Author's note: Sorry for the lag, everyone. But I can't disrespect my old haunting grounds. I've got another chapter up and running!
Segment 4: Board Brains
Chapter 9: 3rd Black Emerald
(Leo)
After the interview with Kitty O'Brien, Kim and I took the bus back to Emerald Town. The ride was pretty uneventful, and the two of us enjoyed the scenery as it whizzed by.
Upon setting foot back on the streets of the town, Kim led the way back to Tails' lab. Our two-tailed friend had turned the lights out for some reason, but when we came in, he immediately switched them back on.
"Glad to see you're back unscathed," Tails mentioned to us. "So how'd it go? Did you bring the Black Emerald?"
"Yeah, but things didn't quite go as planned," I replied, and Kim and I explained the whole incident on the Babylon Wing. Tails didn't seem to expect the palace's loss; I guess he didn't see the news report.
"So we've got three Black Emeralds now," Tails confirmed. "Almost halfway. I hope the other four come this smoothly! I'll do what I can to help. Where are you going next?"
Kim showed the map. "We don't know yet. We'll decide a little later. We're going to go visit Amy now."
With that, the two of us began to leave, but Tails stopped us. "Hey!"
I whirled around. "Did we forget something, Tails? Oh, right. Now I remember." And Kim handed Tails the third demonic gem.
"Thanks- I need those," Tails told us as we left. I had to wonder what he needed them for, but I didn't say anything.
When Kim knocked on the door of Amy's apartment, the latter opened the door right away. She seemed quite enthusiastic about seeing us. "Leo! Kim! I just saw the two of you on Kitty O'Brien's news program!"
I nodded. "Yeah, she stopped us for a quick interview about what we'd been doing."
It was then that Kim noticed a piece of paper or something on the table. "Amy, what's that?" she asked.
"Oh, that," Amy confirmed. "Every week this magazine prints out one of these puzzles. You've got to fill the letters A through I in nine times each in this grid so that no row, column, or three-by-three sector contains any repeats."
I bent over the puzzle. It seemed familiar somehow. "Amy," I finally said, "I think a G goes here."
Amy stood beside me. "How can you tell?"
"Well, it's only logic," I explained. "There has to be a G somewhere in this sector. It can't be in this row because there's a G there already.
"And it can't be in this row because that would mean there'd have to be a G in these three squares, and there's nowhere for it to go there. That just leaves these three squares, and those two are occupied, so the G has to go here." I folded my arms in smugness.
"Oh yeah, I can't believe I didn't see that before. Thanks for spotting that," Amy agreed, and she quickly grabbed a pen and marked a G in the square I'd pointed out.
Around then, Kim took the map out again and put it on the table. She carefully erased the Babylon Palace mark. Only four marks remained, and some of the locations weren't recognizable.
"Looks like you've still got four of those black gems to go," Amy commented as she checked the map. "I think I can see why you're having difficulties. It looks like it'd be hard to decide…"
Amy changed her stance slightly. "Well, there's no point in you worrying about that. I'll tell you what. I'll borrow this map and ring your hotel when I get something figured out. Then you can come back here and take it back. How does that sound?"
It sounded good, so Amy and I shook on it. The map remained on the table as Kim and I left the room.
The hotel room looked a lot neater than it'd been when we'd left. The bed was all made and everything. I inferred that housekeeping had been to the room while we were out.
Kim approached a potted plant in the corner and examined the soil. "The soil's dry," she told me. "Housekeeping didn't water the plants. Why do you suppose that was?"
I examined the plant. "I think it has something to do with the fact that the thing's plastic," I commented. Kim and I both laughed a little.
Just then, the telephone rang. Kim picked it up. Amy was on the other end, and she sounded panicked, possibly even hysterical. "LEO! KIM! YOU'VE GOTTA GET OVER HERE NOW!"
END OF SEGMENT
Wow, now that's a way to end the segment. I'll be uploading the segment summary at the same time as this chapter, just to get it out of the way quickly.