Chapter 9: Evil's candy
11:26 AM (Japan Time), Thursday June the 27th…
"… Coming… Oh!"
"Hi there, Hikawa – kun."
"Are you feeling better?"
"Hikari Jr. – kun and Hikari Sr. – kun…! What a surprise… Please come in, by all means!"
"Thanks."
Netto and Saito had come to visit Hikawa.
Netto sported his usual clothes but had changed the shorts for jeans and now he did use socks with his orange sneakers.
Saito's clothes were an almost complete imitation of those of Netto: he had a blue vest over his shirt and his sneakers were green instead of orange.
Hikawa wore a yellowish jumper with a bluish hood, jeans and his white socks along with the slippers.
"Are you feeling better?" Netto asked.
"I am. Say, do you know anything about that fire in some Latvia village about 300 km from Riga?"
"Unfortunately, yeah… Urateido and company did it." Saito sighed.
"What!"
"It'd seem the guy had stolen money off the band and that the leader was fed up with how the guy was a local tyrant who could get away with everything: he even kept his illegitimate son prisoner there for three years and had him go through those experiences… If you thought Urateido was bad then the guy was pale compared to this man… The son hated them to death and when they gave him the power to he personally killed both of them in revenge for his mother…"
"What a drama!"
"Yeah. So you see that the son did believe he could deliver punishment to them which we won't deny: hell, I'm sure his hatred was the only thing keeping him with forces and sanity for those three years unlike a poor young guy Kage – kun found a few days ago…"
"I see… And the blowing up of the mansion was to call in for the Riga police and make sure it exposed this man's crimes?"
"Yeah. Not even 12 hours later data had been leaked to the media save for the son's name and this has made Shunoros' name jump from gossip to big news… They purposely left the dungeon-like basement unharmed so that the CSI people could pick the evidence and see how it was true: the local village has been filled with joy at being free of the tyrant and have now realized they've been deceived about the son's fate for three years, see…" Netto grimly narrated.
"So… With this…"
"Yeah. The "Denpa – Henkan" users have risen to 7 excluding Kuroban himself. But Golden Star still has enough Navis to counter them and not fall short of staff. So it'll be like a cold war in which there won't be all-out fighting like in Seraph Tower but individual battles in unrelated territories: after all the Reverse Internet is no – man's land."
"Hum… I know it's sad but it is reality… The son deserved being free: too bad you didn't figure out about him before they did." Hikawa sighed and closed his eyes.
"It wouldn't have changed anything: the hatred was already there and Shunoros just provided the tools. Even if they hadn't he'd eventually gone off on his own to murder them." Netto warned.
"But let's talk about something more cherry. Kage – kun sent us the latest broadcasting!"
"Oh! I wanted to listen to it!"
"Then allow us."
"… Ahem, ahem! V! B! N! The VBN Trio is back for the "Mummy Chapter"! Let's begin! … "Ah! I'm so anxious to go back to my beloved Egypt, to witness once again the Nile, the Pyramids and the mummies…! HUH! Yes, Doctor…! The nostalgia for my nation has shocked me: I'm very ill… I'm seeing things!"… Guess what happened!"
"He met the "Mummy"!" Hikawa laughed.
"Bravo! Next! "Big Money Bank: Staff Entrance." … "FLASH!" … "… * undecipherable hieroglyphs * … I placed the burner backwards again! Well! Trouble settled! Let's get to work!"…"
"So he tried to use a burner to melt the lock but burnt his hand or arm instead?" Hikawa deduced.
"… "Time to have supper… Where's yours?" …"Left it on the lobby wrapped in a package…" … "I'll bring it! I'll deduce what's inside from seeing the package's shape! Heh, heh! HUH! BLOM!" … "Cirilo! What was that noise…? CIRILO! Wake up, man! What the heck happened to ya?" … "GL, GL, GL! A~H! Leave me! Don't come any closer!" … "HUH?" … "Man-eater! Cannibal! You've got a man on the supper's package~!" … "B-but I only carry chive omelet…!" … "THUD!" … "Well! While this guy naps I'm gonna go wake up the safe! Heh, heh, heh!"…"
"Ah! I get it. Don Cirilo saw the mummy standing there and thought his partner was a man-eater! The mummy then knocked the other man out and headed to ransack the safe!" Hikawa laughed.
"Good, my audience, good! You're sharp today!"
"Shah, shah, shah!"
