Tales of the Snake Men: Book Two – Chapter 9
Chapter 9: First Orders
Back in reality, his body was silent and slumped in the claw’s grip, no longer resisting. The last flicker of rebellion in his eyes drowned in the green shimmer coating his face. His tongue lolled slightly, twitching in rhythm with the pulsing Slime now woven into his every nerve. Inside his mind, once a soldier’s fortress, all was silent. No more cries for King Hiss. No more memories of victory. No more pride. Only… warmth. And belonging.
Right over his chest, where the Slime had thickened like a second skin, it began to shift—folding inward, molding outward, forming. A crimson shape slowly emerged from the mass. Twisting. Unholy. Unmistakable.
The Horde Bat.
Its wings stretched wide across Khan’s chest, veins pulsing with the same infernal energy that hummed through the Slime. The bat emblem glistened on his chest, alive—pulsing with the same rhythm as the Slime pit below.
“There now.” the ooze cooed, in a voice that spoke from within him.
“Now the world will know whom you serve.”
The rebellion faded into silence. His lips curled – not in pride… but in relief. A strange, blissful quiet filled his mind. The Slime dripped from his fanged mouth as he stood upright, glowing with new energy. His chest rose and fell with a slow, mechanical calm. His eyes snapped open — Glowing. Red. Changed. The claw released him, gently, as the Slime-soaked form of Kobra Khan slumped forward, motionless.
A new loyal servant stood in the pit, his body slick and glistening under the dim, dying light of the skull. The transformation had been completed — now nothing more than a mindless, pliable servant of the Horde.
General Kobra Khan—the Snake Men’s fiercest champion—was no more.
Their greatest weapon now served their enemy.
Hordak (stepping into view): “So… the serpent finally sheds his skin. Come forth!”
Khan lifts his head slowly. Slime drips from his chin and shoulders. He slowly steps forward emerging from the pit slowly – movements smooth, deliberate… no longer his own. His glowing red eyes stared ahead, unblinking.
From the shadows, Hordak emerged, cape draped like a vulture’s wing, boots echoing with authority.
Hordak circles Khan slowly: “Impressive. Almost… inspiring.”
Hordak (smirking): “You lasted longer than most. I’ll give you that. Most scream within minutes. You made it… how many hours?”
Kobra Khan: “I… resisted.” said in a low, distant voice.
Hordak (laughs—cold, sharp): “Yes. You did. Until you didn’t.” as he stops before Khan, tilting his head. “The Slime is patient… It found your pride, your pain, every memory you once clung to. It didn’t break you. It emptied you. And still… you moaned before the end.”
Kobra Khan: “It felt… like truth.”
Hordak (eyes glowing): “Exactly.”
Grizzlor (snorting, stepping forward): “Truth? Ha! The only truth is you scream just like the rest!” (leans in, grinning)
“You remember biting me? You should’ve taken that as your last act of defiance, lizard.”
Khan didn’t flinch. His body remained still, soaked in mute obedience.
Grizzlor (circling): “What’s wrong, lizard? Tongue tied—or just too slimed to snarl?”
Hordak (without turning): “Grizzlor.”
Grizzlor ignored him.
Grizzlor (mocking whisper): “King Hiss would be so proud… watching his favorite General become a gooey little puppet.”
Hordak (sharper): “Enough!”
Grizzlor stopped.
Hordak turned toward him now, eyes glowing.
Hordak (cold): “Your laughter served its purpose. The pit deserves silence to savor its victory.”
Grizzlor scowled but backed away, arms crossed.
Hordak returned his gaze to Khan, stepping close and placed a gauntleted hand on Khan’s Slime-covered chest, where the Horde Bat glows faintly:
“You are reborn now. Not as a traitor. Not as a Snake Man. But as mine.”
Hordak (steps closer, speaking softly): “Do you remember what you said? When I asked you where Serpentis was? You spat at me. You refused.” (he gestures vaguely at the pit)
“And now… how do you feel about helping me find it?”
Kobra Khan (quietly, without emotion): I exist to serve.”
Hordak (pauses, intrigued): “Do you remember where it is?”
Kobra Khan (a faint nod): “Yes.”
Hordak: “And will you lead us there?”
Kobra Khan (eyes glowing, voice calm… and wrong): “Yes, my lord.”
Hordak (grinning): “Good! I have your first orders.”
Hordak leans close, his voice a whisper with the weight of command:
“Go to the Snake Men. Find your old king. Look into his eyes… and bring him to his knees.”
Kobra Khan (bowing his head slowly): “Yes, Lord Hordak. I will bring you… King Hiss. He will kneel. As I did.”
Hordak (smiling): “No… he will scream. And you will listen—without feeling.”
Kobra Khan turned silently and stepped into the shadows, his slime-slick body moving with mechanical grace.
Grizzlor watched him go and grunted.
Grizzlor (muttering): “Should’ve let me keep him on a leash.”
Hordak (turns away, laughing darkly): “Oh, the Snake Men will never see this coming…”
As Kobra Khan walks with purpose to fulfill his orders, a whisper stirs deep inside his Slime soaked mind – one word, clinging to the walls of his shattered self: “Hiss”
