#the missing link chapter | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

artificialinsanity · 2 months

Text

Hunting the Missing Link

Written by TheShootingRaiStar and @home-sweet-hive

Story Summary: When a mysterious individual crash-lands in the sleepy town of Starlight Edge, four unassuming individuals begin on a journey to find its origins, kickstarting a chain of events that would alter thier lives forever.

Chapter Summary: On the run from the police, and running low on time, the group tries to find any way to break away from the action, and continue thier mission, while encountering some old new friends along the way.

[Previous]

[Next] (TBA)

Story under the cut.

A loud screech echoed through the quiet night in Starlight Edge, followed by the blaring wails of several sirens as Emily’s Eclipse careened down the street with several police cars in hot pursuit, tracking and following her every move. Swerving to the left, then the right, every which way, down the tightest roads in a half sensical manner, and past open, now vacant streets at blistering speeds, Emily somehow managed to evade the seemingly neverending onslaught of police for an admittedly brief amount of time, as soon enough, more were right on her tail again almost immediately.

“How the hell are there so goddamn many of them!?” She exclaimed in confusion as she took a hard right, causing the car’s occupants to slide in thier seats despite thier seatbelts.

“I know, right?” Stella said as she was thrown into the passenger door. “They’re like the cops in the Highway Robbery franchise - They just don’t quit!”

“This is just like in City Escape!” Lyla exclaimed over the commotion. “How the hell are we gonna get out of this?

“What I do know is there's not nearly enough space for us all on these streets.” Emily yelled. “I might have to take this onto the highway.”

“Hold on - What of our mission?” Ellipse blurted out from the trunk.

“Can't you see we're a bit distracted right now!?” Emily screeched in anger, before making a hard left near RCS Field, taking her out of town.

As she swerved onto the highway with all the grace of a pug riding a skateboard on an iceberg, a massive, swarming wave of cop cars crashed in from the on-ramp like a tsunami, chasing down this single Mitsubishi Eclipse with damn near every cruiser in the entire state. Shifting and swerving in between traffic to keep her speed up, Emily shifted into a higher gear, and swerved into oncoming traffic to throw off the cops.

“Jeez, this heat's not letting up,” Emily exclaimed. “It's like we're boiling alive out here. How's Vicki?”

“Still asleep!” Lyla yelled from the backseat, almost surprised. “Somehow.”

“Let's hope she stays that way for now,” Emily replied. “As for the rest of you, hang on!”

Stella began to interject: “To what?- oH CRAP-”

Suddenly, Emily swerved to the right, hard, enough to spin the car completely sideways. Then, with a few careful flicks of the wrist, even further than that. Suddenly, the car was completely turned around, the steaming skidmarks the tires left on the pavement still fresh. Then, Emily sped off back the way she came, as she left the swarm of cops to keep speeding off behind her.

“Heh. So long, suckers!” Emily said with a gentle chuckle to herself.

But just before she could catch her breath, another cop pulled in from the off-ramp, and began pursuing the quartet.

“Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me!” Emily exclaimed in frustration.

“May I make a suggestion?” Stella interjected.

“This car is stock, it has no nitrous. Plus, nitrous doesn't even work like that.” Emily predicted.

“Not what I was gonna say.” Stella said. “That's a Lyla thing, anyway.”

“I FEEL LIED TO!” She yelled from the back seat.

“So what's your brilliant idea, Stella?” Emily spoke again.

“Okay, hear me out - slow down.”

“You're crazy.”

“No no, trust me-” Stella began to explain. “It's like a brake check. Maybe we'll catch him so off guard that he just flies right past us, leaving us to sneak away like nothing happened!”

“Sure, maybe if this were an action movie,” Emily retorted. “How the hell do you expect that to work in real life?”

“Hold on, Emily-” Lyla said from the backseat. “I have faith in Stella's plan.”

Emily gave a long, drawn-out sigh. “Alright, here goes nothing.”

And with that, she stepped on the brakes, going from 100 to 0 as quick as that poor Mitsubishi Eclipse could. And somehow, just as predicted, the cop car pursuing them just completely passed them, allowing Emily to turn around and keep driving as if nothing happened.

“Huh.” She blurted out. “That worked too well.”

“TO NOTHING!” Lyla cheered in excitement from the backseat.

“What made you have so much faith in Stella anyways?” Emily asked Lyla in confusion.

“Hmm. Dunno!” Lyla exclaimed. “Guess it's just luck?”

Emily narrowed her eyes a bit, but continued driving uninterrupted regardless, only to check her mirror and see that the cop they just shook off caught on to thier ploy. And this time he brought company - 4 more cop cars were now pursuing them.

“Shit!” Emily exclaimed. She began to floor it in the hopes of outspeeding them, but it was no use - One of the cruisers pulled up to her passenger side rear wheel. Emily knew what was about to happen, so she simply braced herself for the inevitable.

Just as she predicted, the cop car pulled to the right a bit, and slammed into her rear wheel with full force, spinning her sideways. If she wasn't careful about this, this could be it, and it would be over for all of them.

Luckily, whether it be through sheer skill or just dumb luck, Emily managed to spin the car in just the right way so that the wheels were still aligned with the road. However, she quickly realized that she was facing the wrong direction, and shifted gear into reverse just in time to keep speeding down the road, nearly as fast as she was before.

“Holy smokes, Em!” Stella yelled in amazement. “Where'd you learn skills like that?”

“Hell if I know,” Emily responded. “Maybe it's just luck?” This time, Lyla was the one to narrow her eyes at Emily through the rearview mirror.

“Hang on, I wanna do something-” Stella said to Emily before rolling down her window.

“Stella, are you sure about this?-” Emily began to ask, but Stella was already busy sticking her head out the window and flipping off the cops that were now in full view of thier front bumper.

“FUCK OFF!” She shouted before retreating back into the car.

“Stella, do we really need more trouble with the law!?” Emily exclaimed with astonishment and concern.

“We're already this deep into this, what's the worst that can happen?” Stella said in response.

