Chapter 24: Leadless
03:44 AM (Cape Town Time), Saturday February the 18th…
"… Night. Ain't it lovely, Search?"
The stolen tanker had been parked there and very close to the steep walls around it: pitch-black night tinted the area.
"Will you please quit that nickname, Roll?"
Roll DS was seemingly teasing Search Man DS as they played shogi while glancing at the radar screen from time to time: he looked somewhat exasperated while she was leaning her right foot over his.
"Heh, heh, heh." Zero DS chuckled as he checked the CCTV camera footage across the ship.
"Zero. You're noisy." Search Man DS grumbled.
"Come on, Search… We ain't gonna quarrel between ourselves like neophytes, are we?"
"No. But I don't think teasing is part of our moral code." Search Man DS dully replied.
"Ah. But Ophiucus Queen DS is always teasing Purple, so… It amuses me how he tried to make Black take that on. Tee, heh, heh." Roll DS giggled and sounded amused.
"You mean the Gemini Spark DS twins…" Search Man DS looked unimpressed.
"Ah. But you don't see the point. Purple acts just like Rock Man while Black acts like that guy's Operator… And they were designed several years before those two showed up, too! Ironies in life, I guess, or so Emperor S – sama told me." Roll DS grinned.
"Emperor S – sama told you?" Search Man DS looked surprised.
"Of course. He had the tradition of staying some days at the Death Temple, after all. He taught me some tricks, too. Tee, heh, heh." She giggled.
"Solo – sama also taught me some skill when it came to swords: but he set me on guard regarding Breaker Types." Zero DS commented.
"Speaking of which… What are we waiting for, anyway?" Search Man DS suddenly asked.
"A truck… I dunno who's supposed to bring it, but Lord Sidier told me it was to come around this time. It'll use our communications channel. We're to unload its container into the new plane's storage area and leave it untouched: Lord Sidier will take care of the rest. He headed back to the Great Sky Temple to receive instructions from Emperor S – sama." Zero DS explained.
"Ah. Now I get why we're here trying to stay awake at 3:52 AM local time." Search Man DS muttered.
"Did you really Zero DS would do that out of orders, Search – chan?" Roll DS teased.
"That "chan" was unnecessary." He grumbled.
"Oh. Maybe I should call in Mr. Blueberry and have him play Trumps without walls or ceiling?" Roll DS teased.
"In the middle of the open…? With this heat…?" Search Man DS looked surprised.
"Heh. Sans walls means sans time limit… Sans ceiling means sans bet amount cap… A game which only the money-filled guys can afford: that's what it means." Zero DS chuckled.
"Huh. Then I'll keep on shogi." Search Man DS looked slightly taken aback by the announcement.
"Tee, heh, heh. Our big boy is showing up his callous side, as Shadow Man named it."
"That callous thing is a mask." He calmly replied.
"Mujura's Mask, you mean?" Zero DS joked.
"Jeez." He grumbled.
10:58 AM (Japan Time)…
"… I'm home!"
"Welcome!
Saito stepped on the house and took out his shoes: he put his slippers on and then headed towards the stairs.
"Netto – kun is upstairs?"
"Correct. He's been working on the school homework. But I allowed him to take a break: he'd worked 90% of it up, so he deserved it." Haruka told him.
"There wasn't much stuff, but it was long, so…" Saito seemed to be recalling.
"Ah. Saito. I had to talk to him about your doubts, so… He might act differently. I thought it was about time to know the truth." Haruka whispered.
"… I see. Yeah. You did the right thing, Mama. I'm sure he'll end up understanding it. But don't fret: I now can say for sure that I've always been your child."
"Good! I like that better." Haruka patted his shoulders.
"Ah. But… Please don't spoil me because I'm the niisan… I wouldn't want to be a spoiled person." Saito requested.
"Deal." Haruka looked content.
Saito climbed upstairs and found Netto engrossed in the reading of one of the comics they'd acquired.
"Whoa. You've begun Volume 2, otouto?" Saito asked.
"Huh? Ah! Saito – niisan. Welcome back." Netto looked up.
"Mama told me you've been working hard. I'm proud of you, otouto. You'll get to be a devoted person who cares about doing a job well done, I'd say." Saito told him.
"Thanks, Saito – niisan… If you want Volume 1, it's there, on top of the bed…" Netto signaled.
"Great! I'll enjoy this."
"Did anything particular happen?"
"Oh. Yeah. I met Max. We talked." Saito shrugged.
"Whoa. He was being serious today?" Netto whistled in surprise.
"Tabuu's orders, it'd seem… Anyway… The triumvirate is up to something with that custom ship but they're unable to detect anything else. The guy is still stuck there and he can only make or receive voice traffic data. He's busy patching the power core up." Saito explained.
"Wow. Stuck on his pocket dimension… He must be boiling with impatience." Netto sounded surprised.
"Guess so… Anyway… I'm going to start reading Volume 1." Saito shrugged and grinned.
He jumped into the bed and picked the volume: Netto glanced at his face for a moment: he had a broad smile on his face.
