The Black Mask Brothers

by Alex Rite

A Story of the Past and a Showdown in the Present

Baws

"Well, let's sit down first, I think Redwood is trying to find ways to silently kill me." I whispered, pointing at the almost-erupted pony.

It wasn't long, but we all settled down, Redwood still glaring at me, but everyone else is calm. Vanella joined in late to the party, and she seemed interested as well.

"Gang's all here, huh?" I asked.

Vanella shrugged. "Well, Duraflame used to be here, but she's..." She veered off.

My brows fell. "Already captured, I know. We can't do anything unless we wait." I said.

"Wait? But this was gonna be a quick mission, was it not?" Alex asked.

I shook my head. "Sudden change in plans. Unless you want to walk into the Oven? A lot more fucking heat in there than out here." I said.

He immediately 'nope'd and waved a hoof-claw thing. Seriously...the fuck is it? "Nope. Carry on." He said.

"S-so..." Redwood started. Glad he's warming up...slowly. "Gonna tell the story or what?" He asked.

"Yeah. So..."

---

"Is that it?" I asked.

Vanella nodded. "That's the one." She said.

We approached the building with a big gold coin hanging upfront. Bit Coin Inc. is a lot bigger than I anticipated. This building was three stories, and finding the office would be a bit difficult, if not a nuisance.

"Wow...looks shiny!" Blueberry said.

"W-we're infiltrating that?" Redwood asked. I nodded.

"Orders are orders. C'mon." I said.

Redwood shook his head in a...disobeying manner. "I-I would r-rather stay out here. Th-thank you." He said.

"Are you disobeying orders?" I asked.

He looked fearful for a moment. "N-no no! I just...rather be the lookout. F-for now, at least" He said.

I walked in front of him, almost aggressively. "Then why don't you lookout when we get in the damn building?" I asked, my voice flaring.

He stood there, almost scared of me. "Y-yes...sir." He said.

---

"Woah woah woah, sir? You were the leader?" Alex asked, before bursting into laughter.

"And?" I asked, not fazed by it.

Alex wiped a tear. "I mean, you can follow orders, yeah, but leader? Dude, you can barely give directions to a filly, let alone three Pyromaniacs." He said.

I almost yelled at him, I really did. What I gave him, though, was the usual calm anger I gave to my teammates. "Are you disrespecting your leader?" I asked.

Alex suddenly became confused. "What?" He said. I got up, and walked to him.

"Are. You. Disrespecting. Your. Leader?!" I asked.

"N-no, I just--"

"Just what?" I asked. For a few seconds, it was silent. "This isn't a fucking game, Alex. You're in my territory. And at any moment, in this intense heat, I will hurt you. Beat you. Physically abuse you. I will fucking tear the damn soul out of your body, and make sure you don't return. So, for the sake of shutting the fuck up, let me finish." I said.
Alex was confused, if not a bit scared. Just a bit. I smiled. "Lucky I'm not so cruel to you as I was to my teammates. I was a lot more cruel then." I said.

"And I have the scars to prove it." Blueberry said weakly. Alex could not have his pupils any smaller, they were at the limit his body would physically allow.

"So...I'm curious." I said, before sitting back on the couch. "Why did you go to the Bit Coin Inc. building? You went for the Pharaoh's Golden Head, didn't you?" I asked.

I explained how I got there- now it's Alex's turn.

---

Alex

"Well, yes and no. Honestly, it was more of a training mission, I had planned to give it back after I stole it. Back then, it was all about the thrills."

---

It was my very first heist. I was new to being a thief, but I was sure that soon everypony would know about the Shadow Thief. I was pretty well equiped- I had an enchanted mask that concealed my identity, and a hat with a hammerspace storage ability.

I went in on that day knowing that nopony would be in there- everypony had the day off for the Summer Sun Celebration. Using my shadow glide, I slid underneath the door with ease, got past the laser grid secerity system, and into the vault where the Pharoh's Golden Head was stored. With a little bit of dragon breath, the glass case protecting the artifact was no longer a problem, and I had just put it into my hat and got out of the safe... when the fire alarm started to go off.

---

"Wait, you actually got the Pharoh's Golden Head?" asked Blueberry. "I thought it was destroyed in the fire!"