Suddenly, Emily had to step on the brakes, as she noticed in her rearview mirror a police roadblock. She stopped and swerved, and while shifting into another gear, the cops that were chasing her created a roadblock behind her, boxing her in.

“We have you surrounded!” One of the officers shouted from thier cruiser. “Come out with your hands up!”

Emily glared at Stella with murderous intent.

“Yeah, it's always a stupid idea to say something like that.” She admitted.

“What are we gonna do!?” Lyla panicked from the back.

“Stay calm!” Stella assured Lyla. “I'm sure Emily can get us out of this mess!”

“Where the hell would we even go? They have us boxed in!” Lyla continued.

“I'm sure we'll think of something!” Stella tried to calm Lyla down. “It's never over until you say it is!”

“It's over! We're gonna rot in prison for the rest of our lives!”

“Don't be so defeatist, Lyla! Emily's gonna get us out of this mess! Right, Emily?”

“...”

“...Emily?”

Emily was completely frozen in terror. There was nothing she could do. The police had her car boxed in, this was it. She couldn't save anyone. She had doomed her friends to a lifetime in prison. Everything had gone to shit, and it was all her fault. It always was her fault. Everything was her fault. The only thing she could do was just accept the consequences of her action, and wait out the inevitable. With a heavy head, and a heavier heart, Emily put the car in park, and began to roll down her window.

“What are you doing, Emily?” Stella asked, confused.

“Giving up.” Emily said in response.

“We surrender!” She shouted out the open window to the officers. “We'll come quietly. We mean no harm.”

“I thought you said Emily had a plan, Stella?” Lyla shouted, still panicking.

“I- I'm sure she still does!” Stella tried her best to be calming, but even she was hesitant to believe her own words at this point. “Let's just…

“Let's just see where this goes…”

Emily steps out of the car, hands above her head. Stella follows soon after, and, much later, Lyla, trembling, follows suit. A police officer steps out of his car and approaches them.

“Do you have any idea how many crimes you've just committed?” The officer, Brian again, asked them.

“Several.” Emily replied.

“Now's not the time to be coy,” Brian said. “You're all gonna go away for a LONG time. This all of you?”

Emily began. “No, there’s-”

“Just one.” Stella interjected. “In the back. Just be gentle with her, she's still asleep.”

Brian was just about to open the back door of the Eclipse, when his eyes glanced over to Lyla.

“And what about you, twitchy?” He said, in a clearly nasty manner. “You got something to say? Something to get back to?”

Lyla tried to stomach her fear. “N- n- no, sir.”

“You s- s- sure about that, little miss stutter?” He replied in a mocking tone. “Sure there isn't something m- m- more important you could be doing?”

“D- Don't patronize me.”

“Ooh, patronize! I'm surprised you know that word!” He said with clear animosity. Stella could tell his hand was already on his gun.

And then Lyla's hand twitched.

It was involuntary, but it didn't matter. The officer took it as a sign of aggression, and fired at her. Lyla was too caught off guard to avoid the shot, and it hit her in the shoulder.

And with that, it was as if something snapped in Emily. Something that finally put her in the right headspace. This wasn't over. This was FAR from over. And if the cops are going to treat her friends like this? Then she would rather die fighting for thier safety than subject them to this any longer.

Thinking quickly, she gave the officer a leg sweep, knocking the gun out of his hand.

“Back in the car!” She shouted. Stella and Lyla did so immediately.

Now Emily was seemingly back in her prior predicament of having nowhere to go. But this time, she wasn't gonna let that stop her. She revved up her tires, put the car back in drive, and blasted through several police cruisers to wind up back on the highway.

“That paint job's gonna cost a fortune to redo!” Stella yelled to Emily.

“Your lives are more important than some silly paint job!” Emily shouted back. “Just trust me, I know a surefire way to lose them. For now.”

“That sounds promising.” Lyla added sarcastically, still recovering from her earlier panic, and wound.

“Just shut up and trust me!” Emily added in her signature cold, but caring attitude.

Emily pulled right up to the guard rail, clearly waiting for something. The police, quickly recovering, began swarming her again, pulling ever closer to her bumper. Suddenly, as the guard rail broke away near an exit ramp, Emily pulled her car into a hard swerve to the left, driving directly into oncoming traffic, just as the cop car behind her was about to shunt her bumper.

It was then when Emily saw a sign that reassured her - Road Work Ahead. That meant this plan was going to work after all.

“Let's hope it doesn't.” She said to herself as she sped up.

“Uh, what do you mean, Emily?” Lyla asked with concern.

“You'll see.” Emily responded, cocky and confidently.

She noticed on her left some flashing signs and knew what she had to do. Yelling at everyone to hang on, she tore through the cones and jumped through a hole in the guard rail, ramping herself off the highway. Though, on her way through, she accidentally clipped a pebble, sending the car into a barrel roll. Everyone held thier breath as the world span around them - Stella grabbed the handle above her seat, Lyla held onto the seat in front of her, and Emily held onto the steering wheel tighter. Before they knew it, everything was upside down, and Lyla began to feel a little lightheaded. Then the world once again became sideways, and Lyla reached her hand out to make sure Vicki didn't get hurt. This continued for what felt like an eternity, before the Eclipse just barely managed to flip right-side up before hitting the ground again. Emily sped off as quick as she could, but not before checking her rear-view mirror to make sure no one was stupid enough to follow them after such a stunt.

No one was there. For the first time in what felt like hours, the coast was clear.

Everyone in the car briefly cheered to each other, before realizing something all at once:

Where do we go now?

“Try that back alley!” Stella shouted, pointing to an alleyway behind a professional looking building. “Just as a temporary spot for now until we can find something better.”

And so, Emily pulled into the alley, and set the car to a stop, providing a brief respite in this rollercoaster of a night.

