(A/N: I'm sorry. I just couldn't wait. Things are about to get hectic around my house, so I figured I'd better release a new chapter for this now. I took some liberties; I probably wouldn't change much even after Tal and Nik got back and filled out the questionnaires, but guys; if you want me to change anything, don't hesitate to email me and tell me about it. I'm all about accuracy ^ ^ That said, enjoy chapter 2 of Tokyo-To Reborn!)
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It wasn't until about 7:00 a.m. Tokyo time when they landed. The pilot came over the intercom, rattling off Tokyo's weather forecast, and other random facts. Honestly, she couldn't care less.
Maddy had barely been able to sleep on the long flight. She continuously drew out the small, one-paragraph letter she had received earlier that afternoon, as if confirming that it actually existed. Her brother, Nik, seemed to be more relaxed, though.
He slept the entire way.
"Get up, Nik," she whispered, poking at him.
"Eh…no…go'way…5 more minutes."
"We're there, lazy. Now hurry up."
It took about ten minutes, and the other passengers were already well off the plane before the two siblings had recovered their carry-on and began to walk down the carpeted tunnel and into the warm air of Tokyo International.
Not two seconds later, the pair spotted a short, balding Oriental man, dressed in a chauffeur's outfit and holding up a small sign with two names written in marker.
MADELINE NIK
They approached the man, introducing themselves. He smiled, asking them to follow him as he made his way out into the parking lot.
The man stopped near a black limousine, opening the back door and ushering them in. Moments later, the engine purred to life and they were on their way.
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The sun was well on it's way to the middle of it's destination when the 'last two' were shown to their seats.
'Brother and sister' he guessed blandly, letting out a sigh. "Mind if you tell us what we're here for now?"
"Patience, Daniel," the voice answered back.
The six of them sat in black chairs, arranged in a semicircle around a large wooden desk, a chair positioned behind it turned towards the wall.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my humble abode." The chair turned slowly, revealing a tall, well-built Japanese man, dressed in a black tuxedo. His hair had abandoned it's topmost stronghold, and now took refuge on the sides of his head. His eyes…they held a certain…creepiness. Like he'd smile politely at you, and two minutes later order your death. 'But,' he thought to himself, 'maybe I'm overanalyzing just a tad.'
"My name is Rokkaku. Goji Rokkaku."
A kind of mental gasp flooded through them. A mixture of disbelief, alarm, and 'This is a joke, right?'.
"You have been gathered here to take part in an experiment, of sorts."
"What kind of experiment?" one of the kids asked skeptically. Tall. Brown hair. Glasses. Invader Zim shirt.
"I'm so glad you asked, Anthony," the man responded, an eerie smile chiseled into his worn face, "As you may have been able to tell, I'm very blessed financially. I have all the money in the world. But what is money without power?
For the last few years, my elite team of scientists have been working on a way to transmutate things. Turn them from one thing into another."
"You mean, like turning a dog into a cat?" the kid, Anthony, asked.
"Not quite. I mean turning it into fiction, in a way. Perhaps it's best if I show you." The man reached across his desk, tapping a small red button. "Fuji. Bring her in."
Moments later, a side door slid open, and a tall, heavy-set man entered, dragging along behind him…a cartoon?
The girl was a little over five foot, with waist-length, dirty blonde hair. She looked scared; and rightfully so. Her body looked as if an artist had gone insane. Small blotches of flesh still remained, but most of her body was…cel-shaded.
"I'd like you to meet Carolyn Dekker. Or, as you know her, BansheeCat."
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'I was creeped out before,' Aaron thought, his eyes widened at the girl, 'but this is getting fuckin' warped…'
"Ah, speechless, I see," Goji said, still smiling, "As you can see, Ms. Dekker is…well, to put it bluntly, a little under the weather. She was the most recent test of my transmutation gas. The test didn't go as well as I might've hoped. But not to worry, ladies and gentlemen, it has been perfected for you. The mutation will be total…not incomplete, like Ms. Dekker here.
"W…why us?" Aaron found himself asking, nervousness sweeping over his face.
"Still haven't figured it out, have you…Lotus? While I won't go into many details about your purpose just yet, allow me to say that you all know each other."
He pointed at each one of them, one by one. "Tallulah…Nik…NoiseTank13…Jessi a.k.a Crash…Tei…Lotus"
He smirked. "You will help me to create a perfect city…Tokyo-To…right here in real-world Japan."
