Chapter 3: Downfall of the tunnels
23:33 PM (Chicago Time), Tuesday June the 28th…
"… Dingo~… Are ya sure following this weird Cyber Tunnel was a good idea to begin with? Now we're in Chicago~…"
"Whoa. I thought it was a shortcut to the Indianapolis Internet City, Tomahawk Man. My bad."
"Fine~… Since we're here… Let's check to see if those mad guys from 3 years ago are back at it…"
"Oh yeah, the Tea Party radicals…"
"Yeah. Which then formed the Bitter Party."
"What stupid naming sense."
"Ya needn't tell me."
"Heh, heh, heh. Well. If it isn't the Sioux."
"Who – goes – there?"
"Your worst nightmare: the downpour! The Monsoon!"
"Monsoon? Wasn't that a type of rice?"
"Dingo~… You mean "curry"… Monsoon is a downpour and a wind!"
Tomahawk Man had been walking along a road on the outskirts of the Chicago Internet City and talking to Dingo when a voice rang out: Dingo seemingly mixed the concepts up to begin with.
"What an intriguing chit-chat! So ya found that tunnel too, eh? I guess who built it…" The voice chuckled.
"Oh yeah? Illuminate us, Mr. Cocky."
"Delighted. Tunnel Man did it!"
"How brilliant."
"Is that irony?" Dingo wondered aloud.
"Sure is! Uncle Louis says so."
"Uncle Louis? My uncle ain't named Louis."
"Too bad, Ding o' ding."
"What the heck was that?" Dingo grumbled.
"Don't mind it, Dingo. It's but a taunt."
"Heh, heh, heh. I'm Blue Wave! Of Shunoros! I want some action so how about I check out what stuff you're made of?"
Blue Wave dropped from another road higher up and landed in front of Tomahawk Man who merely got into a battle pose.
His main color, curiously enough, wasn't blue, but a shade of silver-like white or, rather, sky-blue color.
His helmet, like all of the other "Shunoros" members, only protected the front and sides of the head while allowing his blue-tinted hair to freely flow out.
As seen from the front, the forehead of the helmet had a device mounted upon it colored metallic gray: it was built using three different parts and the central one spanning across his forehead was shaped like a climbing hill: there then was a triangle-like extensions popping upwards with an orange-like spot on the center of it close to the top: a small piece in the form of an inverted triangle extended downwards and that was where his blue transparent shades were affixed at: his eyes' irises were blue.
The sides of the helmet were painted in that sky-blue color and had no decoration on them save for the "mizu" or "water" kanji painted over the ears using silver-like ink.
The part of the helmet behind the front triangle had a fin spanning across it and until the back: the fin was divided in three parts as seen from the sides: a navy blue-colored climbing ramp line marked the middle section and the segment below it was colored in a dull gray color while the upper one used the sky blue color: a circling metallic band curved along the rear of the helmet.
This offered protection for the lower part of the head and the neck as well.
A metallic collar-like piece of armor was located around the base of the neck followed by the chest armor which had a metallic upper band followed by an inverted triangle-like piece of armor: the center of it had the initials "BW" set there.
The shoulder armor could be described as being the NW and NE quarters of a spheroid.
Each had a navy blue descending ramp – like line drawn across its length: the lower edges were curved and metallic coupled together with a small square piece on the SW and SE corners of the armor as well.
The forearms' armor (starting at around the elbow and past the exposed segment of arm covered by blue "skin") was rather simple in design having just a small ramp aiming past the armor and emerging from close to the upper edge: they were colored sky-blue too while the hands also were covered in blue "skin".
His boots were also simple in design.
They just had a trapeze-shaped piece of armor set vertically over the knees and one small triangle-like piece close to the star of the toes which had two small openings: it looked like it could vent off heat building up inside of the boots: the soils were plain metallic gray.
He also carried the same pendant Fighting Cyclone had.
"So? Did ya get rid of unwanted stuff over there~?"
"If ya mean the marijuana… Yeah."
"That's what I meant. Imported from Mexico, I take it?"
"More like smuggled from Mexico."
"I heard that someone with hi rank got busted."
"Oh yeah. Some Republican youngster who used connections and wasted party money… That doesn't mean that the party itself is guilty: it was just a smug rascal who wanted to stain them."
"I see, by Moriarty!"
"Wanna fight? Bring it on."
"Oh yeah. Sea God's Anger!"
Blue Wave formed a tsunami which washed Tomahawk Man over and created a ring of water which was knee-high: Tomahawk Man grumbled and jumped out to then form a Stone Cube which he used as footing: he then looked ahead and saw that Blue Wave was hovering over the water and had drawn two edited Vulcan Battle Chips which had four deposits of water each and four muzzles each: he submerged them in the water and loaded them up to then aim them at Tomahawk Man.
