Chapter 7: Resurrection! Neo WWW!

10:32 AM (Japan Time), Saturday July the 25th…

I did well on checking here: I wouldn't want to miss this…

"K. S." looked on to his PET III's holographic display which broadcasted a silent courtroom seemingly waiting for the sentence: a hammer echoed.

"Come forward, defendants."

Gauss Magnets and Magnet Man stood in the culprit's stand.

"Judgment for defendants Gauss Magnets and Magnet Man… They shall be punished with an imprisonment sentence of 931 years!"

"WHA~T?" Gauss yelled.

"NINE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE~?" Both culprits yelled.

Gauss suddenly morphed into that "lady" disguise of his.

"That's cruel! Too cruel! Too terrible~!"

"Huh!" The judge gasped from the surprise.

"NO~! I don't wanna go to the prison! PRETTY PLEASE: FORGIVE ME~! PLEASE! Someone SAVE ME~! COME ON!"

He was driven out of the court room by two guards (although he didn't really resist) and the judge sighed.

"How pathetic… Hard to believe that's what's become of the Net Criminals who shook up the world…" He muttered.

Magnet Man's PET was put in a charger inside of a metallic drawer: he began to yell as they locked the entrance with a vault door.

"Don't joke around! I don't wanna suffer this! If I remain 931 years' time locked inside of the PET my data will decay from PURE BOREDOM! STOP IT! SOMEONE! SOMEONE PLEASE SAVE ME~! CURSE YOU ALL! GET ME OUT! PLEASE GET ME OUT! NO, NO~!"

"I'm the one who… will save you." A woman muttered somewhere.

15:25 PM (Japan Time)…

Let's see how Mr. Hikari Jr. and company receive the news…

"… When the Net's highest court announced its verdict, defendant Gauss' reactions were bordering hysterical. It bore little resemblance to man who'd been one of the richest in the nation."

Netto and his friends eyed the TV news about Gauss' sentence while at Higureya.

"THE Gauss has finally been closed in jail…" Netto muttered with a serious look.

"931 years of prison, huh… You'll eventually get your retribution for working for evil, I guess, Netto – kun." Rock Man muttered.

"Yeah… Even a newborn would be 931 years old by the time they quit the prison… Talk about being old…"

Saito made an uneasy face.

"Eh, heh, heh… More than being old I'd rather say it'd be impossible…"

"Like Rock Man says! De masu! The old saying that crime doesn't pay is true after all!"

"I won't steal food anymore! Chu!"

"I'd stop letting Netto copy my homework too!"

"Don't be so harsh! Helping troubled persons is an angel's deed! Don't ignore it, Meiru – chan!" Netto nervously argued.

"Jeez. You've got such a thick face."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!" Higure and Chisao chuckled.

Well. The mood's relaxing a bit.

"Next in the news… The inverse-colored panda, commonly called the panda bear, is growing up well…"

The screen was suddenly filled with static.

"Huh? What happened to the TV?"

"… What the heck is going on?"

The TV Station was suffering the same trouble.

"EM Waves jacking! Someone is emitting powerful EM Waves!"

"What?"

The phenomena spread into TV screens placed on the street but the image soon returned: everyone found themselves staring at a golden circle which had a lion inside of it which had a golden banner set underneath it having the red letters "NEO WWW" written there: the lion roared, thus scaring the skin out of Netto.

What's that, some mockery of the MGM seal? "K. S." wasn't impressed in the least.

"A~h! W-what the…?"

The mysterious woman who had met with Sunayama and recruited Saiko showed up there: this time their full face was visible and now it could be seen that they looked on their late 20s or 30s: their eyes' irises were green in color.

They were sitting on some large straw armchair.

Them! I knew they wouldn't stay quiet for too long!

"Excellences around the world. I apologize for interrupting your entertainment."

She flung some of her hair backwards.

"I am the new president of the Gauss Console: Tesla. Tesla Magnets."

"Gauss Console…" Netto muttered.

"The "Gauss Console"…? It couldn't be!" Chisao grasped.

This is bad, otouto!

"Looks like you've got it. Correct! I am Gauss Magnet's daughter!"

"What did she say?" Netto exclaimed.

Haruka was looking at the TV too while enjoying some tea and she looked puzzled.

"… Today I'm borrowing this spot to announce something to you Excellences."

"Huh?" Haruka wondered.

"By continuing the will of my father Gauss… I announce the establishment of the "Neo WWW" starting today and here!"

"…The "Neo WWW"?" Saito gasped.

What! Ah! Are they behind Sunayama's robberies and the disappearance of Saiko? Freeze Man silently listened in.

