N E O Chapter 3: A New Road By: The Green Gibbon! Zero leaps against the steel bars in the cell. ZERO: 'I don't even know what the hell the NEO-whatsis is!' Green Gibbon!, Bo Bayles and Eternal Gamer stand on the other side of the bars, along with a police officer. GG!: 'Stow it, sister, Eternal Gamer saw you put the snatch on it.' ZERO: 'It's a lie! I don't even know what you're talking about!' GG!: 'How did you find out about it?' ZERO: 'Gibbon...why don't you take a dime and BUY A CLUE?! I haven't the slightest idea what the screw you're saying!' GG!: 'If you knew the danger you're putting the entire world in, you would work with us.' The police officer glances oddly at GG! BO: 'Uh...he takes that jewel pretty seriously, it's sort of a family heirloom...' ZERO: 'This is nuts, I know my rights. EG was the only one that supposedly saw me take this NEO-thing, wasn't he? Well, it's his word against mine; I'm innocent until proven guilty.' OFFICER: 'That's true, but we've got to keep you here until the trial, unless someone posts bail.' GG!: 'And don't look at US.' ZERO: 'Okay...what if I say I was there, and EG was the one who took the jewel!' The young officer scratches his head. O FFICER: 'Uh...I guess you could do that, but...you weren't at the scene of the crime...' ZERO: 'Maybe I got scared and ran off, I say EG took the jewel!' GG!, Bo, EG, and the officer exchange glances. Zero gazes coldly into the officer's eyes. He stares back for a few moments... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The officer shuts the cell door in front of EG, GG!, and Bo. GG!: 'You're not experienced at all this, are you?' The officer doesn't reply. EG: 'Don't worry about it, the trial's tomorrow anyway. A night in the 'joint' will do us good.' GG! jumps against the wall adjoining their cell with Zero's. GG!: 'This is your fault, you theiving, uh...schnook! Sissy! Casual gamer!' ZERO: 'Do I know you?' EG: 'Forget it, you two, we're here, so let's make the best of the situation.' Bo hops onto one of the cots. BO: 'I'm going to go to bed early and pretend this whole day never happened.' EG: 'Anyone wanna contact their lawyers? We're allowed one phone call each ya know.' GG!: 'Laywer? Ha! What have we got to hide, she's the guilty one!' ZERO: 'I can't afford a lawyer on the pttance you pay me.' GG!: 'PAY? Hoho, like I'll keep you around after THIS!' ZERO: 'I'm the only one in Driftaway Studios who reads Japanese!' GG!: 'That ain't saying much, you can't even read kanji...' ZERO: 'Nobody can read kanji! They can't even read it in Japan, they just slap it around all over the place to look good...' BO: 'Will you two please keep it down?' GG!: 'She started it...' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The city lights sparkle like fallen stars after dark in Grand City. In a small jailhouse, Green Gibbon! and Bo Bayles sleep soundly on the cell cots. Eternal Gamer sits upon the remaining cot. Glancing at the sleeping Bo and GG!, he stands up and walks to the wall adjoining Zero's cell. EG: 'They're sound asleep, and the guard's back in the front room. Are you sure he's under a deep enough trance?' In the next cell, Zero smirks, revealing fangs. Her eyes flash an other-wordly gold color. ZERO: 'Don't worry about that, he'll be sound asleep for hours and wake up without any knowledge of tonight's events. You did get the NEO Crystal, I presume?' EG: 'Would I have let the plan come this far if I hadn't? Let's go before anything happens.' ZERO: 'Shouldn't you take care of those two first?' EG: 'Right.' EG walks up to GG!, who is still sound asleep. Pulling out a pocket knife, EG lowers the blade to GG!'s neck. GG!: 'Zzz...hehehe, Honey, that tickles!' EG raises an eyebrow, then lessens the force on the blade, as a slight smile crosses his face. ZERO: 'You're not going to get soft on me now, are you?' EG turns around to see Zero standing in the same cell. There's a large hole in the wall behind her. Only she could make a hole like that without a sound. EG: 'Is this necessary? What can he alone do against the forces at EON?' ZERO: 'Never underestimate your opponent. He is Purple Baboon's brother.' EG doesn't respond but glances at the blade and at GG!. ZERO: 'Hurry up and make the cut, I'm going to open up an escape