Chapter 10: Identity
08:44 AM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 18th…
"… So. Dr. Regal. You have requested for us to gather here since you've made an important discovery?"
"Correct, Commissioner Kifune."
Dr. Regal, Yuuichirou, Dr. Wily, Netto, Saito, Enzan, Laika, Nelaus, Comissioner Kifune, Superintendent Manabe and Detective Misaki were sitting on the chairs inside of the Science Labs' briefing room: Dr. Regal was standing and looked like he had important information.
The twins sported their street clothes.
Netto had picked his classical orange sleeveless vest over a white shirt coupled with his black shorts and his orange sneakers: he'd put his bandana on, too.
Saito had a blue vest, a white shirt, brown shorts and white sneakers on today.
Nelaus sported a simple white buttoned t-shirt, jeans, white socks and black sneakers.
"It concerns the identity of Rama's leader: I have found it out." He announced.
"Oh! You could narrow it down?" Wily asked.
"Correct. Please have a look at this photograph."
Dr. Regal inputted some commands into a terminal a photo was displayed over the LCD screen.
This displayed Dr. Regal crouching next to a boy around ten or eleven years old.
He had silver-like hair and blue eye irises.
He sported a red wool jumper, jeans, thick black socks and a pair of white sneakers.
Dr. Regal sported his usual set of clothes.
The date was set on the lower right corner of the photo:
"LIVERPOOL EMPIRE HOTEL: 23/01/2005"
"Ah… Liverpool. You went there for some conferences back then. Didn't you, Regal?" Wily remembered.
"Yes, Father. Let me explain: that boy is named Rick Anderson. I had the privilege of meeting him when he assisted to some conferences I was giving in Liverpool regarding the development of super energy as an alternative clean power source which would eventually make nuclear fission obsolete along with many other forms of producing energy except for wind and solar energy. He was a genius for his age: having already worked on a system to recreate matter and antimatter annihilation in the Cyber World and tap into that reaction to generate energy. I was fascinated by the complex calculations and designs he'd done on his free time so I got fond of him: we spent two weeks together since he lived in Liverpool, too." He explained.
"But you then told him about Nebula?" Wily guessed.
"Correct. I saw great potential on his system and gave him a little helping hand to clear up one or two spots where he was stuck. I admitted about my secret projects but, to my surprise, he'd already guessed it. So I told him to please work hard on his studies and try to finish the system: I'd contact him once I had something for him. Truth is… Since he'd lost his father at a young age, he began to think of me as the father he'd liked to have: he didn't approve of her mother remarrying and had a bad relationship with her, so… He began to deepen into this research to fill that void he had: he was bullied, too, so he had almost no friends. It was no surprise he saw me as someone to look up, a guideline."
"I see… But then, two months later, Nebula was dismantled and you lost contact with him. Given how the years passed… Anderson must've though the time to continue what Nebula began, to be a legacy to it, had come to be. He must've gathered money thanks to Present and Axe Man's large-scale robberies and then used it to create Rama."
"True."
"But he must have doubts about it after yesterday's encounter with Annihilation Man. Yet… I'm afraid he won't be able to stop it having come so far." Kifune deduced.
"I'm afraid that's what has happened: he fits perfectly into the overall picture, too. He was about to turn 12 back in 2005, so… He must about 16 by now. He's mature enough to be able to lead such an organization."
"So, he's around our age… And maybe he's doing the leadership part-time? I mean… He must have just ended 3rd grade, too." Netto muttered.
"King Land finishes earlier. He's been in summer vacations for the last 15 days." Dr. Regal replied.
"I see. And given the bad relationship with her mother and his stepfather, they most likely didn't mind him going elsewhere for a while: it must've been very hard for him to live along them these four long years so it's obvious he'd want to get as far away as possible." Nelaus muttered.
"Yeah. I can guess he's in Japan presently and he got inside in a totally legal way while having a visa: maybe he'll then pretend to go back to King Land but will be able to jump back and forth using "Dimensional Converters" to do it." Enzan guessed.
"That sounds like a very possible scenario." Saito shrugged.
"What we should be careful of is Axe Man: he looks like ready to slaughter a hundred Navis at any time. The others aren't that worrisome expect for Annihilator Man but that guy's another story altogether." Laika warned as he leant forward.
"I agree: and I'm pretty sure he'll come back for more."
" Mwah, hah, hah… I'll fill that silly armor with graffiti!" Sigma joked,
"I don't see the point of it." Search Man drily told Sigma.
"There isn't: that's his problem." Isaac warned.
"Let's go."
09:38 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Ah… It feels so good! Not a cloud in sight, plenty of space and calm waters… The sea feels good!"
"Yeah. We found this little spot some years ago: people prefer going to wide and big beaches instead."
"It's very relaxing."
Netto, Saito and Nelaus were swimming in the sea waters of a small beach lodged in a natural bay formation.
Netto sported magenta-colored swimming trunks, Saito's were sand brown-colored and Nelaus' were goldenrod-colored.
Their PETs had been left in the towels close to some changing cabins.
"Yo!"
"We're coming in, too!"
