Chapter 37: Where Light Reaches To
13:49 PM (Japan Time), Sunday May the 7th…
This is it…! The decisive battle of "Dark" and "Dark"…!
A "Dimensional Area" encompassed the whole of the Earth while the air around Twilight Tower rumbled: Shade Man and Twilight eyed each other: Shade Man made a grimace and Twilight smiled: the skies lost sunlight and became blackish while both the "Commander" and "K. S." looked on.
Let's hope we'll get rid of Twilight like this but… I'm not that confident, knowing this man's origins…
Netto and Enzan were eyeing the situation while standing close to the base of Twilight Tower.
"Cries…" Rock Man suddenly called out.
"Huh?" Netto asked as he picked the Advanced PET II.
"The skies! The cries of the thousands, tens of thousands of Net Navis turned into "Dimensional Area" energy are swirling there…" Rock Man gasped.
Golden sparkles could be seen on the skies as well as occasional thunders as cries of the Net Navis echoed in the area: Forte, using his "Gospel Shuryou" body, eyed the situation while standing atop a nearby tower: he seemed calm.
"Let's go…! TWILIGHT!"
Shade Man lurched forward.
"Heh! Chaos Unison: Vadous Soul!"
Twilight held up a Battle Chip with the Alphabet letter "V" colored purple set inside of a black circle and held it out with his right hand's fingers: his armchair was lowered there with a robot arm: it had been slightly modified since it now had two strange disks placed on both sides of the head rest which were colored black and had a red dome-shaped jewel on their center.
What the hell is that? The "Commander" wondered.
Twilight stepped back and sat in the armchair before he placed the Chip on a slit under the right armrest.
"Slot In!"
There was a blinding purple flash when the two disks energized and created a sphere of energy, which expanded: the light made Shade Man stop in mid-flight and he shielded with his wings.
"Wuoh!"
Those at the ground level also had to shield his eyes.
What's going on?
The sphere dimmed and revealed the standing Twilight: the armchair had mysteriously vanished too.
That form…! What's that?
Twilight had gained a new layer of armor over his body colored in a blackish color and having purple bands around the shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles.
The new form included an armored belt with two sword sheaths colored in a dull gray metallic color and having purple patterns drawn across them attached to the belt.
His helmet design included a new type of armor covering his eyes: two hexagon-shaped Plexiglas slits were placed over the eyes while the mouth-guard gained the looks of a gas mask.
A purple cape with black edges hung from the back of his shoulders and reached all the way to the ground.
Overall he looked terrific enough.
What's that? Some Darth Vader rip-off or wannabe? HMPF! That wouldn't even scare a 5-year-old kid even! The "Commander" seemed to be unimpressed.
Number One's armor… I know the guy's a human but he designed this armor to protect himself… Mocking him, huh? No wonder, Cousin. Seeing what you did "there"…
"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h! I did it! I've evolved! The "Demon Evolution" is a success! Or rather… "Chaos Unison"!"
"Twilight…!" Netto gasped.
"He's corrupted the "Soul Unison" too?" Enzan wondered.
"Chaos Unison"…! But that name seems ironic: I'm sure it forcibly merges a Navi's data with the user…! Saito inwardly made a grimace.
A shadow flew over them and they gasped.
"EAT THIS! HRA~H!"
They looked up and saw Shade Man, who had picked a bus and thrown it towards Twilight: he merely waved his right hand.
"Unending Cyclone!"
A blackish tornado appeared on the middle of the sky and carried the bus away: Shade Man suddenly plunged one of his claws into Twilight from behind and he was propelled forward.
Ah! A distraction.
Twilight floated in the air with the claw sticking out of his chest: he groaned while Shade Man smiled.
"Hmpf! You tried to arm yourself but you humans are brittle existences to begin with! You're destined to be wiped off!"
He plunged his other claw into Twilight, who seemed unfazed, though: he didn't react at the attack.
"Heh. Is that all? Shade Man – dono."
"Huh?" Shade Man did not take an eye off him.
"You won't be able to stand to the "Demon Tribe Chief" that I am!"
He suddenly turned his whole body around as if the claws weren't there: Shade Man was taken aback by it and Twilight crossed his two swords to form the shape of the Alphabet "X" character.
"Double Thunder!"
Shade Man tried to retreat his arm but a burst of purplish electricity destroyed his right arm.
"Uwah!"
"Area Steal!"
Twilight vanished and appeared on front of Shade Man, who had collapsed on his knees from the pain: Twilight kicked him against the wall of the tower thus making Shade Man break it and fall to his fours.
"You were rather reckless in coming to me with revenge in mind."
He lifted Shade Man with his right hand and began to choke him: Shade Man roared while Forte merely turned around and vanished from the area, obviously disappointed.
"Sheesh! I won't allow anyone to use a "Raise Dead" on you again, Shade Man – dono. In that case… I'll remove you from the game!"
