Chapter 24: Prelude to a showdown
11:49 AM (Japan Time), Sunday January the 13th…
"… Heh, heh, heh… Let's see… Oh? We have company?"
"… You lowlife!"
"My. The Flashy Idiot."
"How dare you!"
"So! Ya wanted to repeat that of 3 years ago by messing with the DNN TV Station's antennas?"
"Hmpf."
Sigma had stumbled upon Flash Man inside of one Cyber World: Flash Man looked angered while Sigma looked amused.
"Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Hah, hah, ha~h!" He exclaimed in a rush.
The Neon Lights traveled towards Sigma but he simply stood still: they bounced off what looked like an umbrella-shaped energy shield colored like a rainbow: Flash Man gasped as the Neon Lights hit him instead and he roared in pain.
"Damn. 20% by my own attacks…! Flash Light!"
Two light bulbs with a column formed and shot out electricity towards Sigma: he merely used his free hand to absorb it and then shot it back at Flash Man.
"Grah! You reverse the polarity…! I've lost 30%...! Neon Light!" He growled aloud.
He tried shooting another Neon Light at Sigma but he used his sword to bounce it off: his eyes suddenly shone and two red lasers swept the ground around Flash Man thus drawing a circle: that area was bathed in flames and Flash Man roared.
"Uo~h!"
"Heh."
"You lowlife~!" Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light!" He roared.
"Cheap!" Sigma laughed.
He warped and dropped down from above while holding his sword parallel to the ground: the hit sent Flash Man flying and crashing against a wall: he cursed and faced Sigma again.
"Damn! One attack makes me lose 25% of my HP…!" He cursed.
"Wanna brawl?" Sigma taunted.
"Shit. Neon Light!"
Sigma calmly grabbed it with his left hand and quickly closed it around Flash Man's head: he roared as he was electrocuted by the obviouslty amplified voltage and dropped into his knees.
"Another 20% lost…! 75% lost…! But I won't give up!" He cursed.
"Come at full power!" Sigma challenged.
"Fine! Spark Palm!"
His two palms frizzled with electricity and he jumped towards Sigma: he merely swung his sword 180º starting at the left and the hit left a large dent on Flash Man's body while making him fly out and hit the ground.
"90% lost…! If I keep on, then… I'll begin to take atmospheric damage into me…! Shit…!" He cursed.
"Wanna give it up?" Sigma suggested.
"Shut up…! Shut up…! Spark Palm! Die~!" He hissed.
He jumped across the air but Sigma quickly plunged his large sword through his body: Flash Man made a guttural sound as his bomb program was triggered and he blew up: no data was left behind.
"Heh, heh, heh. Gotcha! Flash Gordon's Descendant!"
11:58 AM (Japan Time)…
"… Hmmm… It'd seem Mr. Voltage wants to mess around with the local weather if you're wandering around this cell phone signal antenna…"
"How dare you!"
"Heh, heh, heh. Now make us a favor and go back to your HQ."
"Shaddup! The great I will defeat you lowlife!"
"Come on, Elec Man… I know all of your attacks: I've fought you in VR simulations lots of time. I can be done with you in barely two minutes for your information."
"Gloat while you can! Lightning Flare!"
"My, my! Can't be helped! Charged shotgun shot!"
"Ugoh!"
Blood Shadow was facing Duplicate Elec Man: he'd just managed to land a shot on him from a close distance and the guy had to recoil.
"Elec Sword! Hra~h!"
"Hmmm… Gotcha."
Blood Shadow grabbed it with his left hand and seemingly absorbed it: the energy flowed into the shotgun and speeded the load up to D Elec Man's utter disbelief.
"I simply changed its polarity!" He grinned.
"Why, you…!" Elec Man cursed.
"Hmmm… Aha." Blood Shadow muttered.
He suddenly warped and appeared in front of D Elec Man: he placed the shotgun on the right shoulder and shot: the attack tore it off and D Elec Man groaned.
"I-impossible… I've lost 39% of my HQ by now…! Lightning Flare!" Elec Man groaned.
Blood Shadow calmly absorbed it and blew up the other arm: D Elec Man hissed but then found the shotgun being aimed at his chest.
"You're a danger to Network Society, so… No hard feelings." Blood Shadow calmly told him.
He shot through him and detonated the bomb program along the way: Elec Man roared in agony before he was blown up into unsalvageable pieces of data.
"Too easy, even… I'm afraid something else is waiting for me." He grimly muttered.
"Snake Arrow!"
Blood Shadow quickly dodged as D Snake Man appeared inside of the Cyber World: he'd been colored black and brown and his eyes were red while an army of small black snakes formed files around him thus protecting him.
"D Snake Man… So you sent D Elec Man as bait?"
