Chapter 6: Present
10:58 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 14th…
"… Break time. Make sure to leave everything ordered."
"Hai~!"
The students of class 3-A quickly placed the chairs correctly as they picked their breakfasts and came out of the classroom: some headed outside and others headed to the restrooms.
"Our results are just like we expected them to be." Netto commented to Saito as they walked down the stairs.
"Yeah! All of our hard work paid off."
"Huff! Cha two… Cha better tell me the true colors of that bunch of funky guys!" Yaito complained.
"What funky guys?" Ooayama Dekao frowned.
"You never catch up with anything! Do you, Dekao – kun?" Hikawa Tooru rolled his eyes.
"He's slower than a tortoise!" Sakurai Meiru grinned.
"No: he's slower than an elephant." Tamashita giggled.
"No way!" Dekao gasped.
"Yaito – chan… If you're still annoyed at Omega's prank then cool it off already…" Netto rolled his eyes.
"It was a good joke." Saito giggled.
"Hmpf!" Yaito played the offended.
"Yaito – chan… You're very smart, but there are persons who have more experience and intelligence out there. You can't pretend you're the core of the Universe." Meiru sighed.
"Yeah. So why don't you cool off by diving into that super swimming pool at your house?" Tamashita suggested.
11:02 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Gotta go for a break…"
Arushi entered the men's toilet and headed for one open stall: two figures suddenly came out of hiding behind an open door and dragged him inside of an empty stall while muffling his mouth and gripping his arms: they closed the door.
"Good catch. This guy looks like a newbie." A 4th grade guy sneered.
"Let's test it out." The other chuckled.
He unfastened Arushi's belt and forced his pants down while pulling his white boxers down as well: he looked eager.
"Good stuff over here… Let's try it out." He chuckled.
"Yeah. Let's go." The first one chuckled.
Arushi suddenly used the force of his skull to violently hit the guy behind him and break his nose: he let go out of instinct and Arushi kicked the other guy on his privates with both feet: he howled and collapsed in pain into the ground as he quickly pulled up his pants and boxers before fastening the belt and running off the stall: he was looking behind as he ran out so he collided with Nelaus, who was coming on.
"Sorry!"
"What's going on?" Nelaus asked.
"T-those two guys… They tried to rape me!" Arushi exclaimed.
"What?" Nelaus uttered.
"What's this scandal?" A teacher came in and looked at the panorama.
"Kumotori – sensei! Those two 4th grade students attempted to actually rape me!" Arushi reported.
"WHAT?" Kumotori roared.
The two guys recovered and gasped upon spotting Kumotori there.
"Wait a minute… I'm the homeroom teacher for 4-A and I impart classes on 4-B… But I don't recognize these two… I see! You two aren't students of this school: you've snuck inside!" Kumotori realized.
"Crap." Both muttered.
"Call the police." Kumotori ordered.
"Roger!"
Nelaus ran off while both guys recoiled: Kumotori calmly stood there.
"Don't try anything: I'm a black belt judoka." He warned.
"Crap." Both gasped.
The sound of a police car rang out and, five minutes later, two policemen rushed in: they aimed their service revolvers at the two delinquents while a third came and took out handcuffs.
"You're under arrest for attempted rape!" He announced.
They handcuffed them and took them out of the building amongst the surprise of the other students, gathered around the front of the building: they made them climb into the patrol car and left.
"Are you alright?" Kumotori asked Arushi.
"Yes, sensei. I could fight back with my self-defense classes."
"Well done. What was your name?"
"Arushi. Arushi Masuko, sir." He introduced himself.
"Class 3-B, right? I know Ochinawa – sensei, your homeroom teacher, well enough. Ops. It's already 11:22 AM… I should go back. Go back, too."
"Roger, sir."
Arushi returned into his classroom and sat down on his chair while sighing in relief: he then brought up the notebook and textbook for the next class: the students began coming in and were talking about what had happened a little while ago.
"… They say they weren't students from here…!" A girl was telling another in a hushed tone.
"… They were criminals who snuck in at this time and tried to rob peoples' wallets, too…! I'm glad they found them out!" Another replied.
"… What you do think, Arushi – kun?" A student asked him.
This student had brownish eye irises and chestnut-colored hair.
"Oh. Eboshi Shuuichi – kun. I'm glad they caught them. Robbers are getting more violent nowadays." Arushi replied.
