Endless Manicure -or- E-tay Came From 1999
A BGC 2040 Fic
by Galaxy Girl
A/N: I'm mostly writing this story to enter an anime fan fic contest in my home state, but why not let the rest of you enjoy my first BGC fic? I hope it turns out all right...
It had been several months since Galatea had released her Boomer-Plague onto the city of Tokyo. Things were finally beginning to return to normal. The new normal, that is...
For while Galatea was gone for good, the legacy of the psycho Sotay's hostile takeover attempt was still lingering fresh in the city's memory. It had changed the lives of everyone in the city- For better or for worse.
Billions of dollars of damage had been caused by the slimy, pulsating, mechanical arms of the Dragon Line as the Boomer-Plague caused them to rip into buildings and smash many a nice car. Thousands were homeless. Businesses had been ruined, and foreign aid was pouring in from all over the place.
It was only lucky for the city of Tokyo that most of the residents had fled at the precise minute the fall of the AD Police building had been broadcast, or else search crews would have found more than rubble in the remains of the metropolis.
While most of the buildings had been destroyed, many of them were still standing, but with the writhing coils of the Dragon Line wrapped around them, tapping into every electrical appliance to suck its energy and to cause it to go rogue. When these buildings were discovered, former residents of the building could only watch as demolition teams brought the buildings down to be rebuilt after the Dragon Line could be removed.
The only building that wasn't mourned was the Genom Tower. Or, what remained of it. That one the demolition teams set afire and danced around, beating their chests and throwing sticks.
Sylia Stingray had watched silently as working crews had imploded the remains of her beloved Silky Doll lingerie shop and home (and the Knight Sabers HQ). Now, she watched with a cold look on her face as the workers dug through the rubble recovering broken possessions and torn lingerie.
"It could have been a lot worse, Sylia," Mackey consoled, joining his sister and watching the workers dismantle what was left of their home. "At least we all made it out."
"I know," she replied coldly. "But all the hard work I'd put into this place... So many beautiful clothes lost... and our home, too. Luckily we have enough money to start over, but..."
"I know what you're thinking." Mackey sighed, kicking a rock. "You're angry at Father."
Sylia looked at him, slightly flustered. She could never forgive Dr. Stingray for what he'd done to her... Everything in the last several months had been his fault. He had created a monster, and he had certainly paid for it... but so had his family.
Sylia smiled weakly, and wrapped her arms around Mackey's shoulders. "Mackey... I think you're the only thing Father ever did right."
Mackey smiled, and watched the workers uncover a large mound of shattered glass.
"Well, I guess that'll teach you not to build swimming pools out of glass that connect into your house." Mackey said smugly.
Sylia frowned. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
There was the sound of footsteps behind them, and Nigel Kirkland joined the pair in staring at the rubble.
"Well, I guess that's what's left then, hmm?" he said.
"I guess so," Sylia replied. "Mackey, Henderson and I will have to live at our old house in the country for a while until it's rebuilt."
"Oh, I don't know... I'm going to need some help getting the garage up and running again."
Mackey looked joyfully at Sylia.
"We'll see," she said, smiling.
Nigel smiled back at her, and Sylia leaned on him lovingly. Mackey looked back and forth between them, frowning.
"All right- What happened?" he demanded.
"What do you mean, Mackey?" asked Sylia.
"You never used to act like that around each other. What happened?" he asked again.
"Nothing happened." Nigel answered simply.
"That's right. Nothing happened." Sylia repeated firmly.
Mackey was still frowning though. "Aw, come on. You can tell me the truth."
"Nothing happened," Nigel affirmed.
"That's right, nothing." Sylia nodded.
"Then how come you're holding hands?" Mackey demanded.
"We're not." Nigel said.
"That's right," Sylia added.
"You are too! Look!" Mackey cried, pointing. "What happened with you guys while I was out of it?"
"Nothing." Nigel said.
"And we're not holding hands... Nigel- Nigel just-" Sylia stuttered.
"I'm a manicurist too." Nigel said quickly.
"That's right, he's a manicurist and he's looking at my cuticles. See how bad they are, Nigel?" Sylia added, holding up her hand convincingly. Nigel glanced at her cuticles.
Mackey looked dismayed. "You guys... that is so, so not true. Why won't you just tell me?"
"Tell you what?" asked Nigel.
"What happened between you and Sylia when I was out of it!" Mackey cried in frustration. "You cuddled, didn't you?"
"WE DID NOT!" Nigel shouted.
