"Hello, 13," Kyofu greeted the young cyborg walking along the corridor. Number 13 turned around and stared back, completely unmoved by the Professor's sneer.
"Professor Kyofu," Number 13 greeted back respectfully.
"I heard you were able to ACCOMPLISH your mission," Kyofu started, his tone mocking. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Number 13 replied with courtesy.
"However, I also heard of an ERROR that you made during your mission," Kyofu continued as his grin widened.
"What error?" Number 13 asked.
"If I recall, several members of your team ended up CAPTURED. You were supposed to ABANDON those FAILURES but you DISOBEYED that one particular order," Kyofu remarked
"They are my teammates and I am responsible for their welfare. I never leave my teammates behind," Number 13 defended.
"Ah, but that doesn't change the fact that you DISOBEYED a DIRECT order, an order from your handler no less," Kyofu egotistically countered.
"What are you trying to say, Professor Kyofu?" Number 13 questioned, an edge in his voice slowly betraying his lack of emotions.
"I am saying that for someone who is supposed to be a PERFECT weapon, you have a MALFUNCTION. Disobedience is a MALFUNCTION, so therefore you are not a perfect weapon as your loyalty is something to be questioned! If you can't follow orders then how can you say you are loyal to GIN-SHOCKER?" Kyofu demanded.
"Because we are all cogs in the machine," Number 13 argued. "We are all what makes GIN-SHOCKER function and we are at our best when at full power as a group. Therefore losing any member of the team is unacceptable."
"Pah! What sentimental NONSENSE," Kyofu shot back mockingly before chuckling. "For all that WORK Gebok had done he didn't manage to make you the PERFECT weapon after all."
"If this conversation is done I am leaving," Number 13 said, not wanting to talk to Professor Kyofu any further. He turned his back on Kyofu and proceeded to leave.
"Oh, and 13," Kyofu said, halting the Cicada Cyborg for a moment. "Remember that your obedience should be your number one priority. Because the moment you DISOBEY your superiors it is the moment that you would be deemed a LIABILITY. So I suggest you watch your step."
"That will not be a problem. There is no logical reason for me to disobey GIN-SHOCKER. However, could I make a suggestion? I have noticed that you take quite a lot of pleasure in our shortcomings. It would be better for you to focus less on our failures and more on how to improve on your strengths," Number 13 advised before going back on his way. Behind him, Kyofu immediately broke a fuse.
"Oh sure, like you have any BUSINESS saying THAT!" Kyofu angrily spat, his hands crackling with electricity, barely containing his anger and urge to shoot the retreating cyborg in the back. "Remember, 13, you won't always get away with your DISOBEDIENCE! You will always be INFERIOR to my creation because unlike you she actually OBEYS every single order I give without question! That is why you will NEVER EVER be the Ultimate Weapon for GIN-SHOCKER! My weapon will surpass you and put you and every single NUMBER in their place! Do you hear me, you INFERIOR piece of scrap metal?! YOU WALKING, MALFUNCTIONING, OBSOLETE TOY!?"
An alarm blared loudly, waking Kyofu up from his sleep.
"Damn cyborg," Kyofu grumbled. His dreams and nightmares were all the same, replaying memories from his past. But then his lips curled into a cruel smile as today was a new day. He would no longer need to think about BLACK 13 and those blasted NUMBERS ever again.
Weapon D had proven herself to be the superior weapon, several of the scrapped cyborgs had also been sent to the big junkyard in the sky, and his Brain Trust Society was getting more funding and support by the hour. As the old saying goes: "good things come to those who wait".
Kyofu's one regret was that Gebok was not around anymore to see his success. He would have loved to see the look on his face as D tore BLACK 13 to shreds.
Showa Chronicles: Road to Annihilation
Act VIII: Know Thy Enemy
"There's an emergency back home?" Rena asked. Shinichi had returned to the Genovian palace to get changed out of his tuxedo and to tell Rena and the others that he needed to urgently return to Hinamizawa.
"Yeah, something happened and I need to go back and help," Shinichi answered.
"Need help?" Satan offered, her light sword flashing into existence. "If there's gonna be a fight, you're going to want some backup."
"That's right," Tsukuyomi agreed. "We'll come with you. Just let me grab my sword."
"No, we can handle this," Shinichi politely declined. "You need to stay in case trouble decides to show up."
"When will you be back?" Lum asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure but I promise I'll be back in time for our wedding."
"Then go and do what you must, Mr. Samurai," Shawna urged as she stepped forward, sending him off with a kiss. "Be a hero."
"You haven't called me that in years, Shawna-chan," Shinichi remarked, feeling nostalgic after hearing her old nickname for him.
"Papa? Are you leaving already?"
Their eyes turned towards the door to spot little Hiroyuki standing in the doorway. Hiroyuki was Shinichi's eldest child, the son he had with Satan, a miracle that proved he could still have children even after Gebok had remodelled his body to become the ultimate weapon. He had overheard everything and walked into the room.
"Hiro, you shouldn't be here," Satan scolded.
"No, it's OK," Shinichi smiled softly as he squatted down to his son's level so they could speak eye-to-eye. "Yeah, I have to go, Hiro. There are people back home who need my help."
"You'll come home after you beat the bad guys, right?" Hiroyuki asked.
"Yeah, buddy. I'll be back after I beat the bad guys," Shinichi promised, ruffling Hiroyuki's hair affectionately. He made sure to give each of his brides a kiss before he formed a portal and stepped through.
Since Lucy and the Katsuras were staying for the duration of the mission, they were given guest quarters at the Hive Tower. Ryuji and Kotonoha were sharing a room while Lucy had one to herself.
Both Ryuji and Lucy woke up early to get ready but took the time to discuss Shinichi in the hallway.
"You sense it, don't you? Shinichi's power?" Lucy asked.
"Hard not to," Ryuji admitted, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "It's massive."
"Papa did say he was born with a lot of potential. That was the main reason Gebok took him."
"It's not his power that worries me but what he could do with it," Ryuji said, concerned. Chronokinetics normally had a limited form of time control allowing them to manipulate the flow of time in one form or another. However, exceptionally powerful users could reverse time, speed it up, slow it down, freeze it and create time-space portals. With this power, they could age a man to death, cause matter to decay, erase things from the timeline, and reset memories. Shinichi had already demonstrated all these abilities.
Part of ARMOR's mission statement was to monitor individuals with great power and Shinichi was on that list. Ryuji was one of those individuals too, of course, since he could cause another ice age with his abilities, but Shinichi could erase entire timelines if he wanted to.
A man with such power, what would happen to them once they lost everything and were pushed over the edge? That was a frightening thought.
"Sure, he's got a lot of power but he's a good guy," Lucy said, defending Shinichi. "I might've not had a good impression of him at first and did treat him like crap, but he is still an honest country boy."
"Even a good person can do terrible things when they're driven over the edge of despair, Lucy," Ryuji retorted. "Imagine how you'd turn out if Warren hadn't stopped those punks from beating your puppy."
