Jet Black Phoneix
By Zoram Selrof
Chapter 1: Light & feathers
09:32 AM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 25th, 2012…
"… Yo! Guys! I've got IT! IT!"
"What's this fuss about? Dekao."
"I'm sure it's another scam by Bubble Man, anyway."
"I wouldn't be surprised."
"Heh, heh, heh! Netto! Saito! Tooru! Just you watch… With this… I'll be the King Upon The Hill!"
"Sheesh."
Hikari Netto, his brother Saito and their classmate Hikawa Tooru (all aged 16) had been sitting in a bench within the Akihara City playground next to the jungle gym and chatting when Ooyama Dekao rushed in, grinning, boasting and holding a cardboard box with something inside: they looked annoyed and exasperated at his interruption.
"And I'll win Meiru – chan's heart!"
"Oh yeah?" Netto (wearing his usual attire of orange sleeveless vest, t-shirt and shorts) skeptically asked.
"I'm SKEPTICAL." Saito (wearing identical to Netto but having a blue jumper instead) grumbled.
"Totally." Hikawa (who wore an open light navy blue jacket, a grey t-shirt and jeans) muttered.
"Heh, heh, heh. Yaito – chan told me so~!"
"I knew it. Only Yaito would think of something so LAME." Netto sighed.
"Sheesh. That girl…!" Saito groaned.
"Ta-dan! Ultimate Perfume For All Macho Guys!"
Dekao drew a non-labeled spray can which seemed to be big enough to hold half a liter of something and showed it to them while grinning: someone approached from behind and picked the can from his right hand to his surprise.
"So? What's this farce about?"
"Yikes! Meiru – chan!"
Sakurai Meiru (wearing her usual blue vest, jeans and white sneakers) had shown up there and was looking at the spray can with a bored and totally uninterested look: she shook it a bit and frowned: she aimed at the ground and pressed the button but nothing came out: she then removed the plastic cover and found a small cut about 5 cm wide in the west side of the upper metallic disc.
"It's empty. You got trolled." She drily announced.
"No way~!" He yelled.
"Guts, guts?" Guts Man wondered.
"Desu… I saw it coming, desu…" Ice Man sighed.
"Really… Yaito – san…!" Roll muttered with some annoyance.
"Tee, heh, heh! Did someone call for THE heiress?"
Ayanokouji Yaito (wearing her usual red dress) stepped in while giggling: everyone save Dekao sighed in defeat while Dekao had a twitch over his right eye.
"Yaito – chan! Ya tricked me!"
"All's fair in love, Ookarada~!"
"OOYAMA~!" He growled.
"He Who Fell From His Throne Because Of A Ghostly Hand!"
"That was a hologram!" He grumbled.
"Sheesh. And here I thought he'd forgotten the whole fuss of last year's summer…" Netto grumbled.
"Speaking of fuss… Ever since those "Crimson Lobby" guys got dismantled… Has Kage - kun said if they found out more about the so-called "ghost"?" Saito asked Netto.
"Miquel? He said they were still lacking clues. When trying to pose as customers for the server… Legato tried tracking the money but it suddenly broke down in multiple packages, some self-deleted, others merged, others split, others encoded on their own… And they went off in all directions… One group ended up in a random server in Djakarta and self-deleted… Other Navis tried chasing the groups too and got to intercept them yet…" Netto began to explain.
"…stupid sexist jokes which…!" Meiru was scolding Yaito in the background in the meanwhile.
"…prove I'm a GENIUS!" Yaito laughed.
"I'm off. I feel depressed…" Dekao sighed and apparently left.
"They were dummy packages?" Hikawa assumed from Netto's description of the happenings.
"Totally. There was not a single cent of the money stuffed there: it took 8 Navis and they got nowhere at all. Later analysis suggests that the "true" packages used DSL lines instead of optical fiber lines and thus went by undetected." Netto explained.
"…French gal who will grant ya some fresh watermelons…" Yaito was teasing Meiru in the meanwhile.
"Don't. Need. Those." She hissed back.
"Cha pink maid needs 'em?"
"Pink MAID? ME? I'm just Meiru – chan's friend!" Roll protested.
"How about we continue this chat elsewhere?" Saito suggested.
"Yeah. Let's leave the girls to settle it their way."
The 3 guys walked away from the playground while Meiru and Roll kept on discussing with Glyde: they reached a square and sat on a bench there: there were several stands which sold a variety of things.
