The Crimson Lobby
By Zoram Selrof
Chapter 1: Folk's day
11:48 AM (Japan Time), Monday May the 2nd, 2012…
"… Flamethrower!"
"Heh! Aqua Sword!"
"Heck."
"Starting to feel the despair?"
"Who is gonna feel the despair?"
"Your fans, maybe?"
"And here I thought you were serious."
"It's called sarcasm."
"Loopholes."
"Maybe."
"Oi, Beta! We need another strategy!"
"I'm trying, Zarashe – kun! Heck! Even without their "Boundary"… They're tough to beat!"
"Heh, heh, heh… If you look down on us… You run into a tight spot!"
"It's not like we were looking down on ya folk!"
"Yorkshire accent, my fellow?"
"What Yorkshire accent? Aren't we speaking in Japanese to begin with?"
"It's an irony. Here, catch! Earthquake 3!"
"Heck!"
"That was close, damn it."
Two Net Navis were having a duel in the Reverse Internet, as evidenced by the countless irregular sized platforms of rock and stone which floated across the whole area.
"Heh, heh, heh. Shunoros' End Angel has come to put an end to your wandering days, Manipular."
"Where the heck did ya did that outta from?"
"Something named "Forerunner Saga" by Greg Bear?"
"Forerunner…?"
End Angel, the one on the right, had a white helmet which was shaped like a swan as seen from above with the beak's upper edge running past the forehead and providing some "shade" to the face: the side edges had black painting over them and formed a trapeze-like drawing.
The sides of the helmet per se consisted on a navy blue piece of armor over a round white circle.
A blue piece of armor shaped like an inclined seat emerged from there travelled down until the base of the neck: bluish transparent shades covered the eyes: his eyes' irises were blue.
His forehead had the kanji for shuuen or "end" written on it using blood red coloring too.
The chest armor had the initials "EA" written in blood red color and set on the protruding upper edge of the armor which was white in color: a small depression at the middle formed the shape of the "V" letter: a blue-colored thin stripe ran across the armor to then form a vertical column aiming downwards: the small space at the SW and SE edges of the armor below the blue stripe was colored white.
Two smooth wings came out from behind the body's shoulder armors: they were built of three pieces split by thin black lines: the first piece had a one-third-portion colored metallic gray but the rest of it had a navy blue coloring to it as it extended and ended in a diagonal angle aiming SW: the second piece was colored white instead and shared the exact length.
The third piece was shorter and about half the length of the others.
The shoulder armors were made of spheroids with a small triangle aiming downwards and protecting part of the arm from the sides.
The rest of his design was identical to the others when it came to the forearms, boots and knee protections.
His face looked like he was a teen guy and his height was over a meter and sixty, maybe closer to a seventy.
"Isn't that part of the Halo franchise? Miquel's a fan…"
"Yessir. Maybe he's read 'em with a magnifying glass?"
"Why should the guy?"
"Dunno, Beta X…"
Beta X, on the other hand, used black as his body's main color: he had a white piece of armor set over the chest which contained a ruby jewel and two wing-like extensions spreading across the torso until the shoulders: the golden-colored Alphabet "X" character was set within a piece of armor located over the upper edge of the ruby.
His eyes' irises were blood red in coloring but they lacked pupils: his facial expression denoted seriousness.
His helmet's main color was black as well yet he had some blue pieces of armor built around the edges of it and across the middle of the helmet: the ruby had been set directly above his nose and was aiming downwards along his helmet's front part.
The helmet included five extensions shaped like wings and colored white plus a golden edge: two formed on the lower edge of the helmet, another two formed at a height over the eyes and the last one sprouted from the middle of his helmet while aiming upwards.
A golden edge surrounded his neck and formed a small collar-like object around it: his shoulders had white armor over them.
Three thin spear-like extensions formed behind them.
These gave off the impression of a wing as well: the uppermost piece was golden in coloring while the other two pieces were white.
His arms' skin was black until the elbow: white armor encompassed it and extended until the hands and fingers: a golden ring served as additional protection for the wrists.
