A Warrior Reborn
By Zoram Selrof
Prologue: The scheme
08:05 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday July the 9th, 2204….
"… Let's check with him: we'll soon execute the scheme…"
An unidentified man standing inside of a largely unlit room picked up a Hunter – VG device from a small wooden desk and browsed through its menus before pressing a finger on one app's icon: a communication window formed and displayed another unidentified man.
"Good morning." The caller greeted.
"Good morning, sir. Did the new ginger beef cause you an aching throat after eating it, sir?" The second person asked.
"Yeah. Too much for my taste."
"Week's password confirmed… I am sorry for the delay, but one is wary of security."
"No problem… Anyway… It's about the "scheme"… We can pull it off already this weekend." The caller announced.
"Everything goes according to the scheme, then… Is the "IQ Front" safe enough to pull this off?"
"I wouldn't have called you if we weren't sure. "IQ" is going on another expedition… If we want to act, there's no choice but to do it now. All preparations are complete in our side."
"Excellent… Then… When do we start? Saturday? Sunday?"
"Hmmm… Maybe Saturday would do fine… Have you finished arranging for the decoy vans?"
"Correct. There was no real problem given how everyone seems to be eager to buy a lot nowadays…"
"Good. Oh. True, true… Did you get the "medicine" I sent to you?"
"We did and tested it out using lab mice… Its effects work exactly like they are supposed to do and it lasts for about two hours… It should be enough, I think… It's not like I favor such a method, yet… It's the only way to make the "cover" be believable in case "IQ" suddenly begins questioning things or snooping around…" The man on the other end of the line sighed and didn't sound glad of it.
"I know! And we really would have preferred to use something else, but since Boss knows how "IQ" thinks, then this will be enough to throw its suspicions off… And think that this is sweet compared to what "IQ" could do to those children…" The caller sounded slightly annoyed.
"My apologies… Did I anger you, sir?"
"Don't worry… I was rambling aloud again… Boss is passing some of his bad habits into me despite my constant insistence that he should try to take some days off to rest from time to time…"
"Well then… How should we proceed from that point?"
"That's where we come in. I've set a location up and have a good position to approach that person directly… It won't be hard to convince them, really, given the circumstances which will take place." The speaker shrugged.
"I see. What should we do? Continue to fool "IQ" with half-faked reports would do fine?"
"Yeah. "IQ" is too arrogant to question those: it really thinks we're all its puppets to dance at the tune of its flute. But that's where it's totally mistaken: we won't cooperate with such a villain anymore. But… Well. You know what I mean."
"I do, sir, I do… I thought Mr. Sponsor was working on a method to end the ugly business "IQ" controls… Am I correct?"
"Yeah. But it'll take time and effort. This "Scheme" will work as a cover to hide the development of such a strategy."
"Perfect, then… Should we also keep an eye out for the investigations of the Satella Police?"
"Why not… I guess "O" will be able to distract them, too…"
A door suddenly squeaked open at a slow speed and the caller quickly looked towards the right: there didn't seem to be anyone coming inside, though.
"… O. I know it's you. Stop playing with Boss' new stealth camouflage device which he installed into you… I'm in the middle of a talk with Mr. D. and I don't need your weird humor to butt in."
"My, my! That's some language, Doc." An amused voice rang out of nowhere.
"I know. Go tell those simulations of yours they're fired."
"Yeah! They're fired and carried away to the recycle bin."
"Very funny." The caller growled.
"My, my! Danna! It'd seem ya need some rumblin' and shakin' 'round the corner!"
"I don't: tell that to the cook and see if you can stop him from coming up with weird sauces."
"Sure thing, but firstly…"
"What?"
"Let's turn on the lights."
"No need to."
"Wanna play enigmatic conspirator?"
"Maybe."
"Ya sound like a lawyer."
"You sound like a King Land comedy show man. Run off." The "Doc" grumbled next.
"Through the backdoor?"
"Whatever!"
"I'll take that as a "yeah", I guess… Yo! Mr. D. Playin' with your SAA revolvers 'till ya meet the mark?"
"I am afraid we are in the middle of polishing up some important details, Mr. O… We would appreciate some privacy."
"That sounds like…"
"Grjftx! It's none of that: it's about the "Scheme"! We're going to pull it off tomorrow!"
"Oho. So my turn to shine as hidden techniques instructor came?"