route.' Zero gazes at the ceiling and begins moving her hands in a wide, seperating motion. Slowly and without a trace of sound, a hole forms in the roof. EG moves the blade up to GG!'s neck once again. After a moment of hesitation, he makes a clean cut across his throat. GG! makes a quiet gurgle sound, as a stream of blood flows from the wound. EG: 'He's in the body of a monster, but his blood is red like any human's.' At that moment, the sound of a door opening comes from outside the cell. ZERO: 'Let's go!' EG: 'But what about the other one?' ZERO: 'There's no time, somebody's coming...' With that, Zero floats up out the roof, with EG rising right behind her. A door has opened outside the cell, but it isn't the door to the front room. A dark figure walks up to the cell from the back of the building. It shines a flashlight into the room and onto Bo's face. Bo winces a few times, then takes a deep breath and opens his eyes, squinting from the light. BO: 'What? Who is it?' FIGURE: 'It's me, Moon.' BO: 'Moon? What are you doing here?' Moon raises the flashlight to show the hole in the ceiling. MOON: 'Damn, it looks like I'm too late...' At that moment, GG! rises from his cot. GG!: 'Man, do I have a soar throat... Hey, what's with the light? I'm trying to sleep in here!' Moon flashes the light onto GG!, who squints and blocks the shine with his forearm. GG!: 'Hey, I've got a couple of eyes on this side!' MOON: 'What's that on your neck?' GG!: 'Huh?' BO: 'Hey, you're bleeding!' GG!: 'What are you saying, I don't even feel any-' GG! runs his hand along his neck and pulls it away to see blood smeared across his glove. GG!: 'AYE! My glove is bleeding! Call 911! No, they won't care! Call the hardware store!' Bo gets up out of his cot and examines GG!'s neck closer. BO: 'I don't see any wound...the skin's not even broken...' GG!: 'I can't handle this, I'm very squeamish...' MOON: 'We'll have to figure this out later, someone could come in at any second.' Moon begins tampering with the lock on the cell door. BO: 'How did you get here? And how did that hole in the ceiling get there?!' MOON: 'I had a vision in a dream, and I knew you guys were in trouble...' BO: 'How'd you get in the building?' Moon backs away from the lock and smiles triumphantly as the cell door swings open. MOON: 'I picked the lock on the back door.' BO: 'How about that rather prominent hole in the ceiling, here?' Moon walks into the cell and looks up at the hole in the ceiling. MOON: 'Sailor Evil was here, wasn't she?' BO: 'Sailor Evil? Of course not!' MOON: 'Are you sure?' BO: 'I think GG! would've noticed if she was...' GG!: 'Oh, yeah!' MOON: 'SOMEone else must've been here, unless you made that hole yourself.' GG!: 'Well...on occasion, Phat Boy has gas that-' BO: 'It's not gas, GG!.' GG!: 'It wasn't MY gas, don't you try to weasel out of this!' BO: 'No, infact the other cells ar empty as well. The only other two here were Eternal Gamer and Zero.' GG! wipes the blood from his neck with a handkerchief. GG!: 'Hey, where is EG?' BO: 'He's not in the cell...what's going on here?' MOON: 'Let's get out of here, we should do this somewhere where we're less likely to be walked-in on...' GG!: 'Man, you are just full of sexual innuendos, aren't you?' Bo whacks GG! upside the head. BO: 'Let's go back to Driftaway Studios, it should be safe there right now...' GG!: 'Are you nuts, that's the first place they'll look for us!' MOON: 'Hang on.' Moon confidently walks into the front room. Bo and GG!'s eyes triple in size while their pupils shrink to dinky dot-thingies. BO: 'She's only known you for one day and already she's lost it.' GG!: 'Wow, I'm contagious than I thought!' Moon happily skips back into the room with a broad smile. MOON: 'Everyone in there is out cold, definitely Sailor Evil's handiwork. They're no doubt under some sort of trance, they'll wake up without any knowledge of what happened.' BO: 'And that hole in the ceiling, not to mention the one in the adjoining wall?' MOON: 'Same culprit. She can bust a hole in anything. I'm really surprised the noise didn't wake you.' GG!: 'Noise?' BO: 'I didn't hear anything...' MOON: 'Whatever the case, I'd better patch these up...it's bound to arouse suspicion in the morning.' Bo and GG! exit the cell while Moon