Chapter 5: Treachery

10:15 AM (Japan Time), Saturday October the 8th…

"… But… Will this be alright? Senpai."

"It'll be alright. I've got permission."

"But… Why me?"

"I trust you."

"But… We've only known for 5 days…"

"Does it matter? I want to help you."

"Why?"

"I told you. You and I are alike. Someone close to you harmed you and now you're sinking into despair and fear. I did as well. However, they taught me the courage to fight it back. If you meet them in person and talk with them… Maybe that will give you a hint as to how to find the courage to fight that demon back."

"You shouldn't…"

"…have bothered? You must stop thinking like that. It only feeds your own pity and disgrace and it has no end. It'll only lead to darker and more dangerous thoughts."

"… Is that so…?"

". It is. I went through that too. It wasn't easy overcoming it. But, if you believe that you've got the potential too then… You can."

"Potential… Strength?"

"That's right."

Leon was driving a motor boat and Raito was sitting on the passenger's seat next to him.

Raito looked in a better mood than a week before but he still seemed to be unsure about himself.

"What is the name of this organization, senpai?" Raito timidly asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Golden Star."

"And what is their goal?"

"To contribute to the stability of society… It sounds complicated. But, in essence, it goes like this… Our super-computer is constantly gathering all kinds of data. The data is inspected, analyzed, classified. We act using that info as basis… We pave the way for the legal authorities to take care of criminals and all…" He explained.

"And where are we going with this boat?"

"To the HQ."

"Is it too far away to go on car?"

"You can't reach by car! It's a battleship."

"B-b-battle… ship?" He gasped and looked up.

"Purgatory. Technically, it isn't but the design was based off a battleship project. It doesn't have any onboard weapons." Leon calmly explained.

"P… Purgatory…? What is that?"

"It's taken from Christian beliefs. A place between Hell and Heaven where one might attempt to amend for their sins and finally ascend to Heaven."

"Amend for their sins…?" Raito muttered.

"It doesn't mean we've done sins. It's just that we're in a territory where only those with a good will can step in… Only those who repent their sins and deeds can enter…"

"Repent…"

"Don't take it too literally either. Nobody really does. It's just a name and that's it." Leon relieved him.

"Understood…"

"We're about to cross the stealth field."

Leon eyed a radar screen set in the control console.

"What is that?"

"A dome that hides it from the naked eye..."

There was a flash, which quickly died down, and Raito gasped.

"H-huge!"

The whole mole of Purgatory appeared in front of them.

It clearly was several hundred meters long and had a submarine-like profile when seen from above including the central turret and the covers.

Some portholes could be seen built above the water-line too.

"Incredible…!"

"Isn't it?"

Leon slowed down the boat and stopped beneath a crane's position.

The hooks came down and attached to two spots designed for that on the rear and front of the boat.

The boat was pulled up and softly swung over the handrail, then came to a rest only a few centimeters over the ground.

Leon calmly jumped down and Raito snapped out of it to follow him.

"Leon. Welcome back."

"Whoa! Is that…?"

"Hello, Cosmo Man."

"You brought a friend, I see."

Cosmo Man came to greet Leon and Raito gasped since it obviously was the first time he'd seen a materialized Navi.

"But please don't speak too much of it. Else…"

"Tozukana will use that to bother you? Spoiled children. You can count on me." Cosmo Man rolled his eyes.

"Follow me."

"R-roger, sir…"

"You can drop the "sir"…"

"B-b-but… Y-you looked so cold-blooded and all and…!"

"Oh come on. It's just that I've gotten used to it. There's no big mystery to it, believe me."

"Was that…?"

"A Net Navi, indeed."

"In the real world?"

"The technology has been around for some time but it's still heavily classified to avoid it being misused… We've had some cases already and we're trying to avoid more of them." Leon shrugged.

"A-and?"

"They can eat and drink using a special program that turns it into energy."

"U-unbelievable!"

"I was like you over a year ago, when I became a member."

"How?"

"Pure coincidence. I'd run away from home and hid in the port and a member, Kage – san, stumbled upon me. Seeing how I had nowhere else to go to then this became my new home." He calmly explained.

They stepped into the elevator and went down.

They entered the cafeteria and found Zarashe and Beta X having a domino game while Dark Man was humming a tune as he cleansed some cups.

"Good morning."

"Morning, Dark Man."

"There! 3 or 5." Beta X sneered.

"Steal… not steal…"

Zarashe was seemingly trying to hold at back the need to "steal" a tile from the stack.

"Let's not interrupt them. I'll introduce you to my CO."

"CO? Sounds like an army…!"

"We're no army. We're an NGO. A weird NGO but that's it." He patted Raito's back.

They continued into a main corridor that had several armored doors with nameplates on them and a password input panel to their right.

Leon stopped in front of one labelled "VP Noir" and pressed the "0" button for some seconds.

A small speaker set in the SE corner of the panel crackled to life.

"Leon – kun?" A soft man's voice asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Password?"

"The leg will bite the duck."

Raito barely was able to muffle the outburst of laughter that was coming out of his mouth.

"Come in."