"Mackey..." Sylia laughed nervously. "All right, we cuddled."
"Really, or is that a metaphor for something?" Mackey asked suspiciously.
Sylia's mouth dropped open and Nigel raised an eyebrow.
"Of COURSE it's not a metaphor!" Sylia groaned. "We hugged! I fell into his big, warm, comforting arms and cried into his chest! He held me close and told me it'd be all right! He-"
Nigel's eyes were wide open and he had turned completely red.
Sylia immediately caught herself. "-Er, that is... we..."
"Oh." Mackey said smugly. "That's all you had to say, you know."
Sylia looked at Nigel, and he was burning up with embarrassment.
"So, Nigel..." Mackey said, stepping over closer. "Since you and Sylia are a thing now, I suppose I'll be seeing more of you at the garage?"
Nigel cleared his throat, and looked at Sylia nervously. She shrugged.
"Um, well... that is- Ah, crap, I need some Jack Daniel's..."
He walked off, blushing like crazy.
"Is he ashamed of you?" asked Mackey innocently. "Because if he is, I'll teach him that no one is ashamed of my big sister, or else I'll..."
"Just... never mind, Mackey..." Sylia said, blushing quite a bit herself.
"Hey Butch!" shouted one of the workers, poking at something in the rubble with a stick.
"Hey what?" replied his boss, grumpily.
"What's this?"
"What's what?"
The worker lifted a pink and purple polka-dotted bikini.
"It's a bikini."
"No, no. Underneath it!"
"Whoa... Have you ever seen anything so..."
"Miss Stingray! Miss Stingray, I think we've found something!"
Nene Romanova had not been left homeless by the Boomer Plague- She had been left jobless. Barely escaping the AD Police building with her stuffed weasel and her life, she was forced into a temporary job while the AD Police were merged into the regular police again.
"Ugh... I don't think I'll ever get this, do you Weasel?" she groaned, clicking the space bar a few times.
"NO, of course you'll get it, Nene!" Nene said again, in a different voice.
"I hope you're right, Weasel!"
She bit her lip in suspense, as she continued typing in commands on the tricky job at hand... But if anyone could do it, it was Romanova, the Girl Genius!
"Romanova!" a deep voice barked from the other room.
"Just a sec!" Nene called. "Almost there..."
"ROMANOVA!"
"Hold on!"
Heavy footsteps began to clod into the room. Nene struggled to keep her concentration...
"NENE ROMANOVA!"
"Ack!" Nene gasped, as her job fell through. "No, no, no, NO! I was THAT CLOSE!"
The lights in the room flipped on, and a greasy-looking man in an apron and paper hat stood with his arms crossed, glaring at Nene. "What do you think you're doing, ignoring me when I call for you? The fries are up!"
"Sorry, sir!" Nene said, standing up and saluting, while also reaching for her apron.
"How are we supposed to properly serve the hungry people of the city if our fry monitor is back here playing on the computer?" snapped the boss. "Now you get in there, and keep an eye on the fries! What were you doing, anyway?"
"A very important transaction for my other job, sir!" Nene said nervously.
The boss walked over and eyed the screen.
A cute pink bunny rabbit holding a basket was running around in between two rainbow-colored clouds trying to catch hearts that fell from the sky.
"Chibi Bunny in Rainbow Land?!" the boss groaned. "You call this work, Romanova!"
"Sorry sir! It won't happen again, sir!" Nene said, gritting her teeth.
Nene grabbed her spatula, and quickly raced back out into the kitchen, where she leaned against the fryer glumly. "What kind of job is this for an expert hacker?" Nene groaned, switching the baskets of fries. "I can't wait until the police are up and running again..."
"You're not the only one, Romanova..." grunted a low voice.
Nene turned around to see Leon , standing in a clown costume holding a big bag of balloons.
"Aw, come on Leon-Poo, you make a great clown!" Nene grinned teasingly.
"Yeah, yeah..." Leon growled.
"Oh, Leon! Leon!" Daley cooed, scampering from across the restaurant with a mop in his hands. "Can I have a puppy, Leon? Pwease?"
"If you knew what was good for you, you'd leave me alone..." Leon snapped.
"Oh, come on Leon-Poo! We're just having fun!" Nene gibbered, giving him a big hug.
"Yeah Leon-Poo! You sure don't look like a very happy clown!" Daley grinned.
"Leave me alone before I use that mop on the both of you."
Suddenly, there was a shrill beeping noise from the back room.
"FRIES ARE UP!" someone yelled.
"I just checked them, they are not!" Nene snapped.
