Chapter 7: Origins

17:49 PM (Japan Time), Thursday November the 16th…

"… We're home!"

"Welcome!"

Netto and Saito, sporting their middle school uniforms, got into their home after the day's classes: they picked their slippers and climbed into the bedroom.

"What a week! Even though we know where Tabuu is hidden at the Warp Point doesn't work anymore. And that area is now plagued with wild Generation I Pokémon, too, so navigating it is difficult. Last month he ripped off serious video game guys, now he rips Pokémons. And he gave the Z – Militia those two aberrations, too!" Netto complained.

"I know. But that was no reason to ditch our studies. And tomorrow we leave for the onsen, too." Saito sighed.

"Argh. It's at times like this that reading my tankobon collection of Pokémon Special makes me feel better."

"I'll be checking my mail…"

Netto got into a face-up position atop his bed and began to read the tankobon while Saito booted the PC and accessed his inbox: he suddenly frowned as he spotted something.

"… Hmmm… Huh? This is…? "Morgoroth demonking com"… "Demon King"… Maou? It has an attached JPEG file…"

Saito downloaded the file and opened it: his jaw hit the floor.

"Netto – kun! You MUST see this!" He gasped.

"What's wrong? Huh! E~h! T-that's…!" Netto frowned as he walked towards Saito's side and then was stunned.

The photo showed two persons standing side by side in front of a large metallic building's entrance.

The person on the right was Vadous, who wore body armor made of an unknown grayish compound material: some purple patterns were drawn around it.

He sported a ragged, torn and worn out purple cape attached to the back of his shoulders which spread all the way to the ground but had some centimeters' margin of space.

He lastly carried two elaborated sword sheaths attached to the thick central belt colored black running around his waist.

His face in the photo showed him looking calm and collected.

"That's Vadous – san. But the guy on the left…!" Saito signaled.

"W-whoa!"

The guy on the left was a totally different tale.

To begin with, the guy had a humanoid shape and seemed to be around two meters tall.

Black armor made of an unknown material covered the whole of his body thus protecting him.

The helmet around his head lacked nose or mouth yet it had two cavities for the eyes which were plain red and lacking iris: but they seemed to be a decoration more than his real eyes, too.

His shoulders were plain and didn't have a spheroid form unlike most Net Navis: he had elbows and the armor over the hands included two small dome-shaped objects with the Alphabet "T" character colored in rainbow colors drawn upon them.

The armor extended across his legs, being thicker around the knees and ended in ellipsoid segments protecting his feet: rainbow-colored lines travelled down their length.

The main body was absent of decoration save for a pattern drawing the same Alphabet "T" letter in the middle of the chest the colors of which were (apparently) constantly shifting and mixing.

Lastly, four large and irregularly-shaped wings formed behind him: its colors were also constantly shifting, too.

"T-that's gotta be… Tabuu! Omega – san did mention that he had some kind of armor!" Saito grasped.

"Whoa! Tabuu's real look… Scary~!" Netto muttered.

The date "04/08/2005" was imprinted on the lower right edge of the photograph along with the words "TRAINING FACILITY".

"This photo is dated over six years ago… We were eight. You were at the Science Labs with Papa and I was in 3rd of elementary school. And Vadous – san had to have been eighteen and "been around" for roughly two years. The building must be that Bermuda Triangle facility he spoke of." Netto deduced next.

"Surprised?" Tabuu's voice rang out from Saito's Link PET.

Both gasped and looked at it: his Gufuu avatar was there, as usual.

"So that's your ugly hide, huh?" Netto told him.

"Indeed! If you were wondering where I got the alias "Morgoroth" from, it's J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion book: he was Sauron's boss before he was fired and Sauron began to handle on his own." Tabuu announced.

"I'd read about it." Saito admitted.

"Bravo." Tabuu sounded satisfied.

"What are ya up to?" Netto demanded.

"I'm brainstorming." Tabuu simply replied.

"No wonder." Saito sarcastically told him.

"By the way! Have you guys wondered where I came out from?" Tabuu sounded amused.