"Y-yes… T-the leg… bite… a duck…!" He was still laughing at it.

They stepped into a wide window-less room.

It had a table with some chairs around it, a drawer set with an LCD TV atop it and a large king-sized bed on the north wall.

"Accueillir au Purgatoire." Someone announced in French.

There was someone sitting on a chair opposite the table.

That someone wore a black monk's tunic with a hood, which hid his face, and their voice was a whisper yet it was clear it was a man.

"Who is it?" Raito asked.

"My name is Noir. Black. The VP of Golden Star."

"VP? Whoa!"

"Have a seat."

"T-thank you…"

Raito nervously looked around and spotted a door set on the west wall near the north wall that had a banner saying "TOILETS & SHOWERS".

The rest of the walls were unadorned and unpainted so it felt very sparse.

"Are you from France, sir?"

"No. I'm Japanese. But I know some French."

"What did you say, sir?"

"… "Welcome to Purgatory"… By the way… Legato!" The man called out.

"Yes, sir! Coming, sir!"

"Whoa!"

Some data clusters "rained" down from nowhere as some bigger blocks began to spin clockwise around it and then fused with the clusters

A defined Navi's form was the result.

"Introduce yourself to our guest."

"Roger. I'm Legato. VP Noir's Net Navi. Golden Star's Second In Command."

Legato's helmet's main color was blood red, and had no ear-pads.

Thick red shades surrounded by a purple edge hid his gaze.

A wild flock of silver hair came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.

His main "skin" color was black.

His upper torso had red blood armor built over it.

His shoulders had black diamonds with purple edges set atop them.

An emblem with a black edge was set on the chest; it was two golden and silver halves split by a thunderbolt; golden was left and silver was right.

Red armor with purple bands circling them covered his forearms.

His palms had red circles drawn atop them.

His boots were red too and had purple knee guards.

The soils were black.

"He is Raito – kun. Leon – kun's kouhai." He introduced as he looked at him over the shoulder.

"I see, sir."

"I authorized him to come onboard because I thought that might give him some inspiration or ideas so as to how to overcome a crisis he's experiencing."

"Roger, sir."

"Legato – dono?"

"Dono wa iranai. Meijin's gonna sue me!"

"By the way, senpai… Is there some connection between my cousins and these gentlemen?"

"The person who saved me, Kage – san, was a classmate of them some years ago. They keep contact from time to time. But don't say it aloud, because it might bring misfortune. I don't want to scare you but you should be aware of things work like here." Leon simply explained.

"Cousins?" Legato asked.

"He's cousin to Kage – kun's friends, the Hikari brothers."

"Interesting."

"Don't spread it around, either."

"Roger, sir. You know I am discrete."

"Good. But I felt like you needed a little reminder." Noir shrugged and calmly tapped the edge of the table.

"Why do you, sir…?"

"Wear this outfit? To create atmosphere. To make me appeal as someone enigmatic and mysterious, see." He shrugged.

"I see. By the way, that password of… I'm sorry, I feel like laughing again because… Because…"

"What password, sir?" Legato asked.

"The leg will bite the duck."

"Really, sir? Sounds like something Alfred would pull." Legato grinned.

"Sure! He'll come raging at my door and demand to use it."

"Maybe you'd like to listen to some crazy humor?" Noir offered.

"Can I, sir?"

"Of course. Wait a min… To put it short for you… Some of the members are adapting Spanish humor comic books to radio… The humor in them is totally crazy… It's very childish too since it's aimed at children in general! Here it is!"

"V! B! N! Welcome to a new broadcast!"

"Today's first is… "The Maharajah's diamond"! "Mortadelo! We must go to the villa of the Kankubala Maharajah. He's leaving on a trip and wants us to take custody of a 7,000 karats diamond!"…"Don't worry, sir! We'll watch over it like a child!"…"You better do. Else… Slice!"…"Give me that case! Don't play with it!"…"But… A lizard, Boss!"…"The case! You moron! It's falling downhill! Run!"… One happy goose walks there and the case ends up inside of the mouth!"

"…"The goose swallowed it! We must get it back! Don't run, come back!"… "Boss! The law of gravity never fails, right?"… "Of course not! Why?"… "Get ready for the downfall!"… He'd run into the air from a small cliff and fell down!"

"Who's afraid of a lizard…?" Raito laughed.

"…"Boss! Are you injured?"…"No! I enjoy this!"…"The goose! Gotcha!"… Someone hits him with a sturdy cane from a fence's corner! "Fed up with goose thieves! Let's go, "Agripina"!"… "See! It's inside of that corral!"… "You keep an eye out and I'll jump!"… "OK!"…"

"So the goose belonged to some farmer."

