ROCK 8: Neon Tiger

''This article is about the Eidolon Playtest episode. For the Eidolon, see Neon Tiger.''

"'I don't wanna be kept, I don't wanna be caged, I don't wanna be damned, oh hell.' -Neon Tiger, by The Killers"

Neon Tiger is the eighth episode of Eidolon ROCK and eighteenth episode of Eidolon Playtest Season 1. It covers the Alta Drive Jawbreakers getting confronted by and defeating Bartholomew Lightkill, an assassin who can generate neon tigers from light.

Summary
Highway I-25, just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Alta Drive Jawbreakers and Sabrina Bryan are driving a minivan on the highway towards Denver, Colorado. Virginia Valentine deals in as the Alchemist, gaining the power to transform any oxygen she touches into glass. Lady Luck appears briefly, teasing them and commending Sabrina for her almost-victory over them before leaving.

Around 5-6pm, most of the people in the car are tired and hungry, and they're low on gas. They pick up some food from a drive-thru, then stop at a gas station. Chris Masters gets out to pump gas. A man in suburban cowboy attire jogs up to Chris and asks if he's Chris Masters or Harvey D. Godlove. At Chris' suspicion, he introduces himself as Bartholomew Lightkill. Chris tries to subtly warn the others with Ironspy, but Bartholomew easily notices. Bothered by Chris' suspicion, he admits that he is one of The Killers sent after them. He's giving them an opportunity to surrender and die painlessly.

Eidolon Battle
Virginia Valentine winds down the window to check on them. Chris Masters attempts a surprise attack on Bartholomew Lightkill with Ironspy, but the man summons his own Eidolon, Neon Tiger, to catch the blade in its hand. A roar sounds from behind Chris and something heavy slams him onto the minivan. Harvey D. Godlove jumps out from his seat, only to be pinned back down by a bright heavy furry weight.

Virginia gets out of the car, and manages to block the light lancing in her direction with a thick pane of glass from Only The Good Die Young. Bartholomew apologizes for the unfair situation, as the fluorescent lighting gives him an advantage. He will pay for their gas, let them leave, and give them a one hour head-start. Virginia accepts this, and he releases Chris and Harvey. Chris is able to tell he was pinned down by a wispy whitish-blue tiger. All three of them jump back into the minivan, and Harvey speeds off.

The Jawbreakers brainstorm where they could reach in an hour. They know light gives him an advantage, and Fortune Teller says "A LIGHT IS STILL A LIGHT EVEN THOUGH A BLIND MAN CANNOT SEE IT - AUSTRIAN PROVERB". Harvey pulls out his phone while driving to look up nearby caves and tunnels - locating the Gilman Tunnels that are just under an hour away.

Gilman Tunnels, New Mexico

The minivan reaches the tunnel without incident. As they enter inside, a tiger tries to bite the back of the car only to dissipate at the darkness. The Jawbreakers stop inside the tunnel, tigers repeatedly spawning outside trying to reach them. Chris vanishes Ironspy and one of their guns inside the bumper of the car. Harvey gets a call from Bartholomew, congratulating them on the clever plan. Chris and Virginia shout to turn off the phone, as the screen generates light. Harvey does, and also turns off the car to stop any dashboard lights.

Chris spots a telescope on a tripod on a nearby hill. Harvey assembles a sniper rifle and shoots it from the open back of the car. A tiger jumps from outside the tunnel into the light generated from the muzzle flash, but Harvey swings the sniper rifle away to dodge it. They sit there and nothing further happens.

Chili jumps out of the car and pokes her head beyond the edge of darkness. She jumps back and narrowly avoid a tiger. Chili tries the other side of the tunnel, and the same thing happens. She begins to suspect the telescope was a decoy. Chili sends Little Lies out into the light and pins a tiger down with it. Chili steps out into the light herself, and it seems only one tiger can be generated per light source. Given Bartholomew could see them at either end of the tunnel, Virginia runs outside it and rains shards of glass over the top of the tunnel. Nothing happens.

Chris transfers Ironspy from the bumper of the car into the first bullet in another handgun. He gets out of the car to look around, and spots a hand emerging from underneath the car holding a gun. It shoots him in the leg, and a tiger leaps from the muzzle flash to attack Virginia. She slows it down with a barrier of glass. The tiger breaks through and bites into her, but Virginia deals in as the Inhuman and drops away, transforming into a shadow.

Harvey grabs yet another handgun and dives out the side of the car, firing a stream of bullets in the space underneath it. Neon Tiger blocks most of the bullets, but it and Bartholomew get pushed out from under the car next to Chris. On Harvey's last shot, a tiger launched from the muzzle flash. Its stripes glow brightly and tigers generate from each of them, each of them generating more tigers in an exponentially growing tiger orb.

Chris shoots Neon Tiger in the head, but this starts generating another exponential growth of tigers. From inside the bullet, Ironspy electrifies the bullets in the gun hidden with it, exploding them all in the middle of Neon Tiger's head. This kills Bartholomew Lightkill, injures Chris, and disperses all the tigers in the tunnel.

Everyone breathes a sigh of relief, slightly deafened from all the gunshots in the small space. Cecilia Citadel suggests finding a place nearby to sleep, as if there were any other Killers nearby they'd have been helping Bartholomew out.

Highway on the way to Denver

Virginia deals in again as the Alchemist, and starts driving the car off east back onto the highway. As she tries to figure out where the nearest hotel may be, Lady Luck appears on Harvey's lap. She starts giving Virginia directions to a nearby hotel and they eventually pull up to a two-story building in the middle of nowhere. A neon sign towers over it that reads "HOTEL". As they unpack and head in through the front door, the rest of the sign flickers on to read "NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL".

Ending Scene
A phone rings. Frasier Lilith picks up to hear Michael-Valentine say he's got bad news and more bad news. The Alta Drive Jawbreakers defeated Neon Tiger. Frasier says they have promising new Killers candidates if Jenny is unable to stop them in Denver, Colorado. Michael breaks the more bad news: He doesn't know where the Jawbreakers are, which he thinks shouldn't be possible. He believes they've likely found a place to sleep, and recommends they do the same. Michael hangs up, promising to let Frasier know as soon as they pop back up.

Lady Luck appears behind Frasier, offering mock sympathy. She asks if Martin Niles is aware of the clock on Frasier's chest, now down to 56 hours. Lady Luck taunts him for not yet killing a single Jawbreaker and leaves. Frasier shatters something into glass and lets out a yell of anger.

Appearances
● Bartholomew Lightkill // Neon Tiger (First Appearance)

● Cecilia Citadel // Fortune Teller

● Chili the Fox // Little Lies

● Chris Masters // Ironspy

● Frasier Lilith // Shattered

● Harvey D. Godlove // Here It Goes Again

● Lady Luck // Poker Face

● Michael-Valentine

● Sabrina Bryan // Houses in Motion

● Virginia Valentine // Only The Good Die Young