Chapter 4: Captured!
10:22 AM (Japan Time), Monday August the 27th…
"… Good morning, Commissioner Kifune."
"Good morning, Netto – kun."
"Has something happened, sir?"
"It has: we have a potential lead."
Netto was standing in front of Commissioner Kifune's desk inside of an office with sights to the city.
"We received some coordinates to the entrance of a former JDSF shelter facility… I sent some policemen to check it out: this entrance only allows one to reach a subway terminus: the subway train itself was parked there, but given how the tunnel's entrance was sealed by a massive lock door, they've been unable to progress: that terminus itself is the start of the train, so… I've called for you because I suspect it needs a Net Navi's abilities to be opened. I'd requested the aid of Ijuuin – kun were it not for the fact that he is currently overseas due to his company's work. And I rather think Lezareno arranged for it to become a "test" like he did with that Ocelot man." Kifune exposed.
"I understand, sir. How do I get there?" Netto asked.
"Superintendent Manabe – kun will drive you there. Be careful: we do not know yet what could be waiting there." Kifune instructed.
"Hikari – kun? Please come with me."
A lady on her 30s walked in.
She wore a pink suit with a knee-long skirt and had brown hair plus green eyes.
"Ah… Nice to meet you, Manabe – san."
"Commissioner." She seemingly requested confirmation.
"Go!" Kifune rallied.
10:55 AM (Japan Time)…
"… So this is the place…"
"Correct. We are in the very outskirts of the Densan City, about 8 kilometers SSW of the Net Police HQ."
Netto and Manabe climbed down from a car and headed for a small decaying concrete building with no distinct banners: two large steel doors were open and two policemen were standing guard at their sides: a set of steps descended underground.
"Let's go, Hikari – kun."
They both headed inside and climbed down about 100 steps until they reached the subway terminus: a small three-wagon-long subway was parked there: the room had a vault ceiling made of concrete and some of the walls' arches were made of red brick: four policemen were standing in the tracks and checking a massive lock door one or two meters from the subway's front.
"No good, Superintendent… We really need a Navi. There's a wireless connection between the subway's console and the device which controls the opening of this door." One policeman told him.
"Leave it to them. Please clear the tracks."
"Roger!"
Netto stepped into the cabin of the first front wagon: it had a seat for the driver and the control panel: the middle wagon had seats for about eight persons plus bars to hold into while standing: a label set above each entrance read the following:
"Max capacity: 12 persons."
"This looks like it's intended for officers to use… Else it wouldn't be so small." Rock Man muttered.
"Yeah. O. K. Let's check this control panel. Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"
Rock Man entered the Cyber World and found most of it to be unlit and some of the floor segments were cracked, missing or their painting and circuitry had faded: a small console could be seen on the center of it plus an active Warp Point two meters in front of it.
"Guess I gotta use that Warp Point… But this system looks like it hasn't gotten use in years. It feels a bit outdated, even." Rock Man reported aloud.
"Guess they just recently brought it up again… Check that Warp Point and see if you can find a way to unlock the door." Netto replied.
"Roger."
Rock Man tensely walked until he reached the Warp Point without stopping looking around as if to check he wasn't being followed: he stepped into it and reached a new Cyber World which had a control console as well.
"Let's see… Input visitor name to proceed… Hmmm… I'll use mine. Rock Man EXE…" Rock Man muttered.
He typed his name and the console hummed while it engaged: a loud sound began to ring out in the real world as the door slowly tilted 90º to the left.
"Wow. It worked. Come back, Rock Man." Netto whistled in surprise at the sight.
"Roger."
Rock Man returned into the subway's Cyber World which had become illuminated: the console issued two sharp sounds as the subway hummed and the doors locked: it suddenly shot forward into the tunnel.
"Whoa~!" Netto yelped.
The lock door quickly turned 90º to the right and locked up again, to the surprise of Manabe and the officers.
"What's going on?" She wondered.
The train travelled at a mad speed across the tunnel while Netto managed to sit down on the driver's seat: he looked at the speed display and seemed surprised.
