Chapter 8: Hell's Gate Open
10:10 AM (Mongolia Time), Sunday January the 25th…
"… Well, this is the place. You guys ready?"
"Sure. I'm always ready for some action!"
"OK! Let's do it before they unleash the things into us…"
A Dimensional Area had been engaged around the Gobi Desert's "shaft": "CF" Laika was standing near the edge of it along with another two "Cross Fusion" users.
"Here's "CF" Charlie! Ready to catch and snatch folk!"
"I thought you disliked that name. Or are you in the mood today?"
"Says Dave~…Time to rumble and crumble and mumble!"
"Jeez. Another of Sigma's lame puns"
"CF" Charles' design included red boots and forearms along with brown chest armor, which had a golden cross set on the middle of it: matrixes of on/off squares colored green and blue spread across his forearms and legs.
His helmet's forehead had a blue hexagon-shaped jewel set on its center, which was glowing with a pale sapphire glow while his eyes' irises were blue: a mouth-guard having an outer golden edge and a main silver body formed over his mouth.
A backpack with two exhaust tubes colored silver and golden materialized and attached to his back while extending four red lines arching over his body and creating a bluish ring around the chest emblem with four small black rectangles having a red dot on their center.
He had some extra armor coiling around his right arm too and he wielded a pyramidal energy saber colored blue.
"OK! Cadet! Ya ready to hit the walls? Let the Cadets hit the walls!"
"Jeez. Lander. Stop with the "Bodies" parodies: why did they suddenly turn SO popular, anyway?"
"Dunno!"
The "Cross Fusion" form retained most of Lander's normal form.
Differences included a coat of arms – like pattern on the helmet's forehead: Martin's hair came out from behind the helmet.
The shoulders remained anatomically correct and had brown leather armor over them.
His arms and elbows had switched to a turquoise color: the forearms (colored dust brown) had some black crisscrossing patterns drawn into them and which looked thicker than Lander's: they glowed with a soft blue glow as well from time to time.
His main body also gained the Alphabet letters "M" and "B" colored red and black each; they were set left and right beneath the shoulders.
A set of three parallel green lines descended from beneath each letter and then joined into a thick one, which ended on a waist belt having two pouches for the Colts.
The legs contained two circling orange bands set above and below the knee, which had metallic gray dots drawn at random inside of them.
The boots were white: they had a faint white color as if they'd worn out.
As a final detail, he sported a cowboy – like hat colored brown and white over his head.
"So! This is the place…" "CF" Charles muttered.
"It looks deep." "CF" Lander sounded slightly nervous.
"Let's go inside. I can see some kind of platforms which we can use to land and rest." "CF" Laika instructed.
The three of them jumped into the apparently endless shaft.
"Jet Vernier!"
They ignited their jetpacks and slowly descended: everyone looked around, fascinated at the blue glow of the walls.
"Wow. So this is the effects of Spectrum."
They witnessed data materializing itself in different shapes: various algorithms occupied the whole of the walls.
"… How far have we descended insofar?" "CF" Charles asked after five minutes.
"Hmmm… We've gone past the one kilometer depth mark by now, more or less." "CF" Laika reported.
"You know: I have just thought of a good title for this situation… "Hell's Gate Open"… Whaddya think?" "CF" Lander told them.
"It fits. It really looks like we're going straight to Hell to meet the Grim Reaper." "CF" Charles chuckled.
"Hmpf. I totally agree." "CF" Laika smirked.
They continued descending and stopped in some platforms to rest: they could see some vague shapes at the very bottom of the shaft.
"We're two kilometers deep by now. I'd say this is about three kilometers deep." "CF" Laika announced.
"Hmmm… There's something." "CF" Charles seemed to be fixated on the shapes at the bottom of the shaft.
"Hey! Look over there!" "CF" Lander signaled the east wall.
The other two looked there to spot a figure hovering near the wall, which appeared to be studying the wall.
"Identify yourself." "CF" Laika demanded as he aimed his Scope Gun at the figure.
