DUST AND THE SWEEPER
Chapter 6 - Renegades
Such a short but brutal battle had left Blinx and Dust speechless. The Time Sweeper continues to pilot the Firebat up high in the clouds; anger tucked in the back of his mind from being forced to fight and eliminate his comrade. Dust, on the other hand, lays in his arms folded, trying to juggle between helping his friend while an inner voice nags at him, repeatedly asking why he fired the gun at Duke. Was it the only way? What would Haley, Fidget, or Ginger have said about it? Would Cassius have done it?
"I get Duke was tryin' to kill us, but I know this wouldn't 'ave happened otherwise," Blinx growls. "Soon as we get 'dere, I'm gonna start interrogatin' people! Gonna find out one way or another why he turned into a Doom knockoff!"
"…"
"Y…You alright, sportsy," Blinx asks his friend.
Dust lifts himself. "O-oh yeah, sorry. I'm just…thinking."
"About what?"
"…Lots." Dust rotates his chair towards Blinx. "I just killed one of your old friends, Blinx. I could've found another way, but I didn't. Ginger was right to be cautious about me knowing Cassius is a part of my soul..."
"Eeeeh, I wouldn't take it that far," answers the Cat-Sith. "Dude was about to kill me an' probably would'a done the same to others if you didn't pull the trigga'."
"Blinx is right, Dust," Ahrah agrees, strapped to the Mithrarin's back. "I feel you've had no choice in the matter. Anyone would have done the same if they were put in your position. That includes Jin."
"I guess so," Dust sighs. "This is exactly why I didn't wanna bring our folks today."
"Trust me," Blinx interjects, "If that Cassius dude is that big a deal, you best bet I'll take care a' him. Nothin' that a good rewind can't fi-"
SHOOOOOM!
Two planes similar to their own rocket past the Firebat, with enough force to push some of the clouds to the side!
"WOAH! The Hell was that?!"
"It looked as though it was another bomber squad," answers the sword.
"That must mean we're close," Dust cheers. "Can you lower the ship now?"
Blinx nods, "Lemme check."
As Blinx lowers the ship's altitude, they notice the shape of what looks to be a tower shaded behind the clouds. Once low enough, soon the rest of the city is visible. Not just any, however. Starting at the entrance is a vast empty gray field leading toward a huge sprawling shield wall surrounded by gargantuan diamond-shaped cruisers in circular formation. Past them, however, and they're met by the sight of a grand chrome metropolis, complete with an array of cube-looking factories and moving structures as far as the eye can see. Almost as if the place itself were alive. Clocks, or something else related to time, brand much of the buildings. But the most telling one out of all of them is the largest piece of the town. A massive tower at the heart of it all with a clock at the top in the exact style as the one at the Time Factory.
"…Yep," Blinx says with a crack in his voice. "This is the place alright."
"It's massive…," exclaims Ahrah, enamored by the city's beauty.
The Mithrarin asks still staring at the marvel, "The Time Sweepers could built all this?"
"Hey, our engineerin's a lot faster than folks on this planet. That's fo' sure" Blinx brings the ship past several other towers into a narrow air street where a few more bombers fly in front of them. "Plus, if we had the Mother Computer booted up, we wouldn't need to lift a finga'."
Dust points to the diamond-shuttles by the shield walls while they're still in view. "How bout those things over there? I'm guessing they're ships and not giant robots, right?"
Blinx nods his head. "Totally. Old cruisers in fact. There wasn't a need for 'em since we had teleporters, but we kept 'em just in case"
"Ah, then perhaps they were used for evacuation during the raids," Ahrah ponders.
"You could fit pretty much all our species in there if ya wanted. Guess that's the case here."
"Hard to believe we're on the same planet anymore," Dust replies.
Carefully past some patrol shuttles nearby, Blinx squeezes the Firebat into a docking station filled with other shuttles in a neat row. Finding an empty spot, he lands it. Scanners indicating no sign of anyone close to them.
"Looks like a good place ta land," he says grabbing his Sweeper. "Hopefully, no one's gonna ID the ship since it looks like the rest."
"Yeah, except for the fact that it totally doesn't," Dust sarcastically answers.
"Bro, we've seen ships of different kinds in Half-an-Half place too. I'm sure it's fine. What isn't is the fact that yer taller than me an' clearly not a cat…or sith."
"Not like I can shave my tail and say 'meow' all the time. Where do we go from here anyway?"
