Chapter 3: Intensive training
09:50 AM (Japan Time), Saturday November the 29th…
"… Huff! Today we deserve a break… We'll go train at the HQ!"
"Sure, Nelaus. It's been a while. Maybe we'll meet Iris and Trill."
"And Dragon – san's newest crazy Simplified Chinese banner…"
"Oh boy…"
"I don't wanna know what it says, Blood."
"Mwah, hah, hah… It'll be cool…"
Netto, Saito and Nelaus were sitting in the back seats of a black Honda FRV model car and chatting with their Navis: two men were sitting on the front seats.
One of them, the driver, looked on his forties.
He had a square jaw, sported sunglasses and wore business attire along with a hat.
He also had a red tie.
The one in the rightmost passenger seat was a man on his twenties.
He had short brown hair and his eyes' irises were brown: slight remains of a recent shaving could be spotted on his face too.
He wore a white shirt with a brown suit over it, a purplish tie, pants and brown shoes.
He also had reading glasses on.
"It'd seem the mood is high, right, Mr. Denpa, sir?"
"Heh. Of course, Agent On Air… Ah. We're almost there." The passenger smiled back at him.
"True, sir."
"Oho." The teens grinned.
The car stopped near an abandoned warehouse building where a small aerodynamic-looking white spacecraft was stationed inside of.
The shuttle looked aerodynamic and was colored silver: the shuttle had a front Plexiglas view window and two short wings and tail but it didn't seem to have any visible means of propulsion: entrance was gained through an open hatch on the left side of the body.
Omega was standing at the right of the opened side door and whistling a tune.
"Hello." He greeted.
"Hello, Omega." Everyone replied.
"Are you guys ready for a jumpy ride?" Omega asked with a grin.
"You know us." Nelaus smiled.
"Climb in." Omega signaled the craft with his right thumb.
Everyone climbed in and entered the small main cabin before they sat on the seats and plucked the seat belts.
"Good. Let's seal the hatch."
Omega entered next and sealed the door before he sat in the pilot's chair and checked all readings on the console's LCD screen.
"All's green. Get ready!"
The craft's engines whistled to life and the craft began to move: the intriguing part was that the passengers didn't notice anything, but the two men who'd driven them there could see the craft shooting out towards outer space without any apparent propulsion system.
"The "inertial drive"… Cool!" Nelaus whistled.
"Heh. Wait 'till NASA gets their hands on it… They'll run up the walls at not thinking it was possible to invent it up…" Omega sarcastically told them with a grin.
"Heh, heh, heh." Isaac chuckled.
The craft exited the atmosphere and continued moving forward and the orbit of an object was being displayed onscreen: they would meet with it in a matter of eight minutes.
"Say, Omega…" Netto began.
"What's up, Hikari?" Omega asked.
"That news of the meteor had me thinking… About "Duo"… Did you figure anything else from "Alternate" Rock Man's memories as provided by Umbra…?" Netto asked.
"We found their "space city" in Brazil 2 weeks ago because we detected an odd power spike where there are no cities…"
"Whoa! What did you find there?" Nelaus asked.
"Some recordings left behind… They spoke in some alien idiom but the images told a tale… See, those "Creator" guys as Duo and Slur Mark One named them, had created Duo to admin their Network from the Universe… But the guy got "God Complex" and turned their planet into cybernetic data to then delete it… Luckily a "space city" survived and managed to fly away until it reached Earth close to the end of the dinosaur age… The survivors seemingly researched "Cross Fusion" and did come up with "Dimensional Areas"… But the experiments failed and they died away along with their Navis which seemed to be bound to their owners' lives… There were some programs there standing watch which looked like giants and we dodged them…"
"Whoa."
"That's all there's to it… We did get to see the launch sequence of Duo's craft which was coupled atop a massive stage-by-stage rocket… Given how the thing seemed to be about two hundred meters tall then it had to weight a lot and lifting such a mass would certainly require a gigantic rocket and stages… The craft then gained shape of a comet and wanders the Universe as such… We intercepted it when it was around Jupiter… Back in summer, 2005… You remember that…"
"Phew." The whole group sighed in relief.
"Ah. We're almost there."