–

Some time passed, and everyone was given a chance to take a few long, deep breaths. Save for Ellipse, who doesn't have lungs. The car had been parked and shut off for now, so as not to draw any unnecessary attention to themselves as Emily had said. The group had all dispersed to various places closeby, also save for Ellipse, who was told to stay in the trunk: Stella had stayed in the car next to the still sleeping Vicki, Lyla was leaning against the building, holding her still somewhat fresh wound, and Emily was leaning on the hood of the car, head down, looking forlorn.

“So what do we do now?” Stella finally asked. “Where do we go from here?”

“I don't know,” replied Lyla. “I hope we'll make it out of this.”

“I know we will,” Stella answered.

“Frankly this has been a rather confusing endeavor, and I am unsure as to why you insist that we must do these things,” Ellipse butted in from the trunk.

“Dude, it's the cops,” Stella remarked. “Have you never interacted with the police before?”

“Awfully bold of you to assume I have.”

“I-” Stella was genuinely perplexed. “I am genuinely perplexed right now. I- What do I even say?”

“They shoot people, for one!” Lyla shouted. Stella reminded Lyla of Emily's earlier advice in a bit of a harsh tone.

“I shoot people, too, you know,” Ellipse added. “How am I any different from these ‘police’?”

“The cops enforce thier own form of ‘justice’ by shooting anyone they deem unflattering,” Stella offered.

“Did I not threaten to do the same to you when we first met?” Ellipse added in response.

“I- Ellipse, you're not a cop, okay!? I don't know how else to put it!” Stella yelled, forgetting her own reprimanding of Lyla earlier.

“Yeah, dude, you're our friend!” Lyla said.

“So friendship differentiates ‘cop’ from ‘non-cop’?” Ellipse questioned. “Why not just befriend the cops, then?”

“Ellipse, no, that's not how that works-” Stella interjected.

“I don't think the cops WANT to be our friends, Ellipse,” Lyla added. “They shot at me, for one.”

“I think you mentioned that,” Stella responded.

“Oh did I? Sorry about that, it's just that I got SHOT IN THE TORSO-” Lyla yelled back, sarcastically.

“Are you fuckers done arguing yet?” spoke a sleepy voice from the backseat, in a slurred, Irish accent.

“Oh, hey Vic’,” Stella answered. “Did we wake you? I'm sorry.”

“That, and I heard gunshots,” Vicki said in response. “What the fuck happened?”

“Heyyy Vicki," Lyla slurred, coughing up a bit of blood. “How are things?”

Vicki paused for a moment, in a combination of shock and worry. “Lyla, I want you to be brutally honest with me. Please don't lie like you normally do:

“Are you injured?”

“What? Noooooo!” Lyla lied.

“She got shot in the chest,” Stella answered for her, feeling bad.

Vicki went white. “I'm sorry, she fucking WHAT?”

“It's not THAT bad-”

“YOU GOT SHOT IN THE CHEST, LYLA! Why haven't we taken you to a fucking hospital already!?”

“Because we were being chased by the police?” Stella added, which just made Vicki more angry at the rest of them.

“What the everloving fuck happened while I was asleep!? You got chased by cops and Lyla got shot!”

“Yeah, that's pretty much everything, I think-” Lyla tried to recall.

“I mean, we did also do a barrel roll at the end there-” Stella added on.

“That's it - I'm not fucking sleeping tonight,” Vicki concluded in anger. “I'm not sleeping a goddamn wink until we get out of this mess.” Saying this, she also pulled Lyla over to her to patch up her wounds.

“It's all my fault…” Emily spoke to herself, but just loud enough for everyone else to hear her.

“Maybe it was if you were this irresponsible!” Vicki shouted, letting her anger control her. “Why the hell didn't you try to stop any of this!?”

“I tried, you ass!” Emily yelled back. “My failure to do so is why we're IN this mess!”

“Guys, please, stop fighting!” Stella interjected, worried.

“Stella! Why the hell didn't you wake me up when things started getting bad?” Vicki raged. “Why did you think it was a good idea to let me sleep like that?”

“I- I don't know, okay!?”

“And why the hell did you fuckers let Lyla get shot? She could have died, and believe me, if she had, the fates I'd have for you would be MUCH worse than death-”

“Do you think we fucking WANTED this, Vicki!?” Emily snapped. “I didn't fucking want this when I got us into this mess! And yet here we fucking are! My incompetence nearly killed my best friend! I nearly got us incarcerated for life! I endangered all of our lives! Did you think I did that on fucking PURPOSE!? Do you think I'm TRYING to kill you!? It was an accident, you piece of shit! And of course it was my fault this happened! It's always my fucking fault!”

“Where the fuck is all that racket coming fro-!?”

Suddenly, Dr. Theo Clysedale walked out the back door of the building they were parked near, shocking everyone involved. Ezriael followed close behind.

“Stella!?”

“Ez!? Theo!?” Stella exclaimed in shock. “What are you two doing here!?”

“We live here?” Both Clysedales said at once.

“...Huh.” Stella replied in unsatisfactory shock.

“Anyway, what's with all the shouting?” Theo asked in bleary response.

“Oh, just a spat between friends,” Stella answered back.

“Just a 'spat', huh? You sure about that!?” Vicki shouted, still enraged.

“I can’t help but to agree with the corvid on this one,” Ezrieal remarked. “The tone seems too… dire for just a ‘spat between friends’.”

“Ugh, alright, fine,” Stella remarked with a disgruntled sigh. “We got chased by the cops.”

The Clysedales were stunned in silence, clearly looking for some kind of response, but coming up short.

“We're fine, though, honest!” Stella quickly added for clarification's sake. “Aside from Lyla's injuries-”

“Injuries?” Ezrieal said.

“What do you mean by ‘injuries’?” Theo added.

“I think my wailing about having been shot in the chest would be enough to clue you in,” Lyla added sarcastically.

“Well, it's not like either one of us could make out the words from out here,” Theo pointed out.

“Yeah, that's fair,” Emily added, still somber.

“But regardless of any of that, a shot in the chest is quite dire. How about you all come inside the clinic and I can help get that patched up for you, hmm?” Ezrieal then offered.