Dekao and Hikawa came out and laid their towels in the sand.
Dekao had green-colored swimming trunks while Hikawa's were azure-colored.
"My friends from the B class will be joining us soon, too." Hikawa told them with a smile.
"Heh! I'll show 'em 'round!" Dekao grinned.
"Mwah, hah, hah… You'll show 'em how ya jump into the water and drain it all!" Sigma's voice rang out from Netto's Link PET.
"Wha~t? Sigma! Ye jerk!" Dekao growled.
"Heh! That's more like ya, Ooyama! Or should I say… Ookarada? Hah, hah, hah!" Sigma came up with a pun.
"…Huh… "Ookarada"… "Big Body"… Fitting. I've got a déjà vu feeling for some reason or another, though." Nelaus grinned.
"Nelaus! Ye jerk!" Dekao growled next.
"Run across the Sahara 10 times."
"Good one!" Hikawa chuckled.
"Hello!"
"Morning."
Eboshi and Arushi walked over to them and also set the towels.
Eboshi's swimming trunks were brown-colored with yellow stripes coiled around the legs while Arushi's were crimson red-colored.
"Eboshi Shuucihi – kun and Arushi Masuko – kun… Eboshi – kun transferred back in 6th grade while Arushi – kun began this same year: he came from Kobe. I think you've met him already." Hikawa introduced.
"Oh! I remember you: you were the one who was almost robbed by those two fakes! And yeah. We've met before." Nelaus remembered.
"Yeah! Let's introduce each other again. Arushi Masuko. Nice to meet ya."
"Eboshi Shuuichi. Nice to meet you."
"Nelaus Rainon."
"Ooyama Dekao."
"Hikari Netto!"
"Hikari Saito."
They all shook hands to introduce each other: Arushi made a hidden grin and inwardly chuckled.
How naïve! The enemy is front of your noses and you treat him like a lifelong friend. Whatever.
"We're ready!"
"We're coming out!"
"We're going to tease you~!"
"Oho?"
Everyone looked at the right side changing cabins: the three girls came out after having changed and everyone looked on.
"How is it? Say something!" Meiru told them.
Meiru sported a goldenrod and azure-stripped bikini: it made her stand out by its bright colors.
Tamashita had picked a red and blue-stripped one.
Yaito sported a pink one-piece bathing suit along with a straw hat: her forehead shone and everyone had to shield their eyes from its intense bright.
"Heh, heh, heh! Deko – sama always wins." She giggled.
"That's a fashion from the Edo Era…" Tamashita shrugged.
"But it's a useful weapon." Meiru giggled.
"I wonder about that."
"I'd rather say you could use it if to make Morse code signals without bothering to bring a mirror along."
Enzan and Laika came in as well.
Enzan had reddish-colored trunks with his emblem drawn on the legs.
Laika sported a green one with camouflage colors patches.
"Enzan. You're as mean as always." Yaito drily told him.
"I can't help it: you're too much of a spoiled kid." Enzan grinned.
"And we have enough with the winter to act as weapon to defend the Motherland from invaders." Laika grinned.
"Laika too…! You guys are terrible!" She annoyingly told them.
"So! You're Eboshi – kun. Are you hooked?" Meiru asked him.
"Eh…? Excuse me, Sakurai – san?" Eboshi timidly asked.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" She questioned.
"N-no… Never had…" Eboshi muttered.
"Then you won't mind getting hooked by me, right?" Meiru leant closer and made a smug smile.
"N-no problem…"
"Tooru – kun! Remember: you are hooked to me!" Yaito warned.
"I know… Ever since December, 2007…" Hikawa drily muttered.
"Nelaus – kun! We're a couple and no clichés will work on me." Tamashita warned him.
"I know." Nelaus looked unimpressed.
"Excuse me, but… I thought you'd pick someone like Netto – kun or Saito – kun, Sakurai – san…" Arushi brought up.
"Oh. They're too dense! I gave up time ago: they don't catch up when it comes to this stuff. I tried going to the cinema with Netto and he was saying the whole film was clichéd 'cause it was! I didn't stand that so we quit there." Meiru fumed.
"That's because you have short temper, Meiru – chan…" Roll sighed in defeat.
"Yeah. That's why." Blood Shadow shrugged.
"Say… I thought Hikari – kun's Navi was named Rock Man… But I don't see him around." Arushi brought up next.
"He likes hanging around the Science Labs and helping the scientists there: given his unique abilities he could serve as a base for future Net Navis so as to improve them." Netto immediately replied.
"Yeah. And for safety reasons we have these two guys: but we don't complain 'cause they're quite nice." Saito shrugged.
"Let's quit the talk and hit the water! Last one buys ice-creams!" Nelaus challenged.
"Oi! Not fair!" Everyone exclaimed.
They ran after Nelaus and they jumped into the water: they laughed and began to splash each other while the Navis looked on.
"Cha. Beware of where cha step." Roll told Felicia.
"My, my." Felicia teased.
"Uh-oh." Glyde gulped.
"Problems, desu…" Ice Man muttered.
"What problems, de guts?" Guts Man wondered.
"Mwah, hah, hah… They're in yer head." Sigma laughed.
