Montgomery ran towards Wu with a cry. He jumped up and brought his katana down but Wu quickly blocked it. Montgomery recovered and both their weapons clashed. Gritting his teeth, Wu tried his best to knock his brother's katana out of his hands but Montgomery beat him to it. He twirled his katana, catching Wu's in the act, and flung it in the air with a loud shing.
They both saw the katana fly over the wall of the courtyard. They stared at the top of the wall where it had vanished and said at the same time, "You go get it."

"Why should I go?" Montgomery cried. "This is your fault."

"My fault?! You're the one who flung it out."

"Well, if you had a stronger grip on it, this wouldn't have happened," Montgomery stated, arms folded.

"That katana was expensive. Father's gonna be so mad at me," Wu said, shaking his hands.
Montgomery rolled his eyes.
"Oh, please. When has Father ever gotten mad at you?"

After staring at the wall for an entire minute, Montgomery turned back to Wu and nudged him. "Wu, go. It's your katana. Go get it."
The blonde shook his head. "I can't or else Father will know something is wrong."

They both glanced back at their father who was cleaning the Sword of Fire.
Montgomery grabbed Wu by the shoulders and said in a low voice, "Fine. I'll go. But I'm only doing this because we'll both be in trouble if I don't."
Wu flapped his hand, smirking. "Come on. You're only doing this because you care for me."

Montgomery glared at him, trying to say otherwise, but failed as a smile crept on his lips.
"Okay, yeah. I'm doing this because I care for you. Happy?"

"Extremely."

Montgomery gave Wu a quick one-armed hug. "Be right back."
He let him go and climbed up the wall with ease.

Wu frantically started turning his head to look at his father then up at the wall, hoping that Montgomery would be back before their father suspected anything.

☯~️☯️~☯️

Montgomery jumped down from the wall and landed on his feet. He quickly started to search for the katana. He found a clump of bushes farther along the wall of the monastery. He ran towards them and started to look. After a minute or so, he saw something that looked like a blade. Shoving aside the bush blocking the view, Montgomery saw the katana.

Bingo, he thought and reached out to grab it. Just as he was about to make contact with the weapon, something bit him. He let out a cry of pain and withdrew his hand. Tears started forming in his eyes as he looked down. There was a bite mark that showed clearly that two sharp fangs had broken his skin. He heard a hiss. Looking up, he saw a lime coloured snake camouflaged in the green undergrowth. It was slightly longer than a garden snake but it looked horrible. It had bloodred eyes . . .

Wait. Hadn't he seen that snake somewhere before? Suddenly he felt a severe headache. His vision started to go blurry and his knees felt weak. He couldn't stand. His breathing became uneven as he waved his hands wildly about him, searching for the wall for support.

He tried to walk back to the gates of the monastery because he knew he couldn't climb up the wall in that state, but all he could do was stagger.
Something was horribly wrong. He had never felt so weak before. Darkness was closing in on him from all sides. Scared, he tried calling out but all he did was mutter a weak "help". Pain shot through his body. A blinding pain that caused him to fall over. His body hit the ground hard. Through his half opened eyes he could still see the snake but it was slithering away. He could also see the katana gleaming in the sunlight. He raised his hand, still trying to reach it and stop his brother from getting into trouble, before he blacked out and his hand fell to ground.

He heard a faint evil laughter followed by a soft giggle and then Wu's voice.
"I beat you . . ."

☯️~☯️~☯️

By now, Wu had decided that he was going to kill Montgomery because he was taking too long. He started walking around in small circles.
"C'mon, Monty," he whispered.

That's when his father finally stopped what he was doing and looked up because his sons were never this quiet. He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw only one of his little monsters.

"Wu," he called out, causing Wu to jump. He turned around to face his father with the most innocent smile he could give.

"Y-yes," his voice cracked. He cleared his throught. "Yes, Father."

The First Spinjitzu Master looked around the courtyard with slight confusion. "Where's your brother?"

Wu started to think of a lie. "He, um, g-got thirsty so he went to get a drink of w-water."

His father gave him a skeptical look. Wu laughed nervously. Now he was really going to kill Montgomery.

"Wu, don't lie to me," his father said, folding his arms. "Tell me the truth."

Wu sighed in defeat.
"Ok. The truth is that....he saw one of the chickens escape from the coop so he went to put it back in--"

"Wu, please, stop lying. You know how I feel about that. It's a very bad habit, my son."

The blonde closed his eyes and said a quick prayer. He opened them again, took in a deep breath and told him everything.

"So, Montgomery is out there looking for the katana you lost?" his father said, pointing at him.
"Yes," Wu replied, surprised that his father wasn't mad.

"That's not right, Wu. You should be responsible for your actions," the First Spinjitzu Master said, looking disappointed.
Wu looked down. "I'm sorry, Father."

His father stroked his beard and said, "It's alright. But shouldn't Montgomery be back by now? It doesn't take this long to retrieve something that has fallen right outside the monastery."

"I'll go look for him," Wu volunteered and ran towards the gates. He opened them and stepped outside. He looked around, trying to find his brother.
Where is he? he asked himself.

He looked to his right and gasped. There he was, his beloved brother lying on the ground. The katana was visible a few inches away from his collapsed body. Wu's legs were shaking as he ran towards him and crouched down. He shook him slightly.
"Monty," he whispered, shaking him again, a little harder this time. "Monty, wake up."

