Blesser's Court with the Shogun

If MachMan's compliance made Guillotine happier with him, her face didn't show it; when he echoed her sentiments, he got only a sour frown in response. It was a more ordinary frown than Yasu might give, without so much of a knitted brow and less likely to cause frown lines, but still hard enough to generate a chill. Of course, it would be more affecting if she still had her blades on her arms and was not walking around in just her lingerie.

After BlessMan lay down the next challenge and with the whole court watching him expectantly, MachMan made a quiet revelation to BlessMan that would hopefully prove his innocence. The information caused BlessMan to raise an eyebrow; the smile curled up a bit at one side, in a way that made him look more than a little dubious. "Now PhotoMan... I remind you that you're under oath. The last time you were here, I remember that you had quite some 'hardware' indeed the last time you were here. We've all seen that." MachMan further extrapolated that, not having said equipment, he was clearly not MachMan, a conclusion which seemed plain to everyone but BlessMan himself. The navi's halo whirred and clicked as he attempted to process the information. "There's no crime, however, if it's done in the name of art or of love. We established that... last time... ERROR," he murmured, seeming a bit lost now.

The girls all watched curiously, able to only vaguely hear BlessMan and MachMan not at all. Jury heard and watched, but if she thought anything of it, she didn't show it on her face. BlessMan frowned harder, cleared his throat, then pointed towards Guillotine while keeping MachMan's eyes locked with his own. "If you're not PhotoMan, why did you persist in this farce? This is a court, not to be taken lightly. Yet you answered along with that name when I addressed you by it and you even went so far as to perform the first pose. All of you even stripped down at my instruction! I feel very foolish, very foolish indeed. But why did you agree to all of that if you're not PhotoMan?" he asked, his eyebrows arched critically as he tried to seek some betrayal of the secret in MachMan's eyes, ironically unaware that he was the one mislabeling MachMan to begin with.

On the bench, Guillotine had her fist to her mouth with a thoughtful frown, as though she were pondering what was just said. Pest's wings were buzzing a little faster now; it was possible she'd sensed there could be an imminent cut-and-run, which would be a great time for her to drain a target of her choosing. Skywriter still looked pretty disheartened that she'd failed to get a rise out of MachMan (and might be even more so if she knew how impossible that was to begin with), but did her best to look attentive whenever he looked back in that direction. Hime had her eyes narrowed and a slight blush frozen on her face, perhaps because she was still occupied with the thought of the final photograph, or possibly for another reason. She shot another message to MachMan as well:

Quote (Hime)

"I'll trust your best judgment here; I think it's a clever ploy, but one that BlessMan seems to have tripped over once again. Whether you keep to the truth or not is up to you, but we definitely don't need this turning into a new trial. I'll happily assist with the photos if needed, whatever you need me to do. Just try not to agitate him.

"ERROR. Well? ERROR? Well? Well?" BlessMan asked impatiently, before clenching his teeth as though a sudden migraine had come on. Given the noise being emitted by the halo above his head, that was perhaps not surprising.[/quote]

BlessMan, continuing to believe Mach to be PhotoMan, rebuked Mach's claim with his own recollection. That in itself was confusing, because he outright stated they've met before, yet he still assumed the Navi before him was PhotoMan. It did seem he revealed a clue into how one would be "innocent" though, as long as the photos were done "in the name of art or love." Mach was grasping at straws for a solution not involving a hasty retreat or an attempted assassination, so he quickly added it to his list of variables as he tried to formulate a strategy.

Mach did get a moment of lucidity from BlessMan, but unfortunately it only brought additional complications. Mach immediately wanted to parry with the fact BlessMan never actually asked Mach's identity, and Mach himself never explicitly denied being PhotoMan, but it was apparent one shouldn't fight a battle of wits with someone who owns the rules and rapidly swings from lucidity to madness. Mach's mind continued to race, thinking of possible angles to take, with the nearly palpable unease and pressure permeating the courtroom. [[i]Alright, plan A: stay as PhotoMan, maybe say it was attempt to keep the dignity of "my" art. Plan B: not PhotoMan, maybe blackmailed by the real PhotoMan to be his proxy/frame it on ROT? Plan C: Bolt. Choices, choices, choices.[/i]]

He also received Hime's message, at least he continued to have her support and the further emphasis on not agitating BlessMan helped narrow down some of his responses. BlessMan persisted, demanding answers, so Mach made his choice. He could only hope it was the right one.


