The instant Twilight pressed the button, the Cable Car started moving.
The sudden movement caught Twilight off guard.
Anya cried out excitedly, "Oh-hey!"
Mophead stood across from Twilight, shouting through a megaphone:
"Listen, Loidman! You'll face all sorts of obstacles on your quest to rescue the princess. First, here in this courtyard, you must answer the princess's questions."
With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Anya held her microphone, itching to get started.
Aboard the Nokif Airship, Mophead wore a wicked expression.
"Listen carefully, Loidman. If you can't answer, you'll have to put that on." Mophead looked smug enough to float into the sky.
Twilight's gaze flickered toward something on his Cable Car's control panel. He looked puzzled. "This is..."
Mophead snickered. "That's right. The Bondman costume."
Even though Anya had been kidnapped, she was still beaming. Her father was about to put on Bondman's gear, and she was absolutely thrilled.
Holding Richie, Twilight eyed Bondman's gear with distaste. That figure-eight mask was just so embarrassing...
Richie tugged at Twilight's clothes with his little hands. "Father, don't worry. Richie will help Father answer Anya's questions."
Richie's bright, dewy eyes sparkled as he looked into Twilight's.
Twilight nodded firmly, putting his faith in Richie.
After all, the two children spent every day together. They probably understood each other better than he did as their father.
"Here comes the question!" Before Twilight and Richie could finish their exchange, Explosionshead pressed Twilight to begin.
"What does Princess Anya like about Bondman?" Mophead asked in a low voice.
Twilight answered uncertainly, "His looks?"
Richie hurried to stop him. "Father, Anya likes his gun that doesn't make..."
Before Richie could finish, Anya interrupted him. "Wrong! Anya likes his gun that doesn't make any noise."
Mophead bared his teeth in a grin. "That's what you like about him?"
Loid hadn't gotten it right. Hahahaha!
Richie covered his face, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Why hadn't his father let him finish?
Franky mocked him. "Oh, come on. You're her father, and you don't even know that?"
"Keep going!" Twilight picked up the yellow megaphone beside him, his brow creasing slightly. This father, who always strove to excel, was feeling a little out of his depth.
Mophead kept pushing his luck. "What's Princess Anya's favorite food?"
"Peanuts," Twilight blurted out. Not only did he know Anya liked peanuts, he also knew Richie liked sunflower seeds.
Anya's mouth formed an O. "Oh-correct!"
She was so happy. Her father actually knew her favorite food.
Explosionshead wasn't pleased. "Tch. Was that a little too easy?"
"Last question! If you get this one wrong, you have to change into the costume, Loidman!" Explosionshead roared with all his might.
Those words stirred a strange competitive urge in Twilight, but he remained calm and composed. "Let's talk about that if I actually get it wrong!"
Explosionshead bared his teeth, his eyes gleaming fiercely with a ruthless desire to tear everything apart:
"Question: what does Princess Anya want right now?"
Richie tugged hard at Twilight's clothes, his eyes urgent. Leaning close to Twilight's ear, he whispered, "Father, you have to listen to me this time!"
Richie clenched his little fists and looked at Twilight with determination. Twilight nodded, promising that this time, he would listen to Richie.
What did Anya want right now?
Franky began counting down. "Five... four... three..."
"Nobody told me there was a time limit!" Twilight protested through the yellow megaphone.
With a personal grudge to settle, Mophead opened his mouth wide in a grin, showing his neat rows of teeth. "I never said there wasn't one, either."
Twilight told himself to stay calm. Richie leaned against his ear and whispered, "Father, Anya wants some water right now."
Twilight looked doubtful, not quite believing him.
Richie nodded. "Trust Richie. Anya really does want some water right now."
"All right." Twilight took a deep breath.
Twilight raised the yellow megaphone and bellowed, putting every cell in his body into it. Even his lower legs bent slightly from the effort.
Richie wrapped his arms around Twilight's neck and looked smugly toward Anya. I'm a man with the script in my hands.
Explosionshead bent down to ask, "Princess Anya, what's the correct answer?"
"Right now, Anya..." Anya closed her eyes. You guessed right, but I'm not letting you win.
Clutching the microphone in both hands, Anya declared, "Right now, Anya wants to pick her nose!"
Earl Mophead snickered wickedly and pointed his large hand at Twilight. "Loidman, wrong answer."
Well, then. Anya's answer caught everyone present off guard, Richie included.
Anya might as well have added, Anya reserves the right of final interpretation.
This was practically a humanities exam question come to life.
Twilight was furious. "Who could possibly know that?!"
Richie refused to accept it either. Still in Twilight's arms, he grabbed Twilight's arm and held it in his hands, speaking into the megaphone. "Anya, you obviously want some water!"
"No. Anya wants to pick her nose." Anya narrowed her eyes, stubbornly refusing to admit it and playing completely unfair.
The happiest person there wasn't Anya, but Explosionshead. He had beaten Twilight in this high-level match:
"Ta-da-da-da-da-da-da! What a shame! Loidman, you'd better keep your promise!"
Richie was furious enough to stamp his feet, but he couldn't while Twilight was holding him:
"Mophead, you're forcing us to be wrong!"
That answer, unexpected yet perfectly plausible, was just like an O. Henry ending.
"Anya really wants to see! Anya wants to see the perfect Loidman!" Anya swayed from side to side in the night breeze.
Twilight's darling little girl wasn't being very comforting. The bashful father began to blush.
Flustered and exasperated, Loidman awkwardly set Richie down, his cheeks scarlet, then reached out and picked up the black mask.
On the Cable Car a short distance away, Anya swallowed and raised her heart-shaped telescope to one eye in amazement.
Through the heart-shaped telescope, she watched her father put on the mask, looking as embarrassed as if someone had caught him being peeped at.
Anya jumped up and down excitedly, making even the microphone in her arms dizzy.
Anya had completely shattered what little sense of shame her father had.
Anya spun and bounced on the spot. "Loidman!"
"Now, on to the next stage." As soon as Mophead finished speaking, the Cable Car carrying Twilight and Richie stopped with a clunk, arriving at its destination.
The main event began. His fellow agents all wore black masks and dark, close-fitting stealth outfits, with nervous smiles on their faces as they waited to have a good spar with Twilight.
Sitting on Twilight, Richie waved his little hands and cried out, "Ooh, ooh, ooh... this is so fun! What a long slide!"
Once they slid down this long slide, they would officially enter the organization's assessment grounds.
Before you continue