Chapter 06 - Don't Go Out Alone
(Thank you for r+ring the last chapter. Please repeat for this one! I don't own JSR or associated characters, however I do own Amy.)
The next morning Gum walked back through the garage door, hand in hand
with Beat, and froze as she saw Amy sitting on the sofa.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
Amy swallowed. "Um - watching TV? Breathing?"
"Very funny." Gum skated across to her. "You remember our last
conversation?"
"Yes. And I did it. I put a tag on the clock."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, really," Amy snapped. She knew Gum had put that 'liar' tone in
her voice on purpose. "Go and check if you don't believe me."
"What does it matter?" Beat asked, looking from one girl to the other.
"Amy does enough tagging as it is -"
"It matters," Gum said, "because we had a little bet. If she couldn't do
it, she'd quit."
"What? Quit the GGs?"
"Yes." Amy stood up. "But I did do it, so I can stay, right?"
"What did you go making a bet like that for?" Beat asked.
Neither girl answered him.
"Anyway," Amy said at last, "you promised that if I did it, you'd stop
going on at me and accept me as a member. So start keeping that promise."
"What is with you?" Tab asked Gum. "You're acting crazy."
"Oh, keep your nose out," she retorted, then turned back to Amy. "Fine,
schoolgirl rudie. I'll accept you as a member. Okay? You are now a GG. But
that's all. Just because you're in this team doesn't mean I have to like you."
"Same here," Amy replied coolly. She met Gum's eyes, silently daring
the other girl to make any more trouble.
"Well, come on," Beat said. "Let's get moving, shall we?"
"Yeah," Tab said. "Amy, we've got Shibuya to deal with." Amy got to
her feet and accompanied Tab out of the garage, but she held Gum's stare until
the door hid her from view.
Piranha didn't know how she'd ended up going out tagging with Garam, but
she wasn't going to put up with it. As they skated through Kogane-cho, she
moved faster and faster, quickening her pace in time to 'Sweet Soul Brother,'
until Garam had been left far behind.
Piranha jumped onto the roofs of Kogane-cho residential area, and
began tagging, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on her back. It was nice just
to be able to get out and do something for once. Keeping busy took her mind
off Garam. She would never have admitted it to him, but deep, deep down -
she did miss him. Sort of.
The music was very quiet. Piranha knew she'd be okay if anything
happened. She could fight against it. She was no wimp.
She focused on her tag, narrowing her eyes as the paint spattered over
the sunbleached roof. Soon she'd finished, and she grinned at it, satisfied. A
flicker of happiness burned in her throat, and she soaked up the sun, trying to
keep the feeling alive.
She reached for her paint can. It wasn't there.
The roofs had vanished. She was sitting on dusty ground. Her tag had
gone. Her paint had gone. What had happened?
Suddenly someone's foot slammed into her ribs, and she cried out.
She was knocked face-down into the dust. Coughing and spitting it out,
she sat up and realised she was in Kogane factory yard. Three Poison Jammers
were surrounding her.
"What's going on?" she said. "How did I get here?"
"Don't try and act innocent," growled one of the Jammers, kicking her
again. "You traitor!"
"What? What have I done?" Piranha's voice shook and she tried to
steady it.
Another Jammer hauled her to her feet and dragged her across the yard.
"Take a look at that!" he snarled, shoving her against the wall.
Piranha swallowed and stared at the Golden Rhino tag that was smeared
across the bricks.
"So?" she said, her heart sinking.
"Oh, stop pretending," said the third Jammer. "We saw you. God, you
GGs act so clever...and then you go over to the Rhinos..."
"No, I didn't," Piranha snapped. "It was the music, okay? The music is
mind-controlling -"
"Oh, sure it is," said a Jammer. "That's what your boyfriend was
saying, and we all know what he's like. Quit trying to fool us."
Piranha's mouth dropped open.
"You went all round Kogane-cho, putting dem Rhino tags everywhere.
You are a sucky rudie, you know that?"
"Shut up!" Piranha yelled. "Just quit picking on me!" To her horror,
she felt tears stinging her eyes. Was it the mention of Garam that had done it?
One of the Jammers grabbed her wrists and started dragging her towards
the factory. "We don't like girls who start putting tags like that in our turf."
"Yeah. We don't like girls who're traitors to being rudies."
Piranha struggled desperately, but the clawed hands gripping her were
like stone.
"We don't like girls who tell lies."
Piranha threw caution to the winds. "Help!" she screamed. "Someone
help me!" At the same time she kicked the Jammer holding her in the groin as
hard as she could. He groaned and doubled up, letting go of her, but another
one caught her as she tried to run. He punched her, hard, and she stumbled.
The factory grounds were empty. Piranha kicked, scratched, bit,
desperately trying to get away, screaming for help, hearing her voice echo over
the empty paths.
The Jammer holding her dragged her into the cool factory and flung her
onto the ground. The other two came to stand over her, a solid wall of flesh
blocking the door.
They advanced on her. She wriggled backwards, desperately trying to
think of something, anything, to save her, but no good. She was trapped.
Hands grabbed her, the claws brushing her skin. There was a tearing
sound, and she felt icy air hit her skin as they ripped her top off. Throwing one
arm up to protect her breasts, she tried to dash forward once again, but a
melon-sized fist caught her stomach and bowled her back into the factory.
"Leave her alone."
A cold, familiar voice spat out three words.
The Jammers stopped, and turned.
Garam stood there, rigid with rage against the sunset.
"What're you gonna do about it, GG?" one of the Jammers sneered.
"Just leave her."
"She tagged Rhino pictures," muttered the Jammer Piranha had kicked.
He was still doubled over a little.
"Then you leave me no choice," Garam said. He stepped back a little
and shouted, "You're nothing but a bunch of wimps!"
Then he ran.
The Jammers tore after him, snarling with rage. Piranha knelt on the
floor of the factory, crossing her arms over herself, wanting to escape but not
knowing whether she should do something for Garam...
Suddenly Garam dashed into the factory and called to her. "Run!"
Piranha wasted no time. She ran.
They climbed the pile of old cars, Piranha's legs aching as she struggled
to negotiate the wobbly surface. Soon they'd reached the path, and then they
began to dash, hurrying to the path leading to the residential area, hearing the
shouts of the Jammers behind them.
