Chapter Two: Oh, Man…
"Tab, what are you doing?"
Cube was looking down into a large hole in the floor of the garage, lined with
metal.
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm digging!"
"Okaaayy…This may like a stupid question, but – why?"
"Oh, this actually happened in our future."
"You dug tunnels under the garage?"
"It's for protection. They're very useful. You see, these tunnels are
bomb proof, gun proof, knife proof, angry Gum proof and even big nasty
cyborg proof."
"How come you all got killed in the other reality, then?"
"Ah. That was because we only dug the tunnels once four of us were
dead. Plus we were taken by surprise, and they attacked us while I was digging
them. But this time it'll all go fine!"
"Oh…right. So, what aren't they proof?"
"I don't know, seeing as we never got to test them before."
"Okay…you just keep digging."
"Hey, Tab-man!" Yo-Yo's voice echoed from outside. "Where'd you
want the JCB?"
"Oh, man…"
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
"Okay, you mugs. This –" Onishima slammed his metal fist onto the
map on the table. "This is how we're going to get the rudies.
"Here, we have the district of Shibuya-cho. And the GGs' base is here."
"Uh, sir, what about the other rudies? Noise Tanks – Poison Jam – Love
Shockersurrrrrrrgh –"
Onishima rammed the unfortunate officer against the wall. "Listen, you,
I have one of my best agents on the job. The Love Shockers, at present, are no
more. They have only one member left. She was – uh – unfortunately – at the
GGs when the eradication took place."
"What was she doing there, sir?" someone asked.
"Oh, she and the leaders of the other two gangs are trying to make peace
treaties with the GGs." Onishima spat out the words as though they were
vinegar-tasting. "Oh, and she was screwing some Poison Jammer. But I don't
know much about their social lives."
"Now, as I was saying, we are going to get – let me see – tanks,
helicopters, the SWAT team, paratroopers – everything this fricking police
force has to fricking well offer, and smush those GGs once and for all!"
"Uh – yes – yes, sir." The other cops glanced at each other nervously.
"We'll get right on it!"
"Meanwhile, I'm patrolling the streets. I'm gonna make those punks
regret the day they picked up a pair of skates." Inside the glass dome,
Onishima's eyes narrowed. "Let's go."
"Okay, that does it. I'm going out." Cube glared round at the earth-covered
GGs. "I cannot take this – pneumatic drills, JCBs, KCBs, CFCs, KFCs…"
"Hey, don't diss the KFC!" Yo-Yo said through a mouthful of fried
chicken.
"Yo-Yo…" Beat was massaging his temples. "Shut up. I can't take it
any more either. Cube, let's go tag."
"Sure. Sweet."
Outside the air in Shibuya-cho was clean and fresh after the building dust.
Cube breathed in, feeling her spirits lift, and grinned.
"Okay, then, Cube," Beat said. "Where shall we tag first?"
"Ummm…how about Park Street?"
"Let's go."
Soon they reached Park Street. Cube began tagging an X-tra large tag of
Fatal Regrets on the pavement, when suddenly she heard a clunking sound.
She looked round at Beat, who was tagging on the other side of the road. There
was a shot.
"What the – arrrrrrrgh!"
Cube gaped as a wire shot itself around Beat's chest, pinning his arms to
his sides. He struggled furiously. "What the hell is this?"
"Didn't Tab say something about wire spikes?" Cube dashed across the
road and tried to free Beat, but it was hopeless.
There was another shot. Cube felt something encircle her waist. She
looked down in horror and saw the wire tighten around her. She tried to pull it
off, but it was immovable.
Suddenly she was dragged off her feet. Moving faster and faster as her
skates gathered speed, she heard Beat yelp as the same thing happened to him.
The air stung her face as she hurtled towards the bridge. She looked up and
saw Onishima standing there. Her heart sank.
Then they reached the steps.
"This is gonna hurt," Beat muttered from behind her.
It did.
Cube winced as she felt the concrete bite into her shins. As they
reached the top, she bit back a yelp.
"This is Shibuya Railways," a familiar voice said. "The two rudies
dragged up the stairs to Platform O have been caught by Captain Onishima."
Piranha skated idly through the darker streets of Shibuya.
She hadn't been in Love Shocker territory for a long time. But it had
been her first experience of rudiedom. She'd been a Love Shocker before
joining the GGs.
"Haven't been here in a long time," she murmured. "The old HQ should
be just around the corner…"
She turned, and saw the smoking ruin in front of her.
Her mouth dropped open.
"He – hello?" she called, hearing her voice shake. She skated a little
nearer. There was no sound but the clatter of soot-blackened bricks shattering
on the ground.
Piranha took a deep breath, and skated under the crumbling doorway.
Inside the roof had been burnt away, and pale sunlight shone down onto the
timbers and glass shards covering the floor.
And onto four charred skeletons.
Piranha dropped down next to them, feeling tears rise up in her throat.
She could see they were wearing what must have once been skates. And there
were other things – one body still wore a twisted, blackened necklace that she
could dimly remember Shar getting one winter evening.
"Hey, Piranha, don't you just love those necklaces?"
"I guess they're pretty nice. Trouble is, we're skint."
"Oh, come on. I can handle that."
"Hey – hey, come back with that, you damn rudie! You'll pay for this!"
"Oh, yeah, sure. See ya!"
Piranha blinked. Through her tears she saw that the skeletons were
shattered.
"You bitch," she whispered, knowing who'd done this. "You bitch!
Why didn't you just die?"
She shouted the last sentence, and the building shook. But there was no
answer. Kell had long gone.
Where?
I've got to warn the other gangs, Piranha thought. She got to her feet,
brushing soot off her trousers.
"Don't worry," she said, voice shaking, as she stared at the remains of
her old gang. "I'll make her pay for this."
Meanwhile at the police station, Cube and Beat had been handcuffed to some
newly installed rings in the wall of the office.
"What is this place, a prison?"
"Duh!"
"Right, you rudies. I have just one simple question."
"This'll be good," muttered Cube.
"How do you wanna die? Do you wanna get shot? Or stabbed? Or
hung? Anyhow, whichever you choose, your bodies will be left somewhere
conspicuous!"
"Um, where might this be?" asked Beat.
"Oh, just hung off the fairy lights in the middle of Benten Square."
"You have a sick mind, you realise that?" Cube said.
"Well, my dear Cube, you won't die by my hand, Kell wishes that you
die by her claws/drills/saws. Heh, heh, heh hahahahahahaha!"
"Um, we're in trouble?" Beat muttered to Cube, who had gone pale.
"Duh," she whispered back.
"For now I'll just throw you rudies in the slammer!" He banged his
metal fist down on the table. It sent shockwaves through his titanium frame.
He winced, and Beat sniggered. Onishima roared, pointed his minigun at the
table, and blasted it to oblivion.
"Okayyy…um…uh…as long as you don't point that thing at us," Beat
said, who was understandably nervous now.
"That's more like it! GET MARCHING YOU RUDIES!"
"Um, we are handcuffed to the wall," Cube pointed out.
"Oh. Yeah." The shotguns on his shoulders loaded and blew the rings
out of the wall. "Now move it!"
"He's a better shot now," muttered Cube.
"Oh, crap."
"And he's not using rubber bullets no more."
"Oh, crap."
"And now the GGs are leaderless."
"Oh, crap!"
"Hey, wait a minute. The GGs can look after themselves, right?"
Beat muttered rebelliously.
"Gum can look after the GGs."
