New Orleans
Just before
midnight, 'Hey, Pizza!' was practically deserted.
There were no customers - the store had been closed
for weeks as it underwent renovations - but there
were still four people inside the building. Three of
them occupied the small back room, separated from the
kitchen and restaurant areas by a pair of plastic
doors, and the fourth stood in the kitchen, staring
at a television which had only recently been
installed for the benefit of customers.
The viewer was
Murakami Kageki who, like the restaurant's other
three occupants, also happened to be a Roboman -
Green Robo, in fact. But Kageki was also only a
teenager, sixteen years old and the youngest person
on the team. He was also 'Hey, Pizza!'s sole
employee, other than the owner, Trick Star.
... and Trick had
kept himself away from 'Hey, Pizza!' for almost a
week, leaving Kageki to come ago as he pleased.
I wonder where
Trick-san has been? Kageki wondered as he stared
blankly at the screen. The builders are almost -
Ring-ring!
Ring-ring!
The telephone behind
the counter began to ring loudly and Kageki hurried
to pick up the receiver. He pressed it to his ear and
said:
"Hello, welcome
to 'Hey, Pizza!'. My name's Kageki! How can I help
you?"
"Hello,
Kageki." Kageki knew he had heard the woman's
voice which replied to his greeting before, but he
couldn't quite place it. "This is Amy Seaward,
Kiko's employer."
"I think
Kiko's... asleep." He was lying; Kiko
and Sei had both seen a report on that night's RoboWatch
program about two robots being seen in the city
and were preparing to track them down. "Can I
take a message?" Kageki offered helpfully.
"No, I don't
need to speak to her... any of you Robomen will
do."
Suddenly, Kageki
remembered where he had heard the voice before. Two
weeks earlier a woman had rushed into 'Hey, Pizza!'
after being saved by Red Robo - and she knew, after
seeing him henshin, that Red Robo was
actually Ikku. At the time, Ikku, Sei and Kiko were
all held captive by Doctor Nagura, leaving only
Kageki and Senshi, the two newest Robomen, to save
the day.
The woman had left
promising to come back with raido shards, which
had eventually been delivered directly to the captive
Robomen - but Kageki never saw the woman again.
"I'm calling to
tell you that I know where Ikku is," she
continued. "I know you have all been looking for
him since he walked out on you two weeks ago. He's
been living with me."
"What?
Ikku-sama - "
"Listen! He's
out at the moment looking for the two robots
mentioned on RoboWatch. If one of you can be
here when he gets home, it might convince him to go
back to you," Amy said.
Kageki wasn't sure
what to say.
"You're the
kid, right? The green Roboman?"
"Yes,"
Kageki replied.
"I know Ikku
likes you, and his biggest regret about quitting the
Robomen was that he left you behind," she told
him. "I'm sure that if you're here to meet him
he will go back with you. You do want him to come
back, don't you?"
"Yes!"
Kageki answered quickly.
"Good. Come
over right away."
Amy gave Kageki her
address and, after both had said their goodbyes, he
put down the receiver. He stared at the napkin on
which he had noted her details for a long time, until
the flapping of the two plastic doors that divided
the kitchen and the back room disturbed him and he
turned around.
"Who was on the
phone?" Kiko asked. "Is Trick coming
back?"
Kageki shook his
head.
"No... it was a
customer..." He yawned and stretched his arms
above his head. "Are you leaving to look for
those robots now?"
Sei nodded.
"I have
adjusted Miss Sato's Alert Bracer to operate
similarly to those belonging to Senshi and
yourself," he explained, "but we still need
artificial intelligence chips to filter any outside
influence over the robosuits."
Kageki tilted his
head to the side. "Didn't you have Cog's chip in
your Alert Bracer, Sei-san?"
"I have
returned the chip to Cog's body. Miss Sato and I will
use the chips we recover from the three robots left
behind when Doctor Nagura attacked the city. We will
save the third for Ian, if he returns."
Kageki nodded
slowly.
"Great!"
He yawned again. "I'm sleepy... I'm going to go
home soon."
Kiko smiled.
"Good night,
Kageki!" she said cheerfully. "And if you
hear anything from Trick..."
Kageki smiled back
and nodded vigorously. "I'll let you know!"
