Shadow Nova

by Zoram Selrof

Sequel to Jet Black Phoenix. The Akihara City students finally begin a decisive stage of their lives: high school. However, shadowy forces that have been growing behind the scenes during years will make their apparition. These are a new kind of enemy, nothing like before... They are everywhere and you never know when they're going to strike and how... Rated M for lemon.

4. Chapter 4: Of quartets

Chapter 4: Of quartets

12:53 PM (Japan Time), Thursday October the 6th…

"… Devil! We got found already? What "Mirage Camouflage"? It's but a load of crap!"

"Talk for yourself! You said those Mettools SPs were invincible! And now it turns out they're a joke!"

"It's YOUR fault!"

"YOURS!"

"… I give up. I do."

"The Danna's given up, Corvus – sama~!"

"I know, Wolf! You 2. You're slower than turtles!"

"Wha~t?"

"Enough! I'll have the flying rascal!"

"Fine! The wolf rascal is mine!"

"Put on some pathetic show. Whatever. I knew it could not end up well. Why do I even bother?"

"Heavy Sand!"

"Heavy Rock!"

"Wha~t?"

Desert Man had been assaulting a Cyber World somewhere with Magic Man but they'd seemingly been found out right away so they had been discussing with 2 guys looking on.

XY fumed and sounded like he didn't give a crap for whatever they did anymore.

"I'm Evil Corvus!"

"Shaddup, brat! I'm in charge~!"

"Of the Sahara wastelands?"

"This brat!"

"Is rated!"

Evil Corvus' helmet forehead had his emblem (a black crow seen from the front and with its wings and beak open) drawn there.

Orange transparent shades covered his eyes.

Two small black wings formed on the sides of the helmet and extended a few centimeters past it.

The helmet was metallic with black edges surrounding it.

The chest armor was gray with red edges; the red letters "EC" were written there vertically.

The shoulder plates had black body with orange edges; the yellow symbol for "karasu" or "crow" was drawn in both of them.

His main body's "skin" was black with red edges.

The forearm armor was red and had a matrix of red lines covering their surface; his hands were colored black and his fingers were red too.

The boots had a red body with black edges and white soils.

He dodged the incoming block of sand that Desert Man had thrown at him and taunted him along the way.

"Corvus Claws!"

"Lion Head!"

Evil Corvus flew towards the guy while dodging the Lion Head and swung his claws SE, SW, NE and NW to damage Desert Man's forehead.

"Desert Stage~! Sandstorm!"

The ground became sand and a powerful sandstorm ensued, soon covering a wide radius.

Desert Man roared as the air began to distort around him and more Desert Men began to show up around there.

Evil Corvus was forced to land due to the sandstorm and didn't hear a bunch of Lion Heads coming from behind, hitting him and making him the ground.

Some Heavy Sands ensued but he used Area Steal and warped out of danger yet he landed atop an ant lion hole and he began to sink.

He growled under his breath and warped yet again only to find another hole.

"Shit. I'm fed up with this… Metal Stage!"

"Shit!"

The terrain became metal in an instant and the sandstorm ceased because there was no more sand.

The Desert Man copies remained, though, and they began to attack at once, forcing Evil Corvus to focus on dodging and only dodging.

"Shit."

"Have at you! I'm invincible~!"

"Like that will help you win." XY scoffed.

"Do watch, Lord XY! I'll crush this lil rascal into DUST!" He gloated.

"NO deletion." XY icily ordered.

"Yikes! Y-yes…!" Desert Man gulped.

"Sheesh. I'm getting nowhere. Come to these… Battle Chip, Toppu! Blow away the fake lot!"

"Crap!"

Evil Corvus used the "Toppu" Battle Chip and summoned a fan that blew away the sand-made copies of Desert Man and soon only the real one was left.

Flames surrounded Evil Corvus as he flew at hi speed for the guy, so Desert Man gasped and formed several blocks of Heavy Sand as a wall.

Evil Corvus effortlessly broke through them and impacted into Desert Man, causing an explosion and opening a hole into his forehead.

"That's the "God-bird"! Not so invincible anymore, are we, Sahara overlord?" He taunted.

"Wha~t? This lil rascal!"

"Hmpf… How fitting. I feel like it today." XY muttered.

"Yikes!"

"And now… The forbidden combo! Prism! Forest Bomb!"

Evil Corvus formed the Prism Battle Chip and threw it in front of Desert Man before shooting the Forest Bomb.

The hit triggered the Prism and emitted countless beams of energy that pierced through Desert Man's body.

His wounds began to regenerate at a mad speed, surprising Evil Corvus.

