Chapter 8: Foiling schemes
10:02 AM (Japan Time), Sunday September the 2nd…
"… Well! We got the textbooks and everything we need for the new course! I'm so excited!"
"How untypical of you, Netto – kun."
"I get the irony."
"Heh, heh."
Netto and Saito were walking down a street while carrying some bags: Saito grinned at Netto, who rolled his eyes.
"By the way… Do you think that car which keeps on following us was requested by Vadous – san?" Saito asked him in a whisper.
"Huh? Ah. That blue Hyundai, you mean? Yeah. They must be a way to force Wily to think it twice before attempting something. The guy must be boiling with impatience. And if he didn't fall for that provocation, then the more." Netto commented.
"Yeah. He'll surely depend upon a proxy."
"Proxy…?" Netto frowned.
"A mercenary, a grunt, name it." Saito shrugged.
"Oh. True. He won't dare to come out of his hideout."
"Anyway… We could play "Pillow War" one day, like we did before I was hospitalized." Saito whispered.
"Oho. True. I'm totally rusty by now. I need to shine again." Netto grinned and liked the idea.
"Beware: Pillow Man backs me up."
"Very original." Netto muttered.
"You never know: maybe someone will come up with Pillow Man and patent it!"
Suddenly, though, a man ran out from a side street while holding a knife on his right hand: he was aiming for Netto's chest, who gasped in horror and felt unable to react: Saito suddenly moved past him as a blur and kicked the man's nose: he let go of the knife out of instinct and Saito quickly used a judo technique to throw him into the ground in a violent manner, thus knocking him out.
"Goodness! An assassin…?" Netto gasped.
"Yeah. No doubt. Wily did get desperate." Saito muttered.
The Hyundai car suddenly parked next to them and two men on their thirties climbed down: both dressed in black business suits with navy blue neckties, a black hat and sunglasses: one of them had black hair while the other had a military haircut style.
"Do excuse us. Agents Karasu & Mori. Security Department. Under orders from Chief Lezaeno." They introduced themselves.
"Ah… This man tried to attack us." Netto signaled.
"We saw it. We apologize for the slow reaction." The black-haired agent apologized.
"We should take this one to the Net Police HQ. It'd seem Dr. Wily has finally decided to stick his arm outside the window through a proxy: it was obvious he'd eventually try to be the arrogant and employ such a type of person." The military haircut agent commented to his partner.
"You carried handcuffs, didn't you, Mori?" The first agent asked.
"Yeah, Karasu. Let's handcuff him and call for the Net Police. We have a license of private security, after all, and Hikari – hakase gave his approval to our surveillance." Mori replied.
"I'm going to ring Commissioner Kifune: he needs to be notified of this ASAP." Netto offered.
"Good. He'll make sure to send a car here at top speed. They could take care of this man and these gentlemen would drive us to the Net Police HQ, too." Saito nodded in agreement.
10:33 AM (Japan Time)…
"… So… This man tried to assault you with murder intention, then, Netto – kun?"
"There's no mistaking it, sir."
"Oh. Saito – kun. We first meet, I believe."
"Yes, sir. Hikari Saito, sir. I am please to know you, sir."
The twins were conversing with Commissioner Kifune while standing in a room having a one-sided mirror allowing view into the questioning room where the attacker was being questioned by two detectives.
"Who paid you?" One questioned.
"An old man named Liwy or something like that." The grunt scoffed.
"Describe him."
"I'd say on the 60s… Almost all bald head… Moustache… Had a hostile look to him…" The man shrugged.
"Wily." The twins guessed.
"Dr. Wily? So he was alive?" Commissioner Kifune muttered.
"It was obvious, sir. If we pick "Liwy" and write it down on Alphabet letters to then switch each consonant for the other then we get "Wily": he was too lazy to make up a good alias." Saito exposed.
"True. So, taking into account the information suggesting about someone having staged Gospel to recreate Forte… That someone would be Wily and his goal would probably be something important."
"Proto, sir." Netto replied.
"Proto! He actually wants to resurrect that monster-like thing? I see! Forte would be the only one who could break the "Guardian Program" protecting it! Something must be done." Kifune gasped.
"I believe it is on the works, sir." Saito replied.
"Oh. Those "Committee" people, you mean… They surely must've known of Wily's involvement from long ago and were waiting for this moment to have direct proof of his involvement…" Kifune brought a hand to his chin and looked thoughtful.
