The Dating Game

Finally, another chapter of the Dating Game is here. Yes, it's been a long while, but here it is.

Camelot owns Golden Sun. But you knew that already...

Alex sulkily stood in the wing of the stage, clutching his bandaged arm. After that little stint with trying to kill Isaac and seize the rest of the Golden Sun, the Wise One had beaten him thoroughly then told him to host the next episode of the Dating Game! Was the rock mad or something? He was doing this on purpose, wasn't he? This twisted plan of making Alex suffer by hosting a cheesy show. Alex swore that one day he would exact revenge upon the one-eyed rock and that accursed rock would be very sorry. It was just a simple matter of figuring out how he was supposed to even be able to touch the most powerful being on Weyard, let alone harm him.

Apparently he wouldn't even be allowed to quit halfway through this time otherwise he would suffer a worse fate than getting beaten to a pulp. Alex let out a despondent sigh and prayed to the heavens that he wasn't going to suffer from putting up with crazy people this time around. But of course, on the Dating Game, sane and normal was simply out of the question. At least he had plenty of Tylenol on hand in case he suffered from those accursed head pains.

Now the cameras were rolling and the audience was cheering. Alex shook his head with a grimace, wondering how these people could possibly keep coming back for this crap. If he ever got to take over the world, banning game shows was going to be the first thing he did. Forcing a smile, he strolled across the stage and turned around to face the audience. The cheering died down and people stared at him. Then half of them burst out laughing. The other half booed at him.

"You tried to kill Isaac, jerk!"

"You rejected my hairgel! How could you?"

"That dress really suited you!"

Alex automatically tuned out their comments and cleared his throat, holding up the sheet of papers in his hands. In a monotone, he began speaking, "Welcome to the Golden Sun Dating Game show. In this show, two lucky people are selected to pick the date of their dreams from three contestants. The catch is, they don't know who the contestants are and the contestants don't... usually know who is going to be picking them. Mind you, information gets leaked. It happens. A lot."

Done with the traditional introduction speech, Alex turned away from the audience and walked toward the first contestant, the unlucky girl to be picking from three males. After hearing about Garet's experience, Alex had prepared himself for the worst. He came to a stop and glanced at the purple-haired woman, racking his brains for her identity. Oh, of course. Ivan's older sister. Hama, or Hamma, whatever her name was. Why did she have two spellings for her name anyway?

"So... Hama from Contigo, is it?" Alex asked. "Good luck with picking the man of your dreams."

"Oh, I don't think I'll have any problems," Hama said, looking slightly shifty. "My gift of foresight is extremely good."

"That's cheating!" Alex exclaimed. Great, leaked information wasn't the problem here. It was a sneaky Jupiter Adept this time. Those kind of Adepts were so horribly sneaky, he liked to avoid Jupiter Adepts as much as possible. Last thing he wanted was his mind read, especially back when he was keeping his plans for world domination a well-kept secret.

"You're one to talk," Hama said with a sniff. "I totally knew you were an evil bastard the first time I saw you."

"Have we met before?" Alex looked confused.

"I meant in my mind," Hama replied. "Just give me that question card already."

"Here," Alex snapped, tossing the card at her with an annoyed glare. He was supposed to be the one in charge here! The fuming Mercury Adept marched to the other section of the stage, dreading the thought of who he would see on that side. If Kraden was there, then Alex was going to be attempting murder on this stage for the second time.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Kraden was indeed not present. Perhaps the gods were smiling upon him after all. It was almost enough that he wanted to burst into song and dance, but he resisted the urge. It would just be much too embarrassing to do in front of the audience. Steeling himself, he approached the first person. This person appeared to be a monk.

"Excuse me, but aren't you a monk?" Alex stared at the monk. "I thought that monks didn't, uh, get into this kind of thing."

"I am a monk working at Lama Temple," the monk muttered, looking around furtively. "Really, the only reason I became a monk was so that I could be close to her. Master Hama is so hot. I wish she would notice me."

"Wait... how did you know about her being here?" Alex asked.

"She told us of a premonition she'd had that she would be appearing on the show," the monk replied. "She even gave us the date, in case we wanted to come watch. Of course, I did more than that." He quietly chuckled to himself.