"Good question." the Cat-Sith scans his surroundings using his goggles and quickly catches heat signatures leader to the doors at the end of the garage. "Eh, maybe dere's someone who can point us to the right direction."
"Won't that just give us away?"
"Well, we're gonna get noticed eventually. Just didn't wanna park in the towa' if it meant us walkin' in a hornet's nest."
The two step out the Firebat, making sure to lock the hatches behind them when they make their way to the end of the room through two automatic doors. The next hall, blank and metal, leads them into a security terminal that automatically scans them, suddenly starting a quick alarm as security bots, two hovering diamond-shaped machines, deploy from the walls and aim their twin turrets.
"Oooh boy," Dust rolls his eyes. "Looks like we already did."
A few cameras in the corner of the walls take photos of Blinx and Dust from every angle, while the door to the left slides open revealing another Time Sweeper very much the same as Blinx. A tall, purple jacketed white cat with a black patch of fur comes out with a tablet in his left robotic hand, asking them in a bland tone…
"Ok, state your purpose and identifi- BLINX!" The Sweeper grabs his friend's hands and bounces repeatedly, nearly shaking him! "YOU FREAKIN'…! YOU SON OF…!" Eventually, he quits hopping, trading that for a nice warm hug, patting Blinx's back.
Blinx responds, "Woah, hey Picaro! How it do?"
"How it do? What's goin' on wit'chu?!" Picaro takes a peak at Dust, who has his hat lifted up from his face. "And isn't that the Mith-guy?"
"Dust, I'd like ya to meet one a' my buds, Picaro. He was my backup back in the day."
Picaro tips his head. "Hey man."
"Hey hey! Glad to meet you," says the Mithrarin. "U-um…are we in any trouble?"
"No way buddy. I'm just acting undercover."
Picaro takes a wire out of his left arm and hooks it to one of the robots, causing it to short circuit. He repeats it with the other drone and immediately shoots all 4 of the cameras when his hand folds back, transforming it into a cannon!
"But not anymore," he continues. "Follow me while we're undetected."
In the security room, Picaro slides open a vent door that they can walk in, making sure to shut it behind them as they enter and continue to follow him.
"Since when didja get yerself a fancy robo-arm," asks Blinx.
"Ya like it? My real one got crushed so Catherine made this for me," says Picaro. "Said the design came from an Agent Black."
"Tell her to tell them to come to Aurora sometime," Dust replies. "Haley's always looking for inspiration."
"How's life treatin' you two since the old days anyway?"
"Pretty good till recently," says Blinx as they keep moving down the path. "We just found out about this place!"
"And we had close encounters with the machines here," says Dust. "Plus another Time Sweeper."
"That's not good," Picaro answers back, pulling open another grate into a maintainance hall. "I heard about some units being deployed, but I didn't know it was meant for you."
"An' I thought we were the ones figurin' things out," adds Blinx.
Seeing out the windows, the duo following Picaro catch no sign of activity from the streets far down below. Only a few patrol ships swoop by shining spotlights down in the darker corners of the factory walls.
Dust asks, "How come no one's around? The streets are empty?"
"Workin'," says Picaro. "Everyone's in the factories now. I'd say it's like old times, but I think I'd beg to differ."
He slides open a segment of the dark metal wall hidden behind an array of cables leading to a double-entry lift. One that was sealed off following construction of the building. They climb inside, pressing the only button going down several flights. From what they can make through the transparent steel, they themselves are in the middle of a large facility, emitting flames from heavy machinery that burn scrap metal. Another level brings them close to a production line, where the bombers, albeit visibly more advanced than Gaius', are being constructed. A handful of Cat-Sith workers observe and perform maintainance on each ship. Though, almost all of them look very unhappy. Some even darting back and forth at the iron guards along the walls, afraid of messing up. None of these former Time Sweepers have their vacuums equipped, and what they do have, are generic tools used for everyday adjustments. The bare minimum required for the ships. Others down the next floor are positively pale while monitoring automated machinery and security screens with no sign of food or drinks to keep them going.
"Y-yer kiddin' me…," Blinx stutters aloud. "All my brotha's an' sista's out here like it's the regime all over again…!"
"It's a good thing you're here, then," assures Picaro. "Today's the day we finally put an end to it!"
After a minute, the elevator stops and makes a quiet chime, alerting those on the other side. As the doors slide open, the few Guard Sweepers ready their rifles, mere inches from pulling the trigger. Among these men are Chron and NecoJi; one short with flopped ears, the other taller wearing a battered green jacket and cap. Seeing Picaro, they lower their weapons but don't immediately catch Blinx and Dust behind him.