"It came. So get your boots moving and get into the "B Point" already: I need you to be there by tomorrow and take care of some aspects while I handle "A Point", gotcha?"
"Gotchi, gotchu, gotche, gotcho, gotcha." The newcomer came up with a rhyme.
"Turn off that stupid device already!" The caller growled.
"Take off that doctor's mask."
"What "doctor's mask" you mean? I AM a doctor!"
"Ask Mr. Universe via that Hunter – VG ya have in your hands, Dr. House XVI!"
"Very funny!"
"No, no… Very original."
"Go to the VR simulator and leave us alone already before Boss gets another bad mood!"
"Ops. Then I'll go tell those simulated guys that they need some surgery to patch up the mess they are."
"Get outta this room NOW!"
"Sure thing, Danna."
"MOVE!"
The door slammed shut and some footsteps were heard running down along metallic floor followed by some beeps and the sound of another door opening and closing.
"Phew! Sorry for the outburst, but… I really did prefer O. back when he was serious and only cared about the mission… But Boss decided that was too "stiff" and added him a more "dynamic" personality… He now seems to catch on cheap humor and build up jokes from it." The caller sighed and rolled his eyes.
"HRA~H! HAH! YAH! HRYA~H!" Some yells suddenly echoed in the room along with terrific noises.
"O! You've hijacked the PA system to output the audio from the VR Room, didn't you? Stop it already before Boss comes back or else things will get ugly!"
"Ya don't have any sense of thrill, Doc – sama~!" O. replied through the PA speakers.
"Thrill leads to disaster!"
"Disaster leads to comedy."
"Be serious!"
"Be cooler."
"Switch the PA off!"
"Switch the engines on."
"We don't need to change orbit!"
"We're gonna meet Ms. Moon, then?"
"NO!" The caller roared.
"Please…" The man on the other end fumed.
"Do ya really believe we'll find that lovely panorama inside of it and play tag with four guys plus have an epic battle with a fifth guy?"
"That's an old game system which came out AGES ago and I dunno why you bother to look it up!"
"'Cause I'm a connoisseur, ya know, Doc."
"Grjftx! I'm about to come inside and manually switch you off!"
"Oho. I'd like to see ya tryin'."
"Gra~h! Enough! You're driving me crazy and I need to be calm and collected by Sunday!"
"Sure thing: ask the cook for his new "Confucius black & white tea" to cool it off, Doc – sama!"
The man violently opened his door, came out into a curved corridor with poor lighting, walked down some steps and stopped in front of an armored door labeled "VR ROOM #04" to begin punching digits into a control panel next to it: the panel beeped and a red LED came in.
"There. All PA has been manually switched off and I've locked it from the outside with the master code which only Boss and I know. I'll let you later once you stop fooling around." The man muttered.
"Fine! I'll have plenty of time to play Boss Rush: those ugly and cheap FM Aliens come first followed by their big and dangerous teethed toy of mass destruction." O. didn't sound concerned in the least.
"Whatever! There'll be a system like that on "B Point", too, and you're gonna live there with me during the execution of the "Scheme", so you better get ready to play the loyal aide!"
"Loyal aide…? Well... But that won't stop me of trolling our "guest" a hundred times over and over again."
"Jeez! If I found a way to switch your "humor" then life would be a million times easier!"
"Let's go kaboom and boom with the ugly aliens!"
"Whatever!"
The man violently headed back into the room and slammed the door shut while fuming: he sat down atop a bed and mumbled something before picking up the Hunter – VG.
"Anyway… I'm counting on you, Mr. D."
"Please leave it to us, sir."
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
The "Doc" switched off the Hunter – VG and left it atop the desk to then begin pacing around the room in an obviously nervous manner.
"I need something to cool off… I'm gonna talk with the cook and try to straighten him out before having a small snack and a glass of water which can't do any harm, really."
He holstered the Hunter – VG on the right side of the waist and came out of the room to then walk down the corridor past the VR Room: the door and wall vibrated as if to indicate the level of activity going on inside.
"Well… He can boast all he wants, but if his systems detect excessive heating, then he'll have to enter the mandatory "Cool-down" mode and cancel combat mode for a while." He muttered with a shrug.
