Chapter 18: Bright day
06:55 AM (Japan Time), Monday June the 27th…
"… Whoa. Already up?"
"Yeah… I feel so nervous…!"
Nelaus was sitting on his house's living room sofa while having already dressed up: he looked thrilled while Isaac was surprised.
"Do as you like, but… Knowing Hikari Jr., then he won't be up for another hour unless Sr. drags him here by the ears."
"I know… But… It feels… I'm not sure… One year… I've been alive for one year… And a lot of things have happened, too! To the point I even have a girlfriend, too!" Nelaus exclaimed.
"Yeah. You're now officially 17 years old and a cool man." Isaac joked.
His Link PET rang and Nelaus gasped: he quickly picked it up and Omega showed up onscreen.
"Yo! Nelaus! Happy birthday!" Omega told him.
"Thanks, Omega! You're the very first after Isaac." Nelaus thanked.
"Boss will be calling soon: he's still napping because Lartes doesn't want him to get bad habits like in the past. And my good mood as of late… Meh. I feel like it, you see."
"Dr. Lartes sure is a strict medic!"
"Were you talking about me?"
A man showed up onscreen at Omega's right.
He had black hair and brown eye irises, with reading glases over them: his age was aobut the same as that of Vadous.
He wore a medic's coat with the ID "Dr. Kazimura Lartes" written on it and sported brown pants plus shoes.
"Oh! Nelaus. Congratulations on your birthday!"
"Thank you very much, Dr. Lartes. It means a lot for me."
"I was just saying that you're a strict guy, Lartes."
"Yeah. You can't be loose with Boss or he'll get into a mess with his food and sleep." Lartes sighed.
"O. K., then… See ya later!" Omega blinked him the right eye.
Nelaus grinned and sighed once the call ended and he left the PET on top of the table: he looked emotional.
"This is… going to be the best day ever since… I defected from Deadly Pandora…" He muttered.
"True."
DING DONG!
Nelaus lifted his eyebrows and headed over to the door; he looked out through the peep hole and spotted Enzan standing outside: Nelaus unlocked the door.
"Yo! Nelaus. Happy birthday!" He told him.
"Thanks, Ijuuin. It means a lot to me." Nelaus thanked.
"Can I come in?"
"Sure. I already cleansed everything, anyway."
"So… Blues. Was that Destruction Man a walking tank?"
"Sure was…" Blues admitted.
Enzan sat on the sofa opposite Nelaus' and had a glass of cold water.
"You're not fond of much decoration, either." He guessed.
"Yeah. Never was, I'd rather say. I'm not surprised you're here so early: you must have the habit of waking up early." Nelaus shrugged.
"Yeah. And since my secretaries suggested me a break for these days, no one will find it odd I didn't come to work!" Enzan grinned.
"Sneaky."
"It'll feel weird to go to Ayanokouji's place for the big party, but… No – one quarrels on a birthday."
"Nelaus! A call from Arushi is coming in." Isaac reported.
"Oh. Arushi – kun… Patch him."
"Roger, Admiral."
"Good morning, Rainon – kun!"
"Good morning, Arushi – kun."
"Happy birthday! Hikawa – kun let me know 'bout it."
"Thanks." Nelaus thanked.
"When does the party begin?" Arushi asked.
"12:30." Isaac replied.
"Excellent. I'll be there."
"By the way… The presents will be given out at the party."
"Fine. It's barely 7:30… 5 hours…! They'll be endless. I need something to take this nervousness off…!" Nelaus muttered.
"Hmmm… I guess nobody else will be so early at the morning, so… Why don't we go to the Game Center? We could play that Virus Busting game and see who clears it faster." Enzan suggested.
"Perfect. Isaac: send a mail saying that if they want to find me then send a message and I'll reply to it when we meet at the party's time." Nelaus requested.
"O. K., Supreme Overlord!" Isaac laughed.
"Please… Don't use a Yuuzhan Vong rank…!" Nelaus groaned.
"Glad to see you are a great combination, as always."
"Truly, Enzan – sama!"