"And so?" Hikawa asked next.
"They're stuck." Netto summed up.
"Lovely." He sighed.
"Yeah. The "ghost server" is too dangerous to let it lie around for much longer… One day a bunch of terrorists will buy its contents, revive a lot of hi-level evil Navis, and chaos will ensue in countries where their Cyber World defenses are low or antiquated." Saito grumbled.
"What a panorama." Hikawa sighed.
"And Dullahan is in the club, too. As if things weren't bad enough: if he was so hard to chew years ago I dunno how harder to chew the "ghost" will turn him into." Netto fumed.
"Even though we all managed to clear the 4th grade's final exams a couple weeks ago… This summer doesn't look too bright. And it's just begun! How much bitter can it turn in one month's time?" Hikawa sighed.
"Maybe that's another thing the "ghost" is aiming for: to lower our morale… And maybe hopes for us to lower the guard… And to deliver a blow from an unexpected direction…"
"Those "Sisterhood of Pureness" girls of last summer…" Hikawa began.
"Nothing has been found which might link them with the "ghost". I think that the "ghost" was bidding his or her time yet and didn't want to make a move yet." Saito replied.
"Hum. They're still in prison, right?"
"Yeah. The whole of them. Well, whole… The 8 of them, I mean."
"Serves them well…" Hikawa icily muttered.
"Anger leads to nowhere." Saito warned.
"Huh. True. Huff. It's just that… Between the heat, the "ghost" and Yaito – chan's idiocies… I feel SO exasperated…"
"Join the club." Netto ironically suggested.
"I'm already on it, anyway." He ironically replied.
"Guess it's a result of growing up… You get to realize how sour reality is like and your child-like enthusiasm is gradually eroded… I still recall how, some years ago, I used to read Asterix comics to have fun… I still find them funny but I don't laugh as much as I did…" Saito muttered.
"Speaking of comics… Do you know the title for the next M &F radio broadcast by the V – B – N trio?" Hikawa brought up.
"Yeah. "Los Bomberos"… "The Bombers"… But the title is a pun 'cause "bombero" is "firefighter" in Spanish…"
"So the pun is that you might think the album is about a berserk band of firefighters when they're actually terrorists who place bombs… There's Konami's "Bomber Man" games, right?" Hikawa recalled.
"Oh yeah. I played that when I was on 4th grade. It was popular. And I find it ironic that one of the WWW's Navis was named Bomber Man." Netto commented while making a weak grin.
"Eh… Tooru – kun, desu? A mail came from "RF", desu… It says "ya gotta feel the scorching heat brought upon by the GREAT ME!"…"
"Lovely. Shunoros' Raging Flame joined the troll club too." Netto fumed.
"Sheesh. What's Prince Kuroban doing to keep them in line?" Saito grumbled.
"Guess he's boiling his brains. No insult intended, but…"
"I know. Know what? Let's go to the city gym pool: it shouldn't be so crowded yet."
"Good idea. It'll do wonders."
"Let's get there."
09:54 AM (Japan Time)…
"… My fellows enchanted by Uncle Merton!"
"Oh heck."
"Obihiro – kun! Did you find out Number 649?"
"And what if I have, sir?"
"Meijin – kun! Did you fan-girl club drop by with the 9:09 AM Dublin Express?"
"No, sir…!"
"Punk! Did you go fight your newest rival?"
"Huh? Who?"
"Illuminate us. Sir."
"Ijuuin – kun: dry coffee makes you dry, did you know it?"
"… I fail to see the point, Enzan – sama."
"There isn't, Blues."
"Crap."
Superintendent Oda of the Net Police Cyber CID stepped into the main office room where Obihiro Shun, Meijin and Ijuuin Enzan were gathered at along with their Navis, Punk and Blues: they all sighed in defeat when Oda came in with his "troll mode" on.
"Beware! A suspicious fellow is going to the track and is going to do something sneaky with a chickpea cake!"
"Is that another M&F gag?" Enzan sighed.
"Part of it, my dear Watson."
"Lovely." Meijin sighed.
"Oi. Danna. Whom did ya mean a while ago?" Punk asked in a confused manner.
"Oh my. Miss Homika."
"I knew it." Obihiro groaned.
"Who?"
"The new Gym Leader for Black 2 and White 2… She's a punk rock band guitarist and uses Poison PKMN…" Obihiro sighed.
"Sheesh." Punk grumbled.
"I suspect Eisei's meddling." Enzan grumbled.