"So did the cops. Which is why I haven't felt the need to return it. It's actually a centerpiece in our main foyer, and if anypony asks, we just say it's a replica."

"Best place to hide something is in plain sight." Baws concured as we brohoofed.

---

Baws

"Smart, but unbelievable. You would think after all this time, the ponies would find out, right?" Vanella asked.

"Have they?" I asked. She sat there.

Alex smiled. "Ha! See? We know what we're doing. We're pros- we got this!" He said.

"So you j-just...went in?" Redwood asked.

Alex shrugged. "Yeah it was easy. Now that I think about it...it was almost too easy." He said.

"I think we took care of that part. Or, at least, they did." I said.

---

I walked down the lonely trail, near the office. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head.

"Hey, you there?" the voice seemed to be Vanella.

"Good Celestia, I am never going to get use to this. Yeah?" I whispered the first part. I don't know how to explain it, but all I know is that it's magic. Most likely from the suits we're wearing. It was quiet for a moment.

"Holy shit, this works!" She said.

"Yaaaay...." My enthusiasm was off the charts.

"Stop acting like that. Where are you now? The guards won't be distracted by that fire any time longer." She said.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm almost there." I said.

"Then hurry the fuck up, fuckhead!" She yelled. I sighed. This day could not get any longer. Right as I was about to enter the office, I heard a sudden slam from afar. Out came a green dragon...pony...thing...the fuck was it?

"What the fu--?!" I was interrupted when he slammed right into me. I felt bits of pain here and there, but fine nonetheless. That creature on the other hand, I wish could say the same.

"Gah, fuck! Did I run into a wall?" He asked himself.

"No. You ran into me." I said. His surprised face was cherished even today. Good freaking lord was it beautiful. I didn't describe it before, but my choice of armor was...frightening. I looked like as if I walked seconds out of the apocalypse; very rusted armor, a couple of visible burns and cuts found all over my legs and face, and my hair looking like it hasn't been combed for years. In others, I was a badass straight from Tartarus itself.

The dragon-pony was certainly confused beyond belief, if not downright terrifed.

"So...got anything to say?" I asked impatiently.

---

"W-wait...that was you?" Alex asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. You may not believe it, but because of the way I looked, nopony in this damn group would talk to me. Fuck, everyone was to scared to be my friend or ask me out. However, I did protect Blueberry, and because I stayed around her, every pony didn't mess with her." I said.

"Yeah...used too." Blueberry said.

"Used to? What happened?" I asked.

"Couple of Pyro-jerkoffs decided to mess with her and charge her to stay here. If not, they said they'll kill her." Vanella said.

"Kill?!" Alex was shocked. Heck, so was I.

"You protected her, right?" I asked.

"...Remember Cherry Top, and her boyfriend, Flaze?" She asked.

I almost, almost lost my shit. Almost. Alex could see what I use to be. And it wasn't pleasant. I was shaking in anger thing to control it. Now I know how hard it was for Redwood. I looked at Blueberry, hurt emotionally.

"You didn't tell me." I said.

"Y-you didn't ask! A-a-and it wasn't a good time to bring it up, s-so--!!"

"And I told you that if anyone messes with you, tell me. I just can't BELIEVE you wouldn't say anything!"

"And you didn't either! And at that point I always hated you!" She said.

Not even a long arguement. A short one. Super short, and yet it still hurts me just hearing it. My rage instantly disappeared from what she said, but it slowly grew back.

"...Fair point. I understand, Blueberry. But remember my promise: if you were hurt, all you had to do, was mail me. I'd come back." I said.

"...Would you?" She asked. She didn't sound sad, nor hurt. She just sounded...she probably felt lied too. Then I pondered; even if she did send me a letter, would I have come back?

"...Yeah. I would have been late, but yeah. Just..." I sighed. My anger disappeared along with my sense of reason. I just didn't want to do anything anymore. I was done. "...where are they?" I asked.

It was quiet. I glared at Vanella.

"Where. Are. They?" I asked. Vanella quickly responded with the sound of a true soldier.

"They should be back by tomorrow. Her fee is tomorrow, Frozenburn." She said.

"Frozenburn? ...Doesn't that name contradict each other?" Alex asked, being a lot more wary around me. Makes sense. Almost flipped my shit.