She ran into the back, and saw something flashing in the pocket of her jacket.
"Sylia's calling!" she gasped, pulling out the communicator. "Hi Sylia! What's up?"
"Nene, it's me, Linna!"
Linna was at the gym, apparently. The treadmill was turned up to almost the highest setting, and she was running effortlessly while talking to Nene, hardly breaking a sweat.
"How's work going, Nene?" she asked.
"Oh, well you know... IT SUCKS!" Nene whined. "I can't believe someone with my intelligence is being forced to change out peanut oil!"
"That's too bad..." Linna sighed. "Hugh-Geit's been closed since the invasion, so I'm free until they call me back to the office. I'm glad the plague didn't get to the gym, otherwise I'd have NOTHING TO DO!"
"Wanna trade?" asked Nene, raising her voice over the sounds of Leon beating up Daley with the mop.
"Wow... what's going on in there?" asked Linna, trying to get a better look at what was going on behind Nene.
"Leon-Poo's got a balloon animal stuck in a bad place, I guess..." Nene smiled mischievously.
"IS THAT PRISS? DO NOT TELL HER THAT! IS THAT PRISS, NENE!?" Leon shrieked from the other room.
"Oh yeah, he gets to be the clown," Nene grinned.
"NENE ROMANOVA! IF THAT'S PRISS- AND IT BETTER NOT BE- YOU DO NOT TELL HER THAT!"
Nene rolled her eyes and pointed her communicator at Leon and Daley, the former of which was strangling the latter against the counter.
Leon saw the communicator, and screamed like a woman. "OH NO! PRISS! IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! AAAGHH, TAINTED IS MY NAME IN THE HEART OF-"
"Shut up Leon-Poo, it's Linna!" Nene said, rolling her eyes.
If Linna had raised her eyebrows anymore, they would have gotten lost in her hair. "Uh... yeah..."
There was a faint beeping noise, and Linna gazed down at her communicator's interface. "Hey... I have another call. I wonder if it's Sylia..."
"I'll wait," said Nene, pulling out a bag of chips and watching Daley try to console Leon, who now resembled the crying opera clown more than any other clown.
"She already said it wasn't Priss, you moron!"
Linna rolled her eyes and clicked over to see Priss, helmet on, apparently zipping through the streets of Tokyo on her motorcycle.
"Hey, Linna!" Priss yelled over the roar of the engine, "Sylia wanted me to call you and Nene. Something's up."
"What's up?" asked Linna.
"I don't know- She said to meet her at Hot Legs. That's all I know. So don't ask."
"Uh... OK. I'll call Nene for you." Linna said, shrugging.
Priss nodded her thanks, and hung up. Tucking her communicator back into her pocket, she made a quick left turn on the way to the ruins of the club she was most famous at.
"This had better not be one of Sylia's crazy little expeditions again," she said to herself. "If I have to make one more stupid space voyage..."
But as she turned onto the avenue where the Silky Doll used to be, Priss knew that something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong...
The entire area was encased in a strange pink glow. Several workers stood blankly, staring at something in the rubble and muttering to themselves.
"Holy-" gasped Priss, screeching to a halt.
The workers didn't appear to have heard her. They still remained standing, staring at the rubble.
"HEY! What are you looking at?" Priss yelled. There was no response.
"HEY! I SAID what are you looking at?"
She jumped off her bike, and ran up to one of the workers. "HEY! Why aren't you-"
He didn't move a muscle as she approached him and thwacked him in the head with the back of her hand. He remained there, staring at the rubble and muttering nonsense syllables.
"It looks like they're looking at... something over there..." Priss muttered, taking a step closer to the source of the pink glow, half-buried in rubble.
She cleared several large chunks out of the way, and gazed at the ground.
There was an object lying there. A pink object, glowing a brilliant electric pink.
"What is that?" she said to herself.
Suddenly, there was a small mechanical noise. Priss froze in her tracks.
"What the hell..."
Two beady eyes were staring at her from the object... It wasn't an object... It was some kind of animal!
"A... Boomer?" Priss said confusedly, staring at the eyes.
There was another mechanical noise, and the glow began to fade a little bit. Shadows fell across the face of the animal, but its eyes remained open and staring.
"What in the hell is that?" Priss screamed, stepping backwards, almost tripping over one of the spaced-out workers.
The eyes blinked, there was another mechanical noise, and Priss heard the thing utter a single sentence that struck fear into the hearts of even the bravest men-
"E-tay... OO-day..."
