Chapter 25: Twins
23:23 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday July the 11th…
"… Huff. Well. This should be ready by now."
Forte was leaning over the metallic cylindrical capsule which he'd used hours before in the tanker.
"Let's rumble."
Various lights shone green on different spots of its body so he typed some commands into a keyboard, making the capsule hiss and open: Shirakami came out surrounded by some steam and stretched.
"It feels slightly different." He commented.
"I might have skipped one or two details." Forte admitted.
"Where are we?" Shirakami asked.
"Did you forget? The tanker. But I've made preparations to move to a physical house too…"
"Alright. And remember your deal: I'm not here to be fucked up by you because I look like Saito." Shirakami warned him.
"Don't worry, don't worry… I'll uphold that deal."
"Fine."
Shirakami climbed down from the capsule and stretched before walking some steps around: he then stepped over a puddle of a silver-colored liquid which seemed to form from a slight leakage in ceiling.
"What's this? Doesn't look like fuel…" He muttered.
"Weird. I could swear it wasn't there some hours ago."
The "puddle" suddenly began to stir and "rise" to give way to a humanoid shape having some kind of blackish helmet over their heads, the shape of eyes, a nose, a thin human-like body with two arms and legs, and two intimidating knives instead of hands: they looked about their height.
"W-what are those? Some experiment of Regal?"
"B-but wait a minute… They're materializing… Without a "Dimensional Area"! We can do that because you invented that "Rush Synchro Chip" thing and the Musketeers have robot bodies so… But how can they materialize like that without a "Dimensional Area"?" Forte argued back, surprised.
"Ah! Look!"
Another "puddle" suddenly formed on the ceiling and dropped into the ground to give way to another of those.
"Rock Buster! I know the name's silly if I'm another guy but it sounds better than "Shirakami Buster", I say."
"Hell's Buster!"
Both shot attacks at the enemies and made some parts of their bodies' skins jump off but they suddenly regenerated those in the spot and lurched for them at a mad speed.
"Dark Sword!"
"Dark Arm Blade!"
Shirakami drew a Long Sword colored purple and Forte drew his blades: they clashed with the fighters and began to push them back before they suddenly dissolved into "puddle" form again and reappeared behind them to drive their blades into their bodies from behind: both gasped and warped using "Area Steal" to appear behind them and vertically slice them up into two halves: they collapsed into "puddle" form but rose again: both cursed and clashed again.
"These things seem to have been infused with "Dimensional Element" which allows them to be materialized just like that!"
"But Vadous wouldn't make these or the Science Labs… So the only possible culprit for this is that "Nebula Grey" jerk…!"
"Shit. He must want to either test us or remove us from his way!"
"Charge Shot!"
Shirakami jumped away, loaded a "Charge Shot", and shot it at the enemy thus hitting their chest and piercing through them: they merely regenerated the wound and continued their assault: Shirakami drew two "Dark Swords" and Forte jumped away.
"Darkness… OVERLOAD!"
He charged up a mass of purple energy and shot a stream of it at the enemy thus blowing it up into pieces which splattered the walls: they suddenly began to grow in size and focus on one wall to slide up to the ceiling: the enemy formed and dropped vertically into Forte while driving both blades into his helmet's top and then detaching to plunge both blades into his body from behind: they pierced through his chest emblem but Forte roared and used another "Area Steal" to show up behind the enemy and cut it up into slices.
"Fuck! We'll be goners at this rate. Guess "Nebula Grey" wants this tanker for some reason or another and we're on the way! Shirakami! It's pointless to continue: we'll just die!"
"Yeah! I realized that! Damn it! That moron! I want to erase that smug smile from their faces! I'd love to do that, really!"
"Run for it!"
"Roger!"
They ran down the corridor with both things following them and Forte locked a pair of blast doors.
"They're designed to prevent flooding so not even those things can slide in through the frame! But I don't think it'll hold them at bay for much longer so let's use the computer and escape to the house!"
They rushed towards the Navi restoration machine and dematerialized to escape the place: the "face" popped out of the blackness and formed a smug smile again while its eyes seemed to expand.