looks up at the hole in the ceiling and shuts her eyes. Once again, a troubled look crosses her face as though she's struggling. MOON: 'Whoah...' BO: 'Now what?' Moon opens her eyes and drops her hands. MOON: 'I don't believe this...' GG!: 'I'll bite. What's up?' MOON: 'Those holes...there's no way Sailor Evil could've done this. This is far beyond her level...' GG!: 'Get to the point, what's the deal with the lack of ceiling?!' Moon turns around and looks seriously at Bo and GG!. MOON: 'These holes were created by atomic movement.' BO: 'Atomic movement?' MOON: 'The very atoms which created them were seperated and moved apart.' BO: 'Is that possible?' MOON: 'Not unless you happen to be some form of deity. To play with atoms as though they were building blocks... Christ, this is the very power of creation we're talking about here!' GG!: 'That's not a good thing, is it?' MOON: 'I didn't know such a power existed in the modern world... We're dealing with something alot more powerful than my alleged sister now.' BO: 'Hm, something BIG is up, and EG and Zero are part of it.' GG!: 'I don't get it...' BO: 'Whatever the case, we can't just leave these gaping holes here.' Moon puts her right hand on her forehead, and with her eyes open, gazes at the empty spot in the ceiling. The missing portion seems to fill in out of nowhere. GG!: 'Ooh, awesome graphics!' BO: 'How did you do that?' MOON: 'It's just an illusion...it looks like the ceiling's back, but in reality there's still just a gaping hole right there. This should work until it rains...' Moon repeats the process on the wall. GG!: '...you're more than just a normal psychic, aren't you?' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- GG! unlocks the front door to Driftaway Studios. He walks in to the lobby, followed by Bo and Moon. A bulldog jumps from behind the front desk and lunges for GG!'s left foot. GG!: 'Spot! You're still here!' The dog commences munching munching on GG!'s left foot. GG!: 'I think he's hungry.' At that moment, Spam runs in from an adjoining room. PS: 'Heeey, there you are! I've checked out the rest of the building and it looks okay to me. The only thing stolen was the NEO Crystal...' GG!: 'Spam! I thought you were at the hospital...' PS: 'I was, but when they were going to stitch me up, the cuts were gone.' GG!: 'Of course.' PS: 'I tried to tell them, but they thought I was looney...' GG!: 'Shutup, Spam.' PS: 'Yes, your gibboness.' Bo and Moon exchange glances. MOON: 'Now I'm all confused...' Bo pulls a gun out of his pocket and sets the silencer on. GG!: 'Heeey, you can get arrested for carrying concealed weapons!' BO: 'I'm a strong believer in the 'right to bear arms'. I need to try something. Hold still.' Bo aims the gun at GG!, who is no more than three feet away...then he pulls the trigger. MOON: 'BO!' The bullet hits Green Gibbon! square in the chest. GG! staggers and falls on his back. GG!: 'Ooww! Geez, Bo, what'd you do that for?' PS: 'Maybe you owe him money?' GG!: 'I do not! Don't you go traitor on me, too!' MOON: 'I have a headache.' Bo puts the gun down and runs up to GG! There is no wound to be found. BO: 'I knew it! Oh, sorry if I scared you...' GG!: 'No, I'm accustomed to having close friends pull a gun on me.' MOON: 'Now, maybe I'm just being old-fashioned, but...shouldn't he be dead or in critical condition right now?' PS: 'Of course not, he's immortal! And I am too.' GG!: 'Shutup. Spam.' PS: 'Yes, your gibboness.' BO: 'I didn't think all those times you told me that you really meant it!' MOON: 'Immortal? You mean...' GG! gets himself up. The bullet lies on the floor where he was lying. GG!: 'Yeah, hit me with everything you've got, I can't die.' MOON: 'That's amazing! That explains the overwhelming power...' GG!: 'Huh?' BO: 'I think you know alot more here than you're letting on, Double G.' GG!: 'There's alot more going on here than I like to talk about. Whatever the case...we have GOT to get the NEO Crystal back.' BO: 'Any suggestions? If EG and Zero have power enough to alter atomic structure, there's no telling where they may be off to by now.' GG!: 'End of the road.' MOON: 'Not necessarily.' BO: 'What do you mean?' MOON: 'I may be able to track it telepathically...' GG!: 'May?' PS: 'June, actually.' Bo whacks Spam