Super Smash Quest - Story - Chapter 265: Backstories, Past and Future

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Date: April 9th & 10th, 2006.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers are at HQ, as usual. Though there isn't much to say about it, besides the fact that today is some sort of clear skies overhead. The sun is sort of low in the sky, and Metal is hard at work. Except he's 50 feet away from the work, and busy juggling items he found on the ground. For now, at least, Kuja's month+ long overcast weather powers appear to have malfunctioned. The grass around the stadium is green, and the glass is clear. The glasses used for drinking are dirty, possibly because Mack the repairman can't work here for now. The whole land is somewhat quiet, though a few birds can be heard. Most o' the Questers would possibly be in R&R, having some rest for once. On the television are reruns of "Attack of the Non-Kuja-Supporting Monster that is over 50 feet tall."

Aribar leans back in a recliner, looking over his spellbook and muttering arcane words under his breath...

Julian's currently in front of the TV, munching on some tortilla chips he found in the kitchen.

Metal Man (GM): R&R is a rather large-ish room, for sure. Save for the nearby steps, which take up a small portion of it.

Charles is in the room, spacing out. He wakes up from nothing, remembers something, forgets it, then stares. After that, he picks up the holy branch and goes to find Aribar.

Metal Man (GM): Aribar would notice Charles looking for him. Even though they're in the same room.

Aribar looks up at Charles... And would also notice the branch. "Is that what I think it is?"

Charles stared away again. He hears the words, and after 13 seconds of silence, he nods, but the back of his head is facing Ari. Charles then turns to face Aribar and walks forward.

Aribar closes his spellbook and balances it on the arm of the recliner before getting up out of the comfortable seat to face Charles.

Charles extends both arms, holding the holy branch of Antioch--er, Deku Tree. "I went back to make sure you got this."

Julian: .oO(Here we go...)

Charles: "So... here you go."

Aribar: "Thanks for accepting it on my behalf... That blast of dark energy from that enigmatic man really knocked me out." *holds out his hand to accept the branch.**

Charles places the large branch into Aribar's one hand.

Julian: .oO(The hell does 'enigmatic' mean anyway...)

Aribar looks over the branch, ideas formulating in his mind as to what to do next. .

Metal Man (GM): Just as those two guys are talking about that, Lord Crump appears on the patio and then leaps on in through a window. He falls on his face, then gets up, dusting himself off. He makes the 'X' salute at nobody in particular.

Lord Crump: *huff.* *pant.* "Some... news... for you..." *cough.*

Aribar looks to the new entry, trying to remember if he knows this person or not...

Julian: "...The HELL are you doin' here?"

Aribar: "Aren't you an enemy of the Questers?"

Metal Man (GM): He looks like some weirdo in an elaborate costume.

Charles turns to face... another of him.

Lord Crump: *cough.* "My master was defeated. Thus, the X-naut empire is MINE! ...But the entire empire exploded. Not what I'm here to say, though."

Charles: "You seem to evade Death, seeing as how many times you've died."

Julian: "So why you here? Say it quick, 'fore I decide to eject you from the grounds."

Lord Crump: "There's a potential ally in the ruins of Eisnaught!"

Julian: "Found him."

Metal Man (GM): He coughs again, having not quite caught his breath.

Lord Crump: "What? No... not that old man. He wouldn't even be worth coming here over!"

Julian: "Then who the hell you talkin' 'bout?"

Lord Crump: "Ask him, if you don't believe me. But I never lie, of course! Ho-ho."

Aribar: "To repeat Julian's question... Who are you talking about?"

Metal Man (GM): Lord Crump turns to face Aribar.

Lord Crump: "An issue of utmost importance! You need all the help you can get, right?"

Julian: "...Yeah..."

Charles: "...I'm still stumped as to how long that patio has been outside. Honestly, no one told me about that."

Julian: "We have a patio?"

Charles: "Apparently. He landed on it to get in here!"

Lord Crump: "I didn't know you had one either."

Aribar: "... You people worry me more and more each day."

Julian: "Huh... Learn a new thing everyday, ya?"

Lord Crump: "Anyway. My time here is too short. I must be going. Ask that old man you keep on clamoring about for the details."

Metal Man (GM): He makes the X salute, and then leaps out through a different window.

Julian: "... To Ivan's office, then?"

Charles: "Something is amiss."

Aribar: "... 'Join the Questers. Go to foreign lands. Meet people who jump through your window. Save the world before dinner.' Sounds like an appropriate recruitment ad."

Julian: "Too bad. We got nothin' else to do." *Julian gets up and walks on over to Ivan's office.*

Charles: "If that was Lord Crump, where was his cliched laugh and his trademark statement for when he leaves?"

Aribar shrugs and goes to deposit the branch in his room before heading to Ivans office.

Charles heads to Ivan as well.

Julian: "You're thinking of Grodus. Crump's the guy in the giant robot."

Charles shakes his head. "Both of them have their own taunting laughs. I... will explain later."

Metal Man (GM): The Questers reach Ivan's office.

Julian: "Whatever. They're both chumps."

Metal Man (GM): Coincidentally, his map of Nintendus shows a big dot over Eisnaught, which has a whole ton of lines coming off of it.

Ivan Robotnik: "How odd. You came just as I detected some sort of massive fluctuation at my old city."

Julian: "...Looks like Crump was tellin' the truth. Ivan, what'z up?"

Charles: "Professor."

Ivan Robotnik: "Well, just a few moments ago, some sort of time fluctuation caused that thing to appear."

Metal Man (GM): He points at the waves.

Ivan Robotnik: "It appears to be an ally. It also appears to be... strange."

Charles: "It might explain how Crump appeared."

Metal Man (GM): There is a clock on the wall suddenly teleport off of the wall and onto the desk.

Julian: "So we go an' look for it?"

Ivan Robotnik: "I sure hope it explains that, because I can't begin to say how strange that is."

Charles: "OH HOLY crap!"

Julian: "...Yeah, that ain't good."

Charles says that and breathes in surprise.

Ivan Robotnik: "...The time disturbance is centered on Eisnaught. I don't care what it is; it needs to be... turned off."

Aribar: "... I'm wondering whether that should be classified as a normal occurrence at the Quester HQ or not. Hrm."

Charles: .oO(It feels unusual to have a mission debriefing by someone other than Illian.)

Julian: "A'ight."

Charles: "That everything, Sir Ivan, or is there anything else?"

Ivan Robotnik: "So it's settled. I have a warp pipe set up that goes there from the warp room. Your mission is to find out what is causing this and stop it. Oh, yes, and there might be an ally involved."

Julian: "Solid. C'mon!" *Julian heads out to da pipe.*

Charles: "Are you still working on the tracking device, sir?"

Ivan Robotnik: "Well, I was getting somewhere, until this happened."

Aribar follows Julian.

Charles: "Very well. I will see you later." *leaves for the warp room.*

Metal Man (GM): The Questers walk to the warp room. The room itself appears to be warped today; it glows a nasty shade of green. This light is coming from the blue Eisnaught pipe.

Julian: *Jump.*

Charles: "This is making me feel queasy; let's get this over with."

Aribar: "Here we go!" *The elf hops into the pipe.*

Charles dives feet first into the pipe.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers leap into the pipe; it feels like swimming in water, this time. They reappear on the other side... and see the time distortion first hand. The Questers are in front of the ruins of Eisnaught. Which then becomes the under-construction city of Eisnaught. And then the metropolis of Eisnaught. Then there is it exploded, and becomes normal, and so on. The Questers even see The Void destroying it, then that being rewound and it un-destroying itself. Proof that The Void isn't involved--he doesn't usually get effected by such effects.

Julian: "...So... can we go in?"

Aribar: "... What in the name of Erwin is going on?"

Metal Man (GM): There is a path, the very same one originally used to get in. It looks safe, despite being surrounded by such... chaos.

Charles: "I can see a way in, so yes." *walks the path of the proph----the path to the way inside Eisnaught.*

Aribar sets his hand on Moonlight's hilt and follows Charles into the chaotic city.

Metal Man (GM): Charles walks right in, as does Aribar; they both get an inside view of the chaos.

Julian: *Path walkin'.*

Metal Man (GM): This walk takes the Questers to the center of the disturbance, immediately. There is a massive, tube-shaped machine, with a bunch of glowing things spinning around the middle. Steps lead up to it; there's some sort of controls on it, too.

Aribar starts up the steps. "Can it really be this simple for once?"

Charles: "This might be the cause of the disturbances." Goes up the steps.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers walk up; it is possible to tell the energy is coming from here. It vibrates oddly and hums a syncopated rhythm.

Julian: "...This is ridiculous..." *step steppin'.*

Charles: "I'm feelin' really queasy. Gotta be the source."

Metal Man (GM): The controls are immense; thousands of switches, buttons, and little displays, all of which display things the Questers don't understand.

Julian: "So we go'an smash it?"

Charles: "For lord sake, man! Destroying this immensely large console would prove disastrous."

Metal Man (GM): A stable sphere of energy is in the center of the whole thing.

Julian: "So what we gonna do? I sure as hell can't figure this panel out!"

Charles: "None of us can, Julian, though that sphere in the center be a... curiousity to investigate." *walks up towards the sphere and flips out his dex.*

Dex: "DING! Portal to unknown area--class 1."

Aribar: "So now we wander dimensional corridors..."

Dex: "A highly stable portal which leads to someplace unknown. It is likely this machine came out of it; for some reason, it has been left here. The sphere is about 20 feet in diameter, large enough for any humanoid lifeforms to use it. Unknown location; unknown creator. Approach with caution. End of entry."

Julian: "...Man, this ain't gonna turn out good. I can FEEL it."

Charles: "Well, looks like we found ourselves a new option. Who wants to go in first?"

Julian: "I ain't doin' it."

Charles notices the pause... he goes in.

