Chapter 11: Forte

09:09 AM (Japan Time), Monday December the 31st…

"… So then… Commissioner Kifune's info wasn't enough to satisfy you, Enzan? You want to play police inspector?"

"Hmpf."

"Obviously."

"Hmpf."

Netto and Saito were sitting on chairs next to a table inside of a busy café somewhere: Enzan was sitting on front of them and had his "mask" on: he didn't look satisfied.

"Look, Enzan. What exactly is bothering you? Didn't the Commissioner gladly give you a copy of the emails he got?" Netto asked.

"He did. But something reeks. Such as… What do they gain from all this to begin with?" Enzan replied.

"And you expect us to know what motivates a 40-year old organization to keep on forward?" Saito asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Ah. I hadn't thought of it like that." Enzan muttered.

"Look. They only want to preserve "individuality": nowadays, given all these mass events and such, it's easy to lose criteria and be dragged along without even questioning it. That's not why each human comes to be different from another. Some people wanna control people's criteria by extending an unseen hand into those mass events. They're stubborn people who wanna keep their power by controlling the masses and make them dance to their tune. Gotcha?" Netto explained.

"Hmmm… I suppose you have a point." Enzan muttered next.

"Jeez. I don't think Commissioner Kifune will be glad when he finds out about this."

"He doesn't need to."

"No? What if he was to contact us with a Net Savior mission and we'd had to reply that we can't go because you're "detaining" us so as to "question" us?" Netto exposed.

"Crap."

"You can't even think of such a simple scenario? I guess you get obsessed with something and don't try to look elsewhere. It's like those fans out there who wanna make theories about something which are eventually proved false but they keep on bringing up moot points 'cause they won't accept that the official theory is better than theirs." Saito sighed.

"Enzan – sama. I did advice this was too much of a bold move." Blues suddenly brought up.

"I know." Enzan sighed.

"What else do you wanna know?"

"Those Navis. Why have we only seen the black giant until recently? Where were the other two?"

"Does it matter that much? Blood was in an assignment somewhere in Ameroupe while Omega – san was somewhere in Sharo Nation. They finished them and now they've come back to Japan. Hey. And it's thanks to them that Wily was beating around the bush the whole time without being able to find the Tetra Codes." Saito exposed.

"I won't deny that."

"So? What's the point of this whole "questioning", then?" Netto asked with a hint of annoyance.

"… Crap."

"Does it even have a "point" to begin with?"

"Enzan – sama. I am afraid that your idea lacks proper structuring: it should've been researched properly, sir." Blues argued.

"Even Blues agrees on us because he's programmed to go by logic but he doesn't see the logic on it." Netto pointed out.

"Whatever! So! That Ocelot man was an alter ego of that mysterious man named Mr. Denpa. And he's the one who cut those wires. Why?"

"Easy! To stop Regal from using the console. But we didn't foresee he had a PDA, too." Saito replied.

"Where do you think those two fakes are at?"

"Well… Vadous – san talked about an area Regal built: the Nebula Hole Area… It's supposedly accessed through somewhere in the Reverse Internet but only Navis with "Dark Power" can be allowed inside: the mere opening of its door unleashes V2 Viruses across the Cyber World. If they want to proceed to the second half, they need to open a second which unleashes V3 Viruses, too. Of course, you could always go out and close everything to prevent too much leakage of Viruses, too. And he managed to trap Nebula Grey inside of its own foul pit, too, by deploying an energy field which creates an infinite loop: Nebula Grey attacks it, but the field redirects the power at Nebula Grey and so on." Netto detailed.

"Hum. Fine. Then those must be slaughtering each other to prove which is superior to the other. We can stop getting worried about those. By the way… They still don't know where the heck the real Forte is at?"

"No. Maybe he switched countries or maybe he found a way to slip into that Nebula Hole Area: I've heard he can use warp gateways to move between areas: it was a system which was designed to be implemented for easy travel back before Proto went berserk, and Forte was installed with the capacity to use it. But after the whole "Proto Rebellion" incident, the idea was scrapped." Saito told him.

"Ah. So that's how he can slip away from curious eyes so easily. Fine. Is there anything else which I should know?" Enzan asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"You decide that." Netto sighed.

