CHAPTER TWO: WHAT THE HE- UM, HECK IS GOING ON?
~*~*~
I thought I'd seen some weird things in my lifetime... "Living" robots who could go insane and meld themselves to anything electronic that happened to be nearby... A girl whose own father performed experiments on her like some kind of guinea pig... Not to mention a scary half-naked rapidly aging god-like chick who could destroy the world with a blink of an eye... After Galatea, Tormentor Of All Things That Walk was destroyed, I figured I'd seen the last of the things straight out of an episode of "The X-Files" that I would ever see... And then I found the thing in the rubble.
~*~*~
"I'm tellin' you guys, that thing was alive!" Priss screamed, throwing her arms into the air to accentuate the sentence.
"Oh, come on Priss..." Linna said quietly. "It couldn't have been... could it?"
"What the hell, you don't believe me?" Priss snapped. "Why don't you get down there and check it out, huh Linna?"
"Priss, I never said I..." Linna stuttered.
"Well hell Linna, that thing scared the hell outta me! The least you could do is to actually give a hell whether or not that thing from hell-"
"Priss," Sylia interrupted.
"-Just a sec Sylia. Do you even give a hell whether or not-"
"Priss," Sylia interrupted again.
"Aw hell Sylia, what the hell is it?"
"Stop saying hell," she answered simply, standing up.
The group had gathered at the ruins of the club Hot Legs, where Priss was often to perform. Mackey, Nigel and Sylia had apparently called an emergency meeting of the Knight Sabers.
Nene was sitting on a ruined couch, hugging her knees. "Oh no... not this again... what if... Sylia, what if it's..."
"I'm sure it's not a Boomer, Nene." Sylia reassured her. "But I can't tell you exactly what it is... Whatever it is, it seems to have been in my house for some reason and it seems to have the power to control people's minds."
"Is that whatever the-" Priss began, but Sylia threw her a look. "Uh... is that what it was doing to those guys?"
"That's what I assume." Sylia nodded. "Mackey... Do you remember what happened?"
"O-of course, Sylia." Mackey said, clearing his throat. "They dug it up from the rubble, whatever it was... And then there was this really bright flash of pink, and all the workers and guys froze and started muttering gibberish. It almost had Nigel too... But Sylia pulled him out of the light and suddenly he was fine again."
Nigel snorted. "You forgot the part where you fell to the ground shrieking, 'NO! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I BOW TO YOU, OH MIGHTY FORCE!', Mackey."
Mackey blushed. "Well, I..."
"The thing had some sort of effect on Mackey, too." Sylia sighed, shaking her head. "But why didn't it hurt you, Priss?"
"No clue. Maybe I'm just special." Priss replied.
"Maybe you have another brother or sister, Sylia." Linna shrugged. Sylia frowned at her. "WHAT?" Linna gasped exasperatedly.
"It couldn't be." Sylia snapped. "If it were another... Sotay, I would have felt it too."
"Whatever it was, it's creepy!" Nene wailed. "I don't wanna go see it!"
"Nene, this is a potential threat to the entire city of Tokyo, or even the world!" Sylia barked.
"Like we haven't heard that before." Priss grunted.
"Priss... listen to her," scolded Linna.
"When you signed on as a Knight Saber, you promised to keep going no matter what the danger to save the city from the threat of those monstrous Boomers my father created!" Sylia continued.
"But this isn't a Boomer, you said so yourself!" Nene shot back. "When Galatea was destroyed all the Boomers in Tokyo shut down because their power source was gone."
"And now they're rebuilding the prototypes of the primitive robots they used to use back in the 20's." Linna added knowledgeably.
"So whatever this is, it isn't a Boomer, and therefore I don't have to fight it!" Nene said firmly.
Sylia raised an eyebrow. "You really don't want to go, Nene?"
"Uh... yeah. Er, yes. Yes as in no, I don't want to!" Nene said quietly.
"Well come on, Nene!" Linna said, standing up triumphantly. "Sylia's right! It's your duty as a Knight Saber to check out this terrible evil that's infecting our city and destroy it!"
"But..." Nene said pleadingly.
"Nene..." Mackey murmured, "Linna's right. A promise is a promise. And besides, I know you can do it!"
Nene leaped to her feet. "Mackey's right about Linna being right about Sylia being right!
Let's get out there, kill this thing, and get back in time for dinner!"
"Women," Nigel muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Good for you, Nene." Mackey said, smiling.