Aribar: "Hrm... Hear any screams of pain, Julian?" *The elf says this once Charles steps in.*

Metal Man (GM): Charles walks in. There is his body explode into dust, which is then sucked into the portal. Some lights and stuff flicker on and off, indicating he was sent... somewhere.

Julian: "WHOA!"

Aribar: "Okay... So would it be safe to assume Charles is... Dust in the wind? Or did he go somewhere?"

Julian: "Man, whatever it is, it don't look comfortable..."

Dex: "The machine indicates he has been teleported to the destination this machine came from."

Aribar: "Huh... So he didn't die... This is against my better judgement." *The elf closes his eyes and runs into the portal.*

Metal Man (GM): *'PORT* Aribar vanishes into the portal the same way Charles did.

Julian: "...Awww, here we go again..." *Portal warpin'.*

Metal Man (GM): Julian is also exploded into dust. Then, he is sent... into the portal. All three of the Questers would suddenly reappear where they last were, except the buildings have been removed and some sort of memorial has been set up.

Dex: "According to local time servers, you have warped approximately one year into the future."

Editor's Note: This ought to be rich, given I know what the future is now that... this is being logged 6 years after it happened. :p

Julian: "..."

Metal Man (GM): Behind the Questers, there is the sphere where they had come from.

Dex: "Incoming communication."

Julian: "I dunno if this is gonna be good or bad, but I'm pickin' bad..."

Metal Man (GM): The dexes beep. 'Guess the Questers better answer it.

Charles opens his dex.

Aribar looks around a bit before answering the dex.

Julian: *Dex flippin'.*

Ivo Robotnik: (Dex) "Welcome Questers... to the world of the future!"

Metal Man (GM): ...the Questers can't quite believe their eyes. It is Robotnik, but this world doesn't look evil, tainted, or damaged in any way possible.

Julian: "I called it. ...Or did I..."

Charles: "...Robotnik."

Ivo Robotnik: (Dex) "Some sort of... errr... unknown device must have sent you here. I picked it up on my radar. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be set to let you go back... so we're going to have to do some work to make it possible for you to restore time to what it should be."

Metal Man (GM): Just as he says that, the Ninja guy the Questers met earlier also appears out of the portal.

Julian: "'Bout time you showed up."

Aribar nods at the ninja before looking into his dex. "Wait... This is the future? A world where Kuja is defeated?!"

Julian: "And how the hell are you in charge, but it ain't evil or anything?"

Ivo Robotnik: "I can't tell you that. It might damage the past. And no, I am not in charge."

The Ninja: "So that's where the weird thing lead to." *he saids as he looks around.*

Ivo Robotnik: "You just happened to have appeared right outside an area which I happen to monitor... I have some disputed territory with some people you may remember."

Metal Man (GM): Ninja see a flat, open field, which looks a lot better than the one he was originally sent to.

Julian: *Checks out that memorial...*

Metal Man (GM): There's a weird memorial which says "To Eisnaught." And up ahead, there's some sort of... building. 'In memorian of the many who died when Kuja took control of the world. Monument established: ???" Not possible to read when the monument was made, nor anything else on it. It's, like, fuzzed out.

Charles goes up to read the memorial as well... to see what it looks like.

Metal Man (GM): It's like a massive 10-foot-tall tombstone.

Julian: "...Hmph." *To Building!*

Ivo Robotnik: "This is a bit of a bad situation... hmmm."

Aribar talks into his Dex. "You're blocking anything that will give us insight as to what the future holds, such as this tombstone, aren't you?"

Charles: "Suspicious."

Ivo Robotnik: "To prevent you from wrecking the past, yes."

Charles goes to the building as well.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers walk on up to the building.

The Ninja: "This place it a lot better... That's for sure." *He takes a glance at the Memorial, but he's more interested in the building, which he runs to.*

Ivo Robotnik: "Now then... you must find a certain stone to get back in time. It looks like this."

Metal Man (GM): The dexes show a weird-looking stone thing.

Aribar follows the others while keeping an eye on his dex.

Ivo Robotnik: "It is in that building dead ahead."

Julian: "Sounds like a plan..." *heads in.*

Metal Man (GM): The building there is is, indeed, a large-looking skyscraper.

Charles goes into it.

Metal Man (GM): It doesn't appear built to repel invasions. As the Questers walk in, there is a human guard with a metal detector.

Charles: "Skyscraper. Haven't seen one in a long while."

The Ninja: "Looks like more climbing." *Follows behind.*

Guard: "Hey! You can't just come waltzing in here! This is a classified area!"

Charles stops.

Aribar frowns and wonders if it would be wise to say that they're the Questers. .

Metal Man (GM): He puts his right hand up in a gesture of 'stop.'

Julian: "Sez who?"

Guard: "If I told you that, then the identity of this place would be compromised. You'd do best to turn around and leave."

Julian: "Sorry, but somethin' we need's in here."

Charles holds up his dex. "Julian, don't make trouble."

The Ninja: "What if we got those spiffy vistor tags, then can we go through?"

Julian: "I'm not makin' trouble! 'Jus tryin' to get inside!"

Guard: "You'd need permission first. That could take years, seeing as this building is so secret, I'm not even allowed above the second floor!"

Charles looks to his dex, wondering if Ivo is still on communications.

Metal Man (GM): For some reason, there is not Robotnik's image on the dex.

Guard: "What were you thinking coming here, anyway?"

The Ninja: "We could help you sneak a peek on the second floor if you want. No one will know."

Aribar: "We require an object inside this building."

Julian: "I jus' said that!"

Guard: "Well, the objects in this building are important. Nobody's allowed to have them. Not even us."

Charles: "All three of you; allow me to talk to the guard."

Metal Man (GM): The guard stands there, looking cross.

Charles walks closer to the guard. He looks to his dex. "Odd, I would think Ivo would've said something about clearance into this building."

The Ninja: "So many secrets. Like the many clans I face back home."

Aribar steps back...

Julian: "So we gon' hafta force our way in?"

Guard: "Ivo? IVO? I wouldn't let him in here if he offered me a million bucks!"

Charles puts a finger up to Julian. "Don't... start."

Julian: "Well there ain't no other option, man!"

Charles simply repeats. "Don't... start."

Julian: "He ain't lettin' us in, there ain't no OTHER way in, so we'se gonna hafta waste him!"

Guard: "Look. If you really want in here, you should at least stop trying to get in here right now. Anyone who so much as walks in these doors has a good chance of being arrested."

Charles: "Shut... UP, Jewels."

Julian: "You tellin' me you thoughta somethin' else?"

Charles puts his finger up to Julian. "Let me speak."

Julian: "Then speak, moon-man!"

Guard: "Just tell me what your problem is so that I can get back to drinking coffee."

Charles: "Sir, we stumbled through a transporter from the past, Ivo contacted us, told us that a stone would allow us to get us back the ruins of Eisnaught and correct the time anolmoly that brought us here."

Guard: "What? Are you crazy? This is like a freaking episode of Back to the Future!"

Metal Man (GM): He doesn't seem to believe Charles.

Julian: *Facepalm.* "No one listens to Julian..."

Metal Man (GM): He starts... laughing.

Guard: "Is this some sort of prank? Really. Tell me if it is. You're killing me."

Aribar: "Mind if I try, Charles?"

Charles: "I don't even know if there are Questers on this world as we speak, but we are of the past."

Julian: "Charles! In case you haven't noticed, he ain't buying your story!"

Charles: "Julian, at least I'm TRYING here." *steps to the side.* "Be my guest, Ari."

Julian: "I'd be tryin' too, if you let me waste him!"

Guard: "Hm. Ari. I may have---" *SMACK.*

Metal Man (GM): He falls down, hit from behind. The Ninja is behind him. That guard is KO'd.

Julian: "...What the HELL did I say, Charles?"

The Ninja: "Too much talking."

Julian: "What did I say?! The only way in was to waste him!"

Metal Man (GM): Now the Questers are free to walk right around the metal detectors.

Aribar: "... Good job."

Julian: "Maybe you oughta LISTEN once in a while, ya?" *heads around the metal dectectors.*

Charles: "To 'waste people' is not trying... foo'."

Metal Man (GM): Right past them are some stairs.

Aribar heads past, not through, the metal detectors and up the stairs.

Julian: *stair steppin'.*

Charles sorta makes a mocking of Julian of sorts. He goes around the metal detectors... looking at the guard. "You really should've believed me."

Metal Man (GM): There's glass walls to the left and right, through which it is possible to see the outside. The minute the Questers step up the stairs, though, they spy yet some more security people. These guys look a bit more beefy than that guy who the Ninja knocked right on over.

The Ninja follows behind the group around the detectors and up the stairs.

Metal Man (GM): It's an open plaza-area, with elevators in a corridor dead ahead, and two corridors, to the left and right, which the Questers don't know where they go. Robotnik suddenly reappears on the Questers' Dexes.

Ivo Robotnik: "Head to the elevator and go to the fifth floor, without triggering the alarms."

Julian: "You suggest doin' this how?"

Metal Man (GM): There are three guards milling about this plaza area, which consists of a whole ton of tables and chairs. The tables are fairly high; the Questers could crouch under them.

Ivo Robotnik: "You're the Questers. You tell me."

Julian: "You know where the corridors lead?"

Aribar: "I do not like this. We're sneaking around like rotten thieves."

Ivo Robotnik: "The middle one is the only one which matters. The elevator there can take you to the vault. Also, if you fought your way in, you might kill innocent people."

Julian: "You wanna get this over with or not?"

Charles: "Yes."

Julian: "So you go first, Mr. Negotiator."

The Ninja: "Thieves sneak with hand down someone's pants. We sneak to save lives."

Charles: "Mm-mm. You wouldn't try my way, so I'm not going to try your way. Someone else can go first."

Metal Man (GM): The guards mill about, looking both bored and muscle-bound at the same time. All 3 of them.

Julian: "Who's way turned out workin', punk?"

Charles closes his dex and whispers something to Ari.

