Chapter 12: Light VS Ghost
08:18 AM (Japan Time), Saturday March the 28th...
"… Hmmm… Well, well, well… Space Weather News… YouTube subscriptions… Huh? Anonymous mail…? How did it get past the spam filters?"
Saito had been checking his email right after waking up: he was surprised to find one anonymous mail the "subject" of which stated the following:
"URGENT AND IMPORTANT."
Saito shrugged and double clicked it to open it: h only found a set of coordinates inside of its body.
"Hmmm… Let's try using Goggle Earth to find out to where do this point to." Saito muttered.
He accessed Goggle Earth and copy – pasted the coordinates into it: the map displayed a patch of the Gobi Desert towards the south-east: switching to satellite imagery, he found out that there seemed to be nothing in particular there.
"Hmmm… Blood? Are you there?"
"Yup. What's up, Saito – kun?" Blood Shadow asked as he appeared on the southern right corner of the screen.
"Could you bring these coordinates to the HQ and ask Omega to use IR imagery to find out if there's anything hidden here?"
"Sure. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Blood Shadow logged out from the PC while Saito leaned the chair backwards and seemed to be thinking about it: two hands were placed over his eyes all of sudden.
"Guess who I am." An amused voice told him.
"Netto – kun. April's Fool is not due 'till Wednesday." Saito replied.
"I saw you looking so serious! What's up? Did you win a prize?"
"I got a set of coordinates via an anonymous mail and I asked Blood to check the place with IR imagery. I have a hunch."
"What? Do you mean…?"
"Yeah. I'm waiting for confirmation." Saito confirmed.
Blood Shadow appeared onscreen again.
"Yeah! There's a whole military base hidden by a stealth field… And they have several Bifrost units parked on the outside! There's no doubt about it! We've found them!"
"What?" Sigma was surprised.
"We can finally take them down."
"Yeah. Let's get ready. Today is going to be one of those important days."
"Mwah, hah, hah. Time to make them fear my babe~…"
"Don't get cocky."
"Let's fix the beds, get dressed and have some breakfast."
"Roger."
Both quickly got dressed and fixed the beds before they rushed downstairs, surprising Haruka.
"You look in a rush today… Has something happened?" Haruka asked.
"Yeah. We found the bad guys."
"… Oh. So you're going to fight them?"
"There's no other way around, Mama. But we'll make sure not to get many bruises." Saito smiled.
"That's good, dears. As long as you come back safe and sound then I'm not worried. I'll prepare curry for tonight."
"Thanks." Netto smiled.
"Good – bye!"
07:59 AM (Mongolia Time)…
"… Currently on landing approach…"
Three of the Sub Space shuttles silently landed near the edge of the stealth field: the hatches opened and various persons stepped down.
"We've arrived."
Enzan, Laika, Dark Miyabi, Martin, Charles, Nelaus, Blood, Sigma, Omega and Netto came out: Saito had obviously transferred into Netto's Link PET and had left his cyborg body inside of the craft.
"Don't fret. The craft has an automated defense system." Omega whispered to Netto.
"How do we get inside of the place?" Netto asked.
"Blood. Sigma. Scout the area. Use IR vision to locate any sensors and momentarily disable them."
Both Navis slowly walked forward and soon vanished upon crossing inside of the stealth field: the group waited for a minute or two in the midst of the absolute silence of the desert: the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon.
"Hum. Desert Man would feel at home." Shadow Man tried to joke.
"Wasn't that obvious?" Davis dully asked back.
"Heh! It reminds me of the Far West." Lander grinned.
"Hmpf." Search Man was unimpressed.
"Desert nomads, huh?" Blues sarcastically muttered.
"Sure." Isaac shrugged.
"Guess that." Rock Man muttered.
"Keep it quiet, guys." Omega whispered.
"Of course. Else "Hush" will come impose his Curse of the Silence and force us to skip our Turn at the cost of 750 LP."
"… OK! We've managed to reprogram a backdoor's alarm to make the guys think it's still closed and locked. We didn't see any CCTV cameras on the outside. There were some laser sensors but they're clustered around what has the looks of a hanger and the main entrance. The backdoor is clean." Blood Shadow reported as he and Sigma returned.