"…"Warn me if the guy comes, OK?"…"Time to run!"…"Don't pull my legs, man!"…"No!"…"Take this, you thief!"…"You vile traitor! Running off like that!"…"I wasn't going to get hit in purpose!"…"Quiet! The goose's there! Stop it!"…"

"Sounds pretty crazy…"

"…"What? Where?"…"Let's follow it quietly! Gotcha!"…"Time to fly!"… "Gimme a stick to hit it! Where did you get this stick? I know it from somewhere!"…"Have this!"…The guy jumps and crushes F! "Cheer up, Boss! I'm here to help ya!"…"When the Maharajah knows we've lost the diamond…!"…"It isn't lost! I had it on the pocket! See! I took it out to check it out and since you only wanted the case…!"…"

"What? All that pain and struggle… Were in vain? Why didn't that "Mortadelo" person think his Boss wanted the diamond? Why not tell him he'd taken it out?" Raito was baffled.

"He's dumb." Noir giggled.

"I can see that." He muttered with some resignation.

"…"Don't run, no! I'll give you wood for another case!"…"But, Boss! Man! Sheesh! I didn't know why you wanted it! Help me!"… End of the tale! But there's more!"

"Really…"

"Next! "Jimmy the "Crow"!"…"

"Does he like crows?" Raito wondered.

"…"Boss! Fresh news! Jimmy the "Crow" has been seen roaming the grasslands of the outskirts!"…"We gotta catch the guy! But it's a clever guy and won't be caught so easily!"…"Easy! Let's use my bull disguise! How about it? He won't notice it's us…When he gets close then I throw a smoke grenade and that's it!"…"Great! Let's go!"…"

"Something tells me it won't go easily." Raito guessed.

"…"Let's close the zippers… And let's see if we stumble upon the fellow!"… They stumble upon a bull! "Devil!"…"What's going on?"…"Run!"… "What's going on? Answer me or I'm gonna hit you!"…THUD! "I'm bit nervous after all those "hits"… Spending some time in the county will do me well!"… The disguise flies in front of him! "Devil! It looked like a flying bull! No way! My imagination's playing tricks on me!"…"

"Of course it is, sir…" Raito rolled his eyes.

"…"What a blow!"…"My head's sided and I can't see!"…"I saw another bull dancing "rock" next!"…"Open the zipper!"…"Can't! It's stuck!"…"I'm feeling ill! Leaving…!"…"Get us outta here!"…"Someone's fallen into the hole! Calm down: I'll get you out!"… "Thank a lot, sir!"… "Another bull! It talks!"…"Don't drop us! The tear gas grenade's safety come off!"… BOOM! The gas inflates the disguise and it jumps off heading for Jimmy! "No~! It's a monster! It's chasing me!"… BANG! "Look, Boss! It's our fellow! Flying bulls and dancing bulls! How funny!"…"What a reward they've given us!"…"We could go to the bulls!"…"BULLS! I'm gonna banderillar you!"… "What's your problem? You don't like bulls?"… End!"

"He's obviously fed up with the bulls!"

"… Next! "The stamp"! "Look, Boss! A letter from a Mainz admirer!"… "Really? What does it say?"… Note: Mainz is a German city! "It says that… What nerve! He asks for a real-sized photo of us as replacement for his scarecrow! Go to crap, you letter!"… "Here! Take this!"… "Whoa! Boss! It says in the tabloids that a Mainz stamp was valued at 20 million!"…"

"…"MAINZ? The letter! The stamp!"…"Not so fast! It's mine! I'll buy a yacht! I'll be a millionaire!"… F almost had the letter but the other, who's become a bird, steals it! F replaces the phone's receiver with a TNT cartridge that's lit! "2, 2, 4, 7… I'm about to explode from this joy!"… BOOM! "Come here, sonny!"…"I'll remember this! I promise you that!"… "Let's sell it and get the 20 million!"…F runs out but M, disguised as a lamp, steals it! "Devil! What's this? A 1 peseta "home saving" coupon!"… "I'm so good at switching! I'll stuff it on the pocket and sell it!"… F lurks close by with some scissors! "I think there's a philatelic on the corner!"… "You! 1,000 pesetas fine for walking that outfit!"… "W-wha~t? Devil! My clothes! My pocket! My stamp!"…F had cut down from the waist downwards! "And 1,000 pesetas fine!"…"Gotcha again! Let's go sell it! M must be waiting at the door so I'll use the window! I'll use the ledge to go to the drainage pipe and…!"…"

"How fierce!"

"…"Come back, my fella! Sell it! Mainz is great! Boss sure is heavy!"… "Halt! Gimme back my stamp, you thief!"…"

"20 million are at stake!" Legato grinned.

"What tension!" Leon was surprised as well.

"…"It's MY stamp!"…"Mine!"…"Like Hell! I'm keeping it!"…"No!"…"I'm gonna hit ya!"…A brawl ensues! "A-alright! We'll split the reward!"… "Good idea!"…"Look at this stamp, my friend! How much worth is it?"…"Psche! If you brought me a kilo of these I could give you 1 peseta."…"WHAT?"…"The newspapers said it was worth 20 million!"… "Wrong! You didn't read the whole news! That was because there was one which it erroneously had the national soccer selection's goalkeeper portrait instead of the king's one."…"EAT THIS"…"YOU EAT IT!"… End!"

"I knew it… Too good to be true…" Raito rolled his eyes.