"Whoa! 50 km/h! This thing sure is fast!" Netto exclaimed.
"Commissioner Kifune was right: this was set for us. The lock door closed behind us to stop the policemen from following us and no signal can come out from here into the surface: we're out of contact." Rock Man muttered with a hint of annoyance.
"That Lezareno sure is fond of "cool" scenarios…" Netto muttered.
The console suddenly beeped and the emergency brakes kicked in: the train's wheels scratched against the tracks thus producing a shower of sparks: the train suddenly shook and came to a halt.
"W-whoa! What happened? I didn't touch anything!"
"I didn't either."
Netto looked out through the windshield and gasped: half of the train's front wagon had come out of the tracks and was suspended into the air over a deep and unlit hexagonal concrete shaft: Netto quickly climbed out through the rear wagon and slowly headed towards the edge to look down at the abyss.
"W-what in the…?" He uttered.
"This looks like a heavy-duty elevator's shaft… Guess they forgot to call it up for the train to park there and then go down, hence why the emergency brakes kicked in…" Rock Man suggested.
"And how the heck do I call it up? There's no connection from the console to anywhere, is there?" Netto asked.
The ground shook and four "DCs" suddenly emerged from the walls at several heights: the whole sector turned into a "DA": Netto lifted his eyebrows in surprise.
"Guess here's our reply…" Netto muttered.
"Using the "Cross Fusion" long jump ratio and using those empty spaces for the pipes to rest would allow us to climb down… What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Rock Man rallied.
"O. K., Saito – niisan! Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"
The "Cross Fusion" procedure took place and "CF" Netto appeared on the spot: he jumped across the shaft and landed in a ledge part of a square cut into the wall: several pipes travelled up and down across them.
"Let's continue!" "CF" Netto rallied.
"Dunno why but it feels like we're climbing down into Hell…" Saito muttered with a hint of sarcasm.
"Don't say that…" "CF" Netto rolled his eyes.
He finally dropped down into a hexagonal metallic platform at the very bottom of the shaft: rails were built on the middle of it so it surely was the elevator platform: they continued ahead into another room the doors of which were closed: "CF" Netto looked upwards but was unable to spot the subway.
"Wow. We must've climbed down about 30 meters, even! How deep do you think this is?" "CF" Netto whistled in surprise.
"Hmmm… The terminus was just 20 meters below ground level, so… We gotta be about 50 meters below." Saito replied.
BANG! PING!
A shot rang out followed by the metallic echo of a bullet ricocheting off the platform: "CF" Netto gasped and drew the Rock Buster out of instinct to aim towards the now open right door.
"Hikari – dono. Welcome to my humble abode." A cold voice with a hint of a foreign accent greeted.
A man steeped out while holding a gun on his left hand.
He looked as being on his late forties: his hair was grey and parts of it fell down in the front of the face and he seemed to be missing his left eye.
He was dressed in a grey army uniform, although the area around the sleeves and neck was colored in a reddish patch: he had a distinction on the right side of the uniform just underneath the right shoulder.
He was wielding a gun on his right hand.
"Who are you?" "CF" Netto asked the man.
"Please have this." The man replied.
He held out a visitor card between his left hand's index and middle finger which he threw at "CF" Netto: he caught it with his left hand and had a look at it.
"Colonel Talos. Security Department. Transferred from Sharo Nation #2 Branch on 11/10/03… Security Department? Then Chief Lezareno is your boss?" "CF" Netto read before gasping.
"Correct." Colonel Talos confirmed.
"Is this a "test", too?" "CF" Netto guessed.
"Correct."
"Mr. Sponsor ordered it?"
"Not exactly… Mr. Sponsor suggested to Mr. Admin, our organization's max authority. He then passed down the suggestion into Chief Lezareno: I volunteered for the idea and thus here I am." Colonel Talos corrected.
"…"Suggested"…? Then Mr. Sponsor ain't a "member" per se?"
"Correct. He has his own organization and duties to attend to, so… He respects the leadership and experience of Mr. Admin: it's not his desire to try to override the already existing command structure, that's why he just suggests. We are free to point out flaws or reasons it could not work, but given how he does a good background research job, then we rarely complain at all."
