So as it turned out, the Thin Man really didn't like to smoke.

Scratch that, he hated it. He did it more or less to look cool… though he eventually realized that lung cancer just wasn't worth it as he got ready to throw the whole pack out of the Brave's cockpit. He quickly reconsidered it, however, as he opted to just manifest several cigarette boxes and stacked them up in the unit's cockpit to pass the time.

He had just recreated a miniature egyptian pyramid by the time the Brave's cockpit flashed a little to signify that Graham had exited The Maw with a rescued Six, and though reluctant, the older Mono sighed, snapped his fingers to make the cigarette boxes disappear, and tapped the Commander Type's cockpit. A single tap of the cockpit monitor was enough to send a signal through the unit, causing it to shudder a little as a ghostly purple aura surrounded its chassis, causing it to hover down to pick the returning lads up.

Hovering down below the clouds rather nonchalantly, the Thin Man raised his brows when, via the optic-to-cockpit system, he saw that Graham was not present at the meeting point, which was the lighthouse on the top of The Maw. However, the hatted man noticeably perked his ears up when he heard the sound of someone yelling out, as though they were charging something up… and suddenly…

"HAM KICK!"

From the entrance below the lighthouse, several Guests burst out and flew off into the distance. The Thin Man audibly gasped at that as he forcefully had the Brave duck downwards to evade the incoming Guest bodies. The tubby beasts were flying out of that hole at bullet velocity, for crying out loud! Who knew what would happen if even one of them hit the Mobile Suit?! The Thin Man certainly didn't wish to find out!

"Haha! Witness the power of my heart and soul!" proclaimed Graham as the Brave, and by proxy, the Thin Man, peeked over the edge of The Maw and saw the soldier in question standing near the door beneath the lighthouse with his left fist held out in a victorious manner. Both Mono and Six were clinging tightly onto his right arm for dear life while a third, unnamed child was atop Graham's head, with him clinging onto his hair as though his life depended on it, and by all means… it probably did.

"Must you be so dramatic, Graham Aker?" asked the Thin Man via the Brave's local comm links, and in response, Graham laughed heartily as he watched personal Mobile Suit hover up until its cockpit was level with the ground he was standing on before it split open, revealing the Thin Man within it as he gave him a look of mock irritation. That look was quick to sharpen, however, when he took note of Six, and as he glared at her, the raincoated girl shuddered a tad. "Oh, you found the brat, huh? Congrats."

"I sense humor in your voice, man of thinness," quipt Graham as he stared over at the Thin Man with a smirk. In response, the older Momo rolled his eyes as he watched the soldier jog over and set Six, Mono and Seven down in the Mobile Suit's cockpit, and thereafter, he watched as the raincoated girl stared up at the Thin Man with a somewhat apologetic expression, one that went almost completely unnoticed by the older Mono as he scoffed.

"I won't confirm or deny that," retorted the Thin Man as he glared specifically at Six. His gaze was so intense that even Seven cowered a little under it, though Six didn't really flinch too much outside of glancing away shamefully. Thankfully enough, Mono came to the rescue as he stepped in front of his friend and waved his hands around awkwardly before gently grasping onto Six's, with him intertwining his fingers with hers in an instant.

What a strange sight to behold, honestly. The Thin Man couldn't recall when the last time he had held someone's hand was, let alone him holding onto Six's. The sight in itself was more than enough to make him soften his gaze a little as he frowned a little deeper…

"H-Hey… me! Uh… c-can we s-s-stop with the awkward, silent g-glaring…?" insisted Mono as the Thin Man rolled his eyes and tipped his hat forwards until it was covering his eyes. By all means, he liked seeing Six scared. It was pure ecstasy to him, to see the one that had trapped him in that damn Tower for so many cycles appear afraid, though even then, he gave into his younger self's pleas, however reluctantly

"Hmph. Fine. I'd go blind if I keep glaring at her anyways," scoffed the Thin Man as he leaned back on the cockpit chair and groaned a little under his breath. Graham himself didn't seem satisfied with how he was treating his younger self's Primadonna, though he offered no comment on it as he knew that it was a sensitive topic. "But regardless, let's be on our wa-"

"Ah, I apologise, Thin Man. We are not leaving just yet," clarified Graham apologetically, confusing the Thin Man and two of the three children present at first, though before long, he found his gaze shifting over to Seven… and then he found himself understanding what Graham wished to do, prompting him to facepalm.