"Bloody…it's you," says NecoJi to Picaro. "You're not one to take the elevator."
"Yeah, but I was close by, so, figured I'd use it. But look who I found wandering the garage!"
"Oh great," snarks Chron. "It's another showoff, isn't it? Who's gonna get themselves killed this…time" He freezes. Blinx's smile was more than enough to leave him speechless.
Suddenly, other Time Sweepers around them begin to gather in the lift room, lowering their guns when the famous hero of B1Q64 smiles at them. Dust removes his hat, looking at all the soldiers with him and thinks to himself, "These are Blinx's brothers, alright." The feminine yellow-jacketed Pelon comes close to the two, using his goggles to scan their heat signatures.
"It really is you…," Pelon says with excitement in his voice.
NecoJi comes over and nudges his friend's head, patting his back so hard, it almost knocks him over!
"Blinx lad, I KNEW you couldn't have kicked the bucket! Where've ya been, buddy?"
"On an adventure," he says, rubbing his spine and giggling.
Nearly everyone inside starts laughing in unison and lifting Blinx in the air while Dust and Ahrah simply watch. Although they're still thinking of the mission, the Mithrarin can't help but feel joy seeing his friend reunite with his family as the Time Sweepers cheer for him.
"What a lovely, lovely sight," says Ahrah.
"Good to have ya back, but now we've gotta tell the head honcho about you," Picaro interrupts.
"I was just getting ready ta ask about that," Blinx nods. "Is it the CEO or maybe the Operator?"
"No, they…," Picaro pauses and scratches his right, organic arm. "Eeeeh…It's pretty rough too. Here, let me take you to 'em."
"Good to have ya back, pal," says Jimmy, the tall curly-haired Cat-Sith walking by.
"Good ta be back!"
Deeper in the tight, low-ceiling bunker, they pass by rooms of weapons and retired Sweeper gadgets with empty battery slots. Some Cat-Sith Blinx doesn't know wave at him while others look closely at the Mitharin, whom they've only heard stories about. Based on the dire tale of Falana in the war, none had imagined their hero would be allying with him. But it's a welcomed partnership. They enter a small control room filled with rows of monitors, seeing a single older Time Sweeper watching the activity. The green suited Aniki, wearing some special mechanical braces over his legs. Likely the result of an injury.
"Look who it is, big boss," Picaro announces.
"Seriously," Aniki sighs. "All that commotion outside almost made me panic. What's…"
Like everyone else, Aniki stops, nearly stumbling back against the keys of the control panel behind him.
"Why hello there, old boss," Blinx comments.
"Blinx… I knew you'd come…!"
Aniki nearly collapses to his knees, caught by Blinx and Dust. As he comes to, his former cadet says, "Woah...! Easy dere, man. You look like you've seen better days."
"You're damn right about that. Good thing I have these here crutches on me." He takes both hands, gently feeling Blinx's cheeks. "Just look at you... You haven't aged a day!"
"That's what happens when ya mess with the timeline too much."
"You guys age," asks Dust.
"Oh sure," Blinx answers. "We can live for eons an' stay young. Y'know, like Fidget an' whatnot."
"And you must be the one named Dust, right," asks the old Sweeper.
"Yes sir. Pleased to meet you."
"It's a pleasure. Heard a lot about you and your sacrifice. Shame you gotta put up with this fella's crap."
"EY," Blinx snaps.
"Yep, he's definitely something else," Dust chuckles. "But believe me. Fidget's much worse."
Blinx grumbles to himself and folds his arms. But he's clearly blushing while looking away, pretending to be annoyed as he wraps his tail around his waist.
"Listen, I'm sorry we couldn't find ya," Aniki apologizes. "Since the factory fell, we were stranded and trying to regroup as best we could. If we knew you came ahead of time, we would've tried to help."
"Ey, no biggie," Blinx grins. "Ya couldn't have known. It was a pretty messed up situation, an' I got on my own mission. You guys all that's left?"
"No, a few of us are scouting around. Mick's even undercover as a marauder at the tower. He's the reason we suspected you were still alive with all the intel he's been getting."
"Good ta know. Cause we've got a bunch'a questions. Like, who the Hell's in charge of the whole remnant production? An' how come Duke tried to kill us?"
Surprised, Picaro's ears dart up and his eyes widen. "Duke?! Oh, right…Gonna be a tough pill to swallow."
