READERS BE ADVISED: FRIGHTENING/INTENSE SCENES, BLOOD, AND HINTED DEATH.
Corn, Gum, Yoyo, and Beat gained momentum and rolled on the side of the walls while the rest of the GG's remained level. Poison Jam, who was trailing behind them, were eager at the clear view they had of the backs of their enemies. They hurried to catch up and prepared to tag them, starting with Combo.
Corn had other plans, he slid behind one of them and coated him in the artwork of the GG's.
He stopped in his tracks and roared in frustration, "Graaaarrrr!"
This distracted the remaining Poison Jam, and they instead pushed passed the GG's to get ahead, WAY ahead.
"That's one down!" Beat applauded.
"Let's get the rest of 'em!" Corn responded, "GG's! Let's pick it up!"
The gang picked up momentum to catch up with their rivals, abruptly coming to an opening where the path leading to the next room was nothing but pipes. Caught off guard, Beat missed the pipe completely and fell to the floor below.
"Beat!" Gum yelled.
The rest of the GG's froze for a moment, but Beat quickly shouted back, "Don't worry about me! I'll catch up! Just chase after Poison Jam!"
They nodded and hopped on the twisting and turning pipes, they were practically on a roller coaster with the weightlessness they felt. Besides, Beat would be fine. There were stairs leading up to the next path they were headed to, so they took his word for it.
The next one they caught up with stopped in yet another vast room, while the other one kept on going down the hall.
Corn instructed his team, "You guys chase that one! I'll stay back and take on this one." He held his spray can like he was ready for war.
"Gurhurhur!" His opponent laughed under his mask, "You've got guts facing me. I'll make you regret the day you've messed with Poison Jam punk!"
"Bring it on!" The leader of the GG's answered firmly.
The rest of the GG's continued forward.
"Yo, this one's fast on his feet!" Yoyo pointed out.
"He'll tire out eventually, we just gotta keep him in our sights!" Gum mentioned.
Rhyth found amusement in this, "Hehe! I'm amazed! Most people I've seen in costumes can't move that fast!"
"We gotta get him!" Garam declared.
Combo remained silent, shooting daggers at the fleeing Poison Jam.
"Yo, I got an idea!" Yoyo stated, he proceeded to skate ahead of his friends.
"Yoyo what are you doing?" Gum called.
"Trust me yo!"
She chuckled at that, "Yeah, right."
Rhyth looked at Gum inquisitively, "What do you mean by that?"
Gum opened her mouth to answer, but Rhyth's innocent appeal softened her, "Just sayin'. He's reckless."
"He does seem like a real go-getter doesn't he? Tee hee!"
"Well, he needs to-."
"GRAAAAUUGHHHH!"
Everyone's attention went back to the main task, noticing they were so far behind no one could see clearly what had happened.
Once they caught up, Yoyo was standing over a floored and dazed Poison Jam with a banana peel nearby.
Yoyo was laughing hysterically, "Yo! You fell for the oldest trick in the book yo!"
Gum gave Yoyo an offhand look, "The banana peel joke? Really Yoyo? Of course YOU of all people would think to do that."
Garam found it funny, "Haha! Good one Yoyo!" He gave him a high-five, "That's what I call classic!"
Rhyth giggled loudly, "Ahaha! That's actually a pretty good idea! It has to be hard to see through those masks!"
All Combo did was shake his head, "Wow, just wow." And chuckle, "Heh, that was so old-school it was brilliant."
"Come on now yo! Let's tag him!"
Gum rallied the team, "All together now!"
They gave this member of Poison Jam the biggest tag that they had ever painted on anyone, even more than the Rokkaku Police.
Afterward, Gum remembered Beat and Corn, "Let's find Beat, and go see how Corn's doing!"
"Right!" The rest answered and skated away, leaving the still dazed Poison Jam on the ground.
Returning to the room they were before, they noticed Corn and Beat had teamed up. There was no sign of the Poison Jam that Corn took on.
"Where'd he go?" Gum asked.
"He's gone." Beat smirked, "We gave him a good tagging and he took off running."