"Well fuck that!" NoiseTank practically yelled, jumping to his feet, "Whatever the hell you did to her, I want you to un-do it, and let us the fuck outta here!"
"Tsk tsk…so rude. Well, unfortunately for her, the process is as yet irreversible, and as for letting you out…I'm afraid I can't do that. Fuji, if you please."
The man came out of nowhere, knocking Tank back into his chair with a blow to the jaw.
Goji held up a small remote, pressing the button with exaggerated ease.
Metal arms shot out of the seats, binding the six of them tightly into their chairs. Lotus twisted his neck as far as it could go, able to see Fuji calmly incapacitating them, one by one. He pressed a small tazer into each of their necks…finishing with Lotus' own.
He felt a sharp pain flow through his body, and just as quickly, he was out.
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She knew what they would all go through. How they had all been lured here. The same had happened to her. Letter shows up, promising what you've always wanted. On top of that, a free trip to Tokyo. Who could pass that up?
She hadn't.
And now she regretted it every day.
She was driven to Rokkaku's office. Knocked out. Taken to some sort of laboratory. She didn't remember much. Scientists looming over her.
'God, please don't let me die…'
White gas flooded into the room. Pain. Oh, God the pain. Like being burned alive. Turned inside out and thrown into a tub of peroxide.
When she woke up, there were more scientists…talking about 'failed experiment' and 'back to the drawing board'. They threw her into another room. Like a cell. Bed. Toilet. Mirror. Blanket.
For so long, she didn't dare to look into the mirror, afraid of what she had become…what that hideous white gas had turned her into. In fact, when she did see herself, it was an accident. She thought she had slipped into a video game.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some sort of cartoon.
By the time she realized she was looking at herself, it was too late to turn away. Her body was a mess of colors, as if someone had splashed paint on her. But it wasn't paint. It was as if parts of her were…animated.
And now here she was. Displayed like some sort of animal in front of these kids. If Rokkaku was telling the truth, it was the other authors from FanFiction.net. If he was telling the truth.
She watched helplessly as they, too, were knocked out. Carried out. They would soon be freaks. Like her…
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The next few days were one big, drug-induced blur. As soon as he woke up, a whitecoat was beside him, injecting more crap into his arm. His vision got hazy, the whitecoat turned funny colors, and he was out again.
Soon, the line between dreams and reality began to blur as well. He couldn't be sure…
"Tei," a voice whispered, "Tei…wake up."
His eyelids felt heavy…too heavy to open. He answered with a moan.
"Hey, I think he's awake."
He managed to open his eyes a bit…enough to see dark outlines. People surrounding him…looking down at him.
"Where am I?"
"…we don't know…"
"What happened?"
"Open your eyes and see…"
He opened his eyes the rest of they way, staring up into the face of…
"What the fuck?!?"
Tei kicked his legs, scooting desperately back into a wall. Before him were…video game characters. No, this couldn't be. He had finally lost it. After all those drugs, he'd finally snapped. Fantasy and reality had blended together perfectly, now, and he was on a permanent acid trip.
"Whoa, Tei," one of them said, holding up a hand, "It's me, Nik. You need to calm down. You're alright…just chill out."
"Chill out?!" he yelled incredulously, "you want me to chill out?!? A bunch of Jet Set Radio characters want me to chill out? And how the hell am I alright?!?"
"Might wanna stand up and go check yourself out in the mirror, big guy."
He clambered to his feet, walking cautiously to the mirror on the wall, keeping his eyes set on the characters. Gazing into the mirror, he saw…another one. But…this one looked just like him. Same clothes. Same hair. Same face. He reached up and ran a hand along his cheek, amazed as the kid in the mirror did the same.
He couldn't breathe. He whirled around, pinning his back against the wall. Sinking to the ground, he gasped for air. This couldn't be happening.
But it was.
'How?' his mind screamed at him, 'how the hell can people become cartoons? What the fuck is going on here?'
"Don't worry, Tei. We all took it pretty much the same way." Nik told him, still holding up an arm.
"I'm a…cartoon."
"We all are."
"Who…?"
"Rokkaku."
"Fucking impossible…this is real life. This isn't a damn video game, Nik!"
"Well, regardless," said one of the others, "we need to figure out how to get out of here."
"And fast."