Aniki even looks away at the group, back at the monitors for a moment trying to collect his thoughts. His face strains, clearly from stress over his history.
"First of all, the Chief's…not with us anymore," Aniki bemoans, barely looking Blinx in the face. "He died during evac at the factory… Stayed behind to make sure no one was left before the bombardment. His last order was to have everyone transfer to this world, saying it was top secret in the event of an emergency."
"He knew about Falana," Dust asks.
"Definitely. It's one of many places sighted for evac. He tried his best to keep it to himself so the Tom Toms wouldn't find out and steal from the place. That's why this area was cleared when we arrived."
Blinx sighs with a clear pain in his tone, "Had a feelin' my ol' man got iced. Just didn't have any confirmation."
Dust questions one more time, "If your leadership's gone, then, whose in charge of all this?"
"That's especially the tough part," Aniki gulps, then shuts his eyes in preparation to say, "It's Benito."
Silence. Not a word from anyone, especially Blinx who at first looks surprised till he begins giggling to himself. "Meahehahaha! Eeey, props to ya fer tryin' to crack a joke, ol' man. Com'on. Try harda'."
But again, nothing. Aniki continues to scowl while Picaro scratches the back of his head and gulps, but Dust simply stands confused knowing the bare minimum there is about the notorious Tom Tom Gang's leader. Reality eventually sinks into Blinx's head as his grin fades into a deep fit of disbelief, only mustering enough energy to ask…
"…What…?"
"Hard to process, I know." Aniki replies. "That bad piggie's stolen the Big Crystal and used it to negate all our Sweepers. Now he's got us workin' for him. Soon as our ships touched down, he was there waiting for us, planning on using us to build the factories to make all those robots."
"Those robots…," Dust wonders aloud. "You mean the ones that were launched in Half and Half Village and Aurora?"
"Yes," he confirms. "See, Benito met Gaius sometime before the war here. Said he could provide a backup army should his plans fail and kept them in storage for as long as everything went down till recently. This is so he can profit off all the fighting, like the no good trog he is…"
"How could he have known about all this," asks Blinx.
"Simple," says Picaro. "Remember the time the Tom Toms assaulted the factory head-on before the Crystal fiasco?"
"Yeah?
"That's why. That whole operation was a set up. The Mother Computer was compromised, giving him perfect access to our records."
"Too bad I didn't notice when I tried to fix the damn thing," Aniki grunts.
"So he went back an' used the BC," ponders Blinx. "I thought that thing was tucked back where it came!"
Picaro immediately tells him, "It was. But then we learned the Time Goddesses vanished when the regime became a thing. So he had his best boys steal it again."
"Somehow, he found a way to reverse engineer it," Aniki adds. "That's also how he was able to get in touch with Gaius. As long as he's got the thing in his possession, he can keep with his time-bending shenanigans."
"Wouldn't be the first time we've dealt with a time manipulator," says the grey fox.
"Yeah," Blinx agrees. "'Cept the last one actually had powers. Benito's got nothin' without that crystal. If we can get ta that, he won't stand a chance…unless he's got more marauders on 'im."
"Those poor men…," Aniki sorrowfully mutters. "We tried to convince them not to take the easy path as he did. But they felt abandoned and wanted to send us a message. We heard it loud and clear."
"So it were the Tom Toms who found them," ponders Ahrah.
"Does this mean you're the only ones fighting," asks Dust.
"Yep," Picaro says. "The rest're civilians or workers for the factories. Save for the main one next to the tower. Benito's flagship. Everything there's automated."
When Picaro finishes, the door to the room opens and another Time Sweeper steps inside with a taller individual wearing pink armor beside them. This tail-less, masked woman wearing a helmet shaped the same as Gaius' men with a double visor doesn't even notice Blinx nor Dust in front of her.
"We've found a good entrance, Aniki," says the woman in a distorted voice. "But if we're gonna strike, we'll need to…"
Seeing Blinx beside Aniki, she pauses. The masked figure removes her helmet, revealing a Caucasian human face. She brushes her short blonde hair and stares blankly at the Time Sweeper, beginning water her eyes. Recognizing her by her face alone, Blinx's ears lift and he stutters…
"P-p-princess…?!"
"Blinx? Can't say I was expecting to see you again," she says, in a soft-spoken voice with the helmet removed.
"Blinx, you know this one," Ahrah asks.
"She, uh…she was my crush back in the day." Blinx blushes and brings his tail to his chest, grasping it nervously. "Aaaaand she's pretty much the reason I got famous…"
"You mean she's the one you saved the world for because she was hot," Dust slips.
