Chapter 18: A long dawn
02:44 AM (Japan Time), Friday October the 25th…
"… This is Lily, reporting from the DNN… Nothing."
"Akemi here. There's nothing odd on my sector either."
"I'm sure the threats will come into effect as a last distraction before tomorrow. Maybe they'll try to cause panic through the Cyber World so have your cache Folders ready."
"OK!"
"There'll be a backup in the rear! I wouldn't be surprised if they toss a lot of strength into the front to create a distraction and then they sneak in from the rear."
"Typical."
"Sure thing."
Legato was giving out instructions to Akemi and Lily as they kept watch of the DNN's Cyber World.
Security Navis were patrolling the area as well and tension was on the air.
"I'm going to check on the others. Later."
"What! No way! This number of signatures…!" A Security Navi gasped.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm detecting a ton of enemy signatures heading for the firewall… There must be about 50 of them!"
"50!" They all gasped.
"They're about to intrude! Everyone, bring out your best Chips!"
"Roger!"
"Let them come! We'll bust them with our PAs." Lily muttered.
"U~RA~H!" Several voices roared.
BOOM!
There was an explosion and the firewall was broken, making Navis rushed in while shooting Cannons and Vulcan Battle Chips, so the Security Navis began to counter with the same Chips.
"Mugen Vulcan!"
"Giga Cannon!"
"Greatest Bomb!"
"They're WEAK! Their max HP is 100 points! Mass-made hence why the come in a crowd: they hope to win by numbers alone!" Lily encouraged.
"Alright!"
"Dream Sword!"
"Warning! There's another group! It intruded through the rear! We lack enough…!" A Security Navi rushed in.
There was an explosion and some screams of agony coming from the new attacker group, so the Navi stopped, surprised.
"Rockin'! Darkness Overload!"
"Who's that?" Someone wondered.
"Freddie." Akemi improvised.
"Your boyfriend?"
"Got a problem with it?"
"No! The guy seems to be quite the powerhouse… I'm sure that he alone can handle the rear…" Another of the Navis muttered.
"How's it going?" Legato asked.
"We're managing without too much trouble. They obviously weren't expecting us." Lily shrugged.
"It's but a show!"
"It's but a distraction! No wonder it looks crappy. To stall. That's all they care for now."
"Good point."
"Zeta Fumikomi!"
"Have a combo! Grass Stage, Tornado!"
"About 40 of them have been wiped out… We can handle the remaining few ones! Let's go!"
"YA~H!"
"U~RA~H!"
A clash of Swords, Wide Swords and Long Swords ensued while Akemi rushed to the rear.
Forte alone was handling the enemies without having to sweat even.
"Had enough? No? Here's some hard encore, man! Hell's Rolling!"
He formed his two purple indented wheels that ran across the ground and hit two Heel Navis head-on, kicking them to the sides and having them hit the ground with force, but a new group of enemies rushed in their stead.
"Hell's Buster!"
The multiple rounds hitting random spots on the ground made the Navis flinch and inflicted wounds on them.
Forte drew his Dark Arm Blades and rushed in to deliver close-range attacks that heavily wounded them.
He delivered a kick with the right foot to another one that was jumping in from the right, hitting the torso and intercepting the attack.
He formed a sphere of energy on his left hand and shot it at another attacker coming from the SW.
He jumped into the air and landed a kick into the head of another Navi to make the guy fall into the ground.
He hummed a tune as he saw more running for him so he loaded up energy and shot a Darkness Overload as he twisted his body towards the right so that the beam would hit each one in order.
"That's all? You were right, these guys are CHEAP."
Forte wasn't too surprised as he scratched the back of his head.
"If someone asks, say you're Freddie, and that you're my boyfriend. Your name is associated to your alter ego and doesn't bring good memories."
"Alright. Gotcha." He whispered back.
"It'd seem it's calmed down over here. Is there anything else on the radars?" One of the Security Navis asked.
"Nothing…"
"Or so you thought! U~RA~H!"
"What!"
There was an explosion in the ground and a hole opened, from where more Heel Navis began to jump in, carrying Hell's Burner Battle Chips with them.
"We're the Burn Brigade! We burn it all! We're going to make you experience Hell!" They claimed.
"There's no end to them!?" Forte complained.