"AAAAGGGGHHH!" she screamed.
A BGC 2040 Fic
by Galaxy Girl
A/N: I'm mostly writing this story to enter an anime fan fic contest in my home state, but why not let the rest of you enjoy my first BGC fic? I hope it turns out all right...
It had been several months since Galatea had released her Boomer-Plague onto the city of Tokyo. Things were finally beginning to return to normal. The new normal, that is...
For while Galatea was gone for good, the legacy of the psycho Sotay's hostile takeover attempt was still lingering fresh in the city's memory. It had changed the lives of everyone in the city- For better or for worse.
Billions of dollars of damage had been caused by the slimy, pulsating, mechanical arms of the Dragon Line as the Boomer-Plague caused them to rip into buildings and smash many a nice car. Thousands were homeless. Businesses had been ruined, and foreign aid was pouring in from all over the place.
It was only lucky for the city of Tokyo that most of the residents had fled at the precise minute the fall of the AD Police building had been broadcast, or else search crews would have found more than rubble in the remains of the metropolis.
While most of the buildings had been destroyed, many of them were still standing, but with the writhing coils of the Dragon Line wrapped around them, tapping into every electrical appliance to suck its energy and to cause it to go rogue. When these buildings were discovered, former residents of the building could only watch as demolition teams brought the buildings down to be rebuilt after the Dragon Line could be removed.
The only building that wasn't mourned was the Genom Tower. Or, what remained of it. That one the demolition teams set afire and danced around, beating their chests and throwing sticks.
Sylia Stingray had watched silently as working crews had imploded the remains of her beloved Silky Doll lingerie shop and home (and the Knight Sabers HQ). Now, she watched with a cold look on her face as the workers dug through the rubble recovering broken possessions and torn lingerie.
"It could have been a lot worse, Sylia," Mackey consoled, joining his sister and watching the workers dismantle what was left of their home. "At least we all made it out."
"I know," she replied coldly. "But all the hard work I'd put into this place... So many beautiful clothes lost... and our home, too. Luckily we have enough money to start over, but..."
"I know what you're thinking." Mackey sighed, kicking a rock. "You're angry at Father."
Sylia looked at him, slightly flustered. She could never forgive Dr. Stingray for what he'd done to her... Everything in the last several months had been his fault. He had created a monster, and he had certainly paid for it... but so had his family.
Sylia smiled weakly, and wrapped her arms around Mackey's shoulders. "Mackey... I think you're the only thing Father ever did right."
Mackey smiled, and watched the workers uncover a large mound of shattered glass.
"Well, I guess that'll teach you not to build swimming pools out of glass that connect into your house." Mackey said smugly.
Sylia frowned. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
There was the sound of footsteps behind them, and Nigel Kirkland joined the pair in staring at the rubble.
"Well, I guess that's what's left then, hmm?" he said.
"I guess so," Sylia replied. "Mackey, Henderson and I will have to live at our old house in the country for a while until it's rebuilt."
"Oh, I don't know... I'm going to need some help getting the garage up and running again."
Mackey looked joyfully at Sylia.
"We'll see," she said, smiling.
Nigel smiled back at her, and Sylia leaned on him lovingly. Mackey looked back and forth between them, frowning.
"All right- What happened?" he demanded.
"What do you mean, Mackey?" asked Sylia.
"You never used to act like that around each other. What happened?" he asked again.
"Nothing happened." Nigel answered simply.
"That's right. Nothing happened." Sylia repeated firmly.
Mackey was still frowning though. "Aw, come on. You can tell me the truth."
"Nothing happened," Nigel affirmed.
"That's right, nothing." Sylia nodded.
"Then how come you're holding hands?" Mackey demanded.
"We're not." Nigel said.
"That's right," Sylia added.
"You are too! Look!" Mackey cried, pointing. "What happened with you guys while I was out of it?"
"Nothing." Nigel said.
"And we're not holding hands... Nigel- Nigel just-" Sylia stuttered.
"I'm a manicurist too." Nigel said quickly.
"That's right, he's a manicurist and he's looking at my cuticles. See how bad they are, Nigel?" Sylia added, holding up her hand convincingly. Nigel glanced at her cuticles.
Mackey looked dismayed. "You guys... that is so, so not true. Why won't you just tell me?"
"Tell you what?" asked Nigel.
"What happened between you and Sylia when I was out of it!" Mackey cried in frustration. "You cuddled, didn't you?"
"WE DID NOT!" Nigel shouted.
"Mackey..." Sylia laughed nervously. "All right, we cuddled."