Aribar frowns, not quite believing The Ninja's story.

The Ninja: "I will go first. It's just like my old training days."

Charles whispers unbeknownst to the other two Questers, "Between you and me, it seems like Ivo wants the stone for himself, and not us. He may be up to his old tricks."

The Ninja: "...Old tricks? Wait, who's Ivo?"

Aribar whispers back to Charles, "... Did we even try using the portal to head back?"

Charles responds silently, "No. What's also suspicious is how the guard reacted to Ivo. This is why I'm starting to believe he may be tricking us to do the dirty work. It seems like him to do so." Charles then turns to the ninja. "We can begin when you lead."

Julian: "Not answerin' again, Charles?"

The Ninja: "Right. Think light footed and silence thoughts." *He waits till the moment is right, and starts to head towards the table.*

Charles simply smiles at Julian and turns his head to the ninja.

Metal Man (GM): The Ninja sneaks right underneath one of many tables. No guards notice him.

Aribar decides to follow Zeltara's tracks...

Charles: "This is where we may get into trouble."

Metal Man (GM): Aribar's feet squeak a little; a guard or two glance off in his direction, but don't seem to notice him too much.

Julian: "Yeah, the whole sneaking thing didn't work for you so well in Grodus' tower."

Charles: "It was X-zone shielding. No way to sneak into it."

Julian: "Metal Gear Laser."

Charles: "Since you're the faster of both of us, you go first. When comes to moving as a shadow, I suck."

The Ninja looks around, and waits for the others.

Metal Man (GM): The Ninja sees the tables, the guards, and the corridor with the elevators, which is another sneak away. However, it is harder a gap to sneak across; it has a large open area with nothing to sneak with.

Julian: "I'm waitin' for someone to make it across first."

The Ninja thinks to himself, then he looks around the table for any 'interesting' magazines.*

Charles decides to go closer to Julian and whisper something. "You believing this whole stunt that Ivo wants us to pull is nothing short of another trick by Robotnik for someone to do the dirty work for him?"

Julian: "Man, I don't care. I just wanna get this over with, and get back."

Metal Man (GM): The Ninja finds an interesting magazine. Unfortunately, it is gun ammunition rather than a magazine. It looks like it could be made to explode and make a big flash; it's plasma-filled.

Charles: "He... could've been lying about the stone being required to go back into the past. We never tried going back. Just in case... be prepared to whoop on Ivo in case he does do it."

Metal Man (GM): Ninja and Ari see Charles and Julian discussing things instead of coming over. Weird.

Julian: "Always am."

Charles decides that this will take forever. He goes to sneak under a table.

Aribar says nothing, but wonders if Charles is talking about Ivo to Julian...

Julian: "I used to do this kidna stuff for a livin', man..." *Sneaky Sneak.*

Metal Man (GM): Charles and Julian also sneak on over.

The Ninja thinks what he sure do with the ammo. Then just shrugs and slides it to where the eyes would no longer be towards where they need to sneak.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers are all now at the tables; all they need to do is sneak to the elevator, which is considerably harder, as there is no cover to it.

Julian: "...The hell you just slide over?"

The Ninja: "Distraction."

Julian: "That being?"

The Ninja: "Easy for sneaking."

Julian: "No, what was the distraction?"

The Ninja: "Some... Ammo thing."

Julian: "...What kind of ammo..."

The Ninja just shrugs at this. Guns really aren't this thing. He'll talk days unend about swords and skills, but guns he'll just play off like a toy.

Julian: "What kind of ammo? What'd it look like? Orbs? Shells? Bullets?"

Aribar: "Perhaps in hostile territory isn't the best place to have a conversation?"

The Ninja: "Pointy ears is right. We wait for guard to notice and sneak more."

Charles: "Detonate the distraction at the right time."

Metal Man (GM): Some guard guy does notice, at least, due tot he prolific conversation.

Julian: "'Cause if it was orbs, we coulda used the plasma like a flashbang and blind 'em."

Guard: "I hear... voices... what could that be?"

Guard2: "I don't know. It sounds like people."

Guard3: "We better shoot the voices to be sure." *Takes out a futuristic gun.*

Charles whispers. "...Now?"

Guard: "What if they're... uhhh... I don't know what they could be that we wouldn't want to shoot."

Julian: "...What now? How are we gonna set it off?"

Guard3: "I'm bored. Perhaps we could get away with shooting away some homeless people who got by that clueless guy who blocks the entrance."

The Ninja: "I pull distraction."

Charles says silently, "Silent voice, Julian. Silent one."

Julian: *silent.* "Can you shoot fire or somethin'?"

Metal Man (GM): Mr. "Shoot everything" man starts walking towards the Questers at once, the other guys looking at him like he's a maniac.

Guard: "Didn't you have to read the policy that said 'Shoot only in self defense?"

Charles: *silently.* "Pull the distraction, dammit!"

Guard3: "I must defend my free time from people who could bother me."

Julian: *silently.* "I can't remotely set off a plasma cartridge!"

Guard2: "Oh well. At least we won't get fired."

Metal Man (GM): Guard3 is now really close. He's also sorta close to the plasma cartridge.

Aribar: "Whatever you're going to do, do it now!"

Julian: "...Aribar, use Bang on it!"

Guard3: "I have to wonder why there's so much yelling. It isn't even break time yet!"

Aribar decides to cast the explosive, area of effect Bang spell on the ammo.

Julian: *quickly closes his eyes and plugs his ears.*

Metal Man (GM): *BOOM.*

Guard3: "Ahhh! My eyes!"

Metal Man (GM): The entire room flashes green.

Aribar: "Gah!" *The elf does yell this out... And is blinded by the green flash.*

Metal Man (GM): The Ninja guy, meanwhile, picks up a chair, and acts as if the chair is talking. By smashing it over the head of Guard 3.

Julian: "GO GO GO!" *opens his eyes after the flash happens and rushes towards the elevator.*

Charles runs as well.

Guard 3: "Oof!" *Falls over.*

The Ninja: "...Oops! My puppet mastery needs work."

Guard: "I'd call security, but I can't seem to see my radio."

Aribar staggers in the direction of Julian's voice.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers run at the elevator, which is on this floor. Lucky. Are they gonna press the elevator open button?

Julian: *waits until everyone's in and hits the button for floor 5.*

Metal Man (GM): Julian hits the button to open the elevator, and find it spacious. He also sees the button for floor 5.

Charles enters the opened elevator.

Metal Man (GM): The flash begins to dissipate, though the guards act like they're blinded still. Plus, Guard 3 has a chair stuck on his head.

Aribar rubs at his eyes once in the elevator, hoping the blindness isn't too permanent.

Julian: *hits it the button once everyone's in! GO GO GO!*

Metal Man (GM): The doors close, and the Questers have a peaceful trip up...

Ivo Robotnik: "Took you long enough. I ate lunch while you were wandering on the second floor. Now then. All you have to do is walk into the vault, take the gem, and get out of the building. The gem will energize the portal for you."

Metal Man (GM): The elevator goes up. Floor 3... floor 4...

The Ninja: "Not as easy as fat one makes it sound."

Metal Man (GM): The light for floor 4 lights up. Somebody must be going on the elevator!

Julian: *Looks up for a hatch or something.*

Metal Man (GM): This elevator has the standard buttons, including 'Close doors' 'open doors' 'Floors 1-10' and stuff. There's also a hatch. The Questers have about little time to do something before the elevator doors open.

Aribar: "What will happen to the gem, Ivo?"

Julian: *Opens hatch, flies up through it, and motions for everyone to follow.*

The Ninja does his best ninja hide... through the hatch.

Metal Man (GM): Aribar finds that he is no longer on his dex. Again. Getting through the hatch is Easy.

Aribar: "... I say we bail."

Metal Man (GM): Mainly because this place is woefully undefended. This world must be some sort of peaceful one.

Aribar jumps up through the hatch. .

Metal Man (GM): Up the hatch all of the Questers but Charles go. What does Charles do?

Charles jumps as well.

Julian closes the hatch once everyone's through.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers climb on up, and the hatch is closed. Whoever gets on has no clue that the Questers are aboard. There are the doors for floor 5 just in front of them.

Julian: *tries forcing it open.*

Metal Man (GM): The Questers could probably open them up before the elevator goes anywhere--- they slide on open.

Charles tries to go through before the elevator moves.

Julian: *moves on through.*

Metal Man (GM): The Questers see/enter another hallway; this one is narrow, with locked doors on both sides. One big door called 'Gem room' has a squad of five men in SWAT uniforms guarding it. They're too far down the hallway to notice the Questers.

Aribar follows the others.

The Ninja stays close behind.

Aribar: "There's no way we can sneak past them..."

Charles: "Okay... so our options are again very limited."

Julian: "Tha's the ...lesse, 3rd time I've been right this mission... What's your count Charles? Oh right, 0."

Charles: "Julian, knock it off."

Julian: "I'm jus' sayin' you should listen to me more."

Charles: "If I did, I would be LIKE you. That thought is... scary."

Aribar: "So do we fight or be diplomatic?"

Charles looks at the SWATs. "At the very least."

Aribar: "I would perfer the latter."

The Ninja: "Would more you mean less talking? We come up with plan then we do action."

Metal Man (GM): The swats are men in riot gear. They've got gas masks and plastic shields. And what look like automatic laser rifles.

Julian: "The only thing we CAN do is waste 'em! That guy on the first floor didn't believe Charles, what makes you think these guys are?"

Charles: "Diplomacy gets us nowhere with heavily armed men seeing people who want to take something they are guarding."

The Ninja: "I say we surpise them."

Julian: "It's a a narrow hallway! Nowhere TO surprise!"

The Ninja: "To the untrained."

Charles: "You underestimate the ways of the ninja, Jewels."

Julian: "A Brightly-LIT hallway! There's nothin' here but us, those guards, and some locked doors!"