"Fine. We'll leave it at this before I get another scolding. But this isn't over by all means." Enzan replied as he stood up.

"We knew that." Saito shrugged.

"Hmpf. Fine."

Enzan headed to the counter and quickly paid for their coffee and orange juices: he stepped out of the café at a brisk pace while the twins picked their coats from a perch and put them on: they came outside and suddenly found Mr. Denpa leaning against the wall at the door's right.

"Are you… Denpa – san?" Netto asked.

"Correct. Would you like going for a walk?" He offered.

"Sure!" Saito smiled.

"As I suspected… Mr. Ijuuin won't give up so easily." Mr. Denpa commented as if to begin a conversation.

"Yeah. He can be so stubborn… And even Blues is starting to question the point of it. Is he impossible to satisfy or what?" Netto growled.

"So it'd seem." Saito sighed.

"Regarding those two subjects… They haven't been seen coming out of the Nebula Hole Area. But the "seal" on Nebula Grey is still active and running, so… Maybe they're trying to find a way around it. Yet, I believe that "someone" will come into the picture to try to "absorb" Nebula Grey's power." Mr. Denpa commented.

"The "real" Forte?" Netto guessed.

"Correct."

"Did Vadous – san recover already?" Saito asked him.

"He did. As Dr. Lartes admitted… He sometimes tries to push himself too hard and forgets about his limitations. He is a person, after all."

"So… Denpa – san. What "role" do you have inside of the "Committee", anyway?"

"Well… Even though I'm technically the 2nd highest authority… I rather prefer to act as the representative of Mr. Admin and allow the Departments to handle on their own."

"Are there other Departments besides the Security Department?"

"Analysis. Finance. General Oversight." Mr. Denpa listed.

"Is the "Analysis" department something akin to the police's field investigation departments?"

"Correct. Colonel Talos is in charge of it: but he technically is part of the Security Department, too."

"Say… That so-called "Ice Queen" who was behind Vadous – san's… eh… hiring… Was she a very dangerous criminal?"

"… More than "dangerous": it was a tyrant in all senses of the world. It was like all tyrants: they saw the world as mere "black" and "white" while priding their selves to be the "white" part of it. It controlled almost all organized crime in this nation through intimidation, fear, murder, blackmail, extortion and so on. It's not like it created the organized crime, no… It ambitioned to receive a large share of its gains for its own personal profit… Sadly enough… It held us in a tight rope because it had control over a large part of our finances…" Mr Denpa explained.

"But you always sought to break free, nevertheless?" Netto deduced.

"Of course! We wouldn't let such a tyrant control us forever. So, with Mr. Vadous' help, we were able to leak info to the police and they organized a secretive raid on its yacht: without that person's control, organized crime now has gone back to fighting each other for supremacy and weakening themselves out of arrogance." Mr. Denpa told them.

"Huh. We really should be glad, then." Saito muttered.

"True. Because, after all… We fight those who are trying to erase "individuality" from behind the scenes. This was no exception. But let's shake that mood aside: New Year's is upon us." Mr. Denpa smiled.

"It'll be a cool year." Netto grinned.

"Cooler than Mr. Cool." Saito joked.

They laughed in a jovial tone…

09:49 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So? How's it going?"

DS Blues had come to the pit to see DS Rock Man assembling some kind of device reminiscent of a control console: he was lying underneath it and checking it from the inside like if he were a car mechanic.

"It's coming out more or less. I can do about three quarters of it correctly, but we'd need specifications. Guess we'll have to blast into Nebula's computers." DS Rock Man replied as he came out from underneath the device and stood up: he shook some dust off him.

"I see. By the way… Haven't you got the feeling that we're being watched?" DS Blues brought up.

"You're just being paranoid. Only the two of us know how to get in here, you know." DS Rock Man shrugged.

"Yeah, I know… I'm off to seeking the data. How much time do you think we'd need to complete this once we get the data?"

"I wouldn't place it past 15 minutes…"

"Fine. I'll be back ASAP…" He made a smug smile.

"Don't think of stabbing me on the back: if you wanna prove your power then fight like a man." DS Rock Man dully told him.

"I knew that." He shrugged.

He suddenly ran off while DS Rock Man frowned and looked suspicious of his attitude.

