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Not quite willing to stand down just yet, Sho continued to glare rather mistrustingly at Heine.

"You can put the sword down you know... it's not like a gun, especially if you're keeping it covered." Heine continued to rub his head, disgruntled.

"Oh, yeah? Well I can do this!" Sho drew the sheath back over his head, swung it at Heine, and stopped it just a few inches from his head, making Heine flinch a little bit and shout in retaliation.

"Enough with aiming for the head! I've got bike gear over the rest of my body, hit somewhere else!"

"Enough..." Slayer's words were soft spoken, not willing to raise his voice right now. "Sho, you can calm down. He's only a lad himself...."

"Fine.... I don't want to have a guilty conscience anyway," and Sho lowered his sword. Heine muttered something under his breath about being called a lad.

"Now where'd you brutes put my bag? Can I at least change into something more comfortable?" It was an honest request, since the bike gear wasn't his most comfortable nor casual clothing, and it didn't help that he'd been unconscious and slumped over in it for several hours.

"You can find the things that were with you by your chair." Slayer answered, having seen the young man brought in in the first place.

Heine turned and rather quickly, almost over reacting, picked up his duffle back and looked back and forth between the two men for a moment, realizing that the room he was in was somewhat covered with books all along the walls, and he didn't see a restroom anywhere nearby. "So... where can I actually change? Or should I just think of this as a locker room?" He snorted, obviously the second part was a joke, but Heine was still being less than completely agreeable about his situation.

"Most certainly not. The elevator is right over there. Feel free to use that as a dressing stall." Slayer responded quickly, not wanting to see this young man start redressing himself in the middle of his living space.

"Elevator?....... just how low or high am I exactly...." Heine hadn't taken note of the fact that this room wasn't on ground level.

Sho was the one who replied this time. "You're about a hundred stories in the air."

Heine blinked at this new information, seeming to momentarily lose his balance as his body retuned itself to the fact it was 100 stories higher than it thought it was when Heine woke up. "I see........ well then I'll just go change now and think about this." Stumbling over to the elevator, Heine opened the door, and waited for them to close before he started changing.

"What's with him?" Sho inquired to Slayer, obviously talking about Heine's reaction to how high he was.

"Perhaps the lad has a fear of heights?" Slayer was equally baffled, but in any event, Heine seemed to be able to cope just fine.

----

Meanwhile, en route to the bottom of the north tower and still unaware of the mildly odd situation unfolding, Mastema was confident being reunited with the children would go a long way to calming Nana's nerves. However, just to be sure, Nana would suddenly find Mastema lifting her off her feet and picking her up in his arms instead. The entire motion hadn't stop Mastema from continuing toward the north tower, but the couple's stroll had just turned into a personal transport.

While strolling toward the north tower, Mastema placed a kiss on Nana's forehead, before she asked for his opinion. "I think the question you're really asking is 'should we go get some lemon squares from the cafeteria.' At least that's what I think; could you think of a reason those three would turn the offer down?" The only one Mastema gave a half chance of turning one down would be Eecheb, since it might not be to his tastes. He was certain enough from past experience that Trilla loved sweets and Micha was part-time sugar addict. "We could go back and get some, although we could also just go when we bring the children back." Perhaps no more than a few seconds after listing the options, Mastema stopped in his tracks and looked above him, watching a tiny, blue-translucent bag come floating down to him and Nana, its decent slowed by what looked like a tiny parachute. After a few moments, the bag would land softly on Nana's stomach. The contents of the bag looked to be three square pastries stacked on top of eachother, the bag tied up with string, and the ends of that string were tied to the parachute, which was made of nothing more than a paper towel or two. Looking further up, Mastema and Nana could see the white glow of thrusters as it headed back to the main tower. "...A robot that knows how you think is fine too..."

"If I wanted a glass of wine, perhaps it would come rolling down the street on a runaway push cart?" Mastema waited and then checked behind him as if to confirm that it wasn't coming. "Pity." And with that he continued carrying Nana toward the north tower.

---

"Geez, how long does it take to change out of riding gear...." Sho was a little annoyed that Heine was taking a few long minutes to change into alternative clothes in the elevator. ".....Did we ever check what was in his bag?"

"There was nothing dangerous detected. Why?" Slayer responded with a question to Sho's.

"Did he bring any magazines?......" Sho turned back to the elevator again. "You don't think he's--"

"I don't think we should venture to obscure trains of thought, my friend..." Slayer cut show off before he continued, for good reason.