The figure slowly turned around and floated towards them.
"I am Xon' Edos, a mere observer. You must be part of the Net Saviors, given your technology." Xon' Edos introduced himself.
"Hmmm… Oi. Do you have anything to do with either Duo or Slur, perhaps? You look reminiscent of 'em." "CF" Charles questioned.
"Ah, yes. I do know who they are. We Observers are an improvement over them. I have been commissioned as an observer of this planet's Network and its evolution. I do believe you know Rock Man. We have met not too long ago." Xon' Edos explained.
"Ah. He told me 'bout ya. And what are ya doin' 'ere?" "CF" Charles asked after admitting the fact.
"I was observing these peculiar phenomena. I am able to materialize within the real world due to the effect of your own "Dimensional Area"."
"Have you seen what's down there?" "CF" Lander asked.
"No. I have not. I was analyzing the algorithms: my makers wanted me to catalog every detail. But feel free to go on." Xon' Edos shrugged.
"Good. Do as you like." "CF" Charles told him.
"Let's keep on." "CF" Lander suggested.
The three of them continued descending until they reached the last platform: there were several of the fighting craft and the four-legged robots laid out in perfect aligned rows directly below them.
"So! This is where they store them…" "CF" Laika muttered.
"Hmmm… The material in which they are made seems to originate in Dark Land itself… But if it's taken to Germany for assembly then… Why hasn't anyone said a thing about it?" "CF" Lander wondered.
"Surely they must've smuggled it inside of the country using their connections." "CF" Charles shrugged.
"I do apologize for my interruption. What does "smuggling" stand for, if I may ask?" Xon' Edos asked as he hovered behind the group.
"Huh… You know the materials or alloys which serve up as the base component of objects?" "CF" Charles began.
"But of course. Same logic applies everywhere."
"Normally… One has to say where this material comes from…"
"The origin of the materials, yes. We did have such a regulation as well."
"In this case… This material comes from the country of Dark Land. If no - one in Germany said anything about this coming from Dark Land then the material is brought into the nation in a secretive manner… They could put another tag saying it came from Choina, for example. That's what "smuggling" means: it's basically entering something forbidden in a country by secretive and unannounced means. I hope that I got the point across." "CF" Charles explained.
"Aha. Yes, you did. I remember reading about such practices to try to avoid taxation and controls in the commerce between the colonies and the home world… So we really cannot critizice you for it because we already did it a long time ago, too." Xon' Edos admitted.
"Well, when there's profits involved… Greed blinds people."
"Truly… Greed indeed." He sighed.
"Look! There are some tags attached to each type of machine! The flying crafts are labeled "Bifrost"! Tthe four-legged robots are labeled "Nibelung"..." "CF" Laika reported as he scanned them.
"Named after the Norse mythology, huh?" "CF" Lander wasn't surprised.
"Mythology, is it? Interesting." Xon' Edos lifted his eyebrows.
"I suggest we pull out before those things turn on." "CF" Charles warned.
"I agree. I'm not in the mood to face all of those." "CF" Lander agreed.
"Hmpf. At least this could help us figure out where the rest of the "shafts" are located at…" "CF" Laika muttered.
"In La-Ra-Ma-Land?" Lander made up a joke.
"Where the heck is that?" Davis asked with some annoyance.
"Guess on his imagination." Search Man drily muttered.
"I also agree that it would be unwise to battle them. Farewell."
Xon' Edos warped away while the other three flew upwards…
10:49 AM (Mongolia Time)…
"… I've got news! The Net Saviors were snooping around the Gobi Desert shaft! So they already know our little trick, too!"
"Goddamn it! Damned those Choina hackers!"
Scorpion had come into General Meta's office to report the news and General Meta let out a curse upon hearing them.
"What do we do? I don't think we can act boldly." Scorpion asked.
"Hmmm… I have a backup plan in the works. I won't say anything else just in case." General Meta muttered back.