"What the… He wants to suck my data off or what? He reminds me of a leech… I thought Shade Man was the vampire-model Darkloid to begin with..." He muttered with a hint of annoyance.

He shrugged and crouched next to the pit to look down on it: he could see a yellowish field of energy blocking it off.

Not for much longer, ya know… Heh, heh, heh…

10:08 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hum. Mama left to go meet Meiru's mom."

"Fine."

The twins got back home and took off their shoes: they put the slippers as well as placing the caps and jackets into the perches: Netto had spotted a handwritten note over the shoe cupboard and read it.

"Let's go upstairs." Saito suggested.

"Yeah. I wanna finish my manga: I'm at the last chapter."

They both headed upstairs and walked into their room: Saito picked a chair and sat near the balcony window as he picked a book off the bookcase and Netto grabbed his tankobon from the desk to begin reading it.

"Good stuff." He muttered.

Saito distractedly looked up several times from his book at Netto while a slight tint of red showed up on his cheeks.

Huh… Well… Should I tell him now…? Should I settle it…? I'm not that sure… But… Maybe… Maybe he's too waiting for me to make a move…

"Huh… Netto - kun…" He called out, hesitantly.

"What's up?"

Saito suddenly walked towards the balcony and lowered the shutter while he also made sure the door was locked.

"What are you doing, niisan?" Netto looked up in surprise.

"I want to talk about one thing… And I want to make sure no one hears about it…" Saito replied.

"Huh? What?"

Saito picked his chair and placed it in front of Netto to then sit down on it: he sighed and looked at Netto with a worried look.

"… Netto – kun. What do you think of me? As a person."

"As a person…? You're kind, polite and good-humored…" Netto trailed off while frowning.

"… When we're as close at this… Do you feel something?"

"Well… You know, the other day… In the Nebula base… I hugged you to keep you from falling into the ground and… I felt weird there. I mean… I felt different… Like that sudden contact had some meaning…"

"… I also felt the same when you were trying to encourage me to kick that fake outta my mind… I've been harboring to feel you close by…"

"Could this mean that…?" Netto suddenly asked.

"What, what?" Saito sounded eager.

"… that we like each other?" Netto finished.

"… Netto – kun…! True… I like you! I've been building up this feeling for these four months…"

"I, too, niisan… I've felt that I liked you, too…!"

Netto suddenly closed his arms around Saito's neck and pulled him forward: he made contact with his lips and started to share a kiss with him: Saito quickly replied by closing his arms around Netto's neck and pulling him closer to him: the moment seemed to last forever, but they soon broke apart, gasping and panting.

"We… kissed… guess… that's one step…"

"Then… let's prove to each other if we really love each other…"

He opened his vest and threw it away as he quickly removed his shirt and also tossed it away as well: Netto soon began to imitate him by taking off his vest and his shirt: they then looked at each other's chest: Saito could spot the surgical scar left behind in Netto's right shoulder from some months ago.

"Here I go, Netto – kun."

Saito began to kiss Netto on various spots on his neck: Netto let out a small moan and Saito suddenly began to massage his chest: Netto began to use his fingers to explore different parts of Saito's own body and he was surprised at how smooth and suave it felt: Saito could feel how he was beginning to enjoy this.

"More…!" Netto moaned.

Both soon noticed their cocks bulging against the fabric of their boxers, so they stopped.

"Heh, heh! It seems my cock itches for some action…" Netto grinned.

"Mine, too… Let's get rid of these things." Saito suggested.

They both sat down on opposite sides on the bed and took out the socks and their shorts to see more clearly each one's cock shape pressing against the boxers.

"Let's remove each one's boxers." Netto suggested.

"Nice."

Saito crouched and softly lowered Netto's boxers: he was amazed to see how his cock extended in its full length in front of his noses: Saito stood up and Netto did the same thing to him before they tossed them away.

"Let's go for it." Netto encouraged.

"Let's make love to each other, Netto – kun." Saito sounded eager.

They lied together on Saito's bed: he quickly grabbed Netto's cock and began to stir it by rubbing the urethra with his thumb finger: Netto suddenly came to while letting out a long sigh of pleasure: a lot of it had stained Saito's right hand as well as his upper torso and face.