The Ninja tries to get an idea of sneaking wotund by looking around the place closely.

Charles: "Julian, there are more ways than going the way of fisticuffs 100% of the time."

Aribar: "Might as well let him try. I can cover him with long range spells from this safe distance if needed..."

Metal Man (GM): Seems that they aren't looking at the ceiling.

Julian: "Yeah, but that seems like that's our only option, now ain't it?"

Charles: "Like The Ninja said, 'To the untrained eye.'"

The Ninja is now looking up to see a good way to get to the ceiling and if there's anything to hold onto the ceiling.Charles: "While I am untrained, I at least admit it."

Julian: "Man *censored.* that! I don't buy any of that mystical Orient 'way of the ninja' bull.****. The only thing to do is go down there, and bust their skulls open!"

Metal Man (GM): There's no way to hold onto the smooth ceiling. At least, it looks that way to the Ninja.

The Ninja: "...If only I could fly."

Charles: *sweatdrop.*

Aribar: "Well, I could blast you down the hall. But it would be flashy, loud, and painful."

Julian: "...Fly, you say?"

The Ninja: "Fly quietly."

Charles: "Your rocket boots make noise, Julian."

Julian: "So we got no other options left. Why we still talkin' when we could be down there and through the door by now?"

Charles: "Before ya go gung-ho like you usually do, let's see we get the initiative for once?"

The Ninja: "Or stick to ceiling... Or Wall?" *Looks again, this time at the wall near the ceiling.*

Aribar: "... Good idea, Charles. We can wail on them from afar and get the first volley in."

Charles: "I have no range attacks."

Julian: "BS. You got those miniguns... or'd you lose them?"

Aribar: "You should invest in a crossbow or something then."

Charles: "None of your concern, Mr. Sawyer."

Julian: "I got my hat, but that's about it."

Charles: "Aribar, ready the great Thordain. Julian, the Hat Trick fedora at the same time."

Metal Man (GM): Note: The guards have some wicked laser machineguns. They could probably retaliate with ranged attacks of their own.

Aribar quietly unsheathes Moonlight and points it at the guards, ready to sling some spells. "Now?"

Charles: "...Aye."

Julian quickly activates his Shield Badge.

The Ninja: "If we must. Ceiling was good idea."

Charles: "But never got out of the blueprint stages."

Julian: "Because it woudln'a worked anyway." *Julian removes his fedora and readies it to launch.*

Charles: "Fisticuffs." *he says that mockingly.*

Aribar fires his Thordain spell at the guardsmen. Electricity storms down upon all of them, lighting them up like christmas trees.

Metal Man (GM): They can't dodge what they don't see coming. *BZAPPP.*

Julian follows up by Hat Trickin' 'em.

Metal Man (GM): *Hat trick... damage...* They're hit, and they raise their guns and fire back. However, their guns don't fire anything.

SWAT1: "...We're under attack by allies? Impossible!"

SWAT2: "Our guns are no use. Someone has hacked our computers. Retreat!"

Julian: "...WHAT?!"

Aribar calls out. "The Questers are your allies?"

Metal Man (GM): They all run to a side room before they can really hear the Questers.

The Ninja: "Att- Allies? This is the most disgraceful moment."

Metal Man (GM): And lock the door behind them.

Julian: "... Man, what the *CENSORED* just happend?!"

Metal Man (GM): This leaves the vault door wide open.

Aribar: "... Okay. We stop this now." *walks over to the locked door and knocks on it.*

Julian catches his hat on the return as he heads towards the vault.

Metal Man (GM): It's heavy, but it also... unlocks itself for the Questers.

Charles: "It's time we get the outta outta this year and return to our own timeline." *goes to the vault.*

Metal Man (GM): An indicator says 'Authorized users detected.' And inside, there is... a red gem, sitting on a pedestal.

Julian: "That must be it."

Aribar calls to the people inside the room. "I think we made a mistake! Are you friends of the Questers?"

The Ninja: "...Does that mean Jewels lost that one?"

Julian: "No, I'm the one who said we should attack them. You guys wasted time trying to attack from above."

Charles: "Let's stop this bickering and grab the stone." *goes to pick it up.*

Julian quickly turns towards the Ninja. "And EITHER of you call me 'Jewels' again and yo' brain's 'll be decoratin' the floor."

Metal Man (GM): Charles walks right in and picks up the gem. Aribar finds tt's locked; nobody responds.

Ivo Robotnik: "Good, good. You have the gem now. All you need to do is re-enter the ground floor and leave."

The Ninja: "I don't know how to decorate floor. But I have found anger classes for you."

Aribar yells into the Dex, "Don't hang up!"

Charles pockets the gem and leaves the vault. "I think the classes are what made him this way in the first place."

Julian: "Shut yo' damn mouth and let's get outta here." *exits vault.*

Charles slightly chuckles.

Aribar: "What is going on here? Why did the guards call us allies just now? Why are their guns not working?"

Charles goes back to the elevator.

The Ninja just shrugs and runs back to the elevator.

Metal Man (GM): Aribar yells into the dex. He gets... static.

Julian: *Elevator!*

Aribar heads into the elevator, determined to get some answers.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers reach the elevator... the buttons are the same, with floors 1-10 displayed on it.

Julian: *Floor 5.* *1.*

The Ninja: "...So does that mean I knocked out two of our guards?"

Charles: "We don't know, but I just want to leave this world and return to the one I'm familiar with, desolate as it may be."

Aribar just keeps silent and hopes he's making the right choice.

Julian: "You did nothin'."

Metal Man (GM): The elevator goes all the way down to the first floor. The Questers notice that it leads into a hallway that is under the stairs; it then goes to the left and right (like a square) and up to the entrance. Where the metal detectors and that KO'd guard should be.

Julian: *Stair steppin'.*

Charles follows Julian.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers walk all the way back to there, carrying the gem with them. It looks dull, but shiny.

Julian: *walks on out.*

Aribar heads out and up the steps.

Metal Man (GM): The Questers go to exit, then discover the doors are... shut. They refuse to open for the Questers.

Julian: "...What the *CENSORED*?!"

Aribar: "Ivo is up to something. We should take the emerald back and get out of here."

The Ninja: "Sense tells me that this is a trap."

Julian: "Son of a *censored.*!" *punches the door.*

Metal Man (GM): The door shakes a little. That agent you hit stands up. He looks a lot less... stupid... now.

The Ninja: "So what's the plan now?"

Guard: "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I think I know who you are now. ...You said... you were from... the past?"

Aribar: "We're the Questers. We're from the past."

Charles: "I said that before."

Aribar: "Is Ivo your enemy? Are the Questers your friends?"

The Ninja: "I'm just from elsewhere."

Charles: "Aribar, let him answer before you continue your question barrage."

Guard: "...You... appear to have the credentials."

Metal Man (GM): He walks up to the door... and unlocks it for the Questers.

Charles: "...We've been had."

Guard: "Ivo? ...I'm not allowed to pry into your business... you're also classified people. Just... go. Before anything bad happens. Time might be... damaged... if you stay here."

Charles: "...It already has been when he contacted us."

The Ninja: "...I hope you enjoy ninja Massage! Have a good day!" *Bows and runs outside.*

Metal Man (GM): The Questers run on outside; the portal is right nearby.

Charles: "There's no going back except to the past. Where we belong."

Guard: "I hope you have a good trip... ugh."

Charles leaves the building and goes to the portal.

Metal Man (GM): He lays down and passes out again.

Julian: "..."

Aribar: "I should go back to hating all Robotniks."

Julian: "Whatever..." *walks out.*

Aribar: "The whole family's too darn confusing. ."

Metal Man (GM): The Questers walk out, now with the gem in hand.

Aribar follows Julian out, confident they're doing the wrong thing.

Charles: "So, all this time, we were wrong to listen to him."

Metal Man (GM): The whole mission has left the Questers confused, but not quite out of the loop.

The Ninja jumps into the portal.

Metal Man (GM): Ivo appears on the dex.

Aribar: "I say we leave the gem behind."

Charles mutters under his breath, "And Julian."

Ivo Robotnik: "Good work. You have completed a test of our defenses against a possible Quester betrayal."

Julian: "You shut your damn mouth 'fore I shut it myself."

Ivo Robotnik: "It appears they are... woefully inadequete. You will be repaid, in time... but first, with the preresiquite; of being sent back to where you belong, of course! I'll just take that gem..."

Aribar: "Ivo, what would happen if we decided to kill you once we got back to our own time?"

Metal Man (GM): *FLOOSH* It warps out of the Questers' hands and... they don't know where it went.

Charles: "You already know the answer to that, Aribar."

Aribar: "Charles, if I knew I wouldn't ask."

Ivo Robotnik: "A good question, however that would wind up leaving you stranded here. It wasn't I who left that device there, and if you killed me, you'd be stuck in the future. This would doom your time and destroy the entire balance of time itself. If you value having a coherent timeline, you will enter the portal."

Aribar: "I hate time travel... Got me into this mess to begin with."

Charles: "We can't return until we can turn off the machine on the other side."

Metal Man (GM): The portal glows; there is most of the colors of the rainbow. Then, however, a red beam hits it, making it large enough for the Questers to use.

Charles: "That's why we entered the portal in the first place."

Julian: "I'm gettin' tired of these talks about space paradoxes and time anomalies and destroyed timelines and BLAH BLAH BLAH!" *Julian enters the portal.*

Aribar takes several steps back from the portal.

Ivo Robotnik: "Thanks to your efforts, it can be returned back to where it belongs."

Metal Man (GM): Julian walks into the portal and is sent back in time.

Charles: "...Were you the one that sent Crump to us?"

Aribar decides that when they get back he's going to kick Ivo really, really hard...

Ivo Robotnik: "I cannot say much; you should go back now."

Aribar steps through the portal, thoughts of revenge swirling around in his mind.

Metal Man (GM): Aribar is also sent back in time.

