Chapter 7: Creepy guys

09:11 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 29th…

"… Ah."

"… Ah."

"… Ah."

"… Oi, Tooru, Meiru, Yaito… Why don't we do something?"

"I'm not sure if we should, Dekao – kun…"

"It's sad to see them like that, sinking into further depression every day but… I'm not sure if we should intervene."

"Oh boy. What do we do?"

"I'm not sure, Yaito – sama."

"It can't be helped, can it?"

"Guts, guts?"

"Desu…"

Dekao, Hikawa, Meiru and Yaito were whispering as they looked at how Rafael, Drake and Saito were sitting in a bench (all of them wearing normal clothes) and looked sad and depressed: the only thing they occasionally made was to sigh: the four friends looked worried and concerned but weren't sure of what they had to do.

"Being separated from your Operator is nothing to take lightly: the Operator reminds you that you're there, that you've got a reason to look forward to each day… But now they lack that, they're disoriented and depressed… It's like your parents weren't there to tell you what you're supposed to do today." Roll explained.

"I see." Dekao muttered.

"It's such a pity, de masu… They used to be so cheery…" Higure joined them, sighing.

"We've tried to do our research too but we got nowhere. I'm sorry we can't be of help, guys." Number Man told the Navis.

"You're doing all you can, Number Man. Nobody can blame you. So take it easy."

"Thank you."

"De masu! 25% discount in Battle Chips!" Higure tried to animate the depressed trio.

They didn't react so he sighed and walked back towards Higureya: the other four sighed and didn't seem to know what to do.

"…ll… Gr… nd… Will… Grand…" Some voices began to whisper and they got louder.

"HUH? AH!"

The four friends looked around and saw how the mysterious black-dressed men of the other day were slowly walking in formation towards them from the four cardinal directions: Meiru quickly spotted Higureya so she grabbed Saito's right hand and pulled him.

"You guys! Pick the others! We take shelter in Higureya! Hurry it up or it'll get bad!"

"R-roger!"

Dekao dragged Rafael and Hikawa dragged Drake: they all rushed into Higureya and Higure quickly lowered the shutter before the men could react: he sighed in relief.

"This store has no backdoor, de masu. Or windows. De masu."

"W-what's going on?" Saito asked.

"D-dunno!" Drake looked confused.

"HUH?" Rafael wondered.

"I'm not sure myself. But an odd-looking band of men showed up of nowhere and seemed to want to catch us!"

"By all the…" Saito cursed.

"Eh… They're all human, though…" Rafael apparently scanned the outside of the store with his Navi abilities.

"We're not supposed to fight humans." Drake gulped.

"Who said anything about fighting? You hot-blooded boys! We gotta take shelter: the police will deal with those! Gotcha?" Meiru scolded like she was a teacher.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Everyone replied, gulping.

"HAI! DE MASU~!" Higure even saluted.

"Alright, alright." Number Man calmly replied.

"The Grand Will, the Grand Will, the Grand Will… To die is to live, to die is to live, to die is to live…" The men began chanting as they began to knock on the shutter in a slow manner.

"To die is to live~?" Dekao got white.

"They sound like some sect, even." Hikawa gulped.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. They finally got in the move! My business partners got in the move… How is it like? Feeling the fear?" Virus' voice rang out of all of their PETs (the Navis had their Operators' PETs on them).

"What!"

They all drew the PETs to see Virus onscreen having the mask on but one could see that he had blonde hair: only his face was visible.

"You lowlife! Return our Operators to us!" The Navis growled.

"Heh, heh, heh. Sorry, but no – one comes out the Palace once they come in! Save for the elite, of course. Mwah, hah, hah, hah."

"Palace?" Everyone wondered.

"Ask Zataki. Pull the guy's ears."

"Why should we?" Saito shot back.

"For not telling you."

"If we didn't need to know then he needn't tell us."

"That must come from Wesker."

"Wesker? Who's that?" Hikawa wondered.

"You mean Chief Lezareno."

"Nope. Wesker. Albert Wesker."

"Oh come on. I'm sure you say this because he looks similar to some guy named Albert Wesker."

"Heh, heh, heh. Huh? Aw damn it! This shutter is electronically operated but you need a physical key!" He cursed.

"Else the point of them would be lost." Meiru shot back.

"Missy! How about you join us and tell these pigs that they must submit to the will of IQ – sama?"

"LIKE HELL I WILL!" She yelped back.

"Oh well. IQ – sama will eventually convince you."

"I'd like to see the bitch trying."

"KI~H! THIS LIL GIRL!"

"Hmpf! Men will be men."

"Sheesh."

"Anyway, who are THOSE?" Saito demanded.

"Hmpf. The HB… The Headless Brigade!"

"What? Kubinashi Ryodan?" Saito gasped.

"UA~H! DE MASU~!"

Higure suddenly collapsed behind the counter and Number Man grumbled out of pure annoyance.

"Called "Headless" because there's no "Head" or "Boss"! There's only a Grand Will ruling over it!"

"Don't tell me." Rafael grumbled.

The sirens of the police rang out but that didn't seem to stop the assaulters from keep at it: there was the sound of vehicles braking, doors opening and footsteps: there were some sounds amongst those the detonating of what could be tear gas grenades: some yells ensued as well followed by muttering.

"The Grand Will, the Grand Will… To die is to live… To die is to live."

"… These guys are mad!" A policeman complained.

"Charge!"

"Shoot the water cannon!"

"Throw more grenades!"

"What! All around them as suddenly vanished!"

"That can't be!"

"W-wait a min… I see! It's a moveable stealth field! It's split into four groups!"

"We've found 4 suspicious vans! What! They've broken through the barricade!"

"Watch out! They're opening fire with machineguns! Shields! Fall back, take cover!"

"What chaos!" The group muttered.

"Che. Faster than expected…" Virus grumbled.

He suddenly cut the hacking and the group sighed in relief once they heard four vans running off.

"They ran off but we registered the plates! Order blockades and call for heavy equipment, bulletproof vests and such!"

"Is anyone here?" A policeman asked.

"Yes! We've taken up refuge here."

"Good idea. You can come out. They're gone."

"Phew."

"R-really? De masu?" Higure timidly popped his upper head from behind the counter while leaning his fingers on it.

"It's the police, Yamitarou!"

"A-alright, de masu…! I'll now open… De masu…!"