"So… Where is the guy at?" "CF" Netto asked.
"At this office, I'd rather believe."
"And where's that office?"
"On the command bridge, I'd say."
"Command bridge…? Does he know a yacht?" "CF" Netto asked.
"Maybe so."
"I take that as a "yeah"… When is he going to show his hide around? Once we clear these "tests", maybe?"
"Correct."
"How many more are left?"
"One."
"Phew."
"But mine is especially intense. Comrade Ocelot gave you a taste about how they would force you to rebuild all of your concepts of battling especially now that you can fight back in the real world, Hikari – dono. It would be wise of you to shine after accumulating so much rust."
"Rust…? Oh. Yeah. I've been inactive for over three weeks. Say! What happened to Gospel's Boss? Did Mr. Sponsor capture him?" "CF" Netto suddenly asked.
"Correct."
"Is the guy alive?"
"Correct."
"And why does he want to keep him hostage? To humiliate him?"
"Not exactly. You will know the reasons soon enough."
"After the next "test", you mean?"
"Indeed."
"What's your "test" about?"
"Heh."
As a response, Colonel Talos snapped his left hand's fingers: two persons came out of the entrance and headed towards "CF" Netto to then begin to walk in circles around him.
"What?" He gasped.
The two newcomers had a tall shape complemented with a strong build: they were dressed in a one-piece white wool suit.
They sported some kind of shades which hid their eyes: the only difference between them laid on the fact that one of the shades was orange, while the other was blue.
Their skin looked sun-burnt and they were completely bald: each one was almost two meters tall.
"Let me introduce you to my personal Net Navi bodyguards: Ivan and Navi…" Colonel Talos announced as he lowered the gun and attached it to his belt's right side.
"Net Navi bodyguards…! They look so human…!" "CF" Netto gasped.
"I would of you like to try to defeat them, Hikari – dono. That is the "simple" nature of my "test": the platform will bring you back up once you do it: the control panel on the SE corner will unlock and you can manually activate it." Colonel Talos instructed.
"Sounds fair enough…"
"If you shall excuse me… My duties are calling for me. Do have a good morning, Hikari – dono. Ah. One last thing… We are the CCAYC."
"CCAYC?" "CF" Netto asked.
"Central Committee Against Youth Crime."
"O-oi! I haven't done any "youth crime": I'm a Net Savior!" "CF" Netto protested.
"Ah. That is the grace: our very name is a cover. We only concern ourselves with organized crime. You will be told more by the time the next "test" happens. Farewell."
Colonel Talos headed inside of the other room and snapped his fingers.
"Hrum!"
The two Navis suddenly dashed towards him from both the north and the south: "CF" Netto crouched and jumped into the air but was soon followed by both Navis: "CF" Netto made a grimace.
"Mega Guts Punch!"
He spun around his axis while using the Mega Guts Punch to hit the enemies on their torsos: he then landed in one of the squares built into the walls while both enemies fell into the ground: they immediately recovered and jumped up into the air.
"Charge Shot! Go!"
"CF" Netto shot two Charge Shots at both of them and they fell into the ground again: he jumped into the next square and across the air: both enemies were already waiting for him and kicked him on the upper torso thus violently making him fall into the ground.
"Grah… These bodyguards are no joke…! Let's check the other room: maybe it'll be better to fight there…!" "CF" Netto groaned.
"Y-yeah… Let's…" Saito muttered.
"CF" Netto ran into the next room: the rails ended there and a concrete platform was built in front and to the sides of them: there was a ledge two meters higher and the left wall had an armored door built into it with a console at its right.
"Let's go inside: we may be able to distract them!"
He looked at the console and found what looked like two small black glass squares, a microphone and a two-lens camera: a small LCD was set on the middle of it plus three buttons colored blue, green and red.
"Please input, in order, the following data: left index finger fingerprint, right index finger fingerprint, voice, left eye retina image, right eye retina image." An auto-voice requested.
"Crap. Biometrics." Saito muttered.
"Huh! Here they come!" "CF" Netto gasped.
