Chapter 12: Battle of Light Versus Dark
15:56 PM, Wednesday January the 2nd, 2010…
"… Whoa. The year 2010 already… Cool!"
"Yeah. I'm sure it'll be an important year, too."
"Huh? Mail… Dekao… "If ya have the guts, come battle THE Dekao – sama and I'll prove you're more rusted than the school's rear door!"… I don't recall the school having a rear door…"
"Sounds intriguing."
Netto and Saito were talking inside of their bedroom when Netto's PET had beeped: he checked it out and looked surprised.
"Let's go there and show him what stuff we're made of: prepare a good powerful Folder to blow Guts Man sky-high until he crash-lands into Mars and meets the Martians." Saito giggled.
"Terrific. Let's go for it!" Netto grinned.
Saito jumped into his bed and placed his hands behind his head: Netto placed the PET II's IR laser port in front of the right eye as the laser shot out and entered it: Saito closed his eyes and his breathing slowed down: Netto then began to browse through the menus.
"Oho. I've got a folder with 3 PAs plus that Giga Chip we got for Christmas… Should we try it out?" Netto suggested.
"Why not?" Rock Man grinned.
"O. K.! Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"
Rock Man entered the PC and crossed both firewalls before exiting into the main Densan Area: he hummed a tune and headed towards the Warp Point for Dekao's router device: he stopped in front of the firewall and was allowed inside: he then crossed the PC's firewall and walked across its Cyber World until he met Guts Man.
"Guts, guts! Ya came, Rock Man!"
"Hiya, Guts Man."
"Oi! Netto! I'm gonna beat you in 30 seconds!" Dekao proclaimed.
"We'll see 'bout that. Battle Operation, Set!"
"In!"
"Gattsu~!"
"Program Advance! Toppu, Suikomi, Gate Man! Triple Slot In!"
"What!" Dekao gasped.
"Gate Magic!"
Gate Man showed up on the field and opened his chest's gates to then begin throwing out objects while Rock Man punched him from behind using the Mega Guts Punch: all objects hit Guts Man and inflicted major damage to him.
"What! 900 HP drained out of 1600! No fair!" Dekao growled.
"Oi. I always come at full power!" Netto told him.
"Why, you…!"
"Gattsu~! Guts Hammer!"
Guts Man hit the floor and the shockwave spread through it: Rock Man jumped out of the way.
"Battle Chip, Fighter Sword! Slot In!"
"Hra~h!"
Rock Man used the large sword to make a cut on Guts Man's upper body: he groaned and tried to use the Mega Guts Punch to hit Rock Man: he simply jumped over and dodged with grace.
"The finishing blow! Giga Chip, Gospel Fire! Slot In!"
"Groa~h!"
"W-what?" Dekao gasped.
"Gospel", on its full and imposing size, formed on the field and looked towards Guts Man with a hostile glare: Guts Man stepped back while feeling his confidence drop down.
"Groa~h!"
"Gospel" opened the mouth and shot out a stream of orange-colored flames towards Guts Man: they filled the whole field and Guts Man roared in agony before being logged out.
"Whoa. Busting Time: 00:09:17… Busting Level: S. Guts Man V3 get! This Giga Chip is a beast itself!" Netto whistled in surprise.
"Yeah. And it uses us a lot of RAM memory and battery, so… We gotta be careful when using it." Rock Man warned.
"No fair!" Dekao growled.
"Dekao! Admit it already: you never got past the "Sub-License" exam and I have the "SSS" License! There's a monumental power difference between both of us!" Netto insisted.
"I wanted to impress Meiru!"
"She won't like this."
"She will!"
"I doubt it." Roll sentenced as she came in.
"Wha!" Dekao gasped.
"Dekao – kun. We're still going over that?" Meiru looked annoyed and fed up with the whole deal.
"I didn't want to annoy ya!" Dekao gasped.
"You're not proving it."
"You deserve someone better than that crappy guy!"
"I believe the "crappy guy" is you."
"No way!"
"Way. Wake up, Dekao – kun. This is "reality". And you should be thinking about your scores instead of stuff taken out a TV drama. We're not in the Edo Age anymore, you know." Meiru grumbled.
"Wha~h! Nobody supports me~!" Dekao cried.
"Play the drama character all the time you wish: I came here to speak with Netto." She sighed and rolled her eyes.
"What's up?" Netto asked.
"There's something we need to settle. Come to my house."
"Sure."
"I'll be waiting, Rock!" Roll told him.
"O. K."
"Gattsu…" Guts Man sighed.
