Chapter 11: Mind intruder

22:55 PM (Japan Time), Monday October the 3rd…

"… All of the other Net Navis' implementation with Proto – sama's data is proceeding yet I do not except all of them to be finished before Wednesday at this rate."

"I never said we were in a rush."

"Where did Nebula Grey go off to?"

"Dunno. I guess it's found a way to turn invisible and is looking on while laughing."

"Che. Bothersome shape-shifting program… No – one laughs at the will of Proto – sama!"

"Of course not. And I'm serious. Else why would have I bothered to make you come this far and to keep Proto safe from the dirty hands of the Z – Nation?"

"You stay here."

"Huh? Going out?"

"There is something I want to experiment with, an ability of mine… But fear not: I shall not engage anyone in battle. And I am sure those Navis are waiting for me to finish preparing the "undead ones"…"

"Alright. I'll give you a stealth camouflage device. Good luck."

"You stay here and do not touch anything: just make sure they behave like they are supposed to behave."

"Don't worry. I know my place."

"Gufuu" and Corruption were talking inside of the Graveyard: Corruption looked serious and so did "Gufuu" so Corruption shrugged and picked up a program "Gufuu" held out.

"I shall be back in about an hour. Watch the breeding grounds until then, alright?"

23:08 PM (Japan Time)…

First stop… Let us see…

Corruption had entered a Cyber World somewhere: he brought up a holographic screen and studied it for a while before pressing a button: he ended up projecting out of a Link PET within an unlit room: two beds with people sleeping on them could be seen.

Good. Now I shall use my ability to turn my thoughts into a Wi-Fi signal and interact with systems as mere thought data…

He concentrated and a flash occurred: when it cleared his body had turned "transparent" and he was standing inside of a Cyber World which looked like a library having bookcases with several books on them: he studied them.

Data here belongs to the current year, 2011, and there is one entry per day… But it would seem the earliest entries date January, 2010, and some files have been swapped. The originals must have been stored elsewhere, yet… This Cyber World… I see! A chip implant in a human brain which helps control and alter memories… it must be designed to handle traumatic memories and the system works like swapping the contents of a book with that of another which is rather similar yet it has radical differences in the "troublesome" spots… An impressive job of engineering! Hikari Netto! You do have memories you would rather not revive again for fear of your system crumbling away… But I cannot interact with anything in this form and this Cyber World was not designed for a Net Navi to enter, anyway. Let us retreat and check out Hikari Saito… Maybe he also has a similar implant?

He flashed and appeared inside of Netto's Link PET again: he concentrated but this time, instead of just flashing and warping, he witnessed how he travelled up a tunnel, past five security gates which were open and finally entered a core area shaped like a sphere: various circular circuit board-covered catwalks were built around a tall metallic column with several grooves on it: there was a warp point built on a square platform set in front of the column: a segment of it was made of glass.

W-what in the…? What is this Cyber World…? What were that tunnel and those gates…? And this place is…? That column seems to be the center, the core… What is it? Let us explore!

Corruption swiftly and silently floated down until he reached the inactive Warp Point: he then looked into the glass and spotted a dormant Navi inside of it who had many sensor wires attached to his body.

Is that…? Rock Man EXE? But… What is he doing here? And what is this place to begin with, anyway? I just wanted to check if Hikari Saito's brain had a chip implant or not and… Impossible! Is this… HIS brain? A cybernetic brain?

He began to look around again: most of the Cyber World was dimly lighted, as if to indicate the status of the person.

Of course… Given how he is sleeping, then, it is not surprising that the level of activity is at a minimum… But… Why is Rock Man EXE here? And who is Hikari Saito? Why does he need such a brain system? To fuse with Rock Man or...? Wait! What if he IS Rock Man AND Hikari Saito? It sounds far-fetched, yet… Hmmm… No. I am sure Sigaano would try to avoid my questions. I shall check it out myself! But let us pay a visit to another certain two which have picked my interest…

He retreated and returned to Netto's PET: he brought up some data and checked it out.

