Chapter 12: Sudden bombing
09:28 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 21st…
"… Phew! Back home… Took a while but I wanted to buy some stuff by the way… Good! Let's check Zataki's HDD!"
Keitai Denwa stepped into his apartment (which looked a bit cleaner than the day before) and left some convenience store bags on top of the table before booting up his notebook laptop.
"There… Username: Di Caprio. Password: 666999… I know it's a silly combination but… Who cares? 2009… August… 28th… There. Let's have a look… "Meeting with Hikari – hakase was successful. He's approved of the last "test" which Chief Lezareno will carry out tomorrow. He seems to trust my word and looked convinced. I exposed the flaws I saw to the "solution" but he didn't seem to mind them. Colonel Thunderbolt is already on his way to Sharo Nation. We won't have to worry about him for a year's time which is good. I'm going to release Obihiro tomorrow as scheduled: his witness will be enough to shake off any doubts about "Gospel" which the Net Police and the Officials may still have. We'll meet at the house in Thursday and implement the "solution"…" … What "solution"…? Dunno. Maybe Hades will figure it out. Anyway… Obihiro seems to be the brat who was Gospel's Boss… And Zataki most likely didn't want the reputable Hikari – hakase to think of the "Committee" as a bunch of barbarians so he personally went to present his apologies like an employee to his boss… Amusing guy. It'd seem he tends to think of himself as being guilty of almost everything. Heh!" Keitai Denwa read before forming a smug smile.
He switched to another document and left the laptop in top of a small tablet before stretching and picking it up again.
"… 29/08/2009… "Test was a success. Hikari – hakase contacted me and expressed no doubt. He gave me the go-ahead. We'll meet tomorrow and implement the "solution" while I explain to them the details of Wily's conspiracy. We're starting to put tabs into the members given how Saiko was spotted playing stalker"… Playing stalker, eh?"
He laughed and selected a new file from another folder while he drew a cigarette from the package and turned it on.
"30/08/2009… "Solution" implemented. Nothing out of normal detected insofar… They obviously were in joy. They looked like they trusted my word on the matter given how they'd already formed suspicions of someone using Obihiro. Drill Man was the middle-man between Obihiro and Wily. I'm now going to wait to see if Wily falls for the taunts we come up with so that he can be arrested…" … Again with the "solution"… What the heck is that? Hmmm… Maybe it has something to do with that machine on Zataki's basement?" He muttered.
He shrugged and switched to a different file.
"02/09/2009… Bothersome Wily! You're finally over by today. You tried to send an assassin after the twins but failed in a miserable way. But a Gospel fanatic who'd come out of who knows where did get to injure Saito as he protected his brother. But the assassin was the last straw: you asked for it, so I've gone to your accursed island and disabled everything you had there before rendering you powerless and let the Officials and the Net Police finally catch you lowlife… The Net Navis ran away but the Operators are all caught… And the guys will surely destroy each other by wanting to achieve supremacy. Nothing to be worried about! It's over! Over! It's taken time and effort but it's over. You lose, Wily!" … Heh, heh, heh! An assassin, eh? The old man got desperate. And a fanatic… What a mix! Anyway, Zataki got angered like never before… I'm surprised that he says he himself took care of all stuff on his island but it must be a way of saying his Navis did the job. Anyway… Wily went down on September of that year, almost 2 years ago… What's next?"
He examined the list of folders and lifted his eyebrows in surprise at something.
"Weird. There's nothing else until past Christmas! It'd seem they managed to breathe free of trouble until then. 27/12/2009… I've visited Dr. Regal, leader of Nebula, the Dark Chip Syndicate, on his factory atop Mt. Fuji. I warned him not to try anything funny. He seemed to realize I could have him arrested a second's notice were I to wish that." … Nebula, eh?"
He exhaled some smoke and placed the cigarette on the ashtray before reading more stuff.
"28/12/2009… What a morning! My accumulating stress and lack of sleep could force me to stay bed-ridden and Lartes had to handle Regal's madness! The day had begun with Omega and Blood Shadow meeting Rock Man (Sigma met him on 09/09/2009) on the Official Square and some chatter. Rock Man reported sighting of Shade Man, one of Regal's "Darkloids" or Net Navis created to be fully compatible with his own "Dark Chips" and "Dark Power" which supposedly made them stronger than average Navis and which was true. Regal must've noticed there were no incidents of Dark Chips turning Navis berserk and making them run away from their Operators, so he sent Shade Man to retrieve one and must've seen the provoking message I wrote into them given how I'd been sabotaging the production process. He then sent Shade Man and Cloud Man to raid the Net Police database and steal the twins' files. But the jerk didn't have enough! He abducted Saito and Netto to try to get his hands on Rock Man but we could lay an ambush for the "Darkloids" inside of the Science Labs. Mr. Denpa kept the guy busy as Lartes got there and the Three Musketeers managed to put the thing down somehow. Yet Regal, being the bothersome meddling jerk he is, had an ace-in-the-hole! An invisible program which infected Navis and could turn them into "Dark Soul" or "DS" Net Navis! Why, you…! Two of them were formed outta Rock Man and Blues, Ijuuin's Net Navi. Our goal is to find them and halt them in their tracks before they can try to free "Nebula Grey" which I sealed to prevent Dark Chip production…! Grah! I need to recover and organize a counter-strategy! What a prelude to New Year's, really! But that jerk's in jail along with the old man, which is his father, too. Rot in there, Regal!" … My, my! What a day! Interesting! So that Navi which "formed outta Rock Man" has to be Delta, then! Heh, heh, heh! Zataki bed-ridden by orders of this Lartes guy who sounds like his own personal medic, even… He must've been about to destroy the whole house in the process!"
