Chapter 10: Secret factory
08:19 AM (Germany Time), Thursday June the 29th…
"… Ach so. This is a summer storm. I hadn't seen one in years: let's hope no rivers begin to over-grow and bring floods along…"
The place was a large European villa with a surrounding garden: the skies were gray and it was raining, soaking all of the grass and trees with water as well as forming puddles on some spots of the garden: one or two rooms had their lights on.
There was a man standing inside of the living room and looking out at the rain.
He looked on his late fifties or early sixties and roughly one meter and eighty centimeters tall if not a bit taller.
He had grey hair along with an equally gray moustache while his eyes' irises were brown.
He wore a reddish bathrobe over a white shirt and his hands were inside of the pockets: he also had gray pants on and thick socks plus a pair of slippers.
He was smoking a brown smooth wood pipe and looked calm and relaxed as he witnessed the storm.
"Hum. I guess news will soon come in… Aha."
A wireless phone set next to an armchair facing the windows and next to some bookcases rang so the man calmly walked over to it and picked it up to answer to the call.
"Ach so. Kamiel Serbauf." He announced in German-accented English.
"Herr Kount Kamielf Serbauf? It's me, Pierre Spimer, sir…"
"Ah! Herr Doktor."
"I've got some news."
"Fire away, Herr Doktor."
"Yoru Yami pretended to be involved in a high-scale organ trafficking plan but the organs were fakes…"
"What!"
"We luckily found out just in time to avoid starting a pointless investigation involving many nations, territories, and supposed bribes of port authorities…"
"The rascal!"
"True."
"Then… That factory…"
"Do excuse me?"
"I got a report that a factory we'd sold off to a Swiss metallurgic conglomerate has been sealed off and no – one works there yet there are machines producing stuff and mystery trucks transporting them elsewhere during the night… But there are a lot of bribes involved there, around Geneva, and thus no formal inspection has been made… Could this man have some business there?" Kount Serbauf exposed.
"It's not crazy to think. Maybe Mr. Vadous can check it out: he can operate without having to worry about nationalities and such to begin with so… I'll ring him up right away: it's only 16 PM there."
"Good. By the way! Do you remember about Herr Gauss Magnets of the Gauss Console?"
"Huh? Ah! Yes, I do. It's a shame he didn't go to prison for long, though: after all the damage he inflicted as "Gospel" Admin and being the figure we believed to be the head of it…"
"True. Well. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to use his company's influences in some manner or another."
"Hum. We'll have to keep tabs on the man."
"I'll handle that. I've got a little personal score to settle… We were at the same college and he borrowed 500Z which he never returned."
"Is that so? That was a bad start. No wonder he became so mania-filled later on… But that cross-dressing habit was just… odd."
"Ach so! And trying to drown people was a crime too. No wonder they also began to play Robin Hood…"
"And to think he was so obsessed with Doktor Wily even after the man stepped down from crime as he has done for these years… His current status seems to indicate the search for some redemption…"
"Well. It could be named as such. Anyway, the factory should be given top priority but I wouldn't be surprised if it's arms smuggling this time around or anti-personnel mines…" Kount Serbauf warned.
"The last thing we'd need and… KZZZZZ!"
"Excuse me? Hello? Hello?"
"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Don't panic! This is a game! Your everyday game, you know!" A slightly distorted voice came in.
"W-what?"
"If you play for a lot of hours your eyes will ache." A woman added.
"What?"
"The "Patriots" have finished their announcement… KZZZ!"
"Hello? Kount? What happened? The line got filled with "noise"…"
"Some strange talk about a game and some "Patriots" came in…"
"Damn. The rascal strikes back. I don't doubt it anymore: that factory hides something and the "Swiss Conglomerate" is but a front to operate that place… We'll check it out ASAP."
"Ach so! Go ahead."
"Thank you, sir. Good-bye, sir."
"Don't worry: I don't intend to let such rascals get away with it."
"Thank you for the support."
08:57 AM (Germany Time)…
"… This is Blood, Boss… The perimeter is rigged with anti-personnel mines save for the vehicle access roads and there also are four sets of electrified fences plus surveillance cameras equipped with machinegun barrels: if Yoru Yami is behind this then he's taking security seriously."
"Sure is and… KZZZZ!"
"What now?"
Blood Shadow (with the helmet on) was lurking close to some factory buildings protected by four sets of electrified fence and looking from a tree's cup when the radio got filled with a "noise" burst.
"… Huh… Raiden… Listen to me. Something happened last week's Thursday. I was driving my car and heading back home… I was about 2 miles away from my home… I suddenly lifted my eyes and spotted an orange-colored glowing object in the eastern skies! It moved in a totally bizarre manner… And the next instant, I was suddenly surrounded by an overwhelming light… When I regained consciousness I'd reached my home… What do you think?"