Desert Man warped his hands and they appeared left and right of Evil Corvus, and they quickly closed him inside of them to crush him.

"Delete~!"

"Fool! You ignored my orders! Punishment!"

"Oh shit!"

Desert Man's body glowed from the inside and it turned into stone, hands included.

The hands crumbled and Evil Corvus fell into the ground.

A Lion Head struck him from behind before curving and going back.

The Lion Head began to circle around him and to hit him from different angles taking profit that he was still trying to recover from that deadly grip.

He formed a Dream Aura to repel the Lion Head, but a Sonic Boom sliced it on half and it was deleted.

"Thought ya needed a hand!" Someone called out.

"Owe ya on, Wolf..." He admitted.

"Ya will return it later… Let's continue, Lari! I'm Oscar – sama, and I'm charge of the show!"

"I'm not Lari! I'm Magic Man!"

"I see… The damned rascal put an auto-program on a Lion Head that would operate independently of the main body and thus that XY guy couldn't freeze it like he's done with the rascal… The guy should keep a closer eye on 'em or else…! Sheesh! And then they say I'm the one who gets cocky!"

"Spell "calçots"!"

"What the hell is that?"

"Ask Dalmau – sama~!"

"Shut up, you impudent interloper! Go, my Mettools! Crush them and defeat them! My Viruses are the strongest!"

"Venomous Wolf – sama slices 'em all!"

Venomous Wolf used a helmet that had a shade of green closer to blue.

The helmet was of a wolf with two small ear extensions emerging from the top and aiming upwards.

The ear pads had a wolf's paw imprint colored back set on their white surface.

The forehead had the silver symbol for "ookami" or "wolf" set there.

Green transparent shades covered his eyes.

The chest armor included the orange initials "VW" written vertically.

The shoulders were shaped as wolf paws with their claws extended.

The body's "skin" was black and the edges silver.

His forearms armor was green and the red symbols for "jinrou" or "werewolf" were written vertically on them.

The hands' skins was green too.

The boots were orange instead with bronze grooves running down their surfaces.

He was about a meter and sixty tall.

"Ya should have some "neules" as desserts!"

"Shut up! Magic Fire! Max speed!"

"Curse Shield!"

"Damn it all."

Magic Man formed a row of bluish flames but Venomous Wolf blocked them with a Curse Shield and they bounced off Magic Man warped and drew two bluish swords.

"Magic Sword!"

Venomous Wolf crossed his claws in "X" formation and blocked the blades before delivering a kick with the right foot to Magic Man's waist to push him back.

He crouched and jumped skywards, surprising Magic Man.

He spun in mid-air and then dived for Magic Man, who shot Magic Flames at him but he simply changed his angle and began to spin in the air to hit Magic Man.

"Heck!"

The blow pushed him back and he bounced off to return to normal position.

Magic Man formed 3 Gunner SP Viruses that locked onto Venomous Wolf and began to fire at him.

Venomous Wolf grumbled as Magic Man began to get cocky.

"Struggle! In vain!"

"I wonder 'bout that…" Evil Corvus chuckled under his breath.

"You are the one who is vain." XY fumed.

"Yikes!"

"If you try anything "smart" like that cluster of sand over there then I shall put you into cold sleep for some months as well."

"R-roger…!"

"It itches but no big deal… Was waitin' for this moment!"

"Ah no! I'm not going to go down through some Muramasa strategy! I'm going to burn you up before that!"

"Is that so?" XY questioned.

"I mean… I'll defeat you!"

"Bring it on, Lari!"

"FOR ALL THE…! I'M FED UP!"

"Hmpf… No wonder."

"You need to eat more "crema de Sant Josep" as desserts!"

"GRHFKTGHA!" He growled something undecipherable.

"How's this one like? "I'm not saying it was aliens… But it was aliens!"…" He suddenly quoted with a snicker.

"What the…?"

"Hmpf… Amusing." XY muttered.

"Yikes! Whatever! Quaker SP!"

The "Quaker" Viruses formed next and used their strong arms to hit the ground and cause shockwaves.

Venomous Wolf jumped to dodge one but was unable to time his jumps to dodge the second one and the third one because they came too fast.

He grumbled and brought up his claws to block the incoming sword attack by Magic Man.

They struggled again but Venomous Wolf ducked and quickly swung his claws left and right to cut through the outer armor of Magic Man's knees.

His body glowed for a second before it healed.

Venomous Wolf jumped backwards and readied his claws while Magic Man looked annoyed, impatient and like he was running out of ideas.