"Trust me, I used to think about it a lot," Lucy admitted. She knew she had darkness inside of her. The kids at the orphanage had been cruel while the adults had been cold and indifferent. If Warren had not saved her dog that day, she would have snapped completely and there would be no going back from that.
"Warren and Ryuki may see the good in people, and I appreciate that, but you and I both know what power does to someone. Once you realise there's nothing that can stop you from doing whatever you want, you see yourself as a god and turn the whole universe into your playground," Ryuji argued.
"Yeah, well, Shinichi's been on the dark side and he knows that's not where he wants to be," Lucy defended. "And he's not the only one. Papa's told me that everyone in ARMOR has a bit of a dark side and everyone on the senior staff is some of the most powerful and dangerous people that have ever lived. Like Uncle Ryuki and Aunt Kat. They're both powerful and dangerous but they're good people... well, Uncle Ryuki is anyway."
"And let's not forget Warren himself," Ryuji pointed out. "When I told him what happened... damn." Ryuji tried his best not to shudder when he remembered his eardrum almost getting blown out. "I do not want to experience that again. Good thing he calmed down enough to send you instead. If he came himself, there wouldn't even be ashes left from those Espers."
"That's just what makes Papa so cool," Lucy smiled blissfully. "It's his family that keeps him sane."
"Yep, he's such a family man," Ryuji snickered in agreement. "Speaking of family, let's try and get this wrapped up before the wedding. You're coming with Kouta, right?"
"What kind of question is that?" Lucy grinned cheekily. "I love free food!"
"You're not going there to support your brother?" Ryuji asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, like you're not going there for free food too, Uncle Ryuji," Lucy retorted.
"We could really use your help, Misato," Shinichi said to Misato whose face was on his computer screen. After he woke up, showered and got dressed, he made himself a cup of coffee before he called her on Earth-311.
"And I wish I could be there to help but I've got my hands full over here," Misato replied.
"How's their progress, by the way?" Shinichi asked.
"Let's just say, it hasn't been a walk in the park trying to keep these idiots under control," Misato complained, groaning.
"Sounds like you have your hands full," Shinichi remarked.
"It's a lot of work but some of them are making good progress," Misato admitted. "...Can't say the same about the rest of them."
"Well, with you and Yuji in charge, I'm sure you can keep them in line and help them turn over a new leaf."
"Yeah, and if all else fails, we can always put them back in the cage," Misato grinned.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Bye, Misato."
"Bye, and take care of yourselves over there."
"You too." Shinichi ended the call. As he began to come up with a plan on how to handle Kyofu and his Alpha Force, he pondered how his last conversation with Holo-Gebok went.
"That man can hold a grudge for a long time," Gebok said. "It's admirable if you ask me."
"But his grudge is against you. Why come after me and my home?" Shinichi asked.
"Oh, don't act so naive, BLACK 13. With me gone, who else is he going to come after? He hates me and everything I've accomplished and that includes you. So, since he can't come after me, all he wants is to destroy you so he can finally prove his superiority. In fact, you're also partly to blame for him leaving GIN-SHOCKER."
"What did I do to him...?" Shinichi wondered, pondering his last conversation with Holo-Gebok. If only Kuro could help him but he had purged his memories of everything related to Kyofu on Gebok's orders. At least Gebok kept his own personal records in his memories to help them learn more about Kyofu.
"We need to talk," Dreigon spoke within Shinichi's subconscious.
"Can this wait?" Shinichi responded, annoyed. "I need to focus on planning right now."
"No, it cannot," Dreigon growled. "Your battle with that girl was abysmal and I know you could have won despite your limitations."
"I told you I wasn't about to kill her. If I killed her, I would not be able to get any answers from her but she got away because she was an Agito," Shinichi explained.
"No, that's not good enough!" Dreigon snapped. "We know that even if you killed her you could revive her anyway. You've demonstrated that already. Now, tell me the real reason why you held back against her!"
"Because she reminded me of myself, alright!?" Shinichi snapped back and Dreigon was taken aback. "...She reminded me of myself, of how I used to be."
"You saw yourself in her."
"That's right. The way she talked and acted, it was how I used to act back when I was BLACK 13."
"So what? You think that's enough for her to warrant your mercy?" Dreigon scoffed.
"I just thought I could take her down without killing her and then undo whatever brainwashing Kyofu did to her," Shinichi explained.
"She was your enemy! You're not supposed to show your enemies any mercy! If they come at you with intent to kill, that's enough reason to kill them too!"
"Well, what if I'm tired of killing!?" Shinichi shot back. "Ever thought about that!? I'm trying to be a better example for my kids, alright!? If I killed all my enemies just because I could, what kind of message would that send!?"
"It will be a warning to others not to mess with you," Dreigon answered. "While I understand the sentiment, you know that to protect your loved ones, you must eliminate the threat. These psychics have shown that they are willing to kill innocents. You must teach them that they should be prepared to die if they are willing to kill."
"If it ever comes to that, and I hope it doesn't, I will do what I must. But for now, I'm going to explore as many other options as I can," Shinichi retorted. "Now, shut up and let me work."
"Hmph, that Smith boy has made you soft," Dreigon concluded before going silent, but Shinichi knew that was not the end of it.
When Dreigon went silent, Shinichi let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, the ancient dragon was not wrong. Kyofu's Alpha Force had proven themselves to be a threat to him and his loved ones. They deserved retaliation. However, Shinichi did not want to kill anymore, not if he could avoid it.
"Dreigon has always been a combative one, lad," St. George said."He is not wrong, though."
"I know, but I won't kill anyone if I can help it."
"It is never wrong to show mercy, lad. Just be-"
"Just be prepared for the consequences. I know. I know."
Shinichi mulled over what to do about D. From the info Sheila managed to gather and his inference, D was a victim of Kyofu's cruel experiments and had been brainwashed. Like him, she grew up knowing nothing but to be loyal to Kyofu. That was a cold and empty life and he wanted to save her. However, because of Kyofu, she saw Shinichi as an enemy and would not want to be saved.
"Shinichi, we are receiving a call," Sheila informed him, breaking his train of thought.
"Who's it from?"
"It's from Alan Smith." Shinichi paled when he heard this. "Would you like to accept?"
"Yeah, sure. Patch him through." Shinichi couldn't let the call go unanswered or else his brother would suspect something was wrong. Steeling himself, he took the call. He blinked as the image came through on his computer screen. Alan was clearly on an alien planet as he could tell by the red sun in the sky. He seemed to be in trouble as he was leaning up against a rock wall, breathing heavily, with blood on his face.
"Hey, Shin!"Alan smiled, despite the blood on his face."How's the wedding prep coming along?"
"Uh...it's going fine. Are you ok?" Shinichi asked, concerned.
"What? This?" Alan pointed at the blood on his face. "Yeah, nothing I haven't dealt with before. The military on this planet has a distinct anti-science view. If you think this is bad, wait until I tell you about the shit I went through with the Moon King. Oh, I'll have some fantastic stories for you at the wedding. So I see you're in Hinamizawa right now. What are you doing there? Shouldn't you be in Genovia?"
"Something came up but I took care of it already," Shinichi answered, not going into detail. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"OK, so how is my family? Did they enjoy the festival?"
