A/N:So the chapters ahead aren't 100% realism, but they aren't absolutely impossible, either. Use your imaginations, friends! ;) Also, to avoid confusion Joey is the young African American kid whose teeth Torvald knocked out when Arnold was tutoring him :P Also, Robert is the blonde kid with the glasses who's always kind of in the background but isn't a main character. I got his name off of Hey Arnold wiki. Plus, I decided Iggy's full name would be Ignatius, Peapod kid's first name for this story is Peter, and Brainy's first name in this story is Brian.
Disclaimer: Still do not own any of these characters; ALL of them are the creations of Craig Bartlett and owned by Nickelodeon. Story written for entertainment only. :)
Chapter 2: The Transformation
The next Saturday night at around 9pm, Arnold and Gerald, dressed in their usual casual clothes, approached the gate of Rhonda's mansion. The large luxurious gate guarded the long, winding driveway leading toward the front doors. A tall, masked figure with slicked back hair stood at the gate in full dress tails.
"Curly?" Arnold asked, bewildered.
The figure ignored him. He pulled a walkie-talkie from his breast pocket and mumbled something into it, then opened the gate to let Arnold and Gerald inside.
The two exchanged a confused look.
They reluctantly made their way up the long driveway.
"What was that about?" Arnold asked.
"I don't know man," Gerald said, rolling his eyes. "You said it yourself-this is Curly we're dealing with."
Arnold shrugged.
They finally made it up to the large front doors.
Just as Gerald was about the ring the doorbell, the front doors opened slowly, revealing a tall, slender young woman with long black hair, a gold mask, and an elegant, glittering black floor-length dress hugging all of her curves.
Arnold and Gerald stared in surprise.
"Rhonda?" Gerald asked.
"Gentlemen, if you please..." she answered, motioning her arm toward the study to their left.
"Uh... okay..." Arnold mumbled, walking inside the house and toward the study.
He opened the door and saw all of his friends... his male friends, anyway.
Gerald stepped in after Arnold, and the door was closed behind them suddenly, causing Gerald to flinch in surprise.
"Soo... what the hell is going on?" He asked the group.
"Hey Arnold, Hey Gerald," guys said randomly.
"Nothing right now," Sid began, confused. "Just... waiting."
"No one's told us anything yet!" Harold said loudly.
"Nothing? So... you guys are just... sitting here?" Arnold asked.
"Yeah," Sid answered flatly, "And it's a total sausage-fest in here, what gives?"
"Yeah!" Stinky answered. "I'm gettin' bored."
"-And hungry," Harold added.
"I don't know you guys," Eugene spouted, "don't you think it's kind of... exciting?"
"Like prison rape exciting, orr..." Gerald began sarcastically.
*Ahem*
The room fell silent as they turned to see where the noise came from.
The same masked woman from the front door appeared in the doorway of the study.
"At this time, the management will be requesting... Brian, Robert, and Harold. Right this way, gentlemen," the gorgeous girl motioned outside of the study.
"Uh..." Brainy breathed, "Okay."
Harold looked around reluctantly and followed.
The third boy, with his curly blonde hair and glasses, followed last.
The girl closed the door behind them.
The room remained silent.
"So... are we being murdered?" Gerald asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh come on guys, it's theatrical!" Eugene exclaimed, now brimming with excitement.
"Theatrically fuckin' scary," Sid answered.
Arnold wasn't sure what to make of it. The guys in the room bickered and debated back and forth for another ten minutes until...
*Ahem*
The woman stood at the doorway again, and the room once more fell silent.
"At this time, the management will be requesting... Eugene, Gerald, and Peter. Right this way, gentlemen," She motioned out of the study.
Peapod Kid shrugged and left the room, followed by Eugene, who seemed giddy.
"This is it man," Gerald said to Arnold, "If you never see me again... you can have my old school Pop Daddy video collection."
And with that, Gerald left.
The door closed behind him and the room once again fell silent.
"Okay, now I'm creeped out," Sid said darkly.
"Aww Sid, it's just Rhonda and Curly," Stinky said. "They ain't gonna do nothin' to us."
Arnold looked around the room and counted the people in the room and the people who had gone...
"They're going in alphabetical order," Arnold stated.
The guys in the room turned to look at him. He had been so quiet up to that point that they almost forgot he was there.
"By last name," he continued.
"So... we are getting murdered, then." Iggy said flatly, unable to see any connection.
"Yeah, what's your point, Arnold?" Sid asked.