“We appreciate the offer, Doc, but, aren't you a wisp physician?” Stella questioned, confused. “Do those qualifications overlap?”

“Ah- Well- You see, I-”

“It’s just simple first aid, my dear. I’m sure anyone could do it, especially Ez.” Theo explained on Ezrieal’s behalf.

“For a bullet wound?” Lyla chimed in, perplexed.

“Is it not in your mind?” Ezrieal inquired, pulling themself together.

“I think you need to go to the ER for things like that-” Vicki spoke, no longer as angry.

“In this economy?” Theo questioned.

“Yea, but-”

“Hold on, Stella,” Emily interjected. “They do have a point. Hospitals are expensive, and we don't have the money, or the time, to spare.”

“So now you trust them?” Stella added, pointing out the hypocrisy.

“Do we have any other choice?” Emily said. “We're kind of at the end of our rope here. We're on the run from the cops, Lyla's injured, and we have no place left to go. We either take the hospitality, or it's over. For all of us.”

“Typical Emily, always having a plan,” Lyla teased.

“Hey, someone has to-” Emily teased back.

“Very well, then! Theo, you help the yellow one to the clinic. I’ll help carry anything else you all might have on hand.” Ezrieal instructed, beginning to walk towards the trunk of Emily’s car.

“I have a name, you know,” Lyla responded, slightly agitated. “It's the only one you've heard so far?”

“Oh, and one more thing-” Emily began. “Don't open the trunk.”

Ez jumped back at that statement, right around when they looked at the badge of the car. “What, is there a dead body in there, or something??”

“Well, I wouldn't necessarily say I'm alive-” Ellipse finally spoke from in the trunk.

“And just who are you??” Ezrieal exclaimed, flinching.

“Do I really have to do the spiel again?” Ellipse groaned.

“Yeah, that's Ellipse,” Stella said. “Fell at our doorstep, lost his memory. All this is kind of his fault.”

“I can hear you, you know,” He responded.

“I don't care,” She replied snarkily. “It's true.”

“... ‘Ellipse’… huh?” Ezrieal said.

“You know that punctuation, with the three dots?-”

“I AM AWARE, THANK YOU-” Ezrieal lashed out at Ellipse, seemingly out of nowhere. “... Ugh, I wanna go back to bed…” They added, grumbling.

“So does that mean you're not gonna help us then?” Emily asked, concerned.

“... Right, right. Yes, I will. Sorry if I implied I wasn’t going to.” Ezrieal responded.

“Welp, guess since the cat's out of the bag, or, rather, the Ellipse is out of the trunk,” Stella spoke, kicking the rear fender of the car twice. “That's your cue, dumbass. Get out.”

“Why are you so aggressive all of a sudden?” He said, stepping out of the open trunk.

“Because tonight is hell and I'm mad at you. Come on.”

The five of them followed the Clysedales inside, through the back door into a surprisingly luxurious looking home. The soft warmth of the entrance rug was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the attention-grabbing quality of the home’s furnishings, the nicely polished marble countertops sitting upon rustic and yet well kempt wooden drawers looking especially homey as they reflected the house’s lighting that was just as warm as the rug - and in contrast to the somewhat chilly feeling of the kitchen’s tiled flooring. With that and how it looked even more polished than the countertops, it was easy to assume the floor had been recently mopped.

“Wow,” Stella spoke in awe, taking in the sights just long enough for a noticeable pause in her words to elapse. “You guys live here?”

“It’s quite nice, ain’t it?” Theo remarked.

“It's nicer than where I live, and I make four times living wage,” Emily spoke, a twinge of jealousy noticeable in her admittedly dull tone.

“Well, I must thank you dearly for such compliments,” Ezrieal said. “Theo and I made quite the effort in making this place our own~!” Thier comment seemed to imply that the home’s impressive decor was achieved through D.I.Y., and for the counters, the wooden dining table placed opposite to the cooking supplies, and even the little island counter in the kitchen’s center, this claim was believable. But the sight of a wood oven existing comfortably within the rest of the cooking appliances in the kitchen made the idea a bit less convincing.

“No way, this is the good kind of oven!” Stella gasped with excitement. “Oh, I bet you could make the best kind of pizza in this!”

“H- Hey! Maybe now's not the best time to be sightseeing!” Vicki interjected, a slight stutter returning to her voice after her prior outburst. “Lyla's still injured, remember?”

“Oh, yes! The clinic area is just beyond here.” Ezrieal spoke, making thier way across the kitchen and proceeding to unlock a door that was placed at the end of the room. The door was one of five, the others connecting from the kitchen from various other points. One looked to lead to the home’s bathroom, another two seemed to lead to a pair of bedrooms, while the last, rather mysteriously, seemed to also be locked.

“What's in there?” Emily said bluntly, pointing at the mysterious door with several padlocks on it.

“Don’t go in there.” Theo told her, not answering her question.

“Normally, I wouldn't,” Emily began, “But since we've shown you our secret, well, fair is fair-” As she concluded her thought, she pulled out a hairpin.

“What do you think you’re doing??” Theo snapped rather suddenly. His voice hadn’t gotten any louder, but the sudden sharpness with which they spoke in the moment was sure to give some whiplash regardless. “I just told you not to go in there!”

“And I'm pretty sure I told you not to look in my trunk,” Emily egged. “And yet here we are.”

“The robot made his presence known with his own doing, I at no point did so much as touch your… vehicle.” Ezrieal argued.

“Yeah, I guess that's fair,” Emily concluded, putting her hairpin away. “I mean, it's not like whatever's in there is stupid enough to make its presence known, or anything.”

“For some reason I feel like I should take offense to that,” Ellipse said.

Ezrieal and Theo shared glances with each other that lasted for a rather extended amount of time, before looking back at the others looking rather unimpressed.

“Well, fair's fair, and fair says that's enough for one night,” Emily said playfully.

“I certainly agree.” Ezrieal answered bluntly.

“Are you done being a little shit now?” Lyla jabbed. “I feel like we keep getting distracted from the fact I've got a bullet wound in my chest. Do we all have ADHD, or something?”