"Mwah, hah, hah… The insides are unlit. You should use the IR goggles we handed out to find your way around. If we get into a fight we can quickly call for a "Dimensional Area"..." Sigma added.
Everyone nodded and walked forward, thus crossing the field.
"There it is!"
The base itself was a large upper-half-of-an-hexagon-shaped building colored metallic black, about two hundred meters large, a hundred meters wide and ten tall.
The roof had a large satellite dish on it along with a radar system which was currently inactive as well as several solar arrays.
The group entered through the backdoor and put on their IR goggles.
"Let's make pairs. Hikari: you'll come with me. Sigma and Blood will go together. I'm sure Ijuuin and Laika don't mind tagging. Martin and Charles make a good tag, too. Nelaus, you're with Miyabi. If you want to report then use the encrypted frequency: 141.80." Omega instructed.
"Reminds me of MGS… The Codec…" Charles grinned.
"Chut." Martin scolded.
Netto and Omega walked down a corridor, always stopping to make sure there weren't CCTV cameras or sensors hidden: they spotted a room's door with the following label.
"VIPER & BELLA"
"Stay aside. I'm going to scan." Omega instructed.
Netto quickly nodded and leant his back against the wall: Omega scanned the room and found no heat signatures.
"Guess they're early birds… No one is there."
"Omega? This is Nelaus. We found Meta and Vulture's room but there's no one." Nelaus reported.
"This is Charles. We found Scorpion and Cobra's room, but it's empty as well. Guess they're all in a meeting or working on something in the basement…" Charles reported.
"This place has a basement, too? We'll try to find the entrance." Blood Shadow muttered.
"We've found a storage room containing several Nibelung units. They're all inactive, thank God." Laika reported.
"Let's continue. Remember: we must make sure not to warn them to our presence." Omega warned.
Netto and Omega continued forward and found a set of descending stairs: Omega scanned all the nooks and crannies around it and found nothing odd, so they climbed down the stairs and spotted a door:
"LAB #1"
"… I can detect one signature inside of it… There seems to be some kind of machine. Maybe it's a generator. Let's ignore it." Omega told Netto.
They walked past it and walked down another corridor: Omega suddenly stopped and brought out his O – Buster: some soft steps could be heard.
"Calm down: it's us." Charles whispered.
"Ah. Did you find anything?" Omega asked while storing the gun.
"We found a storage room full of provisions. There's enough to feed them for a whole month." Martin reported.
"How are the others?"
"We've met up with Ijuuin and Laika." Miyabi reported.
"We found a freeze room storing meat, fish and other stuff." Blood Shadow reported.
"Heh. We're converging towards your location." Sigma chuckled.
They continued forward and turned a corner only to find a "Dimensional Area" wall blocking off a heavy steel door with the following label:
"MEETING ROOM"
"Crafty! Aren't they?" Omega grumbled.
"There must another way around. We'll go look for it." Nelaus suggested.
"Yeah. We'll hide nearby while the others go look around."
Omega and Netto headed into a storage room nearby and closed the door: the room only had spare furniture such as wooden chairs, a desk, a tall lamp and light bulbs.
"… This is Charles. We found the west wing of the basement, but the other entrance to the meeting room is blocked off, too. We did find restrooms and shower rooms along the way." Charles reported.
"Sheesh. Isn't there any room close by?"
"Yeah. There's an empty storage room just next to the meeting room: we're going to place a microphone." Martin announced.
Some static sound could be heard for a few seconds before some voices came in through the microphone.
"… And thus, with the last black market transaction… We've gained 12,000 Credits." One man's voice was reporting.
"Good." Another commented.
"You look suspicious today." A third man's voice was saying.
"Oh my, my. Do I, Scorpion?" A woman's voice asked with obvious amusement.
Viper! Netto grimaced.
"What are you up to today?" A fourth man's voice questioned.
"Don't be paranoid, Cobra." A second woman's voice replied.
Bella! Saito also grimaced.
"Ignore her, Cobra. You know how she likes to toy with us." The first man grumbled.
"Yeah. You're right on that, Vulture. What's that stuff in Lab #1 which is emitting heat, anyway? You changed the password." Cobra questioned.
"An experimental dynamo…" Bella quickly replied.
"Is that so? Why didn't you tell me, Viper?" The second man asked.
"Don't worry, Meta… It's just a test drive." Viper told him.