upside the head. MOON: 'No guarantees...I mean, I've never even seen the thing.' GG!: 'What's to see, it's round and shiny and omnipotent!' GG! jumps up onto the lobby couch and waves his arms widly about. GG!: 'Just direct me to the damn thing!' MOON: 'It's not quite that easy.' GG! falls off the couch and leaps back up. GG!: 'What's so hard about that?!' MOON: 'I can't track any particular object unless I've seen it.' GG!: 'Forget it.' MOON: 'But...' PS: 'But is good!' GG!: 'Especially Honey's. Actually, I've always felt that Janet Marshall had a better butt than Honey, but after sending some Fighting Vipers 2 screen shots, I-' Bo whacks GG! upside the head. MOON: 'I can hone in on any strong forces, but I can't guarantee that what I've locked-onto is the Neo Crystal.' GG! scratches his head, pulls a Drano Cookie out of nowhere, and begins munching on it. GG!: 'I guess that's our only chance. Alrighty, lock & load then!' MOON: 'I can't.' GG! stops chewing and drops the Drano Cookie. GG!: 'Now what?' MOON: 'I'm too sleepy, locating anything telepathically takes alot of concentration. I'm going to go back home and rest, and I'll see you guys again tomorrow, 'kay? Bye!' GG!: 'Doesn't she know the urgency of the situation?!?!' BO: 'I suppose we should get some rest, too. This could be a long trip.' GG!: 'Hm...I guess so, they couldn't do too much between now and tomorrow.' BO: 'I'll go home and catch a few winks, too.' PS: 'What should I do?' GG!: 'Shutup, of course.' PS: 'Ask a silly question...' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zero walks into a run-down room...it's Moon's home. Eternal Gamer walks in behind her. ZERO: 'Sailor Evil! Get out here, the clock it ticking.' Sailor Evil walks out from the back room, NEO Crystal in-hand. SE: 'Don't have a coronary.' SE tosses the Crystal to Zero. Zero gasps, catches the crystal and takes a deep breath. ZERO: 'What is wrong with you?' SE: 'Don't be mean to me, dear, I have influences at EON.' EG: 'Being Purple Baboon's daughter helps.' Zero grits her teeth and glances at the clock on the wall. ZERO: 'Don't relax yet, that was just phase one. Let's get on with this, that won't stall them forever.' EG: 'Stall? I slit his throat, didn't he die instantly?' ZERO: 'Do you have to practice at being that stupid, or does it come naturally? He's immortal you dolt!' EG glares at Zero. EG: 'Are you serious?' ZERO: 'He IS Purple Baboon's brother.' EG doesn't respond but gazes into thin air, as if deep in thought. ZERO: 'I don't think that will hold them for long, especially if Moon acts as we predicted.' SE: 'So let's get down to business.' Zero pulls a white, handkerchief-like piece of cloth out of her pocket. She wraps the NEO Crystal in it and hands it to EG. ZERO: 'Keep the Crystal wrapped under this handkerchief at ALL times. This cloth will mask the power emitted by the Crystal, which should prevent it from being telepathically tracked. You know what to do from here, right?' EG takes the cloth-wrapped Crystal and responds with a slight nod. EG runs out while Zero turns to Sailor Evil. ZERO: 'And you know your part of the plan, right?' SE: 'Yes, I'm the distraction.' ZERO: 'Good, let's go before Moon returns.' SE: 'This whole jail thing seemed rather pointless to me...' ZERO: 'It served its purpose by buying us valuable time, but now we must move. Phase two will lead them even further from the Crystal as it heads undetected towards its final destination.' SE: 'So you got me to hold the Crystal and meet you at this rendezvous point. Why here? What of Moon comes back?' ZERO: 'Because I knew she wouldn't BE here, it's out of the open, and getting caught in the act is something I'd like to AVOID if you'll quit bothering me with stupid questions! Go!' With that, SE walks out the building. Zero glares down at her from a window on the abandoned second floor, which should not haev been possible to get to from the outside... Zero watches SE walk off down the street. ZERO: 'She has no idea of what's really going on here.' SE walks out of sight after turning a corner. Zero smirks as her eyes flash a golden hue. ZERO: 'None of them do. And that's just as it should be...' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (^-^) (-_-) (º.º) End of Part 3 (O.O) (¤.¤) (~_~)