"Really, or is that a metaphor for something?" Mackey asked suspiciously.
Sylia's mouth dropped open and Nigel raised an eyebrow.
"Of COURSE it's not a metaphor!" Sylia groaned. "We hugged! I fell into his big, warm, comforting arms and cried into his chest! He held me close and told me it'd be all right! He-"
Nigel's eyes were wide open and he had turned completely red.
Sylia immediately caught herself. "-Er, that is... we..."
"Oh." Mackey said smugly. "That's all you had to say, you know."
Sylia looked at Nigel, and he was burning up with embarrassment.
"So, Nigel..." Mackey said, stepping over closer. "Since you and Sylia are a thing now, I suppose I'll be seeing more of you at the garage?"
Nigel cleared his throat, and looked at Sylia nervously. She shrugged.
"Um, well... that is- Ah, crap, I need some Jack Daniel's..."
He walked off, blushing like crazy.
"Is he ashamed of you?" asked Mackey innocently. "Because if he is, I'll teach him that no one is ashamed of my big sister, or else I'll..."
"Just... never mind, Mackey..." Sylia said, blushing quite a bit herself.
"Hey Butch!" shouted one of the workers, poking at something in the rubble with a stick.
"Hey what?" replied his boss, grumpily.
"What's this?"
"What's what?"
The worker lifted a pink and purple polka-dotted bikini.
"It's a bikini."
"No, no. Underneath it!"
"Whoa... Have you ever seen anything so..."
"Miss Stingray! Miss Stingray, I think we've found something!"
Nene Romanova had not been left homeless by the Boomer Plague- She had been left jobless. Barely escaping the AD Police building with her stuffed weasel and her life, she was forced into a temporary job while the AD Police were merged into the regular police again.
"Ugh... I don't think I'll ever get this, do you Weasel?" she groaned, clicking the space bar a few times.
"NO, of course you'll get it, Nene!" Nene said again, in a different voice.
"I hope you're right, Weasel!"
She bit her lip in suspense, as she continued typing in commands on the tricky job at hand... But if anyone could do it, it was Romanova, the Girl Genius!
"Romanova!" a deep voice barked from the other room.
"Just a sec!" Nene called. "Almost there..."
"ROMANOVA!"
"Hold on!"
Heavy footsteps began to clod into the room. Nene struggled to keep her concentration...
"NENE ROMANOVA!"
"Ack!" Nene gasped, as her job fell through. "No, no, no, NO! I was THAT CLOSE!"
The lights in the room flipped on, and a greasy-looking man in an apron and paper hat stood with his arms crossed, glaring at Nene. "What do you think you're doing, ignoring me when I call for you? The fries are up!"
"Sorry, sir!" Nene said, standing up and saluting, while also reaching for her apron.
"How are we supposed to properly serve the hungry people of the city if our fry monitor is back here playing on the computer?" snapped the boss. "Now you get in there, and keep an eye on the fries! What were you doing, anyway?"
"A very important transaction for my other job, sir!" Nene said nervously.
The boss walked over and eyed the screen.
A cute pink bunny rabbit holding a basket was running around in between two rainbow-colored clouds trying to catch hearts that fell from the sky.
"Chibi Bunny in Rainbow Land?!" the boss groaned. "You call this work, Romanova!"
"Sorry sir! It won't happen again, sir!" Nene said, gritting her teeth.
Nene grabbed her spatula, and quickly raced back out into the kitchen, where she leaned against the fryer glumly. "What kind of job is this for an expert hacker?" Nene groaned, switching the baskets of fries. "I can't wait until the police are up and running again..."
"You're not the only one, Romanova..." grunted a low voice.
Nene turned around to see Leon , standing in a clown costume holding a big bag of balloons.
"Aw, come on Leon-Poo, you make a great clown!" Nene grinned teasingly.
"Yeah, yeah..." Leon growled.
"Oh, Leon! Leon!" Daley cooed, scampering from across the restaurant with a mop in his hands. "Can I have a puppy, Leon? Pwease?"
"If you knew what was good for you, you'd leave me alone..." Leon snapped.
"Oh, come on Leon-Poo! We're just having fun!" Nene gibbered, giving him a big hug.
"Yeah Leon-Poo! You sure don't look like a very happy clown!" Daley grinned.
"Leave me alone before I use that mop on the both of you."
Suddenly, there was a shrill beeping noise from the back room.
"FRIES ARE UP!" someone yelled.
"I just checked them, they are not!" Nene snapped.