"Oh, cra – I mean, oh, good. Well, I guess things can't any worse."
Clanggggg. They stumbled into the cell.
"Right, you guys, make sure this cell is heavily guarded!" Onishima
roared. "Use tanks, helicopters, dogs, everything we've got!"
"Um, sir, you already told us to put everything we've got on the streets."
"Oh. Yeah. Well, everything we've got here!"
The officer nodded and dashed down the corridor. Beat noticed that
none of the officers wanted to be especially close to Onishima.
The police captain clattered towards them, his face creased into a smile.
Beat met his eyes, heart pounding as Onishima said, voice rusty from years of
police cigarettes and doughnuts, "You have twelve hours to live, rudies."
"GUM! Gum!" Piranha leapt into the garage and nearly crashed into the
JCB. "What the hell – oh, never mind! Gum! Beat! Cube! Anyone! Even
Yo-Yo! Tab!" She reached down and yanked Future Tab out of a hole by his
boiler suit.
"Ow! What's up – oh, wait. I remember. She's wiped out the Love
Shockers, right?"
"You knew about this?" Piranha snarled, tearstained eyes narrowing.
"Why didn't you do something?"
"Ummm…well, I didn't expect events to move this quickly," Tab said.
"They're all dead?"
Piranha nodded, eyes burning. Garam gently put his arm round her.
Alex, who had been digging in another hole, stood up, covered in earth.
"She's gonna pay for this," she said matter-of-factly.
"How can you not care?" Piranha shrieked. "This is your gang she's
just wiped out! They're supposed to be precious to you! How can you not
damn – well – care?"
"I stopped caring a long time ago," Alex said. She smiled, but there was
no humour in it. Piranha stared at her for a moment, then slapped her face.
Hard.
Alex shrugged. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Piranha. But I can't feel
it. Can't offer no comfort to you. I'm sorry, okay?"
Piranha gave a snarl of frustration. "You aren't fit to be leader of
anything, you heartless bitch…" She turned and marched away into one of the
half-open rooms of the garage.
Alex sighed. She would have liked to join Piranha in her moping, but she just
couldn't care. And she knew why. Kell had tortured her for months after the
other Love Shocker had taken over leadership. And she'd fought down the fear
and pain, and now she was paying for it. Everything else had been frozen too.
Suddenly a huge clawed hand came down on her shoulder, and she
yelped. "Shackler, don't do that!"
"Hey, sorry, Alex. I just – uh – um – well…" She saw panic in the
Poison Jammer's eyes. "What about the other gangs?"
"You think Kell will go after them?" Alex asked Future Tab.
He nodded.
"We've got to warn them," Gum said, scraping dirt off her dress.
"Garam and Shackler and me will go to the Poison Jammers and tell'em.
Gamma, you take some others and go warn the Noise Tanks. Okay?"
"Hey, who died and made you leader?" Yo-Yo asked.
"Beat's out, so I'm assuming the role. You got a problem with that,
buddy?"
"No – no – not at the moment." Yo-Yo leapt back into the large hole
and resumed digging.
"I'll take Mew, Combo and Tab…wait a sec!" Gamma glanced around
the room. "Where's Tab?"
"Oh he got the Come-to-the-Rokkaku-Corporation-letter and left a few
minutes ago," replied Future Tab. "He'll return a genius, much like myself."
"Oh, shut up," Gum said. "Let's go!"
"Man, I hate this place," Gum muttered, picking her way through the sewers.
"It's so – Poison Jammy."
"Hey, you insulting me, honey?" Shackler growled.
"No, Shackler, I'm just saying. This place makes me edgy."
"It doesn't make me edgy," Garam said, grinning.
"That's cos you hung out here. I'm Shibuya-cho born and bred, and it's
too dark and cold and icky here for me."
"Where are the other Jammers gonna be?" Garam asked Shackler, trying
to change the subject.
"They'll be down the steps, in our spare hideout. Now don't you guys
go blabbing about this, okay? Or I'll be dead."
"We can keep our mouths shut," Gum said. She looked round the
sewers. Geez, this place was so dark. And she swore she could hear the count
of her own heartbeat.
As they turned the corner and marched out along the walkway, she
glanced at the other side of the sewers. The tunnels there looked just as slimy
as the ones here. Yeuch.
Suddenly, mingled with the rushing water, she heard the sound of
skates.
"Huh?"
Gum couldn't shake off the horrible feeling that she was being watched.
She kept listening, but now the sewers were silent apart from the drip and
trickle of water.
"Let's do this…" she said, trying to sound confident.
The trio headed down the stairs, their footsteps echoing around the
sewers. They looked down the corridor on their right. Sure enough, the three
Poison Jammers were sitting at the end of it, drinking beer and playing cards.
"Raharr! Snap!"
There was a cracking sound as a Poison Jammer's hand hit the floor.
"Ah, Razer, you idiot, you smushed a card!"
"Sorry, guys."
"We'll have to get another deck. Hey, Cutter, go get us one, will you?"
"Don't worry, guys. I know all the best places to get some."
The burly Poison Jammer got to his feet and headed towards them.
Then he saw the three intruders.
"Huh, Shackler? What you doing here? With GGs?"
"Ah, come on, man, you know I hang with them sometimes. But look, I
got some bad news for you all."
"Well, I got to get some cards."
"This is more important than cards, Cutter!"
"Yeah, yeah, tell me later." Cutter pushed past Shackler and up the
steps.
Shackler sighed. "Come on, guys."
He headed into the corridor.
It didn't take very long to explain what was going on to Razer and the
other Jammer, whose name was Blade. They believed them. Or so it seemed.
"You better go find Cutter," Blade said at last. "Sounds like this is more
serious than I thought."
"Okay," Garam said. "Come on, Gum."
Gum swallowed and followed Garam back up the steps.
"Come on," Garam said, and walked into one of the tunnels. Gum trod
in a puddle, and swore as the icy water splashed into her skates. The lights
flickered.
"Cutter!" she yelled. Silence. "Oh, come on, this is important!"
The lights flickered again, and then went out.
Gum swallowed. Okay, she told herself, it's only the dark. Heh. Can't
hurt me. Only the things in it can hurt me – shut up. Calm.
"Garam?" she said. "Um – can you hold my hand?"
"Sure," he said, and she felt her hands gripped reassuringly.
Her hands?
"Garam?" she said, her voice going dry. She swallowed and tried to
sound calm. "Which of my hands are you holding?"
"The left, I think. Why?"
Gum swallowed. Her stomach was swirling. "Then – then who's
holding my right?"
She didn't dare move. There was someone's hand gripping hers – and it
felt – sharper than a normal hand – almost – bladed –
She dared to turn her head. Was the darkness thicker on one side?
Suddenly there was a crash. "Oh, crap, my shin! Ouchouchouch…"
The sound came closer. CLANG. "Ow, ouch, my head! Must be a pipe fallen
or something…where's my torch?"
Click.
The faint light reflected off metal plates.
Kell was standing there. Holding Gum's hand. Her eye glowed in the
dim light, and shadows clustered around the smirk on her face.
Gum screamed.
Present Tab skated slowly through the backstreets towards the Rokkaku
building. Okay, so Future Tab had been exactly right. He had received the
note, and now he was on his way to meet Koji to get genetic cybernetic healing
training. Either that, or Koji was planning to take him for a swim in Kogane-
cho with concrete skates.
Tab walked up to the huge doors of the Rokkaku complex. It had
changed a lot since the whole demon-summoning thing. It had got bigger, for a
start.