07:45 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Some juicy curry… Maha Jarama… Another Maha Special… Heh, heh, heh… Hinoken and Count Elec battle again, Madoi tries out weird make-up and Wily is trying to amuse Miyabi… Maha Ichiban's is the craziest curry shop in the world!"
"Come at full power!" A heavy voice challenged.
"Let's go~!"
BLOMPF! CRASH!
"Whoa!"
Netto groaned and rubbed the back of his head after he'd fallen from the bed into the ground: Sigma was laughing.
"Sigma…! Ya jerk…!" Netto cursed.
"That's the man I know!" Sigma laughed.
Netto looked at the bed at his right: it was already fixed up.
"What… Niisan is already up? Fast guy…! What's going on, anyway?" Netto groaned.
"Did ya forget? Nelaus' birthday is today!"
"Crap! Crap! Crap!"
"Jeez! Netto – kun! Don't you care about Nelaus?" Saito protested as he walked in.
"I'm really sorry! I thought that wasn't until Sunday!" Netto apologized.
"We marked the day on the calendar for something."
"Isaac let me know through SMTP that he's going to the Game Center, so we have time to go arrange for the party." Sigma grinned.
"SMTP…? A new store…?" Netto frowned.
"Jeez. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: Port 25!" Saito grumbled.
"Eh…? Dock 25 of the port…?" Netto frowned.
Saito got a twitch over the right eye and Netto gulped; Saito headed over to the balcony door and opened it to let some fresh air inside of the room: he then loomed over Netto and didn't look amused: he even looked deadly, for once.
"Netto – kun. Breakfast." He drily announced.
"Y-yeah…!" Netto gulped.
He quickly stood up, picked his folded clothes from a chair and ran into the bathroom: Saito merely headed outside into the balcony and looked outside into the empty streets.
"Jeez. Netto – kun is so dense at morning…" He muttered.
"Can't be helped, Saito – kun…" Blood Shadow smiled and shrugged.
"Hum… Sorry, niisan… Eh… What did you by that earlier talk…?" Netto timidly asked as he stood in the threshold.
"SMTP… Simple Mail Transfer Protocol: it uses Port 25! That's what allows anyone to send out any email anytime anywhere: a key component of the email system! And don't think I'm a "tech geek": I was living in computers for over six years so it's obvious that I'd know how it works when sending emails out." Saito explained with a sigh.
"Ah… Gotcha…" Netto slowly nodded in understanding.
"And you use the Post Office Protocol 3 or POP3, Port 110, to receive any email from anyone: these two are vital to configure an email client system and server."
"Sorry for before… I was still rather asleep…" Netto apologized.
"I forgive you, but please try to be more considerate with our friends: now go and have breakfast."
"Y-yeah… Thank you." Netto quickly looked animated.
"Alright. Let's get all ready!"
08:10 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Let me go…! You monster…! You used her…! To get close to me…! And do this to me…! I don't care how much you beat me or how much you look down on me…! I'll see to it that… you're caught by the police…! And then…! those who suffered at your hands… will be avenged…! You can't destroy my will…! No one can…! No one…!"
"Anderson – sama! Are you alright, sir?"
Anderson gasped and sat up on a bed: he looked panicked and was panting: he was wearing red-colored pajamas.
The bed was set close to the throne column and Annihilator Man could be seen looking towards him from inside of the holographic capsule: he had a concerned face.
"Annihilator Man…? What day is it today…?" Anderson asked as he clutched his forehead with his right hand and sighed.
"Eh… Well… Monday June the 27th, 2009, sir… 08:11 AM Japan Time Zone, sir… Are you alright, sir?" He replied.
"… A dream…? No… That memory has revived… That's what led to me to creating Rama… Although it took me some years to realize it…" Anderson muttered.
"Eh… I wouldn't want to invade Anderson – sama's privacy, so… Maybe I should perform a checkup of security, sir?"
"No. Stay. I need someone to talk with. You're my Navi. But that doesn't mean you're not a person you can't talk with." Anderson replied.
He climbed out of the bed and walked over to the capsule: he placed his right palm against the glass and looked at Annihilator Man, who quickly saluted.
"This ain't the military…" Anderson told him.