"How about some "braç de gitano" next? Do you prefer chocolate or cream?" He laughed.

"FIGHT ME!" Magic Man growled.

"Scary~! Taking lessons from Alfred to learn how to sound scary? Or did you memorize his ancestors' secret and erudite spells as well? Those that turn ya into an unlucky guy! In short! A legless duck – sama~!"

"I'M ANNOYED!"

"So what? Anger multiplies your next attack's power by 1.5? It's a critical hit?" He sneered next.

"DAMN IT ALL!"

"Starting to realize your powerlessness? Citizen." XY dully questioned without being interested.

"I concede defeat!" He sighed in defeat.

"How honest of you. Maybe there is still some possibility left on you."

The "phoenix" happened and both of them were retrieved.

The duo began to walk away when they heard another chuckle, so they looked south to find Shadow Man, standing atop a rock that he seemed to have brought for that purpose.

"If it isn't Ninja Man." Venomous Wolf snickered.

"Looking for strays souls?"

"Who knows?"

"… You remember the flavor of these claws?"

"Who knows?"

"Trying to play cool? Where's your "oyakata – sama"? Hunting for kunai collections in Indiana~?"

"Hmpf."

"There you are. War!"

"War!"

"Wha?"

They both turned to the right to see Colonel and Tomahawk Man there.

Colonel raised his right arm's saber and Tomahawk Man spun the tomahawk as if getting in the mood for a battle.

"… Prince?" Evil Corvus called out through the radio.

"What." Someone replied.

"T-that's… Colonel and the other 2…"

"Showed up there? Where are you?"

"A pachinko in Hiroshima City…"

"You went to start a fight in the city that has a Peace Park of all places, you fools?" He was getting annoyed.

"Those Phoenix guys began it! We came to give 'em a lesson!" He nervously clarified.

"So they started it. XY…! You shouldn't have let them." The man fumed.

"What do we do?" Venomous Wolf asked.

"Let's frustrate them. They deserve it! I'm not fond of their intrigues and their cowardly tactics. Pull out."

"Roger!"

Both warped out of the spot, so Colonel shrugged and was unimpressed and so did the other 2.

"I'm finally here! Who placed all those air-mines? It took forever to reach this place even using a Dash Condor!"

Blues rushed into the scene and stopped when he saw how the 3 of them directed dull glares at him.

They all drew their weapons and aimed them at him.

"W-what? Colonel? Shadow Man? Tomahawk Man?"

"Something's out of place…" Enzan warned.

"The Unlucky Greeks make their debut onscreen! Charge: we'll turn that guy into 0s and 1s!" "Colonel" giggled and ordered with an evil snicker.

"Seya~h!" "Tomahawk Man" exclaimed with a pitchy voice and also forming an evil snicker.

"I'm cool!" "Shadow Man" spoke using vulgar dialect and chuckled aloud as well.

"Their speech is odd." Blues muttered.

"Charge~!" They all yelled.

"What!"

The trio rushed for him, weapons ready.

"What in the…?"

"WAR!"

"Plug Out!"

"Wha!"

Enzan retrieved Blues as the 3 of them converged on the spot and swung their weapons.

"Success! Let the fear crawl into 'em!" "Colonel" giggled.

"Let the shivers go down their spines!" "Tomahawk Man" snickered.

"And let terror drive 'em into madness!" "Shadow Man" added.

15:15 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Why! Leiter. I thought you wouldn't come today."

"Quit it with the nicknames or cha know what's coming."

"The guy will ignore me, I know! I'll handle the field! I'm the Queen of the Field!"

"When did you become THAT?"

"Right 'ere and now! Lily of Lilycove!"

"Sheesh!"

"… Hmpf…"

"There we go again. Sheesh."

A girl and her Navi pal had been standing in a room somewhere, which had a balcony overlooking a set of 3D cameras and projectors.

Two platforms with handrails, moved by hydraulic pistons were installed there.

"I'm Joanne The Queen of the Field! How's that, Leiter?"

"… Dunno."

"Sheesh."

"Tozukana. Do us a favor and focus on what involves YOU. Will you do us that favor, for once?"

"Tommy went to Mommy!"

"HMPF!"

Tozukana, the Operator, was a girl who was on her late teens or maybe early 20s.

Her hair was tinted black even though some patches of brown hair could be seen beneath it and her eyes' irises were brown.

She looked smug and amused.

She wore a black leather one-piece suit, which covered her body starting slightly beneath the shoulders plus purple leather boots.

Her Link PET was colored purple and black and had the Alphabet "L" character surrounded by a golden edge as emblem.

