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In a cavernous room with hundreds of workbenches, machines, and other equipment

"Very interesting," came a voice from somewhere in the room. "Looks like Nadesiko had a hand in making these. She has been progressing quite well. Now, what happens when I do this...."

In the RPG

The ground suddenly shakes violently, throwing everything out of whack, before Sonic and Rose notice that their keys have returned.

Back in the workshop

The entire room is cleared and black aside from one lone figure standing in the center.

"Note to self," said the old man. "Never do that again."

Ten minutes, two showers, and a change of clothes later

The old man sits in front of his mirror and presses a button next to it. A keypad shows up and the old man enters in five hundred twenty seven digits, then hits send. He then went to get some coffee as these calls usually took a few minutes to be processed.

In one of the many Transnexial Break rooms

A beautiful young woman with wings walked from the table with a cup a coffee in one and some papers in the other. She had long brown-grey hair, a light green dress, and a wedding ring on her left hand.

"So," Nadesiko mumbled. "They want me to go watch MM. Wonder what he is up to this time." After reading the entire report she leaned back and tried to come up with an excuse to get into MM's locked world. "How am I supposed to break into the world of the one who trained me?"

Suddenly Nadesiko's phone rang. Startled by it, as she had been deep in thought, she jumped through the roof. Literally, as being dead meant normal materials couldn't stop you. When she recovered she sat back down and answered the phone.

"Hello," Nadesiko said, waiting for the visual.

"Hello there young one," came the old man's voice.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Nadesiko asked.

"I have an interesting game going on," the old man said. "I
was hoping you would come join me in watching it pan out."

"Sure," said Nadesiko, not believing her luck. "When should
I come over?"

"As soon as you can," came the reply.

"Ok," Nadesiko said. "See you then."

Meanwhile, at the Transnexial Authority

"Shouldn't we secure this assignment so MM doesn't find out about it?" asked one operative.

"Why bother?" asked another. "He complains about having to read his own assignments. Do you really think he will read someone else's?"

"Good point," said the first. "It isn't worth the trouble of securing the assignment."

Back with the old coot

"Hey," the old man yelled, for once looking at the title on the scene. "I resent being called an old coot!"

"Don't blame me," came a narrator-like voice. "Someone else came up with that one."

"That doesn't mean you have to use it!" the old man yelled.

"I happen to like it," came the voice. "Would you rather I call you an old fart?"

The old man thought about that for a second. "Point taken," he finally said.

"Can we get back to the story now?" came the voice.

"Sure," said the old man, turning back to his mirror and opening Nadesiko’s file. He partially wanted something to talk to her about that was more recent then her last training session, and partially wanted to see if she had been assigned anything that would be keeping her from showing up soon. He found one active assignment for her, given to her that day. He opened it up and started to read.

Fifteen minutes later

"Interesting," MM said to himself. "She must have been surprised that I called when I did."

"Only slightly," came the narrator.

"When I want your opinion I will ask for it," said the old man.

"Who said I had any regard for what you want?" the narrator said mockingly.

"Again," the old man said. "You have a good point. Still, you have been quiet up till now. Care to get back to that?"

"Oh alright," the narrator said.

"Thank you," said the old man. "Now if you don't mind, could you skip ahead to when Nadesiko arrives so that I can prepare for her arrival?"

An hour or so later

"Rasafras'n MM," grumbled Nadesiko, wandering around the barrier to MM's node. "You would think he would at least have a doorbell."

After another ten or so minutes of looking she decided it was time to take some action. She started to rummage through a handbag she had with her, finally pulling out a gigantic mallet. With a decidedly kid-like grin she pushed a button on the handle of the mallet, charging it with Transnexial Energy.

"Knock knock," she said, preparing to slam the barrier with the charged mallet. As she completed her backswing she looked like a kid playing some kind of game. After a moment she brought the mallet down, HARD, causing the entire node to quiver. The gang was thrown about a little bit, but as the shock coincided with Tommy's head exploding they were more concerned with the possibility that the next explosion would be even more powerful. In town, the Transnexial Gateway barely held up to the assault, causing one person to feel sick as they came out. MM almost fell into his mirror, saved by the fact that his mirror fell first, and hurried to go let Nadesiko in.

Nadesiko, on the other hand, wasn't having a good time. The existence of a Transnexial Gateway in the node caused a Transnexial Feedback Surge to travel back through the mallet, giving Nadesiko the shock of her afterlife. It took her a moment to recover, but she put the mallet away before MM opened the door.

"Welcome Nadesiko," said the old man. "It has been much too long."

"Yes," she replied. "It has, hasn't it."

"I suppose you are wondering what it is I brought you here for," the old man said. "Not to mention what caused enough alarm in HQ to have them assign you to watch me."

Nadesiko fell down at this, as if she had been knocked out with one punch in a boxing match. When she got back up a few minutes later she just looked at the old man for a second before speaking. "You actually READ an assignment!?"

"Yes I did," the old man said as he motioned for Nadesiko to enter. "I have to keep HQ on their toes, you know. They apparently have gotten sloppy."

"Some would say you were sloppy when you recruited me," said Nadesiko. "Although I must admit that the story you concocted has worked wonders for keeping others from even thinking about joining the authority."

"Fear is always a good deterrent," said the old man as they reached his living room. "Please have a seat. Would you like anything?"

"No thanks," said Nadesiko. "I am on a diet."

"Oh come now," said the old man. "Being dead means never gaining weight. You could eat without pausing for years and never gain an inch. Besides, if you are worried about eating me out of house and home you should know that orb 7 of this node is a Transnexial energy port, which keeps me comfortably wealthy."

"You got me," said Nadesiko, smirking. "In that case, I will have whatever you happen to have around."

With that MM got some snacks and explained everything that had been happening to Nadesiko.