"Yeah. You were a solo Navi who was formed on his own somehow, not unlike the "Cybeast Greiga" was formed on its own by the mass fusion of bugs." Netto replied.

"… My. Aibou does get afraid easily, it'd seem." Tabuu laughed.

"Come on. A man like him ain't gonna get afraid of creeps like you." Saito didn't believe it.

"Why do you guys think he bothered to build such a gigantic spacecraft to begin with? He told you about it, right?" Tabuu asked.

"Now that he says it… I always thought it was to be the ultimate HQ or something like that…" Netto frowned.

"You don't mean that…!" Saito seemed to see where Tabuu was pointing at with his question.

"Yep! Did you guys really think he'd made it sit idle in High Earth Orbit and do nothing? Vadous was not the patient type back then! He actually traversed the whole Solar System with it! And that's where we met: in the Kuiper belt!" Tabuu announced.

"… But if you're an alien then how did you learn Japanese and other idioms so easily?" Saito questioned.

"I am an alien. But I'm a Navi. A Navi can use binary code to adapt something to its systems. And that's what we did. When I got a decent enough level of idiom, we began to talk directly, but until then we had to use binary conversion and de-conversion to get to an understanding. It was troublesome, but…" Tabuu explained.

"Hmmm… So! Vadous – san was afraid of being laughed at if he told us this stuff?" Netto assumed.

"Yeah. That sums it up nicely enough, fellas." Tabuu confirmed with a hint of amusement.

"If you're done with the show then scram outta here before we summon Omega and he comes reap your armor, wings and skin!" Saito demanded.

"Yep. I'm done with the show. I'm off to brainstorming. Enjoy your onsen trip!"

"What?"

The hologram bowed and warped out: both grumbled in clear annoyance and glanced at the photo once more.

"He's been spying on us or Enzan. Else how could he know about our onsen trip?" Netto grumbled.

"He's a lousy spy." Saito grumbled.

"YAY! GUFUU – SAMA WAS JUST HERE! YAY!" A Program – kun inside of their PC exclaimed.

"That wasn't Gufuu, so get back to work." Netto told the Program – kun with a hint of annoyance on his voice.

"YAY!"

Netto's Link PET rang and Dekao showed up onscreen with a broad grin on his face: Netto looked skeptical.

"Dekao. Whaddya want?"

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah! I bought an "Ultra Cannon" to a guy named Bubble Man! And by using it I plan to beat ya and Rock Man once and for all!" He laughed.

"Anything made by Bubble Man is a scam. You got your money robbed, Dekao." Netto grumbled.

"Fire!" He commanded to Guts Man.

"Fire, gattsu!"

An explosion sound rang out and a loud THUD of Guts Man hitting the floor rang out over the line.

"Wha! It blew up and Guts Mans' HP fell down to 1 HP!"

"See?" Netto sighed in exasperation.

"This guy~! Bubble Ma~n! I'll slaughter ya~!"

Netto cut the call and glanced at Saito who also slapped his forehead in obvious exasperation and defeat…

18:11 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh! De masu! My Chip Store is going perfectly, de masu! My Chips shine like gold, de masu!"

"Higure - san…"

Higure Yamitarou was rubbing his hands in excitement upon seeing how his business was going like before his Link PET rang.

"This is Higureya, de masu! Wanna order a Rare Chip, de masu?" Higure greeted with a broad smile.

"May I recall the attention of Higure Yamitarou to the fact that he forgot to order a stock of Dream Aura Battle Chips?" Tabuu's voice rang out with obvious amusement.

"A~h! De masu! I knew I was missing something, de masu! Dream Aura, de masu!"

Higure turned to the shelf behind him and spotted a box with three Dream Aura Battle Chips on it.

"Huh? I do have Dream Auras, de masu!"

"May I recall the attention of Number Man EXE to the fact that he forgot to teach his Operator what does the 1:4:9 proportions imply?" Tabuu announced next.

"What! Higure - san doesn't know such a basic thing?" Number Man sounded taken aback.

"Aren't those the square powers of the three first natural numbers, de masu?" Higure frowned.

