Trent, Celia and Matt found themselves all of a sudden back in the same place they had been. Trent looked around with a
slight sense that something was wrong. Celia looked to Trent with a smirk.
"I didn't see anything at all..." She said. Matt seemed about to agree when two men stepped in the door onto the scene,
completely naked except for socks between their legs.
"Oh hell. We've died and gone to a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert." Matt said as the three of them looked on.
"Pants wearers! Call security!" Cried one of the two as the other rushed down the hall.
"Hey come on guys, I'm all up for partying but this is a little too wild for a school for scientists." Trent protested
as he tried to figure out whether or not Celia was eying the size of their socks.
"Shut up and stay where you are, pervert!" Cried the remaining fellow.
"Why do I get the feeling this has something to do with your damned machine Trent?" Celia demanded.
"Oh sure let's just blame me! Bah! My machine took off their clothes, yeah that's it. My machine is sitting right over
there perfectly innocent and..." The machine was not sitting anywhere at all, in fact the room was decorated with nothing
but a few Red Hot Chili Peppers posters.
"This is your fault damn it! See if you get anything from me tonight! Oh are you ever sleeping on the couch! And what the
hell do you want?" Celia demanded of two authoritative looking gentlemen who had come in the door wearing blue socks with
badges pinned on them.
"Cops. Oh man. Um hey guys, I don't know these people." Matt volunteered before going silent under a glare from one of
them.
"The three of you weirdoes are under arrest for crimes against the revolutionary government. Come with us." Said the first
man with the blue sock on his penis.
Trent looked to Matt. They'd be damned if they were going to obey people who's authority came from the color of socks they
wore, but then again things had gotten rather odd and it might be best to go along in hopes of getting answers.
"This has to be a prank, let's just go with them for now and see what's going on." Trent said as he held up his hands to
set the example. Matt and Celia followed him if a bit nervously. The policemen weren't terribly intimidating, being naked
and all, but the simple fact that they took themselves so seriously indicated that this was either a hillarious joke or that
they had something to back up their orders if they weren't obeyed.
The trio were led out to a squad car and piled into the back seat. On the way to the station the sounds of "Otherside"
were so deafening that they couldn't get out any questions. They were all hastily led into a cell and locked in without any
further adieu. The cell was dark and shadowy but not terribly cramped. They soon discovered that they were not alone.
A form dressed in a ragged long red gown came forth from the darkness. His long hair framed a haggard face with a prominent
mouth. There could be no mistake as he stepped into the cruel overhead lights of the prison.
"Steven Tyler!" They all cried in unison.
"Yes... It is I. It has been a long time since I had reason to speak to anyone. Have you come to give me what I deserve
for my sins?" He asked in a weary tone as he examined each of the people facing him.
"No way! I loved Sweet Emotion and that movie about the asteroid. Besides I think I once made you a javanese mocha latino."
Matt said in confusion.
"We don't even know why we're here, we're a bit confused actually." Trent admitted bashfully.
"You must have come from some other country where the revolution hasn't taken power yet. It's unfortunate that you were
captured. And it's my fault really..." He looked down sadly, seeming as if he were on the brink of divulging a tragic tale
of loss and betrayal.
"Hold on, would you, we're going to walk this way and talk a moment." Celia said as she dragged her companions into a corner
and glared scathingly at both of them. "You guys dragged me into a paralell dimension and now we're imprisoned with a washed
up old rocker!"
"There's no proof of that." Trent said cooly.
"Steven Tyler is sharing a prison cell with us and we've been arrested for wearing pants, I think there's ample proof!"
Celia said.
"It's either a paralell dimension or the strangest coffee induced hallucination I've ever had." Matt added.
"Ok, I'm willing to admit for the moment that this MAY be a paralell universe, and that it is POSSIBLE that we're here
because of a mistake in my calculations or something of the sort. But if we're here we may as well make the most of it. I
think that we can get back if we can return to where the portal opened, but to do that we'll need to learn a few things about
the legal system here and the place we're being held." Celia and Matt agreed to this plan and the group gathered infront of
Steven Tyler to learn of the dark future he had apparently created.
He began unbidden, understanding from the look in their eyes that they had need of the knowledge that can only be gained
by conversing with a guy who hung out with Run DMC.
"It began on a dark and stormy night in the mid nineties. My agent
had asked me to talk to some men in suits, skinny men, the kind of men who make video games. They offered me so much money
I couldn't resist, and having a first person shooter based on the band sounded really cool to all of us. It seemed great as
an arcade game, but it wasn't very well receieved when it went to consoles. Anyhow that's neither here nor there. Revolution
X was harmless on its own.
But imagine the effect that a game like that could have on a psyche already damaged by drug abuse and the collision of
punk and funk. The reports are sketchy, but from what we know Flea first played Revolution X around the time Bush was running
for re-election. The constant intonations that music was the only weapon that could overthrow an oppressive government, the
realistic combat training. Somewhere that night something snapped. In the coming days every member of the chili peppers was
indoctrinated..."
The disbelieving looks on the faces of his audience gave him pause, but they were too stunned to ask questions and so he
continued.
"At their next concert they unleashed the greatest terror man has ever known. To the melodies of "Californication" they
distributed guns to the audience and stormed out of the arena, killing any who opposed them. The revolution spread until they
controlled the entirety of the US and a good part of Canada. I was hailed as a prophet by the new government, but we got into
an ideological difference, and so they threw me in here to rot..." He looked down sadly as Trent and his friends began to
regain their senses after the shock passed.
"What were your ideological differences?" Celia asked. "I suppose you wanted to empower the people through elections but
they wanted to cling to power under the pretense of instituting order?"
"No, not really. I said the national anthem should be changed to "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" and that led to a pretty big
argument. That and the fact that I refused to put a sock on my dick."
On to Chapter 9