"You fucking idiot. You want to save more of those gremlins?" grumbled the Thin Man as he lowered his hand from his face and tipped his hat upwards in apprehension. As one would expect, however, Graham was as serious as he always was, prompting the Thin Man to groan in irritation as he leaned his head back on the cockpit chair. "For as smart as you seem, you're honestly very fucking dumb."

"I prefer the word Sentimental, Thin Man," corrected Graham as he walked towards the edge of the lighthouse atop The Maw and stared down the ledge. His smile grew noticeably when he saw a boat down there, docked and currently unmanned as everyone on board had vacated it for whatever reason, and before long, he cracked his neck from side to side before rolling his shoulders dramatically. "As a Sentimental Virgo, a soldier of the Earth Sphere Federation Army," Six and Seven asked Mono what that was and all they got was a shrug, "and most importantly of all, as a man who values the lives of others, I cannot allow the children to remain in this vicious location for even a second longer than necessary!"

…

…

…

"Can you speak English, please?" insisted Six, with her speaking what most of the children were thinking as she held a finger up in the air, and for all it was worth, the Thin Man seemed to agree with that statement, however begrudgingly, as he understood very little of what was just said to him. At that, Graham chuckled sheepishly as he acknowledged how he had gone overboard with his sentimental terms once more, prompting him to simplify it all as he nodded.

"I am returning to The Maw, and I shall rescue those still trapped aboard it!" simplified Graham, clenching his fist in determination as he spoke. And at that, all three of the kids 'oooooh'-ed in understanding as they lifted their heads up to the sky… and almost immediately after, Mono and Seven perked up as they finally processed his words.

"Wait what?!" proclaimed the boys as they stared at Graham with their eyes widened in disbelief. He wanted to go back in there to save those kids?! That seemed rather crazy to them… or at the very least, it seemed crazy to them at first. However, as the seconds ticked by… the two of them eventually remembered who the fuck Graham was in the first place, prompting them to ease their worries as they relaxed a little.

"Well, now that I think about it, I think The Lady should be more scared of you than vice versa," commented Seven sarcastically as he recalled all those insane punches and kicks that Graham pulled off not too long ago.

"Ditto," agreed Mono with a nod as Six shrugged, with her showing clear indifference to the whole situation as she stuffed her free hand into her raincoat pocket whilst keeping the other firmly laced around Mono's. The Thin Man seemed ready to punt her into the ocean at that point, especially as he felt a small ounce of jealousy flow through him at the sight of the illegal hand holding, and were it not for Graham's watchful gaze, he probably would've done so by now.

"Yeah, but how're you gonna do this, huh?" asked Six dismissively as she eyed Graham from behind her bangs, and in response to her words, the Solbrave Commander simply smashed his palm with his fist, causing a small amount of purple energy to spark between them in the process, more or less answering Six's question as she scoffed. "You do know that if you keep punching away like you're doing right now, you'll eventually create a hole that causes the entire Maw to sink, right? The kids are all located near the very bottom of The Maw, and if it sinks, they'll be among the first to go."

"... you hold a valid point, Shoujo, but I see no other way to do this. I must be careful with my punches!" muttered Graham bitterly as he punched the side of his fist against the palm of his hand. He didn't enjoy the prospect of holding back, but for the sake of the imprisoned children, he would have to do so!