He inhaled deeply then let out a resigned sigh. "I apologize, it was an attempt to preserve what little dignity this art form has left nowadays. But to please the court, I shall try to recreate the photos even in this less than ideal atmosphere, to show they were in the pursuit of the love of art," he confessed, keeping up the persona. He hoped his rueful confession and impassioned declaration would at least keep BlessMan satisfied in maintaining the little "skit" he's so keen on playing, while regaining some control of the situation. Upon hopefully receiving some form of affirmation/permission to continue, Mach turned back to the girls with a focused expression. "Alright ladies, let's get to it. Now who wants what? I'd prefer to have models who would enjoy the individual scenes, to make it look natural instead of forced and artificial; feel free to speak up. Also, need that prop for the topless photo." he exclaimed, his eyes moving from one Navi to another, looking for them to step up. If needed, he'd match up the remaining 3 Navis to the photos. From the information he had at that moment, he'd likely choose Pest for the first photo (could use her mask to cover up), Hime for the second (seemed natural for her somewhat refined look), and Skywriter for the third (he knew her better than the rest, and from some of her reactions... maybe she'd be most likely to enjoy it?)

BlessMan lowered his eyebrows, smiling, but looking a bit critical. "Well, if you were interested in preserving the art form, perhaps you shouldn't have... I suppose that's not my place to say," he smirked, which was perhaps less insulting if one realized he was picking apart PhotoMan's past options rather than MachMan's.

He went back to the original plan after that; asking "who wants want" might have been the wrong question, since, despite the theoretical exception of Skywriter, who appeared eager to give MachMan an eye-full, and Hime, who seemed eager to help however needed, none of them seemed actually looked ready to jump right in. "Not to worry. I can help with the... final shot," the dark-skinned lady offered, pressing a hand to her chest. Quickly, Skywriter interjected.

"N-No, you don't need to. He should probably be with the... actress... he's the most familiar with. We've been on a lot of missio- er, photoshoots, before. It ought to be me, if it's anyone," Skywriter protested, watching MachMan with a face only slightly less pink than her swimsuit.

"... Or maybe I should do it just because I'm an impartial party, bzzzzz," Pest suggested, seeming to be fed up with the hesitation. Guillotine, at least, didn't jump for it.

Hime paused, pressing a hand to her ear as though listening to a communicator headpiece. "I'm sorry, Skywriter. I see where you're coming from, but the... producer... just gave me specific orders. He says he doesn't want you and... PhotoMan... compromising your... professional relationship," she relayed, standing very straight as she gave Skywriter the news. "I think it would be best if you adhered to his orders and took one of the other shots." Skywriter seemed to deflate, but nodded all the same. "He's also sent us something to help with one of the shoots... here," she murmured, materializing a long-poled Neo-Shogun banner, displaying the shape of a red demon mask over a white flag. "That can be good coverage for whoever steps out there."

"I'll take it," Pest offered. She was looking at the crowd rather eagerly, rubbing her hands together. Ordinarily, one might worry for her going out into the crowd in just the bottom of her swimsuit, but... given what they knew about her, the Neo-Shogun subordinates might be more concerned about the health of the Blessers in the audience.

