Chapter 21: Collapse
04:55 AM (Norway Time), Thursday August the 12th…
"… Here we are, going down towards the core…"
"Finally… The decisive battle…!"
Rock Man, Blues, Shadow Man and Search Man were descending with the elevator towards the bowels of Angband from where the noises of battle were ringing out.
"What are we facing?" Shadow Man asked.
"From Knight Man's, Napalm Man's and Meddy's reports… A lot of Uruk – Hai plus two Balrogs… Freeze Man is also picking on them while moving around so we should try to use Elec-type Battle Chips to deal with the bothersome guy." Blues briefed them.
"By the way… Did Grand and Kanou Shade come too?"
"They're on the surface turrets trying to download a full map of the facility so that he can try to find out where those Uruk – Hai came outta from: and the damned woman is on the overseeing room and looking down on us as if we were football players." Blues growled.
"Hmpf! The fool must think she's got the VIP box!"
"Yeah. That's why we've come to take them down. I'm sure that that pendant is important so let's target it, Netto – kun." Rock Man called out to Netto.
"Roger!"
"Get ready! We're less than 30 seconds away from touch-down. We gotta try to ignore the rubbish and focus on the big foes. Then we can go tackle that woman." Blues ordered as he drew his Long Blade.
"Go, Search Man!"
"Shadow Man. Do it."
"Do your best, Blues!"
The elevator descended in the middle of the fray and the four of them leapt out before it shot upwards again: they began to fight all of the Uruk – Hai while Rock Man spotted Freeze Man summoning Ice Towers to try to hit Napalm Man.
"He's trying to knock Napalm Man out first!"
"Go, Rock Man! Program Advance! Elec Pulse 1, Elec Pulse 2, Elec Pulse 3! Program Advance! Destroy Pulse!" Netto announced.
"O. K.!"
Rock Man leapt towards Freeze Man's back and shot the Program Advance at him thus inflicting major damage plus an HP bug: Freeze Man growled and turned around before warping and appearing in front of Rock Man trying to punch his face but Rock Man turned off his jetpack's jet engines and dropped into a balcony.
"You bastard! Come here so that I can destroy you!"
"Catch me firstly! But that Program Advance took out 800 of your total 1400 HP!" Rock Man taunted.
"Let's go for more! Air Hockey, Triple Slot In! Program Advance! Hell Hockey! Go~!" Netto exclaimed.
"Hrah!"
"Ugrwa~h!"
"You'd lost 50 HP due to the bug and this inflicts 400 HP of damage per hit: you lose 450 HP out of your remaining 600! And here it comes again: eat this!" Rock Man exclaimed.
"Grwa~h! But I have Under Shirt…! I can still fight!"
"Freeze Man. Stop." "Witch-Queen of Angmar" called out through a speaker from the overseeing room.
"Mistress." He made a reverence.
"Go Room B33 and use "it"… Then come back."
"Your will!"
"Rock Man! I'm fed up with your interloping! Come and face me: I'll grant you a doom worse than death!" She challenged.
"You've asked for it!"
Rock Man leapt towards the room which still had the hole in the ceiling from the other day and jumped inside: a barrier closed up the hole and the villain had formed "Grudge Flames" around her which were circling and dancing in a pattern.
"What… Is that supposed to be hypnotism?" Netto skeptically asked without looking surprised.
"Hypnotism? You fool! This is agony itself! You felt them back when you firstly fought my Lord some months ago… But this time nothing will save you from them: they shall corrode all of you!" She exclaimed.
"My bad. But there's enough with just one "reverse side" Rock Man. Program Advance! Yo-yo, Triple Slot In! Yoyo Great!" A familiar voice rang out close by.
The viewing window shattered and the combination of Yoyos hit the woman from behind thus leaving some cuts on her robe: she cursed and turned around to face Shirakami.
"Sorry for the hold-up. I had to fight off Uruk-Hai dropping into the elevator from newly opened tunnels." He apologized.