"It doesn't matter. Let's use this! Battle Chip, Tsunami!" Lily decided on a course of action.
A tsunami formed and loomed over the Heel Navis, who panicked and tried to run away only to be washed over by the crashing wave.
The water flooded the tunnel too and there were some growls and groans as some attempted to turn on their Hell's Burner Battle Chips but failed.
"And now… Thunder Doll!"
The electrical blast merged with the water and electrocuted the enemies.
There was another explosion and this time they came from a hole in the ceiling while wielding chainsaws.
"We're the Slaughter Brigade! We're gonna slaughter ya all! Into pieces!"
"How original." Akemi fumed.
"Let's beat them too! Earth… Breaker!"
"What!"
Forte's attack took out about 15 of them and the others dispersed while brandishing their chainsaws around the place, so the defenders began to try to put distance to avoid being cut up by those.
"No problem. Boomerang to stun them, and then Sonic Wave!"
"OK!"
The combo made some of the enemies flinch while the Sonic Wave's power was more than enough to delete them.
Forte formed a Neo Variable Sword and swung it to form a Sonic Boom, which sliced a group of foes and deleted them as well.
"How did I do this?" He wondered.
"Remember… Get Ability Program…" Akemi whispered.
"I'd forgotten! That's what made me unique, true." He remembered.
"Try to behave like you know how it's used." Akemi suggested.
"I don't want to call for attention either. Sonic Boom!"
Foes closing in were deleted as well while Akemi used a Fumikomizan Battle Chip to step forward and slash an incoming enemy to beat them.
Lily formed a sniper rifle, taking aim, and pierced some foe heads as they were coming towards her in a row.
"There should be about… 5 of them left!"
"5? Must be those guys! Sonic Boom!"
"U~RA~H!"
"Looks like it's really over this time." Lily sighed in relief.
"Guess they're going to send the remainder of their forces to the other 2 locations… So you should tell the others to get ready for some action…"
"That was too tense! Good job, you 3. I'm going to check on the others." Legato congratulated.
"Man! I can finally go and nap! I'm tired from lack of rest. See ya, Akemi – chan!" He added to keep up the game.
"Sure, sure."
Forte walked away, whistling something, while Lily directed a snicker at Akemi and she rolled her eyes.
"It's just pretending."
"I know. But that name feels funny."
"Sure, sure." She didn't bother with that.
"Guess I'm gonna help with some cleansing. Joanne – chan will still be nappin' for some hours, anyway. The others will take care of the remaining guys." She stretched.
"OK. Let's go."
"What "saviors"? This is pure barbarism!" One defender grumbled.
"You know these types! They deny reality and live in a fantasy!"
"Sure thin', man! They don't know the struggle of the working class!"
"Save the grumbling for later. We gotta finish the damage assessment!"
"Say, Misses! Are you free? Would you like to…?" One asked the girls.
"GET BACK TO WORK!" His boss yelled.
"Let's get out before they start asking for a date."
"Good idea. Sheesh. There's far more pressing tasks at hand!"
03:58 AM (Japan Time)…
"… How's it over there, Victor and Tom?"
"This is Tom… Nothing's happened insofar."
"All is tense but nothing is out of place… yet."
"Fine. You're allowed to destroy them all. They're mass-produced small fry, suicide corps."
"OK… They'll get to know my knife arts… Hmpf…"
"Alright. I better use some combos on them too."
"There's a backup stationed in the rear of the zone too. They'll take care of the rear squad."
"OK."
Tom and Victor were keeping watch in the college boards' Cyber World along with several Security Navis.
Tom how his face reflected on the clean blade of a scout knife he had on his right hand.
BOOM!
"Metto~!"
"A Mettool swarm! There must be about 100 of them!"
"Shit. Mettols? My knives aren't effective!" Tom cursed.
"Guess it's the time for combos. Prism, Forest Bomb 3!"
Victor threw the Prism into the ground as the Mettool horde rushed towards his location.
He flung the Forest Bomb 3 at the Prism, causing its power to amplify and reflect through the Prism, deleting several Mettools at the same time.
Tom jumped into the air and formed several knives, which he threw at the Mettools.
He managed to hit some of them head-on but others hid beneath their hard-hats, so he grumbled and formed Mini – Bombs, which he threw at the ground at random.