Higure opened the shutter and two SWAT Team captains came in having notepads drawn and pencils.

"We'd like to have your witness. What happened?"

"Well, sir… We were talking in the park in a calm manner when I saw these 4 columns of men slowly walking towards us. Their outfit didn't suggest anything good so I saw the chance to barricade us inside of the store: luckily they were very slow in movements and they don't seem capable of thinking to begin with." Meiru explained.

"They're named the Headless Brigade." Saito added.

"How do you know that?"

"A wanted criminal hijacked everyone's PETs to gloat about that and how they were business partners and all." Rafael summed up.

"I see."

"They sounded like they were brainwashed… I'm not sure what they wanted but maybe they're one of those gangs who kidnap teens like us for ransom…"

"Devil. We better warn the higher ups and spread warnings nation-wide right away."

"I'll do it. You finish collecting reports with the squad members."

"Roger."

One of the captains came out: the other let out a sigh and then resumed taking note.

"Anything else you noticed?"

"Well… They all had balaclava and sunglasses… And they seem to use the letters "HB" as symbol…" Hikawa ventured.

"Alright."

"Captain! The plate numbers have been forwarded. All major crossroads are on guard and speed radars have been uploaded with the data as well to see if they cross through an area." A member came in.

"Good job."

"Roger, sir!"

"You're dismissed. Continue collecting witness accounts."

"Understood, sir."

"Alright. I'll be on my way too. Stay alert."

"Roger, sir."

The captain came out and everyone sighed in relief: they came outside to find remains of tear gas fading away, remains of water having splashed and some SWAT members asking questions to the residents: Haruka rushed over there and sighed in relief.

"Saito! Dear! What in the world happened?"

"Some odd people appeared and we had to take refuge, Mama."

"What! Why? What has happened? This has always been such a peaceful city and now it's gone mad!" She gasped.

"I know, Mama. The world's gone mad."

"You needn't tell me! Starting with that oven explosion 3 years ago that almost set fire to the house…!"

"I know…"

"Do you want some tea, ma'am?" Meiru offered.

"Oh! Thank you, Meiru – chan. Please go ahead."

"It's nothing, ma'am. I like to be of help."

Meiru headed with Haruka back to the house while the 3 Navis gathered in the square but now they were burning.

"Alright. If Netto – kun saw me like this he'd get sad so… I'm not going to be depressed anymore! I'll be strong! And wait for his return! I'll protect our home, too!" Saito exclaimed.

"I like that mood! Yeah. I'll go along with the Hunters' Guild guys and we'll keep on hunting for clues." Drake nodded in agreement.

"It's about time we did something!" Rafael added.

"Huff, huff… Is everyone alright?" Vadous rushed there.

"Zataki – san! Yeah. By the way… What's the "Palace"?"

"Virus said that?"

"Yeah. Does it have some relevance? If not you needn't tell us."

"It shouldn't have. It was the name of Maria's hideout and S&M dungeon but it's demolished by now. Down to the foundations." He frowned and rubbed his chin.

"Ah. I thought as much. But I guess it was a horrible place?"

"You needn't tell me. All other clubs out there seem amateurs in comparison: I was there when I burst in with the police and dismantled the org." He made a scowl.

"Alright, we won't ask any further."

"Thanks. It's not something I like to talk about. I'm now pretty sure I've heard about Virus before but he had another name… Or maybe we crossed paths during my training as elite agent…"

"He hacked into our PETs. He had the mask on but I could see that he had blonde hair."

"Blonde hair… Hmmm… Doesn't ring a bell. But I've got the hunch it's the guy's real hair color."

"Could be…"

"Alright. I'm going back to knocking doors. Maybe someone knows more about our culprit. Later."

Vadous rushed away to a black Subaru, rode on it and sped away from the scene: Saito sighed and headed back to his home: Haruka was having a tea with Meiru and chatting so he headed upstairs into their bedroom: he sat on his bed, right of Netto's and sighed upon seeing Netto's bed: he then looked around the room.

"Damn it. How many days will I be able to endure this? It can't be forever, can it? Ridiculous!"

His PET rang and he replied to the call: Obihiro showed up onscreen and looked somewhat sleepy.

"Obihiro – kun! Been a while."

"Yeah. I know, Saito – kun. Anyway. I wanted to warn you that…"

"The HB already dropped by. But the police repelled them."

"Ah! That happens for staying up until 4 AM and then collapsing. I was hysterical thinking they'd come during the night but they were bold enough to come out during the day!"

"What'd you say?" Someone asked close by.

"Is there someone with you?"

"A hacker buddy." He shrugged.

"S-sorry."

There were rushed footsteps and a door closing: Obihiro yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Anyway… I'll try to gather more info about these guys…"

"They talked about some Grand Will."

"So that's what it meant, huh?"

"And they seem to be hypnotized or brainwashed too."

"That could be dangerous. I better find a way to counter that: there must be some kind of file somewhere… Maybe it's some radio signal or something like that…" Obihiro tried to guess.

"Could be. They also have portable stealth fields to hide their movements to a certain range and to make it look like they appear out of nowhere at all. That's the dangerous part." Saito warned.

"And they're all normal humans?"

"Undoubtedly. The IR signature was clear enough."

"Crap. A squad of tens of controlled guys… That can't be anything good and it can only bring misfortune. My hacker buddy and I will do what we can…! Sorry for not introducing you to him... But it'd be better if he could keep his ID a secret."

"I don't care."

"Alright. See you around and don't lower the guard! The culprit can strike anytime now." Obihiro warned.

"I know. See you around."

Saito sighed and tossed the PET atop the desk before laying face-up on the bed and looking at the ceiling.

"Netto – kun… I miss you… I really do. More than the others… Because you're my brother, you know… I thought that there wouldn't be something like in early 2010 but no… Why do these things happen to you, Netto – kun? I love you, Netto – kun. Please come back, Netto – kun. I need you, Netto – kun…!"

If only I could make my voice reach Netto – kun… But how…?

10:13 AM (Japan Time)…

"…out! Has to be a way out!"

"Noa… Getting desperate won't help find a way out."

"You saw what happened yesterday."

"I KNOW, DAMN IT!"

"Cool it, man. If we start to fight each other we'll all be dancing to the tune of the culprit's flute."

"Sheesh!"

"I understand your impotence and anger but, like Netto said, yelling and all won't lead to anywhere, Noa…"

Tomono was yelling aloud while seemingly trying to rally Hiro and Netto but they didn't seem to be motivated by his attempts: Tomono fumed and sat on his bed.

