All this had occurred since the initial attack in Meil's house. As it stands, Nelly and Lemmy have been captured and taken by the old man, Meil and Lee are preparing to set off and save them, and the generals are departing for Schnell's Archipelago to stop the old man from destroying the world. A lot of pieces are moving, but that doesn't mean that's all. First, we should turn the clock back a bit and shed light on the situation from a similae yet different viewpoint.
"Beep, beep, beep!" The alarm went off as a dead tired young man slammed it with all his might.
"Urghhh..." Lemmy turned back around to fall asleep again.
"Beep, bee-!" The alarm sounded again a minute later before getting tossed out the room.
"Damn this thing! I already turned it off!" He shouted, "Ack, now I remember. Meil gave it to me as a birthday present, and Nelly insisted on being the one to set it. She must've set two alarms to make sure I get up..."
She knows me too well, he thought with a grin forming on his face. Still, there was no reason to be smiling so happily in his mind, since they're not together. She was right there, he kept muttering to himself since they "broke up", within arm's reach. For every waking moment, he kept asking himself depressing questions like "Should I have tried to be more assertive?" or "Was there even a chance for me to keep our time as a couple going?" Even now, on the first day of school, he just can't stop imagining the countless what-ifs.
"Dammit, this is no time to be thinking about that idiot!" He slapped himself wide awake, "Gotta get ready for school. Right, eat breakfast and get everything ready before heading off! Then I can pick her up from her home and we can go togeth-Goddammit! I thought about her again!"
As can be clearly seen, the young boy was experiencing youth at its fullest, or shall we say—It's dullest. He got the girl he set his sights on, but it was only a trial version. And like a drug, he was hooked from the start, priming himself for the day he can come back for more. In any case, he had gone downstairs to the dining room, where he was met with a lovely banquet set up by his dear father.
"Not." Lemmy groaned, "That old bastard's still sleeping in, I assume."
"You assumed wrong, jackass." Lee startled him from behind.
"Eek! The fuck, don't do that!"
"Quite the girly scream you got there, Lemmy." Lee mocked him, "Did the sweet Nelly rub her womanly charms off on you?"
"Like hell, if anything she rubbed off her stupidity." Lem groaned, "Have a seat, I'll make us eggs."
"I got up specifically to make you breakfast, though." Lee looked saddened.
"Well it should've been ready by now, then!"
Groaning and grunting as he picked up the pan and broke some eggs on it, adding some random spices from the cupboards as he did, the eggs were whipped up in no time at all. They weren't by any means special, but then again, you can't really get that creative with sunny side up eggs.
"Breaks over already." Lee noted, "Damn, it's like it only started just yesterday too. Do those fuckers ever give you students time to have fun in life?"
"Hardly. But it beats sitting around doing nothing at the house like you." Lem shot back.
"...Touché, son." Lee gave a sidelong glance, "Mph! What'd you put in this!? Ack!"
"Hm? Just a bit of pepper." Lem inspected his own plate, "Mine's good, though."
"Good, my ass! It's enough to kill someone!" Lee flipped the egg like one would a pancake to effectively shake off the excess spice, "There, that should do it. Want me to do the same for you?"
"Nah, I like mine better like this." Lem recalled with a nostalgic smirk, "Damn, guess I got used to the Grimhearts' food. These days I can't eat anything without oversalting at the very least."
"...You gonna go that far for her?" Lee looked a bit wary, "You don't have to ruin your stomach just to get her to like you, y'know? Go slow and be mindful, I'm sure she'll understand soon enough."
"That's what I've BEEN doing. For the past year, in fact." Lemmy sighed, "And when I finally succeeded somehow, it was only for a short week or so. And here I thought we were doing good, too."
"Maybe you are?" Lee chuckled.
"Mocking me again, old man? That's low, even for you..."
"Nah, nah, that's not it!" Lee explained himself, "I'm just saying—I saw how you two acted around each other before the trip, and I definitely see a change in how she treats you now when compared to that time."
"You think?" Lem opted to listen in a bit more.
"Yeah, she might have that blockade of wanting you to go back to being friends stopping her, but she's definitely having a hard time not seeing you as an ex-boyfriend."
"So what are you saying?" Lem asked.
"Be honest, tell her you wanna date for real." Lee nodded, "And if she declines, don't give up! Keep pushing until you have your way! A-Ah, but not in a stalker sense, I just meant like..."
"Heh, yeah, I get it." Lem got up after finishing his meal, "So, when should be the best time to confess?"
"Right now." Lee chuckled, "At her doorstep, when she's still drowsy."
"That can't be smart."
"No, it is! See, she'll think something like "Wow, he really thought of me first thing in the morning?", and then boom! Her heart's fluttering, and you're good to go!"