"But nevertheless, paying 20 million for one erroneous stamp…"

"Day's last! Last one of this short stories collection! "Good neighborhood!"… "M! Open the door, someone's knocking"…"

"…"Going…! Always opening and closing doors!"… "Hi! I'm the neighbor of the adjacent office and I wanted to ask if you could lend me some ink."… "Ink?"…"We've run out of it and…"…"If you want ink…"… "What are you doing?"…"You go and buy it at the store!"…M grabs the short-heighted guy and placed him atop the stairs' handrail to then send him sliding down it! "Help!"…He crashes into a cactus! "Excellent! Is that a way of treating a neighbor?"…"I, well… Was coming to scam us and…"…"You gotta be kinder and nicer to people! Hi! I'm your painter neighbor."… "What do you need?"… "I'm finishing an urgent painting and an easel's leg has broken… Could you bring it here so that…?"… "Of course. Allow me. See? That's how you address a neighbor!"… "Neighbor, here's the easel."… "OK! Let's bring it!"… "The "easel" was the model of the painting! The…! GRRRMMMLLLFFF!"…" It's so FUNNY!"… End!"

"And thus… V! B! N! The short stories collection is over! We'll soon bring forth a full-fledged adventure! Look forward to it! Off Air!"

"Talk about crazy. But, really… How long has it been since I last laughed like this? Feels like ages ago…" He sighed in relief.

"You needed new inputs." Noir told him.

"G-guess that, sir… I feel like all of my pain is going away… As if it'd never been there to begin with…"

"That's because a big deal of it is part of your depression! You can only picture yourself in pain and that obsession leads to you believing you're really feeling it when you're not." Leon explained.

"True, senpai… When you explain it like that…"

"I think we'll go to my room to chat there. I'll introduce you to my hyper-dynamic Navi."

"You had a Navi, senpai?"

"But since I didn't want people to learn of my name through my Navi he poses as a solo Navi and never comes to the school."

"Enjoy." Noir invited.

"Good morning." Legato grinned.

"T-thank you very much." Raito quickly bowed.

"Good morning, sir."

Both came out into the corridor and then headed for a door near to the end of the left wing that had Leon's name on its banner.

Leon punched a 5-digit code and the door unlocked so they stepped inside.

"So this is where you live, senpai?"

"It's just me and my Navi."

"Did someone call for CRASH BURN SMASH MAN?" Napalm Man's voice laughed from the PC.

"How original. Coming from you." Leon sighed.

"We've got company? Kidding, my fella! Name's Napalm Man and I'm burnin' rascal! My heart's on fire! Bring it on, twerps!"

"Odd design."

Raito looked at how Napalm Man's upper body appeared onscreen.

"I suspect Burner Man influenced too much on it. He wanted a flame attribute pal so…"

"So I'm here to burn and raze and climb and sail!"

"Burner Man says you can't beat his new record."

"We'll see 'bout that by Moran!"

"There. Now he'll leave us alone for a while."

"He is hyper-dynamic, senpai."

"I thought someone like that would help me cheer up and all but I shouldn't have trusted Burner Man to do something seriously apart from cooking."

"How is it that you don't use honorifics on them?"

"They don't care about them. There are no ranks amongst us agents: we're all in the same category."

"I see."

"So you see. A little under 1 hour and you've already gotten back a lot of stuff you'd given up on. Convinced?"

"Really convinced."

"Of course! I know you can't possibly escape from the past so quickly especially if it's been something long and painful. What you need to do is say to whoever harmed you that you're stronger than them and they should go broom the chapel."

"B-broom the chapel…" He muffled his laughter.

"Or maybe they need AHOTOXIN."

"AHOTOXIN? Sounds like a Kansai pun." He laughed.

"Maybe it'll make them stupider and they'll end up saying they're bringers of bringing brings."

"Sounds like a tongue-twister attempt…"

"It does."

"By the way… Who was the lady that always came to pick you up after class, senpai?"

"Her? Ms. Secretary. Assistant to President Hades… She's kinda of an overseer who checks if the staff behave. She's very, very strict and makes no exceptions. She drives me for added safety." Leon explained.

"She doesn't have a name?"

"Of course does but nobody knows it. The President calls her "Mademoiselle" and that's it. So we all name her like that."

"How curious… What kind of person is President Hades?" Raito asked him.

"Hard to say. I've almost never met him since I'm Noir Administration. On the paper, Golden Star is split into 2 Administrations. Each can do as it pleases and has no obligation to report to the other. On the paper, that's supposed to help avoid power struggles but…On the field, we all collaborate with each other, both leaders get along and that's it. But that gives you an idea of how much thought went into the planning and building of the organization." Leon detailed.

He was sitting on his bed while Raito had sit down on the chair next to the deck.

"And for self-defense purposes we're allowed to carry guns with us too."

"G-g-g-GUNS?" He gasped.

"But they're tranquilizer guns, anyway."

"Tranquilizer?"

"They shoot a dart that has a powerful anesthetic loaded on it! It may take a few seconds to take effect but it knocks out the adversary for a while. It's been used before and all uses insofar reveal no side-effects so… Even the 2 snipers use that ammunition."

"Snipers…! That sounds like an army again."

