Chapter 11: Reminiscence wound
09:32 AM (Japan Time), Sunday October the 16th…
"… How curious that you called for us!"
"You didn't want your dad to be here to support you?"
"It's alright… I think I've got enough courage to tell it myself…"
"Nobody forces you to."
"If you don't want to then you needn't."
"I know. However, if I don't… I feel like I'm running away and that's what a coward does! I won't be a coward anymore! I'll be strong! Like you gentlemen…!"
"Alright. But don't force yourself either."
"If at some point the pain is too much to bear then you can leave it at there and it won't matter."
Raito was speaking with Netto on Saito on the park near the fountain: he looked nervous but he seemed to have a strong resolve.
"By the way… We already formed an idea of what happened… Your mother abused of you through S&M?" Netto asked.
"… How did you know?"
"We thought that only that would explain the sudden divorce and you moving here. Leon – kun told us he had the impression your past was similar to his…" Saito sighed.
"He's right. My mother… After I turned 10… Dragged me to a club that some women owned… And…" He trailed off.
"Raped you…" Netto sighed as well.
"It began to repeat… Once a week, on Fridays, she would drag me there after school and it would happen… That was for one year…"
Raito stopped to breathe in and exhaled.
"After I turned 11 she increased it to twice a week and would do the same on Tuesdays as well… When I turned 12, she increased it again to 3 times a week… Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays… And I'm sure she intended to increase it by one day per every year I grew…" He muttered.
"And you dad eventually found out."
"He was suspicious of that person and stalked us one day! When he saw what was going on, he rang the police and they immediately came to arrest all the persons involved… Since they were caught red-handed and they had tons of DVDs lying around proving what they'd done the trial was fast and without the need of us having to show up there… My father said that the house now felt like a lie because he'd been living a lie for 3 years! Maybe ever since he married! He remembered about you gentlemen and said we would move here…" He finished.
"I see. So it indeed was like Leon."
"He was abused of by his mother too?"
"No. In his case, it was his step-sister and Sieg. The step-sister began it and Sieg became an accomplice to her. She was intending to sell them off for life to a gay club once she'd "trained" them enough. Leon – kun found a chance to escape and stumbled upon Andy and Miquel – kun. They saved him. They notified the police and Sieg, seeing them come, ran off while the villain was drunk and asleep. They caught her but Sieg wasn't anywhere to be found. Would later turn out he snuck into the club and pretended to be one of the "workers" there. He got the eye of Urateido, who was inspecting clubs the Prince was using for quick financing back then. His predisposition to evil and his connection to Leon – kun interested the Prince so he allowed him to join the org." Saito explained.
"I see. Hence why senpai hates him."
"The guy betrayed him countless times! Deceived him more than once!"
"You were very brave telling us, Raito – kun. Now you can be at ease and always think that you'll be stronger than that evil person. If you think that then you'll overcome the fear they set into you." Saito encouraged.
"Thank you."
"Sad talk is over so… Let's finish M & F! I want to see how they settle the score with Freddy!" Netto grinned.
"It'll do well to blow away this heavy air."
"I guess so."
"V! B! N! On Air! The Nightmare! Chapter 4 Part 2! Today it ends! Action!"
"…"Here I am, Boss! Where's Freddy?"… M walks in disguised as the Frankenstein monster. F whips around and realizes it was a real ghost and faints from the fear! "Wake up, man! I've got another idea to beat the guy! Garlic! Vampires fear garlic! Maybe it works as well!"…"But we've got no garlic here!"… "Not here but I soaked some in the morning coffee! Wait there!"… He vomits his stinking garlic-filled breath at Freddy's face and he collapses, KO! "I did it, Boss!"..."Let's toss the guy into the hole, fill it up and…!"…"What are you throwing there?"… "Since the grave's empty…"… "What empty grave? Here's where the hole for the new entrance of the underground mourning room!"…"HELP!"… "Help us!"… "Man, what times! Not even death brings quiet!"…"Devil! We've been seen! Run! It's coming!"…"Run!"…"We're doomed! The guy's catching up!"…"Throw something!"…"
"The dead wake up!" Raito was slightly amused.