The room fell quiet.

“Huh. Lucky guess,” She concluded.

“Wait, hold on a second, I just remembered something - This is the clinic?” Stella asked, dumbfounded.

“No. The clinic is in here.” Ezrieal replied, opening the door to reveal a room that looked just like a doctor’s office - almost uncannily so compared to the cozy vibes of the kitchen. Stella had remembered this room from her visit earlier today. “Lyla, please take a seat on the chair over here.” Ezrieal kindly instructed as they made thier way to the small desk placed in the corner of the room, populated by several stacks of medical papers, a small computer, and a keyboard and mouse to go with the computer. The chair Lyla was asked to sit in was a few feet from this desk, placed in the center of the office.

“No shots, please, I'm allergic,” Lyla joked as she sat down, practically falling into the chair with nearly enough force to break a board.

“Of course not, dear! The one you’ve endured today must be quite enough stress already, I imagine.” Theo jested.

Lyla audibly guffawed at such a response. “That's a good one!”

“Thank you! I try.” Theo said.

“Now, Lyla, I’m going to have to put you under anesthetics for a little while, just while I patch up your wound, alright?” Ezrieal informed her gently.

“Well I assume some minor surgery is required, so yeah that's expected,” Lyla spoke nonchalantly, almost as if she wasn't still bleeding.

“Fair enough.” Ezrieal remarked, placing the Schimmelbusch mask over Lyla’s nose and mouth, the anesthesia beginning to flow into her system and beginning to put her in a state of slumber.

“So how long do you expect this to take?” Lyla said just before going under.

“Oh, not too long. Probably just half an hour, really.” Ezrieal answered.

—

Stella, Emily, Vicki, and Theo were sitting in the waiting room, which was just as homey feeling as the kitchen had been. It had the same warm lighting, a rug that covered most of the floor that was even warmer and fluffier than the entrance mat had been, an arrangement of very comfortable looking chairs all throughout the room, and even a fireplace attached to one of its walls! They had been here for a few moments waiting for Lyla's recovery, when somebody spoke up.

“Oh, by the way, Stella.” Theo had said, catching her attention.”Where’s Vimu? I haven’t seen him at all since we came inside, come to think of it.”

“Oh, he's in the car,” Stella confirmed.

“Oh, that’s good! I was afraid that you had forgotten about him, or something.” Theo replied with relief.

“Nah, he's fine!” Stella said. “He's got snacks and video games in there, he'll be fine.”

“Hey, speaking of snacks, I'm kinda hungry.” Emily added.

“Understandable! Allow me to grab some for you.” Theo told them, leaving through the entrance door, most likely planning to enter the kitchen as all of them had earlier rather than going through the clinic again so as to not disturb his sibling.

Entering the kitchen once more, Theo was rather shocked to see Ellipse still standing in the middle of the room, as if waiting for some sort of command.

“What are you still doing here, robot?” He questioned confusedly.

“The entrance was a bit crowded, so I decided to wait here until you guys got back,” Ellipse responded.

“... Oh. I… That’s understandable, I suppose.” Theo said. “Well, your friends are in the waiting room right now - aside from Lyla. Would you like me to take you there?”

“Uh, sure,” He responded, sounding slightly confused. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course it is! Ez is just patching Lyla up right now in the clinic.” Theo explained cheerfully.

“That's good,” Ellipse said in a pleased tone of voice. “How long do you expect this to take?”

“Not very long at all, just about a half an hour, according to Ez! I was just about to grab some snacks for the others to have while they wait.!” Theo answered.

“Hang on - a half hour?“ Ellipse asked, slightly concerned.

“Oh, did you have plans?” Theo wondered.

Ellipse tapped the side of his head twice, changing his eyes to the face of a digital clock reading 8:30:21 PM. “That's cutting it very close. We have to be out by 9.”

“I see. I’ll ask Ez if they can speed things up a little for you - as much as safety will allow, anyway.” Theo offered. “I’d hate for us to cause you all to run late.”

“I should probably go tell the others the news,” Ellipse said. “Don't want them to be caught off guard now.”

“Good idea,” Theo spoke. “Would you mind taking this with you, too?” They then asked, handing a bag filled with various snack foods to Ellipse.

“Uh, sure,” Ellipse said. “I promise to deliver this payload swiftly, and with minimal damage.”

“Yeah, I’ll be counting on ya, you hear?” Theo replied light-heartedly.

“Yes, sir!” Ellipse said with a salute, before catching himself, realizing the awkward situation he's put himself in. “Er, wait, uh-”

“Now now, let’s not hesitate, robot!” Theo insisted, already heading out of the kitchen and to the clinic room. “Time is of the essence, isn’t it?”

“Yes, boss- Dammit, I did it again!” Ellipse yelled.

Theo simply chuckled slightly in response before leaving the kitchen entirely. Ellipse then proceeded to slink out the back door awkwardly, before quickly rushing around to the entrance.

“Oh, hey Ellipse!” Stella yelled as he entered with snacks in tow. “Where's Theo?”

“He's checking up on Lyla,” Ellipse said in response. “Which might cut it a bit close to our deadline.”

“Wait, what?” Vicki asked.

“The doc said it'll take half an hour, and it's currently 8:31.” Ellipse confirmed. “We may be a bit delayed.”

Suddenly, Theo came back into the waiting room, entering from the clinic door. “Sorry for the wait ladies - and El. I talked with Ez and we’ve managed to cut down our operating time to 15 minutes. I hope that’s not still too long for you.” They explained.

“That should be plenty. Thank you very much,” Ellipse replied.

“Oh, I’m glad!” Theo exclaimed. “Though, if you don’t mind me asking… What is it that you’re in such a rush for, anyway? Does it have anything to do with you getting chased by the cops earlier?” He then inquired.

“I'm afraid that's going to have to remain a secret,” Ellipse replied, genuinely unsure himself. “But yes, yes it is.”

“Oh, I understand!” Theo replied. “I’ve been there before.”

