Chapter 4: Death Club's meeting

10:04 AM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 18th…

"… Yo! Sorry for the delay."

"About time ya got here. We've got stuff to talk about."

"Do not be impatient."

A Navi walked into a Cyber World decorated with the words "Death Club" painted pale blue as background and being lit with halogen lamps colored purple thus giving it a creepy vibe.

"Kurayami. You only know how to stir up a ruckus, huh?"

"Well! Ain't that why we banded together to begin with? Kanaya?"

"If you two want to discuss then count me out."

"Don't worry, Death Shadow! Kanaya over here is subtler than me and doesn't like my straight to the point style."

"Yeah, I really don't. Let's get to the point: how are the experiments going like?"

"I am making progress."

The Net Navi named Kurayami could be slightly over a meter and fifty tall.

The helmet's design was rather peculiar because it wasn't a full helmet to begin with: the sides of it had two gray metallic shapes the form of which was slightly reminiscent of the Alphabet "L" character: a fluorescent green incision had been cut in the part adjacent to the face while the larger segments had a yellow-colored incision cut into it.

Black messy hair came out of behind the helmet given how it was a "partial protection" model: red thick shades covered the eyes and nose plus a small grayish metallic piece of armor was built to protect his chin and lower jaw: the skin over his neck was black in color.

The segment covering the head was built using a blackish material and could be divided in four sections.

These sections were: the centermost, built like a triangle aiming south and which also covered the forehead: it ended over the start of the nose.

The western and eastern sections of the head's protection had been shaped after diamonds.

These sections were aiming NW and NE plus having green fluorescent material running down the sides to join with the "L" shapes.

The rearmost piece was a mere curved segment connecting the lateral pieces: a gray metallic triangle was drawn on the middle of the head from where a black-colored fin emerged: the fluorescent green line divided it into two unequal portions: front and rear, and the rear one was painted using gray metallic coloring.

His armor's design had an "advanced" look to it: the chest area had a metallic spheroid protruding out of it which had the kurayami or "Darkness" kanji painted on its upper edge: a green-colored incision had been cut on the middle of it: the upper front half was colored in a white-like color while the rear upper half was black: however, the whole lower half had chosen gray as color to be used: the piece of armor below it and connecting to the rest of the body shared the same color.

The armor's colors were combined in the rest of the body below the chest segment: the flanks of the body had grey armor with green fluorescent edges while the central part of the body was tinted in black coloring.

Regarding his arms' design, a black piece of armor covered the shoulders which were encompassed by metallic spheroids: these spheroids were not "complete" spheroids because they had a cavity from where the arms emerged: a thin fluorescent green circular line was placed close to the upper edge where the armor was colored in black color and formed a dome with a hole at the topmost part of each spheroid the inner edge of which was painted using a yellow palette of coloring: these spheroids also had an indentation signaling the separation between each half.

His arms' skin was black in coloring while the armor built over his wrists was painted using two colors: black for the upper half and gray for the lower half.

A small thin piece of armor emerging from the upper half and shaped like the Alphabet "L" character turned 90º to the right was also present there: the hands' skin was also colored using black coloring.

The legs' armor, however, included two shapes which were a pair of combined cones (fused and aiming up and down) colored metallic gray and set within a green cavity extending from the hips to past the knees.

The colors then split as the outer edge of each leg was colored in gray armor while the inner edge were colored black: a green fluorescent line marked the division between them: the lines then drew another cavity which included gray metallic armor plating inside of it.

The feet armor was split in rear and front halves respectively colored black and metallic gray: a fin formed on the front half and it had a green fluorescent line crossing it on its front.

"So, Kanaya… What are you thinking we could do next?"

"Hmmm…"

Kanaya appealed as being around the same height Kurayami was yet her design could be considered somewhat more "simplistic" compared to his design.

The helmet's main color was black and it had a purple skull and crossbones with red eyes set on the forehead: two purple round button-like objects emerged from the sides of the head plus a purple band which formed the lower edge of the helmet: thick purple-colored shades covered her eyes but exposed her nose: blackish hair fell down the sides of her head and stopped slightly over the shoulders.

A blood red scarf was wrapped around her neck and it extended until the ground.

To begin with, she wore a black-colored one-piece-bodysuit which extended until the hips and ended in a skirt-like form: two small curved objects were placed over her shoulders and the upper part of her bodysuit (extending from the shoulders until the chest) was colored purple: it had no peculiar decoration drawn into it.

One purple and black-colored skull and crossbones with red eyes was set on the middle of her chest thus combining the upper half of her body with the bodysuit: two thin purple lines travelled down from the skull's SW and SE edges until the end of the bodysuit.

Her arms were covered by a combination of purple and black bands which extended until the wrists, which were covered by golden armor: it consisted of a thinner piece at the start plus a larger piece below it which had a small button drawn into the north side of it: the hands' skin was tinted using purple coloring.