"… "Gotcha! I'll toss this garbage bin and…!"…* yells *…"I'll remember this, you lot! Exposing my hiding…!" Turns out Mr. S was hiding inside of the bin! Freddie attacks! * yells * "Dear! What slashes! What can we do?"…"Do like I do! Don't look!"…"I KNOW! Allow me, Mr. Super!"…"Go ahead!"… "Look!"… * yelp * * THUD *! "D-devil! He's DEAD! How did you do it?"…"
"How, indeed?"
"…"Simple! Place a mirror in front of the noses! Couldn't bear to see his ugly hide! Watch out, Boss! Maybe the same thing will happen to ya!"… "Good! Dig a REALLY DEEP hole so that he doesn't rise up again!"… "REALLY DEEP!"… A Chinaman pops out! Maybe it's linked to Beijing!" ""Not so deep!"…"Toss the guy in!"…"Have at ya!"…M kicks the guy in with a soccer boot! "Let's fill it up!"…"More earth!"…"What are you doing, you crazy guys? Stop throwing earth!"…"HELP!"…"Devil! W-what in the…?"…"
"Back to reality! The day's unfortunate victim is Bacterio? Wouldn't surprise me!" Netto laughed.
"But didn't M abandon him in Greenland? He's back already?"
"That lady's voice was Ms. Ofelia, wasn't it?" Raito recognized it.
"… "Security? Hurry! They're mad! They dug a hole! They are burying Mr. General Director inside! COME ASAP!"…"
"The General Director!? This can't end up well!"
"… "Man! Reducing me to traffic policeman! By the way… These drivers sure look pissed off!"…"Of course! They don't want us cleansing the windshields!"…"I said NO! Cleanse your noses!"…"Come on, it's just 25 pesetas!"…"Bacterio also got scolded! Can only experiment with rotten sardines!"… "The monster tale's over! The world's safe from that crazy guy's inventions!"… "B-but, Mr. GD! The sardine's liver enzymes are good for the bruises and…! I didn't have any evil intentions! CALM DOWN!"… The GD has become a sardine monster and is trying to beat B to a pulp! The curtain drops on the stage!"
"See you next time! We'll soon choose a new story so be on the look-out for it! Let's meet again at the usual place! The GS Nerds!"
"V! B! N! Off Air!"
"The irony at the end was fun too." Netto grinned.
"Let's hope Bacterio doesn't invent any more weird stuff but I'm afraid he'll keep on doing that."
"Won't the guy?"
"Wha! Eisei!"
"You stalked us or what!?"
"Pure coincidence! I was on my way to somewhere! This is a shortcut!"
Eisei appeared there while having his hands stuffed on the pockets-
The twins questioned him with obvious suspicion while Raito took a step back to be outside of view.
"It's pointless to hide, Masuyama! Yanada told me about you! My nose tells me you were in the business."
"Gray…!" Kuroban grumbled over the PET.
"YIKES!"
"I did well on checking on you… Trying to stir up trouble again thinking I'm not looking? AS IF SHADOW NOVA WASN'T ENOUGH! BY THE HIGH ONE: WHAT FOOLISH PLEBEIANS!" His voice suddenly turned accented.
"S-see ya!"
"The guy won't grow up." Netto muttered.
"Has he ever?" Saito fumed.
"Spoiled?" Raito asked.
"More or less. Seems to be an adult version of Sieg from what Golden Star figured out about his past. Similar circumstances too…"
"What?"
"He and his brother were kidnapped by a gang and "sold" in an auction in Choina where Chinese mafia men took part! Kept prisoner on that man's manor to abuse of them! The police rescued them after some time and brought them back to Japan! Eisei vanished off the radar and somehow ended up found by the Prince! He wanted a guy who didn't mind doing "evil" stuff and who could be his agent and representative while he operated behind the scenes…" Netto exposed with a sigh.
