BATTLE NETWORK CYBERSYSTEM: The Manic Saga
Volume 2: Pokerface
Chapter 6: Deuce's Wild
"So how are the operations going?" a voice asked.
"Going great, we've recollected and reformed his body already," a calm voice said, "but he's not conscious yet, so we can't get them into him yet..."
"Good. Jack?"
"Yeah, arrangements all set, we'll be ready to host in a few months..." the Jack responded, "They'll be itching to enter, so we'll have them in our hands..."
"Good. As for my part, data cloning is going smoothly. We've already captured the other five, Deuce has the other one right now. Now all we can do..." the leading voice stopped ominously after a few clicks from a keyboard.
"...is wait..."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"So, where do you think this goes to?" Ryuu asked Manic and Kinzoku.
"I have no clue, but this fog is starting to get on my nerves," Kin responded, irritated that he can't see the floor in case the area was laden with traps.
"What I want to know is why no one noticed this place before..." Manic asked as they walked down the dank cyberspace corridor, "and what that smell is, damn..."
"Wasn't me," Kin said.
"No, I'm not talking about that," Manic said as he pushed Kinzoku towards Ryuu playfully as Kin chuckled, "it's stale air or something... but I can't quite notice what the smell is..."
*It's the smell...* Infernos said, *...of death.*
*Shut up, it's creepy enough in here without you talking,* Manic responded mentally as Infernos just laughed.
"What's so funny?" Naoko asked through Kin's voice.
"Nothing, just him whining about it being spooky in here," Infernos responded in Manic's voice.
"I'll never get used to this..." Ryuu said as he shook his head. Having three people in one area was fine for him, but to deal with five voices was another. However, the three stopped as they all heard a loud clang of metal behind them.
"What was that?" Manic asked as he turned around. The only light that was provided for them was the entrance to the labyrinth, but it was starting to fade away, leaving only the silhouette of the entrance. A short while after the sound, gears came to life, chipping rust off as they spun.
"I don't know," Ryuu responded, "But it doesn't sound like it's friendly..."
"Look out!" Kin yelled to everyone as he saw two large horizontal blades coming at the officials. They all ducked and rolled out of their paths and looked around.
"Damn," Manic said, "We can't see any further down..."
Kin immediately drew a Holy Sword, illuminating the area around them. "This'll work for a while, let's go." Immediately, Ryuu, Manic and Kinzoku got up and ran down the hallway towards the darkness, hoping to reach the end. They dove under more horizontal blades, leaped over spike pits that unearthed from beneath their feet and evaded numerous other traps awaiting them.
"How many of these are there!?" Manic yelled as he hopped over another tiger trap pit in front of him.
"It's best not to wonder these thing while they can still kill us!" Ryuu responded as he ran on the side of the wall, avoiding another spike pit. Kinzoku narrowly avoided being skewered by metal spikes that shot up from the floor by stopping before he ran into them, then ran past them and onto Ryuu's side of the corridor.
Finally, they all made it to the end of the traps with their lives. They all looked back while panting heavily.
"I don't want to go through that again..." Kinzoku said as he sat on the ground, Ryuu and Manic following suit.
"Whatever's down here has to be good..." Manic said as Kinzoku set the Holy Sword in the middle of them.
"We should find some way to contact the Chief," Ryuu suggested as Kin and Manic nodded in response.
"The only thing is, how?" Manic said, "We're in the net, there's no way to make contact with the outside world..."
The three sat in thought for a few minutes. Their situation looked darker and darker.
"Maybe there is a way..." Ryuu said, still in thought.
"What makes you think that?" Kinzoku asked.
"Well, the cyberband has a built-in communicator," Ryuu said, "That's how our work computers communicate with each other, so what would happen if we tried to do the same thing from inside the net with one?"
Manic sat in thought. "It could work... but how would we do it... wait..." Manic noticed something glitter next to Ryuu. "Ryuu, what's that?"
"What's what?" Ryuu asked as he looked to his side. He noticed the object as well and picked it up. It seemed to be some sort of hand-held device used for communication through the net.
"Hey, I recognize that," Kinzoku said, "they were popular back in the times of the cybersuits. People would use them to communicate with each other if they got lost on exploration projects or the like, but I doubt it's useable now..."
The object had a screen with a small, worn keyboard beneath it.
"Hmm..." Ryuu examined the communicator a little and found a switch for it. He flicked it on, but nothing happened.
Suddenly, Manic got an idea. "Ryuu, does it run on electricity?"
"It might..." Ryuu said. "What did you have in mind?"
At those words, a gun formed in Manic's hand and surged with a few bolts of electricity.
"...you're going to shock it to life with a Zapring?" Ryuu asked skeptically.
"Do you have any better suggestions?" Manic responded. Ryuu sighed, "Ok, better than nothing, I guess..." Ryuu set the communicator against a wall while both Kinzoku and Ryuu stepped backwards, Kin taking his Holy Sword with him. It was starting to dim, but it would last for a while longer.
Manic then took aim with the Zapring. *Hope this works...* Manic said to himself as he fired the electricity at it.
Amazingly, the device shocked to life. Ryuu reached down and picked it up after receiving a small zap from it, then looked at the screen. It showed a ready message for him.
"Ok..." Ryuu said, "All we have to do is send a message to the Chief's computer and hopefully he'll get it." Ryuu typed on the communicator frantically.
--to: CMassingale@onba.off.gov
--from: DiCampos47@akilabs.gov
--Subject: Elite
Chief, we're in the cavern, but we were attacked by traps and found an old comm. device. What is going on here? Respond quickly.
Ryuu, Manic, Kinzoku
"There, sent the message," Ryuu said as he put the device in his pocket and left it on, so they would get a response.