Yoyo stepped forward, "Oh yeah yo? I used a banana peel!" He proudly grinned.
Beat looked puzzled and sounded nonchalant, "A banana peel?"
Corn put his hand up, "We'll get to that later. But for now…" He faced Combo and crossed his arms, "Combo, you have something to explain."
Combo remembered what it was, "You wanna know how I know Cube right? Where is she anyway?"
"When we went back to the room, she wasn't there. It looks like she got away." Beat explained in a somewhat defeated manner.
Corn affirmatively shook his head, "We looked around but there's no sign of her. But you have to tell me what's going on Combo."
Combo sighed, "All right then. I guess it had to come out in the open sooner or later." He paused, "This isn't the best place to chat, can we go back to the garage first?"
"That's fine." Corn addressed, "Mission successful GG's! Let's move out!"
Meanwhile Cube, who saw the entire battle through her monitor in her secret room, groaned in frustration, "Never send a man to do a woman's job…" she belittled her subordinates to herself. Then she left in a huff.
Back in the garage, Combo sat on the couch purposefully, while the other GG's gathered around; preparing to hear what he had to say.
"Okay." Corn acknowledged, "So what's up?"
Combo set his boombox down, "Well…" He took a deep breath, "It happened about two months ago… before I came to Tokyo-to."
"I used to roam in Grind City, it was my turf. Me, Cube, and another guy called Coin used to own the Bantam Street area in that city. It's a little far from Tokyo-to, but everyone would stay outta our way there. Until that one day… We were out for our usual run one day, and we saw that someone had gone around and painted these ugly signs all over Grind City. It was so ugly I couldn't even call it 'graffiti'. It was strange paintings of rhinos… and bizarre symbols."
Corn took note, "Rhinos?" He sounded alarmed.
"Yeah, all of our old graffiti had been covered up by these horrific signs. That wasn't all either, black cars I had never seen before and men in black suits with golden afros have been seen loitering around. I knew that there was definitely something wrong. But I didn't know that it was gonna get as bad as it did…"
Flashback...
Bantam Street. The moon was high and the streets were illuminated by the street lights. For a gang of three, that night was going to take place in their minds as a terrifying memory. Combo, Cube, and Coin surveyed the area from a shadowy spot underneath the monorail.
"Something's definitely not right here." Combo dreaded, "Who painted all these ugly signs all over our grafitti!?"
Cube shook her head, "I don't know, but we gotta paint back over them!"
"Hey guys, do you think this has anything to do with those guys in black suits?" Coin wondered.
"All I know is that I don't like this, not one bit." Combo muttered.
"This is no biggie." Coin tried to maintain the positivity in the team, "We've had others try to paint over our graffiti before! They failed of course."
"I know but… this is different. If that's someone's ugly idea of graffiti… I gotta wonder who they are…"
Cube agreed, "I'll say, that art is hideous! You'd have to be blind to call that art!"
"But all that aside. We should get that painted over, before they think they've got us taken over." Combo stated, "That last thing I want to happen, is to let a gang who's got a dreadful idea of what art looks like beat us.
"You're right, come on let's go." Coin sounded enthusiastic, "Besides, the streets are empty! We can run around like crazy people all we want!"
"We do that during rush hour." Cube mentioned comically.
"Uh, okay good point. But still we won't crash into anyone!"
"Whatever the case is let's get started already." Combo headed for the first large tag they were eying from afar. Cube stood two buildings down and painted over a rhino sign.
"I'm gonna go around the corner. To check for tags." Coin tossed a spray can casually, "I'll be right back!" He smiled at his friends and skated out of sight.
Cube approached Combo, "Hey Combo, after we get all this covered up. You think we can stop at the café? I'm seriously craving some iced coffee right now."
Combo gave her a bewildered and amused look, "Since when do you drink coffee?"
She smiled sheepishly, "Ha! Since right now!"
He rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say Cube. As soon as we get all the graffiti we see covered up and survey the area, we'll stop at the café."