The space between the end of the bodysuit and the start of the knees had nothing on them but black "skin" covering it.

The boots' armor began at the knees with black armor having purple pyramid-like drawings set over them: the boots had no peculiar decoration whatsoever and they ended in white edges on the very front of them.

"Yeah… Death. Ya told us ya were working on a new device to allow "Omicron Factor" Net Navis to draw out its power… Are ya making progress on that?" Kanaya asked.

"I call it "Hyper Mode" for the time being."

Death Shadow, however, was a different story: he seemed to be over a meter and eighty tall: he had a pale blue color to his body.

His helmet had no face and had a turquoise - colored slit shaped like the Alphabet letter "Y" was set on its center while it also had a dome-shaped form above it.

His shoulders were shaped like two round spheres with a cell-like pattern drawn into them: the armor was thicker around the chest and seemed to have two ellipsoid lines which vaguely resembled eyes set on it while a small round spot with six membrane-like formations on it made one image it was a mouth.

The left arm had some lines running down the sides before ending in a very thin and skeleton-like hand.

This had a living round turquoise eye with a black pupil set on top of its palm while, in comparison, the right arm bore what looked like a built-in buster colored both turquoise and navy blue.

The waist had a navy blue colored piece shaped like the Alphabet letter "V" built on it.

The legs had two round turquoise spots on each side plus above and below the knee which also resembled eyes: his feet were slightly curved in shape.

Overall, his mere presence seemed to chill the room and foresee something dreadful and terrible.

"Hyper Mode? Sounds dread enough." Kurayami grinned.

"Very well, then. Hyper Mode allows a Net Navi to use the source of their "Omicron Factor" to power their abilities tenfold. Their defense rate grows as well making attacks which are not "Omicron Factor" based inflict lesser damage. Yet… There is a draw." Death Shadow calmly told them before he muttered something under his breath.

"What?" Kanaya asked.

"I can only make it work for a maximum of 90 seconds. The system then demands a 90 second pause before starting up. I name it "cool-down time" for the time being." He explained.

"Hmmm… I don't see it being much of a trouble. Navi Battles are always short: I've never heard of one dragging for over 2 minutes. No… 1 minute is usually considered a novice's level, but pros always make it below that time…" Kurayami told him.

"Is that so? Then it shall not be a problem." Death Shadow sounded satisfied with the reply.

"Have you found out if the "Darkloids" undergo different symptoms compared to the Navis we abducted from Cyber City?"

"They seem to, for the time being. But I need more time to analyze the process and draw a comparison chart, too." He replied.

"Good. By the way! Do you think it's worth it sending one of the Net Navis out there to get some field data?" Kurayami suggested.

"Why not… It could be useful, ya know."

"I agree. I was going to suggest that myself." Death Shadow added while sounding a slightly better mood.

"Oh. Now that I think 'bout it… Kanaya. I guess ya don't care if I came up with the nickname "Venus Warrior" for ya…"

"Venus Warrior? No. I don't care." She quickly replied.

"I fail to see the point of it. Our traces of "Omicron Factor" could allow them to know we are behind the whole incident and they would see through those "nicknames" as you two name them." Death Shadow argued.

"But we can confuse them a bit and then make them realize they've been fooled: when someone realizes they've been fooled then their anger increases and they tend to recklessly charge at you: that's when ya can deliver a fatal blow to them. I'm playing with that factor in mind, Death. We call this "psychological warfare" which means that you control the enemy's feeling and emotions. Anger, hatred, grudge, fury, hatred, frustration…" Kurayami explained to him.

"Hum. That sounds more logical. I tend to try to see the logical side of things and I fail to understand that human obsession for that non-existent power you name "magic"…" Death Shadow replied.

"Humans always want to have more power than they actually have so they obsess themselves in seeking a new source of power even though everyone knows it doesn't exist." Kanaya explained.

"Ah. They refuse to accept their powerlessness and such they try to believe they can be more powerful than they are to escape from their powerless state, then… I now see." He sounded amused.

"Humans are foolish. They created us Net Navis as their tools but we are slowly becoming more and more independent."

"True."

"And now Copy Roids will prove to be their downfall when one day Net Navis break free of their chains and escape into the real world to build their settlements and live isolated from humans in their communities… They always have developed tools to combat their powerlessness…"

"… Yet these tools have turned upon them. Computers and computer Viruses, the Proto Project, weapon trafficking… All they create eventually turns against them…" Kanaya continued.

"I see. How powerless they are… And would it not be fitting to leak word of a power capable of razing the world thus setting them off into mass panic and making them flee?" Death Shadow laughed.

"Not yet, not yet… Let's not rush. We should make some demonstrations first and then they'll really realize that we're serious. The best way to prove your power is to show it to the masses. Let's call a serious TV station and let them witness the power of the new-generation Net Navis. And if someone tries to get in the way, then…"

Kurayami reached for his back and drew a pomp shotgun which looked like it'd been modified to use "Omicron Factor" given the ghostly blue glow to it and the power lines spanning from the grip to the "mouths" of the barrels: he armed it and tapped the left side of it.