"Go catch a sacred maiden." Roll joked.
"Gattsu~!"
Guts Man suddenly ran out while the twins lifted their eyebrows in surprise: Meiru grinned while Roll giggled.
"That bait never fails." Roll announced.
"Yeah. I guess." Rock Man muttered.
"Don't take too long." Meiru insisted.
"We're on our way… No need to rush it."
"Fine. This is important."
"Very important." Roll added.
"Uh-oh." Both muttered.
"Tee, heh, heh."
"The world is horrible~!" Dekao cried.
16:03 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Here we are. What's up?"
"Saito – kun. Pick the PET II and go upstairs. This is between Netto and me, so…"
"Uh… Sure. Sorry for the intrusion."
Netto lifted his eyebrows while Saito picked the PET II and headed upstairs: he sat down on a chair in front of Meiru.
"So! Netto."
"What do you want outta me? Information?"
"More or less."
"That sounds like a lawyer."
"Tee, heh, heh. My. Praising me?"
"No. I was being sarcastic."
"Don't you feel different?"
"Of course. Niisan is living with us again, I'm a Net Savior and I've helped bring down those Nebula guys." Netto listed.
"I didn't mean that."
"No? Sorry. I don't get your point, honestly."
"What do you think of me?"
"You're my friend. Like Yaito, Dekao and Tooru – kun."
"That's fine. But… Is there more to it?"
"Are you angry because I didn't keep that promise back when the final battle with Gospel?"
"No. I understand that it was unforeseeable."
"Then what's going on? Did that "DS" Navi come pester you?"
"No. No Navi has pestered me."
"Sorry. But unless you stop beating around the bush…"
"Do you like me?" Meiru suddenly stood up and leant her palms on the table as she leant forward.
"O-oi. Wait a min. Aren't we way too young for that?"
"Baka. We don't need to do that."
"Ah, no?"
"Wait a min… The way you say it…" She looked suspicious.
"What?"
"You wouldn't have been doing pervert things, right?" She questioned.
"How could I? I'm a Net Savior!" He protested.
"Ah. I forgot that."
"… Look, Meiru. I won't say either "yes" or "no" yet. I don't feel like it, really. And before you ask… There's no one else involved."
"Enzan – kun isn't?"
"Enzan? Look at how hostile and mean he's with everyone: Manabe – san had to scold him. I wish he'd take off that stupid mask one day." Netto grumbled.
"Ah. I should've guessed so." Meiru muttered.
"So? Can we end this already? I don't feel like deciding: we're just 6th graders! We've got time ahead of us. And weren't you telling Dekao that it's not good to imitate TV drama characters?"
"Hmmm… True. Yet… Something… Something doesn't seem right. Wait a min! Enzan – kun isn't involved, but… Maybe Saito – kun is?"
"Do you have any proof?"
"You sound like a lawyer."
"Guess so."
"Hmpf. So that's how it is." She muttered.
"What are you gonna do?"
"I'll pick Tooru – kun: he looks more naïve!"
"Fine. But don't try to leech him."
"I won't."
"But that doesn't mean we can't keep on being "friends", right?"
"Of course not."
"Good. Then I'm going back home."
Netto stood up just as Saito returned and placed the PET II on top of the table.
"… I understand, Saito – kun. I won't chase it." Roll told him.
"Thank you for your understanding, Roll – chan. See you."
"Later."
"Later."
The twins came out of the house and Meiru sat down on her chair and looked disappointed and annoyed.
"I told you, Meiru – chan… I'm not in a rush. I can wait: we're still young, after all!" Roll told her.
"Yeah. But did he admit to…?" Meiru asked.
"He did after I pressed him. But I don't blame them."
"Whatever. Tooru – kun! You're my target!" She ginned.
"No good, no good…" Roll grimly muttered.
"There's no escaping me!" Meiru proclaimed.
"I wonder about that." Roll muttered.
16:23 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Oh!"
Rock Man was walking around the Cyber World's Densan Area "city" when he spotted Shadow Man leaning against a building: he signaled Rock Man to come to him.
"Hey! Shadow Man. What's up?" He asked.
"Your doppelganger is nowhere to be found. Do you have any clues where could he be?" Shadow Man went straight to the point.
"Hmmm… He probably went back to the Nebula Hole Area." He replied.
"That's a pity. I cannot reach that place." He sounded disappointed.
"I can't, either." He shrugged.
"We'll have to wait for him to show his nose around. He's late when it comes to catching up." Shadow Man sounded amused.
"Guess so."