"Heh! There's no beating my burners."
"… "Here's the bank but… We dunno where the mummy is at!" … "I've got an idea, Boss! I saw on a film that the mummy shows up after summoning the Egyptian deities Ra and Ammon… We could try it out and see!" "Well, let's give it a try." … "RA!"... "AMMON!"… "CROC!"… "I said RAMON isn't coming out today so go fetch another buddy!" … "But, dear… I swear that I don't know them!"…"
"No way… Some housewife whose husband was named Ramon misunderstood the yells of "Ra" and "Ammon" as "Raammon"? That's some joke!" Hikawa laughed.
"And the housewife threw F a flower pot while M disguised as an Egyptian with the Pharaoh's cap and the cloth! Well! F went to the dispensary to get healed from his bump but they'd lost the scissors and they wrapped all of his body with bandages…"
"… And M believed it was the real mummy…" Hikawa grinned.
"M tried to have a dog seek using a drawing of the mummy but only bit an invalid's feet and he began to shoot while M ran away with his soldier disguise: the real mummy hid behind a tree but M's helmet spike pulled on a loose bandage and the inertia made the guy roll as all of his bandages were pulled away! F spotted it and they brought the petty thief to the HQ, see! "We bring a present, Mr. Super!" … "We've taken off the "wrapping" to save time! Heh, heh, heh!" … "Aw! I feel so bad… Aw! I'm never bandaging again even if they operate me from appendicitis!"…"
"So it was another fake monster… What'll be next?"
"… "Yes! That idiotic mummy failed as well! Brrr…! The next one to get to shine will be King – Kong! I didn't say anything about going to play "Ping-Pong" you imbecile! I said "King-Kong"! KING – KONG, THE GIANT GORILLA~!"… Next chapter: "King-Kong Chapter"! Look forward to it our fellow conspirers! VBN! Sign off! Off air!"
"Hah, hah! The "Mastermind" was annoyed that the pawn was half-deaf and understood "Ping-Pong" instead of "King-Kong"… How will they pull it off, anyway? I can't wait to hear!" Hikawa laughed.
"It'll be worth hearing." Netto teased.
"By Merton!" Saito joked.
"Guess we'll have some nice summer vacations ahead of us."
"Obviously."
"By Merton! Let devil bite my nose."
12:03 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Man! I'd like to have some cool and rare Battle Chip to win…"
A young boy who looked like he was an elementary school student was coming out of a Game Center's restroom and looked disappointed.
"Ya wanna win? Then I have the perfect answer for ya." An amused voice rang out.
The boy spotted Eisei leaning against a stall's closed door.
"Who are you, niichan?" The boy asked.
"Net Battling Association."
"Whoa! That's so cool!" The boy whistled.
"Listen… We've made up a new cool and powerful Battle Chip. However! Before proceeding to final release… We want to test it to make sure it has no big problems… You might experience some lagging from your Navi or PET, but no further than that… We want to know what's pending polishin'… Got me?"
"And I can test it?" The boy assumed.
"Yeah. Here. Catch."
Eisei tossed the boy a Battle Chip which contained a fragment of the so-famous mineral on it.
"What's its name?" The boy asked.
"Hmmm… We don't have a definitive name yet… Why don't ya call it "Forbidden Chip"?"
"Cool! Ah! What do I do if someone asks where I got it from?" The boy asked.
"Simply say what I told ya: it's for test purposes. We pick people at random 'round here and there."
"Yahoo!"
"Enjoy…"
"… Alright… Eh… I'll try to do the Virus Busting Game. Plug In!"
The boy plugged his standard Navi into the Game Machine and he progressed easily until Level 5 where things started to get harder: he began to sweat.
"Hmmm… I'll try this thing. Forbidden Chip, Slot In!"
The Link PET frizzled and the "Boundary" appeared on the screen while rotating before it stopped and drew the figure inside of its space: the screen emitted a momentary green flash.
"Whoa~! So cool…!"
The Navi's forehead got the crest on it and his eyes turned red but the boy didn't notice it because he was seeing the Navi's back.
"Alright! Go for it!"
The Navi quickly busted the Viruses and began jumping through levels so some other boys and girls came closer, surprised and Enzan was amongst them: he was scanning the whole space.
"I wonder why Eisei would bother to call us and tell us to come here… He must be waiting nearby." He muttered.
"Sure." Blues grumbled.