"Good! Let's settle the score… Program Advance! Fire Punch 3, Aqua Needle 3, Elec Pulse 3, Risky Honey 3!"
"MASTER CROSS!"
"Not bad." Shirakami grinned as he suddenly turned invisible.
"M-master Cross…?" She gasped.
"Yeah! Our most powerful Program Advance!"
"Eat this!"
Rock Man switched to Ground Cross and hit the enemy with his drills catching her unaware: he quickly picked Heat Cross and bathed the villain in flames from his flamethrower: Tomahawk Cross came up next and he swung the tomahawk to hit her necklace making a crack on it: Slash Cross spun around and hit her pendant once again: and Killer Cross shot the "Killer Death Beam" at her: finally, Rock Man split into another two and the combinations of Heat, Tomahawk and Ground Cross bombarded the whole room with a volley of Charge Shot thus finally shattering the pendant and making the robe shine as purplish energy leapt out of it and a blinding flash covered the area.
"DAMN YOU~!"
"Finally…! We get to see that woman's true colors!" Netto muttered.
"I don't care who they really are: I'll bring them down!"
The flash died to reveal something rather unexpected: the three of them gasped in surprise.
"I see! So that's why!" Rock Man exclaimed.
"Damn you! My barrier-generating cloth and control device…!"
"So the pendant was the control device!" Shirakami muttered.
"Then… That time at the deepest point of the Nebula Hole Area…?" Netto wondered aloud.
"We got tricked." Rock Man replied.
"Isn't this somewhat ironic?" Shirakami commented.
"Damn you! Damn you! DAMN YOU~!"
"Totally ironic, yeah." Netto muttered.
"We should've seen it coming from Nebula Grey!"
"Hah, hah, hah… What foolish damned people! I laugh at such foolishness which leads you bastards down the road of self-destruction!"
"Speaking of the devil…!"
"Good job insofar, my servant… Meddy DS!"
The "Witch-Queen of Angmar" happened to be a purple-colored version of Meddy with purplish transparent shades.
Her hair was black as well and her eyes irises' were golden thus displaying pure hatred.
Her emblem had been replaced for the drawing of a "Dark Flame" instead of her usual drawing.
The reddish patterns on her bodysuit were now pitch-black and the "skin" was tinted in a blood red coloring.
The purple-colored "Quick Man" was standing behind her and grinning.
"So THAT's why you hate Meddy! You're her opposite!" Netto realized.
"And you despised "bonds" too so you tried to cut them off by doing that to Roll – chan!" Rock Man cursed.
"Hmpf! So what? You've inflicted 600 HP of damage with that Program Advance and 400 from the other… My total HP clocks at 4000 points! You've only depleted a fourth of my HP! The nightmare is starting!"
"So there you are! You won't run away this time! Gun del Sol 1, Gun del Sol 2, Gun del Sol 3! Pile Driver! Let's go… Otenko – sama!"
"Yeah, Django!"
"Whoa!"
"Taiyo~!"
"MUWRA~RGH! YOU… THE "SOLAR MAN"… DJANGO…!"
"Not "man" but "boy"! Learn some vocabulary, freak!"
Django and Otenko had suddenly come in and they assaulted the material form of "Nebula Grey" from behind using the "Pile Driver".
"Let's help them too Rock Man! Shirakami! Handle that woman!"
"Delighted! Hrah!"
Shirakami tackled Meddy DS and they warped out of the room while Rock Man heard Netto rushing somewhere and stopping: a PING rang out and Rock Man merely nodded to show that he was ready.
"Let's go! Program Advance! Gun del Sol 1, Gun del Sol 2, Gun del Sol 3! Pile Driver! Solar Sensor: on! Today's a bright unclouded August day and I've got a ton of sunlight here! Taiyo~!"
"Taiyo~!"