"He better not be.... I use that elevator..." Sho blinked and snapped out of his less than favorable thoughts, when he noticed the elevator being called down to the bottom floor. "Well... hope he's dressed by the time he gets to the bottom floor....."

---

Heine had actually just finished putting on his academy uniform, which was his normal style of clothing. The black outfit with silver linings was actually quite classy looking for its simplicity. The last thing he pulled out of his bag was an odd looking belt buckle, which had what seemed to be a silver metal frame around a gold metal circle in the middle of it. "I doubt these guys are pushovers. I might have to use this to get out in the worst case." Not a few moments after securing the buckle under the shirt of his uniform, the elevator started moving all of the sudden and Heine nearly toppled over. "What the--"

---

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the tower, Mastema still stood waiting for the elevator to come down, with Nana still in his arms. This confrontation could end badly...

"Would you jump out of my arms if I said yes?" Mastema chuckled and kissed Nana on the forehead again. "But in all seriousness, I have the mind to. Don't tell me I make you embarassed when I'm around you." Well, maybe it was all in seriousness, and Mastema winked at Nana, leaving it very much up in the air as to how far he actually intended to carry her.

Mastema started to step forward when the elevator opened, only to find himself confronted with a complete stranger, who stood at about Than's height with orange, styled hair. A good ten seconds of silence passed before either of them said anything, although Mas was simply considering cranium crushing the man and having him done with. Luckily, Heine had the chance to speak first and make a good first impression.

"Um..... sorry, maam, but I don't wear dresses...."

Or not.

Nana's stealth systems prevented humans from seeing her, so all Heine could see was Mastema carrying a dress and holding it out, as if he was expected to put it on. Mastema, however, didn't exactly take the comment too well.

"......I beg your pardon."

"Oh s*** you're a dude. ._. "Heine continued to blink, being like a deer in the headlights for a moment....

"Yes, that's right. I'm a 'dude'" Mastema emphasized the slang to make it clear to Heine that he hadn't exactly used the right wording when talking to this stranger whose home he was now in.

Heine was still trying to figure out what was the best course of action, and in the end he settled on one of the more obvious acts. "Ah....sorry, you probably want the elevator right? Eh heh...." Heine skittishly circled around the tall figure of Mastema and left the elevator open to them, taking his bag with him. "Oh, well there you go."

Mastema continued to eye the young man for a moment longer, the threat of death ever present in his stare, before stepping the elevator with the invisible Nana in tow. "You just stay here until I come back and have time to deal with you. We have to pick up our children....."

"Ah, hah... well you see I was hoping I might just head off now and take my leave. It seems I'm in the wrong place...."

"That may be.... You're free to leave, but if one of my guards finds you, you will probably end up dead. You're welcome to try though." And with that, the elevator doors closed on the couple.

"Right....... staying here. Good idea...." Heine found a place to sit, huffing to himself about his predicament. ".....Children? The old guy and the other dude?..... Did I ever actually wake up after getting knocked out....."

Mastema would lightly snuggle Nana for a moment, before slowly letting her back on her feet. "That must have been the supposed thrill seeker that Thanatos knocked unconscious and brought in. I wouldn't worry too much, dear.... he's only human, the children are in the care of Slayer and Sho, and he probably couldn't even see them if he didn't notice you...." Mastema wasn't lost on why Heine had thought he was being offered a dress. As far as Mas could tell, Heine though the dress wasn't being worn. "Besides, I would know if anything had happened."

Soon enough, the doors to the top floor would open and Nana could see for herself that the children were safe.

Mastema kept his hand on Nana's back reassuringly while the elevator ascended, and when the door opened to reveal her children perfectly fine, he patted her back lightly as if to say 'told you so.'

"Hello there, everyone. I'm sorry we had to leave on such short notice, children. I hope it wasn't too much trouble to the both of you to watch over them."

"Not in the slightest. They're wonderful little angels." Slayer smiled, reclining in his chair. It was hard to tell if the pun was intended or not, given that Slayer himself wasn't an angel.

"Yep, it was all nice and fun until that guy woke up. He only came around about the same time you guys got back to the citadel." Sho offered up an explanation as to what Heine had been doing with them until now.

"Ah, yes, the captive. What was he doing in the elevator, on that note...."

"Oh. He wanted to change out of the motorcycle gear he had when Than brought him.' Sho blinked, and tried to look past Mastema and Nana into the elevator. ".......you vaporize him or something?"

"No, but I had the mind to. He's either waiting on the bottom floor, or he's out and about, soon to be taken out by something else in the citadel if he's not careful..." Hopefully Heine was smart enough to take short advice.