"Company! Here!"

"Uack!"

SLAM!

"O~w… My nose~…"

"Whoa! Zarashe!"

"Hi… Hikari – kun? Guys? What's going on?"

"Oh man."

"Welcome to despair, man."

"Heck."

A newcomer had been brought in and tossed into the ground: he hit his nose and groaned before he looked up.

Zarashe was about the guys' age and he seemed to be about their height too.

He had black messy hair and green eye irises.

Netto crouched and undid his bindings so Zarashe stood up and looked around, confused.

"What's happened to you guys?"

"Nobody told you anything? A jerk named Virus has been kidnapping us one after the other to force us into S&M sex. And he films it to sell the movies online." Netto summed up.

"Bad part is… There's no escape and you get forced to have sex thrice a day…" Hiro added.

"It'd seem he's gotten the idea of increasing the numbers by one with every passing day too." Tomono warned.

"By all the… There's really no escape?"

"Believe us. We've tried it all."

"Shit. And so we get to sit here waiting for doom?"

"Yeah. Even if you don't eat or drink the drugged food… Gas is pumped into the room and you faint nevertheless."

"Lovely!" He sat in the bed right of Netto's and Hiro's.

"What happened to you?" Tomono asked.

"I'd gone out of my uncle's house there in Kyoto, was having a walk, and someone hit me from behind. And Beta X happened to have gone to the Internet City too so…" He grumbled.

"Apart from that… Each morning… An audio-book of a European comic is broadcasted… It's named the Yellow "M"… And if it keeps up then it'll surely start broadcasting soon too… It's interesting because it's another style altogether and the story seems to be more adult-like unlike most manga…" Netto explained to him.

"And why does he bother?"

"I think because it involves a string of kidnappings, too…"

"Shit. What a panorama."

"You needn't tell us."

"… It is 4:30 PM. As planned, Blake comes to pick up the Doctor at his house. It is going dark already and a fine, close rain dimes the atmosphere. "Thank goodness, you're here at last!"… "Good afternoon, Doctor. Don't worry. All will be O. K. Aren't you taking your manservant?"… "No… I've given him leave. I thought it would be wiser not to scare him, on account of his nervous state. Oh, this weather is depressing. I have a presentiment that I shan't see Tavistock Square again."… "Now look here, Doctor. What an idea to get into your head. Come on, Fred, let's get going."… Escorted by police motorcyclists, the car travels towards the station… Followed by two detectives, Blake quickly takes his companion along the platform. "Here's our coach. We have a reserved compartment."… "Luckily!"… "Here it is, gentlemen."… "Here we are, settled. In two or three minutes, you'll have nothing more to fear."… "Let us pray you are right."…" The broadcast suddenly began.

"That's it?" Zarashe asked.

"Yeah. The 4th target, Doctor Septimus, will be escorted out of London by Captain Blake of the MI… To protect him from the Yellow "M"…"

"The name is based on his habit of leaving an "M" letter written in yellow chalk or yellow ink upon paper…"

"… TRRI~T! It is departure time, and the train, under the powerful thrust of its heavy pistons, vibrates in a great jet of steam and slowly draws out of King's Cross Station. "Phew! Now we can breathe again. I believe this time we have got the better of the Yellow "M"!"… "Don't talk like that, Blake! It might bring us bad luck!"… In the corridor, the two detectives are posted at the door of the compartment. "We're wasting our time. Nothing will happen here."… "Let's wait and see. The 24 hours are not up yet!"… While the train carrying Blake and Septimus is travelling at full speed through the countryside… In London, in his apartment on Park Lane, Mortimer and his faithful servant Nasir comment on the latest events… "At any rate Dr. Septimus is taken care of. At least, we hope so."…"

"I agree with the second policeman. The 24 hours haven't expired yet: it's bad to get confident. The culprit could be onboard the train and waiting for a chance to break in." Hiro argued.

"But how would they escape?" Zarashe wondered.

"Pulling the emergency brake, jumping out and into a car that might be driven by an accomplice…" Tomono suggested.

"Sounds reasonable…"

"… "May Allah grant it…Sahib."… Back on the train, inside the locomotive… "Say, Bill, is it true that there some Scotland Yard people on the train in connection with the Yellow "M"?"… "Don't let that worry you, lad. The Yellow "M" has to with London, not with us here, so…"… But the driver, surveying the railroad, suddenly exclaims. "What in the blazes? A red light!"… About a quarter of a mile away, the signal at the entrance to a tunnel is red. The brakes go on at once, and the train stops at the signal with a grinding of the wheels. Blake is surprised at the sudden stop. He puts down the window, leans outside and says. "Well, that's strange. We're out in the middle of the country… I'm going to enquire. Don't go out of here for any reason."… "Don't worry about that!"… The Captain goes out into the corridor and sees the guard walk by outside. "Why are we stopping?"… "I don't know, Sir. Perhaps they are a shunting a train on the other side of the tunnel."… "It's nothing special, I think, a train shunting, but do keep an eye open."… "Don't worry, Sir."…"

"Suspicious. Very." Netto muttered.

"But if they're blocking the corridor then the culprit can't come in if they're in the train, can they?" Zarashe pointed out.

"Got a point there."

"I've got a bad feeling about this. I really do." Tomono grumbled as if he expected an ill conclusion.

"Yeah. Blake's statement of before was somewhat cocky. If you get cocky then you run into trouble. You really do. It's happened to me before so I know that." Netto argued.

"… Blake has barely opened the door of his compartment when he stops, riveted to the floor. "Lord, have mercy!"… The compartment is empty. Baffled and incredulous, Blake and the detectives notice is wide open. In the far corner there is the fateful Yellow "M". Rushing to the window, the Captain calls out in the darkness… "Septimus! Septimus! SEPTIMUS! The only possible exit is through the window, which bears several scratches. Quick! They can't be far away!"… The three men quickly climb down onto the railway track and feverishly search in the bushes on the bushes on the embankment for any possible clue. "Ah! A broken branch! We're on the right track!"… "Hello! Come this way! There's a road! See here, Sir! An oil stain!"… "And tyre marks!"… "Yes! No doubt at all. A car has stood here recently!"…"

"Devil. We were right. They came in from the outside. The signal was too convenient, I knew it. It's been rigged!" Hiro gasped.