It'd seem Saito – niisan managed to settle his doubts, but… I wouldn't have imagined him going and talking to Max… Maybe he wants to know what his feelings were as copy: what it meant for the guy… And this could've helped him settle his fears away… I guess Saito – niisan will want to have his own time and his own secrets, but… I find it hard to concept. There'd never been secrets… Well… Expect at the beginning… But that was because he wasn't ready to tell me… But something tells me there's more to what happened with Max…
Netto sighed and resumed reading his comic while trying to look absorbed: he soon got thrilled and managed to smile despite his earlier mood.
I guess he'll eventually tell me… I won't force him. I like Saito – niisan as he is and I don't want to lose him. I'll try to help him cast his doubts and fears away…
11:04 AM (Japan Time)…
"… So… It'd seem that the triumvirate is plotting something involving an aircraft which should take off from the hijacked ship."
"Yeah. That's how it looks like given what Rock Man told me."
Forte and Freeze Man were talking inside of their base regarding the intentions of the triumvirate.
"Hmmm… And I got an email from that Max guy: he managed to find out that they're naming this "Omicron Scheme": I looked up uses of the Greek character "Omicron" in Math and other areas… No dice. It's barely used in anything." Forte muttered.
"Maybe the codename is designed to distract us, like how the Thanatos Robots were codenamed STS. Speaking of those… It'd seem the PMC which got the full share of them has been using them against heavy equipment and they're working quite fine. I'm afraid this won't be under control for much longer even with Yamikawa setting his eyes on it." Freeze Man suggested.
"Let's just hope it doesn't lead to a new kind of warfare… We're busy enough over here." Forte grumbled.
"Hmmm…?" Freeze Man suddenly looked behind them.
A package came in and landed on the ground: it had a label.
"For "Mr. Freeze and Fortet… From Bellatrix and the Deatheaters… Avada kedavra!" … Kagehi sent this." Freeze Man read before guessing.
"Harry Potter, huh… They say the final book will come out in the summer and the atmosphere is already boiling up." Forte muttered.
"Let's see what's inside."
"Yeah. I'm picked, too."
They opened the package and found a small USB-like device contained inside of it: Freeze Man accessed it and found a single file in the root directory labeled "F&F mp3".
"MP3 file?"
There was nothing else on the rest of the device's directories.
"Let's check it out… It's about 5MB, so… I guess it's supposed to be close to 5 minutes long." Forte suggested.
Freeze Man engaged it and the sound of church bells rang out along with the howls of owls: some footsteps could be heard walking over grass at a slow and almost hypnotic pace.
"When the church bell rings 12 times, then we've gotta go to the graveyard to keep the rave party up, 'cause the discos all close at 11 PM and they're amateurs so let's go to the graveyard to have a rave party~! F&F are invited over: Mr. Freeze turns the atmosphere into ice and Fortet takes shelter in the church 'cause Rock Man passed his fear of supernatural existences into 'im! Tee, heh, heh! Blow the losing dogs up and bring the greyhounds in to replace 'em! We're gonna dance and shake 'till Raoul Ou – sama jumps into the stage and hijacks it for his macabre dance~! Hyah, hah, hah, hah!" Kagehi's voice rang out along with some imperfect guitar pitches.
Both closed their eyes in pain and tried to block the sound off their ear pads.
"But the guy brought little brother 'long and they both started a race to see who could strike more bowls down before Higure came over and hijacked the system to strike in each of his games, what a dude~! Tee, heh, heh! Shoo, they say, this place is our climax and yer not stealin' for it for yer fake glory~! Go dance at the wharfs and join the party aboard the smuggling ships! Kyah, hah, hah, hah! Boil 'em up 'till only steam is left and then have a long drop of Coca Cola and a bite of Anetta's super – special vegetarian sandwich to rise~! Rise and rinse! Derail and drop! Creak and crash! Hitch and hammer! Hit Raoul's head with a hammer to straighten 'im up and get him off his disco obsession so that he goes round up H stuff for his private use~! Gyah, hah, hah, hah, hah! I'm a genius and the guys out there can't start to match me~! Madonna is outdated and so are all those wannabes: there's only Kagehi Kouhi – sama~!"
"Gruh!"
"Grah!"
"Bring out the instant coffee: I've invented the instant tea~! Nyah, hah, hah! Cat ears will pop out around the city and the Neko Virus will resurrect 'cause Umbrella decided that parody~!" She kept on singing.
"N-no more…!" Forte groaned.
"My sound recognition systems are about to overload…!" Freeze Man groaned.
"So we're gonna end the show here and now but first gotta say Omicron Scheme can't be halted no matter what ya do~! And I'm not boastin' our crazy ol' luck 'round the district 'cause we know it for sure~! Roll it up and rock it down 'till you get Rokku ando Rooru~! Kagehi Kouhi – sama tells ya to brush yer teeth after each meal! Kaboom, boom, SFX! Make those "Darkloids" yell in agony before they blow up like bombs and pots made of fire~! Nyah, hah, hah, hah!" Kagehi ended the song with a loud guitar string sound.