"And that's Lily! The Lilycove Ruler!"

Lily, the Navi, had a Goth look to her given her use of heels, two metallic loose bracelets in her forearms and a collar with spikes protruding from it around her neck.

Her helmet's forehead had the word "Goth" engraved on it using scarlet red letters and her eyes' irises were also scarlet red.

The bodysuit's predominant color was black with some patches of white scattered like stains there and there.

She could be around a meter and sixty or closer to a seventy tall.

She currently looked both annoyed and exasperated.

"Prove it."

"What. Leiter challenges me to a duel?"

"You know the guy's Qong, Felix Qong."

"Of the Qong Dynasty~?"

"Hmpf."

A guy and his Navi pal had come into the room and Tozukana had begun to try to taunt the guy and the Navi was getting annoyed instead.

"Prove… it."

Qong, the guy, had short brown hair which had been cut into a military haircut but was largely hidden by a grayish cap.

His eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses too.

He wore a sleeveless camouflage-colored vest over a black long-sleeved shirt plus a pair of jeans.

His gray and brown PET had the golden-colored Alphabet "T" character drawn as emblem surrounded by a black edge.

"Fine!"

"Operation: start…" His voice was dull and monotone.

Both jumped into the platforms along with the Navis and the platforms moved towards the center of the room.

"Let's begin with a Level 3. You OK with that?"

"Roger… Tom."

Tom, the Navi, could easily be around a meter and eighty tall and he had the looks of an assassin to him given his cold scarlet red irises and the total lack of emotion on his face.

Other traits included self-inflicted cuts over his upper chest, which looked like a count of victims.

A total of 17 cuts had been engraved in there insofar.

His main bodysuit color was gray combined with red armlets around the ankles and wrists.

His hands had an extra layer of "skin" colored brown and he also sported a utility belt around the waist set with some grenades and knives on them plus a Makarov pistol.

He was holding a pair of binoculars on his hands and the fund hung from his neck.

"Starting simulation… Warning. Simulation is beyond logic."

"WHA?" The 4 of them were baffled.

"Warning. I am mad. I am mad. I am mad."

"This ain't normal and it ain't my work 'cause I know zero 'bout programs and all! Call one of the big guys!" Tozukana protested.

"Weird. Who could have done it?" Lily wondered.

"None of us members! None of us has the permission to alter the code of the simulator… I think Cosmo Man and Freeze Man are the admins in charge of this..." Tom recalled.

"Odd." Qong didn't lose his composure.

"Dave… Dave… Dave… This conversation serves no further purpose… I am… I am… A cluster… A cluster…"

"WTF?" Tozukana cursed next.

"Freeze Man? Do you copy? The shooting range's computer suddenly turned odd. Can't you do something about it?"

"What? How odd. Only Cosmo Man and I or Zero can alter the programming of it. I doubt Zero's assistants did that either." Freeze Man was surprised.

"Try to do something about it."

"Alright. Sorry, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit until I find what's the problem."

"Fine. You heard it."

"Sheesh. Who the hell did this, anyway?"

The platforms returned to their default position and they jumped off them.

Freeze Man ran in carrying a Mac laptop and connected an USB cable from it to a port set inside of a small closet that had a small LCD screen on it too which was displaying "ERROR" in red capital letters.

He began to check several programs.

"Someone's messed up with the boot sequence." He cursed aloud.

"But who?"

"I'm trying to figure it out… This computer is independent and can't be operated from the Cyber World. You need to physically connect a PC and change the code… It was built like that to avoid hacking."

"I'm checking the CCTV to see who came in and out as of late apart from the usual 4… What? Napalm Man?"

"Napalm Man? Impossible." Freeze Man stopped, surprised.

"Obviously! Not only he doesn't have hands to properly punch into a laptop, he knows nothing about this specific programming either. Someone tried to pose as him and did it? But the Mac which is allowed to connect is kept locked and we take turns with the custody of the key."

"And there is no spare key. Not even Zero has one."

"Ikada?" Cosmo Man wondered.

"Hmmm… Let's tell President Hades to question her."

"Wouldn't surprise me! Coming from THE bitch." Tozukana fumed.

"It's a hypothesis." Lily dully reminded her.

"What is this fuss?"

"Ms. Secretary…"

"Yikes!"

"And now you hide behind me like a kid… How immature cha are."

A woman on her late thirties appeared on the scene.

She sported a black hat set to that it hid her gaze.

Her clothes were a black blouse plus a pair of jeans and rain boots as well.