"Ocean's Pressure!"
The guns spun and began to shoot hi-pressure water jets at Legato which hit him in eight different spots of his body and pushed him back: Tomahawk Man leapt into the air and curled while he began to spin at a mad speed.
"Tomahawk Rolling!"
He hurled at Blue Wave and the blow pushed both of them into the water: Tomahawk Man quickly drew the tomahawk and began to hit Blue Wave's upper body while he attempted to shield with the forearms: Blue Wave began to crawl back and then pushed Tomahawk Man away by kicking him with both feet on the torso: Blue Wave drew a Zeus Hammer Battle Chip next and began to hit Tomahawk Man: the latter simply formed a spinning tomahawk which drew an orbit and hit Blue Wave's head from behind, stunning him for a moment: Tomahawk Man got to his feet while Blue Wave struggled to get up and rubbed the back of his head.
"Luckily it was a wooden one!"
"My bad. I forgot that that helmet design doesn't protect the rear of your head, see." Tomahawk Man shrugged.
"Fine. I'll let that one slip by."
"By the way…" Dingo began.
"What now."
"Is that supercomputer of yours that incredible?"
"Super…? MWAH, HAH, HAH, HAH!" He suddenly laughed.
"Dingo~… This guy's "Shunoros"… They don't have the supercomputer: Golden Star does!" Tomahawk Man exasperatedly corrected.
"Is that so? I mixed up them again…"
"Ya sure ya didn't try out any of that stuff?"
"I didn't, I swear! If ya want to I'll go to the medical office and ask them for a blood analysis!"
"Fine. That means you didn't. Maybe you're not paying enough attention to begin with."
"Lack of attention, eh? Didn't Barrel pull ya ears?" Blue Wave snickered next.
"No." Dingo grumbled back.
"Let's resume the fight, ya."
"Ah! But of course, my fellow conspirer enchanted by Uncle Sam."
"Sheesh."
"Let's go~! Aka Tsunami!"
A reddish tsunami wave sprouted out of the water and splashed Tomahawk Man despite his attempt to cut through it with his tomahawk: he got set on fire and quickly dived into the normal water to put it out but he spotted yet another wave heading towards him.
"Tomahawk Rolling!"
He flew through the wave and hit Blue Wave as he was raising his arms and seemingly about to summon yet another wave: Tomahawk Man brought down the tomahawk on the helmet's forehead and Blue Wave aimed the modified Vulcan Battle Chips at his chest.
"Ocean's Pressure~!"
The pressurized jets of water pushed Tomahawk Man away and Blue Wave jumped into the air to hover there as he formed 3 serial "Aka Tsunami" waves: Tomahawk Man warped and appeared in front of Blue Wave: he swung the tomahawk horizontally and Blue Wave barely blocked by using his forearms but the blow shattered some of the deposits, which began to leak water and gas: Blue Wave grumbled and looked at them but then Tomahawk Man kicked his lower jaw with the right foot, thus knocking him off the air and into the water again.
"Is there a point to this battle?" A voice asked out of nowhere.
"That voice…? I think I've heard it somewhere before." Tomahawk Man muttered while frowning.
"Whoever it is: ya don't know about battles for fun?" Blue Wave growled back.
"I fail to see how that is supposed to be fun."
"Hmpf! You gotta be the pacifist type. Whatever. Just don't get in my way!" Blue Wave scoffed.
"Fine. I shall see how you plunge into failure."
"Oi. Don't forget me. Elec Circle 3!"
"What! BIRIRIRIRIRI~!"
Tomahawk Man used the Elec Circle to create a spinning ball of electricity which hit the water and electrocuted it along with Blue Wave: he growled something and formed his "gateway" to flee the area: the water quickly dried and Tomahawk Man landed in the ground.
"That's why it's wise to stuff other elemental Battle Chips in the Folder, Dingo. Got the lesson?" Tomahawk Man told him with a sigh as if he was constantly reminding him about it.
"Uh… Yeah. Guess I should revise it, yeah."
"I shall be parting. Farewell."
10:30 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Fuck! Who'd said that rascal had Elec Chips on the Folder? So that's the newest tactic, huh? Stuff things of other elements to be ready for all types of adversaries, huh? Shit."
Blue Wave (having reverted out of his Navi form) was cursing aloud inside of a group of trees within a park: a phone booth could be seen close by as well.
He had dyed his hair blue although some small patches of the original brown could be spotted there and there: his eyes' irises were blue.