"Hey! How did you…? He's gone! What a chicken!" Number Man began questioning to then see that the guy was gone.

"Who could've it been, de masu?" Higure wondered.

"Do not ask me, sir." Number Man replied.

Higure frowned and brought the right hand to his chin…

18:22 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew! This program was hard to debug: but it was quite a challenge. Vadous – san sure can make interesting programs!"

"He can."

"Yikes!"

"Surprised? Obihiro Shun."

Obihiro Shun (sporting his usual purple jumper along with blackish jeans plus white sneakers) had been sitting in a chair and working with a MacBook placed atop a desk when Gufuu's avatar showed up onscreen as walking in from the right once he'd stopped to wonder aloud and lean the chair backwards a bit.

"You're that Tabuu dude!" He assumed.

"Indeed! May I recall your attention to the fact that you forgot your YouTube account password?" Tabuu announced.

"Huh! My YouTube account password…! Where did I write it down, man…? Huh? Wasn't it Obihiro11? Hey! He's gone!" Obihiro began to look around his room in a frenzy only to remember it and realize Tabuu had ditched him while he was busy.

Sighing in relief, he resumed his earlier position and stretched before he noticed there was JPEG file set on the task bar.

"Huh? I didn't open it. What's this about?" He frowned.

He opened it and saw the famous photo so his jaw hit the floor.

"This is turning crazier with every passing day…" He muttered while sounding taken aback.

"Crazy in my life and life in my crazy~…" A silly song rang out all of a sudden and it seemed to be self-made.

"What in the… It's so lame. Really." He groaned.

"Lovely in my love and love in my lovely~… Drum, drum, drum…"

18:23 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm! This curry is right on the point. Let us prepare to serve the first dinners."

"Roger, Maha Jarama – sama."

Maha Jarama, former WWW member, was cooking something in a restaurant's kitchen: Hino Kenichi, Iroaya Madoi and Count Elec were also present nearby yet the only customers were two Net Police detectives who seemed to be watching them: Magic Man, his Net Navi, was apparently checking the procedure.

"Alright. The dish-washing machine has finished so I better start storing the stuff." Hinoken muttered as he checked it.

"Roger, Hinoken – sama."

"The rice is ready." Madoi called out.

"Tee, heh, heh. Ricy rice~!" Colored Man rhymed.

"The glasses are clean, yes!" Count Elec reported.

"I have a bad feeling." Elec Man muttered.

"Maha Jarama – sama: a phone call."

"This is Maha Ichiban's." He announced.

"May I recall the attention of Maha Jarama to the fact that he forgot to order the spices for the curry?" Tabuu announced.

"By all the…!" Maha gasped.

He checked the cupboard and found it filled with spices so he looked surprised.

"May I recall the attention of Magic Man EXE to the fact that he forgot to order the rabbits for tonight's suppers?" Tabuu told Magic Man next.

"Rabbits…? Where did I stow them at? Wait! We don't serve rabbits! Who…? He's gone!" Magic Man gasped.

"Madoi~! The PET, the PET!"

"Yeah, yeah. Who goes there?" She asked.

"May I recall the attention of Ms. Iroaya Madoi to the fact that she forgot to put on her Lady GaGa perfume?" Tabuu teased.

"Goodness!"

Madoi ran off towards the restroom and tossing the Link PET on the table: Colored Man looked confused.

"May I recall the attention of Colored Man EXE to the fact that he forgot to paint the restaurant's Cyber World in pink color?" Tabuu teased Colored Man next.

"A~H! I knew I was forgettin' somethin'…! Wait! Who'd want to paint it pink? Huh? He fled!" Colored Man shrieked only to realize that he had been fooled.

"I don't have a Lady GaGa perfume, either!" Madoi came back in while looking pissed off.

"Count Elec. The phone, sir."

"By George! Who are you?" He questioned.

"May I recall the attention of Count Elec to the fact that he forgot to eat his daily C Vitamin orange juice?" Tabuu told him.

"My God! Quick! Maha Jarama! I need an orange juice!" Count Elec gasped and shouted at Maha Jarama.

