Rebirth of the Chrysalite
CHAPTER 3: The Search

Syndicate Mountain Compound
Thursday, January 06, 2033

"Listen, chaps, you all know what to do, right?"
"Make sure you search through the terminals thoroughly!"
"Yes, sir!" The TCTF agents answered the squad leader in unison.

The TCTF agents were sent to the Mountain Compound for an important mission. Captain Daniel had suggested to a doubting Commander Griffin, with support from a senior TCTF officer, that this particular Syndicate base was the Central Base of operations of the Syndicate's in Neo Japan. Why wouldn't it be? Only an important base would be the Base of Operation for Project Sturmanderung. Plus, the TCTF come to think that Muro would only be found in Central Bases around the world, and would visit no-where else.
Thanks to the tracker placed on the late Boss Muro's Vertical-Take-Off-and-Landing (VTOL) plane placed late last year by Konoko, locating this base was made easy.

A Central Base would contain the locations of all the other bases in the Neo Japan, none of which the TCTF had discovered since the formation of the WCG. TCTF officers would be sent into the Mountain Compound, look thoroughly through every computer terminal available. The agents were each given decryption codes for this purpose.
Now, all the TCTF officers have to do was to report to the TCTF Headquarters all the locations of the sub-bases they've discovered, and a raid will be conducted on all these bases, clearing entire bases of Syndicate troops, and hence, recovering all the stolen technology, and using the computer terminals in those bases, the locations of facilities for the storage of illegal technology and weapons will be made known.

The helicopter touched down on the tarmac outside the main complex of the Syndicate base. The TCTF agents, 5 of them, including the squad leader, stepped down on the hard ground.

"Now, Carl", the squad leader pointed at a blond, tall agent, "hold onto these plans of the complex."
The plans were obtained from a fallen Communication Trooper's pockets during the 'collection' of the corpses in the Compound.
"Are your plasma rifles armed? Remember, be constantly vigilant! There might still be Syndicate troops around!"
"Yes, sir!"
"The decryption and storage disks' with you?"
The agent being questioned replied, "Sure. See, I have them here." He took out a box containing the disks. There were 2 types of disks, with 6 to each type. One was for the decrypting the Syndicate's computer code, and the other is for storing the information extracted.
"Good, Dave. Each of you, take one of each type of disk." The agents took the disks and placed them into their pockets, and strapped them carefully, ensuring they wouldn't fall off.

The snow covered ground shuffled under their boots. Or rather, the snow shuffled when the boots 'cut' through them.
Flakes of snow still fell, and the snow got a few inches too deep for the agents' liking. An agent fired shots from the Plasma rifle to melt the snow within a few feet from where the projectiles struck. The trouble of 'snow-plowing' was soon eliminated.

Some TCTF agents gazed, through their helmet's visor-cum-binoculars, at the sniping towers that rose like a dark shadow some distance away. Slight patches of burnt marks can be seen. They only turned away after making sure no one's standing behind those towers.

Finally, they reached the complex's entrance. The entrance led to a room with a broken window, and to the right was a non-functional alarm console. "You two, check out the terminals in that room, we'll..." The squad leader walked towards a door leading towards yet another room. The door slide open to reveal another room. He pointed at the far corner of the next room, and continued, "We'll wait for you at that end, clear?"
The two agents nodded and hurried off.

The remaining 4 agents walked through the door in double file, scanning around with their rifles from left to right, making sure the coast is clear. The area is divided into two sides by a rectangular block in the middle. This block has two rooms side by side, both of which are accessible from either sides.
Good... the laser sensors were deactivated before. The squad leader smiled to himself, This is going to be fast...
The agents divided into two groups, with each group checking the terminals in each room.

"Hmm... not many computers around." Dave noticed. He entered the first room. The computers that were around just had information about blast doors and facility security. His partner was also, noticeably, equally disappointed.

The squad leader, Shinjoh, waited for the encryption code to be cracked. A blip indicated the process is done. Shinjoh eagerly looked through the contents on the screen, searching each and every file for signs of the other bases' location.
It proved fruitless. "Nothing here, sir, either. I've even checked through every terminal twice", his partner said.

Dave and his partner came through the second room's door. Dave shook his head.
"Sigh... let's wait for the others...", Shinjoh said.

Soon, the other two agents joined them, also with negative results.

The agents stood on either sides of the door, and one pressed the open button. The door slided open and the 2 agents closest to the sides pointed their guns at the newly revealed entrance. "Ok, no one's around."

"This place is too big... it wouldn't be wise for all of us to check through the terminals. Carl, give me the plans for the complex." Shinjoh took the blue sheet of paper. "Let's see... it appears we will have to split again."

The entire, warehouse-like area of the complex had two symmetrical parts, with glass windows facing each part. Clearly the person who made this map had done his homework. Each room was clearly labelled to have very important computer terminals.

