Chapter 4: Imagine something
10:03 AM (Japan Time), Sunday May the 8th…
"… Fua~h… I needed a good night's rest. Didn't you, Akemi?"
"Sure, Martha – chan… Yesterday was stressing."
"Yeah. Someone tried to boycott me by hiding my make-up case but I found it nevertheless and made it in time to fix the news presenter's appearance before the 7 PM news."
"Who could've it been, anyway?"
"Aminda."
"Aminda Sara?"
"The same gal."
"She's the jealous and self-centered type, huh?"
"No doubt. But Suzuki Martha tells you I won't lose to her."
A girl and her Navi partner came out of a room into a metallic corridor having several armored doors with keypads and interphones next to them set in the walls.
The girl, Suzuki Martha, appealed to be in her late teens and had long brown hair reaching past her shoulders and up until the waist: her eyes' irises were brown too and she had a good profile.
She wore a simple white sleeveless t-shirt with the Empire State drawn into it, jeans and white socks plus a pair of white sneakers.
She also sported the arm-strap for a Link PET colored teal brown and yellow and having the Alphabet "A" character colored golden and set inside of a brownish-edged circle as emblem.
"Let's get to the Obscure and Burning Cafeteria."
"The nickname's gotten popular."
"No wonder."
Akemi, her Navi partner, appealed as being around a meter and seventy tall: her main body color was teal brown accompanied by greenish irregular stains across her bodysuit.
Her helmet had the drawing of a flower on the forehead and her eyes' irises were green emerald: her face was smooth and slightly attractive when seen from a profile.
Her forearms and boots had three consecutive greenish rings drawn across them: each ring had some small yellowish stains scattered inside of them at random.
Some greenish hair flowed out from behind her helmet and reached until the shoulders.
"Marchando! Did ya call for the Chef, misses?"
"Hey. Burner Man. Who's next in the comic?"
"Caesar Borgia. 15th – 16th century. Son of a Pope and his mistress: natural from Rome… It's said that he poisoned his enemies…"
"Intriguing."
Both girls met with Burner Man as they entered a wide room which was a cafeteria: Dark Man was standing behind the counter while Burner Man had come out of the kitchen.
"Ain't it?"
"But he had a short life, see. He was barely on his 30s when he died in a battle in Spain… But since he'd been a Cardinal then he might've been influenced by the plots within the walls of the Vatican City…"
"Oho."
"Have a seat."
"Thanks."
Both sat in the seats of one table and had a look at the charts which Dark Man brought over.
"Hmmm… Some coffee and a salami sandwich…"
"Well… I'd rather have water and a croissant… Sans chocolate." Akemi settled.
"Marchando!"
Burner Man grinned and got into the kitchen: they heard him singing a tune.
"Imagine~… A burning boiling raging oven…"
"Burning boiling raging oven? Not bad." Akemi giggled.
"Well." Suzuki shrugged.
"Imagine~… A burning running jumping fella~…"
"The "imagine something" deal, huh?" Suzuki calmly muttered.
"No doubt." Akemi shrugged.
"Yessir! Hot coffee comin' up! Yo! Danna!"
"Roger."
Dark Man picked the coffee cup which Burner Man placed on the window communication the kitchen with the counter area: he placed it and the bottle of water plus a plastic cup in the disk and brought them to the table: Burner Man kept on humming.
"By the way, Dark Man… Needle Man's repairs are almost done by now, right?" Akemi called out.
"Yes. They're 97% completed. In 1 hour's time he'll be able to move around again. All analysis did make sure there wasn't anything weird on his body."
"Imagine~… A burning rolling climbing flame~…"
"I think the other orders are coming up."
"Yessir! Heated up sandwich and croissant… Marchando!" Burner Man called out.
"Roger."
Dark Man picked them and brought them over.
"Bon profit."
"Thank you."
"I'll go tune the news."
"Speaking of news… Who tried to pierce open a "node" yesterday?"
"Ah. That. Some Heel Navi of the Crimson Lobby… But since Entei appeared on the scene then the fellow had to run for it." Dark Man admitted with a shrug.
"Crimson Lobby… They're getting desperate already, huh? Guess they've just started to snoop around." Suzuki muttered.
"Maybe they were pulling out stuff from the Ameroupe agencies or their military." Akemi shrugged.
"Yeah. And now they've realized there's a lot of "cool" tech around here but since we knew from the start that it'd be targeted then we're keeping it safe and protected." Suzuki calmly continued as she sipped some of her coffee cup's contents.