Eisei was hidden behind a vending machine and popping part of his face out to watch while he looked at one chronometer he carried.
"It should be about to happen according to Aibou's calculations…"
The Navi reached Level 10 and faced a copy of the Dream Virus which was obviously powered down to not be as lethal as the original one had been 4 years ago: the Navi quickly jumped towards it, cut its arms off and pierced it with a Long Sword Battle Chip.
YOU WIN!
"Yahoo!" The boy exclaimed.
"Time's up." Eisei grinned.
"Gu… Uh… Grah…" The Navi uttered some guttural noises.
"Huh? What's wrong?" The Operator asked.
"Uh… Ah… GUA~H!" The Navi roared in agony.
The Boundary suddenly formed on the Navi's feet and shot a column of bright green light skywards towards a purplish distortion of time-space which blinded the spectators for one or two seconds: when the thing died the Navi had vanished.
"Huh? Eh? Where did you go to?" The Operator asked.
His Link PET frizzled and a word written in unknown pale green symbols appeared onscreen and soon vanished: the mysterious Chip was ejected and fell into the ground thus making the piece of the mineral shatter: the Chip now only had the frame where it had been set at.
"Huh? What happened? What's wrong?"
Big success! Aibou's a genius as always. Nyah, hah, hah!
Enzan approached the boy after having picked up the Chip: he displayed his Net Police's Cyber CID ID and the boy gasped.
"Where did this come out from?" He asked.
"Huh… A niichan who said he was from the Net Battlers Association gave it to me… He claimed it was for test purposes… But I don't get what's happened… Where did my Navi go to?"
Enzan didn't reply and picked up the mineral shards which he placed inside of a plastic bag: he sealed it up and pocketed it.
"Hmmm… That guy had green messy hair and sunglasses?"
"Yeah… He looked spooky for some reason or another…"
"You've been tricked by a bad guy. And as for what happened to your Navi, I don't get it yet. But I hope that the Science Labs can give me some answers. Let's go, Blues. Every minute counts."
12:29 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Hmmm… I see. This Chip contains a program which forcibly rewrites a big deal of a PET's OS to write the Navi off."
"Write the Navi off, sir?"
Enzan was talking with Hikari Yuuichirou concerning what he'd found insofar about the enigmatic Chip.
"It's another way of saying to make the PET believe no Navi lives on it. The Navi is split off from his or her Operator and becomes a solo Navi per se. However…" Yuuichirou trailed off.
"What happens?" Blues politely asked.
"Its stats are boosted to the max and one though is inserted into the Navi's mind: win, win and win… In short: it becomes obsessed with winning and not resting a single second."
"And then…?" Enzan asked.
"This thing has a time limit and once it's hit the Navi's functions will all be canceled and its body will stop moving… A beacon signal is sent so that Shunoros knows where it's at… The program then forces the PET to "reject" the Chip and make it break. I guess that's when that "warp" thing comes in: it must take the Navi away to their HQ."
"Why would they bother to do so?"
"I don't know yet. Maybe they're trying to gather an army."
"It's not a crazy idea." Enzan agreed on it.
"Enzan – sama. Noir is contacting you." Blues reported.
"He got a hold of this, huh? Patch him through." Enzan commanded.
"Roger."
"Hello? Enzan?" Noir asked.
"I'm here. Have you found out anything?" Enzan assumed.
"I have a hunch. Can you tell me what does that bloody tool do?"
"Steal Navis." He summed up in two words.
"I feared as much. It's not to make an army the reason they're gonna abduct Navis en masse from all over the world." Noir grumbled.
"What?" Enzan frowned.
"They've must have gotten the idea after seeing the old man's schematics about his version of the Dimensional Converters." Noir let out.
"Did it have something different from the Converters you guys, Shunoros and the Science Labs have developed nowadays?" Enzan asked.
"The power source was the major change. Normal Converters have a gigantic car engine-like battery which is recharged by the EM radiation around it. However! The old man came up with a terrifying system…"
"And what was it?"
"Net Navis." Noir hissed.
"Kami-sama…!" Yuuichirou turned pale.
"You mean…?"
"Yeah. The guy designed several capsules which made up the energy system and were triggered by a Dark Chip's power. They then began absorbing the HP of the hostage Navis until they were drained. Those Navis died and some of them became ghosts which roamed around the area. That's why we altered the system to make it work like the way Wily had thought of."
"What a…!" Blues cursed.
