Chapter 4 - Joanna's Discovery
::The First Perfect Dark Chapter::
"No time for that now, Agent Dark. There's been a development during radio silence. The craft carrying those 'friends' I was talking about was shot down over Nevada. The weapon responsible was fired from Area 51. That's where the survivors and debris will have been taken. You're to prep for immediate dispatch when you return. Carrington out."
"Area 51? But what about the president?" Joanna muttered, shaking her head, as the transmission went dead. She was a fairly-sized woman, with short brown hair to an almost masculine extent, and a black agent suit which was getting fairly soaked in the rain.
Of course, at the moment, she didn't expect any of what would happen when she did get to Area 51.
* * * * *
Garlyle woke up suddenly, shouting out, and looking around. The walls of this place were white, covered in sheets of metal, with strange glass screens with unusual pictures behind them.
"Huh.?" Garlyle wondered, looking around and standing up. There were no doors or anything, as if he had been caged. Quickly, he moved to the walls and began inspecting them, running his hands over them.
It didn't take long for Garlyle's hopes to drain away. There was no weakness whatsoever in any of these walls. And his magic wasn't working the way he wanted it to.
Garlyle sat down, and caught his reflection in one of the strange screens. His normally tidy, spiky brown hair had begun to tangle, and the black bandana was nearly invisible under the bangs that were lengthening surprisingly fast. His short, 3-4 foot tall body looked tired and shaken, dirt beginning to patch up on his leather jacket over his black shirt, and his long leather breeches were beginning to tear at the bottom. He sighed, closing his chestnut eyes and lying back.
Then concentrating. "Ceres, what can you tell me. about this place?"
"I can't really tell you anything, Garlyle. Nothing in here is natural. This is a strange world we have come to."
"Indeed" Garlyle walked over to one of the screens. "Hey, what do you think this is?" he tapped his knuckles on the screen. It didn't quite feel like glass. This bothered Garlyle somewhat. "What kind of place are we in?"
Then Garlyle heard something faint. "Affirmative."
So there was somebody, somewhere! Immediately, Garlyle ran over to the closest wall to where he had heard the sound from, and started pounding it. It hurt his knuckles, even through his gloves. "Hey! Hey! Help!" he shouted out, at the top of his lungs. "If you can hear me, help me!"
A moment later, he heard footsteps approaching the same wall. "Who? Is there somebody in there?"
"Help! Get me out of here!" I cried out.
"Who are you? Where are you?"
"I'm. I'm a child. I don't know where I am, this place is so strange. help me!"
"Listen, hold on. I'll see if I can help you. Get back against the opposite wall" Garlyle knew now, since the other voice was speaking up, that it must be a female. That was reassuring, in the least.
There was a strange sound, and then a couple moments later, a blast rocked the wall, blowing it open. Garlyle raised his arms to shield his face, as stones pelted him.
"What the.?" Garlyle gaped. The hall just outside was no different.
Then somebody appeared in front of him, as the air rippled. "So you weren't lying." the woman smiled, her blue eyes shining. "Who are you exactly?" she was wearing a long white shirt with brown stripes, and similarly colored pants. Probably a uniform of some sort.
"I'm Garlyle Wilds. from. oh, never mind. Please, help me get out of here."
"When did you get here? What's the last thing you remember?" she demanded.
"I don't remember anything. I have no idea what this place even could possibly be."
"You're in Area 51" the woman said. "And I'm Joanna. Here, take this" she pulled a device off her belt and handed it to Garlyle.
Garlyle took it, inspecting it. "What is this thing?"
"It's a cloaking device. Just press the button when you want to start it and stop it. As long as you're quiet, you won't be detected" she told him.
"Button?" Garlyle blinked, looking at it. "Oh, this one." he smiled. "Thank you, but why.?"
"I don't need it. Besides, you might be able to help me more" Joanna smiled. "I'll tell you what. You help me get my friend, and I'll help get you out of here and to safety."
"Thank you" Garlyle smiled. "Let's go."