"I expect you to burn, Mr. Burner Man!" Burner Man made a joke to himself and laughed.
"Well. At least the morale's high… I thought there might be some tension given the recent developments but it looks like we needn't fear that: they find a way to stay in good humor." Akemi calmly brought up.
"That's the important part, yeah. I hope that gal stops trying to boycott me… I've fought hard to earn my job as make-up assistant in the DNN and I'm not going to lose it to a self-centered gal…" Suzuki rolled her eyes.
"That's the spirit."
"Spiritual spirit?" Dark Man improvised a joke.
"Why not…"
"By the way: where's Legato – san at? We haven't seen him yet and he wasn't in the Cyber World either." Akemi asked.
"He went to check on the remains of the Choina Virus Lab… He's spotted some folk searching the ruins and he wants to make sure there's nothing dangerous remaining there…"
"Wise thinking. There could be some remains of that Dream Virus and someone could try to build another one… The last thing we need right now, really…" Suzuki muttered as she finished her coffee.
"In effect." Dark Man nodded in agreement.
"Who could be coming out today?" Akemi wondered.
"My antithesis, I guess." Burner Man chuckled.
"Ah. I wouldn't be surprised if that were to be the case…"
"By the way. How are things at the TV station?" Burner Man asked.
"The usual. And the occasional idiots who think they can sell some conspiracy theory to them."
"Heh! They've seen too many Hollywood movies."
"Sure!"
"I'd rather tell them… Imagine~ a rational guy~!" Burner Man improvised a new song.
"But they're not important. Small fry, chaff. No – one pays attention to these things nowadays. They don't want to take risks and get too much backlash thrown at them…" Suzuki shrugged.
"OK! Going back to the kitchen… See ya! Imagine~ a cooking fella~! A diving fella~!"
"Well. Now we only to wait for news. Speaking of which, I'll check if there are new videos in Nico Nico." Suzuki stood up.
"OK. I'll go to the deck and check with the others to see if they know anything new…"
10:50 AM (Japan Time)…
"… I confirm it, Noir – sama, sir… There are no remains of the Dream Virus to be picked and the only thing which seems to have survived the lab's self-destruction is some scarce Virus data… Mostly Mettools, some Garuus, Spark Bees and Curzdos…"
"Good job, Legato. Beware. "Barbatos" might try fighting you."
"Let them come. I'm ready for them."
"Good. But don't get cocky, either."
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Get DROWNED, then!"
"Blue Wave."
"Yessir!"
"Show your hide."
"And my sweat!"
"How original."
A Navi named Legato was walking atop a heap of metallic pieces which seemed to be part of a building deep in the Reverse Internet and had been speaking with someone by radio when a voice rang out.
"Ain't it, Mr. Ambassador?"
"I know "Legato" means "Ambassador" in Latin but that's not important."
Legato's main "skin" color was black, yet his upper torso had red blood armor built over it: there were two black shapes drawn over the shoulders having a golden rim and a thin black line spread from the base of the neck to the lower edge of the armor.
His helmet's main color was blood red as well, yet the inner edges surrounding his thick red shades had a tint of purple to them.
His emblem (having a golden outer edge) consisted of white and black halves split by a thunderbolt-shaped line.
A purple band formed on the forehead and circled the whole diameter of it: two valley-shaped cavities had been inserted into the sides of it and they ended in golden circles: a "fin" sprouted from the top of the helmet thus giving it a menacing-like look.
The forearms were colored blood red and had two purple-colored parallel formations which originated at the sides of the emblem atop each hand's palm: they spread over the edge of the forearm while forming a pyramid-like shape.
His right forearm currently held a purple-colored Long Sword with a customized hilt.
The central body of the forearm was now colored metallic gray and had two purple circles colored yellow inside: a purplish-colored blade emerged around a cone-shaped purple-colored formation: the blade looked sharp and menacing for some reason or another.
His boots began slightly below the knee and had purple-colored diamond-like shapes which extended as high as the knee: they were colored blood red as well: the soils were colored purple, too.
Lastly, a wild flock of silver hair came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.
Overall, he looked like a revamped Blues.
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! I've got a power-up myself too! I'll DROWN ya!"
"We'll see about that."
"Get confident while ya can!"
Blue Wave landed in front of Legato from an upper platform.
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 and 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.
"Fight." A distorted voice commanded.
Both looked up and to the left to see "Barbatos" aiming his sword at them in a commanding pose.
