The Continued Adventures of the Gyre and Co.

Waynecore: The court room

Leif looked directly downwards into a small empty flower pot. Hunching over slightly to fully see it's nonexistent contents. “Well there isn't anything resembling a ‘waynecore’ in here.” He grumbled. Saraline and Katherine-Alice were checking the fountain in the lobby far away from where he was, so they were unable to hear him. Leif sighed to himself in boredom not noticing that gravity was beginning to slide his glasses of his face.

“I'm saying if the mystery person did run into Olly from the back and he was facing the stairs, then it's very likely they came from the front door.” Saraline looked back to the large entrance she was referring to.

KA was leaning on the edge of the fountain, with one hand on her dress to make sure it didn't slip into the water. “But you don't know that.” She shuffled a little bit to keep herself comfortable. “I know. I've been trying to call Ansi and Olly but they're not answering.” Saraline took out her Beemstar and showed her friend that neither Ansi nor Olly's Beemstars showed up on her tracker.

Leif shuffled toward the two with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. “Uh, George? I sorry for interrupting your foot washing but can you help me get this pot off of my arm?” He had no glasses on his face and, as he had mentioned, a pot attached to his right arm.

KA looked offended because Leif had just thought she was George. Saraline stepped up to take the pot off of his arm. “You know, leif? Sometimes your as smart as Olly.” She began to pull at the pot as leif swiveled his head from left to right looking for where the voice came from. KA soon realized Saralines strength alone wasn't enough, and she got up to help her pull it off.

With their combined strength, the Pot, and leif's glasses, flew through the air and onto the stairs. a small flash of bright lavender came from within the pot and then, nothing.

“Go get them” Saraline bumped Leif with her shoulder. Leif scanned the immediate area. “Uh, where are the glasses exactly? I'm having a hard time, uh, seeing… a bit.”

Saraline sighed and walked over to the stairs. She picked up the pot, quickly yanked the glasses out, and then discarded the pot. She looked down at the place where the pot was and noticed something. “Guys? Come here.”

When Leif and KA came over, they noticed something odd as well. There was a doorknob on the stairs where the pot had been sitting. Saraline took the mysterious device out of her pocket and looked at the directions shown on the screen. The red line directed them straight into the stairs.

Saraline pulled at the doorknob, and a small portion of the stairs lifted up, like a door would except it was going upwards. Down from the door was a ladder that was obscured mostly by darkness. Leif put his glasses back on. “I think that's a ladder.” He said as he fixed them back onto his face.

Saraline looked back at the her two companions standing behind her. “This place might be the ‘waynecore’ the device is talking about. We have to go inside.” KA sighed. “Well, this isn't the first time i'll be somewhere deep, dark, and underground.” She said as she passed Saraline and climbed down the ladder. The other two followed suit and climbed down into the darkness.

The ladder led into a long hallway. It was lukewarm and humid in the hallway and it had a carpet not unlike the one in the apartment lobby. With the combined light of Saraline's beemstar and Leif and KA's training wheels, they were barely able to see the walls, which had a similar wallpaper to the lobby as well, but it was a bright blue.

Saraline took out the device and looked at the directions again. “Yep, were making progress.” She turned back to KA. “If the owner of this device is anywhere, they're going to be here. In Waynecore.” Saraline turned back to look in front of her.

“I think i see the end of the hallway, guys come on!” Saraline hopped into a long sprint, which is quite a feat considering how hard it is to run in rain boots. Leif grunted. “I wish i bought my segway with me. This would've been way easier.” He and KA ran to follow her.

The hallway did, in fact, open out to one side of a large auditorium. The side they came out of opened out to a platform with many small seats. the back of the area had a large semicircle shaped opening that led into another hallway. The front was lined with 5 seats of widely varying sizes. All of this surrounding the floor, which was dirty and unkempt.

“Well, i was certainly expecting something like this. Grand, something on that scale.” KA was the first to step out into the auditorium. She walked out a few steps before Saraline caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Well, we've reached our destination. Look for anyone mysterious hanging around here.”

And just as she said that, Randy came up from behind them wearing professional looking clothes, as if he was at a wedding. He propped himself up on the wall next to the entrance and gave the newcomers an apathetic stare. “Are you three, uh, here for jury duty?” He lifted a finger at them.

Saraline, KA, and Leif all gave him a confused look because they all had no idea what he was talking about. Randy grunted. “Well, there's a surprise trial today and the court will take anyone for the jury, so please just, sit down.” He waved his hands and ushered the three to the seats.

Saraline took a seat along with the others, but she continued to stare at Randy, who had begun to look at his watch. She turned to her partners, who had begun to chat amongst themselves. “You two watch Randy.” She pointed at the worker. “I'm going to check this place out.”

She pulled her Grapvine out from her pocket and pointed it at the roof of the auditorium, which was lined with stage lights pointing in many directions. The Grapvine attached itself to the roof and it made a mechanical noise as it pulled her up, catching the attention of Randy. But before he could look up to see what was going on, the lights suddenly shut off.

With a gasp, saraline dragged herself all the way up and hid on top of one of the stage lights as they turned on to illuminate the seats in front of the room, which were now filled with 5 imposing figures.

Saraline immediately recognized 2 of the figures, which were the old man with a yellow coat  she had encountered twice before, And the large robot that looked almost identical to a washing machine. Isthotep.

The other three were not as recognizable. They looked like a green feathery dragon-like creature, an old computer robot with mechanical limbs, and a small clock-like creature with stick limbs.

Isthotep spoke with a loud and demanding voice. “Now that we're all here. The trial shall now begin.” He turned to the dragon and spoke to them more calmly. “Dracko? Can you call General Blu for me? I'm kind of… scared of them.”

The dragon, apparently named Dracko, let out a low huff before turning to the semicircle opening. “Bring forth the offenders!” He roared out. Out from the hallway came a blue caped figure. Their head looked almost identical to the Lifeguard robot from floor 13 of the apartment building, except it’s one eye was dark, with a bright yellow pupil.

A bright blue armoured arm stuck out of their cape, carrying 3 people by their collars over the edge and then dropping them onto the floor. Saraline turned to KA and Leif to begin to travel back to them, when she saw them with dropped jaws and fearful expressions staring at the people dropped onto the floor. She then turned to them to see who they really were.

Sitting on the floor in the middle of the auditorium and holding onto each other for dear life were Ansi and Olly. They had been roughed up quite a bit since saraline had last saw them. Lying near them face first on the floor was Julia, who was seemingly unconscious. Saraline's eyes quickly widened. “Oh no.” She gasped

Isthotep chuckled. “Well, since the perpetrator is asleep right now, we might as well start by asking her little friends some questions.” He hopped forward and leaned over the edge to meet their eyes. “Now do either of you know where Julia took General Blue's Flutterskulls?”

To be continued