"Hurry!" Garam called to her. They zigzagged round the bends, leapt
onto the rooftops. Piranha tried to ignore the thought that was saying, I'd kill
for a bra...
Faster and faster...
And at last Garam said, "I think we can stop now. We lost 'em."
Piranha looked around. They were in an alleyway in the residential
district. Garam was watching her, but when she met his eyes he looked away.
"Thank you..." she said.
"That's okay."
"Garam, I -"
"I said, that's okay."
He was being so cold. For the first time since their fight Piranha wanted
to make him be warm to her again.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "Did those jerks hurt you?"
"Not really." Piranha blushed as his eyes skated over her. "I don't
suppose you got a spare shirt on you, huh?"
Garam grinned slightly. "Sorry. If I had one I'd give it to ya, though.
Let's get back."
Piranha nodded. She noticed that as they began to walk, Garam kept
close to her, and when she stumbled, he caught her arm. She expected to feel
terrified as his hand grabbed her wrist, but she didn't - there was no rage in his
grip. She could almost imagine him not hurting her. Almost.
She looked over at him. He wasn't studying her or anything; instead he
was focusing on the ground. For the first time Piranha felt a little guilty about
being so angry with him. If he'd hit her of his own free will, then fine - but it
hadn't been that. He'd been a victim of mind control, just like her. The
Jammers hadn't believed her, and she hadn't believed him.
"You'd better keep your arms crossed," Garam said. "Else the people
round here'll think you're - uh - a lady my mama wouldn't want me to be
hanging out with."
Piranha grinned. "Don't tell me you haven't seen this sort of thing
before."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He sounded tense.
"Oh, come on." Piranha felt slightly embarrassed, but told herself not
to. He was a guy, after all. "You're hardly pure as driven snow, are you?"
"Then what do you think I am?" Garam snapped.
"Garam, I'm sorry..." she began.
He sighed. "Don't be. You're right, I guess. I'm not exactly a saint. I
tried to be a nice guy, but I don't think I'm cut out for it."
"If you weren't a nice guy, you wouldn't be helping me now. You
could have ignored me, or you could have just led the Jammers away and left
me to get out on my own."
"You've changed your tune. So I'm not a thug any more, am I?"
She didn't meet his eyes. "No."
"Thanks for that."
Piranha looked at him, seeing the hurt in his posture and eyes. She put
her arms round him, and kissed him. It was the best thing that had happened all
day.
The room is darker now. The figures are no longer so dormant.
"So tell me." A voice parched from frequent smoke inhalation breaks
the silence. "What does he want us to do?"
"According to this e-mail, we're only to go after one sort of rudie." This
speaker is letting his whip fly out around the room, twisting and turning in a
controlled dance. "Members of this gang the GGs. They're the ones we all
came up against before."
"Oh, good," purrs a third voice as its owner smirks. "It'll be a blast. So
how do we recognise these punks?"
"Apparently they look just like normal regular kids, but with skates. No
set uniform or anything." The man catches the end of his whip and recoils it.
"So you see a skater, you smash 'em."
"Sounds easy enough," grunts another man as sparks flicker in the air
around him.
The last speaker clears his throat, and when the others are silent says
simply, "Don't forget. Just rough them up a little. Except for one."
"Hee...the lucky winner..."
"Yep. One rudie has to disappear."
"Oh, come on, give us a break. We got the plan. We got the strategy.
We got the flamethrowers..."
"Then, gentlemen, let us proceed."
Footsteps. Soon the room is empty. The evil has left it.
The streets are not the place to be.
Five figures reached the street outside the Rokkaku HQ, and climbed into a
long black limousine. The air chilled as the car slunk through the traffic, and
the shadows got sharper.
"Tab, what is it?" Amy said. She was wearing his skates, and letting
him lead her along the bus terminal pavement.
Tab shrugged. "I dunno. It's just...something's strange..."
"Something's wrong," Beat said, stopping dead in the middle of the half-pipe.
"It - it feels like..."
"A storm." The wind picked up, flicking Gum's blonde hair around her
face. "There's gonna be a storm..."
"I think we ought to get back," Garam said to Piranha as the shadows they
stood in grew colder.
Piranha shivered. "Let's. It's freezing out here..."
"Where's the sun gone?" Mew glanced up at the sky above the Benten
skyscrapers. It was becoming darker and darker.
"Don't ask me." Yo-Yo's face had lost its annoying grin for once. He
was slightly pale. "But I don't like it out here..."
"Is it just me, or did you hear thunder?" Slate asked Combo and Cube.
"Yeah...I think we should get under cover." Combo looked over at
Cube.
She was bone-white. "You guys...I'm scared...this seems familiar. I
think - I think something bad is going to happen..."
A huge clap of thunder tore open the air.
And the assassins struck.
In the bus terminal an explosion rocked the ground. Amy turned, and
saw, through the smoke filling the area, a figure clutching two flaming
bottles...his arm drew back to throw them...
"Run!" Tab yelled. He grabbed Amy's arm and started to dash. Amy,
still wearing the skates, could do nothing but let him wheel her along and
desperately try and keep her balance.
BANG. Amy stumbled, coughing as sharp smoke surrounded her. Her
eyes watered. Through the tears she saw Tab turn, grab her hand again and
pull her onwards.
"It's no good..." she choked.
"Don't...be dumb..." Tab was coughing as well. "Move it!"
BANG.
Amy was thrown off her feet. She screamed, and then closed her eyes
as the side of a bus rushed towards her.
"Come on," Beat said to Gum. "The air's all static."
"It's okay, it's not the highest point here...we're pretty much safe in the
half-pipe..."
She heard a crackling.
"Huh?" She could feel her hair rising up, even under her helmet. She
nervously touched Beat's arm, and yelped as a shock bit her fingers. "What's
going on?"
As they headed towards the bend in the half-pipe, the static got worse.
Jet Set Radio started to stagger. Gum's nose itched as individual strands of
hair flicked past it.
They turned the corner.
A glittering figure stood there, sparks wreathing him like a cage.
"Uh-oh..." she heard Beat gulp.
Gum looked back down the half-pipe. It was a dead-end. Typical, she
thought, mind racing. Sometimes I think this is all just happening for other
people's amusement.
The figure raised an arm. Gum swallowed back fear. "We're gonna
have to rush him or something," she whispered to Beat.
