Evil's Victory

By Zoram Selrof

Chapter 1: Video Man Wins

14:08 PM (Japan Time), Saturday March the 10th, 2005…

"… Ya~h!"

"Don't look away on a record!"

"Hell!"

Hikari Netto stood up from having fallen to his fours: he grumbled under his breath.

He was using his "Cross Fusion" form and standing inside of the main hall of a theater building the environment of which was surrounded by a "Dimensional Area".

This jerk…! Video Man…! How annoying! As if that Sharo guy named Laika who'd come today wasn't enough! Saying I'm an idiot! And now he runs off saying he'll fight! He'll get himself killed! What - a – genius!

"… Mini Bomb!"

"CF" Netto threw a Mini Bomb towards Video Man.

"Fast Forward!"

Video Man moved towards the point where the bomb would fall and kicked it back with his hands as if he was playing volley ball.

"Have at you!"

He dashed and appeared right in front of "CF" Netto.

"Wind Cutter!"

The bomb landed behind "him and the explosion sent him flying: Video Man shot a whole roll of video tape and hit "CF" Netto thus sending him flying again: he crashed against a tree and hit the ground rubbing his body.

"Netto – kun! Let's use CQC!" Rock Man advised.

"I've got it! Long Sword!"

He jumped and tried to hit Video Man but he only had to use the tape between his armlets to block it.

"That's…!" Rock Man uttered.

"Impossible!" "CF" Netto exclaimed.

Video Man pushed him backwards and he ended up in the ground again.

"My Ultra-High Grade videotape kneaded with "Rare Metal" won't be cut so easily!"

"Hell. What should we do?"

"Of course! Aqua Sword!" Rock Man exclaimed.

"But… A sword won't work…!" He argued.

"It'll be fine!" Rock Man insisted.

"I get it! Aqua Sword!"

"CF" Netto moved it forward and it got caught on the tape again.

"Hah! Didn't I say it was useless?" Video Man grinned.

"I wonder about that!" Rock Man exclaimed.

The tape began to be filled with drops of water.

"Uo~h!" Video Man uttered in terror.

The "play" symbol on him turned red, became intermittent, turned off and became a "stop" symbol.

"We did it!"

"Eh? What's going on?" Netto had still not understood the logic of it.

"Grr… It's written in the instruction manual! Isn't it! "Moisture's the worst thing for a tape"! I won't let you get away with that!"

Video Man moved very quickly and appeared behind "CF" Netto.

"Crap!"

"Loading!"

He began to expel tons of magnetic tape which wrapped around "CF" Netto thus choking him: he tried to pull it out with his hands.

"Quick Load!"

"CF" Netto was electrocuted.

"When my tape comes to an end, Rock Man's life will also end! A feat you can't do with a DVD!"

Ugh! Don't screw… me!

"Good! That anguish in your face will be the last thing of your hide which will be forever preserved!"

The tape began to cover "CF" Netto's mouth and nose.

"Ne… Netto – kun…" Rock Man muttered.

"P-painful…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Heh… In a few moments you'll be at peace…"

The tape was reaching its end.

"… Video Man. Strategy: change." A voice came in through his radio all of a sudden.

"What." He looked annoyed.

"Don't you desire two "Dark Chips"?"

"Two "Dark Chips"!"

"Here's one…"

A nefarious "Dark Chip" materialized in front of his noses and spun around the axis: Video Man gasped in surprise and soon formed a lustful grin as if he was eager to use it.

"And the other one will be your prize if you bring them alive." The man dully added.

"Roger, Danna… How do I get there?"

"Leave it to me. Dimensional Converter: Transfer."

A white vertical shaft of light formed on Video Man's feet and shot skywards: his body began to slowly disappear along with that of the almost-dead "CF" Netto.

Heh, heh, heh, heh…

The air suddenly rumbled: the "Dimensional Area" became unstable and began to break down and fade away.

"… Hum. Huh?"

Sharo "Net Savior" Laika, Search Man's Operator, stepped into the room, and, although, he kept a serious look to him, it was obvious that he was expecting to find Netto there.