"Wow… Netto – kun's cum… I wonder how it'll taste like…"

He licked his face and hand until they were clean and savored the fluid: Netto was seemingly reeling at his first release and panting.

"I want to see how his cock tastes like…"

He crouched, neared his head to Netto's cock and started to lick it, making him move around in pleasure.

"Niisan! Please… go quicker…!" He pleaded.

Saito nodded in agreement and began to move it faster and take it deeper into his throat.

"Niisan!" Netto cried.

He erupted, filling Saito's throat with the fluid: he calmly swallowed it and smiled.

"Netto – kun… Can I deflower you? Can you be my true love?" Saito asked him.

"Yeah… Go ahead… I want to be your love…" Netto encouraged him with an eager smile on his face.

Saito then moved and started massaging his brother's back: he put a finger in his insides and maneuvered around.

"O~h! It feels good… Keep at it…. Please…" Netto requested.

He then put another two and finished massaging: he took them out after he'd widened the entrance enough.

"I'm going in. Is that alright with you?" Saito asked.

"Go in. Make love to me." Netto requested.

Saito smiled as he picked Netto by the waist and slowly sat him on his lap while making sure to make his cock enter his brother's awaiting insides: Netto closed his eyes and looked like he loved every second of it: Saito began to use his hips and arms to move Netto up and down along the length of his cock: the experience was incredible for both of them: Netto began to rub his own cock as well.

"I'm going off, niisan!"

"Whoa!"

"Here it comes!"

Netto moaned as he released and his own release tightened Saito's cock inside of him: Saito cried as he released and overfilled Netto's insides: both panted from the experience and Saito barely noticed the liquid sliding down his cock.

"Niisan… Be happy. You made love to me. I'm your love now." Netto sounded proud of it.

"Thank you… Netto – kun…" Saito replied.

Netto slowly detached himself from Saito's body and looked at him.

"I'm going to taste you."

"Please… do it…"

Netto helped Saito to lay face-up on the bed and assumed a pose from which it was easy to lick Saito's cock: the green – eyed boy started moaning when Netto began to lick his cock

"Netto – kun…! It's your turn… Make love to me… And the circle will be closed…" Saito pleaded.

"You can be somewhat of a poet sometimes!" Netto giggled.

Netto proceeded to do the finger part for a while and then removed them when Saito's insides had widened enough.

"I'm going in, niisan." He announced.

"Go in… Turn me into your love…" Saito requested.

Netto grabbed Saito's legs, placed them over his shoulders and pulled towards his awaiting cock: Saito opened his eyes wide upon feeling the sudden entry and the rush of pleasure which accompanied it: he let out a large moan and spread his arms wide.

"Move it… move it, please…!" He pleaded.

"Roger!"

Netto began to pull in and out at a steadily increasing rate and observing Saito's face of absolute pleasure as he rubbed his own cock, too.

"Uh… Netto – kun…!" He cried.

He suddenly released and the spurts landed on Netto's face: he closed his eyes and cried as he let out his cum inside of Saito's insides and felt his mind go blank: he hardly noticed his own cum sliding down his cock.

"Let's… end this…" Saito suggested.

"You're right…" Netto agreed.

Netto pulled out and hugged Saito: Saito hugged him and they began a passionate kiss while rubbing their cocks against each other: they both released and stained their faces and upper torsos: they licked each other's spurts clean and shared their third kiss in the morning.

"Niisan… I love you…" Netto announced between pants.

"I love you, Netto – kun…" Saito announced next.

"We'll do it again?"

"I promise."

"Heh, heh. I guess you'll want me to start first: does my face make you feel horny?" Netto teased.

"You everything turns me on, Netto – kun." Saito confessed.

"Guess it's the same for me, too…" Netto muttered.

"Now I've decided: I love you, Netto – kun. Roll – chan can wait. We're both young, after all! We can keep on being just "friends". And, to be honest, I'm afraid she's going to try to reel Blood in."

"Oho. Try to reel Blood in… I'd like to see Roll trying."

"Heh, heh, heh. Maybe Mr. Legged Potato will come in to announce that he's patented Potato Man."

"Potato Man…! It sounds so funny…!" Netto laughed.

