Chapter 34: The power of bonds
11:03 AM (Spain Time), Friday December the 30th…
"… W-WHOA!"
The glow began to diminish to give way to several Navis aligned in a row inside of the garage.
"Yessir! The Dynamic Duo is here!"
"Ho, ho, ho!"
"Ground Man and Dust Man!" "CF" Blues uttered.
"Hmmm!"
"Tengu Man!" "CF" Laika exclaimed.
"Slice 'em up!"
"Slash Man!" "CF" Netto gasped.
"Charge 'em!"
"Charge Man!"
"Hah, hah, hah! Festival, festival! Bloody festival!"
"Killer Man…!" "CF" Laika exclaimed.
"Operation: start!"
"The "Beyondard" Shark Man too…!" "CF" Netto exclaimed.
"Heh, heh, heh."
"Skull Man!"
"Hro~h!"
"Wood Man, too!" Saito gasped.
"There's nothing I can't burn!"
"Whoa! Even Fire Man…!" "CF" Netto muttered aloud.
"Tee, heh, heh! The "WWW" Team attacks!"
"Colored Man…!" "CF" Miyabi was taken aback.
"Who's up for a million volts shower?"
"Elec Man!" "CF" Yuriko gasped.
"We shall display our power!"
"And Magic Man…! Whoa!" "CF" Netto was awed.
There were a total of sixteen Navis (counting Iris, Trill and Bubble Man) standing there.
"Okay! The "WWW Team" will go for the robot thing!" Magic Man announced.
"We'll help deal with the armored grunt!" Shark Man announced.
"J-just how did they…?" "CF" Obihiro gasped in disbelief.
"Damn. The "Eye"! The lowlife arranged for this!" Sidier hissed.
"Trill: go." Iris told him.
"Netto! Saito! Let's go!" Trill called out for them as he ran towards them while smiling.
"No way…!" "CF" Obihiro gasped.
Iris closed her eyes and clasped her hands while building up energy: Trill became a sphere of energy and his power surrounded "CF" Netto's body with an intense blue aura.
"It can't be…!" Hunter Man cursed.
"The power of the "Synchronizer"…!" Death gasped.
The light dimmed and "CF" Netto had gained a new form which looked like a fusion of both "Greiga" and "Falzer" the main color of which was white and it included the wings, the "lion head helmet", and a tail as well as claws and talons: something about it gave off a vibe of power which could be felt across the room.
"That form…! No way…! The 3rd "Bestialize Style"…!" "CF" Obihiro gasped.
"Yeah. Get ready, Obihiro!" "CF" Netto challenged.
"Ice Stage!"
The ground beneath the Mecha Arachnus froze, and it skidded along it in a crazy way until it hit the left wall with a loud CRASH sound.
"Freeze Man…?" Forte wondered.
Freeze Man jumped inside of the room and walked over to Forte while the Mecha Arachnus struggled to recover control.
"Forte. Or should I say… Gospel Shuryou?" Freeze Man announced.
"What!" Forte gasped.
"I thought so." Freeze Man smiled.
"S-since when…?"
"Oh. Maybe two weeks ago, more or less… I began thinking back but what got my nose is that you'd left by the time I finished repairs after the Sharo Tower Battle." Freeze Man admitted.
"Uh… Well… I thought you wouldn't want to help others unless I pretended to be your boss…" Forte admitted.
"I'm not angry at it. It was a good lesson for me: I've redeemed for some of my sins. So… I'm going to fight alongside you."
"… Fine. Do as you like." Forte invited with a smile.
"Why, you…!" Death grumbled from inside of the machine.
"Ice Tower!"
"Hell's Buster!"
"Fire Arm!"
"Fire Tower!" Colored Man announced.
"Magic Fire!"
"Lighting Flare!"
The four former WWW Navis along with Forte and Frezee Man attacked Mecha Arachnus.
"Go!"
The Ice Tower tossed it upside down and it slid around its own axis while being out of control: Forte's shots bounced off but increased the spin rate while the legs waved into the air in vain.