Skywriter nodded with a sheepish smile, seeming happy now she was going to avoid having to go topless for now, at least. "Then I can do the second shoot." Pest raised the banner up to cover her front while quickly removing her top; the wings stayed where they were, which confirmed that they did indeed come from her back rather than part of her clothing. The mask stayed on, though, staring with eerie bug eyes (though MachMan might remember that she had similar eyes underneath as well). She had to keep the flag pretty flat against her chest... there wasn't much to hide, regardless. If anything, Skywriter seemed like she was more in danger of something slipping, just given the flimsiness of her suit, as she stretched across the bench. "Um... PhotoMan, what would be a sexy pose?" she asked, lying down pretty plainly for the moment. She switched to lie on her side and prop herself with one arm. "Something like this?" It was hard to imagine that was quite right. In the mean time, Pest hoisted the banner and went out into the audience, as she'd promised. It seemed like she was going to be pretty safe... the crowd were more confused than lecherous, for the most part.

The big question was how the last shot with Hime was going to go. She did her part to get ready, walking to the center of the space between the two stands, before flipping her long hair behind herself and lying down onto her stomach. "There... now you just need to get into position and we can wrap up quickly," she suggested to MachMan. From this distance, it was clear she was maybe a little more nervous than she let on, given that her face was a few shades brighter than the rest of her pitch-black body. "Remember, we don't really know each other and it's my job to do whatever is necessary for... the photoshoot. What we're doing now is just for... the producer... and his empire. His media empire, that is."

"Yes, this is all very familiar... though... if the other one had a tan before, you must have er... been lacking one," BlessMan added, perhaps realizing that Hime looked nothing like the original model.

Mach didn't reply to BlessMan's derisive remark, he managed to get the proverbial train back on the rails and didn't want to say something to cause things to go awry once more. The three remaining "models" were somewhat slow to make their choices, but after some brief discussions and an apparent order from the "producer" along with a new prop, they took their places. Mach raised an eyebrow and looked to Skywriter as defended her stance on taking the final shot, matching his prediction and adding more evidence to his assumptions about her. However, the aforementioned order ultimately caused Skywriter to back down, Mach noting her subtle disappointment at the news.

"Alright then, let's hop to it," Mach concluded before making his "rounds." As he moved to check over Pest and her banner, one of his decoys started to materialize above and slightly behind him. The black spherical drone was studded with tiny holoprojectors, but they remained off, leaving the drone looking like a dark softball floating in the air. "Now, for your pose... looking for provocative, but confident. Look as if you're acting like a walking advert, looking to get others to join your cause," Mach explained to Pest, trying to take the clues from BlessMan's description of the picture and combine it with a bit of improvisation from the inclusion of the banner. Unfortunately other than the setting and the model "posing provocatively," he had little else to go on. Hopefully BlessMan wouldn't spontaneously remember more fine detail that would question Mach's legitimacy as "PhotoMan."

He looked for an affirmation from Pest, verbal or not, before turning next to Skywriter. His decoy trailed lazily over his shoulder like a small balloon, while his eyes focused on Skywriter as she made her suggestion for the pose. It certainly didn't look bad, and she had plenty to show, as Mach's eyes took in the whole picture as he pinched his chin between his thumb and the side of his hooked index finger. "Hmm, not bad... Can you try sitting more upright and stretch out? The backs of the benches aren't exactly easy to work with, but try to look comfortable," Mach suggested as his decoy floated foward and started to make a slight orbit around and above Skywriter. If it looked like she couldn't get quite comfortable, he'd make another suggestion. "Might be better to try reclining across the bench on your back, with one hand cradling the back of your head. You can look towards the drone, and try to act like you're beckoning it to you, pour on the charm," he said with a wink, hoping to ease the nerves.

As the decoy continued to make a slow semi-circle orbit a few feet above and away from Skywriter, he moved to the fourth and hopefully final "shoot." Hime had already taken her spot on the floor, and reminded him of the motivation behind the "photoshoot." "Of course." Mach felt the same, the stage was just too awkward and too many unknown variables to really enjoy the situation, and Mach simply wanted this done quickly so he could get back to his SPs and get Boss Oni off their backs. He didn't exactly fear for their safety, but Roc could fly off the handle and do something brash to wreck the negotiations.

