Home is where things keep happening.

Returning, Camillia quickly went to pack her essentials into a bag. She hadn't visited somewhere in a long time, and she figured that it wouldn't hurt to go on a short holiday. "Are you... excited about this trip?" Rhea noted with brief interest, watching the enthusiasm that was beaming from Camillia with her actions. "Yeah! I heard they have a hot spring there. I've never been into one before," she babbled. "... We are heading there for a mission, though. Not a holiday," Rhea muttered, more to herself than to her operator.

"Oi Tsujsa, I'm heading to Yoka first, okay? Take care of yourself while I'm out," Camillia said in deliberate loudness to get her cousin's attention, before carting herself out of home, with her PET and a small travelling bag in tow.

Destination? The Yoka Inn.

Tsujsa scratched his head as he went to make himself a cup of hot joe. That shit from earlier was intense. Really intense. It was a miracle Validus managed to make it out of there alive. But he couldn't stop smiling to himself about that fact. Somehow, it made the two of them tougher and stronger, and also more prepared to fight anything else that would come their way.

It was reassurances like those which made Tsujsa stronger. And then there was his cousin around the house too. With the amount of money he was able to earn through odd jobs here and there, there's no way he could support both of them for longer than 4 months or so.

It was time to man up and get a job, he thought to himself. As he began to drink the cup of coffee, Camillia's loud shouting suddenly distracted him, spilling the coffee all over his face. The heat of the liquid didn't exactly help as Tsujsa suddenly started jumping around, clasping his mouth as he pulled open the freezer and starting sticking his face onto it.

"CAPTAIN WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE." Validus screamed out loud in his PET. The sudden outburst shocked Tsujsa as he bumped his head onto the fridge's side, and then pouring ice all over him as he knocked over the ice container.

Great. He was suffering both heat and cold. What a lovely combination. Then something just popped into his head. Did Cam just say Yoka? Tsujsa suddenly remembered that he signed up for a mission to meet up with another Netbattler, and also to keep an eye out on Cam. "Oi Validus, Wake up! It's time for action again." Tsujsa said as he raised himself up and ran to change his clothes to a clean set.

After grabbing his jacket and locking the door, he sped off for the public train service, and headed for Yoka.

[[Heading to Yoka]]

Camillia moved home, seeing how no one was home, she gave a small sigh. Apparently her cousin wasn't home yet. Rolling over to the jack-in point, she pondered the necessity of trying out the new upgrades.

"Here are the upgrades, Rhea, do as you like," she said, taking her PET and placing it on the table. Rhea gave a verbal response, taking in the upgrades and set off to work. She apparently materialised as a hologram, sitting on the PET with a floating window in front of her. Camillia smiled at the hologram, heading to the kitchen to grab a drink.

When she returned, she was surprised to find out that Rhea was already done, and was eager to try it out in combat-- with those shining, eager and curious eyes.

Camillia gladly complied after taking a gulp of drink, jacking into the network.

[[To: Netsquare]]

"I suppose this is it," Na'im told himself as he looked up at the building of which he had figured out that the crippled girl was living. From his back he reached for his PET and slid it to the front while turning it on. The main menu surfaced on the screen, requesting a password, while Djinni was sleeping in the corner as unladylike as she could possibly manage. His fingers slid across the screen, gaining access to the database and brought forth a window with a couple of symbols. "Broadside. Eternalis. Exorcist," he said to himself as he looked at the three fully lit symbols of the Navis, then looked at the symbols that weren't as complete as the previous ones. They were practically half filled, except for one of them which was the one that belonged to the purple Navi. "Rhea, wasn't it?" he mused to himself and turned his eyes up to the building.

Going through the door of the building, continously looking around as if he had entered an entirely new world, and finding his way around he eventually arrived at the elevator. "Do I even know on what floor she is...?" he asked himself once he entered the elevator and slid his finger over the buttons. In an instant he pulled a small keychain from his pocket with a couple of keys hanging from it and a white rabbit's paw. Seeing as he was the only one in the elevator, he took a few steps backwards and took the rabbit's paw off of the keychain. "Let's see where you are, little girl," Na'im whispered and tossed the item at the buttons, pressing one of them as the elevator began to move.