Twilight was choking Shade Man's neck using his right hand.
"Shut your trap up!" Shade Man cursed.
Shade Man tried to use his other arm but Twilight just waved the right hand again.
"Vicious Fire!"
Black flames formed and consumed Shade Man's left arm up to the shoulder: he roared in agony.
"Bye-bye, Shade Man – dono! Say hi to your fallen pawns! Double Thunder: Max Power!"
He let go for a moment of Shade Man and yanked him upwards: Twilight quickly drew both swords out.
The finishing blow?
When Shade Man fell back he jumped and plunged both swords into his chest emblem and making them emerge from the back of his body: purplish electricity spread across the body: Shade Man roared before all of his body broke into minuscule pieces of data which scattered: both swords fell into the ground with a loud metallic sound and lay in there.
"Heh… Heh, heh, heh… Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h! The Demon Tribe wins this Duel!"
"THE Shade Man…!" Netto was stunned.
"… Has been deleted in the blink of an eye…!" Enzan exclaimed.
"Netto! Enzan – kun!"
A Science Labs van arrived and Yuuichirou was onboard it.
"Let's go back! We'll design a new plan at the Science Labs!"
They climbed in and the van turned around: Twilight eyed them from the tower and he smiled under the face protection.
"Hmpf! Now then… Before settling it with "K. S."… Let's make a display of our power and remove some eyesores. What's salvageable will be taken care of by the "Secret Empire"… And turned into large profits too: just as "IQ – sama" desired…" He muttered.
He suddenly turned to the left and signaled a dragonfly with his right hand's index finger.
"You dog! You traitor! Did you lowlife really think I'd ignore you forever, huh? No! I know where you are. I'll make sure you're buried along with the eyesores forever! The punishment for defying "IQ – sama" is death: and I am the executioner!" He exclaimed.
"Hell." "K. S." cursed aloud.
"That "Diamond Navi" and Forte are on my list too. Heh! Let them try: they will be deleted in a slow and painful manner! Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"
14:38 PM (Japan Time)…
Try to find a way to attack that, yes…
Rock Man, using "Search Soul", scanned a Cyber World copy of Twilight Tower which was protected by a powerful security wall: he was focused on that and couldn't spot the "Commander" hidden close by.
"I'm transmitting the data." He whispered into the microphone.
A hologram of the tower came up in the Science Labs' main room: it displayed a glowing red orb placed close to the topmost floor of the structure as Superintendent Manabe walked in.
"Lockdown of Twilight Tower surroundings: completed." She reported.
"Hum." Commissioner Kifune nodded.
"What's that light?" Netto asked.
"The Energy Core." Dr. Hikari replied.
"Energy Core…?" Netto asked again.
"… Starting with Twilight Tower, it's generating this large-scale "Dimensional Area" by supplying energy to 36 groups of "Dimensional Converters". " He explained to them.
"Then…! If we destroy the Energy Core…" Netto grasped.
"The "Dimensional Area" covering the Earth should vanish." Enzan calmly summarized.
"However… It won't be a walk into the park. Twilight Tower's firewall is most impregnable than expected. Intruding from Cyber Space is practically impossible." Meijin warned.
"Trouble! A gigantic three-headed dragon has appeared in Ameroupe!" An assistant warned.
"What did you say?"
What!
They all stared baffled at the live feed through the LCD screen: a gigantic dragon with a large bluish/white body, wings on its back and three heads with markings on the forehead and blue eyes plus two feet with large toe claws and a large tail apart from two clawed arms was shooting burst streams of energy from each of its mouths, laying wreck to everything around it and roaring with a sharp roar.
Overall, it looked imposing enough, being at almost three meters tall.
What the… Haven't I seen that design somewhere? "K. S." looked annoyed and skeptical.
Oi, Saito – niisan… Is that…?
Yeah. The "Ultimate Blue – Eyes Dragon" from Yu-Gi-Oh…
Twilight's ripped it off? The guy lacks originality!
But they ARE dangerous.
"Hakase! It'd seem that three-headed dragons have also appeared in King Land and Sharo Nation!"
Two more giant three headed dragons were wrecking King Land and Sharo. Sharo's tanks had no effect on one of them: one of them shot its triple set of burst streams of energy at them thus blowing them up.
"Now's in Namaste! And in Cream Land as well!"
"What does this mean? How can all those dragons appear at once?"
"I see… Pseudo-materilization of holograms…"
"Holograms? Is that like the Viruses that materialize inside "Dimensional Areas"?" Netto asked.
"You actually need very advanced and complicated tech to pull it off yet…"
The screen flickered and was covered in static.
"What's wrong?" Meijin asked.
"I don't know yet. An anomaly in the EM waves has suddenly popped."
"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Hah, hah, hah, hah!"
Twilight's closed-up torso showed up onscreen.
