NCHS
By Secret Dancer
Chapter 7: Never Trust A Snake
Lloyd left the hospital and wondered if the others remembered him afterwards. Probably not, I am new after all. I should've known that you can't make friends that fast .I probably was a tag-a-long from the start. Ninjago City at night was a dangerous place. The blonde teen wandered down, not knowing where he was even going. He'd never been in the city-city, just the outskirts where his foster parents lived.
"Excuse me ma'am, but how do I get to Dragon Avenue?"
"Beat it brat!" She snarled and Lloyd backed away. He recognized one of the seniors from school with a group of boys that included Acidicus. He hurried over there. If he could find the school then he could find his home.
"Excuse me, you go to Ninjago City High, right?" Lloyd asked. The tall teen turned around.
"Yes. And I, humbly am Pythor P. Chumsworth. How may I help you?" He asked slyly.
"What's the safest way to get to school from here? I'm lost."
"We live near Dragon Avenue. Want to hang with us until we head back?" A…junior maybe…asked him. He was wearing a scaly blue outfit and his eyes were red for the whites and black for the irises.
Lloyd thought it over. Either he could wander lost in a dangerous city at night or he could hang with these guys for a couple of hours and they'd help him home. It sounded a lot like a trap but, they did go to his school. He didn't know if he could trust them. Since it was his only safe option he went with it.
"Okay, but if anything bad happens, I'm leaving."
"Excellent! We were just going to the arcade. And then the candy shop." Acidicus said.
"Candy?" Lloyd asked. He'd never heard of Candy before.
"You don't know what candy is? Pythor, we've got to help this boy!" A senior boy in all black exclaimed.
"I agree." Acidicus added.
"It sounds more like a date than a group gathering." Lloyd muttered.
"What was that boy?" Pythor asked.
"Nothing."
So he followed the group to the arcade and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Somehow the older kids-The Serpentine they were called apparently- won a ton of prize tickets. Lloyd had barely won enough for a little sticker. On the way to the candy shop, Lloyd caught a glimpse of a monastery up on a hill.
"What is that place?"
"That Monastery? It's where old people go to train for a battle that will never come. They believe these people called the Stone Army will reanimate and attack the city." Pythor explained.
"Hey kid," Fangtom began.
"If you stay in our good graces,"
"Maybe you could participate in the initiation."
"That is a great idea, Fangtom." Pythor grinned. After all, it would benefit the Serpentine to have more members. Making him a snake wouldn't be hard either thanks to the Fangpyre's improved abilities. Another benefit would be to tell the coach that they succeeded in fulfilling all his orders.
"This, Lloyd, is a candy store." Skalidor introduced. The blonde's jaw dropped. Nothing in his life had ever looked this good.
"Where have you been all my life?" He whispered.
"This boy is in our hands now. Just wait. I'll sneak something into the candy and he won't remember anything that happened and we can tamper with his memories. We can even use Skales hypnosis ability if we need to." Pythor explained to the other tribe leaders.
Lloyd was looking at all the candy. He didn't know what kind to get and if he'd even like it. There was a sign hanging up that read Mix and Match: Only 60 cents an ounce! So that's what he did and he didn't be piggy. After all, this was a whole new concept. He paid for his candy with the others.
"Let's go down to the pier. I here there's going to be a meteor shower." Fangtom suggested.
"Meteor shower?" Lloyd felt dumb. And he was in high school!
"You'll see kid." Spitta-as Lloyd learned- replied.
"Pythor, it is almost midnight. We don't want to reveal our secret to the boy." Skales whispered to the Anacondrai.
"You're right. I do say we must get getting. After all, we all have school tomorrow." Pythor announced to the group. Lloyd had yet to touch the candy and at the checkout he had Mezmo slip a little extra…flavoring into it.
"Is that candy good, Lloyd?" He asked as a reminder.
"Oh, right. I forgot about it."
Lloyd tried a piece of candy fruit. I LOVE CANDY! He began eating on more like the other Serpentine. When he was done, Lloyd felt woozy. He figured he ate it too fast. Then the world was spinning before it all stopped and went in fast forward.
"His eyes are dilated. The drugs are kicking in." Skalidor said right as the clock ticked midnight. They had gone to the sewers with Lloyd who was not himself wouldn't remember them molting out of human skeletons and skins into their true selves. Snakes.
Pythor was a long purple snake. He resembled that of a python or anaconda as far as his scale patterns went. His once black hair was now jet black scales on the top of his head. His normal purple eyes were larger and venomous. He seemed cunning, smart, and sly. He obviously carried great power.
Skales and the other Hypnobrai were blue scaled with white accents. Their dark brown hair had vanished completely. Their eyes became large and red with a…seductiveness to them. If you caught them for a moment then you'd be willing to cave to their demands.
Skalidor, Acidicus, and Fangtom were the same. They became their reptilian forms and their tribes as well. Blondes, brunettes, and redheads were becoming scaly snakes. When dawn approaches they will molt back into their human forms. A gift passed down from their ancestors from The Great Devourer.
"The time to start forging new memories and tampering with old ones is almost upon us. It will take the whole night but the benefits will be worthwhile." Pythor explained to the Generals while their followers went out into the night to cause chaos or get supplies.
"What will we begin with, Pythor?" Fangtom asked.
"The beginning of course. The drugs I sneaked in will manipulate his brain. We cannot erase memories but by using characters and words that he knows, we can create false ones or take ones he recalls and alter."
"Who will go first?" Skalidor asked.
"I will." Skales stated. He looked towards Pythor for approval.
"The time is, now."
Lloyd was officially out of this world. It was as though he was dreaming while awake. And so he dreamed with the storyline of his dreams the past two nights. He was oblivious to the fact that he was surrounded by psycho snakes.
"You are Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon. You are the son of Coach Garmadon. You want to be evil like him and the Serpentine are your best friends. You are pretending to be a part of the group with Rocky and Cole but, really you are there as a spy for the Serpentine." Skales began.
"Garmadon, Rocky, Cole, Serpentine." Lloyd muttered as he swayed slightly.
"Earlier today, one of your so called friends was injured and the other had died. At the hospital you were left behind by the group. You had a fight with them and you feel betrayed, abandoned, and alone. Then you came back to us." Skalidor added.
"Injured, dead, fight, alone."
"Your father, Coach Garmadon, wants to shut down the school and destroy that group. It is your mission to make sure that the group never catches onto the plan." Acidicus spoke.
"Father, school, mission."
They went on for several more hours with more creating and altering Lloyd's memories. Sure it was a cruel thing but the benefits were worthwhile. Revenge is like wildfire, only in preparation and the firefighters can anything good come out of it. The trees may have seeds that can only grow because of fire. The firefighters may be able to stop the fire in time before it destroys too much. Lives may be lost and even some changed all together but, it all started from a vengeful spark.
"It's dawn Pythor. We should be changing back soon." Skales informed.
"And the drugs will start wearing off. Come on boys, let's get this kid back to his house. We do have school tomorrow." Pythor ordered. Already some of his serpent brothers were molting.