"Dratted Jupiter Adepts," Alex muttered in annoyance, walking to the second chair. He turned and stared at the figure who was clad in a brown robe with a large hood covering their head. A cold chill ran down his spine. Had he been too quick to assume that the absence of a grey-haired old man meant no Kraden? "I swear to Iris, if you are Kraden..." He let his threat hang in the air, clenching a fist.

"No, I am not Kraden," replied a deep, breathy voice. The man didn't even remove his hood. "My name is Maha. I am from Garoh."

"Maha?" Alex blinked. Was Maha actually an anagram of Hama? That sure was an interesting coincidence. "What's with the hood?"

"I cannot show myself to people," replied Maha. "I would rather not say why."

"Right..." Alex raised an eyebrow sceptically. He couldn't imagine why Maha would want to hide himself from people. Perhaps he was an incredibly ugly man and showing his face would make little children cry. With this assumption in mind, Alex proceeded to the next chair where a certain silk merchant sat.

"Wait a minute..." Alex pointed at the man, blinking in confusion. "You're that Hammet guy from Kalay, aren't you?"

"I'm getting revenge on my wife for appearing on this show," Hammet replied. "Serves her right for cheating on me. Maybe I'll even get lucky and score with the lady on the other side of the screen. Who knows?"

Ivan's sister and Ivan's foster father. The thought of it made Alex's head spin a little. Still, it could have been worse. "So, a monk from Lama Temple, Maha from Garoh and Hammet from Kalay," he spoke to the audience. "Who will be Hama's lucky man? We'll find out soon." He walked to the screen.

"Don't bother telling me," Hama said loudly. "I know I can ask now." Alex gritted his teeth and calmly sat down on the stage, trying not to lose his temper. "Now then. Number One, what did you dream about last night?"

"I dreamed that I was rubbing oil all over your body and giving you a massage," the monk replied, sighing in rapture as he remembered his pleasant dream. "By the way, if you ever need a masseuse, then I will be perfectly willing to fill that position."

Alex silently thanked the gods that the monk didn't have a dirty subconscious.

"Really now?" Hama raised an eyebrow. Well, if she ever felt like having a massage, she knew who to ask now. "Number Two, do you shave?"

Maha let out a choked sound that nobody could interpret. Due to his unique situation, he had a little too much hair to be shaving and if he did shave, well, he wasn't going to look any better. "Uh... well... that is..." He buried his face in his gloved paws, whimpering. "I don't shave at all! If I shaved, I would be naked!"

Those in the audience who had no idea who Maha was muttered in consternation, throwing weird looks at the cloaked figure. What Maha was saying made no sense. Why would a man who shaved be naked? Alex frowned as he began to remember something now. The name Garoh did sound familiar.

"Number Three," Hama continued, feeling a little sorry for putting Maha on the spot like that. It wasn't like she picked the questions anyway. "What do you think is the most foolish thing you've ever done in your life?"

"Having to choose between a village of magic wielding people and a village of thieves who would happily kidnap me for my money, and picking the thieves," Hammet replied promptly. "Man, was I dumb or what? The people of Vale wouldn't have held me hostage and tried to extort a ransom from my city."

Alex quietly laughed to himself, looking incredulous. How could that merchant have been foolish enough to pick Lunpa instead of Vale? Vale was just as accessible as Lunpa was, especially if you were departing from Vault. Even the audience seemed amused, quietly snickering among themselves. Hammet looked even more ashamed, sinking into his chair and staring at the floor with a despondent expression.

"Number One," Hama spoke. "Do you like your girls to be talented?"

A long silence fell over the stage and the audience as they tried to figure out what talented was supposed to mean. Then, as the silence began to grow fairly uncomfortable, a random otaku stood up in the audience.

"In the Sailor Moon dub, talented means you have big boobs," the otaku said in a shrill voice. "But the dub sucks anyway. The Japanese version is so much better!" She sat back down in the audience, looking pleased with herself.

"Seriously?" Alex shook his head and looked at the monk, who still seemed confused. "Do you like girls to have big boobs?" he asked in exasperation.

"Uh... well... I don't have a problem with Master Hama's breasts or anything," the monk blustered. "I think they are fine. I don't really see the big deal about them anyway. If the woman is attractive and nice, isn't that all that matters?"