"I destroyed the "Dimensional Converter"… The "Darkloid" should've been removed. Where are they at? Search Man! Search for living signatures within the building."

"Roger, Laika – sama."

Where did they go off to?

"Laika – kun! Trouble!" Meijin suddenly contacted him.

"What is it?"

"I've lost Netto – kun's signature! I can't get into contact with him. Report the status!"

"I'd split to destroy a "Dimensional Converter" to force the "Darkloid" to leave… I've just come back."

"This looks bad… Maybe "Nebula" has kidnapped him… Return ASAP!"

"Roger. Hmpf. Is that all there's to using a "Synchro Chip"?"

14:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… Here I am, Danna…"

"Good work."

Video Man materialized inside of the mysterious command room of "Nebula" in front of the enigmatic leader's chair: he kept on being mostly hidden by the poor lighting of the room but Yuriko, the "Nebula" agent, could be seen standing at his right.

"Release them."

Video Man loosened the tape and let the unconscious "CF" Netto hit the floor out of free fall.

"Transfer into the Cyber World."

"Roger."

The "Dimensional Area" faded and Video Man dematerialized to appear in that capsule across the room.

"Prize."

The man pressed the typical armrest button and another "Dark Chip" appeared in front of Video Man.

"Thank you!"

"In exchange…" The man began.

"What is it, Danna?" Video Man grinned.

"I'll grant you a new target."

"Hum! Who is it?" He looked interested.

"A bothersome "Net Savior"… Blues. Delete them. If you succeed I'll give you more "Dark Chips". Oh. And don't tell Shade Man." The man dully added at the end.

"Please leave it up to me. Heh, heh, heh. I shall them have unending pain and agony before being - DELETED! And I shall record their demise!"

"I'm counting on you."

"Thank you very much!"

Video Man bowed before he transferred out of the capsule while Netto's "Cross Fusion" broke apart and his reformed PET II hit the floor: Yuriko picked it up and looked at the screen: Rock Man was there but he seemed to be unconscious.

"How odd…"

"What?"

"Rock Man seems to have lost consciousness too." She reported.

"Hmpf. Whatever." The man wasn't too surprised at the news.

"What do I do with the boy, sir?"

"Tie them up in a chair and blindfold them. But hand that PET over: I'll start the analysis."

"Roger, sir."

Yuriko handed the man the PET II and he opened a drawer built-in on the right armchair: he placed the PET II and it closed up: a holographic screen popped out and displayed the two typical white rings used for Navi repairs or analysis.

"Good. I'll soon figure out their potential."

Yuriko sat Netto on a chair and lowered his bandana to act as improvised blindfold: she then tied his wrists with cello-tape and his ankles before passing two bands around the chest to secure him there.

"Good. Tee, heh, heh." She giggled aloud.

Netto – kun… Netto – kun… Chut. Don't move.

Huh… Ugh… Huh? Rock Man… No… Wrong… Saito – niisan…

Yes. That's me. But don't move.

I'm alive?

By mere inches…!

What happened?

"Nebula"…!

"Nebula"…?

They abducted us.

The hell!

Chut. Don't move it. Yuriko's watching you.

What's going on?

You're blindfolded and tied to a chair right in front of the Boss. The guy is analyzing my Navi frame. But he'll end up disappointed.

Why's that?

I've picked a fourth of my "Ultimate Program" along with my whole consciousness and hid here, in your head.

As a split personality, you mean to say?

Yeah. Look. When the man figures out those two things aren't there he'll obviously question you. If he starts to use force on you then say it's a trick Papa set up and that you "think" that I'm at the Science Labs or the Net Police HQ.

Alright, I get it.

But he can't figure out I'm your head because I slipped in using a common bandwidth signal which is but one of the several around here: there's Wi-Fi and satellite uplink and downlink asides from cell-phone carrier. It's hard to figure out each piece of data travelling through them.

I see! As expected of niisan!

Oh please. Don't praise me. It's something you end up figuring out after 6 years of living in the Cyber World.

Guess Laika will notice I'm missing…

Yeah. But it won't take long to find Video Man.

Why?

They've ordered him to go delete Buruusu.

Blues, huh. He won't be caught with the pants down so easily.