"They had a swell time."
"That's good," Alan smiled before an explosion suddenly went off somewhere offscreen, causing his expression to change to one of surprise. "Oops! Sorry to cut this call short but I gotta get back to my current problem! I'll definitely be there for the wedding! TTYL!" Alan smiled once more before disconnecting. Shinichi stared at the blank screen before breathing a sigh of relief. Alan would be OK, wherever he was.
"Sorry, Alan," Shinichi whispered apologetically for keeping things from his brother but he had promised not to tell him about what had happened. He heard a knock at his door. "Who is it?"
"It's me," Lala answered from the other side.
"Sheila, let her in," Shinichi instructed and the door slid open to let Lala in. "Hey, Lala. What's up?"
"Lulu and I collected those EMP generators to take a look at them. Since Kyofu used them to incapacitate you and your team, I thought I could help by putting together something that will prevent you all from being affected by another EMP again."
"Love the initiative there, Lala," Shinichi approved.
"And you also mentioned that you had a prototype Driver," Lala said.
"Yeah, it's something I've been working on during my spare time," Shinichi replied.
"Could I take a look at it?" Lala asked.
"Sure." Shinichi took out the 2WEI Fusion Driver and handed it to the princess. The princess examined it closely. It looked like a very impressive piece of tech, one that she wanted to take apart so she could examine its inner workings more thoroughly. However, she knew Shinichi would not appreciate that. Like her inventions, this Driver was Shinichi's 'baby'.
"How does it work?" Lala asked.
"With these." Shinichi showed her a couple of his Fusion Capsules: the Kamen Rider Ichigo and Kamen Rider Kuuga Capsules. "They contain cosmic energy and data of the Kamen Riders that are depicted on them. The Driver works by taking the data from complementing capsules and then uses the cosmic energy to generate the suit."
"Amazing," Lala awed as she took one of the capsules and examined it. "You are a genius."
"Well, I'm not just a pretty face," Shinichi smirked proudly but his smile quickly turned into a frown. "But I still haven't figured out how to regulate the power output."
"Power output?" Lala asked.
"The Driver can't properly regulate the energy so my time in Rider form is limited to 3 to 5 minutes since that's how long it takes to burn out the energy from the capsules. Fortunately, they can recharge themselves afterwards but it takes 24 hours to do so," Shinichi explained.
"I see," Lala nodded, mulling over this information. 24 hours to recharge the capsules that only had 3 to 5 minutes worth of energy when used with the Driver did seem to be relatively inefficient. "How about you let me take a look at it and I'll fix all the bugs for you?"
"You're not going to take it apart, are you?" Shinichi asked warily.
"I might have to but I'm just going to help you fix it. I would like a copy of the blueprints if you have any. That would be a huge help."
"Sure, I'll have them sent to your quarters later."
"Awesome!"
"How's Lulu doing?" Shinichi asked about his niece. "Is she OK after everything that happened yesterday?"
"She's fine," Lala claimed. "She just needed her mama's tender loving care."
"Good," Shinichi nodded, relieved. Hopefully, Lulu would forget about the whole mess and not grow up with the trauma. He could only hope.
"Weapon B, what is on my schedule for TODAY?" Kyofu asked his second-in-command as they were being driven to their headquarters in a limo.
"We are to cut the ribbon at the new children's hospital at 9, following that you have a brunch meeting with Mitsuhide at 11. After our daily training, we have a shareholders presentation in Paris at 6 CET," Weapon B said, looking at a list of itineraries in his schedule book.
"Ah, another busy day," Kyofu hummed as he leaned on his chair. "And how goes the background check on that JUNK sympathiser from my press conference yesterday?"
"Unfortunately, we found no records of any 'Hope Pulido'," Weapon B reported, "It's as if she never existed. Moreover, there is no such thing as CrossGen News."
"That can't be RIGHT!" Kyofu exclaimed. "She was THERE! Everyone SAW her! We all SAW her!"
"She was likely using a pseudonym and impersonating a reporter so she could openly criticise you for whatever reason. But do not worry, Professor. We will find her. It's only a matter of time."
"You BETTER, B," Kyofu warned his assistant. He would not tolerate failure. "Now, is there ANYTHING new to report?"
"Since you informed the press of Hinamizawa's destruction, reporters are currently heading that way."
"Of course, they would want pictures and to interview the survivors. Hopefully, our people were able to alter their memories."
"Then you may wish to watch the news later today in the evening," B informed Kyofu.
"Ah, EXCELLENT. Can't wait to SEE it." Kyofu's grin went from ear to ear, like the cat that just ate the canary. It would be a great way to end his day.
After breakfast, Shinichi called everyone to gather in the War Room, including Hanyuu as she also helped to defend Hinamizawa. Unlike the conference room, there were no chairs as they stood around a holo-table in the centre of the room.
"Now that we're all here, it's time for us to discuss how we're going to respond to Kyofu's attack on us," Shinichi spoke to everyone present.
"Hold on there," Ryuji interrupted. "I think we need to establish a chain of command first. As the most senior agent here, I think I should take command."
"Excuse me," Shinichi interjected. "But you're here as a guest, Chief Katsura. You're not in charge here."
"But I'm the most senior agent here," Ryuji firmly reminded them.
"Hold on there, buddy," Daichi interrupted. "This is our world so I think it would be better for someone local to lead." He looked at Shinichi. "Someone like Shinichi."
"Yes," Shogo agreed. "Shinichi should be the one to lead this mission."
"Is everyone alright with that?" Shinichi asked. He looked at Alan's harem. Lala was a princess, Conda was a queen and Amora was a goddess. He wanted to know if they agreed to follow his orders.
"I have no problem with that," Amora answered.
"Same here," Lala nodded in agreement.
"You've proven yourself to be a capable leader," Conda stated. "And Daichi is right, this is your world."
"Looks like you've been outvoted, Uncle Ryuji," Lucy teased.
"It's not like I care," Ryuji huffed, folding his arms. According to ARMOR protocol, the most senior agent of that universe would take command on a mission. However, a senior agent with a much higher clearance could take over if the native agent was acting irrationally.
"You could always supervise, Ryuji-kun," Kotonoha suggested.
"Fine..."
"That's good because I didn't want to have a fight over leadership," Shinichi remarked jokingly after hearing about Ryuji's reputation. The Orphenoch only followed the strongest and that was why he was so loyal to Warren.
"Hey, why isn't Battler here?" Yokoshima asked, noting the absence of one of their team members.
"Battler's currently on a mission for ARMOR on another Earth so we can't get into contact with him at this time," Shinichi answered. It was a shame too. Battler's powers would have been pretty useful for this mission.
"So what's the plan? Are we going to strap Yokoshima with explosives and drop him on their base from a plane?" Daichi suggested, eager for some payback.
"We won't be using any of our old tactics here, Daichi," Shinichi retorted.
"Why not? It hasn't failed us before."
"Because we're better than that. It's why we stopped using Yokoshima as a human shield like we used to. That and Asmodeus is getting tired of him being used like a tool."