He laughed at his joke for a while until he calmed down and looked at another folder.
"… 31/12/2009… Last year of the day and guess what? Some good progress! I convinced Dark Miyabi, Shadow Man's Operator, that remaining a mercenary wasn't a wise idea and he was growing bored of it, too, so he's switched sides. Sigma and Blood Shadow beat Blues' spin-off even though Forte has now absorbed "Nebula Grey" which the two spin-offs managed to wake up. Rock Man's spin-off ran away and Shadow Man had to help Rock Man give the guy a lesson. He ran but since we've got one less eyesore then I feel better. Ijuuin seems to be getting obsessed with lacking knowledge of the Net Police's information sources (us and the Committee) so he wants to play private detective even though he can't accuse the twins of anything. In short: a good day." … My, my! Things cooled down by then, eh? So! How do we start the year 2010?" He lifted his eyebrows in intrigue.
He lighted a new cigarette and leant back on the sofa to read the next file labeled "02/01/2010" while forming a smug smile.
"… Good! The remaining eyesore tried to spring up a lame trap but it ended up backfiring and Rock Man deleted the guy. Forte is still at loose but he ain't worrisome because he only cares about his own survival and won't meddle in other peoples' affairs. Nothing else to worry about. I can finally shake some stress off. Colonel Thunderbolt has been behaving insofar, too." … Colonel Thunderbolt behaving, eh? He must've gotten quite a fright upon being scolded by Mr. Admin…"
He hummed a tune as he distractedly tapped the edges of the screen and then clicked on another file.
"17/01/2010… Forte showed up again, this time in the Secret Area, and he knocked both Dark Man and Yamato Man out cold before challenging the Reverse King, Serenade. I dispatched the Three Musketeers just in case but Serenade had no trouble countering each and every one of his moves without getting a single scratch or having to sweat at all! It was to be expected from Serenade: he isn't the Reverse Internet's Rank #1 Net Navi in vain! The twins came to have a tea, too, and Ijuuin got to chase a bunch of villain wannabes named the "Renegades" for some silly reason or another." … "Renegades", eh? I feel like I'm getting in a hot trail!"
He lighted a third cigarette and exhaled the smoke towards the open balcony as he read a new file.
"18/01/2010… What began as a nice day got chaotic. To begin with, an unidentified Navi with a certain amount of "Dark Power" tried to sneak into the control unit of that person and could escape before the Three Musketeers could corner him. Next: the surviving "Darkloid", Swallow Man, broke into the Science Labs. A while later, the new road Rock Man was walking upon blew up by someone's hands and he fell into the Reverse Internet. Luck had it that both Forte and a smaller "Gospel" were there and that thanks to the fight he had yesterday he was more inclined to listen to Rock Man and then decided to be of some help because he'd recalled his times at the Science Labs. We gotta get a hold on Swallow Man because none of us liked how he burst like that there. Incidentally, we got some help. An Official from Sharo Nation, Laika, and his military Navi, Search Man EXE, will tag with Ijuuin from now on." … Let me get this straight… If Delta was deleted, then why is the guy…? Oh. Someone must've rebuilt him further in the future… Let's check!"
Keitai Denwa had frowned and seemed to stumble upon a contradictory spot only to realize the answer later on.
"19/01/2010… "Another crazy day! It began with the Officials figuring out that Swallow Man's alleged "Mr. Brown" and "Comrade Rupert" plus a conspiracy to resurrect the Soviet Sharo Nation were all a hoax and he worked for Specter Man, leader of the "Renegades". Both then managed to get inside of the old Gospel HQ and fought both of them. But they were too late as the Nebula "Darkloids" had finished rebuilding and they were superior in number and power: they had to run for it. But then, some hours later, something bad happened. A friend of the twins got abducted and got used as bait to lure them into an ambush led by Shade Man! We saved the thing somehow and forced the guys to run for it. We fell for the silly name and mottoes and this was the result. Too close, too close! Hikari and Rock Man pretend to bring Specter Man down tomorrow. Trouble after trouble. Are we cursed or what?" … My, my! Cursed? I guess so!"
Keitai Denwa laughed aloud inside of the apartment…
10:04 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Well! It was fun to take part in this kart race. What could I do next, though? Guess I'll go to the bookstore and pick up a new e-book to read up!"
Delta walked out of a stadium-like building along with several other participants and spectators and was muttering aloud while seemingly thinking of what to do.
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
"… Is something beeping?"
"Not me."
"I ain't me, either."