The console's LCD screen began to beep and warn that the craft was about to meet up with the object in orbit: Omega pressed some buttons and started to lower speed in order to match the one of the orbital object and make rendezvous easier.
"We're arriving." Omega announced.
The craft penetrated a curtain of while light and continued forward until their destination was revealed and everyone gasped.
"The Subspace HQ!"
The gigantic spacecraft had a main dome-shaped body with a small dome-shaped body built atop the first: the first dome's base was rather thick and large: some hatches could be seen on the sides of the circle which obviously were the docking bays.
Some spires which looked like they were made of glass were set on the first dome's surface to be right above the docking bays: the spires had three rings built around them along with a glass sphere on top of them.
There also were some rectangular view windows set above the spaces between each docking bay.
"Welcome to the Sub Space HQ!" Omega grinned.
One hatch opened and the shuttle flew into the docking bay.
The floor of the room was just a giant platform suspended by steel columns on the borders.
The real floor, two meters below them, contained a set of fans which were currently stopped.
The whole room was about five or six meters tall and eight or ten meters wide.
The craft softly descended until the bottom part had made contact with a piece set on the center of the platform: it was turned around 180º to face the airlock door, which had by now closed and locked.
The fans turned on and quickly filled the room with a normal atmosphere: gravity returned and the doors were unlocked.
"You may step out now." Omega told the passengers.
The group of four descended and walked into one of the armored doors which led to a small corridor which had an elevator at the north end of the space.
"OK!"
They entered it and Netto pressed the button labeled "1ST DECK": the elevator quickly climbed and dinged when it stopped on the desired floor.
"Let's go, Netto – kun."
The group stepped out and walked down a curved metallic corridor which had arches every a few hundred meters and the ceiling contained fluorescent tubes which illuminated it: they group of 3 reached a door labeled "ELECTRONICS LAB #4".
"Okay… Nelaus, Isaac. You may go ahead to the VR Room… We need to speak with Dr. Lartes." Netto told them.
"See you in a while." Saito added.
Nelaus and Isaac nodded and kept walking down the corridor while Netto knocked on the door.
"Come in!" A man's voice invited.
They both stepped into the room.
This room contained a black examination table (like the ones in a medic's office) a wooden desk built into the north wall, a rotating armchair and two capsule-like objects connected to a deposit on the eastern wall: the southern wall had a door marking the entry and exit of the room.
"Oh. Hikari – kun. Saito – kun. Welcome."
"Thank you, Dr. Lartes."
"Let's get down to business."
Dr. Lartes was a man on his mid-20s and about a meter and eighty tall more or less.
He had black slightly messy hair plus brownish irises' eyes.
He wore a medic's coat with the ID "Dr. Kazimura Lartes" written on it and sported brown pants plus shoes: he had a pair of reading glasses on, too, which he adjusted.
"Well. If you were wondering why I requested of you to drop by here on your way to the VR Room, it's simple… I just want to run a check of Saito – kun's body to make sure everything is in order." Dr. Lartes explained.
"That's no problem. I have to return to the PET to be able to do Cross Fusion, anyway." Saito shrugged.
"If you'd be as kind as to lie there, I'll run the checks while you're in the VR Room." Dr. Lartes instructed while signaling the table.
Saito did as instructed and lied in the divan and Netto handed him his original Link PET which Saito placed near his right eye.
"Well! It's time to come out."
An infrared laser shot out and hit the PET: his eyes closed and his body relaxed.
"Are we going?" Saito, as Rock Man, asked as he projected with the PET's hologram.
"We'll drop by when we finish, Dr. Lartes." Netto told the doctor.
"That's no problem. Have fun."
"Thank you!"
Netto exited the electronics lab room and rushed into another room labeled "VR ROOM #03": Nelaus and Isaac were already there and looking around: the room was mainly metallic and rather wide and tall.
"Hello, I'm here! Let's get this show in the road!" Netto told them.
"It's show time!"
The room's door was locked and a "Dimensional Area" engaged.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"
"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"
"CF" Netto's form was unchanged.
"Heh. Your "CF" form amuses me, Nelaus."
"Guess that, Hikari."