As Mach moved in behind the obsidian-skinned (though oddly flush in the face) Navi, he tried to think of how to set himself up. The description seemed odd, where he'd have both of his hands on her butt along with his crotch, so he had to take a brief moment to figure a stance that wouldn't require acrobatics to achieve. He got an idea and straddled Hime's legs, his front facing towards the rest of her body as he started to get down on his knees. However, BlessMan seemed to remember a inconsistency in the recreation. He paused, looking at the quite black-and-white contrast of their skin tones before responding. "Will this do for this setting? Her skin is still quite stunning, but if the photo isn't accurate to be proper evidence, we'll adjust."

If BlessMan directed a lighter-skinned model to take Hime's place, Mach would go to plan B. He gestured over to Skywriter as he spoke. "In that case, for sake of time I'd like to use the model on the jury bench for this shot as well." If BlessMan agreed, he'd beckon Skywriter over to take Hime's place, while sending Hime a message.

Quote (MachMan)

I know orders are orders, but as you said we need to get this done quickly. You can trust me to remain professional with Skywriter, and only working to recreate the photo just enough for BlessMan to accept it.

He'd stand up straight to give Hime room to stand back up and for Skywriter to take her place, and wait for Skywriter to give him some sort of signal of her readiness to continue before getting back to a kneeling position.

Regardless of who ultimately acted as the final model, he'd take a kneeling position on top of them, his knees on either side of the model's abdomen so he could lower himself down so he'd be sitting nearly on top of her rear. He'd give a quiet sigh as his hands moved into position. [[i]Here goes nothing...[/i]] he said in his mind before gently placing his hands on the model's bottom. He'd pause, giving the model time to react and even partially get mentally comfortable before continuing. Then would come the difficult part. In an attempt to replicate the secondary aspect of the photo, he'd have the palms of his hands essentially flush with his pelvis and the sides of his thumbs placed together with the rest of his fingers splayed outwards over the model's derrière.

"Bzzz? Oh, okay then. You're the bzzzzz," Pest responded, doing her best to swagger a bit as she walked and holding the banner more in the tips of her fingers, a little further away from her chest so it was less flattened over it and more fluttering in front of it. "Bzzz bzzzzzzz... Come join the empire!" she encouraged one of the navis, perhaps adding a wink. The mask never blinked, though, and there was no way for the needle to smile either, so it just came off as a little weird. Regardless, BlessMan didn't call foul, so there was nothing to worry about.

Skywriter was just as quick to follow orders, first switching to a position sitting up. She raised her hands above her head, a position which showed off just how poorly her swimsuit constricted her breasts, seeming to threaten a wardrobe malfunction at any moment. "Like this?" she asked, smiling uncertainly. He had another thought; she nodded, then tried it out, lying down across the bench and placing one hand behind the back of her head. "Beckoning..." she repeated, then worked that direction, smiling warmly and cradling beneath her chest with her free arm. She drew one leg up so that the knee faced outward towards the camera. "You're not actually recording though, right?" she asked, punctuating her sentence with a nervous giggle.

While ordinarily this might be more like fun than work, MachMan had his SPs to think about; MachMan was correct in thinking that Aera and Roc were in a situation together, but wrong in exactly how Roc was letting the situation get away from her. Hime seemed to jump a bit as MachMan got into position; before MachMan could actually make contact with his hands, however, he took heed of BlessMan's words. She turned her head to look over her shoulder as MachMan spoke, but abruptly swished back to facing forward when he mentioned her stunning skin. "That's fine. We'll adjust if we must," she agreed aloud.

"Well, it's your photoshoot! But for the sake of accuracy, that might be best," BlessMan nodded. Hime would wait till MachMan let her up, then quickly move to take her place back with the others. "Who are you thinking?"

