Pay attention to the dream!!!  Especially the part about the headphones!!  It's important, especially since I've mentioned them in previous chapters. Not a lot to change with this chap, but I'll look for stuff.

Chapter Seven:  Strange Dreams, Strange Places, and Gratuitous Wall Abuse (Bad Henry!)

*          *            *Midnight, Medabot Corp. HQ, in a small hidden room…

A fist slammed against the wall, cracking the plaster.

"Damn it!  We should have been prepared!  We knew it was going to happen, we should have been able to stop it!"  The fist hit the wall again, this time punching a hole in the drywall.

"Calm down.  Destroying the wall isn't going to change anything."

"Well it's making me feel better!"

"Calm down Phantom." Said Dr. Aki.  "You're just going to hurt yourself, and we need to come up with a plan to rescue Elizabeth and Quicksilver.  We need to stay levelheaded.  Besides," he added,  "it's going to be hard to repair that wall, considering this is a secret room."

            The said Phantom clenched his bruised fists, and tried to calm down, with very little success, I might add.  His hand did hurt, but he was really pissed off.  I mean really pissed off, like he wanted to hurt someone…preferably several someones wearing rubber suits, but since he couldn't do that, he was taking it out on the wall.  I cannot possibly stress how pissed off Henry was at this moment.  I mean, if he were Bruce Banner, he would have gone Hulk a long time ago and then that wall would really be in trouble.  Rokusho wasn't doing too much better, although he was doing a more adequate job of restraining it.

"As much as it pains me to say so."  Began Rokusho.  "We can't do anything until we can figure out where they took them, which isn't going to be easy."

"I agree."  Said Dr. Aki.  "Our best bet is to find some Rubber-suited lackey and follow them to where they're hiding out, because there's no doubt that they've moved their headquarters since the last time we dealt with them."

"Can't we just beat the information out of them?"

"Henry!!  I know you're angry, but enough with the violence already."  The realizing that he had just given up Henry's identity to Rokusho, Dr. Aki freaked out.  "Oh Shit!!  Sorry."  Rokusho looked very surprised.

"Henry?  Is that really you?"  With a sigh, Henry removed his mask, revealing his face to all present.

"So much for secrecy.  Yeah it's me.  Surprised?"

"Indeed.  No wonder you were so upset.  I thought it was just because you wanted Quicksilver's medal for yourself."  'Like you tried to take mine once.'  The thought was unvoiced, but the implication was heard.

"I can't say anything more than I'm sorry (referring to his past attempts at stealing Rokusho's medal), but this time I have different motivations.  Trust me on this one."

"Very well, but only because I know how you feel about Elizabeth."

            With the tensions in the room now eased (for the wall at least), the three of them began to plan a rescue.  They would find one of the rubber-robo minions, and track them to the new hideout…without interrogation, much to Henry's disappointment.

*          *~In a completely different undisclosed location than the last two times we were in an undisclosed location…

            Bunny was dreaming.

            She was standing in her grandfather's house, on one of her frequent weekend visits.  Except she wasn't really there, it was like she was standing off to the side, watching herself playing outside.  It was before the fire, just before she had received Quicksilver as a gift.  She could see her younger self, rolling in a pile of leaves that Rokusho and grandfather had raked several hours ago.  It was fall.  The leaves were from the giant oak tree in the backyard.  'Why am I remembering this?'  She thought.

"Elizabeth!"  Her grandfather was calling her over to the porch where he was sitting.  "It's bedtime!"

"Aww!  Can't I play a little longer Grandpa?" Little Bunny asked.  Grandfather laughed.

"Sorry dear, but your parents said to bed by seven, and you wouldn't want me to lie to your mother?"  To any child, mother was the Queen of Everything, and to her three-year-old mind, you never lie to a queen, especially if she's your mother.  She ran to her grandfather and leaped into his outstretched arms.  Still giggling, her grandfather carried her into the house.  After washing up, she ran to her bedroom, with a view of the water, and jumped onto the bed, crawling under the warm sheets.  She yawned and lay down.

"Rokusho?  Can you tuck me in?"  Rokusho tucked the sheets in around her, and lightly ruffled her hair.

"Goodnight Elizabeth."

"Night."  Another yawn followed.  Rokusho left and then Grandfather came in, carrying something in his hands.  It was a pair of headphones and a cassette player.

"Bunny.  I want you to listen to this.  It will help you fall asleep."  A sleepy voice answered.

"'Kay."  The headphones were placed around her ears, and she heard delicate music stream out.  Grandfather left quietly, probably to work on one of his little machine drawings. 

            Just as Bunny was about to drift off, the music faded out and was suddenly replaced with a voice.  Her grandfathers voice.  Talking to her, and using those big words he used when he was working on his machines, but this mattered nothing to Bunny, because she was already asleep.

'Why am I remembering this?'  She wondered. (This is actually a hint to why they want her.)

*          *            *         

            Bunny woke up.  Her head was hurting and she didn't know why.  She couldn't see anything because she was in a dark room.  She panicked momentarily, but then forced herself to calm down.  Where was she?  What had happened?

'What happened?' she thought.  'There was an explosion.  I hit the ground, and then I'm waking up here.  Where's Rokusho?  And Henry?'  Out loud she called out.

"Henry?  Rokusho?  Sil?"  Her voice echoed throughout the room, or wherever it was that she was.  She felt around for clues of her location.  Whatever she was sitting on, it was soft, maybe a bed.  Off to the side she could feel a small bedside lamp, the switch, which she turned on.  A dim light flooded the room, revealing that she was in a quite large, and well furnished bedroom.

            Another, brighter light came on, and Bunny had to shield her eyes from it, until they adjusted.

"So you're finally awake huh?" 

*          *            *         

Tee hee, cliffhanger!!  If you're the observant type, you've noticed the multiple references to the headphones and cassette player.  This a major hint at why Meta-Evil wants her. Pay attention!!!  You can probably tell I feel much sympathy for the wall.