"CF" Nelaus' helmet kept the blue coloring yet it had gained three square dots on the ear-pads and on the middle of the forehead which were colored golden, crystal and silver from left to right: a black matrix filled the rest of the helmet's surface.
His eyes were unchanged: some blonde hair came out behind the helmet.
The emblem remained unchanged and so did the armor protecting the base of his neck: yet, on the space below the emblem and before the waist belt (unchanged) the alphabet letters "N" and "S" colored in a platinum color had been drawn: the "N" was on the left and the "S" to the right of the vertical line splitting the body in two.
The shoulder design hadn't changed and the arms' patterns remained the same yet his forearms armor was different: the armor over the wrist was transparent purple in color and the Alphabet "N" letter colored green was set over it: the space over the palm had a black circle which contained a small red dot in the middle surrounded by different scales of red from dull red to crimson red.
The fingers had transparent red rings set on each one which glowed with a dull red glow.
His waist belt design hadn't been altered and his legs' drawings and knee guards were still the same.
His boots had slightly changed because they now had red and black matrixes across their whole surface and they included those "eyes" like in the space over the hands and set on both sides of each boot.
"OK! Let's rock!"
"Let's smash!"
The room's walls were covered by a matrix of green and black squares before they both were surrounded by strings of binary data and mathematical equations as they "travelled" towards a portal from which a bright light emerged: the surroundings became pathways of energy travelling towards the same spot as well.
"Here we go~!"
They both entered the portal and they emerged inside of a ruined building which was filled with barricades and several soldiers were present there: all of them assumed saluting poses and presented arms once they spotted the two of them.
"Sires! HQ has issued new objectives." A Lieutenant told both of them.
"Describe them." "CF" Netto commanded
"Sires! The enemy has appeared around the freight port island. The connecting bridge resisted for four hours, but the garrison was overwhelmed and had to fall back. This sector's bridge entrance highway is highly damaged and enemy patrols roam around. Our goals are to regain this lost terrain." The lieutenant described.
"You stay put and we'll clear a bit. Is the bridge in good shape?"
"There's no doubt about it. If we could at the very least capture the head of it then we could deploy heavy vehicles."
"Good. We'll be going." "CF" Netto drew his Rock Buster.
"Take care, Sires!" The Lieutenant saluted.
"Stay sharp in this end, too. They might try to attack out of desperation as well." "CF" Nelaus warned.
"Jet Vernier!"
"Jet Vernier!"
Both of them flew out of the building and examined the landscape: most of the city had clear signs of heavy fighting.
"It got hit heavily…"
"Yeah… Luckily the civilians were able to find shelter and we were expecting the strike soon enough…"
They soon spotted the suspension bridge where various kinds of Viruses could be seen around its structure, patrolling it.
"Okay. Let's drop directly in the entrance and take down as much as we can." "CF" Netto suggested.
"That's fine for me." "CF" Nelaus nodded in agreement.
Both of them dropped into the bridge's entrance: a file of sleeping Mettools was guarding it and they didn't seem to have noticed them.
"Battle Chip, Zeus Hammer."
"Battle Chip, Aqua Tower."
The two attacks quickly blew away the pack of Mettools without too much noise: both "Cross Fusion" fighters advanced forward along the bridge, taking advantage of the "sunset" setting to hide in the large shadows using active camouflage.
"Have a look there, Netto – kun." Saito told him.
"CF" Netto looked at the opposite end's towers and spotted AAC guns set up on top of them.
"They were extremely cautious, huh?" Isaac commented with obvious sarcasm.
"They must have something which they want to deploy in that area and to make sure no air raid would bother them since they set up these AAC guns."
"Yeah. I can see a big ship of theirs docked at the port. But it's too far to make out any details." "CF" Netto added while taking out binoculars.
"I'd say we blow those up… We'll have to be a bit noisy."
"We've secured the head of the bridge. We should be able to deploy an H-4 Model Tank." Saito suggested.
"I love those things." Isaac laughed.
"I'd rather have an ID – 7 Model fighting craft." "CF" Netto commented.
"HQ? Come in, HQ." Nelaus radioed
"This is HQ. State your IDs." An automated voice replied.
"We're the Field Commanders of Charlie Squad, FC – 1 and FC – 2." Both Cross Fusion fighters announced.