As the soldier made up his plan on the spot, however, Six found herself glancing between Mono and the Thin Man thoughtfully as she rubbed her chin. Upon noticing her gaze, Mono offered his friend a wave as he shut his eyes and smiled, a gesture that made the edges of Six's mouth twitch upwards at just how cute he was as she nodded in response, though as for the Thin Man, he flipped the raincoat wearing girl off when he saw her glancing in his general direction. Six promptly returned the gesture, much to Mono and Graham's dismay as he began to berate his older self/colleague for being such a bad influence on his friend/charge.

"Hey… you… can travel through TVs, right?" muttered Six as Mono continued to berate his older self, catching the attention of both Monos as they glanced at him. Seven noticeably perked up at that as well, as he found the notion of traveling through TVs to be rather exciting, though he remained silent as he listened intently. The Thin Man didn't seem keen on dignifying Six's question with a response, however, as he simply scoffed and opted to let her figure that out for herself, though the same couldn't be said for his younger self…

"Yeah! Well… for me, it takes quite a bit of effort to push myself through, but I can get it to work," said Mono, smiling a little as he spoke. Six nodded at that, with her appreciating the kindness of the younger Mono as opposed to his more cynical, jaded older self, though she didn't dwell too much on how she had technically turned him that way as Mono continued. "Why'd you ask?"

"Because I know the Thin Man can travel through TVs with other people," replied Six, speaking with a slightly louder tone of voice. It seemed as though she wished to tell someone something, and evidently enough, that someone quickly perked up as he glanced over at Six and lowered his hand from his chin. "And what do you know? There's a TV near the bottom of The Maw."

"A television near the bottom…" muttered Graham as the gears in his mind began to click into place, and before long, the edges of his mouth curved upwards into a wicked smile as he turned towards Six and approached her briskly. The girl in the raincoat flinched a little out of instinct as he approached her, though when Graham crouched down and patted her gently over the head, she calmed down as she accepted his headpats. "Shoujo, I thank you for this information! I shall see to it that you are rewarded for your assistance!"

"Some meat would be nice," muttered Six wistfully as Graham nodded, winking as he promised her some well made food, much to her delight, before he turned towards the Thin Man. Currently, the poor guy had his face buried in his hands as he resisted the urge to scream into his palms. He had kept the information regarding the TV to himself for a reason! He really didn't want to go into The Maw himself…

"You won't let me not do it, huh?" groaned the Thin Man in anger, with him speaking through his hands as Graham nodded. The guy didn't even need to see it for himself as he already knew what his answer was, and at that, he allowed a resigned chuckle to escape his lips as he leaned back and sighed. "Well, I guess you could say that this is, in a way… destiny."

"How so, Thin Man?" asked Graham, only for the older Mono to wave him off as he scoffed.

"It's not your concern, Graham," grumbled the Thin Man as he sighed and glared at him. "You fucking owe me for this if we make it out of this alive."

"The debt will be paid back in full, Thin Man," assured Graham as he held a fist up in the air with an assuring smirk. The older Mono chuckled bitterly at the Sentimental Virgo's words as he found himself staring at his younger self for a brief few seconds, though before long, he shook his head and picked Mono up by the scruff of his trenchcoat, causing him to wince a little as he was hoisted upwards. Six became rather defensive as she watched her friend be lifted up into the air, though the Shonen held a hand up to stay her, to which she reluctantly did so.

"Uh…" began Mono, only to be cut off by his older self.

"Mono is coming," stated the Thin Man, leaving no room for argument as he spoke. Of course, that wasn't going to stop Graham from arguing against him either way, though just this once, the Thin Man was able to speak up faster than the former Flag Fighter as he explained himself. "When we are inside, I will be taking a detour. I have… business inside The Maw. Business that I, admittedly, don't wish to complete, but seeing as how we are entering the proverbial belly of the beast, I may as well get it done.

"As I will be gone, your fastest way out will be through Mono. He's the only one aside from me who can travel between TV signals, and as such, he's important to get you back quickly if needed."

"That in itself is a fair point," commented Graham rather uncertainly as he glanced at Mono regretfully. Honestly, he really didn't want to put the Shonen in any more danger than he needed to be in… though he couldn't ignore the truth behind the older Mono's words. "But I do not know if we should put him in any more-"

"I'll go!"