"… The Net Crime Organization which the great Dr. Wily led has been resurrected."

Don't kid me! Gospel was going to rise again soon too! Freeze Man grumbled under his breath.

"Make no mistake about our intentions!"

"The WWW has resurrected…" Netto muttered.

"It's become troublesome! De masu!"

"True, true! I forgot to say something important."

What now, you copycat. Freeze Man grumbled.

"Tonight I'll go and retrieve a very important person to me." She calmly announced.

Oh yes? I'd like to see you trying.

"I've got a principle to definitely get what I desire. Make sure to be on the look-out. Well then. New fear and confusion will spread across the world…"

The image was replaced by static before it was cut off.

"Hai~! OK! Well done, President Tesla!"

Sunayama and Saiko were standing at some distance from the armchair in which Tesla was sitting in, illuminated by a spotlight aiming downwards: Saiko held a scroll with some drawings there.

"Splendid, ma'am. You didn't doubt and you didn't get stuck in the speech either, ma'am… You've put pro actresses to shame, ma'am."

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm pretty strong when it comes to the real deal."

"… Spread new fear and confusion across the world?" A voice asked from close by.

Hum! I knew it: they're here too. "K. S." grumbled as he sat inside of his car and looked at the spy feed.

"Pretty good slogan, man."

Inukai Takeo came out of the unlit section of the room.

"So? Inukai. What's your reply?"

"Both Saiko and I have been scouted by President Tesla and become "Neo WWW" members, you see."

"Ms. President is the only one who appreciates our potential. There's no other place where you can display your power apart from the "Neo WWW"…" Saiko calmly exposed.

"… Huh… The reply's… yes! Inukai Takeo will gladly become a buddy of yours! Boss!"

"Heh, heh."

"Good! It's already settled so let's end the formalities. Let's move on the rescue of Boss' important person! I'll do it alone."

"I'd entrust you, but… Hikari Netto and Rock Man will come out."

"Wha~t?" He grumbled and a vein popped out.

"… Netto – kun: it's an emergency state!"

"Manabe – san!"

Superintendent Manabe contacted Netto.

"I've seen the TV as well!"

"That was fast. I'd like of you to reinforce the vigilance of the Net Prison!"

"Roger!"

"Do your best, Netto!" Meiru encouraged.

"We can't let a WWW ghost do as they like! De masu!"

"Teach them a lesson! Chu!"

"Yeah! I'm going!"

Hum! So their HQ is this gigantic skyscraper with that spheroid construct atop the main building…

"… Hikari Netto's a "Net Savior"? The guy was a dog of the Net Police?"

Tesla had apparently let the fact out to Inukai in the meanwhile.

"Can you alone win, I wonder?"

"B-but then I could materialize Beast Man and strike the prison from the real world…"

"Rock Man can do "Cross Fusion" too." Tesla reminded him.

Trying to keep him in a tight leash and forcing him to go by your plan, eh, Magnets?

"Huh! I s-see…" He muttered.

"This is the first crime of the "Neo WWW", which is to be remembered... Failures won't be tolerated." Sunayama warned.

"Ms. President has already come up with a strategy."

"I'm the one who'll win the game. Heh, heh."

Sheesh. Talk about annoying interlopers…! I'll crush you all!

17:41 PM (Japan Time)…

So! There you are: ready to tackle whichever of them dares to come into the picture… You haven't changed in these few months ever since our last meeting…

The "Frenchman" was looking through binoculars how Netto was standing inside of the control tower which supervised the security system for the prison along with Superintendent Manabe and Commissioner Kifune: they formed a grin as Netto could be seen looking at the system.

What a powerful security system.

It's obvious, otouto.

"… The "important person" which Tesla spoke of has to be her father, Gauss. We'll never allow such criminals to fulfill their petty goals while the Net Police intends to halt them."

Netto eyed the live feed from the CCTV cameras and spotted a building.

"What's that building?"

"Oh? That? That's the Navi Prison." Manabe replied.

"The Navi Prison?"

"… The Navis who've committed crimes are enclosed along with their PETs."

"Hum…"

A single bird circled around the perimeter and Gauss eyed it from his cell: he still was wearing lipstick on half of his face and part of his disguise.

"I'm so jealous of that bird…"

He imagined talking to another self.

"It can freely fly across the skies…"

"Ah…"

"I wanna become a bird…"

Netto had eyed this from one CCTV camera feed and he looked somewhat perplexed.

"Eh, heh, heh… They don't change: that old guy's humor is pretty lame."