"ID confirmed. What is the situation?" The automated voice questioned.
"We need a tank to disable the enemy's AAC guns and air support. There's no other way around but to bomb the port."
"We had foreseen this would end up happening. We are deploying the heavy artillery." The automated voice replied.
A gray tank which floated above the terrain appeared: its top two hatches opened and both "CF" Netto and "CF" Nelaus jumped inside.
"It's time for some action!"
"Yahoo!"
The tank began to move forward, knocking off the bridge some loose Viruses: it soon came close to the opposite end.
"Aiming gun… FIRE!"
The tank shot two rounds of laser energy which hit the AAC guns and blew them up in a bright flash accompanied by a loud explosion: several crafts which looked similar to the one they'd been riding in closed into the port area all of a sudden.
"The enemy is trying to unload a walking laser gun from their ship! We must intercept them before it's fully operational!"
"Roger!"
The tank finished crossing the bridge and advanced through the port's alleys while blowing up all opposition: it eventually reached the ship, which still had a large laser gun with four legs on top of its deck.
"Let's trade laser for laser! FIRE!"
The tank shot several rounds at the legs knees, blowing them away and causing the gun to hit the deck: the impact provoked sparks on the gun's circuitry which ignited the laser batteries, effectively blowing it up into a thousand bits.
"Okay! The gun's down!" "CF" Netto reported.
"Mayday, mayday! We're being attacked by an air-bone enemy!" One pilot reported.
"Jet Vernier!"
"Jet Vernier!"
Both Cross Fusion fighters flew into the sky and soon found the culprit: Shade Man.
"CRUSH NOISE!"
"Vampires never die, huh? Program Advance! Hi – Cannon, Triple Slot – In!"
"Program Advance! Fumikomi Cross, Triple Slot – In!"
"Giga Cannon!"
"Zeta Fumikomi!"
The two Program Advances hit Shade Man fully and caused an explosion: Shade Man was nowhere to be seen when it cleared.
"The enemy has fallen into D Block!" One pilot reported.
"Let's finish him off." "CF" Netto told "CF" Nelaus.
"Yeah. Let's send him back to his rusted coffin."
Both of them dropped into the D Block area and found an impact crater with nothing inside.
"CRUSH NOISE!"
The attack came from behind a set of crates which were sent flying towards them: both of them skidded across the ground until they found the beaten up Shade Man.
"Get lost."
"And don't come back, either." "CF" Nelaus added.
Both of them drew Long Swords and stabbed them on the Darkloid's chest emblem: it began to radiate light and Shade Man roared in agony.
"Let's scram." "CF" Netto told his partner.
"Roger."
Both of them ran away and heard Shade Man's explosion: a column of smoke began to rise from the spot he'd exploded at.
"This is HQ. Good job. You may rest." The automated voice told them.
"Roger." Both of them confirmed.
The whole city faded away and both of them travelled away from that "portal" until they ended up in the VR Room.
"Phew!"
The room reverted to its normal metallic appearance and the "Dimensional Area" field disengaged: both of them reverted out of the "Cross Fusion" and picked up their Link PETs before a holographic screen showing their results popped out:
VR MODE RESULTS
MISSION: RECAPTURE FREIGHT PORT
DIFFICULTY SETTING: HARD
TIME: 06: 44
RANK: A
USERS: N. RAINON, H. NETTO, ROCK MAN, ISAAC
HAVE A NICE DAY!
"It was quite exciting…"
"Sure! It was fun being Unit Commanders." Saito giggled.
"We need to do this again next week." Nelaus suggested.
"I totally agree: it helps to heat up." Isaac grinned.
"We need to go pick up your body, niisan… Let's get moving."
"Blood and Sigma went to play some game again, right?" Nelaus asked.
"Sure. Mario Kart Wii! Vro~m!" Netto imitated an engine's noise.
"Heh, heh, heh." Isaac chuckled.
The group of two exited the VR Room and retraced their earlier path until they reached the Electronic Lab: Netto knocked on the door.
"Go ahead!"
They both entered and found Dr. Lartes typing something on the laptop: he stopped and looked up to greet them.