Blinking in surprise as Mono spoke up so suddenly, Graham, Seven and Six especially perked up and eyed the hat loving child in shock. Before any one of them could attempt to change his mind, however, the child quickly explained himself as he poked his fingers together.

"I… I just want to help in some way. My powers are still growing, but I'll still do my best to help Graham in any way!" explained Mono confidently as both Six and Graham winced at his naivete. Seven found that rather admirable, honestly, and the Thin Man merely sighed. Man, he really was an idealist during his younger days… "And if he wants to rescue people, then I have more reason to help him!"

A scoff came immediately after, coming from the Thin Man as he crossed his arms and glanced at his younger self with a smile.

"Was I really that naive back in the day?" asked the Thin Man to no one in particular as he removed his hat and knocked some dust out of it. He didn't expect to get an answer, however, as Six rolled her eyes and offered him one.

"Yes. You were," replied Six rhetorically as the Thin Man trapped her under his hat, with Seven, who was still wondering what was going on, yelping as he jumped to the side to avoid being trapped alongside her.

"I wasn't asking you!" shot the Thin Man as he sighed and kept the girl trapped beneath his hat as she struggled under it. "But regardless, are you ready? Both of you?"

"Of course! A soldier's place is on the battlefield, and as such, I cannot wait to re-enter the fray!" replied Graham as he posed a little unnecessarily as Mono attempted to lift the Thin Man's hat off Six. Seven reluctantly offered his assistance as their combined might managed to hoist it off their friend/acquaintance, and though she seemed rather peeved at him for doing what he had done, Six said nothing as she watched the Thin Man reach for his hat and put it back on in a smug manner.

"Y-Yeah, I'm ready as well, so let's-" began Mono, though he was quickly cut off when he felt a hand wrap itself around his own. Tensing up a little at that, the Shonen looked down and saw that Six was now holding onto his hand with an iron tight grip as she glared at the Thin Man with a mixture of irritation and determination.

"I'm following," stated Six firmly as she narrowed her eyes at both the Thin Man and Graham, practically daring them to decline the order as she bared her fangs. The Thin Man, honestly speaking, didn't seem to want to follow through on Six's request as he opened his mouth to deny it, though before he could do so Graham held his hand up to silence him, and oh boy, he already knew where this was going…

"I see no real problem with allowing you to accompany us, Shoujo," stated Graham with a smile as he held a hand down for Six and Mono to climb up on. The two did so with little issue, and before long, he raised them up to chest level before he continued speaking. "Though embarrassing for me to admit, I will more than likely find myself lost in the lower levels of The Maw, and if I were to simply destroy the walls around me, I will risk flooding the entirety of the lower levels. Having a guide to lead me will mitigate this issue."

"For fucks sake, fine. Just keep the girl away from me and we'll be good, alright?" growled the Thin Man as he waved a finger at Graham. Six, whilst no one was looking, stuck her tongue out at him in a mocking manner as he grimaced and flipped her off. Graham didn't approve of that but said nothing on it as he sighed and motioned for him to do his magic, which he did.

Gingerly, the Thin Man rested his palm against the main cockpit monitor of the Brave, and within a few seconds, the entire unit began glowing a strange purple colour once more. It was a little weaker than Graham's personal Nyuukon buff, though it was still undeniably powerful as the hatted man held a hand out towards Graham.

"Alright we're set. Let's get the fuck on with this," growled the Thin Man as he waited for Graham to grab on. The soldier got ready to do so, though before he did…

"Seven, will you be alright being here alone?" asked Graham, and though he nodded, the soldier took note of the Shonen's body language, prompting him to squish his lips together all the while.

And it didn't take a genius to see what Graham was about to do…

"Oh for fucks sake-"

Oh shit lads I'm back to writing this. Technically I wrote a lot more but I keep forgetting to publish the chapters but hey. It's not abandoned just yet.

This story is just too much fun to warrant me abandoning it.