"Do as cha like. I'm off." Scorpion shrugged.
He ran off and General Meta fumed: Vulture came in and saluted and Meta signaled for him to sit down.
"Start figuring out which border outposts are in need of personnel to man them and if they're critical or not." He ordered.
"Roger, sir. Please leave it up to me, sir."
"On the double. It could be necessary soon enough!"
Vulture stood up, saluted, and walked out while there was a knock and Viper came in while whistling a tune.
"Viper. What have you done this time around?"
"It'd seem the Secret Service guys are terrified: I spread some rumor of cha having found 17 spies in 9 years. It's working."
"Ah! I like that better. Spread some fear in them: remind them we're elite and not commoner plebeian peasants!" He eagerly grinned.
"Sure. I'll go "debrief" another bad boy out there. See cha 'round and beware of Madonna's new shrieking single."
"What? What the hell is that? Don't kid me, Viper!"
Viper giggled and closed the door while Meta grumbled under his breath…
11:56 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Let it be let it not be…"
"That's a parody. Ain't it?"
"Hey. They're not as bad as Cloud Man's."
"I know. His "Bodies" parodies are stupid. No wonder Twilight thinks they're stupid too."
Nelaus whistled a tune as he walked down a street and approached an airfield: he was carrying his sports bag.
"Here it is… Aha-hah."
He rummaged on his coat's right pocket and took out a set of keys.
"It's been a while since the last time. I wanna have some excitement today. Since we've got lotta free time…"
"Luckily enough… Uncle Xavier and Vadous were able to negotiate the keeping of this thing with Commissioner Kifune." Isaac grinned.
Neither of them spotted Tamashita, who was hiding behind a set of trees and seemingly stalking Nelaus.
"Aura – chan… He and Isaac – kun ain't going out with any other girl! This stalking makes no sense!" Felicia grumbled.
"Come on! I want to have some thrill. I'm bored of everyday routine, anyway. Ms. Glassy would approve of it." Tamashita told her.
"Go your own way, Aura – chan. I'm not going to bail you outta this one. And I think that Ms. Glassy has seen too many cheap spy movies, anyway… She looks like she'll then claim you're to blame instead." Felicia fumed.
Tamashita spotted Nelaus entering one of the hangar buildings and closing the door; she hid behind a wall and peeked.
"Oho? What's this building? A hangar? A warehouse?"
"Get out of this place! You're gonna get scolded!"
"Go play dominatrix with Roll." She distractedly tried to shoo her away without thinking and blurting the first thing that came to mind.
"HEY!" She protested with obvious annoyance.
The front doors buzzed and unlocked: they retreated to both sides of the hangar and a combat jet rolled out; it looked advanced and was painted in camouflage colors.
"Huh? My, my… He has a friend who's a military pilot, then? I gotta have a look at it!"
She rummaged into her purse and took out a pair of binoculars.
"I've got my own gadgets too!"
"Take back that of before!" Felicia hissed.
"My bad. I was thinking of the academy times: one of those snob CEO girls organized dominatrix parties at her manor while Daddy and Mommy were away and they all played there amongst them: I never took part but she liked boasting." Tamashita shrugged.
"That's why it was a VERY GOOD IDEA to quit that place!"
She focused while ignoring Felicia and aimed the binoculars towards the cockpit: she spotted just one person wearing a pale gray bodysuit with several round spots placed around it.
The person also wore a brown leather pilot's helmet with black shades and looked occupied checking the controls.
She could spot Isaac projecting with a hologram from the control console.
"What the…! There's only one person and Isaac is there…? It couldn't be…!" She gasped.
"Huh? He's a part-time pilot, then?" Felicia now looked interested.
"Tee, heh, heh! Ms. Glassy was right in the mark, as usual! He IS a box of secrets!" Tamashita giggled.
"No good, no good… This gal… She needs someone to tell her to STOP."