"Just in time... I finished the examination. Everything was flawless, but I added some more nanomachines just in case." Dr. Lartes told them.
"Alright. Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"
Netto aimed the Link PET laser's at one of the body's open eyes: Saito soon blinked and stirred.
"Let's go back… Thanks for the check-up, Doctor."
"It was nothing. You're welcome anytime." Dr. Lartes smiled.
The three teens exited the Electronics Lab and headed back into the docking bay: Omega could be seen leaning his back against a steel pillar and humming Let It Be.
"Did you have fun, company?" He asked them.
"We sure did! You seem to have been doing a lot of stuff, too." Nelaus told him.
"Oh yeah… I was slicing and dicing Burner Man, Desert Man and Cloud Man." Omega admitted.
"The BDC trio, huh?" Isaac grinned.
"That sums it up." Omega grinned at the joke.
The four of them climbed into the craft before the hatches were sealed and the fans turned on reverse mode to suck the air out of the room.
"OK. Turn off gravity field and open airlock…"
The gravity field was disengaged: the airlock opened next and the craft slowly floated out of the room.
"By the way! What were those nicknames you had for that bothersome recurring trio?" Nelaus asked Saito.
"Heh. Animal Man, Flash Gordon and Sand Man."
"Not bad." Omega looked slightly amused.
"Mwah, hah, hah… Flash Gordon's descendant brings shame to his ancestor…" Sigma laughed.
"Oh. Stay quiet." Blood Shadow sighed.
"And I win this round 5-4!"
"By inches: I missed a curve."
"Inches and Curves Man and Woman came~!"
"That's lame, Sigma. Shut it up already." Omega got slightly annoyed.
"R-roger, Commander Omega."
"I wonder if something happened in the meanwhile…" Netto wondered.
"We'll get to learn when we touch-down." Isaac shrugged.
11:19 AM (Japan Time)…
"… And if you need to buy Battle Chips then there's Higureya. It's a good store but the owner is a weird fellow."
"Yeah. I get the picture."
Davis had been showing Lander around Internet City, when, suddenly, an explosion echoed close by.
"Ra~rgh!" Someone roared.
A standard Navi ran out of an alleyway wielding a large primitive club which swung towards Davis and Lander, but both dodged and landed behind the guy.
"Take Justice Kick!"
Davis kicked him in the back and the Navi met the floor and something fell off from his forehead: a Trump Card with the two of Clubs.
"This is the Sharo Nation dudes' work, then." Davis deduced.
"It'd seem this dude can attach cards to Navis and turn them crazy: talk about original." Lander analyzed with sarcasm.
"Mad Clubs!" A voice shouted.
Two cards flew towards them, but both dodged by jumping out of their way.
"Battle Chip, Justice Cannon! Slot In!"
"I'll show 'im who's the Sheriff in 'ere!"
Davis drew a Cannon Battle Chip colored Golden while Lander drew both revolvers and spun them around before aiming towards the enemy.
"FIRE!"
Both attacks hit the enemy, making them stop when they'd been trying to rush towards them.
"Grah!"
"Show yourself." Davis demanded.
The enemy disengaged his tactical camouflage.
It was a male Net Navi about Davis' and Lander's height.
His eyes' irises were olive green and his helmet was colored yellow with random patches of brown and black on it including the "FOD" insignia in the forehead.
His main body (which was colored olive green) had sixteen small yellow stripes radiating from the edge of his chest emblem and circled it thus drawing another circle behind him with the "FOD" letters inside of its perimeter.
The emblem drawing was the "Club" symbol colored black and standing out against a white background.
The shoulders were round spheroids colored olive green with black diagonal intersecting lines crisscrossing them: the same pattern got repeated on his arms and elbows.
The forearms used yellow as main color and contained some "nerves" colored fluorescent green spreading across their surface while the fingers were painted black.
As Spade and Heart before him, he sported the leather belt with the "FOD" initials which seemed to be mandatory for all of them.
His legs' colors were the reversed ones of his arms' ones: that is to say, that they were colored black and the crisscrossing lines were olive green instead.
The boots had two bands circling them at mid-height colored yellow while they were colored white.
"I'm Cunning Club! I'm going to turn you guys into Stone Age barbarians!"