He pressed a button on the intercom. A female voice said, "Please state
your name and your business with the Rokkaku corporation."
"Uh – I'm here to collect the – uh – Rokkaku Grand Prize."
"Oh, come in, Mr Tab. We're expecting you."
'Mr' Tab, eh? Tab brushed imaginary dust off his shoulders as the huge
metal doors in front of him opened up.
He stepped inside. It was one small step for Tab, but a giant leap for
Rudie-kind.
(A/N: Yes, we are paraphrasing the moon landing quote. Please don't
sue.)
Gum ripped her hand from Kell's grip, wincing as her skin was torn by the
blades that rose out of Kell's fingers. Garam and Cutter stood frozen next to
her.
"Hello, honey. Look who's come to play."
"For an android, you are really sadistic, you know that?" Gum's heart
pounded in her chest.
"Oh, I'm not just an android. I'm so much more. Not just a pretty face,
you know."
"What, you're a member of Killers Anonymous? And you're not even a
pretty face."
"You're gonna pay for that." Kell drew back her drill.
"Run!" yelled Garam, and the three rudies hurtled down the tunnel, Kell
in hot pursuit.
Gum and Garam shot out of the tunnel and headed for the stairs. Cutter
was not as fast. Just as he raced round the corner, a wire spike shot out and
looped around his ankle.
"No…no! Please! NO!" He grabbed a pipe to try and stop himself
being dragged back to Kell. There was a sickening crack as his leg snapped,
and he screamed.
"Come to momma." Kell's voice echoed round the corner. Cutter
desperately tried to cling onto something, but it was no good. Even as one
hand closed round a pipe, the glove on it began to slip off…and Cutter slid
round the corner…they heard him crying out…then the whirr of a
buzzsaw…and then…silence.
"Quick," Garam said. "We gotta get out of here."
They tore down the stairs. "Shackler! Shackler! Kell – get out – she's
here – run! RUN!"
"Quick, guys, let's get outta here," Shackler said to Blade and Razer.
All five rudies charged back up the stairs, just as Kell came round the corner,
blood speckling her face.
"Yaaargh!"
"Quick, this way!" Blade said, indicating the rail. They jumped on and
ground along it. Soon they were on the bridge. Gum prepared to jump as they
reached the gap. She tried to stay calm, and not think about the huge cyborg
grinding along behind her…
Jump.
She landed safely on the other side, and looked over her shoulder – to
see the bridge, worn out by years of rust, crack underneath Kell, and drop her
neatly into the greenish water.
Gum pumped her fist in the air, and joined the others in hurrying to the
exit.
Combo, Mew and Gamma skidded to a halt outside the Noise Tank HQ.
"This is the Noise Tank HQ?" Combo said. "Two Rokkaku boxes piled
on top of each other?"
"That's what it looks like," Gamma said. He walked up to the boxes and
pressed a nail on one of them. There was a click. The boxes swung to one
side, leaving just enough space for a rudie to fit through to reach the dark
passageway behind them.
"Cool," Combo said.
A lone Noise Tank walked out. "Gamma, what are you doing here with
GGs? You said you were gonna hang with 'em but you never said nothing
about bringing them here."
"Ah, shut up, Giga," Gamma said. "This is important. We need to
speak to Omega."
"Okaay, but I don't think he'll like this."
The Noise Tank walked back into the HQ and the GGs waited. At last
he returned with two other Noise Tanks.
"You idiot! Why are you bringing GGs into our territory?" Omega spat
out the word GGs like it was a piece of gristle.
"Calm down, Omega." Gamma feigned looking at his nails. "Of
course, if you don't want the news about evil mad cyborgs coming to invade
your territory and brutally slaughter you all…"
"Dammit, Gamma, you can always wrap me around your little finger,
can't you? Well, what's going on, then?"
Combo stepped forward. "It's like dis."
"When da Lord said let it be light…" Mew murmured from behind him.
Combo wheeled round and glared at her until she shut up, then said,
"There's these cyborg monster dudes…well, basically, Kell and Onishima are
back. Horrible cyborgs. Annnnd…Kell happens to be smushing all the gangs.
This is not good. So that's why we're gonna evacuate you guys."
"Where to?" Giga asked.
"The garage. It's – uh – got a little bigger lately."
"No way. Come on, let's go, guys." Omega turned away. "If you think
we're gonna believe that –"
BOOOM.
A large gout of flame burst out of the entrance to the HQ, turning the
crates to ash.
They looked up, and saw Onishima standing on top of the bridge, rocket
launcher smoking.
"Hahahhhhhhaaahaaa! Not so tough now, are ya, punks! Take this!"
He raised his minigun.
"Shiit! Run, dudes!" yelled Gamma, and the six rudies hurtled up the
hill along the traintracks while bullets ricocheted off the ground around their
ankles.
"DIIE!" Onishima hefted the rocket launcher and fired.
Meanwhile, back at the police station…
"How much longer until we die?" said Cube.
"Hmm. How long did he say we have?"
"Twelve hours. That was about two hours ago."
"So…ten hours until we die. Unless the guys save us, of course." Beat
sighed.
"RIGHT!" There was an ominous crash. Kell stomped into the jail. She
did not look happy.
"WHERE IS HE?" she bellowed at the top of her electronic voice.
"I'LL KILL HIM!"
Kell grabbed an unfortunate police officer by the front of his shirt.
"Where's Onishima?"
"I – uh – Benten-cho – " The poor man's face was slowly turning
purple as Kell transferred her grip to his throat. "Gone…to get…rudies…"
"Well tell him Kell called, and she's not a happy bunny." She threw the
man against the wall. "If he didn't survive that, make sure Onishima gets the
message."
"Uh oh…" Cube felt vaguely sick. She felt Beat put an arm round her
shoulders.
"Well, well, well, look who it is. The very princess of Goths herself."
There was a clang as Kell hurled a filing cabinet through the wall. Then she
skated towards them, skates scraping the floor.
"Kell, is that slime on your shorts or are you just pleased to see me?"
Cube managed to say. She felt Beat snort with suppressed laughter. Kell's eye
narrowed and a growl rose up from her throat.
"Very funny," she snarled. In one stride she reached the cell door. With
a quick flip of the wrist she lifted it off its hinges.
"Hi, honey, did you miss me?"
"Like a hole in the head."
"Cube…it's not an idea to be funny here…" Beat muttered.
"Take a bit of advice from your little friend. So, Beat, how've you
been? Did you miss me as much as Cube did?"
"I think I can honestly say – yes."
"Oh, geez, am I like a third wheel? You guys should have told me. You
know, so I could do something about it. Like…get rid of one of the other
wheels…so I could be the second wheel? Understand?" Her four extra arms
ripped out of the back of her shirt, and the blades extended from her hands.
"Come here, honey…"
Kell grabbed Cube by the arms and pinned her against the wall. "Give
me a kiss."
Cube headbutted Kell, hard, in the nose. There was a crack. Blood
began to pour from Kell's nose.
"That hurt." Kell grabbed the front of Cube's shirt. "You're gonna
pay."
She slapped Cube across the face, sending the rudie flying across the
cell. Cube hit the wall and crumpled to the floor. Kell began to stride across
the floor towards her.
Beat leapt up, pulled Cube to her feet, and raced for the open door.
Kell gave out a roar of rage and shot out of the empty cell after them.