"DAMN YOU~!"
The fire attacks began to melt the alloy while Elec Man overloaded all exposed circuitry with his electrical attacks.
"No matter how thick an alloy is: it's still metal!" Elec Man began.
"And no matter how powerful it is: it still has a melting point!" Fire Man added.
The three Navis directed the fire attacks at the front of the vehicle: a blue beam suddenly shot out and attached to Fire Man: he struggled to break free but his attack's power began to decrease until he dropped into the ground while being seemingly in very low HP.
"What the heck?" Colored Man wondered.
A red beam shot out next and attached to him: it suddenly let go and quickly attached to the other two for a second: the Navis quickly collapsed and their chest emblems glowed with a pale red light.
"… Did you think that level of power would be enough to defeat me? You damned herd of fools… Feel the power of my anger!" Death's icy voice rang out.
The atmosphere seemed to freeze all of a sudden and the temperature lowered even though the garage shutter had been lowered: ice began to form on the walls and ceiling while the color changed to a pallid blue tone as if to indicate the coldness of the room.
"Shit." Forte growled.
A bluish fog emerged from the wrecked Mech Arachnus and Death slowly floated out of it before standing on the ground: he signaled Forte's forehead with his left hand's index finger: the shi Kanji was drawn on it and Forte clutched his head while he yelled in apparent pain.
"My mark is like the scar Potter has… It reacts whenever I am close… And it brings upon unbearable pain… The only method to be free of it is to enter the eternal sleep…" He announced.
"You lowlife…!" Freeze Man hissed.
"My blue beam robs HP: my red beam inflicts a bug which drains all HP but 1 of the enemies! I upgraded it." He announced next.
"Damn. I thought as much: this guy is no joke!" Freeze Man made a grimace.
"And do not mistake me for an Ice – Elemental "Darkloid": I have no element. Death Spiral Beam!"
Death's body glowed and his arm cannon charged up energy before shooting a bluish beam of energy shaped like a spiral: it cleaved through Freeze Man's body and he opened his mouth wide as he collapsed on the ground.
"Ugh… I have to retreat…!"
He quickly dematerialized while Forte managed to climb up to his feet while looking furious.
"You lowlife… You've asked for it!" He roared.
A purplish shape formed behind Forte: "Nebula Grey": Death actually stepped back.
"…"Nebula Grey"…! The evil soul of man turned into data by the evil Dr. Regal…! The source of all "evil"…!" He muttered.
"Eh? Ah. That must be how it was in you lowlife's universe, but… This was a result of Twilight merging with the "Wily Program" and igniting "Spectrum" a little over a year ago…"
"Sheesh."
"I absorbed a bellyful of a giant bug in the Reverse Cyber World! And this power defeated Slur!" Forte announced.
"Damn." Death muttered.
"Darkness Over…!"
"Boost Ball!"
Death suddenly morphed into a sphere no bigger than a basket ball with grooves drawn on the sides: it looked like it was made of two dome-shaped pieces with a little space left in the middle: the sphere suddenly boosted towards Forte's face while leaving a reddish halo of energy behind its trail.
"What in the…?" Forte gasped.
The sphere hit him on the face and knocked him into the ground: Forte then found a small oval-like metallic object with a vertical pattern drawn on the middle of it: that thing was glowing.
"Shit."
He got rid of it and jumped away just as a brutal explosion shattered the whole ice in the room and heated up the atmosphere.
"What destructive power…!" He gasped.
"… Groa~h! Stay back, you lowlifes…!"
"Rock Crush Breaker!"
"Go, Ground Man!"
Ground Man had lifted Sidier, rammed him on the wall and was now drilling into his body with his two drills while Dust Man was helping him apply more force.
"Go, go!"
"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Festival! Bloody festival! Slice 'em up into pieces!"
The other Navis looked on but failed to notice one of the oval bombs softly rolling across the ground after a blurry quick shape ran across the spot.
"What?" Shark Man gasped.