"Heh… Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh! Mwah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah!"
08:48 AM (Japan Time), Thursday July the 12th…
"… Fua~h…"
Whose turn is it today…? Huh? The body feels different. The brain does, too… Wait. Yesterday… Ah!
Saito suddenly sat up on the futon and looked at his hands as if to check that he was real: he then spotted Netto sleeping on his bed.
… Of course! I'm a person now! I'm a human! I'm back into the real world as a person and not as having to share Netto – kun's body… Whoa. My life has suddenly changed… And it's thanks to Vadous – san… We'll never get to thank him enough…
"Hmmm… Ah… Heh, heh… Maha Ichiban's curry is the best… with Tabasco…" Netto muttered as he tossed around in the bed.
Well! Netto – kun is yet again dreaming of Maha Ichiban's curry… It's his number #2 favorite after Mama's…
He slowly stretched, repressed a yawn, and stood up: he was obviously used to such actions by now after having been sharing Netto's body for over two weeks.
Why don't we wake Netto – kun up? There's so much I want to do! And we still have to show the others… Vadous – san has spoken with Commissioner Kifune, and he agreed on providing a cover story and giving me a civilian ID. I'm officially part of the "Net Saviors", too, so that I can participate on the meetings… A whole world of possibilities is now open to both of us!
"Here comes the army!" He shouted at Netto's ear.
Netto sat up on the bed, startled, and began to quickly look around only to spot Saito.
"Grah! Niisan! That was low!" He grumbled.
"Hah, hah, hah! It serves you right for being such a sleepyhead. Didn't we agree on introducing me to everyone?" Saito told him.
"… Oh! You're right! I had forgotten! You're a person now!"
"Did you think it was a dream?" Saito teased.
"Yeah. Anyway… Let's get dressed…" Netto shrugged it off.
They both dressed and arranged their beds before heading downstairs to have breakfast.
"Good morning, dears." Haruka greeted them.
"Good morning, Mama!" Both replied.
"If you were wondering, Yuuichirou – san ran off at the Science Labs. He received some mail and wants to check out something there." She giggled and looked like she was expecting that to happen.
"Heh, heh! It's gotta be Vadous – san: he sent him the data on the "Advanced PET II" installation and now wants to try it out with Blues next…" Netto chuckled.
"Sure."
"So? What are you going to do today?" Haruka asked.
"Ain't it obvious, Mama? We're gonna show everyone about Saito – niisan being here with us!" Netto grinned.
"That's fantastic." Haruka looked like she agreed with the idea.
Both finished their breakfast and picked their sneakers: Saito picked a spare pair Netto had.
"We'll have to go shopping for some stuff for me." Saito reminded Netto while adjusting the sneaker.
"That's right. We have plenty of time for that." Netto nodded in agreement.
"We're going!" Both announced.
"Take care!" Haruka told them.
They exited their home and headed for the playground while Netto prepared a single mail sent simultaneously to all of his friends.
"Come at the park ASAP: there's something you've gotta see. Netto."
They arrived at the area before anyone else and Saito hid behind some bushes while Netto sat on a bench and waited.
"Yo! Netto! What's up, man?" Dekao greeted as he walked in, showing off his punches.
"Ya wait and see." Netto simply told him.
"Good morning." Meiru greeted as she walked in.
"Is this the place?" Hikawa asked as he came in.
They heard a vehicle stopping nearby and spotted Yaito's pink limo.
"Yaito – chan's limo…"
The red carpet was deployed and the maids came out: Yaito walked down the carpet while drinking a bottle of strawberry milk.
"Wait in the car." Yaito nonchalantly told them.
"Roger, Yaito – sama!"
"I still find it hard that so many girls fit in there." Dekao commented to Hikawa in a hushed tone.
"Maybe it's wider in the inside than it seems from the outside." Hikawa suggested.
"So! Netto! I guess ya have a good reason to call someone like me all the way here." Yaito told him.