"Dr. Yoru!" Yuuichirou exclaimed.
"Comrades! Whatever you bring out will be pointless! I am the ruler of this world! The "Demon Tribe", by the orders of the Great Ice Queen - sama, will control it all! I am fulfilling the mission engraved into my very genes!"
"Genes, you say? Duo's genes, you mean to say?" Yuuichirou questioned.
"The two "Probes" which are said to have been left behind when Duo approached Earth 15 years ago…!" Commissioner Kifune gasped.
"Oozono Yuriko and, also…" Meijin began.
"And the other one… Twilight! You mean to say you're him?"
"Wrong. The other ain't involved. By the way… Hikari – hakase! Dr. Wily might have created the "Dimensional Area" we both use! But the "Synchro Chips" are your invention!"
He took out five "Synchro Chips" and held them out on his left hand with pride.
"All of the "Synchro Chips" stolen from the Science Labs…!" Meijin muttered.
"However! I have no need for more "Dark Synchro Chips". They're useful as they are. I shall show you gentlemen why! By the way! My half-brothers! Thanks for lending us your genes!"
"Who said we'd lent them to you?" Netto shot back, annoyed.
"You guys stole them!" Saito hissed.
Twilight smirked and held out right left hand which glowed with a purple glow: the "Vadous Chaos" Chip could be seen glowing inside of it before he joined both hands and a sphere of blinding light formed which expanded and grew in size before dimming.
What now! The "Commander" inwardly cursed.
More proxies? "K. S." complained.
A gigantic monster had appeared in front of Twilight Tower: it looked like a Gojira wannabe, with large clawed feet, large clawed arms, an armored chest, a jetpack on the back, and a wolf's head: it had no tail.
More rip-offs and wannabes? "K. S." exasperatedly sighed.
Twilight jumped inside of the head which had a kind of cockpit placed within the forehead and the eyes of the monster shone with a red glow.
Got a bad feeling…
He then shot an array of missiles, machinegun fire and lasers around the area thus wrecking it.
"That's not a hologram!" Meijin uttered.
Twilight grabbed the controls and a holographic screen displayed the surroundings popped out to allow him to see what he was doing.
"Excellent! I'm the King of the World! Sound director! Start up the ominous BGM!" He announced before pretending to be addressing a sound director.
He started to wreck everything on his path while walking.
"Special news! A mysterious gigantic Navi has materialized in Densan Town and it's destroying the town and…!" Midorikawa Kero reported.
A missile impacted the LCD screen thus destroying it.
"You have too much of a pitch, dear… Go sing at the Berlin Opera House instead." Twilight laughed.
He shot more of his arsenal around.
"Destruction! That's my goal! Boom!"
How lame! You want to play the amusing man? You fail at that. Be serious or else you'll make a fool of yourself.
"… Papa! Isn't there any way to stop that guy?" Netto asked him.
"Maybe we could use a Security Hole…"
"Security Hole…?" Commissioner Kifune asked.
"That's what Shade Man drilled into the Science Labs' firewalls: a type of time-space tunnel. If we could alter its path we might be able to get through Twilight Tower's firewall."
"Hikari – hakase! We've predicted Twilight's course! While destroying the city he's heading over to here: to the Science Labs!" A scientist reported.
"Let's go, niisan!"
Netto ran towards the door.
"Netto – kun!" Superintendent Manabe called out.
"We'll buy you some time: even if it's only a minute or two! While I do that… Papa! Work on the Security Hole!"
"Ah! Netto!"
Enzan walked onto an adjacent lab where Blues was resting inside of a holographic device.
"Blues… Please open your eyes…"
Netto skated towards the giant monster.
"Drum, drum, drum… The Imperial March's begun! Mwah, hah, hah!"
"… Blues …" Enzan called out again.
Blues moved his right hand a bit, surprising Enzan: he turned his head towards him and smiled.
"Enzan… sama…"
He plans on fighting Twilight even though neither of them has fully recovered? That's suicide! The "Commander" gasped.
Netto climbed up an elevator to a building's roof and had five "Soul Unison" Chips (Search Soul, Thunder Soul, Fire Soul, Metal Soul and Blues Soul) in his hand.
Otouto… Those Chips… Papa told us not to use them during "Cross Fusion"…
We need power! If that guy used 5 "Synchro Chips"… I'll use these 5 "Soul Chips"!
Netto slotted the Chips in as he kept climbing.
"Move it! The Sheriff is here!"
Twilight blasted some vehicles in the road.
"Twilight! Stop the city's destruction! Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!" Netto yelled.
He "Cross Fused" as images of the Navis of the "Soul Unisons" overlapped him: he then looked towards the cockpit glass like it was a stand-off.
"Perfect! You saved me the need to search for you. Watch this, "K. S."! This is how I'll destroy you lowlife!"
He crashed both fists on "CF" Netto and buried him in the roof.
