**** Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay but here is Chapter 21! Enjoy! Chapter 22 is in the way :) ****
Chapter 21 – The Bathroom
Pete's predictions had been correct. The minute they landed in Tokyo the Professor told him, Grem and Acer that they would be crashing the Allinol party. They, amongst a few selected Lemons, would be coming along with the Professor to see if they could learn anything about Sir Miles Axlerod and his plans for the World Grand Prix. They were to find out as much information on Miles as possible, and what loopholes existed to allow them to undermine the event and ruin Allinol's reputation.
As Rod, Grem, Acer and the Professor arrived at the party, the Professor instructed them to go their separate ways. They would meet again around nine o' clock near the wasabi station to discuss their findings.
Rod did little investigating. Instead he decided to casually chat with as many random cars as he could find. All that was on his mind at that moment was finding Finn McMissile, and determining what time he would go off and meet him. This would be difficult, since he knew there were Lemons scattered throughout the party. He didn't want to come across one while heading off towards the bathroom, where he would not be in costume.
Nine o'clock rolled around. Rod had only had one drink and grabbed some food at the wasabi station. While talking to a small Japanese car he suddenly became aware of the time, and realized he was late. He rushed off to meet his coworkers, and found them waiting for him, looking rather impatient. As he was driving over to them, however, something caught his eye. He saw the outline of a silver and sleek car parked next to a purple car on the floor above him. Rod recognized that silver outline anywhere; it was Finn McMissle. He knew it was time to hand off the information.
"Nothing to report, Professor. Overheard some cars talking about how Miles plans to surpass the oil industry with his revolutionary fuel, but other than that, nothing. Just heard casual talk," Rod stated, trying his best to prevent the Professor from knowing he made no effort to find out anything about Miles.
"Thank you for the report, Darrel. We haven't come across much either," the Professor said and let out a brief sigh. "Well, we can't stop now. Let's split up again. Another report at eleven o' clock should do."
"Got it," Rod replied as he began to drive off. As he was leaving, he noticed something odd. Grem, Acer, and the Professor were staying in place, discussing something amongst each other. He wanted to turn around and have a listen in on their conversation, but he knew he had to keep moving. He had to hand off the information to Finn as soon as possible. The longer he waited the more dangerous getting together could be.
Rod glanced around himself nervously as he began to drive towards the bathroom. He kept checking his side view mirrors to see if there were any Lemons around or if anyone was following him. So far he saw nothing. He drove as quickly as he could until he found a deserted side hallway, where he saw two doors to the bathroom. He couldn't read the signs as to which one was the men's or the women's bathroom, so we waited for a car to come out. When a male car came out of one of the doors, he quickly drove inside.
As he entered the bathroom he looked around, looking calm and casual with a smile on his face. He did not want to appear suspicious to any cars that he could have encountered in the bathroom. To his surprise, however, there was no one in the bathroom; it was completely empty. Rod surveyed his surroundings one more time, making sure the coast was clear. Then he wiped the fake smile off his face, and his expression turned into one of grimace.
Without any further hesitation, he removed his costume. Piece by piece, the metal panels of his Gremlin costume fell away, and Darrel Gremlin became Rod Redline. When he was fully out of costume he quickly looked behind him to see if anyone had seen him, and then he drove towards the bathroom mirror.
"Ok, McMissle, I'm here. Its time for the drop," Rod said to himself as he approached the mirror. He then activated the tracking beacon on his status bar, revealing his location to Finn.
Now that Rod's location was revealed, all he could do now was wait. This was it, the moment he had been waiting for, to finally hand off the information to Finn and end this mission once and for all. He quickly looked behind him to see if Finn was coming through the door. Nothing yet.
As he continued to wait, he found himself looking into the mirror. There he was, Rod Redline, a handsome blue muscle car with eyes that shimmered a deep blue. As he looked at himself, for a brief moment he felt like he was looking at a stranger. He expected to see a yellow ochre Gremlin staring back at him, not the car who stood before him. He had been impersonating a Gremlin for so long he now realized, in part, that he had become a Gremlin.
On no other mission had he felt the disguise he took up actually became a part of his personality. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had lived in a separate world out on the oil rigs, and became integrated into a society that stood alone from the mainstream. Lemons were cars that made their own lives and standards, and being on this mission he learned these standards and followed by them. As he made friends with Grem and Acer, fell in love with Roseanne, and worked with these cars, he saw something within himself that had never existed before and couldn't deny. In costume and out of costume, he had become a Lemon.
Just then he heard someone come in through the bathroom door. When he looked up he expected to see Finn McMissle, but to his astonishment Grem and Acer were approaching from behind him. Both Lemons were wearing expressions of anger and loathing as they approached, and ready to unleash it...
Rod narrowed his eyes, returning them the glare they were throwing at him. They now knew who he really was, they knew that they had been lied to, and he knew they were ready to attack. Rod pulled his concealed gun out of his hubcap, and loaded a bullet into the chamber. As the gun made a click from the gun being loaded, he heard a screech of tires coming from behind him.
In a blur Rod whipped himself around and saw Acer charging right for him. He fired one shot at his friend, and it missed. Acer then came barreling into him, sending Rod spinning across the room. This landed him right near the sink where a few minutes ago he had been contemplating his identity as a Lemon.