"Hence why he gets along with Urateido and Sieg… But instead of being the masochist the guy prefers to be the "sadist"…" Saito summed up.
"And that Yanada person is also…?"
"However, don't worry! The Prince won't let them come any close to you since he doesn't like their idiocies."
"Phew."
"Typical of the guy! Spoiling the good mood…"
"Like the Prince said! As if that crazy lot wasn't enough…"
"What a morning!" Raito fumed.
"We need a joke to vent the bad mood off! At an army party, a young Ameroupe colonel, attracted by a beauty, tries to get her to dance with him. He eventually runs out of patience and signals his shoulders' golden eagles. "Miss! I am a Colonel, don't you see?"… "Is that so, sir? I saw those roosters there and thought you were the cook!"…" Netto read.
"Mistaking eagles for roosters? Maybe she needs contact lenses."
"Let us suppose so." Raito slightly smiled.
"Alright! This did it. Let's go have a walk and enjoy the fresh air!"
"Good point."
"Wait a min, Netto! I know it!"
"Dekao!? What now!?"
Dekao ran in, having a cardboard box on his hands.
"Witness! Your biggest weakness!"
He opened the box and drew a paper with a black and white photo of a soap bar; Netto and the others rolled their eyes.
"Soap? How is that supposed to be my weakness, anyway?"
"That guy said soap and showers make you weaker!"
"Sheesh! You got trolled by Bubble Man, obviously! It's a scam, man!"
"Wha~t!? That little…! I'm gonna beat 'em to a pulp!"
"Sheesh! Dekao! Do the homework and don't bother others!"
12:22 PM (Bangkok Time)…
"… You guys."
"You mean us?"
"Give us the money if ya want your necks to stay there! Heh, heh! How about that?"
"We refuse."
"Take it by force."
"If you can, that is."
"Men! Let's go!"
"Burning Fist!"
"Cooling Jet!"
"Razing Wind!"
"Punishing Bolt!"
"What! Ugrah!"
"T-too strong!"
A group of 4 Normal Navis colored red, blue, green and yellow had been walking down a street in the Bangkok Internet City when a band of pirate-themed Navis attacked them.
Each Navi replied with an attack of one element.
The red one formed thick steel armor over the right arm that began to burn and delivered a blow that sent one of the enemies flying.
The blue one formed a customized Bubble Spread gun and loaded up energy before shooting a powerful, thin jet of water that pushed another enemy back.
The green one formed two small twisters that sent another two enemies skywards.
The yellow one drew what seemed to be lightning rods and aimed them at the sky to make bolts rain down on another 3 of them.
"R-RUN!"
"Too strong, damn it!"
"It's YOUR fault!"
"Hmpf." Neither of them were impressed.
What happened, my warriors? A familiar voiced echoed inside of their minds.
Lord XY. Some fools assaulted us and we repelled them. They were weak, and cowardly! Quick to blame each other. They were no menace to begin with. The red warrior reported.
They were disgraced fools. The yellow warrior shrugged.
One attack sent them running. The blue warrior added.
Hmpf. They shall not cross our paths ever again. The green warrior sentenced.
I see. Do not lower the guard! They could be weak in purpose and those fools are using them to gather battle data. But then again your "skins" were designed to fool any scanner into thinking you are but normal Navis slightly more powerful than the average. They will not find the connection because you do not "exist" in any file. They will not be able to intercept this communication.
Yes, Lord XY. With thou will.
Good. Once the mission timer reaches zero, you should return through the route marked on the files. Make sure to be on the look-out and gather all information you can! At this stage, any gossip or rumor could be a lead to their next move.
Roger, Lord XY.
Use the emergency channel if an emergency were to arise.
Acknowledged, Lord XY.
The communication ceased and they all nodded to each other before going on different ways.
"… from the mine, still don't know how many and…"
"Gotta be the usual folk…"
"Damned bastards…"
"What is the matter?"
The red warrior walked over to a group of 3 Navis discussing about something.