"I have found no one that wants to target you or your Operator. But do not lower your guards. You two are, after all, big fishes." He turned serious again.
"I know." Rock Man calmly replied.
"That's all. See you around."
Shadow Man vanished in his usual manner and Rock Man lifted an eyebrow in surprise.
"Rock Man! There's a mail from Sigma."
"What does he say?"
"…"Come to Kotobuki Square in front of the old Gospel HQ. Something's going on."… It sounds weird for some reason or another if you ask me: doesn't look like Sigma's style."
"A trap, huh… Let's go greet it!" Rock Man grinned.
16:27 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Here we are! Kotobuki Square. And there's nobody. How fitting for a classical trap."
"Yeah. Guess so!"
Rock Man explored the area around the sealed up entrance to the Gospel HQ: it looked devoid of life.
"Hmmm?"
Rock Man crouched next to a ground panel and spotted what seemed to be a black metallic railing running across the joint between tiles: he calmly followed its shape and form to discover that it formed a small square space about three tiles tall per two wide.
"Hra~h!" Someone yelled from behind him.
Rock Man calmly stood up and took a step towards the left: a blur ran past the spot he'd been at and stepped into the delimited terrain: the metallic railings suddenly lifted to reveal a cage built under the ground: the "ceiling" area was enclosed as well: the one who'd stepped inside of it turned out to be DS Rock Man.
"Damn! A failure!" He cursed.
"The hunter got hunted." Rock Man shrugged.
"Why, you…!" He growled.
"Let's end this story already. Netto – kun! Let's go for the "PD" strategy, shall we?" Rock Man called out.
"Oh yeah! Program Advance! Gun del Sol 3, Gun del Sol 3, Django SP! Slot In!"
"PILE DRIVER!"
The two famous generators appeared both in front and behind his enemy: Rock Man took out the controller and raised it up.
"Taiyou~!" He yelled.
The generators lit and the sunlight attacked DS Rock Man: his body data began to break apart due to the lack of Dark Power to keep it both stable and able to exist: he tried to pull the bars of the cage but they didn't wield and he collapsed into his knees while his body began to break down: Rock Man calmly looked on without being concerned.
"NO! I AM A BEING OF THE "DARK"! I CANNOT BE DEFEATED THIS EASILY! I… I… WILL COME BACK! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS! UNTIL I DEFEAT YOU… UWA~H!"
His body was finally deleted and the cage program was as well: Rock Man lowered the controller and both generators vanished.
"No hard feelings. It was my mission, after all. You were a menace for the Network Society, so… You left me no other choice." He calmly muttered with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Oho. Good job, Saito – kun."
Blood Shadow walked over to him and looked amused.
"Yo! Blood Shadow. You should've used this for Shade Man, too."
"Sure. If I find any residual data, then I'll bust it with this Program Advance… Can you share the memo with me, please?"
"Sure. Here you have."
"Thanks. I owe you one."
"Don't mind it. Let's go celebrate: Nebula is over. For all intents and purposes." Rock Man tapped his right shoulder.
"Heh, heh! There's gonna be a pillow war tonight! It'll be intense and I'll beat a new record!" Netto grinned.
"You won by 2 points last time. But I'm about to debunk that personal record of yours, Netto – kun."
"Pillow Man Attacks!" Blood Shadow joked.
"Good one!" Both laughed.
16:58 PM (Japan Time)…
"Boss… Oh? Halo 3: ODST?"
"Yeah. It helps me shake off stress."
"Heh, heh."
"So… What's up, Omega?"
"Netto – kun and Saito – kun pile drove the remaining "DS" Navi."
Omega had stepped into a small bedroom-like room: it had a bed, a desk, a chair and one LCD TV built on the south wall: the door was also built on the south wall and there was an adjacent restroom/bathroom built on the left side of the room: Vadous (dressed in a black wool jumper, jeans and white socks) was playing a game using a XBOX 360.
"Good! Then we've got nothing to worry about."
"We have."
"What?"
"Dragon now claims the HQ is cursed as is giving out prayer beads to everyone." Omega grinned.
"That man… He's a good onboard cook, yet… He has this weird behavior from time to time." Vadous rolled his eyes.
"Well then… I'll leave you and Mr. Romeo to blast through the Covenant hordes: they reek of Channel ZZZ." Omega joked.
"Very original." Vadous looked skeptical.
"You never know, Boss, you never know."
Omega closed the door while Vadous rolled his eyes: he looked slightly exasperated.
"Anyway… It'd seem I can take a good rest: the "Committee" can perfectly handle the rest." Vadous smiled.
He chuckled under his breath…