"In fact… We received some information which suggests that Wily has been challenged to make a move several times but didn't fall for the provocation. But he's finally decided to strike now and he's most likely speeding up his search for the so-called "Tetra Codes": they've been relocated to make it harder for Wily to find them, sir." Netto detailed to Kifune.
"Good move. If we can stop him from getting Proto's Core, then he's pretty much powerless to threaten us. He may use his new Net Navis to stir up some incidents, but… We can handle those."
"True, sir. If we could handle all those previous incidents, we can handle whatever Wily comes up with out of the blue. His attempts to locate or approach Forte are being in vain as well, we've been told. And it'll be hard to even get him to reply to anything." Saito smiled.
"In short: he's getting stuck at every possible end… That's good. Regarding that man… He's obviously going to be processed for attempted attack on a Net Savior. And I'm glad Hikari – hakase requested security: until Wily is brought down, we won't be able to properly rest."
"I guess we can go back already, can we?" Netto asked.
"Sure. Keep your eyes open: other parties could try something similar out of resentment. People can get desperate when their so-called "idols" are brought down: the fanatics can be dangerous, too." Kifune warned.
"We will take into mind, sir." Saito confirmed.
"Fair enough. Be careful, you two."
"Roger. Let's go, Saito – niisan."
"Yeah. Good morning."
"Good morning."
10:44 AM (Japan Time)…
"… JEEZ!"
The twins were walking down an avenue along with Agent Karasu following them at a respectful distance: they stopped in front of a pedestrian crossing and waited for the traffic light to change to green so as to continue.
"Bothersome Wily! He should've accepted it: he lost the round. Stubborn guy. If he wanted to continue his robotics project… Then go and find a private sponsor in a foreign country!" Netto growled.
"Yeah. If he'd done that, then we wouldn't have to get headaches coming from him. But now that he's shown his hand Vadous – san and the "Committee" will be able to catch him." Saito grumbled.
BANG!
"Look out!"
Saito tackled Netto towards the ground but he emitted an exhale of pain as they fell: they heard a loud PLOP sound and something hitting the floor near to them.
"Damn!" Karasu cursed.
Netto looked up and spotted Agent Karasu brandishing a gun and looking towards a side alley from which someone's legs came out: he then noticed something dripping into his hand and spotted that Saito was bleeding from a wound on his right leg below the hip.
"Ugh… It… hurts…" He groaned.
"Niisan…!" Netto gasped.
"What happened?" Mori asked as he suddenly climbed out of the car which had parked in a rushed manner.
"This gunner hit Mr. Saito! Tend to them: I'll try to ID this jerk. I'm about to beat them up like Batman beat Holiday when he managed to arrest the guy at last in The Long Halloween!" Karasu growled.
Mori helped Netto to make Saito sit on the ground and quickly took out a wool handkerchief which he tied around the area of the wound.
"This will slow the bleeding down… We should call an ambulance and have it removed." Mori instructed.
"I'll do." Netto slowly replied.
"Damn. This guy has a Gospel tattoo on his right arm: a fanatic! And this one wasn't paid by Wily, but once Chief Lezareno hears of this you can make sure he'll get one of his bad moods." Karasu hissed.
"And Commissioner Kifune did warn us about them!" Saito growled in clear frustration.
"Please calm down, Mr. Saito. Breathe deeply. Exhale slowly."
Saito followed his instructions and seemed to shake some tension off him: Netto was talking with someone over the PET.
"… Yeah! Densan City 2nd District, the corner between Meiji Avenue and Murayabaki Road! A bullet which hit the area below the right hip… We've slowed down the bleeding and I think it shouldn't be life-threatening, but it would be best to examine it… 10 minutes? Thank you very much!"
"Chief? I am afraid I have bad news." Karasu reported via a cell phone.
"Wily?"
"A Gospel fanatic, sir. Mr. Saito suffered a minor injury, but it might immobilize his right leg for a few days, sir."
"… Hmpf. Bothersome mice." Lezareno muttered.
"Yes, sir. Correct, sir."
"Good job. Call the Net Police: I'll contact Mr. Denpa. This cannot keep on like this: Wily goes down here and today. I'm sure he's the one who incited the fanatic, too." Lezareno grumbled.