"Well, at least we know that works for next time," Manic said lightly.
"Let's move on, we'll see if he sent a response later," Kinzoku suggested. Manic and Ryuu nodded and walked down the hall, looking out for any more traps. They walked down the hallways with the dim light from the Holy Sword Kinzoku was holding. It was starting to fade away, but down the hallway there was a source of light that seemed to illuminate the cavern barely.
"Wonder what's down th--" Ryuu started to say as he noticed a rattle in his pocket. The device had received a response. Ryuu pulled it out and opened up the response.
--to: DiCampos47@akilabs.gov
--from:CMassingale@onba.off.gov --subject: RE: Elite
To tell you guys the truth, we received the info about this cavern from an anonymous tip. We're analyzing who sent it now, so be careful. I'll contact you later once we find out more. Chief
"That makes me even more nervous," Kinzoku said, "Who sent the tip in?"
"I have no clue..." Manic responded, "but we know that whoever sent the tip in knew there would be danger here..."
"It could be a set-up, guys," Ryuu said as he pocketed the device again, "stay on guard." The three resumed walking down the fairly-lit corridor, slowly approacing the source of the light. However, before they could see what was ahead clearly, Ryuu received another message from the device.
"They were quick about finding who sent the tip in," Ryuu joked as he read aloud the message. "We found something out about who sent the tip in. It was by a group..." the screen flickered a bit, "...by a group called...damn." the screen shut off completely now.
"Did you catch the name?" Kinzoku asked Ryuu.
"I didn't catch all of it," Ryuu said, "but it looked like it had the word 'poker' in it..."
"That's a weird name for a group..." Manic said as he thought about who sent it.
"You must mean Pokerface," a deep-pitched voice rang through the hallway. The three officials turned towards the sound of the voice immediately.
"Who's there?" Manic yelled out. Ryuu dropped the communicator as they all walked towards the light. Once they reached it, they found out that the light led them into a large room with a man standing in the middle of it with crossed arms. He wore black sunglasses with a leather jacket over a dark green shirt and black pants.
"Who are you?" Kinzoku asked the man, not sure of whether he meant harm or not. Manic and Ryuu were ready to act as well as Kin when he spoke.
"Well well, I'm surprised you three made it here alive..." the man said as he crossed his arms. He was bald, but he looked strong and towered over the three officials. "That means I get to have some fun for right now... hehe..."
*Careful...* both Infernos and Naoko said mentally.
*What's wrong?* Manic asked Infernos.
*There's something different about him... I can feel it...*
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," the man said as he cracked his neck to the right, "People call me the Deuce. You'll be calling me daddy after this."
Ryuu spat at this, "There's no way you can take all three of us!"
"Oh, but you're wrong there, son," the Deuce said, "Because you don't know what I'm capable of yet..."
"We'll see who's wrong..." Ryuu responded. For some reason, Ryuu was more than ready to fight this character than any other person they've met.
"Let's go, then," Manic said.
Suddenly, all three officials ran towards Deuce, each wielding the sword of their element. The Deuce smirked evilly as he took off his sunglasses to reveal both a brown-colored eye and a green-colored eye, then swiped at all three swords with a large, red sword that shattered the officials' swords. Deuce then cut again and sent them all flying backwards. Both Kinzoku and Ryuu slammed into the wall while Manic slammed against the side of the opening and caught himself after that.
"You guys have courage, I'll give you that," Deuce said as his Breaker Sword disappeared. All three officials were hurting after that single attack. "But even with that, you don't stand a chance against me."
"We'll see about that!" Manic yelled as he uploaded two Big Cannon datasilvers. Two guns formed into Manic's hands as he took aim and fired at the Deuce. The Deuce quickly dodged the gunfire, but this was enough for both Kin and Ryuu to unleash their attacks against the Deuce as well, each armed with their own elemental swords again. The Deuce quickly backflipped out of the swords' way and punched at both officials. All three exchanged their own attacks, but the Deuce was too fast for them. He quickly grabbed Kinzoku's leg after Kinzoku sent a side kick at him, and threw him into Ryuu, sending both officials out of the way for Manic to fight the Deuce as well.
"You're pretty good," Manic said as he threw a punch at the Deuce's face. However, the Deuce caught the punch and swung Manic around in a circle.
"I'm too good!" Deuce yelled as he threw Manic towards Kinzoku and Ryuu, sending all three hunters down.
*Not good...* Naoko said.
*There's no real way they can stand up to him at this point...* Infernos said as well.
*Why is he this strong?* Kinzoku asked Naoko.
*Can't you see the aura coming from him?* Naoko asked. Kinzoku looked at the Deuce to see a faint green coming from him.
*What does it mean?* Kin asked.
*It means that we're fighting one of our own...* Infernos said.
*What!?* Manic yelled mentally.
*He's one of the chosen... he has the earth deity on his side...* Infernos explained, *But I never thought one of them would be able to integrate with one of us... damn traitor...*
*He's using both of us!* a voice called out to Infernos and Naoko.
*...oh shit!* Infernos said.
*So not good...* Naoko said.
*What's not good!?* Kinzoku asked quickly.
"So, are you three just going to lay there all day?!" Deuce asked menacingly. Ryuu managed to stand up while Kin and Manic were trying to figure out what all this meant.
"Kinzoku, Manic, what's wrong?" Ryuu asked as he glared at the Deuce.
*Manic, remember how I said there were twelve deities?* Infernos asked.
*Yeah...*
*Well... he has two of them with him, one from each side...*
*...oh shit...*
*Exactly. We gotta integrate.*
*Now,* Infernos and Naoko said at the same time.