"Hah! That was way too easy! Huh?"
He suddenly noticed how the fists were moving: "CF" Netto had transformed into the "Metal Soul" and was using its strength to push the fists upwards.
"Unh…" "CF" Netto hissed from the effort.
The monster then seemed to be looking to the sky as one could deduce from the pose it was doing.
"Hah! I knew it! Eat missiles, then! I have a missile launcher!" Twilight exclaimed.
He shot missiles towards "CF" Netto, who he switched to "Fire Soul" next.
"Fire Arm!"
The attack detonated the missiles and hit the monster: it melted some layers of its armor.
"What incredible power…!" "CF" Netto muttered.
"Do ya wanna see some laser? Beware of the Death Mobile's Hyper Matter Laser!" Twilight announced.
Stop kidding around: you want me! I know that Ice Queen psycho wants them alive for their sick purposes!
The monster shot a thick red laser beam from a gun mounted on its right shoulder and it broke part of the rooftop: "CF" Netto jumped into the air and switched to Thunder Soul.
"Elec Beam!"
"CF" Netto's attack broke the ground beneath the right foot: the monster sank and had to lean on the ground because of the sudden loss of legs balance.
"I'm stuck in the traffic jam! Let's hear to the DNN to kill the boredom! Today's weather: eternal "Dark"!" Twilight exclaimed.
I can't stand that parody behavior! Face me!
"CF" Netto landed on the ground although he was already panting.
"Niisan… The "Soul Chips" are a success…"
"But your physical strength…!"
"We gotta stop this guy somehow…! Scope Gun!"
He tried to lock on the target, the forehead but his vision was blurry given how he saw more than one head: "CF" Netto sweated while the effect faded.
"Target: locked!"
He shot but the attack only left a minimal dent on the thick cockpit glass.
"That can't be…!"
He fell to the ground into his knees, his strength gone.
Otouto! Otouto!
"M-my body… Feels as heavy as lead!"
"What… It's already over? I expected a more entertaining action scene. You suck at writing scripts." Twilight mocked with a sneer.
"What?" "CF" Netto cursed.
"You're powerless! Truly powerless! Why don't you join me? I'll grant you further power!" Twilight taunted next.
"Nonsense… Who'd join someone like you?" "CF" Netto demanded.
"Hmpf! Thought as much. The end!"
"Firing the missile!"
Laika, riding an open cockpit chopper, shot a missile which hit the monster's neck, leaving it dizzied for a moment.
"Hey! Missile VS Missile! Bring it on!" Twilight yelled as he tried to recover control of the monster.
He brandished his right fist towards it as if to emphasize his point although the chopper paid no heed.
"Area Steal!"
"CF" Blues appeared and yanked them out of the way, leaving "CF" Netto lying face down in a roof.
"Go to the Science Labs!" Laika told the chopper's pilot as he looked out.
"Let's go, Blues."
"Roger, Enzan – sama."
"Wait…! Enzan… you… and Blues… your bodies are not fully healed… yet…" "CF" Netto tried to stop them as he extended his right arm.
"This battle is going to be our purification."
"Purification …?"
Rock Man was discussing with Blues.
"The reason doesn't matter: I was taken by evil and I helped it."
"Blues…!"
"Enzan!"
"CF" Netto watched as "CF" Blues jumped towards the monster.
"… IP Address: search. Security Hole: path change."
The team had been trying to open the portal into Twilight Tower's Cyber World but to no avail: Yuuichirou banged the console.
"Another failure!"
"Hikari – hakase…" Commissioner Kifune muttered.
"Twilight Tower's IP Address randomly changes… So we're unable to preserve the efficacy until the Hole's path changes…!"
"As I thought… It's of no use…?"
"… You cannot give up so quickly, sir!" A voice rallied from behind Yuuichirou.
They all turned to see Laika standing in the room's threshold.
"Laika – kun!" Commissioner Kifune was surprised.
"Use an IP missile, sir."
"An IP missile?" Meijin asked.
"Search Man can overcome Cyber Space walls and can shoot a shell into Twilight Tower!"
"I see! The IP missile can make Twilight Tower's IP Address static!"
"But, Laika – kun… Even if you managed to intrude the tower you should estimate interference by a huge amount of Viruses." Kifune warned.
"About that, Commissioner... I was reluctant to, but I requested some civilians to cooperate with me."
"Civilians?" Kifune asked.
"It's an emergency, sir." Laika justified.
All of Netto's friends (Dekao, Hikawa, Yaito, Meiru, Higure, Shuuko and Chisao) came in.
"You guys!" Superintendent Manabe exclaimed.
"We were told you needed our power!" Dekao exclaimed.
"Yes, yes! We will fight as well!" Hikawa added.
"Netto's doing his best!" Meiru added.
"That Enzan dude too!" Yaito giggled.
"I will avenge Mariko – sensei's younger sister! De masu!"