"What's with today's mood? You were always complaining I never told you guys anything!" Netto protested.
"Whatever. Make it quick." Yaito merely replied.
"Che. Okay… Wait a sec."
Netto glanced at the bushes and rolled his eyes.
Niisan. It's time for your jump into the stage. He told him.
Heh, heh. Yaito – chan looks like she's gotten a mood today. I'm gonna snap her outta it. Saito sounded amused.
He purposely ruffled the bushes to call for the others' attention but didn't come out.
Tell them to guess who or what is here. Saito told Netto.
Huh? Eh… If you say so…
"… I challenge everyone to guess who or what is in there." Netto announced while signaling the bushes.
"… It's a cat!" Dekao grinned.
"It must be a dog." Hikawa argued.
"It's gotta be Mr. Universe." Yaito giggled.
"I'm not sure: but I'd rather say it must be a pigeon." Meiru suggested, frowning.
"You're all wrong!" Netto announced.
Saito walked out of the bushes and walked towards them: they didn't seem to react until he stopped at Netto's right.
"Huh? That guy… Don't we know him from somewhere else?" Dekao asked, frowning.
"He looks very similar to Netto – kun." Hikawa commented.
"Who's that? Is that your cousin from Kansai?" Yaito laughed.
"… It's Saito – kun!" Meiru announced, gasping.
"Whoa!" Dekao gasped.
"I-I hadn't realized it!"
"No way! It's a hologram!" Yaito yelled.
"I'm sure it isn't." Meiru insisted.
"Wait and see! Cha!"
Yaito walked over to Saito and stepped on his right foot with a lot of force: Saito actually yelled and clutched the foot, since it was hurting.
"Uack!"
"But Navis can't materialize sans "Dimensional Areas"… And Saito – kun's Navi frame is still missing!" Yaito protested.
"This isn't his Navi frame! He's a human now!" Netto corrected.
"That's impossible." Yaito shot back.
"I'm 90% human, yeah."
"90%?" Everyone asked.
"You can't see it from the outside: that's the point. My body has been fitted with an electronic brain, implants on my CNS and a network of intravenous nanomachines. It's called a cyborg body." Saito announced with a broad smile.
"But, legally… Niisan is a person just like I and you guys." Netto quickly added.
"Whoa." Everyone had their jaws open.
"… If your brain is electronic… Then you could come into the Cyber World as well?" Roll grasped.
"Yeah. I can do that whenever I want to. In fact… The point of the brain is that my Navi frame is inside of it! But the personality file is extracted and processed to act like a normal consciousness. When I want to leave… I return into the Navi frame and then I can go into my PET. My nanomachines take care of setting my body to a sleep-like state until I return." Saito explained.
"I guess we're gonna take a while explaining… Why don't we sit down in the benches?" Netto suggested.
"Let me tell the limo to head off. This looks totally worth my time."
"Sure thing!"
They sat down on the benches: Yaito and Meiru sat on one, the twins in another and Hikawa and Dekao sat in the third.
"What happened the other day with the funny skies?" Dekao suddenly asked.
"It's not "funny skies", Dekao… We've told you over and over again: it's named "Dimensional Area"..." Netto rolled his eyes.
"One of the Evil Duo came after us posing as Enzan and lured us to an old Ameroupe Army Facility close to Jawaii intended for this purpose." Saito simply summarized.
"But that doesn't explain how ya got your Navi frame back." Yaito pointed out.
"We did that yesterday evening. We lured the dude and forced a "Cross Fusion" with him in order to access the core of the Dark Chip and break it up... His companion rescued what was left of the personality file, so I wouldn't be surprised if he has another Navi frame ready." Saito summarized next while leaning back on the bench.
"We met a very intelligent mister…"
"Hah! There's no one cleverer than me." Yaito bragged.
"Could you come up with this, then?" Netto challenged.
"Huh! Sorry. I was trying to pull a joke." Yaito apologized.
"Anyway! This mister had been working on this for a while with a colleague. We'd been aware of him for a while, but he decided to finally approach the Net Police. This is why niisan is registered as a citizen: the Net Police has issued a cover story for him." Netto summarized.