"And you're the third member we've met insofar of the Filibusters of Death, too." Lander added with a smirk.
"Deadly Clubs!"
Two big clubs materialized on both of Cunning Club's hands and he tried to hit both Net Saviors.
"Okay! Reloading is done… Eat revolvers!"
Lander shot bullets at a mad speed and different angles to allow them to ricochet and trace a web around his enemy, making his movements hard: he looked nervous.
"Battle Chip, Justice Bomb! Slot In!
Davis drew a golden-colored bomb and threw it at Cunning Club: the explosion sent him flying and he fell with his head inside of an empty garbage bin.
"Hmmmppphhh!" He yelled something but it was muffled by the bin's walls.
"That clearly shows that you're a piece of rubbish." Lander told him while smirking.
Cunning Club managed somehow to get out of the garbage bin. He now looked rather pissed off.
"Why, you…! I'm so gonna slice and dice you up!"
"You think you can stand up to two Net Saviors?" Davis challenged with a big grin on his face.
"I'm the Sheriff! And I can throw ya into the brig!" Lander added.
"What the…! You're no ordinary civilians but Net Saviors? We didn't have you in our databanks!" Cunning Club cursed.
"Maybe I should really say I am a member of the Justice Council. Lander is the Net Savior in here. Got it, ugly?" Davis told Cunning Club with a smirk on his face.
"Who's the "ugly"?" Cunning Club scowled.
"Ye are, grunt." Lander shot back.
"Why, you…! Club Bombs!"
Several bombs with the Club symbol on them appeared on a pile next to Cunning Club: he began to grab pair after pair and throw them at the two adversaries but they both dodged with ease.
"Lesson Number 91: never toy with explosives!" Davis smiled.
"Battle Chip, Flame Sword, Area Steal! Slot In!"
Davis drew a Flame Sword and dashed forward as he drew a circle around the pile of bombs and flames originated.
"Heh, heh, heh."
He dashed away and returned to his previous position.
"Send us a postcard once you reach the North Pole!" Davis grinned.
The pile of bombs detonated and Cunning Club was sent flying by the powerful explosion.
"I shall remember this!" He threatened.
"Good job keeping him in place, Lander!" Davis congratulated.
"And you came up with a very original idea, too!" Lander replied while blinking him an eye.
"Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh…"
"Speaking of the Devil…"
"They showed up."
"Zoan" Gate Man appeared atop a nearby building along with 12 Mettools which were aligned in rows and columns and was taunting them.
"These guys are tougher than you think they are… If you underestimate them then you'll get into a pinch. Pinch your cheeks!" He chuckled.
"METTO~!"
"Sheesh! There they go: the smug jerks… Twilight is involved, alright."
"No wonder… Given what they did on the summer… What a weasel!"
11:32 AM (Japan Time)…
"… B-bloody them…"
"So… Have you learnt your lesson, too?"
Cunning Club turned around to spot Diamond Duchess leaning against the wall of one of their HQ's corridors: she looked indifferent.
"Hey! I thought they were civilians but one of them was of the "Justice Council" and the other was a "Net Savior"!" Cunning Club protested while spreading his arms open.
"Have you already forgotten what means being a Net Savior in the first place, Club?" She questioned.
"Huh? What?" Cunning Club frowned.
"Net Saviors are a force of civilian Net Battlers under the supervision of the Net Police. They have permission to deal with Cyber World-related incidents." Diamond Duchess told him.
"But in Sharo Nation they are a branch of the military!" Cunning Club protested.
"They are mainly military, I know, but some civilians are joining the fray as well… But here in Japan, all Net Saviors are civilians. So don't think that any Navi you find is a useless whelp." Diamond Duchess smirked.
"Why, you…! I'll go present my report… And we'll settle this later, megalomaniac!"
Cunning Club walked away cursing under his breath while Diamond Duchess shrugged and looked unimpressed.
"That kid…" She muttered.
"I know: they won't learn." Sharp Spade added as he came out of a nearby corridor and shrugged.
"Then we better improve or else Boss is going to get ANNOYED."
"Yikes. I don't wanna see Boss annoyed!"
11:55 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Been a while since the last live chat, Past… How are things like over there?"
