of us." Kai announced. "As long as we work together we- hey!!" He was cut off as the younger man dashed up to him, slashed at him twice, then slipped around behind him and kicked him in the back of the knee.

"Jay, you and I take the younger one. Kai, you and Zane take the older one. Don't let them catch you by yourselves!" Cole ordered. His teammates obeyed, Jay skipping over to him as they focused down the younger man. Despite their obvious age gap, the strangers seemed to have no difference in skill, but were well-trained fighters even without powers. Cole wondered briefly how dangerous they had been before Wu stripped away their powers 35 years ago.

The younger man paused as the ninja advanced on him, focus going back and forth between them before deciding which one was less of a threat and lunging at Jay. Cole swung at him to drive him off, but the man only ducked under the strike and tackled Cole in the stomach, slamming him to the ground. Cole grunted, the breath momentarily knocked out of him, and the man raised a dagger high before Jay's nunchucks slammed into his head.

The man tumbled to the ground, and Cole gulped in a breath of air, staggering upright. Tightening his grip on his scythe, he held it to the man's neck, but it was all but ignored and the man was on his feet again in an instant. Of course, Cole realized, he was hypnotized. He had no sense of self-preservation while in this state.

"Wait a minute." Kai shouted, obviously out of breath as well. "Aren't the Hands of Time supposed to be twins??"

"One of them was sent forward in time!" Zane called. "Hence the apparent age gap!"

"Oh, right."

"Be on your guard, guys!" Cole yelled. "They're hypnotized- whoever's controlling them doesn't care what happens to them as long as they take us down." As if to prove his point, the younger twin charged recklessly at him again, only jerking back at the last possible moment as Cole brought down his scythe.

"Should we be trying not to hurt them?" Zane ducked under a swing from the older twin's sword, letting out a small cry a moment later when the hilt was slammed into his head.

"Just don't use lethal force." Cole paused for a moment to make sure he was okay before focusing on his own opponent again. Jay grunted as he blocked a stab at his stomach, spinning his nunchucks to deflect any further attacks, and Cole took the opportunity to swing the blunt end of his scythe at the man's head. The man ducked, jerked back, and lashed out with one knife, slicing Cole's sleeve open and sending a shock of pain up through his left arm.

"Cole!" Jay yelped as the former stumbled back to check on the damage. The cut wasn't deep, but it was bleeding rather profusely. Jay was struggling to hold his own against the man, and Cole tucked his arm against his chest. Using a scythe would be difficult with one hand... but he couldn't let Jay fight alone. Abandoning his weapon, Cole dashed forward into the fray again.

The younger man apparently didn't see him coming, as Cole successfully tackled him to the ground. He pinned one hand, but the other shot up before he could stop it, and Cole could only watch as the knife plunged towards his shoulder - and then Jay kicked the man in the wrist, sending the knife flying away.

"Thanks." Cole gasped, focused on keeping the other knife pinned down. The man grabbed his hair and yanked, and Cole yelled, jerking away in his shock. His opponent used this opening to struggle free, scrambling back and going for his lost knife. As he reached for it, a golden shuriken slammed into the ground next to it, ice enveloping the weapon and keeping it firmly trapped to the ground. The young man straightened up in annoyance, glaring at Zane.

"Cole, you're hurt." Jay grabbed his good arm. "I've got this, you sit this out."

"No." Cole shook his head firmly. "No way. I'm not- "

"Cole!!" Kai's panicked shout caught his attention, and he spun around just in time to duck as the older twin swung a sword at his head. Kai was on him a moment later, but he was clearly tiring. All of them were, except their hypnotized opponents, who hadn't even slowed down. The Serpentine must plan to use them until they dropped. Even though they were outnumbered, their ruthlessness and recklessness was making them worthy opponents.

"Alright, fall back!" Cole shouted. "The Serpentine aren't here - we're gaining nothing. We need to get back to Sensei."

"I don't know, these two don't seem- like they wanna give up!" Kai parried two consecutive strikes from his opponent, only to double over as he was sucker-punched in the stomach. Zane leapt in front of him, struggling to drive the older twin back with his remaining shuriken, and managed to wrench his sword away by freezing it to his weapon. Now unarmed, the older twin sneered at him, then tackled him to the ground, slamming his elbow down into Zane's chest.

"Zane!!" Cole lunged at the older twin, getting him in a headlock with his good arm.

"Zane, you okay??" Kai was saying, and Cole whipped his head around to check on him. Zane seemed to be fine, pushing himself up, and Cole tightened his grip on his opponent's neck in an attempt to knock him out. Unfortunately, the older twin struck him in his injured arm a moment later, shocking Cole into loosening his grip enough for him to slip free.

Jay shouted in pain, but Cole was occupied keeping the older twin away from Kai and Zane. They were both unarmed, but Cole was already injured, and he couldn't do much to level the playing field. This man must be at least three times his age, with exactly that much experience. Cole was still at the beginning of his training. He was strong, but that wasn't enough! Why wasn't it enough?!

Soft, sweet music cut through the air, and the twins stilled. Cole looked up in search of the source to find Kai's and Zane's dragons circling above them, with three figures perched on their backs.

Sensei Wu was sitting on Kai's dragon, with Nya on the other and Lloyd sitting behind her. Wu was playing a strange-looking flute, which seemed to have entranced the hypnotized twins, and as Cole watched the redness faded from their eyes. The younger twin immediately collapsed, and the elder staggered backwards, rubbing the daze from his eyes.

"What..." he muttered gruffly, then his gaze fell on his twin. "Acronix!!"

"Don't let them go!!" Lloyd's voice floated down from the descending dragon. Immediately, Cole went for the older twin, but the man must have had some fight left in him as he whirled around and slammed a fist into the side of his head. Unprepared, Cole took it head-on, stars flashing in his vision, and the next thing he knew he was flat on his back in the snow.

"Cole!!" Zane was kneeling over him, patting his face. "Are you alright?" Cole's hand drifted up to his head, and he winced as he prodded at a tender lump. The Hands of Time were gone.

"Right as rain, snowflake." He heard a thud just beside him, and looked up to find Lloyd hopping down from Zane's dragon, hurrying over to where Jay was sitting in the snow. The snow was stained red.

Cole sat bolt upright, nearly smacking into Zane's face. "JAY!"

"Don't scream, my head hurts." Jay pouted, holding up his hand. A thin cut was sliced across his palm.

"We need to hurry back to the monastery." Sensei urged them from atop Kai's dragon. "The Serpentine will be hunting down their stolen staff."

"If we're all here..." Kai trailed off. "Oh, nuts. Come on!" Zane helped Cole upright, and the battered ninja split between the two dragons, intent on getting to their home before the Hypnobrai did.