"Hmpf. Setting that aside… We should come up with another operation involving our Mimic units." Meta shrugged.
"Maybe we could play mirror." Viper suggested.
"Play mirror? What does that mean?" Scorpion didn't seem to get the meaning.
"Simple: let's pitch the Net Saviors against themselves." Bella announced.
All of the listeners gasped at the words.
"I love how that sounds like." Vulture chuckled.
"I once read a proverb which said the following: "One's greatest weakness is its own existence."… You got inspired by that?" Cobra assumed.
"You could say so."
"We should go see if the dynamo produced any satisfactory results. See ya around." Viper announced
"Don't forget to bring the wall up once you leave!" Meta reminded her.
The sound of footsteps going away could be heard: the east wing door opened and both women stepped out, closing it behind them.
"Let's lock and clock."
"Not bad, Viper – sama."
Viper took out a remote from her skirt's right pocket and turned off the wall: they both walked past it and Viper quickly brought it up again.
"Dynamo… Hah. They fell for it. Our experiment is way better than a mere machine. Thanks to Twilight's help…" Viper smirked.
"So it is, Viper – sama. It should be about to produce a satisfactory result and Twilight's help will have been worth it." Bella bowed.
"Let's go check on it." Viper kept on smirking.
Both women walked away while Netto and Omega frowned.
"What do we do?" Netto asked Omega.
"Hmmm… Well. The other guys can keep track of what do those other guys do. We should try to find out what they're up to. Maybe Twilight will drop by given their chat." Omega suggested.
They both waited until no footsteps could be heard and came out of the storage room: they tiptoed until they reached the lab's door and listened in.
"… And thus, given these readings… It should be ready by now. If Twilight's data is right, that is." Viper could be heard saying.
"Well, well, well. It has taken time and effort but we also had fun along the way. Consulting Twilight was totally worth it too. Save for Cloud Man's random parodies." Bella giggled.
"We sure did. I can't wait to see the fruits of our experiment... And Twilight's as well…" Viper sounded eager.
"I cannot, either." Bella admitted.
Netto frowned and tried to think up what could they be referring to.
"Omega… I think they've designed some kind of powerful Net Navi." Netto
"I was thinking along the same lines. Twilight would like to bring further headaches to us. The guy doesn't change: he's been behaving like that ever since 2 years ago." Omega grumbled
They suddenly heard some beeps and a sound similar to vapor escaping out of an oven: a small buzz sound echoed.
"Hullo." Viper could be heard saying in a soft tone.
"… It looks like it's not fully conscious…" Bella pointed out.
"Then, why did the EEG readings…? You're not telling me it's entered a coma!" Viper could be heard complaining.
Both Netto and Omega looked at each other with surprised faces.
"They've been doing something to a person!" Netto whispered.
"Those two are crazy." Omega grumbled.
"Damn it. Twilight! I knew nothing good could come out of that."
"… No! Look, Viper – sama! It seems to be reacting!"
"Ah! That's something… Can you hear me?" Viper was questioning.
"… Nod if you can hear us." Bella ordered.
"Ah! It has nodded… Do you know who we are?"
"… It seems that, for the time being, it cannot communicate orally. Maybe we did go a bit over the board."
"Sheesh. Anyway… Do you know what this is?"
"It seems to recognize the device."
"Engage the tube." Viper commanded.
The unmistakable sound of a "Dimensional Area" forming could be heard.
"Why would they want a "Dimensional Area" if it's a person…? Ah! Maybe they've tried to brainwash it and then assign him a Navi to perform "Cross Fusion" and fight against us!" Netto quickly guessed.
"So it'd seem." Omega made a grimace.
"What a bunch of psychos: they've obviously tortured this person with their S&M sadism stuff. Hence why Twilight was involved!" Saito cursed.
"Can you try using this?" Viper could be heard asking.
"Are you ready, Wraith?" Bella asked someone.
"I am always ready." A male Navi's voice replied.
"Rest assured… We altered this thing so that it won't cancel out your consciousness… Rather, it will trigger this one's other consciousness."
"I understand."
What! Cancel a Navi's consciousness… They plan on using a "Dark Synchro Chip"! Netto gasped.
But it sounds like they've turned it around! They want the Navi to control that person's body and trigger something like a split consciousness on it!