Grem came at Rod in a blur, striking the side of his body with his front bumper again and again. Pain seared throughout Rod's body as the blows became harder and harder. He wanted to fight back, but it was hopeless between Grem ramming into his side and him being wedged against the wall.
Grem suddenly pulled back. Rod watched as he drove over to Acer, and they exchanged a few words through whispers. Rod got back onto all four tires, but as he did pain ripped through his chassis. He looked over at them, and knew that if he were going to have any chance against them, he would have to attack first. They were fighting him in the same fashion in which they had fought Leland: fighting with unimaginable strength and showing no mercy.
Rod suddenly heard the squealing of tires, and he reacted. He whipped himself around, drove straight on at an oncoming Grem, and they collided. Pain tore through Rod again but he pressed on, using his powerful engine to push Grem back. It was working, Grem was faltering and maybe he could win this fight…
Acer drove into sight, running right into Rod's side. This blow drew him away from Grem and pushed him right up against a bathroom stall door. He heard more of his metal crunch, and the pain he felt then was the worst pain he had experienced in a long time. Grem and Acer drove away from him as he now lay against the door, trying to regain his strength. They were playing with him, giving him false hope that he could recover and fight them again. However, Rod was starting to see that this might not be a fight he could win.
He clenched his teeth together to channel the pain that burned within him, and he started to pull away from the door and back to the wall where he had been cornered before. Grem and Acer started to draw in on him, Grem smiled wickedly as Acer began to spin his tires, ready to attack. Acer lurched forward…
Suddenly, one of the bathroom doors opened right in front of Acer, and he hit it head on. There was a large clang of metal as a rusty tow truck drove out of the bathroom stall. He seemed frazzled, but Rod couldn't thank this tow truck enough for interrupting their fight.
The tow truck looked frantically over at Grem, and he yelled, "Whatever you do, I would NOT go in there!" He pointed at the bathroom stall door as if some evil lied within.
The door to the bathroom stall began to close on its own and revealed Acer behind it, and he was lying on the floor in a dazed state. As it closed he slowly stood up and tried to adjust his jaw, which looked like it was rendered askew from the door smashing into his face.
"Hey!" the tow truck yelled out excitedly at the sight of Acer, and he quickly looked to Grem as well. To Rod, it seemed the tow truck was finally aware of their existence. "A Gremlin and a Pacer! No offense to your makes and models, but you guys break down harder than my cousin Betsy when she…"
As the tow truck rambled, Rod acted quickly. He realized that he was probably not going to make it out of this fight, and therefore would not be able to hand off the photo to Finn. He felt terrible about the decision he was about to make, but it had to be done in order to avoid compromising the mission. He had a feeling he might not be there when the mission was completed.
He pulled out the photo, which was on a small chip drive, and attached it on a tracking beacon. With a metal rod concealed under his hubcap, he took the photo and slowly placed it on the rod, and then placed the rod underneath the tow truck's undercarriage. He discharged the photo and it quickly attached to the tow truck.
The tow truck jumped in surprise and moved backwards, and he finally realized that Rod had been parked behind him. At first the tow truck looked confused, and Rod guessed that he didn't know he was there. Then the truck's face quickly contorted with worry as he glanced at Rod's damaged body.
"Whoa, you ok?" he asked, quickly surveying Rod's body. Rod looked away from the tow truck and back at Grem and Acer, who were staring at him menacingly. He had to get the tow truck out of the bathroom, he had the photo and he didn't want Grem and Acer to find out.
"I'm fine," Rod muttered, mostly to himself. He continued to gaze at his newfound enemies, who were looking impatient.
"Hey! Tow truck!" Grem yelled suddenly. The tow truck perked up at being acknowledged. "We'd like to get to our private business here, if you don't mind." He sounded frustrated.
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Don't let me get in the way of your private business! Oh, and a little advice. When you hear that giggling and see that waterfall, you best press that green button," the tow truck rambled. This only increased Grem and Acer's impatience. As he continued to ramble, Grem and Acer did what they could to stop him short, but nothing seemed to be working. Finally, they told him to get out, and the tow truck agreed.
The tow truck left as swiftly as he came. Now Rod was alone in the bathroom again with Grem and Acer, their menacing gazes not lifting one bit.
"Your gonna pay for what you have done, traitor," Grem said between clenched teeth. He revved his engine, lurched forward, and struck Rod head on.
Rod went spinning across the room again, and this time Grem and Acer showed no mercy. They ganged up on him, started beating him to a pulp. He couldn't move, he was caught underneath all their blows and was completely defenseless. He had no gun, he had no strength; he had nothing.
The room around him was turning into a blur. The pain that was scorching through his body was beginning to numb. The world around him was going dark and he began to slip into unconsciousness.
Before he fell, however, an image crossed into his mind. There she was, his beloved Roseanne. He saw her back on the oil rigs on the day he saw her at box moving duty. He saw her beautiful red body glowing in the sunlight, her deep blue eyes shimmering, and the way she moved captivated him. She gave him a light smile, one of reassurance, one of caring, one of love…
But before he knew it she was gone, and he slipped into darkness.