A/N: My hunger for the new Viewtiful Joe games coming out for both the DS and Gamecube have led me to write another fic. This is a continuation of my other Viewtiful Joe fics, hence a sequel to a sequel.

Based on VJ 1 and 2 for Gamecube.

Disclaimer: You should know by now who owns Viewtiful Joe.

- - Enjoy the show! - -

"Whenever I'm in trouble, promise to come save me. Okay?"

- - -

She slowly opened her eyes to the wetness pelting her face, one cold drop at a time. Suppressing a groan, she rolled away from the dripping spot in the cracked, stone ceiling. She dazed upon the pooling water beside her head before coming to realization that she should be wondering where the heck she was. And how exactly had she gotten here? And most of all, what had happened to her?

Her body was aching all over and not to mention the sudden pain that came to her head when she tried to get up. Lying carefully back down, Goldie placed a cold, trembling hand over her throbbing temple. Jeez ... What happened?

It was incredibly hard trying to remember anything that could conclude her current situation. Her memory was nothing but a vague, blurry mess but she did remember one thing though; she was with Alastor the whole time.

So where was he now?

"Heh, takes you long enough to wake up," came a familiar voice, answering her question. Turning towards the sound, she spotted the spiky-haired boy ... in a barred cell across from hers. She slightly gasped at the fact that she was behind iron bars once again but this time in a dingy, puddle-ridden cell.

Although his voice was wryly bitter, it didn't bother her as much as it would seem. Goldie had been around the mocking demon long enough to truly understand his feelings. Well, that was what she wanted to say but in truth, it was still hard to predict anything from the stubborn idiot.

Resting his back against the side wall of his square cell, Alastor opened one eye and peered sideways at her through the shadows cast by one single flickering light bulb hanging over the only entrance to the entire room. (Wherever they were, it lacked windows and fresh air. The entire place seemed old and abandoned for there was dust visible where there was no water and the stale air horribly reeked.)

As always, Alastor's stare was that of annoyance.

Ignoring his hostile behaviour towards her, (he was always like that for some reason), she forced herself up into a sitting position, cringing slightly at the pain in her head. "Al ..." she managed to croak before finding her voice again. "What happened? How'd we get here?"

He didn't answer right away. He just continued to look at her with that same stare. Did she say something stupid or what?

Through the shadows, she could see a smirk form over his lips when she was about to ask him again. "Beats me," he simply said, obviously a lie.

"What do you mean, you liar!" she fumed at his dishonesty. "How'd we get caught by ... By whoever it was that caught us?"

"I dunno," he mumbled, closing his eyes once more. She could still see him grinning.

Goldie inwardly growled and formed a scowl on her face. "Oh, stop lying!"

"Man, you're loud," he muttered under his breath, making her deepen her scowl. "Just shut up for a while, okay? I'm trying to think of a way to bust outta here."

The scowl turned into a frown. 'Think' of a way out? That was so unlike Alastor. Usually he would've gone and busted out of the cell by now; ignoring the consequences. Raising her brow in suspicion, she stared at him carefully. "Why don't you just break open the bars?"

"Stupid-" she immediately glared at him - "Look at your watch."

"Huh? It's 4:16 p.m."

"Not that one. Your other one."

By that, he meant the V-Watch her father had given her twice as a world-saving parting gift. Sheesh, he could've just mentioned it more specifically. She glanced down at it and gasped. There was nothing but skin. Her V-Watch was gone!

"Th-They took it!" she cried, still examining her bare wrist. All her superhero powers were gone just like that. Now what was she going to do? Her father would definitely punish her in some way for losing one of his precious V-Watches to … "Wait. Who took it? Al! Tell me where we are!"

Like before, Alastor didn't reply right away. He just sat there in his own cell like a sleeping, motionless, arrogant jerk.

Oh boy, was she going to tickle him to death whenever she got out of the dank prison.

Sighing at the demon's lack of response, Goldie decided to figure it out herself. Gedow was the first thing that came to her mind as she thought of all the possibilities of who could've abducted them. Alastor and Goldie's last encounter with Gedow was that ice cat, Frost Tiger.