"Wow. It's incredible that technology has advanced so much…" Meiru looked awed.
"It sure is!" Roll sounded excited.
"Guts! Guts Man doesn't get it very well, but that guy is Rock Man, so we'll have another Net Battle soon, guts!"
"Well. Yes. In essence."
"Then Guts Man will defeat Rock Man to show Roll – chan that he can protect her! Guts!" Guts Man suddenly announced.
"I can defend myself quite well. I think Aki – chan is the one who needs your protection, Guts Man." Roll calmly replied.
"O~H! GUTS, GUTS, GUTS! AKI – CHAN, DE GUTSU~!" Guts Man began to daydream.
"Shut the trap up!" Dekao annoyingly told him.
"Aki – chan, desu…" Ice Man looked like he was daydreaming, too.
"By all the… They're going to rival each other at this rate." Hikawa sounded exasperated.
"And the reason I have this ugly bruise on my right eye is because they held my eye open so that a laser could read an algorithm Grandpa engraved into my retinal pattern. They needed it to start up that piece of junk." Netto let out.
"Whoa! An algorithm engraved in your retinal pattern… You'd never told us!" Meiru looked awed.
"I just found out a few days ago, mind you. I stumbled upon a letter from Grandpa which vaguely admitted the fact."
"Cool!" Dekao whistled.
"Did you really understand it?" Hikawa was skeptical.
"Well…"
"Hah! I knew it. Cha are but a gorilla!" Yaito giggled.
"Wha~t?"
"Come on, Yaito – chan… Let's not start a war again!"
"Tee, heh, heh, heh, heh. Don't worry, Meiru – chan!"
"Yaito – chan… Always bringing trouble…"
10:10 AM (Japan Time)…
"… So? What became of those two?"
"Well…"
"Wait! What are those wounds?"
"I don't want to EVER go back to that ship."
"What happened?"
Vadous was speaking with Zero while sitting on the armchair: he'd taken out his contacts, revealing red crimson eyes but kept on sporting the armor: he'd had taken off the helmet.
"That's…"
"Please tell me!"
Zero had several wounds on his body and some silver stains too which said it all: he'd had to face those weird enemies.
"Some weird programs which can materialize without a "Dimensional Area" have taken over the whole ship… "Nebula Grey" has seized it and those programs are crawling all across it… It's a nightmare! No matter how many you cut down, they either regenerate their missing limbs or break down into some "puddle" form to then regenerate… There are HUNDREDS of them hidden in every nook and cranny! Automated Navis are taking care of the tanker's piloting…! The throne room has a wax figure of a woman on her 30s with orange-like hair and cold blue eyes sitting there dressed in some leather suit…"
"Hell. That'd be Anaya Maria, the "Ice Queen"… That "Nebula Grey" sure is proving that he's loyal to her and that he reveres her… Some weird Freud-like psychology, even…" Vadous cursed.
"I guess those two were forced to make a run for their lives. Those things were crawling all over the Cyber World too… NEVER! I'll NEVER go back to that place! My word! If this is what they call "fear" then I'm filled up with that, my word! I'd never felt such "fear" before!"
"By all the… I'm sure the "Wily Program" has helped the guy somehow as well… He must be intending to turn that into his own permanent HQ for future uses… How lovely! I know Regal had tracing programs which told the location of the ship on his computers so I should get a hold of one of those to keep tabs on that thing…" Vadous sighed.
"Sure. By the way… Did you find anything about "Octopus – han"?" Zero suddenly brought up and switched topics.
"Huh? Well… Hum… Yeah. Let's switch topics to something not so dreadful… Truth to be told: I'd almost forgotten. But Enzan – kun admitted with a smile that I'd be dumfounded when I found out. I didn't pursue it: I liked that answer of his. It's got me excited." He smiled.
"Good. I'm off. But I'll NEVER get back there."
"Sure, sure."
Vadous hummed the Star Wars tune as he distractedly tapped the right armrest with his fingers.