Nene tackled Mackey back against the couch. "Oh Mackey! You're my big source of courage, aren't you? Whenever I feel upset, you'll be right there to comfort me... Do you want to give me a little..." she giggled, "... advice before I go?"
She leaned in, hoping to instigate a kiss from her boyfriend. Instead, Mackey picked up her hand, studied it for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, all right. You should really get those cuticles checked out. You have lovely hands, and they'd look better if you could get rid of some of those excess cuticles... Wouldn't you agree, Nigel?"
Nigel looked a bit shocked. "Er... um, yeah..."
Nene's mouth dropped open, and she jumped out of Mackey's lap and onto the couch next to him, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, OK Mackey, I'll get a manicurist right away."
Linna giggled, and Sylia smiled. "Mackey really does have a gift for romance, doesn't he, Nene?"
"Yeah, he's a regular Casanova," Nene groaned.
"What? What did I say?" Mackey shrugged.
Sylia nodded. "All right then... we'll split up, and meet again at K's in half an hour. Remember: stay away from the Silky Doll and remain calm- We can handle this thing."
Nene stood up, nodded and ran out the door, with Linna close behind. Priss yawned and plopped back on the couch, and Sylia hugged her chest and leaned against the wall, looking distraught.
Nigel stood up, cleared his throat gruffly, and leaned against the wall next to Sylia.
"Uh..." he mumbled.
"Did- Did you need something, Nigel?" asked Sylia.
"I... er..."
"Yes?"
"It's... it's going to be all right." Nigel said quickly.
Sylia smiled weakly, and fell into Nigel's arms.
Mackey immediately jumped up. "HEY, HEY! You said nothing was going on, Sylia!"
"I didn't say that, Nigel did!" Sylia replied.
"Uh... I did?" Nigel replied quietly.
"Yes, you did! You said that there was nothing going on between you two! Just because I'm not human doesn't mean I'm stupid! You guys are so, SO romantically involved!"
Priss rolled her eyes. "Well, sorry to walk out on the family feud, but I figure I'd better get ready..."
She walked quickly towards the door as Mackey glared accusingly at Nigel as Sylia kissed him on the cheek.
"THAT'S IT! I KNOW IT! YOU GUYS ARE SUCH LIARS!"
~*~*~
I still wonder why in the he- er, world I ever really got involved with Sylia Stingray and her whole crazy Knight Saber gig... I was so convinced that my singing career would take off and I'd finally be able to follow my dreams... But I couldn't resist a good Boomer-whomping everyone once and a while. That'll teach 'em to destroy my favorite CD... I only have a few regrets about it now. Nene... Linna... Sylia... They're all some of my best friends. But now... I'm not so sure I want to keep doing this. I never wanted to be a superhero. Just a superstar...
~*~*~
Priss took a deep breath of the cold night air and adjusted her motorcycle helmet. She had though it was over... No, not over yet. There was still something out there... something-
"Priss?"
She jumped in surprise and spun around defensively. Leon stood there sheepishly. "Where are you going?"
"Holy hel- er... Good grief Leon, you scared the crap out of me!" Priss snapped. "And I'm going home to get ready, as if it's any of your business..."
"For what?" Leon asked again, stepping out of the shadows carrying a bag stuffed full of some kind of clothing.
"Mission. Now get outta here. There's something buried in the remains of the Silky Doll... we don't know what it is. But you'd be safer off the streets."
"I can't let you just run out there." Leon argued. "Who knows what kind of trouble you can get into?"
"I can handle it," she shot back crisply. "Don't you have some police business to get to or something?"
"Priss..." Leon said, raising an eyebrow. "The AD Police have been destroyed."
Crap... Forgot, I can't use that line anymore...
"Oh, fine then. Don't you have some chick to be hitting on like a cheap prostitute?"
"Hey- come on, Priss. I apologized for that. And besides, you're the only chick I'll be hitting on."
Priss groaned, and stepped onto the bike. "Well, OK! Don't you have that new job to be getting to? What is it, at McDonalds?"
Leon blushed. "Er... that's kind of why I'm here... I wanted to apologize for earlier."
"What?"
"At... when you called Nene at the restaurant. I was in the middle of something, and you didn't exactly catch the best side of my job..."
"I never called Nene," Priss said indignantly.
Leon made a tiny noise, and then stepped backwards. "Er... Never mind then..."
"No, hold it. I feel like talking all of a sudden..." Priss snickered. "What did you do?"
"Nothing. Just... doing my job at the restaurant." Leon said quickly.
"Which is..."
"Uh... fry monitor?"
"That's Nene's job."