"And there indeed was a getaway car! But that was quick! Blake surely didn't take more than one or two minutes to talk to the guard outside: the culprit brought down the window, knocked out Septimus and carried him through the bushes until the car, loaded him and ran off… And that without anyone noticing!" Tomono exposed his chain of the events with obvious surprise.

"… At that moment, they are interrupted by a loud train whistle, and they instinctively turn towards the line. "TO~T!" Frozen with horror, they watch as the Harwich Express ploughs at full speed into the train they have just left! The impact is terrifying! Pushing everything before it, in a mass of steam and flame, the express leaps over the carriages, which hurtle into each other with a fearful din!..."

"By all the…!" They all gasped in horror at the narration.

"… The next day, all London rushes to read the newspapers, which describe under huge headlines the latest exploit of the Yellow "M"... Kidnapping of Dr. Septimus causes a terrible catastrophe! Harwich Express collision with Ipswich Train following sabotage of signal."

"Devil! The Yellow "M" wanted to take Blake out along the way!"

"Shit. That note delivered in the morning was no joke." Netto growled.

"What note?" Zarashe asked.

"Stay out of this." Tomono summed up.

"… In the meantime, Blake has remained at the scene of the accident, searching for a clue and discussing the case with Inspector Kendall. "No point in staying here. Not only is our carriage smashed up, but all the surrounding terrain has been trampled flat. And what about you? Any news?"… "None at all. After your phone call, I set up roadblocks and had the whole neighbourhood searched, but the getaway vehicle seems to have vanished into thin air along with Septimus."… In the meantime, Mortimer, who refused to interrupt his search at the Daily Mail offices, carefully combs through old issues of the newspaper. "Here's the year 1922, Professor. Maybe you'll be luckier this time."… "Let's hope you're right, Mr. Stone, because I'm really beginning to despair."… Mortimer doggedly continues with his reading. "Poor Francis. I'd very much like to be with you now, but I think I can do more useful work here, and… I'VE GOT IT!"…"

"Whoa!" Everyone exclaimed.

"… Mortimer has just stopped at a big headline reading: "Dramatic Climax in Wade Affair"… James Thornley, editor of "The Mega Wave" by Dr. Wade, loses libel case instituted against Dr. Vernay and journalist L. Macomber and is the victim of stroke after the verdict is pronounced. As it will be remembered, following upon the publication in Thornley Editions of a book by Dr. John Wade, the young, brilliant Dr. R. Vernay wrote a stinging criticism of the work on the Lancet. L. Macomber, the well-known writer of scientific articles in the Daily Mail, followed this for several weeks with biting pleasantries on the same subject. Dr. Wade's book is frankly indefensible, because, filled as it is with vague and ridiculous theories, only one person wrote in defence, a Dr. Jonathan Septimus. One must admit that his required some courage. However, James Thornley, no doubt anxious about his reputation for originality, instituted a libel action against Vernay and Macomber. The author of the "Mega Wave" insisted on remaining anonymous."…"

"So this is the case linking the four of them…! And if it happened in 1922 and they're still alive… Maybe it's the 50s or the 60s? If they were "young", let's say, on their 20s, they should be on their 50s or 60s." Tomono suggested.

"… "The case was tried yesterday by Judge Calvin and the verdict given in favour of the defendants. When judgment was pronounced, Thornley collapsed and died. As can be imagined, the outcome of this sad story caused the greatest consternation among editors, authors and journalists."…"

"So… Maybe the culprit is this Dr. Wade? Maybe he wants to prove some theory he made up and get payback on the humiliation he suffered. Maybe he's got a grudge with Septimus for getting buddy-buddy with the other three." Hiro suggested.

"Could be…"

"Look at Wily to begin with… Dragged on a grudge of over 20 years ago as well…" Netto reminded them.

"… "I wasn't mistaken. I absolutely must read up on this case. I get the impression that the solution to this enigma is to be found there. Tell me, Mr. Stone, do you remember the Wade case arising from the book "The Mega Wave"? I was in India at the time and wasn't able to follow it closely. I wonder whether it is in your library…?" … "I remember well the scandal caused by the work, but it isn't here or anywhere else because, after the death of Thornley, it was mysteriously withdrawn from publication. It is unobtainable now."… Mortimer is put off for a moment. But he replies. "Unobtainable? In the book trade, maybe. But surely there is a copy in the British Museum Library?"… "Indeed. I hadn't thought of that."… I'm going straight there. In the meantime, Mr. Stone, could I ask you to kindly collect all you can find to do with this case? But please, not a word to anyone about it…"… "You may count on my discretion, Professor."…"

"Suspicious… That Dr. Wade must've written something there that may provide a crucial hint… Hence why it was withdrawn…" Netto commented.

"Yeah. But the manner it was done reeks so…" Hiro muttered.

"Reeks of dust?" Zarashe attempted a joke.

"Why not?"

"… Twenty minutes later, the Professor passes beneath the columns of the British Museum. "Something tells me I'm getting closer."… Then he enters the vast reading hall where an air of studious concentration reigns. He makes for the catalogue section in order to fill in a slip. "I would like to have this work for research."… "Very good, Sir."… But hardly has he glanced at the slip when… "Well, that's strange. Another gentleman has asked me for this work right now…"… "Oh! Really? Excuse me, but this coincidence is most regrettable, so that… If I might take the liberty, could you tell me where this reader is?"… "Er, well, why not? He's at number 13."… Feeling a strange presentiment, Mortimer rushes to the place indicated. "Ah! Here it is! What? Nobody? Oh!"… Place Number 13 is empty but, on the table, as if to mock him, he sees the fateful Yellow "M"! "Curses! Too late!"…"

"By all the… So we were right. There's SOMETHING on that book that the Yellow "M" doesn't want others to read." Zarashe gasped.

"It'd seem they've been monitoring Mortimer to some extent if the clerk said that he was asked for the book "right now"…" Tomono argued.

"… An hour later, Mortimer arrives at Park Lane. He is in a bad temper. "Has Sir Francis already returned?"… "The Captain is on the drawing room, Sahib."… "Make me a whisky, Nasir. A stiff whisky."… "At once, Sahib."… "A stiff whisky, eh? I understand. Some annoyance, eh?"… "Annoyance? You must be joking. Say instead, I am absolutely boiling! Just think of it, old chap! I've just been beaten – beaten like a child – and by whom? By the Yellow "M"! Just think of it!"… "Well, well! You too? Tell me about it, Professor!"… And so Mortimer acquaints Blake with the afternoon's event, revealing in detail the motives that prompted him to carry out his research in the archives of the Daily Mail. "Actually, it was Macomber who switched me onto that line of reasoning, following an observation he made on the very day he was kidnapped."…"

"What did he say?" Zarashe asked.