"Sigma…" Blood Shadow grumbled.
"That's rather original." Isaac grinned.
"Is everything alright over here?" Omega asked as he walked into the area.
"Commander Omega! There's nothing abnormal to report, sir." Both reported.
Roll suddenly grinned and looked towards Omega: she looked up to something and Felicia lifted the right eyebrow.
"Good morning, Omega – dono~!" She greeted.
"Please call me Omega. I'm not Round Table Knight as far as I know." He chuckled at his joke.
"Say… Are you busy?"
"Not really… But I've got a deal with Trill to go play "dodge the mean mister guard" around 11:00 hours… Why?"
"Tee, heh, heh." Roll looked amused.
"Oi, oi. It can't be…" Blood Shadow muttered.
"Yikes. Trouble, trouble…" Sigma gulped.
Omega frowned but then looked at Ice Man and seemed to catch some message on his shivering.
"Ah… Hum… Well…"
"So?" Roll asked.
"… Fine. As long as we don't do anything… Indecent." Omega sighed.
"Tee, heh, heh. I win." She told Felicia.
"No wonder." She calmly replied.
"… Ah… It was splendid!"
"Yeah. What's up? Blood?"
"Well…"
Netto and Saito were lying in hammocks placed in a patch of the area always covered by the cliff's shadow: Netto had sunglasses on and looked relaxed while Saito was speaking with Blood Shadow: he looked somewhat nervous at something.
"Truth is… Roll – chan hooked Commander Omega!" He told them.
"Wha~t?" They asked in obvious incredulity.
"We're serious. I guess he doesn't want to harm her by saying "no", so he agreed as long as it doesn't go to any "indecent" ends…" Sigma whispered with a hint of nervousness.
"Whoa." Nelaus, lying at Netto's left, whistled in surprise.
"Yeah. I saw it. I guess she got bored of Ice Man." Isaac sighed.
"Good catch, Roll! You deserved someone better than a child model Navi who is on the same league as Gorilla Man."
"Tee, heh, heh. I've trained!" She giggled.
"I'd rather say that was because he didn't want to ruin the friendly relationship." Felicia looked unimpressed.
"Yeah. No pain, no gain." Tamashita giggled.
"Enzan is the Reborn Snake God." Yaito laughed.
"Yaito – sama…" Glyde sighed.
"Amusing." Laika grinned.
"I fail to see the fun on such a claim, Laika – sama." Search Man dryly muttered aloud.
"Very original." Enzan, at Saito's right, grumbled.
"Snake God… Tell that to Snake Man and Millionaire." Blues grumbled.
"Oh! True, true! Snake Man! What a jerk! He wanted to trap Rock Man inside of that game! Luckily you two happened to be there and you could help us…" Netto grumbled.
"Yeah. What can you expect from a bored person like Millionaire?" Saito muttered.
"Nothing good. And when I dropped by a year ago Drill Man was messing around too." Nelaus sighed.
"The guy was only good at running: like Grievous."
"Apparently… Given the imagery Umbra and Kanou Shade gathered "Alternate" Blues and Thunder Man investigated some guy using Drill Man to rob some old programs… The guy was good at running there but in the end Thunder Man cornered them and delivered the final blow to put an end to the deal." Netto commented.
"Enzan and Raoul make a good combo."
"Never said we didn't..." Enzan got cocky.
"Thunderbird King says otherwise, Enzan – amas." Laika joked.
"Is that Sharo humor or what?"
"… Yeah. Put some more cream on my shoulders."
"Yeah… I'm on it…"
Yaito was lying face-down on her towel and Hikawa rubbed her shoulders with solar cream: he looked elsewhere to hold any temptation at bay.
"Heh, heh, heh! Today is a great day!" Yaito giggled.
"Yeah, yeah…" Hikawa muttered.
"It's our victory!" Meiru claimed.
"I'm a genius." Roll giggled.
"I wonder about that." Both Tamashita and Felicia muttered.
"What am I supposed to do…?" Eboshi sighed.
"Oi, oi… Eboshi – kun. Be more man-like! You've got A Class' Sakurai – sama interested in you. Make sure to fulfill her desires!" Arushi teased him.
"Arushi – kun…! Please…!" He sounded exasperated.
"And don't try to run off with Hikawa – kun, either: her anger will be terrible to witness, I'd say." Arushi whispered.
"Man." Eboshi sighed.
"Excuse me for a min: usual stuff."
Arushi put on the sandals and headed over to one of the restroom cabins: he made sure to close the door and then took out his Link PET from the dried trunks' right pocket: it was vibrating.
"Balrog! Didn't I tell you not to come for the whole day?" He asked.
"No. It's me." Annihilator Man replied.
"Ah! I apologize, Annihilator Man – sama… Eh… New orders?" He quickly saluted.
"No. I'm just doing a check-up. Your cover is solid enough?" He replied.
"Yes, sir. I always manage to stay in the background." Arushi confirmed.
"Good enough. Keep at it. Over."
Nelaus – kun! Next encounter will be wholly different! No hard feelings, though… I just want to test your strength. Heh, heh, heh!