Beat and Cube dashed past surprised officers as fast as they could. They
reached the front door. Beat pushed it open and charged through, dragging
Cube behind him. He was just about to slam the door behind them when a wire
spike shot through it and wrenched Cube from his arms.
"No!"
"Beeeeeeeeat!" Cube yelled as she was dragged back through the door.
"Run! Run, you dozy dweeb! Get outta herrrrre…"
The door slammed, and she was cut off.
Beat skated away, tears shining in his eyes. He skated all the way to the
bus terminal. There he dropped to his knees, and screamed to the heavens,
"Nooooooooooooooo!"
"Dude, we totally finished the tunnels!"
"Nice going, Tabster man!"
"Nice going to you, Yoster man!"
"WHAAAASSSSUUUUPPP!"
"WHAAAASSSSUUUUPPP!"
"You two are so immature," snapped Gum.
"Yeah, we are totally high, Gumster man!"
"You mean woman, man!"
"Yeah! Uh – do you think we're high cos of that gas main we struck a
while back, Tabster man?"
"Probably. Anyway…I think I'll fall unconscious now…"
Combo leapt through the gate and onto the fairy lights in the square, Mew
following. Then Gamma, Giga, Data, and Omega.
"You can't escape me, rudies!" Onishima snarled.
Combo braked as he reached the central platform above the square. The
other five rudies crowded onto it with him.
"Which way, which way? Oh, for the love of God, tell us which way!"
yowled Data, her voice screeching into the night.
"Hah, gotcha now!"
Combo looked to where Onishima was aiming.
"Uh-oh…"
The target sights of Onishima's rocket launcher were focused squarely
on the pole holding up their platform.
"Jump!"
BANG
Five of the rudies leapt. The other one fell.
"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" Giga screamed as he plummeted
downwards. He stared down and saw a shard of metal from the wreckage
rising towards his chest.
THUNK.
"Oh, man…I'm gonna be sick…" Mew groaned. She turned and ran off
behind a truck.
Onishima strode into the square, his cracked laugh echoing round the
square. He was about to charge towards them, but the wreckage was blocking
his path and he'd run out of rockets. "I'll get you next time, rudies…next time,
I'll have a bigger rocker launcher…with more rockets!"
He gave one last snigger at the body lying impaled in the middle of the
square, then turned and marched away.
"Giga…" Data said. "No, please don't be dead, please don't be dead…"
She gingerly lifted off his mask. He coughed blood. His eyes were
closing as he whispered, "Data…I'll see you later…"
He gave one shudder, and died.
Data took off her own mask. Underneath it she had elegant Oriental
features that were now frozen in shock. Tears spilled down her skin as she
wept on the body of her beloved.
Present Tab walked slowly through the streets of Shibuya. He had learned a lot
in the last two hours. He was certain his head had grown at least three sizes.
"I wonder how the guys are doing," he wondered. "We'll have to build
some nuclear bomb shelters in the garage. Of course, maybe Future Tab's
already thought of that. I mean, being me and everything…"
He turned the corner into the bus terminal, and saw Beat sitting on the
steps up to the bridge, head in his hands.
"Beat? Beat, what's happened?"
"I let her get away, Tab," Beat said, his voice dead.
"Who? Don't tell me you broke up with Gum again?"
"Ha, ha. Very funny. I mean Cube. We were in the police
station…we'd been caught…"
"You got caught? It's not a good day."
"Anyway, Kell turned up…"
"Eek."
"And, well, she ripped the door off its hinges, and we ran out…"
"And?"
"Then Cube…got caught…again…and it's all my fault!" Beat slammed
his fist into the banister and didn't appear to notice it had started bleeding.
"Beat, that wasn't your fault. It could've happened to any of us…except
maybe Combo."
"But I'm not Combo, am I, and I'm supposed to be able to stop these
things from happening! I'm the leader!"
"Look, we'll get her back, okay? You're hardly gonna get her back
sitting here crying your eyes out. Some leader!"
"You take that back, mister!" Beat picked Tab up by his boiler suit.
Tab smirked. "See? You're feeling better already."
"I hate it when you and Gum do that! C'mon, let's get back to the
garage."
"So, Tabster man. Which of the girl GGs do you think is the hottest?"
"Hmm. That's a hard one. Piranha's got the nicest chest…Mew's got
the nicest butt…Gum is just…cool…and Cube…hmm. Cube's just
got…cubieness…"
"Well, she won't have any more cubieness if we don't do something!"
yelled Beat, dashing into the garage.
"I take it she's been caught, then." Tab took a sip of his Coke.
"You knew this? Why don't you tell us these things?"
"Well, excuuuuuse me. I have been moving the entire garage
underground all day. I hit a gas main! And a gas man! And then he hit me
back and Yo-Yo threw Kentucky Fried Chicken at him so he ran off. Anyway,
I've been busy!"
"Well, that's not good enough! I need the rest of the GGs, right here,
right now, on the double, stat! Does anyone have any alcohol?"
"Don't be a prat," Gum said. "You need a clear head if you're gonna do
any rescuing."
"Okay. Okay. I'm calm. I'm calm. WHERE ARE THEY?"
"Beat! Blood pressure! You don't need to get so upset. You're acting
like she's your girlfriend – which she isn't…is she?"
Everyone present remembered the unfortunate incident that had
happened between Cube and Beat in Benten-cho. Gum and Beat had since
reunited, but their relationship was – uh – turbulent.
"No. Nonononono. She's just my – not counting you, Gum, and you,
Tabs, she's my best friend. And I just happen to be a little worried about her
because she's been kidnapped by a maniac Love Shocker cyborg! Now, I said
I wanted those GGs, stat, double stat, on the double, you name it we got it,
where are they?"
"Okay, okay, we're calling them up." Gum took out her mobile and
began dialling.
Soon all the GGs, three Noise Tanks, three Poison Jammers, and a Love
Shocker, had arrived in the garage. Beat prepared to form a council of war.
"Okay, people, here's the deal. Cube has been caught by Kell."
"Bad thing," put in Future Tab.
"She's been taken to her secret HQ, and we don't where they are."
"Another bad thing."
"But – there are seventeen of us and only one of her."
"Good thing."
"We are gonna perform a Tokyo-to wide search. All the rudies will be
alerted over Jet Set Radio if possible. Leave no manhole cover unturned! We
are not gonna let one of our own be chewed up by a mad cyborg. We have to
stick together! So are ya with me?"
"Yeah!"
"Uh – okay! Let's go!"
"Yo, man, yo! Hut hut hut!"
"Yo-Yo, stop inhaling the gas…"
"Okay…yoyoyoyoyoyo yoooo!"
"Welcome to my parlour, said the spider to the fly. Or should that be the Kell
to the Cube?"
The knife caught the dim light as it was thrown from one metallic hand
to the other.
"You're sick. You know that? You're really sick. Not even Onishima
would make his HQ on top of a graveyard."
A wire spike pinned the knife to the wall.
"Ooh, lecturing me, are you? And since when were you as good as
gold? I thought Goths were supposed to be bad girls. No matter. I'll make
you be good, huh, Cube?"
Bladed fingers idly twirled Cube's hair.
Cube tried to move away, even though she was chained to a chair.
"Oh, stop fighting it, Cube. You know you want to."
"Yes. I know I want to…get away from you, that is!"
"Well, I guess I could keep you alive until I've wiped out the rest of
your little friends. And I'm not making the same mistake I did last time.
There's no Love Shockers to desert me this time. No one to desert me at all.
Because I'm on the winning side. And you're not."