Ending on the floor the rabbit's paw had pressed, Na'im walked out and looked around. "And yet we still don't know..." he said to himself, playing with the rabbit's paw between his fingers, "But there are ways to know." With those words he tossed the rabbit's paw down the hallway as hard as he could, then waited until it stopped. Slowly walking after it, he picked it up as it was laying in front of a door and without hesitating he knocked on the door. "Excuse me, I'm looking for the Operator of the Navi called Rhea. Does she live here?" he asked, practically knowing Camillia was behind the door.

The redhead was distracted the moment someone knocked on the door. Did Tsujsa forgot his keys or something? she mused, edging away from the dining table and carting herself to the door.

Camillia kept quiet as she heard that the one outside wasn't Tsujsa, but someone else. And that someone else was looking for her, too. Who knew her address? Or perhaps it was...

a stalker?

"U-um, yes, the operator lives here, may I ask why you're looking f-for her?" Camillia responded, but made no move to open the door. Being able to reach the fish's eye to look outside would be a really huge advantage right now...

"So it is her," Na'im thought as he stared at the door, but he didn't hear any wheels moving. Pocketing the lucky rabbit's paw, he kneeled down by the door and put his hands on the ground. Wriggling his fingers across the floor, he got them underneath the door in front of him. "It's me, Na'im," he said as he moved his fingers about in the hopes this would prove it was actually him, as his voice alone wasn't enough. It's not like he had many options to prove it was him, seeing as there was an entire door between them. He didn't even know if she could see the door. "I'm looking for you in regards to Rhea. The symbol you gave her appeared in a menu of my PET alongside the one of Eternalis, so I decided to stop by." There wasn't much else to say and he waited for her reply, ready to retrieve his fingers in case she would open the door.

Camillia looked at the digits attempting to squeeze their way through the door, and added with the man's introduction, knew that it was Na'im-- after all, there was no other eccentric person that she knew of.

"Oh hi, Na'im! Great to see... you," the girl noted, staring at the door. "Um, I'm gonna open the door," she added, carting herself slightly closer to reach the doorknob. Once turned and unlocked, Camillia rolled backwards slightly to make way for the door to swing fully. "I'm not really well versed in the PET business, but come in, have a seat-- um, what would you like to drink?"

"Something to drink would be nice, yes," Na'im said as he popped his head into view from around the door. He pushed against the door with his hand and slowly entered the room, his eyes darting around the surroundings. "Just some water, please," he said as he returned his eyes to Camillia, "I'm not good with sweet stuff." Having said what he would like to drink, as was asked, he continued to curiously investigate the place with just his eyes. It wasn't often that he'd get inside of the room of anyone he knew, except for the place he lived at with his friend in Hades Island. His curiosity was interrupted by the sound of his PET turning on and Djinni flying up to his face.

"Hey, what are you dawdling around for!?" Djinni exclaimed as she looked Na'im eye to eye, "Won't you reply to her already?" Crossing her arms and looking agitated, she didn't realize that they were not outside anymore and loosened her stance as she started to look around as well. "Where are w-Oh," Djinni started, then waved at Camillia, "Hi there, Camillia. How is Rhea doing?"

"Wait," Na'im said, raising a hand, "I already replied to Camillia what I would like to drink. You must've heard me if you were awake."

"Not Camillia!" Djinni shouted and brought forth a couple of windows from within her cape. One window was that of two BBS posts, while another was the notification of an e-mail they had received. "It's this person who is waiting for a reply!"

"You..." Na'im mumbled as he read the posts and the mail, "What did you do..." A team up with a Navi they didn't know, Djinni wanting to join up with the NetPolice and an Operator waiting for an invite for meeting up. Na'im brought his hand to his forehead and rubbed his temple, agitated that he had just arrived at Camillia's place but already had to leave. "I'm very sorry for this, Camillia. My Navi has gotten us into a blind date of sorts," he said, lowering his hand again and looking at Camillia, "But I know where you live now. If you'd like me to, I could stop by again and this time tell you in advance."

"Hey hey, where's Rhea?" Djinni said, kind of excited to meet her purple friend, "Is she down at the network or still at your PET?"

After glancing at Djinni, Na'im looked at Camillia and smiled. "If I could, I'd still like to take you up on the offer of something to drink. In the meanwhile, Djinni could meet Rhea if she's not busy. After that I'm afraid we'll have to leave."

"Okay," Camillia said, rolling into the kitchen to get some water. Finding no extra cups for guests, she opted to rummage through the fridge instead. Thankfully, there was an unopened bottle of mineral water. The wheelchair-bound girl quickly handed it to Na'im before picking up her PET. Rhea had apparently already returned, along with Harley, possibly on the notification of someone entering the house, or some fancy new technology like that. "Oh hey Rhea. Na'im and Djinni came over," she said, a hand waving at the guests.

Rhea materialised, along with her trusty steed.

Just as she did so, Camillia realised that Na'im was also about to leave. "Huh, oh, er, Rhea's here... ?" she started, scratching her head. This was rather sudden; she hasn't been playing host since forever, and she kind of lost her footing (no pun intended) in the subject. "But you have pressing matters to tend to, don't you? It's alright to drop by another time if you're in a hurry," Camillia stated, not wanting to bother Na'im.

"Oh, a beautiful lady!" Harley greeted happily at Djinni, staring at her enormous proportions. "What fine... rendering you have, there, m'lady," the stallion noted, managing an eyewink from behind all the bulk of armor covering its face. Rhea just squinted slightly and tilted her head, not understanding the meaning behind the phrase. "I possess the same rendering edition as her," Rhea provided helpfully, flatly.

"Ah, no, Rhea, it's reaaaaally different," Harley snorted, then turning his attention back to Djinni, then to the man that she was talking to... "... Who is bald. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Harley. Rhea's trusty horse in shining armor. I can be your shining armored horse, too, fine lady."

"He is essentially the support program I obtained as a reward after our previous encounter with the huge number of enemies." Rhea cut her SP off completely. That horse was making no sense.

"I'm not particularly in a hurry," Na'im said, a smile on his face as he took the bottle of water, "Djinni caused this mess so I'll just blame her afterwards." But even as he said this, he knew he had to head out soon. "Despite that, I'm really sorry we couldn't hang out longer," he said, taking his PET from his back and under his arm while leaning his back against a nearby wall. "It's good to see Rhea is doing fine," Na'im commented as he nudged at the Navi and her horse while Djinni floated towards them, "And her companion looks good. You'll have to tell me more about him later."

"Thank you very much, mister talking horse," Djinni said after Harley's comment on her body as she puffed up her chest, hands against her sides, once she had landed in front of Rhea and Harley. It was funny to see the two exchange words as they were, one being literally programmed for being dull and the other for being energetic and active. "A shining horse is no good without a knight to ride it," Djinni commented with a wink once Harley and Rhea had finished talking.

She then made a swift hop over to Rhea and gave her a quick hug. "It's nice to see you again," she said once she stopped the physical contact, "And I'm glad something good came from my, ehm... Sacrifice." She remembered all too well that she had crashed into the ninja woman in order to protect Broadside and the others. "I knew you all survived afterwards, but I'm still glad to see you standing here." Djinni stopped talking for a moment, just gazing at Rhea, until she gave in to her desires and patted Rhea on her head happily. "You really are like a doll, aren't you?" she said, followed with a giggle.

"Hrm..." Na'im murmured as he looked at the three, "It's good to have friends, isn't it?" He drank from the bottle slowly, making sure there was some left to drink on his way back. "Hey," Na'im started as he turned his eyes to Camillia, "If there's ever a place you'd like to go, feel free to ask me. As an apology for leaving so soon already. In fact... We should head out now."

Djinni just continued talking to Rhea and Harley, vividly telling them the story of her team up with Exorcist and the embarrassing things they had to go through and leaving practically no room for them to talk back. But before she could tell them about her new Support Program and her decision to join the NetPolice, a giant yellow hand of sand as big as Djinni reached her from behind and grabbed her, leaving only her head visible.

"The boss says it's go time," a young yet intimidating male voice called from the PET. A small sandstorm captured by two rings and another hand of sand, yet smaller, that was holding a rod were visible on top of the screen. "Don't tell me you already forgot about the meeting, you cow," the voice continued as it pulled Djinni towards himself, "There is a limit to how empty one's head is. But you're special, aren't you?" He then turned to Rhea and Harley from his position on the PET, his shadowed eyes darting around. "My name is Szand. And this thing is my owner," he said to them, shaking Djinni around for a moment as he mentioned her.

Djinni simply puffed up her cheeks and turned her eyes to Na'im while still being held by the giant hand. Na'im smiled back at her, baring his teeth, and made motions to put the PET back on his back. "It was fun to see you again, Rheaaaaaa~!" Djinni called as Szand pulled her into the screen of the PET.

