Episode IV-- Continuation
"So where's the nearest emerald from here?"
"Looks like it's in the middle of the Black Forest," Cliff responded.
"Let me download the building info from the satellite..."
An interesting outline formed on the screen.
"Looks like a castle."
"It's Neuschwanstein," I said.
"What?" Lisa asked.
"Neuschwanstein Castle. Right near Munich."
"That's our first stop on our tour tomorrow!" Wes exclaimed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Munich, Germany-- Day 1
The crowd was twice as large and the line twice as long as I remembered.
I chalked it up to tourism. Then Lisa saw the sign.
"See the mysterious pink emerald!!!" it said.
"Well, I guess we don't need the scannerglasses this time around," I sighed.
It took two hours for us to get inside. Wes bought a drink from a vendor
about halfway up the hill. By the time we reached the top, I was wishing
I'd done the same thing.
Christie complained for 45 minutes about the abnormal summer heat.
She finally shut up when Wes surreptiously slipped an ice cube from his
drink down the back of her shirt, causing her to yelp in surprise. For
the next half an hour, she gave Wes the "okay-it-was-funny-but-I'll-
pretend- not-to-forgive-you" look.
When we finally got inside, about a hundred signs pointed us straight
to the display case. Just as an experiment I checked the scanner
glasses. Right on target.
Lisa walked up to the display case. When she rested her hand on the case,
the ring reappeared on her finger.
"Perhaps we should leave now," Vicki suggested. We did, and we checked
the wide-range scanner at a little cafe in the center of Munich. The
newspaper headlines were already reporting the theft of the
"Neuschwanstein Emerald" (at least, that's what the universal translation
dictionary said). Like it was theirs in the first place...
"What's our next stop, Cliff?" Wes asked.
"Looks like we're headed for Vienna, Austria."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vienna, Austria-- Day 2
Vienna. Home of the Waltz King and several other composers. Too
bad we couldn't do much sightseeing until we found the next ring...
I was wearing the shadescanners as we walked through town. "This
feels weird," I announced. "Around the edges of the glasses everything
looks normal... but looking through the lenses everything has a VR
look to it."
"We've got company," Jason announced.
I raised the glasses and followed his gaze down an alley. A metallic
red form stood about halfway down the alley.
"Great. Robo Knux. Just what we need."
"And now he knows we know he's here," Lisa replied.
Sure enough, he knew that we knew that he knew that... Ah, forget it.
I bolted after the robot, who booked it down the side street. I
cornered him in the alleyway.
"Congratulations," the robot began. "You've just trapped me." He ran a
metal finger along his knuckle-spikes. "Now what? You don't have
your precious armor this time around."
"No," I replied casually, "but I do have this." With that, I pulled
my lightsaber out and flipped it on. "I've learned to keep this
handy at all times."
"I have no doubt that if the robot's visual sensors (eyes, for all
you non-techies) could have widened in surprise, they would have.
"How did you manage to get _that_ through airport security?!?"
"I leave it with Sonic." That wasn't exactly true; I leave it with
Slasher as a backup in case of emergencies, but the winged raptor had
made it excruciatingly clear that she was to remain anonymous as
far as Robotnik was concerned.
"Well," the robot countered. "It appears that you have gained the
upper hand. I congratulate you. Hie eyes began to waver and ripple.
Hypnosis, I immediately thought. Sonic warned me about this. RK
will smooth talk you and distract you, while he's planning for the
kill. I sent a quick prayer to heaven for protection from the mind
control. The robot kept talking. "Not many people have done that...
especially newer foes." He paused. I was still listening, giving
every indication he had me under his spell. "But since I've been
programmed to take every possible advantage..."
The fist came out of nowhere. I whipped my lightsaber up and around,
slicing off the knuckle spikes. The six-inch daggers fell to the
ground with a clatter.
Half a second later and I would've been skewered.
"Nice try." I managed to stay calm, despite the fact that my heart
was hammering against my ribs.
The robot glared at me. "Next time," he growled. The metallic shell
encasing the robot's circuitry began to glow, and he vanished from sight.
But... how had he gotten to Earth in the first place?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Floating Island, Mobius
"Recognize these?"
Knux looked up as I chucked the two chunks of metal onto his
workbench. He did a double take, and his eyes widened.
"How'd you manage to declaw that freak?"
"A lightsaber and quick reflexes can work wonders. But this also
means that your alter ego robot is on the loose again."
"Where was he this time?"
"Vienna, Austria."
"Earth?" I nodded. "You've gotta be joking!"
"If only I were."
"Then this means that..."
I finished his sentence. "Robotnik has his own improved version of the Dimensionalizer."