*Right,* Kinzoku and Manic responded.
"Ryuu," Manic said while he got up from the ground.
"Yes?"
"Keep him distracted for as long as you can..." Kinzoku said, "We'll be back in a few..."
"Ok, good luck you two..." Ryuu responded. Kinzoku and Manic then got up and moved away a few feet.
"So, I'm left with facing you, huh?" The Deuce said with a snarl as he saw Ryuu pacing towards him.
"You'll never defeat me," Ryuu said menacingly. He was starting to show anger at this opponent, something that was hardly ever seen in Ryuu. Ryuu and Deuce exchanged blows for a few minutes until they both heard something.
"Showtime!" Manic yelled as he dropped to a knee and pounded his fist into the ground. He was then enveloped in flames.
"You will not defeat us!" Kinzoku yelled as a white light eminated from him as he stood.
Suddenly, Manic/Infernos was standing next to Kin/Naoko, both ready to fight. Kin/Naoko wore a white priest's robe over black baggy pants and had a golden crest on his forehead. His hair was now short and deep purple, tossed everywhere.
"Ryuu, get back!" Manic/Infernos yelled as both he and Kin/Naoko rushed towards the Deuce with lightning speed.
"I knew it!" Deuce yelled as he hit Ryuu aside and faced both integrated deities in battle. It wasn't a long fight until the Deuce was sent flying into a wall, leaving an engraving in it.
"Guh..." the Deuce said as he fell onto the floor and onto one knee. "Hoped I wouldn't have to do this, but..." The deuce then let out a loud growl as both his eyes turned bright green and his body started to change.
"What's happening with him?" Kin/Naoko asked.
"He's going through a change... but how?!" Manic/Infernos responded. Ryuu got up and felt pain surge through his body from the fight before.
*Is this why he's called the Deuce?* Ryuu thought to himself, *He can change into another form?*
Suddenly, the Deuce became something grotesquely resembling a giant beast on four legs, covered in scales and sharp, jagged teeth. The huge beast was at least quadruple the size of the officials and was much more powerful.
"Not good..." Kin/Naoko said.
"You got that right..." Manic/Infernos responded.
Suddenly, the beast made its move and lunged towards the officials. It swung with its huge front arms and sent Ryuu flying into the wall, knocking him out temporarily. Kin/Naoko was sent into the opposite wall, crumbling it, while Manic/Infernos latched onto the arm.
"Big doggie!" Manic/Infernos shouted playfully as he held onto the arm for life as the beast swung it around, trying to get him off. Finally, Manic/Infernos lost his grip and was sent high into the ceiling above and came crashing down.
*Can't... take much more... hurt...* Manic/Infernos thought to himself as he lay on the ground. Kin/Naoko finally got up, but the beast was too fast for him to react, and found himself being pounded into the ground numerous times by the beast's two front legs. The onslaught left Kin/Naoko with nothing left for energy, and he reverted back to Kinzoku. Manic/Infernos barely found the energy to stand up as Ryuu regained consciousness and stood up, using the wall for support. Manic/Infernos then reverted back to Manic and dropped to one knee.
"Damn..." Manic said, struggling with pain, "It's a monster... we can't...huh?" A glint caught Manic's eye as he looked at the wall Kinzoku was thrown at. It had crumbled away to reveal a statue of a stone goddess with a red/silver object in front of it. However, before he could move towards it, Kinzoku was thrown into Manic and both officials slid on the ground towards Ryuu. All three officials were in pain now, but they couldn't do anything about the beast any more.
"There has to be some way..." Ryuu panted as he helped Kinzoku up and off Manic while Manic picked himself up slowly.
"That thing..." Kinzoku said between breaths, "is powerful..."
"Really?" Manic said in pain as he picked himself up. He kept eyeing the strange statue in the back, then finally gathered up the strength to talk again.
"Ok," Manic said to Ryuu and Kinzoku, "This is a last ditch effort... but you two distract it with shot datasilvers..."
"What good will that do?" Ryuu asked, still holding onto the wall.
"I don't know how to explain it, but... something's telling me to get over there..." Manic then nodded towards the stone statue on the opposite end of the room.
"Let's give it a try, then," Kinzoku said as he uploaded a spreadshot datasilver and a Light Strike datasilver. Ryuu uploaded a Vine Cannon and a Great Cannon.
"Ready?" Manic said. Both Kin and Ryuu nodded.
"Go!" At the same time, Manic made a dash to the opposite end of the room while Kinzoku and Ryuu shot at the beast. The attacks merely made the beast flinch, but they caught its attention and it loomed slowly towards the two. They were frantically trying to ward off the beast with their datasilvers, but to no avail. Their only hope now was for the plan to work.
Manic finally made it over to the statue of the goddess. He could clearly see what it was in front of the statue, a large sword lodged into stone. It had etchings of some arcane language and looked rather oddly shaped for a sword, but Manic didn't pay any heed. With all his might, Manic lifted the sword out of the statue and ran towards the beast, his eyes glowing deep red.
The beast was now nearing both shooting netbattlers and was ready to strike them down, but it then recoiled in pain as it got back on all fours and roared in pain. As soon as the beast was down on the ground, both Kinzoku and Ryuu could see Manic standing on its upper back with the sword lodged into it, a green light coming from the wound. The beast roared in pain as it jerked back and forth, trying to shake Manic from its back. However, Manic was not moving at all. His eyes were still glowing red as he held onto the sword.
Finally, the beast fell motionless onto the ground and shone a bright green. Manic's eyes reverted back to their blue color and he was thrown off the beast and into Kinzoku and Ryuu. The two netbattlers caught him and set him onto the ground to look at the events unfolding before them. A green light was swirling around the sword that was stabbed into the beast's back, then disappeared. The sword fell with a clatter and landed next to the Deuce's sunglasses.