Charles: "I look very much forward to our next duel, Dr. Robotnik. I still will not forget all those death attempts of yours on my life."

Ivo Robotnik: "We shall see. First, you should fulfill your own time."

Charles: "...Time hasn't much meaning to me these days. Not since my homeworld was ravaged by the civil war lead by that traitor Zemus." *enters the portal.*

Metal Man (GM): *Warp.* The Questers are all sent back. The Questers reappear at the city, just like they had in the future. The machine is gone, and the ruins are back. The picture of Ivo vanishes from the dex instantly; and the portal closes up entirely behind the Questers.

Julian: "...So 'zat it?"

Aribar: "I wonder. Is Bolt a bit too excessive a thing to do to Ivo when we get back?"

Charles: "This was a complete waste of our efforts. To top off this whole mission, there is no probable ally to find."

???: "Hmph. What were you doing with that anomaly? I really wanted to explore it!"

Julian: "You gotta remember that's IVAN at our base."

Metal Man (GM): Out of the shadows, walks...

Sky High: "I don't like the fact you vanished for 15 seconds in there."

Aribar: "... Drat. I can't even punish him..." *The elf looks towards the voice.*

Julian: "...YOU!"

Metal Man (GM): He pulls out Lasersmack, staring at all of the Questers.

Charles: "Hello, Sky."

Aribar: "Leave us alone, you half-baked villain."

Sky High: "Half-baked! HALF-BAKED! If I'm half-baked, you're quarter-baked, suicidal elf!"

Julian quickly draws Vendetta to counter.

Sky High: "You died more often than I did, and with much less of a fight."

Metal Man (GM): He cleanly slices a fried-looking traffic sign in two.

Julian: *between clinched teeth.* "What're you doing here?"

Charles: "...Our new ally."

Sky High: "I wanted to see what this anomaly was. Perhaps it would be an escape from my own, horrible existence in this wretched wasteland you people created."

Charles adjusts his contacts.

Aribar: "We can always send you to the next world." *seems to ignore Charles's comment on Skyhigh as an ally.*

Sky High: "In-and-out between sanity, the head of a dead branch of a corrupt organization which seeks to destroy its enemies by acting less intelligent than its foes..."

Julian: "I had NOTHING to do with this. This whole thing, the summoning of Kuja, WAY before my time."

Metal Man (GM): He walks a bit closer, angrily kicking a nearby door to shreds.

Charles: "I wish I could say different, Sky."

Sky High: "Neither did I. But look what happened to me?"

Aribar begins sparking with electricity, his electrical aura kicking in.

Metal Man (GM): He takes off an arm-part of his phoney-looking armor. there is extensively burned skin.

Sky High: "Thanks to my encounter with magma, I'm too sensitive to air to ever take this suit off without freezing!"

Julian: "You expect me to feel sympathy?"

Metal Man (GM): He quickly puts the armor back on, shivering.

Julian: "And when'd you encounter lava?"

Charles: "Sky, I want to ask you something... before it's too late."

Sky High: "Well, I found it right inside Death Mountain, there." *Points at it.* "That hotshot Alys hated me. And then people got mad at me when I leapt into the lava to pick up a stone block. We NEEDED that block, man. And then that time I tried to kill Metal. He was poking me in the eye! Isn't that what rational people do when poked in the eye?"

Julian: "...You're wearing a helmet! Covering your eyes!"

Sky High: "...It's the principle that counts! He was touching my visor! And... ugh... I was tortured over not wanting to be zapped by the move swapper. All I wanted to do is make the pain go away with a little aspirin... But instead, I'm lead, sick near to death, through the worst 5 hours of my life. And death. And life. And more horrible death."

Charles: "Sky High, about Kuja. Do you still wish to win his favor, even though he no longer sees you as someone with potential?"

Sky High: "All I wanted to do was become so powerful that I could kill anyone I wanted to without a second thought!" *Turns to Charles.* "No, I'd sooner join the Questers! That man demoted me for losing when sent on a suicide mission. He promised me the power I craved. But instead, I got more beatings. At least the Questers let me go nuts and kill people for no reason!"

Metal Man (GM): He seems incoherent, crazy, and possibly a little drunk. But, at least he isn't trying to hit you with that lightsaber.

Charles: "When Kuja is dead, you'll be a free man."

Sky High: "And let me say, tha--- what? Free? Me?" He seems... confused.

Aribar: "... You aren't worth the time of day or my pity." *The elf attempts to call up Metal on his Dex.*

Metal Man appears on the dex. "Oh. Hey. The time thingy stopped. What happened?"

Charles: "Tell me, do you miss your purple palace in the X-zone?"

Aribar: "Ivo played a trick on us. Sky High is here being wousy-wousy. At least I'm ready to go home. Not sure abut Julian and Charles."

Sky High: "...I had a purple palace? Wow... I must have eaten a poison mushroom or something. Have you ever eaten poison before?"

Metal Man: "Oh. Right. Well, you can just walk to the warp pipe and get here in a jiffy."

Charles: "Yes. More like I ...drank it."

Aribar: "Oh, right... Forgot about the pipe." *The elf heads back to the pipe and jumps in.*

Sky High: "...Then you must know how I felt for the time in-between my service as a Quester and before Kuja un-crazied my mind."

Metal Man (GM): Aribar walks right in, with no problem.

Julian: "I got alcohol posioning once, never touched the stuff again."

Sky High: "Eh... I became addicted to alcohol soon after that. It was like the mushroom, only without losing my mind. But... nonetheless! Everyone hates me and I need to kill them all!"

Metal Man (GM): He stabs and 'slays' a pile of debris. Viciously.

Charles: "Without Kuja, what would you like to live your life as?"

Sky High: "A bounty hunter. So I could kill more people and gain power."

Charles: "This is my proposition: If you help us defeat Kuja, you will be able to live that life. No more hierarchy of power to ascend and descend about."

Sky High: "...Uh... but... I need some sort of... uhhh... power... anyway. Yeah. Could I get all my real moves back and kill some people?"

Charles: "We can talk to Metal about that. In the meantime..." *looks to Julian.* "I believe you found yourself a sparring partner. :) He seems to have your mentality of wanting to beat things up, so I say it's a fine matchup."

Julian: *grumbles angrily.* "...Alright... he can stay, but only up to the point where we take down Kuja. After that, I want him OUT." *He ain't too happy about this to say the least... Julian scuffles over to the pipe and hopes in.*

Sky High: "...Whatever, man. I haven't had a couch to sleep on for years. Only beatings. And a lack of the right to kill people."

Charles: "This will provide you at least a few matches in the Arena, Sky. Go on, you enter first."

Sky High: "...I never did like warp-pipes..." *Leaps into the pipe like a diving-swimming person.*

Charles: "You never did." *does a cape-like spin and enters the pipe.*

The Ninja: "...Weird tricks" *Jumps into the pipe.*

Metal Man (GM): *Warp.*

Charles quickly goes to find Metal.

Aribar blinks at the sight of Sky High as the rest of the group returns. "What is it doing here?"

Julian angrilly stomps back to R&R, passing Aribar. "New ally..." *You can sense the pure hatred in his voice as passes by. Julian reaches R&R, plunks back down in his usual seat on the couch, and tursn on the TV.*

Charles: "Metal, I have news... though it may trouble you to hear it. Sky High has joined our cause to rid Nintendus of Kuja."

Sky High: "Dial 1 and call again." *Falls asleep on the couch, clutching a booze bottle which appears to have come from nowhere--he also is right next to Julian's seat.*

Aribar: "... New ally..."

The Ninja: "He seems trusted enough. Am I missing something?"

Metal Man: "...Eh? Well, he's too dumb to do anything dangerous. Just keep him away from all the large, red buttons. Oh, wait, that's Gibby. ...Don't take him near lava."

Julian: "..." *shove.* "Go find another room. 'S where I sleep, and I don't want you in it while I'm in it."

Aribar: "He's fought us in the last numerous times, he appears to be a drunkard, and a rat has more common sense. He once leaped into lava to try and get a block!"

Charles: "He says he needs all his real moves back. What do you think? Well not all, but his real moves back nontheless."

The Ninja: "...He lacks in senses then?"

Aribar: "Yes." *sighs.* "This had to be Charles's doing. Only a traitor would bring another one into this building." *Aribar heads to his room, making sure to lock the doors and windows and keep his sword within reach.*

Metal Man (GM): He falls on the floor, gets up, walks over to where the man-eating couch is, and then lays in front of it for no reason.

Sky High: "Mmph... somebody put a glass case around my couch."

Metal Man: "I'll see about that... as soon as I can be sure he isn't still crazy."

The Ninja: "...I think they all lack senses."

Charles leaves Metal's office. "Unfortuantely, he kinda is." Charles then goes to Ivan's office. Charles then goes to R&R.

Julian: "...I'm watchin' you man. The SECOND you do somthin' against us, you gonna get it."

Charles enters, hearing Julian say that. He looks to where Sky is... the old fool. "What makes you hate him so?" *asks Julian that.*

The Ninja: "...Maybe I get to know teammates more." *And with that, he runs towards the R&R.*

Julian: "...Lots of things... Mainly 'cause he kinda reminds me of myself about 3 years ago."

Charles: "This..."

Julian: "MY 3 years ago. In my world."

Charles goes to sit nearby Julian. "Is something that isn't easily solved by an Arena match, is it?"

Julian: "What'du mean?"

The Ninja seems to come in at that time. "I've heard rumors about that. Is that the place for worriors to test their skills and mind?"

Charles looks to The Ninja. "Yes." He then looks back to Julian. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me that this problem goes beyond beating on Sky."

Julian: "The hell you talkin' about?"

The Ninja is now busy examining Sky.

Charles: "I really have no idea of what I'm trying to get at."

Julian: "Neither do I."

Charles chuckles lightly.

The Ninja: "This would be the first time you two agreed on something. Or from what I heard."