"Yes, sir! By your orders, sir…!"
"That wasn't an order, either."
"Ah… Excuse me, sir?"
"Listen: you have a free personality for something. Pretend I'm not your owner. Pretend I'm someone else. Talk in a normal way. I always tell you're not my servant." Anderson told him.
"Eh… Hum… However… Eh…" Annihilator Man seemed to doubt.
"I won't get angry by anything."
"Eh… What would be a… topic… to talk about?"
"Dunno. Pick it up at random."
"Eh… Maybe gaming would do fine, sir?" He suggested.
"Sure."
"Eh… Truth to be told, sir… I sometimes identify myself with the Halo franchise character "Gravemind"… Given how it can "talk" through infected life-forms and rules over them, I find it strikingly similar to when I use cache copies of my personality file to control our Navis via SSH… But I'm rather glad I'm not that freakish monster, sir."
"Oh… That's an intriguing parallelism. Yeah. I see the point of it, too… And since I'm a Halo fan to begin with… Do you have any other ideas?"
"Eh… I'm not really sure, sir…" He hesitantly replied.
"Come on. Anything."
"Well… It's strange, but… I think that it would be possible to simulate a game's environment with a VR system… One would be able to meet recreations of those characters, even…"
"My. That'd be intriguing! I'd like to meet Luigi in person and see his Specter Vacuum in action." Anderson chuckled.
"I-is that so, sir…?"
"Come on! You're too stiff sometimes. Be more natural. I told you: I won't get angry at any topic you bring out, so… Go ahead." Anderson encouraged.
"Eh… Thank you, sir… Hum… Sometimes, I think I would be fitting to pilot a mass-produced Metal Gear RAY, even…"
"An AI-controlled RAY… My. You're starting to give me ideas. And Twilight did get to pilot one 2 years ago and 1 year ago he deployed them around the DNN Studios too… He's too much of an MGS geek."
"I am glad of it, sir…" Annihilator Man improvised.
"Anyway… I'll go have something for breakfast. Don't try contacting Past today: he has a deal to go to Rainon's birthday party. Try to tell Prophetess not to start a ruckus today." Anderson commanded.
He opened a door to step into a small kitchen: he picked a segment of a frozen baguette from the freezer and placed it inside of the microwave heater.
"OK."
He then picked a dish and a glass: he server some cold water inside of it and drank it: he sighed in relief and sat down on a foldable metallic chair.
"… Four years… It's been four years since then… And it continues to haunt me… But I broke free. I'm free. Nobody can try to destroy my will and persona anymore." He muttered with a sigh.
The heater pinged so he stood up and took the segment of the baguette out: he used a knife to open it in two halves and coated with oil before adding some ham: he brought it to the foldable plastic table and began to eat it while taking some sips of water.
"Good."
He cleansed everything before heading over to the main room and opening a wall-built-in cupboard.
He picked a white T-shirt with the Scotland flag drawn into it, black boxers, jeans, white socks and sneakers.
He picked the tunic from a chair and put it on, too.
"Another day's begun… Well. Let's continue with our research."
12:14 PM (Japan Time)…
"… We're here. Ready?"
"I feel so nervous…!"
"No wonder!"
Nelaus and Enzan were standing in front of the iron gates which marked the entrance to the Ayanokouji Mansion: Nelaus looked nervous while Enzan was patting his back.
"You'll be fine. Let's go." Enzan grinned.
The gates swung inwards and both walked up the path into the main clearing where the tree-house was placed at: several small round tables had been set around the area along with plastic chairs and garlands: Yaito's maids were constantly going up and down to finish setting up dishes, glasses, forks, knives, drinks and other stuff: several of Nelaus' friends were already gathered there and talking.
"W-whoa…" Nelaus looked awed.
"Leave it to Ayanokouji's maids to set everything at light-speed." Enzan grinned.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY~!" Everyone exclaimed.
"T-thank you!" Nelaus quickly replied.
"Come! To the honor seat ya go!"
Yaito suddenly showed up behind him and began to push him forward: she wore her typical red dress and shoes.
"O-oi! I can walk there myself!" Nelaus protested.