"There's a lot of people of different backgrounds here."

"So it'd seem. By the way! There was one thing I saw the other day… Which struck me as odd."

"What is it?"

"I saw you, senpai, with 2 adults and a student of the school… You were chatting and laughing at something…"

"That was Sieg."

"Sieg?"

"My twin brother. We fell apart time ago."

"Why?"

"He bullied me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't mind it. We never got along, either. Sieg sometimes appears on the area with his gang pals and is a troublemaker who'll stir up trouble from time to time. That "student" you mentioned is Yanada, from 2 – B. The guy who's always under watch by the teachers…" Leon informed him.

"I noticed. So I should avoid him?"

"Avoid the guy! It's a loser, anyway. Can't do anything…" Leon shrugged.

"Understood. I should thank those gentlemen later on." Raito muttered.

"You mean your cousins? Don't forget to thank them. By the way! If your father asks… Simply say we met in a café and had a chat. I'm sorry but it's for your sake and his sake as well…"

"I understand. It's our secret, right, senpai?"

"Correct."

"I promise I'll keep good custody of it." Raito smiled and nodded.

"Good. That's the face I want to see. Believe in yourself, Raito – kun, and you'll be able to accomplish anything."

"Believe in myself…! That's what I lacked… Confidence in myself! I didn't have it… But I now have it!"

"Good! Then let it fuel you as you move on forward!"

"T-thank you."

"If you feel anxious then you could check out the view from the port-hole and let some fresh air blow the angst again."

"Thank you. I think I will do so."

Raito opened the port-hole and used a small ledge as support to pull his body up and be able to look out through it

"I feel like I could stand hours on end here and all pain would be gone!"

14:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Something's on the air…"

"…and I was telling Tanaka that a "baka" had gone to "tana" and thus become a "Tanabaka"!"

"Good one, man!"

"Did ya know this one? "Waiter! This horse meat IS uneatable!"… "Sorry, Danna… Horse's run up… That bein' the carriage…"…"

"Fellas! Look at that punk. Looks weak."

"Guys! Time for some fun…"

"…What?"

"You're weak! And we're gonna show ya!"

"Hmpf. Ruthless Vine is my name. And you're goners."

"Hmpf! Guts enough won't suffice! Hi Cannon!"

"Hi Cannon!"

"Hmpf! Nature Shield!"

"Wha!"

A bunch of Heel Navis had been chuckling and chatting amongst them in an alley of an Internet City.

A customized Navi walked past them and they surrounded the Navi to try to beat them by shooting Hi Cannons, but the attacks were repelled.

"Don't take Ruthless Vine lightly."

Ruthless Vine's helmet used pale green as main coloring.

The "kusa" or "grass" Kanji had been colored in a mud brown color on the very front of the helmet.

Transparent greenish shades covered his eyes, the irises of which were emerald green too.

His chest armor had the initials "RV" in a mud brown color set on the center; his body was green with brown edges.

His forearms and boots were lush green, and the boots' soil white.

The tactic he'd used consisted on making tree trunks rise from the ground and form a barrier around him before they were deleted, so the Heel Navis recoiled.

"My turn. Earthly Roots!"

The ground rumbled and some of it began to rise because some thick roots had formed underneath it.

The force made some Heel Navis fall into the ground and others were sent flying.

"Shoot, damn it!"

They began to shoot at him but Ruthless Vine merely used the same attack on himself to jump into the air and make the Heel Navis shoot each other.

"Moron! Aim properly!"

"I'm doin' that! Ya suck!"

"Rascal!"

"Ugly!"

"Rookie!"

"You too!"

"Idiot!"

"Jerk!"

Ruthless Vine landed atop a building's roof and looked down on the alley as how the Heel Navis began to shoot each other and seemed to have forgotten about him altogether.

He jumped down on the other side of the building and walked away.

"Zzzztop!" An accented voice ordered.

"Who…?"

A Heel Navi colored green and blue and having a Vulcan 3 Battle Chip equipped appeared from the right.

"Codezzz! Give to uzzzzz!"

"Codes? Oh come on. Do your homework, idiot. I'm not Golden Star! I'm Shunoros. Wrong man!"

"Impozzzible! Weird guyzzz are Golden Zzztar! Bozzzz zzzaid zzo!"

"What an idiot." He grumbled.

"Codezzz!"

"Like I'm gonna be impressed by your toy. Leaf Cutter!"

He formed some leafs with sharp edges and made them fly forward, flying through the Heel Navi and opening wounds there and there.

He jumped into the air and dived for the Heel Navi to deliver a kick to the forehead, making and the Heel Navi collapse into the ground.

Ruthless Vine gripped the guy's forehead and began to scan the data.

"Slovakian! Another arrogant imbecile, I guess. Go back to your useless master with the tail between legs. You're weak. No – one's gonna give a crap about you. Get lost if you don't want to be deleted! Because I'm eager to teach you a lesson!"

"Damn it! We zzzhall remember thizzzz!"

"Too classical. Doesn't impress me in the least."

"Zzzzhit!"

Ruthless Vine walked away from the fallen Slovakian Heel Navi and whistled a tune as he continued his stroll.