The other Navis were trying to use Cannons and Vulcans but several of the Mettools began to jump and latch to them to start hitting them with their pickaxes while others began to hit the ground produce shock waves.
"We're getting overwhelmed!" Tom complained.
Something reflected the Mettols' shock waves back at them and deleted some of them on a row.
A familiar sphere of light hovered in the air and deleted the Viruses on its path, followed by bursts of green energy that landed around the area and exploded, creating a small shockwave around them.
Serenade stepped in his graceful manner and simply reflected the attacks by the Mettools.
"I coming here was a wise idea indeed." He muttered.
"Good!" Tom sighed in relief.
"It's not over yet!" Victor warned.
"I know!"
"Burn, burn and BURN!" A familiar voice yelled.
"Who's there!?"
"The Flame Emperor!"
"How lame."
"Wha~t? I'll burn ya to cinders!"
Fire Man came, gloating, but the others were hardly surprised.
Fire Man glanced left and right as if deciding whom he would face first.
"You, the weird-looking guy! You must be WEAK! I'll turn you into CINDERS!" He laughed.
"Try it." Serenade challenged.
"Double Fire Arm! I win!"
"Wrong. Be defeated by your own foolishness."
Serenade blocked the attack and formed the counter-attacking Sonic Boom, which hit Fire Man and knocked him into the ground, face-up, from the hit.
He growled and managed to get back on his feet and roared as flames surrounded his body.
"GIMME MORE POWE~R!" He roared.
"Fool. You are drowning on it." Serenade dully scolded.
"Shaddup! Double Fire Arm! BURN UP!"
"Hmpf. So be it. Holy Shock!"
"IMPOSSIBLE~!"
The multiple attacks that hit several spots of Fire Man's body opened wounds on it combined with the Sonic Boom generated by the counter, which sliced Fire Man's body in half and deleted him.
"At least I put you out of that never-ending spiral. Desire for further power is dangerous… Because you never have enough of it. You want more and more and more…" Serenade warned the other two.
"Good point." Tom nervously admitted.
"There about 15 of them left. The Security Navis can handle them. But I'll go check the rear just in case." Victor announced.
"Do so. I need a little while to calm down. That was too sad."
"Excuse me…" A Security Navi timidly called out.
"What?" Tom asked.
"The sensors detect some odd vibrations underground… And they're getting closer…"
"A tunnel again? Fine. Let's prepare an ambush."
BOOM!
No sooner had he said that that an explosion happened in the middle of the section, opening a hole from which Curzdos flew out.
"Curzdos of all things! I HATE these!" He growled.
"No wonder. They ARE annoying." Serenade agreed with him and sighed.
"More like a first-timer killer!" Tom grumbled.
"Use Met Guard to shield from the attack and then counter with something fast like a sword or a Vulcan. It is the best strategy to use against them." Serenade advised.
"Roger! Come, ugly rascals! I'm so gonna turn you into little pieces here and now!" Tom challenged.
"U~RA~H!"
BOOM!
"They've come from the rear! Heel Navis! We'll handle somewhat: the Curzdos go first! And try to seal the tunnel too!"
"They're being relentless, damn it."
"Ice Stage!"
The ground turned into Ice Stage save for the spots where Tom, Serenade and the Security Navis were at, and frozen the tunnel's walls too, as Freeze Man dropped in.
"Freeze Man! Good! Try to freeze the tunnel!"
"Easy. It may look stupid but… Freezing Beam!"
Freeze Man loaded energy on his hands and shot a bluish beam of energy at the tunnel, which began to condense the air on its wake.
A torrent of water of water came in, freezing and solidifing as the temperature of the tunnel dropped until it was solid frozen.
"Good!"
He drew his blade and sliced a Curzdo as it was about to attack him.
He rushed for the rear to support Victor as Tom and Serenade handled the rest of the Curzdos somewhat.
"Don't lower the guard! They can come from above too!" Legato warned.
"Roger that!" Tom replied.
"U~RA~H!"
"Wrong! A new wave's come from the rear! These ones are the annoying lot with Barrier Battle Chips activated! Devil!" Victor grumbled.
"Don't worry. Here! Super North Wind! Combined with my power it'll make them unable to advance. See!" Freeze Man announced.
"True! The wind's too strong for them!"