As it turned out, Skywriter was going to get her shot after all. She looked momentarily embarrassed, then somehow pleased, then sort of a combination of both. "O-O-Oh! Right, of course. Sure! Like I said, we're squaddies! W-We've been on lots of missions-uh, shoots, together, so I'd be best suited for it," she agreed, becoming beet red as she approached MachMan. With no hesitation, she moved to where Hime had been lying and assumed the same position... actually, not quite. If MachMan was paying attention, he'd realize she had her bottom elevated a bit, as if expecting he was going to take hold of it. "Boy, it sure is, uh, awkward having to do this in front of everyone else! But I don't mind at all. I-It's just a thing, right?" With her bottom in the air, viewed from behind and overhead the horizontal line of the band of her swimsuit seemed to disappear entirely against her flesh, almost making it difficult to tell she was wearing a swimsuit at all...

MachMan's squad-mate managed to avoid jumping when his hands connected, but did seem to shift a bit to reposition her legs. She noted the position of his hands, then looked back, her eyes seeming like they were almost spiraling. She looked like smoke might start shooting out of her ears pretty soon. "A-A-Are you going to push? This position sort of seems like you're getting ready to thrust! W-Which is okay! It's part of our mission!" she reminded him (or herself?) in an anxious squeak. The model seemed to be growing warmer and warmer under his touch as her skin flushed. She also didn't remember to call it a photoshoot this time. From this distance, MachMan could notice a distinct flowery smell, possibly Skywriter's shampoo.

The most awkward part was that she was clearly waiting for some last point of contact, not realizing that MachMan had already more or less mounted her for the shot.

"Hm... Yes... That does look about right! The only thing that seems off... Oh, right! You oiled the model first, didn't you, to give her skin a moist look! Maybe if you applied something like that it would all come back together?" BlessMan pitched in, stopping just short of accepting every photo recreation. "Did you bring anything like that?"

Skywriter shook her head, swishing her purple hair as she did. Guillotine also shrugged and Hime knit her brow, having nothing to contribute either. From the audience, Pest buzzed, looking around the audience for anyone that could help with that. "Sorry, BlessMan... I don't know if we can do that part. I was on the beach at the time, so all we had to do was hop into the ocean to get wet," Skywriter explained. BlessMan looked like he was smiling, about to accept that answer, when Skywriter added, "Oh, wait! I do have suntan lotion. I always take it to the beach, though I haven't been in a while." Out in the audience, Pest slapped her face, but Skywriter seemed oblivious; she created a bottle of the lotion from thin air, then handed it back to MachMan. "Y-You can put it on, since you're the director for the shot and all...?" she asked, sounding almost hopeful.

Hime joined Pest in covering her face with her palm, then sent MachMan a message:

Quote (Hime)

It's over, MachMan. BlessMan is ready to accept the ending with or without that. Try to wrap it up, we need to get back to the camp and deal with Boss Oni.

Pest and Skywriter took Mach's instructions well, and it appeared their performances were satisfactory in BlessMan's eyes. Pest looked to take the concept and run with it, which likely helped to make seem natural and believable, and Skywriter also took the cues and added her own "flair" to the shoot. The decoy continued to slowly orbit, and though capable of streaming/recording visual data to Mach, he didn't command the decoy to do any of those functions; which was probably a good thing.

The final picture didn't go as planned, but thankfully Hime didn't protest too much to the model-swap, and Skywriter appeared all-too-happy to take her place. The decoy fragmented and disappeared once Skywriter moved from the bench to Mach. After getting down into his position, Mach noted he had to kneel somewhat more upright, as it looked as if Skywriter had hiked her butt up to meet his hands. That and her excited babbling made it seem she was enjoying this a LOT more than Mach was. After getting into position, her frenzied look and comment about thrusting actually caused an embarrassed blush to appear on Mach's face. [[i]C'mon Skywriter, don't make it weird... you're making it weird.[/i]] Mach complained in his mind, doing well to keep from saying it out loud.