Leon chuckled nervously and checked his watch. "Oh, will ya look at the time?"
"What do you do at work, Leon?" Priss asked again.
"I'm... the..."
"What?"
"I'm..."
"Yes?"
"I'M... THE CLOWN!" Leon sobbed, busting into tears and crawling on his knees to Priss's side. "OH PLEASE PRISS! FORGIVE ME FOR THE SHAMEFUL WORK I MUST PERFORM FOR MY RENT PAYMENT! I DIDN'T EVER WANT TO- AAAAGGGGH, PRISS! PLEASE CONTINUE TO SPEAK TO ME THOUGH HOWEVER MUCH I HUMILIATE YOU! AAAAGGGGHHHH..."
Priss jumped backwards, tripping over her bike and sprawling onto the ground. Leon crawled over, begging for forgiveness. "OUCH! Leon, you idiot! Get offa me!"
"I'M SO SORRY PRISS! I WANTED TO BE THE BURGER FLIPPER- BUT THE CHIEF HAS THAT JOB! AAAAAAGGGGGH, PRISS FORGIVE ME! I WOULD HAVE EVEN BEEN THE JANITOR, ANYTHING BUT THE CLOWN, AND-"
"LEON! GET OFF, YOU PSYCHO!" Priss snapped, "I never said anything! You don't have to climb all over me!"
"AAAAHHHHH... PRISS, I AM SO SORRY! I THROW MYSELF AT YOUR FEET-"
"You mean ON TOP of me, you idiot! Get the he- AGH! GET OFF!"
"PRISS! YOU FORGIVE ME?"
"YES, I FORGIVE YOU FOR DOING NOTHING WRONG, NOW GET OFF OF-"
"Ahem."
Priss stopped screaming and Leon stopped bawling. They both looked up in the doorway to see Mackey standing there, hands on his hips.
"Well."
"IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Priss shrieked, slapping Leon upside the head with her fist. "Now GET OFF, LEON!"
"Oh, come on, Priss. You don't have to lie to me." Mackey chuckled. "I saw right through my sister and Nigel... And I can see right through you, too."
Leon shuffled off of Priss, and she dusted herself off, recovering her bike into the upright position.
"Priss-" Leon whimpered.
"You're forgiven. Now stop apologizing before I have to kick you in a bad place again."
Leon sighed in relief, but seemed to cover up something with his knees. Priss rolled her eyes and sighed, taking off her helmet.
"Mackey- You think we could have a minute?" Priss asked.
"Oh, sure. I getcha." Mackey snickered, scampering back inside.
Leon whimpered, and Priss put her arm around his shoulder. "You're so stupid Leon... but you're lovable, too."
"Really?" Leon said happily.
"Yes. There's something I'd like to give you..."
Leon looked very excited.
"Unfortunately, I am not a shrink, so psychotherapy is out of the question."
Leon started rambling again. "I'm sorry Priss, but you know with all the stuff that's been happening lately I've kind of lost touch with reality and gone a little spastic of course only in a nervous sense, I'm still perfectly sane and-"
Priss put her finger on his lips. "Shut up."
They proceeded to make out.
A few seconds later, they heard another "Ahem" from the door.
Mackey was standing there, hands on his hips.
"MACKEY! I thought I said-" Priss snapped.
"Yeah, I know. But Sylia and Nigel wanted a moment too, so I needed to go somewhere." Mackey shrugged.
Leon and Priss both turned perfectly beet-red. Priss replaced her helmet and kicked on her bike.
"See you later Mackey... Bye, Leon."
She sped off down the street, and Leon sighed. "Ah... she's so beautiful... But jeez Mackey, what's your sudden fascination with romance?"
"Er... I... uh..."
"Yes?"
Mackey turned even redder than Leon. "Well, I figured I'd better study up on... On um, kissing because... I've never... and um... Nene, and..."
"Oh. I getcha." Leon snickered. "Here's a tip though, Mackey- Comment girls on their manicures. They love it."
Mackey raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Leon said, snickering.
~*~*~
That Leon can be such an idiot... But to tell you the truth, even if he is a moron it's kind of nice to have someone who really cares whether or not you live or die. Besides the others, Mackey, Henderson and Nigel... I don't really have anyone like that. And I'm not really sure on those three, either... Well, Mackey I'm sure. Nigel... It's a bit awkward working with him after our little stint a while ago... And Henderson? I'm pretty sure he likes Linna. Psh, yeah right, old guy. I think Leon has a better chance with me than you do with Linna.