The rest of his upper body had no decoration whatsoever until the hips, where the leg armor began at: a golden edge in the shape of a triangle marked the start of it.
The remainder of the legs' armor was painted using white color palette: the knees had extra armor over them and two small and short wing-like extensions.
Golden pieces of armor showed up over the ankles yet there was a space between them and the legs: they were bent upwards to form a triangle and included the wing shapes on their edges.
Lastly, his feet's armor included two pieces of outer edge and another two pieces which were separated by a slight space between the front and the rear of them.
Overall, his appearance was reminiscent of a "fallen angel" given the color motifs and all the winged extensions.
He was about the same height and age as End Angel.
"I know, Zarashe – kun… He's pulling my leg." Beta X fumed.
"More like pulling your HP points." End Angel laughed.
"Yeah, yeah. How funny, Mr. Anderson."
"Hey. At least I'm not as bad as the "Radio Trio"…."
"Huff! Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man… V-B-N… Those three and their Mortadelo & Filemón radio broadcasts… At last we convinced them to upload them in our blog so that we can choose whether to listen to them or not!" Beta X sounded exasperated.
"I know." Zarashe, his Operator, sighed.
"Your own blog name is misinformation: did you know it?"
"It wasn't meant to be in the start but since it's become practical to make any desperados underestimate us…" Beta X rolled his eyes.
"Behold!"
"Now what."
"Your doom!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Carrots with soy sauce!"
"Oh come on." Zarashe groaned outta pure annoyance.
"The madness is coming!"
"Not Superintendent Oda again." He groaned next.
"And Eisei, too." Beta X grumbled.
"He orbits 'round ya chums." End Angel laughed.
"Are we going to end this fight someday? Thunder Ball!" Beta X complained.
His armor pieces switched to pale green coloring and he drew a white buster which had a fin-like shape forming mid-way through its length: a golden edge ran up the right edge of the buster as well: it shot a greenish spheroid with electricity surrounding it and which latched into End Angel's chest to electrocute him but he merely chuckled.
"It tickles."
"Lovely. I need to re-design the output." Beta X sighed.
"Don't give up so easily, man." Zarashe tried to encourage.
"Easier said than done."
"Don't we all say that?" End Angel teased.
"Dunno."
"Let the donuts hit the teeth!"
"Oh please. That's lame."
"Come!"
"Huff. You're asking for it! Ice Mode! Ice Spread!"
His armor changed to sky-blue coloring: he shot a curved mass of ice which shattered into multiple fragments and they stabbed different parts of End Angel's body: he didn't seem to mind those either.
"Tickling tickler of tickles…"
"Please…" Zarashe groaned.
"He's toying with us… And if you were hoping to pull off that weird sword which looks like a Muramasa hack then I came prepared."
"Copy Damage, eh? Fine. Let's see if the angel can bite."
"You're an angel yourself too." Beta X reminded him.
"Yeah… An angel of Cruxis!"
"Not Tales of Symphonia again." Zarashe growled.
"Maybe you would prefer Tales of Eisei instead?" He laughed at his joke.
"How devious of you."
"Everyone seems to say the same to me. Ms. Panama included."
"The heat must be bad for your moods."
"Guess that. Given how I'm natural from Eastern Europe, then…"
"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword!" Zarashe announced.
"Let's go!" Beta X challenged.
"Amusing, by the High One! Arcane Sword!"
"Dream Sword!"
End Angel drew a sword with some runes written on its surface and a brownish hilt: he flew towards Beta X (whose colors had return to default) as Beta X jumped into the air and turned on two jets on his back to "fly" forward (End Angel just made his wings move): both swords clashed and some streaks of energy jumped off the clash to impact the ground at random around them: both seemed to be stuck in a deadlock and neither wielding to the other: End Angel kept on having a smug smile on his face while Beta X was grimacing: the energy build-up suddenly imploded and the shockwave pushed both of them apart: they quickly landed on the floor and looked up to see that each had gotten some bruises and burn marks but which were nothing.
"Heh! Not bad, my chum… Let the chums hit the fellows!"