"The local security system is supervised and administered from this main computer. The enemy is a Net-crime organization. It's highly probable that they will strike from the Cyber World." Manabe explained.

"That's where we come in. Leave it to us! Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

The firewall and the guard Navis… The guard is perfect.

Niisan!

Huh?

We don't know what tricks they'll pull on us. Be on your toes!

I get you, otouto… Enzan and Blues are not here… Netto – kun and I will protect Japan's Cyber World!

Night quickly arrived and the guard was relentless: Commissioner Kifune heard a metallic sound while standing in front of the Navi Prison.

"Hmmm?"

A spotlight showed a cat toying with an empty can.

"Heh, heh. A cat?" He smiled.

He didn't see that its eyes glowed yellow and blue when unlit: the alarms blared as the clouds hid the moon: Kifune and the others looked around as all lights came on.

"Illegal access triggered: an intruder!"

"They've come!" Netto exclaimed.

The lights turned on as well inside of the Cyber World: there was an explosion sound and Rock Man looked on and gasped when seeing a silhouette amongst the smoke.

"Oh!"

"There's one which has slipped in from the front?" Netto wondered.

"What guts… No… What recklessness!" Manabe muttered.

The silhouette walked on forward.

"Ah!"

Beast Man came out.

"Beast Man!"

"Rock Man! A coincidence…?" Beast Man muttered.

"Why are you here…? Ah! It couldn't be!"

"Like you've guessed, Rock Man…"

Inukai Takeo's screen popped out.

There they come again. Is this going to be a repeat of the "Darkloid" Beast Man's obsession with beating Rock Man? Freeze Man fumed.

"I and Beast Man have entered the "Neo WWW", ya see."

"Inukai Takeo!" Rock Man exclaimed.

"I wouldn't have thought I'd meet you lowlife here of all places… Beast Man! Return the earlier humiliation 9.31 million times!"

"Gwro~h!" He roared.

The guard Navis tried to shoot him but failed.

"I've got no business with you pieces of rubbish! Beast Ray!"

Beast Man moved around quickly and hit various Navis: Rock Man shot Beast Man's body and caught him off-guard.

"… Please leave Beast Man up to me! You guys protect the main computer!" Rock Man told them.

Smoke surrounded Beast Man.

"Brag, Rock Man! Come to these… I don't give a crap for the rescue of that old geezer anymore~! Uga~h!"

He suddenly dashed in front of him and moved his claws very quickly: Rock Man dodged and smiled.

"An opening!" Rock Man exclaimed.

He jumped and shot at his feet surprising him for a moment.

"Rock Man! Don't let Beast Man cool down from his revenge mood! This'll be easy!" Netto encouraged.

"I wonder 'bout that…" Beast Man muttered.

Inukai was standing beside a van parked some meters away from the prison complex and near a high voltage tower and eating a banana.

"That's good… Just like that, Beast Man! Just play around with that care-free Rock Man…"

"Plug In! Desert Man, Transmission!"

"… Battle Chip, Wide Blade! Slot In!"

Rock Man tried to attack but his opponent blocked with his claws: Commissioner Kifune and others gasped when seeing some strange blue light forming outside the prison's walls.

"Oh! What's that?"

Desert Man materialized.

"Shoot him!"

Netto saw this from the control center.

"I-isn't that Desert Man?" He gasped.

"A substantiated "Asteroid" has appeared outside!" Manabe exclaimed.

The "Asteroid" ignored the bullets which had no effect on it: Kifune was sweating and looked nervous while Desert Man lifted his right hand: Sunayama was standing on it.

"Like such pathetic attacks would harm Desert Man! Battle Chip, Sand Ants! Slot In!"

Sand-ant-pits appeared and began to suck in one police car: Manabe grasped what was going.

"Curses! This is a diversion strategy!"

"A diversion strategy...?"

"By fighting Beast Man they keep Rock Man occupied! And while they're at it they're gonna rescue Gauss from the real world! In short: this is a trap!"

"If you figured that by now then you're slow to catch on! Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!" Sunayama exclaimed before he began to laugh.

"… A trap, you say?" Rock Man had heard the earlier conversation.

"You lowlife are full of openings! EAT THIS!"

Beast Man hit him with one claw.

"I said it! That my principle is definitely getting what I desire. But you guys don't know it… Don't know what I truly desire… Heh, heh, heh… And that's…" Tesla muttered in the meanwhile.

"… He came!" Inukai smiled.

"… Lion Head!"

Desert Man shot one of his infamous lion heads: the attack, however, was blocked by an electrical field on the walls.

"Useless! There's no breaking this wall!" Kifune smiled.