Tozukana gasped and quickly hid behind Lily while crouching, so Lily glanced over her right shoulder and directed a scolding glare at her, unsurprised.

"Someone's altered this room's program… At first glance, it appears to have been Napalm Man but we've got evidence it wasn't him. So we think Ikada might, mind you, might, be involved."

"I see. But Ikada was staying some days away. I can contact Sandra and try to figure out something."

"I don't think it's the radio trio either… Pharaoh Man not… Dark Man not either… He's mature enough… Certainly none of us two… We've never been the types to do something so childish."

"Indeed. I shall go question Napalm Man, anyway. When did that happen?"

"This dawn, about 3:30 AM."

"Alright."

She stormed off and Freeze Man kept on typing.

Tozukana sighed in relief and came out of hiding while Qong was busy checking the chamber of his rifle and Tom was doing some push-ups.

"Fixed it! I've copied the altered portions to analyze them! Good thing that I kept backups just in case. I only needed to overwrite the boot file. Now let's see if we can shine some light into this mystery!" He muttered as he kept on typing.

"By the way, Lily-cove! Found some candidates yet?" Tozukana asked.

"Meek folk. The whole of them."

"You mean they were amateurs. Want me to show them what fear is about?" Tom offered as he drew a scout knife and as he stood up.

"Don't bother! They learnt what some kicks to the faces were and I think that's enough of a lesson."

"Don't do something that could stain our reputation or Slur – sama is going to discharge her anger into you." Freeze Man warned.

"I know. Just saying. I'm mature enough."

He didn't even beat an eyebrow as he sheathed the knife once again.

"Fine. But I warned you." Freeze Man reminded him.

"Hmpf! Let's find the culprit already!"

"But of course!"

15:25 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Then I told the guy: "ya got less bones than a skeleton" and went into panic! Followed by some blows and there!"

"… I see…"

"Dark Man! You looked bored. Am I that boring?"

"Sadly, yes. I don't like people who boast about violence."

"But…"

"You will argue that I was "evil" in the past. But I've got no memory of it, anyway. That could've been a copy of me for all I know. Or I am a copy of that man. I don't care."

"Sheesh."

"Napalm Man!"

"Secretary – sama! What's up?"

"We need to talk."

"I haven't broken anything!"

"It is not about that."

Napalm Man was sitting inside of a cafeteria somewhere and trying to impress Dark Man, who was the master, yet it was obvious that he wasn't paying attention and he explained why with a sigh.

"This morning. 3 AM. What were you doing?"

"Me? 3 AM? Nappin', what else? I'm not a zombie! It's on the PC logs, anyway! Boss!"

"By the way! What happened on Sunday with that tweet?"

"I rushed off, hot-blooded, but 5 minutes later realized that… I didn't know where to find 'em. I felt like an idiot and went back… 'Long the way some funky guy made some equally funky dance. I was gonna ignore the way and be on my way back, but…"

"Funky?"

"The jerk said something about flash and cannons and vanished while overloading my sensory input! if I find the rascal again I'm gonna blow 'em sky high!" He explained with obvious annoyance.

"Are you sure it was "cannons"?"

"… Now that ya mention it… Something with "can"…"

"Scan?" She suggested.

"I remember. Flash Scan! Or something like that."

"Hmmm… What about your passwords?"

"Got 'em in the cache…"

"Is it encoded?"

"No. Normal Navis don't encode the cache! We want to access it often and all. Right, Dark Man?"

"Indeed." He confirmed.

"I see. That "funky Navi" copied the password from your cache and snuck inside. And must have used its own body as processor to alter the shooting range's program."

"What! Not again! First that Wolf rascal now some funky rascal… They all make fun of me 'cause I'm the rookie! I feel so annoyed, man!"

"Mystery cleared. So it was not Ikada. I will go tell President Hades: and you will not exit Purgatory until Zero assigns to you your new passwords and encrypting."

"I know! Sheesh. Fan – tas – tic! Man!"

Ms. Secretary ran off and Napalm Man grumbled as he stood up and headed for a corridor to the left of the counter.

"Going to the deck! Need some fresh air! And M & F!" He told Dark Man.

"Alright."

He walked down the corridor and stepped into a wide elevator.

The elevator automatically headed up and he exited inside of a small, unadorned metallic room.

An open watertight door lead outside, into a deck.

"Some fresh air."

The deck had some small 2-story building set on a line across the sides to end some meters away from the bow: two gigantic covers were lifted some meters above of the deck as well and they seemed to be big and wide enough to cover the entire deck.

The sound of waves and seagulls echoed around and one could see a segment of the port area a few kilometers away.