"Maybe I should tackle that guy we found about… He doesn't look too dangerous to me but you never know… Omega! Come to the command bridge ASAP: we gotta talk." Vadous commanded.
"Roger."
Omega soon walked in and Vadous turned the chair around: he handed him a note with some instructions on it which Omega glanced over in a calm and dull manner before slightly lifting his right eyebrow.
"So we gotta dispose of this guy…"
"Yeah. Further analysis has led me to figure out they could become a very real threat… It was dumb luck that I found about them when investigating those sudden overseas crimes in which "good" Navis have been seen committing them but they have perfect alibis… There had to be a reason why these "evil doubles" were showing up and by tracing one…"
"Yeah. I remember. We found about them one week before the take-over of the "Darkloids" by Shirakami… Well. I'm going."
10:23 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Heh, heh, heh… I'll cut off the links between Net Navis and humans…With my "Phantom Navis"… All humans shall be become data and I'll absorb them… I'll be invincible! Heh, heh, heh. I'll soon be able to move into the final stage… Soon…"
A Navi was standing and muttering aloud inside of somewhere in the Cyber World: the room was largely unlit but it contained two large server-like machines which had glowing green dots on their largely blackened screens as if to show they were working on something.
This Navi's overall height could be slightly over a meter and fifty but not even a meter and sixty tall either.
Their dominant color was white with a few grayish rectangles: his head didn't have a helmet built over it and it didn't have ear-pads either: two needles with purplish energy rings set mid-way across them extended from where the ears would be at.
His eyes' mass was red and irises' color was a creepy purplish color which displayed pure malice.
Some thin rectangles were set in a row travelling below and above his eyes while a large gray stripe spanned across his head until it'd almost reached the forehead: a smaller one was set in the middle of his forehead.
His nose and mouth were human enough.
His emblem consisted on a simple vertical silver rectangle set against a purplish background: the edge was colored silver too.
The shoulders had two short spikes emerging from them and aiming NW and NE too: his arms were plain and the forearm armor consisted on a cylinder with two dome-shaped ends: its main body had two parallel sets of thick grayish rectangular bands drawn them: the hands were simple and had a gray circle drawn above their palms.
Three of those rectangles travelled across the upper body (with one of them being the one set on his emblem) which was unarmored.
His legs, like his arms, were unadorned as well and the armor below the knees encompassing the ankle and part of the leg was but a copy of that he had on his forearms.
His feet were normal in shape and included a circling band near the start of the toe-fingers plus a short vertical stripe aiming upwards.
Overall, he looked young but evil and the type which shouldn't be underestimated just because of his looks.
"My name is… Cache. Everything will become cache data… I will get rid of the eyesore humans… Using my "Phantom Navis"… My "Jamming Men" will soon be activated… Hah, hah, hah… Soon, soon enough… I'll be supreme!"
"So! You wanna prove you're deadlier than the "Darkloids"? And you'll be using the "Dimensional Element" to materialize without the need of a "Dimensional Area" either…" A familiar voice rang out.
"W-what? Impossible! My hideout is hidden from the normal Cyber World: nobody should be able to find it!"
"We did: by analyzing a "Phantom Navi" once we'd stuffed them with a tracer program…"
The purple gateway of Time – Space formed and Omega, Sigma, and Blood Shadow stepped out while having their weapons drawn: Omega looked dull and unimpressed, Sigma looked cocky and Blood Shadow was calm and collected.
"Who the hell!"
"The "Subspace". We heard your chatter. Your name's Cache and you're behind those "Phantom Navis"…"
"Come! Heat Man! Fire Man! Magic Man!" Cache hissed and glanced at the servers.
The server group hummed and raw data began to assemble to give way to the aforementioned three Navis: their eyes were tinted in a reddish and purplish color as well.
"Magic Fire!"
"Grand Burner!"
"Fire Tower!"
"Blood: pick Heat Man. Sigma: pick Fire Man. I'll handle Magic Man. You know it already: they're very frail and weak so just one or two blows should be enough to delete these things." Omega didn't lose his composure as he forwarded commands.