"Tab, what are you doing?"
Cube was looking down into a large hole in the floor of the garage, lined with
metal.
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm digging!"
"Okaaayy…This may like a stupid question, but – why?"
"Oh, this actually happened in our future."
"You dug tunnels under the garage?"
"It's for protection. They're very useful. You see, these tunnels are
bomb proof, gun proof, knife proof, angry Gum proof and even big nasty
cyborg proof."
"How come you all got killed in the other reality, then?"
"Ah. That was because we only dug the tunnels once four of us were
dead. Plus we were taken by surprise, and they attacked us while I was digging
them. But this time it'll all go fine!"
"Oh…right. So, what aren't they proof?"
"I don't know, seeing as we never got to test them before."
"Okay…you just keep digging."
"Hey, Tab-man!" Yo-Yo's voice echoed from outside. "Where'd you
want the JCB?"
"Oh, man…"
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
"Okay, you mugs. This –" Onishima slammed his metal fist onto the
map on the table. "This is how we're going to get the rudies.
"Here, we have the district of Shibuya-cho. And the GGs' base is here."
"Uh, sir, what about the other rudies? Noise Tanks – Poison Jam – Love
Shockersurrrrrrrgh –"
Onishima rammed the unfortunate officer against the wall. "Listen, you,
I have one of my best agents on the job. The Love Shockers, at present, are no
more. They have only one member left. She was – uh – unfortunately – at the
GGs when the eradication took place."
"What was she doing there, sir?" someone asked.
"Oh, she and the leaders of the other two gangs are trying to make peace
treaties with the GGs." Onishima spat out the words as though they were
vinegar-tasting. "Oh, and she was screwing some Poison Jammer. But I don't
know much about their social lives."
"Now, as I was saying, we are going to get – let me see – tanks,
helicopters, the SWAT team, paratroopers – everything this fricking police
force has to fricking well offer, and smush those GGs once and for all!"
"Uh – yes – yes, sir." The other cops glanced at each other nervously.
"We'll get right on it!"
"Meanwhile, I'm patrolling the streets. I'm gonna make those punks
regret the day they picked up a pair of skates." Inside the glass dome,
Onishima's eyes narrowed. "Let's go."
"Okay, that does it. I'm going out." Cube glared round at the earth-covered
GGs. "I cannot take this – pneumatic drills, JCBs, KCBs, CFCs, KFCs…"
"Hey, don't diss the KFC!" Yo-Yo said through a mouthful of fried
chicken.
"Yo-Yo…" Beat was massaging his temples. "Shut up. I can't take it
any more either. Cube, let's go tag."
"Sure. Sweet."
Outside the air in Shibuya-cho was clean and fresh after the building dust.
Cube breathed in, feeling her spirits lift, and grinned.
"Okay, then, Cube," Beat said. "Where shall we tag first?"
"Ummm…how about Park Street?"
"Let's go."
Soon they reached Park Street. Cube began tagging an X-tra large tag of
Fatal Regrets on the pavement, when suddenly she heard a clunking sound.
She looked round at Beat, who was tagging on the other side of the road. There
was a shot.
"What the – arrrrrrrgh!"
Cube gaped as a wire shot itself around Beat's chest, pinning his arms to
his sides. He struggled furiously. "What the hell is this?"
"Didn't Tab say something about wire spikes?" Cube dashed across the
road and tried to free Beat, but it was hopeless.
There was another shot. Cube felt something encircle her waist. She
looked down in horror and saw the wire tighten around her. She tried to pull it
off, but it was immovable.
Suddenly she was dragged off her feet. Moving faster and faster as her
skates gathered speed, she heard Beat yelp as the same thing happened to him.
The air stung her face as she hurtled towards the bridge. She looked up and
saw Onishima standing there. Her heart sank.
Then they reached the steps.
"This is gonna hurt," Beat muttered from behind her.
It did.
Cube winced as she felt the concrete bite into her shins. As they
reached the top, she bit back a yelp.
"This is Shibuya Railways," a familiar voice said. "The two rudies
dragged up the stairs to Platform O have been caught by Captain Onishima."
Piranha skated idly through the darker streets of Shibuya.
She hadn't been in Love Shocker territory for a long time. But it had
been her first experience of rudiedom. She'd been a Love Shocker before
joining the GGs.
"Haven't been here in a long time," she murmured. "The old HQ should
be just around the corner…"
She turned, and saw the smoking ruin in front of her.
Her mouth dropped open.
"He – hello?" she called, hearing her voice shake. She skated a little
nearer. There was no sound but the clatter of soot-blackened bricks shattering
on the ground.
Piranha took a deep breath, and skated under the crumbling doorway.
Inside the roof had been burnt away, and pale sunlight shone down onto the
timbers and glass shards covering the floor.
And onto four charred skeletons.
Piranha dropped down next to them, feeling tears rise up in her throat.
She could see they were wearing what must have once been skates. And there
were other things – one body still wore a twisted, blackened necklace that she
could dimly remember Shar getting one winter evening.
"Hey, Piranha, don't you just love those necklaces?"
"I guess they're pretty nice. Trouble is, we're skint."
"Oh, come on. I can handle that."
"Hey – hey, come back with that, you damn rudie! You'll pay for this!"
"Oh, yeah, sure. See ya!"
Piranha blinked. Through her tears she saw that the skeletons were
shattered.
"You bitch," she whispered, knowing who'd done this. "You bitch!
Why didn't you just die?"
She shouted the last sentence, and the building shook. But there was no
answer. Kell had long gone.
Where?
I've got to warn the other gangs, Piranha thought. She got to her feet,
brushing soot off her trousers.
"Don't worry," she said, voice shaking, as she stared at the remains of
her old gang. "I'll make her pay for this."
Meanwhile at the police station, Cube and Beat had been handcuffed to some
newly installed rings in the wall of the office.
"What is this place, a prison?"
"Duh!"
"Right, you rudies. I have just one simple question."
"This'll be good," muttered Cube.
"How do you wanna die? Do you wanna get shot? Or stabbed? Or
hung? Anyhow, whichever you choose, your bodies will be left somewhere
conspicuous!"
"Um, where might this be?" asked Beat.
"Oh, just hung off the fairy lights in the middle of Benten Square."
"You have a sick mind, you realise that?" Cube said.
"Well, my dear Cube, you won't die by my hand, Kell wishes that you
die by her claws/drills/saws. Heh, heh, heh hahahahahahaha!"
"Um, we're in trouble?" Beat muttered to Cube, who had gone pale.
"Duh," she whispered back.
"For now I'll just throw you rudies in the slammer!" He banged his
metal fist down on the table. It sent shockwaves through his titanium frame.
He winced, and Beat sniggered. Onishima roared, pointed his minigun at the
table, and blasted it to oblivion.
"Okayyy…um…uh…as long as you don't point that thing at us," Beat
said, who was understandably nervous now.
"That's more like it! GET MARCHING YOU RUDIES!"
"Um, we are handcuffed to the wall," Cube pointed out.
"Oh. Yeah." The shotguns on his shoulders loaded and blew the rings
out of the wall. "Now move it!"
"He's a better shot now," muttered Cube.
"Oh, crap."
"And he's not using rubber bullets no more."
"Oh, crap."
"And now the GGs are leaderless."
"Oh, crap!"
"Hey, wait a minute. The GGs can look after themselves, right?"
Beat muttered rebelliously.
"Gum can look after the GGs."