The audience stared dully at the monk. Despite their complaints against anything that was not safe for children, they were finding this person to be rather uninteresting. Alex rolled his eyes and put his face in his hands, sighing. Of course a monk was going to be rather uninteresting anyway, all they ever did was sit and meditate.

"Uh, thanks... I think," Hama said slowly, not sure what she was supposed to think. Should she be glad a man didn't have a problem with her boobs? "Okay, Number Two, do you like to go out and get a suntan?" What was with these questions, she wondered with a mild grimace, they were rather pointless.

"I can't tan!" Maha burst out in a loud voice, startling everybody. "Even if I was able to tan, I wouldn't be able to see it beneath all my fur! Why must you persecute me with these questions? Why?" The werewolf burst into noisy sobs, feeling utterly humiliated.

"Fur? Eh... wait a minute," Alex muttered to himself, looking intent. Oh, yes, now he remembered. Garoh was home to a lot of people who tended to be afflicted with a certain furry condition under the light of the full moon and this Maha character had done something that caused him to be permanently furry. If Maha slept with a human, was that bestiality? Alex decided he did not want to think about that matter.

"Number Three, it's your turn," Hama said after a short moment of silence. "What was the most important thing you ever lost?" She stared at the question with a blank expression. This was a really boring and pointless question, wasn't it?

"Oh... er, let me see... well, my rod, I guess," Hammet replied. "Can you believe I was careless enough to lose my rod?"

A few people in the audience quietly laughed. Alex sighed in disgust as he heard them. "Oh, come on!" he snapped. "That rod joke is so old. Aren't you people getting sick of it by now?" How long had people been joking about the Shaman's Rod now? Far too long in his opinion.

"Sometimes being psychic is no fun," Hama quietly sighed, shaking her head. She moved on to the next set of questions. "Number one, do you have any particular fetishes?"

"Uh... fetishes?" The monk looked around in confusion, apparently not understanding the nature of this particular question.

"What's your favourite part of the body?" Alex said in exasperation, getting to his feet. "Are all monks so ridiculously innocent like you?" He sighed, crossing his arms and pacing down the stage. It was amazing how annoying the people on this show could be at times. Why did he have to be stuck hosting this ridiculous excuse for a show anyway?

"My favourite part of the body?" The monk frowned, thinking about it. "Hmm... bottoms. I like nice, round bottoms."

A few people in the audience could be heard choking at the unexpected answer. Nobody would have expected a monk of all people to confess to a bottom fetish, but it was likely he didn't get what a fetish was supposed to be.

"Are you really straight?" Alex muttered derisively. This guy had to be at least bisexual!

"Alright then," Hama said after a long pause. "Now, Number two, here is your question. If you were the hero in a scary horror movie, would you rather be slaying vampires, zombies or werewolves?"

Maha let out a cry of astonishment at the question. "Are werewolves really that scary?" He sounded close to tears now. "We werewolves of Garoh are nice, friendly people! Why would anybody be trying to hurt us? They even burned our kind at the stake..."

The audience stared at Maha as he sank to the floor and started crying. Alex walked over and kicked the cloaked lump.

"Okay, wolfy, just answer the question," Alex said unsympathetically. "Would you rather slay vampires or zombies?" He figured Maha wouldn't say werewolves.

"I guess... vampires." Maha sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing the spot where he had been kicked. "Don't they suck blood? Gross."

"So, you don't snack on raw meat or anything like that?" Alex asked.

"I eat like a normal human being!" Maha snapped, sounding quite annoyed now. "Don't make me bite you!"

Alex let out a quiet squeak of fright and retreated to a safe corner of the stage, well outside the range of Maha's possibly sharp teeth. He had no desire to be bitten by a werewolf. What if he became one himself? That would be simply terrible.

"Number Three." Hama was beginning to sound quite weary now. "A girl tries on a dress that is way too small for her and asks you how she looks. Do you tell her the truth?"

"That's it!" Hammet declared. "The next time Layana asks me how she looks, I'll tell her she looks like a fat cow. That will teach her not to mock my weight!" He laughed raucously.

Nobody else laughed however. The very thought of someone as attractive as Layana looking like a fat cow didn't seem possible. In fact, they wondered how a man like Hammet could have managed to get her in the first place. There was no way she would fall for Hammet's lies anyway. Just what was he on?

"I'm so tired of being teased about my weight," Hammet continued. "So what if I'm a little tubby? I don't care. I'm proud to be me!"