"Exactly. He's an ice pony. You would think he wouldn't last here, but he somehow adapted. Around the place, that is what we are suppose to call our leader. He is second, next to the pony who is pretty much ruler of the Pyromaniacs." Vanella explained.

"Good. Tomorrow, we are going to meet them. I'll be back in my old self tomorrow, if my armor is still here." I said.

"Why would you leave your armor here?" Redwood asked. I reached over to Blueberry's only cabinet. I swear, this place is almost emptied compared to what she had before I left.

"Because if their's one thing Blueberry can't do..." I picked up my large piece of armor from her bags of clothes, and drop them to the floor. Every single piece of my armor was here. "...its that she can't forget about me." I said.

"Tomorrow, we'll finish the story. I'll be back in my old self by then, we'll have a chat with the lovebirds, me and Alex will have grab the Shishkebab, and be on our way. Understood?" I asked.

"Yes sir!" All three said. I looked at Blueberry and Redwood. "And this time, with a proper goodbye." I said.

They smiled. Probably having me back for a day and giving them a proper goodbye then disappearing. "Now, you three could chat it up, or Alex could finish his side of the story. I'll be in the guest room if you guys need me." I said.

I left the living room and went into the two-bed guest room. Now, it was time to be Winter. The angry, snowstorm of Winter Frost.

---

Alex

"So what happened next?" asked Blueberry.

"I... Honestly don't remember."

"What? Why not?" asked Vanilla.

"Well, after seeing Winter in that armor, I sorta... ran into a wall. Not my best moment. Next thing I know, I wake up to see the place I was in on fire, and Baws standing there without the armor. Never did actually ask him about it, now that I think about it. But after he saved my life, I took a page out of my sister Pinkie's book and stalked him all over Equestria until he agreed to be my friend. He wasn't happy about it at first, but he eventually came around. You'll have to ask him about it if you want more of the details, my memory is pretty terrible when it comes to things that are neither related to stealing cool shit and life lessons on how not to almost die."

---

Baws

"Pinkie?" Vanella asked. Alex shrugged.

"Do you really wanna question it at this point?" He asked.

She groaned. Not like she's gonna get anything out of it. "Screw it. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She said.

"W-wait, where are you going?" Redwood asked.

"...To get my old gear. I didn't think he was coming back." She said. She walked out and closed the door.

It was a quiet night afterwards.

---

I got my gear, and I'm ready to go!

Taking one final look at myself in the mirror. I left the guest bedroom to meet the four already in the kitchen. Vanella was strangely in her old gear. Not sure why, though. When they saw me walk out, their eyes shrunk. They saw me, the old me, that is.

"Heh. Well, would you look at that. How ya feelin'?" Vanella asked.

"Terrible. I forgot how much we sunk into these armor. Geez, its so hot we pretty much use armor as pajamas." I said.

Blueberry giggled, but Redwood rolled his eyes. Alex almost smiled seeing me walk out, and so did Vanella.

"Damn. Looks as scary now as you did back then." Alex said.

"Its a gift." I said.

Blueberry walked over to me, a small frown sitting on her face. "Winter, I know you. You can't control yourself around them. You really don't--"

"Stop it." I interrupted. Her ears flopped when I said that. "Blueberry, I know I hurt you, so this is my way of apologizing. Plus, those fuckturds need a talking anyway."

"But--!"

"No. I promise, Blue, that I will get your stuff back. I promise you that." I said. Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door.

"Hey? Blue? Ya in there? Your fee's due! C'mon out!" it sounded like...

"Flaze." Vanella said. I waved Alex over from the guest room.

"C'mon!" I said. Alex quickly followed, and everyone bid except for Blueberry and Redwood. We slightly opened the doors to see, and just let it play out.

Soon, Blueberry opened the door, and four ponies walked in. One of them was Flaze and Cherry. Flaze was an orange pony, with his flaming silk hair. He carried more gear than anyone, because we wanted to prove he's better. His red eyes struck fear to anyone that glanced at him, and he always had a confident smirk.

Cherry was the opposite of Blueberry; rude, out-going, was a constant nag, and she hated Blueberry. However, seeing as I stuck with Blueberry at the time, she didn't make any moves. She had a bit more gear on her red body, and she used them to the fullest. Her red air was actually straight down, and was unkept, kind of like mine. She didn't care though. Their was also a dark green and pink pony, but they didn't matter.

