Servant of Mekka Dragon

With one mighty swing of the Legendary Sword, the youthful armoured hero put an end to the robotic dragon. Even the mechanical behemoth, with its razor sharp claws and intense flames, could not prevent its destruction and defeat by the warrior. The robotic dragon let out a dying screech that sounded like a squeaky and rusty gate opening before it exploded, sending body parts flying in all different directions. Using his Legendary Shield, the hero could easily deflect any piece that came in his direction no matter the size. The threat had now passed and the enemy that the hero had ventured to kill was now nothing more than scrap metal scatted around the chamber.

A wisp of blue flame suddenly materialised in the centre of the room, looming over the decapitated head of Mekka Dragon. It was no regular ball of fire; this particular one was a sinister apparition that had a soul-piecing stare and a demonic curving grin. Having a diabolical mind of its own, it dove towards the hero, its movements erratic and swift as it randomly swerved. Having a keen eye for peril, the brave warrior attempted to protect himself with his trusty shield, wondering where this mysterious being had emerged from. Unfortunately, the mischievous spirit proved to be more than a match for even his defenses. It phased through his shield and let out a cackle before hitting him in the chest.

The moment it made contact with his body, a bolt of lightning descended from the ceiling, striking him with a thunderous zap. His body froze up, and he watched in horror as his clothes, armour, and weapons disappeared completely as if by magic. Instead of his naked, pale-white human body, he instead laid his shocked eyes upon a scaly yellow chest. He suddenly grew a green and rather long chubby tail, and his human hands shook violently before they transformed into green claws; his rigid legs were now lizard feet. His nose expanded so much that he could see the tip of it before his very eyes. It now resembled a dragon’s snout with thin streams of smoke escaping from the nostrils.

“You thought you won, didn’t you, human?” a foreboding voice boomed throughout the room. The transformed hero frantically scanned the room, his face scrunched up in anger as he tried to find the source of the voice. “My body may have been destroyed, but victory is not yours. It shall never be yours. I will never yield to the likes of you.”

“Show yourself, coward!" the anthropomorphic lizard shouted. The sound of his new raspy voice surprised him to the point where he thought it came from a new being entirely. “What am I? I have become some type of lizard-man! What manner of sorcery is this?”

“It’s dragon magic. However, if I were to be more precise, I would refer to it as a curse. MY curse,” the evil voice responded, followed by a malicious chuckle that had the all-too familiar monotonous drone of a robot. “I’ve striped you of your pathetic human form, as well as removed you of your equipment and weapons. You are no longer a threat to me.”

The Lizard-Man’s anger returned, overtaking his period of confusion. “Curse? What curse are you talking about?” he demanded, his claw clenched in a fist as it shook in the air. The smoke coming from his nostrils was now much thicker and darker and was billowing out at a faster rate.

"I am not the fool you took me for, Lizard. Though I hate to admit this, I knew you possessed the skill and strength to end me. As a precaution, I cast dragon magic on myself to curse you if you so happened to best me in combat,” the villain explained, sounding proud of himself; his wicked scheme had come to fruition.

During Mekka Dragon’s explanation, Lizard-Man was still searching for his location. He was so distracted that he failed to notice that the blue spirit that had transformed him was still present, and it was steadily growing in size. A faint glow - along with the sound of a soft continuous hum - attracted Lizard-Man to the left corner of the room, where he finally found the head of Mekka Dragon. The glow was coming from his visor, which was slightly cracked but nonetheless still as ominous as the warrior first remembered it.

“I may have lost my Legendary Sword, but I still have the power to destroy you once and for all,” the green-scaled hero declared, sounding just as determined as he did back before the battle started, despite the addition of his raspy voice. His maw slowly began to open. His breath was as hot as an oven. He shot out a fireball, which barely missed and hit a piece of debris, scorching it. “Next time I won’t miss!”

“You’re very strong, Lizard-Man. Look how quickly you adapted to your new form,” Mekka Dragon noted, not sounding worried that he was about to get fried. His cold and Mekkanical voice fizzled; a few electrical crackles here and there. “That is why I am choosing not to eliminate you. I have other plans.”

In the reflection of the dragon’s visor, Lizard-Man noticed that the blue flame-like ghost was sneaking up behind him. He hastily swirled around, his mouth in the process of opening up to spit out a fireball. The sinister grinning spectre had since changed; not only did it double in size, but now its face, with the exception of his mouth, was replaced with a swirling spiral. It swirled around and around, picking up speed with each passing second. Lizard-Man felt an unusual sensation surge through his mind, making him halt his flaming assault. His mouth remained ajar as he continued to stare in bewilderment at the swirling spectacle. He could not pinpoint the reason why he found it so alluring to look at, or what made him stop his attack. Throughout his travels across the land vanquishing many varieties of monsters, this is the first time he had encountered something like this.