He kept shaking him, getting scared with every passing minute. His brother was looking pale and almost lifeless. His voice became higher.
"Monty, please, wake up. Wake up, come on. Montgomery!"

With shaking hands, Wu grabbed Montgomery's shoulders and positioned him so that it looked like he was sitting up, head hanging back.
Wu shook him hard, his breathing becoming louder due to panic. When the brunet didn't respond, he looked down, tearful. Suddenly his eyes caught something on Montgomery's right hand. A bite mark. He looked slowly back at his brother's pale face. Forgetting everything else, he started shouting.
"Montgomery, please, wake up! Please! Just wake up! What's wrong with you?! MONTGOMERY!! FATHER!! FATHER!!!"
_______________________________________

When the First Spinjitzu Master had come running outside due to Wu's screams, he saw a dreadful sight. His older son was hanging limply in Wu's arms while the latter was shouting his name and crying. He had brought both his sons inside where he tended to Montgomery and told Wu to have something to eat.

Now, it was four in the afternoon; three hours after the entire ordeal. Montgomery had still not woken up and this left his father and brother very worried. They were both sitting at the table drinking soup. Wu looked outside where the blue skies had turned grey and dark clouds blocked the view of the plains below. He sighed. Today was supposed to be a good day. If only he'd gone out to get his own katana back none of this would've happened to Montgomery. If only--
Wu heard a slight groan. He set his spoon down, listening. His father did the same. They heard it again. It was louder this time. They both got up and made their way to Montgomery's room. The First Spinjitzu Master quickly ran to his side as he was stirring into consciousness. Wu stayed outside the room, peeking from the corner.

Montgomery moaned. His eyes opened to reveal his father's concerned face. "Father," he said weakly. "Shh. I'm here, my son," the First Spinjitzu Master whispered, brushing Montgomery's brown hair out of his eyes. "How are you feeling?"
The boy groaned again, grabbing his head. "I have a headache."

His father propped him up with the help of his pillows. "Here, take this," he said, picking up a cup filled with liquid from a tray and handing it to Montgomery.

"What is it?" he asked. "It's medicine. It's good for you," his father replied. Montgomery took a sip and started to cough. "Yuck! It tastes horrible," he complained.

"Drink it. It'll help you. Come on, drink," the First Spinjitzu Master insisted, pushing the cup towards his mouth. Montgomery scrunched up his nose and pressed his lips together but his father kept insisting. Finally, he gave in. He pinched his nose and drank the entire contents of the cup. He shuddered as the bitter taste hit his throat.

"That's more like it," his father said, putting the cup back on the tray. He pulled the comforter up to his son's chest. Montgomery looked down at his right hand which was bandaged.
The First Spinjitzu Master saw what he was looking at and cleared his throat. "Uh, Montgomery. Could you tell me exactly what happened?"

"Where is Wu? Is he okay?" the brunet asked, getting up. His father settled him down again. "I'll call him."
He turned towards the doorway.
"Wu, come. Your brother wants to see you."

Wu stepped timidly into the room, eyes low. He didn't have the heart to confront his brother after what happened. Montgomery smiled weakly. "Hey, goofball. I'm okay."

Wu gave a bright smile as his father chuckled. He came and stood right beside his brother. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"Well, you see. I was just about to reach the katana when I think a....snake bit me. After that I lost all my senses. I-I didn't know what was happening," said Montgomery.
"What did it look like?" his father asked.

Montgomery shrugged. "It was green and-" he stopped, eyes widening in realization. He gasped as the dream from last night flashed before his eyes. Wu was there. He was smiling. He was trying to kill him.

The First Spinjitzu Master looked confused. "Montgomery? Are you alright?"
He backed away suddenly as he saw his son's brown eyes turn red, his fists clenched.

"It was you," Montgomery spoke in a whisper, looking at Wu.

"What was--"

"IT WAS YOU!!" Montgomery shouted, eyes red as blood now. Wu tried to back away before Montgomery leaned forward and seized the front of his shirt. "What did you do?!"

The First Spinjitzu Master quickly separated his sons. Wu backed into the corner, scared and confused. Montgomery was shouting as he tried to escape his father's grasp to get to Wu.

"Montgomery, calm down!" his father yelled. He tried to take his temperature but the brunet slapped his hand away.
"Leave it! Leave me alone! I don't need you! I hate you!"

In all this commotion, Wu tried to quickly make his way out of the room. When he reached the door he turned around and saw his father still struggling with the angry child. Suddenly, Montgomery looked straight at Wu, eyes glowing red, and shouted, "It's all Wu's fault!!"

Lightning struck and thunder followed as Wu darted through the corridor, leaving a screaming Montgomery in his wake. He ran outside. Rain was beating heavily down on him as he ran towards the peach tree that stood on the far side of the courtyard. He sat down under it, shivering and hugging his knees. He could still hear his brother's screams over the sound of the rain and the occasional thunder. Tears started streaming down his face, Montgomery's accusation still ringing in his ears. It's all Wu's fault.

It was his fault. And he had done more than just letting his brother be bitten by a snake. Somehow, it felt like he had broken his trust. Something was really wrong with him. Snake bites are deadly but they don't turn people's eyes red and make them so aggressive when they were being nice a few minutes before.

Wu broke down, burying his head in his knees. "What have I done?" he sobbed, repeating it over and over again.
"I'm so s-sorry, M-monty. I didn't want this t-to happen. It's all my f-fault."