"True. Say… Can I invite you to my house this afternoon? I want to show you something." Eboshi asked.
"Sure. I don't have any deals for this afternoon, anyway. I'll gladly come over, Eboshi – kun."
"Thank you, Arushi – kun!"
Eboshi – kun is a nice guy. It's good to have a reliable pal! I guess the teacher will now come explain what happened…
Eboshi sat on his seat behind Arushi as the teacher came in.
"Good morning, sensei!" The students chorused.
"Good morning. I have something to announce to the class."
Whispers filled the air: the teacher cleared his throat and it quickly became silent.
"Good. Two criminals have been arrested today while they tried to assault and rob a student: they have been identified as not being part of this school's alumni. As a safety measure, if who you think is a student of a higher grade than you approaches you inside the school, they'll be obliged to prove their ID with the school card. Remember this." The teacher exposed.
"Hai~!" Everyone chorused.
"Excellent. Now, let's resume the lesson."
11:13 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Really… So that gal wasn't what she claimed to be, after all?"
"Nope. She's just a run-of-the-mill mercenary."
"Phew. I can deal with that!"
"Heh! The Sheriff will kick 'em outta the Saloon!"
Charles and Davis were speaking with another guy while sitting in chairs placed inside of Charles' office.
He looked around a bit younger than Charles by one or two years and shorter by about 4 to 5 centimeters.
He had unkempt reddish hair and brown eye irises which currently depicted seriousness.
He sported a golden-colored sleeveless vest which was open and he had a black t-shirt underneath it: he also wore blue jeans with a modern-looking double-row belt.
He had an arm strap for a Link PET on his right arm: the Link PET was colored in camouflage colors.
Its emblem was a skull colored black and with blue eyes set against a silver background.
"Martin Blackdesu: you just took a lot of stress outta me."
"Well, I'm glad of it Charles." Martin smiled.
"So! Mr. Sheriff will reward us with the tune of his revolvers today as well?" Davis asked someone.
"Sure thing!" A heavy voice with some Texas accent rang out.
"Lander. Come out and say hi, will ya? It's been two months since we last saw each other, after all!"
"Roger! Let's spin and dance!"
Martin's Navi projected from inside of his Link PET.
He wore a Mexican-style hat over his brown dust – colored helmet which also had some random blue and black dots scattered around it: his eyes' irises were brown.
His main body was colored navy blue and he had an open blackish vest over the torso: he exhibited a Sheriff's star on the right side of his torso which glowed.
His shoulders were anatomically correct and they had brass plating.
The arms' length and the elbows were colored brown too and his forearms were green with two orange circling bands on them: his wrists had metallic bracelets on them.
He sported a black leather belt with two Colt revolvers on it along with bullets on his waist.
His legs were also colored brown but he had jeans over them which ended at the start of his boots.
The boots were colored black: they had blue and brown dots over them.
"Heh, heh! Sheriff Lander will toss all those creeps into the dungeon 'cause they broke the Saloon!" He chuckled.
"So… How do we tackle it?" Charles asked Martin.
"I can try intercepting it by posting a job in an infamous board: she will bait and I'll get the bike's registration plate at the very least. She might change it but I'll have readied something to follow its trails… A little off-tuning of the engine could make its IR signature be easier to pick up or a little mark on the tires… I could also modify the exhaust to emit less gas and stand out." Martin suggested.
"Whoa. You've really thought it up! Well then… I'll be leaving that on your hands, Martin." Charles grinned.
"I guess your friend the stone slab will send ya to explore Coruscant soon enough, Davis?" Lander joked.
"Guess so." Davis grinned.
"I'll be going back. I've got some work to do for the Net Police: I'm a Net Savior, you know." Martin told Charles as he stood up.
"Beware of fiery fan-girls." Charles grinned.
"I get the joke." Martin sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Did Commander Magden stop trailing you two?" Davis asked Lander in a hushed tone.
"Yeah. Her daddy scolded her and she didn't dare to do anything like that again." Lander grinned.
"Mr. Shoes will guide ya, Martin." Charles grinned.
"And Mr. Cabbage will invent the Cabbage Rock & Roll genre to make all newbies jump outta the ground." Martin improvised.
"Uncle Cabbage will come and sue them for copyright violation 'cause they used his name sans consent." Lander grinned.
"Heh, heh, heh. The damned mice are squeaking?"
"Damn. Cosmo Man next?"