~*~*~
"Good thing Nigel was able to fix our hardsuits so quickly, isn't it?" Linna commented as her suit hardened around her into slick green metal. "And it's so useful for him to have set up the generators here at his garage!"
"Yeah, whatever." Priss said, pushing down her helmet. "All right. Let's get out of here and kill that thing."
"Not so fast, Priss." Sylia interrupted. "We don't have the launcher set up, so we're going to have to do a manual launch."
"Manual launch? We've never done that before, have we?" asked Nene.
"It's no big deal. Just a little more complicated," Sylia assured her. She clicked on her communicator. "Mackey- Is the manual launch ready?"
"All set, Sylia."
"OK. This way, then. Thank you Nigel," Sylia said.
Sylia lead them down into a long dark hallway. "OK, all." she ordered, "Run down to that end as fast as you can, and I'll signal Mackey to manual launch us."
The four Knight Sabers began racing down to the end of the hallway, a big black door.
"Sylia, we're going to crash into that door!" Linna shouted.
"Just a sec... Mackey, now!"
The door swung open, and the KS raced outside into the dark night air, running down the street.
"THAT was manual launch? What the hell?" Priss cried in dismay.
"Priss! Language!" Sylia barked. "All right- To the former Silky Doll!"
Priss sighed and began to run after her comrades.
Those cold, terrible eyes... That voice... I don't know what you are you little beast, but I know you're evil... And I'm going to send you back into the pits of he- heeeeeeeeeeeeeck where you came from!
Sylia's thoughts too, were unsettling.
It can't be... It can't be another one like Mackey and Galatea... It's impossible... But even so... Whatever it is, my father probably had something to do with it... Evil bastard... I will destroy you!
What am I doing here... Why am I running off again? Linna thought. I don't have to... Sylia told us we didn't have to help her anymore now that Galatea is dead... I could be at home... Safe and warm... I- No. This is my dream- To be a Knight Saber. And I'm never going to stop, either!
Nene's thought were quite different than the other's.
... Break it down now, 'If you'll be my bodyguard, you can be my long-lost pal... Doo, doot doo doot... Doo, doot doo doooooot-oo! I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me you can call MEEE AL!'
So they set off running down the street, until at last they reached the rubble that was the beginning (er, end, actually) of Sylia's beloved Silky Doll shop. The pink glow was still bright, and more pedestrians and passers-by in cars had stopped, entranced by the glow.
"It's got even more of them!" Nene gasped.
"Let's just hope there are no permanent effects..." Linna said quietly.
"All right, we'll spread out and surround the source on all four sides. Meet in the center. And keep your minds concentrated on maintaining your suit. We don't know exactly what this thing can do yet, remember." Sylia told them.
"Whatever it is, let's rip it apart!" Priss snapped.
A strange chill ran down Priss's spine as she saw the object on the ground again. "The eyes... those scary little eyes..."
"It's all right Priss... we're here now, and it's not going to get you!" Nene said cheerfully. "I hope..."
"You're not the only one..." snarled Priss nervously.
The Knight Sabers tiptoed slowly in, until they were in a circle about 6 feet in radius... Sylia paused and stared down at the spot in the rubble where the weird thing was buried...
"Linna, I don't want any of us to take the chance of touching that. Use your cutters."
"Right," Linna nodded, and two shining "ribbons" of light shot out of her helmet, swung down to the ground, and slashed away the rubble surrounding the glowing pink thing.
Priss gasped and almost stepped back, but Sylia stopped her. "Is that it, Priss? Is that what attacked you?"
"Hel- Uh, heck yeah..." she murmured.
"If that light would fade we could see it!" Nene whined. "Let me scan it..."
The glow began to get brighter, and Sylia noticed that she and the other three were all shaking... From fear?
Suddenly, there was the same mechanical noise and Priss burst out, "That's the noise! That's what I heard before it talked!"
"Almost there..." Nene mumbled. The nano-computer in her helmet was quickly displaying statistics on exactly what the object was.
Sylia ejected razor-sharp blade in her right arm defensively.
"I don't like the looks of this, Sylia!" Linna wailed.
"I got it!" Nene gasped. "It's... it's... it's a..."
There was the same mechanical noise and suddenly the glowing red eyes gazed up at them. All four of them stifled screams of terror.
Then... it spoke...
"E-tay oo-day moo-may roo-lay..."
"AGGGH!" screamed Linna. "IT TALKED!"
"IT'S EVIL!" Sylia gasped.
"IT'S POWERFUL!" Priss snarled.