"Are you guys ok?" Manic said weakly.
"We're fine," Ryuu said, "How about you?"
"I've seen better days..." Manic chuckled dryly as he stood up and looked at the remains of the Deuce.
"So that's why he was here..." Infernos said through Manic's voice.
"Huh?" both Kin and Ryuu asked. Infernos walked over to the sword and let Manic pick both it and the sunglasses up. Manic examined the glasses for a moment, then threw them towards Ryuu.
"Hey, put these on," Infernos said through Manic's voice as he walked over towards them with the sword.
"What for?" Ryuu asked as he obeyed and put them on.
"For this," Naoko said through Kinzoku as she placed a hand on Ryuu's cheek, her fingertips on the sunglasses. The sunglasses gave off a soft green glow and slowly evaporated into thin air.
*God damn, that hurt...* a voice said inside Ryuu's head.
"Who was that?" Ryuu asked as he slowly looked around the room.
*Oh, hey man,* the voice said again mentally to Ryuu, *I'm the Earth Deity, nice to meet y--*
"It's Mother Nature!" Both Infernos and Naoko said jokingly.
"I'm not a girl, dammit!" the voice retorted through a much deeper pitch of Ryuu's voice.
"You're not really anything, though," Infernos responded.
"Maybe so, but I sure as hell ain't no girl," the voice said again.
"Yeah, whatever, Princess," Infernos said as he rolled his eyes.
"Ok, that's it, you're dead!" the possessed Ryuu then tackled Infernos and started to wrestle him down.
"Tch, Men..." Naoko said through Kin as she stood by and watched. Both Infernos and the Earth Deity stopped wrestling and looked at Naoko briefly, then laughed loudly.
"Stop that!" Kinzoku yelled, taking control of his body again, "I'm a guy!"
"Whatever!" both Infernos and the Earth Deity joked. Ryuu then took back control of his body and got up from the ground, as Manic did the same.
"Tell me who you are, at least," Ryuu said to the Earth Deity.
*Don't worry, I can hear your thoughts, so you don't have to yell to the world all the time,* the Earth Deity said mentally to Ryuu. *Hmm... I don't really have a name... but...*
*But what?* Ryuu asked mentally.
*...I think I'll use Gaius. That sounds cool enough.*
*Gaius... that was my navi's name,* Ryuu said.
*Yeah, I know, that's how I came up with it,* Gaius responded.
*Well, ok, Gaius it is, then,* Ryuu responded mentally, then caught notice of the sword Manic picked up again.
"Where did that come from?" Ryuu asked.
"Oh, this?" Manic asked, showing the sword to Ryuu and Kin, "I found it over at that statue... pretty light for a sword, but durable..."
"Mind if I give it a swing?" Kinzoku asked Manic.
"Sure, go ahead," Manic said as he tossed Kinzoku the sword. However, once Kin grabbed the sword, he was immediately sent down to the ground trying to pick it up.
"You liar, it is heavy!" Kin yelled at Manic as he strained to pick the sword up. Manic merely walked over and picked it up with his left arm.
"I didn't lie... it really is light..." Manic responded as he rested the sword on his shoulder.
"Either way, it looks pretty vicious," Ryuu said.
*...I remember what that is now!* Gaius said to Ryuu mentally.
*What is it?* Ryuu asked. Gaius then took over Ryuu's voice.
"That's the Sol Maxim," Gaius said, catching Manic's and Kin's attentions, "the sword of the gods. It's supposed to be unique for every user... but that form of it belongs to--"
"Sweet!" Infernos yelled out as he just remembered what the sword was as well and swung it around, "We have a one-up on Pokerface now!"
"Wait, what do you mean!?" Kinzoku asked, trying to piece everything together.
"Ok," Infernos said, "Pokerface is the organization that has been trying to fight us off since the very beginning. We don't really know why they try to fight us, maybe because they're prejudice, or they're atheists or what not. Either way, they're out to find us, exploit us and kill us off. The guy we fought today was part of that organization." Kinzoku and Ryuu nodded in agreement.
"Anyways, this is probably what they were looking for," Infernos said as he stabbed the sword into the ground and let it vanish in front of everyone, "so now that we have it, that's one more thing in our favor, and one less in theirs, making our path to freedom that much easier."
"Wait," Manic said, taking control of his voice again, "so this means that Pokerface was the one who sent out that anonymous tip?"
"Yes," Gaius said.
"And they're the ones who killed my brother?" Manic asked.
Naoko nodded.
"And they're the ones who started this entire mess?"
"For the love of... knock it off with the questions already!" Infernos said through Manic's voice, "Let's go home, we can think of this stuff later!"
*Tch, fine...* Manic said mentally as he regained control of his body and all three netbattlers took off their cyberbands and appeared in the real world. However, they appeared in an area they didn't suspect.
"Isn't this your house, Ryuu?" Kinzoku asked as he looked towards the house. In place of where the Goddess statue was, there was Ryuu's family totem on the porch.
"Yeah... was there a loophole in that cavern that led us back here?" Ryuu wondered aloud.
"We'd better get back to the Chief before he has an annuerism," Manic said jokingly. Ryuu and Kinzoku agreed and they walked towards the Metroline.
And thus Gaius, the deity of Earth, joins the group. Ryuu, a Technomancer by heritage and elite ONBA Official, has been chosen as the carrier and friend of this deity. Together, along with Manic, Kinzoku, Infernos and Naoko, they must now find three more deities to awaken. However, this is only a brief cornerstone in their journeys together, as they attack the corporation they only know as Pokerface.