"That's fine. The café is open 24 hours anyway." She looked around, "Coin's been back there a long time."
Combo noticed as well, "Huh, that's odd. It's just a route around with basketball courts and ramps."
"I guess there's an extra enormous tag back there."
"I bet, let's go help him out."
When Combo and Cube skated around the corner and down the short alleyway that led to the area Coin was headed, the two could tell that something else was wrong.
It was completely silent, they couldn't hear Coin spraying or anything. They slowed down and tried to listen, but they still couldn't hear anything. Except for the cars in the distance and the bits of trash dragging against the street in the wind.
Combo gently pushed Cube behind him, "Get behind me." He whispered.
"You sense it too?" Cube whispered back.
"That something isn't right? Yeah. Shh…"
Slowly and cautiously, they entered the back area. Combo's eyes scanned the area, troubled to see that there wasn't anyone around.
"Coin?" Combo spoke barely above a whisper. The only response he got was the wind.
Cube shook her head, "He's probably moved somewhere else."
Combo studied the walls, "Well he left behind a bunch of tags… Let's find him before we get these. I don't want to be separated this long with those men hanging around…"
The two skated slowly toward the streetlight that was attached to the area leading to the basketball court. Combo continued watching the wall, viewing them now… he noticed they seemed more sinister… like they were glaring at them…
"Cube, check it out." He stopped and pointed. Their eyes both met a tag that was half covered by their paint, but half of the rhino art was still showing.
Cube snorted, "He probably ran out of paint and is trying to find us now." She glanced forward, "I don't know how he didn't-." She froze mid-sentence.
Combo looked at her when she did, and she had a frightened expression. Prompting him to scan where her eyes were fixated.
In the center of the light the street lamp was casting, was a tiny spill of a dark liquid.
Cube grabbed Combo's arm, "Combo…" she uttered worryingly.
He tried to calm her down, "Relax Cube don't worry." He gently spoke. He grabbed a piece of balled up paper that rolled by their feet and unrumpled it. He carefully approached the liquid and reached for it with the paper.
When the liquid met the paper, panic struck them both instantly as it became clear to the two what that liquid was.
Blood.
"Coin!" Combo shouted. He threw the paper aside and noticed there were little drops leading further down the street.
Cube was now holding onto Combo's arm tighter, but he didn't care, "Keep a good grip on me Cube." He encouraged, "Cause I'm worried now."
"Me too." Her voice tremored slightly.
Combo and Cube proceeded at a pace quicker than before while remaining on guard. Several thoughts running through both of their minds, the main concern being Coin.
The double doors to a nearby building opened when the two got close and two men in black suits with golden afros leapt from the entrance in front of the rudies. They were wielding machetes that were so lengthy they could be capable of stabbing through someone Combo's size!
"Whoa!" Combo braked, "Who the hell are you guys!?"
They said nothing and slowly walked toward the teens, who were backing away in response.
"Hey, hey! Don't come any closer ya hear!?" Combo warned, "And put those things down!"
Then one of the men answered, "You punks aren't running these streets anymore, we're taking them!" They rose their knives, "We're the Golden Rhinos."
"Whoa hey." Combo sounded calmer, "There's no need for this all right? Think about what ya'll are doing."
"We did that, and we already did."
Combo and Cube's eyes widened, their hearts sunk.
"No… you didn't…" Cube muttered.
Combo whispered to her, "Let's run… right… now…!"
The rudies dashed the way they came. The men gave chase, "Let's get them!"
The pair made it back to the main road quickly, and saw black cars parked away from them. The same ones that Combo remembered seeing.
"Combo, what do we do!?" Cube freaked in a hushed voice.
"Let's hurry back to our hideout!" Combo whispered.
Rapid fire shots startled the two, from behind the cars, more Golden Rhinos were emerged and armed with guns. Off Combo and Cube ran, the opposite way and the direction of their hideout.
"Where'd Coin go!?" Cube questioned.