Charles: "My apologies. Even though it seems like a good idea for you to bludgeon Sky with Vendetta, your anger would mostly remain unchanged. Still, at least someone will agree on you on the many solutions of this life. 'All problems can be solved by beating up '. ." *takes a drink of Coca-cola.*

The Ninja: "I find that as a last resort myself."

Charles: "Of course, that's easier said than done when it came to the second civil war of the Moon."

The Ninja: "...Huh?" *You lost him there.*

Charles: "And the beasts that live underground? Oi, none of the Questers are a match for them."

The Ninja: "If we can't beat them... What keeps them from coming here?"

Charles: "Oh! My apologies. Those fiends don't even exist here."

The Ninja: *You could swear you see question marks floating around his head.*

Julian: "...Charles, I think it best you jus' shut up."

Charles: "From what I can see... things are just quiet there. I'm the only being still active that's native to there." *takes another swig from his bottle again.*

The Ninja: "Suppose I could request tour of place? I got lost earlier which is why I came into mission so late."

Charles: "I'm not much of a tour guide."

Julian: "Go talk to Metal."

The Ninja: "I don't trust that one."

Julian: "Too bad, he's your only shot."

The Ninja: "Maybe breath of fresh air will make you less grumpy."

Julian: "I got nothin' BUT fresh air. And the TV."

The Ninja: "So we plan to lay around till next mission?"

Julian: "Nothin' else to do... unless you wanna rumble, but you gotta take that up with Mets."

Charles: "No doubt Sky would want to participate to gain power. Power... ...Whatever happened to mine?" *ponders his question.*

The Ninja: "Sounds boring. I wouldn't mind trying to assassinate that evil warlord again."

Julian: "?"

The Ninja: "It was my current mission till I ended up here. I thought you were his guards first time around."

Charles: "The current mission when you were home..." *takes a swig.* "Way back when, I was a fighter. Power beyond measure, but cocky as hell. Also semi-expert tactician. I could even achieve victory over many of the females. Couldn't even remember the number of battles I was in, although in the end, there was blood coming out of my abdomen, sweat dripping from the forehead. Holding in both hands that great title. Those were excellent days."

Julian: "You ever throw someone in front of a subway train?"

Charles: "Street-fighting?"

The Ninja: "Can't say I have."

Charles: "Oh, heavens no, Julian. We had our own ways of defeating our foes. Ones that had a... personal flair."

Julian: "Tha's what I was doin' before I was sent here. I don't know why, I don't know how, I just landed on the floor of a cave and you guys were fighting a golden secret agent. What the hell are you talkin' about?"

Charles: "Let's say that some of our trademark moves can be about as fatal as a subway train. Not fatal. Goreish. Yes, that's the word."

Julian: "Tell me one."

Charles laughs. "Oh sweet Bahamut, you want me to explain one to you."

The Ninja: "A ninja's job is never clean."

Charles just simply chuckles and smiles, albeit a bit worriedly.

Julian: "What, you think this is funny? I'm interested, tell me."

Charles: "Although I can't disclose the ways of the females, I can probably tell you one of the trademarks that can be seen."

Julian: "...Wait, Females? When'd that veer into the conversation?"

Charles: "Like I said, I was able to achieve victories against many of them, but onto a description."

Julian: "..." *burst out laughing.* "You fought CHICKS?!" *laughs hard.*

Charles: "The females of the Lunarian race are very different from human females. At the age of when I was a fighter, they are a good deal stronger than us, masters of strategy, and..."

The Ninja: "...Even I will say that is something one should not brag about."

Charles burps, having a grimace after that.

Julian: *Still laughing.* "Man, and all this time I thought you were talkin' about people on the same level as you!" *More laughing.*

Charles: "...I will wrap it up by saying their own moves often prove fatal, and the brutality leaves nightmares on the souls. They are that damn stronger than males. Not saying that males themselves are pushovers. It's just that females have the advantage in the early lifecycle."

Julian: *still laughing, claps his hands.* "Man, that was a good one, Charles. You fightin' chicks..."

The Ninja: "Though there are female ninjas as well, but there are times you cannot tell the difference."

Charles: "I had to fight the Lunar females, Julian. Not a single male competitor could beat me."

The Ninja: "...Even more so of the under developed ones."

Charles: "Okay, how strong are you, Julian?"

Julian: "Man, I'm just sayin', even Snowman didn't fight chicks. And he was the worst fighter in the game. How you wanna gauge this?"

Charles: "Pure strength."

Julian: "So how you gonna gauge that?"

Charles: "Good question."

The Ninja: "...Throw the same size rock?"

Charles: "Hmmm... maybe I should ask this. Julian, how long does it take you to make someone bleed?"

Julian: "With or without a weapon?"

Charles: "Without."

Julian: "You give me a good venue, I got 'em cut open in about 30 seconds. Otherwise, 45-60 seconds."

The Ninja: "Hmmm..." *he seems to be shaking his head at the conversion.*

Charles: "Back then, I could do about 30-40 seconds, depending on how hard the opponent. Hardest ones were like the first couple minutes. Females? If so many of them weren't so damn sadistic, they could do it in about the first 10-15 seconds if they faced a male. In those matches... many of them were lucky to come out of a comatose state." His face turns pale. You can tell he's being serious about it.

Julian: "Then maybe you guys should have put some regulations on the matches."

Metal Man walks on in, looking old but strong as usual.

Charles: "How I wish I could say that those matches were without regulations."

Metal Man: "Back in my day, I fought all sorts of tought people and didn't die. In fact, I had a record for not dying. Too bad Ganondorf had to go cheesy on me."

Julian: "And you're in a suit of armor. You don't count."

Metal Man chuckles. "Well, I'd fight without it, except I'm sort of missing half of my body."

Julian: "So how'd these matches go?" *back to Charles.*

Charles: "People that were involved in watching the tournaments wanted to see great and messy matches. There were bans on some manuevers, and what not."

Metal Man then decides to dust off an old chestnut. He turns to The Ninja, and then appears to take off his own head. "Boooooo!"

Charles: "How did the matches go?"

Metal Man (GM): --He looks like a maniac all the same. Then again, most people the Ninja had seen had something weird about them. This guy took that and cranked it up to the next level.

Julian: "Yeah. Where'd you fight, how'd it start, what could you use and what couldn't you?"

Charles: "Oh, well."

The Ninja: *People react differently to being scared... How does this ninja react. With a short yell and the hurling of his sword staff. it's natural to him, they'll understand, right?*

Metal Man (GM): *BONK* Ironically, the armor blocks most of the damage.

Charles: "All tournament fights were in the grand Coliseum, as you saw when I used the purple emerald."

Metal Man: "...I knew I shouldn't have done that. Especially to ninjas."

Charles: "Combatants could choose weapons or no weapons. Both had to agree on either or."

Metal Man takes the sword out of his metallic plating, feeling no pain. But rather, having a dent. He looks like a dented up car already, though.

The Ninja: "D-don't do that! You're weird enough already."

Charles: "Battles would usually last for a couple hours, or as short as 28 seconds."

Metal Man: "Right. Well, I actually have a head, so the illusion sort of breaks when you see it." His human head comes out of the head-hole in his armor; looks normal, but it has weird brown hair and crystal blue eyes. It looks rather old and pale.

The Ninja: "...If you don't do that anymore, will you give me tour?"

Charles: "The rules were if you could make your opponent surrender or be knocked out, you would win. Death... happened, but was frowned upon."

Metal Man: "Well, yeah, though most of this place was destroyed by a person who makes me look sane." *He stuck the helmet back on, resuming his Darth-Vader/Robotic appearance.* "This way." *He walks on through a door to the south.*

Charles: "Shortly after the Solarians arrived, weapons like magitek were banned in all matches. Techniques could be used via the power of your mind, your bodies energy, great spells, or your strength."

The Ninja looks at the two still talking about fighting, then slides away to join Metal.

Charles: "Mainly like here, but words fail to describe the excitement that official matches bring. There are 'areas' in cities that allow street-fighting and such. I never went to such areas, so I wouldn't know what happens there."

Julian: "So why'd you fight?"

Metal Man enters the first room of the tour: The Big Room. It's a big room, stuffed with old paintings, and Metal's desk. There's a row of chairs around a table (Think underground meeting chamber in Cold War movies) and piles of paper everywhere. Most of which are now sorta like snow.

The Ninja: "...Less time being weird, more time being organized."

Metal Man: "This is where all the important stuff happens: The Big Room. Since my room was exploded by Kuja, I also must sleep in this mess. For some reason, we still have to generate paperwork for every mission we do, despite the fact that we're an illegal organization to Kuja's government."

Charles: "I had a knack for it. I had the drive, the heart, the body, the smugness."

Metal Man: "Eheh... yeah. I'm not terribly organized. The last guy who did this left the position out of boredom, unfortunately."

Julian: "You done?"

The Ninja: "Do not ask me. I fear for my sanity."

Charles: "Of course, a lot of us usually start like this when we are young and fresh. We get older, we lose our prowess in battle, and usually focus elsewhere, such as the arcane arts. Sorta like our own utopia. I'm done."

The Ninja: "Maybe get a file cabinet?"

Charles sighs. Reminiscing. How odd it is.

Metal Man: "...File cabinets... right... I would buy them, but I'd get arrested at any store I go to."

Charles: "I probably wouldn't be arrested, Metal."

Metal Man: "I'll make sure to steal some next time there's an excuse to wander out in the cities. Now then. For the next part of our tour." *gets out a key, and unlocks a rusty door to the south. He points inside, at a dingy place full of... office chairs with broken backs, old, burnt books, and some various accoutrements which look from another country.*

Charles: "There was a... second job that competitors could voulnteer for; hunting fiends, or 'monsters' as a person would say, but that... is another story."

The Ninja: "...Storage?"

Charles relaxes, staring into the ceiling.

Metal Man: "This is the storage. I stick the office chairs I break from leaning on too often in here. There's some other garbage even I am afraid of touching... I used to collect radioactive sludge."