"Bwah, hah, hah, ha~h! How's that one like, you Swan Lake rip-off jerk? I'm beatin' ya a hundred times over and plucking each of your ugly ripped-off feathers! Those toy ducks of yours would do good merchandise as bath-time playmates!" O. suddenly laughed in a hysterical manner and his voice echoed through the metal.
"Really… He's gotten into his "mood" and now will proceed to slowly and carefully "slaughter" that Cygnus Wing VR recreation… They're recreations, so… No big deal. I hope he holds back in a real battle."
"Yo! Doc – sama~! Tell the cook that he'll make it to the Guinness Book of Records 2204!" O. called out to him.
"No way…" The "Doc" groaned.
"Way to go!"
"Shut up…"
"Shut down."
"Yeah! Shut down and leave me alone!"
"Heh, heh, heh. I'm a genius, yessir."
"Show me proof of it."
"Delighted, Holmes XXVIII."
"Stop making up ridiculous titles!"
"They aren't "ridiculous", they're "original", I'd say."
"You sound like a prosecutor." The "Doc" made a smug smile.
"No way…" O. groaned.
"Eye for an eye."
"Catchy."
"It's an irony."
"Really? I'd rather say that's a 5cm wide grin."
"Hmpf. Boast while you can."
"This guy is tough, it'd seem… Let's go Mario Style! Hop! Heh, heh!"
"Huff. I'm off."
"Yo! Doc! There's no escape from my terrifying voice! This guy is a diehard type! Hear me out! I'm gonna go for the finishing blow and if you think this is too explicit, then tell that to CERO so that they re-rate this scene…"
There was a sound like a sword plunging into something followed by some explosions: something hit the metallic floor in and there was clapping.
"Happy clap! Heh, heh, heh!"
08:23 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Dragon Hell… Are you there? Hello?"
"Welcome, Honorable Doctor of Wisdom."
"Oi, oi…"
The "Doc" was speaking with a man wearing a goldenrod tunic and a brownish bamboo hat: given how it was bowing, most of his face was hidden by the hat's shape.
"I would like to recommend to the Honorable Doctor of Wisdom the humble cook's slightly spicy curry rice sauce with some hints of fruit salad juice on it…"
"Grah… I knew it! O. has been giving you ideas!"
"The Honorable Crimson Warrior of Courage has indeed been providing illumination to the Confucius disciple I am."
"Quit that kilometric speech already…" The "Doc" groaned.
"I shall go fetch Master Confucius' lessons in order to find out the answer to such an honorable suggestion…"
"It ain't a "suggestion": it's an order!" The "Doc" cursed.
"Ah. I apologize given the lack of…"
"I know the rest! Please prepare some normal curry and bring me some water: I haven't had breakfast yet!"
"As the Honorable…"
"Just call me "Doc"! Move it!"
"By the will of…"
"Run!"
The man calmly stood up, turned around and headed into two double doors with the banner "KITCHEN" above them: the "Doc" sat down on a bench next to a table while fuming.
"What a ship of fools, really. The cook, the android warrior… Both are weird. Only Boss, I, aibou, and the two field agents seem to be the stable guys aboard this ship… But if a third of the crew is already like this, then that doesn't bide well for us." The "Doc" muttered.
The man named "Dragon Hell" calmly brought a dish of curry, a jar of water and a glass before bowing.
"The humble cook wishes…"
"Just say "here you have" and we're at peace!"
"Master Confucius used to…"
"Move out!"
Dragon Hell returned into the kitchen while the "Doc" sighed.
"Well then… There's no other way around and no turning back, either. The "Scheme" has been activated and the gears are already in motion. It's like the final countdown to a rocket's lift-off…" He muttered as he placed his elbows in the table and leant his nose on his joined hands.
He calmly ate the curry and drank some water before standing up and using a handkerchief to cleanse his lips.
"I should get moving: there are some details which needs polishing. Young one… Do not think badly of us. It's all for the sake of those who you believe in… I am not saying you couldn't do it, yet… It's the only way to help protect them and bring down "IQ" once and for all. We can't let such a criminal roam free anymore. It's been too long. And, in the end, you will end up stronger than you currently are…"
He headed out of the room and then stepped into another room having a large observation window which allowed one to view Earth from orbit.
"… For freedom. We shall be free. And so will the world…! The ends justify the means…! Young one… This is just the beginning of a new time in which we shall be… free…" He sighed with a hint of sadness.
The "Doc" fell silent and looked towards the revolving Earth…