15:39 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Here it is… Antarctica…"
"Initiating descent course…"
The plane piloted by Nelaus descended below a sea of clouds and the large frozen continent of Antarctica expanded in front of him: Nelaus was busy checking up a map and some coordinates.
"The sensors indicate that the landing strip is not frozen so it should be safe to land in normal mode." Isaac reported.
Nelaus adjusted his course and headed further into the continent and he soon spotted his goal: an abandoned scientific outpost.
"Gondwana…"
It was composed of several snow-covered buildings and a large hangar building: there was a landing strip present as well.
"I'm taking out the landing gear and reducing speed… Touchdown will occur in less than a minute." Nelaus reported.
"Roger."
Nelaus skillfully maneuvered the plane until he made contact with the landing strip.
"Reverse engines: deploy parachute!"
He reversed the engines and deployed a parachute to halt the plane.
"Phew. That was a neat landing."
The plane slowly stopped and taxied into the hangar, which contained an inclined metallic grid with a large burnt mark at the back of it: the doors of the hangar closed and the plane was slowly spun around by a platform built on the ground.
"It actually works… That's nice to find out."
"Okay. Equalize pressure: prepare to unseal."
Nelaus checked that all systems had shut down and equalized pressure before opening the hatch: he climbed out using two metallic steps built into the fuselage and gracefully landed in the metallic ground.
The bodysuit included black gloves and boots as well.
"Gondwana… I'd never thought I'd be back here…" Nelaus muttered.
"… It looks identical as last time." Isaac commented; he'd now switched to Nelaus' Link PET.
Nelaus walked towards the east side and found a small square platform: he stepped on it and descended a metallic shaft for a few seconds.
"1st stop…"
A metallic corridor span ahead of him lighted by lights set on the walls: he crossed it and descended further down with another elevator platform.
"2nd stop…"
He walked down a second corridor and crossed a large and opened lock door; he breathed in and slowly came in.
"Here's the place… Been a while…"
This new room was an armored cubical chamber somewhere: this chamber had few objects on it but there was one thing that stood out.
And that "one" was a tall cylinder with two cone-shaped ends set in the exact middle of it: the main body was over two meters tall and the ends were about 50cm tall each.
Two LCD monitors had been set a few centimeters away from the SW and SE corners and were linked to the main cylinder by wires secured on the ground.
The left monitor displayed life-signs graphs like heartbeat, blood flow and EEG activity: it was dead.
The second monitor looked like it'd been destroyed from the inside and didn't work either.
The north end of the room had two huge armored metallic doors, which were opened.
A path had been painted using purple pain from the doors to the front of the cylinder where some small metallic steps allowed one to climb up to the height of the cylinder's main body.
Some waist-high handrails had been deployed along the length of the path as well.
Two pairs of switched off fluorescent tubes were set in the ceiling.
The insides of the capsule had many white plastic wires which formed out of a cylindrical column and which were hanging loose: they had small dome-shaped membranes at their ends.
Two opened purple wrist restrains were visible too.
A curved rail was drawn above and below the north face and it could be seen that the north-facing edges of the curved armored body had two retracted curved glass walls painted black.
Other stuff included a detached oxygen mask hanging from it and some metallic restrains for the arms and legs plus the torso.
Nelaus walked to in front of the cylinder and stood there, as if reflecting upon something: Isaac looked in the same way.
"… No. I cannot… I cannot…" Nelaus began to mutter while shaking. He looked like he was having a moral dilemma.
"Nelaus? Are you OK?" Isaac gasped.
"Why… why won't it leave…? This pressure… No… leave me alone… I don't get it… Dr. Lartes… fixed it…" Nelaus kept on muttering.
"… You're late for the institute!" Isaac shouted.
"Ah! Let's run!" Nelaus seemed to snap out of it.
Nelaus started to run out only to stop halfway down the corridor.
"Huh? Ah! But today is a Sunday! Why did you…?" Nelaus asked.
"… I thought that something normal would help you snap outta it. You must go see the Doc. It'd seem there's something left of that witch's ethical program on you. Your reaction just now proved it and having it won't help any of us." Isaac seriously pointed out.