"That's..." Lem thought about it some more, "Actually a good idea. Thanks, dad."
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"Thank me after it works." Lee looked proud, "Now, go get her, son!"
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"I'm going." Lem looked nervous as he carried his backpack on him at their door, "Wish me luck."
"Of course, I'll be rooting for ya'." Lee began closing the door, "Aaaaall the way from the window facing their door."
"Hell no! No spying on us!" Lem Commanded out of fear.
"Heh, don't worry, I wouldn't do it anyways." Lee chuckled, "It was just a joke. You and I both know I'm gonna go straight back to bed the moment I close this door."
That's true, Lem thought, he does always do that. Thus, he walked out of his house to begin his next school year, but instead of focusing on books or exams or lectures, he had only one goal in mind—Ask Nelly to be his girlfriend again, except this time by way of a lifetime subscription!
"Hey..." Lem muttered as he saw a creepy old man walking calmly to Nelly's house, "A friend of Meil's? Nah, no way, Meil only has like 3 friends, and that's counting Nelly and both her parents. I should watch out, just in case."
In his mind, two worries were fighting to overtake the throne. One was that the old man could be dangerous, and a threat to Nelly, but the other was far more fit for his age.
"That damn old man, to come here now of all times!" He grumbled, "Come on, I can't set the mood and confess with a bag of decrepit bones standing around!"
"Sigh..." The old man just barely peeked over his shoulder to smirk at Lem.
Suddenly, nigh infinite alarms were being set off in Lem's head. All of them pointed to that old man's smug grin that was almost mocking him. Something was amiss, and he had only a moment to spare before he would lose his chance! Lem, without even preparing his body for it, had ran at full speed to the porch and carefully looked at the old man's next action up close.
"...What's wrong, young man?" The old man, still hiding his face away with his hood, "Why the rush?"
"Don't mind me, I just like watching people." Lem joked, "Carry on with whatever you wanted to do."
"You sure?" The old man looked a tad puzzled by this, "You're not gonna stop me, or try to at least?"
"No, but being a witness to whatever happens always makes you important." Lem explained, "I promise not to do anything, I just wanna see whatever it is you wanted to do."
"Heh, interesting." The old man nodded before reaching for the front door's handle.
Of course, Lem was lying through his teeth about this. The very second the doors clicked open, revealing to him that the old man wasn't someone who was willing to wait for the owners to open it for him, he had sent a flying sucker punch at the old man's head from the back.
"Ack!" The old man's face broke a hole through the front door, "Damn, kid! Lying isn't good, y'know?"
"An old man like you survived that?" Lem looked spooked, but tried to hide it with confidence, "Tch, guess I shouldn't have expected it to be that easy to deal with pests."
"This your house, young man?" The old man slowly and carefully tore his head out of the door, "Regardless, I see from your clothes that you're a student here. It'd be a shame for your parents' money to go to waste over an old man like me, so I warmly suggest you go about your merry way so as not to be late for class..."
"Don't worry, I'm in the student council, so I don't have the first three classes today." Lem grinned, "We'll leave just as soon as you let me get the girl I like to come out. I'm only here so we can walk to school together."
"Ah, I see, so that's the reason." The old man once again reached for the door as he spoke softly, "Sadly, Nelly has business with me-"
Slam! His entire body was sent hurling through the door and into the very middle of the house's foyer this time. Lem truly wasn't gonna be pulling any punches, especially when he heard Nelly's name come out of that filth old man's mouth. What's worse, he doesn't seem to be dealing with your regular senior citizen too, since this guy just casually got up without even flinching.
"Kids these days are so strong, despite being skinny as shiet." The old man approached him menacingly, "Back in my day, you'd be considered a girl if your shoulders weren't wide, and your stature large."
"You're quite skinny yourself, you know." Lem mocked, throwing his backpack aside so that it didn't slow him down, "Does that make you a girl?"
"I was quite fat once." The old man moved his long beard aside like a curtain to reveal his boney torso, "These days, though, my metabolism seems to be improving."
"...The fuck are you?" Lem looked repulsed as he donned a battle ready stance, "And what do you want with Nelly?"
"She has something of importance to me." He smirked, "Among other things..."
"You...!" Lem ran at full speed towards his enemy, "If she gets mad at me for breaking their front door and my chances get ruined, I'm gonna shove your dentures into your Eyes!"
"Is that the case, lover boy?" The old man kept walking unfazed, "Thankfully, I never had to endure the unpleasantry of wearing dentures, then~!"
The battle between modern youth and ancient prime had begun like this, in the main foyer of Meil's house. Lem, rushing to get his answers, simply had no other choice but to beat this invincible grandpa up until he had revealed all his secrets and left Nelly alone. Needless to say, neither him nor Nelly had made it to class that day.