"That was your motivation," asks the princess raising an eyebrow.
"Whaaaaaaat?! Noooooo. Are ya kiddin'," Blinx darts at Dust and snarks, "Way to go, sportsy…"
"Didn't you know I was little when I met you?"
"So was I! Y'know how long it takes for us to get past age 15? It's like Nimbat years out 'ere!"
"Well, this is awkward," Picaro interrupts. "Next thing you're gonna say is you still wanna go out with her someday."
"Oh nah. I'm already into a certain bigfoot my boy knows." Blinx nudges arm. "Ain't that right, D? Hehehehe!"
Dust smacks Blinx upside the back of his head head, making everyone bust out laughing!
Lena, also giggling, tells him, "Glad to see you haven't changed then from what little I saw of you."
"Talk about changes," Blinx comments, scratching his head. "I ain't had a clue you joined the Sweepers! I thought you'd still be on your planet!"
"You could call it a change of pace. I got the job when the regime took over. Some Sweepers were deployed at my place, and I helped them reunite with the rest of the survivors."
"You like the gig?"
"Well…", she shrugs and smirks. "It's a living. I'd love to play catch-up, but we've got more important things to worry about now that I've found an entrance to the tower."
"Oh good," Aniki remarks. "Security won't give us Hell, will it?"
"A little, but not a lot." Lena addresses both Blinx and the Mithrarin directly. "Blinx, for a few months, Benito's been doubling down on defenses. We thought it was all meant for Gaius' army, but now that you're here, it's proof enough that it's to deal with you and your friend."
"He may've found out thanks to the remnant and their bribes with Gianni," Dust suggests. "After all, they were in contact with each other."
"I'm guessin' once we get 'dere, it's gonna be nothin' but bad piggies left an' right, right," Blinx questions.
"Not really," Picaro shakes his head. "Burrito's mostly using droids to do his dirty work since they're way more efficient."
"We've already fought a platoon of them," Dust recalls. "But a city's worth…?"
"Sounds like overkill fer us," Blinx chuckles. "I'm startin' to feel flattered."
"So you two know how to fight these guys," questions Aniki.
"Not really a how. More like when," Dust replies. "Do you want 'em cut up now or a bit later?"
"That's what I was hoping to hear." The older Time Sweeper strokes his chin and nods. "Ok. I feel like now's a good time to plan our method of attack."
"Good," says Blinx. "Cause we promised ourselves we'd head back home before bedtime."
"Make it before evening then," Aniki winks.
In the briefing room, a small chamber with only one light on the low ceiling and a single projector displaying footage of Benito's tower on the wall. Every Time Sweeper gathers around in anticipation for their next move, led by Aniki, Picaro, and Lena up front.
Lena begins the meeting, pointing to the display. "Benito's main base of operations lies in that tower at the center of the city. He has factories all over the place powered by a central server. "
"Benito's place is the only one that's fully automated, acting as the brains of the operation," Aniki adds. "If we disable it, everything'll shut down, including the robots."
"Pretty stupid that they're all powered by wifi," snarks Blinx. "What about the workers?"
"Glad you asked. I'm taking a squad to go rescue them. When you shut down the server, we'll have them gathered out the buildings as fast as we can."
"You can do that," Dust asks.
"Aye," NecoJi nods. "There's not a lot of us, but we have a strategy called, 'Causing a Scene'. Soon as they hear Blinx is back, everyone's gonna riot!"
Aniki faces the Mithrarin. "Dust, we know we just met you, but your expertise against Gaius' men is exactly what we need against those robots. We need you and Blinx to be there to lead the charge to the tower."
"Understood sir," Dust nods.
"The place's defenses by now are at an all-time high," says the Princess. "The only entrance I've seen that isn't covered are the canals of New Momentopolis."
"Heh," Blinx chuckles. "Nice touch."
"We don't know where exactly the server room is, so we're gonna need to go by intel once we get inside. All that's left to worry about is Benito cause, remember, he has the Big Crystal with him. Until that thing's brought down, Blinx is the only one with a working Sweeper on him."
"Lucky me…"
"Knowing the big guy, he's probably gonna wanna see you two face-to-face," Picaro adds.
"Probably. But I'm sure we can handle 'em so long as we catch him while he's low. Besides, we've made it dis far, right?"
The crowd behind the young Time Sweeper excitedly cheers, rallying themselves toward Dust and Blinx as if ready for their command.