“You are wondering about what you see before you, aren’t you?” came the voice of Mekka Dragon, as if he could read his mind. ”There is a second stage to my curse, lizard.”

Even though he could not look away, Lizard-Man, now through a softened tone of voice, replied, “Second stage…? What do you mean?”

“Come now, surely the hero who slaughtered all my minions is able to comprehend what is going on. Why, it’s almost like it’s getting difficult to think,” the dragon answered shortly before he proceeded to chuckle. “Maybe if you stare deeper you will discover the answer.”

A strong force overcame the warrior's sense of judgement, and he leaned his head in closer to the ghostly flame. Deep down inside he knew it was a mistake to abide by the words of his enemy, but a competitive urge compelled him to investigate further. The longer he gawked at the spiralling formation, the more he felt his muscles relax and his anger subside. Lizard-Man was fully aware Mekka Dragon was still behind him, more than likely plotting an evil scheme to save his metallic hide. However, he was finding it hard to muster the ability to care. For as long as his eyes were exposed to the continuously swirling spiral, it was just too beautiful to dismiss. A small smile that symbolized his new relaxed state graced his face.

“You will make a great servant, Lizard-Man. Your humanity has been stripped from you, so you’ll find yourself more at home with your own kind,” Mekka Dragon told him, his wily words cutting into the mind of Lizard-Man. “You will join me. You will obey me.”

To a heroic character such as Lizard-Man, it was inconceivable for him to submit to the forces of evil. The words, steeped in that mocking malicious tone, snapped him out of his light trance. In response to the lizard’s returning willpower, the spiral increased in speed and gained a bright entrancing glow. The lizard's mind - suffering from the fatigue of a losing mental struggle - was in a state of unrest and was immediately drawn to the glow. What was left of his failing willpower was being drained from his brain by the hypnotic intrusion; even the recollection of Mekka Dragon taunts could not help him combat it. His arms lazily dropped to his sides, lightly swaying until they came to a complete stop as his smile grew wider.

“Go ahead and denounce that human side with its fruitless valiant nature, and embrace instead your new lizard form and servitude to your master!” Mekka Dragon ordered, his foreboding emotions infused with triumph. His scheming smile opened up slightly to show off an even cockier grin.

“I denounce my human side! I am Lizard-Man, loyal slave of Master Mekka-Dragon!” Lizard-Man proclaimed, his eyes a mass of blue swirling spirals. His words were loud and clear. This pleased the robotic menace to no end; not a hint of hesitation or doubt in his statement. Lizard-Man turned around to face his newly appointed leader and raised his claw to salute him. “What do you wish of me, Master?”

---

The small village was barren, its population driven away by Mekka Dragon and his minions many months ago. There were only a few buildings that stood, one of which was a store run by a burly anthropomorphic pig. Business was non-existent, yet he refused to flee with the others, holding the hope that the many monsters that roomed everywhere would eventually take interest in his wears. The swine shopkeeper stood behind his shop counter, bending over in a slumped position with his elbow resting on the wood grain. He puffed on his cigarette while his one good eye stared up at the door; perking, he started at the sound of it creaking open.

Welcome to me store,” the owner beamed, his hands fidgeting in anticipation of getting hold of some golden coins after so much time. A greedy grin curled up on his face. “Whoever you be, me store has the finest weapons around these parts.”

The door opened all the way to reveal Lizard-Man, who stood alongside two companions; a short skeleton wearing an eye patch and vibrant top hat and a one-eyed green ogre sporting a yellow loincloth shadowed behind. The sight of the trio all staring in his direction gave the pig a sense of impending danger. He was about to speak again when Lizard-Man opened his mouth to shoot a fireball at him, scoring a direct hit to the pig-man's chest.

“By order of Master Mekka Dragon, all those not serving under him shall be eliminated,” Lizard-Man declared, his still-smoking maw closing to form a threatening smirk.

The end

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Here is something different from Pokémon. After playing the remake of Wonder Boy: The Dragon Trap I became interested in its wonderful cast of characters as well as the addictive game play and wonderful graphics. One of the characters I like is Lizard-Man so, of course, I decided to write a situation where he is hypnotized to be an obedient servant of one of the game’s villains.

Icon by: https://jinkslizard.deviantart.com/