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Chapter 8: Trap
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The last time the rebels had come to Densan, it was to Netto Hikari's old Akihara home where Rockman had been hidden. Akihara was a residential district, this time they were traveling through the downtown.

It was early the next day, and the empty skyscrapers loomed overhead, like monoliths left behind by an ancient civilization, which, in a sense, they were.

Densan was like many other formally busy cities around the world: abandoned. Many citizens simply deserted their homes during the Outbreak in hopes that an escape from cities and their abundance of electronics would provide some relief.

Densan's streets were in poor states, and windows of former storefronts and businesses were cracked or broken. Vines were creeping up the sides of buildings, while monstrously large weeds grew out of sidewalk cracks or any other recess. Nature was taking back the city.

Slate, who was leading the group, stopped in the middle of an intersection, took out his PET, and activated the holograph screen. He brought up a map of the area.

'' How much longer until we get there?'' Lloyd groaned. Once again, the rebels had walked all the way from HQ.

'' According to this, about another forty five minutes if we sustain our current pace.'' Slate said, scrutinizing the map closely.

Lloyd gave an audible groan. His constant complaints and whining was really starting to get on everyone's nerves.

Eventually, they reached the dock. There were various abandoned warehouses, rotten crates, large shipping containers, several massive cranes, as well as the dispatcher's building. Nearby, a pier stretched out into the sea, even though ships hadn't docked there in over fifty years.

'' Alright.'' Slate stated. '' Karla, Butch, you two search the docks, while Terrence and I will investigate the dispatcher's building.''

'' What about me Akira?'' Lloyd asked.

'' You and Vick will stand guard.'' Slate answered.

'' WHAT! Guard against what?''

Slate shrugged. '' You never know.'' He then turned over to Vick and whispered something in his ear. Vick raised his eyebrows at this, but nodded anyway.

The two teams split up, while Vick and a grumbling Lloyd stayed behind.

Karla and Butch eventually found a control booth for various machinery.

'' We should plug in here.'' Karla told Butch. '' Since it issued commands to the automated equipment, it would be hooked up to the dock's network.''

'' I see.'' Butch nodded in understanding. '' We can access the network, and investigate it to see if there is anything suspicious.''

The two plugged in and their navis materialized in the net. From the looks of things, the programmers had probably tried to give an illusion of the real world. The ground was covered in what was probably cybersand, and a little ways off there was a large pool of water. An artificial sun blazed overhead while the ''sky'' was blue.

'' What a weird place...'' Crushman said, looking around.

'' Smart Missile!''

Two missiles burst out of the water and sped towards the two navis. Tyria and Crushman lepta to the side, letting the missiles pass between them.

'' What was that?'' Tyria said in surprise.

'' Hrmmm. It appears that I missed. Unfortunate for me, fortunate for you- dearu.'' a muffled voice said.

A periscope rose out of the water, followed by a conning tower, then the hull of a blue submarine. Panels on the conning tower withdrew, revealing a white face smoking a pipe. '' I am Diveman.exe-dearu.''

Terry and Slate managed to obtain entrance to the dispatcher's building without much trouble.

'' So, where to now?'' Terry asked. There were various offices on either side of the hallway and a broken down elevator at the back.

'' The roof.'' Slate said as he located the emergency stairwell. '' The transmission antennas are up there to send transmissions to ships. We can plug in to see if there have been any unauthorized signals sent recently.''

'' Oh yeah, why did you make Lloyd stay behind?''

'' Because I don't trust him, that's why.'' he answered. '' Last night, I spotted him sneaking around. Eventually, he stopped and had a long conversation via PET.''

'' He was probably talking to Ryn.''

'' No.'' Slate shook his head. '' There were three voices. His, a gruff sounding male, and a female.''

'' Did you hear what was being said?'' Terry asked.

'' No, I was not close enough to hear what was being said.'' Slate admitted. '' But it must have been suspect, since he was trying to avoid detection, and why would he call someone in the middle of the night, and who would that person be? I told Vick to keep an eye on him, that's why he's stuck guarding, in case he tries anything.''

'' Hmm... I wonder...'' Terry said to no one in particular.

The two exited the stairwell and emerged onto the roof, where the transmission antennas were, but there was also a person up there as well.

She was wearing a red dress with white polka dots and wore a short black coat over it. Her stockings were striped and one was pulled higher up the leg than the other. She wore eye shadow and had a heart painted on one cheek. Her hair was black and was in two large braids. On her jacket, where the breast pocket would normally be, were two semicircles, end to end. One blue and the other white.

'' ! That's the crest of the Enforcers!'' Slate exclaimed. '' Who are you?''

'' You're Iwasaki right?'' the girl asked. '' I'm the Enforcer Chirol!''

'' Chi...rol...?'' Terry said, scratching his head.

'' Yes, it's a lovely name, isn't it?'' Chirol said, grinning to herself. '' Now, you've got a lotta nerve, showing up now! We've been waiting for you since dawn! The lack of sleep is going to wreck my beauty!''

'' Uhhh...'' Terry said, sounding dazed. He stared at this eccentric girl, bewildered.

Slate though, pressed on. '' We! Who else is with you?''

Chirol giggled. '' My partner should be taking care of your friends now.''

Slate gritted his teeth. '' How did you know that we were coming here?''

'' We received an anonymous tip that said that you would be coming to the docks on Densan's northeast side.''

An anonymous tip... Terry thought. The traitor!

'' Now, if I defeat the legendary Akira and help destroy your rebel group, my reputation will increase, and my superiors might give me a raise, or even promote me.'' Chirol said, almost giddy at the thought of more money.

'' Vain aren't we.'' Terry said dryly, finally getting his voice back, while Slate merely said, '' So I've gone from famous to legendary now have I?''

Chirol smirked. '' Let's get this over with!'' She pointed here PET at the antenna. '' Plug in, Circusman.exe! Transmission!''

'' Plug in, Dash!''

'' Plug in, Zero!''

TRANSMISSION!

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pounds fists on table I CAN get away with this, as Beast never existed in this fic's continuity, and the Chirol and Kurohige there were from a parallel world anyway.

Diveman's '' dearu'', is actually pronounced '' De arrr ''. I guess to make him sound like a pirate or something. Don't know if he said that in the game, but in the English version of EXE6 he said '' Awooga!'' Refering to submarine alarms, I believe.