"Wait. Maybe he'll bring it up." Netto suggested.

"… "It was that the latest exploit of the Yellow "M", the kidnapping of Professor Vernay, was much less spectacular than the previous ones. And it was curious that the subsequent crimes revealed the same characteristic. They were no longer spectacular, like the theft from the Tower. They are becoming more ordinary, and, at the same time, more like a sort of personal vendetta, do you understand? It was then that it struck in me to go back in time in search of a name or incident. And the Wade Affair came to mind."… "I follow you quite well, Philip. But the Yard, too, have closely followed the past of the victims – however, without finding anything interesting."… "That's because the Yard let themselves be blinded by the theatrical nature of the earlier exploits. I'm just an amateur who can afford to sit back and let his imagination run a bit wild. Moreover, I'm well acquainted with the world of scientists and, in particular, their sense of professional pride."…"

"I see… So the criminal has indeed some grudge against those 4 and staged for their kidnappings…" Zarashe guessed.

"Yeah. The remaining problem is… Where are they? And who is the Yellow "M"?" Hiro pointed out.

"And what secrets does Dr. Wade's book have?" Tomono wondered.

"Too many questions yet. Virus said it was 8 pages per day. We don't know how long the album is. Many things can still happen."

"… "Besides, what happened at the British Museum reinforces my conviction that Wade and his book are bound to elucidate the mystery of this fantastic story." … "Indeed, your arguments convince me, and, at any rate, the identification of this Doctor Wade would simplify things. As of tomorrow, I'll set the Yard off on that track. I hope your theory is correct and we achieve our goal because the Witham catastrophe has let loose the opposition press."… But while Blake and Mortimer are having this important conversation, a cleverly disguised microphone in a wall bracket carrier their every word… to someone not far away…"

"What!" They all gasped.

"… "And now if we want to take the offensive tomorrow, we must get to bed. I'm half dead with sleep. I haven't closed my eyes in 26 hours."… "Agreed, Francis! Nasir, you may retire! Good night!"… "Good night, Sahib."… Three o' clock has just chimed in the sleeping Park Lane. Suddenly, a furtive figure appears against the sky on the roof of Number 99A. With extraordinary agility, the figure slides down the drain pipe and… After gaining a foothold the edge along the rear wall of the house, he makes for a window on the second floor. Opening the window without the slightest sound, this unusual person slips inside."…"

"Devil! They came! The Yellow "M" in person!" Netto gasped.

"What nerve! Came directly to challenge them…!" Zarashe whistled.

"Nerve indeed! After causing that train crash…!" Tomono grumbled.

"Will they be able to stand up to the enemy?"

"… After a moment's hesitation, and as if obeying a sudden impulse, he walks the length of the corridor… goes down the stairwell serving the offices and arrives in the hall… Then, approaching the drawing room, he silently opens the two swing doors and enters… But the unusual décor of the place where Blake and Mortimer have gathered their expedition souvenirs seems to trouble the disquieting visitor… who suddenly stops short the great Pharaoh's mask above the fireplace… "Ah! Ah!"… And sees the enigmatic face of the Egyptian sovereign suddenly appear to come back to life in the dying glow of the wood fire…"

"Yikes."

"… With his eyes fixed upon the mask, the visitor seems to struggle for a moment against a hostile force and then recoils… reeling, but in doing so, he is hurtled against a great granite sarcophagus… "Huh!"… Seemingly terrified, he leaps sideways and growls… "Huh!"…finds himself beneath the hooked beak of a bird-headed "Horus"… "Huh!"… Then, as if seized by panic, the mysterious personage rushes madly in search of an exit, but stumbling over a shelf on the way… overturns a heavy image of the River Goddess Thoueris… At last, making straight for the door… he speeds through the hall, which at that precise moment lights up…"

"Well, anyone surrounded by creepy stuff in a dim light would panic especially if they're the superstitious type." Hiro wasn't too surprised by what had happened.

"Maybe it's some kind of trauma?" Netto wondered.

"We can't know yet." Zarashe warned.

"Of course not."

"… And Mortimer is there, pistol in hand… "A moment, please! I have some questions to ask you!"…"

The broadcast finished at that point and they all groaned in disappointment that it ended there.

"You want more? You'll have to make it through the day's training sessions!" Virus laughed through the speakers.

"Shit. Now he'll stop at climatic points to keep us hooked and desiring for more of it…" Netto growled.

"What a…" Zarashe cursed.

"We know, we know." Hiro sighed.

"Ah… By the way, Hikari – kun… I…"

"Let's not go over that again, Zarashe. You weren't yourself. That mad foreign guy had messed with your head. You wasted half a year of your life going over that and consumed by guilt, fear and paranoia. You surely don't want to spend another half a year like that."

"N-no, but… I must…"

"Responsibility? How can you talk about that? You weren't yourself, you were barely aware of who you were!" Netto argued back.

"Ah… A-alright…"

"I've never held a grudge with you over that. We were good classmates, you know? You and Tooru – kun. It's not your fault that that madman used you for his stupid experiments."

"When you put it that way…"

"See? Now let's quit this childish quarrel."

"Alright… Man. I wonder if Beta X will be alright…"

"Delta had asked for the Science Labs to implement a Battle Chip cache to become independent like Forte so… He'll surely do the same and Raf will do the same, too…" Tomono told him.

"By the way… Do you have any news? Anything important you might've heard in the news this morning?"

"Not sure… Ah yeah… Something about some gang striking a place somewhere but I thought it meant Africa… Maybe it was in Japan indeed but I wasn't paying much attention… Save for the name of the gang: I thought it was SO stupid that I couldn't take them seriously to begin with: another reason I didn't pay attention to that." Zarashe exposed while frowning and trying to remember.

"And what was the name?"

"Headless Brigade."

"Headless? Oh come on!" Hiro groaned.

"What does it mean? They're all ghosts?" Tomono asked.

"Dunno."