"Che. Guille Hideout's twin lil bro." Blue Wave came up with a sarcastic title.
"Don't associate me with those damned humans."
"Then why rip a human's armor from a manga?" Blue Wave sneered back at the guy.
"Huh! Shut up." He obviously didn't have a good argument at hand.
"Hmpf. Whatever… As long as you don't get in the way of our battle I couldn't care less of what you do, "Barbatos"… Let's go! Neo Variable Sword! Input commands! Elemental Boom!"
"Wha~t?"
Legato drew a Neo Variable Sword and swung it to shoot out four energy slices colored green, red, blue and yellow respectively: they all hit Blue Wave and the yellow one inflicted elemental damage.
"T-this PUNK!"
"Tell that to Punk." Legato sneered.
"Sea God's Anger! Ocean Pressure! Eat these!"
"Heck."
A tsunami formed and washed the floor to fill it with water: Blue Wave drew 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 Legato.
"They're Breaker! And you're Sword! Eat these!"
"Heck. Cannon Ball!"
Legato threw a Cannon Ball at Blue Wave but didn't make it on time as 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: something blew up on his feet and he was sent flying to fall into the water and be washed over a by a wave.
"Heck. Stealth Mine!"
"How's that for a combo, Mr. Ambassador?"
"Quit with that damned nickname." He got pissed off.
"Legato!"
"Huh! I am sorry, Noir – sama!"
"Cool it down! That's an order!"
"Roger, sir."
"So! Our cloaked fellow bites?" Blue Wave taunted.
"Who knows? Maybe Eisei bites a voodoo doll of you?"
"Wha~t? The jerk!"
"Blue Wave!" A voice hissed over his radio.
"Huh! Prince!"
"Behave! This is not the moment to start up a civil war!"
"R-roger, sir!"
"Fight!"
"R-roger, sir!"
"Noir. That was unlike you."
"Well, Prince, I wanted to test their "unity"." Noir politely replied.
"Hum. Guess you've got a point."
"Hmpf… Kuroban Howsad… I'll come settle the score with you lowlife sooner or later…" "Barbatos" announced.
"You'll try." Kuroban simply replied.
"Roa~h! Ultimate Move!"
"What! Already?"
"TYPHOON!"
Clouds formed in the "air" and the water began to stir as a mass of clouds began to build up and then begin to spiral clockwise: a typhoon soon began to take shape: violent waves began to form as well as Legato was struggling to remain floating in the water: the typhoon caught up with him and sucked him in: countless pressurized water jets hit his body from different spots and stunned him: a large one shot down from the core of the storm and hit him in the chest propelling him into the water and sinking into it (because it'd risen to a level where it was about 5 meters deep by now): the currents propelled him out into the surface and he was carried by a large wave to then be smashed against a nearby platform: he groaned and tried to move but was too tired too.
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!" Blue Wave laughed.
"D-damn it… That's incredibly over-powered…!"
"Heck. Legato's HP points have hit the 1 HP mark!" Noir grumbled.
"Damn." "Barbatos" muttered.
"You're NEXT!" Blue Wave laughed.
"Shit."
The guy lifted the sword and a flash ensued: when it vanished he was gone so the typhoon began to break up and Blue Wave hovered in the air using the Air Shoes Battle Chip.
"See ya, Legato~! Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"
11:07 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Damn it. All aches and I can barely move without stirring up further pain…"
"Cool it down, Legato…"
"I know, Andy – kun…! Grah! First Raging Flame, now Blue Wave…! And now the others will follow their example…!"
"Maybe Kuroban will rethink it and tell them that those are too one-sided abilities and it doesn't bring balance… Or maybe he's making a demonstration to anyone who might question their strength…"
"Fuck. I'm Rank 2 in authority and I got busted so easily!"
"Cool it down. Anger only leads to further anger."
Legato was cursing as he underwent repairs in one of the capsules like Needle Man: Andy was keeping him company by sitting in a chair in front of the capsule and looked worried.
"If this guy's using a typhoon already what will the wind-elemental guy use, then? A hurricane?" He cursed.
"Maybe he'll just use high-speed wind to make mid-air maneuvering harder…"
"Fuck. I know we had some wins, losses and matches in the last period stretching from December to April but…" Legato fumed.
"Here, keep calm. I'll play the broadcast. That will help you get into a better mood." Andy made a weak smile.
"I approve." Noir told them through the radio band.
"See, Boss? I knew it'd be a good idea. OK! Let's go!"