Rock Man barely comes here. And the last time he did… He transferred to Cyber World with a blank ID tag. Strange, bizarre… Maybe if I go to the Science Labs and sneak inside using Rock Man's passwords then I can find some info. Who could have it? Obviously Hikari Yuuichirou – hakase, son to Hikari Tadashi – hakase, Proto – sama's creator… Maybe he is somewhat absent-minded and forgets notes there and there… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… I am unraveling intriguing information which I could use as deterrent as well!

Chuckling under his breath, he shut down the screen and ran outta the Link PET while a smirk was drawn across his face and his eyes began to shine with malice…

23:19 PM (Japan Time)…

Second and last stop! Heh, heh, heh. Let us see!

Corruption projected himself using Hiro's PET and looked around the bedroom: he and Delta were sharing the bed and sleeping while facing opposite directions.

Let us begin with the outwards one…

He focused and saw rows of raw data scrolling down his irises: he closed his eyes and brought the right hand to his chin.

Hmmm… A materialized Net Navi, then? He has to be Delta EXE. Yet… His data structure and outwards appearance are strikingly similar to that of Rock Man… I need to investigate this further. Things are not as simple as they seem in this age. But to think technology has advanced to the point you can duplicate a human brain by storing a Net Navi's frame inside of it and then making his consciousness program run into it…! Superb! Magnificent! Splendid!

He chuckled under his breath and then looked at Hiro who was snoring and had a smile on his face.

"Hmmm… Drake… Get ready… I've got a surprise for ya~… We'll have fun, ya see~…" He muttered while sleeping.

Hmpf! Laugh while you can, Akashi. Soon I shall make fear crawl into your mortal body and let it rule you! Let us see who you really are!

He flashed and felt the same thing he'd felt while he'd been exploring Saito's brain given how he passed through several gates and entered a similar sphere-shaped area: however, there was no tall column on the middle and, rather, a metallic sphere with many antennae protruding from it could be seen.

Hmmm… So his brain is slightly different given how his "self" seems to be of human origin yet they had to use this system… Let us hasten to the Science Labs! I am sure the info is in there! I shall then force Sigaano to fill in the missing gaps!

23:25 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Sorry for the late night visit, but I thought I should tell you that they've found a weakness to any Net Navis Corruption might throw at us, Serenade…"

"Do tell me, Forte."

Forte was speaking with a Serenade inside of a Network area which was illuminated with a bright blue light and the ground was made of black and white tiles.

"Fire."

"Fire…"

"Yeah. So whatever the guy throws at us can then be burned and driven to complete and total self-deletion. But I guess Sigaano will program them to act like video games characters ripped off who knows where. Don't be too surprised."

"Kush, kush… Surprised, us? No, we shall not be. Kush, kush… A foul wind is blowing…"

"Dark Man… Have you finished by challenge?"

"I am close, Reverse King… 9969…"

"When did you give him the challenge?"

"Oh. That would be about over a decade ago."

"Over a decade ago and he's done in 9969 Net Navis? Man. You're something, Dark Man."

"Kush, kush…"

"Hum! Reverse King. I have detected an intruder. It is quickly approaching this area…"

"Is that so, Yamato Man?"

"Sigaano!"

"… My country lay within a desert. The day was filled with an incandescent wind… When the moon came up there was a bone-chilling wind… The wind carried "death" with it… The wind blowing across the land of Hyrule carried something different than "death"… I might have wished to possess this wind, even… You could say it's a cause-effect reaction given how the crest-holders have once again gathered here… "I shall grant the desire of the one who touches me"… It is said that the Gods shall descend when "power", "wisdom" and "courage" are gathered… The one who touches the power of the Gods, namely the Triforce, shall have his wish granted… The crest of "wisdom" is already in my hands…" A voice rang out.

"Oh crap! Ganondorf from the Wind Baton!" Forte cursed.

Indeed: this Ganondorf was smiling and looking confident.

"… What's left is… Don't fret… I won't kill you… I just happen to have a use for your body… So! Let us finish our relationship right here! Gods! Hear out my desire! Expose this land to the day once again! Let Hyrule be within MY hands!" He didn't realize he was "out of context" to begin with.

"What "gods"?" Serenade wondered.

"Go look it up on Wikipedia. I'm not in the mood to tell legends right now…" Forte grumbled.

"… What silliness! You gnats'… future, did you say? Alright… I'll show it to you gnats… You gnats' future… That so-called "hope"… How much worth they have! And how much worth the Triforce is!"