"Intruder alert!" a male voice cried out.
"Oh, shut up!" Joanna turned towards the source, and drew something else off her belt; it was a long metal tube with a handle and a small trigger inside. When she pulled it, there was a small sound. A moan of pain, and then a body hitting the floor followed it.
"What kind of magic.?" Garlyle asked.
"Magic? Haven't you ever seen a gun before?" she asked. Garlyle shook his head.
"Well, listen, you'll be cloaked, so it doesn't matter. Do me a favor. Go through that passage" she pointed to a sloped metal plate. "If you see anybody in there, anybody at all, sneak up behind them and knock them out. Or something. Just be careful of their guns!"
Garlyle looked at Joanna's 'gun', as she had called it. "Alright" he nodded. He walked up to the plate, and amazingly, it slid upwards, making easy passage for him to walk through.
Inside, on a long metal floor, and covered by the same white metal through and through, were several of those strange glass screens again, as well as walls of wood which separated these screens. A couple men with extremely elongated guns were walking around. One turned his head when he saw the door open by itself, and pulled up his gun.
"I think there's somebody out there" the man called over to his companion, who was fast asleep.
The man didn't reply. The first guard walked over slowly, his footsteps echoing.
Carefully, with practice Garlyle had honed over his couple years of thievery, he tiptoed along the floor, not making a sound in his leather boots. Then, he was behind the guard.
To an outsider watching, the guard was suddenly struggling, choking, and flailing about, his gun dropping to the floor. A minute or so later, his body slowly was set down as if guided by somebody, to make no sound. Surprisingly, this was true, as Garlyle had done all of it. Carefully, he picked up the man's gun, and found that it disappeared under this 'cloaking device's' effects.
Garlyle smiled grimly. Before the sleeping man could protest, Garlyle reached down the front of his shirt, brought out the small fang he had used before, and slashed open the guard's throat with the trained efficiency of a killer.
Garlyle turned back to the entrance, pushing the bodies around a corner. He ran back, and the panel slid open again. "Jo? Joanna?" Garlyle looked around.
Joanna ran out of a side passage, a strange pair of glasses over her eyes, which she removed. "Garlyle! How'd it go?"
"Fine. They're dead" Garlyle nodded.
"Very well. Follow me, but don't make a sound" Joanna moved into the door where Garlyle had gone into. She ran to the end of a hall, and reached a similar panel, although it was split down the middle with a strip of yellow. As she approached, it slid open from the middle, amazing Garlyle to no end. Garlyle quickly caught up to her, standing beside her.
In the next door in the small passage, there was a glass opening. "So, you got here at last!" a man on the other end smiled.
"Don't hurt them until I say 'now', okay?" Jo whispered. Garlyle nodded.
"Everyone's been waiting for you" the man on the other side smiled, and the door slid open.
Inside was a similarly decorated room. It still seemed very foreign, but somehow, with the 'gun' under his arm, Garlyle felt oddly safe. He didn't dare to try and point that at anyone for fear that the cloaking device wouldn't make it invisible. So he followed Jo, as she went up a ramp, in one of the slidey-doors, and around, through another door, and into a section of the same room we had been in, although it had been seperated by glass or some similar material. There, floating in mid-air, was a large metal device.
Garlyle had to keep himself from gaping out loud. There, on the floating table, between two tall men covered in white from head-to-toe, was some kind of short, big-headed, sleeping alien figure.
"Hey, wait!" one of the men cried out. "You're not."
"Shut up" Joanna punched him right across the face. In the same move, she grabbed a small white device off of his belt, and aimed it at the other. Pulling a small trigger, the other man stumbled, then fell, asleep.
"Now, you can hurt them if they come after us. In fact, don't let them through that passage!" Joanna pointed back to the door we had just came through. Garlyle saw the guards were coming around.
Garlyle drew out his gun as he ran, and went back into the hall. The young boy saw a couple guards appear.