She ran into the back, and saw something flashing in the pocket of her jacket.
"Sylia's calling!" she gasped, pulling out the communicator. "Hi Sylia! What's up?"
"Nene, it's me, Linna!"
Linna was at the gym, apparently. The treadmill was turned up to almost the highest setting, and she was running effortlessly while talking to Nene, hardly breaking a sweat.
"How's work going, Nene?" she asked.
"Oh, well you know... IT SUCKS!" Nene whined. "I can't believe someone with my intelligence is being forced to change out peanut oil!"
"That's too bad..." Linna sighed. "Hugh-Geit's been closed since the invasion, so I'm free until they call me back to the office. I'm glad the plague didn't get to the gym, otherwise I'd have NOTHING TO DO!"
"Wanna trade?" asked Nene, raising her voice over the sounds of Leon beating up Daley with the mop.
"Wow... what's going on in there?" asked Linna, trying to get a better look at what was going on behind Nene.
"Leon-Poo's got a balloon animal stuck in a bad place, I guess..." Nene smiled mischievously.
"IS THAT PRISS? DO NOT TELL HER THAT! IS THAT PRISS, NENE!?" Leon shrieked from the other room.
"Oh yeah, he gets to be the clown," Nene grinned.
"NENE ROMANOVA! IF THAT'S PRISS- AND IT BETTER NOT BE- YOU DO NOT TELL HER THAT!"
Nene rolled her eyes and pointed her communicator at Leon and Daley, the former of which was strangling the latter against the counter.
Leon saw the communicator, and screamed like a woman. "OH NO! PRISS! IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! AAAGHH, TAINTED IS MY NAME IN THE HEART OF-"
"Shut up Leon-Poo, it's Linna!" Nene said, rolling her eyes.
If Linna had raised her eyebrows anymore, they would have gotten lost in her hair. "Uh... yeah..."
There was a faint beeping noise, and Linna gazed down at her communicator's interface. "Hey... I have another call. I wonder if it's Sylia..."
"I'll wait," said Nene, pulling out a bag of chips and watching Daley try to console Leon, who now resembled the crying opera clown more than any other clown.
"She already said it wasn't Priss, you moron!"
Linna rolled her eyes and clicked over to see Priss, helmet on, apparently zipping through the streets of Tokyo on her motorcycle.
"Hey, Linna!" Priss yelled over the roar of the engine, "Sylia wanted me to call you and Nene. Something's up."
"What's up?" asked Linna.
"I don't know- She said to meet her at Hot Legs. That's all I know. So don't ask."
"Uh... OK. I'll call Nene for you." Linna said, shrugging.
Priss nodded her thanks, and hung up. Tucking her communicator back into her pocket, she made a quick left turn on the way to the ruins of the club she was most famous at.
"This had better not be one of Sylia's crazy little expeditions again," she said to herself. "If I have to make one more stupid space voyage..."
But as she turned onto the avenue where the Silky Doll used to be, Priss knew that something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong...
The entire area was encased in a strange pink glow. Several workers stood blankly, staring at something in the rubble and muttering to themselves.
"Holy-" gasped Priss, screeching to a halt.
The workers didn't appear to have heard her. They still remained standing, staring at the rubble.
"HEY! What are you looking at?" Priss yelled. There was no response.
"HEY! I SAID what are you looking at?"
She jumped off her bike, and ran up to one of the workers. "HEY! Why aren't you-"
He didn't move a muscle as she approached him and thwacked him in the head with the back of her hand. He remained there, staring at the rubble and muttering nonsense syllables.
"It looks like they're looking at... something over there..." Priss muttered, taking a step closer to the source of the pink glow, half-buried in rubble.
She cleared several large chunks out of the way, and gazed at the ground.
There was an object lying there. A pink object, glowing a brilliant electric pink.
"What is that?" she said to herself.
Suddenly, there was a small mechanical noise. Priss froze in her tracks.
"What the hell..."
Two beady eyes were staring at her from the object... It wasn't an object... It was some kind of animal!
"A... Boomer?" Priss said confusedly, staring at the eyes.
There was another mechanical noise, and the glow began to fade a little bit. Shadows fell across the face of the animal, but its eyes remained open and staring.
"What in the hell is that?" Priss screamed, stepping backwards, almost tripping over one of the spaced-out workers.
The eyes blinked, there was another mechanical noise, and Priss heard the thing utter a single sentence that struck fear into the hearts of even the bravest men-
"E-tay... OO-day..."
"AAAAGGGGHHH!" she screamed.