"… Ever since when do you consume orange juice, Count Elec?" Maha asked.

"Huh? Never, now that I think about it!" Count Elec realized.

"May I recall the attention of Elec Man EXE to the fact that he forgot to electrocute that customer who tried to leave without paying the bill last evening?" Tabuu asked.

"No way…" He groaned.

"Hinoken – sama. The phone…"

"Alright! Whaddya want?" He questioned.

"May I recall the attention of Hino Kenichi to the fact that he forgot to ask Ms. Iroaya Madoi to go out in a date?" Tabuu teased.

"WHAT!" Hinoken sounded taken aback.

"… That ain't gonna happen. Ever." Madoi announced.

"May I recall the attention of Fire Man EXE to the fact that he forgot to burn that old man's beard?" Tabuu teased next.

"What old man's beard…? He ditched me!" Fire Man began wondering before realizing that he'd been tricked.

"Oi. Kondo. Did you order a straw hat for me?" One Net Police detective asked the other as he looked at a Sub PET.

"No, Jendo. Did you order platform shoes for me?"

"I didn't."

"Then who sent me this email?"

"That'd be me. Sorcerer Gufuu."

"SORCERER? RUN FOR IT!"

The two detectives ran off like they were gonna be slaughtered alive just as Gufuu projected in the real world and greeted the other four with a reverence before looking up while having a psychotic smile on his face which gave on the creeps.

"Boo."

"UWA~H!"

The four of them also ran out and no – one was left behind.

"… And then there were none, by Agatha Christie."

Gufuu giggled aloud in the empty restaurant…

18:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Speak."

"I won't!"

BLOF!

"Ugah!"

"No "cool guy" tricks on me or I'll bring out my terrific arsenal of tools to force you to confess."

"W-why, you…!"

Hikawa cursed as he tried to struggle against the ropes keeping him tied to a chair inside of his bedroom: he'd been stripped down to his boxers and he had a black wool blindfold over his eyes: Moonlight was standing in front of him and punching his stomach area: she carried a backpack colored black on her and didn't look in a good mood.

"Where did Akashi come from? We know Delta was the result of a last-ditch-plan by Dr. Regal and so is Red Sword, but there's insufficient data on Akashi." Moonlight questioned.

"Damn it! Fine! Ameroupe!"

"Ameroupe?"

"I know his English is not very good but that's because he lived in a Japanese neighborhood similar to Chinatown…! And he was picked off by a secret Army program to train elite Net Battlers and make them become "fifth column" agents to help them cripple rival Networks and gain supremacy!" Hikawa told Moonlight.

"Ah! I'd heard rumors of that and General Sentou got inspired on the idea to try to pick Rock Man and Delta from that, yeah. So that solves much of the equation, yet how did he and Delta meet?"

"Hiro – kun was given a field mission in Japan but he ditched the guys and ran up a mountain only to fell inside of a bunker's camouflaged air duct which happened to be inhabited by Delta."

"And how do you treat him like a friend when he was the one who rescued Dr. Regal and began "Neo Nebula", huh?"

"Well! After some incidents which he and Delta provoked because they were being led by a puppeteer… Zataki – san blocked their memories and gave them a chance to start anew! He thought Dr. Regal might know something and he was still in the mood to play "bad guy" until he partially revived one memory and that shook his beliefs. That's when he began to think that maybe he'd gotten himself in a pinch!"

"And…?"

"And Dr. Regal began to catch wind of it and began to extortion him: he claimed that he could find his lost parents somehow and Hiro – kun was forced to tag along only to be betrayed by Dr. Regal! He almost died when the man closed him inside of a dusty van because he couldn't breathe properly with cello on his mouth! We had to rescue him and with some joint effort we took control of the plane before he could try to bring us to the Z – Nation! He was a victim! Of course we'd take him in as a friend: he'd tried to end it but was unable to! And he was ready to be punished for his crimes but Commissioner Kifune appointed him a "Net Savior" instead!" Hikawa explained in a rush.