"Stop with the Bodies parodies already…" Zarashe complained.
"So? Did the deck hit the water?"
"Oh come on."
"Welcome to the GS Nerds: our official blog!" He suddenly announced.
"I know…! That's OUR blog's name… The blog of "Golden Star"… At first V-B-N intended for it to be a joke but then the name stuck when we saw that it was useful as misinformation…" Zarashe sighed in defeat.
"Beware! It is about to descend!"
"Oh yeah? A secret weapon?" Beta X drily asked.
"Maybe." End Angel teased.
"… Or do you mean Black 2 and White 2?" Zarashe guessed with a sigh as if he'd already heard the joke.
"Heh, heh, heh. They did catch us with the pants down! Everyone saying it was gonna be "Gray"… Too bad they won't be out until the end of June: but we can wait. Waiting Man is here."
"Waiting Man… Earth, swallow me whole."
"Please…" Beta X was much if not totally annoyed by now.
"Well then… I guess I'll leave at here for today. I just wanted to be a reminder that you guys shouldn't rust. Remember what happened in New Year's Eve?" He smirked.
"Huff." Zarashe grumbled.
"Grrr…" Beta X growled.
Forming a snicker, End Angel flew upwards and formed a black circle behind him the edges of which seemed to distort the light in the form of ripples: he flew inside and it vanished so Beta X fumed and lowered his weapon arm.
"He wasn't serious, huh?" Someone asked.
"Huh? Ah. Blues."
Blues walked over to him from the west after dropping from a higher platform and Beta X shrugged.
"Yeah. Guess the heat IS to blame." He grumbled.
"I wouldn't be surprised." Blues dully confirmed.
"So, Ijuuin… Have you managed to stay sane?" Zarashe asked.
"Somewhat."
Ijuuin Enzan opened his communications screen to show his face: he looked dull and unimpressed.
"What about you guys, Zarashe?"
"We've had to bear with troll emails from both Eisei and Ms. Heiress."
"Ayanokouji's in the club, too. Lovely."
Zarashe's window displayed him as being a teen guy around Enzan's age who had messy blackish hair yet he had sunglasses on.
"Hello there~! My folk!" A cheery voice rang out in the background of Enzan's screen.
"Oh heck. Speak of the Devil." He growled.
"My, my. Ijuuin – kun! It's been a while, by Uncle Merton's half-beard."
"Superintendent Oda, sir. There's something in the roof which looks like worth your attention, sir." Blues called out.
"Oho. It's gotta be Uncle Donut's nephew: Donete! See you, my chums."
Laughing in the background, he apparently came out of the room Enzan was at and he sighed in relief.
"Phew. You saved the day, Blues."
"It was the least I could do, Enzan – sama."
"Ijuuin – kun! Trouble!"
"What's going on, Meijin?"
"Superintendent Oda…! He's hidden my coffee cup again!" He groaned.
"Not again…"
"Here."
"Oh! Obihiro – kun! Saved. Where was it?"
"The adjacent office's cupboard…" Obihiro grumbled.
"Heck. The madness is coming, alright." Zarashe cursed.
"Heh, heh, heh… I warned ya…"
A new window displayed a teen guy having reddish messy hair and blue eye irises: his face was familiar enough.
"End Angel! You did that or what?" Enzan demanded.
"Ernst Stroger."
"Fine. Stroger. What's your goal?"
"Dunno. I felt like being mischievous today. Maybe next time I'll do something serious. Like going all out on Beta X."
"Hmpf." Beta X was unimpressed.
"Oi, guys… Where's Yakano?"
"Punk? Are you looking for someone?"
"Yakano, from the database managing department… He sent me a mail saying he'd run into trouble 'ere…"
Punk, Meiin's Navi, came into the spot and looked around, surprised: they heard someone whistling a tune behind Enzan and he closed his eyes while he seemingly tried to resist the urge to explode from exasperation, annoyance and bad mood.
"Oh heck." Punk realized what was going on.
"Well then. See ya. Glory to the High One!"