On that mark, Garlyle remembered what Joanna had shown him, and pulled the trigger on the weapon. The effect was unexpected, and Garlyle was nearly blown back by the force. There was a deafening noise, and it took Garlyle a few moments to get the hang of controlling where the shots went. However, he had successfully put a large hole in the man's head, splattering his brains all over the place.
"Looks like a monster attack." Garlyle muttered, shaking his head. "How can I be so inhuman? Maybe just one hole in the chest, next time."
Just like Garlyle had said, he aimed and fired two shots right through the final two guard's chests, not leaving much of a mess at all. Unfortunately, every other shot aside from the two created several bullet holes along the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Garlyle turned and ran back through the door. He was stunned as the alien hopped off of the floating table, in perfect shape. Pointy black eyes watched Joanna.
"Are you okay? Can you walk? We have to get out of here before they get organized and hunt us down." Joanna said.
"Yes, I'm fine" the alien answered, in an almost comical voice. "But. I have a headache. And with a head this big, that's no joke. What's your name?"
"I'm Agent Dark. or Joanna, if you prefer" Joanna responded.
"Well, Joanna, I'm Protector One. But, I guess you can call me Elvis" the alien smiled.
"Alright, Elvis, let's get out of here." Joanna turned, and jumped as she saw Garlyle.
"Garlyle! Your Cloaking Device ran out!" she muttered, snatching it. "Piece of."
"Oh my." Garlyle shook his head. "Is this a problem?"
"Be careful! They'll fire on sight when they see you! If those bullets from the guns hit you, then."
"I already know what they do" Garlyle showed her the gun.
"A SuperDragon might be a bit big for a kid like you." Joanna muttered. She took it from Garlyle, and handed him her smaller gun. "Here, Garlyle. Take this. It's much more accurate."
Garlyle looked at it, and noticed the long tube overtop. Looking into it, he saw that it was like some kind of targeting system. Excellent.
"Let's move it" Elvis nodded. "Oh, young man, what's your name?"
"Garlyle Wilds."
"You're not. of this galaxy. are you?"
"Galaxy? What?"
"Not even of this universe. this dimension" Elvis gaped. "Incredible!"
"That's right!" Garlyle remembered suddenly, reaching into his pocket. "I'm not from this dimension."
Quickly, he inspected the locket. He dropped it.
"Oh my god!" Garlyle gaped. Elvis looked at it.
"A painting of a Maian family, just like mine" Elvis beamed. "How interestin. wait! That's me!"
"What!?" Garlyle gasped, looking over at the locket. Elvis was, indeed, in the place that Mek Ai had been in.
"So then. Elvis, do you have a brother? Where is he?"
"He's dead. Died in the Skedar wars a long time ago" Elvis responded. "Why?"
"I'm." Garlyle began, but there was gunfire from out in the corridor. "Crap, we have to go help Joanna! I'll tell you later!"
"Right" Elvis nodded.
Just outside, several guards lay dead on the ground in the main room. "Let's move out of here!" Joanna cried.
Then, suddenly, Garlyle choked, stumbling.
"What's the matter?" Joanna asked.
"I can feel." Garlyle muttered, gasping. "Something's. choking."
The air was turning hazy in Garlyle's vision.
"Nerve gas! We have to." Joanna had to stop to hack. "Get out of here!" she cried out, but Garlyle barely heard her.
"I can't. feel." Garlyle fell to his knees, unable to balance standing up anymore. "Ceres. please."
"Whatever."
Garlyle extended his hands around himself, shakily. "Wind. *hack* tunnel!" he coughed out.
Just like that, the haze blew away from him, leaving him, Joanna, and Elvis in a sort of protective air bubble.
"What did you just do?" Joanna asked.
"Most interesting. can all earthlings do that?" Elvis asked.
Garlyle shook his head. "I don't know." he coughed a bit. "Let's go, fast!"
Joanna looked at Elvis. "Can you work a gun?"
"Can I? Of course" Elvis responded.
Joanna tossed Elvis her SuperDragon. "Then take this, and use it. I'll carry Garlyle out of here."
