"Well, everyone," says Zetta, "you all did a fine job on that last run. You've earned yourself a brief respite."
Everyone cheers and thrusts their weapons into the air, including those such as Woody and Graz, who can't imitate human speech.
"However, don't get complacent. After you get finished with your rest, we're going to go after King Drake III's Netherworld." He adds, muttering to himself, "That guy really needs to be knocked down a peg or two."
"You mean the guy who looks a lot like a lion?" asks Meredith. "Yeah...that guy's pretty annoying."
The human members of the crowd let out a collective "Yeah!"
"...and very loud," Kashiwa adds.
Another "Yeah!" erupts from the crowd, with the exception of one man holding a wrench and a toolbox.
"Who's Drake?" he asks, looking around at the jubilant crowd. Meredith walks up to him and attempts to put him in his place.
"Uh...weren't you watching just a few minutes ago?"
"No. I just got here. Lord Zetta invited me in."
"Oh? I don't remember seeing your name on the roster."
"I told you, I just got here. I've been hanging out in the warehouse with Professor Lucca all this time."* .
A woman in a labcoat and glasses approaches Steve. She reminds him of Professor Licorice, but appeared slightly more cheerful.
"So, you must be the leader of this operation," she says to him. "Don't mind Bob. He doesn't get out much. He's so fixated on his mechanics that he forgets to come out sometimes.
"Welcome to the team, Bob and Lucca," says Steve. He shakes their hands, and pulls back a handful of oil after reaching for Bob's hand. "I...ugh...I hope you find yourself at home as part of the Netherworld Reclamation Project."
Kashiwa shakes her head. "Did you just make that up on the spot?"
Lucca examines a manual in her hand, detailing the specifications of the Gear Metal LEX. "Anyway, sir," she says, "I request your permission to allow Bob, myself, and one of your other soldiers to take the LEX for a test drive. I'd like to see this machine in action before we proceed."
"Be my guest." He looks around at his crew, many of whom appear to have already started goofing off. He then sees Satan pointing his rifle at random objects around the castle. "If you need someone to test the LEX out, then why don't you try that guy? He likes guns."
"Splendid," Lucca replies. "We'll be back before you know it."
While Bob, Lucca and Satan (joyriding in the LEX for the first time) are out traversing Zetta's conquered Netherworlds, they take notes on the capabilities of both machine and driver:
- The effectiveness of a vehicle is directly tied to the person driving it. Characters with high TEC ratings get better performance from the machine, and thus the overall stats of the vehicle will increase. For characters who aren't TEChnically inclined (meaning everyone except for Lucca, the soldier trio and Nabiki), the vehicle's stats will decrease.
- All attacks made while in a vehicle consume SP (think of it in terms of ammunition/weapon energy), so if there aren't enough SP, the machine can't attack, and is only good as an extra layer of protection for its driver.
- Characters can get in or out of vehicles at any time, provided they have not made an action for that round. This allows for the driver to move forward in a vehicle, attack, get out of the vehicle, move around further, and attack again if necessary.
- If an enemy is killed by a vehicle's attack, all battle experience is given to the vehicle instead of the driver.