"Icicle Fall! Mountain Spear! Ice Tower!"
"H-how many of these left?" Tom panted.
"This was the last one."
"S-shit. Hope there's not something worse than these." Tom cursed aloud while trying to regain his strength.
"There is always something worse." Serenade grimly muttered.
"U~RA~H!"
"More keep on coming through the rear! Watch out for the front because they could be a distraction!" Freeze Man warned.
"U~RA~H!"
"Fucking shit. You were right, man!"
"Wonderful!"
A new wave came in from the front indeed and they brought axes with them.
They began to swing them as the Navis tried to mark distance with them.
However, they stepped into the iced floor and began to slide across it in all directions having lost control of themselves.
Tom easily began to jump from one to another to land on their backs and slice their necks from the front with his knives.
Sometimes he had enough with stabbing a knife through a Heel Navi from behind to make it pierce across the body.
There was a bunch rushing for him, so he formed 12 knives in the air, which he began to catch and throw.
They all met their intended targets, which were the neck and the core, defeating them, while Serenade countered with Sonic Booms and his Holy Shock plus his sphere of light to attack the ones that were too far away.
"We dispatched them all…!" Victor reported.
"It seems to have calmed down! How about there?" Freeze Man asked.
"I think we're almost done too… Die!"
"Return to your maker. Holy Shock!"
Serenade now looked deadly serious and his glare could kill, even.
"I need some air. I will come back soon to help with the repairs. Excuse me." He announced as he walked away.
"No wonder." Freeze Man muttered.
"Man. I'm so beaten. Shit." Tom cursed.
"Don't tell me, my fellow… I'm WORN OUT!" Victor groaned.
"Need more exercise, heck."
"We will discuss that later. Rest!" Freeze Man told them.
"S-sure… My bad, man."
"How I envy Agoras – kun, there napping on the bed! I wanna nap!"
05:45 AM (Japan Time)…
"Going by the reports from the other two locations…They will first come from the front, followed by the rear, and will open a tunnel to send further units in."
"We've got a backup in the rear but if things look awry then we can expect reinforcements from the HQ."
"Alright."
"They're small fry so defeating them isn't a problem! The numbers will be a problem. Don't lose your cool."
"Good point."
Beta X and Sandra were talking with Security Navis that had a medal as if to signal they were higher ranker than the others while looking at a 3D display of the Cyber World they were in.
"Hard to believe they plan on blowing their way in through 3 firewalls, each thicker than the other." One of them muttered.
"Sounds like they brought explosives designed to exploit a flaw in firewall architecture… Our pals have begun to analyze how they got in and these are their preliminary conclusions…" Beta X told them.
"I guess Drill Man must be burning with envy that they're not employing his services as a tunnel-digger." Sandra commented with some irony.
"Commander, sir! We're detecting signatures converging into the firewalls from the front! There seem to be about…200 of them!" A common Security Navi reported.
"They've come!" Beta X muttered.
"Everyone: into battle positions! This isn't a drill!" One called out.
"We won't let these bastards get away with it! We'll protect the Diet no matter what it takes! They'll come with numbers but we've got skill!"
A series of explosions rang out followed by alarms.
"First firewall! Non-functional! They're losing some due to the mine field between it and the second one but they advance nevertheless!"
"Devil. They're really suicide corps. Load your weapons!"
Another series of explosions rang out and the alarms increased, so the Navis loaded up Mega Cannons to be ready to shoot.
A forward row having Long Blades and Wide Blades plus Met Guards stood at the front.
"Second firewall is down! The enemy keeps on losing numbers due to the mines but advances without caring for it! Third firewall will soon fall! Get ready to shoot! Analysis show that they've got no barriers. One shot and they're down. Careful with them! They compensate lack of attack and defense with speed! They cover 3 meters in a second! There's a 15 meter gap between the firewall and the forward row! It'll take them 5 seconds to reach you. Shoot as many as you can." The analyst instructed.
"How many have they lost?"
"50 insofar."
"They've lost a fourth of their strength. We mustn't get confident either! They could be paving the way for reinforcements to rush in next… Prepare the last defense line!" One captain commanded.
"U~RA~H!"
The third firewall exploded and the Heel Navis rushed in but the ground beneath them vanished to reveal a pit to a lower stage filled with Magma Panels, so the first two rows fell feet in and were deleted upon hitting the Magma Panels.