"Not really! Raging Flame's meddling! Raging!" A voice rang out through a speaker nearby.
"Shit." Blues growled.
"You can't find me, Blues! I'm not in the building! I'm remotely hijacking this sparkling and crackling and rattling speaker!"
"Sparkling, crackling and rattling? SHEESH!" Meijin groaned.
"Hum! A disciple of Uncle Moriarty, indeed." Oda merely sipped some coffee out of a plastic cup.
"Obihiro! I know it all!"
"What! What do you know?"
"That ya are an admirer of Homika! That's what I know!"
"I'm playing the game! That's why I knew about her! What's so wrong about it?" He shot back.
"Dunno. Ask someone and no – one."
"The madness…!"
"…which will DEVOUR ya! NYAH, HAH, HAH!" He laughed at his poorly improvised motto.
"I am afraid that you are being a bother." Someone announced.
"Who…? Ya look like come out of some Middle East tale…"
"Ah. It would seem this generation lacks knowledge."
"HUH? Whaddya mean? Whoever ya are?"
"That voice…!" Enzan gasped.
"Huh? Who? A fan of yours, hound of Densan – ville?" Raging Flame taunted while trying to hide his nervousness.
"Who knows? Boil your brains."
"Wha~t? This dual-punk!"
"I would rather prefer if you did not ignore me. I would rather suggest to you that you go back to your headquarters. I shall not allow you to toy with their morale. Especially now…" The voice insisted.
"Shaddup, woman."
"I am a man."
"Wha? Then why do ya speak like a woman?" Raging Flame grumbled at his opponent.
"It is called being polite, foolish young one." The interlocutor replied in a calm tone of voice.
"HUH? Did ya call me a fool? Ya are asking for it, this cosplay rascal! I'll let ya know my power! Witness!"
A holographic screen suddenly formed in the middle of the air within the room and displayed the inside of a Cyber World somewhere where a Navi was at.
This Navi had a helmet on which only protected the front and sides of his head given how his hair freely flew out from behind him: transparent red shades covered his eyes which had brown irises.
The helmet's forehead included a large metallic horn and two yellow shapes near the outer edges shaped like the Alphabet "M" character which were glowing with a brightness-changing yellowish light: one moment it glowed strongly the other it glowed in a faint manner.
There was a metallic edge running across the forehead and along the length of the sides together with the ear-pads.
The ear-pads had the drawing of the "honoo" or "Flame" kanji in orange color against a black background.
His chest armor appeared to be pretty thick stuff and had four diagonal-oriented grayish diamonds built into it: the Alphabet letters "RF" colored yellow had been drawn on the center.
The shoulder armor was thick as well: there was a round yellowish band circling the shoulder joint and from there reddish armor extended to protect the whole shoulder: it ended with three short metallic claws set on the edge of a valley-like opening.
There was a bit of exposed arm covered by black "skin" before the forearms' armor (starting at the elbows) began: the forearms' armor started with a circle protecting the elbow and a metallic diamond-shaped piece set over the upper edge of it while aiming upwards.
The rest of the forearm and hand were protected by a layer of armor in the form of a cylinder's upper half with two brownish plates set over it.
It also had a small brownish dot on the left side of the armor which looked like decoration.
A small crevice split the set into two parts: the aforementioned part and a more simplistic running across the reverse of the forearm and wrist: his hands were covered in black "skin" as well.
Regarding the rest of his upper body and legs, it was enough to say that they were covered in black "skin" and that some brownish diamonds were set in a column running down the sides of the body until where the large boots began, at around the knees.
The boots were thick and big as well and they began at the knee: a metallic hexagon was set on the upper edge and its upper half served as additional protection for the legs: their dominant color was, of course, a fierce bright red color: another two hexagons were stacked below the upper edge along with two small diamonds.
These two small diamonds extended from the second hexagon's SW and SE corners.
A thin black line travelled from the ankle to the start of the fingers before drawing an arch and forming a small black cavity from which a metallic triangle emerged and pointed northwards: there was another one large in size and colored in a dull orange color immediately below and the rest of the boots were the double-thickness soils formed by two large curved-edged triangles.
He could be over a meter and seventy tall and, from the face, a teenager about Enzan's age.
"Hra~h! Raging Magma~!"
He built up energy on his weapon and shot a stream of red-hot magma to the off-screen opponent: there was a sound of something fluttering in the air and the attack suddenly curved to be returned to Raging Flame, hitting his chest fully and propelling him off-screen: he growled.