"Answer the damn question," Alex said in a strained voice. He just wanted this to be over.

"If the girl doesn't mock me, I won't mock her," Hammet said finally. "I will tell her what she wants to hear."

"Great. We're done here," Alex said in a monotone, walking to the other side of the stage. He looked pointedly at Hama. "You don't need me to tell you that you can pick now, do you?"

"Of course not," Hama responded, getting to her feet and folding her arms with a smirk. "I pick Number Two."

Alex's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh... you do realise... that Number Two isn't exactly human, don't you?" he asked in a hushed voice, staring at her as if she had just sprouted a second head.

"I realise that just fine," Hama snapped. "I feel sorry for him, that's all. Now just go do your thing."

"Fine, fine," Alex sighed tiredly, shaking his head. If Hama wanted to date a werewolf, well, he didn't care. He was just a little puzzled about why she would want to date a werewolf. "You rejected Number One, a random monk from Lama Temple!" he announced, standing by the screen.

The monk came onto the stage and fervently bowed to Hama. "I will continue to meditate at your temple every day!" he swore, tears streaming down his cheek.

"Okay..." Hama said slowly, blinking as she watched the monk leave the stage.

"You also rejected Number Three, Hammet of Kalay," Alex said. He wondered how screwed up Ivan would be in the head if his sister and foster father went on a date. Too bad he wasn't about to see that happen.

Hammet came onto the stage and punched the air with a grin. "Hah! Take that, Layana!"

"He really is a strange man," Hama murmured as Hammet walked off the stage. "I'm sure glad Ivan didn't turn out so badly."

"You already know who you picked, but let's do this anyway," Alex said sourly, bringing down the screen. "You picked Maha of Garoh, a frigging werewolf."

Maha came over to where Hama stood, still fully cloaked. "Thank you for picking me," he said in earnest. "I have almost forgotten what it's like to be a normal human being. This will be a great experience for me."

"Why don't you take off the hood?" Hama asked. "There's no need to hide yourself from the world. Be proud of who you are."

"Uh... well... if you say so..." Maha glanced at the audience and pulled down his hood.

A few people in the audience, who hadn't been paying attention or thought the werewolf thing was a joke, screamed and some even fainted in shock. Some people were now holding up cameras and taking pictures.

"Hey, wait... how many people on average are watching this show?" Maha asked, suddenly worried. "And how many people in the audience again?"

"I really wouldn't worry about your secret being exposed," Alex said, walking over with the envelopes. "Now pick your location." He sharply held them away as Hama reached out for one. "No. Maha picks."

Hama silently glowered at Alex, her eyes narrowing to slits. She had really wanted to pick the left one! To her dismay, Maha picked the right one.

"Looks like we'll be going to Mikasalla," Maha said as he read the card. "I wonder what kind of place that is."

Hama glared daggers at Alex. Mikasalla was only one of the most boring places to be on Weyard. Alex caught her gaze and smirked annoyingly. It served her right for cheating with her psychic powers anyway.

"Well, off you go," Alex said with a big, fake smile. Hama and Maha left the stage, Hama still throwing death glares over her shoulder. As the audience clapped and cheered, Alex turned to face them. "Now it's time for the commercials. We'll be back after the break... unfortunately." As the cameras stopped rolling, he left the stage and took a few painkillers. Alex had a bad feeling about the second act. Things could only get worse, couldn't they?

After the commercial break, Alex came back onto the stage and faced the audience with a sullen look. "And now we're back. What lucky guy will be having the chance to pick from three dates? Let's go and find out." The audience cheered as he walked over to the chair where the male contestant was sitting.

The contestant was covered from head to foot in a giant Mars Djinni costume. No part of their body could be seen at all. Alex recoiled in surprise, not having been expecting such a strange looking character to be in the seat. Just who was this?

"Who are you?" Alex asked slowly, giving the masked person a suspicious stare.

"It's a surprise," replied the person in the Mars Djinni costume, looking at him through the transparent blue plastic that served as the Djinni's eyes. "The Wise One said that this was okay. He's getting a little tired of leaked information."

Alex frowned in confusion. Was it just him or did it sound like this person was putting on a fake voice? "I guess that my previous act of disguising myself has inspired other people to do the same," he said tiredly, throwing the question card at the person. "I don't care who you are, just ask the questions when you're ready." He smiled fakely at the audience. "And that's our male contestant, everyone!"