He wore a t-shirt with the words "Hokkaido" and a drawing of Sapporo City's main avenue: he sported jeans and blue-stripped and white sneakers.
"Whatever the ever. Shit."
"Oh my. So you're one of the bad boys, eh?" A girl's voice rang out from close by with some amusement.
"Who…? Hey! Cha are…"
"Ikada Bertha. Golden Star's ice queen…"
"The gal who beat Kazebun!"
"Indeed. What's your name, cutie?"
"Sheesh. Umisama Garcia!"
A girl on her early 20s showed up from close by.
She had long platinum blond hair plus eyes with blue irises to them: she had a ruthless-like figure to her, even.
She sported a sleeveless white shirt plus navy blue jeans and a pair of black boots.
She carried simplistic-looking black handbag hanging from the right shoulder while a cobalt-colored Link PET with a golden-colored Alphabet "S" character on it as emblem was set on her arm-strap.
"Bertha – chan, ya there…? Hey. That's one of "Shunoros"…"
"Sandra! Did cha enjoy cha trip to Paris?"
"Paris? I just went to track one piece of that money we gave to the "ghost server" and I ended up in a dead end."
Another girl showed up from behind Ikada: she had green eye irises and also seemed to be on her early 20s.
She had reddish hair as well.
She sported a short-sleeved navy blue shirt, shorts and sandals.
"Too bad."
"Why's it too bad?" Sandra frowned.
"Cha missed the chance to go see Dr. Jacinta."
"Dr. Jacinta? Who's that?"
"Someone and no – one." She giggled.
"Not with that joke again. I don't intend on undergoing plastic surgery for a vain purpose." She whispered back with obvious annoyance.
"Tee, heh, heh."
"By the way: there's someone creating Cyber Tunnels to move around undetected. Any ideas?" Umisama brought up.
"That'd be Tunneling – chan." She giggled.
"Sheesh. You mean Drill Man, former "Four Dark Heavenly Kings"… The band that revived Forte years ago using "Dark Power" and brought upon the materialization of Navis across the world… The "Crimson Lobby" bought his data from the "ghost server" and now he's roaming around there…" Sandra explained.
"Wasn't there another "Crimson Lobby" Navi who got hired by the "ghost" as well?" Umisama seemingly recalled.
"Magic Man. Newbie. Rookie. Neophyte." Ikada laughed.
"How original. Coming from ya." Sandra fumed.
"Oh yeah. The rascal assaulted the Virus Breeder in the Science Labs but got repelled… And Netsuhonoo said he'd fought the guy once when he went mad and tried to storm a middle school…" Umisama recalled with a shrug of the shoulders.
"In essence, my dear Moriarty disciple."
"Sheesh. I'm off."
Umisama stormed off while Ikada giggled and Sandra directed an annoyed glare at her.
"Let's go back to report."
"Sure. To report that cha want to go Paris…"
"Sheesh."
"What's the matter? It's popular."
"I'm no actress who wants to show off!" She whispered back.
"Let's go, then."
They walked away and through the park: Sandra was constantly glaring around as if checking that no – one was trailing them: they didn't spot a dragonfly following them from above at some distance.
"Is it me or I'm hearing a buzz somewhere?" Sandra wondered.
"Someone's phone." Ikada shrugged.
"Guess that. Maybe I'm being paranoid."
"Or maybe it's a bee to begin with."
"Could be, yeah. Oh well. Let's just get to the port."
"And do some sport."
"Sheesh. That pun was lame, cha know?"
"Oh, I do. Tee, heh, heh."
"Speaking of Forte… He's still holed up where Slur – sama closed him at, right?" Sandra recalled.
"Oh no. I heard from Miquel. Someone apparently purged his hatred and anger and he's now in some kind of limbo-like state at his creator's, Dr. Cossack's, home."
"Hum. Curious."
Ikada's PET suddenly emitted a burst of static and she checked it out to see that the "Shunoros" emblem had appeared onscreen.
"Heh, heh, heh. Yo. Queen – sama."
"My. If it isn't Fifty Shades of Gray – chan."
"Sheesh. Mistress! That joke isn't funny. That attempt of irony doesn't seem like something to laugh at." Eisei complained.
"Oh my. Guess that. But if it turns out that we switch the roles around then it makes some sense, no?"
"Sheesh. I've never been into dominatrix! I'm yaoi!" Eisei whispered back with some annoyance.
"Oh my. I mixed you up with the decaying noble."
"Decaying noble? Who? Sieg?"
"Yes, my cutie. "Last "Blue – Eyes"! Let that decaying noble listen to their requiem! "Burst Stream of Destruction"!" … Right?" She quoted.
