"Hugo, what are you doing?" Roll exclaimed.

"Shut up," the Mettaur spat.

"Hugo, explain this at once!" Dr. Light boomed.

That pickaxe never wavered, pointed right at Matt beyond R.D.'s chest. "It's some kind of trick, it's gotta be a trick. He shouldn't be here."

"Except he is," R.D. said, frowning. "Dragon Drive FINAL is gone, Hugo. You saw me make sure of that."

===Argentina, South America===

"We'll see about that," one council member said. "You are aware of the Seven Beasts, correct?"

===Darkness===

"Hey now!" Michael swore, fluidly maneuvering away from the attacks in such a way it seemed like they were going through them. The darkness suddenly melted away around them showing that they had moved to somewhere entirely different, and they stood on cold, cracked ground on a desolate landscape. "Watch where you're swinging that thing!"

He hopped backwards, out of the range of the attacks, and gave an annoyed glance at Zhatsuroth. He fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and pulled one out, taking it and lighting it from a magical flame. "Jesus, what the hell's gotten into you now?"

Edited by RisingDragon on October 13, 2008 at 19:37:45.

"So what?" Hugo snapped. "This shouldn't be happening. I was THERE, R.D.. I watched him DIE. I watched him die and now he's got the nerve to just waltz in here like nothing ever happened!"

"Hugo-" Matt began.

"Where the hell WERE YOU?" the Mettaur shouted. "Huh?! Why didn't you tell me you were okay?!"

Matt tried forming words that never really came.

Silence hung until Hugo lowered his pickaxe, just utterly defeated.

Once he was sure Hugo wouldn't try and blow a hole in Matt, he moved away and sat back in his chair. Resting his arm on the table and leaning his head into his hand, R.D. closed his eyes. "Hugo, when I defeated him, Matt was sent to another dimension, and he spent the next few months recovering from the battle," he said before sitting upright. "The moment he was able to free himself, he got sent on another journey. First place he went to was my world, and he saved my rear when he did."

He sighed and looked up, wondering how to best explain this to the robot. Maybe Dr. Light could make more sense of it? He was a scientist, after all. "Different dimensions have different time streams," he started, going back to leaning on the table. "For you, its been nearly two and a half years since the final battle. For Matt, its only been... what, three months? Well, for me, its only been about a week since I got back from the Sanctuary."

"It's the truth, Hugo," Matt added. "Believe me, I wanted to let you all know I was okay, but I exactly couldn't, you know?"

But Hugo was looking toward the ceiling at some higher power to give him clarity, and he groaned in frustration.

Matt sighed. "I'm sorry I made you worry, Hugo."

Another deep breath from the Mettaur. "It's okay," he finally said after another strained pause.

R.D. breathed a sigh of relief. Well, that was one crisis down. "So, on to business?" he suggested, looking at Matt.

"I think we can wait on that a bit," Matt said. "Hugo's tired and I'm tired and we can just let it sit for the moment."

"Well, then, would you like to stay for dinner?" Dr. Light asked.

This didn't pass well with Elec Man. "Dr. Light, aren't you curious about-"

"When Hugo and Matt are ready, they can discuss their past with us," the roboticist said with a smile. "For now, let's just have an enjoyable evening."

"Thank you, Dr. Light," Matt said.

Hugo turned and strode toward the living room. "I'll be in my room. Don't bug me."

"I'm gonna go outside for a bit," R.D. said, finishing his water as he stood up. He put the empty glass on the counter. "I'll be back in a few."

And with that, R.D. made his way through the house and out the front door, back outside. Closing the door behind him, he sighed. "Well, today could've gone better," he muttered.

The knight's brow furrowed with surprise from this question, but immediately began thinking. A moment later he replied, "Yes... I believe I've heard of them. I've been blessed enough to never have any encounters directly related with them. We've seen their work around the world, so yes, we know who, or what, they are. Why do you ask?"