"Oh, cra – I mean, oh, good. Well, I guess things can't any worse."
Clanggggg. They stumbled into the cell.
"Right, you guys, make sure this cell is heavily guarded!" Onishima
roared. "Use tanks, helicopters, dogs, everything we've got!"
"Um, sir, you already told us to put everything we've got on the streets."
"Oh. Yeah. Well, everything we've got here!"
The officer nodded and dashed down the corridor. Beat noticed that
none of the officers wanted to be especially close to Onishima.
The police captain clattered towards them, his face creased into a smile.
Beat met his eyes, heart pounding as Onishima said, voice rusty from years of
police cigarettes and doughnuts, "You have twelve hours to live, rudies."
"GUM! Gum!" Piranha leapt into the garage and nearly crashed into the
JCB. "What the hell – oh, never mind! Gum! Beat! Cube! Anyone! Even
Yo-Yo! Tab!" She reached down and yanked Future Tab out of a hole by his
boiler suit.
"Ow! What's up – oh, wait. I remember. She's wiped out the Love
Shockers, right?"
"You knew about this?" Piranha snarled, tearstained eyes narrowing.
"Why didn't you do something?"
"Ummm…well, I didn't expect events to move this quickly," Tab said.
"They're all dead?"
Piranha nodded, eyes burning. Garam gently put his arm round her.
Alex, who had been digging in another hole, stood up, covered in earth.
"She's gonna pay for this," she said matter-of-factly.
"How can you not care?" Piranha shrieked. "This is your gang she's
just wiped out! They're supposed to be precious to you! How can you not
damn – well – care?"
"I stopped caring a long time ago," Alex said. She smiled, but there was
no humour in it. Piranha stared at her for a moment, then slapped her face.
Hard.
Alex shrugged. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Piranha. But I can't feel
it. Can't offer no comfort to you. I'm sorry, okay?"
Piranha gave a snarl of frustration. "You aren't fit to be leader of
anything, you heartless bitch…" She turned and marched away into one of the
half-open rooms of the garage.
Alex sighed. She would have liked to join Piranha in her moping, but she just
couldn't care. And she knew why. Kell had tortured her for months after the
other Love Shocker had taken over leadership. And she'd fought down the fear
and pain, and now she was paying for it. Everything else had been frozen too.
Suddenly a huge clawed hand came down on her shoulder, and she
yelped. "Shackler, don't do that!"
"Hey, sorry, Alex. I just – uh – um – well…" She saw panic in the
Poison Jammer's eyes. "What about the other gangs?"
"You think Kell will go after them?" Alex asked Future Tab.
He nodded.
"We've got to warn them," Gum said, scraping dirt off her dress.
"Garam and Shackler and me will go to the Poison Jammers and tell'em.
Gamma, you take some others and go warn the Noise Tanks. Okay?"
"Hey, who died and made you leader?" Yo-Yo asked.
"Beat's out, so I'm assuming the role. You got a problem with that,
buddy?"
"No – no – not at the moment." Yo-Yo leapt back into the large hole
and resumed digging.
"I'll take Mew, Combo and Tab…wait a sec!" Gamma glanced around
the room. "Where's Tab?"
"Oh he got the Come-to-the-Rokkaku-Corporation-letter and left a few
minutes ago," replied Future Tab. "He'll return a genius, much like myself."
"Oh, shut up," Gum said. "Let's go!"
"Man, I hate this place," Gum muttered, picking her way through the sewers.
"It's so – Poison Jammy."
"Hey, you insulting me, honey?" Shackler growled.
"No, Shackler, I'm just saying. This place makes me edgy."
"It doesn't make me edgy," Garam said, grinning.
"That's cos you hung out here. I'm Shibuya-cho born and bred, and it's
too dark and cold and icky here for me."
"Where are the other Jammers gonna be?" Garam asked Shackler, trying
to change the subject.
"They'll be down the steps, in our spare hideout. Now don't you guys
go blabbing about this, okay? Or I'll be dead."
"We can keep our mouths shut," Gum said. She looked round the
sewers. Geez, this place was so dark. And she swore she could hear the count
of her own heartbeat.
As they turned the corner and marched out along the walkway, she
glanced at the other side of the sewers. The tunnels there looked just as slimy
as the ones here. Yeuch.
Suddenly, mingled with the rushing water, she heard the sound of
skates.
"Huh?"
Gum couldn't shake off the horrible feeling that she was being watched.
She kept listening, but now the sewers were silent apart from the drip and
trickle of water.
"Let's do this…" she said, trying to sound confident.
The trio headed down the stairs, their footsteps echoing around the
sewers. They looked down the corridor on their right. Sure enough, the three
Poison Jammers were sitting at the end of it, drinking beer and playing cards.
"Raharr! Snap!"
There was a cracking sound as a Poison Jammer's hand hit the floor.
"Ah, Razer, you idiot, you smushed a card!"
"Sorry, guys."
"We'll have to get another deck. Hey, Cutter, go get us one, will you?"
"Don't worry, guys. I know all the best places to get some."
The burly Poison Jammer got to his feet and headed towards them.
Then he saw the three intruders.
"Huh, Shackler? What you doing here? With GGs?"
"Ah, come on, man, you know I hang with them sometimes. But look, I
got some bad news for you all."
"Well, I got to get some cards."
"This is more important than cards, Cutter!"
"Yeah, yeah, tell me later." Cutter pushed past Shackler and up the
steps.
Shackler sighed. "Come on, guys."
He headed into the corridor.
It didn't take very long to explain what was going on to Razer and the
other Jammer, whose name was Blade. They believed them. Or so it seemed.
"You better go find Cutter," Blade said at last. "Sounds like this is more
serious than I thought."
"Okay," Garam said. "Come on, Gum."
Gum swallowed and followed Garam back up the steps.
"Come on," Garam said, and walked into one of the tunnels. Gum trod
in a puddle, and swore as the icy water splashed into her skates. The lights
flickered.
"Cutter!" she yelled. Silence. "Oh, come on, this is important!"
The lights flickered again, and then went out.
Gum swallowed. Okay, she told herself, it's only the dark. Heh. Can't
hurt me. Only the things in it can hurt me – shut up. Calm.
"Garam?" she said. "Um – can you hold my hand?"
"Sure," he said, and she felt her hands gripped reassuringly.
Her hands?
"Garam?" she said, her voice going dry. She swallowed and tried to
sound calm. "Which of my hands are you holding?"
"The left, I think. Why?"
Gum swallowed. Her stomach was swirling. "Then – then who's
holding my right?"
She didn't dare move. There was someone's hand gripping hers – and it
felt – sharper than a normal hand – almost – bladed –
She dared to turn her head. Was the darkness thicker on one side?
Suddenly there was a crash. "Oh, crap, my shin! Ouchouchouch…"
The sound came closer. CLANG. "Ow, ouch, my head! Must be a pipe fallen
or something…where's my torch?"
Click.
The faint light reflected off metal plates.
Kell was standing there. Holding Gum's hand. Her eye glowed in the
dim light, and shadows clustered around the smirk on her face.
Gum screamed.
Present Tab skated slowly through the backstreets towards the Rokkaku
building. Okay, so Future Tab had been exactly right. He had received the
note, and now he was on his way to meet Koji to get genetic cybernetic healing
training. Either that, or Koji was planning to take him for a swim in Kogane-
cho with concrete skates.
Tab walked up to the huge doors of the Rokkaku complex. It had
changed a lot since the whole demon-summoning thing. It had got bigger, for a
start.