Ernst giggled and closed his screen while Beta X directed a totally hostile glare at Zarashe: he gulped and seemed to get some non-spoken message so Beta X was retrieved and left the scene while Blues and Punk slapped their foreheads in defeat.
"Ahem! "Those who returned from "There"!" Oda announced.
"And where's "There", huh?" Enzan didn't bother to open his eyes.
"The Beyond, but of course."
"Not M&F again… Let's go, Blues. We need to hunt hints on some weapon smuggling gang operating in Oosaka." Enzan fumed.
"Yes, sir. Run while you can, Punk."
"Gotcha, man… Damn it."
Both Navis got retrieved and Enzan shut down his screen: the area became deserted save for a figure peeking there while lying face-down in the ground behind a rock in a higher platform: they seemed to be serious given their glare and concentrated.
Hmpf… So that wasn't their true potential… They were but toying with each other… Whatever… Sooner or later… I'll get to see it… And one day I'll overcome them all…! And be the strongest in the Cyber World…!
17:19 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Man."
"So? Did you finally land into the real world, Dekao?"
"Somewhat… I'm struggling a lot… And if things feel so hectic now then I don't wanna imagine how they're gonna be in one month… When the final exams…"
"Heh! A gal 'ere outshines 'em all!"
"Yaito – chan… That dialect doesn't fit you."
"Don't worry, Meiru – chan. I'll make them broom the broom."
"Broom the broom? Oh please."
"Join the club, Meiru."
"It's growing."
"I get the irony, you two."
"Good afternoon."
"Hi, Leon… Beware of Ms. Heiress."
"I know, Netto – san."
"Tee, heh, heh! I'm the Center of the Universe!"
"Is that so?"
"Man! Leon – chan. That face doesn't fit cha."
"Please save me the suffixes, Ayanokouji – sama."
The Akihara Middle 4-A Class (Ooyama Dekao, Sakurai Meiru, Hikari Netto and Saito) came out from the building and began to cross the main yard: Dekao was sighing and hanging his head down in defeat, Yaito was smug, Meiru didn't find Yaito's jokes to be funny, and the twins looked totally unimpressed.
"Tee, heh, heh! Leonel – chan!"
"Yaito – chan! Quit it already!"
"My ears are burnin'! Cha talkin' bout Yaito – chan, my dear?"
"I give up."
They were joined by a younger student who could be about 13 or 14 years old and slight over a meter and fifty tall or coming closer to a meter and sixty.
He had white messy hair plus eyes with brown irises: his face was smooth and he had a good "profile" to him.
He currently looked like he was starting to get exasperated.
"Sorry, guys! I was looking for a pencil I'd lost."
"Oh. Tooru – kun."
"Hiwaka – chan, welcome to the party!"
"Ayanokouji – san! Let's not start the Nickname War again, please!"
Hikawa Tooru joined them in a rush only to get a joked pulled on him by Yaito.
"Ahem, ahem!"
"YIKES! Pa-papa! Why are you here?"
"I had the instinct that I needed to fix that spoiled behavior of you, Yaito."
"Thank goodness."
Yaito's father, Mr. Ayanokouji, suddenly showed up on the entrance next to Yaito's limo: she gasped as he fumed and directed an annoyed glare at her: all of her smug behavior seemed to be gone in one instant and she was starting to look afraid: the other students sighed and seemed to be somewhat relieved that her father had come to scold her.
"Get in. Today you've got business management homework to do as well: if you want to be a respectable heiress then you must learnt to do your job. And you mustn't get used to have others do it in your place instead."
"Yes, sir…" She sighed in defeat.
She climbed the limo and Mr. Ayanokouji sighed.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble she causes for you guys."
"It's nothing, sir. But she does need some lessons, sir." Meiru replied.
"Yes, sir… There are limits to things, sir." Netto added.
"Indeed there are. You can't go over them or disaster ensues. Well then: see you around."
"Good afternoon, sir."
Mr. Ayanokouji climbed into the limo too and it departed: the group sighed in relief and began walking down the street.
"So? Anything new?" Hikawa asked.