"… Da-Dark Sy-Synchro Chi-Chip… S-Slot I-In… C-Cross Fu-Fusion…" A crackled voice slowly announced: it seemed to be aphonic, but the tone was that of a young boy's.
It's a guy!
We must do something! Saito insisted.
There was a roar of pain and some sounds which died down soon enough.
"… I am Ghost. I serve Lord Wraith and the Desert Wraiths. Command me." A dull and emotionless voice intoned.
This must be what they meant by "triggering its other consciousness"! It's a totally brainwashed consciousness forced to obey that Navi and those two! Netto felt all blood on him freezing.
I can't stand this anymore! We came to catch them, right? Let's get them!
"… Omega. I can't stand this anymore. They've gone too far. Besides! We came here to capture them, didn't we?" Netto told Omega.
"Damn it. I agree. Guys! Try to break into the meeting room and apprehend them. Throw the stealth over the board. We're going all out."
"… Is it me or did I hear someone's voice out there?" Bella was wondering.
"You're imaging things." Viper replied.
"It may be so…"
Netto took out his "Synchro Chip" and stood ready.
"Boss? Do you copy? We need the "Dimensional Area". We're going all out."
"Okay. Good luck." Vadous replied.
"Thanks."
The familiar colors of a "Dimensional Area" filled the corridors.
TATATARITATARI!
A cavalry trumpet sounded not too far.
"Wasn't that a trumpet?" Bella asked.
"Cobra must be fooling around." Viper shrugged.
An explosion sounded not too far away.
"Surprise! You ugly dudes! The cavalry is here!" Charles' voice announced.
"This time I'm sure it wasn't my imagination!" Bella sounded nervous.
"Can't be helped…" Viper grumbled.
"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!" Netto and Saito announced.
"What in the…!" Viper cursed from inside of the lab.
Netto and Saito easily performed "Cross Fusion" while Omega took out the door and ran in followed by "CF" Netto: they stopped dead on their tracks immediately enough.
"By all the…"
The room only contained a central cylindrical column with a small inverted-cone-shaped capsule pointing towards the groun: its cover was open, revealing an empty leather seat, some harnesses, a helmet and an oxygen mask.
"The Net Saviors!"
"Che!"
Both Viper and Bella were standing at both sides of it.
"… Target: located."
However there was someone else standing in front of the capsule: Cross Fusion "Ghost".
"That's "Ghost"?"
He seemed to be about a meter and seventy tall.
His eyes' irises were crimson red and didn't display any particular emotion.
The kanji for "Sabaku" or "Desert" were painted brown and set against his blackish helmet's forehead.
His mouth guard had the Alphabet letters "RIP" drawn on its surface and colored purple: an eerie jagged edge circled the inner side of the boundaries of the mouth-guard.
His bodysuit's main color was deep red with black patterns travelling from the end of the shoulders (anatomically correct: colored purple with silver plating over them) and across the arms and elbows before stopping on the wrists.
The forearm gloves used black as color along with circling round white bands having 8 golden dots set on their surface: 3 of them were present on each forearm.
The kanji for "Yuurei" or "Ghost" painted black and set against a white background were drawn on his chest emblem's surface.
He also had several bronze-edged circles drawn around his chest containing the kanji for both "Hakaba" and "Bochi", meaning "Graveyard" and "Cemetery".
He also had two white-colored skeletal wings emerging from his back.
"… What is that warrior? Are they my opponent?"
"Y-yeah! Take them down!" Viper quickly commanded.
Both of them ran out of the room while the other two were focused on the adversary.
"What should I do?" Omega asked "CF" Netto.
"… We're going to free him. If things look ugly then we'll radio for help."
"If things look ugly we'll radio for help…" A weird-tuned voice resembling that of Omega's rang out from behind them followed by a weird-tuned chuckle.
"Huh?"
Omega turned around to see a "Mimic" unit which had assumed his form and looked almost identical expect for the hollow eyes, some out of place colors and the lack of hair.
"Hmmm… This should be intriguing." Omega smirked.
He ran out of the room and the Mimic followed him.
"… I know who you are." "Ghost" announced.
"I'm not surprised. I used to be pretty famous. And if Twilight was involved then he surely mentioned me." "CF" Netto replied.
"My Mistresses have plans for you. I shall capture you alive."