"Soon a great calamity will ensue… Rain will fall and flood it all!"
"You mean the monsoon? Yeah, sure. As if we didn't know that."
"Let your anger rise! I shall absorb it and it shall feed "Nebula Grey"… Hatred feeds hatred and the Dark Side!"
"Huff. I'm fed up with the Star Wars talk. And I still agree that Kanou Shade going to exile with Kuroshiro was a good idea. With this guy around the poor fellow couldn't have been able to live peacefully."
"Yeah… Oi! Cosmo Man! Super Man is going to fight Universe Man!"
"Hmpf. I shall annihilate both of them and be crowned. Heh, heh, heh."
"Huff. We shook them off somehow, Martin… Good improving… When will Twilight stop teasing us and fight us for real, anyway?"
"Sheesh! The bastard will pay for what he did to my step-brother!"
11:29 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Priest – sama."
"Ah. Present. Punctual, I see."
"Yes, sir. Please command me."
The man known as Present was kneeling in front of the LCD screen: he had a navy blue biker's helmet with his codename's Kanji set on its forehead.
"Do you have any windows to operate this afternoon?"
"Yes, sir. Tuesday is my free day."
"Good! I'm sending you data on the target. Don't be confident with it: it's another type of target and you were able to witness some of its potential and skills." Priest told him.
"Please do not be concerned. My strategy is exactly the opposite: I am part of a closed loop which feeds the confidence back into the opponent as well as questioning what it stands for." Present calmly replied.
"True. And that intriguing strategy is the reason I picked you up to join our organization. But that's enough talking. The data should have arrived by now. Check it out."
Present's Link PET beeped so he checked it out and looked at some data being displayed before placing it back on its strap.
"Target: confirmed. I shall be going." He bowed.
"I'll be counting on you. Rama will guide your road."
The screen shut down, but Present was already heading over to the garage containing his azure Honda bike: he climbed into it, ignited it, and then exited the hideout to join the rush of vehicles.
"Hmmm… I supposed the usual strategy will do fine. If not I shall come up with something else: there's always a second way… Let us abide by his commands…" He muttered.
He shrugged and shot forward across the expressway…
16:15 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Well then… See you tomorrow, students."
"Good afternoon, sensei!"
The students of Akihara Middle School began to come out and chatted amongst themselves.
"… Really… I'd never thought such things could happen!" Netto was discussing with Saito and Nelaus.
"I should be glad that I was there." Nelaus muttered.
"Society is getting more violent as the years pass…" Saito muttered.
"What are you gossiping about?" Tamashita asked with a grin as she showed up at Nelaus' right.
"That of the morning…" Nelaus shrugged.
"Ah. True, true. By the way, Rainon – kun… Can we go to your home together? I miss your exquisite tea."
"Sure."
"That stone face is to hide that you get nervous by me teasing you~!"
"I'd say the same for you, Isaac – ku~n!"
"Who knows?" Isaac shrugged.
"Mr. Smith knows it all! It's the seasonal smart-lass!"
"Jeez." Blood Shadow grumbled.
"It's been a while." Someone announced.
"Whoa! Laika!"
"Laika – san!"
The group of four stumbled upon Laika waiting for them in the street: he looked as usual and was grinning: Search Man looked in a good mood as he projected with the hologram projector.
"Search Man. You've come back from searching under the stones in Sharo Nation?"
"More or less…" Search Man shrugged.
"What's up, Laika?" Netto asked.
"Oh. The usual stuff…" He admitted.
"Sorry, Laika… But, as you can see, she doesn't like waiting, so… We'll talk another day." Nelaus sighed as Tamashita tugged his right arm.
"Good luck." Laika grinned.
"Thanks. We'll need it." Isaac sighed.
Nelaus headed away along with Tamashita while the twins and Laika headed towards their home; they didn't pay heed to a greenish Honda following them at a discrete distance.
"Hikari! Mail. From… That "Present" guy sent it!" Sigma reported.
"So it's my turn… When and where?" Netto calmly asked.
"17:10 PM, the roof of the building where Higureya is at." Sigma was amused at the message.
"Talk about an odd choice. He must be fond of irony." Saito lifted an eyebrow.
"Hum. According to Miyabi, that guy looks like he's on his 30s or something like that… He might be wiser than the other folk who've showed up insofar." Laika muttered.
"O. K. Let's go home and set up a good Battle Chip Folder!"