"I… I'm sorry. I…" Nelaus looked repented.
"You mustn't feel sorry for this, Nelaus! It's not your fault! Besides… Why did you decide all of a sudden to come back here?" Isaac asked.
"I… thought I could concentrate on how to orientate my life from now on… Legally… I have the body and mind of a sixteen-year-old man, but… In truth, I have only been "conscious" for about 7 months… Too many things have happened all of a sudden… I… don't know if I will be able to cope with them…" He argued while sitting down on the ground and closing his arms around his knees.
"Nelaus…" Isaac looked rather concerned.
"I know! It was something stupid to do! This place only triggers fear and insecurity on me…! Isaac! Answer me this: how could you stand being alone for five years? Even if you were a Navi… You'd surely broken down nevertheless…" Nelaus admitted before asking of him.
"… Have you forgotten? I was in hibernation for almost the whole of those five years as well. I was only awoken every once in a trimester to perform a routine check of the life-support system and of your "education". That was all." Isaac calmly replied.
"… Ah… That's true… I… had forgotten…" Nelaus sighed with sadness on his voice.
"… Nelaus. This place will only bring you bad memories and insecurity. Remember: we're not alone anymore. We've got a lot of companions: we have normal lives. Let's set the past aside and move on forward towards a bright tomorrow." Isaac told him.
"… You're right. Let's go home." Nelaus muttered as he stood up.
"If you don't feel well, then I can do the piloting instead."
"… You better do. I don't feel well. I need to take an aspirin when we get home." Nelaus admitted.
Nelaus undid the earlier path, walking a bit erratically.
"Huff, huff…"
He climbed into the plane and Plugged Isaac into the control panels to allow him to pilot: he leant backwards on the seat and breathed deeply as if getting ready for the take-off.
"Take-off!" Isaac announced.
The engines roared and expelled a stream of plasma, which hit the metallic grid and left a second burnt mark over the first one: the plane taxied off the landing strip and climbed over the gray clouds.
"I'm… going to sleep for a bit. Wake me up once we get home." Nelaus announced.
The plane continued its route back towards Japan while Nelaus fell asleep: Isaac glanced at him and sighed.
Don't be confused, Nelaus. We can leave our sad past behind and find happiness…
Isaac stared at Nelaus' sleeping face for a few seconds before focusing on piloting the plane.
"Guess it'll be dusk by the time we get there… This plane is very fast but we don't want to go at Mach 1 either… Ah… Nelaus. It was a wise thing to do, to run away from Anaya… The bitch would've eventually made you an accomplice of tortures and murder and all…" He muttered.
"… I'm a freak… Damn it…" Nelaus stirred.
"Cool it, Nelaus… You need to relax… Breathe deeply…"
"Huh! Yeah. Sorry… It's just that… Huff. Forget it…"
He fell asleep again; Isaac sighed and then focused on the piloting.
"Take it easy, pal. We'll deal with that stuff and live on…"
18:53 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Prepare for landing… Landing!"
It was already night when Nelaus' plane touched down in the airfield on the outskirts of Akihara Town: Isaac took care of everything and taxied the plane into the hangar: he opened the cockpit.
"Nelaus. We've arrived." He whispered.
"Hmmm… Okay…" Nelaus muttered.
He yawned and stretched before he jumped off the plane and picked his raincoat and hat after storing the helmet inside of the sports bag.
"Let's lock…"
He exited the hangar after making sure it was properly locked and the alarm system was on.
"Oh. There's a taxi… Taxi!" Nelaus signaled for it.
The taxi slowed down and stopped next to Nelaus, who climbed into the back seat.
"Please go to Constitution Street 5." Nelaus requested.
"Roger, costumer – san."
The taxi moved across the streets and Nelaus looked out at the people moving up and down, as well as the cars.
"We have arrived." The driver announced.
Nelaus used the PET to electronically pay the fee and climbed down: he headed towards his house and unlocked it.