"What, you saw an UFO?" Blood Shadow wasn't impressed.
"… Alright… Whatever… Huh! There are limits to my patience! I can't leave it up to you anymore! I'll go for a sortie! You go back already!"
"Oh yeah?"
"However… You've been at this game for quite a long while… You don't have any else to do? Jeez…" The voice complained.
"Tell that to Sigma, Danna."
"Variety Level 13… "Genome Counter-attack"… Save Meryl!"
"Save her yourself."
"It'd seem that the stuffed purple earthworm famous in the rolling Universe does a turning fork gone raw blink above the hara-kiri rock. I need scissors! 61!"
"Very original, Danna."
"Ahem, ahem… Your mission is to infiltrate the armored fortress Gallade, rescue the hostages, and destroy Metal Gear before its assembly is finished."
"That's your mission, Danna."
"Huh… Truth is… There's something which I was hesitating between bringing it up or not… I think it's better to bring it up… Last week's Saturday morning… I saw that a man was coming out of Rose – kun's room… How should I name it…? Hum… I had a feeling that it was something very intimate… Sorry. I shouldn't have brought this up in the midst of a mission…"
"You just saw Raiden…" Blood Shadow sighed.
"Infiltrate – into - enemy – fortress – Outer – Heaven… Destroy – ultimate – weapon – Metal – Gear!"
"Yeah, yeah. You done, Danna? It's still cold for being 9 in the morning and I don't wanna get a cold."
"President Baker should be being held in the southern area of the B2F wall which you've blown up… Rescue him before the terrorists can get the activation code out of him… KZZZZ!"
"Damn! What happened? Blood? Are you alright?"
"Yes, Boss. Just bored by that guy's attempts at impressing me with dialogues ripped off MGS2: Sons of Liberty… Sigma told me about the game and I checked it out so I remember that…"
"Hmpf… Alright. Use the jet-pack."
"Roger. Jet Vernier!"
A jet-pack formed behind him and he began to fly towards the factory building before dropping atop an overseeing tower seemingly used for vigilance but which was empty: he pushed a half-closed window open and snuck inside to then jump down through the ladder's gap.
"Hop. Let's see."
Blood Shadow made his way across and reached a production line which was producing some kind of dolls.
These "dolls" were about a meter and fifty tall and looked very simplistic human frames of no specified sex: their "skin" was made of a grayish material.
The arms ended in small spheres instead of hands and had no care to detail like the legs: the chest had a small metallic circle set on it with three metallic trapezes forming at the north, SE and SW spots of the structure and having a small dome-shaped emerald jewel set in the concave cavity inside of it.
The head merely had a small protruding metallic rectangle in the middle of it and had no mouth, eyes or ears whatsoever.
"Aha-hah. "Copy Roids"… The newest method to materialize Net Navis: they have an energy conversion program which interacts with some nano-machines and compounds to produce the exact size and weight of the Navi while also generating a small "materialization field" to materialize their attacks close to them… They supposedly are just being used for research purposes in Densan University… But I guess these guys hacked their way into the databases and set up a production plant here to sell them to rogue factions and start a new generation of crimes which produce zero forensic evidence… They must wanna sell them at high prices too to get some neat cash…" He analyzed.
"Shit. And these are real." Vadous cursed.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"That trick's outdated and so is that 3D image."
"So! Runt! You want to face a though adversary?"
"Who knows? Why don't you settle it with Boss already?"
"Hah! It's still too soon. This is but the start. The real action is yet to start up, you fools clinging to a miserable life…"
Yoru Yami's hologram showed up and taunted Blood Shadow but he was totally unimpressed.
"Go! Palkia! Pull this guy into another world and battle for all eternity until they become but spatial dust!"
The Pokémon "Palkia" materialized and loomed over Blood Shadow who was unimpressed: he discreetly formed a Mega Energy Bomb and tossed it behind him to roll beneath one of the production chain's machine: Palkia roared.
"Go! "Land Power"! "Slash"! "Dragon Claw"! "Subspace Tear"!" Yoru Yami made a snicker once announcing the last move.
Palkia lifted some blocks of ground and shot them at Blood Shadow who dodged and tossed another explosive: Palkia did get to slash his helmet's forehead and expose some circuitry beneath the armor followed by building up energy and slashing with both claws' middle fingers at his chest armor: Palkia's body began to glow in a menacing purplish color before concentrated energy formed and hit Blood Shadow while opening a "tear" colored white: he fell inside and Palkia followed into the forest outside of the factory.
"Heh. Gotcha."