Sei and Kiko made
their way out the front door of the store and
disappeared down the darkened street. Kageki waited
for ten minutes before he started to move - but he
wasn't moving out of the store himself; instead, he
hurried into the kitchen and turned on the oven.
"I'll make
Ikku-sama come back!" he said determinedly.
"All I need is the right combination of
ingredients..."
He started to dig
loudly through various cupboards which lined the
kitchen and surrounded the massive pizza oven,
looking for everything he needed to make the perfect
pizza; he was so noisy, and so focused on his task,
that he did not see the plastic doors open slightly
as the two-inch tall silver-grey mechanical form of
Cog peeked out from the back room.
What's he doing?
she wondered. I think I'd better keep an eye
on this!
"What
the...?"
Ikku stared across
the street at Jigenseisokuka Robo's massive form and
glanced down at his Alert Bracer. He knew that it
would be easy to call the others and ask for their
help and that, because of the robot's size, he would
probably have to, eventually - but if he had
any chance of defeating the robot without the help of
the other Roboman, he was going to take it.
He stuck his arms
directly out to the side, then raised them above his
head and shouted: "Let's go,
Robo!"
The already-dark
street around him seemed to become even darker and
time slowed around Ikku as his henshin began.
Thick pieces of metal emerged from his skin and
pierced his robosuit to form the thick chestplate,
helmet, gloves and boots of his Roboman armour.
But Ikku had not
forgotten what happened when he tried to henshin earlier
that night - the straps and buckles that Amy had
attached to his robosuit kept the armour from forming
properly so, before the gloves, boots and chestplate
had fully taken form he shouted:
"Phase
Three! Go Robo Vehicles!"
The metal components
that formed Ikku's armour separated from his body and
hovered in the air in front of him. It took only a
few moments for the metal to expand, change colour
and fuse together to form the familiar form of the
red Flame Tank, which dropped to the ground with a
loud smash!.
Maybe I
shouldn't do that when I'm not standing on the
ground...
Ikku hurried down
the fire escape and climbed into the tank's cockpit,
then tried to reverse his way down the narrow side
street, which was only just wide enough to allow the
tank through without striking any of the cars parked
on the side of the road.
Jigenseisokuka Robo
followed slowly after him, taking careful,
consistent, evenly-measured steps.
"What's wrong
with that thing?" Ikku wondered aloud.
"Where's the other half of its face? Why isn't
it chasing me more quickly?"
As he continued his
way backwards down the street, Ikku positioned the
tank's turret directly ahead and raised it to point
at the large robot's chest.
"Chaos
Cage!" he cried as he manipulated the Flame
Tank's controls.
He concentrated
carefully on his movements and allowed red kenez
energy to flow from his hands and into the
tank's controls. Before he knew it, a bright burst of
energy blasted from the vehicle's turret and
surrounded Jigenseisokuka Robo. He continued to focus
on the energy which soon took on the shape of a large
cage which completely enclosed the robot.
That was easy...
Ikku thought.
The Flame Tank faded
away and Ikku found himself standing in the middle of
the street in his red robosuit. That did not surprise
him - the Robo Vehicles had always disappeared as
soon as the threat was dealt with, but Ikku had no
idea how they knew when the danger had passed.
What did surprise
him for a moment - until he remembered Wayne Rogers'
promised reward for anyone who could prove the
identities of the Robomen - were the dozen-or-so
people who were rushing towards him with cameras in
hand.
Damn it! I don't
want them to get a shot of me!
BRAKABOOM!
He looked up and saw
twin black fighter jets swooping past the caged
Jigenseisokuka Robo. As they passed they each
released two missiles which struck the thick red bars
of kenez energy that kept the malevolent
robot trapped.
Damn it! Ikku
thought again as the cage dissolved and
Jigenseisokuka Robo started to march forward again,
directly towards Ikku and the eager citizens of New
Orleans who were hurrying to the scene.
"Let's
go, Robo!" he shouted again.
The silver Roboman
armour appeared over his robosuit again but, as with
his previous two henshin attempts, the
buckles and straps added to his robosuit by Amy kept
the armour from forming properly. He was still
protected, but several buckles kept his chestplate
slightly raised so that anyone jamming a knife - or
the barrel of a gun - underneath could injure him
directly.
"Everybody,
listen to me!" he shouted as he ran towards the
approaching citizens. "You all need to get out
of here!"