He heard an explosion and saw some Heel Navis running off a store while shooting Hi Cannons behind them.

"Run, run! We got the money!"

"Thieves!" Someone yelled.

"Natural Barrier." He whispered.

The ground rumbled and a fissure opened.

Ivy began to sprout upwards and to the sides eventually forming a barrier about 5 meters tall and 20 wide.

The Heel Navis (5 of them) stopped, surprised as the ivy shot out some vines that coiled around the Heel Navis and caught them, so they dropped the cases with the stolen money.

"That's as far as you come! Net Police Cyber CID! You're all under arrest!"

"Damn! It's Blues!"

"Shit!"

"Our best hit…!"

"It's your fault!"

"Yours!"

"Hmpf."

"Scum…"

Blues appeared with several Police Navis and the Heel Navis began to blame each other for the capture.

"Ruthless Vine… Was it?"

"Take all the credit."

"If you insist…" He shrugged.

"By the way… You should be the on the look-out for a Slovakian guy who's after GS codes… Not dangerous but you never know what a desperate guy like that will do…"

"Hum. Point taken."

"I'm the King of Samba~!"

A Normal Navi colored yellow and green appeared there and began to dance samba (or an imitation of it).

They then began to do funny and odd flips, jumps and turns.

"Beware! It's the Basilisk!"

"WHA?"

They turned around and there was nothing.

The Navi had come closer so Blues drew his Long Blade and Ruthless Vine a Long Sword.

"Beware! I'm ugly!"

"Really?" Both questioned with obvious skepticism, unimpressed.

There was a blinding, flash and both groaned from the forceful shutdown of their sensory input.

It managed to reboot after a few seconds and they could assess that the Navi wasn't there anymore.

"When I catch that rascal…!" Blues growled.

"Gonna beat the guy to a pulp…! My eyes! I'm so gonna make 'em regret that stunt! With pain!" Ruthless Vine groaned.

"That's my intention too…!"

"I'll soon go back to the HQ: as soon as this itching is gone…! Worse than being aimed at spotlight at your face!" He cursed.

"Speak for yourself. You've got shades!"

"GRMFHAJTD!"

"Plug Out already, Blues. See you."

"I'm outta here too!"

Ya fell for it, guys! Now it's our turn to have some fun!

15:04 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I love this park. Quiet, wide and full of plants. The best place to relax after a morning like today's…"

A guy was walking across a public garden.

His hair had been tinted green and it was neatly combed while his irises were emerald green.

He was about 16 or above years old.

His face had some marks of previous cuts and blows, which had mainly faded by now.

His clothes consisted on a sleeveless leather jacket, a lush green sweater, a pair of slightly worn-down jeans and sneakers.

He had a greenish PET with Ruthless Vine's emblem on it.

He also sported a pendant that had a narrow metallic-colored vertical hexagon shape and containing a small jewel-like object colored fluorescent green.

The pendant's north end had a carved miniature human skull there as well which gave it a creepy air.

"Kisei!"

"Netsuhonoo? Fancy meeting you here."

"I happened to be on my way elsewhere."

"I see."

A new guy met up with him coming from the west.

This newcomer was a guy on his late teens or early 20s.

His hair had been dyed fire red and his eyes' irises were brown.

His choice of clothes were a red opened sleeveless vest over a black t-shirt with the drawing of a crimson or scarlet – colored flame on its center surrounded by spiraling smoke trails.

His jeans were plain and normal and his socks were black wool ones.

His sneakers' color was white.

"Did you find Dully – chan?"

"Dullahan? Nope. Just some idiots, a Slovakian and 5 robbers."

"Bad luck, man."

"Bad luck indeed." He shrugged.

"Dully – chan and Elec Man are pending debuts this season… Guess our pals Kazebun and Umisama will handle them."

"Umisama can take are of Dullahan and Kazebun of Elec Man. But I'm wondering… What does that XY guy hope to achieve by letting them go out and fight us?" Kisei wondered.

"Dunno. Maybe the guy's just toying with them."

"Could be. Better that than someone who wants to use them to invade neighbor countries or use them in crime. By the way… Didn't you say the other say some funky guy pulled a blinding flash on you?"

"Sure! That rascal…!"

"Same happened to me a lil while ago… Think it's a coincidence?"

"Hmmm… Maybe!"

"And what Sieg and Urateido said the other day… That those guys were about to attack them… Something's on the air, I can feel it. Someone's doing something behind the scenes and I'm afraid we'll soon figure out what it is." Kisei exposed while rubbing his chin with the right hand.

"Look! That's… A Bruce Springsteen cosplay! Behind you!"

"Really? Where, where?"

Kisei spun around eagerly and didn't see Netsuhonoo drawing a Taser, which he used to hit Kisei's neck from behind and stunning him.

"Were it so easy." He muttered.

15:28 PM (Japan Time)…

"…What the…?"

"Wakey, wakey!"

"Netsu… honoo…!"

"Don't forget the "sama"!"

"What the fuck…?"

"Take a guess!"

"You…! Betrayed…!"