"What a morning. I almost get stabbed and niisan gets a bullet on his leg…!"
12:28 PM (Japan Time)…
"… How do you feel like? Niisan?"
"… More or less."
Netto was keeping company to Saito while on the hospital room: he had a thick bandage around the area he'd been hit and was resting on the bed while having a hospital pajama on: Netto was sitting on a chair next to him and looking nervous.
"Man. It's hard to believe there are people who can attack a teen guy out of money. Society is really deteriorating nowadays." Netto cursed.
"Yeah… It's a mess." Saito grumbled.
"Excuse me. May I come in?" A familiar voice asked outside of the room after knocking in the door.
"Come in!" Both replied.
Vadous stepped in while sporting his business attire and his blue contacts: he walked in and stopped next to them.
"Good morning."
"Oh. Vadous – san."
"How is your wound like? Saito – kun." Vadous politely asked.
"I'll have to use a clutch for six or seven days until it fully heals. It could have been worse." Saito explained.
"Wily has asked for it: I'm going after him."
"Where is he hiding, anyway?" Netto asked.
"He's in an island far south… The area around it is named the "Demon's Ocean"… The currents there, the "Demon's Currents", are extremely fast and can destroy a ship in the blink of an eye… But I don't need a boat to get there, luckily enough." Vadous explained.
"What will you do with him?" Saito asked.
"Oh. I'll simply pave the way for the Net Police to get inside: I'll destroy any robots, defenses or machines he may have and then show him how powerless he truly is." Vadous calmly replied.
"Good. He's over by today." Netto looked satisfied.
"Of course."
There was a knock and both Yuuichirou and Haruka walked in: they both looked worried.
"Oh. Haruka. Let me introduce you to Vadous – san: he's the gentleman who aided on my project." Yuuichirou introduced.
"I am pleased to meet you, ma'am." Vadous politely bowed.
"My. He looks like an Edo Era gentleman." Haruka giggled.
"Is that so?" Vadous looked surprised.
"Don't mind my wife, please. She tends to tease people."
"Ah… I see, sir. Ahem, ahem… Well. I located Wily and I've confirmed his double involvement. He is over. I am personally going to destroy any of his projects while the Net Police are making their way to the island. He will be left powerless by the time they get there: they are also rounding up the Operators and my Navis are going to capture theirs, too. It's a coordinated operation which will totally collapse his would-be new WWW." Vadous cleared his throat to explain.
"Good. Such a man cannot roam free anymore: he's lost all concept of "moral" and is a criminal." Yuuichirou looked satisfied.
"Attacking a child… Such a person cannot be labeled a "person" anymore: it is more like a "Demon"." Haruka muttered.
"True, sir and ma'am. If you shall excuse me… I shall be going."
"Good luck." The four of them rallied.
"Thank you very much. We shall meet in some hours' time."
"This ends today." The twins muttered.
13:15 PM (Japan Time)…
"… What the hell? Someone intruded but the security systems are collapsing one after the other? What the grunts doing?"
Dr. Wily was checking a cybernetic blackboard behind a desk inside of a largely unlit room: some reports were coming in one after the other with the titles "WARNING", "DANGER", "CAUTION" and such being displayed on them using red capital Alphabet letters.
"Your grunts won't save you, Wily." A voice rang out.
"Who…?"
Wily turned around to see Vadous walking towards him while sporting his body armor: he'd even drawn two real-looking medieval-like swords the blades of which flickered with purple-colored electricity: his breathing sound could be clearly heard and it seemed to chill the whole atmosphere all of a sudden: Wily recoiled and met the blackboard behind him: Vadous suddenly jumped from his spot into the air, flew over the desk, and landed in front of him: he aimed one of the swords at inches from his neck.
"Game Over. We told you, didn't we? If you dared to stick your arm outta the window, then you'd be bringing about your own collapse in a few hours' time. There's no use pretending. I'm the one who's kept you from locating either Forte or the Tetra Codes ever since the defeat of Gospel on August the 1st." Vadous quickly told him.
"What the…! Who the hell are you lowlife?" Wily cursed.
"Vadous. And this is your end. Regal surely won't bother to help you and Commander Barrel will quickly cut all linking with you once he learns about how you tried to have a child murdered thrice. We will be placing Iris under his custody as well and eliminate that programming of yours. I am sure Commander Barrel's father would be totally angered at you if he could see you by now, too." Vadous continued.