He pressed a button on the intercom. A female voice said, "Please state
your name and your business with the Rokkaku corporation."
"Uh – I'm here to collect the – uh – Rokkaku Grand Prize."
"Oh, come in, Mr Tab. We're expecting you."
'Mr' Tab, eh? Tab brushed imaginary dust off his shoulders as the huge
metal doors in front of him opened up.
He stepped inside. It was one small step for Tab, but a giant leap for
Rudie-kind.
(A/N: Yes, we are paraphrasing the moon landing quote. Please don't
sue.)
Gum ripped her hand from Kell's grip, wincing as her skin was torn by the
blades that rose out of Kell's fingers. Garam and Cutter stood frozen next to
her.
"Hello, honey. Look who's come to play."
"For an android, you are really sadistic, you know that?" Gum's heart
pounded in her chest.
"Oh, I'm not just an android. I'm so much more. Not just a pretty face,
you know."
"What, you're a member of Killers Anonymous? And you're not even a
pretty face."
"You're gonna pay for that." Kell drew back her drill.
"Run!" yelled Garam, and the three rudies hurtled down the tunnel, Kell
in hot pursuit.
Gum and Garam shot out of the tunnel and headed for the stairs. Cutter
was not as fast. Just as he raced round the corner, a wire spike shot out and
looped around his ankle.
"No…no! Please! NO!" He grabbed a pipe to try and stop himself
being dragged back to Kell. There was a sickening crack as his leg snapped,
and he screamed.
"Come to momma." Kell's voice echoed round the corner. Cutter
desperately tried to cling onto something, but it was no good. Even as one
hand closed round a pipe, the glove on it began to slip off…and Cutter slid
round the corner…they heard him crying out…then the whirr of a
buzzsaw…and then…silence.
"Quick," Garam said. "We gotta get out of here."
They tore down the stairs. "Shackler! Shackler! Kell – get out – she's
here – run! RUN!"
"Quick, guys, let's get outta here," Shackler said to Blade and Razer.
All five rudies charged back up the stairs, just as Kell came round the corner,
blood speckling her face.
"Yaaargh!"
"Quick, this way!" Blade said, indicating the rail. They jumped on and
ground along it. Soon they were on the bridge. Gum prepared to jump as they
reached the gap. She tried to stay calm, and not think about the huge cyborg
grinding along behind her…
Jump.
She landed safely on the other side, and looked over her shoulder – to
see the bridge, worn out by years of rust, crack underneath Kell, and drop her
neatly into the greenish water.
Gum pumped her fist in the air, and joined the others in hurrying to the
exit.
Combo, Mew and Gamma skidded to a halt outside the Noise Tank HQ.
"This is the Noise Tank HQ?" Combo said. "Two Rokkaku boxes piled
on top of each other?"
"That's what it looks like," Gamma said. He walked up to the boxes and
pressed a nail on one of them. There was a click. The boxes swung to one
side, leaving just enough space for a rudie to fit through to reach the dark
passageway behind them.
"Cool," Combo said.
A lone Noise Tank walked out. "Gamma, what are you doing here with
GGs? You said you were gonna hang with 'em but you never said nothing
about bringing them here."
"Ah, shut up, Giga," Gamma said. "This is important. We need to
speak to Omega."
"Okaay, but I don't think he'll like this."
The Noise Tank walked back into the HQ and the GGs waited. At last
he returned with two other Noise Tanks.
"You idiot! Why are you bringing GGs into our territory?" Omega spat
out the word GGs like it was a piece of gristle.
"Calm down, Omega." Gamma feigned looking at his nails. "Of
course, if you don't want the news about evil mad cyborgs coming to invade
your territory and brutally slaughter you all…"
"Dammit, Gamma, you can always wrap me around your little finger,
can't you? Well, what's going on, then?"
Combo stepped forward. "It's like dis."
"When da Lord said let it be light…" Mew murmured from behind him.
Combo wheeled round and glared at her until she shut up, then said,
"There's these cyborg monster dudes…well, basically, Kell and Onishima are
back. Horrible cyborgs. Annnnd…Kell happens to be smushing all the gangs.
This is not good. So that's why we're gonna evacuate you guys."
"Where to?" Giga asked.
"The garage. It's – uh – got a little bigger lately."
"No way. Come on, let's go, guys." Omega turned away. "If you think
we're gonna believe that –"
BOOOM.
A large gout of flame burst out of the entrance to the HQ, turning the
crates to ash.
They looked up, and saw Onishima standing on top of the bridge, rocket
launcher smoking.
"Hahahhhhhhaaahaaa! Not so tough now, are ya, punks! Take this!"
He raised his minigun.
"Shiit! Run, dudes!" yelled Gamma, and the six rudies hurtled up the
hill along the traintracks while bullets ricocheted off the ground around their
ankles.
"DIIE!" Onishima hefted the rocket launcher and fired.
Meanwhile, back at the police station…
"How much longer until we die?" said Cube.
"Hmm. How long did he say we have?"
"Twelve hours. That was about two hours ago."
"So…ten hours until we die. Unless the guys save us, of course." Beat
sighed.
"RIGHT!" There was an ominous crash. Kell stomped into the jail. She
did not look happy.
"WHERE IS HE?" she bellowed at the top of her electronic voice.
"I'LL KILL HIM!"
Kell grabbed an unfortunate police officer by the front of his shirt.
"Where's Onishima?"
"I – uh – Benten-cho – " The poor man's face was slowly turning
purple as Kell transferred her grip to his throat. "Gone…to get…rudies…"
"Well tell him Kell called, and she's not a happy bunny." She threw the
man against the wall. "If he didn't survive that, make sure Onishima gets the
message."
"Uh oh…" Cube felt vaguely sick. She felt Beat put an arm round her
shoulders.
"Well, well, well, look who it is. The very princess of Goths herself."
There was a clang as Kell hurled a filing cabinet through the wall. Then she
skated towards them, skates scraping the floor.
"Kell, is that slime on your shorts or are you just pleased to see me?"
Cube managed to say. She felt Beat snort with suppressed laughter. Kell's eye
narrowed and a growl rose up from her throat.
"Very funny," she snarled. In one stride she reached the cell door. With
a quick flip of the wrist she lifted it off its hinges.
"Hi, honey, did you miss me?"
"Like a hole in the head."
"Cube…it's not an idea to be funny here…" Beat muttered.
"Take a bit of advice from your little friend. So, Beat, how've you
been? Did you miss me as much as Cube did?"
"I think I can honestly say – yes."
"Oh, geez, am I like a third wheel? You guys should have told me. You
know, so I could do something about it. Like…get rid of one of the other
wheels…so I could be the second wheel? Understand?" Her four extra arms
ripped out of the back of her shirt, and the blades extended from her hands.
"Come here, honey…"
Kell grabbed Cube by the arms and pinned her against the wall. "Give
me a kiss."
Cube headbutted Kell, hard, in the nose. There was a crack. Blood
began to pour from Kell's nose.
"That hurt." Kell grabbed the front of Cube's shirt. "You're gonna
pay."
She slapped Cube across the face, sending the rudie flying across the
cell. Cube hit the wall and crumpled to the floor. Kell began to stride across
the floor towards her.
Beat leapt up, pulled Cube to her feet, and raced for the open door.
Kell gave out a roar of rage and shot out of the empty cell after them.
