Episode 128

                “Junpei feels L33T.”
                            Junpei, Megatokyo

                “I remember, there once was a plan. This was a good plan, a plan brought about by conversation, communication, and good, honest talking. This plan was functional and it served many purposes, and we were all going to make it through this because of that plan. I remember this plan.”

                “Naturally, the plan needs to be flexible in order for it to serve. But like all good things, if it were to stay true to its origins; it would carry us all through to the end. Because it was a good plan. A good plan that we all trusted in, all believe in, all had faith in.”

                Everett looked up at Marilyn as she sat on his bed in the hotel room, a patient smile on her face. “You weren’t anywhere in this plan.”

                “Plans change.” The girl said, sitting up. “And for a knight, I thought the room would be more secure.”

                “Ledger’s the paranoid one.” Everett tried, his moral power to resist Marilyn already fading like intelligence and morals at a frat party. “I don’t have anything worth the effort to steal anyway.”

                Marilyn stood up from the bed, a perky smile on her face. “And now that I’m here, you need to let me know what I’ve missed.”

                Everett stared at Marilyn for a moment, then he turned to the phone. He picked it up and dialed three numbers while the girl watched. “Morgan.” He said after a moment. “I’ve got a problem. Yes, there is a really cute girl in my room. No, I don’t want her here. No, I’m not gay. Yes, I’m sure. Look, I just need some help saying ‘no’. Could you please come over here and give me a hand?”

Silence. “Yeah, it is. How’d you know it’s her?”

                More silence. “What do you mean you’re not going to help?” Everett shouted. “There’s a girl here in front of me. And she’s smiling at me. And she’s, she’s, and I can’t say no to that.”

                More silence. “Well, because you’re a jerk. Of course you can. Hello? Hello?”

                Roland came strolling by the hotel door, looking at Everett. “So.” He said, stopping in front of the knight. “I hear Marilyn’s staying in your room?”

                “She’s in there right now, yes.” Everett nodded. “But she’s probably going to have to end up staying with Sydney.”

                “Is she in there now?” Roland asked, thumbing to the door.

                “Yeah, she’s changing.”

                “Did she ask you to leave?” Roland asked, curiously.

                “No, but I . . .”

                Roland cuffed the left side of Everett’s head just behind the ear. “Man, are you out of your mind? She wanted you to watch! Now get in there and make your gender proud!”

                “Would you knock it off?!” Everett yelled back. “We only came back here so you and Ledger could grab your weapons which, oh dear god, I think is a bad idea.”

                “So do I.” Roland agreed.

                Everett blinked at him for a moment. “If you think it’s a bad idea, then why’d you insist on coming back?”

                “Everett,” Roland said exhaustedly, putting his hand paternally on the knight’s shoulder. “Since when has the fact that a suggestion was a bad idea ever stopped me from doing it?”

                “I, I can’t argue with that.” Everett had to admit.

                The door behind Everett opened just a little, then moved open at a more confident pace. He and Roland turned around as Marilyn stepped out of the hotel room, dressed like a knight. She was in tight black jeans with a red shirt that was only half-buttoned, while the black trench coat she wore looked just a size too small.

                “Yo, peace. I’m gone.” Roland said, disappearing while Everett’s jaw was still on the floor.

                “Well?” Marilyn asked, holding her arms out. “How do I look?”

                “Hot.” Everett finally was able to say.

                “Thanks.” Marilyn laughed, embarrassedly.

                “No, really.” Everett pressed. “You look like you’re burning up.”

                “I am.” She admitted, taking off the jacket. “How do you guys do it?”

                “Do what?” Everett asked.

                “Wear these things in the summer time?”

                “It’s not summer yet.” Everett argued.

                “It’s pretty close.” Marilyn argued back. “And besides, it’s still really hot. How do you do it?”

                “I’m black.” The knight said.

                “Roland’s not and I never see him sweat.”

                “He wishes he was black.”

                “And Morgan?”

                “The heat’s afraid of him.”

                “What about Sydney?”