"… Shah, shah, shah! Needle Man back in action!"
"Marchando! Boiling chocolate fella~! Burner Man!"
"Filming Master! Spotted: Cameraman! Video Man!"
"In… "Those who returned from "There"!"… The Caesar Borgia chapter: the lord of poisoning!"
"He'll teach Game Freak how to design more "Poison" PKMN!" Kage improvised a joke.
"Heh. I wouldn't be surprised."
"… "… And, as the CEO of "Big & Shiny Jewels", I cheer for our company's success: achieving the fattiest diamond in history!"… They all drink the champagne an odd waiter served them… "PRRRRRTJXKNGGG!"… BLOM! PAF! BAUM! TONG! CROCK! … They all suddenly collapse and look like they've been poisoned! "Heh, heh, heh! Come with daddy, my precious!"… "Hey, waiter! Didn't you hear some odd noises in there?" …. "Yes, that's… It's the clash of cups to cheer! Heh, heh! They're drinking a lot! Here, here, have one as well! Heh heh! You've got the right to!"… "By the way, this waiter fellow wears an odd uniform… Well! Gotta be the fashion…" … He drinks and collapses face-up on the steps of the entrance, clutching his neck and vomiting fire! "Hum! Delicate throat, eh? Don't abuse of alcohol, don't! Heh, heh!"…"
"So he poisoned the champagne, huh?" Legato made a weak smile.
"… "This small ball is a Treasury Collector…"… F is playing tennis by tying the ball with a short string so he can kick it and comes back… "No matter how many times ya hit it… they come back to ask for more! If I could hit the collector like this…!"… "Boss! I got the bomb of Joe "Rubble" which he was gonna throw at the "Fari" when…"... The ball string ties around the grenade's body and since M was holding it by the ring then it comes out, see… "Devil! What the heck was that?"… "It's coming back to get busted, the silly… AH!"… BOOM! "Boss! Did ya know? I was bringing a bomb when, suddenly, a ball flew out on its own and…!"… "Don't continue! I know the rest of the tale! I'm so gonna give you a "bomb" when I get ya! Centripetal, self-sucking and skull-crushing!"… "Forget it, Boss! I get the water from the well sucking with a straw!"… Note: by "bomb" here he meant to say a "pump"…"
"So he was gonna hit him with a pump." Kage laughed.
"… "Sorry to interrupt you, but… Would you mind hearing to me? I got news that the diamond "Jope" got stolen from the jewelers who had it by leaving their stomachs pierced like watering cans… And we suspect the culprit to be Caesar Borgia, another bandit remade by Dr. Bacílez! So go there, get the diamond back and get rid of the guy!"… "Yeah. I know. So where do we find the fella?"… "Easy, Boss! We only gotta wait and he'll drop by here!"…. "He'll… drop by here? What makes you think that…?"…"
"Good question." Noir giggled.
"…. "Obvious, man! If it's a poison bandit he'll need to get raw materials sooner or later… And you always said that Mr. Super is pure poison so he'll come like someone who goes to the supermarket and…!"… BLAF! BLAF! BLAF! BLAF! "OW! AW! OUWAH!"…. "Why! What kicks Mr. Super delivers! If Boss didn't spot them with the navel he'd already busted his shoe!"…. "Get on the move! The guy must still be around the "Big & Shiny Jewels" building!"… "You miserable…! I'm going to give ya venom! I'm gonna give ya…!"… "Forget it, Boss! I prefer pil-pil codfish!"… Mr. Super's shoe did end up busted!"
"… Really… They always need to be making critic of their boss…"
"I know." Andy rolled his eyes.