"Why, you…! That's… impossible!" Wily cursed.
"Hmpf."
Vadous suddenly holstered his swords and took out the same remote device Ocelot had been seen using: he pressed the blue button and a single "Dimensional Converter" emerged.
"I'm off. The Net Police will be here in 2 minutes' time. Your own boat is at the bottom of the sea by now. There's no escaping them and you will spend the rest of your miserable days in jail, you Demon!"
The "DC" ignited and Vadous was warped out of the room: several sets of footsteps could be heard and, suddenly, some grenades were dropped inside of the room while forming a white smoke: Wily coughed and looked confused.
"T-tear gas…!"
"Nobody move!"
A SWAT Team charged inside and quickly circled around the desk to then apprehend Wily and handcuff him.
"Dr. Wily! You're under arrest for several crimes as well as three attempted murders on a Net Savior! Take him away!" The SWAT Team captain commanded.
"Take your hands off me, grunts!" Wily growled.
The SWAT Team played deaf and dragged him outta the room while another group of policemen came in.
"Informatics Brigade: begin all HDD data copy to then bring it for analysis! Make sure to photograph everything!"
"Roger, sir!"
"Technology Brigade: examine all devices in a superficial manner to establish their purpose!"
"Roger, sir!"
"Move!"
"Roger, sir!"
13:27 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Netto – kun. Your PET is ringing."
"Oh. True. Hello?"
"It's me."
"Oh! Vadous – san!"
Netto picked the PET II and patched the call in.
"Good news: I just confirmed Wily has been caught by the SWAT Team and is on his way to the mainland: he'll be placed in preventive prison while a team will check out all data and machines on his home base to establish their purpose." Vadous reported.
"Good! Then the crisis is over." Netto smiled.
"Finally…!" Saito looked relieved.
"Well done, Vadous – san." Yuuichirou told him.
"Ah… Thank you very much, sir. Of course, the security agents will still be around: I do not trust some fanatics out there to try something similar again: but we have some agents who are expert at identifying them: they could report them to the police." Vadous detailed.
"We appreciate all the efforts you make, but please do not try to overwork. You need a break from time to time, after all." Haruka advised him.
"Thank you very much, ma'am. Well then… Goodbye."
Netto pocketed the PET II and the atmosphere seemed to improve all of a sudden: the earlier air of defeatism was gone.
"Well… I guess I'll have to work hard at school!" Netto commented.
"I'll pull your ears if you don't do the homework, Netto – kun."
"Jeez."
Saito and his parents laughed while Netto shrugged and smiled…
08:05 AM (Japan Time), Sunday September the 9th…
"… Phew!"
Rock Man came out of the Official Square and entered Densan Area again: he headed towards the south.
Well! I got healed yesterday and I wanted to come back for a bit to the Cyber World so as to not to get rusted. Netto – kun is ready to back me up, but, given my experience, the Viruses here are no big deal by now… I don't have the "SSS" License in vain, you know!
Rock Man whistled a tune and kept on heading back when he spotted a distinct Navi leaning against a column for some spotlights: he lifted his eyebrows in surprise.
A newcomer?
This Navi was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.
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.
Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which he was currently aiming at the floor in lazy manner.
Overall, he seemed to be tall and imposing.
His pose, leaning against the side of a forum board, suggested he was resting or sleeping.
Let's leave him to sleep and go on…
Rock Man began to continue his walk when he heard the Navi mumble something and grumble: Rock Man turned around and walked over to him while looking slightly nervous.
"Eh… Excuse me! Are you alright, sir?"
"…NOT FAIR, BLOOD! I CAN BEAT THAT SCORE OF YOURS WITHOUT USING YOUR ACURSED SHOTGUN COMBOS! COME AT FULL POWER!" The Navi suddenly assumed a fighting pose and brandished his gigantic sword while roaring.
Rock Man had to cover his ear pads from the yell to avoid getting his noise recognition systems being damaged.
Whoa! He sure is loud. Let's get back…
"Oi! Cha! Cha are Rock Man, right?" The Navi suddenly asked.
"Y-yes, sir… Did I… bother you, sir?"
"What? No. I just happened to fall asleep in the middle of my off-duty time… I'm Sigma! I work for Mr. Vadous, ya know!"