Three explosions rang out one after the other inside of the factory: Palkia turned to look at those but Blood Shadow quickly dashed and placed the shotgun barrels on the chest: he shot and Palkia roared.
"Hum. Out of 328 HP he's down to 258… I've taken 70… But this shot was at about 50% power so I go for 100% I should take out 140 and go down in another two blows… Let's weaken them a bit… Cannon!"
He formed a Cannon Battle Chip on the left forearm and shot at Palkia making the giant recoil: Blood Shadow leapt backwards to dodge the combo of their main three attacks and Blood Shadow loaded up both barrels to full power: he unleashed those at close-quarters and Palkia roared again.
"Gotcha. 180 less… 118 left… I'll settle it now!"
"Pa~ru~ki~a~!"
"Huff. Sure, sure. Yell as you want. Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon! Fire at will!"
Blood Shadow unloaded the Giga Cannon on Palkia and blew them up while he saw how the factory's doors opened and a truck came out but no-one was driving it: he quickly warped there and shot at one tire to blow it out and make the truck veer out of control and fall out of the road because it was slightly slippery and there were no safety fences: it hit the grass next to the road and several explosions rang out: their combined force did make it fall towards the other side and blew up the wall of the right side thus exposing the cargo compartment, which was full of "Copy Roids" as well.
"Heh. Gotcha."
"Hmpf… So you have some tricks, eh, runt?" Yoru Yami's hologram formed next to the truck.
"Sure I do. Now go back to your den."
"Whatever… I've already gained enough profits and this would've been shut down sooner or later… Next time Dialga or Giratina are going to bring a nightmare to you… And so will my new-gen "Darkloids"… The Terror Five Squad…!"
"How lame."
"Whatever the ever… Feel the terror and chaos within your flesh, you damned herd of fools… Heh, heh, heh… Hah, hah… Wah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, ha~h!"
The hologram vanished and Blood Shadow sighed in relief: he then checked the "Copy Roids" and made sure they were still in one piece: once he was done he brought the left hand to his ear-pad.
"Do we call the Swiss Net Police and they will secure these, Boss? It seems logical to me… We don't want them to lie around."
"Sure. I'll ring Commissioner Kifune up and he'll handle the rest."
17:27 PM (Japan Time)…
"… I'm back."
"Ah! Boss… The "Copy Roid" factory…"
"I know. I got cocky."
"What do we do?"
"Nothing. The profits are enough. I've got others operating elsewhere too: this one was expendable…"
"Ah! I see."
Yoru Yami stepped into the main room of the "Neo Gospel" HQ and was greeted by Freeze Man but he calmly shrugged and didn't look too concerned over what had happened.
"When it comes to kyoudai you've got to be ten steps ahead of them: they don't waste their time. They're not imbeciles and their connections make them get info quick from several spots… I'm testing them to see how much they can figure out… The "Council of Armies" is still busy trying to repair or scrap the damaged equipment or buying new… General Hawk will be eager to last out at me and I'll provide him with a red herring into which they can vent off their bittersweet anger…"
"Bittersweet anger…? Well. Why not…"
"Just tell those five their debuts will be coming in less than 5 days from now: this is also a test of their mature personality and their patience to see if they're worth their rank…"
"Excellent."
"Boss. I've gotten some info…" Yuriko came in while having her smug smile on.
"Did you locate the guy?" Yoru Yami calmly asked.
"Yeah. This is the info. Needle Man, compress it up."
"Shah, shah, shah! Leave it up to me~! Yuriko! There! Hah!"
Yoru Yami's PET pinged and he calmly interacted with the menus to bring up some files and read them up: he grinned.
"Good… Did you set up a red herring?"
"In Cape Town…"
"Excellent."
"Thanks, Boss."
"Your role is over but I'll soon grant you a new mission… Do as you like: I won't stop you. Ms. Yuriko." He smiled at her.
"Don't worry! This is totally worth it. Only a chicken would try to quit but I'm no normal human. I'm a freak and freaks band together like the Gotham City guys and gals…" She shrugged.
"True."
"See ya."
"Shah, shah, shah! I'm gonna improve my VR results!"
Yuriko and Needle Man walked off while the villain headed into the server room and brought up the phone.
"Did the newest package get there?"
"Yes, sir. The supplier doesn't question anything: they know they're staking their necks on this to begin with so…"
"Good. As I told you before: as long as you keep those packages, stay in contact 24/7 and don't leave the city then I don't mind whatever you do in those free times. But make sure to keep a low profile."
"I understand, sir. I will not fail you, sir."
"Not like you'd failed me before to begin with… Later."
"Roger, sir."
Hmpf… Kyoudai! You lowlife and I will settle our scores but… It's still too soon for that… This show is just getting serious! Hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah!