[b]Nexus Town ~ Ruins of Dar-al-Hikma[/b]

After the stranger's departure, Ganma found himself in an almost constant conversation with the A.I. called Asma Al-Jazari. He found himself learning things that no tome or scroll could teach him. Whatever this old palace was, it apparently had a sophisticated security system.

"So you're saying this 'Master' of yours instructed you to share some your secrets with us?" Ganma asked, having wanted to ensure he was following all of this straight. Mantis was there as well, but he was more incredulous of the whole thing. Not that that was surprising, he was usually quite suspicious of everyone. An unfortunate side effect of being able to read minds it seemed.

"That was Master Hakim's instruction, yes." Asma's response was short and to the point. Also somewhat cold, which made sense given her computer nature.

"Well however you can improve things for the town, I'm all for it." said Ganma with a shrug, "Feel free to keep recording what happens around town, but in the future we should keep access to that information on some kind of password basis. Wouldn't want the wrong people being able to spy on us after all."

"Acknowledged. All surveillance access is to be locked behind a password. Please input new password to confirm command." the A.I. was surprisingly compliant with that request. Probably another of Hakim's orders.

"Let's make it... [i]Outcast009A[/i]. That should suffice."

"Password confirmed. New protocol will begin immediately."

"Are you sure about all this?" asked Mantis finally, "Pretty sure I've seen this scenario in a movie once... it didn't end well for them." frankly, the A.I. woman gave him the creeps. Any sentient being without a mind for him to read just didn't seem right to him. Of course, there were those with strong enough minds to resist, but this thing was different.

A Corridor of Darkness opened up nearby, preventing them from continuing the conversation. A hooded figure stepped through wearing a familiar obnxious grin on his face.

"Well look what the cat dragged in." said Mantis in a snide tone, "You've been gone awhile this time - is that a good sign or bad?"

Seth shrugged, "Eh, little of both actually." and after a chuckle he got a good look at the hologram, "So uh... what's with the light show here?"

"My name is Asma Al-Jazari," the hologram answered, "I was activated by Master Hakim and instructed to protect this town. You are... Seth, correct?"

Seth cocked an eyebrow beneath his hood, "So that old bastard's been here, huh? He's pretty persistent to come back here to investigate me."

"Wait... you [i]know[/i] him?" Ganma asked, having been quiet but suddenly taking an interest again.

"I guess," replied Seth with a shrug, "old man tried to test me or some crap like that. But, well you know how I am with tests. He said I didn't 'deserve the right to be' or whatever. Of course, it takes more than a salty old man to get rid of me."

This made both Ganma and Mantis tense up ever-so-slightly. Had they known the guest had been hostile to one of their own, they likely would not have given him nearly as much of a friendly welcome.

"So that's why he came here..." Ganma said thoughtfully.

"You never said why you're here now." Mantis pointed out, "Thought you were on some job?"

"Yup," Seth chuckled, "still am. But something important came up. For the first time since I left here, I may have actually found a real clue about my home world." this got their attention.

"Really? Well, by all means, we're listening." said Mantis, naturally incredulus. People he could read and those that could resist him were things Mantis could handle. Seth, on the other hand, was a weird case. Mantis could read the Nobody's mind, but it was always blank or a jumbled up mess at best. Imagine trying to read a book with blank pages, pages that had been torn out, and other pages that had been completely rearranged. That was Seth's mind in a nutshell.

"We were attacked by a ship we didn't recognize. We got away but they sent us a pretty bitter warning that we wouldn't escape next time. I dunno who she was, but according to one of my employers she apparently hates me something fierce. She may just be the clue I need to finding what I'm looking for."

"Fat chance of that," Mantis said, "you'd have to ask her, and she doesn't sound very talkative to me."

"I know that." Seth turned to Mantis specifically, "Which is why you're going to read her for me."

"Wait, what?"

"C'mon, Mantis, you said it yourself. She's not gonna share any information with me any time soon. I'd have to read her mind, and I just so happen to be good friends with a mind reader."

"You want me to just leave here? Pack up and go gallavanting around to other worlds like you? You don't honestly think Ganma will let me-"

"It's not an invalid idea, Mantis." it was Ganma. Normally, Ganma was apprehensive about letting people come and go. It was dangerous to travel between worlds. But he also knew that Seth had been doing it for five years and if he wasn't dead yet, that obviously meant he'd found a safe way to do it. So for this instance, Ganma was willing to make an exception.

"Ha!" Seth laughed, "Guess you can't use Ganma as an excuse now. So come on. My employers are waiting for me." a new Corridor leading back to the ship was already opening and awaiting them.

"I swear to God, Seth, if I die out there I'm going to kill you."

[b]Back on the Ship[/b]

Seth had slipped out a little while ago. After chatting with Tocsax about their mysterious lady stalker, he told his fellow Nobody he was going to slip back over to Nexus Town. He was going to get some extra back up for the mission he told them. In actuality, he wanted to recruit Mantis in order to use his psychic powers to learn about the mysterious girl. Still, with Mantis around, they should have no problem sniffing out any traps or ambushes waiting for them.

"Yo, everyone. Guess who's back?" Seth quipped after he stepped through the Corridor that opened up right in the midst of everyone. He was without his coat, and he was soon followed by someone else wearing it. They immediately removed the coat and returned it to Seth.

This revealed his companion to everyone. A man in a black, sleeveless leather suit and a gas mask wrapped around his shaved head.

"And I brought us some extra back up. Everyone, this is Mantis." Seth said with a gesture, "Psychic soldier extraordinaire. As long as we have him, we can kiss running into traps and ambushes goodbye."

[@Letter Bee][@Arty Fox][@Rex][@SMS][@ShadowVentus][@Lady Athena]