"Wanted more power… They gave it to me!"

"What's this…? And that…?"

"Have al ook!"

Kisei slowly awoke while groaning and feeling dizzy:.

His sight was still blurry but he could make out Netsuhonoo standing in front of him with an evil grin on his face.

He then realized he was placed against a metallic hexagon that was standing vertically: mechanical cuffs kept his wrists and ankles immobile and he was butt naked.

Another thing he noticed was that there was an odd bracelet on his right wrist over the cuff that had two curved colored bands.

Both were colored lush green right now and the rest of it was metallic black.

The room he was in was greatly unlit so the only thing visible were himself, the machine and Netsuhonoo.

"That's a device designed to measure the "fear" on you… Exquisite and subtle fear… I wonder how it tastes like, I really do…"

"Fear?" He gasped.

"By analyzing your adrenaline and non-epinephrine levels, it can calculate the level of fear you're experiencing. Green is normal. Orange is anxiety. Blinking red is fear. Red is outbreak. When you reach that stage then…"

"Then…?"

"You die."

He drew a Python Magnum gun and aimed it at his forehead.

Kisei gasped and he could feel the fear creeping in and, as a response, the bracelet began to turn orange.

"It's begun… I'm going to shock you with electricity and see if you can overcome the fear or not… If you do then you're fitting to become one of us… If not… You die."

"You damned…!"

"Start!"

He drew a remote with the left hand and pressed a button to make electrical current assault Kisei.

"UGRWA~H!" He roared.

"More! More!"

"GRAWA~H!"

"Yell! More!"

"D-damn you…! You told them… everything…!" Kisei hissed and exhaled hatred.

"Truly…!"

"Denpa – Henkan, the base… And Kyutora!"

"K…Kyutora?" He gasped.

"What?" Kisei frowned.

"Feel the FEAR!"

"MUGRAWA~H!"

"Kyutora…? That was that strategy about making GS believe we were building an orbital weapon… Something to keep them distracted before we moved to Panama…" He seemingly recalled, frowning.

Kisei suddenly laughed.

"W-wha? Did I break the guy?" He wondered.

"… You're not… Netsuhonoo…! Nice attempt…!" He grinned.

"W-what are you saying? I AM Netsuhonoo Robin!"

"You aren't!"

"How can you be SO sure, huh?" He hissed.

"Kyutora! The orbital weapon thing… The project name wasn't that to begin with…! And Panama…!"

"W-w-w-WHAT?" He uttered in a rush.

"How about you expose… your ugly hide… you fake!"

"Whatever! Die!"

"Not so fast!"

"The Magnum! Cut in 2!"

"Don't move. Or I'll cut off your neck next."

"E-Ernst…!"

"Sorry I kept you waiting. The armored door was a though thing even for my HF blade."

End Angel dashed in and swung the sword to split the gun in 2 pieces before he stopped in front of Kisei and aimed his blade at the fake's neck.

"Hmmm… IR scans says you're a Copy Roid. I see. Those Navis with the flash…"

"What…?"

"They use that to scan the form of a target and then they can recreate it… Mimic Navis… Must be some plan to start paranoia and mistrust between all of us and hope to lead us to kill each other. But that won't work so easily." He muttered.

"H-how…?"

"Did I find this? You forgot something."

"… The nanomachines, damn it all!" He cursed.

"Bingo. And that we know immediately if a Dimensional Converter that isn't ours or Golden Star's is used…"

"Shit."

"And you won't find any data on what "Kyutora" means to us. Because there's no such data and no such record. Confess."

"Fine! I'm Phi the 13th, one of the Unlucky Greeks Unit!"

"What naming sense. Sounds like something a smug brat would come up with, even." End Angel taunted.

"You lowlifes can't rival the brilliance of Lord Spiral and Lord Void, leaders of… Shadow Nova!"

"Shadow Nova. I see. So you're the new annoying guys. After those Crimson Lobby idiots."

"Don't put us in the same boat! Those were greedy fools! We're beyond those! We'll lead the world into a new age, a new order!"

"How classical." He was unimpressed.

He swung the blade and cut off both legs, so Phi the 13th fell into the ground and its body glowed before a Normal Navi's body became visible instead of "Netsuhonoo".

"Wait there: I'll soon put you out of your misery." He announced in an icy tone of voice.

"Damn it!"

End Angel formed a knife and used it to break open the restraints and the bracelet (orange, close to red).

He helped Kisei sit on the ground and then noticed a cardboard box that had Kisei's clothes inside of it.

A desk nearby had his PET and pendant and a laptop that obviously belonged to the culprit.

"Hmpf. I see that you tried to copy the Denpa – Henkan program but failed because it's got several security systems set on it. The Prince is pretty paranoid and it pays off." He smirked.

"You underestimated us… They all do…! Have at ya!" Kisei weakly grinned.

"Can you stand, Kisei?"

"Gimme a moment… Everything still aches!"

"Good. You're not going away. Hah!"

"My arms!"

"Your body is but a machine, anyway."

"Shit. Come to these…!"

"What."

"… "Death will save us, but not this one."… Glory to Shadow Nova!"