Thankfully BlessMan sounded satisfied, though he pointed out one last detail; he remembered the model's skin had a "moist look," as if it was oiled. Mach blinked and hoped he didn't actually roll his eyes, then started to think of possible ways ahead. If no one had some sort of oils, Skywriter's skin was already starting to become so warm he assumed she would start to sweat, if she had that sort of programing. However, Skywriter did seem to "sober up" enough to explain the reason for the discrepancy and why they wouldn't be able to recreate it. She then jumped right back in to the hole she'd previously gotten out of by suggesting, and producing, a bottle lotion.

Skywriter's frazzled "helpfulness" was only causing further delays, so Mach had to improvise as he was handed the lotion bottle. As he held it in his hand, he shook it a bit and exclaimed, "Feels a bit light..." He went further and gave the lotion bottle a light squeeze, but he exaggerated the motion to make it appear he was struggling to get anything out, and tried his best to only have a very small dollop of lotion to fall into his hand. "Yeah, there's not enough here to make her skin look uniformly oiled... looks better as is, in my opinion," He concluded before he handed the bottle back to Skywriter, along with a private message.

Quote (Mach)

Play along. Don't forget we still have to get back to Roc and Aera before one of them deep fries Boss Oni.

He looked up to BlessMan before speaking. "Are you satisfied with the evidence?" he asked, gesturing towards the girls.

Skywriter was watching MachMan with a hopeful, anxious smile; it was hard to tell if that was because they were succeeding in placating BlessMan, because she liked where everything was going, or if she was searching for some sign that MachMan was appreciative of her efforts. Sadly for her, he seemed significantly more exacerbated by the whole affair than enthusiastic. It was hard not to see her deflate a bit once she'd gauged his reaction, but she responded quickly enough.

Quote (Skywriter)

Oh, sorry, I got carried away. If those two are still tied up with Boss Oni, we definitely ought to finish up...

"You're right, PhotoMan; that is quite enough. I only wish that I hadn't wasted so much of your time... MarriageMan never showed up, so the whole thing was quite pointless. I may have to call you in for another trial later, I'm afraid," BlessMan warned MachMan, with a nod to each of the girls in turn as well. To his right, Jury shook her head slowly, perhaps implying it would be best not to take issue with the potential summons, given that her father would likely forget about it soon enough regardless. "I thank you for a free behind-the-scenes look at the photography biz, as it were. Hm hm hm," he chuckled, clearly not realizing the grave situation he'd put MachMan in by using up so much of his time.

"It was our pleasure," Hime responded, motioning for Skywriter to get off the floor. She did so, now looking significantly less excited as she blushed and more just embarrassed. Pest returned to the others as well, flapping her wings behind herself to float through the air a bit as she approached. Guillotine was already seated, crossing her legs and looking haughty despite sitting in her underwear. "Let's head out... PhotoMan," she suggested.

"Wait, if you would! You deserve a small gift for your time here- ERROR ERROR. I can bestow you power as a token of apology. Would you like to step forward and be blessed- ERROR ERROR- name your cause and be -ERROR ERROR- name, name, name... name..." BlessMan babbled on, his halo starting to whir more and more noisily. Jury left her judge's stand and placed her hands on her father's shoulders, massaging them gently.

"It's best if you all go ahead and leave," she encouraged them, while BlessMan's smile transformed into a strained frown, his hands moving up to his temples as a terrible headache struck him. The halo had begun shooting sparks out of one side and onto the judge's stand. Hime was frowning worriedly, showing obvious concern for his well-being, but the others all seemed ready to quit out of the place as soon as they could.

Quote (MachMan)

Don't worry about it too much; I appreciate the dedication to the situation regardless.

The message was in response to Skywriter's own message and her slight disappointment; Mach's previous message likely came off as "scolding." Mach's attention was drawn back to BlessMan who finally brought the trial to a conclusion, though it sounded like a mistrial due to MarriageMan being MIA. [[i]Then why did we even go this far?[/i]] Mach grumbled to himself, he felt like this entire "photoshoot" was just a waste of time, but then again the judge was less-than-sane.