"Eh… Can I take part too, then…?" Shuuko muttered aloud.
"Same as above! Chu!"
"Ahem, ahem. I was reluctant to, but…" Laika tried to play resigned although it was obvious he wasn't.
"Laika – kun…" Commissioner Kifune was glad.
"Plug In! Search Man, Transmission!"
"Plug In! Roll!"
"Guts Man!"
"Ice Man!"
"Glyde!"
"Aqua Man!"
"Number Man!"
"TRANSMISSION!"
"CF" Blues warped in front of the monster.
"Heh! You too? Good! IQ – sama shall rejoice! Action: start!" Twilight sneered and sounded amused.
"Sonic Boom!"
The attack made a dent on the upper torso but the armor was too thick to be damaged that easily: "CF" Blues landed on the ground, panting, and looked up to see that the monster was undamaged: Anetta ran towards the scene with the "Battle Chip Gate" on her right hand.
"Enzan!"
"CF" Netto was lying face-down in the rooftop, exhausted.
"Enzan…"
He clenched his right fist and then tried to sit up, but lost balance and fell with his back on the ground, looking at the skies.
"Curse it…"
Hell. They've run out of energy. This doesn't fare well.
"Commander. Change of plans. Join the Science Labs' assault on the Cyber World Twilight Tower ASAP! The time to cast off the stealth came: let them know that we just are here to defeat Twilight yet…" "Gospel Shuryou" commanded.
"Oh! Yes, Shuryou! Delighted." The "Commander" replied.
"Remember: say we're offering them a momentary truce. And they will need your strength too so they can't refuse."
"Roger."
"Go! Smash that eyesore interloper, my best Net Navi!" He rallied with obvious pride.
"Your will!"
Man. Shade Man's end was so gruesome… The rumors I picked on the underground were true… And most of the stolen money was intended to build this thing! "TT" meant "Twilight Tower", then! And it turns out Twilight wasn't the other "Probe"… Who is it, then? That comes later: first we gotta put a stop to this guy's rampage. Fight, Hikari and Rock Man!
15:55 PM (Japan Time)…
"… IP Address: search..."
Search Man scanned the tower: he entered address search mode and the scanner displayed the "ADRESS SEARCH" message: Search Man suddenly stood up and shot two times: he opened a warp with the first shot and he attached a beacon to the Tower's wall with the second shot.
"We have confirmed the arrival of the IP missile. The address has become static!"
"Security Hole: path change!"
The hole opened and remained stable.
"Success! De guts."
"Let's go!"
Search Man led the charge but they stopped and gasped once they made it inside.
"Oh!" Search Man gasped.
"Guts?" Guts Man gasped.
"Ah!" Roll gasped.
"What numbers!" Search Man gasped.
They found a huge multitude of Viruses in front of them floating or standing on the ground.
"… Outta the way! I'll crush you yet!"
The monster tried to crush "CF" Blue, but he jumped out of the way.
"… Program Advance! Flame, Elec, Aqua, Bamboo Sword! Elemental Sword!"
"CF" Blues attacked the chest area, damaging it greatly.
"Gruwa~h!" Twilight roared.
A cloud of dust covered the chest area. "CF" Blues landed back on the ground, but, when the dust cleared, he could see that the armor was still holding up.
"No use…!" He grimly muttered.
"ENZAN!"
Anetta ran towards him.
"Sorry! But your script sucks. Now's my turn to attack! Taste an endless Naraku with my half-brothers! Farewell, young man! I win!"
He charged up the laser gun on the right shoulder and shot at the ground: "CF" Blues was propelled to the ground and he rolled across it before stopping: Anetta ran over to him.
"Enzan! ENZA~N!" She cried.
"CF" Netto was still out cold.
Recover! Someone has to stop that thing! The Net Navis won't make it on time at this speed!
"… Satellite Ray!"
"Heart Shoot!"
"Mega Guts Punch!"
"Blizzard!"
"Glyde Cannon!"
"Water Pipe!"
"Dice Bomb!"
Many Viruses still remained inside the area, however, and the fighters were getting exasperated.
"There's still this much of them?" Roll complained.
"What a huge amount, de guts!" Guts Man grumbled.
"They're beyond calculation…!" Number Man added.
"Will we be able to reach the Energy Core…?" Glyde wondered.
"Don't give up!" Search Man rallied.
"Thunderbolt!" A voice yelled.
Several electric beams shot down from the sky and deleted some Viruses: Thunder Man dropped into the area.
"I've come to help!" He announced.
"Thunder Man!" Search Man exclaimed, relieved.
Ice Man fought a Momogran Virus with a sword and fell to the ground, tired: Aqua Man walked over to him.
"Are you okay, pyu?"
A "Giant" – class Virus came out of nowhere and began to attack them.
"Aqua Shoot!"
They turned to see Bubble Man standing there.