"The Joke Twins get on the move, I'd say."

Both hugged each other and laughed…

10:39 AM (Japan Time)…

"… What the hell took you so long?"

"A black Navi was trailing me! I had trouble shaking the guy off me."

"Ah. If it's just that… Did you make sure to close both gateways on your way here?"

"Yeah. Let's finish this machine already."

DS Rock Man looked annoyed at first by DS Blues' delay but he shrugged as he picked a cube from DS Blues' hands: he opened it and looked at the data before assuming his earlier pose beneath the console and began to fix it.

"… Don't you feel some kind of pressure?" DS Blues asked.

"It's gotta be Nebula Grey – sama."

"Ah. Guess so… Heh, heh, heh."

"What's so funny? You're confident of your victory?" DS Rock Man asked without bothering to stick his head out.

"Maybe."

"You sound like a lawyer."

"Very funny." He didn't like it.

"Hit a spot…" DS Rock Man giggled.

"Hmpf. Whatever." DS Blues played the offended.

"Good… I think I'm almost done." DS Rock Man reported.

"Fine, fine." DS Blues drily muttered.

"Bored? Go slice a pack of V3 Viruses in Area 5 to kill the time."

"Nah. Don't need to." He suddenly sounded amused.

"Well, I don't' see your point. If there's one to begin with. Are you trying to provoke me or what?"

"Who knows?"

"You do, Leech Man."

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Huh? What's so funny?"

"I'm a leech…" He tried to sound scary.

"Uh. Very scary, really." DS Rock Man sarcastically replied.

"I'm a ghost."

"Don't mistake me for my "Original"." He warned.

"Pity."

"Yeah. Classical."

"How much time…?" He began.

"Four minutes, give or take." He quickly replied.

"Fine."

"Told ya: go slice Viruses up."

"No need to…" He began to glance at his crotch.

"Then go play a Kabuki character."

"Maybe I'll do that."

"It's an irony."

"I knew that."

"This is getting dull."

"It'll soon get exciting."

"I know: we're going to fight each other."

"Nah. That'd be pointless, really."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"Maybe I'll tell you in a few minutes' time."

"Fine. But I don't see the point for such beating around the bush. Maybe you wanna try to play the cool guy to Nebula Grey – sama?"

"Maybe."

"You're starting to sound like a lawyer again."

"My bad."

"Another two minutes, I'd say… I only need to connect another three wires and this should work…" He reported.

DS Blues silently licked his lips by sticking his tongue out: he began to articulate his fingers and stepped back.

"One wire…"

"Heh, heh, heh. The Demon God shall be awakened!"

"Sure thing."

"Done."

"Good."

DS Rock Man came out and stood up: he shook the dust off him and walked backwards towards the panel to engage it as he didn't lose sight of DS Blues: a pipe behind the panel began to emit golden-colored data and it hit the barrier: the barrier began to frizzle and a monstrous hand suddenly broke through it followed by another: they then began to attack the barrier at several spots.

"Coming…" DS Rock Man muttered without bothering to turn around: he looked amused.

"Yeah. Coming…" DS Blues grinned.

"Groa~h!" An inhuman voice roared.

"Demon God! Awaken!" Both chanted.

A gigantic monster suddenly appeared out of the abyss.

This "monster" had a main body the shape of which looked strikingly similar to the Alphabet letter "T" with the base having three pale blue diamond-like formations aiming NE and NW on each side of it: four large metallic chains came out from inside of the vortex and attached to the purplish mass which was the upper body.

The thing's head had an irregular shape as it was made up of reddish mass with white patterns drawn over it: two red eyes missing any iris shone on the face while the mouth area was colored blue: giant teeth filled the open mouth which uttered inhuman roars: a thin large diamond object was set on the forehead, too.

Six needles colored blue and with a small blackish stripe near the base of them emerged from behind the shoulders: they had an eerie vibe to them and looked sharp.

The monster's hands looked more like claws than real hands: they were colored in a reddish tint all the way to the start of the forearms: two cuffs seemingly made of metal with an inner blue band and lacking chains were visible on the monster's wrists.

A small bluish flame with four spooks protruding upwards and having a white-colored core was spinning drawing an orbit around the main thing as if t was linked to it somehow.