"Once again, Camillia," Na'im stated as he looked down at her, "I'm sorry for leaving already. But we were happy we got to see you again." For a moment it felt tempting to leave the place by going through the window, but the memory of which floor this apartment was on made him decide otherwise. "Well then," he said, turning to the door and waving at Camillia with the bottle of water, "Let's get together again sometime." And with those words Na'im left the apartment, went down the elevator and had left the building.

Harley snorted at the comeback. "Rhea is shiny, if that helps," the horse commented. On the other hand, becoming slightly shorter from the patting on her head, Rhea wondered about the implications from being a doll. "Navis are technically digital dolls," Rhea concluded to Djinni.

However, Rhea couldn't say that she didn't enjoy Djinni's adventure stories told to her and Harley. Watching Szand's introduction, Rhea wondered why all Djinni's .SPs were weirdos. "I do not understand how that can be an SP to someone like Djinni," Rhea noted as she saw her dark-skinned friend being dragged off comically. "I never understood why I turned out to be yours, either," Harley playfully added, galloping away quickly to avoid a counterattack on the dining table.

"Um... Sure, see you another time then, Na'im," Camillia said, then blinked. So what was the reason Na'im dropped by again? Just to get some water and leave, or what?

Unfortunately, the question will never be answered as they left very quickly.

Rhea, ignoring Harley's oburn comment (or did she not realize?), attracted Camillia's attention. "There was an update on the Internet City lately."

"Yeah, I know, Rhea. About time I find myself an occupation," Camillia said, picking up her PET and reading over the announcement message she saved from a while back. It would seem that there were two warring factions of some sort who were looking for recruits to participate with their Navis, and even promised rewards for good performance.

Harley returned after a round of galloping across the dining table, as well. "I'm not entirely sure about taking sides. However," the mechanical stallion gave a glance at Rhea, then at Camillia, "Both of you ladies' decision is the one that I follow."

Rhea nodded, and jumped into the PET with Harley.

"First stop is Internet City, then?" Camillia said, sending her horse and loli duo into the network.

[[To: Internet City]]

Camillia and Na'im GET: 0.99 FXP 3 FXP

Tsujsa was simply lounging around in the sofa, obviously a little annoyed by the fact that his cripple of a relative was being far more active in her social endeavors as opposed to him, sitting around like a NEET at home with nothing to do except sleep, watch TV, and do the occasional translating crap to pay the bills.

"Is Tsujsa always like this, Validus...?" Markerlight asked as she sat atop a cyber-generated nondescript box, simply kicking her legs up and down in boredom. Validus was sitting on the other edge, polishing his rifle and making sure the thing didn't jam. There was no telling whether a gun generated in netspace could jam at all, but it became a sort of habit for Validus to whittle away his idle processing time, kind of like a screen saver.

"Kinda, Marker. He's more or less a loudmouth when it comes to combat but in downtime all he does is just angst over himself for being a lazy ass." The navi simply replied. Tsujsa immediately raised himself with an annoyed visage. "I DO NOT!" He exclaimed loudly.

No sooner than he had shouted, his PC started sounded with a soft "ding" sound. Suddenly invigorated, he pushed himself off the couch and rushed to his PC, shaking the mouse to deactivate the screensaver of flying toasters. It looked like his job request in the Internet City's BBS was responded to. Immediately he typed in a reply regarding the rewards he wished to receive, and the reply came back promptly. Excited, he immediately rushed and picked up his PET.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what's going on captain?" Validus said as Tsujsa immediately pulled out the jack-in cable.

"We finally got a job. Get your rifle ready Validus, we're going back to action." The operator said with a smile. Markerlight pulled out a pair of sunglasses.

"So I guess we'll be wearing this?" She simply asked.

[[JACK-IN ACDC NET]]

Rhea sounded the PET's alarm.

"Ow! Rhea, what's this for?" Camillia abruptly jumped from her seat, wondering what's the commotion about. "I would like to visit Netsquare for a while," the purple haired Navi announced, looking all proud and eager to show her independence. "You could've asked it nicely, you know," the redhead scratched her head, jacking the Navi (and SP) to her destination of choice.


[[Jack in: Netsquare]]

While Rhea was busy showing off her new spiffy uniform, Camillia was done with the housework and was preparing to go out. It had been a while since she purchased anything from the shop; and she figured that she should do some shopping for both the house and for Rhea.

At that thought, the redhead carted herself out the door, her eyes fixated on the Metroline.

[[To SciLabs]]