"It's a day to celebrate, man! Be proud!"
Yaito lead Nelaus into a red-colored chair and had him seat down before a maid placed a thin cardboard golden-colored crown on top of his head: Yaito sat down in front of him and giggled while Nelaus blushed and looked nervous.
"Now ya look cooler!" She giggled.
Tamashita suddenly showed up behind her.
She sported a black T-shirt, a sleeveless jean-like coat, a knee-long goldenrod skirt, and black plastic boots.
Her hair was neatly combed as well.
"Ayanokouji – san! Don't try to pick on him!" She protested with a hint of annoyance.
"Whoa. Tamashita – san! That looks fitting on you…" Nelaus whistled in surprise.
"I'm glad of it! It took me an hour to get myself properly ready!"
"Hiya~!"
"Whoa!"
Felicia had opted for an open sleeveless jacket and a navy blue shirt, a short white skirt, black stockings and white shoes.
"You look like Sakurai, even." Isaac commented.
"Yeah. I got inspired. Have a look." She giggled.
Isaac glanced at a nearby table: Meiru was sitting next to it and teasing Eboshi with a continuous glare.
She sported her classical blue sleeveless shirt and another sky blue shirt beneath it, jeans and black plastic boots.
"Eboshi – kun… Next time you go elsewhere, call me too, will ya? Unless you're up to something…" She told him.
"G-gladly!" He quickly replied.
"My shining knight has his sharp sword ready 24/7, doesn't he~?"
She'd changed her normal bodysuit for white shirt with the Jawaii flag, a green skirt which ended slightly over the knees and heeled black plastic boots.
"Yeah. I do. You never know when trouble will be coming out, so… It's practical." Omega sighed and rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms: he was seemingly trying to bear with it.
"Yo! Eboshi – kun. You're lucky!" Arushi teased.
"Please…!" Eboshi groaned.
"O. K.! All guests are 'ere: let's start!" Yaito giggled.
The maids began to bring dishes of curry rice with meat and sauce: Netto immediately looked eager while Saito lifted his eyebrows.
"Itadakimasu!"
"By the way! Nelaus! Is Omega's boss around 'ere?" Yaito questioned.
"Eh… Oh. Yeah. Table 4, in front of Hikari and Saito…" Nelaus replied after looking around.
Vadous was sitting in one of the tables; he wore a black suit with a black necktie and blue contacts, and he'd also neatly combed his hair up.
"Good! I wanna tell 'im one or two things!" Yaito grinned.
"You're still annoyed by the dragon joke?" Nelaus sighed.
"Nope. It's business!"
"I find that hard to believe. Don't you, Glyde?" Isaac asked him.
"M-maybe…" Glyde gulped.
Yaito headed over to Table 4 and sat in the empty chair to Vadous' right: he noticed and looked at her.
"Oh. Miss Ayanokouji. I think it's the first time we meet."
"So ya are that Vadous man… What are ya plotting this time around, hmmm?" She looked suspicious.
"I knew it: she's still annoyed by the dragon joke." Omega grumbled.
"Yaito – chan…" Meiru rolled her eyes.
"Please… It's a birthday party! It's not time for grudges."
"Hmmm! I will…!" Yaito began.
"I do not own a corporation and I don't speculate in the stock market, either, so not even your honorable father will be able to do anything regarding me." Vadous quickly told her.
"Jeez!" She grumbled.
She jumped off the chair and returned to her table: she picked a strawberry milk bottle and drank it up: she then looked at Arushi, sitting at Nelaus' left, and grinned.
"Arushi – kun! Ya gotta be free." She teased.
"Yikes!" Arushi gasped.
"Trouble, trouble…" Hikawa muttered.
"Kidding. Tooru – kun! Ya are my boyfriend: don't forget that and don't try to run off to Okinawa with Arushi – kun!" She told him.
"Hai~…How much longer must this go on?" He sighed.
"Tee, heh, heh! O. K.! Bring out the cake!" Yaito called out.
Whispers began to ring out as the butler pulled a trolley with something covered on top of it: he stopped in front of Table 1 and pulled the cloth.
"Here it is."