"Did you often wrap Yokoshima in explosives and drop him on an enemy base?" Hanyuu questioned.
"Yeah, but back then we had Koichi cover Yokoshima up with his cyber-ticks," Michiru answered, causing Hanyuu to cringe.
"I was tingly all over," Yokoshoma added.
"So assassination is out of the question then," Hana assumed.
"Yes," Shinichi confirmed. "So we're not killing him while he sleeps, rigging his car to explode, planting a bomb in his office or doing anything assassin-like."
"Actually, as members of the Thunderbolts, all that is permitted and encouraged," Lucy informed them.
"Really?" Shinichi asked.
"Black ops, remember? So, dropping Yokoshima with explosives on them isn't really an option. Too obvious. But subterfuge and poison are fair game. I could actually contact ARMOR and get a type of poison that can't be detected or traced back to us. Would look like he had an aneurysm."
"How…how do you know all that?" Hanyuu asked, fearfully.
"Coz Lucy was on the team with Kat," Ryuji pointed out, letting it sink in.
"Uh, good to know. But let's keep assassination off the table right now," Shinichi reminded them. "Better to have Kyofu alive to answer for his crimes."
"May I interrupt?" Conda asked, raising her hand.
"What is it, Conda?" Shinichi replied.
"Everyone, before we continue, there is something that needs to be said," Conda spoke. "Last night, while I was using the HoloSim, I encountered a woman. I thought she was a hologram at first but after confiding with Amora, we've come to the conclusion that she somehow infiltrated the base."
"We had an intruder!?" Shogo cried. "Sheila, was there an intruder!?"
"Negative," the AI reported. "I detected no other life signs in the HoloSim during Conda's session."
"I doubt an undead would have life signs for you to detect, computer," Amora pointed out.
"An undead? Like a zombie!?" Yokoshima yelled, panicking. "Quick, execute the zombie plan!"
"No, not quite a zombie," Conda disagreed. "She had intelligence and she was a skilled warrior, well-versed with the blade. And she didn't even have the stench of rotting flesh either. Aside from her pale skin, she had long white hair and empty white eyes. Her only attire was a black bikini with a cape. Ah, and she called her sword Apocalypse."
Ryuji stiffened slightly from Conda's description.
"Wait... no, it can't be..." He looked sharply at Conda, "Amazon, did this woman tell you her name?"
"She called herself 'Lady Death'."
"Sheila, do you have a recording of Conda's HoloSim session?" Ryuji questioned.
"I do," Sheila answered.
"Show us when she encountered Lady Death." The screen on the wall behind Shinichi showed Conda's HoloSim session when she first encountered Lady Death in Dracula's throne room. "Freeze image."
Lady Death was just like how Conda had described her. Tall, leggy, curvy, and dressed in a black bikini. The pale white skin, hair and eyes did not detract from her beauty. In fact, it gave her an unearthly kind of beauty that was enhanced by an aura of danger.
"Wow," Shinichi's eyes widened. "Damn, she's hot!"
"Shin..." Daichi groaned. "Keep it in your pants."
"Hey, I know a hot babe when I see one. Sue me."
"Yeah, that's her alright," Ryuji's eyes narrowed. "The Queen of Hell herself."
"Queen of Hell?" Hana questioned. "I thought Hell was ruled by the Devil."
"He did at one point, but she killed him and took his throne," Ryuji explained. "But the Devil pulled one last FU and put a curse on her. As long as the living continue to walk, she can never leave Hell. So to return to Earth she began influencing some crazies into creating a cult in her name to cause an End of World scenario called 'Megadeth'."
"Hold on, like the band?" Daichi asked incredulously.
"ARMOR had her on the radar for some time," Ryuji continued, ignoring Daichi's question. "She's only a demigoddess but she had a sort of charisma that could span dimensions. But one day, she just vanished."
"So, does that mean that everyone in her universe is dead?" Shinichi asked. "Coz you said that she can only leave Hell once everyone is dead."
"Actually, we couldn't tell which universe she originates from," Ryuji said. "As since we're all still here, it's pretty safe to say that she might've found a loophole. But what's really troubling right now is that she had an interest in the Amazonian for some reason."
"Is there anything else you would like to tell them, Conda?" Amora prompted.
"After I bested her in combat, she gave me a gift," Conda answered and she took out the whip she had received from Lady Death. Immediately, the spirits inside Shinichi could sense the demonic presence within the whip. Even Michiru could sense it.
"Lad, that whip is not of this world," St. George warned Shinichi.
"Conda, that's not a normal whip, is it?" Michiru asked as she could sense something strange about it too.
"It has a demonic essence," Amora answered for her friend. "I don't know how it was made but it seems to be created from the remains of a demon."
"Lady Death called this whip Kulshedra, and she told me it holds the soul of the demon that carries the same name," Conda explained.
Shinichi stared at the whip. Since he could bond with sentient weapons, he wanted to see if Kulshedra was sentient or not.
"May I?" Shinichi asked.
Conda walked over to Shinichi and handed him the whip. All of a sudden, he found himself in a dark and stormy space. In front of him was the figure of a huge, serpentine dragon with multiple heads not unlike a hydra. He released the whip and was back in the base.
"Yeah, that thing is alive," Shinichi confirmed. "But why would Lady Death give this to you, Conda?"
"It doesn't matter why," Ryuji interjected. "That weapon is dangerous and needs to be taken to Storeroom X. I'll be happy to take it off your hands."
All of a sudden, the whip came to life and snapped at Ryuji like a real cobra. Everyone nearly jumped as they watched the whip slither over to Conda. She fearlessly picked up Kulshedra and the whip wrapped around her forearm like a bracelet.
"I guess it doesn't like that idea," Conda remarked, smirking.
"Fine, have it your way. But if that thing takes over your body and turns you into some snake demon thing, I better not hear anything from the green kid," Ryuji warned.
"We need to update our security if someone like Lady Death can just infiltrate our base, Shin," Shogo proposed.
"You're right. If an undead demigoddess can waltz right into the HoloSim like a ghost, we're going to need to upgrade. And that means putting up wards for supernatural creatures," Shinichi agreed. "Sheila, add Lady Death to your database and make sure to warn us if you see her again."
"Affirmative. And Shinichi, I found something you may find interesting." Sheila replayed the press conference that showed Kyofu formally introducing his Alpha Force and fast forwarded it to a reporter that savagely criticised him. Sheila froze the image of the reporter's face and then split the screen to show Lady Death's face on the other half. She overlapped both faces and the word 'MATCH' flashed across the screen.
"She was there too?" Michiru asked, surprised.
"And tearing into Kyofu," Hana smiled in approval.
"Are you sure that's her?" Ryuji questioned.
"It is a 99.5 percent match," Sheila answered.
"Alright, so why did the Queen of Hell go and rip an egomaniac a new one?" Lucy wondered. "Or was she just bored?"
"That's a good question, Lucy. This doesn't fit her pattern of behaviour. She's usually about death, destruction and chaos. Posing as a reporter to tear some mad scientist to shreds on live TV doesn't fit her style," Ryuji remarked.