V2 Ch. 6 Complete! Read and review, please!
Volume 2: Pokerface
Chapter 6: Deuce's Wild
"So how are the operations going?" a voice asked.
"Going great, we've recollected and reformed his body already," a calm voice said, "but he's not conscious yet, so we can't get them into him yet..."
"Good. Jack?"
"Yeah, arrangements all set, we'll be ready to host in a few months..." the Jack responded, "They'll be itching to enter, so we'll have them in our hands..."
"Good. As for my part, data cloning is going smoothly. We've already captured the other five, Deuce has the other one right now. Now all we can do..." the leading voice stopped ominously after a few clicks from a keyboard.
"...is wait..."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"So, where do you think this goes to?" Ryuu asked Manic and Kinzoku.
"I have no clue, but this fog is starting to get on my nerves," Kin responded, irritated that he can't see the floor in case the area was laden with traps.
"What I want to know is why no one noticed this place before..." Manic asked as they walked down the dank cyberspace corridor, "and what that smell is, damn..."
"Wasn't me," Kin said.
"No, I'm not talking about that," Manic said as he pushed Kinzoku towards Ryuu playfully as Kin chuckled, "it's stale air or something... but I can't quite notice what the smell is..."
*It's the smell...* Infernos said, *...of death.*
*Shut up, it's creepy enough in here without you talking,* Manic responded mentally as Infernos just laughed.
"What's so funny?" Naoko asked through Kin's voice.
"Nothing, just him whining about it being spooky in here," Infernos responded in Manic's voice.
"I'll never get used to this..." Ryuu said as he shook his head. Having three people in one area was fine for him, but to deal with five voices was another. However, the three stopped as they all heard a loud clang of metal behind them.
"What was that?" Manic asked as he turned around. The only light that was provided for them was the entrance to the labyrinth, but it was starting to fade away, leaving only the silhouette of the entrance. A short while after the sound, gears came to life, chipping rust off as they spun.
"I don't know," Ryuu responded, "But it doesn't sound like it's friendly..."
"Look out!" Kin yelled to everyone as he saw two large horizontal blades coming at the officials. They all ducked and rolled out of their paths and looked around.
"Damn," Manic said, "We can't see any further down..."
Kin immediately drew a Holy Sword, illuminating the area around them. "This'll work for a while, let's go." Immediately, Ryuu, Manic and Kinzoku got up and ran down the hallway towards the darkness, hoping to reach the end. They dove under more horizontal blades, leaped over spike pits that unearthed from beneath their feet and evaded numerous other traps awaiting them.
"How many of these are there!?" Manic yelled as he hopped over another tiger trap pit in front of him.
"It's best not to wonder these thing while they can still kill us!" Ryuu responded as he ran on the side of the wall, avoiding another spike pit. Kinzoku narrowly avoided being skewered by metal spikes that shot up from the floor by stopping before he ran into them, then ran past them and onto Ryuu's side of the corridor.
Finally, they all made it to the end of the traps with their lives. They all looked back while panting heavily.
"I don't want to go through that again..." Kinzoku said as he sat on the ground, Ryuu and Manic following suit.
"Whatever's down here has to be good..." Manic said as Kinzoku set the Holy Sword in the middle of them.
"We should find some way to contact the Chief," Ryuu suggested as Kin and Manic nodded in response.
"The only thing is, how?" Manic said, "We're in the net, there's no way to make contact with the outside world..."
The three sat in thought for a few minutes. Their situation looked darker and darker.
"Maybe there is a way..." Ryuu said, still in thought.
"What makes you think that?" Kinzoku asked.
"Well, the cyberband has a built-in communicator," Ryuu said, "That's how our work computers communicate with each other, so what would happen if we tried to do the same thing from inside the net with one?"
Manic sat in thought. "It could work... but how would we do it... wait..." Manic noticed something glitter next to Ryuu. "Ryuu, what's that?"
"What's what?" Ryuu asked as he looked to his side. He noticed the object as well and picked it up. It seemed to be some sort of hand-held device used for communication through the net.
"Hey, I recognize that," Kinzoku said, "they were popular back in the times of the cybersuits. People would use them to communicate with each other if they got lost on exploration projects or the like, but I doubt it's useable now..."
The object had a screen with a small, worn keyboard beneath it.
"Hmm..." Ryuu examined the communicator a little and found a switch for it. He flicked it on, but nothing happened.
Suddenly, Manic got an idea. "Ryuu, does it run on electricity?"
"It might..." Ryuu said. "What did you have in mind?"
At those words, a gun formed in Manic's hand and surged with a few bolts of electricity.
"...you're going to shock it to life with a Zapring?" Ryuu asked skeptically.
"Do you have any better suggestions?" Manic responded. Ryuu sighed, "Ok, better than nothing, I guess..." Ryuu set the communicator against a wall while both Kinzoku and Ryuu stepped backwards, Kin taking his Holy Sword with him. It was starting to dim, but it would last for a while longer.
Manic then took aim with the Zapring. *Hope this works...* Manic said to himself as he fired the electricity at it.
Amazingly, the device shocked to life. Ryuu reached down and picked it up after receiving a small zap from it, then looked at the screen. It showed a ready message for him.
"Ok..." Ryuu said, "All we have to do is send a message to the Chief's computer and hopefully he'll get it." Ryuu typed on the communicator frantically.
--to: CMassingale@onba.off.gov
--from: DiCampos47@akilabs.gov
--Subject: Elite
Chief, we're in the cavern, but we were attacked by traps and found an old comm. device. What is going on here? Respond quickly.
Ryuu, Manic, Kinzoku
"There, sent the message," Ryuu said as he put the device in his pocket and left it on, so they would get a response.