The "something" was a full-chocolate cake shaped after the Great Pyramid of Giza: the two candles for "17" were set atop it.
"Whoa~!" Everyone exclaimed.
"Say it, everyone!" Yaito rallied.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY~!" Everyone exclaimed.
"Thank you very much! Everyone!" Nelaus nervouslystood up and bowed.
Nelaus blew the candles and everyone clapped to congratulate.
"Butler! Go ahead." Yaito commanded.
"Yes, Mistress…"
The butler began to cut the cake into portions and the maids handed them out to everyone: cava bottles were also brought in and served in cups: a general toast ensued.
"Congratulations!" Everyone exclaimed.
"T-thank you…" Nelaus nervously replied.
Everyone began to chat again while Nelaus was seemingly trying to not to break down into tears out of the emotion.
"Nelaus? Are you alright?" Isaac asked in a whisper.
"… Yeah. It's… It's impressive how… many persons… are here today… to congratulate me…" He whispered back.
"Nelaus. You're a nice guy. That's all."
"It's more than that… You know what I mean…"
"Nelaus. Don't think about that right now… Just enjoy."
"Yeah… You're right…" Nelaus sighed in relief.
"O. K.! Everyone! Bring out the presents!" Yaito announced.
"W-whoa!" Nelaus gasped.
Yaito handed him what looked like a self-made medal with the words "AYANOKOUJI FRIEND CLUB" written on its golden surface.
"This way ya won't forget about our friendship!"
"Hey, Nelaus! Here." Netto grinned.
"Accept these." Saito blinked him an eye.
"Whoa… Dynamic Wave… Atomic Blazer… Custom Battle Chips!"
"Hum! Those are good Battle Chips, de masu, but none beats this one, de masu! Here, Nelaus – kun, de masu! Have this one, de masu!"
"Wow. Meteor 9!" Isaac whistled in surprise.
"It was my idea." Number Man whispered.
"Leave it to the Math teacher to come up with a mathematical idea!"
"Very intelligent." Blood Shadow dryly countered.
"Here! A ZARA cap: it's good for summer!" Tamashita handed him a navy blue cap.
"Isaac – kun: you get a pair of stylish sunglasses, too!" Felicia told him.
"Whoa. I look cool." Isaac commented as he tried them on.
"I got this… I hope you like it, Rainon – kun!" Arushi smiled as he handed him a ring with a magnet attached atop it.
"Wow. It reminds me of the One Ring!" Nelaus whistled in surprise.
"Nice move. But I've got this!" Meiru blinked Arushi an eye.
"Wow. Fingerless gloves… I look cool already." Nelaus muttered.
"My turn… This fund helps keep bottles cool when outside of the fridge: it's useful!" Hikawa told Nelaus.
"We're specialists is keeping things cold, desu!" Ice Man giggled.
"Eh… I hope you like it, Rainon – kun." Eboshi gulped as he gave him a red bowtie.
"Thank you…" Nelaus thanked.
"Hey! Don't forget me: this is for ya!" Charles announced.
"Whoa. Justice Bomb!" Nelaus whistled in surprise.
"Bomb 'em all!" Davis joked.
"W-whoa! De masu! Golden Edition Battle Chips…? De masu…?"
"No. Normal Battle Chips re-colored Golden and re-coded to have a 25% extra damage compared to the normal ones: that's what these are, Higure – san... And we'd already told you PLENTY of times!" Charles corrected.
"Not bad, de masu! It'd bring about a surprise to the confident know-it-all Net Battler, de masu! They should repeat the N1 Grand Prix, de masu, and I'd for presenter along with Midorikawa – san, de masu! I should've gotten the Pulitzer, de masu!"
"Ya should have gotten hit by a fresh tuna." Yaito giggled.
"Wha! Horrible, de masu!" Higure protested.
"My turn, I'd say! Here." Martin was barely holding his laughter back.
"Cool! Cutting Hat! You made this Battle Chip yourself, Martin?"
"Yeah. It's a new trick Lander came up with." Martin admitted.
"Gotta admit, though… I ripped it off Goldfinger… That Oodjob guy had that deadly hat!" Lander laughed.