Dave was put in charge of the other group. They ran across the bridge that linked both sides, their boots clicking and clacking on the white tiles.
Dave stopped suddenly.
"Wait..." Dave held out his arm to stop his fellow agents from moving further.
"Wah, careful, Dave! Why are you stopping suddenly?" one agent said.
"Did you hear that? I think I heard something..."
"What sound? It must be your stomach groaning." another agent quipped in.
"Be serious! I think I heard breathing... Sounds unlike ours..."
"It must be a leaky ventilation pipe or something... let's go."

A door led to a room bathed in red. It was safe to enter, and they entered the main computer rooms. "Oh dear... we're going need some serious searching..." He was right. The entire room contained a lot more computer terminals than both the rooms they had been to. Dave had a worried look on his face. How long is this going to take? I'm beginning to dread this already.

"Ok, guys, let's get to work."

The same thing for the other 3 agents. This room has even more terminals.

For the next few minutes, only the tapping (and smashing of a terminal when a search returned null.) of keys of the terminals could be heard. "Blast! What's taking these terminals so long to search through the files?" Shinjoh tapped his fingers impatiently. Usually, he wasn't such an impatient person, but the thought of having more and more terminals to search through. And we've only merely started our search...
"No results found." appeared on screen. Shinjoh grew red with anger. His fingers were itching to press the trigger on the Plasma Rifle and blast this terminal.

With each failure, they began to question the Syndicate's intelligence. Why the hell did they not label what a terminal does? We wouldn't be on this hopeless search by now!

Carl, too, was losing patience. He was wondering how the other group was doing, and hoped the others will eventually find it, and end this search.
But the others were not given the chance to find it...
He found it. Or rather, he thought so. "Item Found". The eerie green words blinked on the screen. Carl's heart jumped a little, and he proceeded to Load the file found.

DECRYPTION DISK/CODE, PLEASE...

Carl slotted the decryption disk, and crossed his fingers, hoping it will work.
It did.

DECRYPTING... please wait...

DECRYPTION SUCCESSFUL,
OPENING FILE: "BLoc_2x.wpt"...
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Syndicate Mountain Compound/Central Base, Neo Tokyo
Syndicate Sub-bases: Neo Tokyo

Number of sub-bases: 12

*The locations are listed in terms of distance from the Central Base (this base.).

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Carl scrolled through, and his heart leapt one more time. This was the file they've been searching for, all right. He removed the decryption disk and inserted the storage disc. "Now, to Save it."
A progress bar appeared on the screen, and Carl waited, this time, patiently. A "Saved..." appeared on screen, and he took the disc out.

"Sir! The search is complete, sir!" He ran towards Shinjoh.
"What? You sure this is the right file?"
"Absolutely, sir. Here, I'll load it for you."
Shinjoh scanned the file, and nodded. "Good work, Carl," He patted him on the back, "I'll inform the others."
Shinjoh activated his intercom and related the good news. "Really? That's great! We'll come right over." Dave's voice said. He took out a marker and labelled it, before slotting it into his pocket.

Dave told the others. "Everyone, our work here is done. Let's get out of here."

They marched out of the room, with noticeable expressions of relief.

Then Dave heard something again. A metallic sound... He strained his ears, trying to hear it again, but nothing else was heard. Never mind... probably just my imagination..." But he wasn't prepared to let his guard down. He pointed his Rifle on the pipes that ran across the ceiling. Strange... the pipes are intact. Must be something else that's hissing.

Shinjoh, too, prepared to leave. They walked through the door and proceeded down the hallway.

Shinjoh activated his intercom once again. "Captain Daniel, we've found what we want."
A slight cackle.
"Good, Shinjoh. Try to get back as soon as possible."
"Yes...

A metallic laughter that broke the conversation was heard, and both Carl and Shinjoh were hit from behind. They staggered, and pointed their Plasma Rifles around. "Who's that? Show yourself!" Shinjoh ordered.

Another metallic laughter followed. Shinjoh turned to face the entrance. Two dark figures stood, blocking the entrance.

"What happened, Shinjoh? Answer me!"
"Ninjas..."
"What?"

The ninjas wore a black uniform, complete with black, shiny armor. The red dots that allowed their eyes to see completed the fearsome look of the ninjas'. These ninjas were more powerful than the Avenger class ninjas. Much more powerful... Impossible. Shinjoh thought. Dark Ninjas were supposed to be merely rumored to exist. No one has ever seen one yet.

"Your leader seem to have something he is not supposed to have..." One ninja spoke to Carl in an eerie, airy voice, looking at Shinjoh.

"Oh yeah? And you think we're going to give it to you?" Carl fired 2 shots at one of the black ninjas. The ninja leapt into the air and dodged the two projectiles.

Bad move. That was a really bad move.

Dave saw the ninjas confronting of Shinjoh. He signalled to his team to hurry. "Quick, the others are in trouble!"
But they were stopped dead in their tracks by another dark ninja. "Going somewhere?"

The black ninjas, as swift as lightning, dashed towards the agents. They were just a blur to the agents.