"It's a Furby!" Nene concluded.
~*~*~
I thought I'd seen some weird things in my lifetime... "Living" robots who could go insane and meld themselves to anything electronic that happened to be nearby... A girl whose own father performed experiments on her like some kind of guinea pig... Not to mention a scary half-naked rapidly aging god-like chick who could destroy the world with a blink of an eye... After Galatea, Tormentor Of All Things That Walk was destroyed, I figured I'd seen the last of the things straight out of an episode of "The X-Files" that I would ever see... And then I found the thing in the rubble.
~*~*~
"I'm tellin' you guys, that thing was alive!" Priss screamed, throwing her arms into the air to accentuate the sentence.
"Oh, come on Priss..." Linna said quietly. "It couldn't have been... could it?"
"What the hell, you don't believe me?" Priss snapped. "Why don't you get down there and check it out, huh Linna?"
"Priss, I never said I..." Linna stuttered.
"Well hell Linna, that thing scared the hell outta me! The least you could do is to actually give a hell whether or not that thing from hell-"
"Priss," Sylia interrupted.
"-Just a sec Sylia. Do you even give a hell whether or not-"
"Priss," Sylia interrupted again.
"Aw hell Sylia, what the hell is it?"
"Stop saying hell," she answered simply, standing up.
The group had gathered at the ruins of the club Hot Legs, where Priss was often to perform. Mackey, Nigel and Sylia had apparently called an emergency meeting of the Knight Sabers.
Nene was sitting on a ruined couch, hugging her knees. "Oh no... not this again... what if... Sylia, what if it's..."
"I'm sure it's not a Boomer, Nene." Sylia reassured her. "But I can't tell you exactly what it is... Whatever it is, it seems to have been in my house for some reason and it seems to have the power to control people's minds."
"Is that whatever the-" Priss began, but Sylia threw her a look. "Uh... is that what it was doing to those guys?"
"That's what I assume." Sylia nodded. "Mackey... Do you remember what happened?"
"O-of course, Sylia." Mackey said, clearing his throat. "They dug it up from the rubble, whatever it was... And then there was this really bright flash of pink, and all the workers and guys froze and started muttering gibberish. It almost had Nigel too... But Sylia pulled him out of the light and suddenly he was fine again."
Nigel snorted. "You forgot the part where you fell to the ground shrieking, 'NO! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I BOW TO YOU, OH MIGHTY FORCE!', Mackey."
Mackey blushed. "Well, I..."
"The thing had some sort of effect on Mackey, too." Sylia sighed, shaking her head. "But why didn't it hurt you, Priss?"
"No clue. Maybe I'm just special." Priss replied.
"Maybe you have another brother or sister, Sylia." Linna shrugged. Sylia frowned at her. "WHAT?" Linna gasped exasperatedly.
"It couldn't be." Sylia snapped. "If it were another... Sotay, I would have felt it too."
"Whatever it was, it's creepy!" Nene wailed. "I don't wanna go see it!"
"Nene, this is a potential threat to the entire city of Tokyo, or even the world!" Sylia barked.
"Like we haven't heard that before." Priss grunted.
"Priss... listen to her," scolded Linna.
"When you signed on as a Knight Saber, you promised to keep going no matter what the danger to save the city from the threat of those monstrous Boomers my father created!" Sylia continued.
"But this isn't a Boomer, you said so yourself!" Nene shot back. "When Galatea was destroyed all the Boomers in Tokyo shut down because their power source was gone."
"And now they're rebuilding the prototypes of the primitive robots they used to use back in the 20's." Linna added knowledgeably.
"So whatever this is, it isn't a Boomer, and therefore I don't have to fight it!" Nene said firmly.
Sylia raised an eyebrow. "You really don't want to go, Nene?"
"Uh... yeah. Er, yes. Yes as in no, I don't want to!" Nene said quietly.
"Well come on, Nene!" Linna said, standing up triumphantly. "Sylia's right! It's your duty as a Knight Saber to check out this terrible evil that's infecting our city and destroy it!"
"But..." Nene said pleadingly.
"Nene..." Mackey murmured, "Linna's right. A promise is a promise. And besides, I know you can do it!"
Nene leaped to her feet. "Mackey's right about Linna being right about Sylia being right!
Let's get out there, kill this thing, and get back in time for dinner!"
"Women," Nigel muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Good for you, Nene." Mackey said, smiling.
Nene tackled Mackey back against the couch. "Oh Mackey! You're my big source of courage, aren't you? Whenever I feel upset, you'll be right there to comfort me... Do you want to give me a little..." she giggled, "... advice before I go?"
