Act 5/Scene 5: Standoff

"She should have been back already!" snapped Takeshi. He was pacing up and down the perimeter of Teiko's living room, drumming his fingers against the wall, the coffee table, whatever was in reach.

"Cut it out, Takeshi!" snapped Sanae. "You're making me nervous!"

Ting!

Everybody's head whipped toward Teiko when her phone beeped.

"Is that from Rini?" Sanae asked as Teiko clicked open her messages.

"No," said Teiko, her face going pink. "Just Dez. He's asking when we can see each other again!"

Sanae rolled her eyes. She said, "Can you call Rini again?"

"But I just did-"

"Please, Teiko? I'm getting worried."

Teiko sighed and dialed, then announced, "No answer. Again."

Whiisskkk!

"About time!" Sanae said, turning toward the open front door. Only it wasn't Rini. Two Base Force Police officers, uniformed and armed, stood in the doorway.

"Mom!" said Teiko. "Dad..."

"So it's true," said Teiko's mom, her face falling as she observed the group sitting in her living room.

"Teiko," said Anzen. "You've been harboring known fugitives! We've been looking for Takeshi and Ryuu for two days now-and they were hiding in our living pod the entire time! Teiko, how could you?"

"Dad, Takeshi and Ryuu are innocent, please let us explain!"

"You yourself are wanted for trespassing within the Moon Castle, along with Rini," Teiko's mom told her. "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see the video evidence for myself!"

"Please listen, we were trying to help-!"

"There will be plenty of time for you to explain your actions once we have you in custody," Anzen said. "Teiko," his voice cracked, and his eyes were gleaming with tears, "you are under arrest, by order of Poudretteite!"

Teiko's mom said, "Ryuu, Takeshi, we are taking you two as well. And Sanae, you're under arrest for conspiring with wanted criminals!"

"We're not criminals!" Sanae said.

"How do you expect to take all four of us when there are only two of you?" Takeshi asked, standing and crossing his arms.

"We've known all you kids since you were little," said Anzen. "Neither of us want to do this-but you all broke the law, and so we expect you to comply without a fight."

"Come with us to the station," said Teiko's mom. "I promise, once we're there we will get this all worked out."

"Worked out?" said Takeshi. "Just like the time Poudretteite ordered a fire demon throw me into a dungeon cell?" He balled his hands into fists. "I'm not going back there!"

"That was a misunderstanding," said Anzen.

"Or how about the time that same fire demon nearly burned me alive!" said Sanae, going to stand next to Takeshi. She adapted a fighting stance as well.

"The Base Force Police officers are corrupt!" said Ryuu. "We don't believe anything you say. There is no way we are going quietly!"

Teiko's breath became short and shallow as she looked from her three friends to her parents, who were reaching for their weapons.

"Please!" Teiko begged. "Guys! Mom and Dad-there has to be a way we can solve this without violence!"

Teiko's mom said, "Either you four are coming in on your own two feet, or we'll drag you in." She drew out her pistol. "This is full of sleeper darts," she said. "Make your choice. Now!"

"D.D., go!" ordered Takeshi, pointing directly at Teiko's parents.

Ping ping ping! The camouflaged droid was a shimmering ball of misplaced air as it hurled itself across the room. It knocked the weapon from the female officer's hands, and Ryuu snatched it up.

"Drop it!" Anzen shouted, pointing his weapon at Ryuu the exact same time as Ryuu raised his.

"No, you drop it!" said Ryuu. "You're outnumbered!"

Teiko's mom had grabbed her walkie-talkie during the commotion. "We need backup at living pod #236!" she said.

"Copy! Dispatching officers now!" crackled the voice over the radio.

When Ryuu moved to point the gun at her as she spoke, Anzen seized his opportunity.

Blam!

Teiko screamed. The dart sunk into Ryuu's shoulder, which he ripped out before collapsing, his weapon landing beside him. Takeshi went for the gun.

"Don't move!" said Anzen.

Sanae said, "D.D.! Get his weapon, too!"

Anzen looked around, squinting his eyes at the camouflaged droid. He somehow saw it coming and dodged the attack.

Blam!

Takeshi had grabbed the gun while Anzen was distracted, sinking a dart into Anzen's neck.

"Daddy, no!" cried Teiko, rushing to her father as he fell to the ground, unconscious. Teiko's mom unholstered a second weapon.

"A direct attack on a Base Force Police officer is a serious offense!" she shouted, pointing the gun at Takeshi and Sanae. "This weapon is the real-deal! No more games! Everybody, HANDS UP!"

Fffzzztt! Teiko's mom convulsed repeatedly before crumpling to the floor.

"Rini!" said Sanae. Rini and Masaru stood in the open doorway to the living pod.

"What did you do to her!" cried Teiko, grabbing her mother's limp hand.

"It's just the stun setting, she'll be fine," said Masaru, handing the pink weapon back to Rini. "See?" He told Rini. "Just choose the setting and pull the trigger. It's pretty simple."

"There's nothing simple about this," said Rini as she stepped into the room, observing the three unconscious bodies on the ground. "What is going on here?"

"They came to arrest us!" said Sanae.

"Arrest who?"

"All of us! Including you and Teiko. They said there was video evidence of you two trespassing in the Moon Castle!"

"If you were recorded, Rini, than I must be on that video, too!" said Masaru.

"And Cin would be too!" said Sanae. "How can they witness such a dangerous being and still act like we're the threat?"

Rini noticed Teiko on the floor next to her unconscious parents, and when to go put her arms around her friend.

"You okay, Teik?" she asked.

Teiko sniffed and said, "Mom called for backup. You guys should really get out of here!"

"She's right!" said D.D. "We all have to leave, now!"

"But where will we go?" asked Sanae. She was helping Takeshi drag the unconscious Ryuu to his feet.

"The boiler room, where we threw the party!" said Takeshi. "We worked out a path to that room where we can move through the video surveillance's blind spots!"

"That's right!" said Sanae. "You got dozens of people there undetected the night of the party! Let's go!"

Everybody headed toward the door, but Teiko remained behind.

"Let's go, Teiko," said Rini, extending her hand to help her friend stand.

"I can't leave them!" said Teiko, shaking her head. "They're my parents! I need to make sure they'll be okay!"

"Backup is coming any minute!" urged Sanae. "Your parents will be fine, but you'll be in so much trouble if you stay. You'll take the rap for all of us!"

"I don't care about that right now!" Teiko said.

Diana Droid said, "Leaving you behind poses a risk to the whole team!"

"I won't tell them anything about you guys or where you are!" said Teiko.

"You won't mean to," said Takeshi. "But they got my boy Vin to talk last time-and he's one of the toughest guys I know! They have some effective ways to extracting information!"

"My parents wouldn't allow anybody to torture me!" snapped Teiko, catch's Takeshi's drift.

"They're not the ones in charge!" said Diana Droid. "If you get taken in, you'll be handled according to Poudretteite's whim!"

"Teiko, please," said Rini. "If you come with us, we can keep you safe. Help us stop the djinn and restore the Moon Base!"

The sound of many pairs of hurrying feet sounded down the hall.

"Backup is almost here! Last chance!" said Takeshi as he and Sanae left the living pod, dragging Ryuu between them. Masaru moved to take Sanae's place propping Ryuu's side.

With a sigh of frustration, Teiko rubbed her tear-stained cheeks and accepted Rini's hand. They followed the others, who were already rushing down the hall to Takeshi's lead.

so many of my scenes end with 'and then they went down the hallway' lol