The Ninja: "You heard of waste management?"

Metal Man: "Well... no. I used to sell garbage I found on the ground to people. Oh, wait, that was something I imagined I did. But... I don't really check it out much. There is, however, something of interest." *He goes to a door off to the left and unlocks it, and points at some stairs that go down.* "Down here, things get interesting. If you like history."

Julian: "Yeah... I never fought in no fancy coliseum. The fanciest place I fought in until I got here was a couple'a boxing clubs owned separately by the two heads of NYC's underground fighting scene, D-Mob and Crow. You fought wherever D-Mob or Crow controlled a venue. I fought in the basement of an apartment building, a biker bar, a Jamacian bar, a scrap yard, a chop shop, the ROOF of the apartment building, an abanoned warehouse that housed a cage, a gentlemen's club, a cement pit, a power station, and another Cage club, this one octogonal."

Charles: "Sounds like a good time. When in the coliseum, you had to face two things."

The Ninja: "...Depends. Does it involve anything you do that you shouldn't have done but you did it anyways?"

Charles: "Your opponent and having to look at the tackniness of the large thing." tackiness.

Julian: "Fights usually lasted from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, but I don't think any match got over 5 minutes. You were allowed to use anything you could get your hands on, and sometimes the crowd even got into the action."

Metal Man: "No, it involves the person who did things so much, he did stuff that would be needed in the future long before it was needed. So he left us some nifty stuff."

Charles laughs.

The Ninja: "Alright. Let's have a look."

Charles: "A 100-man brawl. Oh yeah, those were very enjoyable, but hard as hell to declare a winner."

Metal Man nods, and walks down a rather old staircase. It creaks a bit.

Julian: "The hell you laughin' about? I got legitimately injured once when an audicence member held onto me and wouldn't let go, which allowed Havoc to nearly cave in my entire rib cage with a lead pipe."

The Ninja follows behind the metal thing, keeping a close eye on him.

Charles: "Oh yeah, I forgot about those that were hurt in those things."

Julian: "The crowd stayed on the sidelines. They knew that if they actually jumped in, they'd get seriously injured. But sometimes they'd grab onto you, or hit you over the head with a weapon. They even held out weapons for us to use."

Metal Man walks on down, and into what looks like an old wine cellar. It's a basement the size of the entire building, sorta like floor -1. It has no walls; rather, it has various crates full of building materials, some odd-looking (but new-looking) machines, and various boxes labeled 'Plan A' 'Plan B' 'Plan C'. The only thing off about it is cobwebs.

Charles: "You ever had to worry about a banjo being used against you?"

Julian: "Of course, this was all kept underground. Otherwise, how you gonna make money with the police breathing down your neck?"

The Ninja: "Do I even want to know?"

Metal Man: "Even though he left, there's enough stuff here to rebuild our headquarters over 7 times. And some ancient material which relates to a special relic we used to get our organization started."

Julian: "No, but I never fought in a honky-tonk bar neither."

The Ninja: "Hmm. Using what?"

Charles: "Hmm... bar. Reminds of the diner, and a girl I met."

Julian: "I fought for two things. Money and Fame. I started off by freeing D-Mob when he was being driven away from his club in a police car. I blind-sided the car with my ride, and drove him off to saftey. That got me in good with his group, and soon I had my own paid apartment and I was gettin' booked."

Metal Man: "It's a data-storage device capable of transferring the powers of other warriors into people. It's no longer used, mainly because we don't get people who can't fight anymore. That, and most people learn quickly from us... as you might have noticed, we're the elite of the elite. Even those Smashers, the ultimate heroes of this realm, are weaker than us now."

The Ninja: "Really? So basically, I'm the best ninja we have to offer?"

Charles: "Ever had a girl?"

Julian: "I picked one up at The Limit. But she comes in later."

Metal Man: "Well, yeah, that's usually how those portals go. Especially in times of need like this."

Julian: "Now, you gotta understand that there were two syndicates in NY, D-Mob's and Crow's. As you may have guessed, there was a bitter rivalry goin' between them, and by the time I busted D-Mob out, Crow had almost taken all his clubs. The rule was that if a fighter from another syndicate defeated the Club Boss incharge of the other's club, the challenging syndicate won that club."

Metal Man points to himself. "The reason I'm in charge is merely because I was a favorite of the guy before me, really. You wouldn't recognize this place under him. He had this idea for a Democratic utopia... but it all fell apart. One guy named Klumsy monopolized certain things, and another half o' people mobilized against him. I helped smooth things out, but to the end, it was no go. I had to outright take over and act based on my gut instead of the votes of many people..."

Charles: "Did you say New York City?"

Julian: *was about to speak again, but-* "Yeah, what about it?"

Charles: "I recall visiting it when I was in the X-zone."

The Ninja: "Hmm. Hey, how good is your sneaking?"

Julian: "I suggest forgetting everything you learned then."

Charles: "That I learned about it in the X-zone? Boy, you bet. I have always come to believe that that isn't the real NYC. ...Sand is nowhere near the city."

Julian: "Now I was one hell of a fighter. Not as good as I am now, but still damn good. Pretty soon I was takin' clubs left and right from Crow, so naturally that *censored.* him off pretty bad. After I took the Red Room(That was his Boxing Club), he proposed this: A Winner Take All Bout at Club Murder(Crow's Cage Club). D-Mob chose me to fight Crow's best man, Crack. This ticked off Sticky(who was on our side), and he stormed out."

Metal Man: "I sneak like a gigantic dishwasher full of dirty dishes while firing firecrackers. My forte` is blowing people up in the most insane ways possible. That, and taking hits. I can take more hits than most people because I'm not entirely human."

The Ninja: "I see. So my next suggestion wouldn't suit you then."

Charles: "One fighter upstaging another? Ya I can understand. ...All... too... well."

Metal Man: "Probably not. My trademark attack is just to summon a gigantic bazooka and fire random exploding objects at the unlucky person on the other end."

Julian: "So the fight happens, and I win. Crow walks away, lookin' devious, and D-Mob sits me down in a limo along with his right-hand man Blaze. He tells me how much he appreciates me and he gives me this pendant in appreciation. We stop at a red light, and a car pulls up along side us, and opens fire with an Uzi. The driver of the limo takes off, and crashes into a light pole. D-Mob's hurt pretty bad, and I see the culprits, Crow's fighters, take off into a subway, and I go after them. Magic, who's Crow's right hand man, and Sticky of all people board the subway, but they leave behind Trejo, one of Crow's bosses, to deal with me."

The Ninja: "Well, attacking wasn't the other idea either. In fact, it was more about watching."

Metal Man scratches his head. "Why I kept on trying different fighting styles is behind me. The minute I stopped that, I also stopped feeling so weird. Maybe I could fight people again. Hmmm? Watching, you say?"

Charles sits to listen.

Julian: "One thing leads to another, and after a long, drawn-out slobberknocker of a battle, I got him backed up to the edge of a platform, and I hear the train coming. He lunges at me to knock me back, but I counter, punch him in the face a few times, then get him in a headlock. Then I spin,, use my momentum to hurl Trejo onto the tracks. He can only look up once before the train impacts..." shudder. "And that's how I killed my first man... Anyway, I go back up, and D-Mob's on the ground, and he's hurt BAD. The cops show up, and me and Blaze hightail it outta there on the advice of D-Mob to continue the plan and win Crow's clubs. So get to doing this, and along the way I win a sweet new ride in a tag-team tournament at the Chopshop, then subsequently get into a brawl with Magic inside the Gun Hill garage. This all leads up to the Gauntlet 1-on-1 tournament."

The Ninja: "Yes, watching. It's something I usually do on my freetime. It gets me into practice."

Julian: "I win the tournament, and I head back to my apartment, only to get jumped by Crow and company. Turns out they kidnapped my girl, and the only way to get her back is to win back all of his clubs. So I'm forced to switch sides and fight AGAINST D-Mob, which is tearin' me up inside. So I do this, and I win back every club. I go to the final showdown at Club-357, where I'm confronted by Blaze, and he takes back D-Mob's pendant! I win the match and the club, then demand to know where my girl is from Crow... but he's got one more thing for me to do..."

Metal Man: "Huh. Well, maybe you could teach me more about this some time. The truth is, I haven't fought for quite a while, and am quite rusty."

The Ninja: "We're not ones who rely on strength and overpowered attack moves alone. We believe that you should first study your enemy, then with a swift strike, take them down in one blow."

Julian "I get in the limo with Crack, and we drive out to the junkyard, where Magic and WC are beating up on Blaze with a bat, and he's in bad shape. They want me to finish him off! After a brief internal struggle, I crack the bat across WC's face and knock him out. Magic and Crack don't like this one bit, but Blaze somehow finds the strength to back me up. So we take them on, and win! I found out the location of my girl, the old Tire Factory..."

Julian: "We drive there, and I go inside to get her, but Sticky's up there too, littering the place with gasoline. Apparently they were gonna 'accidentally' burn the place down, with her in it! Sticky then says somethin' about getting revenge, and he lights the gas, trapping us both in a ring of fire. We fight, and I knock him back towards the edge. He tries to lunge back, but I parry him like with Trejo. I smack him a few times in the face, and toss him into the flames, where a piece of debris crushes him... I grab my girl and get outta there, and think to myself... This has gotten way outta hand..."

The Ninja: "In fact, I could should you the best way to learn how to sneak. Because if one fails, it's a pain you'll never forget."

Metal Man: "Except I don't feel much pain when hit by objects." *Breaks a nearby piece of lumber over his head.*

Julian: "I drive over with Blaze to Club Murder, intending to settle this once and for all. We pull up just as Crow and his bosses are walkin' in, and we confront them. Now, it seems like it's a 2-vs-All massacre in the making, but my various allies and friends show up! They tell me they've got this, and I sneak into Club Murder as the Brawl For It All starts outside."