She leaned in, hoping to instigate a kiss from her boyfriend. Instead, Mackey picked up her hand, studied it for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, all right. You should really get those cuticles checked out. You have lovely hands, and they'd look better if you could get rid of some of those excess cuticles... Wouldn't you agree, Nigel?"
Nigel looked a bit shocked. "Er... um, yeah..."
Nene's mouth dropped open, and she jumped out of Mackey's lap and onto the couch next to him, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, OK Mackey, I'll get a manicurist right away."
Linna giggled, and Sylia smiled. "Mackey really does have a gift for romance, doesn't he, Nene?"
"Yeah, he's a regular Casanova," Nene groaned.
"What? What did I say?" Mackey shrugged.
Sylia nodded. "All right then... we'll split up, and meet again at K's in half an hour. Remember: stay away from the Silky Doll and remain calm- We can handle this thing."
Nene stood up, nodded and ran out the door, with Linna close behind. Priss yawned and plopped back on the couch, and Sylia hugged her chest and leaned against the wall, looking distraught.
Nigel stood up, cleared his throat gruffly, and leaned against the wall next to Sylia.
"Uh..." he mumbled.
"Did- Did you need something, Nigel?" asked Sylia.
"I... er..."
"Yes?"
"It's... it's going to be all right." Nigel said quickly.
Sylia smiled weakly, and fell into Nigel's arms.
Mackey immediately jumped up. "HEY, HEY! You said nothing was going on, Sylia!"
"I didn't say that, Nigel did!" Sylia replied.
"Uh... I did?" Nigel replied quietly.
"Yes, you did! You said that there was nothing going on between you two! Just because I'm not human doesn't mean I'm stupid! You guys are so, SO romantically involved!"
Priss rolled her eyes. "Well, sorry to walk out on the family feud, but I figure I'd better get ready..."
She walked quickly towards the door as Mackey glared accusingly at Nigel as Sylia kissed him on the cheek.
"THAT'S IT! I KNOW IT! YOU GUYS ARE SUCH LIARS!"
~*~*~
I still wonder why in the he- er, world I ever really got involved with Sylia Stingray and her whole crazy Knight Saber gig... I was so convinced that my singing career would take off and I'd finally be able to follow my dreams... But I couldn't resist a good Boomer-whomping everyone once and a while. That'll teach 'em to destroy my favorite CD... I only have a few regrets about it now. Nene... Linna... Sylia... They're all some of my best friends. But now... I'm not so sure I want to keep doing this. I never wanted to be a superhero. Just a superstar...
~*~*~
Priss took a deep breath of the cold night air and adjusted her motorcycle helmet. She had though it was over... No, not over yet. There was still something out there... something-
"Priss?"
She jumped in surprise and spun around defensively. Leon stood there sheepishly. "Where are you going?"
"Holy hel- er... Good grief Leon, you scared the crap out of me!" Priss snapped. "And I'm going home to get ready, as if it's any of your business..."
"For what?" Leon asked again, stepping out of the shadows carrying a bag stuffed full of some kind of clothing.
"Mission. Now get outta here. There's something buried in the remains of the Silky Doll... we don't know what it is. But you'd be safer off the streets."
"I can't let you just run out there." Leon argued. "Who knows what kind of trouble you can get into?"
"I can handle it," she shot back crisply. "Don't you have some police business to get to or something?"
"Priss..." Leon said, raising an eyebrow. "The AD Police have been destroyed."
Crap... Forgot, I can't use that line anymore...
"Oh, fine then. Don't you have some chick to be hitting on like a cheap prostitute?"
"Hey- come on, Priss. I apologized for that. And besides, you're the only chick I'll be hitting on."
Priss groaned, and stepped onto the bike. "Well, OK! Don't you have that new job to be getting to? What is it, at McDonalds?"
Leon blushed. "Er... that's kind of why I'm here... I wanted to apologize for earlier."
"What?"
"At... when you called Nene at the restaurant. I was in the middle of something, and you didn't exactly catch the best side of my job..."
"I never called Nene," Priss said indignantly.
Leon made a tiny noise, and then stepped backwards. "Er... Never mind then..."
"No, hold it. I feel like talking all of a sudden..." Priss snickered. "What did you do?"
"Nothing. Just... doing my job at the restaurant." Leon said quickly.
"Which is..."
"Uh... fry monitor?"
"That's Nene's job."
Leon chuckled nervously and checked his watch. "Oh, will ya look at the time?"