"Sheesh. I know he picked his name from the guy in Yu – Gi – Oh Duel Monsters but that doesn't make him a decaying noble, cha know." He sighed in an exasperated manner.
"I wonder 'bout that."
"Quit it." Sandra scolded.
"Enter it." She giggled.
"How original."
"Anyway! I'm sure we'll find the "ghost" before cha guys because we've got a piece of info which we're keeping under wraps! We don't want the rascal to know that we have that advantage!" Eisei whispered with some eagerness.
"Oh my. You know that he's bald?"
"Bald? What does this have to do with anything?"
"You never know, my cutie~… It might be their greatest weakness: getting their head cooked up by the summer sun!"
"How brilliant of cha, Queen – sama~…" He grumbled.
"Oh by the way. Ms. Smiley says hi and bye."
"You've made it up right here and now." Sandra was unimpressed to begin with.
"By the way! I saw the teaser in the blog! "Mountain – climbing, goats, repeaters for thirds! Sofas, baldies and presents for fourths!" … I'm burning to know what will happen… Heh, heh, heh…"
"Burner Man granted cha some of his heat, eh?"
"Oh no. Netsuhonoo did: the guy's too hot-headed anyway."
"Gray…!"
"Yikes! Aibou!"
"What happened to the investigation?"
"W-well, that's… Eh… See ya, Queen – sama~!"
The call abruptly ended and Ikada giggled while Sandra sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Those 3 and their teasers…" Sandra muttered.
"…that are the world's best!" Ikada finished with a giggle.
Sandra stormed off ahead of Ikada while she calmly kept a pace to follow her while giggling under her breath…
12:29 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Oh yeah! Burn 'em up! I'm gonna burn 'em up!"
"I'm gonna pierce through ya!"
"Who? Ah! Ya gotta be the tunnel maniac."
"Drill Man – sama~!"
"Napalm Man – sama~! I beat ya pal!"
"Hmpf… Don't place me at the same level as Magic Man!"
"We'll see 'bout that!"
Napalm Man had been yelling aloud atop a building's rooftop in Akihara City's Internet City when Drill Man showed up by creating one of his "Cyber Tunnels" which erased immediately afterwards.
"I'm Golden Leo's aibou~! No need for almighty swords! My firepower alone will be more than enough! Oh yeah! Rock and crush!" Napalm Man laughed.
"You will be DRILLED by the great me~!"
"We'll see 'bout that! Napalm Bomb!"
Napalm Man shot a bomb from his forehead's gun barrel and it hit the floor, setting it on flames and creating a circle of burning napalm around Drill Man who was unimpressed.
"That your best shot?"
"Not by a long way! Fire Bomb!"
His arm-guns shot a couple of bombs which hit Drill Man's knees and set them on fire apart from inflicting piercing damage: Drill Man compacted and began to spin.
"Triple Hole!"
He formed two drill-shaped Viruses at both flanks and "flew" forward at a mad speed: Napalm Man chuckled.
"Curse Shield!"
"You moron!"
"What! Ugruwa~h!"
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! I'm INVINCIBLE~!"
Napalm Man tried to stop his movements with the Curse Shield but Drill Man broke through and began to drill into Napalm Man's chest armor next but Napalm Man warped and landed atop Drill Man: he began to bang the upper drill encompassing the head with the arms to create an annoying and persisting CLONG sound which echoed inside of the drill: Drill Man stopped and got back to his normal mode while growling and apparently trying to shake it off.
"Vulcan Gun!"
A copy of his arm-mounted gun having an axis and a half-dome base formed and began to shoot several rounds in a rush which bounced off Drill Man's body save for the shoulders.
"Hah! Ya got some new armor, eh? But the knees and shoulders can't bear with it else it'd reduce ya speed!"
"Shit! This Holmes wannabe!"
"Nope! Moran wannabe! Nyah, hah, hah, hah! The "ghost" is a baldie gramps!" Napalm Man taunted.
"HMPF!" Drill Man tried to pose as being unimpressed.
"Cat got the tongue~?"
"You rascal!"
"That's the spirit! Napalm Bomb!"
He shot a bomb which latched into Drill Man's chest and it detonated, covering him in napalm, which quickly caught fire: Drill Man howled and quickly used a Geyser Battle Chip to put it out: the ensuing cloud of steam reduced visibility around him.
"Vulcan Gun! Triple Mode!"
"Ugra~h!"
Napalm Man formed three guns and attacked Drill Man's shoulders and waist before rushing in and delivering a couple blows using his arms into Drill Man's chest: he then jumped into the air and landed with the feet first thus kicking Drill Man into the ground where he aimed his three guns at the guy.