"So...where is it?" Flaze asked. Blueberry stood firmly in her spot.

"I...don't have it." She said. Yeah...that ruined her confidence.

"Don't have it?"

"U-uh...no?" She said. Cherry growled.

"So, ya don't have the munny?" She said.

Redwood stepped in, a lot braver than he was before. "L-leave her alone! If she doesn't have it, c-come back later." He said.

"D'aww! How cute! You think just because your top dog now, we have to do what you say?" Flaze asked.

Redwood stood firmly, and it became more apparent when Vanella finally walked out.

"Leave her alone, you fucknut." Vanella said.

That threw Cherry off guard, but Flaze was unfazed. "I guess we have to teach you a lesson, huh? Why must you struggle, Blueberry?" He asked.

The two ponies were a lot bigger than expected. They stood in front of the three, and fear struck in all of them.

"Without your precious leader, your a couple of deadweights, the lot of you." He said.

"An' you struggle every time we do this. Just makes it more fun to squeal the money out of you." She said. I gave a nudge to Alex, and he finally walked out, me hiding even further in the room, but not enough to lose the conversation.

"Then we'll have to make it even. Don't you agree?" He asked.

This threw off the both of them. "And who are you?" Flaze asked.

"Alex Rite. And you really fucked up today. You have to face all five of us." Alex said. My time was coming.

"Five? Where?" Cherry asked.

Blueberry was nervous, but she was able to do it.

"Count: One." she said.

"Two." Vanella said.

"Three." Chimed in Redwood.

"Four." Alex growled.

"Five." I finally walked out. Flaze and the other three obviously flipped their shit seeing me. I walked up with my friends, my eyes giving them icy chills.

"U-uh...W-Winter? I-Is that you?" Cherry asked.

"What of it?" I asked. Flaze glared, but never before have I seen fire in his eyes.

"You...you're back?" He asked.

"For a little while. Blue sent me a message saying that you assholes were robbing her valuables. Makes sense, though. Low life garbage taking valuables." I said.

"Low life?!" Cherry was visibly angry.

"Garbage?!" Flaze almost shouted. I gave a nod.

"Yeah, garbage. And you need to be taken out. I'll let my buddy Alex and Vanella take care of you four." I said.

Blueberry looked at me. "No. Let me take Cherry." She said.

Well, that threw me off.

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"She...she was rude to me, and bullied me all my life here. I want to pay her back." She said. I smiled. If a pony is really nice, piss him off, and he can be a cold blooded psycho path.

"Fine. I'll take care of the two big one's in the back." I said.

Vanella stepped in to conversation. "Now hold on. Let me have the pink one. She's been looking at me funny for a while now." She said.

I looked at Redwood. He obviously shook his head. "Seems l-like you guys got this." He said. I look back.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready!"

---

Alex

Without warning, that Flaze dude ran right at me. I was so surprised, he almost hit me, but luckily my fighting instincts kicked in and I turned into a shadow before he hit me. The guy flew over me, and I quickly change forms and, grabbing his tail, used his own momentum to send him into a wall. While he was down, I took a quick glance at Blueberry to see if she needed my help, and was surprised at what I saw before me.

Cherry took a shot at Blueberry, but the mare did a flip over her to evade, then sidekicked Cherry in the face upon landing. Disoriented, Cherry tried to roundhouse her, but Blueberry ducked under her leg and countered with a double uppercut to the jaw that sent her flying back a couple of feet.

This chick is only a level one?! I thought to myself, impressed. I almost forgot that I was in a fight myself.

Then I got punched in the face.

I looked back at Flaze, who was grinning like he had won with that single punch. I just grinned back and rubbed the side of my face with my fist.

Things had just gotten interesting.

---

Baws

This green pony was fucking gigantic, but looked like an amateur compared to me. He swung in my direction, but a simple duck caused him to tumble. "Really? I seriously thought Flaze would do better." I said.

The green one growled, but was knocked hard into the floor by my hoof. The fight ended right then and there, or so I thought.
A hoof swept under me, and I crash hard into the floor. I looked at him, only to see him back on his feet. Holy shit, already?!

"My name, is Denzure! I do not take kindly to traitors like you!" He said.