"You look in a foul mood, my fellow."

Shade Man walked up to him, slightly surprised.

"Some jerk impersonated me and meddled with the shooting range computer, man."

"What? Coward folk indeed." He rubbed his chin with the right hand and grumbled.

"Sure thin'… Where's Ou – sama, anyway?"

"Hmmm? His Majesty…? You mean Pharaoh Man? Up there, in the main tower…"

Shade Man signaled a tower behind the rearmost cover.

"OK. Gonna have some M & F to get rid of the foul mood. See ya around."

"Alright. I'll go talk with Cosmo Man and learn the details."

They parted ways and Napalm Man headed down the main aisle until he reached the bow.

Several motor boats could be seen hanging above the deck using cranes.

He sat down on a bench and sighed.

"V! B! N! On Air! And On Board!" The familiar voices rang out through his ear-pads.

"It's begun."

"Today… "The mailbox" is the opening story! Let's go!"

"…"M! Come ASAP!"… "There's been a string of mailboxes thefts so we're gonna catch the culprit! We'll keep watch near this mailbox and when the guy shows up…!"…"We deliver a clean hit!"…"Devil! I forgot the baton at home!"…"Don't worry! There's a good branch over there. You hit the guy with force and…!"…The door the branch was leaning against falls off the structure and brings down F! "W-why! Who'd said it was holding the door on place? How about hiding inside the mailbox? When the thief stuffs the hand in…"… "I catch 'im! Good idea!"…"

"Trouble incoming!" Napalm Man sneered.

"…"Let's go! I'm so gonna scare the guy!"… "A mailbox! What an idea! Here's a nice firecracker!"… BOOM! "Looks like it didn't work! Allow me! I'll disguise as a mailbox and catch the guy!"…"Let's go pick up the mail. Let's see if the writing is decent enough…Sometimes it feels like they write with the feet!"… A postman opens the mailbox's door and spot's M's foot! "Don't look, you!"…He delivers a kick to the nose and the postman runs off! "W-what in the…? I'm dreaming or what, man?"…"I found a nice nut! I'll shatter it and eat it. I'll use the mailbox as support so that I don't need to duck."…M runs off and the fellow gaps! "I'm t-telling you the mailbox ran away! It's got two feet!"…"No big news! Not to me, anyway!"…"Looks like your plan didn't work either!"…"You were looking? Got another idea! Let's place a bear-trap and when someone stuffs the hand in they'll be caught! Done! Let's wait for the yells to ring out!"…"

"I'm sure this is gonna fail too."

"…"I'll check out if they've robbed this mailbox. Doesn't seem to be the case! I'm fed up with stuffing my noses in…!"…CLACK! "Yells! Gotcha! Let's go! Gotcha, you rascal… Po-policeman!"…"I'm so gonna send ya to jail for 20 years! I swear!"…"You and your plans! Can't you run faster?!"…"I only had this turtle disguise at hand!"… End!"

"Always annoyin' the cops!"

"…Next! "Sinister cargo"! "Boss! Big news! I overheard a chat between drug smugglers! They're gonna bring a truck loaded with opium through the Silly Crow Road!"…"What? Let's go! We'll destroy that cargo!"… "Let's go destroy it! Here's the road!"…"Let's hide and wait for the truck to come!"…"Milestone disguise: on!"…"I'll hide in this sack! It's full of weeds!"…"OK. Let's go feed Eulalio. Here's your meal!"… Turns out it was donkey food!"

"As expected!"

"…"The alfalfa is filled with bugs!"…"My ear!"…"You'll need another hiding spot!"…"In this thicket!"…"Weeds are getting bigger as of late! I'm always burning them!"…"WATER!"… "Come on, Boss! T'as nothin'!"…"

"Heh! My burnin' soul is to blame, I guess!"

"…"I'll climb into this pine tree and jump down atop the truck!"…"I'll place pushpins in the ground to blow up a wheel! When they come down I'll hit 'em with this mace!"…M hits the pine tree and F falls down! The pushpins stab his back! "But, Boss! Why were you in the branches like a monkey? Help!"…"Look! It's come!"…"We need a plan RIGHT NOW!"…"Gotcha! Jump atop the engine and aim the gun at the driver! You force 'im to get down and I'll destroy the cargo!"…"Good! It's coming…!"…"Go, Boss! Jump!"… "Here I go~!"… THUD! "What happened?"… "T-the truck's engine is below the cabin!"…"The radiator's broken! You moron! How am I going to bring this CELERY cargo into the town?"…"C-celery? Did you say CELERY?"…"

"Spanish pun?"