Rock Man formed his "Pile Driver" too and it began to emit amplified and concentrated sunlight into the purple "Quick Man" who was beginning to break apart and reveal the core, "Nebula Grey" itself, the "Dark Flame" inside of his body which was also breaking down: it suddenly broke down into raw data and vanished.
"We did it!" Rock Man exclaimed.
"Yeah! I'm sure we caught the guy off-guard! We'd been monitoring his movements for a while!" Django grinned.
"And thus another evil goes down! All that's left is the pawn…"
"How is it going, Shirakami?"
"Well… Not too hard but not too easy either. This woman is persistent in trying to inflict status ailments into me: but I can tackle that."
"Damn you! Die!"
"Insofar I've taken out about 800 HP so she's lost 1800 HP…"
"Mistress! Do you need help?" Freeze Man asked.
"Don't get in the way! Delete Rock Man!"
"Roger!"
"Coming, Netto – kun!" Rock Man tensed.
"Battle Operation, Set!"
"In!"
"Be frozen!"
"You be gone!"
Freeze Man showed up in front of Rock Man and formed the carcass of ice to shield his body: Rock Man simply threw an Earthquake Virus there and it shattered the carcass yet the Freeze Man inside was a fake: the real one showed up from behind and Rock Man barely dodged his five shuriken which hit the floor.
"This guy's HP has gone up to 2000 points! But if we've taken out gigantic enemies having 2000 HP too then we can take this one out!"
"Dream on, Hikari Netto! Thanks to the "Dark Power" now I am invincible and all-powerful!" He laughed.
"Jeez. I'm fed up with hearing that same talk wherever I go to! Program Advance! Blues SP, Navi Scout, Colonel! Slot In! Twin Leaders!"
"Fight on, Colonel!"
Blues and Colonel formed on the field and attacked Freeze Man: he moved around in a blur and inflicted three Wide Sword attacks while Colonel formed a cross and attacked with his saber before they vanished: Freeze Man growled.
"Damn! 600 HP of damage… But that won't be enough!"
"Folder Back, Slot In!"
"Let's go, Netto – kun!"
"Oh yeah! Let's go! Wide Blade, Long Blade, Blues SP! Slot In! Program Advance! Double Hero!"
"Lend us power, Blues!"
A copy of Blues formed and both of them charged up before bombarding Freeze Man with a volley of Charge Shots and Sonic Booms.
"I-impossible… I haven't even begun attacking and they've inflicted me 1200 HP of damage! Guo~h! Antarctic Stage~!"
"Coming!"
Freeze Man released his power and purplish clouds formed all around the room: the whole ground turned into purplish ice and purplish hail began to rain down along with raw purple snow: all Navis and enemies standing on the ground were trapped inside of ice clusters yet Rock Man hovered thanks to his jets: and Meddy DS plus Shirakami were engaged in an airborne battle so it didn't affect them either: Freeze Man roared as his body colors began to change into purple and his lidless eyes turned red as well: he laughed in a victorious tone.
"Heh… Heh, heh… I did it… I did it…! My power has increased! The "Dark Power" has made me be the best commander of Angband! Forever serving our Mistress!" He laughed.
"There's only one way to stop him! Program Advance! Django, Django V2, Django V3! Slot In! Cross Over!"
"What!"
A replica of Django (the real one had been trapped inside of the ice mass along with Otenko – sama) formed behind Freeze Man: he drew the Gun del Sol and began to attack Freeze Man with hit while Rock Man backed him up with Charge Shots: both then drew Long Sword and attacked in an X formation thus dealing further damage to Freeze Man who had been caught in the middle of their combined attack: Freeze Man roared as the purple energy began to fly out of him and disperse thus returning his body to normal and making him collapse into the ground: given his lack of power the effects of his earlier attack began to die out.
"Che! Useless servant… Come! Black Doom!"
"Rock Man! Behind you!"
Rock Man quickly drew a Long Blade and clashed with the imposter Zero who'd come up from behind.
