Author's note: I have gotten complaints (okay, one complaint) about the way I've left this story alone. Those complaints are now obsolete.
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Chapter 4: Progress on Two Fronts
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04:01 PM - WOOHP ENVIRONMENTAL SIMULATOR
Jerry shoved Alex into the grasslands region of the environmental simulator, which simulated a grasslands environment perfectly. Like you really needed to be told that.
Nate was standing behind Jerry. "Jer, what the heck is going on here?"
The babysitter's sudden presence behind Jerry startled him. "Whoa! You needn't sneak up behind me, Nate. You read all about the Cleo Bellita incident, right?"
Jerry then gave Alex a bottle of soda. She looked it over. It was a bottle of Cherry-Lime Dream, with the word CHEETAH labeled on the bottom.
When Alex tried to object, Jerry stopped her. "I know what it is, Alex. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. Think of it as a hands-on aid to your zoology studies."
Alex shrugged, and drank down the contents of the bottle. She smirked. "Hey, Clover was right. This does taste pretty g-"
The sentence Alex was in the middle of remained tantalizingly unfinished as the soda's "secret ingredient" took effect, transforming her into a cheetah.
"Whoa," Nate said as he watched, "I never thought I'd be able to see that firsthand."
Jerry pressed a button, locking Alex inside the simulated environment. "Don't worry about Alex, Nate. We'll have her back to normal as soon as the mission's over."
…DING!
"Nate? Another idea come to mind?"
"You know it. This transforming stuff is excellent story fodder."
"Well, okay then. You'd better go watch Marvin. Remember, he no longer knows he's Marvin; he thinks he's Link."
"Oh, no problem. I just wonder how Sam and Clover are managing."
04:08 PM - NINTENDO HQ
Sam and Clover were disguised as news reporters. Clover held the camera, Sam held the mic.
For a high schooler, Sam was an excellent anchorwoman. "Today, we explore the making of the Reality Boxes. They do amazing stuff, I tell you!"
Sam turned to the nearest employee. "Excuse me, sir, can you tell us about how you started making the Reality Boxes?"
The employee was quick on the draw. "Sure. They were first thought of by a woman by the name of Cella Botlei. That's C-E-L-L-A B-O-T-L-E-I. She's a swell woman who we recently hired onto the engineering team."
"Really? Do you think we can get an interview?"
"I wish, but she's a bit of an absentee. Always traveling. About the only way we can get ahold of her is by e-mail or phone"
"And where has she last been."
"When we last heard, she was in Africa doing who-knows-what. That Cella loves to travel."
"Well, that's no good news for the news. Back to you."
WOOHP
"Wait, Marv- I mean Link. For the third time, I'm not a Moblin!"
A ring tone jolted both Nate and Marvin. Jerry got out his wallet. "Yes, spies? What's the news?"
Nate bent over to look and watched as Sam's image appeared on the wallet's inside pocket. "The Reality Boxes were designed by some Cella Botlei woman," she said.
"Cella who?"
"Botlei. It's spelled C-E-L-L-A B-O-T-L-E-I."
Jerry wrote the name down, and did a search on it. "According to this report, she's been to an African computer store. I'll send a WOOHP plane to take you there to find some details."
On a hunch, Nate took the name down in his PDA. He then closed his eyes and thought about Sam, Clover, and Alex. He sensed Alex in the simulator, and Sam and Clover far off in Japan.
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Yeah.