"Correct, Net Savior!" D Snake Man replied.
"Sorry. But I'm not a Net Savior. I'm an ally of justice." Blood Shadow calmly corrected.
"Whatever! Go! Snake Bite!"
D Snake Man hid in the jar and suddenly shot forward at a mad speed while opening his fangs: Blood Shadow put the shotgun's barrel inside before delivering a kick to the upper body: D Snake Man was forced to return to his original position.
"Snake Buster!"
He took out two busters and began to bombard Blood Shadow's position: he got hit by some of the shots but paid no heed to them as some black objects appeared and repaired the wounds at a quick speed to D Snake Man's utter surprise.
"Auto – repair nanomachines are useful, aren't they?"
"Damn." He hissed.
"So? What are you gonna do?"
"Snake Arrow, Chainshot!"
Several of the snakes shot towards Blood Shadow: he drew a Fire Sword and sliced them off while setting them on fire: D Snake Man looked impatient by now as evidenced by his grimace.
"Snake Bite! The end!"
"Wrong."
Blood Shadow quickly severed the upper section of the body and it fell into the ground: he groaned and tried to crawl back but his body began to emit bursts of light.
"No…! The anti-capture code…! IMPOSSIBLE~!" He roared.
He also was destroyed by his bomb and Blood Shadow sighed in relief.
"Two in a row. Heh, heh, heh. I guess Sigma will be mad at me!" He muttered with some amusement on his voice.
"Mwah, hah, hah. Now we're matched, Bloody~ Shadowy~! I just beat the punk Colored Man's evil brother-in-law!"
"What in the… That sounds too silly!"
"…and thus the demise shall bring forth the stirring mystical energies of the Universe to become one with it and…" Dragon's Hell voice intoned.
"Dragon… Grhtxjl! Anger God: Descend!"
"By Master Confucius!" Dragon Hell actually gasped.
"Mugro~h! ANGER! I AM… ANGER GOD! ME… RULE EARTH!"
THUD!
"Whoa! He actually fainted? Dragon… You're WEIRD. Really."
"Hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah! Blood: 100! Dragon: 0! Mwah, hah, hah!"
12:13 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Hiya~! Who's in for a meteor shower tonight?"
"Give it up, Darkloid."
"What… Commander Search Man's "Original"… This might be interesting, even! Heh, heh, heh. Shooting Star Shower!"
"Crap."
Search Man had to jump into the air to dodge the attacks which came out of the portal Star Man opened: he then floated into the air and lifted his arms.
"Meteor!"
Some meteors rained down around Search Man and he cursed as he tried to take aim.
"Scope Gun!"
"Slow!"
Star Man quickly dodged and opened another portal: five-pointed stars began to fly out and bombard the area: Search Man jumped from one to the other and aimed his Scope Gun again.
"Scope Gun!"
Star Man dropped towards the ground but the shot had been intended to meet him in mid-descent: it hit his forehead and forced him to momentarily lower his guard.
"Search Grenades!"
Search Man threw them around Star Man and they detonated thus inflicting some damage into him.
"How dare you…! Meteor!"
"Freeze Bullet!"
"No way!"
Search Man froze the meteors and then aimed behind him to freeze Star Man's legs and he tried to attack him from behind.
"There are no blind spots for Search Man." Laika smugly announced.
"Crap. Shooting Star Shower!"
Star Man opened the portal: several fast beams of light flew out towards Search Man and made contact, but a log appeared on his place.
"No way!" Star Man gasped.
Four shuriken got stuck into his body from behind and he dropped into his knees from their weight: Search Man landed in front of him and calmly aimed the Scope Gun.
"Crap AND CRAP. I've lost 36% of my HP already… I've gotta turn serious, or else… Meteor!"
"Same trick won't work twice." Laika grinned.
"Freeze Bullet! Search Grenades!"
The Freeze Bullet froze the meteors and the Search Grenades rolled across the ground at Star Man's feet: three explosions rang out and he yelped as he tried to shield himself.
"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In!"
"Mugen Vulcan!"
The shots from the Program Advance inflicted a high level of damage to Star Man and he shrieked as he stepped back: he looked rather angered by now and ready to kill anything.
"81%! I've lost 81% of my HP…! How dare you…! I'll slaughter you and make mincemeat of you to drop you into Hell! Metors! Shooting Star Shower! The end!"
He shot both meteors and shooting stars at Search Man but he didn't look worried in the least.
"Area Steal, Samurai Sword!"
Search Man warped and appeared in front of Star Man: he made a superficial cut from the left shoulder until the right hip and he yelled again.
"No way…! 91% damage…! I'm losing 1.5 HP per second…! And my max HP capped at 1800, so I'm now at 162 HP…! At this speed… I'll be dead in 1 minute 48 seconds…!" He gasped.