"Bermuda Triangle!" Napalm Man tried taunting.
"Fools! We're above those!"
"Or cha are and cha want Magic Man to fail?"
"In-strife is forbidden! If you break the rules you pay with your life!"
"Oho. Strict type, eh? Gotta be old-school!"
"I'm not done with yet! Tunnel Crusher!"
Drill Man warped and began to "drill" through the air as he formed Cyber Tunnels and emerged of them in random positions, disorienting Napalm Man and delivering several blows to him from several angles one after the other: Napalm Man growled and seemed to smirk when he apparently got an idea: he got hit again but he vanished, leaving a statue of the PKMN "Heatran" behind and reappearing higher in the air to form the "Swords of Sealing Light" which fell down around Drill Man thus sealing his movements and trapping him: Napalm Man landed down on the ground and chuckled.
"Ya can't move for 3 turns! And ya can't use those tunnels either! How's that for a counter, ugly?"
"Damn you~… I'll MINCE YOU INTO DUST!"
"Oho. Scary, scary~… Dark Satoshi says ya suck!"
"Who?"
"Your worst nightmare: the ever-popular villain! Nyah, hah, hah, hah!"
"What nonsense and crap is THAT?"
"Ask your precious Magic Man! He lent me this! 'Cause it's a Magic Card which he produced!"
"I knew it! The fucking wizard wannabe~! When I get back I'm so gonna beat the guy up! Despite what Ghost – sama says!" Drill Man growled and swung his arms in a menacing manner.
"Napalm Man? Is everything okay?" Leon asked over the radio.
"Don't worry, Golden Leo~! All's under control! Ya only need bring out "Stromberg's Golden Castle" to make this guy despair!"
"Sheesh!" Leon grumbled.
"In-fighting, eh?" Drill Man taunted.
"Oh no! Golden Leo~ has no sense of humor, that's it!" Napalm Man laughed.
"Maybe." He drily replied.
"Man! Get cheerier!" Napalm Man encouraged.
"How about you try to impede him from running away?" Leon countered with a sigh.
"Oho. Sure thin', Danna~! Time for the final blow! Vulcan…!"
Drill Man suddenly formed a black ring of energy which hit the "Sealing Swords of Light" and made them frizzle before breaking down into the basic polygons which made them up: the field keeping him trapped broke down into clusters of data and Drill Man shot forward to hit Napalm Man as he rushed towards him: the blow caught him off-guard and he ended up pushed out of the rooftop and into free fall towards the street: Napalm Man yelped and ignited some jets on his boots.
"Whoa! What was THAT?"
"Noise. Guess it's another ability that black phoenix has…"
"Sheesh. No fair!"
"Mwah, hah, hah! Ya lowered the guard, rascals!" Drill Man taunted from the rooftop's edge.
"I wonder about that." Someone interjected.
"Who…?"
"Sonic Boom!"
"Whack! Damn it! You again! Blues!"
"Yeah. Me. I've come to cut you up again."
Blues suddenly landed on the rooftop after shooting a Sonic Boom at Drill Man's back: Drill Man grumbled but then stepped back and jumped into the air: Blues gave chase and dodged some black beams of energy which disrupted the "sky" on their wave and momentarily broke it down into basic polygons.
"Noise beams, huh. Like that'll stop me." Blues muttered.
"SKRA~H!"
"Shit."
The "Jet – Black Phoenix" sprouted and the ensuing tornado pushed Blues away, hitting Napalm Man (who was following him) and making both of them fall without control straight into the street, forming a crater there due to the impact force: Drill Man vanished while a piece of the "sky" began to rebuild itself after it'd broken down into the raw pixels which made it up: both groaned and somehow got to their feet.
"Damn it." Blues growled.
"We were close!" Enzan hissed.
"Shit. My mood's gone, even. I'm goin' back: I need M & F."
"Alright." Leon shrugged.
"Blues! Let's try to salvage data from the sensors!"
"Roger, Enzan – sama."
12:48 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Man! I was SO~ close…"
"Shah, shah, shah! Hey! Napalm Man! Fella! What's up?"
"Needle Man, huh. I was about to beat that Drill Man rascal but escaped at the last second!"
Napalm Man stepped into a Cyber World somewhere which obviously was Golden Star's Cyber World (which had a main avenue and some Warp Points (ten in total) set to the sides, the north and the south of it: the background had Andy's emblem on it plus the silver-colored letters "GS" over the center of the star: Napalm Man had met with Needle Man, who was close to the northern Warp Point which Napalm Man had used to get inside.