"So where's that sound coming from?"
"Gotta be a claxon!"
"Yeah. Guess so."
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Three beeps which rang out in a sequence with a small pause between them could be heard and some Navis began to wonder aloud: Delta didn't pay attention to it as he was checking a holographic screen: the beeps turned louder and sounded more tied-together.
BE~EP!
"GUWA~H!"
"GRUA~H!"
"UA~H!"
"UWO~H!"
"KYA~H!"
"KUWO~H!"
A brutal explosion formed out of nowhere and all Navis were hit by thus being sent flying in all directions and landing, hard, on the ground: some were deleted and others got gravely wounded: Delta had been near the outermost edge so he only got some burn marks and was pushed into the ground: the crowds began to disperse in panic and Delta was trying to get his bearings as he was being pushed around.
"W-what's going on?"
"Make way!"
"Terrorists!"
"Run!"
"Flee~!"
"Escape~!"
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
Delta was pushed into the ground by some of the fleeing Net Navis and when he managed to stand on his fours he ended up facing a small oval-shaped metallic object having a stripe of three red blinking LEDs on the middle of it: he picked it up out of instinct and looked at it while his body trembled and he began to look afraid.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"By all the…!"
He managed to stand up and threw it into the air as far as possible: a spheroid of energy formed on the air plus a 5 meter wide shockwave which cut through it.
"A bomb…? But who makes such bombs?"
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
He turned around to see another of those explosives and it was too far to be picked up safely so he ran away from it just as it exploded and left a crater on the ground.
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
"By all the…! There's no end of them?" He cursed.
He ran away and managed to escape: he stopped as he leant next to a building and looked towards the stadium and surroundings: some wounded Navis were still scattered on the grounds close to it and various craters had formed there.
CLANK! BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
"Hell!"
Delta stepped away of the building as another of those fell down from above and next to his right foot: he ran away but suddenly found another one in front of him: he turned to the left and found a bomb so he tried the right to find yet another bomb.
"Battle Chip, Area Steal!"
He warped into a building's rooftop just as the four bombs exploded and he began to tremble and look nervous.
"This can't be a coincidence! Someone's aiming for me! Is there a bounty on my head or what?" He cursed.
"Hah, hah, hah…"
"Who goes there? Show your hide, whoever you are!" Delta demanded as he looked around.
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
Delta spotted another four bombs set around him and he jumped into an adjacent rooftop to run away as the bombs took out the whole rooftop of the building he'd been standing at: he ran until he was forced to stop and try to recover.
"Grah… Why were we Navis built to get tired of running like humans do? I now wish I couldn't get tired…!" He cursed.
"Hah, hah, hah…"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Two bombs had been placed at his left and right so he cursed and jumped down into the street to take cover just as they blew up and scorched the rooftop.
"W-where do these things come from? I see no – one! Or are they using stealth camouflage…? If only I had IR vision…!"
"Yo! Delta Team! What's the situation like?"
He felt a hand tap his right shoulder from behind and turned around to see Omega there who looked amused.
"Omega! Someone is after me and is setting some kind of bombs on their path!" He exclaimed.
"Bombs?"
"Small, oval-like, they make three short beeps followed by three sharp beeps… They cover about 5 meters and if you're close then you're deleted Navi!" He described.
"Oho. Deathly Shadowy is filling the field with his toys, eh? Yo! Deathly Shadowy~! I'm your worst nightmare! The Roman nightmare~!" Omega laughed.
"What! That's Death Shadow? Can he use stealth camouflage to go around laying them?" Delta asked.
"Nope. There! Hop! Basketball! 100 points for Uncle Omega! How was that, Deathly Shadowy~?"
"You lowlife!"
"E~H? W-what the heck?"
Omega had suddenly picked a spheroid having two grooves on the inner sides and two white spots on the outer sides: there was a small space between each half which emitted light as well: he'd then made it bounce off the ground with his right hand to then act like he was playing basketball: Death Shadow's voice rang out from inside of the spheroid and Delta's jaw hit the floor.
"Death Bomb!"
BEEP – BEEP – BEEP
"Ops. Recruit! Tune the retreat tune! Go!"
"H-hey! I can run out myself!"
Death Shadow's spheroid form jumped into the air and formed another bomb: Omega ran away while pulling Delta along by gripping his right forearm: they escaped from the bomb's explosion and Omega began to look around: he heard a sound and spotted the spheroid bouncing off the façade of a nearby building: another bomb was formed and they ran away.
"Why didn't ya Plug Out, by the way?" Omega asked.
"I hadn't had time to stop and think!" He answered.
"Typical of Deathly Shadowy~!"
"That sounds silly." Delta complained.
"Well! Now ya know his trick: he can morph into that spheroid and lay a huge number of these bombs!"
"Can't you do anything about it?"
"Get outta here first. I'm not Super Man but if I go into my "secret mode" then maybe I can counter him on terms of speed and power like I did last time in Rome. Go!" He commanded.
"No – one shall get in the way now… Die!"
"Wrong. You're the one going down!" Omega shot back.
Death Shadow returned to his normal form and Omega ran towards him…