"Hmpf. Well then…" Sunayama smiled.

Desert Man simply sunk in the ground and dived under the walls.

"Ah! Desert Man has intruded!" One officer yelled.

"Huh? Curses! He crossed the perimeter!" Kifune realized.

Some guns were engaged and tried to shoot Desert Man but he was unfazed.

"Useless! It won't affect them!" Netto cursed.

Rock Man was lying with his face on the ground on the 3D screen.

"Desert Man: do it!" Sunayama ordered.

Rock Man managed to stand up.

"Netto – kun! "Cross Fusion"! We must stop Desert Man…!"

"Jumping Claw!"

He dodged at the last second.

"Won't let ya go! I'm your opponent, Rock Man, you lowlife!"

Beast Man moved his claw quickly and hit Rock Man several times.

"Rock Man!" Netto exclaimed.

Sheesh. I'm fed up. Eat diamonds, you savage.

Freeze Man formed those diamonds which dove into Beast Man's body from behind and his overall speed dropped but none of the two combatants seemed to have realized that.

What's going out there?

The scandal of the fight was heard by Gauss inside of his cell.

"There's a scandal out there."

Desert Man broke the wall at that moment.

"We've come to meet you, Father." Sunayama announced.

"J-j-ji~…! G-g-ga~h!" He uttered from the scare.

The surprise from it made Gauss loose his "alter ego" even.

"Wild Rush!"

"Battle Chip, Dream Aura!"

The shield protected Rock Man.

"Heh, heh, heh, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah! You can't move from here! I'll make you slowly experience Hell as you regret your own incompetence at falling for the trap!"

"…. Sheesh! I'll teach you about being stupid or not! Direct Chip System: Activate! Battle Chip, Mega Energy Bomb! Slot In!" Manabe shot back.

"Gruwra~h!"

Manabe used the "Direct Chip System" and since Beast Man wasn't expecting that the explosions kicked him away.

"Nice! Manabe – san!"

"Netto – kun! Use this chance to defeat Desert Man and retrieve Gauss!"

"Yeah! Rock Man: Plug Out!"

"Curses! Then I'll…!" Beast Man hissed.

"Won't let you go! You're the one who'll be suffering a humiliation this time around! Battle Chip, Totem! Slot In!"

The totems appeared and bathed Beast Man in fire: Sunayama and Gauss appeared outside of the walls.

"Heh, heh, heh… The escape is a success too." Sunayama grinned.

"… Please, Meijin – san!"

"I'll excuse the "san" given how it's an emergency state! Dimensional Area: Activate!"

A "Dimensional Area" formed around the area in which the three criminals were at.

"A "Dimensional Area"! It couldn't be…!" Sunayama growled.

"You're not escaping!"

Sunayama turned and spotted Netto quite close by, at the start of the small hill where he was at.

"Synchro Chip, Slot in! CROSS FUSION!"

"Rock Man has come to take me back!" Gauss groaned.

"Why'd ya come 'ere?"

"You guys' petty "diversion strategy" didn't work! I'll smash you guys' ambitions!"

"Huh! Why, you…! Go for it, Desert Man! Go and beat Rock Man to a pulp!"

"Heavy Sand!"

"Battle Chip, Magma Cannon!"

The fire blast pushed the sand block backwards and upwards before destroying it.

"Battle Chip, Iai Form!"

"Lion Head!"

"CF" Netto cut it and jumped towards Desert Man.

"Now! Saiko! Go for it!" Tesla commanded.

"Plug In! Flash Man, Transmission!"

Saiko plugged him in into a control panel and the message "OPEN'" was displayed: he eyed the 3D display and rummaged on his right pocket.

What! Flash Man! I was forgetting them! Then Desert Man is ANOTHER DISTRACTION? Flash Man's the real attack? Do they want Magnet Man back instead? Freeze Man gasped.

"Dimensional Chip, Slot In!"

"Spark Arm!"

Flash Man blew open the door of the Navi Prison and this was seen from the control center.

"A new "Asteroid" has substantiated and is breaking into the Navi Prison!"

"The Navi Prison, you say?" Manabe was surprised.

The sword slash immobilized Desert Man and left a deep diagonal cut on his face.

"Ah! Desert Man!" Sunayama gasped.

"The final blow! Battle Chip, Custom Sword, Prism!"

The sonic boom was turned into multiple beams by the prism: one barely missed Gauss and Sunayama and broke through a fence while two of them landed behind "CF" Netto, who was unfazed: more of them pierced through Desert Man's body: he was forced to "Log – Out" and the "Dimensional Area" faded so Netto reverted out of his "Cross Fusion" to pick his PET III back.