The explosion took all but Ground Man and Dust Man out by sending them flying and dispersing around the room.
"Huh! I owe ya one, Death!" Sidier called out as he tried to push Ground Man back.
"Deal with those lowlifes. But Forte is my prey." Death called out from inside the sphere as he moved around at a mad speed.
He began to ram into the Navis and further knocked them back until they'd been pushed into the garage: Death then hit the control panel: he broke it and it got switched it to "LOCKED" mode.
"Hah!"
The doors locked up and two energy barriers formed on either side of them, to Iris', Bubble Man's, and the other Navis' surprise.
"Damn." Killer Man growled.
"How are we gonna open them again? The panel on the other side is busted and I doubt it capable of operating again… And Ground Man was the one who got left behind!" Shark Man cursed.
"Trill…!" Iris gasped.
The "Beyonard" Barrel suddenly ran out of the portal while carrying a tool box: he examined the control panel and unscrewed it: he then found the wires beneath it and cut all of them: the energy shield vanished.
"There." He smiled.
"Oh!" Everyone gasped in relief.
"There's nothing which you can't fix with a good old-style pair of pliers: never forget that." He announced with a smug smile.
The doors suddenly exploded as Ground Man and Dust Man were pushed back by the expanding shockwave: they hit the ground and groaned in pain.
"Uh… We managed to break about 70% of that guy's armor… Man! It was thicker than the "Rocks of Steel", even!" Ground Man reported.
"Man… Who the hell is that morph-able guy?" Dust Man cursed.
The group looked inside: Sidier had indeed lost most of the armor around the head, legs and arms but his central body still retained a lot of it: he'd summoned eight electricity spheres and was giving trouble to "CF" Laika and "CF" Yuriko: Miyabi had been knocked out of the fight.
"Looks bad." Barrel grumbled.
Forte was trying to dodge and fight the sphere but it was way too fast even for his Hell's Buster rounds.
"Stay still, you lowlife!" He roared.
"Excuse me… What is his name?" Iris asked Bubble Man.
"Huh? Forte – sama, puku…" Bubble Man replied.
"Forte – sama! Please calm down! The enemy is trying to incite you to use rage and hatred to fight it: it will only fuel it!" Iris called out.
"What? Oh! I see… He wants to play Sith Lord, then!" Forte realized, seemingly snapping out of his angry mood.
"Sheesh. Bothersome woman." Death grumbled.
Forte quickly ran and got in the middle of the entrance so as to block Deaht from trying to attack Iris.
"No more playing around… I shall get serious!" Death announced.
He resumed his normal form and spun around the air while generating some kind of static electricity form shaped like a screw: it hit Forte and he was electrocuted.
"Uack!"
"I cannot do Force Lighting but I think this shall compensate for it." Death announced.
"Grr… Huh! Gotta cool it down…!" Forte muttered.
Death landed on the ground and opened his arm cannon: five missiles shot out and flew towards Forte's head, shoulders and knees: Forte gasped and used the Hell's Buster to intercept them out of instinct.
"Is that all?" Death taunted.
"Darkness Over…!"
"Gra~h!"
He was interrupted as "CF" Laika was kicked across the air, flew past him, and landed inside of the truck's cargo area: his "Cross Fusion" broke up from the crash.
"Ya~h!"
"CF" Yuriko and Miyabi fell on top of "CF" Laika and also got knocked out of her "Cross Fusion" form although Miyabi was already out cold.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!" Sidier laughed as he walked towards them.
"Crap." They all muttered.
"Nothing! Nothing can stop me!" He laughed.
"Sheesh! Hell's Sickle!"
"Fin Cutter!"
"Woody Tower!"
"Bone Stalker!"
"Dust Break!"
"Rock Crush Breaker!"
"Volcano Charge!"
"Rolling Slasher!"
"Tengu Thrust!"
The attacks hit Sidier and made some more patches of armor fall down but he only laughed like a psycho.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah! You bothersome bunch of fools! Eat sword!"