"No way,
pal!" someone called back. "I want my
$10,000! Take off that mask!"
"Can't you see
the giant robot? And the jet fighters?"
Ikku asked.
"We'll leave
once we get our pics!"
Ikku turned around
and saw that Jigenseisokuka Robo was still advancing.
It could have already been on top of Ikku and the
group he was trying to protect and the red-clad
Roboman found himself wondering why Jigenseisokuka
Robo was moving so slowly and carefully.
What should I
do? Ikku asked himself silently. They're not
leaving until they get their shots. Should I just let
them take them, so they'll get away? Or -
Ikku stepped
backwards in shock as a bright burst of yellow energy
splashed over Jigenseisokuka Robo, freezing it in
place. He looked straight up and saw Kiko's yellow
Lightning Jet passing overhead. He pressed a sequence
of numbers on his Alert Bracer and raised it to his
mouth.
"Kik - "
He stopped himself as he realised the people
surrounding him could overhear what he was saying and
that a name was as much a key to someone's identity
as a photo. "Yellow Robo! This is Red Robo! Be
careful! There are two other fighters up - "
His warning came too
late; the two sleek, black jets fell into formation
behind the Lightning Jet and opened fire. Sparks
sprayed from the wings and underbelly of the yellow
aircraft as the rapid machine-gun fire struck its
metal surface.
"Jigenseisokuka
Robo possesses powers of dimensional
regularisation," Sei's voice blared through
the Alert Bracer's speaker. "It will not
remain motionless for long. We need Gattai
Robo."
"I can't -
" Ikku began to reply. He narrowed his eyes and
felt the red fabric he had tied across them rub
against his eyebrows and the bridge of his nose. That's
it! They've already seen shots of Adaptex! It doesn't
matter if I drop my henshin!
"Phase
Three! Go Robo Vehicles!" he shouted. The silver
armour separated from his body again and, after
hovering in the air for several moments, expanded and
reformed into the red Flame Tank. Cameras flashed all
around Ikku as he hurried forward and climbed inside
the tank's cockpit.
"Kiko! Sei! I'm
ready!" Ikku said into his Alert Bracer as he
settled behind the Flame Tank's controls.
"Sei?"
There was a short
delay until, suddenly, Cog's voice emerged loudly
from the Alert Bracer. "Robo
Fusion!"
"Robo
Fusion!" the Robomen repeated in
unison.
There was a sparkle
of raido energy as the Water Cutter appeared
further down the street from the Flame Tank and
suddenly split horizontally down the middle. It
folded apart to form a pair of black and blue legs
and a strong black 'pelvis'. Then the turret of the
Flame Tank lifted off as the rest of the tank split
in half. The turret connected to the Water Cutter
'pelvis' to form a red 'spine', and the two remaining
pieces of the Flame Tank became red and black arms.
The wings of the Lightning Jet folded back, leaving
the jet looking like a solid rectangular block with a
nosecone attached. The block settled on top of Gattai
Robo's 'pelvis' and in front of its 'spine' to form a
yellow torso and the nosecone folded backwards as
though it were a hood, revealing the black and grey
head of the robot.
The
cockpits of the three vehicles merged together; walls
disappeared, leaving the three Robomen in one room,
sitting before three separate control panels.
"Remember
we're in the middle of the city!" Ikku told his
two former allies as their individual control panels
locked into position. "There are people and
buildings we have to take care of!"
"Listen
to you, taking charge again," Kiko said.
"Does that mean you're coming back to the
team?"
"No,"
Ikku answered quickly. "I'm here because we need
all three of us to form Gattai Robo. That's all. Chaos Sword!"
Raido
energy shone around Ikku's right hand and the
red-bladed weapon appeared. He held it tightly and
swung it across his body; outside the cockpit, a much
larger version of the same weapon appeared in Gattai
Robo's right hand, and it emulated his movements
perfectly.
"Let's
end this quickly," Ikku said.
"Wait,"
Sei said. "We must be careful. We need to
recover the artificial intelligence chip from
Jigenseisokuka Robo."
"Why?"
Ikku asked.
"If
you had not left us - "
"Look
at its face!" Kiko interrupted. "It's been
blasted in half!"
As
Kiko spoke, the two jets passed overhead again.