That haiku-loving feline's cool, serene personality matched his element of ice, much like how his hot-headed brother was to fire. As calm as the cat was before battle, Tiger's demeanour towards his foe was as cold as snow.

Blizzard Hazard Frost Tiger.

Just remembering that name brought memories of the freezing cold to Goldie's body. The girl winced, suddenly feeling chills up her spine in remembrance of the arctic weather she suffered through. She had been through blizzards, avalanches and even under the icy ocean to finally reach a frozen cave that was (like every other place) full of Gedow's cronies. By then she was practically numb all over from the cold. Alastor didn't even seemed fazed by the extreme temperature. Maybe because he was a demon or something. What a lucky jerk.

In fact, he was burning with an intense fire inside because he got to do what he loved best. And that was to beat the hell out of every enemy that opposed them. Well, mainly opposed him because he did all the fighting. He wanted to do all the fighting after having to endure being submerged inside (what he had called "a goddamn tiny underwater-capsule-thing") Six Machine under the deep ocean for a while. It was easy to tell that machines were not one of Alastor's favourite things. (Goldie ended up controlling the sub for their entire ocean journey which was awesome because she got a chance to blow up that annoying Sergeant Big John who seemed to have more lives than a cat. How many times did Alastor try to kill that dinosaur now? Goldie had lost count. But that one time was her first.)

"Hmm ..." she curled her lips as she pondered further into her memories. It couldn't have been Frost Tiger, now she that she thought of it. The winter feline fell before the duo in that ice cavern. She remembered that clearly ... So ... "Ah!" She snapped her fingers and grinned. "Dr. Cranken, isn't it? He's the one holding us here."

That's right! How could she forget seeing that ugly purple mug of that four-limbed octopus and his newly introduced creation? What the creation was exactly was still fuzzy in Goldie's mind, she couldn't quite put a picture on it.

Alastor didn't move, but he did give her a little smirk. "Took you long enough," he simply replied.

God, his attitude never seemed to change no matter what sort of situation he was in. Goldie really hated that. "Why didn't you just tell me!" she growled, grabbing the iron bars with both hands to demonstrate how angry she really was.

"Didn't feel like it," was all the demon said.

Letting out a cry of frustration, she tried to rattle the bars in anger but to no avail. Muttering in defeat, she sank back into her cell and glowered deeply at her infuriating partner.

Silence fell upon them and none had said a word for a while. Goldie had been carefully watching the dark-haired demon for all that time and noticed something strange. Alastor hadn't moved ever since she woke up. Not an inch. Not a centimetre. Not even a millimetre. Except, of course, when he had spoken. However, it seemed different as well when he had talked. He would've made more remarks or insults than simple replies and he would've at least made an attempt to break out. Unless he already tried to break out while she was still unconscious but that still didn't answer his sudden silent behaviour.

Alastor was just so ... lifelessly still. She could've mistaken him for dead if he had never said a word to her when she woke up.

"Al?" she broke the silence and eyed the demon for any movement. She caught sight of him furrowing his brow at the sound of her voice. "You all right?"

There was a short pause.

"I'm fine," he firmly answered, not bothering to give her the slightest glance.

Goldie frowned at his tone. The way he spoke those two words was easily recognizable.

Shaking her head, the girl shifted closer to the iron bars to try to get a better look at the demon. "You're hurt, aren't you?" she stated, hoping she didn't sound too worried. But in fact she was.

"It's nothing."

Which translated into "Yes" to Goldie's ears. Alastor was definitely wounded. "Doesn't look like it's nothing," she told him.

"Hmph," he breathed but didn't say anything else.

Definitely wounded pretty bad ...

But how? Alastor was never too careless in battle to get himself beat up. (Except that one time with Hulk ... But after that, Goldie made sure to watch his back ever since.) And Goldie had never allowed him to get into serious danger alone. As well, they were in the movies! The movie world had its limitations to stuff like that because the director would never let any danger come to his or her actors …

Jeez, what's going on? This part of the sequel seemed different than when Silvia and Joe starred in it.