"Well, at least we know that works for next time," Manic said lightly.
"Let's move on, we'll see if he sent a response later," Kinzoku suggested. Manic and Ryuu nodded and walked down the hall, looking out for any more traps. They walked down the hallways with the dim light from the Holy Sword Kinzoku was holding. It was starting to fade away, but down the hallway there was a source of light that seemed to illuminate the cavern barely.
"Wonder what's down th--" Ryuu started to say as he noticed a rattle in his pocket. The device had received a response. Ryuu pulled it out and opened up the response.
--to: DiCampos47@akilabs.gov
--from:CMassingale@onba.off.gov --subject: RE: Elite
To tell you guys the truth, we received the info about this cavern from an anonymous tip. We're analyzing who sent it now, so be careful. I'll contact you later once we find out more. Chief
"That makes me even more nervous," Kinzoku said, "Who sent the tip in?"
"I have no clue..." Manic responded, "but we know that whoever sent the tip in knew there would be danger here..."
"It could be a set-up, guys," Ryuu said as he pocketed the device again, "stay on guard." The three resumed walking down the fairly-lit corridor, slowly approacing the source of the light. However, before they could see what was ahead clearly, Ryuu received another message from the device.
"They were quick about finding who sent the tip in," Ryuu joked as he read aloud the message. "We found something out about who sent the tip in. It was by a group..." the screen flickered a bit, "...by a group called...damn." the screen shut off completely now.
"Did you catch the name?" Kinzoku asked Ryuu.
"I didn't catch all of it," Ryuu said, "but it looked like it had the word 'poker' in it..."
"That's a weird name for a group..." Manic said as he thought about who sent it.
"You must mean Pokerface," a deep-pitched voice rang through the hallway. The three officials turned towards the sound of the voice immediately.
"Who's there?" Manic yelled out. Ryuu dropped the communicator as they all walked towards the light. Once they reached it, they found out that the light led them into a large room with a man standing in the middle of it with crossed arms. He wore black sunglasses with a leather jacket over a dark green shirt and black pants.
"Who are you?" Kinzoku asked the man, not sure of whether he meant harm or not. Manic and Ryuu were ready to act as well as Kin when he spoke.
"Well well, I'm surprised you three made it here alive..." the man said as he crossed his arms. He was bald, but he looked strong and towered over the three officials. "That means I get to have some fun for right now... hehe..."
*Careful...* both Infernos and Naoko said mentally.
*What's wrong?* Manic asked Infernos.
*There's something different about him... I can feel it...*
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," the man said as he cracked his neck to the right, "People call me the Deuce. You'll be calling me daddy after this."
Ryuu spat at this, "There's no way you can take all three of us!"
"Oh, but you're wrong there, son," the Deuce said, "Because you don't know what I'm capable of yet..."
"We'll see who's wrong..." Ryuu responded. For some reason, Ryuu was more than ready to fight this character than any other person they've met.
"Let's go, then," Manic said.
Suddenly, all three officials ran towards Deuce, each wielding the sword of their element. The Deuce smirked evilly as he took off his sunglasses to reveal both a brown-colored eye and a green-colored eye, then swiped at all three swords with a large, red sword that shattered the officials' swords. Deuce then cut again and sent them all flying backwards. Both Kinzoku and Ryuu slammed into the wall while Manic slammed against the side of the opening and caught himself after that.
"You guys have courage, I'll give you that," Deuce said as his Breaker Sword disappeared. All three officials were hurting after that single attack. "But even with that, you don't stand a chance against me."
"We'll see about that!" Manic yelled as he uploaded two Big Cannon datasilvers. Two guns formed into Manic's hands as he took aim and fired at the Deuce. The Deuce quickly dodged the gunfire, but this was enough for both Kin and Ryuu to unleash their attacks against the Deuce as well, each armed with their own elemental swords again. The Deuce quickly backflipped out of the swords' way and punched at both officials. All three exchanged their own attacks, but the Deuce was too fast for them. He quickly grabbed Kinzoku's leg after Kinzoku sent a side kick at him, and threw him into Ryuu, sending both officials out of the way for Manic to fight the Deuce as well.
"You're pretty good," Manic said as he threw a punch at the Deuce's face. However, the Deuce caught the punch and swung Manic around in a circle.
"I'm too good!" Deuce yelled as he threw Manic towards Kinzoku and Ryuu, sending all three hunters down.
*Not good...* Naoko said.
*There's no real way they can stand up to him at this point...* Infernos said as well.
*Why is he this strong?* Kinzoku asked Naoko.
*Can't you see the aura coming from him?* Naoko asked. Kinzoku looked at the Deuce to see a faint green coming from him.
*What does it mean?* Kin asked.
*It means that we're fighting one of our own...* Infernos said.
*What!?* Manic yelled mentally.
*He's one of the chosen... he has the earth deity on his side...* Infernos explained, *But I never thought one of them would be able to integrate with one of us... damn traitor...*
*He's using both of us!* a voice called out to Infernos and Naoko.
*...oh shit!* Infernos said.
*So not good...* Naoko said.
*What's not good!?* Kinzoku asked quickly.
"So, are you three just going to lay there all day?!" Deuce asked menacingly. Ryuu managed to stand up while Kin and Manic were trying to figure out what all this meant.
"Kinzoku, Manic, what's wrong?" Ryuu asked as he glared at the Deuce.
*Manic, remember how I said there were twelve deities?* Infernos asked.
*Yeah...*
*Well... he has two of them with him, one from each side...*
*...oh shit...*
*Exactly. We gotta integrate.*
*Now,* Infernos and Naoko said at the same time.
*Right,* Kinzoku and Manic responded.