"Let's shelve it for now," Shinichi proposed. "We need to focus on Kyofu. We'll worry about an undead sexy Queen of Hell later."
"I swear, Shin, if you decide to add her to your harem, I'm gonna lose my shit," Daichi warned.
"Relax, Dai. I prefer women with body heat," Shinichi reassured him. "I ain't a necrophiliac."
"What's a necrophiliac?" Yokoshima asked, unfamiliar with the term. Sheila whispered the answer through his communicator and he let out a gag. "Oh, gross! Damn, some people are sick!"
"Is it really necrophilia if she's undead?" Michiru asked. "I mean, sure, she may not have a pulse or body heat, but she's alive where it all matters, right? And since she's a demigoddess that means she's still divine in a way, right?"
"Would you have sex with a zombie?" Daichi asked.
"I mean, if she looked like that, I might," Michiru admitted. "She doesn't look like she's rotting."
"So does that mean vampires are OK?" Yokoshima asked.
"Sure, I guess. Depending on what kind of vampire."
"There's more than one kind!?"
"Yes," Amora confirmed. "You have the traditional undead vampires who are more or less mindless flesh-eating ghouls, and then we have the living vampires who are demons who drink blood. We also have energy vampires and psychic vampires who feed on life energy itself. There are a lot more but it'll take too long to list them all."
"But sex with an undead vampire is OK, right?"
"Yes, if you're into that sort of thing."
"I'm with Shin, here. I prefer if my woman has a pulse," Daichi rebutted.
"Same," Hana agreed. "I like to hug a warm body."
"Really? What if I became undead? Would you still love me?" Michiru asked.
"If you dress like Lady Death, I'll be open to the idea," Hana suggested.
"That can be arranged, sweetie," Michiru grinned sultrily.
"Can we please stop talking about sex with the undead and turn our focus back on the killer Espers?" Kotonoha asked, staring at the NEO-NUMBERS in disbelief. This conversation was getting a bit uncomfortable.
"...Do your meetings get derailed like this all the time?" Ryuji asked Shinichi.
"Sometimes, but we eventually get back on track," Shinichi answered. He did not need to tell Ryuji about the time they had a meeting that turned into an argument about the best condiment for fried eggs. The team had been split between soy sauce, mayonnaise and ketchup. That had been a surreal experience. "Anyway, let's review. Sheila, show us Professor Kyofu." An image of Kyofu appeared on the screen. "So, we know that he once worked for GIN-SHOCKER but then he left the organisation after Gebok repeatedly rejected his proposal to advance his research into psychic powers. After that, he started his own little project called the Brain Trust Society. It was all pretty hush-hush for a few years until he went public with his Alpha Force. I'm sure you've all seen the news. He has been promoting them as his new team of superheroes to show us up. He has even gained DJ Mikogami's support. Up until now, they've all been performing heroic deeds."
"Then yesterday they attacked our village and he lied about it too," Hanyuu added, frowning unhappily.
"He probably expected his psychics to kill us all and then modify the memories of the survivors to make it look like we failed to protect the village," Hana deduced. "And to give his Agitos an advantage, he had them plant EMP generators to weaken us. What he did not expect was for us to put up a fight."
"And us," Amora added. "He did not expect you all to have our help."
"We'd likely suffer more losses without you," Hana acknowledged gratefully.
"But why did he attack the village while we were at the festival?" Yokoshima questioned. "I mean, he could have just sent his Alpha Force to attack the village while we were all away, right?"
"Kyofu despises cyborgs, that's why," Shinichi answered. "He's always hated cyborgs and Gebok just made it worse. He just could not accept our existence so he wanted us dead."
"So all this was an act of spite over a grudge against Gebok?" Amora hissed indignantly.
"That's ironic since his name is 'Saiba'," Megan quipped.
"So, besides why Kyofu sent his people to attack the village, is there anything else you managed to learn, Shinichi?" Shogo asked. "You did interrogate those prisoners."
"Once they realised the hard way that Kyofu only saw them as expendable pawns, they became very cooperative," Shinichi answered.
"So, basically, Kyofu sent us to attack your village to show the world that you were incompetent heroes," the goth - Tamayo - explained.
"So this was all just an act of spite," Shinichi concluded, scowling. "So how did you end up joining him?"
"So, like, Kyofu recruited us and brought us to his Brain Trust Society. He, like, told us he could make us stronger," the gyaru - Tamae Amemiya - began. "So we, like, said OK."
"That's the basic gist of it," Tomayo confirmed.
"And how did you both become Agitos?" Shinichi questioned.
"Like, funny story, he took me and sis to this big chamber and there was this floating rock. Then everything went dark and now me and my sis can, like, transform!" Tamae answered.
"A floating rock?" Shinichi repeated, puzzled. Amora mentioned artefacts with mystic properties. This rock, whatever it was, must contain the essence of the Overlord of Light. Kyofu did not make it a secret in his research that he wanted to turn every person on Earth into Agitos and now he had an artefact in his possession that could do just that. "Do you know what Kyofu is planning?"
"All we know is that he wants to prove that he'll succeed and finally prove how superior he is to some guy named Gebok," Tamayo answered.
"I see. Thank you for this information."
"So, you'll, like, let us go now?" Tamae asked.
"No, you're still staying in that cell," Shinichi answered, causing Tamae to deflate and Tamayo to protest. "Look, you did help to attack this village so you're not all that innocent. We can't let you go, not yet anyway."
"So what will happen to us?" Tamayo questioned.
"It depends on how this ends. Now, please enjoy your stay."
"What if we need to go to the bathroom?" Tamae asked and all of a sudden a wall panel in the cell slid aside and a toilet came out. "Oh."
"You'll have everything you need in that cell and if you need privacy there is a blinder for the forcefield," Shinichi informed them.
"So, he does have an artefact and quite a powerful one, just like I suspected," Amora concluded after Shinichi finished his recap. "Do we know where it is?"
"Unfortunately, Kyofu made sure none of his people knew its exact location," Shinichi answered. "It is his secret weapon."
"Not so secret now, is it?" Yokoshima quipped.
"Guess we need to find this stone and destroy it," Ryuji concluded.
"Yes, once we locate the stone, we'll destroy it," Shinichi agreed. "We can't allow Kyofu or anyone to keep making Agitos."
"Are you sure that's a good idea, though?" Kotonoha asked.
"Koto-chan, you know this thing is dangerous," Ryuji pointed out.
"I do, but we don't know what could happen if we destroy it. Remember what destroying the Infinity Sword did and the trouble those fragments caused across the Multiverse? What if we end up releasing the energy contained inside the stone and it spreads across the world?" Kotonoha cautioned. "I suggest we find some way to take the stone for ourselves so we can study it."
"Koto-chan, do you want to study the stone because it can alter the physiology of psychics?" Ryuji questioned his wife, knowing her fascination with unusual genetics.
"Yes," Kotonoha confessed. "It's been a while since I've had anything new to study and I really want to examine that stone thoroughly. The potential for new discovery is just so tempting."