It suddenly signaled both of them and they kneeled: some data flew out and entered their bodies: they stood up and saluted.

"Nebula Grey – sama! We shall unleash these Viruses across the Cyber World and thou figure shall rule it all!" Both chanted.

"That sounds more like a rip-off from a fantasy tale." A voice rang out.

Someone suddenly dropped into the ground behind them followed by another larger object: they both turned to see Forte and "Gospel" there.

"Hmpf. Step aside."

"Shit. This is guy is more powerful than both of us combined… Let's run!"

Both ran out while "Gospel" growled and Forte jumped at the monster…

10:47 AM (Japan Time)…

"… This is supposed to be the spot where the Nebula Hole Area Entrance is at, but… They managed to close it from the inside."

"Che. Bothersome mice."

Blood Shadow and Sigma walked into a corner of the Reverse Internet which didn't seem to have anything special about it.

"Cool it down, Sigma." Blood Shadow sighed.

"I know!" Sigma grumbled.

"You don't. You broke another drone yesterday. And don't try to put more stress on Boss: you saw how he actually collapsed last time around."

"Che." Sigma muttered.

A purple gateway suddenly opened in front of them and V2 Viruses ran out of it before the two "DS" Navis jumped out of it: the echoes of a roar could be felt in the air before the two of them closed the gateway up: they gasped upon spotting company.

"The black guy!" DS Blues growled.

"Damn. Those guys were there the other day…!" DS Rock Man muttered.

"What happened?" Blood demanded.

"Demon God – sama broke free. But Forte showed up along with that "Gospel" monster!" DS Blues growled.

"Ah. You found a way to overload the barrier, then. But since Forte is gonna take profit of its weakened state, then…" Blood Shadow shrugged.

"You're in the way! Step aside!" DS Blues growled at them.

"Sorry. But you guys are a menace to Network Society so… No hard feelings."

Blood Shadow suddenly dashed forward while loading up his shotgun and placed the barrel of it on DS Blues' chest emblem: he shot.

"I-impossible…! One attack and…! No…! My prey…!" He groaned as he dropped into his knees.

"… "Prey"…? So you wanted to steal my data, after all!" DS Rock Man growled in annoyance.

"Hah… You don't get… anything…!" DS Blues shot back.

He suddenly dropped into the ground and his body was deleted: DS Rock Man stepped back and suddenly brought the gateway up: the V2 Viruses flew out and began to attack Blood Shadow and Sigma.

"Grah! Rubbish! Take this!" Sigma cursed.

He suddenly swung his sword 360º and managed to delete most of the Viruses in one hit: Blood Shadow had drawn a red indented blade on his left wrist and was using it to slice through the pack: they soon managed to delete them but the gateway had closed.

"Crap. The guy ran away. Boss won't be content." Sigma cursed.

"At least we've got one trouble less… Let's leave the guy: maybe he'll bump into Forte and Forte will make us a favor." Blood shrugged and didn't seem to care.

They began to walk away from the spot while they deleted any Viruses which showed up on their path.

"Rubbish, really."

"Yeah. I'll be going on ahead: I need to revise my battle simulations and see if I can find a way to lower my power output." Sigma sighed.

"That'd be a wise idea, really. I'll go check the Reverse Square to see if there's anything important we should take care of."

"Like finding a stray donut?" Sigma joked.

"Very funny." Blood Shadow drily replied.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh."

"Jeez."

10:55 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Huff… Huff… Managed to escape… What a jerk! He wanted to leech out my data. I'm glad those guys deleted him. Where the heck is this place at, anyway?"

DS Rock Man panted as he hid behind a billboard with indications and looked rather annoyed: he then glanced at the billboard.

"Welcome to Densan Area… Uh. I sure climbed up a lot of levels. But I shouldn't expose myself… Huh?"

He looked towards the south and spotted a small cluster of buildings which looked like a miniature district: he ran towards there and jumped atop a rooftop.

"Hmmm… It seems to be an experimental "City" section… They want to implement more of these to try to mirror real world and Cyber World as part of some project or another… Huh?" He muttered.

He suddenly crouched and looked out into an avenue: he spotted Rock Man whistling a tune and walking across it.

