Chapter 6: Isn't that…?

07:07 AM (Japan Time), Thursday August the 26th…

"… Dust, dust and even more dust. No – one seems to have come here in weeks. So maybe my hunch was not that good…"

"Da…"

"Shut up."

"Yu…"

"I know I'm not perfect but I feel like an idiot by coming to such an obvious spot… Those grunts must've been here, too…"

"Da…"

"What? These marks are extremely fresh? Then… Someone just came here ahead of me?"

"Yu… Ga…"

"Hmpf. Fine. Let's see who it is."

Burai was searching the insides of the Crimson Factory and looking around while Laplace was telling him something: he spotted a trail of footsteps on the dust and began to follow it upwards the large central machine until he reached the very top: the footsteps seemed to end there.

"Bingo. Denpa – Henkan user… Maybe that "Mars Warrior" guy came here, even…" He formed a smug smile.

"Ga…"

Burai entered the Cybernetics of the machine and began to trace the pathway: most of the area was unlit as if to depict its abandoned status plus the large amounts of dust.

"Hmpf. Dust won't help you hide… I can smell your aura and it reeks of power… This will be worth my time, I think."

"Ga…"

Burai finally reached the final area where the inactive Mu device was set at and spotted a figure giving him the back and examining the device: some sort of purplish thick fog surrounded it thus making it hard to discern any features.

"You lowlife. That's as far as you come." Burai announced.

"Hmmm? My. Burai! Been a while, ain't it?" A familiar voice asked with a hint of amusement.

"What?"

"Forgotten me?"

"You lowlife aren't Mars Warrior?"

"What? Oh, no… Mars Warrior – sama sent me to check this place out in case we could recycle it." The figure calmly replied as it turned around: the purplish fog kept on surrounding it.

"Then cast aside that mantle and face me."

"Sure thing… Wait a min… Eh… To switch this off… Ah. Found it: this is how it's switched off… Heh, heh, heh… Get ready, Burai, for a surprising thing…" The figure muttered.

The fog slowly faded away and Burai gasped.

"Y-you lowlife are…!"

"Yeah. Me."

The figure was revealed to be Rock Man, but with several design alternations to him.

He sported black shades: a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there.

Where the hand would be a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

"R-Rock Man…?" Burai gasped.

"Heh, heh, heh. Been a while, Burai!"

"Is that you lowlife…?"

"Yeah! But call me Blood Shadow. I've changed."

"What?"

"Didn't the guys tell you? King abducted me and I then managed to run away from them. Mars Warrior – sama found me and offered me a chance to gain a new power… Personal power… I liked the idea since I'd stopped believing on those fragile "bonds" weeks ago… I became a disciple of the organization's leader and have gained a new power… The "Dark Power" so as to speak…" He exposed.

"Dark Power, huh… Ironic, ain't it?" Burai calmly replied.

"You haven't changed, either, Burai… But that's to be expected of you: it's your style to be cold and hostile to everyone."

"Where's that Mars Warrior man at?"

"At the HQ, I'd rather believe."

"Where's that "HQ" at?"

"Can't tell ya, see… But he did order me to give ya this message: he's gonna come and have a thrill with ya soon enough… In about three to four days…" Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Fine. In the meanwhile… I'll test out that so-called "Dark Power" you lowlife claim having… It'll be worth my time. Hmpf… And I'll take back the time I wasted searching clues…" Burai calmly drew the Laplace sword.

"Come anytime." Blood Shadow calmly challenged.

"Hra~h!"

Burai warped and dropped down from above, but Blood Shadow had already rolled across the ground and gotten out of the shockwave's area: Burai gasped and looked behind him.

"I remember all of your attacks, Burai."

"Hmpf."

"And I've gained some new Battle Cards and tricks, too."

"Whatever. Flying Knuckle!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Gotcha."

"What!"

Blood Shadow suddenly warped and drew a Sword Fighter X which he used to hit and disable Burai's Mu Rejection: he then placed the barrels of the shotgun, which were shining with energy, on Burai's upper torso and fired.

"GUAH!"

The blast sent Burai flying across the space and he landed, hard, on the ground, while he uttered something and clutched his chest in apparent agony: he panted and slowly tried to sit up again.