                “I’m not going to go case by case with you, Marilyn.” Everett protested with a smile. “It’s just one of those things. Knights just kind of learn, quickly, how to do certain things. And staying cool in uniform is one of them.”

                “Hey, Ev!” Armand exclaimed, stepping out of his hotel room. A giant grin on his face the youngest knight didn’t seem to even note Marilyn was in front of him. “They’ve got HBO and Skin-a-Max!”

                “Of course, cool is a relative term.” Everett tried to explain.

                The club still looked closed, despite the dusk hours. The sun had long disappeared behind the Louisville skyline, but the light of the day lingered powerfully. Everett turned around to look at his seven compatriots. Ledger and Edgar both looked calm and ready. Roland fidgeted nervously, but that could just as easily been a candy bar as the situation. Sydney smiled assuredly at Everett. Marilyn looked ready to burst with excitement, as did Armand. Morgan looked bored.

                “Okay, guys.” Everett said, turning back to the club. “Let’s do this.” Marilyn moved to walk with Everett, smiling confidently at him when he looked over at her.

                “I still think this is a remarkably bad idea.” Morgan grumbled to Edgar, looking Marilyn up and down as they crossed the busy street to the club. “But then again, I think everything about this is a bad idea, so she’ll probably fit right in.”

                “Nail on the head, my boy, nail on the head.” Edgar nodded.

                “Edgar, I’m less than, oh screw it. Just shut up.” Morgan bit back. “Your bread goes gray and suddenly you’re a geriatric. Please stop.”

                The group approached the club, to find a single man standing in front of the seemingly police-tapped door. When the imposing figure in red and black turned around, they all immediately recognized Vincent from earlier. “Good evening, guys.” He said with a polite smile and subtle bow of his head. “I need to . . .” He stopped as he did some quick math. He visibly recounted. “I thought there were seven of you?” Vincent said, as he stood in the doorway.

                “There were.” Morgan explained with a straight face. “But we’re like ameba. One of us gets too excited and we split.”

                “Yeah.” Roland shouted from the back of the group, his voice coming out like a hyperactive vibration on speed.

                “See?” Morgan said, pointing for emphasis.

                “Okay.” Vincent nodded slowly. “That’s just flat-out disgusting.”

                “So’s sex if you stop and think about it, but it’s still a fact of life. Now out of the way.” The former knight said, pushing past the knightly doorman. Vincent tried to protest, but the other knights pushed past as well.

                Inside the club, the lights were all turned down, except for the bright light in the middle of the dance floor that hovered over a large table with multiple rolls of paper to one side. Inside the mutli-layered room, the air was thick with people as the space had been reduced to standing room only.

                “This is a knight’s conclave?” Marilyn whispered to Everett.

                “I guess. It’s my first.” Everett whispered back. “And Marilyn, we may be amongst allies, but we are not amongst friends. Do not ask me any out-right questions until we get out of here. I have no idea what these people might do if they find out you’re not a knight.”

                “Morgan’s not a knight.” She tried to argue.

                “A) At one time, Morgan was a knight and B) Morgan will feed someone their ass if he feels so inclined. You, on the other hand, have better manners. So just watch and listen. Any questions, we’ll discuss them . . .”

                The door opened again, this time allowing the large frame of a knight to come stepping in. Even as he walked through the darkness before he reached the table, it was obvious that it was Arthur. And as he took his place in the light, he looked over the group with a proud smile.

                “I’m glad to see so many have answered the call.” He said, considering the packed room. “Knights from all over the United States of America have arrived to help answer the threat of the Brotherhood of the Sun. And so, to that we shall attend.”

                Arthur straightened up in the light; his thick frame dwarfed the others immediately around him. “Let it be said right now, the knights wish for peace. At has always been our desire, since the days before the disbandment, that we be a force for peace and civility. But in the face of this rampant hostility, we must remember that while we wish for peace, we are a military. The concept of the knights is one thing, that of might for right. With that goal in mind, let us strive to serve our honored ideals as we have in the past. Let Fairness, Justice, Morality, and Righteousness serve us in our time of need as we serve them through out our lives.”