In effect: Ivan and Navi rushed towards him and swung their fists: "CF" Netto was propelled against the far wall and crashed with it: he groaned and managed to jump into the upper ledge: he spotted something set on the SW corner and checked it out.
"What's this…?"
"It looks like a stationary grenade launcher… Maybe if we use this we could try to attack them?" Saito suggested.
"Worth a… try…" "CF" Netto muttered.
"Don't overdo it, Netto – kun! You physical strength is dangerously low: if you push it then the "Cross Fusion" will be undone!" Saito warned.
"R-roger… Take this!"
"CF" Netto picked the controls and shot two grenades: both hit the Navis on their heads as they tried to climb up and inflicted major damage: "CF" Netto didn't give them a break and shot again at them: they fell into the ground and suddenly logged out.
"Huff…"
"CF" Netto jumped back into the ground level and stood there while panting heavily: he was having trouble keeping his balance.
"We… did it…" He muttered.
He suddenly collapsed face-down on the ground and his Cross Fusion was undone: the PET II reformed and hit the floor in front of his head: the cover opened and the Synchro Chip was ejected from the PET II's main Slot-In slot.
"Netto – kun! Wake up! Netto – kun!" Saito called out.
The armored door suddenly beeped and it tilted 90º to the left: a man came out of it and rushed next to the collapsed Netto.
He looked on his forties and seemed to be over a meter and eighty tall.
A thick black beard covered his face along with some black hair: his eyes' irises were blue.
He wore a green army uniform with some rank distinctions on the right side of it plus a cap with the Ameroupe Air Force emblem.
"Crap. They overdid it…!" The man muttered.
"Who are you?" Saito questioned.
"Colonel Botos. Vice-Chief of the Security Department…"
"You were expecting this?" Saito asked.
"Eh… Well… Ivan and Navi always tended to get very jumpy in battle and hit all enemies with all their strength: I guessed that even though the grenade launcher could help you defeat them, the whole fight could be extremely intense and take a toll on the body! I waited in the corridor to the JSDF command center and looked out through the CCTV cameras."
"Ah. So you were planning on helping Netto – kun?" Saito asked.
"Yeah… I'll bring you two to the subway and you can pilot it back to the entrance: the Net Police is still waiting there, after all, and they can bring you to a hospital for a check-up. But I'd say that a good day's rest will do him fine and he'll be totally energetic by tomorrow…"
Suddenly, though, an unidentified silhouette jumped out into the air from behind Colonel Botos: they hit his skull with a large and thick steel rod: Colonel Botos groaned and collapsed into the ground along with Netto.
"Heh, heh, heh. No hard feelings, Colonel Botos! But it's my turn to "shine" as well… Kuwabara, kuwabara."
"Who…?" Saito began.
The man suddenly picked the PET II and switched it off before pocketing it into Netto's PET pouch: he brusquely lifted him by grabbing his vest.
"Heh, heh, heh. This'll be fun. Kuwabara, kuwabara."
12:03 PM (Japan Time)…
SPLASH!
"Cold!"
Netto suddenly awoke: he blinked several times but all was black around him: he then tried to move but noticed how his arms had been lifted to be above his head and his wrists were tied with rope: this rope was hanging from the ceiling.
"What?"
His legs were bound together above and below his knees and around his ankles: he was standing atop what felt a chair as his sneakers had been taken out: he suddenly noticed how his shirt and vest were missing and his chest was soaked with cold water.
"W-what? Where am I?" Netto demanded aloud.
"Heh, heh, heh. Welcome to my underground room." A man's voice rang out close by.
"Who…?"
"Thunderbolt. Colonel Thunderbolt. Security Department. Transferred from Sharo Nation Branch #4 on 14/09/05. But… I'm acting outside of orders given how I was off-duty today. Heh, heh, heh."
"What do you want outta me?" Netto demanded.
"Heh, heh, heh. I'll show you my arts. I was a GRU commanding officer in the late 80s and Ocelot used to be my partner. Both shared one skill which we valued…" Colonel Thunderbolt chuckled.