"Are you aware, then, that your battle may have attracted their ilk to this place?" another council member, a woman, asked, her voice hard. "We have avoided their detection by lying low. Now, if your fight has brought their attention here, then you may have doomed us all."

Siegfried winced slightly as this was brought up. He had been worried that this peaceful village may have considered him and his partner simply a bringer of evil. He had tried to make it clear that no harm would be done because of them, but how could he convince them of that when he wasn't even sure if he believed it himself? Confidence was key though. "I am aware it is a possibility, but if Lance and I can attract anything to this place, we can also attract anything away from it. The Beasts have no affiliation with us, but if anything at all comes, whether it is after us or not, you have my word that my partner and I will draw it from this village and ensure that nothing bothers this village again."

The Carnage Blade cut down through the air, only for it to stop short as Michael grabbed hold of the blade. The edge did not pierce his skin, and as he closed his hand around the blade, it wouldn't move. Michael's eyes were now glowing.

He took a drag from his cigarette and removed it from his lips. "Yo. Chill."

He opened his hand flat, and unleashed an invisible wall of force at Zhatsuroth to knock him back across the ground. Slowly, Michael began to hover, rising upwards while he looked down at Zhatsuroth. He took another drag from his cigarette. He lifted one arm up, and his hand seemed to disappear into a misty veil--a dimensional portal small enough to contain his hand.

Hundreds of similar misty portal appeared around Zhatsuroth's body, one right after another. Each one fired a beam of energy, coming in one after another from random directions, each less than half a second from each other, all of them aimed at Zhatsuroth's body.

===Argentina, South America===

"So, you would face their armies?" the council member, arching an eyebrow at the Germanic knight. "They are many and you are few. What is stopping them from dividing their armies into two groups, one to subjugate you and your friend while the rest slaughters our people?"

R.D. was silent for a few moments, contemplating on how to say it. After a while, he sighed and reached into his satchel, pulling out a cold soda can and popping the top. "Hugo wasn't Matt's only ally that traveled with him," he finally said, then taking a drink of the beverage. "There was also me, Alasea, and Helena."

He took another sip. "Not all of us survived the trip. Alasea had to go home, but Helena was killed in the final battle. Matt lost it and gained an unprecedented new power. He killed our enemy, and then tried to rip apart the Multiverse. I had to stop him. Matt wasn't in control of the new power; it had become a new entity using his body. But Hugo didn't know that. He took it pretty badly."

Another sip, and R.D. turned towards the person he was talking to, saying, "So, how bad a shape was Hugo in when he came back here?"

It took a clear moment for Elec Man to answer, being so focused on absorbing R.D.'s words. "His right eyes was broken. It had to be replaced. Structural damage and stress to his internals. Other than that, he was fine. He didn't really talk about what he did or where he went. But he usually keeps to himself anyway.

"I just know that soon after he came back, he just started to work. Anything that came to mind-chores, yardwork, whatever. He also asked Dr. Light to modify him and give him tools so he could be more useful. Soon after that he started going out and hiring himself to whomever could use some extra help."

"Can't blame him, really," R.D. said, nodding. "I did my own fair share of stuff to try and keep my mind off of what happened. 'course, I didn't get nearly as long a chance as Hugo did."

"Hugo never really was one to open himself up." Elec Man watched a low-green car lumber down the street. "Not even to Dr. Light. I don't know why, but Roll's the only one that can bring the best out in him."

"Actually, I think Hugo's just not a guy person," R.D. said, thinking back--he used to marvel at how detailed his memory was since he woke up in that ruined city. Then he realized it was because of how little he'd witnessed, comparatively speaking. "Hugo always got along with Alasea and Helena more than he did with me or Matt."

Elec Man scoffed, amused. "I can understand why, where Matt is concerned."

He turned away. "If what you told me is as horrible as it seems...don't expect Hugo to join you on whatever new trip you've got planned. And don't expect my family to warm up to the idea. He's different now. They miss the Hugo they used to know."

R.D. watched him go, refraining to answer. R.D. had a feeling that once Hugo learned exactly what their goal was, he'd be more than willing to join.