"Grah… That shotgun wasn't decoration…!"

"Did you really think it was?"

"Crap…! I gotta be careful or else…!" Burai grimly muttered.

"What… Foreseeing your defeat?"

"No."

"Heh, heh, heh… That's the Burai I know."

"Whatever. Laplace Sword!"

The Laplace Sword swept the terrain coming from the NE and heading SW to then show up from the NW and head SE: Blood Shadow calmly stepped the necessary number of steps back or jumped over it without seemingly caring: but he suddenly found Burai in front of his noises who delivered his four-hit combo: Blood Shadow groaned and tried to aim the shotgun only for Burai to grip it and pull from it.

"Let go!" Blood Shadow groaned.

"Take this on for a change!"

Burai kicked him on the lower jaw and then delivered a punch at the right side of the shades: it shattered to reveal how Blood Shadow's irises color was a mix of red and golden by now.

"Another effect from the "Dark Power", huh… Whatever."

"This guy…!"

"I'm not done yet."

Burai grabbed the loaded shotgun and placed its barrels on the ground to then force it to fire: the recoil sent Blood Shadow flying across the air before Burai jumped towards him and delivered a kick to the chest thus making him fall into the ground: Blood Shadow cursed under his breath and quickly stood up while he rubbed his chest.

"T-this JERK…!" He cursed.

"Hmpf. That sounds manlier." Burai made a smug smile and looked slightly amused.

"Che! I've gotten serious!"

"So it'd seem. About time."

"Complimenting me or mocking me?"

"Pick whichever suits you most."

"Clever bothersome guy!"

"Hmpf. Let's go~!"

"Fine!"

Blood Shadow ran forward at the same time Burai did and began loading up his shotgun: Burai drew his Laplace Sword and grinned as he swept it on a wide arch: Blood Shadow ducked and skid across the ground until he placed the shotgun's barrels on Burai's chest and shot again: Burai "exploded" all of a sudden.

"Double!" Blood Shadow gasped.

"Yeah. Take this!"

Burai showed up behind him, gripped his neck, and turned him around to hit his helmet's forehead's with Blood Shadow's thus creating a CLONG sound which echoed inside of Blood Shadow's helmet: he tried to focus but Burai was already beating him up using his punches and kicks: Blood Shadow groaned and tried to step back only to step into a hidden Giga Mine Battle Card.

"Gra~h!"

He landed hard on the ground and tried to stand up although several bruises and wounds had formed on his body armor: he panted and hissed something under his breath.

"Heh. I've learnt a few tricks from you lowlife." Burai grinned.

"Che… And here I thought you were the conservative type."

"A warrior must innovate if they wish to survive."

"I knew that!"

"Then prove it."

"Fine! Special Ability: Continuous Healing!"

"What!"

"When my HP fall under 200 points, then I can engage it. I'll be recovering 5 HP per second! How's that one like?"

"Che."

"Heh, heh, heh. And my max HP is 900 points, by the way."

"Whatever. Mine are 1800 points and I'm at about 1200 points by now. I can go on for a while."

"We'll see 'bout that…"

"What?"

"Heh, heh, heh. Dark Axe!"

"What!"

Blood Shadow drew a purple-colored Great Axe Battle Card and hit Burai with it: Burai groaned and stepped back while panting as Blood Shadow suddenly closed in and delivered another attack: Burai hissed and suddenly countered by hitting the torso with the Laplace sword: both then separated and panted to recover their breath.

"Heh… Intense…! Hadn't had one like this in ages… Maybe it's true that you lowlife took me seriously…!" Burai sounded amused.

"The circumstances showed me how silly I was. It was about time I got serious." Blood Shadow calmly replied.

"Fine… This new "serious" style… I'll make sure to keep coming back to have a full experience with it… But still got about 800 HP left…"

"And mine have climbed back up to 450…"

"Let's go for more!"

"Sure. I have another two hours of free time, anyway."

"Hra~h!"

"Hya~h!"

Burai began shooting out his knuckles but Blood Shadow jumped across the air and suddenly ignited some jets attached to his boots' sides to hover across the air: he drew the Mad Vulcan X Battle Card and bombarded the field with shots: Burai "exploded" again and Blood Shadow gasped.

"What!"

