I didn't stop to think about why they were here. There wasn't time to think, and besides, Jeb Garmadon had trained us well. We were to fight first, ask questions later. I ran at the nearest Serpentine, twisting in midair to plant the hardest kick I could muster right in the middle of his chest. He grunted and stumbled backward, heaving for breath, but I didn't stop. I aimed a punch at the flattened double-slits he had in place of a nose and connected solidly, knocking him right to the ground. I didn't stop then either, just turned and sped for the next Serpentine.

Soon, it was all a blur of fists and feet and elbows and knees, headbutting and spinning and stomping and hollering, image after image snapshotted like a movie montage.

There I was, landing a blow on the next Serpentine, and there he was, landing one back on me, right in the side of the face.

There was Nya, up against a pair of Serpentine, her face twisted in rage and her fists moving faster than I thought was possible.

There was Cole, arms bulging as he lifted a Serpentine clear off of the ground and tossed him into the trees.

There was Kai, lying curled-up on the ground, face in the dirt as three Serpentine kicked at him.

Wait, what?

I refocused, pushing the Serpentine I was currently fighting away from me and heading for Kai. Halfway there, another Serpentine jumped at me, knocking me to the ground. The Serpentine who had jumped at me now grabbed me, pulling me up onto my feet. He forced my hands behind my back and twisted me around to face a new Serpentine, who bared his fangs at me in a savage excuse for a grin before punching me in the gut.

I wheezed and fell the ground of the meadow, my face landing on and squishing an over-ripe strawberry. Faintly, I could hear the battle still going on around me, shouts, screams, squeals of pain, but it was like I was underwater, or maybe far away.

Forcing myself to stagger up off the ground, I elbowed and kicked and shoved the two Serpentine away and glanced around wildly.

There was Kai, back on his feet again, jumping on the back of a Serpentine and pounding on the back of the Serpentine's head until he and the Serpentine both tumbled to the ground.

There was Jay, and there was Nya, and there was Cole, the three of them standing back-to-back-to-back in a rough triangle, fending off a whole slew of Serpentine.

Where was Zane?

A shrill cry of terror reached my ears through the fog of the noisy fight and I whirled. There was Zane! Four Serpentine were crowded around him, each with a hand around one of his ankles or wrists, and they were pulling him toward a fifth Serpentine, this one pulling something out from behind his own back.

I ran for Zane, leaping over an unconscious Serpentine, but two more Serpentine, these ones obviously fully conscious, blocked my path and lay into me, smacking me back and forth between the two of them.

I staggered back, trying to see beyond them. The four Serpentine had made it to the fifth one with Zane in tow, and the fifth one was now holding a large sack. Zane was still struggling, freeing a hand and landing a few blows, but the Serpentine with the sack punched him in the back of the head. Zane went limp, probably just shocked or unconscious. Probably.

Crying out what was meant to be a fierce battle whoop but what came out as a hoarse half-choked shout, I surged forward, trying to make it past the wall of Serpentine that was forming between me and Zane, but they forced me to the ground. One of them sat on my legs, another two pinned my arms between them, and a fourth crouched next to me.

I spat at him.

The Serpentine smiled, dodging my bloody spit easily. This Serpentine was different from the others, some dim part of my brain put together. His fangs were sharper, his scales were smaller, and his eyes were smaller and less red. Wait. His? Not "his," I realized, but "her." This Serpentine was a girl.

"Hello, Lloyd," she practically purred.

She knew my name.

I didn't know hers.

"Niccce to sssee you," she went on, her "s" sounds extended in that hissy way the Serpentine had. "Well, niccce for me, not ssso much for you. You look terrible. That'sss also niccce for me, not ssso niccce for you. You alwaysss played at being ssso above it all, ssso much better than me and everyone elssse. Thisss is a much better look for you."

I squinted at her. Did I know her? I couldn't, could I?

"What, don't you remember me?" She wondered, voice dripping with false sweetness. "That'sss fine. Becaussse I remember you, Lloyd Wright."

My jaw dropped as my tired, beat-up brain finally put the pieces together. Actually, I did remember her.

"Skylor?" I asked hoarsely.

She screeched with cruel laughter as she stood and crowed, "That'sss right!

Her booted foot came hurtling toward my head, and as it connected and I dropped out of consciousness, my last thoughts were ones of horror.

Skylor was the daughter of Chen, one of the head whitecoats and the brother of Jeb Garmadon. They had turned her into a Serpentine, a huge bloodthirsty mutant. Today, she would be barely nine years old.