"I'd say they won't have much time to worry 'bout that. There are another eight guys here." "CF" Netto smirked under his own mouth guard.
"… Sandstorm."
"CF" Ghost drew something similar to the Cold Wing Battle Chip and made the fan turn on, projecting sand around the room and creating a sandstorm replica.
"Like that'll impress me."
"CF" Netto, however, brought up some shades he'd programmed and started to scan: his opponent was still in front of him.
"Battle Chip, Tank Cannon! Slot In!"
"… Dead Spirits Shield."
A purple mass formed in front of "CF" Ghost and the attack was bounced towards the right wall, making a dent there: "CF" Netto let the recoil push him back while he analyzed the "Dead Spirits Shield".
"Hmmm… Aha. Battle Chip, Long Sword, Area Steal! Double Slot In!"
"CF" Netto warped while his opponent stood still, seemingly not used to this technique.
"Turn 180º around." Wraith's voice commanded.
"CF" Ghost slowly turned around and the Shield protected his front.
"Gotcha!"
"CF" Netto appeared from the right side and cut off one of the wings, which was emitting a purple aura: it fell into the ground and its data broke apart: half of the "Dead Spirits Shield" disappeared.
"One!"
"CF" Netto quickly cut off the second wing and the remaining half of the "Dead Spirits Shield" disappeared as well: he jumped some meters backwards when he was done.
"What?" Wraith was surprised.
"Heh, heh, heh! Did you think I wouldn't know you'd turn around by expecting me to hit your back? You certainly didn't think that it's possible to strike from the sides as well!" "CF" Netto chuckled.
"Why, you…!" Wraith hissed.
"… Curse of the Graveyard." "CF" Ghost announced.
"Heh, heh, heh. That'd be my input."
"Twilight. You moron. I knew it: you'd show up."
"Like I'd miss this… Right? My fellows?"
"Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh…"
The 3D images of the "Darkloids" formed there to Twilight's flanks along with Zoan Gate Man and the "Talon" who remained silent and folding their arms.
"Huff. Let's focus on the battle."
A sphere of energy colored purple formed on his hands and began to float around the room while emitting some kind of pulse.
"Beware, Netto – kun. That thing can disable Recovery-type Chips if it this you. However! It's highly vulnerable to Fire-type Chips." Rock Man warned.
"It's solved, then! Battle Chip, Hell's Burner! Slot In!"
"CF" Netto shot the continuous doll of fire at the sphere and it blew up.
"Battle Chip, Dream Aura! Slot In!"
His idea came in handy, since "CF" Ghost had now switched to two purple-colored Long Swords and had tried to hit him: the swords broke upon contact.
"I have a lot of experience in case you didn't know." "CF" Netto warned.
"Shit. Spiral Surge!"
"CF" Ghost drew the weapon which he had used to create the sandstorm and shot a spiral surge of energy towards "CF" Netto: when it hit the Dream Aura, however, it was deflected and it destroyed the capsule from which Ghost had originated from.
"Damn!" Wraith cursed.
"Well… I'm not sure what that machine was but it sounds like it was important. Blame your attack's low power." "CF" Netto smirked under the mouth guard.
"Grrr… Shaddup! I'm so gonna beat you up and deliver you to my Mistresses!"
"Revival Wedge."
"Heh, heh, heh. Blame me. I'd been watching Duel Monsters." Twilight chuckled.
"Whatever." "CF" Netto shot back.
A brown stone rectangle-shaped wedge came out of the ground: the wedge had a large square with the Egyptian symbol "Ankh" drawn on its body: the table emitted a red glow and a Dream Virus materialized into the room, roaring.
"Hmmm… Meteor Light Barrage!"
"CF" Netto jumped into the air and built up energy on his hands: he shot a barrage of meteors coming from different directions at the Dream Virus, effectively annihilating it.
"Battle Chip, Long Blade! Double Slot In!"
"CF" Netto brought up two Long Blades just as "CF" Ghost shot another spiral surge at the Dream Aura, this time shattering it: he tried to hit "CF" Netto, but clashed against his crossed Long Blades and struggled in the deadlock: it was obvious that he was beginning to get tired.
"…"Cross Fusion" users eventually get tired: it's not designed to be used for long battles. Your host will eventually be unable to endure this." "CF" Netto warned.