"And check that our usual ace in the hole programs work, too."
"Good point. He could try the tactic of jamming communications."
"Yeah. Like Atomic Network did. At least they don't seem to be cowards."
"Given how they were hunting down organized crime, I guess they won't steep down so much, but… Let's not be over-confident, either!"
17: 04 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Here, right?"
"Sure."
Netto and Laika climbed up the fire stairs and reached the roof of the building in which Higureya was hosted at; Present was waiting there while having his helmet on along with the coat, and a Duel Stage had been set on the ground.
"I've been waiting. Hikari." He announced.
"So you're Present… You look like a bodybuilder." Netto muttered.
"Guess so. Hmmm? Ah. That man is Sharo Nation's Laika… Nephew to Commissioner Malenkov… Search Man EXE is his Navi. He specializes in long-range attacks and investigations… I read his file." Present calmly listed.
"No wonder." Laika calmly replied.
"Before we begin… I'll ask you one question. Are you invincible?" Present questioned.
"No. I have my limits and there are people whose power exceeds mine and Rock Man's. I don't mind: it's not good to have that feeling because that how's most disgraces happen."
"Good answer. So… Is the Subspace really "right"?" Present questioned him next.
"They have done harm in the past. But they are trying to amend for it and help us in all they can." Netto seemed to have expected it.
"Is Vadous invincible, maybe?"
"No. He has his limits. He's not omnipresent or all-powerful. He simply is "strong". He has his own problems and preoccupations like any normal person. He never claimed to be able to solve everything."
"Hum. I see. Then my tactic isn't useful here. Go ahead."
"Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"
"Plug In! Axe Man, Transmission!"
Rock Man entered the Duel Stage's Net Battle Arena and was soon faced by his opponent.
His azure eye irises were protected by the helmet's protection
He looked like a medieval knight with azure armor covered in bronze diamond patterns.
He carried a large axe on his right hand and an octahedron shield on his left one adorned with the word "Rama" colored golden.
His legs and arms had sparkling ivory patterns spinning around their surface.
He looked over a meter and eighty tall and his axe emitted an unsettling sparkle of cleanness to it.
"Whoa. He rather looks like a Knight Man rip-off." Rock Man whistled in surprise.
"I am conscious of it. Yet, Present – sama did not notice until that until a while had passed." Axe Man calmly replied.
"So! Are you Breaker – Type, too?" Netto guessed.
"No. I'm Sword – Type." He corrected.
"I find it skeptical about that talk Ancient let out regarding you guys' goals… That was a fake, wasn't it?" Rock Man guessed.
"Hmpf. Correct. But you don't need to know our goals. This is just a mission I've been granted." Axe Man drily replied.
"Showdown." Present calmly announced.
"Showdown! Battle Chip, Golden Fist! Slot In!" Netto confirmed.
Rock Man jumped towards Axe Man: he brought his shield forward and Rock Man's Golden Fist shattered upon hitting it.
"What!"
Axe Man then brought the axe down almost 180º and made a deep cut on Rock Man's bodysuit and chest emblem which exposed his Navi flesh before kicking him away with the right foot: Rock Man landed in the ground with a thud and groaned.
"Battle Chip, Recovery 200! Slot In!"
Rock Man healed but suddenly found Axe Man's axe to be suspended mere inches from his neck's flesh and his tall shadow looming over him: he gasped in fear.
"Battle Chip, Area Steal! Slot In!"
"Axe Execution!"
Rock Man warped just in time as the axe was brought down on the spot where his neck had been at: he appeared five meters away and sighed in relief.
"Y-you're an assassin!" Netto growled.
"That's just Axe Man. My job doesn't involve getting my hands dirty. And I don't waste time." Present calmly replied.
"Soul Unison: Metal Soul! Slot In!"
"Metal Missile, Metal Wheel!"
The two attacks hit Axe Man but he was unfazed: he calmly jumped across the air while swing his axe in a 180º arch: Rock Man brought up his forearms and used their gear form to block the axe off: he then jumped over it and kicked Axe Man in the face before landing behind him and charging up both firsts.
"Metal Break!"
Rock Man delivered two attacks to Axe Man from behind and left some deformations on his stainless armor: he quickly turned around but Rock Man ducked and skidded across the opening on his legs to show up behind him and hit his helmet.
"How's this?"