"Fuck. Heat Missile!"
A missile was shot next and it impacted against something but a Sonic Boom was shot as a counterattack and it hit him again: he groaned and coughed.
"Fuck! Break Count Bomb! 3 seconds! EAT THIS!"
Raging Flame flung a tall black cylindrical device off-screen but it was bombarded by something which produced countless flashes and it exploded followed by a counter Sonic Boom: Raging Flame howled and there was a sound before it all became quiet and the screen shut down: everyone was surprised.
"I shall be coming… on another occasion." The voice calmly announced.
"That person…!" Obihiro muttered with awe.
"Whoa." Enzan muttered.
"This looks promising." Blues made a smug smile, for once.
10:20 AM (Japan Time)…
"… No luck either! This package was full of dummy data. And guess what it was, Zarashe - kun?"
"Illuminate me, Beta X."
"An MP3 file… Ich Spoke Zarathrustra… Thus Spoke Zarathrusta…"
"Wasn't that that composition by Richard Strauss which…?"
"…was used as the opening piece for 2001: A Space Odyssey? Yeah."
"So our "ghost" has taste."
"In essence."
"You want to know the taste of a ghost? How about I turn you lowlifes into ghosts so you can test it out? Mwah, hah, hah."
"Who goes there? Dullahan?"
"Dullahan? Ah. You mean the bulky guy."
"So you're not Dullahan. Who are you supposed to be?"
"One of Jet – Black Phoenix…!"
"Jet – Black Phoenix…? The "ghost" built his Navi gang now?"
"Huff. We should've seen it coming: after what happened some weeks ago…"
A Net Navi was standing in a corner of the Reverse Internet and muttering aloud while speaking with his Operator through a radio link: some distance below and to the SW one could seen the remains of Pharaoh Man's pyramid.
This Navi, Beta X, 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 could be about the same height and age of Raging Flame.
"I'm a "ghost" from the past! Now become a "phoenix" of the "obscurity" which shall revive countless times! A Jet – Black Phoenix! How about you suffer endless and continuous pain before dropping into Hell? Satan's waiting for you lowlifes…" The voice taunted.
"Just show your ugly hide already."
"Mwah, hah, hah. You'll regret taking me lightly soon enough… in the Beyond! Hrah! Hah! Hya~h!"
"What the heck?" Beta X looked skeptical.
Out of nowhere and, without warning, bolts of electricity colored in a bright golden color coiled around Beta X's arms, legs, torso and neck: they glowed brighter and, in the next instant, electricity assaulted Beta X: he growled and his armor quickly switched to green color: the electricity began to repelled and dispersed around the area: Beta X dropped on his fours, panting.
"W-where did that come out from? It didn't show up in the proximity sensors!" Zarashe, the Operator, was baffled.
"Hell if I… know!" Beta X growled.
"I told you lowlifes not to take me lightly. Starting to regret it?" The voice mocked them.
"Wait a min, cha! Electrical, ghost of the past… Elec Man?" Beta X tried to guess.
"Close! Elec wasn't ready for a sortie yet. But I am!"
"So that means that you're…" Zarashe guessed.
"Say it aloud if you've got the damned GUTS!" He taunted.
"Sheesh! Fine! You're Flash Man!"
Flash Man dropped from above while leaning both hands against his torso and looking down (literally) on Beta X.
"How the mighty have fallen! One mere attack and you're already kissing the ground, huh? I'll admit that I forgot about your mode-switching ability and I didn't think you'd set your body to the same polarity as my attacks to repel it… But I won't commit the same mistake twice!" He proclaimed next.
"Oh yeah, punk? How about this? Program Advance! Corn Party!"
"What! Damn it! Cache PAs…! Ugro~h!"
Beta X suddenly formed the Corn Party Program Advance on his right forearm and shot it at Flash Man, catching him off-guard: Beta X got to his feet and drew a Long Blade which had a golden diamond-shaped emblem on the hilt: he rushed for Flash Man and plunged it through his right side of the chest: the sword suddenly shattered and Flash Man formed two white spheres of electricity on his hands.
"Neon Light!"
He shot both of them at Beta X but they got repelled by his armor: Flash Man growled and jumped to put some distance between them: Beta X drew his default buster weapon (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) and shot a Charge Shot colored blue: it impacted Flash Man's right shoulder and got bounced off: Flash Man chuckled.