"Ah. Priest – sama. Nobody suspects anything and they don't try to impede my actions because they end up winning."
"Sure… So?"
"The "Pentagon Scheme" became the "Heptagon Scheme"…"
"Snow-white and the 7 Dwarves…! Mwroh, wroh, wroh!"
"Oh. Aibou. Be quiet."
"I agree with Past. Unit B: remain silent!"
"Yikes. Don't get annoyed at me, AM – dono!"
A biker was standing next to a motorbike in a grassy hill somewhere overlooking Akihara City and talking to someone over a red and orange PET they had the emblem of which was a blood-red-painted simplistic eye drawing.
This biker was about a meter and sixty or maybe slightly taller.
He was wearing a reddish sleeveless vest which was open over a black t-shirt plus jeans and sneakers.
They also had a black motorbike helmet with the PET's drawing imprinted on the forehead.
"Huh? Sorry. I feel a bit sleepy… It's late on the dawn but I just have to work on this new interface for my project…"
"Priest – sama: it isn't wise to push oneself." "AM" warned.
"I know, AM, but I just have to complete it if I want the rest of the system to be ready in the time-frame I'd calculated…"
"Roger."
"But maybe some hours' rest wouldn't make much of a difference…"
"Eh… Priest – sama?"
"What were you saying about a heptagon?"
"That Twilight's "Pentagon Scheme" got upgraded to "Heptagon Scheme" instead and there 7 Navis 3 of which we've already met… They're being weak for the time being but if cornered I'm sure they could draw out a lot more of power…" "Past" continued.
"Oh. Lovely. Huff. Not like we can do much… Just try to avoid an open confrontation and recollect as much data as you can…"
"Roger, sir. And please, sir… I think AM – dono is right and that you need some hours' rest, sir. I don't know how long you've been neglecting sleep, sir, but at this rate you'll collapse, sir."
"You're right… Oh. I just happened to find a chap who'd do fine as the 3rd member of the "Organization"… I granted them the codename "Future" and I've worked on a custom Navi for them… Their initials are DM and I'll soon introduce you two… Gotcha?"
"Roger, sir."
"Mwah, hah, hah. Weapon Man wasn't interesting enough for my taste… Maybe this fellow will prove to be far more amusing…"
"Fua~h… Huh! It's over 3AM already…! GOTTA SLEEP…!"
"That's why I said that it was too dangerous to push it, Priest – sama."
"Man. I'm becoming a tech geek and that won't do: I need some days to disconnect, go breathe fresh county air and some exercise to burn away these kilos I've gained as of late… See you around, Past. You're doing neat, my agent." "Priest" sighed and sounded defeated.
"Thank you, sir."
"Mwroh, wroh, wroh, wroh… Good luck, AM – dono."
"Thanks. We'll all need it."
"OK. Let's go back to my place and rest for a while. It's time for a ride!"
20:40 PM (Utah Time), Friday November the 28th…
"… It's incredible! This place has a Time-Space distortion all around it!"
"We'd theorized some of them but we never expected to find one on Earth of all places!"
Some NASA men were checking readings taken by a laptop of the ever-so-mysterious impact crater: two chronometers could be seen acting weird, like one going too fast or the other getting stuck and jumping forward several seconds all of a sudden.
"We'll need to build a full-scale facility to study these phenomena better, man… Maybe we should bring in some physicists…" The boss suggested with eagerness.
"Yeah! Let's call Washington!"
They failed to spot a figure some meters away looking on through binoculars.
This figure wore black leather clothes which covered their whole body including a hood with goggles: it design was reminiscent of an owl's face, even.
They carried a belt spanning from the right shoulder to the left flank of the body and which had sheaths for 6 knives: it included a medallion with the drawing of an owl close to the shoulder.
Other equipment included gauntlets: the right one had metallic armor shaped like an owl's face and the left one had some sheaths for smaller knives.
They carried leather boots as well and two knife sheaths attached to the belt's waist.
The gear included two short swords' sheaths attached to his back.
"Hmpf… The "Talon" bows to the Court of Owls…"
"So? What's the catch? There's petrol there~? Or maybe they found Ridley Scott's Alien there~? Or maybe they were unlucky~? Heh, heh, heh…"
"Master…" The "Talon" sighed.