"Wow." Beta X and Sandra whistled in surprise.
The third row tried to jump over but the pit was too wide for them and they fell after the long-range unit began to shoot at them.
The remaining rows stopped but the forward most one was taken down by long-range firing.
The foes howled and drew Vulcans and Cannons, but their attacks were bounced back by the shields.
"Enemy has lost another 50 units insofar!"
"We've managed to cut their numbers down but let's not get confident…" One captain muttered.
"U~RA~H!"
"Use Panel Return!" A gruff voice ordered.
"And make way for the great me!" Another added.
"Careful! Get ready for close-quarters fight!"
Panel Return was used to rebuild the floor and cover the pit so the Heel Navis rushed in.
The forward most squad rushed to their encounter and swung their blades or thrust them forward before they were able to begin attacking.
Two rows fell like that while the rear ones began to be bombarded by bomb-class Battle Chips.
Another two rows fell while the unseen "bosses" grumbled outside the firewall.
"40 down!"
"They've still got a lot of them. Activate the Float Shoes! Sand Stage and Tornado combo!"
"Roger!"
The forward most row drew the Tornado Battle Chip as the ground turned into a Sand Stage to slow down the enemies' movements.
They were hit by the tornadoes and thus yet another row was defeated.
The remaining 5 ones were running towards them but the ground became Poison Panels and the "Poison Anubis" dropped down followed by several replicas.
"I can't believe it!" One of the "bosses" growled.
"Sheesh. As expected of National-Class Security…!"
"How about you show up? I'll be your foe!"
Beta X stepped forward and challenged them.
"Me too!"
"Woman! You've come to die, haven't you? Fine! I'll blow you up!"
"I'll crush you, you little flying insect!"
The "bosses" turned out to be Bomber Man and Stone Man.
Sandra snapped her right hand's fingers and a ring of Curzdos formed, surrounding them.
"This is between you two and us." She announced.
"We lack means to fight those! Our own Viruses used against us!"
"Who cares? Stone Fall! Laser!"
"Eat bombs!"
"Fire Style! Flamethrower!"
"Grass Stage, Mad Spice and Tornado!"
Beta X's armor glowed and some of it turned red as he dashed into the air and propelled forward.
He drew his buster weapon (which had three small wings popping out from the top and the sides of it) and shot a stream of flames at the incoming bombs, which exploded, forcing Bomber Man to shield himself from the explosion.
Sandra formed a Grass Stage and shot the "Mad Spices" to stun and confuse Stone Man, followed by a tornado, which forced him to recoil.
Sandra easily judged where the rocks would fall at given their shadows and used a kawarimi to dodge the laser.
Stone Man growled while Bomber Man began to kick more bombs away.
"Die, you bug!"
"Bug? Me? Speak for yourself. Didn't Konami sue you already?"
"Wha~t? Damned bug!"
"Die, woman!"
"You die, ugly macho." She dully countered.
"Laser!"
"Slow. My turn. Burning Body!"
"Damn!"
"Grass Stage! The power doubles."
"Damn it!"
"Warning! A tunnel has opened in the back section! 100 units are rushing out of it!"
"Fine. I finally get to shine. Come!"
"Wow. That man moves so fast…!"
"And what sword skill…!"
"That's Burai, right?" Beta X asked Legato over the radio.
"Right. How's it going?"
"Steadily. Here, ugly macho. Ice Stage, Plasma Ball!" Sandra replied.
"Shit!"
"Sanctuary, Holy Dream! Be gone!"
"NO WAY~!"
Sandra pulled a first combo to paralyze Stone Man on place and then shot the Holy Dream that used the power of all the Sanctuary Panels.
The multiple blasts pierced through Stone Man and deleted him while Beta X had switched to Elec Style and electrified Bomber Man to paralyze him.
He switched to Ice Style and shot ice javelins, which plunged into the body, before he returned to normal style and loaded an attack.
"Charge… SHOT!"
"DAMN YOU~!"
The white blast pierced through Bomber Man and deleted him as well.
Burai was fighting a gigantic Heel Navi, and had managed to cut off its arms.
He jumped into the air, landed atop the head, and plunged his blade into it to defeat it.