Picaro steps up to Blinx and shakes his hand, saying, "Well let's do this. Get yourselves prepped and grab plenty a' grub. Operation: Doozy's gonna live up to the name."
All goes according to plan. Every Cat-Sith has assembled, gathering their supplies for the upcoming battle. Regular firearms and goggles are all they have while Blinx continues using his Sweeper. Some finish eating dry food stuffs, others head to the entrances back outside. Dust, meanwhile, continues to look around amazed that the family of Blinx had in fact survived. In addition to Lena, the only human, joining their ranks as a commander. She's the first one to notice Dust wander through the bunker.
"So, you're the legendary Sen-Mithrarin," she asks.
Dust faces her, "O-oh! Yeah. Naturally."
"Glad to see you're on our side. A lot of people we've been in contact with were Warmbloods siding with Gaius. I almost felt bad over how committed they were when his goals never really added up."
"Not sure if it's any secret, but part of me was the General's best friend at one point. Almost a brother. But I don't remember any of this."
An all-white Cat-Sith, a shopkeeper with a nurse uniform, quickly addresses him.
"If I may, that's because you weren't there," Catherine suggests. "His armies were deployed for combat by the time he met Benito."
"Oh, that answers that."
"Just be glad we did our homework before we came to this place," says the Princess. "I struggled a bit since I'm no Time Sweeper, but everyone else, especially Catherine, got it down pretty easily with prior knowledge."
"There's so many new things we've learned ever since we arrived," Catherine continues, leaning closer to Dust out of excitement. "Like, did you know supposedly eons ago, humans used to live on this world before they were eventually phased out by anthros like us?" She backs off, gesturing with her hands like she's telling a story. "The Moonbloods call it...TwoKinds."
"I wasn't there at that time, so I wouldn't have known either," mentions Ahrah.
Suddenly, Catherine darts up, "Wait, I know who…!" She stops herself and sits back on the bench behind her. "Um…sorry. You just sounded like the CEO. A bit softer than him."
Another conversation takes place beside the group between Picaro and Blinx leaning against the wall, admiring all their siblings getting to work.
"I just can't believe, the gang's all here besides Mista' Chief," he says before lowering his head. "Good times, huh…?"
"You miss him, don'chu?"
The young Sweeper hum. "Totally. He was my ol' man. Not literally my dad, but he damn near was one."
"Well…take it from me," Picaro comments patting his friend's shoulder. "He had confidence in you. Said if anyone could get the job done, it's you. As far as I'm concerned, you're just about finished."
"Aw, thanks man," he grins, shrugging off his woes. "Ey, maybe when this is over, I can take some o' ya to Aurora fer a visit. Sure the people 'dere would wanna see what we were after."
"I'm glad ya said that, cause Mick told us another ship passed by Half-And-Half, an' we dunno where it's going." Picaro replies with worry in his voice. "I was thinking it was headed to your place unless we shut the servers down before it lands."
"Can do, but…does Mick know how they knew my boy an' me were there?"
"He didn't." Picaro dismisses. "In fact, no one knew. Half an' Half was just a field test for the droids. And the bigger robot earlier was already in the remnant's possession. This is gonna be a big surprise when he sees you."
Dust soon comes over to the two, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Hey, Blinx, exactly what was Benito's deal back in the day," he asks. "You said he was a thief but I didn't think he was a tyrant."
"He's kinda both, actually," he answers, folding his arms. "I mean, granted, he ain't a General Get-on-Us, but…well, yeah. What he's had us go through was basically him."
"Let's not forget when he captured the Princess and almost doomed the whole universe with the BC," Picaro recalls.
"So he's impulsive, then," Dust replies.
"Pretty much," he nods.
Seeing Dust with just a sword, Pelon walks over curiously to the Mithrarin with a second Sweeper in his hands. In a soft voice, he asks, "Need a peashooter, Dust?"
"Oh no thanks," answers the swordsman. "As long as I've got Ahrah on me, I'm good."
"Greetings, ma'am," Ahrah responds.
"I'm a dude."
"O-oh, my apologies," he quickly stutters.
"Woah, check out the sword 'ere makin' a goof," mocks Blinx.
"You do not need to rub it in."
"Heehe," Pelon chuckles. "I'm just glad you're working with us. The famous Sen-Mithrarin gets to team up with the Time Sweepers!"
Dust starts pondering, "Is there like a procedure I'm gonna have to follow or…?"
"Not when you're workin' with us," Blinx comments. "Sportsy, yer about to watch how we do things…the hard way."