"I. I don't need." Garlyle protested. Then he stumbled.
"Save your energy for maintaining whatever it is that you're doing. Now, let's get out of here!" Joanna responded, making a dash for the doors.
Elvis went through first, though he couldn't get far from Garlyle or Joanna. Of course, the other guards were dead already; the gas had gotten them.
As Joanna ran back into the hall, Elvis leading and Garlyle tucked in her arms, she ran towards the area where Garlyle had first appeared.
From Joanna's ear, Garlyle could have sworn he heard a male voice that said, "We have to meet up, Jo. They're getting suspicious of me."
"Understood, Jonathan" Joanna responded, quietly. Garlyle wondered if something possessed her. Then he noticed the small black earring that was not even hanging from her ear. Did this have something to do with it?
Then, from the effort, Garlyle was forced to put all his energy back into maintaining the spell.
"Come, Elvis" Joanna shot through one of the doors, where there was another blasted wall in the side of the area. It led to a large warehouse, where boxes were scattered all over. There was still the nerve gas, however.
Elvis ran around one corner, let out a small exclamation, and started firing. "Jo! They've got gas masks!"
"Oh, great" Jo shook her head. "Can you get them?"
"Not without going farther ahead. Comeon, Jo!" Elvis cried out.
Then, a burst of fire came from Jo's left, making her jump. One shot sliced open Garlyle's arm.
Garlyle, his concentration broken, shouted loudly. It hurt, as if he had been stabbed with a spear in his open arm. Immediately, the spell faded.
"Jo! I'm here!" a male voice shouted, though slightly muffled. Immediately, there was another shot from behind the first guard who had attacked, and he fell dead. A tall figure oddly resembling Joanna stood there, another gun in his hand. Some strange fabric was over his mouth, protecting him from the gas. But it was now getting to Garlyle, and getting to him hard.
"Jonathan. help." Joanna cried, as the gas overcame her quickly.
"Joanna!" Jonathan cried. And then, for Garlyle, there was no more vision, as his consciousness disappeared.
::The First Perfect Dark Chapter::
"No time for that now, Agent Dark. There's been a development during radio silence. The craft carrying those 'friends' I was talking about was shot down over Nevada. The weapon responsible was fired from Area 51. That's where the survivors and debris will have been taken. You're to prep for immediate dispatch when you return. Carrington out."
"Area 51? But what about the president?" Joanna muttered, shaking her head, as the transmission went dead. She was a fairly-sized woman, with short brown hair to an almost masculine extent, and a black agent suit which was getting fairly soaked in the rain.
Of course, at the moment, she didn't expect any of what would happen when she did get to Area 51.
* * * * *
Garlyle woke up suddenly, shouting out, and looking around. The walls of this place were white, covered in sheets of metal, with strange glass screens with unusual pictures behind them.
"Huh.?" Garlyle wondered, looking around and standing up. There were no doors or anything, as if he had been caged. Quickly, he moved to the walls and began inspecting them, running his hands over them.
It didn't take long for Garlyle's hopes to drain away. There was no weakness whatsoever in any of these walls. And his magic wasn't working the way he wanted it to.
Garlyle sat down, and caught his reflection in one of the strange screens. His normally tidy, spiky brown hair had begun to tangle, and the black bandana was nearly invisible under the bangs that were lengthening surprisingly fast. His short, 3-4 foot tall body looked tired and shaken, dirt beginning to patch up on his leather jacket over his black shirt, and his long leather breeches were beginning to tear at the bottom. He sighed, closing his chestnut eyes and lying back.
Then concentrating. "Ceres, what can you tell me. about this place?"
"I can't really tell you anything, Garlyle. Nothing in here is natural. This is a strange world we have come to."
"Indeed" Garlyle walked over to one of the screens. "Hey, what do you think this is?" he tapped his knuckles on the screen. It didn't quite feel like glass. This bothered Garlyle somewhat. "What kind of place are we in?"
Then Garlyle heard something faint. "Affirmative."
