The Face of Zi surveyed his troops.
"ALL HAIL, THE FACE OF ZI!" cried the standard, then - bringing his teeth together and moving his voice to the back of the throat - "Haig Gi, haig Gi!"
"That was you," surmised the Face of Zi, "Where are the others?"
"IT'S SO ODD," cried the standard, "I KNOW."
"Were they following you?"
"DEFINITELY."
"What do you mean 'definitely'?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"
"Yes or no: Before you set off, did you check if they were following you?"
"IF ANYTHING -"
"Yes or no."
"IF
ANYTHING 'DEFINITELY' IS EVEN MORE AFFIRMATIVE THAN YES, SO... I DON'T
NEED TO SAY YES, BECAUSE I'M SO SURE, THAT - IT'S NOT EVEN -"
"Were they following you?"
"SURE."
"That's not a yes."
"I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE YOU'RE PURSUING THIS."
"Can't you?"
"LOOK, I WAS HOLDING THE STANDARD REALLY... REALLY HIGH. IF THEY DIDN'T SEE THAT, THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT I COULD HAVE-"
"So, higher than you're holding it now?"
"YOU KNOW, I'VE A GOOD MIND NOT TO GO TO WAR FOR YOU NOW, ACTUALLY, IF THIS-"
"Uh-huh."
"IF THIS IS THE KIND OF OPERATION YOU'RE... you're... Oh don't look sad."