"Ryuu," Manic said while he got up from the ground.
"Yes?"
"Keep him distracted for as long as you can..." Kinzoku said, "We'll be back in a few..."
"Ok, good luck you two..." Ryuu responded. Kinzoku and Manic then got up and moved away a few feet.
"So, I'm left with facing you, huh?" The Deuce said with a snarl as he saw Ryuu pacing towards him.
"You'll never defeat me," Ryuu said menacingly. He was starting to show anger at this opponent, something that was hardly ever seen in Ryuu. Ryuu and Deuce exchanged blows for a few minutes until they both heard something.
"Showtime!" Manic yelled as he dropped to a knee and pounded his fist into the ground. He was then enveloped in flames.
"You will not defeat us!" Kinzoku yelled as a white light eminated from him as he stood.
Suddenly, Manic/Infernos was standing next to Kin/Naoko, both ready to fight. Kin/Naoko wore a white priest's robe over black baggy pants and had a golden crest on his forehead. His hair was now short and deep purple, tossed everywhere.
"Ryuu, get back!" Manic/Infernos yelled as both he and Kin/Naoko rushed towards the Deuce with lightning speed.
"I knew it!" Deuce yelled as he hit Ryuu aside and faced both integrated deities in battle. It wasn't a long fight until the Deuce was sent flying into a wall, leaving an engraving in it.
"Guh..." the Deuce said as he fell onto the floor and onto one knee. "Hoped I wouldn't have to do this, but..." The deuce then let out a loud growl as both his eyes turned bright green and his body started to change.
"What's happening with him?" Kin/Naoko asked.
"He's going through a change... but how?!" Manic/Infernos responded. Ryuu got up and felt pain surge through his body from the fight before.
*Is this why he's called the Deuce?* Ryuu thought to himself, *He can change into another form?*
Suddenly, the Deuce became something grotesquely resembling a giant beast on four legs, covered in scales and sharp, jagged teeth. The huge beast was at least quadruple the size of the officials and was much more powerful.
"Not good..." Kin/Naoko said.
"You got that right..." Manic/Infernos responded.
Suddenly, the beast made its move and lunged towards the officials. It swung with its huge front arms and sent Ryuu flying into the wall, knocking him out temporarily. Kin/Naoko was sent into the opposite wall, crumbling it, while Manic/Infernos latched onto the arm.
"Big doggie!" Manic/Infernos shouted playfully as he held onto the arm for life as the beast swung it around, trying to get him off. Finally, Manic/Infernos lost his grip and was sent high into the ceiling above and came crashing down.
*Can't... take much more... hurt...* Manic/Infernos thought to himself as he lay on the ground. Kin/Naoko finally got up, but the beast was too fast for him to react, and found himself being pounded into the ground numerous times by the beast's two front legs. The onslaught left Kin/Naoko with nothing left for energy, and he reverted back to Kinzoku. Manic/Infernos barely found the energy to stand up as Ryuu regained consciousness and stood up, using the wall for support. Manic/Infernos then reverted back to Manic and dropped to one knee.
"Damn..." Manic said, struggling with pain, "It's a monster... we can't...huh?" A glint caught Manic's eye as he looked at the wall Kinzoku was thrown at. It had crumbled away to reveal a statue of a stone goddess with a red/silver object in front of it. However, before he could move towards it, Kinzoku was thrown into Manic and both officials slid on the ground towards Ryuu. All three officials were in pain now, but they couldn't do anything about the beast any more.
"There has to be some way..." Ryuu panted as he helped Kinzoku up and off Manic while Manic picked himself up slowly.
"That thing..." Kinzoku said between breaths, "is powerful..."
"Really?" Manic said in pain as he picked himself up. He kept eyeing the strange statue in the back, then finally gathered up the strength to talk again.
"Ok," Manic said to Ryuu and Kinzoku, "This is a last ditch effort... but you two distract it with shot datasilvers..."
"What good will that do?" Ryuu asked, still holding onto the wall.
"I don't know how to explain it, but... something's telling me to get over there..." Manic then nodded towards the stone statue on the opposite end of the room.
"Let's give it a try, then," Kinzoku said as he uploaded a spreadshot datasilver and a Light Strike datasilver. Ryuu uploaded a Vine Cannon and a Great Cannon.
"Ready?" Manic said. Both Kin and Ryuu nodded.
"Go!" At the same time, Manic made a dash to the opposite end of the room while Kinzoku and Ryuu shot at the beast. The attacks merely made the beast flinch, but they caught its attention and it loomed slowly towards the two. They were frantically trying to ward off the beast with their datasilvers, but to no avail. Their only hope now was for the plan to work.
Manic finally made it over to the statue of the goddess. He could clearly see what it was in front of the statue, a large sword lodged into stone. It had etchings of some arcane language and looked rather oddly shaped for a sword, but Manic didn't pay any heed. With all his might, Manic lifted the sword out of the statue and ran towards the beast, his eyes glowing deep red.
The beast was now nearing both shooting netbattlers and was ready to strike them down, but it then recoiled in pain as it got back on all fours and roared in pain. As soon as the beast was down on the ground, both Kinzoku and Ryuu could see Manic standing on its upper back with the sword lodged into it, a green light coming from the wound. The beast roared in pain as it jerked back and forth, trying to shake Manic from its back. However, Manic was not moving at all. His eyes were still glowing red as he held onto the sword.
Finally, the beast fell motionless onto the ground and shone a bright green. Manic's eyes reverted back to their blue color and he was thrown off the beast and into Kinzoku and Ryuu. The two netbattlers caught him and set him onto the ground to look at the events unfolding before them. A green light was swirling around the sword that was stabbed into the beast's back, then disappeared. The sword fell with a clatter and landed next to the Deuce's sunglasses.