"What do you do at work, Leon?" Priss asked again.
"I'm... the..."
"What?"
"I'm..."
"Yes?"
"I'M... THE CLOWN!" Leon sobbed, busting into tears and crawling on his knees to Priss's side. "OH PLEASE PRISS! FORGIVE ME FOR THE SHAMEFUL WORK I MUST PERFORM FOR MY RENT PAYMENT! I DIDN'T EVER WANT TO- AAAAGGGGH, PRISS! PLEASE CONTINUE TO SPEAK TO ME THOUGH HOWEVER MUCH I HUMILIATE YOU! AAAAGGGGHHHH..."
Priss jumped backwards, tripping over her bike and sprawling onto the ground. Leon crawled over, begging for forgiveness. "OUCH! Leon, you idiot! Get offa me!"
"I'M SO SORRY PRISS! I WANTED TO BE THE BURGER FLIPPER- BUT THE CHIEF HAS THAT JOB! AAAAAAGGGGGH, PRISS FORGIVE ME! I WOULD HAVE EVEN BEEN THE JANITOR, ANYTHING BUT THE CLOWN, AND-"
"LEON! GET OFF, YOU PSYCHO!" Priss snapped, "I never said anything! You don't have to climb all over me!"
"AAAAHHHHH... PRISS, I AM SO SORRY! I THROW MYSELF AT YOUR FEET-"
"You mean ON TOP of me, you idiot! Get the he- AGH! GET OFF!"
"PRISS! YOU FORGIVE ME?"
"YES, I FORGIVE YOU FOR DOING NOTHING WRONG, NOW GET OFF OF-"
"Ahem."
Priss stopped screaming and Leon stopped bawling. They both looked up in the doorway to see Mackey standing there, hands on his hips.
"Well."
"IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Priss shrieked, slapping Leon upside the head with her fist. "Now GET OFF, LEON!"
"Oh, come on, Priss. You don't have to lie to me." Mackey chuckled. "I saw right through my sister and Nigel... And I can see right through you, too."
Leon shuffled off of Priss, and she dusted herself off, recovering her bike into the upright position.
"Priss-" Leon whimpered.
"You're forgiven. Now stop apologizing before I have to kick you in a bad place again."
Leon sighed in relief, but seemed to cover up something with his knees. Priss rolled her eyes and sighed, taking off her helmet.
"Mackey- You think we could have a minute?" Priss asked.
"Oh, sure. I getcha." Mackey snickered, scampering back inside.
Leon whimpered, and Priss put her arm around his shoulder. "You're so stupid Leon... but you're lovable, too."
"Really?" Leon said happily.
"Yes. There's something I'd like to give you..."
Leon looked very excited.
"Unfortunately, I am not a shrink, so psychotherapy is out of the question."
Leon started rambling again. "I'm sorry Priss, but you know with all the stuff that's been happening lately I've kind of lost touch with reality and gone a little spastic of course only in a nervous sense, I'm still perfectly sane and-"
Priss put her finger on his lips. "Shut up."
They proceeded to make out.
A few seconds later, they heard another "Ahem" from the door.
Mackey was standing there, hands on his hips.
"MACKEY! I thought I said-" Priss snapped.
"Yeah, I know. But Sylia and Nigel wanted a moment too, so I needed to go somewhere." Mackey shrugged.
Leon and Priss both turned perfectly beet-red. Priss replaced her helmet and kicked on her bike.
"See you later Mackey... Bye, Leon."
She sped off down the street, and Leon sighed. "Ah... she's so beautiful... But jeez Mackey, what's your sudden fascination with romance?"
"Er... I... uh..."
"Yes?"
Mackey turned even redder than Leon. "Well, I figured I'd better study up on... On um, kissing because... I've never... and um... Nene, and..."
"Oh. I getcha." Leon snickered. "Here's a tip though, Mackey- Comment girls on their manicures. They love it."
Mackey raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Leon said, snickering.
~*~*~
That Leon can be such an idiot... But to tell you the truth, even if he is a moron it's kind of nice to have someone who really cares whether or not you live or die. Besides the others, Mackey, Henderson and Nigel... I don't really have anyone like that. And I'm not really sure on those three, either... Well, Mackey I'm sure. Nigel... It's a bit awkward working with him after our little stint a while ago... And Henderson? I'm pretty sure he likes Linna. Psh, yeah right, old guy. I think Leon has a better chance with me than you do with Linna.