"Bah! I have safeguards. Dark Chip, Engage!" Wraith scoffed.
"What the…! Using a "Dark Chip" while in "Cross Fusion"?" "CF" Netto was surprised.
The familiar "evil face" appeared behind "CF" Ghost and integrated within his body: he roared and recovered strength.
"However… "Dark Chips" are just like stamina! You'll run out of its energies as well!" "CF" Netto argued.
"Bah! I have a limitless supply. I can always draw another one."
"You'll end up losing your sanity and become addicted to them: are you short-sighted or dumb? Twilight. You moron. You're overdoing it."
"A drama isn't a drama sans some tragedy!" He laughed.
"Bah! My Mistresses programmed my body to be fully compatible with them! They have been studying their effects for years! I am to be the Ultimate Warrior!" Wraith proclaimed.
"If you just fought on your own then I wouldn't mind. But forcing someone to undergo such a terribly high degree of physical exhaust is what makes us mad. If you're strong then prove it on your own instead of using your power to rule over others."
"Bah! Save your speeches for a movie! They don't have any effect on me!"
"You asked for it! Vaccine Chip, Load!"
"Whatever you try, it's futile! My Dead Spirits Shield can be engaged again now that I have further Dark Power! Spiral Surge!"
"Gotcha. Battle Chip, Met Guard!"
"CF" Netto summoned three Mettool hard hats as shields: the Spiral Surge was shot back at the Dead Spirits Shield and destroyed it.
"Now! Eat this! Vaccine Chip, Fire!"
"CF" Netto shot a multi-colored blast of energy at "CF" Ghost and it hit his chest emblem.
"Wha?"
The result was immediate: multi-colored bursts of light began to come out from his chest emblem and a soothing blue light travelled across his body.
"H-huh…? W-who a-are y-you…? What are you… doing to me…? Leave me… alone!" The original personality protested.
"Lord Wraith… I failed…!" The other personality roared in agony as it apparently was destroyed.
"GUO~H!" Wraith roared.
"Huh… You… You… Out…! Get outta my mind…! OUT…!" The original personality yelled.
A brutal explosion of yellow light filled the room and caused a shockwave so "CF" Netto shielded himself.
"Whoa!"
"Heh. The conclusion, huh?" Twilight sneered.
The host was lying face down on the ground, having reverted out of "Cross Fusion" when the light returned.
"Whoa!"
They were a young man around Netto's age.
He had blond-like hair and his eyes were closed.
He wore green military attire along with black boots.
He had some cuts and scratches on his face along with some coagulated wounds on his skull.
It was obvious that the clothes had been given to him by either Viper or Bella.
"Damn it."
"Heh, heh, heh."
A cracked Link PET could be seen lying on the ground nearby.
This PET was colored purple and black and it had the Kanji for "Yuurei" or Ghost drawn on its emblem circle.
A broken "Dark Synchro Chip" could also be seen lying nearby, frizzling.
"We did it! I'm pretty sure that Wraith guy has been deleted or is almost dead due to the effect of the Vaccine Chip!" Saito announced.
"Let's check." "CF" Netto replied.
"Check it out!"
He picked the Link PET and looked into the screen: there was one word drawn in red Alphabet letters:
"DELETED"
Satisfied, he crushed it with his right hand's strength and kicked it into a corner of the room.
"Go to the scrap-yard."
He then loomed over the "Dark Synchro Chip" and stomped it with his right foot.
"How's everything around - Ayase!" Someone began to ask only to gasp and utter a name.
"CF" Netto turned around to see Martin, who looked like he'd been in a though fight: he ran towards the young man and crouched down next to him.
"You know him, Martin?" "CF" Netto asked.
"Of course I do! He's my step-brother! My dad remarried after he and mom divorced! I'm 23, he's 15."
"Time for a tactical withdrawal… See you around."
"Heh, heh, heh."
"Damned freaks!" Martin cursed.
"I guess those two psychos kidnapped him and used him as guinea-pig to try to develop a totally deadly and fanatic "Cross Fusion" warrior by forcing a split personality on him which would be under the control of a rather arrogant Navi." "CF" Netto deduced.
"We managed to get rid of all their weapons using a large quantity of EMP weapons… Those guys are cornered and we're gonna take them to Japan to be judged." Martin explained as he held the unconscious Ayase: he sighed.