"Maybe it means it that it lacks a "head", a boss? Or maybe the boss is unknown to the guys there and there must be some talk about how they're being led by some ideals or something?"

"I think there was something about it in the news too… Some "Grand Will" or whatever it was to begin with."

"A "Grand Will" that leads a Headless Brigade… Doesn't rhyme but maybe it's not intended to in the first place." Hiro muttered.

"This isn't hip-hop, Hiro."

"I knew that, man. Don't get annoyed."

"My bad. I felt like it. Huff. I need to wash my face."

"At least we have some intimacy in the toilets." Zarashe muttered with slight relief.

"Yeah. The guy was kind enough to build stalls. Or maybe the designer thought that it wouldn't harm to do it this way. Some stalls wouldn't take too much money and if you've got enough to build a place of this size then this must be nothing in comparison." Tomono explained his deduction to the other guys.

"Guess that."

Zarashe headed into one of the stalls and closed the door while Netto pulled a curtain to close the entrance and hide it from sight: he sat cross-legged on the ground and sighed.

"Alright. We can discard the bottle plan."

"Why's that?"

"I found this note stuck to the curtain… "The drain pipes don't lead to a sewer. This facility uses a recycling system like the ISS. But don't worry: the drinking water was bought in your usual convenience store and I've just packed a lot of packs. Virus."…" He read.

"So that means that the shower water… That's recycled from our residues and all? Ugh." Hiro grumbled.

"Maybe if we don't think about it we won't realize. But it's true that the ISS uses a similar system: Saito – niisan told me once. Not like they can dump stuff in space, can they?"

"Got a point but nevertheless… The thought isn't appealing. Let's not tell Zarashe – kun." Tomono whispered.

"Alright. I hope he wasn't listening." Netto glanced there.

"So… Who will be next? Obihiro?" Hiro sighed.

"Wouldn't surprise me but I think he could be expecting such a move: and maybe he could trace back any emails or calls…"

"Why's that?" Tomono frowned

"What, you didn't know? Obihiro's a hacker. But a white hat. That means that he's not a hacker seeking to inflict harm. Those are the black hats, see… There are sub-classes within the "hacker" world. Hacker is a loose term that is generally associated with crime but it doesn't necessarily need to be like that." Hiro explained to him.

"Wow. So there are sub-classes… And he's a very skilled white hat, I assume?"

"Of course! See there, the guy…"

"Don't bring it up, Hiro. It's classified. And we don't want to bring him painful memories either." Netto stopped him.

"… Alright. Sorry."

"What, he was used by some black hats to work for them?"

"Yeah. Something along those lines. Pretty much what happened. But don't bring it up in front of him. OK?"

"OK."

"What's up, guys?" Zarashe joined them.

"Nothing. Just going over possible ideas…"

"Such as?"

"We've got a white hat buddy. If he's sent a fake SOS message he might be able to dissect something from it, see. Like where it was sent from and such and get an idea of our location…"

"I see. But that might not work."

"No. Virus might break into his place one night and kidnap him just like that without having time to react."

"Just who is this guy? And who built this place?"

"A leftover of the ill-famed "Secret Empire"… They built this."

"Those guys! I heard plenty of rumors about them but they were said to be disorganized, highly competitive and had mutual hatred amongst themselves… And they killed each other too…"

"That's true. But Virus is making them believe the ruler, a woman named the Ice Queen, is back to punish them for "betrayal". And fearing that punishment they're starting to consolidate again yet deep inside they don't want to. If you remove the leadership that keeps them into place they'll resume doing what they always do." Netto described to him with a sigh.

"You know a lot."

"Zataki – san told me. You know, Hiro's legal guardian…"

"Ah, yeah… I think we've met once or twice… Or maybe it was another person…? Maybe I'm mixing people up."

"Well. Zataki – san used to be an elite agent until he realized he'd been made a fool of, he had been lied, deceived and they had tried to turn into an accomplice to this madness. So he had enough and brought the leaders down. And insofar only some lone wolves like that Alive Cell remained around… But this guy is far more dangerous."

"I can see that. Huh? Huh! Is that all we'll have as breakfast?"

"Sure. And as lunch and dinner. Get ready to lose some weight."

"Damn it all. This is a prison, alright. Can't be helped…! Let's hope it ends quickly…!" Zarashe gulped.

"Be ready because you'll need the whole of your will to resist the temptations that come with that. Let's eat. There."

The group calmly and silently ate their breakfasts before having their cups of water: they then lied in a bed each and slowly began to fall asleep: Zarashe tried to withstand by pinching his hips.

"Come in already…! I'll kick your jaw in one hit…!"

But gas was suddenly pumped in and he fainted as well…

10: 47 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright… It's all set… So… Action!"

What the fuck…?

"Welcome to the club, Zarashe. Heh, heh, heh."

Shit.

Zarashe woke up and realized he'd been made to sit in a metallic chair having a vibrator set into it and which had plunged into his ass: he also had the anal beads inside as well.

Three leather belts kept his torso glued to the chair's rear along with another two groups of two belts tying his legs to the front legs of the chair as well.

He felt how someone had been forced to ride on his cock and was locked in that position given how a chain connected their collars together and it was of a very short range.

"Junior here wanted you to fuck his ass."

Yeah. And I'm an idiot. Hikari – kun would never say that. You only say that for the cameras. To make us look like sex addicts. You're such a double-crossing bastard…! My blood's boiling!

"And Akashi wanted Tomono to screw him, too."

Stop saying nonsense and fight me! You coward. You gotta be a weakling who relies on petty tricks like drugged food, water and sleeping gas to render us incapable of fighting back.

"Alright then… Let's have a party! Vibrators: on!"

Wha!

Zarashe inwardly gasped as he felt the chair vibrator starting to spin and ravage his ass: he tried to move but was locked on that position: he immediately began to inwardly groan and moan while he felt how the urethra vibrator did its work as well: Netto had begun to ride his cock.

It feels odd…! There must be some lotion or something to make my cock slippery and force Hikari – kun to slide along its length! Shit! And here I thought I'd managed to leave all this homo S&M stuff behind after I was forced to go through some of it in 2010…! Damned German! I hope the guy never comes out of prison…! Having me kidnapped, sexually tortured, and brainwashed…! And what happened next…! I spent the next half a year depressed with my life, consumed by guilt, fear and paranoia… I had to move away to uncle's place… I thought I'd never be able to speak to Hikari – kun ever again… Despite Beta's encouragement attempts and all I couldn't gather the courage to do it…! In the end uncle told me that I couldn't know without attempting it…! So last summer I came back to Akihara… And he forgave me…! I'm so glad, really…!