"Fuck! Dream Aura!"

Phi the 13th laughed in a crackled manner as his body's chest began to glow and it exploded spreading shrapnel and fragments around.

The Dream Aura protected both End Angel and Kisei from them and it all soon died down.

"Shit. They're programmed to self-destruct when cornered." End Angel growled.

"Fuck. Like the BO in Conan… Their agents also suicide if they're about to be caught, too… Calvados and Kusuda did the same…!"

"Don't force yourself."

"Ernst, come in!" A voice ordered through the radio.

"Prince, sir. I rescued Kisei."

"Good! What happened?"

"To put it simple, sir… Some rascals named Shadow Nova were intending to try to turn him into one of them or kill him."

"Fuck."

"And they can impersonate others. Luckily, they lack any info about "Kyutora" so they can easily be told apart."

"Fine. Anything else?"

"They're but Navis using Copy Roids so IR will give them away." He added with a shrug.

"Alright. Come back ASAP."

"Roger, sir."

"I can move a bit."

"Don't force yourself. I'm going to support you. Denpa – Henkan! Release!"

End Angel's armor glowed and broke down into clusters of data.

They all gathered in one spot and reformed into a Link PET.

Ernst didn't seem to be older than fifteen or sixteen years old and past a meter and seventy tall.

His hair had grown in an uncontrolled manner and it now extended to past the base of his neck, and it had a natural reddish tone to it.

His eyes' irises were blue in color.

He wore a black t-shirt, jeans, black sneakers and a brownish overcoat, which was open and had long sleeves.

He also sported a pendant just like Kisei.

"I'll help you dress up."

"Sorry."

Kisei leant on him as he managed to put on his black boxers.

He put on his jeans next and let go of Ernst to lean against the machine's left column.

"You OK? Don't force it." Ernst insisted.

"Deep breath…"

He performed some inhalations and exhalations before calming down and then he put on his sweater and jacket.

"Here's a chair."

"Thanks."

He sat down on the chair and put on the socks followed by the sneakers next.

He nodded to Ernst but, at that moment, the computer beeped and the message "ALL DATA ERASED" appeared onscreen.

"Fuck! I didn't think of seizing it!" Ernst cursed.

"Can't blame you… I'd forgotten about it too."

"Let's retrieve it anyway. Maybe we can force it to trigger a backup! But I'm not so sure of it. If it's still got a serial number we could figure out who bought it and where." He grumbled as he shut the cover down.

"Here's my PET and pendant…"

"Keep an eye on this. I'm going to check if there's anything else we've overlooked."

"OK…"

Ernst found a switch and turned on the lights.

The room was incredibly small, less than 15 square meters in surface.

There was nothing else apart from the machine and the desk.

"This is part of a small bunker built in past times… It's outside of the town in the mountains… It'd seem it's intended to be a temporary bombing shelter… For some VIP or another… It's too small and it's got poor ventilation…"

"Or maybe it was intended as a cell to hide prisoners."

"Could be. Or for someone's sadistic games." His glared turned deadly and his voice icy.

Kisei made no comment as if waiting for Ernst to calm down on his own.

He inhaled and exhaled before relaxing and shrugging.

"Let's get out."

They walked out through a corridor the armored door of which had been split into pieces.

Daylight came in from a few meters ahead and they exited into a small forest clearing.

A non-paved path extended from there across the forest and looked wide enough for a truck to use it, even.

"Lots of pine trees around here…" He muttered.

"So it'd seem."

"Could you give a minute? I want to discharge the tension. I still feel weakened by that damned junk!" He requested.

"Of course! There's no rush."

Kisei did some stretching and push-ups to get into shape again while Ernst scanned the surroundings with obvious mistrusting.

"Let's use a DC to get away."

A "Dimensional Converter" emerged from the ground and turned on.

A Normal Navi that'd been hiding close by showed up, grumbling.

"Phi the 13th, what an idiot. I, Gamma the 13th, won't make the same mistakes! I'll lead those fools to manslaughter and self-destruction!"

"Like ya will."

Another Normal Navi showed up.

"Tau the 13th! This isn't your area!"

"It isn't yours, either."

"I'm going to show it to you: that I am the best!"

"Bring it on, Growl Man."

"GTHDAGTKGGH!" Gamma the 13th growled.

"You lot… Do you wish to become scrap and be sent to some junkyard in a forgotten region of the world?" A cold voice questioned over their radios.

"Yikes! Lord Spiral!"

"Hmpf. Well then. Get back to your missions. Now. Before I feel too tempted to press this self-destruct button I've got right in front of my eyes…" "Spiral" grumbled.

"R-roger, sir!"

"If you discuss again I'm going to turn you into scrap for real. I swear it! There's no room for imbeciles in Shadow Nova. Fools die! Only the strong survive! That is what makes Shadow Nova stronger than anything else!"

"Roger, Lord Spiral!"

"Move it! On the double! MORONS!"

Both warped out yet the mysterious white figure made itself visible.

They merely leant their back against a tree as they glanced at the entrance and said nothing.

Their visible mouth contracted into a grimace…