Both Navis wandered around in circles apparently still dizzy from the song and its obvious torture-aimed sharp sounds.
"Damn. Kagehi may not be an S&M sadist but that's because she has enough with her guitar and lyrics so as to physically and psychologically torture people…" Forte groaned.
"I prefer the Synchronizer's yells to that, honestly enough." Freeze Man grimly muttered while he tried to ignore the persistent echo in his ear pads.
"Deal." Forte groaned.
"What's the deal?" Someone asked.
"We finally get to delete Rock Man!"
"We found Freeze Man – sama!"
"See! I told ya it was worth it!"
"Heh! "Gospel" will be comin' back and punish the world!"
Both looked at the entrance and spotted the Cut Man Brothers standing there in their usual introductory tag-pose.
"The Cut Man Brothers…" Freeze Man grumbled.
"Crap. They're still going over that." Forte grumbled.
"Huh? Who's that guy?" Jiirou asked.
"Dunno…" The other four trailed off.
"You guys… Gospel ended over two years ago! Behave yourselves and go to Chinatown!" Forte grumbled.
"But why is Freeze Man – sama…?" Jiirou argued.
"I was resurrected. And I'm no longer you people's superior. Just get out of here." Freeze Man waved his right hand in a dismissing move.
"Sheesh." Jiirou grumbled.
"Whatever." The other four shrugged.
"Hey! Don't get in that guy's tune like that!" Jiirou scolded.
"The timing for all three attempts back when the race was bad and we ended up bad 'cause you attached the bomb to yourself, Jiirou – anichan, remember?" Saburou brought up.
"Yeah! And now Rock Man is nowhere to be found." Shirou grumbled.
"I feel tired." Gorou muttered.
"I told you guys: he must be at the Science Labs!" Rokurou insisted.
"His location doesn't concern you guys: were it not for him, you'd been eaten by Gospel sooner or later." Forte told them.
"Wha~t?" They all asked.
"Dr. Wily used all us: he was only interested on ruling through that cybernetic monster." Freeze Man shrugged.
"Why, you…!" They all grumbled.
"Shah, shah, shah! Some grunts are left 'round 'ere, they say…" A familiar voice rang out.
Needle Man appeared behind them: he had his usual grin on.
"Shah, shah, shah!"
"Needle Man. Has something happened?" Forte asked.
"Not really, but… The diamond mantle guy, Sidier, was seen in a Cape Town WAN Router… His trace vanished from there, but… It'd seem the stolen ship ain't too far from there." Needle Man reported.
"Hum. That's a lead. Maybe it's somewhere in False Bay, even. The place is big enough to hold a whole navy armada." Freeze Man sounded like he had a hunch.
"O-oi! Don't ignore us!" Jiirou protested.
"We told you: we have no use for you guys. Go back and try coming up with something Lupin III would do." Forte told them.
"Lupin III…? We'll look it up: he'll surely give us ideas on how to have our revenge on Rock Man!" Jiirou grinned.
"Cut Man Brothers!"
The five of them ran off while the other three sighed on relief upon shaking them off.
"Shah, shah, shah! What do we do, then? Do we satellite-search False Bay's area?" Needle Man asked.
"We'll deal with that. You can go back." Freeze Man replied.
"Shah, shah, shah! Roger! See ya 'round!"
Needle Man ran off while both of them sighed.
"I'll take care of the satellite… You better go check if any of Rock Man's companions need someone to escort them." Freeze Man suggested.
"Yeah. I'm counting on you."
Forte left Freeze Man alone: he wasted no time in typing into a holographic screen and bringing up satellite imagery of False Bay: he then switched to IR and began zooming into several signatures: some of them were ships and others were the Cape Town suburbs on the coast.
"This'll take a while… " He muttered.
"… 48% restored… I feel like I was sewing a sweater!"
Tabuu was hovering inside of the "pocket dimension": it was mainly unlit and the whirlwind had stopped: all platforms had hit the rocky ground and got stuck there: the power core was a half-repaired mess of patched together components: he was using his hands to work on that.
"At least it'll soon generate enough energy to open a stable "Fossa Ambience" and I will be able to dispatch repairs nanomachines: they'll do a neater job than I can." He muttered.
He patched some more pieces together and then his hands shone with energy before touching the right side of the rebuilt spheroid: it flashed and began to glow in a dim manner with a reddish light.
"At least some light apart from my own wings' one… I can see in the IR and X – Ray spectrum, but… It's not good enough to work with."
"… Good news, Death. The container is on its way to the ship. It'll soon be loaded and the stuff equipped into the new plane. Heh, heh, heh. The "Net Saviors" can't even begin to imagine it."
"Excellent."
Obihiro was reporting to Death as he'd walked into the main room: Death sounded eager as his body glowed with a pale blue halo.
"Humanity has been too fortunate. The hour of judgment has arrived and we shall impose it instead of Duo. Humanity needs to go into a new stage: only those strong enough will survive. The weak ones shall fade and nature will overwhelm the destruction caused by humanity. Let the New Age begin! Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"