"Oh man! That was regrettable!"
"Sure thing! Shah, shah, shah! The broadcast's ready so…"
"OK! I'm gonna listen to it! See ya!"
"Stay healthy~!"
"Sure!"
Napalm Man headed for the southernmost one of the right-sided Warp Points and entered a sub-hub, a square, with two Warp Points on it, each protected by 3 Cyber Doors and having a label: the right one was labeled "LEON NEDORA & NAPALM MAN" while the left one was labeled "ATARASEI OSCAR & ALEX": he headed for his Warp Point and interacted with the first door.
"1st password: adult musketeer… Rafael of Doma!"
The door unlocked so he proceeded to the next one.
"2nd password: clay and deadly… Heh! Oreichalcos Shunoros!"
The second door unlocked as well so he headed for the last one.
"3rd password: Robocop wannabe… Hah! Armor Deck!"
The last door unlocked and he headed for the Warp Point as they turned on again behind him: he entered it and landed in another Cyber World which had the SONY logo on the background.
"Yo~! Golden Leo~! I'm back!"
"I see. So? Is the new broadcast there?" He calmly asked.
"Sure is! I'm downloading it!"
"Fine."
"Download complete! Let's radio~!"
"Yeah, yeah. Just turn it on, will you?"
"OK!"
"… Action! Welcome to a new edition of V-B-N! "The Bombers"! Chapter 3 incoming!"
"Marchando! "Mortadelo! Filemón! Urgent mission! Come here on the double!"… "ADA~H!"… "AH!"… Mortadelo comes in through the window swinging on a vine and dressed liked Tarzan! "Man! Mr. Super! Don't ya remember that ya sent us on a mission to Tasmania's jungle~? GLGLGL!"… "Brrr! And Filemón! Where's the fella?" … "Here, Mr. Super! And I won't complain anymore about our rivers' pollution!"… "Why's that?"… "Heh! Ya can't image how bug-filled Tasmania's rivers are!"… An alligator had bitten his left leg and didn't want to let go of it!"
"Alligator love~!" Napalm Man laughed.
"… "Grmblf! Outta here, you fatty lizard!"… "Brute!"… Today… Lily, Tozukana Joanne's Navi, volunteered for the voice of the COTD, character of the day, a secretary! Lily!"
"OK. "My. What a puddle. Are there alligators on it?"… She's somewhat the… type who wants to make irony or jokes out of something trivial… She was staring at a puddle formed by a radiator's leak… The alligator shows up! "AH! AH! A~H!"… And she runs away, almost running out of breath… Meh! Meek gal. I'd rather stare at it with indifference and go to my post!"
"Thanks, Lily! I owe ya one." Video Man thanked.
"Don't mind it. It was a change of airs."
"… "The "Bombers" will try to place a bomb shaped like a pumpkin under the TV repeater in the mountaintop so as to blow it up… So you must depart ASAP for the mountaintop and stop them!"… "But… How do we get up there?"… "Don't worry. Upon exit you will be given an "all-terrain" by the material fellows…" … "An "all-terrain"… BRRRR!"… It was a mountain goat!" Video Man laughed.
"Lovely."
"Ain't it?"
"… "It's so slow… Hit the accelerator, Boss!"… "Accelerator? Don't act the goat!"… MUNCH! "Ow! S-shouldn't have compared ya with the goat… The poor animal got offended!"… The goat bit his nose and then washed the teeth off with tooth-paste! "Chut! Quiet, Boss! I can hear a very suspicious chat!"… "Yeah… The repeater… Gonna get rid of it!"… "Well done, fella! Good luck!"… "Did ya hear it? It's the terrorist!"… "That on the sack gotta be the bomb! Let's jump over the bushes and we got him!"… It turns out there was a small cliff and that the fellow had crossed over a wooden plank which acted as bridge so… down they went!"
"Man."
"Heh, heh, heh! Down and bang!"
"… "How lucky, eh, Boss? You landed on your feet!"… "Yeah… Dumb luck, even!"… His legs ended up pushed up until the waist! "Devil! See! He's crossing another cliff!"… Using a log, that is… "Yeah, but no crashing into the bottom this time… Let's go!"… "Whoa! I got it wrong and didn't pick my gun!"… He'd picked an eggplant! "Whatever. I'll throw this boulder at the head!"… "You idiot! What are ya doing? That was the boulder holding the log into place! UA~H!"… BLOMPF! … "Why, Boss! You're like cats, eh, you always land on your feet!"… "I'll give ya feet! I'll give ya!"… "Hold back, you beast!"… He ended up with one leg sticking outta the mouth and another sticking over his head!"
"Man. Mortadelo always has to screw it up."
"Nyah, hah, hah."
Leon turned on his video-camera to prove that he looked slightly defeatist and somewhat resigned: a single bed with an open porthole could be spotted over the bed's head.
"… "Look! He's gonna cross over that wall! Let's follow!"… "No! He could see us! We'll jump over here!"… "But, Boss… It's too tall!"… "Let's jump it, then! Hop! I don't drown in a cup of water! WATER!"… SPLASH!"
"What?" Leon frowned.
"Oho?" Napalm Man wondered.
"T-this ain't a wall, it's an aqueduct! UA~H!"… "Boss! Pull up the shirt's neck: it's very cold!"… "Field 3 is already irrigated so I'll shut the flow to diver it to Field 2…" … TCHAC! BLOM! "Why! This year's tadpoles are quite big!"… "And I did warn ya… Ya are so wet! The "Bomber" is resting!"… "Let's jump on him and end this already!"… "Gotcha, bandit!"… "Hand over the bomb, you! Huh? UA~H!"… "Why! What an odd bomb!"… "What bomb and what…? That's "Repeater"!"… "… "Repeater"…?"… "Of course! My parrot!"…"
"No way… The "repeater" wasn't the TV one but a parrot named "Repeater"? And there's no pumpkin bomb? Where the heck does Mr. Super get his info from?" Leon groaned.
"From the Abode of Misinformation!" Napalm Man laughed.
"How brilliant. Coming from you." Leon sighed.
"… "I call it like that 'cause it repeats all we say at home, ya know? And everyone knows what we talk 'bout… That's why I'm going to get rid of it and leave it here on the mountaintop so that it doesn't stink… Got a problem with that?"… "Well! You guys back? Did you succeed? Hey! What are these familiarities! Take your claws off me!"…"
"And Mr. Super has to suffer the consequences of sending them to a vain mission… AGAIN." Leon sighed.
"… "INCREDIBLE VANDALISM!"… "They bring the Superintendent of the "TIA" to the mountaintop, climb him to the TV repeater and leave him hanging by the ears. The fellow, quite annoyed, is looking for those wild aggressors and…"… "Don't hide, no! I'll find ya~! And I'm gonna hang ya from the Empire State by the eyebrows!"… "Do ya think he'll do it, Boss?"… "You shut up and act! Make some sounds!"… M disguises as a cow and F hides inside! End of chapter 3!"
"Mwah, hah, hah! So! Chapter 4 next! I wonder what will happen in there… Don't ya, Golden Leo~?"
"Oh, whatever." Leon sighed.
"… Chapter 4! "Ace re-poker, Tarúguez! Heh, heh! I win!"… "What damned luck ya have! 32 serial games with ace re-poker!"… "Quick, Mortadelo, let's go! Mr. Super calls for us!"… "Boss! Don't be so impulsive, heck!"… F drags M away and reveals that he'd hidden countless ace cards inside of his suit! "Wait, wait. Don't carry 'im away yet. I've got two words to tell 'im!" … PAF! PAF! "Why! I didn't know Tarúguez spoke by signs!"… "Go to crap, Boss!"…"
"Cheating at poker, huh? Somehow it doesn't impress me." Leon wasn't impressed.
"Heh, heh, heh. Oh the despair!" Napalm Man chuckled.
"… "Here we are, Mr. Super!"… "Where are you? What do you want?"… Mr. Super pops his arm out from beneath the desk and signals a wrapped parcel atop it! "Yes. A very cute parcel." … "Sweets from some admirer?"… "Not sweets… Bomb! It's a bomb! I suspect the "Bombers" send it! Take it off my desk! Take it where I can't see it!"… "Done, Mr. Super. Mission completed!"… "Yes? Huff! What a relief! Well, boys… What did you do with it? What did you do?" … "Well. We placed it on your armchair. Seating atop it you don't see it so… You happy?"… BOOM!"
"Oh come on. Why not toss it into the garbage bin?" Leon groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Dunno. Maybe because Litter Man had resigned?"
"… "Whoa! Incredible!"… "He's gone to the upper floor! Without using the stairs, even! But… Mr. Super! What's the matter?"… "We obeyed your orders! We took it off your desk and placed it where you wouldn't see it!"… "Well! The "Bombers" have found the means to sneak into the org and place bombs… I want you to keep an eye out and catch the culprit when he shows up! Get to work!"… "That guy's rather brute, ain't the guy?"… "Shut up and walk! We gotta call the handyman!"… Mr. Super stuffed a water pipe with the faucet across their ears!"
"Really…"
"Pipe Man and Faucet Man!"
"… And! We bring upon our fellow Kage who wanted to voice the "Bomber"! Kage: here's the script!"
"Yessir! "Heh, heh, heh! That of the bomb in the armchair gave me an idea! I'll do the same: I'll place this pressure bomb under this chair's leather… and another agent will fly off! I think you can't notice it but I'll check it from afar…"… Video!"
"Action! "The doors always open! And then we all get a cold! They don't realize that's far more dangerous than a bomb!"… M dresses as soccer player and kicks the door shut as the fellow was walking backwards on his way out! Kage!"
"Heh, heh! "S-someone stop me! Stop me! STOP…!"… BOM!
"… He plunged head-on into the chair! "Devil! There was another bomb in this sofa and went off alone…!"… The fellow ended up embedded in the room's ceiling!"
"… "GRMBLX! I better switch to straight action!"… Takes out an old-fashioned fuse bomb and glares at a door… A frightful decaying corpse – like figure walks out: he gets frozen from fright, his fake teeth jump off!"
"… Marchando! "Boss! Whaddya think of my disguise? It's named "nightmare by indigestion of chickpeas" and…!" … BAUM! "Devil! Didn't you hear another explosion?"… "Maybe it was Berrúguez, who smokes "Celtics"…"…"
"He ended up atop the safe! "Those two will get to know who Aquilino "Bomb" is!" He draws a grenade! "I'll send it rolling silently across the carpeted floor and…"… A small mechanical broom-man pops out and kicks the grenade back at the source!"
"Shah, shah, shah! "Did you see the mechanical broom – man I bought for my lil nephew, Boss?"… BOUM! "What was that?"…"
"Man. They don't realize it's the bomber?" Leon sighed.
"Apparently not!" Napalm Man laughed.
"Earth, swallow me whole…"
"… "Dear me! What a blow! What a blow!"… He ended up flying outta the city and landing into a cactus! "No failures this time! Aquilino will go all out! A proton bomb hidden in a phone receiver's headphone… And when someone picks it up… Boom! Heh, heh, heh!" … TRRRING! F's phone rings! "Hello~?"…"
"Action! BANG! "Wha! Boss! What a huge sneeze!"… At the doctor's… "Like you heard, friend… It's empty! I'll have to replace all of the pieces!"… The climax is upon us!"
"… "The ultimate solution! Super-concentrated nitroglycerin! Let's check that nobody comes by…" … He leaves the bottle atop a desk and then goes to peek around the corridor corner! M shows up from a nearby door and sees the bottle!"
"… Shah, shah, shah! "Why! A screw cap bottle! I'll do well for the bottle which has the breakfast wine… I'll place a dry cork on this one and that's it…"…"
"… "Aha-hah! No – one in sight! So… I'll softly drop it through the cargo lift which leads to the executive offices and…!"… PLOP!"
"BAOUMMM!" The four of them suddenly exclaimed.
"Whoa!" Leon actually got startled.
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah!" Napalm Man laughed.
"… Marchando! "Mortadelo! Who slammed the door like that? The whole 5th floor is wrecked!"… "Why should I know, Boss?"…"
"…"Yeah, a bomb! Heh, heh! Place it on this ashtray and the whole building goes up! Heh, heh, heh!"… He ended up in the Moon, mad, burnt, and looked at by some aliens who clearly realized he'd gone mad! And M & F didn't realize anything! End of chapter 4!"
"At last." Leon sighed.
"Mwah, hah, hah. Aliens on the Moon, eh? Maybe they were Haga's Insect – Tribe Monsters!"
"Oh come on."
"Teasers for Chapters 5 & 6! Chapter 5: rocks, ropes and blows! Chapter 6: stamps, an angered Mr. Super and madness! Video!"
"Burn!"
"Needle!"
"V-B-N! Off Air!"
"Man. What madness." Leon muttered.
"Heh! But ya have been onboard for about a year by now, haven't ya? I only got built some weeks ago! By the way, I thought there was some trouble with some rascal at your school, right? Wanna me to smash 'em?"
"Who, Yanada Bruce? Nah! Not worth it: I already taught the jerk a lesson and the school did punish the guy." Leon shrugged it off.
"OK! I'm off to haunting for stray souls! Like that Shadow Man fella out there~! Nyah, hah, hah!" Napalm Man laughed.
"… A year, huh… Feels like forever… But I can't shake it off yet… That of 4 years ago… After one day… When Sieg appeared… And it somehow erased my suffering yet… Maybe I should talk it with Noir – san…"
Golden Star gave me a reason to continue living. So I will grow stronger and face those nightmares of mine… to smash them!