"Someone stole a ton of explosives from a mine… And they were smug enough to leave behind a note in Russian that read "idiots"…"
"The smug bastards! As always!"
Russian and explosives! Maybe they seek to strike the Sharo Army next after the Ameroupe Army. This time they might plan to destroy an important system! Military radars could be a target! There should be an investigation to see if they find any insiders there! However…How to tell them apart?
Did you find anything, Red Warrior?
Yellow Warrior? The Sharo Army could be a target next.
Blue Warrior here! It would seem the theft happened during the night! But Hardly a hint…
Hardly. Green Warrior agreed on it.
"You guys…" A Heel Navi approached the group.
"Whaddya want?" One asked.
"We need guys who're ready to bust weaklings… There'll be nice pay and bonuses…" The Heel Navi told them.
"Really?" The 3 Navis sounded skeptical.
"What kind of "weaklings"?" Red Warrior questioned.
"Weaklings. That's it." The Heel Navi shrugged.
"Sounds like a trap!" One argued.
"Get lost."
"We're not idiots!"
"Fine. I don't want grunts."
"Who's a grunt?"
"I'll show ya who's a grunt!"
"Bring it on, twerp!"
"Dream Aura, Sanctuary!"
Hi-class Battle Chips… This man is no commoner.
"Wha~t?"
"Have at ya!"
The Heel Navi ran off, laughing, and the Red Warrior ran away in another direction parallel to the Heel Navi.
He saw him turning off his defenses and approaching another group of Navis.
"I need guys who'll beat weaklings."
"Fishy!" The Navis looked skeptical.
"Man. I thought you Bangkok guys were the type that always looked for a fight and all." The Heel Navi sighed.
"We've been scammed SO many times already that it's hard for us to believe types like YOU. So get away before we beat you to a pulp! Shoo, shoo!" One of them fumed.
"Fine. So I'll go hire desert jackals instead." He turned around and sounded disappointed.
None of them reacted so the Heel Navi grumbled and walked off while mumbling under his breath.
"At this rate Lord Spiral will have my neck." He cursed aloud.
I was right. This man is an agent looking for men that will carry out distractions! Maybe dummy attacks!
"You. I thought it back. I need to fight some weaklings and beat them. Need to prove that I am not weak."
Red Warrior called out to the Heel Navi with an exaggerated foreign accent.
"You give off the vibe of having some strength."
"Your combo is good but loses meaning in front of Panel Format or Super North Wind."
"You know the stuff! That's the type I wanted!"
"Got some pals. We strong. We serve anyone. As long money. If good money then we do dirty job. Whatever it is. Bomb, sabotage."
"I did well on looking around! What's your name?"
"Just call me… Red. I call pals. We discuss. 5 minutes?"
"I can wait 5 minutes."
You heard it, my comrades. We must pretend to be dishonorable folk! Maybe this is just a small operation! I do not think they will show us any base but it is worth an attempt.
I agree. Blue Warrior replied.
It is worth a try. Lord XY said nobody could link us to him. Green Warrior reminded them.
We are converging on your position.
"Payment's 5,000 Z the day. Meet me tonight at midnight in warehouse 17-B. Password is… "Funky Monkey"! I'm lucky, by my mighty hide!"
18:29 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Let's head back…"
"Not so fast!"
"Who's there?"
"I'm looking for types who wanna bust weaklings! You look strong and customized."
"… I'm bored. I need to bust some weaklings!"
"What's the name?"
"Tape Man!"
Video Man, actually… But if this guy is who I think it is then…
Video Man had been walking down an alley on the Japan Internet City when another called out to him.
He lied about his name and inwardly chuckled as a Heel Navi similar to the one in Bangkok had called out to him.
"Good! Meet me this midnight on warehouse 23-F! We pay 7, 5000 Z per day! You only need to bust weaklings and that's it!" The Heel Navi told him while chuckling.
"OK! Count on Tape Man!"
"Good. With you and the quartet on Bangkok then no weakling will oppose us!"
"Delighted!"