"Damn it. The jerk has some kind of energy field which repels most types of attacks. Swords won't do, and normal attacks won't either so I guess we're left with elemental weakness." He muttered.
"It's worth a try. The Corn Party worked but that might be because he forgot to turn it on." Zarashe whispered.
"Asking your ever-precious Uncle Moran for advice~?" Flash Man tried to taunt.
"And what if." Beta X drily and dully replied.
"Sheesh. That uninterested face makes me feel annoyed… I'll bury you lowlife right here and now! Shining Grand Crusher!"
Flash Man built up energy and shot eight streams of white energy towards Beta X's chest but he merely snickered and seemed to be hit by them: a bright white flash ensued and Flash Man laughed.
"Weak! Weak! The weak die! The strong survive! And evolve!"
"Grass Stage, Corn Party! Go~!"
"What! MUGRO~H!"
"Hah! Cha fell for the oldest trick in the book, gramps!"
Beta X suddenly showed up behind Flash Man and hit his unshielded back to deliver heavy damage and taking profit of the power-up provided by the Grass Stage: Flash Man howled and collapsed on his knees: Beta X aimed his Long Blade at his neck from behind: Flash Man glared over his right shoulder.
"Shit. Kawarimi! And here I wanted to prove to those rascals how battles are fought like: and that you lot are nothing to be afraid of…! I'll be back and I'll come to HAUNT you! Jet Black Phoenix!"
Some black-tinted fog formed out of nowhere and began to wrap Flash Man while gaining thickness and mass: a screech rang out and the shape of a large blackish phoenix with ruby red stains for eyes formed surrounded by golden flames: a tornado ensued and countless blackish feathers spread around the area: Beta X instinctively shielded himself by crossing his arms in the shape of an "X".
"Whoa!"
Silence ensued and Beta X opened his eyes: there was no trace of Flash Man anywhere nearby.
"That phoenix thing emitted one hell of a noise burst and it messed up with the whole sensors and our radio band too!" Zarashe growled.
"So they use that to disable any tracking attempts…"
"Looks like it…"
Zarashe opened his window to display that he had black messy hair and had sunglasses on: he could be around 16 or above too.
"Boo."
"Whoa! Who…?"
The camera shook for a second or two and another face showed up onscreen: it was a guy on his late teens or early 20s.
His hair had been dyed fire red and his eyes' irises were brown: he looked smug.
"Raging Flame~!" He laughed.
"What! The devil! How did you know I was here, in this abandoned video club?" Zarashe demanded as the camera focused on him again.
"Heh, heh, heh. Call me Netsuhonoo."
"So that's your real name, huh? Fine!"
"And to answer cha question… I caught an odd electrical signature, thought it might be Eisei, and it turned out to be that gramps. Who should've stayed 6 feet under, did ya know?" He laughed.
"How original." Beta X grumbled.
"By the way: be ready to meet your old buddy one day." Zarashe warned to Netsuhonoo.
"Who, Dully – chan?" He laughed.
"Sheesh." He grumbled.
"By the way! Did ya know?"
"What now."
"Ya have a number one hater!"
"Who, End Angel? I don't think the guy "hates" us: the guy's a rival."
"No rival can beat the might of the almighty… GREEN – SAMA~!"
"Sheesh. You a first-gen too?"
"Oh no! It's simply that the guy ROCKS and ROLLS!"
"What a lame pun."
"Beware! The oven is about to cook up some bombs!"
"I fail to see the point. If there's ANY." Zarashe fumed.
"Let's go and leave that guy alone." Beta X told Zarashe.
"Yeah. Let's. By the way! Blue Wave cheats at Duel Monsters. He's like Pandora, did ya know?"
"What! Umisama! You rascal!"
"And there goes the guy… That trick never fails to work. I didn't intend to do this as a blunder to Prince Kuroban but it's a test of their "unity" so maybe…" Zarashe muttered.
"Yeah. I know."
Beta X exited the Cyber World and appeared in the real world next to Zarashe: he sported a navy blue coat which was open, a sleeveless navy blue t-shirt, jeans and white sneakers.
Beta X could be about 5 inches taller than him.
"Don't forget to switch to civilian outfit."
"Roger."
Beta X's armor broke down into data clusters and clothes formed over him: they were a short-sleeved reddish shirt, brownish shorts, white socks and white sneakers.
"Let's make our way back and…" Zarashe began instructing as he headed for the locale's exit.