Surely not... But it's picking me.

What is?

The man said "Oh. And don't tell Shade Man"… Sounds like there's someone else in charge but that he's approaching the "Darkloids" using "Dark Chips" as bait… Maybe that's why Beast Man appeared on the Sea Tower last Monday. The reason he turned odd had to be the "Dark Chips".

Guess that. But… Shade Man… What does "shade" mean?

Huh? Shade? Well… It's the blocking of sunlight by any object and the shadow created by them… Like when a tree is on the way of the sunlight…

So it's not the shade as "shadow"?

No. I know they're similar in wording but they're two things apart. You know, that spot next to a tree where it's cool and all…

Oh! Now I see. I think I've heard the name before…

Ah! Remember! The day when Beast Man assaulted the Science Labs…

Oh! That "Darkloid" who looked liked a vampire and who stole 7 of Papa's "Synchro Chips" before calling on Beast Man…!

That's what I meant. That guy must be the Boss of the "Darkloids" but "Nebula" is trying to bribe them into doing the dirty work for them. Maybe there's some deal. "Nebula" must give them the "Dimensional Converters" to materialize. But Beast Man was boasting about how they'd rule it all if there weren't any humans… That's a rather odd behavior for even an independent model Net Navi… Independent or not they've been created by humans. They should be grateful of that. Saito exposed.

You've got a point there.

"… What does this mean?"

"Huh? Eh… What's wrong, sir?"

"… I see… Hikari Yuuichirou… A cautious researcher he is…" The man muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Do excuse me?" Yuriko asked of him.

They've found about the trick and it'd seem the Boss thinks it's some trick Papa set up because he was being careful. If he asks then say yeah, it is, and then say you believe I'm at either the Net Police HQ or the Science Labs… Try to sound nervous and all and he'll get cocky. Saito calmly instructed.

Get cocky? Sure! If he gets cocky he won't think it twice and he'll go hit both places to end up empty-handed.

"… Yuriko. Wake the boy."

"Roger, sir."

Yuriko pinched his right cheek and he immediately woke up: he coughed in a violent manner for some seconds before starting to pant and try to draw breath in.

"Huh… W-where am I?"

"Heh. "Nebula"." Yuriko grinned.

"You're… Yuriko! Mariko – sensei's younger twin sister…!" Netto gasped as if he was surprised.

"Oh. So she remembered about me." Yuriko muttered aloud as if being slightly surprised.

"You've split away?" Netto tried to guess.

"True. I was always the bad girl type. But enough of me... Danna has some questions for you. And you better answer to them…" She apparently shrugged her shoulders.

"Hikari Netto." The man called out.

"Y-you're the Boss of "Nebula"?"

"Where's Rock Man's consciousness and missing one fourth of his "Ultimate Program"? Tell me or you'll regret it. There's a trick set there: I know as much." The man icily ordered.

"W-well… I think that… on the Science Labs or… the Net Police HQ. Papa was very vague when he told me the trick he'd set up…" He trailed off and tried to sound unsure of it.

"As expected of him: he's a cautious man… Yuriko. Send Needle Man to spy on the Science Labs. I'll see if I can use Burner Man to get into the Net Police HQ."

"Roger, sir. Plug In! Needle Man, Transmission!"

"Soon… We "Nebula" shall gain a new tool which will bring us overwhelming power…"

Yeah, laugh… Because I'll end up winning! Hikari Netto tells you that! Like always!

Don't get cocky, Netto – kun. This is not a moment to feel like it. You could be dead, even. Saito coolly scolded.

A-alright. Netto gulped and felt a shiver go down his back.

"By the way, sir… Do you really expect Video Man to succeed? We're talking about a though opponent there, sir. And doesn't commit blunders, either…" Yuriko asked.

"Hmpf. Whether he succeeds or not is of no importance. I only want them to use the "Dark Chips". That's all." The man dully replied.

I knew it. The "Dark Chips" have some trick to them. There must be something to them… Something that only works on the "Darkloids"… But what is it? And what does this guy gain from that?

"Soon… The idealized world envisioned by "Nebula" shall be reality… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"

Devil! We must put a stop to them… Somehow!