"Well... if they keep going like this, next should be Sid... Park... and Lorenzo, in about..." Arnold looked at the clock on the wall... "eight minutes."
They stared at him.
"Willikers... this is about the weirdest dang party I ever been to," Stinky said quietly.
Surely enough, exactly eight minutes later, the young woman in the black dress asked for Sid, Park, and Lorenzo.
"I wonder what they're doing...?" Rex Smythe-Higgins asked pensively.
Arnold wasn't sure what to expect after his name was called... He wondered why they were leaving in threes, and why there was a ten minute wait time in-between. Why couldn't they just walk into a big room with people and music and food like normal parties?
He thought about that... It was Curly, who was into theatre, special effects, and all things weird. And there was Rhonda, who was extravagant and large-scale and who did nothing half-assed. Actually, now that they were actually dating, this would be the type of thing they would cook up... especially with Rhonda's parents away in Aruba for the week.
The door opened.
*Ahem*
"At this time, the management requests Stinky, Ignatius, and Joseph. This way, gentlemen."
Iggy cringed at the use of his full name and followed Joey and a nervous looking Stinky out of the study. The door closed behind them.
Rex and Arnold exchanged awkward glances.
"'S' surname?" Rex asked.
"Yup," Arnold answered simply.
They sat in silence for what seemed like the longest ten minutes. Arnold looked at the clock- 9:50pm. He couldn't believe he had been at the party for almost an hour and did nothing but sit in a room.
*Ahem*
The young woman opened the door.
"Last but most certainly not least, Rex and Arnold. Right this way, please," she said motioning out.
Arnold and Rex obeyed silently, and she closed the door to the now empty room.
"If you could just follow me," she said, walking up the elegant staircase.
Rex and Arnold reached the top of the stairs, and the young woman pointed to two separate rooms.
"Rex, you will be changing in this room, and Arnold, you will be changing in this room," she said, pointing to each door respectively. "Please be quick, we are on a schedule."
They reluctantly obeyed.
Man, what am I doing? Arnold thought.
He stepped into the beautifully decorated guest room. He noticed one of Rhonda's maids standing in the room. She was wearing a neon pink mask. Arnold ignored her awkwardly and looked at the clothes laid out on the bed...
"Uh... there's no shirt here."
"Precisely," the maid answered.
Arnold looked at her, feeling extremely awkward.
"So... do I just wear mine? Or..."
"You are to wear only the attire the management has provided," she answered, as if her response were rehearsed.
"Okayy..." Arnold breathed.
He put on the white dress pants and sneakers that were laid out. He eyed the maid from the corner of his eye to see if she was watching (though how could he tell? she was wearing a mask) before reluctantly taking his shirt off.
I am never doing this again, he thought as he laid his shirt on the bed and began to adorn a brightly colored mask on his face that covered only his eyes. He also noticed there were small paint jars on the bed...
"Are you done changing, sir?" Asked the masked maid.
"Uh... I guess," Arnold said, folding his arms over his bare chest uncomfortably, feeling absolutely ridiculous. "There's nothing else here."
The maid walked toward him and grabbed a neon green jar of paint. Arnold's eyes widened. She opened the jar and inserted the tip of her glove-covered index finger into it. She moved toward him.
"Whoa, what the hell?" he asked, backing away.
The maid sighed.
"Look, I've been doing this for an hour, can't you just stay still and let me finish? You're my last guy!" she said exasperatedly, abandoning her rehearsed generic responses.
"What are you doing?" Arnold asked, still backing away.
"Just a couple of designs. I'm not going to paint all of you. It's just a little and it washes off really easily. Kay?" she finished in frustration.
Arnold looked at the annoyed young maid and sighed. If he came this far, he might as well get the full experience.
"Fine," he answered.
She painted a couple of horizontal lines around his biceps and triceps of both arms. Arnold gave in, realizing she wasn't going to decorate him too much. But it only made him wonder what the hell he was getting himself into... She opened a jar of neon orange paint and added some dots in-between the lines, giving off the look of a bright tribal tattoo.
"Finished! Okay, now I just have to blindfold you."
"What?" he asked.
She scoffed.
"Really, are you even surprised right now? Come on, after this, you're at the party, and then you can do whatever you want." she answered simply.
"Whatever," Arnold answered. He realized he needed to fully surrender to the night's... festivities. He figured from now on, whatever happened, he was just going to accept it.
She pulled a black blindfold from her skirt pocket and tied it around his masked eyes.
She held his hand in front of him, leading him out of the room...