"Hah! Dekao – sama felt considerate today: ya get this!" Dekao laughed.
"Guts Hammer, eh? It could come in handy." Nelaus looked amused.
"Guts, guts! Guts 'em all!" Guts Man exclaimed.
"Including your own hide…!" Isaac laughed.
"I'd say my turn came. Check it out!" Omega grinned.
"Whoa. Plasma Gun!" Isaac whistled in surprise.
"Excellent! This will become that Balrog guy's worst nightmare!" Nelaus joked.
"I'm good at this, too." Enzan grinned.
"As Enzan – sama said…" Blues teased.
"Iai Form: it'll do good to force the enemy into close-quarters!"
"Oi. Don't steal my climax." Laika joked.
"Laika – sama's climax is climatic." Search Man made a pun.
"Paint Bullet: ideal to blind an opponent. My. I could fill that Balrog guy with graffiti, even!" Isaac rubbed his hands in excitement.
"Oi, oi… Don't try to copy Koopa Jr.!" Nelaus laughed.
"Excuse me: I think I'm being forgotten about." Vadous ironized.
"You never know:" Yaito grinned.
"Yaito – sama..! Manner, ma'am, manners!"
"Huff. I agree with Mr. Butler there… Here, Nelaus! Make good use of it!"
"Whoa! A new-gen "Synchro Chip"…! Cool…! Now I can be at your same level, Hikari Jr.!" Nelaus challenged.
"We'll try it out someday!" Netto grinned.
"Hyperactive guys…" Saito giggled.
"I'm glad to see you've had a good party, Nelaus." A man announced.
He looked on his late fifties or early sixties.
He had grayish hair and brown eyes irises.
He sported a black suit, necktie, pants and brown shoes.
"U-Uncle Xavier!" Nelaus gasped.
"Did you really think I'd miss my nephew's birthday party?"
"N-not really, sir, but… It slipped me, sir…" Nelaus apologized.
"A little souvenir from Chicago: and it's for you."
"Wow. A miniature Willis Tower…! I should really go back to visit Chicago one of these days." Nelaus whistled in surprise.
"Ring me up and I'll take care of everything."
"Wow… Everyone! Thank you for everything!"
"Congratulations!" Everyone clapped.
Nelaus nodded in thanks and was trying to hold back his tears again; he blew his nose with a handkerchief while the party kept on; he momentarily abandoned his seat and sat next to Vadous.
"Eh… Excuse me… Mr. Vadous…" He called out.
"What's up?" Vadous asked.
"… Could I later have a talk with you in the HQ? There's something which I feel like I should speak about with you…" Nelaus politely asked.
"… Ah. I can imagine what you mean. Deal. Truth is: we should've had that talk time ago, but… I was always forgetting about it."
"Please don't feel guilty for it…" Nelaus requested.
"You're right. Well then… 6 PM would be a good hour?"
"Yeah. Thank you, really."
"You're welcome."
They didn't spot Arushi, who was seemingly looking for something in the grass but was actually listening to them.
I wonder what's troubling Rainon. Guess the fact that he made a lot of buddies in less than one year's time since he came here?
"Excuse me, sir. Can I borrow him for a while?" Tamashita walked over to their seats.
"But of course, miss. We'd already finished." Vadous calmly replied.
"What is it, Tamashita – san?"
"Follow me there. So that no – one overhears."
They walked over to a spot right underneath the tree-house.
"I gotta say we need some new thrills." Tamashita began telling him.
"Like what? A roller coaster?" Nelaus tried to guess.
"Yep. That's what I meant."
"If it's a roller coaster then I don't have have any issues. I already went to one last autumn and it was very exciting.
"Good. And one day let's go to a music club too."
"As long as we be… decent, then…"
"You better not be trying to pull some loophole, Aura – chan." Felicia looked slightly suspicious at her mood.
"Well. Who knows?"
"Trouble." Isaac grimly muttered.
"Yeah. When Aura – chan gets in those moods… Don't try to bring up the stuff you heard about in the all-girls' academy!" Felicia warned.
"Sure, sure. Ms. Prefect Of Perfection."