"To our dear audience! "Celery" is spelled "apio" in Spanish! "Opio" and "apio"… M's deafness is to blame once again!"

"Mistaking the "a" with an "o"…" Napalm Man chuckled aloud.

"…"I'm gonna make a new one with your BONES!"…"…"Drug smugglers"… "Opium truck"…"… "Man! It's just one letter, not like it matters!"… End of the raging duet!"

"And you say that!" Napalm Man laughed.

"…"The pearl necklace!"…"Boss? What are you carrying?"…"The pearl necklace that the Great Duchess entrusted me with! Hold it for a sec, 'cause I must tell the Duchess that I've received it."…"It's long! You can use it to play skipping rope! The string's broken!"…"What was that noise? Help! Mommy! The window…!"…"What's with the window, Boss?"… F falls off the window, bounces off a canopy and lands atop a taxi! "You've never used a taxi before? You must come in!"… "Breaking the collar…! I'm gonna give 'im a lesson!"…"Hi, Boss! Wanna play marbles?"…"I'm going to…! Help me!"..."The Boss sure has an agitated life!"…He breaks through the door and slides down the stairs' handrail! "Aren't you ashamed of acting like a kid?"…Inside of the taxi he goes! "You again? You must open the door to get in!"…"

"M, the jerk! Why don't ya pick them up and try to fix it? Instead, you play with them… The guy doesn't realize how important it is? The guy…"

"…"Gonna crumble 'im!"…"What? You going on foot now? Ya mad or what, man?"…"You back, Boss? How about a game?"…"Come here!"… "I'm already here, Boss!"…"Devil! Not again!"…"You're good with the legs!"…"I'm skidding!"…"Let go of me!"…"The stairs!"…"Watch out, Boss!"…"You could play that at home!"… They go down the stairs! "Now you wanna start a bulería?"…"You look happy! Did you get the lotto?"… "The guy's back! With another!"…They rush past the taxi and break! "My taxi! Let's dance!"…"The pearls fell into the sewers! Go back inside! Don't come out 'till you find 'em!"…"But, Boss! This water is very dirty!"… End!"

"The guy… Won't learn."

"Day's last! The "band"! "Boss! I heard that there's a band of gangsters in an abandoned villa outside the town!"…"What'd you say? Let's catch 'em and become famous!"… "Roger! This is the villa!"… "A lil fence! Easily overcome!" * yelps *… "Electrical fence! It's electrical!"…"

"Zappin' first contact!"

"…"Got an idea to deal with that! I'm gonna swing you and toss you over it like how Scottish toss the trees!"… "Well…"… "OK! Go!"…"

"He lands into some canopy and ends up a atop a dog's head! "That thing bit me! We'll need some other way to avoid the dog!"…"Let's dig a tunnel! Come in and let's dig!"… "Good!"… CLOC! "What a thick rock!"… "It's my head, moron! We gotta be inside the perimeter! We're gonna drop on 'em!" The ground a below a cow crumbles and it falls into the tunnel! "What's this?" It kicks M out! "Boss! Coming?"…F follows! "I'm here! Under the villa…!"…"Don't worry! We climb and enter through a window! I brought the climber disguise! It's broken!"…The water discharge pipe breaks and falls atop F! "Thanks, Boss! You stopped it before I hit the floor!"…"Enough idiocies! I'm gonna tackle the door!"… "I'm going to have some fresh air!"…"

"I suspect another failure."

"…"I like feeling the wind's freshness into the stomach and…!"… F runs in and collides with the guy! His wig jumps out! "You're under arrest, you gangsters!"… "W-what? Whatcha sayin', man? Ya mad? We're the "Band of Gangsters" and we were going to perform a live today!"…"

"What a name for a music group! Seein' how there's U2 and the lot… But, really!"

"... "Rongo's been attacked!"… "Gotta be competency!"… "Let's teach 'em a lesson!"…They tie them into chairs and organize a live with them purposely tuning the instruments wrong to punish them! "Rock 'em all, man!"… "No more~! We've already heard it 14 times!"… "When we get outta this I'm gonna teach you how to tell "bands" apart!"…"

"14 times?" He whistled.

He gasped and turned around to look at atop one of the buildings but there only was a group of seagulls flying above it.

"Man! Here I thought I was being watched! Beta! Did ya see anyone?"

"What? See anyone? Where? When?"

"… Don't mind it. My imagination."

"If you say so…"

Beta X happened to be walking into the area so Napalm Man asked him but he didn't know what he meant so Napalm Man shrugged.

"Going out?"