"Are you guys ok?" Manic said weakly.
"We're fine," Ryuu said, "How about you?"
"I've seen better days..." Manic chuckled dryly as he stood up and looked at the remains of the Deuce.
"So that's why he was here..." Infernos said through Manic's voice.
"Huh?" both Kin and Ryuu asked. Infernos walked over to the sword and let Manic pick both it and the sunglasses up. Manic examined the glasses for a moment, then threw them towards Ryuu.
"Hey, put these on," Infernos said through Manic's voice as he walked over towards them with the sword.
"What for?" Ryuu asked as he obeyed and put them on.
"For this," Naoko said through Kinzoku as she placed a hand on Ryuu's cheek, her fingertips on the sunglasses. The sunglasses gave off a soft green glow and slowly evaporated into thin air.
*God damn, that hurt...* a voice said inside Ryuu's head.
"Who was that?" Ryuu asked as he slowly looked around the room.
*Oh, hey man,* the voice said again mentally to Ryuu, *I'm the Earth Deity, nice to meet y--*
"It's Mother Nature!" Both Infernos and Naoko said jokingly.
"I'm not a girl, dammit!" the voice retorted through a much deeper pitch of Ryuu's voice.
"You're not really anything, though," Infernos responded.
"Maybe so, but I sure as hell ain't no girl," the voice said again.
"Yeah, whatever, Princess," Infernos said as he rolled his eyes.
"Ok, that's it, you're dead!" the possessed Ryuu then tackled Infernos and started to wrestle him down.
"Tch, Men..." Naoko said through Kin as she stood by and watched. Both Infernos and the Earth Deity stopped wrestling and looked at Naoko briefly, then laughed loudly.
"Stop that!" Kinzoku yelled, taking control of his body again, "I'm a guy!"
"Whatever!" both Infernos and the Earth Deity joked. Ryuu then took back control of his body and got up from the ground, as Manic did the same.
"Tell me who you are, at least," Ryuu said to the Earth Deity.
*Don't worry, I can hear your thoughts, so you don't have to yell to the world all the time,* the Earth Deity said mentally to Ryuu. *Hmm... I don't really have a name... but...*
*But what?* Ryuu asked mentally.
*...I think I'll use Gaius. That sounds cool enough.*
*Gaius... that was my navi's name,* Ryuu said.
*Yeah, I know, that's how I came up with it,* Gaius responded.
*Well, ok, Gaius it is, then,* Ryuu responded mentally, then caught notice of the sword Manic picked up again.
"Where did that come from?" Ryuu asked.
"Oh, this?" Manic asked, showing the sword to Ryuu and Kin, "I found it over at that statue... pretty light for a sword, but durable..."
"Mind if I give it a swing?" Kinzoku asked Manic.
"Sure, go ahead," Manic said as he tossed Kinzoku the sword. However, once Kin grabbed the sword, he was immediately sent down to the ground trying to pick it up.
"You liar, it is heavy!" Kin yelled at Manic as he strained to pick the sword up. Manic merely walked over and picked it up with his left arm.
"I didn't lie... it really is light..." Manic responded as he rested the sword on his shoulder.
"Either way, it looks pretty vicious," Ryuu said.
*...I remember what that is now!* Gaius said to Ryuu mentally.
*What is it?* Ryuu asked. Gaius then took over Ryuu's voice.
"That's the Sol Maxim," Gaius said, catching Manic's and Kin's attentions, "the sword of the gods. It's supposed to be unique for every user... but that form of it belongs to--"
"Sweet!" Infernos yelled out as he just remembered what the sword was as well and swung it around, "We have a one-up on Pokerface now!"
"Wait, what do you mean!?" Kinzoku asked, trying to piece everything together.
"Ok," Infernos said, "Pokerface is the organization that has been trying to fight us off since the very beginning. We don't really know why they try to fight us, maybe because they're prejudice, or they're atheists or what not. Either way, they're out to find us, exploit us and kill us off. The guy we fought today was part of that organization." Kinzoku and Ryuu nodded in agreement.
"Anyways, this is probably what they were looking for," Infernos said as he stabbed the sword into the ground and let it vanish in front of everyone, "so now that we have it, that's one more thing in our favor, and one less in theirs, making our path to freedom that much easier."
"Wait," Manic said, taking control of his voice again, "so this means that Pokerface was the one who sent out that anonymous tip?"
"Yes," Gaius said.
"And they're the ones who killed my brother?" Manic asked.
Naoko nodded.
"And they're the ones who started this entire mess?"
"For the love of... knock it off with the questions already!" Infernos said through Manic's voice, "Let's go home, we can think of this stuff later!"
*Tch, fine...* Manic said mentally as he regained control of his body and all three netbattlers took off their cyberbands and appeared in the real world. However, they appeared in an area they didn't suspect.
"Isn't this your house, Ryuu?" Kinzoku asked as he looked towards the house. In place of where the Goddess statue was, there was Ryuu's family totem on the porch.
"Yeah... was there a loophole in that cavern that led us back here?" Ryuu wondered aloud.
"We'd better get back to the Chief before he has an annuerism," Manic said jokingly. Ryuu and Kinzoku agreed and they walked towards the Metroline.
And thus Gaius, the deity of Earth, joins the group. Ryuu, a Technomancer by heritage and elite ONBA Official, has been chosen as the carrier and friend of this deity. Together, along with Manic, Kinzoku, Infernos and Naoko, they must now find three more deities to awaken. However, this is only a brief cornerstone in their journeys together, as they attack the corporation they only know as Pokerface.
V2 Ch. 6 Complete! Read and review, please!