All Combo could answer was, "I don't know… We're absolutely gonna have to lay low for a bit!" He had some hope in his voice, "We'll find him… I hope…"
The Golden Rhino's received a radio message, "This is Golden Rhino from the communication center. Assassin Number five is en route. He's very anxious, so don't get too close or he might attack."
"Got it, staying out of the way."
Meanwhile, Combo and Cube were out of the Bantam Street area and in Grind Square. They slowed their pace but were still hurrying.
"Okay I'll admit." Cube breathed out, "That was scary."
"I'll say, we got to find Coin…"
Suddenly, a black suited man with a face mask, head wrap, and sunglasses landed in front of them like a ninja, wielding a baton-like item instead. He was obviously associated with the Golden Rhino's by the pin on his suit.
"Now who are you!?" Combo examined.
The masked man replied by withdrawing his baton and lashing it forward, yelling, "HAAH-YAH!" The baton morphed into a whip and slashed at the teens.
"Aah!" Cube yelped.
"Run for it Cube!"
He prepared to whip at them again when they dashed yet again, with more force than before. They managed to escape the wrath of the Golden Rhino's that horrifying night, but it cost them dearly…
End of Flashback…
Corn had his head down, "That's terrible… I'm sorry to hear that Combo."
Combo nodded in response.
"I gotta ask though, how did you two get separated?"
"Well, after that happened we fled Grind Square. We were convinced that they had killed Coin… and we couldn't stay there anymore knowing those guys were around. As the days went by and we wandered aimlessly, things just kinda… fell apart between us. I blame the trauma of it all. What ended up happening eventually was… She went her way, and I went mine. Then I ended up in Tokyo-to. I had no idea she did too."
Beat was resting his head in his hand, "That's crazy… I can't even begin to imagine how it was."
"It was terrible." Combo confirmed, "Those Golden Rhino's took everything from me… my friends, my turf, and my peace of mind… I never was exactly the same again after what happened."
"That's crazy." Garam stated, "That's is one-hundred percent, no doubt crazy."
Rhyth's eyes were shining from the tears that had started to overflow, eventually one streamed down her cheek.
"I'm sorry Rhyth." Combo apologized.
The innocent girl wiped it away and replied, "It's okay, it's just appalling to hear that happened to you…"
Yoyo scooted closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She put an arm around him in response.
Gum thought to herself, "Poor Combo… He's so strong, I can't imagine going through that and not having dark thoughts…" She shuddered.
Corn got to his feet, "Well… on the bright side. We took over Poison Jam, but… Cube got away. Say Combo… if we see her again, try talking to her again."
"Oh I will, definitely."
"This I guarantee everyone." Corn announced, "No matter what happens, we'll always stick together. We're a team! It's how we roll."
"That's right!" Beat affirmed.
All of the GG's agreed in unison.
"You guys are awesome." Combo replied, "This is why I enjoy being here."
"Yo, so what's the plan now yo?" Yoyo asked.
Corn pondered, "I'm thinking we'll take the rest of the night off and get some rest. As for tomorrow… we'll think of something."
"Oh, I got an idea!" Garam jumped up.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"You guys told me earlier that Rapid 99 were the ones that tricked you into that trap. If you guys wanted to like, get revenge. Tomorrow morning, bright and early would be a great time!"
"I say we do it yo!" Yoyo voted.
Corn smiled impishly, "I don't see why not. In fact, I encourage that!"
"Count me in!" Gum agreed.
"Yeah!" Beat stirred, "We need to get back at them!"
Rhyth giggled, "Sounds like fun!"
Combo stood, "Sure does!"
Corn settled everyone down, "Okay, okay. We'll do that tomorrow morning. Which means everyone needs to get to sleep."
Garam snapped his fingers victoriously, "All right, you got it!"
Everyone retired upstairs and into their respective rooms, climbing into the sack. The GG's could hardly wait to give Rapid 99 the surprise of their lives.
Author's Note:
So... confession time. ^.^
If this goes really well, I might want to come up with a sequel for this. ^_^
Since SEGA hasn't really mentioned one, or was interested.
Plus I hope this chapter wasn't too frightening or I might have to bump the rating up.