He drew the two swords and quickly dashed around: he slashed some of the Navis before they could react and suddenly landed in front of Iris: Barrel shielded her and took out a steel rood.
"Heh, heh, heh. I know some people who would pay fine to have such merchandise." He announced.
"You lowlife…!" Barrel hissed.
"Sidier! Are you trying to provoke me?" Yamikawa called out in an irritated tone of voice through his ear pads.
"Emperor S – sama! I apologize! I got carried away, sir…!" He quickly saluted.
"Be serious!" Yamikawa growled.
"Y-yes, sir! By your orders, sir!" He confirmed.
"Now!" Barrel rallied.
The Navis attacked Sidier again but he ignored them and headed back inside of the main room while swinging his swords upwards: some diamonds formed and joined to create a barrier of sorts at both sides of the destroyed opening.
"Obihiro! How are you handling it?" Sidier called out.
"CF" Obihiro had been pushed into the ground and "CF" Netto was gripping his chest emblem while seemingly trying to force the cancellation of his "Cross Fusion": the shotgun was broken and revealed "CF" Obihiro's right forearm inside of there.
"Grah! The Synchronizer's power is no joke! Gimme a hand!"
"Gladly. Take this!"
Sidier kicked "CF" Netto on the neck: he let go of "CF" Obihiro out of instinct and Sidier then kicked his lower jaw to separate them: "CF" Netto, however, was able to form an orb of energy and shot it at "CF" Obihiro.
"Gra~h!"
His "Cross Fusion" was undone and he lost consciousness as the Link PET hit the ground and ejected the damaged "Dark Synchro Chip".
"Guess it was no joke, then…" Sidier muttered.
"Yeah! You're next!" "CF" Netto told him as he stood up.
"Firstly, though…" Sidier muttered.
He snapped his right hand's fingers: a "Dimensional Converter" emerged and Obihiro was warped out of the room.
"I sent him to another refuge Emperor S – sama designed." Sidier smugly announced.
"Bring it on!" "CF" Netto challenged.
"Gladly. I'll make Death a favor and slowly kill you off before he delivers the finishing blow." Sidier grinned.
"Do it." Death commanded.
He was transformed into the spheroid and turning Forte nervous as he was able to get a lock on its crazy speed and movements: the bombs he laid out were wrecking the equipment on the room but Death didn't seem to care.
"Shit. Earth Breaker!"
Forte jumped and hit the spheroid as it was shooting towards him: the resulting explosion pushed both of them back and the spheroid began to crack and shatter: it finally broke down and revealed Death's shrunken body which then grew back to normal size.
"My Death Ball was destroyed… It matters not." He muttered.
"Hell's Buster!"
Forte shot several rounds at Death but he ignored them and waved his right hand to freeze the atmosphere again.
"Grappling Beam!"
He shot a pallid blue/white beam at the ceiling and it attached to one of the fans: he used it as grappling point as he swung across the room at kicked Forte's chest with both feet before jumping into the ground and grabbing him with the left hand.
"Hah!"
The Kanji glowed and Forte yelled in pain as Death began to charge up his arm cannon.
"Be gone."
"Grah! Hell's Rolling!"
The two indented wheels hit Death and pushed him back while climbing over his body and keeping on: Forte broke free and aimed his Hell's Buster at the guy.
"So be it. Last Round!" Death challenged.
"Y-yeah! Last Round!" Forte challenged back.
"Go for it, Forte!" "CF" Netto rallied.
"Forte – sama~! Puku~! Ganbare~! Puku~!" Bubble Man animated.
"Do your best, sir!" Iris encouraged.
"Hmpf. So you wanna repeat what happened back when the Twilight Tower day… Can you do it?" Yamikawa challenged over Sidier's radio.
"I don't care! What I care is that this battle ends TODAY!" "CF" Netto shot back while tackling Sidier.
"Huh! No joke, yeah… But that won't be enough, Hikari Brothers!"
"Bring it on!"
"Let's go! Saito – niisan! Trill! This is it! HRA~H!"