"You're Zero's imposter!"
"An improvement over that weakling, you mean to say."
"What improvement? You're cheap!"
While both of them fought Grand suddenly came in and walked over to Freeze Man who was lying unconscious in the ground.
"Is this the guy, Hack?"
"Yeah… Freeze Man. Awaken. Code Beta…"
"Code Beta…! I remember that…! It couldn't be!" Freeze Man managed to lift his head and seemed to have realized something.
A holographic screen formed into the air and it displayed Obihiro Shun's face: he didn't seem to have changed in the one year interval ever since the disbanding of "Gospel" and he looked sad.
"Freeze Man… I haven't stopped thinking about you. You were my Navi whom I'd customized into this form… Grand here makes me remember the times before "Gospel" began… I'm trying to make up for my sins. What will you do? Your "Mistress" has just replaced you for that imposter over there…" He told him.
"Gospel… Shuryou…!"
"No. Gospel Shuryou is dead. I'm Obihiro Shun. Now and forever."
"Obihiro – sama…! I shall… come along thou."
"I'm not forcing you. This isn't an order. You're free to decide your path in life, Freeze Man. I'm just a normal citizen now."
"… I understand, but… I can still remember how you were before, the kind person you used to be…" He muttered.
"Alright… Then come: I'm sure you and Grand will form a good team. I got permission from Barrel – san to do this. And I'm sure Hikari would appreciate it… I don't think he can hear us now: he's busy enough battling that guy…" Obihiro muttered as he glanced at the fray.
"I'm Grand. Let's get along, Freeze Man – senpai."
"Senpai…? It sounds… good. Yes… I'll be your senpai…"
"Sorry for the holdup. You Carnival punk. I'm your opponent."
"So the failed prototype came."
"What failed prototype? You're the failed prototype!"
The real Zero jumped inside of the room through the broken viewing window and tackled his imposter who taunted him but Zero was too clever to fall for that: Rock Man stepped back and looked out at the fight between Shirakami and Meddy DS.
"What's the situation like, Shirakami?"
"Good enough… I've taken out about 3500 HP using Program Advances and combination attacks… She's inflicted about 850 HP to me out of my 1000 HP but I've got some healing Battle Chips saved up."
"Nice!" Netto grinned.
"Blues! Do you need help?" Rock Man asked.
"No! We're already done here. The Uruk – Hai suddenly seemed to chicken out and have fled: I guess that the woman was pouring her malice into them in the form of radio signals but she's now concentrating on fighting Shirakami so… The Balrogs are liquidated too." Blues replied.
"Man! That attack a while ago sure was powerful!"
"Oh yeah! Freeze Man! Where'd he go?" Netto wondered.
"Hum… I took him back." Obihiro admitted.
"Obihiro Shun! I hadn't seen you ever since you came to visit Papa at the hospital following the aftermath of Hinoken's attack on the Science Labs during the Proto Incident!" Netto gasped.
"Yeah, I know… I wanted to try to do beneficial things and I was approached by Mr. Shade who had a need of my hacker skills to help him root out the villains behind the red light district's illegal clubs… And I came up with the nickname "Hack" on the spot… Hack, from hacker…"
"I see. And Grand is your new Navi." Rock Man muttered.
"True… But now I've managed to retrieve Freeze Man and he's going to pay for his sins too…" He formed a weak smile.
"Whoa! Cool!" Netto whistled in surprise.
"Before you ask, Ijuuin Enzan… I authorized that. And the ONBA Chief agreed with me. I've got his signed permission." Barrel told Enzan as if expecting the question.
"Ah. Fine."
"Your short-lived reign will end here, "Witch - Queen of Angmar"!"
"No! My Lord's Empire will last forever!"
"Yeah. All tyrants say the same: look at Darth Sidious and how his "Galactic Empire" only lasted 25 years." Shirakami was unimpressed.