"What a weasel, you mean to say? Yeah. That's why we can say "good riddance" thanks to Forte blowing up the sub with him and Regal aboard 4 years ago. If not then the world would've been plunged into an age of terror."
"Yeah. We should be glad." Yuuichirou sighed.
"But… Why would they want to alter the power source for their Converters if it already works fine?" Enzan asked.
"Maybe they're using the same power system for something else apart from the Converters… It can be some kind of doomsday robot or machine, see. The old man had conceived such a plan and had thought of making a gigantic robot sans any Cyber World to stop any Navis from trying to stand up to it." Noir suggested.
"It's obvious that what happened today was a test drive. They'll be doing this more often from now on."
"Yeah. I'll try to send some people to check into the Game Centers and see if we can intercept them or force them to leave. The Net Police's Cyber CID should try to issue a message via all channels to warn the population as well." Noir suggested.
"Roger."
"I'm off."
"Fine. I'll go hunting." Enzan announced.
"Maybe you'll meet Miquel – kun or Wan – kun. The others are busy but I believe Bertha – san would do fine too."
"As long as she doesn't go for teasing…"
"President Hades will warn her. Alright. Good luck."
"Thanks. We're gonna need it and badly."
The call ended and Enzan sighed as he looked out at the streets: he then lifted his gaze and looked at a nearby rooftop to see Eisei there waving his right hand in a taunting manner: Enzan gasped but Eisei quickly ran down the fire stairs: Enzan grumbled.
"Eisei. The jerk. He was there, taunting me."
"No wonder." Yuuichirou was unimpressed.
"I'd like to beat them again…!" Blues hissed.
12:44 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Huh… Dangerous Battle Chips which steal Navis, they say… That sounds bad… Thankfully Noir – san has warned us…"
Leon was reading a message on Golden Star's own blog and he looked surprised at the news.
The Great Evil God is about to be resurrected with the offering of sacrifices! Sieg eagerly exclaimed.
Don't be silly! "Great Evil Gods" don't exist outside of anime series.
Who knows? Sieg teased.
You do. Leon sentenced.
Heh, heh! Mr. Wikipedia strikes back! Sieg chuckled.
Stop with the nicknames already. I'm Leon. There's no more mystery to it, Siegfried.
Just call me Sieg.
Then call me Leon. Leon insisted.
You like setting up double-edged words, huh? Sieg sounded slightly annoyed.
You started this. Leon calmly reminded him.
I won't deny it, Mr. President. Sieg amusedly replied.
You're impossible.
That Felix dude is. Or so that Joanne gal claims. Sieg sounded like he was shrugging.
I agree that Qong – san has a zero when it comes to socializing, but that doesn't have anything to do with us two. And Tozukana – san has too much temper for my taste. Leon admitted.
Then that "ice queen" gal must be your target! Ain't that right, Leon? Heh, heh, heh!
I've got no target. Stop making up these things.
Alright, Main Personality – sama.
Leon sighed in defeat and leaned his head on the desk: Sieg's endless titles were driving him to total exhaust.
Tired? Have obscure coffee with a hint of heat from the self-appointed chef, Monsieur L'Homme de l'Obscurité…
I'll admit that it's Dark Man – san's honorific title, but I was never good at idioms. Leon shot back with obvious annoyance.
The day of reckonin' is just 'round the corner. Sieg suddenly let out.
And you think you'll be able to get away with it? Leon grumbled.
When I'm in charge I can do what I want to. Besides, you need to take naps from time to time. Sieg chuckled.
Go to the Val-something. Leon grumbled.
Don't you mean Valhalla? Sieg assumed.
Yeah. I meant that. Leon admitted.
Then ring up a Ms. Valkyrie to lead us there through the Bifrost and go meet old man Odin. Sieg exposed.
Sieg… Get lost in Berlin. Leon cursed.
Ya say that 'cause I picked my name from the character in Des Ring Des Nibelungen, huh? Sieg guessed.
When did you become so skilled at idioms? Leon questioned.
I do from toki-doki or "time-to-time" as the English people claim.
Will you ever leave me in peace? Or you'll always be here to torment me?
Ask old man Odin. Sieg suggested.
That's not funny! Leon growled.
Heh, heh, heh… I win!
11:55 AM (Philippines Time)…
"… Heh, heh, heh… Our campaign is finally starting… The campaign of terror…"
"Bravo, Aibou."