"Boo!" yelled the audience furiously. "We want to know who he is! Tell us!"

Alex ignored the audience, walking to the other side of the stage where the hopeful girls were sitting.

"First, we have..." Alex looked at Garet's older sister, sitting in the first seat. "Number One is Kay from Vale."

"This is so exciting! I get to be on TV!" Kay exclaimed, looking at the audience. "My brother made such an ass of himself last episode... it was so embarrassing to watch. By the way, he's been punished for hiding porn and my grandfather woke up so everything is okay now."

A few children in the audience promptly asked what porn was, causing the overprotective parents to gasp in shock. How could she have said such a word around their tender young ears? Terrifying thoughts of their children seeking out porn ran through their minds. Why they hadn't yet realised this show was not safe for children, the reason was unknown.

"I see," Alex said, with an 'I really don't care' look on his face. He proceeded to the second seat. "Eh, you again?"

"I'm sorry, have we met before?" Feizhi looked up in confusion.

Oh. She hadn't been there to see the dramatic reveal of who that mysterious woman actually was. "You were here last episode," Alex pointed out.

"I know. But appearing two times in a row is not against the rules." Feizhi shrugged. "Truth is, I was told in my mind I would have a chance encounter if I came onto the show today and it would be with a person I've been hoping to see again." She clenched a fist. "I will definitely see that person... I think."

"Okay then. The second contestant is Feizhi of Xian," Alex said dismissively, moving to the next chair. "And now we have... uh, who are you?"

"I am the NPC in Vale who hangs out by Kraden's house and talks about missing him when he's gone," replied the woman. "So what if I don't even have a name?"

"I see." Alex turned to the audience and put on a strained smile. "And the third contestant is a nameless NPC from Vale!"

The audience was getting a little tired of nameless people, which they demonstrated by giving Alex sullen stares and muttering.

"Oh, come on people, if we only ever used people with names, this show would get stale! And if I was lucky, cancelled." Alex shook his head, walking to the other side of the stage. Were the audience ever satisfied? "Okay, er, masked person, ask your questions."

"Number One," said the masked man. "Which would you rather lick off me, whipped cream or chocolate sauce?"

Alex sank to the floor with a groan and held his head in his hands. The dirty questions were apparently making a comeback.

"Eh?" Kay squeaked in a startled voice, clapping a hand over her mouth in shock. "Um... well... chocolate sauce is tastier than whipped cream, I suppose, but licking it off?" She had no idea who the man even was, so naturally the thought was a little vexing to her.

"Number Two," the man continued, chuckling to himself, "Top or bottom?"

"What is this question supposed to mean?" Feizhi frowned, thinking hard about it. Obviously the man was asking if she liked to be on top or bottom... suddenly, it occurred to her and she calmly replied, "I don't think it would matter to me."

"And now, Number Three," the man said. "Would you like to engage in" A loud bleep sounded. "Or" Another loud bleep sounded. "What was that?"

Alex stared at the man suspiciously. Surely the Wise One would have been careful enough to come up with some questions that didn't have to be censored. The sound effects department had refused to back down on censoring, pointing out the many complains about language and vulgarity. Plus, the show didn't air late enough.

"Bleep or bleep?" The NPC asked in confusion. "Is this a joke? Uh... I don't know... both?"

"Both, eh?" the man murmured with a grin, ignoring the fact the woman had no idea what he'd actually said. "Number One, do you think that size matters?"

"What is it with these stupid questions?" Kay scowled. "The size of what? If you're talking about something like people's stomachs, I think certain people could have smaller stomachs and they would be eating less food. But I don't care about a dumb thing like size anyway."

Alex wondered if Garet had done something to annoy her. Eaten all her cereal this morning before she had a chance to eat breakfast, probably.

"Number Two, who do you think is the handsomest man in the world?" asked the masked man.

"Isaac, of course!" Feizhi squealed. "He is just so dreamy." She sighed rapturously, her eyes shining. "I would do anything to be with Isaac."

"Why is he so popular?" the man muttered to himself, shaking his head. "It seems so unfair. Okay, Number Three, are you familiar with the meaning of bukkake?"