"Whoa! So you're one of his three Net Navis, sir?"
"Yeah! My aibou is named Blood Shadow but I name him "Blood" for short: he's currently in an assignment at Ameroupe for a while so he'll take some time to show up 'round 'ere." Sigma explained.
"So… You did get to find Forte, sir?" Rock Man asked.
"Not really… Every time we thought we'd found him it'd turn out to be one of several Bug Fusion copies which managed to escape and spread before the whole server group ended up destroyed. You could tell them apart due to their low power, lack of personality file and absence of Forte's trademark "Dream Aura" ability which protects him from most of the damage…" Sigma detailed.
"I see… The Reverse Internet sure is a hard place to scout."
"Yeah… And to think it was a Science Labs project…"
"What? Such a vile place was built by the Science Labs?"
"Didn't Boss tell you guys about "Proto"? Well, Hikari Tadashi – hakase tried to use that "Giga Freeze" Program to stop it but the idea was discarded. Once it was over… Someone suggested building a wholly self-contained sector of the Internet to hide that program."
"Wow."
"And thus it became the Reverse Internet! The bad guys used it given its difficult accessibility and remoteness. However… There's a command structure down there: the ranked Navis and "S"…"
"… "S"…?"
"Yeah. Serenade: Reverse King."
"Whoa. Reverse King…"
"There are 10 "Ranked" Navis there which are part of a system set in place just in case Proto were to awaken again… Only one strong enough to climb all the way to Rank #2 could be told the location of Serenade: he'd then grant the "Giga Freeze" to the Navi who makes it so far. Serenade himself lives in the "Secret Area", only accessible through the real-world Reverse Internet Server Room… Thus adding another level of security to it. Serenade is no joke, mind you. He could calmly sweep the floor with all the grunts standing on it without even blinking twice. But he has a gentle nature, which makes him be reluctant of battling." Sigma explained to him in a hushed tone.
"Whoa." Netto muttered.
"Yo! Ya are Hikari Netto, right? Nice to meet ya!" Sigma called out.
"Y-yeah. You look powerful, too." Netto admitted.
"Guess so! I get jumpy in battle. Sometimes the mere sight of me in a low-lightened space such as the Reverse Internet is enough to set villains in fear and running for their fake 30.5 Zenny coins." Sigma laughed.
"30.5 Zenny coins…! That's so original…!" Netto laughed at it.
"Oh! Yeah. We're the "Subspace": Boss is our leader but there are other members, too. I guess he'll eventually introduce you guys to them: they're nice guys, too." Sigma let out.
"The "Subspace"… Cool!" Netto grinned.
"Ain't it, aibou?"
"Guess so…" Rock Man muttered.
"O. K.! Gotta get back to work… I've got some mice to catch. Don't be surprised to meet me around here: I'm assigned to work here, in Japan, after all! See ya guys around!" Sigma blinked them an eye.
"Goodbye, sir." Rock Man replied.
"See ya!" Netto grinned.
He ran into one of the Warp Square's Warp Points and warped out of the area: Rock Man then continued walking until he spotted the Warp Point into his computer: he stepped into it and stood in front of the firewall as it scanned him.
"Program ID: Rock Man EXE. Port: 80. Size: 788 MB. Public IP Address: 115 16 79 201… ID confirmed. Opening Port 80." An auto-voice announced.
A door labeled "TCP/IP" unlocked so Rock Man stepped into a small nexus and picked the Warp Point labeled "Netto's PC": he stepped into it and then headed for a third Warp Point: he returned inside of the PET II.
"Netto – kun! Help me return to my new body, please."
Netto picked the PET II and headed for Saito's body (clad in navy blue pajamas and being face-up on the futon): he crouched next to it and opened the right eye while aiming the PET II's IR port at it.
"Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"
The eye closed and, after a few seconds, Saito began to mumble and stir before slowly sitting up and looking at his hands.
"Guess this system to Plug-In is fine… In the case of an emergency, I can always use a secure Wi-Fi connection like I did the first time I used the body." He muttered.
"Yeah. 6th grade kicks off tomorrow! Excitement ensured, Saito – niisan!"
"And ear-pulling too. Heh, heh, heh." Saito giggled.
"Heh, heh, heh! Well! Let's go for it! Ready… Go!"