It almost sounded like he spoke improper equestrian. I swiftly kick him in the jaw, him stumbling back to the wall. "And I'm your boss. Better quit while you still can." I said.

I looked over, and Vanella was already pissed at this pink chick. This pink chick was slightly taller than her, but she looked like she had basic fighting. Vanella was an expert, but her movements were slow. You think she would win, regardless of her slow movements, right?

Well, I thought so too.

This pink pony had speed on her side. So, in other words, they were going at it. Vanella fell from the impact she had recieved before I looked at her, but she repayed the pink one with a kick to the muzzle.

The pink one took the hit, and started smashing Vanella in the face. It was a couple times before the pink one recieved a hard hoof to the left eye. She stumbled back, a swollen eye forming. No doubt she lost vision in that eye.

I looked back at my opponent, a crack was heard. He rubbed his hoof under his jaw, his anger showing. "You broke jaw. Impressed. But will not stop me from beating you." He said.

I smiled. "I'd like to see you try." I said.

---

Alex

Flaze jumped at me again, but I morphed into a shadow, causing him to slam headfirst into the wall behind me. Then, climbing up said wall, I returned to my three-dimensional form and let gravity do it's work as I bodyslammed him. You'd think it would have ended there, but Baws wasn't kidding when he said these guys were tough.

Flaze threw me off of himself and quickly pinned me to the ground, one foreleg holding both my arms, and the other raised to give me a few good punches. Now, I could have easily just turned into a shadow and gotten right out of there, but for some reason, I didn't. It was something my instincts were telling me not to do, and when my instincts tell me to do something, I listened to them.

Now, let me explain my instincts. Just like how Pinkie has her "Pinkie-sense" and Maud has her "Maud-sense", I too, had developed a sort of sixth sense for things. This is what my "instincts" were. Any time I wanted something but didn't know how to get it, be it winning a fight, finding a diamond dog and a changeling, or finding out where Baws was hiding his secret cookie stash, my instincts always told me exactly what to do, and they had never failed me. And right now, they were telling me to use a different shadow technique.

I opened my mouth and sent a huge blast of shadow fire in the face of Flaze, who screamed and jumped off of me, batting at the black flames that lingered on his armor. I was glad listening to my instincts had helped me out, but I was curious as to how that it had worked, seeing as how Baws had told me the Pyromaniacs were near immune to fire. And then it hit me.

Shadow fire, despite the deceptive name, is not actually fire, but rather streams of Shadow so cold that they burn. Boy, do I feel like an idiot.

An idiot with the upper hoof, that is.

---

Baws

I slamed into the wall, the pain increasing as I go on. Denzure walked up to me, blood running down his nose. "Heh, looks like it's over for you, puny pony." He said.

I smiled. "I don't...think you know who your dealing with." I said. I struggled to get up, and with a snap of my neck, I was getting back into the fight. "Rank 34, Codename: Frozenburn. And unfortunately for you..."

I got into my battle stance, adrenaline starting to pump through. "...you caught me in a very bad mood." I said.

Denzure smirked before throwing another swing at me. Easily dodging the attack, I give him a hard jab to the side, then roundhouse to the neck. He started choking, and staggered backwards. I ended him him with an elbow to the face. He finally fell unconscious, and I was happy the fight was over...at least, on my side.

"Geez...I forgot how tough the ponies were." I breathed heavily. I looked over, to see Vanella pulverizing the hell out of the pink pony. It looked like she fell unconcious minutes before I finished Denzure.

"Vanella, quit it. She's sleep." I said.

Vanella glared at me, gave one final punch to the out-cold pony, then walked towards me. "Fucking pony. Almost had me with that stupid kick of her's. Fuck her!" She cussed.

"Yeah...that's my sweet Vanella." I said.

"Fuck you and your sarcasm." She said.

Now Flaze and Cherry were top dogs in their group, and I worry for both Alex and Blueberry. Alex, I believe he can take care of himself. Blueberry, I wish could say the same.

---

Alex

Now that I knew my shadow fire could deal these punks some damage, I was pouring it on like pegasus jumping on a stormcloud. I bobbed and weaved when he tried to hit me, then blasted his open sides. Soon enough, the guy was weak and panting, and it only took one final punch to the face and the dude was down for the count. I turned to help out blueberry if she needed it, only to jump back when she threw a battered and beaten Cherry on top of Flaze. The blue mare rubbed her hooves together, having barely a single scratch on her.