"Dr. Katsura makes a good point," Hana agreed. "We don't know if destroying the stone won't cause it to detonate like some kind of mutagenic bomb. It would be safer to take it and have ARMOR contain it."
"There's also the question if it can be destroyed," Amora proposed.
"Fine, we could keep it in Storeroom X and put a barrier around it," Ryuji considered. "And as long as no psychics get too close to it, it's just a huge rock anyway."
"Fine," Shinichi relented. "But if it proves to be too dangerous to keep contained, we're going to figure out a way to safely destroy it." Nobody disagreed as it was a fair compromise.
"So, how are we going to deal with Kyofu, Boss?" Daichi asked Shinichi.
"Kyofu attacked our village to try and stain our reputation. I say we do the same to him," Shinichi answered. "If we ruin his credibility, he'll lose his support and a lot of his power."
"How are we supposed to do that?" Michiru asked.
"By finding proof that Kyofu is a phoney. The prisoners - Tamae and Tamayo - told us how they engineered all their heroics. They would use their abilities to cause incidents and then swoop in to save the day almost immediately. Kyofu even went as far as to bribe some criminals to act as jobbers for his Espers. That's why they always seem to act faster than we do," Shinichi explained.
"So it was all smoke and mirrors," Hana frowned. "That's just low."
"Reminds me of when Loki used his magic to glamour some D-list villains into looking like the Avengers to tarnish their good name," Amora recalled. "And the mortals all bought it. It was all quite genius and amusing up until the end."
"Well, now we know they never even tried to be real heroes," Daichi remarked angrily.
"If we're going to find any proof, we need someone to sneak into the Brain Trust Society to get it," Shinichi pointed out. "Michiru, Hana, are you up for it?"
"Espionage is our thing," Michiru claimed proudly as she and Hana shared a high-five.
"You can count on us to gather all the intelligence you need," Hana added.
"Good," Shinichi nodded. "Sheila, can you display a 3D image of the Brain Trust Society?"
"Affirmative," Sheila complied and she generated a 3D holographic render of the Brain Trust Society's headquarters upon the holo-table.
"Kyofu should have his confidential documents kept in a secure location inside his headquarters. Now, those documents should be in the archives here." Shinichi pointed to one part of the image and it turned into a 2D image of the floor plan. One room was marked with an 'X'. "Hana, Michiru, the two of you will infiltrate the facility, locate them and take them with you. Focus on documents that prove Kyofu has been engineering his team's heroics and that he's been conducting inhumane experiments. As this place will be crawling with guards, disguise yourselves as foot soldiers so you can sneak inside and then find anything that we can use to incriminate him."
"Good, we can do that," Michiru accepted.
"And you'll have some backup as well," Shinichi said as he looked at Megan. "Megan, you're pretty stealthy, right?"
"I can turn invisible and become intangible," Megan confirmed.
"Then you'll be going with Michiru and Hana."
"OK, so we got our infiltrators but we're still going to be taking the fight to them, right?" Daichi asked.
"Attacking his headquarters will only succeed in making us look like the instigators and our reputation will take another hit," Shinichi countered. "Soon, Kyofu will know we and the village survived his attack and he'll try to rectify the scenario."
"You're anticipating another attack, aren't you?" Yami surmised.
"From what I learned about him, Kyofu is petty and impulsive so when things don't go his way, he will react without thinking things through. Kyofu will no doubt send his Agitos to attack the village again once he finds out what I did and when that happens we'll be ready for them."
"So, we're on standby," Daichi grumbled unhappily.
"Look, Daichi. I know you hate waiting. But we need to be prepared for anything. I understand your need to retaliate but the village's safety comes first above all else," Shinichi informed him.
Daichi wanted to point out that Shinichi had abandoned the village once before, but then remembered that there was no point in bringing it up since he was trying to atone for that. Not to mention he trusted the NEO-NUMBERS to protect the village in his absence while he went after Gebok. Even then, Shinichi thought about the village's safety because Gebok never really cared for it in the first place.
"Fine..." Daichi reluctantly complied. He didn't like it but he would go along with Shinichi's plan.
"I'll stay to protect the village as well," Hanyuu decided. She wanted payback too. Kyofu's Agitos had attacked her village, harmed her friends, and killed her beloved. They needed to suffer the consequences.
"We'll have the home-field advantage," Yokoshima agreed, grinning.
"Like that helped the last time," Daichi scoffed. "What about the EMP? What will stop Kyofu from using it to freeze up our systems again?"
"That's where I come in! I made you guys Anti-EMP-chan to shield you," Lala smiled as she opened a box to show off a set of watches. "Ta-dah! Presenting Anti-EMP-chan! Just strap them on and you will be safe."
"Watches?" Michiru examined the items. They looked like wristwatches with cutesy alien clock faces.
"Well, my first idea was to fill your pool with nanomachines and have you all take a dip but I was told that would be intrusive."
"How do we know these things will work?" Daichi asked sceptically.
"Don't worry, Lala made sure they worked," Shinichi answered, giving the jolly space princess a deadpan stare.
"Meet Anti-EMP-chan!" Lala announced. She had called Shinichi to the workshop to show off her latest invention.
"It's a watch," Shinichi deadpanned.
"It's not just a watch. It can protect you from EMPs with a special energy shield," Lala informed him as she put it on his wrist.
"How do you know this thing will work?" Shinichi asked as he studied the watch. "Have you tested it?"
"That's why you're here!" Lala smiled.
"Wait, what?" Shinichi reacted in befuddlement. Lala quickly drew a laser gun and fired a beam at his chest. He was hit but there was no effect. Well, almost no effect aside from the shimmer around him.
"And it works!" Lala cheered, twirling her gun before putting it away.
"Shit! Lala, give me a little warning next time!" Shinichi yelled.
"The blaster was set to fire a charged EMP burst that would've knocked you out if you hadn't been wearing my Anti-EMP-chan!" Lala explained jubilantly.
"Please don't use me to test your inventions without asking me," Shinichi groaned.
"You know, Alan used to tell me that too," Lala recalled fondly.
"Geez, I wonder why," Shinichi snarked dryly.
"We may also need to anticipate at least one technopath," Shinichi advised. "Kyofu could have a psychic perfectly suited to counter technology under his employ."
"I hate technopaths," Daichi grumbled.
"Fortunately, we have Yokoshima to deal with that."
"Me?" Yokoshima pointed to himself.
"Your Scarab is sentient alien biotech. It should give you an advantage."
"What about Alpha Force?" Hana asked. "Even if Kyofu will send them to attack the village, I doubt he'll send all of them. He could have some left on standby at his headquarters if he's not sending them on missions."
"Then perhaps I can give them a mission," Amora suggested. "I'll create a spectacle so great that Kyofu can't resist sending his people to deal with it. I may not be a trickster as infamous as Loki, but I have made fools of plenty of gods before."
"Can you do a scene straight out of a Godzilla movie?" Daichi challenged.
"Good energy, but that's too much," Jade interjected. "It's best that we go subtle."
"Subtle?" Amora smirked. "Oh, my dear Jade. I have never been known to be subtle."
"Of course," Jade deadpanned. If there was one thing Amora loved as much as Alan is that she loved to show off and be as dramatic as possible.