"Bubble Man!"
"Bubble Man, pyu!"
"I've come to avenge Shade Man – sama, puku!" He announced.
"Junk Cube! Eat this!"
Junk Man made it to the scene and deleted some Viruses too.
"Junk Man!" Roll greeted.
"I'm… I'm fighting together with my friends!"
"Winter Storm!"
A sudden blizzard, way more powerful than Ice Man's, spread across the area and froze a large number of Viruses: they gasped.
"So! A truce it is." A voice boomed out.
"Who…?" Search Man demanded.
The "diamond" became visible as it landed on the ground and began to slowly rotate clockwise while being suspended 5cm over the ground: everyone gasped and Search Man recognized that.
"That diamond…! I saw it before: when the 4 VS 2 battle day!"
The diamond suddenly expelled cold pressurized air as the upper half began to rotate anti-clockwise and lift up along four hydraulic pistons: condensed water vapor came out of the diamond next hiding a tall figure inside of its body.
"Ah… I was looking forward to this day! We're back!"
"That voice…!" Roll muttered.
The figure landed on the ground and it froze on touch-down: the vapor began to disperse and they all stared at Freeze Man EXE.
"FREEZE MAN?" Meiru, Yaito and Dekao gasped.
"Indeed! Freeze Man: strongest Net Navi of "Gospel"! Come back from the dead!" He laughed.
"… So! You said something about a truce." Search Man reminded.
"Today I've got orders: Twilight is our enemy too. So a truce will be place today: but only today." He warned.
"Whatever." Search Man was unimpressed.
"Well. If you're going to just sit back… Icicle Fall!"
A rain of icicles dropped across the area and began to delete several Viruses: Freeze Man jumped into the air.
"Ice Tower!"
Several ice pillars plunged through the Viruses from beneath next.
"Go! To the Energy Core we go!"
Heh! I suspected as much… What about the Hikari brothers?
"CF" Netto was eyeing the obscured skies and he could see golden light particles of light shining on it.
"I hear… their voices…!"
"… The voices …?" Netto asked.
"… I hear… the voices of countless Navis… I can hear… Their rooting voices…!" Rock Man exclaimed with increasing awe.
"Rock Man! Rock Man! Rock Man!"
Some rays of light shone from the artificial clouds and golden particles could be seen spiraling down towards the roof.
"I hear them… I can hear them, too…" Netto muttered.
The light expanded and the spiral grew in size.
"ROCK MAN! ROCK MAN! ROCK MAN!"
The light was reaching out for "CF" Netto.
Grant us power…!
Lend us power…!
To battle against Twilight…!
GRANT US POWER!
"CF" Netto lifted his right fist and closed it as the light spiral was now surrounding his whole body: a light beam fell from the sky and hit his chest emblem provoking a bright while flash.
W-wow! Is this a miracle? Or…? No! They haven't given up! They can see it: how he's fighting for their sake! So they're all gathering whatever power's left to them and trying to help them!
His eyes slowly opened and his face shone with a multitude of bright colors: when it cleared, his brown eyes and helmet were shining brighter than usual.
Impressive…! Huh! Twilight! He's already here!
The mechanical monster had almost reached the Science Labs: a "Dimensional Area" was deployed using the trucks and surrounded the whole perimeter: the monster merely put its hands into the "Dimensional Area" and forced a hole open.
Crap! Another reason he fused with the "Synchro Chips"… Their structure allows him to alter "Dimensional Areas"…!
"Your "Dimensional Converters" can't stop me… Today the "Demon Tribe" wins, gentlemen! My scenario is supreme!" Twilight stated.
The "Converters" quickly overheated and exploded: the "Dimensional Area" faded.
"Dimensional Area: annihilated!" Meijin reported.
The monster walked forward, breaking the connecting catwalk between two of the buildings and stopped in front of the main building.
"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h! The Graveyard is waiting for you gentlemen! And you lowlife too, "K. S."! Farewell, Science Labs! "They" will pick whatever salvageable is left and "Ice Queen – sama" will keep custody of them! While I rule the world in Their name!"
Hell! Is this the end? "K. S." cursed as he looked out through one of the main building's corridors with obvious angst.
Twilight commanded the monster to raise the right fist but, suddenly, a shot from Search Man's Scope Gun blasted the whole right elbow and the rest of the arm fell to the ground, dematerializing.
"Who in…!" Twilight yelled.
He spotted a glowing figure on the rooftop.
"Hikari Brothers! I thought they were exhausted!" He cursed.
"CF" Netto shot again and destroyed the right shoulder's armor.
"…. Netto!" Meiru exclaimed.
"But… That form…" Dr. Hikari muttered.
The computers beeped with a strange tune and Meijin turned to face them.
"Hakase! Netto – kun's and Rock Man's synchronism values… display an abnormally high…!"
The computer frizzled and a screen exploded.