"No...maybe he won't be able to hit us with that stuff...if we're
careful...Just stay away from him."
Lightning flashed in the sky. Gum could hear static humming in her
ears. The whole world seemed charged.
Two strings of electricity leapt from the cage. Towards the two GGs.
Gum felt a massive force shove her as the sparks hit. She saw Beat
shudder, then fall to the ground, and wanted to help him, but everything was
fading...she could smell burning...
She closed her eyes and let unconsciousness cope with life for a bit.
Garam blinked. What was that sound? A sort of tearing, hissing, melting
sound...
A familiar sound.
"Piranha, run!" he called.
"What? What's that noise?"
"Flamethrowers! And there's only one person I know who'd have a
flamethrower, and it ain't Santa Claus -"
"You're right there, GG." A figure stepped round the corner. "That
your girl? Looks like she's been baked enough already...we don't want to
overcook her. Not!"
"You get away from her," Garam shouted, boiling with rage. "You just
leave her alone!"
"What if I don't?" The figure's voice was low and teasing. A tongue of
flame leapt from the object he held in his hand. Garam felt the heat on his face.
"Garam, run!" Piranha said from behind him.
"Let the little lady come to me," laughed the figure, twirling the flames
in the air. Smoke stung Garam's eyes. "It's so nice of you to take your top
off," he murmured to Piranha. "Burning through cloth is a bit of a waste...it's
much easier just to go straight onto the skin."
"I said, leave her alone," Garam said, fighting not to think about Piranha
burning, Piranha screaming, Piranha dead...
The figure advanced. "In your dreams, GG."
Garam rushed forward, temper lost, desperate to protect his girl...the
flamethrower swung, and its body caught Garam on the head. As pain
exploded through his brain and he began to black out, he heard Piranha scream.
"Mew, look out!" Yo-Yo grabbed Mew's wrist and dragged her down as
bullets peppered the side of the walkway.
"What's going on?" Mew gasped.
"Look!"
They glanced upwards, and saw a huge batlike figure silhouetted against
the sky.
"That looks familiar..." groaned Mew.
"Yeah, it's Batman!"
"No, you prat, it's Assassin Number 2! Let's get out of here!"
Another bullet struck the wall behind them.
"Oh, man..." Yo-Yo muttered.
"Crawling might be a good idea." Mew started to wriggle forward.
"No, Mew, watch out -"
Mew was thrown forward by the bullet striking her.
"Mew!" Forgetting the danger, Yo-Yo stood up and dashed towards
her. He didn't notice the Assassin coming up behind him until a wingtip
caught him on the head and bowled him into darkness.
Cube heard the crack of a whip, and looked round Benten Square. Iciness
covered her heart as a familiar figure leapt down from one of the buildings to
land in front of them.
"I remember you," he snarled. "You're one of those Bantam Street
pests. This time you're not getting away!"
The whip swung. Cube dived out of the way, and it smashed onto the
sidewalk. She saw Combo and Slate, both tagging some distance away, and
yelled, "You guys, run!"
CRACK. The whip caught her collarbone. She heard it break. Sick
pain began to strangle her. She staggered...
"Cube!" She felt Combo grab her arm, and shrieked as he jarred the
broken bone. Combo swung her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift, then
began to dash. Cube looked back, tears forcing themselves from her eyes. The
Assassin was chasing them. She saw Slate dashing up behind him, saw the
Assassin turn, whip following his movements like a snake...saw it catch Slate
across the face, and send him spinning back across the square...saw their
pursuer catch up with them. She was slowing Combo down...
"It hurts..." she gasped. She tried not to think about the pain, but it kept
pushing its way back into her thoughts.
"It's no good..." groaned Combo. "Sorry, kid..."
CRACK.
The whip knocked Combo's feet from under him. Cube fell to the
ground, crying out as it hit the fracture. Combo threw himself over her, trying
to protect her, as the whip beat down on them both.
Combo grunted as the Assassin's foot caught him in the face. "Give up,
rudie," the man taunted.
Combo fell, face bleeding. Before Cube could get to him, the whip
struck her again, and the pain roared over her and dragged her into oblivion.
Tab watched as Amy hit the side of the bus and crumpled like a dead moth.
She dropped to the ground, and Tab yelled her name without even realising it.
He was dashing over to her when he heard footsteps, and a snigger.
Looked round, and saw the Assassin bearing down on him, one hand clutching
a flaming bottle.
He's gonna hit me with that, Tab thought, his mind surveying the scene
calmly, and I'm gonna die.
He threw his hands up in front of his face as the flames approached -
The Assassin stopped. He leaned closer to Tab, and whispered in a
voice whose owner just knew he was the cleverest thing alive, "Scared ya,
didn't I, rudie? I haven't been told to rub you all out this time, so I guess you
got lucky. But next time, I'm gonna make sure none of you punks are left
alive."
And then he turned and walked away.
For a few moments Tab just sat there. Then he got up, and wriggled
across to Amy.
He sat with her for a time he couldn't measure, not knowing what to do.
He wondered if this was what shock felt like.
Eventually, she blinked, and opened her eyes.
"Ohhh...what's happening?"
"It's okay," Tab said, throat dry from the smoke. "He's gone. He's
gone."
Amy shivered. "But who was it?"
"One of the Assassins. One of the Golden Rhino Assassins."
"Do you think Koji was on to us?" Amy said.
"I don't know."
"What about the others?"
Tab swallowed, suddenly remembering that all the people he had in the
world were out there - somewhere - and -
"We've got to find them," he gasped. "Give me my skates back. We'll
check out the garage, and then go search the streets."
They hurried through Shibuya, the shadows widening as the sky clouded
over.
The garage was empty. Tab noticed Amy's head was bleeding, and
made her sit down.
"I'll go look myself," he said.
"But I'll be fine..."
"No, you stay there, okay? I think you should see a doctor for that, but
you just stay there! We don't know where they've gone, and I'm the one not
hurt."
"If you insist," Amy said, and leant back on the sofa. She was holding a
tea towel to her head, and Tab could see it slowly beginning to turn deep red.
"Just don't panic or anything," he said, hurrying to the door. "And if the
Assassins come here - uh - call - uh - call anyone!"
And then he dashed out.
Amy closed her eyes, trying to keep calm. But slowly the fear oozed back, and
she began to tremble without even wanting to.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Amy froze. If they'd come back to finish her...