"Ah! So Dr. Regal resorted to extortion because he saw value on him and that's why and you guys so that's why he tried to bring the plane to our Z – Nation yet he failed and ended up jailed… And they can't remember what they did before, either, and you guys must've buried it by now… Man! I was expecting more struggling… Take this!"

BLOF!

"Gah!"

Hikawa felt another blow to his stomach and began to notice an acid feeling on his throat.

"S-stop it…! I'm gonna throw out my lunch like this…!" Hikawa pleaded between pants.

"Then let's bring out the taser!"

ZAP!

"Grah!"

Hikawa felt a small electrical discharge hit the right side of his neck and he yelled.

"This is a modified taser with lowered power: it'll make sure to make you yell." Moonlight announced.

"L-leave me alone, you villain…!" Hikawa cursed.

"Nope. I'm just getting started." Moonlight replied.

ZAP!

"Grah!"

"Yell."

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

"Gra~h!"

Three continuous electric jolts hit the right side of his neck, and he yelled in agony but he suddenly noticed something else: his cock turned hard and was bulging against his boxers.

"My, my, my. It looks like you're a good masochist if you get turned on by my taser. Let's allow it to breathe a bit." Moonlight sounded eager.

"D-don't invade my privacy!" Hikawa protested.

"That's it: struggle. It'll make you hornier. And I've nailed the chair to the floor, so there's no escape." Moonlight announced.

Hikawa felt two hands pulling his boxers down his legs and stopping right before the knees: his cock was wholly exposed by now and it was totally hard.

"Hmpf. I know that Sakurai girl has been giving you lessons but mine are better. I'm sure she'd liked to make you beg and moan. I'll teach you to be a good slave!"

Hikawa was about to protest, but Moonlight placed something on his mouth to muffle him which felt like a small plastic spheroid with holes with a leather band to hold it on place.

"No speaking. Now these."

He then felt two things being attached to his nipples and his sack.

"And this, too."

A cylindrical object was forced into his insides.

"And let's add this. Tee, heh, heh."

Hikawa noticed how a small cylindrical object was forced into his urethra and some leather bands were tightened around his cock and sack.

"All's set. Let's begin!"

The object on his insides began to vibrate: Hikawa felt how his cock was bulging and he couldn't come to thus placing a brutal strain on his mind: his cries were muffled by the spheroid and his body was moving around in a crazy manner.

N-no…! I know Sakurai – san forced me to hold back when she toyed with me but she didn't go to the ends of plugging the urethra…! Let me release…! I'm gonna go crazy! I'm gonna go crazy!

"Keep on struggling! I want you to beg and moan!"

"Charge… Shot!"

BLAM!

"Gua~h…! Delta…! Impossible…!"

"Take this! This! And this!"

"Uack! Grah! Damn! I'll be back!"

"Tooru – kun! I'll take this out!"

Hikawa felt how Delta removed the plug and he inwardly cried as he released and stained his body before losing consciousness…

19:33 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Tooru – kun! Please! Wake up!"

"Oi! Tooru!"

"Uh-unh… Hiro – kun… Drake… kun…!"

Hikawa managed to wake up: his sight was blurry but he could tell that he was on his bed wearing his boxers and his pajamas: Hiro and Drake were looming over him.

"Are ya alright? Say something!"

"Ugh… Don't wanna… go through that… twice…!" He groaned.

"No – one would!" Drake muttered.

"Eh… Can I make a request…?"

"Sure!"

"Could we… eh… hum… go to the onsen, too?"

"You wanna… eh… play with us?" Hiro looked surprised.

"Sorry. But… Something about you… drives me crazy." He blushed and looked at the ceiling.

"Well, no big deal for me! Whaddya say, Drake~?"

"No problem. We could make out the three of us together and make Ice Man go explore something. He wouldn't get it." Drake shrugged and formed a smile.

"Yeah. I was thinking of the same thing, too…"

"Alright! Then it's gonna become the Mega Onsen Trip! Brace yourself, onsen! I'm gonna dive right in and heat up!" Hiro grinned.

"And I'll put my onsen knowledge into practical use…"

"Deal!"

The three of them laughed in a jovial tone of voice…