"You're a level one?!" I exclaimed.

"Only because I choose not to fight." she replied. "I can actually kick some serious flank."

Note to self- never piss off Blueberry.

---

Baws

"Well holy shit. No wonder they accepted you here; your amazing!!" Vanella said.

Redwood nodded. "She's been training ever since we first met Winter. It was truly amazing." He said.

I looked at the unconcious ponies, rubbing my chin. "Ugh...we're gonn have to do something about this." I said.

"Yeah...let's tie them up!" Alex said. The five of us nodded our heads in unison.

"I'll get my rope!" Blueberry asked.

"And I'll do the talking." Vanella said.

I sighed, almost face hoofing myself. "Please don't abuse them. Their our enemies, yes, but don't give them injuries, alright?" I asked.

Vanella chuckled. "No promises." She said.

---

Alex

"Okay, so what are we asking them?" questioned Redwood.

"We're going to get them to tell us where Duraflame is, save her, then get that other part of the story Baws was telling," I said, turning to my bro. "Unless you wanna tell us your side now."

---

Baws

"Oh yeah...right." I really didn't want to continue after I met Alex. Things get worse from there, but I have a sigh. "Alright, so after you ran into the wall in total fear..."

---

I face hoofed so hard. Poor guy ran into the wall. Though, I had a mission to do, and my mission was more important than him. I was ready to walk away when Blueberry suddenly appeared.

"Winter?" She called out.

I turned to her, not scared in the least. "Yeah?" I replied back.

"What...what is that? What happened to him?" She asked.

"Some dragon-pony mutation. I don't really care though. C'mon, let's get this over wi-"

"You hurt him, didn't you?"

That threw me off guard. I looked back at her with a confused expression. "What? No, I-"

"Winter...please. Please tell me your anger didn't control you." She pleaded.

"No! He ran into me, got scared, and ran into the wall!"

"Then help him!"

"Help him?! Fucker ran into me!"

"Winter!!"

"No! He's not our problem!"

"Winter!"

"SHUT UP!"

I just wanted her to stop. I...I didn't mean to yell at her. I don't know why, I just did. She immediately stopped, and I didn't realize I was breathing hard. My anger was venting, steaming for a fight. I took a calm breath, before continuing.

"...He's not our problem. Leave him." I ordered.

She stood there with complete silence, but a tear dripped down from her face. "I understand." She said.

After that, we walked in silence to our destination, meeting up with Vanella and Redwood. "Y'all ready?" Vanella asked.

"Yeah. Let's do this." I said. We brought our Flamers out, and we started to burn the doors together. The golden doors were now hot and melted together with no escape. After that, we burned very thing around it, making sure this place burns in hell. "Good. Now let's get out of here." I ordered.

We ran for our escape, only for us to pass the unconcious dragon-pony again. I stopped, and the three turned around. "What are you doing?!" Vanella yelled.

I sighed, the better man getting to me. "Go." I ordered. They hesitated, before leaving from sight. From a sigh to a groan, I took off my armor, the fire now spreading around us. "Can't fucking believe I'm doing this." I said.

The dragon-pony slowly awoke, and saw me without my armor. With my strong wings, I lifted him onto my back. "Hold on tight, okay?" I said.

With the fire now engulfing the building, I ran my way to the nearest window, and jumped us through there. We made a hard landing, but lived through it. With the strength of a pissed off pony, I tossed the dragon-pony aside. He stumbled as he coughed harshly from the smoke and fire. He looked at me, catching his breath. "You...you saved--"

"Your life. Yeah, I know, shut up. Jeez." I scratched my neck.

The dragon-pony smiled. "No, seriously, thank you! I really--!"

"I swear to Celestia, shut the fuck up!" I swore like a sailor. I turned my back, getting ready to leave. "Just forget about it, okay?" I asked.

I started to walk away, followed by the now confused dragon-pony, who would soon bother me to no end.

---

"Yeah, I remember that. Seriously, thanks." Alex said.

"...Shut up." I couldn't help but smile. He gave a small laugh, but now it was my turn. "Seriously, how did you find me? Their was no way you should have found me." I explained.

He smiled. "Well, I just really wanted to be your friend, and my instincts took care of the rest!" He said.