"I give up. If you run into trouble, don't blame me! Remember how that fake seer, Ms. Glassy, was fueling your curiosty just to use you as a proxy to get info about both of them!" Felicia reminded her.
"Huff. Yeah, I know. I feel so stupid at being fooled like that. At least she had the decency to leave an envelope with money… The total amount I'd spent for "consulting" her…" She rolled her eyes.
"She probably had an eye on transfer students who'd come to Akihara Middle and that's why she knew about you before we met her. She used that as a means to reinforce the impression she really could see the future… Sheesh. What a charlatan indeed."
"Yeah. I got told the tale, too. That Gate fool sure bothered to go with a complicated plan but, in the end, it was for nothing. Since he wasn't able to "isolate" me." Nelaus shrugged.
"Remember not to stalk us. Or you'll get into LEGAL trouble." Isaac reminded them.
"Y-yeah! I know that…! I don't want that, of course!" Tamashita nervously acknowledged.
"Fine. As long as you are aware of it… Just because I'm a man, that doesn't mean I don't have right to privacy! Am I right, miss?" Nelaus warned.
"Y-yeah, but of course…! Boys also have the right to privacy, yes… I'll be careful about it! Now let's resume the party!"
18:29 PM (Melbourne Time)…
"… Heh! As expected of Miss Ayanokouji… Throwing a grand party…"
"Wow. That's some manor."
"No wonder. Gabcom Inc. is a powerful enterprise."
"OH YEAH! LET ZA GABCOM HIT ZA IPC!"
"Huff. He never learns? Is his AI stuck or what?"
"Cloud Man! Go get lost! You useless glitched program!"
"R-roger, sir!"
Twilight and Philip had been seemingly spying on the party using some kind of aerial mobile camera: the party had winded down and the staff plus the guests were starting to cleanse and dismantle everything: Sigma could be seen laughing at something but no one else laughed.
"…the Hysterically Flying Crying Ducking Army~!"
"WHAT was THAT?" Philip groaned.
"Oh my." Twilight looked amused.
"Is that that Vincent guy too~?" He exasperatedly asked.
"Guess that. Knowing that brute…"
"Huff. Pathetic." Freeze Man didn't think it was funny.
"Really…" Cosmo Man sighed.
"What a fool." Yamato Man grumbled.
"Totally! It's totally lame." Swallow Man slapped his forehead.
"Damn it." Zoan Gate Man howled.
"Even the guys are down."
"Huff. Guess I shouldn't play amused or it'll shoot back at me."
"Guess that, Master."
"By the way… What did you think?"
"Of what? That the leader of "Rama" was a guy about my age? No surprise: if Shirakami and Forte could lead the Darkloids 4 years ago as you told me then… And that fellow Kuroshiro built his own Darkloids 2 years ago as well… And that other fellow named Sidier which put up that show over a year and a half ago…"
"Good, good. It reminds me of Mitos Yggdrasil."
"I know. The guy in Tales of Symphonia who could switch between his child form and his adult form…"
"Oh! True, true. Speaking of Star Wars… Legacy 34: Tatooine Part 1 came out a few days ago… Tatoooine… The fated planet… Heh."
"I know. I already read it. This Legacy saga is interesting."
"Well. Let's see what'll happen in the years to come but we've come pretty far insofar. And now…"
"Yeah? What comes next?"
"Yo and behold! Ms. Smith wants Her Grace's make-up back!"
"Where'd you get that from?"
"Mighty Ducks… "Fantastic, Phil… By the way, Mr. Smith called… And he wants his lasers BACK!"… Or so I think it was… Episode 1 or 2…"
"Huh. Yeah. I think it was like that. I'm surprised that inspector was so thin despite having so much fast food on the office… But Phil could get to know what a "diet" meant, really… Not like I'd tell Grin… He's got body mass, not body fats after all…"
"Element, my dear Watson."
"Master… Please save up your sarcasm and let's prepare some side-show for the days to come… Else they'll underestimate us!"
"Delighted and delicious shall greet the hungry traveler at the inn."
"I give up. Master can have such weird moods, really… Oh boy…"