"Search Man! Don't attack the target unless it strikes. Even if we don't do anything, it'll be deleted in about a minute and a half." Laika calmly commanded.
"Roger, Laika – sama."
"Why, you…! Meteor! Meteor! Meteor! Delete~!"
Search Man calmly jumped away and dodged while Star Man threw the meteors at random across the area: he was becoming weaker with each second and he finally collapsed.
"1 minute has passed, so… He lost 90 HP… He should have about 72 HP left by now. 48 seconds more and he'll be deleted." Search Man calmly calculated.
"Careful. He might try to turn kamikaze." Laika warned.
"Hra~h! Code 222! DIE~!" He exclaimed.
He self-destructed and nothing remained of him: Search Man cancelled his combat mode.
"Enemy self-destruction: confirmed." He reported.
"Good job. Return." Laika commanded.
"Roger, sir."
"Mwah, hah, hah! "The blade shall blade the soul"…" Sigma quoted all of a sudden over the radio.
"What in the… That's… impossible!" Laika groaned.
"When will he stop printing those pointless banners?"
12:27 PM (Japan Time)…
"… So… The California Gold Rush culprit is here."
"Watch your words, emissary of the Naraku!"
"Hmpf."
"Shadow Man!"
"Cosmo Man… So you guys dared to show your hide around. Hmpf. It might worth my time, after all, even."
Shadow Man was facing Cosmo Man: the second looked angered while Shadow Man was cool.
"And you showed up at the Fort Knox gold depot… Fitting."
"Grftjx! Cosmo Buster! "Neo Gospel" is still around! We'll prove our might to you lowlifes before we rise again to full power!"
"Slow."
Shadow Man suddenly vanished and left a log on his place: Cosmo Man gasped and quickly turned around to block him as he came from behind.
"You lowlife!"
"Hmpf. Classical." Shadow Man muttered.
"Cosmo Ring!"
The attack hit Shadow Man given the proximity with Cosmo Man and he had to push back: he drew his katana and assumed a combat pose while Cosmo Man readied his fists.
"Cosmo Gate!"
A gateway opened in the "sky" and several planetoid-shaped brown-colored objects rained down and bombarded the area: Shadow Man calmly ran around the area and then tried to hit Cosmo Man: he delivered a punch to Shadow Man's torso and sent him flying across the area to then land hard in the ground: Cosmo Man formed a smug grin on his face.
"Damn. This guy is big and fast… Guess we'll need something different, Miyabi." He grumbled.
"Hmmm… Let's try the Shadow Clone approach." Miyabi calmly suggested to him.
"Shadow Clone!"
"What!" Cosmo Man gasped.
All of Shadow Man's copies attacked at the same time: Cosmo Man could strike at some of them but others left wounds on his body: he growled and drew the Cosmo Ring.
"Cosmo Ring! Cosmo Buster!"
The combination took out all Shadow Men but a rain of shuriken descended upon him and plunged into different spots of his body: he growled and stepped back.
"Damn. 15% damage already… Hmpf. So you will fight a bit. But how long will that trick last?" He muttered.
He suddenly jumped into the air and began climbing up.
"Running away? I won't let it." Shadow Man muttered.
He began to chase after Cosmo Man: he suddenly turned around and let go of the handrail: he fell on top of Shadow Man and made him get crushed into the ground: Shadow Man groaned.
"How's that like?" Cosmo Man taunted.
"Why, you…!" Shadow Man cursed.
"Area Steal!" Miyabi commanded.
Shadow Man warped and panted as he drew his katana.
"Recovery 200!"
"Good. Shadow Blade!"
"Hmpf. Weak!"
Cosmo Man used his thick armlets to block the spur of attack and then suddenly kicked Shadow Man in the face: Shadow Man recoiled but Cosmo Man was already there.
"Cosmo Buster!"
"Whack!"
Shadow Man howled something and tried to recover: he warped to a higher level but Cosmo Man was already waiting for him: he barely dodged his next swing of fists by ducking and then jumped down but Cosmo Man happened to be two steps ahead of him.
"Damn. This guy is no joke even without their "Dark Generator" they loved to use in the summer! Then again, Search Man was the only who could delete me three years ago when the Control X stuff…" He grumbled.
"Those sandals make you slow, assassin. You'll know what powerlessness means soon enough." Cosmo Man grinned.
"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword!"
"Dream Sword!"
"What!"
The attack hit Cosmo Man and he howled in pain as an explosion ensued: he panted and stepped back but looked in top shape.
"Hah… I've lost 45% of my HP, so… I've still got 1100 HP left. The same trick won't have effect on me twice." He grinned.
"Shuriken Needles!"