"… "We're on the guy's trail, Boss! He was here!"… "Yeah, an oddly dressed guy… Comes in and tells Manolo "see, see, test this wine!" and then…" … "Ah! I get it! He's snuck into the reception of Nabochungo Counts! Surely he intends to poison everyone and steal up their riches, see!"… "Then we snuck in a discrete manner, we catch the guy and… and… and…" … PTAF! "Devil! What's wrong? The discretion failed?"…. "The "dis" I dunno, but a "cretin" sure was, that rascal… He hit me in the eye!" … "Why! Mr. Butler! Allow me to offer you a cup!"… "Thanks, waiter!"…. "I was right! The rascal's inside!"…. "Well, Boss… The guy's not so bad, after all… Heh, heh!"…"
"So the butler intercepted M and then he sympathized with Borgia 'cause he poisoned the brute…"
"Sure thing…"
"… "Let's get in! Full gas!"… "Roger Boss!"… "Drinks may be poisoned! We must make sure the guests don't drink! Act subtly and with discretion!"… "Roger!"… "Cheers, Cruse Marquise!"… "Cheers, Flick Duke!"… "What do you think, Boss? Those 2 won't drink anymore!"… He closed their mouths with padlocks! "Grthjx! Stop with the idiocies! What we gotta do is analyze the drinks to see if they're poisoned!"… "Ah! Let me, let me! I've got my pocket analyzer!"… "Why! What a cup of wine! I'm going to enjoy it!"… "Allow me, ma'am, allow me! Town Anti-Venom Service! See? If Dagobero (a mouse!) drinks and nothing happens then there's no danger! Aha! A bit drunk but happy… You can drink without fear, go on!"… "A~G! I feel disgusted! I feel disgusted!"…."Man! I worry about the fatty gal's health and you reward me like that! Let her go drink a liter of bleach!" … "Grmbljf! I'm fed up! See how I do it and learn! Excuse me, sir! Allow me to pick your cup, sir. A simple check from the security service, see? Some drops from the reactive in the analyzer…"…"
"Oh well. That seems more logical." Andy sighed.
"Doesn't it?" Legato chuckled.
"… "Aha! No traces of curare, arsenic or Prussic acid… You can go ahead and drink!" … "What are you saying, man? I'm not mad!"… "Come on, fellow, come on! There's no danger? See? I drink it like that!"… "Well, I don't mind if you like the stain-remover but… Yes, totally mad! See, I carried a stain-remover so that the Marquise could take out the tomato stain in the front and…"… "Well, Boss, I see how you did it, but in truth…"… "Grjgtxk! Outta my sight! And go light your cigarettes on the Vesuvius' crater!"… F tries to kick M and his shoe flies off!"… "Heh, heh, heh! I prepared some venom: by using TNT, enriched uranium, gum-7 and garlic pot which… NO! NO! NO!"… The shoe flies towards the pot with the venom on it!"…!"
"Man! I can see the result." Kage laughed.
"Trouble." Noir sighed.
"With capital T?" Legato joked.
"No doubt."
"… "NO~!"… * BOUM! * … "Nuclear Bang in the Habochungo Counts' Manor! The guests of the meeting show up scattered between the Caucasian Plateaus and the Fiords of Norway. Suspicions are focused on two fellows who were roaming there, a bald guy with glasses and another with two hair strings which…"… "Mortadelete~! Filemoncillo~! Come, come, I'm going to grant you the great medal for distinguished services!"… Two medals having a donkey drawing on them and a nail: he's planning to nail them into the guys! "Did ya hear it, Boss? Is it true? Should we go?"… "Shut up, you idiot, and swim! Just swim!"…Video!"
"Burner!"
"Needle!"
"V-B-N! End of chapter! Next chapter preview: Nero! The Emperor Who Set Rome Ablaze!"
"Oho. Nero next…!" Legato grinned.
"What an odd cast." Andy rolled his eyes.
"By the way, Boss… Did we get to figure the human IDs of the other Shunoros members excluding End Angel and Venomous Wolf?"
"Not really. We never bothered to."
"Ah. OK. Just in case. Well. I don't think any of them will have trouble holding back those Crimson Lobby guys if they try to assault them or something like that." Kage shrugged.
"Yeah. I know. We did provide materialization systems to all of your former classmates too… And we're keeping the "Copy Roid" data under safe custody, too. We don't want something like that of last summer, that "Sisterhood of Pureness" showing up again."
"I know. We've prepared a raid in another locale."
"Good."
"Next Saturday."
"Alright. I think I'll have time. If not I'll send you a mail…"
"What will we do about "Barbatos"?" Andy asked.
"Let him be. He's not dangerous. For now, that is. And even if he ends up going berserk we can easily close him up in the "Cyber Dimension" once again…" Noir replied.
"Alright."
"Regarding Legato's damage… It isn't as grave as Needle Man's so I think that by tomorrow he should be able to move again…"
"I understand, sir…"
"Don't force it. Just rest."
"Roger, sir…"
"Alright. I'm going to the deck. You coming, Andy?"
"Sure. Wait a min, Miquel – kun."
Andy warped out of the Cyber World and into the real-world deck where he spotted Kage leaning over the front handrail and looking out at the ocean stretching in front of him.
Kage wore an open brown overcoat, a blackish t-shirt under it, a pair of jeans and black knee-tall boots.