"What skill…? Marksmanship…?" Netto tried to guess.
"Interrogation."
"What!"
"Ah… The fear is starting to crawl inside… Good, good! I'm going to test how though you are… This'll be fun…!
This isn't fun!
"And no-one will get in the way: nobody knows I own this house through a proxy! Heh, heh, heh… Get ready, Net Savior!" Colonel Thunderbolt announced.
He suddenly punched Netto's upper torso with both fists: Netto groaned in pain but the man quickly hit his stomach area and lower torso next.
"S-stop…! I'll t-tell you a-anything…!" Netto pleaded.
"I don't need you to tell me anything… I know everything! Plead all you want, Net Savior! This won't be over until I've broken through all of your defenses!" Thunderbolt announced.
"N-no…! Please…!" Netto kept on pleading.
"Useless! How's this one like?"
SPLASH! ZA~P!
"Groa~h!"
Netto yelled as electricity attacked his defenseless body and he moved violently while trying to jump off the chair: he suddenly noticed that his feet were strapped to it with adhesive tape as well.
"Yeah! That voice of despair and agony… That's what I missed from that era! Heh, heh, heh. Struggle more! You'll eventually surrender and realize your powerlessness!" Thunderbolt laughed.
CLINC!
Something metallic fell into the ground and Thunderbolt mumbled something as he checked it out: Netto tried to recover his breath.
"Transmitter device…! Clever bothersome guys…! Net Police…! They clearly though of everything…" Thunderbolt mumbled.
What…? A transmitter device was attached to my shorts…?
"… Huh? Wait! T-this crest is…! Wait…! I had to drive for about 30 minutes from the facility to here… I've been here for about 20 minutes already!"
So it's been over an hour…?
"So…! If they checked the last route made by the device before the signal was lost, then…!" Thunderbolt suddenly sounded panicked.
Huh…? That device doesn't belong to the Net Police…?
SLAM!
A door close by was slammed open and it was followed by heavy footsteps climbing down a set of stairs: a loud breathing sound similar to the one made by gas masks could be heard growing in volume: the mere air seemed to chill down and Thunderbolt was uttering something in a rush out of terror.
"I k-knew it…! T-that person…! It came…!" Thunderbolt uttered.
That person…? Mr. Sponsor…? Wait… That SFX… Doesn't that sound like Darth Vader's own breathing…?
SLAM!
An even closer door was slammed open and someone stepped in: the breathing sound could be clearly heard followed by a low-tuned growl of clear anger.
"M-Mr. Sponsor…!" Thunderbolt gasped.
I knew it…!
"… Colonel Thunderbolt. What does this mean?" An icy voice questioned.
"Eh… Ah… I…!" Thunderbolt uttered.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Hum… Eh… That's…!"
"Whom did you attack in a villain-like manner?"
"Eh… Colonel Botos, but…"
"Have you forgotten Colonel Botos is your immediate superior as the Vice-Chief?"
"No, but…!"
"Do you think we are all fools, maybe?"
"N-no, no!"
"Did you really think there wouldn't be severe consequences to your acts, Colonel?"
"Eh… That's… Hum…"
"Have you forgotten what "morale" means, maybe?"
"N-not really, but…!"
"Do you want to shun the whole "Committee" and make their reputation be dynamited?"
"Of c-course not…!"
"You don't sound or look believable. At all." The man sentenced.
"W-what should I do…?" Thunderbolt gulped.
"Cut those ropes and leave him tended on the floor: then go upstairs and wait for me there. We're going to the HQ: Mr. Admin in person will decide what has to be done." The man hissed.
Netto suddenly felt how Thunderbolt cut the ropes and tape before picking him and depositing him with care on a face-up position with his arms parallel to his body.
"Don't remove the bag. There's no time to sit idle: go upstairs NOW before I switch moods." The man commanded.
"R-roger…!"
"I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me for this, young one. We will meet again soon enough. The Net Police are coming here. Farewell."
The man walked away but Netto couldn't to call out to him: his consciousness was fading.
Mr. Sponsor…! He saved me again… But just who… is he…?