The person knocked again, and a voice called, "Is...is anyone there?"
Amy recognised it. She got up and opened the door.
Slate, Cube and Combo were outside. Slate had a vicious cut down the
side of his face, Combo a faceful of bruises and blood, and Cube was
unconscious.
"Assassins?" Amy said.
"You got it. Where is everyone?" Slate looked round the garage.
Amy shrugged. She was so tired... "Out in the streets. Tab's gone to
look for them. What's happened to Cube?"
"I think he broke her shoulder or something," Combo said, the words
angry. "Pain made her faint. Thought he was gonna finish us off too, but he
just ran after he hurt her."
Combo carefully laid Cube down on the sofa. She cried out as he did
so, and opened her eyes.
"Don't worry," Slate said. "We're gonna get you to hospital soon as we
know the streets are safe."
Cube blinked, and Amy saw tears on her pale skin.
"It was...it was Assassin #5, wasn't it?" Cube said. Her voice was very
quiet.
"Yep."
"They really are back."
"Yep."
Cube closed her eyes. "I'm not being chicken," she said. "I'll be fine.
I'm just a little - uh - freaked out, I guess..."
"We all are," Amy said.
"Yeah. I nearly had a heart attack when he leapt off that building,"
Combo said. "So don't worry."
"All the others are out there?" Slate said.
"Yeah." Amy felt blood soaking through to her fingertips. "And I don't
know if any of them are okay."
Tab skated through Shibuya, trying to keep a cool head. He'd met Mew and
Yo-Yo staggering in from Benten, Yo-Yo dizzily supporting Mew, whose arm
had been soaked with blood. They'd been making for the garage. So he'd
headed on to find the other four.
Garam and Piranha were in Kogane as far as anybody knew. But Beat
and Gum were in Shibuya. Which meant he could come across them at any
moment.
Tab allowed himself to consider the possibility that they might be dead.
It frightened him. They were his oldest friends. The thought of having to cope
with their loss made him feel like he wanted to hide. Skating now, knowing he
might come across them at any moment...or what was left of them...no, they
couldn't be dead, they just couldn't.
He'd reached the halfpipe. Little spats of rain were beginning to speckle
the ground as he jumped into it.
He skated for quite some time before he found them. Beat was lying
like he was asleep. Gum was sitting up, staring at him, eyes unfocused.
"Gum?" Tab went nervously nearer. "Are you all right?"
"Assassins..." Gum said, her voice shaking. She was very pale, and
Tab could see sweat shining on her face.
"It's okay," Tab said. "They've gone." He dropped down next to her.
Her breathing was very fast.
"I'm scared..."
She'll never admit this when she's over it, Tab thought. "Don't worry.
We'll get you back to the garage."
Gum wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Tab saw with a jolt
that the sleeve of her left arm was burnt away, and her skin was raw and
blistered.
"What about Beat?" she whispered.
"We'll help him, too." How, Tab wasn't quite sure. He didn't want to
send Gum back to the garage on her own - she was in no state to skate - but on
the other hand he didn't want to leave Beat. Both of them, he could see, had
been burnt somehow - Beat on his right shoulder and upper arm - and, unlike
Combo, Tab wasn't strong enough to carry either of them. Especially not out
of a halfpipe.
But they were both breathing, which had to be a good thing.
"I'll go find a phone box," he said at last. "Will you be okay here on
your own?"
Gum nodded, but she didn't look okay.
"Don't worry," Tab said. "I'm here now, it's all gonna be fine."
Gum grinned slightly. "SuperTab to the rescue, huh?"
"Something like that." He got to his feet and headed off towards the
gate up to the street.
He located a phone box and made a 911 call, then headed back to the
half pipe. Gum's head had fallen forward, and she looked drained.
"I called an ambulance," Tab said. "You better get your skates and
helmet off. Try and look not like a rudie."
She must be suffering from shock, he thought, as Gum slowly began to
undo her skates. He began to take off Beat's, and said, "What'll you tell the
ambulance guys?"
"I don't know. If the Rhinos are - are back, people should know. But I
don't think they'll believe us...and we aren't supposed to be down here
anyway."
"Just act like you can't remember, then," Tab said. He picked up Gum's
skates and helmet, and Beat's skates, goggles and headphones. "I'll hide these
further down."
When he came back, two paramedics had reached the halfpipe and were
loading the two rudies onto stretchers. Tab ducked back out of sight. When
they'd been taken out of the halfpipe up to the ambulance, he waited a few
minutes, then climbed out himself.
Garam and Piranha. Were they still out there?
He decided to head back to the garage and see what had happened to
everyone.
The streets were really dark now. Although it was only eleven in the
morning, it looked like dusk. A few people hurried by, hair whipped by the
wind, faces crumpled against the rain. The streets were getting quieter and
quieter, the only sound the rain puddling on the ground.
Tab reached the garage. Praying that all the others would be back there,
he opened the door, and stared round.
Cube. Slate. Combo. Amy. Mew. Yo-Yo. But no Garam or Piranha.
Where were they?
Tab admitted to himself that he was scared.
"Are the others okay?" Mew asked. Someone had bandaged her arm
with a towel, but it was bleeding still.
"Beat and Gum are in hospital. I don't know about Garam and Piranha.
Look, we need to get down to casualty. I haven't seen any of the Assassins - I
guess they must have gone to ground. Who's damaged, Amy?"
His girlfriend looked round the room. "Cube's broken her
collarbone...Mew's got a bullet in the arm...Yo-Yo and I got cuts on the
head...Combo and Slate are mainly bruised."
"Okay, then. We'll start heading down there in -"
The door flew open behind him.
Garam stood there, soaked to the skin, blood trickling down his face, his
chest rising and falling as he struggled to breathe.
"Garam, are you okay?" Mew gasped.
Garam shook his head. He was trembling.
"What's happened?" Slate said. "Where's Piranha?"
Garam was clutching something in his hand. He let it drop to the
ground. It was scorched and smoke-blackened, but they all recognised it.
Piranha's goggles.
"She's -" Garam swallowed. His voice was clouded with tears. "They
got her. I got knocked out - when I woke up, they'd gone - all gone - only this
left - they - Piranha is..."
His voice broke, but he raised his head and looked round them all.
"Piranha is dead."