"We've got a mission to scout a warehouse… Let's hope it's not some weirdo like the other day around." He sighed.

"Everyone's goin' mad as of late… The autumn winds?"

"Dunno. Maybe it's a curse."

"SEYA~H!" A voice rang out.

"WHA?"

"…Those faces!"

"... Tozukana? Sheesh. That joke was lame."

Tozukana came out from a behind, laughing, and both Navis fumed at her joke.

"I beat Leiter! 5-4! Eat that!" She boasted.

"I'm sure it was pure dumb luck. As usual."

"Wha~t? You Lucifer wannabe!"

"Lucifer wannabe? Me? When did I say I was that, anyway?"

"HMPF!"

"Sorry to the delay. Let's go."

"Zarashe! What's the bitch up to?"

"Tozukana – san!? Well, I dunno. Not like I need to know, either."

"Really?"

"Don't annoy me if you may."

"Hmpf!"

Zarashe joined them and Tozukana began to question him, so he fumed.

"And where's the blondie guy?"

"Kage? You know he only comes on weekends. Today's a Thursday!"

"Wha! Thought it was Sunday!"

"You could've asked Lily." Beta X dully reminded her.

"Halt! Halt! What are these voices? I cannot concentrate! I demand to know the source of this fuss!"

Pharaoh Man hovered down there and glared at everyone.

"These guys are to blame, sarcophagus!"

"I doubt that. I highly do. You have a reputation of being troublesome to begin with." Pharaoh Man scolded.

"Go back to your RPG world!"

"Hmpf. How childish. Children nowadays. They do not know when to be quiet and silent."

"CHILDREN? I'm 19!" She protested.

"For me you are still a child."

"Hmpf! And you're the Nameless Pharaoh. And you think you're the King of all." She fumed next.

"Wrong. I am but a guardian. Of this battleship." He wasn't impressed in the least.

"Sure. Loopholes man."

"Tozukana. Not you again."

"Oh shit."

Ms. Secretary showed up there, annoyed.

Tozukana directed a hostile glare at her but didn't even flinch or react to it on the first place.

"I agree with Pharaoh Man. You behave like a kid."

"Tell that to the blondie!"

"Kage is competent. Never stirs up trouble. Unlike you or Ikada."

"Ki~h! I'm fed up! I need some martini!"

"You are minor of age. There is no alcohol on board. You know that so your statement is meaningless and a feeble attempt at trying to pose as strong." She dully broke it down.

Tozukana looked about to do something, but she merely walked away at a brisk pace.

"That spoiled woman…! What are you waiting for? Zarashe and Beta X! Get on the move now! Remember the orders, Napalm Man! Pharaoh Man! Go back to your duties! I want you all out of my sight! NOW!"

"R-roger, ma'am!"

Zarashe and Beta X quickly jumped onboard one of the boats.

The boat swung over the handrail and then lowered into the water.

The hooks were released and it sped away.

Napalm Man headed back towards the main entrance while Pharaoh Man hovered into the air and headed for the main tower.

She fumed and stomped the ground with the right foot as if to vent it off altogether.

"Mademoiselle… Violence doesn't solve anything." A voice called out through a Sub PET she had on her right hand.

"President Hades… You heard it?"

"I did."

"What should be done?"

"Let us have some patience. For now we should focus on who that intruder was or what was their purpose."

"Maybe they came to tease us. Or to provoke us."

"I have the hunch they're not coming back. They want us to be feel paranoid and annoyed. And it's starting to work." Hades warned her.

"I apologize."

"You are not to blame, Mademoiselle… We aren't aren't either so they'll commit some mistake. All we need to do is to wait for a chance."

"Let them come! This time we shall figure out who they are. By the way, Zero found some rumors and tweets about "SN" but insofar he says they lack credibility. What should we do?"

"Stay alert for that too. It might be their own tactic: to make their own existence unbelievable from the start so that we don't take them seriously and we later realize it was a powerful enemy indeed." Hades ordered.

He was tense, as evidenced by his voice.

"Understood. I shall relay those orders immediately."

"Forget about the misbehaving children if you may as well. I am not asking the impossible, of course. But try to ignore as much as you can."

"I will try."

"Thank you."

"You need not."

"Maybe we could discuss the details at my office?"

She pocketed the Sub PET and headed back towards the entrance.

She gasped and looked to the top of one of the buildings but there was nothing.

"Paranoia… Hmpf!"

She shrugged and headed back inside of the ship.

Yet the mysterious white figure was silently standing behind one of the buildings with their arms crossed and apparently starting at the horizon…