Disclaimer: MST3K belongs to Best Brains Inc. I don't make a cent off of this.
Of Devils and Angels
By: NightCat
Chapter 6: The Enemy
�Joel!� Crow whined, running towards the door to find his maker. �Tom and I wanted to watch The Price is Right but Gypsy won�t fork over the remote! Make her!�
The little golden robot looked around outside expecting to find Mike and Joel, but was instead greeted with an empty yard and road. �Joel? Mike?� he called out. When he received no answer he bolted back to the living room.
�They�re gone!� he cried as he entered the room, catching the other robots� and the human�s attention.
�What do you mean, gone?� Tom asked from the couch.
Crow seemed a little frantic. �I mean gone! Ka-plooie! Vanished into thin air! Faster than William Shatner�s singing career!�
If he had eyes, Tom would have rolled them. �Don�t be silly Crow; nothing vanishes faster than Shatner�s singing career.�
As the two robots argued, Clayton, Gypsy, and Cambot managed to slip away to find the two missing humans. Clayton had a bad feeling about this. Gypsy and Cambot were worried as well, but also wanted to keep a close eye on the scientist.
�Nelson!� Clayton called into the night, to no avail. �Joel! Show yourselves!�
He and Gypsy ran out to investigate the neighbor�s side of the fence and anywhere else Joel and Mike may be hiding. Meanwhile, Cambot hovered near the step, looking for clues of his own.
�No use Dr. Forrester,� Gypsy said as she searched with her flashlight eye turned on. �They�re gone.�
Clayton cursed under his breath. �Great, just what I needed,� he growled, brushing the leaves and dirt from his shirt from his search in the bushes. He was about to suggest that they go back inside and try to figure something out when Cambot started beeping loudly.
�Sounds like he found something,� Clayton said as he and Gypsy approached the small camerabot.
Cambot did find something. He was hovering over something in the small plants that lined the walkway. Gypsy turned the flashlight to the spot while Clayton had a look.
�What is it?� she asked, her view obscured by the human�s head.
�Tranquilizer darts,� he said as he held one up for her to see. �Two of them. Looks like there was enough in them to knock someone out for a good few hours.�
�You think they were used on Mike and Joel?�
�Probably,� Clayton said glumly. �And I have a good idea of who did it too.�
Gypsy looked at him. �Pearl?� she asked.
�Who else?� Clayton said, standing up.
�So how are we going to get them back?�
Clayton hesitated. He had a half-formed idea in mind already. It was risky, and it�ll take the rest of the night to get it ready, but it might work. �Gypsy, Cambot, do you think that you could trust me, if only to save Mike and Joel?�
Gypsy sighed. �I�ll be honest Dr. Forrester, you�re asking a lot there. But for Joel and Mike, I�ll try my best.�
�Sounds reasonable,� Clayton said. �Cambot?�
The little robot hovered to Gypsy and gave a nod to the human.
�Okay, good,� Clayton said. �Now we just need to convince Goofus and Gallant in there as well. Come on.�
***
The first thing Mike was aware of as he woke up was the throbbing headache he seemed to have gained while he slept. When he tried to raise his hand to his head, he noticed with a shock that his hands were tied tightly together.
Mike�s eyes shot open, suddenly very wide awake. He forgot all about his headache as he realized his situation. He saw that he was in a rather tiny, cold, stone room. Some light was streaking through a small, barred window behind him. From this he assessed that he must have been out for the whole night.
He tried to stand up, but stumbled thanks to his feet being bound as well. To his surprise, Mike found himself falling on top of another body.
With an �oomph� and a groan, Joel slowly became aware of his surroundings and the fact that Mike had just landed on top of him.
�Joel?� Mike asked as he awkwardly rolled off of him. �You alright bud?�
�I think so,� Joel replied. �Aside from the fact that I�m tied up and in a strange place, of course.�
Mike gave a humorless chuckle. �Yeah, apart from that.�
With considerable effort, Mike managed to get to his feet while Joel slowly came to full awareness. Mike couldn�t help but feel slightly silly as he hopped to the window. Looking out, he saw a familiar landscape, though he had never seen it from this point of view. The building they were trapped in was on a high, rocky hill. A short distance away Mike could see a small village. It wasn�t much, but it was enough for him to piece together their location.
�We�re in Castle Forrester,� Mike said glumly as he leaned against the cold wall to help keep his balance.
�Great,� Joel groaned. �Look, maybe we can at least get these ropes off. I don�t think the circulation is getting to my feet anymore because of them.�
�Yeah, good point,� Mike said as he pushed himself from the wall and tried to hop his way back to Joel. Meanwhile Joel managed, with some difficulty, to prop himself into a sitting position. Mike dropped himself down so that they were sitting back to back.
�Ack!� Mike said in frustration as he worked at Joel�s bonds. �It looked so easy in the movies.�
After nearly a half hour of fighting the ropes, the two men were about to call for a break when the door to the room swung open. When Mike and Joel looked up at their visitors, the two thought for a minute that they were seeing double.
�Finally up boys?� Pearl � one of the two Pearls � said. Mike assessed that this must be present day Pearl since she was wearing a hideous floral print outfit.
�What do you want with us?� Joel asked.
Future Pearl (decked out in a green uniform) rolled her eyes. �What do you think? You didn�t really think that I would give up on the experiment that easily.�
Mike shook his head. �But you said that you were done with it!�
�Nelson, let me make this clear to you: I�m evil! Do you honestly expect me to keep my promises?�
Present Pearl chuckled. �You always were gullible Nelson. I always liked that about you.�
�Gee, thanks,� Mike muttered. �What about Brain Guy and Bobo?�
Future Pearl sighed. �They hauled ass the first chance they got. Good riddance I say. I have all the help I need right here.� She gave her present day self a little nudge. "If you need something done, do it yourself."
�So you�re going to shoot us back into space?� Joel asked. �Do you even have a spaceship? I mean, no offence, but from what I have heard about you and of this place, it hardly seems like you have the resources.�
Present Pearl grinned. �I was just getting to that. Of course, it�ll take a while to obtain another ship, and I know that nothing will ever compare to the Satellite of Love. However, over the last few hours we�ve received a little surprise that may help speed things up.�
At this she nodded at her other self. Future Pearl stepped outside for a brief moment before returning with the surprise in tow.
�Clayton?!� Joel gasped.
�That�s Dr. Forrester to you, booby,� Clayton said. He seemed to be back to his old self again, green lab coat and all. �You didn�t really think that I had gone soft, did you?�
�I have to admit,� Future Pearl said. �We were quite surprised when the twerp showed up, skeptical even. Then, he gave us this peace offering.� She reached around the door and pulled in a black garbage back. When she threw it before the two bound men its contents spilled, leaving their insides cold.
�What have you done to my �bots?!� Joel shouted, enraged.
Before him, scattered on the ground, were the remains of his four beloved robots.
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