"Shunoros, you mean? No. They've got no strategy anymore. They're just content with being rivals to Golden Star and the Net Police. A reminder that each side must be on constant watch and re-invent themselves to avoid rusting themselves…" Netto shrugged.
"Like Netto – kun said… They do have their robot fly around and broadcast Evil God Zorc's lines from the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" anime series but that's the only thing it does and nobody minds it anymore." Saito continued.
"The mood seems to have improved onboard Purgatory, though…" Leon commented.
"Well. As long as it does… Guess I should contact Miquel and see if we could go have a drink one day to have some chat…" Netto muttered.
"Guts, guts! Guts Man got beaten by some guy named Barbatos, de guts!"
"Wha~t? Where'd you go off to?"
"Reverse Internet, de guts… Guts Man wanted to train in the first levels close to the surface, de guts…"
"And you annoyed that Barbatos guy or what?" Dekao questioned.
"No, de guts. The guy suddenly said "show me your power", de guts, so Guts Man fought but the guy was thin and quick, de guts… But Guts Man did get to use Rocket Guts Punch and Guts Punch when the guy got close, de guts! But the attacks' output was too high, de guts! After Guts Man's HP fell to 20 HP the guy suddenly said "boring" and ran off, de guts!"
"Barbatos again, huh. And given the description… He's not bothered to put on the armor again. Wonder how long he'll manage to hold off "it" before it takes over…" Saito calmly lifted his eyebrows.
"Ah. Leon. There you are. Should we go?"
"Ms. Secretary. Good afternoon, ma'am. Let us go."
A woman walked up towards the group: she appealed to be on her late thirties.
Her face's shape looked nice but if one tried to look at it as a profile then it lost most of its charm.
She wore a black hat set to that it hid her gaze and she wore a black blouse plus a pair of jeans and rain boots as well.
"See you tomorrow, everyone."
"Yeah. See ya."
Leon walked back with the woman towards a parked blue Hyundai and climbed in: they departed as the group reached a crossroad.
"I'll be going. See you tomorrow." Hikawa waved good-bye.
"Meiru – chan! I'd come out of the Cyber Gym in Cyber City when that "Barbatos" Navi challenged me. Odd thing: he didn't bother to regenerate his HP he'd lost fighting Guts Man." Roll suddenly reported.
"You don't look too beaten or nervous, so… What happened?" Meiru asked as she looked at her Link PET's screen.
"Oh well. I used the combo of the "Suikomi" Virus and a "Long Sword" Virus plus "Area Steal"… He did get rid of them but then he seemed to feel something painful and ran off…"
"Aha-hah." The twins seemed to have seen it coming.
"What's with the guy?" Dekao asked.
"Oh well. He'd been strong time ago, went into exile, got rusted, and is now trying to get back to form in a rush. He's impatient. But he carries "something" dangerous too… Which could go berserk anytime…"
"Yikes. Then we'd better stay away from the guy." Dekao gulped.
"Oh. Don't bother. If he's marked Guts Man as "boring" then he ain't coming back again." Netto shrugged.
"… Say… Looking at the images Roll has provided… Didn't we see this guy some years ago?" Meiru looked up from the screen.
"Yeah. It's the same guy, alright. But he got the fancy to pick up that name for himself. Dunno why. Not like we care." Saito dully confirmed.
"Ah. I see. Fine. But since he didn't get to totally beat Roll… He could be coming again?"
"Could be, true. Just combine speed with the Viruses and such and he'll run out of patience to try to develop a strategy. Guess he's just looking for battle data to gather and try to come up with some new strategy for his own non-cool hide." Netto added the last word with a hint of irony.
"Totally." Meiru shrugged.
"Man… Gotta do the homework… Huff… That's my home… See ya…"
Dekao split with them and the three continued until they stopped in front of Meiru's house: she sighed and formed a weak smile.
"… It's nothing. Just the stress… See you tomorrow."
She entered the house while the twins headed for theirs.
"So… Things have been quiet… I feel like they won't be for longer."
"Yeah, Saito – niisan… Something in the air makes me feel it…"
Both sighed and formed weak smiles as they glared at the skies…