He still had the sunglasses on.
"It'd seem trouble has arisen."
"Ah. Cosmo Man."
Cosmo Man, a former "Darkloid" of "Nebula", walked over to them at a calm pace and looking calm.
"Yeah. Those "Ultimate Move" things are getting too over-powered. Let's hope Kuroban puts some limits to it or else the whole deal will become too one-sided and it'll start to feel unfair." Andy sighed.
"Indeed… By the way… I just scared away 13 Navis come from El Salvador and who had cutlasses…"
"Cutlasses? Guess they were too lazy to properly equip them." Kage turned around and looked slightly surprised.
"Indeed. My might alone was enough to make them run back to their foul turf." He formed a smug smile.
"There cha are! Let's settle the score, Miquel!"
"Oh hell. Not Tozukana – san AGAIN…!"
"Hum. It would be wise for me to retreat."
Tozukana ran up the deck towards them and Cosmo Man lifted his eyebrows before dematerializing.
"What now?" Kage grumbled.
"So! What's the plot, huh?"
"What plot? There's never been any. Ikada – san ain't involved."
"I know that. The smug gal got Wan as play-thing. I don't care about that: what's the red-haired gal up to?"
"Sakurai – san? Oh come on. We were just classmates! And if someone has something to say about it then that's Hikari Jr. – kun. They're childhood friends, after all." Kage grumbled.
"Hmpf! So! What's with Leonel?"
"Leon? Oh please. Stop bothering him. He's trying to live a normal life after being imprisoned for 3 years."
"Oh yeah? No wonder he's so dry, then. Dry Gal got the guy!" She made up a lame joke on the spot.
"That's not something to joke about! They were about to sell him to a club to be abused over and over again!" Kage scolded.
"Oho. I see…" She looked smug.
"Ahem, ahem. Tozukana."
"Oh heck."
"What did we say about this?"
"Che! They got in the way. But I'll get to the bottom one day~!"
Ms. Secretary had shown up behind Tozukana and cleared her throat: Tozukana grumbled and ran off while Kage fumed, Andy grumbled and Ms. Secretary looked pretty if not totally annoyed.
"That young woman…! What needs to be done?" She fumed.
"Call her aunt… AGAIN…" Kage grumbled.
"It is a vicious circle!" She cursed.
"Indeed, ma'am. Jealousy and paranoia are the worst combination ever: history has proven it." Andy sighed in defeat.
"I shall speak with her aunt, indeed. I do not want to involve President Hades and place further pressure on him. He is busy enough." She muttered aloud.
"Of course, ma'am." Kage nodded in agreement.
She walked off at a quick pace while Kage's PET rang: he checked the number and seemed to lift his eyebrows under the glasses.
"Unknown number… Hello?"
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" A voice chuckled.
"You're not Eisei."
"Nah. I'm Flame."
"Whaddya want? To brag?" Andy challenged.
"Who knows?"
"No. More like to warn ya." Another voice added.
"You're Wave." Kage guessed.
"Did my wave of waving wavers surprise ya~?"
"Not at all. Go surf and beat 007 to it." Andy challenged.
"Why not…"
"Or go tell those Crimson Lobby guys to stop being annoying."
"Hah! We'll do that if we see one of their envoys. The Prince is clear enough: that stuff ain't for sale! Or should we say… "This chateau is no longer for sale"?" Flame laughed.
"You picked that from Red Rackham's Treasure."
"Given how you guys' boss is a fan of Tintin…"
"We never denied that." Kage shot back.
"No, you denied Ganondorf." Wave joked.
"… Ah. Yeah. He did say "very well, then. Deny me. With that "friendship"…" … You did see how his predecessor was uglier than him, huh?" Andy was unimpressed.
"Yeah. And we're having fun seeing how everyone's moaning, groaning and cursing at the 3rd timeline, the "what-if"… But they get stuck there and don't realize that the "Adult Timeline" is also a "what-if"… Anyway: these discussions won't die anytime soon at this rate. But at least we got some order to the games' placement." Flame shrugged.
"Don't you have something better to do save for bringing up Zelda, you lot?" Andy taunted.
"Yeah. We can go challenge Black City."
"Or White Forest."
"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!" They both chuckled.
The call finally ended and Kage muttered something under his breath as he placed the PET back on the holster.
"Huff. Let's hope the next one isn't that brutally over-powered."
"Yeah. And I can't shake off the feeling of danger in the air… No good."
I feel danger lurking closer and closer…! We can't lower the guard!