(Thank you for r+ring the last chapter. Please repeat for this one! I don't own JSR or associated characters, however I do own Amy.)
The next morning Gum walked back through the garage door, hand in hand
with Beat, and froze as she saw Amy sitting on the sofa.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
Amy swallowed. "Um - watching TV? Breathing?"
"Very funny." Gum skated across to her. "You remember our last
conversation?"
"Yes. And I did it. I put a tag on the clock."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, really," Amy snapped. She knew Gum had put that 'liar' tone in
her voice on purpose. "Go and check if you don't believe me."
"What does it matter?" Beat asked, looking from one girl to the other.
"Amy does enough tagging as it is -"
"It matters," Gum said, "because we had a little bet. If she couldn't do
it, she'd quit."
"What? Quit the GGs?"
"Yes." Amy stood up. "But I did do it, so I can stay, right?"
"What did you go making a bet like that for?" Beat asked.
Neither girl answered him.
"Anyway," Amy said at last, "you promised that if I did it, you'd stop
going on at me and accept me as a member. So start keeping that promise."
"What is with you?" Tab asked Gum. "You're acting crazy."
"Oh, keep your nose out," she retorted, then turned back to Amy. "Fine,
schoolgirl rudie. I'll accept you as a member. Okay? You are now a GG. But
that's all. Just because you're in this team doesn't mean I have to like you."
"Same here," Amy replied coolly. She met Gum's eyes, silently daring
the other girl to make any more trouble.
"Well, come on," Beat said. "Let's get moving, shall we?"
"Yeah," Tab said. "Amy, we've got Shibuya to deal with." Amy got to
her feet and accompanied Tab out of the garage, but she held Gum's stare until
the door hid her from view.
Piranha didn't know how she'd ended up going out tagging with Garam, but
she wasn't going to put up with it. As they skated through Kogane-cho, she
moved faster and faster, quickening her pace in time to 'Sweet Soul Brother,'
until Garam had been left far behind.
Piranha jumped onto the roofs of Kogane-cho residential area, and
began tagging, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on her back. It was nice just
to be able to get out and do something for once. Keeping busy took her mind
off Garam. She would never have admitted it to him, but deep, deep down -
she did miss him. Sort of.
The music was very quiet. Piranha knew she'd be okay if anything
happened. She could fight against it. She was no wimp.
She focused on her tag, narrowing her eyes as the paint spattered over
the sunbleached roof. Soon she'd finished, and she grinned at it, satisfied. A
flicker of happiness burned in her throat, and she soaked up the sun, trying to
keep the feeling alive.
She reached for her paint can. It wasn't there.
The roofs had vanished. She was sitting on dusty ground. Her tag had
gone. Her paint had gone. What had happened?
Suddenly someone's foot slammed into her ribs, and she cried out.
She was knocked face-down into the dust. Coughing and spitting it out,
she sat up and realised she was in Kogane factory yard. Three Poison Jammers
were surrounding her.
"What's going on?" she said. "How did I get here?"
"Don't try and act innocent," growled one of the Jammers, kicking her
again. "You traitor!"
"What? What have I done?" Piranha's voice shook and she tried to
steady it.
Another Jammer hauled her to her feet and dragged her across the yard.
"Take a look at that!" he snarled, shoving her against the wall.
Piranha swallowed and stared at the Golden Rhino tag that was smeared
across the bricks.
"So?" she said, her heart sinking.
"Oh, stop pretending," said the third Jammer. "We saw you. God, you
GGs act so clever...and then you go over to the Rhinos..."
"No, I didn't," Piranha snapped. "It was the music, okay? The music is
mind-controlling -"
"Oh, sure it is," said a Jammer. "That's what your boyfriend was
saying, and we all know what he's like. Quit trying to fool us."
Piranha's mouth dropped open.
"You went all round Kogane-cho, putting dem Rhino tags everywhere.
You are a sucky rudie, you know that?"
"Shut up!" Piranha yelled. "Just quit picking on me!" To her horror,
she felt tears stinging her eyes. Was it the mention of Garam that had done it?
One of the Jammers grabbed her wrists and started dragging her towards
the factory. "We don't like girls who start putting tags like that in our turf."
"Yeah. We don't like girls who're traitors to being rudies."
Piranha struggled desperately, but the clawed hands gripping her were
like stone.
"We don't like girls who tell lies."
Piranha threw caution to the winds. "Help!" she screamed. "Someone
help me!" At the same time she kicked the Jammer holding her in the groin as
hard as she could. He groaned and doubled up, letting go of her, but another
one caught her as she tried to run. He punched her, hard, and she stumbled.
The factory grounds were empty. Piranha kicked, scratched, bit,
desperately trying to get away, screaming for help, hearing her voice echo over
the empty paths.
The Jammer holding her dragged her into the cool factory and flung her
onto the ground. The other two came to stand over her, a solid wall of flesh
blocking the door.
They advanced on her. She wriggled backwards, desperately trying to
think of something, anything, to save her, but no good. She was trapped.
Hands grabbed her, the claws brushing her skin. There was a tearing
sound, and she felt icy air hit her skin as they ripped her top off. Throwing one
arm up to protect her breasts, she tried to dash forward once again, but a
melon-sized fist caught her stomach and bowled her back into the factory.
"Leave her alone."
A cold, familiar voice spat out three words.
The Jammers stopped, and turned.
Garam stood there, rigid with rage against the sunset.
"What're you gonna do about it, GG?" one of the Jammers sneered.
"Just leave her."
"She tagged Rhino pictures," muttered the Jammer Piranha had kicked.
He was still doubled over a little.
"Then you leave me no choice," Garam said. He stepped back a little
and shouted, "You're nothing but a bunch of wimps!"
Then he ran.
The Jammers tore after him, snarling with rage. Piranha knelt on the
floor of the factory, crossing her arms over herself, wanting to escape but not
knowing whether she should do something for Garam...
Suddenly Garam dashed into the factory and called to her. "Run!"
Piranha wasted no time. She ran.
They climbed the pile of old cars, Piranha's legs aching as she struggled
to negotiate the wobbly surface. Soon they'd reached the path, and then they
began to dash, hurrying to the path leading to the residential area, hearing the
shouts of the Jammers behind them.