What did Dr. Cranken pull before he caught Goldie? Her sister was never caught by the slimy squid last time …

Something had happened to the plot …

"What-" she was immediately cut off by a hush.

"That ugly freak's coming." This time the demon raised his head to glare at the rusted metal door. Footsteps echoed faintly behind it. Two pairs of feet could be heard.

Goldie clenched her jaw, tensing at the arrival of her captors. What more did she want than to pummel that mollusc into an oozing pulp for capturing and holding them prisoner. Then she would beat the hell out of him again for hurting her man.

A key was shoved into the lock then turned with a metal screech, making Goldie flinch at the horrid sound. With a loud clank, the door opened and in stepped the big-brained octopus along with one yellow, hyperactive-looking black spotted cat-guy that seemed related to Frost Tiger and Fire Leo.

If his mouth were visible, Dr. Cranken would probably be sneering at his two prisoners. "Ah, my 'guests' have finally awoken. Welcome to my underground lair," he announced with a snide little laugh.

His cheetah friend wheezed a chuckle. The green-eyed cat was prowling about, sniffing the bars of Goldie's cell and drooling disgustingly. "Food!" it cried, trying to shove its hideous claws inside to reach the girl only to be stopped by the bars.

With a startled yelp, Goldie slid as far away as she could from the hungry beast. It let out a low growl in effort as it tried to chew the bars with its huge, pointed fangs.

"Master! I want it! I want it! Why can't I get it!" it whined, speaking so rapidly that Goldie didn't catch everything it said.

"What are you doing, fool!" Cranken roared. He brought up his cane and knocked the cheetah over the head. "I told you to behave, now shut up and let me talk!"

With a cat's mew, the hungry beast shrank back and hid behind the doctor to rub its sore head.

"As I was saying," the octopus continued, "Welcome to my underground lair. It is not up to my standards but it'll be enough … " He trailed off purposely to keep his "guests" suspicious.

"Just skip the introduction," Alastor shortly cut in, still glaring at the doctor.

"Ha! Such a rude one," spat the Mad Scientist as he eyed the demon through the darkness. "I know who you are, boy. You're Alastor of that pathetic good-for-nothing Jadow." The slimy squid cocked his enormous head and narrowed his one unprotected eye. "What's Jadow up to nowadays? Pretending to be heroes?"

The boy snorted. "Jadow? I got nothing to do with them. But," Alastor paused, giving the doctor a threatening stare, "even if they are pathetic, they're far superior than you."

Forcing a harsh laugh, the octopus tapped the end of his cane onto the ground and leaned forward on it. "Nonsense," he hissed amusingly. "I am far greater than you weaklings."

"I told you, I ain't with Jadow, you ugly freak. And who're you calling 'weak'?" Alastor growled, baring his teeth. "I'll kick you and your stupid cat's ass in any fight!" Even though he had said that, the boy hadn't moved from his spot to prove his words true.

"Really now?" Dr. Cranken chuckled. "Don't get yourself so worked up, brat. I'm surprised you're even alive with that kind of wound."

At the sound of that, Goldie heavily frowned and bit her lower lip. Anger soon rose up within her and she glared at the doctor alongside Alastor. "What did you do to him, you big-nosed slimy squid!" she snarled, "How dare you hurt him! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Hey, I called him first. The ugly freak's mine," Alastor calmly told the girl, giving her a sideways look.

The blonde shook her head and smirked. "Nuh uh, Al. I'll be the one beating this squid up for putting us in here!"

"Damn woman, I will be doing the beating on both of them!"

"Yeah right! Not if I get them first!"

"Silence!" Dr. Cranken roared, his head steaming mad.

"Whoever's first, huh?" Alastor smirked at his partner and ignored the angry octopus. "Fine. The deal's on then!"

"I said 'silence'!" the doctor roared again, fuming at the two behind bars. "You should remember, children, that you are at my mercy. You should be begging for it!"

"'Beg for mercy'?" Goldie rolled her eyes and snorted. "Now who in their right minds would want to do that because of some powerless squid?"

"I know that coward behind the ugly doc would," Alastor answered.