“You have?” Stella questioned, shocked and confused.

“Yes. But I’m afraid that such a thing is also going to have to remain a secret.~” Theo answered. “For now, at the very least.”

“That's fair,” Emily said in response.

–

After just a few more minutes of waiting, Ezrieal poked thier head out from the clinic door. “She’s all ready to go!” They announced.

“Well, that was fast,” Emily responded.

“You’re welcome!” Ezrieal exclaimed.

“Hey guys! What'd I miss?” Lyla said, walking upright as if nothing had even happened.

“Eh, not much.” Emily answered.

“Figured as much,” Lyla stated. “I think I had a nightmare while I was under, but deep down I knew things would be okay.”

Stella tackled Lyla to the ground in excitement.

“Easy, Stella!” Emily chastised. “She's still recovering from her wounds!”

“Emily is right, my dear.” Theo interjected. “You shouldn’t be so rough with her so quickly. Even with-”

“What are you talking about? I healed up a couple of minutes ago!” Lyla interrupted.

“... Right.” Theo uttered, looking a bit stunned.

“Wow, that procedure must have been quick, if you've already recovered!” Vicki exclaimed.

“Actually, we just finished.” Ezrieal revealed.

“Huh,” Stella said flatly. “Neat.”

“Well, I suppose you all should get going now, yeah?” Theo remarked.

“Oh, where are you off to?” Ezrieal asked.

“Can't say,” Ellipse said. Emily's ear twitched. “I'm afraid we must keep this a secret,” He continued.

“Well, if you can’t tell us, maybe you can show us, then?” Ezrieal then proposed, even catching Theo off guard.

“Huh? Whaddya mean by that, Ez??” Theo questioned.

“We’ve already closed up for the night, why not go out for some fun tonight?” Ezrieal elaborated.

“Uh, guys-?” Emily got up from her seat, and began to say something, but was seemingly ignored.

“Well I guess it has been a bit since we’ve gone on an adventure of any sort. Especially on our own!” Theo recollected.

“Exactly! We deserve a little treat. ~” Ezrieal stated.

“Well, I’m convinced.” Theo said, following up with something towards Ezrieal that the others couldn’t quite understand.

“Well if you're coming along, then come with me,” Emily spoke, frantically rushing to the back door. “We have to leave. Now.”

Theo and Ezrieal silently nod in unison and follow behind Emily. Stella and Lyla get up off the floor and follow behind, a little confused, with Vicki trailing a little behind.

“Wait, right now?” Ellipse said, following the group in the back.. “Why?”

“We have you surrounded! Leave the premises with your hands up!”

“That’s why,” Emily muttered with a sigh. “The cops are back for us. I heard the sirens.”

“Yeah, I’ll have my hands up alright. Up in fists!” Theo exclaimed, cracking his knuckles.

“Not today, Theo. This is a getaway, not a battle.” Ezrieal reminded him teasingly.

“Wait, the car only has 4 seats!” Vicki yelled out. “What are our seating arrangements?”

“Theo and Ezrieal will have to squeeze in the back with you and Lyla!” Emily shouted back. “Ellipse is gonna have to go back in the trunk!”

“Why am I ALWAYS in the trunk!?” Ellipse hollered, slightly offended.

“Because if they find out about you, the rest of us are dead!” Emily yelled back. “Now get in the fucking trunk!”

And so the seven of them rushed out the back into Emily's Eclipse, with Emily obviously in the driver's seat, and Ellipse climbing into the trunk. Stella took the passenger side, and Lyla, Theo, Ezrieal, and Vicki all squeezed together to fit into the back seats, as Emily put her key in the ignition, and got the hell out of there as fast as she could.

“Well, here we go again,” Lyla groaned. “Try not to let me get shot this time.”

And thus, the chase was on, again. They were like Pac-Man running the maze, with thousands of angry ghosts hot on thier trail. Zigzagging through the streets of Starlight Edge, it was hard not to feel the tension and fear of everyone involved. Even Emily, the coldest, most emotionless of the 7, couldn't help but grimace out of fear and remorse.

“Were there this many of them on your tail last time??” Theo questioned, sounding both astonished and concerned.

Emily checked in her rear-view mirror and saw at least 50 cops behind her with a single cursory glance. “No! What the fuck!?” She blurted out in shock.

“This is less of a chase, and more like a goddamn ambush!” Ezrieal exclaimed.

“Where'd they get the funding for shit like this!?” Vicki suddenly shouted.

“We need to get off the streets before we're boxed in!” Emily disregarded the question, and booked a hard left near RCS Field like before, hoping to open things out on the highway, before quickly screeching to a halt, as she ran headfirst into the thickest police roadblock she'd ever seen. With the swarm of cops piling up behind her, she knew there was no exit. Not even sneaking around would work this time.

This was it. She had truly failed. And it was all her fault.

“Emily. I can tell what you’re probably thinking at this moment, and I want you to stop that train of thought at once. There’s still a way out of this!” Ezrieal piped up.

“How?” Emily leaned her head back and sighed, defeated and afraid.

“We go on the offense!” Theo answers her with a wide grin, pulling out a Lightning wispon from a bag that he had with them - one that had gone unnoticed until now.

“Woah woah woah!” Stella stammered. “Won't that just put us in more trouble? More danger?”

“Not if we’re efficient enough!” Ezrieal responded, also pulling out a wispon from the bag, a Rhythm wispon.

“I don't think this is a good idea at ALL!” Stella shouted.

“They're right,” Emily spoke, a fire in her eyes. She’d had enough. She was tired of running away from everything. She was tired of being backed into a corner like a scared animal. She was tired of letting her fear win. She was going to pick up the Power Pellet and turn the tables, because it was the right thing to do. The only thing to do. It was either this or risk the safety of everyone she cared about.

And she was not going to let that happen again.

Never again.

Emily pulled out a pistol from under the dashboard, and brought it to her side. “If they want a battle…”

“Let's give them a war.”