"Complete synchro… I see! Full Synchro!" Dr. Hikari exclaimed.
"Full Synchro…" Meiru muttered.
"CF" Netto moved swiftly and blasted layers of armor by simply kicking with the arms or the feet.
"Grah! Come back here, you kiddo!" Twilight cursed.
The monster tried to attack but "CF" Netto was out of its reach.
"Neo Variable Sword!"
"CF" Netto jumped towards the monster which blocked him with the right hand's wrist and it closed the right hand around him.
"Persistent! Aren't cha?" Twilight mocked.
The hand suddenly exploded in a burst of light.
"What!" Twilight uttered.
Anetta had dragged Enzan to safety and he eyed the battle.
"Netto…!" Enzan muttered.
"Super Sonic Boom!"
"Yikes! That's not in my script: my half-brothers!" Twilight sarcastically grumbled in an attempt to not to lose his cool.
The attack hit the monster's chest and made it with its back fall into the ground causing a loud tremor.
"Winter Storm!"
"Elec Beam!"
The two attacks cleared a path: Thunder Man waved to Search Man.
"Go! Search Man!"
"Thank you!"
He quickly climbed the stairs to the top level and eyed the orange Energy Core: the power generators of the "Dimensional Converters" were floating above it.
"The Energy Core!" Search Man exclaimed.
The monster got up somehow, and spotted "CF" Netto surrounded by a golden light which emerged from the skies.
"Huh? What the heck is that light…? A Special Ability…?" Twilight muttered.
"Let's use their power… Rock Buster!" "CF" Netto took out his default weapon.
Let's do it, otouto! For peace!
Yeah, niisan! For peace!
"ROCK MAN! ROCK MAN! ROCK MAN!" All Navis cheered.
"HRA~H! Charge Shot…! GO~!" "CF" Netto yelled.
He fired at the monster's chest at the same time Search Man shot the energy core, provoking a wide explosion in both objects: the monster's body became raw data and began to break down: a big hole had opened on the chest and the nuclear fusion - using energy core of the monster could be seen inside: it was shining with a bright white light.
"IMPOSSIBLE~!" Twilight roared.
The monster then exploded in a huge burst leaving nothing but some raw data floating around: the "Dimensional Area" surrounding Earth quickly collapsed as well.
… It's over… We're alive and… The ambitions of Twilight have crumbled too… Serves you right, you…!
19:57 PM (Japan Time)…
Phew! Saved by a miracle indeed…!
Everyone was looking at the night sky from Yaito's mansion: a comet and a meteor shower were glowing on it: Meiru was making a wish while Netto simply stared in wonder: "K. S." was checking on them and had a face of obvious relief to him given how he'd taken off his sunglasses and hat by now.
"Whoa! Look there, look there!" Netto exclaimed all of a sudden pointing at the sky.
Meiru opened one eye slightly.
"Another one crossed through! Cool, cool!"
Netto was now patting Meiru's back, who looked rather annoyed.
"Jeez! Netto! Couldn't you be quieter? I can't ask a wish to the shooting star!" She complained.
"Ask a wish to a shooting star…? Come on, Meiru – chan! You believe in those things?
"Hmpf!"
Meiru turned away and played the offended. She took out her PET II.
"I don't like how boys lack delicacy! Right, Roll?" She asked her.
"True, Meiru – chan!" Roll confirmed.
She glanced at Rock Man, who was standing to her left: all of the Navis (Blues included) were making a circle inside of the Cyber World and Rock Man looked around, puzzled by the change in the atmosphere.
"Huh? What?" He asked.
"Puku…" A voice muttered nearby.
They all turned to see Bubble Man partly hiding behind a column.
"Yikes, puku!"
He tried to hide behind it again but they'd already spotted him.
"Bubble Man? You don't need to hide: come out!" Rock Man called out.
Bubble Man walked towards them carrying a big bubble on his back.
"So sorry, puku…"
He showed everyone a bubble in which Rush was partly reassembled although he was still in a very raw state.
"Rush!" Rock Man exclaimed.
"You collected Rush's decomposed data!" Roll looked glad.
"Bubble Man!" Aqua Man called out.
"Bubble Man!" Ice Man called out as well.
"Sayonara, puku!"
He ran away and everyone smiled.
"Come to visit together anytime, Bubble Man!" Rock Man called out with a smile.
"… Now!" Netto suddenly exclaimed.
Meiru looked at him, surprised: Netto clasped his hands and seemed to be making a wish aloud.
"I wanna eat, I wanna eat and I wanna eat a ripe mango!"
"Sheesh! Netto, you…" Meiru sighed in defeat.
Everyone laughed in a jovial tone.
Huh? An alarm by one of my surveillance programs…? What! That figure is…! Her!
"K. S." gasped on seeing Yuriko standing near her car at the entrance of a bridge through a CCTV camera close by: she was looking at the skies and only her back was visible.