"Now, Sheila managed to find info on the team's members and their abilities." On cue, a holographic screen appeared in front of each of the people present, containing information on Alpha Force. "Please, study them."
"How did she get all this information?" Lala asked as she scrolled down the holographic screen. It looked thoroughly detailed.
"A lot of their information was on public records and they were also seen using their abilities while performing their heroics. So I compiled all that information as you can see," Sheila explained.
"'Clementine Quintia'," Conda read the name of her killer as she glared at her picture. "'Electrokinesis'. Well, I already knew that."
"'Natsume Safuran'," Amora read the name of the psychic who turned her and Jade into dolls. Natsume had the standard psychic abilities like telekinesis and teleportation but her ability to change people into dolls was listed as 'matter transmutation'.
"Look at her eyes," Jade remarked as she saw the info on Natsume. "They look so soulless."
"The emergence of her psychic powers may have subjugated her emotions," Amora surmised. "That doll of hers is likely her only way to express them."
Ryuji looked at Daytona's info and wondered how he got mixed up with a guy like Kyofu. According to the info Sheila gathered, Daytona grew up in foster care, had been in and out of juvie, and used to be a gang leader before he joined Kyofu. His pyrokinetic abilities were likely the reason Kyofu recruited him and made him into an Agito.
"'Elise Blandelli'. From her family name she seems to be Italian," Hana read the name of the girl who nearly turned her to stone. From what she read, Elise's powers were one of the more unique among psychics. She had the physiology of a snake, could stretch her arms at long distances, could conjure energy kunai, and could even turn people to stone with her eyes like a gorgon. However, two bits of information stuck out. "Split personality disorder... and soul manipulation?"
Michiru looked at Cryska's picture and read her info with a sad look on her face. The girl she had spared had joined the army and then Kyofu just for a chance to avenge her parents.
Chiaki and Daichi were both silently committing Sogou (X) and Kyouya (M)'s faces and information to memory. Daichi was already swearing vengeance.
Shogo was memorising Jota's abilities as he formulated a strategy in his head in case they even met on the battlefield again.
Yokoshima's glare was uncharacteristically intense as he focused on memorising Vega's face. He could never forget what he had done to his wife. However, his glare paled in comparison to Hanyuu's as she imagined the punishment she would inflict on them all for what they had done to her village and beloved Chiaki.
"Hm?" Kotonoha's eyes widened once she saw Weapon D's mugshot on the screen. Her eyes widened in surprise at the picture of the girl. "Oh my. Ryuji-kun, look at this."
Ryuji leaned over Kotonoha's shoulder and blinked in surprise.
"Well, I'll be damned. This D chick looks just like Sekai," Ryuji remarked.
"Sekai?" Shinichi blinked. "You're saying D resembles someone from your world?"
"An old high school classmate of ours, Sekai Saionji," Kotonoha nodded. "I never thought she'd have a counterpart in this world too."
"Much less a psychic with the face of a soulless doll," Ryuji added. "It's a small Multiverse after all."
"He even recruited former death row inmates," Lucy remarked as she read the info on both Rintaro and Yoshikage Yoneda, as well as their crimes. She was nothing but revolted by what she read. "Good God. How could he?"
"Guy's a psycho who wants power," Ryuji concluded. "That's all it is."
"But how is he able to control these guys?" Lucy asked.
"Kyofu implanted nanobombs in their brains," Shinichi answered. "It seems that they are triggered if they attempt to rat out Kyofu."
"They can even be triggered by a telepathic probe," Megan added, looking greener than usual. Since yesterday, she had gone back to her Green Martian colour scheme.
"So in other words, the Alpha Force is like the Suicide Squad," Ryuji summarised.
"Who?" Hanyuu asked.
"There's this woman named Amanda Waller who uses the same kind of bombs to keep a team of semi-reformed villains called the Suicide Squad in check. If any of them went rogue or disobeyed orders, she blew em' up."
"She sounds like a pleasant woman," Shogo commented sarcastically.
"Oh, she's as much of a hardcase as you can get," Ryuji nodded. "Her take no bullshit attitude is something to be both admired and feared, to the point that even Warren isn't willing to cross her. If you guys were to ever have the misfortune of meeting her, she'd ship your butts to Task Force X on the grounds that you all used to be professional killers and wouldn't give a damn about you already reforming. From what we saw with those twins, Kyofu is using the same method to keep his more reluctant Agitos loyal to him."
"Funny how Gebok never installed a kill switch into any of you," Lucy said to the cyborgs.
"He did have a kill switch: me," Shinichi said gravely. "If any of the NUMBERS ever went out of line or defected, I was supposed to terminate them."
"Guess he never once expected you to defect," Yami commented.
"He was always so sure that his ultimate weapon would always serve him without question and look what his hubris got him."
"If we can find a way to safely disarm those bombs, we might be able to get a few on our side if they are willing," Kotonoha said optimistically.
"Alright, then I guess we'll be disarming some bombs too," Shinichi nodded.
"Everyone, you should know that news crews are coming to Hinamizawa and they are due to arrive in a couple of hours," Sheila informed them all.
"Guess they want to see the 'destroyed village'," Jade commented. "Imagine their surprise when they find out that Kyofu is a big fat liar."
"It won't be a good look for him," Amora agreed.
"So, will you be handling the press, Shinichi?" Lala asked.
"No," Shinichi answered quickly. "Mion is the face of the village. We'll let her handle them."
The reporters that came to Hinamizawa arrived in news vans with cameras. They expected to find the remains of a devastated village with buildings in ruins, dead bodies scattered all over, and miserable survivors. Instead, they found none of that. This was not the scene that Kyofu had described to them but the complete opposite.
Mion had been told about the reporters' arrival and as the Head of the Sonozaki Group, she decided to confront them.
"Excuse me, but what are you all doing here?" Mion questioned. Behind her, members of the Sonozaki Group stood, looking imposing.
"Pardon me, but we were told that your village suffered from an attack," one reporter asked, holding a microphone to Mion as the camera began filming. "Do you care to comment?"
"Does it look like we were attacked?" Mion asked rhetorically. "Look, if you all want to have your questions answered, then you should come to the village hall. I'll be happy to answer all your questions."
The reporters, confused, shared looks before they followed the Sonozaki Group to the village hall to get their answers. They all sat down on the floor with Mion sitting in front of them as the Sonozaki Group members stood around the hall, looking intimidating.
"Alright, let's begin," Mion prompted. "You all came here believing that our village was recently attacked, correct?"
"Yes," one reporter confirmed. "We were informed that your village suffered from heavy casualties."
"I know, I saw the press conference," Mion retorted. "As you can see, our village has not suffered from any attack. Everyone is alive and well."
"But Professor Kyofu claimed that you were attacked by a monster that killed half your villagers," a reporter said. "Care to explain?"
"I think the explanation is pretty clear, isn't it?" Mion responded, folding her arms as her mouth stretched into a wide smirk. "You've all been lied to. He basically fed you all a lie and sent you all to cover a story but he's wasted all your time."