Saying this, she fired a round out in front of her, puncturing the gas tank of one of the cruisers, lighting it up in a fiery explosion that cascaded to all the other cruisers around it. After a few short moments, she put the car in drive, spun her wheels, and floored it to the highway as fast as she could.

“That was incredible!!” Theo shouted excitedly.

“Where did you get that pistol from, if you don’t mind me asking?” Ezrieal inquired.

“Stella made it!” Emily shouted back, excited. “It's a special kind of pistol that allows me to fire my own quills at high speeds! And it even comes in a set of 2!”

“I hate bullets,” Stella stated. “Too messy, and too unwieldy. I prefer firepower with more exotic ammunition anyways.”

“Well in that case - excellent craftsmanship, my dear Stella!” Theo exclaimed in awe.

“Thank you!” She shouted back, blushing slightly.

“They feel reminiscent of a Spike wispon. To me, anyway.” Ezrieal remarked.

“I've never heard of those before,” Stella said, slightly puzzled. “Perhaps you could show me sometime?”

“I’m sure I have one back at the clinic that I could use to demonstrate at a later date.” Ezrieal replied.

“Can't you guys make date plans some other time!?” Lyla interjected loudly. “We got bogeys on our six!”

“What?” Theo said.

“She means we've got cops on our tail,” Emily explained, looking at her rear-view to see 5 cruisers still in pursuit. “Which is a problem.”

“Let me see if Theo and I can lock onto them from the rear side windows!” Ezrieal proposed.

“Not sure if my wispon is the type for that range of attack, but-”

“Hold that thought,” Emily said, determined, slowing her speed down slightly. “I've got an idea.”

“What are you gonna do?” Vicki asked with a devilish intonation.

Emily looked out her side window as a cop car pulled up next to her.

“What do you call a male sheep?” She questioned.

Just then, she swerved to the side, slamming into the cop car at full force, spinning it out and knocking it off the road. Immediately afterwards, both of the Clysedales, as well as Stella, began to cackle loudly. Vicki hollered something, but it was basically inaudible behind the laughter, and her heavy accent.

“I don't get it,” Lyla retorted.

“Ram, Lyla. The joke was ‘ram’,” Emily said in response.

“Ohhhhhhhh,” Lyla spoke. “I still don't get it.”

“God damn it, Lyla,” Stella exasperated with a sigh as Emily finally hit the on-ramp onto the highway.

“Are we clear to initiate our plan of attack now, Emily?” Ezrieal asked.

“Yeah, I guess. As long as nothing else goes wrong,” Emily responded.

Suddenly a large thump was heard, and the entire car shook violently. Emily had to use some quick thinking to keep it steady.

“What the hell was that?” Lyla pitched in, slightly frightened.

“They rammed into our back bumper!” Theo explained.

“A shunt?” Stella added.

“Is that what it's called?” Theo queried.

“That's what the Ignition franchise taught me,” Stella remarked, rather proud.

“We’ve been shunted!” Theo announced once again.

“Ugh, I'll teach you to scratch my paint, you porcine bastard!” Emily cursed, before slamming yet again, sending the cruiser off the road and slamming directly into the concrete divider between highway lanes, crumpling its front bumper and sending its driver flying.

“Ooh, visceral!” Lyla exclaimed.

“Hmph… Seems that things keep going awry whenever we attempt to execute our plan. Perhaps we should forgo it for the time being.” Ezrieal suggested to Theo.

“You’ve gotta be kidding! We can’t just give up! Not like that!!” Theo argued. “You know what they say, third time’s the charm!”

“I thought it was ‘the more, the merrier’?” Lyla butted in with a snicker.

“Also that, but that phrase is irrelevant to the current situation.” Theo dismissed.

“Hey, that's not entirely true!” Lyla argued. “For example: More firepower equals a merrier time for all of us!”

“Speaking of firepower,” Vicki chimed in with devilish intent, “Can I shoot at some cops, too?”

“Vicki! That's highly irresponsible and dangerous!” Stella chastised, causing Vicki to roll her eyes. “Having two people shoot out of one window at the same time is never a good idea! Wait your turn.”

“Works for me!” Vicki giggled.

Theo and Ezrieal gave each other a nod and positioned themselves on each side of the backseat area - Theo positioned on the right side and Ezrieal positioned on the left. Sticking thier heads out the windows corresponding to each side, they both took a few seconds to assess the situation taking place before them before putting thier wispons into position as well.

“Ready?” Theo spoke.

“Aim.” Ezrieal replied.

“Fire!!!” Lyla shouted, looking out the rear window and pointing with gusto. The two took that as thier cue, and fired thier wispons on all cylinders to the best of thier ability. Ezrieal used thier Rhythm wispon to crack windows and send cars flying backwards with its audiosonic soundwaves. Theo used his Lightning wispon to send electrifying shockwaves back towards thier pursuers, and temporarily disabling thier engines. Whenever a car got close, Ezrieal would signal to Theo, and he'd strike with his Lightning wispon, flipping cars and shutting off more engines with each blow.

“Heh. That went better than I expected it to!” Theo remarked.

“Naturally. ~” Ezrieal surmised with a hair flip.

“Not to cut this short,” Emily interjected, “But there's still a few more behind us.”

Vicki chimed in with a gasp, star in her eyes. “Is it my turn?”

“Yes, Vicki,” Emily affirmed. “It is your turn.”

Vicki lit up with emotion, pulling out an ornate, futuristic bow from behind her, and equipping herself with a quiver she hid under her seat. “Lyla, spot me!” She shouted, and Lyla poked her head out of the opposite window while Vicki aimed, guiding her sights.

Lyla shouted “On your right!” Vicki fired an arrow with a smooth motion, striking the engine perfectly.

“Left!” With barely any recovery from the last shot, another smooth shot straight through the windshield, missing the driver by less than a centimeter. He spins off the road mere moments later.

“Center!” Vicki pulls three arrows from her quiver and fires them one by one like a machine gun, striking the most vital points and leaving the car to rust on the side of the highway.