"Vertex
Shield," Sei said calmly. There was another
flash of raido energy as the
translucent-blue energy shield appeared beside Sei's
right arm. When it was fully formed it attached
itself to his forearm, and a similar but larger
shield attached itself to Gattai Robo.
"The
jets must have damaged it," Sei suggested.
"At least we will be safe - "
"No."
Ikku shook his head. "The robot's head was like
that right from the start. I saw it grow. It must
have been damaged before that."
"It
remains frozen," Sei remarked. "Its
dimensional regularisation capabilities must have
been damaged as well. You are likely correct, Red
Robo."
BRAAKKARATTATAAT!
Machine-gun
fire tore across Gattai Robo's back and, as the
fighter jets swung around the gigantic robot, the
bullets ricocheted off the Vertex Shield.
"Careful!"
Ikku snapped. "There are people down
there!"
["Who
are you?"] he called to the jets through Gattai
Robo's mouth. Unsurprisingly, he received no reply.
["Get the hell away from here!"]
The
jets turned in a wide arc, ready for another pass.
"Let's
end this!" Ikku said.
He
lifted the Chaos Sword and, with one clean stroke,
severed the head of the unmoving robot. It fell to
the ground and rolled several blocks down the road,
and only came to a stop as it pressed against the
rubble of the buildings flattened by the robot as it
grew.
He
raised the Chaos Sword above his head and brought it
down for another strike; Gattai Robo's weapon cut
through the centre of Jigenseisokuka Robo's body,
splitting it vertically, but the broken halves of the
robot remain frozen by the Lightning Jet's blast of jera
energy.
"Can
we shrink it?" Ikku asked. "If we destroy
it at this size..."
"Only
kenez energy will shrink the robot,"
Sei said.
Ikku
nodded and paused for a moment. He closed his eyes
and the Chaos Sword disappeared from his grasp. Once
Gattai Robo's weapon had also vanished he gripped the
controls in front of him and watched as Sei did the
same.
Carefully,
they manipulated their controls and Gattai Robo
stepped forward and placed its hands on
Jigenseisokuka Robo's shoulders. Ikku closed his eyes
and concentrated again. His entire body started to
radiate with kenez energy, but the strange
'tattoos' that had appeared on his body two weeks
earlier glowed more brightly than the rest of his
body.
Kenez
energy flooded through Gattai Robo's hands in
cascading torrents which filled the damaged
Jigenseisokuka Robo. Slowly, the robot started to
shrink, but it did not stop when it returned to its
original six-foot height. It shrunk until it was
completely invisible and it was only then that the
bright red glow around Ikku ceased.
"Red
Robo!" Sei snapped. "We needed to recover
Jigenseisokuka Robo's artificial intelligence
chip!"
"I
didn't mean to do that!" Ikku snapped back.
"I - ACHOO!"
Gattai
Robo had started to disappear around the three
Roboman and after only a few short moments they found
themselves back on one of the dark streets of New
Orleans, surrounded by citizens eager to photograph
them.
Sei
quickly took hold of Kiko's wrist and motioned for
Ikku to take his free hand.
"Red
Robo! We cannot allow these people to identify -
"
Ikku
shook his head. "I'm not Red Robo - I'm Adaptex,
and I will deal with 'these people' however I
want." He turned away from Sei and disappeared
into the crowd, followed by dozens of bright camera
flashes as behind him Sei and Kiko faded away,
leaving a shower of raido energy in their
wake.
It
was almost dawn before Ikku returned to Amy's flat
and placed his hand against the front door. He knew
what to expect the second he saw Amy again, and
despite what he had told her before he left, he was
dreading seeing her again. He slowly pushed the door
open and stepped inside... but what greeted him was
not Amy, waiting eagerly to get him back into bed -
it was a strong, powerful smell; one that he liked.
"Pizza?
Why can I smell pizza?"
He
sniffed the air.
"Anchovies...
and shrimp?"
He
hurried into the kitchen and saw a large pizza box
waiting for him on one of the benches; but beside the
pizza, something else was waiting for him - rather,
it was someone else - Kageki.
"Ikku-sama!"
Kageki exclaimed.
He
ran forward and tried to hug his friend, but Ikku
scurried backwards.
"What
are you doing here?!" Ikku asked angrily.
"Amy
called me! She wanted you to come home!"
"Home?
'Hey, Pizza!' isn't my home, Kageki. Not anymore!
