---Requested by @h0tudla ---
Joe Hendry was standing in his luxurious apartment, holding his phone while speaking animatedly. He wore his signature satin blue shirt, unbuttoned just enough to show off his well-sculpted physique. Through the large windows, the city lights stretched before him, a view worthy of a rising star.
"Yes, yes, I understand perfectly, but listen to me... Do you really think anyone else could generate the kind of reaction from the crowd that I do? Come on! People BELIEVE in Joe Hendry. You can't buy that—it's pure charisma, my friend." His radiant smile reflected unshakable confidence as he gestured with one hand, feeling on top of the world.
After some more boasting, Joe ended the call with a satisfied grin, placing his phone on the living room table. He stretched leisurely, feeling the relaxing crack of his muscles.
Then something caught his attention.
A subtle sound. A faint sliding noise.
He frowned and turned his head. His expression shifted from relaxation to bewilderment in the blink of an eye.
There was a snake in his house. And not just any snake. It was massive.
Joe reacted instantly, taking a step back and bracing himself for whatever was necessary. He wasn’t about to let some creature slither freely in his living room.
"Okay, this is a joke, right?" he said, looking toward the ceiling as if expecting someone to pop out with a hidden camera. "Who let this thing in?"
The snake, however, kept gliding forward with a slow, hypnotic rhythm, unbothered and fearless.
Joe clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Look, buddy, I don’t know how you got in here, but you’d better start looking for the exit before I have to kick you out."
Confident, he made a sharp shooing motion, but the python didn’t even flinch. And that was already strange. Most animals reacted when faced with an assertive human, but this snake moved with an unsettling tranquility. A shiver ran down Joe’s spine. Something was very wrong.
Before he could process it, Kaa struck. Not with a bite, nor with a violent lunge. It was quick, subtle… and damn effective. The serpent slithered between his legs in an instant, making him lose his balance.
Joe stumbled and fell to the floor. By the time he pushed himself up, the snake had already made its next move. Once standing, the wrestler looked down and saw the tip of the snake’s tail smoothly coiling around his ankles.
"Oh, hell no!" he growled, trying to shake his leg free.
But Kaa had already begun his ascent.
Joe attempted to pry the snake off with his hands, trying to pull the scaly body away from him, but it was useless. The python was stronger than any opponent he had ever faced in the wrestling ring, and it moved with the precision of a patient predator. Its coils wrapped around him in ever-widening spirals, climbing with deceptive smoothness.
"Damn it!" Joe gritted his teeth, making one last attempt to break free with sheer force, but he quickly realized that wasn’t going to work.
Next, he frantically scanned the room, looking for something—anything—he could grab to strike the reptile and force it to loosen its grip. Unfortunately, the only thing remotely within reach was a chair, and he would need his legs free to get to it.
In that moment of desperation, the snake did something that completely threw him off. It opened its mouth.
"Enough sssstruggling, human…"
His jaw dropped as realization hit him like a truck.
"Ohhh… I ssssee you recognize me."
Joe blinked, his mind trying to process the absurdity of the situation.
"Wait, wait, wait!" he blurted out, shaking his head. "You’re Kaa!? The Kaa!? The famous talking python that hypnotizes people!?"
Kaa tilted his head with satisfaction. "I’m glad to hear my reputation precedessss me…"
Joe let out an incredulous laugh.
"Come on!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "This can’t be real."
He tried to move, but Kaa already had him secured, his tail winding with precision. The only part of his body he could still move freely was his arms, which were out of the snake’s grasp due to Joe’s exaggerated expressiveness.
Joe laughed again, though this time it sounded a little more nervous.
"So this is what you do, huh? You sneak into people’s homes, wrap them up, and what? Hypnotize them into becoming your slaves?" he teased, his tone almost theatrical.
Kaa chuckled softly. "It sssseems you already know exactly how this worksss…"
Joe scoffed and placed one hand on his hip while gesturing with the other. "Yeah, of course I do, because I’ve seen the movies." His smirk widened with arrogance. "And let me tell you something, pal… I’m not some idiot who’s gonna fall for those cheap tricks!"
Kaa let out a mocking hiss. "Ohhh, human… that makesss it even more fun…"
Joe was about to fire back with another cocky remark when, suddenly, he saw it.
They shimmered with a golden glow, vibrant… and then, in a single blink, they exploded into a whirlwind of colors. The rings danced, pulsed, expanded in a hypnotic rhythm.
Joe froze. Something in his mind clicked. The air left his lungs in a trembling sigh, his mouth falling slightly open.
"Ohhh… wow…" the wrestler managed to mumble as he fell helplessly into the python’s spell.
"Were you sssaying something, big guy…?"
Joe blinked slowly. Or at least, he tried to. His eyes felt… strange. His mind struggled to remember what he had been saying, but the colors kept swirling, swirling… swirling…
His once-tense body began to loosen, his arms falling limply, finally allowing Kaa to coil higher, securing him completely.
"That’sss it, big guy… Trussst in me. There’sss nothing to fear. Trussst in me…"
The python continued weaving his spell with his words and his gaze, moving his head in slow circles. Joe unconsciously mimicked the movement, his eyes mirroring the vibrant spirals.
Seconds later, Joe was entirely lost in the trance. His eyes were now completely flooded with hypnotic rings, and a goofy smile had formed on his face.
Kaa traced the tip of his tail over Joe’s face and chest, but the wrestler didn’t even flinch. His expression was utterly vacant, completely submissive.
"Ahhh, much better… Now, tell me, dear Joe… You want me to ssstay here with you, don’t you?"
Joe didn’t say a word. He simply nodded, that same dumb grin plastered across his face.
Just then, Joe’s phone started ringing. It was the same call from earlier.
Kaa lowered his head and glanced at the phone with an amused hiss. "Ohhh, I’m afraid Joe Hendry… isss no longer available…"
Now, it was time to enjoy the show.