He suddenly drew two katana – like swords and jumped towards Serenade who merely placed the ribbons in front of him: a sonic boom hit Ganondorf and he stepped back.

"Hah, hah, hah!"

"Lovely. Like the one before the only thing it can between battles is to laugh." Forte grumbled.

"Hah, hah, hah!"

"Let me handle it!" Yamato Man requested.

"Go." Serenade authorized.

"Thousand Spear!"

Yamato Man began to move his spear forward several times at a quick speed while changing the angle of attack and the height: Ganondorf blocked all of the attacks and easily countered each and every one of them thus forming wounds on Yamato Man's body: he growled and stepped back.

"Damn."

"Killer Beam!"

Dark Man shot a beam shaped like a star at Ganondorf and he got hit fully thus getting stunned.

"Dark Shadow!"

A purple and black axe formed and flew forward to hit the chest and get embedded there: Ganondorf suddenly unleashed a barrage of sword slashes into Dark Man and he had to step back too.

"By all the… This guy is overpowered!"

"Feared as much…" Forte muttered.

"Come, Great Demon King. I shall slay you." Serenade challenged.

"Hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

"That's his insane laugh upon realizing all his hopes are lost along with the land of Hyrule." Forte muttered.

"Holy Shock."

Several greenish spheroids travelled across the ground and hit Ganondorf thus stunning and distracting him.

"Holy Light."

A small spheroid colored blue and with a light sparkle inside of it flew towards Ganondorf and "electrocuted" him with golden-like electricity.

"Gruoh!"

Ganondorf smiled and looked ready for more: he tried to hit Serenade with his barrage but the ribbons halted all of his attempts: a Sonic Boom formed as a reply and several were shot out until Ganondorf collapsed into his knees while forming a smile.

"Heh… Heh, heh… The wind's… blow… ing…" He managed to mutter in a whisper.

He was deleted and a large blue diamond fell down into the ground to the surprise of everyone.

"You got 100 Rupees! You gotta be feeling lucky!" Sigaano's pre-recorded voice joked.

"What a jerk." Forte grumbled.

"So his new tactic is to extract characters from video games and uploading them into the Cyber World with further HP and AI?" Serenade summed up without being too surprised.

"Yeah. The whole thing in a nutshell…"

"Hum! If they come back… I shall be ready." Yamato Man muttered as he looked at his spear.

"Kush, kush… They better not underestimate us…" Dark Man muttered with some annoyance.

"Yamato Man, Dark Man. Take a rest. Heal your wounds. We need to be fresh for the upcoming war." Serenade ordered.

"I'm off to napping. It's almost midnight, anyway." Forte barely repressed a yawn.

"Good. Let us hope we can win this war."

"We'll win… No matter what! Right, guys!"

"For victory~!"

Get ready, you punk! We're coming for you at full power! Hmpf!

23:45 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I have heard of your latest exploit. But since you did not move from here then I shall not complain."

"Heh, heh, heh. News leak out quickly nowadays."

Corruption returned into the "Graveyard" and looked slightly intrigued while "Gufuu" was smiling.

"Why do you have to steal the characters, though?"

"You mean rip them off. There's a saying which says that people sometimes wish to meet a certain character on the flesh. I am just making that possible."

"Hum. So that is the reason…"

"Others want to become that character that badly that they disguise to look as close as possible to him and copy his behavior. I know a man who does that."

"Ah. By the way. I found some intriguing information on the origin of Akashi and Delta yet I am sure you knew it to begin with."

"Like Snake said in MGS2: Sons of Liberty… You didn't ask." "Gufuu" shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"Which means that he knew something vital for someone else yet he did not disclose it given how he did not see it being necessary?" Corruption seemed to get the grace.

"Yessir. And now we're just waiting for the signal and for everything to be ready. Almost all Net Navis are ready by now and I have compiled a list of locations to send them with. Let us pit them against respective opponents and then form new enemies which will force the fighters to improvise if they want to survive…" "Gufuu" teased with a grin.

"Hmpf. Fine. War! Let there be war!"

Both laughed aloud in a victorious tone and did not see the purple Quick Man chuckling in a hollow tone of voice…