"My bad. I feel in a good mood."
"No wonder. With the "Heptagon Scheme" proceeding and all…"
"Heh, heh, heh. My Cosmo Sense tells me there's catch."
"Cosmo Man… Isn't that a parody of the Spider-Sense?"
"I apologize, Commander Freeze Man, sir. I felt like it, sir."
"My clouds tell me there's Davy Jones' locker…"
"Cloud Man. Not you too."
"Lemme shine a bit, Yamato Man!"
"Hum. Don't interrupt my battle meditation!"
"Alright, alright. Let's cool it down, guys."
"Why don't you tell us what ya see, Swallow Man Of Birds?"
"Enough!" The commanding voice commanded.
"W-we are sorry! Master!"
"Anyway. It'd seem there are plans to build a facility to study these phenomena better and in more detail."
"How fitting… Just like in the "alternate" Time – Space… The Time-Space Tower… That would become decisive… But I don't believe this to be Duo either… Some spin-off or derivate…? Maybe an explorer of those guys to try to figure out the Network technology of different planets and make up a catalogue… Interesting, really…"
"Should I pull out, Master?"
"Yeah. Come back to the warp site… There's job to be done, Talon." The man commanded with some amusement.
"Roger."
"Heh, heh, heh… So! Who's our visitor? Let's make bets! Heh, heh, heh!"
13:39 PM (Japan Time)…
"… So… Three of five have showed their hides around, eh?"
"They're all show-offs, though…"
"Heh! They're just cheap and Uncle Cabbage has come to fire 'em 'cause they're so silly!"
"That ain't a bad joke."
The twins were talking with Blood and Sigma while sitting in front of their room's desk that same afternoon.
"Bert Saxby's abode must be overbooked by now." Blood Shadow suggested with obvious amusement.
"Mwah, hah, hah. He's gonna tell 'em to build their own abode!"
"Better yet: Whyte will tell 'em to go ransack his rivals' casinos." Netto suggested.
"And then there were no casinos." Saito joked.
"That's a good remaking of that mystery novel's title."
"And then there were no bad guys." Netto improvised.
"Mwah, hah, hah… And then there were no Cyber Punks!"
"Oh come on."
"And then there were no Ra's al Ghul ninjas!"
"Calling on Ninja Man He Who Is In Your Soul…"
"Oh heck."
"Mwah, hah, hah… Ninja Man honors his name~!"
"Jeez. Shadow Man. It better be worth it."
Shadow Man popped out from inside of Sigma's shadow with his classical pose: Blood Shadow fumed and didn't like how he showed up all of a sudden.
"How did you get in?"
"Easy. Sigma allowed me in."
"Sigma! When Commander Omega hears this there'll be TROUBLE."
"Did ya call for ELBUORT?" Sigma joked back.
"I'm being serious! Anyway! Shadow Man. What's the deal?"
"Miyabi helped shut down a place."
"Ah! So it's good news. Good, good. We're making progress."
"He spotted the Crimson Fighter."
"You mean the biker named "Past"… Where was this again?"
"Nagoya: or Ayogan if you want to know its Arcanus Namus…"
"Arcane Name? Oh come on. Save me the deal."
"So! Hikari Brothers… Did the God of Homework show up already?"
"That's…" Netto looked annoyed.
"…stupid." Saito groaned.
"Hah! Ninja Idiom Curse! Diputs… Staht!" He reversed the words.
Both groaned and rolled their eyes while Shadow Man chuckled: Blood Shadow was getting pretty much annoyed by now.
"We gotcha the news! So go tell Commander Beef to stop attempting to strangle Higure – san!" Blood Shadow snapped at Shadow Man.
"Oho. Not a bad idea, Wodahs Doolb. I'll tell him to ransack the Chalmu's Space-port Cantina in Mos Eisley. Y'know: where good ol' Han Solo met those fellows who wanted to go to Alderaan. Heh, heh, heh."
He vanished and the three of them sighed in relief while Sigma merely chuckled at the joke: he drew his sword and began to rap it with his knuckles in a slow and methodical manner while grinning.
"Heh, heh, heh … My aibou is eager for some action! Next!"