A Black Ninja leapt into the air and bored into Carl's face with his powerful legs. Carl collapsed, dazed. Blood oozed out from his mouth. Carl got his body up, face distorted in pain. The ninja wasted no time. Almost immediately, both his legs were clutched strongly onto Carl's neck like a vice. Carl was being choked. The ninja swung his arms like a helicopter blade, and Carl was flipped to the ground. Carl's neck broke with a snap.

Dave was punched five times in his chest, and vomited bright red blood, and struggled to remain conscious. He wanted to reach for his Plasma Rifle, but was kicked hard in the face, a few teeth falling out with the blood.
The other two agents tried stopping the ninja from further injuring Dave. But the ninja was too fast. He flipped several times in the air and dropped like a bomb right on the heads of all three agents.
Dave's helmet cracked from the impact, and he fainted. The other two agents were in no better condition. The two agents tried to run away, but the ninja was in front of them in an instant. He grabbed both agents by the neck, and with amazing strength for a ninja, threw one right down into the loading bay below, killing him instantly.
The other agent was choking. He felt the power radiating from the ninja's body, and knew his end was near. The ninja dashed, with his fists still clutched like a vice around the agent's neck, and smashed the agent right into the metal crates. The impact was staggering. The metal crate rocked, and the agent's spines were snapping and his backbones were shattering. He was barely alive. The ninja hit him hard against the wall once again, and the eyes of the agent nearly popped out.
The ninja let go, and the agent's body crumbled, all the life gone from him.

Shinjoh watched in horror as the two agents on the bridge died. He tightened his grip on the Plasma Rifle, anger surging through him.

Meanwhile, the other two agents in front of Shinjoh were not having much luck either. Plasma Rifle projectiles were dodged easily by the ninjas. At this rate, we'll never beat them.
Our only hope are these Plasma Rifles...
"Turn on RapidFire mode!" Shinjoh ordered his co-agents. Loud booms sounded through the hallway as the projectiles from the rifles fired at two times the existing speed. The yellow-orange projectiles impacted and exploded on the walls and this time, on the the dark ninjas as well.
"Yes!" Shinjoh cried out in triumph. "Keep it up, everyone! We're hitting them!"
But when the dust and smoke lessens, they noticed that the projectiles only made the ninjas glow pink.
"WHAT? We've fired nearly all our clip and they're..." His fellow agent exclaimed, unable to contain his disbelief.
Boss Shields... He heard of these shields before. A Syndicate creation. The WCG has never been able to mimic such creations. Their own Force Shields can only withstand certain amount of damage before being depleted.

The two ninjas flashed past. Shinjoh and the other agent were both knocked to the ground, the Plasma Rifles flying out of their grip.

The other agent managed to reach for his Plasma Rifles, and stood up, only to be face to face with a ninja. One last shot... better make this good.

The agent shuddered when the ninja gave a metallic cackle. "Eat this, shadow freaks!" His fingers positioned at the trigger, and prepared to pull it.
Then, the rifle was gone from his hand.
The agent blinked, then looked up and stared at the ninja.
The ninja had the rifle now...
"You're mine..." the ninja hissed.
The agent closed his eyes, awaiting his fate, as the projectile punched through his chest, nearly vaporizing his lungs. He crumbled to the ground, and drew in one last gasp before life gave up on him.

The ninja dropped the now empty Plasma Rifle, and moved towards Shinjoh.

"NO!!" Shinjoh yelled out loudly. These agents barely got started as TCTF officers, and... Even though they only met for a while, Shinjoh had begun to like and enjoyed these agents' company. And now...

Shinjoh stood his ground, Plasma Rifles pointed at the ninja. He's going to try everything he can to stop these ninjas. He fired rapid balls of fire from the Plasma Rifle. Never mind that it seemed to deflected by the ninja's Boss Shields.
The ninja walked calmly, shaking his head. "Give up, agent..."

He felt a cold wind from behind. A ninja was behind him. Before he could turn around, he was carried two metres into the air, upside down, and was drilled, head-first, towards the ground. The ground cracked with the impact.

Blood flowed out from the cracked helmet. Shinjoh's intercom was still activated. "Shinjoh, Shinjoh. Are you there?" Captain Daniel's muffled voice sounded through it. The ninja stepped hard on the little mechanism, and it sparked and was silenced.

For a while, there was absolutely no sound.

Then, an eerie, metallic voice broke the silence:

"Neutralised..."

# WJTW/The Author says:

## That's all for Chapter 3! I think the 'fighting sequences' were not very well described. What do you think? Please review!

## I'm trying to make each chapter in ROTC short enough to be digestible. I wanted to add another part to this, but it'll be
## in Chapter 4.

## It seem this chapter is a little too long, though.

## So, as I've said, start reviewing it! Even if you've reviewed the first two chapters, please review again for this!

## Oh, remember to visit OniChars -
## And OniFanFic - [yes, it is a '32'.]