I live here, now!" He looked around the
kitchen peered into the living room. "Where is
Amy?"
"She
didn't like the smell of the pizza..." Kageki
mumbled. "Please, Ikku-sama! Amy thinks you
should - "
"Don't
you get it, Kageki? I'm not a Roboman anymore! I know
I was hard on you when I left, and I'm sorry, but I'm
not going back. Ever."
Kageki
shoulders slumped and he stared at the ground.
"I
just thought - "
"That
what? A pizza would win me over? Grow up,
Kageki. All the Robomen have done since the beginning
is lie to each other. You haven't, I know, but you're
too young to be a Roboman anyway. You need
to give Sei your robosuit. It's too dangerous for
you!"
Ikku
glanced around the bottom floor of the apartment
again.
"Sei..."
He turned back to Kageki. "You didn't tell the
others I was here, did you?"
Kageki
looked away.
"Damn
it, Kageki!" Ikku snapped.
He
turned around to move into the living room but found
Sei, with Cog perched on his shoulder, blocking his
path.
"Don't
blame Kageki!" Cog insisted. "I overheard
Amy on the phone and - "
"So
I should blame you, Cog?" Ikku asked.
"Can't you people understand I don't want to -
"
"No,"
Sei interrupted. "We do not understand, and you
do not have a choice. Your activities have endangered
our mission."
"We
all want to find Doctor Nagura!" Cog told him.
"We'll have more luck as a team!"
"A
team?" Ikku replied. "Is that what
we are? What sort of team keeps secrets? What sort of
team lies? What sort of team doesn't give a crap
about what its members want, if it disagrees with the
'big mission'?
"What
is our mission, anyway, Sei? What did Doctor
Brachis tell you she wanted us to do, that you've
been manipulating us towards all along but keeping to
yourself?"
Sei
shook his head.
"Our
mission is to find and rescue Doctor Nagura,"
Sei told him. "That is our mission not just
because with the dissolution of the Earth
Defence/Leadership Directorate he is the most
qualified to instruct us further; it is our mission
because it is important to you, as his son."
Ikku
scowled.
"Don't
do that to me, Sei," he said. "Where did
you go after we beat Jigenseisokuka? I went looking
through the mess it made for any casualties. You just
ran off! Don't try to make me think you care about me
or what I want or anyone else. You've been
manipulating us and screwing us over right from the
start, following your own agenda and saving your own
skin!"
"Ikku-sama!"
Kageki cried. "We all care about you!
Amy wants us to make sure you're happy! Sei-san just
wants you to find your father! You - " He paused
and took a deep breath, and Ikku could see tears
welling in his eyes. "You should be grateful!
Your father loved you until he went crazy! And... and
I want you to be happy, Ikku-sama! You
aren't happy now, you're just angry and - "
"Kageki..."
Ikku interrupted. "Kageki, stop."
He
stepped towards Kageki and placed his hands on the
boy's shoulders.
"I'm
sorry, but I'm not coming back." His eyes
drifted from Kageki to the pizza box on the bench.
"You made that pizza for me... and you really
didn't tell Sei I was here, did you?"
Kageki
shook his head.
Ikku
closed his eyes and frowned. Sei, Kageki and Cog
stared at him for a long moment before he burst into
laughter.
"Kageki,
you are such a little doofus!" he cried. He
threw his arms around Kageki, lifted him off the
ground and hugged him tightly. "You're too
damned nice!"
Kageki
grinned as Ikku lowered him back to the ground.
"Are
we friends again, Ikku-sama?" he asked.
"Only
if the pizza's good," Ikku replied. He flipped
open the lid of the box... and saw that it was empty.
"Or even present..."
"Sorry..."
Kageki blushed.
Ikku
turned around to face his three companions.
"I'll
come back to the team, on one condition. From now on,
we don't just wait for the latest attack from Satoshi
or Jinsei or Miko or my father. Tomorrow we start
getting ourselves ready, and then we go looking for
my father. We've been on the defensive for too long,
and all it has done is put this city in danger."
Sei
and Kageki nodded.
"I
agree to your condition, Ian," Sei said.
"We will need to discuss it with Miss Sato and
Senshi, however."
Ikku
winked. "I'm team leader, remember?
What I say goes."
Ikku
began to laugh, but stopped himself as he saw Amy
walking down the stairs leading into the living room.