“One left! Give it your all!” With this, Vicki pulled out one final arrow, and aimed further down than before, firing directly into the cruiser's front tire. At speed, the arrow provides the car with lift force, flipping it off the ground, and onto its hood, where it soon explodes in a blaze of glory.

Lyla and Vicki briefly celebrate in the car, before Vicki decides to play dead, and lie limp in the backseat, playing up the theatrics.

“Vicki?? What are you doing? Are you alright??” Theo questioned with concern.

“It's simple!” Vicki spoke with a giggle. “Now I'm just like those cop cars - a Downed Victoria!” Vicki, Lyla, and Stella all erupted in laughter at the joke.

“... I am afraid that we do not understand the joke.” Ezrieal spoke on the behalf of both themself and Theo, who nodded in agreement.

“Oh, those cop cars are a specific model of Ford vehicle, known as Crown Victoria's, or Crown Vic's for short,” Stella began. “Cop cars have been Crown Vic's for decades, and they are the official Ford vehicle of the police.”

“Ah.” Both Ezrieal and Theo uttered in response.

“Hey guys?” A voice finally spoke from the back. “I'd hate to crash your party, but we're late to ours.”

“Huh?” Stella looked out her window in shock, and it was then when she noticed it - a red blimp on the horizon, headed south.

“Shit, he's right!” Emily scowled. “We gotta get out of town now! We need to follow that blimp!”

“What about the cops?” Lyla responded.

“We'll just have to find a way to lose the heat!” Ezrieal exclaimed.

“Same method as before? Or should we try something new this time around?” Theo wondered.

“Shooting at them just seems to attract more,” Emily stated. “We need to get them off our tail for good.”

“Perhaps we try a roadblock?” Stella said, pointing out a semi truck in front of them on the highway.

“How are we gonna do that, Stella?” Emily chided.

Suddenly, the trunk of the car burst open, Ellipse pointing his arm cannon directly at the semi. He fires, sending a shockwave towards the truck just rough enough to flip it over, blocking all the officers from pursuing them.

“That should buy us plenty of time!” Ellipse said as he receded back into the truck. “Now get moving!”

“Roger!” Emily said as she looked for an exit ramp.

“Is that your target?” Theo inquired, pointing out the blimp.

“Well, you're in the thick of this with us now, no point in hiding it anymore,” Stella lamented. “We're chasing that thing to its destination, looking for answers as to what the hell our friend in the back really is.”

“Well, that explains the rush you all were in earlier!” Ezrieal commented.

“But what it doesn’t explain is why you had kept it a secret from us until now.” Theo added.

“I- Look, sometimes you just gotta keep things secret, just in case it's some kind of accidental government secret or war crime or other such illegal things,” Stella tried her best to explain after a brief pause. “We don't know anything, so we just have to make some assumptions.”

“Fair enough.” Theo relented, also after a brief pause.

“Okay, we're coming up on the best exit we have!” Emily shouted to everyone. “This next exit is a straight shot south, so we'll be out of town and en route in no time!”

“Sounds good to me!” Stella yelled in response.

Suddenly, just as they pulled off the exit ramp, 25 more cop cars pulled in behind them, continuing thier chase.

“Oh my gods, can these fuckers give it a god damn break!?” Emily cussed, blinded by rage.

“Everyone! Back into position!” Ezrieal commanded.

“On it!” Theo instinctively responded.

“That's IT!” Lyla burst out in frustration. “I am SO SICK of this BULLSHIT! This has gone on LONG ENOUGH! GODS, It's like a fucking HYDRA! You get rid of one, and it spawns 50 MORE! I'm ENDING this!”

“Wait, Lyla-!”

But before Stella could finish, Lyla had already jumped out the window and ran to a nearby gas station.

“You wanna play with fire, fuckers? Let's see how badly you get burned!”

She delivers a swift kick, and the entire thing goes up in a massive burst of flame, smothering the entire stretch of road in fire, smoke, and ash. Lyla had quickly rushed back to the car, speeding away rapidly, watching as the entire sky was clouded in the aftermath.

Once safely out of the city, Emily pulled her car to a stop at the side of the road, and everyone got out to watch it all unfold.

“Do ya think there’s any casualties down there?” Theo speculated.

“Theo-!” Ezrieal immediately scolded him.

“I'd sure hope not, or we'll be in big trouble when we get back,” Stella fretted.

“They don't seem to be following us anymore,” Emily pointed out.

“Maybe they realized we were more trouble than they bargained for!” Vicki chuckled.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case!” Theo remarked. “You all did wonderfully out there, and with our help, it made us as a collective practically unstoppable!”

“And this gives us a clean getaway,” Ellipse added. “Ensuring the safety of our mission.”

“Oh yeah, that's right!” Stella remembered, pointing to the Clysedales. “I assume you two will no longer be joining us?”

“What makes you say that?” Ezrieal puzzled.

“You guys have jobs, right?” Stella queried. “At the Clinic? You're doctors?”

“Oh!” Theo exclaimed.

“Right!” And then Ezrieal exclaimed as well.

“Suppose then we should make our way back!” The two of them concluded in unison.

“It was a pleasure working with you two, Theo and Ezrieal Clysedale,” Ellipse remarked, bowing to one knee.

“Likewise.” Theo responded. Ezrieal kept quiet. “Well, I hope we see you all again soon! Especially you, my dear Stella. ~” They added, he and Ezrieal beginning to make the walk back to the clinic - but not before Theo handed Stella a small card with a phone number on it. Written on the back of the card, in rounded handwriting, were the words:

You're cute, call me~ ♥︎

-Theo xo

Stella could barely hide her blushing. It was a good thing Theo had his back turned.

“Hey, lovestruck!” Emily called out, breaking Stella out of her trance-like state. “We should probably get going, too!”

“O- Oh! Right,” She finally stammered, getting back into the car as Emily drove off into the night, following after the mysterious red blimp.

To Be Continued.

#hunting the missing link #act 1 #chapter 3 #catch me if you can!#mainline story

13 notes · View notes