"Enemies: defeated. Guess that's it for this long dawn."
"I guess they thought that just breaking through this level of defense would be enough of a feat. It'll be all over the news! It might trigger a "firewall race", even!"
"We should all go rest and be fresh for whatever's coming next. Let's firstly help patch up some damage, though."
"Although… There isn't that much damage, really. Because we managed to beat most of them before they could step in…" Beta X muttered.
"Good point. But let's help redo the outer perimeter ground and retrieve any mines that haven't detonated." Burai suggested.
"You did a good job taking out these brutes."
"Thanks. But you guys were far more impressive."
"We simply though of adding real warfare tactics." Another shrugged.
"Hmpf. How fitting. Warfare shoots back at them…" Burai snickered.
"Guess that. Guys will be guys. Let's patch up and go nap."
08:17 AM (Japan Time)…
"…Who goes there?"
"White flag! I come to speak!"
"Fine. I'll listen."
"I bring a challenge!"
"From Void?"
"Indeed!"
"Say it."
A silver-colored Heel Navi waving a white flag approached Golden Star's firewall, where Zero was keeping watch.
He lowered his sword and turned it off to then cross his arms to listen to what the guy had come to say.
The guy produced a golden-colored small box with an LCD display close to the top of the front face and a silver round object in the center that seemed to be the lock.
"This box has the data on where you need to go. But! It won't open until tomorrow at 6AM, Japan Time! Any attempts to tamper with the clock or the box will result on its self-destruct." He announced.
"What guarantee do we have that it isn't a bomb?" Zero questioned.
"I knew ya would ask that." The guy sneered.
"Hmpf!" He wasn't too surprised.
"Lord Void wants to settle it with you lot once and for all. He wants that Slur, that XY, that Kuroban and your ace guys to come! Just the 5 of them! No – one else! Any attempts to loophole that will result in tragic consequences! Mind ya: tragic!" The guy sneered next.
"And what if. You still don't say anything that guarantees to us that this ain't a damned bomb." Zero fumed.
"Do as you want. Maybe you'll regret it. That's all I had to say so I'm leaving. I don't know where Lord Void is at so it's pointless to catch me in the first place! I'm a spokesman! I've got rights! Have at ya!"
The Heel Navi ran off at top speed while Zero shrugged and looked at the box the guy had left behind.
Slur silently landed to his right and looked at it while crossing her arms, as if deciding what to do with it in the first place.
"Zero. Prepare an isolated stone-made room. We will leave it there and watch it through a camera. If it really is a bomb then the room will be damaged but no harm will come to any of us." She decided.
"OK. Will ready that ASAP."
"Try not to come too close or touch it either. It may be rigged to blow up when anyone tries to touch it too."
"Gotcha. I'll just warp it into the room. I'll go ready it. I only need about 3 minutes."
"Good. I will keep watch of this. Go."
"Aye, aye!"
Zero warped away while Slur calmly looked at the box.
She closed her eyes and extended her hands as if try to examine it from afar using her abilities.
"It is coated on a material that reflects IR and X-Ray. Sound waves as well. So there is no way of seeing what is inside."
"Another reason to quarantine it." Hades commented.
"Indeed."
"What do tell the Prince and Mr. XY?"
"We will admit that we have this. We must take it with a grain of salt. Let us tell them and only them. The Net Police is busy enough inspecting the scenes of this dawn's attacks." Slur decided.
"Alright. I think that Noir – kun should be told, no? If it really involves Kage – kun and Mr. Andy…"
"Of course." She agreed on it.
"Done. Warping the box into the room now. I didn't build any doors yet for added safety. Walls are 75cm thick concrete. If we assume that thing is a bomb and consumes its own mass to explode then…"
"That thickness should suffice."
"Do I warp it?"
"Do it."
"Roger. Warping."
The box began to break away for transportation but there was a buzz and it reformed, so Zero cursed under his breath.
"The damned frigging… This is a bomb, alright!"
"Or maybe not and it is a red herring to make us believe that. It may resist usual warps. But not mine." She calmly replied.
"Good point."
Slur swung her right hand and the purple portal formed underneath the box, which fell inside followed by a soft THUD sound.
"Good. It's into the room."
"You need not bother to monitor it the whole time. Focus on the information gathering, as usual, and check it out when there is less than 5 minutes before the deadline. Those little ones you employ do not know of this, right?"