"Today's my lucky day! By my might! I'm so gonna get ascended to Executive Class! The Goddess of Luck must be on my side: that's for sure!"
The Heel Navi ran off and Video Man stepped into a side-alley.
"Slur – sama. Please come in."
"Did something happen?"
"I got recruited for a Shadow Nova mission… It'd seem the recruiter doesn't know anything about me… He just got the hunch I'm strong and he said something about a quartet in Bangkok…"
"What a coincidence. I knew of that quartet… They are on our side as well… This is an excellent chance." Slur sounded amused, for once.
"Roger. However… What if the target is indeed the Sharo Army?"
"You can always prove with your records that they lied to you. Even if they try to argue that they told you, the records will prove them wrong."
"Acknowledged, ma'am…"
"Hmpf. You fools… You have committed a mistake… You will regret it forever… Obviously enough, this will not allow us to reach Spiral but we will get an idea of how they gather agents or what kind of bases they use to operate… Anything will do."
"Roger."
"Return to the base! Do some training in case they want to test out your abilities beforehand."
"Understood."
Video Man discreetly got away from there and headed inside of a building.
He touched a panel in the ground and it vanished revealing the world of the Reverse Internet extending many hundreds of meters beneath there.
He jumped down and soon landed on a platform to scan the area.
"… I feel… something." He muttered.
He rubbed his chin with the right hand and seemed to be thinking about what to do.
"Look! It's a data package! Money! Incredible! It's a blank check!"
"Blank check!"
"Mine!"
"MINE!"
"I was first!"
Four Heel Navis colored black jumped out of hiding behind some rocks at the platform where Video Man had left a data file in the shape of a blank check and they began to fight each other for it.
Video Man slipped away to land some levers lower, where he stopped and looked around.
"My, my! What's this? A diamond!"
"DIAMOND? MINE!"
Another 8 Heel Navis jumped off and began to fight over a diamond Video Man had placed on the ground.
He kept dropping down and down until he reached the bottommost level.
"The Virus Lab's ruins…"
The remains of building were scattered around the central area and it looked like it'd collapsed some time ago.
"… This is getting tiresome, even." He grumbled.
He sighed and rolled his eyes as if trying to think of how to lure the ambushing assaulters.
"Serenade – dono! Welcome back!" He called out as loud as he could.
"What! The Reverse King!"
"RUN!"
This time 16 Heel Navis ran off at top speed and began to jump upwards as if fearing for their lives.
Video Man he ran towards a spot that had nothing and vanished with a flash to reappear outside of a large firewall having guns mounted on its body around and over the doorway.
"This is Video Man. Password: 17XG48TY63QRF."
"Password matches. Say the word." Zero replied through a speaker set above the doorway.
"Of uncles goes the world! Merton, Moran and Moriarty! The Majestic Uncles!" He announced.
"Another one. Just in case."
"I can promise you something! The next story will be far more maddening! Or maybe not." He laughed.
"Data matches as well. By the way… How many helpers do I have?"
"50."
"Bravo. Step in."
The doorway opened and Video Man stepped into a main corridor that had several sub-corridors leading to password-locked security doors.
Cosmo Man and Shade Man were talking about something while sitting on cubes placed forming a circle as if it was a meeting and reunion point.
"To avoid leaks… Refrain from telling anyone. By the way. Zero. Who were those, anyway?" Slur asked.
"Some guys named "Black Corps"… They're a bunch of assaulters that got some fame in Shikoku and now have moved to Honshu… They've been around for years and I don't think they've got anything to do with Shadow Nova. They were so greedy. They do dirty jobs. However, they're weaklings. The Net Police will deal with them!" Zero explained.
"THEY CANNOT DO A CLEAN JOB: HIRE MISTER CLEAN!"
"Serenade…!" Slur got annoyed again.
"Now, now! Boss! Your image…!" Zero tried to calm her down.
"… HMPF! LATER!"
"Didn't think she hated them that much. Guess she'll go complain to Serenade again and they'll get nowhere after a lengthy discussion. She can feel amusement in a battle but apart from that… Man."