"Agreed. Glad to be of service, have a good one," Mach responded to Guillotine's suggestion with a farewell to BlessMan, but was stopped by the Navi's offer of "power" in return for their time. Mach already knew of its mentally caustic properties, and was more than happy to refuse, and thankfully Jury was on their side. "That's not necessary, thanks anyway though," he said before turning away to the rest of his group and sent a message to Aera.

Quote (MachMan)

We're finally wrapping things up here, any issues?

With the notification away, he looked to the girls. Hime looked to be concerned for BlessMan's condition, but unless someone in the group was secretly an advanced coder, no one would know what's really wrong with the Navi, let alone know what to do to fix the issue.

"Let's leave him be, the trial was probably taxing and he could use the rest. I'm heading back to the encampment, but I don't think I'll require either of you to come with, so where you go next is up to you," Mach explained with his focus on Pest and Skywriter regarding where they desired to go. He then looked to Guillotine and finally to Hime as he wrapped up quickly, "Nothing further, hopefully our next meeting will be of a more professional nature. Miss Hime, mind notifying the Producer, and reminding him of his meeting? I can pass the information along to his guest, so I can free up my associates." He gave the group a few moments to state their intentions, and hoped to get some useful information from Hime to pass to Boss Oni.

Skywriter's mood seemed to improve a bit as MachMan, at least seemingly, attributed her sudden misbehavior to being mission-focused. BlessMan looked like the refusal of the gift wasn't sitting well with him, as he held both hands to the sides of his head, clearly in pain. "You should accept ERROR accept the gift," BlessMan reiterated. "I haven't blessed anyone in some time now. The world misses out when people allow their passions to be limited to their current selves! With my power, you could probably reach so many more people with your photography," he recommended, before growling and resting his cheek upon the desk. The halo kept its position upright, even when his head turned.

Hime agreed with the suggestion that they ought to get moving, though. As much as BlessMan needed help, their whole empire was under a three-pronged attack by the heads of the ROT, and she couldn't argue that it seemed like the wrong time to get involved. "Very well. I'll make sure that the... Producer... is ready to join you when you get to the camp. Guillotine, I would recommend you return to the main camp and assist the others there. Skywriter, Pest, you two should go with MachMan in case he needs squad support. I'm not fully aware of the situation there. Let's head out," she finished, before giving a salute and vanishing. The others saluted as well and left, with Skywriter being last out.

"We should do it again sometime..." she suggested, before realizing how awkward that was given the situation. "I-I mean, wear our swimsuits and go to the beach! I don't want to do a weird trial and be humped again or anything. J-Just the beach part!" she defended, before vanishing quickly off the net in a burst of smoke. MachMan could exit now too, with nothing left here but BlessMan, his daughter attending him, and several other upset Blessers who were now moving to help their leader as well.

Mach was going to repeat his refusal of BlessMan's "gift," but after the Navi's head sunk down to his desk, Mach elected to not respond and avoid further aggravating the Navi. Hime gave some promising words, sounds like Shogun was going to the camp soon, they could finally get Boss Oni off their backs. With their marching orders given, all but Skywriter saluted and warped out to their assigned locations.

Mach skeptically raised an eyebrow at Skywriter's suggestion to repeat this some other time, but his expression soon eased to an amused grin as Skywriter sputtered out an explanation. "Haha, I'll keep that in mind if we get some free time." Mach chuckled. He chose not to tease the Navi, as she was already fairly riled up, and from the looks of things they were nearly overstaying their welcome. Jury and some of the crowd were moving to tend to their ailing leader, giving Mach an opportunity to depart at his leisure. [[i]Hm, maybe these Blessers aren't so bad; they could be powerful allies, as long as we (the NS) don't let them spread their "Blessing" to our own members... I wonder if Peace could help with BlessMan's woes.[/i]] Mach pondered to himself briefly before he casually walked from the center of the courtroom and to the seating area.

Once he found a large enough gap in the crowd, he vanished in a brief flash of cyan light, and beamed back to the Netfrica Camp.

((To Netfrica Camp))