The Ninja: "I used to think the same thing, but this way seems to find you new pains."

Metal Man: "Well, I'm up for a challenge. Mainly because I'm more experienced than most of the people here in what I do. But I suck at other stuff, so I can learn that without showing up anyone."

Julian: "I confront Crow in his office, but Magic's hidin' behing the doorway with a gun... but he doesn't shoot! He hands me the gun, apparently tired of all this, and leaves. I point the gun at Crow, but pause... and decide he ain't even worth it. I empty the clip into his wall and drop the gun, intending to walk off... but Crow's got a sword hidden in his cane, and he goes after me."

Julian "We struggle, and I notice that Crow has 3 glass-pane windows overlooking the entrance to Club Murder, and I figure we must be at least 3 stories up, with a drop onto hard stone... So I slam him into the glass, weakening it. But he sees this too, and slams me into the same pane, weakening it further... He tries to grab me for the final toss, but I counter, and slam him through the window, sending him down, down to the ground... he ain't movin'..."

Julian: "And so ended the two-syndicate system."

The Ninja: "Then follow me! I will show you a new meaning in sneak!" *He motions Metal to follow him as he runs up the stairs and out of the rooms.*

Julian: "Blaze shows up, and hands me back D-Mob's pendant, saying he forgives me 'n stuff... He then tells me to get outta there before the cops show up, and I take one last look out the window, telling him I'll be there in a minute... After that, I enter a few tournaments and win 'em all. 4-Ways, Team, Subway match, and the 3-Man Cage tournament, they're all mine. I'm cemented as a legend, I got all the money I'll ever need, and most of all I got my girl... So I'm chillin' in my apartment one day, watchin' some TV, when I notice somethin's wrong... I hear a loud whistling noise, then look down... I only see a flash of blue before I'm sucked into the portal, and spat out on Nintendus. You know the rest from there."

Metal Man follows the Ninja, making the noise of clattering pans. Meanwhile, one cannot know if Charles is still awake during Julian's backstory. @_@

Julian: "...CHARLES!"

Charles: "I heard. So you know what happened to Crow after you threw him out the window?"

Julian: "Put two and two together, man! That big a drop onto concrete? No way he survived that."

The Ninja: *Through twist and turns and stopping for a quick cup of coffee, the Ninja leads Metal to his new training center as they stand in front... of the Ladies Locker room.* "And here we are... I found it the other day."

Metal Man: "...This is quite an odd place. I didn't even know they made these places anymore." *Coughs at the dust.*

Charles: "You still have D-Mob's Pendant close to you?"

The Ninja gives the metal things an odd look. "...What do you mean?"

Metal Man: "Well, the last 'lady' to frequent the place was Yurie, and she vanished either into a black hole or a hole in time itself. That was 11 years ago. There's another one, Samus, but she's so far away it isn't funny. I don't know why there aren't any of them around these days, but the portals are rather... choicey..."

Julian: "I had it with me that day in my apartment... but when I got here, I didn't have it no more."

Charles: "Think one of Crow's former cronies ransacked your place and steal it from you?"

The Ninja: "...You're telling me no women exsist around here?"

Julian: "Nah man, I'm sayin' I lost it somewhere in the portal."

Charles: "Think you'll ever get it back?"

Julian: "I musta... 'Couldn't be anything else. Man, I got no idea. Hope I do..."

Metal Man: "Well, there aren't any currently in our organization. There's others in the world, just not... here. I think it's a matter of preference, or something."

Charles: "So... what are you gonna do with Sky?"

Metal Man looks over at the mess of paper, which can be seen from afar. "In a way, I don't blame them."

The Ninja: "...Well we can't train if they don't exist. THey have weird powers. Wait, can't you use a portal thing to take us to a bunch of woman?"

Julian: "...I dunno at this point... Watch him, I guess. I know how dangerous someone like him can be."

Charles: "Seems you've calmed down. If only for a moment."

Metal Man: "...The problem is that I don't know where that would be. Kuja decided to change the whole planet around, and what may have been a normal town could now be a deathtrap full of zombies. How I loathe those deathraps full of zombies... you go to a routine store, and suddenly zombies scream at you."

The Ninja: "But aren't zomies slow?"

Metal Man: "Our type of zombies make up for it by using magic which paralyzes people. Though they're weak against fire and large, pointy swords."

Charles: "I'm going to leave. See ya tomorrow, Julian."

The Ninja: "...I hope to return to my world soon."

Charles looks around for Metal for no reason.

Metal Man: "Anyway, there's plenty of people to sneak around. I hear of an obnoxious person named Vladimir. I have never seen any such person, though. I think Charles is hallucinating again."

Metal Man (GM): Charles finds it hard to find Metal, especially since he's gone somewhere particularly unusual.

The Ninja: "Place with no women is no place to train. They have special senses when you peep on them."

Metal Man (GM): Charles discovers the closet full of... phazon. And broken office chairs. The door was left open.

Charles: "..." *closes the door so radiation doesn't leak anymore.*

Metal Man: "Eh. Anyway, I have a place to show you. If you want training, nothing beats fighting holographic people."

Charles: "I'm reporting this." *goes to Ivan's office.*

The Ninja: "...Holo-what now?"

Metal Man: "Exactly." *Walks off, but knocks into Locos half-way there.* "Funny I'd meet you walking the other way. What brings you out near the stadium?"

The Ninja follows Metal, then stops with him to see Charles. "There's no one to sneak on out here. I tried looking."

Metal Man: "Yeah. I didn't mean this place, but then there's Charles."

Charles: "Metal, there you are. Did you know there's a closet full of Phazon and broken chairs?"

The Ninja: "See? Waste Management."

Charles: "Tsk, tsk. You know how dangerous it is."

Metal Man: "Magitek is 10,000 times more radioactive. And you fight against it all the time. Thank goodness those space pirates don't use it... they could create some real monsters with that. Magitek Pirates? The stuff of nightmares."

Charles: "Nuclear radioactivity is more dangerous to me than magitek. Remember, I'm half-Lunarian, so I can learn to handle magic to an extent."

Metal Man: "Well, the containers still work. Otherwise I'd have stuck it somewhere less obvious. I don't use Zip-lok containers anymore. I'll find some way to dispose them eventually. The sun might work."

Charles: "..." *Is at a loss for words.*

Metal Man: "You look like you heard one of my lectures. But I was lecturing this other guy here... odd..."

Charles: "Lectures? Good sir, you have a lot of nerve to lecture other people when you yourself were near a lady's restroom."

Metal Man shrugs "Didn't you cover a mirror around there with wooden boards for no reason once?"

Charles: "And me hallucinating about Vladimir? I think not. Perhaps YOU are the hallucinating?"

The Ninja: "I wouldn't even call it that. It's empty. So it's just empty space."

Charles: "That was to keep Lumis outta here. I believe if you want to start to have private conversations... I'd recommend amping up the security protocols on the dexes."

Metal Man: "Wait a minute... how did you hear me say that? I mean, it was obvious where I was, due to all the dusty footprints, but that was something I said. ...huh."

Charles: "Check your dex, dude."

Metal Man looks at his dex. "You know, that is a good idea. What made you think of that?"

Charles: "Ever since I was able to create that trojan at Grodus's base, I've been tinkering technologically wise."

The Ninja: "...What this be a bad time to ask about those things?"

Charles: "Such as linking up to another person's dex and overhearing what they're saying."

Metal Man: "Not exactly. They're standard equipment. They also carry several security liabilities--anyone who can hack them knows what you say and sometimes what you see." *presses some buttons.* "What you reminded me of, Charles, is something very... very ingenius."

Charles: "Perhaps from now you'll think before you open your mouth and say to others I'm a mad fool who sputters on about imaginary folk."

Metal Man: "I just questioned the existence of Vladimir. Just as much as you might question the existance... of The Battlefield."

Charles: "...The Battlefield?"

The Ninja: *And the question marks reappear again.*

Metal Man: "It is where I come from, really. Or maybe not. I think it is probably some sort of intermediary realm I got stranded in... between..." *Insert Metal Man spacing out here.* "...Ow. You shouldn't have done that. I've got something wrong with my memory there."

Editor's Note: A nice foreshadowing of Metal Man being revealed to be two people, both with memory issues...

Charles: "Let me remind you, he calls himself 'The Great Vladimir,' so I have no idea who he really is. ...Okay, you know what? You gonna call me crazy? Fine, I'll question every single soldier here and talk to Ivan himself to convince you he exists."

Metal Man turns to the Ninja. "Don't mind the weird things I say. I forgot to mention, I hail from a realm just like this one. I think I may have wound up destroying it, though. Terribly tragedy, that is."

Charles: "I'll show you all he exists!" *storms off in a huff to Ivan's office.*

The Ninja: "...Who is this Vladimir he talks about?"

Metal Man: "...That is why I said it was..." *Hits dex against a wall.* "...crazy."

Metal Man (GM): Charles would see the office closed; it being so late even Kuja was probably asleep by now.

Charles: "They think he doesn't exist, they say. I'll get him to come out on my terms and prove to them that he exists, and prove to Vlad that he ain't so uppity that he thinks he is." *goes to his room. He begins... working.*

Metal Man looks at the time. "I should really get some rest. We'll probably wind up fighting the likes of my Dark twin tomorrow."

The Ninja: "...He's less scary than you."

Metal Man: "Well, yeah. If you mean my Dark twin, I'm sure he's far closer to a hillbilly than a maniac. Though that guy behind the mask is just a creep."

The Ninja: "Right. I go now. Sorry about the sword in the head."

Metal Man: "Heh. No problem; I deserved it. Been a while since anyone gave me what I deserved for that trick." *nods, then walks to the big room, clears a sort of 'bed' out of the paper laying around, and nods off.*

Charles looks around for some office supplies and some stencil, he returns to his room.

Metal Man (GM): Office supplies and stencil: Plentiful.

Charles has great plans for tomorrow.

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