Now both of the captors were fuming mad. The carnivorous feline leaped at the boy's cell and tried to reach into the prison with its long claws. (Goldie couldn't help but ponder how a brilliant scientist like Dr. Cranken would create something so stupid. Then again, maybe the doctor wasn't so smart after all … But she could be wrong. She and Alastor somehow got captured by him after all.)

Alastor only watched with an amusing stare. "Master! Let me eat him! I want to eat him!" the cat bellowed in fury.

"Better yet," Dr. Cranken hissed, trying to control his anger. "We'll punish them for their uncouth behaviour!"

"Yeah! Punishment!"

Punishment?

The girl suddenly tensed, afraid of what the evil pair would do. No, no, she shouldn't be afraid. Heroes are never afraid of anything. Clenching her fists, she sucked in a deep breath and put on a very unimpressed expression.

"What're you gonna do?" Alastor asked in a provoking tone. "You gonna stand there and be ugly all day? Because just seeing your hideous face is more than enough punishment you're putting me through."

Before Alastor even finished saying the last part, Cranken had already resumed to steam with anger. "I've had enough of you! Cheatah! Give them each a 50,000 volt shock."

This time Goldie didn't hide her fear. Everything was real, she had to remember. So an electric shock was a real electric shock.

The spotted feline cackled wildly, still hanging on the bars of Alastor's prison. "Yes! Yes!" it roared with a fiendish glee. Sparks began to fly from the beast's spiky mane as it prepared to strike the boy within the cell.

"Al!" the girl cried as she got to her feet and ran towards her endangered partner only to be stopped by iron bars. She saw Alastor transfixed by the dire sight before him. Goldie screamed and yelled at the dumb cat to stop. She even pleaded.

Cranken only laughed at her futile attempt while the cat continued to charge up; growing brighter with each passing second. (She could already feel the static in the air around her.)

She didn't care if she was the one getting shocked, Goldie didn't want to see Alastor hurt! "Leave him alone!" she screamed, desperately trying to break down the bars.

Cranken looked at her, a hint of a malicious smile creeping over his face. "Cheatah! Wait just a moment," he suddenly ordered, still eyeing the girl.

The spotted animal instantly stopped by its master's word, only to mew sadly for not having a chance to do what it wanted to do: "What? What? Why?"

Gesturing towards the girl, the doctor said, "Start with the girl first."

"What!" Alastor roared, breaking free of his previous spell.

Gasping with wide eyes full of horror, Goldie fell back and tried to clamber far away from the cheetah only to be greeted by the wall. She was trapped. Trapped within a smelly damp cell. All the water around her obviously increased the chance of getting electrocuted even if she somehow managed to dodge the feline's attack.

"Leave her out of this, you damn ugly bastard! She's just a weakling! I'll be the one fighting you so forget the girl!" she heard her partner cry. It was funny … Alastor never seemed to show his worry for her in a "nice" way. Sometimes, he would make it sound like he didn't really care at all … Perhaps he really didn't care at times, it was hard to tell.

The girl couldn't see him, only the sparkling beast who was once again excited to obey its master's command. Its mane glowed and cackled with electricity, making Goldie jump at the sounds. She didn't know when it was coming. Lightning was so unpredictable; one could never expect where and when it would strike …

"Hush, hush, boy," Cranken's voice could be heard over the intense crackling of sparks against the metal bars. "You'll get your turn."

Alastor said something Goldie couldn't hear for everything but the loud electricity was tuned out. Trembling with fear, she couldn't help but whimper. Those green eyes of the huge yellow cat were the last thing she saw before everything turned white. The most unimaginable pain ever seared through her entire body. A scream could be heard far off in the distance and she didn't know who's it was. It was probably her own …

Whiteness turned to darkness when Goldie could no longer feel any more pain. All thoughts were lost and all consciousness faded into the consuming blackness.

- - To be continued …

A/N: Reviews would be nice. Tell me what you readers think and how I could improve. Criticize me and I'll return the favour by doing better in future chapters. Yeah, this fic will have more than one chapter this time. Hope you all enjoyed it!