So there was somebody, somewhere! Immediately, Garlyle ran over to the closest wall to where he had heard the sound from, and started pounding it. It hurt his knuckles, even through his gloves. "Hey! Hey! Help!" he shouted out, at the top of his lungs. "If you can hear me, help me!"
A moment later, he heard footsteps approaching the same wall. "Who? Is there somebody in there?"
"Help! Get me out of here!" I cried out.
"Who are you? Where are you?"
"I'm. I'm a child. I don't know where I am, this place is so strange. help me!"
"Listen, hold on. I'll see if I can help you. Get back against the opposite wall" Garlyle knew now, since the other voice was speaking up, that it must be a female. That was reassuring, in the least.
There was a strange sound, and then a couple moments later, a blast rocked the wall, blowing it open. Garlyle raised his arms to shield his face, as stones pelted him.
"What the.?" Garlyle gaped. The hall just outside was no different.
Then somebody appeared in front of him, as the air rippled. "So you weren't lying." the woman smiled, her blue eyes shining. "Who are you exactly?" she was wearing a long white shirt with brown stripes, and similarly colored pants. Probably a uniform of some sort.
"I'm Garlyle Wilds. from. oh, never mind. Please, help me get out of here."
"When did you get here? What's the last thing you remember?" she demanded.
"I don't remember anything. I have no idea what this place even could possibly be."
"You're in Area 51" the woman said. "And I'm Joanna. Here, take this" she pulled a device off her belt and handed it to Garlyle.
Garlyle took it, inspecting it. "What is this thing?"
"It's a cloaking device. Just press the button when you want to start it and stop it. As long as you're quiet, you won't be detected" she told him.
"Button?" Garlyle blinked, looking at it. "Oh, this one." he smiled. "Thank you, but why.?"
"I don't need it. Besides, you might be able to help me more" Joanna smiled. "I'll tell you what. You help me get my friend, and I'll help get you out of here and to safety."
"Thank you" Garlyle smiled. "Let's go."
"Intruder alert!" a male voice cried out.
"Oh, shut up!" Joanna turned towards the source, and drew something else off her belt; it was a long metal tube with a handle and a small trigger inside. When she pulled it, there was a small sound. A moan of pain, and then a body hitting the floor followed it.
"What kind of magic.?" Garlyle asked.
"Magic? Haven't you ever seen a gun before?" she asked. Garlyle shook his head.
"Well, listen, you'll be cloaked, so it doesn't matter. Do me a favor. Go through that passage" she pointed to a sloped metal plate. "If you see anybody in there, anybody at all, sneak up behind them and knock them out. Or something. Just be careful of their guns!"
Garlyle looked at Joanna's 'gun', as she had called it. "Alright" he nodded. He walked up to the plate, and amazingly, it slid upwards, making easy passage for him to walk through.
Inside, on a long metal floor, and covered by the same white metal through and through, were several of those strange glass screens again, as well as walls of wood which separated these screens. A couple men with extremely elongated guns were walking around. One turned his head when he saw the door open by itself, and pulled up his gun.
"I think there's somebody out there" the man called over to his companion, who was fast asleep.
The man didn't reply. The first guard walked over slowly, his footsteps echoing.
Carefully, with practice Garlyle had honed over his couple years of thievery, he tiptoed along the floor, not making a sound in his leather boots. Then, he was behind the guard.
To an outsider watching, the guard was suddenly struggling, choking, and flailing about, his gun dropping to the floor. A minute or so later, his body slowly was set down as if guided by somebody, to make no sound. Surprisingly, this was true, as Garlyle had done all of it. Carefully, he picked up the man's gun, and found that it disappeared under this 'cloaking device's' effects.
Garlyle smiled grimly. Before the sleeping man could protest, Garlyle reached down the front of his shirt, brought out the small fang he had used before, and slashed open the guard's throat with the trained efficiency of a killer.
Garlyle turned back to the entrance, pushing the bodies around a corner. He ran back, and the panel slid open again. "Jo? Joanna?" Garlyle looked around.