"Hurry!" Garam called to her. They zigzagged round the bends, leapt
onto the rooftops. Piranha tried to ignore the thought that was saying, I'd kill
for a bra...
Faster and faster...
And at last Garam said, "I think we can stop now. We lost 'em."
Piranha looked around. They were in an alleyway in the residential
district. Garam was watching her, but when she met his eyes he looked away.
"Thank you..." she said.
"That's okay."
"Garam, I -"
"I said, that's okay."
He was being so cold. For the first time since their fight Piranha wanted
to make him be warm to her again.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "Did those jerks hurt you?"
"Not really." Piranha blushed as his eyes skated over her. "I don't
suppose you got a spare shirt on you, huh?"
Garam grinned slightly. "Sorry. If I had one I'd give it to ya, though.
Let's get back."
Piranha nodded. She noticed that as they began to walk, Garam kept
close to her, and when she stumbled, he caught her arm. She expected to feel
terrified as his hand grabbed her wrist, but she didn't - there was no rage in his
grip. She could almost imagine him not hurting her. Almost.
She looked over at him. He wasn't studying her or anything; instead he
was focusing on the ground. For the first time Piranha felt a little guilty about
being so angry with him. If he'd hit her of his own free will, then fine - but it
hadn't been that. He'd been a victim of mind control, just like her. The
Jammers hadn't believed her, and she hadn't believed him.
"You'd better keep your arms crossed," Garam said. "Else the people
round here'll think you're - uh - a lady my mama wouldn't want me to be
hanging out with."
Piranha grinned. "Don't tell me you haven't seen this sort of thing
before."
"What's that supposed to mean?" He sounded tense.
"Oh, come on." Piranha felt slightly embarrassed, but told herself not
to. He was a guy, after all. "You're hardly pure as driven snow, are you?"
"Then what do you think I am?" Garam snapped.
"Garam, I'm sorry..." she began.
He sighed. "Don't be. You're right, I guess. I'm not exactly a saint. I
tried to be a nice guy, but I don't think I'm cut out for it."
"If you weren't a nice guy, you wouldn't be helping me now. You
could have ignored me, or you could have just led the Jammers away and left
me to get out on my own."
"You've changed your tune. So I'm not a thug any more, am I?"
She didn't meet his eyes. "No."
"Thanks for that."
Piranha looked at him, seeing the hurt in his posture and eyes. She put
her arms round him, and kissed him. It was the best thing that had happened all
day.
The room is darker now. The figures are no longer so dormant.
"So tell me." A voice parched from frequent smoke inhalation breaks
the silence. "What does he want us to do?"
"According to this e-mail, we're only to go after one sort of rudie." This
speaker is letting his whip fly out around the room, twisting and turning in a
controlled dance. "Members of this gang the GGs. They're the ones we all
came up against before."
"Oh, good," purrs a third voice as its owner smirks. "It'll be a blast. So
how do we recognise these punks?"
"Apparently they look just like normal regular kids, but with skates. No
set uniform or anything." The man catches the end of his whip and recoils it.
"So you see a skater, you smash 'em."
"Sounds easy enough," grunts another man as sparks flicker in the air
around him.
The last speaker clears his throat, and when the others are silent says
simply, "Don't forget. Just rough them up a little. Except for one."
"Hee...the lucky winner..."
"Yep. One rudie has to disappear."
"Oh, come on, give us a break. We got the plan. We got the strategy.
We got the flamethrowers..."
"Then, gentlemen, let us proceed."
Footsteps. Soon the room is empty. The evil has left it.
The streets are not the place to be.
Five figures reached the street outside the Rokkaku HQ, and climbed into a
long black limousine. The air chilled as the car slunk through the traffic, and
the shadows got sharper.
"Tab, what is it?" Amy said. She was wearing his skates, and letting
him lead her along the bus terminal pavement.
Tab shrugged. "I dunno. It's just...something's strange..."
"Something's wrong," Beat said, stopping dead in the middle of the half-pipe.
"It - it feels like..."
"A storm." The wind picked up, flicking Gum's blonde hair around her
face. "There's gonna be a storm..."
"I think we ought to get back," Garam said to Piranha as the shadows they
stood in grew colder.
Piranha shivered. "Let's. It's freezing out here..."
"Where's the sun gone?" Mew glanced up at the sky above the Benten
skyscrapers. It was becoming darker and darker.
"Don't ask me." Yo-Yo's face had lost its annoying grin for once. He
was slightly pale. "But I don't like it out here..."
"Is it just me, or did you hear thunder?" Slate asked Combo and Cube.
"Yeah...I think we should get under cover." Combo looked over at
Cube.
She was bone-white. "You guys...I'm scared...this seems familiar. I
think - I think something bad is going to happen..."
A huge clap of thunder tore open the air.
And the assassins struck.
In the bus terminal an explosion rocked the ground. Amy turned, and
saw, through the smoke filling the area, a figure clutching two flaming
bottles...his arm drew back to throw them...
"Run!" Tab yelled. He grabbed Amy's arm and started to dash. Amy,
still wearing the skates, could do nothing but let him wheel her along and
desperately try and keep her balance.
BANG. Amy stumbled, coughing as sharp smoke surrounded her. Her
eyes watered. Through the tears she saw Tab turn, grab her hand again and
pull her onwards.
"It's no good..." she choked.
"Don't...be dumb..." Tab was coughing as well. "Move it!"
BANG.
Amy was thrown off her feet. She screamed, and then closed her eyes
as the side of a bus rushed towards her.
"Come on," Beat said to Gum. "The air's all static."
"It's okay, it's not the highest point here...we're pretty much safe in the
half-pipe..."
She heard a crackling.
"Huh?" She could feel her hair rising up, even under her helmet. She
nervously touched Beat's arm, and yelped as a shock bit her fingers. "What's
going on?"
As they headed towards the bend in the half-pipe, the static got worse.
Jet Set Radio started to stagger. Gum's nose itched as individual strands of
hair flicked past it.
They turned the corner.
A glittering figure stood there, sparks wreathing him like a cage.
"Uh-oh..." she heard Beat gulp.
Gum looked back down the half-pipe. It was a dead-end. Typical, she
thought, mind racing. Sometimes I think this is all just happening for other
people's amusement.
The figure raised an arm. Gum swallowed back fear. "We're gonna
have to rush him or something," she whispered to Beat.