"Home… Is this really "home", though…? Or am I fated to be a wandering nomad…? Or to live isolated from society?"
He stepped into the living room and took out the raincoat and hat: he left the sports bag near the stairs to the first floor.
"Huff. I'll climb it up later."
He sat down on the sofa and lazily stretched.
"If you're not hungry then you should go sleep. Tomorrow is a Monday, after all." Isaac pointed out.
"… Guess so."
Nelaus sluggishly stood up and walked into the kitchen.
"Let's have yoghurt…"
He opened the fridge and grabbed yoghurt to eat: he ate it up and drank some water before he walked out of the kitchen.
"… Huff. Yeah. I better go sleep early."
The entrance bell suddenly rang, so he frowned and looked at his wristwatch, which read "19:37 PM".
"Who could it be?" He wondered.
He walked towards the door and checked with the peephole; he frowned again and unlocked it: Tamashita was standing in front of him.
"Shouldn't you be at home by now?" Nelaus frowned.
"… Can we talk?" She timidly asked.
"Uh… Sure. Come in."
"Thanks."
Nelaus guided Tamashita to the living room and prepared some tea: he brought it there and had a cup.
"What did you want to talk about? Homework?"
"See… You haven't been totally honest with me, after all." She began saying with a hint of worry.
"… Huh… Sorry. What do you mean by that?" Nelaus frowned.
"Why can you pilot a military plane?"
Nelaus felt all blood on him chilling: his hands began to shake.
"I… I…" He couldn't seem to find the right words for it.
"I doubt it being part of the Net Saviors."
"… You're right on that. That plane… It was given to me… by my old boss..." Nelaus admitted while hanging his head down.
"Your "old boss"? But didn't you study at an all-boys' school at Chicago before coming here?" She frowned.
"… That's a cover Uncle Xavier and the Net Police made up ever since August... I didn't mean to harm anyone with it, though…"
"What? But why would they make such a cover?"
"… Truth is… Uncle Xavier is not my real uncle. He took me in and he legally became my uncle, but he used to be my old boss' godfather… I was an orphan. I was forced to become a member of a Mafia… Because I had nowhere else to go to…"
"Goodness!"
"Is that true, Isaac – kun?" Felicia asked him.
"… Yeah. It's true." Isaac sighed.
"However… I grew tired of having to intercept cargo planes… Eventually, I reunited the courage to approach the Net Police and turn myself in. They decided that, since I was young, I could be remedied, so they didn't sentence me. I confessed everything I knew about the Mafia and they rounded them up. However… Since I'd grown attached to the jet… We struck a deal: the Net Police would store it on a hangar of its property and officially label it as "confiscated". In reality, I'm allowed to pick it anytime I want to. Since it's built with anti-radar material then no radar can detect me crossing any airspace and I don't have to worry about authorizations over borders."
Well. I'll soften it up but more or less it's what happened so…
"… Sorry. My curiosity got the hold of me, and… But I shouldn't have asked you. It must be very hard for you…" Tamashita repented.
"It's okay… I… knew I would have to admit it sooner or later… I couldn't live in a lie forever…" Nelaus looked rather relieved.
"… I… will be going. See you tomorrow morning. And… I know it might sound hypocritical on my part, but… Sorry for forcing you to tell me. I'm so stupid, really. I got my head filled up with stupid clichés…" She stood up and bowed to apologize.
"That's why I was warning you not to pressure him!" Felicia scolded.
"You're right, Felicia. I'm such an idiot…"
"Sorry to cut in, but… I think it's better if both of us rest and we allow some days to cool off… Then we talk about it…" Nelaus suggested.
"Good idea. Again, I know "sorry" won't solve anything, but…"
"Forget it. Let's pretend nothing happened…"
"R-roger… Well then… I'll be going home. See you tomorrow."
Nelaus nodded in agreement while Tamashita quickly came out of the house; he looked on from the window as how she argued with Felicia.