Joanna ran out of a side passage, a strange pair of glasses over her eyes, which she removed. "Garlyle! How'd it go?"
"Fine. They're dead" Garlyle nodded.
"Very well. Follow me, but don't make a sound" Joanna moved into the door where Garlyle had gone into. She ran to the end of a hall, and reached a similar panel, although it was split down the middle with a strip of yellow. As she approached, it slid open from the middle, amazing Garlyle to no end. Garlyle quickly caught up to her, standing beside her.
In the next door in the small passage, there was a glass opening. "So, you got here at last!" a man on the other end smiled.
"Don't hurt them until I say 'now', okay?" Jo whispered. Garlyle nodded.
"Everyone's been waiting for you" the man on the other side smiled, and the door slid open.
Inside was a similarly decorated room. It still seemed very foreign, but somehow, with the 'gun' under his arm, Garlyle felt oddly safe. He didn't dare to try and point that at anyone for fear that the cloaking device wouldn't make it invisible. So he followed Jo, as she went up a ramp, in one of the slidey-doors, and around, through another door, and into a section of the same room we had been in, although it had been seperated by glass or some similar material. There, floating in mid-air, was a large metal device.
Garlyle had to keep himself from gaping out loud. There, on the floating table, between two tall men covered in white from head-to-toe, was some kind of short, big-headed, sleeping alien figure.
"Hey, wait!" one of the men cried out. "You're not."
"Shut up" Joanna punched him right across the face. In the same move, she grabbed a small white device off of his belt, and aimed it at the other. Pulling a small trigger, the other man stumbled, then fell, asleep.
"Now, you can hurt them if they come after us. In fact, don't let them through that passage!" Joanna pointed back to the door we had just came through. Garlyle saw the guards were coming around.
Garlyle drew out his gun as he ran, and went back into the hall. The young boy saw a couple guards appear.
On that mark, Garlyle remembered what Joanna had shown him, and pulled the trigger on the weapon. The effect was unexpected, and Garlyle was nearly blown back by the force. There was a deafening noise, and it took Garlyle a few moments to get the hang of controlling where the shots went. However, he had successfully put a large hole in the man's head, splattering his brains all over the place.
"Looks like a monster attack." Garlyle muttered, shaking his head. "How can I be so inhuman? Maybe just one hole in the chest, next time."
Just like Garlyle had said, he aimed and fired two shots right through the final two guard's chests, not leaving much of a mess at all. Unfortunately, every other shot aside from the two created several bullet holes along the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Garlyle turned and ran back through the door. He was stunned as the alien hopped off of the floating table, in perfect shape. Pointy black eyes watched Joanna.
"Are you okay? Can you walk? We have to get out of here before they get organized and hunt us down." Joanna said.
"Yes, I'm fine" the alien answered, in an almost comical voice. "But. I have a headache. And with a head this big, that's no joke. What's your name?"
"I'm Agent Dark. or Joanna, if you prefer" Joanna responded.
"Well, Joanna, I'm Protector One. But, I guess you can call me Elvis" the alien smiled.
"Alright, Elvis, let's get out of here." Joanna turned, and jumped as she saw Garlyle.
"Garlyle! Your Cloaking Device ran out!" she muttered, snatching it. "Piece of."
"Oh my." Garlyle shook his head. "Is this a problem?"
"Be careful! They'll fire on sight when they see you! If those bullets from the guns hit you, then."
"I already know what they do" Garlyle showed her the gun.
"A SuperDragon might be a bit big for a kid like you." Joanna muttered. She took it from Garlyle, and handed him her smaller gun. "Here, Garlyle. Take this. It's much more accurate."
Garlyle looked at it, and noticed the long tube overtop. Looking into it, he saw that it was like some kind of targeting system. Excellent.
"Let's move it" Elvis nodded. "Oh, young man, what's your name?"
"Garlyle Wilds."
"You're not. of this galaxy. are you?"
"Galaxy? What?"