"Slow."
Cosmo Man ignored them and kicked Shadow Man before delivering an uppercut which pushed him into a higher level: he warped there and attacked but a log appeared on Shadow Man's place and he got four shuriken on his back: he spun around in a blur and kicked Shadow Man on the chest area thus propelling him into the ground level again: he jumped down and tried attacking but the kawarimi trick fooled him.
"Damn. Now I've lowered my guard and damage escalated to 60%...! 800 HP left… Enough!" He muttered.
"Hmpf. Same trick does work twice." Shadow Man taunted.
"You lowlife." Cosmo Man hissed.
"The Naraku is howling to have your soul." Shadow Man announced.
"Naraku Man." Cosmo Man made a smug smile.
"Hmpf." Shadow Man looked unimpressed.
"Cosmo Gate!"
The planetoids bombarded the area around Cosmo Man and intercepted Shadow Man when he tried to go for a sneak approach: Cosmo Man punched him and kicked him several times before a planetoid hit him fully: Shadow Man managed to stand and looked exhausted.
"Well! It'd seem you wish to die again. I'll make your wish come to be, assassin! Say farewell!" He grinned.
"Muramasa Blade!"
"No way!"
Shadow Man slashed with the cursed blade and provoked a deep wound to open on Cosmo Man's chest: he howled and dropped to his knees.
"Damn. I made 650 HP of damage to him and he returned 500 to me in one hit… I've got 300 HP left, so… I've lost 85% of my total HP! This is starting to look awry…" He muttered.
"How was that?" Shadow Man taunted.
"Hmpf. You tricked me… But you can only carry one Muramasa Blade in your folder. You won't be able to use it twice. Cosmo Buster!"
"Straw Doll!"
The Straw Doll was hit and glowed with purple energy: it returned some of the damage at Cosmo Man: he howled.
"Damn it. Farewell!"
He opened the "gateway" and flew inside of it before it closed: Miyabi sighed in relief.
"Huff… This one was the biggest challenge I've had in years. I need to train myself more: point taken." Shadow Man sighed in relief as he slowly placed the katana back inside of the holster.
"Yeah. I guess I didn't take them too seriously."
"Your problem, Miyabi, is superstition."
"Guess so…" Miyabi rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Let's go back and slice some Viruses messing around: a change of airs will do me fine." Shadow Man shrugged.
"Roger, General." Miyabi grinned.
"Heh, heh, heh. So, assassin." A voice rang out in the real world.
"Dr. Regal!" Miyabi grumbled and looked left.
"I still remember your smug grin when I told you I'd realized why you wanted so badly to destroy "Control X" about 3 years ago. Yuriko was there and grinning. And you offered me those damned "Dark Chips" to lure me in." Shadow Man fumed.
"Hmpf."
"Regal! Found you. What. Trying to elude the Net Police vigilance?" Dr. Wily's voice grumbled.
"Who knows, Father? Maybe you're the one doing that?"
"GRHJTX! Listen to me, Regal! It's about time you at least tried to say "I apologize"! Have you even tried?"
"Hmpf. Who would bother to see me for anything else? I am a freak to begin with, Father." Dr. Regal taunted back.
"JEEZ! We'll settle this on the apartment! You need some scolding!"
12:51 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Huh? A mail… From that Sidier guy!"
"What!"
Netto and Saito were still inside of the command bridge: Vadous had resumed his place and was typing into the computer when Netto's Link PET beeped and he gasped upon seeing the contents of the email he'd received.
"Eh… "Rock Man: I challenge you to an honorific duel in the old WWW Base. Dark Ryuusei – sama will be referee and anyone else you might want to bring along as witness is welcomed to watch: it'll be a fair and noble battle. I'll be waiting for you by 13:30 PM, so try to be punctual. Mazokuchou Sidier." … What should we do?" Netto asked.
"Hmmm… If he openly invites any witnesses, then he must want to prove he pretends to play fair. And I guess that Dark Ryuusei guy is not fond of cheat codes, either. Let's leave your cyborg body here, Saito, and go meet them. Omega will come along as witness." Vadous decided.
"Roger, sir. I'm eager to see what kind of tricks that guy uses: I'm ready for anything." Saito grinned.
"But… We're gonna fight because it's a challenge, right? I mean…" Netto argued.
"I know. No hard feelings."
"Good enough. Let's get on the move: this battle promises to be important, after all." Vadous nodded in agreement.
The three of them stepped down from the command bridge and entered a small bedroom which had a bed, a small desk and a cupboard: Saito climbed on it and transferred into the PET: Netto nodded to Vadous and they exited the room.
"Let's go: an important battle is waiting for us." He commanded.
"Roger! And we'll fight fair and square as Net Saviors!"