• 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝔂 • {𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐠𝐨}

•S1 E3: Snakebit (I)•

    Lloyd tapped your arm, tiptoeing away. You were swift to follow, heart pounding with something between excitement and trepidation.

    You could hear the old man (Ed, of course, you should have known that the moment you saw them and the sign) clanking about. He called, 'You, uh—you turned on the security alarms before we left, right, hun?'

    Edna stiffly walked over to a power box. You could see the trembling in her hands as she fiddled with it, and the fear in her voice was palpable and she stammered, 'Must, uhm, must be broken.'

    You felt around, and felt something thick beneath you. In a sudden burst of intuition, you gave it a hard yank.

    The junkyard went dark.

    Under your hood, you smiled a "of-course-I-knew-that-would-happen" smile. He smiled a "don't-think-you're-so-smart-I-could-have-done-that" smile back.

    Ed was now whirling around, holding the blowtorch like a very sharp know. 'Whoever's there, my son knows Spinjitzu!'

A chorus of hissing rose from around the junkyard. Ed and Edna huddled closer together. 'Why are the lights out? What's that noise?' Edna sputtered, taking her husband's hand. 'Oh, Ed!'

You heard a snip behind you, and you turned to see Lloyd proudly holding up the now split wire. Following it, you realised it was the telephone wire. 'Can't call for help. Not bad,' you whispered. He looked like he wanted to hit you very hard, but that would just give away your location. Instead, the two of you crept a little closer.

Ed was shaking in his boots, now. 'Call jay, hun. Someone's—someone must've broken in!'

You looked at Lloyd. Lloyd looked at you. Sweeping your arm towards the couple, you sighed, 'Fine. You do the honours.'

He grinned.

'How about we wait until he calls you?' Lloyd laughed, walking out from the darkness with the two ends of the telephone wire. The general slithered up behind him, and you followed suit. Ed and Edna looked like nothing more than mice, cowering before a group of cats.

They clung to each other, the blowtorch in Ed's hand shaking so hard you could hear little parts clanking around inside. 'Be strong, Eda. They're not gonna hurt you if I have anything to say about it.'

You just folded your arms and sneered, and even that caused them to jump. It gave a little satisfaction.

'If we plan...'
'To attack...'
'The Hypnobrai,' the general hissed, eyes glinting maliciously.
'We'll need more sssoldiersss. We need to grow. To expand...'
'Our army.'

You hummed. An army. From the junkyard. Ooh, maybe they'd raise some kind of undead snakes from the ground, like in that one story... 'I'm excited to see how that'll happen! Show me!'

Both heads smiled, showing off all of their teeth—their fangs seemed to glow with venom. 'Let'sss jussst sssay...'
'Fangpyresss do tend to bite off more...'
'Than we can chew.'
He turned towards the junkyard and spread his arms wide. The Fangpyres seemed to shake with anticipation. He shouted, 'Have at it, boysss!'

The snakes practically erupted from the trash, a mass of red and fangs and snarling hisses as they descended upon the junkyard. They sank their teeth into metal like a hot knife through butter—cars, motorcycles, a helicopter. From where they bit down, you could see something like rust blooming. Spreading. The air was filled with the sounds and smells of corrosion. It made your heart skip a beat.

When the air cleared and you could see without squinting, the area was... different. The trashed vehicles were no more—in their places were what seemed to be an arsenal beyond your wildest dreams. Cars and bikes that you'd only fantasised about with Lloyd late at night, a helicopter that outdid anything in Starfarer. They looked fantastic. They looked alive. You couldn't help bouncing on your heels a little.

'My creations,' Ed cried, scared to the point of shock. 'They've been turned into—'

'An army,' Lloyd breathed, smiling wider than he had in weeks. 'A Fangpyre's army.'

You looked over the Fangpyres, the converted vehicles. Your eyes wandered to Ed and Edna—and a very cold, very interesting idea whispered itself into your ear. 'General,' you said, slowly. 'Does the venom work on... people?'

They shrunk away, horrified.

The general's eyes widened excitedly. 'Why, [Y/N]...'
'What an excellent quessstion.'

The snakes turned their attention onto the couple. Grinned maliciously. They slowly began closing in, Ed swinging his blowtorch wildly, Edna clinging to his shirt.

A chilled sense of relief and euphoria drowned anything else you could have felt, igniting your veins. Soon, Dad. You'll see. Everyone will see—and then, you can take us back.

You tugged your hoodie a little closer around yourself, frigid even in the desert, and smiled.