"Hmmm… This lacks some mood. I know! Our fellow Mirror Ball will put some mood into the air. Music: start!"

Music that seemed to be a kind of samba given the tone and some random words that sometimes popped out began to ring out across the room they were in.

Mirror Ball? The guy from the PKMN GameCube games? Colosseum and XD… This is the battle theme from Colosseum… But, really… The guy's Afro hair is so silly… And in XD he switches over to a theme that sounds like something Michael Jackson would create… It gives off that vibe, it really does…!

"Heh, heh, heh. Now the mood has improved. It'll create some mood for the viewers too. These videos always get over 5,000 visitors… Although the visitors count system does count people who come back the next day to see them again…"

By all the… Are there really so many people out there eager to pay to see this? The world's gone mad or what?

"By the way! Beware of Chinamen quoting Lao Tsu. You may find yourselves lacking a head afterwards."

HUH? What kind of crap is that to begin with? It doesn't make sense unless you mean a madman that cuts off peoples' heads.

"The air needs to heat up… Let's bring out this… It's about time you tasted true pain… Heh, heh, heh."

What the fuck are you up to now?

SMACK!

Ugh! The guy's smacking my buttocks with something! Stop! They hurt! If only I could move my hands…! I could catch it…! But I can't! You damned coward: and then you say you're elite!

"Heh, heh, heh. It's useless to resist. Soon enough all of you will be wishing for more and more of this… Your minds will be overfilled with the desire for sex… Your bodies will yell at you to have more of it… And thus you will become excellent slaves…"

B-by all the… This just made my whole body shiver! But it won't happen: we'll resist you over and over again! My word!

"It'd seem you've still got some guts to defy me… Did Guts Man provide you guys with them? Hah, hah, hah!"

How original. Sheesh.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Wha! Damn it! At this rate my buttocks will ache so much that I won't be able to sit down for a while! Shit!

"Heh, heh, heh. That's enough for you. Let's move on. Junior here wants some spanking next!"

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Zarashe heard how Virus had moved to spank Netto's buttocks: Zarashe grumbled under his breath but couldn't do anything.

Damn. The memories of those days are surfacing…! Two guys constantly fucking me and then tying me to a bed to be fucked by their clients…! The shock and despair I felt shook the whole of my mind…! And then that bastard used my weakened mind state to easily brainwash me into being a damned acolyte! Rot in Hell forever, you freaking bastard!

"Heh, heh, heh. I can see it… Anger! Your body shivers with anger and hatred! Good, good… Tap into the Dark Side! And then you'll be the center of the Universe!"

What in the damned…? What a load of crap! Like I'll fall for that cheap crap to begin with…! Fall into Hell!

"It's useless pretending! Your body movements reveal it all: I'm like Vamp, I can read your movements from seeing your muscles! Humans are predictable!" Virus sneered.

Vamp? From MGS2 and MGS4? Sheesh. The guy was a creep alright: and now I remember the guy was hinted to be homo and having had an affair with Fortune's father… Snake told you in the Plant Chapter if you called him through the Codec…

"So deepen into the anger, open up the floodgates, and embrace it! And then… You can swear loyalty to the Grand and Immortal IQ – sama: you will become one of us! And you can be over them! Think about it: it's your only chance!" Virus tried to tempt him.

And become a torturer? I refuse! I'll never become something like you lot: I swear! If it means endless torture then so be it! I'm not afraid! But I'm not going to inflict harm to my friends just to escape this! No! Someone weak and selfish would do it but I'm not weak or selfish!

"… Hmmm… It'd seem you won't, huh? Pity. Heh, heh, heh. Oh well, not like it matters that much… Feel the angst and fear and despair! They will consume you!" Virus chuckled.

That speech won't scare any of us. We're already in Hell to begin with: but we won't submit to those. We'll fight back the whole time, no matter how many days it takes to do so!

"It'd seem you want to struggle, eh? Despite it being a useless struggle and a waste of energies…"

Hmpf! It can't be useless. We might not be able to escape but we can resist and defeat you like this! We won't submit to your attempts at scaring the hell outta us! I insist! Your attempts are useless! How's that like?

"Well, all of you have been spanked… I'll have fun fucking Junior and the other guy… Heh, heh, heh. Get ready to feel two cocks inside of you, Junior, because it's something you'll never forget. This feeling of being properly used…"

Properly used? What crap! You talk like we were things! And we're living beings, we're humans!

"Yeah… It's already in… How does it feel like, Junior? Overwhelming, I guess? Heh, heh, heh! Let the feeling root in your body: that's what'll make you wish for more of this! Maybe your cellmates can help you in feeling that again."

Like we'll fall for that. Doing sex between of us would be stupid: it'd be liked we'd become sex addicts. And that would be admitting defeat: but we won't do that.

"Yeah… Sliding in and out it goes! This is how your hole is used like: to stuff things in! Get it, guys?"

Sheesh. This guy's idiocies are beginning to tire me out. I want them to end, and soon!

"Alright! Filled! As a prize… I'll stuff a vibrator in so that you don't miss the second cock fucking you. Heh, heh, heh. Let's move on into the next guy and set the feeling… For the next round… You'll swap places and the sitting guys will be able to experience this feeling… You better look forward to it, you guys…"

Like we will. And I won't let that impress me, either. Do whatever you want but I won't give a cent for it.

"How's it over here? Feels good, eh? You want more, eh? I'll fill you up with my stuff! You better remember this sensation! Here! Fill up! I'd say we leave it at here for now…"

About damned time. And to think we'll have to go through this crap another two times today…! Shit! Why me of all guys?

Zarashe got suddenly hit with a taser and he slowly fainted…

01:11 AM (Bermuda Time)…

"… So… No luck, Beta X?"

"No, Omega! I searched everywhere."

"Shit. That means that Virus got him."

"Who's Virus?"

"A leftover."

"A torturer?"

"Yeah. The worst type ever."

"Shit."

Omega was talking with a Navi inside of a Cyber World somewhere that was poorly lit and barely decorated save for a background consisting on a purple "V" symbol floating across it.

The Navi, Beta X, appealed as being over a meter and sixty tall, maybe closer to a meter and seventy.