They'd just have to wait in see. Sighing, the turned back towards the street, taking another sip of his soda.

Dinner that night was a succulent pot roast, with toasted carrots and potatoes. At least, it was for those who actually required food. The robots satisfied themselves with small energy canteens-they drank them like a human would with a can of soda. Still, the table was at ease with friendly conversation.

"Rock sure is late tonight," Roll muttered, glancing at the closed dining room door on reflex.

"I'm sure he'll be home soon," Dr. Light said. "You know how much he likes dinner time."

It felt strange to hear the clicking of forks while most of the diners sitting at the wide table weren't even using a utensil, but Matt kept his focus on his food. It was good, at least. Roll sure knew how to pack the flavor in.

'Course, when you were dining with the gigantic Guts Man, who easily towered over them all, it was hard to focus on anything...

Ileyna spent as much time looking around at all of the robots as she did eating her dinner--all of this was so strange and wonderfully new to her, even if she did have a hard time speaking to them.

"What's Rock doing, anyway?" R.D. asked, unfamiliar with the name.

Bomb Man, round and stupid-grinned, answered for Roll. "Rock cleans up whatever the cops can't handle. Sure, most of the time you get run-of-the-mill crooks but then there's the one who got a fancy gun that takes out a whole squad of cars. They send Rock in and Rock cleans house."

"It usually doesn't take this long," Fire Man said. His open helmet currently lacked the flame that usually appeared whenever tapping into his fiery powers.

"Maybe they got a lot more guns this time." Bomb Man chortled all by himself.

"Hmm."

R.D. pushed a bit of his food around his plate, thinking.

"Does he have any archenemies that'd go after him?" he asked, before stabbing some meat with his fork and eating it. He chewed, then swallowed. "That normally seems the case whenever a hero is delayed when cleaning up rabble."

"Well, there's Bass," Fire Man said. "But Bass can't beat him."

"Yet," Elec Man cut in. "Bass can be just as strong as Rock. He just hasn't figured out how to use that power effectively."

"That'll never happen!" Cut Man said. "Bass isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box."

Elec Man's frown deepened at the scissor robot. "Just because Bass is obsessed with fighting doesn't mean you can underestimate him. He's dangerous."

"I KNOW he's dangerous," Cut Man said, "but it's not like he's a great tactical planner or anything."

"Tactical or not, he's no joke."

"Guys, can we stop talking about Bass?" Ice Man asked, straightening himself up a bit. "You're going to make Dr. Light worry."

Matt gestured toward Dr. Light with his fork. "R.D.'s got a point, Doc. I won't lie to you. We tend to attract these kinds of things. But if something happens, we'll take care of it."

"Thank you," Dr. Light said. "Roll, this roast is delicious."

Roll smiled. "Thank you."

After a bit of eating, R.D. had an idea. "You know, I think I could probably find where Rock is," he said, looking at Matt. "My armor should be working fine, and if he's the same make as the rest of the family, it shouldn't be too difficult to get a lock on him with the scanner."

"Armor?" Ileyna said, mostly to herself. She didn't think R.D. had armor, where would he carry it?

"Before you ask, R.D. has kooky powers too," Matt explained to the others, twiddling his fingers. "They're not as cool as mine, of course, but there they are."

"Normally I just go look for him with Bomb Man if something happens," Guts Man said, a lot quieter than expected. "Are you sure that's neccessary?"

"I hope not, but considering how much trouble we do run into, it wouldn't hurt to be on the safe side," R.D. said, putting his fork down on his plate. He stood up and vacated his seat at the table, pushing the chair back in. "I'll go check to see if nothing bad's happened. Today's been difficult enough."

R.D. made his way out of the house, stepping out onto the front walkway, seeing that the sun was beginning to set. He looked around, making sure no one was around to witness him summoning his Dragon King Armor. That would've been a little difficult to explain, even if they were living in a world where humanoid, sentient robots were an everyday occurrence.