"Not even of this universe. this dimension" Elvis gaped. "Incredible!"
"That's right!" Garlyle remembered suddenly, reaching into his pocket. "I'm not from this dimension."
Quickly, he inspected the locket. He dropped it.
"Oh my god!" Garlyle gaped. Elvis looked at it.
"A painting of a Maian family, just like mine" Elvis beamed. "How interestin. wait! That's me!"
"What!?" Garlyle gasped, looking over at the locket. Elvis was, indeed, in the place that Mek Ai had been in.
"So then. Elvis, do you have a brother? Where is he?"
"He's dead. Died in the Skedar wars a long time ago" Elvis responded. "Why?"
"I'm." Garlyle began, but there was gunfire from out in the corridor. "Crap, we have to go help Joanna! I'll tell you later!"
"Right" Elvis nodded.
Just outside, several guards lay dead on the ground in the main room. "Let's move out of here!" Joanna cried.
Then, suddenly, Garlyle choked, stumbling.
"What's the matter?" Joanna asked.
"I can feel." Garlyle muttered, gasping. "Something's. choking."
The air was turning hazy in Garlyle's vision.
"Nerve gas! We have to." Joanna had to stop to hack. "Get out of here!" she cried out, but Garlyle barely heard her.
"I can't. feel." Garlyle fell to his knees, unable to balance standing up anymore. "Ceres. please."
"Whatever."
Garlyle extended his hands around himself, shakily. "Wind. *hack* tunnel!" he coughed out.
Just like that, the haze blew away from him, leaving him, Joanna, and Elvis in a sort of protective air bubble.
"What did you just do?" Joanna asked.
"Most interesting. can all earthlings do that?" Elvis asked.
Garlyle shook his head. "I don't know." he coughed a bit. "Let's go, fast!"
Joanna looked at Elvis. "Can you work a gun?"
"Can I? Of course" Elvis responded.
Joanna tossed Elvis her SuperDragon. "Then take this, and use it. I'll carry Garlyle out of here."
"I. I don't need." Garlyle protested. Then he stumbled.
"Save your energy for maintaining whatever it is that you're doing. Now, let's get out of here!" Joanna responded, making a dash for the doors.
Elvis went through first, though he couldn't get far from Garlyle or Joanna. Of course, the other guards were dead already; the gas had gotten them.
As Joanna ran back into the hall, Elvis leading and Garlyle tucked in her arms, she ran towards the area where Garlyle had first appeared.
From Joanna's ear, Garlyle could have sworn he heard a male voice that said, "We have to meet up, Jo. They're getting suspicious of me."
"Understood, Jonathan" Joanna responded, quietly. Garlyle wondered if something possessed her. Then he noticed the small black earring that was not even hanging from her ear. Did this have something to do with it?
Then, from the effort, Garlyle was forced to put all his energy back into maintaining the spell.
"Come, Elvis" Joanna shot through one of the doors, where there was another blasted wall in the side of the area. It led to a large warehouse, where boxes were scattered all over. There was still the nerve gas, however.
Elvis ran around one corner, let out a small exclamation, and started firing. "Jo! They've got gas masks!"
"Oh, great" Jo shook her head. "Can you get them?"
"Not without going farther ahead. Comeon, Jo!" Elvis cried out.
Then, a burst of fire came from Jo's left, making her jump. One shot sliced open Garlyle's arm.
Garlyle, his concentration broken, shouted loudly. It hurt, as if he had been stabbed with a spear in his open arm. Immediately, the spell faded.
"Jo! I'm here!" a male voice shouted, though slightly muffled. Immediately, there was another shot from behind the first guard who had attacked, and he fell dead. A tall figure oddly resembling Joanna stood there, another gun in his hand. Some strange fabric was over his mouth, protecting him from the gas. But it was now getting to Garlyle, and getting to him hard.
"Jonathan. help." Joanna cried, as the gas overcame her quickly.
"Joanna!" Jonathan cried. And then, for Garlyle, there was no more vision, as his consciousness disappeared.