Rock Man! This is my chance: I'll force him to tell me how to enter his real world body and use it to spread fear and terror! That alleyway would do fine… Let's bait the guy.

He jumped down into a nearby side alley and ripped part of a drain pipe off the wall: he then glued his body to the right wall and waited until Rock Man walked past him.

Now!

DS Rock Man jumped towards Rock Man from behind and hit with a lot of strength the back Rock Man's head with the pipe: unfortunately for him, the helmet absorbed the blunt of the attack and only managed to make a CLONG sound which echoed inside Rock Man's helmet, leaving him dizzy and confused: DS Rock Man took a Dark Sword Battle Chip out and grabbed him from behind while placing the blade next to his neck: he also closed his left arm around his torso.

"Don't move."

"You!" Rock Man hissed.

"Yeah. Hand over the body!"

"I won't!"

"I'll take it by force, then."

"You can't: the security system won't allow you inside!"

"Che."

"The designer was too clever for you!"

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

"This guy…!"

"Bite me."

"Che."

"What's holding you back, you artificial colors in a cheap drugstore candy bar?" Rock Man taunted.

"I'm not falling for that trick!"

"Funny. Both Wily and Regal did: and they had way more experience than you." Rock Man grinned.

"Che."

"Che Guevara?" Rock Man joked.

"Wrong!"

"Wait, wait. You wanna invent the "Cha – Chi – Chu – Che – Cho" instead of the "Ra – Ri – Ru – Re – Ro", right?"

"What the hell is that?

"Your end, you fool." A familiar voice rang out.

A shuriken appeared out of nowhere and stabbed the doppelganger on his back thus giving Rock Man the chance to hit him with his elbow and punch him to shake him off his body: a sword appeared out of nowhere and slashed thus leaving a scar on the doppelganger's right cheek.

"Grah! Who the…?" DS Rock Man cursed.

Shadow Man suddenly appeared between both of them while having his hands' index and middle finger pressed together.

"Calling on Shadow Man."

"Sha - Shadow Man?" Rock Man gasped.

"Been a while."

"Someone hired you to delete me?" Rock Man demanded.

"Wrong. My Operator has decided to quit as a mercenary: he was approached by a certain Mr. Vadous. He suggested help to protect both of you 'cause some lowlifes wanted to play dirty schemes on you two. We gladly accepted since I despise those who don't respect bushido honor!"

"Whoa! Thanks a lot, Shadow Man." Rock Man whistled in admiration.

"… If you must…" He shrugged.

"I'm not done yet! Dark Cannon!"

"Kage Bunshin!"

Three "Kage Bunshin" appeared and took the blast in, being immediately logged out: DS Rock Man let out a snarl of fury.

"Dark Wave!"

There was a cloud of smoke: Shadow Man appeared behind him and shot several shuriken: all of them struck the target.

"Enough?" Shadow Man taunted.

DS Rock Man grimaced and ran out of the area by opening a purple gateway and jumping inside: it immediately closed.

"… Cool!" Rock Man whistled.

"I expected more of a challenge. Next time, huh... See you, Rock Man. Remember one thing, though… You are a big fish. That's all. Don't think I am your "comrade" at all." Shadow Man warned.

"Do as you like." Rock Man replied.

"Good! I shall go report to my Operator. Farewell."

Shadow Man dropped a bomb on the ground and a cloud of smoke surrounded him to cover his retreat.

"Cool! Shadow Man's gonna help this time around. Guess Enzan will be seeing conspiracies everywhere by now." Netto chuckled.

"Yeah! Guess so. Plug me Out."

"Roger!"

Rock Man returned inside of his PET II and stretched: Netto then grabbed it and headed for his physical body: he opened the right eye and aimed the Link PET at it.

"Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

Saito immediately stretched and suddenly closed his arms around Netto's neck to pull him close: he kissed him and Netto returned the kiss: Saito grinned at him one they finished.

"A teasing." Saito announced.

"Whoa. Guess I'll have to hold back at them."

"Heh, heh. I'm Tease Man."

"Yeah… Sure…" Netto looked skeptical.

He shrugged and picked his tankobon up while Saito looked out at the snowed panorama.

"Alright. What's next?" Netto asked.

"Well! Let's look forward to New Year's! There we go~!"