"Come! "Grudge Flames"! I am a moving self-generating source of "Dark Power"! You can't defeat me by mere weapons!"
She threw the "Grudge Flames" at Shirakami but he simply shot a Wide Shot Battle Chip to put them out: Meddy DS got a twitch over her right eye and began to get annoyed.
"You've lost 3800 HP out of 4000 HP and I just healed 300 so I still have 500 HP." Shirakami calmly told her.
"Try it!"
"Very well, then. Gun del Sol 3!"
"Kyra~h!"
Shirakami drew Django's weapon and hit her with it: she fell and crashed in the roof of the overseeing room while Rock Man aimed his Rock Buster at her: she suddenly stood up and began to pulsate with "Dark Power" while a purple-colored tornado formed around her.
"The "Dark Tornado" can't be destroyed! You won't be able to go for the finishing blow! Zero chance!"
"All can be destroyed." Rock Man simply countered.
"… Saito – niisan… Are you gonna go for it?" Netto seemed to guess what he intended to do.
"Yeah. It's the only way." He calmly replied.
"Very well then… But we're always linked, right? Let's pour our strength together!" Netto smiled.
Rock Man's chest emblem began to pulsate with bluish light at a very quick pace and his bodysuit began to be surrounded by cyan light as it began to fade away: a powerful brightness emitted from his body and he closed his eyes as the last of the bodysuit faded away thus revealing his glowing body.
"That form…! Impossible…!" Meddy DS gasped.
"This is my true form: my persona, my power… The powers I receive from all those I believe into… Now… I shall use them to defeat you and end this senseless war! In the name of justice!" He exclaimed.
He extended his right hand forward and energy began to enter the tornado which began to glow blue and white before fading away: a spheroid of pure whiteness formed in the air and hit Meddy DS: she shrieked as the "Dark Power" left her in the form of an evil "face" yet Django quickly attacked it with his "Gun del Sol" to dispel it: Meddy DS collapsed into the ground with wounds opening across her body and looking like she was about to be deleted.
"… Ugh… D-damn it… Gragh… The barrier-generating suit and necklace I got from him… From our collaborator… The Evil Empire of Nebula Grey – sama… The great fortress of Angband… All of my designs… They're gonna end here…?" She muttered while sounding annoyed.
"What? She didn't make that thing up?" Netto frowned.
"Who are you talking about?" Saito demanded.
"Heh… Heh, heh… H-him… That person… To… wa…!"
She suddenly shrieked as her body began to emit bursts of energy and it detonated in a brutal explosion.
"M-Mistress!" The imposter Zero gasped.
"You're over."
"Damn! I'll remember this!"
He suddenly warped out of the room and Zero fumed: a silence began to grow in the room and they realized that the brightness was increasing and that sunlight was entering through the shaft.
"T-the clouds are breaking up! The sun is shining!" A watchman reported over the radio.
"With the deletion of the site's admin the environment returns to default status but this place won't be deleted…" Obihiro muttered.
"… To… wa…?" Saito wondered while looking suspicious.
"I do not know." Kanou Shade admitted.
"I think she intended to say more but didn't make it on time." Netto deduced with a grave look to him.
"Yeah. I suddenly feel like all of our struggles have been in vain because there's someone who will continue what she began." Enzan grimly muttered.
Saito's bodysuit regenerated and he collapsed into the ground, obviously worn out: Django tended to him and picked him.
"Guess we all need some rest. For the time being both Nebula Grey and that villain are over." Django suggested.
"Yeah. What will you, Kanou Shade?" Blues asked him.
"I'll go hunting. I don't like the sounds of it: designing such a system is not easy. And if someone cooperated with them willingly then they must be quite wicked. Maybe they look up to what Dr. Regal did and desire to continue what they did…" Kanou Shade admitted.
"Yet… Who could it be? This "Towa" guy…?" Netto wondered.
A lingering silence was imposed broken only by the howling of the wind…