His eyes' irises were blood red in coloring but they lacked pupils: his facial expression denoted anger.

His helmet's main color was black as well yet he had some blue pieces of armor built around the edges of it and spanning through the middle of the helmet: a red pyramidal jewel aiming downwards was set above his nose.

The helmet included five extensions shaped like wings and colored white plus a golden edge: two formed on the lower edge of the helmet, another two formed at a height over the eyes and the last one sprouted from the middle of his helmet while aiming upwards.

His main body's color choice was black: he had a white piece of armor set over the chest which contained a ruby jewel and two wing-like extensions spreading across the torso until the shoulders: the Alphabet letters "BX" colored golden were set within a piece of armor located over the upper edge of the ruby.

A golden edge surrounded his neck and formed a small collar-like object around it: his shoulders had white armor over it: three thin spear-like extensions formed behind them and gave off the impression of a wing as well: the uppermost piece was golden in coloring while the other two pieces were white.

His arms' skin was black until the elbow: white armor encompassed it and extended until the hands and fingers: a golden ring served as additional protection for the wrists.

The rest of his upper body had no decoration whatsoever until the hips, where the leg armor began at: a golden edge shaped like a triangle marked the start of it.

The rest of the legs' armor was painted using white color palette: the knees had extra armor over them and two small and short wing-like extensions.

Golden pieces of armor showed up over the ankles yet there was a space between them and the legs: they were bent upwards to form a triangle and included the wing shapes on their edges.

Lastly, his feet's armor included two pieces of outer edge and another two pieces which were separated by a slight space between the front and the rear of them.

Overall, his appearance was reminiscent of a "fallen angel" given the color motifs and all the winged extensions.

"Yeah. The guy's kidnapped some of the Akihara guys and is holding them hostage somewhere. The problem with the guy is that they're one hell of a sneaky bastard." Omega growled.

"Sheesh. Last thing we needed. And here we thought nothing would happen there, in Kyoto…!"

"I know. The guy always comes up with a new way to elude our security or loophole it altogether. We've been raiding the under but no luck."

"Damn it. We've got no other clues apart from that?"

"For the moment… no."

"MUGRO~H!"

"What was that?"

CRASH!

"Glory to HB!"

"Damn it. Hunters from the Halo games: the worst thing the Covenant can throw at you. They're SO diehard!"

The "Hunter" units from the Halo games rushed in while shooting their heavy-caliber weapons: both dodged and Beta X drew a white Buster having some curved wings on its body: he loaded it and formed a blue, a green and a red spheres: he shot them towards one of them and the Hunter got frozen, electrified and set on fire: that inflicted some damage but it wasn't enough to bring it down: Sigma and Blood Shadow rushed in next.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

"Eat this! Break Punch!"

Blood Shadow leapt into the air and shot a blast at one Hunter's back while Sigma rushed forward and began to pierce through the armor using his right fist: he then brought up the shield to repel the heavy rounds of the arm cannon: Sigma gripped the Hunter with both hands, spun it around and flung it into the air to then fall face-up on the ground: Sigma warped and dropped from above while aiming his sword at the ground thus plunging through it and deleting it.

"Listen, guys! They have a lot of firepower but they lack speed and maneuvering! So use your agility to confuse them and then strike them down!" Sigma called out.

"I take note. Come, ugly."

"Mugro~h! HB! HB! Grand Will! Grand Will!"

"Shut up already. Charged shotgun shot!"

Blood Shadow ducked to dodge a swing of the left arm and then placed his shotgun's barrels on the chest armor: he shot his twin rounds and they pierced through the Hunter's body: it growled and got deleted as well while another 4 rushed in.

"Where are they coming from, Boss?"

"I'm trying to figure that! Ah! They come from the local 3G antenna and then through my phone! What lot!" Vadous grumbled.

"Fine. I'll go to the antenna. Maybe I can find something there. Shut down the mobile in the meanwhile so that they lose their access route. I'll be right back!" Omega told him as he ran out.

"If you see the bastard you can go all out!"

"Delighted!"

"Mugro~! The Grand Will! The Grand Will!"

"The little will!" Beta X shot back along with tree plasma rounds.

These rounds impacted a Hunter's shoulders and damaged the armor while the main round hit the head and deleted it: the body collapsed and got deleted: drums suddenly began to ring out.

"I am the Grand Will! I shall command the feeble humans! I shall annihilate the weak!" A distorted voice proclaimed.

"Virus! If this is your idea of suspense then it sucks."

"Dare not associate me with mere humans! I am above those! I am immaterial! I am the cosmos!"

"That sounds like a rip-off from Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey books to begin with." Vadous drily muttered.

"I shall rule this pitiful planet! And judgment shall be passed down! Only strong ones shall survive! Weak shall be erased! Such are the laws of nature all across the cosmos!"

"Oh yeah? I'm SO skeptical. Blood. Where does it come from?"

"Let's see… Your phone's 3G is off so… It seems to be coming through the cable Internet lines and into the router… It seems to be riding along a download you started, Boss…"

"Download? Huh? When did I…? And what's it? A RAR file titled "Michael Jackson Greatest Hits"? I never ordered that. Someone's hacked into my PC and it's gotta be Virus." He grumbled.

"I'll go take care of that." Blood Shadow ran off.

"Well! Only 2 left." Sigma told Beta X.

"Alright. Let's smash them too."

"… Done! I cancelled the DL and sent the files to the quarantine folders: that should stop that annoying broadcast too. Maybe you should isolate the PC from the wireless network and we should have an inspection of it to see how it got hacked." Blood Shadow came back in.

"Good job. How's it going, Omega?"

"I found a portal spawning the Hunters but managed to kick them back inside by combining a Black Hole Battle Chip into it. I attached a tracer to one and I'm analyzing it… I've gotten as far as Hokkaido… And the signal got cut… But it's surely further than that." Omega replied.

"Alright. I'll try to dig up in any files Maria had to see if she had another big hideout somewhere or plans for one. It'd make sense. Come back here, Omega." Vadous commanded.

"Roger, Boss."

"Huff. Well. I'm going back home. Tell me if you figure out anything or if there's something I can do to help." Beta X sighed.

"Delighted." Omega reassured him.

Beta X flew off and into a portal Omega opened: it soon closed and the group sighed, tired.

"Damn it all. We gotta get rid of all these leftovers or things will get dangerous and deadly before we know it! Sheesh!"