"Huh? Commander Omega, sir… What's that?"
"What is? Huh?"
A "puddle" had suddenly dropped from the ceiling atop Magic Man and he seemed to ignore it as the deadly enemy's arms suddenly drew their blades and swung across the air thus actually beheading Magic Man and making the head meet the ground to roll on it: the main body collapsed and the "puddle" quickly climbed up Fire Man's body to pluck both blades into the eyes: Fire Man growled and covered them but then the blades got driven into his body from behind to emerge from the front piercing the chest emblem: the "puddle" cut off Heat Man's arms before plunging both blades into his head from above: the three of them were deleted before any of the other four could move just as more "puddles" began to drop from the ceiling and give birth to more enemies.
"Fuck. Those are some programs the other "Admin" fucker came up with according to Zero! They're invincible!" Vadous cursesd.
"You can't be serious." Omega growled.
"I'm serious! According to his data they regenerate without end and multiply: before you know it they'll have overwhelmed you guys! Zero tried Flame – Attribute Battle Chips but they didn't work either!" He explained to them.
"Shit. So we gotta pull out?"
"Yeah. I think "Nebula Grey" wants to take this guy out so he'll actually do us a favor… And I don't want to risk you guys!"
"Shit. You heard Boss! Let's pull out before those things overwhelm us as well!"
The three of them shot some attacks at the enemies to push them back before they ran into the gateway and it closed: Cache gasped and jumped into the air to summon Elec Man, Colored Man and Thunder Man next to attack the enemies whose numbers were growing: struggle ensued but the enemy's numbers were quickly turning the tables.
"Hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah!"
"Who goes there?"
"MUGRO~H!"
"Hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah! Weak! Powerless! The stronges, you say? Don't make me laugh! Only I deserve being called as such! Damned interloper!"
The "monster" appeared followed by the typical laughter but this time around the "monster" seemed to be solid and not a hologram: it suddenly swung its right arm forward and gripped Cache who was struggling to break free: it formed some bluish needles which bombarded the "Phantom Navis" and immobilized them as the enemies jumped towards them and began to slice them into multiple pieces: they quickly got deleted without being able to fight back.
"You lowlife are an obstacle to my plans! I'll slowly and painfully delete you and your plans will be but a threat!"
"W-who the hell!"
"Hah! My name is "Nebula Grey"! And soon this world will be ruled by me as per the commands of the great and invincible "IQ – sama"! Now die in a slow and painful manner: let anger, hatred and grudge fill your soul and wander the Afterworld as a vengeful spirit!"
The monster then began to squeeze Cache who roared and then the enemies began to plunge the swords into his body one after the other before he was set on fire and deleted amongst roars of agony…
10:47 AM (Japan Time)…
"… I guess they got quite satisfied with our simplified summary. It was funny that it took them a while to catch up."
"Yeah. They're somewhat slow to catch on."
Netto and Saito were chatting animatedly while walking down the streets of Akihara once they'd parted ways their friends: they ended up in the block where Akihara Gym was at, which was closed and there was a note on the door.
"CLOSED FOR HOLIDAYS UNTIL 16/7/2005"
They then spotted a familiar person sitting in a nearby bench and reading the daily newspapers.
"Yamato – sensei!" They both greeted.
"Ah. Hello, Netto – san and Saito – san." He smiled at them as he looked up from the newspapers.
"You knew, right?" Saito asked.
"Yeah. I did. But my classes were useful. Weren't they?" He replied with a smile.
"Huh… How do you manage to do it? I mean the disguise." Netto shyly asked.
"Let's just say the neck is filled with some sensors which allow the color to change and blend with the surroundings." He explained.
"Cool."
"Well then. I'll be on my way. Take care!"
"Alright, niisan. Let's go to the shopping mall and try out some sneakers for ya and some shirts: we need to build up your wardrobe!"
"Sure! Operation: Wardrobe has begun sponsored by Mr. X!"
Both laughed at Saito's joke and clasped their hands…