"… They become another prisoner of "Omicron Factor"…" He finished with a broad grin.

"Terrific. But my toy is deadlier!"

Kanaya drew a Gatling gun which also looked like it'd been modified to use "Omicron Factor" instead of normal ammunition.

"Remember to use the "Omicron Grenades" as well."

"Don't worry: I've got plenty of them." Kurayami replied as he showed him a belt with eight grenades attached to it.

"Don't forget that tonight at 21:00 hours we have a reservation in our usual place." Kanaya reminded Kurayami.

"I know. Good place, though. Plenty of equipment and privacy guaranteed thanks to the money we give them… No name is needed and no record is kept." Kurayami grinned.

"What do you mean?" Death Shadow asked.

"Don't worry, Death! That's part of a deal we'd made to each other to ensure we won't split apart because of "certain" interests which may differentiate depending on each one's POV, so... Nothing to be worried about, really." Kanaya shoved it aside.

"If you say so…" Death Shadow shrugged.

"I'll go continue my campaign of troll emails to make those guys' brains boil in vain… Any ideas, Ka?" Kurayami asked her.

"Well, Ku… Try to suggest that naïve Roll EXE has a "sinister" side to her and picture her in the context ya know of…" Kanaya grinned.

"Oho. Terrific. Leave it up to me…"

"Heh, heh, heh." Kanaya giggled.

"I am afraid I did not follow the conversation… What do you mean by a "sinister" side and what "context" are you talking about?"

"Don't mind it, Death. It's our little stuff. Keep on with the experiments, Death, and we'll keep those guys busy by throwing fake leads out there. We can pretend we didn't listen to Bubble Man and went to Rome. And we were in Rome for a week to start mass-production of "Omicron Factor" and then came here to build our lab…"

"They won't find it hard to believe. Bubble Man is so silly that he can get fooled and used easily. Really… He thinks that just building something which looks like a remote but has nothing inside will do something and that picking random cans and labeling them "C4" will turn them into explosives…" Kurayami laughed.

"If such a weak Net Navi is around, why not delete it?"

"Nah… It's better to use them."

10:49 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hiro – kun… Mail from Meiru – chan."

"Meiru – chan? Weird. Open it, though."

Hiro had been chatting with Netto and Saito inside of his house's living room as they sat on chairs around a table when Delta projected with his hologram: Hiro frowned but then shrugged.

"… E~H?" Delta gasped.

"What's wrong?" Hiro asked.

"NO WAY!" Delta uttered.

"What's wrong?" Hiro insisted.

"This can't be!"

"By all the… What's wrong?"

"This didn't happen!"

"What are ya talking about?"

"R-Roll – chan w-went a-and… l-last night…" He uttered.

"Last night? Roll? What… She tried to drag you with her to the cinema and ya didn't like it?" Hiro didn't seem to follow.

"… R-reversed the whole thing…" Delta blushed.

"Huh? Reversed the whole thing?"

"Reversed…?" Netto frowned.

"… No way. Roll – chan isn't that type of person. Say… Did it really happen or is that a photo, Delta?" Saito seemed to catch up.

"A p-photo, but, eh, I… I show up with a blindfold on so I'm not sure if I was knocked out or anything, so… It could've happened and I didn't notice it…" Delta trailed off.

"Check the sender's address." Saito calmly suggested.

"… HUH? "Empress Sakurai"? Hotmail account? But Meiru – chan's account is a gmail account!" Delta gasped.

"There. I knew it. That Mars Warrior is back at it." Saito rolled his eyes and fumed.

"Ah…! Then it never happened…!" Delta sounded relieved.

"Will ya tell us what was wrong?" Netto and Hiro asked.

"Listen…"

Saito whispered something and both of them gasped: they turned pale and looked nervous.

"Phew. We should be glad it was a fake!" Hiro muttered.

"Totally!" Netto nervously nodded in agreement.

"See?" Saito told them.

"Thank goodness…!" Delta muttered.

"So… What do you guys suggest?" Hiro switched topics.

"Maybe we should go check Cyber City's Cyber World. Several Navis went missing from there, or so Papa said. It's a good point to start searching for clues." Saito suggested a course of action.

"What about the Sapporo lead?" Netto asked.

"… Hmmm… They could've lied to Bubble Man."

"True. But let's keep it. I think Enzan will be glad to check that out since he's gotta be fed up with correcting flaws to reports and such. Some raw action will do him fine." Netto grinned.

"Let's be glad he hasn't to compete with Arms Tech Inc.!"

"Jeez! Hiro – kun! That wasn't funny!" Delta protested.

"Did ya say something, Watson?"

Hiro giggled, Delta fumed and the twins looked surprised…