"No more, no more~!"

Gauss was on his knees while covering his ears and closing his eyes.

"Sheesh." Sunayama cursed.

Netto heard a vehicle approaching and the van parked: Inukai was the driver.

"Inukai!"

"Heh."

"Hey!"

"Kept cha waitin'!"

"Hmpf!"

The van ignited thus leaving Gauss behind.

"H-hey! H-h-hold on a min!" He called out.

"Hold it right there!"

Netto ran towards him but the van was already out of reach.

"I'll regress into prison AGAIN…!" He muttered.

"… Well! The Neo WWW's ambition wasn't that much of a fuss and they ended up realizing it, guess!"

"I do wonder about that." A feminine voice spoke.

Netto looked at his PET and saw Tesla's face being displayed over it: she seemed to be sporting a helmet.

"Wha! Tesla!"

"Hikari Netto! Would you be as kind as to look behind you?"

"Ah! The Net Prison…!"

"… You hadn't gotten it yet…? What I wished to get wasn't Father… Magnet Man. I wished to get Magnet Man." She announced.

"What did you say?"

"E~H?" Gauss was stunned and his mouth was open wide.

Flash Man eyed the vault door.

"… Magnet Man knows the PINs of the banks accounts where Father's large fortune is resting at… That was my goal."

"Netto – kun! This was… A double-edged "distraction strategy"…!"

Did you realize, Hikari Saito? Maybe you've got some of Watson in you, even. Heh. But that woman didn't do it badly either: I could've come up with that too and "IQ – sama" would've too… Ah! If only they could see it: they would rejoice to see a powerful Mistress ruling over those fools and inferior men while openly challenging the Net Police! Heh! The "Frenchman" grinned as he looked on through his binoculars.

"Correct! Both the Net Police and you have acted according to my calculations! Oh, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!" She giggled.

Netto tried to run towards the place.

"Too late!" Tesla proclaimed.

"… Spark Arm!"

Flash Man easily melted a hole on the vault door and then ripped the drawer's door open next: he Magnet Man's PET.

"I've come to rescue you, Magnet Man."

"Ah! Thank you so much! Bring me along!"

He transferred Magnet Man's data to himself.

"The data has been retrieved. Heh, heh, heh…"

He retreated and the PET II hit the ground, empty, while Beast Man finished dealing with the totems.

"Gotta go too…"

"Game's over. What a waste of effort, Hikari Netto…"

"Where…! Where are you at, Tesla?" Netto demanded while making a grimace.

"Over here!"

An old WWI plane appeared over the hill having a rope stair attached to it: Netto shielded himself from the sudden gust with his arms and heard Gauss yelping.

"Whoa~!"

He eyed how Gauss was holding on the rope stair.

"SCARY~!"

"Whoa!" Netto exclaimed.

"I'll retrieve Father while I'm at it! It was a pleasure~! Oh, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Oh, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"

Netto clenched a fist and didn't bother to conceal his rising anger.

"CONFOUND IT ALL!" He exploded.

Hmpf! That's it, yeah! Learn the taste of defeat and powerlessness, Hikari Netto! Eventually… You'll be trapped in a living Naraku… Heh, heh, heh!

06:19 AM (Japan Time), Sunday July the 26th…

"… Thanks, Magnet Man. Thanks to you I've obtained the necessary funds to finance the organization's future activities."

"I am glad to be able to return the favor of rescuing me."

"You'll be my Net Navi from today onwards."

"Yes, ma'am. Gladly."

"The "Double Diversion Strategy" went off splendidly." Saiko smiled.

"Our Ms. President beats 'em all!"

"… "Neo WWW"… It's become interesting." Inukai grinned.

Gauss, dressed with a white apron and cap, used the vacuum cleaner.

"Father!"

"Y-yeah?"

"You're not properly using the vacuum cleaner! Dust will remain in the room's corners!"

"S-sorry, Tesla. I'll be careful from now on. Ah… You're the benefactor who freed me. Tell me and I'll handle any main cooking, cleansing or housework."

"Glory to the great "Neo WWW"…!" She grinned.

"… We won the battle but in the end we suffered complete defeat."

"The "Neo WWW"…! What vile fiends!" Kifune cursed.

"Netto – kun."

"Huh? Don't worry! Niisan. I'm alright! I have no time to get pissed off!"

"Yup!"

"Tesla…! I'll defeat you for sure when we meet again…!"

Hmpf… That's to be seen, Hikari Netto… Struggle! In vain! Heh, heh, heh!