"Not so fast! You tried to fool me into starting kin-strife but I'm not fooled so easily~!"
Netsuhonoo ran back in: his choice of clothes were a red opened sleeveless vest over a black t-shirt with the drawing of a crimson or scarlet – colored flame on its center surrounded by spiraling smoke trails: his jeans were plain and normal and his socks were simple black wool ones: his sneakers' color was white.
"Ya don't learn the lesson?" Zarashe sighed.
"Look. The "Foreigner" is coming."
"Who?" Netsuhonoo frowned.
He turned around to look but Beta X took the chance to use a Blinder Battle Chip and momentarily blind him as both ran outta the store and into the street: they hid in a side-alley very close by and spotted Netsuhonoo running out of the store and growling.
"As long as I'm named Netsuhonoo Robin then I'm not gonna give it up so easily~! Show your hides! I won't lose to a fisting showdown! You Uncle Moran rejected disciples!"
"How terribly original." Beta X drily muttered.
"Oi. Beta… The irises…" Zarashe whispered.
"Ah yeah. My bad."
He closed his eyes and opened them again to reveal that he'd changed their color to green.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" Someone chuckled through Netsuhonoo's PET (colored red and orange and having his emblem) as he held it on his right hand.
"Sieg! You lil rascal! What's so damned funny?"
"Yo! Danna. Don't get annoyed, man. It's just that I was amused at how they brought up the game with Ganon's predecessor's twin bro on it."
"What the heck?"
"Sheesh. Not like I did it because of that…" Beta X grumbled.
"It's the Last Story, man! Zangurg VS Shuuen no Mono! Result? A brotherly hug! Nyah, hah, hah, hah!"
"How INNOVATIVE of YOU." Netsuhonoo growled.
"Heh, heh, heh. No pain no gain! Danna – sama~!"
"Is Eisei there?"
"Nope~… He went off to tease our Indiana wool fellow." The guy named Sieg chuckled.
"HUH? Ah! You mean Tomahawk Man's Operator, Dingo…" Netsuhonoo realized.
"The last thing we needed… Why does Eisei see the need to stir up trouble at the Ameroupe Army Base…?" Zarashe grumbled.
"Dunno." Beta X grumbled.
"Hey! Sieg! I'm wasting my time here! Shit! They must MILES away by now…! Sheesh! I'm going back there… And I'm so gonna TALK with you about getting in my WAY!"
"Heh, heh, heh…"
"You two. Quit the kin-strife. Or do I need to get annoyed?" A more mature voice rang out with a slight hint of a foreign accent.
"YIKES! P-P-Prince, sir! R-roger, sir!"
"Whoa! R-roger, Prince!"
"About time." Zarashe muttered.
"Aren't you adult enough to handle on your own? Or do I need to be constantly BABYSITTING you lot?" The "Prince" grumbled.
"N-no, sir!" Both gasped.
"THEN PROVE IT! BY THE HIGH ONE!" He roared out of apparently built up annoyance and bad mood.
"R-roger, sir!"
"Go scout the Reverse Internet! I don't care if it's but a feather! I want something solid related to these "Jet Black Phoenix" rascals or else there'll be PUNISHMENT! Get it?" He ordered in an icy tone of voice.
"R-roger!"
Netsuhonoo ran off and both exited the alley while sighing in relief: they began to walk away and soon stepped into an avenue with a lot of people going up and down.
"Man. What's with the guys around here? Why do they need to stir up trouble? Atarasei and his jokes… The radio trio…"
"Hey. And let's not forget the girls either. Ms. Heiress. And Tozukana – san."
"Huff! Ms. Sniper… Don't get me started on that gal."
"The gal who came from Gaul."
"Man. Now that's a lame pun."
"My bad. I felt like it, for some reason."
"At least we know that some "ghosts of the past" will be showing up in the days to come… Under the name of "Jet – Black Phoenix" and using new tactics…"
"Yeah. And I'm sure that Flash Man's attack used IR or UV to become invisible: we need to re-calibrate everyone's sensors." Beta X warned as he stuffed both hands in the pockets.
"Sure thing… The "ghost"… What's their goal? Money? Or maybe they prefer the classical "terror"…?"
"Who knows…? It might be Wily's or Regal's ghost even." Beta X ironically replied.
"Oh please. Save me the irony. I'm not in the mood for it."
"My bad. But the air feels like it robs all happiness, even…"
Huff! We need something to increase the morale or else we're in trouble!