"No...maybe he won't be able to hit us with that stuff...if we're
careful...Just stay away from him."
Lightning flashed in the sky. Gum could hear static humming in her
ears. The whole world seemed charged.
Two strings of electricity leapt from the cage. Towards the two GGs.
Gum felt a massive force shove her as the sparks hit. She saw Beat
shudder, then fall to the ground, and wanted to help him, but everything was
fading...she could smell burning...
She closed her eyes and let unconsciousness cope with life for a bit.
Garam blinked. What was that sound? A sort of tearing, hissing, melting
sound...
A familiar sound.
"Piranha, run!" he called.
"What? What's that noise?"
"Flamethrowers! And there's only one person I know who'd have a
flamethrower, and it ain't Santa Claus -"
"You're right there, GG." A figure stepped round the corner. "That
your girl? Looks like she's been baked enough already...we don't want to
overcook her. Not!"
"You get away from her," Garam shouted, boiling with rage. "You just
leave her alone!"
"What if I don't?" The figure's voice was low and teasing. A tongue of
flame leapt from the object he held in his hand. Garam felt the heat on his face.
"Garam, run!" Piranha said from behind him.
"Let the little lady come to me," laughed the figure, twirling the flames
in the air. Smoke stung Garam's eyes. "It's so nice of you to take your top
off," he murmured to Piranha. "Burning through cloth is a bit of a waste...it's
much easier just to go straight onto the skin."
"I said, leave her alone," Garam said, fighting not to think about Piranha
burning, Piranha screaming, Piranha dead...
The figure advanced. "In your dreams, GG."
Garam rushed forward, temper lost, desperate to protect his girl...the
flamethrower swung, and its body caught Garam on the head. As pain
exploded through his brain and he began to black out, he heard Piranha scream.
"Mew, look out!" Yo-Yo grabbed Mew's wrist and dragged her down as
bullets peppered the side of the walkway.
"What's going on?" Mew gasped.
"Look!"
They glanced upwards, and saw a huge batlike figure silhouetted against
the sky.
"That looks familiar..." groaned Mew.
"Yeah, it's Batman!"
"No, you prat, it's Assassin Number 2! Let's get out of here!"
Another bullet struck the wall behind them.
"Oh, man..." Yo-Yo muttered.
"Crawling might be a good idea." Mew started to wriggle forward.
"No, Mew, watch out -"
Mew was thrown forward by the bullet striking her.
"Mew!" Forgetting the danger, Yo-Yo stood up and dashed towards
her. He didn't notice the Assassin coming up behind him until a wingtip
caught him on the head and bowled him into darkness.
Cube heard the crack of a whip, and looked round Benten Square. Iciness
covered her heart as a familiar figure leapt down from one of the buildings to
land in front of them.
"I remember you," he snarled. "You're one of those Bantam Street
pests. This time you're not getting away!"
The whip swung. Cube dived out of the way, and it smashed onto the
sidewalk. She saw Combo and Slate, both tagging some distance away, and
yelled, "You guys, run!"
CRACK. The whip caught her collarbone. She heard it break. Sick
pain began to strangle her. She staggered...
"Cube!" She felt Combo grab her arm, and shrieked as he jarred the
broken bone. Combo swung her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift, then
began to dash. Cube looked back, tears forcing themselves from her eyes. The
Assassin was chasing them. She saw Slate dashing up behind him, saw the
Assassin turn, whip following his movements like a snake...saw it catch Slate
across the face, and send him spinning back across the square...saw their
pursuer catch up with them. She was slowing Combo down...
"It hurts..." she gasped. She tried not to think about the pain, but it kept
pushing its way back into her thoughts.
"It's no good..." groaned Combo. "Sorry, kid..."
CRACK.
The whip knocked Combo's feet from under him. Cube fell to the
ground, crying out as it hit the fracture. Combo threw himself over her, trying
to protect her, as the whip beat down on them both.
Combo grunted as the Assassin's foot caught him in the face. "Give up,
rudie," the man taunted.
Combo fell, face bleeding. Before Cube could get to him, the whip
struck her again, and the pain roared over her and dragged her into oblivion.
Tab watched as Amy hit the side of the bus and crumpled like a dead moth.
She dropped to the ground, and Tab yelled her name without even realising it.
He was dashing over to her when he heard footsteps, and a snigger.
Looked round, and saw the Assassin bearing down on him, one hand clutching
a flaming bottle.
He's gonna hit me with that, Tab thought, his mind surveying the scene
calmly, and I'm gonna die.
He threw his hands up in front of his face as the flames approached -
The Assassin stopped. He leaned closer to Tab, and whispered in a
voice whose owner just knew he was the cleverest thing alive, "Scared ya,
didn't I, rudie? I haven't been told to rub you all out this time, so I guess you
got lucky. But next time, I'm gonna make sure none of you punks are left
alive."
And then he turned and walked away.
For a few moments Tab just sat there. Then he got up, and wriggled
across to Amy.
He sat with her for a time he couldn't measure, not knowing what to do.
He wondered if this was what shock felt like.
Eventually, she blinked, and opened her eyes.
"Ohhh...what's happening?"
"It's okay," Tab said, throat dry from the smoke. "He's gone. He's
gone."
Amy shivered. "But who was it?"
"One of the Assassins. One of the Golden Rhino Assassins."
"Do you think Koji was on to us?" Amy said.
"I don't know."
"What about the others?"
Tab swallowed, suddenly remembering that all the people he had in the
world were out there - somewhere - and -
"We've got to find them," he gasped. "Give me my skates back. We'll
check out the garage, and then go search the streets."
They hurried through Shibuya, the shadows widening as the sky clouded
over.
The garage was empty. Tab noticed Amy's head was bleeding, and
made her sit down.
"I'll go look myself," he said.
"But I'll be fine..."
"No, you stay there, okay? I think you should see a doctor for that, but
you just stay there! We don't know where they've gone, and I'm the one not
hurt."
"If you insist," Amy said, and leant back on the sofa. She was holding a
tea towel to her head, and Tab could see it slowly beginning to turn deep red.
"Just don't panic or anything," he said, hurrying to the door. "And if the
Assassins come here - uh - call - uh - call anyone!"
And then he dashed out.
Amy closed her eyes, trying to keep calm. But slowly the fear oozed back, and
she began to tremble without even wanting to.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Amy froze. If they'd come back to finish her...