To Be Concluded...
"So where's the nearest emerald from here?"
"Looks like it's in the middle of the Black Forest," Cliff responded.
"Let me download the building info from the satellite..."
An interesting outline formed on the screen.
"Looks like a castle."
"It's Neuschwanstein," I said.
"What?" Lisa asked.
"Neuschwanstein Castle. Right near Munich."
"That's our first stop on our tour tomorrow!" Wes exclaimed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Munich, Germany-- Day 1
The crowd was twice as large and the line twice as long as I remembered.
I chalked it up to tourism. Then Lisa saw the sign.
"See the mysterious pink emerald!!!" it said.
"Well, I guess we don't need the scannerglasses this time around," I sighed.
It took two hours for us to get inside. Wes bought a drink from a vendor
about halfway up the hill. By the time we reached the top, I was wishing
I'd done the same thing.
Christie complained for 45 minutes about the abnormal summer heat.
She finally shut up when Wes surreptiously slipped an ice cube from his
drink down the back of her shirt, causing her to yelp in surprise. For
the next half an hour, she gave Wes the "okay-it-was-funny-but-I'll-
pretend- not-to-forgive-you" look.
When we finally got inside, about a hundred signs pointed us straight
to the display case. Just as an experiment I checked the scanner
glasses. Right on target.
Lisa walked up to the display case. When she rested her hand on the case,
the ring reappeared on her finger.
"Perhaps we should leave now," Vicki suggested. We did, and we checked
the wide-range scanner at a little cafe in the center of Munich. The
newspaper headlines were already reporting the theft of the
"Neuschwanstein Emerald" (at least, that's what the universal translation
dictionary said). Like it was theirs in the first place...
"What's our next stop, Cliff?" Wes asked.
"Looks like we're headed for Vienna, Austria."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vienna, Austria-- Day 2
Vienna. Home of the Waltz King and several other composers. Too
bad we couldn't do much sightseeing until we found the next ring...
I was wearing the shadescanners as we walked through town. "This
feels weird," I announced. "Around the edges of the glasses everything
looks normal... but looking through the lenses everything has a VR
look to it."
"We've got company," Jason announced.
I raised the glasses and followed his gaze down an alley. A metallic
red form stood about halfway down the alley.
"Great. Robo Knux. Just what we need."
"And now he knows we know he's here," Lisa replied.
Sure enough, he knew that we knew that he knew that... Ah, forget it.
I bolted after the robot, who booked it down the side street. I
cornered him in the alleyway.
"Congratulations," the robot began. "You've just trapped me." He ran a
metal finger along his knuckle-spikes. "Now what? You don't have
your precious armor this time around."
"No," I replied casually, "but I do have this." With that, I pulled
my lightsaber out and flipped it on. "I've learned to keep this
handy at all times."
"I have no doubt that if the robot's visual sensors (eyes, for all
you non-techies) could have widened in surprise, they would have.
"How did you manage to get _that_ through airport security?!?"
"I leave it with Sonic." That wasn't exactly true; I leave it with
Slasher as a backup in case of emergencies, but the winged raptor had
made it excruciatingly clear that she was to remain anonymous as
far as Robotnik was concerned.
"Well," the robot countered. "It appears that you have gained the
upper hand. I congratulate you. Hie eyes began to waver and ripple.
Hypnosis, I immediately thought. Sonic warned me about this. RK
will smooth talk you and distract you, while he's planning for the
kill. I sent a quick prayer to heaven for protection from the mind
control. The robot kept talking. "Not many people have done that...
especially newer foes." He paused. I was still listening, giving
every indication he had me under his spell. "But since I've been
programmed to take every possible advantage..."
The fist came out of nowhere. I whipped my lightsaber up and around,
slicing off the knuckle spikes. The six-inch daggers fell to the
ground with a clatter.
Half a second later and I would've been skewered.
"Nice try." I managed to stay calm, despite the fact that my heart
was hammering against my ribs.
The robot glared at me. "Next time," he growled. The metallic shell
encasing the robot's circuitry began to glow, and he vanished from sight.
But... how had he gotten to Earth in the first place?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Floating Island, Mobius
"Recognize these?"
Knux looked up as I chucked the two chunks of metal onto his
workbench. He did a double take, and his eyes widened.
"How'd you manage to declaw that freak?"
"A lightsaber and quick reflexes can work wonders. But this also
means that your alter ego robot is on the loose again."
"Where was he this time?"
"Vienna, Austria."
"Earth?" I nodded. "You've gotta be joking!"
"If only I were."
"Then this means that..."
I finished his sentence. "Robotnik has his own improved version of the Dimensionalizer."
To Be Concluded...