Back at the Hive Tower, the NEO-NUMBERS and their guests watched as Mion handled the press on the huge screen in their lounge area.
"She's pretty good at that," Yokoshima observed.
"Mion-sama was personally trained by her grandmother so she knows how to keep her cool," Shogo praised.
"A picture says a thousand words," Hana responded. "The village looked like a disaster area before Shinichi fixed it."
"Right, let's get to work," Shogo stated.
"And I'll be right here with you," Lucifer said as she appeared in a wave of gold butterflies, hugging her husband from behind.
"You're joining in too, Luci?" Shogo asked his wife.
"Of course, as are my other sisters. Beatrice-sama gave us her blessing after what one of those bastards did to Asmodeus," Lucifer answered. "We also made sure not to tell our dear sister Satan about it."
"That may be for the best. She needs to focus on her wedding and doesn't need the stress," Shogo agreed.
"Leviathan's going to be so jealous," Lucifer smirked before she looked at the Cricket Cyborg. "So when will you pop the question?"
"Once this shit with Kyofu is over," Daichi promised. "I've been putting it off for too long."
"What finally convinced you?" Kotonoha asked.
"Dying," Daichi answered plainly. "Dying made me realise I would regret not doing it while I still had the chance."
"Hope you have a ring ready," Lucifer reminded.
"You don't need to worry about that. I made sure to get one a long time ago with a stone that's going to make everyone green with envy."
"Hey, what do you think Kyofu will do when he sees this?" Jade asked as Mion continued to answer questions. "I bet he'll be ticked off."
"That's a sucker's bet," Yami responded.
Shinichi smiled when he saw how well Mion handled the reporters. Later in the evening, the news about Hinamizawa not being destroyed would be shown on TV. He was eager to see the look on Kyofu's face once he saw it.
Kyofu was back in his office after a busy day. Checking his time, he saw that the news would be on. Grabbing a remote, he pressed a button and a panel in his ceiling slid aside to let a television set descend. He pressed another button on his remote to turn on the news. He ignored the news anchor at first since whatever they were saying did not matter. He just wanted to know about Hinamizawa. Finally, he got his wish as the image of the studio changed to show the village. Kyofu's eyes widened when he saw the village on the TV screen. Instead of death, destruction and devastation, people went about their day peacefully while all the houses and buildings were intact with no signs of damage at all.
"Here we are in Hinamizawa which, according to Professor Kyofu, should have been destroyed. However, when we arrived here, there was no sign of destruction whatsoever. When asked about the supposed destruction of Hinamizawa and the many deaths that took place, the Head of the Sonozaki Group, Mion Sonozaki, had this to say," the reporter on screen reported.
"I think the explanation is pretty clear, isn't it? You've all been lied to. He basically fed you all a lie and sent you all to cover a story but he's wasted all your time," Mion claimed.
"Professor Kyofu has been making a name for himself by starting the Brain Trust Society and forming his own team of psychic superheroes as a countermeasure against the Kamen Riders. However, this story about Hinamizawa's supposed destruction appears to have been fabricated," the news anchor reported. "Has he been lying to us this whole time?"
Kyofu screamed as he threw his remote control directly at his TV, breaking the screen.
"WHY ISN'T THAT VILLAGE RAZED TO THE GROUND!?"
"This is quite the conundrum," Weapon B muttered, waving his hand as it flashed silver. "Our people were certain that when they left the village it was decimated and half the population was killed."
"Well, it ISN'T!" Kyofu yelled, pointing at the screen- which miraculously restored itself, "Do you know what this MEANS? I'm going to look like a LIAR! How could my Alpha Force LIE to me!? HOW!?" Kyofu stopped himself as realisation set in, his eyes widening. "...No."
"Sir?" Weapon B asked in concern.
"It was BLACK 13!" Kyofu realised angrily. "BLACK 13 did this! He made a FOOL out of me again!"
"Didn't Weapon D report that she killed him?"
"Yes," Kyofu hissed. "B, summon D to my lab. I want a WORD with her, NOW!" When Kyofu did not receive a reply, he repeated himself. "B, I ORDER you to summon D to my lab!" B did not respond. "B, what are you doing!?"
B did not respond. In fact, B was not doing anything but standing in front of Kyofu like a statue. He wondered what was wrong with his right-hand man. He waved his hand in front of B's face but received no response.
"He can't hear you," Shinichi said as he appeared, leaning against Kyofu's bookshelf. Panicking, Kyofu pressed the emergency button on his desk to call for help.
"Guards! Guards!" Kyofu yelled into the intercom. "Guards, get up here right NOW! I need ASSISTANCE! We have an INTRUDER! We have an INTRUDER!"
"Don't bother trying to call for help. I surrounded us in a temporal bubble. Everything and everyone else around us is frozen," Shinichi stated.
"Hmph, so you DID manage to SURVIVE," Kyofu remarked. "D failed."
"Yeah, I survived. Gebok made sure I was hard to kill." At the mention of his most hated rival's name, Kyofu's jaw clenched. "I know who you are, Professor Kyofu. I know you used to work for GIN-SHOCKER."
"Yes, but I left once I REALISED I could do so much BETTER by striking out on my own!" Kyofu declared. "They did not RESPECT nor ACKNOWLEDGE my GENIUS! So I MOVED on and created all of THIS!"
"Yes, your Brain Trust Society. I admit that it's impressive, but we're not here to talk about your accomplishments." Shinichi's eyes narrowed as he glared daggers at Kyofu. "You sent your people to attack my home and murder innocent people all because of some petty grudge you have against Gebok."
"Then are you here to AVENGE them? Are you here to KILL me, BLACK 13?" Kyofu challenged. Shinichi considered it. He could kill Kyofu, right here and right now. It would be so easy and he would not leave any evidence. However, that would send the wrong message. He needed to be better.
"I'm here to give you one warning," Shinichi retorted as he walked up to Kyofu and stared him down. "I know about Reiko Serizawa. I know you turned her into a weapon like how Gebok made me into a weapon. I want you to stop whatever it is you're trying to do and this can all end without further issues."
"I see." Kyofu crossed his arms as he met Shinichi's intense gaze with his own."And WHAT do you THINK I am trying to do here?"
"I haven't figured it out yet but if it involves creating an army of Agitos then it cannot be anything good."
"Then ALLOW me to offer a REBUTTAL: I will NOT stop my plans until I PROVE my work is SUPERIOR to Gebok's!"
"So that's your answer." Shinichi looked Kyofu dead in the eyes. "...Don't say I didn't warn you." After those parting words, Shinichi warped away, allowing time to resume.
"Sir?" B questioned, seeing Kyofu with crossed arms as he tried to keep himself from breaking out in cold sweat. "Is something wrong?"
"Weapon B," Kyofu thundered slowly. "Get me the Alpha Force. All of them. NOW!"
END OF ACT 8
Dr Ex: Alright, so it looks like Shinichi and his team are planning their retaliation. Not just that, but now that Kyofu has learned that Hinamizawa and Shinichi survived, he is going to make some impulsive decisions. It won't be a good look for him, especially once his crimes have been brought to light.