"My assistants? No. They're busy with other jobs I tasked them with: and will you please stop being so antagonistic with them? They help me out a lot. And having them be mindless assistants sounds like they're slaves and not real assistants." Zero sighed.
"I agree with Mr. Zero. Mademoiselle."
"Hmpf. Fine!" She fumed.
"Now, now. Mademoiselle…" Hades tried to calm her down.
"I need a change of airs." She brusquely replied.
She warped away and both Zero and Hades sighed.
"Why is Boss so stubborn when it comes to that? Man."
"I wish I knew, too." Hades admitted with a sigh.
"Anyway. I'll resume my work."
"Of course."
"Can we get in?"
"It's you guys. Welcome back."
The Golden Star defenders came back while looking pretty tired and beaten up, so Zero opened the entrance and they came in.
"Staying awake for over 24 hours is what really beats you." Beta X yawned.
"I've trained myself to be alert at any time but… Guess I need more training! And to redo my technique!" Tom groaned.
"Let's hope no – one's shattered anything." Lily sighed.
"Can see it coming. That they did something stupid while we weren't around. Really. They feel like elementary school brats instead of adults."
"Talk about misfortune." Akemi muttered.
"Or lack of luck." Victor added.
"Welcome back." Burner Man greeted.
"Shah, shah, shah! Good job out there." Needle Man congratulated.
"You gave them a run for their recycled hides!" Video Man grinned.
"Where's Freeze Man?" Zero asked.
"Stayed behind to help with the repairs."
"Alright. What about the others?"
"Forte and Serenade went back to Dr. Cossack's place."
"Burai said he'd go nap as well."
"Alright. Good work, you guys. Take a good rest."
"Hmm… I still think there'll be more today." Alex muttered.
"You'd better not say that. It calls for trouble." Cosmo Man sighed.
"Let's hope they've had enough for today." Shade Man added.
"Sorry."
"Don't mind it." Zero assured him.
"Thanks. I need some air too. Later."
"I feel it on the air…" Dark Man muttered.
"That the end is close?" Pharaoh Man asked.
"Indeed."
"Everything seems to point to that." Hades affirmed.
"News! I found a gang of them that was about to sneak into the Net Police HQ!" Napalm Man reported.
"Really?" Legato asked.
"I helped Punk and Blues to fight them back. They were suicide corps too! They charged at us with numbers!" He explained.
"So they hoped to find the strong guys gone but they were there and ready for battle. As expected of ani – ue – sama." Legato grinned.
"Guess that." Kuroshiro calmly commented.
"And now… The crash-trash-smash party begins!"
"The… what?" Everyone else asked.
"Not Alfred again…" Legato groaned.
"Ya never know! I'm off: I've got a training match with Gorilla Man right away! Later!"
"You mean Guts Man and…! Oh man. That guy's too hyperactive."
"Better that than be depressed." Kuroshiro didn't seem to care.
"So… Tomorrow. At last." Legato muttered as if to switch topics.
"We'll know who've been facing insofar and what they've got up to their sleeves! Some trump card! It'll be meaningless in front of our combined power! One man's arrogance can't defeat several ones' unity and bonds! Just you wait, you sneaky bastard! I won't let you get away with it! History shall judge. And you'll be sentenced to oblivion and to condemnation!"
If it's my Andy – kun then he'll settle it with those guys in a breeze… Go bust 'em! Heh! Legato snickered.
"By the way… Legato… Burai said he wants to train with you one of these days so you better polish your skills…" Beta X told him.
"Really? Good. I need someone expert at sword,s! Else I can't have enough thrill. Guess I inherited that from ani-ue-sama."
"Guess that. Maybe I did think it do for a morale booster."
"Guts Man tried to come help us but thought it'd begin at 9:09 AM. Dunno why. Maybe it's Alfred's nonsense." Victor shrugged.
"Guess he wants his screen-time back." Video Man laughed.
"Wouldn't surprise me." Legato shrugged.
"Knowing how dumb he is…" Kuroshiro sighed.
"I'll go dig for classical jokes! See ya!" Video Man laughed.
"At least the morale is high, sir."
"Truly. If they wanted to sink it, they failed at it!"
We're at the threshold of the final battle!