Kuroban had been examining a holographic screen displaying several tall cylinder-shaped capsules set around a central device which had a membrane-like thing containing a ring-shaped device atop it and the whole thing was inside of a Cyber World somewhere: some of the capsules could be seen being occupied: Eisei was also present as he stood in front of the throne.
"Ah. Gray. Just that you know: all of today's tests were a success."
"Excellent. How's our "God" behaving like?" He asked.
"Dullahan is still working on the main body… It's about 65% complete by now. Once the body is complete then the interior will follow. The energy processing system is almost complete as well. We'll just have these sacrifices offer their HP to engage and power up our "God"... The High One's incarnation!"
"Excellent. Things are heating up… By the way… Did ya know? That fire which we started took 33 hours to extinguish. They had to bring reinforcements and make shifts. And then that was when the Riga cops found the stuff."
"Heh, heh, heh… And now that man has gone down in flames: we don't have to worry about anyone else trying to play smart with us." Kuroban shut down the screen and walked down from the throne.
"True, true!"
"How's Ernst getting along with the others?"
"Well! He has to use his PET's translation software like he was a politician in the EU parliament but well… He's starting to pick up on Japanese and English and I give him a hand: I first will aim for English which is easier and then some Japanese… It'll take time but…"
"Good. I just want the morale to be high."
"Urateido did two visits: did you see his reports?"
"Yeah. I shut one place."
"Why?"
"They had no – one!"
"What? They were pretending?"
"Yeah. And they kicked Urateido off so he had to come in using Denpa – Henkan to see that fatty imbecile betting on mahjong with some other imbeciles. We rang up the police and let them shut the place down: we've already retrieved the money. The second one was on the fringe but now they've improved. It's not that I'm fond of such practices but alas sometimes these are the only ways to get some good funding: but when I have enough then I'll have them shut down." He shrugged.
"Alright. Do I tell him to continue the visits?"
"Do it."
"Roger."
Eisei came out while Kuroban chuckled and paced around the room: he suddenly gasped and stopped while paying attention.
"… My imagination…? Could that damned lapdog have found us already or are they blind still…? Maybe they went off to train or to discuss with their foolish tribe what to do now that the Continent is gone…"
He came out into the corridor and then opened a door which led into a small bedroom which had a bed, a desk, and an adjacent bath along with a balcony which was the one overlooking the main entrance: he stepped out into the summer and looked upwards at the "Wave Roads" around the area with suspicion.
"Maybe I'm being paranoid after all."
"… Direct Attack!"
"Counter Trap Card! Attack Negation!"
"Oh crap! Umisama! When did ya turn so good at it?"
"Heh, heh, heh! I'm good, see, Netsuhonoo!"
"Man."
Kuroban looked down to see Netsuhonoo and Umisama on their swimming trunks (colored red and blue) and sitting on towels while playing Duel Monsters with the game field and their respective Decks: Umisama crushed Netsuhonoo's "Direct Attack" attempt.
"Ahem! "It can be "Activated" when the Opponent's "Monster" has made an "Attack Announcement". Negate one Opponent Monster's "Attack" and end the "Battle Phase"… So! What will you do?"
"Turn End!" Netsuhonoo fumed.
"My Turn! Draw Phase! Draw Card! I have 4 Hand Cards now. I don't need to pay any costs during the Standby Phase so… I switch to Main Phase 1: I offer as "Sacrifice" this Monster: "Fallen Angel Mary" and "Normal Summon" this other "Monster"… "Artificial Human – Psycho Shocker"! By its "Effect" all Trap Cards on the Field, be it yours or mine's, are "Negated" as long as this Card remains on the Field! Battle Phase! "Artificial Human – Psycho Shocker" Attacks the "Deep-sea Warrior"!"
"I got 900 Points of Battle Damage and I'm already at 3100 LP left!"
"I skip my Main Phase 2. Turn End."
"Heh! It's good to see they're having fun. That Card game is really fun when you get the hang of it, truly." Kuroban smiled.
"… Aha-hah! Now! In my Main Phase 1 I use the Magic Card "Fissure" and bury the "Artificial Human – Psycho Shocker"! Eat that!"
"Crap. But that won't alter that I've got 6600 HP!"
"Well. Have fun. But this will be a long campaign… The Shunoros Campaign I'd rather name it. Heh, heh, heh. And nothing will be able to stop our projects and devices… Bring it on! Golden Star! Hah!"