"Well. It's no wonder he's out cold. I had to force him out of "Cross Fusion"… And something tells me he was either drugged or forced into some kind of artificial sleep which nearly ended in a coma… We'll need to heavily interrogate both Viper and Bella."
14:23 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Dad and his wife are on their way here…"
"Poor Ayase – kun… Maybe they picked him in purpose to hurt you?"
"Heck. Knowing Twilight…"
"I get the point."
"He's been missing for 2 weeks and they didn't try to ask for my help: they know I'm a Net Savior…!"
Martin, Netto and Saito were sitting in chairs next to a hospital bed in which Ayase was sleeping.
"Well. All of the Desert Wraiths will be processed."
"Yeah. Public property destruction, military property destruction, military weapons theft, murder, black market deals, kidnapping, illegal experimenting, brainwashing and so on…" Martin grumbled.
"What about the weapons?" Saito asked.
"They'll be sent to Schneider Inc., the company which developed them, to be scrapped and their materials recycled to produce other stuff."
"And his condition…?"
"Huff. The doctors have diagnosed heavy physical exhaust, lack of sleep, loss of weight, partial loss of recent memory, highly probable traumatic experiences and so on."
"No wonder."
"They also added that they could be remedied over time and that thanks to the "Cross Fusion" being aborted, the split personality forced on him was gone and his consciousness hasn't been driven unstable or crazy."
"Uh… Ah… No… Stay away… Don't… touch me…"
The three presents quickly looked at Ayase, who was agitating on the bed: he was obviously regaining consciousness.
"The medics!"
Martin quickly pressed the "CALL" button to warn the medics so a doctor and two nurses walked in soon enough: the doctor softly touched Ayase's right arm and he calmed down a bit.
"Lower the shutters."
The two nurses lowered the shutters and left the room in almost total obscurity: the glow of the life-support monitor illuminated the room: the doctor took out a small flashlight and illuminated his face.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" The doctor asked him.
Ayase slowly opened his eyes: they were emerald green, not unlike Saito's.
"A-are you… a medic…? I am… in a hospital…?" Ayase slowly asked: he sounded rather disoriented.
"Don't be surprised if you feel disoriented. You've been through a lot of things." The medic told him.
"My parents are…?" Ayase asked.
"They are on their way here… This is Densan City Hospital. They should be here in another pair of hours." The medic told him.
"Who… brought me here… then…?" Ayase asked.
"That young man did. I think you know him…" The medic signaled someone with the head.
Martin walked next to the bed and smiled.
"Anichan!" He gasped.
"Yeah. That's me."
"I knew it… That anichan would rescue me…"
"Yeah. But your parents have been somewhat selfish not telling me." He sighed.
"Oh come on. And you didn't know I was gone…?"
"No. But. Relax. You're out of danger. Everything will be back to normal soon enough." Martin told him.
"Out of danger…? I can't recall…"
"It's no surprise. You've been diagnosed with some recent memory loss."
"Ah! I… I… was… different… my body… I felt like… I couldn't control it… I was fighting a Navi… I wanted to stop… but I couldn't… In the end… I somehow recovered enough strength… and focused on breaking out of my state… I fainted…" Ayase gasped and began to recall.
"True. That's what happened just a few hours ago… That guy was trying to help you."
"You know… him…?"
"Yeah. I asked of him to come over along with someone else… Guys!"
"How do you feel? I'm Hikari Netto. I'm the one who helped you come back to normal." Netto announced.
"I'm Saito. I'm his brother." Saito announced.
"Anichan mentioned you two, yeah…"
"Take it easy, Ayase."
"Some water…?"
One nurse handed it to him and he drank it slowly with his left arm since the right one had an IV connected to it which was supplying him with nutrients.
"I feel much better… Thank you." Ayase smiled.
"Anything you want to debrief?"
"Well… Sometimes… I was inside of a machine… I would be asleep almost the whole time… But another "voice" began to echo inside of me. My own "voice" seemed to get weaker and weaker with every passing day… That "voice" sounded like a fanatic… I felt like I would disappear… I was so afraid…" Ayase slowly explained.