Beat and Cube dashed past surprised officers as fast as they could. They
reached the front door. Beat pushed it open and charged through, dragging
Cube behind him. He was just about to slam the door behind them when a wire
spike shot through it and wrenched Cube from his arms.
"No!"
"Beeeeeeeeat!" Cube yelled as she was dragged back through the door.
"Run! Run, you dozy dweeb! Get outta herrrrre…"
The door slammed, and she was cut off.
Beat skated away, tears shining in his eyes. He skated all the way to the
bus terminal. There he dropped to his knees, and screamed to the heavens,
"Nooooooooooooooo!"
"Dude, we totally finished the tunnels!"
"Nice going, Tabster man!"
"Nice going to you, Yoster man!"
"WHAAAASSSSUUUUPPP!"
"WHAAAASSSSUUUUPPP!"
"You two are so immature," snapped Gum.
"Yeah, we are totally high, Gumster man!"
"You mean woman, man!"
"Yeah! Uh – do you think we're high cos of that gas main we struck a
while back, Tabster man?"
"Probably. Anyway…I think I'll fall unconscious now…"
Combo leapt through the gate and onto the fairy lights in the square, Mew
following. Then Gamma, Giga, Data, and Omega.
"You can't escape me, rudies!" Onishima snarled.
Combo braked as he reached the central platform above the square. The
other five rudies crowded onto it with him.
"Which way, which way? Oh, for the love of God, tell us which way!"
yowled Data, her voice screeching into the night.
"Hah, gotcha now!"
Combo looked to where Onishima was aiming.
"Uh-oh…"
The target sights of Onishima's rocket launcher were focused squarely
on the pole holding up their platform.
"Jump!"
BANG
Five of the rudies leapt. The other one fell.
"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!" Giga screamed as he plummeted
downwards. He stared down and saw a shard of metal from the wreckage
rising towards his chest.
THUNK.
"Oh, man…I'm gonna be sick…" Mew groaned. She turned and ran off
behind a truck.
Onishima strode into the square, his cracked laugh echoing round the
square. He was about to charge towards them, but the wreckage was blocking
his path and he'd run out of rockets. "I'll get you next time, rudies…next time,
I'll have a bigger rocker launcher…with more rockets!"
He gave one last snigger at the body lying impaled in the middle of the
square, then turned and marched away.
"Giga…" Data said. "No, please don't be dead, please don't be dead…"
She gingerly lifted off his mask. He coughed blood. His eyes were
closing as he whispered, "Data…I'll see you later…"
He gave one shudder, and died.
Data took off her own mask. Underneath it she had elegant Oriental
features that were now frozen in shock. Tears spilled down her skin as she
wept on the body of her beloved.
Present Tab walked slowly through the streets of Shibuya. He had learned a lot
in the last two hours. He was certain his head had grown at least three sizes.
"I wonder how the guys are doing," he wondered. "We'll have to build
some nuclear bomb shelters in the garage. Of course, maybe Future Tab's
already thought of that. I mean, being me and everything…"
He turned the corner into the bus terminal, and saw Beat sitting on the
steps up to the bridge, head in his hands.
"Beat? Beat, what's happened?"
"I let her get away, Tab," Beat said, his voice dead.
"Who? Don't tell me you broke up with Gum again?"
"Ha, ha. Very funny. I mean Cube. We were in the police
station…we'd been caught…"
"You got caught? It's not a good day."
"Anyway, Kell turned up…"
"Eek."
"And, well, she ripped the door off its hinges, and we ran out…"
"And?"
"Then Cube…got caught…again…and it's all my fault!" Beat slammed
his fist into the banister and didn't appear to notice it had started bleeding.
"Beat, that wasn't your fault. It could've happened to any of us…except
maybe Combo."
"But I'm not Combo, am I, and I'm supposed to be able to stop these
things from happening! I'm the leader!"
"Look, we'll get her back, okay? You're hardly gonna get her back
sitting here crying your eyes out. Some leader!"
"You take that back, mister!" Beat picked Tab up by his boiler suit.
Tab smirked. "See? You're feeling better already."
"I hate it when you and Gum do that! C'mon, let's get back to the
garage."
"So, Tabster man. Which of the girl GGs do you think is the hottest?"
"Hmm. That's a hard one. Piranha's got the nicest chest…Mew's got
the nicest butt…Gum is just…cool…and Cube…hmm. Cube's just
got…cubieness…"
"Well, she won't have any more cubieness if we don't do something!"
yelled Beat, dashing into the garage.
"I take it she's been caught, then." Tab took a sip of his Coke.
"You knew this? Why don't you tell us these things?"
"Well, excuuuuuse me. I have been moving the entire garage
underground all day. I hit a gas main! And a gas man! And then he hit me
back and Yo-Yo threw Kentucky Fried Chicken at him so he ran off. Anyway,
I've been busy!"
"Well, that's not good enough! I need the rest of the GGs, right here,
right now, on the double, stat! Does anyone have any alcohol?"
"Don't be a prat," Gum said. "You need a clear head if you're gonna do
any rescuing."
"Okay. Okay. I'm calm. I'm calm. WHERE ARE THEY?"
"Beat! Blood pressure! You don't need to get so upset. You're acting
like she's your girlfriend – which she isn't…is she?"
Everyone present remembered the unfortunate incident that had
happened between Cube and Beat in Benten-cho. Gum and Beat had since
reunited, but their relationship was – uh – turbulent.
"No. Nonononono. She's just my – not counting you, Gum, and you,
Tabs, she's my best friend. And I just happen to be a little worried about her
because she's been kidnapped by a maniac Love Shocker cyborg! Now, I said
I wanted those GGs, stat, double stat, on the double, you name it we got it,
where are they?"
"Okay, okay, we're calling them up." Gum took out her mobile and
began dialling.
Soon all the GGs, three Noise Tanks, three Poison Jammers, and a Love
Shocker, had arrived in the garage. Beat prepared to form a council of war.
"Okay, people, here's the deal. Cube has been caught by Kell."
"Bad thing," put in Future Tab.
"She's been taken to her secret HQ, and we don't where they are."
"Another bad thing."
"But – there are seventeen of us and only one of her."
"Good thing."
"We are gonna perform a Tokyo-to wide search. All the rudies will be
alerted over Jet Set Radio if possible. Leave no manhole cover unturned! We
are not gonna let one of our own be chewed up by a mad cyborg. We have to
stick together! So are ya with me?"
"Yeah!"
"Uh – okay! Let's go!"
"Yo, man, yo! Hut hut hut!"
"Yo-Yo, stop inhaling the gas…"
"Okay…yoyoyoyoyoyo yoooo!"
"Welcome to my parlour, said the spider to the fly. Or should that be the Kell
to the Cube?"
The knife caught the dim light as it was thrown from one metallic hand
to the other.
"You're sick. You know that? You're really sick. Not even Onishima
would make his HQ on top of a graveyard."
A wire spike pinned the knife to the wall.
"Ooh, lecturing me, are you? And since when were you as good as
gold? I thought Goths were supposed to be bad girls. No matter. I'll make
you be good, huh, Cube?"
Bladed fingers idly twirled Cube's hair.
Cube tried to move away, even though she was chained to a chair.
"Oh, stop fighting it, Cube. You know you want to."
"Yes. I know I want to…get away from you, that is!"
"Well, I guess I could keep you alive until I've wiped out the rest of
your little friends. And I'm not making the same mistake I did last time.
There's no Love Shockers to desert me this time. No one to desert me at all.
Because I'm on the winning side. And you're not."