The person knocked again, and a voice called, "Is...is anyone there?"
Amy recognised it. She got up and opened the door.
Slate, Cube and Combo were outside. Slate had a vicious cut down the
side of his face, Combo a faceful of bruises and blood, and Cube was
unconscious.
"Assassins?" Amy said.
"You got it. Where is everyone?" Slate looked round the garage.
Amy shrugged. She was so tired... "Out in the streets. Tab's gone to
look for them. What's happened to Cube?"
"I think he broke her shoulder or something," Combo said, the words
angry. "Pain made her faint. Thought he was gonna finish us off too, but he
just ran after he hurt her."
Combo carefully laid Cube down on the sofa. She cried out as he did
so, and opened her eyes.
"Don't worry," Slate said. "We're gonna get you to hospital soon as we
know the streets are safe."
Cube blinked, and Amy saw tears on her pale skin.
"It was...it was Assassin #5, wasn't it?" Cube said. Her voice was very
quiet.
"Yep."
"They really are back."
"Yep."
Cube closed her eyes. "I'm not being chicken," she said. "I'll be fine.
I'm just a little - uh - freaked out, I guess..."
"We all are," Amy said.
"Yeah. I nearly had a heart attack when he leapt off that building,"
Combo said. "So don't worry."
"All the others are out there?" Slate said.
"Yeah." Amy felt blood soaking through to her fingertips. "And I don't
know if any of them are okay."
Tab skated through Shibuya, trying to keep a cool head. He'd met Mew and
Yo-Yo staggering in from Benten, Yo-Yo dizzily supporting Mew, whose arm
had been soaked with blood. They'd been making for the garage. So he'd
headed on to find the other four.
Garam and Piranha were in Kogane as far as anybody knew. But Beat
and Gum were in Shibuya. Which meant he could come across them at any
moment.
Tab allowed himself to consider the possibility that they might be dead.
It frightened him. They were his oldest friends. The thought of having to cope
with their loss made him feel like he wanted to hide. Skating now, knowing he
might come across them at any moment...or what was left of them...no, they
couldn't be dead, they just couldn't.
He'd reached the halfpipe. Little spats of rain were beginning to speckle
the ground as he jumped into it.
He skated for quite some time before he found them. Beat was lying
like he was asleep. Gum was sitting up, staring at him, eyes unfocused.
"Gum?" Tab went nervously nearer. "Are you all right?"
"Assassins..." Gum said, her voice shaking. She was very pale, and
Tab could see sweat shining on her face.
"It's okay," Tab said. "They've gone." He dropped down next to her.
Her breathing was very fast.
"I'm scared..."
She'll never admit this when she's over it, Tab thought. "Don't worry.
We'll get you back to the garage."
Gum wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Tab saw with a jolt
that the sleeve of her left arm was burnt away, and her skin was raw and
blistered.
"What about Beat?" she whispered.
"We'll help him, too." How, Tab wasn't quite sure. He didn't want to
send Gum back to the garage on her own - she was in no state to skate - but on
the other hand he didn't want to leave Beat. Both of them, he could see, had
been burnt somehow - Beat on his right shoulder and upper arm - and, unlike
Combo, Tab wasn't strong enough to carry either of them. Especially not out
of a halfpipe.
But they were both breathing, which had to be a good thing.
"I'll go find a phone box," he said at last. "Will you be okay here on
your own?"
Gum nodded, but she didn't look okay.
"Don't worry," Tab said. "I'm here now, it's all gonna be fine."
Gum grinned slightly. "SuperTab to the rescue, huh?"
"Something like that." He got to his feet and headed off towards the
gate up to the street.
He located a phone box and made a 911 call, then headed back to the
half pipe. Gum's head had fallen forward, and she looked drained.
"I called an ambulance," Tab said. "You better get your skates and
helmet off. Try and look not like a rudie."
She must be suffering from shock, he thought, as Gum slowly began to
undo her skates. He began to take off Beat's, and said, "What'll you tell the
ambulance guys?"
"I don't know. If the Rhinos are - are back, people should know. But I
don't think they'll believe us...and we aren't supposed to be down here
anyway."
"Just act like you can't remember, then," Tab said. He picked up Gum's
skates and helmet, and Beat's skates, goggles and headphones. "I'll hide these
further down."
When he came back, two paramedics had reached the halfpipe and were
loading the two rudies onto stretchers. Tab ducked back out of sight. When
they'd been taken out of the halfpipe up to the ambulance, he waited a few
minutes, then climbed out himself.
Garam and Piranha. Were they still out there?
He decided to head back to the garage and see what had happened to
everyone.
The streets were really dark now. Although it was only eleven in the
morning, it looked like dusk. A few people hurried by, hair whipped by the
wind, faces crumpled against the rain. The streets were getting quieter and
quieter, the only sound the rain puddling on the ground.
Tab reached the garage. Praying that all the others would be back there,
he opened the door, and stared round.
Cube. Slate. Combo. Amy. Mew. Yo-Yo. But no Garam or Piranha.
Where were they?
Tab admitted to himself that he was scared.
"Are the others okay?" Mew asked. Someone had bandaged her arm
with a towel, but it was bleeding still.
"Beat and Gum are in hospital. I don't know about Garam and Piranha.
Look, we need to get down to casualty. I haven't seen any of the Assassins - I
guess they must have gone to ground. Who's damaged, Amy?"
His girlfriend looked round the room. "Cube's broken her
collarbone...Mew's got a bullet in the arm...Yo-Yo and I got cuts on the
head...Combo and Slate are mainly bruised."
"Okay, then. We'll start heading down there in -"
The door flew open behind him.
Garam stood there, soaked to the skin, blood trickling down his face, his
chest rising and falling as he struggled to breathe.
"Garam, are you okay?" Mew gasped.
Garam shook his head. He was trembling.
"What's happened?" Slate said. "Where's Piranha?"
Garam was clutching something in his hand. He let it drop to the
ground. It was scorched and smoke-blackened, but they all recognised it.
Piranha's goggles.
"She's -" Garam swallowed. His voice was clouded with tears. "They
got her. I got knocked out - when I woke up, they'd gone - all gone - only this
left - they - Piranha is..."
His voice broke, but he raised his head and looked round them all.
"Piranha is dead."