Hum! A party has begun at Ms. Ayanokouji's…
In effect: Netto and the others blew up confetti crackers and began to jump and play around while the others looked on: Yaito was waving a fan with the Japanese flag on it too: the Net Navis clasped hands and formed a circle too.
The Net Agents! They seem glad to know the crisis is over…
The Net Agents were satisfied to know that the crisis was over: Commander Beef simply looked on while the other two (Black Rose and Miyumiyu) stood with their backs glued and looking in good mood.
The Maha Niiban's staff too…
Hinoken smiled, Madoi looked satisfied, Count Elec used his portable light bulbs to create lighting effects, and Maha clasped his hands while looking up in his "strict" pose.
Hikari – hakase and Ms. Hikari…
Yuuichirou and Haruka looked together at the night skies while having walked out of their house to a spot in their neighborhood.
The Net Police and Mr. Meiin too…
Kifune, Manabe and Meijin did the same from the Science Labs' rooftop.
Back to Ms. Ayanokouji's place…
Rock Man and Roll smiled: Netto, Chisao and Dekao were awed upon seeing the banquet in front of their eyes by Yaito's maids and one of them blinked the others the eye: Shuuko's misfortunes took a hold of her and she dropped a platter with tropical juices in front of Higure, Meiru, Hikawa, Enzan, Yaito and Anetta.
Mr. Raoul, Thunder Man, Mr. Laika and Search Man… They looked just "slightly" glad but that's because they want to keep a serious face: that's how they are.
Raoul and Thunder Man eyed the skies from their homeland while Laika and Search Man did the same from somewhere in Japan.
The party goes on! Excellent, excellent!
The Navis celebrated the victory together while Netto and Meiru ran out into the balcony: Netto signaled a shooting star and both stared at it awed, along with their friends: the shooting star showed reflected on Yaito's mansion pool's water surface thus making a beautiful effect.
Well! Enjoy this triumph: I'm over to check on Ms. Yuriko.
Yuriko was driving along the bridge and thinking without noticing the monitoring of the dragonfly.
Twilight's ambitions are gone… Peace has returned to the world… But… Now… Duo's menace is approaching Earth…
She drove on and faded from view so "K. S." turned off the laptop and sighed as he walked out into the corridor: he opened one of the windows and leant out to look at the shooting star shower.
"Well. Kanou Shade, my fellow. It'd seem our hopes paid off. Twilight's been destroyed and his ambitions won't come to happen. But I know that that "Duo" will come into the picture… This shooting star shower may be a warning of that even…"
"… Shuryou. Mission accomplished. Now we can rise to power as scheduled, right, sir?"
"Yeah, Freeze Man… But it'll take a while: it isn't fair to strike while they're worn out. We want to show them we're different from those savages to begin with. Let's take a break."
"Roger."
Gospel Shuryou finished talking with Freeze Man, who'd been standing next to the diamond: he sighed in relief and looked out from one of the lab's building balconies.
"Hikari Netto and Rock Man… You did it, guys. But I'm afraid I'll be in need of some extra power if I am to stand up to the menace I think it's coming for us… Nothing personal…" Forte muttered.
Let's take a break but we can't lower the guard… "Duo" is coming! As for that detective guy… Let's let them be…
23:17 PM (Japan Time)…
"… This day felt endless! I'm beaten. No wonder."
"Well. At least the crisis is over."
Netto returned home and dropped into his bed, tired, after placing the PET on its charger: Rock Man appeared on the PC's screen and looked rather satisfied.
"But I'm still wondering about that "K. S." mister… I know he's in our side and all but… He feels so enigmatic. Looking back I see that his annotations changed between the day of Burner Man's debut and that day with Enzan's and Raoul's show… That of "accounted for" vanished and the tone seemed to indicate something new and unexpected… Like he'd seen the events coming…" He frowned.
"Yeah. I know that's weird, but… Let's not worry about it too much. We've still got time before the end of the 5th grade, anyway. Maybe we can disconnect during the summer too." Rock Man smiled.
"Sure thing. Enigmas and all… Let Enzan handle those. I lack the energy or the imagination for 'em." He yawned and lazily sat up.
He picked his pajamas and headed into the bathroom to change: he came out changed and placed his clothes on a chair to pick them the next day.
"Don't worry: Mariko – sensei says that the school will open later tomorrow because everyone's so tired and today was too stressing: so you can sleep a bit more. But you CAN'T be late, Netto – kun! Otouto!"
"I know that tune of yours, Saito – niisan… Well… Good night and see ya tomorrow!" He replied as he pulled the covers over him.
"Good night, Netto – kun!"
Netto soon fell asleep and Rock Man also did but failed to notice a furtive silhouette which ran off the PC with a grin on its face.
Not yet! This isn't over yet! Brothe~rs! Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!
THE END