~*~*~
"Good thing Nigel was able to fix our hardsuits so quickly, isn't it?" Linna commented as her suit hardened around her into slick green metal. "And it's so useful for him to have set up the generators here at his garage!"
"Yeah, whatever." Priss said, pushing down her helmet. "All right. Let's get out of here and kill that thing."
"Not so fast, Priss." Sylia interrupted. "We don't have the launcher set up, so we're going to have to do a manual launch."
"Manual launch? We've never done that before, have we?" asked Nene.
"It's no big deal. Just a little more complicated," Sylia assured her. She clicked on her communicator. "Mackey- Is the manual launch ready?"
"All set, Sylia."
"OK. This way, then. Thank you Nigel," Sylia said.
Sylia lead them down into a long dark hallway. "OK, all." she ordered, "Run down to that end as fast as you can, and I'll signal Mackey to manual launch us."
The four Knight Sabers began racing down to the end of the hallway, a big black door.
"Sylia, we're going to crash into that door!" Linna shouted.
"Just a sec... Mackey, now!"
The door swung open, and the KS raced outside into the dark night air, running down the street.
"THAT was manual launch? What the hell?" Priss cried in dismay.
"Priss! Language!" Sylia barked. "All right- To the former Silky Doll!"
Priss sighed and began to run after her comrades.
Those cold, terrible eyes... That voice... I don't know what you are you little beast, but I know you're evil... And I'm going to send you back into the pits of he- heeeeeeeeeeeeeck where you came from!
Sylia's thoughts too, were unsettling.
It can't be... It can't be another one like Mackey and Galatea... It's impossible... But even so... Whatever it is, my father probably had something to do with it... Evil bastard... I will destroy you!
What am I doing here... Why am I running off again? Linna thought. I don't have to... Sylia told us we didn't have to help her anymore now that Galatea is dead... I could be at home... Safe and warm... I- No. This is my dream- To be a Knight Saber. And I'm never going to stop, either!
Nene's thought were quite different than the other's.
... Break it down now, 'If you'll be my bodyguard, you can be my long-lost pal... Doo, doot doo doot... Doo, doot doo doooooot-oo! I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me you can call MEEE AL!'
So they set off running down the street, until at last they reached the rubble that was the beginning (er, end, actually) of Sylia's beloved Silky Doll shop. The pink glow was still bright, and more pedestrians and passers-by in cars had stopped, entranced by the glow.
"It's got even more of them!" Nene gasped.
"Let's just hope there are no permanent effects..." Linna said quietly.
"All right, we'll spread out and surround the source on all four sides. Meet in the center. And keep your minds concentrated on maintaining your suit. We don't know exactly what this thing can do yet, remember." Sylia told them.
"Whatever it is, let's rip it apart!" Priss snapped.
A strange chill ran down Priss's spine as she saw the object on the ground again. "The eyes... those scary little eyes..."
"It's all right Priss... we're here now, and it's not going to get you!" Nene said cheerfully. "I hope..."
"You're not the only one..." snarled Priss nervously.
The Knight Sabers tiptoed slowly in, until they were in a circle about 6 feet in radius... Sylia paused and stared down at the spot in the rubble where the weird thing was buried...
"Linna, I don't want any of us to take the chance of touching that. Use your cutters."
"Right," Linna nodded, and two shining "ribbons" of light shot out of her helmet, swung down to the ground, and slashed away the rubble surrounding the glowing pink thing.
Priss gasped and almost stepped back, but Sylia stopped her. "Is that it, Priss? Is that what attacked you?"
"Hel- Uh, heck yeah..." she murmured.
"If that light would fade we could see it!" Nene whined. "Let me scan it..."
The glow began to get brighter, and Sylia noticed that she and the other three were all shaking... From fear?
Suddenly, there was the same mechanical noise and Priss burst out, "That's the noise! That's what I heard before it talked!"
"Almost there..." Nene mumbled. The nano-computer in her helmet was quickly displaying statistics on exactly what the object was.
Sylia ejected razor-sharp blade in her right arm defensively.
"I don't like the looks of this, Sylia!" Linna wailed.
"I got it!" Nene gasped. "It's... it's... it's a..."
There was the same mechanical noise and suddenly the glowing red eyes gazed up at them. All four of them stifled screams of terror.
Then... it spoke...
"E-tay oo-day moo-may roo-lay..."
"AGGGH!" screamed Linna. "IT TALKED!"
"IT'S EVIL!" Sylia gasped.
"IT'S POWERFUL!" Priss snarled.
"It's a Furby!" Nene concluded.