He caused a persistent echoing song which began to ring out inside of the helmet and dizzy him: Axe Man grumbled something unintelligible and then snapped his left hand's fingers: eight purple flames formed on the edges of the Net Battle Arena along with a small wood stage which had a cut off tree log on it as well as a small vinyl basket.
"What the heck is that?" Netto frowned.
"Damn. An execution stage…! Like in the middle ages…!" Laika grimly muttered.
"Yeah… I'm the executioner! And that's my stage. No Navi has been able to escape my ritual." Axe Man drily announced.
"I see! You were the culprit of those grim Security Navi beheadings in Moscow fifteen days ago! There were rumors of some sect revering the Summer Solstice and that was why they'd done that, but… You people did it to stir up some chaos!" Laiak gasped.
"What?" Netto turned pale.
"Correct. My Operator was busy. Priest – sama granted me a mission. We can pretty much handle on our own and our Operators are just there to distinguish us from the overused Darkloids." Axe Man drily replied.
He snapped his fingers again and the flames turned pale blue: some fog began to crawl into the area and began to take the shape of ghosts: Rock Man stepped back and seemingly tried to keep himself under control by reading his fists: Axe Man suddenly was looming above him and he tried to aim for the neck again: Rock Man ducked and hit the right knee to momentarily stun him and jump out of the way.
"How long will you be able to run?" Axe Man challenged.
"Ask Puppeteer." Rock Man shot back.
"Hmpf. His Grace needn't even come out: I can handle this fine enough on my own. If he needed show up then it'd mean I'm weak." Axe Man seemed to make a smug smile.
"We gotta settle this quickly… Rock Man! Change of plans. Let's go for the O Strategy." Netto called out.
"Good! I was about to suggest the same thing. And these things are cheap: they look like Ghost-busters imitations to begin with." Rock Man calmly replied while he tried to ignore the "ghosts".
"Soul Unison: Omega Soul! Slot In!"
Rock Man's chest emblem radiated with crimson streaks of energy as he gained a new form.
His helmet got Omega's helmet overlapped with his but the ear-pads remained unchanged: the inverted pyramidal jewel on the forehead was replaced by an eight-spoke emerald and a golden line with silver edges spanned across the length of the helmet from behind the jewel to the lower rear edge of the helmet.
His shoulder-plates became vermillion and gained white circuitry patterns over them: his arms' skin became black and his forearms' armor got a new crimson layer with a golden bracelet close to the wrist: the fingers were colored black by now.
The chest got Omega's vest over it and it included the "Omega" symbol colored in white color on both sides of it: a hole had been cut on the center to expose his chest emblem.
His waist got that curious "V" piece of armor on it which formed that cavity in the front and the rear of it.
The legs became black and unadorned and the boots also got that crimson armor with a golden bracelet slightly beneath the start of them: the soils got thicker and were colored in metallic black color.
A large flock of blonde hair formed behind the helmet and reached all the way to the floor.
He lastly got the O – Saber on his right hand colored in a bright emerald color plus the holster for it over his right hip.
"Omega… Soul…!" Axe Man muttered.
"Even the best Net Navi in Atomic Network fell before this power. I'm not bragging but this is one of my best skills." Rock Man announced.
"Hmpf. So you will make it interesting. Whatever. Once I show your headless corpse to the world, humanity will be filled with fear and despair… It's way better than that assassination attempt by Darkloid Desert Man." Axe Man shrugged.
Rock Man suddenly warped in a blur and appeared next to Axe Man: he swung the O – Saber and managed to cut in half the axe's iron bar as well as the shield: he then began a mad set of combos by moving the weapon horizontally, up, down, rolling around and, finally jumping skywards in a diagonal arc: he reached the chest emblem area and used both hands to plunge the weapon there: Axe Man groaned and collapsed into his knees while Rock Man quickly took out a gun-like object and charged it up: he shot a sphere of plasma at the wooden stage, thus incinerating it and quickly shattered the "ghosts" and the flames: in total, it all had lasted slightly under three minutes.
"Impossible…! 1550 of 1600 HP lost…!" Axe Man groaned.
"W-what power…!" Present gasped.
"The final blow! Hra~h!"
Rock Man jumped into the air and then aimed the sword towards the chest emblem: he plunged it deeper this time and Axe Man roared as he was forced to return to his Link PET.
"I've been… defeated… by a 3rd grader…? That's… impossible…!" Present gasped.