"Phew. That was close. The timing could've have been worst, man."
He walked upstairs and changed into gray-colored pajamas.
I'm sorry, miss… But I cannot ever discern the "real" truth to you: it's too hard for anyone to accept… Some things are better off NOT knowing…
"Isaac. Set the alarm clock at 7 o'clock."
"Roger. By the way! Dragon's latest banner… "If the cave-explorer shall not go to the cave then the cave shall go to the cave-explorer: if that is not the case then they must ask Oracle 343 Guilty Spark about the route."…"
"Hah, hah, hah! Sigma! That's your handiwork: only you would think of mixing Halo and Chinese proverbs!" Nelaus laughed.
"He's Random Crazy Mix Burn Man."
"RCMB Man! Hah, hah, hah… Well… Good night, Isaac… Sigma… Hah…!"
19:58 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Hey. Guys. Isaac has come over."
"Hello, Isaac."
Netto and Saito, who were also dressed in their pajamas, were sitting in front of the computer and looking at Isaac.
"You look a bit troubled, Isaac." Saito pointed out.
"Yeah. It's Nelaus… He's had kind of a breakdown today's afternoon... You should try to cheer him up during this week or else things will get very bad. You know how much he's unsure about his place…" Isaac sighed.
"What exactly happened, then? Nelaus usually doesn't get into trouble: he's very cautious…" Netto frowned.
"He grabbed the plane and decided to go visit Gondwana. Once he spotted his capsule, he began to experience fear and it looks like some of those subconscious programs began to torment him. I managed to snap him outta it, though, and we quickly made it back here."
"Oh. He should go see Dr. Lartes, then." Sigma suggested.
"Of course, that's what we're gonna do… Tamashita spotted us, so Nelaus managed to improvise a convincing explanation based a bit on our past. Thankfully, she swallowed it and repented asking him about it. I'd say we don't have to worry on that front anymore." Isaac added.
"Man! She seems to have gotten a stalker mood."
"Don't worry about Nelaus. We'll cheer him up in one way or another."
"Thanks, guys. I owe you a big one." Isaac sighed in relief.
"You don't owe us anything. We're friends, after all."
"Yeah! We're companions, too! Count on us, man!" Sigma patted Isaac's right shoulder.
"Guys… Thank you, really… By the way Sigma… Your parody will become the week's hash-tag."
"Mwah, hah, hah…"
"Nelaus has been through too much in just half a year, thus it's no wonder he was about to have a breakdown. We must watch over him."
"Yeah. I get the picture." Netto nodded in agreement.
"Mwah, hah, hah… Dragon's newest banner looks like a cocktail improvised by Cocktail and Improvise Man…"
"Please… That means cha." Blood Shadow fumed.
"Did cha call for tea?"
"You're making a pun: ocha is "tea" in Japanese."
"Knock, knock goes Knock – Knock Man! Hah, hah, hah!"
"Huh! Zoan Gate Man! He was knocking at the firewall and stormed off before the automated defenses came on. Another little bit and we'd painted the guy over with tar!" Blood Shadow groaned.
"Jeez. Let's hope Twilight doesn't try to torment him further: that's the last thing we'd need! Go hack those things into World of Warcraft or some MMORPG!" Netto grumbled.
"Mwah, hah, hah… But the Janissaries have begun to chase 'im: 10 of 'em with 8 points of experience…"
"Good, good. Make them feel the angst." Saito grinned.
"Hum. Let's try talking about something cheerier… I know: Mario will tell Luigi to let him shine in the mansion but then Luigi will say "Mario's Mansion" doesn't sound so nice." Blood Shadow improvised.
"Heh, heh, heh. I can totally picture it: Senator Pingole will have Luigi rescue Mario from the haunted manor…" Netto chuckled.
"OK. Let's hit the sack for tomorrow."
"Mwah, hah, hah… Let the sacks hit the floor! Good night, fellows!"
"Oh come on! Save me the parodies for another day!"