"They were trying to create a split personality on you which would only think of fighting and carrying out orders. And it was over-powered during the fight. Luckily, thanks to our combined efforts, we managed to destroy it." Netto clarified.
"Thank goodness… What happened to that spooky and crazy Navi after that?" Ayase asked.
"Well. The destruction of all "Dark Power" on him caused him to be deleted since the Link PET was left in a wrecked state. The "Dark Synchro Chip" broke as well. I made sure to leave both of them in an irreparable state. That guy's gone and there's no bloody way he's gonna come back in any manner. Ever. You can be at peace."
"The Sheriff is going to cover 'em in oil and hen feathers before kicking them outta the town! That's the word of a good Texas Sheriff!" Lander announced as he placed the Mexican hat upwards and grinned.
"Heh, heh, heh…" Ayase made a weak chuckle.
"Well. Since he seems to be making a favorable recovery we'll leave the room: call us if something else were to pop out."
"Roger."
"By the way… Ayase – kun. Those two women…" Netto brought up.
"… Yeah. They tortured me." He sighed.
"I thought as much. Another reason to lock them up forever…"
"Problem is… Twilight. We gotta have them confess where they met with Twilight." Martin fumed.
"True. We need to find out if the guy's still in Melbourne or not."
"They mentioned such a guy, yeah… And I vaguely remember he showed up to look on during the fight… But one day… Something odd happened."
"What?"
"Well… It'd seem those two "played" with someone else but…"
"But?"
"I heard them whisper around the capsule and the guy apparently had found the whole deal "refreshing"… And they named him "Darth Bapgei"…"
"Bapgei?" Netto wondered.
"I think I've heard it somewhere else." Saito trailed off.
"I'll mention it to Vadous… This reeks. Out of the frying pan and into the embers…" Martin muttered.
"And I think… they're that "Talon" guy… It's a hunch, though…"
"So the "Talon" isn't just some guy hired to do a role… They're much more than that… Maybe them appearing in front of Nelaus first and showing up there twice is some sort of competition even…"
"Could be, yeah…"
"Yo. Cyber Snatcher. The Analog Snatcher snatched a Bifrost with a "Heavy Ball"."
"Oh! Anichan's pal: Charles!"
"Yessir! The Analog Snatcher. Anichan Cyber Snatcher caught a Nibelung with a "Timer Ball", see. They're our campaign trophies. Shadow Man had enough with the war helmet of one Valkyrie."
"Jeez."
"Shadow Man is that ninja Navi, right? Anichan?"
"Huff. You don't know the guy's exasperating jokes. And when he teams up with Sigma they get worse."
"This city is half-crazy: you're lucky to live away." Netto rolled his eyes.
"Totally."
"Anichan told me, yeah… About that restaurant deal…"
"Maha Ichiban's, huh? Craziest curry shop in the world, I'd name it."
"Totally."
"Heh, heh, heh. I wanna drop by one day and check it out."
"Alright. You've been warned, Ayase." Martin rolled his eyes.
"Speaking of Maha Ichiban's and all… Regal and Laser Man?" Netto brought up.
"They're behaving: Laser Man seems to fear Regal will lose patience and rewrite his personality if he doesn't behave and thus he's been slowly erasing his stubborn and selfish side but that makes him rather doubt-filled… He obviously won't complain to any order from Regal but the surveillance will still continue." Charles explained.
"Alright. As long as they don't try something selfish…"
"Wily is putting pressure too…"
"Fine. Let's settle it at there."
"Lemme quote the newest banner!" Charles announced.
"Trouble." Davis sighed.
"Heh. The crazy Chinese banners, eh?"
"Get ready for something TOTALLY LAME. Ayase."
"Ahem! "Oh, reckless spirit. Thou place is not in the real world but in the spirits' world where even greater sin happens."…"
"Pfff. Sounds like some mockery of Hell." Davis sighed.
"It sure has that… well… weird ring to it, yeah."
"Heh, heh, heh. And this was your toned-down introduction to Akihara City's madness. Next comes Higure Yamitarou and his attempts to be a "shinning man" while trying to play chevalier to Ms. Glassy~…"
"Oi. Charles. Stop pestering him and go interrogate those two. Go."
"OK. I go and don't go. And I don't go and I go. Thus… I do nothing! Let's get moving to a well-deserved break! Heh, heh, heh! I'm a genius: I say!"