She stood behind Sei and stared at Ikku, waiting for
him to speak again.
"Uh...
hi, Amy," he said.
"You're
going home?" she asked.
He
nodded.
"Good..."
she said. "And Kiko doesn't need to know you
were ever here, right?"
"I
don't want to lie," Ikku said.
"Tell
her if you have to," Amy told him. "I don't
want to make you do anything you don't want to."
"Thanks,"
he said. "And thanks for letting me stay here
these last few weeks."
"No
problem." She smiled broadly. "You're
welcome back anytime. Seriously."
"We
should leave," Sei said. "Miss Sato and
Senshi will begin to wonder where we are. Cog and I
also need to reconfigure your Alert Bracer."
"My
Alert Bracer? Why?" Ikku asked.
"We'll
explain later!" Cog told him. "Let's
go!"
Sei,
Cog and Kageki made their way to the front door, but
Ikku lingered for a moment beside Amy. He looked into
her eyes and smiled, but it was a weak smile. He
really was grateful for everything she had done from
him and he felt bad that he had done nothing in
return.
It
wasn't as if she was asking me to do anything I
didn't want to...
He
leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, then
hurried after his friends. Amy stared at the group as
they walked away from her front door, but her eyes
quickly shifted from Ikku's rapidly retreating form
to Sei's body as they rounded a corner.
Ikku
was a failure, Kageki's far too young. But this
Sei... he could be exactly what I'm after! she
thought. All I need is an excuse...
The
Amazon
Sorceress
Miko pushed her way through another thick cluster of
vines. She had been wandering through the bush for
hours. She'd lost her hat; her long pink hair was
tangled and damp with sweat; her boots were caked
with mud and her clothes were torn in several places.
She
had run from snakes, circled around giant spiders and
cringed at all the sounds the rainforest had to throw
at her. She was exhausted, and after realising that
she may not reach her goal any time soon, she decided
instead to simply look for somewhere relatively
clean, dry and deserted in which to sleep.
It
came as a total shock, as the last vine fell away
before her, that she discovered a clearing - a
clearing which contained a small shelter formed by
four stick inserted into the soft earth, with a roof
made of thatched leaves.
Sitting
cross-legged inside the shelter was a nearly-naked
man with bright red skin. He had very short black
hair and, to Miko, each strand appeared to be the
exact same length. His body was completely
symmetrical... and his eyes were fixed on her.
He
was Jinsei, and he was Miko's goal.
"Miko,
Miko, Miko..." Jinsei shook his head and tutted
as Miko dragged herself underneath the shelter.
"What brings you here?"
"Nagura's
trying to kill me!" she panted. "I thought
he died at Blizzard Base Zero, but he's alive - and
insane!"
"Teleporting
takes too much out of you and it takes time to create
pixies, so you ran," Jinsei observed. "All
the way to your old friend Jinsei."
Miko
scowled.
"Your
power to teleport yourself isn't a very good weapon,
is it?" he asked her.
"No,"
she agreed, "and I don't know what to do. One of
the damn Robomen saved me twice!"
Jinsei
nodded and quickly looked over Miko's body. He found
two areas where her costume had torn, revealing bare
skin beneath - one was over her left shoulder, the
other was on her right forearm. He placed his hands
directly against her skin and nodded again.
"The
way I see it, Miko, you have two options," he
said reassuringly.
"And
those would be?"
"Adapt.
Or die."
Suddenly,
Jinsei's hands began to glow - one turned bright red
as kenez energy gushed from his fingertips
and into Miko's skin; the other turned green, and
Miko's body was soon coccooned in powerful nauthiz
energy.
By
combining the two, Jinsei had more than once been
able to force the evolution of a living being. Most
recently he had caused a tortoise to grow to human
size and become sentient and merged a mosquito with
one of Sorceress Miko's pixies. Now, he turned his
powers on Sorceress Miko.
"You
never should have come to me, you little witch,"
he spat. She did not reply. She didn't even blink as
his power ran through her. "I've never used my
powers on any human other than myself before. I have
no idea what this will do to you, but after the way
you screwed me over in New Orleans I don't care.
"Either
you'll evolve, adapt, and become my slave so I can
learn all your secrets... or you will die.
Either way, I win."
NEXT:
Hometown Blues!