The sound effects department weren't, apparently, and neither were a lot of people in the audience who were muttering in confusion and looking around for someone who could tell them. There were a few instances of scattered laughter as well, but nobody thought to speak up.

"What is bukkake?" Alex asked in frustration, then he stopped and thought about it. "You know what? I don't want to know."

"Are you talking about cake? I like cake!" the woman exclaimed, clapping her hands together with a smile. "We could eat cake together!"

Alex was sure the man's head was exploding inside. He was getting really suspicious now. Something wasn't right about those questions.

"Number One, would you like me to butter your muffin?" asked the man.

Alex groaned and facepalmed in disgust. The Wise One was terrible at making up questions. A few people in the audience also made disapproving noises.

"Okay, really, even I wanted to eat a muffin right now, I could put butter on it myself," Kay replied snappishly. "That was a really stupid question." Apparently she had not understood the innuendo behind the question.

"Uh... right," the man said awkwardly, sounding a little dejected. "Number Two, what are your views on threesomes?"

The audience gasped in shock. Surely that question was a little personal? Then they remembered that nothing was considered too personal for mention on this terrible excuse for a show and quietened down.

"Um... well, er..." Feizhi faltered, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I only want to be with one person. It would be a bit strange having a third person in there, wouldn't it?"

"Almost over, almost over," Alex repeated to himself in a quiet chant, massaging his forehead.

"Number Three!" The man sounded excited now that the questions round was nearly done. "What do you think of a starlit night out on the beach?"

"That sounds so romantic!" the woman exclaimed. "I would love it!"

Alex wondered if he was thinking of certain activities and if she'd realised it, then decided he didn't want to know. Instead, he walked over to the man and snatched away the questions card, reading it. "Geez, that's funny..." Alex glared at the masked man. "You didn't even ask half of the questions on here!"

"If others could do it, I can too." The masked man stood up. "So can I pick now?"

"Who are you?" Alex hissed through gritted teeth.

"I pick Number Three!" declared the man, whipping off his mask to reveal who he actually was.

The audience gasped in shock. Alex struggled not to snap and kill the old man standing before him. "Damn it, Kraden!" He furiously stomped over to the screen, fuming. The Wise One must have done this on purpose. Kraden should have been banned. That rock was in for some real pain, if he ever figured out how to harm it in the first place.

"You rejected Number One, Kay of Vale," Alex snapped. Kay walked past the screen and grimaced as she saw Kraden.

"You never told me that it was Kraden!" Kay yelled, turning around on Alex with a furious look. "I could have had to go on a date with that creepy old man, no thanks to you!" She furiously kicked him in the nuts and stormed off stage.

"I didn't even... know..." Alex squeaked, falling to the floor and curling up into the fetal position. He summoned up all the strength he had, trying to ignore the excruciating pain, to call out, "Number Two... Feizhi... of Xian!"

Feizhi came to the other side of the stage and gasped as she caught sight of Kraden. "It's you! That old man who promised to give Isaac the ring from me and never did!"

"Oh, crap." Kraden was powerless against the wrath of a girl who knew Kung Fu. He sank into the chair, aching in several places. "It was the writers' fault..." But Feizhi was already gone and didn't hear him.

"You picked... Number Three..." Alex sobbed, weakly pulling down the lever. "An NPC..." He gave up then and fell quiet, curling back into a writhing heap of agony.

The NPC came onto the stage and gasped as she saw Kraden. "I don't believe it!" she exclaimed, going all starry eyed. "The man who picked me is Kraden himself! Oh, I'm so lucky!"

"It would be an honour indeed to date a beautiful woman like you," Kraden said joyfully, taking her hand and kissing it.

This was some delusion of his, it had to be. Alex desperately wanted to believe so. Maybe he had actually fainted when Kay kicked him in the privates and now he was experiencing a strange dream, but it didn't even feel like a dream. He shakily held up the three envelopes toward them. "Pick... one..." he whispered faintly.

The woman picked an envelope and opened it. "Oh, we're going on a trip to this place named Kalay. I hope it's good."

"Oh, we'll have a lot of fun in Kalay," Kraden assured, walking off the stage with the woman.

Alex weakly raised his head, looking at the audience. "Show's over. Don't mind me, I'll just lie here until the pain goes away." He put his head back down with a pained groan. With that, the episode came to an end.