"Game Over." Laika coolly announced.
"Nice, Rock Man! Plug Out!" Netto grinned.
"So?" Rock Man taunted.
"Damn." Present hissed.
"Flee, you foul man." Search Man coolly taunted.
A "Dimensional Converter" suddenly emerged and warped him outside of the rooftop while both Netto and Laika sighed in relief.
"Hmmm… The way he said "3rd grader" made it sound like a teacher, even… I'd say he must be a college teacher and he surely specializes in European story." Search Man deduced.
"It shouldn't be hard to narrow them down… If he's teaching in a Japanese college…" Laika muttered.
"Whatever. Let's get outta here and pick that stupid machine to give to Higure – san: with some luck he'll think it's a Frisbee disk and play with until it breaks." Netto sarcastically suggested.
"Come on… Netto – kun. Don't be so violent." Rock Man sighed.
"I'm not being violent! I'm just fed up with guys who try to murder us!"
"What can we do?" Rock Man pointed out.
"I know! It's just that… It's so frustrating!"
"Let's go back." Blood Shadow suggested.
"Huff. We need to cool off." Sigma grumbled.
"Why don't I treat you to some playtime at my place? I've got Mario Kart Wii: we could do some races." Laika invited.
"We military are supposed to be able to drive vehicles: it's an intriguing way of doing that." Search Man teased.
"I'm in: I'm gonna beat all of your records, Laika!"
"Sure." Laika shrugged.
"And I'm gonna beat Search Man's punctured tire." Saito giggled.
"I should learn how to replace tires, then. Hopefully it doesn't take much work to do so!"
"No need two! Use F-Zero vehicles instead!" Sigma laughed.
"How original. Next time come up with something more intelligent!"
17:44 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I shall not present any excuses. I failed my mission. I deserve to be stripped of my rank and say farewell to Rama."
"Present. You're a very competent agent but I can't have you quit yet: it'd ruin the organization. You're the kind of person I need to keep both Prophetess and Future under check: they tend to be too reckless from time to time."
Present was kneeling in front of the LCD screen: he'd taken off his bike helmet and sunglasses to reveal his blond neatly combed hair and his blue eyes; he was currently holding his head down and looked ashamed of his actions: Priest's answer was firm.
"What?" He looked up.
"You heard me well. We're not perfect, Present. You aren't and I ain't, either. No – one is perfect. We humanity commit mistakes and learn from them over the years."
"Then…" Present grasped something.
"You're not to blame: you underestimated the opponent and you even acted with confidence. But I'm not going to blame you two for it, Present and Axe Man. Return to your posts and cool off for a few days. Axe Man: try to seed a fake lead to Canada as well to divert some resources there: it'll help win time. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir." Both replied.
"Good. Future's debut comes next: we'll see how he handles. You're dismissed. Good afternoon."
The screen turned black, so Present stood up; he put on the sunglasses and the helmet before heading over to his bike and climbing into it; he checked the displays and then ignited it.
"There'll be no second time." He muttered.
The bike ran off the garage and soon vanished within the rush of vehicles…
19:05 PM (Melbourne Time)…
"That Axe Man wasn't that bad but they forgot to do the homework, as usual…"
"And combined with Master Twilight's misinformation…"
"I'm a genius, yeah."
"Lord Twilight, sir… An email from Vincent "Red" has reached us…"
"Pure coincidence… I've got no business with the guy."
"Should I dispose of it?"
"Nah. Open it up. I wanna have some fun."
"Acknowledged."
"Huff. He can be worse than Dragon Hell's banners."
Twilight and Bapgei were chatting in their Melbourne house when Freeze Man (inside of a laptop placed atop the desk) reported.
"Hah! Listen to this: "I'm Mr. Welcome and I Not Welcome you to my party starring Uncle Cabbage & General Campestre!"…"
"Not Welcome to…? How stupid." Bapgei sighed in defeat.
"Don't be so defeatist, my apprentice!" Twilight laughed.
"That's easy for Master to say~…"
"You remind of Emil."
"Huff. As in Tales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk? Come on. I'm the "Talon", I'm a Sith Apprentice! I'm better than the guy."
"I mean his "other self"…"
"I won't deny his other self is cool but even so…"
"Anyway! Priest… I'll soon figure out you lowlife's true colors!"
"And then… We'll have an ace up our sleeves… Glory to Darth Twilight!"