Blood Shadow gasped again as he saw the real one jump behind him and how he grabbed his shoulders from behind.

"Ground."

He suddenly jumped and hit Blood Shadow's back with both feet thus propelling him into the ground: Blood Shadow groaned and tried to stand up only for Burai to land with the sword drawn and cause a shockwave which flipped him up and had him roll across the ground.

"C-crap…!"

"Hmpf. It'd seem you lowlife's reflexes have gotten somewhat rusty… But that's fine anyway… I'm having a thrill."

"Grah… Guh… 220 HP left but steadily recovering…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Then I'll settle it in one blow! Ha~h!"

"Guo~h!"

Burai's shockwave hit the floor again and he chained in a rush of punches and kicks which sent Blood Shadow flying until he crashed against the inactive Mu device, bounced off it, and fell into the ground collapsing into his knees while panting.

"C-crap… This guy gets deadlier as you lower his HP…"

"Hmpf. I win."

"Y-yeah… Guess I need some more… training… been somewhat neglecting as of late…"

"So! What's the source of that "Dark Power" thing?"

"S-sorry, but… Boss came up with that program... He's a terrifically good programmer… So you won't be able to find it elsewhere…"

"Hmmm… It'd say this settles the score with those "bonds"… I feel largely satisfied to have actually brought you lowlife to your limits again like I did back when I used that "Proof of Aloofness" which Empty gave me…"

"S-sure thing… Man… That was a nightmare, really…"

"Good job, Blood Shadow! Now it's my turn!" An unknown male voice suddenly rang out.

"T-that voice…! Aibou…!" Blood Shadow gasped.

"… Oho. More grunts are on their way here?" Burai looked amused.

"Come at full power!" The voice challenged.

"That's my motto."

Someone landed into the area after dropping down from above:

The newcomer was about two meters tall and colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

His spheroid seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which was easily over a meter tall.

Overall, he seemed to be tall and imposing.

"My name is Sigma: I love intense battling and sending grunts flying all the way to Alaska with one swing of my sword!" He announced.

"Hmmm… You lowlife's body emits an aura of power I'd never felt before, it'd seem… It doesn't seem to be much higher than Blood Shadow's one, yet… Every inch of you lowlife's body announces power." Burai brought the left hand to his chin.

"M-my bad, Sigma… I messed it up…" Blood Shadow told him.

"Heh! Don't mind it, aibou… Ya simply didn't count on this guy's new tricks and we neglected his presence way too much…" Sigma shrugged.

"Heh, heh, heh. So you lowlife are next. Fine. Come!"

"Oho. I'd love to, but… Ya are wounded, ya see. I'm not allowed to fight an opponent unless they're at full power… Isn't that playing fair?"

"… Hmpf. True." Burai lowered the sword.

"But don't worry… I'll come back to fight ya in a few hours' time…"

"That's good for me. Blood Shadow… Sigma… You lowlifes will be my "entertainment"…" Burai grinned.

"Do as ya like! Let's go, aibou… Mars Warrior – sama is waitin' for our report!" Sigma told him.

"Yeah… Give me a lift… See ya, Burai – sama~!"

Blood grabbed Sigma's right forearm with his left hand and they vanished while Burai chuckled under his breath.

"Ga… Yu… Da…"

"What? That game again…? Oh. Shut up. You lowlife always make it glitch and bogus." Burai grumbled.

Burai ran off the area and landed back on the ground level: he walked out into the underground hall and looked amused.

"Hmmm… Nah. I won't tell Acid Ace. I'm sure they'll be going to show them his new serious side… Blood Shadow… You lowlife have now added more "value" to your existence… Come anytime… I'll be waiting to see if you lowlife can overcome me…" Burai muttered.

He suddenly warped inside of the Noise Wave and began to cut and slice through the hordes of Denpa Viruses: he managed to come out of the Noise Wave and wandered around the Bermuda Labyrinth until he reached the square overlooking the exact spot over where Mu's remains where located at.

"Hmmm? I suddenly feel a distinct "smell" coming from the ruins… What could it be? Someone was here. Someone… Powerful. Maybe that Mars Warrior guy was here…? Hmpf. Robbery again… I shall teach those lowlifes who they're messing with. Nobody robs anything from Mu! Che!"